Even those celebrated works, the Apollo Belvedere, Venus di Medicis, and the rest of those noble statues, must yield to them....
"The cries of London, of which you have doubtless heard, are very annoying to me, as indeed they are to all strangers.

The noise of them is constantly in one's ears from morning till midnight, and, with the exception of one or two, they all appear to be the cries of distress.

I don't know how many times I have run to the window expecting to see some poor creature in the agonies of death, but found, to my surprise, that it was only an old woman crying 'Fardin' apples,' or something of the kind.
Hogarth's picture of the enraged musician will give you an excellent idea of the noise I hear every day under my windows....
"There is a singular custom with respect to knocking at the doors of houses here which is strictly adhered to.

A servant belonging to the house rings the bell only; a strange servant knocks once; a market man or woman knocks once and rings; the penny post knocks twice; and a gentleman or lady half a dozen quick knocks, or any number over two.

A nobleman generally knocks eight or ten tunes very loud.
"The accounts lately received from America look rather gloomy.