Chapter XI: Part 11

The accompanying engraving is taken from a very old print representing the state procession of Queen Elizabeth on her way to open Parliament on 2nd April, 1571. This was the first occasion on which a state coach had ever been used by a Sovereign of England, and it was the only vehicle in the procession; the Lord Keeper, and the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, all attending on horseback. It was drawn by two palfreys, which were decked with trappings of crimson velvet; and, according to an old authority, the name of the driver was William Boonen, a Dutchman, who thus became the first state coachman.

THE ORIGIN OF EATING GOOSE ON MICHAELMAS DAY.

Queen Elizabeth, on her way to Tilbury Fort on the 29th of September, 1589, dined at the ancient seat of Sir Neville Umfreville, near that place; and as British Bess had much rather dine off a high-seasoned and substantial dish than a simple fricassee or ragout, the knight thought proper to provide a brace of fine geese, to suit the palate of his royal guest. After the Queen had dined heartily, she asked for a half-pint bumper of Burgundy, and drank "Destruction to the Spanish Armada." She had but that moment returned the glass to the knight who had done the honours of the table, when the news came (as if the Queen had been possessed with the spirit of prophecy) that the Spanish fleet had been destroyed by a storm. She immediately took another bumper, in order to digest the goose and good news; and was so much pleased with the event, that she every year after, on that day, had the above excellent dish served up. The Court made it a custom, and the people the same, ever since.

PRE-ADAMITE BONE CAVERNS.

Among the wonders of the world, the bone caves of the pre-Adamite period deserve a prominent place. It is to this period that the extensive remains of Mammiferae found in the strata of the Pampas of Buenos Ayres, and in the caverns which are scattered in such vast numbers over the continents of Europe and America, and even in Australia, are to be ascribed. We regret that we can find room for a description of only one of these caverns, but it is a most extensive one, and among the first which attracted attention. It is situated at Baylenreuth, in Franconia, and the engraving which we here give represents a section of it.

Pre-Adamite Bone Cavern.]

The entrance of this cave, about seven feet in height, is placed on the face of a perpendicular rock, and leads to a series of chambers from fifteen to twenty feet in height, and several hundred feet in extent, in a deep chasm. The cavern is perfectly dark, and the icicles and pillars of stalactite reflected by the torches present a highly picturesque effect. The floor is literally paved with bones and fossil teeth, and the pillars and corbels of stalactite also contain osseous remains. Cuvier showed that three-fourths of the remains in this and like caverns were those of bears, the remainder consisting of bones of hyenas, tigers, wolves, foxes, gluttons, weasels, and other Carnivora.

HOW DISTANT AGES ARE CONNECTED BY INDIVIDUALS.

Mr. Robert Chambers, in a curious and interesting chapter in the "Edinburgh Journal," entitled "Distant Ages connected by Individuals," states, in 1847, "There is living, in the vicinity of Aberdeen, a gentleman who can boast personal acquaintance with an individual who had seen and conversed with another who actually had been present at the battle of Flodden Field!" Marvellous as this may appear, it is not the less true. The gentleman to whom allusion is made was personally acquainted with the celebrated Peter Garden, of Auchterless, who died in 1775, at the reputed age of 131, although there is reason to believe that he was several years older. Peter, in his young days, was servant to Garden, of Troup, whom he accompanied on a journey through the north of England, where he saw and conversed with the famous Henry Jenkins, who died 1670, at the age of 169. Jenkins was born in 1501, and was of course twelve years old at the period of the battle of Flodden Field; and, on that memorable occasion, bore arrows to an English nobleman whom he served in the capacity of page. "When we think of such things," adds Mr. Chambers, "the ordinary laws of nature seem to have undergone some partial relaxation; and the dust of ancient times almost becomes living flesh before our eyes."

THE EARTHQUAKE AT LISBON.

On the 1st of November, 1755, a few minutes before 10 a.m. the inhabitants of Lisbon were alarmed by several violent vibrations of the ground which then rose and fell several times with such force that hundreds of houses came toppling into the streets, crushing thousands of people. At the same time the air grew pitchy dark from the clouds of dust that rose from the crumbling edifices. Many persons ran down to the river side, in the hope of escaping to the shipping; but the water suddenly rose some yards perpendicularly, and swept away everything before it. The quay, with nearly 200 human beings standing on it, all at once disappeared. Large ships, which were lying high and dry, floated off, and were dashed against each other or carried down the river. In every direction the surface of the water was overspread with boats, timber, casks, household furniture and corpses. The scene on dry land was yet more horrifying. Churches, government buildings, and private houses, were all involved in the same ruin. Many thousands of trembling fugitives had collected in the great square, when it was discovered that flames were spreading in every quarter. Taking advantage of the universal panic and confusion, a band of miscreants had fired the city. Nothing could be done to stay the progress of the flames, and for eight days they raged unchecked. Whatever the earthquake had spared fell a prey to this new calamity. "It is not to be expressed by human tongue," writes an eye-witness, "how dreadful and how awful it was to enter the city after the fire was abated; and looking upwards, one was struck with horror in beholding dead bodies, by six or seven in a heap, crushed to death, half buried and half burnt; and if one went through the broad places or squares, nothing was to be met with but people bewailing their misfortunes, wringing their hands, and crying, 'The world is at an end.' If you go out of the city, you behold nothing but barracks, or tents made with canvass or ship's sails, where the poor inhabitants lye."

Another eye-witness is still more graphic. "The terror of the people was beyond description: nobody wept,--it was beyond tears;--they ran hither and thither, delirious with horror and astonishment--beating their faces and breasts--crying '_Misericordia_, the world's at an end;' mothers forgot their children, and ran about loaded with crucifixed images. Unfortunately, many ran to the churches for protection; but in vain was the sacrament exposed; in vain did the poor creatures embrace the altars; images, priests, and people, were buried in one common ruin. * * * The prospect of the city was deplorable. As you passed along the streets you saw shops of goods with the shopkeepers buried with them, some alive crying out from under the ruins, others half buried, others with broken limbs, in vain begging for help; they were passed by crowds without the least notice or sense of humanity. The people lay that night in the fields, which equalled, if possible, the horrors of the day; the city all in flames; and if you happened to forget yourself with sleep, you were awakened by the tremblings of the earth and the howlings of the people. Yet the moon shone, and the stars, with unusual brightness. Long wished-for day at last appeared, and the sun rose with great splendour on the desolated city. In the morning, some of the boldest, whose houses were not burnt, ventured home for clothes, the want of which they had severely felt in the night, and a blanket was now become of more value than a suit of silk."

STRANGE CURE FOR RHEUMATISM.

Bridget Behan, of Castle-waller, in the county of Wicklow, Ireland, retained the use of all her powers of body and mind to the close of her long life, 110 years, in 1807. About six years preceding her death she fell down stairs, and broke one of her thighs. Contrary to all expectation, she not only recovered from the effects of the accident, but actually, from thence, walked stronger on this leg, which, previously to the accident, had been a little failing, than she had done for many years before. Another remarkable circumstance relating to this fracture was, that she became perfectly cured of a chronic rheumatism of long standing, and from which on particular occasions she had suffered a good deal of affliction. A short while before her death she cut a new tooth.

SILVER TEA SERVICE WHICH BELONGED TO WILLIAM PENN.

Silver Tea Service.]

Articles of ordinary use, however small may be their intrinsic value, which have once been the property of men who have been good and great--how rare the conjunction!--are always invested with a peculiar interest. They often afford a clue to the tastes of those who once possessed them. On this account we have great pleasure in laying before our readers a representation of the silver tea-service which belonged to the celebrated William Penn, the founder and legislator of Pennsylvania, whom Montesquieu denominates the modern Lycurgus. He was the son of Admiral Penn, was born at London in 1644, and was educated at Christchurch, Oxford. At college he imbibed the principles of Quakerism, and having endeavoured to disseminate them by preaching in public, he was thrice thrown into prison. It was during his first imprisonment that he wrote "_No Cross, no Crown_." In March, 1680-81, he obtained from Charles II. the grant of that territory which now bears the name of Pennsylvania. In 1682 he embarked for his new colony; and in the following year he founded Philadelphia. He returned to England in 1684, and died in July, 1718. He was a philosopher, a legislator, an author, the friend of man, and, above all, a pious Christian. In addition to the reasons above given, the sketch of the tea-service is an object of curiosity, as showing the state of silversmith's work in England, at the close of the seventeenth century, for articles of domestic use.

CURIOUS FIGURES ON A SMALL SHRINE.

Soldiers Watching the Body of Our Lord.]

The figures here given are copied from a curious little bronze, strongly gilt, which was engraved in the "Gentleman's Magazine" for 1833, accompanied with a description, by A. J. Kempe, Esq., the author of the letterpress to "Stothard's Monumental Effigies," whose intimate knowledge in these matters enables him to well authenticate dates; and he considers this relic may safely be attributed to the early part of the twelfth century; it was discovered in the Temple Church, and had originally formed a portion of a pyx, or small shrine, in which the consecrated host was kept. Our engraving is more than half the size of the original, which represents the soldiers watching the body of Our Lord, who was, in mystical form, supposed to be enshrined in the pyx. They wear scull-caps of the Phrygian form, with the nasal like those in the Bayeux Tapestry; and the mailles or rings of the hauberk appear, as in the armour there, sewn down, perhaps, on a sort of gambeson, but not interlaced. They bear kite-shaped shields, raised to an obtuse angle in the centre, and having large projecting bosses: the third of these figures is represented beside the cut in profile, which will enable the reader more clearly to detect its peculiarities. On two of these shields are some approaches to armorial bearings; the first is marked with four narrow bendlets; the second is fretted, the frets being repeated in front of his helmet, or _chapelle de fer_: all the helmets have the nasal. A long tunic, bordered, and in one instance ornamented with cross-lines, or chequered, appears beneath the tunic. The sword is very broad, and the spear carried by the first figure, obtuse in the head,--a mark of its antiquity. The shoes are admirable illustrations of that passage of Geoffry of Malmesbury, where, representing the luxury of costume in which the English indulged at the time when Henry I. began his reign, he says: "Then was there flowing hair, and extravagant dress; and then was invented the fashion of shoes with curved points: then the model for young men was to rival women in delicacy of person, to mimic their gait, to walk with loose gesture, half-naked." The curvature of the points of the shoes in the little relic before us, in conformity with the custom censured by Malmesbury, is quite remarkable. One turns up, another down; one to the left, another to the right; and scarcely any two in the same direction.

THE QUEEN'S SHARKS.

The harbour of Trincomalee swarms with gigantic sharks, and strange to relate, they are all under British protection; and if any one is found molesting or injuring them, the fine is L10, or an imprisonment! How this ridiculous custom originated, it is hard to say; but we are told, that in the early days of British conquest in the East, sailors were apt to desert, and seek refuge in the then inaccessible wilds of the interior; and of later years, when civilisation has unbarred the gates of Cingalese commerce to all nations of the world, the soldiers of the regiment stationed at Trincomalee, discontented with their lot in life, were wont to escape from the thraldom of the service, by swimming off to American and other foreign vessels, preferring chance, under a strange flag, to a hard certainty under their own. Thus the Queen's sharks are duly protected as a sort of water-police for the prevention of desertion both from the army and navy.

OLD VERSES ON QUEEN ELIZABETH.

The following quaint and curious verses are taken from a very old volume, entitled _A Crowne Garland of Goulden Roses, Gathered out of England's Royall Garden, &c., &c. By Richard Johnson_.

A SHORT AND SWEET SONNET MADE BY ONE OF THE MAIDES OF HONOR UPON THE DEATHE OF QUEENE ELIZABETH, WHICH SHE SOWED UPON A SAMPLER IN RED SILKE.

_To a new tune, or "Phillida flouts me."_

Gone is Elizabeth,
Whom we have lov'd so deare;
She our kind mistres was
Full foure and forty yeare.

England she govern'd well,
Not to be blamed;
Flanders she govern'd well
And Ireland tamed.

France she befrended,
Spaine she hath foiled,
Papists rejected,
And the Pope spoyled.

To princes powerfull,
To the world vertuous,
To her foes mercifull,
To her subjects gracious.

Her soule is in heaven,
The world keeps her glory,
Subjects her good deeds,
And so ends my story.

RANELAGH.

Ranelagh, of which no traces now remain, was situated on part of Chelsea Hospital garden, between Church Row and the river, to the east of the Hospital. It takes its name from a house erected in 1691, by Viscount Ranelagh. This house, in which the Viscount had resided from the period of its being built, was sold in 1733 to an eminent builder named Timbrell for L3,200, who advertised it for sale in the following year, as a freehold with garden, kitchen garden, and offices, and a smaller house and garden with fruit trees, coach-houses, &c., &c. These were the first vicissitudes of Ranelagh, preparatory to its conversion into a place of public amusement.

Walpole, in one of his entertaining letters to Mann, April 22nd, 1742, thus speaks of the gardens, which were then unfinished:--

"I have been breakfasting this morning at Ranelagh Garden; they have built an immense ampitheatre, with balconies full of little alehouses; it is in rivalry to Vauxhall, and cost above twelve thousand pounds. The building is not finished, but they got great sums by people going to see it and breakfasting in the house: there were yesterday no less than three hundred and eighty persons, at eighteen-pence a piece." Again, under the date May 26th, 1742, he writes to his friend as follows:--

"Two nights ago, Ranelagh Gardens were opened at Chelsea; the prince, princess, duke, much nobility, and much mob besides were there. There is a vast ampitheatre, finely gilt, painted, and illuminated; into which everybody that loves eating, drinking, staring, or crowding, is admitted for twelve pence. The building and disposition of the gardens cost sixteen thousand pounds. Twice a week there are to be ridottos at guinea tickets, for which you are to have a supper and music. I was there last night, but did not find the joy of it. Vauxhall is a little better, for the garden is pleasanter, and one goes by water."

"The only defect in the elegance and beauty of the ampitheatre at Ranelagh," says the _London Chronicle_ for August, 1763, "is an improper and inconvenient orchestra, which, breaking into the area of that superb room about twenty feet farther than it ought to do, destroys the symmetry of the whole, and diffuses the sound of music with such irregular rapidity, that the harmonious articulations escape the nicest ear when placed in the most commodious attitude; it also hurts the eye upon your first entry.

"To remedy these defects, a plan has been drawn by Messrs. Wale and Gwin, for adding a new orchestra, which being furnished with a well-proportioned curvature over it, will contract into narrower bounds the modulations of the voice, and render every note more distinctly audible. It will, by its form, operate upon the musical sounds, in the same manner as concave glasses affect the rays of light, by collecting them into a focus. The front of this orchestra being planned so as to range parallel to the balustrade, the whole area also will be disencumbered of every obstruction that might incommode the audience in their circular walk. There is likewise provision made in this plan for a stage capable of containing 30 or 40 performers, to officiate as chorus-singers, or otherwise assist in giving additional solemnity on any extraordinary occasion."

"At Ranelagh House, on the 12th of May, 1767," says the _Gentleman's Magazine_, "were performed (in the new orchestra) the much admired catches and glees, selected from the curious collection of the Catch Club; being the first of the kind publickly exhibited in this or any other kingdom. The entertainments consisted of the favourite catches and glees, composed by the most eminent masters of the last and present age, by a considerable number of the best vocal and instrumental performers. The choral and instrumental parts were added, to give the the catches and glees their proper effect in so large an amphitheatre; being composed for that purpose by Dr. Arne."

The Rotunda, or amphitheatre, was 185 feet in diameter, with an orchestra in the centre, and tiers of boxes all round. The chief amusement was promenading (as it was called) round and round the circular area below, and taking refreshments in the boxes while the orchestra and vocalists executed different pieces of music. It was a kind of 'Vauxhall under cover,' warmed with coal fires. The rotunda is said to have been projected by Lacy, the patentee of Drury Lane Theatre. "The _coup d'oeil_," Dr. Johnson declared, "was the finest thing he had ever seen."

The last great event in the history of Ranelagh was the installation ball of the knights of the Bath, in 1802, shortly after which the place was pulled down.

THE FIRST EAST INDIA HOUSE.

The First East India House.]

The tradition is, that the East India Company, incorporated December 31st, 1600, first transacted their business in the great room of the Nag's Head Inn, opposite St. Botolph's Church, Bishopsgate Street. The maps of London, soon after the Great Fire of 1666, place the India House on a part of its present site in Leadenhall Street. Here originally stood the mansion of Alderman Kerton, built in the reign of Edward VI., rebuilt on the accession of Elizabeth, and enlarged by its next purchaser, Sir W. Craven, Lord Mayor in 1610. Here was born the great Lord Craven, who, in 1701, leased his house and a tenement in Lime Street to the Company at L100 a year. A scarce Dutch etching, in the British Museum, of which the annexed engraving is a correct copy, shows this house to have been half timbered, its lofty gable surmounted with two dolphins and a figure of a mariner, or, as some say, of the first governor; beneath are mecrhant ships at sea, the royal arms, and those of the Company. This grotesque structure was taken down in 1726, and upon its site was erected the old East India House, portions of which yet remain; although the present stone front, 200 feet long, and a great part of the house, were built in 1798 and 1799, and subsequently enlarged by Cockerell, R.A., and Wilkins, R.A.

ADVERTISEMENTS IN THE LAST CENTURY.

The following strange advertisements have been culled at random from magazines and newspapers _circa_ 1750. They give us a good idea of the manners and tastes of that period:--

"Whereas a tall young Gentleman above the common size, dress'd in a yellow-grounded flowered velvet (supposed to be a Foreigner), with a Solitair round his neck and a glass in his hand, was narrowly observed and much approved of by a certain young lady at the last Ridotto. This is to acquaint the said young Gentleman, if his heart is entirely disengaged, that if he will apply to A. B. at Garaway's Coffee House in Exchange Alley, he may be directed to have an interview with the said young lady, which may prove greatly to his advantage. Strict secresy on the Gentleman's side will be depended on."

"A Lady who had on a Pink-coloured Capuchin, edged with Ermine, a black Patch near her right eye, sat in a front seat in the next Side Box but one to the Stage on Wednesday night at Drury Lane Playhouse; if that Lady is single and willing to treat on terms of honour and generosity of a married state, it would be deemed a favour to receive a line directed to C. D., at Clifford's Inn Old Coffee House, how she may be address'd, being a serious affair."

"To be seen this week, in a large commodious room at the George Inn, in Fenchurch-street, near Aldgate, the Porcupine Man and his Son, which has given such great satisfaction to all that ever saw them: their solid quills being not to be numbered nor credited till seen; but give universal satisfaction to all that ever saw them; the youth being allowed by all to be of a beautiful and fine complexion, and great numbers resort daily to see them."

"A Bullfinch, that pipes 'Britons rouse up your great magnanimity,' at command, also talks, is to be sold at the Cane Shop facing New Broad street, Moorfields; likewise to be sold, two Starlings that whistle and talk extremely plain.

"Great variety of fine long Walking Canes."

THEODORA DE VERDION.

This singular woman was born in 1744, at Leipsic, in Germany, and died at her lodgings, in Upper Charles-street, Hatton Garden, London, 1802. She was the only daughter of an architect of the name of Grahn, who erected several edifices in the city of Berlin, particularly the Church of St. Peter's. She wrote an excellent hand, and had learned the mathematics, the French, Italian, and English languages, and possessed a complete knowledge of her native tongue. Upon her arrival in England she commenced teaching of the German language, under the name of Dr. John de Verdion.

In her exterior, she was extremely grotesque, wearing a bag wig, a large cocked hat, three or four folio books under one arm, and an umbrella under the other, her pockets completely filled with small volumes, and a stick in her right hand. She had a good knowledge of English books; many persons entertained her for her advice relative to purchasing them. She obtained a comfortable subsistence from teaching and translating foreign languages, and by selling books chiefly in foreign literature. She taught the Duke of Portland the German language, and was always welcomed to his house, the Prussian Ambassador to our Court received from her a knowledge of the English language; and several distinguished noblemen she frequently visited to instruct them in the French tongue; she also taught Edward Gibbon, the celebrated Roman Historian, the German language, previous to his visiting that country. This extraordinary female has never been known to have appeared in any other but the male dress, since her arrival in England, where she remained upwards of thirty years; and upon occasions she would attend court, decked in very superb attire; and was well remembered about the streets of London; and particularly frequent in attending book auctions, and would buy to a large amount, sometimes a coachload. Here her singular figure generally made her the jest of the company. Her general purchase at these sales was odd volumes, which she used to carry to other booksellers, and endeavour to sell, or exchange for other books. She was also a considerable collector of medals and foreign coins of gold and silver; but none of these were found after her decease. She frequented the Furnival's Inn Coffee-house, in Holborn, dining there almost every day; she would have the first of every thing in season, and was as strenuous for a large quantity, as she was dainty in the quality of what she chose for her table. At times, it is well-known, she could dispense with three pounds of solid meat; and we are very sorry to say, she was much inclined to the dreadful sin of drunkenness. Her death was occasioned by falling down stairs, and she was, after much affliction, at length compelled to make herself known to a German physician, who prescribed for her, when the disorder she had, turned to a dropsy, defied all cure, and finished the life of so remarkable a female.

DRIVING STAGS LIKE CATTLE.

Buried at Disley, Cheshire, June 2nd, 1753, Mr. Joseph Watson, in the 105th year of his age. He was born at Moseley Common, in the parish of Leigh, in the county of Lancaster; and married his wife from Etchells, near Manchester, in the said county. They were an happy couple 72 years. She died in the 94th year of her age. He was park-keeper to the late Peter Leigh, Esq., of Lime, and his father used to drive and show red deer to most of the nobility and gentry in that part of the kingdom, to the general satisfaction of all who ever saw them; for he could have driven and commanded them at his pleasure, as if they had been common horned-cattle. In the reign of Queen Anne, Squire Leigh was at Macclesfield, in Cheshire, in company with a number of gentlemen, amongst whom was Sir Roger Mason, who was then one of the members for the said county; they being merry and free, Squire Leigh said his keeper should drive 12 brace of stags to the Forest of Windsor, a present to the Queen. Sir Roger opposed it with a wager of 500 guineas, saying that neither his keeper, nor any other person, could drive 12 brace of red deer from Lime Park to Windsor Forest on any account. So Squire Leigh accepted the wager from Sir Roger, and immediately sent a messenger to Lime for his keeper, who directly came to his master, who told him he must immediately prepare himself to drive 12 brace of stags to Windsor Forest, for a wager of 500 guineas. He gave the Squire, his master, this answer, that he would, at his command, drive him 12 brace of stags to Windsor Forest, or to any part of the kingdom by his worship's direction, or he would lose his life and fortune. He undertook, and accomplished this most astonishing performance, which is not to be equalled in the annals of the most ancient history. He was a man of low stature, not bulky, of a fresh complexion, pleasant countenance, and he believed he had drank a gallon of malt liquor a day, one day with another, for above sixty years of his time.

ECCENTRIC WILL.

The following will, as an exhibition of strange eccentricity, is not inappropriate to our pages. Mr. Tuke, of Wath, near Rotherham, who died in 1810, bequeathed one penny to every child that attended his funeral (there came from 600 to 700); 1s. to every poor woman in Wath; 10s. 6d. to the ringers to ring one peal of grand bobs, which was to strike off while they were putting him into the grave. To seven of the oldest navigators, one guinea for puddling him up in his grave. To his natural daughter, L4 4s. per annum. To his old and faithful servant, Joseph Pitt, L21 per annum. To an old woman who had for eleven years tucked him up in bed, L1 1s. only. Forty dozen penny loaves to be thrown from the church leads at twelve o'clock on Christmas day for ever. Two handsome brass chandeliers for the church, and L20 for a set of new chimes.

EXTRAORDINARY FROST.

As an instance of great rarity in England of the severity of a frost, it is worth notice, that in January, 1808, the rain froze as it fell, and in London the umbrellas were so stiffened that they could not be closed. Birds had their feathers frozen so that they could not fly, and many were picked up as they lay helpless on the ground.

ANCIENT SNUFF-BOXES.

These ancient snuff-boxes furnish proof of the love of our ancestors for the titillating powder. An admiring writer of the last century, reflecting on the curious and precious caskets in which snuff was then imprisoned, asks--

"What strange and wondrous virtue must there be,
And secret charm, O snuff! concealed in thee,
That bounteous nature and inventive art,
Bedecking thee thus all their powers exert."

Ancient Snuff Boxes.]

But every age, since snuff was in use, appears to have cherished great regard for the beauty and costliness of its snuff boxes, and even at the present time, the snuff box is the recognised vehicle of the highest honour a corporation can bestow. Those here represented are not so much boxes as bottles. They are richly and elaborately ornamented with sporting subjects, and no doubt once belonged to some famous personage. Judging of their very antique form and figures, we are inclined to think they must have been in use earlier than it is generally supposed that snuff was introduced into this country.

SEEING THE FIRST AND THE LAST OF TWO GENERATIONS.

Frances Barton, of Horsley, Derbyshire, died 1789, aged 107. She followed the profession of a midwife during the long period of eighty years. Her husband had been sexton of the parish seventy years; so that this aged pair frequently remarked, that _she_ had twice brought into the world, and _he_ had twice buried, the whole parish. Her faculties, her memory in particular, were remarkably good, so that she was enabled well to remember the Revolution in 1688, and being present at a merry making on that glorious occasion.

THE EARLIEST HACKNEY-COACH.

The Earliest Hackney-Coach.]

The above is a correct representation of one of the earliest forms in which coaches for hire were first made. They were called Hackney, not, as is erroneously supposed, from their being first used to carry the citizens of London to their villas in the suburb of Hackney, but from the word "hack," which signifies to offer any article for sale or hire. Hackney coaches were first established in 1634, and the event is thus mentioned in one of _Strafford's Letters_, dated April in that year:--

"One Captain Bailey hath erected some four _Hackney-coaches_, put his men in livery, and appointed them to stand, at the May-pole in the Strand, giving them instructions at what rates to carry men into several parts of the town, where all day they may be had. Other hackney-men seeing this way, they flock to the same place, and perform their journeys at the same rate. So that sometimes there is twenty of them together, which disperse up and down; that they and others are to be had everywhere, as watermen are to be had by the water-side. * * * Everybody is much pleased with it."

A UNIQUE LIBRARY.

A singular library existed in 1535, at Warsenstein, near Cassel; the books composing it, or rather the substitutes for them, being made of wood, and every one of them is a specimen of some different tree. The back is formed of its bark, and the sides are constructed of polished pieces of the same stock. When put together, the whole forms a box; and inside of it are stored the fruit, seed, and leaves, together with the moss which grows on the trunk, and the insects which feed upon the tree; every volume corresponds in size, and the collection altogether has an excellent effect.

DRESS FORTY YEARS AGO.

Caricature, even by its very exaggeration, often gives us a better idea of many things than the most exact sketches could do. This is more especially the case with respect to dress, a proof of which is here given by the three caricatures which we now lay before our readers. They are copied from plates published at the period to which they refer, and how completely do they convey to us a notion of the fashions of the day!

Caricature of Dress.]

With the peace of 1815 commenced a new era in English history; and within the few years immediately preceding and following it, English society went through a remarkably rapid change; a change, as far as we can see, of a decidedly favourable kind. The social condition of public sentiment and public morals, literature, and science, were all improved. As the violent internal agitation of the country during the regency increased the number of political caricatures and satirical writings, so the succession of fashions, varying in extravagance, which characterised the same period, produced a greater number of caricatures on dress and on fashionable manners than had been seen at any previous period. During the first twelve or fifteen years of the present century, the general character of the costume appears not to have undergone any great change. The two figures here given represent the mode in 1810.

A few years later the fashionable costume furnished an extraordinary contrast with that just represented. The waist was again shortened, as well as the frock and petticoat, and, instead of concealment, it seemed to be the aim of the ladies to exhibit to view as much of the body as possible. The fops of 1819 and 1820 received the name of dandies, the ladies that of dandizettes. The accompanying cut is from a rather broadly caricatured print of a dandizette of the year 1819. It must be considered only as a type of the general character of the foppish costume of the period; for in no time was there ever such a variety of forms in the dresses of both sexes as at the period alluded to.

We give with the same reservation, a figure of a dandy, from a caricature of the same year. The number of caricatures on the dandies and dandizettes, and on their fopperies and follies, during the years 1819, 1820, and 1821, was perfectly astonishing.

FASHIONABLE DISFIGUREMENT.

Patching of the Face.]

The extent to which people may be led to disfigure themselves by a blind compliance with the fashion of the day, was never more strikingly displayed than in the custom of dotting the face with black patches of different patterns. It might easily be supposed that the annexed sketch is a caricature, but such is not the case; it is a correct likeness of a lady of the time of Charles the First, with her face in full dress. Patching was much admired during the reign of that sovereign, and for several succeeding years. Some authors think that the fashion came originally from Arabia. No sooner was it brought to England and France, than it became an absolute _fureur_. In the former country, old and young, the maiden of sixteen and the grey-haired grandmama, covered their faces with these black spots, shaped like suns, moons, stars, hearts, crosses, and lozenges; and some even, as in the instance before us, carried the mode to the extravagant extent of shaping the patches to represent a carriage and horses.

A REMARKABLE OLD MAN.

Mr. Ingleby, of Battle Abbey, Sussex, died 1798, aged 117. He had been for upwards of ninety-five years a domestic in the family of Lady Webster. The following narrative of this remarkable man is by a gentleman who visited him in the autumn of 1797:--

"To my great surprise," he says, "I found Mr. Ingleby in a situation very far removed from the luxuries of life, or the place which might be deemed necessary for his years. He was in an antique outbuilding, near the Castle Gate, where his table was spread under an arched roof; nearly the whole of the building being filled with billet-wood, and scarcely affording room for the oaken bench on which this wonder of longevity was reclining by the fire. His dress was a full-bottomed wig, and a chocolate-coloured suit of clothes with yellow buttons. His air and demeanour was pensive and solemn; though there was nothing in his look which impressed the mind with the idea of a person more than fourscore years old, except a slight falling of the under jaw, which bespoke a more advanced age. We were introduced by a matron, who served as a sort of interpreter between us--Mr. Ingleby's deafness not permitting any regular conversation. When the nurse explained our errand, he replied, in a very distinct but hollow voice, 'I am much obliged to the gentlemen for the favour they do me; but I am not well, and unable to converse with them.' He then turned his face to the higher part of the bench on which he reclined, and was silent. In each of his withered hands he held a short, rude, beechen walking stick, about three feet high, by the help of which he was accustomed not only to walk about the extensive premises in which he passed the most part of his life, but also to take his little rambles about the town; and once (for, occasionally, the old gentleman was irascible,) he set out on a pedestrian excursion to Hastings, _to inquire for another situation in service_, because his patroness desired him to be more attentive to personal neatness. It is but justice to the lady alluded to, to add, that the uncouth abode in which Mr. Ingleby dwelt was the only one in which he could be persuaded to reside, and which long familiarity had rendered dear to him. The choice appeared very extraordinary; but such persons, in their conduct, are seldom governed by the fixed and settled rules by which human life is ordinarily regulated."

CURIOUS MANUSCRIPT.

A very curious manuscript was presented to the Antiquarian Society of Yorkshire in 1828. It contains sundry rules to be observed by the household of Henry the 8th, and enjoins the following singular particulars:--"None of his Highness's attendants to _steal_ any locks, or keys, tables, forms, cupboards, or other furniture, out of noblemen's, or gentlemen's, houses where he goes to visit. No herald, minstrel, falconer, or other, to bring to the Court any boy or _rascal_; nor to keeps lads or rascals in Court to do their business for them. Master cooks not to employ such scullions as shall go about _naked, or lie all night on the ground_ before the kitchen fire. Dinner to be at _ten_, and supper at _four_. The Knight Marshal to take care that all such unthrifty and common women as follow the Court be banished. The proper officers are, between six and seven o'clock every morning, to make the fire in and _straw_ his Highness's Privy Chamber. Officers of his Highness's Privy Chamber to keep secret every thing said or done, leaving hearkening or inquiring where the King is or goes, be it early or late, without grudging, mumbling, or talking of the King's past time, late or early going to bed, or any other matter. Coal only allowed to the King's, Queen's, and Lady Mary's Chambers. The Queen's Maids of Honour to have a chet loaf, a manchet, a _gallon of ale_, and a chine of beef, for their _breakfasts_. Among the fishes for the table is a porpoise, and if it is too big for a _horse-load_, a further allowance is made for it to the purveyor." The manuscript ends with several proclamations. One is "to take up and punish strong and mighty beggars, rascals, and vagabonds, who hang about the Court."

WONDERFUL ESCAPE.

In 1809, a barge was going along the new cut from Paddington with casks of spirits and barrels of gunpowder. It is supposed that one of the crew bored a hole in a powder-barrel by mistake, meaning to steal spirits; the gimlet set fire to the powder, and eleven other barrels were driven to the distance of 150 yards; but only the single barrel exploded.

DAVID HUME ON HIS OWN DEATH.

The letter which we here lay before our readers was addressed by David Hume to the Countess de Boufflers, and is supposed to be the last that was ever written by that great historian, as he died only five days afterwards, August 25th. With what calmness did that illustrious philosopher contemplate the rapid approach of his own death!

The letter was torn at the places where the words are printed in italics:

"Edinburgh, 20th of August, 1776.

"Tho' I am certainly within a few weeks, dear Madam, and perhaps within a few days, of my own death, I could not forbear being struck with the death of the Prince of Conti, so great a loss in every particular. My reflection carried me immediately to your situation in this melancholy incident. What a difference to you in your whole plan of life! Pray, write me some particulars; but in such terms that you need not care, in _event_ of decease, into whose hands your letter may fall.

"_My_ distemper is a diarrhoea, or disorder in my bowels, which has _been_ gradually undermining me these two years; but within these six months has been visibly hastening me to my end. I see death approach gradually without any anxiety or regret. I salute you with great affection and regard for the last time.

"DAVID HUME."

SCRIPTURAL ANTIQUITIES.

The rude musical instruments here represented, have been collected by modern travellers, and are but little changed from the ancient forms. The drum or timbrel marked A, is made of thin baked clay, something in the shape of a bottle, with parchment stretched over the wider part. On being struck with the finger, this instrument makes a remarkably loud sound. These relics are lodged in the London Scriptural Museum, and are all ticketed with the texts they serve to illustrate. This arrangement is very judicious, and gives a great additional interest to the sacred objects while under inspection.

The distaff was the instrument which wrought the materials for the robes of the Egyptian Kings, and for the "little coat" which Hannah made for Samuel; by it, too, were wrought the cloths, and other fabrics used in Solomon's temple. By reference to the above engraving, it will be seen that nothing can be more simple than this ancient instrument, which is a sort of wooden skewer, round which the flax is wrapped; it is then spun on the ground in the same manner as a boy's top, and the thread wrought off, and wound upon a reel shown in the foreground of the picture. "Querns," or stone hand-mills of various sizes, similar to that represented in our engraving, have been repeatedly found in connection with Roman, Saxon, and other ancient remains in this country. They are still to be met with in constant use over the greater part of India, in Africa, and also those districts of the East which are more particularly associated with Holy Writ. It may be worth while to mention that this description of mill is an improvement upon the method of simply crushing the corn laid on a flat stone with another held in the hand. The "Quern" is a hard stone roughly rounded, and partly hollowed, into which another stone, which has a handle, is loosely fitted. The corn required to be ground is placed in the hollow receptacle, and the inner stone is moved rapidly round, and, in course of time, by immense labour, the wheat &c. is ground into flour. The Scripture prophecies mention that of two women grinding at the mill, one shall be left, and the other taken--the two-handled mill will explain the meaning of this passage.

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.

The following curious table is extracted _literatim_ from Arthur Hopton's _Concordancie of Years_, 1615:--

1077.--A blazing star on Palm Sunday, nere the sun.

1100.--The yard (measure) made by Henry I.

1116.--The moone seemed turned into bloud.

1128.--Men wore haire like women.

1180.--Paris in France, and London in Englande, paued, and
thatching in both left, because all Luberick was spoiled
thereby with fire.

1189.--Robin Hood and Little John lived. This yeare London
obtained to be gouerned by sheriffes and maiors.

1205.--By reason of a frost from January to March wheate was sold
for a marke the quarter, which before was at 12 pence. _Anno
Regni_ 6. John.

1209.--London bridge builded with stone; and this yeare the
citizens of London had a grant to choose them a maior.

1227.--The citizens of London had libertie to hunt a certain
distance about the citie, and to passe toll-free through
England.

1231.--Thunder lasted fifteen daies; beginning the morrow after
St. Martin's day.

1233.--Four sunnes appeared, beside the true sunne, of a red colour.

1235.--The Jews of Norwich stole a boy and circumcised him,
minding to have crucified him at Easter.

1247.--The king farmed Queene-hiue for fifty pounds per annum, to
the citizens.

1252.--Great tempests upon the sea, and fearful; and this year the
king (Henry III.) granted, that wheretofore the citizens of
London were to present the maior before the king, wheresoeuer
he were, that now barons of the exchequer should serue.

1292.--The Jewes corrupting England with vsury, had first a badge
giuen them to weare, that they might be knowne, and after were
banished to the number of 150,000 persons.

1313.--This yeare the king of France burned all his leporous and
pocky people, as well men as women: for that he supposed they
had poysoned the waters, which caused his leprosie. About this
time, also, the Jews had a purpose to poyson all the
Christians, by poysoning all their springs.

1361.--Men and beasts perished in diuers places with thunder and
lightning, and fiends were seene speake unto men as they
trauelled.

1372.--The first bailiffes, in Shrewsbury.

1386.--The making of gunnes found; and rebels in Kent and Essex, who
entred London, beheaded all lawyers, and burnt houses and all
bookes of law.

1388.--Picked shooes, tyed to their knees with siluer chaines were
vsed. And women with long gownes rode in side-saddles, like
the queene, that brought side-saddles first to England; for
before they rode astrid.

1401.--Pride exceeding in monstrous apparrell.

1411.--Guildhall in London begun.

1417.--A decree for lantherne and candle-light in London.

1427.--Rain from the 1st of Aprill to Hollontide.

1510.--St. John's College in Cambridge being an ancient hostell, was
conuerted to a college by the executors of the Countesse of
Richmond and Derby, and mother of Henry VII., in this yeare, as
her will was.

1552.--The new service book in English.

1555.--The first use of coaches in England.

1606.--The cawsies about London taken down.

1610.--Britaines Bursse builded. Hix Hall builded. Aldgate builded
new. Sutton's Hospitall founded. Moore fields new railed and
planted with trees. Westminster palace paued.

COCK-FIGHTING AT SCHOOLS.

Many years ago the scholars at our large schools had regular cock-fights, which would appear to have been an affair of the school, recognised by the masters, and the charges for which were defrayed by them, to be afterwards paid by the parents, just as some innocent excursions and festivities are managed now a days. The credit of the school was, without doubt, often involved in the proper issue of the fight.

Sir James Mackintosh, when at school at Fortrose in 1776-7, had this entry in his account, in which books were charged 3s. 6d.:--

To cocks'-fight dues for 2 years, 2s. 6d. each, 5s.

Associated are three months' fees at the dancing-school, minuet, country-dances, and hornpipe, &c. Cock-fighting up to the end of the last century was a very general amusement, and an occasion for gambling. It entered into the occupations of the old and young. Travellers agreed with coachmen that they were to wait a night if there was a cock-fight in any town through which they passed. A battle between two cocks had five guineas staked upon it. Fifty guineas, about the year 1760, depended upon the main or odd battle. This made the decision of a "long main," at cock-fighting an important matter. The church bells at times announced the winning of a "long main." Matches were sometimes so arranged as to last the week. When country gentlemen had sat long at table, and the conversation had turned upon the relative merits of their several birds, a cock-fight often resulted, as the birds in question were brought for the purpose into the dining-room.

COMMON TRAVELLING.

Common Travelling Dress.]

We have here the common travelling dress in use at the commencement of the 12th century, _tempus_ Henry I. and Stephen. The original is intended for the Saviour meeting the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. The Saviour wears an under tunic, and his mantle, fastened by a narrow band across the chest, is held up by the right hand. The figures of the disciples are, however, the most curious, the central one particularly so, as he would seem to wear a dress expressly invented for travelling: his large round hat, with its wide brim, seems to be the original of the pilgrim's hat so well known in later times, and which formed so distinguishing a mark in their costume. His short green tunic, well adapted for journeying, is protected by a capacious mantle of skin, provided with a "capa" or cowl, to draw over the head, and which was frequently used instead of a hat. He wears white breeches ornamented with red cross-stripes; they end at the ankle, where they are secured by a band or garter, the foot being covered by close shoes. His companion wears the common cap so frequently met with, and he has his face ornamented to profusion by moustaches and beard, each lock of which appears to be most carefully separated and arranged in the nicest order. He has an under-tunic of white, and an upper one of red, and a white mantle bordered with gold; he also wears the same kind of breeches, reaching to the ankle, but he has no shoes, which frequently appears to have been the case when persons were on a journey.

FASHIONABLE DANCES OF THE LAST CENTURY.

The style of dancing which was fashionable at the latter part of the last century, may be seen from the following advertisement from a dancing-master, which we have copied from a newspaper of the year 1775:--

"At Duke's Long Room, in Paternoster Row, Grown Gentlemen or Ladies are taught a Minuet, or the Method of Country Dances, with the modern Method of Footing; and that in the genteelest, and most expeditious, and private Manner. And for the greater expedition of such gentlemen, as chuse to dance in company, there's a complete Set of Gentlemen assembled every Monday and Wednesday evening for the said purpose. Gentlemen or Ladies may be waited on at their own Houses by favouring me with a line directed as above. Likewise to be had at my House, as above, a Book of Instructions for the figuring part of Country Dances, with the Figure of the Minuet annex'd thereon, drawn out in Characters, and laid down in such a Manner, that at once casting your Eye on it, you see the Figure directly form'd as it is to be done; so that a person, even that had never learnt, might, by the help of this book, soon make himself Master of the figuring Part. Such as reside in the Country, I doubt not, would find it of immediate Service, as they have not always an Opportunity of having Recourse to a Dancing Master. Price 10s. 6d. N. Dukes, Dancing Master."

PREACHING FRIARS.

Preaching Friar.]

In the romance of "St. Graal," executed in the fourteenth century, we have this representation of one of these preaching friars in his rude portable pulpit. From the contrast afforded by their mendicancy, and enthusiasm in teaching, to the pride and riches of the higher clergy, and their constant mixing with the people, they became excessively popular. The preacher in the cut has a crowded and attentive audience (though one lady seems inclined to nap); the costume of the entire body, who are all seated, after a primitive fashion, on the bare ground, is worthy of note, and may be received as a fair picture of the commonalty of England about the year 1350.

THE ECCENTRIC LADY LEWSON.