Whose friendships, in the company they keep,
Are like their pleasures, merely surface deep;
Who patronise the few, the many spurn,
And ridicule each other in return.
The leading foible of Humanity
Both in the World and Church is vanity,
A vanity which fosters indolence.
And feeds itself at ruinous expense :
Most men are vain, but vanity abounds
In the fair sex, and common-sense confounds;
Seen in the Play-house and the House of Prayer,
In Rotten Row and almost everywhere,
With an increasing number, who profess
NOTES
Byron's will not, in my opinion, be inappropriate on this occasion;—who once wrote,
'Society is now one polished horde,
Formed by two mighty tribes—the bores and bored.'
And Hargrave Jennings says, 'Society is the great posture-master. It is the very best in the world at that which we shall choose to call "Position Drill." It is the easiest thing possible to acquire in society a reputation for talent, provided you only look occasionally fierce, and hold your tongue. Say you are a great man—if you have much money—and people will believe you.'
