| Citation |
BC.769.159
25-28 Dec 1769:4173 (157)
[In long essay on present wastefulness:] Though we are
pressed to the earth by the weight of taxation, we
nevertheless find a sufficiency to defray the charges of a
Ridotto al fresco, a Ball Pare, or a Stratford Jubilee: the
more extravagant the entertainment, the more crouded we
always find the company; and amusement is reckoned vulgar in
proportion to its cheapness. . . [24 lines]
This, Sir, is universally the case at present with the
people of England; we never were so rich, but we never were
so extravagant. The landholder, while he talks of ruin,
will demand double the rent of his property, and receive it;
the trader, while he talks of ruin outsparkles a man of the
first fashion at Almack's; and even the journeyman of a
milliner's shop will jostle a lady in the side-boxes, to
whom he has possibly carried a pair of ruffles in the
morning. . . [10 lines, signed] Senex
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