Which her own clay shall cover, heaped and pent, Rider and horse-friend, foe-in one red burial ·blent! 9. There sunk the greatest, nor the worst of men,8 One moment of the mightiest, and again Extreme in all things! hadst thou been betwixt,10 And shake again the world, the Thunderer of the scene! 10. Conqueror and captive of the earth art thou! She trembles at thee still, and thy wild name Was ne'er more bruited in men's minds than now That thou art nothing, save the jest of Fame, Who deemed thee for a time whate'er thou didst assert. 11. Oh, more or less than man- -in high or low, Look through thine own, nor curb the lust of war, Nor learn that tempted Fate will leave the loftiest star. 12. Yet well thy soul hath brooked the turning tide12 With that untaught, innate philosophy, LIFE IN ENGLAND UNDER THE EARLY GEORGES. 177 Which, be it wisdom, coldness, or deep pride, When the whole host of hatred stood hard by, To watch and mock thee shrinking, thou hast smiled When Fortune fled her spoiled and favourite child, He stood unbowed beneath the ills upon him piled. + Albyn's hills.-The Highlands of low in others. Scotland. 5 Heard, too, have her Saxon foes. In the Jacobite rebellion, the Camerons supported the Stewarts (see next note). 11 Had still been thine, or never been.-Either he would have kept the throne, or he would never have reached it. 12 Brooked the turning tide.— 6 Evan's, Donald's fame.-Evan Borne up against misfortune. 53.-LIFE IN ENGLAND UNDER THE 1. Instead of numbers to distinguish shops and dwelling-houses from one another in the last century, signs creaked and swung above each door. These are now confined chiefly to inns: but the Blue Boar, the Golden Key, the Spread Eagle, and similar emblems, shone then with bright variety along every - street. 2. There were numerous hackney-coaches; but the Sedan-chair was the most fashionable mode of conveyance in the city. SEDAN-CHAIR. The watermen also rowed passengers from stair to stair in their 'wherries. At night the streets were badly lighted with oillamps; and it was 'customary for those to hire link-boys to who walked abroad at night carry a torch before them in order to show the way. These boys, however, were often the 'accomplices of the thieves who abounded in London. 3. Another plague of the streets by night consisted in the rioting of Mohocks or other gangs of 'dissolute young men, "flown with insolence and wine," who, in defiance of the feeble city watchmen, paraded the chief thoroughfares for the purpose of 'assaulting any unfortunate citizen whom they might chance to meet. 4. The Coffee-house was the great resort by day. The Cocoa-Tree was the most celebrated Tery house; the St. James's, that most frequented by LIFE IN ENGLAND UNDER THE EARLY GEORGES. 179 Whigs. A Club then meant a company of men who met regularly on certain evenings in a tavern for supper and conversation. 5. The use of mahogany for furniture, the more general adoption of carpets, and the improvement of earthenware, made household life more refined and comfortable; but the low-ceiled rooms and the narrow windows of the houses still gave but an 'insufficient supply of light and air. 6. The most remarkable part of a lady's dress was the Hoop, a kind of cage on which the flowered brocade of the skirt was extended to an enormous size. Every lady also carried a Fan, of which she made constant use--furling, opening, fluttering it ceaselessly. Her face was spotted with black patches, which at a certain time had a political meaning, Tory ladies wearing the spots on the left temple, and Whigs on the right. 7. The dress worn by a gentleman was stiff and artificial. A huge periwig, white being most prized, flowed with bushy curls on his shoulders, at the beginning of the period. This gave way to powdered hair, tied behind in an enormous 'queue. His coat was of claret velvet, or of sky-blue silk, heavily bordered with gold or silver lace; his vest of flowered silk extended its flaps half-way to the knee; his three-cornered hat was carried under his arm, an empty form; knee-breeches, silk stockings, and diamond-buckled shoes completed his costume. 8. At the evening parties, which were called ridottos or drums, gambling was practised to a terrible extent. It was indeed the great vice of the age. Gentlemen gambled at their clubs, ladies in their boudoirs; and it was no uncommon thing to lose or to win £10,000 in a single night at cards or at dice. The stately minuet was the fashionable dance; but there were gayer movements also, such as the cotillon and the coranto. Duels constantly resulted from these evening assemblies: the usual places for deciding these "affairs of honour" were Hyde Park Ring, or the grassy space behind Montague House. 9. The behaviour of people in church contrasted strangely with that now usual. A lady came to stare about her, to flutter her fan, and to greet her friends. A gentleman made his bow all round, refreshed himself with snuff, and settled down to sleep. When the preacher concluded a passage of striking eloquence, or made an apt political allusion, the congregation often raised a loud Hum of approval. 10. Bath, Epsom, and Tunbridge Wells were the principal provincial places of resort. There all the follies of metropolitan life were acted over again, with the difference of rural surroundings. The constant embroilments with France and Spain, as well as the insecurity of travel, prevented the natives of Britain from visiting the Continent, except on rare occasions. 11. The authors of this time belonged to one of two classes. A fortunate writer attracted the attention of some eminent statesman, who gave him a pension or a 'sinecure, and employed his pen in the writing of pamphlets favourable to certain public measures. Most writers, however, were 'denizens of |