Description of Ranelagh, a Fashionable Place of Amusement Near London

From Morita’s Travels into England

Reprinted in The Weekly Entertainer September 16, 1799 at 228-229

At length I arrived at Ranelagh; and having paid my half-crown, on entrance, I soon enquired for the garden door, and it was readily shewn to me; when to my infinite astonishment, I found myself in a poor mean-looking and ill-lighted garden, where I met but few people. I had not been here long, before I was accosted by a young lady, who also was walking there, and who, without ceremony, offered me her arm, asking me why I walked thus solitarily? I now concluded, this could not possibly be the splendid, much boasted Ranelagh; and so, seeing not far from me a number of people entering a door, I followed them, in hopes either to get out again, or to vary the scene.

But it is impossible to describe, or indeed to conceive the effect it had on me, when, coming out of the gloom of the garden, I suddenly entered a round building, illuminated by many hundred lamps; the splendour and beauty of which surpassed every thing of the kind I had ever seen before. Every thing seemed here to be round: Above, there was a gallery divided into boxes; and in one part of it an organ with a beautiful choir, from which issued both instrumental and vocal music. All around, under this gallery, are handsome painted boxes for those who wish to take refreshments: The floor was covered with mats; in the middle of which are four high black pillars; within which there are neat fire-places for preparing tea, coffee, and punch: And all around also there are placed tables, set out with all kinds of refreshments. Within these four pillars, is a kind of magic rotunda, where all the beau-monde of London move perpetually round and round.

I at first mixed with this immense concourse of people, of all sexes, ages, countries and characters: And I must confess that the incessant change of faces, the far greater number of which were strikingly beautiful, together with the illumination, the extent and majestic splendour of the place, with the continued sound of the music, makes an inconceivably delightful impression on the imagination.

Being, however, at length tired of the crowd and being tired also with always moving round and round in a circle, I sat down in one of the boxes, in order to take some refreshment, and was now contemplating at my ease this prodigious collection and crowd of a happy, cheerful world, who were here enjoying themselves devoid of care, when a waiter very civilly asked me what refreshments I wished to have, and in a few moments returned with what I asked for. To my astonishment, he would accept no money for these refreshments; which I could not comprehend, till he told me that every thing was included in the half-crown I had paid at the door; and that I had only to command, if I wished for any thing more; but that if I pleased, I might give him as a present a trifling douceur.

I now went up into the gallery, and seated myself in one of the boxes there; and from thence, becoming all at once a grave and moralizing spectator, I looked down on the concourse of people who were still moving round and round in the fairy circle; and then I could easily distinguish several stars, and other orders of knighthood; French queues and bags contrasted with plain English heads of hair, or professional wigs; old age and youth, nobility and commonality all passing each other in the motley swarm. An Englishman, who joined me during this, my reverie, pointed out to me, on my enquiring, princes and lords with their dazzling stars, with which they eclipsed the less brilliant part of the company.

Here some moved round in an eternal circle, to see and be seen; there a group of eager connoisseurs had placed themselves before the orchestra and were feasting their ears, while others, at the well-supplied tables, were regaling the parched roofs of their mouths, in a more substantial manner; and again, others, like myself, were sitting alone, in the corner of a box in the gallery, making their remarks and reflections on so interesting a scene.

I now and then indulged myself in the pleasure of exchanging, for some minutes, all this magnificence and splendour for the gloom of the garden, in order to renew the pleasing surprise I experienced on my first entering the building. Thus I spent here some hours in the night, in a continual variation of entertainment; when the crowd now all at once began to lessen, and I also took a coach and drove home.

Description of a Ranelagh Masquerade

The Sporting Magazine May 1794 at 106

April 30th.

To the credit of the conductors of this elegant place of amusement, we must say that there never appeared a more happy society than that which was made up of the masques, dominos and undisguised visitors, who mingled in the festive scene of Wednesday night.

Before supper, about 1500 had assembled; neither was this number much diminished till day light.

Characters, as is too frequently the case in London, compared with the mass, were but few, and of those few, a very small part indeed deserved any notice for their ability, or even for their attempts to entertain.

The most entitled to notice was a katterselto and his Black Cat, who kept his head clear for the purposes of conjuration, as long as his auditors were sufficiently collected to relish his trick.

A Charlotte Cordi risen from the grave was all night brandishing her sanguinary dagger in pursuit of Robespierre, whom she vowed to Maratise in due time.

A Sleep-walker and Sleep-talker perambulated and muttered till it was time for all the world to wake and speak to the purpose.

A tall beggar deserves particular credit for being, while excellently well drest in character, perfectly clean in his garb, which was evidently made up for the occasion according to the dictates of a most picturesque taste.--We mean this as a hint to those who in low characters at masquerades only become noticeable in proportion as our senses are offended by their external filth, and perfectly natural vulgarity of manners, of such there were, in the present instance, too liberal a sprinkling.

The Weird Sisters–with no other witchery about them than that of face.

A Mercury was well dressed and that was all, for (perhaps sensible enough of his colloquial incapacity) he delivered a neatly printed Ode to May which was uniformly nonsense; however, to do him justice, by the aid of the convivial glass, he found, at a late hour, at which end of him his wit really lay–id est, in his heels; not Harlequin himself for a match for him.

To speak of character after these, were only to mention a throng of women disgustingly metamorphosed into male forms, and of men vice versa; sailors, chimney-sweepers, scullions, Gazette hawkers, &c. &c., as also a few fools of the theatres.

Some of the fancy dresses were very elegant–these were chiefly Turkish.

The fire-works in the garden were played off with unusually good success, in consequence of the dryness and serenity of the evening, and were very beautiful.

The supper and wines were as good as we had a right to expect, and plentiful.--Several persons of fashion were in the round; but we did not see the Prince among them:--the rotunda was not cleared at seven o’clock.

MASQUERADES

The Sporting Magazine May 1800 at 63-64

The last of these in April, at Ranelagh, though not so numerously attended as expected, had a company of above seven hundred persons; for whom, besides a brilliant display of fire-works, which gave universal satisfaction, an elegant light repast for supper was provided, with the refreshments of tea, coffee, ices &c. The characters were confined to a few: among the most deserving of notice, were a female in the character of Harlequin, who, with nimble pantomimic movements, kept pace with a young and sprightly Columbine.—A Quack Doctor, who gave his opinion without a fee, professed himself skilled in the arts of Galen, and all the antient physicians and sought custom from the fair sex, by acquainting them he had found out a remedy to cure the sweet passion of love.—A Link-boy, who incessantly vociferated “coach unhired,” appearing without a number, was taken into custody by a Drunken Watchman, and compelled to keep the peace the remainder of the night, by the majority of the company.—A Female Ballad Singer, whose distress was pourtrayed by the pathetic strains of, “Relieve my wants, my woes distressing,” could not gain a mite from her hearers; and, therefore, relieved them with the air of “Little Sally,” which had more effect on their passions.—A pretended Sailor, who had never seen salt-water, was compelled by a gallant Son of Neptune, to seek shelter in lubber’s hole.—An Itinerant Player, a Madman, a Devil, a Clown, and a Knight of the Sheers, who acted their parts to the life, had much merit.—A group of Singers, consisting of a Tinker, Cobbler, and Taylor, amused the company with many excellent catches and glees.—Of the Dominos, as usual, nothing above moving automata appeared; one, indeed, who, from his masque, declared himself to the company as an Odd Fellow, convinced them, by his jocularity and ready repartee, that he was perfectly intitled to serve the office of Noble Grand.

The Masquerade given at the King’s Theatre, on the 1^st instant, was numerously attended.—Among the several characters, a Quack Doctor was the most conspicuous—a Sylvester Daggerwood, who had “an infinite deal of nothing” to say—Sailors, Countrymen, Chimney Sweepers, Flower Gypsies, a Tommy Tonsor, a band of Mrs. Montagu’s friends; a Rolla, who tore his fine speeches full of logic and grammar, and a great number of Harlequins and Clowns; the former sans agility, the latter sans humour, filled up the scene. The supper was the best by far that has of late been given upon such an occasion, and the company was truly respectable. We cannot conclude this brief account without expressing our disapprobation of the indecent custom, of men habiting themselves like women. The conduct of some persons of this description, during the evening, disgusted the greater part of the assembly; but at length some gentlemen, much to their credit, actually compelled them to retire from the merry scene.