Genre:

Introduction; Letter, Spoof

Subjects:

Pollution, Adulteration, Disease, Sanitation

    Complains about the poisonous effluvia emanating from the Serpentine and River Thames, and asks where he and his wife can 'get wholesome diet and unpolluted air'. Proceeds to grumble about the adulteration of British food and drink including wines, spirits, milk, and butter. Argues that if most of what he eats, drinks, and breathes is poisoned then 'what is the odds of taking a little more or less pyroligenous acid in my coffee' (128).