| Citation |
NYEP(D.751.066
18 Nov 1751:11 (239)
From the London Gazetteer, July 4, 1751. To the Fool.
Sir, were it lawful or decent to be ludicrous with the
miserable state of our country, the quack remedies applied
to her diseases would prove an inexhaustible fund for
satyrical mirth: But how diverting soever it may be, in
speculation, to see men wilfully or ignorantly mistaking the
causes of the commonwealth's distempers, and of course
mistaking the methods of cure, we cannot give a loose to
merry reflections . . . [a 2-column essay, with the
following at the bottom of the 1st column:]
That the body politic is out of order, is obvious to all;
but that it is sick almost to death, is perceived by only a
few. And what is the cause of this disease? . . . [2
lines] From luxury: Here we may begin and end our enquiry;
it is all answered in one word, which comprizes the
immoderate gin drinker, beer-guzzler, . . . [4 lines] to
which I may add the constant resorters to plays, balls,
opera's, masquerades, concerts, bear-gardens, horse-races,
cock-matches, and those that deal more with the print-shops
than with the book-sellers. . .
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