The Night Side of LondonRitchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing)
History
The Night Side of London
Ritchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing)
London (England) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
Still gaily goes on the dancing. Then there is supper and wine—and more
dancing, and more music, and more wine. The reporters for the papers
generally leave about supper-time, and state that the gaieties were
prolonged till a late hour; it is well they do this. In the earlier part
of the evening the rioting and chaffing is somewhat of the coarsest, and
the wit somewhat of the poorest; and the later it grows, and the more
potent is the vinous influence, the less select, or rather the more
obscene, is the phraseology. In the wild saturnalia that ensues, all the
restraints of decency and habit are thrown on one side. It is time to
close, and the conductor sees this. Already Henry VIII. is right royally
drunk, and Cardinal Wolsey is uttering flat blasphemy, and one monk has
got a black eye, another a bloody nose. Unless, as in the case of Covent
Garden, the theatre is burned down, and the proceedings are abruptly
terminated, there is a final dance,—a patriotic rendering of the national
anthem,—and into the air walk, or rather tumble, the debauchees, some to
go home quietly to bed, others to keep it up in the nearest coffee-houses
and public-houses; and handmaidens rising early to take in the milk in
various parts of the metropolis are astonished by the exceedingly
unsteady gait and singular costumes of various dismal gents, who have, if
they are not absolute fools, sworn that it will be a long time before
they go to another masqué bal. Such, I believe, is the general
conclusion, the only exceptions being the costumier who provides the
dresses, generally a Jew, and the bigger Jew who furnishes the wine.
UP THE HAYMARKET.
If I take up the reports of our various religious societies, I find we
are spending an enormous sum in sending the Gospel into foreign parts. I
don’t say but what this is praiseworthy—Indians, Turks, Jews, Assyrians,
bond and free, are they not all children of one common Father with
ourselves?—but let us not overlook after all the claims of home. I do
not speak now of the lowest classes, of the refuse and outcasts of our
towns, of the Pariahs of our civilization; I speak of the heathens in
satin and broadcloth, of the vice that wears patent leather boots and the
best French kid, of the intemperance that feasts at rich men’s tables,
and that is born of hock, and claret, and champagne.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account