“Reproach, scorn, infamy1, and hate,
On all thy future steps shall wait;
Thy furor2 be loath’d by every eye,
And every foot thy presence fly.”
We here see this child of misfortune fallen from her high estate! Her magnificent apartment is quitted for a dreary3 lodging4 in the purlieus of Drury-lane; she is at breakfast, and every object exhibits marks of the most wretched penury5: her silver tea-kettle is changed for a tin pot, and her highly decorated toilet gives place to an old leaf table, strewed6 with the relics7 of the last night’s revel8, and ornamented10 with a broken looking-glass. Around the room are scattered11 tobacco-pipes, gin measures, and pewter pots; emblems12 of the habits of life into which she is initiated13, and the company which she now keeps: this is farther intimated by the wig-box of James Dalton, a notorious street-robber, who was afterwards executed. In her hand she displays a watch, which might be either presented to her, or stolen from her last night’s gallant14. By the nostrums15 which ornament9 the broken window, we see that poverty is not her only evil.
The dreary and comfortless appearance of every object in this wretched receptacle, the bit of butter on a piece of paper, the candle in a bottle, the basin upon a chair, the punch-bowl and comb upon the table, and the tobacco-pipes, &c. strewed upon the unswept floor, give an admirable picture of the style in which this pride of Drury-lane ate her matin meal. The pictures which ornament the room are, Abraham offering up Isaac, and a portrait of the Virgin16 Mary; Dr. Sacheverell and Macheath the highwayman, are companion prints. There is some whimsicality in placing the two ladies under a canopy17, formed by the unnailed valance of the bed, and characteristically crowned by the wig-box of a highwayman.
When Theodore, the unfortunate king of Corsica, was so reduced as to lodge18 in a garret in Dean-street, Soho, a number of gentlemen made a collection for his relief. The chairman of their committee informed him, by letter, that on the following day, at twelve o’clock, two of the society would wait upon his majesty19 with the money. To give his attic20 apartment an appearance of royalty21, the poor monarch22 placed an arm-chair on his half-testered bed, and seating himself under the scanty23 canopy, gave what he thought might serve as the representation of a throne. When his two visitors entered the room, he graciously held out his right hand, that they might have the honour of — kissing it!
A magistrate24, cautiously entering the room, with his attendant constables25, commits her to a house of correction, where our legislators wisely suppose, that being confined to the improving conversation of her associates in vice26, must have a powerful tendency towards the reformation of her manners. Sir John Gonson, a justice of peace, very active in the suppression of brothels, is the person represented. In a View of the Town in 1735, by T. Gilbert, fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, are the following lines:
“Though laws severe to punish crimes were made,
What honest man is of these laws afraid?
All felons27 against judges will exclaim,
As harlots tremble at a Gonson’s name.”
Pope has noticed him in his Imitation of Dr. Donne, and Loveling, in a very elegant Latin ode. Thus, between the poets and the painter, the name of this harlot-hunting justice, is transmitted to posterity28. He died on the 9th of January, 1765.

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收听单词发音

1
infamy
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n.声名狼藉,出丑,恶行 | |
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2
furor
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n.狂热;大骚动 | |
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3
dreary
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adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的 | |
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4
lodging
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n.寄宿,住所;(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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5
penury
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n.贫穷,拮据 | |
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6
strewed
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v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 );散落于;点缀;撒满 | |
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7
relics
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[pl.]n.遗物,遗迹,遗产;遗体,尸骸 | |
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8
revel
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vi.狂欢作乐,陶醉;n.作乐,狂欢 | |
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9
ornament
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v.装饰,美化;n.装饰,装饰物 | |
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10
ornamented
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adj.花式字体的v.装饰,点缀,美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11
scattered
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adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
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12
emblems
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n.象征,标记( emblem的名词复数 ) | |
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13
initiated
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n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始,创始,启蒙,介绍加入 | |
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14
gallant
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adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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15
nostrums
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n.骗人的疗法,有专利权的药品( nostrum的名词复数 );妙策 | |
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16
virgin
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n.处女,未婚女子;adj.未经使用的;未经开发的 | |
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17
canopy
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n.天篷,遮篷 | |
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18
lodge
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v.临时住宿,寄宿,寄存,容纳;n.传达室,小旅馆 | |
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19
majesty
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n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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20
attic
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n.顶楼,屋顶室 | |
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21
royalty
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n.皇家,皇族 | |
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22
monarch
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n.帝王,君主,最高统治者 | |
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23
scanty
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adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的 | |
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24
magistrate
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n.地方行政官,地方法官,治安官 | |
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25
constables
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n.警察( constable的名词复数 ) | |
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26
vice
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n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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felons
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n.重罪犯( felon的名词复数 );瘭疽;甲沟炎;指头脓炎 | |
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28
posterity
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n.后裔,子孙,后代 | |
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