Few persons are disposed to appreciate (with the exception of here and there a meditative greybeard like ourselves) the prodigious influence exercised in the great world by the dictator of the hour ; or rather by some two, four, or six individuals, rendered eminent by their affluence, dignities, wit, or that aerial and unanalyzed possession, defined under the universal name of Fashion. For so long a period of time,, thirty years at least, of the long reign of George III,, were the morals and manners of the metropolis influenced by those of the Court, and so easy and inostensible was the sway thus established, that no one was at the pains to trice, to their source, the habits and modes dispensed throughout the various grades of society. But the long interregnum occasioned by the deficiency ofa female Court during the brilliant reign of George IV, having dissolved this mighty chain of union, under circumstances that will not admit of its renewal for many years to come, it is remarkable with what ready docility the beau monde has successively subjected itself to consuls, praetors, and aediles of its own election, to trace whose means and motives of authority might fill a volume. The English fancy themselves the most original, individualized, and unyielding people under the sun. It may be so ;, but under the moon, the lovers of dissipation, the haunters of balls and assemblies, are manifestly the most subservient of all imitative animals !

Superficial observers, for instance, may imagine, because the scenes and courses of public amusement continue unchanged, that one season certifieth another, and that the next subscription at Almack’s will precisely resemble the last. So contrary is this to the true anatomy of fashion, that the bent of the season almost invariably takes it’s colour and tone from the taste of some supreme leader. We remember, five and twenty years ago, when masquerades, Lady Buckinghamshire, and Colonel Dalton ruled the hour. We remember, during the season when waltzing was introduced, and the Duke of Devonshire declared it to be the dance par excellence, that half the aristocratical mansions of the West end were converted into academies de danse, and the two thousand persons, called the world,’ were whirling round; like tops or tetotums, from morning till night. Then came the season of equestrianism, with the brilliant Pagets and Mclyneuxes witching the world with noble horsemanship, and Miss Seymour, like the lady in the ballad, ‘ all radiant on her milk-white steed!’ A year or two afterwards and because Lord Byron was a poet, and Lady Caroline Lamb a novelist, albums became the rage; and the whole West end expanded, without rhyme or reason, into a lyrical frenzy. Pasta and Sontag appeared; and the Duke of Devonshire having deserted Terpsichore for Polyhymnia, the whole gay world grew music-mad;, Scappa presided here and there, and everywhere; and the crotchets of their Ladyships of the beau monde were without measure. Then came private theatricals, and Bridgcwater Houses brought the green curtain into vogue; and the Lords and Ladies began to mind its cues. Theatricals soon degenerated into tableaux, which, with the Mazurka and the Ventilator, divided the suffrages of the gay, the brilliant, and the idle. But these fantastic diverions were only symptomatic. The personal influence exercised was of a deeper and more dangerous kind. The coterie, for instance, of the late Lord D ;, did it not introduce into society a new system of things;, new habits of toleration,, new customs,, new competitions?, With the exception of the mansions of the Fermiers généraux, anterior to the French revolution, is there anything comparable with its luxurious and splendid refinements, and the meannesses practised to ensure their enjoyment? The stories of the Prince who handed his billet-doux with diamond dust, and of the millionnaire who caused the cow of a favourite lady living on milk diet, to be fed upon green peas at half-a-crown a piece, are far surpassed in certain anecdotes recently placed before us, with respect to the mansion in Park lane. Who will deny the potent influence of the Marquis of Hertford,, the Amphytrion at whose residence the old dine and the young dance;, or who, admitting this universal worship of wealth, station, and liberality, on the part of the idolaters of fashion, will venture lo depreciate the importance of each separate schism, and the necessity for rendering the modes of worship as dignified and as harmless as possible ?

But we are induced to anticipate a considerable change in such matters. The high authority we have pointed out, has recently fallen into the hands of persons of a wholly distinct class. Within the last year or two the favours of fortune have been left to the disposal of very young couples, for whom the pleasures of domestic life possess undiminished attraction; such as the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, the Marquis and Marchioness of Abercorn, Hastings, Lothian. , Viscount and Viscountess Newark, Valletort, and others. Even the amiable Duke of Devonshire, the perpetual dictator of the great world has wisely and kindly called to the footstool of his throne the young and accomplished pair who wil eventually succeed him in his honours. From such persons, a happier influence is likely to be derived than from the groups of seductive odali, ques who, for some time past, have thronged the vestibules of the Temple Of Fashion.

From: The Court Journal. Gazette of the Fashionable World. March 30, 1833. No. 205, p. 213.