raikii til ., „ ftraf '1! 'Ill''' "Sii 1 iltete B 1: i'l;l^i: pi [M^iiff lit A"" * .c>^ -v .V 0<: 0> s ^ "%-, '\- .^'^•^^ ^ ^ _^ , ^ , X "*^ ^0 A *- ^ '^V 1. Newcastle. 2. Hull. 3. London. 4 Dover. 5 Portsmouth. 6. Plymouth. 7. Bristol. 8. Milford Haven. 9. Liverpool. 10. Whitehaven. GROTESQUE OUTLINE MAP OF ENGLAND AND WALES. VOL. I. THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN DURING THE REIGNS OF THE STUARTS, \ BEGINNING WITH THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, THE PERIOD OF SETTLING THE UNITED STATES. WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGfS. By WILLIAM GOODMAN VOL. I. THIRD EDITION. " Reade me, and bee not wrothe, I say nothing but thee trothe." W. Rot. NEW YORK : WM. a GRAHAM, TRIBUNE BUUJOINGS, 161 NASSAU STREET. 1847. " To be unacquainted with the events which have taken place before you were born, is to continue to live in childish ignorance ; for where is the value of human life, unless memory enables us to compare the events of our own times with those of ages long gone by." — Cicero. li 1^3-73 [Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1843, by William GooDMAif, in the Clerk's Ofl&ce of the Southern District of New York.] stereotyped by Vlncdnt L. DfH, Sun Building, N. T. 8ro STJieise JJaps are rciSjiectfttUs 3S):Jii]bitinfi to tftem of tljefv at tjje ^TCtne dC tfieir first 35mifiratfon, ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA. VOLUME I. P«ge 19, liue 2, for 1616, read 1621. 26, lino 17, for ovory littlo makes a niicklo, read ^' mony a little malts a muckle," &c. 9i^, line 5, for Was in its hciglit, road, was at its height, «!fec. 119, end of parngiapli 2, add, Su'rifcstcd by Doan Swift. 1 19, lino 2'!, road, to clear tho mines, and more readily bring forth their seoniiugly inoxhatistiblo contents. 1;13, lino 11, iiisioad of, Imd had too much, read, had drunk too much. loG, end of paragraph 6, add, Some also used tamarinds. Tiie Arabic word Sherbet moniis cuol drink. 150, end of paragraph 2, add, reflected by wind and water. 152, end of paragraph 3, add, The next 1510, 31st year of his rcigu. 158, end of paragraph 1 of note, for 1834, road 1813. 171, after lino 4, road " Tom Coriat footed it 10,000 miles, Hosides waylicks and Kentish stiles." Dixon. 188, after lino 3, soo Vol. 2, p. 218. 250, paragraph 1. Drake died and was buried at sea, in tho Wost Indies. It was Ailmiral Itiako who was buried in Westminster Abbey. 265, end of paragraph 6, add, sec Appendix 2. 278, ond of paragraph 2, add, see Vol. 2, page 103 S88, end of poetry, read, by Sir Edward Dyer. 296, endof paragrapli 4, add, She was caUed " pretty, witty Nell}'." 297, lino 8 in poetry, roail. Or blossoni'd treasures which tho spring unfurls: 304, lino 18, read. No wonder Cato eonunittod suicide. 311, Appendix, read U.S. motto, •* E pluribus unum." 312, Appendix, for Text pago 250, read, i)ago 265. 314, bottom paragrapli, instead of Russians, mad Spaniards. VOLUME IL 103, line 16, road mud cabins, instead of log cabins. 180, paragraph 4 in notes, lino 3, read wore sent, for was sent. SM, end of paragraph 5, add Charles I. 223, noto, line 4, for 1823, road 1833. 870, line 1, from Mr. Clark, read, by a Mr Clark. PREFACE. ** It is characteristic of the noblest natures and the finest imagination to love to explore the vestiges of antiquity." — Eustace. The desire of possessing some knowledge of the events that have preceded us, of the places of our nati\'^ity, or which con- tain the sepulchres of our forelathers, seems to be one of the most universal feelings of our nature. The author of " The Last Days of Pompeii " beautifully writes : " We love to feel within us the bond which unites the most distant eras. Men, nations, customs perish ; the affections are immortal ! they are the sympathies which unite the ceaseless generations : the past lives ; when we look upon its emotions, it lives in our own. It is the magician's gift, that revives the dead, that ani- mates the dust of forgotten graves. This is not the author's skill ; it is in the heart of the reader." The only people whose origin is known are the Jews, their history being handed down to us by Holy Writ. No country in Europe can prove a strict succession for many ages. The design of this work is to exhibit to the American rea- der, in a concise form, the 7n(nmerSj the custonis, and the social condition of the people by whom this country was, for the most part, colonized : for, as Dr. Johnson observes, " Books that you may carry to the fire and hold steadily in hand, are the most useful after all. A reader will often look at them and be tempted to go on, when he would have been frightened at books of a larger size and of a more erudite appearance." Of the twenty-seven states which now form this confederacy, thirteen were originally peopled from Great Britain.* As the English language is spoken all over it, it must be highly use- ful for the public to know the social condition of that people at the period of its first settlement. Those who did not emi- grate from those islands will find information which they can- not otherwise obtain, and thereby an insight into the habits and manners of the English nation, which at present may appear to them unaccountable. It appears to be the most important period of any to the * A table of the settlement of the States of the U. S, will be found in the Appendix, p. 311. 1* VI PREFACE. people of this Union, perhaps the most extraordinary of any since time itself commenced.^ It may serve as a point to the future historian, for him to trace the ever-varying chain of events that will certainly arise in the social condition of those who are to succeed us. The talented Mrs. Barbauld says : " Often does a single man illustrate his country, and leave a long track of light after him to future ages." That important period is not only interesting to us as a nation, but also peculiarly interesting as being the first dawn of that bright era when "starlight science" was just unfolding to the human race those extraordinary and inexhaustiblo stores which have since been so wonderfully developed, and in the perfecting of which this nation seems to be, with the same praiseworthy desire, equally engaged with the rest of the chil- dren of men, for their social, mental, and moral meliorations. Mr. Burke has truly observed, " The stock of materia(s by which any country is rendered flourishing and prosperous, is its industry, its knowledge or skill, its morals, its execution of justice, its courage, and the national union in directing those powers to one point, and making them all centre in the public benefit." It is but lately that historians have gone sufficiently into details upon those subjects which throw light upon the social condition of the people of whom they were writing. They have seemed to consider that all that was necessary was to detail the amours and other follies of their chief rulers, with their battles by sea or by land, leaving the manners^ the cus- toms^ and the social condition of the inhabitants at large to be guessed at according to the fancy of their readers. But the scrutinizing curiosity of the present age does not, as it ought not, remain so easily satisfied. A portion of the materials of this work has been collected during the last forty years. " Pleasing, when youth is long expired, to trace The forms our pencil or our pen designM ; Such was our youthful air, and shape, and face, Such the soft image of our youthful mind." Shenstone, At the juvenile age at which the writer began to make note books he was not aware of the importance of recording the titles, the dates, or the names of the authors of many of the works from which he was receiving instruction and delight, which he trusts will be a sufficient apology should it appear he has inserted some articles as his own which the intelligent reader may detect as belonging to others. The writer would be sorry PREFACE. Vll to be considered a wilful plagiarist, having long been admo- nished by the following couplet not to commit such mean peculations : " Steal not word for word nor thought for thought, For you'll be teazed to death if you are caught." Bramstone. The candid critic will admit that one may be guilty of pla- giarism, and yet be unconscious of it. Mr. Sheridan, one of the greatest geniuses of the last century, has observed : " Faded ideas float in the mind like half forgotten dreams, and imagina- tion in its fullest enjoyment becomes suspicious of its offspring, and doubts whether it has created or adopted it." In the lan- guage of Dryden, (if he may be permitted to apply it,) " My chief delight is to amuse and adorn the age in which I live." Also with an apology from Strutt, " I must entreat the reader to excuse the frequent quotations which he will meet with, which, in general, I have given verbatim^ and this I have done for his satisfaction as well as my own, judging it much fairer standing upon the authority of others than to arrogate to my- self the least degree of penetration to which 1 have no claim." The writer sets up but little claim to any part of it ; it is merely a compilation, (" though compilers are the pioneers of literature.") He has availed himself to some extent of the " Pictorial History of England ;" and happy shall he be if this notice should be the means of bringing that very interesting work into more general use, particularly in public libraries and schools, as it is an excellent work of reference. The article on " bells "* he has extracted partly from Gardiner's " Music of Nature," and partly from Burney's '' History of Music." On the at all times exciting subjects of religion and politics he wishes to be considered as being no partisan ; they are intro- duced as features in the portrait that could not but be conspicu- ously noticed. With the doctrines he has not meddled. He has thought it an act of justice to substitute the word Catholic for Papist^ and the word Friend for Quaker ^ those words being used as nick-names of that period : by this course, however, he may be destined to realize the following lines by Lord Byron : " The consequence is, being of no party I shall offend all parties — never mind ; My words at last are more sincere and hearty Than if I sought to sail before the wind." The name Puritan^ which originated in the time of Queen Elizabeth, was given to a considerable number of men because * Vide Vol. ii. ym PREFACE. they wished to serve and worship their Maker with greater purity. That name, although arising from the same reproachful spirit, he has been obliged to continue, not having found an instance under which they were otherwise designated. The author has purposely abstained from noticing many of the plays, and much of the literature of the times, as being decidedly immoral and offensive. With respect to the inventions and discoveries of the period, they were but few, and the names of the inventors of many of them may be disputed ; but such as were the most promi- nent, and as generally admitted, are noticed. '• These are the gifts of art, and art thrives most Where commerce has enric-h'd the busy coast ; He catches all improvements in his flight, Spreads foreign wonders in his country's sight- Imports what others have invented well, And stirs his own to match them or excell : 'Tis thus, reciprocating each with each Attentively, that nations learn and teach." Cowpbr. «The reader will find many extraordinary things narrated in this work, which may seem almost incredible ; yet there is not one but will bear the test of criticism. While endeavouring to impart to his work the charm of variety, the author has studied to give a full and faithful por- traiture of the times ; and whatever may be said of the produc- tion, which he submits, with some trepidation, to the candid judgment of a discerning public, he hopes it will escape the censure that has been passed on the statues of jEgina : " They show but one countenance." Happy shall he be if it be found a cabinet of splendid gems, of brilliant workmanship, ingeniously inlaid and well put to- gether, curiously nailed and clenched by authority ; proper for readers of all ages, sexes, and conditions, and a useful book of reference for all parties. New York, August, 1843. CONTENTS. Population, . . . . 13 Provisions and Labour, . 16 Pauperism, 20 Revenue, 25 The Army, 28 Commerci'al Marine, . 36 Royal Navy, .... 40 Character of the Rulers, 44 Crouching Meanness of the Courtiers, . English Constitution, Torture, . . . Law Characters, Architecture, . Castles, . Hospitality, . Home Travelling, Pillion Riding, . Coaches, Sedan Chairs, Post-chaises, . Turnpike Roads, Canals, . Railroads, . Bridges, Viaducts, Aque- ducts, and Tunnels, Inns, Gardening, .... Agriculture, .... Timber Planting, . Littlecot House, . Country Life, . The Country Labourer, The Cottage, .... Houses of the Gentry, Damp vs. Dry Situations, 1 17 Coal, 117 46 49 62 63 67 71 76 80 81 81 83 84 85 87 87 92 94 101 103 104 105 108 110 112 Page Eating and Entertain- ments, 120 The King's Feast, . . 124 Carving, 128 Drinking and Recipes, 131 Contrast of the two Lead- ing Parties, . . . 137 Clubs, .141 Whig and Tory, . 141 Duels, ...*.. 143 Tea, Coffee, and Choco- late, 147 Tobacco and Snuff, . . 150 Laws respecting Reli- gion, 152 Persecution in the Olden Time, 154 Transportation and Emi- gration, 156 A Usurer of the Seven- teenth Century, . . 159 Rise of three Titled Fa- milies, .... 165 Darnley Family, . . 165 Landsdown ** ... 166 Foley "' . . 167 Foreign Travel, . . 168 Female Education, , . 173 Male Education, . . .181 Ladies' Dress, . . . 186 Gentlemen's Dresses, . 195 Hair, Wigs, and Beards. 203 Furniture, . . .' 209 Mas ter of the Ceremon ies ,216 Retinue, 218 Merchants, Shopkeepers, and 'Prentices, . . 223 CONTENTS. Page Clergymen, Clerks, and the Sextoness, . . 228 Religious Lectures, . . 233 Book of Sports, ... 234 Churches, 235 Church Desecration, . . 237 Funerals, Tombs, &c., . 247 Brasses, 251 Buried Money, . . . 252 Epitaphs, 252 Decorating Graves with Flowers, .... 257 Crosses, 258 Page The Fine Arts, . . . 259 Painting and Sculpture, . 2Q2 Tapestry, 264 Sculpture, 266 Coins, 267 Wood Carving, . . .270 Decorative House Paint- ers, 275 Music, 277 CEolian Harp, . . . 289 Theatres, 292 Court Amusements, . 304 Appendix, /311 The Frontispiece represents an outline map ^f England and Wales ; there sits untaxed Joluiny Bull, upon "^gir, the Sea Demon," with his favorite tankard of ale, and his son of Wales clinging to his back, por- traying a jocose symbol of "raerrye Englande." He seems to be saying to his laughing boy — 'Thou raak'st me merry, I am fond of pleasure, Let us be jocuad — will you troule the catch T' — SJiakapeare. The youth sings the sixth verse of a very old song : "Every island is a prison, Strongly guarded liy the sea ; " Kings and Princes, for that reason, Prisoners are as well as we ! " — Ritson's Songs. The compass is formed by a spit passed through a bullock's heart, with a knife and fork pointing far east and far west ; emblematic of his hearty delight in regaling himself on roast beef, which, in the language of Swift, one of his most jocose and favorite writers, " is the king of meat; beef comprehends in it the quintessence of partridge, and quail, and venison, and pheasant, and plum-pnddiiig, and custard." Such being easy John's jocund humor in those days of full feasting, we need not wonder at his capricios. "The tumbler's jrambols some delight afford, No less the nimble caperer on the cord. But these are still insipid stuff, to see Coup'd " on ajisk, " toss'd upon the sea." — Drydcn, ^'Therefore he would have his way; and our friend is to drink till he be carbuncled and tun-bellied ; after which, we will send him down to smoke, and to be buried with his ancestors in Derbyshire."— TafZer. THE SOCIAL HISTORY OP GREAT BRITAIN. POPULATION. " Increase and multiply." On this subject it is impossible to come to an accurate con- clusion, there being no actual account taken until the beginning of the present (nineteenth) century. App. iii. In the " Gentleman's Magazine " for 1753, on a debate in the house of commons on a " bill for numbering the people," which did not pass even that house, it was stated that " it could not be carried into effect ; for, in taking the country all over, it would be found that out of every six of the church wardens, and there were two church wardens in every parish, one-third of them were illiterate." What a picture does this circumstance exhibit of their igno- rant state only about one hundred years past ! It also shows how small the amount of the poor rates were ; otherwise regular accounts of the receipts and expenditure would have been found needful. It has been found that the increase of the poor rates has progressed regularly with the increase of the taxes. Poor Rates. Government Taxes, James II., ^£160,000 1,300,000 . 1776, 1,496,906 8,000,000 1789, 2,250,000 16,000,000 1839, 6,700,000 52,000,000 The writer of this work has been much in each of the three kingdoms, and for many years has had his eye upon various objects which now remain, and which strongly proclaim them to have been the remains of a formerly great rnral population. He is also aware of many great and populous towns and 2 14 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. cities having, within the last 150 years, risen up from very insignificant places. But in general it has only been a change from the mass of the rural districts to the coal districts. A few changes have arisen, but from a different cause than from this important one of /t«e/, viz. : London from the taxing system; Brighton, Leamington, Cheltenham, ,&;c., from becoming fash- ionable watering-places. The large manufacturing towns are all situated in the coal basins, and have been concentrated there by the all-powerful, grasping, grabbing agency of steam. Let any one take an agricultural survey of the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk,* Surry, Sussex, Hants, Wilts, Dorset, Oxford, Northampton, and great part of Wales, and they will perceive, in the great size of the churches, old mill seats, and traces of the plough, evident marks of a former great village population. They will also find numerous decayed cities and towns nearly dwindled away. Winchester was the §e.£it of government many years before London : many king^ have been crowned, and buried there. Lincoln once had fifty churches, as well as its noble cathedral. Several places once sent members to parliament, which are now almost entirely depopulated. Some places now small, were once the seat of a bishopric. As, however, we are without any actual account, this impor- tant subject will ever remain a matter of conjecture. The Edwards and the Henrys could take into France armies of about 40,000 men ; and at the battle of Waterloo " gentleman " George IV. could send no more ! The population of Great Britain at the period of James I. coming to the crown, was generally estimated at only nine millions. If my own opinion is of any weight, I hesitate not in saying it was full fifteen. But the actual number is not of much consequence, but how they were employed. Of that, the most important consideration to the statesman, we shall never know: indeed, until 1833, none of their returns were worth a straw ; but in that year came forth " Marshall's Digest," and the following extract is the " analysis of occupations :" * Mr. Cobbett, in speaking of this " county," (Suffolk,) says : " There is a parish church in every three square miles or less ; and it is thus divided into parishes so numerous, as for the people everywhere to be almost imme- diately and constantly under the eye of a resident parochial minister." He also says it " is the crack county of England : it is the best cultivated, most ably, most carefully, most skilfully, of any piece of land of the same size in the whole world. Its labourers are the most active and most clever ; its farmers' wives, and women employed in agriculture, the most frugal, adroit, and cleanly of any in the whole world : it is a country of most frank, indus- trious, and virtuous people ; its towns are all cleanliness, neatness, and good order." POPULATION. 15 1. Agricultural occupiers, 2. do labourers, 3. Mining do 4. Millers, butchers, and bakers, 5. Artificers, builders, &c., 6. Manufacturers, 7. Tailors, shoemakers, and ) hatters, ) 8. Shop-keepers, 9. Seamen and soldiers, 10. Clerical, legal, and me- ) dical men, 3 11. Disabled paupers, 12. Proprietors and annuitants Number of 1821. 230,000 728,956 110,000 160,000 200,000 340,000 150,000 310,000 319,000 80,000 100,000 192,428 Families. 1831. 250,000 800,000 120,000 180,000 230,000 400,000 180,000 350,000 277,017 90,000 110,000 316,487 Total of Persons. 1831. 1,500,000 4,800,000 600,000 900,000 650,000 2,400,000 1,080,000 2,100,000 831,000 450,000 650,000 1,116,398 2,920,38413,303,504 16,977,398 Of the above analysis we may say, in the language of its own motto, " Every line a lesson, every page a history." About forty years past began some uneasiness about an increasing population. Why there should have been any more cause for alarm then than in former periods, the writer is at a loss to conjecture ; seeing that the children were born with legs and arms, and capacities to labour, as usual. In the year 1834 a calculation was made from the returns, and it appears that, out of 15,535 parishes in England and Wales, including under that name townships which maintained their own poor, there were 737 in which the population did not exceed fifty persons ; there were 1907 in which the number did not exceed 100 persons ; and 6681 in which the number did not exceed 300 persons. Yet in some of these villages the church-porch alone would hold all those who were able to go to worship at any one time. At the period those fine old churches were built there must have evidently been many more inhabitants. Many intelligent men have investigated this subject, and, as far as the writer has read their investigations, he sees no ground of alarm ; and, therefore, he cannot help but reiterate the advice of Sir Richard Phillips, who says, " In short, 1 always advise those who think mankind too numerous, to hang themselves. out of the way for the public good, and make room for others more worthy of life and enjoyment !" — who " Exult in joys to grosser minds unknown, A wealth exhaustless, and a world their own." 16 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. PROVISIONS AND LABOUR. " Moreover, the profit of the earth is for all : the king himself is served by the field.— Eccles. 5 : S." From the account of the purveyors of Prince Henry's household about 1610, it appears that the price of beef was then about S^d. per lb., mutton about 3|^. The prices of many articles were fixed by a proclamation in 1633, (there having been a scarcity ;) a fat cygnet is to be sold at from 7s. to 95". ; a cock pheasant 6s. ; a hen 5s. ; a male turkey, best sort, 4s. ; hen, 3s. ; a duck, 8c?. ; a goose, 2s. ; a capon, fat and crammed, 2s. 6c?. ; a pullet. Is. 6d. ; a hen. Is. ; a rabbit, 7d. ; twelve tame pigeons, 6s. ; three eggs. Id. ; a pound of best salt butter, 4^d. ; fresh, from 5d. to 6c?. ; tallow candles, 3lc?. j with cotton wick, 4c?. ; a sack (or four bushels) of charcoals, ^c?. ; a sack of the best and largest coals, 6d. ; 1000 Kentish billets, 16s. Among other miscellaneous articles, we find two cauli- flowers, 3s. ; sixteen artichokes, 3s. 4c?. ; a few potatoes for James''s queen^ 2s. per pound. At this time, and for a con- siderable time later, the usual bread corn was barley for the poor people. According to the household book of Sir Edward Coke, who was attorney-general at the end of Queen Eliza- beth's reign, the servants of great families commonly ate rye bread, and large quantities of oat meal. Above twenty-one stone (or 1681bs.) of beef, besides other meats_, was consumed in his family while he lived in London ; and' yet at that time considerable more than a third of the whole year consisted of fish days, which were strictly observed. Phillip Stubbes, in his Anatomy of Abuses, published 159.5, says : '' The meanest shirt cost 2s. 6d.y and some as much as £10. The price of wool was high ; but James issued a procla- mation in 1622 prohibiting its importation, which brought it down from 33s. to 18s. the tod of 2Slbs.,or from Is. 2c?. to about 8c?. per pound. Some years afterward the price again rose, being 24s. in 1641, 37s. 6c^. in 1648, 40s. in 1649, and, between 1650 and 1660, ranging from 22s. 6c?. to 60s."* Judge Hale, who was a Gloucestershire man, in his ^' Dis- course touching Provisions for the Poor," written in 1659, says : " The common coarse medley cloth of that county, thirty- two yards long, costs, for 901bs. of wool, at Is. per pound; for cards and oil, £1 ; and for the wages of three weavers and spoolers, two breakers, six spinners, one fuller and burler, one sheerman, and one paster and picker, fourteen persons in all, j£6 5s." He calculates that sixteen pieces might be made in a * See Smith's " Memoirs of Wool." Provisions and labour. 17 year by this number of workmen ; consequently the wages earned would amount to d697. But this is not quite 7s. for each per week. He also gives an account of what was, or might have been, earned by their wives and families, or from poor rates ; for, from the statements of other writers, these sort of people earned 10s. per week — that is, people in handicraft trades. App. iv. From the ArchcBologia. — " The rates as fixed by the justices of the peace in 1610 for the county of Rutland, (a purely agri- cultural county to this day,) and which continued down to nearly the breaking out of the civil war : The yearly wages of a bailiff of husbandry, 52s. ; of a man servant, for husbandry, who can plough, sow, mow, thresh, make a rick, thack, and hedge the same, and kill a hog, sheep, and calf, 50s. ; of a middling servant, 29s. ; of a boy under sixteen years, 20s. ; of a chief woman servant, 26s. 8c^., being a good cook, and can bake, brew, and make malt, and able to oversee other ser- vants ; of a second woman servant of the best sort, who can- not dress meat, nor make malt nor bread, 23s. 4d. ; of a woman servant who can do but out work and drudgery, 16s. ; of a girl under sixteen years, 14s. ; of a chief miller, 46s.; of a common miller, 31s. Sd. j of a chief shepherd, 30s. ; of a common shepherd, 25s. For harvest work a mower is ordered to have, by the day, 5d. with his meat ; a man reaper, haymaker, hedger, or ditcher, 4d. ; a woman reaper, Sd. ; a woman haymaker, 2d. If no meat was given, these sums were doubled in each case, except that the woman haymaker was to have 5d. instead of 4rf." There is no doubt but that it was a rare instance of any^ farmer ever hesitating about feeding, because his purse would not be overloaded with cash, while his house would have good store of food. Every other kind of labour, at all other times than in harvest, was to have, from '' Easter till Michaelmas, Sd. a day with food, ©r 7d. without ; and from Michaelmas to Easter 2d. with food, and 6d. without." " The day's wages of various artificers were appointed to be^ before Michaelmas, when they were highest, and were, for a carpenter, 8rf. with meat, or Is. 2d. without; for a free ma- son who can draw his plot, work and set accordingly, having charge above others, 8d. with meat, or Is. without ; for a chief joiner, or a master sawyer, 6f?. with meat, or Is. without ; for a horse-collar maker, Qd. with meat, or Is. without ; for a ploughright, a rough mason, or expert carpenter, or a tiler, or slater, 5d. with meat, or 9^. without meat ; for a thatcher, hurdle-maker, (slight wood fences for dividing of turnip-fields,) or bricklayer, 5d!. with, or 9d. without meat. After Michael- 2* 18 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. mas the sums set down are from two-thirds or four-fifths of these sums, the greatest proportional deductions being generally made from the highest wages. Throughout the year farmers and gardeners were allowed 6d. with, and Is. without meat, and tailors 4c?. with, and 8c?. without meat." " In these rates of wages," observes Sir Frederick Eden, " the justices seem to have calculated that half the day's earnings were equivalent to diet one day ; in modern times, however, a much greater proportion was appropriated to the purchase of the single article of bread." It must be observed that at this period there was neither tea nor coffee, so that the drink would be either milk, or broths, or beer, or cider, of which every able-bodied man would have at least two quarts per day, and in harvest-time more ; for, as there was no excise, these would be cheap. In a scarce tract, called " Britaiii's Busse,^^ published 1615, in recommendation of a project to rival the Dutch herring fishery, the follow^ing is the expense of feeding the seamen of that time : " He proposes that every man should have a gallon of beer a day, which he says is the allowance made in the king's ships, the cost of which he makes at a trifle more than 2c?. a gallon ; then each hand to have a pound of biscuit per day, costing between five and six farthings ; half a pint of oatmeal between his meals, costing a farthing and a half ; two pounds of bacon a week, costing B^d., besides as much fresh fish as they could catch for themselves ; a quarter of a pound of butter a day, costing about a penny ; half a pound of cheese, costing five farthings ; together with three pints of vinegar, costing about two pence, and seven Kentish fagots, costing about 6c?. a day for every sixteen." The exact estimated daily cost of victualling is seven pence three farthings and one twenty- eighth of a farthing. This is rather higher than the allowance made in the Rutland table for the highest class of mechanics, even than the master carpenter, being only allowed 6d. a day for diet ; but the difference was found necessary to make up for the difficulties and dangers of a sailor's life, and also to create a rivalry in a branch of business in which the Dutch were reaping individually great profit, and sustaining a great com- mercial marine. The wages proposed to be paid to the crew were also high, as compared with the earnings of either agricul- tural or mechanical employment ; for the masters were to have about 3s. 7c?. a day ; the mates about lO^^c?. ; one-half of the men about 8|c?. each, the other about 7c?., and the boys about 2Jc?. It appears, by an ordnance printed in " Rymer's Foedera," that in 1636 seamen in the royal navy were allowed, in har- bour, 7Jc?. a day for their provisions, and, when at sea, SJc?. In a tract entitled " Stanley's Remedys, or the way to Reform PROVISIONS AND LABOUR. 19 Wandering Beggars, Thieves, Highway Robbers, and Pick- pockets," written in the reign of King James, 1646, the cos* of the diet and maintenance of every one of the idle, thievish, and drunken persons that infested the kingdom, living only upon beggary and plunder, is estimated at three pence a day at the least. We learn from those diarists so often quoted, that, when ser- vants in London were out of places, they oftentimes repaired to St. Paul's churchyard, then the great public place of lounge, and stood against the pillars of the old cathedral, then remain- ing, holding before them a written placard, stating their par- ticular qualifications and their desire of employment. The rent of the cottages was almost universally iB2 per year Sir Kenelm Digby says, in his time nearly every cottager kept a cow. At the present time it is just the contrary. In Lord Bacon's time it was the general custom for the farmers to sell wheat to the labourers at rather under market prices. There was a steadiness in prices before paper money. For- merly, as many shillings as the bushel of wheat brought, so many pence was the price of the quartern loaf of 4lbs. 8oz. ol best white bread, in towns. In like manner, as many shillings as a bushel of beans sold for, so many pence would buy a pound of pork. A pp. V. A pound of good wheat makes a pound of good bread ; for, although the offal is taken out, yet salt, water, and yeast are added thereto. In former times it was considered that, on an average of individuals, each consumed a sack of flour of 20 stone of 14lbs. each. Thirteen pounds of good wheat make 121 bs. of good flour. Before the excise was laid on making malt, it was common for the malsters to swop a bushel of ready made malt for a bushel of raw barley ; the extra bulk in the process of malting was considered a sufficient profit for the labour and malt-house rent. If the clothes of former times cost more, they were far more durable than at the present day. King James I. settled upon his son Charles, created Duke of York, then five years old, iS40 per annum ; on the duke's nurse, £dO ; his seamstress, £20 ; the same on his chamber- keeper ; and on his laundress and cook, £36 each, yearly. George Sheires, apothecary for the king's house, £40 per year : Robert Barker, the king's printer, £6 13s. 4:d. ; Alexander and llobert Arskin, the king's tailors, to each 2s. per day. 20 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. PAUPERISM. "For the poor shall never cease out of the land." — Bible. On this very important subject the author must claim per* mission to travel a little beyond the period he has prescribed It is to be observed that, when the feudal system was in its full vigour, the lords of the soil were obliged to attend to their vassals, whether productive or indigent, let it arise from what cause it might, similar to what the planters now do in the southern parts of this Union. As that system began to be relaxed, the poor, as is always the case, began to feel its effects first. The church then began to enter fully into the matter, upon the most benevolent and Christian principles ; and herein we may see at the present day one of the good ejfFects of the celi- bacy of the clergy. Portions of the tithes and other church property were set aside expressly for this purpose ; and they were rigidly enforced by the canon, ecclesiastical, and civil laws. Thus things went on for several centuries, England never knowing all that time the hateful name of pauper. But when Henry the wife-killer, no matter for what cause, or why, or when, destroyed this system, a scene of horror and misery ensued for several years, that beggars all description. To cut the matter short, (for it is too sickening to dwell on,) Elizabeth was compelled, in the forty-third year of her reign, 1601, to cause her celebrated act to be passed — of a compul- sory assessment for the poor. Various changes and alterations have at times been*made in the system. There was soon a vagrant act coupled with it, and workhouses, and houses of correction, and enlarged jails. So this frightful subject has gone on from that period till now, generally increasing in horror and misery, which can be traced as clear as any one can trace his own shadow in the sunshine, to the increase of enclosures, taxation, debts, paper money, &c. ; for, as Mr. Cobbett observes, " taxation pro- duces misery, and misery produces crime." As, however, I only have prescribed to myself the part of the historian, I shall proceed now to state its progress during the time prescribed. Some statutes were passed during the reigns of James and Charles, relating to binding of poor chil- dren apprentices ; these acts, which were well intended, and which showed great marks of wisdom and benevolence, were often imperfectly executed. In many places no rates were levied for more than twenty, thirty, or forty years after the PAUPERISM. 31 passing of the Elizabethan act, so that many persons were left to perish for want. But in those places were the justices did their duty, Lord Coke says, upon the authority of Sir F. Eden, there was not a rogue to be seen ; but where justices and other officers were remiss, rogues swarmed again. How much better would it have been for these two pig-headed kings, in- stead of employing their time in enforcing their undefined pre- rogatives^ to have seen that these most important laws were fully, faithfully, and benevolently executed. " When tyranny and usurpation O'er run the freedom of a nation. The laws o'the land — that were intended To keep it out — are made defend it." — Butler. The following historical extracts will, in the language of the times, better illustrate this grievous subject than any de- scription of my own. The author of a pamphlet — reader, mark the frightful title and mark the date, and then bear in mind that the king and hundreds of his subjects were all pro- fessed Christians ; nay, they were busy discussing this hea- venly subject in all sorts of ways except the right, viz., how each should best show his charity and benevolence to his neighbour and his God ; with this slight digression, let us feelingly listen to " Grievous Groans for the Poor^ by M. S., 1622" — says: " Though the number of the poor do daily increase, there hath been no collection for them, no, not these seven years, in many parishes of this land, especially in country towns ; but many of those places do turn forth their poor, yea, and their lusty labourers, that will not work, or for any misdemeanour want work, to beg, filch, and steal for their maintenance ; so that the country is pitifully pestered with them : yea, and the maimed soldiers, that have ventured their lives and lost their limbs in our behalf, are also thus requited ; for when they return home to live by some labour in their natural country, though they can work well in some kind ot labour, every man saith, we will not be troubled with their service, but make other shift for our business ; so are they turned forth to travel in idleness, (the highway to hell,) and seek their meal upon meres, (as the proverb goeth,) with begging, filching, and stealing for their maintenance, until the law bring them unto the fearful end of hanging." The following extract is from orders issued for the regulation of some branches of the police by the privy council, date 1630 :* Common offences and abuses for stewards of lords and gen- * Reprinted by Eden, State of the Poor. ^»»-fci4i 22 THE SOCIAL mSTOHY Ot" CHaLHrx xe^xi tlemen to inquire into at their court leetSj which are he i. twice a year. — " Of bakers and brewers for breaking of as- sizes ; of forestallers and regraters ; against tradesmen of all sorts for selling with under-weights, or at excessive prices, or things unwholesome, or things made in deceit ; of house- breakers, common thieves, or their receivers ; haunters ^f taverns or ale-houses ; those that go in good clothes and fare well, and none know whereof they live ; those that be night walkers ; takers-in of loose inmates ; offences of victuallers, artificers, workmen, and labourers." A farther regulation di- rects " that the correction houses in all counties may be made adjoining to the common prisons^ and the jailer to be made governor of them, so that he may employ to work pri- soners committed for small causes, and so they may learn ho- nesty by labour, and live not idly and miserably long in prison, whereby they are made worse when they come out than they were when they went in ; and, where many houses of correc- tion are in one county, one of them to be at least near the jail." Another order, " which more than darkly hints a melancholy tale," prohibits all persons from harbouring rogues in their barns or out-housings ; and authorizes constables to demand from wandering persons going about with women and children, where they were married, and where their children were chris- tened ; "for these people live like savages, neither marry, lior bury, nor christen, which licentious liberty makes so many de- light to be rogues and wanderers." > A great increase of beggars had been occasioned by the dis- banding of the army from poor, ill-fated Ireland the preceding year ; the consequence was, these soldiers, and many others along with them, flocked over the country in swarms, to Eng- land ; to remedy which evil, a proclamation* was issued, com- manding them to return to Ireland, and ordering them to be conveyed from constable to constable, to either Bristol, Mine- head, Chester, Liverpool, Milford, or Workington. If they should be found begging in England afterward, they were to be punished as rogues and vagabonds. " Perish that man who hears the piteous tale Unmoved ; to whom the heartfelt glow's unknown ; On whom the sufferers' plaints could ne'er prevail, Nor make the injured wretches' cause his own !" In 1662, under pretence of providing for the better relief of the poor, an act was passed which reduced the labouring po- pulation to be the actual fixtures of the soil of each particular place in which chance had then thrown them. This was the * Rymer Foedera. PAUPERISM. 23 act of 13 and 14 Charles II., c. 12, commonly called the Act of Settlement. The preamble of the act testifies the fact of pauperism continuing to make head against all attempts at re- straining it. For remedy of these evils, it was now " enacted that it should be lawful for any two justices of the peace, upon complaint made by the church wardens or overseer of the poor, within forty days after the arrival of a new comer in the parish, to remove him by force to the parish where he was last legally settled, unless he could give security against be- coming burdensome where he was living, to the satisfaction of the two justices." This was no remedy. This did not go to the heart of the subject, viz., what was the cause of the in- crease I no one of the lawmakers or schemers (and there were hundreds of them) ever had head or heart enough to face that. The real cause was two very important subjects, and both pulling one way, in favour of the rich and against the poor, viz., the increase in the taxation, and the increase in bills of enclosure to enclose the waste lands and commons, from which the poor derived much benefit. The real thought always up- permost was, " He that is rich, why, let him richer grow : If poor, what harm if we increase his wo !" All the good of this act of settlement was, to make large harvests for the lawyers, in debating about these respective parishes where the poor man had been previously settled. But this was not all ; for, while it circumscribed the liberty ot the English poor man, the native poor, it left the stranger from Scotland and Ireland unmolested- They might come and settle down, or move about, and there was no power to molest them, it being well known he coukl not claim relief if he wanted any. But, then, every one of their children could, in any parish wherever it was born — exhibiujig a curious exam- ple of '* liberty with impunity plucking justice by tke nose." An extract from a work " Concerning the Relief and Em- ployment of the Poor," from Sir Josiah Childs' " New Dis- courses of Trade," published 1668, a few years after this act of settlement, will exhibit the effect of this portion of Eng- land's laws, which, in the mass, are said to be " the gathered wisdom of a thousand years." His description of the poor is wretched in the extreme. In illustration of the combined cruelty and inefiicacy of " the shifting off, sending, or whipping back the poor wanderers to the place of their birth or last place of abode," which was then going on in all parts of the kingdom, is as follows : " A poor, idle person, that will not work, or that nobody will employ in the country, comes up to 24 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OP GREAT BRITAIN London to set up the trade of begging ; such a person proba- bly begs up and down the streets seven years — it may be seven- and-tvventy — before anybody asketh why she doth so ; and, if at length she hath the ill hap in some parish to meet with a more vigilant beadle than one in twenty of them are, all he does is, to lead her the length of five or six houses, into another parish, and then concludes he hath done the part of a most diligent ofScer. But suppose he should go farther, to the end of his line — which is the line of the law, and the perfect exe- cution of his office — which is, to take the poor creature before a magistrate, and he would order the delinquent to be whipped and sent from parish to parish, to the place of her or his last abode, (which not one justice of twenty would do through pity or other cause ;) even this is a great charge upon the nation, and yet the business of the country itself left wholly undone ; for no sooner doth the delinquent arrive at the assigned parish, but, for fear of shame or idleness, or want of some one's com- miseration there in employing her, she presently deserts it, and wanders back upon aiwther route, hoping for better fortune ; while the parish to which she is sent, knowing her a lazy per- son, and perhaps a worse qualified one, is as willing to be rid of her as she is to be gone from that place." The first information I can find regarding the amount of the poor rates, is a statement in a pamphlet published 1673, entitled " The Grand Concern of England explained in several proposals offered to the consideration of parliament," &c. This author estimates the sum 'then expended on the relief of the poor at nearly £840,000 per year. Another writer estimates the poor rate at upward of iS700,000.* But Davenant, in his Essay upon "Ways and Means," published 1695, " collected with great labour and expense, by Mr. Arthur Moore, a very knowing person," presents an estimate from each county toward the end of Charles II. 's ivign, and makes the whole for England and Wales to be £065,362. From an entry in the parish-book of St. Olave's, London, there was paid ^4 35. for relief of poor Irish and English chil- dren to be transported to America, 1642. About twenty years past I read the following curious para- graph in a London newspaper : " A man was brought before a magistrate for neglecting his wife. He married a woman of St. Ann's parish, Soho ; the wedding portion was £3 : it was the third time he had served the parish in this manner. It ap- pears to have become a custom for the London parishes, when they got an old woman likely to live some years, to marry * England's *< Improvement by Sea and Land," &c., 1677. REVENUE. 23 hfir off, and give a premium ; she then no longer belongs to that parish, but to the parish of the husband." REVENUE. At the accession of King James, 1603, (after Queen Eliza- beth,) the most ancient revenue of the crown, that arising from its landed estates, amounted only to iB32,000 per year. The feudal prerogative of purveyance, wardship, &c., also still con- tinued to be regularly exercised, and their ordinary produce may be estimated from the offer of the parliament in 1609, to com- pound for the whole by a yearly allowance of ^£200,000. In 1601) James raised £21,800 by a tax of 20s. on every knight's fee, and on every 20s. of annual rent from lands immediately held of the crown on the occasion of his eldest son. Prince Henry, being made a knight ; and in 1612 he obtained, in like manner, iB20,500 on the marriage of his daughter Elizabeth to the Elector Palatine. At the commencement of his reign the customs of tunnage and poundage were as usual granted for the king's life ; and, not satisfied with this act of bounty and confi- dence, James, a few years afterward, proceeded to raise the rates of these duties by his own authority — an exertion of pre- rogative which, although not altogether unprecedented, (for both MaYj and Elizabeth had done the same thing,) occasioned much alarm at the time, and may be regarded as the cause which ulti- mately drove on the parties, on the accession of James's son, Charles L, from a w^ar of words to a war of swords. When James came to the throne the customs yielded a revenue of £127,000 per year. In 1613 they produced about £148,000; and at the close, (1625,) £190,000. All the parlia- mentary supplies granted during this reign were nine subsidies and ten-fifteenths — a subsidy yielding about £70,000, and a fif- teenth about £36,500 ; so that from this source James scarcely derived, on the whole, £1,100,000, or not quite £50,000 per year. Eleven subsidies from the clergy at the rate of 4s., and one at the rate of 6s. in the pound, produced him in all about £250,000 more. Other schemes to which he had recom'se for raising a revenue, may be classed under the head of irregular^ if not illegal, expedients. Titles of nobility were sold for specific sums : that of a baron, £10,000 ; that of a viscount for £20,000 ; that of an earl for £30,000. About £225,000 in all was obtained by the sale of the new dignity of baronet, instituted 16 11 , at the suggestion of Sir Thomas Shirley. This 3 26 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OP GREAT BRITAIN. is the lowest hereditary title, and it does not constitute a par- liamentary peer. James also made a great deal of money by the sale of patents for monopolies, till the abuse, after having repeatedly excited the indignation of parliament and the public at large, produced the decisive proceedings in parliament, and the statute of 1623) v^hich declares that all monopolies are con- trary to law, and henceforth to be utterly void and of none effect — reserving to the kings a prerogative of only granting a fourteen years' privilege or monopoly for any new inven- tion. Considerable sums were exacted from the subject, at different times in the course of this reign, under the old false names of loans and benevolences ; the so called lending and voluntary contribution being both alike really compulsor}^ The heavy fines which it was the custom for the star chamber (a real iniquitous inquisition) and other courts to impose upon delinquents, also yielded something. And James, Scotchman- like, knew '' every little makes a mickle," screwed this peg as hard as he could, though without yielding much money, if it be true, as is asserted, that fines, nominally amounting to iB 184,000, were actually compounded for about £16,000 or i£l 8,000. To this sum may be added about iB4000, realized from fines for the violation of the several proclamations against additional building in and about London. James finally re- ceived back from France dB60,000 of the debt which Henry IV. had incurred to Queen Elizabeth ; and he got from the Dutch £250,000 on surrendering to them the cautionary towns of Flushing, Brille, and Ramikins ; besides a tribute for the pri- vilege of fishing on the British coast. On the whole, accord- ing to a published official report going over the first fourteen years of the reign of James, his ordinary income for that period averaged about £450,000 per year ; besides which, he had re- ceived in the course of the fourteen years about £2,000,000 (in this £90,000 per annum secret service) in extraordinary or occasional payments, making the entire annual revenue of the crown somewhat under £600,000. The expenditure at first exceeded this sum by about £80,000 ; afterward by between £30,000 and £40,000 a year ; so that, by the year 1610, James had incurred a debt of £300,000.* The following short abstract will show the fiscal system of England : 1603. On the accession of King James I., - - £600,000 1625. do do do Charles I., - - 896,819 During the whole of this king's reign, whose head they cut off, it did not average one million. * An abstract or brief declaration of the present state of his majesty's revenue, 1651, and printed in second volume of Somers' Tracts REVENUE. 27 164^. The commonwealth, - - - - - - iBl 517 247 1660. Charles II., I'SOO^OOO 1685. James II., - - - - 2,000,000 1688. William and Mary, - - - - - - -2 001 000 1701. Queen Anne, -- 3,895'205 1704. George I., (House of Brunswick,) - -5,691,803 1727. George 11. , 6,762,643 1760. George III., 8,523,540 1820. George I. v., ------- -46,132,634 1830. William IV., 47^130^873 The expense of collecting during this last reign amounted to between four and five milhons annually. In earlier reigns there were no regular taxes ; the kings managed to rub along with the rents from crown lands, aids of the barons, benevolences from the church, and squeezings from the Jews. Before the reign of William III. the house of commons was somewhat an effectual check on the expenses of the govern- ment ; in the fourth year of his reign began the borrowing of money, to be paid out of future taxes. Up to the reign of George the III. the taxes did not much exceed eight millions ; but before the close of that warlike reign they amounted to eighty millions ; and in one year the expenditure by taxes and loans reached one hundred and twenty millions. App. vi. It will, therefore, appear that our ancestors were not driven out, as they are at the present day, by excessive taxation. The sole cause of their honourable exile was either civil or religious motives, or perhaps both. Taxation is now unbearable, and the people leave. *' Unto this shore they press, a countless throng, And leave their burthens for the rest to bear ; Through countless dangers they will rove along, But hope still lights them, while despair is there !" In 1660 began the present custom-house system. In 1668 began the board of trade recommended by Lord Shaftesbury : it did not continue lonaj, but was revived asain in 1696. ^ CromwelPs income is stated to have been one and a half million per year. An extraordinary expenditure was necessary as long as the civil war lasted ; but neither the cost of the war nor the waste of it is supposed to have swallowed up the larger portion of the large sums that came into the hands of the government. If we may believe the representations of the royalists and of the Presbyterians, the parliament itself was the great gulf into which the ever-flowing stream of confiscation and plunder chiefly poured itself. There may be some tendency 2^ THE SOCIAL HISTORY OP GREAT BRITAIN. to over-statement in these allegations of partisans bitterly hostile to those whom they accuse, and themselves excluded, by circumstances, from all share in the good fortune ; but what they say is true to a very considerable extent. When the parliament became the dominant, or rather sole authority in the state, the members voted wages to themselves at the rate of JS4 per week for each ; and it is affirmed they after- ward distributed among themselves about i6300,000 per year. Large sums of money, lucrative offices, and valuable estates were also bestowed upon many of the leading members. Ac- cording to Walker, the Presbyterian historian, " Lenthall, the speaker, held offices which yielded him between 7 and dSSOOO per year. Bradshaw had the royal palace of Eltham, and an estate worth iSlOOO per year, for the part he took in the king's trial : and a sum of very near iB800,000 was publicly expended in other free gifts to the saints." Cromwell had such a powerful party in parliament, that there was not any regular appropriatians in the votes of supply ; so much was voted, and he applied it as he pleased. The first regular appropriation of supplies was after the revolution of 1688. Cromwell and his parliament lopped oiF the revenues of the crown which were derived from the ancient courts of wards and liveries, and which came from the pockets of the landholders, and substituted the excise laws^ which take the money from the labour of the mass of the people, who are the most numerous consumers of the articles of necessity which are subjected to it. Under the feudal system, when great estates were granted to the lordly baron, and great privileges were also granted to him, they were for the public service. He had to act the part of a civil magistrate at all times, and in case of war he had to furnish his quota of men and the means of equipping them. It will, therefore, be seen he did not wholly appropriate the whole of his means to himself. THE ARMY. " Man's earliest arms were fingers, teeth, and nails, And stones, and fragments from the branching woods ; Then fire and flfimes they join'd, delected soon ; Then copper next ; and last, as latest traced, The tyrant iron." Lucretius. At the settling of this country this was a very poor affair THE ARMY. 29 our forefathers were then more engaged about battling with words than with swords. They were greater adepts at scold- ing than fighting ; yet their pugnacity had not left them, for they soon after fought among themselves. After the dispersion of the Spanish armada by a storm, and the capture of many of their vessels in detail on vari- ous parts of the Scottish and Irish coasts, Great Britain was not much annoyed by foreign enemies. This armament, when it left the coast of Spain, consisted of one hundred and fifty vessels, which had on board twenty thousand soldiers, and two thousand volunteers of the first Spanish families : it car- ried two thousand six hundred and fifty guns, was victualled for half a year, and had a vast quantity of all kinds of military stores. It was to be joined by thirty-four thousand men, under the Duke of Parma, who were assembled in the Netherlands. A fleet of not above thirty ships of war constituted the whole navy ready to oppose it at sea. All the commercial towns were required to furnish a certain number of vessels. London was required to furnish fifteen, but the citizens dou- bled that number of their own accord. The nobility and gentry also equipped forty-three ships at their own cost. The principal fleet was stationed at Plymouth. A squadron of forty vessels lay ofi" Dunkirk, to intercept the Duke of P«j f ma Camden thus speaks of that event : " And this great armada, which had been three complete years in rigging and preparing, with infinite expense, was, within one month's space, many times fought with, and at the last entirely overthrown, with the slaughter of many men ; not four hundred of the English being missing nor any ship lost, saving only a small one." It seems now pretty fortunate that the armada was dispersed^ and so destroyed in detail ; for, from the writers of that period, it appears that Essex, Burleigh, and Raleigh were all against fighting. Raleigh said, " In a battle the invader can only lose men, but the defender may lose a kingdom." In " Pen- nant's Tour of the Isle of Wight " he mentions the wealthy fleeing from the coast, and gives an account of Queen Bess swearing and threatening like a trooper. It also appears that there were not above three or four thousand horses worth anything for war all over the king- dom, and those in gentlemen's stables. The old Saxon and feudal policy was essentially military ; but those systems had been either modified or destroyed. From the time of Philip and Mary, the lord lieutenants of the counties had the charge of the army (militia under the sovereign) in their respective counties ; and these were raised by a sort of impressments. To meet the urgent demand for 3* 30 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. soldiers and sailors when threatened by the armada in Queen Elizabeth's reign, there was a general impressment on Easter Sunday, even in the churches — which verifies the remark of Sir Michael Foster, who observes, " that impressment is of very ancient date, and the practice of a long series of years." According to Blackstone, " the power of impressment of sea- faring men for the sea service, by the king's commission, has been a matter of some dispute, and submitted to with great reluctance." Henry VII., at the suggestion of Bishop Fox, 1435, had a body guard of fifty men, half bow and arrow men and half harquebusiers. They still remain, and are called yeomen of the guard — ^but more commonly called beef -eaters^ which any one, on seeing them, would be certain they did, in pretty large quantities. They always attract great notice from the juve- nile part of society, by their original, gaudy, grotesque dresses and decorations. That was all the standing army England then knew. No one at that period need ask <' What are those whisker'd and mustachio'd things — Soldiers] Oh, no ! they're skittles made for kings." James's courtiers were too busy about hatching plots that would enable them the better to rob and torment the Catho- lics, to trouble themselves about anything else ; and he was dividing his time between his inkstand, his bottle, his hunt- ing, his high court commission, and his cruel rack. So the people felt that " freedom is only in the realm of dreams."* The pay of the soldiers in the time of King James was three pence per day for the infantrj^ ; two shillings and six- pence for cavalry — one shilling out of that for the horse. In describing, in another part of this work, the general dress of the gentry, it will be stated that the silk doublet was occa- sionally exchanged for a buff coat, reaching half-way down the thigh, with or without sleeves, and sometimes laced with gold or silver ; and the cloak in that case for a scarf, or sash of silk or satin worn either round the waist or over the shoulder, and tied in a large bow either behind or on the hip. When over this coat was placed the steel gorget, or a breast-plate and back-plate, the wearer was equipped for battle — complete armour being then confined almost entirely to the heavy horse. With the reign of Charles I. we may be said to take leave of armour. His father. King James, had declared it to be an admirable invention, because it prevented the weai'er as * Schiller. THE ARMY. 31 much from doing harm to others, as receiving injury himself; and the improvement of fire-arms gradually occasioned the abandonment of it piece by piece, until nothing remained but the back and breast plates, which were made bullet-proof, and the open steel head-piece, or iron pot, as the common sort was called. The intercourse with Spain in the reign of James had changed the name of lancer into cavalier ^ an appellation which distin- guished the whole royal party from that of republican under Cromwell. Catalier, 1620. CuiRASSIEK, 1615. Buff coats, long buff gloves or gauntlets, and high boots of jacked leather, thence called jacked or jack-boots, defended 32 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OP GREAT BRITAIN. sufficiently the rest of the person. Troops so dressed acquired the name of cuirassier. In 1632 the English cavalry was divided into four classes : the cuirassier, the lancers, the carbineers, and the dragoons. These last are of French origin, (raised in 1600.) They had a gun like a modern blunderbuss, the muzzle representing a groveling dragon ; wore only a buff coat, deep skirts, and an open head-piece, with cheeks ; and were divided into two classes, pikemen and musketeers. But the muskets were soon changed for the dragon ; and in 1649 this was abandoned for the carbine, without a match or wheel lock, similar to those now in use ; and to this was added the bayonet, which was an invention of the brave, and learned, and worthy Cati- net, a French marshal. The rifle was introduced in the thirty years' German wars. The lancer was the fullest armed, wearing a close casque or head-piece, gorget, breast and back plates, (pistol and culiver proof,) pauldrons, vambraces, two gauntlets, tassetts, cules- settes, or garde-de-reins, and a buff leather coat, with long skirts to wear between his clothes and armour. Their weapons were a good sword, "stiff, cutting, and sharp-pointed," a lance eighteen feet long, one or two pistols of sufficient bore and length, a flask, a cartouch-box, &c. Meyrick says, " cartridges were first used to pistols, and they were carried in a steel case." The cuirassier had back, breast, and head pieces ; armed only with sword and pistol. The harquebusiers, or the carbineers, were similarly defended, and, in addition to the above weapons, had a carbine. They all wore enormous jack-boots. Soon after the close of the American war, I being only a boy in petticoats, was put into one of these boots, belonging to a private of the Oxford Blues, when I could not look over the top, and, being hideously frightened at my situation, and so scared, I shall never forget it. In 1638 Charles I. incorporated the gun-makers' company in Birmingham, which, in the civil wars, supplied the parlia- mentary army under Cromwell. When that charter was granted, Charles did not contemplate how it was to be used. " Oh ! that some voice could penetrate his ear, Call up his soul, and free his slaves from bondage !" It was the cause of many of his friends biting the dust, over whom their friends might sing, *' The moonlight that glitters o'er rill and o'er fountain. Beams again on the crest of the bold cavalier ; But it falls where it lies, on the bleak barren mountain, The dark rock his pillow, the blue heath his bier. THE ARMY. 33 For his brand it was faithless, though true was his quarrel, And a traitor has vanquish'd the loyal and brave ; But the hand of his lady shall twine with fresh laurel, The cypress that weeps o'er the cavalier's grave." Before the commencement of the civil wars, the citizens of London were carefully trained in the use of the pike and musket. The general muster of the civic militia was at first once a year ; the training and exercises of individuals took place four times a year, and lasted two days each time. These trainings were considered very irksome to weary artisans and thrifty shopkeepers ; as, independently of the weight of the back and breast plates, skull-cap, (all iron,) sword, musket, and bandoliers, with which thej^ were obliged to repair to muster, the military MUSKETEKR, 1603. discipline was of such a complex character, that it both imposed much labour and consumed a great deal of time. The ponderous match-lock, or carbine, four feet long in the barrel, and dis- charged a bullet ten to a pound, had to be put through a long 34 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. succession of manoeuvres before it could be loaded, primed, and discharged. In learning to shoot with it, the soldier citizen was obliged to gather courage, and accustom himself to the recoil of his piece, by flashing a little powder in the pan : the use of wadding for the ball not being as yet understood, he could only shoot effectually breast high ; and his fire was delivered in the act of advancing, lest he should become himself a mark to the enemy while standing to take aim. As for the pike, it was a ponderous, heavy weapon, of pliant ash, sixteen feet long ; and dexterity in the use of it could only be acquired by frequent practice.* The Puritans at first regarded these warlike musters in the artillery gardens with abhorrence, as an absolute mingling with the profane ; but when they were taught from the pulpits that their projected reformation could only be accomplished by carnal weapons, they crowded to the exercise with alacrity. "j* In the meantime the proud cavaliers, who were still blind to the signs of the times, laughed scornfully at these new dis- plays of cockney chivalry, and used to declare that it took a Puritan two years to learn how to discharge a musket without winking. J But the laugh was turned against themselves after the civil wars commenced, when the pikes and guns of the civic mili- tia scattered the fiery cavalry of Prince Rupert, and bore down all before them. When the Puritans were converted into actual soldiers, they marched into the field in high-crowned hats, collared bands, great loose coats, long tucks under them, and calves' leather Boots. The active Major Shippon used, when riding about, to address his men thus : " Come boys, my brave boys, let us pray neartily and fight heartily, and God will bless us." They used to " sing a psalm, fall on, and beat all opposition to the devil. "§ There was also some praying on the part of the king's troops. It is stated that, at the battle of Edge Hill, (the first onset,) Sir Jacob Astley, who commanded the foot, made the following remarkable prayer at the commencement : "O Lord ! thou knowest how busy I must be this day ; if I forget thee, do not thou forget me. March on, boys !" It is worthy of remark that the long service and military renown of the Puritan campaigners gave them no disrelish, after the war had ended, for their former peaceful and humble occu- pations ; they resumed their mechanical or handicraft employ- ments. * Grose's Military Antiquities. t Life of Samuel "Butler, in Sotners' Tracts. t Ibid. § Shadwell's comedy of the Volunteers. THE ARMY. 35 On the contrary, the cavaliers still went about with belts and swords, swaggering, swearing ^ and brealdng into houses^ and stealing whatever they could find. People knew them in the dark, and thus remarked : " King's troops, sir, I'll be sworn ! How know you that, sir? Marry my lord, by their swearing." The scarlet and blue uniform came into use as a national military costume in the reign of Queen Anne. A wood-cut of one is given, (p. 193,) offering a billet-deux to a lady. The red and white feathers for officers were also in use. To those who may be curious in these things, there was published, by com ■ mand of William IV., the regular costume of every regiment^ with every change from the beginning. .Evelyn says, 1678, grenadiers came into use. They were to throw hand-grenades : they had their pouches full. They also fell on with axes, slings, fire-locks, swords, and daggers^ In 1609 began Chelsea Hospital. It had lately 476 in-pen- sioners, and about 80,000 out ; and a military school for sol- diers' children. The present queen (Victoria) has had regimental school- mistresses introduced, for teaching sewing and knitting to the female offspring of the soldiers. The military power of England is about 114,000 men, being many thousands more than she had during the first American war. The half-pay list contains three generals to every regi- ment of soldiers, (horse and foot,) with other officers of all grades in proportion. This account does not include the county militia, which are only called out in time of war. This is a new feature in English history, contrary to all its ancient institutions, its ancient maxims, and its ancient policy, and has been the means of introducing barracks, whereby the army is kept distinct from the people. In a debate on the army in 1820, Mr. Hume stated there were then 97 ; but in 1822 they had increased to 100 in England, Wales, and Scotland, and as many in Ireland. There are also yeomanry cavalry. In 1838 there was ^698,000 voted for the staff" of that department. It has been a question whether the musket is a better weapon than the bow and arrow. Dr. Franklin, in a letter to Major General Lee, (1776,) gives the following six reasons for pre- ferring bows and arrows to the musket : 1. Because a man may shoot as truly with a bow as a com- mon musket. 2. He can discharge four arrows in the time of charging and discharging one bullet. 36 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 3. His object is not taken from his view by the smoke of his own side. 4. A flight of arrows seen coming upon them terrifies and subdues the enemy's attention to his business. 5. An arrow sticking in any part of a man puts him hors du combat till it is extracted. 6. Bows and arrows are everywhere more easily provided than muskets and ammunition. He recommends pikes, and bows and arrows. He quotes Polydore Virgil, and remarks : " If so much exe- cution was done by arrows when men wore defensive armour, how much more might be done now that it is out of use," (speaking of a battle in Edward UI.'s reign.) In the year 1830 was published a new system of arming, by Francis Macerone, late aid-de-camp to Joachim, (Murat,) King of Naples, &c. He recommends lances nine feet long, with a fold in the mid- dle like a carriage umbrella, and to be slung over the shoulder when not in use ; a musket thirty-two inches in the barrel, but no bayonet — this to be slung over the shoulder when the lance is in use ; and a pistol for close quarter, same calibre as the musket, so the same cartridges will do for both : the lance and fire-lock together to weigh thirteen pounds, which is four ounces less than an English regulation musket and bayonet. The present musket and bayonet do not keep cavalry at sufficient distance : the infantry are often disabled by the cavalry swords ; but the nine feet lance renders the sword of the cavalry useless. App. vii. COMMERCIAL MARINE. " Arts, agriculture, and commerce should go hand in hand." Dr. J. Andekson. Anderson, in his annals of commerce, says : " As agricul- ture is the foundation, so is manufacturing and the fisheries the pillars, and navigation the wings of commerce. Astronomy and geography are the very eyes of navigation, without which no distant voyage can well be performed." At the beginning of the seventeenth century it would not have been considered unmanly to ^' sit and weep at what a sailor suffers ;" as will soon be seen when I state that those instruments which are now considered so indispensable to the COMMERCIAL MARINE. 37 due performance of distant voyages, were not known, if I ex- cept the mariner's compass.* England had but few colonies. She had on this coast New- foundland in 1583 ; and, in 1685, Bencoolen in the East Indies. Many articles now in great demand were not known at all, much less as articles of merchandise. I have no doubt but that the commercial marine of this Union at the present time is as much, or more than all the world was at that period-f The manner of victualling, fur- nishing, and fitting out the vessels formerly bore no coir^parison with that of the present time. The ordinary trade was carried on by the Dutch, who had from five to six hundred ships. England had not one-tenth ; and she had no ships employed in the north-east of Europe. Captain J. Lancaster sailed to the East Indies (under the company ; it was the first voyage) in 1601 ; he returned in 1603 His cargo was cloves, pepper, cinnamon, and calicoes, partly taken from a Portuguese carrack which, he captured. The vessels then were all armed, and piratical. It was certain that a vessel, doubling either of the capes, would lose, during her long voyage, many of her crew by death, and most of them would return sick. It was only at the time of Captain Cook's first voyage (1767) round the world that ships began to be fitted out with proper instruments and pro- per food and proper medicines. Few ships had quadrants before 1734. In 1736 Harrison first went in a king's ship to Lisbon, to try his time-piece or chronometer. In the late voyages made to discover a passage by the north pole, each man was allowed eleven ounces of biscuit, nine ounces of pemmican, (meat pounded, dried, seasoned, and packed closely,) sweetened cocoa, in powder, sufficient for one pint ; rum, one gill per day ; and three ounces of tobacco per week. How different is all this to mere salt meat and biscuit, and that laid in for a two or three years' voyage. It was a common thing for vessels to clue up and lie-to at night. This is one reason for the length of the voyages. At * The first Insurance trial was in the reign of Queen Elizabeth : the sub- ject was then so little known, that it became a question with the court whe- ther they had jurisdiction to try it. But an act was passed the forty-third year of her reign ; and the same year commenced the Royal Exchange In- surance Company. t The Secretary of the Navy, in his Report to Congress, December 1st, 1841, says, the registered seamen in the American ports were, natives, 9015 ; naturalized, 148 : total, 9163. In Bennett's Herald, January 5th, 1843, I saw it stated that the United States sailors on the ocean amounted to 62,125. In the U. S. Navy there were 6100 ; the remainder were on board the commercial marine, 4 38 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. that period they knew nothing of the various currents of winds which successive voyages have since discovered to blow regu- larly in certain latitudes. Benjamin Gosnold, in 1602, was the first navigator who made a regular voyage direct across the Atlantic to this country. Before that period they used to sail to the West Indies, and then coast up the gulf stream. This captain named Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Elizabeth's Islands. The following extract from Pennant will show that England knew nothing of the north sea whale fishery : " To view these animals in a commercial light, we must add that the English were late before they engaged in the whale fishery. It appears, by a set of queries proposed by an honest merchant in the year 1575, in order to get information in the business, that we were at that time totally ^ignorant of it." A charter for the north sea whale fisheries was granted in 1613. In 1617 is the first mention of whale fins and blubber being brought home. The English then not being expert in this dangerous employ, it was abandoned, and again taken up in the reign of Charles II. In 1774 the largest number of ships ever employed was only 254. England engaged in the Newfoundland cod fisheries in 1650 — " Where they wind them up by barrels full, To feed a hungry world." Such is all, I believe, that can be said of the foreign fisheries, which Franklin called the " agriculture of the ocean." Even on her own coast the Dutch, at this early period of our history, rivalled the English. Not having space to give a full history of this subject, per- haps the shortest way will be to give some particulars in a chronological order. 1493. Spain and Portugal divided the commerce of the world between them. 1497. England discovered North America. 1518. Studding sails began to be used. 1530. Cordage made at IBristol. 1534. French had the fUr trade of the St. Lawrence. 1540. Charts of England and Scotland. 1589. England had her sail-cloth from Bretagne. 1599. In an ancient tract is a description of a log^ very simi- lar to those now in use. The author is not known ; nor was this useful instrument in use until about 1607. 1603. England had not above 40 ships of 400 tuns. 1614. Imports from all parts of the world were iS3,141,283 17*. \Qd. Exports, ^2,090,640 lis. Sd. COMMERCIAL MARINE. 39 1601. The East India Company took possession of the Island of St. Helena, for their ships to water at. 1606. Two charters granted to plant all the American coast. 1624. All monopolies abolished, and present patent laws established. 1627. Ship timber imported from Ireland. The Island of Nevis first planted. 1628. Dominica claimed by the English and French. Sugar cultivated at Barbadoes. 1629. The Bahamas first planted. 1631. Printed calicoes imported from India. 1633. A fishery company established. 1641. Cotton from Cyprus and Smyrna. Cotton, ginger, and sugar imported from Barbadoes. 1645. Merchants placed their cash with the goldsmiths, who oegan also to receive gentlemen's rents, and allow them interest. Before that period they used to deposite their monej'' at the mint ; but in 1640 Charles I. took possession of ^6200,000. There were eight private banks before the Bank of England. Child & Co., banking-house, commenced in the protectorate of Cromwell. Snow & Co. is older, the oldest in Great Britain, if not in Europe. See vol. 2, p. 336. 1656. The Dutch employed 8000 vessels in the cod and herring fisheries. Pocket watches. Jamaica taken from the Spaniards. 1662. The English visited Honduras." 1670. A charter for Hudson's Bay. 1672. Sir Samuel Moreland invented the speaking-trumpet. 1675. Ships began to be sheathed with lead. In 1758 cop- per was first used on a British frigate ; and in 1763 on merchant shipping. 1690. Telescopes invented, eighteen inches long, and micro- scopes about the same length. 1696. The Eddystone light-house first built. 1706. The London Insurance Company formed. 1772 Dr. Granville suggested the propriety of salting ships 1784. I believe the first American ship that reached China was from Boston, U. S., at this date. Sir Walter Raleigh in 1603 suggested the following propo- sitions, to be laid before the king : 1. Foreigners, (Hollanders,) by the privileges they allow to strangers, draw multitudes of naerchants to live among them, and thereby enrich themselves. 2. By their storehouses ot magazines of all foreign commo- modities, they are enabled to supply other countries, eyen those firom which they have bought those commodities. 40 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 3. By the lowness of the customs of those foreign nations, (the Hollanders,) they can well supply themselves. 4. By the structure or roominess of their ships, holding much merchandise, and requiring few hands, they carry goods cheaper ; so the Dutch gain all foreign freight, while their ships go to Newcastle for coals. 5. Their prodigious fishery. Raleigh said the greatest fishery ever known in the world was on the coasts of Great Britain. He also said, " The nation that commands the trade of the world commands its riches, and, consequently, the world itself." Raleigh was of an opposition party to King James ; so the latter told him, " I think of thee very rawly, mon," which is strongly intimated in the following enigma ; " What's bad for the stomach, and the word of dishonour. Is the name of the man whom the king will not honour." According to McCuUoch, the value of cotton goods in Eng- land in 1697 was only i85915, and the raw cotton imported was only l,976,8591bs. Until the reign of George HI., there was no article made entirely of cotton. In the year 183S there wns imported 507,850,5771bs. In the year 1660 a contract was made to take Shattuck, one of the Society of Friends, over to JN^ew England ; to sail in ten days, freight or no freight : the price given was £300. Under Cromwell's Navigation Laws, 1651, she always con-^ fined her colonies to trade with her alone ; and that system was rigidly enforced until 1780. In 1822 there was a change, from a protecting system into a regulating duty. It will appear evident to the reader that, without foreign commerce, there cannot be a national marine. ROYAL NAVY. " Whose flag has braved a thousand years The battle and the breeze." — Campbell. This power, which is now so potent, was then but a poor affair. Henry VIII. may be said to have been the father of it. Before his reign England used to hire what vessels were wanted for national purposes. Henry established a navy office. All the admirals were more or less pirates. Drake was a very extraordinary man, and the best of the English commanders, though tainted with piracy. ROYAL NAVY. 41 Some Latin lines were sent by the King of Spain to Queen Elizabeth, which are thus translated by Dr. Fuller : *• These to you are our commands : Send no help to the Netherlands. Of the treasure took by Drake, Restitution you must make. " And those abbies build anew Which your father overthrew : If for any peace you hope, In all points restore the pope." She boldly and bravely sent for answer : *• Worthy king, know this — your will At latter Lammas we'll fulfil." There was a common saying among the sailors, " No trea- ties are of any effect past the line." The Royal Navy in 1578 only amounted to twenty-four ships of different sorts. The Triumph, of 1000 tuns, was a large ship : she had five masts, (this method of rigging was continued to the reign of Charles I. ;) her complement of men was 780 ; her armament, 40 cannon. There were only 135 vessels in the whole kingdom of more than 100 tuns, and 656 exceeding 40 tuns. The Dutch had a powerful marine, and used to sail and swagger about the Thames. Their great Admiral De Witt used to say, " The master at sea is the master at land !" But under Cromwell, th6 lord protector, there was a great change ; he restored the naval supremacy, destroyed the Dutch marine, and, by his famous Navigation Act, laid her commercial marine prostrate. He used to say that " a man-of-war was the best ambassador." It is scarcely known to the ordinary reader that about 1624 the Turks and Algirenes infested the British channel, commit- ting many frightful depredations ; and this lamentable event -was the cause oi di. prayer against pirates being introduced into the church litany. In 1583 Captain Carlisle suggested the idea of making a set- tlement in North America, for taking off idle and licentious people, and for tlie purpose of raising naval stores. In 1590 Queen Elizabeth appropriated ^£8970 for the re- pairs of her fleet. In 1610 King James built the finest ship of war England ever had. She carried 64 guns, and was 1400 tuns. In 1626 King Charles issued a proclamation, ordering every sailor twenty shillings per month, which was till then only 4* 42 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN fourteen, (iiett money,) besides an allowance out of it of four pence to a preacher, two pence to a barber, and sixpence per month to Chatham Chest ; whereas the ordinary men had but nine shillings and four pence nettper month, and no allowance at all given to a preacher. The oldest marine corps was (1684) the third army regiment. It was the Scotch militia, time of George III. The English navy ofiicers had no regular uniform until the reign of George II. It was taken from a riding-dress of the Duchess of Bedford. Greenwich hospital, for sailors, was partly commenced by Queen Mary, but not fully brought into application until the reign of William III. A few years past there were in it 2710 pensioners and 168 nurses ; the total number of residents inside was 3500. There were 32,000 out- pensioners, and a naval school for sailors' children. By an act of Queen Anne, parish or beggar boys may be apprenticed to the sea service when ten years of age. King James's fleet consisted of twenty-four vessels. During this century there were some changes in warlike vessels. 1585. Floating mines were used at the siege of Antwerp. 1588. Fire-ships used against the Spaniards. 1679. Bernard Renau d'Elisagary was the inventor of bomb vessels. 1692. After the battle off Cape La Hague, gun-boats were used. There were but few observatories. The first in Europe was at Casel ; next was Tycho Brahe's, 1576. The Copenhagen astronomical tower was built 1656 ; the French one 1668. The English built one at Greenwich in 1675, from which almost all nations now calculate. The calculations were formerly made from Faroe. The Dutch and Germans reckon from Teneriffe. There are three on this continent ; at Toronto, Cambridge, and Philadelphia. There were but few light-houses, so that coasting vessels had to make more dangerous voyages — -'Till the beacon fire blazed Like a star in the midst of the ocean." The Foreland light-house, in Kent, was built in 1683, The total number now on the coast of Great Britain is 178. But there were light-houses in more early periods. There is a pharos now remaining, built by the Romans, on Dover Heights ; and one on the Isle of Wight, octagon outside, square within, three stories high, and cone shape, finish at top. It ROYAL NAVY. 43 stands 750 feet above high-water mark. This one w^as dedi- cated to St. Catherine in 1323. The top story was a light- house, and in the bottom was a cell for the priest. The pious people of that period blended the light of religion with the lights of benevolence, care, and caution. To give the reader an idea of ship building at that period, the Betsy Cairns^ which brought King William the Third to England, (1689,) was then several years old; she was sold to a merchant in the time of George 1., and employed in the coal trade until February, 1827. She was then wrecked on Tynemouth Bar, and lost for want of timely aid ; but her timbers, after a lapse of 140 years, were found in sound condition. " The ship Discovery (now under the Belgian flag, and called the Rubens) accompanied Captain Cooke in his voyage of discovery, 1776. She cannot be less than seventy years old : she has the appearance of a fine brig." — Portsmouth Paper, 1842. In Dr. Southey's " Early Naval History of England " he states that Seius Saturnius was the first high admiral whose name appears in history, and the only Roman whose name has %een preserved. J In 1294 England had three admirals ; John of Bottetourt, William of Ley burn, and an Irishman, name not known. Sir John Crombwell was, in the year 1324, admiral of the fleet to Gascony. I believe this is the first time that name occurs in our history. The following list of distinguished men were originally cabin-boys : Admirals. Sir Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins, General Deane, Col. Raineborough, Sir John Narbrugh, Sir Wm- Penn, Sir Cloudesley Shovell. Vice Admirals. Sir Wm. Batten, Sir John Lawson, Capt. Badilow, Sir T. Tiddeman, Capt. Peacock, Capt. Goodson, Sir C. Mings, Sir J. Harman, Sir J. Berry. Rear Admirals. Sir R. Stainer, Capt. Moulding, Capt. Deacons, Capt. Sansum. Number of masters, 1484 2299 ; in the sea counties, ,,11,515; and fishermen. mariners, 1583. The number of wherrymen between London Bridge and Gravesend was 957. There are now 8000. The origin of the name " Union Jack " is supposed to have been given by the English sailors because King James, or Jaques^ in 1607, united the St. Andrew's cross with the cross of St. George, as now used. 44 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. There is a chair now in the museum at Oxford, made of the oak which composed the ship Pelican, which carried Drake round the world in 1577. The naval power of England at this time consists of seventy- six war steamers and 600 other vessels of war ; and she has on half-pay two admirals to every ship of the line, with other officers of all grades in proportion. CHARACTER OF THE RULERS. "Kings are ambitious, the nobility haughty, and the populace tumul- tuous and ungovernable." — Burke. I THINK it proper to give a short account of the different con- duct of the rulers ; for perhaps there never was a period in which there was so much difference, and in which a difference produced so much effect. James I. was the son of the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots. He was a Presbyterian, and had been a pensioner of Queen Elizabeth while he governed Scotland. His personal appearance was most uncouth: his legs were too weak to carry his body, his tongue too large for his mouth ; he had great goggle eyes, yet his rolling stare showed a vacant mind ; his apparel was neglectful and dirty ; his whole appearance and bearing was slovenly and ungenteel ; and his unmanly fears were betrayed by his wearing a thickly wadded dagger- proof doublet. He was a great sportsman. He degraded the order of knighthood by making more than one hundred knights. The total number of peerages conferred by him in the three kingdoms was two hundred and twenty-six, of which ninety- one only remain. He showed his tyrannical disposition by ordering a man to be hanged, without any sort of trial, at Ne war k-upon -Trent, (1603,) on his first progress to London, who had been detect- ed committing a robbery on one of his courtiers. He loved coarse jokes and buffooneries : he was a great inven- tor of nick-names and practical jokes ; and happy was the man who could so take them as to provoke in return a royal chuckle. The following anecdote will explain the opinion and confi- dence which could be placed in this king : " Sir Paul Pindar brought home from Turkey a diamond valued at £30,000. The king wished to buy it of him on credit : this the sensible merchant declined, but favoured his majesty with the loan of CHARACTER OF THE RULERS. 45 it Oil gala days. His unfortunate son and successor became the purchaser." — Pennant. " He was a bold liar, rather than a good dissembler." The following verse is a fair description of him as a patron of the arts : " James both for empire and for arts unfit, His sense a quibble and a pun his wit ; Whate'er works he patronized he debased, Bat hap'ly left the pencil undisgraced." Hayley. His son, Charles I., had a coldness in his character and tem- perament : he was of gentlemanly manners and decorous habits. He discountenanced his father's profligacy and excesses ; so that a more general sobriety of conduct became the prevailing manners of the court. He was, for his amusement, a patron of the fine arts. But the progress of the sour, snappish, and rigid Puritans so excited the horror and hatred of the aristocracy, that he could not restrain them ; and they, to show attachment to his cause, which was also their own, swore, bawled, drank, and intrigued by way of contrast. He had no more political good sense, but quite as strong a tincture of tyranny and haughtiness as his father. Cromwell, who may be said to have had tyrannic sway from 1649 to 1659, was widely different from them both in his habits and manners ; and, curious enough, was not really liked by anybody. He seemed like what is often displayed in com- mon life — a talented meclianic in a large manufactory, whose range of talents just suited the place, from his general activity and powerful mental and various handy, ever-ready applica- tion ; which embraces everything, and keeps altogether, though never liked by his employers or those employed under him. The following anecdote from Hanway's " Virtues in Humble Life," shows a curious feature in the history of this extraordi- nary period, 1655 : " Two rabbles (Jews) had several inter- views with Cromwell ; they supposing that, as he had been so successful in subverting the church and state, he might per- chance be the promised Messiah. He gave them no other countenance beyond a bare connivance at their admission. They came from Asia." App. viii. This extraordinary man was a main instrument in killing the King ; which is well expressed in the following enigma : " The heart of a loaf and the top of a spring Is the name of a man who beheaded a king." Although the peers had been abolished as a branch of the 46 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. parliament, he had some aristocratic feelings about him, and exercised the kingly prerogative so far as to make Maurice Fenton, of Dublin, a baronet ; and he himself had an inten- tion of being king, if, in his own opinion, the different factions "would have permitted it. He was nearly all his time engaged in war ; and, strange to say, not brought up to it, nor taken to it until he was forty-three years old. After Cromwell came Charles II., who was a splendid pro- fligate, and whose court was overwhelmed with all the de- baucheries of the French court. After him came James II., who was sober and frugal in his habits and expenses. And he meant to be tolerant in religion. Then came William and Mary. William was a Dutchman, with plenty of war, in which he was personally engaged ; but there was in his habits and manners a quiet, simple, and tho- roughly unostentatious greatness. After them, Queen Anne, who was most intolerant. It must readily strike the reader that each of these charac- ters, differing from each other, must have naturally affected the habits and manners of the court during their respective periods ; and from the court downward, through the other grades of society ; proving that " in human society nothing is stable," and that " the Protestant reformation has given great power to kings." — Dr. Danham. • Dr. King, in speaking of the fatality which attended the house of Stuart, says : " If I were to ascribe their calamities to any other cause than an evil fate, or endeavour to account for them by any natural means, I should think they were chiefly owing to a certain obstinacy of temper which appears to have been hereditary in all the Stuarts, except Charles II. CROUCHING MEANNESS OF THE COURTIERS. " Surely the race was of another breed, That met their monarch John at Runnymede." In all societies there must be forms of address to rulers and governors ; but those forms need not be such as imply an abject, submissive crouching. The letter announcing the death of Queen Elizabeth, from the council, in London, to James, in Scotland, begins : " Right High, Right Excellent and Mighty Prince, and our Dread So- vereign." The dedication of the present church of England CROUCHING MEANNESS OF THE COURTIERS. 47 bible, which was translated in his reign, is too fulsome, too blasphemous to relate. When he went in state to take possession of the Tower of London, (which was formerly the town residence of their sove- reigns ; Queen Elizabeth was the last who resided there,) a congratulatory oration was delivered, beginning, " To the High and Mighty King James of England, Scotland, France, (with- out an inch of land,) and Ireland, King defender of the Faith," &c. When, after a great deal of fulsome rigmarole, it finished with the following quotation from Homer : " It is not good that many heads bear rule in any land ; Let one be sovereign, king, and lord, and so decrees may stand." I know the rule was to mix up a mess of sacred and profane adulation ; it was the fashion ; but that does not make it right, nor less censurable. It could not fail to have an injurious effect. In the first proclamation he issued calling a parliament, he told the commons plainly what sort of men to choose ; and, if ^;iey did not choose men of that sort, he should deprive them of their liberties and privileges. This is what was never done before. . The following is a loyal epigram : " Mardal, thou gav'st far nobler epigrams To thy Don than I can to my James ; But in my royal subject T pass thee — Thou flatter'd'st thine, mine cannot flattered be." How well do the following satiric lines apply to them : " Who would not laugh to see a tailor bow Submissive to a pair of satin breeches 1 Saying, oh ! breeches, all men must allow There's something in your aspect that bewitches. Who would not exclaim, the tailor's mad 1 Yet tyrant adoration is as bad." A nobleman who tendered a petition without regarding a favourite roan palfrey and its tawdry trappings belonging to the king, got no answer. He again petitioned, and still no reply : at length an inquiry was made to the royal noodle, through the lord treasurer, to ascertain the royal silence. James angrily exclaimed, " Shall a king give heed to a dirty paper, when a beggar noteth not the gilt stirrups V^ Hence, when the king rode out upon this, the noblest animal of the two, the people used to say, " there goes three beasts," the horse, the ass, and the mule ; meaning the ga^dy saddle was the mule, that being between the horse and the rider. ., 4S THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. They used to declaim against the Puritans^ and swear by his book, the " Basilicon Doron," praise him by lauding his hunting and his horsemanship, and called him the Solomon^ *' the light of the age." Waller, the poet, relates the following anecdote : Bishop Andrews and Bishop Neal were standing behind the king's (Charles) chair as he sat at dinner on the day he dissolved his last parliament. He turned round and addressed the two prelates thus : " My Lords, cannot I take my subjects' money without all this formality of parliament." Bishop Neal (of Durham) readily answered, " God forbid. Sire, but you should ; you are the breath of our nostrils." Whereupon the king turn- ed and said to Andrews, (Bishop of Winchester,) " Well, my Lord, what say you?" '' Sire," replied the bishop, ^^ I have no skill to judge of such parliamentary cases." The king answered, " No put-offs, my Lord ; answer one presently." " Then, Sire," said he, " I think it is lawful for you to take my brother Neal's money, for he offers it." What a thing this is to relate ! surely these men were scarcely sane ! The high English character had greatly declined. There was a Sir H. Lee, who was courtier or croucher, (for that is what he must have been,) who enjoyed the confidence of Henry VHL, Edward VL, and Queens Mary and Ehzabeth. He wrote the following axioms in his common-place book : " Fly the courte, Devise nothing, Learne to spare, Pray often, Speke little, Never be earnest, Spend in measure, Live better. Care less, In answer cold, Care for home, And dye well." Great part of this is mere " serpentine prudence " or " co- lumbine simplicity." '*He would not, with a peremptory tone, Assert the nose upon his face his own." Now, reader, be pleased to peruse the following sensible, plain, and well-written petition. If that contained all the poor man's grievances, they were not many : THE POOR MAN'S PETITION, WROTE Hth APRIL, 1603. TO BE PRESENTED TO KING JAMES ON HIS ARRIVAL AT THEOBALD'S PALACE. Good King, let their be uniformities in true religion, without any disturbances. Good King, let good preachers be provided for, and, without any bribery, come to their livings. ENGLISH CONSTITUTION. 49 Good King, let poore souldiers be paide their wages ; whilst they be well employed and well provided for when they be maymed. Good King, let there not be such delaies and craftie proceed- inges in the law^es, and let lawiers have moderate fees. A p~x take the proude, covetuous attornes and merciless lawiers ! Good King, let no man have more offices than one, especialiie in the cases touching the lawe. Good King, let poore suitors be hard (heard) quietlie and with speede, and dispatched favorablie. Good King, let ordinarie causes be determined in the ordinarie courts, and let not the chauncerie be made a common shifting-place to prolonge causes for private gaifie. Good King, cut off the paltry licenses and all monoplies. Fye upon all close-byting knaveries ! Good King, suffer not great ordonance^ to be carriede out of the Realme to the enemies, as it hath beene. A plague upon all covetuous, gryping treasurers ! Good King, looke to thy takers and officers of this house, and to their exceeding fees, that pule and powie thy princely allowance. Good King, let us not be oppressed with so many impositions, powlays, and paisments. Good King, make not the Lord of Lincoln Diike of Shore- ditch, for he is a . Good King, make not Sir Walter Raleigh Earl of Pancrass, for he is a ■. Good King, love us, and we will love thee, and will spend our last blood for thee. The king arrived at Theobald's Palace May 3d.^ ENGLISH CONSTITUTION. " Such was its simplicity, and each element so responsive to the natural speech of the human heart, that I conceive its Anglo-Saxon founders never dreamed of ^zi^im^ it into ivriting.^' — John Cabtwkight. There can be only a few of my readers who do not know that, by the laws of England, the people are governed by a king, an hereditary house of lords, and a house of commons, and that such has been the case for more than a thousand years ; except during the time of the commonwealth, after they had * From a MS. in Exeter Cathedral. b 60 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. chopped off the'liead of the king and abolished the house of lords. The proceedings of those few years so sickened the people by their fanaticism, tyranny, peculation, corruption, and robbery, that they gladly took back the king's son and the house of lords. Although there never was a written Constitution like the American one, ye^^ its leading principles were all well known only those parts of it, however, were regarded which suited the various parties that were in power. And so it will ever be in all countries, without the most constant vigilance on the part of the people ! Dr. Wiseman states, "It is singular that we have a letter addressed by one of the oldest popes anterior to the Norman Conquest of 1066, saying the constitution of government of all the other nations of Europe are less perfect than that of Eng- land, because they are based on the Theodosian code, (Theo- dosius died 393,) originally a heathen code ; while the con- stitution of England has drawn its forms and provisions from Christianity, and received its principles from the church." The author of " Europe during the Middle Ages " states that " mutual responsibility pervaded the whole Saxon period. The laws of Ethelbert, King of Kent, (862,) are the oldest laws descended down to us. The laws of Withred (from 694 to 725) were passed during the first five years of his reign, amid a concourse of clergy, headed by Breathwald, Archbishop of Canterbury : thej^ partake more of an ecclesiastical than a tem- poral character. Alfred's laws (872) were derived partly from the unwritten collections, and partly from the observances of the people, and partly from the Book of Exodus. The laws of Edward the Confessor (from 1042 to 1066) exhibit an improvement in the social principles of combination ; also a great advance in the principles of feudality : but as yet there was no uniformity." During the last sixty years there has been great efforts made by some of the best men of that period to obtain a reform in the elections of the commons' house of parliament ; while those in power (as crafty as the rogue who, while running away, calls out the most lustily, stop thief!) cried out against innovation. Mr. Cobbett, in a lecture at Manchester in 1831, notices this cry of the corrupt, and stated that he finds the old institutions to be sixteen in number, viz. : 1. The common law of England. 2. An hereditary king, having well-known powers and pre- rogatives. 3. An hereditary peerage, with titles and privileges, and cer- tain legislative and judicial powers. ENGLISH CONSTITUTION. Q'x 4. A house of commons, chosen by the people ; and in the choice of whom the peers are forbidden to interfere. ' 5. A court of chancery, having a chancellor at the head of it, appointed by the king. 6. Three courts of law, the judges of which are appointed by the king. 7. Juries, to try causes and accusations under the advise and assistance of the judges. 8. Courts of quarter sessions, and petty sessions, and justices of the peace. 9. Mayors and magistrates, to administer justice in cities and towns. 10. Sheriffs, to impanel jurors, and to execute the writs arni other legal commands of the judges and justices. 11. Coroners, to examine sudden and accidental deaths of any of the people. 12. Constables, to obey the judges and justices in the perfor- mance of acts necessary to the keeping of the peace and the execution of justice. 13. Manorial lordships, having in most cases the power or appointing constables, and other petty officers for keeping the peace. 14. Jails, for the purpose of enabling the sheriff to keep safe the criminals committed to his charge. 15. Parish stocks, for the punishment of petty offenders. 16. A church established by law, having a ritual also esta- blished by law. Among the benevolences of former times there were briefs granted in case of fires : the modern system of insurance has superseded them. These briefs were read in churches, and the collections were handed over to the sufferers. In the reign of Edward I. there were briefs for the repairs of London Bridge. There is a custom founded on the 21st chap, of Exodus, V. 28, called a Deodandj from Deo dandum, (given to God.) " What moves to death, or killed the dead, Is deodand, and forfeited." A penalty is laid, or the thing itself is forfeited to charitable purposes, which takes away any person's life. This cautionary law makes people' careful. There was a fine of ^1500 laid upon the boilers of the steamer Victoria, which blew up at Hull about four years past. This is one of the duties of the coroner's ofhce. Such may be said to be the constitution of England, under 52 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. which system she has become what she now is ; but under it she has also been great and happy. During the commonwealth there were a few changes for the better, and some much for the worse. Some I have alluded to, in speaking of Judge Hale. In 1655 special juries were first introduced, which seem to have been occasioned by the want of more information in mercantile concerns than ordinary juries possessed ; and there were also some regulations about granting new trials. TORTURE. " Power unjustly obtained never is of long duration," — Seneca. Mr. Jardine, in his excellent work on the use of " Criminal Torture in England," states the last instance of it was in 1640. It began under Henry VUI. Fifty-six warrants were issued for the apph cation of the bloody rackivom. Edward VI. 's reign to Charles I. ; yet against all the well-known laws, and contrary to an express provision of magna charta. It was applied as the king^s prerogative. The following is the description of the court of star cham- ber, by Lord Bacon : " This court of star chamber is compound- ed of good elements, for it consisted of four kinds of persons — counsellors, peers, prelates, and chief judges. It descendeth also to four kinds of causes — forces, frauds, crimes, various stellionates, (cheating,) and the inchoations of middle acts toward crimes, capital or heinous, not actually committed or perpetuated." Here was no trial by jury nor trial by a man's peers, which was guarantied by magna charta as every Eng- lishman's birth-right. God preserve us all from such ^^ good elementSj^^ say I. It was a horrible den of persecution and robbery, admirably suited to the capacities of the "/owr kinds of persons,^'' who, " As dogs that fight about a bone, Will play together where there's none." In 1688, when they had what they used to brag about, a " glorious revolution.,'^'' which merely brought a new family to reign over them, they had the Bill of Rights, which Paine describes with the follow ins: bitino; sarcasm : " AVhat is it but a bargain which the parts of the government made with each other, to divide powers, profits, and privileges .? ' You shall have TORTURE LAW CHARACTERS 53 SO much, and I will have the rest ;' and, with respect to the nation, it is said, '/or your share 3'oa shall have the right of petitioning.'' This being the case, the Bill of Rights is more properly the hill of wrongs and of insults ;" and the conse- quence arising therefrom is, they are become " a nest of tyrants and a den of slaves ^''^ and may say, *'- Our prayers insulted, our petitions mock'd, Our rights invaded, and our reasons shock'd, Our country mortgaged, and our brethren slain — What now remains] why, we ourselves remam !" Then why not enforce a change ? and such a change as shall once more bring forth the cheap and simple elements of your former Anglo-Saxon constitution, so clearly explained by John Cartwright in his excellent work, " The English Constitution produced and illustrated," 1823. " A commonwealth, if virtuous, may despise The stroke of fate, and see the world's last hour." The commonwealth of England certainly did not approach to virtue, and, therefore, it survived but little more than aii apprenticeship : but it has left behind it some of the greatest miseries that a nation ever was cursed with, " too numerous tc be numbered by man's arithmetic !" Among others that might be named, the Excise is, of all others, the most dreadful. That abominable system sends men about their affairs and their premises at all hours, day or night ; even the Sabbath is not sacred, armed at all points with oaths, informations, pains, and penalties without number. I have not a doubt but the mere expense of collecting this devilish system costs more (1842) than the whole revenue of King Charles, whose head they chopped off. Every Englishman now seems -Like an ass, whose back with ingots bend, Bear on their miscalled riches but a journey, 'Till knaves of state unload him," LAW CHARACTERS. " Great is the advantage to be derived from the study of characters.''' Bt'KDON The Lord Keeper Guildford was the second son of Dudley Lord North. He was very young when first put to school, and 5* 54 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. that but indifferent tutorage. His first master was Willis, who kept a school at Isleworth ; he was a rigid Presbyterian, and his wife a furious Independent. These two sects at that time contended for a pre-eminence in tyranny ; reaping the fruits of a too successful rebellion, which conjured up a spirit of opposition between them, so that they hated each other more than either the bishops or the Catholics themselves. For his exhibition his father allowed him only d660 per an- num at first. But the family being hard pinched for supplies toward educating and disposing of many younger children, and his parents observing him to pick up some pence by court- keeping, besides an allowance of i620 per annum from his grandfather, and a little practice, they reduced him to £50. This sat hard upon his spirits. Along with the law Mr. North studied arts and languages. He had previously been at St. John's College, Cambridge. He practised and played upon the lyra viol, which he used to touch lute-fashion upon his knees. I shall give two amusing anecdotes characteristic of these times on the circuit. The first relates to Sergeant Earle on the Norfolk circuit. He (North) was exceedingly careful to keep fair with the cocks of the circuit, and particularly the said Earle, who had almost a monoply of practice. The sergeant was a very covetous man, and, when none would starve with him on the circuit, this kept him campany. Once at Cambridge the sergeant's man brought his lordship a cake, telling him he would want it ; for he knew his master would not draw bit till he came to Norwich,* and it proved so. They jogged on, and at Barton Mills his lordship asked the sergeant if he would not take a mouthful there. " iVo, 6o?/," said he, " wc'// light every ten miles'^ end, and get to Norwich as soon as we can.'^'^ And there was no remedy. Once he asked the sergeant in what method he kept his accounts ; '^for you have,''^ said he, *' lands, securities, and good coming s-in of all kinds.^^ " Accounts, boy,"^ said he ; " / get as much as I can, and spend as little as I can; and there is all the accounts I keep.^^ The other anecdote relates to some of the habits of the circuits at this time. " Before I mention the farther steps of his lord- ship's rising, I must get rid of a scurvy downfall he had, which had well-nio;h cost him his life. That he was what was called a sober person was well known ; but withal he loved a merry glass with a friend. Being invited to dine with a few of the counsel at Colchester, with the recorder, Sir John Shaw, who was well known to be one of the greatest kill-cows at * It is necessary to say here that lawyers always went their circuits on horseback. Eldon went his circuit on horseback so late as the year 1780. LAW CHARACTERS. 55 drinking in the nation, he, with the rest of his brethren, by methods very well known, got very drunk. They were o-bliged to go on, and in that condition mounted ; but some dropped, and others proceeded. His lordship's clerk, Lucas, a very drunken fellow, but at that time not far gone, thought it a duty to have a special care of his master, who, having had one fall, (contrary to the sound advice of his experienced clerk,) would needs get up again, calling him all to naught for his pains. His lordship was got upon a very sprightly nag, that trotted on very hard, and Lucas came near to him to persuade him not to go so fast ; but that put the horse upon the run, and away he went with his master, at full speed, so as none could follow him. The horse, when he found himself clear of pursuers, slackened his pace by degrees, and went, with his rider fast asleep upon his back, into a pond to drink ; and there sat his lordship upon, the saddle. But providentially Mr. Card, a practiser of con- veyancing in Gray's Inn, came up time enough to get the horse out of the pond before he fell off; otherwise his life would have been lost. They took him to a public-house nigh at hand, and left him to the care of his man, but so dead drunk that he knew not what had happened to him. He was put into a bed, and the rest of the company went on, for fear of losing their market = Next morning, when his lordship awoke, he found he was in a strange place, and that at the fire-side in the same room there were some women talking softly, (for talk they must ;) he sent out all his senses to find out what was the matter. He could just perceive they talked of him. He then called for Lucas, and bid all go out of the room but him, and then said to him, " Lucas, where am /?" He was glad the danger, which Lucas now explained, was all over, and got up to go after his fellows. I remember, when his lordship told the story himself, he said the image he had when his horse first trotted, and so faster and faster, was as if his head knocked against a large sheet of 5ead as a ceiling over him ; and after that he remembered nothing at all of what had happened till he awoke."* Since nothing historical is amiss in a design like this of this extraordinary period, I will give a little more from this work, being from a writer who states, " what I have personally noted, and of indubitable report concerning these men." " Oh ! where their sway the curse of meaner powers, And they the shame of any realm but ours 1" * " The Life of the Right Honourable Francis North, Baron of Guildford, lord keeper of the great seal under Kings Charles II. and James II." By the Honourable R. North. *S6 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. JUDGE JEFFERIES. " His looks were dreadful, and his fiery eyes, Like two great beacons, glared far and wide, Glancing askew, as if his enemies He scorned in his overwheening pride ; And shaking stately, like a crane did stride At every step upon the tip toes high ; And all the way he went, on every side, He gazed about, and stared horribly, As if be, with his looks, all men would terrify." Spencer. Op this man, " damned to everlasting infamy ^^^ Roger North gives the following particulars : " To take him from his be- ginning, he was the son of a Welch gentleman, who used to say, ^ his son George would die in his shoes.'' His beginnings at the Inns of Courts and practice were low. After he was called to the bar he used to sit in coffee-houses, and order his man to come and tell him that company was waiting at his chamber ; at which he would huff and say, ' let them stay a little ; I will come presently.' This made a show of business, of which he had need enough, having a wife and several chil- dren. One of the aldermen of the city was of his name, Avhich inclined him into that part, where, having got acquaintance with the city attorneys, and drinking desperately with them, he came into full business, and was chosen recorder. That let him into knowledge at court, and he was entertained as the Duke of York's solicitor, and also king's counsel. He con- tinued recorder till the prosecution of abhorrers, and saved himself (as he took it) by composition for his place. There- upon, having surrendered his recordership, he obtained the chief justiceship of the King's Bench ; and, after the death of Lord Keeper Guildford, the great seal, which he held till the Prince of Orange landed, (King William HI.) The following passages give a fearful picture of the times ; so bad, if it came from a less questionable source, it might be rejected as untrue. " There is one branch of that chief's expedition in the west, which is his visitation of the city of Bristol," which has particular reference to this Union. " There had been a usage among the aldermen and justices of the city to carry over criminals who were pardoned with condition of transportation, and to sell them for money in the American plantations. This was found to be a good tpade ; but, not being content to take such felons as were convicts at their sessions and assizes, which produced but few, they found out a shorter way, which yielded a greater plenty of this living fleshy commodity — which was this : The mayor and justices usually met at their tolsey (a court-house by their exchequer) LAV7 CHARACTERS. 57 about noon, which was the meeting of the merchants as at the Exchange ; and there they sat and did justice business that was brought before them. VVhen small rogues and pilferers were brought there, and, upon examination, put tmder the terror of being hanged, in order to which mittimuses were making out, some of the diligent officers attending instructed the poor crea- tures to pray for transportation, as the only possible way to save their lives. Then no more was done ; but the next alder- man took his turn in regular course, and another as his turn came ; (sometimes the greedy villains quarrelling whose the last turn was ;) and so sent them over to America and sold them. This trade had been driven for some years, and no notice taken of it. Some of the wealthier aldermen, though they had sat in the court and connived, as Sir Robert Cann for instance, never had a man ; but yet they were all involved in this ini- quitous system when the charge came over them. It does not appear how this infamous subject came before the lord chief justice ; but, when he had hold of the end, he made thorough stitch-work with them ; for he delighted in such fair opportu- nities to rant. He came to the city, and told them he had a new broom to sweep them. The corporation of the city of Bristol was a proud body ; and their head, the mayor, in the assize commission, is put before the judges of assize ; though perhaps it was not so in this extraordinary commission of Oyer and Terminer. But when his lordship came upon the bench, and examined the matter, he found all the aldermen and justices concerned in this iniquitous kidnapping trade, and the mayor himself as bad as any. He thereupon turns to the mayor, accoutred in his scarlet and furs, and gave him all the ill names that his Billings-gate, scolding eloquence could supply; and so, with rating and staring, as was his way, never left him till he made him quit the bench and go down to the criminals' post at the bar ; and there he pleaded for himself, as any common rogue or thief must have done ; and, when the mayor hesitated a little, or slackened his pace, he bawled at him, and, stamping, called for his guards — for he was a general by commission. Thus the citizens saw their scarlet chief magistrate at the bar, to his infinite terror, and their amusement. He then took security of them to answer information, and so left them to ponder their cases among themselves. At London Sir Robert Cann applied, by friends, to appease him, and to get them from under the prosecution. The prosecutions depended till the Revolution, which made an amnesty ; and the fright only^ which was no small one, was all the punishment these judicial kidnappers underwent ; and the gains acquired by so wicked a trade rested peaceably in their pockets." 68 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. In reading; forward this interesting volume, so characteristic of the times, 1 cannot resist giving the following farther gra- phic account of the notorious JefferieSj " a brain of feathers and a heart of lead ;" noisy in nature, turbulent at first set- ting out, deserter in dilRculties, and full of tricks : " His friend- ship and conversation lay much among the good fellows and humorists ; and his delights were, accordingly, drinking, < laughing, singing, kissing, and all the extravagances of the bottle. He had a sort of banterers for the most part near him, as in olden times great men kept fools to make them merry ; and these fellows, low-cunninged and unprincipled, often abusing - each other and their betters, were a regale to him. When he was in temper, and matters indifferent came before him, he became the seat better than any other I ever saw in his place. He took a pleasure in mortifying fraudulent attorneys, and would deal forth his severities with a sort of majesty. He had extraordinary natural abilities, but little acquired, beyond what practice in affairs had supplied. He talked fluently and with ability, and with considerable spirit ; and his weakness was, that he could not reprehend without scolding in Billings- gate language, such as should not come out of the mouth of any man. But this he called gwing a lick with the rough side of his tongue. It was ordinary to hear him say, ' Go ! you are a filthy, lousy, nitty rascal.' Scarce a day passed that he did not, when in chancery, give a lecture to some one of this sort, a quarter of an hour long. And they used to say, * This is yours ; my turn will be to-morrow.' He seemed to lay nothing of his business to heart, nor care what he did or left undone, and spent in the chancery court what time he thought fit to spare. Many times, on days of causes, the com- pany have waited at his house for five hours in the morning, and after eleven he hath come out, inflamed and staring like one distracted : and that visage he put on when he animadverted on such as he took offence at ; which made him a real terror to offenders, whom he also terrified with his terrible ugly face and voice, as if the thunder of the Day of Judgment broke over their heads. He loved to insult, and was bold without check ; and nothing ever made men tremble like his vocal inflictions." I will give an instance, hoping it will act as a moral upon my readers ; admonishing them, whenever they have power to in- flict, they may do it with justice and moderation, not knowing what after-events may arise. A cit}^ attorney was petitioned against for some abuse, and affidavit was made that when he was told of my lord chancellor, " My Lord Chancellor !" said he ; "I made him ;" meaning his being a means of bringing him early into city business. When this affidavit was read. LAW CHaAAOTERS. 59 " Well," said the lord chancellor, *' then I will lay my maker by the heels ;" and with that conceit one of his old, best friends went to prison. But this which follows was fatal to him. This case was a scrivener at Wapping, brought to hearing for relief against a bottomry bond. The contingency of losing all being showed, the bill was going to be dismissed ; but one of the plaintiff's counsel said that he was a strange fellow, and sometimes went to church, sometimes to conventicles, and none could tell w^hat to make of him ; and it was thought he was a trimmer. At that the chancellor fired ; " And a trimmer !" said he ; ''I have heard much of that monster^ but never saw one. Come forth, Mr. Trimmer ; turn you round, and let us see your shape !" and at that rate talked so loud that the poor fellow was ready to drop under him ; but at last the bill was ttismissed with costs, and he went his way. In the hall one of his friends asked him how he came off. " Came off!" said he ; "I am escaped from the terrors of that man's face, which I would scarce undergo again to save my life ; and I shall cer- tainly have the frightful appearance always present as long as I live." " He is so ugly, witty, and so thin, That he's at once the devil, death, and sin." Young. Afterward, when the Prince of Orange came, and all was in confusion, this infamous chancellor, being very obnoxious, disguised himself, in order to go beyond sea. He was in a sea- man's garb, and drinking a pot in a. cellar at Wapping. This same scrivener came into this cellar after some of his clients anjd his eye caught that frightful face, which made him start. The chancellor, seeing himself eyed, feigned a cough, and turn ed to the wall ; but Mr. Trimmer went and gave notice that he was there ; whereupon the mob flowed in, and he was in extreme hazard of his life. The lord mayor rescued him and placed him in the Tower for safety, where he died a few days after, leaving '* a name never mentioned but with curses and jeers," as Byron said of Lord Castlereagh. Next we have a picture of Sir John Trevor. He was a favourite of Lord Chief Justice Jefferies, and also his country- man. It will serve to give a better understanding of this cha- racter, to show what sort of man that chief brought forward. " He was bred a sort of clerk in old Arthur Trevor's chamber, an eminent and worthy professor of the Inner Temple. A gentleman that visited Mr. Arthur Trevor, at his going out, observed a strange-looking boy in his clerk's seat, (for no per- son ever had a worse sort of squint than he had,) and asked 150 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. who that youth was ? 'A kinsman of mine,' said Trevor, ' that I have allowed to sit here to learn the knavish part of the law.' This John Trevor grew up and took in with the gamesters, among whom he was a great proficient ; and, being well-grounded in the law, proved a critic in resolving gambling cases and doubts, and had the reputation and the authority of a judge among them ; and his sentence, for the most part, carried the cause. From this exercise he was recommended by Jefferies to be of the king's council, and then Master of the Rolls ; and, like a true gamester, he fell to the good work of supplanting his patron and friend, and would have certainly done it if King James's affairs had stood right up much longer ; for he was advanced so far with him as to vilify and scold him publicly in Whitehall. He was chosen speaker in King James's parliament, and served in the same post after the restoration. Once upon a scrutiny for bribery in the house of commons, in favour of one Cook, a creature of Sir Josiah Childs, Avho ruled and regulated the East India Company, it was plainly disco- vered that the speaker, Trevor, had iBlOOO ; upon which the debate run hard upon him, and he sat six hours as prolocutor in an assembly that passed that time with calling him all to naught to his face ; and at length he was forced, or yielded, to put the question against himself, as in this form : * As many as are of opinion that Sir John Trevor is guilty of corrupt bribery, by receiving,' &c., &c. ; and, in declaring the sense of the house, declared himself guilty. The house rose, and he went his way, and came there no more ; but he continued in his post of Master of the Rolls, equitable judge of the sub- jects' interests and estates, to the great encouragement of pru- dent bribery for ever after." " And all her trumpets to the land complain, That not to be corrupted is the shame !" The wags of the days used to say of Trevor, that " Justice was blind, but Law only squinted." As this is the age of monstrous queer fellows as judges and lawyers, I will give one more from the same writer. " The Lord Chief Justice Saunders succeeded Pemberton. He was at first no better than a poor beggar boy, if not a parish foundling, without known parents or relations." He might have said : -No mother's care Shielded my infant innocence with prayer ; No father's guardian hand my youth maintained, Called forth my virtues, and from vice restrained." Savage. " He found a way to live by obsequiousness, (in Clements Inn, LAW CHARACTERS. 61 as I remember,) and courting the attorneys' clerks for scraps. The extraordinary observance and diligence of the boy made the society willing to do him good . He appeared very ambitious to learn to write, and one of the attorneys got a board knocked up at a window, on the top of a stair-case, and that was his desk, where he sat and wrote copies after court and other hands the clerks gave him. He made himself so expert a writer that he took in business, and earned some pence by hackney writing ; and thus by degrees he pushed his faculties and fell to forms ; and, by books that were lent him, became an exquisite entering clerk ; and, by the same course of improvement of him- self, a very able counsel, first in special pleading, and then at large ; and, after he was called to the bar, had practice in the Kings' Bench Court equal wdth any of them. As to his person, he was very corpulent and beastly, a mere lamp of morbid flesh. He used to say," * by his troggs,' (such a humorous way of talking he affected,) ^ none could say ne wanted issue of his body, for he had nine in his back.' He was a fetid mass, that offended his neighbours at the bar in the sharpest degree. This hateful decay of his carcase came upon him by continual sottishness ; for, to say nothing of brandy, he was seldom without a pot of ale at his nose, or near him. That exercise was all he used ; the rest of his life was sitting at his desk or piping at home and that home was a tailor's house, and the man's wife was his nurse, if nothing worse ; but by virtue of his money, of which he made little account, though he got a great deal, he soon be- came master of the family ; and, being no changling, he never removed, but was true to his friends, and they to him, to the last hour of his life. His parts were very lively, full of wit and repartee, in an affected rusticity all natural to him. He was ever ready, and never at a loss. He was a near match for the witty Sergeant Mainard. His great dexterity was in the art of special pleading ; and he would lay snares that often caught his superiors who were not aware of his traps. He was, indeed, so fond of success for his clients, that, rather than fail, he would set the whole court hard with a trick, for which he sometimes met with a severe reprimand, which he would wittily ward off*, so that no one was much offended with him. But Lord Hale could not bear his irregularities of life ; and for that, and suspicion of his tricks, used to bear hard upon him in his court. With all this, he had a goodness of nature and disposition in so great a degree that he may be deservedly styled a philanthropist. He was a very Silenus to the boys, (as in this place I may term the students at law,) to make them merry whenever they had a mind to it. He had nothing rigid or austere about him. If any near him grumbled at his st**^ ' 6 62 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. he ever converted the complaint into content, and laughing with the abundance of his wit. As to his ordinary dealings, he was as honest as the driven snow was white ; and why not, having no regard for money nor desire to be rich ? I have seen him for hours and half hours together, before the court sat, stand at the bar, with an audience of students over against him putting cases, and debating so as suited their capacities ; and he encouraged their industry. And so in the Temple : he seldom moved without a parcel of youths hanging about him, and he merry, and jesting with them. " It will be readily conceived that this man was never cut out to be a presbyter, or anything that is severe or crabbed. In no time did he lean to faction, but did his business without offence to any. He put off officious talk of government or politics with jests, and so made his wit a catholicon or shield, to cover all his weak places and infirmities. When the court came into the steady course of using law against all kinds of offenders, this man was taken into the king's business, and had the part of drawing and perusal of almost all indictments and informations that were then to be prosecuted, with the plead- ings thereon, if any were to be special ; and he had the settling of the large pleadings in the quo warranto against London. His lordship (Guildford) had no sort of conversation with him but in the way of business and at the bar ; but once, after he was in the king's business, he dined with his lordship, and no more. And there he showed another qualification he had ac- quired, and that was to play jigs upon a harpischord, having taught himself with the opportunity of an old virginal of his landlady's, but in such a manner (not for' defect, but figure) as to see him were a jest. The king, observing him to be of a free disposition — loyal, friendly, and without greediness or guilt — thought of him to be the chief justice of his bench at that nice time, and the ministry could not but approve of it ; so great a weight was then at stake, or could not be trusted to men of doubtful principles, or such as anything might tempt to desert them. While he sat in the King's Bench he gave the rule to the general satisfaction of the lawyers. But his course of life was so different from what it had been, his business so incessant and withal so crabbed, and his diet and exercise changed, that the constitution of his body, or head rather, could not sustain it, and he fell into an apoplexy and palsy, which numbed all his parts, and he never recovered the strength of them."* * From Life of Lord Keeper Guildford LA.W CHARACTERS. LORD BACON, "A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength." PROVJiKBS XXIV : 6. This was one of the men of eminence and talents of this period often alluded to and often quoted, particularly his adage, " knowledge is power," which might have been suggested to him from the Scriptures. But he has been far too highly rated : many have alluded to him as an extraordinary man at that period, which may be granted ; but, then, if he was great at that period, what was that more extraordinary man, his namesake, the poor friar born at Ivelchester, in Somersetshire, 1,214 ? That wonderful man understood about rising in the air, " the steam engine, steam navigation, organ building, and gunpowder, which was in use by children ; it was used in the German mines in the thirteenth century ; used in the wars of the third cru- sade ; and used against the Castle of Thiers."* And, as the learned Rabelais has said, " the Almighty put into man's head the knowledge of printings to counteract the devil's inven- tion of artillery." But the following extracts from one of Lord Bacon's works show that he had but a poor knowledge of sect affairs. He says : " It is a strange thing that in sea voyages^ where there is nothing to be seen but sky and sea, men should make diaries ; but in land travel, wherein so much is to be observed, for the most part they omit it, as if chance were fitter to be registered than observations. Let diaries, therefore, be brought in use." How short-sighted must he have been when he penned those lines ; for, by ships' log-hooks or diaries, quicker voj^ages have been made to all parts of the world, they having been the faithful registers of the various currents of the winds. Then, with respect to the philosophy involved in that paragraph, a lady shall answer him. «. " Ah ! wherefore do the incurious say- That this stupendous ocean wide No change presents from day to day, Save only the alternate tide 1 Show them its bounteous breast bestows On myriads life ; and bid them see. In every wave that circling flows, Beauty, and use, and harmony — Works of the power Supreme, who poured the flood Round the green peopled earth, and call'd it good." Chaklotte Smith. This extraordinary man is thus spoken of in Combe's System of Phrenology : " To judge of the line of conduct proper to be * Digby. 64 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. followed in the affairs of life, it is necessary to feel correctly as well as to reason deeply ; or rather, it is more necessary to feel rightly than to rellect. Hence, if an individual possess very reflecting powers, such as Lord Bacon enjoyed, and be deficient in conscientiousness, as his lordship seems to have been, he is like a fine ship wanting a helm — liable to be carried from her course by every wind and current. The reflecting faculties give the power of thinking profoundly, but conscientiousness and the other sentiments are necessary to furnish correct feeling, by which practical conduct may be regulated. Indeed, Lord Bacon affords a striking example how poor an endowment intellect — even the most transcendent — is, when not accompa- nied by upright sentiments. That mind which embraced, in one comprehensive grasp, nearly the whole circle of the sciences, and pointed out, with a surprising sagacity, the modes in which they might best be cultivated — that mind, in short, which anticipated the progress of the human understanding by a century and a half — possessed so little judgment^ so little of sound and practical sense, as to become the accuser, and even defamer, of Essex, his early patron and friend ; to pollute the seat of justice by corruption and bribery ; and to stoop to the basest flattery of a weak king, all for the gratification of a con- temptible ambition. Never was delusion more complete. He fell into an abyss of degradation from which he never ascended ; and to this day the darkness of his moral reputation forms a .amentable contrast to the brilliancy of his intellectual fame. There was here the most evident defect o^ judgment ; and, with such reflecting powers as he possessed, the source of his errors could lie only in the sentiments, deficiency in some of which prevented him from feeling rightly, and, of course, withheld from his understandina; the data from which sound conclusions respecting conduct could be drawn." ^ Bacon's salary, when appointed lord high chancellor, was JE540 15s. Oc?., and i6250 for each term ; for attendance in the star chamber^ i6300 over and above the said allowance, and i660 per annum for twelve tuns of wine. JUDGE HALE. According to M. Guizott, under Judges Hale, Whitelock, Windham, and RoUes, the judicial institutions underwent a total revision : they began again to be a protection to the subject against the power of the crown. Just and rational principles of evidence, sounder views of the object of penal laws, and of LAW CHARACTERS. 65 the proper means of enforcing th^em, first sprang up at the beginning of the commonwealth. In " The Constitution of Man," by G. Combe, it is stated that " it is a melancholy spectacle to find a man like Sir Matthew Hale condemning wretches to destruction on evidence which a child would now be disposed to laugh at. A belter order of things commenced with the chief justiceship of Holt, in conse- quence of whose firm charge to the jury on one of these trials a verdict of not guilty — almost the first then on record for witchcraft — was found. In about ten other trials by Holt from 1694 to 1701, the result was the same." Oliver Cromwell long wished to engage Hale, and give him office ; but he at first refused, telling him, as delicately as he could, he could not serve a usurper. Cromwell told him bluntly, if he could not govern by red gowns, (the English judges wear red gowns,) he would by red coats. But this learned judge, who is commonly known as the ^^ pious Judge Hale," introduced a law aphorism, which may be disputed, and which has been the cause of much severity of punishment, viz., that " the Christian religion is part and parcel of the laws of England.''^ Major Cartwright, in his inestimable work,* '^ The English Constitution produced and illustrated," (1823,) shows "that Christianity never was an element of the political constitution of England ; and those who have strained hard to make it pass for part and parcel of the laws of England, have only attempted to propagate a delusion for ill purposes." . In the life of this honest politician, by his niece, there is a letter from Thomas Jefferson to him, showing that " Christianity being part of the constitution arises from a mistranslation. About the year 1458 Finch quotes the cases, and puts Holy Scriptures for ancient writings. ^^ Judge Hale left many valuable works and MSS. to the society of Lincoln's Inn, with an injunction they never should be printed : and, when we consider there was then acensureship of the press, (which was a usurpation ; for, according to the learned Selden, "there is no law to prevent the printing of any book in England — being only a decree in the star chamber,") this injunction might be very proper. The following rules left by him are worthy the studj'' and * This work on the old Anglo-Saxon constitution no law bookseller would publish : the author, therefore, having taken a small shop for the sale of it in Chancery-lane, it was published and sold there. What a comment does this exhibit of the liberty of the press, and of the state of dependence of the law booksellers only twenty years past ! 6* 66 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. observance of ever}'^ one called to exercise the very important office of judge : HALE'S RULES. " Love righteousness, ye that be judges." — Solomon. Sir Matthew Hale, upon his becoming judge, prescribed to himself the following rules, which Bishop Burnet copied from his holograph : Things necessary to he had continually in remembrance. 1. That, in the administration of justice, I am intrusted for God, the king, and my country, and, therefore, 2. That it be done, first, uprightly ; secondly, deliberately ; thirdly, resolutely. 3. That I rest not on my own understanding and strength, but implore and rest upon the direction and strength of God. 4. That, in the execution of justice, I carefully lay aside my own passions, and not give way to them, however provoked. 5. That I be wholly intent upon the business I am about, remitting all other cares and thoughts as miseasonable inter- ruptions. 6. That I suffer not myself to be prepossessed with any judg- ment to any till the whole business and both parties be heard. 7. That I never engage myself at the beginning of any cause, but reserve myself unprejudiced till the whole be heard. 8. That in business capital, though my nature prone me to pity, yet to consider, that there is also a pity due to my country. 9. That I be not too rigid in matters purely conscientious, where ail the harm is diversity of judgment. 10. That I be not biassed with compassion to the poor nor favour for the rich, in points of justice. 1 1 . Not to be solicatous what man will say or think, so long as I keep myself exactly according to the rules of justice. 12. That popular or court applause or distaste have no in- fluence in anything I do, in point of distribution of justice. . 13. If in criminals, it be a measuring cast to incline tos mercy and acquittal. 14. In criminals that consist merely in words, where no harm ensues, moderation is no injustice. 15. In criminals of blood, if the fact be evident, severity is justice. 16. To abhor all private solicitations of what kind soever, and by whomsoever, in matters depending. 17. To charge my servants, first, not to interpose in any business whatsoever ; second, not to take more than their . ARCHITECTURE. 67 known fees ; third, not to give any undue precedence to causes ; fourth, not to recommend counsel. IS. To be short and sparing at meals, that I may be the fitter for business. The pay of the three judges of the King's Bench in 1613 was to each, ^6188 6s. Ad. ; being for his fee, iB154 19s. 8c?., and for living, i633 65. 8c?. At this period there was no fixed salary, and they were entirely dependant upon the crown. ARCHITECTURE. " As it is one of the noblest, is likewise one of the most difficult of the fine arts." — T. Hope. I DO not intend to criticise the style of the English buildings, Dut to show what they generally are. There are a few remain- ing from the Romans, and no doubt built by them, although they have left the country about 1400 years. After the Ro- mans, the Saxons were invited. That people were then idola- ters, ferocious, ignorant, and bad builders. Kirtlington church, Cumberland, is supposed to be one of their best specimens, and has had no alteration. The first Saxon churches were in the Roman style : no doubt they imitated, as far as they weice able, those they saw surrounding them. Brixworth church is of Roman bricks,* no doubt part of another building. God- win says : " The history of architecture is a relation of gradual changes, springing out of each other. The temples of India and Mexico carved in solid rocks ; then the ponderous Egyp- tian ; then the Grecian, chaste simplicity ; then the gaudy Ro- man ; then the beautiful Gothic, or rather Christian, pointed to * " The name of brick was not given until about 1430 ; they were previ- ously called tiles. Saxon and Norman were generally seventeen and a half inches long, eleven and a half inches broad, and two thick. Those for pillars were generally nine inches in diameter ; those for floors and roofs, twenty-two inches square. The forms and sizes changed about the be- ginning of the twelfth century. The Flemish ones were introduced about 1320 : these were of various sizes, some being twelve by six, three thick ; others ten and a half by five, and two thick : the cost in 1327 was 65. \d. the thousand. " Ahout the year 1490 bricks, intermixed with ornaments of stone, became a fashionable manner of buildmg. In 1500 flints were often intermixed with brick-work, chequered, as an ornament. " From the middle to the end of the sixteenth century the ornaments were frequently imitated on burnt clay, to adorn the fronts of houses and chimney-shafts." — Architectural Magazine, vol. iii. 68 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN the skies," " fine by degrees, and beautifully less," looking like a frame-work of wood, or, as in the unique chapter-house of Lincoln Cathedral, resembling a lofty tent. The history of the word Gothic, as applied to this style, may perhaps be deserving a passing remark. " Gothic is said by Torre to have been first applied as a designation by Cassere Cesirino, the translator of Vitruvius, in his commentary 1521." Sir Henry Wotton, who wrote his work on architecture in 1624, used it, probably deriving the term from this erroneous source. Sir John Evelyn, a voluminous and various writer, who suc- ceeded him, continued it ; and then Wren seems to have finally settled its improper application. Now, although these were all " honourable men in their generation," yet, according to Mr. Hope, they were living in error. He traces this style to have been the work of the Free-masons, which order began in Lom- bardy. The Emperor Maximillian, the first German emperor who held drunkenness in abhorrence, gave them a diploma in the year 1298. (They spread all over Christendom, but Henry VI. broke them up in England in 1424.)* Mr. Hope farther says : " This body of men were the authors of what has long been erroneously, and quite as foolishly, call- ed Gothic architecture, but which historical evidence and good sense now calls Christian." As one of its distinguished cha- racteristics is pointed^ it does not admit of cupolas, but spires. He informs us that the early English and French Christians left off" building some time before the year 1000, supposing that period would end the world. " The circular, or Norman, or Lombardic style," (a door-way of which may be seen, peiliaps the finest in the world, at Malmesbury, buil-t 675,) " attained its highest ornament about 1140: after this period began the pointed. William of Wykeham rather flattened the arch, and made an alteration in the windows, since called perpendicular or panelled, about 1440 : after this period the windows became more florid or ramified ; and in France was made another alteration, equally as beautiful, called fiafnboyant. There are but few specimens called perpendicular, either in France or Germany, and nothing like Henry VII. Chapel, except in small details ; nor is there any of that more gorgeous of the Tudor style, supposed to have originated with Cardinal Wolsey."! § The peculiarities of this style are the graceful pointed, united * This talented body of men do not seem to have ever had anything to do with the present Free-masons ; neither did they produce anything in architecture, nor leave anything in their archieves, to show rhey were ever connected with them. Both Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren were grand masters ; and it is fair to presume that, if anything had been left rela- tive to their matchless art, these men would have availed themselves of it. t Hope. § Pugin. ARCHITECTURE. 6§ with arabesque ornaments in the Florentine taste, with gro- tesque corbels, gargoyles, and a redundance of quaint devices and heraldric enrichments of every kind. The learned Grotius said of Hampton Court, when in perfec- tion, ^' other palaces are residences of the kings, but this is of the gods." Heutzner speaks of it with astonishment in the reign of Elizabeth. "Here ancient art her doedal fancies play'd, In the quaint mazes of the crisped roof; In mellowing looms the speaking panes array'd, And ranged the cluster'd columns massy proof." Wharton. After the Tudor style came the Elizabethan, which is a mixed style, and of which there are so many elegant specimens now remaining ; and which are so proper (as, indeed, all the varieties of this style are) for that dripping atmosphere.* Inigo Jones, born 1572, began the revival of the Palladian or classical style. Under James I. he built the banqueting house, Whitehall ; and he has left behind him the designs for a palace on that spot, which, if he had completed, would have been the most magnificent in Europe. It was to have been in extent, on the east and west sides, 874 feet, and on the north and south, 1152 feet, the interior being distributed into seven courts. But the great number of splendid buildings from his designs still remaining, sufficiently express his powers and his skill. Mr. Hope has justly observed, that '-'• skill in mechanics is a faculty wholly distinct from taste in the fine arts." But Inigo Jones was not deficient in either requisites. Walpole, in his " Anec- dotes of painting," says : " If a table of fame were to be formed of real and indisputable genius in every country, England would save herself from the disgrace of not having her representative among them. She adopted Holbein and Vandyke, and she bor- rowed Rubens. She produced Inigo Jones ; Vitruvius drew up his grammar; Palladio showed him the practice; Rome dis- played a theatre worthy of his emulation ; and King Charles was ready to encourage, employ, and reward his talents. This is the history of Inigo Jones as a genius." A small cluster of other architects of no mean pretension might be added. The next in importance is Wren, born 1632, who came forth in the most auspicious time to build his fame, and to raise the metropolis, like another phcenix, from its ashes. His chief work, St. Paul's Cathedral, is said to be " the glory of England," * The first English work on architecture, I believe, was by John Shute,. entitled '• The first and chief grounds of Architecture." He was a painter, stainei, and architect, and died 1563. 70 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. (and, except in size, is said to rival successfully St. Peter's at Koine.) '' Here aiciiiteclure, like an apparition, rises from the tomb of antiquity." — Goethe. He removed the ruins of a former Cliristian temple, which stood upon the foundations of a Pagan one. -Meditation here May think down hours to moments. Here the heart May give a useful lesson to the head, And, learning, wiser grow without her books." He was the builder of some fifty other churches ; the Monu- menl, Temple-bar, and several grand and splendid mansions. It is much to be regretted that he was prevented from carrying out his design, after the great fire of 1666, of improving the city. His plan was, to have only three grades of streets — the widest to have been ninety feet, next grade sixty feet, and none less than thirty ; but this necessary and judicious arrangement was prevented by circumstances over which he had no control. It is remarkable that in so large an undertaking as the building of St. Paul's Cathedral, which lasted full forty years. Wren should have lived to see it completed. He had a salary of ^200 per annum while it was in progress. I think proper here to relate two anecdotes strongly and vividly showing the persecuting spirit and rudeness of manners of the times at the extremities of this period, and which I fondly hope is now on the decline, never to be revived. I should by no means be satisfied that any good would arise from the penning of these pages, if they did not teach a moral to my readers, by showing them the errors of an overbearing sectarian feeling, and thus to soften the asperities of life ; for " by marking our fathers' errors we are wise." " The spacious Drapers' Hall, Throgmorton-street, is built upon the ruins of a palace erected by Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex. It formerly belonged to the priory of St. Augustines ; but, not being large enough to gratify the lordly ambition of this terrible man, he, in an arbitrary manner, without the consent of either landlords or tenants, caused several fences to be removed back twenty-two feet, and added that space to his ground, and enclosed it with a brick wall. Among the sufferers was the father of Stowe, the " honest chronicler ;" his whole house was raised upon rollers and set back without his consent, and he never could get any redress, so great was the power and influence of this proud oppressor. Cromwell's mansion being forfeited to the crown by his attainder and execution, it was purchased by the Draper's Company."— T. H. Sheppard. The other anecdote is as follows : " Up to the time of 1734 ARCHITECTURE. TI the Lord Mayor of London had no fixed place of residence.* At that time was living that splendid patron of architecture, the Earl of Burlington : as soon as he heard of the intention of the corporation, he made them an offer of a design gratis, by the celebrated Palladio ; when it was known it was by that artist, he being a Catholic, it was indignantly rejected ; and the present Mansion House, the first stone of which was laid 1739, was by a ship carpenter of the name of Dance. "'f It is supposed that at the beginning of the eighteenth century there were not more than twenty-five professors of architectuie in Great Britain. In the year 1748 Horace Walpole built Strawberry Hill in the Christian style, assisted by Mr. Richard Bentley, which is supposed to have been the cause of its revival, and being very generally adopted for all sorts of buildings. My subject, to be more fully developed to my readers, must necessarily be divided, but which a few pages, 1 hope, will sufficiently illustrate. CASTLES. '■ Fate sits on those dark battlements and frowns ; And as the portal opens to receive, Her voice in sullen echoes through the coarts Tells of nameless deeds !" I SHALL begin first with the warlike castle. The historian of the " two houses of parliament " states, " the architects of the olden time, called ' the dark ages,' studied at once stability, grandeur, and beauty in their sacred and regal edifices." There are many specimens of Roman forts scattered up and down where they had their military stations ; and there are also some few of the Saxon era ; the history sind contemplation of which are " well calculated to strike out the dimple from the cheek of mirth." But Mr. Pugin says, " The Norman princes and nobles of the eleventh and twelfth centuries delighted exceedingly in building." Their frugality in diet and ambition in dwelling in stately castles are recorded as very different from the taste of the Anglo-Saxons. Almost every eminent church was built within this period, and a prodigious number of castles. Gundolph, Bishop of Rochester, was a great castle builder ; * During the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, Sir John Langham, who was lord mayor for a part of the time, lived at Crosby Hall. He was the last person who occupied that fine old building as a dwelling. t Illustration of public buildings of London. 73, THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. many were improved from his skilful designs. He died in 1 108. The styles of these buildings are distinguished by strong and ponderous dimensions, round arches, and various mouldings. The walls of the Tower of London at the podium or base are twenty-seven feet thick, graduating to fifteen feet. Those of Bishop Gundolph's are none less than twelve feet. After the crusades (the last was not till the middle ages) the castles were more crenellated and macchiolated ; and then was introduced one or more port-cullis at the entrance gate-way, and also the Moorish style, which will assimulate with the Gothic or Christian. "The principles of which," according to Coleridge, " are infinity made imaginable." Alas ! some of them are well described by the descriptive Byron in Mazeppa : " There is not of that castle's gates, Its draw-bridge, and port-cullis wight, Stone, bar, moat, bridge, or barrier left ; Nor of its fields a blade of grass, Save what grows o'er a ridge of wall, Where stood the hearth-stone of the hall." But there are some perfect, such as the Royal Windsor, the Ducal Alnwick, the peer-creating Arundel,* the Baronial War- wick, all of which have been so often described as to be familiar to the minds of most intelligent readers. I will describe the princely Raby, to show its vastness ; and Nawarth now, just as it was years past ; which will exhibit the manners and customs of the age. They are both in the northern part of England, and were of great importance formerly as strpng-holdgs against the Scotch, when that country was an independent kingdom, during the everlasting feuds consequent thereon. Raby Castle was the seat of the Duke of Cleveland, the last of whom ( who has been dead but a few months) was so great a fox- hunter, according to " Nimrod's Sporting Tour," as " never to have been aw^ay from his hounds above three days during each season, except attending his dutj'' as a parliamentary peer, for thirty-six years." The chief entrance is on the west : a very grand hall leads to a spacious court, and in that a great hall supported by six pillars. *♦ Here hung trophies of the fight or chase ; A target here, a bugle there, A battle-axe, a hunting-spear, And broad-swords, bows and arrows store, With the tusked trophies of the boar." Scott. * Any one being the lawful owner of this castle, is, by the tenure, Earl of Arundel, and, consequently, a parliamentary peer. It is the only one which possesses this privilege. Its present owner is the Duke of Norfolk. m. ARCHITECTURE. 73 A stair-case leads into an upper hall ninety feet long, thirty-six feet broad, and thirty-four feet high. Here assembled, in the time of the powerful Nevilles, seven hundred knights, vs^ho held lands of the family. The walls are nine feet thick. Of late years there have been made many recesses ; one holds a bed, scooped out of the walls. The oven is higher than a tall person ; the diameter is fifteen feet. In former days baked meats were the usual food, so that many a noble baron, or a fat sirloin, and fatter rump, could be cooked one over the other at one operation. But now this is turned into a wine- cellar ; the sides divided into ten parts, each holding a hogshead of wine in bottles. The kitchen is a lofty square, with three chimneys — one for the grates, second for stoves, the third for the great cauldron : the top is arched, a small cupola or louvre light for the centre ; on the sides are five windows ; a gallery all around, four steps down another stair-case, to the great hall. It originally belonged to the Bishop of Durham. This castle was built in the Saxon era, nine hundred years ago. Nawarth Castle, one of the seats of the Earl of Carlisle. " The dwelling-rooms are accessible by sixteen stair-cases in the turrets. The hall is 25 yards long, 9 J yards broad, and of great height ; a minstrel or music gallery at one end. The top and upper end of the room is painted on panels in 107 squares, representing Saxon kings and heroes. The chimney is 51 yards wide. Within this is another old apartment, hung with tapestry : all remains just as it was when occupied by Lord William Howard, the owner, in the days of Elizabeth and James. His library is a small room, in a verj' secret place, high up in one of the towers, well secured by doors and a narrow stair-case : not a book has been added. In this room is a vast case, three feet high, which opens into three leaves, having six great pages pasted therein, being an account of St. Joseph of Arimathea and his twelve disciples, who founded the Abbey of Glaston- bury ; and at the end a long history of saints, with the number of days or years for which each could grant indulgences. He was a Catholic ; but, owing to the horrid laws, he dare not then openly avow his sentiments. The roof is coarsely carved. The windows are high up, and are to be ascended by three steps, lest any one inside should be reached by some arrow or shot outside ; such was the needful caution of those times. It is said Lord William was very studious and wrote much. Once, when thus employed, a servant came to tell him that a prisoner was just then brought in, and desired to know what should be done with him. Lord William, vexed at being thus disturbed, answered hastily, ' Hang him.' When he had finish- ed his study, he ordered the man to be brought before him for 7 74 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. examination •, but he found that his order had been too literahy obeyed. He was a severe, but very useful, man at that time in that lawless country. Close by the hbrary is an ancient oratory, richly ornamented with coats of arms and carvings, painted and gilt. This castle was built about 1398."* ON AN OLD DISMANTLED HALL.t " The ivy crawls on thy ruined walls, And thy turrets with age are dim ; And the bat and the owl about thee prowl . In the moonbeam's mystic gleam. The lone wind sweeps through thy crumbling steeps In the midnight vigils drear, And each hollow squall seems to laugh at thy fall, And to tell thee thy end is near. The ravens perch on thy belfried church, And they all, as though they hate, Feast their demon eyes, 'neath the clouded skies, On thy sad and mouldering state. Thus art thou now ; but not so, I trow, Hast thou been in the times before ; For thou'st taken thy stand with the best in the land, In the good old days of yore. Thy barons bold, in their reign of old. And thy titled ladies fair. Have hunted the doe with quiver and bow, And driven her from her lair. Thy ancient dames, with their high-born names, Have — all seated in rigid form. With needle in hand — work'd embroidery grand, Thy fine Gothic rooms to adorn. The boar's head staunch and the venison haunch Have oft smoked on thy plenteous board, And been wash'd down, the huge feast for a crown, With the wine-cellar's luscious hoard. Thy banquet-hall hath oft rang with the call Of the huntsman's jovial toast. As with courteous sign they've quaffed their wine To the health of the lordly host. But thy day is o'er, and, alas ! no more Shall thy faded brightness be told ; For done is the chase, and ended life's race, With the band of huntsmen bold. * Pennant's Tour. t This beautiful piece of poetry was given to me by a friend, m MS, When I inquired who was the author, he replied, " Non mi ricordoy ARCHITECTURE. 75 The baron sleeps in the chancel deep, 'Midst thy churchyard's ancient graves, And thy dames are dead, and ihy grandeur fled, And there's naught can thy ruin save. Thou art now but a sign of the bygone time, Giving food for the poet's lays, That the tale naay be told of thy annals old, And the glories of better days." I will now avail myself of the graphic description of an early baronial mansion, by the pen of the Rev. Mr. Whittaker : not many of these remain entire. " The palace of the feudal victor Now serves for naught but for a picture." " The Lords' Mansion was constructed of wood, on a strong foundation of stone ; it was of one ground story, and composed of a large oblong square court. A considerable portion of it was taken up by the apartments of such as were retained more immediately in the service of the seigneur ; and the rest, which was more particularly his own habitation, consisted of one great, and several little rooms. In the great one was his armory — the weapons of his fathers, the gifts of his friends, and the spoils of his enemies ; all being disposed along the side-walls." Such was the first style of building. Great Chalfield Manor House, Wiltshire, the seat of Sir H. B. Neale, Bart., will exhibit the next change. This old English Aula has a moat, a turreted wall, a church, a grange, (a farm establishment,) a mill, fish-ponds, a plesaunce, and an orchard. Inside, a noble hall, an oak screen elaborately carved, a min- strel gallery, with bay or oriel windows. It stands near to the parish church, in which there is a complete set of parish registers from 1545 — only nine years from the period they were ordered to be kept. Of this description of habitation I will give the dates of some of the many now remaining, to show the strength and the durability of the materials, and the work- manship. Winwaloe, Norfolk, is the oldest mansion, built of stone some time in the eleventh century. Penshurst, Kent, 1320. Tattershall, Lincolnshire, 1455. Oxburgh, Norfolk, 1484. Hengrave, Suffolk, 1538. Thornbury, Gloucestershire, 1540. Longleat, Wiltshire, 1567. Charlcote, Warwickshire, (immortalized by Shakspeare,) 1567. Kingston, Wiltshire, 1570. App. ix. In the fourteenth century ornamental carpentry had arrived at great perfection. The intermixture of wood, stone, and plaster flourished at the beginning of the fifteenth and sixteenth '^nturies. The stair-cases of former times were usually cylin- 76 IJIE SOCIAL HISTORl OF GREA'l J^RlTArN. drical, and formed in the turrets : the gallery was brought into use, and the massive hand-rail and broad stair, balustrades and enriched ornaments, with the Elizabethan architecture. Between 1580 and 1601 there was built Montacute House, in Somersetshire, a noble building in the shape of the Roman letter pn, in honour of Queen Elizabeth. The owner was Sir Edward Phillips, and he was her sergeant-at-arms. It cost iB.20,000. It is ninet}^ feet high and one hundred and eighty- nine feet long : there is a gallery from end to end, either for music, dancing, or pictures, with a noble oriel window at each end. The chimney-shafts represent columns of the Doric order. There are niches, with statues, ornamented gables, balustrades, pinnacles, and an enriched cornice. HOSPITALITY. But above all, and which is of far more consequence than all the rest, and which proclaims as loud as though it came from the cannon's mouth — the easy state of society of that period; for over the gate-way there is the following general invitation : " Under this wide-opening gate no one comes too early, and none stay too late." That was a proof of English hospitality ! That was a sample of merry England ! There was a noble manor house built at Charlton, in Kent, by Sir Adam Newton, who was tuto.r to Prince Henry, eldest son of James 1. Here was kept old English hospitality. Brayley, editor of the " Graphic Illustrator," thus speaks of its decline : " The decay of English hospitality is to be attributed to the long-continued pressure of the national expenditure upon the middle ranks of society, rather than to the refinements of the age ; the wherewithal has been extracted from the domes- tic hearth, whether for purposes of good or evil, and the glow of every social and generous feeling chilled into a repulsive selfishness, by the craving w^ants of the immediate homestead." In plain words, taxation has driven it away. Let us see how this hospitality commenced. It commenced with the Christian religion, and, through the monasteries, it became nationalized. -Of seats we tell, where priests mid tapers dim, Breath'd the warm prayer or tuned the midnight hymn ; To scenes like these the fainting soul retired, Revenge and anger in these cells expired ; By pity sooth'd, remorse lost half her fears, And soften'd pride drop'd penitential tears." HOSPITALITY. 77 An abbey was tbe highest rank in the monastic system. It often occupied a space of ground of from fifty to ninety acres, walled in. The Abbot of Glastonbury once received, on a visit, two hundred knights and their retainers. The stables of Bury St. Edmunds could accommodate three hundred horses. It included all the appendages of as large a domain as is attached to great Chalfield manor house. The refectory was ninety- eight feet long by thirty-four feet wide. There was an almonry, chapter-house, locutory or parlour, infirmary, scrip- torium, kitchen, and other domestic offices ; and, consequently, a regular set of officers. 1. Majister Operis^ master of the fabric ; he attended to the repairs and embellishments. 2. Elemosynarij^ the almoner, who distributed the alms. 3. Pitantiarius^ the person who distributed the pittances or extra- ordinary allowances of the provisions. 4. Sacrista^ the sexton, who took care of the vessels, books, and vestments, and attended to the burying of the dead. 5. CamerariuSj the chamberlain, who had the care of the dormitory, razors, towels, bedding, &c. 6. The Cellararius^ or the cellarer, who procured provisions for the convent. These were the six principal lay officers ; but there were also Thesaurius, or treasurer or burser ; Precentor^ the chanter ; the Hostilarius^ who attended to the entertainment of the guests ; the Injirmararius ^ who had the care of the sick ; the Refectionarius looked after the hall ; the Coquinarius looked after the kitchen ; the GardenanuSy the gardener ; and Portarius^ the porter : such were the attendants on one of these establishments. And, according to Bishop Tanner, " these monasteries were, in effect, great hospitals, and most of them were obliged to relieve many poor people every day. They were likewise houses of entertainment for almost all travellers. Even the nobility and gentry, when they were upon the road, lodged at one religious house, and dined at another, and seldom or never went to inns." Oh ! what misery among the poor people, and what hideous deformity to the appearance of all classes, has the destruction of these noble buildings created. It would be supposed that the talented Park Benjamin sat, in solitary, musing in one of these ruins when he penned the following highly descriptive lines : " I look around and feel the awe Of one who walks alone, Among the wrecks of former days In dismal ruin strown. I start to hear the stirring sound From the leaves of wither'd trees, . For the voice of the departed Seems borne upon the breeze." 7* 78 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. In former days every clergyman's house was open for three days to any one travelling or in ^distress ; but as soon as the clergy were allowed to marry, this charitable custom was destroyed. There were also many hermitages. Chapel House, in Ox- fordshire, now a great posting house, was one. There is one at Chapel Plesters, in Wiltshire, on a hill, for assistance of travellers. "A hermit that dwelt in those solitudes cross'd me, As, wayworn and faint, up the mountain I press'd, The aged man paused on his staff to accost me. And proffer'd his cell as his mansion of rest." Bishop. At Henley, in Arden, Warwickshire, according to Dugdale, " there was a hospital and gild, for the relief of poor people and strangers, in the time of Henry VI. Before the dissolution of this gild it was a custom, that, upon all public occasions, (as weddings, and the like,) the inhabitants of this town kept their feasts in the gild-house, in which they had most kinds of household stuff, as pewter, brass, spits, andirons, linen, tables, &c. ; and wood, out of the little Park of Beldesert, for fuel : those who were at the charge of the feast paying only 6s. 8d. for the use of them. But now all is gone, except the pewter, which, being in the chapel warden's custody, they lend out for four pence a dozen when any feast is made."* Such was English hospitality. The following extract, from " The Life of Bishop Ridley," by his nephew, will show^ the other side of the picture : " The dissolution of the monasteries had turned many thousands adrift ; some of these, however unworthy, were presented, by the new lay patrons, to benefices, in order to save the pensions reserved for them, which filled the cures with ignorant, idle, vicious men." He also states that " it raised the rents from forty pounds to a hundred pounds per annum ; was the cause of break- ing up small farmers, and also joined farms together ; conse- quently many houses went to decay. Gentlemen neglected the country, and did not keep up the usual hospitality ; numbers were driven to seek other employment, and shift for themselves." Such was the beginning of the decline of this amiable, this national characteristic, which was known, and remarked upon, all over the world. The Italians have a saying, (if they see a busy man,) "Ha piu di fare che i forni di Natali in Ingel-terra." (He has moie business than English ovens at Christmas.) * Antiquities of Warwickshire. HOSPITALITY. 79 And such also is the beginning of its present great criminality ; for where there is misery, criminality is sure to follow. While those pious institutions were in being, the great mass of the people were well taken care of, both mentally, bodily, and re- ligiously. " Libraries were also formed in all the monasteries, and schools founded in and near the cathedrals, for teaching the literature of the times."* Well might Dr. Dunham say, " These places well deserve the reverence of mankind, for they afforded, at some periods, a scene of refuge to religion and learning." Since their destruction the people have become poverty- stricken, ignorant, and brutish ; and many once-beautiful places, scattered all over the country, are made hideous and unsightly. About three years past the writer visited the coal and lead mines at Holy Well, in Flintshire ; and also the celebrated St. Winifred's WelLf About a mile down a pretty little valley are the ruins of Basingwerk Abbey. It may be said " To sit in naked solitude on the edge of the whispering wave." It is close by the side of the River Dee. It was founded by an Earl of Chester, 1131, and had a small establishment ; but its aquatic situation brought forcibly to his mind the follow- ing two verses : " Hark, the vespers hymn is stealing O'er the waters soft and clear, Nearer yet, and nearer pealing, Now it bursts upon the ear ; Farther now, and farther stealing, Soft it fades upon the ear. Now like moonlight beams retreating. To the shore it dies along, Now like angry surges beating. Breaks the mingled tide of song ; Hark again, the waves retreating. To the shore it dies along !" To those who may wish to know more about this, the most interesting portion of English history, I would say, read Cob- bett's " History of the Reformation," Doyle's Edition, N. Y. * Poiteus. t This well is constantly throwing up eighty-four hogsheads a minute, which never freezes ; and turns eleven large factories, all within a distance of one mile and two hundred and thirty-four yards. 80 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. HOME TRAVELLING. ** Soon shall thy arm, unconquer'd steam, afar Drag the slow barge, or drive the rapid car, Or on wide-waving wings expanded bear The %ing chariot through the fields of air." Darwin, 1793. This quotation contains a prophesy. At the time it was written, steam was only in its infancy ; but it presents an ad- mirable contrast to the state of travelling at the beginning of the seventeenth century, two centuries before the lines apply. To state the case in a concise manner, as it has been stated,* " iw our domestic traffic pack-horses have given way to wagons, wagons to canals, and canals to railroads.''^ But I apprehend my readers would not be satisfied, without I stated how these gradations came about ; and this I propose doing in this chapter. A Lancashire gentleman now can have his own carriage, con- taining himself and family inside, and some of his domestics out, put upon a railroad-car, his own horses, which drew him down to the station, put into safe boxes on another car, and he will be set down in London (a distance of two hundred miles) in twelve hours. Now, let us see what was done in 1603. Queen Elizabeth died at three o'clock on the morning of Thursday, 24th March. Sir Robert Carey| stole away from Richmond Palace, and arrived in Edinborough, with the news to King James, in the course of the following Saturday night. The distance from Richmond to London is nine miles ; from London to Edinborough, 383 miles. This is the present distance : it may be within bounds to assume that the distance at that time was 400 miles. He performed this distance on single horses, say in sixty hours ; and, taking into consideration the then state of the roads, he would be pronounced a good horseman. Horses at that time were the only means of communication, whether for a single individual or a load of goods. J The state of the roads were * Gentlemen's Magazine, 1838. t " With, I suppose, bottelles of wine strapped to his saddele, and pastyes of salmonde, troutes,andeyleswrapted iu toweles." — Frois^ar/, by Berners. t In 1713 Bristol (then the second port in the kingdom) had no carts; but the traffic was all moved about the city on sledges, winter and summer. The following extract is from Dr. Bannatyne's scrap-book, as given in Dr. Clelf^nd's statistical account of Glasgow : " The public have now been so long familiar to stage-coaches, that they •'•e led to think they have always existed. It is, however, even in Eng- land, of comparatively late date. " The late Mr. Andrew Thompson, sen., told me that he and the late Mr. John Glassfond went to London (from Glasgow) in the year 1739, and HOME TRAVELLING. 3 I not only very narrow, but nowhere graded, except a fe roads^ left by the Romans. The government couriers were the letter-carriers 'I'here is now in preservation a letter from Mr. Bagg, (dated 1623,) deputy mayor of Plymouth, to Sir Edward Conway, Strand, London, with all its endorsements on it at the various posts during the distance, which is 211 or 214 miles : it took the courier fifty-seven hours. In 1825 the Defiance coach used regularly to travel the same distance in twenty-seven hours. These government couriers were under martial law ; and if it was found they anywhere lingered, they were liable to be hang' edj as a warning to the next. PILLION RIDING. " This riding double was no crime In the first great Edward's time, No brave man thought himself disgraced By two fair arms about his waist ; Nor did the lady blush vermilion Sitting on the lover's pillion. Why 1 because all modes and actions Bowed not then to vulgar fractions, Nor were tested all resources By the power lo purchase horses." Queen Elizabeth often used to ride, on .state occa^-ionSjOn a pillion, behind the lord chancellor or lord chamberlain. COACHES. It is said to have been Henry Fitzallan, lord steward of her household, who introduced coaches.* It is well known she had William Boonen, a Dutchman, for her first coachman, in 1564. As the nobility at this period lived mostly by the side of the made the journey on horseback. Then there was no turnpike-road till they came to Grantham, within 110 miles of London. Up to that poin-t they tra- velled on a narrow causeway, with an unmade soft road upon each side of it. They met, from time to time, strings of pack-horses, from thirty to forty in a gang, the mode by which goods seemed to be transported from one part of the country to another. The leading horse of the gang carried a bell, to give warning to travellers coming in an opposite direction , and he said, when they met these trains of horses, with their packs across their backs, the causeway not affording room, they were obliged to make way for them, and plunge into the side-road, out of which they sometimes found it difficult to get back again upon the causeway." * Saxony, Naples, Italy, France, and Spain had coaches before England. 82 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Thames, they used to move about in their own splendid barges until they began to have coaches, which at first were driven (though so clumsy) with two horses ; but the profligate Buck- ingham flourished away with six, and sometimes eight In 1605 coaches were partially usedb}^ the nobility and gentry In 1625 Captain Bailey, an old sea officer, first set up coaches to ply for hire ; hence they obtained the name hackney-coaches Hacknev-coach, 1625.* He began with only four. The customary station was at the sign of the May-pole, in the Strand. His drivers had splendid liveries. In 1628 Charles granted a special commission to the Marquis of Hamilton, his master of the horse, to license fifty for London agad Westminster, with liberty to each to keep twelve good Coach, time of Charles II, horses for each coach, but no more for that business. This 'will give a good idea of the state of the streets and the roads ; * This engraving represents the rider on the contrary horse to that tna postillions now mount. HOME TRAVELLING. 83 for, if they had been in good condition, one-third that number "would have been sufficient. In 1673 stage-coaches were introduced. It then cost forty shilUngs in summer, and forty-five in winter, to go from London to Exeter, Chester, or York, (distance to Exeter, 172 miles ; to Chester, 181 miles ; to York, 197 miles,) and a shilling to each coachman : in summer the journey took up four days, and in winter six days. Stage-coaches were introduced into Scotland in 1678. The principal roads in the north of Scotland were mere track-ways till 1732. SEDAN CHAIRS. In 1626 Sir Saunders Duncombe introduced sedan chairs ; certainly, for fashionable visiting, in full dress or high state, for either male or female, (for both sexes used them,) they were unique. They were carried by Irishmen. A lady could walk into one of them (they are now in use at Bath, Brighton, and in London, though smaller, and glazed, and even more elegant than the one given below) as it stood in her own hall or Sfdan Chairs, 1634. passage. " A guarded lackey to run before it, and pied liveries to come trashing after," with a link, if at night. Take you to your place of visit, and, if needful, into the very room where the party were assembled, and there set you down just in the same 84 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. state, in defiance of all weather, as when you left your dressing- room ; and fetch you away again in the same manner. One could be engaged for the week for twenty- one shillings, or one shilling an hour. If that is not a luxurious sort of locomotion, I know not what is. POST-CHAISES. In 1734 John Tull introduced post-chaises. This is a light travelling four-wheeled carriage, for two persons, which inn- keepers provide as well as horses. " Comfort must not be expected by folks that go a pleasuring." Lord Byron wrote this line when he first went travelling into Spain, 1809 ; although he says the roads were good. Let us see what they were in the south of England in 1703. In that year Prince George of Denmark and suite had to travel from Windsor, in Berkshire, to Petworth, in Sussex, a journey of only forty miles, which took seventeen hours : frequently his carriages stuck fast in the mire, and some of them were over- turned ; and the carriage in which was the prince would have experienced the same fate, had not the country people propped and poised it frequently from Godalming, in Surrey, nearly to Petworth. The last nine miles occupied six hours. But overturns and broken limbs were not the only or w^orst evils to be met with in such a migration ; for all the great approaches to the capital, particularly Bagshot Heath, Houns- low Heath, Popham-lane, and Shooters Hill, (in Kent, six or seven miles only from London,) were infested with foot-pads or mounted highwaymen so late as 1739, either singly or in small bodies ; and the daily prints contained accounts of robberies committed upon the travellers or the mails, and sanguinary encounters with robbers were frequent. " The style in which Sir Francis Wronghead and his famity travelled, however laughable, (bating a little stage extrava- gance,) was not unusual with persons of his rank. Two strong cart-horses were added to the four geldings which drew the ponderous family carriage, with an array of trunks and boxes ; whileseven living souls, besides a lap-dog, were stowed within. The danger of famine was averted by a travelling larder of baskets of plum cakes, Dutch ginger-bread, Cheshire cheese, Naples biscuit, neats tongues, and cold boiled beef. The risk of sickness provided against by bottles of usquebaugh, black cherry brandy, cinnamon water, sack, tent, or strong beer ; while the convoy was protected by a Turkish cimeter^ a HOME TRAVELLING. 85 a polished, brass-barrelled, bell-mouthed blunderbuss, a bag of bullets, and a great horn of powder."* I give the following horrible account of travelling in Scotland, from the Gentleman's Magazine, vol. ii., new series, 1834. It is an extract from the " Diary of a lover of literature," dated July 3d, 1807. The writer is a Mr. Green. " Dined at the White Horse : Mr. related the following extraordinary adventure, which came, he said, from two friends," (the editor of the magazine, in a note, says that no reasonable doubt of its truth can be entertained,) " which happened half a century ago : * Going from Berwick to Edinborough, a stormy night compell- ed them to put up at a solitary inn some miles short of where they intended to stop. The looks of the people were fero- cious, and their manners suspicious and uncouth. They were unaccountably impressed, from its strange aspect and peculiar taste, that the meat-pie, which was the only thing they could procure for supper, was composed of human flesh. As the evening continued tempestuous, they ordered beds ; (they were apprehensive of precipitating their danger by an immediate departure.) Several circumstances heightened their suspicion, and the hideous sight, through a crevice of their apartment, of a woman sharpening a long case-knife in an adjoining room, increased their alarm. They contrived to make their escape, leaving their horses and baggage ; and, quitting the high-road, endeavoured to make their way across the country, to the next town. They had not advanced far before they found they were pursued by a blood-hound ; but, by fording a river, they evaded the pursuit, and reached their intended destination. The story which they told increased the suspicions of the people of the town ; many travellers, they said, had been strangely disposed of, and nothing ever heard of them. A search warrant was granted, the people of the house were secured, and on different parts of the premises the plunder of many passengers were found and the bodies disco veref^.'' TURNPIKE-ROADS. In 1663 the first act of parliament was passed for levymg tolls on turnpike-roads. The first turnpike act for Scotland was passed in 1750. In 1819 there was a regular turnpike-road, and the mail travelled it from London to John O'Groat's house, a distance of eight hundred miles. It was only about this period (1750) that the internal com- * Vanbrugh's Journey to London. 8 86^ THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. merce of the country was carried on in wagons ; of which some were very large, y/ith wheels from three to four feet wide, which were called rollers, (they did not pay toll,) and drawn by eight or more large horses. When Pennant visited Scotland, he went on horseback. There were no coaches north of the city of York in 1770. I will now give some statistics of English road travelling, from John McNeil, the engineer of the Holyhead road, 1831. He says, " The weight of a four horse English stage-coach varies from 15| cwt. to 18 cwt., (of 1121bs. to the hundred ;) they carry from 2 tuns 5 cwt., to 2^ tuns, coach included ; tire of the wheel about two inches. The old mail-coaches weighed 20 cwt., or one tun. The mail-coaches since 1836 weigh only 17 cwt. ; they sometimes carry a tun of letters and parcels : the tire is 21 inches. The vans, a carriage for light parcels,*;? without passengers, average 4^ tuns, carriage included : they travel six miles per hour. The present eight horse wagon and its load, four tuns, with nine inch wheels ; six horse wagon SL^a Its load, 3^ tuns, the wheels six inches ; four horse wagon and its load, three tuns, the tire four inches. Farm wagons of Northamptonshire, 21 cwt., wheels three inches ; carry from one to three tuns : they last about twenty years. The wear and tear of a mail or stage coach is supposed to consume about lOlbs. of iron every one hundred miles, from the tire, springs, horse-shoes, and traces. The tire lasts only from two to three months : coach-horses are shod every thirty days ; wagon- horses every five weeks." A great difference in the wear and tear of the wheels on railroads has been observed. A first class carriage, its weight 3| tuns, has run 25,000 miles, and has only lost 7|lbs. from the tire ; although it has a drag, which is occasionally used. The mail-coaches were only introduced into Ireland in 1787. The journey from Dublin to Cork lasted from five to six days, often performed with one set of horses. In the year 1838 a coach proprietor in London, named Chaplin, had thirteen hundred horses at work, five principal coach-yards, and two hotels. If my opinion may be considered worth anything, I should say the American system of coach building is the best. I offer no opinion about the workmanship or durability, having had no experience ; but in this part of the Union, where wood is cheap and iron dear, they use more iron. In England, where wood is dear and iron cheap, they use more wood ; consequently, the American carriages have a lighter appearance. As the roads in England are for the most part better than here, the American sys- tem would seem better for that country, and the English for this. HOME TRAVELLING. 87 CANALS. The Romans made the River Witbam navigable from the city of Lincoln to the sea. In 1139 Turlough O'Comier had a canal dug from Balinasloe, on the River Suck, to Tuam, in Ireland. John Trew, a Welch engineer, made the River Exe navigable, with locks and sluices, 1563, from Exeter to the sea. The River Wey was made navigable, from Godalming to the Thames, by Sir Richard Weston, 1690. The Aire and Calder Canal, Yorkshire, began in 169*9. The River Avon, from Bath to Bristol, was opened 1727. But the Sankey Canal was begun 1760, at the sole expense of the Duke of Bridge water : Brindley was his engineer, who is justly called the father of inland navigation. The great Caledonian Canal, which makes a continued line of inland communication from east to west across Scotland, through three lakes, was suggested in 1713, but not commenced till about 1800. There are now in Great Britain ISO canals : their whole extent is 2682 miles ; they pass through forty-eight tunnels under ground, whose joint length is thirty-two miles. The grand cost was thirty million pouncas. The English canals are not wider than forty feet, and from six to ten feet deep. The boats average about fourteen tuns, and tracked by only one horse, and travel from four to five miles per hour. RAILROADS. "The steam engine is the master-piece of human skill, and the most valuable present that was ever made by philosophy to ihe arts." — Dr. Black. The first railroads were in the northern coal districts, about 1676 : the wagons were drawn by one horse, taking as many as he could move slowly — weight perhaps forty tuns. A few years after, they began to use iron wheels ; but it was about 100 years from the commencement before they began to plate the rails with iron. Such is the infancy of railroads. Trevethick, who died 1833, was the father of locomotives in 1805. There was one act of parliament for regulating a northern railroad in 175S, but no more till 1801, from which period we may begin to date railroad travelling. The Liverpool and Manchester railroad carried at the rate of 1070 persons per day, without one stoppage, and only one loss of life, the first eighteen months after it was opened, 1830. 88 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. " Bees have been noticed not only to keep up with a steam engine train, at the rate of twenty-five miles per hour, but to fly round and about it. A linnet was observed to have a dif- ficulty in keeping up this pace." — Silliman^s Journal. In the year 1826 Mr. Cobbett, in his " Rural Rides," gives the following information : " I got a little out of my road in or near a place called Tangley. 1 rode up to the door of a cottage and asked the woman, who had two children, and who seemed to be about thirty years old, which was the way to Ludgarshall, which I knew could not be more than four miles off: she said she did not know ; a very neat, smart, and pretty woman ; but she did not know the way to this rotten-borough. * Well, my dear good woman,' said I, ' but you have been at Ludgarshall P * No !' '• Nor at Andover .^' (six miles another way.) ' No !' * Nor at Marlborough.^' (nine miles another way.) ^ No !' * Pray, were 3^ou born in this house .?' ' Yes.' *- And how far have you ever been from this house V ' Oh ! I have been up in the parish, and over to Chute.' That is to say, the utmost extent of her voyages had been about two and a half miles. Let no one laugh at her, and above all others, let not me, who am convinced that the facilities which now exist of moving human bodies from place to place are among the curses of the country, the destroyers of industry, of morals, and of course of happiness. It is a great error to suppose that people are rendered stupid by remaining always in the same place. This was a very acute woman, and as well behaved as need be." Such were the remarks of that close observer and excellent WTiter in 1826. What he would say now, when there are so many railroads, may be readily guessed. Receipts on the English railroads in 1842 were, for passen- gers, (26,000,000,) ^£3,624,318 ; for goods, iBl, 172,717. BRIDGES, VIADUCTS, AQUEDUCTS, AND TUNNELS. " The Catholic religion has covered the world with its monuments." Chateaubriand. The oldest stone bridge in England was at Bow, near Lon- don, built in the time of Henry I., 1110 to 1118, from funds furnished by his pious wife. It had three arches, and a chapel at one end ; was only 131 feet wide ; was widened to 21 feet, 1741. Within these two years it has all been taken down, and a sjranite one, of one arch, built in its place. In King John's reign (1200) the toll-keeper received for every cart load of corn, one penny ; for every load of teazles, two pennies, (this shows there was woollen cloth manufactured ;) but for every HOME TRAVELLING. 89 dead Jew, eight pence. There was only one graveyard in all England, in former times, where the Jews were permitted to be buried, and that was outside the walls of the city of London. The most curious stone bridge is the one for foot-passengers, in the shape of a triangle, where two little streams join, at Crowland : it leads into three counties. This was built by the monks of Crowland Abbey, near to which it is situated, and is now a master-piece of ingenuity : time not known, but the abbey was built 860. During the reign of the Stuarts there was only one bridge across the Thames at London. The longest bridge of stone in England, until lately, was built by Bernard, the Abbot of Burton, upon Trent, in the twelfth century. It has thirty -four arches, and is 1545 feet long. During that century there was a religious society called Pontificers, founded by St. Benezet. These holy brothers weref' enjoined to erect bridges, assist travellers, regulate ferries, repair and erect bridges on the public roads : they erected a chapel at one end, where they received tolls and other chari- table bequests for such useful purposes. The largest one arch stone bridge is at Chester. It is 200 feet span, but very lately finished. But the longest bridge, reckoning water and land arches, is the Strand Bridge, in London. It has nine water arches, which extend 1380 feet, of granite ; this, added to many brick arches on each side, makes the whole bridge 2456 feet, and all per- fectly level. The width of the river is 1326 feet. During the last century iron has been extensively brought into use for bridges. The first application was a chain bridge, for foot-passengers, 70 feet long and 2 feet broad, across a very beautiful ravine of the Tees, in the north of England. But the first cast iron bridge for general purposes was put across the Severn, at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, 1779, of 100 feet span. The first chain pier was put up at Brighton, 1823, which led the w^ay for the chain bridge across the Menai Strait, in Wales. The whole length is 850 feet : there are four arches on the western side and three on the eastern, of 50 feet each, leaving 560 feet over the strait for the passage of vessels. There are two carriage-ways at top, twelve feet each, and a foot-way of four feet, for passengers. It is all of iron : was commenced by Telford in 1818, and cost £70,000. There was put up at Londonderry, in Ireland, a very fine wooden bridge by Samuel Cox, of Boston, Massachusetts. It is 1068 feet long, 40 feet broad, with a drawbridge attached : the tide rises from 8 to 10 feet ; the depth of river at low water is 31 feet. It does the engineer great credit. Opened 1790. 90 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. But, since the introduction of railroads, new principles of art have been obliged to be adopted. The railroad will in no case admit of an acute angle ; and the other roads over or under;:i which the railroad has to pass, (an abrupt turn,) are nearly as objectionable ; so that hence has been obliged to be built, where the tvt^o roads run nearly parallel, as is often the case, a skue bridge ; otherwise " the traveller must have obliquely waddled to his end in view." The first so constructed was over the Liverpool and Manchester road, 1834 ; but there are now many, built of all sorts of materials and of various contorted shapes. The railroad has also created a necessity for viaducts. One has lately been erected across the River Mersey, at Stockport, perhaps the most surprising one in the world. It is composed of 26 arches ; twenty-two of them 63 feet span, and the other four of 20 feet each : the length is 1786 feet ; height from the water. 111 feet, (which is 6 feet higher than the Menai chain bridge.) There were used 11,000,000 of bricks and 40,000 cubic feet of stone : it cost iB70,000 ; was finished in twenty-one months ; and only settled half an inch. (By Bucke, engineer.)* As the railroads required viaducts, so do canals require aque- ducts. Out of several very extraordinary ones, I will give some particulars of two. The one over the River Lune, near Lancaster, has five arches, each of 70 feet span, for barges of about 60 tuns burden : height from the surface of the river to the surface of the canal is 51 feet. But the one which excites the most surprise and the most admiration, is the one in Wales, called Pont-y Cyssyltan, across the River Dee — a rapid river, second only, in beauty, to the picturesque Wye. " The waters every whit as clear and whole- some as if they darted from the breast of a marble nymph or the urn of a river god."! " Where silver rivulets play through every mead, And woodbines give their sweetness, limes their shade." Young. The scenery of these two vales, which has called forth the genius of various talented men, is thus beautifully poetized by Mason . •' True poetry the painter's power displays, True painting emulates the poet's lays; The rival sisters, fond of equal fame, Alternate change their office and their name." * The Victoria viaduct, (since the above in the north of England,) in height And span, is the largest in Europe. It is 270 yards long ; width, within parapet walls, 21 feet ; and height from the water, 157 feet. t Cowley. HOME TRAVELLING. 91 This stupendous work of art is 1000 feet long. There is a cast iron trough, suppor Led in the air on eighteen stone pillars, x21 feet above low water. The dimensions of the.se pillars, at the level of high water, are, 20 feet by 12 feet, and grading gradually to 13 feet by 7^ feet ; the upper fifty feet they are hollow ; the outer walls two feet in thickness. The cast iron Iron Aqueduct of Pont-t Ctsbyltan. trough, to convey the water and the boats, is apparently but seven feet two inches wide ; but, as the water goes under the horse-track, it is virtually eleven feet ten inches : the towing path is four feet eight inches wide. It was by Telford, and opened in 1805. As railroads and canals must have a surface nearly level, viaducts and aqueducts are the most ready means by which they sweep the valleys. But as valleys are formed by moun- tains, and the level must still be continued, the mountains must be perforated ; hence arises the necessity of tunnels, a few of which I will describe, although they are all modern, none having been excavated before the time of Brindley. The longest of those for canals is at Blisworth, in Northamp- tonshire : it is nearly four miles. At Kilsby, in the same county, there is one for the railroad, with a double carriage-track, 2423 yards long. There are two connected with the railroad in the important port of Liverpool, from the docks by the river-side, clear under the town : the longest runs a distance of 2200 yards, (is twenty- two feet wide and sixteen feet high,) up an inclined plane, about half an inch per yard in the rise. In 1798 Dodd, an engineer, projected one under the Thames, at Gravesend, 22 miles below London. In 1804 Chapman project- ed one at Rotherhithe ; and in 1807 Vezie commenced the construction. Its diameter was eleven feet, at a distance of 315 feet from the river's bank. With Vezie was associated Treve- thick, a man of great practical knowledge as a miner. In 1808 the water broke in upon them, and what was done was irre- coverably lost. In 1823 Brunei began (which may now be said to be complete) the present one, which broke in, in 1828 ; and, the company's funds being exhausted, it was abandoned 92 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. until a treasury loan was obtained in 1835. It was passed through August 17th, 1841. And the King of Prussia, who came to England to be sponsor to the young Prince of Wales in 1842, was prevailed upon to lay the last brick. It consists of two arches thirty-two feet high and thirty-eight feet broad, all brick-work (laid in cement) about four feet thick; a shaft on each side of the river, fifty -five feet deep and forty-two feet in diameter, down which people pass by a spiral stair. It is about a quarter of a mile long. But, to make it fully available for carriages and cattle, there must be tunnel approaches, inclined upward till they meet with open daylight. The rules of travelling; the roads and walking the streets have thus been poetized, and are, therefore, easily recalled to the memory : " The rules of the road are a paradox quite In driving or riding along ; If you keep to the left you are sure to be right, If you keep to the right, you go wrong.* But in walking the street it's a different case ; To the right it is right you should veer ; To the left must be left a convenient space For those viho are meeting you there." INNS. " To take mine ease in mine inn." — Shakspeare. Harrison says, (1580,) " Those townes that we call thorou- faires, have great and sumptions innes builded in them, for the receiving of such travellers and strangers as passes to and fro. The manner of harbouring wherein is not like to that of some other countries, in which the host or good man dooth chalenge a lordlie authority over his ghestes, but clean otherwise sith every man may use his inne as his owne house in England, and have for monie how great or little verietie of vittels, and what other service himselfe shall thinke expedient to call for. Our innes are also very well furnished with naperie, bedding, and tapisserie ; for, besides the linen used at the tables, which is * During the last European wars those *' gentlemen of England who lived at home at ease," established four-in-hand clubs, in which extraor- dinary skill in the art of driving was brought to great perfection. Sir John Lade, Bart., for a wager of considerable amount, drove his carriage and four norses twenty-two times in rapid succession through a gate only wide enough to admit the carriage through, and scarcely allowing the four horses space to turn round. HOME TRAVELLING. ^ commonlie dailie washed, is such and so much as belongeth unto the estate and calling of the gheste. Ech commer is sure to lie in cleane sheets, wherein no man hath beene lodged since they came from the landresse. If the traveller have an horsse, his bed dooth cost him nothing ; but if he go on foot, he is sure to paie a penie for the same : but whether he be horsseman or footman, if his chamber be once appointed, he may carie the kaie with him as of his own house, so long as he lodgeth there. If he loose aught whileth he abideth at the inne, the hoste is bound by a general custome to restore the damage, so that there is no greater securitie aniewhere for travellers than in the gretest innes of England." He then notices some depredations which travellers are liable to on the road, and then tells us : '' In all innes we have plentie of ale, biere, and sundrie wines ; and such is the capacitie of some of them, that they are able to lodge two or three hundred persons and their horsses at ease. As soon as a passenger comes to an inne, servants run to him, and one takes his horsse, and walkes him till he be cool, then rubs him down, and gives him meate ; another servant gives the passenger his private chamber, and kindles his fire ; the third pulls off his boots and makes them cleane ; then the hoste or hostess visit him, and if he will eate with the hoste, or at a common table, his meal will coste him six pence, or in some places four pence ; but if he will eate in his chamber, he com- mands what meate he will, according to his appetite; yea, the kitchen is open to him to order the meat to be dressed as he likethbest. After having eaten what he pleases, he may, with credit, set by a part for the next dale's breakfast. His bill will then be written for him, and, should he object to any charge, the hoste is ready to alter it."* They had splendid signs ; and the inns in the County of War- wick, on their days of fairs, had their doors well dressed with the foliage of trees. Izaak Walton, the ano;ler, thus alludes to an ale-house on the River Lea, contiguous to the village of Hoddesdon, in Hertfordshire : ^' The honest ale-house, where we shall find a cleanly room, lavender in the windows, twenty ballads stuck about the wall, and a hostess both cleanly, handsome, and civil." But in London foreign travellers at that period noticed the taverns as dens of filth, tobacco smoke, roaring songs, and roysters ; yet women of rank allowed themselves to be enter- tained in such places, and actually tolerated those freedoms from their admirers, which are described with such startling plainness in our old plays. | * Moryson's Itinerary, 1617. f Character of England in Somers' Tracts. 94 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. The sign of the White Hart is heraldric of Richard 11. ; of the White Swan, of Henry IV. ; of the Blue Boar, of Richard HI. There was a difference in the signs and decorations of houses of entertainment in the Catholic times. Some years since I passed by a house called the Four Crosses, built of squared oak, framed and filled in with brick, bearing the date 1636, on which was the following inscription : " Fleres si scires uimm tua tempora mensem ; rides cum non scis^ si sit forsilcm una dies.'''''* The Shipwrights' Arms, by Tom Owen, a sporting tapster, at Northfleet, in Kent, has the following maxims : " Meet friendly ^ My liquors are good. Drink moderately., My mea,siires are just. Pay honestly y Pay to-day. And part quietly. To-morrow Pll trust. Life''s hut a journey ; live well on the road.''^ But the following beautiful lines, which are the out-pourings of a warm and inspired soul, should be the maxim. Dum vivimus vivamus. * ' Live while you live,' the epicure would say, . ' And seize the pleasures of the present day.' ' Live while you live,' the sacred preacher cries, * And give to God each moment as it flies.' Lord, in my views, let both united be, I live in pleasure while I live to thee." Dr. Doddridge. GARDENING. »' God the first garden made — the first city, Cain." — Cowper. To do justice to this interesting subject, when agriculture is added to it, would occupy a volume ; but I will endeavour to condense, in a few pages, a few^ particulars. During the middle ages St. Fiacre "was considered the patron of gardeners, and that festival was duly honoured. The monks were always great gardeners ; their riches, their taste, their learning, their leisure, their frugality all conspired to this object. The learned naturalist and Protestant clergyman, * *' You would weep if you knew that the period of your life was limited to a month, yet you laugh when you do not know whether it may endure for a day." This excellent old house, now in fine preservation, stands at Ivetsey-bank, in Cheshire. Long may it stand with that excellent inscription, to admonish the thoughtless topers who frequent it. GARDENING. 95 Gilbert White, who wrote his " History of Selborne " in 1789, thus quotes from Dalryniple's Annals of Scotland : " In the monasteries the lamp of knowledge continued to burn, however dimly. In them the men of business were formed for the state. The art of writing was cultivated by the monks. They were the only proficients in mechanics, in gardening, and in architecture." On the little Island of lona, among a cluster of others on the western coast of Scotland, was a garden in the sixth century. The venerable Bede, the '* Doomsday book," and William of Malmesbery, mention vineyards supposed to have been intro- duced by the Romans in the third century. The apple was considered a symbol of love ; and we read '' from Pierius that one was in the hand of the statue of Venus."* As the word apple is the same in the Cornish, Welch, and Irish languages, it is supposed to be indigenous. During the last days of Turketul, Abbot of Crowland, who died about Anno. 870, he used to encourage the schoolboys of his monastery with apples, nuts, figs, and raisins. Gardens in " the olden time " were laid out somewhat in the following manner : The pleasure-grounds consisted of terraces and walks upon them, a bosquet, a bowling green, which, in consequence of that dripping atmosphere, was always '' the envy and admiration of the world ;" a labyrinth, a small wood, a shady walk of nut or filbert trees, oftentimes a shady avenue of box or clipped yew, and rarely ever without ponds or foun- tains, cascades, and statues. The learned Wharton says : " An herberie, for furnishing ^omestic medicines, always made a part of our domestic gardens." Many of these gardens, which had been little more than courts with trim walks, ornamented with shrubs and flowers, are beautifully described in a stanza in Gray's Elegy. " Here scattered oft the earliest of the year — By hands unseen are showers of violets found ; The red-breast loves to build and warble here, And little footsteps lightly print the ground." Gardens began, during the reign of Elizabeth, to be enlivened by the introduction of foreign plants and flowers. They were introduced from Holland and the Netherlands, who, being a commercial people, first introduced them from both the Indies and the Levant. Great improvements now became gradually * Detur 'puichrion, (let it be aiven to the most beautiful.) This inscrip- tion, arcorcin.CT HS the tale is told, was put upon the apple, the adjudication of which !o the jroddess Venus, bv Paris, excited the resentment of Juno and Muierva." — Brown's Vulvar Errors, 96 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. extended. Hartlib, who wrote various works on this science, 1650, states that some old men recollected the first gardener who came into Surrey to plant cabbages, cauliflowers, and sow ripe peas, turnips, carrots, and parsnips ; '' all which were great wonders, we having had few or none in England but what came green from Holland or the Netherlands." Twenty years before, he tells us, so near London as Gravesend (22 miles) there was not a mess of peas but what came from London ; but now they are abundant. But he adds, " I could instance divers other places in the north and west of England, where the name of gardening and hoeing is scarcely known." By the middle of the century liquorice, saffron, cherries, apples, pears, hops, and cabbages were cultivated in suffi- cient abundance to render importation unnecessary. The pro- gress was rendered slow, by the want of nurseries, of apples, pears, cherries, vines, and chestnuts. Persons who lived at a distant part of the country, and wished to introduce new varieties of fruit into their gardens, were, says Hartlib, " often compelled to send nearly 100 miles for them." Tobacco would soon have been regularly cultivated, had it not been checked by the excise laws, as a source of revenue. Cromwell, who wisely encouraged these rural arts, allowed him a pension, (he was a Pole by birth,) which was stopped at the restoration, and he died in poverty. App. x. To give an idea of the slowness with which this ne- cessary art progressed, I will instance the potatoe. Hum- boldt says its real country is not known. Admiral Hawkins brought them from Santa Fee in 1565, and planted them in Ireland, (before Raleigh. ) White, in his history of Selborne, tell us, " Twenty years ago (meaning 1769) the poor would not taste them, and the growth of them were promoted by premium. Evelyn, on gardening, says : " Farmers who did not provide plenty of peas, greens, and beans for their servants, were dis- pised for their parsimony. For a long period gardening was completely mixed up with the knowledge, or rather the nonsense, of astrology Tusser thus advises : *' Sow peas and beans in the wane of the moon — Who soweth them sooner, he soweth too soon — That they with the planet may rest and may rise, And flourish with bearing most j)]entiful wise." Gasper de Gabrielli, a Tuscan nobleman, had a private botanic garden in 1525. There was a public one (perhaps the first in Europe) at Padua in 1545. The ornamenting of gardens and pleasure-grounds with GARDENING. 97 statues and urns was revived about the beginning of the six- teenth century, by the Cardinal D'Este. Garden buildings, such as alcoves, summer-houses, and grottoes, were introduced b}"- Inigo Jones into England. There was an orangery of glass at Wollerton Hall, Notting- hamshire, in 1696, supposed to have been the first in England.* Now begin farther changes, more interesting from the great varieties of new plants, and more tasteful in their arrangement and we may now say, in the language of Dyer, " Thus in nature's vesture wrought, To instruct our wandering thought ; Thus she dresses green and gay, To disperse our cares away." The primitive English gardens were laid out in geometric forms ; various trees were cut into fantastic shapes, which were dignified with the name of vegetable sculpture ; numerous trees represented animals. There was also, if the house or castle was not moated round, a canal in the garden, cut straight ; and, as this was artificial, it soon became offensive by being stagnant It is supposed that Christopher Wren, chaplain to Charles I., father of the architect, was the originator of serpentine waters, or letting water take its natural shape from the usual inequality of the ground. In all these changes, which would take several chapters to detail, it may be shortly said, that " Lord Bacon was the prophet, Milton the herald. Pope the practiser, and^ Addison and Kent the champions of true taste ;" which is simply by letting the foliage take its natural shape, and intro- ducing trees or shrubs to contrast in shape and colour, which forms what is now so appropriate and picturesque an appear- ance in modern pleasure-grounds, wherein may be gathered " Sweet-briers, hawthorns, lilies, violets, roses — What a nice bouquet for all sorts of noses." Gerarde published his " Herbal " in 1597. He had a garden in Holborne, now a densely peopled part of London. The first English botanic garden was at Syon House, the seat of the Duke of Northumberland, managed by Dr. Turner, who died 1568. There was also established a public botanic garden at the University of Oxford in 1 632.1 In Charles II. 's reign Sir Arthur Rawdon sent a ship ex- pressly from Ireland to the West Indies, which returned freight- ed with five plants : he then had a hot-house built at Moira to contain them. * Loudon. t Ibid. 9 93 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Daines Barrington, a learned antiquarian, conjectures the first hot-house, and also the first ice-house, was built for Charles II. The great tulip mania, by which a moderate fortune was squandered for a flower, was in its height in Holland about 1634.* From 1730 to 1740 it declined in England. Since that time no one has been called upon to condole with a friend, who was " Quite ruin'd and bankrupt, reduced to a farthing, By making too much of a very small garden." On no subject has science triumphed so majestically over nature as in gardening. There is at this time scarcely a beauti- ful plant, tree, shrub, flower, or fruit but what can be found in great perfection in some part of Great Britain, either in hot- houses or the open air. The winters for the most part being mild, those calculated for the open air seldom suffer ; while those requiring heat, which can be cheaply obtained, and re- gulated by day and by night to any required temperature, flourish in the highest perfection. Hence it may, in truth, be said, that the hot-houses in England beat all the world, both for fruit and foliage. The catalogue of plants now cultivated number 120,000. As gardening is so interesting, particularly to females — and as it may be carried on, more or less, by every person who has a residence — perhaps the following hints and anecdotes may be sufficient to induce fathers of families to allow this general taste to be indulged, even in cities. How pleasant must it be to exhibit to a curious friend the plant daphne, (thymalacee,) which has flowers before leaves, thus alluded to by Cowper : " Though leafless, well attired and thick beset With blushing wreathes investing every spray." The best specimen known is the mezereon. The French call it the genteel wood ; the Italians, the fair plant ; the Germans, the silky bark ; the Spaniards, the lady laurel. How agreeable must it be to have a few plants of the myc- tanthus jasminse, which gives its odour only at night, placed in the hail or on the stair-case, thus alluded to by Moore * " The timid jasmine herbs that keep Their odour to themselves all day ; But, when the sunlight dies away, Let the delicious fragrance out To every breeze that roams about." * The Dutch brought the tulip from China. GARDENING. F» The sweet-brier is a delightful, odoriferous shrub, which gives out a delicious fragrance in cool, shady places ; and in this country would be delighted with occasional ablutions from the watering-pot — and then the following lines may be appropriate to it: TO THE SWEET-BRIER. Whence breathes such fragrance through the ambient airl Whence do such balmy scented zephyrs rise] I look around, and see no blossoms near, Wafiing their incense to the azure skies. There blows, 'tis true, some gaudy flow'rets, dress'd In robes of crimson and of golden hue ; Though fair their form and variegated vest, The inod'rous plants but charm awhile the view. But see that thorny shrub of verdant leaves, Without a flower to increase its lovely bloom ; It smiply thrives, and every gale receives. As light it brushes o'er the rich perfume. Thus genius and beauty live in peace unseen, And brighter shine the more their diffidence ; While arroorance, with proud and stately mien, Allures the vain, but is disdained by sense. Growing flowers in pots is of great antiquity, but was revived and brought into notice in France during the reign of that splendid monarch, Louis XIV. Where the enthusiasm is as strong as that manifested by a Miss Kent, who has a garden at the top of a flat-roofed house, within a few yards of St. Paul's churchyard, London ; or by a medical gentleman named Ward,* in London, who places his pots and glass cases on every vacant place he can find about his dwelling, and who turned his bed-room into a green-tiouse — wonders may be produce under the most forbidden circumstances and localities. * This gentleman (N. B. Ward. F.L S.) has written a work ''On the growth of plants in closeiy glazed cases," a work as interesting to science as to the lovers of plants. He has his glass cases made to fit every vacant nook, place, or corner, and form : his largest case is 24 feet long, 1 2 ieet wide, and 11 feet high. There is unfortunately one important drawback against this system : there is no way to enjoy the frawrance ; one of the senses remain ungratified. It is of no use to invoke the wind thus : " Softly rise, O southern breeze, And kindly fan the blooming trees ; Upon my spicy garden blow, That sweets from etery part may flow." 100 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Lio-ht, although of great importance in the economy of plants, is not found to be of so much importance as was once expected. The highly-flavoured, edible mushroon requires but little, and may be produced all the year round in warm cellars. Hum- boldt drew up marine plants, perfectly green, from thirty-two fathoms deep in the ocean ; and he found grasses perfectly green in the subterranean mines of Friedberg, in Germany, where he planted a crocus ; it flourished, and had green leaves and pollen. In 1836 Lockhart and Co., London, had a narcissus which flourished downward, contrary to the opinion of Sir Humphrey Davy. Soapsuds nourish flowers : a slip of pansey has been known to grow in some. The excellent and highly-cultivated florist and horticulturist, Mrs. Loudon, says : " Hyacinths should be watered with hot water ; and that the seeds of the New Holland accasia will not vegetate till they have been boiled."* Marine fuciae, (sea weed,) of which there are great varieties, and the laver and samphire, which are excellent sauces to venison or mutton, (and some make good pickles,) may be grown, in any water-tight tank, any distance from the sea, in common brine. | As to how long the vegetable principle will remain in seeds, that, to its full extent, may never be known ; for there is now growing (a lily) a bulbous-rooted plant taken from the hands of a mummy from the city of Thebes ; and also wheat from another mummy ; so that it is not impossible that some families in England are now eating the same bread that fed Pharoah's army. As there is so much commercial enterprize, and the Ame- rican captains and mates are men of so much general intel- ligence, and this extensive Union being under all latitudes, perhaps the following plan of packing plants may be interesting, and induce them to ornament their country, or oblige their friends with useful or beautiful specimens from every country to which they may sail, and thus confer great national benefits to generations yet unborn ; for " it is both amusing and instruc- tive to walk through a garden of foreign plants." — Goethe. Take up the living plants with as much moist soil still clinging to the roots as you can ; pack them in a stout and perfectly air- tight box, with as much moist mould at bottom of the box as will keep the roots from shifting about ; then cover one side of the * One of Mrs London's worksj "The Ladies Companion to the Flower Garden," I am informed, is about being republished by Wiley and Putnam. t Mr. Rench, of Parsons' Green, who died in 1783, aged one hundred years, introduced the beautiful moss rose from Holland. Earl Powis has naturalized the mangoe in England, and the apple in the East Indies. AGRICULTURE. 101 box with an air-tight glazed frame. Plants so confined have been delivered to several curators of public gardens in England, from Sydney, Australasia, after an eight months' voyage, and have all flourished. The flower of the cactus tribe need only be cut off; the seeds will perfect themselves on the passage, there being moisture enough for this necessary purpose. In 1717 the apothecaries' garden, at Chelsea, had a glass roof to keep out the cold air, adopted by Swetzer , but no heating apparatus. There is seven miles of garden, for culinary purposes, at this time on the banks of the Thames. AGRICULTURE. ** A field of corn, a fountain, and ;t wood Is all the wealth by nature understood." Cowper. The clergy were great improvers of agriculture, more so than the Norman nobility. " The rural labours of the season, with the signs of the Zodiac, are sculptured on Cremona Cathedral, built 1274. The benedictions of the fruits of the earth were celebrated on the feast of the Ascension ; of orchards, on St. James Apostle ; of grapes, on St. Xystus days."* " Thomas A. Beckett, after he was Archbishop of Canter- bury, used to go out into the fields with the monks of his monas- teries, and join them in the work of the fields. The twenty- sixth canon of the council of Lateran, held 1179, affords proof of the clergy working at agriculture. "| It will, perhaps, surprise many of my readers, when I inform them there are many thousand acres of meadow land in England annually irrigated : those near Salisbury have been watered time immemorial, and great crops of grass are produced thereby. Evelyn says, " The draining of land was first begun by the agricultural monks." There are parts of the coast of England which produce most excellent grazing lands, which have been reclaimed from the sea. The celebrated Romney marsh, of 40,000 acres, in Kent, was taken from old Neptune during the Saxon era, eight hundred years past. May hew Hake, a Fleming, under Henry VII., began draining the Lincolnshire fens about the town of Boston. * Digby. t Loudon. 9* 102 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Under Cromwell, an officer in one of his borse regiments, named Vermuyden, (born in Flanders,) reclaimed several thou- sand acres more by embanking : and there has been reclaimed, by Rennie, in 1831, 90,000 acres more. App. xi. Grosetete, Bishop of Lincoln, translated a book on agriculture from the French in 1500. Turnips first mentioned, 1586. Sir A. Fitzherbert, a law judge, wrote on agriculture in 1594. In 1560 a great number, and several varieties, of trees were planted in the gardens of the Bishop of London, at Fulham, and also in several other places, from this hemisphere ; but as yet not much has been used ; and, from what I have heard, I believe the timber is not so good as the native timber : but few of the Oaks from this Union stand the climate. In 1608 a proclamation was issued for the planting of mul- berry trees : they were then bent on raising siUc, in which they have never succeeded; the trees flourished, and they afford a pleasant fruit, but that is all the advantage they have ever been. During the reign of Henry VII. the enclosing of commons commenced, which has been the cause of much injury to the poor ; and which has been continued till now there is nothing worth enclosing. From the year 1774 to 1813 there were 2632 acts of enclosure passed for England and Wales. In 1750 there was a general enclosure act passed for all Scotland. In 1701 Jethro Tull began the drill husbandry: he turned the barrel of an old organ into a machine. The maize or corn plant was introduced by D'Hauy, Esq., at Hungerford Park, from 1760 to 1764 ; and was again tried about 1828, by Mr. Cobbett, at Barnes' Elms, on the banks of the Thames : some was grown also in Scotland.* It is found that the wild thyme gives a very fine flavour to deer and sheep : the yarrow is often planted to give flavour to venison, mutton, milk, and butter ; and aromatic plants should be introduced where pigs graze. The following beautiful extract, from the " Treasury of Knowledge," shows that Claudian, who flourished in the fourth century, was not unacquainted with the sexual system in the vegetable world, though the merit of classification belongs to Linneus : " Et platani platanis^ alnoque assibUat alnus. The very leaves live but to love, and throughout the lofty grove the happy trees have their amours ; the palm nodding to the palm * Sir Humphrey Davy, the chemist, says : " When dung heats above 100 degrees Fahr,, it deteriorates, and the volatile alkali flies off." Mr. Cobbett says : " Fifteen bushels of salt to the acre will kill the wire- worm : lime is of no use." TIMBER PLANTING. 103 ratifies their leagues ; the poplar sighs for the poplar's embrace , the platanus hisses its loye to the platanus ; and the alder t^ the alder " TIMBER PLANTING. The English are indebted to Italy fir the larch, the stone- pine, the evergreen oak, the Lonnbardy poplar, the sweet bay, and the arbutus. According to McCulloch, the value of timber annually cut down in Great Britain is £2,000,000. D'Israeli says : " The present navy of Great Britain has been constructed with the oaks which the geiiius of Evelyn planted." He died 1705. Fresh plantations are often going on in the royal forests for ship timber, and by thousands of individuals for that and other purposes. I will give an extract from A. J. Downing's work, " A treatise on the theory and practice cf landscape garden- ing." " Of the larch plantation of the Duke of Athol, in Scot- land, who began in 1738, he has had planted 27,431,600 trees. A frigate has been built from some of the first planted." Mr. Thomas Johnes, in Wales, had planted, of various trees, between the years 1795 and 1.801, 2,065,000. In 1834 the Earl of Radnor had planted, at Coleshill House Park, in Berkshire, 13,600 locusts, raised by Mr. Cobbett from seeds which grew on Long Island, U. S. Coke,* of Norfolk, (Earl of Leicester,) who died only a few months past, was, in 1832, with his lady and family, on board a small vessel built at Wells from oak of which he planted the acorns. His Norfolk estate is about 56,000 acres, which, when he came into possession, rented for about Is. 6d. per acre, or about iESOOO per annum ; at his death it produced full iS20,000. His annual fall of timber (all his own planting) amounted to about i£3000 per year. By his attention and management, he turned a desert into a paradise, and realized the maxim of Swift : " He who can make two blades of grass grow where only one grew before, is so far a creator." * This man was one of the very few who sincerely opposed the war against the American Independence, and was the first to move an address in the British house of commons in favour of acknowledging it. He also sought and cultivated the personal friendship of all the ambassadors from this country. " Peace to his memory !" 104 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. With the Scriptural admonition of " Go thou and do like- wise," I will introduce the reader to old English country life : first prefacing it with the following extraordinary and atrocious instance of a vile murder : LITTLECOT HOUSE. " Come listen to a tale of times of old." Southey. Littlecot House is two miles from Hungerford, Berkshire. The fact occurred in the reign of Elizabeth. " It was a dark rainy night, in the month of November, that an old midwife sat musing by her cottage fire, when on a sudden she was startled by a loud knocking at the door ; on opening it, she found a horse- man, who told her that her assistance was required immediately by a person of rank, and that she should be handsomely reward- ed ; but that there were reasons for keeping the affair a strict secret, and, therefore, she must be blind-folded, and conducted in that condition to the bed-chamber of the lady. After proceed- ing in silence for many miles through rough and dirty lanes, they stopped, and the midwife was led into a house which, from the length of the walk through the apartment, as well as the sounds about her, she discovered to be the seat of wealth and power. When the bandage was removed from her eyes she found herself in a bed-chamber, in which was the lady on whose account she had been sent for, and a man of a haughty and ferocious aspect. The lady was delivered of a fine boy ; im- mediately the man commanded the midwife to give him the child, and, taking it from her, he hurried across the room and threw it on the back of the fire then blazing in the chimney. The child, however, was strong, and, by its struggles, rolled itself off upon the hearth, when the ruffian seized it again, and, in spite of the intercession of the midwife and the more piteous entreaties of the mother, thrust it under the grate, and, raking the live coals upon it, soon put an end to its life. The midwife, after spending some time in affording all the relief in her power to the wretched mother, was told that she must be- gone. Her former conductor appeared, who again bound her eyes, and conveyed her behind him to her own house : he then paid her handsomely, and departed. The midwife was strongly' agitated by the horrors of the preceding night, and she imme- diately made a deposition of the fact before a magistrate. Two circumstances afforded hopes of detecting the house in which the crime had been committed : one was, that the midwife, as she sat by the bed-side, had, with a view to discover the place, cut out a piece of the bed-curtain, and sewn it in again ; the other was, as she descended the stairs she had counted the steps. 3 COUNTRY LIFE. 105 Some suspicion fell upon one Darell, at that time the proprietor of Littlecot House and the domain around it. The house was examined, and identified b}^ the midwife; and Darell was tried at Salisbury for the murder. By corrupting the jud^e,* he escaped the sentence of the law ; but broke his neck by a fall from his horse while hunting, a tew months after. The place where this happened is still called Darell's Hill, which brings to mind DarelFs horrid conduct. " For all an example — a pattern to none." — Swift. " His monument ought to have been the maws of kites." — Sh.4KSPEARB. COUNTRY LIFE. " Sweet country life — to such unknown Whose lives are others, not their own ; But serving courts, and cities be, Less happy — less enjoying thee. For sports, for pageantries, and plays Thou hast thy eves and holydays ; On which the young men and maids meet, To exercise their dancing feat — Tripping the comely country round, With daffodils and daisies crowned. Thy wakes, thy quintals here thou hast. Thy May-poles, too, with garlands graced ; Thy morris dance, thy whitsun ale. Thy shearing feasts, they never fail : Thy harvest home, thy wassail howl, That's tossed after fox i' the hole ; Thy mummeries, thy twelfth night king, Thy queen, thy Christmas revellings. Thy nut-brown mirth, thy russet art ; And no man pays too dear for it." Herrick, 16*^. I THINK proper, after the above motto, to begin this chapter with an extract from " Gilpin's Life of Bishop Lattimer." It is rather before our period, but so full and expressive of the simple, useful, happy, and harmless state of life, that it will serve to compare with the important period under con- sideration. Although comparisons are said to be odious, yet they are highly instructive. " — Let us now With graver air our serious theme pursue, And yet preserve our moral in full view." Francis. * This was one ©f those judges who, " For fees, to any form he moulds a cause — The v^rorse has merits, and the best has flaws : FiTe guineas make a criminal to day, And ten to-morrow wipes the stain away " Garth. 106 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. " Lattimer was born in Leicestershire, 1472, and was one of the unfortunate sufferers at the stake during the reign of Queen Mary, 1555. He was feeble from age ; and, if ' he were not a great man, he was a good man ;' and it was the height of cruelty that he should have so suffered. *' * He was a good man, and, amid our tears, Sweet, grateful thoughts within our bosom rise ; "We trace his spirit up to brighter spheres.' " He says, in a sermon, ' His father was a yeoman, and paid one shilling per acre for his land, but he had no land of his own : he tilled as much as kept six men ; had a sheep-walk for one hundred sheep ; and his mother's dairy consisted of thirty milch kine. He kept hospitality with his neighbours, and gave some alms to the poor. The family laid upon straw pallets or rough mats, covered with a sheet, the under coverlet of dogs^ wain or hop harlots, and a good round log of wood under the head instead of a bolster or pillow. If, within seven years after marriage, a master of a family could purchase a mattress or flock bed, and add thereto a sack of chaffe to rest the head, he thought himself well lodged. Pillows were thought meete onlie for women in child-bed ; for seldom had they anie under the bodye to keep them from the pricking strawes.' He tells of the beginning of a change of treene platters into pewter, and wooden spoons into tin and silver. At his time — oh ! what changes doth this crooked world afford — * farmers dined after fashionable people, viz., at one o'clock, supper at seven ; but they had good eating for the house fare.' " Tusser writes, " Good ploughmen look weekly, of custom and right, For roast meat on Sundayes and Thursday at night." The dress of the farmer was plain and durable, consisting, tor common purposes, of coarse gray cloth or fustian in the form of trunk hose, and a frock over, or a doublet. In 1560 Markham wrote "Instructions to a good Housewife," in which, among much good advice, he recommends " the gar- ments to be comely and strong made, as well to promote health as to adorn the person, altogether without the garnishes or the gloss of light colours, and far from the new fantastic fashions. Let the provisions be more from their own yard than the furnishing of the market." Some years after this, Holland writes, " For, in default of gardeninge, what remedie was there then but to drawe the purse-strings, and goe for everything either to the butchery or the hearb market, and so live upon the pennie " COUNTRY L!F© 107 Markham continues : " The knowledge should be Intimacy with domestic physics, cookery, and distillation of simple waters,* making and preserving wines, making malt, conducting of dairies, brewing, and baking. From the division of time, it appears theyrose, during summer, at four; in winter, at five ; and breakfasted before daylight. The housewife to be the carver and distributer of the meat and the pottage." But, oh ! strange to us of these easy and liberal-minded days ; he recommends the dame not to scold the girls, but to thrash them heartily when they are refractory. One would suppose he had had an introduction to his Queen Bess ; she used to box all about her, whether man, woman, or child. But he adds a circumstance strongly enforcing his high opinion of the use of music : " Such servants are oft'nest painesfuU and good, That sing as they labour, like birds in the wood." All were to wash their hands before supper and dinner : tne latter, at noon, was to be quickly despatched, and no dainties. " No cooks with art increased physicians fees, Nor served up death in soups and fricassies." Garth. " A bare table will do as well as if covered with cloth ; wooden and pewter dishes, and tin vessels for liquor, are best, as being most secure." And then, with accustomed piety, he advises the regular use of grace. " Commence getting ready for supper when fowls go to roost ; hogs then to be served ; cows milked ; and, as the men servants come from the fields, none to come emptie-handed, but bring some wood, some logs ; the dog is tc have the bones and the scraps, and the housewife to look care- fully to candles, fires, and keys : bed at nine o'clock in winter, and at ten in summer." As there is no recommendation of anything intellectual, I suppose that, during a long winter's evening, they would " Descant on ducks, and geese, and cocks, and hens, Hay-stacks and dairies, cow-houses and pens ; Descant on dung-hills, and every sort of kine, E'en on the pretty article of swine." Pindar. The learned Lawyer Selden'sf father was a farmer and * The following list of the plants which they distilled is taken from the Northumberland house-book : *' Roses, buradge, f^pmingtory, brakes, colum- bynes, okeyn-leefes, hartes' tongue, draggons, parcely, balme, walnut-Ieefes, longdo-beef, prymer-roses, saige, sorrel, red mynt, betany, cowslops, dande- lyon, fennel, scabias, elder flowers, mary-golds, wilde tansey, wormewoode, woodebinde, endyfFe, hawsse," t Born 1584, 108 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. musician at Salvington, in Sussex : the farm contained eighty- one acres, for which he paid i£23 per year. The houses or cottages of the farmers were built often in places abounding with woods, and then in a very strong, sub- stantial manner ; but in open countries they were compelled to build slighter, to use more flimsy materials, with here and there a girder, to which was fastened their sprints, (laths,) and then covered the whole over with thick mud, to keep out wind and weather. There were several rooms above and beneath, coated with lime or cement, white washed, and neatly covered with reeds.* " Where houses be reeded, (as houses have neede,) Now pare off the mosses, and go beate the reade ; The faster ye drive it, the smoother and plaine, More handsome ye make it, to shut off the raine." Tusser. On the nineteenth of May, 1672, Evelyn has the following entry in his journal : " Went to Margate, and the following day was carried to see a gallant widow, brought up a farmeresse, and I think of gigantic race, rich, comely, and exceedingly industrious." The farmers' wives of that day (as well as this) were, for general useful knowledge, the first in the country. I have the pleasure of knowing one in the County of Warwick, who answers that description to a tittle ; and who, for her many good qualities, would do honour to the company of Queen Victoria. '* Her home is the resort Of love, of joy, of peace, and plenty; where, Supporting and supported, polished friends And dear relations mingle into bliss." Thomson. THE COUNTRY LABOURER. " And every village smoked at wakes with lusty cheere." Drayton. He was then the most patient, easiest governed creature of any in the world, with anything like common justice ; and as I unfortunately know their present condition — ^which is fairly depicted in the following lines ; Famine is in thy cheeks, Need and oppression showeth in thy eye — Upon thy back hangs ragged misery ; The world is not thy friend— nor the world's law." * HoUingshed, 1577. THE COUNTRY LABaURER. 109 — -I should feel shame not to state that the change which is now so great, has been brought about by taxation ; and, indeed, as it arises from an enormous debt, which can never be paid, their case seems hopeless ; but it may, and 1 hope will, be an example for other countries to avoid national debts, which are ine " parents of taxation, which produces misery, and misery pro duces crime." ** This monster, patriots, with your darts engage ; Here point your thunder, here exhaust your rage." Pope. The manners of the labourer still exhibited much of the same rude, but honest, sincere, warm-hearted simplicity by which they were characterized in the days of Elizabeth ; somewhat answering to the following description : " A clownish roughness and unkindly close, Unfriendly stiff, and peevishly morose." Creech. Rural education had undergone little, if any, iDiproveinenl or enlargement during the whole of the seventeenth century. Their tutors seemed to have the following idoa, so jocosely expressed by Pindar : " One intellect not all things comprehends ; The genius formed for weeds, and grubs, and flies, Can't have for ever at its fingers' euds What's doing every moment in the L^kiea," A writer in the Edinborough Review has said : " Except in very extraordinary cases, the common education of the times will do all for a man that the spirit of the times will allow education to do for him." The necessary monotonous occupations of the Johnny Whop- straws still were enlivened by wakes and fairs, which were thronged with puppet-shows, pedler's stalls, raffling tables, pricking in the garter, and drinking booths, bull-baitings, and cock-fightings ; while toward evening, when they had been warmed with " ale or viler liquors," they contended, in a friend- ly manner, with each other in wrestling matches, cudgel play- ing, and foot-racing. In this last sport young women were frequently performers, and the usual prize was a good Holland sm-k. Among the favourite competitions at fairs were grin- ning matches, in which the greatest or longest triangularly booking face was poked, grinning most hideously, through a horse-collar, putting one in mind of a picture of a Saracen's head in the pangs of death, framed in leather ; and trials in whistling through a long tune, trying to be put out by the drolleries of a Merry Andrew — he exhibiting his wily capers 10 lid THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. before the crooked-mouthed warbler. Contentions of this nature were also frequent during the celebrations of the annual church festivals, and especially at Christmas, when a trial of yawning for a Cheshire cheese took place at midnight ; and he who gave the widest, and largest, and most natural yawn, so as to set the whole company agape in sympathy, carried off the cheese in triumph.* THE COTTAGE. Where is the country that has not been informed of this, the most beautiful object that can possibly be presented to the imagination of every warm-hearted man ? where is the writer, either in poetry or prose, or in what department of the graphic art is there, in which all the artist's sympathies have not been engaged to portray its virtues and its charms ? " I saw by the smoke that so gracefully curl'd O'er the green elms, that a cottage was near ; And I said, if there's peace to be found in the world, A heart that is humble may hope for it here, A heart that is humble may hope for it here." Such is the beginning of a beautiful song ; and what English heart is there that doep not beat with delight whenever it is sung ? Let us hear Hollingshed, who wrote in 1577 : " It had two rooms on a ground floor, with one or more rooms over it, thatched with straw or sedge ; with garden and orchard attached, and often a common-right." (The poor law, which was passed in Elizabeth's reign, authorized every new cottage to have four acres of corhmon enclosed for it.) App. xii. This was universally so till robbed of them by enclosures, which Bacon says began in 1489, under the plea that they were wastes. Wastes or not, they fed thousands of sheep, rabbits, and geese at no cost. Blackstone says : " There were commons without stint, and lasted all the year." Besides, the cottager who had the garden, orchard, and a common-right, united in his own person three important characters ; he was a landlord, a farmer, and a servant. If he could not at all times get labour from others, here was employment for himself, and family too " Naught is useless made on the barren heath ; The shepherd tends his flock, that daily crop Their verdant dinner from the mossy turf; Sufficient after them, the cackling goose, Close grazer, finds wherewith to ease his wants." Phillips. # Spectator. THE COTTAGE. Ill How truly do the following lines from Virgil apply to the English cottager of this period : " His cares are eased with interx'als of bliss ; His little children, climbing lor a kii;a, Welcome their father's late rolMni at night — His faithful bed is crown'd with chaste delight ; His kinc, with swelling udders, ready stand, And, lowing for the pail, invite the milker's hand." The lines from " Patient Countesse " describe the fare and furniture in the cottages : now all is totally ciianged. Kach labourer may now say, as a warning to other governments^ '' Oh ! that the tenor of my just complaint Were scnlp't with steel on rocks of adamant." Saxpys. Besides, " in the depression of a people the strength of the prince is weakened ; for a ground-down people is neither able nor willing to increase his power."* The following lines, from Warner's Poetry, (his name and works are nearly forgotten,) are descriptive of the fare and fur- niture of a country cottage in 1602. A gentleman " Once hurited he until the chase, Long fasting, and the heat Did house him in a peakish graungef Within a forest great. Where knowne and welcomed, (as the place And persons might afforde,) - Brown bread, whig, bacon, curds, and milke Were set him on the borde. A cushion made of listes, a stoole Half© backed with a hoope, Were brought him, and he sitteth down Beside a sorry coupe. The poore old couple wisht their bread Were wheat, their whig were perry, Their bacon beefe, their milke and curds Were creame, to make him merry. "J The following lines apply to a later period : _ " While broken tea-cups, wisely kept for show, Ranged o'er the chimney, glisten in a row." Goldsmith. HoUiugshed, in the year 1577, said: " The general run of * John of Salisbury. t A lone country house, t'From Percy's Reliques of old English Poetry. 11.2 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. houses were beginning to be improved. Instead of glass to the windows, they used to have lattice-work or panels c-f horn, glass being scarce and dear. Walls were hung with tapestry or arras-work, or painted cloth with divers histories, herds of beasts, or knot stained, and ceiled with oak, or wainscot-wood brought from abroad. Stoves were coming into use ; also Turkic work, pewter, brass fire-irons, and costly cupboards of silver plate." They had a neat chapel, a spacious hall, and a banqueting- room, with windows opening into the hall, the chapel, and the kitchen ; and a few sly openings to look through, to see what might be going on. The kitchen hung round with quaint moral sentences and devices, every one of which may be found in '* Poor Richards' Almanac," (1758.) At Clopton House, near Stratford, on Avon, is the following verse : '^fstttftv scit rfse carlj) ®r 20 to tzti late, 3^eme nlier €:|)rfst S^sus, ®J!Ri)o "Dietr for gom* »aite. HOUSES OF THE GENTRY. In the British museum there is a volume containing forty different tablets, on which sentences are inscribed which once ornamented the apartments of Sir Nicholas Bacon : they are in Latin, and fine specimens of the arts and the taste of the sixteenth century.* The knight or rich squire enjoyed much good eating and hospitality, on a high cross table (called a dais for him and hi^ friends) at one end of the hall, on particular days of festivity ; and a larger table for the rest of the guests, divided off by a salt-cellar. Dekkar humorously describes a way to plague or vex any one : '' Set him below the salt, and let him not touch a bit till every one has eat his fill." There was much cookery. The first dish at Christmas was always a boar's head, with a lemon in its mouth. On Easter day a red herring, dressed by the cook like a man on horseback, set on a corn sallad ; this was symbolic of fish being over : also a gammon of bacon, to show the host was not a Jew. After a feast, mumming, (this was male and female disguising one another by a change of dresses,) masquerades, and dancing. * Gentleiifun's Magazine. HOUSES OF THE GENTRY. ll^" " The merrye tabors' gamesome sound Provoked ihe sprightly dance around." Bkattie. The servants of the house all in full livery, and some em- bellished with (cognozances) badges of coat armour — on their arms. The large hall, often from sixty to one hundred feet long, and from thirty to forty feet wide, was hung round with otter spears, eel spears, and other implements of fishing and shooting ; the cunning fox's brush, hunting-cap, and whip, and deer's antlers.* Embellishments of coat armour often adorned the half curtain- ed mullion windows, and the bosses and brackets of the roof. The windows were of small panes, of lozenge or diamond shape ; with the whole heraldry of all the family alliances thus brilliantly emblazoned in stained glass, which would occupy some part of every window of their extensive halls, and had a tasteful appearance. " Whose beams, thus hallowed by the scenes they pass, Tell round the floor each parable of glass." But if the gentleman was also a justice of the peace, honest Aubrey says : ^' The screen was garnished with orstels and helmets, gaping savagely open-mouthed ; coats of mail, lances, pikes, halberds, brown-bills, and bucklers." *' The echoes of its walls are eloquent — The stones have voices, and the walls do live : It is the hottse of memory." Maturin. The usual fare at dinner, (at eleven o'clock,) if no visiters, was five or six dishes. King, in his art of cookery, says they " delight in hodge-podge, gallimaufrie, forced meats, &c." " Other kickshaws ; besides, there came last night from the forest of Sherwood the fattest stag 1 ever cooked."']' " What say you — a pastye 1 it shall and it must, And my wife little Kitty is famous for crust." They delighted in being bulky ; great notice was taken if they grew thin. *' Say what it was that made his paunch so 'peare ; His girdle's fell ten inches in a yoare." Bishop Hall. After dinner they retired to the garden bower, to partake of the banquet or fruit desert : from the banquet to evening prayer ; thence to supper at five or six. On days of festivity this meal, like the dinner, was substantial, n-nd protracted to a * Lord Pembroke's hall is decorated with fori/ different shaped deer'i antlers, t Massinger. 10* 114 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OP GREAT BRITAIN. late hour, with all sorts of boisterous mirth and gambollins^. At other times by the paxloiir fire-side, with the harp, sinoiiio madrigals ; a posset at bed-tim.e, or an Oxford riight~cap. Laevinius Lemnius, a di\nne and physician of Zealand, who visited England, thus writes, 1576 : '' The neate cleannesse, the exquisite finenesse, the pleasaent and delightfii] furniture, in everjT- point, for whole household, wonderfully rejoiced mee ; their chambers and parlours strewed over with sweete herbes, refreshed mee ; their nosegayes finely intermingled wyth son- drye sortes of fragraunt flowers in their bedde chambers and privee roomes, with comfortable smell, cheered mee up and intierlie delighted all my senses." " Our wisest ancestors — those of Shakspeare's time — who understood most things better than we, and whom we begin to understand better than any of their posterity, knew how to take the rough hint of nature, and kept up their Christmias festivities through the whole of the month. They got a little and enjoyed everything, instead of getting everything and enjoying a little. In the day they made leisure for healthy sports out of doors, and in the evening they were at their music, their books, and their pastimes."* The gentleman or wealthy yeoman, (a lower grade,) he too kept hospitality, loved festivity, and was ardently attached to the sports of the field. There was no room to be found any- where for that contemptible thing, the modern poodle or lap- dog ; for his hall floor was occupied by greyhounds, the frisky bushy sterned spaniel, with his ringleted dewlaps almost sweeping the floor, (if a person is to turn his house into a dog kennelj he may as well have those which are of some use, in preference to those that are of no use,) and on his hand perched some favourite hawk. Heraldries, romances, and chronicles were his principal studies. The best parlour only opened on particular occasions : that was furnished with Turkie work, and hung round with family portraits ; the men as shepherds, with their crooks, dressed in full suits, and according to the chronology of the dresses of the times — long hair or full-bottomed wigs ; others in complete armour, buff leather coats or doublets — playing on the lute or viol. The females were exhibited as shepherdesses, with a young lamb or crook, high head-dresses, and flowing robes. "f Grose, the antiquary, gives an account of this sort of cha- racter at the beginning of Queen Anne's reign, who might have a rental of ilSOO per year. " He appeared in a plain drab plush coat, large silver buttons, jockey cap, leather breecbeSj * Anonymous, t Drake. HOUSES OF THE GENTR» . 115 and rarely from morn till night, except Sundays, without boots. He never travelled farther than the county town at assizes, or sessions, or elections. Once a week dines at the nearest market town with the justices and attorneys, frequents church rigorously, reads some weekly country journal, settles all disputes at the vestry, where he and the rector reign and act as lords paramount, (and wo betide any poor parishioner who thwarts them ;) and goes at night to some neighbouring ale-house, where he usually gets drunk, of course for the public good, every drop he drinks being excised ; never plays at cards but at Christmas, when a family pack is produced from the mantle-shelf " He is generally followed by a couple of greyhounds or pointers, and announces his arrival at his neighbour's house by a smart smack of his whip, or by giving a good view halloo. His drink is generally ale, except at Christmas, when he makes a bowl of punch, garnished with toast and nutmeg." A journey to London then was considered a far greater undertaking, and attended with far more solemnity, than a voyage now is round either or both capes. His mansion was of plaster, striped with solid sawed oak timber, that would square from six to nine inches — or of red brick ; with large casemented bow w*indows, a porch with seats in it, and over this a bit of a studv.* The eaves of the house were occupied by swallows. " Heralds and sweet harbingers that move From east to west on embassies of love — They can the tropic cut, and cross the line." Howell. The court was set round with hollyhocks. Near the wicket gate was a horse-block, for him and his dame to dismount more easily ; and under this a large growling dog, a faithful repre- sentative of his master ; for, although he could not act as porter to open the gate, yet he could act the bully. His hall was furnished with many rows of fliches of bacon and hams of many dates ; a large wooden arm-chair, with or without rockers, and softly cushioned ; and in each chimney- corner a seat, one being the salt-box, which, being at once an emblem of classical and theological wisdom, was consequently proper for one or two of the younger fry of the family ; so that if those very necessary qualifications could not be got into them at one end, they might at the other. The mantel-pieces were generally to be seen crammed with * Speke Hall, near Liverpool, is a fine building of this descriptx)n, with a square court inside large enough to contain two yew trees now growing as large as apple trees. Built in 159S. no THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. guns, fishing-rods, spits, and brass candlesticks. On the beams were broad-swords, partisans, rapiers, and da2:«;t*rs borne or used by his ancestors in the civil wars. On the side-walls were stag's horns, to hang his own and his friends' hats and wigs upon. Against the side-walls, and in the highest place, would be pasted King Charles's " Golden i2w/e5," teaching him passive obedience and non-resistance — Vincent Wing's Almanac, and a portrait of Marlborough. In the bow window seat, which was the family library, would be found Baker's Chronicles, Fox's Martyrs, Glanvill on Apparitions, Quiveron's Dispensatories, the complete Justice of the Peace, and a book of Farriery. At Christmas he entertained his tenants and tradesmen in this hall, when, with jorums after jorums, " Let the horn go rounde, Let the quart pot sounde, Let each one do as he's done to ;" Beaumont. foaming with strong ale till morning dawned. These jovial blades passed the night singing loyal songs : " And chant no other song but such as slaves would sing In praise of right divine, should log or stork be king ;" bawling away until " They shook roofs and s\i-vered windows ;" and drinking church and queen, and d — mning every faction or sect they did not belong to. " And is this all 1 is this the end To which their carryings on did tend." Butler. No, thou prince of drollerj'- ! " the end is not yet." The national debt, which had just began, is to be settled, which will cause " crimson tears to follow yet." The difference between a farmer of 1722 and 1822 has been thus very accurately versified : 1722. 1822. , Man to the plough, - Man, tally-ho, Wife to the cow, Miss, piano, Girl to the sow. Wife, silk and sating) Boys to the mow, Boys, Greek and Latin, And your rents will be rated, And you'll be gazetted. This is a fair account of old English country life, which has drawn forth the following verse : " Fairer suns and softer climate May in other lands be found ; But the sweet domestic virtues Thrive alone on British ground." ^..MP vs. DRY SITUATIONS CCU^ H7 DAMP vs. DRY SITUATIONS. It is not often that people have opportunities of building upon spots they would most approve of: but it vi^ill sometimes happen that a situation vrhich is damp may be chosen upon better terms than one which is dry. A stagnant swamp under no circumstances can be desirable ; but mere dampness does not appear to be unhealthy. Forty-five years past I wrote upon a scrap of paper as follows : " There is a part of the city of Coventry, from St. John's bridge to St. John's church, called Earl-street — distance rather less than a quarter of a mile — a low situation : some of the houses have no cellars, and sometimes a little river overflows the street from two to three feet deep ; yet there is living in that short space the following old people, who had lived there all their lives, and the youngest is more than seventy years old : Dr. Vernon and his wife ; Alderman Clarke, a carpenter ; Alder- man Hands, a dyer ; Blogg, a grocer ; Hands and Aston, thread- makers and dyers ; James Potter, a barber ; T. Bateman, a butcher ; John Losb, a weaver ; Alcott, a shoe-maker ; Ames, a skinner ; Sanderson, a shoe-maker ; Jopson, a dyer ; and Cox, a blacksmith. These fifteen individuals were as old as any in the city, and in that short space the greatest number of them were huddled together, although the whole inhabitants num- bered about 10,000." I at that time knew each of them : some of them were born before the reign of the Brunswick family, (1714,) and were remarkably industrious. It was this spot, and the water from this little stream, that produced the well known Coventry blue dye, which never faded ; alluded to by Drayton, (A.D, 1593 :) *' His aule and lingale in a thong, His tar-boxe on his broad belt hong ; His breech of Coyntrie hlewe." COAL. " Man is a fire-naaking animal." — Lavoisier. This very important article of necessity began to be of the greatest importance at the beginning of the reign of the Stuarts. Perhaps a short history of it may be interesting. Coal is an old English word : in Cornish it is called kolon ; in Irish, guel. Julius Csesar, who came with the first body of Roman invaders, mentions all the English metals, but is silent about coals. According to the researches of the geologists, 118 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. tin is supposed to have been the first metal formed by the Al- mighty, (and no doubt was the first worked in Great Britain ;) then silver and copper ; latest, gold and iron. No doubt the Romans soon found coal. In the language of miners, it would be found cropped out ; that is, on the surface : vast quantities of cinders have been found in many of their old stations> The oldest grant known about coal was by the Abbot of Peterborough, Anno. 835, in England ; and in Scotland by the Abbot of Dunfermline, in 1291. Chiminum is a term often met with in old monastic grants ; it implies a right of road to and from the mines. Fires were first burned in the middle of great halls, and the apparatus was called a mediasHne : the smoke made its exit through holes in the roof, called a louvere, like lufter boards at malt-houses or paper-mills ; and which were then, and are now, very ornamental appendages to their noble buildings : the hall of Westminster vSchool is now w'armed in this manner. The great hall of Westminster has a very beautiful one, which is now glazed, to admit light — no fire being burned below it. Chimneys are not mentioned by historians till about the fourteenth century. Leland, wdio wrote in the reign of Henry Vlll.j mentions them at Bolton Hall, in Yorkshire. These in later days have become very beautiful and highly ornamented : each tunnel had its separate shaft, from six to ten or twelve feet high above the roof, and several of them together, forming a pleasing and curiously-wrought group ; they were also as useful as ornamental, because they prevented the smoke and efliuvia and dust from one fire being driven down another in high, heavy winds ; and, as they were each unconnected, they did not present so bluff an obstacle to the storms, though high ; conse- quently the stacks were not so liable to be blown down. The coal trade to supply London has, for the last two cen- turies, been found to be the best nursery for English seamen : the ships have each been obliged to have two apprentices on board ; and a tax has been laid UjDon all coal sent by canals, as an encouragement to this trade ; so that little or no coal is consumed in that great city bat what comes by sea. Pit coal w^as not used in smelting iron till the reign of James I. It v'as supposed good iron could not be produced by it; but the consuiription of wood was found to be so destructive to the forest timber, that, if coal had not been available, the w^hole would soon have been swept away, or the smelting of iron stopped. The first iron cannons cast by the English were at Buckstead, in Sussex, in the year 1543. In Charles the II. reign there was a duty of one shilling per chaldron laid upon all coal consumed in London, to be given to >:^f.'*^^m COAL. 119 the Duke of Richmond, which was one of the results of his profligate intercourse with Louisa Queronaille. This was a pretty profligate act of both him and his no less profligate parliament. But what are we to think of the more profligate Pitt and that profligate parliament, who, in 1799, gave to this bastard family £'400,000 to relinquish the claim. A duty was also laid upon coal after the great fire of London, in 1666, to rebuild St. Paul's Cathedral and about fifty other churches. Gas was first used about 1765, by Spedding, an agent of Lord Lonsdale, at his pits near Whitehaven. Before the consumption of gas in London, it was calculated that every eight persons consumed nine chaldrons per year ; the consumption since is, for every eight persons, \en chaldrons. From a calculation, there were nine hundred and fifty- four poor creatures who lost their lives by fire damp in twenty -five years, in all the various mines. I am sorry to state, huinanity has been no gainer by the discovery of the Davy lamp : it has made the masters and miners more bold and more reckless. They are often induced, by a trifling additional pay, to work where they would not have done before its invention. But the steam engine has been the great cause of producing the vast quantities of coal now consumed, by its worldng the powerful pumps to clear them from water, and more readily bringing forth their seemingly exhaustle.ss conteets. They work now many hundred feet deeper than they used to do There is one shaft at Monk Wearmouth 1600 feet, supposed to ^e the deepest entrance into the crust of the earth known in the world, estimating from the level of the sea. How much deeper that shaft will yet go, is at present not known ; but they will pursue the coal as far as human skill can furnish the means to extract it. It is found that the deeper they go, the better the coal ; and it is an axiom, that " the best gas coal is the best smiths' coal." Annual consumption of coal in Great Britain in 1836 : Domestic and small manufactories, - - - - 15,000,000 For production of pig and bar iron, - - - - 3,850,000 ^' Cotton manufactories, ------- 800,000 " Woollen, silk, &c., 500,000 " Copper smelting, brass manufactories, &c., - 450,000 *• Salt works, 300,000 " Lim,e "- ----- 500,000 Expoit to Ireland, 750,000 '' to the colonies and foreign parts, - - - 600,000 Tuns, 22,750,000 120 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. The English tun is 2240 pounds ; which, at seven shillings per tun, amounts to i£7,962,500.* App. xiii. The English coal is nearly all bituminous ; but there is some of the anthracite got in South Wales, which ought to compose the fires in all the domestic establishments in London. About twenty years past the anthracite coal was used in Wales in the manufacturing of iron. Professor Buckland, and other geologists, liave calculated that the northern districts will become exhausted in 400 years. The following extract from the " Miner's Journal " gives some idea of the consumption of coal in this Union for the last year: "Foreign, 103,247. Virginia, 68,750. Anthracite, 1,108,001 tuns." EATING AND ENTERTAINMENTS. " When art and nature join, the effect will be Some mco ragout or charming fricassee." Garth. I SHOULD suppose the Sybarites were the most luxurious people of any in the world, before they were destroyed by Pythagoras, 508 years before Christ : they supplied all nations with cooks, confectioners, embroiderers, and riding-masters. The Romans also understood it, had splendid feasts, and enjoyed them. The French, for the last few centuries, have borne the bell. The English seem to have adopted one of their notions, which is, to eat their meat with its own gravy. The Italian cookery was mostly with oil : this, perhaps, may be accounted for from their meat being lean ; whereas, the climate of England being humid, and herbage plentiful, its own fat and luscious gravy would seem sufficient. But there is one circumstance which I cannot help noticing, which, though it may not appear at first sight to have much to do with cooking, yet it has a great deal to do with the dining-hall and the kitchen. You must know, gentle reader, that every large establishment in former times had a fool — a fool par excellence. There was a court fool ; even the corporation of the city of London had its household fool : in fact, a large house without a fool was «* Like a ring without a finger, Or like a bell without a ringer." • Mechanic's Magazine. EATING AND ENTERTAINMENTS. 121 Indeed they were not peculiar to England ; other countries had them, as though folly was not rife enough there. The English fool was often seen joining his capital of capers in company with that of a monkey, who, after their hurly-burlying, perched upon the fool's shoulders as a resting-place ; and a pretty plump spot it was, for the fools were all great fat fellows. Marston says : '* I never saw a fool lean ; the chub-faced fop Shines sleek with full-crammed fat of happiness." And he might have added, with kitchen fat too. In the common household slang of the times, the household fools all over Europe were always called after the most approved national dish. Thus, in England the children called him a jack-pudding ; in Holland he was called a pickled herring ; in France, jaen-pottage ; in Germany, hans-wiirst, or jack-sausage ; giving a curious instance of the association of ideas, or, in plain language, " talking as our bellies guide us." " Do chattering monkeys mimic men 1 Or we, turn'd apes, out monkey them 1" Foolish as this may appear to us, it had a great and good effect : it promoted laughter ; and " laughter," says Professor Hufeland, " is one of the greatest helps to digestion ; and the custom so prevalent among our forefathers, of exciting it at table by jesters and buffoons, was founded on true medical principles. In a word, endeavour to have cheerful and merry companions at your meals."* The English have never cordially adopted French cookery, and I think very properly. Reader, do not start ! I am aware I must tread as softly here as though I were upon holy ground. I know it is the height of all heresies to doubt the French nation not being the very pink of all philosophers in the culinary art : but is it so ? Let me, before I am brought to the spit^ just explain myself. Although, in what I am going to say, if I am to be grilled, or stewed, or bedevilled for it, I shall express myself in the bold language of Byron : " If every syllable is a rattlesnake, and every letter a pestilence, they shall not be expunged." This may be obstinacy in me, but perhaps obsti- nacy in a right cause may be a virtue. May not the use of spices and savoury herbs be carried to excess .? may they not, like sweets, begin to loathe } " whereof a little more than a little, is by much too much." I have occasionally partaken of French cookery, and have never relished a meal : I have * " Art of Prolonging Human Life." 11 122 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. always found that the flavour of the principle article has been lost by the confounding of the flavours of the sauces ; whereas they should, according to niy notion of things, do no more than heighten it. Having thus spoken my mind upon cookery as it regards flavour, and in which I may have brought myself in contact with the gourmand, I feel myself emboldened also to speak on another part of the subject, which may perhaps bring me under the scarrifying scalpel of the doctor : however, at all risks — and I speak here advisedly and experimentally, from some years experience — I deny in toto that the sort of food has anything to do with health. From having been for half a century a valetudinarian, I have tried great varieties of food, animal, vegetable, and pastry ; but I have never found that the sort (or the cooking, if only plainly roast or boiled) has had any- thing to do with mitigating illness or restoring health. But quantity has ; and that quantity, be it more or less, has univer- sally agreed with me best which is the most solid. I therefore entirely disregard all that is said about " light food." There seems to have grown up a distaste in eating /a? meat, yet a greater quantity of butter is consumed. There is no arguing this question as a matter of taste ; but as a matter of economy, there may be two important questions worthy every householder's consideration, both of which appeal very power- fully to the pocket. In the first place, those who buy meat must buy bone; and it must appear self-evident that the greater proportion of fat and lean there is on the bone, the better it is for the purchaser : it does not follow that those who dislike fat are obliged to eat it ; a good cook will know (or ought to) how to use it in pastry. Then, secondly, fat meat —I mean the lean of it — is better flavoured, more nutritious, much more tender, and far more easily digested. Animals, in the progress of feeding, arrive at a certain stage of ripeness ; and when at that state, the juices of the meat are in greater perfection. If the animal is not well fatted, the meat will be hard and tough, and in the process of cooking will shrink in hulk ; so that the purchaser of lean meat loses in all manner of ways.^ Still, if he prefers skin and bone, he may purchase it ; experience has long taught me the contrary is by far the best. Besides, the fat will make into soap or candles, or burn in lamps. From Dr. Holland's ^^ Medical Notes and Reflections," 1839, it appears " that the saccharine, the oleaginous, and the albu- minous parts of our food afford nourishment." He quotes Celsus, who says " that intemperance in eating is generally more noxious than excess in drinking^." "EATING AND ENTERTAINMENTS. 123 Dr. Baglivi, a Roman physician, mentions that " in Italy an unusuall}'' large proportion of the sick recover during lent in consequence of the lower diet, which is then observed as a religious duty." St. Basil says, on fasting : " It cures diseases, dries up the humours of the body, puts the demons to flight, renders the mind clearer, the heart purer, and the body holier ; in short, it raises the man to the throne of God." Dr. Holland states that " the stomach requires the stimu- lous of variety, but not a variety of stimulants," and gives a curious and entertaining table compiled by a Dr. Beaumont, of the United States Army, from his work entitled " Experiments on the Gastric Juice," printed at Boston in 1814, a work worthy every valetudinarian's perusal. Trusting that what I have written may not be considered im- pertinent, I will now proceed more particularly to the matter of the chapter. The coronation dinner of King Henry V., (1413,) which hap- pened during lent, was entirely of fish. Notwithstanding the reformation had taken place, Queen Elizabeth issued a proclamation in 1563, ordering fish days to be as rigidly observed as during the time of the old religion. It was considered wise in a national point of view, and was fully observed for perhaps half the century. Fish is ordered to be eaten in Leviticus 11:9, and in Deuteronomy 14: -9. This order was very politic, tending indirectly to add to the quantity of human food ; for every sprmg myriads of fish come up the rivers, bays, and creeks to spawn, and may be thus easily taken. And, while a population are thus fed, the young calves and lambs, which come at the same period, are permitted to thrive and grow toward maturity. Hence the wisdom of the divine legislature. In the middle ages our sturdy ancestors ate baked meat, which will account for their enormous ovens. A description of the one at Raby Castle, now turned into a wine-cellar, will now, from this circumstance, be better understood. King John issued an order to Hugh Neville, dated April 19th, 1206, reo-ulating; kitchens. Amons other reg-ulations, there was one setting forth that they were to be provided with the means, and the fire-places were to be sufficient, to roast two or three oxen whole. To do this, the kitchens were on a grand scale.* The abbot's old kitchen, (octagon shape,) at Glaston- bury, is now in a fine state of preservation, but occupied as a farmer's barn. There is one at Stanton Harcourt 29 feet square, * Fosbroke says : " There were bellows-blowers in the royal kitchens, to see that the soup was neither burnt nor smoked." 124 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. and 60 feet high to the top of roof: there were two fire-places, but no chimney ; the smoke makes its exit through a louvre, creeping up the dingy and dusty walls. The large kitchen at Haddon Hall had two vast fire-places, with irons for several tiers of spits, various store places, a great double range of dressers, and an enormous chopping-block, sawn out of the solid butt of an ash tree ; adjoining to this kitchen were several larders. At Cowdray House, among other luxuries, was a small fountain in the middle, spouting forth cold water to moderate the temperature. From Aubrey's (born 1625) MSS. : " Roasting Jacks had not been introduced, so ' the poor boys did turn the spits and lick- ed the dripping-pans, and grew to be large, lusty knaves.' " Such being the furniture of this part of the dwelling, let us now take a view of what they produced. THE KING'S FEAST. The following articles constituted an entertainment at Hogh- ton Hall, in Lancashire, the seat of Sir Arthur Lake, to King James, Sunday, August 17th, 1617: FIRST COURSE. Haunch venison, roast, Burred capon, Pasty of venison, hot, Roast turkey, Veal burred, Roast swan, Chicken pie, hot, Roast goose. Curlew pie, cold, SECOND COURSE. Artichoke pie, Chickens, Curlew, roast, Peas, buttered. Rabbits, Ducks, Chickens, burred, Pheasant pie. Pear tarts. Rabbits, cold, Jiggets of mutton, boiled, Snipe pie, Boiled breast of veal, Capons, roast. Pallets, Tongue pie, cold, Sprod, boiled. Roast pig. Pullets, Boiled capon. Boiled mutton. Boiled chickens, Shoulder mutton, roast, Ducks, boiled, Loin veal, roast, Pallets, Herons, roast, cold. Custards, Hot pheasant, (one for the king,) Six quails for the king, Partridges, Poults, Roast pigeons, A made dish, Turkey pie, Hogs' cheeks dried, Turkey chicken, cold, SUNDAY NIGHT'S SUPPER, FIRST AND SECOND COURSES. Plovers, Red deer pie, Pig, burred. Three hot roast herons, Roast lamb. Gammon bacon, Pullets and greens, Dried tongues. Pheasant tarts. Pullets, Boiled capon. Cold mutton. Boiled ducks, Plovers, Chickens Baked chickens. Pallets, Rabbits, EATING AND ENTERTAINMENTS. 155 Roast shoulder mutton, Chickens, boiled, Cold capon, Roast veal, Rahhit.s, boiled. Pallets, A roast turkey. Hoi vecison pasty, Sliced beef, Uiuble pie, Sprod, boiled. Cold neat's tongue pie, Baked curlew, cold. Turkevs baktul, cold. Neat's feet, Boiled rabbits. Fried rabbits, Quails, Herons, cold, Pouit.s, Red deer pie, Peas, buttered, Mnde dish, Ducks, Gammon bacon. Red deer pie. Pigeons, Wild boar pie, Curlews, Neat's tongue tart, Dried hogs' cheek. MONDaY MORNING'S BREAKFAST. Pull.'ts, Boiled cnpon, Shoulder mutton, boiled, and one roasted, Roast veal. Boiled ducks. Pallets, Red deer pie, cold, Four roast capons, Poults, roast, Pheasants, Boiled chicken. Roast rabbits, Chine beef, roast, Herons, Boiled mutton, Wild boar pie, Jiffget of boiled mutton, Jigget of mutton, burred, Tarts, Venison pasty, A roast turkey, Roast pig, Roast venison, Chicken pie. Burred capon. Dried hogs' cheeks, Umble pie, Gammon bacon, Made dish. Chief cooks were, Messrs. Morris and Miller. Cooks for the pallets, John Clerk and John Bibby. Cooks for boiling, John Minyer and Williaoi Parkes. Cooks for roasting and baking, John Coleburne, Elias James, John Raikes, and A. Daman. Labourers for roasting and baking and for the pastries, J. Green, R. Blythe, W. Aldersey, and Alexander Cowper. I am surprised he did not knight all the cooks, for it was at this visit, which lasted for several days, that he knighted the loin of beef. He had presented to him, by the rustics, while he was out sporting in the park attached to this noble house, a petition^ pi'ay- ing them to be allowed to enjoy themselves on the Sabbath after church service, which was the origin of his celebrated Book of Sports ; which book was the cause of more preaching and scribbling than enough ; so that this visit is an important one in English history. See p. 234. But, reader, after reading over the list of nice things, did it 3iot tend to make you break one of the commandments .? did not your appetite covet some of them ? For my part, when I first read the account, I remembered the old adage, that " eat- ing, like scratching, only wants a beginning," and I really wish- ed for one small slice out of the haunch of venison, and that ^* my throat was a mile long, and every inch a palate." That wish by Dr. Kitchener, beats Philoxenus of old ; he only •• wis'ned to have the neck of a crane, that he might enjoy the taste of his aliments longer and with more pleasure." 11* 126 THE SOCIAL HISTOPY OF GREAT BRITAIN. One thing cannot fail striking the attentive reader, viz., the small quantity of vegetables, and apparently little fruit either in pastry or as a desert. How they drank their wines or other liquors, I cannot inform the reader. Bat Dr. Whittaker, this county's historian, who died in 1821, says : " We are indebted to the French for the temperate elegance of drinking wine at dinner. Sixty years ago the Lancashire gentry used to go into their cellars and drink themselves drunk from the pipes." And now, by way of contrast, 1 will give Cromwell's style of living. A republican simplicity prevailed in the bancjuets at Whitehall during his administration, the plain fare of whose tables was the subject of many sneers among the luxurious loyal. An idea of his dinners may be formed by the following manner in which his lady baked a pig : " The carcass was in- cased in a coating of clay, like one of his own iron sides in his coat of mail, and in this state it was stew^ed among the hot ashes of the stoke-hole. Scotch collops also formed one of the stand- ing dishes of her cookery : we are informed that she ate marrow puddings at breakfast, while her youngest daughter delighted in a sausage made of hogs' liver."* Cromwell, with the sto- mach of a soldier, despised French and elaborate cooker}^ ; but at his state dinners he had them, yet they were mostly for show After his feasts there was much boisterous mirth and merriment, but more dignified and harmless, compared with the gross out- rages of the royal banquets of James, or the festivals of the cavaliers in the time of his unfortunate son. The city of London gave him and Fairfax a feast, which was all of a substantial character, suited to military appetites ; nc healths were drank, and the only music was trumpets and ket- tie-drums.! In the year 1661 there was a gathering of marquises, lords, knights, and squires, which took place at New^castle, to cele- brate an anniversary ; when, on account of the number of the guests, each was required to provide or bring his own dish of meat : this created competition. Sir George Goring's dish was received with most eclat : it consisted of four brawny pigs, piping hot, bitted and harnessed with cables of sausages, all tied to a monstrous pudding-bag. J Among other articles of cookery, they cooked snails, which were stewed or fried in a variety of ways, with oil, spices, wine, vinegar, and eggs; and the legs of frogs were dressed a la fricassee.^ Those who may be curious to know the recipes for cooking * Court and kitchen of Mrs. Joan Cromwell. t Whitelock. X Lodge's Illustrations. " ^ May. EATING AND ENTERTAINMENTS. 127 fish, will find several varieties in the kind-hearted Isaac Wal- ton's book on angling. As none of them are so good as those novv'' in use, I have not thought proper to copy any of them. Pennant sa^'-s : " The shad, if stuffed with pot majoram, and dressed in that manner, will very nearly intoxicate the eater." In former days fennel was always boiled with fish : the com- mon dock was boiled with meat ; they had an opinion it made it boil sooner, and it was considered a v/holesome pot herb. The gathering of samphire, which was used as a pickle, was pursued as a " dreadful trade."* " The rolls of the Temples " are kept in each ; it is called the calves' head roll ; wherein every bencher, barrister, and stu- dent is taxed yearly at so much to the cook and other officers of the house, in consideration of a dinner of calves' head pro- vided in Easter term." I will give a method of making a herring pie, from a fashion- able cookery book of the time. " Take salt herrings, being well watered, wash them between your hands, and you shall loosen the fish from4he skin ; take off the skin whole ; then have a pound of almonde paste ready, mince the herrings, and stamp them with the almonde paste, two of the roes, five or six dates, some grated manchet, sugar, sack, rose water, and saffron ; make the composition somewhat stiff", and fill the skins ; put butter in the bottom of your pie, lay on the herrings, and on them dates, gooseberries, currants, barberries, and butter ; close it up and bake it ; being baked, liquify it with butter, vinegar, and sugar." Lord Bacon recommends, in eating chewets, which are minced meats, " instead of butter or fat, it were good to moisten them partly with creame, or*almonde or pistachio milke, or barley or maize creame." Such is a small sample of that celebrated noble as a gourmand. Tusser in the following verse describes their general feed : *' Beef, mutton, and porke, shred pies of the best, Pig, veal, goose, and capon, and turkie well drest ; Cheese, apples, and nuts, jolie carols to heare. As then in the countrie is counted good cheere." They had in general a three course dinner ; the second was always game when in season ; the third was confectionary, of which they were very fond, and their taste displayed itself here in the articles representing the heathen mythology, castles, or wind-mills ; so their teeth were dally exercised in some species of bloodless knight-errantry. Their dessert usually included a March pine, (a delicate sort of biscuit,) and a cake composed of * See Shakspeare's King Lear 128 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. filberts, pistachio nuts, pine kernels, sugar, rose water, ana flour ; marmalades, pomegranetes, oranges, citrons, apples, pears, raisins, dates, nuts, grapes, &c. ; nor was any expense spared in procuring these foreign or home-reared dainties.* The first regular confectioner who settled in London was in 1600 — Seignor Baltassir Sanchez, a Spaniard, who soon got rich and retired, and whose grateful and benevolent heart induced him to found Tottenham Cross school and alms-houses ; so he not only professed the sweets of life, but enjoyed them too, and did what he could to allow a small portion of others who came after him to do the same. " May his quiet soul sleep through a quiet fleep." Sir Samuel Morland, who was master mechanic to Charles II., had a portable cooking establishment fitted up in his carriage in 1675. CARVING. In former times there was an officer to carve the meat in all noble houses : he was an esquire in degree. In Scotland Sir William Anstruther, Bart., is hereditary carver, having the right of standing at a side-table to cut up the meat. The following extract is taken from the accomplished Lady Rich's " Closet of Rarities," 1653 : " Instructions to British ladies when at table. — A gentlewoman, being at table, abroad or at home, must observe to keep her body straight, and lean not by any means on her elbows, nor by ravenous gesture disclose a voracious appetite. Talke not when you have meate in j'^our mouthe, and do not smacke like a pig, nor eat spoone-meate so hot that the tears stand in your eyes. It is very uncourtly to drink so large a draughte that your breath is almost gone, and you are forced to blow strongly to recover yourself; throw- ing down your liquor as into a funnel, is an action fitter for a juggler than a gentlewoman. In carving at your own table, distribute the best pieces first ; it will appear very decent and comely to use a forke ; so touch no piece of meate without it." In the reign of Charles this accomplished art was taught at schools. Montaigne regretted he '^ could not handsomely fold up a letter, make a pen, saddle a horse, nor carve at table worth a pin." The polished Chesterfield recommends the knowledge of carving to his son. * Stubbs. EATING AND ENTERTAINMENTS. 129 Many people are not aware of the use of knowing well the art of carving : by carving properl}'^, there may be found seven different flavours in a large shoulder of mutton. How gratifying must it be, when one has a small party of kind friends, to be able to reciprocate their kindness, by helping each one to those parts his or her palate iiiost approves of; when that can be done, as it always may be, if the person has the competent knowledge, and which is so easy to be acquired, the best books on the art of cookery having cuts to teach it. It gives the host many happy opportunities, by passing the compliment to each guest by asking the part he would like to partake of; to show some dexterity, and his or her good breeding in a very polite art ; and also of his or her assiduous attention to oblige, which marks the well-bred lady or gentleman, and is so easy a way of showing off his attention in these often- occurring periods of civilized life. This civility costs nothing, the joint of meat, or game, or poultry, or dish of fish having been provided and cooked ; the remaining part is only a little knowledge, which, by requisite attention, daily experience thrice repeated soon furnishes. How much more pleasant is it to reflect that you have gratified your friend's taste and palled his appetite with those parts he has most relished, instead of helping him to v.4iat he did not so well approve of, and those parts he would have relished with a higher goute^ given to the dogs or the cats ! But mark, reader, another point ; if you happen to know this very necessary and pleasing art, it shows at once your good breeding and station in society : you will find it also gives great hilarif.y to the passing scene. But if you do not know it previously, it cannot, at the time when most wanted, be taught you ; because jomv guest, seeing this deficiency, dare not ask for that he might desire, out of tenderness to you, he being aware it would expose your want of this necessary and ever- pleasing accomplishment ; which, as it adds to others' pleasure, like all other freely compounded, freely given, kind and warm- hearted off-handed civilities, adds largely to your own, and adds a double relish to the land repast. These are acts of kindness -That syllable men's names On sands, and shores, and desert wildernesses." Milton. The following excellent song was given to me many years past by a female cook of an old English family. The author she did not know. It was, 1 have no doubt, written in " the olden time." 130 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. LINES ON DRESSING A SALAD. " The herbal savour gave his sense delight." — Quarles. ** Two large potatoes, passed throngh kitchen sieve, Smoothness and softness to the salad give ; Of mordant mustard add a single spoon, Distrust the condiment that bites too soon ; But deem it not, thou man of herb, a fault, To add a double quantity of salt.* Four times the spoon with oil of Lucca crown, And twice with vinegar procured from town — True flavour'd mends it ; and your poet begs The pounded yellow of two boiled eggs. Let onions' atoms l-urk within the bowl, And, scarce suspected, animate the whole ; And lastly, in the flavour'd compound toss A magic spoonful of anchovy sauce. Oh, great and glorious ! oh, herbaceous treat ! 'Twould tempt the dying anchorite to eat , Back to the world he'd turn his weary soul, And plunge his fingers in the salad bowl." To dry apples like Norfolk biffins. — Take small apples — the triie biilUiSs or orange or lemon.pippins, are the best — choose the clearest riaus and without bletiiishes, lay them on clean straw on a baking v/ire, cover tliem with more straw, set them into a slow oven, lei them remaiii for four or five hours ; draw them out and rub them in your bdads, and press them gently, other- wise you will bur8l the skhis ; return them into the oven for about one hour, and press them again when coid ; if they look dry, rub them over with a little clarified sugar ; by being put into the oven four or five times, and pressed properly every time, they will resemble Norfolk bitTins, and keep for a con- siderable time. To bake pears. — Take twelve large baking pears, pare and cut them into halves, take out the core with the point of a knife, and place them close together in a block tin saucepan, the cover to fit tight ; put to them the rind of a lemon cut fine, with half its juice, a small stick of cinnamon, and twenty grains of alspice, cover them with spring water, and allow one pound of loaf sugar to a pint of water ; cover them up close, and bake them for six hours in a very slow oven ; they will be quite tender, and of a bright colour. Prepared cochineal is generally used for colouring them ; but, if the above is strictly attended to, no preparation is required. * The Italians say, "In a salad well salted, put little vinegar, much oil." 131 DRINKING AND RECIPES. "While the Englishmen (he said) drank only ale, they were strong, brawny, able men, and could draw an arrow an ell long, (foity-five inches ;) but when they fell to wine and beer, they are found to be much impaired in their strength and age ; so the ale bore away the bell among the doctors." — Howell. At page 76 I alluded to English hospitality ; here will be a proper place to give an instance, and in that instance show what it really was. In the year 1136 the Bishop of Winchester founded an hospital, called Holy Cross, near that city, for thir- teen poor men who could not maintain themselves : their daily allowance was three and a quarter pounds of bread, and a gallon and a half of beer ; in addition to this, they had a flesh or fish dinner, as the calendar allowed, and a pittance or dessert ; also a dish of some sort of animal food for supper : they had also a mortrelj a sort of egg flip, made with milk and wastel-bread, or dainty cake, to help them through their beer. This was for those poor men who could not maintain themselves : it is, there- fore, right to presume these men were all of them past the meridian of life, except they might be maimed or otherwise bodily afflicted ; and, being founded by a bishop, and for chari- table purposes, it may be supposed he would not allow them too much, because he could have added to their number, and that would have been more kind than afflicting each with the daily task of eating and drinking too much. It may, therefore, be taken as what in those days was considered a temperate allowance for men who did not labour : this allowance for these thirteen poor men, I have no doubt, is much more than the average of any twenty hard working men at this time, even if in constant employ.* He also provided a noble hall in the same establishment, * The English have always been famous for good cheer. Hollingshed notices the comments of the Spaniards in Queen Mary's time, when they saw '* what large diet was used in their homelie cottages," and repeats what one of the Spaniards said : " Although these English have their houses of sticks and dirt, yet they fare commonlie as well as a king." That the style of living did not disagree, may be inferred from the following instances, which include both rich and poor, and are the oldest on record of any period. Thomas Parre, of Shropshire, died November 8th, 1635, aged 152. Henry Jenkins, of Yorkshire, died December 8th, 1670, aged 169. James Shands, of Staffordshire, died 1670, aged 140. The Countess of Desmond, aged 140, and the Countess of Eccleston, aged 143, both in Ireland, died about 1691. From Sir John Sinclair's work on " Health and Longevity," the only routine of life which the aged have pursued, and in which the majority agree, is in early rising. 132 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. called the Hundred Men^s Hally in which one hundred more poor men of the city might go and dine daily gratis : their fare was a loaf of bread and three quarts of beer ; and what they could not eat, they could take away with them. This establishment is not quite perverted, but is much abridged ; and in whatever way the funds may be now applied, it is as Dr. Milner says, " the only vestige left of old English hospitality." In this hospital there is still an old leather jack, in which the beer has been drawn for many centuries. The general drink was ale ; but, nevertheless, they had wine of their own produce, for in " The Museum Rusticum " we are informed " that the country round Arundel, in Sussex, was covered with vineyards. In 1763 there were sixty pipes of wine in the cellars of that beautiful castle, made from the produce of that district, which resembled Burgundy." There are hundreds of places in England named after the vine, such as Vineyard-fields, Vineyard-lanes, i&c. The writer has drank, within the last twenty years, in the county of Kent, wine from the grape-vine grown round a paper-mill. He also once drank some strong and pleasant wine made from the wild hedge fruity sweetened with the honey from a cottage garden in Warwickshire. And there is a very potent wine for very cold weather, commonly made of the elderberries. Birch wine is made from the trees at Belper, in Derbyshire, in a similar manner as it may be made from the sap of the maple. Hollingshed mentions " that they drank in his time fifty-six sorts of French wines, and thirty-six sorts of Spanish and Italian, and mostly drank it spiced." Sack was eight pence a quart in Shakspeare's time. I find the English people scarcely drank anything nett ; there was often some sort of mixture ; even wine was mixed, as the following couplet will exemplify : " To allay the hardness of the wine, Let with old Bacchus new metheglin join." Dkyden. Metheglin or mead was much drank : Wales was celebrated for it. Queen Elizabeth had a quantity made there, expressly for her own drinking. In Scotland the Scots did not sweeten the wine like the Eng- lish, but with cemfits^ like the French. They drank more than the English, and preferred malmsey. They also drank much ale . The following is an extract from a letter from the Earl of Shrewsbury, dated 1569, to the Marquis of Winchester, about wine-drinking while he had the custody of the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots • DRINJ(|iiNG AND RECIPES. 133 " It may please you to understand that I have had a certain allowance for wine in my household without imposte. The charges that I do now sustain, and have done this yere, by reason of keeping the Queen of Scots, is so great, that I am compelled to be a suter unto you, that ye will have a friendly consideration. Truly, two tonnes a monthe have not hitherto sustained my ordinary. " This will show there was some pretty heavy drinking of the wine, because the greater part of the household would have ale. I should think there must be many daily " wine wise ;" that was the pretty saying they made use of when any one had had too much. The drinking of healths I believe to be a Danish custom. If the company consisted of twenty or thirty, it was expected that each should drink healths in rotation ; and if an absent or favou- rite lady or patron, their healths were to be drank on the knees. In those exciting times toasts could not but be often offensive to some, which led to angry discussions and duels. Drunkenness was the prevailing vice all over the country. Breton, a writer of this time, quaintly observes : " A drunken man is a noun adjective, for he cannot stand alone by himself." The nation must, then, be in a pretty rolling condition ; for it appears all the verbs were sots, and could lend them but a staggering support. But ale was the principal beverage ; and the Dutch have raised the following quaint query upon the subject of drinking too much : As dat beer is in de man, ) ( When the beer is in the man, Is de wyshel in de can ] J ^' ( Is the wisdom in the can 1 The solving of this question I shall leave to some ingenious casuist — one who has a mind of that cast that can ■Sever and divide A hair 'twixt north and north-west side." Hudibras. The intemperate should recollect the following French maxim : "Two things a drunkard doth disclose — A crimson phiz and pimpled nose." In the town of Nottingham there was a publican of the name of Littlejohn, who put up over his door the sign of Robin Hood and the following four witty lines : "All ye that relish ale that's good, Come in and drink with Robin Hood; If Robin Hood is not at home, Come in and drink with Littlejohn." 12 184 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF ^EAT BRITAIN. But Mr. Littlejohn, in the due course of time, like all other men, paid the debt of nature. His successor thought it a pity to lose so good a sign and such good tap-room poetry ; so, with a little ingenious poetic alteration, he substituted his own name, as follows : " All ye that relish ale that's good, Come in and drink with Robin Hood ; If Robin Hood is not at home, Come in and drink with Samuel Johnson." Goldsmith had such a house as this upon his mind when he wrote " Where village statesmen talk'd with looks profound, And news much older than the ale went round," amid murky clouds of best Virginia. In some districts, as is now the case, cider was a common beverage. Drayton thus mentions it: " Spiced syllabubs, and cider of the best. And to the same down solemnly they sat." The renowned city of Oxford is famous for a drink called an Oxford night-cap, which one of that learned body of men in the olden time has thus given his reasons for drinking : '* Three cups of this a prudent man may take — The first of them for constitution sake ; The second to the lady he loves best ; The third, and last, to lull him to his rest." I hope, therefore, it will not be imprudent in me to give the recipe for making it. The above orthodox authority must be undeniable. Make several incisions in the rind of a lemon, stick cloves in them, and roast by a slow fire ; put equal quantities of cinna- mon, mace, and alspice, with a race of ginger, into a saucepan, with half a pint of water ; simmer till reduced half the quantity. Boil one bottle of port wine, burn a portion of the spirit out by applying a lighted piece of paper to the saucepan ; put the roasted lemon and spice into the wine, stir it up, and let it stand near the fire ten minutes ; rub a few nobs of white sugar on the rind of a lemon, put the sugar into a jug with the juice of a raw lemon, pour the wine upon it, grate some nutmeg into it, and sweeten to your taste : serve it up with the lemon floating at top. Some use Burgundy wine mulled, and call it bishop or a comforter. If with old Rhenish port, it is called cardinal ; but if with Tokay, it is called pope. DRINKING AND RECIPES 135 Hippocras was a wedding beverage, made of red wine, spices, and sugar, stirred witli sprigs of rosemary. Another favourite drink was called " rumfustian :" it was made the same as the night-cap, except there were added the yolks of twelve eggs, a quart of home-brewed beer, a bottle of white wine, half a pint of gin, some grated nutmeg, the juice from orange peelings, and then cinnamon and sugar quantum sufficit for the palate. This was drank in such weather as Lord Byron did not like — " mists, thaws, slops, or rain." Another drink was called Brown Betty. Dissolve one pound of brown sugar in a pint of water, slice a lemon in it, and let it stand half an hour ; add pounded cloves and cinnamon, half a pint of brandy, and one quart of strong ale ; stir all together, put a couple of slices of toast in it, toasted quite brown, with some grated nutmeg and ginger on each slice. In the summer this should be iced ; in the winter, warmed. The drinking of it may be said " to be putting the piquant damsel into a warm- ed bed." They had also a favourite drink called a cool tankard. A gallon of old ale, into which put the following herbs, agreeable to your taste: balm, hyssop, old man or southern wood, with nutmeg and sugar ; let it stand some time, covered up. Sometimes it is made with port, sherry, or Madeira wine, instead of the ale. Before drinking, it was always stirred up with a sprig of rosemary : this herb was symbolic of remem- brance. Each person always drank out of the same tankard, a noble vessel of either gold or silver, with a chased lid, and always held a full quart ; and sometimes there would be pegs sticking out in the inside, to regulate the draught. Even in the ordinary country farm-houses toast and ale was sure to be introduced at Christmas. This is made with full rounds of a loaf toasted quite brown, (but not burnt,) each slice powdered over with spice and brown sugar, put into a large bowl, and that filled with some good home-brewed ale. The following is the celebrated Dr. Aldrich's five reasons for drinking, paraphrased from " aut vini bonitus qui alteri causa :" " If on my theme I rightly think, There are five reasons why men drink ; Good wine, a friend, because I'm dry, Or lest I should be by and by, Or any other reason why." This learned gentleman was dean of Christ church, Oxford, in 1587. To make a quart of curogoa. — To a pint of the clearest and strongest rectified spirits add two and a half drachms of the sweet oil of orange peel, and shake it up ; dissolve a pound of good 136 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN- lum]) sugar in a pint of cold water, and make this into a clarified syrup, which add to the spirits ; shake it up and let it stand until the following day : then line a funnel with thin muslin, and line that with filtering paper, and filter it two or three times, or until it is quite bright. This liquor is a very desirable cordial ; and a tea-spoonful in a tumbler of water is a very refreshing summer drink, and a great improvement to punch. Capillaire. — To a pint of clarified syrup add a w^ine-glassful of curogoa ; or dissolve one drachm of oil of neroli in two ounces of rectified syrup, and add a few drops of it to clarified syrup. Lemonade in a minute. — Pound a quarter of an ounce of citric acid with a few^ drops of quintessence of lemon peel, and mix it by degrees with a pint of clarified syrup or capillaire. About the end of the century sherbet was much used, which is a most delightful cooling summer drink ; and as it is a very proper summer one for this Union, 1 feel pleasure in giving some good recipes to make it. Nine Seville oranges and three lemons, grate off the yellow from the rinds, and put these raspings into a gallon of water, with five pounds of double refined sugar, and boil to a candy height ; then take it off the fire and add pulps of oranges and lemons ; keep stirring it till cool ; then strain it off and put into a vessel for use. This may be iced, and flavoured with thyme, mint, sage, or rosemary. Another method of making sherbet consists of water, lemon or orange juice, in which are dissolved perfumed cake.s made of the best Damascus fruits, and containing also an iiAfusion of rose water. Another is made of violets, honey, juice of raisins, &c. These are all delightful summer drinks. Lord Byron, in a letter to Tom Moore, says : " Give me a srun, I care not how hot, And sherbet to drink, I care not how cool, and my heaven is as easily made as your Persian," which Moore had thus described : *' A Persian's heaven is easily made ; 'Tis but black eyes and lemonade." Drinking glasses and decanters were introduced in 1577 J and soon enough was manufactured for the home consumption, beautifully enamelled, cut, and inlaid with heraldric, hunting, and other subjects. But in the servants' halls of gentlemen's mansions the ale fo1f the servants is drawn in leathern-jacks, like engine fire-buckets, and they drink it out of horns, which hold a pint each. This saves a considerable sum yearly in crockery and glass. 137 CONTRAST OF THE TWO LEADING PARTIES. " Party is the madness of many for the gain of a few." It is worthy of our particular remark, and may, I hope, serve as a useful lesson to future reformers, who may be very praiseworthily and zealously inclined to effect judicious reforms in society. To show, however, how much a spirit of mere con- tradiction will do, witness the Puritan party, who were always a minority, speaking of them numerically ; but in moral effect they were a host ; and, had their system been offered in many cases in a more captivating form, they would have effected much more than they did. Their conduct puts one forcibly in mind of a witty satirist's description of that useful animal, the swine : " Try but to drive a pig against his will, Behold, the sturdy gentleman stands still ; Or else, his independent soul to show, Gallops the very road he should not go." The Puritan, from what he considered his religious principles, was, and must be, a stiff and rigid personage ; and must hold in contempt all the kind-hearted temperings which were reck- oned among the mellowing influences of human life. In 1644 the Puritan parliament established the directory, and not onlj'' abolished the book of common prayer, but voted the creed, the Lord's prayer, and the ten commandments useless. They affected a slow and drawling speech and tone, which degenerated into a snuffle or " sweet nasal twang ;" while their talk was liberally checkered over with the most ordinary texts of Scripture. In their dealings they would say, ^' It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer ; and when he is gone away, then he boasteth." When they rebuked a talkative person, they would say, " In all labour there is profit, but the talk of the lips tendeth to penury." If you meddled with any of their articles of trade, they would say, " Touch not, taste not, handle not," without you mean to buy. They were very fond of Scriptural mottoes. One which be- came so perfectly perverted as to be now scarcely recognised, was, " God encompasseth us." They also gave, as a first name to their children, biblical names expressive of some Christian quality which they reli- giously approved, and which they very properly and as piously wished their children to follow out ; and being, as it were, thus ingrafted upon them, would undoubtedly tend to produce such an effect upon their daily conduct. 12* 138 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. In the beginning of the civil wars each regiment of the par- liamentary army, v/hich mainly consisted of Puritans, had a regular chaplain ; but the pious personage did not long renrjain with it : no doubt he considered that such conduct was not agreeable or consistent with his calling ; so that, soon after the battle of Edge Hill, every soldier had his bible, and became his own priest or DD., which produced every species of profanity that can be imagined. In the year 1649 Cromwell and his military officers prayed and preached in the churches. If a Puritanical soldier did not growl psalms, whistle ser- mons, or act some audacious religious caper, he was looked upon as bad as a coward. But the Puritans who v/ere not engaged in the " dreadful battle's strife," piously endeavoured to draw a solace to their common labours by making their religion furnish it. But this, unfortunately, called into play every sort of extravagance that could be thought of by the most excited fanatical preachers of the day. Their sermons were often the most perverted and their text the most odd that could be selected ; and their pulpit conduct as ridiculously conspicuous as could be acted. I forbear giving nume- rous historical instances ; sorry should I be to add one pang of grief to any seri- ous religious person, or excite the blas- phemous merriment of the thoughtless scoffer. Let us, by all the holy considerations of Christian charity, draw the veil of obscurity over their errors ; at this dis- tance of time the worst of them may be " forgotten as fools, or remembered a^ worse." In their dress they choose all sorts of plain sad colours, to show a demureness in feeling and a penury of cut. A modern political writer has observed of the So- ciety of Friends, " That if their taste could have been consulted at the crea- tion, what a silent and drab-coloured creation it would have been ; not a flower would have blossomed its gayeties, nor Oliverian or Puritan. a bird been permitted to sing." A ruddy cheek would make a Puritan start with horror ; so that they did all they could to CONTRAST OF THE TWO LEADING PARTIES. 139 expose the whole paleness of their ghastly countenances, and went about clean shaved, with their hair closely cut. They also discountenanced nearly all sorts of diversions, in- doors and out. Drinking healths met with their most loving ^ most charitable^ and most unqualified condemnation. At first the Society of Friends, which commenced with George Fox, who began to travel and preach in 1643, were very turbulent ; they went into the churches, which they in- sultingly called " steeple-houses :" they did not (though they were great bible readers) follow the first book of Thessalonians, fourth chapter, verse eleventh. I give the following anecdote from the biography of John Eunyan : " A Friend visited him in Bedford jail, and declared * that, by the order of the Lord, he had sought for him in half the prisons in England.' Bunyan replied, 'If the Lord has sent you, you need not have taken so much trouble to find me out, for the Lord knows I have been a prisoner in Bedford jail for the last twelve years ' The Cavalier, to show his perfect contempt both for the prin- ciples and professions of the Puritans, exhibited a perfect levity and recklessness in contrast, which served to provoke the dis- gust and demureness of his better-intentioned antagonist. '' Thus their actions are contrary, Just as votes and speeches vary." Hudibras. The gay, the gaudy, the ermined, the jewelled cavalier studied all his powers would essay, to have everything that could be produced by land or by sea, to gratify this feeling of bitter con- tradiction. At the restoration, on the day of the arrival of Charles II., the people had become so tired of the gloom and constraint of the Puritans, that they lighted bon-fires, rung the bells many a long, merry peal, paraded the streets, and broke the windows of the " praise God bare-bones " people, set up their old May- poles, roasted sheep, drank the king's health upon their knees, and made Monk's soldiers reeling drunk for several days. Swearing under the Puritans had been very properly pro- hibited by a fine ; and now, to show their contempt for every- thing of that cold, disdainful sect, they swore the faster ; so that it became a common saying, that such a one swore to the tune of iS2000 per year :* while Buckingham, Rochester, Sedley, and their associates, fearless of common decency, laugh- ed at the fopperies of the clergy, and made lampoons and drolleries of the Sacred Scriptures. • Dryden's '« Wild Gallant." 140 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. The conduct of this party was of the most fulsome, nause- ous, and slavish description. The Almighty, the church, and the king were the new Trinity now worshipped ; and I am sorry to say it is difficult to state which of these divinities were most gloritied : thus *' The mind of mortals, in perverseness strong, Imbibes witii dire docility the wrong." Juvenal. Notwithstanding the frivolity of the high-born, full-blooded cavalier, the bulk of the community still retained much of the good old English spirit. There were many of the royalists who steadily exhibited the best days of Queen Elizabeth : they adhered to the primitive hours under all circumstances ; and used the old fare at table, notwithstanding the introduction of French cookery. Before they attended to the regular affairs of the day, they went to their tavern or ale-house, and took their " morning," which consisted of a cup of ale or wine ; when business was over, they attended their club or coffee-house, where they discussed on religion, politics, or literature. Tea, coffee, and chocolate were now first introduced. Accord- ing to Dryden's " Wild Gallant," they began to be relished as a morning draught by those who had been guilty of excessive drinking on the over-night ; and they superseded those fiery liquors that had hitherto accompanied every meal. Thus arose the ever-reviving, ever-pleasant social tea-table. If such remains of simplicity kept its ground in London in spite of so much evil example on one side, and too stiff a rigidit^^ on the other always exhibited there, we must not wonder it was still more plentiful in the country. The baronial table was still, as it ought ever to have been, heart of oak, heavily laden with cheerful festivity ; and the huge sirloins and lusty plum-puddings smoked to scorn every effort of French cookery of fashionable London. The country squires still gave their tenants their annual feasts at their own houses, and kept up the natural tie still free, yet friendly and unbroken ; so that it was a sort of politico family relationship ; while the happy farmer, so well described by Cowper as " An honest man, close button'd to the chin, Broadcloth without, and a warm heart within," gave his jovial sheep-sheerings, harvest suppers, and other set feasts to his workmen and attendants. These happy, these soul-enlivening, these heart-cheering feasts are all faithfully depicted in the old playsy which, when CLUES. 141 now brought forward, are only intended to excite ridicule. Whereas every Englishman ought to blush with shame to think that he has most slavishly suffered himself to be robbed of the means by the never-ceasing tax-gatherer^ which now prevents him from doing exactly the same. CLUBS. After the restoration of Charles II. came forth political clubs, for politics now were the great excitement ; and here came extravagances of another description, equally turbulent and equally as base. They met at coffee-houses ; and, as there must be at least two or more parties, each having its idols or factions, to prevent them from coming in open contact with each other, and having street scuffles, they wore ribands in their hats, to mark the distinction. One party wore green ribands, and was called the green riband club.*" In Dryden's time he thus notices clubs : " I would ask you one civil question ; what right has any man among you, or any association of men, (to come nearer to you,) who out of parlia- ment cannot be considered in a public capacity, to meet, as you daily do, in factious clubs, to vilifie the government in your discourses and to libel it in all your writings .?" Otway thus advises : " Avoid the politic, the factious fool, The busy, buzzing, talking, hardened knave ; The quaint smooth rogue, that sins against his reason, Calls saucy loud sedition public zeal. And mutiny the dictates of his spirit." In fact, one would suppose that once " merry<^nglande," according to the diarists and the tracts of the times, was become a grand den of madmen all let loose, with some mischief-making demon always hurling in the air some new foot-ball to be scuffled and scrambled for. How true is the following remark of Bolingbroke : " There is a time when factions, by their vehemence, stun and disable one another.'* WHIG AND TORY. In 1679, according to Roger North, Tory had the start. It was applied to the Duke of York's friends : they were called at * Pepys' Diary. 142 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. first Yorkists, but that did not scandalize enough. Then came Tantivy, which implied riding post to Rome. Observing that the duke favoured Irishmen, all his friends were called Irish, or wild Irish, or bog-trotters ; then Tory, which signified the most despicable savage among them ; and, it being a round and clear-sounding word, it kept its hold. After beating about for an opposite word, True Blues, Bru- mingam Protestants, (alluding to forged groats,) they hit upon Whig, which was very significant and vernacular in Scotland, meaning corrupt whey ; that ran like wild-fire, and ran up a sharp score on the other side.''^ At the revolution of 1688, Whig meant one who approved the setting aside King James II. and his heirs. At the American independence, in 1776, Whig meant setting aside George III- and his heirs for ever. The following account of these parties and their places of meeting is from a late number of the " Gentleman's Magazine,'' which brings their history down to the close of the reign of the Stuarts : " Among the most famous subscription coffee-houses of the olden time were Tom's and Will's, both in the neighbourhood of the theatres, of which we meet with the following curious notice in ' Mackay's Journey through England,' published in 1724 : ' This amusing depicter of the manners of that period was lodged in Pall Mall, the ordinary residence of all strangers, because of its vicinity to the king's palace, the park, the parlia- ment house, the theatres, and the chocolate and coffee houses, where the best company frequent. If you would know our manner of living, it is this : We rise by nine ; and those who frequent great men's levees, find entertainment till eleven, or, as in Holland, go to tea-tables. About twelve the beau-monde assembles i^several chocolate and coffee houses ; the best of which are the Cocoa Tree, White's chocolate houses, St. James's, the Smyrna, and the British coffee houses, all of which are so near one another that in less than an hour you see the company of them all. We are carried to these places in sedan- chairs, which are here very cheap — a guinea a week, or a shilling per hour ; and your chairmen serve you for porters to run on errands, as your gondoliers do at Venice. If it be fine weather, we take a turn or two in the park till two, when we go to dinner ; and if it be dirty, you are entertained at piquet or basset at White's, or you may talk politics at the Smyrna or St. James's. I must not forget to tell you that the parties have their different places, where, however, a stranger is always well received ; but a Whig will no more go to the Cocoa Tree * Examen. DUELS. 143 or Orinda's, than a Tory will be seen at the coffee-house of St. James's. The Scots gO generally to the British, and a mixture of all sorts to the Smyrna. There are other little coffee-houses much frequented in this neighbourhood. Young Man's, for officers ; Old Man's, for stock-jobbers, paymasters, and cour- tiers ; and Little Man's, for sharpers.' In another place some account is given of the most important of * an infinity of clubs, or societies for the improvement of learning, and keeping up good humour and mirth ;' as the Kit-catt, the Hanover, the October, and the several mug-house clubs. " After the pla3^s, the best company generally go to Tom's and Will's, near adjoining, vi^here there is playing at piquet, and the best of conversation, till midnight. Here you will see blue and green ribands and stars sitting familiarly M^ith private gentlemen, and talking with the same freedom as if they had left their qualit}?- and degrees of distance at home ; and a stranger tastes with pleasure the universal liberty of speech of the English nation. Or, if you like rather the company of ladies, there are assemblies at most people of qualities' houses. In all the coffee-houses you have not only the foreign prints, but several English ones with the foreign occurrences, besides papers of morality and party disputes. " Tom's coffee-house, No. 17 Great Russell-street, Covent Garden, was well known in 1713. There is now in existence two of the old card-tables, of plain solid mahogany, covered v/ith green baize, the pools being marked off by green tape at the corners. On the hearth-stone of the fire-place is a deep indentation, worn, if not like the steps of Becket's shrine at Canterbury, by the devotees themselves, yet by their faithful and ever-attendant minister, who watched the happy moments when the bul)bling coffee and the simmering chocolate had arrived at that state which rendered them most palatable and acceptable."* DUELS. '* Embrace, embrace, my sons ! be foes no more, Nor glad vile Jacobins with patriot gore !" When the lance and the battle-axe v/ere laid aside, the rapier and dagger came into use in the reign before this ; and the duello, or modern duel, now became the customary mode of * Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xvi. 144 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. deciding the differences among gentlemen. In these encoun- ters, which, as at present, arose not only out of private and personal quarrels, but also out of the great exciting public ques- tions of the day, it would sometimes happen that the parties, though of high rank, belaboured each other stoutly with cudgels before proceeding to more knightly extremities. But even in the regular duel it was not unusual for unfair advantages of various kinds to be attempted to be taken by one or both parties, till the practice of appointing seconds in all cases was resorted to, in order to guard against such treacheries. Combatants also, before they encountered, sometimes searched each others' clothes, or, for better assurance, stripped and fought in their shirts. Yet, when a duel was a grave and premeditated affair, and between men of nice honour and punctilio, the stately ceremo- nials of ancient chivalry were carefully observed. If the cha- lenge was delivered orally, it was with hat in hand, profound congees, and fervent protestations of respect ; and if by letter, the length of the chalenger's sword was specified and the terms of the combat prescribed. If the party chalenged de- murred at the invitation, the bearer gravely stuck the cartel upon the point of his sheathed rapier, and again tendered it ; but if it was still refused, the weapon was gradually lowered, until the paper fell at the recusant's feet.* James, in his character of peace-maker, (and herein he deserves great praise,) found ample employment in composing the quarrels or preventing the duels of his nobles and courtiers. When the civil war broke out, there was fighting enough ; and when that was over, the parliament put a final stop to it for a period. They were obliged, by law, to consider the maxim of Terence : " The fall- ing out of faithful friends, the renewing is of friendship ;" and thus they composed their difficulties for a time. In 1654 there were laws against duels, (and prohibiting cock- fighting matches ;) duellists were to be imprisoned six months, and find bonds for good behaviour for one year after. When the profligate, Charles II., came, and had innoculated with fresh virus the still dormant licentiousness, no wonder that the cruel and reckless duelling again sprouted forth. Perhaps one of the most reckless instances ever on record was perpetrated during this reign : it was the duel fought by the Duke of Buckingham and the Earl of Shrewsbury. The vile duke, having wounded the earl in " that nice point " which none but wittols quietly bear, encountered off-hand, and slew the earl ; the viler countess standing by, disguised as a page, and holding the horse of her paramour, after whose fall she wel- * Life of Lord Herbert of Cherbury. DUELS. 145 corned, with an unblushing face and open arms, the unbloody, blood-stained murderer of her husband. Well has it been said, " that in hatred, as in love, woman knows no measure." " Though equal pains her peace of mind destroy, A husband's torments gave her spiteful joy." I will give another case from the descriptive Pepys, in his own words : " Here Creed did tell us," he says, '^ the story of the duel last night in Covent Garden, between Sir H. Bellasis and Tom Porter. It is worth remembering the silliness of the quarrel, and is a kind of emblem of the general complexion of this whole kingdom. The two dined yesterday at Sir Robert Carr's, where, it appears, people do drink high, all that come. It happened that these two, the greatest friends in the world, were talking together ; and Sir H. Bellasis talked a little louder than ordinary to Tom Porter, giving of him some advice . Some of the company, standing by, said, ' What, are they quarrelling, that they talk so high P Sir H. Bellasis, hearing it, said, ' No ; I would have you know I never quarrel, but I strike ; and take that as a rule of mine !' ' How ! ' said Tom Porter ; ' strike ! I would I could see the man in England that durst give me a blow !' With that. Sir H. Bellasis did give him a box of the ear, and so they were going to fight there, but were hindered. By and by Tom Porter went out, and, meeting Dryden the poet, told him the business, and that he was resolved to fight Sir H. Bellasis presently — for he knew that if they did not, they should be friends to-morrow, and then the blow would rest upon him, which he would prevent — and desired Dryden to let him have his boy to bring him notice which way Sir H. Bellasis goes. By and by he is informed that Sir H. Bellasis's coach was coming ; so Tom Porter went down out of the coffee-house, where he stayed for the tidings, and stopped the coach, and bade Sir H. Bellasis come out. ' Why,' says Bellasis, ' you will not hurt me coming out, will you .'^ ' No,' said Tom Porter ; so out he went, and both drew ; and Bellasis, having drawn, flung away his scabbard. Tom Porter asked him whether he was ready ; the other answering he was, they fell to fight, some of their acquaintances being by. They wounded one another, and Bellasis so much that it is feared he will die ; and, finding himself severely wounded, he called to Tom Porter and kissed him, and bade him shift for himself; ^ For,' said he, ' Tom, thou hast hurt me, but I will make shift to stand on my legs till thou mayest withdraw, and the world will not take notice of you, for I would not have thee troubled for what thou hast done.' And so, whether he did fly or not, I cannot tell ; but Tom Porter showed Bellasis that he was wounded too, and 13 146 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. they are both very ill ; but Bellasis to fear of life." He died ten'days after, lamentably illustrating the following two lines : " He strives for trifles, and for toys contends, And then in earnest what he says defends." There was also another singular duel, and with a very singu- lar character — the celebrated dwarf, Jeffrey Hudson, who, when seven years old, was scarcely eighteen inches high. He was once served up to Charles I. in a cold pie. In the civil wars this tiny man was a captain of horse, and, after that monarch's death, accompanied the queen to France. While there, he had the misfortune to get into a dispute with Mr. Crofts, a brother of Lord Crofts, who, accounting him an object, not of anger, but of contempt, accepted the chalenge to fight a duel, yet coming armed only with a squirt. This little creature was so enraged — for he came " big with daring deter- mination," — that a real duel ensued ; and, the appointment being on horseback, with pistols, Jeffrey, with his first shot, killed his antagonist. He died in 1632, and was only three feet nine inches in height. This little object felt in full force the dire effects of his pug- nacity, so well expressed in the following lines on boxing, by Anstey : "Now, fighting is itself an action That gives both parties satisfaction , A secret joy the bruiser knows, In giving and receiving blows ; A nameless pleasure, only tasted By those who've thoroughly been basted." Lord Byron says : " Assassination is the origin of duelling and wild justice, as Lord Bacon calls it. It is the fount of the modern point of honour : is what the laws cannot or will not reach. Every man is liable to it more or less, according to circumstance or place." These affairs were, until lately, settled with swords. The duels in which the brilliant Sheridan was engaged in 1772, in consequence of his marriage with Miss Linley, who, according to Bishop Jackson, of Exeter, " seemed to him the connecting link between woman and angel,"* were with swords, though they had pistols. * Mrs. Sheridan's singing was so beautiful, it was likened to Egyptian enbalming, " extracting the brain through the ear." " None knew her hut to love ber. None narred her but to praise." 147 -r| TEA, COFFEE, AND CHOCOLATE. " — Grin, and give ye, for the vine's pure blood, A loathsome potion not j'et understood — Syrop of soot, or essence of old shoes, Dash't with diurnals and the books of news." 1663. These articles, which now form so important a part of com- merce, are all of modern introduction into Europe. Which of them were first introduced, or whether the English, Dutch, or Spaniards first introduced them, are questions difficult to solve. They may be considered as novelties of the seventeenth century, and speedily engaged the pens of various writers, who seem to have been in great consternation on their account Few articles have produced such great changes as these in the domestic family arrangement — such as the immense amount of money constantly in circulation in purchasing the articles to be consumed, and the various tackling to prepare them. The social tea-table is a marked feature of the present age, where fly the jokes and jibes of all parties, all ages, sexes, sizes, and conditions. Here may often be heard the counsels of wisdom, putting one in mind of the xxv. chap, of Proverbs, ver. 1,2 : " As an ear-ring of gold and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear." But sometimes is it also the medium of scandal ; which reminds one " that a froward man soweth strife, and a whisperer separateth chief friends." " Again, some friend is a companion at thy table, but will not continue in the days of thy affliction." Eccles. 6 : 10. I have often thought that our tea-cups, saucers, dishes, and plates might easily be turned into the means of imparting much mstruction, if a judicious selection of these divine maxims ^were imprinted on them ; and thus might the art of lettering and gilding, in the language of Roscommon, '' be mixed with profit and delight." From D'Israeli and others I learn that John Bull's govern- ment soon turned tea, coflee, and chocolate to account, by enu- merating them among other articles in the excise acts. About 1660, every gallon of coffee paid four pence ; every gallon of tea, chocolate, and sherbet, eight pence ; and these sums were levied on the makers. Pepys, in his Diary, 25th September, ;1661, writes : " I sent for a cup of tea, a Chinese drink I never drank before." Queen Catherine, according to Waller the poet, brought it into fashion in 1662. In 1664 the East India Com- pany I'-ould only procure two pounds two ounces, at the cost of forty shillings the pound. In 1666 they paid fifty shillings per 148 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. pound for twenty-two pounds and three-quarters. In 1669 their own importation was one canister, of I43^1bs., from Bantam: they had it only second hand for some time. After the revo- lution, tea became common. Thus " the progress of this famous plant has been somewhat like the progress of truth ; suspected at first, though very palatable to those who had the courage to taste it ; resisted, as it encroached ; abused, as its popularity seemed to spread ; and establishing its triumph at last in cheering the whole land, from the palace to the cottage, only by the slow and resistless efforts of time and its own virtues."* — Edinborough Review. Thomas Garway, in Exchange-alley, Cornhill, tobacconist and coffee man, was the first who sold and retailed tea., recom- mending it for the cure of all disorders. The following is his shop-bill : " Tea in England hath been sold, in the leaf, for six pounds, and sometimes for ten pounds, the pound weight ; and, in respect of its former scarceness and dearness, it hath been only used as a regalia in high treatments and entertainments, and presents made thereof to princes and grandees, till the year 1657. The said Garway did purchase a quantity thereof, and first publicly sold the said tea in leaf or drink., made according to the directions of the most knowing merchants trading into those eastern countries. On the knowledge of the said Garway's continued care and indus-try in obtaining the best tea, and making drink thereof, very many noblemen, physicians, merchants, &c., have ever since sent to him for the said leaf, and daily resort to his house to drink thereof. He sells tea from \Qs. to 505. a pound." From the prices, it is supposed this bill was issued in 1660. In the year 1652 an English Turkish merchant brought a Greek slave to London, who taught the art of roasting coffee, and put forth the following hand-bill : " The vertue of the coffee drink, first publiquely made and sold in England by Pasqua Rosee, in St. MichaePs-alley, Cornhill, at the sign of his own head." In the " Women's petition against coffee," 1674, they com- plained that " it made men as unfruitful as the deserts whence that unhappy berry is said to be brought : that the offspring of our mighty ancestors would dwindle into a succession of apes and pigmies ; and, on a domestic message, husbands would stop hy the way to drink a couple of cups of coffee." The chocolate was brought from Mexico, where it was called chocollatti : it was a coarse mixture of ground cacao and Indian corn with rocou ; but the Spaniards, liking its nourish- * It now takes sixty millions of pounds to supply Europe and America. In 1700 the English had a factory at Chusan. App. xiy. TEA, COFFEE, AND CHOCOLATE 149 ment, Improved it into a richer compound, with sugar, vanilla, and other aromatics. These articles were the means of causing the resort of people to coifee-hoases ; and, when so met, in those exciting times of religious and political discussions, they soon attracted the notice of the government, as well as different party writers. In ^' A broad-side against coffee, or the marriage o^ the Turk," 1672, the WTiter notices this change in the manners : •' Confusion hnddles all into one scene, Like Noah's ark, the clean and the unclean ; For now, alas ! the drench has credit got, And he's no gentleman who drinks il not. That such a dwarf should rise to such a stature ' But custom is but a remove from nature." In 1675 Charles the II., by a proclamation, shut them all up for a time. A general discontent took place, and emboldened the merchants and retailers of coffee and tea to petition : per- mission was granted to open them to a certain period, under a severe admonition that the masters should prevent all scandalous papers, books, and libels being read in them, and hinder every person from spreading scandalous reports against the govern- ment. This would be a difficult matter for the masters to decide upon ; for how could they determine what was scan- dalous, what book was fit to be read, and what political intelli- gence might be proper to communicate } The Earl of Cork, in the following verse, could have told them "There is a lust in man no charm can tame. Of loudly publishing his neighbour's shame ; On eagle's wings immortal scandals fly. While virtuous actions are but born t^ die." Horace. On the introduction of chocolate, Roger North thus com- plains : " The use of coffee-houses seems much improved by a new invention called chocolate-houses^ for the benefit of rooks and culleys of quality, where gaming is added to all the rest, and the summons of w seldom fail ; as if the devil had erected a new university, and those were the colleges of its professors as well as his schools of divinity." As coffee was sold in such small quantities as penny-worths, these places were called "penny universities." At the close of the seventeenth century a house near the bottom of Fleet-street commenced selling saloop, which was nothing more than an infusion of sassafras served with milk and sugar ; it was a beverage pleasant to my taste. I have also seen it sold at the corners of streets. The use of it has declined, I 13* 150 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. expect, from its being sold dear. " Saloop is the root of the male orchis ; when boiled, it is somewhat. hot and disagreeable."* Coffee-houses were numerous ; they had them both by land and by water : there was a large ane (and it must have been a very pleasant one) floating on the Thames. This, in summer weather, must have been a delightful place of resort, away from clatter and dust or mud, and enjoying the coo!, refreshing breeze, occasionally enlivened by the distant sounds of some charming peel of bells " swelling with musical cadence upon the listening ear.'' If the present race had so fine an opportunity of passing away a few hours in such a sort of half social solitude, with " the fine- flavoured pinch " or " the fragrant weed," " Where care, like smoke, in turbid wreaths Round the gay ceiling flies," Horace. how pleasant would it be to muse on the following lines, by Young : *♦ Let not the cooings of the world allure thee . Which of her lovers ever found her true ;'' TOBACCO AND SNUFF. "Tobacco's pungent leaves proclaim The Indians naught but death could tame." These two articles (which may be spoken of as one) were the cause of much pamphleteering. King James lashed its use with all his feeble powers, which brought forth replies from various wits in prose and poetry. It has outlived all the wit- lings, and seems to have become one of the necessaries of life.'f It has not the ill effects which were formerly assigned to it From a work of Dr. Holland, entitled " Medical Notes and Re- flections," 1839, it does not appear to be a cause of dyspepsia SnutF-taking increased very much after Sir George Rooke's expedition to Spain, great quantities having been taken and sold as prizes. Dr. Beach, in his " Family Physician," recommends the fol- lowing compound for the head : " High laurel, sassafras, and blood-root, of each one ounce, well mixed and finely powdered." * Cooke's Third Vovajre. t It was a Captain Lane, in 15S6, who taught Raleigh smoking. The English smoking has generally been attributed to that enterprising and un- fortunate man. TOBACCO AND SNUFF. l5l According to Dodsley, (on agriculture,) they also used the foliwing compound : " He the salubrious leaf Of endial sage, the purple flowering head Of fragrant lavender, enlivening mint, Valerian's fetid smell, endows benign With their cephalic virtues." No doubt, like many other things which we take, it may be abused ; for Richard Fletcher, Bishop of London, died smoking tobacco : but it has its use. Bulwer has thus spoken of it : " A pipe ! it is a great soother, a pleasant comforter ; blue devils fly before its honest breath ; it ripens the heart ; and the man who smokes, thinks like a sage and acts like a Samaritan." Charles Lamb, the poet, thus speaks of it enthusiastically : <* For thy sake, tobacco, I Would do anything else but die." Light tongs, with a long rivet, like tailors' sheers, and a spring attached to make them close, were soon introduced for the more ready reaching and handing round a piece of hot coal for lighting pipes. I saw an ancient pair, of polished steel, very bright, the two ends which held the coal filed and fash- ioned like a delicate lady's hand. These seem now to have gone out of make ; but, I expect, would be worth reviving in this smoking country. If this should meet the eye of any one inclined to speculate upon the subject, I will give them the proper instructions. I should like to see, in an equal company of smokers and anti-smokers, some knotty question propounded to each, to be answered ofF-hand, and each answer taken down without any communication with each other. I have no doubt but the de- liberation the whiffs would occasion would be the cause why the smokers' solution would be considered the best : smoking stops t wattle. In this country I have noticed their use as being very con- ducive to sociability ; as being an easy and pleasant introduction ; as a means of lessening some aristocratic pride, which riches in all societies create. The snuiF-box, the cigar, and the pipe, with its filling and lighting, seem to be as open to all as the wild prairie is to a new race of squatters. This article was soon made exciseable, from which an im- mense revenue is derived ; and none is allowed to be grown in any part of Great Britain. As the greater part is exported from this country, the exise is a benefit to it, rather than otherwise. 152 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. LAWS RESPECTING RELIGION. *• How long halt ye between two opinions]" 1 Kings 18 : 21. *' One faith, one measure, and one coin Would all the world in harmony conjoin." Bedilius all Monatis. The religious persecutions all over Europe produced some extraordinary circumstances in forcing people to emigrate. I will first give some of the English enactments. The first attack on the monastics was the suppression of the Knights' Templars, by Edward II., about 1307. The first act to suppress the monasteries was passed 1535, by Henry VIII. The next act was in the first year of Edward VI. ; " an act against speaking irreverently against taking the sacraments in both kinds." The next was in the second year of the same reign : there came forth the book of common prayer, and rites and ceremonies. The next was in the third year of the same reign : the priests were permitted to marry. In the first year of Queen Mary's reign all these laws were repealed, and the Catholic religion re-established. The first year of Queen Elizabeth she abolished again the Catholic religion ; and an oath was imposed upon all people to take, declaring her supremacy in all things, spiritual and tem- poral. Her second act re-enacted the common prayer book. Her third act excluded all from any share in the tithes, or any other church property, who did not swear to, and subscribe to, certain articles. Another act, " to restrain the queen majesty's subjects in their true obedience." This act was made against all manner of dissenters, then called non-conformists, (there were other acts against the Catholics,) who were called " schismatical and wicked people." These were enacted for punishment by fine, imprisonment, banishment, or death. These laws continued through the reigns of James I., Charles I.,* under Oliver Cromwell, and Charles II. ; and never began to be mitigated until the reign of James II., which mitigation was the sole cause of driving him from the throne. * In 1772 Lord Folkstone said, in a debate, that that part of the liturgy which calls King Charles a martyr, was composed by Father Patr6, the Jesuit confessor of King James II. This debate, which was moved by Mt. Montague, to get rid of this fast, was lost in the house of commons by a vote of 97 for, and 127 against, abolishing it. LAWS RESPECTING RELIGION. 153 In the fifth and sixth years of the reign of Edward an act was passed " against quarrelling and fighting in churches and church-yards :" the constant disputing about religion, which these jaws created, caused these quarrels. The makers of these persecuting laws did not seem to con- sider that " Religion was intended For something else than to be mended ;" nor attend to the following maxim of Confucius : " He who persecutes a good man, makes war against himself and all man- kind." The learned Selden says : " No man was punished for per- jury by man's law until Queen Elizabeth's reign ; it was left to God as a sin against him : the reason was, because it was so hard a thing to prove a man perjured. I might misunderstand him, and yet he swears as he thought." — Table Talk. A writer in the Boston Pilot (W. Comstock) very properly observes : " Cromwell had found fanaticism very serviceable in the field, where, like steam power, it propelled his folloM^ers to a charge which battled every obstruction before it, until the bravest cavaliers rolled in the dust at the feet of the saints ; yet he discovered that authority, obedience, system, and regu- larity were indispensable requisites in affairs of state. Accord- ingly he seized the reins of government with a strong hand, and vaulted into the vacant throne as naturally as if he had been brought up to the business." In Edward VI. 's reign an act was passed, compelling people to pay tithe on their personal labour in the exercise of any art^ trade, or einployment. An act, called the '' Test and Corporation Act," was passed in the reign of Charles II., which excluded from all offices in corporations, and from all offices of trust and emolument under the crown, all persons who should not receive the sacraments according; to the rites and ceremonies of the established church. Every dissenter was thus shut out from all offices of trust, and also out of the universities, who had any scruples against these "rites and ceremonies." In 1602 there was a proclamation to restrain the Puritans from going to Virginia. Bishop Bancroft would at that time, if he could, have extended his law-church all over the world, and kept the people at home to endure it, whether they liked it or not. In 1604 King James I. expelled the Jesuits ; while the revocation of the edict of Nantes sent over plenty of indus- trious, ingenious manufacturers to London, (all Protestants.) 154 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Archbishop Laud told them, " Though their opinions were connived at, yet it was not fitting such a schism should be tolerated." *' The Church of England, as by law established," has yet to learn the following lines of Dryden parodied : " The pulpit's laws the pulpit's patrons give ; Those who live to preach, must preach to live." PERSECUTION IN THE OLDEN TIME. The following curious document is a specimen of what was done in old times : " A special release granted by the crown, June 24th, 1634, to Sir Edward Gary, Knight, with a grant to Thomas Risdon, Esq., and Christopher Maynard, Gent. Wolseley " Sir Edward Cary, of Marldom, Knt., was convicted in law on the 16th of March, 1629, of being a recusant. In virtue of a writ from the crown office, an inquisition was taken October 1st, 1630, in the Parish of St. Thomas the Apostle, by John Davye, Esq., High Sheriff of Devon, by which it was certified that the said Sir Edward Cary was seized of and in The whole Manor of St. Mary Church, of the clear value of------- (per annum) £5 The Manor of Coffinswell, 368 " Northlewe, 500 " Ashwater, 10 00 " Bradford, 5 " Abbotesham, -------500 " Stockley als Meath, 2 6 8 " Goodley, 4 7 1 Of a messuage and tenement, and 90 acres, called Estkimber, ----0 10 Of a messuage and tenement, and 44 acres, called Middlelake, 10 Of a messuage and tenement, and 91 acres, called Monchouse, -----0 13 4 Of a messuage and tenement, and 53 acres, Dobles Thorne, 10 Of a messuage and tenement, and 55 acres, Gaston or Gason, ---- -------068 Of a messuage and tenement, and 70 acres, Yeo in Allington, 368 Of a messuage and tenement, and 53 acres, in Cockington, ----------090 LAWS RESPECTi:Vii RELIGION. 155 A third part of a cottage in Bedyford, - - - - £5 6 acres in Aishenage or Alverdiscott, - - - - 5 9 27 acres in Westland, Cherybere, and Dalton, - - 10 97 acres in Parvacott, Thornadon, and Peworthy, 1 13 4 12 acres in Instowe and Bradeworthy, - - - - 9 120 acres in Westweeke and Bondehouse, in Lamer- ton and Broadwoodwiger, ------500 " As Sir Edward Gary had not paid since his conviction the penalty of ^20 per month, King Charles I. was entitled, by law, to take, seize, and enjoy all the goods and chattels, and two parts of all the said lands, tenements, and hereditaments ; but by letters patent, under the great seal, dated June 24th, 1634, and enrolled in the pipe office October 20th, that year, his majesty was pleased to cancel and pardon all arrears to the said Sir E. Gary, his heirs, executors, and administrators, and to lease the said estates to Thomas Risdon and Ghristopher May- nard. Gents., to hold the same from Lady-day, 1632, during the term of forty-one years, by the yearly rent to the crown of £136 135. 4d, to be paid at Lady-day and Michaehnas, in even portions, into the exchequer. The said Thomas Risdon and Ghristopher Maynard have full power and authority to lease and grant the whole or part of the recited estates to Sir Edward Gary, Knight, or to any person or persons for his own use, not- withstanding the statute of the 3d of James l.^ an act for the better discovery and repressing of Popish Recusants ; and so long as the said Edward Gary pay the said yearly sum of iS136 13s. 4c?., both he and his wife are to remain unmolested by the civil and ecclesiastical judges and commissioners, and to be exempt from all pains and penalties, by reason of their past recusancy or their future absence from the Protestant church, chapel, or place of common prayer." A very curious circumstance came to light last year, which gives great information upon the law respecting religion. In the reign of Gharles II. a Lady Hawley left certain manors of land in the county of York, in trust, to support " Godly preach- ers of Ghrist's holy Gospel," which, in the course of time, had got into the hands of the Unitarians. The phrase of the donor, taking into consideration the historico politico condition of the times, meant some sort of Protestant dissenters, otherw^ise it would have been soon obtained by trustees of " the church as by law established." After various trials in various courts, it came to a final decision in the house of lords, (1842.) On the opinion of the judges, that Unitarians do not come within the forms of the trust deeds, Mr. Justice Erskine observed^ that *' those who denied the Trinity were blasphemers, and 156 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. therefore, they could not be intended by the term * Godly preachers.' " I should have thought this was more a point to be decided by a doctor of divinity than a doctor of law ; but I yield — " The pulpit is none of my office." — Db Foe. TRANSPORTATIOJN AND EMIGRATION. 1 " It is a shameful and unblessed thing, to taka the scum of the people, and •wicked and condemned men, to be the people with whom you plant." — Bacon. I BELIEVE the introduction of the African negro into this continent was in the year 1445. It first commenced in 1442, by Anthony Gonsalez, a Portuguese. In 1502 the Spaniards employed them in Hispaniola. In 1618 the British were regularly engaged in it. In 1620 they were employed in Virginia. The Dutch brought twenty. The total number of slaves in the British colonies and America, from 1680 to 1786, may be put down at 2,120,000. The emigration and transportation of the white population were almost all cut off by the natives or disorders before the Stuarts began to grant their charters. Those instruments secured property, and laid the basis for order and good govern- ment ; indeed one of them, that for Rhode Island, still remains. In the thirty years' war of Gustavus Adolphus, he had four lieutenant generals, twenty colonels, and inferior officers of great number, (all natives of Scotland,) in his army.* After the treaty of Limerick, 1691, to the battle of Fontinoj^, 1745, there was so great an emigration from Ireland, that the French army was partly composed of an Irish brigade. There died in their service 150,000 Catholic soldiers. At this distance of time we can see the injurious effects persecution has had, and how such vile measures against their own subjects produced disastrous effects even against them- selves ; while it also produced more disastrous effects to the cause of religion itself. But many then found that " Persecution and devotion Did equally advance promotion." Hudibkas. According to Anderson, people began to emigrate voluntarily about 1700. In 1729, 6208 emigrated to Pennsylvania : there were 243 Germans, 267 English and Welch, and 43 Scotch ; the * Mackay. TRANSPORTATION AND EMIGRATION. 157 rest were Irish. The Germans were all passengers, the Scotch all servants, the English, Welch, and Irish were partly servants and passengers.* In 1617 Capt. Samuel Argal was appointed deputy governor of the colony of Virginia, under Lord Delaware and adniiral of the adjacent seas. The following is an instance of his infamous edicts, from Dr. Belknap's American Biography : " He fixed the advance on goods imported from England at twenty-five per cent., and the price of tobacco at three shillings the pound : the penalty for transgressing this regulation was three years' slavery. No person was allowed to fire a gun, except in his own defence against an enemy, till a new supply of ammunition should arrive, on penalty of one year's slavery. Absence from church on Sundays and holydays was punished by laying the offender neck and heels for one whole night, or by one week's slavery ; the second offence by one month's ; and the third by one year's slavery. Private trade with the savages, or teaching them the use of arms, was punishable by death." These, and similar laws, were executed with great rigour. Although Argal was odious to the colonists, yet he was not only never punished, but was knighted by King James. It is painful to relate that, " in the year 1736, Henry Justice, Esq., a lawyer of the Middle Temple, was tried at the Old Bailey for stealing books out of Trinity College, Cambridge, and was sentenced to be transported to the Ame- rican plantations for seven years. "j The Scotch began to emigrate in shoals about 1745, the last Scotch rebellion ; and then the government began to take alarm, and, with the view of restraining them in that part of the kingdom, voted annually large sums to make good roads, construct bridges, and make the three northern lakes navigable from sea to sea. Indeed, until Malthus promulgated his curious doctrine o^ over population, the government seemed to entertain the opinion, and persevere in the maxim, that had hitherto governed all the world — ^that a nation could not be too full of people. Forming colonies tends " To enlarge the world's contemporaneous mind, And amplify the picture of mankind." * Mr. Mooney, in his seventh lecture on " Irish history," said : " The south of this country was settled by Spaniards and French, and also up the Missis- sippi ; Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio very generally by Irish. Virginia has many from England, and so have the northern states ; but Baltimore, and some of the Carolinas, generally settled by Irish. Pennsylvania was very early after its first settlement peopled by Irish ; and there are now in Philadelphia seventy thousand Irish." t Hone's Every Day Book. 14 158 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. There were very severe laws against emigration, and fully enforced as late as 1817 ; but they were all repealed in the reign of George IV. The stamp act of Grenville, in 1764, (under George HI.,) was one of the immediate causes of the American war. How wise were those brave men in opposing it. The amount of that one item of their immense taxation was ^6,500,000 in 1830. The population of the city New York, taken by order of the king in the year 1697, was 3727. I have seen a statement that it was only 1000 in 1656. In 1843, upward of 300,000. If these enumerations are correct, this is a very rapid increase. The first writer on those wonders of the world, the Falls of Niagara, was a French Jesuit, in the year 1678.* In 1688 Sir Josiah Childe foretold the Americans would be the rivals of the English. I have no doubt this influential man's prediction had a very powerful effect upon all the British councils from the day it was penned to the ever-memorable day on which George the Hi. is reported to have said to the first American ambassador, '' I was the first to go into the war, and the last to go out of it." Oh ! what a salutation ! How many reflections rush into the mind ! But I must stop, and leave them to be detailed bj" some future historian. Davenant says the average annual value of exports from England to America, of all kinds of apparel and household fur- niture, for six years, from 1682 to 1688, was about i6350,000. The importations in return were tobacco, cocoa, fish, pipe- staves, masts, furs, sugar, ginger, cotton, fustic, and indigo. Furs and fish were sent from Newfoundland to the amount of ^950,000. Of these imports there might be retained, for home consumption, about ^6350,000 ; £600,000 re-exported. If I say but little about the cotton trade, it must be consi- dered there was not, before the reign of George III., any article made exclusively of cotton ; and there have been some very * I have not been so fortunate as to meet with what he wrote, but I apprehend he could not have seen them under more favourable circum- stances than the following, from the Lockport Balance, 1834 : " The Falls of Niagara present at this time a spectacle of unusual magnifi- cence. On the American side the spray has formed an immense mass of ice, extending nearly across the foot of the fall, and more than a hundred feet in height. From the summit of the ice the spray rises like smoke from a volcano. The fall between Goat Island and the Tower is incrusted with ice, except a space some twenty feet wide, midway in its descent. Below are enormous and fantastic shapes of ice, mounds, caverns, and grottoes . against the dark rock of the island hang icicles thirty and forty feet in length, of the purest white and blue ; the river itself, flashing with ice broken into innumerable fragments — and the rainbow spanning the whole —presents a scene surpassing the wildest dreams of the imagination " A USURER OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. important treatises upon the subject. The consumption of cotton last year was 1,417,300 bales. Locke wrote a constitution for both North and South Caro- lina, which could not be carried into effect : there were one hundred and twenty articles, combining a feudal nobility. According to the first American census taken, in 1790, the number was 3,929,526 souls, of which 695,655 were slaves. The amount of emigration to this port seems to be as follows : There was no record before 1827 ; in that year there arrived 10,412. The smallest number was in 1830 ; in that year they were only 9,127; in 1836 the number was 58,597 ; in 1840 there were 56,274. The average for fourteen years was 32,215, and eight over, per year. The total number arrived in all the ports in the year 1840, was 115,206, by sea. The number of passengers last year to this port alone was 74,940 ; and to Canada, 42,355. A great proportion of these emigrants came through the house of Caleb Grimshaw & Co., 10 Goree Piazzas, Liverpool, to the old established house of Samuel Thompson, Emigrant Office, 273 Pearl-street, in this city ; who regularly and faith- fully remit sums of money obtained by the hard-earned labour of industrious emigrants, to their friends and relatives in all parts of the three kingdoms with the greatest despatch. A. xv. A USURER OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. -Here lay A manor fast bound in a skin of parchnment, The wax continuing hard, the acres melting , Here a sure deed of gift for a market town, If not redeem'd this day, which is not in The unthrifts power ; there being scarce one shire In Wales or England where my moneys are not lient out at usury, the certain hook To draw in more." Massinger's Citxj Madam. In the year 1605 was born Hugh Audley, some time of the court of wards and liveries, who began with iS200, and died in 1662 worth £400,000. In his time he was called " the great Audley," an epithet so often abused, and here applied to the creation of enormous wealth. But there are minds of great capacity concealed by the nature of their pursuits ; and the wealth of Audley may be considered as the cloudy medium through which a brighter genius shone, of which, had it been t%0 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. thrown into a nobler sphere of action, greatness would have been less ambiguous. The legal interest was then " ten in the hundred ;"* but the thirty, the fifty, and the hundred for the hundred, the gripe of usury, and the shameless contrivances of the money-traders exacted, these he would attribute to the follies of others, or to his own genius. This genius of thirty per cent, had proved the decided vigour of his mind, by his enthusiastic devotion to his law studies : deprived of the leisure for study through his busy day, he stole the hours from his late nights and early mornings ; and, without the means to procure a law library, he invented a method to possess one without cost : as fast as he learned, he taught ; and, by publishing some useful tracts on temporary occasions, he was enabled to purchase a library. He appears never to have read a book without its furnishing him with some new practical design ; and he probably studied none too much for his own particular advantage. Such devoted study was the way to become a lord chancellor ; but the science of the law was here subordinate to that of a money-trader. When yet but a clerk to the clerk in the counter, frequent opportunities occurred which Audley knew how to improve. He became a money-trader as he became a law writer, and the fears and follies of mankind were to furnish him with a trading capital. The fertility of his genius appeared in expedients and quick contrivances. He was sure to be the friend of all men fallinp* out. He took a deep concern in the affairs of his mas- ter's clients, and often much more than they were aware of. No man so ready at procuring bail or compounding debts. This was a considerable traffic. He had men at his command who hired themselves out for bail, swore what was required, and contrived to give false addresses. They dressed themselves out for the occasion, a great seal-ring flamed on the finger, which, however, was pure copper gilt, the only article of purity about them ; and they often assumed the names of some persons of good credit. Savings, and small presents for gratuitous opinions, often afterward discovered to be fallacious ones, enabled him to purchase annuities of easy land-holders, with ♦ * In Stratford-upon-Avon church is a monument to John Combe, Esq , who (lied July 10th, 1614. He was a neighbour and an acquaintance of Shakspeare, and is said to have been so much disliked for his usurious practices, that he composed on him the following extemporaneous lines as a satirical epitaph : " Ten in the hundred lies here ingraved, 'Tis a hundred to ten his soul is not saved j If any one ask who lies in this tomb, ' Oh ! oh !' quoth the devil, ' 'tis my John-a-Combe.' " A USURER OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 16 1 treble amount secured on their estates. The improvidtnt owners or the careless heirs were soon entangled in the usurer's nets ; and, after the receipt of a few years, the annuity, by some latent quibble, or some irregularity in the payments, usually ended in Aud ley's obtaining the treble forfeiture. He could at all times out knave a knave ; in the language of Spencer, '^ As for virtue, he counted it but a school name." One of these incidents has been preserved. A draper, of no honest reputa- tion, being arrested by a merchant for a debt of £200, Audley bought the debt for £40, for which the draper immediately offered him £50 ; but Audley would not consent, unless the draper indulged a sudden whim of his own : this was a formal contract, that the draper should pay within twenty years, upon certain days, a penny doubled. " A knave in haste to sign is no calculator ;" and, as the contemporary dramatist describes one of the arts of those citizens, one part of whose business was " to swear and break, they all grew rich by breaking," the draper eagerly compounded. He afterward grew rich ; Audley, silently M''atching his victim, within two years claimed his doubled pennies every month during twenty months. The pennies had now grown to pounds. The knave perceived the trick, and preferred paying the forfeiture of his bond for £500, rather than to receive the visitation of all the little generation of compound interest in the last descendant of £2000, which would have closed with the draper's shop. Such petty enterprizes at length assumed a deeper cast of interest. He formed temporary partnerships with the stewards of country gentlemen : they underlet estates which they had to manage; and, anticipating the owners' necessities, the estates in due time became cheap purchases for Audley and the stew- ards. He usually contrived to make the wood pay for the land, which he called " making the feathers pay for the goose." He had, however, such a tenderness of conscience for his vic- tim, that, having plucked the live feathers before he sent the unfledged goose on the common, he would bestow a gratuitous lecture in his own science, teaching the art of making them grow again, by showing how to raise the remaining rents. Audley thus made the tenant furnish at once the means to satisfy his own rapacity and his employer's necessities. " Under an easy landlord," says Audley, " a tenant seldom thrives, contenting himself to make the just measure of his rents, and not labour- ing for any surplusage of estate ; under a hard one the tenant revenges himself upon the land, and runs away with the rent. I would raise my rents to the present price of all commodities ; for if we should let our lands go on in price, we should fall backward in our estates." 14* 162 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. When a borrowing lord complained to Audley of his exac- tions, his lordship exclaimed : " What, do you not intend to use a conscience ?" " Yes, I intend hereafter to use it ; we moneyed people must balance accounts ; if you do not pay me, you cheat me ; but if you do, then I cheat your lordship." Audley 's moneyed conscience balanced the risk of his lordship's honour. When he resided in the Temple, among those " pul- lets without feathers," as an old writer describes the brood, the good man would pule out paternal homilies on improvident youth, grieving that they, under pretence of learning the law, only learned to be lawless, and never knew by their own studies the process of an execution till it was served on themselves. Nor could he fail in his prophecy ; for at the moment that the stoic was enduring their ridicule, his agents were supplying them with the certain means of verifying it ; for, as it is quaintly said, he had his decoying as well as his decaying gentlemen. The arts practised by the money-traders of that time have been detailed by one of the town satirists of the age — Dekkar, in his '' English Villainies." The reign of James I. is characterized by all the wantonness of prodigality among one class, and all the penuriousness and rapacity of the other, which met in the dissolute indolence of a peace of twenty years. Audley's worldly wisdom was of that sort which derives its strength from the weakness of mankind : everything was to be obtained by stratagem ; and it was his maxim, that, to grasp our object the faster, we must go a little round about it. His life is said to have been one of intricacies and mysteries, using indirect means in all things : if he walked in a labyrinth, it was to bewilder others, for the clue was still in his own hands ; all he sought was, that his designs should not be dis- covered by his actions. His word, we are told, was his bond ; his hour was punctual, and his opinions were compressed and weighty. But if he were true to his bond-word, it was only a part of the system, to give facility to the carrying on of his trade, for he was riot strict to his honour ; lawyer as he was, he had not the noble notion of honour that the author of Hudibras had ; " Honour's a lease for lives to come, And canrjot be extended from The legal tenant." The pride of victory, as well as the vile passion for acquisition, combined in the character of Audley as in more tremendous conquerors. His partners dreaded the effects of his law library, and usually relinquished a claim rather than stand a suit against a latent quibble. When one menaced him by showing some A USURER OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 163 money-bags which he had resolved to empty in .aw against him, Audiey, then in office in the cornet of wards, with a sar- castic grin, asked whether the bags had any bottom. " Ay," replied the exulting possessor, striking them. " In that case I care not," retorted the cynical officer ; "for in this court I have a constant spring, and I cannot spend in other courts more than I gain in this." He had at once the meanness which would evade the law, and the spirit which could resist it. His was " a meanness that soars, And a pride that would lick the dust." This philosophical usurer never pressed hard for his debts ; like the fowler, he never shook his nets, lest he might startle — satisfied with having in command his victims without appear- ing to hold them. With great fondness, he compared his bonds to infants, which battle best by sleeping. To battle is to be nourished, a term still retained at the University of Oxford. His familiar companions were all subordinate actors in the great piece of roguery he was performing. When not taken by surprise, on his table usually lay opened a great bible, with Bishop Andrew's folio Sermons, which often gave him an op- portunity of railing at the covetousness of the clergy, decla- ring their religion was a mere preach, and that the times would never be well until we had Queen Elizabeth's Protestants again in fashion. He was aware of all the evils arisins: out of a population beyond the means of subsistence, and dreaded an inundation of men, spreading like "the spawn of a cod." Hence he considered marriage with a modern religious political economist as very dangerous ; bitterly censuring the clergy, whose children, he said, never thrived, and whose widows were left destitute. An apostolical life, according to him, re- quired only books, meat, and drink, to be had for fifty pounds a year. Celibacy, voluntary poverty, and all the mortifications of a primitive Christian, were the virtues practised by this Puritan among his money-bags. The genius of Audley had crept out of the purlieus of Guild- hall, and entered the Temple, and at length was enabled to purchase his office at that remarkable institution, the court of wards. The entire fortunes of those whom we now call wards in chancery, were in the hands, and often submitted to the arts or the tyranny, of the officers of this court. When Audley was asked the value of this new office, he replied, that " it might be worth some thousands of pounds to him who, after his death, would instantly go to heaven ; twice as much to him who would go to purgatory ; and nobody knows what to him who would adventure to go to hell." Such was 164 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT ERITAIN. the profligate saying of this pious casuistry of a witty usurer. Whether he undertook this last adventure for his al£400,000, how can his biographer decide ? If in the courts of wards he pounced on incumbrances which lay on estates, and prowled about to discover the craving wants of their owners, it appears that he also received liberal fees from the relatives of young heirs, to protect them from the rapacity of some great persons, but who could not certainly exceed him in subtility. He was an admirable lawyer, for he was not satis- fied with hearing^ but examined his clients, which he called " pinching the cause where he perceived it was foundered." He made two observations on clients and lawyers, which have not lost their poignancy : " Many clients, in telling their case, rather plead than relate it ; so that the advocate heareth not the true state of it till opened by the adverse party. Some lawyers seem to keep an insurance office in their chambers, and will warrant any cause, knowing that if they fail they lose nothing but what was long since lost — their credit." The career of Audley's ambition closed with the extinction of the court of wards, by which he incurred the loss of^ 100,000. On that occasion he observed, that " his ordinary losses were as the shavings of his beard, which only grew the faster by cutting ; but the loss of this place was like the cutting off of a member which was irrecoverable." The hoary usurer pined at the decline of his genius, discoursed on the- vanity of the world, and hinted at a retreat. A facetious friend told him of a story of an old rat, who, having acquainted the young rats that he would at length retire to his hole, desired none to come near him ; their curiosity after some days led them to venture to look in, and there they discovered the old rat sitting in the midst of a rich Parmesan cheese. It is probable that the loss of the last iE100,000 disturbed his digestion, for he did not long survive his court of wards. Such was this man, converting wisdom into cunning, inven- tion into trickery, and wit into cynicism. Engaged in no honourable cause, he showed a mind resolved — making plain the crooked, and involved he trod. " Sustine et abstine,^^ (bear and forbear,) was the great principle of Epictetus ; and our moneyed stoic bore all the contempt and hatred of the living smilingly ; while he forbore all the consolation of our common nature to obtain his end. He died in unblessed celibacy ; arx-d thus he received the curse of the living for his rapine, while the stranger who grasped the money he had thus raked together^ owed him no gratitude at his death. (D'Israeli.) " A miser, until he dies, does nothing right." ..xSE OF THREE TITLED FAMILIEo. 165 This is only a sample out of the many which the history of England so painfully portrays of the evil effects of usury, which was not allowed until after the reformation. A valu- able treatise on that subject was published by the Right Honour- able Dr. Wilson, secretary of state to Queen Elizabeth, in 1569. He says : " It is condemned by heathens, by Christians, by the old fathers, the ancient counsels, by emperors, by kings, b}^ bishops, by decrees of canons, by all sorts of religions," even by the Koran, " by the Gospel of Christ, and by the mouth of God." A very valuable treatise has been published in this country (TJ, S.) by the Rev. Jeremiah O'Callaghan, wherein the whole subject is fully and fairly discussed. How different are the opinions of modern times. Bacon says : " For were it not for this lazie trade of usury, money would not lie still, but would in great part be employed upon merchandizing." In all ages of the world has greedy usury been detested : it is a great nurse to all profligate expectants, who grudge the possessor every minute of life, and whose salutation is either expressed or understood ; as. ' Lo ! old skin-flint comes ; In his dry eyes what parsimony stares ! Would he was gone, That I might his thousands squander." RISE OF THREE TITLED FAMILIES. *' Curst be the estate got with so many a crime ; Yet this is oft the stair by which men cUmb." Tasso. DARNLEY FAMILY. John Bligh, the first of this family settled in Ireland, was originally a citizen and dry Salter in London ; (a dry Salter is a person who sells dye stuffs and other heavy drugs.) He came over with Cromwell ; and while he was the governor he acted as agent to the adventurers of forfeited estates during the time of the rebellion in 1641. He speedily became an adventurer himself, subscribing £600 to a joint stock, in which two other speculators were concerned ; and, on casting lots among other adventurers, the allotments for himself and his associates fell in the Baronies of Lune and 166 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Moghergallon, and on the property which had belonged to the Gormanston family. He seated himself at Rathmore, on a part of the estate thus easily acquired, and shortly augmented his property. In the first parliament after the restoration, Bligh was returned member for Athboy, which sent two previous to the union. He was afterward joined in several lucrative commis- sions under government. Thomas, his only son, who erected into a manor the principal estates of the family in this neigh- bourhood, was also empowered by King William (the deliverer) to hold five hundred acres in demesne, and to impale eight hundred acres for deer. John, grandson to the founder, was created Baron Ciifi on, of Rathmore, 1721 ; Viscount Darnley, of Athboy, 1723 ; Baron Clifton, of Leighton Bromswold, in England; and Ead Darnley, 1725.* This peer's motto to his arms is " Finem respice,^^ look to the end, which is very well, considering how he began. But if he wishes to change it, the following would be more appropriate : ^' Capiat que capere potest^^^ catch that catch can. "The deeds of long descended ancestors Are but by grace of imputauon ours." Dryden LANDSDOVVN FAMILY. " Oh ! that estates, degrees, and offices Were not derived corruptly !" In Rumsey church, Hampshire, are the remains of " Sir William Petty, a native of the place, the ancestor of the present Marquis of Landsdown. He was the son of a cloth- weaver, and was doubtless a weaver himself when young. He became a surgeon ; was first in the service of King Charles I., then went into that of Cromwell, whom he served as physician general^^^ so this man had to do with the smaller sort of drugs ; Bligh providing the bulky sort — the pitch, brimstone, gunpowder, and other combustibles : however, between them both, the poor Irish got finely physicked upward and downward, and a precious lot never recovered. In capacity of grand doctor, " he resided at Dublin till Charles II. came, when he came over to London, (having become very rich,) was knighted by that profligate and ungrateful king, and died in 1687, leaving a fortune of iei5,000 a year. This is what his biographers say. He must have made pretty good use of his time while physician * Brewer's Ireland. RISE OF THREE TITLED FAMILIES. 167 general to Cromwell's army in poor Ireland. Petty by nature as well as by name, he got from Crom.well a patent for double writing, invented by him ; and he invented a double-bottomed ship to sail against wind and tide, a model of which is still preserved in the library of the Royal Society, of which he was a most worthy member. His great art was, however, the amassing of money, and the getting of grants of land in poor Ireland, in which he was one of the most successful of the English adventurers. The present Marquis of Landsdov/n was one of a committee who, in 1819, reported that the country was able to pay the interest of its national debt in gold.''"'* But, then, he spoke, "Not out of cunning, but a train Of jostling atoms in the brain." This man, who has occasionally been in the administration, and also a privy counsellor, is distinguished for " pigmy thoughts in gigantic expressions," and this is a fair sample. There, reader, 1 dare say I need not tell you any more about this man, nor will I, except to show you how prettily, or rather pettyly, his titles jingle. He is Marquis Landsdown, Earl of Wycombe, Viscount Calne and Calnstone, Baron Wycombe in England, Earl of Shelburne, Viscount Fitzmaurice, Baron Dunkerton in Ireland. His motto is " Virtute non mves," which is, by courage rather than strength. If he will put astutia, cunning for courage, that will do very well for the descendant of the oM Rumsey weaver. FOLEY FAMILY. " Ui prosim,^^ that I may do good. I HAVE got an accidental rise from humble life, whose motto will do very well for the subject. There is an old German maxim, '^ Luck, like death, has its appointed hour." Byron says : " Like Sylla, I have always believed that all things depend upon fortune, and nothing upon ourselves." Shakspeare says : "There is a tide in the affairs of men Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." It was fortunate that one of the Foley family had learned to fiddle. For this one, who lived near Stourbridge, was often a witness to the great loss of time and labour by the method then in use of dividing the rods of iron in the manufacturing of nans. * Cobbett's ''■ Rural Rides." 168 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. The splitting mills were invented in Sweden, and he heard of them, so he fiddled his way to Hull, and shipped himself and his fiddle on board a Baltic bound vessel, by working his passage He then fiddled his way to the iron mines, and by his fiddle soon became among the workmen a great favourite. After staying as long as he thought proper, he fiddled his way home, and communicated his ideas in full concert to a Mr. Knight, with whom he became associated. They started some splitting mills, but somehow or other they could not work them ; (this instrument was out of tune \) and our persevering hero fresh resined his shoes and his fiddle-bow, and paid another visit to his Swedish musical friends, who were doubly glad to see him, and hear him too ; and, for his farther accommodation, they permitted him to sleep in that part of the building where the splitting mill was fixed; when, by the rudest method, (for, although he was a fiddler, he was not a draughtsman,) he brought home the plan more complete, and thus laid the foun- dation of a good fortune, landed estate, and, ultimately for his descendants, a title.* The first peer, Thomas Foley, was created Baron Foley of Kidderminster in 1711. Thus, reader, when you have a good object in view, adopt the following motto : Nil desperandum, never despair. There arises much pleasure in contemplating such a character as this ; and there must have been great pleasure to those who had only the happiness of a short acquaintance. I think I hear one say of him, while on these knowledge-seeking tours, *' I saw him but a moment, Yet methinks I see him now, With the dust of summer's travel Upon his jolly brow." FOREIGN TRAVEL. " The long detail of where we've been. And what we'd heard, and what we'd seen, And what the poet's tuneful skill. And what the painter's graphic art, Or antiquarian's searches keen, Or calm amusement could impart." Scott's Ode to a Friend. As Lord Bacon was for a time an influential character, it may be supposed that his judgment upon this subject would have * S. T. Coleridge. FOREIGN TRAVEL. 169 some weight. He said, "reading makes a full man, writing a correct man, speaking a ready man, and travelling a finished man." The author of " Le Cosmopolite" describes "the universe as a kind of book, of which one has only read the first page when one has only seen his own country." Burton, in his " Anatomy of Melancholy," says : " Peregri- nation charms our senses with such unspeakable and sweet variety, that some count him unhappy that never travelled — a kind of prisoner — and pity his case that from his cradle to his grave beholds the same ; still, still, the same." Therefore, to give a finish to the education of the juvenile aristocracy, and to soften down the painful inflictions they had received from the hands of the pedagogues, a tour on the con- tinent was considered necessary before entering on the more interesting duties of active life. But much caution on this subject was to be duly observed. On what part of the conti- nent could they go, worthy of any intelligent person's conside- ration, without his being in actual daily contact with a Catholic population } Even in those parts where the spirit of reformation had crept in — nay, had taken root, and was flourishing — they could not be sure of being free from the contagion of one or more of the highly-tutored sons of the " crafty Loyola." A writer of the name of Oldham had thus versified them : " Swifter than murdering angels when they fly On errands of avenging destiny ; Fiercer than storms let loose with eager haste, Lay cities, countries, realms, whole nature waste.'*^ Now, although the most vulgar of the people of the present day know this to be a bare-faced exaggeration, yet it was then in the high tide of belief. A Jesuit was considered as " The dragon of old, who churches ate, (He used to come on a Sunday ;) Whole congregations were to him But a dish of salmagundi." However, though there was this difficulty, and although it had its weight, yet it did not oppose an insurmountable obstacle, for numbers of them went ; and numerous love intrigues and hair-breadth escapes had they to encounter in the taverns of France and Italy, which would add charms to their corres- pondence, or serve to occupy many pages in their common-place books. It would, no doubt, be for years an interesting theme to any one of them to relate how he posted to Moscow to witness a Muscovite coronation ; to recount the number and shapes of the fantastic spires, and the size and weight of the 15 170 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. enormous bell which served to embellish that ancient city. To another, to give an account of the high belfry at Strasburg ; and to another, to give the history of the ancient tun at Hel- delbergh. If he vs^ere not able to enliven his tale with the same vein of drollery which the facetious Peter Pindar did the visit of George III. (as the courtiers say, " of ever-blessed memory''^) to Whitbread's brew-house, it might, at any rate, be interesting enough to his dowager grandmother, who, after the hearty laugh, would the more readily be induced to unloosen her purse overflowing with her ample dowery, when the appeal was made to her for some little assistance, being necessary to settle some odd reckonings that were not proper to meet the severe scrutinizing eye of the perhaps needy or more cautious noble sire. The list of land travellers are not very numerous. As Dante says, " a little stuff will furnish out their cloaks." But there was one in particular who seemed to consider " that travelling furnishes present pleasure ; it delights the remem- brance, and indirectly is a perpetual source of joy and animation. Everything which occurs beautiful, curious, picturesque, or sublime, incessantly recalls corresponding themes to the memory and the imagination. The advantages of travel are important and many. By comparison alone man may justly estimate the climate, the political and scientific rank of his country and its people.''* The inimitable Goethe says : " My study of the nature of mountains, and the stones they produced, has greatly assisted me in my examination of works of art. The little knowledge I have acquired relative to the productions of nature which man employs as materials for various objects, has proved very useful in enabling me to understand the labours both of mechanics and artists. "| Lord Byron observes : '' Where I see the superiority of Eng- land, I am pleased ; where I find her inferior, I am enlightened." In fact, " he who, like the hero of the Odyssey, has * Discovered various cities, and the mind And manners learned of men in lands remote,' is the only person who can form a true judgment of the world. "J These, or similar ideas, were no doubt the heart-cheering and leg-inspiring motives of the author of" The Crudities." Thomas Coryate, born at Oldcombe, Somersetshire, in 1577, acquired a knowledge of Greek and Latin at Oxford, but he knew no other language. Bacon says : " He who has not made some progress in the language of the country through which he * Ensor. t Tour in Italy. i Independent Man. FOREIGN TRAVEL. 171 passes, goes to school, not to travel." But the indefatigable Tom thought " the wise and good conquer difficulties by daring to attempt them ; sloth and folly shiver and shrink at sights of toil and dangers, and make the impossibilities they fear."* He was a great peripatetic. In 1608 he took a journey on foot, and published his travels under the curious title of " Crudi- ties hastily gobbled up in five months' travel in France, Savoy, Italy, Rhoetia, Helvetia, some parts of Germany, and the Netherlands." London, 1611. ** He travell'd not for lucre sotted, But went for knowledge, and he got it." In 1612 he set out again, intending to spend ten years more; but he died drinking sack, at Surat,'in the East Indies, 1617, of the flux. *' Peace to the memory of a man of worth, A man of letters, and of manners too," Cowper. Purchas and Terry were his tent-mates. " He was the whetstone of the wits of his day ;" -The very bellows And tinder-box of all his fellows." They called him '' the leg stretcher " and the ^' furcifer," for it was through him that the fork became mate to the knife. Knives had been used many ages, but the wedding between it and the fork was now regularly solemnized ; no one forbid the bans, and this stirring gentleman was the father on the occasion, without a possibility of a divorce. I must observe, that among the many presents which were continually flowing in to Queen Elizabeth, she had one presented to her by her lord keeper, Sir John Puckering, when on a visit to him at Kew, 1595 ; which had " a fair agate handle," but it was laid by in her cabinet of oddities. t Tom, in his " Crudities," tells his readers : " I * Lord Byron relates the following anecdote in his detached thoughts : '« When Brummel was obliged (by that affair of poor M — , who thence acquired the name of Dick the dandy-killer, it was about money, and debt, and all that) to retire to France, he knew no French ; and, having obtained a grammar for the purpose of study, our friend Scrope Davies was asked what progress Brummel had made in French ; he responded, that Brummel had been stopped, like Buonaparte in Russia, hy the elements." t In the wardrobe account of King Edward I. is mentioned " a pair of knives with sheathes of silver enamelled, and a fork of crystal." Before forks were introduced, I should think it was often needful to remind the younger part of a family of the following lines, from Ovid ; " Your meat genteelly with your fingers raise ; And, as in eating there is a certain grace, Beware with greasy hands, lest you besmear your fac©" 172 THE SOCIAL HlSlUKi OY GREAT BRITAIN- observed a custom in all these Italian cities The Italians, and altnost all strangers that are cornaorants, do always use a little fork when they eat their meat : for while with their knife, Avhich they hold in one hand, they cut the meat out of the dish, they fasten their fork, which they hold in their other hand ; so that whatsoever he be that, sitting in the company of any other at meais, should unadvisedly touch the dish of meat with his fingers from which all at the table do eat, he will give occasion of offence unto the company, as having transgressed the laws of good manners ; insomuch that for his errors he shall be at least brow-beaten. They were of iron and steel, and some of them of silver, but those only used by gentlemen. Being once equipped for that frequent using of my fork by a certain learned gentleman, Mr. Laurence Whittalrer, who, in his merry humour, doubted not to call me at table Furcifer, only for using a fork at table, but for no other cause."* He also thus speaks of umbrellas : " Also many of them do carry other things of a far greater price, which will cost at the least a ducat ; they call it an um- brella — that is, a thing which minister shadow unto them, for shelter against the scorching heat of the sun. These are made of leather, something answering to the form of a little canopy, and hooped in the inside with divers little wooden hoops, that extend the umbrella in a pretty large compass. They are used especially by horsemen when they ride, b}'- fastening the end of the handle upon one of their thighs and supporting it by the hand : they impart so long a shadow unto them, that it keepeth the heat of the sun from the upper part of their bodies." How slow do some useful things become in general use. The umbrella, although thus mentioned in 1611, was only used by a few females about the middle of last century : it was then called a parapleki. The meek and amiable Jonas Hanway first used them in London a few years before his death, which happened in 1786. They were first used at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1781. In the " Crudities " there is also mentioned another oddity which was in use — a champinny. He observed them " at Venice. They are made of wood, covered over with leather, which they wear under their shoes, and which raise the wearer as high as half a yard." They were in use in England ; for Shakspeare,"!" in Hamlet, says ; * According to Ritson, (Notes on Shakspeare's " Timon of Athens,") '• it was usual to carry knives about the person. There was often a stone hanging behind the door to whet them on." In Elizabeth's regulation about apprentices, they were not to have any sharp instrument about them except a knife. t He calls them a choppine. FEMALE EDUCATION. 173 " By 'r lady, your ladyship is nearer heaven than when I saw You la^t, by the altitude of a choppine." If cruel, covetous, all-conquering death had not thus early snatched bustling Tom away, he would have visited China, to examine that queer people, whp say " Their backs have borne eight thousand years The birch and the bamboo." With one more extract from the learned Ensor, altering, or rather adding^ one word, and I will finish this chapter on foreign travel. " What principally renders the English ' Americans ' most intelligent and liberal ? They are the greatest travellers ; the nature of their government effects much ; but that curiosity and enterprise which sends them about in all directions, tends eminently to assure them that proud rank which they enjoy in the intellectual world. Would to God that their attention in distant nations was more directed to the substantial interests of knowledge ! This is my wish ; but it is my supplication that my countrymen conduct themselves abroad with marked decorum ; and, according to their deportment, they not only are received well or ill, but they raise or depreciate the reputation of their country." FEMALE EDUCATION. " We are permitted no books but such as tend to the weakening and effeminating our minds. We are taught to place all our art in adorning our persons, while our minds are entirely neglected." Lady Mary Wortley Montague. If ever there was a period in English history that may be said to be a test of the female character and its capabilities, it surely was the period prior to the reign of the Stuarts. For the previous two reigns the government was not a monarchy, but (as the present under Victoria) agynarchy, which produced several excellent women ; and so also did the period of the commonwealtlv, in which the bravery of the women equalled that of the men. If there are those who still doubt the pow- ers of the female mind, perhaps it would be proper for them to consider whether their conduct is not dishonourable : they ex- claim that women are impotent beings, yet they will scarcely admit them a tolerable education ; and a literary woman is tiieir 15* 174 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. everlasting scorn. However, the perusal of any popular biogra- phy would undeceive them. " Look back who list unto the former ages, And call to count what is of them become ; Where be those learned wits and antique sages Which of all whisdome knew the perfect somme'?" Spenser. I will give a short account of a few, to stimulate farther inquiry. The following is an account of Lady Fanshavv^e, who was the v/ife of Sir Richard Fanshawe, treasurer of the navy under Prince Rupert, and translator of the works of Louis de Camoens. She accompanied him in his embassies, and compiled memoirs of her own life, which have as yet never been published, and which is to be regretted, as they contain many interesting anecdotes of the time, told with a cheerful simplicity. " In the spring of 1649 I accompanied my husband on a voyage from Gal way to Malaga : we pursued our way with prosperous winds, but a most tempestuous master, a Dutchman, (which is enough to say,) but truly I think the greatest beast I ever saw of his kind. When we had just passed the straits we saw coming toward us a Turkish galley, well manned, and we believed we should be carried away for slaves ; for our man had so ladened his ship with goods for Spain, that his guns were useless, although she carried sixt}''. He called for brandy, and, after he and his men, who were near ,200, had well drunken, he called for arms, and cleared the deck as well as he could, resolving to fight rather than lose his ship, worth £30,000. This was sad for us pas- sengers ; but my husband bid us to be sure to keep in the cabin, and not appear, which would make the Turk think we were men-of-war ; but that, if they saw women, they would board us. He went up on deck, taking with him a gun and a sword. This beast of a captain had locked me up in my cabin ; I knocked, and called to no purpose, until the cabin-boy came and opened the door. I, all in tears, desired him to give me his thrum cap and tarred coat, which he did ; I gave him half a crown, and, flinging away my night-clothes, put them on : I crept softly on deck, and stood by my husband's side, as free from sickness and fear as, I confess, 1 was from discretion ; but it was the effect of that passionate love for him which I could never master. By this time the two vessels were engaged in close parley, and so well satisfied with each other's force, that the Turk's man-of-war tacked about, and we continued our course. But when your father saw it convenient to retreat, looking upon me, he blessed himself, and snatched me up in his arms, saying, * Good God ! that love can make this change !' and, thoug}> ha FEMALE EDUCATION. 1T5 seemingly chid me, he would laugh at it as often as he remem- bered the voyage." Sir Richard adhered to the royal interest, and was engaged in the battle of Worcester, where he was taken prisoner : he was confined at Whitehall until a dangerous sickness, that threatened his life, procured his enlargement on bail. " During the time of his imprisonment," Lady Fanshawe says, " I failed not, when the clock struck four in the morning, to go with a dark lantern in my hand, all alone, and on foot, to Whitehall, by the entry that went out of King's-street into the bowling green ; there I would go under his window and call him softly. He, excepting the first time, never failed to put out his head at the first call ; thus we talked together, and sometimes I was quite wet through with rain." This affectionate lady accompanied her husband when ambas- sador from Charles II. to the court of Spain ; but in 1666 he was recalled. This recall is said to have broken his heart. " In trouble to be troubled Is to have our sorrows doubled." Spanish Proverb. Oh ! ye who love sincerity and truth, read the following. It is calculated " to revive the heart of any one, even were he sink- ing under the very ribs of death." " On the 15th of June my husband was taken very sick with a disorder like the ague, but it turned to a malignant inward fever, of which he languished until the 26th, and then departed this life. The queen-mother of Spain invited me to stay with my children at court, promising me a pension of a thousand ducats a year providing I would embrace the Roman Catholic religion. This I declined, and was thus left with five children, a distressed fanaily, the temp- tation to change my religion, the want of all friends, without counsel, out of my own country, and without any means of returning with my wretched family to it." This excellent lady, whose memoirs were intended for the instruction of her son, in speaking of her husband, says : " Our aims and designs were one ; our loves one ; our resentments one ; we so studied one the other, that we knew each other's mind by our looks." " Thrice happy they whose hearts are tied In love's mysterious knot so close No strife, no quarrels can divide, And only death, fell death, can loose." Horace. This excellent lady is fully described in the following lines : " A perfect woman, nobly plann'd To warn, to comfort, and command ; And yet a spirit still and bright, With something of an angel light." Wordsworth, 176 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. There was Anne Killigrew, according to Wood, " A grace for beauty and a muse for wit." As a classical scholar, she was a match for many of the scavans of the day. There v/as also Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, " who was a great builder, a buyer and seller of estates, a money- lender, a farmeresse, a merchant of lead, coals, and timber."* Doubtless she had male assistants, but she, with great acute- ness and with the usual penetration of her sex, superintended them. There was the celebrated Countess of Derby, who defended Latham House for two years against the parliamentary forces, until it was battered down about her ears. " The bravest fall, but only cowards yield." A bomb-shell burst in the room where she and her family were taking their meal, on which she immediately ordered her defenders to make a sally, which drove the assailants from their trenches, and took the mortar. She returned an answer by a flag of truce, soliciting a surrender, that she would hang the next that came upon the same errand. She encouraged her faithful defenders to remain by her, saying : " Like the dwarf oak upon the desert plain, We'll mock the tempest as it brays around us, * And bid defiance to the blast that rends us." The heroic Countess of Cumberland had the Castle of Ap- pleby fortified, and the command given to her neighbour. Sir Phillip Musgrave, against Cromwell. When Sir Joseph Wil- liamson, secretary of state, nominated a candidate for her borough of Appleby, she sent him word, " I have been bullied by a usurper, slighted by the court, but I will not be dictated to by a subject : your man shan't stand." The mother and maids of George Abbot, with eight men, defended Caldecot Hall, in Warwickshire, successfully in 1642, against Prince Rupert with eighteen troops of horse. All the pewter dishes and plates were melted into bullets on this occasion by the women. In the time of the commonwealth there was a rising in the west of England under Colonels Grove, Penruddock, Hunt, and some others : they were defeated, and some tried and executed. Hunt, who was the ancestor of the radical Henry Hunt, and, like him, was imprisoned in Ilchester jail, was to have been executed ; but two of his sisters visited him there, and one of them (Margery) changed clothes with him, and so her brother effected his escape, which is quite as heroic a deed as was per- formed some years past by Madame Lavalette in France. f * Reed. t Hunt's Memoirs. FEMALE EDUCATION. 177;. <' Thus true fortitude shows itself in great exploits, That justice warrants and that reason guides." From George Fox's journal I find he was to be tried in 1656 ; being on his 'apostolic tour, he sent for Anne Downer, from London to Launceston, in Cornwall, to take down the trial in short hand.* It has been said that " in love, as in hatred, woman knows no measure," as is proved by the following quotation from the " Ex- cellencies of the Female sex," by H. C. Agrippa : " When our Saviour rose from the dead he appeared first to women, not to men ; and it is manifest that, after the death of Jesus Christ, the men forsook the faith, but it has never been found that the women ever abandoned the Christian religion. Our Saviour was betrayed, sold, bought, accused, condemned, suffered, was crucified, and finally given to death by no other than men. He was denounced by St. Peter, his disciple, and forsaken by all the others, and was accompanied to the cross and the sepul- chre solely by the women. Women were last at the cross and first at the grave." The following extract is by Count Segur, a French author. I give it for its fairness and from its general good sense : " An Englishman, by his habits and his taste for business, has subjected his wife to solemn rules for the regula- tion of her conduct ; and has, consequently, marked her naanners Dy an apparent gravity. More thoughtful than communicative, especially with women, there is established between himself and his wife a contract, rather of power than of tenderness, of submission than of confidence, of concealed passion than of sympathy, of sentiment than a unison of opinion. To form the mind and heart of woman ought, according to my opinion, to be almost the sole aim of education. The heart of females is the o-uardian of their character, and their mind that of their conduc't. The education of men embraces many objects. But when a woman is mild, polished, and gifted with sensibility, at the same time that her mind has received the necessary deo-ree of cultivation to render her company and conversation en?ertaining and agreeable, what more can be desired P\ Lavater°writes : " A woman, whose ruling passion is not vanity, is superior to any man of equal qualities. "t The following stanzas, by the Poet Drayton, a countryman and cotemporary with Shakspeare, will give some idea of the education and qualifications of a knight's daughter : * To show the state of morals at that time, he said the sheriff told him there were only thirty people at the sessions for bastardy ; which, considering the small population of the county, was a very great number. t Aphorism, 440. 178 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. " He had, as antique stories tell, A daughter cleaped Dowsabell, A mayden fayre and free : And, for she was her father's heirc. Full well she was y-cond the leyre Of mickle curtesie. The silke well couth she twist and twine, And make the fine March pine,* And with the needle werke : And she couth helpe the priest to say His mattins on a holyday, And sing a psaline in kirke. She ware a frock of frolicke greene, Might well beseems a mayden queena, Which seemly was to see ; A hood to that so neat and fine, In colour like the columbine, Y-wrought full featously. Her features all as fresh above, As is the grasse that growes by Dove ; And lyth as lasse of Kent. Her skin as soft as Lem'ster wooll, As white as snow on peakish hull,t Or swanne that swims in Trent. This mayden in a morne betime Went forth, when May was in her prime, To get sweete cetywall.t The honey-suckle, the harlocke, The lilly, and the lady-smocke, To deck her summer hall." From Percy''s Reliques of old English Poetry. However, the motto from Lad}'' Mary Wortley Montague is too close a description of what the education really was, as far as books were concerned. The rest was really practical. Hollingshed says, in his time '' the females knit or net the nets for sportsmen. " Fine feme stitch, finny stitch, new stitch, and chain stitch, Brave broad stitch, fischer stitch, Irish stitch, and queen's stitch, The Spanish stitch, rosemary stitch, and mowse stitch, All these are good, and these we must allow, And these are everywhere in practice now." A writer of the days of Queen Bess thus describes a wealthy person's house and the management : " He inhabits a large * March pine, or March pane, according to Richardson, was a confection of almonds, pistachio nuts, sugar, and rose water. Steevens declares our macaroons to be only debased and diminutive March panes. t A high hill. t Herb valerian. FEMALE EDUCATION. 179 building, half castle and half house, crowded with servants, many of whom were only serviceable as fillers up of the blank spaces in the mansion ; but as they had been born in his service, so they would of course live and die in it. The family rose at day- break and assembled at prayers, which were read by the family chaplain. Then came breakfast ; after which the master of the household and his sons got on the saddle, went a hunting, followed by some score of mounted attendants ; while the lady and her daughters superintended the buttery, prescribed the day's task for the spinning-wheels, dispensed the medicines to the ailing, concocted all sorts of simples for the sick and infirm, and dealt out bread, meat, and beer to the poor at the gate ; then making confections and preserves, spinning and brewing, or embroidering some battle or hunting piece. At noon, to dinner in the great hall ; after dinner, some exciting amusements in-door, if weather would not permit gardening or fishing ; after supper, the amusing and enlivening madrigals filled up the time till bed-time, at sunset." This writer gives an account of rather a larger library than the one described on pages 114 and 116. ^^ He speaks of six or eight large volumes of Wynken de Worde r this was their miscellaneous reading. " Their religion from the Bible and ' The Practice of Piety ;' their Protestant- ism and horror of Catholicism from ' Fox's Book of Martyrs ;' their chivalrous lore from ' Froissart's Chronicles ' and the * Merrye Gests of Robin Hood ;' their morality and sentiment from * The Seven Wise Masters ' or ^ The Seven Champions of Christendom.' " Of the country ladies, those who had not learned the fashions and frivolities of London, we may judge of from what Lord Clarendon tells us in his Life ; that his grandfather, in James L's time, had never been in London after the death of Elizabeth, though he lived thirty years afterward ; and his wiie, to whom he had been married forty years, had never once visited the metropolis, of which fact he makes this interesting and impor- tant observation : " The wisdom and frugality of that time being such that few gentlemen made journeys to London, or any other expensive journey, but upon important business, and their wives never ; by which providence they enjoyed and improved their estates in the country, and kept hospitality, brought up their children well, and were beloved by their neighbours." A lady of this description was chiefly represented " as a notable character " (no bad designation) and a quiet drudge. And if she did not become a politician, as those figuring in the London circles generally did, she most commonly settled down into the amiable character of a Lady Bountiful, and occupied herself 180 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. in supplying the poor of the village with money, the industrious with work, the idle and vicious with good counsel and proper rebuke, and the sick with medicines and cordials. In this last department many of them became so presumptuous that no ailment was too hard for them, from a toothache to a pestilence, from the stroke of a cudgel to that of a thunderbolt. Their remedies for the most part were those of the verriest quackery. One of their favourite remedies for consumption was that which they called snail pottage. This was a whole peck of garden snails washed in small beer, and fried, shells and all, in a frying-pan, with a quantity of earth-worms, mingled with abundance of herbs, spices, and drugs. This curious compound must have been invented by those who believed thalt " that which will not poison will fatteri.''^ In others of their vile pre- paration there were as much of cruelty as of loathsomeness and absurdity. For instance ; to make oil of swallows, some ten or twelve swallows were pounded alive in a mortar, with many other queer ingredients : in making what was called c — k water, the bird had to be plucked alive. Sometimes also the planets were necessary to make the charm successful ; as, for instance, one of their medicines into which the tips of crabs' claws entered largely, the rule was, they should be gathered when the sun enters cancer.* Many of the possets and resto- ratives — in short, the whole which filled this receipt book, would require the nerves as well as the cauldron of the weird sisters to prepare them. The practices in question were chiefly con- 6ned to staid elderly ladies, the wife of the nobleman, squire, t>r vicar, some well-doweried widow or considerate spinster, who, with abundance of me^ns and inclination, had unfortu- nately, as is too often the case with poor frail mortals, stumbled upon the wrong path. But it ought to admonish us not to mterfere in matters which we do not understand ; for, though we may be inclined to interfere with the pure motive of good intentions, it should be recollected there is an old maxim, that '* the naughty place is said to be paved with good intentions ;" if so, good intentions are but a poor excuse. One of these ladies bound upon such a visit, surrounded, as she was, with much impatience, from her age, her station in life, and benevolent conduct — followed by her loaded abigail, panting and perspiring under the cartel of medicinal benevo- lences, must have been a formidable, no less than an exhilarating, spectacle. We may conceive the deep and low-muttered curses of the village doctor, whose office was thus reduced to a starving, and perhaps a bloodless, sinecure ; the shudder of her patients when her footsteps were heard upon the honey- * " The Queen's Closet Opened." MALE EDUCATION. iSl suckle decorated cottage threshold, or when her nostrums were unpacked, to be gulped down under her ow n eye ; and the annoyances she must have inflicted upon those whose cases were considered hopeless, until they must be glad to escape from such unbounded and unfounded benevolences in good earnest. From Ker's " English Rhymes and Nursery Phrases," (1834,) it appears that many of the old childish songs and nursery sayings are of Dutch origin. App. xvi. MALE EDUCATION. "His eye was meek and gentle, and a smile Play'd on his lips ; and in his speech were heard Paternal sweetness, dignity, and love. Learning grew, Beneath his care, a thriving, vig'rous plant : The mind was informed, the passions held Subordinate, and diligence was choice." Cowper. There were plenty of schools wherein both Greek and Latin were taught : indeed they were so numerous that Lord Bacon wished some repressed. Ascham describes school-masters as badly paid : he says they " pay more for taking care of a horse than educating their children," which drew forth from him this reflection, " that they took more pleasure in their horses than their children." " Hierom (epistle lib. 1, L(2ta de institut jilice) gives a most especial charge to all parents, and many good cautions about Dringing up of children, that they be not committed to undis- creet, bedlam tutors, light, giddy-headed, or covetous persons ; and spare for no costs, that they may be well nurtured and .aught, it being a matter of so great consequence. For such parents as do otherwise Plutarch esteems like them that are more careful of their shoes than of their feet, that rate their wealth above their children. And he (saith Cardan) that leaves his son to a covetous scholar to be informed^ or to a close ahhy to fast and learn wisdom together, doth no other than that he he a learned fool or a sickly wise man.''''* The school-master was often combined with the reputation of a conjurer. Ben Jonson says : " I would have ne'ere a cunning school-master in Englande,; I meane a cunning man that *s a conjurer." According to both Ascham and Peacham, they were both ignorant and tyrannical. " It is a general plague and * Butler's "Anatomy of Melancholy." 16 182 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. complaint of the whole lande ; for, for one discreet and able teacher, you shall finde twentie ignorant and carelesse, and where they make one scholar they marre ten."* My motto, therefore, finely expresses what they should have been, rather than what they were ; and the next quotation, from Butler, will explain one part, and that the real part, of their conduct that cannot be sufficiently reprobated : " Whipping, that's Virtue's governess, Tutr'ress of arts and sciences ; That mends the gross mistakes of nature, And puts new life into dull matter." This cruel writer does not perceive that one great cause of children's falsehoods, the crime of lying ^ proceeds from the severity of their teachers ; as children do commit errors, and knowing they will be both severely and perhaps unjustly pun- ished, they are induced to tell a lie to save their carcass. The judicious Ensor observes : " Jewish ordinances, aided by the penances imposed by religion on its priests, caused the ferula and rod to be the Catholic means of education. The inflictions of the cloisters w^ere easily transferred to the school-room by those who were the directors of both." To this charge of undue severity may be added the accusa- tion of frequent immorality and buffoonery, which, for obvious reasons, I shall omit quoting ; there can be no need of ingrail- ing ancient crimes upon the modern stock, which are sufficiently productive. But "It lawful was of old, and still will be, To speak of vice, but let the name go free." "At Trinity College I knew one who would, on a cold morn- ing in winter, whip his boys once over, for no other purpose than getting himself a sweate ; another would beat them for swearing, and all the while would sweare himselfe most terri- ble oathes."! The substance of a finished education was a little Latin and less Greek beaten into him at one of the public establishments, or by the thwackum of some martinetj of a domestic school- room. When the youth had been whipped through the parts of speech, interjections, and all, and driven through a few frag- mental portions of the classics, and was able to construct a few " nonsense verses " upon his fingers, he was then qualified to shine equally in the senate or at a masquerade. * Complete Gentleman. t Hollingshed. X A strict disciplinarian. MALE EDUCATION. isS To t\iese he added the accomplishment of dancing, and per- haps a little music ; as for science, that was out of the ques- tion, (except it was pugilistic,) being deemed suitable only for professional characters. The grand finish to such an education was the tour of Eu- rope, and forth went the boy accordingly, often in leading- strings, to gaze at streets, rivers, mountains, rocks, water-falls, and lakes. " Nothing is more frequent," says the Spectator, " than to take a lad from grammar and taw, and, under the tuition of some poor scholar who is willing to be banished for .£30 per year and a little victuals, send him, crjn'ng and snivel- ling, into foreign countries. Thus he spends his time as chil- dren do at puppet-shows, and much to the same advantage, in staring and gaping at an amazing variety of strange things ; strange indeed, to one who is not prepared to comprehend them, without the solid foundation of knowledge in his mind, and furnished with rules to direct his future conduct through life under some skilful master in the art of instruction." Such tourists naturally picked up in their rambles what was most easily acquire ; the fashions, the frivolities, and the vices of foreign countries, which they imported into England, and ingrafted upon the native stock. Having given a chapter on foreign travel, it will be perceived that this chapter applies to the latest part of our period. Before the reign of Charles II. the education was different. There w-as then other intellectual requirements besides mere book learning. " If not to some peculiar end designed, Reading is a specious trifling of the mind." Young. Indeed, mere book learning is but a small part, and perhaps the least part, of education. Their education comprised various active exercises of a military character, and also the sports of the field ; consequently, most of the gentry v/ere ready at once " to stride the war-horse " on the breaking out of the civil wars. In some of the old monastic schools, which, according to Dr. Dunham, began during the period of Pope Boniface, there was more learning, and far better discipline, (perhaps too severe.) This learned Protestant historian says : " Very little has been added to our knowledge of grammar ; in logic^ the improvement is insignificant ; in theology^ below the first four centuries of the Cliristian era ; in morah^ or political or meta- physical philosophy^ we have little reason to boast ; in poetry we are inferior ; but in history we are much superior." In England at this time the monastics are reviving : they were permitted to creep on during the whole of the French 184 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN- revolutionary wars, to allow the Catholic nobility and gentry an opportunity to have their sons educated at home. But the act of 10 Geo. IV., ch. vii., commonly called the emancipation act, has completely legalized them. An Hircocervus^ or Man Animal — At Wyckham's College, Winchester, there is now remaining an instance of the fondness of our ancestors for placing up judicious advice to those intrusted to their charge : they were forcibly alive to the propriety of placing constantly before the eye good maxims, a custom, I am sorry to say, now nearly out of use. There is a painting on the walls addressed to the servants. It is styled " The Trusty Servant," in Latin and English. I will give the English. " A trusty servant's portrait would you see, This emblematic figure well survey ; The porker's snout not nice in diet shows, The padlock's shut, no secrets he'll disclose ; Patient the ass his master's wrath will bear, Swiftness in errand the stagg's feet declare ; Loaded his left hand apt to labour saith, The vest his neatness, open hand his faith ; Girt with his sword, his shield upon his arm, Himself and master he'll protect from harm." At the end of the school-room is another inscribed, with symbols, as follows : A J T\- / ii, 1 \ i A mitre and crosier, as the expected Aut JJtsce, (either learn,) < j r i • ' ^ ( reward or learning. A ^ T\ J / J • \ i An ink-horn to sign, and a sword Aut JJiscede, (or depart,) < ^ r ^^ ■ ' ^ ^ " ( to enforce, expulsion. Manet Sors Tertia Cczdi, \ . (the third choice is to be flogged,) J » accompanied with some excellent rules in Latin for the students.* Admonitions of this sort, often presented from the eye to the mind, must cause reflection ; and, except the party is really incorrigible, much good must arise. The church floors in their tesselated pavements proclaimed wise sentiments and instructive histories. There is an old Latin maxim, " It is better to trust to our eyes than our ears ;" and, agreeable to this notion, even in the chimney-corners of the houses were introduced Dutch tiles, on which Scriptural quotations, and other instructive admonitions and histories, were continually conveying silent instruction. Society, I conceive, has lost much by abandoning this salutary custom. " That the * This noble room is ninety feet long, thirty-six feet broad, and suitably lofty. See "Milner's History of Winchester." £ s. d. 1 4 12 - 6 6" MALE EDUCATION. 185 tempers, the sentiments, the morality of men are influenced by the examples and dispositions of those they converse with, is a reflection which has long passed into a proverb, and has been ranked among the standing maxims of human wisdom."* How wise, therefore, is it to keep such proverbs and maxims con- tinually before the juvenile mind. Mallet justly observes : " Who means to build his happy reign On this best maxim, wise and plain, (Though plain, how seldom understood,) Thai to be great, he must be good.'" In this ancient city was formed, after the great plague in 1666, the " Native's Society," for the relief of widows and orphans. In the third year after it was formed, at a feast then given, the following prices were given for wine, &c. : " Paid for twelve bottles of sacke, - - - « " " clarrett, - - - " 22lbs. of tobacco, and pipes, - - The following extract from " Widows and Widowers " will explain a point not universally known in this country, of the advantages which " men well born and in good circumstances have of moulding themselves into the most fascinating com- panions, if not the most useful members of society. They have access to noble libraries ; they are in daily familiarity with exquisite pictures; they look from their windows upon what is fair and noble in landscape ; or, if in London, their taste may be elevated by a communion with the highest order of intellect. Their childhood is generally passed among objects of historic interest or in scenes of picturesque beauty. Then these old colleges, to which, 'ere the associations of home are destroyed, they repair : how stately in exterior, how fastidi- ously preserved ! what pictures, what chapels, what men who move about in those aisles and quadrangles in a peculiar garb, associated in our thoughts with clerical dignity, and with learning and purity ! " From such scenes and companions men of condition issue into the world to travel, to see, to learn, to admire ; and if they have only gathered up the weeds which sprang up in their young haunts ; if they have driven coaches when they might have bestrode Arabians fleet and graceful ; if they have smoked, and drank, and sunk into the lowest of all things, a degraded aristocracy — it is not the fault of their station, which promises and offers all that is noble and fair, and, if they choose to make it so, excellent." * Rogers 16* 186 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. LADIES' DRESS. *' This is the place where, if a poet Shined iu description, he might show it." Byron. Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe. — The following articles were in the ordinary wardrobe of Queen Elizabeth in 1600 : " 99 robes, 102 French gowns, 67 round-gowns, 100 loose-gowns, 126 kirtels, 136 foreparts, 125 petticoats, 96 petticoats, 31 cloaks and safeguards, 13 safeguards, 43 safeguards and jupes, 85 doublets, 18 lappe mantles, 27 fans, nine pair pantoufles, (slippers.") This account was exclusive of her state wardrobe, which contained her coronation, her mourning, her parliamentary robes, and those of the order of the garter ; smd also exclusive of w^ardrobes which she had containing many dresses laid by in her several palaces. She was so exceedingly fond of her clothes, she never could be prevailed upon to part with any, although she had many curiously rich and beautiful dresses given to her. At her death she had, in her different ward- robes, three thousand different habits, all of which she had worn in her life-time ; and also some of her sister Mary's. All her winter dresses were furred with ermine. This beau- tiful fur is an heraldric emblem of chastity ; and she, according to the court WTiters of the time, was " the maiden queen." What a treat would this wardrobe be at this day, could it be seen in all its richly decorative splendour. How many hints and suggestions would it furnish to manufacturers, seamstresses, dyers, and embroiderers. " 1572. Gentlewomen virgins weare gownes close to the bodye, and aprons of fine linen ; go bare-headed, with their hair curiously knotted and raised at the forehead ; but many, against the cold as they say, weare caps of hair that is not their own." In the country the elderly women, or those in indifferent circumstances, usually wore mufflers. The annexed engraving represents a country woman attired for market. 1574. Nash, speaking of lawn caps, says : " They were as white as snow, resembling silver curlings." Venice and Paris were the sources of the fashions. The French hood consisted of gauze or muslin reaching from the back of the head down over the forehead, leaving the hair exposed on each side. Cauls or nets of gold were thrown over their glossy tresses. There were often introduced on the hair artificial pea-shells, with rows of pearls for the peas, seldom less than nine in each shell being used. ladies' dress. 187 An English Gentlewoman. A Country Woman with Muffler. The lady's morning-cap was usually a mob, and the rich citizen's wife's either a splendid cap, or a fur one of miniver, with peaks three inches high, and three-cornered ; and the rest of her dress, if less costly and elegant, equally showy. Stubbes says : " Masks and mufflers were in general use ; the former made of velvet, wherewith, when they ride out, they cover all their face, having holes made to look through." The ruff was common to both sexes, but, under the fostering care of the ladies, was immensely large — so large as to require a long spoon to feed themselves. They attained, in fineness, size, and dimensions, the most extravagant pitch of absurdity — reaching to the very top of the head behind ; and the tenuity of the lawn or cambric of which they were made was such, that honest Stowe prophesied they would " weare ruffes of a spider's webe." In order to support so slender an article, they used starch. A Mrs. Dingen Van Plesse, in 1564, taught the art of starching, for v/hich she received a premium of five pounds sterling from each. Starching was improved by the introduction of various colours : one v/as yellow, from saffron, invented by a Mrs. Turner ; but as she was connected in the 188 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT ERITAIIS murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, she suffered death, splendidly dressed, and in a large yellow ruff: after this that tint went out of fashion. The waist was large beyond all proportion : the bodice or stays, or, more classically speaking, the tunic, terminated in a point ; and in the forepart there was also a pocket for monej, needle-work, or billet-doux. In the language of Dekkar, this was the time to be fanned " by the soft wind of whispering silks." Gowns were made of the richest materials, with velvet capes embroidered with bugles, and sleeves curiously cut. Shak- speare, in " Taming of the Shrew," says, they were " cut and carved like an apple tart." The fashionable petticoat was the Scottish fardingale, made of cloth, taffety, satin, or other silks, of enormous bulk ; and over all was thrown a kirtel, mantle, or surtout, with or with- out a hood, formed of silk or velvet, and richly bound with lace. Before knitting, or poor Lee invented his knitting-frame, stockings used to be cut out of any sort of materials, agreeable to the means of the wearer or the season they were to be used. Silk stockings (wove) were first worn in 1560. The shoes were enormously high heeled. Small looking-glasses were suspended from the girdle. The pocket-handkerchief was richly wrought at the corners with gold and silver open work, and embroidery on all sides. Short jackets or doublets, with hanging or false sleeves, were worn at the latter end of James's reign. The ruff was suc- ceeded by the band or peckavidiloe, or piccadilly, from a shop at which it was bought, and which gave the name to a street now in much repute for fashionable shops, and a great thorough- fare. At the marriage of the Princess Elizabeth, this king's daugh- ter, there is a long list of sugar-loaf buttons, large and small, curious and expensive cloths of gold, brocaded silks, and other costly finery. This curious wardrobe account is still in existence, but too long for this work. There was a very great change, after the death of Queen Elizabeth, in the female habits and customs : that noble feel- ing of high, if not of haughty, self-respect which she so much laboured to keep about her court, speedily began to degenerate. Shirley says of them : We rise, make fine, Sit for our picture — and 'tis time to dine." The various little notions which commerce had introduced, ladies' dress. 1S§ rendered the dressing of a fine court lady as tedious as the har- nessing of the king's eight horse state coach. The different articles of her numerous raiments were carefully wrapped in cedar wood, and perfumed with musk or other odoriferous pre- parations.* The dressing of the hair was a most trying task, from the numerous love-locks and heart-breakers that required to be scented and curled, the artificial ringlets that were to be incorporated with the new, (the dead ends of the latter to be completely disguised ;) and the jewellery, flowers, and ribands to be all tastefully arranged and judiciously surmounted. Then there was to be a tasteful display of patches of court-plaster, laid on with the most sportive, bewitching taste. " Skilled in no other art was she But dressing, patching repartee ; And, just as humour rose or fell, By turns a slattern or a bell."t Goldsmith. Then came the lotions, unguents, and even paint. *' These painted faces which they wear, Can any tell from whence they camel" Asks the author of Restitutciy vol. 3, p. 257. If this question had been put to a reader of the Bible, he might have referred him to Jezebel, who painted her face : "Whose borrow'd tints bestow a lifeless grace ; None wear the same, yet none a diif'rent face." The French have a saying, that " a mottled sky and a painted lady do not long retain their beauty." The paint kept to their skins until after the protectorate of Cromwell, notwithstanding the scrubbing which they had to endure from the Puritan pulpits. They used fans of ostrich or peacock feathers, set in gold, silver, or ivory handles ; the using of which served to display their splendid perfumed bracelets, necklaces, rings, and gloves while they sat " breathing an air as sweet as damask roses. "J * The gratification of the nasal organ seems to have been early known. In Proverbs it is thus alluded to : " Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart ; so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel." t In the '* Last Days of Pompeii " is a very graphic description of " the dressing-room of a Pompeian beauty," which, if it could have been possible, one might have supposed our ancestors had imitated. } These splendid, but cumbrous, fans were similar to the feather brooms or_^y scarers now m use in the south. I conceive the most beautiful feather fan may be made of the tail feathers of a wild male turkey : the beautiful bronze black is rich and imposing. 190 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Monkeys and parrots were part of a wealthy lady's esta- blishment. Ben Jonson, in one of his characters, says : " The gentleman (I'll undertake him) is a man of fair living, and able to maintain a lady in her two caroches a day, besides pages, monkeys, parochitoes, with such attendants as she shall think meete for her inheritence." About 1662 ladies' silk scarfs were introduced from Portugal. " Women's maskes, buskes, mufFes, fannes, periwigs, and bod- kins were first denizened and used in Italie by courtizans."* The Puritan females were quite as contrary in their habits as their lords and masters, the males. They wore their heads closely covered with a hood, cap, coif, or high-crowned hat, very similar to the Welch women of the present day. There was a great change in the female costume during the reign of the elegant, but profligate, Charles II., but it was mostly confined to the high and wealth}'^ classes. They threw aside, with great disdain, the straight-laced Puritanical dress- ings, and appeared at court and abroad in a way that will be better understood than I dare attempt to describe, by the title of a pamphlet by a non-conformist divine — " A just and season- able reprehension of the enormity of naked breasts and shoul- ders." It contains an indignant censure of long trains, which he speaks of " as a monstrous superfluity of cloth or silke, that must be dragged after them." In 1663 Pep3^s tells us that vizards had become of late in great fashion among the ladies, so he bought one for his wife. This graphic court diarist gives an account of a ride, by the king and queen, in Hyde Park : " By and by the king and queen, who looked in this dress (a white laced waiscoat and a crimson short petticoat, and her hair a let negligence) mighty pretty, rode by, hand in hand, together. I followed them up into White- hall, and into the queen's presence, where all the ladies walked ; they were talking and fiddling with their hats and feathers, and changing and tiying one another's by one another's heads, and laughing. But above all, Mrs. Stewart, in her dress, with her cocked hat and a red plume, with her sweet eyes, little Roman nose, and excellent taille, is now the greatest beauty I ever saw in my life. My Lady Castlemaine was soon among them ; she looked mighty out of humour : she had a yellow plume in her hat, which all took notice of, yet she is very handsome." In 1663-4 silver-laced gowns are mentioned as being in high fashion. Yellow bird's-eye hoods were in vogue in 1665. " The riding-habits of the ladies were fashioned after the garb of the other sex. In 1666, walking in the galleries at White- hall, I find the ladies of honour dressed in their riding-garbs, * Stowe. ladies' dress. )91 with coats and doublets, and buttoned up the breast, with peri- wigs and hats ; so that, only for a petticoat dragging under their men's coats, nobody could take them for women.'' This was He might have said : an odd sight. "To laugh were want of goodness and of grace, But to be grave exceeds all powers of face." Costume of the Commonwealth time of Charles II. MafFs were used by both sexes. They were very small, and fully ornamented at each end with ribands. The leopard skin muffs were in fashion in 1702. The ladies during the reign of William III., as anticipated, adopted the Dutch fashion. The stomacher appeared more uniformly laced, the sleeves of the gown became straight and tight, and terminated with a cuff above the elbow, in imitation of the male sex. Rows of flounces and furbelows, or falbalas, bordered the petticoat, which was disclosed by the gown being looped completely back, which made the gown behind look like a swallow-tailed coat ; the head-dress high in front, being com- posed in form of a cap, the lace of which rose in three or more tiers, from one to two feet high, almost to a point above the forehead, the hair being combed up and disposed in rows of wavy curls one above the other, but in a way which, to be fully understood, must be seen. I have given a Avood-cut, which is the best I can do j for I dare not, if I was able, raise their appa- 192 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Costume of the Nobility time of "William and Mart. rition, fearing my readers might exclaim, " we start, for soui is wanting there." There was not much change in the ladies' dresses during the early part of Queen Anne's reign ; but soon after came two great changes. The first was the abandonment of the monstrously high head-dresses, and caps, and tower commode, for a low, natural, and elegant coiffure, which was praised by Addison in the Spectator. The second alteration was the hoop, invented by a mantua-maker named Selby, in 1711, and which continued a court appendage through several reigns. Its discontinuance is announced by Mr. Rush, the American ambassador, in his " Memoranda of a Residence at the Court of George IIL," 1833. It was well observed, that what the females lost in height they gained in bulk ; but the gain was similar to that of the foliage of the weeping willow — it was downward. The author of the " Book of Etiquette/' 1834, (and the writer responds to the description,) thus speaks of them " The hoop is laid aside, which I am. sorry for, as, after all, it ladies' dress. 19^ was a beautiful relic of the olden time. To see a charming young lady rise out of her hoop was the prettiest sight in the world ; it looked like a gilded barricade containing an angel." The above cut will probably convey to the reader a better idea of the fashion, and more especially of the hoop dresses, at this period, (1711,) than would any description I could give. Among the curious changes of this century, one cannot help noticing they wore their clothes very long. Short petticoats were of an after period, which made a witty wag observe : " Of her fair legs she shows too much by half — The small of both, and almost all the calf." 17 194 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. The highly accomplished Baron Goethe observes : " With regard to dress, neither fancy nor neatness is sufficient ; it ought also to be graceful ;" which idea had been previously expressed in the following couplet : " Give me an air, give me a face, That makes simplicity a grace." Ben Jonson. The dress of a youth in the middle ranks of life is thus described in an advertisement issued in 1703. " He is of fair complexion, with light brown lank hair, having on a dark brown frieze coat double-breasted on each side, with black buttons and button-holes ; a light drugget waistcoat, red shag breeches striped with black stripes, and black stockings." Costume of the Common-alty time of William and Mart. / The cut of the little girl will be sufficient, perhaps, for her dress to be understood. Green say was used for children's frocks ; also printed and glazed calico, made in London. I will now give the prices of some of the apparel, which, compared with the prices of the same articles at this time, gentlemen's dress. 195 cannot fail to excite both wonder and surprise ; verily, a full furnished wardrol)e of that day contained a pretty little fortune. The durability and strength are also very remarkable : some years past, on a visit to Baginton Hall, Warwickshire, I put on the robe of Mr. Bromley, who was speaker of the house of commons in Queen Anne's reign. It was of black velvet, lined with taffeta, and loaded with most costly gold lace and brocade • the colours, although more than one hundred years old, still were good. The lace chamber, on Ludgate Hill, advertised, in 1710, one Brussels head, £40 ; one ground Brussels head at £30 ; one looped Brussels head at d630. Various wig-makers advertised them from five to forty guineas each. In the " Original Weekly Journal," 1720, it is stated that the hair of a woman who died at the age of 107, being perfectly white, was sold to a periwig- maker for £dO. A damask table-cloth at that time cost £18. Counterpanes from 50 to £100, quite ordinary prices. Drayton gives the following description of one on a state bed, " On which a tissue counterpane was cast, Arachne's web the same did not surpass ; Wherein the story of his fortunes past In lively pictures neatly handled was." Fine linen, made at Ipswich, sold at 15s. an ell. Lady Wotton, at the marriage of the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James, wore a profusely embroidered gown worth £50 per yard. Lord Montague spent £1500 on the dress of his two daughters. GENTLEMEN'S DRESSES. " Whether the 'great one's' sinner it or saint it, If folly grows romantic, I must paint it." Pope. The English people have always been fond of furs. " Fox, lamb, and sable skins were used for facing clothes, but the latter were restricted to the nobility ; 1000 ducats have been given for a facing of sable skin ; a suit trimmed with this article was the richest dress worn."* This writer might also have noticed that the gowns of the common council and the ma^'^ors of the cities or towns were usually trimmed with the fur of the martin cat, that being the handsomest native fur. " The beaver's flix Gives kindly warmth to weak, enervate limbs, When the pale blood slow rises through the veins." * Malone. 196 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN Wardrobe of a Country Gentleman. — Extract from a will, dated 1573, in the prerogative court of Canterbury : " I give unto my brother, Mr. Wm. Sheeney, my best black gowne, garbed and faced with velvet, and my velvet cap ; also I will unto my brother, Thomas Marcall, my new sheepe-colored gowne, garbed with velvet and faced with cony, (rabbits' fur ;) also I will unto my son Tyble my shorte gowne, faced with wolf and laid with Bellement's lace ; also I will unto my brother Cowper my other shorte gowne, faced with fox skin ; also I will unto Thomas Walker my night-gowne, faced with cony, with one lace also, and my reddy (ruddy) colored hose ; also I will unto my man Thomas Swaine my doublet! of can- vass that Forde made mee, and my new gaskins made by Forde ; also I give unto John Wildinge a cassock of sheepe's colar, edged with pont's skins ; also I give unto John Woodlie my doublett of fruite canvass and my hose, with fryze bryches ; also I give unto Symonde Bishoppe, the smith, my other fryze jerkin with silk buttons ; also I give unto Adam Ashame my hose with the frendge, (fringe,) and lined with crane-colored silk, which gifts I will to be delivered immediately after my decease." Harrison, who wrote in 1580, complains that the gaudy trap- pings were coming into the rural and mercantile world. He says : " Neither was it merriere with England than when he was knowne abroad by his own clothes, and contented himself at home with his fine carsie hosen and a meane slop, his coate, gowne, and cloake of browne, blue, or puke, (puce,) with some prettie furniture of velvett or furre, and a doublette of sadde tawnie or black velvet, or other whalie silk, without such garrishe coloures as are nowe worne in these daies ; and never broughte in butte bye consent of the Frenche, who thinke themselves the gayest men when they have most diversitie of jagges and change of coloures about them." In 1582 Queen Elizabeth issued a proclamation regulating the apparel of the apprentices: " They were not to wear any apparel but what was given by their masters ; not to wear a hat in the city, but woollen caps without silk ; to wear no ruffles, cuffs, loose collars ; no doublets but what were made of canvass, fustian, sack-cloth, English leather, or woollen cloth, without gold, silver, or silk ; to wear no ether coloured cloth or kersey in hose or stockings than white, blue, or russet ; to wear little breeches, same stuff as doublets, without lace or bordering ; to wear no swords, daggers, nor other weapons, but a knife ; neither a ring, jewel of gold or silver, nor silk in any part." There was also an order during her reign relating to the dress, the beards, and the hair of the great lawyers. gentlemen's dress. 19f King James did not go into mourning after Queen Eliza- jeth's death, nor suffered any one else- The chancellor of the University of Cambridge, on a visit of the king (James) there, 1615, issued an order admonishing the students against the fearful enormity and excess of apparel, as peccadilloes, vast bands, huge cuffs, shoe roses, tufts, locks and tops of hair, unbeseeming that modesty and carriage of students of so renowned a university. The neck-rufF was worn by both sexes. The bishops and judges were the last of the male sex to give them up. John Taylor, the water poet, and Ben Jonson, thus lash the dresses : " Wear in a farme edged with gold, And spangled garters worth a copyhold, A hose and doublette which a lordship cost, A gaudy cloak three manors worth almost ; A beaver band and feather for the head, Prized at the church's tithe — the poor man's bread." Taylok. " The Savoy chain about my neck, the ruff The cufF of Flanders ; then the Naples hat With the Rome band and the Florentine agate, The Milan sword, the cloak of Geneva set With Brabant buttons, all my given pieces, My gloves the natives of Madrid." Jonson. " The coxcomb in Shakspeare's time wore earrings, and, peacock-like, he displayed all his feathers." I have before stated that James was rather slovenly himself. A writer of the Court of King James, 1650, who signs himself Sir A. W., an eye-witness, says: " He would not change his clothes till they were very ragged, his fashion never ; insomuch that, one bringing to him a hat of a Spanish black, he cast it from him, saying, he neither loved them nor their fashions. ' Another time, bringing him roses on his shoes, he asked if they meant to make him a ruffed fool-dere ; one yard of sixpenny riband served that turn." But he encouraged the most sickening foppery in the courtiers that surrounded him.* When the royal driveller sent over that contemptible thing, Buckingham, to France, " stuck o'er with titles and hung round with strings," as ambassador special, to bring the Prin- cess Henrietta to England, he provided for the mission a suit of white uncut velvet and a cloak, both set all over with dia- monds, valued at £80,000 ; besides an aigrette made of dia- monds. His sword, girdle, hat-bands, and spurs were also set * See Strutt ; and play of " Westward Hoe," written by Jonson, Chap- man, and Marlowe, and printed in 1605. 17* 198 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. thick with these precious gems ; in fact, he was the king of diamonds personified. He had another suit with him, of purple satin, embroidered all over with pearls, valued at ^20,000 ; and also, in addition, he had five-and-twenty other dresses of j^reat and varied richness. In his suite he had throngs of nobles and gentles, and all attired in costly raiment for the pur- pose, in chains of gold or ropes of pearl, suitable for such an embassy. How truly do these men prove a remark of Juvenal : " Fools are best pleased with things that cost most money." The shape of the hat was very high, and in the form of a sugar-loaf, with a very large, slouching brim, and expensive bands. From " Youth's Behaviour, or Decency in Conversation among Men, composed in French by grave persons for the use and benefit of their youth, and translated into English by Francis Hawkins, nephew to Sir Thomas Hawkins, in 1668," he is instructed to '^ wear not thy hat too high, nor too close on thy eye, not in the fashion of swaggerers and jesters." The old portraits in the family mansions represent the breeches like long sausage hose, pinned up like pudding-bags ; a Dutch fashion. There was also another Dutch fashion, called the Vandyke costume, but they hung loose below the knee, and were either fringed or adorned with a row of points, which were ruffed with lace or lawn. The other part was a sort of doublet of silk or satin, with slashed sleeves ; a falling collar of pointed lace ; a short cloak, worn carelessly over one shoulder ; on the broad-brimmed Flemish beaver one or more ostrich feathers falling gracefully from it ; a very broad and richly embroidered sword-belt, in which was hung a Spanish rapier. (See annexed engraving.) The silk doublet was occasionally exchanged for a buff coat, reaching half-way down the thigh, (pockets in the skirts to catch the winter's snow or summer's dust,) with or without sleeves. A beau of this period was an animated trinket ; from the top of his beaver, that fluttered with gay streamers, to his boot point nothing was to be seen but an assemblage of bright colours and a blaze of jewellery ; he seemed fit only " to dance in his ringlets to the whistling wind." As he languishingly waved his handkerchief to and fro, he scented the air with his musk ; his gloves, which were too fine for use, were made of perfumed leather ; his pockets were stored with orangeade ; and when he addressed a lady, it v/as not only with honeyed words, but with sweet and substantial comfits. Not even contented with all this, the fops at last proceed- ed to paint their faces, and thus their resemblance to woman GENTLEMEN'S DRESS. 199 became complete. A rougher species of coxcombry was ex- hibited by those few who might be called the military dandies of the day : besides affecting a soldierly swagger and style of language, they wore black patches upon their faces, clipped into the forms of st-ars, half moons, and lozenges. This fashion originated in those who returned from the wars in the low countries, and began with the men before it was adopted by the women. Under the date of 1659 Pepys gives an account of the dress of a gentleman : " A short-waisted doublet and petticoat breeches ; the lining, being lowest, is tied above the knee ; they are orna- mented with ribands up to the pockets, and half their breadth upon the thigh. The waistband is set about with ribands, and the shirt hanging out over them.* Beneath the knee hung long, drooping, lace ruffles. The hat high crowned, and orna- mented with a plume of feathers ; and a rich falling collar of lace, with a cloak hung carelessly over the shoulder. The hair Costume of the Nobility and Gentry time of Charles II. very long, and flowing in ringlets over the shoulders. In 1664 the crown of the hat was lowered, and the plume laid upon the brim. " In 1666 the king (Charles II.) had a new dress, which he resolved never to alter. A king's resolve, and such a king ! * Gentlemen's shirts, elegantly worked with silk and needle-work, cost £10 each. 200 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. " 'Tis this, 'tis that, 'tis t'other thing, 'Tis anything or nothing." It consisted of a long, close vest, of black cloth or velvet, pinked with white satin ; a loose surcoat or tunic over it, of an oriental character ; and, instead of shoes and stockings, bus- kins or brodekins. Evelyn tells us there were bets among the courtiers about his keeping his dress resolution, which, as was expected, lasted but about two years. On the 18th of October this inquisitive diarist says : <^ The court is full of vests, only one lord not pinked, but plain black ; and they saj^ the king says, the pinking on white makes them look too much like magpies, so he hath bespoken one of plain velvet." He also had a collar and ruffles, made from the inner bark of the Largetta Thymalaca ; it is a native of Jamaica : they must have been very costly. A Russian ambassador's dress became all the fashion. The vest was a side deep ; loose coat, almost to the feet, with short sleeves. The tunic a close-bodied coat, the skirts being down to the knees, with a sash, (the girdle by which the tunic was tied to the body,) so called because it hath a round button and tassel. The vest originated the long square-cut coat which succeeded it ; and the tunic the waistcoat, which was nearly as long, and almost concealed the breeches. The sleeves of the coat came no farther than the elbows, where they were turned back and formed a huge cuff, those of the shirt bulging from beneath, ruffled at the wrists and adorned profusely with ribands. Both the coat and waistcoat had buttons and button-holes down the front. The stiff band and falling collar was super- seded by a neckcloth of rich Brussels or Flanders lace, tied with ribands under the chin, the ends hanging down square. The broad hat, which had been turned up or cocked behind, was sometimes entirelj" surrounded with costly feathers, which fell curling and dangling over the glossy brim.* The importance of dress being of such paramount influence to the gallants of the day, the mercers found their account in continually devising new fashions to attract the vain moths who were constantly flickering about their establishments ; and the way in which they recommended their wares was frank, dignified, and honest enough. The master or his apprentice (if his figure was more worthy of being made a fancy clothes' * Pepys, 1667. gentlemen's dress. 201 block) had a waistcoat made of the newest and richest silk that had just come from the loom ; he then took his station at his rihop-door, dressed in a black coat, with the breast thrown quite back, so as to exhibit the new pattern ; he also had a pair of white siik stockings, and alight-coloured, well-powdered bob- wig. He thus strutted (or rather fretted) his hour, or till he got a bite, exhibiting and recommending his waistcoat, its elegant colours and texture, to the passers-by : the beaux were thus decoyed, like giddy moths are attracted by the glare of a fresh- snuffed candle. In this way a 'prentice of Paternoster Row often set the dress to the west end of the town.* Red silk stocking with different-coloured clocks about the ancle., gartered on the outside below the knee, the garterings of silk, representmg Scotch plaid, or else of the most expensive articles, were worn ; even men of mean rank wore shoe-roses and garters worth ^S.f Small shoe-buckles were worn bj^Charles II. when he assumed his fanciful dress in 1666 ; but by 1680 they had become very large, and of the richest metals, often inlaid with diamonds, and were universally worn about the reign of Queen Anne. Shoes and boots with cork soles two inches high, and often higher, of various colours, cut, carved, and stitched, covered with velvet embroidered with gold, were introduced. The boot often made of cloth, with tops as wide as a wallet, fringed boot-hose hanging over almost down to the ancle. The Cromwellites could not bear silks or satins ; they wore clothes of coarser stuffs, of black and sober colours, and many adhered to the old " High-crowned hat with a widish brim, Tied all round with a wrinkled string," in preference to the low-crowned Flemish beaver. " The Puritans occupied the trades of tire-women, (men milliners,) clear starchers, and feather-makers ; giving a rare instance of self-denial in those things, though they lived by administering them to others."! The dress of the upper classes, both male and female, during the reign of William III., (called the deliverer,) differed but little from that which had become fashionable toward the close of Charles TI. : straight-cut coats and waistcoats of equal lengths, reaching to the knee ; breeches fastened beneath the knee,*but hidden by the silk stockings, which were drawn over them ; long neckcloths of Flanders or Spanish pointed lace ; the upper leather of the shoes rose considerably abcve the instep, and * Character of the Beaux, 1696. t Continuator of Stowe. t Ben Jonson. 202 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. fastened by a small strap passing over it, and through a buckle ; the hat bent up or cocked* all round, and trimmed with feathers ; fringed gloves and monstrous periwigs, (which latter it was the fashion to comb publicly,) formed the habits of the beaux. In 1676 calico was made in London, and, w^hen glazed, was used instead of shalloon, to line men's coats. The Bishop of Durham appeared on horseback, at a military review in the king's train, in a lay habit of purple, large jack- boots, cocked hat, and black wig tied behind like a military officer. In George Fox's Journal I find that, when he was at Reading in 1655, he says : " George, Bishop of Bristol, came to him with a sword by his side, for he was a military captain." In Queen Anne's reign the hat was smaller, but more regu- larly cocked on three sides. The wits called them Egham, Staines, and Windsor hats, (these three towns being equi-dis- tant from each other.) The coat-cufis very large, l3ut nearer the wrists. In 1706 came forth the Ramilies hat and wig, with a plaited tail to it, powdered ; some worth £40 : dancing-shoes, red topped, for slow minuets, not less than four inches high ; pearl-coloured silk stockings, fringed gloves, coats faced with black silk to all colours ; the large broad-sword belt discontinued, but the sword-handle was to peep just from under the coat ; blue camlet waistcoats, enormous pockets, embroidered with silver lace. Young dandies discontinued swords, but substituted large oak walking-sticks, with enormous grotesque heads, almost as large and as thick as their own, and nearly as long as a pilgrim's staff. POETIC DESCRIPTION OF A BEAU. " Take one of the brights from St. James's or White's,! 'Twill best be if nigh six feet he prove high ; Then take of fine linen 'nough to wrap him in, Right mechlint must twist round his bosom and wrist, Red heels to his shoes, gold clocks to his hose, With calves quantum suff for a muff; In black velvet breeches let him put all his riches, The« cover his waist with a suit that's well laced ; Tis best if he wears not more than ten hairs (To keep his brains cool) on each side of his skull { Let a queue be prepared twice as long as a yard — Short measure I mean — there is great odds between ; This done, your beau place before a large glass, The recipe to fulfil, mix with powder pulvil,^ And then let it moulder away on his shoulder : Let a sword then be tied up to his left side, *■ In Professor Silliman's Journal, vol. xvii., it is mentioned that the cocked hat formed part of the dress of the ancient idols of Peru. t Two club-houfies. t Lace. <5 Scented powder. HAIR, WIGS, Ai^i) .I2ARDS. 203 And under his arm place his hat as a charm ; Then let him learn dancing, and to ride horses prancing, Italian and French, to drink and to w — h ; Oh ! then with what wonder will he fill the beak-monde here." Mist's Journal, 1773. The dress of the commonalty may be inferred from the fol- lowing description, given in a scarce track, of the disguise of King Charles after the battle of Worcester, 1651 : " He had on a white steeple-crowned hat, without any other lining besides grease, both sides of the brim so doubled up with handling that they looked like two water-spouts ; a leather doublet, full of holes and almost black with grease about the sleeves, collar, and waist ; an old green woodrift" coat, (wood- reeve or woodman,) thread-bare and patched in most places, with a pair of breeches in the same condition, the slops hanging down to the middle of the leg ; hose and shoes of different parishes ; the hose were gray stirrups, much darned, and clout- ed, especially about the knees, under which he had a pair of flannel stockings of his own, the tops of them cut off; his shoes had been cobbled, being pieced both on the soles and seams, and the upper leather so cut and slashed, to fit them to his feet, that they were quite unfit to befriend him either from the water or dirt. This exotic and deformed dress, added to his short hair, cut off by the ears, his face coloured brown with walnut tree leaves, and a rough crooked thorn stick, had so metamor- phosed him that it was hard, even for those who had before been acquainted with his person and conversant with him, to have discovered who he was." — Sir Walter Scott. HAIR, WIGS, AND BEARDS. " Those curious locks, so aptly twined. Whose every hair a soul doth bind, Will change their auburn hue and grow White and cold as winter's snow." Carew. This writer does not seem to be aware that the whiteness of the hair does not altogether depend upon age, for Petrarch's (not to mention many others) hair changed white before he arrived at his twenty-fifth year. The hair seems always to have been an object of embellish- ment, both with males and females, from the earliest period. It is often alluded to in the Scriptures. Job shaved his head 204 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OP GREAT BRITAIN. and rent his mantle when he heard of the destruction of his house.* All the nations of Gothic origin encouraged the growth of their hair and beards. About Anno. 1100 the fashionable men wore their hair very long, and also false curls ; they were called effeminates. A reform was effected during the reign of Henry I., by his hearing a sermon preached against it by Serlo, Arch- bishop of Seez. The clergy in general preached against it, taking for their text the 14th ver. 11th chap, of 1st Book of Corinthians. " During the height of chivalry one of the ceremonies in dubbing a knight was, cutting a lock of hair. Parting with hair was always regarded in the church as a symbol of servitude to God."f " In St. James's church, Garlick Hithe, London, Richard Lions, a wine merchant and lapidary, who was beheaded in Cheapside by Wat Tyler's rebels in 1381, (reign of Richard IT.,) lies buried there. He is represented with his hair rounded at the ears, and curled, and a little forked beard. "J Shaving in some countries was a mark of mourning, as with the Romans ; but in some countries it was the contrary. As a matter of taste, much may be said upon this subject : the expressive eye is undoubtedly made more expressive by a full beard ; but the mouth, the most expressive feature, loses by one in young persons, while in the old, when lankness begins to take place, it keeps up the fulness of that part of the countenance. The glossy appearance of the hair is a strong indication of health : wholesome nourishing food tends to make the hair and beard soft, while a poor miserable diet has the contrary effect. White (on the Regular Gradations) mentions an Italian female whose hair trailed on the ground when she stood upwright. The same observation maybe made on the Greek women. A Prussian soldier had it long enough to reach the ground ; and on an English lady it was six feet long.§ The custom of shaving came into use time of Louis XIII. of France, who ascended the throne clean shaved. Seume, a German author, writes in his journal : " To-day I threw my pow- der apparatus out of the window ; when will come the blessed day that I shall send the shaving apparatus after it .?" In the early part of the seventeenth century Brende writes • " They weare long nayles, which they never cut, and long hair, that was never clipped." George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends, when on his * The hair of a mummy has been found in fine preservation and braided in the fashion of the present day, although no doubt 3000 years old."— Entomological Society. ♦ Mills. t Godwin's Churches. ^ Dr. Good. HAIR, WIGS, AND BEARDS. 205 apostolic tour in 1655, was taken to task about his long hair. He observed : " I take no pride in it, and I did not put it on." It is only important and worth noticing in a separate chapter as being one of the marks by which much persecution and misery was effected. We in these days may say what we will about the overbear- ing and persecutions of the Catholics ; we may " Distort the truth, accumulate the h"e, And pile the pyramid of calumny !" " More stress in those days was laid upon wearing the hair or the beard, and the innocent amusements of the day, with other insignificant customs, than upon the most outrageous offences against humanity and the rights of their fellow-crea- tures." The head-dress and its adornments were conspicuous- ly expressive of the party. In 1572 the ladies had periwigs of all colours. They knew the effect- a good head of hair has upon the other sex ; they knew '* Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare, And beauty draws us with a lock of hair." Howell. (( " The wealthy curled darlings of the Isle" wore their hair in long curled ringlets dangling upon their brawny shoulders ; and, as a compliment to Queen Elizabeth, whose hair was red^ this was with them the fashionable tint ; if not naturally of that colour, it was dyed till it was so. It continued that colour through the early part of the reigns of the Stuarts, the Scotch having their hair mostly of that colour.* The republican party, to make a distinction, cared nothing about the colour ; but they had their hair cropped, and thus acquired the name of Roundheads. Th-e mustache and peaked or dagger beards were common to both as military appendages.j The beards of judges and justices were called the formal cut. The rough and bushy was the shape of the clowns. " Their tawny beards, uncomb'd and sweeping long, All down their knees in shaggy ringlets hung." Mickle. In 1628 the Puritan Prynne wrote against love-locks and * Flaxen hair was much admired by the ancients, for this colour Homer commends Helena and Virgil Dido. The fashionable tint of the present day being black, that may be produced by using a paste composed of three ounces of litharge and one ounce of quick lime mixed with a little water, and applied to it all night ; the lime should be pieviously slacked in the open air, to lessen its causticirty. t See engraving, p. 138 206 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. long womanish hair ; and their pulpits resounded with their anathemas. The ladies added jewels and roses, tied to their hair with ribands. In 1664 the periwig or peruke was reintroduced from the court of Louis XIV., no natural head of hair being considered sufficiently luxuriant. " It is a rule with courtiers of all countries to ape their king or ruler ; thus full-bottomed wigs were introduced, to conceal the Duke of Burgandy's hump back."* "To poise this equally, he bore A paunch of the same bulk before, Which still he had a special care To keep well crammed with thrifty fare." Hudibras. It might be an amusing piece of history (if m)rth the while) to chronicle these conceits. As a few occur to my memory which I have met with in my readings, I will introduce them. Alexander the Great was wry-neched ; this turned the heads of all his courtiers. One of the Dukes of Saxony was pot- bellied; all his courtiers, to keep him in countenance, strutted about with well-stuffed clothes, like so many Falstaffs. Queen Isabella, fair and frail, displayed her neck and shoul- ders, which, I am sorry to say, was too soon adopted by the rest of her sex. O, tempora ! O, mores ! " But I must histoBifi?, and not divine." After this digression, it will be right to notice that the tying of the hair is attributed to the " all-accomplished Bolingbroke." About this time came forth, among all this cranium decora- tion, hair powder^ which was at once one of the filthiest and one of the most troublesome fashions ever introduced, because every man was really for hours in the morning tributary to the dilatoriness or negligence of his hair-dresser coming to dress him. If this was to revive again, which it may do, half the men of business will be ruined, unless the hair-dressers, like the couriers of old,^ are put under martial law. I have read that the origin of powdering the hair commenced with the German gipsy girls, to give them a grotesque appear- ance when dancing. Its discontinuance in England was occa- sioned by William Pitt, who imposed a tax of one guinea per year (about $5) upon those who used it, at the commencement of the French republican wars, which was the only good act that war-loving minister ever caused to be passed. About 1700 there came in fashion the campaign wig, from * Ensor, HAIR, WIGSj AND BEARDS- 207 France. They were made very full, curled eighteen inches in length to the front, with deep locks. There were also riding- wigs, bag-wigs, and night-cap wigs. Some of these were very high priced : one cost ^50 ; it was all white, naturally to save powdering. They were called " si/uerj^eecc5." Hair was very scarce, and much was imported ; but, in consequence of this scarcity, much horse-hair was used. '• Perukes now stuck so firm and steadfast, As the' they were riveted to head fast." Cottox. The following is a copy of a London barber and peruke- maker's sign : " Witness my shop, where now the splendid showe Of princes, heroes, ladies — all a rowe Of waxe and plaistere, rosy rede. Proves how a wig maye grace an emptie heade." The French, who excel in every specie of refinement, had, before the revolution, three hundred different methods of dress- ing, curling, powdering, and ornamenting the hair. No wonder, therefore, if these embellishments excited the fancy of the poets. Two jeu-d''esprits I will introduce, not being aware of their having been printed. SONNET TO AN OLD WIG. " Hail thou who lies so snug in this old box ! With sacred awe I bend before thy shrine ; Oh ! 'tis not closed, nor nail'd, nor lock'd, And hence the bliss of viewing thee is mine. Like my poor aunt, thou hast seen better days ; Well curl'd and powder'd, it was wont thy lot Balls to frequent, and masquerades, and plays, And panoramas, and the Lord knows what. Oft hast thou heard e'en Madame Mara sing, And ofi'times visited my lord mayor's treat ; And once at court was noticed by the king, Thy form was so commodious and so neat. Alas, what art thou now ! a mere old mop, With which our house-maid, Nan, who hates a broom, Dusts all my closets in my liule shop, Then slyly hides thee in this lumber-room. Such is the fate of wigs and mortals too ; After a few more years than thine are past — The Turk, the Christian, Pagan, and the Jew Must all be shut up in a box at last. 208 THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Vain man ! to talk so loud and look sb big ! How small's the difference 'twixt thee and a wig How small indeed ! for speak the truth I must, Wisd turn to dusters and man turns to dust."* Some years pust the writer had an opportunity to peruse a diary of an ancient family, once of some power and consequence ; and could he, without breach of confidence, disclose, it would tend greatly to enrich these pages. But the following jeu' d'esprit on a locket, and the Scriptural account of his wife's party, are too good to remain any longer in obscurity. Being asked why he wore a locket with a lock of hair in it, he replied : *' This lock of gentle Delia's hair I do not without reason wear ; Within the breast on which it's shown That pretty empress keeps a throne — So ensigns on a fort declare The power which holds possession there." 1684. This lady was possessed with considerable talent. She used