Sentence:  I underſtand, however, that there is a diſtinction between theſe names in the city and St. James's; in the latter place you may find faſhion in the characters of the "ton", the "taſte", the "etiquette", &c. in the city they are all the <WSD>"tippy</WSD>", the "thing", the "ſort", &c. and pretty "things" they are, Heaven knowns! [sic]—with a "ſort" of a cane, which being twelve inches long, one blow of an Iriſhman's ſhillalagh would drive "twelve yards" away. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  In the height of fashion, excellent, cool.