xvn AN INSTR UMENT OF LUXURY 47 



some of the loose, silly daughters of our freedmen ! 

 Luxury has been gradually developed merely by 

 the possession of wealth, and has now gone to 

 oppressive lengths ; therewith vices have received 

 an immense accession of strength. In short, every- 

 thing has got so mixed up through our perverted 

 refinements that all that used to be regarded as 

 the decoration of women has become part and 

 parcel of the outfit of man ; I am understating, 

 it is now an essential portion of a soldier's kit. 

 The mirror was introduced for the sake of the toilet ; 

 nowadays there is no vice to which it is not an 

 indispensable adjunct. 



