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W. REEVE S ^
■-•- "Geoeral & Muspcid.rj-
"tONDONO-"

CORNELL

UNIVERSITY

LIBRARY

Cornell University Library
DA 688.H66

History of the cries of London

3 1924 028 074 783

The original of tliis book is in
tine Cornell University Library.

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the United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028074783

[^ ONLY Fll^E HUNDRED COPIES PRINTED.^

/^"^"^

H I S T O K, Y^

OF THE

ClilES OF LONDON,

Woodcuts by Thomas 6^ John Bewick.
And. thmr Pupils, &c.

S/v

The London Barrow-Woman.

Round and sound,
Two-pence a pound,
Cherries, rare ripe cherries !

Cherries a ha'penny a stick
Come and pick ! come and pick !
Cherries big as plums ! who comes, who comes.

The late George Cruikshank, whose pencil was ever dis-
tinguished by power of decision in every character he sketched,
and whose close observation of passing men and manners was
unrivalled by any artist of his day, contributed the " London
Barrow-woman " to the pages of Hone's Every Day Book in
1826, from his own recollection of her.

HISTORY

OF THE

CRIES OF

-0^ — 1 W-. . ■']

"Zet nor^e despise^the f^efry, mcrrj .cries ^
Of famous London Town."

(^aX^' ti-'l^O^^Y^^CA^^-^

Editor of " TJie Old Book Collectot^s Miscellany ; or^ a Collection of Readable Reprijtts

of Literary Rarities, ' " Works of John Taylor — the Water Poet^" " The

Roxhurgke Ballads" " The Cainach Press," " Tke Curiosities , of

Sireft ■^Lf^erdture" The Bpok of Ready ]^a)^e Speeches^\

\ ^^ Life and Times of James Catnach, late of the

Seven Dials, Ballad Monger, ' *' Tavern

Anecdotes and Sayings" etc.

■ ?^" *e < .

vvA.vvv, \

London :

REEVES jSlND turner,

196, STRAN^r^,( >V.C.
I68I.

HORATIO NOBLE PYM, Esq.,

HARLEY STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE,

A TESTIMONIAL OF ESTEEM
For His Private Worth,

AND AS

A PATRON OF LITERATURE:

A HISTORY OF THE CRIES OF LONDON,

Is Respectfully DEbicATED by

ci/iJj^ M-1yiyCYU>i^^-r\

Rectory Road,

Stoke Newington,

London, N.
September ist, i88i,

Oh, dearly do I love " Old Cries,"

Your " Lillies all a'blowing ! "
Your blossoms blue still wet with dew,

" Sweet Violets all a'growing ! "

I £liia Cook.

The idea of printing and publishing a History of the Cries of
London — Ancient and Modern, somewhat in the manner arid
style here presented to the public, was first suggested to me by
the late Rev : —

Author of the Bewick Collector, 1866. The Supplement to
same, 1868, and Bewick's Woodcuts, 1870, etc., and at the time,
Rector of West Hackney Church, Stoke Newington, London, N.,
in the year 1876.

While actively engaged in prepMing for publication the Life
and Times of: —

^3£/>'->n-<^

late of Seven Dials : Ballad Monger — to which the present work
may be considered a sequel, and the completion of the series on
the jsubject of the —

Cl[J(I0jSI¥IE3 0F gT^EE5? JMEXP-^U^E,

I had frequently to consult the pages of " The Bewick
Collector," and other works of a kindred character for infor-
mation respecting the elder Catnach, who by himself, and
afterwards in conjunction with his partner, and subsequently
his successor, William Davidson, employed Thomas Bewick, the
famous English artist who imparted the first impulse to the art
of wood engraving, for several of their Alnwick publications.
This led to ray communicating with the Rev. Thomas Hugo,
wherein I informed him of my plans and the object I had in
view with regard to the publication I was then preparing for the
press : at the same time soliciting his co-operation, especially in
reference to the loan of some of the Bewick wood-cuts, formerly
possessed by the elder Catnach while he was in business as a
printer in Narrowgate Street, Alnwick, an ancient borough and
market-town in Northumberland.

In answer to my appHcation, I received the letters that
follow : —

The Rectory,

West Hackney,

Stoke Newington, -

London,

N
2ist August, 1876.

Dear Sir,

I shall be glad to aid you in any way.

I must ask you to see me on some morning between
nine and eleven o'clock, and to make a previous
appointment, as I am a working man, with plenty
to do.

Yours sincerely,

Charles Hindley, Esq.,

76, Rose Hill Terrace,

Brighton.

West Hackney Rectory,

Amhurst Road, West,

Stoke Newingtojst, N.

Tuesday Night, [ijik Sep., i8']6.']
Dear Sir,

I have been expecting you for the last ten days.

In a few hours I am leaving town for my holiday ;
I shall not return till far on in October.

As Brighton is but a short way off, I shall hope to
see you on my return. You shall be welcome to the
loan of some Blocks. You had better examine my
folio volume called " Bewick's Woodcuts," in the British
Museum, and give me the numbers of the cuts, when I
will see what I can do for you.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. C. Hindlby, Senr.,
(of Brighton,)
8, Bookseller's Row,
Strand, W.C.

West Hackney Rectory,

Amhurst Road, West,

Stoke Newington, N.
Sik Nov., iSj6.

Dear Sir,

I can see you between p.jo and 10.30 on
Friday. Morning,

Be so good as to advise me beforehand what you
wish to see..

Yours sincerely,

//^r^^y..^L^ A-**^

C. HiNDLEY, Esq.,
(of Brighton),
8, Bookseller's Row,

Strand, W.C.

Risn

The proposed interview took place at the Rectory-house on
the loth of November, and was of a very delightful and intellec-
tual character. The Reverend gentleman found me an apt
scholar in all matters with respect to his favourite " Hobby-horse,"
viz. :— The Brothers Bewick and their Works. All the rich
and rare Bewickian gems were placed before me for inspection,
and all the desired assistance I needed at his hands was freely
offered and ultimately carried out. During our conversation the
learned Rector said : —

" I look upon it as a curious fact that you should have been of late occu-
pying your leisure in working out youi- own ideas of Catnach and his
Times, because, while I was in the office at Monmouth-court, where I went
several times to look out all the examples of Bewick I could find, and
which I afterwards purchased of Mr. Fortey— the person who has succeeded
to the business of the late James Catnach. I one day caught nearly the
same notion, but it was more in .reference to Old London Cries; as I
possess a fairly large collection of nicely engraved wood-blocKS on the
subject, that I met with in " Canny Newcassel," — in some of which it is
asserted,, and can hardly "be denied, that Thomas Bewick had a hand. I
have since used the set in my "Bewick's Woodcuts." But, alas!—
Tempus fugit, and aU thoughts on the subject got — by reason of my having
so much to do and think of— crowded out of my memory. Now, sir, as
you seem to have much more leisure time than myself, I shall be happy to
turn the subject-matter over to you and to assist in every way in my power."

I thanked the Rev. gentleman, at the same time promising to
bear the suggestion in mind for a future day.

West Hackney Rectory, Amhurst Road, West,
Stoke Newington, N., 14th Nov., i8j6.

Dear Sir,

Accept my best thanks for your letter, books,
and promises of future gifts, all of which I cordially
accept.

To-morrow, if all be well, I shall have time to look

out the Blocks, and they shall be with you soon

afterwards.

Very truly yours,

C. HiNDLEY, Esq., Rose Hill Terrace,
Brighton.

H. R. 29th Nov. \i8']6:\

Dear Sir,

Herewith the Block,
tions (of fact) in your proof

I have made a few correc-

Yours sincerely,
T. H.

C. HiNDLEY, Esq., 76, Rose Hill Terrace, ; E
Brighton. , ■

The somewhat sudden and unexpected death of the Rev.
Thomas Hugo on the last day of the year 1876 is now a matter
of history.

■;...■. ....,;. ., .■»--.-- ... .,-„r--.-., .. , ,„„,.„ .. „-^..f

The Rev. T. HUGO, M.A.

Rector of West Hackney Church,
Departed this life Sunday, December 31st, 1876.

On Christmas Day, before the altar kneeling.
Taking that Food by which our souls are fed ;

Around us all a solemn silence stealing,
And broken only by the priests' slow tread.

Yes, he was there, our good and earnest Rector,
And firmly strove his weakness to ■withstand,

Giving the cup, he, the pure Faith's protector —
That cup of blessing with a trembling hand.

His church, for which he felt such admiration,
Was deck'd with flow'rs and evergreens that mom.

In praise to Christ, who died for our salvation,
And deign'd as a weak infant to be bom.

Ah ! little did we think that happy morning —
So truly, bravely kept he at his ^ost —

When next a Sabbath came, to us his warning
And kind, yet noble, presence would be lost.

That solemn sound, which tells of souls 4eparted,
Took the glad place of that whiqh calls to prayer.

And his loved people, shocked and broken-hearted.
Could hardly enter, for he'vfBs not there.

But when they heard it was his last desire
That they should meet at midnight as was said.

They met by thousands, moVd with holy fire.
And spoke in whispers of their shepherd — dead.

No, no, not dead, but calm in Jesus sleeping ;

Free from all sorrow, all reproach, all pain :
And though he leaves a congregation weeping

Their earthly loss is his eternal gain.

He loved the weak, and all the mute creation,
In generous deeds he ever took his part ;

At Death, the Mwce-repeated word Salvation
Showed the firm trust of that true, tender heart.

Again we meet : they come his coffin bringing
Midst solemn chant, and deck'd with purest flowers

And feel whilst we his own sweet hymn are singing,
The joy is his^ the sad remembrance ours,

Mrs. HILDRETH.

CATALOGUE

,0P THE

CHOICE AJJD VALUABLE COLLECTION

BOOKS, WOOD ENGRAVINGS,

AND

ENGRAVED WOODCUT BLOCKS,

BY OR RELATING TO

THOMAS & JOHN BEWICK,

AND THEIR PUPILS,

GLEANED FROM EVERY AVAILABLE SOURCE BY THE LATE

WHICH WILL BE SOLD BY AUCTION

BY MESSRS.

SOTHEBY, WILKINSON & HODGE,

Aiictioneers of LitercCry Property &= Works illustrative of the Fine ArtSj

At their House, No. 13, Wellington Street, Strand, W.

On WEDNESDAY, 8th of AUGUST, 1877, and following Day,

At One O'clock prectsely.

May be Viewe'd'Two D&ys prior, "and Catalogues had,

Dryden Press : J. Davy and Sons, 137, Long Acre.

{John. Bewick^ dd. ei:Sculp.\

THE SAD HISTORIAN.

Published January i, 1795, by William Bulmer, at m

Shaksfeare Printing Office, Cleveland Row.

Ji. Johnson^ del.l

IT. Bewick, Sculp.

THE HERMIT AT HIS MORNING DEVOTIONS.

Published yanuayy i, 1795, ^y William Bulmer, at the
Shakspeare Printing Office, Cleveland Rote.

i?. /oh?ison^ del.']

[7\ Bewick, Sculp.

THE HERMIT, ANGEL, AND GUIDE.

Published. January i, 179S) by William Bulmer, at the
Shakspeare Printing Office, Cleveland Row.

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THE CHASE.

A POEM
BY

William Somervile, Esq.

LONDON :

Printed by W. BULMER & Co.,

Shakspeare Printing Office, Cleveland Ro\y.

1796.

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TVNE-SIDE ^SCEJSK,

With distant view of Newcastle.

1N.1 V liK bl^iLXN t,

With Anglers supporting a Shield of Arms.

VltW OF blKAWBERKY HlLL,

With Shield of Arms of the Hon. Horace Walpole.

Mr. Bigge's cut of
Figure of Liberty.

A Churchyapjd Memorial Cut.

Tyne-side Scene,
With Shield of Arms.

Chillingham Wild Bull.
Used in Richardson's Table Book, Vol. vi. p. 15.

\* Attributed to T. Bewick.

Gin and Bitters.

[S. Johiisoriy del. C. Nesbit, sculp.^

Cut to the Memory of Robert Johnson,
Bewick's favourite Pupil.

On the South side of Ovingham Church there is this tablet-
3En ^entirrs si
ROBERT JOHNSON,
Painter and Engraver,

A NATIVE OF THIS PARISH,

Who'ftied at Kenmore in Perthshire,

The 2gth of October, 1796.

IN THE 26tli YEAR OF HIS AGE.

Thomas Bewick.
Thomas Bewick died at his house on the Windmill-Hills, Gateshead, November the 8th,
1828, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, and on the 13th he was buned in the family
burial-place at Ovingham, where his parents, wife, and brother were interred.

At the sale of the Hugo Collection, I purchased among
many others : —

Lot 405. London Cries, also used in Newcastle and York Cries, two very
pretty series of early Cries, some with, back-grounds, from
Hodgson's Office and R. Robinson, Newcastle [51 blocks]

To carry out the suggestion before mentioned, and to utilize
the very pretty series of fifty-one woodcuts as above, and other
Bewick, Bewickiana, and u/ira a«/?-Bewickian woodcut blocks
I possess, formed and accumulated by reason of my published
works. The Catnach Press, 1868. Curiosities of Street Litera-
ture, 187 1. And Life and Times of James Catnach, 1878.

In collecting information on the subject of the Cries of
London — Ancient and Modem, I have availed myself of all
existing authorities within reach, and therefore, to prevent the
■necessity of continual reference here state, that I have drawn ,
largely from Charles Knight's History of London. Mr. Henry
Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor. The Old City,
by " Aleph." Hone's Every-Day Book. An article on Old
London Cries, in Eraser's Magazine. "Cuthbert Bede."
Lawrance's Facts on London Life. Wheeler's Microcosm.
Stretten's Life in the Strand. Hill's' History of Little Britain.
And what from various other sources was suitable for my purpose.

To the one lady, and many gentlemen friends who have re-
sponded to my enquiries for advice, material, and assistance, and
by which they have so greatly enriched the contents of this
volume. I beg to exprsss my best thanks. I must in a more
particular manner mention the names of — the one lady first-
Mrs. Rose Hildreth ; then Mr. John Furbor Dexter, Mr. William
Mansell, Mr. David Owen, Victoria Grove, South Hornsey — who
kindly read am amore, th^|i;,Erinter's Proof sheets ; Mr. Robert
William Walford,'' Strffl, llcindon ; Messrs. Goode Bros.,
wholesale Stationersi'and Toy-Book manufacturers, Clerkenwell
Green, for the blocks &c., used on pages 226-245 ; Mr. T. Webb ;
F. D. Catesj Esq. ; Mr. Joseph Raven ; Mr. Alfred Holmes,
T. C Cubbon,Esq.; Leonard Thress, Esq.; James Baddiley,Esq.;
Mr. G. Skelly, Alnwick ; and Dr. David Morgan, Brighton.

HISTORY

OF THE

CRIES OF LONDON.

Let none despise, the merry, meriy cries
Of famous London Town, : — Rox Ballad.

THE CRIES OF LONDON have ever been very popular,
whether as broadsides, books, or engravings. Artists of
all countries and times have delighted to represent those
peculiarities of costume and character which belong to the history
of street-cries, and the criers thereof. Annibale Carracci —
1560-1609 — has immortahzed the cries of Bologna; ^nd from
the time of James I. to that of Queen Victoria, artists and
printers combined have presented the Cries and Itinerant Trades
of London, in almost numberless forms, and in various degrees
of quality, from the roughest and rudest wood- cut-blocks to the
finest of copper and steel plate engravings, or skillfully wrought
etching. While many of the early English dramatists and
musical composers have often introduced the subject of London
Cries then most in vogue into their works ; they were " ryght
merrye songs '' and the music well engraved.

The earliest mention of London trade-cries is by Dan John
Lydgate (1370 — 1450), a Monk of the Benedictine Abbey of
Bury St. Edmund's, the friend and immediate follower of Geoffry
Chaucer, and one of the most prolific writers of his age this

2 HISTORY OF THE

country has produced. To enumerate Lydgate's pieces would
be to write out the catalogue of a small library. No poet seems
to have possessed a greater versatality of talents. He moves
with equal ease in every mode of composition ; and among his
minor pieces he has left us a very curious poem entitled London
Lyckpeny, i.e., London Lackpenny : this has been frequently
printed ; by Strutt, Pugh, Nicolas, and partly by John Stow in
"A Survey of London," 1598. There are two copies in the
British Museum, Harl MSS., 367 and 542. We somewhat
modernize the text of the former and best of these copies, which
differ considerably from each other.

" O Mayster Lydgate ! the most dulcet sprsmge
Of famous rethoryke, with balade ryall
The chafe orygynal."

The Pastyme of Plasure, by Stephen Hawes, 1509.

In London Lackpenny we have a most iiiteresting and graphic
picture of the hero coming to the City of ^Westminster, in term
time, to obtain legal address for the wrong he had sustained,
and explain to the man of law his case — " How my goods were
defrauded me by falsehood," but being without the means to
pay even the preliminary fee, he was sent — ^^'from pillar to
post," that is from one Law-court to another, but although he —
" kneeled, crouched, prayed for God's sake, and Mary's love,
he could not get from one the— "mum of his mouth." So
leaving the City of Westminster — minus his hood, he walked on
to the City of London, which he tells us was crowded with
peripatetic traders, but tempting as all their goods and offers
were, his lack-of-money prevented him from indulging in any of
them — But, however, let Lackpenny through the ballad speak
for himself : —

CRIES OF LONDON.

London Lackpenny.

To London once my steps I bent,
Where truth in no wise should be faint,

To Westminster-ward I forthwith went.
To a man of law to make complaint,
I said, "for Mary's love, that Holy Saint I

Pity the poor that would proceed,"

Sut for lack of money I could not speed.

HISTORY OF THE

And as I thrust the prese among, [crowd]
By froward chance my hood was gone,

Yet for all that I stayed not long.
Till to the King's Bench I was come.
Before the Judge I kneeled anon,

And prayed him for God's sake to take heed ;

But for lack of money I might not speed.

Beneath them sat Clerks a great rout,

Which fast did write by one assent,
There stood up one and cryed about,

Richard, Robert, and John of Kent.

I wist not well what this man meant,
He cried so thick there indeed.
But he that lacked money might not speed.

Unto the Common-place I yode thoo, [went then]
Where sat one with a silken hood ;

I did him reverence, for I ought to do so.
And told him my case as well as I could,
How my goods were defrauded me by falsehood.

I gat not a mum of his mouth for my meed,

And for lack of money I might not speed.

Unto the Rolls I gat me from thence.

Before the clerks of the Chancery,
Where many I found earning of pence,

But none at all once regarded me.

I gave them my plaint upon my knee ;
They liked it well, when they had it read :
But lacking money I could not speed.

In Westminster Hall I found out one,
Which went in a long gown of ray ;

I crouched and kneeled before him anon,
For Mary's love, of help I him pray.

CRIES OF LONDON.

" I wot not what thou meanest " gan he say :
To get me thence he did me bede,
For lack of money I could not speed.

Within this Hall, neither rich nor yet poor
Would do for me ought, although I should die :

Which seeing, I gat me out of the door,
Where Flemings began on me for to cry :
' ' Master, what will you copen or buy ?

Fine fell hats, or spectacles to read ?

Lay down your silver, and here you may speed.

Spectacles to read before printing was invented must have
had a rather limited market ; but we must bear in mind where
they were sold. In Westminster Hall there were lawyers and
rich suitors congregated, — worshipful men, who had a written
law to study and expound, and learned treatises diligently to
peruse, and titles to hunt after through the labyrinths of fine
and recovery. The dealer in spectacles was a dealer in hats,
as we see; and the articles were no doubt both of foreign
manufacture. But .lawyers and suitors had also to feed, as well
as to read with spectacles ; and on the Thames side, instead of
the coffeehouses of modern date, were tables in the open air,
where men every day ate of "bread, ribs of beef , both fat and full
fiiie," and drank jollily of "ale and wine" as they do now at a
horse- race : —

Then to Westminster Gate I presently went,

When the sun was at high prime :
Cooks to me, they took good intent,

And proffered me bread, with ale and wine,

Ribs of beef, both fat and full fine ;
A fair cloth they gan for to spread, ^

But wanting money, I might not there speed.

6 ttlSTOkV of TMfi

Passing from the City of Westminster, through the Village of
Charing and along Strand-side, to the City of London, the cries
of food and feeding were first especially addressed to those who
preferred a vegetable diet, with dessert and ^^ spice, pepper,
and saffron " to follow. " Hot peascod one began to cry" Peas-
cod being the shell of peas ; the cod what we now call the pod: —

' ' Were women as little as they are good,
A peascod would make them a gown and hood."

" Strawberry ripe, or cherries in the rise." Rise — branch,
twig, either a natural branch, or tied on sticks as we still
see them.

Then unto London I did me hie,

Of all the land it beareth the prize ;
Hot peascods ! one began to cry ;

Strawberry ripe, and cherries in the rise !

One bade me come near and buy some spice ;
Pepper and saffron they gan me beed ;
But, for lack of money, I might not speed."

In Cheap (Cheapside) he saw " much people" standing, who
proclaimed the merits of their " velvets, silk, lawn, and Paris
thread" These, however, were shopkeepers; but their shops
were not after the modern fashion of plate-glass windows, and
carpeted floors, and lustres blazing at night with a splendour
that would put to shame the glories of an eastern palace. They
were rude booths, the owners of which bawled as loudly as the
itinerants ; and they went on bawling for several centuries, like
butchers in a market, so that, in 1628, Alexander Cell, a
bachelor of divinity, was sentenced to lose his ears and to be
degraded from the ministry, for giving his opinion of Charles I.,

CRIES OP London. *

that he was fitter to stand in a Cheapside shop with an apron
before him, and say "What do ye lack, what do ye lack?
What lack ye ? " than to govern a kingdom.

Then to the Cheap I gaii me drawn,
Where much people I saw for to stand ;

One offered me velvet, silk, and lawn ;
Another he talceth me by the hand,
"Here is Paris thread, the finest in the land."

I never was used to such things indeed ;

And, wanting money, I might not speed.

Then went I forth by London Stone,
Throughout all Canwyke Street :

Drapers much cloth me offered anon ;

Then comes in one crying "Hot sheep's feet ; "
One cried mackerel, rushes green, another gan greet ;

One bade me buy a hood to cover my head ;

But, for want of money, I might not be sped."

The London Stone, the Lapis Milliaris (mile-stone) of the
Romans, has never failed to arrest the attention of the
" Countryman in Lunnun.'' The Canwyke Street of the days
of John Lydgate, is the Cannon Street of the present. " Hot
sheep's feet," which were cried in the streets in the time of
Henry V., are now sold cold as " sheep's trotters," and vended
at the doors of the lower-priced theatres, music-halls, and public-
houses. Henry Mayhew in his "London Labour and the
London Poor," estimates that there are sold weekly 20,000 sets,
or 80,000 feet. The wholesale price at the " trotter yard " is
five a penny, which gives an outlay by the street sellers of
J^'i^'^ll 6s. 8d. yearly. The cry which is still heard and
tolerated by law, that of Mackerel rang through every street.
The cry of Rushes-green tells us of by-gone customs. In ages

8 HISTORY. OF THE

long before the luxury of carpets was known in England, the
floors of houses were covered with rushes. The strewing of
rushes in the way where processions were to pass is attributed
by our poets to all times and countries. Thus at the coronation
of Henry V., when the procession is coming the grooms cry —
" More rushes, more rushes."
Not worth a rush became a common comparison for anything
worthless ; the rush being of so little value as to be trodden
under foot. Rush-lights, or candles with rush wicks, are of the
greatest antiquity.

Then I hied me unto East-Cheap,

One cries ribs of beef, and many a pie ;
Pewter pots they clattered on a heap ;

There was harp, pipe, and minstrelsy ;

"Yea by Cock ! Nay by Cock ! ".some began cry ;
Some sung of Jenkin and Julian for their meed ;
But, for lack of money, I might not speed."

Eastcheap, this ancient thoroughfare, originally extended
from Tower street westward to the south end of Clement's lane,
where Cannon-street begins. It was the Eastern Cheap or
Market, as distinguished from Westcheap, now Cheapside.
The site of the Boar's Head Tavern, first mentioned tetnp.
Richard II., the scene of the revels of Falstaff and Henry V.,
when Prince of Wales, is very nearly that of the statue of King
William IV. Lackpemiy had presented to him several of the
real Signs of the Times and of Life in London with " ribs of
beef — mavy a pie — pewter pots — music and singing" — strange
oalhs, " Yea by Cock " being a vulgar corruption for a profane
oath. Our own taverns still supply us with ballad-singers —
'■'■Buskers'' — who will sing of " yetikin and J^ulian" — Ben
Block or the Ratcatcher's Daughter "for their meed."

CRIES OF LONDON. g

Theji into Cornhill anon I yode, [wenL]

Where was much stolen gear among ;
I saw where hung mine own hood

That I had lost among the throng ;

To buy my own hood I thought It wrong :
I knew it well, as I did my creed ;
But, for lack of money, I could not speed.

The manners and customs of the dwellers in Cornhill in the
time of John Lydgate, when a stranger could have his hood
stolen at one end of the town and see it exposed for sale at the
other, forcibly reminds us of Field-lane and the Jew Fagin, so
faithfully sketched in pen and ink by Charles Dickens of our day.
Where "a young man from the country" would run the risk of
meeting with an Artful Dodger, to pick his pocket of his silk hand-
kerchief at the entrance of the Lane, and it would be offered
him for sale by a Jew fence at the end, not only " Once a Week ''
but " All the Year Round." However, when Charles Dickens
and Oliver Twist came in, Field-lane and Fagin went out.

At length the Kentish man being wearied, falls a prey to the
invitation of a taverner, who with a cringing bow, and taking
him by the sleeve : — "Si'r," saith he, " will you our wine assay i"
Whereupon Lackpenny, coming to the safe conclusion that " a
penny can do no more than it may" enters the tempting .and
hospitable house of entertainment, and there spends his only
penny, for which he is supplied with a pint of wine : —

The taverner took me by the sleeve,

" Sir," saith he, " will you our wine assay ? "

I answered " That cannot much me grieve,
A penny can do no more than it may ; "
I drank a pint, and for it did pay ;

Yet, sore a-hungered from hence I yede.

And, wanting money, I could not speed.

Id MisTorV of tilt

Worthy old John Stow supposes this interesting incident to
have happened at the Pope's Head, in Comhill, and bids us
enjoy the knowledge, of the fact, that :— " Wine one pint for a
pennie, and bread to drink it was given free in every taverne."
Yet Lydgate's hero went away " Sore a-hungered" for there was
no eating at taverns at this time beyond a crust to relish the
wine, and he who wished to dine before he drank had to go
to the cook's.

Wanting money, Lackpenny has now no choice but to return
to the country, and applies to the watermen at Billingsgate : —

Then hied I me to Billingsgate,

And one cried " Hoo ! go we hence ! "
I prayed a bargeman, for God's sake,

That he would spare me my expence.

' ' Thou scap'st not here, quod he, under twopence,
I list not yet bestow any alms deed."
Thus lacking money I could not speed.

We have a corroboration of the accuracy of this picture in
Lambarde's " Perambulation of Kent." The old topographer
informs us that in the time of Richard II. the inhabitants of
Milton and Gravesend agreed to carry in their boats, from
London to Gravesend, a passenger with his truss or farthell
[burden] for two-pence.

Then I conveyed me into Kent ;

For of the law would I meddle no more ;
Because no man to me took entent,

I dight me to do as I did before.

Now Jesus that in Bethlem was bore,
Save London, and send true lawyers their meed ! .
For who so wants money with them shall not speed.

Cries or' loNfcoiJ.

The poor Kentish suitor, without two-pence in his pocket to
pay the Gravesend bargemen, whispers a mild anathema against
London lawyers, then takes his solitary way on foot homeward
— a sadder and a wiser man.

With unpaved streets, and no noise of coaches to drown any
particular sound, we may readily imagine the din of the great
London thoroughfares of four centuries ago, produced by all the
vociferous demand for custom. The chief body of London
retailers were then itinerant, — literally pedlars ; and those who
had attained some higher station were simply stall-keepers. The
streets of trade must have borne a wonderful resemblance to a
modem fair. Competition was then a very rude thing, and the
loudest voice did something perhaps to carry the customer.

The London Stone.

HISTORY OF THE

Strawberries Ripe, and Cherries in the Rise.

In the days of Henry V. the above was at once a musical and
a poetical cry. It must have come over the ear, telling of sunny
gardens not a sparrow's flight from the City, such as that of the
Bishop of Ely in Holborn, and of plenteous orchards which
could spare their boughs as well as their fruit ; —

■ D. of Glou. — My lord of Ely, when I was last in Holborn,
I saw good strawberries in your garden there :
I do beseech you send for some of them.
B. of Ely. — Marry, and I will, my lord, with all my heart."

Rkluird HI. act iii. sc. 4.

CRIES OF LONDON. I,

" Cherry ripe \" " Cherry ripe" was ever a favourite cry; and
we all know how Robert Herrick has married the words to
poetry, which is none the worse for having bee'n as popular in
our day as " My Pretty Jane," or " Nancy Lee " :—

" Cherry ripe — ripe — ripe — I cry,
Full and fair ones ; come, and buy.
If so be you ask me where
They do grow ? I answer, there.
Where my Julia's lips do smile,
There's the land of cherry-isle ;
Whose plantations fully show
All the year where cherries grow."

What a tribute to the fine old poet, who says : —

" I sing of brooks, of blossoms, birds, and bowers.
Of April, May, of June, and July flowers,
I sing of May-poles, hock-carts, wassails, wakes.
Of bride-grooms, brides, and their bridal-cakes,"

to have had the principal streets and dirty lanes of London,
two hundred years after his death, made vocal with his words
that seemed to gush from his heart like the nightingale's song.

In the old play entitled : — " A right excellent and famous
Comedy called the Three Ladies of London, wherein is Notable
declared and set fourth, how by the meanes of Lucar, Love, and
Conscience is so corrupted, that the one is married to Dissimu-
lation, the other fraught with all abhomination. A Perfect
Patterne of All Estates to looke into, and a worke right worthie
to be marked. Written by R. W., as it hath been publiquely
played. At London, Printed by Roger Warde. dwelling neere
Holburne Conduit at the signe of the Talbot, 1584," is the
following poetical description of some London cries ; —

lIISTORY OF THE

Enter Conscience, with brooms at her back, singing as

followeth : —

New iroomes, ^len broomes, will you buy any ?
tome maydens, come quickly, let me take a penny.
My broomes are not steeped.

But very well bound :
My broomes be not crooked.

But smooth cut and round.
I wish il would please you.

To buy of my broome:
Then would it well ease me.
If market were done.

Have you any olde bootes.

Or any old shoone :
Powch-ringes, or buskins.
To cope for new broome ?
If so you have, maydens,

I pray you bring hither ;
That you and I, friendly.
May bargin together.
New broomes, green broomes, will you buy any ?
Come maydens, come quickly, let me take a penny.

Conscience speakdh.

Thus am I driven to make a virtue of necessity ;

And seeing God Almighty vcill have it so, I embrace it thankfully,

Desiring God to mollify and lesson Usury's hard heart,

That the poor people feel not the like penury and smart.

But Usury is made tolerable amongst Christians as a necessary thing,

So that, going beyond the limits of our law, they extort, and to many

misery bring.
But if we should follow God's law we should not receive above what

we lend;
For if we lend for reward, how can we say we are our neighbour's

friend ?

CRIES OF LONDON.. 1 5

O, how blessed shall that man be, that lends without abuse,
But thrice accursed shall he be, that greatly covets use ;
For he that covets over-much, insatiate is his mind,
So that to perjury and cruelty he wholly is inclin'd :
Wherewith they sore oppress the poor by divers sundry ways,
Which makes them cry unto the Lord to shorten cut-throats' days.
Paul calleth them thieves that doth not give the needy of their store.
And thiice accurs'd are they that take one penny from the poor.
But while I stand reasoning thus, I forget my market clean ;
And sith God hath ordained this way, I am to use the mean.

Sings again.

Have ye any old shoes, or have ye any boots ? have ye any buskins^ or will

ye buy any broome ?
Who bargins or chops with Conscience ? What will no customer come ?

Enter Usury.

Usury.
Who is that cries brooms ? What, Conscience, selling _brooms about the
street ?

Conscience.
What, Usury, it is a great pity thou art unhanged yet.

• Usury.

Believe me, Conscience, it grieves me thou art brought so low.

Conscience.
Believe me. Usury, it grieves me thou wast not hanged long ago,
For if thou hadst been hanged, before thou slewest Hospitality,
Thou hadst not made me and thousands more to feel like poverty.

By another old comedy by the same author as the preceding
one, which he entitles : — " The pleasant and Stately Morall of
the three Lords and three Ladies of London. With the great
Joy and Pompe, Solemnized at their Marriages : Commically

HISTORY OF THE

interlaced with much honest Mirth, for pleasure and recreation,
among many Morall observations, and other important matters
of due Regard. By R. W., London. Printed by R. Ihones, at
the Rose and Crowne, neere Holburne Bridge, iS90j" it
appears that woodmen went about with their beetles and
wedges on their backs, crying, " Have you any wood to cleave" i
It must be borne in mind that in consequence of the many
complaints against coal as a public nuisance, it was not in
common use in London until the reign of Charles L, 1625.

There is a character in the play named Simplicity, a poor
Freeman of London, who for a purpose turns ballad-monger,
and in answer to the question of " What dainty fine ballad have
you now to be sold ?" replies : — " I have Chipping-Norton^' " A
mile from Chapel q' tli Heath'" — "A lamentable ballad of
burning of the Popis dog" ; " The sweet ballad of the Lincoln-
shire bagpipes^' ; and " Peggy and Willy: But now he is dead
and gone ; Mine own sweet Willy is laid in his grave."

CRIES OF LONDON

Ben Jonson's London.

The Silent Woman, one of the most popular of Ben Jonson's
comedies, presents to us a more vivid picture than can else-
where be found of the characteristic noises, and street cries of
London more than two centuries ago. It is easy to form to
ourselves a general idea of the hum and buzz of the bees and
drones of this mighty hive, under a state of manners essentially
different from our own ; but it is not so easy to attain a lively
conception of the particular sounds that once went to make up
this great discord, and so to compare them in their resem-
blances and their differences with the roar which the great

1 8 HISTORY OF THE

Babel now " sends through all her gates." We propose, there-
fore, to put before our readers this passage of Jonson's comedy;
and then, classifying what he describes, illustrate our fine old
dramatic painter of manners by references to other writers, and
by the results of our own observation.

The principal character of Jonson's ' Silent Woman ' is

founded upon a sketch by a Greek writer of the fourth century,

Libanius. Jonson designates this character by the name ot

" Morose;" and his peculiarity is that he can bear no kind ot

noise, even that of ordinary talk. The plot turns upon this

affectation; for having been entrapped into a marriage with the

Silent Woman, she and her friends assail him with tongues the

most obstreperous, and clamours the most uproarious, until, to

be relieved of this nuisance, he comes to terms with his" nephew

for a portion of his fortune and is relieved of the Silent Woman,

who is in reality a boy in disguise. We extract the dialogue ol

the whole scene ; the speakers being Truewitt, Clerimont, and

a Page : —

" True. I met that stiff piece of formality, Master Morose, his uncle,
yesterday, with a huge turban of night-caps on his head, buckled over his
ears.

" Cler. O ! that's tis custom when he walks abroad. He can endure no
noise, man.

" True. So I have heard. But is the disease so ridiculous in, him as it is
made ? They say he has been upon divers treaties with the fish -wives and

CRIES OF LONDON.

orange-women ; and articles propounded between them : marry, the
chimney-sweepers will not be drawn in.

" Cler. No, nor the broom-men : they stand out stiffly. He cannot
endure a costard-monger ; he swoons if he hear one.

" True. Methinks a smith should be ominous.

" Cler. Or any hammer-man. A brasier is not suffer'd to dwell in the
parish, nor an armourer. He would have hang'd a pewterer's 'prentice once
upon a Shrove-Tuesday's riot, for being of that tra(ie, when the rest -were
quit.

" True. A trumpet should fright him terribly, or the hautboys.

" Cler. Out of his senses. The waits of the city have a pension of him
not to come near thai ward. This youth practised on him one night like the
bellman, and never left till he had brought him down to the door with a
long sword ; and there left him flourishing with the air.

"Page. Why, sir, he hath chosen a street to lie in, so narrow at both
ends that it will receive no coaches, nor carts, nor any of these common
noises : and therefore we that love him devise to bring him in such as we
may, now and then, for his exercise, to breathe him. He would grow
resty else in his cage ; his virtue would rust without action. I entreated a
bearward, one day, to come down with the dogs of some four parishes that
way, and I thank him he did ; and cried his games under Master Morose's
window ; till he was sent crying away, with his head made a most bleeding
spectacle to the multitude. And, another time, a fencer marching to his
prize had his drum most tragically run through, for taking that street in his
way at my request.

" True- A good wag ! How does he for the bells ?

" Cler. O ! in the queen's time he was wont to go out of town every
Saturday at ten o'clock, or on holiday eves. But now, by reason of the
sickness, the perpetuity of ringing has made him devise a room with double
walls and treble ceilings ; the windows close shut and caulk'd : and there he
lives by candlelight."

The first class of noises, then, against which Morose pro-
tected his ears by " a huge turban of night-caps," is that of the
ancient and far-famed London Cries. We have here the very
loudest of them — fish-wives, orange-women, chimney-sweepers,
broom-men, costard-mongers. But we might almost say that
there were hundreds of other cries; and therefore, reserving
to ourselves some opportunity for a special enumeration
of a few of the more remarkable of these cries, we shall now
slightly group them, as jhey present themselves to our notice
during successive generations.

HISTORY OF THE

We shall not readily associate any very agreeable sounds with
the voices the "fish-wives." The one who cried ^^ Mackerel"
in Lydgate's day had probably no such explanatory cry as the
'''■Mackerel alive, alive ho!" of modern times. In the seven-
teenth century the cry was " New Mackerel." And in the same
way there was : —

New Wall-Fleet Oysters.

New Flounders.

New Whiting.

New Salmon.

CEIES OF LONDON,

The freshness of fish must have been a considerable recom-
mendation in tliose days of tardy intercourse. But quantity
was also to be taken into the account, and so we find the cries
of "Buy my dish of great smelts;" "great plaice;" "great
mussels." Such are the fish-cries enumerated in Mauron's and
various other collections of " London Cries."

Buy Great Smelts.

Buy Great Plaice.

Buy Great Mussels.

Buy Great Eels.

22 HISTORY OF THE

The fish-wives are no longer seen in our great city of London
thoroughfares. In Tottenham Court Road, Hoxton, Shoreditch,
Kingsland, Whitechapel, Hackney Road, and many other
suburban districts, which still retains the character of a street-
market, they stand in long rows as the evening draws in, with
paper-lanthorns stuck in their baskets on dark nights; and
there they vociferate as loudly as in the old time.

The "costard-monger" that Morose dreaded, still lives
amongst us, and is still noisy. He bawls so loud even to this
day, that he puts his hand behind his ear to mitigate the sensa-
tion which he inflicts upon his own tympanum. He was
origmally an apple-seller, whence his namej and, from the
mention of him in the old dramatists, he appears to have been
frequently an Irishman. In Jonson's ' Bartholomew Fair,' he
cries "pears." Ford makes him cry "pippins!' He is a
quarrelsome fellow, according to Beaumont and Fletcher : — ■
"And then he'll rail like a rude costermonger,
That schoolboys had cozened of his apple,
As loud and senseless."

CRIES OF LONDON. 23

The costermonger is now a travelling shopkeeper. We encounter
him not in Comhill, or Holbom, or the Strand : in the neigh-
bourhood of the great markets and well-stored shops he travels
not. But his voice is heard in some silent streets stretching into
the suburbs ; and there, with his donkey and hampers stands at
the door, as the servant-maid cheapens a bundle of cauliflowers.
He has monopolized all the trades that were anciently re-
presented by such cries as " Buy my attichokes, mistress;" " Ripe
cowcumbers; " White onions, white St. Thomas' onioiisf
"White radish/' "Ripe young beans f "Any baking pears;"
"Ripe speragas." He would be indignant to encounter such
petty chapmen interfering with his wholesale operations. He
would rail against them as the city shopkeepers of the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries railed against itinerant traders of
every denomination. In the days of Elizabeth, they declare by
act of common council, that in ancient times the open streets
and lanes of the city have been used, and ought to be used, as
the common highway only, and not for hucksters, pedlars, and
hagglers, to stand and sit to sell their wares in, and to pass from
street to street hawking and offering their wares. In the
seventh year of Charles I. the same authorities denounce the
oyster-wives, herb-wives, tripe-wives, and the like, as " unruly
people;" and they charge them somewhat unjustly, as it must
appear, with " framing to themselves a way whereby to live a
more easy life than by labour."

" How busy is the man the world calls idle !"

The evil, as the citizens term it, seems to have increased ; for
in 1694 the common council threatened the pedlars and petty
chapmen with the terrors of the laws against rogues and sturdy
beggars, the least penalty being whipping, whether for male or

HISTORY OF THE

female. The reason for this terrible denunciation is very
candidly put : the citizens and shopkeepers are greatly hindered
and prejudiced in their trades by the hawkers and pedlars.
Such denunciations as these had little share in putting down the
itinerant traders. They continued to flourish, because society
required them ; and they vanished from our view when society
required them no longer. In the middle of the last century
they were fairly established as rivals to the shopkeepers. Dr.
Johnson, than whom no man knew London better, thus writes
in the ' Adventurer :' " The attention of a new-comer is generally
first struck by the multiplicity of cries that stun'lhim in the
streets, and the variety of merchandise and manufactures which
the shopkeepers expose on every hand." The shopkeepers have
now ruined the itinerants — not by putting them down by fiery
penalties, but by the competition amongst themselves to have

Old Shoes for Some Brooms !

CRIES OF LONDON. 25

every article at hand for every man's use, which shall be better
and cheaper than the wares of the itinerant. Whose ear is now
ever deafened by the cries of the broom-man? He was a
sturdy fellow in the days of old Morose, carrying on a barter
which in itself speaks of the infancy of civilization. His cry
was ^^old shoes for some brooms." Those proclamations for
barter no doubt furnished a peculiar characteristic of the old
London cries. The itinerant buyers weje as loud, though not
so numerous, as the sellers.

Old Clowze, any Old Clo,' Clo .

The familiar voice of " Old clowze, any old do', do'," has
lasted through some generations ; but the glories of Monmouth
Street were unknown when a lady in a peaked bonnet and a
laced stomacher went about proclaiming " Old satin, old iaffety,
or velvet." And a singular looking party of the Hebrew
persuasion, with a cocked hat on his head, and a bundle of

HISTORY OF THE

rapiers and sword-sticks under his arm, which he was ready to
barter for : —

Old Cloaks, Suits, or Coats.

Hats or Caps — Buy, Sell or Exchange.

While another of the tribe proclaimed aloud from east to
west — and back again, "From morn to noon, from noon to
dewy eve," his willingness to "Buy, sell or exchange hats or caps"

CRIES OF LONDON.

Why should the Hebrew race appear to possess a monopoly in
the purchase and sale of dilapidated costume ? Why should
their voices, and theirs alone, be employed in the constant
iteration of the talismanic monosyllables " Old Clo' ? " Is it
because Judas carried the bag that all the children of Israel are
to trudge through London streets to the end of their days with
sack on shoulder ? Artists generally represent the old clothes-
man with three, and sometimes four, hats superposed one above
the other. Now, though we have seen him with many hats in
his hands or elsewhere, we never yet saw him with more than
one hat on his head. The three-hatted clothesman, if ever he
existed, is obsolete.

There was trading then going forward from house to house,
which careful housewifery and a more vigilant police have
banished from the daylight-, if they have not extirpated it
altogether. Before the shops are open and the chimneys send
forth their smoke, there may be now sometimes seen creeping
up an area a sly-looking beldam, who treads as stealthily as a
cat. Under her cloak she" has, a pan, whose unctuous contents

Any Kitchen-Stuff have you Maids?

28 HISTORY OF THE

will some day assist in the enlightenment or purification of the
world, in the form of candles or soap. But the good lady of the
house, who is a late riser, knows not of the transformation that
is going forward. In the old days she would have heard the
cry of a maiden, with tub on head and pence in hand, of " Any
kitchen-stuff have you maids ? " and she probably would have
dealt with her herself, or have forbidden her maids to deal.

So it is with the old cry of " Any old iron take money for ? "
The fellow who then went openly about with sack on back was
a thief, and an encourager of thieves ; he now keeps a marine-
store.

Any Old Iron Take Money For?

CRIES OF LONDON. 29

A Street at Night — Shakespear's London.

Sir Walter Scott, in his Fortunes of Nigel, has left us a capital

description of the shop of a London tradesman during the reign

of King James in England, the shop in question being that of

David Ramsay, maker of watches and horologes, within Temple

Bar — a few yards eastward of St. Dunstan's Church, Fleet

Street, and where his apprentice Jenkin Vincent — abbreviated

to Jin Vin, when not engaged in 'Prentices-riots, is crying to

every likely passer-by : —

"What d'ye lack? — What d'ye lack? — Clocks -watches — barnacles? —
What d'ye lack ? — Watches — clocks— barnacles ? — What d'ye lack, sir ?
What d'ye lack, madam? — Barnacles — watches — clocks? What d'ye lack,
noble sir ? — What d'ye lack, beauteous madam ? — God bless your reverence,
the Greek and Hebrew have harmed your reverence's eyes. Buy a pair of
David Ramsay's barnacles. The King — God bless bis sacred Majesty ! —
never reads Hebrew or Greek withoiit them. What d'ye lack ? Mirrors for

30 HISTORY OF THE

your toilets, my pretty madam ; your head-gear is something awry — pity
since it is so well fancied. What d'ye lack ? a watch Master Sergeant ? — a
watch that will go as long as a lawsuit, as steady and true as your own
eloquence ? a watch that shall not lose thirteen minutes in a thirteen year's
lawsuit — a watch with four wheels and a bar-movement — a watch that shall
tell you, Master Poet, how long the patience of the audience will endure
your next piece at the Black Bull."

The verbal proclaimers of the excellence of their com-
modities, had this advantage over those who, in the present day,
use the public papers for the same purpose, that they could in
many cases adapt their address to the peculiar appearance and
apparent taste of the passengers. This direct and personal
mode of invitation to customers became, however, a dangerous
temptation to the young wags who were employed in the task of
solicitation during the absence of the principle person interested
in the traffic ; and, confiding in their numbers and civic union,
the 'prentices of London were often seduced into taking
liberties with the passengers, and exercising their wit at the
expense of those whom they had no hopes of converting into
customers by their eloquence. If this were resented by any
act of violence, the inmates of each shop were ready to pour
forth in succour; and in the -words of an old song which Dr.
Johnson was used to hum, —

" Up then rose the 'prentices all,
Living in London, both proper and tall."

Desperate riots often arose on such occasions, especially
when the Templars, or other youths connected with the
aristocracy, were insulted, or conceived themselves to be so.
Upon such occasions, bare steel was frequently opposed to the
clubs of the citizens, and death sometimes ensued on both
sides. The tardy and ineflicient police oif the time had no
other resource than by the Alderman of the ward calling out the
householders, and putting a stop to the strife by overpowering
numbers, as the Capulets and Montagues are separated upon
the stage : — but this is a digression.

CRIES OF LONDON,

If, says Charles Knight in his London, the age of the Stuarts
was not the greatest period of London Cries — and it is probable
that the progress of refinement had abolished many of the earlier
of them, that period has preserved to us the fullest records of
their wonderful variety. There is a very rare sheet of woodcuts
in the Print-room of the British Mijseum, containing twelve
cries, with figures of the " Criers " and the cries themselves
beneath. The cuts are singularly characteristic, and may be
assigned with a safety on the authority of Mr. John Thomas
Smith, the late keeper of the prints and drawings, as of the
same date as Ben Jonson's " fish-wives " and " costard-mongers."
The first is the reverend watchman. It was his business to
make the cry inscribed over the figure here given.

32 HISTORY OF THE

He had to deal with deaf listeners, and he therefore pro-
claimed with a voice of command, " Lanthorn !" But a lanthorn
alone was a body without a soul ; and he therefore demanded a
whole candle." To render the mandate less individually
oppressive, he went on to cry, " Hang out your lights !" And
that even the sleepers might sleep no more, he ended with
" Hear !"

The making of lanthoms was a great trade in the early times.
We clung to King Alfred's invention for the preservation of
light with as reverend a love, during many centuries, as we
bestowed upon his civil institutions. The horn of the favoured
utensil was a very dense medium for illumination, but science
had substituted nothing better j and, even when progressing
people carried about a neat glass instrument with a brilliant
reflector, the watchman held to his ponderous and murky relic
of the past, making " night hideous " with his voice, to give
news of the weather, such as : " Past eleven, and a starlight
night ;" or " Past one o'clock, and a windy morning j" in fact,
disturbed your rest to tell you " what's a clock."

We are told by the chroniclers that, as early as 1416, the
Mayor, Sir Henry Barton, ordered lanthoms and lights to be
hanged out on the winter evenings, betwixt Allhallows and
Candlemas. For three centuries this practice subsisted, con-
stantly evaded, no doubt, through the avarice or poverty of
individuals, sometimes probably disused altogether, but still the
custom of London up to the time of Queen Anne. The cry of
the watchman, " hang out your lights," was an exhortation to
the negligent, which probably they answered only by snores,
equally indifferent to their own safety and the public preserva-
tion. A worthy mayor in the time of Queen Mary provided
the watchman with a bell, with which instrument he ac-

CRIES OF LONDON.

companied the music of his voice down to the days of the
Commonwealth. The "Statutes of the Streets," in the time of
EUzabeth, were careful enough for the preservation of silence in
some things. They prescribed that " no man shall blow any
horn in the night, or whistle after the hour of nine o'clock in the
night, under pain of imprisonment;" and, what was a harder
thing to keep, they also forbad a man to make any " sudden
outcry in the still of the night, as making any affray, or beating
his wife." Yet a privileged man was to go about knocking at
doors and ringing his alarum — an intolerable nuisance if he did
what he was ordered to do.

The Watch — Shakespeare's London.

But the watchmen were, no doubt, wise in their generation.
With honest Dogberry, they could not " see how sleeping should

HISTORY OF THE

offend ;" and after the watch was set, they probably agreed to
" go sit upon the church bench till two, and then all to bed."
Thomas Dekker — otherwise Decker, however, in his — "The
Bellman of London. Bringing to light the most notorious
Villanies that are now practised in the Kingdom, Profitable for
Gentleman, Lawyers, Merchants, Citizens, Farmers, Masters of
Households and all sortes of servants to Marke, and delightful
for all men to Reade, Lege, Perlege, Pelege.'' Printed at London
for Nathaniel Butter, 1608 — describes the bellman as a person
of some activity — " the child of darkness ; a common night-
walker ; a man that had no man to wait upon him, but only a
dog j one that was a disordered person, and at midnight would
beat at men's doors, bidding them (in mere mockery) to look to

The Bellman — from Dekker 1608.

CRIES OF LONDON. 35

their candles, when they themselves were in their dead sleeps."
Stow says that in Queen Mary's day one of each ward " began
to go all night with a bell, and at every lane's end, and at the
ward's end, gave warning of fire and candle, and to help the
poor and pray for the dead." Milton, in his « II Penseroso,"
tells us of: —

The bellman's drowsy charm,

To bless the doors from nightly harm.

In "A Bellman's Song " of the same date, we have :—

Maidens to bed, and cover coal,
Let the mouse out of her hole,
Crickets in the chimney sing,
Whilst the little bell doth ring ;
If fast asleep, who can tell
When the clapper hits the bell ?

Herrick, also, lias given us the verses of the bellman of poetry
in one of the charming morsels of his ' Hesperides :' —

" From noise of scare-fires rest ye free,
From murders Benedicite ;
From all mischances that may fright
Your pleasing slumbers in the night,
Mercy secure ye all, and keep
The goblins from ye while ye sleep.
Past one o'cloek, and almost two,
My masters all, ' Good day to you !' "

But, with or without a bell, the real prosaic watchman con-
tinued to make the same demand as his predecessors for lights
through a long series of years ; and his demand tells us plainly
that London was a city without lamps. But though he was a
prosaic person, he had his own verses. Hevaddressed himself
to the " maids." He exhorted them to make their lanthorns

36 HISTORY OF THE

"bright and clear." He told them how long their candles were
expected to burn. And, finally, like a considerate lawgiver, he
gave a reason for his edict : —

" That honest men that walk along,
May see to pass safe without wrong."

In the Luttrell Collection of Broadsides (Brit. Mus.) is one
dated 1683-4, entitled "A Copy of Verses presented by Isaac
Ragg, Bellman, to the Masters and Mistresses of Holbourn
Division, in the Parish of St. Giles's-in-the Fields." It is headed
by a wood-cut representing Isaac in his professional accoutre-
ments, a pointed pole in the left hand, and in the right a bell,
while his lantern hangs from his jacket in front ; below is a series
of verses, the only specimen worth giving here being the
expression of Mr. Ragg's official duty ; it is as follows : —

Time Masters, calls your bellman to his task.
To see your doors and windows are all fast,
And that no villany or foul crime be done
, To you or yours in absence of the sun.
If any base lurker I do meet,
In private alley or in open street,
You shall have warning by my timely call.
And so God bless you and give rest to all.

In a similar, but unadorned broadside, dated 1666, Thomas
Law, Bellman, greets his Masters of " St. Giles. Cripplegate,
within the Freedom," in twenty-three dull stanzas, of which the
last may be subjoined : —

No sooner hath St. Andrew crowned November,
But Boreas from the North brings cold December,
And I have often heard a many say.
He brings the winter month Newcastle way ;
For comfort here of poor distressed souls,
Would he had with him brought a fleet of coals.

CRIES OF LONDON. 37

It was customary for the bellman to present at Christmas
time to each householder in his district " A Copy of Verses,"
and expected from each in return some small gratuity. The
execrable character of his poetry is indicated by the contempt
with which the wits speak of " bellman's verses " and the com-
parison they bear to " Cutler's poetry upon a knife,'' whose posy
was — ^^ Love me, and leave me not." On the subject there is a
work entitled — " The British Bellman. Printed in the Year of
Saint's Fear, Anno Domini 1648, and reprinted in the Harleian
Miscellany." " The Merry Bell-man's Out-Cryes, or the Cities
O Yes ! being a mad merry Ditty, both Pleasant and Witty, to
be cry'd in Prick-Song* Prose, through Country and City.
Printed in the Year of Bartledum Fair, 1655." Also — "The
Bell-man's Treasury, containing above a Hundred several Verses
fitted for all Humours and Fancies, and suited to all Times and
Seasons. London, 1797." It was from the riches of this
" treasury " that the predecessors of the present parish Bellman
mostly took their own (!) " Copy of Verses."

It was the duty of the bellman of St. Sepulchre's parish near

Newgate, to rouse the unfortunates condemned to death in that

prison, the night before their execution, and solemnly exhort

. them to repentance with good words in bad rhyme, ending with

" When St. Sepulchre's bell to-morrow tolls,
The Lord above have mercy on your souls."

The " orange-women " of Ben Jonson we have figured to the
life. The familiar mention of the orange-sellers in the " Silent
Woman," and this very early representation of one of them, show
how general the use of this fruit had become in England at the
beginning of the seventeenth century. It is stated, though the

* Prkk-soiiG, music pricked 'or noted down, full of flourish and
variety. — Halliwell.

'^^

HISTORY OF THE

Story is somewhat apocryphal, that the first oranges were im-
ported by Sir Walter Raleigh. It is probable that about his
time they first became an article of general commerce. We now
consume about three hundred and fifty millions of oranges every
year. The orange-women who carried the golden fruit through
every street and alley, with the musical cry of

" Fair lemons and oranges.
Oranges and citrons,"
lasted for a century or two.

Fine Seville Oranges, Fine Lemons, Fine.
The orange-woman became, as everything else became, a
more prosaic person as she approached our own times. She
was a barrow-woman at the end of the last century : and Porson
has thus described her : —

" As I walked through the Strand so cheerful and gay,
I met a young girl a-wheeling a barrow ;
Fine fruit, sir, says she, and a bill of the play."

The transformation was the same with the strawberry and
cherry-woftien.

But to our broadside of Old London Criers and Cries.

CRIES OF LONDON. 39

The first is the watch ; he has no name, but carries his staflf
and lanthorn with an air of honest old Dogberry about him, —
" A good man and true, and the most desertless man to be a
constable." The " cry " of the " Watch " is as follow :—

A light here, maids, hang out your light,
And see your horns be clear and bright.
That so your candle clear may shine.
Continuing from six till nine ;
That honest men that walK along.
May see to pass safe without wrong.

No. 2 is the " Bellman "— Dekker's " Bellman of London."

(as at page 31.) He carries a halberd lanthorn, and bell, and his

" cry " is curious : —

Maids in your smocks, look to your locks.

Your fire and candle-light ;
For well 't is Icnown much mischief's done

By both in dead of night ;
Your locks and fire do not neglect,
And so you may good rest expect.

No 3 is the " Orange Woman," a sort of full-grown Nell

Gwynne, if we can only fancy Nelly, the favourite mistress of

King Charles the Second, grown up in her humble occupation.

She carries a basket of oranges and lemons under her arm, and

seeks to sell them by the following " cry :" : —

Fine Sevil oranges, fine lemmons, fine ;
Round, sound, and tender, inside and rine,
One pin's prick their vertue show :
They've liquor by their weight, you may know.

No. 4 is the " Hair-line Man," with a bundle of lines under
his arm, and a line in his hand. Clothes-pegs was, perhaps, a
separate " cry." Here is his : —

Buy a hair-line, or a line for Jacke,

If you any hair or hemp-cord lack,

Mistris, here's good as you need use ;

Bid fair for handsel, I'll not refuse.

40 HISTORY OF THE

No, 5 is the "Radish and Lettuce Woman." — Your fine
" goss " lettuce is a modern cry : —

White raddish, white young lettis.
White young lettis white :
You hear me cry, come, mistris, buy.
To make ray burden light.

No. 6 is the man who sells " Marking Stones," now, unless
we except slate-pencils, completely out of use : —

Buy marking-stones, marking-stones buy,
Much profit in their use doth lie :
I've marking-stones of colour red.
Passing good, or else black lead.

No. 7 is the " Sausage Woman," holding a pound of sausages

in her hand : —

Who buys my sausages, sausages fine ?

I ha' fine sausages of the best ;
As good they are as ere was eat ;

If they be finely drest.
Come, mistris, buy this daintie pound.
About a capon rost them round.

No. 8 is a man with " Toasting-forks and Spice-graters " : —

Buy a fine toasting-fork for toast.
Or fine spice-grater — tools for an hoast ;
If these in winter be lacking, I say.
Your guests will pack, your trade decay.

No. 9 is the " Broom Man," and here we have a " cry "
different from the one we have already given. He carries a pair
of old boots in his hand : —

Come buy some broomes, come buy Of me :

Birch, heath, and green none better be ;

The staves are straight, and all bound sure ;

Come, maids, my brooms will stUl endure.

Old boots or shoes I'll take for brooms.

Come buy to make clean all your rooms !

CRIES OF LONDON. 4I

No. 10 is a woman with a box of " Wash-balls " : —

Buy fine washing-balls, buy a ball,
Cheaper and dearer, greater and small ;
For scouring none do them excel,
Their odour senteth passing well ;
Come buy rare balls, and trial make.
Spots out of clothes they quickly take.

No. 1 1 sells ink and pens. He carries an ink-bottle hung by
a stick behind him, and has a bunch of pens in his hand : —

Buy pens, pens, pens, pens of the best.
Excellent pens and seconds the least ;
Come buy good ink as black as jet,
A varnish like gloss on writing 'twill set.

The twelfth and last is a woman with a basket of Venice
glasses, such as a modern collector would give a good deal to
get hold of: —

Come glasses, glasses, fine glasses buy ;

Fine glasses o' the best I call and cry.

Fine Venice-glasses, — no chrystal more clear.

Of aU forms and fashions buy glasses here.

Black pots for good ale I also do cry ;

Come therefore quickly before I pass by."

In the same collection, is a series of three plates, " Part of
the Cries in London," evidently belonging to the same set,
though only one has got a title. Each plate contains thirty-six
criers, with the addition of a principal " Crier " in the centre.
They were evidently executed abroad, as late, perhaps, as the
reign of Charles 11. No. i (with the title-page) is ornamented
in the centre with the " Rat-Catcher,'' carrying an emblazoned
banner of rats, and attended by a boy. The leather investment
of the rat-catcher of the present day is a pleasant memorial of

HISTORY OF THE

the banner of the past. Beneath the rat-catcher, the following

lines occur : —

" Ilee that wil have neither

Ratt nor Mowssee

Lett him pluck of the tilles

And set fire of his hows."

Proving, evidently that the rat-catcher courted more to his
banner than his poetry. Then follow the thirty-six cries, some
of which, it will be seen, are extremely curious. The names
are given beneath the cuts, but without any verse or peculiarity
of cry.

Cooper Alminake Olde iron

End of golde Coonie skine Aqua vitse

Olde dublets Mussels Pens and ink

Blackinge man Cabeches Olde bellows

Tinker Kitchen stuft Herrings

Pippins Glasses Bui any milke

Bui a matte Cockels Piepin pys

Cooles Hartti chaks Osters

Chimnie swepes Mackrill Shades

Bui brumes Oranges, Lemens Turneps

Camphires Lettice Rosmarie Bale

Cherrie ripe Place Onions.

" Haie ye any work for John Cooper?" is the title of one of
the Martin Mar Prelate pamphlets. " Haie ye ani gold ends to
sell ?" is mentioned as a " cry," in " Pappe with a Hatchet "
(cir. 1589). " Camphires," means Samphires. The « Alminake"
man has completely gone, and " Old Dublets ", has^degenerated
into " Ogh Clo," a " cry " which teased Coleridge for a time,
and occasioned a ludicrous incident, which we had reserved
for a place somewhat later in our history, had not "Old
Dublets " brought it, not inopportunely, to mind. " The other

CRIES OF LONDON.

day," said Coleridge, " I was what you would call floored by a
Jew. He passed me several times crying out for old clothes, in
the most nasal and extraordinary tone I ever heard. At last I
was so provoked, that I said to him, ' Pray, why can't you say
' old clothes ' in a plain way, as I do ?' The Jew stopped, and
looking very gravely at me, said in a clear and even accent,
' Sir, I can say ' old clothes ' as well as you can \ but if you had
to say so ten times a minute, for an hour together, you would
say Ogh Clo as I do now ;' and so he marched off." Coleridge
was so confounded with the justice of the retort that he followed
and gave him a shilling — the only one he had.

The principal figure on the second plate is the " Bellman,"
with dog, bell, halberd, and lanthorns, His " cry " is curious,
though we have had it almost in the same form before : —

" Mayds in your Smocks, Looke
Wei to your lock — your fire
And your light, and God
Give you good night. At
One a Clock.

The " cries '' around him deserve transcription : —

Buy any shrimps Buy a purs

Buy some figs Buy a dish a flounders

Buy a tosting iron Buy a footestoole

Lantorne candellyht Buy a fine bowpot

Buy any maydes Buy a pair a shoes

The water bearer Buy any garters

Buy a whyt pot Featherbeds to dryiie

Bread and Meate Buy any bottens

Buy a candelsticke Buy any whiting maps

Buy any prunes Buy any tape

Buy a washing ball Worcestershyr salt

Good sasages Ripe damsons

Buy any marking stones
The Bear bayting
Buy any blew starch
Buy any points
New Hadog
Yards and Ells
Buy a fyne brush
Hote mutton poys
New sprats new
New cod new
Buy any reasons
P. and glasses to mend

HISTORY OF THE

On the third plate, the principal figure is the " Crier," with
his staff and keys : —

" O yis. Any man or woman that
Can tell any tydings of a little
Mayden Childe of the age of 24
Yeares. Bring worde to the Cryer,
And you shalbe pleased for

Your labor
And Gods blessinge."

The figures surrounding the Common Crier are in the same
style of art, and their cries characteristic of bygone times : —

Buy any wheat
Buy al my smelts
Quick Periwinckels
Rype Chesnuts
Payres fyn
White redish whyt
Buy any whyting
Buy any bone lays
I ha rype straberies
Buy a case for a hat
Birds and hens
Hote podding pyes

Buy a hair lyne
Buy any pompcons
Whyt scalions
Rype walnuts
Fyn potatos fyn
Hote eele pyes
Fresh cheese and creame
Buy any garlick
Buy a longe brush
Whyt carets whyt
Fyne pomgranats
Buy any Russes

Hats or caps to dress
Wood to cleave
Pins of the maker
Any sciruy grass
Any comes to pick
Buy any parsnips
Hot codlinges hot
Buy all my soales
Good marroquin
Buy any cocumber
New thomebacke
Fyne oate cakes.

The only crier in the series who has a horse and cart to
attend him is the Worcestershire salt-man. Salt is still sold
from carts in poor and crowded neighbourhoods.

We have been somewhat surprised in not finding a single
Thames waterman among the criers of London ; but the series
was, perhaps, confined to the streets of London, and the water-
men were thought to belong altogether to the stairs leading to
their silent high-way. Three of their cries have given titles to

CRIES OF LONDON.

three good old English comedies, " Northward, ho ! " " East-
ward, ho ! " and " Westward ho ! " But our series of cries is
still extremely incomplete. Every thing in early times was
carried and cried, and we have seen two rare prints of old
London cries not to be found in the lists already enumerated.
One is called " Clove Water Siomock Water,'' and the other
" Bicy an new Booke." Others may still exist. In the Duke of
Devonshire's collection of drawings by Inigo Jones, are several
cries, drawn in pen-and-ink, for the masques at court in the
reigns of James I. and Charles I.

The Light of Other Days.

HISTORY OF THE

" HoUoway cheese-cakes " was once one of the London
cries ; they were sold by a man on horseback ; and in " yack
Drum's Entertainment" 2i Comedy, 1601, in a random song,
the festive character of this district is denoted : —

"^Skip it and trip it nimbly, nimbly,

Tickle it, tickle it lustily,
Strike up the tabor for the wenches favour,

Tickle it, tickle it, lustily.
Let us be seene on Hygate-Greene,

To dance for the honour of HoUoway.
Since we are come hither, let's spare for no leather.

To dance for the honour of HoUoway.''

Drunken Bamaby, at "Mother Red Cap'
found very bad company : —

Veni HoUoway, Pileum rubrum
In cohortem muliebrem ;
Me Adonidem vocant omnes
Meretrices Babylonis ;
Tangunt tingunt, moUiunt mulcent,
Et egentem foris pulsant.

at HoUoway,

CRIES OF LONDON. .-,

The New River for the supply of London with pure water,
was begun May 1609, and opened Michaelmas day 1613, by
Hugh Myddleton, a private citizen and goldsmith ; of Welsh
parentage, dwelling in Basinghall Street, London.

The due supply of pure spring water to the metropohs, had
often been canvassed by the corporation. At times it was
inconveniently scanty; at all times it was scarcely adequate to
the demand which increased with London's increase. Many
projects had been brought before the citizens to convey a stream
towards London, but the expence and difficulty had deterred
them from using the powers with which they had been invested
by the legislature ; when Myddleton declared himself ready to
carry out the great work. The engineering difficulties of the
work and its great expence were by no means the chief cares ot
Hugh Myddleton ; he had scarcely began his most patriotic and
useful labours, ere he was assailed by an outcry on all sides
from the land owners, who declared that his river would cut up
the country, bring water through arable land, that would con-
sequently be overflowed in rainy weather, and so converted into
quagmires, that nothing short of ruin awaited land, cattle, and
men, who might be in its course ; and that the King's highway
between London and Ware would be made impassable ! All
this mischief was to befall the country-folks of Hertfordshire
and Middlesex — " For Maister Myddleton's own private
benefit," as was boldly asserted, with a due disregard of its great
public utiUty, and ultimately parliamentary opposition was
strongly invoked. Worried by this senseless but powerful party,
with a vast and expensive labour only half completed and the
probability of the want of funds, most men would have broken
down in despair, but the dauntless Welshman merely sought
new strength, and found it effectually in the king. James I.

48 HISTORY OF THE

joined the spirited contractor, agreed to pay one-half of the
expences in considerations of one-half share in its ultimate
profits, and to repay to IVtyddleton one-half of what he had
already disbursed. The undertaking was then divided into
thirty-six shares each. One half being called the King's Moiety,
and the other half called the Adventurer's Moiety. This spirited
act of the King silenced all opposition.

The scheme then progressed fast, and on the 29th of Septem-
ber, 1613, the water was at last let into the New River Head,
at Clerkenwell. Hugh Myddleton's brother (the Lord Mayor
of London,) and many aldermen and gentlemen were present at
the ceremony, which repaid the worthy goldsmith for his years
of patient toil.

Stow gives an account of the way in which the ceremony was
performed. " A troop of labourers," he says, to the number of
sixty or more, well apparelled, and wearing green Monmouth
caps all alike, carryed spades, shovels, pickaxes, and such like
instruments of laborious employment marching after drummes,
twice or thrice about the cisterne, presented themselves before
the mount, where the Lord Mayor, aldermen, and a worthy com-
pany besides, stood to behold them ; and one man in behall of
all the rest, delivered this speech : —

' Long have we laboui'd, long desir'd, and pray'd
For this great work's perfection ; and by th' aid
Of Heaven and good men's wishes, 'tis at length
Happily conquered, by cost, art, and strength.
And after five yeeres deare expence, in dayes,
Travaile, and paines, beside the infinite wayes
Of malice, envy, false suggestions,
Able to daunt the spirits of mighty ones
In wealth and courage. This, a work so rare,
Onely by one man's industry, cost, and care,

CRIES OF LONDON 40

Is brought to blest effect ; so much withstood,
His onely ayme, the Citie's generall good.
And where (before) many unjust complaints,
Enviously seated, caused oft restraints,
Stops and great crosses, to our master's charge.
And the work's hindrance ; Favour, now at large,
Spreads herself open to him, and commends
To admiration, both his paines and ends
(The King's most gracious love).

*****

Now for the fruits then ; flow forth precious spring
So long and dearly sought for, and now bring
Comfort to all that love thee ; loudly sing.
And with thy chrystal murmurs strook together,
Bid all thy true ■well-wishers welcome hither.'

at which words the flood-gates flew open, the streame ran
galantly into the cisterne, drummes and trumpets sounding in
triumphall manner, and a brave peale of chambers gave full
issue to the intended entertainment."

This artificial river, which with its windings is forty-two miles
long, being thus far completed, much difficulty and expense
awaited the conduct of the water to London houses. The
owners of the ground near the New River Head exacted heavy
sums for permission to carry the pipes through their land. The
pipes used at that time for the conveyance of the water were of
the simplest construction, formed of the stems of small elm-
trees, drilled through the centre and cut to lengths. As the
conveyance of water by means of these pipes was expensive to
the Company, many house owners and holders hesitated to pay
the costs charged for permission to use the water, consequently
it was a considerable time before the New River water came
into full use, and for the first nineteen years the annual profit
scarcely amounted to 12s. a share.

So historV of thi;

However, in 1636, the profit allotted to each share was
£s 4S- 3d. for the year. King James's Moiety of the concern
had in the meanwhile become vested in King Charles the
First, who, being dissatisfied with such a nominal return, and
fearing lest- more money should be wanted, re-assigned to the
son of the founder — now Sir Hugh Myddelton — all his interest
in the Company for a payment of ^500 a year : a sum which,
under the style of the " King's Clogg," is paid to this day, and
forms a rent-charge on the Company's Estates.

Sir Hugh died in 1651 a prosperous man, though there is an
Islington tradition that he became pensioner in a Shropshire
village, had applied in vain for reHef to the City, and died in
obscurity. The last Sir Hugh was a poor drunken fellow who
strived hard to die young, and succeeded.

By the Act 15 & 16 Vic. cap. 160, it is enacted "That the
capital of the Company already raised and expended shall be
deemed to be One Million Five Hundred and Nineteen
Thousand Nine Hundred and Fifty-eight Pounds." By 29 & 30
Vic. cap. 230, power was given to the Company " to raise by the
creation of New Shares any sum not exceeding in the whole
Five Hundred Thousand Pounds." And by 17 Vic. caps. 39
and 7 2, and 20 & 2 1 Vic. cap. 42, power was also given to con-
solidate the moneys borrowed on Bond into Debenture Stock of
One Million capital. Of these several privileges the Company
have duly availed themselves. The gross increase in the income
of the New River has been steady and marvellous, each year
showing a large advance on its predecessor. In 1862 the income
of , the Company was ;£'2o6,822 : 5 : 10, whereas in 1878 it had
increased to ;^4i6,332 : 18:3, and it may safely be pronounced
as without limit as to future accretions.

CRIES OF LONDON.

The Water Carrier.
"Any fresh and fair spring water here?"
This was formerly a very popular London cry, but has now
become extinct, although it was long kept in vogue, by reason
of the old prejudices of old fashioned people, whose sympathy
was with the complaints of the water-bearer, who daily
vociferated in and about the environs of London, " Any fresh
and fair spring water here ! none of your pipe sludge ?" " Ah
dear!" cried his customers, "Ah dear! Well, what'll the
world come to ! — they wo'nt let poor people live at all by-and-
by — Ah dear ! here they're breaking up all the roads and foot-
paths again and we shall be all under water some day or another
with all their fine new fandangle goings on, but I'll stick to the
poor old lame and nearly blind water-carrier, as my old father
did before me, as long as he has a pailful and I've a penny,
and when we haven't we must go to the workhouse together."

HtSTORV OF tHfi,

This was the talk and the reasoning of many honest people of
the then day, who preferred taxing themselves to the daily
payment of a penny and very often twopence to the water-
carrier, in preference to having " Company' s-water" at eighteen
shillings per annum. Persons of this order of mind were
neither political economists nor domestic economists ; they
were, for most part, simple and kind-hearted souls, who illustrated
the ancient saying, that " the destruction of the poor is their
poverty."

The First View of the New River — From London.

This is seen immediately on coming within view of Sadler's
Wells, a place of dramatic entertainment ; after manifold windings
and tunnellings from its source the New River passes beneath
the arch in the engraving, and forms a basin witliin the large
walled enclosure, from whence diverging main pipes convey the
water to all parts of London. At the back of the boy angling

CRIES OF LONDON., 53

on the wall is a public-house, with tea gardens and skittle-
ground and known as Sir Hugh Myddletoris Head, which has
been immortalized by Hogarth in his print of Evening. But
how changed the scene from what he represented it. To this
stream, as the water nearest London favourable to sport, anglers
of inferior note used to resort ; —

Here " gentle anglers," and their rods withal,
Assaying, do the finny trilie enthral.
Here boys their penny lines and bloodworms throw,
And scare, and catch, the " silly fish " below :
Bacltstickles bite, and biting, up they come,
And now a minnow, now a miller's thumb.

We have said above, anglers used to resort, and we have said
so advisedly, as that portion of the river is now arched over to
the end of Colebrooke Row.

Colebrooke Row was built in 1768. Here that delightful
humourist, Charles Lamb, resided with his sister, from about
182310 1826, immediately after his retirement from the India
House.

Lamb describes his place of abode at Islington, in a letter to
Bernard Barton, dated September 2, 1823 : — " When you come
Londonward, you will find me no longer in Covent Garden ; I
have a cottage in Colebrooke Row, Islington— a cottage, for it
is detatched — a white house, with six good rooms in it. The
New River (rather elderly by this time) runs (if a moderate
walking-pace can be so termed) close to the foot of the house ;
and behind is a spacious garden, with vines (I assure you),
pears, strawberries, parsnips, leeks, carrots, cabbages, to delight
the heart of old Alcinous. You enter without passage into a
cheerful dining-room, all studded over and rough with old books ;
and above is a lightsome drawing-room, three windows, full of

HISTORY OF THE

choice prints. I feel like a great lord, never having had a house
before." And again, in the November following, in a letter to
Robert Southey, he informs the bard, who had promised him a
call, that he is " at Colebrooke Cottage, left hand coming from
Sadler's Wells." It was here that that amiable bookworm,
George Dyer, editor of the Delphin classics, walked quietly
into the New River from Charles Lamb's door, but was soon
recovered, thanks to the kind care of Miss Lamb.

Coi,ephookb; Cottage,

CRIES OF LONDON.

But, we are plunging so deeply into the New River that we are
forgetting Morose, and his "turban of night-caps" Was
Hogarth familiar with the old noise-hater when he conceived
his own : —

Enraged Musician.

In this extraordinary gathering together of the producers of the
most discordant sounds, we have a representation which may
fairly match the dranjatist's description of street noises. Here
we have the milk-maid's scream, the mackerel-seller's shout, the
sweep upon the house-top, — to match the fish-wives and
orange-women, the broom-men and costard-mongers. The

HISTORY OF THE

smith, who was " ominous," had no longer his forge in the busy
streets of Hogarth's time ; the armourer was obsolete : but
Hogarth can rival their noises with the pavior's hammer, the
sow-gelder's horn, and the knife-grinder's wheel. The waits of
the city had a pension not to come near Morose's ward ; but it
was out of the power of the Enraged Musician to avert the
terrible discord of the blind hautboy-player. The bellman who
frightened the sleepers at midnight, was extinct ; but modern
London had acquired the dustman's bell. The bear-ward, no
longer came down the street with the dogs of four parishes, nor
did the fencer march with a drum to his prize ; but there was
the ballad-singer, with her squalling child, roaring worse than
bear or .dog ; and the drum of the little boy playing at soldiers
was a more abiding nuisance than the fencer. Morose and the
" Enraged Musician " had each the church-bells to fill up the
measure of discord.

CRIES OF LONDON. 57

In Thomas Heywood's, The Rape of Lucrece, a True Roman
Tragedy, acted by Her Majestie's Servants at the Red-Bull,
1609, is the following long list of London Cries, but called
for the sake of the dramatic action of the scene, " Cries of
Ro7ne," which was the common practice with the old dramatists,
Rome being the canting name of London. Robert Greene, in
his Perimedes the Blacksmith, 1588, when he wished to criticise
the London Theatre at Shoreditch, talks of the Theatre in Rome;
also in his Never too Late, 1590, when he talks of the London
actors, he pretends only to speak of Roscius and the actors of
Rome. In the pedlar's French of the day Rome-vyle — or ville —
was London, and Rome-mort the Queen [Elizabeth]. There is
some humour in the classification, and if the cries were well
imitated by the singer, the ballad — or as it would then be called
-jig' — is likely to have been extremely popular in its day.

The Cries of Rome \i.e. London.]

Thus goes the cries in Rome's fair town,

First they go up street, and then they go down.

Round and sound all of a colour,

Buy a very fine marking stone, marking stone,

Round and sound all of a colour ;

Buy a very fine marking stone, marking stone.

Thus goes the cries in Rome's fair town,

First they go up street, and then they go cIotati.

Bread and— meat— bread— and meat
For the— ten— der — mercy of God to the
poor pris — ners of Newgate, four-
score and ten — poor — prisoners.

Thus goes the cries in Romis fair town,

First they go up street, and then they go down.

HISTORY OF THE

Makking Stone.

Bread and Meat.

WORSTERSHIRE SaLT.

Buy a Mouse Trap.

CRIES OF LONDON. 59

Salt — salt — white Wor — stershire salt,

Thus goes the cries in Rom/s fair, town,

First they go up street, and then they go down.

Buy a very fine mouse — trap, or a tormentor
for your Fleas.

Thus goes the cries in Romis fair town,

First they go up street, and then they go down.

Kitchen— Stuff maids.

Thus go the cries in Rome's fair town,

First they go up street, and then they go down.

I have white Radish, white hard Lettuce,
white young Onions.

Thus go the cries in Rome's fair town,

First they go up street, and then they go down.

I have Rock — Samphire, Rock — Samphire,
Thus go the cries in Rome's fair town.
First they go up street, and then they go down.

Buy a Mat, a Mil — mat.
Mat or a Hasock for your pew,
A stopple for your close — stool,
Or a Pesock to thrust you feet in.

Thus go the cries in Romis fair town,

First they go up street, and then they go down.

Whiting maids Whiting.

Thus go the cries in Rome's fair town.

First they go up street, and then they go down.

HISTORY OF THE

m '

Kitchen Stuff Maids. White Radish — Lettuce.

Rock Sampier.

Mat, a Mill— mat.

cftiEs OF London.

Hot fine Oat — cakes, hot.

Thus go the cries in Rente's fair town,

First they go up street, and then they go down.

Small — coals here.

Thus go the cries in Roin/s fair town,

Fiist they go up street, and then they go down.

Will you buy any Milk to day.

Thus go the cries in Rome'.s fair town,

First they go up street, and then they go down.

Lanthorn and Candle light here
Maid, a light here.

Thus go the cries in Rome's fair town.

First they go up street, and then they go down.

Here lies a company of very poor
Women, in the dark dungeon,
Hungary cold and comfortless night and day,
Pity the poor women in the dark dungeon.

Thus go the cries where they do house them,
First they come to the grate, and then they go
lowse them.

MlStoRV OP THE

Whiting Maids Whiting.

Hot fine Oat — Cakes.

Small Coals here.

St. Thomas' Onions

CRIES OF LONDON. 63

From " Deuteromelia : or, the Second Part of pleasant
Roundelayes ; K. H. Mirth, or Freeman's Songs, and such
delightful Catches. London, printed for Thomas Adams, dwell-
ing in Paul's Church-yard, at the sign of the ' White Lion,' 1609."

Who liveth so merry in all this land

As doth the poor widdow that selleth the sand ?

And ever shee singeth as I can guesse.

Will you buy any sand, any sand, mistress ?

The broom-man maketh his living most sweet,
With carrying of brooms from street to street ;
Who would desire a pleasanter thing.
Then all the day long to doe nothing but sing.

The chimney-sweeper all the long day,
He singeth and sweepeth the soote away ;
Yet when he comes home altho' he be weary,
With his sweet wife he maketh full merry.

Who liveth so merry and maketh such sport
As those that be of the poorest sort ?
The poorest sort wheresoever they be,
They gather together by one, two, three.

And every man will spend his penny

What makes such a shot among a great many ?

64 History of the

Thomas Morely a musical composer, set music of four, six,
eight and ten parts, to the cries in his time, among them are
some used by the milliners' girls in the New Exchange, in the
Strand, which was built in the reign of James I, and pulled -
down towards the end of the last century ; among others are
" Italian falling Bands" French garters^ " Rohatos^' a kind of
ruff then fashionable. " Nun^s thread" 6fc.

The effeminacy and coxcombry of a man's ruff and
band is well ridiculed by many of our dramatic writers.
There is a small tract bearing the following title —
" A Merrie Dialogue betweene Band, Cuffe and Ruffe." Done
by an excellent Wit, and lately acted in a Shew in the
Famous Universitie of Cambridge. London, printed by W.
Stansby for Miles Partrich, and are to be sold at his shop neere
Saint Dunstone's Church-yard in Fleet Street, 1615. This
brochure is a bonne-bouche, of the period, written in dramatic
dialogue form, and full of puns as any modern comedy or
farcical sketch from the pen of the greatest word-twister of the
day— Henry J. Byron (who, on Cyril's Success, Married in
Haste, Our Boys, and The (?«V/s,) and is of considerable value as
an illustration of the history of the costume of the period. The
band, as an article of ornament for the neck, was the common
weajp of gentlemen, though now exclusively retained by the
clergy and lawyers ; the cuff, as a fold at the end of a sleeve,
or the part of the sleeve turned back from the hand, was made
highly fantastical by means of " cut work ;" the ruff, as a female
neck ornament, made of plaited lawn, or other material is well-
known, but it was formerly worn by both sexes.

In Loyal Subject, by Beaumont and Fletcher, act 3, scene 5,
we find that in the reign of James I, potatoes had become so

CRIES OF LONDON. 65

common, that " Potatoes ! Ripe Potatoes I" were publicly hawked
about the city.

Potatoes ! Ripe Potatoes.

Orlando Gibbons, — 1583 — 1625 — set music in madrigals to
several common cries of the day. In a play called Tarqui?i and
Lucree, some of the music of the following occur, — " Rock
Samphire," "A Marking stone^' ^^ Bread and meat for the poor
prison^s" " Hassock for your pew" " Lanthorne and Candle-
light, Q^c!"

In the Bridgewater library (in the possession of the Earl of
EUesmere) is a series cff engravings on copper, thirty-two in
number, without date or engravers' name ; but called, in the
handwriting of the second Earl of Bridgewater, " The Manner
of Crying Things in London." They are, it is said, by a foreign
artist, and probably proof impressions, for on the margin of one
of the engravings is a small part of another, as if it had been
taken off for a trial of the plate. Curious and characteristic

66 HISTORY OF THE

they certainly are, and of a date anterior to 1686; in which
year the second Earl of Bridgewater died. The very titles
kindle old recollections as you read them over : —

1. Lanthome and a whole candell light : hang oat your lights heare !

2. I have fresh cheese and creame.

3. Buy a brush or a table book.

4. Fine oranges, fine lemons.

5. Ells or yeards : buy yeard or ells.

6. I have ripe straw-buryes, ripe straw-buryes.

7. I have screenes, if you desier to keepe y butey from ye fire.

8. Codlinges hot, hot codlinges.

9. Buy a Steele or a tinder box.

10. Quicke peravinkells. quicke, quicke.

1 1 . Worke for a cooper ; worke for a cooper.

12. Bandestringes, or hankercher buttons.

13. A tanker bearer.

14. Macarell new : maca-rell.

15. Buy a hone, or a whetstone, or a marking ston.

16. White unions, white St. Thomas unions.

17. Mate for a bed, buy a doore mate.

18. Radishes or lettis, two bunches a penny.

19. Have you any work for a tinker?

20. Buy my hartichokes, mistris.

21. Maribones, maides, maribones.

22. I ha' ripe cowcumber, ripe cowcumber.

23. Chimney sweepe.

24. New flounders new.

25. Some broken breade and meate for ye poore prisoners : for the Lord's

sake pittey the poore.

26. Buy my dish of great smelts.

27. Have you any chaires to mend ?

28. Buy a cocke, or a gelding.

29. Old showes or bootes : will you buy some broome ?

30. Mussells, lilly white mussells.

31. Small cole a penny a peake,

32. What kitchen stuff have you, maides ?

CRIES OF LONDON.

The figures, male and female, in the engravings, are all three-
quarter lengths, furnished with the implements of their various
trades, or with the articles in which they deal. The Watchman
fone of the best) is a fine old fellow, with a broad brim to his
hat, a reverential beard, a halberd in one hand, and a lanthorn
in the other (after the manner of the one we have given at
page 31). But perhaps the most curious engraving in the set
is the " cry " called " Some broken breade and meate for y=
poor prisioners : for the Lord's sake pittey the poore." This
represents a poor prisoner with a sealed box in his hand, and a
basket at his back— the box for alms in the shape of money,
and the basket for broken bread and meat. There is also
preserved a small handbill printed in 1664, and entitled, "The
' Humble Petition of the Poor Distressed Prisoners in Ludgate,
being above an hundred and fourscore poor persons in number,
against the time of the Birth of our Blessed Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ." " We most humbly beseech you," says the hand-
bill " (even for God's cause), to relieve us with your charitable
benevolence, and to put into this Bearers Boxe, the same being
sealed with the house seale as it is figured on this Petition."

68 HISTORY OF THE

To, " O, rare Ben Jonson !" we are indebted for the most
perfect picture of Smithfield at " Barthorme-tide," which he
gives us, together with the popular cries in vogue at the time
in his comedy of Bartholomew Fair, produced at the Hope
Theatre, on the Bankside, 1614, and acted, as Jonson tells us,
by the lady Elizabeth's servants.

The second act opens with " The Fair. A number of Booths,
Stalls, &•€. set out." The characters presented are Lanthorn
Leatherhead, a hobby-horse seller. Bartholomew Cokes, "An
esquire of Harrow" Nightingale, a ballad-singer, a costard-
monger, fnouseiraJ>-tnan, corn cutter. Joan Trash, a gingerbread
woman. Leatherhead calls — " What do you lack ? what is't
you buy ? what do you lack ? rattles, drums, halberts, horses,
babies o' the best ? fiddles o' the finest." Joan Trash cries,
" Buy my gingerbread, gilt gingerbread!" the costard-monger,
bawls out, " Buy any pears, pears, fine, very fine pears !"
Nightingale, the ballad-man sings —

"Hey, now the Fair's a filling !
O, for a tune to startle
The birds o' the booths here billing

Yearly with old saint Bartle ! >

The drunkards they are wading,

The punks and chapmen trading ;

Who'd see the Fair without his lading ?

Buy my ballads ! new ballads ! "

What do you lack ? continues Leatherhead, " What do you
lack, gentlemen ? my pretty mistress, buy a fine hobby-
horse for your young master ; cost you but a, token a week for
his provender. The corn-cutter cries, "Have you any corns
in your feet or toes ?" The tinder-box man calls, " Buy a
mouse-trap, a mouse-trap, or a tormentor for a flea!" Trash

CRIES OF LONDON. 6n

cries, " Buy some gingerbread !" Nightingale bawls, " Ballads,
ballads, fine new ballads!" Leatherhead repeats, "What do
you lack gentlemen, what is't you lack ? a fine horse ? a lion ?
a bull ? a bear ? a dog ? or a cat ? an excellent fine Bartholomew
bird ? or an instrument ? what is't you lack, what do you buy,
mistress? a fine hobby-horse, to make your son a tilter? a
drum, to make him a soldier ? a fiddle, to make him a reveller ?
what is't you lack ? little dogs for your daughters ? or babies,
male and female ? fine purses, pouches, pincases, pipes ; what
is't you lack ? a pair o' smiths to wake you i' the morning ? or
a fine whistling bird ? " A character named " Bartholomew
Cokes," a silly " Esquire of Harrow," stops at Leatherhead's
stall to purchase. — ".Those six horses, friend, I'll have, and the
three Jew's trumps ; and half a dozen o' birds ; and that drum ;
and your smiths— I like that devise o' your smiths, and four
halberts ; and let me see, that fine painted great lady, and her
three women of state, I'll have. A set of those violins I would
buy too, for a delicate young noise* I have i' the country, that
are every one a size less than another, just like your fiddles."
Joan Trash, invites the Esquire to buy her gingerbread, and he
turns to her basket, whereupon Leatherhead says, " Is this well ;
Goody Joan, to interrupt my market in the midst, and call
away my customers ? Can you answer this at the Pie-poudresV t
whereto Joan Trash replies, " Why, if his master-ship have a
mind to buy, I hope my ware lies as open as anothers ; I may

* Noise. — A set, or company of musicians. " Those terrible noyses, with
threadbare cloaks," — Deckers Belman, of London, 1608.

t Pie-Poudre. A court formerly held at a fair for the rough-and-ready
treatment of pedlars and hawkers, to compel them and those with whom
they dealt to fulfil their contracts. This court arose from the necessity of
doing justice expeditiously, among persons resorting from distant places to
a fair or market. It is said to be called the court of pie-piudre, curia,
pedis pulverizate, from the dusty feet of the suitors, or, as Sir Edward Coke
say.s, because justice is there done a? speedily as dust can fall from the feet.

70 HISTORY OF THE

show my ware as well as you yours." Nightingale begins to

sing :—

" My masters and friends, and good people draw near. '

Squire Cokes hears this, and says, " Ballads ! hark, hark 1
pray thee, fellow, stay a little ! what ballads hast thou ? let me
see, let me see myself — How dost thou call it ? A Caveat
against Cut-purses ! — a good jest i' faith ; I would fain see that
demon, your cut purse, you talk of;'' He then shows his purse
boastingly, and enquires, " Ballad-man do any cut-purses haunt
hereabout ? pray thee raise me one or two : begin and show me
one." Nightingale answers, " Sir, this is a spell against 'em,
spick and span new : and 'tis made as 'twere in mine own
person, and I sing it in mine defence. But 'twill cost a penny
alone if you buy it." The Squire replies. " No matter for the
price ; thou dost not know me I see, I am an old Bartholomew.''
The ballad has " pictures," and Nightingale tells him, " it was
intended, sir, as if a purse should chance to be cut in my
presence, now, I may be blameless though ; as by the sequel
will more plainly appear." He adds, it is, " to the tune of
Paggington's Found, sir," and he finally sings the ballad, the first
and last stanzas of which follow : —

My masters, and friends, and good people draw near,
And look to your purses, for that I do say ;
And though little money, in them you do bear,
It cost more to get, than to lose in a day,

You oft' have been told.

Both the young and the old,
And bidden beware of the cut-purse so bold ;
Then if you take heed not, free me from the curse,
Who both give you warning, for, and the cut-purse.
Youth, youth, thou hadst better been starved by thy nurse,
Than live to be hanged for cutting a purse.

CRIES OF LONDON, 7 1

But O, you vile nation of cut-purses all,
Relent, and repent, and amend, and be sound,
And know that you ought not by honest men's fall,
Advance your own fortunes to die above ground.

And though you go gay

In silks as you may,
It is not the highway to heaven (as they say.)
Repent then, repent you, for better, for worse ;
And kiss not the gallows for cutting a purse.
Youth, youth, thou hadst better been starved by thy nurse.
Than live to be hanged for cutting a purse.

While Nightingale sings this ballad, a fellow tickles Cokes's
ear with a straw, to make him withdraw his hand from his
pocket, and privately robs him of his purse, which, at the end
of the song, he secretly conveys to the ballad-singer ; who not-
withstandmg his " Caveat against cut purses," is their principal
confederate, and in that quality, becomes the unsuspected
depository of the plunder.

In the years 1600-18, there was published a musical work,
entitled Pammelia — Mvsickes Miscellanie : Or, Mixed
Varietie of pleasant Rovndelayes and delightful Catches.
London, Printed by Thomas Snodham, for Mathew Lownes
and lohn Browne. It was compiled by some eminent
musicians, who had a practice of setting the cries of London
to music, retaining only the very musical notes of them, here
we find, " What Kitchin-Stuffe haue you maids,'' and there is
a Round in six parts to the cry of " New Oysters :" —

New Oysters, new Oysters, new Oysters new.
New Oysters, new Wall-fleet Oysters —
At a groat a pecke — each Oyster worth twopence. ,
Fetch vs bread and wine, that we may eate.
Let vs lose no time with such good meate —
A Banquet for a Prince — New Oysters.

New^z*/ sttpra — Oysters.

72 HISTORY OF THE

From " Meligmata : Musical Phantasies, fitting the Court,
City, and Country Manners, to three, four and five Voices : —

To all delightful, except to the spiteful ;
To none offensive, except to the pensive.

London, printed by William Stansby, for Thos. Adams, 1611," —

we take as follows : —

CiTTiE Rounds.

Broomes for old shoes ! pouchrings, bootes and buskings !
Will yee buy any new broome ?
New oysters ! new oysters ! new new cockels !
Cockels nye ! fresh herrings ! will yee buy any straw ?
Hay yee any kitchen stuffe. maides ?
Pippins fine, cherrie ripe, ripe, ripe !
Cherrie ripe, &e.

Hay any wood to cleaue ?
Give care to the clocke !
Beware your locke !
Your fire and your light !
And God giue you good night !
One o' clocke !

Some of the " Common Cryes i' th' City," as Oysters,
Codlings, Kitchen-stuff, Matches for your Tinder-box, &c.,
are enumerated in Richard Brome's. — The Court Beggar, A
Comedie Acted at the Cock-pit, by His Majesties Servants,
A7mo 1632.

" The London Chanticleers, a witty Comedy full of Various
and Delightful Mirth," 1659. This piece is rather an interlude
than a play, and is amusing and curious, the characters being,
witi; two exceptions, all London criers. The allusions to old
usages, with the mention of many well known ballads, and
some known no longer, contribute to give the piece an interest
and a value of its own.

CRIES OF LONDON. 73

The principal Dramatis Persona consists of : —

Heath. — A broom-man. " Brooms, maids, broom ! Come,
buy my brooms, maids; 'Tis a new broom, and will sweep
clean. Come, buy my broom, maids !"

Bristle. — A brush-man. "Come, buy a save-all. Buy a
comb-brush, or a pot-brush ; buy a flint, or a steel, or a tinder-
box."

Ditty. — A ballad man. "Come, new books, new books,
newly printed and newly come forth ! All sorts of ballads and
pleasant books ! The Famous History of Tom Thumb and
Unfortunate yack, A Hundred Goodly Lessons and Alas, poor
Scholar, whither wilt thou go ? The second fart of Mother
Shiftoiis Prophecies, newly made by a gentkinan of good quality,
foretelling what was done four hundred years ago, and A
Pleasant Ballad of a bloody fight seen i' tJi air, which, the
astrologers say, portends scarcity of fowl this year. The Ballad
of the Unfortunate Lever. I have George of Green, Chivy Chase,
Collins and the Devil; or, Room for Cuckolds, The Ballad of the
London ^Prentice, Guy of Warwick, The Beggar of Bethnal
Green,- the Honest Milkmaid; or, I must not wrong tny Dame,
The Honest Fresh Cheese and Cream Woman. Then I. have The
Seven Wise Men of Gotham, A Hundred Merry Tales, Scoggiris
Jests ; or, A Book of Prayers and Graces for Young Children.
I have very strange news from beyond seas. The King of
Morocco has got the black jaundice, and the Duke of West-
phalia is sick of the swine-pox, with eating bacon ; the Moors
increase daily, and the King of Cyprus mourns for the Duke of
Saxony, that is dead of the stone ; and Presbyter John is
advanced to Zealand ; the sea ebbs and flows but twice in four-
and-twenty hours, and the moon has changed but once the last
month."

74 HISTORY OF THE

Budget. — A Tinker. " Have you any work for the tinker ?
Old brass, old pots, old kettles. I'll mend them all with a
tara-tink, and never hurt your metal."

Gum. — A Tooth drawer. " Have you any corns upon your
feet or toes ? Any teeth to draw ?"

Jenniting. — An Apple wench. " Come buy my pearmains,
curious John Apples, dainty pippins ? Come, who buy ? who
buy?"

Curds. — Afresh Cheese and Cream woman. "I have fresh
cheese and cream ; I have fresh cheese and cream."

The following ballad was published in Playford's Select
Ayres, 1659, p. 95 ; with music by Dr. John Wilson, and
Musical Companion, 1673. It is in the Percy Folio MS., iii.
308-11. Also in Windsor Drollery, 2; and Le Prince d'
Amour, 1660, p. 177. It is attributed to Shakespeare, but
with only manuscript evidence.

The Song of the Pedlars.

From the fair Lavinian Shore
I your Markets come to store,
Muse not though so far I dwell
And my Wares come here to sell :

Such is the secret hunger of Gold,
Then come to my Pack
While I cry, what d'ye lack,

What d'ye buy ? for here it is to be sold.

I have Beauty, Honour, and Grace,
Fortune, favour. Time and Place ;
And what else thou would'st request.
Even the thing thou likest best :

CRIES OF LONDON. 75

First let me have but a touch of thy Gold,
Then come to me Lad
Thou shalt have what thy Dad

Never gave ; for here it is to be sold.

Madam, come see what ye lack,
Here's Complexion in my pack ;
White and red you may have in this place
To hide your old ill wrinkled face.

First let me have a touch of thy Gold,
Then thou shalt seem
Like a Wench of fifteen.

Although you be threescore year old.

In " Meriy Drollery Complete, being Jovial Poems, Merry-
Songs, &c., 1661,'' there is a vigorous song exposing the cheats
of mendicants. The hero of which declares : — " I am a Rogue,
and a stout one." And that among the many cheats, counter-
feits, deceits and dodges he has resort to, at times he may be
seen : —

In Pauls Church-yard by a pillar

Sometimes you see me stand, Sir,

With a writ that shows what cares, what woes

I have passed by Sea and Land, Sir ;
Then I do cry, &c.

Come buy, come buy a Horn-book,
Who buys my Pins and Needles :
Such things do I in the City cry
Oftimes to 'scape the Beadles,
Then I do cry, &c.

For the counterpart of this Rogue and Vagabond, the reader
is referred to Vol. i, No. 42-3 of the Roxburghe Ballads —
(British Museum.) Where there is one entitled : —

HISTORY OF THE

The Cunning Northern Beggar.

Who all the by-standers doth earnestly pray
To bestow a penny upon him to-day.

To THE Tune of Tom of Bedlam.

I am a lusty beggar,

And live by others giving !
I scorn to work,
But by the highway lurk,
And beg to get my living :
I'll i'the wind and weather,
, And wear all ragged garments
Yet, though I'm bare,
I'm free from care, —
A fig for high preferments !

Therefore Til ny, S-Y.

CRIES OF LONDON. 77

My flesh J can so temper
That it shall seem to fester,
And look all o'er
Like a raw sore,
Whereon I stick a plaister.
With blood I daub my face then,
To feign the falling sickness,
That in every place <
They pity my case,
As if it came through weakness.
Therefore I'll cry, &'c.
******

No tricks at all shall escape me.
But I will by my raaunding.

Get some relief

To ease my grief
When by the highway standing :
'Tis better be a Beggar,
And ask of kind good fellows,

And honestly have

What we do crave,
Than steal and go to the galloWs.
Therefore Til cry, ' ' Good vour worship, good sir.
Bestow one poor denier, sir,

Which, when Pve got,

At the Pipe and Pet
I soon will it cashier, sir,"

Finis.

Printed at London for F. Coulea.

78 HISTORY OF THE

Mr. John Payne Collier, in his " A Book of Roxburghe Ballads;'
London, 1847, reproduces a capital ditty — ryhte merrie and
very excellent in its way — relating to the popular pursuits and
the customs of London and the Londoners in the early part of
the seventeenth century. It is printed verbatim from a broad-
side, signed W. Turner, and called : —

The Common Cries of London Town,
Some go up street and some go down.

With Turner's Dish of Stuff, or a Gallymaufery.

To the tune of Wotton Towns Encl!^ Printed for F. C [oles,]
T. V [eren,] and W. G [ilbertson.] 1662.

The only known copy is dated 1662, but contains internal
evidence, in the following stanza — (which occurs in the opening
of The Second Part,) that it was written in the reign of
James I.

" That's the fat foole of the Curtin :
And the lean fool of the Bull :
Since Shancke did leave to sing his rimes,
He is counted but a gull.

The players on the Bankside,

The round Globe and the Swan,
Will teach you idle tricks of love,

But the Bull will play the man."

Shancke. — John Shancke the comic actor here mentioned was
celebrated for singing rhymes, and what were technically " jigs "

* The Tunc of Wotton Towns End, is the same as " Peg a' Eamsey,"
mentioned by Shakespeare in Twelfth W ight, and is at least as old as
1589. It is also in "Robin Good-Fellow:" His Mad Pranks, And
Merry Jests, Full of Honest Mirth, &c., 1628.

CRIES OF LONDON. 79

on the stage. In this respect, as a low comedian, he had been
the legitimate successor of Tarlton, Kempe, Phillips, and
Singer. He was on the stage from 1603 to 1635, when he
died. Then, John Taylor the Water Poet. No mean authority
informs us that the Swan Theatre, on the Bankside, in
the Liberty of Paris Gardens had been abandoned by the
players in 1613. The Curtain Theatre in Holywell street — or
Halliwell street, as it was usually spelt at that time — Shoreditch
Fields* had also fallen into disuse before the reign of Charles I.
The Globe on the Bankside, and the [Red] Bull Theatre at
the upper end of St. John's street, Clerkenwell were employed
until after the restoration. The allusion to the Waterman
earrying " bonny lasses over to the plays," is also a curious note
of time. With these matters before us, we may safely conclude
that " Turner's Dish of Stuff " is but a reprint of an earlier pro-
duction. As we find it, so we lay it before our readers :
thus : —

* The Curtain Road, now notorious for cheap and shoddy furniture,
still marks the site of the Curtain Theatre, at the same date there was
another playhouse in the parish of St. Leonard, Shoreditch ; distinguished
as " The Theatre," where the Chamberlain's Company had settled. John
Stone, in his Survey of London, 1598, speaking of the priory of St. John
Baptist, says : ''And neere thereunto are builded two publique houses for
acting of shews of comedies, tragedies, and histories, for recreation.
Whereof is one called the " Courtein," the other " The Theatre ; " both
standing on the South West side toward the field." In both these James
Burbadge may have been interested, his long residence in the parish may
fairly lead to the conclusion, that he was a sharer in at least one of them.
Richard Tarlton, the famous actor of clown's parts, was a near neighbour
of James Burbadge, and a shareholder and performer at the Curtain.
Thomas Pope, a performer of rustic clowns, by his will dated July, 1603,
left — " All my part, right, title, and interest which I have in the play-
house, called the Curtein, situated and being in Hallywell, in the parish of
St. Leonard's in Shoreditch, in the County of Middlesex." At what date
one or the other of these early Suburban playhouses ceased to be occupied,
we have little or no satisfactory evidence.

8o HISTORY OF THE

The Common Cries of London Town :
Some go up street, some go down.

With Turner's Dish of Stuff, or a Gallymaufery.

To the tune ^Wotton Towns End.

My masters all, attend you,

if mirth you love to heare,
And I will tell you wbat they cry

in London all the yeare.
lie please you if I can,

I will not be too long :
I pray you all attend awhile,

and listen to my song.

The fish-wife first begins,

Anye muscles lilly white !
Herrings, sprats or place,

or cockles for delight.
Anye welflet oysters !

Then she doth change her note :
She had need to have her tongue be greas~'d,

For the rattles in the throat.

CRIBS OF LONDON. 8 1

For why, they are but Kentifh,

to tell you out of doubt :
Her measure is too little ;

goe, beat the bottom out.
Half a peck for two pence ?

I doubt it is a bodge.
Thus all the City over

the people they do dodge.

The wench that cries the kitchin stuff,

I marvel what she ayle,
She sings her note so merry,

but she hath a draggle tayle :
An emyty car came ruiining,

and hit her on the bum ;
Down she threw her greasie tub,

and away straight she did run.

But she did give her blessing

to some, but not to all.
To bear a load to Tyburne,

and there to let it fall :
The miller and his golden thumb,

and his dirty neck.
If he grind but two bushels,

he must needs steal a peck.

The weaver and the taylor,

cozens they be sure.
They cannot work but they must steal,

to keep their hands in ure ;
For it is a common proverb

thorowout the town,
The taylor he must cut three sleeves

to every womans gown.

82 HISTORY OF THE

Mark but the waterman

attending for his fare,
Of hot and cold, of wet and dry,

he alwaies takes his share :
He carrieth bonny lasses

over to the playes,
And here and there he gets a bit,

and that his stomach stales.

There was a singing boy

who did ride to Rumford ;
When I go to my own school

I will take him in a comfort ;
But what I leave behind

shall be no private gain ;
But all is one when I am gone :

let him take it for his pain.

Old shoes for new brooms !

the broom-man he doth sing,
For hats or caps or buskins,

or any old pouch ring.
Buy a mat, a bed-mat !

a hassock or a presse,
A cover for a close stool,

a bigger or a lesse.

Ripe, cherry ripe !

the cotser-monger cries ;
Pippins fine or pears !

another after hies.
With basket on his head

his living to advance.
And in his purse a pair of dice

for to play at mumchance.

CRIES OF LONDON. 83

Hot pippin pies !

to sell unto my friends,
Or pudding pies in pans,

well stuft with candles ends.
Will you buy any milk ?

I heard a wench that cries :
With a pale of fresh cheese and cream,

another after hies.

Oh ! the wench went neatly ;

me thought it did me good,
to see her cherry cheeks

so dimpled ore with blood :
Her waistcoat washed white

as any lilly floure ;
Would I had time to talk with her

the space of half an hour.

Buy black ! saith the blacking man,

the best that ere was seen ;
Tis good for poore citizens

to make their shoes to shine.
Oh ! tis a rare commodity,

it must not be forgot ;
It wil make them to glister gallantly,

and quickly make them rot.

The world is full of thread-bare poets

that live upon their pen.
But they will write too eloquent,

they are such witty men.
But the tinker with his budget,

the beggar with his wallet.
And Turners turnd a gallant man

at making of a ballet.

HISTORY OF THE

THE SECOND PART.

To the same Tune.

That't the fat foole of the Curlin,

and the lean fool of the Bull :
Since Shancke did leave to sing his rimes,

he is counted but a gull.
The players on the Banckeside,

the round Globe and the Swan,
Will teach you idle tricks of love,

but the Bull will play the man.

But what do I stand tattling

of such idle toyes ?
I had better go to Smith-Field

to play among the boyes :
But you cheating and deceiving lads,

with your base artillery,
I would wish you to shun Newgate,

and withall the pillory.

CRIES OF LONDON. 85

And some there be in patcht gownes,

I know not what they be,
That pinch the country-man

with nimming of a fee ;
For where they get a booty,

they'le make him pay so dear,
They'le entertain more in a day,

then he shall in a year.

Which makes them trim up houses

made of brick and stone.
And poor men go a begging,

when house and land is gone.
Some there be with both hands

will swear they will not dally,
Till they have tum'd all upside down,

as many use to sally.

You pedlers, give good measure,

when as your wares you sell :
Tho' your yard be short, your thumb will slip ;

Your tricks I know full well.
And you that sell your wares by weight,

and live upon the trade.
Some beams be false, some waits too light ;

Such tricks there have been plaid.

But small coals, or great coals !

I have them on my back :
The goose lies in the bottom ;

you may hear the duck cry quack.
Thus Grim, the black collier,

whose living is so loose,
As he doth walk the commons ore,

sometimes he steals a goose,

86 HISTORY OF THE

Thou usurer with thy money bags

that livest so at ease,
By gaping after gpld thou dost

thy mighty God displease ;
And for thy greedy usury,

and thy great extortion.
Except thou dost repent thy sins,

Hell fire will be thy portion.

For first I came to Houns-Ditch;

then round about I creep,
Where cruelty was crowned chief

and pity fast asleep :
Where usury gets profit,

and brokers bear the bell.
Oh, fie upon this deadly sin !

it sinks the soul to hell.

The man that sweeps the chimnyes

with the bush of thorns,
And on his neck a trusse of poles

tipped all with horns,
With care he is not cumbred ,

he liveth not in dread ;
For though he wear them on his pole,

some wear them on^their head.

The landlord with his racking rents

turns poor men out of dore ;
Their children go a begging

CRIES OF LONDON. 87

Buy a trap, a mouse trap,

a tormentor for fleas !
The hangman works but half the day ;

he lives too much at ease.
Come let us leave this boyes play

and idle prittle prat,
And let us go to nine holes,

to spurn-point, or to cat.

Oh ! you nimble fingered lads

that live upon your wits,
Take heed of Tyburn ague,

for they be dangerous iits ;
For many a proper man,

for to supply his lack.
Doth leap a leap at Tyburn,

which makes his neck to crack.

And to him that writ this song

I give this simple lot :
Let every one be ready

to give him half a pot.
And thus I do conclude,

wishing both health and peace
To those that are laid in their bed,

and cannot sleep for fleas.

W. Turner.

88 HISTORY OF THE

The " tink, terry tink" of the Tinker's " Cry " is preserved
in a Miscellany of the year 1667, called Catch That Catch
Can ; or, the Musical Companion.

The Tinker.

Have you any work for a tinker, mistriss ?

Old brass, old pots, or kettles ?

I'll mend them all with a tink, terry tink.

And never hurt your mettles.

First let me have but a touch of your ale,

'Twill steel me against cold weather.

Or tinkers frees.

Or vintners lees.

Or tobacco chuse you whether.

But of your ale.

Your nappy ale,

I would I had a ferkin.

For I am old

And very cold

And never wear a jerkin.

The tinkers " Cry '' forms the opening lines of " Clout the
Cauldron," one of the best of our old Scottish songs :—

" ' Hae ye ony pots or pans,
Or any broken chanlers,'
I am a tinker to my trade,
And newly come from Flanders."

But the song is so weU known to all who take an interest in
our northern minstrelsy, and is to be found, moreover, in every
good collection of Scottish Songs, that it is enough to refer to it.

Honest John Bunyan was a travelling tinker originally.
Reader ! just for a moment fancy the inspired author — poet
we may call him — of The Pilgrim's Progress, crying the '' cry "

CRIES OF LONDON.

of his trade through the streets of Bedford, thus — " Mistress,
have yov any work for the tinker ? pots, pans, kettles I mend, old
brass, lead, or old copper I buy. Anything in my way to-day
maids i" While at the same time, through his brain was
floating visions of Vanity Fair, the Holy War, the Slough of
Despond, the Valley of the Shadow of Death, the Barren Fig
Tree, the Water of Life, &c. beneath that long head of hair,
shaggy, and dirty too, as a tinker's generally is.

Hot Codlings : — A Catch.
This will be found in Windsor Drollery, and. With music for
three voices, by Thomas Holmes, in John Hilton's Catcli that
Catch Can; and also Walsh's Catch-Club. Part II. p. 25.

Have you observ'd the wench in the street,
She's scarce any hose or shoes to her feet ;
And when she cries, she sings,
I have hot Codlings, hot Codlings.

Or have you ever seen or heard.

The mortal with his Lyon tauny beard !

He lives as merrily as heart can wish,

And still he cries, Buy a brush, buy a Ijrush .

go HISTORY OF THE

Since these are merry, why should we take care ?
Musicians, like Camelions, must live by the Aire ;
Then let's be blithe and bonny, no good meeting balk.
What though we have no money, we shall find Chalk.

The best known collection of .cries is "The Cryes of the
City of London. Drawne after the Life, P. Tempest,
Exaidii," a small foho volume, which when published in 1688,
consisted of only fifty plates, as the following advertisement
extracted from the London Gazette of May 28-31, 1688,
sufficiently proves : —

" There is now Published the Cryes and Habits of London, lately
drawn after the Life in great variety of Actions. Curiously Engraven
upon 50 Copper Plates, fit for the Ingenious and Lovers of Art. Printed
and Sold by P. Tempest, over-against Somerset House in the Strand."

Samuel Pepys, the eccentric diarist, who died 1 703, left to
Magdelene College, Cambridge, an invaluable collection of
ballads, manuscript naval memoirs, ancient English poetry,
three volumes of " Penny Merriments," and a numerous
assemblage of etchings and engravings. Among the latter a
number of Tempest's cries in the first state — where in the
Pepysian Library in that College they are still preserved.

In 171 1 another edition of Tempest's cries was published
containing seventy four plates, several of which can scarcely be
called cries. They are rather popular " London Characters "
than " criers." As the book, however, is extremely rare and
consequently costly, and as a history of the old London cries
would be very imperfect without a particular account of
Tempest's volume being made, also a few words about Mauron,
who designed, and Pearce Tempest, who engraved these cries,
what follows will not, we trust, be altogether out of place. Of
Mauron, we can find no better account than the notice in Walpole.

CRIES OF LONDON. 9 1

" Marcellus Mauron — sometimes spelt Lauron, was born at
the Hagu^ in 1653, and learnt to paint of his father, with whom
he came when young into England. Here he was placed with
one La Zoon, a portrait-painter, and then with Flesshier, but
owed his chief improvement to his own application. He lived
several years in Yorkshire, and when he returned again to
London he had very much improved himself in his art. He
drew correctly, studied nature diligently, copied closely, and so
^surpassed all his contemporaries in drapery, that Sir Godfrey
Kneller employed him to clothe his portraits. He likewise
excelled in imitating the different styles of eminent masters,
executed conversation pieces of considerable merit. Several
prints were made from his works, and several plates he etched
and scraped himself. A book on fencing, and the procession
at the coronation of William and Mary, were designed by him.
He lived in Bow Street, Covent Garden, on the west sidfe,
about three doors up, and at the back of Sir Godfrey Kneller's
house in the Piazza, there he died of consumption March nth,
1702."

Of Pearce Tempest, the engraver, the particulars collected
by Vertue were so extremely slight that Horace Walpole merely
enumerates him among those of whom nothing is known. It
may be told of him however, that he lived in the Strand, over-
againts Somerset House, and dying in 17 17, was buried on the
14th of April, in the church-yard of St. Paul, Covent Garden.

From the " Collection of Ancient Songs and Ballads, written
on various subjects, and printed between the year MDLX, and
MDCC," in the British Museum, and now known as the
Roxburghe Ballads, we take the ballad of : —

92 HISTORY OF THE

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

Tune — The Merry Christ-church Bells.

Hark ! how the cries in every street

Make lanes and allies ring :

With their goods and ware, both nice and rare,

All in a pleasant lofty strain ;

Come buy my gudgeons fine and new.

Old cloaths to change for earthen ware,

Come taste and try before you buy,

Here's dainty poplin pears.

Diddle, diddle, diddle dumplins, ho !

With walnuts nice and brown.

Let none despise the merry, merry cries

Of famous London Town .

Any old cloaths, suits, or coats.
Come buy my singing birds.
Oranges or lemons. Newcastle salmon.
Come buy my ropes of onions, ho !
Come buy my sand, fine silver sand.
Two bunches a penny turnips, ho !
I'll change you pins for coney-skins.
Maids, do you want any milk below ?
Here's an express from Admiral Hawke,
The Admiral of renown.

Let none despise the merry, merry cries

Of famous London town.

Maids, have you any kitchen stuff ?
Will you buy fine artichoaks ?
Come buy my brooms to sweep your rooms.
Will you buy my white-heart cabbages, ho !
Come buy my nuts, my fine small nuts.
Two cans a penny, crack and try.
Here's cherries round, and very sound.

CRIES OF LONDON. 93

Maids, shall I sweep your chimnies high ?
Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, goes the tinker's pan,
With a merry cheerful sound.

Let none despise the merry, merry cries

Of famous London town.

Here's fine herrings, eight a groat.
Hot codlins, pies, and tarts.
New mackerel I have to sell.
Come buy my Wellfleet oysters, ho !
Come buy my whitings fine and new.
Wives, shall I mend your husbands' horns ?
I'll grind your knives to please your wives.
And very nicely cut your corns.
Maids, have you any hair to sell,
Either flaxen, black, or brown ?

Let none despise the merry, merry cries

Of famous London town.

Work for a cooper, maids give ear,
I'll hoop your tubs arid pails.
Come Nell and Sue, and buy my blue.
Maids, have you any chairs to mend ?
Here's hot spiced-gingerbread of the best,
Come taste and try before you buy.
Here's elder-buds to purge your bloods.
But black your shoes is all the cry.
Here's hot rice milk, and barley broth.
Plumb-pudding a groat a pound.

Let none despise the merry, merry cries

Of famous London town.

Here's fine rosemary, sage, and thyme.
Come buy my ground ivy.
Here's fatherfew, gilliflowers and rue.
Come buy my knotted marjoram, ho !
Come buy my mint, my fine green mint.
Here's fine lavender for your cloaths.

94 HISTORY OF THE

Here's parsley and winter-savory.
And heart' s-ease which all do choose.
Here's balm and hissop, and cinquefoil,
All fine herbs, it is well known.

Let none despise the merry, merry cries

Of famous London town.

Here's pennyroyal and marygolds.

Come buy my nettle-tops.

Here's water-cresses and scurvy-grass.

Come buy my sage of virtue, ho !

Come buy my wormwood and mugwort.

Here's all fine herbs of every sort.

Here's southernwood that's'very good,

Dandelion and houseleek.

Here's dragon's-tongue and wood-sorrel.

With bears-foot and horehound.

Let none despise the merry, merry cries

Of famous London town.

Here's green coleworts and brocoli.
Come buy my radishes.
Here's fine savoys, and ripe hautboys.
Come buy my young green bastings, ho !
Come buy my beans, right Windsor beans.
Two pence a bunch young carrots, ho !
Here's fine nosegays, ripe strawberries.
With ready picked salad, also.
Here's collyflowers and asparagus.
New prunes two-pence a pound.

Let none despise the merry, merry cries

Of famous London town.

Here's cucumbers, spinnage, and French beans.
Come buy my nice sallery.
Here's parsnips and fine leeks.
Come buy my potatoes, ho I

CRIES OF LONDON. 95

Come buy my plumbs, and fine ripe plumbs.
A groat a pound ripe filberts, ho !
Here's corn-poppies and mulberries.
Gooseberries and currants also.
Fine nactarines, peaches, and apricots.
New rice two -pence a pound.

Let none despise the merry, merry cries

Of famous London town.

Buy a rabbit, wild duck, or fat goose .

Come buy a choice fat fowl.

Plovers, teal, or widgeons, come buy my pigeons.

Maids, do you want any small coal ?

Come buy my shrimps, my fine new shrimps,

Two pots a penny, taste and try.

Here's fine saloop, both hot and good.

But Yorkshire muffins is the cry.

Here's trotters, calfs feet, and fine tripes.

Barrel figs three-pence a pound.

Let none despise the merry, merry cries

Of famous London town.

Here's new-laid eggs for ten a groat.

Come buy water'd cod.

Here's plaice ^nd dabs, lobsters and crabs.

Come buy my maids, and flounders, ho !

Come buy my pike, my fine live pike.

Two-pence a hundred cockles, ho !

Shads, eels, and sprats. Lights for your cats.

With haddocks, perch, and tench also.

Here's carp and tench, mullets and smelts.

Butter sixpence a-pound.

Let none despise the merry, merry cries

Of famous London town.

Printed and sold at the Printing-office in Bow-church-yard^
London.

96 HISTORY OF THE

Addison, the essayist and poet,^i672-i7i9, contributed a
capital paper to the Spectator, on the subject of London Cries,
which we deem so much to the purpose, that it is here repro-
duced in extenso.

THE SPECTATOR.

No. 251. TUESDAY, December 18.

-A hundred mouths, a hundred tongues,

And throats of brass, inspir'd with iron lungs. Dryden.

Lingum centum sunt, oraque centum,

Ferrea vsx Virg. /En. 6 v. 625.

There is nothing which more astonishes a foreigner, and
frightens a country 'squire, than the cries of London. My good
friend Sir Roger often declares that he cannot get them out of
his head, or go to sleep for them, the first week that he is in
town. On the contrary, Will Honeycomb calls them the Raniage
de la ville, and prefers them to the sound of larks, and nightin-
gales, with all the music of the fields and woods. I have lately
received a letter from some very odd fellow upon this subject,
which I shall leave with my reader, without saying any thing
further of it.

SIR,

I AM a man out of all business, and would willingly turn my
head to any thing for an honest livelihood. I have invented
several projects for raising many millions of money without
burdening the subject, but I cannot get the parliament to listen
to me, who look upon me forsooth as a crack, and a projector; so
that despairing to enrich either myself or my country by this
public-spiritedness, I would make some proposals to you relating
to a design which I have very much at heart, and which may

CRIES OF LONDON. 97

procure me a handsome subsistence, if you will be pleased to
recommend it to the cities of London and Westminster.

The post I would aim at, is to be comptroller-general of the
London-cries, which are at present under no manner of rules or
discipline. I think I am pretty well qualified for this place, as
being a man of very strong lungs, of great insight into all the
branches of our British trades and manufactures, and of a com-
petent skill in music.

The cries of London may be divided into vocal and instru-
mental. As for the latter they are at present under a very great
disorder. A freeman of London has the privilege of disturbing
a whole street for an hour together with the twankling of a brass
kettle or a frying-pan. The watchman's thump at midnight
startles us in our beds, as much as the breaking in of a thief.
The sow-gelder's horn has indeed something musical in it, but
this is seldom heard within the liberties. I would therefore
propose, that no instrument of this nature should be made use
of, which I have not tuned and licensed, after having carefully
examined in what manner it may affect the ears of her ma-
jesty's liege subjects.

Vocal cries are of a much larger extent, and indeed so full of
incongruities and barbarisms, that we appear a distracted city to
foreigners, who do not comprehend the meaning of such enor-
mous outcries. Milk is generally sold in a note above Ela, and
in sounds so exceedingly shrill, that it often sets our teeth on
edge. The chimney-sweeper is confined to no certain pitch ; he
sometimes utters himself in the deepest bass, and sometimes in the
sharpest treble ; sometimes in the highest, and sometimes in the
lowest note of the gamut. The same observations might be
made on the retailers of small coal, not to mention broken glasses
or brick-dust. In these therefore, and the Uke cases, it should

gS HISTORY OF THE

be my care to sweeten and mellow the voices of these itinerant
tradesmen, before they make their appearance in our streets, as
also to accommodate their cries to their respective wares ; and
to take care in particular, that those may not make the most
noise who have the least to sell, which is very observable in the
venders of card matches, to whom [ cannot but apply that old
proverb of Much cry, but little wool.

Some of these last mentioned musicians are so very loud in
the sale of these trifling manufactures, that an honest splenetic
gentleman of my acquaintance bargained with one of them never
to come into the street where he lived ; but what was the effect
of this contrast ? Why, the whole tribe of card-match-makers
which frequent that quarter, passed by his door the very next day,
in hopes of being bought off after the same manner.

It is another great imperfection in our London-cries, that there
is no just time nor measure observed in them. Our news should
indeed be published in a very quick time, because it is a com-
modity that will not keep cold. It should not, however, be cried
with the same precipitation as fire ; yet this is generally the case :
a bloody battle arms the town from one end to another in an
instant. Every motion of the French is published in so great a
hurry, that one would think the enemy were at our gates. This
likewise I would take upon me to regulate in such a manner,
that there should be some distinction made between the spread-
ing of a victory, a march, or an encampment, a Dutch a Portu-
gal, or a Spanish mail. Nor must I omit, under this head, those
excessive alarms with which several boisterous rustics infest our
streets in turnip-season ; and which are more inexcusable, be-
cause these are wares which are in no danger of cooling upon
their hands.

There are others who affect a very slow time, and are, in my

COLLY^-MOLLY — PUFF.

CRIES OF LONDON. 99

opinion, much more tunable than the former ; the cooper in
particular swells his last note in a hollow voice, that is not with-
out its harmony ; nor can I forbear being inspired with a most
agreeable melancholy, when I hear that sad and solemn air with
which the public are very often asked, If they have any chairs to
mend ? Your own memory may suggest to you many other
lamentable ditties of the same nature, in which music is wonder-
fully languishing and melodious.

I am always pleased with that particular time of the year which
is proper for the pickling of dill and cucumbers ; but alas ! this
cry, like the song of the nightingale, it not heard above two
months. It would therefore be worth while to consider, whether
the same air might not in some cases be adapted to other words.

It might likewise deserve our most serious consideration, how
far, in a well regulated-city, those humourists are to be tolerated,
who, not content with the traditional cries of their forefathers,
have invented particular songs and tunes of their own : such as
was not many years since, the pastry-man, commonly known by
the name of the Colly-MoUy-PufT; and such as is at this day the
vender of powder and wash-ball, who, if I am rightly informed,
goes under the name of Powder- Watt.

I must not here omit one particular absurdity which runs
through this whole vociferous generation, and which renders
their cries very often not only incommodious, but altogether use-
less to the public ; I mean that idle accomplishment which they
all of them aim at, of crying so as not to be understood.
Whether or no they have learned this from several of our affected
singers, I will not take upon me to say ; but most certain it is,
that people know the wares they, deal in rather by their tunes
than by their words : insomuch that I have sometimes seen a
country boy run out to buy apples of a bellows mender, and

100 HISTORY OF THE

ginger-bread from a grinder of knives and scissors. Nay, so
strangely infatuated are some very eminent artists of this parti-
cular grace in a cry, that none but their acquaintance are able to
guess at their profession ; for who else can know, that work if I
haa it, should be the signification of a corn-cutter.

Forasmuch therefore as persons of thi^ rank are seldom men
of genius or capacity, I think it would be very proper, that some
man of good sense and sound judgment should preside over
these public cries, who should'permit none to lift up their voices
in our streets, that have not tunable throats, and are not only able
to overcome the noise of the crowd, and the rattling of coaches,
but a:lso to vend their respective merchandises in apt phrases, and
in the most distinct and agreeable sounds. I do therefore hum-
bly recommend myself as a person rightly qualified for this post;
^nd if I meet with fitting encouragement, shall communicate
some other projects which I haveby me, that may no less con-
duce to the emolument of the public.

I am,

Sir, &c.

Ralph Crotchet.

A curious parallel might be carried out between the itinerant
occupations which the progress of society has entirely super-
seded, and those which even the most advanced civilization is
compelled to retain. We here only hastily glance at a few of
these differences.

Of the street trades which are past and forgotten, the small-
coal-man was one of the most remarkable. He tells the tale of
a city with few fires ; for who could now imagine a man earning
a living by bawling " Small coals " from, door to door, 'without
any supply but that in the sack which he carries on his shoulders ?
His cry was, however, a rival with that of " Wood to cleaved

Thomas Britton,

The Musieal Small Coal Man.

CRIES OF LONDON. lOI

In a capital full of haberdashers, what chance would an aged
man now have with his flattering solipitation of " Pretty pins,
pretty ■women ?" He who carries a barrel on his back, with a
measure and funnel at his side, bawling " Pine writing-ink,"
is wanted neither by clerks nor authors. There is a grocer's
shop at every turn ; and who therefore needs him who salutes us
with ' ' Lily-white vinegar threepence a quart 1 " When every body,
old and young, wore wigs — when the price for a common
one was a guinea, and a journeyman had a new one every year,
when it was an article in every city apprentice's indenture that
his master should find him in " One good and sufficient wig,
yearly, and every year, for, and during, and unto the expiration
of the full end, and term, -of his apprenticeship.'' There a wig-
seller made his stand in the street, or called from door to door
and talked of a " Pine Tie, or a fine Bob-wig Sir 2 " Formerly
women cried " Pour-pair for a Shilling Holland Socks," also
" Long Thread Laces, long and strong^' " Scotch or Russian cloth"
" Buy any wafers or wax" "London's Gazette here ? " " Puy
a New Almanack? " The history of cries is a history of social
changes. The working trades, as well as the venders of things ^
that can be bought in every street, are now banished from our
thoroughfares. " Old chairs to mend" or "A brass pot or an iron
pot to mend 2 " still salutes us in some retired suburb ; and we
still see the knife grinder's wheel ; but who vociferates " Any
work for y^ohn Cooper ? The trades are gone to those who pay
scot and lot. What should we think of prison discipline now-a
days,' if the voice of lamentation was heard in every street,
" Some bread and ireatjor the poor prisoners ; for the Lords sake
pity the poor i " John Howard put down this cry, Or what
should we say of the vigilance of 'excise-officers if the cry of aqua
vitce met our ears ? The Chiropedist has now his guinea, a

102 HISTORY OF THE

country villa, and railway season ticket; in the old days he
stood at corners, with knife and scissors in hand, crying "Corns to

pick." There are some occupations of the streets, however, which
remain essentially the same, though the form be somewhat varied.
The sellers of food are of course among these. " Hot jieascod"
and " Hot sheefs-feet" are not popular delicacies, as in the time
of Lydgate. " Hot wardens',' and " Hot codlings J' are not the
cries which invite us to taste of stewed pears and baked apples.
But we have still apples hissing over a charcoal fire ; and pota-
toes steaming in a shining apparatus, with savoury salt-butter to
put between the '' fruit " when cut ; the London pieman with his
cry of " toss or buy ! up and win 'em,'' still holds his ground in
spite of the many penny pie-shops now established. Rice-milk
is yet sold out in halfpennyworth. But furmety, barley broth,
greasy sausages, redolent of onions and marjoram ; crisp brown
flounders and saloop are no longer in request.

The water-carrier is gone. It is impossible that London can
ever again see a man bent beneath the weight of a yoke and two
enormous pails, vociferating " Any fresh and fair spring water

. here ? " He is gone. But he still remains in Paris. There
are still some three or four thousand portcurs d'eau, who carry
water from family to family, either in a cask upon wheels or in
pails with yokes. It has been computed that 18,000/. is annu-
ally paid for this species of labour. In Madrid the same
occupation gives subsistence to a very large number of people ;
and there the passenger is invited to taste the pure element,
brought from a distance of thirty miles, by the cry of " Water,
fresh water, fresh from the fountain ! Who drinks, gentlemen ;
who drinks ? " But the number of persons thus employed, com-
pared with the London milk-carriers, is no doubt small. The
cry of " Milk," or the rattle of the milk-pail, will never cease

Sir Jefi'Ery Dunstan,

Zate Ma/yor oj Garratt, and Itinerant Dealer in Wigs.

CRIES OF LONDON. I03

to be heard in our streets. There can be"no reservoirs of milk,
no pipes through which it flows into the houses. The more ex-
tensive the great capital becomes, the more active must be the
individual exertion to carry about this article of food. The old
cry was '' Any milk here ? " and it was sometimes mingled with
the sound of " J^resA cheese and cream ;'\ and it then passed into
"Milk, maids below;" and it was then shortened into "Milk
below; " and was finally corrupted into " Mio^' which some wag
interpreted into mi eaii — demi-eau — half water. But it must still
be cried, whatever be the cry. The supply of milk to the me-
tropolis is perhaps one of the most beautiful combinations of
industry we have. The days are long since passed when Fins-
bury had its pleasant groves, and Clerkenwell was a village, and
there were green pastures in Holborn, and St. Pancras boasted
only a little church standing in meadows, and St. Martin's was
literally in the fields. Slowly but surely does the baked clay of
Mr. Stucco, "the speculative builder" stride over the clover
and the buttercup ; and yet every family in London may be sup-
plied with milk by eight o'clock every morning at their own doors.
Where do the cows abide ? They are congregated in wondrous
masses in the suburbs ; and though in spring-time they go out
to pasture in the fields which lie under the Hampstead and
Highgate hills, or in the vales of Dulwich and Sydenham, and
there crop the tender blade,

" When proud pied April, dress'd in all his trim,
Has put a spirit of youth in everything."

yet for the rest of the year the coarse grass is carted to their stalls,
or they devour what the breweries and distilleries cannot extract
from the grain harvest. Long before " the unfolding star wakes
up the shepherd " are the London cows milked ; and the great

104 HISTORY OF THE

wholesale vendors of the commodity who have it consigned to
them daily from more distant parts to the various Metropolitan
Railway 'Stations bear it in carts to every part of the town, and
distribute to the hundreds of shopkeepers and itinerants, who
are anxiously waiting to receive it for re-distribution amongst
their own customers. It is evident that a perishable commodity
which every one requires at a given hour must be so distributed.
The distribution has lost its romance. Misson, in his 'Travels'
published at the beginning of the last century, tells of May-
games of " the pretty young country girls that serve the town
with milk." Alas ! the May-games and pretty young country
girls have both departed, and a milk-woman has become
a very unpoetical personage. There are few indeed of milk-
women who remain. So it is with most of the occupations that
associate London with the country. The cry of " Water cresses "
used to be heard from some barefoot nymph of the brook, who
at sunrise had dipped her foot into the bubbling runnel, to carry
the green luxury to the citizens' breakfast-tables. Water-cresses
are now grown like cabbages in gardens. The cry of " Rose-
mary and briar " once resounded through the thoroughfares ;
and every alley smelt "like Bucklersbury in simple time," wlien
the whole street was a mart for odoriferous herbs. Cries like
these are rare enough now ; yet we do hear them occasionally,
when crossing some bye-street, and have then felt an unwonted
fragrance in the air ; and as some one has truly said that scents
call up the most vivid associations, we have had visions of a fair
garden afar off, and the sports of childhood, and the song of the
lark that : —

"At my window bade good morrow
Through the sweet briar.''

Then comes a pale-looking widow woman with little bunches in

Kate Smith,
The Merry Milkmaid.

CRIES OF LONDON.

I OS

her hand, who with a feeble voice crys " Buy my sweet-briar."
There are still however, plenty of saucy wenches — of doubtful
morality, in the more crowded and fashionable thoroughfares
who present the passengers with moss-roses, and violets. Gay
tells us : —

" Successive cries llie seasons' change declare,
And mark the monthly progress of the year.
Hark ! how the streets with treble voices ring,
To sell the bounteous product of the spring.

We no longer hear the cries which had some association of har-
monious sounds with fragrant llowers. The din of " noiseful
gain" exterminated them.

io6

HISTORY OF THE

Troop, Every One, One !

The man blowing a trumpet, " Troop, every one, one ! " was
a street seller of hobby-horses— toys for children of three
hundred years ago.

" Call'st thou my love, hobby-horse ; the hobby-horse is but a colt."

Love's Labour Lost. Act lii. Sc. i.

He carried them as represented in the engraving, in a partitioned
frame on his shoulder, and to each horse's head was a small
flag with two bells attached. It was a pretty play ting for " little
master," and helped him to imitate the galloping of the real and
larger hobby-horse in the pageants and mummeries that passed
along the streets, or pranced in the shows at fairs and on the
stage. Now-a-days we give a boy the first stick at hand to
thrust between his lege as a Bucephalus — the shadow of a

CRIES OF LONDON.

107

shadow — or the good natured grandpapa wishing to give my
" young master " something of the semblance of the generous
animal — for the horse is no less popular with boys than formerly,
takes his charge to the nearest toyshop and buys him a painted
stick on which is a sawn-out representation of a horse's
head, which with the addition of a whip will enable him to : —

Ride a cock-horse to Banbury-cross,

To see what Tommy can buy ;
A penny white loaf, a penny white cake,

And a twopenny apple-pie.

^^^

Buy a Fine Singing Bird !

The criers of singing birds are extinct ; we have only bird-
sellers. The above engraving, therefore represents a bye-gone
character, it is from a series of etchings called " The Cryes of
the City of London " designed by M. Mauron.

io8

HISTORY OF THE

TiDDY DiDDY Doll — loll, loll, loll.

This celebrated vendor of gingerbread, from his eccentricity
of character, and extensive dealings in his particular way, was
always hailed as the King of itinerant tradesmen. He was a
constant attendant in the crowd at all metropolitan fairs, mob
meetings, Lord Mayor's shows, public executions, and all other
holiday and festive gatherings ! In his person he was tall, well
made, and his features handsome. He aifected to dress like a
person of rank ; white and gold lace suit of clothes, lace ruffled
shirt, laced hat and feather, white stockings, with the addition
of a white apron. Among his harangues to gain customers,
take the following piece as a fair sample of the whole : —

" Mary, Mary, where are you now Mary ? I live, when at

CRIES OF LONDON. IO9

home, at the second house in Litttlediddy-ball-street, two steps
under ground, with a wiscum, riscum, and a why-not. Walk in,
ladies and gentlemen ; ray shop is on the second-floor back-
wards, with a brass knocker on the door, and steel steps before
it. Here is your nice gingerbread, it will melt in your mouth
like a red-hot brickbat, and rumble in your inside like Punch
and his wheelbarrow.'' He always finished his address by
singing this fag end of some popular ballad : —

Ti-tid-ty, ti-tid-ty. Ti-tid-ty-tiddy-loU,
Ti-tid-ty, ti-tid-ty. Ti-tid-ty— tiddy-doll.

Hence arose his nickname " Tiddy-DoU." In Hogarth's print
of the " Idle 'Prentice Executed at Tyburn.'' Tiddy-Doll
•is seen holding up a gingerbread cake with his left hand, his
right hand within his coat, to imply that he is speaking the truth
from his heart, while describing the superiority of his wares
over those of any other vendor in the fair ! while he still
anxiously enquires : —

" Mary, Mary, where are }'ou now Mary ? "

His proper name was Ford, and so well known was he that,
on his once being missed for a week from his usual stand in the
Haymarket, on the occason of a visit which he paid to a country
fair, a ''Catch-penny" account of his alleged murder was
printed, and sold in the streets by thousands.

Allusions to Tiddy-Doll, and sayings derived from him have
reached to our own time, thus, we still say to an' over-dressed
person — " You are as tawdry as Diddy-doll," " You are quite
Tiddy-doll, you look as fine as Tiddy-doll," he or she is said
to be " all Tiddy-doll," &c.

no HISTORY OF THE

The class of men formerly well known io the citizens of
London as News-criers or Hornmen, must now be spoken of in
the past sense, as the further use of the horn was prohibited
long ago by the magistracy, subject to a penalty of ten shillings
for the first offence, and twenty shillings. on the conviction of
repeating so heinous a crime.

Great News, Bloody Battle, Great Victory !

Extraordinary Gazette !

Second Edition !

were the usual loud bellowing of fellows with stentorian lungs,
accompanied by a loud blast of a long tin-horn, which announced
to the delighted populace of London the martial achievements
of a Marlborough, Howe, Hood, Nelson, or Wellington. A copy
of the " Gazette " or newspaper they ' cried ' was usually affixed
under the hatband, in front, and their demand was generally
one shilling.

At least one of these news ciiers has been immortalized. In
a volume of Miscellaneous Poems, edited by Elijah Fenton,
and printed by Bernard Lintot, without date, but anterior to
1720, there are the lines that follow to one, old Bennet, who

CRIES OF LONDON. Ill

seems to have made a great noise in the world of London
during the early part of last century : —

On the Death of Old Bennet,

THE

News Cryer.

One evening, when the sun was just gone down,

And I was walking thro' the noisy town,

A sudden silence through each street was spread.

As if the soul of London had been fled.

Much I enquired the cause, but could not hear,

Till fame, so frightened, that she did not dare

To raise her voice, thus whisper'd in my ear : —

Bennet, the prince of hawkers, is no more,

Bennet, my Herald on the British shore,

Bennet, by whom, I own myself outdone,

Tho' I a hundred mouths, he had but one,

He, when the list'ning town he would amuse.

Made Echo tremble with his " Bloody ne-ws " ! .

No more shall Echo, now his voice return,

Echo for ever must in silence mourn, —

Lament, ye heroes, who frequent the wars,

The great proclaimer of your dreadful scars.

Thus wept the conqueror who the world o'ercame.

Homer was wanting to enlarge his fame.

Homer, the first of hawkers that is known,

Great Necus from Troy, cried up and down the town,

None like him has there been for ages past.

Till our stentorian Bennet came at last,

Homer and Bennet were in this agreed,

Homer was blind, and Bennet could not read ! .

In our own days there has been legislation for the benefit of
tender ears ; and there are now penalties, with police constables

112

HISTORY OF THE

to enforce them, against "All persons blowing any horn or using
any other noisy instrument, for the purpose of calling persons
together, or of announcing any show or entertainment, or for
the purpose of hawking, selling, distributing, or collecting any
article, or of obtaining money or alms." These are the words
of the Police Act of 1839; and they are stringent enough to
have nearly banished from our streets all those uncommon
noises which did something to relieve the monotony of the one
endless roar of the tread of feet and the rush of wheels.

Mr. Henry Mayhew, in his admirable work of '' London
Labour and London Poor,'' writing in 1851, under the head
" Of the Sellers of Second Editions,'' says ; —

"I believe that there is not now in existence — unless it be in a work-
house and unknown to his fellows, or engaged in some other avocation,
and lost sight of by them— any one who sold ' Second Editions ' of the
Courier evening paper at the time of the Duke of York's Walcheren
expedition, at the period of the battle of the Nile, during the continuance
of the Peninsular war, or even at the battle of Waterloo. There were a
few old men — some of whom had been soldiers or sailors, and others who
have simulated it — surviving within these five or six years, and some later,
who • worked Waterloo,' but they were swept off, I was told, by the
cholera."

CRIES OF LONDON.

Clean Your Honour's Shoes.
["The foot grows black that was with dirt embrown'd."]

" About thirty years before the cry of ' Clean your boots,
Sir, ! ' became familiar to the ears of the present generation of
Londoners," Mr. Charles Knight informs us that : — " In one of
the many courts on the north side of Fleet Street, might be
seen, somewhere about the year 1820, ' The last of the London
shoe-blacks.' One would think that he deemed himself dedi-
cated to his profession by Nature, for he was a Negro. At the
earHest dawn he crept forth from his neighbouring lodging, and
planted his tripod on the quiet pavement, where he patiently
stood till noon was past. He was a short, large-headed, son of
Africa, subject, as it would appear, to considerable variations of
spirits, alternating between depression and excitement, as the
gains of the day presented to him the chance of having a few
pence to recreate himself beyond what he should carry home

114 HISTORY OF THE

to his wife and children. For he had a wife and children, this
last representative of a falling trade ; and two or three little
woolly headed dkrotteurs nestled around him when he was idle,
or assisted in taking off the roughest of the dirt when he had
more than one client. He watched, with a melancholy eye, the
gradual improvement of the streets ; for during some twenty or
thirty years he had beheld all the world combining to ruin him.
He saw the foot pavements widening; the large flag-stones
carefully laid down ; the loose and broken piece, which dis-
charged a slushy shower on the unwary foot, and known to him
and London chairmen as a " Beau-trap * instantly removed : he
saw the kennels diligently cleansed, and the drains widened :
he saw experiment upon experiment made in the repair of the
carriage-way, and the holes, which were to him as the ' old
familiar faces ' which he loved, filled up with a haste that ap-
peared quite unnecessary, if not insulting. One solitary
country shopkeeper, who had come to London once a year
during a long life, clung to our sable friend ; for he was the only
one of the fraternity that he could find remaining, in his walk
from Charing Cross to Cheapside."

Hone, in his The Table Book, 1827, under an article on the
Old London cries has : — " A Shoeblack ! A boy, with a small
basket beside him, brushes a shoe on a stone, and addresses
himself to a wigged beau, who carries his cocked-hat under his
left arm, with a crooked-headed walking stick in his left hand,
as was the fashion among the dandies of old times. I recollect

* Beau-Trap : — A loose stone in the pavement under which the water
lodges in rainy weather, which when trodden on squirts it up to the great
damage of light-coloured clothes and clean stockings. First invented by
Sedan-chairmen, whose practice it was to loosen a flat-stone so that in wet
weather those that choose to save their money by walking, might liy
treading on thg " trap " dirt tljeir shoes Evnd stockings,

CRIES OF LONDON. 1 1^

shoeblacks formerly at the corner of almost every street,
especially in great thoroughfares. There were several every
morning on the steps of St. Andrew's Church, Holborn, till
late in the forenoon. But the greatest exhibition of these
artists was on the site of Finsbury-square, when it was an open
field, and a depository for the stones used in paving and street-
masonary. There a whole army of shoeblacks intercepted the
citizens and their clerks on their way from Islington and Hoxton
to the counting-houses and shops in the city, with 'Shoeblack,
your honour !' Black your shoes, sir !'"

Each of them had a large, old tin-kettle, containing his ap-
paratus, viz : — a capacious pipkin, or other large earthen-pot,
containing the blacking, which was made of ivoryblack, the
coarsest moist sugar, and pure water with a little vinegar — a
knife, tv/o or three brushes, and an old wig. The old wig was
an indispensable requisite to a shoeblack ; it whisked away the
dust, or thoroughly wiped off the wet dirt, which his knife ahd
brushes could not entirely detach ; a rag tied to the end of a
stick smeared his viscid blacking on the shoe, and if the blacking
was " real japan," it shone. The old experienced shoe-wearers
preferred an oleaginous, lustreless blacking. A more liquid
blacking, which took a poUsh from the brush, was of later use
and invention. Ndbody at that time wore boots except on
horseback ; and everybody wore breeches and stockings :
pantaloons or trousers were unheard of The old shoeblacks
operated on the shoes while they were on the feet, and so dex-
terously as not to soil the fine white cotton stocking, which was
at that time the extreme of fashion, or to smear the buckles,
which were universally worn. Latterly, you were accommodated
with an old pair of shoes to stand in, and the yesterday's paper
to read, while your shoes were cleaning and polishing, and yourj

Il6 HISTORY OF THE

buckles were whitened and brushed. When shoestrings first
came into vogue, the Prince of Wales (Geo. IV.) appeared with
them in his shoes, when immediately a deputed, body of the
buckle-makers of Birmingham presented a petition to his Royal
Highness to resume the wearing of buckles, which was good-
naturedly complied with. Yet in a short time shoestrings
entirely superseded buckles. The first incursion on the shoe-
blacks was by the makers of " Patent Cake Blacking " on sticks
formed with a handle, like a small battledoor ; they suffered a
more fearful invasion from the makers of liquid blacking in
bottles. Soon afterwards, when " Day and Martin " manufac-
tured the ne plus ultra of blacking, private shoeblacking
became general, public shoeblacks rapidly disappeared, and now
[1827] they are extinct. The last shoeblack that I remember
in London sat under the covered entrance of Red Lion-court,
Fleet-street within the last six years. This unfortunate, " The
Last of the London Shoeblacks " — was probably the " short,
large headed son of Africa " alluded to by Charles Knight,
under the heading of " Clean your honour's shoes," in his
History of London.

In 1 85 1, some gentlemen connected with the Ragged Schools
determined to revive the brotherhood of boot cleaners for the
convenience of the foreign visitors to the Exhibition, and
commenced the experiment by sending out five boys in the now
well-known red uniform. The scheme succeeded beyond ex-
pectation ; the boys were patronized by natives as well as aUens,
and the Shoeblack Society and its brigade were regularly
organised. During the exhibition season, about twenty-five
boys were constantly employed, and cleaned no less than
101,000 pair of boots. The receipts of the brigade during its
first year amounted to ;^656. Since that time, thanks to the

CRIES OF LONDON.

117

combination of discipline and liberality the Shoeblack Society
has gone on and prospered, and proved the Parent of other
Societies. Every district in London now has its corps of shoe-
blacks of every variety of uniform, and while the number of
boys has increased from tens to hundreds, their earnings have
increased from hundreds to thousands. Numbers of London
waifs and strays have been rescued from idleness and crime.
The Ragged School Union, and Shoeblack Brigades therefore
hold a prominent place among the indirectly preventive agencies
for the suppression of crime : for since ignorance is generally
the parent of vice, any means of securing the benefits of
education to those who are hopelessly deprived of it must
operate in favour of the well-being of society.

Train up a child in the way he should go ; and when he is old he will not
depart from it : — Proverbs, chap, xxii., v. 6.

'Tis education forms the common mind ;

Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined : — Po^e.

ii8

MlsTofeY OF tut

Young Lambs to Sell.

Young lambs to sell ! young lambs to sell.
If I'd as much money as I could tell,
I'd not come here with young lambs to sell !
Dolly and MoUy, Richard and Nell,
Buy my young lambs, and I'll use you well !

The engraving represents an old " London Crier," one
William Listen, from a drawing for which he purpously sfood in
1826.

This " public character " was bom in the City of Glasgow.
He became a soldier in the waggon-train, commanded by
Colonel Hamilton, and served under the Duke of York in
Holland, where, on the 6th of October 1799 he lost his right
arm and left leg, and his place in the army. His misfortunes
thrust distinction upon him. From having been a private in
the ranks, where he would have remained undistinguished, he
became one of the popular street-characters of his day.

CRIES OF LONDON. Iig

In Miss Eliza Cook's Poem " Old Cries " she sings in no
feeble strain the praises of the old man of her youthful days,
who cried — " Merry and free as a marriage bell " : —

Young Lambs to Sell.

There was a man in olden time,

And a troubadour was he ;
Whose passing chant and lilting rhyme

Had mighty charms for me.

My eyes grew big with a sparkling stare,

And my heart began to swell,
When I heard his loud song filling the air

About " Young lambs to sell ! "

His flocks were white as the falling snow,

With collars of shining gold ;
And I chose from the pretty ones "all of a row,''

With a joy that was untold.

Oh, why did the gold become less bright,
why did the soft fleece lose its white.
And why did the child grow old ?

'Twas a blithe, bold song the old man sung ;
The words came fast, and the echoes rung.

Merry and free as " a marriage bell ;"
And a right, good troubadour was he.
For the hive never swarmed to the chinking key.
As the wee things did when they gathered in glee

To his musical cry — " Young lambs to sell 1 "

Ah, well-a-day ! it hath passed away,
With my holiday pence and my holiday play —
I wonder if I could listen again,
As I listened then, to that old man's strain —
All of a row — " Young lambs to sell."

120

HISTORY OF THE

The London Barrow-Woman.

Round and sound,
Two-pence a pound.
Cherries, rare ripe cherries !

Cherries a ha'penny a stick
Come and pick I come and pick !
Cherries big as plums ! who comes, who comes

The late George Cmikshank, whose pencil was ever dis-
tinguished by power of decision in every character he sketched,
and whose close observation of passing men and manners was
unrivalled by any artist of his day, contributed the " London
Barrow- woman " to the pages of Hone's Every-Day Book in-
1826 from his own recollection of her.

CRIES OF LOIStDON.

12t

Buy a Broom.

These poor " Buy-a-Broom girls " exactly dress now,

As Hollar etch'd such girls two cent'ries ago ;

All formal and stifif, with legs, only at ease —

Yet, pray, judge for yourself ; and don't if you please,

***** y. * *

But ask for the print, at old print shops — they'll show it.
And look at it, "* with your own eyes, ' and you'll know it.

Buy a Broom ? was formerly a very popular London-cry, when
it was usually rendered thus :—" /"^j/ a Proom, puy a prooms 2
a leetle von for ze papy, and a pig vans for ze lady : Puy a Proom"
Fifty years ago Madame Vestris charmed the town by her
singing and displaying her legs, in Blanche's ballad of : —

Buy a broom, buy a broom.
Large broom, small broom.
No lady should e'er be without one, &c.

But time and fashion has swept both the brooms and the girls
from our shores. — Madame Vestris lies head-to head with Charles
Mathews in Kensal Green Cemetery. Tempus omnia revelat.

i25

HISTORY OF THE

Thk Lady as Cries Cats' Meat.

Old Maids, your custom I invites,
Fork out, and don't be shabby,

And don't begrudge a bit of lights
Or liver for your Tabby.

Hark ! how; the Pusses make a rout —

To buy you can't refuse ;
So may you never be without

The music of their mews.

Here's famous meat — all lean, no fat —
No better in Great Britain ; -

Come, buy a penn' orth for your Cat —
A happ'orth for your Kitten.

Come, all my barrowifor a bob !

Some charity diskivir ;
For, faith, it ar'nt an easy job

To li-ve by selling liver.

Who'll buy ? who'll buy of Catsmeat-Nan !

I've bawl'd till I am sick ;
But ready money is my plan ;

I never gives no tick.

I've got no customer as yet —

In wain is my appeal —
And not to buy a single bit

Is werry ungenteel!

C^its oP LoNboiJ.

123

The Dandy Dogs'-Meat Man.
In Gray's Inn Lane, not long ago,
An old maid lived a life of woe ;
She was fifty-three, with a face like tan.
And she fell in love with a dogs' -meat man.
Much she loved this dogs' -meat man.
He was a good-looking dogs'-meat man ;
Her roses and lillies were tum'd to tan,
When she fell in love wi' the dogs'-meat man.

Every morning when he went by,

Whether the weather was wet or dry,

And right opposite her door he'd stand,

And cry "dogs' meat," did this dogs'-meat man.

Then her cat would run out to the dogs'-meat man.

And rub against the barrow of the dogs'-meat man.

As right opposite to her door he'd stand,

And cry ">Dogs' Meat," did this dogs'-meat man.

124-

HISTORY OF THE

The Flying Stationer.

Here's tidings sad, for owld and young,
Of von who liv'd for years by macing ;

And vo.s this werry morning hung,

The Debtor's Door at Newgate facing.

Here's his confession upon hoath.

The vords he spoke van he vos dying,

His birth and eddycation both —
The whole pertic'lers — veil vorth the buying.

Here's an account of robberies sad,

In vich he alus vos a bactor ;
You must to read the life be glad —

Of sich a fanicms malefactor !

CRIES OF LONDON. 125

How to the mob he spinn'd a yam,
And varn'd them from a course unproper,

You may, vith all his history, lam —
For the small vally of a copper !

Now my kind hearted, haffectionated and wery ready-money
Christian hearted, pious and hinfidel customers, here you
have the last speech and dying yords, Hfe, character, and
behaviour of the hunfortunate malefactor that vos hexecuted
this morning hopposit the Debtor's door in the Hold Bailey !
together with a full confessi6n of the hoffence vherewith he vos
found guilty before a hupright Judge and a wery himpartial
Jury ! Here you have likewise a copy of a most affecting letter,
written by the criminal in the condemned cell the night afore
hexecution to his hinnocent vife and hunoffending babbies,
vith a copy of werses consarning the same — all for the small
charge of von halfpenny. Yes, my friends, von halfpenny buys
the werses as follows — von arter the 'tother : —

Come, all you blessed Christians dear,

That's a-tender, kind, and free,
While I a story do relate

Of a dreadful tragedy
Which happened in London town,

As you shall all be told ;
But when you hear the horrid deed

'Twill make your blood run cold. —

For the small charge of a ha'penny !

'Twas in the merry month of May,

When my true love I did meet ;
She look'd all like an angel bright,

So beautiful and sweet.
I told her I loved her much,

And she could not say nay ;
'Twas then I stung her tender heart.

And led her all astray. —

Only a ha'penny !

126 HISTORY OF THE

T^ Life of Jemmy Catnach.

By Mr. Charles Hindley.

Now, my friends, you have here just
printed and pub — lish — ed, the Full,
True, and Particular account of the Life,
Trial, Character, Confession, Condem-
nation, and Behaviour, together with an
authentic copy of the last Wf,ill Sntf
ffi«^tain«ltt ; or, Dying Speech, of
that eccentric individual " Old Jemmy
Catnach, late of the Seven Dials, printer,
publisher, toy-book manufacturer, dying,
speech merchant, and ballad-monger.
Here you may read how he was bred
and born the son of a printer, in the
ancient Borough of Alnwick, which is in
Northumberland. How he came to
London to seek his fortune. How he
obtained by printing and publishing children's books, the chronicling of
doubtful scandals, fabulous duels between ladies of fashion, "cooked"
assassinations, and sudden deaths of eminent individuals, apocryphal
elopements, real or catch-penny accounts of murders, impossible robberies,
delusive suicides, dark deeds and public executions, to which was usually
attached the all-important and necessai-y " Sorrowful Lamentations," or,
" Copy of Affectionate Verses,'" which, according to the established
custom, the criminal composed, in the condemned cell, the night before
his execution.

Yes, my customers, in this book you'll read how Jemmy Catnach made
his fortune in Monmouth Court, which is to this day in the Seven Dials,
which is in London. Not only will you read how he did make his
fortune, but also what he did and what he didn't do with it after he had
made it. You will also read how " Old Jemmy" set himself up as a fine
gentleman : — ^James Catnach, Esquire.

And how he didn't like it wheyi he had done it. And how he went back
again to dear old Monmouth Court, which is in the Seven Dials aforesaid.
And how he languished, and languishing, did die — leaving all his mouldy
coppers behind him — and how^ being dead, he was buried in Highgate
Cemetery.

Furthermore, my ready-money customers, you are informed that there are
only 750 copies of the work print-ed and pub-lish-ed, viz., namely, that is
to say: — 500 copies on crown 8vo, at 7s. each.

250 copies on demy 8vo, at 12s. 6d. each.

LONDOt; :

REEVES AND TURNER,

196, Strand, W.C.

CRIES OF LONDON.

127

The Hearth-Stone Merchant.

Hearth-stones ! Do you want any hearth-stones ? Now, my
maids, here's your right sort — reg'lar good'uns, and no mistake —
vorth two o' your shop harticles, and at half the price. Now my
pretty vone, lay out a tanner, apd charge your missus a bob— and
no cheating neither ! the cook has always a right to make her
market penny and to assist a poor cove like me in the bargain.

They're good uns, you vill find —

Choose any, marm, as you prefer :
You looks so handsome and so kind,

I'm sure you'll be a customer.

Three halfpence, marm, for this here pair —
I only vish as you vould try 'em ; •

I'm sure you'll say the price is fair —
Come marm, a penny if you'll buy 'em,

I2S

HISTORY OF THE

Guy Fawkes— Guy.

There cannot be a better representation of " Guy Fawkes," as
he was borne about the metropolis .in effigy in the days "When
George the Third was King," than the above sketch by George
Cruikshank.

Please to remember the fifth of November,

Gunpowder treason and plot ;
We know no reason, why gunpowder treason.
Should ever be forgot !

Holla boys ! holla boys ! huzza — a — a !
A stick and a stake, for King George's sake,
A stick and a stump, for Guy Fawkes' rump !
Holla boys ! holla boys ! huzza— a— a !

CRIES OF LONDON,

129

/ sweep your Chimnies clean, O,
Sweep your Chimney clean, 1

The Chimney Sweeper.

With drawling tone, brush under arm,
And bag slang o'er his shoulder ;

Behold the sweep the streets alarm,
With Stentor's voice, and louder.

130 history of the

The Chimney Sweeper.

From Blake's " Songs of Innocence."

Communicated by Charles Lamb to W. Hone, the Editor :

And published in The Every-day Book, May i. [1824.]

When my mother died I was very young,
And my father told me, while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry, " Weep ! weep ! weep ! "
So your chimnies I sweep, and in soot I sleep.

There's little Tom Toddy, who cried when his head.
That was curl'd like a lamb's was shaved, so I said.
" Hush, Tom, never mind it for when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair,"

And so he was quiet, and that very night

As Tom was a sleeping, he had such a sight,

That thousands of sleepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,

Were all of them locked up in coffins so black.

And by came an angel, who had a bright key.
And he opened the coffins, and set them all free ;
Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing, they run.
And wash in the river, and shine in the sun.

Then naked and white, all their bags left behind.
They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind ;
And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy
He'd have God for his father, and never want joy.

And so Tom g^woke, and we rose in the dark.
And got with our bags and our brushes to work ;
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm.
So if all do their duty they need not fear harm.

CRIES OF LONDON.

131

Buy my Lavender, sweet blooming Lavender,
Sweet blooming Lavender, blooming Lavender.

Lavender.

Lavender : sweet blooming lavender,
Six bunches for a penny to-day ;

Lavender, sweet blooming lavender
Ladies buy it while you may.

132 history of the

The Lavender Girl.

I am poor, and my friends are all dead,
Nor mother nor father have I ;

Cold charity finds me in bread.
And thus as I wander, I cry —

Sweet lavender /

I'm sad, and no comfort is mine ;

I'm tired, and no home have I to rest ;
In sorrow, neglected, I pine,

With a wearisome load at my breast.

Sweet lavender I

In vain through the day do I grieve
While taking my rounds, as you see ;

The folks who are rich ne'er relieve,
Or pity a poor girl like me.

Sweet lavender !

Cold, cold blows the winterly wind,
The rain-drops they beat on my head ;

When, when in the grave shall I find
Repose with my friends who are dead ?

Sweet lavender I

Soon, soon may that hour come, I pray.
The time that sound slumber shall bring ;
When no more in my grief I shall stray,
When no more with faint voice I shall sing —

Sweet lavender I

CRIES OF LONDON.

133

Buy ripe Strawberries, fine Strawberries,
Ripe Strawberries, ripe Strawberries, !

Thb Strawberry Woman.

In lowly beds, by nature taught,
The strawberries are displayed ;

And hence, for us, to market brought,
By this industrious maid.

134 history of the

Newcastle Salmon.

Newcastle salmon, very go6d,
Is just come in for summer food ;
No one hath better fish than I,
So if you've money come and buy.

Chairs to Mend.
Poor Robin, whom great ills betide,

Forsook by every friend,
Can still for nature's wants provide,

By crying — " Chairs to mend ?"

Lobsters and Crabs.
Here's lobsters and crabs

Alive and good,
So buy if you please.

This delicate food.

Peaches and Nectarines.

Nice peaches and nectarines
Just fresh from the tree,

All you who have money,
Come buy them of me.

LiLLiES OF the Valley.

In London street, I ne'er could find,

A girl like lively Sally,
Who picks and culls, and cries aloud.

Sweet lilies of the valley.

CRIES OF LONDON.

135

Buy my Oysters, live Oysters 0.
Twelve-pence a peck Oysters, O I

The Oyster Man.

From Billingsgate industrious Will,
Brings oysters for the town,

Thro' frost or rain, he feels no ill,
But cries them up and down.

136 HISTORY OF THE

Buy a Mop or a Broom.

Ye cleanly housewife come to me,
And buy a mop or broom,

To sweep your chambers, scour stairs.
Or wash your sitting room.

Golden Pippins, who'll Buy?

Here are fine Golden-pippins ;
Who'll buy them, who'll buy ?
Nobody in London sells better than I.
Who'll buy them, who'U buy ?

New Milk fkom the Cow.

Rich milk from the cow,
Both sweet and fine.

The Doctor's declare
It is better than wine.

Almanack. New Almanack.

My almanacks aim at no learning at all
But only to show when the holidays fall ;
And still (as by study we easily may)
How many eclipses the year will display.

Oysters. Fine New Oysters.

They're all alive and very fine,

So if you like them, come and dine ;

I'll find you bread and butter too,

Or you may have them opened for a stew.

CRIES OF LONDON.

137

Maids I mend old Pans, or Kettles,
Mend old Pans or Kettles, 01

The Tinker.

Hark, who is this ? the Tinker bold,
To mend or spoil your kettle.

Whose wife I'm certain is a scold.
Made of basest metal.

138 HISTORY OF THE

Buy my Images, Images.

Come buy my image-earthenware,
Your mantel pieces to bedeck.

Examine them with greatest care.
You will not find a single speck.

, Buy my Mackerel, Mackerel.

My mackerel are very fresh,

So buy if you are willing ;
They're just come in, I'll use you well.

Here ye are, three for a shilling.

Fine China Oranges.

If friends permit, and money suits,
The tempting purchase make ;

But first examine well the fruit.
And then the change you take.

All Things You Use I Buy.

Coats, hats, and small clothes too I buy,
And rabbit skins and shoes.

And gowns, and aprons, also caps.
And all things that you use.

CRIES OF LONDON.

139

Buy my Rabbits! Rabbets who'll buy.
Rabbit I Rabbit 1 who will buyi

The Rabbit Man.

Rabbit ! Rabbit ! who will buy,
Is all you hear from him ;

The Rabbit you may roast or fry,
The fur your cloak will trim.

140 history op the

Buy Chicken, Young Chickens.

The chickens young, and fowl well fed,
No doubt are reckoned nice ;

But those who work for daily bread,
Cannot afford their price.

The rich such niceties may buy ;

Without them we can do,
Tho' many hear the fowlmen cry,

The purchasers are few.

Green Peas, Buy my Green Peas.

Sixpence a peck these peas are sold.
Fresh and green, and far from old ;
Green-marrows it is quite clear,
And as times go, cannot be dear.

Good Ink, Good Writing Ink.

My ink is good — as black as jet,
'Tis used by princes or the state ;
If once you venture it to try,
Of this I'm sure — none else you'll buy.

The Gazette. Buy the Gazette.

In the Gazette, great news to-day.
The enemy is beat they say,
And all eager to behold
The news the new events unfold.

CRIES OF LONDON.

141

Buy my Diddle Dumplings, hot! hot.
Diddle; diddle, diddle Dumplings hot!

The Dumpling Woman.

This woman's in industry wise,
She lives near Butcher- Row ;

Each night round Temple- Bar she plies,
With Diddle Dumplings, ho !

142 HISTORY OF THE

The Flower-Pot Man.

Here comes the old man with his flowers to sell,

Along the streets merrily going ;
Full many a year I've remember'd him well,

With, " Flowers, a growing, a blowing."

Geraniums in dresses of scarlet and green ;

Thick aloes, that blossom so rarely ;
The long creeping cereus with prickles so keen ;

Or primroses modest and early. '

The myrtle dark green, and the jessamine pale.
Sweet scented and gracefully flowing.

This flower-man carries and offers for sale,
" All flourishinig, growing, and blowing."

Buy MY Fine Roses.

Come buy my fine roses.
My myrtles and stocks.

My sweet smelling blossoms,
And close growing box.

Buy a Mop Maids.

Maids my mop is so big,
It might serve as a wig

For a judge had he no objection :
And as to my brooms,
They will sweep dirty rooms.

And make the dust fly to perfection.

CRIES OF LONDON.

143

Buy my Flowers, Sweet Flowers, New-cut flowers,
New Mowers, Sweet Flowers, Fresh Flowers, !

Flowers, Cut Flowers.

New-cut flowers this pretty maid doth cry,
In Spring, Summer and Autumn gaily ;

Which shows how fast the Seasons fly-
As we pass to our final-home daily.

144 HISTORY OF THE

Won't You Buy my Pretty Flowers.

Underneath the gas-lights glitter,

Stands a little fragile girl ;
Heedless of the night winds bitter,

As they round about her whirl,
While the hundreds pass unheeding.

In the evening's waning hours.
Still she cries with tearful pleading,

Won't you buy my pretty flowers.

There are many sad and weary,
In this pleasant world of ours,

Crying every night so dreary.
Won't you buy my pretty flowers.

Ever coming, ever going,

Men and women hurry by,
Heedless of the tear-drops gleaming,

In the sad and wistful eye,
How her little heart is sighing.

In the cold and dreary hours,
Only listen to her crying,

Won't you buy my pretty flowers.

There are many sad and weary, &c.

Not a loving word to cheer her,

From the passers by is heard,
Not a-friend to linger near her,

With a heart by pity stirr'd.
Homeward goes the tide of fashion.

Seeking pleasure's pleasant bowers.
None to hear with sad compassion,

Won't you buy my pretty flowers ?

There are many sad and weaty, &c.

CBJES OF lONpON,

145

Come buy my walking-sticks or canes,
I've got them for the young or old.

lillpl

1 ill'

■■■ii^ii

Mlllll

Mlill 4

i,iiiiiiiiiii|i|HPf

fc'i^

TT1"iPr«i

■iiiiii„jiii»

y.iiii-p

|giillilil'i'||ilillllllllim|i;

Sticks and Canes.

I've sticks and canes for old and young

To either they are handy,
In driving off a barking cur,

Or chastising a dandy.

146 - HISTOHY OF THE

Buy a Door-Mat or a Tablk-Mat.

Stooping o'er the ragged heath,
Thick with thorns and briers keen,

Or the weedy bank beneath.
Have I cut my rushes green ;

While the broom and spiked thorn

Pearly drops of dew adorn.

Sometimes 'cross the heath I wind,
Where scarce a human face is seen.

Wandering marshy spots to find,
Where to cut my rushes green ;

Here and there, with weary tread,

Working for a piece of bread.

Then my little child and I
Plat and weave them, as you see ;

Pray my lady, pray do buy.
You can't have better than of me ;

For never, surely were there seen

Prettier mats of rushes green.

HISTORY OF THE

147

Buy Rue, Buy Sage, Buy Mint,

Buy Rue, Sage and Mint, a farthing a buiuh.

The Herb- Wife.

As thro' the fields she bends her way,
Pure nature's work discerning ;

So you should practice every day,
To trace tl^e fiejds of learning.

148 history of the

The Shoe-Black.

Dick the Shoe-black does so neat
The work which he engages,

He's known by all in Regent-street ;
But trifling are his wages.

Carrots and Turnips.

Carrots and turnips ! now then's your time,
The carrots are uncommonly prime ;
And the turnips, too, I'd have you know,
Are all as white as driven snow.

The Blind Fiddler.

The Poor Old Fiddler goes his rounds.
Along with Old Dog Tray ;

The East of London mostly bounds
His journeys for the day.

Any Earthen-Ware, Plates, Dishes, or Jugs, to-day ?

This flowered bowl of green.

Is worth a crown at least ;
I'm sure it might be seen,

At any christening feast.

Pots to Mend.

Kettles to mend ! Any Pots to mend !
YoH cannot do better to me than send ;
Think of the mess when saucepans run,
The fire put out, and dinner not done.

CRIES OF LONDON.

149

Buy green and large Cucumbers, Cucumbers,
Green and large Cucumbers, twelve a penny.

Cucumbers.

A penny a dozen Cucumbers,

Tailors, hallo ! hallo !
Now from the shop-board each man runs,

For Cucumbers below.

150 HISTORY OF THE

All round and sonND my Ripe Kentish Cherries.

Who such cherries would see,

And not tempted be
To wish he possessed a share ?

But observe, I say small,

For those who want all
Deserve not to taste of such fare,

Hot Mutton Dumplings— Nice Dumplings, all Hot.

Hot Mutton Dumplings this man cries,

What more could one desire,
To save the trouble of making pies
Or puddings, and save your fire ?

The Ballad Singer's Song.

With a voice of love and gladness,

I wander forth each day.
Though my breast is torn by sadness

While striving to be gay ;
The friends of life's first morning.

Are changed in truth, or dead,
And the hopes in joy once dawning,

With passing years — are fled !

Then let the blest of fortune,
From sorrow take the sting —

My heart is full of anguish —
'Tis bleeding as I sing 1

For myself I am not craving

Your pittance, as I roam —
Other lives I would be saving.

Who look for me at home !
Other hands are raised to Heaven

For the mercy of the good —
Other thanks would soon be given

To one who took them food.

Then let. &c.

CRIES OF LONDON.

151

Buy Rosemary, Buy Sweet-briar^
Rosemary and Sweet-briar, 1

Rosemary and Sweet Briar.

Rosemary and briar sweet,
This maiden now doth cry,

Through every square and street.
Come buy it sweet, come buy it dry.

is 2 history of the

Fire-Stove Ornaments.

Handsome Ornaments I have to sell,
An empty fire-stove doesn't look well ;
They'll hide the front, or the grate will hold
Paper shavings of silver and gold.

Buy a Mop, Brush or Hair Broom.

Without the aid of Brush or Broom,
What would the housewife do ?

How scour her floor, or sweep her room
From dust and gathering flue ?

Water Cresses. Fresh and Fine.

Young Cresses fresh at breakfast taken
A relish will give to eggs and bacon !
My profit's^small, for I put many
In bunches sold at three a penny.

Stern winter is no sooner gone
And Nature's milder"garb put on,
Than young and tender cresses grow,
Where smooth streams and rivulets flow.

Still upon the waters grey,
Mists of early morning hung ;
Buy then, lady fair, I pray,
Buy my water cresses young.

CBIES OF LONDON.

153

Buy nice new Yorkshire Muffins,
Nice Yorkshire Muffins, 01

The Muffin Man.

This man cries Muffins eve and mom,
And you'll of them partake ;

But if to learn your book you scorn
You don't deserve a cake.

154 HISTORY OF THE

Potatoes.

All hot ! all hot ! the flowery sort,
Better Potatoes can't be bought ;
With salt and butter they'll make you feel
You never had a heartier meal.

Muffin O ! Crumpets ! Muffins !
The muffin-man, Hark ! I hear —
His small bell tinkle shrill and clear ;
Muffins and crumpets nice he brings,
While on the fire the kettle sings.

Oranges ! Golden Oranges.

The orange-girls would gladly suit,
Every one's taste with their golden fruit ;
They travel round from door to door.
But sell the most amongst the poor.

Old Clothes.

Clo ! Clo ! have you any old Clo ?
I've glass and China, a splendid show ;
Trowsers and Coats — no matter how old —
I'll change for china cover'd with gold.

The Baker.

The baker brings us nice new bread :
Without it we could not be fed ;
White loaves are made of wheat, that grows
In fields, as eVry body knows.

CRIES OF LONDON.

155

Buy fine Kidney Potatoes, New Potatoes,
Fine Kidney Potatoes, Potatoes, 1

Potatoes, Kidney Potatoes.

Potatoes, oh ! of kidney kind,
Come buy, and boil and eat ;

The core and eke, also the rind,
They are indeed so sweet.

is6 history op the

Milk.
Milk, below, pretty maids ! fresh from the cow,
Good measure I'll give, come buy of me now ;
'Tis country milk, where flowers are blowing.
And cows eat grass with buttercups growing.

Cat's Meat, Dog's Meat, Meat! Meat!

" Mew ! Mew ! " I heard our pussey cry —
The cat's meat man is coming by ;
He brings the dogs and cats their food :
They think it very nice and good.

Old Chairs to Mend.

Old chairs to mend ! Old chairs to mend !
If I'd as much money as I could spend.
If I'd as much money as I could spend,
I'd leave off crying, " Old chairs to mend."

Rope-Mats.

Rope-mat ! Door-mat ! you really must
Buy one to save the mud and dust ;
Think of the dirt brought from the street
For want of a Mat to wipe your feet.

CBIES OF LONDON.

157

Buy my Shirt Buttons, Shirt Buttons,
Buy Shirt Hand Buttons, Buttons.

Shirt Buttons.

At a penny a dozen, a dozen,
My buttons for shirts I sell.

Come aunt, uncle, sister, and cousin,
I'll warrant I'll use you well.

iS8

HISTORY OF THE

Old Clothes — Old Clothes— Old Clo'.

" Old clothes ! clothes ! " is loudly crjdng,
The old-clothesman, for bargains trying ;
This trade is practised by the Jews,
Who profit make from our old shoes.

Mackerel.

Live Mackerel, oh ! fresh as the day !
At three for a shilling is giving away ;
Full row'd, like 'bright silver they shine ;
Two persons on one can sup or dine.

All New Walnuts.

Crack 'em and try 'em, before ye buy 'em,
Eight a-penny — " All new walnuts."

Crack 'em and try 'em, before ye buy 'em,
A shilling a-hundred — " All new walnuts."

Gold-Fish.

Now then, ladies, if you do wish
For handsome Gold and Silver Fish,
I've some which in the water flash
Like fire, as round the globe they dash.

i'-i

CRIES OF LONDON.

159

Buy my nice and new Banbury Cakes,
Buy my nice new Banbury Cakes, O I

Banbury Cakes.

Buy Banbury Cakes, by fortune's frovm,

You, see this needy man,
Along.-the" street, and up and down,
, Is selling all he can,

i6o

HISTORY OF THE

Buy Fine Flounders ! Oysters !

There goes a tall fish-woman sounding her cry,

" Who'll buy my fine flounders, and oysters, who'll buy ?"

Poor flounder, he heaves up his fin with a sigh,

And thinks that he has most occasion to cry ;

" Ah, neighbour," says oyster, " indeed, so do I."

Hat-Box.

Hat or Cap Box ! for ribbons or lace,
When in a box keep in their place ;
And in a box your favourite bonnet
Is safe from getting things thrown on it.

Balloons.

Now boys, now girls, come buy a Balloon,
'Twill fly so swiftly up to the moon ;
Come buy them, blue, red, yellow, or green,
'Tis the prettiest toy that ever was seen.

CRI^S OF LONDON.

i6i

One a penny, two a penny, hot Cross-Buns,
One a penny, two a penny, hot Cross-Buns.

y-Jf^ ■"■■ ■ i 4"-=^ j"-"??

Hot Cross Buns.

Think on this sacred festival ;

Think why Cross-Buns were given ;
Then think of Him who dy'd for all
. To give you right to Heaven.

l62

HISTORY OF THE

The Milkman.

Yes, very early we all may hear,
The milkman's tin cans rattle near —
A pleasant sound, since we must wait
For breakfast, if the milk is late.

Standard, Tele', Echo, Globe, Daily News.

Now the Newspaper-boy runs by,
yttering his loud and earnest cry —

The "Standard," "Tele'," "Echo," "Globe," " Daily News,"
'To buy of me please don't refuse : —

Second and last edition !

CRIES OF LONDON,

163

Buy my Cockles, fine new Cockles,
Cockles fine and Cockles new 1

New Cockles.

Cockles fine ; and cockles new,

They are as fine as any
Cockles : New cockles, O !

I sell a good lot for a penny, O !

164

HISTORY OF THE,

The Dustman.

Bring out your dust, the dustman cries,

Whilst ringing of his bell :
If the wind blows, pray guard your eyes,

To keep them clear and well.

I am very glad 'tis not my luck
To get my bread by carting muck ;

I am sure I never could be made
To work at such a dirty trade.

Hold, my fine spark, not so fast,
Some proud folks get a fall at last;

And you, young gentleman, I say,
May be a Dustman, one fine day

All working folks, who seldom play.

Yet- get their bread in a honest way,
Though not to wealth or honours born.

Deserve respect instead of scorn.
Such rude contempt they merit less

Than those who live in idleness ;
Who are less useful, I'm alraid.

Than I the Dustman that is by trade.

CRIES OF LONDON.

165

Buy my fine Gooseberries, Fine Gooseberries,
Three-pence a Quart, Ripe Gooseberries.

Gooseberries.

Ripe gooseberries in town you'll buy,
A.S cheap as cheap can be ;

Of many sorts you hear the cry ;
Pray purchase, Sir, of me !

i66

HISTORY OF THE

Oysters, Sir.

Many a knight and lady gay

Will stay me as I cry,
While roaminjj through the streets each day,

My native oysters huy.
I'll please you well with what I sell,

Then mark my love arched eye ;
Pray, huy of ine, I all excel,
My Milton oysters buy.
Oysters, Sir ? oysters, sil: ?

Oysters, sir? I cry.
The finest native oysters
That ever you did buy.

My father was a seaman brave,

No care did us annoy,
Until he sank beneath the wave,

Then farewell every joy.
Then I got bold, and oysters sold.

And raised a cheerful cry, —
Who'll buy of pretty Marian,

My native oysters buy?
Oysters, sir? &c.

They squeeze my hand as they pass by,

And call me pretty maid :
To this I only do reply

According to my trade.
I'll please you well with what I sell,

And many an arch reply ;
My oysters they are fresh and good.

Will you be pleased to try ?
Oysters, sir ? &c.

CRIES OF LONDON.

liSy

Buy my Cranberries, Fine Cranberries,
Buy my Cranberries, Fine Cranberries.

Cranberries.

Buy cranberries, to line your crust,
In Lincolnshire they're grown ;

Come buy, come buy, for sell I must
Three quarts for half-a-crown.

1 68

HISTORY OF THE

Mackerel, O ! Four a Shilling, Mackerel, O !

In Spring this noisy cry we hear ;
At first, indeed, the fish is dear ;
But friendly gales soon stock our shore,
And make them food for rich and poor.

Who'll Buy my Mutton Pies?

Through London's long and busy streets.

Poor honest Tommy cries.
To every little boy he meets,

Who'll buy my mutton pies ?

CRIES OF LONDON.

169

Btiy my Capers, Buy my nice Capers,
Buy my Anchovies, Buy my nice Anchovtcs

Capers, Anchovies.

How melodious the voice of this man,
The capers he says are the best ;

His anchovies too, beat 'em that can,
Are constantly found in request.

172 history of the

Fresh Watercresses.

In winter and summer, in cold and in heat ;

As ready to sell as there's any,
The watercress girl with a smile you may meet,

To sell her three bunches a penny,
From the clear running stream they come fresh to me,

I've bunches oh ! ever so many.
There's health in each little green leaf that you see.

And I sell them three bunches a penny.

Watercresses, watercresses,
Buy my watercresses.

Tho' footsore and weary no cares on my heart,
, And I smile just as sweetly as any.
If my basket I empty ere day may depart

Of its cresses three bunches a penny.
Then spare a small coin for the watercress girl,

And win blessings ever so many,
Not dark but good fortune on all if you tell

Who buy my three bunches a penny.

Watercresses, watercresses, &c.

cries of london. 173

Milk, My Pretty Maids Below.

At dawn of day, when other folks

In slumber drown their senses.
We milkmen sing, and crack, and joke,

Scale stile and suchlike fences :
But when from milking home we're bound,

A sight more pleasing than a show.
The rosy lasses greet the sound

Of milk, my pretty maids, below.

Milk, my pretty maids, &c.

'Tis milkman here, and milkman there,

Lord ! how these wenches teaze me ! ,
I'm coming, love ; how much, my fair ?

Cries I. — There now be easy ;
So what with my toying now and then.

And kissing, too, as on I go ;
I scarce have time, like other men.

To cry — milk, my pretty maids, below.

Milk, my pretty maids, &c.

Though twice a-day I pay my court

To those that come to meet me,
I please them all, and that's your sort —

There's none can ever beat me.
My walk I never will resign —

A better one I don't know ;
Of all the trades, let this be mine,

Of milk, my pretty maids, below.

Milk, my pretty maids, &c.

174 history of the

Matches ! Come, Buy My Fine Matches.

Come, buy my fine matches,
Come, buy 'em of me,

They are the best matches
That ever you see.

There was an old 'oman

In Rosemary Lane,
She cut 'em and dip'd 'em.

And I do the same.

For lighting your candle.
Or kindling your fire.

They are the best matches
As you can desire.

Wash-Ball, Trinket or Watch.

Do ye want any wash-ball or patch.
Dear ladies, pray, buy of me ;

Or trinkets to hang at your Watch,
Or garters to tie at your knee ?

CRIES OF LONDON,

I7S

The Jolly Tinker.

My daddy was a tinker's son,

And I'm his boy, 'tis ten to one, _

Here's pots to mend ! was still his cry,

Here's pots to mend ! aloud bawl I.

Have ye any tin pots, kettles or cans,

Coppers to solder, or brass pans ?

Of wives my dad had near a score,

And I have twice as many more :

My daddy was the lord^I don't know who—

With his :—

Tan ran tan, tan ran tan tan,
For pot or can, oh ! I'm your man.

Once I in my budget snug had got
A barn-door capon, and what not.
Here's pots to mend ! I cried along —
Here's pots to mend ! was my song.
At village wak^ — oh ! curse his throat,
The code crowed so loud a note.
The folks in clusters flocked around,
They seized by budget, in it found
The cock, a gammon, peas and beans.
Besides a jolly tinker. Yes, a jolly tinker —
With his—

Tan ran tan, tan ran tan tan.
For pot or can, oh ! I'm your man.

Like dad, when I to quarters come.

For want of cash the folks I hum.

Here's kettles to mend : bring me some beer !

The landlord cries, " You'll get none here !

You tink'ring dog, pay what you owe,

Or out of doors you'll mstant go."

In rage I squeeze him 'gainst the door.

And with his back rub'd off the score.

At his expense we drown all strife

For which I praise the landlord's wife —

With my

Tan ran tan, tan ran tan tan,
For pot or can, oh ! I'm your man.

176 history of thk

Jeannette the Flower Girl.
I come from mead and valley,

My pretty flowers to sell,
The sweetest gems I've culled for you,

Deep in the forest dell ;
Fragrant and fresh as blush of mom,

The sweet primrose I get,
Gay blossoms too, from scented thorn,

Pray buy of poor Jeannette.
Come buy of me my pretty flowers,'

With morning dew still wet.
Come buy of me my pretty flowers,

Come buy of poor Jeannette.

Where cornflowers throw their sweet perfumes,

'Tis there I love to stray.
Where harebells grow, and kingcups bloom,

I wander day by day. ,
Lillies I've got, and cowslips too.

The rose and violet.
Forget-me-nots, for friends so true,

Pray buy of poor Jeannette,
Come buy of me my pretty flowers.

Come buy of poor Jeannette.

cries of london. 1 77

Hot Coffee, Coffee Ho't, Hot Coffee, Gents. !

Coffee hot, coffee hot, hot I cry,
Full and fair cups, come and buy ;
But if so be you axes where
I makes it hot ? I answer there,
Over the fire, where hangs my pot,
That's where I make coffee hot.

Coffee hot, coffee hot, hot I cry,
Full and fair cups, if you're dry ;
Here the milk galore doth flow.
Here is butter, bread also,
If you have thd ready got.
That's the time for coffee hot.

178 HISTORY OF THE

Buy a Broom, Fair Ladies.

Buy a broom, buy a broom, buy a broom.
Fair ladies, ah ! do not refuse me ;

The winter comes on very soon, very soon.
And then, you know, ladies, you lose me.

Buy a broom, buy a broom, buy a broom,
Like the bee, I have the same reason,

To lay up against winter's gloom.
For the summer is my only season.

Buy a broom, buy a broom, buy a 'broom.
Fair ladies, &c.

Buy a broom, buy a broom, buy a broom,

Kate's a wanderer far from her nation ;
Your bounty her heart will illume, will illume,

Who now at your door takes her station.
Buy a broom, buy a broom, buy a broom.

Dear ladies, ah, pity a stranger !
Buy one just to sprinkle your room.

Or chase flies that your sweets may endanger.
Buy a broom, buy a broom, buy a broom.
Fair ladies, &c.

CRIES OF LONDON. 1 79

Sweet Lasses, Come and Buy.

I'm a jolly peddlarman,
And o'er the hills I wander,
Store of wares my pack contains; for those who've cash to squander;
And, rough to scan
Mankind's my plan,

Of womankind I'm fonder ;
To them I cry —
Sweet lassses, come, and buy !

I've buckles — silver, gold and brass,
And shoes, to trip with grace in ;
Sashes, ribbons, laces strong, for those who've need to lace in !
And looking glass.
For buxom lass

To view her pretty face in ;
And leer and sigh —
Come, pretty girls, and buy.

Come, maids and widows, soon, mayhap,
You'll change your single stations ;
I've basting-ladies, mugs, and horns, to stock your habitations ;
And rattle-trap.
And spoons for pap.

In case of twinfications ;
Hush, pet, don't cry —
Come, ladies all, and buy.

l8o HISTORY OF THE

Come, Buy My Spice-Gingerbread, Smoking Hot ! Hot ! Hot !

Come, boys, and girls, men and maids, widows and wives,
The best penny laid out you e'er spent in your lives ;
Here's my whirl -a-gig lottery, a penny a spell,
No blanks, but all prizes, and that's pretty well.
Don't stand humming and ha-aring, with ifs and with buts,
Try your luck for my round and sound gingerbread-nuts ;
And there's my glorious spice-gingerbread, too,
Hot enough e'en to thaw the heart of a Jew.

Hot spice-gingerbread, hot ! hot ! all hot !
Come, buy my spice-gingerbread, smoking hot !

I'm a gingerbread-merchant, but what of that, then ?
All the world, take my word, deal in gingerbread ware ;
Your fine beaus and your belles and your rattlepate rakes — ■
One half are game-nuts, the rest gingerbread cakes ;
Then, in gingerbread coaches we've gingerbread lords,
And gingerbread soldiers with gingerbread swords.
And what are your patriots, 'tis easy to tell —
By their constantly cr5ang they've something to sell.
And what harm is there in selling — hem ! —

Hot spice-gingerbread, &c.

My gingerbread-lottery is just like the world,

For its index of chances for ever is twirled ;

But some difference between 'em exist, without doubt,

The world's lottery has blanks, while mine's wholly without,

There's no matter how often you shuffle and cut,

If but once in ten games you can get a game-nut.

So I laugh at the world, like an impudent elf,

And just like my betters, take care of myself, and my —

Hot spice-gingerbread, &c.

Nice New ! Nice New !
All Hot ! All Hot Hot ! All Hot !
He're they are, two sizes li/ger than last week.

C&IES OF LONt)ON.

The Ballad Singer;

Here are catches, songs, and glees,

Some are twenty for a penny ;
You shall have whate'er you please,

Take your choice, for here are many.
Here is Nan of Glos'ter-green,

Here's The Lilly of the Valley.
Here is Kate of Aberdeen,

Here is Sally in our alley.

Here is Mary's Dream. — Poor Jack,

Here is The Tinker and the Tailor,
Here is Bow wow, and Paddy whack.

Tally ho ! — The hardy Sailor,
Here is Dick Dock — The hearty Blade.

Captain Wattle and The Grinder.
And I've got the Cottage Maid,

Confound me, though, if I can find her.

Drinking songs, too, here abound,

Toby Philpot — Fill the glasses.
And Why stands the glass around 2

Her£s a health to all good Lasses.
Here's Come let us dance and sing.

And, what's better far than any,
Here's God save great George our King,

Hearts of Oak and Rule Britannia.

1 82 HISTORY OF THE

The Cries of London Town.

When I to London first came in,

How I began to gape and stare :
The cries they kept up such a din —

Fresh lobsters !— Dust O ! and wooden ware 1
A damsel lively, and black-eyed,
Trip'd through the streets, and sweetly cried—

Buy my live sprats ! — ^buy my live sprats !
A youth on t'other side of the way,
With hoarser lungs did echoing say, —

Buy my live sprats ! — Sprats alive O !

Full shrilly cried the chimney-sweep ;

The fruiteress fair bawled round and sound !
The Jew would down the area peep,

To look for custom under ground •
His bag over his shoulder flung,
And to the footmen sweetly sung, —

Cloashes to sell, cloashes ! — Round and sound —
Sweep ! sweep !
Young soot cried. Sweep ! in accents true ;
The barrow-lady and the Jew.

Round and sound I — Cloashes, Old clo !

A noise at every town you'll find ;

Ground-ivy ! — Rabbit-skins to sell !
Old chairs to mend ! and knives to grind !

Mats! — muffins ! — milk— and mackerel! —
And when these motley noises die
In various tones the watchmen cry. —

By the clock I — Twelve ! — Past twelve o'clock ! —
Then home to bed the shopmen creep,
And all the night ^re kept from sleep,

With,— Past— Twelve !— One I— Two!— Three !-
Four ! — Five ! — Six ! o'clock: —

And a very windy morning !

CRIES OF LONDON.

183

Chaunting Benny,

The Batch of Ballads.

When quite a babe, my parents said,

' As how I'd got a woice, sir —
They would not give me not no trade,

So singing I took for choice, sirs,
All other chaunters \ outshine.

In fact I'm localist, sir —
And since I've been out in the line,

I'm a regular vocalist, sir.

So listen to me while I cry.
Songs, three yards a penny —

Then if you feel inclined to buy.
Encourage chaunting Benny.

1S4 titlStORY OF THS

Come, give me this, and give me that,

I'm asked by many a don, sir,
As if they thought each stupid flat,

Could sing^them all at once, sir,
My songs have had a tidy run,

I've plenty in my fist, sir —
And if you like to pick out one,

I'll just run through my list, sir.
So listen, &c.

Here you may see My daughter Fan,

She wore a wreath of roses —
Here yon may see My Son Tom,

The sun vpot lights the roses.
Green grow the rushes, O !

On the Banks of Allen Water,
Sich agettin up stairs,

With Brave Lord Ullin's daughter.
So listen, &c.

Poor Bessy was a Sailor's Bride,

Siltin^ on a Rail, sir — y
Is there a heart that never loifd.

The Rose of Allandale, sir,
The Maid of fudah out of place,

With plenty to be sad at- —
I say, 7ny-rum 'un, who are you?

What a dreadfiil shocking bad hat.
So listen, &c.

Here's Molly Dodd and I fell out.

Going to the Nore, sir —
Here's Barney Brallaghan, too,

At Judy Callaghan's door, sir.
Come,'let us dance and sing,

Mr. and Mrs. Wrangle,
My pretty Jane, my dearest yane.

Has your mother sold her mangle ?
So listen, &c.

CklES oP LoNtoN. 185

Here's Dolly, the dancing dairy maid.

In the arbour taking tea, sir —
And here you see the Nice young ^al,

Under the Walnut tree, sir.
Adam was a gentleman.

Him what was the first man —
And here you find Lost Rosabel,

With the Literary Dustman.

So listen, &c.

Here you see the Handsome Man,

With the Pretty little dear, sir —
Its all very fine Mr. Furguson,

But you really can't sleep here, sir.
/ want money — never mind,

Miss Nichols, with a Thorn, sir —
Here's The rose shall cease to blow.

The merry mountain horn, sir.

So listen, &c.

Not a drum was heard at Paddy'' s Grave,

While the village bells were ringing —
'Twas in the merry month of May,

When I went out a singing.
Why did I love ? Ax my eye !

Any green in me do you spy out ?
Flare up ! Swest Lass of Richmond Hill

There you go with your eye out.

So listen, &c.

The Ladies^ Man at the Garden Gate,

With Giles Scroggins' Ghost, man —
Sally in our Alley — We met.

With Walker the Twopenny Postman.
Here's on a Washing Day,

We'll die for Love and Wfhiskey —
The Man wot sweeps the Crossing,

In the Bay of Biscay.

So listen, &c,

i86

HISTORY OF THE

The Theatrical Showman.

Walk up now, each lady and gent,

My show is the best, I assure ye,
You'll not have the least cause to repent.

For I'll strive all I can to allure ye ;
Here's a Kst of the plays that I have got ;

Take a peep, and don't be a slow man,
I've strung together the whole lot —

So patronize the Theatrical Showman.

Here you see the Pilot bold and brave

Stand by the Inchcape Bell, —
And My Old Woman's run away.

Along with Willtam Tell.
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,

The Wren Boys did defy —
TTie Wreck Ashore it happened,

All through The Evil Eye.

CRIES OF LONCON. 187

Don yuan, The Gamester,

Was loved by yoan of Arc_
The Red Rover, and the Jewess

Killed Ricnzi for a lark.
While gallant Newton Foster,

Won the Siege of Rochelle —
The Merry Wives of Windsor,

From the Devil's Btidge they fell.

Caractacus, the British Kvig,

Shot poor Alice Gray —
The Mountain Sylph is living

With Othello, cross the way.
Here's the Tempest, As yon like it.

At The Burning of Moscow, —
The Daughter of the Danube,

Was at The Marriage of Figaro.

Ten thousand Topsail Sheet Blocks,

Was carried by Charlemagne —
For The Portrait of Cervantes,

The Original was in vain.
Gilderoy the famed Brigand,

Took The Phantom Ship —
Aladdin with Mazeppa,

Gave The Waterman the slip.

That naughty man, The Bottle Imp,

Put Macbeth in a fuss,
My Poll and Partner Joe,

Were in The Omnibus.
The new M.P. had Rivals,

All for Our Mary Anne,
The Giant of Palastine,

Is not The nervous Man.

Paul Jones, My fellow Clerk,

Played The Harp of Altenburg,
Jane Shote aboard the Spitfire,

George Barnwell overheard.
Perouse fell in The Fairy Lake,

All through The Broken Chain.
Kind friends, I bid you all good bye,

'Till here we meet again.

History of xHfi

All Round my Hat I Years a Green Villow.

All round my hat I vears a green villow,

All round my hat, for a twelvemonth and a day

If any one should ax the reason vy I vears it,
Tell 'em that my true love is far far away.

'Twas a going of my rounds, in the streets I first did meet her,
Oh, I thought she vos a hangel just come down from the sky ;

Spoken. — She' a nice wegitable countenance ; turnup nose, redish cheeks,
and carroty hair.

And I never knew a woice more louder or more sweeter,

Vhen she cried, buy my primroses, my primroses come buy.
Spoken. — Here's your line CoUiflowers.

All round, &c.

CRIES OF LONDON. rSg

O, my love she was fair, my love she was kind too,
And cruel vos the cruel judge vot had my love to try :

Spoken.— Here's your precious turnups.

For thieving was a thing she never was inclined to :
But he sent my love across the seas far far away.

Spoken. — Here's your hard-hearted cabbages.

All round, &c.

For seven long years my love and I parted,
For seven long years my love is bound to stay.

Spoken. — It's a precious long time 'fore I does any trade to-day.

Bad luck to that chap vot'd ever be false-hearted,
Oh, I'll love my love for ever, tho' she's far far away.

Spoken. — Here's your nice heads of salary !

All round, &c.

There is some young men so preciously deceitful,

A coaxing of the young gals they vish to lead astray.

Spoken . — Here's your Valnuts ; crack 'em and try 'em, ashilling a hundred !

As soon as they deceive 'em, so cruUy they leave 'em,

And they never sighs nor sorrows ven they're far far away ! —

Spoken. — Do you vant any hingons to-day, marm?

All round, &c.

Oh, I bought my love a ring on the werry day she started,

Vich I gave her as a token all to remember me :
Spoken. — Bless her h-eyes,

And vhen she does come back, oh, ve'U never more be parted, '

But veil marry and be happy — oh, for ever and a day.
Spoken. — Here's your fine spring redishes.

All round, &c.

190

HISTORY OF THE

The Sorrowful Lamentations

of the

Pedlars and Petty Chapmen,

For the Hardness of the Times and the Decay of Trade.

To the Tune of " My Hfe and my death."

The times are grown hard, more harder than stone,

And therefore the Pedlars may well make their moan,

Lament and complain that trading is dead,

That all the sweet golden days now are fled.

Then maidens and men, come see what you lack,
And buy the fine toys that I have in my pack !

Come hither and view, here's choice and here's store,
Here's all things to please ye, what would you have more ?
Here's points for the men, and pins for the maid.
Then open your purses and be not afraid.

Come, maidens, &c.

CRIES OF LONDON. I9I

Let none at a tester repent or repine :
Come bring me your money, and I'le make you fine ;
Young Billy shall look as spruce as the day,
And pretty sweet Betty more finer than May.

Then, maidens, &c.

To buy a new license your money I crave ;
'Tis that which I want, and 'tis that which you have :
Exchange then a groat for some pretty toy,
Come, buy this fine whistle for your little boy.

Come, maidens, &c.

Here's garters for hose, and cotton for shoes.
And there's a gilt bodkin, which none would refuse :
This bodkin let John give to sweet Mistriss Jane,
And then of unkindness he shall not complain.

Come, maidens, &c.

Come buy this fine coife, this dressing, or hood.
And let not your money come like drops of blood :
The Pedlar may well of his fortune complain
If he brings all his ware to the market in vaine.
Then, maidens, &c.

Here's band strings for men, and there you have lace.
Bone-lace to adorn the fair virgins sweet face :
What ever you like, if you will but pay.
As soon as you please you may take it away.

Then, maidens, &c.

The world is so hard that we find little trade,
' Although we have all things to please every maid :
Come, pretty fair maids, then make no delay.
But give me your hansel, and pack me away.

Come, maidens, &c.

192 HISTORY OP THE

Here's all things that's fine, and all things that's rare,
All modish and neat, all new London ware :
Variety here you plainly may see,
Then give me your money, and we will agree.

Come, maidens, &c.

We travel all day through dirt and through mire,
To fetdi you fine laces and what you desire ;
No pains do we spare to bring you choice ware,
As gloves and perfumes, and sweet powder for hair.

Then, maidens, &c.

We have choice of songs, and merry books too,
All pleasant and witty, delightful and new,
Which every young swain may whistle at plough.
And every fair milk-maid may sing at her cow.

Then, maidens, &c.

Since trading's so dead we must needs complain,

And, therefore, pray let us have some little gain :

If you will be free, we will you supply

With what you do want ; therefore, pray come and buy.
The world is so hard, that although we take pains.
When we look in our purses we find little gains.

Printed for J. Back, at the Black-boy, on London Bridge.

Henry Lemoine,

The Literary and Pedestrian Bookseller and Author,

A well-known

Eccentric Character of the City of London.

CRIES OF LONDON.

193

JAMES CATNACH

TO HIS

JUVENILE READERS.

Little Boys and Girls will find

At Catnach's something to their mind ;

From great variety may choose,

What will instruct them and amuse.

The prettiest plates that you can find,

To please at once the eye and mind,

In all his little books appear,

In natural beauty, shining clear ; ,

Instruction unto youth when given,

Points the path from earth to heaven.

He sells by Wholesale and Retail,
To suit all moral tastes can't fail.

194

HISTORY OF THE

A Street Patterer.

One class of literature which the late Jemmy Catnach made
almost his own, was children's farthing and halfpenny books.
Among the great many that he published we select, fjom our
own private collection, the following as a fair sample : — " The
Tragical Death of an Apple Pie," " The House that Jack
Built," "Jumping Joan," "The Butterflies' Ball and Grass-
hoppers' Feast," "Jerry Diddle and his Fiddle," " Nurse Love-
Child's Gift," " The Death and Burial of Cock Robin," " the
Cries of London," " Simple Simon," " Jacky Jingle and Suky
Shingle," and — "Here you have just prin— ted and pub —
lish — ed, and a— ,dor— ned with eight beau — ti — ful and ele —
gantly engraved embellish—ments, and for the low charge of
on.efarden—'^ts\ on€'fardeii bwys"

CRIES OF LONDON.

I9S

NURSERY RHYMES.

See-saw, sacradown,
Which is the way to London town ?
One foot up, and the other down,
And that is the way to London .town.

Ding, doDg, bell !
Pussy's in the well.
Who put her in ?
Little Johnny Green.
Who pulled her out ?
Little Johnny Snout.
What a naughty boy was that,
To drown poor pussy cat,
Who never did him any harm,
And kill'd the mice in his father's
bam.

Jack and Jill went up the hill,
^ To get a pail of water ;
Jack fell down and broke his crown.
And jm came tumbling after.

r"Hey diddle, the cat and the fiddle.
The cow jumped over the moon.
The little dog laughed to see the

sport.
And the dish ran away with the

spoon.

Code a doodle do,
The dame has lost her shoe.
And master's lost his fiddlt: stick
And don't know what to do.

[96

HISTORY OF THE

I had a Kttle husband,
No higher than my thumb,

I put him in a quart pot,
And there I bid him drum.

Who's there ? A Grenadier !
What do you want ? A pot of beer.
Where's your money .' Oh, I forgot.
Then get you gone, you drunken sot.

Hu^h-a-bye, baby, on the tree top.
When the wind blows the cradle

will rock.
When the bough bireaks the cradle

will fall, ■
Down comes the baby, cradle and

all.

There was an old woman that lived

in a shoe.
She had so many children she knew

npt what to do ; '

She gave them some broth without

any bread,
Then she beat them all well, and

sent them to bed.

My mother and your mother

Went over the way ;
Said my mother to your mother.

It's chop-a-nose day !

J. Catnach, Printer, 2, Monmouth Court,
7 Dials.

CRIES OF LONDON.

1$7

THE

CRIES OF LONDON.

Cherries.

Here's round and sound,
Black and white heart cherries,
Two-pence a pound.

Oranges.

Here's oranges nice,

At a very small price,
I sell them all two for a penny.

Ripe, juicy, and sweet.

Just fit for to eat.
So customers buy a good miny.

Milk below.

Rain, frost, or snow, or hot or
cold,

I travel up and down.
The cream and milk you buy of
me
Is best in all the town.
For custards, pudding or for tea.
There's none like those you buy
of rae.

Crumpling Codlings.

Come, buy ray Crumpling Cod-
lings,
Buy all my Crumplings.
Some of them you may eat raw.

Of the rest make dumplings.
Or pies, or puddings, which you
please.

HISTORY OF THi;

Filberts.
Come, buy my filberts ripe and

brown,
They are the best in all the town,
I sell them for a groat a pound,
And warrant them all good and

sound.
You're welcome for to crack and

try,
They are so good, I'm sure you'll

buy.

Clothes Pegs, Props, or Lines.

Come, maids, and buy my pegs

and props,
Or lines to dry your clothes.
And when they are dry they'll

smell as sweet
As any damask rose.
Come buy and save your clothes

from dirt.
They'll save you washing many a

shirt.

Sweep.

Sweep, chimney sweep.
Is the common cry I keep,

If you rightly understand me ;
With my brush,! broom, and my

rake.
Such cleanly work I make,

There's few can go beyond
me.

Peas and Beans.

Four pence a peck, green Hast-
ings!
And iine garden beans.
They are all morning gathered, .

Come hither, my queens.
Come buy my Windsor beans

and peas.
You'll see no more this year like
these.

dktES of LONbON.

199

Young Zan.os to Sell.

Get ready your money and come
to me,

I sell a young lamb for a penny.
Young lambs to sell I young lambs
to sell I

If I'd as much money as I could

tell,
I never would cry young lambs to

sell.

Here's your toys for girls and

boys,
Only a penny, or a dirty phial or

bottle.

Slraivberrics.

Rare ripe strawbenies and

Hautboys, sixpence a pottle.

Full to the bottom, haulbos^s.

Strawberries and Cream are charm-
ing and sweet,

Mix them'and try how delightful
they eat.

Hot Cross Buns,
One a penny, Buns,
Two a penny, .Buns,
Hot Cross Buns.

London :

Ftinted.byJ. Catnich, j, Monmouth
Court, 7 Dials.

200

tllSTORV OF tEfE

The New London Cries.

Tune—Th.^ Night Coach.

Dear me ! what a squalling and a bawling,

What noise, and what bustle in London pervades ;
People of all sorts shouting and calling,

London's a mart, sure, for men of all trades.
The chummy so black, sir, with bag on his back, sir,

Commences the noise with the cry of " sweep, sweep !
Then Dusty and Crusty with voices so lusty,

Fish-men and green-men, their nuisances keep,

Dcir mt, &c.

Cries of Lon±)oi^. iof

Fine water cresses, two bunches a penny,

Fine new milk, two-pence ha'p'ny a quart !
Come buy my fine matches— as long as I've any,

Carrots and turnips, the finest e're bought,
Dainty fresh salmon ! mthout any gmnmon^

Hare skins or rabbit skins ! hare skins, cook I buy !
'Taters all sound, sir, two-pence six pounds, «iir,

Coals ten-pence a bushel, buy them and try

Dear me

Here's songs three yards for a penny !

Comic songs, love songs, and funny songs too ;
Billy Barlow^— Little Mike, — Paddy Denny !

The Bailies are Cotning — The Hero of Waterloo.
Eels four-pence a pound — pen knives here ground,

Scissors ground sharp, a penny a pair !
Tin kettles to mend, sir, your fenders here send, sir,

For six-pence a piece, I will paint 'em with care.

Dear me, &c.

Come buy my old man, a pennya root.

The whole true account of the murder last night !
Fine Seville oranges, ne'er was such fruit,

Just printed and published, the last famous fight.
Arrived here this morning — strange news from Greece,

A victory gain'd o'er the great Turkish fleet ;
Chains to mend — hair brooms, a shilling a piece !

Cap box, bonnet box — cats and dogs meat.

Dear me, &c.

Here's inguns a penny a rope, •

Pots and pans — old clothes, clo' for sale !
A dread storm near the Cape of Good Hope.

Greens two-pence a bunch — twenty-pence a new pail.
Sprats, a penny a plateful — I should feel werry grateful,

Kind friends for a ha'p'ny for my babe's sakes ;
Shrimps, penny a pot — baked 'taters all hot !

Muflius and crumpets, or fine Yorkshire cakes.

Dear me, &c

idi

ttlSTORY OF XHl!

A poor little orphan neglected am I,

Nor parents, nor friends, alas ! have I any ;

Ah, little thought I, 'twould e'er be my cry,
Buy my wild roses, two bunches a penny.

Buy my wild roses.

By plenty surrounded, all happy and blest.
Nor care did I know, for friends I had many ;

But now a poor orphan by none I'm caress'd,
Unheeded I cry two bunches a penny.

Buy my wild roses.

Ye wealthy and gay who with plenty abound.
Oft might ye hghten the sorrows of many ;

In the path strew'd with roses sharp thorns may be found.
Then, oh, never refuse a poor orphan a penny.

Buy my wild roses.

CRIES OF LONDON. ^^3

Had I a Garden, a Field and a Gate,

I would not care for the Duke of Bedford's estate ;

That is, I would not care for the Duke of Bedford's estate,

If I had Covent Garden, Smithfield and Billingsgate.

Billingsgate has from time immemorial had much to do with
" The Cries of London," and although a rough and unromantic
place at the present day, has an ancient legend of its own, that
associates it with royal names and venerable folk. Geoffrey of
Monmouth deposeth that about 400 years before Christ's
nativity, Belin, a king of the Britons, built this gate and gave it
its name, and that when he was dead the royal body was burnt,
and the ashes set over the gate in a vessel of brass, upon a high
pinnacle of stone. The London Historian, John Stow, more
prosaic, on the other hand, is quite satisfied that one Biling
once owned the wharf, and troubles himself no further.

Bylljmgsgate Dock is mentioned as an important quay in
Brompton's Chronicle (Edward III), under the date 976, when
King Ethelred, being then at Wantage, in Berkshire, made laws
for regulating the customs on ships at Byllyngsgate, then the
only wharf in London, i. Small vessels were to pay one half-
penny. 2. Larger ones, with sails, one penny. 3. Keeles, or
hulks, still larger, fourpence. 4. Ships laden with wood, one log
shall be given for toll. 5. Boats with fish, according to size, a
halfpenny. 6. Men of Rouen, who came with wine or peas,
and men of Flanders and Liege, were to pay toll before they
began to sell, but the Emperor's men (Germans of the Steel
Yard) paid an annual toll. 7. Bread was tolled three times a
week, cattle were paid for in kind, and butter and cheese were
paid more for before Christmas than after.

Hence we gather that at a very early period Bilingsgate was
not merely a fish-market, but for the sale of general commodities.

^o4 lllSTOilY OF THE

Paying toll in kind is a curious fiscal regulation ; though, doubt-
less, when barter was the ordinary mode of transacting business,
taxes must have been collected in the form of an instalment of
the goods brought to market.

In Donald Lupton's " London and the Covntrey Carbo-
nadoed and Quartred into seuerall Characters. London, Printed
by Nicholas Okes, 1632,'' the nymphs of the locality are thus
described : —

FiSHKRWOMEN : — ^These crying, wandering, and travelling creatures carry
their shops on their heads, and their storehouse is ordinarily Byllyngsgate,
or Ye Brydge-foot ; and their habitation Turnagain Lane. They set up
every morning their trade afresh. Th^y are easily furnished ; get something
and spend it.jovially and merrily. Five shillings, a basket, and a good cry,
are a large stock for them. They are the merriest when all their ware is
gone. In the morning they delight to have their shop full ; at evening they
desire to have it empty. Their shop is but little, some two yards compass,
yet it holds all sorts of fish, or herbs, or roots, and such lilce ware. Nay,
it is not destitute often of nuts, oranges, and lemons. They are free in all
places, and pay nothing for rent, but only find repairs to it. If they drink
their whole stock, it is but pawning a petticoate in Long Lane, or themselves
in TurnbuU Street, to set up again. They change daily ; for she that was
for fish this day, may be to-morrow for fruit, next day for herbs, another for
roots; so that you must hear them cry before you know what they are'
furnished withal. When they have done their Fair, they meet in mirth,
singing, dancing, and end not tUl either their money, or wit, or credit be
clean spent out. Well, when on any evening they are not merry in a drinking
house, it is thought they have had bad return, or else have paid some old
score, or elsetliey are banlcrupt : they are creatures soon up and soon down'

Tlie above quaint account of the ancient Billingsgate ladies
answers exactly to the costermongers's wives of the present day,
who are just as careless and improvident ; they are merry over
their rope of onions, and laugh over a basketful of stale sprats.
In their dealings and disputes they are as noisy as ever, and rather

The Crier of Poor John.

" It is well thou art not a fish, for then thou would'st have been Poor John"—
Romeo and JuliiU

CRIES OF LONDON. ZOj

apt to put decency and good manners to the blush. Billingsgate
eloquence has long been proverbial for coarse language, so
that low abuse is often termed, " Thafs talking Billingsgate T
or, that. You are no better than a Billingsgate fish-fag— i.e. You
are as rude and ill-mannered as the women of Billingsgate fish-
market (Saxon, bellan, " to bawl," and gate " quay," meaning
the noisy quay). The French say " Maubert," instead of Bil-
lingsgate, as Your compliments are like those of the Place Maubert —
z>. No compliments at all, but vulgar dirt-flinging. The
" Place Maubert," has long been noted for its market.

The introduction of steamboats has much altered the aspect
of Billingsgate. Formerly, passengers embarked here for Graves-
end and other places down the river, and a great many sailors
mingled with the salesmen and fishermen. The boats sailed
only when the tide served, and the necessity of being ready at^
the strangest hours rendered many taverns necessary for the ac-
comiriodation of travellers. The market formerly opened two
hours earlier than at present, and the result was demoralising
and exhausting. Drink led to ribald language and fighting, but
the refreshment now taken is chiefly tea or coffee, and the
general language and behaviour has improved. The fish-fags of
Ned Ward's time have disappeared, and the business is done
smarter and quicker. As late as 1842 coaches would sometimes
arrive at Billingsgate from Dover or Brighton, and so affect the
market. The old circle from which dealers in their carts
attended the market, included Windsor, St. Albans, Hertford,
Romford, and other places within twentyifive miles. Railways
have now enlarged the area of purchasers to an indefinite degree.

To see this market in iis busiest time, says Mrv Mayhew, " the
visitor should be there about seven o'clock on a Friday morn-
ing." The market opens at four, but for the first two or three

2o6 HISTORY OF THE

hours it is attended solely by the regular fishmongers and
" bummarees," who have the pick of the best there. As soon
as these are gone the costermonger's sale begins. Many of the
costers that usually deal in vegetables buy a little fish on the
Friday. It is the fast -day of the Irish, and the mechanics' wives
run short of money at the end of the week, and so make up
their dinners with fish ; for this reason the attendance of costers'
barrows at Billingsgate on a Friday morning is always very great.
As soon as you reach the Monument you see a Hne of them,
with one or two tall fishmongers' carts breaking the uniformity,
and the din of the cries and commotion of the distant market
begin to break on the ear like the buzzing of a hornet's nest.
The whole neighbourhood is covered with hand-barrows, some
laden with baskets, others with sacks. The air is filled with a
kind of sea-weedy odour, reminding one of the sea-shore; and
on entering the market, the smell of whelks, red herrings, sprats,
and a hundred other sorts of fish, is almost overpowering. The
wooden barn-looking square where the fish is sold is, soon after
six o'clock, crowded with shiny cord jackets and greasy caps.
Everybody comes to Billingsgate in his worst clothes ; and no
one knows the length of time a coat can be worn until they have
been to a fish sale. Through the bright opening at the end are
seen the tangled rigging of the oyster boats, and the red-worsted
caps of the sailors. Over the hum of voices is heard the shouts
of the salesmen, who, with their whilje aprons, peering above
the heads of the mob, stand on their tables roaring out their
prices. All are bawling together — salesmen and hucksters of
provisions, capes, hardware, and newspapers — till the place is
a perfect Babel of competition.

" Ha-a-andsome cod ! best in the market ! All alive! alive! alive, oh I"—
"Ye-o-o! ye-o-o! Here's your fine Yarmouth bloaters! Who's the

CRIES OF LONDON. 207

buyer ?"— " Here you are, governor ; splendid whiting ! some of the right
sort!" — "Turbot! turbot f All alive, turbot !"— " Gl-iss of nice pepper-
mint, this cold morning ? Halfpenny a glass !" — " Here you are, at your
own price I Fine soles, oh I" — "Oy! oy ! oy ! Now's your time ! Fine
grizzling sprats ! all large, and no small !" — " Hullo ! hullo, here ! Beautiful
lobsters ! good and cheap. Fine cock crabs, all alive, oh !" — " Five brill
and one turbot — ^have that lot for a pound ! Come and look at 'em,
governor ; you won't see a better lot in the market '■—" Here ! this way ;
this way, for splendid skate I Skate, oh ! skate, oh !" — " Had-had-had-
had -haddock ! All fresh and good!' "Currant and meat puddings! a
ha'penny each !— " Now, you mussel-buyers, come along ! come along !
come along! Now's your time for fine fat mussels!" — " Here's food for
the belly, and clothes for the back ; but I sell food for the mind !" shouts
the newsvendor. — " Here's smelt, oh !"— " Here ye are, fine Finney had-
dick ! — " Hotsoup ! nice pea-soup ! a-all hot ! hotj"— " Ahoy '■ ahoy, here !
Live plaice ! all alive, oh !"— "Now or never '■ Whelk ! whelk ! whelk !"
" Who'll buy brill, oh '■ brill, oh ?"— " Capes ! waterproof capes ! Sure to
.keep the wet out ! A shilling apiece !"_" Eels, oh ! eels, oh ! Alive, oh !
alive oh !"— " Fine; flounders, a shilling a lot ! Who'll have this prime lot
of flounders ?"—" Shrimps ! shrimps! fine shrimps !''—" Wink ! wink
wink !"— " Hi ! hi-i ! here you are ; just eight eels left— only eight i"— " O
ho ! ho ! this way— this way— this way ! Fish alive ! alive ! alive, oh "

Billingsgate, or the School of Rhetoric.

Near London Bridge once stood a gate,

Belinus gave it name,
Whence the green Nereids oysters bring,
A place of public fame.

Here eloquence has fixed her seat.

The nymphs here learn by heart
In mode and figures still to speak.

By modem rules of art. *

To each fair orat'ress this school

Its rhetoric strong affords ;
They double and redouble tropes,

With finger, fish, and words.

Both nerve and strength and flow of speech,

With beauties ever new,
Adorn the language of these nymphs.

Who give it all their due.

O, happy seat of happy nymphs !

For many ages known,
To thee each rostrum's forc'd to yield

Each forum in the town.

Let other academies boast

What titles else they please ;
Thou shalt be call'd "the gate of tongues,"

Of tongues that never cease.

208 HISTORY OF THE

The sale of hot green peas in the streets of London is of
great antiquity, that is to say, if the cry of " Hot peascods I one
began to cry," recorded by Lydgate in his London Lackpenny,
may be taken as having intimated the sale of the same article
under the modern cry of " Hot green peas ! all hot, all hot !
Heres your peas hot, hot, hot /" In many parts of the country
it is, or was, customary to have a " scalding of peas'' as a sort of
rustic festivity, at which green peas scalded or slightly boiled
with their pods on are the main dish. Being set on the table
in the midst of the party, each person dips his peapod in a
common cup of melted butter, seasoned with salt and pepper,
and extracts the peas by the agency of his teeth. At times
one bean, shell and all is put into the steaming mass, whoever
gets this bean is to be first married.

The sellers of green peas " hot, all hot !" have no stands but '■
carry them in a tin pot or pan which ' is wrapped round with a
thick cloth, to retain the heat. The peas are served out with a
ladle, and eaten by the customers out of basins provided with
spoons by the vendor. Salt and pepper are supplied a discre-
tion, but the fresh ! butter to grease 'em avec votre permission.

The hot green peas are sold out in halfpennyworths and
pennyworths, some vendors in addition to the usual seasoning
supplied, add a siuk of bacon. The " suck of bacon " is extracted
by the street arabs from a piece of that article, securely fastened
by a string, to obtain a " relish " for the peas, or as is usually
said " to flavour 'em." The popular saying " a plate of veal
cut with a hammy knife " is but a refined rendering oT the pea
and suck-'o-bacon, street luxury trick.

Pea soup is also sold in the streets of London, but not to the ex-
tent it was twenty years ago, when the chilled labourer and others
having only a halfpenny to spend would indulge in a basin of—
"All hot!''

James Sharps Egland,
The Flying fiemm.

CRIES OF LONDON. 2°9

The Muffin Man.

(T. Dibdin.)

While you opera-squallers fine verses are singing,

Of heroes, and poets, and such like humguffins ;
While the world's running round, like a mill in a sail,
I'll ne'er bother my head with what other folks ail.
But careless and frisky, my bell I keep ringing.
And walk about merrily crying my muffins.

Chorus.

Lilly-white muffins, O, rare crumpets smoking,
Hot Yorkshire cakes, hot loaves and charmihg cakes,
One-a-pennv, tmo-a-pmny, Yoi-hshire cakes.

What matters to me if great folks run a gadding.
For politics, fashions, or such botheration ;

Let them drink as they brew, while I merrily bake ;

For though I sell muffins, I'm not such a cake —

To let other fools' fancies e'er set me a gadding,

Or burthen my thoughts with the cares of the nation.

Spoken. — What have I to do with politicians? And for your
Parliament cakes. Why ! everybody knows they are bought and sold, and
often done brown, and made crusty all over the nation. No, no, its
enough for me to cry —

Lilly-white muffins, &c.

Let soldiers and sailors, contending for glory,

Delight in the rattle of drums and of trumpets ;
Undertakers get living by other folks dying,
While actors make money by laughing or crying ;
, Let lawyers with quizzels and quiddities bore ye.
Its nothing to me, while I'm crying my crumpets.

Spoken.— What do I care for lawyers ? A'nt I a baker, and con-
sequently. Master of the Rolls .-—Droll enough, too, for a Master of the
Rolls to be crying —

Lilly-white muffins, &c.

2IO HISTORY OF THE

The whimsical ditty on the preceding page it will be seen is
written by Thomas Dibden, the famous dramatist and song-
writer. Many other authors both ancient and modem, good,
bad and indifferent, have said and sung on muffins and crumpets,
essays and epic poems have — or may have been written on the
subject. Tom Moore, the Irish melodist has jingled : —

Those evening bells ! those evening bells !
How many a tale their music tells !
Of youth, and home, and that sweet time
When last I heard their soothing chime.

Charles Dickens has left us in his Life and Adventures of
Nicholas Nickleby, a graphic account of the mode and manner
used in " Promoting" the United Metropolitan Improved Hot
Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company.
Capital, five millions in five hundred thousand shares of ten
pounds each : —

" There," said Mr. Bonney to Ralph Nickleby. " It's the finest idea
that was ever started. Why, the very name will get the shares up to a
premium in ten days."
" And when they are at a premium," said Mr. Ralph Nickleby, smiBng.

"When they are you know what to do with them as well as any man
alive, and how to back quietly out at the right time," said Mr. Bonney,
slapping the capitalist familiarly on the shoulder.

There was a great bustle at the London Tavern, in Bishopsgate Street
Within, half-a-dozen men were tacking across the road under a press of
paper, bearing gigantic announcements that a Public Meeting would be
holden at one o'clock precisely, to take into consideration the propriety of
petitioning Parhament in favour of the United Metropolitan Improved
Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual delivery Company, capital
five millions, in five hundred thousand shares of ten pounds each ; whicli
sums were duly set forth in fat black figures of considerable size.

At length, and at last, the assembly left oflf shouting, but Sir Matthew
Pupker being voted into tlie chair, they underwent a relapse which lasted

CRIES OF LONDON. 211

five minutes. This over, Sir Matthew Pupker went on to say what must
be his feelings on that great occasion, and what must be that occasion in
the eyes of the world, and what must be the intelligence of his fellow-
countrymen before him, and what must be the wealth and respectability of
his honourable friends behind him, and lastly, what must be the importance
to the wealth, the happiness, the comfort, the liberty, the very existence of
a free and great people, of such an Institution as the United Metropolitan
Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery
Company '■

Mr. Bonney then presented himself to move the first resolution ; and
having run his right hand through his hair, and planted his left, in an easy
manner in his ribs, he consigned his hat to the care of the gentleman with
the double chin {who acted as a ■ species of bottle-holder to the orators
generally), and said he would read to them the first resolution— " That
this meeting views with alarm and apprehension, the existing state of the
Muifin Trade in this Metropolis and its neighbourhood ; that it considers
the Muifin Boys, as at present constituted, wholly undeserving the con-
fidence of the public ; and that it deems the whole Muffin system alike
prejudicial to the health and morals of the people, and subversive of the
best interests of a great commercial and mercantile community." The
honourable gentleman made a speech which drew tears from the ladies,
and awakened the liveliest emotionS in every individual present. He had
visited the houses of the poor in the various districts of London, and had
found them destitute of the slightest vestige of a mufiin, which there ap-
peared too much reason to believe some of these indigent persons did not
taste from year's end to year's end. He had found that among muffin-
seUers there existed drunkenness, debauchery, and profligacy, which he
attributed to the debasing nature of their employment as at present
exercised ; he had found the same vices among the poorer class of people
who ought to be muffin consumers ; and this he attributed to the despair
engendered by their being placed beyond the reach of that nutritious
article, which drove them to seek a false stimulant in intoicating liquors.
He would undertake to prove before a committee of the House of Com-
mons, that there existed a combination to keep up the price of muflins,
and to give the bellmen a monopoly ; he would prove it by bellmen at the
bar of that House ; and he would also prove, that these men conesponded
with each other by secret words and signs, as " Snooks," " Walker,''
"Ferguson," "Is Murphy right?" and many others. It was thi
melancholy state of things that the company proposed to correct ; firstly

212 HISTORY OF THE

by prohibiting, under heavy penalties, all private muffin trading of every
description ; secondly, by themselves supplying the public generally, and
the poor at their own homes, with muffins of first quality at reduced prices.
It was with this object that a bill had been introduced into Parliament by
their patriotic chairman Sir Matthew Pupker ; it was this bfll that they
had met to support ; it was- the supporters of this biU who would confer
undying brightness and splendour upon England, under the name of the
United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and
Punctual Delivery Company ; he would add, with a capital of Five Millions,
in five hundred thousand shares of ten pounds each.

Mr. Ralph Nickleby seconded the resolution, and another gentleman
having moved that it be amended by the insertion of the words " and
crampet " after the word " muffin " whenever it occurred, it was carried
triumphantly. Only one man in the crowd cried "No!" and he was
promptly taken into custody, and strj^ightway borne oflF.

" Muffins and Crumpets O !" rank among the old cries of
London. The ringing of the muffin-man's bell — attached to
which the pleasant associations are not a few — is prohibited by
a ponderous Act of Parliament, but the prohibition has been all
but inoperative, for the muffin bell still tinkles along the streets,
and is rung vigourously in the suburbs. And just at the time
when City gents at winter's eve are comfortably enveloped in
fancy-patterned dressing gowns, prettily-worked smoking-caps,
and easy-going and highly-coloured slippers say, within them-
selves or aloud*: —

Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast,
Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round,
And while the bubbling and loud hissing um
Throws up a steamy column, and the cups.
That cheer but not inebriate, wait on each.
So let us welcome peaceful evening in.

"Hot Cross-buns:" Perhaps no "cry" — though it is only
for one day in the year, is more familiar to the ears of a

CRIES OF LONDON. 413

Londoner, than that of " One-a-penny, two-a-penny, hot cross-
buns." "We He awake early upon Good Friday morning and
Hsten to the London bells : —

Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clement's.
Pancakes and fritters, say the bells of St Peter's.
Two sticks and an apple, say the bells of Whitechapel.
Kettles and pans, say the bells of St. Ann's.
Pokers and tongs, say the bells of St. John's.
Brickbats and tiles, say the bells of St. Giles'.
Halfpence and farthings, say the bells of St. Martin's.
Bull's eyes and targets, say the bells of St. Marg'rets.

And all the other London bells having rung — or, rather toU'd
out their own tale of joy or trouble : then comes — rattling over
the stones — ^W. H. Smith's well-known red Express-carts
laden with the early printed newspafjers of the coming day,
while all night long the carts and waggons come rumbling in
from the county to Covent Garden, and not the least pleasant
sound, pleasant for its old recollections, is the time-honoured
old cry of " Hot Cross-Buns." Century after century passes
by, and those who busily drove their carts day after day from
Isl,eworth, Romford, Enfield, Battersea, Blackheath, or Rich-
mond, one hundred years ago, are as still and silent as if they
had never been ; yet still. Passion week after 1 Passion-week,
comes that old cry, nobody knows how old, " Hot Cross-buns,
Hot Cross Buns." And as we lie in a half dreamy state we
hear and think of the chimes of St. Clement Danes, which may
still be heard, as Fallstaff describes, having heard them with
Justice Shallow ; also, how Pope as he lay in Holywell Street —
now Bookseller's Row — and Addison and Johnson, and, before
their time. Waller, at the house of his old friend the merchant
of St. Giles's, and the goodly company of the poets that lived at

214 HISTORY OF THE

the cost of the king near Whitehall, then" of the quaint old
gossiping diarist, Samuel Pepys, Secretary of the Admiralty.
John Taylor the Water-Poet, even Shakespeare himself having
each in their turn been awakened on the Good Friday morning
by the same sound ringing in their ears. For this is a custom
which can hardly be traced to a beginning : and all we know
about it is, that as far as we can go back, the Good Friday was
ushered in by the old Good Friday bun ; and that the baker in
the towns, and the old good wife in the country, would have
thought the day but badly kept, and augured badly for the
coming summer's luck, without it.

But between the cakes of Cecrops and the modem Hot Cross-
Bun there is a wide gulf of 3,400 years ; and yet the one may
be traced up to the other. There are some, indeed, who would
wish to give to the Good Friday Hot Cross-Bun a still longer
pedigree, and to take it back to the time of the Patriarchs and
their consecrated bread ; and there are others who would go yet
further, and trace it to the earliest age of the world, in a portion
to Cain's sacrifice. We may, however, content ourselves with
stopping short at the era of the Egyptian Cecrops, founder of
Athens, who made his sweet cakes of flour and honey. Such
cakes as these, as we learn from the prophet Jeremiah, were
offered by the idolatrous Hebrew women to " the Queen of
Heaven,"

Ashtoreth, whom the Phoenicians called
Astarte, Queen of Heaven, with crescent horns.

Some can even discern Astarte in our " Easter." The Jews of
old had the shew-bread and the wafer of unleavened bread ;
and the Egyptians, under the Pharaohs had also thpir cakes,
round, oval, and triangular. The Persians had their sacred
cakes of flour and honey ; and Herodotus speaks of similar

CRIES OF LONDON. 215

cakes being offered by the Athenians to a sacred serpent in
the temple of their citadel. And, not to mention other nations,
the circumstance that accompanied the outbreak of the Indian
Mutiny, 1857, will make memorable the "chupatties or sacred
cakes of Khrishna.

The cakes that were offered to Luna by the Greeks and
Romans were either crescent-shaped, or were marked with the
crescent moon ; and this stamp must have been very similar to
that impressed on the cakes offered by the Hebrew women to
the Queen of Heaven. This mark also resembled that repre-
senting the horns of the sacred ox that was stamped on the
Grecian cakes ; ' and the ox was bous, and, in one of its oblique
cases, boun, so we derive from that word boun our familiar
" bun," There were not only horn-marked cakes, but horned-
marked pieces of money ; so that it is very difiScult to ascertain
the true meaning of that passage in the opening of the
" Agamemnon " of ^schylus, where_ the watchnian says that a
great bous has come, or set foot, upon his tongue. Although it /
might mean that something as weighty as an ox's hoof had/
weighed down his tongue, yet it more probably signifies eith^
that he was bribed to silence with a piece of money marked
with the ox's horns, or that the partaking of a sacred hoim-
marked cake had initiated him into a certain secret. Curiously
enough, in the argot ot thieves, at the present day, a qrown-
piece is termed "a bull;" and it may also be noteji.that
pecunia, "money," is derived from pecus, "cattle;" and '"bull"
is derived from bous, and also " cow " from the same word,
through the Sanscrit gou, the b and g being convertible.

Thus, originally, the boun or bun was the cake njarked with
the horns of the sacred ox. The cross mark was first adopted
by the Greeks and Romans to faciUtate the division of the
cake into foUr equal parts ; and two such cross-ttiarked cakes

2l6 HISTORY OF THE

were found in the ruins of Herculaneum. These cakes were
adopted by the early Christians in a spirit of symbolism ; but,
although the cross was marked on the cake in token of the badge
of their faith, yet it was also used by the priest for the breaking
of the cake, or Eucharistic wafer, into four pieces ; and this was
so ordered in the Liturgy of St. Chrysostom. The cross-
marked buns are now, for popular use, reserved for Good
Friday, and, as Lenten cakes, are peculiar to this country.
Among the Syrian Christians of Travancore and Cochin, who
trace their descent from those who were converted by St.
Thomas on his (supposed) visit to India, a peculiar cake is made
for " Sorrowful Friday " — as they term Good Friday. The cake
is stuffed with sweetmeats in the form of an eye, to represent
the evil eye of Judas, coveting the thirty pieces of silver ; and
the cake is flung at with sticks by the members of the family
until the eye is quite put out ; they then share the remains of
the cake among them.

In the days before the Reformation, eulogies, or cross-marked
consecrated cakes, were made from the dough of the mass-
bread, and distributed by the priests to be eaten at home by
those who had been prevented by sickness or infirmity from
attending the mass. After the Reformation, Protestants would
readily retain the custom of eating in their houses a cross
marked cake, although no longer connecting it with a sacred
rite, but restricting its use to that one day of the year that was
known as " Holy Friday," or " Long Friday "—from the length
of the service on that day — but which gradually came to be
called, by the AngUcan Church, " Good Friday," in remem-
brance of the good things secured to mankind on that day.
The presence upon the breakfast-table of the cross marked bun,
flavoured with allspice, in token of the spices that were prepared
by the pious women of Galilee, was, therefore, regarded in the

CRtES of tONfioN. ii'}

light of a remembrancer of the solemnities of the day. The
buns were made on the previous evening, Maundy Thursday,
so called, either from the "maunds," or baskets, in which
Easter gifts were distributed, or, more probably, because it was
the Dies mandati, the day of the command, "That thou doest,
do quickly !" as also, "Do this in remembrance of Me !" and
that the disciples should love one another and should show
humility in the washing of feet.

As Chelsea was long famous for its buns — which are mentioned
by Swift to Stella, in 1 7 1 2 — it was not to be wondered at that
it should be celebrated for its production of hot cross buns on
Good Friday. Early in the present century there were two bun-
houses at Chelsea, both claiming to be " Royal " as well as
" Original," until, at last, one of the two proclaimed itself to be
" the Real Old Original Bun House." These two houses did a
roaring trade during the whole of Good Friday, their piazzas
being crowded, from six in the morning to six in the evening,
by crowds of purchasers, loungers, and gossipers. Good King
George the Third would come there with his children ; and, of
course, the nobility and gentry followed his example. These
two bun-houses were swallowed up, in the march of improve-
ment, some forty years ago ; but on Good Friday, 1830,
240,000 hot cross-buns were sold there.

The cross-bun is not without its folk-lore. Country folks
attach much virtue to the Good Friday buns ; and many are
kept for " luck's sake " in cottages from one Good Friday to
another. They are not only considered to be preservatives from
sickness and disease, but also as safeguards from fire and
lightning. They are supposed never to get mouldy, as was
noted by "Poor Robin," in his Almanack for 1753, under the
head of March : —

2l2 HlSfORV Of THE

Good Friday comes this month : the old woman runs
With one a penny, two a penny hot cross-buns :
Whose virtue is, if you'll believe what's said,
They'll not grow mouldy like the common bread.

Furthermore, be it known, then, in the interests of suffering
humanity, that if a piece of a Good Friday bun is grated and
eaten, it will cure as many diseases as were ever cured by a
patent pill ; moreover, the animal world is not shut out from
sharing in its benefits, for it will cure a calf from " scouring,"
and mixed in a warm mash, it is the very best remedy for your
cow. Thus the bun is good for the l>oun; in fact, it is good
both for man and beast.

The sellers of the Good Friday buns are composed of old
men and young men, old women and young women, big children
and little children, but principally boys, and they are of mixed
classes, as, costers' boys, boys habitually and boys occasionally
street-sellers, and boys — " some cry now who never cried before,"
and for that occasion only. One great inducement to embark
in the trade is the hope of raising a little money for the Easter
holidays following.

The " cry " of the Hot Cross-Bun vendor varies at times and
in places — as thus : —

One-a-penny, two-a-penny, hot cross-buns !
One-a-penny, two for tup'ence, hot cross-buns !

While some of a humourous turn of mind like to introduce
a little bit of their own, or the borrowed wit of those who have
gone before them, and effect the one step which is said to exist
from the sublime to the ridiculous, and cry —

One-a-penny, poker ; two-a-penny, tongs !
One-a-penny ; two-a-penny, hot cross-buns.

C&I13S OF LONDON. 219

One-a-penny, two-a-penny, hot cross-buns !

If your daughters will not eat them, give them to your sons.

But if you hav'nt any of those pretty little elves,

You cannot then do better than eat them yourselves ;

One-a-penny, two-a-penny, hot cross-buns :

All hot, hot, hot, all hot.

One-a-penny, two-a.penny, hot cross-buns !
Burning hot ! smoking hot, r-r-r-roking hot —
One-a-penny, two-a-penny, hot cross-buns.

But the Street hot-cross-bun trade is languishing — and
languishing, will ultimately die a natural death, as the master
bakers and pastrycooks have entered into it more freely, and
now send round to their regular customers for orders some few
days before each succeeding Good Friday. The following
extract we take from The Hackney and Kingsland Gazette,
No. r, 527, for April 2nd, 1880.

" Messrs. Hill and Son, of Bishopsgate -street, give some statistics of the
still great popularity of the Good Friday cake— the ' Hot Cross Bun ' —
notwithstanding that High Church dilettanteism and ascetecism regard it
with horror. In the two bakeries of the above well known firm alone, there
were used this year, 47 sacks of flour, 25cwt. of sugar, 2,20olbs. of butter,
42olbs. of yeast, and 1,500 quarts of milk."

Hot Cross Buns.

Miss Eliza Cook.

The clear, spring dawn is breaking, and there cometh vrith the ray.
The stripling boy with " shining face," and dame in " hodden grey : "
Rude melody is breathed by all— young — old— the strong, and weak ;
From manhood with its burly tone, and age with treble squeak.
Forth come the little busy " Jacks " and forth come little " Jills."
hs thick and quick as working ants about their summer hills ;

22(5 aiSTORY OF tH£

With baskets of all shapes and makes, of every size and sort ;

Away they tradge with eager step, through alley, street, and court.

A spicy freight they bear along, and earnest is their care.

To guard it like a tender thing from morning's nipping air ;

And though our rest be broken by their voices shrill and clear,

There's something in the well-known " cry " we dearly love to hear.

'Tis old, familiar music, when " the old woman runs "

With " One-a-penny, two-a-penny. Hot Cross Buns !"

Full many a cake of dainty make has gained a great renown,

We aU have lauded " Gingerbread " and " Parliament " done brown ;

But when did luscious " Banbuiies," or dainty " Sally Lunns,"

E'er yield such merry chorus theme as " One-a-penny buns ! "

The pomp of palate that may be like old Vitellius fed

Can never feast as mine did on the sweet and fragrant bread ;

When quick impatience could not wait to share the early meal.

But eyed the pile of " Hot Cross Bims," and dared to snatch and steal.

Oh, the soul must be uncouth as a Vandal's Goth's, or Hun's,

That loveth not the melody of " One-a-penny Buns ! "

And SO, awaking in the early morning, we hear the streets
ringing with the cry, " Hot Cross Buns." And perhaps when
all that we have wTought shall be forgotten, when our name shall
be as though it had been written on water, and many institu-
tions great and noble shall have perished, this little bun will
live on unharmed. Others, as well as ourselves, will, it may be,
lie awake upon their beds, and listen to the murmurs going to
and fro within the great heart of London, and, thinking on the
half-forgotten days of the nineteenth century, wonder perhaps
whether, in these olden times, we too hear the sound of " Hot
Cross Buns."

cries of london. 221

The Christmas Holly.

The Holly ! the Holly ! oh, twine it with bay-
Come give the HoUy a song ;

For it helps to drive stem Winter away,
With his garments so sombre and long.

It peeps through the trees with its berries so red.
And its leaves of burnished green.

When the flowers and fruits have long been dead,
And not even the daisy is seen.

Then sing to the Holly, the Christmas Holly,
That hangs over the peasant and king :

While we laugh and carouse 'neath its glittering boughs.

To the Christmas Holly we'U sing.

Eliza Cook.

In London a large sale is carried on in " Christmasing," or in
the sale {of holly, ivy, laurel, evergreens, bay, and mistletoe, for
Christmas sports and decorations, by the family greengrocer and
the costermongers. The latter of whom make the streets ring
with their stentorian cry of: —

Holly ! Holly ! ! HoUy oh ! ! ! Christmas HoUy oh !

With the coming in of spring there is a large sale of Palm ;
on the Saturday preceding and on Palm Sunday ; also of May,
the flagrant flower of the hawthorn, and lilac in flower. But
perhaps the pleasantest of all cries in early spring is that of
" All a-growing — all a-blowing," heard for the first time in the
season. It is that of the "root-seller," he has stocked his
barrow with primroses, violets, cowslips, wallflowers, daisies,
stocks, pansies, polyanthuses, London pride, musk-plants, pinks
and carnations. Their beauty and fragrances gladden the
senses ; and the first and unexpected sight of them may prompt
hopes of the coming year, such as seem proper to the spring.
" Come, gentle spring ! ethereal mildness ! come."

HISTORY OF THE

Oi.D Cries.

Miss Eliza Cook.

. Oh ! dearly do I love " Old Cries "
That touch my heart and bid me look

On "Bough-pots " plucked 'neath summer sides,
And " Watercresses " from the brook.

It may be vain, it may be weak.

To list when common voices speak ;

But rivers with their broad, deep course.

Pour from a mean and unmarked source :

And so my warmest tide of soul

From strange, unheeded spring will roll.

" Old Cries," " Old Cries "—there is not one

But hath a mystic tissue spun
Around it, flinging on the ear

A magic mantle rich and dear.

From " Hautboys," pottled in the sun.
To the loud wish that cometh when

The tune of midnight waits is done
With " A merry Christmas, gentlemen.

And a Happy New Year— Past one-
O'clock, and a frosty morning !"

And there was a " cry " in the days gone by.
That ever came when my pillow was nigh ;
When, tired and spent I was passively led
By a mother's hand to my own, sweet bed—
My lids grew heavy, and my glance was dim.
As I yawned in the midst of a cradle hymn —
When the watchman's echo lulled me quite,
With " Past ten o'clock, and a starlight night ! "

CRIES OF LONDON. 223

Well I remember the hideous dream,

When I struggled in terror, and strove to scream,

As I took a wild leap o'er the precipice steep,

And convulsively flung off the incubus sleep.

How I loved to behold the moonshine cold

lUume each well-known curtain-fold ;

And how I was soothed by the watchman's warning.

Of " Past three o'clock, and a moonlight morning !"

Oh, there was music in this " old cry,"
Whose deep, rough tones will never die :
No rare serenade will put to flight
The chant that proclaimed a " stormy night.''

The "watchmen of the city" are gone,

The church-bell speaketh, but speaketh alone ;

We hear no voice at the wintry dawning,

With " Past five o'clock, and a cloudy morning ! "

Ah, weU-a-day;! it hath passed away,

But I sadly miss the cry
That told in the night when the stars were bright,

Or the rain-cloud veiled the sky.
Watchmen, Watchmen, ye are among

The bygone.things that will haunt me long.

"Three bunches a penny. Primroses ! "

Oh, dear is the greeting of Spring ;
When she offers her dew-spangled posies ;

The fairest Creation can bring.

" Three bunches a penny, Primroses ! '"

The echo resounds in the mart ;
And the simple " cry " often uncloses

The wordly bars grating man's heart.

We reflect, we contrive, and we reckon

How best we can gather up wealth ;
We go where bright finger-posts beckon.

Till we wander from Nature and Health.

224 HISTORY OF THE

But the " old cry " shall burst on our scheming,
The song of " Primroses " shall flow,

And " Three bunches a penny " set dreaming
Of aU that we loved long ago.

It brings visions of meadow and mountain,
Of valley, and streamlet, and hiU,

When Life's ocean but played in a fountain —
Ah, would that it sparkled so still !

It conjures back shadowless hours.
When we threaded the dark, forest ways ;

When our own hand went .seeking the flowers,
And our own lips were shouting their praise.

The perfume and tint of the blossom
Are as fresh in vale, dingle, and glen ;

But say, is the pulse of our bosom
As warm and as bounding as then ?

" Three bunches a penny, Primroses ! "
" Three bunches a penny, — come, buy ! "

A blessing on all the sweet posies.
And good-wUl to the poor ones who cry.

" Lavender, sweet Lavender ! "
With " Cherry Ripe ! " is coming ;
While the droning beetles whirr.
And merry bees are humming.

" Lavender, sweet Lavender ! "

Oh, pleasant is the crying ;
While the rose-leaves scarcely stir,
And downy moths are flying.

Oh, dearly do I love " Old Cries,"
Your " Lilhes all a-blowing ! "

Your blossoms blue still wet with dew,
" Sweet Violets all a-growing ! "

CRIES OF LONDON. 225

Oh, happy were the days, methinks,

In truth the best of any ;
When "Periwinkles, winlde, winlts ! "

Allured my last, lone penny.

Oh, what had I to do with cares

That bring the frown and furrow,
When " Walnuts " and " Fine mellow pf ars "

Beat Catalani thorough.

Full dearly do I love " Old Cries,"

And always turn to hear them ;
And though they cause me some few sighs,

Those sighs do but endear them.

My heart is like the fair sea-shell.

There's music ever in it ;

Though bleak the shore where it may dwell,
Some power still lives to win it.

When music fills the sheE no more,

'Twill be all crushed and scattered ;

And when this heart's deep tone is o'er,
'Twin be all cold and shattered.

Oh, vain will be the hope to break

Its last and dreamless slumbers ;
When " Old Cries " come, and fail to wake

Its deep and fairy numbers !

226

HISTORY OF THE

Cherries, my Pretty Maids.

Here's cherries, oh ! my pretty maids,
My cherries round and sound ;
Whitehearts, Kentish, or Blackhearts
And only twopence a pound,

CRIES OF LONDON.

227

Old Clothes.

This man you'll know from all the rest
Because he cries old clothes,
And you will know that he's a Jew,
By looking at bis nose.

228

HISTORY OF THE

Fresh Strawberries Ripe,

Strawberries gather'd on a fine morning,
Dear ladies only see,
And only sixpence for a pottle,
Come buy, come buy of me.

CRIES OF LONDON.

229

Fine Hampshire Rabbits.

Here I am with my rabbits
Hanging on my pole,
The finest Hampshire rabbits
That e'er crept from a hola

23©

HISTORY OF THE

Hearthstones ! Hearthstones i

Hearthstones my pretty maids,
I sell them four a-penny,
Hearthstones, come buy of me,
As'long as I have any.

CRIES OF LONDON.

231

JJust oh ! Dust oh /

Dust or ash this chap calls out,
With all his might and main,
He's got a mighty cinder heap
Somewhere near Gray's Inn Lane.

232

HISTORY OF THE

Buy a Bonnet Box or Cap Box.

Bonnet boxes and cap boxes,
The best that e'er was seen,
They are so very nicely made,
They'll keep your things so clean.

CRIES OF LONDON.

233

All a Growing and a Blowing/

Now ladies here's roots for your gardens,
Come buy some of me if you please,
There's tulips, heart's-ease, and roses,
Sweet Williams, and sweet peas.

«34

HISTORY OF THE

Flowery Ware — All Hot !

Here's taters hot, my little chaps,
Now just lay out a copper,
I'm known up and down the Strand,
You'll not find any hotter.

CRIES OF LONDON.

*35

Any Old Pots or Kettles to Mendl

Any old pots or kettles,
Or any old brass to mend ?
Come my pretty maids all,
To me your aid must lend.

236

HISTORY OF THE

Cats' Meat or Dogs' Meat j

This man looks so veiy fine,
And with his barrow neat,
Calls at aU old ladies' doors,
To leave his cats' and dogs'' meat.

CRIES OF LONDON.

237

Any Old Chairs to Mend 1

Any old chairs to mend ?

Any old chairs to seat ?

I'll make them quite as good as new,

And make them look so neat.

238

HISTORY OF THE

Sweet Lavender, Sixteen Sprigs for a Penny I

Here's your sweet lavender,
Sixteen sprigs a-penny,
Which you will find my ladies,
Will smell as sweet as any,

CRIES OF LONDON.

239

Any Knives or Scissors to Grind f

Have you any old knives to grind ?
And scissors I grind too,
Bring them out my pretty dears,
I'll make thero look like new !

240

HISTORY OF THE

Any Shrimps or Perriwinkles ?

This young man goes tripping along,
And his eyes twinkle, twinkle,
As he cries, come dears and buy.
My shrimps and perriwinkle winkle.

CRIES OF LONDON.

241

Fresh Spring Water Cresses.

Just from the market my cresses are,
Come buy, come buy of me,
My fine brown water-cresses,
For breakfast or for tea.

2^2

HISTORY OF THE

Any Door Mats for Parlour or Kitchen ?

Here's dopf mats of every sort,

Just look. into my store,

Here's one for the parlour and one. for, the kitchen,

And one for th? bapk door,

CRIES OF LONDON.

243

Any Carrots or Turnips 2

This man, from Covent Garden comes,
With his green wares early,
Singing, put carrots and turnips, oh,
Making a huijley burley,

244

HISTORY OF THE

Fine St. Michael Oranges Two a-Ptnny i

Here's two a-penny oranges,
The real St. Michael sort ;
They are the sweetest oranges,
Ladies, you ever bought.

CftlES OF LONCoN.

Milk, my Pretty Maids below ?

With heart so light, and cans so bright,
This man comes from the dairy;
Milk, my pretty maids below,
Come, get your jugs, do, Mary.

/
246 HISTOKY OF THE

The London Streets Market on A Saturday Night.

Mr. Henry: Mayhew hag painted a minute yet vivid picture
of 'the London streiet markets, stre.et. seljers and purchasers
which are to be seen in the gr^eatest number on a Saturday
-night : — \ ' '

" Here, and in the streets immediately adjoining, the woiking
classes generally purchase their Sunday's; dinner; and after
pay -time on Saturday night, or early on Sunday morning,
the crowd in the New-cut, and' the Brill ^in particular, is
almost impassable, Indeed, the ^ scene in these parts has
more the character of .^a fair, than a majrket. There are
hundreds of stalls, and every stall has 'its one or two
lights ; either it is illuminated ^y the intense' white light of the
new self-generating gas-ltoip, or else it is brightened up by the
red smoky £amp of the old-fashioned>,-grea,se lamp. 'One man
shows off his yellow haddock with a candle stuck' in a bundle
of firewood ; his neighbour makes a candlestick of a huge turnip,
and the tallow gutters over its sides ; whilst the boy shouting
" Eight a penny, stunning pears ! " has rolled his dip in a thick
coat of brown paper, that flared , away with the 'candle. Some
stalls are crimson with the fire shining through the holes be-
neath the ba,ked chestnut stove; others have handsome octo-
hedral lamps, while a few have a candle shijiii^ through a sieve ;
these, with the sparkling ground-glass globes of the tea-dealers'
shops, and the butchers' gaslights streaming and fluttering
in the wind, like flags of flame, pour forth such a flood of light,
that at a distance the atmosphere immediately above the spot is
as lurid as if the street were on fire.

CRIES OF LONDON.

247

A Street Market on Saturday Night,

24S historv of mt

The pavement and the road are crowded with purchasers and
street-sellers. The housewife in her thick shawl, with, the
market^basket on her arm, walks slowly on, stopping now to
look at the stall of caps, and now to cheapen a bunch of greens.
Little boys, holding three or four onions in their hands, creep
between the people, wriggling their way through every inter-
stice, and asking for custom in whining tones, as if seeking'
charity. Then the tumult of the thousand different cries of the
eager dealers, all shouting at the top of their voices, at one and
the same time, 'is almost bewildering. "So-old again," roars
one. " Chesnuts, all ' ot, a penny a score," bawls another.
" An ' aypenny a skin blacking," squeaks a boy. " Buy, buy,
buy, buy — bu-u-uy!" cries the butcher. "Half quire of paper
for a penny," bellows the street stationer. " An 'apenny a lot
ing-uns." "Twopence a pound grapes." "Three a penny
Yarmouth bloaters." "Who'll buy a bonnet for fourpence?"
" Pick 'em out cheap here ! three pair for a halfpenny, boot-
laces." " How's your time ! beautiful whelks, a penny a lot."
" Here's ha'p'orths," shouts the perambulating confectioner.
" Come and look at 'em ! here's toasters ! " bellows one with
a Yarmouth bloater stuck on a toasting fork. " Penny a lot,
fine russets," calls the apple woman : and so the Babel goes on.
One man stands with his red-edge mats hanging over his
back and chest, like a herald's coat; and the girl with her
basket of walnuts lifts her brown stained fingers to her mouth,
as she screams, " Fine warnuts ! sixteen a penny, fine war-r-
nuts." A bootnlaker, to " ensure custom," has illuminated his
front-shop with a line of gas, and in its full glare stands a blind
beggar, his eyes turned up so as to show only " the whites," and
mumbling some begging rhymes, that are drowned in the shrill
notes of the bamboo-flute player next to him. The boy's sharp

Cries of lonDon. a^g

cry, the woman's cracked voice, the gruff, hoarse shout of the
man, are all mingled together. Sometimes an Irishman is
heard with his " fine ating apples ;" or else the jingling music
of an unseen organ breaks out, as the trio of street singers rest
between the verses.

Then the sights, as you elbow your way through the crowd,
are equally multifarious. Here is a stall glittering with new tin
saucepans; there another, bright with its blue and yellow
crockery, and sparkling with white glass. Now you come to a
row of old shoes arranged along the pavements ; now to a stand
of gaudy tea-trays ; then to a shop with red handkerchiefs and
blue checked shuts, fluttering backwards and forwards, and a
counter built up outside on the kerb, behind which are boys
beseeching custom. At the door of a tea-shop, with its hun-
dred white globes of light, stands a man delivering bills, thank-
ing the public for past favours, and "defying competition."
Here, alongside the road, are some half-dozen headless tailors'
dummies, dressed in Chesterfields and fustian jackets, each
labelled. " Look at the prices," or " Observe the quality,"
After this a butcher's shop, crimson and white with meat piled
up to the first-floor, in front of which the butcher himself, in
his blue coat, walks up and down, sharpening his knife on the
steel that hangs to his waist. A little further on stands the
clean family, begging ; the father with his bead down as if in
shame, and a box of lucifers held forth in his hand — the boys
in newly-washed pinafores, and the tidily got-up mother with
a child at her breast. This stall is green and white with bunches
of turnips — that red with apples, the next yellow with onions,
and another purple with pickling cabbages. One minute you
pass a man with an umbrella turned inside up and full of prints ;
the next, you hear one with a peepshow of Mazeppa, and Paul

ajp HlS^a'DRV OF THE .

Jpnes the pilrate,, describing the pictures to the boys looking in
at;, the l^tle, roimd .windo^vs. Then is heard the sharp snap of
the puf cussion-cap from the crowd of lads firing at the target
fqrnutSjj.and tlje moment afterwards, you see either a black
man haltclad in white, and shivering in the cold with tracts in
his hand, or else ypu hear the sounds of music from " Frazier's
Circus," on the other side 9f the road, and the man outside the
door of th;e penny concert,; beseeching you to " Be in time — be
in time !" as Mr., Somebody is just about to sing his favoujite
song, of the "Knife Grinfier." Such, indeed, is the riot, the
struggle;,, and the. scramble for a living, that, the confusion and
the uproar of the New-cut on Saturday night have a bewilder-
ing and sad eifect upon the thoughtful mind.

Eachigale^man tries his utmost to sell his wares, tempting .the
passeTSrbyiwith l;iis bargains. The boy with his stock of herbs
offers ;" 3, double .'andful of fine parsley for a penny ;" the man
with the dqnkey-cf|,rt filled with turnips has three lads to shout
for him to their utmost, with their " Ho ! ho ! hi-i-i ! What do
you think of us here? A penny a bunch — hurrah for free
trade ! Her^s your turnips !" Until it is seen and heard, we
have no $ense of the scramble that is going on throughout Lon-
don for a living.^ The same scene takes place at the Brill — the
same in Leather-lane— the same in Tottenham-court-road— the
sam,e in Whitecross street; go to whatever comer of the-metro-
polis.you please, either oq.a Saturday night or a Sunday morning,
and there is the same shouting and the same struggling to get
the penny profit out of t|ie poor man's Sundays dinner.

Since the above description was written, the New Cut has lost
much of its noisy and brilliant glpry. In consequence of a New
Police regulation, "stands" or "pitches" have been forbidden,
and each coster, on a market night, is now obliged, under pain

CRIES OF LONDON. 2^1_

o^,,tlje lock up house, .to carry his tray, or keep moving with his
barrow. The gay stalls have been replaced by deal boards,
some sodden with wet fish, others stained purple with black-
berries, or brown with, walnut -peel ; and the bright lamps are
almost totally superseded by the dim, guttering candle. Even
if. the' pole undei: the tray or "shallow" is seen, resting on the
grpundj, the policeman on duty, is obliged to interfere.

.The mob of purchasers has diminished one-half; apd instead
of. the road , being filled with customers and trucks, the pave-
ment and kerbstones are scarcely crowded. ,

The Sunday, Morning Markets.

Nearly every poor man's market does its Sunday trade. ' !for
a few hours on the Sabbath morning, the noise, btls'tle, arid
scramble of the Saturday night aire repeated, and but for this
opportunity many a poor family would pass a dinnerless Sunday.
The system of paying the mechanic late on the Saturday night —
and more particularly of paying a man^^Wa|eynja^^j3jiCT
hpu^e— when he is tired with his day's work, lures him' to the
' tayern, and there the hours fly quickly ehoiigh beside thfe' warm
tap-room fire, so that by the time the wife conies for her
husband's wages, she finds a large portion of th'erii gone in dfink,
and the streets half cleared, so that the Sunday market is the
only phance of getting the Sunday's dinner. " '''.'

Of . all these Sunday-morning markets, the Brili; perhaps,
furnishes the busiest scene; so that it may be taken as a type
of the Avhole, , , , , ,

The streets in Jhe neigbourhood are quiet aiid empty. The
'shops are closed with their different coloured shiittiefs, and the
people, round about are dressed' in the shiney cloth of the

2^2 HISTORY Of THE

holiday suit. There are no " cabs," and but few omnibuses to
disturb' the rest, and men walk in the road as safely as on the
footpath.

As you enter the Brill the market sounds are scarcely heard.
But at each step the low hum grows gradually into the noisy
shouting, until at last the different cries become distinct, and the
hubbub, din, and confusion of a thousand voices bellowing at
once again fill the air. The road and footpath are crowded, as
on the over-night; the men are standing in groups, smoking
and talking ; whilst the women run to and fro, some with the
white round turnips showing out of their filled aprons, others
with cabbages under their arms, and a piece of red meat dangling
from their hands. Only a few of the shops are closed ; but the
butcher's and the coal shed are filled with customers, and from
the door of the shut-up baker's, the women come streaming
forth with bags of flour in their "hands, while men sally from the
halfpenny barber's smoothing their clean-shaved chins. Walnuts,
blacking, apples, onions, braces, combs, turnips, herrings, pens,
and corn-plasters, are all bellowed out at the same time.
Labourers and mechanics, still unshorn and undressed, hang
about with their hands in their pockets, some with their pet
terriers under their arms. The pavement is green with the
refuse leaves of vegetables, and round a cabbage-barrow the
women stand turning over the bunches, as the man shouts,
" Where you like, only a penny." Boys are running home with
the breakfast herring held in a piece of paper, and the side-
pocket of an apple-man's stuff coat hangs down with the weight
of halfpence stored within it. Presently the tolling of the
neighbouring churcli bells break forth. Then the bustle doubles
itself, the cries grow louder, the confusion greater. Women run
about and push their way through the throng, scolding the

CRIES OF LONDON. 253

saunterers, for in half an hour the market will close. In a little
time the butcher puts up his shutters, and leaves the door still
open ; the policemen in their clean gloves come round and drive
the street-sellers before them, and as the clock strikes eleven
the market finishes, and the Sunday's rest begins."

H!^ —

THE DEMONS OF PIMLICO.

[From Punch.']

Edwin is a Young Bard, who has taken a lodging in a Quiet Street in

Belgravia, that he may write his Oxford Prize Poem. The interlocutors

are Demons of both Sexes.

Edwin (composing). Where the sparkling fountain never ceases —
Female Demon. " Wa-ter-creece-ses / "

Edwin. And liquid music on the marble floor tinkles—
Male Demon. " Buy my perriwinkles !"

Edwin. Where the sad Oread oft retires to weep —

Black Demon. " Sweep I Sweep ! I Sweep ! I ! "

Edwjn. And tears that comfort not must ever flow —
Demon from Palestine. " Clo I Clo / Old Clo .'"

Edwin. There let me linger beneath the trees —
Italian Demon, " Buy, Im-magees !"

Edwin. And weave long grasses into lovers' knots —

Demon in white apron. " Pots I Pots 1 1 Pots 111"

Edwin. Oh ! what vagrant dreams the fancy hatches —
Ragged Old Demon. " Matches I Buy Matches —

Edwin. She opes her treasure-cells, like Portia's caskets —
Demon with Cart. " Baskets, any Baskets /"

Edwin. Spangles the air with thousand-coloured silks —

Old Demon. '' Buymy Wilks! Wilks I WUks!"

Edwin. Garments which the fairies might make habits —

Lame Demon. " Rabbits, Hampshire Rabbits 1"

Edwin. Visions like those the Interpreter of Banyan's —

Demon with a Stick. " Onions, a Rope of Onions I "

254 HISTORY OF THE

Edwin. And give glowing utterances to their kin —

Dirty Demon. " Har^s skin or Rabbit skin 1"

Edwin. , In thoughts so bright the aching Cerises blind —

Demon with Wheel. " Any knives or sissors to grind P'

Edwin. Though gone, the Deities that long ago^r-

Grim Demon. "Dust-Ho I Dust-Ho 1 1"

Edwin. Yet, from her radient bow no Iris settles—

Swarthy Demon. " Mend your Pots and Kettles I"

Edwin. And sad and silent is the ancient seat —
Demon with Skewers. " Cafs M-e-a 1 1 "

Edwin. For there is a. spell that none can chase away —
Demon with Organ; ■ '■' Poor Dog Tray C

Edwin. And a charm whose power must ever bend —

Demon with Rushes. " Chairs / Old chairs to mend /"

Edwin. And still unbanished falters on the ear —

Demon with Can. " Beer ! Beery any Beer !"

Edwin. Still Pan aind Syrinx wander through the groves —

She Demon. "Any Ornafnents for your fire stoves I"

Edwin. Thus visited is the sacred ground — • ' ' ' ': .
Second Demon with Organ. " Bobbing, all around I "

Edwin. Ay, and for ever, while the planet rolls—'
Demon with Fish. " Moickerel or SoleSi I "

Edwin. Crushed Ehceladus in torment groans^-

Little Demon. ',' Stones-hearthstones I "

Edwin. While laves the sea, on the glittering' strand— =■ ■■

Third Demon with Organ^ " O, 'tis hard to give the hand."

Edwin. While,' as the sygnet nobly walks the water —

Fourth Demon with Organ. " The Ratcatcher's Daughter'
Edwin. And the Acropolis reveals to man —

Fifth Dfmpnwith Organ. ''^ Poor .Mary Anne."
Edwin. So long the presence, yes, the mens divina —

Sixth Demon jtiifhOngaii. " VHHkijis and Dinah."
Edwin.'. Sha.'ll breathe wheresb'er the eye shoots— '

Six Dirty (Germans with^^ " The. overture to Freischuiz." '

' ' ■ Here— Edwin GOES Mad. " "

CRfES OF LONDOM. 255

As it was in the beginning of our book and in the days of
Queen Elizabeth : —

"When the City|Shopkeepe«s,i:£(iled against itinerant fra^lers, p^ every
denomination, and the Common Council declared that in ancient times the
open streets and lanes had been used, arid ought to be used only, as the
common highway, and not for huckster^, pedlars, and higglers, to stand
and sell their wares in " — .1,

SO it is now, in the Victorian age, and, ever will be a very
vexed question, and thinking representive men of varied social
positions materially diflfer in opinion ; some contending that the
question is notof class interest but that of the interest of the public
at large, sbnie argue in an effective but perfectly legal and orderly
manner for the removal of what they term a greivous nuisance,
others ask that an industrious and useful class of men and
women should be allowed their, honest calling. They protest
against the enforcement of an almost obsolete statute which con-
duces to the waste of .fruit, fish, and .vegetables, in London and
large towns, which practically maintains a trade monopoly, ariid
discourages an a;bundant supply. They claini for the public a
right to buy in the cheapest market,- , arid plead for a liberty which
is enjoyed unmolested in many parts of the kingdom. a,nd
protest against a remnant qf protectionist restriction being put
into force against street-hawking.

By the side of this temperate reasoning, Ipt us place tiie
principal arguments which are so often reiterated by aldermen,
deputies, councillors, vestrymen, and others, when " drest in a
little brief authority," and come' at 6nce to the gravdmm ai the
charge against the hawkers; which we find to consist' in the
nuisance of' the street cries.

'London, as a commercial city,' has nuiiafeers of visitors ind
residents to whom quiet is of 'vital importaric'e. ' The'stfe'et

256 HIS70RY OF THE

cries, it is alleged, constitute a nuisance to the public, particu-
larly to numbers of day-time-alone occupants to whom time and
thought is money. It is the same thing repeated with many of
the suburban residents in what is generally known as quiet
neighbourhoods. Discounting duly the rhetorical exaggeration,, ;
it is to be feared the charge must be admitted. Therefore, the
shopkeepers argue, let, us put down the hacking of everything
and everybody. But this does not follow at all. Not only so,
but the proposed remedy is ridiculously inadequate to the
occasion. Admit the principle however, for the sake of argument,
and let us see whither it will lead us. At early morn how often
are our matutinal slumbers disturbed by a prolonged shriek, as
of some unfortunate cat in mortal agony, but which simply
signifies that Mr. Skyblue, the milkman, is on his rounds. The
milkman, it is evident, must be abolished. People can easily
get their breakfast milk at any respectable dairyman's shop, and
get it, too, with less danger of an aqueous dilution. After
breakfast —to say nothing of German bands and itinerant organ
grinders — a gentleman with a barrow wakens the echoes by the
announcement of fresh mackerel, salmon, cod, whiting, soles or
plaice, with various additional epithets, descriptive of their
recent arrival from the sea. The voice is more loud than
melodious, the repetition is frequent, and the effect is the reverse
of pleasing to the public ear. Accordingly we must abolish
fish hawking : any respectable fishmonger will supply us with
better fish without making so much noise over it ; and if he
charges a higher price it is only the indubitable right of a respec-
table tradesman and a ratepayer. Then comes on the scene, and
determined to have a voice — and a loud one too in the morning's
hullabaloo, the costermonger — Bill Smith, he declares with
stentorian hings that his cherries, plums, apples, pears, turnips,
carrots, cabbage, cowcumbers, sparrow-grass, £oUj>-&owers,.

CRIKS OF LONDON. 257

inguns, rhubarb, and taters, is, and alius vos rounder, sounder,
longer, stronger, heavier, fresher and ever so-much cheaper than
any shopkeeping greengrocer as ever vos: Why? "Vy? cos
he don't keep not no slap-up shop vith all plate-glass vinders,
and a 'andsora sixty-five guinea 'oss and trap to take the missus
and the kids out on-a-arternoon, nor yet send his sons and
darters to a boarding school to larn French, German, Greek,
nor playing on the pianoforte." All this may be very true; but
Bill Smith, the costermonger, is a noisy vulgar fellow; therefore
must be put down. Mrs. Curate, Mrs. Lawyersclerk's, Mrs.
Chemist and Miss Seventy-four pounds a-year must be taught to
go to the greengrocer of the district, Mr. Shortwayes, a highly-
respectable man, a Vestryman and a Churchwarden, who keeps : —
Plate, Waiters and Linen for Hire.
N.B. — Evening Parties Attended.

I say !— I say t ! " Old hats I buy," « Rags or bones,"
" Hearthstones," " Scissors to grind — ^pots, pans, kettles or old
umberellas to mend," " Old clo ! clo," " Cat or dog's meat,"
"Old china I mend," "Clothes props," "Any old chairs to
mend ?" " I say. Bow ! wow, and they are all a-growing and a-
blowing — three pots for sixpence," and other regular acquaint-
ances, with the occasional accompaniment of the dustman^s
bell, conclude the morning's performance, which, altogether, is
reminiscent,of the " Market Chorus " in the opera oiMasaniello ;
and ^f the public quiet is to be protected, our sapient Town
Councillors would abolish one and all of these, dustman in-
cluded. Our afternoon hours, after the passing of the muffin
bell, are made harmonious by public references to shrimps, fine
Yarmouth bloaters, haddocks, perriwinkles, boiled whelks, and
watercress, which are too familiar to need description ; and our
local governors in their wisdom would bid us no longer be

258 HISTORT^'OF THE

luxurious at our tea, or else go to respectable shops and buy our
"little creature comforts." Professing an anxiety to put down
street cries, our police persecute one class out of a multitude,
and leave all the rest untouched. It is not only an inadequate
remedy, but the remedy is sought in the wrong direction. The
fact is, that the street noises are an undoubted evil, and in the
interests of the public, action should be taken not to put them
down, but to regulate them by local bye-laws, leaving the course
of trade otherwise free. It is a plan that has been taken in
most of our greater towns which have in any way dealt with the
subject.

" He that runs may read." — Perhaps so ! But we know very
well that he who sits at home by his own fireside may often
read, or dream that he has read in his local newspaper, say
" The Citizen Presi" and under the head of Our Local
Government. And in an article — interspersed with Editorial
remarks, something like the following : —

The Hawking and Street Bawling Question Again !

At the usual fo'-monthly meeting held in the Council Cham-
ber. — Mr. Alderman Captain Green, J. P., the veteran advocate
of the reactionary statute clings to his old charge against the
hawkers of using false weights and measures, and of selling
inferior or absolutely injurious commodities; But the public
are the best judges on that point, and the law which protects
the public from malpractices on the part of the shopkeepers, is
quite sufficient protection against the hawkers. To accumulate
fallacies of this kind it is only necessary to enumerate the
" arguments '' used. Messrs. Councillors Black and White,
together with Jones, the " Great Irrepressible," for example,
imagine it to be the duty of the Council to look after the
interests— not of the public, but— of " the small shopkeepers !"

CRIES OF LONDON. 259

Where these worthies find such notion of political economy it
is difficult to understand. Then Mr. Alderman J. B. Fenton,
Q.C., stands up for the law, and there his arguments we must
admit are both learned and forcible. Lex terrcs, " The law of
the land, must be maintained," and many others are with him,
urging that while the statute exists it should be enforced, and
that Ignorantia non excusat leguk. But we add that the statute
was passed in the interests of the Chepe, or market, as its terms
clearly imply ; yet, in the next breath, they advocate its enforce-
ment, not on account of the. market — which was scarcely
mentioned in the discussion — but to benefit the small shop-
keepers, and to put down street-cries — ^purposes which are far
from the spirit of the Act, if not an absolute breach of its
letter. Mr. Alderman J. B. Fenton, Q.C, is, however decidedly
logical. If the prosecutions are to be stopped, he says, let the
statute be repealed. Perhaps it will ultimately come to that.
Mr. Alderman Tommy Webb, of the City of London, and
Gates Castle, was of opinion that there was a great deal of
unnecessary noise made both within and without the Council
Chamber on the hawking question. Hawking — when kept
within proper bounds— was as necessary as the pulling down of
old houses — Alderman Sir William Irons, Hear, hear, — Bravo
Tommy ! — and he (Alderman Webb) objected to the question
being so frequently rung in the ears of the members of ' the
Council. Many persons were over fastidious, and objected to
everything in the shape of street-cries. Although he had
noticed that when sprats were cheap many of the wives,
daughters, and mothers-in-law of the Councillors present (Hear,
hear) did not object to purchase them of those who had been
this day designated as " the nasty, noisy, bawling costermongers "
(Hear, hear). Then some pretended to have an insuperable
objection to bells. For his part, he admired bells, there was

26o HISTORY OF THE

something soothing and agreeable on a winter's eve to hear the
ringing of the muffin-man's bell. In the summer, who did not
like to hear " on mountain high, or in valley deep," the tinkling
of the sheep-bell. How harmonious were the bells attached to
a team of horses when heard in the green lanes of England.
Tennyson has sung : —

" Ring out wild bells to the wild sky " —

and who in this Council Chamber did not love to hear the
merry peal of bells sounding from the ivy-clad steeple of a
village church ? To a very refined ear even the dustman's bell
had music — (Alderman Sir W. Irons — Hear, hear: a voice,
gammon ! !) Mr. Stephen (cries of not Hayworth. No no,
Grimbly; no, Shillman; no, Crane ; no, Adams ; no, Chiids; no,
Schofield ; no, Jones. ; no, Shead ; no, Schofield \) Well, so long as
it was not that Radical Jones, he did not mind. As, to Mr.
Alderman Schofield — for whom he had the greatest possible
respect — he might cry gammon ! or even spinach ! if it pleased
him best. But he (Alderman Tommy Webb^ had no doubt but
what Edgar Allan Poe, the American Poet and Novelist, while
at the Rev. Dr. Barnsby's scholastic establishment in Church
Street, Stoke Newington — where he was located between 1816
and 1822, had caught the inspiration from " The Bells of Meny
England," which enabled him to compose that beautifiil Poem
of—

The Bells.
Hear the sledges with the bells — silver bells !
What a world of merriment their melody foretells !

How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In the icy air of night !

While the stars that overspriukle

All the heavens seem to twinlde
With a crystalline delight ;

CRIES OF LONDON. 26 1

Keeping time, time, time.

In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinnabulation that so musically swells

From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
From the jingling Bells, bells, bells— and the tinkling of the beUs.

The worthy Alderman was much applauded for the manner
in which he so truthfully read and emphasized each word and
line of the somewhat eccentric rhythm of the precocious
American. Mr. Alderman James Miller said he never had a
desire to put a Locke: oa. the Human Understanding, and it
always gave him Pain to send on the other side of yordan
free discussion. But still he thought it was now time that tkey
should bring on the next lot. Whereupon, Alderman Sir
William Irons, H.B., trusted he should not be putting his Fodt
in it : but begged to move — " That the Council do now pro-
ceed to the next business," which being seconded by Sir William
Rendall, a good live and-let-live sort of a City magnate
— surnamed the Black Prince, of the firm of Smith,
Cartwright and Wheeler. The motion- -a very mild one, and
suavis olidiis, was carried by a large majority. This gave the
Council the opportunity to abate the grievance without mate-
rially interfering with the market dues, without any necessity for
a revision of our local Act, and without any necessity to go to
Parliament for fresh powers. A vote of thanks to the Mayor
(Sir Alfred Thepbold), proposed by Mr. Alderman Lambert,
seconded by Mr. Alderman Barber, brought a somewhat noisy
meeting— but entirely free from any costermonger's language
it was in fact a little —

"Civic hilarity ; free from vulgarity "—

to a happy termination. The Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors,
then adjourned to a well-known hostelry in the Vintry ward,

262 HISTORY OF THE

in the immediate neighbourhood, one of the very many places
supposed to have been used by Shakespeare, Ben Jonson,
Walker and Co. Anyway, the Bard of Avon says — Landlord,
we come to your Castle —

" That we may taste of your wine, and see what cates you have."
Again, in Taming of the Shrew : —

" My super dainty Kate, for dainties are all cates."

And the modest keeper of the Castle Tavern in the Comedy
of Errors replies : —

" Though my cates he mean, take them in good part."

" All change for London," shouted the guard of the Express
from Dreamland, which, with the general noise and confusion
worse confounded, incident to the arrival of all trains at a
Railway-station — we awoke from [our forty-winks journey, and
found ourselves in our own arm-chair, and that like the late Mr.
John Bunyan, the Bedford tinker, we had " Dreamed a dream."
For we were still in the " Land of Taxes, Lords, Commons, and
Police," with the question of Hawking and Street Bawling as
unsettled as ever, for our daily newspaper, in its Police InteUi-
gence for Thursday, Dec. 9th, 1880, reports as under :—

MARYLEBONE. — Thk MvvviN Bell.— William Price, a mufEn
vendor, appeared to an adjourned summons taken out against him by the
police, for unlawfully using a bell for the purpose of selling muffins. — The
case was first before Mr. Cook three weeks ago, when his worship adjourned
the summons for an inquuy to be made as to whether the Commissioners
of Police intended to proceed with the case, and observed that the muffin
bell had been used from time immorial. — Inspector Maloney, of the X
Division, now stated that the Commissioners left the matter in the hands of
the magistrate. Mr. DeRutzen said either the case went on or it did not. If

CRIES OF LONDON.

263

it went on let him hear the witnesses. Police 406 X deposed that at three
o'clock in the afternoon of the 7th ult., he was on duty in Shirland-road,
and saw the defendant ringing a bell for the purpose of selling muf&ns.
He told him to stop, but he took no notice and went on ringing. "Witness
went after him, and took his name and address. Two hours afterwards he
was ringing the bell at the same furious rate. The defendant said he had
a very bad cold that day, and could not " holloa," and was bound there-
fore to ring the bell to sell his muffins. Mr. De Rutzen said he was
somewhat astonished that such a summons had been taken out by the
police. The only question was whether it was an offence within the Police
Act. He was not going to hold that tinkling a bell was not using a noisy
instrument within the meaning of the Act. Having said that, he thought
an offence had been committed. He should fine the defendant one penny.
According to the view of any magistrate, the defendant was liable to be
fined anything from a farthing to 40s. He (the magistrate) thought fit to
fine him only a penny, and he would make no order as to costs.

As a matter of course — and of fact, the next morning " Our
Newspaper" had a smart leaderette written by Mr. George A.
Sala, or Mr. Somebodyelse, on the subject of Muffins, Muffin-
men, Policemen, Magistrates, and : —

" Those evening bells ! those evening bells !
How many a tale their music tells ! " '

264

INDEX

Addison, on London Cries 06

Admiral Hawke,

Ale and Wine '.'.'. c

Alexander Gell ,,, 5

All the Year Round ....!!.,..".'.'.'.'.'.' g

Annibale Carracci ,,\\\\ i

Apple-seller— ACostard-moiiger 22

„ Wench, An 73

Armourer, An ' jq

Artful Dodger, The "Z'.'. 9

Ballad— What dainty fine ? 16

„ Monger, A 16

„ Singer, A 8. 68

Ballads :-^

All Round my Hat 180

Batchof Ballads, The .... 183

Ballad Singer, The 150, 181

Brooms — Buy my new 14

Buy a Broom Fair Ladies .178

Buy a Door-mat 146

Buy my Spiced Gingerbread.. !i8o

Catsmeat— Lady, The 122

Chaunting Benny 183

Cherry Ripe " 13

Chimney Sweep, The .........i^o

Common Cries of London,

^"^^ 80,92,200

Cunnmg Northern Beggar ... 76

Dandy Dog's Meat Man 123

I am a Rogue 7c

I'm a Jolly Peddlarman 1 79

Jolly Tinker, The 175

Lavender Girl, The 132

Milk— My Pretty Maids 173

Oranges— Fine Ripe 171

Oysters- Sir 166

Pedlars— The Song of 74

1, Lamentation igo

JRome— The Cries of. 57

Roses— Buy my Wild 202

Watercresses — Fresh 172

Won't you Buy my Pretty
Flowers 144

Young Lambs to Sell ug

Band— Cuffe and Ruffe 64

Barrow-woman— The 38. 120

Bartholomew Bird— A .". 69

,, Cokes, Esq 68,69

,, I^air— jf^BenJonson.

Beau-Trap— What ,14

Beaumont and Fletcher 22

Bellman— The '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 19

,) The British 37

of Decker 34,39

of Herrick.,

. . of London — The .... 34

„ ofMilton 35

» Isaac Ragg— The 36

,, Thomas Law — The... 36

,) of St. Sepvilchres 37

Bellman's Merry Out-Ciyes 37

,. Song — A nc

„ Treasury— The 37

,1 Verses ^6 ti

Benjonson's:— ^ ''

Bartholomew Fair 22, 68

Costard-Mongers... ig, 22^ 31

Fish-Wives 19, 22 31

London _' ,-

Orange Women .....'.'..'. 37

Silent Woman 18 iy

Bennett— The News-cryer iii

Billingsate — Bummarees at 206

Complments in 205

Fish Fags— The ...205

History of. 203

Ladies of 205

Mayhew's 206-7

Rhetoric 207

_. .. Watermen in

Bishop ol Ely ;,

Blacking Man .".".■ ',

INDEX.

Blacking— Day and Martin's ...Ii6

,, Patent Cake no

Boolcseller's Pow, W.C 213

Boar's Head Tavern 8

Bridgewater Library — The 65

Bristle — A Brush -Man 73

British Museum — LondonCriesin 31

Brompton's Chronicle . 203

Broom — Buy-a-Broom Girls ...121
Broom-men — The ... 18,25,40,63

Browne, John — A Publisher 71

Bucklersbury — Simple time 104

Budget— A Tinker 74

Burbadge, R. and J. (Actors) .. 79

Buskers 8

Butcher's Row, Strand, W.C.. ..141
Byron, H.J. —A Word-twister... 64

Cannon Street 7,8

Canwyke Street 7

Catch that Catch Can 88

Card Matches— Vendors of 98

Catnach— " Oldjemmy"

126, I93-4-S-99
Chamberlain's Company 79

265

Charing— The Village of 6

Charles 1st 6, 16, 23

Charles Dickens 9, 210

Charles Knight's London 31

Charles Lamb inColebrookeRow S3

Charles Mathews 12I

Chaucer, Geoifry I

Cheapside 6, 7

Chelsea — Bun-House 217

Chiropedist — The, ofto day loi

Clerkenwell — A Village 103

Coals, a public nuisance 16

Coalmen — Small 100

Colebrooke Row — Islington 53

Coleridge and the Old clo-man. . . 43

Collier, John Payne, Mr 78

Colly-Molly — Puff-pastry-man... 99

Comhill 8, 9, 10, 23

Costardmonger 18, 22, 23, 31

Countryman in Lunnon — The... 7

Court Beggar — The 72

Cries of Bologna I

Cries of London — A Collection

of 41,43,44, 92

Cries of Rome ».i?. — London 57

CWES OF LOKDON— Ancient and Modern. Alphabetically Arranged :—

Almanack— Buy an ... 42, lol, 136

Aloes, that blossom rarely 142

AUThings YouUse— IBuy ... 138

Anchovies — Buy my, &c 169

Apples — Baked '02

Apricots — Buy fine 95

Aprons — I buy 13°

Aqua Vitse... 42. '°'

Artichokes 23, 42, 66. 92.94

Aspargus— Any ripe 23, 42

Bacon— A Suck of 208

Baked Potatoes 154

Ballads — Buy a fine, new, &c.... 69

Balloons— Buy 160

Banbury Cakes. O ! I59

Bandstrings — Buy 66, 191

Barley- Broth— Here's 93

Bay— Buy any, &c 42

Beans— White, Windsor 23, 94. 198

Beef— Ribs fat and fine S> °

Bellows— Old to mend, &c 42

Birds and Heris — Buy any 44

Black Your Shoes, Sir? 115

Blue Starch 43

Bodkin— Here's a gilt 191

Bone-Lace— Buy 44, 191

Book— Buya new, &c... 45, 73, 192

Boots — Have you any old P 14

. BoworBough-'pot(i6w«--/o^) 43, 222

Box — Buy my growing 142

Box — Bonnet or cap 201

Brass Pot, or an Iron Pot... 74, 100
Bread and Meat, forpoorprisoners,

&c 43.57.66,67

Brick-Dust 97

Briar — Buy sweet 151

Broccoli— Here's fine 94

Broken-Glasses 97

Broom— Buya 178

Brooms for old shoes 72

Brooms- New green, &c

14, 40, 42, 66, 73
Brush— Buy long, new, &c.... 43, 66

26d

Index.

Buckles — Silver, gold, or brass. . . 1 78
Buns — Hot-Cross-Buns. &c. ...161

Butter — Sixpence a-pound 95

Buskins — Have you any ? 14

Buttons — Buy any? 43

Cabbage — 'White-lieart, &c. . . .42, 92

Calf's Feet^ — Here's fine 95

Candle-stick — Buy a 43

Canes — For young and old 14S

Cap Box — Bonnet Box 201

Capers — Buy my, &c 169

Carrots — Buy 44, 94, 148, 201

Case for a Hat — Buy a 44

Cat's and Dog's Meat 156,201

Cauliflowers — Here's 94

Celery — Buy my nice 94

Chairs to mend... 66, 93, 102, 134,

156. 182, 201

Cheese and Cream — Any fresh... 44,

66, 74, 103

Cherries — In the rise. i.e. stick. .6, 1 2

,, Ripe 6,42,120,120

,, Round and Sound 92,

120, 197

,, Kentish 150

Chesnuts — Ripe 44

Chinmey Sweep. ..19, 42, 63, 66, 129

Cinquefoil 94

Clean your Boots, Sir? 113

Clo ! Clo !— Old clothes 154

Clothes Pegs — Buy my 39, 198

Close-stool — Buy a cover for ... 82

Clove Water — Buy any ? 45

Coal — Maids any small ? 42, 66,

95, 201

Coats — I buy 13S

Cock or a Gelding (Capoti) 66

Cockles- Ho ! 42, 72, 95, 163

Cod — New, fine-water'd 43.95

Codlings — Hot 44, 68, 89, I02

Codlings — Crumpling 197

Coffee Hot— Hot I C17 177

Coife — Buy a fine 191

Cony-Skins — {Rabbit) 42, 92

Corn-Poppies — Here's 95

Corns — Any to cut, prick, &c. ...44,
68, 74, 92, 102
Cooper — Any work for a ? . . . 42, 66
Crabs — Come buy my,&c....92, 207
Cranberries — Buymy, &c 167

Crumpets O !— Lilly-white. . . 1 54, 209

Cucumbers 23, 44, 66, 94, 149

Currants — Here's 95

Dabs — Come buy my 95

Damsons — Buy ripe 43

Dandelion — Here s ye 94

Dog's Meat ' 156

Door-Mat— Buya 66, 146

Dishes — Any to-day ? 148

Dragon's-tongue — Here'sye 94

Dumplings — Diddle, diddle.. .62, 141
Dust O ! 182

Earthen-Ware— To-day ? 148

Eels — Buy a dish of. 21, 95, 2Ci

Eel Pies— Hot, hot! 44

Eggs — New laid, 10 a groat 95

Elder-buds— For the blood 93

Ells or Yards— Buy 66

Ends of gold 42

Featherfew and Rue 93

Felt Hats 5

Fenders — I paint 201

Figs — Buy any? 43i 95

Filberts — Ripe, Brown, &C...95, 198

Fire Stove Ornaments 152

Fish— Gold and Silver 158

Fleas — Buy a tormentor for 68

Flounders 20, 43, 66, 95, 160

Flowers — Buymy 142-3-4, 176

Fowl — A choice 95

Footstool — Buya 43

French Beans — Buy 64

French Garters 64

Garlick — Buy any? 44

Garters for the knee .. 43, 174, 191

Gazette, London — Here loi

Geraniums — Scarlet, &c 142

Gilliflowers, &c 93

Gingerbread— Hot 68, 93, 180

Glass to mend 43

Glasses— Broken 97

Golden Pippins — Who'll buy ?. . . 1 36

Gold-end Have you any? 42

Goose — Buya 95

Gooseberries — Buy my fine.. .95, 185

Gowns — I buy 138

Green Coleworts — Here's 94

Greens, 2d. a bunch 20l

Green Peas — All hot-hot ! 2o8

Gudgeons — Fine, &c 92

Haddocks — Buy my fine 43, 95

Hair — Maids any to sell? 93

Hair Brooms, or a Brush... 1 52, 201

Hair-line —Buy a ? 39, 44

Hang out your Lights here ...32, 66
Handkerchief-buttons — Buy ... 66

Hare Skins — I buy 201

Hastings — Young and green 94

Hat, or Cap-Box? 160

Hat — Buyacasefor 44

Hats— Fine felt 5

■ Hats or Caps — To dress 44

Hats or Caps — Buy or sell... 26, 138

Hassock for your Pew 59, 65

Hautboys — Ripe 94, 222

Hearth-stones — Want any ? 127

Heart's-ease — Buy any? 94

Herbs — Here's fine of every sort 94
Herrings — Fine new, &c. ... 42, 72

Hobby- Horses 106

Holly — Christmas oh ! 221

Hone, or Whetstone 66

Hornbook — Buy a 75

Horns and Mugs — I've 179

Horns — Shall I mend your ? 93

Hol-Cross Buns 199, 212 to 220

Hot Mutton — Pies 43

Hot Pudding — Pies 44

Hot Sheep's feet , 7

Hot Peacods 6

Houseleek — Here's ye 94

Images — Come buy my 138

Inguns — (Onions) a penny a

rope 201

Ink — Fine writing-ink loi

Ink and Pens 41

Iron — Old iron I buy, &c 42

Italian Falling Bands , ; 64

Ivy — Ground-ivy 93. 182

Jessamine— Pale, &c 142

Jew's Trumps (.»' A Harps.) 69

John Apples — Who'll buy 74

John the Cooper — Any work

for? 42. loi

-ugs — Any to-day? 148

INDEX. 267

Kettles to mend... 74, 148, 175, 201
Kitchen-stuff— What have you

maids? 27, 42, 59, 66, 71, 92

Knives to grind 93, 182

Laces — Long and Strong loi

Lambs — Young to sell 118, 119

Lanthorn & Candle... 43, 61,65, ^^
Lavender — Blooming, &C....93, 139

Lawn, Silk, Velvets 6, 7

Lights for your cat 95

Lillies of the Valley 134, 224

Leeks — Here's fine 94

Lemons — Fine 38

Lettuce — Fine goss,... 40, 42, 61, 66

Lobsters — Buy 95, 182, 207

Looking-glass, for buxon lass . .179

Mackerel — Fine, fresh, new,
... 7, 20, 42, 66, 138, 158, 168, 182

Maids — Buy my fresh 43, 95

Marjorum — ^Ho ! 93

Marking Stone ... 40, 43, 57, 65, 66

Marroguin — Good 44

Marrow-bones, Maids 66

Marygolds — Here's ye 94

Mat — Buy for a bed.. 42, 59,66, 182

Matches — Buy my 174, 201

Milk — Maids below, &c. 42, 61, 92,

102, 136, 156, 173, 182, 197, 201

Mint — Any green, or a bunch 93, 147

Mops— Maids buy a. . . 136,142,152

Mousetrap — Buy a 59. §8

Muffins — Buynew 153, 154, 182

Muffins, Crumpets 201, 209

Mugs and Horns — I've 1 79

Mulberries — Here's 95

Mullets— Buy my 95

Mussels — Lilly- white 21, 42, 66

Mutton Dumplings — Hot 150

Mutton Pies— Who'll buy ? 1 68

Myrtle — Dark green 142

Nectarines— Fine 9S> '34

Nettle-tops— Here's ye 94

New River Water— Here 51

Nosegays — Fine 94

Nun's Thread 64

Nuts — Fine, new, &c 92

Oat-Cakes— Fine 44. 61

26S

INDEX.

Old Clo ! Clo! ... 2$, 42, 43, 154.
158, 201

Old Cloaks, Suits, or Coats .26

Old Doublets 42

Old Iron — Take money for 28

Old Man — A penny a root 201

Old Satin-taflfety, or Velvet 25

Old Shoes for some brooms 25

Onions— White St. Thomas',

&c 23, 42, 63, 66

Oranges — China, golden, ripe,

&c 138, 154, 171, 197, 201

Oranges and Lemons — Fine... 42, 66
Oysters — New Wall-Fleet. &c.

20, 42. 71, 72, 135, 160, 166

Pail — Buy a new 201

Paris-thread 6, 7

Parsley — Here's ye 94

Parsnips, Buy — Here's fine... 44, 94

Peaches — Buymyfine 25, 134

Pearmains — Buy my 74

Pears — Anybaking 23

„ Buy fine ripe 44, 68, 170

„ Stewed 102

Peas and Beans — Come buy 198

Pea-Soup— All hot! 208

Peacods, Hot-hot ! io2, 208

Penknives to grind 201

Pens and Ink 42

Pennyroyal — Here's ye 94

Pepper, Saffron and Spice 6

Peppermint — Nice 207

Periwinkles — Quick j.?. live...^, 66

Pigeons — Come buy my 95

Pike — Fine live 95

Pins of the maker 44

Pins and Needles — Who buys ?. . . 75
Pippins — ^Buymy? &C....42, 72, 74

Pippin-Pies 42

Plaice — Buy dish of, &C....21, 42, 95

Plovers — Come buy my 95

Plum-Pudding. 4d. a pound ... 93

Plums — ^Buymyripe 95

Points — Buy any? 43

Pomegianites — Fine 44

Pompeons (Qy. Pumpkin) 44

Potatoes — Fine new 44. 94> IS5

Potatoes— All hot 154

Pot — Buy a white 43

Pots and Pans 201

Pots, Pans, Kettles to Mend 137, 244

Powder and Wash-ball gg

Pretty Pins— Pretty women ? ...loi

Primroses — Buy 188, 223

Props or Linfes — Buy igS

Prunes — Buy, 2d. a-pound... 43, 94
Purse — Buy a 43

Quick (i.e. live^ Perriwinkles 44

Rabbits — Who'll buy a 95, 139

Rabbit-skins — Any to sell, I

buy 13S, 182

Radish — Buy my white, &c. ... 23,
44. 59, 61, 66, 94

Raisins — Buy any? 43

Ribs of beef— Fine 8

Rice-milk —Here's hot gj

Rice — New, 2d. a-pound 95

Rope-Mats — Buy one 156

Roses — Buy my fine 142

Rosemary — Buy my S9> 93- 151

Rosemary and Briar 104

Rue — Buy a bunch, &c 93, 147

Saffron, Spice and Pepper 6

Sage — Buy a bunch 93, 94, 147

Salad — Ready picked 94

Salmon — Fine, Newcastle, &c.

20, 92, 134, 201

Saloop — Hot 1 and good 95

Samphire — Rock 42, 59, 65

Sand — Silver sand gz

Sashes — Ribbons or lace I7g

Saugages 43

Save-all — Buy a 73

Savoys — Here's fine g4

Scissors ground, id. per pair 201

Screens, from the fire 66

Scurvy-grass — Any? 44,94

Shads — Come buy my 42, g5

Shirt Buttons— Buy 157

Sheep's Trotters — Hot 7

Shoes-Buy— I buy 43, 66, 138

Shrimps — Fine, new ... 43, gS, 201

Silk Velvets, lawn 5, 7

Singing Bird— Buy a fine 107

Silver Sand — Buy 92

Small Coals 59

Smallclothes— I buy 13S

Smelts — Buy my, &c...2i. 44, 66, 95

Socks — Holland socks loi

Soles — Fine, &c 44, 207

Songs — A choice of 192

Songs — Three yards a penny . . .201
Southernwood, that's very good... 94

Spice, pepper and saffron 6

fpice-graters 40

Spoons for Pap — I've tyg

' Sprats — Buy my ... 43,95, 182, 201

Spinach — Here's 94

Standard, Tele', Globe, &c 162

Straw — Will you buy any ? 72

Strawberries — Ripe, &c 6, 12,

44,66,94,113,190

Steel or Tinder-box 66

Stopple —For your close-stool. . . 59

Stomach water 45

Sweep , 129, 198

Sweet Briar — Buy my ... ..105

Table-mat — Buy a 146

Teal — Come buy my 95

Tench— Buy my 95

Teeth, any to draw ? 74

Thomback — New 44'

Tinker — Have you any work for

a? 66, 74, 89

Toasting-Forks ; 40

Toasting-iron 45

Toys, Fpr girls and boys 199

Trinkets— Want any? 174

tripes— Fine 43, 95

Trotters— Here's 95

Turnips — Buy bunch ... 59, 92, 148

Tnrbot— All alive 207

Tyme, Rue, &c 93

Velvets, silk, lawn 6, 7

Venice Glasses— Come buy 41

Cry — Muck cry, but little wool ... 98

Crying Things in London 65

Curds— A cheese woman 74

Cutler's Poetry upona knife 37

Decker, Thomas, a/iajDekker... 34
Deuteromelia, or Roundelays ... 63

Dick, The Shoe Black 848

Ditty — A ballad -man 73

Dogberry— The watchman... 33, 30
Drunken Bamaby at HoUoway... 46
Duke of Devonshire's drawings... 45

INDEX. , 269

Vinegar— Lilly- white loi

Violets — Buy my... 105, 224

Wafers — Buy any? loi

Walking-sticks — Buy my 145

Walnuts, New, crack and try,

&= 44:92. 158

Warders — Hot (Pears) 102

Wash-Ball— Want any... 41, 43, 174

Watch — Buy of me 174

Water — Buy spring here?.. .54, 192

Water-cresses — Buy fresh, &C....94,

152, 171, 201

Wax — Buy any? roi

Wheat — Buy any? 44

White Scallions (Shalots) 44

Whiting — Any new, fresh, &C....20,
44, 59,207

Whiting Maps 43

Widgeon — Come buy my 95

Wigs — A fine tie or bob ? 101

Wild Duck— Buy a 95

Windsor Beans — Right 94

Wine — One penny a pint 10

Winter-Savoy — Hereyouhave... 94

Wood — Any to cleave? 16, 44,

72,100

Wood-sorrel — Here's ye 94

Wooden Ware 182

Worcestershire Salt 43, 57

Wormwood — Here's fine 94

Yards and Ells 43

Yorkshire' Cakes 201, 209

Yorkshire Mufiftns 95, 153

Yarmouth Bloaters 206

Dumpling Woman— The 141

Dustman — The 164

Earl of EUesniere 65

Eastern Cheap — Market g

Eastwood ho ! — A Comedy 45

Eliza Cook, Miss, Poems : —

Christmas Holly 221

Hot-Cross Buns 219

Old Cries 222

Young Lambs to Sell ....4. ...119

270

INDEX.

Ely Place — The orchards in 12

Fagin, the Jewfence 9

Falstaff and Henry V 8

Field Lane and Fagan g

Fiddler— The bHnd 148

Finsbury, its groves 103

Flower-girl — The 176

Flower Pot Man— The 142

Flying Stationer— The 1 24

Fish-Fags 205

Fish-Wives 18, 2Z, 31

Fisherwoman 204

Fortunes of Nigel 29

George Cruikshank 120, 128

George Dyer S4

Gingerbread Lottery 180

Greene Robt. — Never too Late... 57

Gum — A tooth-drawer 74

Guy Fawkes — Giiy • 128

Hackney Gazette 219

Halliwell Street.. 79

Heath — A broom-man 73

Henry V 7.8,12

Herb-wives, unruly people 23

Herb-wife— The I47

Herrick, Robert— Pretty Jane... 13

„ Hesperides ... 35

Heywood, T. — Rape of Lucrece 57

Hobbyhorse-seller — A 68

Hogarth's, Print of ' ' Evening '' 53
,, "Enraged Musician'' 55

Holborn 23

„ Bridge 16

,, Conduit 13

., Green Pastures in 103

HoUoway Cheese-cakes 46

Holywell Street 79, 213

Hone's Kvery-Day and Table

Book 114, 120

Hornmen Ill

Hugh Myddleton and the New
River 47, 48, 50

Inigo Jones' collection of

drawings 45

Isaac Ragg, the Bellman 36

Islington-^Clerks from 115

Jack Drum's Entertainment 46

James I and the New River... 48, 50

Jeannette, the flower-girl 1 76

Jeiiniting — An Apple wench 74

Jigs on the Stage 79

Jin Vin. in Prentices-riots 2g

Joan Trash, a gingerbread-
woman 68, 69

John Browne, Publisher 71

John Bunyan— A Tinker 88

John Howard loi

Tohn Stow's Survey of London ... 2,
^ 48, 79
John Taylor — The Water-
Poet i 79. 214

John Wilson — Musician 74

Johnson, Dr. on London-cries ... 24
Jones, K., Printer {1590) 16

King's Bench 4

Kingsland Gazette 219

Kempe — A Comedian 79

Lackpenny — ^ja London

Lambarde's, Kent 10

Lanthorn Leatherhead 68

Lanthoms invented by Alfred ... 32

Lavender Girl — The 13a

Lawe, Thomas— The Bellman... 36

Lawyer's and Suitors 5

La Zoon — Portrait Painter 91

Lettuce Woman— The 40

Life in London 8

Light of other Dajrs — The 45

Lincolnshire Bagpipes 16

Liston, W., "London Crier "...1 18

London, Barrow Women 120

,, Chanticleers, a Comedy

72.74

„ Dirty Lanes of 13

,, Lackpenny ... 2, 3, 8, 9, 10

,, Lawyers 12

„ Milk Carriers 102

,, 'Prentice riots... 29, 30, 73

„ Stall Keepers 11

„ Stone The 7, 11

, , The Three Ladies of . . . 13

,, Without lamps 35

Long Lane 204

Ludgate — Poor Prisoners in 67

Lupton's London (1632) 204

Luttrell's Collection of Broadsides 36

INDEX

Lydgate— A Monk of Bury St.

Edmund's i

„ his numerous works... 2
,, his London Lackpenny 2

„ Days of J

, , Cornhill in his time .. . 9
,, Mackerel in his day... 20

Madame Vestris— Her legs ...121
Martin Mar, Prelate Pamphlets—

The 42

Matthew Lownes, Publisher ... 71
Mauron's-a/aw-Lauron — " Cryes "
21, 91, 107
Mayhew's, H., London Labour

7, 205,-6
Meligmata — A Musical Work . . 72
Merry Bellman's — Out-Cryes ... 37

Merry Drollery — The 75

MUkman — ^The 162, 173

Miller's Golden Thumb 8i

Milton in Kent 10

Milton's II Penseroso 35

Misson's Travels 104

Morely, — A Musical Composer.. .64
Morose — A Character...... 18, 22, 55

Mother Red Cap —HoUoway ... 46

Muffin Man 153, 209

Muffin and Crumpet Compaiiy...2io
Music and Singing 8

Ned Ward— His time 205

Nell Gwynne — An Orange-
woman 39

New Exchange, Strand : 64

New River the — Begun (i6og)... 47

„ Opened (1613) 47

, , King's Moiety, in 48

,, Adventurer's Moiety .. . 48

,, Head of 49

„ King's Clogg on 5°

,, Present wealth of 50

,, First view of 52

,, Young anglers at 53

News-criers Ill

Nicholas Nickleby 210

Nightingale — A ballad singer ... 68
Northward ho ! — A comedy 45

Okes — A printer (1632) 204

Old Boots or Shoes 14

271

Old clo'— A Jew's monopoly —

why? 27

Old London Criers and Cries ... 38

Oliver Twist 9

Oncea Week g

Orange-women 18, 37, 38, 39

Oranges imported by Sir W.

Raleigh 38

Orlando Gibbons — Musician ... 65
Oyster-wives -unruly people ... 23
O Yes — a mad merry ditty 37

Pammelia— a musical work 71

Paper Lanthoms 22

Pappe with a Hatchet 42

Paris Gardens 79

Partrich Miles— Publisher 64

Past One o'clock, and a windy

morning 32

Pastyme of Pleasure— The 2

Patent Cake Blacking 116

Pedlar's French 57

Pepy's— His collection, &c 90

Perambulation of Kent 10

Pewter Pots 8

Pewterer's 'prentice 18

Phillips— A comedian 79

Pieman -London 102

Pie-Poudre^A court of 69

Prisoners - in Ludgate 67

Place Maiibert 205

Plate-glass windows 6

Playford's Select Ayres 74

Pope Thos. — Famous Clown ... 79

Pope's Head — in Cornhill 10

Person — on Barrow-women 38

Potatoes In reigh of James I... 64

Powch-rings 14, 72

'Prentice Riots 29, 30

Prick Song— What ! 37

Queen Anne's — London 32

Rabbit Man— The 139

Raddish and Lettuce-woman —

The 40

Ragg — The Bellman's copy of

verses 36

Ragged Schools 116

Ramsay, David 2g

Richard II 8, 10

272

INDEX

Richard Brome 72

Robatos — a kind of Ruif 64

Roger Warde — Primer (1584) .. 13 I

Rome mort — Romville 57 1

Rose and Crown — Holborn... 15 |
Roxburghe Ballads — The 75, 78, 91 j

Rushes— Green 7

,, the strewing of — before
carpets made — Not
worth a — Lights 8

Saint Fear — Year o{... 37

St. Dunstan's Church 29, 64

Salt, sold in the streets 44

Sausage- Woman 40

Second Edition — Sellers 112

Shakespeare's London 29,53

Shancke, John —Comic actor ... 78

Shoe-Black— The 148

Shoe-Blacks— Last of the 113

Shoeblack Society Ii6

Shopkeepers — Loud bawling of 6
Shoreditch-church— Fields... 22, 7g

Shrove-Tuesday 18

Singer— A Comedian 79

Sir Hugh Myddleton's Head ... S3

Song of the Pedlars 74

Songs — see Ballads

Sow — Gelder's Horn 97

Spectacles, first sold S

Spectator, The — on London Cries 96

Spring water — Here? 51

Stall-keepers — The 11

Stansby, W.— a Printer 64, 72

Statutes of the Streets 33

Stowe's Survey of London.. .2,

10,79

Strand-side 6, 23

Strange Oaths 8

Strawberries in Holbom '.. 12

Strawberry-Woman — The 133

Stucco, Mr. — The builder 103

Suck of Bacon 208

Tarlton, Comedian 79

Tarquin and Lucrece — a Play... 65

Tempest's, P.— Cryesof London 90

Temple Bar 29, 141

Theatres— The Cockpit 72

„ The Curtain 78, 79

The Globe 78, 79

The Hope 68

Red Bull 57, 78. 79

Sadler's Wells ... 52, 54

The Theatre 57, 79

„ The Swan 78

Theatrical Showman 186

Three Ladies of London 13

Three Lords and Ladies of

London IS

Thomas Adams — Publisher 72

Thomas Snodham — a Printer... 71

Tinker— The 137

Tiddy-DoU— Vendor of Ginger-
bread 108-9

Tinker— The Jolly I7S

Tower Street 8

Troop -Every One 106

Tripe- wives — unruly people 23

Trotter Yard— The 7

Turn again Lane 204

TurnbuU Street 204

Turner's Dish of Stuff. 78, So

Veal, with a ^w/wy knife ! 208

Watchman — The London 31,

32, 33, 39
Water Carrier — The ... 43, 51, 102
Water-Poet — jasjohn Taylor...

Walter Raleigh and oranges 38

Westminster Hall 4, 5

What do you lack ? 68, 69

Windsor Drollery — The 74

William IV— His Statue 8

Woman — The Silent 17

Wood — Any to cleave? 16

Wottou, Towns End— Tune of... 78

Yea by Cock 8

Ye Bridge-foot 204

Year of Saint's Fear 37

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This will complete, with the poetical works published by the
same editor, the only complete and uniform edition of Shelley's
Works, with titles for the eight vols, and an index to the whole.
A few sets of the eight vols, to be had, price £5.

196, Strand, & 100, Chancery Lane, "W.O. 9

Shelley's Whole Works, collected and edited by Haeey Buxton
FoKMAN, comprising the Poetical Works, 4 vols., and the
Prose Works, 4 vols., uniformly bound in emblematically gUt
cloth. £.5.

*jj* But a few complete sets for sale.

" Mr. Formon's editiou presents valuable and admirably ari'anged materials, to-
-gctber with the aid of a competent and conscientious guide on what may with all
-strictness be called a somewhat trying road." — London Quartei'ty Revieia,

" Xot lees well than the editor have the publishers discharged their task. In ap-
pc^^rance, in its quaint, fanciful and highly artistic binding, in type, in paper, ^nd in
all respects, the book is one of the handsomestthat ever issued from the press." —
Hiindaif Tivies.

'* The book, from its appearance and contents, is a real gain to the library." —
World.

" A most valuable edition of Shelley. . . . The work is beautifully printed." — Dail^

, " The work is in every way an 'edition de luxe.' A Tyorthy .memorial to Shelley's
.yenius." — Bfitisli Qiutrterly Review.

"The same spirit of affectionate reverence is shown in. Mr.' Formalins new and
elaborate edition of Shelley, published .by Messrs. Reeves and Turner." — Times.

South's (Dr. Robert) Sermons ; to which are annexed an Analy-
tical Table of Contents, a Biographical Memoir, and an
elaborate general Index of Subjects. In 2 vols., royal 8vo.
10s. 6d.

"The Sermons of this wittiest of English divines; will always jank among the
standard productions of the English Church. They are adapted to. all readers and all
days." — Retrospective Seview.

Southey's (Dr. Robert) Common-Place Book, containing choice
passages from English Authors, translation's of interesting
extracts from Portuguese and Spanish Authors, Analytical
Readings, Original Memoranda, etc., systematically arranged.
Edited by his son-in-law, John Wood Waktee, with four
elaborate Indices. Four thick volumes, broad 8vo, nearly
3000 pages. Portrait. Jl Is.

"This comprehensive and popular MisceUany maybe fairly termed a ■Scholars'
Spare Minutes with the Best Authors.' They show the wonderful stores, the accu-
mulated learning, and the unlimited research of the exceUently smgle-hearted, devout
and gifted collector."

Thomson's (James "B.V.") City of Dreadful Night, and other

Poems. Crown 8vo, cloth. 5s.

*^* A few copies printed on large paper, price 10s.

" The admirers of Leopardi, of SheUey, of Bichter's 'Dream ' . . . may be interested
to know of a really reiiarkable poem lately pubUshed 'The City of Dreadful

""''^he'^i^SotTn'ytfthe unknown ™ter the ti-ue lyric cry, which marks
the poet who is n"t merely a versifier, or only a thinker : or to his work .some pra.se
which Dante would have sanetioned."-Specfatoi-, June ^0, IS'*- ti,„ jf„, vri_v,t . ..
^If Professor Shairp thinks otherwise, let him read ' The City of Dreadful Mght.
—AtlimKum July 14, 1877. (Review of. On the PoeHc Interpretation. o/ Nature.)

".taSemelv remarkable poem, of philosophical meaning and symbolic or

SJ^Stn^tiJ^s^r^^^^i^s^^^^

10 sleeves & Turner,

■Wainewright's (Thos. Griffiths) Essays and Criticisms on the
Fine Arts, etc., with a Biography by W. Cabew Hazlitt,
■with a portrait of Helen Frances Phcebe Abercromby, from
the original drawn in chalk by himself. 12mo, cloth. 6S.

"Anecdotes of Wainewright's extraordinary career are common enough ; but
hitherto the literary talent of 'Janus Weathercock,' as the facile magazine writer
was wont to call himself, has been rather a tradition than a fact in evidence. "—
Daily News, March 4, 1S80.

" One of the mostconsummate scoundrels with which society was ever cui-sed. It is-
generally understood that Bulwer Lytton took him and his wife for the models of
' Varney ' and ' Lucretia.' His nam de plume, ' Janus Weathercock,' was characteristic
enough of his lighter nature ; but for something descriptive of the darker side of his
mind, it would be requisite to conceive a compound of Silenus, Cain, and Judas." —
Bvitisli Mail.

Warton's History of English Poetry, from the Twelfth to the
Sixteenth Century, with Price's Preface and Notes Variorum,
a New Edition, with further Notes and Additions by Sir F.
Madden, T. Wright, Esq., Kev. W. W. Skeat, Dr. Richard
Morris, F. J. Furnivall, Esq., and the Editor, copious Indexes-
Four vols., 8vo, ex. cloth. &l lis.

Wilson's French-English and English-French Dictionary, con-
taining full Explanations, Definitions, Synonyms, Idioms,
Proverbs, Terms of Art and Science, and Kules for the Pro-
nunciation of each Language. In one large volume, imperial
8vo, 1323 closely-printed pages. 10s. 6d.

Wonderful Characters : Memoirs and Anecdotes of Remarkable
and Eccentric Persons of every Age and Nation, by Hy. Wil-
son and Jas. Caulfield, with sixty-one full-page engravings.
Crown 8vo, cloth. 6s. 1876

One of the cheapest and most amusing books ever published.
There are so many curious matters discussed in this volume that
any person who takes it up will not readily lay it down. The In-
troductory matter is almost entirely devoted to a consideration of
pig-faced ladies and the various stories concerning them.

'• We cordially recommend the volume as particularly curious and interesting." —
Reliqnmy.

Nearly ready.

Erskine (Lord) Speeches at the Bar {tlie whole of his Speeches a»
in the 5 vol. edition, omitting the Speeches of other Council
and summings-up). 1 vol. 8vo, cloth. 8s. 1880

196, Strand, & 100, Chancery Iiane, W.C. 11

LAW B K S..

PUBLISHED AT THE

LAW DEPARTMENT, 100, CHANCERY LANE,
LONDON, W.C.

Abstracts of Title.— A Handy Book of Exercises on a Series of
Abstracts, of Title to Freehold, Copyhold and Leasehold
Estates and Personalty, with Observatinos and Eequisitions
on each Title, arranged as Exercises for the Use of Law
Students and Articled Clerks ; including the Keal Property
Limitation Act, 1874 (37 & 38 Vict. c. 57), the Eeal Property
(Vendor and Purchaser) Act (37 & 38 Vict. c. 78), and Ob-
servations thereon. By W. H. Comyns. 6s. 1878

Bar and Solicitors' Final Examinations.— Digest of the Ques-
tions set for the last ten years, embracing more than 1,200
different questions, and showing the number of times the same
questions have been asked, and their relative importance.
By Joseph A. Sheaewood, Esq., Barrister-at-Law, first-
class certificate. 5s. ' IS'^^

" This book modest in its price and useful in its nature, ought to find a place on
the l«ksh5i of nearly ever^y student, for the Final. ^'oSif'ZtlofsuSlnS'
Oiiestions and Answers is, in the writer's opinion, a very tad one ; bnt for students,
Ster rSg thTtext-books, to test their knowledge by going through a set of ques-
ti.,S, such a! afose riven by Mr. Shearwood, and by looking up the answers to those
qSSs on wMel^tley Ll any doubt, is a plan which cannot fail to prove bene-
flcial. "—ffjftson's Final auide.

Blackstone (Kerr's).— Commentaries on the Laws of England of
Sir William Blackstone, Knt., formerly one of the Justices
of the Court of Common Pleas. Adapted to the Present
State of the Law by Eobert Malcolm Kerb, LL.D., Judge
of the City of London Court, and one of the Commissioners
of the Central Criminal Court. Fourth Edition. In 4 vols,
demy 8vo, published at £3. (.A few copies can he had at
£1 5g ) Murray, 1876

12 Seeves & Turner,

Building.— A Digest of Building Cases, with Notes, Forms, and
Addendum. By Edward Stanley KoscoE; Barrister-atLaw.
PostSvq. 4s. \ ' 188()

" A more useful Compendium of Law as it affects Architects is not to be purchased."
— Architect.

*' We recommend every architect in practice to obtain a copy of a work that will
save him much anxiety."— JSwiWiHiy News.

" Mr. Hoscoe's subject is one in which practitioners are constantly requiring assist-
ance, and his book is veiy competent to give it."—it'.;y Journ(U,

Conditions of Sale. — The Law and Practice as to Particulars and
Conditions of Sale. With Notes and Forms, &c., &c.
By KioHAED Heney Cole, Esq., A.K.C. Post 8vo, cloth,
3s. 6d. 187»

The forms of Conditions of Sale contained in this work have been
prepared with great care and labour. They are intended principally
for the use of country solicitors, auctioneers, and others concerned
as intending vendors or purchasers of real property. They will
also be found nsef ul to the legal profession and the public generally.

Contract. — Designed as a First Work for Students. By Joseph
A. Sheaewood, B.A., of Lincoln's Inn, Barrister-at-Law,
Author of " Concise Abridgment of Real Property," '' Stu-
dent's Guide to the Bar and Final Examinations," &c. Post
, 8vo. 7s. 6d. 1879

" This is an elementary work, designed merely as a first baud-book for the use of
.students. Its object is to give a sketch of the chief divisions of the law of contract,
so as to prepare a student to peruse with profit other and more exhaustive treatises
npon the same subject. The peculiai- needs of that lai'ge class of law students who
are ' cramming ' for examinations have been carefully eonaidcred and supphed. For
their especial behoof, the cases and points of practice most frequently occurring in
examination papers are inserted in due order, and emphasized by being printed in
conspicuous type. The book gives a correctly drawn outline of the law of contract,
and, as an easy introductioli to a difficult subject, ^e commend it to the numerous
class of readers for whose benefit it was xn'incipally designed." — The Solicitors* Journal.

Gray's Inn. — Notes Illustrative of its History and Antiquities.
Compiled by W. E. DouTHWAiTE, Librarian. 8vo. 5s. 1876

' ' Two of the Inris of Court have been fortunate of late in possessing careful and com-
petent annalists : what Mr. Spilsbury has done so well for Lincoln's Inn, Mr. Douth-
waite here attempts for Gray's lun. He traces the early history of the Inn, then of
the De Grey family and the acquisition of the property by the Society, and then ho
comes to Gray's Inn as an Inn of Court. Many other matters are treated of in
Mr. Douthwaite's interesting little book, which does not even omit a reference to the
rooks about which so much anxiety was recently expressed in the public papers " —
Solicitors' Journal, Sept. 23, 1876.

196, Straad, & 100, Chancery Lane, W.C. 13

Horse Warranty ; or, the Purchase and Sale of Horses, with
Hints as to Methods of Procedure in Cases of Dispute. By
F. H. Lascelles. Post 8vo. 2s. 6d. 1877

This is not intended for a law book, nor will it supply the
place of business habits, or turn a careless deal or bargain into a
satisfactory one ; but it is hoped it will show those who propose to
buy or sell a horse some of the rules or safeguards to be adopted to
avoid litigation, if possible, or to ensure success if litigation must
take place. v ..

Judges of England, from the Conquest to the Present Time
(1066—1870). By Edwaed Poss, F.S.A. 8vo. £1 Is. (A
few Copies to he had for 7s. 6d. J. Murray, 1870

Justice of the Peace. — A Handy Book for Justices of the Peace.
Second edition, containing all the recent alterations under the
Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879. By W. Bridges, Esq.,
Barrister-at-Law (a Devonshire Justice). Post 8vo. 6s.

. , 1879

*' A useful and convenient handybook of the law. It may be presumed that there
are not a few justices who, at any rate on their first appointment, must be ppzzled
with the A B G of the law, and here is a plain, practical help for \X\Qjii."~Saturday
Review, Second Edition. , i '

" Although the author modestly tenders this' volume to the piiblic ' as a preface
to the treatises on Magisterial Law,' we think that it is entitled to take high rank
among the treatises themselves. Those who consult this concise little volume will
find that there is no subject connected with the jurisdiction and duties of magistrates
that is not touched upon ; and that all that is of practical importance is most fully
and ably dealt with. Both the language and the arrangement are admirably clear.
The Summary Jurisdiction Act 1879 ia worked into the text in a particul&,rly able and
workmanlike manner ; and, as an instructive explanation of the proposed working
and effect of that Act, the present work will, perhaps, be found more useful than any
of the numerous text-books and commentaries that l^be Act has called forth. Wliere
the author gives advice to magistrates as to the exercise of disgretionary powers or
as to tile performance of any particular duties, it is always excetlent. ' — Law Tiynes,
April 10, 1880.

Landlord and Tenant. -r-A Concise View of Hhe Law of Landlord
and Tenant, including the Practice in Ejectment Second
Edition. By Joseph Hawoeth Eedman, of the Middle
Temple, Esq., Barrister-at-Law ; Author of " A Concise
Treatise on the Law of Arbitrations and Awards," and " A
Treatise on the Law of Piailway Companies as Carriers," and
Geoege Edwaed Lyon, of the Middle Temple, Esq., Bar-
rister-at-Law ; Author of " A Hand-book of the Law of
Bills of Sale." 10b. 6d. , 1879

14 Reeves & Turner,

Leases. — Precedents of Leases, with Practical Notes. Second
Edition. By John Andrews, B.A. 7s. 6d. ^^78

" In the second edition of this neat little volume many additions have been made.
Notices to quit, and other notices under the Agricultui*al Holdings Act, the Act itseli,
and the Settled Estates Act, 1877, have of course been incoraorated. But the revisaon
of the precedents and of the notes, and the extension, of the latter, are really tne
elements of value. The precedents, on the whole, are well adapted, and the notes
concise and pertinent, and the volume will be found of considerable utility to soli-
citors."— The Law Journal.

Lincoln's Inn. — Its Ancient and Modern Buildings, with, an
Account of the Library. By Wm. Holden Spilsbury,
Librarian. Fcap. 8vo. Second Edition. 3s. 6d. 1873

" Mr. Spilsbury's book, of which the second edition is before us, is a meritorious
work. The descriptions both of the ancient and modem buildings are very graphic,
and without the help of illustrations— there is only one in the book— enable the reader
to, form a vivid conception of the magnificent pile ti»at for architectural effect vies vritli
any building in the metropolis. The Introduction will be appreciated by lay readers
because it gives a succinct account of our legal history, and so leads \ip to the Inns of
Court, of which Lincoln's Inn claims to be the oldest. Aa mighthavebeen expected,
the part of the work devoted to the Library is moat elaborate, and the account of the
rare books testifies to the learning and industry of the author. So excellent, indeed,
is this chapter, that it will give the work a place in the library of every book collector.
We recommend Mr. Spilsbury's book for its general utility and interest ; but we
especially reconunend it to students, and to all who use the Lincohi's Inn Library."—
Law Journal,

Magistrates' Jurisdiction. — Summary and Tutelary under 11 and
12 Vict. c. 43, and 42 and 43 Vict. c. 49, with the Law of
Appeal from the Decisions of Justices, and of Arrest. By
Harry Stanley Giffard, Esq. Second Edition. Post 8vo.
7s. Gd. 1880

" Mr. Harry Stanley Giffard's concise treatise on the Summary and Tutelary
Jurisdiction of Magistrates has entered a second edition, the first being now imperfect
in consequence of the passing of the Summary Jurisdiction Act. This Act is now
embodied in the work, carefully annotated, together with the rules thereunder. The
volume will be found accurate and reliable on the subject of which it ti-eats, aud
a useful, handy guide for magistrates." — Lavj Tirnes.

Married Women's Property. — The History of the Law of England
as to the Effect of Marriage on Property, and on the Legal
Position of the Wife. (Yorke Prize Essay of the University
of Cambridge, 1879.) jBy Courtney S. Kenny, LL.M.,
Fellow of Downing College. 5s. 1879

" To students of history or political science it will be invaluable, and by upholders of
women's rights it should be thoroughly studied. . . Wc recommend it to lawyers
laymen, and ladies, as an interesting as well as highly instractive work."— £«„!
Journal.

" GiTCB much recondite infonnation in a small space. The style is excellent ; occa-
sionally there is a gem of a sentence." — Albany Law Journal (American).

" A clever and interesting essay . . . the result of considerable research, clearly
and concisely expressed." — Solicitors' Journal.

" This learned and scholarlike essay ought to be read by every articled clerk before
going up for his final exammation, it being replete with useful information on a sub
ject in which questions are so frequently asKcd by the examiners, "—ffiiison's ixul
£zamin<ition.

196, Strand, & 100, Chancery Lane, "W.C. 15

Master and Servant. — Practical Compendium of the Law of
Master and Servant in general, and especially of Employers
and Workmen, under the Acts of 1875. With Suggestions
for its Improvement. An Appendix of .Forms, Analytical
Table of Contents, Alphabetical Index, including Keferences
to the principal Labour, Mine, Factory, and Workshop Acts.
By Charles Peteksdoeff, Serjeant-at-Law, &c. 5s. 1876

Mortgages.— Precedents of Mortgages, with Practical Notes. By
John Andrews, B.A. Post 8vo. 7s. 6d. 1879

'•Mr. Andrews is favourably known as the compiler of a volume of Precedents of
Leases. This companion volume is marked by the same care and intelligence as we
observed in the previous work, the notes being in the largest sense practical, and
written in a style which makes thoroughly Intelligible to the mind of a tyro the pre-
cedents to which they are appended. In the work of the conveyancer reliable prece-
dents are an absolute necessity, and Mr. Andrews gives only such as have been settled
by counsel, or have been tested by actual use. They comprise Precedents of Memo-
randums of Equitable Deposits and Agreements, of Mortgages, Miscellaneous Prece-
dents and Forms, Forms of Notices. Stamps are dealt vdth separately, and a part is
devoted to the Trustee Act, 1S50 ; Locke King's, 1854 ; Amendment Act, 1867 ; lYirther
Amendment Act, 1877 (23 and 24 Vict. c. 149), an Act to give trustees, mortgages, and
others certain powers now commonly inserted in settlements, mortgagees and wills
and the Bills of Sale Act, 1878."— iaw limes, June 9, 1879.

Primogeniture. — Two Essays on the Law of Primogeniture. By
C S. Kenny and P. M. Laueence. 8vo, cloth. 7s. 6d.

1878

*' Valuable as examples of calm and scholarliko discu-ssion of a great question which
cannot be divested of a political aspect ; and yet more valuable as examples of the
combination of jural and historical with economic inquiry, and to the nature of the
field of research lying before economists who have the courage to depart from the worn
and narrow a pt-iari road. . . . Mr. Kenny's learning, novelty of treatment, force and
terseness of style. Both essays deserve strong recommendation to students of legal
history and political science." — AtJiemeum.

" Very learned and interesting. . . . Well deserve the attention of students of both
legal history and politics." —Academy.

"So replete with learned information on the subject, that they must henceforth form
a necessary hand-book to ail persons who deal with the topic. " — IVestmimter JRevUzc.

Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division.— Probate Law and
Practice, in Court and out, in Common Form and Contentious
Business (the latter adapted to the recent altered Procedure
under the Judicature Acts), together with copies of Forms to
be used in either branch of Probate Business ; containing
much information of practical value relating to the Eights
and Liabilities of Exeicutors, Administrators and Legacies.
By W. John Dixon, B.A., LL.M., Barrister-at-Law, of the
Inner Temple. Thick 8vo. .£1 Is. 1180

"Mr. Dixon has chosen a subject on which there are few treatises, and these few
treat but meagrely of probate practice in contentious business. A great deal of labour
has evidently been bestowed on the book, and Mr. Dixon deserves credit for the novel
but convenient plan of giving the date of every decision in citing it. There ie much
good material in this book, and its author is a conscientious workman."— iciw Journal.

16 Seeves & Turner.

Shipping and Marine Insurance.— Digest of the Law of Shipping
and Mariile Insurance, with Illustrations. By H. Nbwsox,
LL.D., of the Middle Temple, Barrister-at-Law (Middle
Temple International Law Scholar, Hilary Term, 1877)-
PostSvo. 5s. 1877

" This is a small work which we can conscientiouslyrecommend to all who wi^ili to
get a general idea of the law of shipping. In all points such as collision, average,
hottomry and respondentia bonds, in which we have tested it, the law is clearly and
accurately lafd down: The definitions are very terse and connjlcte, the illustrations, of
which very wisely few are given, are short and to the point. The author, who hafi
adopted the system of dividing his subject into sections, introduced by Mr, Justice
Stephen, has certainly gained great lucidity by it, and the clearness and ease with which
such a work can be understood will be quite refreshing to all who like ourselves are
wearied of the invplvcd language of ordinary legal text books." — Tke Laio Students
Journal, October 1, isro.

Wright's Court-Hand Restored.— The Student's Assistant in
Beading Old Deeds, Charters, Eecords, &c. Neatly engraved
on Twenty-three Copper Plates, describing the Old Law
Hands, with their Contractions and Abbreviations, With an
Appendix containing the Ancient Names of Places in Great
Britain and Ireland ; an Alphabetical Table of Ancient Sur-
names ; and a Glossography of Latin Woi-ds found in the
Works of , the most Eminent Lawyers and other Ancient
Writings, Ijut not in any Modern Dictionaries. A Work not
only useful to remind the Learned, but absolutely necessary
for Young Students, and others, who have occasion to consult
Old Charters, Deeds, or Eecords. By Andrew Weight, of
the Inner Temple. The Ninth Edition, corrected and en-
larged, with Seven New Plates, by Chaeles Teice Maetin,
B.A., E.S.A., of Her Majesty's Public Eecord Office. £l l.s.

1879

"No one can. fail to admire the exquisite style in which the present edition of this
work has toeen prepared. Seven plates, executed by the photo-lithographic process,
have been added as examples of the ordinury handwritings which the student of
records will be likely to meet with in his researches. The first plate contains a fac-
simile of a Saxon Charter, of Domesday-book, and of the two oldest Pipe Rolls of the
Exchequer. The four following plates exhibit specimens of court records from the
end of the twelfth century to the beginning of the seventeenth, and on the other twi >
plates are extracts from the Roll and accounts of various kinds and dates. [For
our part, we can heartily commend the book, and deem it worthy of all praise. It will
be highly appreciated by all students of records ai^ legal antiquaries, and we sincerely
hope that its great merits will be fully recognized."— Zaw Journal.

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