Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Miscellaneous Observations And Reflections Made In A Tour Through London,
pair of shoes ; and , before he quits the world , methodically plans his funeral . . . , ; It operates on our food ; or why do men of sense hold critical discourses , . by the hour , upon dainties ? Or , if a man buys a piece of meat in the market , wl ty does he order it to be carried home ; but if he buys a couple of chickens , takes a pride in carrying them himself ? Or why are we inwardly chagrinedwhen accidentall rised with
, y surp a table thinly spread ? WI 13 did two frugal sisters , who chose to appear elegant , with a slender income , daily marshal the tea equipage , while they secretly breakfasted upon water-gruel ? Or wl ty did Michael Pare seem a little confused , when caught dining upon dry potatoes , mashed with their peelings ? Pride shews itselfeven in our enquiries ; or wldid I sneak a
, y private view , on foot , like a stolen wedding between the master and the maid , of that disregarded piece of antiquity , London Stone ; while a visit to the Pantheon , like the nuptials of hi gher parties , will bear a coach , or a puff in the papers ?
A dark day in December is not so well adapted for a view of the Pantheon , as a dark night ; for , like other beauties , it is best seen by candle-light : yet , even then , its grandeur mi ght easily be discovered through the dark gloom of winter . The lamps are ranged in curious devices ; I was assured , that 20 , 000 lights are sometimes burning at once , though far from being the largest room 1 have seen . Thesereflected from an immense number of
, looking-glasses , must have an astonishing effect . The sight , and the money for admittance , bear no proportion . The first object which presented itself was Lunardi ' s balloon , suspended from the centre of the dome , like a vast umbrella , just imported from Brobdingnagg ; and , instead of the soft music of- the placea round-bellied smith ( for every thing here seems executed
, , in curve lines ) who was altering it , sounded the hammer in the Birmingham tone . Eleven beautiful ladies , also , sat in a circle , repairing it with their needles , like the nymphs , in romance , fitting out their airy kni g ht .
FOUNDLING HOSPITAL . A people are arrived at a distinguishing mark of civilization , when the strong support the weak . The first ten years of a man ' s life , and every year after seventy , in any material defect of bod ) - , or of understanding , if he does not possess property himself , he must depend upon others ; and , if those others' ^ upply him with moderate
comforts , the benefit is his , the applause is theirs . London abounds with laudable institutions : as the Magdalen , and the Asylum , for beauty in distress ; Bedlam and St . Luke ' s , for the insane ; Guy ' s and St . Thomas ' s , for accidental calamity ; workhouses and hospitals , for infants and old age , and'the Foundling for . those whom none dare own , VOL . vn , E
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Miscellaneous Observations And Reflections Made In A Tour Through London,
pair of shoes ; and , before he quits the world , methodically plans his funeral . . . , ; It operates on our food ; or why do men of sense hold critical discourses , . by the hour , upon dainties ? Or , if a man buys a piece of meat in the market , wl ty does he order it to be carried home ; but if he buys a couple of chickens , takes a pride in carrying them himself ? Or why are we inwardly chagrinedwhen accidentall rised with
, y surp a table thinly spread ? WI 13 did two frugal sisters , who chose to appear elegant , with a slender income , daily marshal the tea equipage , while they secretly breakfasted upon water-gruel ? Or wl ty did Michael Pare seem a little confused , when caught dining upon dry potatoes , mashed with their peelings ? Pride shews itselfeven in our enquiries ; or wldid I sneak a
, y private view , on foot , like a stolen wedding between the master and the maid , of that disregarded piece of antiquity , London Stone ; while a visit to the Pantheon , like the nuptials of hi gher parties , will bear a coach , or a puff in the papers ?
A dark day in December is not so well adapted for a view of the Pantheon , as a dark night ; for , like other beauties , it is best seen by candle-light : yet , even then , its grandeur mi ght easily be discovered through the dark gloom of winter . The lamps are ranged in curious devices ; I was assured , that 20 , 000 lights are sometimes burning at once , though far from being the largest room 1 have seen . Thesereflected from an immense number of
, looking-glasses , must have an astonishing effect . The sight , and the money for admittance , bear no proportion . The first object which presented itself was Lunardi ' s balloon , suspended from the centre of the dome , like a vast umbrella , just imported from Brobdingnagg ; and , instead of the soft music of- the placea round-bellied smith ( for every thing here seems executed
, , in curve lines ) who was altering it , sounded the hammer in the Birmingham tone . Eleven beautiful ladies , also , sat in a circle , repairing it with their needles , like the nymphs , in romance , fitting out their airy kni g ht .
FOUNDLING HOSPITAL . A people are arrived at a distinguishing mark of civilization , when the strong support the weak . The first ten years of a man ' s life , and every year after seventy , in any material defect of bod ) - , or of understanding , if he does not possess property himself , he must depend upon others ; and , if those others' ^ upply him with moderate
comforts , the benefit is his , the applause is theirs . London abounds with laudable institutions : as the Magdalen , and the Asylum , for beauty in distress ; Bedlam and St . Luke ' s , for the insane ; Guy ' s and St . Thomas ' s , for accidental calamity ; workhouses and hospitals , for infants and old age , and'the Foundling for . those whom none dare own , VOL . vn , E