“He had visited the houses of the poor in the various districts of London and had found them destitute of the slightest vestige of a muffin, which there appeared to much reason to believe some of these indigent persons did not taste from year’s end to year’s end. He had found that among muffin sellers there existed drunkenness, debauchery and profligacy , which he attributed to the debasing nature of their employment as at present exercised; he had found the same vices among the poorer class of people who ought to be muffin consumers; and this he attributed to the despair engendered by their being placed beyond that reach of that nutritious article, which drove them to seek a false stimulation in intoxicating liquors.”
“Nicholas Nickleby”, Charles Dickens, 1839
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 