Just thought this was a propos. Judging from the time period of this author's lifetime, Paris didn't so much decline socially in that following 100 years as it simply stayed the course:
"Society is composed of two great classes: those who have more dinners than appetite, and those who have more appetite than dinners." -Sebastien-Roch-Nicolas de Chamfort, writer (1741-1794)
Very appropriate, indeed. Judging by the author's three-tiered, hyphenated name, I'm guessing he was part of the former great class?
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