ept when law steps in
to encourage the breeding of disputes; not to mention the evils arising
from crossing the old breed; nor can we much wonder at it, when we
reflect on the altered way of life, the change of habits, and the
declension of virtue, arising from these very causes.

'Each hopeful hero now essays to start
To spoil the intellect, destroy the heart,
To render useless all kind Nature gave,
And live the dupe of ev'ry well dress'd knave;
To herd with gamblers, be a blackleg king,
And shine the monarch of the betting ring.'

"Men of family and fashion, in those golden days, passed their time in
courts, in dancing-rooms, and at clubs composed of the very cream of
birth and elegance. You heard occasionally of Lord Such-a-one being
killed in a duel, or of the baronet or esquire dying from cold caught
at a splendid _fete_, or by going lightly clad to his magnificent
vis-a-vis, after a select masquerade; but you never read his death in a
newspaper from a catarrh caught in the watch-house, from & fistic fight,
or in a row at a hell--things now not astonishing, since even men with a
title and a name of rank pass their time in the stable, at common
hells, at the Fives-court--the hall of infamy; in the watch-house, the
justice-room, and make the finish in ~212~~the Fleet, King's Bench, or
die in misery and debt abroad. In the olden times, a star of fashion
was quoted for dancing at court, for the splendour of his equipages,
his running footmen and black servants, his expensive dress, his
accomplishments, his celebrity at foreign courts, his fine form,
delicate hand, jewels, library, &c. &c. Now fame (for notoriety is so
called) may be obtained by being a Greek, or Pigeon, by being mistaken
for John the coachman, when on the box behind four tits; by being a
good gentleman miller, by feeding the fancy, standing in print for crim.
con., breaking a promise of marriage once or twice, and breaking as many
tradesmen as possible afterwards; breaking the watchman's head on the
top of the morn; and lastly, breaking away (in the skirmish through
life) for Calais, or the Low Countries. There is as much difference
between the old English gentleman and him who ought to be the modern
representative of that name, as there is between a racer and a hack,
a fine spaniel and a cross of the terrier and bull dog. In our days
of polish and refinement, we had a Lord Stair, a Sedley,