The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1891-11-01
SOafE NEW BOOKS.
Scs,ai tAGs In Eighteenth Century rnxiass-
Second Notice.

SOalE NEW hooks
tscs,ai tAfs Tn Eighteenth Century rnsiass-
Second Notice.
Wc vero Obliged In previous notice to over
look r,nny Interesting chapters In Mr.. Will
liAM UoNNoR sypNEr's History Of England IN II,
EeAfssnO (wnt,1n Even now wo must neces-
EARLY leave unconsidcrod somo OF the topics
discussed IN his entertaining volume. Thcre
arc two SUBJECTS. howcvor. about which llttlu
comparatively Ia known. namely. the oondi.
tions Of provincial Ito aud tho state Of educa.
tion In eighteenth century England. To those.
therefore. wo shall c6rGro ourselves aftor q
brief glance ut the anus ION eats of tho British
metropolis In tho Georgian era
].
Tan LcoJon theatres mood not dstAin ~. for
il.s o,niition q: tho british stngo undcr tho
,s.sator HanovetiaR sovcrolRns Inns been made
tho thvris u lnnumerablo nrticlos In tho
tssstodianl literature 81 our own day. Neither
sio.M any ORC ies:n to hear vauxhsll and
Ianelagl, Gnrions described for tho hun
drodth time. How people comportod them
sslvos In these hills OF pleasure We have
lca-nsd iron, n multitude Of paragraphs 10
contemporary newspapers and Of passages In
tho writings OF esSayists and novelista Lot
Ms look rather ut whit Mr.. Sydney has to tell
VS. about drums. hurricanes. r:dottos. festlnos.
ard masc unrodes. rho FIRST two Of these As.
~cmblles woro really nothing moro than over.
crowded partics: according 10 Francis Covon.
tIy. tha author Of tho History OF ronpey tho
Little" tho DIN, OF a drum or hurricane was to
assemble ~ largo o number OF people Of
quality as could possibly no contained In
ono house. and great wsro tho honors
paid 70 tho ladina who could boast Of
Tho largest erowd. For this purpoee woman
o! rank would calculate how many people
.GL Tho rooms In her housa could hold. anu
Nou!t thon ecnd. about 't~c months beforO-
s,Ard. toeospoak aucb n number as sho thought
would Oil thou. What was o ridotto? The
following extract from letter OF Mrs. fcn-
.!nrhes to Mrs. Anne Granville will supply the
aaswsr: last Thursday went to tho ridot-
90. Tho hour II begins 10 D. hut polite compa-
ny ioos no. como till IL Tho room Is set out
"a tho Same manner as for masquerade: 1t 10
lio n ost entertaining sort Of m assembly be-
cause you arc at liberty TO wander about as
nurh as you p.oase. and there Is dancing. ten.
,otrce. cliocolutc. and all sorts Of sweetmeats.
There was IL prodigious crowd: they danced
'AG. half after l." Fostinos wore much
moro attractive scenes. Tho following do.
.cr:pton Of ono held Mt Northumberland
lIouse in lT.;2 Is from ono Of Horacc Walpolc's
,ettors: Not only tho whrlc house, but tho
garden, whs illuminated. and was quite o fairy
sconc. Arches md pyramids Of lights NJ
isrna.el, surrounded the enclosures: a din
mond necklace OF lamps edged tho rails and
descent with spiral obeisk OF candles OH
each hand. and dispersed over the lawn were
little bands Of kettle drums clarionets. pipos.
&C.. and the lovely moon. who came without o
card"
All these forms OF social diversion. how
ever paled before the mania for mas
1uerades. which first became fashionable
under the famous Heydegser in the early part
Of the eighteenth century. when they wero
usually held during the season ut the Kings
theatre in tho lInymarket. Tickets were
issued only to subscribers at Whites Chocolate
House In James street. and no effort was
spared to exclude the common herd. People
OF quality We're requested through tho news
pnpers to refrain from lending their names
in order to obtain tickets for others. or II they
had moro than they required to lose no time
in sending them back to the Office where the
money paid for them would be refunded In
spite Of these precautions masquerades were
productive OF infinitely more evil than good
The Episcopal bench invcighed against their
follies and vices. tho poets and essayists
dashed them. and finally the Grand Jury OF
Middiesex presented them as generative OF
impious and illegal practices. Nevertheless.
masQuerades seem to have held their ground.
and nice people continued to patronage Hey
degGer In the first half of the century and
Mrs.. Cornelys in the second half At q mas
querude held in l740 which one Of the maids
~ honor. Miss ChudlelGh: subsequently the
notorious Duchess OF Kingston. attended In the
guise of Andromcda. there were present the
Princess of Wales besides other members ofthe
royal family. Wapo!e records that in Feb
ruGry. 1870. when John Wilkes. member for
MiddlcseX. Ind attained the acme Of his poliu
larity. the House OF Commons adjourned to
attend a subscription masquerade held in Soho
ut Carlisle House. the very famous temple Of
fashion established by tho before mentioned
Mrs. Cornelys. who was O German singer
Tho assembly room known as Almacks was
opened In February. 1705. by a Scotchman as
81 rival OF Mrs. Cornelys's establishment. Be-
tween 1772 and 1902 the great place for mas
.luerades was the Pantheon. OF which George
Ill and such great ladies as tho Duchess Of
Devonsl,ir, wcro huh:uGs Notwithstanding
tho vnGu, Of the mask balls at the Pantheon.
ono who had Witnessed thont declared
III thr Westminster .'hga.Dle that ho
mist seriously dcciy them MS subver.
elvo OF virtue and every domestic poin.
az honor" and an Irish Clergyman who visited
EnH.anLiI lT1J noted In his diary that tho
rnc ladies at the Pantheon wero lost to nil
snnso OF n:odesty. Wo may nd'l that the
dn:.css most In vogue during the last century
vcre tho country dance aud the mlnuct. just
Gc..,re dancing began the ladies who wero
present threw down their fans upon table. A
gcnrloman then advanced. took up n fan. and
invited tho icIy to whom it belonged to become
His partner. We would also. before taking
loave OF Mr.. Sydncy's chapter OH tho amuso.
Moa.s OF tho last century. say u word about
tho compartment OF ladies at tho play. Women
Of quality. 1t seems. conducted themselves In
tho manner described by Fielding In ono
OF his musical fnrces IL Miss Lucy In Town")
whorcln country-brod iamsel. Mrs.
Thomas. innocontiy inquiries OF Mrs. TawIry
what flne lndcs c,istomarily did when attend
ing tho what d'yo call them. yo.lr plays?"
"Why. II they cnn." hcr informant replies.
"thoy take stage hox where they lot tho
footman sit the !lrst two acts to show his iiv-
DRY. thch they come In to show themselves.
spread their fans upon the pixies. make IL cour-
tcav In their ncNunintanc0s md Eli AZ tnll; otul