A Short History of Social Life in England — Chapter 17

Margaret Bertha Synge (1861–1939)

"Sweepings from butchers' stalls, dung, guts, and blood,Drown'd puppies, stinking sprats, all drench'd in mud.Dead cats and turnip tops, came tumbling down the flood."

"'As I remember,' said the sober Mouse,'I've heard much talk of the Wits' coffee-house';'Thither,' says Brindle, 'thou shalt go and seePriests sipping coffee. Sparks and Poets tea.'"