- priety; it is at one of those public assemblies, a crowd of which
are advertised every day in the last page of the 'Times' newspaper, and over which the late Mr. George Robins used to preside with so much dignity."
And again:[1]
"This is a species of dignity in which the high-bred British
female reigns supreme. To watch the behavior of a fine lady
to other and humbler women, is a very good sport for a philosophical
frequenter of Vanity Fair."
He delights in whimsical classic comparisons:[2]
"Is this case a rare one? and don't we see every day in the
world many an honest Hercules at the apron-strings of Omphale,
and great whiskered Samsons prostrate in Delilah's lap?"
Sometimes the classical is mingled in with the Scriptural:[3]
"A good housewife is of necessity a humbug; and Cornelia's
husband was hoodwinked, as Potiphar was—only in a different
way."
Sometimes we have a scientific simile, as the comment
on Becky's ambition to be presented at Court.[4]
"If she did not wish to lead a virtuous life, at least she desired
to enjoy a character for virtue, and we know that no lady in
the genteel world can possess this desideratum, until she has
put on a train and feathers, and has been presented to her
Sovereign at court. From that august interview they come out
stamped as honest women. The Lord Chamberlain gives them
