Chapter XIII: Part 13

When the proper chord is touched, there is scarcely anything too gross for the belief of these islanders. Mr. Crawfurd relates that some years since, it was almost accidentally discovered, that the skull of a buffalo was superstitiously conveyed from one part of the island to another. The point insisted upon was, never to let it rest, but to keep it in constant progressive motion. It was carried in a basket, and no sooner was one person relieved from the load than it was taken up by another; for the understanding was, that some dreadful imprecation was denounced against the man who should let it rest. In this manner, the scull was hurried from one province to another, and after a circulation of many hundred miles, at length reached the town of Samarang, the Dutch governor of which seized it and threw it into the sea, and thus the spell was broken. The Javanese expressed no resentment, and nothing further was heard of this unaccountable transaction. None could tell how or where it originated.

The same writer relates a still more extraordinary instance of infatuation. During the occupation of Java by the English, in the month of May 1814, it was unexpectedly discovered, that, in a remote but populous part of the island, a road, leading to the top of the mountain of Sumbeng, one of the highest in Java, had been constructed. An enquiry being set on foot, it was discovered that the delusion which gave rise to the work had its origin in the province of Banyunas, in the territories of the Susunan, and that the infection had spread to the territory of the Sultan, and thence extended to that of the Europeans. On examination a road was found constructed twenty feet broad, and from fifty to sixty miles long, and it was wonderfully smooth and well made. One point which appears to have been considered necessary, was, that this road should not cross rivers, and in consequence it wound in a thousand ways. Another point as peremptorily insisted on was, that its straight course should not be interrupted by any private rights; and in consequence trees and houses were overturned to make way for it. The population of whole districts, occasionally to the amount of five or six thousand labourers, were employed on the road, and, among a people disinclined to active exertion the laborious work was nearly completed in two months--such was the effect of the temporary enthusiasm with which they were inspired. It was found in the sequel that the whole work was set in motion by an old woman, who dreamt, or pretended to have dreamt, that a divine personage was about to descend from heaven on the mountain in question. Piety suggested the propriety of constructing a road to facilitate his descent; and it was rumoured that divine vengeance would pursue the sacrilegious person who refused to join in the meritorious labour. These reports quickly wrought on the fears and ignorance of the people, and they heartily joined in the enterprise. The old woman distributed slips of palm-leaves to the labourers, with magic letters written upon them, which were charms to secure them against sickness and accidents. When this strange affair was discovered by the native authorities, orders were issued to desist from the work, and the inhabitants returned without a murmur to their wonted occupations.

SIZE OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS.

The exact size of our own country is a legitimate object of curiosity. We believe the following will be found strictly accurate:--

The area of England is estimated at 31,929,340 acres.
" Wales 4,320,000 "
" Scotland 16,240,000 "
" S. Isles adjacent to the coast 1,055,080 "
" W. Isles 851,200 "
" Orkneys 153,606 "
" Shetlands 643,840 "

CASE CONTAINING THE HEART OF LORD EDWARD BRUCE.

Lord Edward Bruce was eldest son of Sir Edward, baron of Kinloss, so created by James I. in 1603, to whom the king gave the dissolved abbey of Kinloss, in Ayrshire, after he had been instrumental in his succession to the crown of England; whither accompanying the king, he was made master of the Rolls in 1604, died in 1610, and was buried in the Rolls chapel. His son, the lord Edward, killed in duel by Sir Edward Sackville in 1613, was succeeded by his brother, who was created Earl of Elgin in 1633, and an English baron in 1641.

Sir Edward Sackville, by whose hand the Lord Edward Bruce fell, was younger brother to Richard Sackville, Earl of Dorset, on whose death he succeeded to the title. He was lord president of the council, a joint lord keeper, and filled several other distinguished offices under Charles I., to whom he adhered, by whose side he fought at the battle of Edge-hill, and whose death he took so much to heart, that he never afterwards stirred out of his house in Salisbury-court, but died there on the 17th of July, 1652.

Case Containing the Heart of Lord Edward Bruce.]

Between these noblemen there arose a quarrel, which terminated in their duel; and all that is, or probably can be known respecting it, is contained in the following correspondence, preserved in a manuscript in Queen's college library, Oxford.

_A Monsieur, Monsieur Sackvile._

"I that am in France, hear how much you attribute to yourself in this time, that I have given the world leave to ring your praises; and for me, the truest almanack, to tell you how much I suffer. If you call to memory, when as I gave you my hand last, I told you I reserved the heart for a truer reconcilliation. Now be that noble gentleman, my love once spoke, and come and do him right that could recite the tryals you owe your birth and country, were I not confident your honour gives you the same courage to do me right, that it did to do me wrong. Be master of your own weapons and time; the place wheresoever, I will wait on you. By doing this, you shall shorten revenge, and clear the idle opinion the world hath of both our worths.

"ED. BRUCE."

_A Monsieur, Monsieur Baron de Kinloss._

"As it shall be always far from me to seek a quarrel, so will I always be ready to meet with any that is desirous to make tryal of my valour, by so fair a course as you require. A witness whereof yourself shall be, who, within a month, shall receive a strict account of time, place and weapon, where you shall find me ready disposed to give honourable satisfaction, by him that shall conduct you thither. In the mean time, be as secret of the appointment, as it seems you are desirous of it.

"E. SACKVILE."

_A Monsieur, Monsieur Baron de Kinloss._

"I am at Tergose, a town in Zeland, to give what satisfaction your sword can render you, accompanied with a worthy gentleman for my second, in degree a knight. And, for your coming, I will not limit you a peremptory day, but desire you to make a definite and speedy repair, for your own honour, and fear of prevention; at which time you shall find me there.

_Tergose, 10th of August, 1613._

"E. SACKVILE."

_A Monsieur, Monsieur Sackvile._

"I have received your letter by your man, and acknowledge you have dealt nobly with me; and now I come, with all possible haste, to meet you.

"E. BRUCE."

The combat was fierce, and fatal to Lord Bruce.

It has always been presumed that the duel was fought under the walls of Antwerp; but the combatants disembarked at Bergen-op-Zoom, and fought near that town, and not Antwerp.

Silver Case Shaped Like a Heart.]

In consequence of a tradition, that the heart of Lord Edward Bruce had been sent from Holland, and interred in the vault or burying-ground adjoining the old abbey church of Culross, in Perthshire, Sir Robert Preston directed a search in that place in 1808, with the following result:--Two flat stones, without inscription, about four feet in length and two in breadth, were discovered about two feet below the level of the pavement, and partly under an old projection in the wall of the old building. These stones were strongly clasped together with iron; and when separated, a silver case, or box, of foreign workmanship, shaped like a heart, was found in a hollow or excavated place between them. Its lid was engraved with the arms and name "Lord Edward Bruse;" it had hinges and clasps; and when opened, was found to contain a heart, carefully embalmed, in a brownish coloured liquid. After drawings had been taken of it, as represented in the present engravings, it was carefully replaced in its former situation. There was a small leaden box between the stones in another excavation; the contents of which, whatever they were originally, appeared reduced to dust.

Some time after this discovery, Sir Robert Preston caused a delineation of the silver case, according to the exact dimensions, with an inscription recording its exhumation and re-deposit, to be engraved on a brass plate, and placed upon the projection of the wall where the heart was found.

It is a remarkable fact, that the cause of the quarrel between Lord Bruce and Sir Edward Sackville has remained wholly undetected, notwithstanding successive investigations at different periods. Lord Clarendon, in his "History of the Rebellion," records the combat as an occurrence of magnitude, from its sanguinary character and the eminence of the parties engaged in it. He does not say any thing respecting the occasion of the feud, although Lord Bruce's challenge seems to intimate that it was a matter of public notoriety.

The exact day of the duel is not known, but it was certainly in 1613, and most probably in August from the date of one of the above letters.

EXTRAORDINARY FEMALE INTREPIDITY.

Early on the 24th of January, 1822, the turnpike-house, about four miles from Basingstoke, on this side of Overton, was attacked, with intent to enter, by two men, who had taken off some tiles at the back part of the premises (the roof being very low) to effect their purpose. These villains knew, it would appear, that a lone woman, Mrs. Whitehouse, received the tolls at this gate, and that her husband attended a gate as far distant as Colebrook. Mrs. Whitehouse, however, very fortunately possessed three loaded pistols, one of which she fired--then a second, and a third, without effect. These determined ruffians (notwithstanding being thrice fired at) were, it appears, resolved not to depart without accomplishing the projected robbery. Mrs. Whitehouse's little boy, only 11 years of age, in the mean time had re-loaded a brace of pistols, one of which Mrs. Whitehouse fired, and wounded one of the desperadoes full in the face--he fell, and the blood flowed profusely; yet, strange to relate, the accomplice had hardihood enough to drag away the wounded robber! On observing this, Mrs. Whitehouse fired the fifth pistol at them, but missed them. The fellow who received the contents of the fourth pistol being supposed to have been killed, and some persons residing at a considerable distance from the spot having heard of the circumstance, assembled, and made diligent search at daybreak to discover the body of the deceased; but, although the blood could be traced some distance from the house, the body could not be found; nor were those concerned in the attack ever found out. The successful resistance, however, deserves to be recorded.

GIGANTIC BONES.

Whenever any bones of unusual magnitude were discovered, it was invariably the custom to ascribe them to some giant. This was always so up to recent years, and no wonder it was intensely the case at the early period of 1660. About that period, when the brook or rivulet from which the town of Corbridge, in the north of England, derives its name, had been worn away by some impetuous land-flood, a skeleton, supposed to be that of a man of extraordinary and prodigious size, was discovered. The length of the thigh bone was nearly six feet, and the skull, teeth, and other parts proportionably monstrous, so that the length of the whole body was computed at twenty-one feet. It is conjectured, by the more enlightened men of modern times, that these strange bones belonged to some large animal that had been sacrificed by the Romans at the altar dedicated to Hercules, which was found here some years ago. Notwithstanding that the superstition of our forefathers has lost nearly all its credit and influence, a singularly large bone found here is now exhibited in the Keswick Museum as the rib of the giant Cor.

NEW STYLE OF ADVERTISEMENT.

The following editorial announcement is taken from the Philadelphia _Weekly Mercury_, of November 30, 1752, because it forms a complete novelty in its way, and also affords us an insight into the degree of communication which existed at that period between the large towns and the provinces in America. It is, moreover, a curious jumble of information, strangely mixing up the starting of the stage coach with the news of the day:--

On _Monday_ next the Northern Post sets out from _New-York_, in order to perform his Stage but once a Fortnight, during the Winter Quarter; the Southern Post changes also, which will cause this Paper to come out on _Tuesdays_ during that Time. The Colds which have infested the Northern Colonies have also been troublesome here, few Families having escaped the same, several have been carry'd off by the Cold, among whom was _David Brintnall_, in the 77th Year of his Age; he was the first Man that had a Brick House in the City of _Philadelphia_, and was much esteem'd for his just and upright dealing. There goes a Report here, that the Lord _Baltimore_ and his Lady are arrived in _Maryland_, but the Southern Post being not yet come in, the said Report wants Confirmation.

MAKING A CANDLESTICK OF GUNPOWDER.

A marvellous escape from destruction is related in the MS. Life of Alderman Barnes.--"One of his brother-in-law's (Alderman Hutchinson's) apprentices, stepping up into the back-lofts to fetch somewhat he wanted, in his heedlessness and haste, stops his candle into a barrel of gunpowder whose head was struck off, to serve instead of a candlestick. But the man reflecting what he had done, was struck with affrightment, his heart failed him, nor durst he stay any longer, but running down stairs, leaves the candle burning in the gunpowder cask, and with horror, trembling, and despair, tells the family what indiscretion he had committed; they were all immediately as their wits' end, and well they might, for the lofts were three stories high, very large, and stowed full with whatever is combustible, as brandy, oil, pitch, tar, rosin, flax, alum, hops, and many barrels of gunpowder. Had the candle fallen to one side, or had the least spark fallen from the snuff into the cask, the whole town had been shaken, and the whole of the house immediately blown up and in a blaze; but one of the labourers, a stout fellow, ran forthwith into the loft, and joining both his hands together, drew the candle softly up between his middlemost fingers, so that if any snuff had dropped, it must have fallen into the hollow of the man's hand, and by this means was Newcastle saved from being laid in ashes." This must have happened about the year 1684.

THE CAMDEN CUP.

The subjoined engraving represents the Silver-gilt Standing Cup and Cover bequeathed by the celebrated historian, William Camden, Clarenceux King at Arms, to the Worshipful Company of Painter Stainers'. Camden's will is recorded in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (in the register designated III Swann 3, probate granted November 10, 1623), and it has been printed by Hearne in his _Collection of Curious Discourses_, Ox. 1720. After directing the sum of eight pounds to be given "to the poore of that place (Chislehurst) when it shall please God to call me to his mercie," Camden continues--"I bequeath to Sir Foulke Greville, Lord Brooke, Chancellor of the Exchequer, who preferred me gratis to my Office, a peece of plate of ten pounds; Item, to the Company of Painter-Stainers of London, to buy them a peece of plate in memoriall of mee, sixteene pounds;" the inscription upon which is directed to be--"_Guil. Camdenus Clarenceux, filius Sampsonis, Pictoris Londinensis, dono dedit_."

The Camden Cup.]

This stately and richly-decorated cup and cover is used on Corporation Festivals, in memory of the illustrious donor. In height, it is altogether twenty-three inches and a quarter, the cover only being eight inches and three-quarters; and the cup, independent of the stand, five inches and a-half, its greatest diameter being five inches and a-half. The inscription encircles the upper rim of the cup; and directly under it is an engraved escutcheon of Camden's arms; _Or_, a fess engrailed, between six cross crosslets fitchee, _Sable_. The cover presents an object of much elegance, a richly ornamented open pyramid, based on the heads of birds, the breasts bending gracefully with cartouche ornaments: the pinnacle of the pyramid surmounted by a female figure, the right hand resting on a shield, charged with the same arms as shown on the side of the cup. The birds' heads have apparently a reference to the phoenix heads in the second and third quarters of the armorial ensigns, and to the crest of the Company of Paper-Stainers.

RICHARDSON, THE SHOWMAN.

This eccentric individual, who died in 1836, left behind him upwards of L20,000. He was born in the workhouse of Marlow, Bucks, but ran away from that place in order to seek his fortune in London. After various vicissitudes, he became the landlord of the Harlequin public-house, in Drury-lane, where he saved some money, which he embarked in fitting up a portable theatre, and was known for forty years as the "Prince of Showmen," and used frequently to boast that Edmund Kean and several other eminent actors were brought out by him. His property, after various legacies to the itinerant company which had attended him for many years, descended to two nephews and a niece, and he desired by his will to be buried in Marlow churchyard, in the same grave as his favourite "spotted boy," a lad who, some years before, was exhibited by him, and attracted great notice in consequence of the extraordinary manners in which he was marked on various parts of his body. Some years since the scenery, dresses, and decorations of Richardson's theatre were exposed for auction by Mr. George Robins, and L2,000 were bid for them. They were bought in; the "old man," as he was technically denominated, considering them to be worth at least L3,000.

PRESERVATION OF DEAD BODIES.

There is an arched vault, or burying-ground, under the church of Kilsyth, in Scotland, which was the burying-place of the family of Kilsyth, until the estate was forfeited, and the title became extinct in the year 1715; since which it has never been used for that purpose, except once. The last Earl fled with his family to Flanders, and, according to tradition, was smothered to death about the year 1717, along with his lady and an infant child, and a number of other unfortunate Scottish exiles, by the falling in of the roof of a house in which they were assembled. What became of the body of the Earl is not known, but the bodies of Lady Kilsyth and her infant were emboweled and embalmed, and soon afterwards sent over to Scotland. They were landed, and lay at Leith for some time in a cellar, whence they were afterwards carried to Kilsyth, and buried in great pomp in the vault above mentioned. In the spring of 1796, some rude regardless young men, having paid a visit to this ancient cemetery, tore open the coffin of Lady Kilsyth and her infant. With astonishment and consternation, they saw the bodies of Lady Kilsyth and her child as perfect as in the hour they were entombed. For some weeks this circumstance was kept secret, but at last it began to be whispered in several companies, and soon excited great and general curiosity.

"On the 12th of June," says the Minister of the parish of Kilsyth, in a letter to J. Garnet, M.D., "when I was from home, great crowds assembled, and would not be denied admission. At all hours of the night, as well as the day, they afterwards persisted in gratifying their curiosity. I saw the body of Lady Kilsyth soon after the coffin was opened; it was quite entire. Every feature and every limb was as full, nay, the very shroud was as clear and fresh, and the colours of the ribbons as bright, as the day they were lodged in the tomb. What rendered this scene more striking and truly interesting was, that the body of her son and only child, the natural heir of the title and estates of Kilsyth, lay at her knee. His features were as composed as if he had been only asleep. His colour was as fresh, and his flesh as plump and full, as in the perfect glow of health; the smile of infancy and innocence sat on his lips. His shroud was not only entire, but perfectly clean, without a particle of dust upon it. He seems to have been only a few months old. The body of Lady Kilsyth was equally well preserved; and at a little distance, from the feeble light of a taper, it would not have been easy to distinguish whether she was dead or alive. The features, nay the very expression of her countenance, were marked and distinct; and it was only in a certain light that you could distinguish anything like the ghastly and agonizing traits of a violent death. Not a single fold of her shroud was decomposed nor a single member impaired.

"Let the candid reader survey this sketch; let him recal to mind the tragic tale it unfolds; and say, if he can, that it does not arrest the attention and interest the heart. For my own part, it excited in my memory a thousand melancholy reflections; and I could not but regret that such rudeness had been offered to the ashes (remains) of the dead, as to expose them thus to the public view.

"The body seemed to have been preserved in some liquid, nearly of the colour and appearance of brandy. The whole coffin seemed to have been full of it, and all its contents saturated with it. The body had assumed somewhat the same tinge, but this only served to give it a fresher look. It had none of the ghastly livid hue of death, but rather a copper complexion. It would, I believe, have been difficult for a chemist to ascertain the nature of this liquid; though perfectly transparent; it had lost all its pungent qualities, its taste being quite vapid.

"The head reclined on a pillow, and, as the covering decayed, it was found to contain a collection of strong-scented herbs. Balm, sage, and mint were easily distinguished; and it was the opinion of many, that the body was filled with the same. Although the bodies were thus entire at first, I confess I expected to see them crumble into dust; especially as they were exposed to the open air, and the pure aromatic fluid had evaporated; and it seems surprising that they did not. For several weeks they underwent no visible change, and had they not been sullied with dust and drops of grease from the candles held over them, I am confident they might have remained as entire as ever; for even a few months ago (many months after), the bodies were as firm and compact as at first, and though pressed with the finger did not yield to the touch, but seemed to retain the elasticity of the living body. Even the shroud, through torn by the rude hands of the regardless multitude, is still strong and free from rot.

"Perhaps the most singular phenomenon is, that the bodies seem not to have undergone the smallest decomposition or disorganization. Several medical gentlemen have made a small incision into the arm of the infant; the substance of the body was quite firm, and every part in its original state." To the above remarkable instance we may add the following:--The tomb of Edward the First, who died on the 7th July, 1307, was opened on the 2nd of January, 1770, and after the lapse of 463 years, the body was found not decayed; the flesh on the face was a little wasted, but not putrid.

The body of Canute the Dane, who got possession of England in the year 1017, was found very fresh in the year 1766, by the workmen repairing Winchester Cathedral. In the year 1522, the body of William the Conqueror was found as entire as when first buried, in the Abbey Church of St. Stephen, at Caen; and the body of Matilda, his wife, was found entire in 1502, in the Abbey Church of the Holy Trinity in the same city.

No device of art, however, for the preservation of the remains of the dead, appears equal to the simple process of plunging them over head and ears in peat-moss.

In a manuscript by one Abraham Grey, who lived about the middle of the 16th century, now in the possession of his representative, Mr. Goodbehere Grey, of Old Mills, near Aberdeen, it is stated, that in 1569, three Roman soldiers in the dress of their country, fully equipped with warlike instruments, were dug out of a moss of great extent, called Kazey Moss. When found, after a lapse of probably about fifteen hundred years, they "were quite fresh and plump."

PERFUMES.

So perfect were the Egyptians in the manufacture of perfumes, that some of their ancient ointment, preserved in an alabaster vase in the Museum at Alnwick, still retains a very powerful odour, though it must be between 2,000 and 3,000 years old.

FRENCH ASSIGNATS--THEIR ORIGIN.

Extraordinary devices for raising money are legitimate subjects for our pages. Of these devices, the French Assignats are not the least remarkable. They originated thus--in the year 1789, at the commencement of the great Revolution in France, Talleyrand proposed in the National Assembly a confiscation of all church property to the service of the state. The Abbe Maury opposed this project with great vehemence, but being supported by Mirabeau, it received the sanction of the Assembly by an immense majority on the 2nd of November. The salaries fixed for the priesthood were small, and, moreover, were not sufficiently guaranteed; whence originated much misery to all classes of priests, from the archbishops down to the humble cures; and as monastic institutions were treated in the same way, monks and nuns were suddenly placed in precarious circumstances regarding the means of subsistence. Here, however, an unexpected difficulty sprang up; the National Assembly were willing to sell church property, but buyers were wanting; conscience, prudence, and poverty combined to lessen the number of those willing to purchase; and thus the urgent claims of the treasury could not be satisfied. Applications for loans were not responded to; taxes had been extinguished; voluntary donations had dwindled almost to nothing; and 400,000,000 of livres were necessary for the vast claims of the year 1790. The municipalities of Paris and other cities sought to ameliorate the state of affairs by subscribing for a certain amount of church property, endeavouring to find private purchasers for it, and paying the receipts into the national exchequer. This, however, being but a very partial cure for the enormity of the evils, the National Assembly fell upon the expedient of creating state-paper or bank-notes, to have a forced currency throughout the kingdom. Such was the birth of the memorable assignats. Four hundred millions of this paper were put in circulation; and a decree was passed that church property to that amount should be held answerable for the assignats. Our sketch represents several of the different forms in which the Assignats were issued to the public.

French Assignats.]

EXECUTION OF LOUIS XVI.

The judicial murder of Louis XVI. was the climax of the Revolution in France. The Convention voted his death at three o'clock on the morning of the 20th January, 1793, and he was taken to execution in twenty-six hours afterwards.

Execution of Louis XVI.]

The guillotine was erected in the middle of the Place Louis XV., a large open square, having the Champs Elysees on one side, and the gardens of the Tuileries on the other. The Place bristled with artillery, and every street and avenue leading to it was crowded with troops and armed multitudes, who had cannon with them charged with grape-shot; while the carriage was surrounded by picked men, who had orders to despatch the king with their carbines in case of any rescue being attempted. At about half-past ten, the king, who had been engaged in prayer during the ride, arrived at the spot; he descended from the coach, and his confessor followed him. Three executioners approached to remove his upper garments, but he put them back, and performed that simple office for himself. He resisted somewhat the indignity of having his hands tied, and only yielded on the entreaty of his confessor; and had also to yield on the subject of cutting off his back hair. He ascended the steps that led to the platform with a firm bearing, still followed by M. Edgeworth. When on the top, he made a sudden movement towards the edge of the scaffold, and exclaimed with a loud and firm voice: "Frenchmen, I die innocent; it is from the scaffold, and when about to appear before my God, that I tell you so. I pardon my enemies; I pray that France"----Here Santerre, on horseback, raised his right hand, and cried: "Drums! Executioners, do your duty!" Several drummers immediately began by their noise to drown the sound of the king's voice: and six executioners brought him to the centre of the scaffold. He exclaimed again: "I die innocent; I ever desired the good of my people;" but his voice could be heard only by the executioners and the priest. He then knelt down, in order to place his head in the appointed spot; the confessor, bending over him said: "Son of St. Louis, ascend to heaven!" The spring of the machine was touched, the heavy axe descended in its grooves, and the once royal head was severed from the body. Samson, the chief executioner, took up the bleeding head by the hair, and walked three times round the scaffold, holding it up at arm's-length to show it to the people. The troops and the spectators shouted: "Vive la Republique!" put their hats and caps upon their bayonets and pikes, and waved them in the air, with prolonged and re-echoing cries of "Vive la Republique!" "Vive la Nation!" "Vive la Liberte!" Many of the savage men standing near the scaffold dipped their pike-heads into the king's blood, and others their handkerchiefs--not as a sacred memento, but as a symbol of the downfall of all kings; they even paraded these gore-stained objects before the windows of the Temple, that perchance the queen and her children might see them. The headless trunk of Louis was put into a large wicker-basket, placed in the coach, and carried to the cemetery of La Madeleine; where, without coffin or shroud, it was thrown into a deep pit, partly filled up with quicklime. On that same morning, one Benoit Leduc, a tailor, who had on some occasions worked for Louis, presented a petition to the Convention, praying to be allowed, at his own expense, to bury the body of the king by the side of his father, Louis XV., and under the monument raised to that prince by the city of Sens; but the Convention rejected his petition, and ordered the executive council to see that Louis was buried like other criminals.

A MAN AGED ONE HUNDRED YEARS CLAIMING A BOTTLE OF WINE.

John Bull, of London, stock-broker, died 1848, aged 100 years. When at the age of about 93, and in the employ of Messrs. Spurling, stock-brokers, he left by mistake in the office of the accountant of the Bank of England, a large number of bank notes. On discovering his loss, after diligently searching for the missing parcel, he went back to the accountant's office, partly to acquaint Mr. Smee with the circumstance, and partly as a last hope that he might there find the missing treasure. To his great joy he found the parcel safe in the accountant's possession, whom he earnestly implored to keep the secret, lest his employers should think his faculties were failing. Mr. Smee of course gave him the required assurance, and goodnaturedly added, that when Mr. Bull should attain the age of 100 years, he would treat him to the finest bottle of wine in his cellar. Some time before his becoming a centenarian, he was pensioned off by his employer, and Mr. Smee had, in all probability, quite forgotten the affair; when, true to the engagement, the venerable, but still active old clerk, made his appearance at the bank on the important day, and claimed the promised bottle of wine. The claim was promptly allowed; and the last birthday of the aged official was one of the happiest among his friends of the long list of such events which had been its precursor. After continuing vigorous and active, and almost free from indisposition up to this time, he, along with many other aged persons, fell a victim to that fatal influenza which prevailed so extensively throughout the country, and more especially in London and its suburbs, during the autumn of 1847 and the winter of 1848.

CHARITY REWARDED BY A RICH AND LIBERAL MENDICANT.

Within the present century, a beggar in Moorfields used daily to have a penny given him by a merchant on his way to the Exchange. The penny was withheld, and the appearance of the merchant manifested his embarrassment and distress. The beggar at length spoke to him, offered him a loan of L500, and another of the same sum if it were required. It re-established his affairs.

HACKNEY COACHMAN OF THE TIME OF CHARLES II.

The print from which the engraving on next page is taken, is one of a set published by Overton, at the sign of the "White Horse" without Newgate; and its similarity to the figures given by Francis Barlow in his _AEsop's Fables_, and particularly in a most curious sheet-print etched by that artist, exhibiting Charles the Second, the Duke of York, &c., viewing the Races on Dorset Ferry, near Windsor, in 1687, sufficiently proves this Hackney Coachman to have been of the reign of that monarch.

The early Hackney Coachman did not sit upon the box as the present drivers do, but upon the horse, like a postillion; his whip is short for that purpose; his boots, which have large open broad tops, must have been much in his way, and exposed to the weight of the rain. His coat was not according to the fashion of the present drivers as to the numerous capes, which certainly are most rational appendages, as the shoulders never get wet; the front of the coat has not the advantage of the present folding one, as it is single breasted.

His hat was pretty broad, and so far he was screened from the weather. Another convincing proof that he rode as a postillion is, that his boots are spurred. In that truly curious print representing the very interesting Palace of Nonsuch, engraved by Hoefnagle, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the coachman who drives the royal carriage in which the Queen is seated, is placed on a low seat behind the horses, and has a long whip to command those he guides. How soon, after Charles the Second's time, the Hackney Coachmen rode on a box we have not been able to learn, but in all the prints of King William's time the coachmen are represented upon the box, though by no means so high as at present; nor was it the fashion at the time of Queen Anne to be so elevated as to deprive the persons in the carriage of the pleasure of looking over their shoulders.

In 1637, the number of Hackney Coaches in London was confined to 50, in 1652 to 200, in 1654 to 300, in 1662 to 400, in 1694 to 700, in 1710 to 800, in 1771 to 1,000, and in 1802 to 1,100. In imitation of our Hackney Coaches, Nicholas Sauvage introduced the Fiacres at Paris, in the year 1650. The hammer-cloth is an ornamental covering of the coach-box. Mr. S. Pegge says, "The coachman formerly used to carry a hammer, pincers, a few nails, &c., in a leather pouch hanging to his box, and this cloth was devised for the hiding of them from public view."

Hackney Coachman.]

It is said that the sum of L1,500, arising from the duty on Hackney Coaches, was applied to part of the expense in rebuilding Temple Bar.

A LONDON WATER-CARRIER IN OLDEN TIMES.

The conduits of London and its environs, which were established at an early period, supplied the metropolis with water until Sir Hugh Middleton brought the New River from Amwell to London, and then the conduits gradually fell into disuse, as the New River water was by degrees laid on in pipes to the principal buildings in the City, and, in the course of time, let into private houses.

When the conduits afforded a supply, the inhabitants either carried their vessels, or sent their servants for the water as they wanted it; but we may suppose that at an early period there were a number of men who for a fixed sum carried the water to the adjoining houses.

The figure of a Water-carrier in the following engraving, is copied from one of a curious and rare set of cries and callings of London, published by Overton, at the "White Horse" without Newgate. The figure retains the dress of Henry the Eighth's time; his cap is similar to that usually worn by Sir Thomas More, and also to that given in the portrait of Albert Durer, engraved by Francis Stock. It appears by this print, that the tankard was borne upon the shoulder, and, to keep the carrier dry, two towels were fastened over him, one to fall before him, the other to cover his back. His pouch, in which we are to conclude he carried his money, has been thus noticed in a very curious and rare tract, entitled, _Green's Ghost, with the merry Conceits of Doctor Pinch-backe_, published 1626: "To have some store of crownes in his purse, coacht in a faire trunke flop, like a boulting hutch."

Water-Carrier.]

EXPENSES OF A ROYAL PRISONER TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

The following curious document is a return, by the Parliamentary Committee of Revenue, of the expenses of Charles the First and his retinue, during a residence of twenty days, at Holdenby, in Northamptonshire, in the year 1647, commencing February the 13th and ending March the 4th inclusive. Sir Christopher Hatton had built a splendid mansion at Holdenby in the time of Queen Elizabeth, and to it King Charles was conveyed a prisoner by the Parliamentary Commissioners, after he had been given up to them by the Scottish army:--

His Majestie's diet of xxviij dishes at xxxl. per diem L700
The Lords' diet of xx days 520
For the Clarke of the green cloth, kitchen, and spicery,
a messe of vij dishes 40
Dyetts for the household and chamber officers, and the guard 412
Board wages for common houshold servants, pott and scourers,
and turnbroaches 36
Badges of Court and riding wages 140
For linnen for his Majestie's table, the lords and other diets 273
For wheat, wood, and cole 240
For all sorts of spicery store, wax-lights, torches,
and tallow-lights 160
For pewter, brasse, and other necessaries incident to all
officers and carriages 447

WOMAN'S CLEVERNESS.

It is a singular fact that on one occasion the lives of thousands, probably, of the Irish Protestants, were saved by a clever device, which the unaided wit and presence of mind of a woman enabled her to plan and execute.

At the latter end of Queen Mary's reign, a commission was signed for the purpose of punishing the heretics in that kingdom, and Dr. Cole, Dean of St. Paul's, was honoured with this _humane_ appointment, to execute which, he set off with great alacrity. On his arrival at Chester, he sent for the mayor to sup with him, and in the course of conversation related his business; then going to his cloak-bag, he took out the box containing the commission, and having shewn it, with great joy exclaimed, 'This will lash the heretics of Ireland.' Mrs. Edmonds, the landlady, overheard this discourse, and having several relations in Ireland, who were Protestants as well as herself, resolved to put a trick upon the doctor; and while he went to attend the magistrate to the door, took the commission out of the box, and in its room placed a pack of cards, with the knave of clubs uppermost. The zealous doctor, suspecting nothing of the matter, put up his box, took shipping, and, arriving safe in Dublin, went immediately to the Viceroy. A council was called; and, after a speech, the doctor delivered his box, which being opened by the secretary, the first thing that presented itself was the knave of clubs. This sight surprised the Viceroy and the council, but much more the doctor, who assured them that he had received a commission from the Queen, but what was come of it, he could not tell. 'Well, well,' replied the Viceroy, 'you must go back for another, and we will shuffle the cards in the mean time.' The doctor accordingly hastened across the channel; but at Holyhead he received the intelligence of the Queen's death, and the accession of Elizabeth, who settled on Mrs. Edmonds a pension of forty pounds a year, for saving her Protestant subjects in Ireland.

DRESS IN THE PROVINCES IN 1777.

In the days when mail-coaches had not begun to run, and when railroads and telegraphs had not entered into the imagination of man, the style of dress in the provinces was often very different to what it was in London, and on this account the following paragraph is deserving of record. We have taken it from a copy of the _Nottingham Journal_, of September 6, 1777, where it is headed "Ladies undress."--"The ladies' fashionable undress, commonly called a _dishabille_, to pay visits in the morning, also for walking in the country, on account of its being neat, light, and short, consists of a jacket, the front part of which is made like a sultana; the back part is cut out in four pieces; the middle part is not wider at the bottom than about half an inch; the sides in proportion very narrow. The materials most in vogue are, white muslins with a coloured printed border chintz pattern, printed on purpose, in borders about an inch deep. The silks, which are chiefly lutestrings, are mostly trimmed with gauze. The gauze is tuckered upon the bottom of the jacket, and edged with different-coloured fringes. The petticoat is drawn up in a festoon, and tied with a true lover's knot, two tassels hanging down from each festoon. A short gauze apron, striped or figured, cut in three scollops at the bottom, and trimmed round, with a broad trimming closely plaited; the middle of the apron has three scollops reversed. The cuffs are puckered in the shape of a double pine, one in the front of the arm, the other behind, but the front rather lower. To complete this dress for summer walking, the most elegant and delicate ladies carry a long japanned walking-cane, with an ivory hook head, and on the middle of the cane is fastened a silk umbrella, or what the French call 'a parasol,' which defends them from the sun and slight showers of rain. It opens by a spring, and it is pushed up towards the head of the cane, when expanded for use. Hats, with the feathers spread, chiefly made of chip, covered with fancy gauze puckered, variegated artificial flowers, bell tassels, and other decorations, are worn large."

A GROUP OF RELICS.

The Dagger of Raoul de Courcy, of which a representation is included in the cut over leaf, is an interesting relic, and its authenticity can be relied upon. Raoul de Courcy, according to the old French chroniclers was a famous knight, the lord of a noble castle, built upon a mountain that overlooks the Valee d'Or, and the descendant of that haughty noble who took for his motto: "Neither king, nor prince, nor duke, nor earl am I, but I am the Lord of Courcy"--in other words, greater than them all. He fell in love with the wife of his neighbour, the Lord of Fayel, and the beautiful Gabrielle loved him in return. One night he went as usual to meet her in a tower of the Chateau of Fayel, but found himself face to face with her lord and master. Raoul escaped, and Gabrielle was ever after closely guarded. Still they found the opportunity for numerous interviews, at which they interchanged their vows of love. At length, Raoul, like a true knight, set out to fight beneath the banner of the Cross, for the possession of the Holy Sepulchre. Ere he went, at a stolen meeting, he bade the fair Gabrielle adieu, giving to her "a silken love-knot, with locks of his own hair worked in with the threads of silk." She gave him a costly ring, which she had always worn, and which he swore to wear till his last breath. What tears were shed--what kisses were exchanged at this last meeting!--for the Holy Land was very far from France in the Middle Ages.

On his arrival in Syria, Ralph de Courcy became known as the "Knight of Great Deeds," for it seems he could only conquer his love by acts of daring valour. After braving every danger, he was at length wounded in the side by an arrow, at the siege of Acre. The king of England took him in his arms with respect, and gave him the kiss of hope, but the arrow was a poisoned one, Raoul felt that he had little time to live. He stretched out his arms towards France, exclaiming, "France, France! Gabrielle, Gabrielle!"

He resolved to return home, but he was hardly on board the ship that was to waft him there, ere he summoned his squire, and begged of him after he was dead, to carry his heart to France, and to give it the Lady Fayel, with all the armlets, diamonds, and other jewels which he possessed, as pledges of love and remembrance.

The heart was embalmed, and the squire sought to deliver his precious legacy. He disguised himself in a mean dress, but unluckily met with the Lord of Fayel, and, not knowing him, applied to him for information as to how admittance into the chateau could be gained. The Lord of Fayel at once attacked and disarmed the poor squire, who was wounded in the side with a hunting-hanger. The precious packet was soon torn open, and the heart discovered. The Lord of Fayel hastened home, and, giving it to his cook, desired that it might be dressed with such a sauce as would make it very palatable.

Raoul's heart was served up at table, and the fair Gabrielle partook of it. When she had finished eating, the Lord of Fayel said--"Lady, was the meat you eat good?" She replied, that the meat was good. "That is the reason I had it cooked," said the Castellan; "for know that this same meat, which you found so good, was the heart of Raoul de Courcy."

"Lord of Fayel," said Gabrielle, "the vengeance you have taken corresponds with the meanness of your soul; you have made me eat his heart, but it is the last meat I shall ever eat. After such noble food I will never partake of any other."

She fainted, and only recovered her consciousness a few minutes before death. Such is the history of Raoul de Courcy and the Lady Gabrielle, as told in the language of the old chroniclers.

The glove shown in the engraving is said to have been presented by the unfortunate Queen Mary, on the morning of her execution, to a lady of the Denny family. The embroidery is of tasteful design, and may be useful as a contrast with many of the patterns for needlework at present in fashion. Moreover, the sight of this memorial brings to recollection a few particulars in connection with this somewhat important part of both male and female costume.

The ancient Persians wore gloves, and the Romans, towards the decline of the empire, began to use them. In England they seemed to have been introduced at a very early period. In the Anglo-Saxon literature we meet with _glof_, a covering for the hand, and in the illuminated MSS. of that period the hands of bishops and other dignitaries are shown encased in gloves which, in many instances, were ornamented with costly rings; while on the tombs of kings and queens, &c., the hands are shown almost invariably covered.

It is related of the patron Saint of Brussels, who lived in the sixth century, that she was famous for only two miracles: one consisted in lighting a candle by means of her prayers, after it had been extinguished; the other happened in this way--the fair saint being in a church barefooted, a person near, with respectful gallantry, took off his gloves and attempted to place them under her feet. This comfort she declined; and, kicking the gloves away, they became suspended at some height in the church for the space of an hour.

On opening the tomb of Edward the First, some years ago, in Westminster Abbey, the antiquaries assembled on that occasion were surprised to find no traces of gloves. It has been suggested that in this instance linen or silk gloves had been used at the burial of the king, but which are supposed to have perished with age.

The practice of throwing down a glove as a challenge, is mentioned by Matthew Paris as far back as 1245; and a glove was worn in the hat or cap as a mistress's favour, as the memorial of a friend, and as a mark to be challenged by an enemy.

At a time when the Borders were in a state of incessant strife, Barnard Gilpin, who has been so justly called "the Apostle of the North," wandered unharmed amid the confusion. On one occasion, entering a church (we believe that of Rothbury, Northumberland,) he observed a glove suspended in a conspicuous place, and was informed that it had been hung up as a challenge by some horse-trooper of the district. Mr. Gilpin requested the sexton to remove it; who answered, "Not I sir, I dare not do it." Then Gilpin called for a long staff, took down the glove, and put it in his bosom, and in the course of his sermon, said, "I hear that there is one among you who has even in this sacred place hung up a glove in defiance;" and then producing it in the midst of the congregation, he challenged them to compete with him in acts of Christian charity.

Gloves, in former times, were common amongst other gifts offered to friends at the new year; and they were received without offence by the ministers of justice. It is related that Sir Thomas More, as Lord Chancellor, decreed in favour of Mrs. Crooker against the Earl of Arundel. On the following New-year's day, in token of her gratitude, she presented Sir Thomas with a pair of gloves containing forty angels. "It would be against good manners," said the chancellor, "to forsake the ladies' New-year's gift, and I accept the gloves; the lining you may bestow otherwise."

The custom of the presentation by the sheriff of a pair of white gloves to the judge on the occasion of a maiden assize is still in vogue; and, judging from the reports in the newspapers, such presents appear to be of frequent occurrence.

"Gloves, as sweet as damask roses," were highly prized by Queen Elizabeth, and, in her day, formed such an important item of a lady's expenses, that a sum was generally allowed for "glove money."

The old fashioned gloves have now a considerable value amongst the curious. At the sale of the Earl of Arran's goods in 1759, the gloves given by Henry VIII. to Sir Anthony Denny, sold for 38_l._ 17s.; those given by James I. to Edward Denny, sold for 22_l._ 4s.; and the mitten given by Queen Elizabeth to Sir Edward Denny's lady, for 25_l._ 4s.

Some of the English towns which formerly were famous for the manufacture of gloves, still keep up their character. Amongst these Woodstock, Yeovil, Leominster, Ludlow, and Worcester may be mentioned.

The Spanish dagger formerly belonged to a governor of Castile, in the sixteenth century, as is shown by the perforated fetter-lock on the blade; and although the initials are engraven there also, we have not been able to discover any particulars of the original owner. The workmanship and style of the dagger are of great beauty.