the Opera’s or Plays are over, the Company goes to the Assemblies, which are alternative, sometimes at one Lord’s House, and sometimes at another’s, or else they repair to the Drawing-room. At Midnight they go to Supper. The Companies formed at the Taverns are the merriest, and Bacchus is commonly seconded by Venus. At Day light the jolly Carousers retire home. Judge, after what I have now said, whether a young Gentleman has not as much to amuse himself at London, as at Paris and Rome. Believe me, that they who say that this City is too melancholy for ’em, only say so to give themselves an Air.
At private Houses the Tables are served with as much Neatness and Delicacy as in any Country in the World. There are three Dishes commonly at each Course, and Plates are often laid two or three deep, which is the Reason that People always eat more than they would otherwise, and that Abundance of Time is spent at Table. There is excellent Beef here; and I am in Love with their Puddings, which are made of Flour, Eggs, Crumbs of Bread, and in short, a thousand Ingredients that I know nothing of, but all together make very good Fare. There’s one Custom established in these Houses, which to be sure you would not dislike, viz. That at the first Time of a Man’s Introduction to a Family, he salutes the Mistress of the House with a Kiss, which tho’ but a very modest one, ’tis a Pleasure to see a Colour come into the Lady’s Cheeks, as if they had committed a Fault. A second Custom, which is not so agreeable as the former, is, that after a Man has been entertained, something must be given to the Servants of the House: And this Gift must be proportioned to the Rank of the Master of the House at whose Table you have sat; so that if a Duke gives me a Dinner four times a
Week, his Footmen would pocket as much of my Money, as would serve my Expences at the Tavern for a Week. I wonder why the English keep up this Custom, those especially who live so magnificently, and pay their Domestics so handsomely, that I believe they are as happy as any of their Class in the World.
The Tavern Reckonings run excessive high, but then there’s the best of Attendance and Accommodation; in which respect I prefer them to the Cabarets of Paris, where the Table Linen is generally very course and dirty.
The Assemblies here are so throng’d, that there’s hardly any stirring. Nevertheless, there are seldom more than three or four Gaming-Tables. Almost every body is standing. They are in perpetual Motion, like a Swarm of Ants; they jostle and squeeze by one another, then ask Pardon, pass mutual Compliments, and just inquire after one another’s Health; but ’tis in a manner impossible to hold a Conversation.
The gayest and most numerous Assembly in Europe is upon the Ball-Days at the Grand Theatre in the Hay Market. I can safely say, that I never saw a finer Sight in my Life. Sometimes there are no less than three thousand in Company. Every Person pays a Guinea, for which they are accommodated with all manner of Refreshments, and all the Sorts of Wines imaginable, besides a stately Desert of Fruit and Sweetmeats. All this numerous Assembly parades in several Rooms richly adorned, and completely illuminated. In several of these they dance, and in others there’s Play. The Entertainment opens with a Concert perform’d by the ablest Musicians in London. Then the Ball begins, and holds till next Morning. At these Balls the Company are often mask’d, and then the King and the Prince of Wales honour
them with their Presence; but the Queen and the Princesses are never there. At all these Entertainments, every body appears very well dressed, and the Ladies especially are stuck all over with Jewels; for there is no Country in the World where there are finer Diamonds. The English Dances are Country-dances, which require several Couples at a time; and all that perform in them, close in by Turns, which gives Opportunities of making an Acquaintance. The Tunes to which they dance are so brisk, that I fansy they would be more agreeable to the Vivacity of the French, than the Sedateness of the English.
As to Plays, the English are fond of them, and have more of ’em than any other Nation. They have an Italian Opera, which is the best and most magnificent in Europe. They pay a Guinea for the Boxes, half a Guinea for the Pit, and a Crown for the Gallery. But though ’tis always crouded, yet it won’t defray the Expences of Acting; so that several of the Nobility contribute to the Salaries of the Actors, which are extravagant; but then they have the best Voices of Italy. An Actor, whose Name is Senesino, has one thousand five hundred Pounds a Year, besides Presents in Abundance. The Music of these Operas is generally composed by one Handel, who is esteemed by a great many People beyond all Expression, but others reckon him no extraordinary Man; and for my own part, I think his Music not so affecting as ’tis elegant. The Decorations are very fine, and the Room is very large, and much more beautiful than that at Paris. The Company sit for most part in the Pit, where the Ladies form Semi-Circles, so that all their Faces are seen, which makes a very good Effect. I forgot to tell you, that the whole is well illuminated with Wax candles. There’s
Dancing between the Acts, when there is no burlesque Interlude.
Besides the Italian Opera, there’s an English one, where they sing only the Tunes, the rest being recited. This, I think, is more just, than when the whole is sung; at least a Man does not sing when he is killing or beating himself.