Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1881-10-20
ENGLISH CUSTOMS.
The Excessive Luxury and Self-lndul.
gence of the Age.

The Excessive Luxury and Self-lndul'
gence of the Age.
English parsons of almost all denom
nations have arrived at the conclusion
that the Britisher is in a bad way
spiritually, and, headed by the arch.
bishop of Canterbury, they have issued
an Invitation prayer" which it is
hoped will be effective in ameliorating
the "lawlessness and godlessness'
which the clerical eye discerns raging
among the inhabitants of the British
isles. Some of the London journals
are excessively indignant at the clergy
men for their assumption that sin is on
the increase in Great Britain, and bring
forward many proofs to show that the
parsons are laboring under a delusion
and do not know their own business.
One newspaper meets the charge about
the growth of lawlessness by stating
that the "implication seems hardly war
ranted, if we consider the population
of Great Britain, kept in order as it is,
even in large centers, by few police
men. If the reverend cOnveners had
said the direct reverse, and congratu-
lated the mass of the people on their
wonderful readiness to keep order on
important public occasions, we should
have endorsed the eulogy."
The accusation of the sin of goddess
ness is more difficult to controvert, and
the journal in question follows the old
Bailey maxim: "When you have a bad
case abuse your opponents attorney"
1t accordingly "goes for" the parsons
and attacks them tooth and nail on the
ground that how few there reof them
who give themselves up to a religious
life. In short the whole line of argu-
ment is to the effect that the arch
bishop of Canterbury and other sigma
tories to the Invitation to prayer" do
not understand what they are talking
about.
1t is plain enough, however, to un-
prejudiced foreigners that the indict-
ment of the clergy of the excessive
luxury and self-indulgence of the age"
is only too true. The increase of
wealth in Great Britain during the
last two centuries probably accounts
for it, although it does not justify the
increased expenditure of money for
purposes of sensual qualification. In
1858 there were only 100 persons whose
incomes were more than $25, 900 a year.
In 1867 the number had increased to
$500. Only between 5000 and 1000
persons could boast of an income of
over $1,000 and under $4,000 in the
former year, but in the latter more
than 10000 paid taxes on amounts be-
tween these sums. Naturally one
would expect an increased amount of
luxury to be the outcome of all this
accumulation of wealth, but the fact
does not justify the vulgar ostentation
with which increased wealth is dis
played nowadays. The gluttony which
pervades the homes of the rich can
only be guessed at; but if it is COM
mensurate with that displayed on the
fashionable race courses or cricket
grounds, pretty accurate estimate OF
the extent of this ''sin"-as the "In-
viters to Prayer" consider it-can be
arrived at. Nothing can be more dis
gusting than the gorging and guzzling
which is to be seen in any fashionable
drag at the derby or oaks. AS caus-
tic pen describes the scene "the flushed
women, the wine-fed men, the circle of
sensuality, the extravaganza and the
excess, all unblushingly advertised as
typical of a manly form of Eng
lish amusement" This porcine COB
bling of rich food is not con-
fined to the occupants of the drag.
Any man who is on bowing
acquaintance with the owner, or with
the females who honor this orgie with
their presence, is asked to join in the
feast. AS, of course, there is no room
in the drag, the new guest has to find a
vacant place where he can to consume
the viands and liquors which the groom
offers him. The most convenient posi-
tion is generally on the ground between
the hind wheels Cf the coach, and it is
there he manages to do justice to the
remains of the raised pies, lobster
salads and fat champagne which the
occupants of the drag have left over.
His plight may be likened to that of
Lazarus while feeding on the crumbs
which fell from the rich mans table.
but without the prospect of warm
corner in Abraham's bosom to console
him afterwards.