Kensington Gardens! give me the society where I can eat, drink, laugh,
joke, and smoke

1 Blue coat boys. The others are all well-known anacreontic
meetings held in the city.

~92~~as I like, without being obliged to watch every word and action,
as if my tongue was a traitor to my head, and my stomach a tyrant of
self-destruction."

The alderman's remonstrance was delivered with so much energy and good
temper, that there was no withstanding his argument; a hearty laugh,
at the conclusion, from Miss Biddy and myself, accompanied by an
ejaculation of "Poor man, how ill you are used!" from his lady, restored
all to good-humour, and obtained the "_quid pro quo_," a consent on
their parts to yield to old customs, and, for once in a way, to allow
the alderman to have a day of his own. The next morning early an open
barouche received our party, the coachman being particularly cautioned
not to drive too fast, to afford the alderman an opportunity of
_luxuriating_ upon the reminiscences of olden time.

As the carriage rolled down the hill turning out of the New Road the
alderman was particularly eloquent in pointing out and describing the
once celebrated tea gardens, Bagnigge Wells.

"In my young days, sir, this place was the great resort of city elegance
and fashion, and divided the town with Vauxhall. Here you might see on
a Sunday afternoon, or other evenings, two thirds of the corporation
promenading with their wives and daughters; then there was a fine organ
in the splendid large room, which played for the entertainment of
the company, and such crowds of beautiful women, and gay fellows in
embroidered suits and lace ruffles, all powdered and perfumed like a
nosegay, with elegant cocked hats and swords in their sides; then there
were such rural walks to make love in, take tea or cyder, and smoke a
pipe; you know, Mrs. Marigold, you and I have had many a pleasant hour
in those gardens during our courting days, when the little naked Cupid
used to sit astride of a swan, and the water spouted from its beak as
high as the ~93~~monument; then the grotto was so delightful and
natural as life, and the little bridge, and the gold fish hopping about
underneath it, made it quite like a terrestrial paradise{2}; but about
that time Dr. Whitfield and the Countess of Huntingdon undertook to
save the souls of all the sinners, and erected a psalm-singing shop in
Tottenham Court Road, where they assembled the pious, and made w