Old Times; a picture of social life at the end of the eighteenth century, collected, and illustrated from the satirical and other sketches of the day

Preface

F the period of which this book treats, there have been pohtical histories, and scurrilous books written anent the Royal Family, ad nauseam : and the Diaries which have been published, bearing on this time, deal only with the acts, and sayings, of the higher classes — leaving the life of the vastly greater proportion of the population — the middle classes — untouched. No better source of information as to their mode of living, their amusements, the tattle, and passing follies of the times, can possibly be found, than in the Newspapers of the day ; and I selected the commencement of the Times, i Jan. 1788, as the starting point of a picture of the Social Life at the end of the Eighteenth Century.

The copies of the Times, however, are very imperfect, — nay, in some years, totally missing — until 1793 -1794 — from which date they are perfect ; so that, when anything noteworthy occurred, I have drawn from another source ; and, to establish the undoubted authenticity of each quotation, I have given the title of the Newspaper, with its date.

vi Preface.

The daily Newspapers of those times were totally different to those to which we are accustomed. The absence of Railways, Steamships, and Electric Telegraphs, combined with a very high rate of Postage, prevented the publication of all News, either from foreign or provincial sources, except it were of real importance ; and, as the daily sheets must be filled, it followed, as a matter of course, that a substitute was found in detailing the social life of the Metropolis — and the daily Newspapers, which now give us the latest news from all parts of the globe — had to be filled with social paragraphs, anecdotal, satirical, or otherwise. They were as open to correction, or contradiction, then, as now ; so that we may put trust in them ; and when these paragraphs are collected, and somewhat classified, they afford a view of the daily life of the period, such as is utterly unattainable elsewhere. This collection must, of necessity, be valuable to the student of those times, besides being of great interest to the general reader.

The difficulty of obtaining contemporary illustrations, fitted for this work, from books, or pictures, has compelled me to draw freely on the satirical prints of the period — which are abundant, and perfectly well suited to the purpose, if the reader will only bear in mind, that they are sometimes a little exaggerated. Still, on the whole, they so truthfully represent the manners, costume, &c., of the age, that they could not be omitted ; and that they are faithful reproductions of the originals, I can guarantee, for I drew them all myself.

JOHN ASHTON.

Contents

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