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diff --git a/44044.txt b/44044.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 62abfeb..0000000 --- a/44044.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9665 +0,0 @@ - LONDON SOUVENIRS - - - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost -no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - - -Title: London Souvenirs -Author: Charles William Heckethorn -Release Date: October 26, 2013 [EBook #44044] -Language: English -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LONDON SOUVENIRS *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - - LONDON SOUVENIRS - - - BY - - CHARLES WILLIAM HECKETHORN - - AUTHOR OF - 'THE SECRET SOCIETIES OP ALL AGES,' - 'LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS,' ETC. - - - - LONDON - CHATTO & WINDUS - 1899 - - - - - *CONTENTS* - -I. GAMBLING-CLUBS AND HIGH PLAY -II. WITTY WOMEN AND PRETTY WOMEN -III. OLD LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES -IV. OLD M.P.S AND SOME OF THEIR SAYINGS -V. FAMOUS OLD ACTORS -VI. OLD JUDGES AND SOME OF THEIR SAYINGS -VII. SOME FAMOUS LONDON ACTRESSES -VIII. QUEER CLUBS OF FORMER DAYS -IX. CURIOUS STORIES OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE -X. WITS AND BEAUX OF OLD LONDON SOCIETY -XI. LONDON SEEN THROUGH FOREIGN SPECTACLES -XII. OLD LONDON TAVERNS AND TEA-GARDENS - I. THE GALLERIED TAVERNS OF OLD LONDON - II. OLD LONDON TEA-GARDENS -XIII. WILLIAM PATERSON AND THE BANK OF ENGLAND -XIV. THE OLD DOCTORS -XV. THE LOST RIVERS OF LONDON -XVI. ROGUES ASSORTED -XVII. BARS AND BARRISTERS -XVIII. THE SUBLIME BEEFSTEAKERS AND THE KIT-KAT AND ROTA CLUBS -XIX. HAMPTON COURT PALACE AND ITS MASTERS - - - - - *LONDON SOUVENIRS* - - - - *I.* - - *GAMBLING-CLUBS AND HIGH PLAY.* - - -Philosophers may argue, and moralists preach, the former against the -folly, and the latter against the wickedness of gambling, but, as may be -expected, their remonstrances pass but as a gentle breeze over the -outwardly placid ocean of play, causing the fishes--the familiars of the -gambling world--languidly to raise their heads, and mildly to inquire: -'What's all that row about?' Gambling is one of the strongest passions -in the human breast, and no warning, no exhibition of fatal examples, -will ever stop the indulgence in the excitement it procures. It assumes -many phases; in all men have undergone disastrous experiences, and yet -they repeat the dangerous and usually calamitous experiments. In no -undertaking has so much money been lost as in mining; prizes have -occasionally been drawn, but at such rare intervals as to be cautions -rather than encouragements; and yet, even at the present day, with all -the experience of past failures, sanguine speculators fill empty shafts -with their gold, which is quickly fished up by the greedy promoters. - -Some of the now most respectable West End clubs originally were only -gambling-hells. They are not so now; but the improvement this would -seem to imply is apparent only. Our manners have improved, but not our -morals; the table-legs wear frilled trousers now, but the legs are there -all the same, even the blacklegs. But it is the past more than the -present we wish to speak of. - -Early in the last century gaming was so prevalent that in one night's -search the Leet's Jury of Westminster discovered, and afterwards -presented to the justices, no fewer than thirty-five gambling-houses. -The Society for the Reformation of Manners published a statement of -their proceedings, by which it appeared that in the year beginning with -December 1, 1724, to the same date in 1725, they had prosecuted 2,506 -persons for keeping disorderly and gaming houses; and for thirty-four -years the total number of their prosecutions amounted to the astounding -figure of 91,899. In 1728 the following note was issued by the King's -order: 'It having been represented to his Majesty that such felons and -their accomplices are greatly encouraged and harboured by persons -keeping night-houses ... and that the gaming-houses ... much contribute -to the corruption of the morals of those of an inferior rank ... his -Majesty has commanded me to recommend it, in his name, in the strongest -manner to the Justices of the Peace to employ their utmost care and -vigilance in the preventing and suppressing of these disorders, etc.' - -This warning was then necessary, though as early as 1719 an order for -putting in execution an old statute of Henry VIII. had been issued to -all victuallers, and others whom it might concern. The order ran: 'That -none shall keep or maintain any house or place of unlawful games, on -pain of 40s. for every day, of forfeiting their recognisance, and of -being suppressed; that none shall use or haunt such places, on pain of -6s. 8d. for every offence; and that no artificer, or his journeyman, -husbandman, apprentice, labourer, mariner, fisherman, waterman, or -serving-man shall play at tables, tennis, dice, cards, bowls, clash, -coiting, loggating, or any other unlawful game, out of Christmas, or -then out of their master's house or presence, on pain of 20s.' - -There were thus many attempts at controlling the conduct of the lower -orders, but the gentry set them a bad example. The Cocoa-Tree Club, the -Tory chocolate-house of Queen Anne's reign, at No. 64, St. James's -Street, was a regular gambling-hell. In the evening of a Court -Drawing-room in 1719, a number of gentlemen had a dispute over hazard at -that house; the quarrel became general, and, as they fought with their -swords, three gentlemen were mortally wounded, and the affray was only -ended by the interposition of the Royal Guards, who were compelled to -knock the parties down with the butt-ends of their muskets -indiscriminately, as entreaties and commands were disregarded. Walpole, -in his correspondence, relates: 'Within this week there has been a cast -at hazard at the Cocoa-Tree, the difference of which amounted to -L180,000. Mr. O'Birne, an Irish gamester, had won L100,000 of a young -Mr. Harvey, of Chigwell, just started from a midshipman into an estate -by his elder brother's death. O'Birne said: "You can never pay me." "I -can," said the youth; "my estate will sell for the debt." "No," said -O'Birne, "I will win L10,000; you shall throw for the odd L90,000." -They did, and Harvey won.' It is not on record whether he took the -lesson to heart. The house was, in 1746, turned into a club, but its -reputation was not improved; bribery, high play, and foul play continued -to be common in it. - -Another chocolate-house was White's, now White's Club, St. James's -Street. As a chocolate-house it was established about 1698, near the -bottom of the west side of St. James's Street; it was burnt down in -1773. Plate VI. of Hogarth's 'Rake's Progress' shows a room full of -players at White's, so intent upon play as neither to see the flames nor -hear the watchmen bursting into the room. It was indeed a famous -gambling and betting club, a book for entering wagers always lying on -the table; the play was frightful. Once a man dropped down dead at the -door, and was carried in; the club immediately made bets whether he was -dead or only in a fit; and when they were going to bleed him the -wagerers for his death interposed, saying it would affect the fairness -of the bet. Walpole, who tells the story, hints that it is invented. -Many a highwayman--one is shown in Hogarth's picture above referred -to--there took his chocolate or threw his main before starting for -business. There Lord Chesterfield gamed; Steele dated all his love news -in the _Tatler_ from White's, which was known as the rendezvous of -infamous sharpers and noble cullies, and bets were laid to the effect -that Sir William Burdett, one of its members, would be the first baronet -who would be hanged. The gambling went on till dawn of day; and Pelham, -when Prime Minister, was not ashamed to divide his time between his -official table and the piquet table at White's. General Scott was a -very cautious player, avoiding all indulgence in excesses at table, and -thus managed to win at White's no less than L200,000, so that when his -daughter, Joanna, married George Canning he was able to give her a -fortune of L100,000. - -Another club founded specially for gambling was Almack's, the original -Brooks's, which was opened in Pall Mall in 1764. Some of its members -were Macaronis, the fops of the day, famous for their long curls and -eye-glasses. 'At Almack's,' says Walpole, 'which has taken the _pas_ of -White's ... the young men of the age lose L10,000, L15,000, L20,000 in -an evening.' The play at this club was only for rouleaux of L50 each, -and generally there was L10,000 in gold on the table. The gamesters -began by pulling off their embroidered clothes, and put on frieze -garments, or turned their coats inside out for luck. They put on pieces -of leather to save their lace ruffles; and to guard their eyes from the -light, and to prevent tumbling their hair, wore high-crowned straw hats -with broad brims, and sometimes masks to conceal their emotions. -Almack's afterwards was known as the 'Goose-Tree' Club--a rather -significant name--and Pitt was one of its most constant frequenters, and -there met his adherents. Gibbon also was a member, when the club was -still Almack's--which, indeed, was the name of the founder and original -proprietor of the club. - -Another gaming-club was Brooks's, which at first was formed by Almack -and afterwards by Brooks, a wine-merchant and money-lender. The club -was opened in 1778, and some of the original rules are curious: '21. No -gaming in the eating-room, except tossing up for reckonings, on penalty -of paying the whole bill of the members present. 30. Any member of this -society that shall become a candidate for any other club (old White's -excepted) shall be _ipso facto_ excluded. 40. Every person playing at -the new quinze-table shall keep fifty guineas before him. 41. Every -person playing at the twenty-guinea table shall keep no less than twenty -guineas before him.' According to Captain Gronow, play at Brooks's was -even higher than at White's. Faro and macao were indulged in to an -extent which enabled a man to win or to lose a considerable fortune in -one night. George Harley Drummond, a partner in the bank of that name, -played only once in his life at White's, and lost L20,000 to Brummell. -This event caused him to retire from the banking-house. Lord Carlisle -and Charles Fox lost enormous sums at Brooks's. - -At Tom's Coffee House, in Russell Street, Covent Garden, there was -playing at piquet, and the club consisting of seven hundred noblemen and -gentlemen, many of whom belonged to the gay society of that day (the -middle of the last century), we may be sure the play was high. - -Arthur's Club, in St. James's Street, so named after its founder (who -died in 1761), was a famous gambling centre in its day. A nobleman of -the highest position and influence in society was detected in cheating -at cards, and after a trial, which did not terminate in his favour, he -died of a broken heart. This happened in 1836. - -The Union, which was founded in this century, was a regular -gambling-club. It was first held at what is now the Ordnance Office, -Pall Mall, and subsequently in the house afterwards occupied by the -Bishop of Winchester. - -In the early days of this century the most notorious gambling-club was -Crockford's, in St. James's Street. Crockford originally was a -fishmonger, and occupied the old bulk-shop west of Temple Bar. But, -having made money by betting, 'he gave up,' as a recent writer on 'The -Gambling World' says, 'selling soles and salmon, and went in for -catching fish, confining his operations to gudgeons and flat-fish'; or, -in other words, he established a gambling-house, first by taking over -Watier's old club-house, where he set up a hazard bank, and won a great -deal of money; he then separated from his partner, who had a bad year -and failed. Crockford removed to St. James's Street, where he built the -magnificent club-house which bore his name. It was erected at a cost of -upwards of L100,000, and, in its vast proportions and palatial -decorations, surpassed anything of the kind ever seen in London. To -support such an establishment required a large income; yet Crockford -made it, for the highest play was encouraged at his card-tables, but -especially at the hazard-tables, where Crockford nightly took his stand, -prepared for all comers. And he was successful, and became a -millionaire. When he died he left L700,000, and he had lost as much in -mining and other speculations. His death was hastened, it is said, by -excessive anxiety over his bets on the turf. He retired from the -management of the club in 1840, and died in 1844. The club was soon -after closed, and after a few years' interval was reopened as the Naval, -Military, and Civil Service Club. It was then converted into -dining-rooms, called the Wellington. Later on it was taken by a -joint-stock company as an auction-room, and now it is again a -club-house, known as the Devonshire Club. - -We referred above to Watier's Club. It was established in 1807, at the -instigation of the Prince of Wales, and high play was the chief pursuit -of its members. 'Princes and nobles,' says Timbs in his 'Curiosities of -London,' 'lost or gained fortunes amongst themselves.' But the pace was -too fast. The club did not last under its original patronage, and it -was then, when it was moribund, taken over by Crockford. At this club, -also, macao was the favourite game, as at Brooks's. - -One of the most objectionable results of promiscuous gambling is the -disreputable company into which it often throws a gentleman. - - 'That Marquis, who is now familiar grown - With every reprobate about the town.... - Now, sad transition! all his lordship's nights - Are passed with blacklegs and with parasites.. - The rage of gaming and the circling glass - Eradicate distinction in each class; - For he who scarce a dinner can afford - Is equal in importance with my lord.' - - -This is just what happened when gambling-hells were openly flourishing -in London, and what happens now when gambling-clubs abound, and are -almost daily raided by the police, when some actually respectable people -are found mixed up with the rascaldom which supports these clubs. A -perfect mania seems to have seized the lower orders of our day to -gamble; but formerly, for instance, in Walpole's time, in the latter -half of the last century, the upper classes were the worst offenders, of -which the just-mentioned statesman and epistolary chronicler of -small-beer, which, however, by long keeping has acquired a strong and -lasting flavour, gives us many proofs. 'Lord Sandwich,' he reports, -'goes once or twice a week to hunt with the Duke [of Cumberland], and, -as the latter has taken a turn of gaming, Sandwich, to make his -court--and fortune--carries a box and dice in his pocket; and so they -throw a main whenever the hounds are at fault, upon every green hill and -under every green tree.' Five years later, at a magnificent ball and -supper at Bedford House, 'the Duke was playing at hazard with a great -heap of gold before him. Somebody said he looked like the prodigal son -and the fatted calf both.' Under such circumstances it could not fail -that swindlers _par excellence_ sometimes found their way among the -royal and noble gamblers. There was a Sir William Burdett, whose name -had the honour of being inscribed in the betting-room at White's as the -subject of a wager that he would be the first baronet who would be -hanged. He and a lady, 'dressed foreign, as a Princess of the House of -Brandenburg,' cheated Lord Castledurrow (Baron Ashbrook) and Captain -Rodney out of a handsome sum at faro. The noble victim met the Baronet -at Ranelagh, and addressed him thus: 'Sir William, here is the sum I -think I lost last night. Since then I have heard that you are a -professed pickpocket, and therefore I desire to have no further -acquaintance with you.' The Baronet took the money with a respectful -bow, and then asked his Lordship the further favour to set him down at -Buckingham Gate, and without further ceremony jumped into the coach. -Walpole writes to Mann, in 1750, that 'Jemmy Lumley last week had a -party of whist at his own house: the combatants, Lucy Southwell, that -curtseys like a bear, Mrs. Bijean, and Mrs. Mackenzy. They played from -six in the evening till twelve next day, Jemmy never winning one rubber, -and rising a loser of L2,000.... He fancied himself cheated and would -not pay. However, the bear had no share in his evil surmises ... and he -promised a dinner at Hampstead to Lucy and her sister. As he went to -the rendezvous his chaise was stopped, and he was advised by someone not -to proceed. But proceed he did, and in the garden he found Mrs. -Mackenzy. She asked him whether he was going to pay, and, on his -declining to do so, the fair virago took a horsewhip from beneath her -hoop, and fell upon him with the utmost vehemence.' - -Members of clubs were fully aware of the nefariousness of their devotion -to gambling. When a waiter at Arthur's Club was taken up for robbery, -George Selwyn said: 'What a horrid idea he will give of us to the people -in Newgate?' Certes, some of the highwaymen in that prison were not -such robbers and scoundrels as some of the aristocratic members of those -clubs. When, in 1750, the people got frightened about an earthquake in -London, predicted to happen in that year, 'Lady Catherine Pelham,' -Walpole tells us, 'Lady James Arundell, and Lord and Lady Galway ... go -this evening to an inn ten miles out of town, where they are going to -play at brag till five in the morning, and then come back, I suppose, to -look for the bones of their husbands and families under the rubbish.' -When the rulers of the nation on such an occasion, or any other occasion -of public terror, possibly caused by their own mismanagement of public -affairs, hypocritically and most impertinently ordered a day of fasting -and humiliation, the gambling-houses used to be filled with officials -and members of Parliament, who thus had a day off. - -There was one famous gambling-house we find we have not yet mentioned, -viz., Shaver's Hall, which occupied the whole of the southern side of -Coventry Street, from the Haymarket to Hedge Lane (now Oxenden Street), -and derived its name from the barber of Lord Pembroke, who built it out -of his earnings. Attached to it was a bowling-green, which sloped down -to the south. The place was built about the year 1650, and the -tennis-court belonging to it till recently might still be seen in St. -James's Street. - - - - - *II.* - - *WITTY WOMEN AND PRETTY WOMEN.* - - -Certain waves of sentiment or action, or both combined, have at various -times passed over the face of European society. A thousand years ago -the Old Continent went madly crusading to snatch the Holy Sepulchre from -the grasp of the pagan Sultan, who, sick man as he is, still holds it. -The movement had certain advantages: it cleared Europe of a good deal of -ruffianism, which never came back, as it perished on the journey to -Jerusalem, or very properly was killed off by the justly incensed Turks, -who could not understand by what right these hordes of robbers invaded -their country. Then another phase of society madness arose. Some -maniac, clad in armour, on a horse similarly accoutred, would appear, -and challenge everyone to admit that the Lady Gwendolyne Mousetrap, whom -he kept company with, and took to the tea-gardens on Sundays, was the -most peerless damosel, and that whoso doubted it, would not get off by -paying a dollar, but would have to fight it out with him. Then another -mailed and belted chap would jump up, and maintain that the Countess of -Rabbit-Warren--who was the girl he was just then booming--was the finest -woman going, and that that slut Gwendolyne Mousetrap was no better than -she should be. Of course, as soon as the King and Court heard of the -shindy between the two knights a day was appointed when they should -fight it out, the combatants being enclosed in a kind of rat-pit, -officially called lists, whilst the King, his courtiers and their gentle -ladies looked at the sport; and if one of the knights was killed, or -perhaps both were killed, or at least maimed for life, the Lady -Gwendolyne and the Countess of Rabbit-Warren, who, of course, both -assisted at the spectacle, received the congratulations of the Court. -Sometimes one of the knights would funk, and not come up to the scratch; -then he was declared a lame duck, and the lady whom he had left in the -lurch and made a laughing-stock of would erase his name from her -tablets, and shy the trumpery proofs of devotion he had given her, a -worn-out scarf or Brummagem aigrette, out of an upper window. This was -called the age of chivalry. Then a totally different eruption of the -fighting mania--which is, after all, the universal principle in human -action--took place. A vagrant scholasticus would appear in a University -town, and announce that he was ready to hold a disputation with any -professor, Doctor of Divinity, or Master of Arts, on any mortal subject, -the more subtle, and the more incomprehensible, and the more mystical, -the better. Thus, one such scholasticus got into the rostrum at -Tuebingen, and addressed his audience thus: 'I am about to propound -three theses: the answer to the first is known to myself only, and not -to you; to the second, the answer is known neither to you nor to me; to -the third, the answer is known to you only.' This was a promising -programme, and, indeed, proved highly edifying. 'Now, the first -question,' resumed the scholasticus, 'is this: Have I got any breeches -on? You don't know, but I do; I have not. The second question, the -answer to which is known neither to you nor to me, is: Shall I find in -this town any draper willing to advance on credit stuff enough to make -me a pair? And the third question, the answer to which is known to you -only, is: Will any of you pay a tailor's wages to make me a pair? And -now that the argument is clearly before you, we may proceed to the -consideration of the parabolic triangulation of the binocular theorem;' -and then he would bewilder them with a lot of jaw-breaking words, which -then, as now, passed for learning. This was called the age of -scholasticism. It was succeeded by the Renaissance, which, after a good -boil-up of its intellectual ingredients, settled down into a literary -mud, an Acqui-la-Bollente, a Nile mud, pleasant to the soul, and -fertilizing to the mind, the protoplasm of diarists and letter-writers, -of whom--to mention but three--Evelyn, Pepys, and Horace Walpole were -prominent patterns in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. - -It is with the latter, Horace Walpole, of Strawberry Hill, we are -chiefly concerned. Horace Walpole, after enlarging a cottage into a -Gothic castle, with lath and plaster, and rough-cast walls, and wooden -pinnacles, filled it with literary and artistic treasures. But he also -gathered around him a select social circle, which included Garrick, Paul -Whitehead, General Conway, George Selwyn, Richard Bentley, the poet -Gray, Sir Horace Mann, and Lords Edgcumbe and Strafford. And of ladies -there was no lack; there were Mrs. Pritchard, Kitty Clive, Lady Suffolk, -the Misses Berry, and--would you believe it?--Hannah More! It was the -age for chronicling small-beer and home-made wine, gossip, scandal, and -frivolity; and Horace Walpole enjoyed existence as a cynical Seladon or -platonic Bluebeard amidst this bevy of lively, gay-minded, frolicsome -beauties, young and old. Happily, or unhappily, for him, he did not -become acquainted with the Misses Berry before 1788, when he was -seventy-one years of age. He took the most extraordinary liking to -them, and was never content except when they were with him, or -corresponding with him. When they went to Italy, he wrote to them -regularly once a week, and on their return he installed them at Little -Strawberry Hill, a house close to his own, so that he might daily enjoy -their society. He appointed them his literary executors, with the -charge of collecting and publishing his writings, which was done under -the superintendence of Mr. Berry, their father, who was a Yorkshire -gentleman. When Walpole had succeeded to the Earldom of Orford he made -Mary, the elder of the two sisters, an offer of his hand. Both sisters -survived him upwards of sixty years. Little Strawberry Hill, which we -just mentioned as the residence of the Misses Berry, had, before their -coming to live in it, been occupied by Kitty Clive, the famous actress. -Born in 1711, she made her first appearance on the stage of Drury Lane, -and in 1732 she married a brother of Lord Clive, but the union proved -unhappy, and was soon dissolved. She quitted the stage in 1769, leaving -a splendid reputation as an actress and as a woman behind her, and -retired to Little Strawberry Hill, where she lived in ease, surrounded -by friends and respected by the world. Horace Walpole was a constant -visitor at her house, as were many other persons of rank and eminence. -It was said of her that no man could be grave when Kitty chose to be -merry. But she must have been a woman of some spirit, too, for when it -was proposed to stop up a footpath in her neighbourhood she placed -herself at the head of the opponents, and defeated the project. She -died suddenly in 1785, and Walpole placed an urn in the grounds to her -memory, with the inscription: - - 'Here lived the laughter-loving dame; - A matchless actress, Clive her name. - The comic Muse with her retired, - And shed a tear when she expired.' - -The Mrs. Pritchard mentioned above was also an actress, of great and -well-deserved fame. She lived at an originally small house, called -"Ragman's Castle," which she much improved and enlarged. It had, after -her, various occupants, and was finally taken down by Lord Kilmorey -during his occupancy of Orleans House, near which it stood. - -Another of the constant visitors at Strawberry Hill was Lady Suffolk, -Pope's 'Chloe.' She was married to the Hon. Charles Howard, from whom -she separated when she became the mistress of the Prince, afterwards -George II., who, as Prince, allowed her L2,000 a year, and as King -L3,200 a year, besides several sums at various times. He gave her -L12,000 towards Marble Hill, the mansion still facing the Thames, which -became her residence. Her husband lived long enough to become Earl of -Suffolk, and dying, left her free to marry, when she was forty-five, the -Hon. George Berkeley, who died eleven years after. She survived him -twenty-one years, and supplied her neighbour, Horace Walpole, with Court -anecdotes and scandal during all that period. Walpole calls her -remarkably 'genteel'--a favourite expression of his, though now so -vulgar!--and, in spite of her antecedents, she was courted by the -highest in the land. Such were the morals of those days. According to -Horace Walpole, her mental qualifications were not of a high order, but -she was gentle and engaging in her manners, and she was a gossip with a -good memory--and that answered her host's purpose admirably. Pope also -made great use of her reminiscences. - -Like Dr. Johnson, Horace Walpole liked to fill his house with a lot of -female devotees; but whilst Johnson seemed to prefer a parcel of -disagreeable, ugly, and cantankerous women, always quarrelling among -themselves and with everybody else, Walpole liked his women to be young -and fair, full of life and mirth. By what strange circumstance was the -cynical and sarcastic Walpole led into a sort of friendship with the -mild and pietistic Mrs. Hannah More? It was in 1784 that this queer -friendship began. It appears that about that date Hannah More had -discovered at Bristol a milk woman who wrote verses, just such verses as -Hannah More and Walpole--neither of whom had an idea of poetry--would -consider wonderful. A subscription must be started for the benefit of -the milkwoman, and Hannah More applied to Horace Walpole, who set up for -a Maecenas, though he always expressed the utmost contempt for authors, -for a contribution. Of course, Hannah More did not make this -application without a dose of fulsome compliment to Horace Walpole's -genius, and he went into the trap, subscribed, and expressed his -admiration of the milkwoman's poetry. The woman's name was Yearsley; -she was quite ready to receive the money, but, having evidently a very -high opinion of her own doggerel, she refused to listen to the literary -advice given to her by Horace Walpole and her patroness, with whom she -very soon quarrelled. Walpole condoled with Hannah thus: 'You are not -only benevolence itself, but, with fifty times the genius of Dame -Yearsley, you are void of vanity. How strange that vanity should expel -gratitude! Does not the wretched woman owe her fame to you? ... Dame -Yearsley reminds me of the troubadours, those vagrants whom I used to -admire till I knew their history, and who used to pour out trumpery -verses, and flatter or abuse, accordingly as they were housed and -clothed, or dismissed to the next parish. Yet you did not set this -person in the stocks, after procuring an annuity for her.' By this -letter we see what were Horace Walpole's ideas of patronage: flattery -and a pittance, independence and the stocks. Walpole was open to -flattery. Dr. Johnson was not--at least, not from a woman; he despised -the sex too much to care for their praise. When Hannah More laid it on -very thick in his case, he fiercely turned round on her and said: -'Madam, before you flatter a man so grossly to his face, you should -consider whether or not your flattery is worth his having.' And, with -all his admiration for her character, Walpole could not help sneering at -what he called her saintliness, and venting his sarcasm on her silly -'Coelebs in Search of a Wife,' the absurdity of which has, indeed, been -surpassed by a few modern novels of the same tendency. The last we hear -of their friendship is that he made her a present of a Bible--fancy the -satyr's leer with which he must have presented it to her! She paid him -out for the implied irony by wishing that he would read it. - -Among the ladies who were neighbours of Horace Walpole, we must not omit -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who lived for some years in a house on the -south side of the road leading to Twickenham Common. She may justly be -considered as one of the witty, if not of the pretty, women of Walpole's -time. He detested her. Probably he was somewhat jealous of her, for -her letters from Constantinople on Turkish life and society earned her -the sobriquet of the 'Female Horace Walpole.' He writes of her thus -whilst she was living at Florence: 'She is laughed at by the whole town. -Her dress, her avarice, and her impudence must amaze anyone.... She -wears a foul mob, that does not cover her greasy black locks, that hang -loose, never combed or curled; an old mazarine blue wrapper, that gapes -open and discovers a canvas petticoat. Her face swelled violently on -one side, and partly covered with white paint, which for cheapness she -has bought so coarse that you would not use it to wash a chimney.' In -another letter he describes her dress as consisting of 'a groundwork of -dirt, with an embroidery of filthiness.' When he wrote of her then, she -was about fifty years of age, and seems to have retained none of the -beauty which distinguished her in her earlier years. She was not only -coarse in looks, but in her speech and writings, which shock modern -fastidiousness. She was not the woman to please Horace Walpole, who, -even when in the seventies, liked nothing better than acting as squire -or cicerone to fine ladies. Lady Mary was not one of them. She was, in -fact, what we now should call a regular Bohemian; and was it to be -wondered at? She had been introduced into that sort of life when she -was a girl only eight years old by her own father, Evelyn, Earl of -Kingston. He was a member of the Kitcat Club, whose chief occupation -was the proposing and toasting the beauties of the day. One evening the -Earl took it into his head to nominate his daughter. She was sent for -in a chaise, and introduced to the company in dirty Shire Lane in a -grimy chamber, reeking with foul culinary smells and stale -tobacco-smoke, and elected by acclamation. The gentlemen drank the -little lady's health upstanding; and feasting her with sweets, and -passing her round with kisses, at once inscribed her name with a diamond -on a drinking-glass. 'Pleasure,' she says, 'was too poor a word to -express my sensations. They amounted to ecstasy. Never again -throughout my whole life did I pass so happy an evening.' Of course, -the child could not perceive the hideousness of the whole proceeding and -its surroundings: if the kisses were seasoned with droppings of snuff -from the noses above, which otherwise were not always very clean--even -at the beginning of this century Lord Kenyon, Chief Justice of the -King's Bench, was an utter stranger to the luxury of a -pocket-handkerchief, and had no delicacy about avowing it--it did not -detract from the sweetness of the bon-bons with which she was regaled. - -The founder of the Blue-Stocking Club, Mrs. Montagu, _nee_ Elizabeth -Robinson, was another of Walpole's witty and handsome lady friends. As -a girl she was lively, full of fun, yet fond of study. In 1742 she was -married to Edward Montagu, M.P., a coal-owner of great wealth. As a girl -the Duchess of Portland had called her 'La Petite Fidget'; but after her -marriage she became more sedate, and a great power in the literary -world. She established the Blue-Stocking Club, of which herself, Mrs. -Vesey, Miss Boscawen, Mrs. Carter, Lord Lyttelton, Mr. Pulteney, Mr. -Stillingfleet, and Horace Walpole were the first members. The name -originally came from Venice, where, in 1400, the Academical Society -_delle calze_ had been established, whence the name was transferred to -similar associations in France, there called _Bas Bleus_, and from the -latter country it was introduced into England. Mrs. Montagu, having -been left a widow with L7,000 a year, built herself a mansion, standing -in a large garden at the north-west corner of Portman Square, and there -the Blue-Stocking Club continued to hold its meetings for a number of -years, including all the persons of her time who were celebrated in art, -science, or literature, among whom may be mentioned Boswell and Johnson, -the latter of whom, in the presence of ladies, somewhat modified his -bearish habits. Mrs. Montagu died in 1800, and the house she had built -eventually became the town residence of Viscount Portman. - -Of course, Horace Walpole was acquainted with the Misses Gunning--'those -goddesses,' as Mary Montagu styled them. They were nieces of the first -Earl of Mayo, and so got a ready introduction into London society, which -literally went raving mad about them. Horace Walpole tells us that even -the 'great unwashed' followed them in crowds whenever they appeared in -public: there must have been an extraordinary appreciation of beauty in -the rabble--and what a rabble of ruffians it was!--of those days. But -London then was no bigger than a provincial town, compared with what it -is now. The two ladies speedily found husbands: the Duke of Hamilton -married Elizabeth, the younger, after an evening spent in the society of -the sisters and their mother at Bedford House, and was in such a hurry -about it that he would wait for neither licence nor ring, and, after -with some difficulty satisfying the scruples of the parson called upon -to celebrate the extempore ceremony, they were married with the ring of -a bed-curtain, at half an hour after twelve at night, at Mayfair Chapel. -Three weeks afterwards Lord Coventry married her sister, Maria. The -Duke of Hamilton dying in 1758, six years after the strange nuptials in -Mayfair Chapel, the widow in the following year married Jack Campbell, -afterwards Duke of Argyll. Lady Coventry did not wear her coronet long; -in 1760 she died, it is said, in consequence of her excessive use of -white paint. Her sister, 'twice duchessed,' survived her many years. - -We have far from exhausted the list of the ladies distinguished for wit -and beauty who figure in Horace Walpole's 'Letters,' but our space is -exhausted. We cannot, however, conclude without a few words on the -'Letters' in question. Their chief value consists in the lively -descriptions of public events; not as dry and cold history records them, -but by letting us have peeps behind the scenes, so as to see the -wire-pullers, the secret machinery, which set in motion the actors on -the political and social stage. They show us lords and ladies in their -negliges, and how the conceit of a hairdresser, or the caprice of a -lady's-maid, may make or mar the destinies of a nation. This copious -letter-writing forms indeed an era in our literary history which will -never return or be renewed; the prying reporter and the irrepressible -interviewer now supply all the world with what the letter-writer -communicated to a few friends only. This present age may be called the -Age of Reminiscences: everybody is writing his; of making books there is -no end! - - - - - *III.* - - *OLD LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES.* - - -A comparatively small room, considering it was one for public use, with -dingy walls, a grimy ceiling, a sanded floor, boxes with upright backs -and narrow seats, wooden chairs, liquor-stained tables, lighted up in -the evening with smoky lamps or guttering candles, the whole room -reeking with tobacco like a guard-room--such was the coffee-house of the -later Stuart and the whole Georgian periods. Its distinctive article of -furniture was spittoons. In such dens did the noblemen, in flowing wigs -and embroidered coats, parsons in cassocks and bands, physicians in -sable suits and tremendous perukes, together with broken-down gamesters, -swindlers, country yokels, and out-at-elbows literary and theatrical -adventurers, meet, not only for pleasure, but for business too. Dr. -Radcliffe, who in 1685 had the largest practice in London, was daily to -be seen at Garraway's, now demolished, its site being included in -Martin's bank; and another favourite resort of doctors hereby was -Batson's, where, as the 'Connoisseur' says, 'the dispensers of life and -death flock together, like birds of prey watching for carcases. I never -enter this place but it serves as a _memento mori_ to me.... Batson's -has been reckoned the seat of solemn stupidity.' - -Coffee-houses, indeed, had their distinct sets of customers. St. -Paul's, for instance, was patronized by the clergy, both by those with -fat livings and by 'battered crapes,' who plied there for an occasional -burial or sermon. Dick's was frequented by members of the Temple, with -whom, in 1737, Mrs. Yarrow and her daughter, who kept the house, were -great favourites; wherefore, when the Rev. James Miller brought out a -comedy, called 'The Coffee-House,' in which the ladies were thought to -be indicated--the engraver having unfortunately fixed upon Dick's -Coffee-House as the frontispiece scene--the Templars attended the first -representation, and hissed the piece off the boards. Button's, in Covent -Garden, was the resort of Addison and Steele, of Pope and Swift, of -Savage and Davenant--in fact, of the wits of the time. At this house -was the lion's head through whose mouth letters were dropped for the -_Tatlers_ and _Spectators_. The head was afterwards transferred to the -Bedford Coffee-House, under the Piazza, and eventually, in 1827, was -purchased by the Duke of Bedford, and is now at Woburn Abbey; Bedford's -was the successor of Button's, and is described in the 'Memoirs' of it -as having been signalized for many years as 'the emporium of wit, the -seat of criticism, and the standard of taste.' In 1659 was founded the -Rota Club by James Charrington, a political writer, and its members met -at Miles's, in Old Palace Yard. Pepys attended one of its meetings on -January 10, 1659-60. It was a kind of debating-society for the -dissemination of Republican opinions. Coffee-houses, indeed, at that -period became important political institutions. Nothing resembling the -modern newspaper then existed; in consequence, these houses were the -chief organs through which the public opinion vented itself, and so -threatening to the Court did, in course of time, their influence appear, -that on December 29, 1675, the King and his Cabal Ministry issued a -proclamation for shutting up and suppressing all coffee-houses, 'because -in such houses, and by occasion of the meeting of disaffected persons in -them, diverse false, malicious, and scandalous reports were devised and -spread abroad, to the defamation of his Majesty's Government, and to the -disturbance of the quiet and peace of the realm.' The opinions of the -judges were taken on this ridiculous edict, and they sapiently reported -'that retailing coffee might be an innocent trade, but as it was used to -nourish sedition, spread lies, and scandalize great men, it might also -be a common nuisance.' On a petition of the merchants and retailers of -coffee and tea, permission was granted to keep open the coffee-houses -until June 24 next, under an admonition that 'the masters of them should -prevent all scandalous papers, books, and libels from being read in -them.' This, of course, was a huge joke on the part of the Cabal, who -thus constituted the concoctors and dispensers of 'dishes'--to use the -hideous word then employed--of coffee and tea censors and licensers of -books, and judges of the truth or falsehood of political opinions and -intelligence. After that no more was heard of the matter, and the -coffee-houses remained political debating clubs, as is proved by the -remarks on them in the _Spectator_ and similar publications. See, for -instance, Nos. 403, 476, 481, 521, etc. - -The first London coffee-house was set up by one Bowman, coachman to Mr. -Hodges, a Turkey merchant. Others say that Mr. Edwards brought over -with him a Ragusa servant, Pasqua Rosee, who was associated with Bowman -in establishing the first coffee-house in St. Michael's Alley, Cornhill. -But the partners soon quarrelled. They parted, and Bowman opened a -coffee-house in St. Michael's Churchyard, from which we may infer that -the public took to the new drink. Rosee issued handbills headed: 'The -vertue of the coffee-drink. First made and publicly sold in England by -Pasqua Rosee, at the sign of his own head.' The original of one of them -is preserved in the British Museum. It is generally said that the -second coffee-house in London was that established as the Rainbow (now a -tavern) in Fleet Street, by one Fair, a barber, in the year 1657. In -the _Mercurius Politicus_ of September 30, 1658, an advertisement -appeared, setting forth the virtues of the then equally new beverage, -namely, _tcha_, or _tay_, or _tee_, which was sold at the Sultaness Head -_Cophee-house_, in Sweeting's Rents, by the Royal Exchange. We thus see -that as early as 1658 there were already three coffee-houses in London. -But coffee met with opponents. The vintners called it 'sooty drink'; -lampooners said it undermined virile power, and that to drink it was to -ape the Turks and insult one's canary-drinking ancestors. Fair, the -founder of the Rainbow, already mentioned, was indicted for 'making and -selling a sort of liquor, called coffee, whereby in making it he annoyed -his neighbours by evil smells, and for keeping of fire for the most part -night and day, to the great danger and affrightment of his neighbours.' -But Farr stood his ground, and in time became a person of importance in -the parish, and coffee-houses multiplied. Cornhill and its purlieus were -full of them. There were the Great Turk, Sword Blade, Rainbow, -Garraway, Jerusalem, Tom's, and Weston's Coffee-Houses in Exchange Alley -alone; in St. Michael's Alley, close by, there were, besides Rosee's, -Williams's, and other coffee-houses. They also, as we have seen, had -been established further west than the City, and they were also, as -already mentioned, places of rendezvous, where appointments were made, -where lawyers met clients, and doctors patients, merchants their -customers, clerks their masters, where farce-writers, journalists, -politicians, and literary hacks went to pick up ideas, and, as it was -then called, watch, and if they could, catch the humours of the town. -The _Spectator_, in his very first number, acknowledges his indebtedness -to coffee-houses. 'There is no place of general resort,' he says, -'wherein I do not often make my appearance. Sometimes I am seen -thrusting my head into a round of politicians at Will's (on the north -side of Russell Street, at the corner of Bow Street), and listening with -great attention to the narratives that are made in those little circular -audiences. Sometimes I smoke a pipe at Child's (St. Paul's Churchyard), -and whilst I seem attentive to nothing but the _Postman_, overhear the -conversation of every table in the room. I appear on Sunday nights at -St. James's (the famous Whig coffee-house from the time of Queen Anne to -late in the reign of George III.), and sometimes join the little -committee of politics in the inner room, as one who comes there to hear -and improve.' - -There was another Will's in Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, which -was also a haunt of the _Spectator_, as were the other coffee-houses in -that neighbourhood. He says in his ninety-ninth number: 'I do not know -that I meet in any of my walks objects which move both my spleen and -laughter so effectually as these young fellows at the Grecian, Squire's, -Searle's, and all other coffee-houses adjacent to the law, who rise -early for no other purpose but to publish their laziness.' It appears -that it was usual to resort to the coffee-house as early as six o'clock -in the morning. In 'Moser's Vestiges,' Will's is thus referred to: 'All -the beaux that used to breakfast in the coffee-houses and taverns -appendant to the Inns of Court struck their morning strokes in an -elegant _deshabille_, which was carelessly confined by a sash of yellow, -red, blue, green, etc., according to the taste of the wearer. The idle -fashion was not quite worn out in 1765. We can remember having seen -some of these early loungers in their nightgowns, caps, etc., at Will's, -Lincoln's Inn Gate, about that period.' - -But the coffee-houses were not all for beer and skittles only. In the -City especially, the business of the City, and of England, in fact, was -transacted in them. Merchants and other business people, professional -men, brokers, agents, had not then their private offices, which could -only be reached through the ante-den of quill-driving _cerberi, milgo_ -clerks. All the transactions of daily life were then largely carried on -in public, as they are in all communities, until they arrive at a high -state of civilization. Even now among the peasantry of various European -countries a man cannot have his child christened without the ceremony -being rendered a public spectacle. And so here in England, in the -barbarous days of dingy and musty coffee-houses, they were -consulting-rooms, offices, counting-houses, auction-rooms, and shops. -When the business was done, or in order to further it, refreshments of -all sorts were handy, for the coffee-house did not confine itself to -that innocent beverage, but supplied stronger stuffs; it was, in fact, a -tavern, and many of the houses, now openly so called, were formerly -coffee-houses. And the business transacted at them was, as may be -imagined, of the most varied character. Agents for the purchase or sale -of estates, houses and other property, instead of seeing people at their -offices, met them at coffee-houses. Thus one Thomas Rogers advertised -that he gave attendance daily at the Rainbow by the Temple; on Tuesdays -at Tom's, by the Exchange, and on Thursdays at Will's, near Whitehall, -for transacting agency business. This was legitimate enough, but what -of the sale of human flesh at a coffee-house? In 1708 an advertisement -appeared: 'A black boy, twelve years of age, fit to wait on a gentleman, -to be disposed of at Denis's Coffee-house, in Finch-lane.' And again, -in 1728: 'To be sold, a negro boy, aged eleven years. Enquire at the -Virginia Coffee-house, Threadneedle-street.' Sometimes the keeper of -the coffee-house sold goods on account of others; thus from an -advertisement in the _Postman_, January, 1705, we learn that Mr. -Shipton, at John's Coffee-house, in Exchange Alley, sold someone's -famous razor strops. The landlords of those places, indeed, seem to -have been very accommodating, especially in the taking in of letters, -thus anticipating the practice of modern newspaper shops. And they were -not squeamish as to the advertisements, answers to which were to be sent -to them. Thus a gentleman (?) in the _General Advertiser_, October, -1745, expressed a wish to hear from a lady he had seen in one of the -left-hand boxes at Drury Lane, and who seemed to take particular notice -of a gentleman who sat about the middle of the pit (the advertiser, of -course). Letter to be left for 'P.M.F.', at the Portugal Coffee-house, -near the Exchange. In 1762 a young man advertised for his mother, 'who, -in 1740, resided at a certain village near Bath, where she was delivered -of a son, whom she left with a sum of money under the care of a person -in the same parish, and promised to fetch him at a certain age, but has -not since been heard of ... if living, she is asked to send a letter to -"J.E.", at the Chapter Coffee-house, St. Paul's Churchyard ... this -advertisement is published by the person himself [_i.e._, the son, born -near Bath] not from motives of necessity, or to court any assistance (he -being by a series of happy circumstances possessed of an easy and -independent fortune).' It would, I fancy, be difficult at the present -day to find anyone, having a reputation of any note to keep up, willing -to receive answers to such an advertisement, which, if it was not a -fraud, looked terribly like an attempt at one. It happened in those -days, as it occasionally does now, that the estates of gentlemen who -married late in life passed away to remote branches; the 'young -gentleman' had no doubt reflected on this subject. The Turk's Head -seems, to judge by advertisements, to have been somewhat heathenish. -Here is another advertisement, also from the _Morning Post_, answers to -which it took in: 'Whereas there are ladies, who have L2,000, L3,000, or -L4,000 at their command, and who, from not knowing how to dispose of the -same to the greatest advantage ... afford them but a scanty maintenance -... the advertiser (who is a gentleman of independent fortune, strict -honour and character, and above reward) acquaints such ladies that if -they will favour him with their name and address ... he will put them -into a method by which they may, without any trouble, and with an -absolute certainty, place out their money, so as to produce them a clear -interest of 10 or 12 per cent.... on good and safe securities. Direct -to "R.J.," Esq., at the Turk's Head Coffee-house, Strand.' We pity any -lady who fell into the clutches of this 'gentleman of independent -fortune'! And how the Turk's Head must have grinned when answers to -'R.J.' arrived! About the same time a gentleman advertised that he knew -a method, which reduced it almost to a certainty to win a considerable -sum by insuring numbers in the lottery. For ten guineas the gentleman -was prepared to 'discover the plan.' Answers to be sent to the York -Coffee-house, St. James's Street. Another gentleman is willing to lend -L3,000 to anyone having sufficient interest to procure him a Government -appointment, worth L200 or L300 per annum. Answers to this were to be -sent to the Chapter Coffee-house, St. Paul's. To some of the -coffee-houses it would seem porters were attached, ready to run errands -for customers, or the outside public; some of them seem to have earned a -reputation of a certain character. Thus Cynthio (_Spectator_, No. 398) -employs Robin, the porter, who waits Will's Coffee-house, to take a -letter to Flavia. 'Robin, you must know,' we are told, 'is the best man -in the town for carrying a billet; the fellow has a thin body, swift -step, demure looks, sufficient sense, and knows the town ... the fellow -covers his knowledge of the nature of his messages with the most -exquisite low humour imaginable; the first he obliged Flavia to take was -by complaining to her that he had a wife and three children, and if she -did not take that letter, which he was sure there was no harm in, but -rather love, his family must go supperless to bed, for the gentleman -would pay him according as he did his business.' He would seem to have -been a mild Leporello. - -We find the cheapness of living at coffee-houses frequently extolled in -the publications and conversations of the day in which they were most -flourishing. An Irish painter, whom Johnson knew, declared that L30 a -year was enough to enable a man to live in London, without being -contemptible. He allowed L10 for clothes and linen. He said a man -might live in a garret at 1s. 6d. a week; few people would inquire where -he lodged, and if they did, it was easy to say: 'Sir, you will find me -at such and such a place'--just as nowadays impecunious swells, who live -in garrets, manage to keep up their club subscription, and give as their -address that of the club. By spending threepence at a coffee-house, -Johnson's Irish painter further argued, a man might be for some hours -every day in very good company; he might dine for sixpence, breakfast on -bread-and-milk for a penny, and do without supper. On clean-shirt day -the painter went out to pay visits, as Swift also did. - -With regard to the persons employed in a coffee-house, we learn from one -advertisement: 'To prevent all mistakes among gentlemen of the other end -of the town, who come but once a week to St. James's Coffee-house, -either by miscalling the servants, or requiring such things from them as -are not properly within their respective provinces, this is to give -notice that Kidney, keeper of the book-debts of the outlying customers, -and observer of those who go off without paying, having resigned that -employment, is succeeded by John Sowton, to whose place of caterer of -messages and first coffee-grinder William Bird is promoted, and Samuel -Bardock comes as shoe-cleaner in the room of the said Bird.' - -Well, the coffee-houses are things of the past; a few survive as -taverns. What may be considered as their successors are called -coffee-shops, patronized by working-men chiefly, but the 'humours' are -of the tamest description; they may supply statistics to temperance -apostles, but no literary entertainment to the public. - - - - - *IV.* - - *OLD M.P.S AND SOME OF THEIR SAYINGS.* - - -Somebody has said that, on making inquiry after a man you have not seen -for a number of years, you may find him either in the hulks or in -Parliament. This somebody evidently was a bit of a philosopher, who knew -how to put the possibilities of human life in a nutshell. He understood -that the same cause may have totally different effects: the same heat -which softens lead hardens clay, the same abilities which may send a man -to penal servitude may elevate him to the dignity of an M.P. And thus -it happened that some queer people got into Parliament, which, no doubt, -was the fact which gave rise to somebody's wise saw, and which was not -to be wondered at in the good old days, before Reform and Corrupt -Practices Prevention Acts, and similar humbugging interferences with the -liberty of the subject, were dreamt of. In those good old days of -rotten and pocket boroughs men had Parliamentary honours thrust upon -them _nolentes volentes_. Thus, a noble lord, who owned several such -boroughs, was asked by the returning officer whom he meant to nominate. -Having no eligible candidate at hand, he named a waiter at White's Club, -one Robert Mackreth; but, as he did not happen to be sure of the -Christian name of his nominee, the election was declared to be void. -Nothing daunted, his lordship persisted in his nomination. A fresh -election was therefore held, when, the name of the waiter having been -ascertained, he was returned as a matter of course, and Robert Mackreth, -Esq., took his seat in St. Stephen's. This was possible in the days of -Eldon and Perceval; in fact, in the early part of this century, 306 -members, more than half of the House of Commons, were returned by 160 -persons, and in 1830 it was admitted that, though there were men of -ability in the Cabinet, such as Brougham, Lansdowne, Melbourne, -Palmerston, the members of the House were 'persons of very narrow -capacities, of small reputation for talent, and without influence with -the people.' - -However, the Reform Bill was passed in 1832, and pocket boroughs were -abolished. There had been thirty-seven places returning members with -constituencies not exceeding fifty electors, and fourteen of those -places had not more than twenty electors. There were three boroughs -each containing only one L10 householder. One of the boroughs only paid -in assessed taxes L3 9s., another L16 8s. 9d., a third L40 17s. 1d. -But, luckily for the public, the Reform Bill did not abolish the fun of -the flags, music, beer, and jokes of elections. The delicate attentions -which could still be paid to candidates remained in full swing. Thus, -we remember an election in the Isle of Wight: The father of one of the -candidates for Parliamentary distinction, in the Conservative interest, -had, in his youthful days, married a lady who, in a peripatetic manner, -dealt in oysters. His rival, a Radical, paid him the compliment of -sending him daily barrows and truck-loads of oyster-shells, which were, -with his kind regards, discharged in front of the hotel where his -committee was established, and from whose windows he addressed the -electors. It was splendid fun, and calculated to impress the -intelligent foreigner. It showed how highly the British public -appreciated their elective franchise. Pleasantries had, indeed, always -been the rule at election-time. When Fox, in 1802, canvassed -Westminster, he asked a shopkeeper on the opposite side for his vote and -interest, when the latter produced a halter, and said that was all he -could give him. Fox thanked him, but said he could not think of -depriving him of it, as no doubt it was a family relic. At an election -at Norwich in 1875 the committee-room of the Conservative candidate was -attacked, but the agent kept up the fire and had red-hot pokers ready, -which, standing at the top of the stairs, he offered to his assailants, -but they would not take them! In the same town the Liberals held a -prayer-meeting, at which the Conservatives presented each man with one -of Moody and Sankey's hymn-books, with something between the leaves. In -fact, the Reform Bill had not made elections pure. William Roupell -obtained his seat for Lambeth by the expenditure of L10,000, 'and,' said -a man well able to judge of the truth of his assertion, 'if he were -released from prison (to which he was sent for life for his forgeries) -and would spend another L10,000, he would be re-elected, in spite of his -having proved a criminal.' - -Money carried the day at elections. According to a speech made by Mr. -Bright at Glasgow in 1866, a member had told him that his election had -cost him L9,000 already, and that he had L3,000 more to pay. At a -contest in North Shropshire in 1876, the expenses of the successful -candidate, Mr. Stanley Leighton, amounted to L11,727, and of the -defeated candidate, Mr. Mainwaring, to L10,688. At the General Election -of 1880, in the county of Middlesex, the expenses of the successful -candidates, Lord George Hamilton and Mr. Octavius Coope, were L11,506. -The cost of the Gravesend election, and the petition which followed and -unseated the candidate returned, was estimated at L20,000. But the most -expensive contest ever known in electioneering was that for the -representation of Yorkshire. The candidates were Viscount Milton, son -of Earl Fitzwilliam, a Whig; the Hon. Henry Lascelles, son of Lord -Harewood, a Tory; and William Wilberforce, in the Dissenting and -Independent interest. The election was carried on for fifteen days, Mr. -Wilberforce being at the head of the poll all the time. It terminated -in his favour and in that of Lord Milton. The contest is said to have -cost the parties near half a million pounds. The expenses of -Wilberforce were defrayed by public subscription, more than double the -sum being raised within a few days, and one moiety was afterwards -returned to the subscribers. When Whitbread, the brewer, first opposed -the Duke of Bedford's interest at Bedford, the Duke informed him that he -would spend L50,000 rather than that he should come in. Whitbread -replied that was nothing, the sale of his grains would pay for that. -Now, John Elwes, the miser, knew better than that. Though worth half a -million of money, he entered Parliament, by the interest of Lord Craven, -at the expense of 1s. 6d., for which he had a dinner at Abingdon. From -1774 he sat for the next twelve years for Berkshire, his conduct being -perfectly independent, and in his case there had been no bribery that -could be brought home to him. He was a great gambler, and, after -staking large sums all night, he would, in the morning, go to Smithfield -to await the arrival of his cattle from his farms in Essex, and, if not -arrived, would walk on to meet them. He wore a wig; if he found one -thrown away into the gutter, he would appropriate and wear it. In those -days members occasionally wore dress-swords at the House. One day a -gentleman seated next to Elwes was rising to leave his place, and just -at that moment Elwes bent forward, so that the point of the sword the -gentleman wore came in contact with Elwes's wig, which it whisked off -and carried away. The House was instantly in a roar of laughter, whilst -the gentleman, unconscious of what he had done, calmly walked away, and -Elwes after him to recover his wig, which looked as if it was one of -those he had picked up in the gutter. - -Bribes were expected and given, as we have seen. Of course, the thing -was not done openly. Tricks were practised, understood by all parties. -The agent would sit in a room in an out-of-the-way place. A voter would -come in; the agent would say, 'How are you to-day?' and hold up three -fingers. 'I am not very well,' the answer would be, when the agent -would accidentally hold up his hand, upon which the voter would say that -he thought fresh air would do him good, and look out of the window as if -examining the sky. In the meantime the agent would place five -sovereigns on the table, and also go to look at the weather. His back -being turned to the table, the voter would quietly slip the cash into -his pocket, and, saying 'Good-morning,' take his departure. And how -could any bribery be proved? But occasionally the people expecting -bribes were nicely taken in. Lord Cochrane, when he first stood for -Honiton, refused to give bribes, and the seat was secured by his -opponent, who gave L5 for every vote. On this Cochrane sent the bellman -round to announce that he would give to every one of the minority who -had voted for him 10 guineas. At the next election no questions were -asked, and Cochrane was returned by an overwhelming majority. Those who -had voted for him then intimated that they expected some acknowledgment -for their support. He declined to give a penny, and when he was -reminded that, after the former election, he had given 10 guineas to -every one of the minority, he coolly replied that this was for their -disinterestedness in refusing his opponent's L5, and that to pay them -now would be acting in violation of his principle not to bribe. And the -disinterested voters marched off with faces as long as those of horses. - -The Reform Bill of 1832, which was highly objectionable to old-fashioned -Conservatives, was accused by them of having introduced some very queer -and curious members into the House. Through this Bill the bone-grubber, -as Raike calls him, W. Cobbett, was returned for Oldham, and Brighton, -under the very nose of the Court, returned two rampant Radicals, who -openly talked of reducing the allowance made to the King and Queen. -Nay, John Gully, a prize-fighter, was returned to the House for -Pontefract, and was re-elected at the next election. He at one time -kept the Plough Inn in Carey Street, which was pulled down just before -the erection of the new Law Courts. Eventually he resigned his seat on -account of ill-health, as he averred; but as he became a great patron of -racing, and was a constant attendant at the various race-courses, his -ill-health was probably only a pretence for quitting a sphere for which -he felt himself unfit. On his first election the following epigram -appeared against him: - - 'If anyone ask why should Pontefract sully - Its name by returning to Parliament Gully, - The etymological cause, I suppose, is - He's broken the bridges of so many noses.' - - -Another member who may be reckoned among the curiosities who have sat in -the House was William Roupell. He was the illegitimate son of Richard -Palmer Roupell, a wealthy lead merchant, who invested a large sum in the -purchase of land, to which he gave the name of the Roupell Park Estate. -William was his favourite son, though he had other legitimate children; -and it was not till a few days before his father's death that he learnt -the secret of his own birth. The former had made a will, by which he -left this property to William, on condition of his making annual -payments to his brothers and sisters; but as this would have brought to -light the forgeries he had already committed during his father's -lifetime, to the amount of about L150,000, he, on his father's death, -managed to get hold of the will, which eventually he destroyed, -substituting a forged one, leaving all to his wife and William; and the -latter quickly persuaded his mother to confer the greater part of the -estates on him by deed of gift. He soon obtained the social position -the great wealth he now possessed usually commands; he stood for -Lambeth, and by the expenditure of L10,000, as already mentioned, he -obtained the seat. But Roupell was not only a rogue, but a fool. By -gambling and extravagance he soon ran through the fortune he had -obtained by crooked means. Finding the detection of his crimes -inevitable, he fled to Spain, but eventually returned, and gave himself -up to justice, confessing the forgeries he had committed. Of course, -the persons who had purchased property then became aware that the deeds -by which they held it were worthless. The court considered his offences -so serious that in 1862 it condemned him to penal servitude for life; -but he was released after an imprisonment of fourteen years. In 1876 he -left Portland a free man again. But it is with Roupell as a member of -Parliament we are chiefly concerned. In that capacity he did not shine. -He remained in the House long enough to prove that he was disqualified -to represent a large borough like Lambeth. He took no part in the -debates, nor did he appear to be able to grapple with and master any -question connected with politics. Being asked one evening at the Horns, -when meeting his constituents, why he did not speak in the House of -Commons, he replied: 'Because I do not want to make a fool of myself.' -Next morning the _Times_ made merry with this confession. He was -consequently regarded as a cipher, but he was supported by his supposed -wealth. But soon suspicious murmurs began to be heard, and he prepared -for his flight to Spain; and he decamped without making any application -for the Chiltern Hundreds, so that for a considerable time his place in -Parliament could not be filled up. Advertisements in Galignani apprised -him of the omission, and at length the application was made. He did not -meet with much pity, either from the public or the press; squibs without -end appeared against him in the papers. We append a specimen of a short -one: - - 'Now, the Lambeth folks this wealthy gent - As their member did decide on, - But little they knew he'd happened to do - Some things he didn't oughter; - For he'd forged a will and several deeds.... - - 'And the public said: "Well, this here Roupell - Has got no more than he oughter." - So there was an end of the wealthy gent - As was member from over the water.' - - -Lambeth appears to have been unfortunate in the selection of its -Parliamentary candidates. In 1852 the parochial party, wishing for a -local man, formed themselves into a committee to secure the election of -Mr. Joseph Harvey, of Lambeth House, a drapery establishment in the -Westminster Bridge Road. Mr. Harvey had never taken an active part in -public matters; his tastes lay not that way. He shrank from public -life, and had no training or aptitude for addressing large meetings. -However, he was forced forward; but when he spoke at the Horns--the -speech was written for him by someone else--his total incapacity for the -position thrust on him became so apparent that he gave up the contest, -but not before he had afforded plenty of food to the squib-writers. - -Parliament is not above the use of nicknames, either by way of praise or -in scorn. Cobbett's talent for fastening such names on anyone he -disliked was very great. He invented 'Prosperity Robinson,' 'AEolus -Canning,' 'Pink-nosed Liverpool,' 'unbaptized, buttonless blackguards,' -or Quakers. Lord Yarmouth, from the colour of his whiskers, and from -the place which gave him his title, was known as 'Red Herrings.' Lord -Durham so often opposed his colleagues in the Cabinet that he was called -the 'Dissenting Minister.' Thomas Duncombe was so popular that he was -always spoken of as 'Honest' or 'Poor' Tom; his French friends called -him 'Cher Tomie.' John Arthur Roebuck had a habit of bringing forward, -in a startling way, facts he had got hold of, and thus raising -opposition; and from a passage in a speech he made at the Cutlers' -Feast, at Sheffield, in 1858, obtained the nickname of 'Tear 'em.' He -had just paid a visit to Cherbourg, and returned home with feelings very -unfriendly to the then ruler of France, to which he gave expression at -the feast, excusing himself at the same time for using such language -towards a neighbour by saying: 'The farmer who goes to sleep, having -placed the watch-dog, Tear 'em, over his rick-yard, hears that dog bark. -He bawls out of the window: "Down, Tear 'em, down!" And Tear 'em does -not again disturb his sleep, till he is woke up by the strong blaze of -his corn and hay ricks. I am Tear 'em. Beware! Cherbourg is a -standing menace to England.' Michael Angelo Taylor was known by the -sobriquet of 'Chicken' Taylor. On some points of law he had answered -the great lawyer Bearcroft, but not without apologizing for his -venturing, he being but a chicken in the law, on a fight with the cock -of Westminster Hall. Charles Wynn was brother to Sir Watkin Wynn, and -from a peculiarity in the utterances of the latter, and the shrillness -of Charles's voice, the two went by the nicknames of 'Bubble and -Squeak.' Sir Watkin was also known as 'Small Journal' Wynn, from his -extensive knowledge of Parliamentary rule. William Cowper, falsely -accused of having married a second wife whilst his first was still -alive, was known as 'Will Bigamy.' - -Strangers formerly were not allowed to be present at the deliberations -of the House; now they are admitted to the Strangers' Gallery, but never -to the floor of the House. Yet sometimes there will be an intruder. -Once Lord North, when speaking, was interrupted by the barking of a dog -which had crept in. He turned round, and said: 'Mr. Speaker, I am -interrupted by a new member.' The dog was driven out, but got in again, -and recommenced barking, when Lord North, in his dry way, said: 'Spoke -once.' - -We are near the limits of our space. Let us conclude with recording a -few of the strange designations given to Parliaments. The Parliament de -la Bonde was a Parliament in the reign of Edward II., to which the -Barons came armed against the Spencers, with coloured bands, or 'bonds,' -upon their sleeves, by way of distinction. The Diabolical Parliament -was one held at Coventry in the thirty-eighth year of Henry VI.'s reign, -and in which Edward, Earl of March, afterwards King, and several of the -nobility, were attainted. The Unlearned Parliament, held at Coventry in -the sixth year of the reign of Henry IV., was so called by way of -derision, because, by a special precept to the sheriffs in their several -counties, no lawyers were to be admitted thereto. The Insane -Parliament, which was held at Oxford in the forty-first year of the -reign of Henry III., obtained this name from the extraordinary -proceedings of the Lords, who came with great retinues of armed men, -'when contention grew very high, and many things were enacted contrary -to the King's prerogative.' We might add to the list, but the gas is -being turned off; so _vale_! - - - - - *V.* - - *FAMOUS OLD ACTORS.* - - -There is a boom just now in the theatrical world. New theatres are -springing up, not only in London proper, but in all its suburbs, yet it -is only history repeating itself. From 1570 to 1629 no less than -seventeen playhouses had been built in London, and London then extended -only from the Tower to Westminster, and from Oxford Street to Blackman -Street in the Borough. The first London theatre was the Fortune,[#] -opened about the year 1600, a large round, brick building between -Whitecross Street and Golding--now Golden--Lane, which was burnt down on -December 9, 1621. The town was then full of actors, for besides those -playing at the various theatres, there were royal comedians. Many -noblemen kept companies of players, nay, the lawyers acted in the Inns -of Court, and there were actors of note among them. But the inevitable -reaction ensued. Amidst the storms of the Revolution the stage was -neglected. Even Shakespeare had to take a back-seat till Garrick -brought him into fashion again, though it is chiefly to the learned and -enthusiastic criticism and appreciation of German students of -Shakespeare that the revival of his plays on the stage is due. His -reputation was 'made in Germany,' and the Germans we have to thank for a -Shakespeare who is presentable to a modern audience, which the original -writer was not; his plays were only fit to be acted before the savages -who delighted in bull and bear baiting. This estimate of the -Shakespearian drama is not in accordance with the prevailing sentiment, -but we have a right to our opinions and the courage to express them. -However, this is only incidental to our theme, which deals more with -actors and acting than with the plays they took parts in. - - -[#] The Curtain is said to have been erected in 1570, on the site of the -present Curtain Road, but the date is doubtful, and it was more of an -inn than a playhouse. - - -There is a general opinion abroad that the realistic play is of quite -modern date, probably brought on the stage in 'L'Assommoir.' In a -publication of July, 1797, I find it stated that 'our managers some time -ago conceived it would be proper to introduce realities instead of -fictions. Hence we have seen real horses and real bulls on the stage, -gracing the triumphal entry of some hero. Hence, too, real water has -been supplied in such quantities that Harlequin's leap into the sea -would now really be no joke.... The introduction of water will, no -doubt, facilitate the introduction of real sea-fights, provided we can -get real admirals and seamen.' But the writer seems to have been -oblivious of the fact that, in the middle of the last century, already -the water of the New River had been carried under the flooring of -Sadler's Wells Theatre, the boards being removed, for the exhibition of -aquatic performances. And as to this century, long before the more -recent realistic plays, we have seen in the sixties a real cab with a -real horse brought on to the stage to give the heroine, who is about to -elope, the opportunity of uttering the pun: 'Now, four-wheeler, wo!' -(for weal or woe!). And a very good pun it is. - -The formation of the English drama is chiefly due to the 'Children of -Paul,' or pupils of St. Paul's School, in those days nicknamed the -'Pigeons of St. Paul.' The dramatic celebrity of these juvenile -performers goes back as far as the year 1378. Originally they confined -themselves to 'moralities,' but in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, before -whom they acted on various occasions, they appeared in the regular drama -with considerable applause. They exhibited burlesque interludes and -farcical comedies. Their schoolroom, which stood behind the Convocation -House near St. Paul's, was their stage; but about the year 1580 the -citizens, bent on driving all players out of the city, caused it to be -removed. The plague had, as usual, caused great ravages in London, and -it was thought that the actors were great means of spreading it, -wherefore their performances were altogether prohibited. When the -'Children of Paul' performed out of their own premises, it was generally -the Blackfriars Theatre they resorted to. When they performed in the -school-house the admission was 2d. This charge was made to keep the -company select, and according to a passage in 'Jacke Drum's -Entertainment,' first printed in 1601, it _was_ select: - -'SIR EDWARD: I saw the "Children of Paul's" last night, and troth, they -pleased me prettie, prettie well. The apes in time will do it -handsomely. - -'PLANET: I like the audience that frequenteth there with much applause. -A man shall not be choked with the stench of garlick, nor be passed to -the barmy jacket of a beer brewer.' - -The stage did not attain a dignified position till the time of -Shakespeare. He and his fellow-actors--Burbage, Heminge, Condell, -Taylor, Kemp, Sly--ennobled it, and since then the roll of English -actors who have gained distinction on the boards is very long, and our -limited space allows us to refer to but a few of them, and then only to -some characteristic traits. - -Let us commence with a defence of Garrick's conduct towards Johnson. -When the latter was preparing his edition of 'Shakespeare,' Garrick -offered him the use of his choice library. But, entering the room, he -found Johnson, according to his usual habit, pulling the books off the -shelves, breaking their backs, more easily to read them, and throwing -them carelessly on the floor. Garrick naturally grew very angry, for -which he has been much abused, charged with 'having acted in abominably -bad taste ... without any true gentlemanly feeling ... that knowing his -friend's character ... Garrick ought to have been prepared for any -slight unfavourable consequences. He ought to have known that much -might be excused in so great a man,' etc. Now, this is most undeserved -censure on a man of greater parts than Johnson ever could boast of. The -only thing he ever wrote which will live is his Dictionary. As to his -greatness, if unabashed bounce and a dictatorial jaw constitute -greatness, he certainly, judging him by Bozzy's account, could lay claim -to such. Garrick's generosity induced him to offer a bear the use of -his books. Still, he had a right to expect that even a bear, who -professed to admire and practise literature, would know how to treat -books. But the bear remained a bear everywhere. He treated Mr. -Thrale's books no better. But Garrick was generous in other ways. He -was often visited at his villa, near Sunbury, by a gentleman with whom -he used to have long and violent arguments on various matters, the -visitor generally differing from, and contradicting, his host. One day -Garrick, at the gentleman's request, readily lent him L100. Their -discussions continued, but the visitor was no longer so violent in his -arguments, nor did he contradict Garrick as he had done formerly. On -one occasion, when Garrick had reintroduced an argument his friend had -always violently combated, but now mildly conceded, Garrick, who liked a -lively discussion, jumped up and exclaimed: 'Pay me my hundred pounds, -or contradict me!' Garrick's generous nature broke forth in that -exclamation, and he did not wish his friend to feel under an obligation. -That his character was gentle and chivalrous is proved by the fact that -his wife and he were considered the fondest pair ever known, though the -lady was a woman with plenty of spirit. Her letter of remonstrance -against Kean's Abel Drugger was brief: 'DEAR SIR,--You don't know how to -play Abel Drugger.' To which Kean courteously, yet wittily, replied: -'DEAR MADAM,--I know it.' She must have been very sprightly, too, for -when at the age of ninety-eight, and about two months before her death -(November, 1822), she visited Westminster Abbey, she asked the clergyman -who attended her if there would be room for her by the side of her -David--'not,' she said, 'that I think I am likely soon to require it, -for I am yet a mere girl!' She was a Viennese danseuse, Madame -Violette, when Garrick married her, and Horace Walpole reports that it -was whispered at the time that she had been sent over to England by no -less a person than the Empress-Queen, Maria Theresa, to be out of the -way of that somewhat jealous lady's husband. Apprehensive that he might -be ridiculed for marrying a dancer, Garrick got some friend to satirize -him publicly beforehand. But we have seen that the marriage turned out -a very happy one. Garrick had been the pupil of Johnson, when the -latter kept, or attempted to keep, a school near Lichfield, and he and -his two fellow-pupils (he never had more than two) used to peep through -the keyhole of his bedroom that they might turn into ridicule the -doctor's awkward fondness for Mrs. Johnson, who was by many years her -husband's senior, and elephantine in her figure, with swollen cheeks and -a red complexion, produced by paint and the liberal use of cordials. In -after-years Garrick used to exhibit her, by his exquisite talent of -mimicry, so as to excite the heartiest bursts of laughter. This may -seem ungenerous, but Johnson paid Garrick back in the same coin. Vexed -at Garrick's great success in his profession, he made it his business -always to express the greatest contempt for actors. - -Quin, the contemporary of Garrick, and his rival, was employed by Prince -Frederick to instruct the Royal children in elocution, and when he was -informed of the graceful manner in which George III. had delivered his -first speech from the throne, he proudly said: 'Aye, it was I who taught -the boy to speak.' Quin could be witty. Disputing concerning the -execution of Charles I., and his opponent asking, 'But by what laws was -he put to death?' Quin replied: 'By all the laws he had left them.' -When playing at Bath, he was at an evening party, where the -transmigration of souls was being discussed. A lady, remarkable for the -whiteness of her neck and bust, asked him what animal he would wish to -be transformed into. Quin, looking sharply at a fly then travelling -over her white neck, with an arch glance at her, said: 'A fly!' On -another occasion to Lady Berkeley, a celebrated beauty, he said: 'Why, -your ladyship is looking as charming as the spring.' The season was -spring, but the day was raw and cold, and Quin, seeing he had paid the -lady but a poor compliment, corrected himself by adding: 'Or, rather, I -wish the spring would look a little more like your ladyship.' - -In Clare Street, Clare Market, there is a public-house called the Sun. -John Rich, the harlequin and lessee of the Duke's Theatre in Portugal -Street (long since taken down), returning from the theatre in a -hackney-coach, ordered to be driven to the Sun. On arriving there, he -jumped out of the coach, and through the window into the public-house. -The coachman thought his fare was a 'bilk'; but whilst he was still -looking up and down the street, Rich again jumped into the coach, and -told the driver to take him to another public-house. On reaching it, -Rich offered to pay the coachman, but the latter refused the money, -saying: 'No, none of your money, Mr. Devil; though you wear shoes, I can -see your hoofs'; and he drove off as quickly as possible. The theatre -called the Duke's Theatre, in Portugal Street, was rebuilt by -Christopher Rich, the father of the above-mentioned John, but he died -before the building was quite finished, and it was opened by John; and -it is in this theatre that the modern stage took its rise, and here the -earliest Shakespearian revivals took place. Quin was one of the -performers there; and there the 'Beggar's Opera' was first produced, and -acted on sixty-two nights in one season, causing the saying that it made -Gay rich and Rich gay. The opera was written under the auspices of the -Duchess of Queensberry, who agreed to indemnify Rich in all expenses if -the daring speculation should fail. - -Rich, in 1731, built himself a new theatre--the Covent Garden -Theatre--on a site granted by the Duke of Bedford, at a ground-rent of -L100 per annum. When a new lease was granted, in 1792, the ground-rent -was raised to L940 per annum. When Thomas Killigrew was manager of the -theatre in Bear Yard, Clare Market, he was a great favourite with -Charles II. This King at times showed great indifference to the -business of the State, and refused to attend the Council. One day, when -he had been long expected, Lord Lauderdale went to his apartments, but -was refused admission. His lordship complained to Nell Gwynne, upon -which she wagered him L100 that the King would that evening attend the -Council. Then she sent for Killigrew, and asked him to dress as if for a -journey, and to enter the King's rooms without ceremony, with further -instructions what he was to do then. As soon as the King saw him, he -said: - -'What, Killigrew! Where are you going? Did I not give orders that I -was not to be disturbed?' - -'I don't mind your orders, and I am going as fast as I can.' - -'Why, where are you going?' - -'To hell,' replied the jester in a sepulchral tone. - -'What are you going to do there?' asked the King, laughing. - -'To fetch back Oliver Cromwell, to take some care of the national -affairs, for I am sure your Majesty takes none.' - -And the King went to the Council. - -Another famous comedian of that day was Joe Haines, who was an Oxford -M.A., but a scamp of the first order, who managed to cheat even the -rector of the Jesuit College in Paris out of L40 by a pretended note -from the Duke of Monmouth. Not long after, meeting with a simple-minded -clergyman, he told him that he was one of the patentees of Drury Lane, -and appointed him his chaplain, instructing him at the same time to go -to the theatre with a large bell, to ring it, and call out: 'Players, -come to prayers!' Which the clergyman did, till he found he had been -hoaxed. In the reign of James II., this Haines turned Roman Catholic, -and told Sunderland that the Virgin Mary had appeared, and said to him: -'Joe, arise!' To this Sunderland dryly replied that she should have -said 'Joseph,' if only out of respect for her husband. - -The greatest actor at the time of Charles II. was undoubtedly Thomas -Betterton. He joined the company of Sir William Davenant in 1662. -Pepys frequently went to see him. In those days the pay of actors was -not what it is now; Betterton, in spite of the position he held in -public estimation, never had more than L5 a week, including L1, by way -of pension, to his wife, who retired in 1694. In 1709 he took a -benefit, at which the money taken at the doors was L75, but he received -also more than L450 in complimentary guineas; and in the following year -he had another benefit, by which he netted about L1,000. Of course, -according to modern notions, these are but small receipts; but they are -better than what seems to have been the standard of theatrical payments -in 1511--judging from a bill of that year, without name of place where -the acting took place, but which states that it was performed on the -feast of St. Margaret (July 20). According to legend, the devil, in the -shape of a dragon, swallowed St. Margaret, but she speedily made her -escape, and was thus considered to possess great powers of assisting -women in childbirth. The bill runs thus: - -'To musicians, for three nights, L0 5s. 6d.; for players in bread and -ale, L0 3s. 1d.; for decorations, dresses, and play-books, L1 0s. 0d.; -to John Hobbard, priest, and author of the piece, L0 2s. 8d.; for the -place in which the presentation was held, L0 1s. 0d.; for furniture, L0 -1s. 4d.; for fish and bread, L0 0s. 4d.; for painting three phantoms and -devils, L0 0s. 6d.; and for four chickens for the hero, L0 0s. 4d.' We -see here the author received only 2s. 8d. for writing the play. Matters -have improved since then; Sheridan realized L3,000 by the sale of his -altered play of 'Pizarro.' In the early part of this century authors of -successful pieces received from the theatre from L250 to L500, and from -the purchaser of the copyright for publication from L100 to L400. Then -actors received L80 a week; favourite performers--stars, as we should -now call them--were paid L50 a night. Actors have at times found very -generous friends. When, in 1808, Covent Garden Theatre, then under the -management of John P. Kemble, was burnt down, the loss was immense, and -the insurances did not exceed L50,000. The then Duke of Northumberland -offered Kemble the sum of L10,000 as a loan on his simple bond. The -offer was accepted, and the bond given. On the day appointed for laying -the first stone, the bond was returned cancelled! - -Italian opera-singers have made large fortunes in England. When Owen -McSwiney was lessee of the Haymarket, circa 1708, he engaged one -Nicolini, a Neapolitan, who really was a splendid actor and a -magnificent-looking man, with a voice which won universal admiration, at -a salary of eight hundred guineas for the season--at that time an -enormous sum. Nicolini left the stage in 1712, and returned to Italy, -where he built himself a fine villa, which, as a testimony of his -gratitude to the nation which enriched him, he called the English Folly. -In 1721 a company of French comedians occupied the Haymarket, to the -disgust of native actors. Aaron Hill, the dramatic author and -opera-manager, consequently had occasion to write to John Rich: 'I -suppose you know that the Duke of Montague and I have agreed that I am -to have that house half the week, and the "French vermin" the other -half.' International courtesies were at some discount at the time! - -A few theatrical anecdotes may close these lucubrations. Actors -sometimes are strangely affected by their own parts. Betterton, -although his countenance was ruddy, when he performed Hamlet, through -the violent and sudden emotion of horror at the presence of his father's -spectre, instantly turned as white as his collar, whilst his whole body -was affected by a strong tremor. When Booth the first time attempted -the ghost, when Betterton acted Hamlet, that actor's look at him struck -him with such horror that he became disconcerted to such a degree that -he could not speak his part. Of Mrs. Siddons, it was said that by the -force of fancy and reflection, she used to be so wrought up in preparing -to play Lady Constance in 'King John,' that, when she set out from her -own house to the theatre, she was already Constance herself. - -Smith--better known as 'Gentleman Smith'--married a sister of Lord -Sandwich. For some time the union was kept concealed, but an apt -quotation of Charles Bannister elicited the truth: - -'"Art thou not Romeo, and a Montague!"' said Bannister, when Foote -bantered Smith on the subject. The latter was not proof against the -sally, and acknowledged the marriage. 'Well,' said Bannister, 'I -rejoice that you have got a Sandwich from the family; but if ever you -get a dinner from them, I'll be hanged.' The prophecy proved true. - -Michael Kelly was an English opera-singer, a musical composer, and at -one time Sheridan's manager at Drury Lane. He then went into the wine -trade, when Sheridan advised him to put over his door: 'Michael Kelly, -composer of wine, and importer of music.' - - - - - *VI.* - - *OLD JUDGES AND SOME OF THEIR SAYINGS.* - - -When I was a little boy I drew most of my notions of life and mankind -from the picture-books for my use and instruction. I thought that Kings -and Queens wore their crowns and sceptres all day long, and took them to -bed with them, for I had thus seen them in the pictures in the books. -One engraving, I remember, I saw of a severe-looking gentleman, who had -thrown a gray doormat over his head, and sat behind a little desk -everlastingly writing away with an enormous quill pen. It was this -quill pen which specially riveted my attention. I was always given a -steel pen in my writing-lessons. Why not a quill? I asked my mother -who the man was, and was told he was a judge, and that what I took for a -door-mat was a wig which he wore to look dignified, and the great weight -of which was, moreover, intended to prevent his great legal learning -from evaporating through the pores of his skull, which was bald, but -compelled it to come out through his mouth only. - -He used a quill pen to take notes of what was said by the parties -contending before him, because that, being a natural production, could -not possibly tell lies, whereas a steel pen, as an artificial -contrivance, could not be depended on for veracity; wherefore, in all -law proceedings, even at the lowest police court, quill pens only could -be used, for the law on morality and public policy grounds strongly -objects to lies; it is itself so truthful! Of course, I believed all my -mother told me; children are so easy of belief if you only look serious -when you tell them crammers. But I know better now, and crowns no -longer represent to me sovereignty, nor wigs wisdom. Of another -delusion, too, I have been cured. When I was a young man I was told -that English law was the perfection of human wisdom. I believed this -then, for I was only a bigger child without experience. But when I -arrived at years of discretion--that is, when I began to observe and -reflect--I could come to no other conclusion than that the axiom of the -law's wisdom was a delusion. There are many ways of proving this, but -one argument presents itself, which renders all further proofs -unnecessary. Can a code which comprises a number of laws, the -interpretation of whose import is liable to be declared by one judge to -mean 'Yes,' whilst another as positively maintains it means 'No,' be -called the perfection of human wisdom? The ever-growing frequency of -appeals alone is sufficient to show that the existing laws are ambiguous -in expression, and lend themselves to the idiosyncrasies of every -individual judge, which is very far from perfection. Laws should be as -precise in their definitions as mathematical formulae. To substantiate -my reasoning, let me quote an actual case: Some twelve or thirteen years -ago, the captain of a cargo steamer belonging to a London firm, while -loading maize at Odessa, signed bills of lading which were ante-dated. -Between the false date and the real one, a few days after, of loading, -there was a considerable fall in the price of maize, and the consignees, -who were the sufferers by it, brought an action against the owners of -the steamer, they--the consignees--having discovered the ante-dating, -and recovered L437 damages, which the shipowners paid. On the captain's -return to England, he made a claim of L190 for wages, which claim was -admitted by the firm, but they set up a counter-claim for the damages -they had had to pay to the consignees, through the captain's negligence -and breach of duty in signing the ante-dated bills. The case went to -trial before Mr. Justice Field and a jury, and was decided in the -captain's favour, both as to his wages and the counter-claim. The -owners appealed, and the Divisional Court, consisting of Grove, Denman, -and Wills, ordered the judgment to be set aside, and a new trial -granted. The Appeal Court ordered the original judgment in favour of -the captain to be restored. The owners then took the cause into the -House of Lords, where Lords Watson, Blackburn, and Fitzgerald restored -the order of the Divisional Court in favour of the owners, with all the -costs they had incurred. Now, here was a case of breach of duty as -plain as it could be, yet it took four trials, the costs amounting to -about L4,000, to decide the question. This is but one of a hundred -similar cases which might be cited. With what wisdom can laws be framed -which can give rise to so many judicial contradictory decisions? And the -fault of this lies not with the judges, but with the legislators, whose -only wisdom seems to consist in surrounding plain matter-of-fact with a -network of sophistry, chicanery, and hair-splitting subtleties--a system -which is constantly regretted by the judges themselves, who are ever -ready to warn the public against indulgence in litigation, for English -judges, as a rule, are straightforward, honourable men, who are inclined -to take common-sense and impartial views, except when a political or -theological bias gives a twist to their judgment. Nor can it be left -out of our consideration that men educated in the legal schools of the -Inns of Court, and by teachers strongly impressed with the dignity and -importance of their pursuit, should adhere to it with cast-iron -rigidity, thus opposing, as much as possible, the introduction of new, -and in their estimation, revolutionary and destructive opinions. It is -due to this adherence to, and maintenance of, the principles of a -barbarous and an arbitrary regime that the judges still possess the -tremendous power of committing for contempt of court any person who may -make a remark displeasing to them, however innocently that remark may -have been made. Years ago I defended an action brought against me by a -tradesman for certain goods he alleged he had supplied me with. The -action was tried in a County Court. The plaintiff made his statement, -which introduced several particulars which were as new to me as they -were false. But my solicitor whom I had brought with me could not know -they were so. I turned towards the judge, and stated that I could prove -in two minutes that there was not a word of truth in the plaintiff's -statements. But the judge turned quite savagely towards me, saying: - -'You must not speak to me. You have your solicitor here.' - -'But,' I replied, 'my solicitor cannot know that these assertions are -false!' - -'Be silent!' thundered the judge. 'If you say another word I shall -commit you for contempt.' - -Of course I said no more, but, like the parrot, thought a lot. I knew -that a judge, a mere County Court judge, who passes his life amidst the -most sordid and depressing scenes of wretchedness, had the power of -sending me to prison, and to keep me there till I made the most abject -apology for a speech which was never intended to be offensive. Persons -have been kept in prison for twenty years by the mere order of a judge, -who was plaintiff, jury, and judge in every such case. This is scarcely -in accordance with our ideas of justice. But this relic of a barbarous -age will be abolished in time, as the Courts of Doctors' Commons, or the -Palace Court, where a number of sleepy old gentlemen - - 'Were sittin' at their ease, - A-sendin' of their writs about, - And drorin' in their fees,' - -have been abolished. And there is no doubt that our modern judges are -superior in talent, adroitness, and acuteness to those of former days. -They are men of high-breeding, combining in their characteristics those -of the courtier and of the lawyer. Judges of the past were different; -in fact, some of the old judges were noted for their eccentricities. -Lord Thurlow was one of them. When he was still an aspirant for -forensic fame, he was one evening at Nando's Coffee-house--now a -hairdresser's shop, opposite Chancery Lane, falsely called the palace of -Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey. Arguing keenly about a celebrated case -then before the courts, he was heard by some lawyers, who were so -pleased with his handling of the matter that next day they appointed him -junior counsel, and the cause won him a silk gown. This was in 1754. -It is asserted that he was singularly ugly, and that when his portrait -was shown to Lavater, the physiognomist said: 'Whether that man is on -earth or in another place, which shall be nameless, I know not; but -wherever he is, he is a born tyrant, and will rule if he can.' And the -opinion thus formed was a correct one, for Lord Thurlow was fierce and -overbearing as a statesman, and was more feared than any other member of -the Cabinet. In 1778 he had become Lord Chancellor, and been raised to -the Peerage. His ugliness must have been a fact, for the Duke of -Norfolk, who had at Arundel Castle a fine breed of owls, named one of -them, on account of its ugliness, Lord Thurlow. Great fun was caused by -a messenger coming to the Duke in the Lobby of the House of Peers with -the news that Lord Thurlow had laid an egg. - -In 1785 Lord Thurlow purchased Brockwell Green Farm, and other lands in -the neighbourhood of Dulwich and Norwood, and chose Knight's Hill as a -suitable site for a house. The house was finished, but Lord Thurlow -considered it too dear--it is said to have cost L30,000--and would never -live in it, but remained in a smaller house, called Knight's Hill Farm. -As he was coming from the Queen's Drawing-room, a lady asked him when he -was going into his new house. 'Madam,' he replied, 'the Queen has just -asked me that impudent question, and, as I would not tell her, I will -not tell you.' Both the mansion and the farmhouse disappeared long ago. - -The romantic marriage of Lord Eldon, then plain Mr. John Scott, of the -Northern Circuit, forms a pleasant episode in legal history. Bessie -Surtees was the daughter of Aubone Surtees, a banker and gentleman of -honourable descent at Newcastle. Scott had met and danced with her at -the assemblies in that town, and his pretensions were at first favoured -by her family; but Sir William Blackett, a patrician but aged suitor, -presenting himself, Bessie was urged to throw over Scott and become Lady -Blackett. But Bessie was faithful, and one night descended from a -window into her lover's arms, and they were married at Blackshiels, -North Britain. The future Lord Eldon came to London with his young and -pretty wife, and settled in a humble, small house in Cursitor Street. -Their housekeeping at first must have been on a somewhat restricted -scale, for Lord Eldon, in after-life, used to relate that, in those -days, he frequently ran into Clare Market for sixpennyworth of sprats. -It was probably owing to these privations in the early days of their -married life that her husband had afterwards to complain of her -stinginess and her repugnance to society. In fact, she seems to have -ruled him rather sternly, for we read of his often stealing into the -George Coffee House, at the top of the Haymarket, to get a pint of wine, -as Lady Eldon did not permit him to enjoy it in peace at home. Cyrus -Redding, who tells us this, did not like Eldon either as a Tory or as a -man. 'His words,' he writes, 'were no index to his real feelings. He -had a sterile soul for all things earthly, except money, doubts, and the -art of drawing briefs.' - -Cyrus Joy, who was present at the funeral of Lord Gifford, who was -buried in the Rolls Chapel, relates that Lord Eldon and Lord Chief -Justice Abbott were placed in a pew by themselves, and that he saw Lord -Eldon, who was very shaky during the most solemn part of the service, -touch the Chief Justice, evidently for his snuff-box, for the box was -produced, and he took a large pinch of snuff, but the moment he had -taken it he threw it away. 'I was astonished,' says Joy, 'at the -deception practised by so great a man, with the grave yawning before -him.' Whilst Lord Eldon held the Great Seal, in 1812, a fire occurred -at Encombe, his country seat in Dorsetshire. As soon as it broke out, -Lord Eldon buried the Seal in the garden whilst the engine played on the -burning house. All the men-servants were helping to supply it with -water. 'It was,' wrote Lord Eldon, 'a very pretty sight, for all the -maids turned out of their beds, and formed a line from the water to the -fire-engine, handing the buckets. They looked very pretty, all in their -shifts.' When the fire was subdued, Lord Eldon had forgotten where he -had buried the Seal, and all the gardeners and maids who had looked so -pretty by firelight were set to work to dig up the garden till the Seal -was found. Lord Eldon could be very rude at times. He and the -Archbishop dined with George III., when he said: 'It is a curious fact -that your Majesty's Archbishop and your Lord Chancellor married -clandestinely. I had some excuse, certainly, for Bessie Surtees was the -prettiest girl in all Newcastle; but Mrs. Sutton was always the same -pumpkin-faced thing that she is at present.' The King was much amused, -as we are told. - -Lord Eldon's brother, Sir William Scott, had a strange matrimonial -experience. His brother eloped with a man's daughter, and thus entered -the wedded state somewhat illegally. Sir William may be said to have -entered it, in the true sense of the word, legally--that is, as a result -of his legal status. He and Lord Ellenborough presided at the Old -Bailey at the trial of the young Marquis of Sligo for having, while in -the Mediterranean, lured into his yacht two of the King's sailors, for -which offence he was fined L5,000, and sentenced to four months' -imprisonment in Newgate. Throughout the trial his mother sat in the -court, hoping that her presence would rouse in the bench or the jury -feelings favourable to her son. When the above sentence was pronounced, -Sir William accompanied it by a long moral jobation on the duties of a -citizen. The Marchioness sent a paper full of satirical thanks to Sir -William for his good advice to her son. Sir William read it as he sat -on the bench, and, having looked towards the lady, received from her a -glance and a smile which sealed his fate. Within four months he was -tied fast (on April 10, 1813) to a voluble, shrill termagant, who -rendered him miserable and contemptible. He removed to his wife's house -in Grafton Street, and, ever economical in his domestic expenses, -brought with him his own door-plate from Doctor's Commons, and placed it -under the pre-existing plate of Lady Sligo. Jekyll, the punster of the -day, condoled with Sir William at having to 'knock under.' Sir William -had the plates transposed. - -'You see, I don't knock under now,' he said to Jekyll. - -'Not now,' replied the punster; 'now you knock up.' - -This was said with reference to his advanced age. - -Lord Erskine, another famous judge, when dining one day at the house of -Sir Ralph Payne, afterwards Lord Lavington, found himself so indisposed -as to be obliged to retire after dinner to another room. When he -returned to the company, Lady Payne asked how he found himself. Erskine -took out a piece of paper and wrote on it: - - ''Tis true I am ill, but I cannot complain, - For he never knew pleasure who never knew Payne.' - - -After he had ceased to hold the Seals as Lord Chancellor--and the time -he held the office was one year only--he met Captain Parry at dinner, -and asked him what he and his crew lived on in the Frozen Sea. Parry -replied that they lived on seals. 'And capital things too, seals are, -if you only keep them long enough,' was Erskine's reply. Being invited -to attend the Ministerial fish dinner at Greenwich when he was -Chancellor, 'To be sure,' he answered; 'what would your dinner be -without the Great Seal?' When Erskine lived at Hampstead he was asked -at a dinner-party he attended, 'The soil is not the best in that part of -Hampstead where your seat is?' 'No,' he answered, 'very bad; for though -my grandfather was buried there as an Earl near a hundred years ago, -what has sprouted from it since but a mere Baron?' Erskine married when -very young, and had four sons and four daughters. When a widower and -getting old he married a second time, and his latter days were passed in -a state bordering on indigence. He died in 1823, in poverty. On July -17, 1826, a woman, poorly dressed, was brought before the Lord Mayor by -a chimney-sweep as a person deserving assistance. The woman, being -interrogated, declared herself to be Lady Erskine. The Lord Mayor -conducted her into his private room, where he heard her sad story. She -had lived with Lord Erskine several years before he married her, which -he did in Scotland, whereby their children (four) were legitimatized. -His death left her destitute, though she had been promised a pension -from Government of twelve shillings a week, which had been paid very -irregularly, and finally withdrawn altogether, because she would not be -parted from her youngest child. The others had been taken care of by -Government. She had for years endeavoured to maintain herself by female -labour, but now she was totally destitute and actually starving. The -Lord Mayor liberally supplied her present wants, and promised to -intercede for her with Government, with what result we have been unable -to ascertain. It was Mr. H. Erskine, brother of Lord Erskine, who, -after being presented to Dr. Johnson by Boswell, slipped a shilling into -the latter's hand, whispering that it was for showing him his bear. -Erskine could mould a jury at his pleasure, yet in Parliament he was not -successful as an orator. But when pleading he was always ready with -repartee. Once, when insisting on the validity of an argument before -Lord Mansfield, the latter said: 'I disproved it before you were born!' -'Yes, my Lord,' replied Erskine, 'because I was not born.' Lord Erskine -owned that the most discreditable passage in his life was his becoming -Lord Chancellor. Some other judges seem to have had no faith in their -own works. Lord Campbell was seated one day next to Chief Baron -Pollock, when they were both Members of the House of Commons, and said: -'Pollock, we lawyers receive the highest wages of an infamous -profession.' - -Sir Nicholas Bacon was so learned in the law that he was appointed -attorney in the Court of Wards, and made a Privy Councillor and Keeper -of the Great Seal under Elizabeth. When the Queen visited him at -Redgrave, she observed, alluding to his corpulence, that he had built -the house too little for himself. 'Not so, madam,' he answered; 'but -your Majesty has made me too big for my house.' A man was brought -before Sir Nicholas accused of a crime which, under the Draconian laws -then in force, involved the penalty of death. He was found guilty, and, -asked whether he had anything to say for himself, appealed to the -judge's compassion, seeing that he was a kind of relation to him, his -name being Hogg. 'True,' replied Bacon; 'but Hog is not Bacon till it's -hung.' And hung, or hanged, to speak correctly, he was, and thus did -not save his bacon. But the jest was a cruel one. - - - - - *VII.* - - *SOME FAMOUS LONDON ACTRESSES.* - - -Distance lends enchantment to the view, but the view frequently does not -return it, a common practice with borrowers! Distance alone invests the -East with a halo of romance and beauty, to which it really can lay no -claim. The romance is the invention of Western imagination, and the -beauty, if not tawdry, is monstrous. In no respect is this excess of -imagination over the reality more apparent than in the eidolon the -European forms in his mind of Eastern female beauty. He hears or reads -of houris, and nautch-girls, and bayaderes, and the dancing-women of -Japan and Burmah; but if ever he sees any of them he will be -disenchanted, for awkward figures they are, wrapped up in clothes like -so many sacks, twisted and tied over one another--if not old, at least -middle-aged women with rings in their noses. Pooh! enough of them! The -real beauties the European never gets a sight of, they are shut up in -harems. But still he thinks the East the region of beauty, and longs -for it, even when he sees beauty in perfection in the West, where alone -it is to be found, because in Western lands alone physical and -intellectual or perfect beauty exists in combination. And this -combination is most frequently seen, as may be surmised from the nature -of her avocation, in the actress. Women first appeared on the English -stage in 1660. On December 6 in that year, at the performance of -'Othello' at the Duke's Theatre, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the prologue -spoken is entitled: 'A prologue to introduce the first woman that came -to act on the stage.' Pepys went to see 'The Beggar's Bush' at the same -theatre on January 3, 1661, and reports: 'Here the first time that ever -I saw a woman come upon the stage.' But the Queen had long before then, -namely, in 1633, acted in a pastoral given at Court. The practice -having, however, been introduced at the Duke's Theatre, was continued, -to the disgust of moralists, who looked upon the 'enormous shamefulness' -of female acting as a sinful practice. Even the intelligent and -generally liberal-minded Evelyn speaks of the drama as abused to 'an -atheistical liberty,' by the circumstance of women being suffered to -become performers. In his Diary, October 18, 1666, he writes: 'This -night was acted my Lord Broghill's tragedy, called "Mustapha," before -their Majesties at Court, at which I was present, very seldom going to -the public theatres for many reasons now, as they were abused to an -atheistical liberty, foul and indecent women now (and never till now) -permitted to appear and act, who, inflaming several young noblemen and -gallants, became their misses, and to some their wives, witness ye Earl -of Oxford, Sir R. Howard, P. Rupert, the Earl of Dorset, and another -greater person than any of them, who fell into their snares, to ye -reproach of their noble families, and ruin of both body and soul.' By -'another greater person,' Evelyn no doubt intended the King himself, -Charles II., who had at least three avowed mistresses taken from the -stage--Madam Davis, Mrs. Knight, and Nell Gwynne. Miss Davis was, -according to Pepys, a natural daughter of the Earl of Berkshire. He -went to see her perform on March 7, 1666, in 'The English Princess,' and -'little Miss Davis did dance a jigg after the end of the play, and there -telling the next day's play, so that it came in by force only to see her -dance in boy's clothes.' Mrs. Knight was a famous singer. Kneller -painted her portrait. Of Nell Gwynne we shall have occasion to speak -further on. At the same theatre Mrs. Davenport, the lady who played the -part of Roxalana in 'The Siege of Rhodes,' was taken to be the Earl of -Oxford's _misse_, as at this time they began to call lewd women, as -Evelyn says. But Evelyn evidently was badly informed. Mrs. Davenport -for a long time refused the Earl of Oxford's presents and overtures, -but, on his offering to marry her, she consented. The ceremony was -performed, and they lived together for some time, and then the Earl -informed her that the marriage was a sham, and that the mock parson was -one of his trumpeters. In vain the deluded woman appealed to the laws, -in vain she threw herself at the King's feet to demand justice. She -might consider herself lucky to obtain a pension of L300. Pepys saw her -afterwards at the theatre, and says: 'Saw the old Roxalana in the chief -box, in a velvet gown, as the fashion is, and very handsome, at which I -was glad.' - -Moll Davies was another of the King's favourites, and he is said to have -fallen in love with her through her singing 'My Lodging is on the Cold -Ground' in 'The Rivals,' a play altered by Davenant from Beaumont and -Fletcher's 'The Two Noble Kinsmen.' Pepys frequently mentions her as a -rival to Nell Gwynne. She had one daughter by Charles, who was -christened Mary Tudor, and was married in 1687 to the son of Sir Francis -Ratcliff, who became Earl of Derwentwater. When the King grew tired of -her he settled a pension on her of L1,000 a year. It was as a -descendant of this Earl that the lady who called herself Amelia, -Countess of Derwentwater, in 1868 took possession of the old baronial -castle of Devilstone, or Dilston, claiming it and the estates belonging -thereto, but then and now vested in Greenwich Hospital, as hers. But -the Lords of the Admiralty, in 1870, defeated her claim, and she -disappeared from public view. - -Another famous actress in the days of Charles II. was Margaret Hughes, -of whom Prince Rupert became enamoured. At first she pretended to be -fiercely virtuous, so as to secure a higher price for her favours. And, -in fact, the Prince settled on her Brandenburgh House, near Hammersmith, -in which she lived about ten years. The house afterwards became the -residence of Queen Caroline, who died there, shortly after which it was -demolished. - -Whatever may be said against women appearing on the stage, there is -something more repulsive in men and boys taking female parts in a play, -at least, so it seems to our moral feelings, and aesthetically the -practice is still more objectionable. Male performers can never -represent the spontaneous grace, melting voice, and tender looks of a -female, and the ludicrous contretemps the custom frequently caused -further showed its absurdity. Thus, on one occasion, Charles II. -inquired why the commencement of the play was delayed. The manager -stepped forward and craved his Majesty's indulgence, as the queen was -not yet shaved. And whatever Prynne might say in his 'Histrio Mastix' -against female actors, the practice caught on and became general. Of -course, the opposition did not cease at once; even in France it raised -its head as late as 1733. A speaker against the stage spoke thus at the -Jesuits' College in Paris: 'They (the actresses) do not form the deadly -shafts of Cupid, but they level them with the eye, and shoot with the -utmost dexterity and skill. Such women I mean as represent destructive -love characters.... How artfully do they hurl the most inconsiderable -dart! What multitudes are wounded by a single one!' And, indeed, what -multitudes have our Nancy Oldfields, Bracegirdles, Gwynnes, Kitty -Clives, Perditas, Meltons, and the whole galaxy of theatrical beauties -not only wounded, but conquered, and sometimes killed! - -The life of an actress had many ups and downs--as it has now--in former -days. There was the eccentric Charlotte Charke, daughter of Colley -Cibber, who for some mysterious reason for many years went in male -attire, and who acted on the stage if she could get employment. There -was then in Bear Yard, Clare Market, a theatre, occasionally used as a -tennis-court and as an auction-room. 'Thither,' she says in her -Memoirs, 'I adventured to see if there was any character wanting--a -custom very frequent among the gentry who exhibited in that -slaughter-house of dramatic poetry. One night, I remember, the -"Recruiting Officer" was to be performed.... To my unbounded joy -Captain Plume was so unfortunate that he came at five o'clock to say -that he did not know a word of his part.... The question being put to -me, I immediately replied that I could do such a thing, but was ... -resolved to stand upon terms ... one guinea paid in advance, which terms -were complied with.' - -We mentioned above that the life of an actress has many ups and downs -even now. In justification of that statement let us quote from the -_Star_ of September 12, 1896: 'A pathetic story of an aged lady, who had -been a popular actress, but upon whom evil days had come, and who was -found dead in a poorly-furnished bedroom in a third-floor back at -Whitfield Street, Tottenham Court Road, was told yesterday to the -coroner. The old lady was Louisa Marshall, aged seventy, sister of a -celebrated clown at Drury Lane, who died before her. She used to teach -the piano, and had a small pension from the Musical and Dramatic Sick -Fund. The contents of her room, an old piano and some theatrical -dresses, were said to be worth fifty shillings at most.' But, as Byron -says, let us lay this sheet of sorrow on the shelf, and speak of lively, -joyous Nell Gwynne, who drove that amorous Pepys nearly mad. His Diary -is full of her. First she is simply 'pretty, witty Nell' (April 3, -1665). On January 23, 1666, Nelly is brought to him in a box at the -theatre. 'A most pretty woman.... I kissed her, and so did my wife, -and a mighty pretty soul she is.' On March 2, in the same year, 'Nell -... comes in like a young gallant, and hath the motions and carriage of -a spark the most that ever I saw any man have. It makes me, I confess, -admire her.' On May 1, 1667, he writes: 'To Westminster. In the way -many milkmaids with their garlands upon their pails, dancing with a -fiddler before them, and saw pretty Nelly standing at her lodging's door -in Drury Lane, in her smock sleeves and bodice, looking upon one. She -seemed a mighty pretty creature.' But, according to her ardent admirer, -this 'mighty pretty creature' could use mighty strong language too, for -he says of her (October 5, 1667): 'But to see how Nell cursed for having -so few people in the pit was strange.' And again, on October 26, he -reports: 'Nelly and Beck Marshall (one of the great Presbyterian's -daughters) falling out the other day, the latter called the other my -Lord Buckhurst's mistress. Nell answered her: "I was but one man's -mistress, though I was brought up in a disreputable house to fill strong -waters to the gentlemen, and you are a mistress to three or four, though -a Presbyter's praying daughter."' And Nell may have been right, for Beck -Marshall seems to have been a trifle fast. Pepys says, on May 2, 1668: -'To the King's (play) house, where ... the play being over, I did see -Beck Marshall come dressed off the stage, and look mighty fine and -pretty, and noble; and also Nell, in her boy's clothes, mighty pretty. -But, Lord! their confidence, and how many men do hover about them as -soon as they come off the stage, and how confident they are in their -talk!' Pepys, in the end, seems to have cooled in his devotion to -pretty Nell, for on January 7, 1669, he wrote in his Diary: 'My wife and -I to the King's play-house.... We sat in an upper box, and the jade -Nell came and sat in the next box, a bold, merry slut, who lay laughing -there upon people, and with a comrade of hers, of the Duke's house, that -came in to see the play.' - -Coal Yard, Drury Lane, seems to have been Nell Gwynne's birthplace, a -low, disreputable locality, and she died in a fine house on the south -side of Pall Mall. Previously to that, she had lived in a house on the -north side, whose site is now occupied by the Army and Navy Club. -Though Drury Lane in the days of Nell Gwynne was a fashionable locality, -it would seem that only to the southern division this epithet could be -applied; the northern end, towards Holborn, had a low and mean -character, and Coal Yard consisted of miserable tenements. It has -recently been rebuilt, and is now called Goldsmith Street. Nell Gwynne -died in 1691, and was pompously interred in the parish church of St. -Martin's-in-the-Fields, Dr. Tennison, the then Vicar, and afterwards -Archbishop of Canterbury, preaching her funeral sermon. This sermon was -afterwards brought forward at Court to impede the doctor's preferment; -but Queen Mary, having heard the objection, answered: 'Well, what then? -This I have heard before, and it is a proof that the unfortunate woman -died a true penitent, who through the course of her life never let the -wretched ask in vain.' This was certainly as noble an answer to give on -the part of a Queen as it was mean on the part of King Charles II. to -say on his deathbed: 'Don't let poor Nelly starve.' Was it not in his -power to make provision for her, instead of leaving her to the charity -of the world? - -Another both fortunate and unfortunate actress was Mrs. Montford, whose -husband was murdered as he had come to escort Mrs. Bracegirdle, after -Captain Hill's attempt at abducting this lady, on her leaving the -theatre, of which more hereafter. On Mrs. Montford, or Mountfort--the -name is found spelt both ways--Gray wrote his ballad of 'Black-eyed -Susan.' Lord Berkeley's partiality for her was so great that at his -decease he left her L300 a year, on condition that she did not marry; he -also purchased Cowley, near Uxbridge, for her--the place had been the -summer residence of Rich, the actor--and from time to time made her -presents of considerable sums. She fell in love with a Mr. Booth, a -then well-known actor, but, not wishing to lose her annuity, she did not -marry him, though she gave him the preference over many others of her -suitors. Mrs. Montford had an intimate friend, Miss Santlow, a -celebrated dancer; but, through the liberality of one of her admirers, -she became possessed of a fortune, which rendered her independent of the -stage, upon which Mr. Booth proposed to her, and was accepted. This so -affected Mrs. Montford that she became mentally deranged, and was -brought from Cowley to London to have the best advice. As she was not -violent and had lucid moments, she was not rigorously confined, but -suffered to go about the house. One day she asked her attendant what -play was to be performed that evening, and was told it was 'Hamlet.' In -this piece, whilst she was on the stage, she had always appeared as -Ophelia. The recollection struck her, and with the cunning always allied -with insanity, she found means to elude the watchfulness of her -servants, and to reach the theatre, where she concealed herself till the -time when Ophelia was to appear, when she rushed on the stage, pushing -the lady who was to act the character aside, and exhibited a more -perfect representation of madness than the most consummate mimic art -could produce. She was, in truth, Ophelia herself, the very incarnation -of madness. Nature having made this last effort, her vital powers -failed her. On going off, she prophetically exclaimed: 'It is all -over!' As she was being conveyed home, 'she,' in Gray's words, 'like a -lily drooping, bowed her head and died.' - -Lovely Nancy Oldfield, who quitted the bar of the Mitre, in St. James's -Market, then kept by her aunt, Mrs. Voss, became, towards the end of the -seventeenth century, the great attraction at Drury Lane. Her intimacy -with General Churchill, cousin of the great Duke of Marlborough, -obtained for her a grave in Westminster Abbey. Persons of rank and -distinction contended for the honour of bearing her pall, and her -remains lay in state for three days in the Jerusalem Chamber! - -We referred above to the attempt made by Captain Hill to carry off Mrs. -Bracegirdle. Hill had offered her his hand and had been refused. He -determined to abduct her by force. He induced his friend Lord Mahun to -assist him. A coach was stationed near the Horseshoe Tavern in Drury -Lane, with six soldiers to force her into it, which they attempted to do -as she came down Drury Lane about ten o'clock at night, accompanied by -her mother and brother, and a friend, Mr. Page. The attempt was -resisted, a crowd collected, and Hill ordered the soldiers to let the -lady go, and she was escorted home by her friends. She then sent for -her friend Mr. Montford, who soon after turned the corner of Norfolk -Street, where Hill challenged him, as he attributed Mrs. Bracegirdle's -rejection of him to her love for Montford, which suspicion, however, was -groundless, and ran him through the body before he could draw his sword. -Hill made his escape; Montford died from his wounds. - -Even in more recent days actresses have made good matches. Miss Anna -Maria Tree, of Covent Garden, in 1825 married James Bradshaw, of -Grosvenor Place; in 1831, Miss Foote, the celebrated actress, became -Countess of Harrington; Miss Farren, Countess of Derby; Miss Brunton, -Countess of Craven; Miss Bolton became Lady Thurlow; Miss O'Neill -married a baronet; Miss Kitty Stephens became Countess of Essex; Miss -Campion was taken off the stage by the aged Duke of Devonshire. The -list might be greatly extended, even to our own times; but the instances -quoted are sufficient to show the prizes ladies may draw in the -theatrical matrimonial lottery; and there are as good fish in the sea as -ever came out of it. - - - - - *VIII.* - - *QUEER CLUBS OF FORMER DAYS.* - - -The Virtuoso Club was established by some members of the Royal Society, -and held its meetings at a tavern in Cornhill. Its professed object was -to 'advance mechanical exercises, and promote useful experiments'; but, -according to Ned Ward, their discussions usually ended in a general -shindy, and results not to be described by a modern writer. The club -claimed the merit of the invention of the barometer; but, for all that, -its proceedings afforded fine sport to the satirists: thus, the members -were said to aim at making beer without water, living like princes on -three-halfpence a day, producing a table by which a husband may discover -all the particulars of the tricks his wife may play him. The ridicule -showered on the club at last reduced it to a little cynical cabal of -half-pint moralists, who continued to meet at the same tavern. -Convivially-disposed members of other learned societies have -occasionally formed themselves into clubs. Thus some antiquaries, many -years since, formed a club styled 'Noviomagians.' Mr. Crofton Croker -was its president more than twenty years, and many other distinguished -men were members. - -A number of roistering companions used to hold a club at the Golden -Fleece in Cornhill, after which they named their club. Each member on -his admission had a characteristic name assigned to him--as Sir Nimmy -Sneer, Sir Talkative Do-little, Sir Rumbus Rattle. They eventually -adjourned to the Three Tuns, Southwark. - -The No-Nose Club, whether it ever existed or not, was a horrible idea in -itself; it flourished only during the lifetime of its founders. - -The Club of Beaus was what its name implies--a club of fops and idiots. -The only merit they seem to have had was that their habits were always -scrupulously clean, though their language usually was filthy. Their -meetings were held at an inn in Covent Garden. - -The Quacks' Club, or Physical Society, was really an offshoot of the -College of Physicians, which met at a tavern near the Exchange, where -they discussed medical matters. The College of Physicians at that time -was in Warwick Lane, where it remained till removed, in 1825, to -Trafalgar Square. - -The Weekly Dancing Club, or Buttock Ball, was held at a tavern in King -Street, St. Giles, and was patronized by bullies, libertines, and -strumpets; footmen who had robbed their masters and turned gentlemen; -chambermaids who had stolen their mistresses' clothes and set up for -gentlewomen. Though called a club, it was not really a close assembly, -but everyone was admitted on the payment of sixpence, and no questions -asked. The Dancing Academy was first established about the year 1710 by -a dancing-master over the Coal Yard gateway into Drury Lane, and was so -successful that it was removed to the more commodious premises mentioned -above. But at last it became such a nuisance that the authorities shut -it up. The Coal Yard above mentioned, the last turning on the -north-east side of Drury Lane, is said to have been the birthplace of -Nell Gwynne. - -A club cultivating a certain filthy habit, which I can only indicate as -one practised by the French peasantry, and as described in one of Zola's -novels, was established at a public-house in Cripplegate. The manner in -which the proceedings of the club are set forth by their chronicler is -as hideous and repulsive as the writer can make it; it could not be -reproduced in any modern publication without risk of prosecution, which, -indeed, would be well deserved. But the manners of the eighteenth -century were excessively coarse. - -The Man-Killing Club, besides admitting no one to membership who had not -killed his man, also bound itself to resist the Sheriff's myrmidons on -their making any attempt to serve a writ on or seize one of them. It -was founded in the reign of Charles II. by a knot of bullies, broken -Life-Guardsmen, and old prize-fighters. Its meetings were held at a low -public-house on the back-side of St. Clement's. The good old times! - -The Surly Club was chiefly composed of master carmen, lightermen, and -Billingsgate porters, who held their weekly meetings at a tavern near -Billingsgate Dock, where City dames used to treat their journeymen with -beakers of punch and new oysters. The object of their meetings was the -practice of contradiction and of foul language, that they might not want -impudence to abuse passengers on the Thames. This society first -established the thumping-post at Billingsgate, to harden its members by -whipping never to bridle their tongues from fear of corporeal -punishment. Billingsgate language was, as may be supposed, much -improved by them. - -The Atheistical Club met at an inn in Westminster, and its name -sufficiently indicates its object, namely, to take the devil's part. A -trick was played on them by a man disguising himself in a bear's skin -and making them believe he was the devil, which occurrence, it is said, -broke up the club. Similar societies were discovered in Wells Street, -and at the Angel, in St. Martin's Lane, and the members arrested; but, -it turning out that in these cases the devil was less black than he was -painted, the charges against them had to be withdrawn. The societies, in -fact, were more political, with republican tendencies, inspired by the -French Revolution, which was just then at its height, and the worship of -Reason seems to have been one of their principles. - -The Split-farthing Club held its weekly meetings at the Queen's Head in -Bishopsgate Street, and was supposed to be composed chiefly of misers -and skinflints. If any smoker among them left his box behind him, and -wanted to borrow a pipe of tobacco of a brother, it would not be lent -without a note of hand, which was generally written round the bowl of a -pipe so as to prevent the waste of paper. - -The Club of Broken Shopkeepers held its meetings at the sign of -Tumble-Down Dick, a famous boozing den in the Mint in Southwark, a -sanctuary of knaves, sots, and bankrupts, honest or swindling, against -arrest for debt. The sign of Tumble-Down Dick was set up in derision of -Richard Cromwell, the allusion to his fall from power, or 'tumble-down,' -being very common in the satires published after the Restoration. There -was a house with the same sign at Brentford. Of course, the professed -object of the meetings of the broken shopkeepers was that of driving -away and forgetting care; and any new-comer among them, if he had any -cash left, was liberally allowed to expend it for the furtherance of the -club's object. - -The Man-Hunting Club was composed chiefly of young limbs of the law; -uncultivated youths, though they were law students, formed themselves -into an association to hunt men over Lincoln's Inn Fields and the -neighbourhood whom they might happen to meet crossing them at ten or -eleven o'clock at night. They would be concealed upon the grass in one -of the borders of the fields till they heard some single person coming -along, when they would spring up with their swords drawn, run towards -him, and cry: 'That's he; bloody wounds, that's he!' Usually the person -so attacked would run away, when they would pursue him till he took -refuge in an alehouse in some neighbouring street. But if the -man-hunters encountered a person of courage, ready to fight them, they -would sneak off, like the curs they really were. Their meeting-place -was at a tavern close to Bear Yard, Clare Market. - -The Yorkshire Club held its meetings on market-days at an inn in -Smithfield. It was composed of sharp country-folk, who assumed the -innocence of yokels. The most flourishing members among them, says one -authority, were needle-pointed innkeepers; nick and froth victuallers, -honest horse chaunters, pious Yorkshire attorneys; the rest good, -harmless master hostlers, two or three innocent farriers, who had wormed -their masters out of their shops, and themselves into them. When met -for business, their deliberations were about horseflesh, blind eyes, -spavins, bounders and malinders, and how to disguise defects and get rid -of the animals. - -The Mock-Heroes Club met at an alehouse in Baldwin's Gardens, and was -composed chiefly of attorneys' clerks and young shopkeepers. On -admission the new member assumed the name of some defunct hero, and ever -afterwards was at the meetings called by that name; and as the club held -its meetings in the public room, though at a separate table specially -reserved for them, this formal and ridiculous way of addressing one -another caused no slight amusement to the other persons frequenting the -room. In other respects their language was high-flown. Thus, one would -face about to his left-hand neighbour, with his right hand charged with -a brimming tankard, saying: 'Most noble Scipio, the love and friendship -of a soldier to you. The thanks of a brother to my valiant friend -Hannibal, whom I cannot but value, though I had the honour to conquer.' -'My respects to you, brave Caesar,' cries one opposite, 'remembering the -battle of Pharsalia.' And so on, till they had drunk themselves under -the table. - -The Lying Club, which held its meetings at the Bell Tavern, in -Westminster, is said to have been established in 1669. Every member was -to wear a blue cap with a red feather in it; before admittance he had to -give proof of his powers of mendaciloquence; during club hours, that is, -from four to ten p.m., no true word was to be uttered without a -preliminary 'By your leave' to the chairman; and if any member told a -'whopper' which the chairman could not beat with a greater, the latter -had to surrender his office for that evening. Ned Ward gives some -exquisite specimens of the 'whoppers' told by members. - -The Beggars' Club held its weekly meetings at a boozing ken in Old -Street. All the sham cripples, blind men, etc., belonged to it, and -there discussed the various stratagems they had adopted to excite public -compassion, or intended to adopt for that purpose. - -About 1735 a number of young gentlemen, who were pretenders to wit, -formed themselves into a society, which met at the Rose Tavern, Covent -Garden, and which they christened the Scatter-wit Society. But their -literary performances were poor specimens of wit, contributed nothing to -the reputation of the Rose Tavern as the resort of 'men of parts,' and -consequently is not frequently mentioned in the literature of that day. - -Bob Warden was the younger brother of Mr. Warden, a gentleman who, -'after having given a new turn to Jackanapes Lane, and promoted many -useful objects for the good of the public, was undeservedly hanged.' We -may explain here that Jackanapes Lane was the original name of Carey -Street, north of the Law Courts, and the new turn Mr. Warden gave to it -is the western bend connecting it with Portugal Street. Bob Warden, -after his brother's death, was apprenticed to a painter, but, thinking -more of his palate than his palette, he dropped the latter, and with -some money left to him, established a convivial club at the Hill, in the -Strand, where all sorts of queer characters, such as ruined gamesters, -petticoat-pensioners, Irish captains, sharpers and cheats were welcome. -As the meetings took place in a cellar, the club became known as the -Cellar Club, and was the forerunner of the Coal Hole and the Lord Chief -Baron Nicholson. Bob, amidst his roistering customers, drank himself to -death. - -For about ten years the Mohawks, or Mohocks, kept London in a state of -alarm, though they seldom ventured into the City, where the watch was -more efficient, but confined themselves chiefly to the neighbourhood of -Clare Market, Covent Garden, and the Strand. The _Spectator_ says of -them: 'Some of them are celebrated for dexterity in tipping the lion -upon them, which is performed by squeezing the nose flat to the face and -boring out the eyes with their fingers. Others are called the -dancing-masters, and teach their scholars to cut capers by running -swords through their legs.... A third sort are the Nimblers, who set -women on their heads and commit ... barbarities on them.' Their conduct -in the end became so alarming that a reward of L100 was offered by royal -proclamation for the apprehension of any one of them. Curious stories -were current at various times as to the origin of this society. In the -'Memoirs' of the Marquis of Torcy, Secretary of State to Louis XIV., and -a famous diplomatist (born 1665, died 1746), the Duke of Marlborough is -said to have suggested to Prince Eugene 'to employ a band of ruffians -... to stroll about the streets by night ... and to insult people by -passing along, increasing their licentiousness gradually, so as to -commit greater and greater disorders ... that when the inhabitants of -London and Westminster were accustomed to the insults of these rioters, -it would not be difficult to assassinate those of whom they might wish -to be freed, and to cast the whole blame on the band of ruffians.' This -project the Prince is reported to have rejected. Swift, in his 'History -of the Four Last Years of Queen Anne,' attributes the scheme to the -Prince himself on his visit to this country, through his hatred of -Treasurer Harley. He proposed that 'the Treasurer should be taken off -... that this might easily be done and pass for an effect of chance, if -it were preceded by encouraging some proper people to commit small riots -in the night. And in several parts of the town a crew of ruffians were -accordingly employed about that time, who probably exceeded their -commission ... and acted inhuman outrages on many persons, whom they cut -and mangled in the face and arms and other parts of their bodies.... -This account ... was confirmed beyond all contradiction by several -intercepted letters and papers.' It is just possible that popular panic -exaggerated the doings of the Mohawks. Perhaps they did not exceed in -savagery the drunken frolics then customary at night-time. - -The Hell Fire Club was an institution of a character similar to that of -the Mohawks. It was abolished by an order of the Privy Council in 1721, -'against certain scandalous clubs,' but it must have been revived in the -country, for John Wilkes, about 1750, was a notorious member of a club -with the above name at Medmenham Abbey, Bucks. - -The Calves' Head Club for a time had its headquarters at The Cock, an -inn long since demolished, in Suffolk Street, Pall Mall. It was one of -the many inns at which Pepys was 'mighty merry.' The club is said to -have been originated by Milton and other partisans of the Commonwealth; -and the author of the 'Secret History of the Calves' Head -Club'--probably Ned Ward--gives an account of the melodramatic and -diabolical ceremonies observed at their banquets. An axe was hung up in -their club-room as a sacred symbol--the destroyer of the tyrant. But -the eating and drinking, for which, as Addison says, clubs were -instituted, were not neglected by the members. At the banquet held in -1710 there was spent on bread, beer, and ale the sum of L2 10s.; on -fifty calves' heads, L5 5s.; on bacon, L1 10s.; on six chickens and two -capons, L1; on three joints of veal, 18s.; on butter and flour, 15s.; on -oranges, lemons, vinegar, and spices, L1; on oysters and sausages, 15s.; -on the use of pewter and linen, L1; and on various other items -additional sums, bringing the total up to L18 6s. No wine, it will be -noticed, is included in the above bill, but there is no doubt a -considerable amount for this item should be added to it. - -Early in the last century street clubs became common in various parts of -London, that is to say, clubs in which the inhabitants of one or two -streets met every night to discuss the affairs of the neighbourhood. -Out of these, we suppose, arose the Mug House Club, in Long Acre, which -soon found imitators in other parts of London. The members--gentlemen, -lawyers, and tradesmen--met in a large room. A gentleman nearly ninety -years of age was their president. A harp played at the lower end of the -room, and now and then a member rose and treated the company to a song. -Nothing was drunk but ale, and every gentleman had his own mug, which he -chalked on the table as it was brought in. - -In 1770 some young gentlemen, on returning from the grand tour it was -then customary to make after leaving college--a tour which was supposed -to lick the young cubs into shape and refine their manners, of course an -illusion, since, whilst abroad, they associated chiefly with the scum of -English society then swarming on the Continent--some of these young -gentlemen, on their return, established in St. James's Street the Savoir -Vivre Club, where they held periodical dinners, of which macaroni was a -standing dish. This club was the nursery of the Macaronis, a phalanx of -mild Hyde Park beaux, who were distinguished for nothing but the -ridiculous dress they assumed. An unfinished copy of verses found among -Sheridan's papers, and which Thomas Moore considered as the foundation -of certain lines in the 'School for Scandal,' delineates the Macaronis -in a few masterly strokes: - - 'Then I mount on my palfrey as gay as a lark, - And, followed by John, take the dust in Hyde Park. - In the way I am met by some smart Macaroni, - Who rides by my side on a little bay pony; - ... as taper and slim as the ponies they ride, - Their legs are as slim, and their shoulders no wider,' etc. - - -The Savoir Vivre Club did not outlive the reign of the Macaronis, which -lasted about five years, and the club ended its days--the chairmen and -linkmen never having understood its foreign appellation--as a -public-house bearing the name and sign of The Savoy Weavers. There were, -in the last century especially, no end of Small clubs, whose objects in -most cases were trivial and ridiculous. Short notice is all they -deserve. - -The Humdrum Club was composed of gentlemen of peaceable dispositions, -who were satisfied to meet at a tavern, smoke their pipes, and say -nothing till midnight. The Twopenny Club was formed by a number of -artisans and mechanics, who met every night, each depositing on his -entering the club-room his twopence. If a member swore, his neighbours -might kick him on the shins. If a member's wife came to fetch him, she -was to speak to him outside the door. In the reign of Charles II. was -established the Duellists' Club, to which no one was admitted who had -not killed his man. The chronicler of the club naively says: 'This -club, consisting only of men of honour, did not continue long, most of -the members being put to the sword or hanged.' - -The Everlasting Club, founded in the first decade of the last century, -was so called because its hundred members divided the twenty-four hours -of day and night among themselves in such a manner that the club was -always sitting, no person presuming to rise till he was relieved by his -appointed successor, so that a member of the club not on duty himself -could always find company, and have his whet or draught, as the rules -say, at any time. - -The tradespeople and workmen of the past seem to have had a passion for -clubs; but there is this to be said in their favour, theirs were only -drinking clubs. Our modern patrons of low-class clubs establish them for -the worse pursuits of gambling and betting. - - - - - *IX.* - - *CURIOUS STORIES OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE.* - - -In the _Weekly Journal_ of January 2, 1719-20, can be read: 'It was the -observation of a witty knight many years ago, that the English people -were something like a flight of birds at a barn-door. Shoot among them -and kill ever so many, the rest shall return to the same place in a very -little time, without any remembrance of the evil that had befallen their -fellows.' The pigeons at Monte Carlo, whom the cruel-minded idiots who -fire at them have missed, instead of flying at once and for ever from -the murderous spot, perch on the cage in which their fellows are kept, -and are easily caught again, to be eventually killed. 'Thus the -English,' the _Weekly Journal_ concludes, 'though they have had examples -enough in these latter times of people ruined by engaging in projects, -yet they still fall in with the next that appears.' And thus the Stock -Exchange flourishes. That desolation-spreading upastree was planted in -the mephitic morass of the national debt. It is considered deserving of -blame in an individual to get into debt, yet sometimes his doing so is -unavoidable--his means are insufficient for his wants. But a nation has -no excuse for taking credit and getting into debt. There is wealth -enough in the country to pay cash for all it requires; and if it borrows -money merely to subsidize foreign tyrants to enchain their own subjects, -it commits a criminal act. But nearly the whole of our national debt -has such an origin, and its poisonous produce is the Stock Exchange. -The word 'stock-jobber' was first heard in 1688, when a crowd of -companies sprang into existence, and it was then that the Stock Exchange -was first established as an independent institution at Jonathan's -Coffee-house, in Change Alley, in or about 1698. Before then the -brokers had carried on their business in the Royal Exchange. London at -that time abounded--at what time does it not?--with new projects and -schemes, many of them delusory, consequently the legitimate transactions -of the Royal Exchange were inconveniently interfered with by the -presence of so many jobbers and brokers--that pernicious spawn of the -public funds, as Noortbouck calls them--and they were ordered to leave -the Exchange. They just crossed the road and went to Jonathan's, 'and -though a public nuisance, they serve the purposes of ministers too well, -in propagating a spirit of gaming in Government securities, to be -exterminated, as a wholesome policy would dictate.' There, at -Jonathan's, 'you will see a fellow in shabby clothes,' as we read in the -'Anecdotes of the Manners and Customs of London,' 'selling L10,000 or -L12,000 in stock, though perhaps he may not be worth at the same time -10s., and with as much zeal as if he were a director, which they call -selling a bear-skin.' Thus this latter expression seems very old. The -business of stock-jobbing increased, in spite of some feeble repressive -attempts on the part of Government in 1720, the House of Commons passing -a vote 'that nothing can tend more to the establishment of public credit -than preventing the infamous practice of stock-jobbing'; and also -passing at the same time an Act enabling persons who had been sufferers -thereby to obtain an easy and speedy redress.[#] In spite of this the -brokers contrived to thrive to such an extent that they found it -necessary to take a more commodious room in Threadneedle Street, to -which admission was obtained on payment of sixpence. The Bank Rotunda -was at one period the place where bargains in stocks were made; but -there the brokers were as great a nuisance as they had been at the Royal -Exchange, and were turned out. It was then they took the room in -Threadneedle Street, and in the year 1799 they raised L12,150 in 1,263 -shares of L50 each, and purchased a site in Capel Court, comprising -Mendoza's boxing-room and debating forum and buildings contiguous, on -which the present Stock Exchange was erected, and opened in 1801. Capel -Court was so called from the London residence of Sir William Capel, Lord -Mayor of London in 1504. Within the last decade the building has been -considerably enlarged and beautified. - - -[#] An Act passed in 1734 forbade time bargains under a penalty of L500 -on brokers and their clients, and of L100 for contracting for the sale -of stock of which the person was not possessed. Both these statutes were -repealed circa 1860. - - -Stockbrokers are supposed to lead very harassed and restless lives--yes, -if they speculate on their own account and with their own money, a folly -which no experienced broker ever thinks of committing. He speculates -for other people, and with their money, and, well, if before the -official hour of opening--viz., eleven o'clock--a chance presents itself -of a deal with a customer's stock on the broker's account, by which a -little benefit accrues to the latter, the customer knows nothing about -it, and what you are ignorant of does not hurt. The broker is, in this -respect, very much like the lawyer. Neither the broker nor the lawyer -can be expected to share their clients' anxieties concerning investments -or disputed interests, and they don't. When either of them leaves his -office for his suburban villa or Brighton breezes, he leaves all -thoughts of business behind him in the office, considering that the -freedom from care he enjoys at home is honestly earned, and no doubt it -is--in his estimation. - -Until within the first quarter of this century a singular custom -concerning the admission of Jews to the Stock Exchange was in existence. -The number of Jew brokers was limited to twelve, and these could secure -the privilege only by a liberal gratuity to the Lord Mayor for the time -being. 'During the Mayoralty of Wilkes, one of the Jew brokers was -taken seriously ill, and Wilkes is said to have speculated pretty openly -on the advantage he would derive from filling up the vacancy. The son -of the broker, meeting the Lord Mayor, reproached Wilkes with wishing -his father's death. 'My dear fellow,' replied Wilkes, with the -sarcastic humour peculiar to him, 'you are in error, for I would rather -have all the Jew brokers dead than your father.' - -The funds are much affected by political events; that goes without -saying. Their rise or fall may be very rapid. It was exceptionally so -in the early period of the French revolutionary war. In March, 1792, -the Three per Cents, were at 96, in 1797 they were as low as 48, the -lowest they ever fell to. The possession of prior or exclusive -intelligence enables persons to speculate with great success. A broker -who casually became acquainted with the failure of Lord Macartney's -negotiation with the French Directory, made L16,000 while breakfasting -at Batson's Coffee-house, Cornhill, and had he not been timid, might -have gained half a million, so great was the fluctuation, owing to the -news being entirely unexpected. - -But the magnates of the money market did not rely on casual -intelligence. They left no stone unturned to obtain reliable -information in advance even of Government. Thus Sir Henry Furnese, a -bank director, paid for constant despatches from Holland, Flanders, -France and Germany. He made an enormous haul by his early intelligence -of the surrender of Namur in 1695. King William gave him a diamond ring -as a reward for early information; yet he was not above fabricating -false news, and he had his tricks for influencing the funds. If he -wished to buy, his brokers looked gloomy, and, the alarm spread, they -concluded their bargains. Marlborough had an annuity of L6,000 from -Medina, the Jew, for permission to attend his campaigns. During the -troubles of 1745, when the rebels advanced towards London, stocks fell -terribly. Sampson Gideon, a famous Jew broker, managed to have the -first news of the Pretender's retreat. He hastened to Jonathan's, -bought all the stock in the market, spending all his cash, and pledging -his name for more. This stroke of business made him a millionaire. - -During the last years of the French wars a difference of 8 per cent., -and even 10 per cent., would occur within an hour, and thus great -fortunes might be won or lost within that short time. It was also a -period of gigantic frauds, but of these later on. - -Of all the sons of Maier Amschel Rothschild, Nathan, born in 1777, was -undoubtedly the most prominent. Inheriting his father's spirit, he left -his home at the early age of twenty-two, and in 1798 opened a small shop -as a banker and money-lender at Manchester. He had left Frankfurt, -where his father's house had just been knocked into ruins by the -bombardment of Marshal Kleber, with only a thousand florins in his -pocket. But the cotton interest was just then beginning to develop -itself, and Nathan took such clever advantage of the opportunities this -offered him, that at the end of five years he came from Manchester to -London with a fortune of L200,000, where he became the son-in-law of -Levi Barnett Cohen, one of the Jewish City magnates. The report of his -Manchester successes had preceded him to the Capital, and he immediately -engaged largely in Stock Exchange speculations. Whilst houses of the -oldest standing were tottering or falling, owing to the State loan of -1810 having turned out a failure, and the fortunes of the Peninsular War -seemed most doubtful, some drafts of Wellington to a considerable amount -came over here, and there was no money in the Exchequer to meet them. -Nathan Rothschild, satisfied as to England's final victory, purchased -the bills at a large discount, and finally found the means of redeeming -them at par. It was a splendid speculation, which resulted in his -entering into closer intercourse with the Ministry, and he was chiefly -employed in transmitting the subsidies which England furnished--most -foolishly indeed--to the Continental Powers. The circumstance that -Nathan was supplied by his brothers at Frankfurt and elsewhere with the -earliest and most reliable intelligence, and his trustworthy connections -and arrangements in London, enabled him to turn such knowledge to -immediate and profitable account. But there being then neither railways -nor telegraphs, news was slow in coming. Nathan trained carrier pigeons, -and organized a staff of agents, whose duty it was to follow the march -of the armies, and daily and hourly to send reports in cipher, tied -under the wings of the pigeons. His agents, by means of fast-sailing -boats, taking the shortest routes, indicated by Nathan himself--the -mail-boats between Folkestone and Boulogne of the present day follow one -of these routes--carried large sums between the coasts of Germany, -France, and England. And when events on the Continent were coming to a -crisis, Nathan on more than one occasion hurried over to the Continent -to watch the course of affairs. It is said that Nathan Rothschild, on -June 18, 1815, was on the field of Waterloo,[#] and watched the battle -till he saw the French troops in full retreat, when he immediately rode -back to Brussels, whence a carriage took him to Ostend. The sea was -stormy; in vain Nathan offered 500 francs, 600 francs, 800 francs, to -carry him across; at last a poor fisherman risked his life for 2,000 -francs, and his frail barque, which carried Caesar and his fortunes, -landed Nathan in the evening at Dover. When he appeared on June 20, -leaning against his usual pillar in the Stock Exchange, everything and -everybody looked gloomy. He whispered to a few of his most intimate -friends that the allied army had been defeated. The dismal news spread -like wildfire, and there was a tremendous fall in the funds. Nathan's -known agents sold with the rest, but his unknown agents bought every -scrap of paper that was to be had. It was not till the afternoon of -June 21 that the news of the victory of Waterloo became known. Nathan -was the first to inform his friends of the happy event, a quarter of an -hour before the news was given to the public. The funds rose faster -than they had fallen, and Nathan still leant against his pillar in the -southern corner of the Stock Exchange, but richer by about a million -sterling. From that day the career of Nathan was one of ever-increasing -prosperity; his firm became the agents of all European Governments; he -made bargains with the Czar of Russia and with South American Republics, -with the Pope and the Sultan. About the morality of the Waterloo -episode the less said the better, but peers and princes of the blood, -bishops and archbishops, partook of his sumptuous banquets, whilst he -calculated to a penny on what a clerk could live! - - -[#] To an article I wrote twenty-five years ago on this topic I find -appended the following note: 'We give the following on the authority of -Martin, but must add that a private friend, who formerly filled an -office of trust in the firm of Rothschild Brothers, declares the whole -to be a fiction.' But who this friend was we cannot now remember. - - -Another financier, who almost rivalled Rothschild as a speculator, was -Abraham Goldsmid, who was ruined by a conspiracy. He, in conjunction -with a banking establishment, had taken a large Government loan. The -conspirators managed to cause the omnium stock to fall to 18 discount. -The result was Goldsmid's failure and eventually his suicide, whilst the -conspirators made a profit of about L2,000,000. - -Among other notable stockbrokers we must not omit Francis Bailey, -F.S.A., President of the Royal Astronomical Society, who retired from -the Stock Exchange in 1825. In 1851 he repeated at his house in -Tavistock Place, Russell Square, the Cavendish experiment of weighing -the earth, and calculating its bulk and figure, and at the same time -verifying the standard measure of the British nation, and rectifying -pendulum experiments. In the garden of the house a small observatory -was erected for those purposes, and is, we believe, still standing. - -We alluded a little while ago to some gigantic frauds in Stock Exchange -operations. One of the most extraordinary and elaborate of such frauds -was that carried out by De Berenger and Cochrane-Johnstone in 1814. -Napoleon's military operations against the allies had greatly depressed -the funds. On February 21, 1814, about one o'clock a.m., a violent -knocking was heard at the door of the Ship Inn, then the chief hotel at -Dover. When the door was opened, a person in a richly-embroidered -scarlet uniform announced himself as an aide-de-camp of Lord Cathcart -(who was aide-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington in 1815), and as the -bearer of important news. The allies had gained a great victory, and -entered Paris; Napoleon had been captured and killed by Cossacks, who -had cut his body into a thousand pieces. Immediate peace was now -certain. The stranger ordered a post-chaise, and departed for London, -but before leaving, he sent a note containing the news to the Port -Admiral, who received it about four a.m.; but the morning being foggy, -the telegraph could not be worked. The sham aide-de-camp--really De -Berenger, an adventurer, afterwards a livery stable-keeper--dashed along -the road, throwing napoleons to the post-boys whenever he changed -horses. At Bexley Heath it was clear to him that the telegraph could -not have worked, so he moderated his pace, spreading at the same time -the news of Napoleon's defeat and death. At Lambeth he entered a -hackney-coach, telling the post-boys to spread the news, which reached -the Stock Exchange about ten o'clock, in consequence of which the funds -rose, but fell again when it was found that the Lord Mayor had had no -intelligence. But about twelve o'clock three persons, two of whom were -dressed as French officers, drove in a post-chaise over London Bridge; -their horses were bedecked with laurels. The officers scattered papers -among the crowd, announcing the death of Napoleon and the fall of Paris. -They then paraded through Cheapside and Fleet Street, passed over -Blackfriars Bridge, and drove rapidly to the Marshgate, Lambeth, got -out, changed their cocked hats for round ones, and disappeared as -mysteriously as their confederate, De Berenger, had done a few hours -earlier. - -The funds now rose again, but when, after hours of anxious expectation, -it was discovered that the news, on which many bargains had been made, -was false, there was, of course, wailing and gnashing of teeth. A -committee was appointed by the Stock Exchange to track out the -conspiracy, as on the two days before stocks to the amount of L826,000 -had been purchased by persons implicated. One of the gang had, for a -blind, called on Lord Cochrane, and Cochrane-Johnstone, a relation of -his, had purchased Consols for him, that he might unconsciously benefit -by the fraud. The Tories, eager to destroy a political enemy, -concentrated all their rage on him, and he was tried, fined L1,000, and -sentenced to stand for one hour in the pillory; but this latter part of -the sentence was not carried out, as Sir Francis Burdett had declared -that if it was done he would stand beside his friend on the scaffold of -shame. Cochrane was further stripped of his knighthood, and his -escutcheon kicked down the steps of St. George's Chapel at Windsor. But -in his old age his innocence and the injustice done to him were -recognised, and his coronet restored to him unsoiled. But could this -atone for all the wrong inflicted, and all the misery endured? Those who -wish to know all the details of this remarkable fraud will find them in -the two volumes of the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for 1814. The first -volume gives a full account of the evidence produced at the trial. - - - - - *X.* - - *WITS AND BEAUX OF OLD LONDON SOCIETY.* - - -A mere beau, a 'man of dress,' as our dictionaries define him, is a -pitiful object--a walking and talking doll, painted and bedizened, and -as imbecile-looking as a wax figure. The man who chooses to go in for -being a beau should, if he does not wish to be thoroughly contemptible, -possess, besides physical beauty, a stock of brains, elegant manners, -ready wit, and moral courage. The gentleman who at the seaside dresses -altogether in white must have a personally distinguished appearance not -to be taken for his own _chef de cuisine_. Beaux are rather out of -fashion just now--mashers and fops replace them. In the last century -they were more plentiful. Perhaps the then prevailing popinjay style of -dress, with its embroidered and many-coloured coats and waistcoats, -gaudy breeches, wigs and swords, lent itself more readily to the -assumption of the character than does our more subdued costume. In -those days the aspirants to the title of beau were termed bucks, -gallants, macaronis; and one of their distinguishing features, as the -plays and portraits of those days abundantly demonstrate, was their -having small legs with slender calves--possibly to show they were not -footmen in disguise. And, as a rule, in those days the valet had more -brains than his master. - -Beaux have always been a fruitful and pleasant theme for the satirist's -pen. The _Spectator_, in No. 275, describes the dissection of a beau's -head, which is found to contain no brain, but in the usual place for -one, smelling strongly of essences and orange-flower water, a kind of -horny substance, cut into a thousand little faces or mirrors. Further, -a lot of ribbons, laces, and embroidery, billets-doux, love-letters, -snuff, fictions, vows, oaths, and a spongy substance, known as nonsense. -A muscle, not often discovered in dissections, was found, the _os -cribriforme_, which draws the nose upwards when by that motion it -intends to express contempt. The ogling muscles were very much worn -with use. The individual to whom this head had belonged had passed for -a man for about thirty years, and died in the flower of his youth by the -blow of a fire-shovel, he having been surprised by an eminent citizen as -he was paying some attentions to his wife. This analysis of a beau's -head, or character, was written in 1712. In 1757 an essayist described -him thus in doggerel: - - 'Would you a modern beau commence, - Shake off that foe to pleasure, sense. - Scorn real, unaffected worth, - Despise the virtuous, good and brave, - To ev'ry passion be a slave.... - Be it your passion, joy and fame - To play at ev'ry modish game.... - Harangue on fashion, point and lace.... - Affect to know each reigning belle - That throngs the playhouse or the Mall. - Though swearing you detest a fool, - Be versed in Folly's ample school.... - These rites observed, each foppish elf - May view an emblem of himself.' - - -The combination of wit and beau in one person has, nevertheless, -occasionally been seen, and the ordinary, or numskulled, beau has shared -in the reputation created by such a combination, just as all judges are -assumed to be sober. But in the days when beaux flourished wit of a -very attenuated kind tickled the fancy of the public, who haunted the -taverns patronized by the so-called wits. Even the jokes which passed -at the Mermaid between Shakspere, Ben Jonson, and other professed -jesters must appear to modern readers who are not absurdly prepossessed -in favour of all that savours of antiquity, as heavy, dull, and often -far-fetched. To justify what may appear rank heresy, let me quote one -of Tarleton's 'witty' sayings. Tarleton was Shakspere's friend and -fellow-actor, _the_ low comedian of Queen Elizabeth's reign, who -probably suggested to Shakspere some of his jesters and fools. Now, -this is what is transmitted to us as a specimen of his wit: Tarleton, -keeping an ordinary in Paternoster Row, would approve of mustard -standing before his customers to have wit. 'How so?' inquired one. 'It -is like a witty scold, meeting another scold, begins to scold first. -So,' says he, 'the mustard, being licked up and knowing that you will -bite it, begins to bite you first.' 'I'll try that,' says a gull, and -the mustard so tickled him that his eyes watered. 'How now?' says -Tarleton. 'Does my jest savour?' 'Ay,' says the gull, 'and bite too.' -'If you had had better wit,' says Tarleton, 'you would have bit first. -So, then, conclude with me that dumb, unfeeling mustard has more wit -than a talking, unfeeling fool, as you are.' And this was considered 'a -rare conceit' in the days of Shakspere. We are rather more exacting -now. - -The beaux of the days we are speaking of were, indeed, poor specimens of -humanity. They were a noisy, swaggering lot, as we learn from the -author of 'Shakspere's England.' 'If a gallant,' he says, 'entered the -ordinary ... he would find the room full of fashion-mongers ... -courtiers, who came there for society and news; adventurers who have no -home ... quarrelsome men paced about fretfully fingering their -sword-hilts, and maintaining as sour a face as that Puritan moping in a -corner, pent up by a group of young swaggerers, disputing over cards.... -The soldiers bragged of nothing but of their employment in Ireland and -in the Low Countries.... The mere dullard sat silent, playing with his -glove, or discussing at what apothecary's the best tobacco was to be -bought.' - -But let us, in the career of an individual, Beau Fielding, famous in his -day, show how beaux then acquired a reputation. Scotland Yard was so -called from a palace which stood there, and was the residence of the -Kings of Scotland on their annual visit to do homage for their kingdom -to the Crown of England. On the union of the Scottish and English Crowns -the palace was allowed to go to decay. Parts of it served as occasional -residences for various persons, one of whom was Robert Fielding, who -died there in the early part of the last century. This Fielding was -generally known as Beau Fielding. The _Tatler_, in August, 1709 (Nos. -50 and 51), thus describes him: 'Ten _lustra_ and more are wholly passed -since Orlando (R. Fielding) first appeared in the metropolis of this -island, his descent noble, his wit humorous, his person charming. But -to none of these advantages was his title so undoubted as that of his -beauty. His complexion was fair, but his countenance manly; his stature -of the tallest, his shape the most exact; and though in all his limbs he -had a proportion as delicate as we see in the work of the most skilful -statuaries, his body had a strength and firmness little inferior to the -marble of which such images are formed. This made Orlando the universal -flame of all the fair sex; innocent virgins sighed for him as Adonis, -experienced widows as Hercules. Thus did this figure walk alone, the -pattern and ornament of our species, but, of course, the envy of all who -had the same passions, without his superior merit, and pretences to the -favour of that enchanting creature, woman. However, the generous -Orlando believed himself formed for the world, and not to be engrossed -by any particular affection.... Woman was his mistress, and the whole -sex his seraglio. His form was always irresistible; and if we consider -that not one of five hundred can bear the least favour from a lady -without being exalted above himself ... we cannot think it wonderful -that Orlando's repeated conquests touched his brain. So it certainly -did, and Orlando became an enthusiast in love.... He would still add to -the advantages of his person that of a profession which the ladies -always favour, and immediately commenced soldier.... Our hero seeks -distant climes ... after many feats of arms ... Orlando returns home, -full, but not loaded, with years.... The beauteous Villaria (Barbara, -daughter and heiress of William Villiers, Lord Viscount Grandison, of -the Kingdom of Ireland) ... became the object of his affection.... -According to Milton, - - '"The fair with conscious majesty approved." - -Fortune having now supplied Orlando with necessaries for his high taste -of gallantry and pleasure, his equipage and economy had something in -them more sumptuous and gallant than could be conceived in our -degenerate age, therefore ... all the Britons under the age of sixteen -... followed his chariot with shouts and acclamations.... I remember I -saw him one day stop, and call the youths about him, to whom he spoke as -follows: "Good youngsters, go to school, and do not lose your time in -following my wheels. I am loath to hurt you, because I know not but you -are all my own offspring.... Why, you young dogs, did you never see a -man before?" "Never such a one as you, noble General," replied a truant -from Westminster. "Sirrah, I believe thee; there is a crown for thee. -Drive on, coachman." ... Fortune being now propitious to the gay -Orlando, he dressed, he spoke, he moved as a man might be supposed to do -in a nation of pigmies ... he sometimes rode in an open tumbril, of less -size than ordinary, to show the largeness of his limbs, and the grandeur -of his personage, to the greater advantage.... In all these glorious -excesses did ... Orlando live ... until an unlucky accident brought to -his remembrance that ... he was married before he courted the nuptials -of Villaria. Several fatal memorandums were produced to revive the -memory of this accident, and the unhappy lover was for ever banished her -presence, to whom he owed the support of his first renown and -gallantry.... Orlando, therefore, now rages in a garret.' The Barbara -Villiers mentioned by the _Tatler_ was identical with Lady Castlemaine, -Duchess of Cleveland, whose scandalous history is notorious. She was -sixty-five years old when she fell in love with Fielding and married -him. The 'unlucky accident' of the _Tatler_ was the fact that a few -weeks before Fielding had been taken in by an adventuress, one Mary -Wadsworth, whom, taking her for a rich widow, he had married. On his -second--bigamous--marriage, the first wife revealed the fact to Lady -Castlemaine, who, having been shamefully treated by Fielding, was glad -to get rid of him. The first marriage was proved in a court of law, and -sentence passed on Fielding to be burnt in the hand. By interest in -certain quarters he was spared this ignominious punishment; but he was -left destitute, and died forgotten and forsaken. - -The _Tatler_ gave Fielding a noble descent, and he, in fact, claimed -descent from the Hapsburgs; and on the strength of his name ventured to -have the arms of Lord Denbigh emblazoned on his coach, and to drive -about the ring in Hyde Park. At the sight of the immaculate -coat-of-arms on the plebeian chariot, 'all the blood of the Hapsburgs' -flew to the head of Basil, fourth Earl of Denbigh. In a high state of -fury, he at once procured a house-painter, and ordered him to daub the -coat-of-arms completely over, in broad daylight, and before all the -company in the ring. The beau tamely submitted to the insult. - -Fielding had several competitors in the beau-ship; contemporary with him -were Beau Edgeworth and Beau Wilson. Of the former but little is on -record; the latter's career was cut short at an early date, for when he -was not much beyond his twentieth year he was killed in a duel between -him and John Law, afterwards so famous as the originator of the -Mississippi scheme. The duel took place on the site of the present -Bloomsbury Square. A mushroom growth of beaux arose about the year -1770, some of whom having travelled in Italy, and introduced macaroni as -a new dish, they came to be designated by that name. They dressed in -the most ridiculous fashion, wearing their hair in a very high foretop, -with long side-curls, and an enormous chignon behind. Their clothes -were tight-fitting, while silk stockings in all weathers were _de -rigueur_. This folly was of but short duration. - -In the first half of the eighteenth century flourished Beau Nash--a -great contrast in manners, character, social position, and conduct to -Beau Fielding; but as his life was passed at Bath he cannot be reckoned -among London beaux. Yet we mention him, as in his earlier years he was -slightly connected with the Metropolis, by the fact that he was entered -for the Temple, though he never followed the law as a profession. - -We have to come down to comparatively recent times to encounter a beau -of some note; that beau was known as Beau George Brummel. He was born -in 1777, and sent to Eton, where he enjoyed the credit of being the best -scholar, the best oarsman, and the best cricketer of his day. His -father was Under-Secretary to Lord North, and left each of his children -some L30,000. At Eton he made many aristocratic friends, and thus -obtained the entree to Devonshire House, where the beautiful Georgiana, -Duchess of Devonshire, held her court, and where she introduced Brummell -to the Prince Regent, who gave him a commission in the 10th Hussars. -But the army, with its restraints, did not suit the beau; he left it, -and then resided in Chesterfield Street, where the Prince, finding in -him a kindred spirit of vanity and frivolity, used to visit him in the -morning to see him make his toilet, and to learn the art of tying his -neckerchief fashionably. And frequently the Prince would stay all day -to enjoy his friend's intellectual discourse, stopping to take a chop or -steak with him, and not returning home till the next morning, half-seas -over. The beau spent his time chiefly at Brighton and at Carlton House, -and regularly established himself as a leader of fashion, his horses and -carriages, his dogs, walking-sticks and snuff-boxes, but especially his -clothes, becoming patterns to all the empty-headed noodles who required -guidance in such matters. But such show could not be supported on the -income derived from his patrimony; Brummell therefore went in heavily -for gambling, with varying luck. Once at Brooks's he played with -Alderman Combe, nicknamed 'Mash-tub,' Lord Mayor and brewer. The -dice-box circulated. 'Come, Mash-tub,' said the beau, who was the -caster, 'what do you set?' 'Twenty-five guineas,' said the Alderman. -The beau won, and eleven more similar ventures. As he pocketed the -money, he said: 'Thank you, Alderman; henceforth I shall drink no porter -but yours.' 'I wish, sir,' replied Combe, 'that every other blackguard -in London would say the same.' At the Watier Club, established at the -instigation of the Prince of Wales, Brummell suffered heavy losses, so -that ever after he was in constant pecuniary difficulties, though -Fortune smiled on him at times. Indulging in all the superstitious -tendencies of gamblers, he at one time attributed his luck to the -finding of a crooked sixpence in the kennel, as he was walking with Mr. -Raikes, who tells the story, through Berkeley Square. He had a hole -bored in the coin, and attached it to his watch-chain. As for the -succeeding two years he had great luck at the table and on the turf, he -attributed it to the lucky sixpence. He is supposed to have made nearly -L30,000 during that time. - -A coolness between the Prince and the beau arose after a few years; -various reasons are assigned for it. He was, for instance, said to have -taken the part of Mrs. Fitzherbert, who had been privately married to -the Prince Regent at Carlton House; he is reported to have asked Lady -Cholmondeley, in the hearing of the Prince, and pointing to him, 'Who is -your fat friend?' Though it is also reported that this question was put -to Jack Lee, as he was walking up St. James's Street, arm-in-arm with -the Prince, a few days after the beau had quarrelled with the latter. -But this blew over, and Brummell was again invited to Carlton House, -where he took too much wine. The Prince said to his brother, the Duke -of York: 'I think we had better order Mr. Brummell's carriage before he -gets quite drunk.' Another version of the second rupture is that -Brummell took the liberty of saying to the Prince: 'George, ring the -bell.' The Prince rang it, and told the servant who answered it: 'Mr. -Brummell's carriage.' This Brummell always denied; however, he was a -second time forbidden Carlton House. For a few years he was a hanger-on -at Oatlands, the seat of the Duke of York, then, having lost large sums -at play, he was obliged to fly the country, and having lived for some -years in obscurity at Calais, he obtained the post of British Consul at -Caen--for which his previous career, of course, eminently fitted him! -He died in that town in poor circumstances in 1840. - -Let us conclude this short account of the poor moth, basking in the -royal sunshine for awhile, with one or two anecdotes. One day a -youthful beau approached Brummell, and said: 'Permit me to ask you where -you get your blacking?' 'Ah,' said the beau, 'my blacking positively -ruins me. I will tell you in confidence--it is made with the finest -champagne!' He was once at a party in Portman Square. On the cloth -being removed, the snuff-boxes made their appearance; Brummell's was -particularly admired; it was handed round, and a gentleman, finding it -somewhat difficult to open, incautiously applied a desert-knife to the -lid. Brummell was on thorns, and at last could contain himself no -longer, and addressing the host, he said, loud enough to be heard by the -company: 'Will you be good enough to tell your friend that my snuff-box -is not an oyster?' - -England has had no regular beau since the time of Brummell, though -occasionally some crack-brained individual has attempted to wear his -mantle. Such a one was Ferdinand Geramb, a tight-laced German General -and Baron, who in the second decade of this century strutted about the -parks, conspicuous for his ringlets, his superb moustaches, and immense -spurs. It was asserted that he was a German Jew, who, having married the -widow of a Hungarian Baron, assumed her late husband's title. His fiery -moustaches were closely imitated by many illustrious personages, and -gold spurs several inches long became the fashion--one fool makes many. -It is to him the British army is indebted for the introduction of hussar -uniforms. Having to leave England under the Alien Act, he went to -Hamburg, where he set himself to writing against the Emperor Napoleon, -who shut him up in the Castle of Vincennes. There, in terrible fear of -being shot, he made a vow that should he regain his liberty he would -renounce the devil and his works, and join the Trappist community. He -was released at the Restoration, and at once entered a Trappist -monastery, under the name of Brother Joseph, and in course of time -became Abbot and Procurator-General of the Order. No more fighting of -duels now, no more keeping the bailiffs who wanted to seize him for debt -at bay for twelve days in an English country house which he had -fortified; he submitted to the severest rules of the Order, and in 1831 -made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and died at Rome in 1848. - - - - - *XI.* - - *LONDON SEEN THROUGH FOREIGN SPECTACLES.* - - -In the year 1765 a Frenchman, who did not give his name, visited London, -and afterwards published in Paris an account of his visit. - -'I reached London,' he says, 'towards the close of the day ... and at -last, quite by chance, I found myself settled in an apartment in the -house of the _Cruisinier Royal_ in Leicester Fields. This neighbourhood -is filled with small houses, which are mostly let to foreigners.' On -the following day he walked down Holborn and the Strand to St. Paul's, -then crossed London Bridge, and returned to his hotel by walking through -Southwark and Lambeth to Westminster, 'a district full of mean houses -and meaner taverns.' The localities named have not greatly altered -their character since then. In another place our traveller says: 'Even -from the bridges it is impossible to get a view of the river, as the -parapets are ten feet high.... The reason given for all this is the -inclination which the English, and the Londoners especially, have for -suicide. It is true that above and below the town the banks are -unprotected, and offer an excellent opportunity to those who really wish -to drown themselves; but the distance is great, and, besides, those who -wish to leave the world in this manner prefer doing so before the eyes -of the public. The parapets, however, of the new bridge [Blackfriars] -which is being built will be but of an ordinary height.' Suicidal -tendencies must indeed have greatly declined, since the most recently -erected bridges, the new Westminster and Blackfriars, have particularly -low parapets. - -Of the streets our author says: 'They are paved in such a manner that it -is barely possible to ride or walk on them in safety, and they are -always extremely dirty.... The finest streets ... would be impassable -were it not that on each side ... footways are made from four to five -feet wide, and for communication from one to the other across the street -there are smaller footways elevated above the general surface of the -roadway, and formed of large stones selected for the purpose.... In the -finest part of the Strand, near St. Clement's Church, I noticed, during -the whole of my stay in London, that the middle of the street was -constantly covered with liquid stinking mud, three or four inches -deep.... The walkers are bespattered from head to foot.... The -natives, however, brave all these disagreeables, wrapped up in long blue -coats, like dressing-gowns, wearing brown stockings and perukes, rough, -red and frizzled.' - -Well, we cannot find much fault with this description, unflattering as -it is, for in the last century London certainly was one of the most -hideous towns to live in, and its inhabitants the most uncouth, -repulsive set of 'guys'! Concerning Oxford Street our author makes a -false prognostic: 'The shops of Oxford Street will disappear as the -houses are sought after for private dwellings by the rich. Soon will -the great city extend itself to Marylebone, which is not more than a -quarter of a league distant. At present it is a village, principally of -taverns, inhabited by French refugees.' - -Our traveller sees but four houses in London which will bear comparison -with the great hotels in Paris. To the inconvenience of mud, he says, -must be added that of smoke, which, mingled with a perpetual fog, covers -London as a pall. We, to our sorrow, know this to be true even now. - -But we have improved in one respect: our old watchmen or 'Charleys' have -disappeared before the modern police. Concerning these watchmen our -author says: 'There are no troops or guard or watch of any kind, except -during the night by some old men, chosen from the dregs of the people. -Their only arms are a stick and a lantern. They walk about the streets -crying the hour every time the clock strikes ... and it appears to be a -point of etiquette among hare-brained youngsters to maul them on leaving -their parties.' - -Our Frenchman formed a correct estimate of the London watchman of his -day--nay, it held good to the final extinction of the 'Charleys.' In -December, 1826, a watchman was charged before the Lord Mayor with -insubordination. On being asked who had appointed him watchman, the -prisoner replied that he was in great distress and a burden to the -parish, who therefore gave him the appointment to get rid of him. The -Lord Mayor: 'I thought so; and what can be expected from such a system -of choosing watchmen? I know that most of the men who are thus burdens -on the parish are the vilest of wretches, and such men are appointed to -guard the lives and property of others! I also know that in most cases -robberies are perpetrated by the connivance of watchmen.' - -But in some cases our author is really too good-naturedly credulous. -Says he: 'The people of London, though proud and hasty, are good at -heart, and humane, even in the lowest class. If any stoppage occurs in -the streets, they are always ready to lend their assistance to remove -the difficulty, instead of raising a quarrel, which might end in murder, -as is often the case in Paris.' This is really too innocent! And our -French visitor must have been very fortunate indeed never to have got -into a London crowd of roughs or of pickpockets, who create stoppages in -the streets for the only purpose of pursuing their trade, and who seldom -hesitate to commit violence if they cannot rob without it. Our author's -belief, indeed, in London honesty is boundless. 'In order that the -pot-boys,' he says, 'may have but little trouble in collecting them [the -pewter pots in which publicans send out the beer], they are placed in -the open passages, and sometimes on the doorsteps of the houses. I saw -them thus exposed ... and felt quite assured against all the cunning of -thieves.' But more astounding is the statement that there are no poor -in London! 'A consequence,' says our visitor, 'of its rich and numerous -charitable establishments and the immense sums raised by the poor-rates, -which impost is one which the little householders pay most cheerfully, -as they consider it a fund from which, in the event of their death, -their wives and children will be supported.' Fancy a little householder -paying his poor-rate cheerfully! And what a mean opinion must our -author have had of the spirit of the householder who calmly contemplated -his family, after his death, going to the parish! - -The Frenchman returns once more to our usual melancholy, 'which,' he -says, 'is no doubt owing to the fogs' and to our fat meat and strong -beer. 'Beef is the Englishman's ordinary diet, relished in proportion -to the quantity of fat, and this, mixed in their stomachs with the beer -they drink, must produce a chyle, whose viscous heaviness conveys only -bilious and melancholic vapours to the brain.' - -It certainly is satisfactory to have so scientific an explanation of the -origin of our spleen. - -Another French writer in 1784--M. La Combe--published a book, entitled -'A Picture of London,' in which, _inter alia_, he says: 'The highroads -thirty or forty miles round London are filled with armed highwaymen and -footpads.' This was then pretty true, though the expression 'filled' is -somewhat of an exaggeration. The medical student of forty or fifty -years ago seems to have been anticipated in 1784, for M. La Combe tells -us that 'the brass knockers of doors, which cost from 12s. to 15s., are -stolen at night if the maid forgets to unscrew them'--a precaution which -seems to have gone out of fashion. 'The arrival of the mails,' our -author says, 'is uncertain at all times of the year.... Persons who -frequently receive letters should recommend their correspondents not to -insert loose papers, nor to put the letters in covers, because the tax -is sometimes treble, and always arbitrary, though in a free country. -But rapacity and injustice are the deities of the English.' M. La Combe -does not give us a flattering character. 'An Englishman,' he says, -'considers a foreigner as an enemy, whom he dares not offend openly, but -whose society he fears; and he attaches himself to no one.' Perhaps it -was so in 1784, but such feelings have nearly died out--at least, among -educated people. M. La Combe, in another part of his book, exclaims: -'How are you changed, Londoners! ... Your women are become bold, -imperious, and expensive. Bankrupts and beggars, coiners, spies and -informers, robbers and pickpockets abound.... The baker mixes alum in -his bread ... the brewer puts opium and copper filings in his beer ... -the milkwoman spoils her milk with snails.' - -Do more recent writers judge of us more correctly? We shall see. - -I have lying before me a French book, the title of which, translated -into English, runs, 'Geography for Young People.' It is in its eighth -edition, and written by M. Levi, Professor of Belles-Lettres, of History -and Geography in Paris. The date of the book is 1850. The Professor in -it describes London, and if his pupils ever have, or rather had, -occasion to visit our capital, they must have been unable to recognise -it from their teacher's description of it. Among the many blunders he -commits, there are some which are excusable in a foreigner, because they -refer to matters which are often misapprehended even by natives; but to -describe London as possessing a certain architectural feature which a -mere walk through the streets with his eyes open would have shown him to -have no existence at all is rather unpardonable in a professor who takes -on himself to teach young people geography. But what does M. Levi say? -He says: 'In London you never see an umbrella, because all the streets -are built with arcades, under which you find shelter when it rains, so -that an umbrella, which to us Parisians is an indispensable article, is -perfectly useless to a Londoner.' M. Levi evidently, if ever he was in -London, visited the Quadrant only, before the arcade was pulled down, -and thereupon wrote his account of London. Yet he must have looked -about a bit, for he tells us of splendid cafes to be met with in every -street; the nobility patronize them; 'one of them accidentally treads on -the toes of another, a duel is the consequence, and to-morrow morning -one of them will have ceased to live.' - -M. Levi reminds us of the Frenchman who came over to England with the -object of writing a book about us. He arrived in London one Saturday -night, and being tired, at once went to bed. At breakfast next morning -he asked for new bread; the waiter told him they only had yesterday's. -Out came the Frenchman's note-book, in which he wrote: 'In London the -bread is always baked the day before.' He then asked for the day's -paper, but was again told they had yesterday's only. A memorandum went -into the note-book: 'The London newspapers are always published -yesterday.' He then thought he would present the letter of introduction -he had brought with him to a private family, so having been directed to -the house, he saw a lady near the window, reading. Not wishing to -startle or disturb her, he gave a gentle single rap. This not being -answered, he had to give a few more raps, when at last a servant partly -opened the door and asked his business. He expressed his wish to see the -master of the house. 'Master never sees anybody to-day, but he will -perhaps to-morrow,' replied the servant, and shut the door in his face. -Another memorandum was added to the previous ones: 'In London people -never see anyone to-day, but always to-morrow.' Having nothing to do, -he thought he would go to the theatre. He inquired for Drury Lane, and -was directed to it. The doors being shut, he lounged about the -neighbourhood till they should open. As it grew later and later, and -there was no sign of a _queue_, he at last addressed a passer-by, and -asked him when the theatre would open. 'It won't open to-day,' was the -reply. This was the last straw that broke the camel's back. Our -Frenchman hurried back to his hotel, wrote in his note-book, 'In London -there are theatres, but they never open today,' took a cab, caught the -night mail, and hastened to leave so barbarous a country. - -This description of London life is about as correct as that recently -given in Max O'Rell's 'John Bull and his Womankind.' What kind of -people did O'Rell visit? - -I look at another book before me, written in Italian, and entitled: -'Semi-serious Observations of an Exile on England.' The book was -published at Lugano in 1831, but the author--Giuseppe Pecchio--dates his -preface from York in 1827. - -He speaks thusly of the approach to London by the Dover road: 'If the -sky is gloomy, the first aspect of London is no less so. The smoky look -of the houses gives them the appearance of a recent fire. If to this -you add the silence prevailing amidst a population of a million and a -half of inhabitants, all in motion (so that you seem to behold a stage -full of Chinese shadows), and the uniformity of the houses, as if you -were in a city of beavers, you will easily understand that on entering -into such a beehive pleasure gives way to astonishment. This is the old -country style, but since the English have substituted blue pills for -suicide, or, still better, have made a journey to Paris--since, instead -of Young's "Night Thoughts," they read the novels of Walter Scott, they -have rendered their houses a little more pleasing in outward appearance. -In the West End especially they have adopted a more cheerful style of -architecture. But I do not by this mean to imply that the English -themselves have become more lively; they still take delight in ghosts, -witchcraft, cemeteries, and similar horrors. Woe to the author who -writes a novel without some apparition to make your hair stand on end!' - -In speaking of the thinness of the walls and floors of London houses, he -says: 'I could hear the murmur of the conversation of the tenant of the -room above and of that of the one below me; from time to time the words -"very fine weather," "indeed," "very fine," "comfort," "comfortable," -"great comfort," reached my ears. In fact, the houses are -ventriloquous. As already mentioned, they are all alike. In a -three-storied house there are three perpendicular bedrooms, one above -the other, and three parlours, equally so superposed.' We know how much -of this description is true. - -'Why are the English,' he asks, 'not expert dancers? Because they cannot -practise dancing in their slightly-built houses, in which a lively caper -would at once send the third-floor down into the kitchen. This is the -reason why the English gesticulate so little, and have their arms always -glued to their sides. The rooms are so small that you cannot move about -rapidly without smashing some object,' or, as we should say, you cannot -swing a cat in them. - -'Strangers are astounded,' continues our author, 'at the silence -prevailing among the inhabitants of London. But how could a million and -a half of people live together without silence? The noise of men, -horses, and carriages between the Strand and the Exchange is so great -that it is said that in winter there are two degrees of difference in -the thermometers of the City and of the West End. I have not verified -it,' our author is candid enough to admit, 'but considering the great -number of chimneys in the Strand, it is probable enough. From Chering -[_sic_] Cross to the Exchange is the cyclopedia of the world. Anarchy -seems to prevail, but it is only apparent. The rules which Gray gives -(in his "Trivia; or, the Art of Walking the Streets of London") seem to -me unnecessary.' - -Signor Pecchio pretty well describes the movements of 'City men': - -'The great monster of the capital,' he says, 'similar to a huge giant, -waking up, begins by giving signs of life at its extremities. The -movement begins at the circumference, gradually extending to the centre, -until about ten o'clock the uproar begins, increasing till four o'clock, -which is the hour for going on 'Change. The population seems to follow -the law of the tides. Up to that hour the tide rises from the periphery -to the Exchange. At half-past four, when the Exchange closes, the ebb -sets in, and currents of men, horses, and carriages flow from the -Exchange to the periphery.' - -Like all foreigners, he has something to say about the dulness of an -English Sunday. 'This country, all in motion, all alive on other days -of the week,' he observes, 'seems struck with an attack of apoplexy on -the Lord's day.' Foreigners pass the day at Greenwich or Richmond, -where 'they pay dearly for a dinner, seasoned with the bows of a waiter -in silk stockings and brown livery, just like the dress of a Turin -lawyer.' But if you want to see how John Bull spends the day, it is not -in Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens you must look for him. 'If you want -to see that marvellous personage who is the wonder and laughing-stock of -all Europe, who clothes all the world, wins battles on land and sea -without much boasting, who works like three and drinks like six, who is -the pawnbroker and usurer of all Kings and all Republics, whilst he is -bankrupt at home, and sometimes, like Midas, dies of hunger in the midst -of gold, you must look for him elsewhere. In winter you must descend -into underground cellars. There, around a blazing fire, you will behold -the English workman, well dressed and shod, smoking, drinking, and -reading.... For this class of readers special Sunday newspapers are -published.... It is in these taverns, and amidst the smoke of tobacco -and the froth of their beer, the first condition of public opinion is -born and formed. It is there the conduct of every citizen is discussed -and appraised; there starts the road which leads to the Capitol or the -Tarpeian rock; there praise or blame is awarded to a Burdett issuing -triumphantly from the Tower, or to a Castlereagh descending amidst -curses to the tomb.... There are no rows in these taverns ... more -decency of conduct is observed in them than in our [Italian] churches. -When full of spirit and beer the customers, instead of fighting, fall -down on the pavement like dead men.' - -After having so carefully observed the conduct of the British workman, -our Italian friend watches him in the suburban tea-garden, which he -visits with his family to take tea in the afternoon, or drink his -nut-brown ale. 'One of the handsomest,' he says, 'is Cumberland -Gardens,[#] close to Vauxhall ... there he sits smoking long pipes of -the whitest clay, which the landlord supplies, filled with tobacco, at -one penny each. Between his puffs of smoke he occasionally sends forth a -truncated phrase, such as we read in "Tristram Sandi" [_sic_] were -uttered by Trion and the captain. It being Sunday, which admits of no -amusement, no music or song is heard.' Pretty much as it is at the -present day! - - -[#] In the early part of 1825, therefore shortly after our author wrote, -the tavern was burnt to the ground, and the site taken possession of by -the South London Waterworks. - - -Having heard what both Frenchmen and an Italian had to say about London, -let us listen to what a German authoress has to tell us on the subject. - -Johanna Schopenhauer, in her 'Travels through England and Scotland' -(third edition, 1826), says: 'The splendid shops, which offer the finest -sights, are situate chiefly between the working City and the more -aristocratic, enjoying Westminster,' a statement which, as every -Londoner knows, is only partially correct. 'The English custom of always -making way to the right greatly facilitates walking, so that there is no -pushing or running against anyone.' Did our author ever take a walk in -Cheapside or Fleet Street? 'Even Italians probably do not fear rain so -much as a Londoner; to catch a wetting seems to them the most terrible -misfortune; on the first falling of a few drops everyone not provided -with an umbrella hastens to take refuge in a coach.' How well the lady -has studied the habits of Londoners! What will they say to this? - -'The police exercise a strict control over hackney-coaches. Woe to the -driver who ventures to over-charge!' And again: 'You may safely enter, -carrying with you untold wealth, a coach at any time of the night, as -long as someone at the house whence you start takes the number of the -coach, and lets the driver see that it is taken.' - -Mrs. Schopenhauer tells us that it is customary to go for breakfast to a -pastry-cook's shop, and eat a few cakes hot from the pan. Truly, we did -not know it. Of course, she agrees with other writers as to the -smallness of the houses, every room of which you can tell from the -outside; but we were not aware that, as she informs us, all the doors -are exceedingly narrow and high, and that frequently the front-doors -look only like narrow slits in the wall. - -'Bedrooms seldom can contain more than one bed; but English bedsteads -are large enough to hold three persons. And it is a universal custom -not to sleep alone; sisters, relations, and female friends share a bed -without ceremony, and the mistress of the house is not ashamed to take -her servant to bed with her, for English ladies are afraid of being -alone in a room at night, having never been brought up to it.... The -counterpane is fastened to the mattress, leaving but an opening for -slipping in between the two.' - -Again, we are told to our astonishment: 'The majority of Londoners, -workmen and shopkeepers, who form but one category, on the whole lead -sad lives. Heavy taxes, the high prices of necessaries, extravagance of -dress, compel them to observe a frugality of living which, in other -countries, would be called poverty. - -'The shopkeeper, for ever tied to his shop and the dark parlour behind, -must deny himself every amusement. Theatres are too far off and too -expensive; the wife of a well-to-do tradesman seldom can visit one more -than twice a year. - -'During the week they cannot leave the shop between nine in the morning -and twelve at night. The wife generally attends to it, while the -husband sits in the parlour behind and keeps the accounts. True, on -Sundays all the shops are closed, but so are the theatres, and as all -domestics and other employes insist on having that day to themselves, -the mistress has to stay at home to take care of the house. - -'Merchants lead lives nearly as dull. They have to deny themselves -social pleasures indulged in by the rich merchants of Hamburg or -Leipsic. English ladies are more domesticated, and not accustomed to -the bustle of public amusements. But their husbands, after business -hours, occasionally seek for recreation in cafes and taverns.' - -How very one-sided and imperfect a view of English middle life, even as -it was seventy years ago, when these remarks were written, is presented -to us by them is self-evident! - -English ladies, according to our author, 'seldom go out, and when they -do, they prefer a shopping excursion to every other kind of promenade. -They also are fond of visiting pastry-cooks' shops, and as these are -open to the street, ladies may safely enter them. But that is not -allowable at Mr. Birch's in Cornhill, whose shop ladies cannot visit -without being accompanied by gentlemen, the breakfast-room being at the -back of the house, at the end of a long passage, and lit up all the year -round (as daylight does not penetrate into it) with wax candles, by the -light of which ladies and gentlemen--usually amidst solemn -silence--swallow their turtle-soup and small hot patties. The house -supplies nothing else ... but its former proprietor, Master Horton, by -his patties and soup made a fortune of one hundred thousand pounds, and -his successor seems in a fair way of doing the same.' We hope the -assumption was verified. - -According to Mrs. Schopenhauer, Londoners are not very hospitable, and -'prefer entertaining a friend they invite to dinner at a coffee-house or -tavern, rather than at their own homes, where the presence of ladies is -a restraint upon them. Ladies are treated with great respect, but, like -all personages imposing respect, they are avoided as much as possible.' - -Our traveller must have come in contact with some very ungallant -Englishmen. She describes a dinner at a private house; we are told that -'there are twelve to fourteen guests, who fill the small drawing-room, -the ladies sitting in armchairs, whilst the gentlemen stand about, some -warming themselves by the fire, often in a not very decent manner. At -the dinner-table napkins are found only in houses which have acquired -foreign polish, and they are not many. The tablecloth hangs down to the -floor, and every guest takes it upon his knee, and uses it as a -napkin.... The lady of the house serves the dishes, and there is no end -to her questions put to her guests as to the seasoning, the part of the -joint, the sauce, etc., they like,' questions which are exceedingly -troublesome to a foreigner who is not up to all the technical terms of -English cookery. Of course, the hobnobbing and taking wine with -everybody--a fashion now happily abolished--comes in for a good deal of -censure, which, indeed, is richly deserved. 'Conversation on any subject -of interest is out of the question during dinner; were anyone to attempt -it, the master would immediately interrupt him with, "Sir, you are -losing your dinner; by-and-by we will discuss these matters." The -ladies from sheer modesty speak but little; foreigners must beware from -saying much, lest they be considered monstrous bold.' - -Whilst, after dinner, the gentlemen sit over their wine, the ladies are -yawning the time away in the drawing-room, until their hostess sends -word down to the dining-room that tea is ready. 'It is said,' continues -our author, 'that the slow or quick attention given to this message -shows who is master in the house, the husband or the wife.' Long after -midnight the guests drive home 'through the streets still swarming with -people. All the shops are still open, and lighted up; the street-lamps, -of course, are alight, and burn till the rising of the sun.' Has any -Londoner ever seen all the shops open and lighted up all night? Did our -author have visions? - -A London Sunday, of course, is commented on. The complaint raised quite -recently by some of our bishops seems but a revival of wailings uttered -long ago, for we learn from Mrs. Schopenhauer that in her time (sixty -years ago) 'some of the highest families in the kingdom were called to -account for desecrating the Sabbath with amateur concerts, dances, and -card-playing,' so that it would indeed seem there is nothing new under -the sun. 'The genuine Englishman,' says our authoress, 'divides his time -on Sundays between church and the bottle; his wife spends the hours her -religious duties leave her with a gossip, and abuses her neighbours and -acquaintances, which is quite lawful on Sundays.' - -We allow Mrs. Schopenhauer to make her bow and retire with this parting -shot. Still, that lady was not singular in attributing great drinking -powers to Englishmen. M. Larcher, who in 1861 published a book entitled -'Les Anglais, Londres et l'Angleterre,' says therein that in good -society the ladies after dinner retire into another room, after having -partaken very moderately of wine, while the gentlemen are left to empty -bottles of port, madeira, claret, and champagne. 'And it is,' he adds, -'a constant habit among the ladies to empty bottles of brandy.' And he -quotes from a work by General Fillet: 'Towards forty years of age every -well-bred English lady goes to bed intoxicated.' - -M. Jules Lecomte says in his 'Journey of Troubles to London' ('Un Voyage -de Desagrements a Londres,' 1854) that he accompanied a blonde English -miss to the Exhibition in Hyde Park, where at one sitting she ate six -shillings' worth of cake resembling a black brick ornamented with -currants. - -According to M. Francis Wey's account of 'The English at Home' ('Les -Anglais chez Eux,' 1856), at Cremorne Gardens the popular refreshment, -and particularly with an Oxford theologian, is ginger-beer. M. Wey -probably means shandy-gaff. He agrees with M. Lecomte: the consumption -of food by one English young lady would suffice for four Paris porters! - -A Russian visitor to London, the 'Own Correspondent' of the _Northern -Bee_ Russian newspaper, who inspected London in 1861, asserts, in his -'England and Russia,' that any English miss of eighteen is capable of -imbibing sundry glasses of wine 'without making a face.' - -In the _Daily Graphic_ of November 1, 1893, a statement appeared, -according to which a French journalist at this present day informs the -world, through _Le Jour_, that in London--nay, in all England--not one -cyclist is to be found, the Government having rigidly suppressed them. -Well, M. Levi has told us that there are no umbrellas in London; now we -learn that there are no cyclists (how we wish this were true!). What -curious information we get from France about ourselves! - -When will travellers leave off being Muenchausens? - - - - - *XII.* - - *OLD LONDON TAVERNS AND TEA-GARDENS.[#]* - - *I.--THE GALLERIED TAVERNS OF OLD LONDON.* - -[#] This chapter is based on ancient and modern histories of London; on -works treating of special localities; on essays in periodical -publications; on the Transactions of Antiquarian and other Societies, -and as it is not a product of imagination, but of research, nothing new -to the student, but a great deal new to the general reader, may be -expected; though the stones are old, the house is new. - - -London abounded in taverns. A folio volume might be filled with -accounts of the more important of them, but as we have only a limited -number of pages at our command, we shall confine ourselves to the -description of one peculiarly characteristic sort of them, namely, the -taverns with galleried courtyards, and, in consequence of their great -number, our notice of each will have to be brief. - -These old taverns, very few of which are now left standing, formed, -architecturally, squares, the buildings surrounding a yard, furnished on -three sides with outer galleries to the floors above; and the reason why -this form of construction was adopted was because then the yards were -rendered suitable for theatrical representations, which, before the -erection of regular theatres, were usually given in inn-yards. Access -to these yards was obtained either through the part of the tavern facing -the street, or through the gateway, through which coaches, carts and -waggons entered the yard. The stage was erected, in a primitive and -temporary manner, behind the front portion of the square, and faced the -galleries at the back and sides of it. The yard itself then formed the -pit, and the galleries the boxes of the theatre. A yard so surrounded -by galleries, with their banisters or open panels, often of elegant -design, looked very picturesque; but did this style of construction -contribute to the comfort of the guests? Scarcely. The ground-floors -of the inn-buildings, on the level of the yard, were given up to -stables, coach-houses, store-rooms, etc. Access to the galleries was -obtained by staircases, often steep, twisted and narrow; along the -galleries were the bedrooms, the doors, and frequently the windows, of -which opened on to them, and there were no other means of reaching these -rooms. Now, consider that these galleries were open, exposed to all the -changes of the weather, to wind, rain, hail, sleet and snow, which must -have been very trying, especially at night, when the bedrooms had to be -entered by the light of a candle, difficult to keep burning, whilst the -wind was driving rain or snow into the gallery. Remember also that the -roughly paved yard and the stables surrounding it were full of noises, -not only during the day, but all the night through. There were the -horses kicking, coaches and waggons constantly coming in through the -gateway, or going out, stablemen, coachmen, carters shouting, horses -being harnessed to carts, and other vehicles starting early in the -morning on their journeys, and the rest of the sleepers in the bedrooms -along the galleries must have been sadly interfered with. Nor can the -smell arising from the stables and from the manure heap, all confined -within the well formed by the surrounding buildings, have added to the -comfort of the guests staying at the inn. As the bar of the inn -frequently was in the yard, the noises made by its visitors, and the -quarrels they occasionally indulged in, and which often would be settled -by a fight in the yard, were not calculated to promote sound sleep. But -our ancestors were not so particular in these matters; even aristocratic -quarters of London were given up to dirt and rowdyism. In St. James's -Square offal, cinders, dead cats and dogs were shot under the very -windows of the gilded saloons in which the first magnates of the -land--Norfolks, Ormonds, Kents and Pembrokes--gave banquets and balls. -Lord Macaulay quotes the condition of Lincoln's Inn Fields as a striking -example of the indifference felt by the most polite and splendid members -of society in a former age to what would now be deemed the common -decencies of life. But the poorest cottage and the meanest galleried -inn-yard look well in a picture. Be glad that you have not to live in -either. But a few generations ago, as we have pointed out, tastes and -habits were different, and even now there are old fogeys so wedded to -ancient customs that they still patronize the dark boxes yet found in -some antiquated taverns, which afford room for four or six customers, -who have to sit upright against the perpendicular backs of the boxes, -lest they slide off the twelve-inch-wide shelves on which they have to -perch and disappear under the table. Strange were the customs of the -days referred to. The people seemed to live in taverns, physicians met -their patients and apothecaries there, lawyers their clients, business -men their customers, people of fashion their acquaintances. 'Even men -of fortune,' says Macaulay, 'who might in their own mansions have -enjoyed every luxury, were often in the habit of passing their evenings -in the parlour of some neighbouring house of public entertainment,' in -the company of ill-bred, loud talking, roisterous and -spittoon-patronizing smokers. Johnson declared that the tavern chair was -the throne of human felicity. To him it was, because there he found his -toadies, whom he could bully to his heart's content. But the man who -could say - - 'My mind to me a kingdom is' - -did not care to sit on such a throne. - -But we have insensibly strayed into side-openings; let us return to the -main avenue of galleried taverns. We shall have to mention so many, that -we see no better means of preventing our getting confused and losing our -way altogether than to arrange them alphabetically according to the -signs they were known by. - -The first inn thus on our list is the Angel, at Islington. Its -establishment dates back two hundred years. Originally it presented the -usual features of a large country inn, having a long front, with an -overhanging tiled roof; the principal entrance was beneath a projection, -which extended along a portion of the front, and had a wooden gallery at -top. The inn-yard, approached by a gateway in the centre, was nearly a -quadrangle, having double galleries supported by plain columns and -carved pilasters, with caryatides and other figures. This courtyard, as -it was more than a hundred years, was preserved by Hogarth in his print -of a 'Stage Coach.' There is also a view of it in Pinks's 'History of -Clerkenwell.' In olden days the inn was a great halting-place for -travellers from London, and from the northern and western counties. On -the King's birthday the royal mail coaches used to meet there, as shown -in an engraving of 1812, in the Crace collection in the British Museum. -In 1819 the old house was pulled down, and the present ordinary-looking -building erected in its stead, a grand opportunity, afforded by its -commanding position, ninety-nine feet above the Trinity high water-mark, -at the meeting of so many important roads, being thus stupidly lost. - -There was another Angel inn, in St. Clement's, Strand, 'behind St. -Clement Kirk.' To this also was attached a galleried yard, but, -according to the woodcut in Diprose's 'St. Clement Danes,' there were -galleries to the first and second floors on one side of the yard only. -And from this house also seven or eight mail-coaches were despatched -nightly, and from here also the royal mails used to start on the King's -birthday for the West of England. Concerning the public conveyances of -those days, the following curious announcement reads amusing: 'On Monday -the 5th April, 1762, will set out from the Angel Inn, behind St. -Clement's Church, a neat flying machine, carrying four passengers, on -steel springs, and sets out at four o'clock in the morning and goes to -Salisbury the same evening, and returns from Salisbury the next morning -at the same hour; and will continue going from London every Monday, -Wednesday and Friday, and return every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. -Performed by the proprietors of the stage coach, Thomas Massey, Anthony -Coack. Each passenger to pay twenty-three shillings for their fare, and -to be allowed fourteen pounds' weight baggage; all above to pay for one -penny a pound. Outside passengers and children in lap to pay half fare. -N.B.--The masters of the machine will not be accountable for plate, -watches, money, jewels, bank-notes, or writings, unless booked as such, -and paid for accordingly.' Why the proprietors should have called their -coach a 'machine' is a riddle, and as it took a whole day, from four in -the morning till the evening, to get over the eighty-four miles between -London and Salisbury, its rate of progress could hardly be called a -'flying' one. - -The Angel inn was of very ancient origin, being mentioned in a -correspondence dated 1503. In the _Public Advertiser_ of March 28, -1769, appeared the following advertisement: 'To be sold a Black Girl, -the property of J.B., eleven years of age, who is extremely handy, works -at her needle tolerably, and speaks English perfectly well; is of an -excellent temper and willing disposition. Inquire of Mr. Owen, at the -Angel Inn, behind St. Clement's Church.' The inn was closed in 1853, -the freehold fetching L6,800, and on its site the legal chambers known -as Danes Inn were erected. - -In Philip Lane, London Wall, anciently stood the Ape, an inn with a -galleried yard; all that now remains of this ancient hostelry is a stone -carving of a monkey squatted on its haunches and eating an apple; under -it is the date 1670 and the initial B. It is fixed on the house -numbered 14. The courtyard, where the coaches and waggons used to -arrive and depart, is now an open space, round which houses are built. -A view of the Ape and Cock taverns as they appeared in 1851 is in the -Crace collection. - -We should be trying the reader's patience were we to enter into a -discussion as to the origin of the sign of the Belle Sauvage, the inn -which once stood at the bottom of Ludgate, and whose site is now -occupied by the establishment of Messrs. Cassell and Company. The name -was derived either from one William Savage, who in 1380 was a citizen -living in that locality, or, more probably, from one Arabella Savage, -whose property the inn once was. The sign originally was a bell hung -within a hoop. As already mentioned, inn-yards were anciently used as -theatres. The Belle Sauvage was a favourite place for dramatic -performances, its inner yard being spacious, and having handsomely -carved galleries to the first and second floors at the back of the main -building. An original drawing of it is in the Crace collection. In -this yard Banks, the showman, so often mentioned in Elizabethan -pamphlets, exhibited his trained horse Morocco, the animal which once -ascended the tower of St. Paul's, and which on another occasion -delighted the mob by selecting Tarleton, the low comedian, as the -greatest fool present. Banks eventually took his horse to Rome, and the -priests, frightened at the circus tricks, burnt both Morocco and his -master as sorcerers. Close by the inn lived Grinling Gibbons, and an -old house, bearing the crest of the Cutlers' Company, remains. - -The old Black Bull (now No. 122), Gray's Inn Lane, was, in its original -state, as shown by a woodcut in Walford's 'Old and New London,' a -specimen, though of the meaner sort, of the old-fashioned galleried -yard. - -The Black Lion, on the west side of Whitefriars Street, was a quaint and -picturesque edifice, and its courtyard showed a gallery to the -first-floor of the building, rather wider than usual, and with massive -banisters, pillars supporting the roof. The old house was pulled down -in 1877, and a large tavern of the ordinary uninteresting type now -occupies its site. - -One of the once famous Southwark inns was the Boar's Head, which formed -a part of Sir John Fastolf's benefactions to Magdalen College, Oxford. -This Sir John was one of the bravest Generals in the French wars under -Henry IV. and his successors. The premises comprised a narrow court of -ten or twelve houses, and two separate houses at the east end, the one -of them having a gallery to the first-floor. The property was for many -years leased to the father of Mr. John Timbs, which latter, in his -'Curiosities of London,' gives a lengthy account of the premises. They -were taken down in 1830 to widen the approach to London Bridge. The -court above mentioned was known as Boar's Head Court, and under it and -some adjoining houses, on their demolition, was discovered a -finely-vaulted cellar, doubtless the wine-cellar of the Boar's Head. - -Most noted among theatrical inns was the Bull, in Bishopsgate Street, so -much so that the mother of Anthony Bacon (the brother of the great -Francis), when he went to live in the neighbourhood of the inn, was -terribly frightened lest he and his servants should be led astray by the -actors performing at the inn. Tarleton, the comedian, often acted there. -It was while giving representations at the Bull that Burbage, -Shakespeare's friend, and his fellows obtained a patent from Queen -Elizabeth for erecting a permanent building for theatrical performances, -though the Bull afforded them every convenience, its yard and galleries -being on a large scale and in good style. It was at the Bull that the -Cambridge carrier Hobson, of 'Hobson's choice,' used to put up.[#] A -portrait and a parchment certificate of Mr. Van Harn, a customer of the -house, were long preserved at the Bull inn; this worthy is said to have -drunk 35,680 bottles of wine in this hostelry. - - -[#] Though I find it stated in other authorities that he put up at the -Four Swans; possibly he resorted to both. - - -The Bull and Gate, in Holborn, probably took its name from Boulogne -Gate, as the Bull and Mouth in Aldersgate Street was a corruption of -Boulogne Mouth, and both were, no doubt, intended as compliments to -Henry VIII., who took that town in 1544. Tom Jones alighted at the Bull -and Gate when he first came to London. - -Holborn at one time abounded in inns. Says Stow: 'On the high street of -Oldbourne have ye many fair houses builded, and lodgings for gentlemen, -inns for travellers and such like up almost (for it lacketh but little) -to St. Giles' in the Fields.' We shall have to mention one or two more -as we go on. - -The Bull and Mouth inn alluded to above in the olden time was a great -coaching-place. It had a large yard and galleries, with elegantly -designed galleries to the first, second, and third floors. There is a -view of it in the Crace collection. Its site was afterwards occupied by -the Queen's Hotel, which was pulled down in 1887 to make room for the -post-office extension. - -The Catherine Wheel was a sign frequently adopted by inn-keepers in -former days. Mr. Larwood, in his 'History of Signboards,' assumes that -it was intended to indicate that as the knights of St. Catherine of -Mount Sinai protected the pilgrims from robbery, he, the innkeeper, -would protect the traveller from being fleeced at his inn. But this -surmise seems too learned to be true. What did the bonifaces of those -days know of the knights of St. Catherine? But in Roman Catholic -countries saints were, and are still, seen on numerous signboards, and -so the one in question may have descended in English inns from -ante-Reformation times, or it may have been the fancy of one particular -man, who may have read the story of St. Catherine, and been moved by it -to adopt the wheel. St. Catherine was beheaded, after having been -placed between wheels with spikes, from which she was saved by an angel. -But to come to facts. - -There were two inns in London with that sign. One was in Bishopsgate -Street, and was in the last century a famous coaching inn, built in the -style of such inns, with a coach-yard and galleried buildings round. It -has disappeared. The other was in the Borough, and was a much larger -establishment, and a famous inn for carriers during the last two -centuries. It remains, but has lost its galleries and other distinctive -features. - -One of the oldest inns in London, bearing the sign of the Cock, stood -till 1871 on the north side of Tothill Street. It was built entirely of -timber, mostly cedar-wood, but the outside was painted and plastered, -and an ancient coat of arms, that of Edward III. (in whose reign the -house is said to have been built), carved in stone, discovered in the -house, was walled up in the front of the house. Larwood says that the -workmen employed at the building of the east end of Westminster Abbey -used to receive their wages there, and at a later period, about two -centuries ago, the first Oxford stage-coach is reported to have started -from that inn. In the back parlour there was a picture of a jolly and -bluff-looking man, who was said to have been its driver. The house was -built so as to enclose a galleried yard, and it no doubt originally was -one of some importance. Under the staircase there was a curious -hiding-place, perhaps to serve as a refuge for a 'mass priest' or a -highwayman. There were also in the house two massive carvings, the one -representing Abraham about to offer up his son, and the other the -adoration of the magi, and they were said to have been left in pledge -for an unpaid score. There is a water-colour drawing of the house as it -appeared in 1853 in the Crace collection. It is supposed that the sign -of the Cock was here adopted on account of its vicinity to the Abbey, of -which St. Peter was the patron. In the Middle Ages a cock crowing on -the top of a pillar was often one of the accessories in a picture of the -Apostle. - -A sign frequently adopted by innkeepers was the Cross Keys, the arms of -the Papal See, the emblem of St. Peter and his successors. There was an -inn with that sign in Gracechurch Street, having a yard with galleries -all round, and in which theatrical performances were frequently given. -Banks, already mentioned, there exhibited his wonderful horse Morocco; -it was here the horse, at his master's bidding to 'fetch the veriest -fool in the company,' with his mouth drew forth Tarleton, who was -amongst the spectators. Tarleton could only say, 'God a mercy, horse!' -which for a time became a by-word in the streets of London. At this inn -the first stage-coach, travelling between Clapham and Gracechurch Street -once a day, was established in 1690 by John Day and John Bundy; but the -house was well known as early as 1681 as one of the carriers' inns. - -The Four Swans (demolished) was a very fine old inn, with courtyard and -galleries to two stories on three sides complete. - -Whether St. George ever existed is doubtful; probably the story of this -saint and the dragon is merely a corruption of the legend of St. Michael -conquering Satan, or of Perseus' delivery of Andromeda. The story was -always doubted, hence the lines recorded by Aubrey: - - 'To save a maid St. George the dragon slew, - A pretty tale if all is told be true. - Most say there are no dragons, and it's said - There was no George; pray God there was a maid.' - - -But the George is, and always has been, a very common inn sign in this -as well as in other countries. We are, however, here concerned with one -George only, the one in the Borough. It existed in the time of Stow, -who mentions it in the list of Southwark inns he gives, and its name -occurs in a document of the year 1554. It stood near the Tabard. It -had the usual courtyard, surrounded by buildings on all sides, with -galleries to two stories on three sides giving access to the bedrooms. -The banisters were of massive size, of the 'footman leg' style. In 1670 -the inn was in great part burnt down and demolished by a fire which -broke out in the neighbourhood, and it was totally consumed by the great -fire of Southwark some six years later. The fire began at one Mr. -Welsh's, an oilman, near St. Margaret's Hill, between the George and -Talbot inns. It was stopped by the substantial building of St. Thomas's -Hospital, then recently erected. The present George inn, although built -only in the seventeenth century, was rebuilt on the old plan, having -open wooden galleries leading to the bedchambers. When Mrs. -Scholefield, descended from Weyland, the landlord of the inn at the time -of the fires, died in 1859, the property was purchased by the governors -of Guy's Hospital. The George now styles itself a hotel, but still -preserves one side of its galleries intact. - -Dragons, though fabulous monsters, asserted themselves on signboards; -green appears to have been their favourite colour. When Taylor, the -water poet, wrote his 'Travels through London,' there were no less than -seven Green Dragons amongst the Metropolitan taverns of his day. The -most famous of them, which is still in existence, was the Green Dragon -in Bishopsgate Street, which for two centuries was one of the most -famous coach and carriers' inns. It is even now one of the best -examples of the ancient hostelries, its proprietor having strictly -retained the distinctive features of former days, the only innovation -introduced by him being a real improvement, in the removal of one of the -objections to the open galleries of the old inns. He has enclosed these -with glass, and on a trellis-work leading up to them creeping plants -have been made to twine, so as to give a cool and refreshing aspect to -the old inn yard in summer time. Troops of guests now daily dine in its -low-ceilinged rooms with great beams in all sorts of angles, and shining -mahogany tables. The Dragon is great in rich soups and mighty joints of -succulent meat; in old wines, appreciated by amateurs. - -The King's Head was another of the many inns once to be found in the -Borough. Their great number is easily explained by the fact that London -Bridge was then the only bridge from south to north, and _vice versa_, -and that therefore the traffic of horses and men had to pass through -Southwark--of course, necessitating much hotel accommodation. The -King's Head was a great resort of big waggons, for the loading of which -a large crane stood in the yard, in consequence of which one side of the -yard had a gallery to the second floor only, the crane occupying the -space of the lower one, whilst on the other side there were galleries to -the first and second floors. - -The Old Bell in Holborn, recently pulled down, bore the arms of the -Fowlers of Islington, the owners of Barnsbury Manor and occupiers of -lands in Canonbury. In its galleried yard the boys used to meet to go in -coaches to Mill Hill School. - -The Oxford Arms stood south of Warwick Square and the College of -Physicians, and is mentioned in a carrier's advertisement of 1672. -Edward Bartlet, an Oxford carrier, started his coaches and waggons -thence three times a week. He also announced that he kept a hearse to -convey 'a corps' to any part of England. The Oxford Arms had a red-brick -facade, of the period of Charles II., surmounting a gateway leading into -the yard, which had on three sides two rows of wooden galleries with -exterior staircases, the fourth side being occupied by stabling, built -against a portion of old London Wall. This house was consumed in the -great fire, but was rebuilt on the former plan. The house always -belonged to the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, and the houses of the -Canons Residentiary adjoin the Oxford Arms on the south, and there is a -door from the old inn into one of the back-yards of the residentiary -houses, which is said to have been useful during the riots of 1780 for -facilitating the escape of Roman Catholics from the fury of the mob, by -enabling them to pass into the residentiary houses; for which reason, it -is said by a clause always inserted into the leases of the inn, it is -forbidden to close up the door. John Roberts, the bookseller, from -whose shop most of the libels and squibs on Pope were issued, lived at -the Oxford Arms. - -The Queen's Head was another of the Southwark inns. Its inner yard had -galleries on one side only, one to the first and another to the second -floor. Like all others, the yard was approached by a high gateway from -the street, and another under the building between the outer and inner -yards. - -At Knightsbridge there stood till about 1865, when it was pulled down, -the Rose and Crown, anciently called the Oliver Cromwell. It was one of -the oldest houses in the High Street, Knightsbridge, having been -licensed above three hundred years. The Protector's bodyguard is said -to have been stationed in it, and an inscription to that effect was, -till shortly before its demolition, painted on the front. This is -merely legendary, but there are grounds for not entirely rejecting the -tradition. In 1648 the Parliament army was encamped in that -neighbourhood; Fairfax's headquarters were for a while at Holland House. -There was a house not far from the inn called Cromwell House, and at -Kensington there still exists a charity called Cromwell's Gift, -originally a sum of L45, but, having been invested in land in the -locality, of great value now. Cromwell House was also known as Hale -House; a portion of the South Kensington Museum now occupies the site. - -To return to the Rose and Crown. Two sides of the yard had a gallery to -the first floor, but it was of the poorest description. There were no -elegant banisters, the lower part of the gallery was closed up with -boards of the roughest kind, about breast high, and irregularly nailed -on to the posts supporting the roof. Two water-colour drawings, dated -1857, showing the exterior of the house and the yard, are in the Crace -collection. Corbould painted this inn under the title of the 'Old -Hostelrie at Knightsbridge,' exhibited in 1849; but he transferred its -date to 1497, altering the house according to his fancy. In 1853 the -inn had a narrow escape from destruction by fire. Before its final -demolition it had been much modernized, though leaving enough of its -original characteristics to testify to its antiquity and former -importance. The Royal Oak at Vauxhall was an old inn with a galleried -yard. It was taken down circa 1812 to make the road to Vauxhall Bridge, -then in course of construction. - -One of the oldest of galleried inns in London was the Saracen's Head, on -Snow Hill. In 1377 the fraternity founded in St. Botolph's Church, -Aldersgate, in honour of the Body of Christ and of the saints Fabian and -Sebastian, were the proprietors of the Saracen's Head inn. In the reign -of Richard II. they granted a lease of twenty-one years to John -Hertyshorn of the Saracen's Head, with appurtenances, consisting of two -houses adjoining on the north side, at the yearly rent of ten marks. In -the reign of Henry VI. Dame Joan Astley (some time nurse to that King) -obtained a license to refound the fraternity in honour of the Holy -Trinity. In the reign of Edward VI. it was suppressed, and its -endowments, valued at L30 per annum, granted to William Harris. The -antiquity of the inn was thus beyond question. Stow, describing this -neighbourhood, mentions it as 'a fair large inn for receipt of -travellers.' The courtyard had to the last many of the characteristics -of an old English inn: there were galleries all round leading to the -bedrooms, and a spacious gateway through which the mail-coaches used to -pass in and out. It was at this inn that Nicholas Nickleby and his -uncle waited on Squeers, the schoolmaster of Dotheboys Hall. It was -demolished in 1863, when the Holborn Valley improvements were -undertaken. A view of the inn as it appeared in 1855 is in the Crace -collection. - -As there were many inns on the Southwark side of London Bridge for the -reasons given when we spoke of the King's Head, so for the same reason a -number of inns, some of which we have already mentioned, were on the -northern side of the bridge. Besides those already named, there was the -Spread Eagle, in Gracechurch Street. The original building had perished -in the great fire, but the inn was rebuilt after it. It had the usual -yard and galleries to the two floors. At first only a carriers' inn, it -became famous as a coaching-house, the mails and principal stage-coaches -for Kent and other southern counties arriving and departing from here. -It was long the property of John Chaplin, cousin of William Chaplin, of -the firm of Chaplin and Horne. The inn was taken down in 1865; the plot -of ground which it occupied contained 12,600 feet, and was sold for -L95,000. - -The Swan with Two Necks is a curious sign, variously explained. It is -supposed to mean the swan with two nicks or notches cut into swans' -bills, so that each owner might know his. But these nicks being so -small as not to be discernible on an inn sign hung high up, there seems -no sense in referring to them. More likely two swans swimming side by -side, and the neck of one of them protruding beyond that of the other, -took some artist's fancy, and induced him to produce the illusion in a -picture. However, the origin of the sign does not concern us, but the -inn with that sign. There was a famous one in what was Lad Lane, and is -now Gresham Street. It was for a century and more the head coach-inn -and booking-office for the North. Its courtyard was of great size; the -galleries were of somewhat irregular arrangement, there being one only -at the back, communicating at one end with a lower and an upper gallery -on one side, whilst on the other side there was a gallery unconnected -with the others, and which also was wider and more elaborately decorated -than the others. A view of it appeared in the _Illustrated London -News_, December 23, 1865. - -An inn which has been rendered famous by Chaucer's rhymed tales--we -cannot honestly call them poetry--of the Canterbury pilgrims is the -Tabard, in the Borough. Its history must be pretty familiar to most -people. It originally was the property of William of Ludegarsale, of -whom the Tabard and the adjoining house, which the Abbots made their -town residence, were purchased in 1304 by the Abbot and convent of Hyde, -near Winchester. The pilgrimage to Canterbury is said to have taken -place in 1383. Henry Bailly, Chaucer's host of the Tabard at that time, -was a representative of the Borough of Southwark in Parliament during -the reign of two Kings, Edward III. and Richard II. After the -dissolution of the monasteries, the Tabard and the Abbot's house were -sold by Henry VIII. to John Master and Thomas Master; the Tabard -afterwards was in the occupation of one Robert Patty, but the Abbot's -house, with the stable and garden belonging thereto, were reserved to -the Bishop Commendator, John Saltcote, alias Casson, who had been the -last Abbot of Hyde, and who surrendered it to Henry VIII., and who -afterwards was transferred to the See of Salisbury. The original Tabard -was in existence as late as the year 1602. On a beam across the road, -whence swung the sign, was inscribed: 'This is the inn where Sir Jeffry -Chaucer and the nine-and-twenty pilgrims lay in their journey to -Canterbury, ANNO 1383.' On the removal of the beam the inscription was -transferred to the gateway. The house was repaired in the reign of -Queen Elizabeth, and from that period probably dated the fireplace, -carved oak panels, and other portions spared by the fire of 1676, which -were still to be seen at the beginning of this century. In this fire -some six hundred houses had to be destroyed to arrest the progress of -the flames, and as the Tabard stood nearly in the centre of this area, -and was mostly built of wood, there can be no doubt that the old inn -perished. It was, however, soon rebuilt, and as nearly as possible on -the same spot; but the landlord changed the sign from the Tabard to the -Talbot; there is, nevertheless, little doubt that the inn as it remained -till 1874, when it was demolished, with its quaint old timber galleries, -with two timber bridges connecting their opposite sides, and which -extended to all the inn buildings, and the no less quaint old chambers, -was the immediate successor of the inn commemorated by Chaucer. -According to an old view published in 1721, the yard is shown as -apparently opening to the street; but in a view which appeared in the -_Gentleman's Magazine_ of September, 1812, the yard seems enclosed. A -sign, painted by Blake, and fixed up against the gallery facing you as -you entered the yard, represented Chaucer and his merry company setting -out on their journey. There was a large hall called the Pilgrims' Hall, -dating of course from 1676, but in course of time it was so cut up to -adapt it to the purpose of modern bedrooms, that its original condition -was scarcely recognisable. There are various views of the old inn in -the Crace collection: one without date, one of 1780, another of 1810, -another of 1812 (the _Gentleman's Magazine_ print), one of 1831, and yet -another of 1841. The site is now occupied by a public-house in the -gin-palace style, which presumes to call itself the Old Tabard. - -In Piccadilly, No. 75, there formerly stood on part of the site for so -short a time occupied by Clarendon House (1664-1683) the Three Kings -tavern. At the gateway to the stables there were seen two Corinthian -pilasters, which originally belonged to Clarendon House. The stable-yard -itself presented the features of the old galleried inn-yard, and it was -the place from which the first Bath mail-coach was started. Later, Mr. -John Camden Hotten, and afterwards Messrs. Chatto and Windus, carried on -their publishing business on this spot. - -In the seventeenth century the Three Nuns was the sign of a well-known -coaching and carriers' inn in Aldgate, which gave its name to Three Nuns -Court close by. The yard, as usual, was galleried, but within recent -years the inn was pulled down and rebuilt in the form of a modern hotel. -Near this inn was the dreadful pit in which, during the Plague of 1665, -not less than 1,114 bodies were buried in a fortnight, from September 6 -to 20. - -The Criterion Restaurant and Theatre stands on the site of an old inn, -the White Bear, which for a century and more was one of the busiest -coaching-houses in connection with the West and South-West of England. -In this house Benjamin West, the future President of the Royal Academy, -put up on his arrival in London from America. Here died Luke Sullivan, -the engraver of some of Hogarth's most famous works. The inn yard had -galleries to two sides of the bedchambers on the second floor, connected -by a bridge across. - -We must once more return to Southwark, for besides the inns already -mentioned as existing in that locality, there was another famous one, -namely, the White Hart. It had the largest inn sign except the Castle in -Fleet Street. Much maligned Jack Cade and some of his followers put up -at this inn during their brief possession of London in 1450. The -original inn which sheltered them remained standing till 1676, when it -was burnt down in the great fire already mentioned. It was rebuilt, and -was in existence till a few years ago, when it was pulled down. It -consisted of several open courts, the inner one having handsome -galleries on three sides to the first and second floors. There are two -views of it, taken respectively in 1840 and 1853, in the Crace -collection, and it was in the yard of this inn that Mr. Pickwick first -encountered Sam Weller. - -The White Lion, in St. John Street, Clerkenwell, was originally an inn -frequented by drovers and carriers, and covered a good deal of ground; -but before its demolition it had already been greatly reduced in size, -the gateway leading into the yard having been built up and formed into -an oil-shop. Inserted in the front wall was the sign in stone relief, -representing a lion rampant, painted white, and with the date 1714. A -house on the other side of the central portion also seems to have formed -part of the original White Lion. The gate just mentioned led into a yard -similar to those attached to other ancient inns. There were, in the -east front of the inn, strong wooden beams, which no doubt supported the -erection over the gateway, and that there was a yard surrounded by a -gallery is proved by the remains of door openings in the upper parts of -the back walls of the premises, which had been bricked up. At one time -a bowling-green was attached to the tavern, and by the side of it a -pond, in which Anthony Joyce, the cousin of Pepys, drowned himself. He -was a tavern keeper, and kept the Three Stags in Holborn, which was -burnt down in 1666. Pepys records in his Diary, under September 5 of -that year: 'Thence homeward ... having ... seen Anthony Joyce's house on -fire.' The loss incurred by the fire preyed on Joyce's mind, and is -supposed to have led him to commit the rash act. - -Here we will close our selection, which embraces all the most important -galleried taverns once existing in London. Their disappearance is much -to be regretted, though with the requirements of modern travellers it -was scarcely to be avoided. But they formed picturesque features of -London, which has so very few of them, especially as regards hotels, -which in their modern style remind us only of slightly decorated -barracks, if they are not perfectly hideous, as, for instance, the -architectural nightmare in Victoria Street. But there are plenty of -people yet who delight in old-fashioned houses and surroundings--the -revival of stage-coaches is proof of it. A galleried tavern with modern -improvements would, we fancy, not be a bad spec. - - - - - *II.--OLD LONDON TEA-GARDENS.* - - -Names are often misleading. Mr. Coward is a fierce fire-eater; Mr. -Gentle's family tremble when they hear his footsteps on the pavement on -his return home from his office, for they know that immediately on his -entrance he will kick up a row with every one of them; whilst Mr. Lion -lives in awe of his termagant better, or worse, half. We are led into -these reflections by the term 'tea-gardens.' It sounds so very -innocent; it calls up visions of honest citizens, surrounded by their -wives and olive-branches, enjoying, amid idyllic scenes of rural -beauties, their fragrant bohea, bread-and-butter, cream and sillabub. -But the vision is delusive. Noorthouck, who wrote about 1770, when the -tea-gardens were most abundant and flourishing, speaks of them thus: -'The tendency of these cheap catering places of pleasure just at the -skirts of this vast town is too obvious to need further explanation; -they swarm with loose women and with boys whose morals are depraved, and -their constitutions ruined, before they arrive at manhood. Indeed, the -licentious resort to the tea-drinking gardens was carried to such excess -every night that the magistrates lately thought proper to suppress the -organs in their public rooms; it is left to their cool reflection -whether this was discharging all the duty they owe to the public.' -Certes, the remedy seems hardly adequate when the grand jury of -Middlesex, as far back as 1744, had complained of 'advertisements -inviting and seducing not only the inhabitants, but all other persons, -to several places kept apart for the encouragement of luxury, -extravagance, idleness, and other wicked illegal purposes, which go on -with impunity to the destruction of many families, to the great -dishonour of the kingdom, especially at a time when we are involved in -an expensive war, and so much overburdened with taxes of all sorts,' -etc. With such an indictment before them, the magistrates must have -been wooden-headed indeed if they thought to stop the evil by forbidding -the playing of organs at such places. And the evil must have been not -only serious, but widespread, seeing there were upwards of thirty of -these tea-gardens around London. But our object is not to preach a -sermon on the wickedness of the world, but to describe the places where -it was practised. We begin with Bagnigge Wells tea-gardens. - -Who now, wandering about dreary King's Cross, unacquainted with the -history of the place, would believe that this was once a picturesque -rural spot? But such it was, and here Nell Gwynne had a summer -residence amidst fields and on the banks of the River Fleet, then a -clear stream, occasionally flooding the locality. The ground on which -the house, a gabled building, stood was then called Bagnigge Vale. -Early in the eighteenth century the house was converted into a place of -public entertainment, in consequence of the timely discovery on the spot -of two wells, one of which was said to be purging and the other -chalybeate, and the water of which was sold at threepence a glass or at -eightpence by the gallon. But one of the wells seems to have been known -by the name of Black Mary's Well or Hole, which may have been a -corruption of Blessed Mary's Well, or due to the alleged fact that a -black woman leased the well. The gardens, it seems, were largely -patronized, hundreds of persons visiting them in the morning to drink -the waters, and on summer afternoons to drink tea, and something -stronger, too. The grounds were ornamented with curious shrubs and -flowers, a small round fish-pond, in the centre of which was a fountain, -representing Cupid bestriding a swan, which spouted the water up to a -great height. The Fleet flowed through a part of the gardens, and was -crossed by a bridge. Two prints are extant (reproduced in Pinks's -'Clerkenwell'), showing the gardens as they were in 1772 and again early -in the present century. But in December, 1813, the gardens came to -grief; the whole of the furniture and fittings were sold by auction by -order of the assignees of Mr. Salter, the tenant, a bankrupt. The -fixtures and fittings were described as comprising the erection of a -temple, a grotto, alcoves, arbours, boxes, green-house, large lead -figures, pumps, cisterns, sinks, counters, beer machine, stoves, -coppers, shrubs, 200 drinking tables, 350 forms, 400 dozen bottled ale -[which shows that tea was not the only drink consumed there], etc. The -house itself remained standing till 1844, when it was demolished; the -Phoenix brewery afterwards occupied the site, which is now covered with -dreary streets. All that reminds you now of the gardens is a stone -tablet set into the wall of a dull house in the neighbourhood, which -shows a grotesque head and the inscription: 'This is Bagnigge House, -neare the Finder a Wakefield, 1680.' It may be added that at the time -the gardens were in existence the place was environed with hills and -rising ground, every way but to the south, and consequently screened -from the inclemency of the more chilling winds. Primrose Hill rose -westward; on the north-west were the more distant elevations of -Hampstead and Highgate; on the north and north-east were pretty sharp -ascents to Islington. But the ground, which, as shown then, was in a -deep hollow, has in modern times been considerably raised above the -former level, and no vestige remains of the gardens or the springs. But -the gardens were so famous in their day as to cause their name to be -adopted by a similar establishment in a totally different direction. -Towards the end of the last century the New Bagnigge Wells tea-gardens -were opened at Bayswater. Whether these were identical with the new -Bayswater tea-gardens mentioned in a London guide we have not been able -to ascertain, but probably they were. Sir John Hill, born about 1716, -had a house in the Bayswater Road, in whose grounds he cultivated the -medicinal plants from which he prepared his tinctures, balsams, and -water-dock essence, and though the profession called him a charlatan and -a quack, he must have been a learned botanist. His 'Vegetable System' -extends to twenty-six folio volumes. His garden is now covered by the -long range of mansions called Lancaster Gate, but towards the close of -the last century the site was opened to the public as tea-gardens. The -grounds were spacious, and contained several springs of fine water lying -close to the surface. The Bayswater Bagnigge Wells was opened as a -public garden as late as 1854, shortly after which time, the visitors -having grown less and less, it was shut up, and eventually seized by the -land-devouring speculating builder. - -The similarity of names has carried us from the north of London to the -west, but as the former locality, in consequence of its natural -features, always was a favourite one for tea-gardens, we will return to -it. On the top of the hill we referred to as rising from Bagnigge Wells -to Islington there stood, where the Belvedere Tavern now stands, a house -of entertainment known as Busby's Folly, so called after its owner, one -Christopher Busby, whose name is spelt Busbee on a token, 'White Lion at -Islington, 1668,' of which he was the landlord. Why the cognomen of -Folly was given to it is not very apparent, since, to judge by the -prints extant, there was nothing foolish about the building. But it -appears that then, as it is now, it was customary to call any house -which was not constructed according to a tasteless, unimaginative -builder's ideas a Folly; at Peckham there was Heaton's Folly. From -Busby's Folly the Society of Bull Feathers' Hall used to commence their -march to Islington to claim the toll of all gravel carried up Highgate -Hill, to which they asserted a right in a tract published by them and -entitled 'Bull Feather Hall; or, the Antiquity and Dignity of Horns -amply shown. London, 1664.' Busby's Folly retained its name till 1710, -after which it was called Penny's Folly, and here men with learned -horses, musical glasses, and similar shows entertained the public. The -gardens were extensive, and about 1780 the house seems to have been -rebuilt and christened Belvedere Tavern, which name it still bears. -Close to it was another tavern known as Dobney's, and which originally -was called Prospect House, because in those days, standing as it did on -the top of what was then styled Islington Hill, it really commanded a -fine prospect north and south. In 1770 Prospect House was taken for a -school, but soon reopened as the Jubilee Tea-Gardens, in commemoration -of the jubilee got up at Stratford-on-Avon by Garrick in honour of -Shakespeare, and the interior of the bowers was painted with scenes from -his plays. In 1772 one Daniel Wildman here performed 'several new and -amazing experiments never attempted by any man in this or any other -kingdom before. He rides, standing upright, one foot on the saddle and -the other on the horse's neck, with a curious mask of bees on his head -and face ... and by firing a pistol makes one part of the bees march -over a table and the other swarm in the air and return to their proper -hive again.' He also advertised that he was prepared to supply the -nobility and gentry with any quantity of bees from one stock in the -common or newly-invented hives. In 1774 the gardens fell into a ruinous -condition, but there were still two handsome tea-rooms. In 1780 the -house was converted into a discussion and lecture room, but the -speculation did not answer; the place was cleared, and about 1790 -houses, known as Winchester Place, were erected on it. But a portion of -the gardens remained open till 1810, when that also disappeared, and the -only remains on the site of this once famous tea-garden is a mean court -in Penton Street called Dobney's Court. The Prospect House to which the -gardens belonged still stands behind the present Belvedere Tavern, but -there is no sign of antiquity about it. - -In 1683 the well known as Sadler's Well was discovered, and Sadler's -Musick-House, as it was originally called, thenceforth became Sadler's -Well. But as it was, as its name implied, rather a house for musical -entertainment than a tea-garden, and as its history is pretty well -known, we pass it by to speak of a well adjoining it, namely, Islington -Wells or Spa, or New Tunbridge Wells. - -This well was already in repute when the well on Sadler's land was -discovered, and as the two wells were contiguous, the Spa was frequently -mistaken for Sadler's. About the year 1690 it was advertised that the -Spa would open for drinking the medicinal waters. In 1700 there was -'music for dancing all day long every Monday and Thursday during the -summer season; no masks to be admitted.' A few years later the Spa -became fashionable, being patronized by ladies of such position as Lady -Mary Wortley Montagu. In 1733 the Princesses Amelia and Caroline, -daughters of George II., came daily in the summer and drank the waters; -in fact, such was the concourse of nobility and others that the -proprietor took upwards of thirty pounds in a morning. Whenever the -Princesses visited the Spa they were saluted with a discharge of -twenty-one guns, and in the evening there was a bonfire. Ned Ward -described the place: - - 'Lime trees were placed at a regular distance, - And scrapers were giving their awful assistance.' - -It also furnished a title to a dramatic trifle, by George Colman, called -'The Spleen, or Islington Spa,' acted at Drury Lane in 1776. The -proprietor, Holland, failing, the Spa was sold to a Mr. Skinner in 1778, -and the gardens were reopened every morning for drinking the waters, and -in the afternoon for tea. The subscription for the season was one -guinea; non-subscribers drinking the waters, sixpence each morning. At -the beginning of this century part of the garden was built on, and about -1840 what remained was covered by two rows of cottages, called Spa -Cottages. At present there is at the corner of Lloyd's Row a small -cottage with the inscription on it, 'Islington Spa, or New Tunbridge -Wells.' - -The Islington Spa must not be confounded with a similar neighbouring -establishment in Spa Fields, adjoining Exmouth Street. The locality was -originally called Ducking Pond Fields. Hunting ducks with dogs was one -of the barbarous amusements our ancestors delighted in. The -public-house to which the pond belonged was taken down in 1770, and on -its site was erected the Pantheon, built in imitation of the Oxford -Street Pantheon. It was a large round building, with a statue of Fame -on the top of it. Internally it had two galleries and a pit, and in the -winter it was warmed by a stove, having fireplaces all round, the smoke -from which was carried away under the floor. To the building was -attached an extensive garden, disposed in fancy walks, and having on one -side of it a pond, at one end of which was a statue of Hercules, at the -other end stood a summer-house for company to sit in. There were also -boxes of alcoves all round the gardens, and two tea-rooms in the main -building itself. The place was well patronized, the company usually -consisting, as described in the _Sunday Ramble_, of some hundreds of -persons of both sexes, the greater part of which, notwithstanding their -gay appearance, were evidently neither more nor less than journeymen -tailors, hair-dressers, and other such people, attended by their proper -companions, milliners, mantua-makers, and servant-maids, besides other -and more objectionable characters of the female sex. According to a -letter addressed to the _St. James's Chronicle_, 1772, the Pantheon was -a place of 'infamous resort,' the writer declaring that of all the -tea-houses in the environs of London, the most exceptional he ever had -occasion to be in was the Pantheon. He was particularly annoyed at -being frequently asked by the Cyprian nymphs swarming in the place to be -treated with 'a dish of tea.' He ought to have heard the requests of -our modern Cyprians! The place, however, did not prosper; the Rotunda -had been built by a Mr. Craven; whilst it was being erected Mrs. Craven -visited it, and was so overcome by the gloomy thoughts that troubled her -mind that she gave vent to tears, and remarked to a friend of hers: 'It -is very pretty, but I foresee that it will be the ruin of us, and one -day or other be turned into a Methodist meeting-house.' The lady had a -prophetic mind, for in 1774 her husband became bankrupt, and the -Pantheon, 'with its four acres of garden, laid out in the most agreeable -and pleasing style, refreshed with a canal abounding with carp, tench, -etc., and commanding a pleasing view of Hampstead, Highgate, and the -adjacent country,' were sold by auction, and finally closed in 1776. -The Rotunda, as foreseen by Mrs. Craven in 1779, became one of the -chapels of Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, under the name of Spa Fields -Chapel. It is now replaced by the Episcopal Church of the Holy -Redeemer. - -To the south of the Pantheon, in Bowling Green Lane, stood, in the -middle of the last century, the Cherry Tree Public House and Gardens, -with their bowling-green. The gardens took their name from the large -number of trees bearing that fruit which grew there. There were -subscription grounds for the game of nine-pins, knock-'em-downs, etc., -and the house was much resorted to by the inhabitants of Clerkenwell. -But there was yet another well in this locality, which seems to have -been a very solfatara for springs, for near King's Cross there was a -chalybeate spring, known as St. Chad's Well, supposed to be useful in -cases of liver attacks, dropsy, and scrofula. St. Chad[#] was the -founder of the See and Bishopric of Lichfield, and was cured of some -awful disease by drinking the waters of this well, wherefore his name -was given to it. He died about 673, and in those days the names of -saints were as commercially valuable in starting a well or other natural -or unnatural phenomenon as the names of lords are on modern business -prospectuses. And St. Chad brought lots of custom to the well, for as -late as the last century eight or nine hundred persons a morning used to -come and drink these waters. Nay, fifty years ago they drew visitors to -themselves and the gardens surrounding the well. On a post might be -seen an octagonal board, with the legend, 'Health preserved and -restored.' Further on stood a low, old-fashioned, comfortable-looking, -large-windowed dwelling, and frequently there might also be seen -standing at the open door an ancient dame, in a black bonnet, a clean -blue cotton gown, and a checked apron. She was the Lady of the Well. -The gardens might be visited and as much water drunk as you pleased for -L1 1s. per year, 9s. 6d. quarterly, 4s. 6d. monthly, and 1s. 6d. weekly. -A single visit and a large glassful of water cost 6d. The water was -warmed in a large copper, whence it was drawn off into the glass. The -charge of 6d. was eventually reduced to 3d. There was a spacious and -lofty pump-room and a large house facing Gray's Inn Road, but all that -now remains is the remembrance of the well in the name of a narrow -passage, called St. Chad's Place, closed at its inner end by an -old-fashioned cottage with green shutters. - - -[#] He is a saint in the English calendar, and his day is March 2. - - -We will ascend Pentonville Hill again to Penton Street, at the corner of -which stands Belvedere Tavern, formerly Busby's Folly, and, going up -Penton Street a little way, we come to what was once the site of White -Conduit House, the present White Conduit House, tavern covering a -portion of the old gardens. It took its name from a conduit, built in -the reign of Henry VI., and repaired by Sutton, the founder of the -Charter House. The house was at first small, having only four windows -in front; but in the middle of the last century the then owner could -advertise that 'for the better accommodation of gentlemen and ladies he -had completed a long walk, with a handsome circular fish-pond, a number -of shady, pleasant arbours, enclosed with a fence seven feet high to -prevent being incommoded by people in the fields; hot loaves and butter -every day, milk directly from the cows, coffee, tea, and all manners of -liquors in the greatest perfection; also a handsome long-room, from -whence is the most copious prospects and airy situation of any now in -vogue.' A long poem in praise of the house appeared in the _Gentleman's -Magazine_ in 1760. It was written by William Woty, a Grub Street poet. -A frequent visitor to White Conduit House was Goldsmith, who used to -repair thither with some of his friends, after he had discovered the -place, as he relates in Letter 122 of the 'Citizen of the World.' The -passage, I must confess, does little honour to his genius or his taste, -and I wonder he did not have it expunged from his collected writings. -As is customary with such places of amusement, in course of time the -company did not improve, though in 1826 it was attempted to revive the -reputation of the place, partly by calling it a Minor Vauxhall; but -nightly disturbances and the encouragement of immorality thereby, caused -it to be suppressed by magisterial authority on the proprietor's -application for the renewal of his license. About 1827 the grounds were -let for archery practice, and in 1828 the old house was pulled down and -a new one erected in its place, which was opened in 1829. The new -building was somewhat in the gin-palace style: stucco front, pilasters, -cornices and plate glass. It contained large refreshment rooms, and a -long and lofty ballroom above, where the dancing, if not very refined, -was vigorous. Gentlemen went through country dances with their hats on -and their coats off. Eventually the master of the ceremonies objected -to the hats, and they were left off, as the coats continued to be. In -1849 this elegant place of amusement was demolished and streets built on -its grounds, as also the present White Conduit Tavern. - -A former proprietor of White Conduit House, Christopher Bartholomew, -died in positive poverty in Angel Court, Windmill Street, 'at his -lodgings, two pair of stairs room,' as the _Gentleman's Magazine_, -March, 1809, says. He once owned the freehold of White Conduit House -and of the neighbouring Angel inn, and was worth L50,000; but he was -seized with the lottery mania, and paid as much as L1,000 a day for -insurances. By degrees he sank into poverty, but a friend having -supplied him with the means of obtaining a thirty-second share, that -number turned up a prize of L20,000. He purchased an annuity of L60 per -annum, but foolishly disposed of it and lost it all. A few days before -he died he begged a few shillings to buy him necessaries. But does his -fate, and that of many others equally deluded, act as a warning to -anyone? We fear not. - -White Conduit House was sold in 1864, by order of the proprietor, in -consequence of ill-health. The lease had then about eighty years to -run, at the rent of L80 per annum. The property fetched L8,990. What -price would it fetch now? Public-houses have gone up tremendously since -then. - -Close to White Conduit House was another famous house of entertainment, -that is to say, Copenhagen House, which was opened by a Dane when the -King of Denmark paid a visit to James I., but the house did not attract -much attention till after the Restoration, when the once public-house -became a tea-garden, with the customary amusements, fives-playing being -a favourite. Hazlitt, who was enthusiastic about the game, immortalized -one Cavanagh, an Irish player, who distinguished himself at Copenhagen -House by playing matches for wagers and dinners. The wall against which -they played was that which supported the kitchen chimney, and when the -ball resounded louder than usual the cooks exclaimed, 'Those are the -Irishman's balls!' 'And the joints trembled on their spits,' says -Hazlitt. The next landlord encouraged dog-fighting and bull-baiting, in -consequence of which he lost his license in 1816. The fields around -Copenhagen House, now all built over, were the scene of many riotous -assemblies at the time of the French Revolution, Thelwall, Horne Tooke, -and other sympathizers with France being the chief instigators and -leaders of those meetings. - -Going considerably northward, we reach Highbury Barn, which, with lands -belonging thereto, was leased in 1482 by the Prior of the monastery of -St. John of Jerusalem to John Mantell, described as citizen and butcher -of London. The property thus leased comprised the Grange place, with -Highbury Barn, a garden, and 'castell Hilles,' two little closures -containing five acres, and a field called Snoresfeld, otherwise -Bushfield. Highbury Barn was at first a small ale and cake house, and as -such is mentioned early in the eighteenth century. Gradually it grew -into a tavern and tea-garden. A Mr. Willoughby, who died in 1785, -increased the business, and his successor added a bowling-green, a -trap-ball ground, and more gardens. The barn could accommodate 2,000 -persons at once, and 800 people have been seen dining together, with -seventy geese roasting for them at one fire. Early in this century a -dancing and a dining room were added. Near this house there was, in -1868, found in a field a vase containing nearly 1,000 silver coins, -consisting of silver pennies, groats and half-groats, two gold coins of -Edward III., and an amber rosary. The manor of Highbury having, as we -have seen, belonged to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, the coins -may have been buried by them at the time of the insurrection of Wat -Tyler, whose followers destroyed the monastery and also made an attack -on the Prior's house at Highbury. The coins are now in the British -Museum. - -But we find we have got to the end of the space allotted to us, and -though we have only, as it were, dipped into the bulk of our subject, we -must defer for some other opportunity the description of the large -number of old tea-gardens still to be noticed. We will here only -indicate the most important of them: Camberwell Grove, Cuper's Gardens, -Chalk Farm, Canonbury House, Cumberland Gardens, Cupid Gardens, Sluice -House, Eel-pie House, St. Helen's, Hornsey Wood, Hoxton, Kilburn Wells, -Mermaid, Marylebone, Montpellier, Ranelagh, Paris Gardens, Shepherd and -Shepherdess, Union Gardens, Yorkshire Stingo, Jew's Harp, Adam and Eve, -Tottenham Court Road; Adam and Eve, St. Pancras; the Brill, Mulberry -Gardens, Springfield, and others of less note. - - - - - *XIII.* - - *WILLIAM PATERSON AND THE BANK OF ENGLAND.* - - -Some London streets have strange and unsuitable names; thus you will -find an alley of wretched hovels, with muddy yards, containing nothing -but cabbage-stumps and broken dustbins, called Prospect Place; whilst a -lane adjoining the shambles styles itself Paradise Row. And what a -curious name for a street is that of Threadneedle[#] Street! How came -the street to be so named? However, such is its name, and in this case -it is not inappropriate. For lives there not in that street the Old -Lady who is, year in, year out, everlastingly threading her diamond -needle with gold and silver threads, and working the gorgeous embroidery -of the financial flags of her own and of almost every other country in -the world? Her dwelling is palatial; to be merely admitted into her -parlour is in itself a positive proof of your respectability, for you -gain no entrance thereto unless you are a stockholder; as to her -drawing-room, the glories of Versailles and the Escurial are as -miserable shanties, for _her_ drawing-room contains, leaving alone other -treasures, engravings worth from five pounds each to fifty -thousand--nay, a hundred thousand pounds each. There is no five o'clock -tea there, but plenty of music all day long; its notes, indeed, are -silent, but the gold and silver instruments, whose fascinating and -entrancing sounds have more magic in them than has the finest orchestra, -vocal or instrumental, are audible enough. And as to her cellars, the -treasures the Old Lady keeps there would buy up half a dozen such caves -as that into which Aladdin descended. - - -[#] Stow calls it Three Needle Street, as Hatton supposes, from such a -sign. It has also been written Thrid Needle and Thred Needle Street, -but our ancestors were not so particular as to spelling as we are. - - -The reader has by this time discovered who the Old Lady of Threadneedle -Street is--namely, the Bank of England--the most gigantic monetary -establishment in the world, the financial reservoir, the opening or -shutting of whose sluices causes not only the commercial ebb and flow of -east and west, of north and south, but sets in motion or prevents the -'pomp and circumstance of glorious war.' - -The history of this mighty establishment has often been told, but it -seems to us that but scant justice has as yet been done to its founder, -William Paterson. The injustice done to him, in fact, dates from an -early day, for soon after the foundation of the Bank, of which he -naturally was one of the directors, intrigue drove him from that -position, and envy and obloquy pursued him ever after. But let us -briefly recount his early history. - -Born on a farm in Dumfriesshire in 1658 of a family notable in old -Scottish history, he was, at the age of sixteen, transferred to the care -of a kinswoman at Bristol, on whose death he inherited some property. -Bristol was then a great commercial emporium, doing with much legitimate -business a little in the slave trade, and his connection with that town -was afterwards injurious to him, for whilst his friends said that he -visited the New World as a missionary, his enemies asserted that he was -mixed up with slave-dealing, and occasionally indulged in piracy. But -the fact of his marrying the widow of a Puritan minister at Boston is -more in accordance with the statements of his friends than with those of -his enemies. Anderson, the historian of commerce, who as a lad must -have known him in his old age, speaks of him as 'a merchant who had been -much in foreign countries, and had entered far into speculations -relating to commerce and the colonies.' - -He was in England in 1681, and, among the various schemes he started, he -took a leading part in the project for bringing water into the north of -London from the Hampstead and Highgate hills. He made a heavy -investment in the City of London Orphans' Fund; in the improved -management and distribution of that charity he took a profound interest, -a fact which leaves no doubt of his philanthropic and public spirit. It -was in 1684 that he first conceived the idea of the Darien scheme, and -though this turned out so unfortunate, he from first to last acted with -rare disinterestedness; his errors were those such as a well-balanced -and generous mind might fall into without reproach. Nor is the failure -of that enterprise to be attributed to him, but to the conduct of -William III., who had sanctioned, but afterwards, at the instigation of -the East India Companies of England and Holland, discouraged and -positively thwarted, it. How deeply he felt the disastrous results of -the expedition is shown by the fact that for a time his mind was -deranged in consequence of it. And who will now deny that Paterson was -right in calling the Isthmus of Panama the 'door of the seas and the key -of the universe'? In 1825 Humboldt recommended the scheme of a canal -from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and the enterprise of Lesseps will yet -be carried to a successful issue. - -However, we have to deal with Paterson chiefly as the founder of the -Bank of England, and with the long and fierce battle he had to fight to -accomplish his object, for there was great opposition to it from -interest and prejudice. Paterson had been long in Holland, and when he -propounded his scheme of a Bank of England, the people objected to it as -coming from Holland; 'they had too many Dutch things already,' just as -now there is a prejudice against things 'made in Germany.' Moreover, -they doubted the stability of the Government of William III. At last, -however, they consented to the Bank, on the express condition that -L1,200,000 should be subscribed and lent to the Government. The money -was subscribed in ten days. The Bank Act was obtained in spite of all -opposition, which perhaps would have prevailed had not Queen Mary, -acting on the instruction of William (then in Flanders), during a six -hours' sitting, carried the point, and the company received their royal -charter of incorporation in July, 1694. Almost as soon as it had been -established the Bank was called upon to assist the Government in the -re-coinage of the silver money. The notes of the new Bank were destined -to fill up the vacuum occasioned by the calling in of the old coin, but -as the notes were payable on demand, they were returned faster than coin -could be obtained from the Mint; a crisis ensued, during which the notes -of the Bank fell to a discount of 20 per cent. But the Bank passed -safely through its difficulties, as also through the troubles caused by -the South Sea Bubble. The opposition in the first crisis was due -chiefly to the goldsmiths, who detested the new corporation because it -interfered with their system of private banking, hitherto monopolized by -them. Paterson's advice was of the greatest assistance in his capacity -of director, yet such was the animus against him that, as we mentioned -above, in 1695 he sold out the stock he held (L2,000), which from the -first was a director's qualification, and retired from his office. But -he did not withdraw from public life. The Darien Expedition already -referred to was organized by him in 1698, and its disastrous results -were, as we have shown, in nowise attributable to him, and this was, in -fact, eventually admitted by the nation, Parliament in 1715 passing an -Act awarding him an indemnity of upwards of L18,000 for his losses in -that enterprise. In other ways Paterson continued to interest himself in -matters affecting the public welfare; he rendered his Sovereign signal -services by the wise and shrewd advice he gave him during the latter -part of his troubled reign; he published many tracts on the management -of the National Debt and the system of auditing public accounts; he was -a zealous advocate of Free Trade, and his views on the subject of -taxation were far ahead of the ideas of his day. His undoubtedly great -talents, his thorough honesty and genuine patriotism, fully entitle him -to the praise given him by his friend Daniel Defoe, as 'a worthy and -noble patriot, one of the most eminent, to whom we owe more than ever he -would tell us, or, I am afraid, we shall ever be sensible of, whatever -fools, madmen, or Jacobites may asperse him with.' - -We cannot attempt to give a history of the Bank of England in our -limited space, but a short account of the Bank building may not unfitly -close this notice of the founder of the establishment. The business was -originally started at Mercers' Hall, and next removed to, and for many -years carried on at, Grocers' Hall in the Poultry. In August, 1732, the -governors and directors laid the first stone of their new building in -Threadneedle Street, on the site of the house and garden formerly -belonging to Sir John Houblon, the first Governor of the Bank. At first -the buildings comprised only the centre of the principal or south front, -the Hall, Bullion Court, and the Courtyard, and were surrounded by St. -Christopher-le-Stocks Church, three taverns, and several private houses. -From the year 1766 onwards considerable additions were made to the -building. All the adjoining houses on the east side to Bartholomew -Lane, and those occupying the west side of that lane almost to Lothbury, -were taken down, and their places occupied by offices of the Bank. The -south side buildings, forming the eastern continuation of the -establishment, presented a range of fluted columns in pairs, with arched -intervals between, pointing out where windows should have been placed, -which, however, were filled up with stone. This necessitated the rooms -within being lighted by small glass domes in the roof, a circumstance -much complained of at the time by the clerks as injuriously affecting -their eyes. It was intended to extend the facade on the western side by -taking down the Church of St. Christopher, which by the removal of that -part of Threadneedle Street had been deprived of a great part of its -parish. Noorthouck, who wrote in 1773, says: 'How far so extensive a -plan may answer the vast expense it will call for to complete it is a -question proper for the consideration of those who are immediately -concerned; an indifferent spectator cannot view this expanded fabric -without comparing it with the growth of public debts negotiated here, -and trembling more for the safety of the one than of the other.' Could -he see the Bank now, covering nearly four acres of ground, what would he -say? - -One Ralph, architect, whose 'Critical Review of the Buildings, Statues, -and Ornaments in and about London' was published in 1783, says: 'The -building erected for the Bank is liable to the very same objection, in -point of place, with the Royal Exchange, and even in a greater, too. It -is monstrously crowded on the eye, and unless the opposite houses could -be pulled down, and a view obtained into Cornhill, we might as well be -entertained with a prospect of the model through a microscope. As to -the structure itself, it is grand ... only the architect seems to be -rather too fond of decoration; this appears pretty eminently by the -weight of his cornices ... rather too heavy for the building.' The -objectionable buildings here referred to were the triangular block of -houses which formerly stood in front of the old Royal Exchange, but was -removed on the building of the new. - -At the beginning of this century the Bank on the south side was of the -same extent as now; on the east side also it extended to Lothbury, on -the west it reached to about half the length of the present Princes -Street, which, however, then did not proceed in a straight line, as it -does now, but took a sharp turn to north-east, coming into Lothbury at a -point nearly opposite St. Margaret's Church, and thus cutting off a -corner of the Bank site, which would otherwise have been nearly square. -But when, early in this century, Princes Street was extended in a -straight line to Lothbury, the condensed portion of the street, together -with a block of houses on the west side of it, were added to the Bank -site, and the Bank assumed its present shape. But great architectural -improvements had in the meantime been introduced. The original or -central portion, eighty feet in length, which was of the Ionic order -raised on a rusticated basement, was altered to what it now is; the -attic seen on it was added in 1850. This original portion was from the -design of George Sampson. The east and west wings were added by Sir -Robert Taylor, after whom Sir John Soane was appointed the Bank -architect, and he rebuilt many of those parts constructed by Sampson and -Taylor; and on Sir John's death in 1837 Mr. Cockerell succeeded him in -the position. He again greatly modified many features of the building. -The eighty feet of the original south side now extend to 365 feet; the -length of the west side is 440 feet, of the north side 410 feet, and of -the east side 245 feet. Both internally and externally classical models -have been followed. The hall known as the Three Per Cent. Consol (three -per cent., alas! gone) Office, ninety feet long by fifty wide, is -designed from models of the Roman baths, as are the Dividend and Bank -Stock Offices. The chief cashier's office is forty-five feet by thirty, -and designed after the Temple of the Sun and Moon at Rome. The Court -Room of the composite order, about sixty feet long and thirty-one wide, -is lighted by large Venetian windows on the south, overlooking what once -was the churchyard of St. Christopher's Church, and into which in 1852 a -fountain was placed, which throws a single jet, thirty feet high, -amongst the branches of two of the finest lime-trees in London. The -north side of the Court Room is remarkable for three exquisite -chimney-pieces of statuary marble. The original Rotunda was roofed in -with timber, but in 1794 it was found advisable to take it down, and the -present Rotunda was built, which measures fifty-seven feet in diameter, -and about the same in height; it is of incombustible material, as are -all the offices erected by Sir John Soane. There are a number of courts -within the outer walls of the buildings; they are all of great -architectural beauty; the one entered from Lothbury is truly -magnificent. It has screens of fluted Corinthian columns, supporting a -lofty entablature, surmounted by vases. This part of the edifice was -copied from the beautiful temple of the Sybils, near Tivoli. A noble -arch, an imitation of the arch of Constantine at Rome, gives access to -the Bullion Court, in which is another row of Corinthian columns, -supporting an entablature, decorated with statues representing the four -quarters of the globe. The north-west corner of the Bank is modelled on -the temple of Vesta at Rome. We have yet to mention the Old Lady's -Drawing-Room, or the pay-office, where bank-notes are issued, or -exchanged for cash. It is a fine hall, seventy-nine feet long by forty -wide, and we have left the mention of it to the last because it suggests -to us some particular reflections. We have seen that Paterson was the -real founder of the Bank of England, and we may take this opportunity of -adding that Charles Montague and Michael Godfrey are entitled to share -in Paterson's glory for the assistance they lent him in this -undertaking; but the Bank ignores its founder, and had not even a -portrait of him till Mr. James Hogg, the founder of _London Society_, -presented them with one. In the Pay Hall stands the statue of William -III., and in the Latin inscription underneath he is called 'founder of -the Bank.' It is the old story: when a prize is taken at sea the -biggest share of it, the lion's share, goes to the 'Flag'; the real -fighters must put up with the leavings. - -Let us end with another philosophical reflection. _Facts are more -astounding than fiction_, as we will show by two facts. Gaboriau's -novel 'La Degringolade' (The Downfall), in one of its earliest chapters -describes the opening of a grave in the Parisian cemetery of Montmartre, -to discover whether it contains the body of a certain person or not. -The coffin is found to be empty. This is a fiction, but are we not -likely to see its realization shortly? Paul Feval's romance 'Les -Mysteres de Londres' gives a long account of the fictitious attempt of -some villains to get at the treasures in the cellars of the Bank of -England by digging a tunnel under Threadneedle Street; they are, of -course, foiled in the end. But now, according to accounts published at -the end of the month of November, 1898, in the _Daily Mail_, the tunnel -is actually dug by a railway company, and so close to the walls of the -Bank as to actually compel its governors and directors to call in the -assistance of Sir John Wolfe Barry to advise means to avert the danger -which threatens the building, already affected by the excavations. -Truly _fact is stranger than fiction_. - - - - - *XIV.* - - *THE OLD DOCTORS.* - - -The lines of modern doctors have fallen in pleasant places. Their -position is certainly somewhat different from what it was in the days -when they were contemptuously called leeches, when their scientific -investigations exposed them to persecution and death. Vesalius, the -father of modern anatomy, was condemned to death by the Inquisition for -dissecting a human body, but by the intervention of King Philip II., -whose physician he was, the punishment was reduced to a pilgrimage to -the Holy Land; on his return the ship was lost on the island of Zante, -where he perished of starvation in 1564. Now Government licenses -doctors to practise vivisection! At Dijon, in 1386, a physician was -fined by the bailiff fifty golden francs, and imprisoned for not having -completed the cures of some persons whose recovery he had undertaken. -In a schedule of the offices, fees, and services which the Lord Wharton -had with the Wardenry of the city and castle of Carlisle in 1547, a -trumpeter was rated at 16d. per day, and a surgeon only at 12d. Edward -III. granted Counsus de Gangeland, an apothecary of London, 6d. a day -for his care and attendance on him while he formerly lay sick in -Scotland. A knowledge of astrology was in those days requisite for a -physician; the herbs were not to be gathered except when the sun and the -planets were in certain constellations, and certificates of their being -so were necessary to give them reputation. Sometimes patients applied -to astrologers, who were astrologers only, whether the constellations -were favourable to the doctor's remedies. Then, if the man died, the -astrologer ascribed the death to the inefficacy of the remedies, while -the doctor threw the blame on the astrologer, he not having properly -observed the constellations. Then the latter would exclaim that his -case was extremely hard; if he made a mistake, his calculation being -wrong, heaven discovered it, whilst if a physician was guilty of a -blunder, the earth covered it. Even then doctors were considered like -the potato plant, whose fruit is underground. To see the doctor's -carriage, whose motto should be 'Live or die,' or 'Morituri te -salutant,' attending a funeral, reminds a cynic of a cobbler taking home -his work. - -In England the medical profession rose in public estimation from the -time when Henry VIII., with that view, incorporated several members of -the profession into a body, community, and perpetual college, since -called the College of Physicians. The seventeenth and eighteenth -centuries, with their opposite characteristics of vulgarity and romance, -of squalor and luxury, of ignorance and grand discoveries in science, of -prejudice and intelligence, were highly conducive to the formation and -cultivation of individualism and originality of character; hence those -two centuries abounded in 'oddities' and 'eccentricities,' and in no -section of society more than in the medical. The members of that -profession could very readily and appropriately then be divided into two -great schools--the Rough and the Smooth, the fierce dispensers of -Brimstone and the gentle administrators of Treacle. The present -century, with its levelling tendencies, opposed to all originality and -so-called eccentricity in speech, custom, and costume, reducing all -gentlemen in full dress to the rank of waiters, has nearly abolished the -sulphury Galen; in fact, he would scarcely be tolerated now. People -submit to certain foolish pretensions now, such as those of -thought-reading and pin-hunting cranks, and similar mental -eccentricities; but they must be administered mildly, there must be a -treacly flavour about them, for-- - - 'This is an age of flatness, dull and dreary, - Society is like a washed-out chintz, - Which scandal renders somewhat foul and smeary; - And yet, without its malice, lies, and hints, - E'en fashion's children would at last grow weary - Of looking at the faded cotton prints - To which respectability subdues - Our uncontrolled imagination's hues.' - -Hence the medical showmen of the present day must accompany the -'exhibition' of their nostrums with dulcet sounds and honeyed speeches, -especially when treating those nursed in the lap of affluence; and, -accustomed as they are to adulation, the medico who can condescend to -feed them with well-disguised flattery, or assume the tone of abject -servility, has too often the credit of possessing superior skill and -science. And the patients, in the words of Byron, travestied-- - - 'They swallow filthy draughts and nauseous pills, - But yet there is no end of human ills.' - - -It was, of course, not every doctor who could, at the beginning of his -career, go in for the brimstone system. Unless he was backed by very -powerful patronage, or wrote a book or pamphlet which attracted -attention--as Elliotson's practice rose from L500 to L5,000 a year -through his papers in the _Lancet_--or was by some lucky accident -pitched into a position which by itself alone inspired the public with -an overwhelming belief in his skill, the experiment of treating his -patients with rudeness and indifference would have been fatal to his -prospects. But let him once make a hit, either by being luckily on the -spot when a king or prince was thrown off his horse, or by a successful -operation, or by writing a book which 'caught on,' and the public were -at his feet, and he could trample on them as much as he liked. But it -did not follow that, after such success, he must necessarily abuse his -privileges. Dr. Arbuthnot, the son of a non-juring clergyman in -Scotland, came to London about the time of the Restoration, and at first -earned a living by teaching mathematics, though he had studied medicine. -He happened to be at Epsom on one occasion when Prince George, who was -also there, was suddenly taken ill. Arbuthnot was called in, and having -effected a cure, was soon afterwards appointed one of the physicians in -ordinary to the Queen. And, of course, his practice was established on -a solid foundation, and he carried it on with considerable professional -distinction. But his success did not spoil him, for he was a man of a -genial disposition, who turned neither to brimstone nor to treacle, but -always maintained a dignified demeanour. He was a wit and a man of -letters, and enjoyed the esteem of such men as Swift, Pope, and Gay. -Before coming to London he had chosen Dorchester as a place to practise -as a physician, but the salubrity of the air was opposed to his success, -and he took horse for London. A friend meeting him, asked him where he -was going. 'To leave your confounded place, where I can neither live -nor die.' It was said of him that his wit and pleasantry sometimes -assisted his prescriptions, and in some cases rendered them unnecessary. -He died at the age of sixty from a complication of disorders, so little -is the physician able to cure himself. - -Sir Astley Cooper (b. 1768, d. 1841) also did not belong to the -brimstone school. His surgical skill was very great, and he liked to -display it. He always retained perfect self-command in the operating -theatre, and during the most critical and dangerous performances on a -patient, he tried to keep up the latter's courage by lively and -facetious remarks. When he was in the zenith of his fame, a satirical -Sawbones said of him: - - 'Nor Drury Lane nor Common Garden - Are, to my fancy, worth a farden; - I hold them both small beer. - Give me the wonderful exploits, - And jolly jokes between the sleights, - Of _Astley's Amphitheatre_.' - - -When Sir Astley lived in Broad Street, City, he had every day a numerous -morning levee of City patients. The room into which they were shown -would hold from forty to fifty people, and often callers, after waiting -for hours, were dismissed without having seen the doctor. His man -Charles, with more than his master's dignity, would say to disappointed -applicants when they reappeared on the following morning: 'I am not sure -that we shall be able to attend to you, for our list is full for the -day; but if you will wait, I will see what we can do for you.' During -the first nine years of his practice Sir Astley's earnings progressed -thus: First year, L5 5s.; second, L26; third, L64; fourth, L96; fifth, -L100; sixth, L200; seventh, L400; eighth, L600; ninth, L1,100. -Eventually his annual income rose to more than L15,000; the largest sum -he ever made in one year was L21,000. A West Indian millionaire gave -him his highest fee; he had successfully undergone a painful operation, -and sitting up in bed, he threw his nightcap at Cooper, saying, 'Take -that!' 'Sir,' replied Sir Astley, 'I'll pocket the affront;' and on -reaching home he found in the cap a cheque for one thousand guineas. - -Dr. Matthew Baillie (b. 1761, d. 1823) was a physician who occasionally -indulged in the brimstone temper, and was disinclined to attend to the -details of an uninteresting case. After listening on one occasion to a -long-drawn account from a lady, who ailed so little that she was going -that evening to the opera, he had made his escape, when he was urged to -step upstairs again that the lady might ask him whether, on her return -from the opera, she might eat some oysters. 'Yes, madam,' said Baillie; -'shells and all!' - -Dr. Richard Mead (b. 1673, d. 1754) was physician to George II., and the -friend of Drs. Radcliffe, Garth, and Arbuthnot, and a great patron of -literary and artistic genius. In his house in Great Ormond Street he -established what may be called the first academy of painting in London. -His large collection of paintings and antiquities, as well as his -valuable library, was sold by auction on his death in 1754. In 1740 he -had a quarrel with Dr. Woodward, like himself a Gresham professor; the -two men drew their swords, and Mead having obtained the advantage, he -commanded Woodward to beg his life. 'No, doctor,' said the vanquished -combatant, 'that I will not till I am your patient.' But, nevertheless, -at last he wisely submitted. In Ward's 'Lives of the Gresham -Professors' is a view of Gresham College, with a gateway, entering from -Broad Street, marked 25. Within are the figures of two persons, the one -standing, the other kneeling; they represent Dr. Mead and Dr. Woodward. -Dr. Mead was of a generous nature. In 1723, when the celebrated Dr. -Friend was sent to the Tower, Mead kindly took his practice, and, on his -release by Sir Robert Walpole, presented the escaped Jacobite with the -result, L5,000. - -Dr. Mead, about 1714, lived at Chelsea; about the same date there lived -in the same locality Dr. Alexander Blackwell, whom we introduce here -chiefly on account of his singularly unfortunate life and very tragical -end. Blackwell was a native of Aberdeen, studied physic under Boerhaave -at Leyden, and took the degree of M.D. On his return home he married, -and for some time practised as a physician in London. But not meeting -with success, he became corrector of the press for Mr. Wilkins, a -printer, and some time after commenced business in the Strand on his own -account, and promised to do well, when, under an antiquated and unjustly -restrictive law, a suit was brought against him for setting up as a -printer without his having served his apprenticeship to it. Mr. -Blackwell defended the suit, but at the trial in Westminster Hall a -dunderheaded jury, probably of narrow-minded tradesmen, all anxious to -uphold their objectionable privileges, found a verdict against him, in -consequence of which he became bankrupt, and one of his creditors kept -him in prison for nearly two years. By the help of his wife, who was a -clever painter and engraver, he was released. She prepared all the -plates for the 'Herbal,' a work figuring most of the plants in the -Physic Garden at Chelsea, close to which she lived. A copy of this book -eventually fell into the hands of the Swedish Ambassador, who sent it -over to his Court, where it was so much liked that Dr. Blackwell was -engaged in the Swedish service, and went to reside at Stockholm. He was -appointed physician to the King, who under his treatment had recovered -from a serious illness. Dr. Blackwell had left his wife in England; she -was to follow him as soon as his position was placed on a solid basis. -But ere this could take place he was accused of having been engaged with -natives and foreigners in plotting to overturn the constitution of the -kingdom. He was found guilty, and sentenced to be broken alive on the -wheel, his heart and bowels to be torn out and burnt, and his body to be -quartered. He was said, under torture, to have made confession of such -an attempt, but the real extent of his guilt must always remain -problematical. That he, a person of no influence, and unconnected with -any person of rank, should have aimed at overthrowing the constitution -seems very improbable. It is more likely that he was made a scapegoat -to strike terror into the party then opposed to the Ministry. The awful -sentence passed on him, however, was commuted to beheading, which fate -he underwent on July 29, 1747. He must have been a man of great nerve -and a humorist, for, having laid his head wrong, he remarked jocosely -that this being his first experiment, no wonder he should want a little -instruction! - -The Dr. Woodward we mentioned above seems to have been a very irascible -and objectionable individual. He so grossly insulted Sir Hans Sloane, -when he was reading a paper of his own before the Royal Society in 1710, -that, under the presidency of Sir Isaac Newton, he was expelled from the -Society. - -Among medical oddities of the rougher sort we may reckon Mounsey, a -friend of Garrick, and physician to Chelsea Hospital. His way of -extracting teeth was original. Round the tooth to be drawn he fastened -a strong piece of catgut, to the opposite end of which he fastened a -bullet, with which and a strong dose of powder he charged a pistol. On -the trigger being pulled, the tooth was drawn out. Of course, it was -but seldom he could prevail on anyone to try the process. Once, having -induced a gentleman to submit to the operation, the latter at the last -moment exclaimed: 'Stop! stop! I've changed my mind.' 'But I have not, -and you are a fool and a coward for your pains,' answered the doctor, -pulling the trigger, and in another instant the tooth was extracted. - -Once, before setting out on a journey, being incredulous as to the -safety of cash-boxes and safes, he hid a considerable quantity of gold -and notes in the fireplace of his study, covering them with cinders and -shavings. A month after, returning luckily sooner than he was expected, -he found his housemaid preparing to entertain a few friends at tea in -her master's room. She was on the point of lighting the fire, and had -just applied a candle to the doctor's notes, when he entered the room, -seized a pail of water which happened to be standing near, and throwing -its contents over the fuel and the servant, extinguished the fire and -her presence of mind at the same time. Some of the notes were injured, -and the Bank of England made some difficulty about cashing them. - -'When doctors disagree,' etc. Do they ever agree? Yes, when, after a -consultation over a mild case which has no interest for any of them, -they over wine and biscuits agree that the treatment hitherto pursued -had better be continued. To discuss it further would interrupt the -pleasant chat over the news of the day! But when they meet over a -friendly glass at the coffee-house they go at it hammer and tongs. Dr. -Buchan, the author of 'Domestic Medicine,' of which 80,000 copies were -sold during the author's lifetime, and which, according to modern -medical opinion, killed more patients than that--doctors like cheap -medicine as little as lawyers like cheap law--Dr. Gower, the urbane and -skilled physician of Middlesex Hospital, and Dr. Fordyce, a fashionable -physician, whose deep potations never affected him, used to meet at the -Chapter Coffee-House, and hold discussions on medical topics; but they -never agreed, and with boisterous laughter used to ridicule each other's -theories. But they all agreed in considering the Chapter punch as a -safe remedy for all ills. - -Dr. Garth, the author of the 'Dispensary,' a poem directed against the -Apothecaries and Anti-Dispensarians, a section of the College of -Physicians, was very good-natured, but too fond of good living. One -night, when he lingered over the bottle at the Kit-Kat Club, though -patients were longing for him, Steele reproved him for his neglect of -them. 'Well, it's no great matter at all,' replied Garth, pulling out a -list of fifteen, 'for nine of them have such bad constitutions that not -all the physicians in the world can save them, and the other six have -such good constitutions that all the physicians in the world cannot kill -them.' The doctor here plainly admitted the uselessness of his supposed -science, as in his 'Dispensary' he admitted drugs to be not only -useless, but murderous. - - 'High where the Fleet Ditch descends in sable streams, - To wash the sooty Naiads in the Thames, - There stands a structure[#] on a rising hill, - Where Tyros take their freedom out to kill.' - - - -[#] Apothecaries' Hall. A doctor, I forget his name, having obtained -some mark of distinction from the Company of Apothecaries, mentioned at -a party that the glorious Company of Apothecaries had conferred much -honour on him. 'But,' said a lady, 'what about the noble army of -martyrs of patients?' - - -In Blenheim Street lived Joshua Brookes, the famous anatomist, whose -lectures were attended by upwards of seven thousand pupils. His museum -was almost a rival of that of John Hunter, and was liberally thrown open -to visitors. One evening a coach drew up at his door, a heavy sack was -taken out and deposited in the hall, and the servants, accustomed to -such occurrences, since their master was in the habit of buying -subjects, were about to carry it down the back-stairs into the -dissecting-room, when a living subject thrust his head and neck out of -one end and begged for his life. The servants in alarm ran to fetch -pistols, but the subject continued to beg for mercy in such tones as to -assure them they had nothing to fear from him. He had been drunk, and -did not know how he got into the sack. Dr. Brookes ordered the sack to -be tied loosely round his chin, and sent him in a coach to the -watch-house. How he got into the sack may easily be surmised: Some -body-snatchers, a tribe then very much to the fore, had no doubt found -the man dead drunk in the street, and knowing the doctor to be a buyer -of subjects, had taken him there, in the hope that the doctor might -begin operating on the body before it recovered consciousness, so as to -enable them afterwards to claim the price. In the days when there were -dozens of executions in one morning at Newgate, the doctors had a good -time of it, for the bodies of the malefactors were handed over to them -for dissection. In fact, under the steps leading up to the front-door -of Surgeons' Hall, a handsome building which stood next to Newgate -Prison, there was a small door, through which the corpses were -introduced into the building. Surgeons' Hall was pulled down in 1809, to -make room for the new Sessions House. - -The doctors of the previous two centuries were mostly Sangrados, who -bled and purged their patients most unmercifully; but we must say this -to their credit, they did not descend to the sublime atrocity of -microbes, bacilli, and all the other horrors of the microscopic mania -now sending unnumbered nervous people into lunatic asylums. And so they -had not, like their modern compeers, the chance of amusing themselves -and paying one another professional compliments by sending glass tubes, -filled with the deadly spawn, from one country to another by ship and -rail. Fancy one of those tubes getting accidentally broken, or being -intentionally smashed for a lark on board a passenger steamer. Why, -this would speedily become a vessel laden with corpses! At least, -according to modern teaching, which, _entre nous_, we have no more faith -in than we have in many other medical dicta. A man is ill from over -gorging or drinking, a child ails from a surfeit of sweets or from -catching a disease playing with other children in the streets or at -school. The doctor is called in, and instead of telling the man, 'You -have made a beast of yourself,' or correctly indicating the cause of the -child's illness, he sniffs about and says: 'There is something the -matter with your drains: I can smell sewer-gas.' And presently the -sanitary inspector arrives, and orders the pulling up and renewal of the -drains, and for days the house is filled with the effluvia supposed to -be poisonous. How is it the whole family do not die off? Well, -scavengers who daily deal with offal and garbage of the most offensive -kind, the men who work down in the sewers, enjoy robust health; the -latter only suffer when they are suddenly plunged into an excess of -sewer-gas, but it is the quantity and not the quality that injures. - -The excessive treacliness of modern doctors, as we have just shown, is -as objectionable as was the brimstone treatment of some of their -predecessors. A principle with modern doctors is never to acknowledge -themselves nonplussed. The old doctors now and then confessed -themselves beaten. Said an AEsculapius who had been called in to -prescribe for a child, after diagnosing, as the ridiculous farce of -tongue-speering and pulse-squeezing is called: 'This here babe has got a -fever; now, I ain't posted up in fevers, but I will send her something -that will throw her into fits, and I'm a stunner on fits.' And modern -doctors, indeed, have no occasion to admit ignorance since the invention -of the liver. When they cannot tell what is the matter with a man, or -they are too urbane to reproach him with his excesses, his liver is out -of order--and that is an organ which cannot possibly be examined and its -condition be verified so as to prove or disprove the practitioner's -assertion. I assume that nine out of ten people don't know where or -what the liver is--I'm sure I don't, and don't want to; but as Sancho -Panza blessed the man who invented sleep, the doctors should bless their -colleague who invented the liver! Abernethy, of whom more hereafter, -with all his eccentricity, was honest enough to confess that he never -cured or pretended to cure anyone, which only quacks did. He despised -the humbug of the profession, and its arts to mislead and deceive -patients. He only attempted to second Nature in her efforts. He -admitted that he could not remove rheumatism, that opprobrium of the -faculty, and no doctor can; a residence in a warm and ever sunny clime, -or a long course of Turkish baths, can do it. Hence sings Allan -Ramsay's 'Gentle Shepherd': - - 'I sits with my feet in a brook, - And if they ax me for why, - In spite of the physic I took, - It's rheumatiz kills me, says I.'[#] - - -[#] In searching for material for these pages I had occasion to read the -lives of a good many doctors; half of them, I should say, died of -rheumatism and gout. - - -This was the desperate remedy taken by Caroline, Queen of that brute -George II., when he expected her to take her usual walk with him, though -both her feet were swollen with rheumatism. She plunged them in a bath -of cold water, and managed to go out with him that afternoon. - -I read in some publication--_London Society_, I think--in an article on -medicine, that it is a sensible plan, adopted by some wise people, to -pay a medical man a yearly sum to look up a household periodically and -keep them in good health. This seems to me as insane a plan as can well -be imagined. Fancy the physicking such a family, especially the -children and servants, must all the year round undergo! For the doctor -does not like to take his money and do nothing for it; so, if there -happens to be no real illness, he must exhibit his draughts and pills, -just to show that he is honestly earning his fee. The regular -attendant, the family doctor, means that the family are hospitalizing -all the year round. Better go and live in the island of Sark. Sir -Robert Inglis, in his account of the Channel Islands, says that at Sark -there is no doctor, and that in the years 1816 and 1820 there was not -one death on the island, containing a population of five hundred -persons, and that on an average of ten years the mortality is not quite -one in a hundred. But let us return to the old doctors. - -Dr. George Fordyce, who came in 1762 from Edinburgh to London, very -speedily made himself a name by a series of public lectures on medical -science, which he afterwards published in a volume entitled 'Elements of -the Practice of Physic,' which passed through many editions. -Unfortunately he was given to drink, and though he never was known to be -dead drunk, yet he was often in a state which rendered him unfit for -professional duties. One night when he was in such a condition, he was -suddenly sent for to attend a lady of title who was very ill. He went, -sat down, listened to her story, and felt her pulse. He found he was -not up to his work; he lost his wits, and in a moment of forgetfulness -exclaimed: 'Drunk, by Jove!' Still, he managed to write out a mild -prescription. Early next morning he received a message from his noble -patient to call on her at once. Dr. Fordyce felt very uncomfortable. -The lady evidently intended to upbraid him either with an improper -prescription or with his disgraceful condition. But to his surprise and -relief she thanked him for his prompt compliance with her pressing -summons, and then confessed that he had rightly diagnosed her case, that -unfortunately she occasionally indulged too freely in drink, but that -she hoped he would preserve inviolable secrecy as to the condition he -had found her in. Fordyce listened to her as grave as a judge, and -said: 'You may depend upon me, madam; I shall be as silent as the -grave.' - -Another doctor who made his reputation by lecturing was Dr. G. Wallis, -of Red Lion Square. He had originally established himself at York, -where he was born, but being much attached to theatrical amusements, and -a man of wit, he had written a dramatic piece, entitled 'The Mercantile -Lovers: a Satire.' It contained a number of highly caustic remarks, -either so directly levelled at certain persons of that city, or taken by -them to themselves, that he lost all professional practice, and had to -leave York, when he came to London, and, as already mentioned, commenced -lectures on the Theory and Practice of Physic. He published various -medical works, and died in 1802. - -In the reign of James I. lived Dr. Edward Jorden, whom we mention on -account of two curious circumstances in his life. The doctor, being on -a journey, benighted on Salisbury Plain, and not knowing which way to -ride, met a shepherd of whom he made inquiry what places were near where -he could pass the night. He was told there was no house of entertainment -for travellers near, but that a gentleman of the name of Jordan, and a -man of great estate, lived close by. Looking on the similarity of the -names as a good omen, Jorden applied at the house, where he was kindly -received, and made so good an impression on his host that the latter -bestowed on him his daughter with a considerable fortune. - -The second circumstance was this: James, as is well known, was a firm -believer in witchcraft. Now, it happened that a girl in the country was -said to have been bewitched by a neighbour. The King had her sent for, -and placed under the care of Dr. Jorden, who very soon discovered the -girl to be a cheat; in fact, she confessed as much, saying that her -father, having had a quarrel with a female neighbour, had induced her -(his daughter) to accuse the woman of having bewitched her and brought -upon her the fits she simulated. This confession Jorden reported to the -King, the doctor not being courtier enough to see what James wanted, -namely, a witch to burn. But as the girl had for a short time given him -the prospect of such a treat, the King, though she by her own confession -was a diabolical liar--for everyone in those days knew that the charge -of witchcraft involved the risk of losing life by a fiery death--James -actually gave her a portion, and she was married, 'and,' as the account -naively observes, 'thus was cured of her inimical witchery.' - -Of Dr. Francis J. P. de Valangin (b. 1719, d. 1805), of the College of -Physicians, London, though a native of Switzerland, it was said that to -his patients he was kind and consolatory in the extreme--nothing of the -rough element in him; he was, as the obituary notice of him says, the -friend of mankind and an honour to his profession. About the year 1772 -de Valangin purchased ground in Pentonville, near White Conduit House, -where he erected a residence on a plan laid down by himself; and as the -design was not that of ordinary builders or architects it was called -fanciful, chiefly because of a high brick tower rising from it, which -the doctor built for an observatory. Of course the next tenant, a -timber merchant, had nothing more pressing to do than immediately to -pull down the features which distinguished the building from the dulness -of orthodox architecture. Valangin had christened the elevation on -which his house stood 'Hermes Hill,' after Hermes Trismegistus, the -fabled discoverer of the chemist's art. - -Dr. Anthony Askew, one of the celebrities of St. Bartholomew's in the -last half of the last century, was as famous in literature as he was in -medicine. He had a collection of Greek MSS., purchased at great expense -in the East, more numerous and more valuable than that of any other -private gentleman in England. His house in Queen Square was, moreover, -crammed with printed books; the sale of his library in 1775, which -lasted twenty days, was the great literary auction of the time. - -Another famous physician of St. Bartholomew's was Dr. David Pitcairn, -who died in 1809. He also was distinguished as a literary man and lover -of art. His earnings were very large, for he was frequently requested -by his brethren for his advice in difficult cases. His manners as a -physician were simple, gentle, and dignified, and always sufficiently -cheerful to inspire confidence and hope. It is said that he was -occasionally affected in his speech; thus he is reported to have asked a -lady for a pinch of snuff in the following terms: 'Madam, permit me to -immerse the summits of my digits in your pulveriferous utensil, to -excite a grateful titillation of my olfactory nerves.' - -Of Dr. John Radcliffe, the physician of the reigns of William III. and -Queen Anne, many strange anecdotes are told, for he was a man of rough -Abernethy manners, even with kings. When called in to see King William -at Kensington, finding his legs dropsically swollen, he said: 'I would -not have your two legs, your Majesty, not for your three kingdoms.' The -remark gave great offence. But on another occasion he was even more -brusque. 'Your juices,' he said to the King, 'are all vitiated, your -whole mass of blood corrupted, and the nutriment mostly turned to water. -If your Majesty will forbear making long visits to the Earl of Bradford' -(where the King was wont to drink very hard), 'I'll engage to make you -live three or four years longer, but beyond that time no physic can -protract your Majesty's existence.' On one occasion, when he was sent -for from the tavern, to which he resorted but too often, by Queen Anne, -he flatly refused to leave his bottle. 'Tell her Majesty,' he bellowed, -'that it's nothing but the vapours.' He advised a hypochondriacal lady, -who complained of nervous singing in the head, to 'curl her hair with a -ballad.' He cured a gentleman of a quinsy by making his own two -servants eat a hasty-pudding for a wager, which caused the patient to -break out into such a fit of laughter as to burst the quinsy. Sir -Godfrey Kneller and Radcliffe were at one time neighbours in Bow Street, -Covent Garden, and the painter having beautiful pleasure-grounds, a door -was opened for the accommodation of his neighbour. But in consequence -of damage done to his flower-beds, Sir Godfrey threatened to close the -door, to which Radcliffe replied, he might do anything with it but paint -it. 'Did Dr. Radcliffe say so?' cried Sir Godfrey. 'Go and tell him, -with my compliments, that I can take anything from him but his physic.' -In spite of his cynicism and rudeness, he made a very large income, on -the average twenty guineas a day, and when he was told that the L5,000 -he had invested in South Sea stock was lost, he could with placid -sangfroid say: 'Well, it is only going up another 5,000 stairs.' But -though he so heavily taxed his patients, he was very much opposed to -paying his debts, especially such as he owed to tradespeople. A pavior, -whom he had employed and constantly put off paying, at last waited for -him at his (the doctor's) door, and, when his carriage drove up, roughly -asked for his money. 'Why, you rascal,' said the doctor, 'do you expect -to get paid for such a bad piece of work? You have spoiled my pavement, -and covered it with earth to hide your bad work!' 'Doctor,' replied the -pavior, 'mine is not the only bad work the earth hides.' 'You dog, -you!' cried the doctor, 'you must be a wit, and want the money. Come -in.' And he paid him. Curiously enough, the man who left the splendid -library, known by his name, to Oxford, at one time, on being asked where -his library was, pointed to a few phials, a skeleton, and a herbal, in -one corner of his apartment, and said, 'Sir, there is my library!' He -was a Tory in politics, and it was said that he kept Lady Holt alive out -of pure political animosity to the Whig Chief Justice Holt, because she -led her lord such a life. - -Of a more genial disposition, though no less original character, was Dr. -John Cookley Lettsom. He was born in a small island near Tortola, -called Little Van Dyke, which belonged to his father. A view of it may -be seen in the _Gentleman's Magazine_, December Supplement, 1815. When -only six years of age he was sent to England for his education, being -entrusted to the care of a Mr. Fothergill, then a famous preacher among -the Quakers. His father dying before he came of age, that gentleman -became his guardian, and with a view to his future profession sent him -to Dr. Sutcliffe. For two years he attended St. Thomas's Hospital, and -then returned to his native place in the West Indies to take possession -of any property that might remain; but on his arrival he found himself -L500 worse than nothing, his elder brother, then dead, having run -through an ample fortune, leaving to his younger brother only a number -of negro slaves, whom he at once emancipated. He entered on the medical -profession, and in five months made the astonishing sum of L2,000, with -which he returned to Europe, visited the medical schools of Paris and -Edinburgh, took his degree of M.D. at Leyden in 1769, and was admitted a -licentiate of the College of Physicians of London in the same year. His -rise in his profession was rapid. In 1783 he earned L3,600; in 1784, -L3,900; in 1785, L4,015; in 1786, L4,500; and in some years his income -reached L12,000. But he was at the same time giving away hundreds--nay -thousands--in gratuitous advice, and the poorer order of the clergy and -struggling literary men received not only gratuitous advice, but -substantial aid. He was one of the original projectors and supporters -of the General Dispensary, of the Finsbury and Surrey Dispensaries, of -the Margate Sea-Bathing Infirmary, as well as of many other charitable -institutions. In 1779 he purchased some land on the east side of Grove -Hill, Camberwell, where he erected the villa which for years was -associated with his name, and where he entertained some of the most -eminent literati of his time. The house contained a library of near ten -thousand volumes, and a museum full of natural and artistic curiosities. -The grounds were most tastefully laid out and adorned with choice trees, -shrubs and flowers. The avenue of elms, still retaining the name of -Camberwell Grove, formed part of the small estate and the approach to -the house. It is sad to relate that Dr. Lettsom's excessive devotion to -science and literature impaired his resources, and compelled him -eventually to quit Grove Hill. He died in 1815, aged seventy-one years. -He being in the habit of signing his prescriptions 'J. Lettsom,' some -wag, putting forth the lines as the doctor's own composition, wrote -thus: - - 'When patients comes to I, - I physics, bleeds, and sweats 'em; - Then, if they choose to die, - What's that to I? I lets 'em.' - - -Everyone has heard, and has a story to tell, of Dr. John Abernethy (b. -1764, d. 1831), so we do not know whether in telling our stories of him -we shall be able to tell the reader anything new; but as he was a -medical eccentricity, we cannot omit him from our portrait gallery. But -let us premise that if we call him eccentric we refer to his manners -only, in which he did not take after his chief instructor, Sir Charles -Blick, who was a fashionable physician of the extra-courteous school. -In scientific knowledge Abernethy greatly excelled all his colleagues, -though he got less fame by that than by his oddities. When he had made -up his mind to marry he wrote off-hand to a lady a note of proposal, -saying that he was too busy to attend in person, but he would give her a -fortnight for consideration. His irritable temper at times rendered him -very disagreeable with patients and medical men who consulted him. When -the latter did so, he would walk up and down the room with his hands in -his pockets and whistle all the time, and end by telling the doctor to -go home and read his (Abernethy's) book. On being asked by a colleague -whether a certain plan he suggested would answer, the only reply he -could obtain was: 'Ay, ay, put a little salt on a bird's tail, and you -will be sure to catch him.' He could hardly be induced to give advice -in cases which appeared to depend on improper diet. A farmer of immense -bulk came from a distance to consult him, and having given an account of -his daily meals, which showed an immense amount of animal food, -Abernethy said: 'Go away, sir; I won't attempt to prescribe for such a -hog!' A loquacious lady he silenced by telling her to put out her -tongue; she having done so, 'Now keep it there till _I_ have done -talking,' said Abernethy. A lady having brought her daughter, he -refused to prescribe for her, but told the mother to let the girl take -exercise. Having received his guinea, he gave the shilling to the -mother and said: 'Buy the girl a skipping-rope as you go along.' When -the late Duke of York consulted him, he stood whistling with his hands -in his pockets, and the Duke said: 'I suppose you know who I am?' -'Suppose I do,' was the uncourtly reply, 'what of that?' To a gentleman -who consulted him for an ulcerated throat, and wanted him to look at it, -he said: 'How dare you suppose that I would allow you to blow your -stinking, foul breath in my face!' But sometimes he met a Tartar. A -gentleman who could not succeed in getting the doctor to listen to his -case, suddenly locked the door, put the key into his pocket, and took -out a loaded pistol. Abernethy, alarmed, asked if he meant to murder -him. No, he only wanted him to listen to his case, and meant to keep -him a prisoner till he did. The patient and the surgeon afterwards -became great friends. The Duke of Wellington having insisted on seeing -him out of his usual hours, and abruptly entering his room, was asked by -the doctor how he got in. 'By that door,' was the reply. 'Then,' said -Abernethy,' I recommend you to make your exit by the same way.' He -refused to attend George IV. until he had delivered his lecture at the -hospital, in consequence of which he lost a royal appointment. To a -lady who complained that on holding her arm over her head she felt pain, -he said: 'Then what a fool you must be to hold it up!' He was fond of -calling people fools. A countess consulted him, and he offered her some -pills, when she said she could never take a pill. 'Not take a pill! -What a fool you must be!' was the courteous reply. - -Abernethy usually cut patients short by saying: 'I have heard enough. -You have heard of my book?' 'Yes.' 'Then go home and read it.' This -book gives admirable rules for dieting and general living, though few -persons would be willing to comply with them rigidly; he himself did -not. When someone told him that he seemed to live like most other -people, he replied: 'Yes, but then I have such a devil of an appetite!' -One day a lawyer suffering from dyspepsia, brought on by want of -exercise and good living, went to consult Abernethy. As he came out of -the consulting-room he met another lawyer, a friend of his. 'What the -devil brought you here?' said one, and the other echoed the question, -and the reply of each was the same. 'What has he prescribed for you?' -asked the newcomer. The prescription was produced and read as follows: -'Read my book, p. 72. J. Abernethy.' The first lawyer agreed to wait -for his friend whilst he went to consult the doctor. In about a quarter -of an hour he came out, well pleased apparently with his interview. -'Well, what is your prescription?' inquired lawyer number one. Number -two produced a slip of paper, on which was written: 'Read my book, p. -72. J. Abernethy.' That was what each got for his guinea. But Abernethy -deserves praise for three utterances, viz., that mind is a miraculous -energy added to matter, and not the result of certain modes of -organization, as modern scientists maintain; that an operation is a -reproach to surgery, and that a patient should be cured without recourse -to it; and that vivisection experiments are morally wrong and -physiologically unsafe, because unreliable. - -That Dr. Abernethy, with his uncouth manners and vulgar repartee, should -have been so successful in his profession is a marvel; certainly few -people of the present day would tolerate such rudeness as his. Possibly -in former days the doctor's distinctive dress had a secret influence of -its own. The gold-headed cane, the elaborate shirt-frill, the massive -snuff-box, tapped so argumentatively in consultation, the pompous manner -and overbearing assurance, no doubt exercised a spell with which we are -unacquainted now. - -Abernethy had imitators, but they had been pupils of his. Tommy -Wormald, or 'Old Tommy,' as the students called him, was Abernethy over -again in voice, style, appearance and humour. To an insurance company -he reported on a bad life proposed to them: 'Done for.' When an -apothecary wanted to put him off with a single guinea at a consultation -on a rich man's case, he said: 'A guinea is a lean fee, and the patient -is a fat patient. I always have fat fees from fat patients. Pay me two -guineas instantly; our patient is a fat patient.' Some rich but mean -people would drive to St. Bartholomew's to get advice gratis as -out-patients. To this Tommy meant to put a stop. Seeing a lady dressed -in silk, he thus addressed her before a roomful of people: 'Madam, this -charity is for the poor, destitute invalids; I refuse to pay attention -to destitute invalids who wear rich silk dresses.' The lady quickly -disappeared. Will no Old Tommy arise at the present day and put an end -to the abuse, which is as rampant as ever? - -Doctors are not agreed as to what constitutes medical science. By an -empiric a quack is meant. Now, an empiric goes by observation only, -without rational grounds; yet Sir Charles Bell asserted that physiology -was a science of observation rather than of experiment, which is the -rational ground the quack is said to disregard. Who is right? Without -attempting to answer the question, which would lead us too far, we must -rest satisfied with the fact that the profession and the public have -agreed to stigmatize certain individuals as quacks who, with or without -any medical training, pretend to cure diseases by charms, manipulations, -or nostrums, which have no scientific or rational basis. Quacks have -existed at all times, for mankind, especially suffering mankind, has -ever been credulous. Henry VIII. endeavoured to put down those of his -own times by establishing censors in physic, but the public would not be -enlightened, and so the quacks flourished. In 1387 one Roger Clerk, of -Wandsworth, pretending to be a physician, got twelve pence in part -payment from one Roger atte Haccke, in Ironmonger Lane, for undertaking -the cure of his wife, who was ill. He put a charm, consisting of a -piece of parchment, round her neck, but it did her no good, whereupon -Roger brought him before the chamber at Guildhall for his deceit and -falsehood, and Roger Clerk was sentenced to be led through the middle of -the city with trumpets and pipes, he riding on a horse without a saddle, -the said parchment and a whetstone[#] for his lies being hung about his -neck, a urinal also being hung before him, and another on his back. In -the reign of Edward VI. one Grig, a poulterer in Surrey, was set in the -pillory at Croydon, and again in the Borough, for cheating people out of -their money by pretending to cure them by charms or by only looking at -the patient. - - -[#] Early in English history we find the whetstone as the symbol of a -liar. Why? Does lying imply a sharpened wit, as a whetstone sharpens a -blade? The custom is referred to in 'Hudibras,' II., i. 57-60. - - -Was Valentine Greatrakes, whom Charles II. invited to his Court, a -quack? If he was, he was a harmless one, since he gave no physic, but -only pretended to cure by magnetic stroking. Our modern magnetizers are -not so modest; they have added much hocus-pocus to Valentine's simple -process. - -From among the medical oddities of the latter part of the last century -we must not omit Dr. Von Butchell, who lived in Mount Street, and -pretended to cure every disease. He applied for the post of dentist to -George III., but when the King's consent was obtained he said he did not -care for the custom of royalty. When his wife died, he had her embalmed -and kept in his parlour, where he allowed his patients to see the body; -so that the modern showman who exhibited the dead body of his wife at -Olympia was, after all, only a copyist. But whilst the doctor was -half-mad, the world was altogether mad; for his exhibiting the corpse of -his wife was not considered as eccentric as his letting his beard grow, -which then was held to be the height of madness. And there seems to -have been method in _his_ madness, for he sold the hairs out of his -beard at a guinea each to ladies who wished to have fine children. He -used to ride about the West End on a pony painted with spots by the -doctor himself. There is an engraving extant of him, showing him -astride on it. The horse was afterwards, in consequence of a dispute -with the stable-keeper who had charge of it, sold at Tattersall's, -where, as a curiosity, it fetched a good price. There was a wonderful -inscription on the outside of his house, extending over the front of the -next, and his neighbour rebuilding his frontage, half the inscription -was obliterated. Butchell was also a great advertiser, and his -advertisements even now afford amusing reading. He never would visit a -patient, though as much as L500 was offered him for a visit--patients -had to go to his house. 'I go to none,' he said in his advertisements. -Many persons used to visit him, not for getting advice, but simply to -converse with such an original. He was twice married. His first wife -he dressed in black, and his second in white, never allowing a change of -colour. He was one of the earliest teetotalers. The profits he and some -of his contemporaries made on their quack draughts and pills led, in -1788, to the imposition of the tax on 'patent medicines.' - -But to come down to more recent times, in 1700 one John Pechey, living -at the Angel and Crown, in Basing Lane, an Oxford graduate and member of -the College of Physicians, London, advertised that all sick people might -for sixpence have a faithful account of their diseases and plain -directions for their cure, and that he was prepared to visit any sick -person in London for 2s. 6d.; and that if he were called by any person -as he passed by, he would require but one shilling for his advice. A -physician who in our day advertised like this would be deprived of his -diploma. In 1734 one Joshua Ward became a celebrity even among quacks -by his pills, which he extensively advertised, and which were patronized -by the Queen herself. There was a rhyming quack, Dr. Hill, who also -wrote a farce, and wanted Garrick to produce it, till the latter -published the following distich on him: - - 'For farces and physic his equal there scarce is, - His farces are physic, his physic a farce is.' - - -A Dr. Hannes, a contemporary of Dr. Radcliffe, ordered his servant to -stop a number of coaches between Whitehall and the Royal Exchange, and -to inquire at each whether it belonged to Dr. Hannes, as he was called -to a patient. Entering Garraway's Coffee-House, the servant put the -same question. Dr. Radcliffe happening to be there, he asked who wanted -Dr. Hannes. The servant named several lords who all wanted him. 'No, -no, friend,' said Radcliffe; 'Dr. Hannes wants the lords.' - -Quacks were never more flourishing than they are now, and they always -will be, for the public like mysterious remedies, and are anxious to -recommend them and to force them on their friends. In nothing is a -little knowledge more dangerous than in medicine; mothers and nurses -especially, who have acquired some smattering of it from their -conversations with doctors, may do a lot of mischief. To them are due -nearly all so-called diseases of children--as if children must -necessarily have diseases--a superstition which is shared by some -doctors, who also encourage the reading of their books. The reading of -those books has physically the same effect on the body that the reading -or hearing of ghost stories has morally on the mind: the reader or -hearer everywhere feels dis-ease and sees ghosts; _ergo_ beware of -medical books and goblin stories--both are unwholesome. Modern invalids -are fortunate in escaping the tortures inflicted on patients in earlier -days. Edmund Verney thus writes concerning his father, Sir Ralph -Verney, of Claydon House, in 1686: 'He hath been blooded, vomited, -blistered, cupt and scarified, and hath three physicians with him, -besides apothecary and chirurgian.' And then he wonders that 'he still -continues very weak.' The marvel was that he survived at all. Had not -Moliere a few years before the above date said: 'You must not say that a -man died of such and such a disease, but of so many physicians, surgeons -and apothecaries'? - -The most pungent and most witty definition of the doctor's character -probably is that given, I think, by Talleyrand. When Napoleon, in a fit -of despondency, said that he would forsake war and turn physician, the -sarcastic courtier said _sotto voce_: '_Toujours assassin?_' - - - - - *XV.* - - *THE LOST RIVERS OF LONDON.* - - -London is deficient in two conditions to render it picturesque: it lacks -diversity of surface, and it lacks water. In so vast an expanse of -ground as is covered by London, Ludgate Hill and Notting Hill are mere -molehills.[#] As to water, it has the Thames, but that is accessible at -short and broken intervals only. There is the Embankment from -Blackfriars to Westminster; a short bit at Chelsea, and the Albert -Embankment. But the City people during the day have no time to waste on -their Embankment, and in the evening they are gone to the suburbs, and -so this grand promenade is given up to occasional country cousins' -visits, and to permanent ruffianism. For, of course, no one from the -more northern parts of London ever thinks of coming so far to take a -stroll on that Embankment, from which nothing is to be seen but -mud-banks in the near prospect, as by a perverse arrangement of nature -it is generally low water when you want to take a walk; on the opposite -bank only dismal wharves present themselves. As to the Chelsea -Embankment, that is patronized by the dwellers in that region only, if -they do not neglect it altogether, as people generally do who live in a -rather picturesque locality. The less we say about the Albert -Embankment the better; its characteristics are dingy hovels and -smoke-belching pottery chimneys on one side, smoke and cinders from -passing steam-barges and penny steamers on the river, and a dreary -outlook on the opposite side, scarcely relieved by the Tate Gallery, -which, for reasons unknown to the general public, but self-evident to -those who can see the wire-pulling behind, has been pitched, like a King -Log, into the Pimlico swamp. All other parts of the river are -inaccessible to the public, and therefore as good as non-existent for -the Londoner. - - -[#] The highest point north is Hampstead Hill, 400 feet above sea-level; -to the south Sydenham Hill, 365 feet; Primrose Hill, about 260 feet; -Herne Hill, about 180 feet; Denmark, about 100 feet; Orme Square, 95 -feet; Broad Walk, 90 feet; North Audley Street, 83 feet; Tottenham Court -Road, 85 feet; Regent Circus, 90 feet; Cornhill, 60 feet; Charing Cross, -24 feet; Euston Road, 90 feet; Cheapside, 59 feet; Farringdon Street, 28 -feet; St. Katherine's, Regent's Park, 120 feet; Camberwell Green, 19 -feet. - - -Thus much for the Thames. As to other pieces of water to be found in -public parks, they are mere ponds, and of benefit only locally. As to -public fountains, which form the peculiar charm of so many Continental -cities, where the melodious splash of water is heard day and night, -London possesses none. True, there are two squirts in Trafalgar Square, -and the Shaftesbury fountain is making asthmatic efforts to assert -itself, whilst the Angel at the top seems to be shooting Folly as it -flies all around him in the savoury purlieus of the Haymarket. The -small drinking fountains found here and there are evidences of -philanthropy, which may be grateful to children and tramps, to horses -and dogs, but do not add much to the aquatic features of London. There -are canals, it is true, but they are private property, and so fenced, -hoarded, and walled in, as to be of no use to the public. And as a rule -their water is so dirty that no one with a nose would walk by the side -of them, even if allowed to do so. - -But London was not always so deadly level and so waterless as it is now. -In ancient days there were high hills and deep valleys in the very heart -of it. From the river Lea to the river Brent on the northern side of -London there were numerous rivulets and brooks descending from the -northern heights through the City and its western outskirts into the -Thames, brooks and rivulets which at times assumed such dimensions as to -cause serious inundations. It was the same in the south of London, -where from the Ravensbourne to the Wandle similar watercourses reached -the Thames from the southern hills. - -All those brooks between the four rivers we have named, and which alone -are still existing, have totally disappeared. What were their features, -when they still flowed from northern and southern heights, and what were -the causes and the process of their disappearance, we now intend to -investigate, by proceeding from east to west, and taking the northern -shore of the Thames first. - -The site on which the Romans founded London was the rising ground on the -northern bank of the Thames, from the present Fish Street Hill, or -Billingsgate, to the Wallbrook. At a later date of their occupation -they extended the City eastward to the Tower, and westward to the valley -of the Fleet. Then the valley of the Wallbrook divided the City into -two portions of almost equal size. To the north the buildings extended -to the present Aldgate and to Moorfields, and westward to Newgate and -Ludgate. The wall which encompassed the town began at the Tower, and in -a line with various bends in it terminated at the Arx Palatina, -somewhere near the present _Times_ office. On the east of the town, -where the country was flat, there was a marsh, extending to the river -Lea. To the north-west were dense forests stretching far into -Middlesex, and abounding with deer, wild boar, and other savage animals. -This forest was partly the cause of the many brooks, which in those days -watered London from the northern heights; it being a well-known fact -that trees absorb and retain moisture. - -It is doubtful whether there were any Roman buildings west of the Fleet; -Fleet Street and the Strand certainly were then undreamt of, and did not -come into existence till centuries after the Romans had left our island. -To the west of the present Strand, the ground lying very low, it was -frequently inundated by the river, and there are persons still living -who can remember Belgravia and Pimlico as a dismal swamp. Westminster -Abbey stood on an island, which rose above the marshy environs, and even -as late as the times of Charles II. occasional high tides converted the -palace of Whitehall into an island. - -The great forest of Middlesex above mentioned came close to the City -wall; it had, in fact, occupied a portion of the site on which the City -was built, and as much of it had been cut down, and so much space -cleared, as the builders required for their operations. But the nature -of the forest ground could not be as readily changed. It was still full -of moisture, and numerous rills continued to flow through it. Now, one -of the most important of them was the Langbourne. - -This watercourse, so called because of its length, took its rise in -ground now forming part of Fenchurch Street. It ran swiftly through -that street in a westward direction, across Grass, now Gracechurch -Street, into and down Lombard Street--where many Roman remains have been -discovered--to the west of St. Mary Woolnoth Church, where it turned -sharply round to the south and gave name to Sherbourne Lane, so termed -of sharing or dividing, because there it broke into a number of rills -and so reached the Thames. From this watercourse Langbourne Ward took -its name. Thus says Stow, but he adds that in his day (1598) this -bourne had long been stopped up at the head, and the rest of the course -filled up and paved over, 'so that no sign thereof remaineth more than -the name aforesaid.' - -Some modern historians, Mr. Loftie, for instance, deny the existence of -the Langbourne altogether. 'Stow says that the Langbourne rose in -Fenchurch Street and ran down Lombard Street. It does not seem to have -occurred to him that the course indicated is up hill,' Mr. Loftie -objects. But Fenchurch Street was then, as it is now, considerably -higher than the outfall of the Langbourne into the Thames, and what do -we know of the then levels of the streets through which it was said to -have run? Upwards of thirty feet under the present level of Lombard -Street Roman remains have been found, and the Langbourne, as we know -from various documents, was covered in as early as the latter part of -the twelfth century, a time when building increased rapidly under -Fitz-Alwyn, the first Mayor of London; moreover, the fenny condition of -Fenchurch Street is said to have been due to the overflowing of the -Langbourne at its source. Mr. Loftie says that the original name of the -Langbourne was Langford; but a ford implies a watercourse, and not a -mere ditch or artificial trench, which, receiving the drainage of the -immediate locality, fell into the Wallbrook, as Mr. Burt would have us -believe. If the Langbourne never existed, whence did Langbourne Ward -derive its name? - -Proceeding westward, we come to a much more important stream, namely, -the Wallbrook. - -No more striking instance of the changes which Time will effect in the -topographical aspect of a locality can be found than that which the -disappearance of the Wallbrook has produced within the limits of its own -course and in its surroundings. Where now a smooth expanse of asphalte -paving covers firm ground (except where rendered treacherously dangerous -by sewer-like railway tunnels, in which human beings are shot to and fro -like so many rats enclosed in traps in a drain!), extending from Princes -Street right across to the Mansion House, and to and down the street -called Wallbrook, there, centuries ago, yawned a wide ravine with -precipitous sides, at the bottom of which flowed the brook called the -Wall-brook, because, rising in the upper fenny grounds of Moorfields, it -entered the city through an opening in the wall, somewhere near the -northern end of the present Moorgate Street. The brook, towards its -southern termination, must have been of considerable width, for barges -could be rowed up to Bucklersbury--a fact commemorated by Barge Yard, -formerly a kind of dock, but now solid ground, opening into -Bucklersbury. The width of the Wallbrook near its outfall was no doubt -increased by tributaries, which, flowing from the opposite portion of -the City, found an exit on the western bank. There is no doubt that -there was a watercourse along the line of Cheapside; the fact is stated -positively by Maitland. He says: 'At Bread Street corner, the north-east -end, in 1595, one Thomas Tomlinson causing in the High Street of Chepe a -vault to be digged, there was found at fifteen feet deep a fair -pavement, like that above-ground, and at the further end, at the -channel, was found a tree, sawed into five steps, which was to step over -some brook running out of the west towards Wallbrook. And upon the edge -of the said brook there was found lying the bodies of two great trees, -the ends whereof were then sawed off, and firm timber as at the first -when they fell. It was all forced ground until they went past the trees -aforesaid, which was about seventeen feet deep, or better. Thus much -has the ground of this city been raised from the main. And here it may -be observed that within fourscore years and less, Cheapside was raised -divers feet higher than it was when St. Paul's was first built, as -appeared by several eminent marks discovered in the late laying of the -foundation of that church.' The mention of Cheapside as a highway does -not go back to very early times. In the eleventh century it must have -been a mere bog; for, when in 1090 the roof of Bow Church was blown off -by a tempest, the rafters, which were twenty-six feet long, penetrated -more than twenty feet into the soft soil of Cheapside. The course of -the brook just mentioned west of Bread Street is not known; it is -doubtful whether it struck off northward by about Gutter Lane, and so -towards springs known to exist near Cripplegate, or whether it came from -further westward, from the springs which supply the ancient baths in -Bath Street (formerly called Bagnio Court), north of Newgate Street. - -But we must return to the Wallbrook itself; and, first, as to its -course. After entering the City through the opening in the wall, it -curved eastward, ran along Bell Alley, crossed Tokenhouse Yard and -Lothbury, close by St. Margaret's Church, curved westward again, passing -through ground now covered by the north-west corner of the Bank of -England; crossing the present Princes Street and the Poultry, it ran -under what is now the National Safe Deposit, whence, by an almost -semicircular bend, it reached Cannon Street, which it crossed, turning -westwardly towards St. Michael's Church, and crossing Thames Street, -flowed past Joiners' Hall into the Thames. There were various bridges -over the said watercourse. There was one close to Bokerelsberi -(Bucklersbury), which in 1291 four occupiers of tenements adjoining the -bridge were ordered to repair, according to clauses in their tenancies. -There was another over against the wall of the chancel of the church of -St. Stephen, which it was the duty of the parishioners to repair, as -they were ordered to do, for instance, in 1300. At Dowgate Hill, at the -outfall of the Wallbrook into the Thames, there was discovered in 1884 -an ancient landing-stage, a Roman pavement in tile, set upon timber -piles, with mortised jointing. The stage stood on the left bank of the -Wallbrook, facing not the Thames, but the brook. It was twenty-one feet -below the present level of Dowgate Hill, and below the churchyard of St. -John's. A large quantity of stout oak-piling was also _in situ_, and -the sill of the bridge which crossed from east to west at this spot was -seen very plainly. Another landing-stage appears to have existed on the -brook at a spot now covered by the National Safe Deposit: it consisted -of a timber flooring supported by huge oak timbers, and running parallel -with the stream. Adjoining this were evidences of a macadamized -roadway, which extended in a line with Bucklersbury, until it reached -the apparent course of the brook. Upon the opposite side similar -indications appeared, so that here also a bridge may have existed. -Another bridge seems to have spanned the brook near London Wall, in -Broad Street Ward, with yet another a little more south. It appears -that in the year 1300 both these bridges required repairs, and that the -Prior of the Holy Trinity, who was liable for those of the first, and -the Prior of the New Hospital without Bishopsgate, who was bound to do -those of the second, were in that year summoned by the Mayor and -Aldermen of London 'to rebuild the said bridges and keep them in -repair.' - -When in the seventies the National Safe Deposit Company dug down some -forty feet into the ground, and reached the ancient course of the -Wallbrook, they found in its bed, among other debris, enormous -quantities of broken vessels and kitchen utensils. No doubt the -careless cooks and housemaids of the ancient Romans found the brook -handy for getting rid of the evidences of mishap or recklessness; but -their successors on the banks of the stream seem to have treated it with -even greater disrespect. In the records of the City we find constant -references to the disgraceful condition of the Wallbrook. In 1288 the -Warden and Sheriffs of the City of London had to order that the -watercourse of the Wallbrook should be made free from dung and other -nuisances, and that the rakes should be put back again upon every -tenement extending from Finsbury Moor to the Thames. In 1374 the Mayor -and Aldermen granted to Thomas atte Ram, brewer, a seven years' lease of -the Moor, together with charge of the watercourse of Wallbrook, without -paying any rent therefor, upon the understanding that he should keep the -said Moor well and properly, and have the Wallbrook cleansed for the -whole of the term, clearing it from dung and other filth thrown therein, -he taking for every latrine built upon the said watercourse twelve pence -yearly. And if, in so cleansing it, he should find aught therein, he -should have it for his own. But it would seem that Thomas atte Ram did -not properly perform his contract, for at the expiration of it, namely -in 1383, we find by an Ordinance of the Common Council that, 'whereas -the watercourse of the Wallbrook is stopped up by divers filth and dung -thrown thereinto by persons who have houses along the said course, to -the great nuisance and damage of all the City, the Aldermen of the Wards -of Coleman Street, Broad Street, Chepe, Wallbrook, Vintry and Dowgate, -through whose wards the said watercourse runs, shall inquire if any -person dwelling along the said course has a stable or other house, -whereby dung or other filth may fall into the same; or otherwise throws -therein such manner of filth by which the said watercourse is stopped -up, and they (the Aldermen) shall pursue all such offenders. But it -shall be lawful for those persons who have houses on the said stream to -have latrines over it, provided they do not throw rubbish or other -refuse through the same ... and every person having such latrines shall -pay yearly to the Chamberlain two shillings for each of them.' - -With such arrangements, and the constant increase of buildings on the -brook, and the decrease of water supplied to it by the springs in -Moorfields, which were gradually being laid dry, the Wallbrook, from a -clear stream, became a foul ditch, an open sewer, so that it was found -necessary to convert it into a covered one in reality. The brook was -filled up with all kinds of debris and partially bricked over, so that -when Stow wrote (in 1598) he was obliged to say: 'This watercourse ... -was afterwards vaulted over with brick, and paved level with the streets -and lanes ... and since that houses also have been built thereon, so -that the course of Wallbrook is now hidden underground, and thereby -hardly known.' The stream was covered in at least three centuries -before the covering in of the Fleet river, but its course can still be -traced by the many important buildings which lined its banks. Commencing -at its influx to the Thames, there were along its course on the western -side the halls of the Innholders, the Dyers, the Joiners, the Skinners, -the Tallow-chandlers, and the Cutlers; the churches of St. John, St. -Michael, St. Stephen (which originally stood on the western side), St. -Mildred, and St. Margaret; also the Grocers' and the Founders' Halls, -the estates of the Drapers and Leathersellers, and in Bucklersbury -Cornet's Tower, a strong stone tower which was erected by Edward III. as -his 'Exchange of money there to be kept.' In the sixteenth century it -seems to have come into the possession of one Buckle, a grocer, who -intended to erect in its place a 'goodly frame of timber,' but, -'greedily labouring to pull down the tower,' a part thereof fell upon -and killed him. - -In 1835 a curious discovery, the import of which was then unsuspected, -was made close to the Swan's Nest, a public-house in Great Swan Alley, -Moorgate Street. A pit or well was laid open, in which was found a large -quantity of earthen vessels of various patterns. This well had been -carefully planked over with stout boards; the vases it contained were -placed on their sides, embedded in mud or sand, which had settled so -closely round them that a great number were broken in the attempt to -extricate them. A coin and some iron implements were also found in the -well, which was about three feet square, and boarded on each side with -narrow planks about two feet long. The object with which these vessels, -etc., had been deposited in this well was not at the time surmised, but -it was made clear by a subsequent discovery. When the National Safe -Deposit Company's premises, already referred to, were built, a similar -wooden framework was discovered at a depth of about thirty feet below -the present level of the street. It was of oak, and about three feet -square, and the contents of the box were similar to those found at the -Swan's Nest. Fortunately this find came under the observation of Mr. -John E. Price, F.S.A., and Honorary Secretary of the London and -Middlesex Archaeological Society, who recognised the remains as those of -an _arca finalis_, a monument employed by the Roman surveyors to -indicate the situation of limits of public or private property, -answering to a landmark or boundary stone. Similar structures, -occasionally of stone or tiles, have been discovered in other parts of -England, as also on the Continent. It is therefore evident that the box -found higher up the stream was also such an area. - -To return once more to Wallbrook. A bridge across it we have not yet -mentioned was Horseshoe Bridge, situate where the brook crossed Cloak -Lane, which was a famous shopping-place of the ladies of those early -days, fancy articles being mostly on sale there. It is, however, time -to leave the Wallbrook; let us part from it with such a picture on our -minds as will leave a vivid and pleasant impression. Remember that its -banks were favourite sites for villas, as is proved by all the evidences -of wealth and luxury of the ancient dwellers on the Wallbrook ravine and -adjoining streets, now buried fathoms deep underground, which have been -found on and near the banks of the river. 'A villa in beautiful grounds -on the Wallbrook to be let'--think of that! - -From the valley of the Wallbrook the ground of the City rises gently -towards St. Paul's, and Panyer's Alley, the highest point; thence it -falls almost precipitously towards the valley of the Fleet River, so -precipitously, indeed, that one of the descents from the Old Bailey to -Farringdon Street obtained the name of Breakneck Steps. When the -increase of the population of the old City rendered it desirable to seek -new habitations, the citizens looked across the river Fleet, and saw the -opposite Holborn, Back, and Saffron Hills as yet unoccupied, stretching -out as open country--though roads had begun to be established thereon, -such as Field Lane, then in the fields--and began to erect dwellings on -the western bank of the river. This led to the erection of bridges; we -think Holborn Bridge was the first to be built. But before we enter -into an account of the bridges, it is necessary to speak of the river -itself. - -The Fleet, then, which once formed so important a feature of London -topography, took its rise in the dense clay of the district just below -Hampstead; at Kentish Town its volume was increased by an affluent from -Highgate Ponds; it then made its way through the hill near College -Street--whence some writers infer that the name of Oldbourne, by which -the river was known for some distance, was really a corruption of -Hole-bourne--and entered the valley formed by the hills of Camden Town -and the Caledonian Road, pursuing its course to Battle Bridge--since -1830 known as King's Cross--where it received an affluent from the west, -which rose in the high ground to the south of the Hampstead Road. From -Battle Bridge the river bent round to the east, and flowed through the -grounds of Bagnigge Wells, once the residence of Nell Gwynne, and -thence, still with an easterly trend, past the walls of the House of -Correction, thence across Baynes Row, where it received another western -affluent, taking its rise at the western end of Guilford Street. Thence -it flowed to the northern end of Little Saffron Hill, and in this part -of its course it sometimes was called the River of Wells, because it was -fed by a number of wells or springs, all situate in Clerkenwell, and -known as Clerks' Well, Skinners' Well, Faggs' Well, Loder's Well, Rad -Well, and Todd's Well, this latter a corruption of its proper name, -God's Well, from which Goswell Street took its name. The river thence -flowed down the valley between the old City and the Holborn hills, and -here it occasionally went by the name of Turnmill Brook, because of the -mills which here stood on its banks. On its eastern side was a street -called Turnmill Street, which in later days acquired a very bad -reputation, its inhabitants being abandoned characters. Originally it -was a respectable street, the houses having gardens going down to the -river, which was fenced on both sides. In its southward course the -river presently reached Holborn Bridge, where it received the affluent -called the Hol-bourne, which rose somewhere near St. Giles'. The -existence of this brook is denied by some topographers, but it is -distinctly shown in a very old map of the manor of Blemundsbury -(Bloomsbury), reproduced in Mr. W. Blott's 'Chronicle of Blemundsbury,' -1892. And we see no reason for doubting the correctness of the map, and -therefore adopt the Holbourne as a fact. The Fleet then passed under -Chick Lane, afterwards called West Street, which crossed the river at -right angles, and in quite recent times was the refuge of thieves, -burglars, and other criminals; and means of concealment and of escape by -way of the river were revealed when, in the forties and fifties, West -Street was pulled down for the improvements then in progress in that -locality. After passing under Holborn Bridge, the river was known as -the Fleet, not because of the fleetness of its course, as some writers -would have it, for it never had much of that quality, but because of the -flood or high tide it participated in with the rise of the Thames. - -Having thus traced the river from its source to its mouth, we may -describe the bridges which crossed it. - -In the northern part of its course the river, where it passed through -what in the early days was still country, was no doubt here and there -crossed by bridges, but they were probably wooden bridges of light -construction, as the traffic was but limited. The first solid bridge we -have any record of is the one which existed at Battle Bridge, which -derived its name from the battle between Suetonius Paulinus and -Boadicea, the Queen of the Iceni, which is said to have been fought on -the spot, and from the brick bridge which in early times there crossed -the Fleet. Originally it was built of wood, but at an uncertain date -later on it was replaced by one of brick, consisting of a number of -arches. Battle Bridge, from the lowness of its situation, was exposed to -frequent inundations. In the _Gentleman's Magazine_, May, 1818, we -read: 'From the heavy rain which commenced yesterday ... Battle Bridge, -St. Pancras, and part of Somers Town was inundated. The water was -several feet deep in many of the houses, and covered an extent of -upwards of a mile. The carcases of several sheep and goats were found -... and property was damaged to a very considerable amount.' Various -Acts were passed at the beginning of this century for the improvement of -the locality: the river was completely arched over, and in 1830 the spot -assumed the name of King's Cross from the ridiculous structure erected -in the centre of the cross roads; it was of octagon shape, surmounted by -a statue of George IV. The basement was for some time occupied as a -police-station, then as a public-house, and the whole was taken down in -1845, and a tall lamp erected on the spot. - -The Fleet was next crossed by an ornamental, somewhat rustic bridge in -the grounds of Bagnigge Wells; of course it disappeared with the gardens -and buildings of the Wells in 1841. In the seventeenth and eighteenth -centuries, when Clerkenwell, from an almost rural became an urban -district, streets began to cross the Fleet, such as Baynes Row, Eyre -Street Hill, Mutton Hill, Peter Street, and others. The next old bridge -we came to was Cow Bridge, by Cow Lane, or the present Cow Cross. It -dated from the middle of the sixteenth century. Stow, writing, it will -be remembered, in 1598, says: 'This bridge being lately decayed, another -of timber is made by Chick Lane.' In the time of Elizabeth the ground -from Cow Cross towards the Fleet River, and towards Ely House, on the -opposite bank, was either entirely vacant or occupied with gardens. - -We next come to Chick Lane, afterwards known as West Street. Stow, -writing in 1603, refers to Chicken Lane, 'toward Turnmill Brook, and -over that brook by a timber bridge into the field.' This must have been -Chick Lane, which was really a bridge of houses, the most noticeable of -which was one which once had been known as the Red Lion Inn, and which -at its demolition is supposed to have been three hundred years old. For -the last hundred years of its existence it was used as a lodging-house, -and was the resort of thieves, coiners, and other criminals. Its dark -closets, trap-doors, sliding panels, and secret recesses rendered it one -of the most secure places for robbery and murder; openings in the walls -and floors afforded easy means of getting rid of the bodies by dropping -them into the Fleet, which for many years before its final abolition was -only known as the Fleet Ditch. The history and description of the -houses in West Street were rendered so well known at the time of their -demolition that we need not enter into them here; besides, they are -beyond the scope of our inquiries. - -South of Chick Lane was Holborn Bridge, which was built of stone, and, -according to Aggas' map of London in 1560, had houses on the north side -of it. The date of its original foundation is not given in any -chronicle, but it must have gone far back, probably was coeval with the -building of London Bridge, since it was on the great highway from east -to west. At first it was, like all the other bridges on the Fleet, -constructed of wood; after its erection in stone, with a width of some -twelve feet, it seems to have been gradually widened to accommodate the -increasing traffic. According to Mr. Crosby, a great authority on the -antiquities of the Fleet valley, Holborn Bridge consisted of four -different bridges joined together at the sides. Yet in 1670 the bridge -was found to be too narrow for the traffic, and it had to be rebuilt, so -that the way and passage might run in a 'bevil line' from a certain -timber-house on the north side, known by the name of the Cock, to the -Swan Inn. Wren built the new bridge on the north or Holborn side -accordingly, and the name of William Hooker, Lord Mayor in 1673-74, was -cut on the stone coping of the eastern approach. What was meant by the -'bevil line' is to us obscure, and we are not much enlightened by what -Sir William Tite says, who in 1840 was present at the opening of a sewer -at Holborn Hill, and saw the southern face of the old bridge -disinterred. 'The arch,' he says, 'was about twenty feet span. The -road from the east intersected the bridge obliquely, and out of the -angle thus formed a stone corbel arose to carry the parapet.' Of -course, with the disappearance of the Fleet Ditch the bridge also -vanished. - -The next bridge we come to started from Fleet Lane on the east side to -Harp Alley on the Holborn side. As it was about half-way between Holborn -and Fleet Street bridges, it was sometimes called Middle Bridge. It was -built of stone, with a stone rail and banister, and was ascended by -fourteen steps, and as high as Bridewell and Fleet bridges, to allow -vessels with merchandise to pass under it. It had been erected in 1674, -and disappeared with the other bridges on the covering in of the Fleet. - -The Fleet Bridge, which we reach next, joined Ludgate Hill to Fleet -Street. This bridge was, in 1431, repaired at the charges of John Wels, -Mayor. It was destroyed by the Great Fire, and the new one erected in -its stead was of the breadth of the street, and ornamented with -pineapples and the City arms. But though larger in breadth, it had not -the length of the old bridge, the channel having then been already -considerably narrowed. The bridge was taken down in 1765. - -To the south of Fleet Bridge the river was spanned by a building, which -seems to have been a dwelling or a warehouse. It is distinctly shown on -Aggas' map. - -Bridewell Bridge, the last over the Fleet before its entering the -Thames, and the last built (in the sixteenth century), was at first a -timber bridge, between Blackfriars and the House of Bridewell, on the -site of the Castle Mountfiquet, which originally stood there. In 1708, -or thereabouts, it was replaced by one of stone, much higher than the -street, being ascended by fourteen steps. It was for foot passengers -only. It was pulled down in 1765. - -We may now conclude our account of the Fleet with a few statements -concerning the vicissitudes it passed through. - -A great many antiquities--British, Saxon, and Roman--have been found in -the bed of this river, such as coins of silver, copper, and brass, but -none of gold; lares, spur rowels, keys, daggers, seals, medals, vases, -and urns. An anchor, three feet ten inches in height, encrusted with -rust and pebbles--a sketch of which is given in the October number of -the _Gentleman's Magazine_, 1843--is said to have been discovered near -the site of Holborn Bridge, which may be genuine, as ships are known to -have ascended so far up the river in the fourteenth century. But early -in that century already the river was choked up 'by the filth of the -tanners and others, and by the raising of wharves, and especially by a -diversion of the water in the first year of King John (1200) by them of -the New Temple for their mills without Baynard's Castle, and by other -impediments, the course was decayed, and ships could not enter as they -were used.' Upon this complaint of Henry Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, the -river was cleansed, the mills removed, and other means taken for its -preservation; but it was not brought to its former depth and width, and -so was soon filled with mud again. The scouring of the river seems to -have been necessary every thirty or forty years, at a great expense to -the City. We find that it was so cleansed in 1502, and once more -rendered navigable for large barges, but the dwellers on its banks would -continue to make it the receptacle of all the refuse, and the wharves -built on its banks proved unsuccessful, as vessels could not approach -them. Consequently, in 1733 the City of London, seeing that all -navigation had ceased, and that the ditch, as it was then called, was a -danger to the public on account of its unsanitary state, and because -persons had fallen in and been suffocated in the mud, began covering it -in, commencing with the portion from Fleet Bridge to Holborn Bridge, and -the new Fleet Market was erected on the site in 1737. The part from -Fleet Street to the Thames was covered in when the approaches to -Blackfriars were completed between 1760 and 1768. One stubborn citizen, -however, would not surrender a small filthy dock; a barber, from -Bromley, in Kent, was, in 1763, found in it standing upright and frozen -to death. - -Like all brooks descending from hills, the Fleet was liable to sudden -increases of volume, causing inundations.[#] The melting of snow and -ice by a sudden thaw and heavy and long-continued rains have frequently -turned the Fleet into a mighty and destructive torrent flood. In 1679 -it broke down the back of several wholesale butcher-houses at Cow Cross, -and carried off cattle dead and alive. At Hockley-in-the-Hole barrels -of ale, beer, and brandy floated down the stream. In 1768 the Hampstead -Ponds overflowing after a severe storm, the Fleet grew into a torrent, -and the roads and fields about Bagnigge Wells were inundated; in the -gardens of the latter place the water was four feet deep; in Clerkenwell -many thousand pounds' worth of damage was done. In 1809 a sudden thaw -produced a flood, and the whole space between St. Pancras and -Pentonville Hill was soon under water, and for several days people -received their provisions in at their windows. In 1846 a furious -thunderstorm caused the Fleet Ditch to blow up. The rush from the drain -at the north arch of Blackfriars Bridge drove a steamer against one of -the piers and damaged it. The water penetrated into basements and -cellars, and one draper had L3,000 worth of goods ruined. From Acton -Place, Bagnigge Wells Road, to King's Cross, the roads were impassable. -In 1855 the Fleet, as one of the metropolitan main sewers, became vested -in the then newly-established Metropolitan Board of Works. Shortly -after the Metropolitan Railway was planned, and in 1860 the work was -commenced. One of the greatest initial difficulties the engineers of -that enterprise had to contend with was the irruption of the Fleet Ditch -into their works; the Fleet gave, as does the last flare of an expiring -candle, its 'last kick,' made a final effort to assert itself. The -ditch, under which the railway had to pass two or three times, suddenly -though not unexpectedly filled the tunnel with its dark foetid liquid, -which carried all before it; scaffoldings constructed of the stoutest -timbers and solid stone and brick walls and piers. But the Metropolitan -Board of Works and the railway company, by gigantic and -skilfully-conducted efforts, succeeded in forming an outlet for the -flood into the Thames; the damage was made good, and the work was -successfully carried out. - - -[#] Wherever there are such brooks the same phenomenon appears. -Visitors to Nice may have witnessed the sudden rise of the Paillon, and -the Birsig at Basle, usually a fine thread of water, has repeatedly -risen five or six feet high in the market-place of that town. - - -Here we take our leave of the Fleet, and proceeding westward, find -nothing to arrest our steps till we come to a spot which once went by -the name of the Strand Bridge; not Waterloo Bridge, which originally was -so called, but a 'fair bridge,' as Stow calls it, erected many hundred -years ago over a brook which crossed the Strand opposite to the present -Strand Lane, and descended from the ponds in Fickett's Fields, part of -Lincoln's Inn Fields, now all built over. This bridge probably -disappeared about the year 1550, when an Act was passed for paving the -streets east and west of Temple Bar, and 'Strand Bridge' is specially -mentioned in the Act; the paving of the Strand seems to have done away -with the brook and the bridge over it. The name of Strand Bridge was -also given to the landing-stage at the bottom of Strand Lane, which -descends in a tortuous line from the Strand down to the Thames. In this -lane there is at the present day the old Roman bath, which, it is -supposed, is supplied from the well which gave its name to Holywell -Street, and which supply never fails. - -There are no written records or other traces of any brook descending -from the northern heights through London west of the Strand, till we -come to the Tyburn. - -This brook, like the Fleet, took its rise near Hampstead, but turning -westward, and receiving several tributary streamlets, it ran due south -through the Regent's Park, where it was joined by another affluent from -the site of the present Zoological Gardens, from which point it turned -to the west and crossed the Marylebone Road opposite Gloucester Terrace, -and after running parallel with it for a short distance it took a sharp -turn to the east, following the hollow in which the present Marylebone -Lane stands, the windings of which indicate the course of the brook. On -reaching the southern end of High Street, it again turned to the south, -crossed Oxford Street, ran down part of South Molton Street, turned west -again to the south of Berkeley Square; thence it flowed through the -narrow passage between the gardens of Lansdowne House and Devonshire -House, whose hollow sound seems to indicate the existence of the -watercourse below. It next crossed Piccadilly, ran due south through -the Green Park, passed under Buckingham Palace, directly after which it -divided into three branches, one of which ran through the ornamental -water in St. James's Park, whence it fell into the Thames: the middle -branch ran into the ancient Abbey at Westminster, where it turned the -mills the monks had erected there. But from old maps it appears that -this arm of the Tyburn, at a point a little north-west of the Abbey, -threw out a branch which in a northerly course rejoined the park, and -then in a curved line to the east reached the Thames at a point not far -from Westminster Bridge, and to the north-east of it. The spot where -this branch touched St. James's Park was close to Storey's Gate. Now -last year (1898) when the ground was being excavated for the foundations -of the new Institute of Mechanical Engineers, the workmen came upon the -piles and brickwork of an ancient wharf. The structure was wonderfully -well preserved; it had evidently been well constructed, probably by the -monks, and may have been for the accommodation of the fishermen bringing -their goods to the monastery. But at present, and until further -information is obtained, if ever it is obtained, we can only form -conjectures as to the purposes of the wharf; but its discovery on that -spot is curiously illustrative of the history which still lies hidden -under our streets. - -We have yet to mention the third branch of the Tyburn, which started -south of Buckingham Palace. It ran in a southerly direction across -Victoria Street, for a short distance skirted the Vauxhall Bridge Road, -then crossed it and ran through the marshy grounds then existing down to -the Thames a little to the west of Vauxhall Bridge. - -Such was the course of the Tyburn. Of the bridges that once must have -crossed it not a vestige remains; but we have the record of one which -was at the spot which is now Stratford Place, and where the Lord Mayor's -Banqueting-house stood, to which he resorted when he, the Aldermen, and -other distinguished citizens went to inspect the head conduits from -which the City conduits were supplied, on which occasions they combined -pleasure with business, hunting the hare before and the fox after -dinner. The Tyburn must at one time have been a stream of considerable -size; in the year 1238 it was so copious as to furnish nine conduits for -supplying the City with water. It had rows of elms growing on its -banks, and as it generally, but erroneously, is supposed to have flowed -past the southern corner of the Edgware Road, the name of Elm Place was -given to a street (now pulled down) west of Connaught Place. How this -error arose we shall show when speaking of the West Bourne. On the -Tyburn stood the church of St. Mary _la bonne_; by the vulgar omission -of letters 'burn' became 'bone,' hence Marylebone. The Tyburn, like the -other brooks already discussed, is now a mere sewer. - -Proceeding still further west, we come to the Westbourne, which, like -the other brooks, rose in the northern heights above London. Around -Jack Straw's Castle at Hampstead various rills sprang from the ground, -which, forming a united stream a little north of the Finchley Road, that -stream, flowing west towards the spot known as West End, continued its -western course till it reached Maygrove Road; it crossed that road, and -taking a sudden turn south, it ran through Kilburn down to Belsize Road, -south of which a small lake was formed, by its confluence there with a -considerable tributary in the form of a two-pronged fork and its handle, -coming from the lower southern heights of Hampstead. From the lake the -Westbourne flowed in a westerly course, and near Cambridge Road received -another affluent from the high ground where Paddington Cemetery now -stands; still running west at Chippenham Road, its volume was further -increased by the reception of a stream coming from the neighbourhood of -Brondesbury, and from this point it ran due south, but with many -windings, through Paddington, and across the Uxbridge Road, through part -of Kensington Gardens, through the Serpentine in Hyde Park and across -the Knightsbridge Road, and what was then called the Five Fields, a -miserable swamp, and formed the eastern boundary of Chelsea till it -discharged itself into the Thames, west of Chelsea Bridge, but divided -into a considerable number of small streams. - -Such was its course, and from its description we see that it was no -insignificant stream, and may assume that the first settlers in those -northern parts of London must be looked for on its banks. Like the -Fleet, it had various names in different localities; thus at Kilburn it -was known as the Keele Bourne, Coldbourne, and Kilbourne; at Bayswater -it was called the Bayswater Rivulet; the name of Bayswater itself is -supposed to be derived from Baynard, who built Baynard Castle on the -Thames, and also possessed lands at Bayswater. At the end of the -fourteenth century it was called Baynard's Watering-place, which in time -was shortened to its present appellation. - -The bridge which gave Knightsbridge its name was a stone bridge; by whom -or when erected is not on record, but probably Edward the Confessor, who -conferred the land about here on the Abbots of Westminster, also built -the bridge for their accommodation. The road was the only way to London -from the west, and the stream was broad and rapid. The bridge was -situated in front of the present entrance into the Park by Albert Gate, -and part of it still remains underground, while the other portion was -removed for the Albert Gate improvements. In the churchwardens' -accounts of St. Margaret's, Westminster, are the following entries -regarding the bridge: - - 1630. Item, received of John Fennell and Ralph L s. d. - Atkinson, collectors of the escheat, for repair - of Brentford Bridge and Knightsbridge . . . . 23 6 4 - - 1631. Item, paid towards the repairs of Brentford - Bridge and of Knightsbridge, etc. . . . . . . 24 7 10 - - -The Westbourne was occasionally a source of inconvenience and even -danger to the inhabitants of Knightsbridge. After heavy rains or in -sudden thaws it overflowed. On September 1, 1768, it did so, and did -great damage, almost undermining some of the houses; and in January, -1809, it overflowed again, and covered the neighbouring fields so deeply -that they resembled a lake, and passengers were for several days rowed -from Chelsea to Westminster by Thames boatmen. - -On the site now covered by St. George's Row, Pimlico, there stood in the -middle of the last century a house of entertainment known as 'Jenny's -Whim.' A long wooden bridge over one of the many arms of the Westbourne -led up to the house. The present Ebury Bridge over the Grosvenor Canal, -which this river-branch has become, occupies the site of this old -bridge. 'Jenny's Whim' had trim gardens, alcoves, ponds, and facilities -for duck-hunting; in the gardens were recesses, where, by treading on a -spring, up started different figures, some ugly enough to frighten -people, a harlequin, a Mother Shipton, or some terrible animal. Horace -Walpole occasionally alludes to 'Jenny's Whim'; in one of his letters to -Montagu, he says: 'Here (at Vauxhall) we picked up Lord Granby, arrived -very drunk from Jenny's Whim.' Towards the beginning of this century -'Jenny's Whim' began to decline; at last it sank down to the condition -of a beershop, and in 1804 it was finally closed. The origin of the -name is doubtful. Davis, the historian of Knightsbridge, accepts the -account given him by an old inhabitant, that it was so called from its -first landlady, who directed the gardens to be laid out in so fantastic -a manner as to cause the noun to be added to her own Christian name. -Other reports say that the place was established by a celebrated -pyrotechnist in the reign of George I.; but that does not account for -the name. - -Like other London rivers, the Westbourne in the end became a sewer; it -was gradually covered up; of the two chief branches by which it reached -the Thames, the eastern one became the Grosvenor Canal, and the western -the Ranelagh Sewer. The canal was crossed by several other bridges, -Stone Bridge being one of them. - -We stated above that the Westbourne formed the western boundary of -Chelsea; its eastern boundary was also a river, or rather rivulet, which -it appears never even had a name, though in one old map I find it called -Bridge Creek. It rose in Wormwood Scrubs, skirted the West London and -Westminster Cemetery, and entered the Thames west of Battersea Bridge, -where, in fact, there is still a creek going some distance inland. The -rest of the stream has been absorbed by the West Kensington Railway. No -vestige of it remains, and it has no history. - -Brook Green took its name from a brook which once rose near Shepherd's -Bush, but it has no records. - -The next river we should come to, if we pursued our journey westward, -would be the Brent; but as that is still existing--how long will it -continue to do so?--it does not enter into the scope of our -investigations. - -Having now given an account of all the extinct brooks north of the -Thames, we will cross that river and see what watercourses formerly -existed on the Surrey side. - -The southern banks of the Thames, being low and flat, originally were a -swamp, continually overflowed by the river--Lambeth Marsh commemorates -that condition of the locality. Down to Deptford, Peckham, Camberwell, -Stockwell, Brixton, and Clapham did the flood extend. But by the -gradual damming up of the southern bank of the Thames, the erection of -buildings on the Surrey side, and the draining of the soil, the latter -was gradually laid dry, and the numerous rivulets which meandered -through the marsh were reduced to three between the still-existing -rivers--namely, the Ravenscourt to the east, and the Wandle to the west. -The first brook, again going from east to west, is the Neckinger, which -rose at the foot of Denmark Hill and adjacent parts, and, after passing -in two streams under the Old Kent Road, united north of it, and reached -the Thames at St. Saviour's Dock, which, in fact, is the enlarged mouth -of the old river. But according to some old maps we have consulted, it -had a branch running in a more easterly direction, and entering the -Thames at a point near the present Commercial Docks Pier. But of this -latter branch no trace remains, whilst the northerly course to the -Thames is indicated by various roads, such as the Grange and the -Neckinger Roads. The brook ran past Bermondsey Abbey, up to the gates -of which it was navigable from the Thames. The Grange Road took its name -from a farm known as the Grange, and here the Neckinger was spanned by a -bridge. When Bermondsey Abbey was destroyed, a number of tanneries were -established on the site, which took their water from the Neckinger, in -connection with which a number of tidal ditches, to admit water from the -Thames, were cut in various directions. Near the Upper Grange Road -stood a windmill, and at the mouth of the Neckinger a water-mill, the -owner of which shut off the tide when it suited his purpose, which led -to frequent disputes between him and the tanners. But in time the -latter sank artesian wells, the mill was driven by steam-power, and the -water of the Neckinger being no longer required for manufacturing -purposes, the river was neglected and finally built over. The Neckinger -Mills had been erected in the last century by a company to manufacture -paper from straw; but, this enterprise failing, the premises passed into -the hands of the leather manufacturers. A street to the east of St. -Saviour's Dock, and parallel with it, is still known as Mill Street. -There was another bridge over the Neckinger where it crossed the Old -Kent Road, near the spot where the Albany Road joins the latter road. -It was known as Thomas-a-Watering, from St. Thomas, the patron of the -dissolved monastery or hospital of that name in Southwark. The bridge -was the most southern point of the boundary of the Borough of Southwark, -and in ancient days the first halting-place out of London on the road to -Kent. Chaucer's pilgrims passed it on their way to the shrine of St. -Thomas-a-Becket at Canterbury: - - 'And forth we riden ... - Unto the watering-place of St. Thomas, - And then our host began his hors arrest.' - - -Deputations of citizens used to go so far to meet royal or other -distinguished personages who came to visit London. From the end of the -fifteenth century the spot was set apart for executions, and numerous -are the records of criminals who were hanged there until about the -middle of the last century. - -In 1690 two very handsome Janus heads--i.e., heads with two faces--were -discovered near St. Thomas-a-Watering. They were found near two ancient -piers of a large gate--Janus was the God of Gates. One was taken up and -set up on a gardener's door; but the other, being embedded in quicksand, -from which springs flowed out pretty freely, was left. Dr. Woodward, -who founded the Professorship of Geology in the University of Cambridge, -afterwards purchased the head which had been saved, and added it to his -collection of curiosities. At the beginning of this century there was -still a brook running across the Kent Road on the spot mentioned above, -with a bridge over it, and the current from the Peckham and Denmark -hills was at times so strong as to overflow at least two acres of -ground. East of the Mill Street above mentioned there is a spot which -has been rendered famous by Dickens in 'Oliver Twist'--namely, Jacob's -Island. As the description he gives of it is known to everyone, we need -not here repeat it; it applies, partially only, to the locality now. - -It is, or to speak correctly was, a 'Venice of drains.' But it was not -always so; in the reign of Henry II. the foul, stagnant ditch, which -till recently made an island of this pestilential spot, was a running -stream, supplied with the waters which were brought down in the -Neckinger from the southern hills. On its banks stood the mills of the -monks of St. John and St. Mary, dependencies of the Abbey of Bermondsey, -which were worked by it. In those days the neighbourhood consisted of -blooming gardens and verdant meadows. Close to Jacob's Island were -Cupid's Gardens, a kind of Ranelagh on a small scale, but still a very -pleasant place of public entertainment. Tanneries, and many still more -objectionable trades now carried on in the locality, were then undreamt -of. - -Many of the horrors of Jacob's Island are now things of the past. The -foul ditch, in whose black mud the juveniles used to disport themselves, -undeterred by the close proximity of the unsavoury carcasses of dead -dogs and cats, is now filled up and turned into a solid road. Many of -the tumble-down houses have been pulled down--in fact, the romance of -the place is gone. - -Let us proceed westward; we come to the once important Effra, which -remained a running stream till within the sixties, when it, like others, -became a mere sewer. It rose in the high grounds of Norwood, and ran -down Croxted Lane, till within the last two or three years a perfectly -rural retreat; at the Half Moon Inn at Herne Hill it received an -affluent, which rose between Streatham Hill and Knight's Hill. Skirting -the park of Brockwell Hall, it ran along Water Lane, past the -police-station in the Brixton Road. Here it took a sharp turn to the -north, and ran parallel to the Brixton Road, access to the houses on the -eastern side being gained by little bridges, till it reached St. Mark's -Church, where it took a sharp turn to the west. But before reaching -that point, a branch of the river, at a spot somewhere between the -present Clapham and South Lambeth Roads, in what used formerly to be -called Fentiman's Fields, turned in a northerly direction towards the -South Lambeth Road, flowing through what was then Caroon Park, -afterwards the Lawn Estate, a portion of which has recently become -Vauxhall Park. The river ran along the lane leading by the side of the -present Vauxhall Park to the Crown Works of Messrs. Higgs and Hill, at -the corner of the lane turning almost at right angles up the South -Lambeth Road towards Vauxhall Cross. As in the Brixton Road, little -bridges here gave access to the houses on the eastern side of the South -Lambeth Road. According to an old map, this branch of the Effra sent -off another across the South Lambeth Road and a Mr. Freeman's land, -lying between it and the Kingston Highway, as the Wandsworth Road was -then called, and thus reached the Thames. The main stream, which we -left at St. Mark's Church, continued its course along the south side of -the Oval, sending off in a north-westerly direction a branch which fell -into a circular basin, probably on the spot where the great gas-holders -now stand in Upper Kennington Lane. It then turned towards Vauxhall, -where it passed under a bridge, called Cox's Bridge, and fell into the -Thames a little northward of Vauxhall Bridge. - -At Belair, one of the show-houses of Dulwich, a branch of the Effra ran -through the grounds; the Effra itself also traversed the Springfield -Estate near Herne Hill, now given up to the builders. The river there -appears to have been much wider than elsewhere, and in depth about nine -feet, with banks shaded by old trees. The present writer remembers the -Effra as a river, and was told by a gardener, now deceased, who had -worked on the Caroon Estate, which extended from the present Dorset Road -to the Oval, for more than fifty years, that he had often seen the Effra -along Lawn Lane assume the proportions of a river, wide and deep enough -to bear large barges, which statement gives countenance to the tradition -that Queen Elizabeth frequently in her barge visited Sir Noel Caroon, -the Dutch Ambassador, who lived at Caroon House, on the site of which -stand the mansion and factory of Mark Beaufoy, Esq., who is also the -owner of the Belair House above-mentioned. Dr. Montgomery, sometime -Vicar of St. Mark's, and now Bishop of Tasmania, in his 'History of -Kennington,' says that, in 1753, the whole space occupied by the Oval -and a number of streets was open meadow through which the Effra -meandered at will. It was a sparkling river running over a bright -gravelly bottom, and supplied fresh water to the neighbourhood. A -bridge crossed the Effra at St. Mark's, and was called Merton Bridge, -from its formerly having been repaired by the Canons of Merton Abbey, -who had lands for that purpose. Curiously enough, the author from whom -we take this, Thomas Allen, in his 'History of Lambeth,' published in -1827, when the Effra was yet a running stream, refers to it only on the -above occasion, when he calls it a 'small stream.' 'Et c'est ainsi -qu'on ecrit l'histoire.' - -One more 'lost river' remains on our list, the Falcon Brook, which, -rising on the south side of Balham Hill, flowed almost due north between -Clapham and Wandsworth Commons to Battersea Rise, which it crossed, -after which it turned sharply to the west, ran along Lavender Road, -crossed the York Road, and discharged itself into the Thames through -Battersea Creek, which is all that now remains of the river, except the -underground sewer which represents its former course. Once many -pleasant villas stood on its banks; at the present day the entire valley -through which it flowed is covered by one of the densest masses of dingy -streets to be seen anywhere near London. Nothing remains to recall even -its name, except the Falcon Road, and a newly-erected public-house which -has supplanted the original Falcon, a somewhat rustic building, which, -however, harmonized well with the then surroundings, which were of a -perfectly rural aspect, such as, looking at the present scene, we can -scarcely realize. But it can be seen in a rare print of the river, -engraved by S. Rawle, after an original drawing by J. Nixon. He was an -artist, who, passing the Falcon, which was then kept by a man named -Robert Death, saw a number of undertaker's men regaling themselves after -a funeral on the open space in front of the inn. They were not only -eating and drinking and smoking, but indulging in various antics, -endeavouring to make the maids of the inn join in their hilarity. This -scene, and the queer coincidence of the landlord's strange name, induced -Nixon to make a sketch of it, which was engraved and published in 1802, -the following lines from Blair's poem 'The Grave' being added to the -print: - - 'But see the well-plumed hearse comes nodding on, - Stately and slow, and properly attended - By the whole sable tribe, that painful watch - The sick man's door, and live upon the dead, - By letting out their persons by the hour - To mimic sorrow, when the heart's not sad.' - - -A cantata was also published about the same time, supposed to be sung by -undertakers' merry men, to celebrate the pleasure and benefit of burying -a nabob, and drink to their - - '...next merry meeting and quackery's increase!' - - -Here we close our journey and our records at a funeral. Well, the finale -is not inappropriate. Have we not been attending the funerals of so -many gay and bright and sparkling, joyfully leaping and rushing, and -sometimes roaring, brooks and rivers, descending from the sunny -hillsides, finally to be buried in dark and noisome sewers? And the -lost river, alas! is but too often the type of the lost life. But -moralizing is not in our line--we think it sad waste of time; it is no -better than doctors' prescriptions. We would rather remind the reader, -who in these notes may miss elegance of style and picturesqueness of -description, that such qualities were incompatible with the compactness -of details the space at our command imposed upon us. Besides, a more -florid style must borrow something from imagination; but here we had -only to deal with facts, and if the reader finds as much pleasure in -studying as we did in collecting them, though the labour was great, he -will not regret the time bestowed on their perusal. - - - - - *XVI.* - - *ROGUES ASSORTED.* - - -On Horwood's Map of London, dated 1799, just one hundred years ago, -there is shown a road, starting from Blue Anchor Lane, Bermondsey, at -almost a right angle to the latter, and running in an easterly -direction, but with a considerable curve in it, and this road is called -Rogues' Lane. It is more than half a mile long, perfectly solitary, not -a house on or near it, the land around it being a wild waste, and as -deserted as a lonely moor in the recesses of Wales or Cornwall. How did -this lane acquire its name? Did the inhabitants of the East End of -London construct it as a kind of sewer for carrying off into the -outlying wilderness the rogues who infested their streets? or did the -rogues of that day, openly or tacitly acknowledging themselves to be -such, choose the lane as a kind of rendezvous, as a sort of peripatetic -exchange for the transaction of their rascally schemes? The East End of -London seems, indeed, in those days, to have been a favourite resort of -rogues--Stepney had its Rogues' Well--now they prefer the West End. But -the rogues of old were somewhat different from the modern specimens; -they were chiefly thieves, footpads, burglars, sneaks, low cheats, sham -cripples, and such mean fry--modern civilization, with its panacea of -education, had not yet asserted itself. Culture, which licks all the -world into shape, has even reached the rogues; the petty scoundrels of -old are replaced by the magnificent swindlers of the present day, who -deal not in paltry pence, but in weighty sovereigns--who do not cheat a -silly countryman out of the few shillings his purse may contain, but -wheedle trusting spinsters and mad and greedy speculators out of -thousands of pounds. The modern rogue is either a promoter of bogus -companies, or a director who issues bogus shares, an embezzling -bank-manager or trustee, or a man who lives far beyond his means, even -when he knows that all his available assets are gone in betting, racing, -and Stock Exchange speculation, or a fraudulent bankrupt. And there is -no slitting of noses, no whipping, not even exposure on the pillory -ominously looming at the end of their career; when the game is up, no -more cash to be obtained by loans, and the infuriated creditors become -troublesome, he attempts one more big haul, the proceeds of which, if -successful, he prudently settles on his wife, and then the unfortunate -victim of circumstances, over which, as he pathetically says, he had no -control, leisurely takes a walk to Carey Street, has a comfortable wash -and brush up in the financial lavatory which hospitably stands open -there, and he comes out, thoroughly whitewashed and rid of all -importunate claims upon him, after which he hires a fine mansion in -Belgravia, fares sumptuously every day, and bespatters with the mud of -his chariot-wheels the deluded shareholders and tradespeople whom his -wily schemes have ruined. It is all, or nearly all, the outcome of -modern education, which, by ramming notions totally unsuited to the -minds and characters under tuition into juvenile minds, bears such -bitter fruit. But educational cranks have it all their own way now, -though it is wrong to call them 'educational'; they fancy that education -means 'cramming,' never mind whether the food is assimilated with the -body, whilst education really means the very opposite--namely, a drawing -out, not a putting in: a drawing out of the hidden properties of mind -and character. But let us come to our theme--the London rogues of old; -their evil deeds were done long ago, and will therefore not rile as does -the rascality we see around us now. We will take the beggars first: not -all beggars are rogues, but the majority are. They fared variously -under various Kings; some protected, some persecuted them. Strange it -is that, under the juvenile, gentle Edward VI., one of the most severe -laws was passed against them: a servant absenting himself for three days -or more from his work was to be, on his re-capture, marked with a hot -iron with the letter V (vagabond), and be his master's slave for two -years, and fed on bread and water; should he run away again, he was, on -being caught, to be marked on his forehead or cheek with a hot iron with -the letter S (slave), and be his master's slave for life; for a third -escape the punishment was death. This diabolical law was repealed two -years after. Under Elizabeth sturdy beggars were whipped till the blood -came. James I. rather sympathized with them; he, like them, always was -in need of 'siller.' Hence the country, and especially London, swarmed -with rogues of every description, known by various cant terms, such as -Rufflers, Upright Men, Hookers, Rogues, Pallyards, Abraham Men, Traters, -Freshwater Mariners or Whipjacks, Dommerars, Swadders, Bawdy Baskets, -Doxies, with many other names of the same slang category; and, of -course, the object of all the members of these various associations was -to cheat the unwary and charitable. In course of time some of these -terms went out of use--the cant of rogues is always on the move--but new -ones took their places; and, in spite of all the laws passed against -them, beggars continued to flourish. In 1728 a spirited presentment to -the Court of King's Bench was made by the Grand Jury of Middlesex -against the unusual swarms of sturdy and clamorous beggars, as well as -the many frightful objects exposed in the streets; and, the nuisance not -abating, a similar presentment was made in 1741, with the same -unsatisfactory result. And as long as there are people who will not, -and people who cannot, work, and as long as there are thoughtless people -who will indiscriminately give alms, beggars will infest our streets. -Referring to such, Sir Richard Phillips, in his 'Morning's Walk from -London to Kew' (1820), tells us that the passage from Charing Cross to -St. James's Park through Spring Gardens was a favourite haunt of -beggars. Says he: 'A blind woman was brought to her post by a little -boy, who, carelessly leading her against the step of a door, she gave -him a smart box on the ear, and exclaimed, "Damn you, you rascal! can't -you mind what you are about?" and then, leaning her back against the -wall, in the same breath she began to chaunt a hymn.' Even now you may -hear a psalm-singing woman, who has hired two or three children to -render the show more effective, when these get weary, growl, in a hoarse -whisper between her Hallelujahs, 'Sing out, ye devils!' The Rookery in -St. Giles's, demolished to make room for New Oxford Street, was the very -paradise of beggars. They there held an annual carnival, to which Major -Hanger on one occasion accompanied George IV., when still Prince of -Wales. The chairman, addressing the company, and pointing to the -Prince, said: 'I call upon that 'ere gemman with a shirt for a song.' -The Prince got excused on his friend agreeing to sing for him, who then -sang a ballad called 'The Beggar's Wedding; or, the Jovial Crew,' with -great applause. The beggars drank his health, and he and the Prince -soon after managed to make good their retreat. - -Among the most infamous rogues of the last century were men of the -Jonathan Wild stamp--_agents provocateurs_, as we should now style -them--who not only led people into crime, but shared the proceeds of it -with the felons; nay, worse, they got persons who were quite innocent -convicted, by perjured witnesses, of crimes which had never been -committed. It was practices like these which at last brought Jonathan -Wild himself to the scaffold. - -The tricks of rogues change their names, but remain the same; what is -now known as the 'confidence trick,' which, though it has been exposed -in police-courts and reported in the press thousands of times, even in -our day finds ready victims, was formerly called 'coney-catching,' and -there were generally three confederates--the Setter, the Verser, and the -Barnacle. The Setter, strolling along the Strand, Fleet Street, or -Holborn, on the look-out for flats, on espying a coney, whom his dress -and general appearance pronounced to be a man from the country, would -make up to him, and, as a rule, quickly find out what county he came -from, his name, and other particulars. If he could not induce him to -have a drink with him, he would manage to convey to his confederate, the -Verser, close by, the information gained, whereupon the Verser would -suddenly come upon the countryman, salute him by his name, and ask after -friends in the country. He proclaimed himself the near kinsman of some -neighbour of the coney, and asserted to have been in the latter's house -several times. The countryman, though he could not remember these -visits, was yet taken unawares, and readily accepted the invitation to -have a drink. They then induced him to play at cards, and soon left him -as bare of money as an ape is of a tail, for in those days -coney-catching was practised by the assistance of a pack of cards. But -if all these lures were wasted on the coney, the Setter or Verser would -drop a shilling in the street, so that the coney must see it fall, when -he would naturally pick it up, whereupon one of the confederates would -cry out, 'Half-part!' and claim half the find. The countryman would -readily agree to exchange the money, but the Setter or Verser would say, -'Nay, friend; it is unlucky to keep found money,' and the farce would -end in the money being spent in drink at a tavern; then cards would be -called for, and the coney induced to take an interest in them by being -initiated into a new game called 'mum-chance,' at which he was allowed -to win money. While so engaged, the door would be opened by a stranger, -the Barnacle, who, on seeing the players, would say, 'Excuse me, -gentlemen: I thought a friend of mine was here.' The stranger would be -invited to have a glass of wine, and join in the game, which he would -readily do, 'to oblige the company'; and the end would be that the -coney, after having been allowed to win for some time, would gradually -begin to lose his money, then his watch, or any other valuables he might -have about him, and finally be left with no property but the clothes he -was standing up in. This, as we have stated, was called -'coney-catching,' or 'coney-catching _law_,' for those rogues possessed -a great regard for law; all their practices went by the name of -'law'--'high law' meant highway robbery; 'cheating law,' playing with -false dice; 'versing law,' the passing of bad gold; 'figging law,' the -cutting of purses. - -Vagrants and tramps in those days called themselves by the more -dignified appellation of 'cursitors'; and the counterfeiter of epilepsy -was a 'counterfeit crank'; money-dropping and ring-dropping were even -then old tricks of cozenage. Those who are acquainted with the modern -way of coney-catching, or the confidence trick--and who is not that -lives in London?--will know that the trick is now much simplified, and -yields much quicker and more satisfactory results--to the rogues. And -though, as we mentioned above, the trick has been exposed over and over -again, new fools are found every day to go into the trap. In fact, all -the old rogueries flourish at the present time, besides a few new ones -invented in this century. The holders of sham auctions; the -horse-makers, who, by means of drugs and other devices, make old horses -look as good as new till they are sold; the free foresters, who during -the night rob suburban gardens of roots and flowers, and sell them next -day off their barrows, all 'a-growing and a-blowing'; the dog stealers; -the beer and spirit doctors, who double and treble Master Bung's stock -by vile adulteration; the sellers of established businesses, which never -had any actual existence--all these are types of venerable institutions -which survive to this day, and not only survive, but flourish in -everlasting youth. The racing, betting and Stock Exchange swindles -perform their eternal merry-go-round, as they did when first started -several centuries ago, and the home employment deception still draws the -last shillings from the purses of poor people. And in most cases, -unfortunately, the law is powerless to reach the rogues; our foolish -humanitarianism, the interests of trade, the freedom of the subject to -contract, the technicalities and quibbles of legislative acts, and the -uncertainty as to their meaning, are at the bottom of all this failure -of justice. We ought to cease prating about the dignity of man--as if -there were any dignity in such paltry rogues!--and return, perhaps in a -modified form, to the drastic remedies of our forefathers, who -retaliated on those who made their neighbour suffer in health or in -purse by inflicting on them bodily pain and personal disgrace, and not -merely fining them, as is the custom with us. In the 'Memorials of -London and London Life,' extracted from the City Archives, and extending -from the years 1272 to 1419, will be found between twenty and thirty -condemnations to the pillory, the stocks, imprisonment, and being drawn -through the city on a hurdle, for deficiency of weight in bread, coals, -etc., for false measure, for enhancing the price of wheat, for -swindling, such as selling brass rings and chains for gold, for selling -false bowstrings, putrid meat, fowls and fish, and in these latter cases -the articles condemned were burnt under the noses of the culprits, as -they stood in the pillory. Even women had to undergo the punishment of -the pillory, one specially constructed for them being used on such -occasions; it was called the thewe. - -At the commencement we referred to a Rogues' Lane at Bermondsey, but -there was another lane of that name in the very centre of London, Shire -Lane, which was close to Temple Bar, and pulled down when room had to be -made for the new Law Courts. The Kit-Kat Club held its meetings in that -lane; but in spite of the dukes and lords frequenting that club, the -lane never was considered respectable, and in the days of James I. was -known as Rogues' Lane, it being then the resort of persons coming under -that denomination. In the Bible public-house--a printers' house of -call--there was a room with a trap in it, by which Jack Sheppard, who -used the house, could drop into a subterranean passage which led to Bell -Yard. The Angel and Crown, another public-house in the same lane, was -the scene of the murder of a Mr. Quarrington, for which Thomas Carr and -Elizabeth Adams were hanged at Tyburn. One night a man was robbed, -thrown downstairs and killed in one of the dens of Rogues' Lane. Nos. -13 and 14 were bad houses; Nos. 9, 10 and 11, where thieves used to -meet, was known as 'Cadgers' Hall'; Nos. 1, 2 and 3 were houses of -ill-fame, and there existed a communication with the house No. 242, -Strand, through which the thieves used to escape after ill-treating -their victims. In Ship Yard, close to Shire Lane, there stood a block -of houses which were let out to vagrants, thieves, sharpers, smashers -and other disreputable characters. Throughout the vaults of this -rookery there existed a continuous passage, so that easy access could be -obtained from one to the other, facilitating escape or concealment in -the case of pursuit. The end house of this block was selected for the -manufacture of bad coin, and was known as the 'Smashing Lumber.' Every -room had its secret trap or panel, and from the upper story, which was -the workshop, there was a draft connected with the cellar, to which the -base coin could be lowered in case of surprise. - -It is astonishing, and shows us the hollowness of the pretence to -civilization and decency set up on behalf of the velvet-dressed, lace -and gold-bedizened aristocrats of those days, that persons, not only of -respectability, but of rank and title, could live in such close quarters -with thieves and vagabonds of the lowest grade. Yet, as already -mentioned, the Kit-Kats had their club in Shire Lane; in 1603 there was -living in it Sir Arthur Atie, in early life secretary to the Earl of -Leicester; Elias Ashmole also inhabited the lane, so did Hoole, the -translator of Tasso, and James Perry, the editor of the _Morning -Chronicle_, who died worth L130,000. - -London in the last century, and even in this, was full of retreats for -criminals. The demolition of West Street, formerly Chick Lane, and of -Field Lane, so recent as to be still fresh in the memory of living -persons, brought many of them to light. The Dog, a low public-house in -Drury Lane, was known as the 'Robbers' Den'; in fact, the whole street -had a bad reputation, and is even now a disgrace to London. But beside -these private retreats, the rogues and villains of the past had their -public refuges, where even the officers of the law had to leave them -unmolested--the sanctuaries at Westminster, St. John of Jerusalem, St. -Martin's-le-Grand, Whitefriars and the Mint, and Montague Close in -Southwark, some of which retained their privileges to the middle of the -last century. The name Sanctuary, still given to a certain spot near -Westminster Abbey, commemorates the actual sanctuary formerly existing -in that locality, and the narrow street called Thieving Lane, now -demolished, received that name because thieves, on their way to Gate -House Prison, were taken through it, to prevent their escape into the -sanctuary. - -It is said that when rogues fall out honest men come to their own again. -Yes, when their 'own' is still come-atable, but as a rule it is not; -rogues seldom keep what they gain by trickery--lightly earned, lightly -spent is the rule with them. Rogues are as great fools as are the fools -they cheat, and the fools at heart are rogues too, without the wit of -the rogues. The fool who is done out of his money or other property by -trusting a perfect stranger is so done because he fancies himself more -clever than the cheat, and hopes to beat him. The victim scarcely -deserves any pity, for it is only a case of diamond cut diamond. And -unfortunately, as we intimated above, honest men do not come to their -own again, when rogues fall out, or are detected. The rogue who has -cheated a commercial firm out of goods to the value of thousands of -pounds, which he immediately pawns for half they are worth, rushes off -to a turf tipster or bookie, and though his betting turns out lucky, he -cannot get his winnings from the said bookie, who resists payment on the -plea that the transaction was illegal. The rogues fall out, a lawsuit -is the result, the speculator loses his case, but the firm do not get -their money; that is irretrievably gone. Plenty of such cases happened -hundreds of years ago, and continue to happen to the present day, and -there are various resorts in the City and West End of London where it -might truthfully be written up, _Si sceleratos quoeris, circumspice_! - - - - - *XVII.* - - *BARS AND BARRISTERS.* - - -The profession of a barrister is a curious one. Theoretically, he is the -champion and protector of right and justice; but, practically, he often -is but the hired advocate of wrong and injustice. It is only when he -has attained high distinction at the Bar that he can, like Serjeant -Ballantine, be independent enough to say that he will undertake no case -of the justice of which he is not fully satisfied. True, counsel is -assumed to base his arguments on behalf of his client on the -instructions he receives from the solicitor who employs him; yet he, -counsel, having had a legal education, and practice, too, cannot fail to -see the weak points, supposing there are any, in the case before him, -and the evidence adduced in examination and cross-examination must very -soon satisfy him as to the real merits of his case; hence we often see -counsel throwing up his brief. It is related in Laud's Diary that, when -he was standing one day near his unfortunate master, then Prince -Charles, the Prince said that, if necessity compelled him to choose any -particular profession, he could not be a lawyer, 'for,' said he, 'I -could neither defend a bad cause, nor yield in a good one.' By the -Roman laws every advocate was required to swear that he would not -undertake a cause which he knew to be unjust, and that he would abandon -a defence which he should discover to be supported by falsehood and -iniquity. This is continued in Holland at this day, and if an advocate -brings forward a cause there which appears to the court plainly to be -iniquitous, he is condemned in the costs of the suit; and if, in -consequence of this, a cause, just in itself, should not be able to find -a defender because of some strong and general prejudice concerning it, -the court has authority to appoint a counsel. - -The universal opinion that advocates are ready to support injustice for -the sake of gain--that they will undertake more work than they can -possibly attend to--is of very ancient date. The Lord Keeper Puckering, -directing attention to the grasping habits which too frequently -disgraced the leaders of the Bar, observed: 'I am to exhort you also not -to embrace multitude of causes, or to undertake more places of hearing -causes, than you are well able to consider of or perform, lest thereby -you either disappoint your clients, when their causes be heard, or come -unprovided, or depart when their causes be in hearing.' That the -administration of justice is much improved in modern days is -sufficiently proved by the fact that now no judge would be allowed, as -he was in the closing years of the fourteenth century, to give opinions -for money to his private clients, although he was forbidden to take gold -or silver from any person having 'plea or process hanging before him.' - -It is, in fact, still a moot point, and, we suppose, always will be, -what lengths an advocate may go to, consistently with truth and honour, -in pleading the cause of a client whom he knows to be guilty. The -conduct of Charles Phillipps, in defending Courvoisier, has always been -condemned. Courvoisier did not confess his guilt to his counsel, but -admitted to him that he had made away with some plate from Lord William -Russell's house immediately after the murder. This was damning -evidence, but the communication was made by the prisoner not to admit -his guilt, but merely to prepare his counsel to deal with the evidence. -But Phillipps made a remark in his speech which the Bar considered as -unjustifiable. He said: 'Supposing him to be guilty of the murder, -which is known to God Almighty alone, I hope, for the sake of his -eternal soul, he is innocent.' These words were not only in bad taste, -but conveyed a positive falsehood. Counsel's part is to lay before the -jury possibilities, and not his own opinion of the prisoner's guilt or -innocence; and a strange feature of the etiquette of the Bar is that if -counsel is prepared to throw up his brief because he sees his cause to -be bad, yet he is bound, after accepting the retainer, to continue -defending the case if his client insists on his doing so. He may then -be compelled to go on arguing on behalf of a man whom he knows to be a -thorough scoundrel. - -Barristers were first appointed by Edward I. about 1291, but there is an -earlier mention of professional advocates in England, who were of -various ranks, as King's or Queen's Counsel, Serjeants, etc. At more -recent dates we read of utter or outer and inner barristers; these terms -appear to have been derived from local arrangements in the halls of the -Inns of Court. In the public meetings held in these halls, the benchers -and readers--superior to barristers--occupying the dais, which was -separated by a bar, some of the barristers who had attained a certain -standing were called from the body of the hall to the bar--that is, to -the first place outside the bar--for the purpose of arguing doubtful -questions and cases, whence they probably obtained the name of outer -barristers. The course of legal education consisted principally of -readings and mootings. The readings were expositions of important -statutes. These readings being accompanied by costly entertainments, -especially at Lincoln's Inn, their original object was forgotten in the -splendour of the tables, for which the benchers were severely -reprimanded by Charles I. The readings were eventually suspended, but -were revived about 1796. Mootings were questions on doubtful points of -law, argued between certain of the benchers and barristers in the hall. -There was also another exercise in the Inns of Court, called -'bolting'--not gastronomically--which was a private arguing of cases by -some of the students and barristers. The term was probably derived from -'bolter,' a sieve, with reference to the sifting of cases. - -As to the fees paid to barristers, how they have altered! In 1500 the -Corporation of Canterbury paid for advice regarding their civic -interests 3s. 4d. to each of three Serjeants, and gave the Recorder of -London 6s. 8d. as a retaining-fee. Five years later Mr. Serjeant Wood -received a fee of 10s. from the Goldsmiths' Company. In the sixteenth -century it was customary for clients to provide food and drink for their -counsel. In a bill of costs in the reign of Edward IV. we find: - - s. d. - For a breakfast at Westminster to our counsel . 1 6 - To another time for boat hire and breakfast . . 1 6 - -In like manner the accountant of St. Margaret's, Westminster, entered in -the parish books: 'Paid to Roger Fylpott, learned in the law, for his -counsel given, 3s. 8d., with 4d. for his dinner.' - -In Elizabeth's reign, and during the time of her successors, barristers' -fees showed a tendency to increase. Counsel then received 20s. fees, -though 10s. was the usual fee. A ten-shilling piece was then called an -'angel,' whence arose the witty saying: 'A barrister is like Balaam's -ass, only speaking when he sees the angel.' When Francis Bacon was -created King's Counsel to James I., an annual salary of L40 was assigned -to him; but at present the status of a Q.C. is simply an affair of -professional precedence, to which no fixed emolument is attached. But -Francis Bacon, though he received as his official salary L40 only, made -L6,000 in his profession; other King's Counsel earned even larger sums -in fees. But the barristers were not all greedy. In the days of Sir -Matthew Hale, professional etiquette permitted clients and counsel to -hold intercourse without the intervention of an attorney. When those -who came to Hale for his advice gave him a sovereign, he used to return -half, saying his fee was 10s. When appointed arbitrator, he would take -no fees, because, as he said, he acted in the capacity of a judge, and a -judge should take no money. If he took bad money, as he often did, he -would not pass it on again, but kept it by him. At last he had a great -heap of it, and his house being once entered by burglars, this -accumulation of bad money attracted their attention, and they carried it -off in preference to other valuables, fancying that this must be the -lawyer's hoarded treasure. - -Readers who wish to know in what estimation lawyers were held in the -seventeenth century should study the pamphlets and broadsides of the -Commonwealth, which show how universal was the belief that wearers of -ermine and gentlemen of the long robe would practise any sort of fraud -or extortion for the sake of personal advantage. How happy we are to -live in this century, when the legal profession is in a state of high -purification! It does, indeed, sometimes surprise an outsider that so -many barristers should be necessary to carry through one case--it looks -as if they were brought in merely for the benefit of the lawyers; but, -in justice to the profession, let us say that this is not so. -Barristers have their special gifts, and a long and involved case brings -them all into play to the advantage of the client. One man has -unrivalled powers of statement; another is sound in law; another excels -in cross-examination; another in reply; another has the ear of the -court, or is all-persuasive with the jury. A barrister, to be -successful at the Bar, needs, indeed, many qualifications. Lord -Brougham states that Mansfield's powers as an advocate were great; he -possessed an almost surpassing sweetness of voice, and it was said that -his story was worth other men's arguments, so clear and skilful were his -statements. Concerning Lord Erskine, another famous debater in the -forensic lists, juries declared that they felt it impossible to remove -their looks from him when he had riveted and, as it were, fascinated -them by his first glance; and it used to be a common remark of men, who -observed his motions, that they resembled those of a blood-horse--as -light, as limber, as much betokening strength as speed. His voice was -of surpassing sweetness, clear, flexible, strong, less fitted, indeed, -to express indignation or scorn than pathos. Lord Sandwich, First Lord -of the Admiralty, having brought an action for libel against persons who -had charged him with having appointed landsmen as Greenwich pensioners -to serve his own electioneering purposes, Erskine undertook the defence, -and such was the effect of his speech that, before he left the court, -thirty retainers were presented to him. Fortune comes to those who can -wait. Lord Ellenborough first distinguished himself as the leading -counsel for Warren Hastings, and soon after rose to the head of the -Northern Circuit; Lord Brougham attained his subsequent position by his -defence of Queen Caroline. - -But counsel must not only be able to expound his case clearly, bringing -into prominence all its favourable points, and effacing or putting out -of sight all those of an opposite character, but he must also be -observant and quick enough on the spur of the moment to take advantage -of any rift in his opponent's flute, of any weakness in his argument; he -must be sharp in dealing with the plaintiff, supposing he is for the -defendant, and especially so with his witnesses. He should, in civil -cases, by skilful cross-questioning, entrap the principal or his -witnesses into damaging admissions and contradictions. The following -case, if not _vero_, is _ben trovato_ to illustrate our meaning. A man -brought an action against a coach proprietor, for having by the -carelessness of the latter's servants suffered bodily hurt, to wit, been -thrown from the coach on to the ground, the hind wheels of which passed -over his body, and injured his chest and lungs. In his -examination-in-chief he testified to these facts. Then the defendant's -counsel took him in hand. As the plaintiff was about to leave the box, -'One moment, my friend,' said counsel quite blandly. 'According to the -evidence you have just given, you obviously have suffered much; your -voice is gone, you say?' - -'Yes, sir; I cannot speak above a whisper.' - -'Very sad. The coach, you say, gave a sudden lurch backwards, and thus -threw you off the hind seat under the coach wheels? Were you sitting or -standing just then?' - -'Well, I was standing up just then.' - -'What made you stand up whilst the coach was in motion?' - -'Well, you would have stood up had you been there.' - -'Just answer my question; never mind what I should have done.' - -'I don't know why I should answer this question.' - -The judge pointed out to him that he must answer it. - -'Well, I wanted to look at a pretty girl who had passed the coach; you -would have done so.' - -'Possibly.' Counsel might have given him a sharper reply, but he did -not want to lose his hold over the witness by riling him. So he went -on: 'Possibly. And then, like the gallant gentleman you are, you kissed -your hand to the lady, and then the accident happened?' - -'That's about it,' innocently replied the plaintiff. - -'That's how it happened,' said counsel, turning to the jury. - -And then, turning to the plaintiff again: 'And the coach-wheels passing -over you broke no bones, but ruined your voice, which we all can hear is -very weak; this must be a sad affliction, for you especially, because I -am given to understand that you were before this accident a famous -singer at free-and-easies and other convivial meetings, and made much -money by your voice?' - -'That's the fact,' hoarsely whispered the plaintiff. - -'Very sad. I am told your voice was not only melodious, but very -powerful. Perhaps,' continued counsel in the most insidiously -flattering tones, 'you might give his Lordship and the jury a specimen -of what your voice was before this unlucky accident.' - -And the fool, entrapped by counsel's apparent sympathy and the petty -vanity clinging to all singing men to show off, actually broke forth -into a rollicking drinking song, which shook the walls of the building. -Thereupon counsel asked for a verdict for his client the defendant, and -for costs, and got the first, if not the second. - -The terms barrister and counsel are often used indiscriminately; every -barrister is a counsel, but not every counsel a barrister. There are -barristers whose names are in everybody's mouth, and who earn their -thousands a year; there are counsel unknown to the public, who never, or -only under peculiar circumstances, appear at the Bar, but who are well -known to the legal profession, and make more than twice as much as the -barrister practising at the Bar; they are 'consulting' counsel. When you -go to a joiner and tell him to make you a cabinet, he takes your order, -and sets about making the piece of furniture you want; he does not say -that, as such an article is not one he ever heard of in his trade, he -will go and learn from someone more experienced than himself how to -execute your order, and that you will have to pay for his improving -himself in joinery. But if you go to your lawyer with a case which is -not of the most usual description, he informs you that he must have -counsel's opinion, for which you have to pay from two to five guineas, -to improve your lawyer's legal knowledge. And he sends a number of -questions to a 'consulting' counsel. Now, as every lawyer of any -standing has in his library all the legal handbooks and reports of cases -which are the consulting counsel's only guides, the lawyer might as well -look up the precedents himself, but that would not be etiquette, nor so -profitable all round, and so the more expensive method must be followed. -The consulting counsel sits in his chambers as the soothsayers of old -sat in their temples, whence, like them, he sends forth oracular -utterances as obscure and ambiguous as those of the ancient mummers, and -straightway solicitors and clients feel relieved of all anxiety: they -have counsel's opinion and their case is as good as won. For their -counsel's opinion is favourable, or, at all events, this is the -interpretation they put on it, though counsel's opinion on the same case -on the other side reads the very reverse. Should it so happen that on -the day in which counsel has given his opinion a case should be decided -in a law-court, which shows that his opinion is not worth a rap, will -counsel rush off to the lawyer to tell him so? Not he; he is not going -to admit that he is fallible. And he will not give his opinion on the -same case twice. A lawyer's clerk having obtained such an opinion from -counsel, and passing a pub, where he had agreed to meet a friend of his -to settle a little betting transaction, left the opinion in the omnibus -in which he had come, and did not discover his loss till it was too late -to go to counsel again the same day. So he went the next day, prepared -to pay out of his own pocket for another copy of the document. Counsel -honestly said: 'I could not do that, my friend, for to-day I might give -you an opinion totally opposed to the one I gave you yesterday, which -would be awkward if the first should turn up.' - -Sometimes consulting counsel will condescend to come into court to argue -some disgustingly technical point about 'contingent remainders' or -'conveyancing.' On such occasions they evince unbounded contempt for -the court, whose ignorance necessitates their presence. They will -consume a whole day in dull and dry arguments, and send some judges to -sleep, and those who remain awake after counsel's speech know less of -the matter than they knew before; their brains are muddled with the -legal rigmarole they have been listening to. The ecclesiastical counsel, -who flourished in the days before the Probate and Divorce Courts were -established, and from 'doctors' became 'counsel,' when called out into -the general practice of the new system, were like so many owls suddenly -brought into daylight, Sir Cresswell Cresswell so bedevilled them, and -yet did it so politely that they could not complain. - -Barristers had a good time of it in those old days of the Ecclesiastical -Courts; the system of appeal was splendidly organized--the pettiest case -could gradually be raised into one of great importance. There were -courts throughout the country--royal, archiepiscopal, episcopal, -decanal, sub-decanal, prebendal, rectorial, vicarial, and manorial. A -case arises in any one of these courts, and the verdict being -unsatisfactory to one of the parties, he appeals to the courts of the -archdeacons and others, where the case is again heard, decided, and -again appealed against. Poor men, who cannot go on for ever, must stop; -but the party who can afford it goes to the Consistorial Court, where -the whole process of hearing, deciding, and appealing is repeated. The -third step is the Chancellor's Court; the fourth the Court of Arches. -If the appellant still has some money left, he may go to the Privy -Council--formerly to the Court of Delegates at Doctors' Commons, now -abolished. This is no mere imaginary case. 'There was a case,' says -Dr. Nicholls, 'in which the cause had originally commenced in the -Archdeacon's Court at Totnes, and thence there had been an appeal to the -Court at Exeter, thence to the Arches, and thence to the Delegates; and -the whole question at issue was simply the question which of two persons -had the right of hanging his hat on a particular peg. Fancy, what an -army of barristers must have grown fat on this oyster!' - -Success at the Bar comes to barristers in the most capricious manner. -In this profession, as in many other pursuits, modest merit but slowly -makes its way. Manners make the man, but impudence an advocate; without -this latter quality even high connections and powerful patronage often -seem ineffectual. Earl Camden, the son of Chief Justice Pratt, was -called to the Bar in his twenty-fourth year, and remained a briefless -barrister for nine long years, when he resolved to abandon Westminster -Hall for his College Fellowship; but at the solicitation of his friend -Healey, afterwards Lord Chancellor Northington, he consented once more -to go the Western Circuit, and through his kind offices received a brief -as his junior in an important case. His leader's illness threw the -management of the case into Mr. Pratt's hands; his success was complete, -and, after many years' lucrative practice, he was made Attorney-General, -and three years after, in 1762, raised to the Bench as Chief Justice of -the Common Pleas. In 1766 he was made Lord Chancellor, and raised to -the peerage. The Earl of Eldon was on the point of retiring from the -contest for clients, when fortune unexpectedly smiled upon him, and the -records of the Bar are full of similar instances. - -We have spoken of cross-examination. Its legitimate object is not to -produce startling effects, but to elicit facts which will support the -theory intended to be put forward; but in most cases the first is aimed -at, and frequently with success. Counsel, however, must perform this -operation with much discretion. To a barrister who was recklessly -asking a number of questions in the hope of getting at something, Mr. -Baron Alderson said: 'You seem to think that the art of -cross-examination consists in examining crossly.' Judges frequently -give hints to counsel; to one who was terribly long-winded, the judge -said: 'You have stated that before, but you may have forgotten it--it -was so long ago.' Counsel must not allow himself to be carried away by -the fervour of his oratorical powers, and thus overshoot the mark. -Arabin, the Commissioner, a shrewd, quaint little man, uttered -absurdities without knowing he did so. 'I assure you, gentlemen,' he -one day said to the jury, 'the inhabitants of Uxbridge will steal the -very teeth out of your mouth as you walk through the streets. _I know -it from experience_.' When technical expressions are likely to be -brought up in a case before the court, counsel should be careful to get -posted up in them, or he may make a strange and laughable mess of it. A -question of collision between two boats down the river Thames was being -investigated. The master of one of the boats was in the witness-box. - -'Now,' said counsel, cross-examining him, 'what time was it when the -other boat ran into you, as you say?' - -'It was during the dog-watch,' replied the mariner. - -'You hear this, gentlemen?' said counsel, turning to the jury. -'According to this man's evidence, a boat, laden with valuable -merchandize, is left in charge of a dog! And, guilty of such -contributory negligence, this man has the impudence to come into court -and claim compensation and damages!' And, turning to the witness again: -'Was your boat attached to a landing-stage?' - -'No; to a buoy.' - -'A boy! These are curious revelations. A mere boy is made to hold the -boat! And where was the boy?' - -'Why, in the water, of course!' - -'This is getting more strange every moment. The poor boy is actually -kept standing in the water whilst he is holding the boat! I had no idea -such cruelties were practised in the shipping--shipping interest. The -Legislature should see to this.' Then, fumbling among his papers, -counsel went on: 'You said, when questioned by my learned friend, that -you had gone on shore? Why did you go on shore?' - -'To get a man to bleed the buoy. It wanted bleeding very much.' - -'You went to get a surgeon, you mean?' - -'No; a workman from the yard.' - -'What, to bleed a boy! To perform so delicate an operation on a boy, -then standing in the water, and, in the state of health he was in, no -doubt in great pain, whilst holding the boat all the time--shocking -inhumanity!' - -Here judge and jury thought it time to interfere. They all knew the -meaning of the technical terms; but as they enjoyed the fun of seeing -counsel getting deeper and deeper into the mire, they allowed him to go -on, and the court being full of sailors, who cheered counsel -vociferously as he stumbled from blunder to blunder, the trial was one -of the most amusing in that court, and gave judge and jury a splendid -appetite for their lunch. - -Some counsel are very fond of reminding a witness at every other -question they put to him that he is 'on his oath.' The practice is -absurd, the very reminder sounds sarcastic. This 'taking the oath' is a -relic of ancient barbarism and superstition; for the man who means to -tell the truth it is unnecessary, and on the man who intends to tell a -lie it is no check; he looks on the proceeding as a ridiculous ceremony. -The very official who administers the oath in court, by the way he -rattles it off, shows in what estimation he holds it. Nay, in matters -far more important than the mere stealing of a piece of cheese off a -counter, on occasions when one would expect taking the oath to be -invested with some solemnity, how is it done? I once accompanied an -Italian friend of mine, who was being naturalized in this country, to -the court where he was to take the oath of allegiance. This is how the -official authorized to administer the oath rushed through it: 'I A. B. -do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty -Queen Victoria her heirs and successors according to law so help me God -it will be half a crown.' My friend produced the half-crown, which, I -suppose, stood in place of a seal, and the performance was over. With -the court 'So help me God it will be half a crown' was evidently the -chief point, the crowning glory and confirmation of the allegiance -business. - -Swearing children as witnesses leads to very ludicrous scenes, enough to -cover the whole proceeding with contempt, and show its utter futility. -Montagu Williams, Q.C., tells a good story: - -At a trial a discussion arose as to whether or no a boy of very tender -age was old enough to be sworn. The judge, at the suggestion of counsel -for the prosecution, interrogated the boy: 'Do you know what will become -of you if you tell an untruth?' - -The boy, evidently brought up in the Spurgeon school, replied: 'Hell -fire.' - -'What will become of you if you play truant, and do not go to school?' - -'Hell fire,' again answered the boy. - -'What if you spill the milk?' - -'Hell fire.' - -His lordship ran through a list of trifling faults; the punishment was -always the same--'Hell fire.' - -Counsel then suggested that the boy was scarcely intelligent enough to -be sworn. But the judge thought otherwise, and expected he would grow -up a very good man, seeing he believed that the most trifling error -involved the penalty of hell fire, and the boy was sworn. The boy, of -course, was a fool, through no fault of his, but through that of his -bigoted teachers. - -It was mentioned above that in the days of Sir Matthew Hale professional -etiquette allowed clients to have interviews with counsel without the -intervention of a solicitor. But gradually, after his time, the public -were deprived of this privilege, and a rigid rule was enforced that all -communications to counsel must be through the solicitor only, a rule -highly detrimental to litigants, since it caused constant -misunderstandings and misleading instructions. It is a roundabout way -of doing business, which would not be tolerated for a day in any -commercial transaction. It was from the first a tyrannical assumption -on the part of the profession that the public should submit to a -restriction, based nominally on professional etiquette, but really on -professional interest. The public have begun to object to the rule, and -in 1888 the Attorney-General (Sir R. Webster), on being asked to express -his views in reference to the occasions when a barrister may advise and -otherwise act for a client without the intervention of a solicitor, -replied that in contentious business, necessitating inquiry into facts, -which could not possibly be undertaken by a barrister, it was essential -that the latter should have the advice of a solicitor. But might this -advice not be given in the presence of the client to exclude the -possibility of misapprehension? As to non-contentious business Sir -Richard allowed of direct communication between counsel and client. My -own rule, whenever it has been my misfortune to be involved in a legal -dispute, has always been to push aside this bogie of professional -etiquette, and insist on telling counsel my own story myself. - -The profession, as we hardly need remind the reader, has produced many -distinguished characters; to choose from amongst them those most -deserving of praise would be difficult, and perhaps invidious; still, -the actions of those whose conduct has not imparted to them the mere -splendour of passing meteors, but has conferred permanent benefits on -the country, seem to entitle them to a certain pre-eminence. A man -entitled to such pre-eminence and the grateful remembrance of Englishmen -was Sir Samuel Romilly. His father was a jeweller in Frith Street, -Soho; the boy was first placed with a solicitor, then with a merchant, -and finally articled to one of the sworn clerks of Chancery. At the -expiration of his articles he qualified himself for the Bar, but he had -to wait long before he was rewarded with any practice. But when briefs -came, they came in a flood; his income rose to about L9,000 a year. He -was returned to Parliament in 1806 by the electors of Westminster, -without the expenditure of a shilling on his part--a significant fact of -his merits in those days of bribery and corruption. He was also -appointed Solicitor-General and knighted. He distinguished himself in -the House by his speeches in favour of the abolition of the slave trade, -but his great claims to the gratitude of the nation are the efforts he -made to mitigate the Draconic code of the criminal law, in which nearly -three hundred offences, varying from murder to keeping company with a -gipsy, were punishable with death. The first success he had was the -repeal of the statute of Elizabeth which made it a capital offence to -steal privately from the person of another. He next tried to get several -statutes repealed which made it a capital offence to privately steal -from a house or a shop goods to the value of five shillings. But this -Bill was lost. What bloodthirsty savages the members of the House must -have been in those days! Some of this savagery remains in their blood -now, for when the abolition of training children to become acrobats, -contortionists and similar horrors, the abolition of vivisection and -such-like cruelties, are mooted in the House, the introducer of the Bill -is hooted down. Romilly, as we have seen, did not succeed in all his -humane efforts, but he kept on agitating session after session, and -cleared the way for the modification and mitigation of the ferocious -laws which turned England into human shambles. And what Romilly had -been striving for was a long time in coming. In the first decades of -this century it was no unusual sight to see from a dozen to twenty -criminals, many for slight offences only, hanged in one morning in front -of Newgate. The end of Romilly was sad; it showed the malignity of -fate. He who had spent his life in endeavouring to lighten the lot of -others was terribly stricken himself. In 1818 he lost his wife, whom he -had married twenty years before, and her loss was such a shock to him -that he fell into delirium, and in an unwatched moment he sprang from -his bed, cut his throat, and expired almost instantly. - -Nowadays briefless barristers utilize their legal knowledge as -financiers and company promoters; before those two honest pursuits had -been invented they had to turn their attention to other specs. Thus -Francis Forcer the younger, the son of Francis Forcer, a musician, had -received a liberal education, and, on leaving Oxford, entered Gray's -Inn, and was afterwards called to the Bar, where he practised for a -short time. He was very gentlemanly in his manners, and in person -remarkably tall and athletic. In 1735, having been disturbed by legal -interference, or some other cause, he petitioned Parliament for a -license for Sadler's Wells, which application, we are told, was rejected -at first, but in the end it must have been granted, for we are informed -that he was the first who exhibited there the diversions of rope-dancing -and tumbling, and performances on the slack wire. It is doubtful -whether the speculation paid, for at the time of his death (he died in -1743) he directed by his will that the lease of the premises, together -with the scenery, implements, stock, furniture, household stuff and -things thereunto belonging, should be sold for the purpose of paying his -debts, which direction was carried out soon after his decease. This -seems as if the refreshment bar, for which Mr. Forcer had left the legal -Bar, had not proved very remunerative; perhaps he had better have stuck -to the litigation oyster, than to the native he dispensed at Sadler's -Wells. - - - - - *XVIII.* - - *THE SUBLIME BEEFSTEAKERS AND THE - KIT-KAT AND ROTA CLUBS.* - - -The last two centuries were very prolific in the production of clubs, -founded to gratify rational purposes or fanciful whims. In those days, -as soon as a set of men found themselves agree in any particular, though -ever so trivial, they immediately formed themselves into a fraternity -called a club. The Apollo Club, which held its meetings at the Devil -tavern in Fleet Street, comprised all the wits of Ben Jonson's day; the -Cauliflower in Butcher Hall Lane was the sober symposium of Paternoster -Row booksellers. Humdrum clubs were composed of peaceable nobodies, who -used to meet at taverns, sit and smoke and say nothing. A few of these -latter clubs survive. But Addison, who knew something of the club life -of his day, said: 'All celebrated clubs were founded on eating and -drinking, which are points wherein most men agree, and in which the -learned and the illiterate, the dull and the airy, the philosopher and -the buffoon can all of them bear a part.' Just so, though not every -club would acknowledge it; but the Beefsteakers boldly proclaimed their -object in the name they assumed; theirs was the worship of beef-steaks. - -Now, chops and steaks are relics of barbarism, of ages when men, having -not as yet invented cooking apparatus, made a fire between some stones, -and laid their slices of raw meat on the top, and ate them when half -burnt and blackened. Steaks done on a gridiron are antediluvian enough, -but mutton chops diffusing, when undergoing this roasting process, -throughout the room the stench of a tallow candle just blown out, are -enough to turn the stomach, not of the refined _gourmet_ only, but of -the untutored savage. It is only custom which enables the visitor to -the grill-room to stand its effluvium, and to eat the food placed before -him. Steaks are not so bad, because they have not the sickening smell -of the chop, and so they actually found a set of worshippers, who formed -themselves into a society to pay due adoration to their idol. Of -course, in this age of higher culture and more widely diffused -intelligence, such a proceeding must appear to us not only childish, but -somewhat degrading; it was, however, a phase of the convivial life and -tendency of the Georgian era, and as such merits a record; but lest we, -in producing it, should be suspected of sympathizing with it, we deem it -necessary to preface it with the above remarks. - -The Beefsteak Club[#] was founded in the reign of Anne, and was composed -of the 'chief wits and great men of the nation,' who were, however, -silly enough to wear suspended from the neck by a green silk ribbon a -small gridiron of gold, the badge of the club. Dick Estcourt the -player, and landlord of a tavern called the Bumper, in Covent Garden, -was made caterer of the club. He was, we are told, a man of good -manners and of infinite wit, or of what in those days passed for wit, -though much of it at the present time would be declined by the editor of -the poorest comic paper. Steele, however, grows quite enthusiastic over -him. The club first established itself at the sign of the Imperial -Phiz, just opposite the famous conventicle in the Old Jewry; here the -superintendent of the kitchen was wont to provide several nice specimens -of their beef-steak cookery. Eventually the boys of Merchant Taylors' -School were accustomed to regale the club on its nights of meeting with -uproarious shouts of 'Huzza, Beefsteak!' But these attentions in course -of time became irksome, and the club withdrew to more quiet quarters, -but its final fate is left in the dark. Ned Ward, in his 'Secret -History of Clubs,' from whom we get our chief information concerning the -Beefsteak Club, simply says: 'So that now, whether they have healed the -breach, and are again returned into the Kit-Kat community, whence it is -believed, upon some disgust, they at first separated ... I shan't -presume to determine, ... but, though they are much talked of, they are -difficult to be found.' - - -[#] Not to be confounded with the 'Sublime Society of Steaks,' founded a -few years after the club, and of which we shall speak more fully -presently as the more important of the two associations. - - -The Beefsteak Society, or the 'Sublime Society of Beefsteaks,' as they -chose to designate themselves, whilst severely objecting to be called a -club, originated with George Lambert, the scene-painter of Covent Garden -Theatre during Rich's management (1735), where Lambert often dined from -a steak cooked on the fire in his painting-room, in which he was -frequently joined by his visitors. This led to the foundation of the -society in a room in the theatre. Afterwards the place of meeting was -at the Shakespeare tavern in the Piazza, and subsequently at the Lyceum, -and on its destruction by fire (1830), at the Bedford Hotel, and on its -being rebuilt in 1834, at the theatre again. The members used to meet -on Saturdays, from November to the end of June, to partake of a dinner -of beefsteaks. The room in which they met was appropriately fitted up, -the doors, wainscoting and roof, of English oak, being ornamented with -gridirons; Lambert's original gridiron, saved from two fires, formed the -chief ornament in the centre of the ceiling. - -Among the members of this society, restricted to twenty-five, were -George, Prince of Wales, and his brothers, the Dukes of York and Sussex, -Sheridan, Lord Sandwich, Garrick, John Wilkes, the Duke of Argyle, the -Duke of Leinster, Alderman Wood, and many other men of note. The club -had its president and vice-president, its bishop, who said grace, and -its 'boots,' as the steward was called; the Dukes of Sussex and Leinster -in their turn discharged the office of 'boots.' Its festivals were of a -somewhat bacchanalian character; the chief liquors consumed were port -and punch, and fun, the more rampant the more relished, followed the -feast. They had their bard, or laureate, Captain Morris, who had been -in the Life Guards. Here is a stanza of one of his songs: - - 'Like Britain's island lies our steak, - A sea of gravy bounds it; - Shallots, confusedly scattered, make - The rockwork that surrounds it. - - Your isle's best emblem there behold, - Remember ancient story; - Be, like your grandsires, first and bold, - And live and die with glory.' - - -Now what can we think of the literary taste then prevailing in the -highest quarters, when we are told that this song rendered Morris so -great a favourite with the Prince of Wales that he adopted him in the -circle of his intimate friends, and made him his constant guest both at -Carlton House and the Pavilion at Brighton? Truly, in those days fame -and distinction were lightly earned! But does not our own time admire, -or pretend to admire, the jerky platitudes of a Tennyson, and the jejune -prose, cut up into measured lines, of a Browning as poetry? By the -society Morris was presented with an elegant silver bowl for his -'pottery.' - -In the decline of life and fortune Morris was handsomely provided for by -his fellow-steak, the Duke of Norfolk, who conferred upon him a charming -retreat at Brockham in Surrey, which he lived to enjoy until the year -1838, surviving his benefactor by twenty-three years, whilst hundreds of -men of real merit were left to fight the battle of life unaided and -unrewarded. But those who amuse the idle hours of fools with foolish -nonsense are always more highly thought of than those who instruct and -impart useful knowledge. There is more money spent at a State or -Municipal banquet in one evening than would suffice for maintaining a -scientific institution for a whole year. What did the Queen's Jubilee -cost the nation, and what lasting benefit has this extravagant -expenditure conferred on the nation? Of all this firework, what remains -but the sticks and the burnt-out cartridge tubes? Carlyle, with whom we -agree in few things, was right in what he said about the aggregate of -fools. But return we to the 'sublime' Beefsteakers. The epithet they -assumed reminds us that there is indeed but one step from the sublime to -the ridiculous. When a society, formed for the mere purpose of gorging -and swilling, and howling drinking songs, the most stupid of all songs, -calls itself 'sublime,' may we not ask, Where are the 'Lofty -Taters-all-'ot' and the 'Exalted Tripe and Onioners?' - -There were some queer members in the society. A wealthy solicitor, -named Richard Wilson, popularly called Dick, having been to Paris, and -not knowing a word of French, praised French cookery, and said that its -utmost perfection was seen in the way in which they dished up a -'rendezvous'; he meant a _ris de veau_. Being asked if he ate partridge -in France, Dick said 'Yes,' but he could not bear them served up in -'shoes'; he meant _perdrix aux choux_. William Taylor, another member, -believed firmly that Stonehenge was formed by an extraordinary shower of -immense hailstones which fell two thousand years ago. The society, we -know, claimed to be a literary society, and had actually offered a prize -of L400 for the best comedy. It had many dramatic authors among its -members. One of them was Cobb, who, among other plays, wrote 'Ramah -Drug'--drug or droog meaning in India, where the scene was laid, a -hill-fort;[#] he was complimented by his fellow-members on the happy -titles he always chose for his pieces. 'What could be better for your -last attempt to ram a drug down the public throat than "Ramah Drug"?' -said one of the Beefsteakers. But Arnold, a rival dramatist, disputed -Cobb's claim to admiration on this account. 'What worse title,' said -he, 'could he have chosen for his "Haunted Tower"? Why, there is no -spirit in it from beginning to end!' - - -[#] The tower known as Severndroog on Shooter's Hill commemorates the -taking of the fort of that name on the coast of Malabar. - - -When the Beefsteak Society was broken up in 1869, the pictures of the -former members, mostly copies, were sold for only about L70. The plate, -however, brought high prices; the forks and table-spoons, all bearing -the emblem of the club, a gridiron, fetched about a sovereign apiece; -the punch-ladle realized L14 5s.; a cheese-toaster brought L12 6s.; an -Oriental punch-bowl, L11 15s. Wine-glasses, engraved with the gridiron, -sold for from 27s. to 34s. a pair. The actual gridiron, plain as it -was, fetched 5-1/2 guineas. Eulogies have been written on the society, -as if it had been a really meritorious institution, and endless -anecdotes are told, chiefly illustrating the gluttony of the members; -but such details are neither attractive in themselves nor profitable to -the reader, and we will not enter into them. We agree with Thackeray's -estimate of the club-life of the last century: 'It was too hard, too -coarse a life.... All that fuddling and punch-drinking, that club and -coffee-house boozing, reduced the lives and enlarged the waistcoats of -the men of that age.' But such were the convivial clubs of the past; it -is as well to see the other side of things. - -Addison, in support of his assertion that all clubs were founded on -eating and drinking, says that the Kit-Kat Club itself is said to have -taken its original from mutton-pies. If he means its name, he is, as -far as can now be known, right; but if he means that its object was the -consumption of pies, as the consumption of steaks was that of the -'Sublime' Beefsteaks, he was wrong. The Kit-Kat was the great Whig club -of Queen Anne's time; it consisted of the principal noblemen and -gentlemen who had opposed the arbitrary measures of James II., and was -instituted about the year 1700 for the purpose ostensibly of encouraging -literature and the fine arts, but really for promoting loyalty and -allegiance to the Protestant succession in the House of Hanover. Among -the forty-eight members were the Dukes of Marlborough and Newcastle; the -Earls of Halifax, Dorset, and Wharton; Sirs Robert Walpole, John -Vanbrugh, Richard Steele, Samuel Garth, Godfrey Kneller; Addison, -Congreve, Pulteney, Walsh, and other persons, illustrious for rank or -talent. - -The real founder of the club is said to have been Jacob Tonson, the -bookseller; he was for many years their secretary, and, in fact, the -very pivot upon which the society revolved. Their meetings were -originally held at a house in Shire Lane, close to Temple Bar, a lane -which in time became infamous as the resort of thieves, rogues, and -ruffians of every kind, though in previous years it had been -fashionable. The house where they met was kept by one Christopher Katt, -a pastrycook, famous for his mutton pies, which immortalized his name, -since they became known by it, Kit being then a vulgar abbreviation of -Christopher, and Katt being his surname, and from these pies the club -took its name, the pies always forming part of its bill of fare. It -seems strange that with so simple a derivation the origin of the name -Kit-Kat should have been unknown even to Pope or Arbuthnot--it is -uncertain to whom the lines are attributable--who wrote: - - 'Whence deathless Kit-Kat took his name - Few critics can unriddle: - Some say from pastrycook it came, - And some from Cat and Piddle. - From no trim beans its name it boasts, - Grey statesmen or green wits, - But from this pell-mell pack of toasts, - Of old Cats and young Kits.' - -Surely the name is simply that of the pastrycook, Kit (Christopher) -Katt, given to his pies, and has no reference to old cats or young kits -or kittens. - -As regards the pies, Dr. King, in his 'Art of Cookery,' wrote: - - 'Immortal made as Kit-Kat by his pies;' - -and in the prologue to 'The Reformed Wife,' a comedy, 1700, is the line: - - 'A Kit-Kat is a supper for a lord.' - - -Tonson had his own and the portraits of all the members painted by Sir -Godfrey Kneller; each member gave him his.[#] The canvas was 36 inches -by 28 inches, sufficiently long to show a hand, and the size is still -known as the Kit-Kat. There were forty-two of those portraits, and they -were first hung up in the club-room, but Tonson in time removed them to -his country-house at Barn Elms, where he built a handsome room for their -reception, and where the club frequently met. At his death in 1736, -Tonson left them to his great-nephew, also an eminent bookseller, who -died in 1767. The paintings were then removed to the house of his -brother at Water-Oakley, near Windsor, and on his death to the house of -Mr. Baker, one of the sons of Sir William Baker, who had married the -elder of the two daughters of old Tonson; the house of this Mr. Baker is -called the Park, situate at Hertingfordbury, where they still remain. - - -[#] They were all engraved in mezzotinto by the younger Faber. - - -As regards the room at Barn Elms referred to above, Sir Richard -Phillips, in his 'Morning Walk from London to Kew,' in 1816, gives an -account of his visit to it. - -'A lane,' he says, 'brought me to Barn Elms, where now resides a Mr. -Hoare, a banker, of London. The family were not at home, but on asking -the servants if that was the house of Mr. Tonson, they assured me, with -great naivete, that no such gentleman lived there. I named the Kit-Kat -Club as accustomed to assemble here, but the oddity of the name excited -their ridicule, and I was told that no such club was held there; but -perhaps, said one to the other, the gentleman means the club that -assembles at the public-house on the common.... One of them exclaimed: -"I should not wonder if the gentleman means the philosopher's room." -"Aye," rejoined his comrade, "I remember somebody coming once before to -see something of this sort, and my master sent him there." I requested, -then, to be shown to this room, distinguished by so high an appellation, -when I was conducted across a detached garden and brought to a handsome -erection in the architectural style of the early part of the last -century, evidently the establishment of the Kit-Kat Club! ... The man -unfastened the decayed door of the building, and showed me the once -elegant hall filled with cobwebs, a fallen ceiling, and accumulated -rubbish. On the right the present proprietor had erected a copper, and -converted one of the parlours into a wash-house. The door on the left -led to a spacious and once superb staircase, now in ruins, presenting -pendant cobwebs that hung from the lofty ceiling, and which seemed to be -deserted even by the spiders.... I ascended the staircase; here I found -the Kit-Kat Club-room nearly as it existed in its days of service. It -was about 18 feet high, 40 feet long, and 20 wide. The mouldings and -ornaments were in the most superb fashion of the day, but the whole was -tumbling to pieces from the effects of the dry rot.... The marks and -sizes [of the portraits] were still visible, and the numbers and names -remained as written in chalk for the guide of the hanger.... On -rejoining Mr. Hoare's man in the hall below ... he told me that his -master intended to pull [the room] down.... Mr. Tonson's house had a -few years since been taken down.' - -In 'A Pilgrimage from London to Woolstrope,' communicated to the -_Monthly Magazine_ of June, 1818, the then home of the Kit-Kat Club -pictures is thus referred to: 'I reached Hartingfordbury, and the -magnificent seat of Wm. Baker, Esq.... Here I paid my homage to the -forty-two portraits of the Kit Kat Club, and found myself in a splendid -apartment. They [the portraits] are all in as fine a condition as though -they had been painted but last year. I regretted, however, that the -characteristic features are lost or disguised by the enormous perukes -which disfigured the human countenance in their age. The whole looked -like a wiggery, and the portrait of Tonson in his velvet cap was the -only relief afforded by the entire assemblage.' - -But even the Kit-Kat Club in time - - 'Descended from its high politic flavour, - Down to a sentimental toasting savour.' - _Byron improved_. - -The club was invaded by a spirit of gallantry. When a number of -fashionable gentlemen meet, politics are all very well for a time; -horses will afford the next subject of entertainment, but the women must -come in in the end. And so the members of the Kit-Kat Club established -the custom of every year electing some reigning beauty as a toast. To -the queen of the year the members wrote epigrammatic verses, which were -etched with a diamond on the club glasses, or a separate bowl was -dedicated to her worship, and the lines engraved thereon. Some of the -most celebrated of the toasts had their pictures hung up in the -club-room. How Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, when only eight years old, was -introduced and declared the beauty of the year, has often been told. Of -course, to our more refined ideas of propriety the conduct of her -father, the Duke of Kingston, in thus thrusting his infant daughter into -the society of his roistering boon-companions, cannot but appear as -highly reprehensible. Among the more celebrated of the toasts were the -four daughters of the Duke of Marlborough: Lady Godolphin, Lady -Sunderland, generally known as the Little Whig, Lady Bridgewater, and -Lady Monthermer. Swift's friend, Mrs. Long, and the niece of Sir Isaac -Newton were two others. Others were the Duchesses of Bolton, St. -Albans, Richmond and Beaufort; also Lady Molyneux, who, Walpole says, -died smoking a pipe. - -We will conclude our account of this club with a few stray notes. - -Three o'clock in the morning seems to have been no uncommon hour for the -club to break up. Addison and Steele usually got drunk, so did Dr. -Garth, the poet laureate of the club, wherefore a Tory lampooner said -that at this club the youth of Anne's reign learned - - 'To sleep away the days, and drink away the nights.' - -When Tonson had gone to live at Barn Elms, the members generally held -their meetings at his house. In the summer they would resort to the -Upper Flask tavern, near Hampstead Heath; but this practice did not -continue long: there was too much difficulty in getting home after -strong potations. The Upper Flask eventually became a private house, -and was occupied by George Steevens, the celebrated critic and -antiquary, till his death. The Kit-Kat Club died out before the year -1727, and we now take leave of it. - -We have given accounts of a purely convivial, of a literary and -artistic, and now will shortly describe a purely political club, of -which, however, but little is known, namely, the Rota. It took its name -from its object, namely, to promote the changing of certain Members of -Parliament annually by rotation. It held its meetings at the Turk's -Head, otherwise known as Miles' Coffee-house, in New Palace Yard, not -far from the residence of James Harrington, which was in the Little -Ambry (Almonry), looking into the Dean's yard. It was founded in 1659 -for the dissemination of republican ideas, which Harrington had -glorified in his 'Oceana,' and for resisting Cromwell's attempt to do -without a Parliament and to establish an undisguised military despotism. -The republicans took the alarm, and formed themselves into a debating -society, says the Royalist Anthony Wood, to discuss the best form of -government. Their discourses, according to this author, of ordering a -commonwealth were the most ingenious and smart ever heard, for the -arguments in the Parliament House were flat to these. This gang had a -balloting box ... the room was every evening very full. Beside James -Harrington and Henry Nevil, who were the prime men of the club, were -Cyriac Skinner, Major Wildman, Roger Coke, author of the 'Detection of -the Four Last Reigns,' William Petty and Maximilian Petty, and a great -many others. The doctrines were very taking, and the more so because to -human foresight there was no possibility of the King's return. The -greatest of the Parliament men hated this rotation and balloting, as -being against their power. Henry Nevil proposed it to the House; the -third part of the House should vote out by ballot every year, and not be -re-eligible for three years to come, so that every ninth year the Senate -would be wholly changed. No magistrate was to continue above three -years, and all were to be chosen by a sort of ballot. It is probable -that Milton was a member of the Rota; Aubrey belonged to it in 1659. -After the death of Cromwell the Rota gave great publicity to its -proceedings, and acquired a high reputation for learning, talent, and -eloquence, so that it became a question whether it were more honourable -to belong to the Rota or the Society of Virtuosi, which had been -designated by Boyle in 1646 'the Invisible or Philosophical Society.' -The members of the Rota threw into the teeth of their rivals that they -had an excellent faculty of magnifying a louse and diminishing a -commonwealth. Charles II., who was a virtuoso himself, avenged this -taunt by erecting, in 1664, the Virtuosi into the Royal Society, by -dispersing the members of the Rota, and exiling Harrington for life to -the island of St. Nicholas, near Plymouth; but he was afterwards -released on bail, and died at his house in the Almonry in 1677. The -statement that the Royal Society was established for political reasons, -though it has often been contradicted, would thus seem not to be without -foundation. In the third canto of the second part of 'Hudibras,' -Sidrophel is said to be - - '... as full of tricks, - As Rota-men of politicks.' - - - - - *XIX.* - - *HAMPTON COURT PALACE AND ITS MASTERS.* - - *I.--HAMPTON COURT PALACE.* - - -The environs of London are very beautiful, and full of scenic and -architectural contrasts. Let us render our exact meaning clear by -taking two of the most striking contrasts. To the north of London lies -the vast expanse of Hampstead Heath, a locality famous for charms due to -Nature alone, whilst to the south of London we have Hampton Court, which -all the arts of the highest civilization and noblest genius have for -centuries striven to invest with a grandeur and loveliness found in few -other spots. Painting and sculpture, architecture and horticulture, -have here found their grandest exponents, and Time, which alone could do -it, has added thereto the dignity of historic interest and the -fascination of romantic associations. Not only are the rooms and halls, -the corridors and courtyards of the palace, artistic caskets in -themselves, they are filled with treasures of art. And how easily can -imagination re-people these now usually deserted chambers and passages, -and with the mind's eye see again the famous--and sometimes -infamous--men who here disported themselves, the charming lovely--and -sometimes the reverse--women, whose dazzling beauty, lofty demeanour, -dangerous and bewitching glances, led those men to fortune or the -scaffold. But that imagination may do this, not only is an accurate -knowledge of the localities needed, but also of the historic occurrences -which have taken place therein, wherefore our account of Hampton Court -Palace, which we have undertaken to give in a necessarily condensed -form, will after describing the structure architecturally record, -briefly also, the events it has been the scene of. - -We assume the local position of the Palace to be sufficiently well -known, and therefore not necessary to be described. It has, not -inappropriately, been called the St. Cloud of Londoners. In the time of -Edward the Confessor Hampton Manor belonged to Earl Algar, a powerful -Saxon nobleman, and its value then was estimated at L40 per annum. -After the Norman Conquest it is mentioned in Doomsday Book as held by -Walter de St. Valeri, who probably gave the advowson of the living to -the Priory of Takeley, in Essex, which was a cell to the Abbey of St. -Valeri, in Picardy; from the port adjoining it William the Conqueror -sailed for England. Hampton Manor subsequently became the property of -Sir Robert Gray, whose widow in 1211 left by her will the whole manor -and the manor-house of Hampton, the site of the present Hampton Court -Palace, to the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, whose -chief residence in England was the Hospital of St. John, Clerkenwell, -and of which now nothing but the gate remains. The manor thus -bequeathed was of enormous extent. It comprised within its boundaries -the lesser manors of Kingston-on-Thames, Walton Legh, Byflete, -Weybridge, East and West Moulsey, Sandon, Weston, Innworth, Esher, -Oatlands, together with the manors of Hampton, Hanworth, Feltham, -Teddington, and even Hounslow Heath. - -Tradition says that Cardinal Wolsey, at the summit of his power, was -desirous of building a palace suitable to his rank; but he was equally -desirous of enjoying health and long life, and employed the most eminent -physicians in England, and even called in the aid of learned doctors -from Padua, to select the most healthy spot within twenty miles of -London. They agreed that the parish of Hampton was the most healthy -soil, and the springs in Coombe Wood, south of Richmond Park, the purest -water within the limits assigned to their researches. Upon this report -the Cardinal bargained for a lease with the prior of St. John of -Jerusalem, and the following is a precis of the lease as still extant in -the Cottonian MS. in the British Museum, and first published in the -_Gentleman's Magazine_ for January, 1834. - -The indenture was made between Sir Thomas Docwra, prior of the Hospital -of St. John of Jerusalem and his brethren knights of the one part, and -Cardinal Wolsey, Primate of England, of the other part. It granted a -lease of ninety-nine years, to date from January 12, 1514, to Cardinal -Wolsey at a yearly rent of L50, the lessee agreeing to the usual -covenants of a repairing lease. If the rent should remain unpaid during -two whole years, the lessors to have the right of re-entry, and a new -lease to be granted for another ninety-nine years should such be desired -by the lessee. The lessors did not foresee the future, which would, by -_force majeure_, put an end to all their lease-granting. - -As soon as Wolsey had obtained the lease, he pulled down the old -manor-house, in which hitherto a prior and a few knights had been -accommodated, and began erecting in a style of grandeur, heretofore -unsurpassed in this country, a mansion of unparalleled magnificence. But -who was this Wolsey? - -A most unmitigated villain, on a par with that other villain, Henry -VIII., whose master, through being his pimp, he was for a time, till, in -perfect accordance with his character, he became his abject whining -slave. I am well aware that it is not usual to apply such a term as -villain to a King or his chief adviser--courtly historians have flowery -terms for the crimes of Kings by the 'grace of God,' and holy -'Fathers-in-God,' who misuse the powers foolish nations have entrusted -them with to the vilest purposes--but the spirit of justice, which -directs thinking and logical minds, rejects the flimsy arguments of -sycophantic apologists; it will not have Nero whitewashed. - -Thomas Wolsey was born at Ipswich in March, 1471. He was the son of a -butcher, who also possessed some land, and was sufficiently well off to -send his son to the University of Oxford. In those days the chief and -easiest avenue to distinction, office, and wealth was through the -Church, and Thomas appears to have been an apt scholar, for at fourteen -years of age he was Bachelor of Arts, and thence was called the Boy -Bachelor. He soon after became Master of Arts, and had charge of the -school adjoining Magdalen College, where he educated the three sons of -Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset, who presented him in 1500 to the rectory -of Lymington. This was indeed a rapid rise for the son of a butcher. -But he had not long resided on his benefice when Sir Amias Paulet, a -justice of the peace, set him in the stocks for being drunk and making a -disturbance at a fair in the neighbourhood. Wolsey was mean enough to -take a cruel revenge for this punishment, which, no doubt, he richly -deserved, and which must at the time have been approved by the -community, for it was no trifling thing in those days to set a rector in -the stocks. When Wolsey was Lord Chancellor he sent for Sir Amias, and -after a severe jobation confined him for six years in that part of the -Temple which long passed for Henry VIII. and Wolsey's palace, and -afterwards was Nando's, a famous coffee-house. Wolsey compelled Paulet -to almost entirely rebuild the house. When Wolsey's patron, the Marquis -of Dorset, died, the former looked out for new means to push his -fortunes, for his avarice was boundless. He accordingly got himself -admitted into the family of Henry Dean, Archbishop of Canterbury; but -that prelate dying in 1502, he found means of ingratiating himself with -Sir John Nanfan, treasurer of Calais, who being weakened by age and -other infirmities, committed the direction of his post to Wolsey, who by -his recommendation was made one of the King's chaplains, and in 1506 was -instituted to the rectory of Redgrave, in the diocese of Norwich. But -it was on the accession of Henry VIII. that he had the opportunity of -developing his ambitious and covetous schemes by the vilest means. He -recommended himself to the King's favour by adapting himself to his -capricious temper and vicious inclinations, acting as his pimp, and -participating in all his debaucheries. And so well did he play his -cards with the King that shortly after the attainder of Sir Richard -Empson--executed with his coadjutor Dudley in 1510, nominally for -extortion, but really because that extortion was not practised on the -King's behalf, but on their own--shortly after this attainder the King -conferred on Wolsey a grant of several lands and tenements in the parish -of St. Bride's, Fleet Street, which by the knight's forfeiture devolved -to the Crown. In the grant Wolsey is styled counsellor and almoner to -the King. In the same year he was presented by his royal master to the -rectory of Torrington, in the diocese of Exeter. Early in the following -year he was made a Canon of Windsor and Registrar of the Order of the -Garter. In 1512 he was advanced by Archbishop Bambridge to the prebend -of Bugthorp, in the church of York, of which afterwards he also was made -a Dean. In 1513 he attended the King in his expedition to France, who -committed to him the direction of the supplies and provisions to be made -for the army--a profitable concession, which Wolsey knew how to turn to -his own good account. On the taking of Tournay Henry VIII. made Wolsey -Bishop of that city, and not long after Bishop of Lincoln. In 1814, on -the death of Cardinal Bambridge, he was translated to the Archbishopric -of York. The utter recklessness with which the King bestowed on one man -so many high offices, the duties of which from their very multiplicity -must be totally neglected by this one man, this recklessness in the -bestowal of ecclesiastical dignities and emoluments on an upstart whose -moral character was of the vilest in every respect, and openly known to -be such, was only equalled by the greed and vanity of the recipient. -But Fortune had greater favours yet in store for him. In September, -1515, he was, by the interest of the two Kings of England and France, -made Cardinal of St. Cecilia, and in December of the same year Lord -Chancellor of England, which dignity had been resigned by the Archbishop -of Canterbury, who resented the arrogance of, and the powers conferred -on, Wolsey. The Archbishop's resignation led to the retirement of all -the other great officers of the Crown, and thus Wolsey became absolute -master of the situation, and whilst he was really carrying out his own -schemes, he had the address to persuade the King, jealous of his own -power, that he was only blindly executing his royal master's behests and -wishes. The position of England between the Emperor and the King of -France rendered Henry VIII. to some extent the arbitrator of Europe. -Wolsey cleverly exploited the situation; he first secured the goodwill -of Francis I. of France by restoring to him, in 1516, Tournay, receiving -in return an annuity of 12,000 livres. But the Pope was the most -anxious to secure the Minister's friendship, and therefore, after the -recall of Cardinal Campeggio, made Wolsey his Legate a Latere, or -Extraordinary Envoy, which virtually raised him to the rank of Pope of -England. Though Wolsey's income was already tremendous from the various -bishoprics and other high offices he held, and the presents and pensions -he received from foreign princes, the Pope granted him an annuity of -7,500 ducats on the bishoprics of Toledo and Placentia. With Wolsey's -increase of power rose his arrogance, his covetousness, and his love of -ostentation; the beggar was put on horseback. His revenues almost -exceeded those of the Crown; the splendour displayed in his mode of -living was greater than that of many Kings. When, after the election of -Charles V. as Emperor of Germany, the latter quarrelled with Francis I., -each endeavoured to draw the Cardinal to his side. In 1520 he arranged -an interview between the three Sovereigns, but at last sided with the -Emperor, who granted him an annuity of 7,000 ducats, and held out to him -the prospect of the Papal crown. After having, in 1521, attempted at -Calais a reconciliation between Henry VIII. and Francis I., he entered -into a secret treaty with the Emperor, according to which the English -King was to declare war against France. The death of Leo X. and the -subsequent election of Hadrian VI. to the Papal dignity almost led to a -breach between him and the Emperor; but the latter's promise that after -old Hadrian's death he would certainly procure him the Papal crown -satisfied Wolsey, especially as the Emperor added 2,500 ducats to the -former annuity, and gave him besides another of 9,000 dollars in gold -for his loss of the French pension. In 1522 Henry VIII. commenced the -war against his former ally by entering and devastating France. Wolsey -having to find money for this war, he had recourse to financial -oppression, which roused the indignation of the English people. But at -the new Papal election in 1523 Wolsey saw himself again passed over, -which induced him to lead the King to take the part of Francis I., who -was then a prisoner. Henry VIII. had to retire from the war, to enter in -1525 into an alliance with the French Regency, for which service Wolsey -received a present of 100,000 crowns, and in 1528 to declare war against -the Emperor. Thus the proud and blustering Henry VIII. became the mere -tool of an ambitious and disappointed priest, who used him and the -resources of England to avenge the slight the Emperor had put upon him -at the last Papal election. After the peace of Cambray in 1529, Wolsey -was on the summit of his power, but also terribly near to his fall. At -first he had, from hatred of her nephew, Charles V., not opposed the -King's desire to obtain a divorce from Catherine of Aragon; but when he -found that the King wanted to marry Anne Boleyn, he disapproved of the -divorce, as he feared that Anne's relatives might endanger his position -at Court. In obedience to the King's orders, he indeed for some time -urged on the suit, but grew less zealous when he found that the Pope -himself, out of consideration for the Emperor, was against the divorce. -Henry VIII. looked upon the delay as due to the intrigues of Wolsey, in -which opinion he was strengthened by Anne Boleyn, who had a special -reason to hate him, for it was through him that her marriage with young -Lord Percy, a member of Wolsey's establishment, one of the many scions -of the nobility who were placed under the guidance of the Cardinal, had -been broken off. When Anne, who had been dismissed the Court, after her -recall found it necessary to augment her rising influence over the King -to dissemble, and therefore treated Wolsey with the greatest outward -respect, she secretly took every opportunity to foster the dislike Henry -had taken to him, and it was her underhand influence which hastened his -downfall, and not reasons of statecraft, as 'philosophical' historians -would have us believe. Long before the catastrophe Wolsey, who had not -failed to notice that the brutal tyrant's favourable sentiments towards -his minion were on the wane, had tried to conciliate the King by -presenting Hampton Court to him in 1526; but the gift had not been one -of love, but of fear and despair, and the chief cause of the surrender, -according to tradition, was the following: - -The King's fool was paying a visit to the Cardinal's fool--for both the -King and the Cardinal were such fools themselves as to find pleasure in -the gabbling of professional fools--and the couple went down into the -wine vaults. For fun one of them stuck a dagger into the top of a cask, -and, to his surprise, touched something that gave a metallic sound. The -fools thereupon set to work, got the head of the cask out, and found it -to be full of gold pieces. Other casks, by the sound, indicated that -they held wine. The King's fool stored up the fact in his memory, and -one day when the King was boasting about his wine, the fool said, 'You -have not such wine as my Lord Cardinal, for he has casks in his cellar -worth a thousand broad pieces each;' and then he told what he had -discovered. Whether this be true or not, it is certain that Wolsey was -awake to the fact that he was losing his power over the King, and so he -threw him the magnificent sop of his palace, which, however, did not -save him; the King was determined to be rid of him. In October, 1529, -the Great Seal was demanded of him, his palace at Whitehall and all his -goods were seized for the King's use, and he was ordered to retire to -his palace at Esher. The King, indeed, promised Wolsey his protection, -and that he should continue to hold the bishoprics of York and -Winchester. - -As Wolsey was travelling towards Esher, he was overtaken by a messenger -from the King, who brought him that comfortable assurance, whereupon the -Cardinal dismounted from his mule, knelt down, and blessed the ground on -which he had received so gracious a message; and to show his gratitude -to his King, he made him a present of--what do you think?--his fool. -Had Wolsey in his disgrace shown any manliness or dignity of character, -we might think that this present to the King was 'kinder sarcastic,' -intimating that a fool was about the only individual fit to be Henry's -companion, and whom he could appreciate. But from Wolsey's conduct -during the closing years of his life, we cannot give him credit for so -much wit and moral courage as the attempt to give the King such a hint -would have implied, and we must therefore assume that the gift was a -_bona fide_ one; and as in those days it was considered the proper thing -for great people to associate with fools, and take delight in their -forced and artificial jokes, too poor for a halfpenny comic paper of the -present day, there was nothing extraordinary in the gift, and no doubt -the King thought it highly complimentary to himself. But however -favourably the King might at certain moments feel disposed towards -Wolsey, and though, from his influence in the country as head of the -Church, it was necessary to go to work cautiously, his ruin was -determined on. Parliament, which, after an interval of seven years, was -allowed to reassemble in 1529, impeached him by a charge of forty-four -articles, relating chiefly to the exercise of his legatine power -contrary to law, and the scandalous irregularities of his life. The -impeachment passed the House of Lords; but when it came to the House of -Commons it was effectually defeated by the energy and address of Thomas -Cromwell, who had been his servant, so that no treason could be fixed -upon him. He remained in his retirement at Esher until about Easter, -1530, when he was ordered to repair to his diocese of York, where, in -November of the same year, he was arrested by the Earl of Northumberland -for high treason, and committed to the custody of the Lieutenant of the -Tower, who had orders to bring him to London. This so affected his mind -that he fell sick at Sheffield, in the Earl of Shrewsbury's house, -whence, by short stages, he went as far as Leicester, where he is said -to have taken poison, which no one knowing his really pusillanimous -character will believe; however, he died on November 29, 1530, and was -buried in the Abbey of Leicester. The words attributed to him as his -last utterances, that if he had served God as he had served his King, he -would not be thus forsaken, were false in substance and contemptible in -form. He never served the King but when it served his own purposes, and -a mean-spirited coward only would have attributed his fall to such a -cause. He fell most ignominiously, without even an attempt of -resistance against the King's arbitrary decrees, without a struggle to -reassert his former ascendancy over his royal master. But probably the -ascendancy was irrecoverable; he had himself resigned it when he -surrendered his palace of Hampton Court to Henry in an access of -cowardly panic; and no ascendancy which is not moral or intellectual -ever has any vitality in it, and that of Wolsey over the King had never -been any other than that of the practised debauchee over the unpractised -one. Wolsey was Henry's senior by twenty years. When the pupil had -become as depraved as his teacher, he required his assistance no longer, -and in moments of reflection, which come to the most frivolous, he must -have felt how debased such teaching had been, and the greater its -iniquity the greater the pupil's abhorrence of the instructor, whose -constant presence must act as a perpetual reproach; when the orange is -sucked dry, the shapeless husk becomes an offensive object to look at. - -Cardinal Wolsey is credited with a love of learning and schemes to -promote it, as his foundation of a college at Oxford, now Christ Church, -which, however, he only partly accomplished, and his school at Ipswich. -But these were not so much establishments to advance learning as to -support and glorify the Church, of which he was the chief pillar and -personal representative, and which therefore it was his pride and -interest to strengthen and exalt, even at some personal sacrifice. - -Such was the man who built the palace of Hampton Court, to the -description and history of which we must now proceed. - -We stated above that immediately on having entered into possession of -the estate, Wolsey pulled down the ancient manor-house; early in 1515 he -began the new buildings. All researches have failed to bring to light -the architect employed by the Cardinal. The name of James Bettes occurs -as master of the works, as also that of Nicholas Townley as chief -comptroller, and that of Laurence Stubbes, paymaster of the works, and -that of Henry Williams, surveyor; but probably the design of Hampton -Court must be attributed to Wolsey himself, who had the examples of -other mediaeval prelatic builders to guide him. In fact, we are -inclined to think that the entrance to the first court was somewhat of -an imitation of the centre of Esher Place, on the river Mole, a building -erected by William of Waynfleet, Bishop of Winchester, in 1447. Of this -building nothing now remains but the two octagonal towers of the centre, -just as the gateway of Wolsey's college at Ipswich only remains, which -also bears a striking resemblance to that of Esher Place. - -One of the distinguishing features of Wolsey's palace at Hampton Court -was that it did not present to the beholder a moat,[#] a drawbridge, or -loopholes, or frowning battlements or watch-towers, without which up to -that time no nobleman had thought of erecting a mansion. Wolsey, being -a Churchman, naturally selected the monastic style, and the first and -second courts, all that remains of Wolsey's original building, display -it in all its picturesque features. At present the palace consists of -three courts, the two just referred to, and the third, built by William -III., comprising the buildings surrounding the Fountain Court. On the -north side of the palace there are a number of minor courts and -passages, around which are grouped domestic offices, stables, and other -dependencies of a large mansion. - - -[#] In Law's 'History of Hampton Court Palace' we are told that a moat -surrounded the whole of the palace, but Hollar's view of it (_temp._ -Henry VIII.) shows no indication of one. - - -And here by way of interscript, though the reader may have seen that we -hold Cardinal Wolsey's character as a Churchman in but slight -estimation, we must give him credit for proofs of aesthetic culture, -which was unusual in his age, when even the most affluent nobles of the -land lived in a state of rude habits and surroundings. At the -conclusion of the reign of Henry VII. the annual expenses of the -powerful family of Percy scarcely exceeded the sum of L1,100. The -furniture of even princely households was coarse and comfortless; homely -plenty and stately reserve in their entertainments was the rule. The -love of pomp and refined pleasure must have been acquired by Wolsey -through his visits and residences abroad, and though he indulged in both -from personal inclination and political purpose, yet, whatever his -motive, his practice led to the amelioration of national taste and -manners favourable to the growth of art and the development and advance -of home industries. His palace became an example of an interior -arrangement suited to liberal, polished, and dignified entertainment. -It afforded hints for the improvement of domestic architecture. Till -then the attainment of security had been the chief object of the -builder; the times having become less turbulent, the external and -internal embellishment and comfort of the mansion, no longer a mere -castle, became the ruling principle, and Wolsey led the way in these -improvements in the palace he built at Hampton. - -Originally, as Camden and Hentzner assert, there were five courts. -Camden calls them 'large' courts, and the palace is traditionally said -to have extended further towards the east, but this is very doubtful; -probably the ground-plan of the palace now embraces as much space as it -did at any time. As stated above, it now consists of three courts; but -there are several minor courts appertaining to parts of the original -structure, and it is possible that Camden, when he called the courts -large, had the really large ones in his mind, and that Hentzner, the -German traveller, who visited England in 1598, and greatly admired all -he saw amongst us, included them in his enumeration, so as to justify -the eulogy he bestows on the palace. 'The rooms,' he said, 'being very -numerous [there are altogether about 1,000 rooms in the palace], are -adorned with tapestry of gold, silver, and velvet, in some of which were -woven history pieces; in others, Turkish and Armenian dresses, all -extremely natural. In one chamber are several excessively rich -tapestries, which are hung up when the Queen [Elizabeth] gives audience -to foreign ambassadors. All the walls of the palace shine with gold and -silver. Here is likewise a certain cabinet, called 'Paradise,' where, -besides that everything glitters so with silver, gold, and jewels as to -dazzle one's eyes, there is a musical instrument made all of glass -except the strings.... The chapel of this palace is most splendid, in -which the Queen's closet is quite transparent, having its windows of -crystal.... In her bedchamber the bed was covered with very costly -coverlids of silk. At no great distance from this room we were shown a -bed, the tester of which was worked by Anne Boleyn, and presented by her -to her husband, Henry VIII.... In the hall are these curiosities: a -very clear looking-glass, ornamented with columns and little images of -alabaster; a portrait of Edward VI., brother to Queen Elizabeth; the -true portrait of Lucretia; a picture of the battle of Pavia; the history -of Christ's passion, carved in mother-of-pearl; the portrait of Mary -Queen of Scots; the picture of Ferdinand, Prince of Spain, and of -Philip, his son; that of Henry VIII., under which was placed the Bible, -curiously written upon parchment; an artificial sphere; several musical -instruments. In the tapestry are represented negroes riding upon -elephants; the bed in which Edward VI. is said to have been born, and -where his mother, Jane Seymour, died in childbed.' Grotius (b. 1583, d. -1645) also described it as the most splendid palace in Europe. Says he: -'If e'er a Briton what is wealth don't know, let him repair to Hampton -Court, and then view all the palaces of the earth, when he will say: -"Those are the residences of Kings, but this of the gods."' - -The above descriptions, of course, apply to a period posterior to the -occupation of the palace by Wolsey, but we shall presently see how great -was its splendour in the days of the Cardinal, before the alterations -made by Henry VIII., who wished as much as possible to extinguish -Wolsey's memory; but the old dark-red brick walls, with still darker -lines of bricks in diamond shapes running along them, the mixture of -Gothic archways and square mullioned windows, the turrets and cupolas, -and tall twisted and cross-banded chimneys of the first and second -courts, all belong to the period of Wolsey. - -Let us enter these courts. - -The usual approach to the palace is from the west. Here on the right and -left are seen ranges of subordinate chambers and domestic offices, -which, it would seem, appear formerly to have taken a wider circuit than -at present, as on Hampton Court Green are many coeval buildings, -including a handsome gateway. The kitchens with their dependent offices -were on the north side of the palace, where they still remain, and are -provided with avenues and suitable passages, communicating with the -great hall and principal rooms. The entrance to this office range is by -a plain but handsome gateway in the western front, to the left of the -chief gateway, which gives admittance to the first court. This gateway, -built of brick, with stone embellishments, has over the portal a -bay-window, adorned with the royal arms, and divided by mullioned -compartments into two series of lights. This central division of the -west front is flanked by octagon towers. The gateway was originally -provided with fine oak gates; these were for many years put aside as -lumber, but have lately been rehung, after undergoing careful repair. -They are of massive dimensions, are ornamented with the usual linen-fold -pattern, and are evidently of Wolsey's time. Their outer face is -pierced with shot and bullet holes, which may have been occasioned -during the skirmishes in the civil wars, when fighting was going on -outside the palace between the Cavaliers and Roundheads, or, as has been -suggested, the holes may have been made through the gates having been -set up as targets for the villagers of Hampton. Before then bows and -arrows were the arms used in war, but it appears that during the great -rebellion the practice of archery fell into disrepute. However, at the -restoration of Charles II. the noble sport was again revived; in 1682 -the Finsbury archers marched to Hampton Court, and there, in front of -the palace, shot for prizes. Charles II. patronized their exercise by -his presence, but the day being rainy, after staying for about two hours -he was obliged to quit the field. There is nothing new under the sun; a -modern military commander stopped a review on account of the rain! He -should have taken an example by the British workman, who scorns to carry -an umbrella, whilst the foreign mason or carpenter never goes to his -work without one should the day look threatening. - -Through the portal just mentioned you enter the first or entrance court, -which is 167 feet 2 inches from north to south, and 162 feet 7 inches -from east to west. On the west side of this court is a bay-window, -corresponding in character with that over the west front of the arched -entrance, and, like that, enriched with the royal arms; on the turrets -are placed the initials E.R. Over the portal in the centre is a -bay-window of considerable beauty, with octangular towers on each side, -and on the face of the towers are introduced busts of Roman emperors in -terra cotta, which had been sent to Cardinal Wolsey by Leo X. On the -left is seen the western end of the Great Hall, which here has a broad -and richly designed window. In this court also are rooms appropriated -to families who have obtained small Government pensions. - -Through a groined archway, finely ornamented, we pass to the second or -middle, or Clock Tower court. This court is somewhat smaller than the -former, measuring 133 feet from north to south, and about 100 feet from -east to west. The exterior of the buildings surrounding this court -appears to have experienced little alteration since the days of the -founder. The general effect of this court is superb. The eastern side -comprises a third portal, flanked with octangular turrets, and is of -greater richness than the preceding fronts. On the face of each turret -are again introduced busts of the Caesars. Some repairs were effected -in this division by George II. in 1732, as is signified by an -inscription on the exterior. On the north side is the Great Hall. -Wolsey had projected it; it formed so important a feature in the design -of the mansion, that the exterior walls may safely be ascribed to the -Cardinal, but he did not live to finish the work; the interior was not -completed till 1536, by Henry VIII. It is 106 feet long, 40 wide, and -60 high. The roof is elaborately carved. There are seven large windows -on one side and six on the other, with a large window at each end. A -bay-window on the dais, extending from the upper part of the wall nearly -to the floor, contributes greatly to the cheerful aspect of the hall. -The window at the eastern end is an oriel window, divided into -compartments by mullions of stone. There was formerly a lantern in the -roof, but, for some reason unexplained, it was removed; the compartment, -however, whence it took its springing remains. Near the east end of the -hall is the withdrawing room, of noble dimensions, and displaying -externally, as well as internally, more of the character of the ancient -structure than any other room of equal extent throughout the palace. - -A highly interesting object in this court is the astronomical clock in -the tower and gateway giving access to the third court. The original -clock was, according to a notice engraved on the wrought-iron framework, -put up in 1540 by N.O. Who is meant by these initials is quite unknown. -It was, till its removal, the oldest clock in England that kept pretty -correct time. From an entry mentioned in Wood's 'Curiosities of Clocks -and Watches,' we learn that a payment was made in 1575 to one George -Gaver, 'serjeant painter,' 'for painting the great dial at Hampton Court -Palace, containing hours of the day and night, the course of the sun and -moon.' No doubt since Gaver decorated the dial-plate many clockmakers -must have repaired and altered the works. In 1649 a striking part had -been added to the works. In 1711 it was found that in consequence of -the removal of certain wheels and pinions, probably by ignorant or -careless workmen, the clock could not for a long time past have -performed its functions correctly. It seems indeed to have been left -neglected for many years. Somewhere in the thirties of this century G. -P. R. James, the novelist, addressed a poem of eleven stanzas to the -'Old Clock without Hands at Hampton Court.' The first and last stanzas -we reproduce, not for their merit, but because apposite to our subject: - - 'Memento of the bygone hours, - Dost thou recall alone the past? - Why stand'st thou silent midst these towers, - Where time still flies so fast? - * * * * * - 'The future? Yes! at least to me - Thus plainly thus thy moral stands! - Good deeds mark hours! Let not life be - A dial without hands!' - - -In 1835 the works of the old clock were removed, but what became of them -is not known; probably they were sold for old brass and iron. A new -clock was put up, and on the removal of this in 1880 there was found -this inscription on the works: 'This clock, originally made for the -Queen's Palace in St. James' Park, and for many years in use there, was -A.D. 1835, by command of His Majesty King William IV., altered and -adapted to suit Hampton Court Palace by B. L. Vulliamy, clockmaker to -the King'; and on another plate on the clock: 'Vulliamy, London, No. -352, A.D. 1799.' Vulliamy's address was 74, Pall Mall, which was then -the first house at the south-western end of the street, next to the -entrance-gates to Marlborough House. The motive power of this clock had -evidently not been sufficient to drive in addition the astronomical -dial, and the useless dial had been taken down and stowed away in a -workshop in the palace, the gap left being filled by a painted board. -This antiquated timepiece was entirely removed, and in 1880 a new clock -erected by Messrs. Gillett and Bland, which shows not only the hours of -the day and night, but also the day of the month, the motion of the sun -and moon, the age of the moon, its phases and quarters, and other -interesting matters connected with lunar movements. The dial is -composed of three separate copper discs of various sizes, with a common -centre, but revolving at various rates. - -We have yet to notice on the south side of this court the colonnade, -supported by Ionic columns, built by Sir Christopher Wren; the effect -produced by the introduction of this classical colonnade amidst the -venerable turrets and parapets of Wolsey's building is discordant and -unpleasing. But William III. would have it so, and the great architect -had to comply. - -We will now pass through the gateway leading into the third or Fountain -Court. Here we are surrounded by a totally different style of -architecture, again that of William III. Wren had been appointed to the -office of Surveyor-General of His Majesty's Works in 1668, and employed -by him to pull down part of the old palace, and to build in its place -the quadrangle now under notice. It is not a favourable specimen of his -art. The studies made by him from the buildings of Louis XIV. had but -too visible an effect on his palaces and private buildings, so that, as -Horace Walpole says, 'it may be considered fortunate that the French -built only palaces, and not churches, and therefore St. Paul's escaped, -though Hampton Court was sacrificed to the god of false taste.' But the -King's fancies were paramount, though he readily took the blame on -himself, for when the arrangement of the low cloisters in the Fountain -Court was criticised, he admitted that it was due entirely to his -orders. - -The Fountain Court is nearly a square, more than 100 feet each way. In -the centre there is a fountain playing in a circular basin. This court -occupies the site of the chief or grand court, which was described by -Hentzner in the reign of Queen Elizabeth as 'paved with square stone, -and having in its centre a fountain, finished in 1590, which throws up -water, covered with a gilt crown, on the top of which is a statue of -Justice, supported by columns of black and white marble.' The -alterations were made gradually; the south and east sides of the old -court were first taken down, and the present state apartments in those -divisions erected. The west and north sides, comprising a room of -communication 109 feet in length, and the Queen's Guard Chamber and -Great Presence Chamber, retain internal marks of ancient structure; but -a new front was given to the whole by Sir Christopher Wren. As we are -not writing a guide-book, we need not enter into a description of the -state apartments, or of the external appearance of the building -containing them; it will be sufficient to mention that this modern -portion of Hampton Court was commenced in 1690, and finished in 1694; -that the south and eastern facades are each about 330 feet long; that -the eastern front faces the grand gravel walk, open to the public; -whilst the south front opens on the Privy Garden, which was sunk 10 feet -for the purpose of obtaining from the lower apartments a view of the -river Thames. - -Of the state of the gardens and park, about 44 acres in extent, -surrounding the palace and forming a regular peninsula, the east and -west sides being entirely enclosed by the Thames, whilst the northern -boundary is formed by the road from Kingston--of the then state of the -gardens and park we have but scanty accounts, but they no doubt -corresponded in beauty, as far as the comparatively short time of his -occupancy of the palace would allow him, with Wolsey's sumptuous pile. -Certes the situation did not seem inviting. The Thames, so lovely in -many of its windings, is here skirted on both shores by a dull expanse -of level woodless soil, which the utmost efforts of taste and skill -seemed scarcely able to render picturesque, and in the time of the -founder of the palace, and even in the days of Henry VIII., landscape -gardening had not yet become an art. At that period a park was chiefly -valued for the security of lair it afforded to the deer sheltered in the -royal chase. An old guide to Hampton Court of the year 1774 says that -'notwithstanding the immediate vicinity of the Thames, the park and -garden are not in the least incommoded by the rise of the waters, which -in other places is too often occasioned by sudden floods, and though not -far from the reflux of the tides, yet they are at such a convenient -distance as never to be influenced by any impurities which the flowing -of the tides is apt to create.' This may have been one of the reasons -which induced Wolsey's hygienic advisers to select the spot for its -salubrity. - -The gardens were greatly improved by Elizabeth and Charles II. Norden, -writing in the time of the former, describes the enclosures appertaining -to the palace as comprising two parks, 'the one of deer, the other of -hares,' both of which were environed with brick walls, except the south -side of the former, which was paled and encircled by the Thames. A -survey, made in 1653, divides these enclosures nominally into Bushey Old -Park, the New Park, the Middle or North Park, the Hare-warren and -Hampton Court course. This latter division seems to have comprised the -district now termed Hampton Court Park. But it was not till the reign -of William III. that the grounds were brought to the perfection in which -we see them now. They are in his favourite, the Dutch, style--lawns, -shaped with mathematical precision, bordered by evergreens, placed at -regular distances; straight canals; broad gravel walks, statues, and -vases. At this period the art of clipping yew and other trees into -regular figures and fantastic shapes reached its highest point, and was -greatly favoured by the King. But he also laid out and planted the -'Wilderness' to hide the many smaller buildings, outhouses, courts, and -passages to the north of the palace. In this part of the grounds is the -maze. A broad gravel walk extends from the Lion Gates, which give -admission from the Kingston road to the gardens and to the Thames. -These gates, adjoining the King's Arms inn, are very handsome, being -designed in a bold and elegant style. The large stone piers are richly -decorated, their cornices supported by fluted columns, and surmounted by -two colossal lions, couchant. The elegant ironwork of the gates was the -work of Huntingdon Shaw.[#] At the south-west corner of the gardens is -the pavilion, erected by Sir Christopher Wren, and occasionally occupied -by the rangers of the park. Throughout the park there are fine trees, -and here and there masses of verdure less formally disposed. There may -also be seen some lines of fortifications, which were originally -constructed for the purpose of teaching the art of war to William, Duke -of Cumberland, when a boy--the same Duke who afterwards became so famous -in the Scottish rising of 1745. In the centre of the park there is a -stud-house, founded by the Stuarts, but greatly extended in its -operations of breeding race-horses by George IV. The cream-coloured -horses used on state occasions by the Sovereign are kept here. They are -descended from those brought over from Hanover by the princes of the -Brunswick line; they are the last representatives of the Flemish horses, -once so fashionable. The canal in the grounds is fed by the Cardinal's -or Queen's River, issuing from the river Colne, near Longford, and -passing over Hounslow Heath and through Hanworth and Bushey Parks. - - -[#] Or, according to Mr. Law, of Jean Tijou, a Frenchman. - - -We stated, when mentioning the reasons which induced Cardinal Wolsey to -fix on Hampton Court as his future residence, that the springs in Coombe -Wood supplied excellent water; with this water the palace is supplied. -It is brought to it in leaden pipes, for which some 250 tons of lead -were employed, and as that metal was then L5 per ton, the cost of the -material alone amounted to a large sum; the pipes pass under the -Hogsmill River, near Kingston, and under the Thames at a short distance -from the palace, and their whole length is upwards of three miles, so -that Mr. Law, the latest historian of Hampton Court, may not be far out -in estimating the cost of the whole work at something like L50,000 of -our present money. - -The tennis-court, said to be the largest and most complete in Europe, is -where Charles I. passed many hours of his captivity when detained a -prisoner, or quasi-prisoner, by the Parliament. - -The Home Park is separated from the gardens by a modern iron railing, -600 yards long, having at every 50 yards wrought-iron gates, 7 feet -high, of most elegant workmanship, and some ornamented with the initials -of William and Mary; others with the thistle, rose, and harp. They were -erected by William III. - - - - *II.--ITS MASTERS.* - - -In the foregoing description of the palace and grounds several -historical incidents have already been introduced, but such casual -notices are insufficient for our purpose; the topographical warp and -woof of our canvas has to be embroidered with the facts--nay, the -romance--of human action to present a living picture of the past, to put -animation and reality into the silent shadows which flit around us on -all sides. We therefore proceed to enter into details, within the -limits of our space, of the lives and fortunes of those persons whose -connection with the palace invest it with a personal interest. - -We have seen that Wolsey lived in regal splendour at Hampton Court--nay, -his train, his furniture, were more numerous and gorgeous than that of -the King, which at an early stage roused the latter's envy. The -Cardinal had no less than 800 persons in his suite. In his hall he -maintained three boards with three several officers: a steward who was a -priest, a treasurer who was a knight, and a comptroller who was an -esquire; also a confessor, a doctor, three marshals, three ushers of the -halls, and two almoners and grooms. In the hall kitchen were two -clerks, a clerk comptroller and surveyor of the dresser, a clerk of the -spicery; also two cooks with assistant labourers and children turnspits, -four men of the scullery, two yeomen of the pastry, and two paste-layers -under them. In his own kitchen was a master cook, who was attired daily -in velvet or satin, and wore a gold chain, under whom were two cooks and -six assistants; in the larder, a yeoman and a groom; in the scullery, a -yeoman and two grooms; in the ewry (linen-room), two yeomen and two -grooms; in the cellar, three yeomen and three pages; in the chandry -(candle-room), two yeomen; in the wardrobe of the dormitory, the master -of the wardrobe and twenty different officers; in the laundry, a yeoman, -groom and thirteen pages, two yeomen purveyors and a groom purveyor; in -the bakehouse, two yeomen and two grooms; in the wood-yard, one yeoman -and a groom; in the barn, one yeoman; at the gate, two yeomen and two -grooms; a yeoman in the barge and a master of the horse; a clerk of the -stables and a yeoman of the same; a farrier and a yeoman of the stirrup; -a maltster and sixteen grooms, every one keeping four horses. In the -Cardinal's great chamber and in his privy chamber were the chief -chamberlain, a vice-chamberlain, and two gentlemen ushers; there were -also six gentlemen waiters and twelve yeomen waiters. At the head of -all these people, ministering to the state of this priest of a religion -whose founder had not where to lay His head, as he must often have -proclaimed from the pulpit in his preaching days, were nine or ten -lords, with each their two or three servants. There were also gentlemen -cup-bearers, gentlemen carvers, six yeomen ushers and eight grooms of -his chamber. In addition to these there were twelve doctors and -chaplains, the clerk of the closet, two secretaries, two clerks of the -signet, and four counsellors learned in the law. He also retained a -riding-clerk, a clerk of the crown, a clerk of the hamper, fourteen -footmen 'garnished with rich riding-coats.' He had a herald-at-arms, a -physician, an apothecary, four minstrels, a keeper of his tents; he also -kept a fool. All these were in daily attendance, for whom were -continually provided eight tables for the chamberlains and gentlemen -officers, and two other tables, one for the young lords and another for -the sons of gentlemen who were in his suite. - -Such is the account given of the Cardinal's household. Of his own daily -habits we are told: The Cardinal rose early, and as soon as he came out -of his bed-chamber he generally heard two masses. Then he made various -necessary arrangements for the day, and about eight o'clock left his -privy chamber ready dressed in the red robes of a Cardinal, his upper -garment being of scarlet or else of fine crimson taffeta or satin, with -a black velvet tippet of sables about his neck, and holding in his hand -an orange, deprived of its internal substance, and filled with a piece -of sponge, wetted with vinegar and other confections against pestilent -airs (surely there could not be any at Hampton Court, chosen because of -its very salubrity!), which he commonly held to his nose when he came to -the presses (crowds) or was pestered with many suitors. (Were such -unsavoury people allowed to come between the wind and his nobility?) -This may account for so many portraits representing him with an orange -in his hand. The Great Seal of England and the Cardinal's hat were both -borne before him by 'some lord or some gentleman of worship right -solemnly,' and as soon as he entered the presence chamber, the two tall -priests with the two tall crosses were ready to attend upon him, with -gentlemen ushers going before him bare-headed, and crying: 'On, masters, -before, and make room for my lord!' The crowd thus called on consisted -not only of common suitors, but often of peers of the realm, who chose, -or by circumstances were obliged, thus to crouch to an upstart. In this -state the Cardinal proceeded down his hall, with a sergeant-at-arms -before him, carrying a large silver mace, and two gentlemen, each -carrying a large plate of silver. On his arrival at the gate or -hall-door, he found his mule ready, covered with crimson velvet -trappings. The cavalcade which accompanied him when he took the air or -went to preside over some meeting was of course equally pompous, -consisting of men-at-arms and a long train of nobility and gentry. - -Fancy what a life to lead day after day! None but the vainest of -coxcombs, the most conceited, arrogant, and ostentatious of small-minded -parvenus, could have borne it for any length of time. But it agreed -with Wolsey's shoddy greatness; he delighted in all that has ever -delighted small minds--idle show and pompous exhibitions. Both at -Whitehall and Hampton Court he held high revel, as we learn from George -Cavendish, his gentleman usher, especially when the King paid him a -visit. 'At such times,' says Cavendish, 'there wanted no preparations -or goodly furniture, with viands of the finest sorts ... such pleasures -were then devised for the King's comfort and consolation as might be -invented or by man's wit designed.' Of course, Cavendish wrote like the -flunkey he was: 'The banquets were set forth with masks and mummeries in -so gorgeous a sort and costly manner that it was a heaven to behold.' - -Pageantry has indeed at all times been the device of rogues to catch -fools. Of course, sometimes the rogue takes as much pleasure in getting -up and participating in the show as the fool does in beholding it. -Wolsey took delight in it, because it enabled him to display his wealth; -but there was also policy in it when such display seemed to prove his -loyalty. But the exhibition is not without its dangers. When it is -made to a man who is envious and covetous, and, moreover, has not only -the will but the power to gratify his avaricious longings, the risk is -very great. As we have already seen, it was fatal in Wolsey's case. He -had to surrender Hampton Court to Henry VIII. much as a traveller gives -up his purse and watch to the well-armed highwayman. True, for this -truly princely present Henry bestowed upon Wolsey the manor-house of -Richmond, an old and favourite residence of his predecessor, Henry VII., -and also of Henry VIII. himself in the early part of his reign; but it -was particularly galling to the ancient servants of Henry VII. to see -the recent habitation of their Sovereign occupied by one whom they -considered an upstart, and they joined in the popular outcry against -Wolsey, concerning whom it was remarked that strange things had come to -pass since 'a bocher's dog should live in the manor of Richmond.' - -But though the palace of Hampton Court was now the King's property, -Wolsey's connection with it was not totally severed from it at once. In -1527 Wolsey, by the desire of the King, feasted the ambassadors from the -King of France in the building. The preparations for, and the feast -itself, are related with terrible prolixity by the gentleman usher -Cavendish, already quoted; as his description gives a fair specimen of -what was then a grand banquet, we quote from it the following passages: - -'Then there was made great preparation for this great assembly at -Hampton Court. The Cardinal called before him his principal officers, -as steward, treasurer, controller and clerk of his kitchen ... -commanding them neither to spare for any cost, expense, or travail, to -make such a triumphant banquet as they might not only wonder at it here, -but also make a glorious report of it in their country.... They sent -out caters, purveyors, and divers other persons; they also sent for all -the expert cooks within London or elsewhere. The purveyors provided, -and my lord's friends sent in such provision as one would wonder to have -seen. The cooks wrought both day and night with subtleties and many -crafty devices; the yeomen and grooms of the wardrobe were busy in -hanging of the chambers and furnishing the same with beds of silk and -other furniture. Then wrought the carpenters, joiners, masons, and all -other artificers. There was the carriage and re-carriage of plate, -stuff, and other rich implements. There was also provided two hundred -and eighty beds furnished with all manner of furniture to them -belonging.... The day was come to the Frenchmen assigned, and they ready -assembled before the hour of their appointment, whereof the officers -caused them to ride to Hanworth, a park of the King's within three -miles, there to hunt and spend the day until night, at which time they -returned to Hampton Court, and every one of them was conveyed to their -several chambers, having in them great fires, and wine to their comfort -and relief. The chambers where they supped and banqueted were ordered -in this sort: first the great waiting chamber was hanged with rich -arras, as all others were, and furnished with tall yeomen to serve. -There were set tables round about the chamber, banquetwise covered; a -cupboard was there garnished with white plate, having also in the same -chamber, to give the more light, four great plates of silver set with -great lights, and a great fire of wood and coals. The next chamber, -being the chamber of presence, was hanged with rich arras, and a -sumptuous cloth of estate furnished with many goodly gentlemen to serve -the tables. Then there was a cupboard being as long as the chamber was -broad, garnished with gilt plate and gold plate, and a pair of silver -candlesticks gilt, curiously wrought, and which cost three hundred -marks. This cupboard was barred round about, that no man could come -nigh it, for there was none of this plate touched in this banquet, for -there was sufficient besides. The plates on the walls were of silver -gilt, having in them large wax candles to give light. When supper was -ready the principal officers caused the trumpeters to blow; the officers -conducted the guests from their chambers into the supper rooms, and when -they all had sat down their service came up in such abundance, both -costly and full of subtleties, with such pleasant music, that the -Frenchmen (as it seemed) were wrapt into a heavenly paradise. You must -understand that my lord Cardinal had not yet come, but he came in before -the second course, booted and spurred, and bade them "preface" [a -contraction of four French words, meaning "Much good may it do you!"], -at whose coming there was great joy, every man rising from his place. -He, the Cardinal, being in his apparel as he rode [why he did so is not -very clear], called for a chair, and sat among them as merry as ever he -had been seen. The second course with many dishes, subtleties, and -devices, above a hundred in number, which were of such goodly proportion -and so costly, that I think the Frenchmen never saw the like. There -were castles with images; beasts, birds, and personages most lively -made; a chessboard of spiced plate with men thereof, which was put into -a case to be taken to France. Then took my lord a bowl of gold filled -with ippocrass, and drank to his lord the King, and next to the King of -France. The guests, of course, did the same, and the cups went so -merrily around that many of the Frenchmen were fain to be led to their -beds. Then rose up my lord, went into his privy chamber to pull off his -boots, and then went he to supper, making a slight repast, and then -rejoined his guests, and used them so lovingly and familiarly that they -could not commend him too much.' Cavendish's account of the banquet, -which he evidently wrote _con amore_, is much longer than our extract, -and that probably is too long for our readers. To them we apologize for -entertaining (?) them with so tedious a description of trivialities,[#] -but in a special historic precis of Hampton Court such details must -necessarily be inserted, just as in making an inventory of the contents -of a mansion, not the grand furniture of the drawing and dining-room -only has to be enumerated, but also the humble pots and pans of the -scullery. - - -[#] In the Middle Ages and Renaissance days banquets, masks and revels -were thought a great deal of; yea, so great was the rage for them that -nowhere were masks more frequently performed than at the very last place -one would expect them to be indulged in, namely, at the Inns of Court, -where grave and learned lawyers, under the presidency of the Master of -the Revels--an office which led more readily to knighthood than -professional merit--discussed the cut and colour of the shepherdesses' -kirtles. Whoso likes to read of such doings will find plenty about them -in the 'Progresses of Queen Elizabeth,' and in Whitelock's 'Memorials.' -An account of the revival of the 'Maske of Flowers' at Gray's Inn in -July, 1887, will be found in the journals of that date. - - -The banquet just described took place, as already mentioned, after -Wolsey's surrender of the palace to the King, and by the latter's -orders. Henry VIII. no doubt knew that the Cardinal was the man to -carry them out well, for he would take a personal interest and pleasure -in so doing, seeing that the banquets and masques so prevalent in that -King's reign had nowhere been more magnificently ordered than at Hampton -Court and Whitehall, as already intimated above. But it is strange that -the King should have abstained from appearing at the banquet given to -his royal friend's ambassadors. - -As soon as Henry had obtained possession of Hampton Court, he began -making extensive alterations in the buildings; the Great Hall as it now -appears was his work. Having a taste for art,[#] he employed Holbein, -many of whose works are now at Hampton Court. Items of the expenses of -building have come down to us. Thus in 1527, from February 26 to March -25, there was paid to the Freemason builders, to the master, John -Molton, at 12d. per day, 6s.; to the warden, William Reynolds, at 5s. -the week, 20s.; to the setters, Nicholas Seyworth and three others, at -3s. 8d. per week, 13s. 8d.; to others, at 3s. 4d. the week, 13s. 4d. -Some of the workmen evidently took frequent holidays. The clerk of the -works had 8d. a day, and the writing clerks 6d. each. - - -[#] A superstition has been cherished from classical days that artistic -and literary culture softens and refines manners. Henry VIII. had both, -and yet what a brute, brutal in every respect, he was! Dr. Johnson was -another instance of bearishness coupled with learning; and Porson, -soaked though he was with Greek and Latin lore and wisdom, was a savage, -with whom no gentleman could associate for any length of time. _Emolliet -mores_, what a delusion! - - -The Great Hall was on many occasions during the reign of Henry VIII. -used for royal banquets, but as one banquet is very much like another, -the reader need not be wearied with a repetition of the one already -described: banquets mean eating and drinking, and undergoing the -wet-blanket of dreary speeches one day, and what the Germans elegantly -call 'pussy's lamentation' the next. In 1536 Henry married Jane -Seymour, and in the following year she died at Hampton Court, after -giving birth to Edward VI. On this occasion the English Bluebeard went -into mourning, and compelled the Court to do the same. Having been -married to Jane but seventeen months, he had probably not had time to -get tired of her. He actually remained a widower for some time, but -eventually, in order to strengthen the Protestant cause in England, at -the suggestion of Thomas Cromwell he married, much against his -inclination, the 'Flanders mare,' Anne of Cleves. In less than six -months he obtained a divorce from her, and sent Cromwell to the block. -Then in 1540 the ill-fated Catharine Howard was openly shown as the -future Queen at Hampton Court Palace, and the marriage performed with -great pomp and joyous celebrations. But in less than two years the -royal voluptuary cut off her head on account of faults she had committed -before knowing him. At Hampton Court also Henry married his last wife, -Lady Catherine Parr, who survived him, but her head was once in great -danger. She opposed the King on some religious question, and in great -wrath he ordered an impeachment to be drawn up against her; but she, -being warned of her danger, spoke so humbly of the foolishness of her -sex that when the Chancellor came to arrest her Henry ordered the -'beast' to be gone. - -In 1538 Henry VIII., who was particularly fond of hunting, but who was -then so fat and unwieldy that he required special facilities for -following his favourite sport, and needed them close at hand, extended -his chase through fifteen parishes. These he kept strictly preserved -for his own use, and they were enclosed by a wooden paling, which was -removed after his death, the deer sent to Windsor, and the chase thrown -open. - -During the Christmas of 1543, Henry VIII. entertained Francis Gonzaga, -the Viceroy of Sicily, at Hampton Court, and Edward VI. on this occasion -likewise presided, in puerile magnificence, over the table in the high -place of the hall, an occurrence over which grave historians grow quite -enthusiastic, whilst at the same time describing the splendour of the -entertainment. But after reading all this gush it is quite a relief to -come on a passage like the following, showing the seamy side of regal -pomp. It is from a curious old manuscript, containing some very -singular directions for regulating the household of Henry VIII.: - -'His Highness' baker shall not put alum in the bread, or mix rye, oaten -or bean flour with the same, and if detected he shall be put in the -stocks. [This prohibition implies that the thing had been done, and by -the King's own highly-paid baker!] His Highness' attendants are not to -steal any locks or keys, tables, forms, cupboards, or other furniture -out of noblemen's or gentlemen's houses where they go to visit. [The -King's attendants must have been worse than modern burglars, who are not -known to steal tables and cupboards!] Master cooks shall not employ -such scullions as go about naked, or lie all night on the ground before -the kitchen fire. ["High life below stairs" was, it would seem, then in -its infancy with scullions going about naked!] The officers of his -privy chamber shall be loving together, no grudging or grumbling, nor -talking of the King's pastimes. [Fancy the officers of the privy -chamber, those grand gentlemen, having to be taught how to behave, and -not to indulge in shindies among themselves, nor, like a parcel of low -lackeys, to sit in judgment on their master's doings!] The King's -barber is enjoined to be cleanly, not to frequent the company of -misguided women, for fear of danger to the King's royal person. [A wise -King, knowing that his barber was given to such practices, would have -sent him to the deuce, and given up being shaved!] There shall be no -romping with the maids on the staircase, by which dishes and other -things are often broken. [The crockery being smashed was his Majesty's -chief concern in _this_ matter!] Care shall be taken that the pewter -spoons and the wooden ones used in the kitchen be not broken or stolen. -[What a lot of paltry thieves there must have been in the royal -household!] The pages shall not interrupt the kitchen maids. [Those -pages then, as now, must have been awful fellows!] The grooms shall not -steal his Highness' straw for beds, sufficient being allowed for them. -[How those grooms, who were, as we have seen, so busy in furnishing the -rooms with 280 beds of silk, must have enjoyed the straw they slept on!] -Coal only to be allowed to the King's, Queen's, and Lady Mary's -chambers. [Rather hard on the other inmates of the palace!] The -brewers are not to put any brimstone in the ale. [His Majesty did not -want to taste sulphur before his time!]' - -When the Knights Hospitallers of St. John granted the lease of Hampton -Court to Cardinal Wolsey, they were on or before its expiry prepared to -renew it; but they never had the chance of doing so, for as in 1540 -Henry VIII. suppressed all the monasteries and confiscated their -property, the Knights Hospitallers shared that fate, and Hampton Court -became royal property. On Henry's death the palace was chosen by the -guardians of Edward VI., then a minor, as his residence; he was placed -under the special care of his uncle, the Duke of Somerset, Protector of -the Council of Regency. But serious dissensions arose amidst the -Council, and it was proposed to deprive the Duke of his royal ward, and -an alarm having been given that this was to be done by force, the -household and the inhabitants of Hampton armed themselves for the -protection of the young King. The Protector, however, removed him to -Windsor Castle, lest the Council should obtain possession of his person. -In 1550 Edward and his attendants removed from London to Hampton Court, -in consequence of an alarm that the 'black death' had made its -appearance there--in fact, two of Edward's servants were said to have -died of it. In 1552 Edward held a chapter of the Order of the Garter at -Hampton Court Palace; the knights went to Windsor in the morning, but -returned to this palace in the evening, where they were royally feasted, -and where Henry Grey, Marquis of Dorset, was created Duke of Suffolk, -and John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, Duke of Northumberland. - -In 1553 Mary I. became Queen of England, and in the following year she -married Philip, son of the Emperor Charles and heir to the Spanish -crown. This alliance with the leading Catholic Power highly displeased -the English people, and, in fact, they soon began to feel the effects of -Mary's bigoted adherence to her own, the Roman Catholic, faith. She and -her husband passed their honeymoon in gloomy retirement at Hampton Court -in 1554, but in 1555 they kept their Christmas there with great -solemnity, and the Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of Anne Boleyn, was -invited as a guest, though there was little love between the two -sisters. At this Christmas festivity the great hall was illuminated -with 1,000 lamps. The Princess Elizabeth supped at the same table with -their Majesties, next the cloth of state, and after supper was served -with a perfumed napkin and plate of comfits by Lord Paget; but she -retired with her ladies before the revels, maskings, and disguisings -began. On St. Stephen's Day she was permitted to hear matins, or more -likely mass, in the Queen's closet, where, we are told, she was attired -in a robe of white satin, strung all over with large pearls. On -December 29 she sat with their Majesties and the nobility at a grand -spectacle of jousting, when 200 lances were broken, half the combatants -being accoutred as Germans and half as Spaniards. - -At her accession to the throne Elizabeth made Hampton Court one of her -favourite residences; it was the most richly furnished, and here she -caused her naval victories over the Spaniards to be worked in fine -tapestries. Here was the scene of her grand festivities, equalling in -splendour those of Henry VIII. Her ordinary dinner was a solemn affair. -Hentzner thus describes it: 'While she was at prayers, we saw her table -set in the following solemn manner: a gentleman entered the room, -bearing a rod, and along with him another, who had a tablecloth, which, -after they had both knelt down three times with the utmost veneration, -he spread upon the table, and, after kneeling again, they both retired. -[Oh, the contemptible flunkey souls of those days!] Then came two -others, one with the rod again, the other with a saltcellar, a plate, -and bread; when they had kneeled, as the others had done, and placed -what was brought upon the table, they then retired with the same -ceremonies performed by the first. At last came an unmarried lady (we -were told she was a Countess), and along with her a married one, bearing -a tasting knife, who, when she had prostrated herself three times in the -most graceful manner, approached the table and rubbed the plates with -bread and salt, with as much awe as if the Queen had been present. When -they had waited there a little while, the yeomen of the guard entered, -bareheaded, clothed in scarlet, with a golden rose upon their backs, -bringing in at each turn a course of twenty-four dishes, served in plate -most of it gilt; these dishes were received by a gentleman in the same -order they were brought and placed upon the table, while the lady taster -gave to each of the guard a mouthful to eat of the particular dish he -had brought, for fear of any poison. During the time that this guard, -which consists of the tallest and stoutest men that can be found in all -England, were bringing dinner, twelve trumpets and two kettle-drums made -the hall ring for half an hour together.' No wonder that the Maids of -Honour of Queen Elizabeth would, disguised as orange-girls, escape from -the purlieus of the palace, and frequent those of the theatres! The -tidings of the defeat of the Armada arrived on Michaelmas Day, and were -communicated to the Queen whilst she was at dinner at Hampton Court, -partaking of a goose; hence the origin of partaking of that savoury dish -on Michaelmas Day. Such is the tradition; but geese were eaten on that -day and about that time of the year before the Armada was dreamt of; -they are then eaten because then in the finest condition. - -James I. took up his residence at Hampton Court soon after his arrival -in England, and here in 1604 took place, not revels and masques, but a -conference of Presbyterians and the members of the Established Church; -it lasted three days, and its result was the translation of the Bible, -'appointed to be read in churches.' But even his 'Sowship' James I., -who prided himself on his learning and theological knowledge, was -satisfied with a three days' conference on so important a question as -was involved in his favourite axiom, 'No Bishop, no King,' but when it -came to feasting he wanted more time. When in 1606 he entertained -Francis, Prince of Vaudemont, son of the Duke of Lorraine, and the -noblemen and gentlemen who accompanied him, the feasting and pastimes -occupied fourteen days. Queen Anne, the wife of James I., died at the -palace of Hampton Court in 1618, and was interred in Westminster Abbey. - -Charles I., on his marriage with Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV. -of France, here spent the honeymoon, and the plague then raging in -London (1625) kept the royal pair and the Court, which had followed -them, some time longer at Hampton Court. Here the King gave audience to -the ambassadors of France and Denmark, as also to an envoy from Gabor, -Prince of Transylvania.[#] In 1641, when the strife between the two -great political parties--the Cavaliers, siding with the King, and the -Roundheads, or the great mass of farmers, merchants, and shopkeepers, -the Tories and Whigs of the future--was at its height, the London -apprentices, then formidable engines of radical faction, became so -threatening in their conduct towards the Court that Charles retired to -Hampton Court for a time. But the King's fate could not be averted, and -in 1647 he was again brought to Hampton Court by the army, and kept -there, not in actual imprisonment, but under restraint, to November 11, -when he made his escape. John Evelyn, in his 'Diary,' records a visit -he paid Charles on October 10 in these words: 'I came to Hampton Court, -where I had the honour to kiss His Majesty's hand, he being now in the -power of those execrable villains, who not long after murdered him.' - - -[#] In 1621 he had been elected King of Hungary, but afterwards had to -resign that dignity for the inferior one mentioned above. - - -After the King's execution, the fine collections of art which once -decorated the walls of Hampton Court were scattered abroad, and now form -the choicest treasures of foreign and private galleries, and the -honour[#] of Hampton Court and the palace were sold in 1651 to a Mr. -John Phelps, a member of the House of Commons, for the sum of L10,765 -19s. 9d.; but in 1656 Oliver Cromwell, enriched by the wreck of the -State, again acquired possession of the palace, for which he had a great -predilection, and consequently made it his chief residence. The -marriage ceremonies of Elizabeth, daughter of Cromwell, with Lord -Falconberg were performed here on November 18, 1657, and in the -following year the Protector's favourite daughter, Mrs. Claypole, who -disapproved of her father's doings, here breathed her last. Hither -Cromwell would repair, when Lord Protector of the realm, to dine with -his officers. Thurloe thus records the fact: 'Sometimes, as the fit -takes him, he dines with the officers of his army at Hampton Court, and -shows a hundred antic tricks, as throwing cushions at them, and putting -hot coals into their pockets and boots. At others, before he has half -dined, he gives orders for a drum to beat, and calls in his foot-guards -to snatch off the meat from the table and tear it in pieces, with many -other unaccountable whimsies.... Now he calls for his guards, with whom -he rides out, encompassed behind and before ... and at his return at -night shifts from bed to bed for fear of surprise.' He was constantly -attended by a dog, who guarded his bedroom door. One morning he found -the dog dead. He then remembered the prediction a gipsy had made to -Charles I., that on the death of a dog in a room the King was then in, -the kingdom he was about to lose would be restored to his family. 'The -kingdom is departed from me!' cried Cromwell, and he died soon after. - - -[#] Hampton Court had been erected into an honour when it became the -property of Henry VIII. An honour in law is a lordship, on which -inferior lordships and manors depend by performance of customs and -services. But no lordships were honours but such as belonged to the -King. - - -After the Restoration the palace, which of course reverted to the Crown, -was occasionally occupied by Charles II. Here he spent his honeymoon on -his marriage with Catherine of Braganza. He had married her for money; -he received with her a dowry of half a million, besides two -fortresses--Tangier in Morocco and Bombay in Hindostan. He soon -neglected her for Lady Castlemaine and hussies of her character. Pepys, -indeed, under May 81, 1662, records: 'The Queen is brought a few days -since to Hampton Court, and all people say of her to be a very fine and -handsome lady, and very discreet, and that the King is pleased enough -with her, which I fear will put Madame Castlemaine's nose out of joint.' -But Pepys was a bad prognosticator on this matter. The unhappy Queen, -neglected and forgotten, spent most of her time in a small building -which overlooked the river Thames, and was considered a sort of summer -residence. It was known by the name of the Water Gallery, and occupied -the site in front of what is now the southern facade of King William's -quadrangle, on whose erection the Water Gallery was entirely removed. - -When the great plague of 1665 spread westward in the Metropolis, the -'merry monarch' and his suite again retired to Hampton Court, where, -like Boccaccio's Florentines under a similar calamity, they sought -oblivion of fear in a continual succession of festivities. Persons who -are curious on such matters will find an amusing account of those doings -in the autobiography of Sir Ralph Esher, edited by Leigh Hunt. - -Pepys, it appears, paid frequent visits to Hampton Court, but was, it -seems, not always well treated. Thus, on July 23, 1665, he writes: 'To -Hampton Court, where I followed the King to chapel and heard a good -sermon.... I was not invited any whither to dinner, though a stranger, -which did also trouble me; but' (he adds philosophically) 'I must -remember it is a Court.... However, Cutler carried me to Mr. -Marriott's, the housekeeper, and there we had a very good dinner and -good company, among others Lilly, the painter.' Pepys was easily -consoled for the snub the 'quality' treated him to. - -James II. also occasionally visited Hampton Court, but the palace was -neglected, and did not actually again become a royal residence till the -accession of William III. and Queen Mary. He, as we have already -mentioned on a former occasion, made the palace what it now is by -pulling down the buildings erected by Henry VIII., and covering the site -with the present Fountain Court and the State apartments surrounding it. -According to a drawing by Hollar, showing Hampton Court as furnished by -Henry VIII., the eastern front was really picturesque, and agreed -perfectly with the architectural features of Wolsey's building. Still, -according to the notions of the seventeenth century, the apartments were -not suitable for a royal residence, especially as William intended to -make it a permanent and not a merely temporary one. Moreover, the King -took a personal pleasure in building and planting and decorating his -residence. He determined to create another Loo on the banks of the -Thames. A wide extent of ground was laid out in formal walks and -parterres; limes, thirty years old, were transplanted from neighbouring -woods to make shady alleys. The new court rose under the direction of -Wren, and with it the grand eastern and southern fronts. It is said -that the King once entertained the idea of erecting an entirely new -palace at the west end of the town of Hampton on an elevation distant -about half a mile from the river Thames, but the design was abandoned -from a consideration of the length of time necessary for such an -undertaking. Horace Walpole informs us that Sir Christopher Wren -submitted another design for the alterations of the ancient palace in a -better taste, which Queen Mary wished to have executed; but she was -overruled. The same authority says: 'This palace of King William seems -erected in emulation of what is intended to imitate the pompous edifices -of the French monarch.' - -Unfortunately for William, he found after a time that Hampton Court was -too far from the Houses of Lords and Commons and the public offices, but -being unable to stand the impure air of London, he took up his residence -at Kensington House, which was then quite in the country. But he -frequently visited Hampton Court, and it was there he met with the -accident which caused his death. On February 20, 1702, he was ambling -on a favourite horse named Sorrel through the park. He urged the horse -to strike into a gallop just at a spot where a mole had been at work. -The horse stumbled and went down on his knees; the King fell off and -broke his collar-bone. The bone was set, and the King returned to -Kensington in his coach; but the jolting of the rough roads made it -necessary to reduce the fracture again. He never recovered the double -shock to the system, and fever supervening, he died a few days -subsequently. - -The Princess of Denmark, afterwards Queen Anne, in this palace gave -birth on July 24, 1689, to the Duke of Gloucester, who died at eleven -years of age, and thus made room for the House of Brunswick. Anne -occasionally resided here after her accession to the throne. - -The Great Hall had in Queen Elizabeth's time been used as a theatre; it -was fitted up for a similar purpose by George I. in 1718. It was -intended that plays should have been acted there twice a week during the -summer season by the King's company of comedians, but the theatre was -not ready till nearly the end of September, and only seven plays were -performed in it in that season. The first play, acted on September 23, -was 'Hamlet.' On October 1, curiously enough, 'Henry VIII., or the Fall -of Wolsey,' was represented on the very spot which had been the scene of -his greatest splendour, recalling the events of the life of the founder -of the princely pile. The King paid the charges of the representation -and the travelling expenses of the actors, amounting to L50 a night, -besides which he made a present of L200 to the managers for their -trouble. It was never afterwards used but once for a play, performed on -October 16, 1731, for the entertainment of the Duke of Lorraine, -afterwards Emperor of Germany; but the fittings were not removed till -the year 1798. - -In 1829 the parish of Hampton obtained permission of George IV. to fit -up the hall for divine service during the rebuilding of Hampton Church, -and it was so used for about two years. - -George II. but seldom visited Hampton Court, and George III. preferred -Kew Palace. From his time no Sovereign has occupied Hampton Court as a -royal residence. - -On November 4, 1793, Richard Tickell, a political writer, who had -apartments in Hampton Court Palace, had been accustomed to sit and read -on a parapet wall or kind of platform in one of the upper rooms. The -spot was filled with flower-pots. On the day in question, while his -carriage was waiting to take him and his family to town, his wife having -left him for a moment, on her return missed him, and going to the open -window, saw her husband lying in the garden below on the ground. Before -she could reach him, he had expired. How the accident happened can -never be known. He was said to have committed suicide, but there was no -assignable reason for such an act. - -The famous vine at Hampton Court, the largest in Europe, was planted -from a slip in the year 1768. Its fruit, the black Hamburg kind, is -reserved exclusively for the Queen's table. The writer of a 'Tour of -England,' in 1798, says: 'In these gardens is a most remarkably large -vine.... The gardener told me 1,550 bunches of grapes are now hanging -upon it, the whole weight of which is estimated at 972 cwt.' It bears -the same number of bunches, that is, from 1,500 to 2,000, now. - -For the last century or more apartments in Hampton Court Palace have -generally been bestowed on the poorer female members of noble families, -or on the widows of distinguished generals and admirals who have died in -the service of their country. And several of these apartments contain -large suites of rooms, some of which are compact and self-contained, -whilst in other cases they are inconveniently disconnected. For the -accommodation of tenants of such suites there survives an ancient Sedan -chair on wheels, drawn by a chairman, and called the 'Push,' which is -used by ladies going out in the evening from one part of the building to -another. Of the fifty-three apartments into which the palace is now -divided, some contain as many as forty rooms, with five or six -staircases. - -Among the distinguished personages who have at various times found an -asylum within the walls of Hampton Court Palace is William, Prince of -Orange, Hereditary Stadtholder of Holland. Driven from his country in -1795 by the advancing wave of the French Revolution, he sought refuge in -England; the apartments occupied by him in the palace were those on the -east side of the middle quadrangle. Gustavus IV., after having in 1810 -been deposed from the Swedish throne by Napoleon, came to England, and -occupied a set of apartments here. He died in February, 1837. - -One of the most curious circumstances in connection with the grant of -these apartments is the fact that Dr. Samuel Johnson made application -for one; his letter making it is still extant, and was, I think, first -made known by Mr. Law in his 'History of Hampton Court.' The letter was -addressed to Lord Hertford (then Lord Chamberlain), and dated 'Bolt -Court, Fleet Street, 11 April, 1776.' He says in it that hearing that -some of the apartments are now vacant, the grant of one to him would be -considered a great favour, and he bases his claim on his having had the -honour of vindicating his Majesty's Government. The reply to it was: -'Lord C. presents his compliments to Mr. Johnson, and is sorry that he -cannot obey his commands, having already on his hands many engagements -unsatisfied.' The answer sounds somewhat satirical. But what could Dr. -Johnson mean by making the application? If we thought him capable of a -huge joke, we might think he meant this for one; but, as he dealt in -small jokes only, we are driven to assume that he wrote seriously. Did -he know what he was asking for? Supposing his request had been granted, -he would very soon have wished it had been refused. Fancy Johnson, the -boisterous, arrogant tavern dictator, who considered the chair at a -punch-drinking bout in an inn the throne of human felicity, what would -he have done shut up in an apartment in the palace, in the midst of -haughty dowagers, serious widows, and prim old maids, who would speedily -have complained of the noisy companions who would have looked him up -there! Had he gone to the King's Arms or some other hostelry in the -neighbourhood, he would have had to return at early and regular hours. -How could he have submitted to that? Would he have taken all his old -women with him, and how long would they have been at peace with the -aristocratic ladies inhabiting the palace? The results of their -accidentally meeting on staircases or in passages are too awful to -contemplate, and Johnson's application remains an inexplicable enigma. - -In 1838, whilst removing one of the old towers built by Wolsey, the -workmen came upon a number of glass bottles, which lay among the -foundation; they were of curious shape, and it has been suggested that -they were buried there to denote the date of the building. - -On December 14, 1882, the palace had a narrow escape from destruction. -A suite of eight or nine rooms, in the occupation of a lady, and -overlooking the gardens and the Fountain Court, caught fire at half-past -seven in the morning, it is supposed by the upsetting of a benzoline -lamp in one of the servants' rooms. That the authorities should permit -the use of such lamps in the building seems strange, especially in rooms -situate as those were, over the tapestry-room, which adjoins the Picture -Gallery, and contains splendid specimens of Gobelin and other ancient -needlework. The flames spread rapidly through the rooms, and three of -them were entirely burnt out before the firemen, assisted by men of the -4th Hussars, then stationed at the palace, could check the outbreak. -All the other rooms were greatly damaged by fire and water. But the -saddest part of the occurrence was that one of the servants, the cook, -whilst rushing to the assistance of her fellow-servants, fell senseless -on the floor, overcome by the smoke, and her charred and lifeless body -was only got out when the fire had been subdued. It is to be hoped that -a cause which might involve a great national loss has now been removed -by prohibition. - -In 1839 those parts of the palace which are not occupied by private -residents, and the gardens, were thrown open to the public, and during -the summer months are visited by thousands, who arrive there by rail, -river, van, or, latterly, on the wheel-horse--_vulgo_ bike. The -permanent residents bitterly complain of these invasions, and not -without reason, seeing how many 'Arrys and 'Arriets come down in holiday -time; but as the palace and gardens are maintained at an expense of -about L11,000 per annum out of the people's money, the right of visiting -them can scarcely be denied to the public. Nor can the amount spent on -the place be found fault with; it is a mere trifle in the domestic -house-keeping bill of the nation, and a larger sum is annually wasted in -useless firing off of cannon. The palace and gardens-- - - 'The pleasant place of all festivity, - The revel of the earth, the masque of'-- - -Albion, are to us what Venice is to Italy: - - '... a boast, a marvel, and a show.' - 'But unto us' - -Hampton Court - - 'Hath a spell beyond - A name in story, and a long array - Of mighty shadows.' - - -To us Hampton Court is a type of the progress of the nation from slavery -to freedom, from darkness to light. Founded to gratify the pride and -self-indulgence of an arrogant and scheming priest, for more than three -centuries Hampton Court was the symbol of oppression on the one side, -and of subjection on the other. But Time, which works such strange -metamorphoses, has, since the last sixty years, transformed what was -once the exclusive appanage of kings into the playground of the plebs, -and what this change implies may well form a subject of study for -inquiring and philosophical minds. But such study must be based on a -knowledge of facts, an axiom we have kept in view in the compilation of -our topographical and historical notes on the origin, progress, and -final realization of the architectural, political, and social idea -embodied in the monumental pile we have so concisely attempted to -describe, so as to endow the contemplation thereof, in all its phases, -with an intelligent appreciation of the physical and ideal beauties, -together with their importance as an index of national advancement, -which invest with an undying charm the palace and gardens of Hampton -Court.[#] - - -[#] In Herefordshire, not far from Leominster, there is another Hampton -Court, a spacious mansion of monastic and castellated architecture, -having a fine chapel with open timber roof. It was built by Sir Rowland -Lenthall, Yeoman of the Robes to Henry IV., who distinguished himself at -the Battle of Agincourt. - - - - - THE END. - - - - - BILLING AND SONS, PRINTERS, GUILDFORD. - - - - - * * * * * * * * - - - - - *SIR WALTER BESANT'S BOOKS ON LONDON.* - - - Demy 8vo., cloth, with 125 Illustrations, 7s. 6d. - - *LONDON.* - - - Demy 8vo., cloth, with 131 Illustrations, 7s. 6d. - - *WESTMINSTER.* - - - Demy 8vo., cloth, gilt top, with 119 Illustrations, 18s. - - *SOUTH LONDON.* - - - LONDON: CHATTO & WINDUS, 111 ST. 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