



Produced by Chris Curnow, Christine P. Travers and the
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_SOCIAL ENGLAND._




NEW ILLUSTRATED BOOKS.


A COLONIAL TRAMP: Travels and Adventures in Australia and New Guinea.
By HUME NISBET. Profusely Illustrated by the Author. 2 vols., demy
8vo.

BRAYHARD: The Strange Adventures of One Ass and Seven Champions. By
F. M. ALLEN. Illustrated by HARRY FURNISS. Crown 8vo, 6s.

_THE ÉDITION DE LUXE OF_ AS IN A LOOKING GLASS. By F. C. PHILIPS.
Illustrated by G. DU MAURIER. Extra crown quarto, 31s. 6d.

_MRS. PANTON'S HOUSEHOLD MANUALS._ FROM KITCHEN TO GARRET. Crown 8vo,
6s.

NOOKS AND CORNERS. Crown 8vo, 6s.

THE FLOATING PRINCE, and other Fairy Tales. By the Author of "Rudder
Grange." With Forty Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 6s.

PERFERVID: The Career of Ninian Jameison. By JOHN DAVIDSON.
Illustrated by HARRY FURNISS. Crown 8vo, 6s.

PICTURESQUE LONDON. By PERCY FITZGERALD. With about 100
Illustrations. Extra crown 4to.

SOCIAL ENGLAND UNDER THE REGENCY. By JOHN ASHTON. Profusely
Illustrated. 2 vols., demy 8vo, 30s.

UP AND DOWN: Sketches of Travel. By G. MACQUOID. Illustrated by THOS.
R. MACQUOID. Demy 8vo, 10s. 6d.

MEMORIES OF THE MONTH. By HUME NISBET. With Photogravure
Frontispiece, twelve whole-page, and numerous smaller Illustrations.
Foolscap 4to, 21s.

TING-A-LING TALES. By FRANK R. STOCKTON. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.

AN ARTIST'S TOUR IN NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA AND IN THE SANDWICH
ISLANDS. By B. KROUPA. Profusely Illustrated by the Author. Royal
8vo, 21s.

FOLK AND FAIRY TALES. By Mrs. BURTON HARRISON. With 24 whole-page
Illustrations by WALTER CRANE. Crown 8vo, 6s.


WARD AND DOWNEY, PUBLISHERS, LONDON.




  SOCIAL ENGLAND
  UNDER
  _THE REGENCY_.

  BY
  JOHN ASHTON,

  AUTHOR OF "SOCIAL LIFE IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE," "OLD TIMES,"
  "DAWN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY," ETC.

  _WITH 90 ILLUSTRATIONS._

  IN TWO VOLUMES.

  VOL. I.

  London:
  WARD AND DOWNEY,
  12, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.

  MDCCCXC.




PREFACE.


Certainly, it is not the least part of an Author's reward, for all
his pains and trouble, to find that the Public appreciates his
efforts, and purchases, and reads his books.

This, I am happy to say, was specially the case with one of mine,
"The Dawn of the Nineteenth Century." In it I wrote of Social England
in the first decade of the century, leaving off at a time when George
III. was hopelessly incompetent to govern, and a Regency was in
progress of establishment.

The favour which the Public bestowed upon this book emboldens me
to continue it, and sketch the men and manners of the Regency.
Most books of this class deal mainly with the great ones of the
land, but I have only done so where necessary to illustrate the
history of the times, my aim being more to delineate the social
condition of England, and her people; and this work will be found
perfectly reliable as history, nothing being taken at second hand,
but all compiled, even down to the illustrations, from original and
contemporaneous authorities.

                                                     JOHN AS