. London . can play ombre, lansquenet,quadrille, and Pope Joan. These are frivolous accomplish-ments, but the writer says nothing of the mornings work—the distilling of creams, the confecting of cakes and puddings,and sauces, the needle-work, and all the useful things. Whenthese were done why should not the poor girl show her ac-complishments and taste in the cutting out of landscapes witha pair of scissors ? They certainly did not always stay at home. In the GEORGE THE SECOND 379 summer they sometimes went to Vauxhall, where the girlsenjoyed the sight of the wicked world as much as they liked
. London . can play ombre, lansquenet,quadrille, and Pope Joan. These are frivolous accomplish-ments, but the writer says nothing of the mornings work—the distilling of creams, the confecting of cakes and puddings,and sauces, the needle-work, and all the useful things. Whenthese were done why should not the poor girl show her ac-complishments and taste in the cutting out of landscapes witha pair of scissors ? They certainly did not always stay at home. In the GEORGE THE SECOND 379 summer they sometimes went to Vauxhall, where the girlsenjoyed the sight of the wicked world as much as they likedthe Ringing, and the supper, and the punch that followed. \Vc have quite lost the mughouse. This was a kind ofmusic-hall, a large room where only men were admitted, andwhere ale or stout was the only drink consumed. Every manhad his pipe ; there was a president, a harp was played at oneend of the room, and out of the company present one after theother stood up to sing. Between the songs there were toasts. and speeches, sometimes of a political kind, and the peopledrank to each other from table to table. It was a great fighting time. Every man who wentabroad knew that he might have to fight to defend himselfagainst footpad or bully. Most men carried a stout Dr. Johnson heard that a man had threatened to horse-whip him, he ordered a thick cudgel and was easy in hismind. There were no police, and therefore a man had tofight. It cannot be doubted that the martial spirit of the 3So LONDON country, which during the whole century was extraordinary,was greatly maintained by the practice of fighting, which pre-vailed alike in all ranks. Too much order is not all puregain. If we have got rid of the Mohocks and street scourers,we have lost a good deal of that readiness to fight whichfirmly met those Mohocks and made them fly. I suppose that one can become accustomed to the gibbets which one saw stuck up everywhere, alongthe Edgeware Road, on the river-side, on
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Keywords: ., bookauthorbesantwa, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookyear1892
