ommander in chief and his
pals overbalancing the mirthful by their solemnly protesting against the
exposure of the secrets of the prison house, which, in this instance,
they contended, were violently distorted by some enemy to the modern
accomplishment of pugilism. In a few moments all was chaos, and the
stormy confusion of tongues, prophetk: of the affair ending in a grand
display and milling catastrophe; the apprehensions of which induced John
Long, and John Long's man, to be on the alert in removing the service,
_en suite_, of superb cut glass, which had given an additional lustre to
the splendour of the dessert. The arrival of other characters, and the
good humour of the count, joined to a plentiful supply of soda water and
iced punch, had, however, the effect of cooling the malcontents, who had
no sooner recovered their wonted hilarity, than old Crony proceeded
to particularize, by a comparison of the past with the present,
interspersing his remarks with anecdotes of the surrounding group.
"These are your modern men of fashion," said Crony; "and the specimen
you have this day had of their conduct and pursuits an authority you may
safely quote as one generally characteristic.

'To support this new fashion in circles of _ton_. New habits, new
thoughts, must of course be put on; Taste, feeling, and friendship, laid
by on the shelf, And nothing or worshipp'd, or thought of, but--self.'

[Illustration: page210]

"It was not thus in the days of our ancestors: the farther we look back,
the purer honour was. In the days of chivalry, a love promise was a law;
the braver the knight, the truer in love: then, too, religion, delicacy,
sentiment, romantic passion, disinterested friendship, loyalty to king,
love of country, a thirst for fame, bravery, nay, heroism, characterized
~211~~the age, the nation, the noble, the knight, and esquire. Mercy!
what 'squires we have now-a-days! At a more recent date, all was
courtliness, feeling, high sentiment, proud and lofty bearing,
principle, the word inviolable, politeness at its highest pitch of
refinement: lovers perished to defend their ladies' honour; now they
live to sully it: the nobility and the people were distinct in dress
and address; but, above all, amenity and good-breeding marked the
distinction, and the line was unbroken. Now, dress is all confusion,
address far below par, amenity is a dead letter, and as to breeding, it
is confined to the breeding of horses and dogs, exc