1831 .J 



Domentic and Foreign. 



91 



called the metropolitan road trust." The 

 post-office cars are nicknamed accelerators^ 

 by authority. The one-horse chaises, 

 lately introduced, might have been 

 called huckney gigs, but cabiiolet is fo- 

 reign, and better because not so intel- 

 ligible. A club of schoolmasters call 

 themselves the philological society, as if 

 it were an union for the study of lan- 

 guages, &c. The book will amuse for 

 halt an hour, and sometimes furnish 

 useful hints. 



Social Life in England and France, from 

 the Days of Charles to the recent French 

 Revolution — This little volume must be 

 regarded as the sequel to Miss Berrey's 

 former publication, the character of 

 which was estimated highly, but cer- 

 tainly not more so than it well deserved. 

 The work consists of a series of sketches, 

 rather than any consecutive view, of 

 what strikes her as the most prominent 

 topics, important in themselves, or the 

 precursors and causes of important re- 

 sults. In the present volume she comes 

 within her own times, and doubtless her 

 own opportunities have been peculiarly 

 favourable for sketching the career of 

 certain classes of society, both in Eng- 

 land and France. It is only with the 

 superior classes she is concerned ; though 

 lower ones are by degrees, and quite 

 inevitably modified by them ; for so 

 active is the principle of imitation on 

 us, that one class cannot change its ha- 

 bits, but the next lowest will be sure to 

 be intluenced, and in many cases the 

 next highest, more or less. Manners 

 ascend as well as descend. The upper 

 ranks, in many respects, are neither so 

 fastidious, nor the lower so coarse as 

 they were, but a few years.ago. 



The times of Pitt and Fox constitute 

 the first topic of remark. The jjoLitical 

 world had not been so decidedly split 

 since the days of Anne. The opposition 

 ranked among them almost the whole 

 exliibitable talent of the day ; the prince 

 was at tlifir head, and ths fashionable 

 world went with them. The two courts 

 were tlie centres of political faction ; nor 

 was women's infiuence wanting on either 

 side. The Queen on one side, and the 

 Duchess of Devonshire on the other. 

 The first all I'orm and ceremony and 

 lirejudice; the other all freedom, gaiety, 

 and liberality — not licentiousness. Not 

 only were tlie arts patronized, but ar- 

 ti-ils themselves were a(hnitted within 

 the jiale of society ; and homely man- 

 ners, as well as stiff ones, gave way to 

 ease and refinement. 



The French war, by kecjiing young 

 men at lionie interfered with the acl- 

 vantages derivable from intercourse 

 witli foreign variety of character and 

 manners ; but tiie army and navy, which 

 absorbed manv of them, became schools 



of intelligence and improvement. For 

 from the extraordinary state of pubic 

 affairs, they were brought into contact 

 with the diplomatic world, and proved 

 eventually as dextrous and polished 

 and reserved, as they had before been 

 coarse, blunt, and ignorant. 



But nothing jiroduced so striking a 

 change upon the higher classes as taxa- 

 tion. The great got rid of their use- 

 less retainers, useless carriages, useless 

 horses. From the moment these things 

 became taxable, every body began to 

 consider how many they could d spense 

 with. Nobody since then keeps more 

 than he has occasion for ; and the effect 

 has been, beyond doubt, to produce bet- 

 ter managed establishments, and more 

 effective services. The same cause 

 brought about retrenchments in costly 

 entertainments, and hospitality in their 

 rural domains shrank to nothing. 



The commerce of the country mean- 

 while increasing, large fortunes fell into 

 new hands ; and these, disposed to spend 

 their new gains, had no other means of 

 forcing themselves into notice than 

 courting the chaperonnement of the hi- 

 therto exclusively great. These had 

 ceased to squander, but they were ready 

 enough to assist others in squandering, 

 and especially in rendering them ridi- 

 culous. Fetes and entertainments fol- 

 lowed, where the entertainer knew not 

 the names of one-half of his guests. 

 Rank and wealth were getting rapidly 

 confounded. To check the career of this 

 mortifying confusion sprang up Almack's 

 — a scheme professedly and essentially 

 exclusive, but proceeding, in part also, 

 fi'om the inability of numbers, in the 

 higher ranks of life, to comjiete with the 

 nouveaux riches in entertainments at 

 home. 



The writer's glances at France are 

 more interesting, in as much as they are 

 less famil'ar. She sketches the return 

 to habits of civilized society, under the 

 Bonapartes, with considerable effect ; 

 and has many reniarks of great truth 

 and acuteness. Under all the jjolitical 

 changes she detects one great purpose 

 of the nation— a determination to ob- 

 tain a general participation of rights. 

 From the return of the Bourbcms who 

 strugj^led to recover their old privileges, 

 and force back the stream of opinion ; 

 and through the wiiole fifteen years the 

 inliuential part of the people have as 

 steadily prosecuted what may fairly be 

 deemed the will of the nation. In' do- 

 mestic habits the difference is vtjry me- 

 morable; and such as may well be ba. 

 lanced against tlie very horrors tln-ou"h 

 wiiich tlie people liave ibuglit their way to 

 file ]i()sscssion of political indejjondence. 

 From the abolition of convents and semi- 

 naries, children were educated at home 

 and the practice has generally con- 



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