The Merchants And Tradesmen Of The First-Rate Make No Mean Figure In
London; They Have Many Of Them Houses
Equal to those of the
nobility, with great gates and courtyards before them, and seats in
the country, whither they
Retire the latter end of the week,
returning to the city again on Mondays or Tuesdays; they keep their
coaches, saddle-horses, and footmen; their houses are richly and
beautifully furnished; and though their equipage be not altogether
so shining and their servants so numerous as those of the nobility,
they generally abound in wealth and plenty, and are generally
masters of a larger cash than they have occasion to make use of in
the way of trade, whereby they are always provided against
accidents, and are enabled to make an advantageous purchase when it
offers. And in this they differ from the merchants of other
countries, that they know when they have enough, for they retire to
their estates, and enjoy the fruits of their labours in the decline
of life, reserving only business enough to divert their leisure
hours. They become gentlemen and magistrates in the counties where
their estates lie, and as they are frequently the younger brothers
of good families, it is not uncommon to see them purchase those
estates that the eldest branches of their respective families have
been obliged to part with.
Their character is that they are neither so much in haste as the
French to grow rich, nor so niggardly as the Dutch to save; that
their houses are richly furnished, and their tables well served.
You are neither soothed nor soured by the merchants of London; they
seldom ask too much, and foreigners buy of them as cheap as others.
They are punctual in their payments, generous and charitable, very
obliging, and not too ceremonious; easy of access, ready to
communicate their knowledge of the respective countries they traffic
with, and the condition of their trade.
As to their way of life, they usually rise some hours before the
gentlemen at the other end of the town, and having paid their
devotions to Heaven, seldom fail in a morning of surveying the
condition of their accounts, and giving their orders to their
bookkeepers and agents for the management of their respective
trades; after which, being dressed in a modest garb, without any
footmen or attendants, they go about their business to the Custom
House, Bank, Exchange, &c., and after dinner sometimes apply
themselves to business again; but the morning is much the busiest
part of the day. In the evening of every other day the post comes
in, when the perusing their letters may employ part of their time,
as the answering them does on other days of the week; and they
frequently meet at the tavern in the evening, either to transact
their affairs, or to take a cheerful glass after the business of the
day is over.
As to the wives and daughters of the merchants and principal
tradesmen, they endeavour to imitate the Court ladies in their
dress, and follow much the same diversions; and it is not uncommon
to see a nobleman match with a citizen's daughter, by which she
gains a title, and he discharges the incumbrances on his estate with
her fortune.
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