air till midnight came and the watchman had a drunken delinquent in the cage. A. cobbler beat his wife,--and the clangour of pots and the yells of women frighted the street from its propriety-the offender was rough-musicked. An informer-a name in those days as odious as a tax-gatherer -was hunted through the alleys, and tarred and feathered. Bread riots were not uncommon, and great, then, was the terror of the bakers. The good people, with the most benevolent intentions which nobody could blame, set about augmenting the inflictions of scarcity in the true old fashion. The moment that high prices of bread arrived, we were accustomed to take to a gratuitous distribution of bread: -we established soup kitchens and rice coppers, that a few clamorous mouths might be fed, at the expense of a still higher increase upon prices, to be paid by the many whe were not clamorous. We did upon a small scale what the government of Paris does upon a large scale. I don't know how we managed to live through all these troubles of high prices, and excessive taxes-the exciseman poking his nos into every shop--and Napoleon at Boulogne, ready to harry the nation of shopkeepers.' But we did get on, and were merry nevertheless; and 'the tight little island' was encored at every public dinner; and there were whist clubs and assemblies, as if there were no want and no fear in the land. About these assemblies, I have a grievance d which I must speak fully. The Country-Dance is obsolete, as obsolete as the dancing costume of the last century. I shall never forget the night when the seeds of one of the great revolutions these times were sown in our assembly-room. Thirty couples stood up for the accustomed country-dance. Louis W. had to call, and I was her delighted partner. eager hands were clapped, the discordant strings were screwing up into tune, and we were debating with the venerable leader of our band the relative merits of 'The Honeymoon' and 'Speed the Plough.' With the mest correct taste, Louisa had decided for 'right and left, it preference to la poussette,'-we were ready. At that instant a handsome officer of dragoons-the coxcombadvanced to Louisa, and in the most humble tone-the puppy-ventured to recommend a quadrille. Louisa's eyes consulted mine, and I boldly consulted the leader. I knew the range of his acquirements, and I was safe;—we went down with 'The Honeymoon;' but the evil was rooted. Within a fortnight there was a special meeting of the subscribers to our assembly-room to discuss an important question. It was convened at the particular desire of a lady of fashion, so called, who had become a temporary resident amongst us. I knew there was mischief brooding, and, as I was petulant, I stayed away. Poor Kit, the master of our band, and his faithful followers, were dismissed after thirty years' duteous service; and four fiddlers, from Paine's, I think they said, came from London by the coach-fine powdered fellows in silk stockings; but no more to compare with Kit's crew for strength and untiring execution than a Jew's harp to a hand-organ. But they were wonderfully applauded; and Louisa, seeing that I would not sanction them, recommended me to take lessons. I would as soon have learned to speak High Dutch. From that time I was left to solitude, when the ball-room was lighted up with twenty candles in tin sconces. I sat at home, and mused mournfully; and thus I mused: Departed visions of the dear country-dances of my boyhood, to what foreign land are ye fled? Are ye gone to thrust out waltzes from Germany, or fandangos from Spain -are ye departed to unnationalise other feet, as the detestable quadrilles have corrupted ours? Ah, no-ye have not the subtlety of your hateful rival-like your unhappy countrymen, ye must give place to the cuckoo tribe who drive you from your nests. It is only ten years since I learned to dance at school, and my knowledge has become obsolete. To outlive one's old friends is the most painful feeling in earth's pilgrimage-and I have done this long before I am grown gray. "The Jolly Young Waterman," and "Money Musk," and "The Devil among the Tailors," and "Drops of Brandy," and "Off She Goes," and "Mother |