THE great degree of luxury to which this country has arrived, within a few years, is not only astonishing but almost dreadful to think of. Time was, when those articles of indulgence, which now every mechanic aims at the possession of, were enjoyed only by the Lord or Baron of a district. Men were then happy to be the vassals or dependants of that Lord, and prided themselves in little but their submission and allegiance. This was the state of things during feudal government: but as, on the increase of trade, riches in­creased; men began to feel new wants, they became gradually less hardy and robust, grew effeminate as their property accumulated, and sighed for indulgences they never dreamed of before.—Methods of conveying these indul­gencies [Page 4]from one part of the kingdom to ano­ther were then studied; roads were made pas­sable, and carriages invented.

For many ages coaches were so great a lux­ury, that none but old families were seen in them; and if they attempted, once in a dozen years, to travel a few miles in one, perhaps, in the course of the journey, a whole village with their teams were called in aid, to drag the heavy vehicle out of the clay, and set it on its wheels again:— riding on horseback being the only means of visiting a neighbour, beyond the reach of a walk, and that only in the summer-time. And it is but a very few years since, that ladies went about, from place to place, upon a pil­lion. Made roads were then unknown, and so little desire had the people to stir, beyond the bounds of their parish, that even mend­ing them was never thought of.

On the establishment of posts, a general communication was opened between all parts of the kingdom, and people received intelli­gence of every little improvement that was made: a desire to inspect those improve­ments, gave men an excentric turn; they were eager to see what was doing at some [Page 5]distance from home, and rambled wide for that purpose. The inconvenience, and indeed impossibility of travelling, but at certain sea­sons of the year, led the way to the making of roads; making of roads drew thousands abroad, and a wish to be thought opulent by those whom they visited, led them into luxury of dress. The homespun garb then gave way to more costly attire, and respectable plainness was soon transformed into laughable frippery.

In a few years, refinements took place in manners, and well had it been, were they merely refinements; but the misfortune is, they soon spread into extravagancies, and from being commendable, became objects of censure. In the reign of Charles I. luxuries were every where seen, and though the Civil Wars for some time smothered them, they broke out afresh in the reign of Charles II. Wealth then poured in upon the nation; gen­tlemen vied with each in the appearance they made; many by these means were ruined, estates changed their possessors, a fluctuation of property began, and every succeeding year gave birth to fresh wants and new expences. Luxury however had not then gained its pre­sent [Page 6]footing: it is true, the profligacy of the capital made some inroads upon the country, but the inhabitants of the country looked on it with dread and astonishment. Some of the nobility and principal gentry, at this time, spent part of their winter in London, but the rest of the year they lived amongst their te­nants with their usual hospitality. The ex­pences of this age were confined to the edu­cation of their children, to their houses, their buildings, their furniture, their attendants and their entertainments; and their tenants and neighbours were considerably the better for it: the more they circulated their property within their own estates, the richer their estates became, and the more powerful and respectable they grew. Effeminacy of man­ners was then seen only in cities; balls and assemblies were scarcely known, and equipages far from being general.

Matters however rested not here. Things gazed at with astonishment quickly grew fa­miliar: the infection of the first class soon spread among the second, and what they for­merly censured, they presently approved. Gen­tlemen of small estates began annually to visit the capital; they gradually made their visits [Page 7]longer and longer, till, at last, it became the fashion to reside only in the country, when the heat made it intolerable in town. Stage­coaches were established, the communication between London and the country became more and more open, a taste for elegancies spread itself through all ranks and degrees of men, and an equipage was considered as a necessary of life.

What is the case now? Are things other­wise than they were? No; expences are yet increasing, and we are still refining upon luxuries. The several cities and large towns of this island catch the manners of the metro­polis, and are vicious and extravagant, in proportion to the wealth and number of their inhabitants. Scarce a town now, of any mag­nitude, but has its Theatre Royal, its concerts, its balls, and its card-parties. The notions of splendour and amusement that prevail in the Capital are eagerly adopted; the various changes of the fashion exactly copied, and the whole manner of life studiously imitated. Flys and machines pass from city to city; great towns become the winter residence of those whom slenderness of fortune will not carry to Lon­don, and the country is every where deserted.

[Page 8]If I might presume to dictate to the world, I would venture to say, that a man of landed property is never so respectable as when refi­dent on his estate; when improving his lands and enriching his tenants; when his benefi­cence may be read in the looks of the poor; when his house is open, not with the stiffness of a public day, that tells the neighbour­hood he would not be perplexed at another time, but with all the hospitality of an ancient Baron.

Gentlemen of very extensive property may act as they please; the dissipation and ex­pences of a capital can no other ways injure them than in the opinion of their neighbours; but as to men of small fortune, the less they see of London the better. Look round among the families we know, and we can easily trace the infection of the metropolis; the more they pay their visits there, and the longer they continue, the more visible are their follies, and not only their follies, but their failings and their vices. The honest frankness of the country gentleman is obliterated by the equi­vocal politeness of the courtier, and the open sincerity of the good neighbour lost in the artifice and deceit of the man of fashion.

[Page 9]For many years a country squire has been an object of ridicule: but, why? No other rea­son can be given, but that want of polish that too often characterizes the fops of the age. If we divest ourselves of prejudice, he will not appear in so contemptible a light: it is true, he may want taste and politeness, but he may possess qualities infinitely superior. Honest unadorned freedom is preferable to studied and fashionable deceit. The country squire lives upon his estate, spends his patrimony among his tenants and his neighbours, (which form, as it were, but one family around him) and a spirit of hospitality opens his doors to every comer; while the fine gentleman visits his domain, perhaps, but once in the sum­mer, stays there as little as he can help, dis­dains any familiarity with his neighbours, neglects his grounds, and leaves his tenants at the mercy of his steward, In short, an effeminate life emasculates the fine gentleman, and renders him unfit for any thing but sip­ping of tea, and dealing the cards; whilst the robust and manly exercises of the squire keep him healthy and hardy, and, inured to hun­ger, danger and fatigue, enable him, when [Page 10]called upon in the public cause, to be of real service to his country.

But it is to be lamented, that the true coun­try gentleman is seldom to be found. The luxuries and effeminacies of the age have soft­ened down the hardy roughness of former times; and the country, like the capital, is one scene of dissipation. If there be any economy in their expences, it is merely the saving of necessaries, to waste on superfluities: the pri­vate gentleman with three or four hundred pounds a year must have his horses, his dogs, his pictures, his carriages, his parties of plea­sure, equally with him of five times his for­tune: dress, show and entertainment engross his attention; his lands are unimproved; debts accumulate upon him; he mortgages his estate; and, when he has lived to the end of his fortune, he either puts a dreadful period to his existence, or wears out the remainder of his life, a beggar.

However alarming this picture may be, it is nevertheless a just one. As I take it, the happiness of life consists in health, ease, and competency, which is as much within the reach of a gentleman of three hundred pounds a-year, as one of three thousand. If the ar­ticles [Page 11]of living are dearer than they were some few years back, (and they certainly are, a hundred per cent.) it ought to quicken the in­dustry of every one, to increase his income, if possible, or reduce his expence in proportion to his fortune.

It is not in the power of men, who have the income only of a small estate to support them, to encrease their revenues; but they may decrease their expences, or lay out their money to advantage. Frugality and economy have put many upon a footing with men of larger fortunes; and often made them far more respectable.—Nothing gives supe­riority in life, but independency. Whilst we are at the command of another, we are in a state of subordination: it is being master of one's self only, that makes a man free; and it is independency that makes him great.

Now, be our fortune as great as it will, we are never independent, whilst we are in debt; and can a man be said to be free, while it is in the power of his taylor or his shoemaker to confine him? A mistaken notion, that a re­duction in our way of living is disgraceful, has led many a man to his ruin. Retrench­ing our expences, when we have lived too fast, [Page 12]is a proof of good sense; it declares an ab­horrence of our follies, and a determination to be in future free. It is highly degrading to make a figure at the expence of others. Vil­lains of every denomination have done it; an honest man therefore will despise the thought; and, if his connections have insensibly led him on, from one expence to another, till he finds himself involved, he will pursue the earliest and the readiest means to discharge his debts and set himself at liberty.

Such is the absurdity in life, that men are rated in worth, according to the appearance they make. "Keep up appearances,"—said a dissipated poet,

This idle notion has brought on the de­struction of thousands. In this luxurious age, wealth is the only object of admiration; and to wear the appearance of wealth, we become expensive and extravagant in our manner of living. Thus we go on, 'till we exhaust the little property we possess; and, when we can keep ourselves no longer afloat, on what is called Credit, we sink into beg­gary and contempt.

[Page 13]He who lives within his income, may be truly called a rich man. It is this that gives the Hollanders the reputation of being wealthy. They never live to the extent of their fortunes; and, of course, are able to do a deal of good. A family estate with them is seldom put up to sale; whereas with us, inheritances are ever at market. A Dutch­man contributes as largely and as chearfully to the exigencies of the state, or to the erec­tion of a public building, as he would to the repairs of his house, or the decoration of his garden.

To be respectable, it is not necessary to live in a certain line of life.—Every man may be considered as the centre of a circle; some of a larger, some of a smaller; and, in this light, he is of greater or of less importance, according to the character he bears.—He who has fewest wants, and is most able to live within himself, is not only the happiest, but the richest man; and if he does not abound in what the world calls Wealth, he does in in­dependency.—Though he may not be a Peer of his own country, he is a Lord of the creation; may fill his station equal to the first of men; and look down with pity and con­tempt [Page 14]on the tinselled sycophant, though covered with an ermined robe, and parading with a ducal coronet.

I will allow, it is rather mortifying to see a neighbour of less pretensions than ourselves, living in a degree of splendour which we can­not reach. If his fortune be large enough, to admit of it, it is well; if not, he is an object of contempt. But, be it as it may, whilst we have sufficient to command the necessaries and indulgencies of life, (wanting the superfluities) and do absolutely enjoy them, we are in a situation equal to any man; and if we keep but a pair of horses, and pay for that pair, we are far more respectable, in the eyes of sensible people, than he who is drawn in a coach and six, but his gate everlast­ingly crowded with importunate creditors.

Persons with circumscribed fortunes, or whose family encreases upon them, would do well to retrench their expences in time; or retire from towns, and lay out their money with economy. It is wonderful to think what an appearance in life a person may make for a little money, who resides wholly in the country, and makes the most of what he pos­sesses. [Page 15]I speak not to persons in trade, as the scheme may be impracticable with them, but to gentlemen of small fortune, who, in a rural retreat, with a few acres of land, may live as well on three or four hundred pounds a-year, as many do, on three times the sum. The oc­cupier of a middling farm enjoys all the neces­saries and conveniencies of life, and many of its superfluities. Where shall we meet with better health, than where temperance and ex­ercise enliven our minds, invigorate our bodies, and give a constant flow of spirits? A country life is commonly a chearful one; we there meet few of those rubs that embitter the hours of other men, and are the too constant at­tendants on ambition and vanity. It is there only that true happiness and independen­cy can be found; where honesty and the best of manners mark the man; and where employment exempts from the ill effects of luxury

The following then is an estimate whereby, a gentleman, with a wife, four children, and five servants, living in the country, may, with frugality, save 2500l. in the course of twenty years, keep two of his children at a boarding­school, [Page 16]drink wine every day at his table, keep a carriage and four horses, and make an appearance equal to 1000l. a year, for half the money; and may, with the further addi­tion of a small farm, live equally well for considerably less.