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OLD    TIMES. 


fashions     For  IJ9J 


OLD    TIMES 

a  picture  of  Social  Xife  at  tbe  j£nt>  of 
tbe  jSiobteentb  (Century 


COLLECTED,  AND  ILLUSTRATED  FROM  THE  SATIRICAL 
AND  OTHER  SKETCHES  OF  THE  DA  Y 


BY 


JOHN   ASHTON 

AUTHOR  OF    "SOCIAL   LIFE   IN  THE  REIGN  OF  QUEEN   ANNE* 
ETC.    ETC. 


LONDON 

JOHN   C.   NIMMO 

14,   KING  WILLIAM  STREET,  STRAND,  W.C. 
1885 


PREFACE. 


F  the  period  of  which  this  book  treats,  there  have 
been  political  histories,  and  scurrilous  books 
written  anent  the  Royal  Family,  ad  nauseam  : 
and  the  Diaries  which  have  been  published,  bearing  on 
this  time,  deal  only  with  the  acts,  and  sayings,  of  the 
higher  classes — leaving  the  life  of  the  vastly  greater 
proportion  of  the  population — the  middle  classes — un- 
touched. No  better  source  of  information  as  to  their 
mode  of  living,  their  amusements,  the  tattle,  and  passing 
follies  of  the  times,  can  possibly  be  found,  than  in  the 
Newspapers  of  the  day ;  and  I  selected  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Times,  i  Jan.  1788,  as  the  starting  point  of 
a  picture  of  the  Social  Life  at  the  end  of  the  Eighteenth 
Century. 

The  copies  of  the  Times,  however,  are  very  imperfect, 
— nay,  in  some  years,  totally  missing — until  1793-1794 
— from  which  date  they  are  perfect ;  so  that,  when  any- 
thing noteworthy  occurred,  I  have  drawn  from  another 
source ;  and,  to  establish  the  undoubted  authenticity  of 
each  quotation,  I  have  given  the  title  of  the  Newspaper, 
with  its  date. 


vi  Preface. 

The  daily  Newspapers  of  those  times  were  totally 
different  to  those  to  which  we  are  accustomed.  The 
absence  of  Railways,  Steamships,  and  Electric  Tele- 
graphs, combined  with  a  very  high  rate  of  Postage,  pre- 
vented the  publication  of  all  News,  either  from  foreign  or 
provincial  sources,  except  it  were  of  real  importance  ;  and, 
as  the  daily  sheets  must  be  filled,  it  followed,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  that  a  substitute  was  found  in  detailing  the 
social  life  of  the  Metropolis — and  the  daily  Newspapers, 
which  now  give  us  the  latest  news  from  all  parts  of  the 
globe — had  to  be  filled  with  social  paragraphs,  anecdotal, 
satirical,  or  otherwise.  They  were  as  open  to  correction, 
or  contradiction,  then,  as  now ;  so  that  we  may  put 
trust  in  them ;  and  when  these  paragraphs  are  collected, 
and  somewhat  classified,  they  afford  a  view  of  the  daily 
life  of  the  period,  such  as  is  utterly  unattainable  else- 
where. This  collection  must,  of  necessity,  be  valuable  to 
the  student  of  those  times,  besides  being  of  great  interest 
to  the  general  reader. 

The  difficulty  of  obtaining  contemporary  illustrations, 
fitted  for  this  work,  from  books,  or  pictures,  has  com- 
pelled me  to  draw  freely  on  the  satirical  prints  of  the 
period — which  are  abundant,  and  perfectly  well  suited  to 
the  purpose,  if  the  reader  will  only  bear  in  mind,  that 
they  are  sometimes  a  little  exaggerated.  Still,  on  the 
whole,  they  so  truthfully  represent  the  manners,  costume, 
&c.,  of  the  age,  that  they  could  not  be  omitted ;  and  that 
they  are  faithful  reproductions  of  the  originals,  I  can 
guarantee,  for  I  drew  them  all  myself. 

JOHN  ASHTON. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION    .... 
MEN'S  DRESS       .... 
WOMEN'S  DRESS  .... 
NAVY  AND  ARMY 
SOCIAL  ECONOMY 

GAMING,  ETC 

THE  THEATRE     .        ! 
OPERA  AND  BALLET    ... 
MASQUERADES,  CONCERTS,  ETC.   . 

MONETARY 

LAW  AND  POLICE 

POLITICAL 

ROYALTY       

VARIETIES    . 


I 

51 

69 

80 

114 

166 

187 
204 
215 
233 
243 
280 

293 
297 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


EDMUND  BURKE  ........ 

THE  PRINCE'S  BOW •    »•       • 

TIGHT-LACING,  1788    . 

MACARONIS,  1789 ; 

A  JESSAMY,  1790 

A  CHOICE  SPIRIT — A  BUCK 

A   SMART,    1790  ........ 

A  RAIN-BEAU       ........ 

JIMMY  LINCUM  FEADLE,  1791 

A  SCARAMOUCH  ........ 

APING  THE  FRENCHMAN 

NECK  OR  NOTHING — A  BACK  VIEW  OF  THE  CAPE,  1792 

A  SPENCER  AND  A  THREAD  PAPER,  1792    . 

"A  JEAN  DEBRY"  (MR.  SKEFFINGTON) 

FRENCH  TAILOR  FITTING  JOHN  BULL  WITH  A  "  JEAN 

DEBRY"       

A  COTILLION,  1788 

FASHIONS  FOR  1788 

INDOOR  COSTUMES,  1788    . 

THE  DUCHESS  OF  YORK      .        .        .        7 

THE  DUCHESS   .       ... 


PACK 

16 


53 
54 
54 
55 
56 
56 
56 
57 
57 
63 
66 

66 
69 
69 

70 
70 

70 


x  List  of  Illustrations. 

PAGE 

FRAILTIES  OF   FASHION,    1793        .  7° 

THE   HEIGHT   OF    FASHION,    1793  7° 

THE  TOILETTE,  NO.  I    .  71 

DO.               NO.   2    ,   \       .  71 

DO.               NO.  3    .       l\    .  71 

A   SCARECROW,    1793     .       \\.  71 

"SHEPHERDS!  i  HAVE  LOST  MY  WAIST"  1794    .  72 

FOLLOWING  THE  FASHION,  "  ST.  JAMES'S  GIVING  THE 

TON "  .  .  .  .  73 

FOLLOWING  THE  FASHION,  "  CHEAPSIDE  APING  THE 

MODE "  74 

CROPS            ....  73 

A  LADY  PUTTING  ON  HER  CAP,  1795  .  73 

CHARACTERS  IN  HIGH  LIFE         ...  75 

A  MODERN  BELLE  GOING  TO  THE  ROOMS  OR  BALLS,  1796  75 

WAGGONER'S  FROCK,  OR  NO  BODYS  OF  1795       •  75 

THE  FASHION,  DEC.  1795 76 

FASHIONABLE  MODESTY,  1796      .....  76 

HIGH  CHANGE  IN  BOND  STREET,  1796        ...  76 

FASHIONS  FOR  1797  (SEE  FRONTISPIECE)     ...  78 

MY  POLL,  AND  MY  PARTNER  JOE,  1796  80 
BRITISH  LADIES  PATRIOTIC  PRESENTS  TO  THE  ARMY, 

1793           •  95 

KIDNAPPING,   OR  A  DISGRACE  TO   OLD    ENGLAND  .            .  99 

MODERN   MODE   OF   BEATING   UP   FOR   VOLUNTEERS          .  104 

HEROES   RECRUITING  AT   KELSEY's,    1797        .            .           .  108 

INSTALLATION    SUPPER,    NO.     I 114 

DO.  NO.     2,    SIR    F.    JOHNSTON    AND 

LADY,    LORD   BATHURST,    MAJOR   TOPHAM         .            .  114 
INSTALLATION    SUPPER,  NO.  3,  SIR   GEORGE    YOUNG    AND 

LADY    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .114 

INSTALLATION   SUPPER,    NO.    4,    LORD   AMHERST     .            .  114 

DO.  NO.    5,    LORD     SANDWICH,     DR. 

BRILLAND,    DR.    PAIR     .  .  .  .  .  .114 


List  of  Illustrations.  xi 


PAGE 


THE  ASSESSED   TAXES    TAKING   THEIR   DEPARTURE           .  132 
JOHN    BULL   AND   THE   INCOME   TAX        .            .            .            -133 

A   PRETTY   BAR   MAID 135 

A  LADY  AT  A   CARD   PARTY  WHO  DOES  NOT  PLAY,  1788  166 

GAMBLING,   1792 166 

A    KICK   UP   AT    A   HAZARD   TABLE,    NO.    I,    1790   .            .  167 

DO.                                     NO.    ?,    1790    .            .  167 

MODERN  HOSPITALITY 1 68 

DIVIDING  THE  SPOIL,  ST.  JAMES'S,  1796      .        .        .  177 

DO.  ST.  GILES'S,  1796      .        .        .  177 

FARO'S  DAUGHTERS 177 

DISCIPLINE  A  LA  KENYON,  1797          .        .        .        .179 

THE  THEATRE 187 

MACKLIN  AS  "  SHYLOCK  " — HOLMAN  AS  "RICHARD"    .  190 

POPE  AS  "HOTSPUR" — JOHNSTONE  AS  "APOLLO"        .  190 

QUICK  AS  "SCRUB" — RYDER  AS  "FALSTAFF"      .        .  190 

KEMBLE  AS  "  HAMLET  " — KEMBLE  AS  "LEAR"    .        .  190 

MRS.  BELLAMY — MRS.  ABINGTON  AS  "LAPPET"   .        .  190 
MRS.  SIDDONS  AS  "ANDROMACHE" — MRS.  JORDAN  AS 

"VIOLA"     .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .190 

MRS.    BILLINGTON   AS   "  ROSETTA " — MRS.    MARTYR   AS 

"EUPHROSYNE"       .        .        .        .        .        .190 

MISS  BRUNTON  AS  "  JULIET  " — MISS  FIELD  AS  "ARIEL"  190 

AT  THE  OPERA — AT  CHURCH 204 

THE  CELEBRATED  MADEMOISELLE  G — M — RD       .        .  211 

BALLET  AT  THE  KING'S  THEATRE — PANTHEON,  1791    .  211 
THE  OPERATICAL  FINALE  TO  THE  BALLET  OF  "  ALONZO 

E  CARO" .212 

MDLLE  PARISOT 213 

DURHAM  MUSTARD  TOO  POWERFUL  FOR  ITALIAN  CAPERS, 

1798  .  ...  213 

ECCLESIASTICAL  SCRUTINY,  OR,  THE  DURHAM  INQUEST 

ON  DUTY,  1798  .  214 

MADAME  CORNELYS  .  .  .  .  .  .217 


xii  List  of  Illustrations. 

PAGE 

THE   FEMALE   COTERIE  .  .  .  .  .  .221 

A    COUNTRY    CONCERT,    OR    AN    EVENING'S    ENTERTAIN- 
MENT  IN   SUSSEX        .  .  .  .  .  .225 

SAVOYARDS   OF   FASHION,    1799 226 

SEEN  HOME  BY  THE  WATCH,  1792  ....  243 
THE  MONSTER  CUTTING  A  LADY,  1790  .  .  .248 

RENWICK  WILLIAMS,    1790 256 

PROTECTION  FROM  THE  MONSTER  ....  258 
BOXING  MADE  EASY,  OR  HUMPHREYS  GIVING  A  LESSON, 

1788 274 

JEFFREY  DUNSTAN — ORDINARY  COSTUME  .  .  .292 
SIR  JEFFREY  DUNSTAN — COURT  DRESS  .  .  .293 
TREATMENT  OF  LUNATICS 298 


Memorandum. — For  binders  pzirposes  some  of  the  illustrations  will  not  be 
found  on  the  pages  named,  but  a  few  pages  further  on. 


OLD    TIMES. 


LTHOUGH  this  book  does  not  pretend  to  be  a 
history  of  the  times  of  which  it  treats,  still,  it 
will  materially  help  the  reader,  if,  at  the  out- 
set, some  of  the  principal  events  which  occurred  during 
the  period  are  succinctly  narrated. 

We  start  with  the  year  1788 — and  one  of  the  first 
items  of  importance  is  the  founding  of  the  colony  of 
New  South  Wales  ;  for  Captain  Phillips,  on  28th  January, 
landed  the  first  batch  of  convicts,  consisting  of  561  men, 
192  women,  and  18  children,  also  a  military  force  of  212 
men.  As  soon  as  they  were  all  on  shore,  Phillips 
ordered  the  King's  Commission  to  be  read,  and  assumed 
the  office  of  Governor.  Such  was  the  modest  foundation 
of  our  great  Australian  Empire.  On  the  same  day  at 
home,  Lord  George  Gordon,  of  Protestant  rioting 
memory,  was  brought  before  the  judges  of  the  King's 
Bench,  to  receive  sentence  on  two  libels,  one  against  the 
Queen  of  France,  and  another  on  the  criminal  justice  of 
the  country.  His  sentence  for  the  former,  was  three 
years'  imprisonment,  for  the  latter,  two  years,  to  pay  a 


2  Old  Times.  [1788. 

fine  of  £500,  and  find  security  for  his  good  behaviour  for 
fourteen  years.  He  fled  to  Holland,  was  arrested,  brought 
back,  and  lodged  in  Newgate.  He  did  not  live  to  regain 
his  liberty,  but  death  set  him  free  1st  November  1793. 

An  all-absorbing  topic  of  conversation  in  this  year 
was  the  trial  of  Warren  Hastings,  for  his  conduct  whilst 
Governor-General  of  Bengal.  The  trial  commenced  on 
the  1 3th  of  February,  and  it  took  place  in  Westminster 
Hall,  which  was  fitted  up  with  a  throne  and  canopy, 
having  the  woolsack  for  the  Lord  Chancellor  in  front. 
On  either  side  the  throne  was  a  private  box,  one  for 
the  use  of  the  King,  the  other  for  the  Queen  :  the  King 
never  used  either  throne  or  box,  but,  when  he  went 
to  the  trial,  he  went  incognito. 

There  were  seats  covered  with  green  baize  for  the 
accommodation  of  members  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
but  all  the  rest  of  the  hall  was  glowing  with  red  baize. 
Boxes  were  also  provided  for  the  Ambassadors  and  Corps 
Diplomatique.  The  grand  show  commenced  at  eleven  A.M. 
with  the  entrance  of  the  committee  appointed  to  manage  the 
impeachment,  all  of  them  in  full  dress,  followed  by  Burke, 
who  headed  the  members  of  the  House  of  Commons. 

Hardly  had  they  taken  their  seats  when  a  buzz  of 
excitement  filled  the  hall,  for  no  one  less  than  the  Queen, 
attended  by  all  her  daughters,  entered.  She  did  not  go 
to  the  royal  box,  but  sat  in  part  of  the  Duke  of  New- 
castle's Gallery.  This  attracted  the  attention  of  all, 
until  the  coming  in  of  the  peers,  including  the  judges, 
and  the  Bishops,  the  string  of  Dukes  being  closed  by 
the  Prince  of  Wales  (as  Duke  of  Cornwall),  and  the 
Dukes  of  York,  Gloucester,  and  Cumberland.  Lord 
Thurlow,  the  Lord  Chancellor,  came  last.  The  peers 
all  wore  their  robes  and  collars,  the  robes  of  the  royal 


1788.] 


Old  Times. 


dukes  being  borne  by  pages.  Then  the  Chancellor's 
mace-bearer  cried  "  Oyez,  Oyez,  Oyez,"  and  notified  to 
all,  that  Warren  Hastings  had  come  to  take  his  trial,  and 
that  his  accusers  might  come  forth  and  make  good  their 
charges  against  him.  The  Lord  Chancellor  addressed 
the  prisoner,  and  told  him  to  be  prepared  with  his 
defence,  to  which  Hastings  replied,  "  My  Lords,  I  am 
come  to  this  high  tribunal  equally  impressed  with  a  con- 
fidence in  my  own  integrity  and  in  the  justice  of  the 
court  before  which  I  stand."  As  this  trial  will  not 
again  be  mentioned,  I  may  state  the  fact,  that  it  lasted 
seven  years  and  three  months,  and  ended  in  his  acquittal, 
1 7th  April  1795. 

Another  remarkable  event  happened  in  this  year,  for 
on  3 1st  January  there  died  at  Rome,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
seven,  the  young  Pretender,  Prince  Charles  Edward 
Louis  Casimir  Stuart,  grandson  of  James  II. ;  and,  with 
him,  died  all  hope  for  the  Jacobite  party,  for  he  left 
behind  him  but  one  natural  daughter,  on  whom  he  con- 
ferred the  empty  title  of  Duchess  of  Albany.  It  is  true 
that  he  left  his  pretensions  to  the  throne  of  England  to  his 
brother,  Cardinal  York,  but  all  this  Prince  did  to  claim 
regal  honours  was  to  strike  a  medal,  on  which  he  styled 
himself  Henry  the  IXth.  He  knew  there  was  no  use 
in  continuing  the  struggle,  so  accepted  a  pension  from 
George  III.,  which  was  paid  him  until  his  death. 

There  is  little  worth  chronicling  until  we  come  to  the 
(to  Englishmen)  most  painful  event  of  the  year,  namely, 
the  King's  illness.  In  July  his  physicians  remarked 
symptoms  in  him  which  gave  them  grave  concern,  but  he 
visited  Cheltenham,  and  improved  in  his  health.  In 
October,  however,  rumours  began  to  get  about  that  all 
was  not  well.  The  Morning  Post  of  3Oth  October 


4  Old  Times.  [1788-9. 

mentions  that  "  On  28th  His  Majesty  complained  of  a 
pain  in  his  bowels,  and  by  the  advice  of  his  physicians, 
and  the  rest  of  His  Majesty's  attendants,  he  is  not 
expected  to  leave  Windsor  for  the  course  of  a  week  or  a 
fortnight."  Next  day  we  hear  that  "  the  chief  symptom 
is  said  to  be  a  swelling  in  the  legs."  Then  news  is 
brought,  that  on  the  4th  November  he  had  a  relapse ;  on 
the  7th  he  is  reported  better,  though,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
he  was  delirious  at  dinner  on  the  5th.  On  the  9th  they 
say  he  is  better;  on  the  loth  he  is  MUCH  BETTER,  and 

HOPES  ARE  ENTERTAINED  OF  HIS  RECOVERY.       The   bulletins 

of  the  I  ith  are  vague ;  that  of  the  I2th  reports  that  he  "  was 
not  better,"  and  the  newspapers  of  the  I3th  openly  speak 
of  a  Regency.  In  the  Morning  Post  of  November  I4th 
it  plainly  states  that  "  his  mental  faculties  were  more 
deranged."  Then  his  physicians  quarrelled  amongst  them- 
selves as  to  his  treatment,  and  wrote  daily  contradictory 
bulletins,  until  Dr.  Willis  took  his  patient  under  his  sole 
charge,  with  good  effect.  And  so  ends  1788. 

1789  opens  with  a  great  frost,  one  of  the  heaviest  on 
record.  It  commenced  on  the  24th  November  1788,  and 
continued,  with  one  intermission  (from  December  24th 
to  December  26th)  until  I3th  January  1789.  On  loth 
January  the  Thames  at  Irongate — which  is  below  London 
Bridge,  by  the  Tower,  was  frozen  over,  and  several 
booths  were  erected  on  the  ice.  The  day  previously  an 
ox  was  roasted  whole,  and  eagerly  bought  by  the  people 
who  were  skating  and  sliding.  The  Annual  Register 
thus  describes  the  sight : — "  The  scene  on  the  Thames 
is  very  entertaining;  from  Putney  Bridge  upwards,  the 
river  is  completely  frozen  over,  and  people  walk  to  and 
from  the  different  villages  on  the  face  of  the  deep. 


1789-]  Old  Times.  5 

Opposite  to  Windsor  Street  booths  have  been  erected 
since  Friday  last,  and  a  fair  is  kept  on  the  river.  Multi- 
tudes of  people  are  continually  passing  and  repassing ; 
puppet  shows,  roundabouts,  and  all  the  various  amuse- 
ments of  Bartholomew  Fair  are  exhibited.  In  short, 
Putney  and  Fulham,  from  the  morning  dawn  till  the 
dusk  of  returning  evening,  is  a  scene  of  festivity  and 
gaiety.  On  the  I2th  a  young  bear  was  baited  on  the 
ice,  opposite  to  Redriffe  (Rotherhithe),  which  drew  multi- 
tudes, and  fortunately  no  accident  happened  to  interrupt 
their  sport."  The  outward-bound  vessels  at  Deptford 
and  Gravesend  cleared  out  with  all  despatch,  lest  they 
should  be  caught  in  the  ice  and  detained  or  damaged. 

The  usual  royal  gift  of  £1000  to  the  poor  of  London 
was  this  year  not  forthcoming,  so  the  Prince  of  Wales 
ordered  that  sum  to  be  given  from  his  own  treasury. 
He  also  sent  large  sums  to  the  poor  of  Edinburgh  and 
Brighton. 

A  Bill  to  make  the  Prince  of  Wales  Regent  had  been 
introduced  in  both  Houses  of  Parliament  at  the  latter  end 
of  1788,  but  was  negatived  in  each;  in  the  Commons  by 
251  to  178.  There  had  been  great  squabbling  over  this 
Bill,  especially  between  the  rival  leaders,  Fox  and  Pitt ; 
the  former  asserting  that  the  Prince  of  Wales  had  an 
absolute  right  to  succeed  to  the  Regency,  and  the  latter 
would  only  admit  that  he  had  an  irresistible  claim. 

But  the  King  did  not  get  better,  and  something  must 
be  done,  yet  it  was  not  thought  fit  to  invest  the  Prince 
of  Wales  with  altogether  regal  powers  :  there  must  be 
some  limitation.  Therefore  Pitt  wrote  to  His  Royal 
Highness,  detailing  the  plan  intended  to  be  pursued, 
which  was,  that  the  Queen  should  have  the  care  of  the 
King's  person,  and  the  disposition  of  the  royal  house- 


6  Old  Times.  [1789- 

hold,  by  which  means  she  would  enjoy  the  patronage  of 
400  places,  'amongst  which  were  the  offices  of  Lord 
Steward,  Lord  Chamberlain,  and  Master  of  the  Horse  : 
but  the  Prince  should  have  no  power  of  granting  any 
office,  reversion,  or  pension,  for  any  other  term  than 
during  the  King's  pleasure,  nor  might  he  confer  any 
peerage. 

This,  no  doubt,  was  prudent,  but  was  extremely  dis- 
tasteful to  the  Prince,  who  wrote  a  dignified  remonstrance 
to  Pitt,  at  the  end  of  which,  however,  he  consented  to 
accept  the  terms,  being  convinced  of  the  evils  which 
might  arise  were  there  no  Regency.  Fifty-five  peers, 
together  with  the  Dukes  of  York  and  Cumberland,  signed 
a  protest  against  the  limitations,  but  the  Commons  cared 
but  little  for  it.  They  went  on  with  their  work,  and, 
on  the  1 2th  February,  sent  up  the  Bill  to  their  Lordships 
for  consideration ;  and  they  were  debating  it  when  the 
proverb  of  "  There's  many  a  slip  'twixt  the  cup  and  the 
lip"  was  fulfilled.  On  the  I9th  February  the  Lord 
Chancellor  announced  to  the  House  that  the  physicians 
reported  that  the  King  was  rapidly  recovering  from  his 
malady.  On  this  the  House  adjourned,  and  practically 
no  work  was  done,  either  by  Lords  or  Commons,  for 
three  weeks. 

On  27th  February  the  prayer  for  his  recovery  was 
discontinued,  and,  in  its  stead,  a  form  of  prayer,  and 
thanksgiving  for  his  restoration  to  health,  was  ordered 
to  be  read  in  all  churches  and  chapels  throughout 
England  and  Wales.  So  completely  had  he  recovered, 
that  he  ordered  Parliament  to  be  opened  by  Commission, 
which  was  done  on  loth  March.  The  23rd  April  was 
appointed  for  a  general  thanksgiving,  and  his  Majesty, 
accompanied  by  the  Queen  and  the  Royal  Family,  went 


1789-]  Old  Times.  7 

# 
in  solemn  state  to  Saint  Paul's,  to  render  thanks  to  the 

Almighty  for, His  great  mercy. 

The  following  account  is  much  condensed  from  the 
report  in  the  Morning  Post  of  24th  April  1789  : — "  They 
started  early,  for,  precisely  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, the  first  carriage  that  led  the  procession  reached 
St.  Clement's  Church  in  the  Strand.  After  the  usual 
state  pioneers,  came  the  members  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, followed  by  the  peers  according  to  their  several 
degrees,  then  the  Archbishops,  and  the  princes  of  the 
blood  royal,  after  whom  came  the  Prince  of  Wales,  whose 
equipage  outshone  all  others.  Their  Majesties'  House- 
hold came  next,  and  lastly  their  Majesties  themselves. 

"  The  Queen  seemed  inexpressibly  happy  :  the  loud 
huzzas,  which  from  every  quarter  rent  the  air,  testified 
to  her,  that  he  who  was  dearest  to  her  was  dearest  to  the 
people. 

"The  King,  as  if  impressed  by  the  weight  of  the 
obligation  which  he  owed  to  Heaven  for  his  recovery, 
and  full  of  the  religious  solemnity  with  which  he  was 
going,  publicly,  to  acknowledge  that  obligation  to  the 
Almighty,  seemed  to  be  unusually  grave  and  silent ;  and 
behaved,  at  this  first  appearance  in  public  since  his 
recovery,  in  a  manner  which  filled  the  spectators  with 
reverence  and  awe. 

"  His  Majesty  appeared  to  be  much  reduced  in  point  of 
size,  but  he  looked  as  if  in  perfect  health." 

It  was  a  quarter-past  three  when  the  procession,  on 
its  return,  reached  Temple  Bar,  and  it  was  noted  that 
the  King  looked  more  cheerful,  whilst  the  Queen  was 
in  high  spirits. 

London  was,  of  course,  brilliantly  illuminated  at 
night. 


8  Old  Times.  [1789-90- 

This  is  the  principal  event  of  the  year,  and  with  it 
we  will  close  1789. 

As  far  as  England,  and  its  social  economy,  is  con- 
cerned, 1790  is  very  barren.  In  France,  there  was 
the  commencement  of  that  dreadful  revolution  which 
terrorised  all  Europe,  yet  strangely  enough  all  allusion 
to  France  was  omitted  in  the  Royal  Speeches  to  Parlia- 
ment, either  on  2 1st  January  or  26th  November. 

The  navy  sadly  wanted  manning,  so  much  so  that  a 
proclamation  was  issued  for  encouraging  seamen,  and 
landsmen,  to  enter  themselves  on  board  His  Majesty's 
ships  of  war;  that  officers  on  foreign  stations  should 
join  their  respective  corps,  and  recalling,  and  prohibiting 
seamen  from  serving  foreign  princes,  and  states.  This 
was  all  very  well,  for  the  fleet  was  in  urgent  need  of 
men,  owing  to  the  number  of  ships  being  put  in  com- 
mission, and  ordered  to  be  got  ready  for  sea  with  the 
greatest  expedition  :  for  instance — 
At  Deptford,  3  ; 

„   Woolwich,  3 ; 

„   Chatham,  3  ; 

„  Sheerness,  3  ; 

„   Portsmouth,  10  (one  100,  and  another  98  guns)  ; 

„   Plymouth,  7  (one  100  another  80  guns) ; 
besides  others  which  were  expected  to  be  commissioned 
in  a  few  days, 

Ordinary  means  were  not  sufficient  to  provide  men, 
and  resort  was  made  to  impressment,  a  mode  of  obtain- 
ing seamen  which  is  of  ancient  practice.  In  1378  a 
statute  of  2  Richard  II.  speaks  of  it  as  being  well 
known,  and  so  it  must  have  been,  for  the  first  commis- 
sion for  its  use  was  issued  29  Edward  III.,  1355.  In 


I79Q-]  Old  Times.  9 

1641,  Parliament  declared  the  practice  illegal,  either  for 
the  land  or  sea  service ;  but  this  has  always  been 
ignored  when  the  necessity  for  seamen  arose.  It  has 
been  regulated  by  Parliament  even  so  lately  as  1835, 
when,  by  the  statute  5  and  6  William  IV.,  compulsory 
service  is  restricted  to  five  years. 

How  should  we  feel  if  some  day,  in  reading  our 
morning  paper,  we  should  come  across  such  a  passage 
as  the  following  : — "  A  very  hot  press  took  place  in  the 
river  Thames,  and  at  all  the  outports  "  ? — Would  you  like 
to  know  what  a  "  hot  press  "  means  ? — then  learn  from 
the  following  excerpts  from  the  St.  James's  Chronicle, 
May  4-6,  1790  : — 

"  The  report  of  the  number  pressed  in  the  river  on 
Tuesday  night  was  delivered  to  the  Lords  of  the 
Admiralty  yesterday  morning,  which  amounted  to  about 
1500  taken  in  Wapping,  and  in  Southwark,  &c.,  more 
than  600 ;  amounting  in  the  whole  to  upwards  of  2100 
men,  besides  those  at  the  different  seaport  towns,  re- 
ports of  which  were  not  received." 

"  Four  tenders  went  down  the  river  yesterday  morn- 
ing, crowded  with  impressed  men,  to  be  shipped  on 
board  a  vessel  of  war  lying  in  Long-reach,  ready  to  re- 
ceive them.  The  same  tenders  were  expected  up  again 
with  the  return  of  the  tide,  upon  the  same  errand." 
f  Extract  of  a  letter  from  Chatham,  May  5. — "Yesterday 
morning,  between  six  and  seven  o'clock,  an  express 
arrived  from  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty  to  Commodore 
Pasley,  at  this  port,  containing  impress  warrants  :  accord- 
ingly, a  great  press  commenced  about  twelve  o'clock 
last  night,  both  in  this  town,  Rochester,  &c.  &c.,  and  on 
the  river  Medway,  when  many  persons  were  taken,  four 
of  whom  were  lodged  in  the  guardhouse  in  the  yard,  and 


10 


Old  Times.  [1790-1. 


this  morning  sent  on  board  the  '  Scipio,'  of  64  guns, 
lying  as  guardship  at  this  port,  and  commanded  by 
Commodore  Pasley.  A  great  press  likewise  commenced 
last  night  at  Sheerness." 

"In  consequence  of  the  press  warrants,  stocks  felt  a 
most  extraordinary  depression  yesterday ;  the  Consols 
opened  at  76,  and  fluctuated  from  that  price  to  75^-  until 
very  nearly  three  o'clock." 

This  then,  was  a  "hot  press" — but  very  little  was 
ever  said  about  it,  except  a  passing  notice.  The  im- 
pressed men  themselves  accepted  their  fate  as  inevi- 
table, and,  according  to  the  testimony  of  an  old  seaman 
whom  I  once  knew  (himself  a  pressed  man),  he  assured 
me  that,  after  the  first  shock  was  over,  they  set  to  work 
with  a  will,  and  did  their  duty  as  well  as  the  volunteers. 
There  were  supposed  to  be  exceptions,  such  as  appren- 
tices, who  were  exempt,  but  I  fear,  when  once  in  the 
hands  of  the  pressgang,  it  was  a  very  poor  chance  of 
any  one's  getting  off. 

A  social  note  worthy  of  being  recorded,  in  this  year, 
was  that  a  man  named  John  Frith,  lieutenant  of  the 
second  battalion  of  Royals,  threw  a  stone  at  His  Majesty's 
coach.  He  seems  to  have  done  no  harm,  and  was  evi- 
dently a  lunatic,  for  no  one  in  their  senses  would  have 
endeavoured  to  injure  a  king  who  was  just  then  in  the 
zenith  of  his  popularity.  That  he  was  insane  the  jury 
thought,  for,  on  his  trial  for  high  treason  on  2ist  May, 
he  was  acquitted  as  being  of  unsound  mind,  but  he  was 
put  under  safe  watch  and  ward  in  Newgate,  and  only 
liberated  on  nth  December  1791,  on  bail  being  given  to 
take  proper  care  of  him. 

The  year  1791  is  remarkable  for  its  uneventfulness, 


i79i-]  Old  Times.  i  r 

nothing  of  national  importance  occurring  during  the  twelve- 
month. Impressment  still  went  on,  as  we  see  by  the 
St.  James's  Chronicle,  April  16-19. — "  Friday  night  the 
press  in  the  Thames,  and  on  both  sides  the  river,  was 
the  warmest  that  has  been  at  all  since  press  warrants 
were  last  issued.  No  fewer  than  eleven  gallies  were  row- 
ing about  between  London  Bridge  and  Deptford.  Every 
one  of  His  Majesty's  frigates  and  sloops  on  Channel  ser- 
vice, as  well  as  those  in  the  North  Sea  and  on  the  Irish 
coast,  have  received  orders  to  proceed  upon  the  impress 
service.  The  smaller  vessels,  as  soon  as  they  have  pro- 
cured forty  seamen  each,  are  to  deliver  them  over  to  the 
receiving  ships  at  Spithead  and  the  Nore." 

In  1787  a  society  was  formed  in  England  having  for 
its  object  the  suppression  of  slavery,  under  the  auspices 
of  Granville  Sharpe,  Clarkson,  and  others,  and  Mr.  Wil- 
berforce  (by  whose  untiring  efforts  its  downfall  was  at 
last  obtained)  joined  it.  On  the  i8th  April  1791,  the 
House  of  Commons  resolved  itself  into  a  committee  "  to 
consider  of  the  African  slave  trade."  Wilberforce  made 
an  eloquent  speech,  in  which  he  depicted  the  horrors  of 
the  trade.  Among  other  barbarities  he  mentioned  the 
whipping,  and  holding  red-hot  coals,  to  the  mouths  of 
those  (in  order  to  compel  them  to  eat)  who  were 
desirous  of  putting  an  end  to  their  existence,  by  starving 
themselves  to  death ;  and,  to  prove  the  preference  given 
by  those  unhappy  creatures  of  death  to  slavery,  he  quoted 
part  of  the  evidence,  which  told  how  they  took  every 
opportunity  of  leaping  overboard,  and  that,  in  the  agonies 
of  death,  when  drowning,  they  would  hold  up  their  hands 
for  joy  in  having  escaped  from  their  tormentors. 

He  mentioned  many  cruelties  which  had  passed 
unpunished,  and  particularly  one,  which  was  committed 


12  Old  Times.  [1791-2- 

by  a  master  upon  his  female  slave,  a  girl  about  six 
years  old,  by  cutting  her  mouth  from  ear  to  ear;  he 
showed  how  injurious  the  slave  trade  was  to  our  mer- 
cantile navy,  quoting  from  the  muster  rolls  of  Liverpool 
and  Bristol,  that  in  one  year,  out  of  12,263  seamen 
employed  in  the  slave  trade,  2643  had  died. 

After  many  other  arguments,  he  concluded  with  a 
motion,  "That  the  Chairman  be  directed  to  move  for 
leave  to  bring  in  a  Bill  for  preventing  the  further  impor- 
tation of  African  negroes  into  the  British  colonies  and 
plantations." 

The  debate  was  continued,  and  adjourned  until  the 
next  day — when  the  battle  pro  slavery  or  its  abolition 
waxed  fierce ;  but  when  it  came  to  a  decision,  the 
numbers  were — for  the  motion,  88;  against,  163 — majority 
against  the  abolition,  75. 

1792  opened,  as  we  would  fain  have  our  financial 
years  open  now-a-days,  with  an  increase  of  revenue  over 
the  preceding  year  of  £300,000,  and  a  surplus  of  more 
than  £900,000,  besides  paying  the  annual  million  in 
reduction  of  the  national  debt.  Pitt  repealed  £200,000 
of  burdensome  taxes,  added  £400,000  to  the  million  to 
extinguish  the  debt,  and  discreetly  kept  the  balance  in 
hand  for  eventualities.  Trade  had  vastly  increased,  as 
we  may  see  from  the  following  figures  : — In  1783  the 
exports  were  valued  at  £14,741,000;  and,  in  1791,  they 
had  risen  to  £20,120,000. 

On  2nd  April,  the  House  of  Commons  being  in  Com- 
mittee, Mr.  Wilberforce  again  brought  forward  the 
question  of  the  slave  trade,  and,  after  an  eloquent 
speech,  wound  up  with  the  motion  : — "  That  it  is  the 
opinion  of  the  Committee,  that  the  trade  carried  on  by 


1 792.]  Old  Times.  13 

British  subjects,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  slaves  from 
Africa,  ought  to  be  abolished."  After  a  debate,  Mr.  Secre- 
tary Dundas  moved  as  an  amendment,  to  insert  the  word 
"gradually1'  immediately  before  the  word  "abolished." 

This  was  carried  by  a  majority  of  68,  and  the  motion, 
so  altered,  being  put,  the  numbers  were — Ayes,  230 ; 
Noes,  85 — majority  for  the  motion,  145.  The  Chairman 
was  then  ordered  to  move  the  House  for  leave  to  bring 
in  a  Bill,  pursuant  to  the  said  resolution. 

England  could  not  but  be  affected  by  the  French 
Revolution.  At  the  commencement  of  the  movement 
there  was  some  sympathy  shown  by  the  Whigs  to  a 
people  who  were  struggling  to  free  themselves  from  the 
trammels  of  despotism,  but  that  sympathy  rapidly  grew 
cold,  and  faded,  on  witnessing  the  excesses  committed 
by  the  people  of  Paris,  and  some  other  large  cities, 
until  the  capture,  and  imprisonment  of  the  Royal  family, 
turned  it  to  absolute  loathing,  and  hatred. 

There  was  great  uneasiness  throughout  the  country 
as  to  whether  the  tide  of  anarchy  might  not  reach  us, 
especially  as  numbers  of  fugitives  were  daily  reaching 
our  shores.  Take,  for  example,  two  instances  quoted  in 
the  Annual  Register,  both  of  the  date  I2th  September  : — 

"Southampton, — One  Ayland,  a  fisherman  of  Hamble, 
a  village  about  seven  miles  from  Southampton,  was 
fishing  for  lobsters  on  the  coast  of  France  on  Thursday 
last,  and  had  taken  in  about  half  his  cargo,  when  he 
espied  two  boats  full  of  men,  seemingly  in  great  dis- 
tress ;  on  which  he  bore  down,  and  received  them  on 
board.  They  had  swam  to  their  boats  to  get  away 
from  the  coast,  and  many  of  them  were  much  bruised 
and  pelted  with  stones  by  others  on  shore.  They 
begged  the  fisherman  to  land  them  somewhere  in 


14  Old  Times.  [1792. 

England,  to  prevent  their  being  murdered;  which  he 
promised  to  do,  and  offered  them  subsistence  till  he 
had  completed  his  lading.  They  represented  the  danger 
of  being  intercepted,  if  he  did  not  immediately  proceed 
to  sea,  and  offered  him  any  sum  he  should  ask,  to  land 
them  as  soon  as  possible.  He  waived  his  own  interest, 
set  sail,  and  landed  them  at  the  above  village ;  but  with 
a  spirit  of  humanity,  which  does  honour  to  human 
nature,  he  absolutely  refused  any  reward  whatever, 
although  he  had  not  completed  his  fishing,  which  is 
the  maintenance  of  his  family." 

"  Lewes. — Upwards  of  500  unfortunate  emigrants 
were,  last  week,  landed  on  our  coast,  who  have  had  the 
fury  of  the  elements  to  contend  with,  after  escaping 
that  of  their  countrymen.  The  Brighton  packets, 
heavily  laden  with  them,  were  driven  by  the  winds 
far  eastward  off  their  usual  track,  and  with  difficulty 
made  Hastings,  Pevensey,  and  Eastbourne.  At  the 
former  place,  on  Wednesday  morning,  76,  all  ecclesi- 
astics, came  on  shore,  among  whom  were  the  Bishop 
of  Auvranches,  the  Dean  of  Rouen,  and  several  other 
dignitaries.  The  Bishop  with  great  difficulty  escaped 
from  Auvranches  by  the  assistance  of  one  of  his  grand 
vicars,  who,  with  domestics,  accompanied  him  to  Rouen, 
where  they  were  for  some  days  concealed.  The  popu- 
lace having  again  discovered  them,  they  were  again 
obliged  to  travel  on  foot,  in  disguise,  to  Dieppe.  They 
arrived  in  the  night,  took  refuge  a  few  hours  in  an 
hotel;  and,  at  the  time  appointed  for  the  departure  of 
the  packet,  ran  to  the  sea  side,  and,  it  providentially 
being  high  water,  were  enabled  to  get  out  of  reach  of 
the  rabble,  who,  in  one  minute  after,  pursued  them  to 
the  shore." 


I792-]  Old  Times.  15 

Take  again  an  extract  or  two  from  the  St.  James's 
Chronicle  of  Il-I3th  September  1792.  "  Between  day- 
break and  eight  o'clock  yesterday  morning,  thirteen 
broad-wheeled  waggons,  crowded  with  French  emigrants, 
passed  through  the  Borough.  During  the  night,  and 
the  whole  of  yesterday  forenoon,  waggons,  carts,  and 
chaises,  and  carriages  of  almost  every  other  description, 
continued  arriving  in  town  with  emigrants,  by  way  of 
Westminster,  Blackfriars,  and  London  Bridges." 

"  It  is  a  known  fact,  that  upwards  of  forty  thousand 
French  men,  women,  and  children,  are  at  this  moment 
in  England  :  two-thirds  of  them  of  the  lowest  class,  who, 
taking  advantage  of  the  convulsed  state  of  their  native 
country,  come  over  under  the  plausible  title  of  exiled 
aristocrats" 

"There  are  three  powerful  reasons  why  the  very 
great  number  of  arrivals  here  from  France  should  excite 
the  immediate  attention  of  Government.  One,  that  it 
may  occasion  a  rapid  rise  in  the  price  of  provisions, 
already  at  a  height  that  occasions  much  complaint  among 
the  lower  orders  of  people.  Second,  lest  under  the 
appellation  of  fugitives,  a  multitude  of  insidious  and  evil- 
designing  persons  should  intrude  themselves,  with  the 
intention  of  raising  similar  disturbances  in  this  kingdom. 
Third,  lest  it  should  be  the  means  of  introducing  a  great 
number  of  rascals,  thieves,  and  villains,  who  are  always 
cowards,  and  cannot  have  principle  enough  to  take  any 
side ;  these,  therefore,  are  the  first  to  run.  An  inunda- 
tion of  them,  added  to  the  bad  among  our  own  people, 
might  not  only  render  private  property  very  precarious, 
but  even  prove  dangerous  to  the  state." 

The  Government  was  fully  alive  to  this  great  influx 
of  Frenchmen,  and  the  possible  effect  it  might  have  on 


1 6  Old  Times.  [1792. 

the  people  of  England ;  so  they  introduced,  and  passed, 
the  "  Act  for  establishing  Regulations  respecting  Aliens 
arriving  in  this  kingdom,  or  resident  therein,  in  certain 
cases,"  33  Geo.  III.  cap.  4.  After  the  preamble,  the 
gist  of  which  has  been  given,  this  Act  enacts  that  all 
masters  of  vessels  are  to  give  to  the  officer  of  the 
Custom,  at  the  port  of  arrival,  a  written  declaration 
specifying  the  names,  &c.,  of  foreigners  on  board.  All 
aliens  arriving  after  loth  January  1793  were  to  give  to 
the  port  officer  of  the  Customs  a  written  declaration 
of  their  names,  rank,  &c.  If  they  failed  in  so  doing, 
they  were  to  depart  out  of  the  realm,  or  be  transported 
for  life.  The  officer  of  Customs  had  to  furnish  them 
with  a  certificate,  and,  if  they  wished  to  change  their 
abode,  they  were  to  have  a  passport,  which  they  were  to 
show,  or  be  committed  for  trial.  They  must  also  depart 
from  the  realm  when  ordered  by  His  Majesty's  proclama- 
tion, &c.  &c.  &c. 

This  was  a  somewhat  severe  ordinance,  but  as  far  as 
I  know,  it  was  never  acted  on,  for  the  French  emigres 
were  a  quiet,  law-abiding  people,  thankful  for  the  refuge 
they  had  received.  It  was  during  the  debate  on  this 
Bill  that  Burke  made  his  historical  coup  de  theatre,  the 
dagger  scene  in  the  House  of  Commons.  I  quote  from 
the  St.  James's  Chronicle  27— 29th  December  1792  : — Burke 
loquitur.  "  It  had  been  declared  by  a  noble  Lord  (Gran- 
ville)  in  another  place,  that  there  were  known  to  be  nine- 
teen assassins  in  this  country  with  daggers  for  the  extir- 
pation of  kings — but  it  had  been  said  that  nineteen  were 
of  no  consequence  ;  he  thought  differently,  for  there  were 
in  that  number  seven  more  than  necessary  to  destroy  the 
whole  Royal  family ;  the  number  to  him  was  alarming, 
for  he  knew  not  how  many  apprentices  those  murderers 


Qurkz. 


1 792-3.]  Old  Times.  17 

might  have,  nor  how  many  encouragers  in  this  country ; 
the  knowledge  of  nineteen  French  murderers  having 
arrived,  was  a  full  justification  of  the  present  Bill.  He 
thanked  His  Majesty's  Ministers  for  having  brought  it 
forward ;  it  might  prevent  the  arrival  of  nineteen  times 
nineteen  of  those  monsters,  and  it  might  counteract  the 
intentions  of  that  Englishman  who  had  ordered  the 
manufacture  of  5000  daggers  at  Birmingham — how  many 
for  exportation,  or  how  many  for  home  consumption,  he 
knew  not.  He  had,  however,  strong  reasons  to  believe 
that  they  were  intended  to  introduce  French  fraternity 
into  the  bosoms  of  Englishmen — to  introduce  murder 
and  desolation,  for  '  there  !  there  ! '  exclaimed  Mr.  Burke, 
throwing  a  dagger  upon  the  floor  of  the  House,  '  is  the 
fraternity  of  freedom;  that  is  the  fraternity  they  wish 
to  plunge  into  the  heart  of  our  Sovereign ;  into  the 
heart  of  every  virtuous  Englishman  who  was  loyal  to 
his  King,  or  worshipped  his  God/  "  &c.  &c. 

This  rodomontade  was  only  provocative  of  mirth,  and 
it  is  said  that  Sheridan  asked — "You  have  thrown 
down  the  knife — where  is  the  fork  ?  "  which  convulsed 
the  House  with  laughter. 

1793  opened  gloomily  with  the  trial,  sentence,  and 
decapitation  of  Louis  XVI.  (sentenced  I7th  January, 
beheaded  2ist  January);  and  our  national  sympathy  to- 
wards the  martyred  King  was  shown  by  an  order  for  a 
general  mourning,  which  it  was  hoped  would  be  uni- 
versal. "As  our  Court  has  ordered  an  etiquette  mourn- 
ing for  Louis  XVI.,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
people  will,  as  one  man,  clothe  themselves  in  a  garb 
expressive  of  their  detestation  of  his  murtherers." 

Our  relations  with  France  had  been  very  strained, 

3 


1 8  Old  Times.  [1793- 

for  some  time  past,  and  war  had  long  been  expected. 
In  December  1792  a  proclamation  had  been  issued, 
embodying  and  calling  out  the  militia.  Vessels  were 
being  hurriedly  equipped,  and  commissioned,  and  nobody 
was  surprised,  when,  on  1st  February,  Parliament  re- 
ceived a  message  from  the  King,  informing  his  people 
that  M.  Chauvelin  had  left  this  country,  and  that  there 
was  an  urgent  necessity  for  augmenting  the  sea  and 
land  forces.  The  number  of  French  in  England  became 
a  source  of  uneasiness,  and  an  Order  of  Council  was 
issued  on  2nd  February,  directing  all  aliens,  save  such  as 
were  excepted  by  the  Alien  Act,  to  reside  within  fifty 
miles  of  the  standard  on  Cornhill,  and  ten  miles  from 
the  sea  coasts,  and  dockyards. 

The  French  had  already  begun  hostilities,  by  laying 
an  embargo  on  all  British  shipping  in  French  ports, 
and,  on  5th  February,  we  retaliated  by  acting  in  the  same 
manner  ;  but  the  terms  were  not  equal,  for  there  were 
but  six,  or  eight,  French  vessels  in  our  ports,  whilst 
it  was  reckoned  that  the  French  had  got  hold  of  over 
1000  of  our  seamen.  But  sailors  were  forthcoming  to 
man  the  fleet,  for  we  read,  under  /th  February,  that 
"  Upwards  of  2OOO  sailors  entered  the  Royal  Navy  last 
week." 

On  nth  February,  the  King  sent  the  following  mes- 
sage to  Parliament : — 

"GEORGE  R. — His  Majesty  thinks  proper  to  acquaint  the 
House  of  Commons,  that  the  Assembly  now  exercising  the 
powers  of  Government  in  France  have,  without  previous 
notice,  directed  acts  of  hostility  to  be  committed  against  the 
persons  and  property  of  His  Majesty's  subjects,  in  breach 
of  the  law  of  nations,  and  of  the  most  positive  stipula- 
tions of  treaty,  and  have  since,  on  the  most  groundless 


I793-] 


Old  Times. 


pretensions,  actually  declared  war  against  His  Majesty 
and  the  United  Provinces  ;  under  the  circumstances  of 
this  wanton  and  unprovoked  aggression,  His  Majesty 
has  taken  the  necessary  steps  to  maintain  the  honour  of 
his  Crown,  and  to  vindicate  the  rights  of  his  people ; 
and  His  Majesty  relies  with  confidence  on  the  firm  and 
effectual  support  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  on  the 
zealous  exertions  of  a  brave  and  loyal  people,  in  prose- 
cuting a  just  and  necessary  war,  and  endeavouring,  under 
the  blessing  of  Providence,  to  oppose  an  effectual  barrier 
to  the  farther  progress  of  a  system  which  strikes  at  the 
security  and  peace  of  all  independent  nations,  and  is  pur- 
sued in  open  defiance  of  every  principle  of  moderation,  good 
faith,  humanity,  and  justice. 

"  In  a  cause  of  such  general  concern,  His  Majesty  has 
every  reason  to  hope  for  the  cordial  co-operation  of 
those  Powers  who  are  united  with  His  Majesty  by  the 
ties  of  alliance,  or  who  feel  an  interest  in  preventing  the 
extension  of  anarchy  and  confusion,  and  in  contributing 
to  the  security  and  tranquillity  of  Europe.  G.  R." 

The  Government  was  determined  to  do  nothing  by 
halves,  and,  as  the  law  of  nations  had  not  yet  condemned 
the  practice,  they  (on  the  I2th  February)  caused  to  be 
issued,  by  the  Admiralty,  letters  of  marque,1  and 
reprisals  against  .the  French  shipping — whilst  press- 
gangs  scoured  the*  streets  and  boarded  all  vessels  for 
seamen.  As,  for  instance  (i6th  February),  "  A  press  broke 
out  in  the  river  yesterday  morning,  all  the  seamen  were 
taken  from  the  colliers,  and  the  gangs  were  very  success- 
ful." And  every  means  were  taken  to  get  sailors  to 


1  Power,  license,  or  extraordinary  commission,  granted  by  a  State  to  its 
subjects,  to  make  reprisals  at  sea  on  the  subjects  of  another,  under  pre- 
tence of  indemnification  for  injuries  received. 


2O 


Old  Times.  [1793-4- 


volunteer,  vide  the  following  extract  out  of  a  letter  from 
Rochester,  I5th  February: — "Three  guineas  are  given 
to  an  able-bodied  seaman,  two  guineas  to  an  ordinary 
seaman,  and  one  guinea  to  a  landsman  (above  the  King's 
bounty),  to  those  who  shall  enter  within  a  month  in  this 
city ;  being  the  voluntary  generosity  of  the  Mayor  and 
corporation  here."  And  this  example  was  followed  by 
many  other  corporations. 

War  being  declared,  preparations  for  it  were  carried 
on  with  the  utmost  vigour.  The  Duke  of  York,  colonel 
of  the  Guards  (afterwards  on  I2th  April  made  general), 
addressed  the  three  regiments  on  parade,  told  them  that 
he  would  accompany  them  to  Holland,  and  asked  for 
volunteers.  This  met  with  an  unanimous  response,  but 
the  number  required  being  limited,  such  men,  only,  were 
selected,  who  were  judged  fittest  for  the  service,  and 
they  started  on  their  expedition  on  25th  February,  after 
having  been  inspected  by  the  King. 

It  is  no  part  of  the  scheme  of  this  book  to  follow  the 
fortunes  of  the  war,  and,  as  there  is  little  else  noteworthy 
in  the  year  1793,  we  pass  to  the  next  year. 

On  the  22nd  February,  1794,  His  Majesty  sent  a 
message  to  Parliament,  calling  attention  to  the  expediency 
of  increasing  the  land  forces,  and,  consequently,  a  large 
increase  in  the  militia,  and  an  addition  to  the  fencible 
corps,  were  voted,  and  the  Secretary  of  State  sent  a 
circular  to  all  the  Lords-lieutenant  of  Counties,  recom- 
mending them  to  solicit  voluntary  contributions  towards 
carrying  on  the  war. 

Wilberforce  still  continued  to  agitate  the  slave  ques- 
tion, although  not  on  the  same  lines  as  formerly.  He 
changed  his  tactics,  and,  as  the  sense  of  the  House,  on 


1 794-1  Old  Times.  21 

a  previous  occasion,  was  in  favour  of  gradually  doing 
away  with  it,  he  introduced  a  Bill  for  abolishing  that 
part  of  the  slave  trade  which  related  to  the  supply  of 
foreign  plantations.  Of  course  it  met  with  opposition, 
Sir  William  Young  moving  that  it  be  read  a  second  time 
this  day  (26th  February)  six  months,  but  it  was  carried 
in  the  Lower  House,  the  numbers  for  the  second  reading 
being  56  against  38 — majority,  18.  The  Bill,  however,  was 
thrown  out  in  the  Lords,  owing  to  the  opposition  of  Lord 
Grenville,  who  argued  that  such  a  Bill  should  not  be 
introduced  whilst  the  House  was  instituting  inquiry  into 
the  whole  question.  And  so,  for  a  time,  it  dropped, 
perforce. 

Many  amongst  us  seem  to  think  that  Sir  Rowland 
Hill  originated  the  penny  post,  but  such  is  not  the  fact. 
That  it  was  mainly  through  his  instrumentality  that 
letters  could  be  sent  to  all  parts  of  England,  Scotland, 
and  Ireland,  at  the  uniform  price  of  one  penny,  and 
that  he  did  much  to  re-organise  the  vast  establishment 
of  the  post-office,  is  beyond  doubt ;  but  the  penny  post 
existed  long  before  that.  There  is  a  squabble  between 
Dockwra  and  Murray  as  to  which  of  them  commenced  it 
in  1683;  at  all  events,  the  Government  took  it  from 
Dockwra  in  1690,  and  afterwards  gave  him  a  pension  of 
£500  a  year,  and  he  was  made  Controller  of  the  District 
Post ;  but  he  was  finally  discharged,  on  account  of  some 
charges  of  malversation,  &c.,  brought  against  him. 

In  1711  an  Act  was  passed  abolishing  the  penny  post, 
and  on  June  23rd  of  that  year  a  proclamation  was 
issued,  putting  it  in  force.  But  it  was  resuscitated,  for 
we  find,  in  the  Parliamentary  intelligence  of  the  Times, 
26th  February,  1794:  "House  of  Commons,  25th  Feb- 
ruary. The  House  having  gone  into  Committee,  Mr. 


22  Old  Times.  [1794- 

Long  proposed  some  resolutions  to  be  adopted  as  an 
improvement  on  the  mode  of  carrying  letters  by  the 
penny  post.  It  was  proposed  that  letters  sent  by  the 
penny  post  should  be  carried  six  times  every  day,  and 
that  an  additional  duty  of  one  penny  should  be  paid  to  the 
King, — that  is,  as  we  understand  it,  that  the  person  who 
receives  the  letter  shall  pay  a  penny  in  all  cases,  as  well 
as  he  who  sends  it.  Another  resolution  was,  that  the 
postage  of  letters  in  the  islands  of  Guernsey  and  Jersey 
should  be  the  same  as  in  England."  Pitt  explained  that 
the  extra  penny  would,  probably,  only  cover  the  extra 
cost  involved  in  having  six  deliveries,  and,  after  a  short 
debate,  the  resolutions  passed  the  Committee. 

The  Times  (28th  February  1794),  commenting  thereon 
says — "  The  new  Penny  Post  Office  is  likely  to  prove  such 
a  very  great  accommodation  to  the  public,  that  the  only 
wonder  is,  it  has  been  so  long  neglected.  Instead  of  the 
numbers  of  deliveries,  and  the  hours  of  despatch  varying 
in  different  parts  of  the  town,  as  at  present,  there  will 
be  six  deliveries  each  day  in  all  parts  of  the  town  ;  by 
which  means  a  person  living  at  Mary-le-Bonne  may  send 
letters  to,  or  receive  letters  from,  Limehouse,  a  distance 
of  seven  miles,  five  times  a  day.  .  .  .  Persons  putting 
in  letters  by  nine  in  the  morning,  at  the  distance  of  ten 
miles  from  the  chief  Penny  Post  Office,  and  later,  at  less 
distant  parts,  may  receive  answers  from  London  the  same 
afternoon." 

The  Revolution  in  France  still  continued,  as  did  then 
emigration,  for  a  return  was  made  of  the  number  of 
emigres,  who  had  been  brought  off  from  Toulon  by  the 
British  Fleet,  and  this  report  avers  that  they  numbered 
14,877  men,  women,  and  children.  No  wonder,  then,  at 
the  passing  of  the  Alien  Act. 


1 7  94-]  Old  Times.  23 

The  French  Revolution,  no  doubt,  stirred  up  the  dis- 
contented, and  disaffected,  in  England :  the  perusal  of 
Paine's  "  Rights  of  Man  "  in  no  ways  tended  to  soothe  a 
rebellious  feeling,  and  the  mob,  on  several  occasions, 
was  very  riotous.  Societies,  like  the  "  Corresponding 
Society  "  and  the  "  Society  for  Constitutional  Information," 
were  founded  in  London,  and  the  Government,  feeling 
itself  strong  enough,  was  determined  to  strike  a  blow 
and  crush  them  :  so,  on  the  I2th  May,  the  King  sent  a 
message  to  Parliament,  saying,  that  "  having  received 
information  that  the  seditious  practices,  which  have  been 
for  some  time  carried  on  by  certain  societies  in  different 
parts  of  the  country,  have  lately  been  pursued  with 
increased  activity  and  boldness,"  &c.  ...  he  "  has 
given  directions  for  seizing  the  books  and  papers  of  the 
said  societies  in  London,  which  papers  have  been  seized 
accordingly,  and  these  books  and  papers  appear  to  con- 
tain matter  of  the  greatest  importance."  He  directed  them 
to  be  laid  before  Parliament  for  consideration,  so  that 
they  might  take  "measures  thereupon,  as  may  appear  to 
be  necessary,  for  effectually  guarding  against  the  further 
prosecution  of  these  dangerous  designs." 

John  Thelwall  (political  lecturer),  Daniel  Adams,  and 
Thomas  Hardy  were  taken  into  custody.  The  latter  two 
were  examined  before  the  Privy  Council  on  the  I3th,  the 
former  on  the  I4th,  on  which  date  a  Royal  Messenger 
went  to  Earl  Stanhope's  house,  and  arrested  his  lordship's 
private  secretary,  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Joyce.  A  famous 
agitator,  the  Rev.  John  Home  Tooke,  was  also  taken. 
Their  trials  took  place  in  October,  November,  and 
December  1794,  and  ended  in  the  acquittal  of  the 
prisoners,  after  which  the  Government  abandoned  similar 
prosecutions. 


24  Old  Times.  [1794- 

But  a  patriotic  feeling  was  abroad,  more  than  enough 
to  counterbalance  these  turbulent  spirits.  The  vast 
majority  of  the  population  was  loyal,  and  volunteers 
hastened  to  band  together  for  the  defence  of  their 
country.  One  or  two  instances  will  suffice.  "  On  the 
i /th  April  the  Court  of  Common  Council  of  the  City  of 
London  agreed  to  open  a  subscription  for  raising,  and 
disciplining,  a  regiment  of  infantry  and  a  troop  of  cavalry 
for  the  defence  of  the  city,  to  be  called  the  '  Loyal 
London  Volunteers.'  " — "  Rutland  Volunteers  Troops  of 
Cavalry.  On  the  5th  instant,  154  men  and  horses, 
consisting  of  the  high  sheriff,  the  noblemen,  gentlemen, 
and  yeomen,  who  intend  forming  this  corps,  met  at 
Oakham.  .  .  .  Uniform,  French  gray  and  buff.  Every 
person  who  belongs  to  this  corps  binds  himself,  under 
£50  penalty,  to  attend  when  called  upon." — Times,  2 1st 
April.  These  two  instances  shew  the  wide  range 
the  volunteers'  movement — then  in  its  very  infancy — 
took. 

The  feeling,  however,  of  the  nation  was  not  altogether 
unanimous  in  favour  of  war.  There  was  then,  as  now, 
a  peace  party.  On  6th  March  Mr.  Whitbread  moved  an 
address  to  the  King,  strongly  disapproving  of  the  policy 
of  the  Government,  and  of  their  conduct,  not  only  pre- 
ceding, but  succeeding  the  war.  The  Earl  of  Guildford 
did  the  same  in  the  Lords,  but  in  both  Houses  the 
motions  were  negatived  by  large  majorities.  Nothing 
daunted  by  this,  on  3Oth  May,  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  in 
the  House  of  Lords,  reviewed  the  causes  which  led  to 
the  war,  and  also  the  foreign  policy  of  the  Government, 
ending  by  moving  fourteen  resolutions,  of  which  the  most 
material  were  the  two  following : — "  That  it  appeared 
expedient  to  that  House,  that  it  should  recommend  to  His 


1 794.]  Old  Times.  25 

Majesty  to   adopt   such   measures   as  might  lead   to   a 
negotiation  for  peace." 

Or  that,  "  if  His  Majesty,  in  his  wisdom,  thought  it 
advisable  still  to  prosecute  the  war,  that  he  would  be 
most  graciously  pleased  to  state  what  the  object  of  it 
was." 

After  a  debate,  which  lasted  till  half-past  one  o'clock, 
it  was  adjourned  till  the  following  Monday. 

In  the  Commons,  Fox  took  the  same  tone,  winding 
up  with — "  The  advantages  we  had  gained  by  sea  and 
land  were  favourable  for  the  negotiation  of  a  peace,  as 
they  served  as  so  many  funds  to  induce  the  enemy  to 
treat ;  and,  should  we  fail,  we  should  thereby  justify 
our  pacific  intentions  to  the  world."  He  concluded  by 
moving  resolutions  similar  to  those  of  the  Duke  of 
Bedford.  The  result  was — For  the  previous  question, 
208;  for  Mr.  Fox's  resolutions,  55 — majority,  153.  And 
no  more  was  heard  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford's  resolu- 
tions. 

The  next,  and  last,  great  incident  was,  Lord  Howe's 
great  naval  victory  over  the  French  off  the  coast  of 
Ushant,  on  "  the  glorious  first  of  June."  Two  80  and 
five  74  gun  ships  were  the  substantial  fruits  of  this  vic- 
tory, although  "  Le  Vengeur,"  one  of  the  74/3,  sunk  soon 
after  capture,  drowning  some  300  men.  No  one  knows 
the  French  loss  in  this  battle,  but  we  do  know,  that  on 
board  the  prizes  taken  there  were  found  1200  dead 
bodies.  Our  total  loss  was  904.  The  news  travelled 
very  fast,  for  that  day ;  Sir  Roger  Curtis,  Howe's  first 
captain,  arrived  at  the  Admiralty  with  despatches  on 
the  evening  of  the  loth  June. 

The  jubilation  was  great,  nor  was  practical  sympathy 


26  Old  Times.  [i  794-5- 

with  the  widows  and  orphans  of  our  seamen  wanting. 
In  less  than  one  hour  a  thousand  guineas  were  sub- 
scribed at  Lloyd's  for  their  relief.  The  popular 
rejoicing  took  the  form  of  illuminating  the  houses, 
smashing  Earl  Stanhope's  windows,  and  much  beer 
drinking.  The  thanks  of  both  Houses  of  Parliament 
were  given  to  Earl  Howe,  and,  on  his  arrival  at 
Portsmouth,  the  King,  Queen,  and  the  Royal  family 
went  down  and  paid  him  a  visit  on  board  his  own  ship, 
on  29th  June.  As  there  is  a  crispness,  and  freshness, 
about  contemporary  accounts  of  events,  let  the  Times 
(July  1st)  tell  the  story. 

"  On  the  King  being  received  on  board  the  '  Queen 
Charlotte/  he  presented  Earl  Howe  with  a  diamond 
hilted  sword.  His  lordship,  perceiving  His  Majesty's 
intention,  threw  the  sword  he  had  on  his  side  upon 
the  deck,  and,  kneeling,  received  from  the  Sovereign's 
hand  this  distinguished  proof  of  approbation.  His 
Majesty  also  presented  a  gold  chain,  to  which  a  medal 
is  hereafter  to  be  annexed,  to  Admiral  Sir  Alexander 
Hood,  and  Rear-Admiral  Gardner ;  the  like  honour 
was  conferred  on  Lord  Howe's  first  captain,  Sir  Roger 
Curtis.  The  wounded  Admirals,  Bowyer  and  Pasley,  who 
consequently  could  not  attend,  have  been  distinguished 
with  similar  marks  of  His  Majesty's  favour." 

Poor  Admirals  Bowyer  and  Pasley  had  to  be  pensioned 
off,  on  account  of  their  wounds,  in  February  1795,  the 
sum  awarded  to  each  being  £500  per  annum. 

At  the  commencement  of  1795  the  French  took  pos- 
session of  Utrecht,  Rotterdam,  and  Dort :  the  treasure 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  sent  to  London,  and  the 
Stadtholder  and  his  family  had  to  make  a  hurried  flight 


1 795-1  Old  Times.  27 

for  their  lives  in  an  open  boat,  luckily  reaching  Harwich 
safely.  The  French  having  thus  occupied  Holland,  the 
English  Government  laid  an  embargo  on  all  Dutch  vessels 
in  our  ports. 

The  Opposition  still  attempted  to  embarrass  the 
Government  on  the  question  of  the  War,  and,  on  26th 
January,  Mr.  Grey,  in  a  very  lengthy  speech,  brought 
forward  a  motion,  recommending  peace  with  France.  Pitt 
came  forward  with  an  amendment,  to  the  purport  that 
there  could  be  no  security  for  peace  whilst  the  Govern- 
ment of  France  was  an  irregular  one,  and,  on  its  being 
put,  it  was  carried  by  269  to  86. 

Wilberforce  still  kept  "  pegging  away "  at  the  Slave 
Trade,  and,  on  26th  February,  introduced  a  motion,  "  for 
leave  to  bring  in  a  Bill  for  the  abolition  of  the  slave 
trade,  at  a  time  to  be  limited."  Pitt  lent  him  the  weight 
of  his  influence,  but  it  was  a  small  House,  and  he  lost  it 
by  a  majority  of  17. 

Fox,  naturally  (being  in  opposition),  was  always 
baiting  the  Government,  and  on  24th  March  he  moved, 
"  That  the  House  should  resolve  itself  into  a  Committee 
to  inquire  into  the  state  of  the  nation  ;  "  but  he  suffered  a 
severe  defeat,  the  numbers  against  his  motion  being  219; 
for,  63. 

The  English  troops  in  Holland  had  met  with  a  series 
of  misadventures,  and  were  compelled  to  retreat.  A  fine 
array  of  35,ooo  men  left  our  shores  for  this  expedition, 
and  but  about  a  fifth  part  could  be  mustered  when  they 
reached  the  town  of  Bremen,  on  the  27th  and  28th  of 
March — and  right  glad  were  they  to  embark  on  board 
the  transports  lying  in  the  Elbe,  ready  to  receive  them. 

The  harvest  of  1794  had   been  bad,  and  bread  and 


28  Old  Times.  [1795- 

provisions  generally  were  so  dear  as  practically  to 
amount  to  a  famine  among  the  poor.  People,  as  a  rule, 
will,  unfortunately,  not  starve  quietly,  so  we  hear  of  food 
riots  occasionally.  On  nth  April  a  mob  at  Portsea 
attacked  the  butchers'  and  bakers'  shops,  and  compelled 
them  with  persuasive  eloquence  to  sell,  the  one,  meat  at 
4d  per  Ib. — the  other,  bread  at  6d  a  quartern  loaf. 
Again  on  2Oth  April,  the  Oxford  Militia,  with  loaded 
guns  and  fixed  bayonets,  went  to  Seaford,  where,  having 
confiscated  all  the  beef  and  mutton  they  could  lay  their 
hands  on,  they  sold  it  at  4d  per  Ib.,  and  then,  going  to 
Newhaven,  they  seized  2000  sacks  of  flour,  and  sold  it 
at  their  own  price.  This  flagrant  breach  of  military 
discipline  was,  however,  soon  punished,  for  the  Horse 
Artillery  and  Lancashire  Fencibles  came  up  and  took 
the  rioters  prisoners.  But  similar  riots  were  rife  all 
through  the  Midlands. 

In  the  autumn  things  got  even  worse,  and  Parliament 
was  assembled  earlier  than  usual  to  deliberate  on  a 
remedy  for  this  state  of  things ;  the  outcome  of  which 
was  an  order  for  a  bounty  of  twenty  shillings  per  quarter 
on  wheat  from  the  Mediterranean,  fifteen  shillings  on 
wheat  from  America,  and  five  shillings  per  quarter  on 
Indian  corn.  Bills  also  were  passed  prohibiting  the 
manufacture  of  starch  from  wheat,  and  also  the  distilla- 
tion of  spirit  from  grain. 

This  scarcity  of  food,  and  the  heavy  burdens,  both  in 
taxation,  the  levying  of  men,  and  the  pressgangs,  fell 
sorely  on  the  poor,  who  murmured  loudly, — a  fact  which 
was  duly  taken  advantage  of  by  the  demagogues  for 
their  own  seditious  purposes.  They  agitated  for  uni- 
versal suffrage  and  annual  parliaments,  and  the  move- 
ment gathered  strength.  On  the  26th  October,  the 


I795-]  Old  Times.  29 

Corresponding  Society  held  a  mass  meeting  in  Copen- 
hagen Fields,  and  the  inflammatory  speeches  there  deli- 
vered, no  doubt,  bore  their  fruit  three  days  afterwards, 
when  the  mob  stoned  the  King.  As  the  Times'  account 
of  this  assault  is  very  meagre,  compared  with  that  in 
the  Annual  Register,  I  copy  the  latter  verbatim. 

11 2C)th  October. — On  the  occasion  of  His  Majesty's 
going  to  the  House  of  Lords,  the  Mall  and  the  Parade 
of  St.  James's  Park,  and  Parliament  Street,  were  com- 
pletely choked  up  with  spectators.  The  crowd  was  by 
no  means  so  great  at  the  Coronation,  and,  to  see  the  King 
go  to  the  House,  there  never  were  before  more  than  a 
tenth  part  of  the  numbers  of  this  day ;  for  they,  at  least, 
amounted  to  200,000.  Several  noblemen  and  Cabinet 
Ministers  passed  through  the  Park  from  Buckingham 
House  about  two  o'clock.  The  Earl  of  Chatham,  Duke 
of  Gloucester,  &c.,  were  hissed,  and  the  Duke  of  Port- 
land was  very  much  hooted. 

"About  twenty  minutes  afterwards  the  King  left 
Buckingham  House,  and  was  violently  hissed  and  hooted 
and  groaned  at  the  whole  way ;  but  no  violence  was 
offered  till  he  arrived  opposite  the  Ordnance  Office, 
when  a  small  pebble,  or  marble,  or  bullet,  broke  one  of 
the  windows.  In  returning,  the  moment  His  Majesty 
entered  the  Park  the  gates  of  the  Horse  Guards  were 
shut,  for  the  purpose  of  excluding  the  mob  who  followed 
the  carriage ;  at  which,  as  it  passed  opposite  Spring 
Gardens  Terrace,  another  stone  was  thrown,  but  it  for- 
tunately struck  the  woodwork  between  the  windows. 

"The  crowd  now  pressed  closely  round  the  coach, 
and  His  Majesty,  in  considerable  agitation,  signified,  by 
waving  his  hands  to  the  Horse  Guards  on  each  side,  his 
anxiety  that  the  multitude  should  be  kept  at  a  distance. 


3O  Old  Times.  [1795- 

In  this  way  he  passed  on  through  the  Park,  and  round 
by  the  Stable  Yard,  into  St.  James's  Palace,  at  the  front 
gate,  the  bottom  of  St.  James's  Street.  A  considerable 
tumult  took  place  when  His  Majesty  was  about  to  alight, 
and  one  of  the  horses  in  the  state  coach  took  fright, 
threw  down  an  old  groom  of  the  name  of  Dorrington, 
and  broke  one  of  his  thighs,  but  it  proved,  fortunately, 
a  simple  fracture ;  his  other  thigh  was  considerably 
bruised,  but  not  dangerously. 

"A  few  minutes  after  His  Majesty  had  entered  the 
palace,  the  mob  attacked  the  state  coach  with  stones,  and 
did  it  great  injury.  In  its  way  along  Pall  Mall  to  the 
Mews  many  things  were  also  thrown  at  it.  After  a 
short  time  the  King  went,  in  his  private  coach,  from  St. 
James's  to  Buckingham  House  ;  but,  on  his  way  through 
the  Park  the  mob  surrounded  the  carriage,  and  pre- 
vented it  from  proceeding,  crying  out,  '  Bread !  Bread  ! 
Peace  !  Peace  ! ' — The  Guards  were,  however,  speedily 
brought  up,  and  they  protected  the  carriage  till  His 
Majesty  got  safe  into  Buckingham  House. 

"  When  His  Majesty  entered  the  House  of  Peers,  the 

first  words  he  uttered  were  these,  to  the  Lord  Chancellor  : 

i 

'  My  Lord,  I  have  been  shot  at  ! '  This  alluded  to  the 
substance  which  had  broke  the  window  while  passing 
the  Ordnance  Office. 

"  Three  or  four  persons  were  apprehended  on  suspicion 
of  having  thrown  stones,  &c.,  at  the  King,  and  one  of 
them  was  charged  with  having  called  out,  '  No  king,' 
and  other  such  expressions.  They  were  all  examined 
at  the  Duke  of  Portland's  office  ;  and,  waiting  the  result 
of  this  business,  nothing  was  done  in  the  House  of 
Lords  till  near  six  o'clock,  when  Lord  Westmoreland, 
who  rode  in  the  carriage  with  the  King,  having  previ- 


1 795-1  Old  Times.  31 

ously  moved  'that  strangers  be  ordered  to  withdraw/ 
stated  the  insult  and  outrage  with  which  the  King  had 
been  treated ;  and  added  that  His  Majesty,  and  those 
who  had  accompanied  him,  were  of  opinion  that  the 
glass  of  the  coach  had  been  broken  by  a  ball  from  an 
air-gun,  which  had  been  shot  from  a  bow  window  of  a 
house  adjoining  the  Ordnance  Office,  with  a  view  to 
assassinate  him. 

"  The  King,  through  the  whole  of  the  riot,  displayed 
the  cool  magnanimity  for  which  the  family  have  ever  been 
distinguished.  At  the  time  that  the  glass  of  the  coach 
was  broken,  he  said  to  Lord  Westmoreland,  'That  is 
a  shot ; '  and,  instead  of  leaning  back  in  the  carriage,  or 
striving  to  avoid  the  assassin,  he  pointed  to  the  round 
hole  in  the  pane,  and  examined  it.  But  this  was  not 
all ;  he  went  into  the  private  coach,  to  go  from  St. 
James's  to  the  Queen's  house,  in  the  midst  of  the 
wildest  commotions  of  the  multitude,  thereby  exposing 
himself,  almost  without  guards,  to  their  fury ;  and  then 
it  was  that  His  Majesty's  person  was  most  imminently 
in  danger." 

"  $Qth  October. — Confident  in  the  attachment  of  his 
people,  notwithstanding  the  alarms  of  the  preceding  day, 
the  King,  accompanied  by  Her  Majesty  and  three  of  the 
Princesses,  visited  Covent  Garden  Theatre,  and,  at  their 
entrance,  was  received  with  the  usual  burst  of  applause. 
'  God  save  the  King '  was  sung  twice,  and,  by  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  house,  over-zealously  called  for  a 
third  time ;  this,  in  a  corner  of  the  gallery,  provoked  a 
few  hisses,  which,  however,  were  soon  overruled,  and 
one  or  two  of  the  most  active  of  the  turbulent  party  were 
turned  out ;  after  which  the  performance  went  on." 

Five  persons  were  apprehended  for  this  outrage,  but 


32  Old  Times.  [1795- 

with  the  exception  of  one,  Kidd  Wake,  aged  27,  a 
journeyman  printer,  who  owned  to  his  hissing  and 
hooting  at  His  Majesty,  and  who  was  committed  to  take 
his  trial  on  I4th  November,  I  cannot  trace  their  fate; 
probably  they  were  discharged  for  want  of  evidence. 

A  Royal  Proclamation  was  issued,  offering  one 
thousand  pounds  reward  to  any  one  "who  shall  give 
information,  so  that  any  of  such  authors,  actors,  or 
abettors,  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  apprehended  and  brought 
to  justice." 

In  November  there  were  fearful  storms,  especially  on 
the  6th,  which  were  extraordinarily  destructive,  both  to 
life  and  property.  One  of  these  storms  was  so  severely 
felt  at  Weymouth,  that  nearly  1600  dead  bodies  were, 
at  different  times,  thrown  up  on  the  beach,  300  being 
buried  at  one  time,  and,  had  not  the  Gloucestershire 
Militia  helped  in  burying  them,  there  would,  doubtless, 
have  been  a  pestilence. 

On  8th  December  Pitt,  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
delivered  a  message  from  the  King,  in  which  occurs  the 
following  passage,  which  must  have  been  hailed  with 
thanksgiving  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
land : — "  His  Majesty,  on  this  occasion,  thinks  proper  to 
acquaint  the  House,  that  the  crisis  which  was  depending  x 
at  the  commencement  of  the  present  session,  has  led  to 
such  an  order  of  things  in  France,  as  will  induce  His 
Majesty  (conformably  to  the  sentiments  which  he  has 
already  declared)  to  meet  any  disposition  to  negotiation 
on  the  part  of  the  enemy,  with  an  earnest  desire  to  give 
it  the  fullest  and  speediest  effect,  and  to  conclude  a 
treaty  for  general  peace,  whenever  it  can  be  effected  on 
just  and  suitable  terms  for  himself  and  his  allies." 
1  (?)  impending. 


i796-]  Old  Times.  33 

At  the  commencement  of  1796  the  Royal  Family  were 
still  in  bad  odour  with  a  certain  section  of  the  public, — 
nor  can  it  be  wondered  at  by  any  one  who  has  studied 
the  satirical  prints  of  the  day.  Every  foible  of  Royalty 
was  noted,  exaggerated,  engraved  on  "  perennial  brass," 
exhibited  most  freely  in  the  shop  windows,  and  most 
eagerly  purchased.  Farmer  George,  and  his  simple, 
and  somewhat  mean  habits,  the  Queen's  avarice,  the 
Prince  of  Wales'  licentiousness,  and  extravagance,  and 
all  the  scandals  (and  they  were  many)  appertaining  to 
the  rest  of  the  Royal  Family,  were  ruthlessly  laid  bare, 
and  mercilessly  exposed  to  the  public  gaze. 

That  this  must  have  tended  to  lower  the  Royal  Family 
in  most  men's  eyes,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  so  that  we 
are  not  very  much  surprised  at  the  occasional  practical 
manifestations  of  the  mob.  On  the  night  of  I  st  February, 
there  was  more  stone-throwing  on  the  part  of  the  popu- 
lace, which  the  Times  of  3rd  February  thus  describes  : — 
"  On  Monday  night,  as  the  Royal  Family  were  returning 
from  Drury  Lane  Theatre,  just  as  they  reached  the  middle 
of  Pall  Mall,  a  stone  was  flung  at  the  coach  in  which  were 
their  Majesties  and  the  lady-in-waiting,  which  broke  the 
glass,  and,  entering  the  carriage,  struck  the  Queen  on 
the  cheek,  and  fell  into  Lady  Harrington's  lap. 

"  A  deposition  of  the  circumstances  was  taken  yester- 
day at  the  Duke  of  Portland's  office,  at  which  his  Grace 
and  some  of  the  Bow  Street  Magistrates  were  present ; 
when  four  of  the  footmen  attending  their  Majesties  were 
examined ;  a  reward  will  be  immediately  offered  to  dis- 
cover the  offender."  And  so  it  was  to  the  extent  of 
£1000,  but  nothing  came  of  it. 

Whilst   on   the  subject  of  the  royal   unpopularity,  I 

may   mention    that    Kydd    Wake,    who    last  year    was 

c 


34  Old  Times.  [i796- 

apprehended  for  hissing  and  hooting  at  the  King,  was 
tried  before  Lord  Kenyon,  for  "  trespass,  riot,  and  mis- 
demeanour," and  found  guilty — sentence  being  deferred. 
This,  however,  was  pronounced  upon  him  by  Mr.  Justice 
Ashurst  at  the  Court  of  King's  Bench  /th  May.  His 
judgment  was  somewhat  long-winded,  and  he  concluded 
thus  : — "  It  now  becomes  my  duty  to  pronounce  the 
sentence  of  the  Court ;  which  is,  that  you  be  committed 
to  the  custody  of  the  keeper  of  the  Penitentiary  House, 
in,  and  for,  the  County  of  Gloucester,  and  be  kept  to 
hard  labour  for  the  space  of  five  years  ;  and,  within  the 
first  three  months  of  that  time,  that  you  stand  in,  and 
upon,  the  Pillory  for  one  hour,  between  the  hours  of 
eleven  and  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  in  some  public 
street  on  a  market  day ;  and  that  you  give  sureties  in 
£1000,  for  your  good  behaviour  for  the  term  of  ten 
years,  to  be  computed  from  the  expiration  of  the  said  five 
years ;  and  that  you  be  further  imprisoned  till  you  find 
the  said  sureties." 

On  the  1 5th  February,  Mr.  Grey,  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  again  ventilated  the  subject  of  peace,  this  time 
in  the  shape  of  an  address  to  the  King,  praying  him  to 
communicate  to  the  executive  government  of  France,  his 
readiness  to  meet  any  disposition  to  negotiate  a  general 
peace.  Both  Pitt  and  Fox  spoke  on  the  subject,  but  the 
motion  was  lost  by  189  to  50. 

There  was  one  crumb  of  comfort  to  the  nation,  which 
had  hitherto  been  suffering  from  a  grievous  scarcity  of 
bread-stuffs,  and  this  was  the  great  fall  in  wheat,  which 
took  place  on  3ist  March.  On  that  date,  owing  to  the 
large  importations  of  foreign  wheat,  this  grain  fell  135. 
per  quarter. 

Joy,  too,  must  have  sprung  up  in  the  national  heart 


i796-]  Old  Times.  35 

when  the  King  made  his  speech  on  the  opening  of  both 
Houses,  7th  October.  He  said : — "  I  have  omitted  no 
endeavours  for  setting  on  foot  negotiations  to  restore 
peace  to  Europe,  and  to  secure,  for  the  future,  general 
tranquillity.  The  steps  I  have  taken  for  this  purpose 
have  at  length  opened  the  way  to  an  immediate  and 
direct  negotiation,  the  issue  of  which  must  either  produce 
the  desirable  end  of  a  just,  honourable,  and  solid  Peace 
for  Us,  and  for  Our  Allies,  or  must  prove,  beyond  dis- 
pute, to  what  cause  alone  the  prolongation  of  the  calami- 
ties of  war  must  be  ascribed.  I  shall  immediately  send  a 
person  to  Paris  with  full  powers  to  treat  for  this  object, 
and  it  is  My  anxious  wish  that  this  measure  may  lead 
to  the  restoration  of  General  Peace  ;  but  you  must  be 
sensible  that  nothing  can-  so  much  contribute  to  give 
effect  to  this  desire,  as  your  manifesting  that  We  possess 
both  the  determination  and  the  resources  to  oppose,  with 
increased  activity  and  energy,  the  farther  efforts  with 
which  We  have  to  contend." 

The  "  person "  who  was  to  go  over  to  France  as 
Plenipotentiary,  was  Sir  James  Harris,  who  had  lately  been 
made  Lord  Malmesbury — and  he  arrived  at  Paris  on  22nd 
October.  The  usual  diplomatic  fencing  took  place,  but 
this  was  brought  to  an  end  b}'  a  squabble  respecting  the 
annexation  of  the  Netherlands  to  France.  Lord  Malmes- 
bury wished  to  communicate  with  his  Government  on 
this  point,  but  the  Directory  meant  to  force  his  hand, 
and  required  his  ultimatum  within  twenty-four  hours, 
and,  as  he  still  asked  for  time,  he  was  told  his  presence  in 
Paris  was  useless,  and  that  he  must  depart  within  two 
days.  He  replied  that  he  would  leave  next  day,  and 
demanded  his  passports.  On  the  2Oth  December  he 
left  Paris  for  England,  and  so  ended,  for  a  while,  all 


36  Old  Times.  [1796- 

hopes  of  peace.  That  the  French  had  but  faint  hopes  of 
a  successful  end  to  the  mission  is  evident,  for,  during  the 
negotiations,  on  2nd  November,  the  Council  of  Five 
Hundred  passed  a  decree,  prohibiting  the  importation  of 
British  goods  into  the  Republic. 

As  a  proof  of  the  patriotism  of  the  English  people, 
and  their  thorough  reliance  on  the  Government,  Pitt 
asked  for  a  loan  of  eighteen  millions.  This  loan,  called 
"  The  Loyalty  Loan,"  was  opened  on  5th  December,  and 
in  1 5  hours  20  minutes  it  was  all  subscribed.  The  Times 
of  6th  December  says — "  Yesterday,  soon  after  1 1  o'clock, 
the  SUBSCRIPTION  for  EIGHTEEN  MILLIONS  STERLING,  for  the 
services  of  the  ensuing  year,  closed  at  the  Bank ;  and 
such  was  the  general  desire  to  subscribe,  that  the  Court 
Room  was  a  scene  of  the  •  utmost  confusion.  Many 
gentlemen  were  altogether  disappointed ;  and  those  who 
could  get  near  the  books  to  put  down  their  names,  did  so 
with  the  utmost  difficulty.  There  was  very  little  remain- 
ing to  be  subscribed ;  for  a  great  number  of  orders  had 
been  received  by  Mr.  Newland  in  the  morning,  from  the 
country,  which  claimed  a  preference ;  and,  accordingly, 
the  doors  were  shut  some  time,  until  these  commissions 
were  written  down.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  many 
millions  more  would  have  been  subscribed,  if  the  public 
service  had  required  it.  There  cannot  be  a  greater  proof 
of  the  patriotism  of  all  ranks  of  people  in  thus  assisting 
Government,  because,  at  the  time  the  loan  was  opened,  the 
other  funds  were  considerably  the  cheapest  purchase." 

Nor  was  it  money  only,  that  our  forefathers  gave. 
In  October  195,000  men  were  voted  for  the  land  service 
for  the  year  1797,  and  120,000  seamen  and  marines  for 
the  navy.  There  was  also  a  levy  of  15,000  men,  from 
the  different  parishes,  for  sea  service,  and  recruiting  the 


1 797-1  Old  Times.  37 

regiments  of  the  line,  and  a  supplementary  militia  was 
raised,  of  60,000  men,  not  to  be  immediately  called  out, 
but  to  be  enrolled,  officered,  and  completely  trained,  so 
as  to  be  ready  in  a  moment  of  danger,  and  a  force  of 
20,000  irregular  cavalry  was  also  embodied. 

The  year  closed  with  a  frost  which  exceeded  in 
severity  any  known  for  many  years.  Many  people  were 
frozen  to  death,  and  the  thermometer  was  34,  and  35 
degrees  below  freezing  point. 

1797  opened  very  gloomily ;  finance,  the  backbone  of  a 
nation,  was  somewhat  dislocated.  People  were  alarmed 
at  the  rapid  growth  of  the  National  Debt,  and,  selling 
out  of  the  funds,  found  other  investments  for  their 
capital :  there  had  been  an  enormous  drain  of  bullion 
to  subsidise  the  allies,  and  Pitt  had  borrowed  from  the 
Bank  in  the  most  reckless  manner.  It  was  in  vain  that 
the  Bank  remonstrated  with  him,  but  still  he  borrowed, 
so  that  at  last  he  had  to  be  told  that  if  he  took  any  more, 
it  would  probably  lead  to  the  insolvency  of  the  Bank. 
There  was  a  run  upon  the  country  banks,  and  its  effects 
were  soon  felt  in  London ;  and,  on  26th,  an  order  of  the 
Privy  Council  was  made,  forbidding  the  Bank  of  England 
from  making  cash  payments,  until  Parliament  had  been 
consulted.  On  inquiry,  it  was  found  that  the  Bank  was 
not  only  perfectly  solvent,  but,  after  payment  of  all 
liabilities,  its  capital  would  amount  to  £9,660,290. 
Under  these  circumstances  Mr.  Pitt  brought  in  a  bill 
(37  George  III.  cap.  28),  permitting  the  Bank  to  issue 
notes  from  2OS.  upwards,  in  lieu  of  cash.  This  measure 
brought  relief,  and  saved  the  National  credit. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  chief  National  events  in  the  year, 
was  the  mutiny  of  the  fleets.      Looking  at  it  from  this 


3&  Old  Times.  [i?97- 

distance  of  time,  one  can  hardly  wonder  at  it,  especially 
when  we  consider  the  way  in  which  the  crews  were 
procured,  by  impressment  and  otherwise,  their  hard  fare, 
the  bad  accommodation  for  them,  the  frequent  punish- 
ments, from  50  to  500  lashes,  at  the  discretion  of  a 
possibly  irate  captain,  frequently  for  venial  offences ;  add 
to  this,  small  pay,  and  constant  work,  and  we  are  fain 
to  acknowledge  that  the  men  who  could  stand  such  treat- 
ment tamely,  were  almost  more  than  human. 

Yet  they  stated  their  grievances  very  properly,  and 
quietly,  sending  petitions,  either  in  February,  or  March, 
to  Lord  Howe,  begging  him  to  use  his-  influence  with 
the  Admiralty,  to  procure  them  an  increase  of  wages,  and 
an  improvement  in  the  quality,  and  quantity,  of  their 
provisions.  No  notice  whatever  was  taken  of  this 
temperate  remonstrance,  so  the  men,  finding,  no  help 
came  to  them,  tried  to  help  themselves,  and  secret 
communication  was  opened  between  all  the  vessels  of  the 
fleet.  No  one  can  defend  the  gross  breach  of  discipline 
of  which  they  were  guilty,  but  it  must  be  remembered 
that  they  were  ignorant  men,  smarting  under  a  sense  of 
injury,  rendered  especially  galling,  by  their  just  com- 
plaints, and  moderate  demands,  being  utterly  ignored. 

Their  plot  to  seize  the  ships,  and  expel  the  officers, 
came  to  be  known,  and,  on  I5th  April,  Admiral  Lord 
Bridport,  in  obedience  to  orders  from  the  Admiralty, 
signalled  for  the  fleet  to  sail.  But  the  men  refused  to 
put  to  sea  (unless  an  enemy  was  known  to  be  at  sea), 
until  their  grievances  had  been  examined  into,  and 
redressed.  A  deputation,  of  two  men  from  each  ship, 
met  in  the  Admiral's  cabin,  and  another  petition  was 
drawn  up.  On  the  i8th,  a  Committee  of  the  Lords  of 
the  Admiralty  went  to  Portsmouth,  to  investigate  the 


I797-]  Old  Times.  39 

seamen's  claims ;  and  the  result  was,  that  Admiral  Brid- 
port  returned  to  his  ship  on  23rd  April,  and,  having 
hoisted  his  flag,  he  told  his  crew  that  he  brought  with 
him  the  redress  of  all  their  grievances,  and  the  King's 
pardon  for  all  offenders. 

One  would  imagine  that  this  would  satisfy  them, 
coming  as  it  did  from  the  mouth  of  their  "  father  and 
friend,"  but  when,  on  the  /th  of  May,  he  signalled  to 
put  to  sea,  no  ship  would  obey  him.  The  fact  is,  the 
men  were  suspicious ;  they  had  been  so  badly  treated 
with  regard  to  the  granting  of  their  moderate  demands, 
that  they  thought  the  order  for  sailing  was  only  a  ruse 
to  get  them  away,  and  then  faith  would  not  be  kept  with 
them.  This  mutiny  was  unfortunately  accompanied  by 
bloodshed,  and  it  lasted  until  the  I4th  May.  On  the 
nth,  Lord  Howe  visited  the  fleet,  saw  the  delegates, 
and  assured  them,  that  before  a  Royal  pardon  could  be 
proclaimed,  they  must  express  contrition  for  their  con- 
duct. This  they  did,  but  solemnly  declared  they  would 
never  again  receive  on  board  those  officers  they  had 
sent  on  shore.  This  was  agreed  to,  and  Lord  Howe,  on 
the  I4th  of  May,  showed  them  an  Act  of  Parliament, 
which  granted  what  they  wished,  and  the  fleet  at  St. 
Helens  were,  for  a  time,  content. 

But,  at  the  Nore,  there  was  much  discontent,  or  rather 
open  mutiny ;  the  men  had  forced  the  Admiralty  to  grant 
their  demands,  and  now  thought  they  could  go  in  for 
more  ;  and,  to  enforce  it,  they  attempted  to  blockade  the 
Thames,  and  prevent  any  vessel  from  entering  or  depart- 
ing,— and  they  did  fire  on  several  that  attempted  to  run 
the  blockade.  Of  course,  such  a  state  of  things  could 
not  last  long,  and  the  removal  of  all  the  buoys,  by  the 
Admiralty,  helped  to  bring  about  a  surrender.  Their 


40  Old  Times.  [1797- 

provisions  began  to  run  short,  and  the  Government 
peremptorily  refused  to  accede  to  their  demands.  Some 
of  the  fleet  left,  and  returned  to  their  duty,  on  the  Qth 
June.  On  the  loth,  more  struck  the  red  flag,  and  on 
the  1 2th,  there  were  but  seven  left  that  were  not  flying 
the  Union  Jack ;  and  next  day,  five  of  them  sought  the 
protection  of  Sheerness. 

The  mutiny  was  now  at  an  end,  and  it  only  remained 
to  deal  with  the  ringleaders,  the  chief  of  whom  was 
named  Richard  Parker,  and  he,  and  several  others,  were 
duly  hanged.  Many  who  were  sentenced  to  death  were, 
however,  pardoned,  and  a  general  veil  of  oblivion  was 
wisely  thrown  over  the  whole  affair,  as  soon  as  the  men 
returned  to  their  duty. 

Earlier  in  the  year  occurred  a  curious  page  in  our 
history,  nothing  less  than  a  practical  invasion  of  England 
by  the  French,  details  of  which  can  best  be  learned  from 
contemporary  accounts. 

"  LONDON  GAZETTE,   EXTRAORDINARY,  February  25. 

"  A  letter  this  day  received  by  the  Duke  of  Portland, 
from  Lord  Milford,  Lord-Lieutenant  of  the  County  of 
Pembroke,  dated  Haverfordwest,  February  2^rd,  5  P.M., 
contains  information  that  two  frigates,  a  corvette,  and  a 
lugger,  appeared  off  the  coast  of  Pembrokeshire  the  22nd 
inst,  and  on  the  evening  of  that  day  disembarked  some 
troops  reported  by  deserters  to  be  about  1200,  but  with- 
out field-pieces." 

"  LONDON  GAZETTE,   EXTRAORDINARY,  February  26. 

"Haverfordwest,  February  24,  1797,  6  o'clock  A.M. — 
Since  I  had  the  honour  of  writing  last  to  your  Grace  by 
Express,  I  have  received  information  of  the  French  ships 


1 797-]  Old  Times.  41 

having  sailed,  and  left  300  men  behind,  who  have 
surrendered  themselves  prisoners.  The  great  Spirit  and 
Loyalty  that  the  Gentlemen  and  Peasantry  have  shown 
on  this  occasion  exceeds  description.  Many  thousands 
of  the  latter  assembled,  armed  with  pikes,  and  scythes, 
and  attacked  the  enemy,  previous  to  the  arrival  of  the 
Troops  that  were  sent  against  them." 

"February  2^th,  9  o'clock  P.M. — I  have  the  honour 
and  pleasure  to  inform  your  Grace,  that  the  whole  of  the 
French  troops,  amounting  to  near  1400  men,  have  surren- 
dered, and  are  now  on  their  march  to  Haverfordwest." 

And  so  ends  the  invasion  of  England. 

On  I4th  February,  Admiral  Sir  John  Jervis,  with 
fifteen  sail  of  the  line,  attacked  the  Spanish  Fleet  of 
twenty-seven  sail  of  the  line,  off  Cape  St.  Vincent,  cap- 
tured four  large  vessels,  and  dispersed  the  fleet.  The 
news  reached  England  on  3rd  March,  when  London  was 
brilliantly  illuminated. 

The  Whigs  moved  heaven  and  earth  in  order  to  oust 
Pitt  arid  his  Government,  but  without  success.  On 
March  3rd  the  inhabitants  of  Westminster  met  in  Palace 
Yard,  and  resolved  to  petition  the  King  to  dismiss  his 
Ministry.  In  the  City,  too  (the  bones  of  whose  patres 
conscripti  would  shake  with  indignation,  could  they  but 
know  of  the  present  wave  of  Conservatism,  which  has 
flowed  over  this  Corporation),  loud,  and  many,  were  the 
calls  to  the  same  purport.  In  vain  were  Common  Halls 
convened,  in  vain  did  the  Remembrancer,  and  the  Sheriffs, 
wait  upon  his  Majesty  with  petitions;  he  would  have  none 
of  them,  but  would  be  glad  to  see  them  at  a  Levee ;  and 
so  Pitt  kept  in,  notwithstanding  the  growls  all  round. 

France  was  making  peace  with  its  enemies,  one  by 
one,  and  it  could  easily  be  foreseen  that,  very  shortly, 


42  Old  Times.  [i797-8. 

England  would  have  to  bear  all  the  brunt  of  the  war ; 
therefore,  on  the  1st  June,  a  note  from  Lord  Grenville 
was  presented  to  M.  de  la  Croix,  the  French  Minister 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  in  which  was  expressed  the  wish  of 
the  English  Government  to  negotiate  preliminaries  of 
peace.  Of  course  there  was  some  diplomatic  fence  ;  but, 
finally,  it  was  settled  that  Lord  Malmesbury  should  again 
go  as  Plenipotentiary.  He  arrived  at  Lisle  on  6th  July, 
but  the  demands  of  the  French  were  outrageous,  and, 
after,  in  vain,  combating  their  absurd  requirements,  he  de- 
manded his  passports,  and  left  Lisle  on  i8th  September. 

On  nth  October,  Admiral  Duncan  attacked  the  Dutch 
fleet  off  Camperdown,  and,  after  a  terrible  action,  de- 
feated it,  capturing  eleven  vessels,  and  sinking  one. 

About  the  last  event  of  national  interest,  occurring  in 
this  year,  is  the  formation  of  the  French  "  Army  of  Eng- 
land," which  was  destined  for  our  invasion,  and  which 
was  to  be  under  the  command  of  General  Buonaparte, 
which  is  about  the  first  time  our  great  enemy  came  into 
active  collision  with  us. 

At  the  commencement  of  1798,  the  financial  pressure 
on  the  nation,  caused  by  the  war,  was  very  great.  A 
triple  assessed  tax,  a  loan  of  £15,000,000,  additional 
duties  on  salt,  tea,  dogs,  horses  and  carriages,  and  a  tax  on 
armorial  bearings,  came  home  to  every  one.  Yet,  Eng- 
lish patriotism  was  sound  to  the  core,  and  the  people 
helped  the  Government  nobly,  by  means  of  voluntary 
contributions.  A  few  examples  will  show  how  every 
class  vied  with  each  other  in  subscribing.  They  are 
taken  from  the  Times. 

February  jth. — "  Yesterday  the  Marquis  of  Bucking- 
ham subscribed  at  the  Bank,  the  profits  of  one  year's 


I79S-]  Old  Times.  43 

income  from  his  Tellership  of  the  Exchequer.  On 
Monday  the  Duke  of  Marlborough  subscribed  £5000  at 
the  Bank.  The  city  of  Oxford  has  subscribed  £500  as 
a  voluntary  donation,  to  be  continued  for  three  years, 
if  the  war  lasts  so  long." 

February  8th. — "  The  subscriptions  yesterday  at  the 
Bank  amounted  to  upwards  of  £30,000.  Among  the 
subscribers  were — the  Earl  of  Carlisle  £4000,  and  the 
Bishop  of  Litchfield  and  Coventry  £1000.  But  the 
largest  individual  subscriptions  are  expected  from  Man- 
chester, from  whence  letters  were  yesterday  received, 
stating  that  three  mercantile  houses  in  that  opulant  town 
had  subscribed  THIRTY-FIVE  THOUSAND  POUNDS,  and  that 
Mr.  Peek's  house  gave  £20,000." 

On  the  Qth  February  a  meeting,  on  this  subject,  was 
held  at  the  Royal  Exchange,  the  Lord  Mayor,  Aldermen, 
and  most  prominent  citizens  being  present — and  the 
result  is  thus  stated  in  the  Times,  loth  February  : — "As 
soon  as  the  meeting  was  dissolved,  four  separate  books 
were  opened  on  the  Hustings ;  and  at  the  close  of 
the  day,  the  exact  sum  subscribed  in  cash,  was  Forty- 
six  Thousand,  Five  Hundred,  and  Thirty^four  Pounds, 
Three  Shillings  and  sixpence,  which,  if  calculated  for 
the  time  the  books  were  opened,  is  at  the  rate  of 
£400  a  minute.  The  number  of  subscribers  was  218, 
and  the  subscriptions  from  one  guinea  to  £3000,  which 
last  sum  was  the  donation  of  Boyd,  Benfield,  &  Co.,  with 
the  promise  of  continuing  it  annually  during  the  war." 

I4/A  February. — "  The  City  of  London  yesterday  sub- 
scribed £10,000  towards  the  contributions  to  the  Bank. 
Yesterday  the  sum  of  £18,900  was  subscribed  by  the 
merchants  on  the  Royal  Exchange." 

It  would  be  wearisome  to  detail  all  the  subscriptions, 


44  Old  Times.  [1798- 

but  yet  two  or  three  more  may  be  recorded.  The  Bank 
of  England  gave  £200,000,  and  the  King  and  Queen 
£20,000,  and  £5000  respectively,  out  of  their  private 
purses ;  and  on  2Oth  September  the  amount  of  the  voluntary 
contributions  then  subscribed,  was  £i,SI4>993>  I2s-  9d. 

Ireland,  this  year,  was  more  than  disaffected  :  it  was 
in  open  rebellion,  and,  on  3Oth  March,  a  proclamation  was 
issued  by  the  Lord-Lieutenant,  for  suppressing  such 
rebellion.  That  it  was  a  most  serious  one,  is  evidenced 
by  a  paper  in  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald's  handwriting, 
that,  at  a  meeting  held  26th  February  1798,  a  return 
was  made  that  there  were  in  Ulster,  Leinster,  and 
Munster,  269,896  armed  men,  and  that  their  treasurer 
had  £1485,  43.  9d.  in  hand.  That  this  was  not  altogether 
an  exaggeration,  is  shewn  by  the  fact  that,  in  the  year 
1797,  there  were  seized  by  the  Government,  in  the 
provinces  of  Leinster,  and  Ulster,  alone,  49,109  guns, 
1756  bayonets,  4463  pistols,  4183  swords,  248  blunder- 
busses, 119  musket-barrels,  106  sword-blades,  22  pieces 
of  ordnance,  and  70,630  pikes,  besides  other  weapons 
voluntarily  surrendered.  In  the  same  year,  14,973  pikes 
were  surrendered  in  the  county  of  Kildare  alone,  and  in 
Dublin,  on  nth  May  1798,  5  pieces  of  cannon,  and  500 
pike  handles,  were  seized. 

On  24th  May,  seeing  that  war  was  being  openly 
waged  against  the  Government,  the  Lord-Lieutenant  issued 
a  proclamation  warning  the  people  that  they  were  put 
under  martial  law,  and,  on  the  morrow,  the  rebels  were 
defeated,  with  much  loss,  near  Carlow,  and,  after  the 
engagement,  about  200  of  them  were  hanged,  or  shot. 
Then  the  rebels  gained  a  slight  advantage,  especially  at 
Enniscorthy,  where  they  compelled  the  garrison  to  retreat. 
This,  and  a  few  other  small  successes,  were  amply 


1798.]  Old  Times.  45 

avenged  by  Lord  Lake,  on  2 1st  June,  at  Vinegar  Hill,  a 
position  which  the  Irish  had  held  since  the  28th  May. 
Their  rout  was  complete,  and  their  slaughter  must  have 
been  immense,  for  no  quarter  was  given  by  the  Royal 
troops.  Then  came  the  trials  of  the  ringleaders,  and  the 
gibbet  was  in  constant  requisition. 

And,  now,  the  French  must  needs  have  a  ringer  in 
this  pie,  although  their  attempt  at  invasion  was  simply 
ludicrous.  The  following  is  the  first  official  news,  and 
it  is  a  letter  from  the  Duke  of  Portland  to  the  Lord 
Mayor  : — "  2Jth  August.  I  think  it  right  to  inform  your 
Lordship,  that,  by  official  accounts  received  this  morning 
from  the  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  it  appears  that 
three  French  frigates,  unaccompanied  by  any  transports, 
appeared  in  the  Bay  of  Killala,  on  the  evening  of  the 
22nd  instant,  and  landed  about  700  men,  who  imme- 
diately took  possession  of  the  town  of  Killala,  and  made 
a  small  party  of  the  Prince  of  Wales'  Fencible  Regiment, 
consisting  of  an  officer  and  20  men,  and  some  yeomen, 
prisoners;  a  large  force  is  collecting  from  different 
quarters,  and  every  necessary  preparation  making  for 
attacking  the  enemy." 

This  expedition,  consisting  of  1030  privates  and  70 
officers  under  General  Humbert,  had  sailed  from  Rochelle, 
with  the  intention  of  rendering  material  help  to  the  Irish 
rebels — and,  after  the  capture  of  Killala,  they  marched 
on  Castlebar,  where  was  a  force  of  from  2000  to  3000 
regulars,  under  Lord  Lake.  The  English  artillery,  how- 
ever, expended  their  ammunition  too  soon ;  a  fact  the 
French  did  not  lose  sight  of,  but,  charging,  put  the 
English  force  to  flight,  and  they  then  occupied  Castlebar. 
But  here  was  the  end  of  their  success — General  Lake 
and  Lord  Cornwallis  surrounded  them,  and  the  French 


46  Old  Times.  [1798-9. 

had  to  surrender,  but  no  quarter  was  given  to  the  Irish. 
The  number  of  French  troops,  on  their  surrender,  was  96 
officers,  and  748  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates, 
the  rest  having  been  lost  since  their  landing  at  Killala. 
This  force  was  intended  to  be  the  vanguard  of  a  larger  ex- 
pedition, which  was  prevented  joining,  by  want  of  funds. 

Another  little  expedition  set  sail  from  France,  to  help 
General  Humbert,  consisting  of  one  ship  of  the  line, 
eight  frigates,  a  schooner,  and  a  brig.  It  was  met  by 
Sir  John  Borlase  Warren,  who  was  cruising,  with  seven 
sail  of  the  line,  off  Lough  Swilly.  They  engaged,  and, 
after  an  action  of  three  hours  and  forty  minutes'  duration, 
the  French  three-decker,  and  three  of  the  frigates,  hauled 
down  their  colours,  and  of  the  five  frigates  that  then 
escaped,  three  were  subsequently  captured. 

The  rebellion  in  Ireland  was  now  virtually  at  an  end, 
the  rebels  were  dispersed,  and  their  leaders  accounted 
for.  Still,  this  result  was  not  arrived  at  without  a  fear- 
ful expenditure  of  treasure  and  life;  it  being  estimated 
that  not  less  than  30,000  lives  had  been  sacrificed. 
£1,000,000  was  voted  by  Parliament,  as  compensation 
for  injury  done  to  the  Loyalists  in  Ireland,  and  that  sum 
was  reckoned  as  only  being  a  third  of  their  actual  losses. 

On  the  1st  August  of  this  year  was  fought  the  battle 
of  the  Nile ;  the  news  of  which,  however,  did  not  reach 
the  Admiralty  until  the  2nd  October,  and  great  were  the 
rejoicings,  and  illuminations,  on  the  3rd.  With  this 
welcome  news,  the  chronicle  of  the  year  may  well  end. 

As  far  as  we  can  judge,  from  the  lights  of  history 
which  are  left  to  us,  nothing  was  going  particularly 
wrong  with  the  national  arms,  or  the  national  prosperity, 
considering  we  were  at  war,  but  the  powers,  that  were, 


I799-]  Old  Times.  47 

thought  things  might  possibly  go  better,  if  they  had  a 
General  Fast,  so,  on  the  1st  February,  1799,  a  pro- 
clamation was  issued  : — 

"  GEORGE  R. — We,  taking  into  Our  most  serious  con- 
sideration the  just  and  necessary  War,  in  which  We  are 
engaged,  for  the  Maintenance  of  the  Independence  of 
Our  Crown,  for  the  Defence  and  Protection  of  the  Com- 
merce, and  of  the  Rights  and  Liberties,  Civil  and  Re- 
ligious, of  Our  Subjects,  and  putting  Our  trust  in 
Almighty  God,  that  He  will  graciously  bless  Our  Arms, 
both  by  Sea  and  Land,  have  resolved,  and  do,  by  and 
with  the  Advice  of  Our  Privy  Council,  hereby  command 
that  a  Publick  Fast  and  Humiliation  be  observed  through- 
out that  part  of  Our  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  called 
England,  Our  Dominion  of  Wales,  and  Town  of  Berwick 
upon  Tweed,  on  Wednesday,  the  Twenty-seventh  Day  of 
this  instant  February;  that  so  both  We  and  Our  People 
may  humble  Ourselves  before  Almighty  God,  in  order  to 
obtain  Pardon  of  Our  Sins ;  and  may,  in  the  most  devout 
and  solemn  Manner,  send  up  Our  Prayers  and  Suppli- 
cations to  the  Divine  Majesty,  for  averting  those  Heavy 
Judgments  which  Our  manifold  Sins  and  Provocations 
have  most  justly  deserved ;  and  imploring  His  Blessing 
and  Assistance  on  Our  Arms,  and  for  restoring  and  per- 
petuating Peace,  Safety  and  Prosperity,  to  Us  and  Our 
Kingdoms,"  &c.  &c.  There  were  special  forms  of  prayer 
for  morning,  communion,  and  evening  services. 

In  January,  and  February,  there  was  much  agitation  as 
to  the  union  with  Ireland,  to  which  the  Irish  Parliament, 
by  small  majorities,  was  agreeable ;  but  it  was  reserved 
till  ist  January,  1801,  to  become  an  accomplished  fact. 

After  besieging  St.  Jean  d'Acre  for  sixty  days,  in  vain, 
Napoleon  determined  to  raise  the  siege,  and,  on  the  2Oth 


Old  Times. 


[1799- 


May,  his  army  began  its  return  march  to  Egypt.  He 
threw  his  heavy  artillery  into  the  sea,  not  being  able  to 
transport  it  across  the  desert,  and  the  English  had  pre- 
viously captured  his  battering  train.  It  need  scarcely  be 
said  that  there  was  great  rejoicing  in  England. 

Volunteers  had  sprung  up  as  if  by  magic,  and  it  was 
felt  that  it  would  do  good,  if  they  received  some  direct 
recognition  from  royalty,  and  were  reviewed  by  the  King. 
Accordingly,  the  time  was  fixed  for  the  4th  of  June,  and 
the  place,  Hyde  Park.  I  know  I  shall  be  pardoned  if 
I  give  a  list  of  the  corps  who  were  then  reviewed,  as 
so  many  of  the  modern  Volunteers  must  be  ignorant  that 
their  progenitors  were  present  on  this  occasion. 


CAVALRY. 

Islington. 

Westminster. 

Clerkenwell. 

Battersea. 

Wimbledon. 

Lambeth. 

Deptford. 

London  and  Westminster. 

Southwark. 

Surrey  Yeomanry. 

Clapham. 

INFANTRY. 
Left  Column. 
Hon.  Artillery  Corps. 
St.  George's  Regiment. 
Hackney. 
Westminster. 
Islington. 
Clerkenwell. 
St.  Sepulchre. 
St.  George's,  Bloomsbury. 


London  Volunteers. 

St.  Luke's,  Chelsea. 

St.  Margaret  and  St.  John. 

St.  Mary-le-bonne. 

St.  Martin's. 

Union. 

Chiswick. 

St.  Paul,  Covent  Garden. 

Brentford. 

Fulham. 

St.  George's,  Hanover  Sq. 

S.E.  London  Volunteers. 

Centre  Column. 

Bloomsbury,  &c, 

St.  James's. 

N.E.  London  Volunteers. 

Hampstead. 

Temple. 

Pimlico. 

Finsbury  Square. 

Somerset  Place. 

Knight  Marshal. 

Three  Wards  Association. 


I799-]  Old  Times.  49 


Right  Column. 
Stoke  Newington. 
Tottenham. 
Enfield. 
Edmonton. 
Hans  Town. 

St.  Andrew  and  St.  George. 
St.  Clement  Danes. 
Streatham. 
Limehouse. 
Ratcliffe. 
Clapham. 


Battersea. 

St.  Catherine's. 

Poplar  and  Blackwall. 

Whitechapel. 

Highgate. 

Lambeth. 

St.  Pancras. 

Wapping. 

Hendon. 

St.  Olave. 

Eight  Ward  Association. 

Shoreditch. 


In  all,  there  were  8193  effective  men,  and  the  Review 
was  very  successful,  the  only  exception  that  was  taken 
to  it  being,  that  some  of  the  newly-embodied  Corps  did 
not  fire  with  perfect  regularity.  Every  Londoner  is 
familiar  with  the  statue  in  Pall  Mall,  of  George  III.  on 
horseback,  doffing  his  cocked  hat.  Well,  that  was  how 
he  appeared  at  this  Review,  which  happened  on  his 
birthday.  On  the  2 1st,  he,  and  all  the  young  Princes, 
inspected  some  12,200  men,  in  a  very  curious  fashion. 
The  Corps  were  not  brigaded,  as  in  Hyde  Park,  but 
were  inspected  in  their  different  districts.  The  Royal 
party  started  at  a  quarter  before  9  A.M.,  returned  to 
Buckingham  House  at  6  P.M.,  and  then  set  off  for 
Windsor,  a  good  day's  work  !  especially  as  it  all,  with 
the  exception  of  the  journey  to  Windsor,  had  to  be 
done  on  horseback.  The  King,  and  party,  were  to  have 
gone  to  Leman  Street,  Whitechapel,  to  inspect  the  Shore- 
ditch,  Whitechapel,  and  Mile  End  Volunteers,  but  he 
could  not  get  so  far,  so  turned  up  Houndsditch,  to  Fins- 
bury.  The  only  refreshment,  and  rest,  the  Royal  party 
seem  to  have  had,  was  breakfast  with  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor, at  his  house  in  Upper  Guildford  Street,  where 
they  remained  an  hour  and  a-half. 

D 


50  Old  Times.  [1799- 

The  history  of  the  remainder  of  the  year  is  centred  in 
Napoleon  Buonaparte.  On  23rd  of  August,  he  suddenly 
left  Egypt,  affairs  in  France  requiring  his  presence  there, 
if  he  would  look  after  his  own  interests.  Had  he  not 
done  so,  it  is  probable  that  the  world  would  never  have 
heard  so  much  of  him ;  as  it  was,  he  was  elected  the 
First  Consul  of  the  three, — Cambaceres,  and  Le  Brun, 
being  his  coadjutors. 

On  the  25th  December  of  this  year,  Napoleon  com- 
mitted a  solecism  in  diplomatic  etiquette,  by  writing 
an  autograph  letter  direct  to  George  III.,  pointing  out 
how  each  nation  was  wasting  its  strength  and  re- 
sources, and  suggesting  the  possibility,  and  desirability, 
of  peace.  Lord  Grenville  replied  to  this  letter,  through 
Talleyrand,  much  to  Napoleon's  disgust,  and  expressed 
his  regret  that  the  English  Government  did  not  yet  see 
its  way  to  enter  into  negotiations  for  a  peace,  which 
would  not,  in  all  probability,  be  a  lasting  one. 

This  year  will  close  with  a  report  of  the  number  of 
French  prisoners  in  England,  taken  December  31,  when 
they  were  delivered  over  to  our  Transport  Board,  the 
Consular  Government  refusing  to  provide  for  them  any 
longer. 

At  Plymouth      ....  7,477 

„  Portsmouth  .         .         .         .  10,128 

„  Liverpool      ....  2,298 

,,  Stapleton      ....  693 

,,  Chatham      ....  1,754 

„  Yarmouth     ....  50 

„  Edinburgh    ....  208 

„  Norman  Cross       .         .         .  3,038 

Total    .        ,.       25,646 


Old  Times. 


MEN'S     DRESS. 

THE  latter  part  of  the  last  century  was  noticeable  for 
the  great,  and  grave,  mutations  which  took  place  in 
masculine  attire,  and,  most  particularly,  during  the 
times  here  treated  of.  Previously,  the  wig,  and  dress 
(quaker  cut)  coat,  had  long  had  a  successful  run,  but 
people  visited  the  Continent  more,  especially  France, 
and  brought  back  French  fashions,  which  at  this  time 
were  particularly  fantastic.  The  Prince  of  Wales,  too, 
delighted  in  fine  dress,  and  was  "arbiter  elegantiarum " 
of  his  sex.  At  every  levee,  and  public  appearance,  his 
dress  was  always  expatiated  on,  and  the  "  gilded  youth  " 
of  the  period,  dressed  up  to  him,  and  copied  his  manner, 
even  to  his  bow. 

We,  in  our  days,  cannot  afford  to  jeer  at  the  accom- 
panying illustration,  when  we  see,  in  the  advertisement 
sheets  of  some  of  our  periodicals,  men's  stays  advertised, 
and  even  vividly  depicted ;  and,  therefore,  we  must  not 
throw  the  first  stone  of  laughter  at  the  fashions  of  1788. 

Here  we  see  the  transition  stage,  the  modification  of 
the  old  courtly  wig,  with  its  accompanying  powder,  and 
black  silk  bag  for  the  queue,  now  only  to  be  seen  pinned 
on  to  the  coat  collars  of  court  officials,  and  extremely 
magnificent  major  domos,  &c.,  and,  also,  we  see  the  old 
court  dress  coat  has  now  taken  unto  itself  a  collar,  of 
that  exaggerated  description  which  was  so  much  in 


52  Old  Times. 

vogue  during  the  next  twenty  years.  Frilled  shirts,  and 
ruffles,  still  existed,  and  the  curious  custom  of  wearing  two 
watches  was  the  fashion.  Here,  again,  history  has  some- 
what repeated  itself  in  our  modern  double  watch-chain, 
except  that  now  only  one  watch  is  worn,  the  other  side 
guarding  a  sovereign  purse. 

Brighthelmstone  or  Brighton — beloved  of  George  the 
Magnificent,  whether  as  Prince,  Regent,  or  King — was  the 
place  where  the  fashionable  youth  congregated,  and  there- 
fore we  may  take  the  following  extract  from  the  Morning 
Post  (the  doyen  of  the  Daily  Press)  of  i8th  September, 
1788:— 

"BRIGHTON  DRESS. 

"  The  fashionable  bathing  dress,  at  Brighton,  is  chiefly  a  pair 
of  buff  trousers,  with  a  slight  jacket 

"  This  is  adopted  by  all  the  young  men  of  the  place,  and  a 
number  of  idle,  sauntering  land  lubbers  meet  the  eye  every 
morning  on  the  STEYNE,  that  one  cannot  help  wishing  for  a 
sturdy  pressgang  to  give  them  useful  employment,  or  at  least 
keep  them  out  of  mischief. 

"  After  breakfast  they  are  accoutred  for  the  sports  of  the 
field. 

"  The  sporting  dress  is  a  brown  jacket,  with  a  multiplicity  of 
pockets,  on  each  side,  that  reaches  from  the  bottom  to  the  top, 
so  that,  from  this  appearance,  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to 
determine  which  the  fashionable  tribe  most  resemble — a  set  of 
grooms,  or  a  company  of  smugglers. 

"When  the  dinner  hour  arrives,  after  these  sprightly  and 
heroic  gentlemen  have  'slain  their  thousands,  and  ten  thousands,1 
according  to  their  own  account,  in  the  field,  with  as  little 
winking  and  blinking  as  MAJOR  STURGEON  himself,  they  then 
attire  themselves  in  order  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  the  table, 
and,  however  deranged  they  may  afterwards  be  by  convivial 
excess,  they  march  or  stagger  away  to  the  Rooms,  as  circum- 
stances may  determine,  and  entertain  the  Ladies  with  elegant 
and  decent  gallantry." 


~fhc  prince's 
ffonsfrous     /ike    l~hc   R-ince!    fhc  very  bow,  <kmme(* 


V 


o 


/Vg/4/  Sfeys   urit/    6c    Me 


o/" 


Old  Times.  53 

About  this  time  flourished  that  curious  being,  the 
"  Macaroni"  but  most  of  his  portraits  are  evidently  such 
gross  caricatures,  that  I  have  not  cared  to  reproduce  them. 
I  have  been  compelled  to  draw  upon  the  satirical  prints 
of  the  period,  as  a  future  historian  would  take  the  pictures 
from  Punch,  if  he  wanted  to  hit  the  passing  folly  of  the 
day  ;  but  we  must  not  forget  that  the  satirical  prints  of  the 
last  century,  did  not  their  spiriting  so  gently  as  our 
modern  caricaturists,  but  exaggerated  in  every  way,  in 
facial  expression,  and  in  costume. 

The  following  brace  of  Macaronis  is  taken  from  a  print 
of  the  "Mock  Duel,  or  a  trip  to  Flanders"  26th  May, 
1789  :  and,  although  the  costume  is  scrupulously  correct, 
yet  one  can  hardly  help  thinking  that  the  designer  of 
the  wig,  which  was  typical  of  the  genus,  has  somewhat 
"  drawn  upon  his  imagination  for  his  facts."  The  name 
Macaroni  was  applied,  in  derision,  to  those  youths  who 
had  made  the  Grand  Tour,  and  were  fond,  on  their  return, 
of  shewing  off  their  superior  graces,  and  extolling  the 
polished  manners,  and  superior  civilization,  of  the 
countries  they  had  visited.  In  those  days  you  were 
nothing  unless  classical.  Modern  languages  were  rarely 
taught,  Science  was  all  but  unknown,  Latin  and  Greek 
were  the  chief  branches  of  education,  and  rich  men  were 
keen  collectors  of  everything  classical,  marble  statues 
and  busts,  bronzes,  and  coins — so  Italy  was  naturally  the 
bourne  of  these  travelled  youths,  and  John  Bull,  who  then 
was,  in  the  aggregate,  a  very  stay-at-home  animal, 
derided  them,  when  they  came  back,  with  the  epithet 
Macaroni,  an  elegant  title  derived  from  the  popular 
Italian  dish. 

The  home-keeping  youths  imitated  their  brethren  as 
well  as  they  could,  but  it  was  at  a  very  humble  distance, 


54  Old  Times. 

and  their  dress,  though  partially  modelled  on  that  of 
their  confreres,  was  much  exaggerated,  and  did  not 
display  such  simplicity  or  good  taste. — John  Bull  had  a 
name  ready  for  him ;  a  home-manufactured  Macaroni 
was  "  a  Jessamy." 

These  Jessamies  were,  like  the  modern  Mashers, 
effeminate,  and  comparatively  harmless  beings — entirely 
taken  up  with  the  contemplation  of  their  external  ap- 
pearance, and  the  attempted  subjugation  of  the  other 
sex. 

See  the  following  quotation  from  the  Morning  Post 
4th  July  1789  : — "There  is  not  a  man  in  the  nation,  no 
not  even  LORD  EFFINGHAM,  who  bestows  so  much  time 
and  attention  in  rendering  the  external  appearance  of 
his  head,  elegant  in  the  extreme,  than  the  EARL  of 
SCARBOROUGH.  It  is  said  that  his  Lordship  keeps  six 
French  frizeurs,  who  have  nothing  else  to  do  than  dress 
his  hair.  LORD  EFFINGHAM  keeps  only  FIVE  ! ! !  " 

The  Jessamies,  however,  were  only  one  class  among 
the  youth  of  the  time,  and  I  fear,  by  far  the  smallest. 
The  majority  were  what  we  now  should  term  "  fast." 
Animal  spirits  in  young  men  must  have  vent  somehow. 

There  were  then  no  rowing,  cycles,  or  other  means 
of  getting  rid  of  the  superfluous  energy  they  possessed. 
Men's  social  habits  were  not  at  all  of  a  "  blue  riband  " 
nature,  and,  after  dinner,  the  bottle  circulated  freely. 
So  those  who,  like  Charles  Reade's  description  of  modern 
athletic  young  men,  knew  "  only  one  language,  and  lived 
principally  in  the  open  air,"  naturally  became  either  "  A 
choice  Spirit,"  "  A  Buck,"  or  "  A  Blood,"  descendants  of 
the  "Hectors,"  "  Muns,"  Titiretus,"  "Scourers,"  and 
"  Mohocks  " — men  that  hustled  honest  folk,  sang  roaring, 
maudlin,  filthy  songs — men  from  whom  no  woman  was 


I 

I 

I 


Old  Times.  55 

safe ;  who,  armed  with  bludgeons,  and  going  in  com- 
pany in  large  numbers,  boxed  the  watch,  set  the  con- 
stables at  defiance,  and  made  night  hideous  with  their 
brawls  and  shouting. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  say  that  the  whole  youth 
of  this  age  could  be  classed  either  in  one,  or  other,  of 
these  two  categories ;  there  were  good  young  men 
who  probably  "always  came  home  to  their  tea," 
well  dressed,  well  read,  well  mannered — such  as  "  A 
Smart." 

As  a  rule,  even  now-a-days,  a  man  when  in  the 
country,  very  seldom,  or  never,  carries  an  umbrella : 
to  a  Londoner  it  is  part  of  his  costume.  In  Anne's 
reign  the  use  of  the  umbrella  was  strictly  set  apart  for 
the  softer  sex,  and  then  only  for  those  whose  avocations 
compelled  them  to  be  out,  whatever  the  weather.  As  Gay 
says  in  his  "  Trivia  " — 

"  The  tuck'd-up  sempstress  walks  with  hasty  strides, 
While  streams  run  down  her  oil'd  umbrella's  sides." 

But  for  men,  fie !  he  must  be  an  effeminate  coxcomb 
who  would  carry  one.  Hear  what  fun  was  made  of 
him  (Female  Taller,  December  12)  : — "  The  Young  Gentle- 
man belonging  to  the  Custom  House,  that  for  fear  of 
rain  borrowed  the  umbrella  at  Will's  Coffee  House  in 
Cornhill  of  the  Mistress,  is  hereby  advertised  that  to  be 
dry  from  head  to  foot  on  the  like  occasion,  he  shall  be 
welcome  to  the  Maid's  Pattens" 

One  John  Macdonald,  a  footman,  who  wrote  his  own 
biography,  helps  us  to  fix  a  date  when  the  use  of  them, 
by  men,  was  so  rare  as  to  make  the  user  singular.  He 
says  that  he  had  "  a  fine  silk  umbrella,  which  he  brought 
from  Spain ;  but  he  could  not,  with  any  comfort  to  him- 


56  Old  Times. 

self,  use  it,  the  people  calling  out  '  Frenchman !  why 
don't  you  get  a  coach  ?  '  "  However,  he  "  persisted  for 
three  months,  till  they  took  no  further  notice  of  this 
novelty.  Foreigners  began  to  use  theirs,  and  then  the 
English."  Macdonald  wrote  in  1778.  Jonas  Hanway, 
the  philanthropist,  who  had  travelled  much  in  Persia 
and  the  East,  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  Englishman 
who  habitually  carried  an  umbrella  whilst  walking  in 
the  street.  He  died  in  1786. 

That  it  was  not  in  general  use  in  the  year  1790,  is 
evidenced  by  the  somewhat  sneering  title  of  a  "  Rain 
Beau,"  or  one  that  was  afraid  of  a  drop  of  rain.  This 
illustration  shews  several  modifications  of  fashion  besides 
the  use  of  the  umbrella.  The  cocked  hat  had  gone  out — 
and  the  galling  yoke  of  the  "  chimney  pot "  was  being 
inaugurated.  As  yet  it  was  limp,  of  felt,  but  there  is 
the  hideous  head  covering  that  has  martyrised  at  least 
three  generations. 

Then  we  cannot  but  notice  that  the  hair  has  lost 
all  trace  of  the  wig — and  is  allowed  to  be  worn  "  au 
nature!"  A  huge  cravat  swathes  the  throat,  the  coat 
is  cut  shorter,  and  more  fly-away  than  hitherto,  that 
knee  breeches  are  disappearing,  and  pantaloons  coming 
in,  to  be  in  their  turn  superseded  by  the  modern 
trouser.  Lastly,  the  term  Macaroni,  or  Jcssamy,  is  re- 
placed by  Beau— which  will  soon  have  to  give  way 
to  Dandy. 

Jimmy  Lincum  Feadle  shows  us  the  Beau  of  1791. 
Here  the  fashion  is  evidently  imported  from  France — 
loud  coloured  striped  coat — pantaloons,  boots  and  all. 
The  French  Revolution  was  hastening  on,  rapidly,  to  its 
culmination,  and,  the  younger  Whigs,  before  the  time 
came  when  they  were  utterly  disgusted  by  the  brutal 


A  (Ti 


o/ce 


Bucl(. 


Old  Times.  57 

excesses  of  the  French,  copied  the  dress  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary party. 

The  accompanying  illustration  will  show  how  far  they 
succeeded.  There  is  an  elaborately  studied  negligence 
about  the  coat,  and  a  height  about  the  hat,  which  could 
never  be  of  native  production,  whilst  the  bludgeon  must 
have  belonged  to  some  "  Merveilleux,"  (the  class  whom 
Bonaparte  so  cordially  detested),  and  have  been  imported 
direct  from  Paris.  The  supercilious  look,  and  the  mincing 
gait,  are  warranted  truly  Parisian,  and  I  have  very  little 
doubt  but  that  Isaac  Cruikshank  sketched  him  from  the 
life. 

The  term  "  a  Crop,"  is  indicative  of  Revolutionary  and 
Republican  sympathies.  Lucius  Junius  Brutus,  and  all 
the  ancient  Romans,  wore  their  hair  cut  short — and  so 
we  must  needs  copy  them,  and  have  a  revolution  in  hair 
cutting,  just  to  show  the  outer  world  what  our  thoughts 
are  on  the  present  position  of  political  parties.  The 
elaborate  hair  of  the  Macaroni  or  the  Jessamy,  or  even 
the  negligent,  but  natural  chevelure  of  the  Beau,  would 
not  suit  Republican  simplicity,  and,  as  in  our  own 
Commonwealth,  the  men  of  the  Republic  cropped  their 
heads,  as  a  testimony  against  their  political  opponents,  so 
did  they  in  1791.  The  Duke  of  Bedford,  especially, 
attracted  public  attention,  by  having  his  hair  cut  short, 
and  many  are  the  allusions  to  him,  with  respect  to  it,  in 
the  public  prints. 

But  with  1792  came  another  change  of  fashion,  of 
which  we  get  two  views,  back  and  front,  and  as  they 
are  by  a  lady  (Miss  Keate),  they  are  probably  not 
caricatured. 

Here  we  see  a  return  to  a  more  natural  style  of  dress, 
the  colours  of  which,  in  "Neck  or  Nothing"  are  well 


58  Old  Times. 

chosen,  and  very  becoming.  Of  course  the  awful  cravat 
is  of  white  cambric  or  muslin,  and  he  wears  a  pink  under- 
waistcoat,  white  over-waistcoat,  and  knee-breeches,  a 
mulberry-coloured  coat,  and  blue  and  white  stockings ; 
hair  powdered. 

"  A  back  view  of  the  cape "  is  not  so  felicitous  as 
regards  colour,  being  somewhat  "  prononce"  The  coat 
is  green,  breeches  yellow,  necktie  yellow,  stockings  grey, 
powdered  hair,  and  a  liberal  supply  of  powder  on  the 
back  of  the  coat. 

In  order  to  keep  this  hair  powder  on  the  hair,  it  was 
necessary  to  saturate  it  with  some  kind  of  grease,  even 
if  only  a  tallow  dip,  or  rushlight,  were  used ;  but  an 
advertisement  in  the  Times,  of  7th  February  1793,  gives 
us  some  notion  as  to  the  antiquity  of  Bears'  Grease, 
which  must  have  been  undoubtedly  genuine,  if  the  last 
paragraph  can  be  taken  as  a  fact : — 

"JUST  KILLED,  an  extraordinary  fine  Fat  RUSSIAN 
BEAR,  at  Ross's  Ornamental  Hair  and  Perfumery  Warehouse, 
No.  119  Bishopsgate  Street  (late  Vickery's),  three  doors  from 
the  London  Tavern. 

"  The  excellent  virtue  which  the  fat  of  Bears  possesses,  has 
been  experienced  by  thousands  of  both  sexes,  and  of  all  Ages, 
in  this  Metropolis.  To  those  who  have  used  the  real  Bears' 
Grease,  it  is  evident  no  Grease  whatever  beside,  retains  its 
moisture  so  long  upon  the  head,  it  being  the  only  thing  pos- 
sible to  make  the  Hair  grow  thick  and  long,  recover  it  after 
illness,  prevent  it  falling  off,  or  turning  grey,  during  life :  being 
the  most  efficacious  remedy  for  making  the  Hair  grow  on 
Horses'  knees  when  broken  or  chafed. 

"It  is  sold  at  is.  per  ounce,  or  i6s.  the  pound,  to  be  seen 
cut  off  the  Animal  in  the  presence  of  the  purchaser." 

Apropos  of  "  cropping,"  take  the  following  skit  from 
the  Times,  January  21,  1794  : — 


A  t^ain—bcau. 


Old  Times.  59 

"SiR  ROBERT  MACKWORTH  is  at  Bath,  and  seems  to  be 
no  otherways  distinguished  than  by  the  particularity  of  his 
equipage :  he  drives  four  horses  of  different  colours  in  his 
phaeton,  which  has  four  wheels  painted  to  correspond  with  the 
colours  of  the  horses  :  in  the  midst  of  his  badge  of  distinction, 
the  bloody  hand,  is  the  figure  of  4,  which  he  explains  in  this 
way,  four  in  hand.  The  motto  'This  is  the  Tippy.'  If  any- 
thing can  add  to  the  folly  of  the  whole  it  is  that  he  intends  to 
crop  four  opposite  ears  of  his  horses,  to  make  room  for  four 
monstrous  roses,  of  different  colours,  to  match." 

The  Court  dresses  which  the  Nobility  and  Gentry  then 
wore,  were  magnificent,  and  the  following  are  only  a  few, 
taken  as  an  example,  from  the  Times,  June  4,  1794 : — 

"KING'S  BIRTHDAY. 

"Yesterday,  being  the  anniversary  of  the  King's  birthday, 
when  His  Majesty  entered  into  the  57th  year  of  his  age,  a 
DRAWING-ROOM  was  held  in  the  afternoon,  and,  at  night,  a 
Ball  at  St  James'.  The  GENTLEMEN'S  dresses  were  in  general 
embroidered  silks  and  silk  cloths :  but  one  half  were  dressed  in 
REGIMENTALS. 

"  His  MAJESTY,  as  usual  on  his  own  Birthday,  was  in  a  plain 
suit  of  clothes.  The  best  dressed  Gentlemen  whom  we  saw 
at  Court,  and  indeed  their  dresses  were  very  generally  noticed 
for  their  taste  and  splendour,  were — 

"  MR.  SKEFFINGTON. 

"  A  brown  spotted  silk  coat  and  breeches,  with  a  white  silk 
waistcoat  richly  embroidered  with  silver,  stones,  and  shades  of 
silk :  the  design  was  large  baskets  of  silver  and  stones,  filled 
with  bouquets  of  roses,  jonquilles,  &c.,  the  ensemble  producing 
a  beautiful  and  splendid  effect. 

"THE  HON.  THOMAS  ANSON. 

"  A  striped  silk  coat  and  breeches,  with  a  white  silk  waistcoat, 
richly  embroidered  with  white  silk  and  dentelle  :  the  waistcoat 
embroidered  to  match  the  coat. 


60  Old  Times. 

"THE  HON.  MR.  PAGET. 

"  A  brown  and  blue  striped  silk  coat  and  breeches,  with  a 
white  silk  waistcoat,  the  suit  elegantly  embroidered  with 
silver,  stones,  and  bouquets  of  flowers. 

"DUKE   OF   QUEENSBERRY. 

"A  striped,  and  spotted  silk  coat,  and  breeches,  with  diamond 
buttons,  with  a  white  silk  waistcoat  embroidered  with  silver, 
stones,  and  silk. 

"MARQUIS  OF  LORN. 

"A  blue  and  brown  striped  silk  cloth  coat,  and  breeches, 
with  a  white  silk  waistcoat,  embroidered  with  dentelle,  and 
shades  of  silk. 

"  LORD   WlLLOUGHBY   DE   BROKE. 

"  A  dark  olive  spotted  silk  coat,  and  breeches,  with  a  white 
silk  waistcoat,  the  suit  richly  embroidered  in  silver,  coloured 
stones,  and  shades  of  silk." 

Anent  Hair  Powder,  we  have  the  following,  which  may 
be  a  libel  : — 

"  As  a  Frenchman  cannot  exist  without  a  powdered  head, 
and  meal  being  so  dear  in  France,  the  Beaux  are  under  the 
necessity  of  wearing  powdered  whiting.  Rouge  is  plenty  enough, 
that  article  not  being  put  in  requisition :  the  ladies  there- 
fore, as  usual,  wear  their  faces  under  red  masks.  They  go  to 
bed  as  blooming  as  Sol,  when  he  retires  to  the  Lap  of  Thetis  : 
and  rise  as  pale  as  Cynthia,  in  her  nocturnal  visits  to  the 
earth." — (Times,  Nov.  29,  1794.) 

"  Mother  of  Pearl  buttons  are  likely  to  take  the  lead  in  the 
fashionable  world,  as  they  are  both  beautiful  and  ornamental, 
as  well  as  durable  and  economical:  on  the  contrary,  those 
made  of  steel,  and  other  metals,  soon  rust,  and  want  frequent 
cleaning." — (Times,  Dec.  16,  1794.) 

By  the  35  Geo.  III.,  c.  49 — a  Duty  was  laid  on  Hair 
powder — and  "  the  Crops,"  besides  their  (as  we  should 
term  it)  Radical  tendencies,  were  extra  unpopular  among 


Old  Times.  61 

the  Tories,  because  they  evaded  the  Hair  Powder  duty, 
by  wearing  none  : — 

"  A  numerous  club  has  been  formed  in  Lambeth,  called  the 
Crop  Club,  every  member  of  which,  on  his  entrance,  is  obliged 
to  have  his  head  docked  as  close  as  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater's 
old  bay  coach-horses.  This  assemblage  is  instituted  for  the 
purpose  of  opposing,  or  rather  evading,  the  tax  on  powdered 
heads." — (Times,  April  14,  1795.) 

"The  following  Noblemen  and  Gentlemen  were  of  the 
party  with  the  Duke  of  BEDFORD  at  Woburn  Abbey,  when  a 
general  cropping,  and  combing  out  of  hair  powder  took  place  : 
LORD  W.  RUSSELL,  LORD  VILLIERS,  LORD  PAGET,  &c.,  &c. 
They  entered  into  an  engagement  to  forfeit  a  sum  of  money 
if  any  of  them  wore  their  hair  tied,  or  powdered,  within  a 
certain  period.  Many  Noblemen  and  Gentlemen  in  the  county 
of  Bedford  have  since  followed  the  example :  it  has  become 
general  with  the  Gentry  in  Hampshire,  and  the  Ladies  have 
left  off  wearing  powder." — (Times,  Sept.  25,  1795.) 

"  THE  BEDFORD  CROPS. — Something  has  at  last  fallen  from 
this  party  to  entertain  the  Public.  We  hope  they  will  find 
their  heads  cooler  for  this  salutary  operation.  DR.  WILLIS  1  is 
of  opinion,  that  more  than  one  of  them  ought  to  have  been 
shaved.  If  the  Shavees  think  by  publishing  their  names  they 
will  gain  proselytes,  till  their  absurdity  is  lost  in  the  crowd, 
they  are  mistaken.  Can  it  be  supposed  that  a  few  drunken 
persons  in  a  frolic,  will  be  followed  by  the  sober  part  of  the 
people  of  England  ? 

"  The  new  Crop  is  called  the  Bedford  Level. 

"  An  Irish  Member  once  proposed  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons of  that  Country,  to  encourage  the  breed  of  Crops.  We 
believe  no  such  proposition  is  likely  to  be  renewed  upon  the 
present  occasion." — (Times,  Sept.  29,  1795.) 

"  The  price  of  hair  is  considerably  fallen.  The  wig-makers 
declare  people  are  so  afraid  of  having  anything  from  the  crops, 
that  they  can't  sell  a  single  peruke" — (Times,  Nov.  23,  1795.) 

1  Dr.  Willis  was  a  Clergyman,  who  turned  Physician,  and  his  specialty 
was  treatment  of  the  insane.  He  attended  George  III.  in  his  mental 
alienation,  and  was  handsomely  rewarded. 


62  Old  Times. 

We  get  a  curious  insight  into  the  manners  of  the 
young  men  of  that  day,  in  the  following  cutting  from  the 
Times,  Dec.  14,  1795  : — 

"  If  the  young  men  of  the  present  day  have  not  much  wit  in 
their  heads,  they  have  it  at  least  in  their  hats.  Amongst  the 
pleasantries  we  have  seen  in  this  way,  are  the  following :  '  Not 
yours.' — '  Hands  off' — '  No  vermin ' — and  '  Rip  this  as  you 
would  a  hot  potato' — and  other  charming  sallies  of  refined 
and  elegant  vivacity.  But  the  wittiest  linings  are  the  political 
ones  :  Upon  a  table,  the  other  day  we  observed  one  perfectly 
clean,  in  which  was  written  '  A 'vaunt,  Guinea  Ptgf  and  on 
the  lining,  in  a  very  powdery  hat,  that  lay  in  a  window  in  the 
same  room,  were  inscribed  the  two  following  monosyllables, 
'  Off  Crop:  " 

"  A  CROP,  who  had  begun  to  let  his  hair  grow,  was  accused 
of  aristocracy,  and  had  his  head  shaved  in  the  form  of 
a  horse-shoe  at  Wooburn,  by  a  verdict  of  his  PEERS." — 
(Times,  Dec.  30,  1795.) 

Clothes  were  dear  in  those  days,  as  the  following 
Tailor's  bill  shows — because  we  must  reckon  the  value  of 
money  then  at  more  than  double  what  it  is  now  : — 

"  ADDRESS  TO  THE  PUBLIC. — Those  Gentlemen  who  are  in- 
clined to  a  solicitude  to  their  interests,  the  undermentioned 
prices  will  be  found  to  be  highly  advantageous : — 

"G.  Brown  &  Co.,  Taylors,  No.  17  Sun  St.,  Bishopsgate. 

A  suit  of  the  best  Superfine  Cloth  .  £4    4     o 

A  Coat  and  Waistcoat    ditto        .  .  380 

A  Coat                            ditto        .  .  2  12     6 

A  suit  of  the  best  Second  Cloth    .  .  3  10     o 

A  Coat                ditto           .        .  .  i   18    o 

An  Elastic  Cloth  Coat           .         .  .  220 

A  Florentine,  or  Satin  Waistcoat  and 

Breeches  of  the  best          .         .  .  330 

A  pair  of  Breeches  ditto       .         .  .  i   18    o 

A  Waistcoat            ditto       .        .  .  153 


y^?//7y  f6e frenchman 


Old  Times.  63 

A  Cassimere  Waistcoat  and  Breeches    .  £\   16     o 

A  pair  of  Breeches  ditto       .         .         .  i     i     o 
All  sorts  of  Manchester  Cotton  Breeches 
according  to  their  respective  sorts  and 

qualities,  from  i6s.  to        .         .         .  140 

A  superfine  Cloth  Surtout  Coat    .         .  300 

A  ditto  of  Second  or  Elastic  Cloth        .  220 

A  ditto  of  Bath  Beaver,  from  245.  to     .  i   1 1     6 

A  frock  suit  of  Livery,  all  Cloth   .       . .  330 

A  ditto,  with  Shag  Breeches          .         .  3120 

A  Livery  Surtout  of  Drab  Cloth   .         .  200 

A  Coach-Box  Coat         ditto         .         .  330 

A  Cotton  Thicksett  Frock  and  Waistcoat  220 

A  Pillow  Fustian                   ditto  in     6 

A  Duffil  Jacket  and  Waistcoat  ditto      .  i   10     o 

"The  above  Prices  are  calculated  for  middle-sized  men 
only,  and  the  difference  in  all  colours  in  grain,  Blues  and 
Greys,  gilt  or  extra  buttons,  Waistcoat  sleeves,  &c.,  must  be 
paid  for  extra." — (Times,  April  16,  1795.) 

Among  the  eccentricities  of  Costume,  was  a  Coat  de- 
vised by  the  then  Earl  Spencer.  He  made  a  bet  that 
he  would  cut  off  the  tails  of  the  coat  which  he  then  wore, 
and  appear  in  public  in  a  jacket,  which,  within  a  week, 
should  be  the  fashion.  He  did  so,  and  won  his  bet. 
Gillray  caricatured  the  Earl,  in  a  picture  i/th  May,  1792. 
Earl  Spencer  wears  (in  the  picture)  a  blue  spencer  red 
coat  with  brass  buttons,  yellow  trousers,  and  blue  and 
white  stockings.  The  "  Threadpaper  "  has  a  green  coat 
and  grey  stockings.  Both  have  plenty  of  powder  on 
the  backs  of  their  coats. 

The  fashion  is  alluded  to  in  a  paragraph  in  the  Times 
of  1 6th  May  1795,  and  the  "  livery  "  therein  alluded  to  is 
a  covert  satire  on  the  "  Windsor  Uniform,"  which  has 
been  the  semi-court  dress,  from  George  III.'s  time  to 
our  own.  It  is  said  to  have  been  taken  from  the  uniform 


64  Old  Times. 

of  a  Berkshire  Volunteer  Cavalry  Regiment,  of  which 
the  King  was  Colonel  : — 

"  The  general  fashion  of  wearing  Spencers,  reminds  us  of  a 
wager  laid  by  Lord  March,  who  betted  several  years  ago  a 
considerable  sum  with  some  of  his  friends,  that  he  would 
be  able  to  introduce  to  general  imitation,  the  most  humiliating 
fashion  he  could  think  of.  Accordingly  he  appeared  several 
days  successively  about  the  Royal  Exchange,  dressed  like  a 
livery  servant.  The  livery  consisted  of  a  blue  coat,  with 
crimson  collar  and  cuffs ;  and  he  gained  the  wager." — 
(Times,  May  16,  1795.) 

The  accompanying  illustration  by  W.  Hanlon  (nth 
July  1795)  is,  of  course,  a  caricature,  but  it  is  intended 
to  show  the  eccentricities  of  dress,  in  which  the  "  Crops  " 
indulged. 

THE  BOND  STREET  LOUNGE. 

AN    IMPROMPTU. 
Modo  vir,  modofoemina. —  Virgil. 
(Times,  January  •] th,  1796.) 

When  men  in  Petty-Coats  appear, 
No  wonder  Wives  the  breeches  wear  : 
Assuming  manners  quite  robust, 
Game,  swear,  drive,  box,  or  take  a  thrust. 
But  happier  far  would  be  the  case, 
Were  each  to  keep  their  proper  place  : 
The  fair  ones  wear  the  female  dress, 
And  men  adorn  their  persons  less  ; 
For  such  the  fashion  of  the  day, 
They  make  it  difficult  to  say, 
Whether  the  pretty  things  we  meet, 
Parading  through  their  fav'rite  street, 
A  Male  or  Female  we  may  call, 
Their  shapes  are  so  equivocal.  V. 

LONDON  COFFEE-HOUSE, 
January  y/^,  1796. 


A  Back  Vicwof 


jfl ^ptncer    and    a    7~/>rcad  Paper.- 


Old  Times.  65 

"  The  high  kick  of  fashion  is  to  wear  only  one  spur,  like  a 
postillion,  and  to  have  an  assortment  of  long  whips  tied 
up  behind  the  curricle,  in  case  of  wearing  them  all  out  in 
Bond  St.,  during  a  ride  in  the  morning." — (Times,  August  3, 
1796.) 

We  need  not  go  very  far,  any  day  in  Winter,  to  see 
the  young  men  of  our  day,  doing  the  same  thing,  and 
looking  extremely  "  Norse  " — -they  never  telling  of  the 
Chamois  leather  vests  they  wear. 

"  One  of  the  latest  roads  to  fame  that  any  of  our  young  men 
of  ton  have  discovered,  is  to  wrap  their  bodies  carefully  in 
flannel  under  the  shirt,  and  to  keep  the  coat  and  waistcoat 
quite  open,  to  show  the  strength  of  their  constitution,  and  set 
the  snow  at  defiance." — (Times,  January  2,  1797.) 

"  Margate  is  already  beginning  to  be  crowded,  as  usual,  with 
all  sorts,  and  for  all  purposes,  some  to  undo,  and  some  to  be 
undone ;  wives  to  leave  their  husbands,  and  misses  to  procure 
theirs.  Some  tradesmen  gone  down  to  get,  and  others  to  get 
rid  of  their  money :  old  maids  to  display  tresses  not  their  own, 
and  the  young  men  to  show  off  Brutus  heads,  when  the  grand 
point  is,  whether  their's  or  their  type's  in  Ross's  shop  window 
have  the  most  brains  :  perhaps  there  cannot  be  situations  more 
calculated  to  display  what  Shenstone  terms  '  The  various  ways 
of  dressing  a  calf's  head.'  " — (Times,  August  5,  1799.) 

"MILAN,  July  i$th. — In  order  to  a  due  execration  of  the 
licentious  dresses  which  our  Government  has  forbidden,  the 
executioner  of  this  place,  with  his  wife,  appeared  in  the  public 
walk.  He  was  elegantly  dressed,  with  his  head  a  la  Brutus, 
a  large  cravat  which,  concealing  the  chin,  reached  to  the 
mouth  :  long  pantaloons,  hanging  loose  :  and  shoes,  the  points 
of  which  were  a  finger's  length.  His  wife  was  quite  a  la 


66  Old  Times. 

guillotine  —  naked  shoulders,  neck  and  arms."  —  (Times,  August 
S> 


'  "  Our  emaciated  beaux  in  their  quilted  lappelles  and  stuffed 
sleeves  are  like  a  dry  walnut  in  a  great  shell."  —  (Times,  August 
20,  1799.) 

This  paragraph  is  easily  explained  by  a  reference  to 
the  two  accompanying  engravings. 

These  peculiar  garments  were  called  "  Jean  Debry," 
after  the  French  statesman  of  that  name,  who  was  born 
in  1760,  died  1834.  He  was  a  somewhat  prominent 
figure  in  the  French  Revolution,  and,  as  his  name  was 
at  this  time  much  in  men's  mouths,  he  was  made  the  peg 
on  which  to  hang  a  coat.  —  "  A  French  Taylor  fitting  John 
Bull  with  a  Jean  de  Bry,"  is  by  Gillray,  i8th  Novem- 
ber 1799,  and,  although  a  gross  Caricature,  fairly  repre- 
sents the  garment.  The  tailor  is  in  ecstasy  with  the 
fit.  "  Aha  !  dere  my  friend,  I  fit  you  to  de  life  !  dere 
is  Liberte  !  no  tight  Aristocrat  Sleeves,  to  keep  from  you 
vat  you  like  !  a  ha  !  begar,  dere,  he  only  want  von  leetle 
National  Cockade  to  make  look  quite  a  la  mode  de 
Paris  !  " 

John  Bull  surveys  himself  in  the  looking-glass,  grum- 
bling at  his  change  of  costume.  "  Liberty  !  quotha  ! 
why,  zounds,  I  can't  move  my  arms  at  all  !  for  all  it 
looks  woundy  big  !  Oh  !  damn  your  French  Alamodes, 
they  give  a  man  the  same  Liberty  as  if  he  was  in  the 
Stocks  !  give  me  my  old  Coat  again,  say  I,  if  it  is  a  little 
out  of  Elbows  !  " 

"  The  items  of  a  fashionable  Taylor's  bill  are  not  a  little 
curious  at  present  :  —  Ditto,  to  pasteboard  for  your  back  ;  ditto, 


V?  Jean  Debry 


oAn  %u// w/ 


Old  Times.  67 

to  buckram  for  your  cape ;  ditto,  for  wool  for  your  shoulders, 
and  cotton  for  your  chest.  Shakespeare  talks  of  Nature's 
Journeymen  who  make  men  indifferently,  but  our  Journeymen 
Taylors  make  their  customers  of  any  form  and  dimensions  they 
think  proper." — (Times,  Sept.  6,  1799.) 

MODERN  COSTUME. 

"  The  Long-toed  Shoe  which  now  figures  in  Bond  Street  was 
regulated  by  an  Act  of  Parliament  so  long  ago  as  the  reign 
of  Edward  III.  No  person  under  the  rank  of  a  Knight  then 
had  a  right  to  advance  his  toe  more  than  four  inches  beyond 
the  natural  extremity.  .  .  If  ever,  in  some  centuries  to  come, 
the  little  hat,  stuffed  coat,  and  long-toed  shoe  of  a  modern 
fine  Gentleman  should  be  discovered  in  some  Museum  of 
Antiquities,  or  to  survive  upon  the  Stage,  they  would  no 
doubt  give  birth  to  many  learned  doubts  and  extraordinary 
speculations.  By  the  size  of  a  pair  of  modern  Leather 
Breeches,  it  will  naturally  be  inferred  that  the  present  race  of 
men  were  of  a  Colossal  form.  When  we  suppose  in  the  same 
collection  a  pair  of  our  Hussar  Boots  to  have  escaped  the 
ravage  of  time,  will  not  our  descendants  enquire  by  what 
descending  scale  of  rapid  decay  and  diminution  mankind  is 
hastening  into  the  pigmy  state,  or  the  dwarf?  Our  Coats  too, 
in  which  the  Cotton,  the  Wool,  the  Tow,  and  all  the  et  cetera 
of  quilting,  which  now  form  one  half  of  our  bulk,  will  then 
only  seem  the  remains  of  the  art  of  the  virtuoso  :  and  the 
curious  stuffing  he  has  devised  to  represent  the  gigantic  pro- 
portions of  the  wearer.  It  ought,  however,  to  be  known,  for 
the  honour  of  this  commercial  nation,  that  it  is  to  the  spirit  of 
justice  and  liberality  of  our  tradesmen,  that  this  extraordinary 
augmentation  of  our  bulk  is  to  be  attributed.  Having  doubled 
the  price  of  every  article  upon  us,  they  have  very  fairly  given 
us  double  measure,  both  in  our  Coats,  Boots,  and  Breeches. 
The  Hatter,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  is  not  entitled  to  the  same 
commendation,  for  he  has  of  late  years  perpetually  diminished 


68  Old  Times. 

and  circumscribed  the  little  brim  he  allows  us,' in  the  exact 
proportion  that  he  has  advanced  the  price  of  it,  so  that  the 
scarcity  of  felt  is  like  that  of  bread,  the  less  you  have,  the  more 
you  are  to  pay  for  it.  I  paid  a  guinea  and  a  quarter  for  the 
last  I  bought,  and  I  was  ingenuously  told  that  by  the  time 
a  hat  cost  two  guineas,  it  would  exactly  be  the  size  and  the 
weight  of  one.  All  these  tradesmen,  in  a  fairer  sense  than  the 
hatters,  make  the  most  of  their  customers  :  but  he  to  whom 
the  nobler  part  of  man,  the  head,  is  committed,  diminishes  in 

the  most  scandalous  manner  the  protection  it  requires 

— (Times,  Sept.  20,  1799.)  BROBDIGNAG. 


Old  Times.  69 


WOMEN'S    DRESS. 

THE  earliest  Lady's  fashion  book  I  can  find  in  the 
British  Museum,  is  "  The  Lady's  Monthly  Museum,"  &c. 
"  By  a  Society  of  Ladies," — and  it  was  published  in 
1799 — or  just  the  last  year  of  which  this  book  takes 
cognizance.  But,  luckily,  the  satirical  prints  supply  the 
want,  in  a  great  measure,  although  they  are  somewhat 
exaggerated.  From  them  we  are  able  to  see  pictorially 
what  might  be  hard  to  describe,  and  may  be  perfectly 
certain  that  they  represent  "the  very  last  thing  out"  at 
their  date  of  Publication.  If,  then,  we  have  very  little 
written  about  female  attire,  in  1788,  and  the  next  year, 
or  two,  we  must  be  content  with  viewing  the  verce  effigies 
of  the  belles  of  that  time. 

Brighton,  of  course,  was  the  fashionable  watering- 
place,  for  there  were  the  life  and  gaiety  of  the  young 
Court,  in  contradistinction  to  the  humdrum  existence  led 
by  the  King,  Queen,  and  younger  branches  of  the  Royal 
Family,  at  Weymouth.  So  it  will  be  interesting  to  know 
their  habits  at  this  famous  sea-side  resort.  The 
Morning  Post,  i8th  September  1788,  has  the  following: — 

"  The  LADIES  have  no  particular  dress  for  the  morning,  but 
huddle  away  to  the  bathing  place,  in  close  caps,  andgipsey  bonnets, 
so  that  they  look  like  a  set  of  wandering  fortune-tetters,  who  have 
just  had  the  opportunity  of  pillaging  the  contents  of  a  frippery 
warehouse,  with  which  they  had  bedecked  themselves  in  haste. 

"  It  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  ladies  do  not  atone  for  the 
negligence  of  the  morning,  by  neatness,  and  elegance,  during 
the  rest  of  the  day,  but  shuffle  on  something  by  dinner  time, 


7O  Old  Times. 

covering  themselves  with  an  enormous  nondescript  bonnet, 
which,  to  the  confusion  of  all  order,  they  afterwards  think  a 
proper  garb  for  the  Assembly." 

In  doors,  the  dresses  were  not  so  outre,  as  we  see 
by  the  two  illustrations  taken  from  "  The  School  for 
Scandal,"  1st  August  1788. 

That  ladies  copied  the  eccentricities  of  male  attire, 
and  made  them  their  own,  we  have  proof  in  this  cutting 
from  the  Morning  Post,  I5th  January  1789  : — 

"  Among  other  fashions  lately  introduced  from  Paris  is  the 
brace  of  gold  watch  chains  now  sported  by  our  fashionable 
females.  Some  economical  husbands  may  wish  their  wives 
were  less  imitative." 

The  portrait  of  the  Duchess  of  York  (the  Princess 
Frederique,  Charlotte,  Ulrique,  Catherine,  of  Prussia, 
married  to  the  Duke,  November  1791),  shews  us  the 
indoor  dress  of  a  lady  of  rank  in  1792.  She  had  a 
remarkably  small  foot,  and  many  were  the  delineations 
of  her  shoes — actual  size,  &c. 

Of  all  curious  freaks  of  fashion  the  following  is  the 
most  incomprehensible,  yet  it  doubtless  obtained : — 

"The  fashion  of  dressing,  at  present,  is  to  appear  prominent, 
and  the  stays  are  made  accordingly.  This  is  holding  out  a  wish 
to  be  thought  in  a  thriving  way,  even  without  the  authority  of  the 
Arches  Court  of  Canterbury — something  in  the  French  way — a 
philosophical  desire  to  be  conspicuously  great 'with  MISCHIEF,  with- 
out any  regard  to  law  or  reason.  The  idea  was  at  first  sent  for- 
ward by  a  few  dropsical  Ladies." — (Times,  March  25,  1793.) 

"  The  Wapping  Land-ladies  are  all  at  the  very  pinnacle  of 
the  fashion.  Nature  has  given  them  prominences  which  far  out- 
picture  the  false  mountains  at  the  West  end  of  the  town.  It  is 
not  only  the  fashion  of  appearing  six  months  gone,  that  pre- 
vails with  the  ladies — but  that  of  not  having  any  waists,  so  that, 
even  with  their  prominences,  they  may  be  called — No-body" 
(Times,  April  15,  1793.) 


fashions   For  1/88 


3 


Dac/i 


ess  o 


The 


of  Fashion- /JJ3. 


foff/rf  o/fdshio* 


,  n°i: 


Jhc  Toilette.   n°2 


Jhc  Joilcttc.    n°3. 


Old  Times.  71 

A  series  of  prints  were  published  which  represent  the 
amount  of  indebtedness,  ladies  were  under,  to  Art,  to  re- 
pair the  ravages  made  by  Nature. 

No.  I  shows  us  most  graphically  the  "levee  au  matin." 
— Tears  drop  from  the  eyeless  socket — a  yawn  discloses 
the  want  of  teeth,  and,  the  handkerchief,  tied  round  the 
head,  which  does  service  for  a  night  cap,  tells  a  sad  tale 
of  baldness. 

In  No.  2  the  defect  of  nature  is  being  remedied  by 
the  insertion  of  a  glass  eye — which  the  subsequent 
illustrations  prove  to  be  very  effective. 

No.  3  shows  the  triumph  of  the  hairdresser's  art ;  and, 
certainly,  it  adds  much  to  the  ladies  personal  attractions. 

In  No.  4  false  teeth  are  being  inserted,  to  replace 
those,  of  which  unkind  nature  has  robbed  her. 

No.  5  applies  the  bloom  of  youth  to  the  faded  cheek, 
— a  bloom  that  never  yet  deceived  any  one. 

In  No.  6  the  Belle  has  finished  her  toilette,  and  is 
now  prepared  to  break  all  hearts. 

This  series  is  attributed  to  Rowlandson — and,  most  pro- 
bably, is  his  work.  It  is  called  "  Six  Stages  of  making  a 
face. — Dedicated  with  respect  to  Lady  Archer,"  of  which 
lady  we  shall  hear  more  anon  under  the  head  of  "  Gaming." 

Waists,  as  may  have  been  perceived  by  the  last  two, 
or  three  examples,  have  been  gradually  disappearing, 
until,  as  in  "The  Scarecrow,"  they  became  practically 
nil.  High  feathers  were  beginning  to  come  in,  and,  in 
addition  to  the  "panache,"  was  worn  a  curious  thing 
made  of  straw,  very  much  resembling  the  "  bristle  plume  " 
which  used  to  be  worn  in  the  Shakos  of  our  Engineers, 
and  Artillery.  In  imitation  of  the  men,  the  ladies'  throats 
were  swathed  in  voluminous  wrappers. 

With  very  low  bodices,  and  very  high  waists,  came  very 


72  Old  Times. 

scanty  clothing,  with  an  absence  of  petticoat,  a  fashion 
which  left  very  little  of  the  form  to  the  imagination.  I  do 
not  say  that  our  English  Belles  went  to  the  extent  of  some 
of  their  French  sisters,  of  having  their  muslin  dresses  put 
on  damp — and  holding  them  tight  to  their  figures  till  they 
dried — so  as  absolutely  to  mould  them  to  their  form,  or 
that  they  ever  discarded  stockings,  and  went  to  balls  with 
bare  feet,  and  only  wearing  sandals,  having  on  but  the 
lightest  of  classical  clothing — but  their  clothes  were  of  the 
scantiest,  and  we  shall  find  that,  as  year  succeeded  year, 
this  fashion  developed,  if  one  can  call  diminution  of  cloth- 
ing, development.  Men  made  fun  of  it,  vide  the  following 
from  the  Times,  1 2th  August,  1794: — "Amongst  prudent 
papas,  the  favourite  toast  at  this  time  is  'The  present 
fashion  of  our  wives  and  daughters/  viz.  No  Waste" 

There  was  a  very  pretty  song,  called  "  Shepherds,  I 
have  lost  my  love,  Have  you  seen  my  Anna  ?  " — and 
this  was  parodied  as  follows — the  music  being  the  same 
as  the  original  song: — 

SHEPHERDS,  I  HAVE  LOST  MY  WAIST. 

. — 
-L 


Shep- herds,  I     have       lost        my  waist,  Have  you  seen  my         bo  -      -  dy? 


- 

Sac-ri-ficed   to      mo-dern  taste,  I'm    quite     a       hod  -  dy     dod   -      -  dy. 


For  fashion    I     that     part     for  -  sook    Where  sages  place  the    bel  -    -    -  ly  ; 


'Tisgone.andl  have    not    a        nook       For  cheesecake,  tart,^     or      jel    -    ly. 


A  o)car€crou  —  //J3. 


L 


I  have  lost-  my  waist  -  J7Q4- 


g  Me  Fashion. 


JSL 


Fo//ow//?g  t/?e  Fashion. 


Old  Times.  73 

"  Never  shall  I  see  it  more, 

Till,  common  sense  returning, 
My  body  to  my  legs  restore, 

Then  I  shall  cease  from  mourning, 
Folly  and  fashion  do  prevail 

To  such  extremes  among  the  fair, 
A  woman's  only  top  and  tail, 

The  body's  banish'd  God  knows  where  ! ' 

That  a  fashion  may  become  one  person,  and  not 
another,  is  peculiarly  exemplified  by  the  two  following 
pictures  by  Gillray,  9th  December,  1794,  both  called 
"  Following  the  Fashion  :  " — 


"  St.  James's  giving  the  Ton, 
a  Soul  without  a  Body." 


"  Cheapside  aping  the  Mode? 
a  Body  without  a  Soul." 


The  tax  on  Hair  powder  was  much  objected  to  ;  people 
had  been  used,  for  a  long  time,  to  grease,  and  powder 
their  hair  and  wigs ;  and,  when  the  duty  of  a  Guinea  per 
head  was  passed,  many  left  off  using  it.  The  illustration 
"  Leaving  off  Powder,  or  a  Frugal  family  saving  a  Guinea," 
was  doubtless  the  fact  in  many  a  family.  The  man,  in 
the  coloured  engraving,  with  his  "  crop,"  to  our  eyes 
does  not  look  so  singular,  as  the  lady,  with  her  "  fausse 
chevelure "  unpowdered  looks  so  bad,  that,  no  wonder, 
ladies  reverted  to  their  own  locks,  as  we  see  in  future 
illustrations.  So  also  shall  we  see  the  "  Cap "  of  the 
period,  the  length  of  which  is  most  amusingly  por- 
trayed. 

The  wearing  of  false  hair  is  of  very  early  origin,  inas- 
much as  we  possess,  in  the  British  Museum,  an  early 
Egyptian  wig,  and,  in  every  age,  we  find  women  supple- 
menting their  natural  attractions,  by  the  addition  of  some 
one  else's  hair.  Here  is  a  Hair-dresser's  advertisement 
of  1795,  wherein  is  not  only  mentioned  the  price,  &c.,  of 


74  Old  Times. 

hair,  but  shows  the  antiquity  of  the  "  Chignon,"  which, 
otherwise,  many  might  think  of  modern  date. 

"TO  THE  LADIES.— T.  BOWMAN  respectfully  acquaints 
the  Ladies,  that  he  has  entirely  removed  his  Shop  and  Manu- 
factory to  No.  102  New  Bond  Street,  near  Brook  Street. 
Firmly  relying  upon  the  future  favors  and  recommendation 
of  his  old  Customers,  and  trusting  to  the  superiority  of  his 
articles,  he  has  augmented  his  stock  of  Chignons  or  Braids, 
from  600  to  near  1000,  in  14  shades  (not  20)  of  brown 
colours,  besides  Auburns,  Flaxens,  &c.,  and  in  8  lengths  (not 
50)  at  i os.,  MS.,  ;£ i  is.,;£i  us.  6d.,  £2  as.,  £3  33.,  ^4  43., 
and  £6  6s.  each.  Any  colour  matched  in  all  the  sizes  in  a 
minute.  T.  Bowman  formerly  gave  a  description  of  his  Braids, 
but  that  has  been  copied  by  another  and  applied  unto  his 
own,  without  their  possessing  one  requisite  for  which  Bowman's 
Braids  have  been  distinguished :  and,  not  contented  with 
slaying  by  twenties,  he  now  kills  by  fifties.  Bravo !  Captain 
Boabdill,  fifty  more,  kill  them  ! ! !  As  for  the  shades,  what 
with  Chinese  hairs,  mixing,  and  dying,  he  may  have  them  (as 
he  says)  of  every  tint,  but  for  real,  natural,  Brown  colours. 
T.  Bowman,  with  by  far  the  greatest  stock  in  the  Kingdom, 
cannot  make  more  than  14  shades ;  he  can  only  challenge  a 
comparison,  and  pledges  himself  to  make  good  every  assertion 
he  has  at  any  time  made.  His  Brunswick  fillets,  an  entire 
new  and  elegant  article,  with  curls  complete,  fit  either  for 
morning  or  full  dress,  from  73.  6d.  to  ics.  6d.  each,  with 
Tetes,  Borders,  and  every  article  in  ornamental  Hair,  much 
cheaper  than  at  any  shop  in  town  :  having  a  very  large  stock, 
and  dealing  for  ready  money  only,  he  has  as  yet  made  no 
advance  on  his  old  prices,  although  the  price  of  hair  is  now 
double.  Country  orders,  with  money,  or  reference,  duly 
observed.  Chignons,  &c.,  changed  when  not  approved  of,  if 
not  powdered." — (Times^June  22,  1795.) 

"  Corsettes  about  six  inches  long,  and  a  slight  buffon  tucker 
of  two  inches  high,  are  now  the  only  defensive  paraphernalia  of 
our  fashionable  Belles,  between  the  necklace  and  the  apron- 
strings. — (Times,  June  24,  1795.) 


Crop 


I 


Characters  /'/?  H/h  L/fe. 


fl  floc/em  /3{.//cSoifi£tofa^oo/nsorfia/k  - 


Old  Times.  75 

"The  annual  City  Assemblies,  frohi  the  glowing  colours 
which  decorate  the  belles,  may  be  now  fairly  styled  red-hot 
balls" — (Times,  Dec.  29,  1795.) 

But  FEATHERS  were  now  used  on  the  shafts  levelled 

at  the  vagaries  of  Fashion. 

I 

"  At  all  elegant  Assemblies,  there  is  a  room  set  apart  for  the 
lady  visitants  to  put  their  feathers  on,  as  it  is  impossible  to 
wear  them  in  any  carriage  with  a  top  to  it.  The  lustres  are 
also  removed  upon  this  account,  and  the  doors  are  carried  up 
to  the  height  of  the  ceiling.  A  well-dressed  Lady,  who  nods 
with  dexterity,  can  give  a  friend  a  little  tap  upon  the  shoulder 
across  the  room,  without  incommoding  the  dancers.  The 
Ladies'  feathers  are  now  generally  carried  in  the  sword-case, 
at  the  back  of  the  carriage." — (Times,  Dec.  29,  1795.) 

"A  young  lady,  only  ten  feet  high,  was  overset  in  one  of  the 
late  gales  of  wind,  in  Portland  Place,  and  the  upper  mast  of 
her  feather  blown  upon  Hampstead  Hill." 

"The  maroon  fever  has  been  succeeded  by  a  very  odd  kind 
of  light-headedness,  which  the  physicians  call  the  ptereo  mania, 
or  feather  folly." 

"  The  Ladies  now  wear  feathers  exactly  of  their  own  length, 
so  that  a  woman  of  fashion  is  twice  as  long  upon  her  feet  as 
in  her  bed." — (Times,  Dec.  30,  1795.) 

"  We  saw  a  feather  in  Drury  Lane  Theatre,  yesterday  even- 
ing, that  cost  ten  guineas.  We  should  have  thought  the  whole 
goose  not  worth  the  money." — (Times,  Jan.  6,  1796.) 

Here  is  a  contrivance  by  which  "A  Modern  Belle 
going  to  the  Rooms  or  Balls  "  can  go  fully  dressed,  with 
her  feathers  fixed  : — 

"  There  is  to  be  seen  in  Gt.  Queen  Street,  a  Coach  upon  a 
new  construction.  The  Ladies  set  in  this  well,  and  see  between 
the  spokes  of  the  wheels.  With  this  contrivance  the  fair  pro- 
prietor is  able  to  go  quite  dressed  to  her  visits,  her  feathers 
being  only  a  yard  and  a  half  high." — (Times,  Jan.  22,  1796.) 


76  Old  Times. 

The  freaks  of  fashion,  towards  the  latter  end  of  1795, 
are  most  curious.  "Waggoner's  frocks,"  and  the 
"  Petticoat "  dress,  are  singular  illustrations  of  feminine 
taste.  This  latter  is  noticed  in  a  paragraph  in  the  Times, 
27th  Oct.  1795.  "  The  present  fashionable  dress  is  the 
most  simple  imaginable.  The  petticoat  is  pinned  to  the 
Cravat,  and  the  arms  come  out  at  the  pocket  holes." 

"  The  only  new  fashions  that  remain  for  our  modern  belles 
are  certainly  puzzling  and  difficult.  There  can  be  nothing  new. 
but  going  either  dressed  or  naked." — (Times,  fan.  27,  1796.) 

The  following  paragraph  from  the  Times  refers  not 
only  to  the  general  absence  of  dress,  but  also  to  the  famous 
(or  infamous)  Miss  Chudleigh,  a  maid  of  Honour  to  the 
Queen,  afterwards  Duchess  of  Kingston,  and  tells  the 
story  of  how  the  Princess  of  Wales,  wife  of  Frederick 
(father  of  George  III.),  rebuked  her  for  her  nakedness. 

"  One  night,  when  the  late  Duchess  of  KINGSTON  appeared  at 
Ranelagh  in  a  dress  which  may  be  compared  with  the  undress 
of  some  of  our  fashionable  belles,  a  handkerchief  was  thrown  to 
her,  not  from  the  Prince,  but  the  Princess  of  Wales." — (Times, 
March  5,  1796.) 

"  Lady  Godiva's  Rout,  or  Peeping  Tom  spying  out 
Pope  Joan,"  is  by  Gillray,  I2th  March  1796,  and  is  a  scath- 
ing satire  on  the  extremely  decolletee,  and  diaphonous, 
dresses  of  the  time.  The  fair  one,  whose  uncovered 
bosom  so  attracts  the  candle  snuffer,  is  intended  to 
represent  Lady  Georgiana  Gordon,  afterwards  Duchess 
of  Bedford. 

"  High  Change  in  Bond  Street"  is  by  Gillray  (27th 
March  1796),  and  is  a  most  amusing  caricature  of  the 
then  prevalent  fashions  both  of  men  and  women.  The 
"  Bond  Street  Loungers,"  are  depicted  to  perfection. 


UJae  toners  /Tvck  -  or  -  fto  Bodys  of  1795. 


TXc    Fashion.  -  fee?  /7?<5 


.o 
^ 

<0 


Old  Times.  77 

"At  the  late  Fandango  Ball  in  Dublin,  a  certain  Lady  of 
Fashion  appeared  in  the  following  very  whimsical  dress: — Flesh 
coloured  pantaloons,  over  which  was  a  gauze  petticoat,  tucked 
up  at  each  side  in  drapery,  so  that  both  thighs  could  be  seen  ; 
the  binding  of  the  petticoat  was  tied  round  the  neck,  and  her 
arms  were  through  the  pocket  holes.  Her  head  dress  was  a 
man's  pearl  coloured  stocking,  the  foot  hanging  down  at  the 
back  of  the  head  like  a  lappet,  and  in  the  heel  of  the  stocking 
was  stuck  a  large  diamond  pin,  the  tout  ensemble  not  less 
novel,  than  ludicrous." — (Times,  May  26,  1796.) 

"  Whalebone-  Veils  are  worn  by  all  the  fashionable  dames  at 
Weymouth.  This  invention  is  evidently  borrowed  from  the 
head  of  a  one  horse  chaise." — (Times,  August  27,  1796.) 

"  High  heels  are  once  more  the  rage ;  there  is,  however,  no 
scarcity  of  fiats.  During  the  reign  of  the  flat  sole,  the  Ladies 
make  more  faux-pas  than  ever,  so  that  we  need  entertain  no 
apprehensions  for  them,  if  they  chuse  to  get  upon  stilts.  What 
with  high  heels  and  high  feathers,  the  better  half  of  many  an 
honest  man  is  just  one  third  part  of  herself." — (Times,  August 
27,  1796.) 

"  Fashion  would  be  its  own  murderer,  if  it  were  to  be  con- 
stant and  permanent.  The  last  year's  dress  seems  to  abdicate 
entirely ;  even  the  waist  is  walking  down  towards  the  hip ; 
and  three  straps,  with  buckles  in  front,  have  abridged  so  much 
of  the  usurpation  of  the  petticoat.  One  cannot  see  so  many 
Ladies  of  high  ton  with  the  straps  over  the  bosom,  without 
thinking  how  much  better  they  might  have  been  employed 
over  the  shoulders." — (Times,  Aug.  27,  1796.) 

"  Before  the  waist  is  quite  again  in  fashion,  and  while  the 
thing  exists  (which  will  soon  be  incredible),  we  set  down  the 
measurement  of  a  petticoat  in  the  summer  of  1796,  which  for 
a  middling-sized  woman  is  five  foot  and  an  inch." — (Times, 
Nov.  4,  1796.) 

"  It  would  not  be  easily  believed  by  our  Great  Grand- 
mothers, that  their  lovely  daughters  cannot  make  their  appear- 
ance without  a  dozen  combs  in  their  heads,  and  as  many 


78  Old  Times. 

false  curls  and  cushions.     The  victory  over  black  pins  is  com- 
plete."— (Times,  May  30,  1797.) 

"  Horse  Hair  has  risen  near  50  per  cent,  since  Wigs  have 
become  so  much  the  rage." — (Times,  April  27,  1798.) 

"  The  women  at  Paris  are  every  day  divesting  themselves 
of  some  of  the  customary  articles  of  dress,  and  the  rage  for 
nudity  is  so  great,  that  it  is  apprehended,  even  by  the  Parisian 
Journalists,  they  will  shortly  have  the  effrontery  to  present 
themselves  to  the  public  eye  in  a  state  of  pure  nature.  One 
of  them  appeared  a  few  days  since  in  the  Champs  Elysees, 
in  a  simple  robe  of  spotted  black  gauze,  and  shewed  so  much 
that  little  was  left  to  guess.  The  spectators  were  struck  with 
indignation  at  this  flagrant  violation  of  decorum,  and  she  was 
compelled  to  make  a  shameful  and  precipitate  retreat." — 
(Times,  June  18,  1798.) 

"  An  Artist  has  advertised  that  he  makes  up  worn  out 
Umbrellas  into  fashionable  Gypsey  Bonnets.  The  transition 
is  so  easy,  that  he  is  scarce  to  be  praised  for  the  invention. 

"  The  Gypsey  Bonnet  is  commonly  worn  by  the  Lancashire 
Witches." — (Times,  July  7,  1798.) 

"  We  are  very  happy  to  see  the  waists  of  our  fair  country 
women  walking  downwards  by  degrees  towards  the  hip.  But, 
as  we  are  a  little  acquainted  with  the  laws  of  increasing 
velocity  in  fashionable  gravitation,  we  venture  to  express,  thus 
sarly  in  their  descent,  a  hope  that  they  will  stop  there" — (Times, 

I799-) 

"  Straw  in  the  head-dress,  according  to  the  laws  and  im- 
memorial customs  of  the  stage,  denotes  the  unsoundness  of 
the  brain  it  covers.  Several  of  those  useful  and  respectable 
young  men,  who  make  the  campaign  of  Bond  Street,  have 
thought  proper  to  invest  their  temples  with  the  sacred  symbols, 
and  wear  straw  hats  to  give  notice  of  their  light-headedness." — 
(Times,  July  4,  1799.) 

The  Censor  could  also  be  severe  on  the  harmless 
"Reticule." 


Old  Times.  79 

"  In  the  present  age  of  political  innovation,  it  is  curious  to 
observe  the  great  veneration  for  antiquity  which  prevails  in 
all  our  dresses  and  fashions.  Queen  Elizabeth's  ruffs  decorate 
our  blooming  belles ;  and  our  beaux  are  puckered  and  stuffed 
on  the  shoulders  d  la  Richard  the  Third.  But  what  is  still 
more  remarkable,  is  the  total  abjuration  of  the  female  pocket. 
Those  heavy  appendages  are  no  more  worn  at  present  than 
keys  at  the  girdles.  Every  fashionable  fair  carries  her  purse 
in  her  workbag.  Her  money  and  her  industry  lie  cheek  by 
jowl :  and  her  gambling  gains  lie  snug  by  her  housewife.  Her 
handkerchiefs,  her  toothpick  case,  her  watch,  and  her  keys,  if 
she  has  any,  are  the  constant  concomitants  of  her  visits ;  and 
while  no  part  of  the  symmetry  of  her  shape  is  altered  or 
concealed  by  the  old-fashioned  panniers,  she  has  the  pleasure 
of  laying  everything  that  belongs  to  her  upon  the  table  wher- 
ever she  goes." — (Times,  Nov.  9,  1799.) 

"  A  dashing  Lady  of  Fashion,  inconvenienced  by  the  new 
custom  of  carrying  a  bag  with  her  handkerchief  smelling-bottle, 
purse,  &c.,  &c.,  went  to  a  large  party  the  other  evening, 
attended  by  a  Page,  who  was  employed  to  present  the  articles 
as  they  might  be  wanted.  The  Page  was  well  qualified  to  go 
through  the  fatigues  of  office,  being  well-made,  active,  and 
just  one  and  twenty.  Should  the  example  be  imitated,  Pages 
will  probably  be  more  in  request  than  waiting-women." — 
(Times,  Dec.  7,  1799.) 

"  If  the  present  fashion  of  nudity  continues  its  career,  the 
Milliners  must  give  way  to  the  Carvers,  and  the  most  elegant 
fig-leaves  will  be  all  the  mode. 

"The  fashion  of false  bosoms  has  at  least  this  utility,  that  it 
compels  our  fashionable  fair  to  wear  something" — (Times  ^ 
Dec.  ii,  1799.) 

With  which  most  pungent  criticism,  we  will  take  our 
leave  of  lady's  dress. 


8o  Old  Times. 


NAVY    AND    ARMY. 

No  history  of  England,  that  I  know  of,  has  ever  given 
us  so  graphic  a  description  of  the  ways  and  means  for 
procuring  men  for  the  Navy,  as  the  Newspapers  of  the 
time,  and  in  this,  as  in  many  other  things,  their  help  is 
invaluable. 

When  we  find  from  what  classes  the  Navy  was  re- 
cruited, we  wonder  at  what  the  men  went  through,  with- 
out much  murmuring ;  and,  if  their  very  moderate,  and 
just,  demands,  had  been  met  in  a  conciliatory  spirit,  or 
even,  officially  investigated,  instead  of  being  pooh-poohed, 
and  shelved — there  would  have  been  no  mutiny  at  the 
Nore,  nor  elsewhere. 

When  afloat,  sailors  were  kept  in  subjection,  or  as  it 
was  termed,  discipline,  by  brutality,  foul  language,  and 
a  plentiful  application  of  the  lash,  to  be  recouped  by 
almost  unlimited  license,  whilst  on  shore,  or,  for  the 
matter  of  that,  when  afloat,  if  at  home  in  harbour.  When 
the  Royal  George  went  down,  there  were  200  women  on 
board,  and  in  Dibdin's  song  of  "  Wapping  Old  Stairs," 
the  heroine  plaintively  reminds  her  temporary  lover 
thus — 

"  When  I  passed  a  whole  fortnight  between  decks  with  you, 
Did  I  e'er  give  a  kiss,  Tom,  to  one  of  the  Crew  ?  " 

When  the  War  with  France  broke  out,  it  was  hardly  to 
be  imagined  that  Fishermen,  and  Merchant  seamen,  would 


Old  Times.  81 

volunteer  to  leave  their  quiet  occupation,  to  be  bullied 
by  petty,  and  other  officers  ;  to  be  triced  up,  and  lashed 
unmercifully,  for  even  a  venial  fault;  to  be  no  better  paid, 
nor  fed  than  they  were  already;  and  to  have  an  extra 
chance  of  death  in  a  Naval  engagement,  even  if  the 
English  were  victorious,  or  the  certainty  of  semi-star- 
vation in  a  French  prison,  if  captured.  So  the  State, 
wanting  food  for  slaughter,  stretched  out  its  strong  hand, 
and  took  it,  by  means  of  the  pressgang.  I  shall  have  to 
recount  a  long  list  of  "  severe,"  or  "  hot,"  presses — and, 
first  of  all,  in  order  that  we  may  perfectly  understand 
what  a  "  press "  was,  and  so  thoroughly  identify  our- 
selves with  the  position,  let  us  see  the  very  minute,  and 
vivid,  description  of  Smollett,  in  "  Roderick  Random." 

"  As  I  crossed  Tower  Wharf,  a  squat,  tawny  fellow, 
with  a  hanger  by  his  side,  and  a  cudgel  in  his  hand, 
came  up  to  me  calling,  '  Yo  ho  !  brother,  you  must  come 
along  with  me.'  As  I  did  not  like  his  appearance, 
instead  of  answering  his  salutation,  I  quickened  my  pace, 
in  hopes  of  ridding  myself  of  his  company ;  upon  which, 
he  whistled  aloud,  and  immediately  another  sailor  ap- 
peared before  me,  who  laid  hold  of  me  by  the  collar,  and 
began  to  drag  me  along.  Not  being  of  a  humour  to 
relish  such  treatment,  I  disengaged  myself  of  the  assailant, 
and,  with  one  blow  of  my  cudgel,  laid  him  motionless  on 
the  ground  ;  and,  perceiving  myself  surrounded  in  a  trice, 
by  ten  or  a  dozen  more,  exerted  myself  with  such 
dexterity  and  success,  that  some  of  my  opponents  were 
fain  to  attack  me  with  drawn  Cutlasses  ;  and,  after  an 
obstinate  engagement,  in  which  I  received  a  large  wound 
on  my  head,  and  another  on  my  left  cheek,  I  was  dis- 
armed, taken  prisoner,  and  carried  on  board  a  pressing 
tender ;  where,  after  being  pinioned  like  a  malefactor,  I 

7 


82  Old  Times. 

was  thrust  down  into  the  hold,  among  a  parcel  of  miser- 
able wretches,  the  sight  of  whom  well  nigh  distracted 
me. 

"  As  the  commanding  officer  had  not  humanity  enough 
to  order  my  wounds  to  be  dressed,  and  I  could  not  use 
my  own  hands,  I  desired  one  of  my  fellow-captives  who 
was  unfettered,  to  take  a  handkerchief  out  of  my  pocket, 
and  tie  it  round  my  head,  to  stop  the  bleeding.  He 
pulled  out  my  handkerchief  ('tis  true),  but,  instead  of 
applying  it  to  the  use  for  which  I  designed  it,  went  to 
the  grating  of  the  hatchway,  and,  with  astonishing 
composure,  sold  it  before  my  face  to  a  bum  boat  woman, 
then  on  board,  for  a  quart  of  gin,  with  which  he  treated 
my  companions,  regardless  of  my  circumstances,  and 
entreaties. 

"  I  complained  bitterly  of  this  robbery,  to  the  midship- 
man on  deck,  telling  him,  at  the  same  time,  that,  unless 
my  wounds  were  dressed,  I  should  bleed  to  death.  But 
compassion  was  a  weakness  of  which  no  man  could  justly 
accuse  this  person,  who  squirted  a  mouthful  of  dissolved 
tobacco  upon  me  through  the  gratings,  told  me  '  I  was 
a  mutinous  dog,  and  that  I  might  die,  and  be  damned.' 
Finding  there  was  no  other  remedy,  I  appealed  to 
patience,  and  laid  up  this  usage  in  my  memory,  to  be 
recalled  at  a  fitter  season.  In  the  meantime,  loss  of 
blood,  vexation,  and  want  of  food,  contributed,  with  the 
noisome  stench  of  the  place,  to  throw  me  into  a  swoon ; 
out  of  which  I  was  recovered  by  the  tar  who  stood 
centinel  over  us,  who  at  the  same  time  regaled  me  with 
a  draught  of  flip,  and  comforted  me  with  the  hopes  of 
being  put  on  board  the  Thunder  next  day,  where  I  should 
be  freed  of  my  handcuffs,  and  cured  of  my  wounds  by 
the  doctor." 


Old  Times.  83 

Now  let  us  see  how  the  press  worked  — 

"  The  PRESS  in  the  River  Thames,  for  the  three  last  days, 
has  been  very  severe.  Five  or  six  hundred  seamen  have  been 
laid  hold  of."  —  (Times,  February  i8M,  1793.) 


"  On  Wednesday  night  the  press  was  very  hot  on  the  river 
Thames  ;  all  the  ships,  both  homeward,  and  outward,  bound, 
were  stripped  of  their  hands;  not  excepting  two  outward 
bound  East  Indiamen,  which  were  to  have  sailed  yesterday." 

—  (Times,  March  9,  1793.) 

"The  press  has  been  so  hot,  for  seamen,  since  the  order 
of  Friday  last,  that  three  Tenders,  full  of  men,  have  been 
dispatched  from  the  Tower  to  the  '  Sandwich  '  guardship  at  the 
Nore."  —  (Times,  March  27,  1793.) 

"  A  hot  press  has,  for  the  last  two  nights,  been  carried  on 
from  London  bridge  to  the  Nore  ;  protections  are  disregarded, 
and  almost  all  the  vessels  in  the  River  have  been  stripped  of 
their  hands."  —  (Times,  April  26,  1793.) 

"The  sailors  are  so  scarce,  that  upwards  of  60  sail  of 
merchants  ships,  bound  to  the  West  Indies,  and  other  places, 
are  detained  in  the  River,  with  their  ladings  on  board  ;  seven 
outward  bound  East  Indiamen  are  likewise  detained  at  Graves- 
end,  for  want  of  sailors  to  man  them."  —  (Times,  Jan.  7,  1794.) 

"  The  number  of  seamen  to  be  voted  for  the  service  of  the 
present  year,  including  12,000  marines,  will  be  85,000  men." 

—  (Times,  Jan.  29,  1794.) 

"There  was  a  smart  press  on  Monday,  on  the  river,  for 
seamen,  and,  in  many  of  the  avenues  to  the  town,  several 
hundreds  were  picked  up,  and  put  on  board  the  receiving 
ship  at  the  Tower."  —  (Times,  April  2,  1794.) 

"  POOLE,  Nov.  30. 

"  This  morning  arrived  in  Steedland  Bay,  the  '  Maria,'  from 
Newfoundland,  having  some  passengers  on  board,  besides  the 
crew  ;  the  officers  of  the  impress  service  expecting  to  meet 
some  resistance,  had  called  for  military  assistance,  and  20 


84  Old  Times. 

soldiers,  armed,  went  on  board  the  tender,  which  went  down 
the  harbour,  to  meet  the  vessel ;  when  coming  alongside,  and 
finding  the  people  obstinate,  orders  were  given  to  the  soldiers 
to  fire,  which  they  did  ;  the  pilot  (then  at  the  helm),  and  two 
other  men,  were  killed  on  the  spot,  and  seven  others  danger- 
ously wounded,  one  of  whom  is  since  dead.  Lieutenants 
Phillips  and  Glover,  with  all  who  were  on  board  the  tender, 
are  taken  into  custody,  and  the  whole  town  is  in  the  greatest 
commotion." — (Times,  Dec,  3,  1794.) 

"  That  part  of  Mr.  PITT'S  plan  for  manning  the  navy,  which 
recommends  to  the  Magistrates  to  take  cognizance  of  all  idle, 
and  disorderly  people,  who  have  no  visible  means  of  liveli- 
hood, may,  certainly,  procure  a  great  number  of  able  bodied 
men  who  are  lurking  about  the  metropolis,  if  properly  enforced. 
But  experience  teaches,  that,  unless  the  Magistrates  see  that 
their  Runners  do  justice  to  the  public,  this  salutary  measure 
may  be  in  a  great  measure  defeated,  from  the  interest  which 
the  Riinners  are  known  to  have,  in  nursing  those  vagabonds, 
which  the  law  enacts  should  be  laid  hold  of." — (Times, 
Feb.  u,  1795.) 

"  A  meeting  on  the  subject  of  the  Navy  was  held  last  week 
at  Newcastle,  the  result  of  which  was,  the  choosing  of  a  Com- 
mittee, three  of  whom  are  to  confer  with  Mr.  Dundas — '  to 
recommend  the  suspension  of  the  impress,  to  send  into  actual 
service  the  gangs  and  crews  of  the  tenders,  (amounting,  it  is 
said,  from  seven  to  ten  thousand,)  to  increase  the  wages  of 
seamen  in  the  navy,  and  to  pay  half  of  it,  monthly,  for  the 
support  of  their  families.'" — (Times,  Feb.  n,  1795.) 

"  An  EMBARGO  is  about  to  take  place  on  all  the  shipping 
in  our  ports,  which  it  is  thought  will  last  six  WEEKS,  or  until 
20,000  seamen  are  procured.  The  embargo  was  to  take  place 
as  last  night." — (Times,  Feb.  19,  1795.) 

"  There  was  a  very  hot  press  in  the  river,  on  Friday  night 
last,  when  several  hundred  able  seamen  were  procured.  One 
of  the  gangs,  in  attempting  to  board  a  Liverpool  trader,  were 
resisted  by  the  crew,  when  a  desperate  affray  took  place,  in 
which  many  of  the  former  were  thrown  overboard,  and  the 


Old  Times.  85 

Lieutenant  who   boarded  them,  killed   by  a  shot  from  the 
vessel." — (Times,  June  9,  1795.) 

"  A  very  general  search  for  seamen  has  taken  place  in  the 
river,  for  several  nights  past ;  such  is  the  greatest  want  of 
hands  to  mix  on  board  the  men-of-war  now  ready  at  the  Nore, 
Chatham,  Sheerness,"  &c. — (Times,  June  18,  1795.) 

"The  Press  gallies  are  out  in  the  river,  night  and  day,  in 
order  to  pick  up  men ;  the  demand  for  seamen  being  still  very 
great  from  the  vast  quantities  of  shipping  now  employed  in 
Government  service." — (Times,  Aug.  29,  1795.) 

"  One  of  the  Juries  that  was  impannelled  on  the  Coroner's 
Inquest,  to  examine  the  body  of  one  of  the  unfortunate  men 
that  was  killed  in  the  affray  that  took  place  between  the  press- 
gang,  and  the  sailors,  belonging  to  the  '  Maria '  of  Poole, 
have  returned  their  verdict  of  Wilful  Murder  against  the  two 
Lieutenants  of  the  Navy." — (Times,  Dec.  5,  1794.)  , 

The  following  instructive  little  story  will  shew  how 
mutinies  were  made  : — 

"  The  mutiny  which  existed  several  days  on  board  the 
'Culloden'  of  74  guns,  and  which,  it  is  said,  originated  in 
the  wish  of  the  crew  to  have  the  ship  docked,  previous  to  her 
sailing  for  the  West  Indies,  was,  on  Wednesday,  settled  by 
an  order  from  the  Admiralty  in  the  following  manner : — '  That 
several  Captains  were  to  go  on  board  and  inform  the  crew, 
unless  they  immediately  returned  to  their  duty,  the  "Royal 
George  "  of  1 10  guns,  and  "  Queen,"  of  98  guns,  would  directly 
be  laid  alongside  them.'  They  were  allowed  half  an  hour  to 
consider  the  matter.  The  officers,  and  others,  who  chose  to 
leave  the  ship,  were  at  liberty  so  to  do.  The  ship's  company 
several  times  wanted  to  make  terms,  which  could  not  possibly 
be  complied  with  :  in  about  twenty  minutes  they  all  agreed  to 
return  to  their  duty;  12  of  the  ringleaders  were  instantly 
seized,  and  put  in  irons,  and  will  no  doubt  be  tried  by  a  Court 
Martial  for  the  same.  During  the  time  the  ship  was  in  this 
mutinous  state,  the  crew  flogged  several  marines  because  they 


86  Old  Times, 

would  not  join  them,  and  would  have  punished  the  whole, 
had  they  gone  below." — (Times,  Dec.  13,  1794.) 

"  The  cause  of  the  mutiny,  on  board  the  '  Culloden,'  was 
briefly  this.  In  coming  into  Spithead,  the  'Sampson,'  and 
*  Culloden,'  both  run  a-ground.  The  former  was  a  good  deal 
damaged :  the  latter  lost  only  her  rudder,  which  could  easily 
be  repaired  at  Spithead,  but  the  '  Sampson '  was  obliged  to  be 
carried  into  dock.  Some  of  the  seamen  of  the  '  Culloden,'  in  a 
mutinous  manner,  expressed  their  doubts  of  the  safety  of  the 
ship  :  and,  upon  being  remonstrated  with,  insisted  upon  going 
into  harbour." — (Times,  Dec.  16,  1794.) 

Which  were  right,  the  Sailors,  or  the  Admiralty  ? 

Here  is  a  curious  case,  which  shows  the  want  of  men 
to  man  the  fleet,  and  how  unscrupulously  even  magis- 
trates lent  themselves  against  all  justice,  and  equity,  in 
helping  to  kidnap  men  for  the  use  of  the  Navy  Ser- 
vices : — 

"PUBLIC  OFFICE,  BOW  STREET.— A  master  brick- 
layer, of  the  name  of  WHITEHEAD,  brought  his  apprentice 
before  the  sitting  magistrate,  on  a  charge  of  having  stolen  a 
scaffolding  board,  value  under  ninepence:  he  had  his  choice, 
either  to  enlist  as  a  soldier,  or  to  be  sent  on  board  the  fleet : 
to  both  of  which  he  objected.  The  Magistrate  then  ordered 
a  letter  to  be  written  to  the  Regulating  Captain,  Tower  Hill,  to 
have  him  sent  on  board  the  Navy." — (Times,  Jan.  5,  1795.) 

On  this,  one  of  the  spectators  addressed  Mr.  BOND, 
and  told  him  he  was  acting  improperly. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  says  Mr.  B .  "  I  am  a  Mr.  THOMPSON, 

a  Member  of  the  House  of  Commons  for  Evesham :  and  I 
tell  you  that  you  act  illegally."  "  Do  you  tell  me,  sitting 
here  as  a  magistrate,  that  I  act  illegally?"  "I  do:  for  if 
the  boy  has  committed  a  crime,  he .  is  not  to  be  punished 
by  you,  or  any  other  justice :  it  is  to  the  laws  of  the  land, 
and  to  them  alone,  that  he  is  amenable :  and  I  say,  that  it 


Old  Times.  87 

is  a  violation  of  the  liberty  of  the  subject."  Mr.  BOND  ob- 
served, that  the  KING  wanted  men  :  and  did  not  Mr.  THOMPSON 
think  that  it  was  proper  to  procure  those  for  him,  who  had 
forfeited  their  liberty?  Mr.  T.  replied,  that  he  knew  that 
the  KING  did  want  men,  but  that  that  was  a  very  improper 
mode  of  coming  at  them.  Mr.  BOND  then  observed,  that 
probably  Mr.  T.  might  investigate  it  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons :  but  whether  he  did  or  did  not,  he  should  act  as  he 
thought  proper  for  that  time.  He  then  sent  for  Major  Leeson, 
and  had  him  enlisted.  Mr.  THOMPSON  signified  as  much  to 
him,  as  that  it  should  be  brought  before  the  House." 

(On  Monday,  5th  Jan.,  the  matter  was  introduced  in  a 
speech  of  Mr.  Thompson's,  on  the  Habeas  Corpus  Bill, 
but  nothing  was  done.) 

Jack  did,  occasionally,  get  some  prize  money,  but 
nothing  ever  came  up  to  the  "  Hermione  "  in  1762,  when 
each  ordinary  seaman  had  about  £800  for  his  share  ;  but 
when  we  look  at  the  disparity  between  the  Captain's  and 
Sailor's  share,  we  can  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  Sailor's 
prayer,  before  an  engagement,  that  the  shots  might  be 
apportioned,  like  the  prize  money, — the  greater  part 
among  the  officers. 

"  By  the  determination  of  the  LORD  CHANCELLOR  in  favour 
of  the  captors  of  the  St.  Jago  Register  ship,  Admiral  GELL 
will  get,  as  his  proportion,  near  ;£i  00,000  prize  money.  All 
the  captains  of  his  fleet  will  divide  about  ^30,000,  and  so 
downwards  in  proportion.  The  precise  value  of  the  St.  Jago, 
Spanish  ship,  retaken  in  April  1793,  from  the  French,  which 
the  Ijords  of  Appeal  adjudged  to  the  captors,  on  Thursday 
evening  last,  is  >^935)0oo." — (Times,  Feb.  4,  1795.) 

"  The  first  payment  of  the  immense  ST.  JAGO  prize  is 
commenced,  Captain  Sir  A.  DOUGLAS  having  received  his 
share.  The  following  is  the  declared  proportion  of  the  specie 
only:  Each  Captain's  share,  ^"13,920;  Lieutenant's  share, 
^910;  Warrant  officer's  share,  £612  ;  Petty  officer's  share, 


88  Old  Times. 

^140;  Foremast-man's  share,  £26.  Besides  two  seventh's 
shares  of  the  whole  in  reserve,  till  the  question,  whether  the 
Boyne,  and  Powerful,  have  a  right  to  share  with  the  Squadron. 
The  above  statement  is  independent  of  the  valuable  cargo,  and 
bullion,  which  are  yet  to  be  shared.  The  Admirals  shares  are 
not  yet  declared." — (Times,  March  21,  1795.) 

"  Saturday,  the  26th  inst,  the  sailors  on  board  the  Sea  Horse 
frigate,  had  2800  dollars  served  out  to  them  at  Portsmouth, 
and  leave  of  absence  for  48  hours'  recreation  on  shore.  This 
ship  shares  the  whole  of  the  Spanish  prizes  taken  by  her,  and 
carried  into  Portsmouth.  Their  cargoes  consist  principally  of 
about  300,000  dollars  and  gold  doubloons,  and  about  120,000 
raw  hides,  tallow,"  &c. — (Times,  Dec.  2,  1796.) 

"The  Spanish  prize,  taken  by  the  Raven  brig,  one  of 
Admiral  Earl  St.  Vincent's  squadron,  which  was  sent  home, 
now  lies  at  Deptford,  where  she  is  strongly  guarded,  and  no 
persons  suffered  to  go  on  board,  till  she  has  gone  through  a 
complete  search,  as  it  is  suspected  some  other  valuables, 
besides  the  Platina,  of  which  4000  ounces  have  been  taken 
out  and  sold,  are  hid.  Platina  is  a  metal  of  the  colour  of 
silver,  and  about  one  eighth  heavier  than  gold.  None  has 
ever  been  seen  in  Europe,  at  least  in  any  quantity,  but  in 
Spain  where  it  is  consigned  to  the  Crown,  from  South 
America." — (Times,  Sept.  20,  1797.) 

"  We  stated  several  days  since,  that  it  had  been  determined 
by  Mr.  PITT  to  alter,  very  materially,  the  Bill  now  before  the 
House  of  Commons,  for  manning  the  navy.  The  principal 
alteration  will  be  the  taking  off  the  burthen  on  ship-owners,  of 
finding  men  before  their  ships  can  clear  out ;  instead  of  which 
they  are  to  advance  a  certain  proportion  of  money,  an4  Com- 
missioners are  to  be  stationed,  at  the  out-ports,  to  find  men 
out  of  this  fund.  The  measure  proposed  is  as  follows, — that 
each  Port  shall,  according  to  the  number  of  seamen  belonging 
to  it,  raise  a  certain  number  of  men — that  these  men  shall  be 
fixed  by  Ballot — that  those  who  have  enrolled  themselves  to  be 
balloted,  shall  receive  a  certificate  of  having  done  so,  which 
shall  secure  them  against  pressing — that  no  man  shall  be  per- 


Old  Times.  89 

mitted  to  serve  on  board  a  merchant  ship,  under  a  very  heavy 
penalty,  without  such  a  certificate,  that  no  ship  shall  be 
suffered  to  proceed  from  any  Port,  till  the  number  of  men 
required  from  the  Port  shall  be  raised ;  and  that  those  who  do 
not  enrol  themselves,  shall  be  liable  to  be  apprehended." — 
(Times,  Feb.  18,  1795.) 

As  we  see  by  the  following  paragraphs,  the  parishes 
offered  bounties  to  fill  up  their  quota  of  sailors  : — 

"  The  Parish  of  St.  James',  Westminster,  having,  in  a  public 
manner,  signified  their  wish,  to  raise  twenty-five  men,  pursuant 
to  the  statute,  to  serve  in  His  Majesty's  Navy,  had,  by  Wednes- 
day last,  completed  that  number :  and  the  regulating-officer, 
in  the  course  of  the  afternoon,  examined  them,  and  found 
them  all  extremely  proper  for  His  Majesty's  service:  and, 
on  Thursday,  they  were  examined  and  certified,  by  the 
Parochial  Magistrates,  when  the  men  requesting  to  have  ^7, 
the  third  part  of  the  bounty-money,  advanced  to  buy  slops, 
bedding,  and  for  other  purposes,  it  was  immediately  complied 
with." — (Times,  Apr.  7,  1795.) 

(Advt.)  "ANCIENT  AND  LOYAL  CITY  OF  WESTMINSTER. 

"  At  a  MEETING  of  the  Vestries,  Church-wardens,  Over- 
seers, and  the  principal  inhabitants,  of  the  Parishes  of  St.  Mar- 
garet, and  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  Westminster,  in  St.  Mar- 
garet's Vestry  Room,  on  Thursday,  the  2nd  day  of  April  1795, 
it  was  agreed  to  give  a  bounty  of  TWENTY-FIVE  GUINEAS  each 
to  TWENTY  MEN,  to  be  raised  for  the  NAVAL  SERVICE  of  His 
Majesty  KING  GEORGE,  in  defence  of  Old  England.  All  able- 
bodied  men,  willing  to  serve  in  His  Majesty's  Navy,  are  desired 
to  apply,  from  the  hours  of  nine  in  the  morning  till  four  in  the 
afternoon,  at  the  VESTRY  ROOM,  in  St.  Margaret's  Churchyard, 
Westminster,  this,  and  the  following  days,  Sundays  excepted. 
To  any  man,  who  shall  be  approved  by  the  Regulating  Officer, 
part  of  the  Bounty  will  be  immediately  paid,  on  his  enrolment, 
either  to  himself  or  to  his  wife  and  family,  or  to  any  other 
person  he  may  appoint  to  receive  the  same,  and  the  remainder 
upon  his  being  mustered  on  board  of  ship.  He  will  have  an 


90  Old  Times. 

opportunity  of  leaving  a  power  for  part  of  his  wages  and  prize 
money,  to  be  paid  monthly  for  the  support  of  his  family,  who 
will  also  be  under  the  care,  and  protection  of  a  kind  and 
benevolent  parish :  and  if  his  conduct  is  approved,  he  will 
have  the  preference,  on  his  return,  of  any  employment  the 
Parish  can  give  him.  None  need  apply  but  able-bodied  men. 
No  volunteer,  who  shall  enter  as  above,  can  be  taken  out  of 
His  Majesty's  Service,  but  for  a  criminal  matter.  N.B.  Persons 
enrolled,  are  not  liable  to  serve  more  than  three  months  after 
the  War,  if  arrived  in  any  port  of  Great  Britain. 

"By  Order,  T.  DRAKE,  Vestry  Clerk." 
—(Times,  Apr.  9,  1795.) 

"  From  the  returns  of  the  Regulating  Officers,  received  at 
the  Admiralty,  it  appears  that  on  the  average,  about  half  the 
men  for  the  navy,  are  likely  to  be  raised  throughout  the 
counties,  and  that  the  deficiency  will  be  paid  in  money.  The 
average  price  given  in  the  Eastern  Counties  is  ^25  per  man ; 
so  that  the  fine  of  ;£io  added  to  it,  will  make  the  parishes 
defaulting,  advance  ^£35,  in  lieu  of  a  man,  for  every  68 
assessed  houses." — (Times,  Apr.  9,  1795.) 

"  A  change  is  about  to  take  place  in  the  Naval  Uniform. 
Epaulets  are  to  be  worn — two  by  Flag  Officers,  and  these  to  mark 
their  rank;  two  likewise  by  Post  Captains,  demonstrative  of  their 
rank ;  one,  on  the  right  shoulder,  by  Masters,  and  Commanders, 
and  one  on  the  left  by  Lieutenants." — (Times,  June  5,  1795.) 

"The  City  of  London  has  now  made  up  its  quota  of  5704 
Seamen,  under  the  Act  which  laid  an  embargo  on  all  outward 
bound  vessels,  until  20,000  men  were  raised  for  the  use  of  the 
Navy.  Among  this  number  are  about  1600  able  seamen,  who 
count  each  for  two  ordinary  seamen.  The  expenses  of  raising 
them  in  London,  are  found  to  be  much  more  moderate  than 
the  men  raised  in  the  country  ports." — (Times,  Sept,  24,  1795.) 

"  One  Samuel  Caradise,  who  had  been  committed  to  the 
House  of  Correction,  in  Kendal,  and  there  confined  as  a 
vagabond,  until  put  on  board  a  King's  ship,  agreeable  to  the 
late  Act,  sent  for  his  wife,  the  evening  before  his  intended 


Old  Times.  91 

departure.  He  was  in  a  cell,  and  she  spoke  to  him  through 
the  iron  door.  After  which,  he  put  his  hand  underneath,  and 
she  with  a  mallet,  and  chissel,  concealed  for  the  purpose, 
struck  off  a  finger  and  thumb,  to  render  him  unfit  for  His 
Majesty's  service." — (Times,  Nov.  3,  1795.) 

"All  superfluous  ornaments  to  the  heads,  and  sterns,  of 
King's  ships  are,  we  understand,  in  future  to  be  discontinued. 
Instead  of  a  figure  at  the  head,  a  scroll  is  to  be  substituted, 
and  the  sterns  are  to  be  as  plain  as  possible." — (Times, 
Sept.  9,  1796.) 

"  The  Navy  Board  have  given  orders,  that  ships  of  war  shall 
be  ornamented  with  carved  work  at  their  heads,  and  sterns,  as 
formerly,  which  mode,  some  months  since,  had  been  sus- 
pended."— (Times,  Oct.  6,  1797.) 

"ANECDOTE  OF  CAPTAIN  DRURY  OF  THE  '  POWERFUL.' 

"About  an  hour  before  the  action  with  the  Dutch  Fleet, Jie 
assembled  his  men,  and  thus  addressed  them : — '  You  are  a  set  of 
damned,  blackguard,  mutinous,  rascals,  and  you  know  I  think 
so  of  you  all :  we  shall  soon  see  whether  you  have  any  cour- 
age :  I  have  only  this  to  say  to  you,  you  see  the  Dutch  ship 
that  we  shall  soon  be  along-side :  if  you  don't  silence  her  in 
40  minutes,  I  shall  know  what  to  think  of  you. — Now  return 
to  your  quarters.'  Turning  to  the  Master,  he  said,  '  Do  you 
take  care  that  these  rascals,  may  not  have  to  complain  that 
they  were  not  near  enough.'  In  20  minutes  the,  Dutch  ship 
struck  her  colours,  and  the  '  Powerful '  bore  away  to  assist  the 
'  Venerable.'  After  the  action,  the  Captains  of  the  fore-castle 
came  aft,  and  asked  Capt.  DRURY  if  he  still  considered  them 
a  rascally  set  ?  '  No,'  said  Capt.  D.,  '  your  behaviour  has 
perfectly  satisfied  me.'  '  Will  you  then  shake  hands  ?'  said  the 
men,  which  he  did  most  heartily,  and  assured  them  that  he  should 
never  reproach  them  again  for  what  had  passed,  and  would, 
on  his  part,  entirely  forget  that  anything  had  ever  happened. 
They  then  gave  him  three  cheers,  and,  now,  Capt.  DRURY  is 
almost  idolized  by  the  crew." — (Times,  Nov.  16,  1797.) 

"The  French  Government  has  ordered  16  sail  of  the  line, 


92  Old 

1 8  frigates,  and  12  ships  of  war  of  a  smaller  size  to  be  built. 
Good  news  this  for  Old  England  !  It  saves  us  the  trouble  and 
expense  of  building  them  ourselves,  as  they  are  sure  to  find 
their  way  into  our  ports." — (Times,  Nov.  26,  1798.) 

"LORD  CAMELFORD. 

"  By  the  Leeward  Island  Mail,  which  arrived  yesterday,  we 
have  received  some  very  circumstantial  advices  of  what  passed 
in  the  West  Indies,  respecting  Lord  Camelford,  who  was 
tried  by  a  Court  Martial,  on  the  i3th  of  January  last,  at  Fort 
Royal  Bay,  for  the  murder  of  Lieut.  Peterson,  and  acquitted. 

"ANTIGUA,  January  23,  1798. 

"On  the  1 3th  inst.  died,  at  English  Harbour,  Charles 
Peterson,  Esq.,  first  Lieutenant  of  H.M.  ship  Perdrix.  This 
event  was  occasioned  by  a  dispute  between  the  deceased, 
and  Lord  Camelford,  upon  the  right  of  commanding  at  English 
Harbour.  Lord  Camelford  commanded  H.M.  sloop-of-war 
the  Favourite,  by  virtue  of  an  order,  or  warrant,  from  Admiral 
Harvey ;  and  Mr.  Peterson,  though  an  older  Lieutenant  than 
Lord  Camelford,  had  lately  served  on  board  that  ship  under 
his  command,  but,  having  been  removed  to  the  Perdrix^  and 
Lord  Camelford  not  having  a  commission  as  Master,  and 
Commander,  Mr.  Peterson,  being  then  at  English  Harbour, 
supposed  himself  to  be  the  Commanding  Officer,  and,  under 
that  idea,  issued  some  orders  to  Lord  Camelford,  which  were 
answered  by  other  orders  from  Lord  C.  to  Mr.  P.  Upon 
Mr.  Peterson's  refusal  to  obey  these  orders,  a  Lieutenant  with 
a  party  of  Marines  were  sent  to  put  him  under  arrest,  and 
Mr.  P.  prepared  for  resistance,  and  ordered  the  crew  of 
the  Perdrix  to  arm  in  his  defence.  But,  before  any  conflict 
took  place,  Lord  Camelford  arrived,  went  up  to  Mr.  P., 
demanded  if  he  would  obey  his  orders,  or  not,  and,  upon 
being  answered  in  the  negative,  he  immediately  shot  him 
dead  upon  the  spot.  An  inquest  was  taken  by  the  Coroner, 
the  next  day  ;  but  the  Jury,  not  being  willing  to  take  upon 
themselves  the  determination  of  the  question  upon  whom  the 
command  at  English  Harbour  had  devolved,  found  only  that 
the  deceased  had  been  shot  by  Lord  Camelford,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  mutiny." — (Times,  April  u,  1798.) 


Old  Times.  93 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  an  Officer  in  H.M.  ship 
Vengeance,  dated  Antigua,  February  9  : — 

"  Lord  Camelford  appears  to  me  to  be  a  new  character  in 
his  Class.  He  is  very  severe  in  carrying  on  duty ;  seldom  ties 
up  a  man  but  he  gets  six  or  seven  dozen  lashes,  which  is  a 
more  severe  punishment  in  this  country  than  what  is  produced 
by  giving  the  same  number  in  a  northern  climate. 

"  Although  his  Lordship  is  a  Master,  and  Commander,  he 
makes  use  of  no  swabs  (gold  shoulder  knots),  but  still  appears 
in  a  Lieutenant's  uniform.  His  dress  is  indeed  extremely 
remarkable ;  all  the  hair  is  shaved  off  his  head,  on  which  he 
wears  a  monstrous  large  Gold-laced  cocked-hat.  He  is  dressed 
in  a  Lieutenant's  plain  coat,  the  buttons  of  which  are  as  green 
with  verdigrease,  as  the  ship's  bottom ;  and,  with  this,  all  the 
rest  of  his  dress  corresponds." 

Extract  of  a  private  letter. 

"  CRONSTADT,  Aiigust  2. 

"  Our  countrymen  who  have  been  employed  at  Revel,  in 
conducting  the  embarkation  of  the  Russian  troops,  have  been 
honoured  with  great  marks  of  attention  from  the  Emperor, 
and  his  Family. 

"  His  Imperial  Majesty  requested  the  Nile  lugger,  in  which 
Captain  Popham  went  to  Petersburgh,  to  be  brought  up  close 
to  his  palace  at  Peterhoff,  where  he  went  on  board,  accom- 
panied by  only  one  Nobleman.  The  lugger  was  immediately 
got  under  weigh,  and,  there  being  a  fine  breeze  of  wind,  His 
Majesty  was  highly  surprised,  and  gratified,  at  the  swiftness  of 
her  sailings.  After  a  two  hour's  cruise,  he  was  landed  again 
at  the  palace,  when  the  lugger  gave  him  a  royal  salute. 

"  It  appears  the  account  he  gave  of  the  English  vessel  had 
greatly  excited  the  curiosity  of  the  rest  of  the  Royal  Family, 
as,  next  day,  Captain  Popham  was  honoured  with  the  company 
of  the  Empress,  the  Emperor,  Four  Princesses,  and  Three 
Princes,  with  their  retinue,  when  they  were,  of  course,  treated 
with  a  sail,  at  which  they  were  highly  delighted,  and,  with 
great  condescension,  partook  of  some  ship  beef,  and  biscuit. 
The  Emperor  was  particularly  attentive  to  everything  on  board 


94  Old  Times. 

the  lugger,  visiting  every  part  of  her,  and,  when  the  sailors 
were  hoisting  the  sails,  he  insisted  on  helping  for  once,  to  set 
the  sails  of  a  vessel  belonging  to  his  gracious  Ally,  and  actually 
hauled  the  rope  with  the  men.  The  Empress  begged  that  the 
crew  would  sing  'God  save  the  King,'  which  was  instantly 
complied  with,  to  Her  Majesty's  entire  satisfaction. 

"  Captain  Popham  was  presented  by  the  Emperor,  with  an 
elegant  snuff-box  set  with  diamonds,  and  with  a  valuable  ring 
from  Her  Imperial  Majesty.  His  Majesty  has  likewise  knighted 
Captain  Popham,  conferring  on  him  the  Order  of  St.  John  of 
Jerusalem.  Lieutenant  Pratt,  Captain  Popham's  Assistant  in 
this  business,  has  also  been  presented  with  a  gold  snuff-box, 
from  the  Emperor,  and  a  handsome  gold  watch  and  chain, 
from  the  Empress." — (Times,  August  28,  1799.) 

Was  the  under-mentioned  lady  the  veritable  heroine 
of  the  ballad  of  "  Billy  Taylor  ?  " 

"  There  is  at  present  in  the  Middlesex  Hospital,  a  young, 
and  delicate  female,  who  calls  herself  Miss  T — Ib — t,  and  who 
is  said  to  be  related  to  some  families  of  distinction ;  her  story 
is  very  singular  : — At  an  early  period  of  her  life,  having  been 
deprived  by  the  villany  of  a  trustee,  of  a  sum  of  money  be- 
queathed her  by  a  deceased  relation  of  high  rank,  she  followed 
the  fortunes  of  a  young  Naval  officer,  to  whom  she  was  attached, 
and  personated  a  common  sailor  before  the  mast,  during  a 
cruise  in  the  North  Seas.  In  consequence  of  a  lover's  quarrel, 
she  quitted  the  ship  and  assumed  for  a  time  the  military  char- 
acter :  but  her  passion  for  the  sea  prevailing,  she  returned  to 
her  favourite  element,  did  good  service,  and  received  a  severe 
wound,  on  board  Earl  St.  Vincent's  ship,  on  the  glorious  i4th 
of  February,  and  again  bled  in  the  cause  of  her  country,  in 
the  engagement  off  Camperdown.  On  this  last  occasion  her 
knee  was  shattered,  and  an  amputation  is  likely  to  ensue. 
This  spirited  female,  we  understand,  receives  a  pension  of 
^20,  from  an  illustrious  Lady,  which  is  about  to  be  doubled." 
(Times,  Nov.  4,  1799.) 

In  1/93,  the  war  with  France,  which  wras,  on  and  off, 
to  last  so  long,  was  an  accomplished  fact — and  one  of  the 


Br/fish  isa/ies  Patriotic  Prints  to  Mzfrmy. 


Old  Times.  95 

first  notices  thereof,  at  least,  pictorially,  makes  fun  of 
the  good  intentions  of  the  patriotic  ladies  of  England, 
towards  the  personal  comforts  of  the  army. 

Men  were  most  urgently  wanted — but  it  had  hardly 
come  to  the  following  : — 

"  Major  Hanger  has  made  a  proposal  to  Government,  rather 
of  a  singular  nature,  to  raise  a  corps  of  men,  from  among  the 
convicts.  He  has  received  his  answer,  that,  at  present, 
Government  can  give  no  countenance  to  his  application."  But 
it  did  come. — (Times,  March  23,  1793.) 

"  We  have  already  mentioned  that  a  number  of  convicts  in 
Newgate,  under  sentence  of  transportation,  have  within  the  last 
few  days,  been  permitted  to  enter  into  marching  regiments. 
The  crown  debtors  in  the  various  prisons,  have  received  similar 
offers." — (Times,  Oct.  9,  1795.) 

"  The  French  Emigrants,  who  are  to  serve  in  the  legion  now 
assembling  at  Jersey,  have  received  orders  to  keep  themselves 
ready,  at  a  short  notice,  to  repair  to  their  destinations.  About 
400,  have  enlisted  in  town,  and  between  500,  and  600,  at 
Jersey." — (Times,  Jan.  29,  1794.) 

Here  is  a  very  early  Notice  of  Volunteers  : — 

"We  are  happy  to  hear  that  the  GRAND  JURIES  of  the 
different  counties,  intend  to  recommend  the  forming  Volunteer 
Companies,  to  augment  the  Militia.  The  Grand  Jury,  at 
Reading,  greatly  approved  this  measure,  and  the  sum  of  14, 
or  ^£1500,  has  already  been  subscribed,  at  that  place,  for  carry- 
ing it  into  effect." — (Times,  March  8,  1794.) 

"  The  following  are  the  terms  for  raising  Independent 
Companies.  For  a  Company,  a  Lieutenant  on  full  pay  is  to 
raise  fifty  men,  including  three  corporals,  to  be  allowed  five 
guineas  levy  money,  and  the  pay  of  three  Serjeants,  and  two 
drummers,  during  the  levy,  and  to  receive  ^150  from  the  suc- 
cessor to  his  lieutenancy.  A  Lieutenant  on  half  pay,  to  raise  the 
like  number,  but  to  be  allowed  eight  guineas  levy-money.  For 


96  Old  Times. 

a  Lieutenancy,  an  Ensign  on  full  pay  is  to  raise  twenty  men, 
including  a  corporal,  and  to  be  allowed  five  guineas  levy-money 
with  the  pay  of  a  sergeant,  and  a  drummer,  during  the  levy. 
An  Ensign  on  half-pay,  to  raise  the  like  number,  but  to  be 
allowed  seven  guineas  levy-money." — (Times,  March  7,  1794.) 

"  The  following,  we  understand  to  be  the  heads  of  the  plan 
to  be  proposed  for  the  consideration  of  the  Lords  Lieutenants  of 
the  different  counties,  for  the  internal  defence  of  the  Kingdom. 

rt  i st.  The  Militia  is  to  be  augmented  by  Volunteer  Com- 
panies, or  by  an  additional  number  of  privates  to  each  com- 
pany, in  the  option  of  His  Majesty. 

"  zndly.  Volunteer  Companies  are  to  be  formed  in  particular 
towns  :  in  those  particularly  situated  on  the  sea  coast,  for 
purposes  of  local  defence. 

"  3rdly.  A  certain  number  of  soldiers  for  each  Regiment :  to 
act  as  pioneers,  as  well  as  persons  in  different  parishes,  and 
districts,  not  attached  immediately  to  the  Militia,  to  act  in  the 
same  capacity :  and  certain  places  to  be  appointed  for  their 
rendezvous,  particularly  upon  the  sea  coast ;  but  these  to  be 
ready  to  assist  the  regular  forces  upon  every  emergency. 

"4thly.  Volunteer  Troops  of  Fencible  Cavalry  are  to  be 
raised,  consisting  of  from  50,  to  80,  men  per  troop,  which  are 
liable  to  serve  only  during  the  war,  and  within  the  Kingdom  : 
the  Officers  are  to  have  temporary  rank  only,  and  are  not  to 
be  entitled  to  half  pay  :  arms,  clothing,  and  accoutrements,  to 
be  furnished  by  the  Government,  but  the  levy-money  to  be 
found  by  the  persons  raising  such  troops,  or  troops,  as  also  the 
horses ;  for  the  horses,  however,  they  are  to  be  allowed  the 
Government  contract  price.  The  person  who,  upon  the  above 
terms,  raises  two  troops,  is  to  have  the  temporary  rank  of 
Major ;  he  who  raises  four,  that  of  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  and 
he  who  raises  six,  that  of  Colonel. 

"  Fifthly,  Bodies  of  Cavalry  are,  besides,  to  be  raised  within 
particular  districts,  or  counties,  to  consist  of  the  Gentlemen 
and  Yeomanry,  or  'such  persons  as  they  shall  recommend, 
according  to  a  plan  to  be  approved  of  by  the  KING,  or  by  the 
Lords  Lieutenant,  under  authority  from  His  MAJESTY;  the 
Officers  are  to  receive  Commissions  from  His  MAJESTY,  and 
the  Muster  Rolls  are  also  to  be  approved  of  by  His  Majesty, 


Old  Times.  97 

or  by  the  Lords  Lieutenant,  at  particular  periods  to  be  here- 
after fixed ;  no  levy  money  is  to  be  given,  and  the  horses  are 
to  be  provided  by  the  Gentry  or  Yeomanry  who  compose  the 
particular  corps;  the  arms  and  accoutrements,  are,  however, 
to  be  supplied  at  the  public  expense.  Such  corps  are  to  be 
exercised  only  at  particular  times,  fixed  by  warrant  from  His 
Majesty,  or  by  the  approbation  of  the  Lords  Lieutenant. 
They  are  to  be  liable  to  be  embodied,  or  called  out  of  their 
respective  counties,  only  by  special  direction  from  His  Majesty, 
in  case  of  actual  appearance  of  invasion ;  and  to  be  liable  to 
be  called  upon  by  order  from  His  Majesty,  or  by  the  Lords 
Lieutenant,  or  Sheriff  of  the  county,  to  act  within  the  county, 
or  in  the  adjacent  counties,  for  the  suppression  of  riots  and 
tumults.  In  either  case,  they  are  to  receive  pay  as  cavalry, 
and  are  to  be  liable  to  the  provisions  of  the  Mutiny  Bill." — 
(Times,  Mar.  13,  1794.) 

Qualifications. — "The  officers  of  the  LONDON  MILITIA, 
according  to  the  Bill  now  in  the  House  of  Lords,  are  to  be 
qualified  according  to  the  Act  of  the  26th  George  III.  Cap. 
107,  Sec.  8. 

Real  or  Personal. 

Field  Officers  .  .  .  ^300  ^5,000 
Captains  ....  150  2,500 
Lieutenants ....  30  750 

Ensign         ....  20  400 

One  Moiety  in  the  City,  the  other  in  any  part  of  the  Kingdom 
seised  of  an  estate,  either  in  law,  or  equity,  the  claim  or  grant 
whereof  was  originally  made  for  20  years,  of  the  same  annual 
amount,  to  be  a  qualification." — (Times,  June  26,  1794.) 

"An  extraordinary  circumstance  lately  happened  to  a 
sheriff's  officer,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Covent  Garden.  Hot 
with  juniper  berry,  not  the  Tuscan  Grape,  he  had  an  idea  of 
beating  the  Carmagnols ;  and  in  consequence,  going  to  a 
recruiting  party  in  Bow  Street,  said  he  would  enlist.  The 
Captain  of  the  party  gave  him  a  shilling,  in  the  usual  phrase 
of  His  Majesty's  name: — he  said  he  must  have  more  : — a  guinea 
was  given  him  in  His  Majesty's  name,  to  serve  so  and  so ;  he 

G 


98  Old  Times, 

took  it,  and  departed.  The  matter  thus  rested  for  five  or  six 
days,  when  he  came  back  to  return  the  money,  which  he  said 
he  had  taken  in  a  frolic.  The  money  was  refused.  He  said 
he  would  be  revenged,  and,  having  a  writ  some  days  after, 
against  one  of  the  enlisted  recruits,  he  went  to  the  rendezvous 
house  to  execute  it,  where  the  Captain  took  him  up  as  a 
deserter,  and  sent  him  to  the  Savoy  Prison,  from  whence  he 
has  been  released  by  a  Habeas  Corpus,  contrary,  as  military 
men  say,  to  the  law  by  which  the  military  are  governed. 
This  will  occasion  a  most  curious  contest." — (Times,  June 
3°,  17940 

"  Something  like  a  legal  mutiny  has,  it  seems,  already  arisen 
in  the  long  roled  Corps  of  Volunteers.  By  a  clause  in  their 
engrossed  agreement,  every  Member  neglecting  to  attend  the 
regular  drill,  is  bound  to  pay  a  fine  of  three  shillings  and  four- 
pence,  towards  purchasing  parchment  to  new  head  their  drums. 
Against  this  penalty  being  levied,  some  of  the  absentees  have 
demurred,  on  the  plea  that  the  instrument  is  not  valid  in  law, 
from  its  not  being  drawn  on  a  six  shilling  stamp" — (Times, 
July  17,  1794.) 

"A  melancholy  accident  happened  yesterday,  about  one 
o'clock,  at  the  Recruiting  Office,  Angel  Court,  Charing  Cross. 
A  sergeant  having  kidnapped  a  man,  for  the  better  securing 
him,  had  confined  him  in  a  back-garret  at  the  top  of  the  house, 
after  he  had  cut  off  his  hair,  to  disfigure  him,  and,  tying  his 
hands  behind  him,  and  locking  the  door,  left  him  by  himself. 
By  some  means,  the  man  got  his  hands  loosened,  and  chose 
rather  to  risk  his  life  by  jumping  from  the  window,  than 
suffer  himself  to  be  any  longer  in  their  clutches ;  accordingly, 
he  attempted  to  pitch  upon  a  leaded  roof,  which  was  about 
half  way  to  the  bottom,  but,  unfortunately,  jumping  short,  he 
fell  back,  and  his  head  falling  against  the  wall,  his  skull  was 
fractured  in  such  a  shocking  manner,  that  he  died  in  about  an 
hour  afterwards.  The  populace  were  so  much  enraged  at  this 
shocking  enormity,  which  we  are  sorry  to  believe  is  too  often 
repeated,  that  they  almost  demolished  the  Recruiting  Office. 
The  mob  had  increased  to  so  great  a  degree  at  ten  o'clock 
last  night,  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  call  out  a  party  of  the 


I 


Old  Times.  99 

Horse  Guards,  for  the  protection  of  the  neighbourhood." — 
(Times,  Aug.  16,  1794.) 

This  was  a  serious  riot.  The  mob  at  that  time  was 
peculiarly  excitable,  and  had  a  great  deal  more  of  its 
own  way  than  it  has  now.  So  a  spark  only  was 
wanted  to  make  a  flame.  This  was  found  in  a 
rumoured  case  of  kidnapping  for  the  army ;  impressing 
for  the  navy  could  be  understood,  because  it  had 
obtained  from  time  immemorial,  that  when  the  king 
wanted  men  to  man  his  war  vessels,  he  took  seamen, 
or  fishermen,  but  this  was  something  new,  and  must 
be  put  down,  otherwise  no  man  was  safe.  The  truth 
was  not  scrupulously  adhered  to,  and  the  print  shops, 
ever  eager  to  make  money  by  pandering  to  the  passions 
of  the  hour,  published  exaggerated,  and  heartrending 
pictures,  of  the  way  in  which  the  army  was  recruited, 
and,  altogether,  a  very  pretty  riot  was  got  up. 

"  On  Saturday  morning,  early,  a  mob  again  collected  before 
Angel  Court,  Charing  Cross,  and  attacked  the  house  from 
whence  the  unfortunate  young  man  had  thrown  himself 
into  the  street.  The  populace  proceeded  to  gut  the  house, 
throwing  the  furniture  out  of  the  windows.  The  street  was 
covered  with  feathers  from  the  beds  which  were  torn  to  pieces  : 
they  were  proceeding  to  demolish  an  adjoining  house,  when 
the  military  were  called  in,  and  several  officer's  detachments, 
both  of  horse,  and  foot,  again  paraded  the  streets  at  Charing 
Cross.  The  mob  having  assembled  again  yesterday  morning, 
and  becoming  very  riotous,  a  troop  of  Horse  Guards  was  very 
properly  ordered  out,  and  two  or  three  of  the  principal  rioters 
about  the  King's  Arms  Public  House,  taken  into  custody. 

"  It  is  some  satisfaction  that  we  have  heard  the  CORONER'S 
report  on  the  investigation  of  this  unpleasant  business.  A 
most  respectable  jury  sat  five  hours,  on  Saturday  night,  to 
consider  of  the  verdict :  and,  after  the  most  minute  testimony 
of  several  witnesses,  it  was  proved  that  the  young  man,  whose 


ioo  Old  Times. 

name  was  Howe,  and  lived  at  Wandsworth,  was  a  LUNATIC, 
and  had  been  several  times  confined  by  his  friends.  He  had 
himself  offered  to  enlist ;  no  blame  whatever  attaches  in  this 
instance,  to  the  people  of  the  house.  We  trust  that  this 
impartial  enquiry  will  satisfy  the  minds  of  every  one,  and  that 
there  will  be  no  more  mobs." — (Times,  Aug.  18,  1794.) 

"In  consequence  of  a  mob  again  assembling  at  Charing 
Cross,  yesterday  evening,  the  Horse  Guards  were  again 
called  out,  and  paraded  the  streets  till  midnight." — (Times, 
Aug.  19,  1794.) 

"THE  RIOTS  IN  LONDON. 

"We  had  flattered  ourselves  with  the  hope,  that  the  very 
fair,  and  public,  investigation  which  took  place  on  the 
CORONER'S  INQUEST,  which  sat  on  Saturday  last  on  the  body 
of  the  unfortunate  man,  HOWE,  who  threw  himself  out  of  a 
window  of  a  Recruiting  House,  would  have  satisfied  every 
man's  mind,  that  HOWE  was  a  LUNATIC,  and  had  been  so  for 
many  years  past :  and  that  it  was  in  a  fit  of  Lunacy,  that  he 
destroyed  himself.  We  hoped  after  this  investigation,  all 
kinds  of  mobs  would  have  ceased. 

"We  are  sorry  to  observe,  that  the  people  are  instigated  to 
riot  by  the  false  representations  daily  made  in  those  Jacobin 
prints,  which  are,  at  all  times,  so  eager  to  announce,  and 
magnify,  every  public  misfortune.  One  of  these  yesterday 
asserted,  'that  a  poor  woman  with  five  children,  and  herself 
now  pregnant,  suspecting  the  crimps  had  decoyed  her  husband 
into  a  house  in  Whitcomb  St.,  watched  it,  and  by  chance  saw 
her  husband  chained  to  the  floor. '  An  evening  paper  of  yesterday, 
observes  '  that  the  guards,  both  horse  and  foot,  were  as  usual, 
grossly  insulting  inoffensive  passengers,'  and  it  concludes  with 
a  piece  of  advice  to  these  military  gentlemen,  '  that  they  are 
not  always  with  musquets,  and  swords,  in  their  hands,  and 
that  the  people  may  be  roused  to  resistance.'  Now  we  know 
that  no  gentlemen  could  have  observed  greater  caution  than 
the  military  have  done  on  this  occasion :  and  the  above 
remarks  have  no  other  object  than  to  excite  riot. 

"  On  Tuesday  last,  John  Kerr  and  John  Ruggle,  were  com- 


Old  Times.  101 

mitted  to  Newgate  for  stripping  a  man  of  his  cloaths.  Kerr  is 
the  man  who  keeps  a  house -in  Whitcombe  Street,  Charing 
Cross ;  which  was  assailed  by  a  mob  on  Tuesday  night,  and 
very  much  damaged.  It  was  owing  to  this  riot,  that  the 
Horse  Guards  were  again  called  out,  and  paraded  the  streets, 
through  the  night,  as  well  as  yesterday,  to  keep  the  peace. 

"  Six  of  those  who  were  found  in  Kerr's  house  throwing  the 
furniture  out  of  the  windows,  were  taken  into  custody,  and, 
yesterday  morning,  were  all  committed  to  Tothill-fields 
Bridewell. 

"A  riot  also  was  attempted  to  be  raised  at  a  recruiting- 
office  in  Tooley  St.,  Southwark,  on  Tuesday  night. 

"  Yesterday,  a  mob  assembled  before  a  house  of  the  same 
description,  in  Shoe  Lane,  at  which  several  stones  were 
thrown :  and,  at  length,  it  became  so  serious,  that  the  LORD 
MAYOR  was  called  upon  to  interpose  his  assistance,  and 
attended,  and,  by  the  interference  of  a  few  constables,  the 
mob  dispersed,  but,  in  the  evening,  the  number  of  people  con- 
tinuing to  increase,  a  party  of  guards  were  sent  from  the 
Tower,  and  the  Lord  Mayor,  at  eight  o'clock,  read  the  Riot  Act. 
The  mob,  after  being  driven  out  of  Shoe  Lane  by  the  soldiers, 
rushed  suddenly  to  Bride  Lane,  where  they  broke  open  a 
house  which  had  been  employed  as  a  recruiting-office,  and 
proceeded  to  throw  the  beds,  and  some  little  furniture  that 
remained  in  it,  out  of  the  windows ;  but,  hearing  of  the 
approach  of  the  military,  they  fled,  saying  they  had  plenty 
more  business  to  do.  It  was  reported,  at  the  time  this  paper 
was  going  to  press,  that  the  Recruiting  Offices  on  Mutton  Hill, 
and  Cow-Cross,  near  Clerkenwell  Green,  had  likewise  met  a 
similar  fate." — (Times,  Aug.  20,  1794.) 

"On  Wednesday,  the  examinations  closed  respecting  Mrs. 
Hanna,  who  kept  the  recruiting  office  at  Charing  Cross,  when 
she  was  acquitted,  no  evidence  being  adduced  to  criminate 
her.  This  acquittal  has  been  the  consequence  of  a  very 
scrutinizing  investigation. 

"  The  riots  were  not  confined,  on  Wednesday  night,  to  Fleet 
St.  and  the  neighbourhood,  but  extended  to  the  Raven,  in 
Golden  Lane,  and  the  Sash,  in  Moorfields,  and  very  much 
damaged  the  Rum  Puncheon,  in  Old  St.,  and  a  private  house 


IO2  Old  Times. 

in  Long  Lane.  They  were  all  recruiting  houses.  A  recruiting 
house,  opposite  Fetter  Lane,  in  Holborn,  was  completely 
gutted. 

"Yesterday,  bills  were  very  properly  stuck  up  in  different 
parts  of  the  town,  to  the  following  purport : — '  You  are 
earnestly  requested  to  depart  hence,  and  not  by  remaining, 
encourage  others  to  stop,  by  which  a  crowd  will  be  accumu- 
lated, and  your  personal  liberty  may  be  endangered.'  Parents 
were  likewise  warned  from  suffering  their  children  to  appear 
abroad. 

"  It  is  greatly  to  be  apprehended  that  there  exists  a  scheme 
to  raise  mobs,  and  disturb  the  peace  of  the  metropolis.  On 
Friday,  and  Saturday,  during  the  riots  at  Charing  Cross,  great 
pains  were  taken  to  persuade  the  people,  that  there  were 
subterraneous  passages  from  the  houses  to  the  Thames,  and 
that  men  were  sent  off  in  the  night.  On  Monday,  and 
Tuesday,  hand-bills  were  distributed,  telling  the  people  that 
men,  and  children,  were  kidnapped,  and  sent  off  to  Canada, 
and  elsewhere.  Nothing  can  be  more  notoriously  false  than 
such  assertions." — (Times,  Aug.  22,  1794.) 

"  On  Thursday  night  there  was  an  attempt  made  to  raise  a 
riot  in  St.  George's  Fields,  at  the  Milk  House,  the  corner  of 
the  London  Road,  the  master  of  which  is  a  temporary  Ser- 
jeant to  recruit  for  some  of  the  volunteer  corps ;  but  by  the 
spirited  behaviour  of  the  recruits,  soldiers  and  light  horse 
volunteers,  in  that  quarter,  the  incendiaries  did  not  proceed 
to  acts  of  violence.  It  was  evidently  apparent  that  the  mob 
was  led  on  by  persons  above  the  common  rank,  whose  sole  aim 
is,  if  possible,  under  the  idea  of  some  pretended  grievance,  to 
raise  a  general  riot  in  the  metropolis.  On  Thursday,  several 
persons  were  committed  to  the  New  Compter,  by  the  Lord 
Mayor,  for  being  concerned  in  the  riot  in  Shoe  Lane;  and 
six  men  were  committed  to  Newgate,  from  the  Public  Office, 
in  Worship  Street,  for  being  concerned  in  the  riots  at  the  Sash, 
in  Moorfields,  and  at  the  Black  Raven,  in  Golden  Lane. 

"  In  the  course  of  the  same  day,  several  attempts  of  a 
similar  nature  were  made  in  different  quarters  of  the  town, 
which  were  prevented,  however,  by  the  appearance  of  the 
regular  military,  and,  in  some  places,  by  the  City  Horse 


Old  Times.  103 

Volunteers,  who  have  been  out  on  duty  every  day.  The 
recruiting  offices  in  Drury  Lane,  and  at  Shoreditch,  were 
attempted  to  be  demolished.  As  the  continuance  of  these 
riotous  proceedings  is  of  the  most  dangerous  nature,  we  trust 
that  some  more  decisive  steps  will  be  taken,  by  Government, 
for  their  suppression." — (Times, •,  Aug.  23,  1794.) 

"The  activity  of  the  Magistrates,  and  the  arrival  of  the 
Oxford  Blues,  to  assist  the  Civil  Power,  caused  the  mobs  to 
be  cautious  of  appearing  on  Saturday.  They  found  that  it 
was  determined  to  fire  upon  them  if  they  did  not  desist ;  and, 
therefore,  they  thought  personal  safety  the  best  policy.  A 
very  rigid,  and  severe,  investigation  will,  no  doubt,  be  made 
into  the  practice  of  crimping,  and  a  stop  put  to  the  disgraceful 
manner  of  recruiting." — (Times,  Aug.  26,  1794.) 

"  OLD  BAILEY. 

"  Five  men  were  indicted  for  a  riot,  on  the  aoth  of  last 
month,  at  a  Public  House,  known  by  the  name  of  the  Old 
Sash,  in  Moorfields.  After  a  trial  of  five  hours,  the  Jury  found 
all  the  prisoners — Not  Guilty.  John  Osborn  and  ./?.  Piggott 
were  indicted  for  riotously  assembling  on  the  20th  August  last, 
in  Golden  Lane,  and  beginning  to  demolish  the  dwelling 
house  of  Hugh  Case.  Piggott  found  guilty,  sentence,  Death. 
Osborn,  not  Guilty,  f.  Strutt,  was  afterwards  tried  for  begin- 
ning  to  demolish  the  dwelling  house  of  W.  Ostiff,  in  Johnson's 
Court,  Charing  Cross,  and,  after  a  trial  of  several  hours,  was 
found  guilty,  sentence  Death.  Antony  Purchase,  and  R. 
Warnbeck,  were  next  tried,  for  beginning  to  pull  down  the 
house  of  R.  Lazell,  and  found  guilty,  sentence  Death.  They 
were  both  of  them  strongly  recommended,  by  the  Jury,  to 
mercy,  on  account  of  their  youth,  and  the  goodness  of  their 
character." — (Times,  Sept.  22,  1794.) 

"  Sunday  evening,  an  affray  happened  in  Whitcomb  Street, 
between  a  recruiting  party,  and  the  mob,  on  account  of  the 
former  attempting  to  trepan  a  young  man,  in  a  state  of  intoxi- 
cation. The  windows  of  the  recruiting-house  were  broke,  and 
the  affair,  which  for  some  time  bore  an  alarming  aspect,  was  at 


IO4  Old  Times. 

last  terminated  by  the  arrival  of  a  party  of  the  Horse  Guards." 
(Times,  Dec.  23,  1794.) 

RIOT  IN  ST.  GEORGE'S  FIELDS. 

"  However  expedient  it  is  to  recruit  our  Land  Forces,  and 
strongly  as  it  is  requisite  to  make  our  Navy  respectable,  and 
superior  to  the  enemy,  yet,  in  attaining  these  essential  points, 
the  constitutional  liberty  of  the  subject  should  be  preserved. 
It  is,  therefore,  with  a  degree- of  regret,  we  mention  that  the 
power  of  enlisting  men  for  the  Land  Service,  in  particular,  has 
been  entrusted  to  persons  who  have  abused  the  confidence 
reposed  in  them,  and  who  have  used  the  most  unjustifiable 
means  to  accomplish  their  purposes.  As  an  instance,  among 
others  that  have  previously  been  brought  before  the  public, 
we  are  authorised,  from  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  to  state, 
that  on  Friday  last,  a  very  great  mob  assembled  in  London 
Road,  leading  from  the  Obelisk,  in  St.  George's  Fields,  to  the 
Elephant  and  Castle,  at  Newington  Butts,  and,  having  intima- 
tion that  a  number  of  men  were  there  imprisoned  by  a  certain 
description  of  Crimps,  they  attacked  the  house  where  these 
persons  were  confined,  demolished  the  windows,  and  released 
eighteen  men,  who  were  chained  together  by  hand-cuffs,  and 
other  iron  ligaments. 

"  The  Borough  Magistrates,  on  hearing  of  this  outrage,  im- 
mediately sent  down  their  officers  :  and  the  Acting  Recruiting 
Serjeant  being  taken  into  custody,  he  was,  after  a  short 
examination,  committed  to  the  New  Gaol.  The  circumstances 
which  led  to  the  discovery  of  this  imprisonment,  was,  that 
of  kidnapping  a  pot-boy,  who,  before  he  was  chained  down, 
contrived  to  break  a  pane  of  glass  in  the  drawing-room  window 
(for  the  house  was  a  private  one,  and  elegantly  furnished),  from 
whence  he  cried  out  '  Murder  ! '  This  alarmed  the  neighbour- 
hood, and,  as  it  had  been  suspected  by  them,  that  persons 
were  illegally  confined  there,  the  doors,  and  windows,  were 
soon  demolished,  and  the  prisoners  liberated.  The  Serjeant, 
and  his  crew,  had  two  women  of  the  town  genteelly  dressed  up 
for  the  purpose  of  inveigling  young  men  into  the  house,  which 
they  styled  their  lodgings,  where  the  deluded  were  instantly 
hand-cuffed,  and,  about  three  or  four  o'clock,  in  the  morning, 


Old  Times.  105 

sent  off  in  coaches,  hired  for  the  purpose,  to  the  country.  On 
Saturday,  several  more  youths,  who  were  confined  in  other 
parts  of  the  Fields,  were  released  by  the  Magistrates,  amidst 
the  plaudits  of  a  numerous  multitude  of  spectators."  —  (Times, 
fan.  12,  1795.) 

"  On  Tuesday  night  some  disturbance  happened  in  Charles 
Street,  Westminster,  occasioned  by  some  crimps  having  in- 
veigled a  boy  from  his  parents,  and  lodged  him  in  a  house 
there.  The  mob  broke  the  windows  of  it,  and  the  boy  was 
rescued.  We  have  every  reason  to  hope  that  the  most  severe 
punishment  will  be  inflicted  on  the  crimps,  Government  having 
taken  every  possible  pains  to  prevent  such  abuses."  —  (Times, 
,  1795.) 


"Yesterday  evening,  about  seven  o'clock,  a  very  consider- 
able mob  assembled  about  Charing  Cross,  and,  under  the 
pretence  of  delivering  a  man  from  the  Crimping  House,  they 
attacked  the  house,  which  is  up  a  little  court  near  Northum- 
berland House,  and  threw  all  the  furniture  out  of  the  windows. 
Charing  Cross  was  covered  with  feathers.  The  mob  became 
so  numerous,  and  disorderly,  that  it  was  found  necessary  to 
call  in  the  assistance  of  the  Horse  Guards  :  and  the  RIOT  ACT 
was  twice  read  by  a  Magistrate.  The  street  was  much  thronged, 
and  the  tumult  continued,  when  this  Paper  went  to  press  : 
although  there  had  been  no  other  act  of  serious  mischief.  No 
one  can  detest  the  business  of  Crimping  more  than  we  do  : 
but  we  have  strong  reasons  to  believe  that  this  is  very  fre- 
quently made  a  stalking  horse  with  the  factious,  to  provoke  a 
riot."  —  (Times,  July  12,  1795.) 

"  A  Mob  collected  themselves  again,  last  night,  at  Charing 
Cross,  when,  after  making  every  one  pull  off  their  hats,  as  they 
passed,  they  proceeded  to  Mr.  PITT'S,  in  Downing  St.,  and 
broke  several  windows  in  his  house;  but,  the  Guards  being 
immediately  called  out,  and  appearing  in  sight,  very  soon  dis- 
persed them. 

"  The  Mob,  afterwards,  went  over  Westminster  Bridge,  and 
paraded  to  St.  George's-fields,  where  they  attacked  the  Royal 
George  Public-house,  near  the  Obelisk,  and  threw  all  the  fur- 
niture of  it  into  the  road,  and'  there  burnt  it.  They  gutted 


106  Old  Times. 

another  Recruiting  house,  in  Lambeth-Road,  and,  afterwards, 
made  a  bonfire  of  the  furniture.  This  was  mistaken  by  many, 
to  be  houses  on  fire.  There  were  some  of  the  Mob  who  kept 
watch  on  the  outside  of  the  houses,  to  give  notice  of  the 
arrival  of  the  military,  who  did  not  come  till  after  the  furniture 
of  these  two  houses  were  consumed.  The  Mob  compelled 
the  inhabitants  of  the  houses  in  the  neighbourhood,  to  put  up 
lights. 

"  The  Riot  at  Charing  Cross,  on  Sunday  night,  was  begun 
by  a  very  few  persons  who  wished  for  mischief,  and  called  out 
the  words,  CRIMPS,  and  KIDNAPPERS  !  The  damage  was  done 
almost  instantaneously,  and  the  villains  escaped,  leaving  a 
numerous  assembly  of  people,  who  were  only  drawn  together 
by  an  idle  curiosity,  on  the  Surrey-road,  near  the  Circus. 
Yesterday  morning,  however,  about  seven  o'clock,  it  was 
assailed  by  a  mob,  and,  notwithstanding  it  was  well  defended, 
and  that  the  door  was  plated  with  iron,  it  was  forced,  and  the 
prisoners  rescued.  Last  night  the  mob  again  assembled  about 
half  past  eight  o'clock,  near  the  Obelisk,  in  St.  George's  fields, 
where  they  gutted  another  Recruiting  Office,  and  threw  the 
furniture  into  the  road,  of  which  they  made  a  bonfire.  At  first, 
the  mob  consisted  only  of  about  one  hundred  men,  but  the 
flames  soon  attracted  great  numbers.  About  nine,  the  Horse 
Guards  arrived,  and  soon  dispersed  the  crowd.  We  wish  they 
had  come  sooner,  as  it  is  extremely  injudicious  to  the  public 
interest,  that  such  indecent  sights  should  be  repeated.  It  was 
very  well  known  that  a  Mob  meant  to  assemble,  and,  of  course, 
the  Military  should  have  been  at  hand,  to  meet  it.  Several 
persons  were  much  hurt,  in  not  being  able  to  disperse  soon 
enough,  which  ought  to  be  a  warning  not  to  mingle  in  such  a 
crowd.  The  Duchess  of  GLOUCESTER,  who  was  at  the  Circus, 
with  her  daughter,  was  escorted  home  by  a  party  of  horse." — 
(Times,  July  14,  1795.) 

"  The  RIOTS  continued  on  Monday  evening  in  St.  George's 
Fields,  until  the  Military  arrived  to  disperse  the  mob.  Several 
persons  were  taken  into  custody,  and  lodged  in  the  watch- 
house." — (Times,  July  15,  1795.) 

The  way  in  which  the  patronage  in  the  Army  was 


Old  Times.  107 

managed,  was  a  crying  shame — children  in  their  cradles 
had  Cornetcies  presented  to  them,  and  their  promotion 
went  on  several  steps  before  they  left  school.  We  hear 
of  the  natural  consequence,  in  the  following  extract  from 
the  Times,  4th  Jan.  1794  : — 

"We  are  extremely  sorry  that  our  public  duty  should  call 
upon  us  to  make  any  unpleasant  remarks  on  the  officers  of 
our  Army  abroad,  but  repeated  letters  from  the  Continent, 
received  by  all  descriptions  of  persons,  agree  in  saying  that 
there  is  a  great  want  of  Subordination  among  our  troops. 
We  shall  not  enter  into  particulars  on  this  subject,  as  our 
only  object  is,  that  this  observation  should  meet  the  eye  of 
the.  Commander-in-Chief,  and  other  General  Officers,  and 
that  they  should  take  the  matter  into  their  serious  considera- 
tion. The  evil  is  certainly  increased  by  having  so  many 
young  men  introduced  into  the  Army,  and  placing  them 
over  the  heads  of  veteran  Soldiers." 

"  The  scandalous  abuses  which  have  been  so  often,  and  so 
justly,  complained  of,  as  detrimental  to  the  public  service,  of 
children  being  taken  from  school,  and  appointed  Officers, 
cannot  be  too  soon  remedied,  though  it  will  be  a  Herculean 
task  to  cleanse  the  Augean  stable.  In  mentioning  the  follow- 
ing circumstance,  we  have  certainly  no  kind  of  ill-will  towards 
the  party  concerned ;  but  it  is  a  fact,  that  a  child,  not  fourteen 
years  of  age,  is  now  under  orders  for  embarkation  at  Plymouth, 
who  has  been  taken  from  school,  to  join  his  regiment  at  St. 
Domingo,  as  CAPTAIN  ! !  !  It  is  impossible  for  any  man,  who 
has  the  interest  of  his  country  at  heart,  to  hear  of  such  abuses 
without  commenting  on  them  with  the  utmost  severity.  The 
fault  is  not  with  Government,  but  is  attached  to  the  custom 
which  prevails  in  officering  the  army ;  a  custom  which  cannot 
be  too  soon  corrected." — (Times,  Feb.  10,  1795.) 

"  The  Duke  of  YORK  has  ordered  circular  letters  to  be  sent 
round  to  the  Colonels  of  Regiments,  desiring  a  return  to  be 
immediately  made  to  his  Office,  of  the  number  of  Captains  in 
each  Regiment,  under  TWELVE  years  of  age  \  and  of  Lieu- 
tenant Colonels  under  the  age  of  EIGHTEEN  ! ! !  The  very 


io8  Old  Times. 

scandalous  abuses  that  have,  of  late,  crept  into  the  mode  of 
officering  the  army,  are  such,  as  to  have  demanded  a  very 
serious  enquiry :  for  numberless  are  the  evils  that  have  resulted 
from  it,  besides  that  it  has  given  so  much  disgust  to  veteran 
Officers,  whose  fortunes  were  not  adequate  to  the  purchase  of 
rank.  Various  are  the  instances  of  boys  having  been  taken 
from  school,  to  take  the  command  of  Companies  of  Regi- 
ments."— (Times,  March  20,  1795.) 

"Over  a  Warehouse  !for  fashionable  dresses,  in  Fleet  St., 
is  written  up  'Speculum  modorum,'  or,  the  mirror  of  the 
fashions;  and  several  young  Gentlemen  of  the  Guards  are 
actually  learning  Latin,  in  order  to  understand  them.  Others 
have  sent  for  the  Alphabet,  in  gingerbread,  as  preliminary 
education." — (Times,  Oct.  27,  1795.) 

"  An  alteration,  we  understand,  is  shortly  to  take  place  in 
the  uniform  of  the  officers  of  all  the  regiments  of  the  line. 
The  present  full  dress  coat  is  to  be  abandoned  in  favour  of  a 
very  short  one,  without  any  lace,  or  lappels,  which  the  officers 
are  always  to  wear  when  on  duty,  but  discretionally  at  other 
times." — (Times,  Nov.  16,  1797.) 

"A  number  of  baby  officers  have  threatened  to  sell  out  of 
the  Guards.  They  purchased  for  the  privilege  of  wearing 
handsome  regimentals,  and  the  new  uniform  they  say  is  so 
ugly." — (Times,  Nov.  20,  1797.) 

"  Some  of  the  sucking  Colonels  of  the  Guards  have  ex- 
pressed their  dislike  of  the  short  skirts.  They  say  they  feel 
as  if  they  were  going  to  be  flogged." — (Times,  Nov.  21, 
I797-) 

Kelsey's  was  a  famous  fruiterer's,  &c.,  in  St.  James's 
Street,  and  we  are  here  presented  with  one  of  the  boy 
officers,  whose  legs  cannot  reach  the  ground,  and  who 
has  not  yet  lost  his  childish  predilection  for  "Sugar 
Plums."  As  a  foil  to  him  is  given  Colonel  Burch,  of 


Hf.ro £5  T^zcruitiny  af  tfelsey's  /?97. 


Old  Times.  109 

.the  Royal  Household  Troops — who  is  actively  engaged 
in  demolishing  Ice  Creams. 

The  following  paragraph  tells  a  sad  tale  : — 

"The  late  order  of  the  Cabinet  for  furnishing  all  His 
Majesty's  troops  with  bread,  in  the  same  manner  as  if  in 
camp,  namely,  a  loaf  of  six  pounds  weight  for  five-pence,  will, 
we  doubt  not,  have  the  desired  effect  in  preventing  a  continu- 
ance of  those  outrages,  to  which  the  military,  in  many  parts  of 
the  kingdom,  have  been  compelled,  by  absolute  want." — 
(Times,  April  27,  1795.) 

But  this  order  was  modified,  as  we  see. 

"A  new  regulation  has  been  made  throughout  the  whole 
Army,  that  instead  of  the  additional  allowance  of  Bread- 
Money,  each  Soldier  is  to  receive  8d.  per  day  clear." — (Times, 
Oct.  2,  1795.) 

The  fate  of  a  prisoner  of  War  is  always  hard,  and, 
as  a  rule,  they  are  not  too  luxuriously  treated.  When 
first  we  had  large  quantities  of  French  prisoners  over 
here,  they  were  nearly  starved,  but,  afterwards,  their  lot 
was  much*ameliorated.  Probably  they  were  better  treated 
than  our  people  who  were  imprisoned  in  France,  for,  if 
the  following  letter  can  be  believed,  they  certainly  were 
neither  luxuriously  housed,  nor  fed. 

"The  following  is  an  Extract  of  a  letter  from  an  Officer 
of  the  '  Castor '  Frigate,  captured  some  time  since,  by  the 
French,  dated  Quimflernea.r  Brest,  Feb.  27,  1795  : — 

'I  wrote  by  Lady  Ann  Fitzroy,  which  I  hope  you  have 
received ;  we  were  in  a  very  bad  state  at  that  time :  but  since 
she  has  been  gone,  we  have  been  a  great  deal  worse.  They 
now  serve  out  nothing  but  bread,  and  horse-beans,  for  three 
weeks,  or  a  month,  together  :  and,  when  they  do  give  meat,  it 
is  but  six  ounces  of  salt  pork  per  man.  It  would  make  your 


no  Old  Times. 

heart  ache,  to  see  our  poor  sailors,  without  money,  without 
cloaths,  worn  down  by  sickness,  and  emaciated  to  the  last 
degree,  fighting  over  the  body  of  a  dead  dog,  which  they 
sometimes  pick  up,  and  devour  with  the  most  voracious 
appetites :  and  it  is  a  fact,  that  the  head,  and  pluck,  of  a  dog, 
sold  for  30  sous,  the  other  day.  Such  scenes  as  this,  was  I 
obliged  to  undergo  :  but  I  am  now  in  a  house  allotted  for  the 
officers,  and  am  rendered  very  comfortable  by  the  friendship 
of  our  second  lieutenant,  Mr.  Hadaway.  I  am  the  only  sur- 
viving midshipman  of  four,  who  came  here,  belonging  to  our 
ship.  I  have  lost  all  my  hair  by  sickness  :  but  I  live  in  hopes 
of  seeing  Old  England,  and  my  friends  again.' — (Times,  April 
16,  I775-) 

"  Several  persons  escaped  from  prison,  bear  the  strongest 
testimony  of  praise  towards  Lady  ANN  FITZROY,  late  a 
prisoner  of  war  at  Quimper,  in  France,  who  perhaps,  suffered 
more  insults,  and  bad  usage,  from  her  jailors,  than  any  of  her 
rank  ever  suffered  before  :  but,  regardless  of  her  own  distresses, 
she  made  it  her  sole  business  to  alleviate  those  of  her  fellow- 
prisoners  :  made  shirts,  and  caps,  for  all  those  in  need,  besides 
purchasing  some  hundreds  of  jackets,  and  trowsers,  which  she 
distributed  amongst  her  unfortunate  countrymen,  in  want  of 
cloathing.  Her  Ladyship,  also,  every  day,  had  a  great  quantity 
of  veal,  and  soup,  dressed,  to  distribute  amongst  the  sick. 
Her  unparalleled  benevolence  saved  the  lives  of  hundreds." 
— (Times,  June  12,  1795.) 


"TWENTY  GUINEAS  BOUNTY. 

"GRAY'§  INN,  in  the  county  of  MIDDLESEX,  i3th  Dec.,  1796. 

"  To  all  able-bodied  MEN,  willing  to  serve  in  His  Majesty's 
Army. — The  Hon.  Society  of  Gray's  Inn  will  give  Twenty 
Guineas,  without  any  deduction  whatever,  to  any  Man  who 
shall  be  approved  by  the  Regulating  Officer.  No  Volunteer 
who  shall  enter,  as  above,  can  be  arrested  for  Debt,  or  taken 
out  of  his  Majesty's  Service,  but  for  a  criminal  Matter. — Appli- 
cation to  be  made  any  Day,  from  the  Hour  of  10,  till  3  o'clock, 
at  the  Steward's  Office,  Gray's  Inn. 


Old  Times.  1 1 1 

"Persons  enrolled  are  not  liable  to  serve  more  than  one 
Calendar  Month  after  the  end  of  the  present  War." — (Times, 
Dec.  17,  1796.) 

"At  the  Roscommon  Assizes,  Lord  Viscount  DILLON  was 
cast  in  a  verdict  of  £60,  for  illegally  confining  a  poor  mechanic, 
a  fortnight  underground,  with  a  view  of  forcing  him  to  enlist." 
— (Times,  Sept  20,  1797.) 

"  On  Saturday  last,  the  sentence  of  a  Regimental  Court 
Martial  was  carried  into  execution,  on  a  private  soldier,  belong- 
ing to  the  2nd  Battalion  of  the  Breadalbane  Fencibles,  now  in 
the  Castle  of  Edinburgh.  He  received  1000  lashes,  and  was 
drummed  out  of  the  Battalion,  for  having,  while  on  sentry  at 
Leith,  on  the  night  of  the  i5th  of  September  last,  loaded  his 
piece,  and  fired  the  same  into  the  house  of  an  inhabitant,  the 
Civil  Magistrates  having  delivered  him  over  to  the  Military 
Law." — (Times,  Oct.  7,  1797.) 

The  sale  of  Commissions  is  here  openly  acknow- 
ledged, although  it  was  not  allowed,  vide  the  two  fol- 
lowing advertisements  in  the  same  paper  (1798,  Jan. 
15):- 

"  MILITIA. — Any  young  Gentleman  wishing  for  an  ENSIGNSY 
in  a  highly  respectable  Regiment  of  Militia,  where  he  will  have 
the  opportunity  of  forming  the  very  first  connections,  may,  on 
certain  conditions  of  honour,  solely  between  the  parties,  be  so 
respectably  introduced.  The  Advertiser,  who  is  of  the  Church, 
and  of  undoubted  character,  as  will  be  known,  means  to  apply 
this  only  to  a  young  person  of  some  income  of  his  own ;  or 
whose  friends  would  add  an  allowance  to  his  pay,  so  as  to 
place  him  upon  a  more  equal  footing  with  his  brother  Officers, 
and  superior  rank.  On  a  proper  behaviour,  there  is  no  doubt 
but  that  he  would  soon  have  a  Lieutenant's  Commission,  and 
it  is  to  be  considered  that  at  the  end  of  the  War,  he  will  be 
entitled  to  half  pay,  the  same  as  the  line.  It  is  apprehended, 
too,  that  it  might  still  more  peculiarly  suit  one  who  may  mean 
to  ultimately  go  into  the*  regulars,  and  would  prefer  having  his 


112  Old  Times. 

first  steps  in  the  Militia.  The  Advertiser,  not  residing  in 
London,  a  letter  at  Messrs.  Wilson  and  Wright's,  Walker's 
Court,  Soho,  for  A.  P.,  will  be  duly  honoured  in  the  course  of 
2  or  3  days,  provided  it  is  signed  with  real  name,  and  address, 
without  which  it  cannot  be  noticed. 

"  MARINES. — A  young  man  of  respectable  connections,  and 
of  the  best  morals,  is  very  anxious  to  be  in  the  service  of  his 
King,  and  Country,  in  these  momentous  times,  and  therefore 
ardently  intreats  the  patronage  of  any  Lady  or  Gentleman,  who 
has  the  interest  to  procure  him,  or  the  power  to  bestow  upon 
him,  a  Lieutenancy  of  Marines.  He  does  not  mean  to  offer 
the  insult  of  any  pecuniary  recompence ;  but  he  will  assure  a 
greatly  more  pleasing  return  to  a  benevolent  mind,  that  of  ever- 
lasting gratitude,  and  the  most  unimpeachable  conduct.  The 
honor  of  a  line  to  F.  G.,"  &c/ 

"A  company  in  the  Guards  has  lately  been  sold  for  the 
enormous  sum  of  8000  guineas." — (Times,  April  26th,  1796.) 

Commissions  in  the  army  were  notoriously  sold,  but 
one  would  imagine  that  a  line  would  be  drawn  at 
Chaplains. 

ADVT.— "  TO  BE  DISPOSED  OF,  A  CHAPLAINCY,  in 
a  new  Regiment  of  Dragoons,  and  a  Quarter-Master's  Warrant, 
in  a  Regiment  of  Dragoon  Guards.  Apply  to  Mr.  Hawkes,  No. 
1 7  Piccadilly. " — ( Times,  June  9,  1795.) 

"MILITIA  INSURANCE. 

ADVT. — "  Such  persons  as  wish  not  to  venture  the  risk  of 
finding  a  substitute,  by  being  drawn  for  the  Old  Militia,  Supple- 
mentary Militia,  and  Tower  Hamlets,  may  be  secured  on  the 
following  Terms,  viz.  Old  Militia — 73.  6d.  or  los.  per  annum; 
Supplementary  Militia  £ i  is.  or  £i  us.  6d;  Ditto,  together, 
;£i,  73.  6d.,  or  £2  per  annum;  Tower  Hamlets  £i,  or 
;£i  ios.,  per  annum;  by  Mr.  Cox,  Junr.,  No.  36  Holborn." — 
(Times,  Feb.  7,  1798.) 

"The  trial  of  Capt  F.  Arthur  of  the  Yeoman  Artillery, 
commenced  on  Saturday,  at  Limerick,  and  terminated,  on 


Old  Times.  113 

Monday,  the  25th,  when  he  was  sentenced  by  the  Court- 
Martial,  to  be  transported  for  life,  and  to  pay  a  fine  to  the  King 
-"—  (Times,  July  2,  1798.) 


"  Some  accounts  of  our  present  Volunteer  Associations  will, 
no  doubt,  when  read  a  few  years  hence,  excite  no  small 
degree  of  surprise.  Of  this  class  are  the  following  paragraphs. 
'The  Reverend  Doctor  F  -  gave  the  word  of  command.' 
—  '  Counsellor  G  -  led  his  detachment  to  the  charge  with 
uncommon  spirit  and  vigour.'  —  'An  Anthem  was  sung  by 
Captain-Lieutenant  Sale'  &c."  —  (Times,  Sept  5,  1798.) 

"LEWES.  —  Last  week  the  Volunteers  for  regular  Service 
from  the  Derby,  Westminster,  North  Gloucester,  and  Surrey 
regiments  of  Militia,  marched  into  this  town,  from  their 
respective  stations,  on  their  routes  to  the  grand  depot,  at 
Horsham.  The  large  bounties  which  these  men  have  received, 
enable  them  to  keep  up  a  scene  of  drunkenness,  and  insub- 
ordination, which  it  is  very  difficult  to  restrain.  After  parade 
here,  on  Saturday  evening,  Sir  Joseph  Mawbey,  and  other 
Officers,  commanding  the  Surrey  Volunteers,  were  compelled 
to  have  recourse  to  their  drawn  swords,  to  enforce  order,  and 
maintain  their  command,  which  was  for  some  time  powerfully 
resisted,  on  their  ordering  a  man  to  the  guard-house.  And,  on 
dismissing  the  parade,  yesterday  evening,  a  similar  disturbance 
took  place.  No  swords  were  then  drawn,  but  the  clamour 
demanded  the  interference  of  General  Hulse,  who,  in  conse- 
quence, ordered  out  a  piquet  guard  of  infantry,  and  a  patrole 
of  horse,  by  which  tranquillity  was  restored,  and  preserved. 
Others  who  have  passed  through  thisj  town,  in  their  drunken 
frolics,  distinguished  themselves  by  swallowing  Bank-notes 
between  slices  of  bread  and  butter,  and  lighting  their  pipes 
with  them,  to  the  no  small  advantage  of  the  Bankers."  — 
(Times,  July  31,  1799.) 


Jt 


H4  Old  Times. 


SOCIAL  .ECONOMY. 

UNDER  this  head  are  placed  many  matters  which  could 
scarcely  be  classified. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  series  of  groups  copied  from 
a  long  picture  of  the  "  Installation  Supper,  as  given  at 
the  Pantheon,  by  the  Knights  of  the  Bath,  on  the  26th 
of  May  1788." 

In  looking  at  this  series,  we  must  never  lose  sight  of 
the  fact,  that,  here,  we  are  getting  a  peep  at  haut  ton — 
none  of  your  common  folk — and,  if  the  picture  be  a  true 
one,  they  must  have  been  contented  with  the  roughest 
accommodation.  Hard  seats,  plain  tables,  with  no  Plate, 
nor  floral  decorations,  no  napkins ;  Knives  and  forks 
brandished  in  a  most  reckless,  and  uncouth  manner ;  an 
utter  disregard  for  the  proprieties  of  the  table,  even  to 
drinking  the  gravy  out  of  a  plate ;  and  intoxication,  in 
its  various  phases,  passing,  seemingly,  unchallenged. 
A  tankard  of  beer  admitted  to  such  a  banquet,  and  two 
people  sharing  the  same  "dish  of  tea,"  are  all,  to  us, 
astounding  revelations  of  the  social  manners  of  our 
grandfathers. 

From  the  following  we  get  a  curious  glimpse  of  the 
Social  economy,  of  the  times — a  phase  of  thinking  which 
would  scarcely  do  nowadays  : — 

"  In  a  complicated  machine,  any  of  the  inferior  parts  getting 
out  of  order,  will  soon  obstruct  the  whole  :  and,  conceiving 
such  may  be  the  case  with  public  society,  we  are  led  to  make 


,\ 


Installation  Supper. 


<*)//•  /" Johnston  & 


Lord 


Old  Times.  115 

a  few  observations  on  some  improprieties  which  occur  in  the 
present  day. 

"The  wages  given  to  servants  have  increased  during  the 
last  10  years,  more  than  for  30,  or  perhaps  40,  years  before : 
and  the  misfortune  is,  that  dissipation,  and  want  of  morals, 
have  also  much  increased,  particularly  among  manufacturing 
labourers,  who  now  have  got,  in  many  places,  only  to  work 
three,  or  four,  days  in  the  week,  and  to  be  drunk  the  remaining 
time,  leaving  their  wives,  and  children,  neglected,  and  in  rags. 

"  As  to  household  servants,  the  accommodation  offices  for 
hiring  of  them,  have  had  the  worst  effect.  They  make  them 
indifferent  about  keeping  their  places ;  lure  them  on  with  false 
hopes,  and  often  before  a  servant  gets  fixed,  they,  and  the 
pawnbroker,  put  them  under  difficulties. 

"Travelling  expences,  by  the  profusion  in  the  perquisites 
given  to  waiters,  post  boys,  &c.,  have  become  enormous,  and 
their  attention  is  less ;  but,  if  those  who  give  in  that  way,  were 
to  consider  the  injury  they  do  the  public,  and  of  how  little  use 
it  is  to  those  who  receive  it,  they  would  certainly  think  such 
money  so  squandered  away,  would  have  been  better  bestowed, 
if  applied  to  some  public  charity,  or  left  for  the  poor  of  the 
parish. 

"  Increase  of  trade,  and  wealth,  having  produced  an  increase 
of  luxury,  and  made  the  necessaries  of  life  more  expensive,  it 
is  proper  that  wages  should  be  increased  :  but  yet  not  beyond 
the  bounds  of  proportion ;  for  it  will  be  found  in  those  manu- 
facturing occupations,  in  which  labourers  get  the  most  money, 
they  are  the  most  disorderly,  continually  combining  together 
to  leave  their  work,  unless  their  masters  consent  to  increase 
their  wages,  and  which  only  proves  a  temporary  compromise, 
till  they  have  an  opportunity  of  making  a  further  demand.  On 
the  contrary,  where  less  wages  are  given,  we  shall  find  the 
people  more  happy,  and  contented,  their  wives  more  attended 
to,  and  their  children  brought  up  with  more  religion,  and 
better  morals." — (Times,  Sept.  5,  1794.) 

"To  the  CONDUCTOR  of  the  TIMES. 

"Sm, — Various  are  the  receipts  for  cheap  puddings,  and 
many  long,  and  useful,  letters  have  appeared  in  your  very 


1 1 6  Old  Times. 

excellent  paper,  towards  alleviating  (as  much  as  is  in  the 
power  of  every  Housekeeper)  the  scarcity,  and  dearness,  of 
bread  :  by  substituting  rice,  and  potatoes,  in  the  room  of  pies, 
or  flour  puddings :  but  there  still  exists  an  evil  which  I  have 
not  seen  spoken  against,  and  which  certainly  occasions  a  very 
great  consumption  of  starch :  I  mean  the  general  fashion 
which  has  prevailed  for  some  years,  and  does  still,  from  the 
highest,  to  the  lowest,  of  wearing  white  dresses,  which,  upon  a 
moderate  computation,  for  every  individual,  must  consume  at 
least  double  the  soap,  and  starch,  than  when  coloured  callicoes, 
silks,  and  stuffs,  were  in  fashion :  Added  to  this,  that  every 
maid  servant  (who,  though  she  is  perhaps  not  worth  a  second 
pair  of  shoes)  will  wear  her  muslin  handkerchiefs.  I  think 
it  is  the  duty  of  every  good  master,  and  mistress,  to  stop,  as 
much  as  possible,  the  present  ridiculous,  and  extravagant, 
mode  of  dress  in  their  domestics.  View,  on  a  Sunday,  a 
tradesman's  family  coming  from  church,  and  you  would  be 
puzzled  to  distinguish  the  porter  from  his  master,  or  the  maid 
from  her  mistress.  Formerly  a  plaited  cap,  and  a  white  hand- 
kerchief, served  a  young  woman  three,  or  four,  Sundays.  Now 
a  mistress  is  required  to  give  up,  by  agreement,  the  latter  end 
of  the  week  for  her  maids  to  prepare  their  caps,  tuckers,  gowns, 
&c.,  for  Sunday,  and,  I  am  told,  there  are  houses  open  on 
purpose,  where  those  servants  who  do  not  choose  their  mis- 
tresses shall  see  them,  carry  their  dresses  in  a  bundle,  and  put 
them  on,  meet  again  in  the  evening,  for  the  purpose  of  dis- 
robing :  and  where,  I  doubt,  many  a  poor,  deluded,  creature, 
has  been  disrobed  of  her  virtue.  They  certainly  call  aloud  for 
some  restraint,  both  as  to  their  dress,  as  well  as  insolent 
manner.  Tell  a  servant,  now,  in  the  mildest  manner,  they 
have  not  done  their  work  to  please  you,  you  are  told  to  pro- 
vide for  yourself,  and,  should  you  offer  to  speak  again,  they 
are  gone.  Surely  no  set  of  people  are  more  capable  of  render- 
ing our  families  comfortable,  or  the  reverse,  than  domestic 
servants,  nor  any  set  of  people  who  feel  the  present  dearness 
of  provisions  so  little.  I  look  upon  their  exorbitant  increase 
of  wages,  as  chiefly  conducive  to  their  impertinence :  for,  when 
they  had  five,  or  six,  pounds  a  year,  a  month  being  out  of 
place,  was  severely  felt;  but  now  their  wages  are  doubled, 
they  have,  in  a  great  measure,  lost  their  dependence :  And 


c5/>  George  young    and  Lady. 


I 


Old  Times.  117 

what  is  this  increase  of  wages  for  ?  not  in  order  to  lay  by  a 
little,  in  case  of  sickness,  but  to  squander  in  dress.  No  young 
woman,  now,  can  bear  a  strong  pair  of  leather  shoes,  but  they 
must  wear  Spanish  leather,  and  so  on  in  every  article  of  dress. 
No  wonder,  then,  that  there  should  be  so  many  prostitutes, 
and  so  few  good  wives. 

"  By  inserting  these  hints,  as  soon  as  you  conveniently  can, 
you  will  much  oblige,  A  Constant  Reader" 

— (Times,  Dec.  25,  1795.) 

"We  trust  that  the  measure,  which  was,  last  fyear,  so 
laudably  attempted  by  the  Brewers,  Bakers,  and  Publicans,  for 
the  abolishing  Christmas-Boxds,  will  not  only  be  continued  by 
them,  but  will  also  be  followed  up  by  the  other  trades,  who 
have  hitherto  been  compelled,  by  custom,  to  continue  a 
practice  so  destructive  to  the  lower  orders  of  people." — 
(Times,  Dec.  17,  1794.) 

Advt.— "  CHRISTMAS  BOXES.— The  BUTCHERS,  resi- 
dent within  the  Parish  of  HACKNEY,  beg  leave  respectfully  to 
inform  their  Customers,  and  the  Public,  that,  on  account  of 
the  excessive  high  price  of  Provisions,  they  find  it  impossible 
to  continue  the  practice  of  giving  CHRISTMAS  BOXES  to 
the  servants  of  their  customers,  without  sustaining,  on  the  one 
hand,  a  deduction  from  their  profits,  which  the  trade  will  not 
allow,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  increasing  their  charges :  they 
have,  therefore,  unanimously  resolved  to  discontinue  the  prac- 
tice, in  time  to  come,  and  hope  that  their  conduct,  on  this 
occasion,  will  not  be  deemed  improper,  or  disrespectful" — 
(Times,  Dec.  9,  17 95.) 


The  following  Advertisements,  which  are  only  a  few 
out  of  many,  shew  how  common  was  the  sale  of  Govern- 
ment appointments  : — 

"  PLACE  UNDER  GOVERNMENT.  ^2000  or  ^"3000  or  more 
will  be  presented  to  any  Gentleman,  who  has  interest  to  pro- 
cure for  the  Advertiser,  a  Place  in  any  of  the  Public  Offices,  of 


il8  Old  Times. 

respectability,  and  an  adequate  income.  No  Agent,  or 
Broker,  will  be  attended  to.  Letters  to  be  addressed  &c., 
&c." — (Times,  March  13,  1793.) 

"PLACE  UNDER  GOVERNMENT.  To  be  DISPOSED  of,  a 
Genteel  Place  under  Government :  present  Salary  ^100  a 
year,  with  the  chance  of  rising,  and  other  advantages :  the 
next  rise  will  be  a  considerable  one. — Any  Young  Gentleman, 
who  can  command  from  500^"  to  1000^  will  be  treated 
with :  and  by  addressing  a  line  to  A.  Batson's  Coffee-house, 
with  real  name  and  place  of  abode,  will  be  informed  of 
further  particulars.  N.B.  No  Brokers  will  be  attended  to." — 
(Times,  April  15,  1793.) 


«  A  PLACE  under  GOVERNMENT. 

"To  be  sold,  a  permanent  Place,  which  can  always  be 
disposed  of  at  pleasure,  the  salary  ^76  per  annum,  net, 
payable  quarterly,  the  attendance  not  more  than  20  times 
in  the  year,  and  about  2  or  3  hours  each  time  :  the  duty  is 
agreeable,  and  in  the  line  of  a  Gentleman,  and  can  at  all 
times  at  a  small  expence  be  executed  by  a  Deputy.  Address 
&c.,  &c."— (Times,  Feb.  3,  1798.) 

Advt. — "  THREE  HUNDRED  POUNDS.  An  adequate  Premium 
of  ^300  or  upwards,  will  be  given  to  any  Lady,  or  Gentleman, 
who  has  interest  to  procure  the  Advertiser  a  PLACE  in  one  of 
the  Government  Offices.  As  the  parties  are  of  the  utmost 
respectability,  the  greatest  honour  and  secrecy  may  be 
depended  on.  Address  to  &c.,  &c." 

Advt. — "  FIFTY  GUINEAS  will  be  given  to  any  Gentleman,  or 
Lady,  who  has  interest  to  procure  the  Advertiser,  a  young  Man, 
25  years  of  age,  a  Situation  in  any  of  the  Public  Offices  under 
Government.  Address  &c.,  &c." 

Advt. — "  A  DOUCEUR.  WANTED,  Information  as  to  Situa- 
tions in  Public  Offices,  or  other  Appointments  under  Govern- 
ment, at  home,  or  abroad,  which  are  at  present  vacant,  or  like 


Dr  BrtJIsnd. 


D'Pair. 


Old  Times.  119 

soon  to  be,  or  where  those  who  hold  such  may  be  willing  to  resign, 
on  account  of  their  advanced  time  of  life,  or  other  circumstances, 
on  a  Douceur  being  made  them.  Any  person  who  can  give 
information  of  this  kind  will  be  waited  on  at  any  time,  or 
place,  he  may  appoint.  At  meeting,  all  particular  terms,  and 
circumstances,  can  be  explained.  The  Advertiser  is  a  person 
who  can  give  the  most  satisfactory  testimonials  of  connections, 
and  abilities,  and  he  wishes  to  be  understood  that  the  object  of 
this  Advertisement  respects  Appointments  where  the  emolu- 
ments derived  from  the  Situations  may  be  from  ^500,  down 
to  ;£2oo  per  ann.  The  most  perfect  secrecy  may  be  relied 
on—" 

Advt. — "  FIVE  HUNDRED  POUNDS  will  be  given  to  any  Lady 
or  Gentleman,  who  can  procure  the  Advertiser  a  Place  under 
Government,  where  the  emoluments  will  be  a  liberal  com- 
pensation for  the  sum  proposed,  and  but  little  attendance 
required :  or,  if  constant  attendance  is  necessary,  it  will  be 
expected  that  the  emoluments  should  be  in  proportion.  The 
person  who  wishes  such  a  situation,  is  respectable  in  his  con- 
nections, and  the  most  inviolable  secrecy  will  be  observed. 
No  broker  will  be  attended  to.  Either  in  a  Civil  depart- 
ment, or  otherwise.  For  reference  &c.  &c.  &c." — (Times, 
Jany.  4,  1799.) 

The  Penny  Post  was  an  institution  of  those  days, 
although  its  action  was  limited  as  to  distance.  The 
following  excerpts  will  enable  us  to  notice  its  different 
phases,  during  the  years  treated  of : — 

"The  Postmaster  General  has  lately  established  a  Penny 
POM  at  Manchester,  which  promises  great  convenience  to 

the    inhabitants    of    that    place,    and    its    vicinity." — (Times, 
April  IT,  1793.) 

"  The  new  PENNY  POST  OFFICE  is  likely  to  prove  such  a 
very  great  accommodation  to  the  public,  that  the  only  wonder 
is — it  has  been  so  long  neglected.  Instead  of  the  number  of 
deliveries,  and  the  hours  of  despatch,  varying  in  different  parts 


12O  Old  Times. 

of  the  town,  as  at  present,  there  will  be  six  deliveries,  each 
day,  in  all  parts  of  the  town  :  by  which  means,  a  person  living 
at  Mary-le-bonne,  may  send  letters  to,  or  receive  letters  from, 
Limehouse,  a  distance  of  seven  miles,  five  times  a  day. 
Persons  putting  in  letters  by  nine  in  the  morning  at  the 
distance  of  ten  miles  from  the  chief  Penny  Post  Office,  and 
later,  at  less  distant  parts,  may  receive  answers  from  London 
the  same  afternoon.  There  will  be  three  deliveries  of  letters, 
in  most  parts  of  the  country,  within  the  limits  of  the  Penny 
Post ;  and  there  will  be  two  posts,  daily,  from  all  parts  within 
the  distance  of  ten  miles  from  Lombard  St." — (Times, 
Feb.  28,  1794.) 

"The  proposed  plan  of  a  new  PENNY  POST  is  no  longer 
talked  of: — It  is  every  day  more,  and  more,  wanted,  as  the 
present  mode  is  extremely  irregular,  and  insufficient.  Accord- 
ing to  the  new  plan,  the  Penny  Post  was  to  have  gone  out 
seven  times  a  day." — (Times,  May  4,  1794.) 

"The  PENNY  POST. 

"The  late  regulations  in  the  PENNY  POST  OFFICE  are 
certainly  of  the  most  essential  service  to  the  public  :  but  the 
conduct  of  the  Letter  Carriers  requires  the  most  minute 
attention.  They  will  defraud  where  they  think  they  can  do  it 
with  impunity  ;  and  as  an  instance  of  this,  we  give  the  following 
fact.  From  any  part  of  the  Metropolis,  to  the  Borough  of 
Southwark,  and  its  adjacent  parts,  is  stated  to  be  but  One 
penny  per  Letter.  The  Carriers,  however,  uniformly  charged 
2d.  per  Letter.  A  Complaint  of  this  imposition  was  made  to 
the  Comptroller,  by  a  Gentleman,  whose  house  is  in  the 
Blackfriars  Road,  and  an  immediate  answer  was  given  'that 
the  Carrier  had  been  severely  reprimanded,'  and  the  surcharge 
had  been  returned.  His  removal  from  that  walk,  gave  his 
successor,  who,  perhaps,  did  not  hear  of  this  reprimand,  an 
opportunity  to  continue  the  same  imposition,  and  the  letters 
to  Blackfriars  Road,  and  in'other  parts  of  St.  George's  Fields, 
were  again  charged  2d.  The  Comptroller  was  again  applied 
to,  and  on  the  next  evening,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  the  person 
who  sends  this  for  publication,  '  that  the  Carrier  was  ordered 


Old  Times.  121 

to  return  the  surcharge.'  The  publication  of  this  circumstance 
is  requisite,  as  no  doubt,  similar  extortions  are  practised  in 
other  parts  of  the  suburbs.  This  is  a  matter  that  ought  to  be 
universally  made  known,  as  cent  per  cent.,  even  on  a  penny> 
is  rather  too  much  forj  a  man,  illegally,  to  pay." — (Times, 
Oct.  27,  1794-) 

"  Franking,"  as  the  privilege  of  free  postage  was 
called,  had  already  assumed  dimensions,  so  as  to  have 
become  a  scandal,  which  is  well  exposed  in  the  following 
notices  : — 

"  MOTION  RESPECTING  CLERKS  IN  OFFICE. 

"  Mr.  Dent  said  .  .  .  Public  notoriety  went  to  accuse  the 
offices  of  great  abuse  of  the  privilege  of  franking  .  .  .  that  such 
abuses  did  exist,  and  to  give  the  proofs  of  them  was  the  object 
which  he  proposed  to  gain  by  his  present  motion.  He  would 
state  to  the  House  some  of  the  abuses.  Certain  bags  came  to 
the  Post  Office,  marked  Ordnance,  Navy,  Treasury  Bags,  &c., 
and  the  letters  contained  in  these  bags  were  furthered  without 
more  enquiry.  These  bags,  perhaps,  contained  a  great  quan- 
tity of  letters  from  the  various  Clerks :  he  could  produce  an 
instance  of  a  very  inferior  Clerk,  who  had  franked  to  a  great 
amount,  by  placing  his  initials  on  the  superscription.  He  had 
looked  attentively  over  the  list  of  those  who  had  the  privilege, 

and  he  did  not  find  his  name  among  them Among  other 

instances,  he  would  mention  a  Mr.  Lackington,  a  celebrated 
bookseller ;  he  had  friends  in  some  one  of  the  Offices,  and  the 
whole  of  his  Catalogues  were  franked  to  different  parts  of  the 
country.  It  was  also  notorious,  that  some  persons  had  written 
to  their  country  correspondents,  that  if  they  would  deal  with 
them,  the  whole  mass  of  pamphlets  published  in  London 
should  be  sent  them  free  of  postage :  this  was  done  by  means 
of  the  Clerks  in  office.  In  short,  there  were  persons  whose 
salaries  amounted  to  only  ^300,  or  ^400  per  annum,  who 
from  their  situation,  made  ^1000  or  ^1200.  It  surely  could 
not  be  the  intention  of  the  House  to  permit  such  malversation, 
and,  therefore,  he  should  move  for  a  Committee  to  enquire  into 
these  facts.  Before  the  late  regulation,  venison  has  passed  as 


122  Old  Times. 

nimbly,  by  the  post,  as  it  run  when  alive  in  its  native  park. 
After  further  conversation,  the  House  divided. — For  the 
Question,  53;  Against  it,  41. — Majority,  12." 

"  It  would  have  been  extraordinary  indeed,  if  Sir  BENJAMIN 
HAMMETT  had  not  opposed  the  FRANKING  Bill :  for  we  are 
informed  from  very  good  authority,  that  Letters  franked  by, 
and  addressed  to,  him  only,  are  to  the  amount  of  ^2400 
sterling  per  annum." — (Times,  March  u,  1795.) 

"  Debate  on  Franking. 

"  Mr.  Hobart  brought  up  the  Report  of  the  Committee  upon 
the  Bill  to  restrain  the  abuse  of  Franking. 

"  Mr.  Dent  said,  he  was  sorry  to  add,  that  this  privilege  had 
been  notoriously  abused,  and  was  so  publicly  known,  that 
paragraphs  had  appeared  in  a  newspaper,  of  a  Member  having 
received  ^300  annually,  from  a  mercantile  house,  to  give  them 
the  advantage  of  this  privilege.  He  hoped  this  fact  was  false, 
but  he  feared,  however,  it  would  be  found  too  well  warranted. 
By  this  Bill,  Members  were  to  receive  only  fifteen  letters,  and 
send  ten,  therefore  the  abuse,  to  this  extent,  could  not  be 
continued.  At  the  same  time,  he  thought,  and  should,  bye- 
and-bye,  more  particularly  state,  in  the  motion  he  should 
submit  to  the  House,  that,  when  they  were  curtailing  their  own 
privileges,  the  Clerks  in  office  should  not  be  permitted  to  con- 
tinue their  abuses. 

"  Mr.  Courtenay  said,  by  the  official  returns  it  appeared  that 
^30,000  was  franked  by  the  various  offices,  which  amounted 
to  one  third  of  the  whole  of  what  was  franked  by  Members 
of  Parliament.  Now  the  privilege  was  restrained  in  Members 
of  Parliament,  it  would  become  more  valuable  to  the  Clerks 
in  Office,  and  he  should  not  wonder,  if  some  of  them  should 
become  not  sleeping,  but  writing,  partners  in  mercantile 
houses 

"  Mr.  Dent  observed,  abuses  in  the  offices  did  exist  to  a  very 
great  degree.  The  Commissioners  of  the  Customs  received 
large  Packets  which  contained  letters  to  all  their  acquaintances 
in  Town :  the  abuse  did  not  end  here :  20  Custom-House 
Porters  were  immediately  dispatched  to  20  different  parts  of 
the  town. 


Old  Times.  123 

"  Mr.  W.  Smith  said, Public  notoriety  was  sufficient 

grounds  to  proceed  against  the  Offices.  Though  all  those  letters 
were  superscribed  for  His  Majesty's  service,  yet  they  went  upon 
many  other  purposes.  A  friend  of  his  had  informed  him  of 
some  Vine  cuttings,  which  had  been  sent  to  Ireland,  franked : 
he  also  knew  of  a  silk  gown  franked  into  the  country  :  this  was 
hardly  for  His  Majesty's  service. 

"Mr.  Rose  said,  if  those  abuses,  mentioned  by  the  Hon. 
Gentleman,  had  been  privately  intimated,  they  would  have  had 
immediate  attention  and  some  remedy  applied.  The  laws  to 
prevent  the  abuse  of  franking  had  been  transmitted  to  the 
several  Offices,  and  by  them  the  first  offence  was  a  penalty,  and 
the  second,  a  dismissal  from  Office. 

"  The  Bill  was  ordered  to  be  read  a  third  time  on  Friday." — 
(Times,  April  14,  1795.) 

The  following  are  to  be  the  new  rates  of  Postage  in 
this  country : — 

"  For  every  single  Letter  by  post,  for  any  distance  not  ex- 
ceeding 15  miles,  be  charged  3d.  Double  letters  6d.  Triple 
gd.  Those  of  i  ounce  weight,  is.,  and  so,  in  proportion. 

"Above  15  miles,  and  not  exceeding  30,  for  single  Letters 
4d.,  and  so,  in  the  same  proportion. 

"  Above  30  miles,  and  not  exceeding  60,  5d.,  and  so,  in 
proportion. 

"Above  60  miles  and  not  exceeding  100,  6d.,  and  so,  in 
proportion. 

"Above  100  miles,  and  not  exceeding  150,  7d.,  and  so,  in 
proportion. 

"All  above  150  miles,  8d,  &c. 

"Upon  every  single  Letter  to  Scotland,  id.,  the  rates  of 
Postage  remaining  the  same,  on  double  letters,  2d.,  &c. 

"  That  the  present  rates  of  Postage  between  London,  and 
Portugal,  and  between  London,  and  British  America,  do 
cease.  . 

"  From  any  part  of  Great  Britain,  to  Portugal,  exclusive  of 
Inland  Postage,  every  single  letter,  is.,  &c. 

"The  same  from  any  part  of  Great  Britain,  to  British 
America. 


124  Old  Times. 

"  The  Inland  Postage  upon  said  Letters  according  to  dis- 
tance."— (Times,  Dec.  12,  1796.) 

The  following  paragraph  is  interesting,  as  it  fixes  the 
date  of  the  Postal  Uniforms — the  colours  of  which  are 
still  adhered  to  by  the  Postal  authorities,  in  clothing  the 
Mail  drivers : — 

"The  Post  Office  Letter  Carriers  in  London  are  to  be 
provided  with  an  uniform  of  red  coats,  faced  with  blue,  and  to 
wear  numbers." — (Times,  Feb.  10,  1793.) 

"  There  is  at  this  time  a  third  of  the  Mail  Guards  ill,  either 
from  the  intenseness  of  the  severe  weather  or  from  colds  they 
have  caught  in  the  floods:  their  exertions  were  in  general 
very  great,  and  meritorious,  in  saving  the  Mails." — (Times, 
Jto.  19,  1795.) 

We  are  here  presented  with  the  infancy  of  Telegraph- 
ing— which  was  then  a  marvel  of  the  age — but  which 
we,  from  our  standpoint  of  Electricity,  must  fain  smile  at. 
They  were  mechanical  contrivances  placed  on  hills,  or 
other  eminences. 

"  THE  TELEGRAPH. — This  mode  of  communication  is  little 
understood  here,  although  the  invention  be  not  a  new  one. 
The  process  is  getting  possession  of  heights  at  convenient 
distances,  and  by  fire-works,  in  different  forms,  for  different 
letters,  sptJling  the  order,  or  intelligence,  from  station,  to 
station!" — (Times,  Srft.  n,  1794.) 

"  The  new  mode  of  correspondence,  by  the  help  of  which, 
the  surrender  of  Quesney  was  known  at  Paris  an  hour  after  the 
entry  of  the  French  troops  into  that  place,  is  a  communication 
by  signals,  which  are  repeated  from  distance,  to  distance,  by 
machines,  stationed  four,  or  five,  leagues  asunder.  This  may 
explain  the  celerity  with  which  communications  are  made. 

<J  The  tdtgraph^  now  brought  into  use  by  the  French,  appears 
to  have  been  an  invention  of  Dr.  HOOPER'S,  and  published  in 
his  Rational  RecreationSj  in  1774.  The  plan  of  which  may 


Old  Times.  125 

be  seen  in  his  'Visual  Correspondence.'" — (Times,  Sept.  15, 
I794-) 

"  The  invention  of  the  Telegraphe,  does  not  belong  alone 
to  the  French.  About  ten  years  ago,  Count  POSSINI  at  Rome, 
invented  a  mode  of  getting  intelligence  from  Naples,  in  the 
course  of  an  hour.  The  Lottery  at  Rome,  depends  upon 
that  drawn  at  Naples.  It  differs  from  our  Lottery,  materially, 
for  there  are  but  six  prizes,  and  these  are  the  first  six  numbers 
drawn,  and  the  remainder  are  all  blanks.  The  Count,  whose 
house  is  on  an  eminence  near  Rome,  managed  with  his  con- 
federates, who  were  placed  at  certain  distances,  between 
Naples,  and  his  estate,  to  have  sky  rockets  let  off,  by  which 
they  had  previously  fixed  with  each  other,  to  ascertain  by  such 
signals,  any  particular  number,  or  numbers,  drawn.  The  plan 
succeeded,  as  Tickets  continued  to  be  sold  in  Rome,  for 
several  hours  after  the  drawing  commenced  at  Naples,  the 
account  of  which  was  always  brought  by  the  ordinary  courier. 
By  this  scheme  the  party  got  about  100,000  crowns,  and  the 
plot  would  never  have  been  discovered,  had  not  the  Count 
purchased  the  whole  of  the  six  prizes,  which  caused  suspicion, 
and  of  course,  excited  enquiry." — (Times,  Sept.  16,  1794.) 

"ASTLEY,  who  is  always  employed  in  the  production  of 
something  new,  brings  out,  this  evening,  an  exhibition  of  the 
much  talked  of,  and  ingenious  Machine,  called  the  TELE- 
GRAPHE, at  the  Lyceum,  in  the  Strand." — (Times,  Sept.  19, 
I794-) 

"  The  invention  of  the  TELEGRAPHE,  is  now  traced  back  to 
1655,  and  particularly  mentioned  in  a  little  book,  then  written, 
and  published,  by  the  Marquis  of  WORCESTER,  inventor  of 
the  Steam  Engine.  He  there  gives  it  the  name  of  Visual 
Correspondence,  and  calls  it  his  own  invention." — (Times, 
Sept.  20,  1794.) 

"Experiments  are  now  making  at  Woolwich  with  a  new 
species  of  the  TELEGRAPHE,  to  ascertain  at  what  distance 
intelligence  can  be  conveyed  by  it  during  the  night.  It  is 
composed  of  letters,  or  figures,  nine  feet  high,  cut  out  in  a 


126  Old  Times. 

board,  which  is  painted  black  in  front,  and  strongly  illuminated 
behind  by  patent  lamps  with  reflectors ;  it  is  placed  on  the 
top  of  the  butt  against  which  the  cannon  are  proved,  and 
proper  persons  are  stationed  at  Purfleet,  and  other  inter- 
mediate places,  with  telescopes,  to  determine  at  what  distance 
letters  of  that  size  are  legible  at  night,  by  which  means  any 
word  may  be  written,  by  a  succession  of  letters,  and  intel- 
ligence may  be  conveyed,  with  astonishing  celerity,  during  the 
night,  by  having  a  series  of  different  signal-houses  at  proper 
distances  between  whatever  places  information  is  intended  to 
be  communicated." — (Times,  Oct.  7,  1794.) 

"  It  has  been  said,  that  a  conversation  had  actually  taken 
place  across  the  Channel,  between  Donaghadee  and  Port 
Patrick,  by  means  of  a  Telegraph.  The  following  are  the 
particulars  :  Two  Gentlemen  of  the  county  of  Longford  have 
been,  for  sometime  past,  making  experiments,  in  different 
positions,  in  that  county,  and  they  succeeded  so  well,  as  to 
induce  them  to  undertake  the  journey  to  Donaghadee,  where 
the  Channel  between  Britain  and  Ireland  is  the  narrowest, 
being  about  18  Irish  miles  across.  They  brought  down  their 
machinery  with  them,  and,  having  erected  one  on  each  side, 
they  conversed  with  each  other,  on  Monday  evening  last,  the 
weather  being  tolerably  clear.  The  conversation  that  passed 
was  as  follows — The  Gentleman  on  this  side  said  '  I  see  you, 
being  white,  distinctly.'  The  other  replied  '  I  see  you  ;  I 
wish  your's  was  white  also.'  (The  machine  on  this  side  being 
black.)  The  Gentleman  on  this  side  then  asked  'What 
o'clock  is  it?'  and  was  answered  '  Six.'  He  then  said  'I  will 
shew  lights  at  nine  o'clock,  do  you  attend.'  He  was  answered 
'  I  will  attend,  but  I  have  only  one  light.'  They  then  made 
signals  of  '  good  night,'  and  the  communication  ended.  The 
machine  consists  of  a  triangle,  with  two  long  sides  and  a  short 
one,  suspended  in  the  air  vertically ;  it  turns  on  a  pivot, 
and  is  capable  of  being  put  into  eight  different  positions,  very 
distinct  from  each  other.  These  positions  represent  eight  of 
the  common  numerical  figures,  and  these  figures,  according 
to  their  position,  denote  certain  words  and  sentences,  accord- 
ing to  a  preconcerted  dictionary,  or  vocabulary,  alphabetically, 
as  well  as  numerically,  arranged. "  It  is  believed  this  machine 


Old  Times.  127 

is  on  a  principle  totally  different  from  the  French." — (Times, 
Sept.  n,  1795.) 

"A  chain  of  Telegraphs  is  erected  from  Shuter's  Hill  to 
Dover.  Gad's  Hill,  and  Barham  Hill,  are  the  intermediate 
posts." — (Times,  Dec.  30,  1795.) 

"  TELEGRAPHE. — An  improvement  on  this  post-haste  mode 
of  travelling,  has  been  offered  to  the  Administration,  by  two 
foreigners,  who  demand  ^40,000  for  the  discovery,  if  it 
should  be  found  to  answer;  if  it  does  not,  like  quacks  of 
another  description,  they  retire  with  nothing  but  the  shame  of 
the  attempt  These  foreigners  undertake  to  convey  intelli- 
gence to  all  parts  of  the  world,  by  letter  as  quick  as  thought. 
Certain  globes  are  to  be  constructed,  that,  by  the  power  of 
electricity  and  attraction,  a  packet,  large  as  a  horse  can  carry, 
shall  be  sent  to  and  from  Dublin,  in  about  the  time  requisite 
for  dispatching  a  breakfast ! !  Credat  Judeus  !  " — ( Times,  Jan. 

12,   1796.) 

In  or  about  1796,  was  instituted  the  semaphore  tele- 
graph— which,  until  the  introduction  of  the  Electric  Tele- 
graph, was  the  best  system  out. 

"The  most  important  services  which  can  be  rendered  to 
the  public  by  the  Telegraph,  is  in  cases  similar  to  that  which 
occurred  last  week,  in  forwarding  the  news  'from  Deal  to 
London,  of  the  sailing  of  the  Dutch  Fleet,  within  the  space  of 
five  minutes.  This  prompt  conveyance  of  the  intelligence 
enabled  the  Admiralty  Board  to  take  such  speedy  measures 
for  sending  a  fleet  out  after  the  enemy.  When  the  Telegraph 
is  established  between  London  and  other  ports  as  well  as 
Deal,  the  advantage  will  be  very  great  indeed." — (Times, 
Mar.  2,  1796.) 

"The  English  are  remarkable  for  improving  upon  the 
inventions  of  their  Gallic  neighbours.  It  is  well  known,  that 
while  these  aerial  wanderers  were  tumbling  down  like  so  many 
Phaetons  from  Heaven,  we  were  driving  about  securely  in 
balloon-coaches,  and  eating  balloon-cakes,  and  balloon-oysters. 


128  Old  Times. 

The  same  advantage  has  resulted  from  the  telegraph,  which, 
beside  christening  a  coach,  and  a  newspaper,  is  now  transferred 
to  the  heads  of  our  ladies,  and  has  given  us  telegraphic  hats 
and  telegraphic  caps.  By  this  invention  a  female  will  travel 
to  Edinburgh,  through  the  observatory  at  York,  Doncaster, 
Grantham  and  Huntingdon,  from  the  principal  machine  in  Bond 
Street,  in  the  time  of  three  Operas,  or  twenty-four  Routs." — 
(Times,  Oct.  15,  1796.) 

Since  the  invention  of  the  Coiffure  telegraphique  it  is  scarcely 
possible  to  follow  the  rapidity  of  the  fashions.  The  morning 
dress  and  the  evening  dress  mean  literally  the  dress  of  the  day 
they  are  worn  in.  It  was  observed,  with  concern,  at  Drury 
Lane  the  other  evening,  that  the  Lady  P's  were  more  than 
half  an  hour  out  of  fashion." — (Times,  Oct.  21,  1796.) 

Among  the  various  tyrannies  of  fashion,  none,  per- 
haps was  more  curious  than  that  of  powdering  the  hair. 
Taxation,  and  the  French  mode  of  "  Cropping  "  killed  it, 
but  it  died  hard. — The  Tax  was  treated  both  jocularly, 
and  au  grand  serieux. 

EPIGRAM. 

"  On  the  Hair  Powder  Licence  Tax,  at  a  time  when  general 
Expectation  looked  for  a  tax  on  Dogs  : — 

"  Full  many  a  chance,  or  dire  mishap, 
Oft'times  between  the  lip,  and  cup,  is; 
The  Tax,  that  should  have  hung  our  DOGS, 
Excuses  them,  and  falls  on  PUPPIES." 
— (Times,  Mar.  u,  1795.) 

"  A  tax  on  DOGS  would  certainly  have  been  unobjectionable, 
as  well  as  expedient,  in  a  two-fold  degree ;  first  in  creating  a 
revenue,  and  secondly,  in  lessening  the  number  of  them.  At 
the  present  period  particularly,  a  tax  on  DOGS  would  have  a 
good  effect,  as  it  is  a  well  known  fact,  that  the  coarser  parts  of 
meat  are  scarcely  to  be  had  by  the  poor,  because  the  rich  can 
afford  to  buy  them  for  their  dogs." — (Times,  Apr.  n,  1795.) 


Old  Times.  129 

"  The  Tax  on  Powdered  Heads  is  calculated  to  produce 
,£450,000  per  annum,  though  the  MINISTER  has  only  calcu- 
lated it  at  .£200,000.  Some  Gentlemen  are  said  to  have  made 
an  offer  to  farm  it  at  £400,000."  —  (Times,  Mar.  25,  1795.) 

"  Hair  Powder  Tax." 

"An  Annual  Certificate  to  be  taken  out  by  every  person 
wearing  hair-powder,  price  one-guinea  :  every  sort,  or  composi- 
tion, of  powder  worn  as  an  article  of  dress,  to  be  deemed 
within  the  meaning  of  the  Act.  The  Royal  Family,  and  their 
immediate  Servants;  Clergymen,  whose  annual  income  is 
under  £"100;  Subaltern,  Non-Commissioned  Officers,  and 
Privates  of  the  Army,  Militia,  Marines,  and  Fencible  Corps  ; 
Officers  of  the  Navy,  under  the  rank  of  Commander  ;  Officers, 
and  Privates,  in  Corps  of  Yeomanry,  or  Volunteers  ;  Dissenting 
Preachers  in  holy  orders,  or  pretended  holy  orders,  whose  annual 
income  is  under  £100,  are  exempted.  Persons  having  more 
than  two  daughters  unmarried,  to  pay  only  for  two. 

"Persons  wearing  Powder  without  a  Certificate,  to  forfeit 
£20.  Persons  selling,  transferring,  or  using,  a  Certificate, 
with  intent  to  defraud  the  revenue,  to  forfeit  .£30."  —  (Times, 
7,  I795-) 


"The  POWDER  TAX  has  already  produced  three  hundred 
thousand  pounds  to  Government.  The  term  is  to  be  extended 
by  Act  of  Parliament,  and,  according  to  the  most  probable 
conjectures,  the  final  amount  will  be  double  that  sum. 

"The  Duke  of  DEVONSHIRE  has  paid  five  and  thirty  guineas 
for  his  family.  The  Duchess  of  NORTHUMBERLAND,  a  single 
guinea  for  herself:  powder  is  under  interdiction  among  the 
rest  of  that  family  :  though  not  from  motives  of  disaffection. 
Her  Grace  assigns  a  more  justifiable  motive  ;  namely,  a  scruple 
of  contributing,  in  any  unnecessary  way,  to  the  present  scar- 
city." —  (Times,  June  12,  1795.) 

"Hair  Powder  Tax.  The  Caricaturists,  who  generally 
paint  so  plain,  that  those  who  run  may  read,  have  whimsically 
described  the  two  orders  of  beings,  who  do,  and  do  not,  pay. 
The  first  are  aptly  enough  termed  Guinea  Pigs  —  the  latter, 
PIGS  without  a  Guinea!"  —  (Times,  July  i,  1795.) 

I 


130  Old  Times. 

"  The  Commander  in  Chief  of  Brighton  Camp  has  notified 
to  the  Officers,  that  the  use  of  Flour,  for  the  privates,  will  be 
dispensed  with,  during  the  present  scarcity  of  Wheat." — 
(Times,  July  15,  1795.) 

"HAIR  POWDER.     To  ALL  THOSE  WHOM  IT  MAY 
CONCERN. 

"Among  the  many  ingenious,  and  humane,  projects  that 
have  been  devised  for  lessening  the  consumption  of  Flour,  and 
soothing  the  minds  of  the  poor,  at  this  interesting  period,  it  is 
a  matter  of  no  small  astonishment  to  me,  that  that  of  sacri- 
ficing our  hair-powder,  has  not  been  more  universally  adopted. 
To  the  antiquated  virgin,  indeed,  who  still  sighs,  and  hopes, 
and  whose  silvery  locks  might  prove  too  sure  an  index  of  that 
worldly  experience,  which,  for  certain  prudential  reasons,  she 
might  wish  to  conceal,  I  confess  the  sacrifice  is  too  great  to  be 
expected.  To  the  unhappy  hen-pecKd  bald-pate,  whose  lively 
wife  nauseates,  and  detests,  the  careless  brown-bob,  something 
may  be  said  in  his  behalf,  also  :  but,  to  every  other  character, 
whether  the  grave  judge,  or  respectable  grandmother,  the 
buxom  widow,  or  the  broad  shouldered  Irish  fortune-hunter,  the 
flirting  coquette,  or  her  coxcomb  colleague,  the  hardy  veteran, 
or  flashy  militia  captain,  the  pert  lawyer,  or  the  young  priggish 
parson  :  and  lastly,  the  smart  apprentice,  who  be/lours  his  head 
to  cut  a  dash  at  the  Dog  and  Duck,  or  Bagnigge  Wells  :  all 
these,  I  say,  and  every  other  character  that  I  have  omitted  to 
name,  can  surely  have  no  possible  excuse  for  thus  insulting  the 
feelings  of  the  poor.  I  repeat  the  word  insulting,  for  it  is  the 
just  and  proper  epithet ;  for  what  can  we  term  it  but  insult,  to 
be  thus  playing  with  the  feelings  of  these  poor  wretches,  at  a 
moment  when  they  are  suffering  the  greatest  of  all  worldly 
miseries — want" — (Times,  Aug.  10,  1795.) 

"  A  morning  Paper  of  yesterday,  mentions  by  name,  that  a 
Nobleman  of  the  highest  rank,  in  this  country,  was,  last  week, 
summoned  to  the  Police-Office,  Queen's  Square,  for  wearing 
powder  without  being  licensed.  The  defence  set  up  that  his 
Grace,  being  a  Menial  Servant,  in  the  King's  Household,  was 
exempt  from  the  Tax  :  which,  being  admitted,  the  matter  was 


Old  Times.  131 

dismissed. — We  trust  that  this  information  is  not  authentic,  for 
it  would  be  a  most  pitiful  subterfuge  to  evade  the  payment 
of  a  tax,  which  is  generally  allowed  to  be  a  proper  one." 
(Times,  Feb.  i,  1797.) — (Query,  the  Duke  of  Portland.} 

All  articles  of  luxury,  and  very  many  of  absolute 
necessity,  were  taxed  to  supply  the  drain  of  the  war — and, 
doubtless,  people  had  to  be  economical — but  the  following 
advertisement  reduces  economy  to  a  science  : — 

"  ADVANTAGEOUS  HAT  SUBSCRIPTION.     Stamps 
included. 

"Three  Hats,  value  ;£i,  is.  each,  at^i,  145.  6d.  per  Ann., 
delivered  as  follows.  Two  on  Subscription,  the  third  at  the 
end  of  eight  months,  when  the  two  first  must  be  returned,  and 
the  third  at  the  end  of  the  year.  Four  Hats,  value  £1,  45. 
each,  at  £2,  6s.  per  Ann.,  delivered  as  follows.  Two  on  sub- 
scribing, and  two  at  the  end  of  six  months,  when  the  two  first 
must  be  returned,  and  the  other  two  at  the  end  of  the  year. 
The  Hats  changed  as  the  Fashions  vary  during  subscribing. 
To  remove  all  prejudices,  Gentlemen  may  call  at  the  Manu- 
factory and  see  the  quality.  Old  Hats  taken  in  part  of  the 
subscription  money.  Durant  and  Pitra,  Hat  Manufactory, 
middle  of  Monmouth  St." — (Times,  Aug.  2$,  1796.) 

On  Nov.  22,  1798,  Pitt  brought  forward  his  annual 
statement,  relating  to  public  finance — and  proposed  to 
raise  ^7,000,000,  by  a  new  tax  called  a  triple  assess- 
ment— but,  eventually,  it  turned  out  that  it,  with  the 
land  tax,  brought  in  but  about  4^  Millions.  A  Briton 
can  extract  some  fun,  even  out  of  his  misfortunes,  so 
they  caricatured  this  heavy  tax.  In  Dec.  1797  appeared 
a  picture  entitled  "  More  visitors  to  John  Bull ;  or  the 
Assessed  Taxes" — showing  four  little  imps  coming  to 
John  Bull.  He  naturally  asks,  "  What  do  you  want,  you 
little  devils  ? — ain't  I  plagued  with  enough  of  you 
already  ?  more  pick  pocket's  work,  I  suppose  ?  "  But 


132  Old  Times. 

the  diablotins  courteously  reply,  "  Please  your  honour, 
we  are  the  Assessed  Taxes." 

On  Dec.  3,  1798,  Mr.  Pitt  again  made  his  annual 
financial  statement — and,  of  course,  he  wanted  more 
money — and  the  way  by  which  he  proposed  to  raise  the 
necessary  funds — was  by  imposing  a  Tax  on  Income. 
He  proposed  that  no  income  under  £60  a  year  should  be 
touched — and  from  that  sum,  to  £200  per  annum,  should 
be  on  a  smaller  scale  than  over  ^200 — past  which  sum 
— a  full  tenth  of  all  incomes  would  be  demanded.  The 
returns  were  to  be  made  by  the  person  assessed,  subject 
to  the  inspection  of  a  surveyor,  who  should  lay  before 
the  commissioners  any  grounds  he  might  have  for  sus- 
pecting the  return  to  be  false.  The  commissioners  had 
no  power  to  call  for  account  books,  or  to  examine  clerks, 
&c.  But,  if  the  individual  did  not  clear  himself,  and 
they  thought  he  had  not  returned  sufficient,  they  could 
make  such  assessment  as  they  thought  fit.  After  a  long 
debate  it  -was  carried  by  183  to  17,  and  made  law  on 
1 8th  Mar.  1799.  By  the  accompanying  caricature, 
"A  Visitor  to  John  Bull,  for  the  year  1799,  or  the 
Assessed  Taxes  taking  their  leave,"  it  was  evidently  the 
public  impression  that  the  Income  Tax  would  supersede 
the  Assessed  Taxes.  But  it  was  not  so,  as  they  were 
still  kept  on. 

The  little  demons  still  behave  courteously  towards 
John  Bull,  who  looks  in  undisguised  horror  at  the  size 
of  the  awful  fund  (the  Income  Tax)  now  taking 
possession  of  him. 

The  following  paragraph  would  seem,  at  first  sight, 
rather  harsh — but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  War 
was  a  cruel  drain  on  our  fiscal  resources — and  not  one 
penny  that  had  been  granted  by  parliament  could  be  bated. 


Old  Times.  133 

"The  Commissioners  of  the  Stamp  Office  having  been 
informed  that  the  practice  of  letting  out  newspapers  for  hire, 
was  carried  on  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  to  the  great 
injury  of  the  revenue,  the  Commissioners  ordered  a  prosecution 
to  take  place,  and  a  newsman  was  yesterday  summoned  before 
the  Lord  Mayor,  and  convicted  in  the  penalty  of  ^5,  as  the  , 
Act  directs. ' ' — ( Times,  Oct.  23,  1795.) 

"  Lending  Newspapers.  James  Berridge,  a  Newsman,  was, 
on  Saturday,  brought  before  Sir  William  Addington,  and  R. 
Ford,  Esq.,  charged  with  letting  out  Newspapers  for  hire,  from 
house  to  house.  This  was  a  prosecution  instituted  by  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Stamps.  A  great  number  of  complaints 
were  brought  forward  against  him,  and  he  was  convicted  in 
six  penalties  of  ^5  each.  A  variety  of  others  were  about  to 
be  exhibited  against  him,  but  in  consideration  of  his  having  a 
large  family,  the  Solicitor  declined  going  into  them." — (Times, 
Jan.  2,  1798.) 

"  The  keepers  of  several  reading-rooms  in  Fleet  Street,  and 
Shoe-Lane,  were,  on  Saturday,  fined  £$  for  lending  news- 
papers for  hire." — (Times,  Sept.  26,  1798.) 

"Government  intends  to  have  one  fixed  standard  for 
Weights,  and  Measures,  over  the  whole  Kingdom ;  as  the 
greatest  frauds,  for  want  of  that  regulation,  have,  for  ages, 
been  practised  with  impunity.  These  regulations  are  much 
needed,  and  are  an  excellent  subject  for  taxation.  The  lower 
orders  of  the  community  are  grievously  imposed  upon,  for 
want  of  them,  and,  doubtless,  it  will  be  a  popular  mode  of  taxa- 
tion, and  can  give  no  offence  to  any  class  of  people,  but  those 
dishonestly  employed." — (Times,  Sept.  15,  1796.) 

"  The  following  curious  view  of  the  incredible  loss  sustained 
by  raising  weekly  loans  of  money,  at  the  Pawnbrokers,  it  is 
hoped,  will  prove  an  additional  incitement  to  frugality;  for 
certain  it  is,  that  in  many  instances,  i/6th,  and  in  some  cases 
i/5th,  and  even  as  high  as  i/4th,  of  the  annual  earnings  of  the 
more  thoughtless,  and  dissolute  part,  of  the  poor,  is  paid  for 
temporary  accommodations.  For  instance, 

The  person  who  borrows  3d.  in  pawn,  pays  6d.  a  year, 


134  Old  Times. 

interest,   but,  if  taken  out  weekly,   (a   thing  very  common, 
particularly  during  the  Lottery), 

It  is      £d.  per  week,      or  850  per  cent,  on  the  sum  borrowed. 

If       6d.  his  the  same  „  425  do. 

If       gd.          do.           „  285  do. 

If  is.  do.          „  215  do. 

If  2S.  do.          „  107^  do. 

If  as.  6d.          do.  „     87^  do. 

"  This  explanation  should  be  a  warning  to  those  who  are  so 
improvident,  as  to  pawn  their  Sunday  cloaths,  every  Monday 
morning,  or  52  times  a  year,  a  custom  which  too  frequently 
prevails,  without  reflecting  that  the  Interest  paid  the  Pawn- 
broker would,  probably,  purchase  two  or  three  coats,  gowns, 
or  silk  cloaks,  in  the  course  of  the  year." — (Times,  Mar.  20, 
J797-) 

"ON  PUBLIC-HOUSES.     (Condensed.) 

"  In  the  City  of  London,  and  within  the  Bills  of  Mortality, 
there  are  at  present  5,204  licensed  Public  Houses,  and  it  is 
calculated  that  the  Beer,  and  Spirits,  which  are  consumed  in 
these  receptacles  of  idleness,  and  profligacy,  by  the  labouring 
people,  only,  is  little  short  of  three  millions  sterling  a  year.  It 
has  been  lately  discovered,  that  clubs  of  apprentice  boys  are 
harboured  in  Public  Houses,  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  their 
brethren  who  run  away  from  their  masters,  and  of  indulging 
themselves  early,  in  scenes  of  lewdness,  and  drunkenness, 
which  they  generally  do,  by  pilfering  their  masters  property, 
and  disposing  of  it  at  the  old  iron  shops. 
"  In  a  recent  publication,  the  consumption  of  Ale,  and  Porter, 
annually,  in  the  metropolis,  and  its  environs,  is  stated  to 
be  1,132,147  barrels,  equal  to  36,625,145  gallons,  making 

158,400,580  pots  at  3|d ^2,311,466   15   10 

"  And,  by  another  calculation,  the 
average  consumption  of  Gin,  and 
Compounds,  in  Public  Houses,  pre- 
vious to  the  stoppage  of  the  distillery, 
was  about  3,000,000  of  Gallons  .  .  975,000  o  o 

^3,286,466  15  10 


Old  Times.  135 

"  If  a  conclusion  may  be  drawn  from  the  apparent  greater 
degree  of  sobriety,  which  is  manifested,  at  present,  by  the 
labouring  people,  and  evinced  by  the  number  of  quarrels,  and 
assaults,  being  very  considerably  diminished,  and  the  pressure, 
with  respect  to  the  means  of  living,  apparently  less  than  in  the 
spring  of  1795,  notwithstanding  no  charities  have  been  dis- 
tributed, and  bread  is  considerably  higher,  it  would  seem 
reasonable  to  attribute  this  favourable  change,  to  the  high 
price  of  Gin,  which,  being  in  a  great  measure  inaccessible,  the 
lower  ranks  have  it  now  in  their  power,  to  apply  the  money, 
formerly  spent  in  this  way,  to  the  purchase  of  provisions, 
perhaps  to  the  extent  of  some  hundred  thousands  of  Pounds 
a  year,  in  the  metropolis,  alone!" — (Times,  Oct.  4.  1797.) 

FOOD. 

The  years  1795—6  were  years  of  great  scarcity,  and 
the  graphic  daily  accounts  of  the  want  of  food,  and  of 
the  various  substitutes  for  bread — the  abstinence  of  all 
classes,  from  the  King,  to  the  labourer,  bring  very 
vividly  to  our  minds,  a  state  of  things,  which  has  never 
since  obtained  in  England — 

"  In  consequence  of  the  scarcity  of  Wheat,  arising  partly 
from  such  quantities  of  it  being  used  for  hair-powder,  several 
regiments  have,  very  patriotically,  discontinued  the  use  of  hair- 
powder,  which,  in  these  instances,  was  generally  nothing  but 
flour. \f-(Timest  Feb.  10,  1795.) 

"  The  Parliamentary  Board  of  Agriculture,  in  consideration 
of  the  probable  scarcity  of  wheat,  have  agreed  to  propose  a 
premium  of  One  Thousand  Pounds,  to  the  person  who  will 
grow  the  largest  breadth  of  Potatoes,  on  lands  never  applied  to 
the  culture  of  that  plant  before  : — they  have  liberally  excluded 
the  Members  of  their  own  Board  from  becoming  candidates 
for  this  valuable  prize." — (Times,  Feb.  14,  1795.) 

"  The  general  failure  of  WHEAT,  throughout  Europe,  last 
year,  makes  it  proper  to  promote  the  culture  of  an  increased 


136  Old  Times. 

quantity  of  POTATOES,  and,  as  one  means  of  doing  it,  it  is 
recommended  to  Noblemen  and  Gentlemen,  who  have  large 
Parks,  to  break  up  a  part  of  them  to  be  planted  with  Potatoes, 
those  grounds  generally  lying  dry,  will  be  very  proper  for  the 
purpose,  and  fit  for  immediate  planting  with  that  root.  It  is 
hoped  that  so  benevolent,  and  patriotic,  an  object,  will  be  a 
sufficient  incitement,  without  a  consideration  of  profit  at- 
tached."— (Times,  March  20,  1795.) 

"  It  is  hinted  by  a  benevolent  mind,  who  has,  on  account  of 
meat  being  so  dear,  left  off  soup  in  his  family,  at  present,  that 
the  making  of  soup  destroys  a  great  deal  of  meat,  and  it  is 
recommended  that  the  rich  leave  off  making  soups,  as  the 
meat  is  generally  wasted,  it  will  relieve  a  great  many  poor 
families  in  these  dear  times." — (Times,  April  27,  1775.) 

"  Friday,  a  Court  of  Common-Council  was  held  at  Guildhall : 
when  the  Lord  Mayor  stated  to  the  Court,  the  hardships  the 
poor  feel  on  account  of  the  high  price  of  provisions,  on  which, 
Mr.  SYMS  moved,  that  a  Committee  of  all  the  Aldermen,  and 
one  Commoner,  out  of  each  Ward,  be  appointed,  to  consider 
the  best  method  to  be  adopted  for  reducing  the  price,  which, 
after  a  few  observations,  was  agreed  to. 

"  Mr.  DIXON  moved,  that,  for  one  year,  neither  the  Corpora- 
tion, nor  any  Committee,  be  allowed  public  dinners.  It  was 
seconded  by  Mr.  KEMBLE,  and  supported  by  three,  or  four, 
other  Members  :  but  some  treated  the  motion  as  not  seriously 
meant.  Mr.  Deputy  BIRCH  moved  an  amendment,  by  adding, 
that  the  savings  by  such  means,  be  paid  to  the  Committee  now 
appointed,  to  be  by  them  appropriated  for  reducing  the  price 
of  provisions — on  which  a  previous  questioned  was  moved, 
and  the  question  being  put,  there  appeared  for  it  26 ;  against 
it  39;  Majority  against,  13." — (Times,  May  n,  1795.) 

"  Provisions  continue  to  advance  in  price.  Mutton,  in  the 
last  week,  rose  4d.  per  stone  of  81bs.,  which  now  costs  the 
enormous  sum  of  55.  in  Smithfield  Market,  sinking  the  offal  ; 
ox  beef  is  45.  4d.,  lamb  6s.,  veal  53.  8d. 

"  If  a  bounty  was  to  be  given  on  mackarel  brought  to 
market,  it  would,  in  a  great  measure,  tend  to  lower  the  price  of 


TS 

•N. 

•b 


Old  Times.  137 

butchers  meat,  which  a  ruinous  plan  of  forestalling,  and  unfair 
buying  and  selling,  has  raised  to  an  alarming  price. 

"  A  report  from  the  committee  appointed  at  the  last  Court 
of  Common  Council,  to  consider  of  the  best  means  of  reducing 
the  present  high  price  of  provisions,  was  read,  giving  it  as  their 
opinion,  that  encouraging  the  bringing  up  fish  to  Billingsgate, 
would,  in  a  great  measure,  reduce  the  price  of  meat,  with  which 
report  the  Court  agreed,  and  ^£500  was  granted  for  that 
purpose." — (Times,  May  18,  1795.) 

Advt. — "GUILDHALL,  LONDON,  May  22,  1795. 

"The  Committee,  appointed  by  the  Court  of  Common 
Council,  to  use  the  best  Means  to  increase  the  Quantity  of 
Fish  brought  to  the  London  Market,  to  reduce  the  price  of 
Provisions,  do  hereby  give  notice,  that  they  have  resolved  to 
give  a  Bounty  of  Two  POUNDS  for  every  1000  Mackarel,  sold 
at  Billingsgate,  at  the  rate  of  203.  per  hundred  of  six  score, 
with  a  sufficient  proof  of  their  freshness  :  FOUR  POUNDS  for 
every  2000  :  Six  POUNDS  for  every  3000 :  EIGHT  POUNDS  for 
every  4000,  and  TEN  POUNDS  for  every  5000  Mackarel,  sold, 
as  aforesaid.  Also,  they  have  resolved  to  give  a  Bounty  of 
FIVE  POUNDS  per  Ton,  or  FIVE  SHILLINGS  for  every  Hundred 
weight  of  Cod,  and  Haddock,  sold  at  Billingsgate  at  the  rate 
of  2d.  per  lb.,  with  a  sufficient  proof  of  their  freshness.  The 
said  Bounties  to  commence  on  Monday  the  ist  June  next, 
and  be  paid  by  applying  at  the  Chamberlain's  Office,  on  pro- 
ducing a  Certificate,  of  the  number,  goodness,  and  prices,  of 
the  said  Fish.  Rix." 

—(Times,  May  25,  1795.) 

"  Among  the  numerous  causes  which  may  be  assigned  for 
the  present  high  prices  of  provisions,  especially  of  poultry,  the 
uniting  of  many  small  farms  into  one  great  one,  is  not  the 
least  It  is  a  well  known  fact,  that,  where  three  farms  have 
been  leased,  or  let,  to  one  tenant,  which  three  farms,  ante- 
cedently, had  each  a  separate  tenant,  no  more  poultry  is  pro- 
duced by  the  union,  than  each  separately  reared,  when  divided, 
so  that  two-thirds  are,  of  course,  lost  to  the  public.  This 
mode  of  throwing  many  small  farms  into  one  large  farm,  by 


138  Old  Times. 

having  one,  instead  of  a  number  of  tenants,  however  it  may 
profit  the  landlord,  is  of  very  great  injury  to  the  public,  inas- 
much as  it  gives  a  kind  of  Aristocracy  to  the  farmers,  that 
enables  them,  in  a  great  measure,  to  set  what  price  they  please 
upon  provisions,  destroying  that  competition,  which  is  always 
the  consequence,  where  the  venders  are  numerous.  Thus  it 
is  that  a  great  part  of  Oxfordshire  has  been  bought  up  by  a 
noble  Duke,  who,  by  monopolizing  so  much  land,  and  destroy- 
ing a  number  of  small  farms,  has  done  a  very  essential  injury 
to  the  public." — (Times,  June  22,  1795.) 

"We  are  sorry  to  learn  that  WHEAT  rose  yesterday  nine 
shillings  per  quarter.  It  is,  however,  with  great  satisfaction, 
we  announce,  that  several  ships,  laden  with  corn,  are  arrived 
in  the  Downs  from  Dantzic,  and  part  of  their  produce 
is  expected  to  arrive  in  time  for  to-morrow's  market." — 
(Times,  July  7,  1795.) 

"The  PRIVY  COUNCIL,  whose  constant  attention  has  been 
directed,  for  many  months  past,  to  provide  the  kingdom  with 
a  regular  supply  of  corn,  propose  to  recommend  to  the  country 
at  large,  the  use  of  HOUSEHOLD  BREAD.  It  is  further  to  be 
recommended,  that  families  should  not  have  puddings,  or 
pies,  nor  any  such  like  articles  made  of  flour. 

"  The  Magistrates  of  the  GENERAL  QUARTER  SESSIONS  FOR 
MIDDLESEX,  seem  to  be  acting  upon  this  principle  in  the 
resolution  passed  at  their  last  Court-day,  which  we  trust  will 
be  followed  by  every  other  public  body  in  the  kingdom.  The 
disuse  of  pastry  seems  to  be  a  very  important  consideration. 

"  The  Directors  of  the  East  India  Co.  have  set  a  laudable 
example  of  attention  to  the  distresses  of  the  times,  in  abridg- 
ing the  customary  expense  of  their  dinners,  on  Court-days." — 
(Times,  July  10,  17  95.) 

Advt. — "  At  a  General  Quarter  Session  of  the  Peace,  for  the 
County  of  Middlesex,  the  Magistrates  assembled,  taking  into 
consideration  the  present  High  Prices  of  Provisions,  with  the 
consequent  inconveniences  resulting  therefrom,  and,  feeling 
the  propriety  of  a  general  retrenchment  in  the  manner  of 
furnishing  the  Table,  at  this  particular  time,  have  come  to 


Old  Times.  139 

the  following  Resolution,  viz.,  That  during  the  remainder  of 
the  present  Session,  and  during  the  next  Session,  in  Sep- 
tember, no  Puddings,  or  Pies,  nor  any  the  like  articles  made 
of  Flour,  be  served  to  their  table,  nor  any  other  provisions, 
whatsoever,  than  fish,  beef,  mutton,  or  veal,  with  vegetables, 
and  household  bread. 

"  By  the  Court.  SELBY." 

—(Times,  July  9,  1795.) 

"Yesterday,  the  DIRECTORS  OF  THE  BANK  OF  ENGLAND 
sent  ^500  to  the  LORD  MAYOR,  requesting  he  would  apply 
that  sum  towards  the  relief  of  the  industrious  poor,  in  the 
article  of  BREAD.  The  Sun  Fire  Office  sent  ;£ioo,  to  the 
same  worthy  Magistrate,  for  the  like  purpose.  The  different 
Wards  in  the  City  have  subscribed,  very  liberally,  towards  the 
relief  of  the  poor  in  their  present  distress.  Public  subscrip- 
tions are  about  to  be  opened  for  the  same  benevolent  pur- 
pose. Pastry,  and  puddings,  have  been  abolished  in  a  number 
of  private  houses.  The  DIRECTORS  of  the  BANK  yesterday 
came  to  a  resolution  to  have  no  more  public  dinners,  while 
the  price  of  provisions  continued  so  high.  This  laudable 
resolution  will,  we  trust,  be  followed  by  all  the  corporate 
bodies  in  the  kingdom." — (Times,  July  n,  1795.) 

"The  DRAPERS  COMPANY  voted  the  200  guineas,  for  re- 
ducing the  price  of  Bread,  after  the  Court  had  been  on  a 
Survey,  and,  (to  use  a  technical  term)  returned  to  dine  upon  a 
view.  The  following  Epigram  was  put  under  the  Master's 
plate  : — 

"  In  times  so  hard,  how  happy  'twere 
If  thousands,  like  to  you, 
Could  glut  their  craving  appetites 
By  dining  on — a  view. 

But  from  your  views  such  works  of  love 
Such  general  good  accrues, 
That  happier  'twere  if  each  day  brought 
New  dinners  and  new  views." 

—(Times,  July  u,  1795.) 


140  Old  Times. 


Advt.— "  MIDDLESEX. 

"  At  the  General  Quarter  Session  of  the  Peace  of  our  Lord 

the  King,  holden  in  and  for  the  County  of  Middlesex 

a  Letter  from  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Portland,  one  of  her 
Majesty's  Principal  Secretaries  of  State,  was  read,  inclosing 
a  copy  of  the  following  engagement,  entered  into  by  several 
of  the  Lords  of  his  Majesty's  most  Hon.  Privy  Council,  in  the 
following  words  : 

*'  In  consideration  of  the  present  high  Price  of  Wheat,  and, 
in  order  to  diminish  the  Consumption  thereof,  in  our  respec- 
tive Families,  so  as  to  leave  a  larger  Supply  of  this  necessary 
Article  of  Food,  for  the  People  in  general,  until  the  Corn  of 
the  ensuing  Harvest  shall  come  into  Consumption,  and  relieve 
them  of  their  present  difficulties :  We,  whose  Names  are 
hereto  subscribed,  being  desirous  of  introducing  into  common 
use  a  wholesome  Bread,  at  a  lower  price  than  must  be  paid  for 
the  sort  of  Bread  now  ordinarily  used,  do  engage  that  we  will 
not,  ourselves,  consume,  nor  suffer  to  be  consumed,  in  any  of 
our  Families,  until  the  First  Day  of  October  next,  at  any 
place  where  the  sort  of  Bread  undermentioned  can  be  pro- 
cured, any  sort  of  Wheaten  Bread  finer  than  that  which,  in  an 
Act  of  Parliament  passed  in  the  i3th  year  of  his  present 
Majesty's  Reign,  is  called  by  the  name  of  Standard  Wheaten 
Bread :  which  is  directed  by  the  said  Act  to  be  made  of  the 
Flour  of  Wheat,  which  Flour,  without  any  Mixture,  or  Division, 
shall  be  the  whole  Produce  of  the  Grain,  the  Bran  or  Hull 
thereof  only  excepted,  and  which  shall  weigh  three-fourths 
parts  of  the  weight  of  the  Wheat  whereof  it  shall  be  made.  We 
further  engage  to  diminish,  as  much  as  possible,  the  use  of  Flour 
in  other  articles  of  Food  consumed  in  our  respective  Families. 
And  we  earnestly  recommend  to  all  our  Fellow  Subjects,  to 
adopt  these  Measures,  and  strictly  adhere  to  the  same. 

Loughborough.     Spencer.  Grenville.  Kenyon. 


Mansfield. 

Hawkesbury. 

Amherst. 

Sandwich. 

Chatham. 
Portland. 

W.  Pitt. 
Leicester. 

Winchelsea. 
Stafford. 

Mornington. 
Carlisle. 

Chesterfield. 
J.  Eyre. 
A.  Macdonald. 

Up.  Ossory. 
W.  Windham. 
Bathurst. 

R.  P.  Arden. 
Dudley  Ryder. 
C.  Townshend. 

C.  F.  Greville. 

Old  Times.  141 

"  Resolved,  that  this  Court,  deeply  impressed  by  the  wisdom 
of  this  measure,  adopt  the  Regulations  stated  in  the  above 
Engagement,  and  resolve  strictly  to  adhere  to  them,  earnestly 
recommending  them  to  the  serious  consideration,  and  prac- 
tice, of  all  Masters  of  Families,  and  other  Inhabitants  of  this 
County,  &c.,  &c.  SELBY." 

—(Times,  July  14,  1795.) 

The  want  of  bread  is  often  more  imaginary,  than  real. 
There  are  many  excellent  substitutes  for  this  article,  which 
would  in  themselves  be  preferred  by  many  people,  if  it  were  a 
matter  of  choice,  only,  between  themselves.  Unfortunately, 
the  call  for  bread  will  always  be  in  proportion  to  the  scarcity 
of  it,  from  the  natural  disposition  of  some  to  make  grievances, 
and  complaints,  and  of  others  to  provoke  tumult,  and  riot. 

"  To  MAKE  GOOD  BREAD.  Take  a  pottle  of  fine  oatmeal, 
and  lay  it  in  water,  to  steep,  all  night :  next  morning,  it  will 
appear  (if  too  much  water  is  not  put  to  it)  like  hasty  pudding. 
This  break  into  several  parts  of  a  peck  and  a  half  of  barley- 
meal,  to  which  add  warm  water,  and  yeast,  and  knead  it  into 
dough,  as  all  wheat  meal  is  commonly  done :  then  mould  it 
into  loaves,  and  bake  them.  Thus,  a  barley  loaf  may  be  made 
hollow,  white,  and  sweet,  so  as  scarcely  to  be  known  from 
coarse  wheaten  •  bread.  When  skimmed  milk  can  be  had,  it 
will  make  the  bread  better  still." — (Times,  July  15,  1795.) 

"COMMON  COUNCIL. 

"Yesterday,  a  COURT  of  COMMON  COUNCIL  was  held  at 
Guildhall,  at  which  the  LORD  MAYOR,  6  ALDERMEN,  and 
about  150  Commoners,  were  present. 

"  The  Lord  Mayor  informed  the  Court,  that  he  had  not  yet 
received  any  answer  to  the  application  made  by  desire  of  that 
Court  to  his  Majesty's  Ministers,  requesting  them  to  prohibit 
the  use  of  Hair  Powder,  and  Flour,  in  the  Army.  It  was, 
however,  generally  understood  in  the  Court,  that  Government 
was  acting  in  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  the  Court. 

"The  Court  then  proceeded  to  take  into  consideration 
the  Resolutions  of  his  Majesty's  Hon.  Privy  Council,  recom- 


142  Old  Times. 

mending  the  use  of  standard  wheaten  Bread  (see  the  Adver- 
tisement in  the  Times  of  Tuesday  last  i4th  inst.).  The  Court 
resolved  to  adopt,  and  to  exert  themselves  to  give  force  to,  the 
Resolution  of  the  Privy  Council,  and  earnestly  recommend  the 
same  to  their  fellow  citizens.  A  Deputation  was  appointed  to 
wait  on  the  Privy  Council,  relative  to  some  regulations  not 
clearly  understood,  respecting  the  Millers  forwarding  the  sort 
of  Flour  necessary  for  the  purpose  to  market.  It  was  also  the 
opinion  of  the  Court,  that  the  said  Deputation  should  recom- 
mend to  the  Privy  Council,  to  take  into  consideration  the 
propriety  of  an  indemnity  to  the  Bakers,  in  fixing  a  price  to 
the  said  Household  Bread. 

"  Mr.  KEMBLE  then  made  his  promised  motion  for  the 
Court  to  resolve  '  That  no  dinners  be  allowed,  at  the  expence 
of  the  City,  to  the  different  Committees  for  managing  the  con- 
cerns of  the  Corporation,  for  the  period  of  one  year.'  It  was 
seconded  by  Mr.  HERRING,  when  a  debate  took  place,  which 
lasted  more  than  two  hours.  The  debate  was  at  length  termi- 
nated by  Mr.  Box  proposing  to  adopt  the  words  '  till  the  ist  of 
October  next,'  the  time  fixed  on,  in  the  Regulations  of  the 
Privy  Council,  as  at  that  period  it  was  to  be  hoped  the  present 
scarcity  would  be  removed.  And,  if  it  was  not,  the  Court  could 
extend  the  prohibition.  The  motion,  so  amended,  was  then 
put,  and  carried,  by  a  Majority  of  SEVENTEEN  only ! ! " — 
(Times,  July  16,  1795.) 

"We  offer  the  following  hints  for  the  government  of 
individuals  in  affluent  circumstances,  with  a  view  of  reducing 
the  high  price  of  provisions  : — 

"  To  have  fish  at  table  as  often  as  possible. 

"  To  sit  down  with  a  determined  resolution  to  eat  only  of 
one  kind  of  butcher's  meat;  and,  where  circumstances  will 
admit,  to  have  only  one  dish  of  meat  at  table. 

"  To  forbid  the  use  of  pastry  in  your  own  house,  and  to 
decline  the  use  of  it  at  any  other  table. 

"  To  be  particularly  economical  in  the  use  of  bread,  and  to 
cut,  yourself,  what  you  use  at  your  own  table;  making  your 
servants  sensible  that  you  give  such  directions  from  a  regard  to 
the  comforts  of  the  poor,  and  not  from  any  penurious  views.  It 
appears,  indeed,  to  be  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  make  ser- 


Old  Times.  143 

vants  in  great,  and  even  small  families,  sensible  how  much  they 
may,  under  present  circumstances,  contribute  to  the  relief,  and 
comfort,  of  the  poor,  which  every  British  heart  must  wish  to  do. 
"Bakers  ought  to  be  prevented  from  selling  bread  of  the 
same  day's  baking,  as,  on  a  fair  calculation,  four  stale  loaves 
are  equal  to  five  new  ones." — (Times,  July  16,  1795.) 

"  At  a  period  when  every  species  of  grain  has  become  both 
scarce,  and  dear,  it  is  the  duty  of  every  individual  to  inform  the 
public  of  any  possible  diminution  in  the  consumption.  It  is 
with  this  view  that  we  feel  much  satisfaction  in  announcing  to 
all  who  keep  horses  for  draught,  that  a  saving  of  twenty-five 
per  cent,  in  Oats,  has  been  introduced  into  the  stables  of 
THRALE'S  BREWHOUSE,  in  the  Borough,  since  the  month  of 
September  last,  which  we  are  happy  to  learn  has  been  adopted 
by  several  other  principal  manufacturers.  Their  plan  is 
simply  to  roll  all  their  oats  between  two  iron  cilinders,  which 
they  have  attached  to  their  steam  engine.  By  this  process,  an 
increase  is  found  of  two  bushels  a  sack.  After  being  well 
rolled  (which  is  usually  done  twice,  or  thrice,  a  week)  the  Oats 
are  mixed  with  chaff  of  the  best  quality,  and  divided  in  the 
usual  manner.  This  mode  of  rolling,  is  deemed  equal  to 
mastication.  It  is  found,  from  experience,  equally  beneficial 
to  old  horses,  whose  teeth  may  be  impaired,  as  well  as  young 
horses,  who  often  return  home  very  hungry,  and  are  apt  to 
swallow  their  oats  without  chewing  them,  by  which  means 
they  are  frequently  observed  to  pass  through  them  undi- 
gested."— ( Times,  July  16,  1795.) 

"  It  is  now  almost  the  prevailing  custom  in  every  family  of 
distinction,  to  have  the  loaf  brought  on  the  table,  and  each 
person  to  help  himself.  This  example  must  have  a  consider- 
able influence  in  reducing  the  consumption  of  this,  as  well  as 
other,  necessaries  of  life. 

"  The  custom  of  wearing  HAIR-POWDER  is  growing  into  very 
general  disuse  :  and  we  shall  not  be  surprised  if  we  soon  see  it 
almost  altogether  abolished,  during  the  present  scarcity  of  grain. 

"The  recommendation  of  the  Privy  Council,  to  adopt  the 
use  of  Household  Bread,  will  be  of  little  avail,  unless  their 
request  is  converted  into  an  order,  that  no  bread,  above  that 


144  Otd  Times. 

standard,  shall  hereafter  be  baked :  and  every  idea  of  ex- 
pediency, and  common  policy,  demands  that  some  measure 
of  this  tendency  should  immediately  be  enforced." — (Times, 
July  17,  1795.) 

"  There  is  no  economy  more  laudable  at  this  moment,  than 
that  of  lessening  the  consumption  of  bread,  in  private  families. 
This  has  been  practised  with  such  success,  by  Mr.  PARISH, 
on  Ludgate  Hill,  that  he  now  consumes  but  four  BROWN  loaves 
per  week,  in  lieu  of  twelve,  or  thirteen,  White  ones,  as  for- 
merly. This  is  a  most  notable  example,  and,  we  trust,  will  be 
imitated  by  many,  though  perhaps  with  somewhat  less  rigour. 
Mr.  P.'s  substitute  for  bread,  are,  principally,  potatoes,  and 
rice." — (Times,  July  18,  1795.) 

"  In  Sussex,  the  Gentry  have  adopted  the  most  rational 
mode  of  diminishing  the  price  of  Corn.  Instead  of  supplying 
the  poor  with  bread,  at  a  low  price,  which  can  only  tend  to 
increase  the  consumption,  they  give  pickled  pork,  &c.,  to  an 
equal  amount,  which,  with  the  use  of  cabbage,  beans,  &c., 
may  banish,  without  much  suffering,  the  loaf,  at  least,  from 
their  dinner  tables." — (Times,  July  20,  1795.) 

"  After  the  humane  example  of  the  City,  in  leaving  off  their 
annual  feasts,  we  are  happy  to  find  it  is  intended  to  be  uni- 
versally adopted  by  the  surrounding  parishes,  and  opulent 
families ;  particularly  by  some  of  the  principal  inhabitants  of 
Whitechapel,  who,  at  one  of  their  Greenwich  meetings,  on 
Monday,  wisely  determined  to  eat  venison,  and  white-bait, 
no  longer  than  the  season  -will  produce  them" — (Times, 
July  22,  1795.) 

Some  of  the  following  set  of  moral  rules  might  be 
followed  with  advantage  at  the  present  day  : — 

"THE  WAY  TO  PEACE  AND  PLENTY. 

RULES    FOR   THE    RICH. 

1.  Abolish  gravy  soups,  and  second  courses. 

2.  Buy  no  starch  when  wheat  is  dear. 

3.  Destroy  all  useless  dogs. 


Old  Times.  145 

4.  Give  no  dog,  or  other  animal,  the  smallest  bit  of  bread 
or  meat 

5.  Save  all  your  skim-milk  carefully,  and  give  it  all  to  the 
poor,  or  sell  it  at  a  cheap  rate. 

6.  Make  broth,  rice  pudding,  &c.,  for  the  poor,  and  teach 
them  to  make  such  things. 

7.  Go  to  church  yourselves,  and  take  care  your  servants  go 
constantly. 

8.  Look  into  the  management  of  your  own  families,  and 
visit  your  poor  neighbours. 

9.  Prefer  those  poor  who  keep  steadily  to  their  work,  and 
go  constantly  to  church,  and  give  nothing  to  those  who  are  idle, 
and  riotous,  or  keep  useless  dogs. 

10.  Buy  no  weighing  meat,  or  gravy  beef:  if  the  rich  would 
buy  only  the  prime  pieces,  the  poor  could   get  the  others 
cheap. 

RULES  FOR  THE  POOR. 

1.  Keep  steadily  to  your  work,  and  never  change  masters, 
if  you  can  help  it. 

2.  Go  to  no  gin-shop,  or  alehouse :  but  lay  out  all  your 
earnings  in  food,  and  cloaths,  for  yourself,  and  your  family : 
and  try  to  lay  up  a  little  for  rent,  and  rainy  days. 

3.  Avoid  bad  company. 

4.  Keep  no  dogs :    for  they  rob  your  children,  and  your 
neighbours. 

5.  Go  constantly  to   church,   and   carry  your  wives,   and 
children,  with  you,  and  God  will  bless  you. 

6.  Be  civil  to  your  superiors,  and  they  will  be  kind  to  you. 

7.  Learn  to  make  broth,  milk   pottage,  rice-pudding,   &c. 
One  pound  of  meat,  in  broth,  will  go  further  than  two  pounds 
boiled,  or  roasted. 

8.  Be  quiet,  and  contented,  and  never  steal,  or  swear,  or 
you  will  never  thrive." — (Times,  July  23,  1795.) 

"Yesterday,  the  Stationer?  Company  had  their  annual 
dinner,  at  Stationers'  Hall.  Having  determined,  in  consequence 
of  the  great  scarcity  of  flour,  to  abolish  the  use  of  pies,  they 

K 


146  Old  Times. 

contented  themselves  with  several  haunches  of  venison,  and  a 
number  of  venison  pasties,  which  consumed  flour  enough  for 
50  fruit  pies.  And  in  order  to  adopt  the  above  resolution  of 
no  pies,  the  Court  of  Assistants  had,  previously,  a  snug  dinner, 
consisting  of  all  the  delicacies  of  the  season.  Of  public  dinners, 
those  of  the  Stationers  Company  rival  every  other.  We  have 
not  yet  heard  of  the  Company  having  contributed  anything  to 
the  relief  of  the  poor." — (Times,  Aug.  14,  1795.) 

"  One  among  the  serious  consequences  of  the  dearness  of 
provisions,  is,  that  the  price  of  board  in  schools,  is  considerably 
raised.  There  are  few  schools  of  repute,  that  have  not  raised 
their  terms,  at  least  five  guinea?  a  year." — (Times,  Oct.  8, 
I795-) 

"  The  price  of  butter,  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  has  been, 
lately,  most  shamefully  advanced,  without  any  cause  to  justify 
the  measure.  The  season  has,  hitherto,  been  favourable  to 
grazing,  and  the  war  cannot  extend  its  influence  to  our  dairies. 
On  the  same  principle,  the  late  advance  in  the  price  of  Milk, 
in  the  Metropolis,  should  be  enquired  into.  London  is  supplied 
with  Milk  by  about  30  cow-keepers,  who  may  at  pleasure  either 
deprive  the  city  of  this  necessary  article,  or  extort  what  price 
they  may  think  proper  for  it.  Milk  should  be  made  subject  to 
the  regulations  respecting  bread,  beer,  &c.,  as,  indeed,  should 
every  similar  commodity." — (Times,  Feb.  15,  1796.) 

"In  consequence  of  the  public  refraining  to  buy  fresh 
butter,  the  price  fell  from  i4|d.  to  gd.  and  lod.  per  pound,  in 
Sheffield  Market,  last  week.  And  so  it  would  be  in  London, 
if  every  family  would  consent  to  buy  Cambridge  butter,  for  a 
few  days,  or  to  allow  only  half  the  quantity  of  fresh  to  be  taken 
in,  which  is  usually  consumed." — (Times,  Mar.  2,  1796.) 

"  The  Beef  Trade,  though  it  declined  a  market  day,  or  two, 
in  the  heat  of  the  weather,  is  nearly  up  again  to  its  enormous 
Spring  prices  :  a  good  bullock  being  now  worth  45.  6d.  per 
stone.  Veal,  Mutton,  and  Lamb,  are  getting  down,  but  Pork 


Old  Times.  147 

still  fetches  IDS.  a  score.  Lean  stock,  of  every  kind,  is  exces- 
sively dear,  and  difficult  to  be  obtained,  on  any  terms,  that  of 
the  sheep  kind,  in  particular." — (Times,  Sep.  5,  1796.) 

"  The  great  importance  of  the  Distilleries,  in  the  article  of 
fatted  hogs,  may  be  judged  of,  in  some  degree,  by  the  number 
turned  out  of  the  distilleries,  in  Surrey  alone,  which  are 
estimated  at  11,700  a  year,  valued  at  ^"46,215,  besides  the 
great  number  fed  in  the  starch  yards.  It  is  said,  that  all  the 
distilleries  in  the  Kingdom,  when  in  full  work,  send  to  market, 
weekly,  near  30,000  hogs  :  during  the  last  year,  they  were  at  a 
total  stand,  and  the  price  of  bacon  has  been  enormous." — 
(Times,  Oct.  26,  1796.) 

Some  of  the  great  ones  of  the  land  set  a  good  example 
of  economy  to  their  poorer  brethren — the  King  among 
the  number. 

"The  Margrave  of  ANSPACH  sets  a  princely  example  of 
economy  to  his  betters :  his  table  is  furnished  by  contract, 
and  the  daily  expence  exceeds  not  half-a-guinea  per  head. 
Of  course,  the  purveyor  takes  the  needful  care  of  broken 
victuals :  whilst  Sir  Harry,  and  the  Duke's  servant,  fare 
equally  alike  in  that  larder,  where  Miss  Kitty  or  Mrs.  Cook 
have  nought  to  give,  but  bread  and  cheese,  and  kisses." — 
( Times,  June  22,  1795.) 

"  His  MAJESTY  has  given  orders  for  the  bread  used  in  his 
household,  to  be  made  of  meal,  and  rye,  mixed.  No  other 
sort  is  permitted  to  be  baked,  and  the  Royal  Family  eat  bread 
of  the  same  quality  as  their  servants  do.  It  is  extremely 
sweet,  and  palatable. 

"  One  half  flour,  and  half  potatoes,  also  make  a  very  excel- 
lent bread." — (Times,  July  22,  1795.) 

^ 

"The  writer  of  this  paragraph  has  seen  the  bread  that  is 

eaten  at  His  MAJESTY'S  table.     It  consists  of  two  sorts  only, 
the  one  composed  of  wheaten  flour,  and  rye,  mixed ;  the  other 


148  Old  Times. 

is  half  wheaten  flour,  half  potatoe  flour.     If  ever  example 
deserved    imitation,    it    is    surely    this." — (Times,   July    30, 

I795-) 

The  Court  of  Aldermen  had  the  power  of  apportion- 
ing the  price  of  bread  according  to  the  price  of  wheat — 
thus  affording  the  baker  a  fair  profit,  and  protecting  the 
consumer. 

"Yesterday,  a  Court  of  Aldermen  was  held  at  Guildhall, 
which  came  to  a  resolution  to  raise  the  price  of  bread  to  a 
Shilling  the  Quartern  Loaf." — (Times,  July  8,  1795.) 

"The  price  of  Flour  having  risen  43.  per  sack,  the  Court  of 
Common  Council  ordered  the  assize  of  bread  to  one  shilling 
and  a  halfpenny  per  quartern  loaf." — (Times,  July  23,  1795.) 

"Tuesday,  a  Court  of  Aldermen  was  held  at  Guildhall. 
The  Court  ordered  the  price  of  bread  to  remain  at  is.  3d.  the 
quartern  loaf. 

"  The  Court  having  considered  the  petition  of  the  Retail 
Dealers  in  Salt,  for  an  advance,  were  pleased  to  order  the 
price  of  salt  to  be  fixed  as  follows,  viz.,  8s.  per  bushel,  43.  per 
half  ditto,  as.  per  peck,  is.  per  half  ditto,  6d.  per  quarter-ditto, 
3d.  per  half-quarter  peck,  2d.  per  pound,  id.  per  half  ditto." 
— (Times,  March  10,  1796.) 

"  Assize  of  Bread. 

"The  regulation  of  the  Assize  of  Bread  being  generally 
misunderstood,  the  following  tables,  extracted  from  the  Act  of 
Parliament  of  the  3ist  Geo.  II.  will  at  once  shew,  by  what 
authority,  the  Magistrates  regulate  the  Price  of  Bread,  with 
the  allowance  to  Bakers  of  is.  6d.  per  bushel  for  wheat,  and 
IDS.  per  sack  for  flour  :  a  reference  to  which  tables,  will  enable 
every  person  to  ascertain  the  price  of  the  quartern,  and  peck, 
loaf,  as  well  as  the  Magistrates  themselves  :  and  will  prove  that 
the  letter  of  the  law,  and  not  the  will  of  the  Magistrates,  regulates 


Old  Times. 


149 


that  necessary  article.  At  the  same  time,  the  public  will  be 
convinced,  that  the  average  price  of  flour  is  more  in  favour  of 
the  consumer,  than  that  of  wheat.  For  example — the  average 
price  of  wheat,  this  day,  is  93.  per  bushel.  The  allowance  to 
the  baker,  is  is.  6d.  The  quartern  loaf  would  then  be  is. — 
whereas,  the  average  price  of  flour  being  633.  and  4d.,  the 
Magistrates  are  enabled  to  make  the  Assize  of  Bread  nd. 
instead  of  is. 

WHEAT. 


When  the 
Average  Price 
of  Wheat  is 
per  Bushel. 

Allowance  to 
the  Baker. 

Total  Price, 
including  the 
Allowance. 

Quartern 
Loaf. 

Peck  Loaf. 

7/ 

1/6 

8/6 

/9l 

3/3 

7/3 

8/9 

/I0 

3/4 

7/6 

9/ 

/ioi 

3/5 

7/9 

9/3 

/io4 

3/6 

»/ 

9/6 

/I0f 

3/7i 

8/3 

9/9 

/" 

3/8 

8/6 

I0/ 

/"* 

3/io 

9/ 

10/6 

I/ 

4/ 

FLOUR. 


When  the 

Average  Pr,ice 
of  Flour  is 

Allowance  to 
the  Baker. 

Total  Price. 

Quartern 
Loaf. 

Peck  Loaf. 

per  Sack. 

So/ 

I  o/  per  sack 

6o/ 

19 

3/ 

Si/8 

61/8 

/9i 

3/1 

53/4 

63/4 

/9i 

3/2 

55/ 

657 

/9f 

3/3 

56/8 

66/8 

/I0 

3/4 

58/4 

68/4 

/lot 

3/5 

6o/ 

TO/ 

/ioi 

3/6 

61/8 

7I/8 

fiof 

3/7 

— (Times,  July  i,  1796.) 

The   Aldermen   also  had   the   power  of  visiting   the 
bakers'   shops  within    their  Wards,  of  fining  dishonest 


150  Old  Times. 

bakers,  and  distributing  their  bread,  gratis,  to  the  poor, — 
a  summary,  and  most  effectual,  way  of  dealing  with  the 
rogues. 

"  Wednesday,  a  cheap  Baker  in  Bishopsgate-Ward  was  fined, 
by  the  Lord  Mayor,  55.  per  ounce,  on  16  ounces  short  weight, 
in  seven  quartern,  and  nine  penny  loaves,  taken  by  the  inquest 
of  that  Ward  from  out  of  his  shop." — (Times,  March  29, 
I793-) 

"  Saturday  Mr.  Justice  RUSSELL,  and  the  Peace  Officers  of 
Greenwich,  went  to  all  the  bakers,  and  weighed  their  bread, 
to  find  out  if  the  poor,  and  other  inhabitants,  had  their  due 
weight :  when  many  loaves,  found  deficient  in  weight,  were 
immediately  given  away  at  the  doors  of  the  bakers  to  those 
poor  persons  who  were  not  under  any  relief  from  the  parish." 
—(Times,  Jan.  12,  1795.) 

"  Monday,  in  consequence  of  an  information,  Mr.  Justice 
ADDINGTON,  attended  by  several  officers,  went  to  a  Baker's 
shop,  in  Holborn,  where  they  found  70  loaves,  short  of  the 
standard  weight,  181  ounces.  The  Magistrate  fixed  the  penalty 
of  55.  per  ounce,  which  amounted  to  ^£45,  53.,  but  which 
was  mitigated  to  ^40.  The  Magistrate,  and  officers,  then 
went  to  a  Baker's  in  Little  Turnstile,  and  found  54  loaves 
short  of  the  standard,  142  ounces,  amounting  at  55.  an  ounce 
10^36,  but  which  was  mitigated  to  ^30.  The  loaves  were  dis- 
tributed to  the  poor  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Covent  Garden." 
—(Times,  July  8,  1795.) 

"A  Baker  was  convicted,  yesterday,  at  the  Public  Office, 
Whitechapel,  of  making  Bread,  to  the  amount  of  307  ounces, 
deficient  in  weight,  and  fined  in  the  penalty  of  £64,  75." — 
(Times,  Aug.  27,  1796.) 

"A  Baker  was,  yesterday,  convicted  in  the  penalty  of 
;£io6,  55.  on  420  ounces  of  bread,  deficient  in  weight." — 
(Times,  Aug.  30,  1796.) 


Old  Times.  151 

"  On  Thursday  a  great  deal  of  bread  was  brought  before 
Alderman  Cadell,  by  the  Inquest  of  one  of  the  City  Wards, 
being  under  the  regular  standard  of  weight.  The  Alderman 
ordered  the  loaves  to  be  all  weighed  before  him,  and  desired 
the  Bakers  who  were  present,  to  attend  to  the  weights. 

"  The  Bakers  expressed  their  sorrow  for  it,  and  said  it  was  an 
accident  occasioned  by  the  carelessness  of  their  Journeymen, 
in  suffering  it  to  be  an  hour  too  long  in  the  oven.  They  not 
bringing  the  men  forward,  to  substantiate  the  defence,  the 
Alderman  told  them  he  should  fine  them  the  full  penalty,  of 
five  shillings  an  ounce,  for  all  deficient ;  which  came  to  above 
twenty  pounds,  besides  the  forfeiture  of  the  bread.  Mr.  Kirby, 
the  Keeper  of  Newgate,  being  present,  solicited  part  of  it,  for 
his  prisoners.  Some  of  the  Inquest  likewise  solicited  the 
bread,  for  the  poor  of  their  ward  :  but  the  Alderman  told  them 
that  half  of  the  penalty  came  to  them,  which  would  compensate 
for  the  bread." — (Times,  Nov.  30,  1799.) 

"  Forestalling  "  and  "  Regrating  "  were  heinous  sins. 
— They  consisted  in  buying  any  thing  on  its  way  to 
market,  before  it  had  been  exposed  for  public  sale — and 
in  purchasing  at  any  market  at  one  price,  and  selling  it 
again  at  a  higher. 

"  In  consequence  of  the  serious  enquiry  making  into  the 
infamous  practices  of  the  salesmen,  in  Smithfield  market,  and 
the  conviction  of  a  leading  man  among  them,  for  regrating, 
mutton,  and  lamb,  fell  ijd.  per  pound,  in  Friday,  and 
yesterday's,  market.  If  the  Magistrates  would  but  exert  them- 
selves, to  put  in  force  the  laws  against  monopolizers,  and 
forestallers,  provisions  would  soon  be  at  a  moderate  price,  as 
we  are  convinced  there  is  no  real  scarcity  :  and  are  of  opinion 
that  the  farmers  and  graziers,  who  are  now  holding  back  their 
corn,  and  cattle,  will  experience  the  fate  of  those,  who,  in  the 
hard  weather,  refused  to  sell  their  potatoes  under  2|d.  per  lb., 
and  now  cannot  get  £d.  per  lb.,  but  have  the  well  deserved 
prospect  of  being  obliged  to  give  them  to  the  hogs,  for  want  of 
a  consumption." — (Times,  May  26,  1795.) 


152  Old  Times. 

"  HIGH  PRICE  OF  MEAT.  This  alarming  circumstance 
is  not  owing  to  any  real  scarcity  of  oxen,  sheep,  or  hogs,  but, 
partly,  to  a  combination  among  the  carcass-butchers  in  the 
wholesale  markets,  and  the  salesmen  in  Smithfield,  who  fix 
the  prices,  and  who  regulate  what  quantity  of  cattle  shall  come 
to  town :  and,  partly,  to  a  very  shameful  practice  among  the 
retail  butchers,  especially  where  a  contract  is  made  to  supply 
a  family  at  so  much  per  pound  for  the  year.  When  the 
butcher  has  made  his  contract  at  5d.,  5|d.,  or  6d.,  he  can 
make  a  very  great  profit,  although,  as  is  now  the  case,  he  can 
purchase  a  carcass  at  7^d.  in  the  wholesale  markets  :  and  the 
mode  by  which  he  does  this,  is  in  defrauding  his  customers  of 
the  due  weight,  to  which  the  person,  who  attends  to  see  the 
meat  weighed,  too  often  connives  at,  for  a  Christmas  present, 
or  an  Easter  gift.  The  weight,  no  doubt  is  in  the  scale,  at 
the  time  of  weighing :  but  when  the  meat  is  put  by,  in  order 
to  be  sent  home,  a  considerable  part  is  purloined :  and  it  is 
a  well  known  fact,  that,  in  these  large  lots,  the  same  leg  of 
beef  (?)  has  been  weighed  to,  perhaps,  ten  or  twelve  families,  in 
the  same  day,  and  not  sent  to  any  of  them.  The  leg  is  con- 
sidered as  the  most  convenient  for  this  theft,  because  it  is  so 
large,  and  is,  when  weighed  with  the  lot,  hung  on  the  end  of 
the  beam  of  the  scales,  from  whence  it  is  taken  down,  and 
thrown,  not  where  it  ought,  with  the  meat,  but  to  another  part 
of  the  shop.  If  this  was  not  the  case,  how  is  it  possible  that 
a  butcher  can  make  a  livelihood,  when  he  buys  2d.  per  pound 
dearer  than  he  sells  ?  The  fact  speaks  for  itself.  The  mode 
which  all  families  should  adopt,  is  to  weigh  their  meat  when 
it  is  sent  home." — (Times,  July  3,  1795.) 

"A  few  days  ago,  n  acres  of  growing  wheat,  belonging  to 
the  Duke  of  HAMILTON,  in  Scotland,  were  sold  at  ^20  per 
acre.  This  species  of  forestalling,  we  fear,  is  now  too  gene- 
rally attempted,  which  is  evidently  most  injurious  to  the  com- 
munity, viz.,  'to  buy  corn  growing  in  the  fields.'  This  practice, 
surely,  has  a  direct,  and  apparent,  tendency  to  enhance  the 
present  price  of  corn  :  also,  that  of  '  selling  corn  in  the  sheaf.' 
We  think  it  expedient,  however,  to  notify,  that  both  these 


Old  Times.  153 

practices  are  deemed  highly  criminal  by  the  '  common  law  of 
England,'  and  for  which  the  offenders  may  be  indicted,  and 
punished,  as  they  deserve,  with  great  severity,  viz.,  by  fines, 
pillory,  and  imprisonment.  See  Inst.  197  :  also  Hawk  c.  30." 
—  (Times,  Aug.  19,  1795.) 

"  The  contrivances  to  keep  up  the  price  of  wheat,  having 
been  discovered,  and  defeated,  we  hope  the  attention  of  the 
worthy  Chief  Magistrate  will  now  be  directed  towards  some 
plan  for  the  relief  of  the  Metropolis,  against  the  extortion 
of  the  Graziers,  and  Salesmen,  in  Smithfield  Market.  The 
prices  of  the  latter,  on  Monday,  were  higher  than  almost  ever 
remembered,  and  mutton  is  now  sold  at  7|d.  per  Ib.  What 
real  cause  there  is  for  such  extravagant  prices,  after  such  a  mild 
winter,  is  a  matter  we  are  at  a  loss  to  account  for." — (Times, 
April  13,  1796.) 

"An  action  for  regrating,  in  Smithfield  Market,  is  now 
pending  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas :  against  one  of  the 
five  brothers,  who  have  so  long  supported  themselves,  and  their 
families,  by  jobbing  in  Cattle  at  that  Market.  A  Carcass 
Butcher,  in  Whitechapel,  is  also  in  dread  of  a  similar  action, 
the  penalties  on  which  will  be  very  heavy,  as  it  is  for  purchas- 
ing near  70  oxen,  on  a  Friday,  driving  them  to  his  farm,  near 
Clapton,  and  bringing  them  to  Smithfield,  for  sale,  on  the 
following  Monday." — (Times,  Nov.  29,  1796.) 


Before  this  time  of  Scarcity,  however,  the  good  folks 
did  not  deny  themselves  luxuries  of  the  table,  nor,  seem- 
ingly, care  what  they  paid  for  them. 

"  The  first  green  peas  which  have  been  produced  this  season, 
were  sold,  on  Monday,  in  Covent  Garden  market,  at  twelve 
shillings  per  pottle." — (Times,  April  17,  1793.) 

"  As  a  proof  of  the  forwardness  of  the  season,  green  peas 
have  already  made  their  appearance  in  Covent  Garden  market, 


154  Old  J^imes. 

where  they  are  "retailed  to  the  curious  in  vegetables  at  the 
moderate  price  of  two  guineas  a  quart," — (Times,  March  i, 
J794-) 

"  The  FISHMONGERS  Company  are  such  jolly  soles,  as  to  have 
annually  nine  quarts  of  peas  at  a  guinea  a  quart." — (Times, 
May  16,  1794.) 

"  Lemons  have  attained  a  price  never  before  arrived  at  in 
London,  namely,  ninepence  each ;  buying  them  wholesale,  the 
price  is  at  the  rate  of  from  6d.  to  8d.  each.  About  400,000 
were  imported  during  the  week  from  St.  Ubes,  and  as  a  large 
supply  is  daily  expected,  the  prices  must  of  course  fall." — 
( Times,  fany.  2/1797 .)  j 

"The  arrival  of  the  Lisbon  fleet,  will  make  Lemons  once 
more  plenty.  They  were  sold,  a  week  ago,  at  the  enormous 
price  of  is.  a  piece." — (Times,  July  16,  1799.) 

It  may  be  interesting  to  some  to  learn  when  Sea 
Kale  first  came  into  use. 

ADVT. — "SEA-KALE,  a  new  Culinary  Vegetable MR. 

CURTIS  respectfully  informs  the  Nobility  and  Gentry,  that  the 
small  quantity  of  SEA-KALE  fit  for  the  table,  which  he  has  to 
dispose  of  this  season,  will  by  his  appointment,  be  sold  by 
Messrs.  Dickson  and  Anderson,  Seedsmen,  Covent  Garden 
Market,  to  whom  he  will  continue  to  send  it  daily,  fresh  cut, 
for  the  short  period  it  may  last.  Printed  directions  for 
dressing  it,  are  tied  up  with  each  bundle." — (Times,  April 

3°.  *795-} 

In  the  subjoined  advertisement  we  learn  the  prices, 
and  qualities,  of  various  Wines,  and  the  list  gives  us  all 
the  information  required  to  find  out  the  different  sorts  of 
wine  then  drank. 


Old  Times. 


155 


"At  PRIDDY'S  Foreign  Warehouse,  and  Vaults,  No.  14 
Poland  St.,  a  large  quantity  of  the  following  WINES,  &c.,  which 
being,  himself,  the  Importer  of,  can  warrant  genuine,  at  the 
following  prices,  viz.,  at  per  Dozen  : — 


Ten  years  old  Sherry       .     .  2£/ 

Red  Port,  vintage  1788  .     .  2O/ 

Old  Lisbon 2O/ 

Calcavella 22/ 

Fine  Hock 3<3/ 

Vin  de  Grave 26/ 

Madeira 36] 


Claret 36; 

Ditto,  first  growth  ....  42/ 

Burgundy 6o/ 

Red  Champagne    ....  7O/ 

White        , 70/ 

Hermitage 42/ 

Frontigniac 36/ 


"Rich  Aliatico,  and  Montepulciano,  Florence  Wines,  real 
Cogniac  Brandy,  Jamaica  Rum,  Rotterdam  Geneva,  and  Orange 
Shrub,  on  the  very  lowest  terms." — (Times,  April  16,  1793.) 


Coals,  though,  of  course,  not  an  article  of  Food,  were 
undoubtedly  of  use  in  cooking  it :  and  may  therefore  be 
mentioned  here.  Our  Grandfathers  paid  very  dearly  for 
them  :  but  it  must  be  remembered  there  was  no  land 
carriage,  and  a  continued  contrary  wind,  or  a  "  hot 
press,"  would  leave  the  London  Market  bare.  The 
magnificent  basins  of  Inland  Coals  were  scarcely  known, 
and  only  those  like  the  Moira  Collieries,  near  to  a  Canal, 
could  be  worked.  They  were  sold  to  the  consumer  at 
per  Chaldron  of  2800  Ibs.,  and  the  prices  below  quoted 
represent  them  ex-ship.  Add  to  this  the  cost  of  delivery 
and  profit  I2s.,  and  take  the  Sovereign  as  being  worth 
303.,  and  it  will  much  account  for  the  small  stoves  then 
in  vogue. 

"  The  price  of  Coals  in  the  Pool,  yesterday,  were  : — Best  435. 
Inferior  sorts  from  363.  to  385.  Delivered  to  housekeepers 
495.  to  443.  The  price  rose  considerably  yesterday  from  a 
report  that  several  colliers  had  been  captured." — (Times, 
Feby.  12,  1793.) 


156  Old  Times. 

"COAL  EXCHANGE. 

"  On  Monday  the  price  was  703.  per  Chaldron  all  sorts. 
On  Wednesday,  the  price  was  6os.  and  some  sorts  lower. 
On  Yesterday,  the  price  was  503.  to  453.  per  Chaldron. 
We  are  happy  at  giving  such  an  agreeable  account  to  our 
readers." — (Times,  March  7,  1794.) 

"  The  prices  of  Coals  still  continue  very  high,  notwithstanding 
above  100  ships  have,  this  week,  arrived  at  market,  which  are 
nearly  all  sold  from  383.  to  443.  per  Chaldron  :  so  that  the  best 
sorts  cannot  be  fairly  delivered  under  503.  per  Chaldron.  The 
number  of  ships  taken  out  of  the  trade,  into  the  transport, 
and  other  services,  is  the  cause  of  the  present  high  price,  as  the 
demand  is  greater  than  the  supply." — (Times,  Oct.  4,  1794.) 

"Many  complaints  have  been  made  of  the  high  price  of 
coals,  and  it  is  supposed  to  arise  from  a  combination,  but  we 
are  well  assured  no  such  cause  exists.  The  long  frost  having 
stopped  the  navigation  of  the  Thames,  what  coals  remained  in 
the  lighters,  and  barges,  were  nearly  exhausted  at  the  wharfs, 
and  naturally,  every  man  possessed  of  a  commodity,  looks  to 
extraordinary  profits  on  unusual  events,  which  has,  we  under- 
stand, occasioned  six,  and  seven,  guineas  to  be  given  for  a 
chaldron  of  coals,  within  a  few  days  past,  but,  had  the  frost 
continued,  coals  would  have  been  considerably  cheaper,  than  at 
present,  as  the  ice  admitted  the  coals  being  worked  over  it. 
There  are,  at  present,  near  50  sail  of  colliers  in  the  river,  not 
unladen,  which  contain  about  10,000  chaldrons,  for  an  imme- 
diate supply,  (but  not  ten  times  that  quantity,  as  erroneously 
stated  in  most  of  the  papers)  and,  before  they  can  be  consumed, 
we  may  expect  a  fresh  fleet  at  Market." — (Times,  Jany.  30, 
I795-) 

"  Yesterday,  there  was  only  one  ship  of  coals,  at  Market, 
which  sold  at  three  guineas  and  a  half  per  chaldron.  About 
30  sail  more  were  at  sea,  and  forced  into  the  Humber." — 
(Times,  Feby.  24,  1795.) 


Old  Times.  157 

" Coals  were  on  Friday  (\2th  April)  sold  in  the  Pool  at  five 
guineas  per  Chaldron.  There  was  only  one  ship-load  at 
market." — (Times,  April  15, "1799.) 


THE  ROAD  AND  STREETS. 

The  Highways  and  Streets  were  in  very  far  from 
good  condition,  the  roads  being  full  of  ruts,  and  the 
streets  when  paved,  were  made  of  large  "  Cobble " 
Stones,  and  were  full  of  holes,  ofttimes  very  dangerous,  as 
we  shall  see.  The  foot  pavement,  except  in  some  of  the 
best  streets,  which  were  flagged,  was  very  narrow,  and 
made  of  "  Kidney "  stones  on  end,  such  as  may  still 
be  met  with  in  the  bye-ways  of  some  country  towns. 
Consequently  no  one  stirred  out  more  than  they  could 
help ;  the  men  always  on  horseback,  if  single — by 
"  Post,"  if  accompanied  by  ladies.  It  will  have  been 
noticed  in  "  Men's  dress  "  that  they  all  wear  boots,  if  not 
in  the  house,  and  the  reason  is  plain — they  had  to  be 
protected  against  the  mud  of  the  streets,  and  ready  for 
the  saddle.  Every  man  had  to  learn  to  ride,  and  no 
doubt  this  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Continental  opinion, 
that  every  Englishman  is  a  good  horseman. 

"  Young  Gentlemen  during  their  Holidays,  are  supplied  with 
gentle  pleasant  HORSES  of  all  sizes,  and  the  most  careful  Attend- 
ance and  Instructions  for         ...     £2  12     6 
A  Horse  to  ride  for  Exercise  in  the  House     036 
Twelve  lessons  when  convenient  .        .         276 
Sixteen  lessons  in  four  weeks        .         .         270 
Single  lesson        .        .         .         .         .         050 
Book  of  Instructions  for  Ladies    .         .         056 
Breaking  a  horse          .         .         .         .         276  &c." 
— (Morning  Post ',  Jany.  2,  1788.) 


158  Old  Times. 

"ADVT.—  A  CAUTION  to  all  Gentlemen  who  drive  Jobb 
Horses  by  their  own  Coachmen,  the  Gentleman  paying  yearly 
wages  to  them :  From  a  Gentleman  who  has  had  experience  of  it. 
—That  the  Coachmaster  and  Coachmen  do  agree,  the  one  to 
give,  the  other  to  receive,  annually,  a  certain  sum  of  money, 
which  can  be  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  defraud  their 
employers,  demanding  so  much  more  for  the  price  of  their 
horses,  to  bribe  the  said  Coachmen  to  conceal  defects  in  them, 
and  to  engage  the  said  Coachmaster  to  recommend  the  said 
Coachmen :  and  so  vice-versa  to  employ  each  other,  if  out  of 
place  or  business.  This  is  a  most  dishonest,  but  general 
practice  of  the  Coachmasters.  The  writer  of  this,  to  avoid  and 
discourage  the  practice  of  this  Knavery,  has  purchased  his  own 
horses,  persuaded  no  other  means  will  be  effectual.  This  is 
written  merely  to  put  Gentlemen  on  their  guard,  at  the  expense 
of  the  Advertiser,  and  will  not  be  inserted  again." — (Times, 
July  2,  1795.) 

Of  course  those  that  could  afford  it  travelled  Post — 
which  was  charged  one  shilling  per  horse  per  mile, 
besides  a  gratuity  to  the  "  boy,"  but  this  was  raised  to 
fourteen  pence  in  1796,  when  food  became  so  dear. 

"  So  great  is  the  itch  of  pleasure  at  this  time  of  year,  that  on 
Sundays  it  is  difficult  to  find  post-horses  in  London.  Last 
Sunday  General  Fox,  and  several  other  persons  of  Considera- 
tion, who  had  business  out  of  town,  were  confined  for  want 
of  them,  though  they  sent  as  far  as  the  extremity  of  White- 
chapel." — (Times,  Sept.  2,  1795.) 

"The  rate  of  Posting  still  continues  at  i4d.  per  mile,  and 
nothing  but  the  unanimous  determination  of  the  public  to 
resist  so  extravagant  a  charge,  can  possibly  do  it  away.  Some 
few  Post  Masters  have,  it  is  true,  advertised  at  is.,  but  the 
general  rate  still  remains  at  i4d.  This  charge  took  its  rise  from 
the  scarcity,  and,  consequently,  the  high  price  of  corn  :  but,  at 
this  moment,  when  corn  has  fell  one  third,  nothing  can  justify 
the  continuance  of  what  may  be  justly  reprobated  as  an  imposi- 
tion"— (Times,  July  9,  1796.) 


Old  Times.  159 

But  it  was  not  every  one  who  could  afford  Posting  or 
even  the  Stage  Coach, — for  them  existed  the  "  Stage 
Wagon " — a  most  cumbrous  affair  with  very  broad 
wheels — and  some  eight  horses,  the  driver  being  mounted 
on  a  pony — so  as  to  be  able  to  ride  round  his  team. 
The  following  is  a  very  humorous  story  of  a  journey 
by  Wagon  : — 

"A  DELIGHTFUL  RIDE, 

"  IN  THE  TEN- WHEELED  CARAVAN,  FROM  GREENWICH  TO 
LONDON. 

"We  were  twenty-four  passengers  within  side,  and  nine 
without.  It  was  my  lot  to  sit  in  the  middle,  with  a  very  lusty 
woman  on  one  side,  and  a  very  thin  man  on  the  other.  '  Open 
the  window,'  said  the  former,  and  she  had  a  child  on  her  lap, 
whose  hands  and  face  were  all  besmeared  with  gingerbread. 
'  It  can't  be  opened,'  said  a  little  prim  coxcomb,  '  or  I  shall 
get  cold.' — '  But  I  say  it  shall,  Sir,'  said  a  Butcher,  who  sat 
opposite  to  him,  and  the  Butcher  opened  it ;  but,  as  he  stood, 
or  rather  bent  forward  to  do  this,  the  caravan  came  into  a  rut, 
and  the  Butcher's  head,  by  the  suddenness  of  the  jolt,  came 
into  contact  with  that  of  the  woman  who  sat  next  to  me,  and 
made  her  nose  bleed.  He  begged  her  pardon,  and  she 
gave  him  a  slap  on  the  face  that  sounded  through  the  whole 
caravan.  Two  sailors,  that  were  seated  near  the  helm  of  this 
machine,  ordered  the  driver  to  cast  anchor  at  the  next  public- 
house.  He  did  so ;  and  the  woman  next  to  me,  called  for  a 
pot  of  ale,  which  she  offered  to  me,  after  she  had  emptied 
about  a  pint  of  it,  observing,  that  'as  how  she  loved  ale 
mightily.'  I  could  not  drink,  at  which  she  took  much  offence  ; 
and  said,  '  I  was  mighty  squeamish  ;  but  thank  God,  she  was 
as  good  as  I,  and  kept  a  lodging-house  in  Craven  St.,  where  she 
saw  her  betters  every  day,  and  so,'  continues  she,  '  here's  to  you, 
my  dear : '  and  she  finished  the  pot.  A  violent  dispute  now 
arose  between  two  stout  looking  men,  the  one  a  Recruiting 
Sergeant,  and  the  other  a  Gentleman's  Coachman,  about  the 


160  Old  Times. 

Rights  of  Man:  and,  having  struck  two  or  three  blows  in  the 
Caravan,  they  got  out  into  the  road,  to  decide  whether  Tom 
Paine  was  an  Atheist,  or  a  Deist.  In  this  contest,  victory  fell 
to  the  Sergeant,  and  the  driver  of  the  horses  was  so  mauled  by 
the  leader  of  men,  that  he  was  lifted  into  the  vehicle,  where  he 
sat  in  sullen  silence  all  the  rest  of  the  journey. 

"  Another  dispute  afterwards  arose  about  politics,  which  was 
carried  on  with  such  warmth,  as  to  draw  the  attention  of  the 
company  to  the  head  of  the  Caravan,  where  the  combatants  sat 
wedged  together  like  two  pounds  of  Epping  butter,  whilst  a 
child  incessantly  roared  at  the  opposite  side,  and  the  mother 
abused  the  two  politicians  for  frightening  her  babe.  The  heat 
was  now  so  great  that  all  the  windows  were  opened,  and  with  the 
fresh  air,  entered  clouds  of  dust,  for  the  body  of  the  machine 
is  but  a  few  inches  from  the  surface  of  the  road. 

"I  trust,  Mr.  Conductor,  you  will  give  this  journey  to  London, 
a  place  in  your  paper,  and,  I  am,  &c.  &c. 

"Lucy  TREADNEEDLE." 
—(Times,  Sept.  5,  1794-) 

It  will  be  noticed  that  then,  as  now,  the  Times,  was  a 
powerful  organ  for  calling  public  attention  to  social 
grievances,  and  that  people  "  wrote  to  "  that  paper  as  at 
the  present  time.  We,  in  our  time,  know  the  little  social 
inconveniences  arising  from  staying  at  Hotels,  where, 
not  only  does  the  proprietor  charge  for  attendance,  which 
we,  no  more  than  the  writer  of  this  letter,  can  understand 
is  not  included,  in  his  servants'  wages — but  we,  also, 
if  we  want  good  attendance,  have  to  "  tip  "  the  servants 
as  well. 

"  To  the  CONDUCTOR  of  the  TIMES. 

"  SIR, — Having  frequent  occasion  to  travel  many  of  the  prin- 
cipal roads  of  England,  I  have  often  witnessed  the  exorbitant 
demands  of  Inn-keepers,  and  the  no  less  serious  ones  of  their 
domestics,  sanctioned  only  by  custom,  yet  arisen  to  such 


Old  Times.  161 

a  pitch  as  to  become  a  burthen  unable  to  be  borne  by  the 
poor  Tradesman  who  is  obliged  to  travel  to  sell  his  goods,  as 
as  well  as  an  inconvenience  to  the  person  in  middling  circum- 
stances of  life,  who,  for  his  health,  or  otherwise,  has  occasion  to 
travel.  Grievances  (the  latter  of  which  especially),  are  only 
suffered  to  exist  from  the  disinclination  people  have  to  break 
through  a  custom,  or  to  appear  singular.  Having  hinted  at 
the  former,  I  shall  only  shew  the  nature,  and  point  out  a 
remedy  for  the  latter.  It  is  well  known,  that  let  an  Inn- 
keeper's bill  be  ever  so  exorbitant,  you  must  not  only  comply 
with  it,  but  also  give  the  servants  just  as  much  as  if  it  was 
reasonable  :  so  that  there  is  no  end  of  the  expence  :  for  instance, 
if  a  man  who  has  a  horse,  puts  up  at  an  inn,  besides  the  usual 
bill,  he  must  at  least  give  is.  to  the  waiter,  6d.  to  the  chamber- 
maid, 6d.  to  the  hostler,  and  6d.  to  the  jack-boot,  making 
together  2$.  6d.,  and  this  to  be  repeated  every  night  he  lays 
on  the  road  (I  speak  now"  of  what's  expected  from  those  who 
appear  in  middling  circumstances  of  life).  The  same  expence 
in  proportion  occurs  in  the  course  of  the  day :  at  breakfast, 
you  must  give  at  least  6d.  between  the  waiter  and  hostler.  If 
the  traveller  only  puts  up  to  have  a  refreshment,  besides 
paying  for  his  horse's  standing,  he  must  give  3^.  to  the  hostler  : 
at  dinner  6d.  to  the  waiter  and  $d.  to  the  hostler :  at  tea  6d. 
between  them,  so  that  he  gives  away  in  the  day  2s.  6d.,  which 
added  to  the  zs.  6d.  for  the  night,  makes  5^.  per  day  on  an 
average  to  servants.  Thus  he  is  putting  his  hand  in  his  pocket 
from  morning  till  night,  not  merely  to  satisfy  the  Landlord's 
demand,  but  to  appease  the  croaking  of  domestics,  who,  it  is 
well  known,  will  let  you  see,  or  feel,  their  displeasure  in  some 
way  or  other  if  you  do  not,  so  that  it  is  disagreeable  to  go  to 
that  inn  the  second  time  where  you  do  not  behave  with  pro- 
fuseness  at  the  first,  and  there  is  not  only  the  above  incon- 
venience, but  also  this,  that  after  all  your  givings  they  are  not 
satisfied,  but  often  abuse  you  for  your  liberality.  The  follow- 
ing anecdote  proves  this: — Coming  home  from  Colchester 
some  time  since,  I  put  up  at  an  Inn  at  Ingatestone,  the  Inn- 
keeper's bill  was  as  follows : — Supper  is.,  beer  $d.,  bed  is., 
horse  and  corn  is.  id. — together  3*.  lod.  I  gave  away  as 

L 


1 62  Old  Times. 

follows :  waiter  is.,  chambermaid  6d.,  jack-boot  6d.,  hostler, 
the  change  out  of  2s.  I  paid  him  for  the  horse,  being  5^., 
together  2s.  $d.,  being  is.  $d.  less  than  the  bill.  Yet  the 
hostler  was  so  abusive,  because  I  did  not  give  him  more  than 
the  odd  5</.  change,  that  he  actually  threatened  me  that  he 
would  mark  me  if  I  came  there  again.  I  therefore  did,  what 
I  wish  every  one  would  do  in  the  like  case,  punish  him  on  the 
spot  for  his  insolence.  I  appeared  to  relent  that  I  had  not 
given  him  more,  and  desired  him  to  give  me  the  half-pence 
again  that  I  might  see  for  silver  for  him,  which  after  he  had 
done,  I  rode  off,  leaving  him  to  repent  he  had  not  kept  what 
I  first  gave  him.  It  may  be  alleged  that  these  servants  have 
little  or  no  wages,  and  therefore  ought  to  receive  liberally. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  very  hard  that  I  am  to  pay  wages  to 
another  man's  servants.  I  pay  the  master  his  bill,  in  which  he 
makes  a  charge  sufficient  to  cover  his  servants'  wages,  and  then 
he  leaves  me  to  pay  his  servants  besides.  If  Innkeepers  have 
nothing  to  pay  for  servants,  their  charges  ought  to  be  reasonable 
in  proportion.  But  I  would  meet  another  objection  that  is  likely 
to  be  made,  which  is,  that  what  is  given  to  servants  at  inns  is 
not  to  be  considered  as  wages,  but  as  their  perquisites.  There 
are  two  answers  to  this,  the  one,  that  the  very  notion  of  per- 
quisites, signifies  something  gotten  over  and  above  their  usual 
wages,  whereas  it  is  notorious,  that  most  Innkeepers  allow 
their  servants  no  wages  :  the  flther,  that  perquisites  signify  a 
gift,  now  a  gift  is  free,  and  may  be  much,  or  little,  as  suits  the 
inclination  of  the  giver,  but,  according  to  the  modern  custom 
at  inns,  he  is  not  permitted  to  use  his  discretion,  but  there 
must  be  a  settled  sum  given  to  each  servant,  fixed  as  to  the 
lowest  quantum,  though  as  much  above  that  mark  as  he 
pleases,  and,  if  he  gives  less  than  custom  warrants,  they  have 
the  impudence  to  tell  him  of  it.  Besides,  why  should  Inn- 
keepers, be  exempted  from  paying  their  servants  wages,  any 
more  than  any  other  tradesman.  If  I  go  into  a  shop,  to  buy 
a  few  yards  of  any  thing,  I  am  not  charged  so  much  for  the 
trouble  of  the  shopman  who  cut  it  off.  Tradesmen  are  con- 
tented to  pay  their  servants  out  of  the  profit  of  their  bills, 
without  saddling  it  upon  their  customers  :  and  I  am  fully  per- 


Old  Times.  163 

suaded,  were  travellers  of  all  descriptions  to  withhold  for  a 
certain  time  their  usual  gifts  to  servants  at  inns,  it  would  ulti- 
mately tend  to  the  benefit  of  those  servants  themselves,  as  well 
as  the  comfort  of  travellers,  for  when  the  servants  find  their 
finances  so  low,  they  would  insist  upon,  and  would  not  hire 
themselves  without  stipulated  wages,  after  which,  travellers 
might  again  resume  their  former  generosity,  and  what  they 
then  gave,  would  be  looked  upon  in  the  light  it  ought,  as  a 
gift,  and  not  a  debt. 

"  A  CONSTANT  READER." 
—(Times,  Oct.  17,  1795.) 

The  following  notices  will  show  that,  what  with  over- 
crowding, and  bad  roads,  accidents  were  as  frequent  by 
road  as  they  are  now  by  rail — indeed,  the  per  centage, 
considering  the  relative  number  of  passengers,  was  much 
greater.  The  basket  mentioned  below,  was  a  huge 
wicker  work  machine  attached  to  the  Coach,  intended  to 
carry  parcels. 

"  Yesterday  the  driver  of  the  Chelmsford  and  London  Stage 
Coach,  was  convicted  before  the  Magistrates  at  the  Public 
Office,  Whitechapel,  in  three  separate  penalties  of  40$.  each, 
for  suffering  more  than  six  persons  to  ride  on  the  roof  of  the 
said  Coach. 

"  The  owner  and  driver  of  the  Bishop  Stortford,  and  London, 
Stage  Coach,  was  also  convicted  in  the  penalty  of  £4  for  the 
same  offence  :  and  the  driver  of  the  Westham  Stage  Coach,  in 
the  same  penalty,  for  suffering  eight  persons  to  ride  on  the 
roof  of  the  said  Coach." — (Times,  Oct.  5,  1795.) 

"  In  despite  of  continual  and  fatal  accidents,  not  to  mention 
the  inferior  consideration  of  pains  and  penalties,  the  Stage 
Coaches  still  continue  to  carry  extra  numbers  on  the  outside. 
There  were  eleven  on  the  coach,*1  and  box,  of  the  Gosport 
Coach,  beside  the  driver,  and  nine  in  the  basket,  on  Thursday 
last."— ( Times,  Oct.  16,  1795.) 


164  Old  Times. 

"  The  pavement  in  Bridge  St.  Blackfriars,  which  has  been 
so  long  in  a  most  dangerous  state,  has  sunk  near  a  foot  more, 
within  the  last  week,  so  that  the  roof  of  the  main  shore  is 
every  hour  expected  to  give  way." — (Times,  Aug.  6,  1794.) 

"  On  Wednesday  afternoon,  about  four  o'clock,  the  Boston 
Coach  broke  down,  on  the  lowest  part  of  Snow  Hill,  soon  after 
it  left  the  Saracen's  Head  Inn.  The  outside  passengers, 
which  were  FOURTEEN  in  number,  and  mostly  soldiers,  were 
thrown  with  such  violence  on  the  pavement,  that  several  were 
bruised,  and  one  woman  was  taken  to  St.  Bartholomew's 
Hospital,  where  she  died,  on  Thursday  night.  The  inside 
passengers,  which  were  five,  and  a  young  child,  were  not  much 
hurt. 

"  The  frequent  accidents  which  arise  from  the  outsides  of 
coaches  being  so  overladen,  calls  highly  for  reprehension. 
The  laws  are  either  inadequate  to  remedy  the  evil,  or  they  are 
not  properly  enforced  :  and  we  sincerely  hope  that  the  coach- 
man, and  those  who  are  concerned,  will  be  severely  punished, 
as  an  example  to  prevent  the  same  accidents  in  future.  We 
think  there  should  be  a  fresh  Act  of  Parliament,  and,  if  the 
inside  passengers  were  empowered,  after  taking  their  seats,  to 
hire  a  post-chaise  where  there  was  above  a  stipulated  number 
(at  the  owner's  expence),  it  would  remedy  the  evil." — (Times, 
Aug.  8,  1795.) 

"  The  pavement  in  Bridge  St.  Blackfriars,  still  grows  worse, 
and  worse,  and  not  the  least  notice  is  taking  of  it  by  the  Paving 
Committee.  This  is  a  most  scandalous  act  of  neglect ;  as, 
publicly,  and  privately,  the  parties  have  been  applied  to,  who 
ought  to  make  the  necessary  repairs.  The  ground  has  now 
sunk  near  three  feet  In  so  well  regulated  a  city,  as  that  of 
London,  this  is  a  most  disgraceful  business."  —  (Times, 
Oct.  1 6,  1799.) 

"  A  few  days  since,  the  axle-tree  of  a  carriage  was  broken 
in  descending  the  slope  of  Blackfriars  Bridge,  in  consequence 
of  the  very  large  hole,  at  the  bottom  of  it,  on  the  Surry-side, 


Old  Times.  165 

which  is  in  the  highest  degree  dangerous.  We  are  not  certain 
that  an  indictment  would  not  lay  against  the  Trustees  of  the 
Surry  Roads,  for  the  scandalous  manner  in  which  they  are 
kept  They  vie  with  the  Paviours,  in  some  parts  of  the  City, 
and  we  know  not  which  are  the  worst  of  them.  It  is  not  to  be 
conceived  the  number  of  horses  that  are  foundered,  by  holes 
in  the  streets,  and  roads." — (Times,  Oct.  5,  1799.) 

"  From  the  dangerous  state  of  the  pavement  in  some  parts 
of  London,  it  might  be  supposed  that  the  Public  paid  nothing 
towards  it.  The  thoroughfare  about  the  New  Church,  in  the 
Strand,  is  so  bad,  that  two,  or  three,  accidents  have  lately 
happened  by  horses  tumbling  down,  from  their  feet  catching  in 
the  holes." — (Times,  Sept.  30,  1799.) 


1 66  Old  Times. 


GAMING,    &c. 

WE,  in  this  Nineteenth  Century  of  ours,  are  not  so  free 
from  the  vice  of  gambling,  that  we  can  afford  the  luxury 
of  being  particularly  censorious  over  the  habits  of  the 
last  century.  We  have  legislated  against  gambling,  we 
are  better  educated,  all  our  surroundings  are  refined, 
compared  to  those  which  our  forefathers  had  to  make  the 
most  of.  Literature,  Art,  and  Music,  are  all  far  more 
popular,  and  yet — are  there  not  Clubs,  thinly  veiled 
indeed,  but  really,  and  truly,  solely  existing  for  card 
playing  for  high  stakes,  as  much  as  Crockford's  ever 
was  ?  Have  we  not  reduced  the  Turf  to  a  science  ?  and 
has  it  not  come  to  such  a  pass,  that  an  honest  Nobleman 
like  Lord  Falmouth,  will  no  longer  run  his  race  horses, 
because  of  the  roguery  on  the  Turf?  Is  not  the  Stock 
Exchange  one  huge  Gamble  ?  Therefore,  in  reading  the 
notes  about  gaming,  in  "  Old  Times,"  let  us  remember 
the  beams  in  our  own  eyes,  before  making  a  fuss  about 
the  motes,  that  used  to  be  in  the  eyes  of  those  that  are 
dead  and  gone. 

But,  although  Card  playing  was  the  rule  at  every 
house,  in  the  evening,  yet  some  did  not  play,  and  the 
utter  weariness  which  is  shewn  in  this  little  sketch  of 
Gillray's,  is  extremely  natural  and  vivid. 

It  is  in  1789  that  we  first  hear  of  Lady  Archer,  who, 
with  Lady  Buckinghamshire,  figures  so  prominently  in 
keeping  gaming  tables. 


/ady  a  I-  a  Qrd   ~Party.  who  docs  not  play.- /?88. 


Old  Times.  167 

"  The  LADY  ARCHER,  whose  death  was  announced  in  this 
paper  of  Saturday,  is  not  the  celebrated  character  whose  cos- 
metic powers  have  been  long  held  in  public  estimation." — 
(Morning  Post,  Jan.  5,  1789.) 

"  It  is  said  that  the  dealers  in  Carmine  and  dead  white,  as 
well  as  the  Perfumers  in  general,  have  it  in  contemplation  to 
present  an  address  to  LADY  ARCHER,  in  gratitude  for  her  not 
having  DIED  according  to  a  late  alarming  report." — (Morning 
Post,  Jan.  8,  1789.) 


"A  Kick  up  at  a  Hazard  Table,"  by  Rowlandson,  is 
not  only  well  drawn — but,  doubtless,  depicts  a  gambling 
affray,  to  the  life. 

Lady  Archer,  and  Lady  Buckinghamshire  did  not 
monopolise  the  gaming  tables,  there  were  other  ladies  in 
the  field,  and,  as  the  game  generally  played,  was  Faro, 
these  brelandieres  were  called  Faro's  Daughters. 

"  Mrs.  Sturt's  house,  in  St.  James  Square,  was  opened  yes- 
terday evening,  for  the  first  time  this  season,  for  public  play. 
The  visitors  were  numerous." — (Times,  Feb.  5,  1793.) 

"  Many  of  our  young  sprigs  of  fashion,  when  the  campaign 
opens,  will  have  other  game  to  attend  to  than  the  game  of 
Faro.  By  risquing  their  persons  they  may  'serve  their 
country;  but  by  risquing  their  property,  they  can  neither 
benefit  the  nation,  nor  do  any  good  to  themselves.  Cocking 
a  fire  lock  will  redound  more  to  their  honour  than  cocking  a 
card  :  and  as  they  are  fond  of  a  game  of  Hazard,  let  them 
take  the  chance  of  the  field,  in  preference  to  that  of  the 
gaming  table  : 

"  Some  of  the  Faro  Ladies  have  opened  their  play  houses,  and 
announced  the  Road  to  Ruin  until  further  notice.  The 
Gamesters  was  publicly  rehearsed  in  St.  James  Square  on 
Monday  night." — (Times,  Feb.  6,  1793.) 


1 68  Old  Times. 

"The  number  of  new  gaming-houses,  established  at  the 
West  End  of  the  town,  is,  indeed,  a  matter  of  very  serious  evil : 
but  they  are  not  likely  to  decrease  while  examples  of  the  same 
nature  are  held  forth  in  the  higher  circles  of  life.  It  is  needless 
to  point  out  any  one  of  these  houses  in  particular  :  it  is  suf- 
ficient for  us  to  expose  the  tricks  that  are  practised  at  many 
of  them  to  swindle  the  unsuspecting  young  men  of  fortune  who 
are  entrapped  into  these  whirlpools  of  destruction.  The  first 
thing  necessary  is,  to  give  the  guests  a  good  dinner  and  plenty 
of  wine,  which  many  of  these  houses  do,  gratis.  When  they 
are  sufficiently  intoxicated,  and,  having  lost  all  the  money 
about  them,  their  acceptance  is  obtained  to  Bills  of  Exchange 
to  a  considerable  amount,  which  frequently  are  paid  to  avoid 
the  disagreeable  circumstance  of  a  public  exposition  in  a 
Court  of  Justice,  which  is  always  threatened,  though  the 
gamesters  well  know  that  no  such  measure  durst  be  adopted 
by  them. 

"Should  any  reluctance,  or  hesitation,  be  shewn  by  the 
injured  party,  to  accept  these  bills,  he  is  shewn  into  a  long 
room,  with  a  target  at  the  end  of  it,  and  several  pistols  lying 
about,  where  he  is  given  to  understand  these  sharpers  practice 
a  considerable  time  of  the  day  in  shooting  at  a  mark,  and  have 
arrived  to  such  perfection  in  this  exercise,  that  either  of  them 
can  shoot  a  pistol  ball  within  an  inch  of  the  mark,  from  the 
common  distance  taken  by  duellists.  A  hint  is  then  dropped, 
that  further  hesitation  will  render  the  use  of  the  pistols 
necessary,  and  which  will  again  be  the  case,  should  he  ever 
divulge  what  he  has  seen,  and  heard. 

"  If  further  particulars,  or  proofs,  are  wanting,  they  may  be 
known  on  application  to  certain  Military  characters,  who  have 
already  made  some  noise  in  the  world." — (Times,  Feb.  14, 
I793-) 

The  Illustration  "  Modern  Hospitality,  or  a  Friendly 
Party  in  High  Life,"  is  by  Gillray,  3ist  Mar.  1792,  and  in 
it  we  see  Lady  Archer,  and  Lady  Buckinghamshire, 
keeping  a  Faro  Bank  :  and,  as  they  are  rather  passees, 


Old  Times.  169 

the  picture  has  the  following,  "  To  those  earthly  Divinities 
who  charmed  20  years  ago,  this  Honorable  method  of 
banishing  mortifying  reflections  is  dedicated.  O,  Woman ! 
Woman  !  everlasting  is  your  power  over  us,  for  in  youth, 
you  charm  away  our  hearts,  and  in  your  after  years  you 
charm  away  our  purses  !  " 

It  is  a  pity  we  have  not  the  key  to  the  portraits  of  the 
bystanders,  for  portraits  they,  undoubtedly,  are,  because 
there  is  such  individuality  in  the  expression  of  their 
several  countenances.  The  players  we  can  easily  recog- 
nise— Lady  Archer,  at  the  extreme  left,  has  won  largely, 
rouleaux  of  gold,  and  bank  notes,  are  before  her,  and  on 
her  right  hand  are  two  heaps  of  loose  gold ; — with  what 
a  smiling  countenance  does  the  painted  old  gambler  shew 
her  cards,  saying,  "  The  Knave  wins  all !  " 

Her  next  door  neighbour,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who 
has  staked,  and  lost,  his  last  piece,  lifts  his  hands,  and 
eyes,  in  astonishment  at  the  luck.  Lady  Buckingham- 
shire has  doubled  her  stake,  playing  on  two  cards,  and 
is  evidently  annoyed  at  her  loss — whilst  poor,  black 
muzzled  Fox,  laments  the  loss  of  his  last  three  pieces. 

"  The  profits  of  FARO  are  become  so  considerably  reduced, 
that  most  of  the  Banks  now  lose  almost  every  evening,  after 
defraying  the  expences  of  the  house,  which  are  very  consider- 
able. Those  public- spirited  Ladies  who  give  such  frequent 
routes,  do  so  at  a  certain  gain :  for  the  sum  of  TWENTY-FIVE 
guineas  is  regularly  advanced  by  the  bank  holders  towards  the 
night's  expences.  The  punters  at  Mrs.  HOBART'S,  and  Mrs. 
STURT'S,  Faro  Banks  have  dropped  off  considerably  :  and  those 
who  continue,  are  got  so  knowing,  that  heavy  complaints  are 
made  that  they  bring  no  grist  to  the  mill.  There  have  not 
been  above  eight  punters  at  Mrs.  Sturt's  bank,  any  night  this 
season.  The  pigeons  are  all  flown,  and  the  punters  are  nothing 
better  than  hawks" — (Times,  Feb.  10,  1793.) 


170  Old  Times. 

"No  less  than  six  Faro  Banks  are  held  in  Pall  Mall,  viz., 
Philips's,  Nelson's,  Curtis's,  Hall's,  Whitnoll's,  and  Bullock's." 
—(Times,  Feb.  18.  1793.) 

"It  is  become  necessary  to  put  our  young  men  on  their 
guard  against  the  swindling  tricks  of  some  French  ladies  in 
this  metropolis,  of  elevated  rank,  who  have  introduced  assem- 
blies in  their  lodgings,  and  houses,  of  an  evening,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  attracting  company,  whose  pockets  are  to  be  taxed  by 
Gallic  address,  for  the  support  of  these  nocturnal  establish- 
ments. 

"  In  one  of  these,  the  Lady  who  presides,  has  not  yet  lost  her 
personal  charms,  nor  those  arts  of  seduction,  and  that  address, 
for  which  her  "well-informed  countrymen  are  so  notorious.  She, 
however,  outwitted  herself  some  day  since,  by  employing  one 
of  her  mitred  attendants  to  dispose  of  a  watch  set  with 
diamonds.  This  right  reverend  Father  in  God  turned  pedlar, 
in  his  extreme  zeal  to  execute  the  orders  of  his  fair  hostess, 
offered  the  bauble  to  a  gentleman  who,  the  evening  before,  had 
been  present  at  this  splendid  assemblage  of  Gallic  Noblesse, 
and  had  seen  the  watch  by  the  side  of  the  lady  herself.  On 
finding  that  double  the  value  was  demanded  for  the  trinket,  he 
was  at  no  loss  to  discover  the  ways  and  means  by  which  this 
gaudy  display  of  independence,  comfort,  and  hilarity,  was 
supported." — (Times,  Feb.  27,  1793.) 

"The  BANKING  Ladies  in  St.  James  Square,  do  not  see 
themselves  much  obliged  to  the  Abbe  de  St.  Farre,  and  his 
brother,  for  introducing  so  many  noble  Emigrants  to  their 
houses.  These  people  come  with  their  crown  pieces  and  half- 
guineas,  and  absolutely  form  a  circle  round  the  Faro  tables, 
to  the  total  exclusion  of  our  English  Lords  and  Ladies,  who 
can  scarcely  get  one  punt  during  a  whole  evening." — (Times, 
March  14,  1793.) 

"The  play  at  the  Faro  Banks  is  reduced  to  so  low  a 
standard,  except  where  they/#«/  on  tick,  that  a  rouleau  of  20 
guineas  is  quite  a  novelty." — (Times,  March  19,  1793.) 


V5 

1 

IV- 

«& 
«b 


Old  Times.  171 

"  A  principal  FARO  BANK  was  broken  twice  last  week — on 
Monday  night  at  Mrs.  Hobart's,  and  on  Wednesday  at  Mrs. 
Concannon's.  On  the  first  night  it  lost  2000,  and,  on  the 
last,  600  guineas.  Lord  C.  S*******  is  one  of  the  keenest 
punters  of  the  present  day.  Poor  Mazzinghi,  who  deals  the 
cards  at  Mrs.  Sturt's  Bank,  was  threatened  on  Tuesday  night, 
by  his  Lordship,  to  have  his  bones  broken,  because  he  disputed 
the  noble  Lord's  intention  of  cocking  a  card.  The  money  was 
not  deposited  on  the  card  in  the  regular  manner,  but  the 
young  Lord  said  he  intended  to  stake  on  the  winning  card, 
and  therefore  claimed  it  as  if  he  had  actually  done  so.  Some- 
thing was  muttered  about  the  highway,  but  it  was  impossible 
it  could  allude  to  the  circumstance  in  question." — (Times, 
April  29,  1793.) 

"  Mrs.  G.  is  said  to  understand  FARO  better  than  any  other 
Lady  of  the  town,  particularly  in  the  art  of  doubling  the  corner 
of  a  card,  so  as  to  win  triple  stakes  if  it  is  successful.  She 
has  doubled  the  Faro  Bank  holders  out  of  so  much  money, 
that  they  shrink  at  the  sight  of  her  presence.  There  is  so 
much  running  upon  tick  with  the  FARO  TABLES,  that,  like  the 
Country  Banks,  they  are  breaking  every  day.  They  will  soon 
want  some  other  assistance  than  Cards,  and  Wax  Lights,  to  keep 
up  some  of  the  Establishments  at  the  West  end  of  the  town. 

"  The  FARO  BANK  HOLDERS  now  lose  money  almost  every 
evening.  The  punters  are  now  becoming  the  rooks,  and  the 
bankers  the  pigeons.  The  Ladies  understand  the  game  so  well, 
and  play  so  keen,  that  it  requires  the  eyes  of  Argus  to  detect 
all  their  tricks.  As  little  Quick  says  in  the  play,  a  greenhorn 
has  only  to  put  down  his  money,  and  he  is  sure  to  find  some 
one  to  take  it  up  for  him" — (Times,  May  i,  1793.) 

"  A  Banking  Lady,  in  St.  James  Square,  is  about  to  com- 
mence a  prosecution,  because  it  is  said,  that  there  was  much 
filching  at  her  FARO  table.  The  house  was  quite  in  an  uproar 
on  Tuesday  night,  in  consequence  of  a  paragraph  that  appeared 
in  a  Morning  Paper  of  the  preceding  day.  The  Lady  vows 
she  will  call  in  the  aid  of  an  Attorney  to  support  her  reputation : 


172  Old  Times. 

and  observes,  that  the  credit  of  her  house  will  suffer  if  such 
reports  are  permitted  to  go  unpunished.  The  Faro  Ladies 
are,  in  the  sporting  phrase,  almost  done  up.  Jewels,  trinkets, 
watches,  laces,  &c.,  are  often  at  the  pawnbrokers,  and  scarce  any- 
thing is  left  to  raise  money  upon,  except  their  pads.  If  justice 
is  to  be  hoodwinked,  and  gambling,  and  sharking,  permitted, 
why  not  make  it  an  article  of  revenue,  as  in  foreign  countries, 
and  lay  a  heavy  tax  on  it.  A  tax  on  excessive  gaming  would, 
in  the  course  of  a  year,  produce  as  much  as  would  fit  out  a 
50  gun  ship." — -(Times,  May  2,  1793.) 

"The  war  has  lessened  the  receipt  of  the  FARO  TABLES, 
insomuch,  that  they  can  barely  allow  lemonade. 

"  The  Faro  Tables  now  really  come  within  the  true  meaning 
of  plundering  shops.  They  are  attended  by  a  gang  of  sharpers, 
who  talk  of  knocking  down  the  Croupiers  if  any  offence  is 
taken  at  the  most  barefaced  frauds.  Surely  the  Police  may 
now  make  forcible  entry  into  the  Houses,  fashionable,  or 
unfashionable,  which  hold  out  a  bait  for  the  purpose  of 
robbery." — (Times,  May  3,  1793.) 

"The  FARO  BANK  HOLDERS  at  the  fashionable  routs  are 
nearly  done  up ;  for  what  with  the  punters  running  away  with 
their  winnings,  and  never  paying  when  they  lose,  and  the  25 
guineas  per  night,  paid  to  the  fashionable  landladies  for  the 
use  of  their  houses,  the  profits  are  pared  down  to  a  very 
nothing." — (Times,  March  28,  1794.) 

"  Lord  HAMPDEN'S  Faro  Bank  is  broken  up  for  the  present 
season.  Lady  BUCKINGHAMSHIRE,  MRS.  STURT,  and  MRS. 
CONCANNON  alternately  divide  the  Beau  monde  at  their  respec- 
tive houses.  Instead  of  having  two  different  hot  suppers,  at 
one  and  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  Faro  Banks  will  now 
scarcely  afford  bread  and  cheese,  and  porter. 

"  One  of  the  Faro  Banks  in  St  James  Square  lost  7000^ 
last  year  by  bad  debts.  A  young  son  of  LEVI  is  a  consider- 
able debtor  to  one  of  them ;  but  not  finding  it  convenient  to 
pay  what  is  not  recoverable  by  law,  he  no  longer  appears  in 
these  fashionable  circles." — (Times,  April  2,  1794.) 


Old  Times.  173 

"A  Card.— The  Lady  Gamblers  at  the  West  end  of  the 
town,  present  their  compliments  to  several  Ex  noble  Emigre's, 
who  frequent  their  card  routs,  and  inform  them,  through  the 
channel  of  this  paper,  that  their  absence  would  be  more 
agreeable  than  their  company.  They  beg  leave  to  suggest  that 
hot  suppers,  and  French  wines,  brilliant  illuminations,  cards, 
and  other  expences,  cannot  be  afforded  out  of  the  profits  of 
such  peddling  play  as  staking  an  ecu,  or  half  a  guinea,  on  the 
turn  up  of  a  card,  and  they  beg  leave  to  observe,  that  it  is  not 
considered  as  a  mark  of  their  good  breeding,  to  engross  the 
whole  round  of  the  Faro  table,  which  might  be  turned  to  so 
much  better  advantage,  by  the  pluckings  of  a  few  rich  young 
Lords,  and  Commoners,  who  would  wish  to  sport  their  rouleaus. 
It  is  hoped  this  hint  may  be  attended  to,  as  it  may  prevent 
further  observation." — (Times,  April  3,  1794.) 

"It  is  impossible  to  conceive  a  more  complete  system  of 
fraud  and  dishonour  than  is  practised  every  night  at  the  Faro 
Banks.  Though  every  table  has  four  croupiers,  yet  the  Bank 
holders  find,  that  double  the  number  are  necessary  to  watch 
all  the  little  tricks,  and  artifices,  of  some  of  the  fashionable 

punters.     But  Mrs.  G beats  all  her  associates  in  the  art  of 

doubling,  or  cocking  a  card." — (Ti?nes,  April  4,  1794.) 

"  The  FARO  BANKS  being  no  longer  a  profitable  game, 
certain  Ladies  in  St.  James'  Square  have  substituted  another 
instead  of  it,  called  Roulet:  but  it  is  in  fact  only  the  old  game 
of  E.O.  under  a  different  title.  Roulet  is  now  therefore  the 
order  of  the  night" — (Times,  June  25,  1794.) 

"The  late  King  was  passionately  fond  of  Masquerades, 
where  there  was  always  a  Pharo  Bank  prepared  for  his  enter- 
tainment Upon  one  occasion  the  crowd  was  so  great  in  all 
parts  of  the  Theatre,  that  the  late  Mr.  Crawford  was  called 
for,  and  ordered  to  stop  the  further  admission  of  company  at 
the  door:  in  which,  however,  he  found  so  much  difficulty, 
that  2700  guineas  were  forced  into  his  pocket,  whilst  he  stood 
purposely  to  advertise  the  public  that  there  was  no  more 
room." — (Times,  April  13,  1795.) 


174  Old  Times. 

"The  two  gambling  houses  in  St.  James's  Square  are  in 
despair.  The  suppers  are  ordered  with  great  caution  :  and  of 
things  that  will  keep.  The  two  last  companies  have  been 
composed,  literally,  of  the  privileged  wives,  and  of  foreigners." 
— (Times,  Dec.  2,  1795.) 

"  It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  rising  generation  of  females,  that 
they  have  unanimously  quitted  those  infamous  meetings,  called 
Private  Pharoes,  where  some  of  their  shameless  Mammas,  and 
the  faded  reputations  of  the  present  age,  still  expose  their 
vices,  and  cheat  the  boys  who  have  not  been  long  enough  in 
the  army,  to  wear  out  their  first  cockades." — (Times,  Dec.  30, 
I795-) 

"To  the  CONDUCTOR  of  the  TIMES. 

"  Sir, — London  is  certainly  an  eligible  place  for  persons  who 
have  nothing  but  their  labour  to  depend  on,  to  get  forward  in 
life,  provided  they  steer  clear  of  the  many  snares,  and  tempta- 
tions, which  hover  in  every  alley,  street,  winding,  and  corner. 

"  The  mischief  is,  however,  that  the  generality  of  young  men, 
the  moment  they  set  foot  in  town,  or,  if  brought  up  in  the 
Metropolis,  directly  they  enter  the  world  on  their  own  account, 
are  hurried  away,  thoughtlessly,  with  the  stream  of  error,  and 
dissipation.  If  he  happens  to  be  a  young  man  possessed  of  a 
moderate  independence,  without  the  suggestion  of  prudence, 
the  caution  of  experience,  the  councils  of  wisdom  or  the 
restraint  of  authority,  his  whole  conduct  is  then  influenced  by 
the  passion  with  which  he  is  actuated,  which  becomes  at  once, 
whether  good  or  bad,  his  impulse,  and  his  guide. 

"  The  Play-house  is  the  first  place  of  resort,  which  from  the 
frequency  of  his  visits,  instead  of  being  an  instructive  amuse- 
ment, or  a  moral  lesson,  turns  out  a  rendezvous  of  intrigue, 
and  intemperance,  where  he  soon  acquires  an  intimacy  with 
the  idle,  the  profligate,  the  gambler,  and  the  prostitute,  who 
eye  him  as  their  lawful  prey,  and  with  all  that  ease,  dexterity, 
and  artifice,  which  a  knowledge  of  the  town,  and  its  vicissi- 
tudes, has  furnished  them  with,  they  imperceptibly  lead  him 
from  one  crime  to  another,  till  at  length  he  becomes  extra- 


Old  Times.  175 

vagant,  and  irregular,  callous,  and  abandoned.  Bagnios, 
gaming-tables,  horses,  and  black-legs,  are  now  his  only  wish, 
theme,  and  delight,  and,  so  long  as  his  pocket  will  endure  the 
burden,  so  long,  and  no  longer,  is  he  duped,  flattered,  caressed, 
and  encouraged,  by  those  who  surround  him.  But  everything 
must  have  an  end,  and  enormous  expenditures  cannot  keep 
pace  with  that  income  which  should  be  managed  with  care 
and  frugality.  The  young  Gentleman  runs  short,  as  it  is 
termed,  and,  on  his  first  embarrassment,  is  advised  to  apply 
for  the  assistance  of  some  friendly  advertising  money  lender, 
who,  upon  proper  security,  has  the  modesty  to  procure  him 
from  time  to  time,  sums  of  money,  at  the  equitable  premium  of 
100  per  cent.  A  repetition  so  involves  him,  that,  by  degrees, 
his  estate  falls  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Usurer,  who  takes  an 
absolute  assignment  of  his  estate,  for  a  consideration  less  than 
half  its  true  value  :  and  reflection  never  once  enters  his  head, 
but  he  unfortunately  squanders  the  last  shilling  :  but  it  is,  now, 
he  conceives,  a  folly  to  repent,  or  retreat  :  consequently  he 
gets  into  debt,  is  arrested,  carried  to  a  spunging  house, 
and  from  thence  is  removed  to  the  King's  Bench,  or  Fleet 
Prison. 

"  Far  be  it  from  me  to  throw  any  odium  on  an  unfortunate 
class  of  people  immured  in  the  walls  of  either  of  those  places, 
there  are  no  doubt,  imprisoned,  as  worthy,  and  as  good  a  set 
of  people,  as  any  in  society.  But  the  young  spark  I  am 
speaking  of,  being  mortified  at  his  late  companions  standing 
aloof,  and  resigning  him  to  his  fate,  becomes  loaded  with 
obloquy,  associates  with  characters  equally  as  vicious  as 
himself,  smoaks,  swears,  and  carouses,  and,  all  at  once,  is 
wholly  lost,  as  it  were  to  himself,  and  to  the  world. 

"R.  K— y." 
—(Times,  Dec.  31,  I795-) 

"  Capt.  H.  of  the  Guards,  the  nephew  of  the  Banker,  who  a 
short  time  since  lost  13,000  guineas  at  one  sitting,  at  Back- 
gammon, to  an  Irish  Gambler,  revenged  himself  last  week  for 
this  loss,  by  winning  the  enormous  sum  of  45,000  Guineas,  at 
Billiards,  in  one  night,  of  Mr.  B.  S.  of  the  Guards.  It  is  said 


176  Old  Times. 

that  ,£25,000  of  the  money  was  paid  him  the  next  day."— 
(Times,  March  16,  1796.) 

"  It  is  said  to  be  the  intention  of  some  of  the  leading  circles 
in  the  Fashionable  World,  to  abolish  the  tax  of  Card-money^  as 
an  imposition  upon  hospitality.  This  would  prove  the  return 
of  good  sense,  inasmuch  as  it  tends  to  substantiate  the  truth — 
that  when  one  person  invites  another  to  partake  of  the  con- 
viviality of  his  house,  he  should  not  lay  an  impost  upon  him, 
even  more  exorbitant  than  that  which  he  would  pay,  were  he 
to  attend  a  Tavern  Club.  When  a  friend  is  invited,  it  is  an 
insult  to  friendship  to  make  that  friend  pay  for  his  entertain- 
ment."— (Times,  Dec.  17,  1794.) 

"  The  tabbies  at  Bath  are  in  a  state  of  insurrection,  in  con- 
sequence of  an  example  set  by  Lady  ELCHO,  who  neither  visits, 
nor  receives,  company  that  flay  for  CARDS:  the  laudable  refor- 
mation is  adopted  so  generally,  that  many  of  the  Dowagers, 
who  have  so  long  fed  upon  Card-money,  are  turning  their 
thoughts  to  some  more  creditable  means  of  earning  their 
livelihood." — (Times,  March  22,  1796.) 

"  We  hope  the  Ladies  in  London,  who  stand  upon  a  nice 
point  of  honour,  will  follow  the  example  of  the  Bath  Ladies, 
and  exclude  the  odious,  and  pitiful,  custom  of  taking  card- 
money  at  their  houses.  It  is  a  meanness,  which  no  persons 
who  pretend  to  the  honour  of  keeping  good  company,  ought 
to  allow.  We  are  afraid  that  many  a  party  is  formed,  rather 
to  derive  benefit  from  the  Card  tables,  than  for  the  sake  of 
hospitality." — (Times,  March  24,  1796.) 

"We  hope,  now  that  the  business  of  informations  against 
the  Gambling  Houses  has  found  its  way  into  the  Court  of 
King's  Bench,  that  we  shall  hear  of  some  effectual  measures 
being  taken  to  suppress  them.  What  other  than  the  most 
unworthy  considerations  could  have  suffered  these  houses  to 
be  open  night  after  night,  in  defiance  of  every  law,  and  to  the 

1  The  guests  paid  a  small  sum  each,  for  every  new  Pack  of  Cards  used, 
which  it  was  supposed  the  servants  took. 


Old  Times.  177 

destruction  of  young  women,  whose  parents  are  so  profligate, 
as  to  take  them  thither.  If  certain  Mammas  have  no  regard 
for  their  reputation,  surely  they  should  consider  that  their 
daughters  are  yet  to  be  provided  for. 

"  We  state  it  as  a  fact,  within  our  own  knowledge,  that  two 
Ladies  of  Fashion  who  keep  open  houses  for  Gaming,  at  the 
West  End  of  the  Town,  have  lately  paid  large  douceurs^  to 
ward  off  the  hand  of  justice." — (Times,  Apr.  23,  1796.) 

"The  Gambling-houses  in  and  about  Oxenden  St.,  live 
in  a  stile  of  unprecedented  luxury,  and  dissipation.  It  was 
stated  some  time  ago,  in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  that  their 
dinners  amounted  to  ^"150,000  per  annum." — (Times,  May  27, 
1796.) 

These  two  illustrations  are  almost  Hogarthian  in  their 
contrast,  and  preach  a  homily,  better  than  pages  of  text 
would  do,  on  the  similarity  of  plunder.  St.  James,  with 
Lady  Archer  and  Lady  Buckinghamshire  quarrelling  over 
gold,  bank  notes,  a  sword,  and  an  Order.  One  other  lady, 
probably  Lady  Mount  Edgcumbe,  scrutinising  a  bill — 
whilst  the  fourth,  with  a  pile  of  gold,  and  notes,  before 
her,  looks  calmly  on.  The  artist  (who,  unfortunately,  is 
anonymous,)  shows  what  very  little  difference  there  is 
between  that,  and  the  woman  of  St.  Giles — who,  to  the 
accompaniment  of  Gin,  are  dividing  their  spoil,  a  pipe,  a 
foot  rule,  a  razor,  &c. — little  things  reft  from  working 
men — on  a  very  common  deal  table. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  special  attention  was  called 
to  this  gaming  mania,  and  Gillray  (?)  on  the  :6th  May, 
1796,  published  a  Caricature  called  "  Faro's  Daughters, 
or  the  Kenyonian  blow  up  to  gamblers."  Here  we  see 
the  Lady  Archer,  and  Mrs.  Concannon,  placed  together  in 
the  pillory,  and  mutually  upbraiding  each  other. 

The  motif  for  this  picture  was  a  speech  of  Lord 

M 


178  Old  Times. 

Kenyon's,  who,  at  a  trial  to  recover  ^"15,  won  at  gaming, 
on  Sunday,  at  a  public  house — commented  very  severely 
on  the  hold,  the  vice  of  gaming  had,  on  all  classes  of 
society,  from  the  highest,  to  the  lowest.  The  former,  he 
said,  set  the  example  to  the  latter — and,  he  added,  "  They 
think  they  are  too  great  for  the  law ;  I  wish  they  could 
be  punished," — and  then  continued,  "  If  any  prosecutions 
of  this  kind  are  fairly  brought  before  me,  and  the  parties 
are  justly  convicted,  whatever  be  their  rank,  or  station, 
in  the  country — though  they  be  the  first  ladies  in  the 
land — they  shall  certainly  exhibit  themselves  in  the 
pillory." 

"A  new  stratagem  has  been  hit  on  to  gain  early  intelligence 
of  the  drawings  of  the  ensuing  IRISH  LOTTERY.  As  Pigeons 
are  found  sometimes  not  to  fly  quick  enough,  some  of  our 
speculating  Lottery  Rooks  have  been  for  some  time  past  trying 
experiments  on  high  eminences  in  North  Wales,  by  exhibiting 
rockets  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  It  is  to  be  seen 
whether  this  mode  of  communication  can  be  rendered  suffi- 
ciently intelligible,  to  answer  the  purposes  of  fraud." — (Times, 
Nov.  4,  1796.) 

"  It  is  said,  and  we  hope  with  truth,  that  the  Archbishop  of 
CANTERBURY,  at  the  head,  and  with  the  concurrence  of  the 
Episcopal  Lords,  means  to  introduce  a  Bill  into  Parliament  to 
prevent  gambling  on  a  Sunday.  An  act  at  present  does  exist 
against  this  pernicious  practice ;  but  the  penalty  amounts  to  a 
fine,  that  the  Groom-porters  at  Hazard,  or  the  Dealer  at  Faro, 
can  with  ease  pay  by  the  profits  of  an  hour.  The  punishment 
for  the  offence  of  playing  any  game  of  chance  on  a  Sunday  is, 
by  this  new  intended  Bill,  to  be  transportation  for  seven  years 
to  Botany  Bay.  The  owner  of  the  house,  by  a  particular 
clause,  is  more  severely  dealt  with.  He,  or  she,  permitting 
such  gambling,  shall  be  transported  for  life." — (Times,  Feb.  13, 

1 79  7-) 


3 


Old  Times.  179 

"PUBLIC  OFFICE,  MARLBOROUGH  St  FARO 
BANKS.  On  Saturday  came  on  to  be  heard,  informations 
against  Lady  BUCKINGHAMSHIRE,  Lady  ELIZABETH  LUTTRELL, 
Mrs.  STURT,  and  Mr.  CONCANNON,  for  having,  on  the  night 
of  the  30th  of  last  January,  played  at  Faro,  at  Lady  Bucking- 
hamshire's house,  in  St.  James's  Square,  and  Mr.  MARTINDALE 
was  charged  with  being  the  proprietor  of  the  table. 

"The  evidence  went  to  prove  that  the  Defendants  had 
gaming  parties  at  their  different  houses  by  rotation,  and  that 
when  they  met  at  Lady  B.'s,  the  witnesses  used  to  wait  upon 
them  in  the  gambling  room,  and  that  they  played  at  E.O., 
J^ouge  et  Noir,  &c.,  from  about  eleven,  or  twelve,  till  three, 
or  four,  o'clock  in  the  morning.  After  hearing  Counsel,  the 
Magistrates  convicted  Hy.  Martindale  in  the  penalty  of  ^200, 
and  each  of  the  Ladies  in  ^50.  The  Information  against  Mr. 
Concannon  was  quashed,  on  account  of  his  being  summoned 
by  a  wrong  Christian  name." — (Times,  Mar.  13,  1797.) 

The  Magistrates  were  not  quite  so  severe  as  Lord 
Kenyon  had  promised  to  be,  should  he  ever  get  any  of 
these  ladies  into  his  clutches  :  perhaps  they  had  heard 
of  the  recent  loss  of  Lady  Buckinghamshire's,  when  in 
Feby-  her  Faro  Bank  was  stolen,  or,  at  least,  she  said  it 
had  been.  Gillray  caricatured  it  very  cleverly — as  also 
he  did  in  the  accompanying  illustration,  "  Discipline  a  la 
Kenyon  " — in  which  the  Lord  Chief  Justice,  is  admini- 
stering a  sound  flogging  to  Lady  Buckinghamshire, 
whilst  Lady  Archer,  and  Mrs.  Concannon,  stand  in  the 
pillory,  guarded  by  a  stalwart  constable. 

"  The  expence  of  entertainments  at  a  Gaming  House  of  the 
highest  class,  in  St.  James'  Square,  during  the  eight  months  of 
last  season,  has  been  said  to  exceed  6000  Guineas  !  what  must 
be  the  profits  to  afford  such  a  profusion  ?" — (Times,  March  21, 
J797-) 

"  The  Pharo  Trade  is  likely  to  experience  a  more  severe 


i  So  Old  Times. 

check  from  the  recent  refusal  of  some  fashionable  Gamesters 
to  liquidate  their  debts,  than  from  the  accumulated  terrors  of 
Police  persecution.  If  the  punters  won't  pay,  the  dealers  may 
as  well  shut  up  shop." — (Times,  Sept.  23,  1797.) 

"  If  a  man  should  happen,  in  a  Cockpit,  to  make  a  bet 
which  he  is  not  able  to  answer,  he  is  put  into  a  basket,  arid 
pulled  up  to  the  ceiling,  where  he  remains  suspended  during 
the  sport.  It  is  recommended  to  the  Pharo  Bankers  to 
institute  some  such  punishment  for  the  Lady  '  Levanters.'" — 
(Times,  Sept.  23,  1997.) 

"  To  such  a  height  has  the  spirit  of  gambling  arisen,  that  at 
some  of  the  great  Tables  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  the  stake 
consist  wholly  of  property  in  kind.  A  house  of  furniture  was 
last  week  lost  to  a  Lady  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Pall  Mall. 

"  The  successful  party  had  played  against  it,  the  stock  of  a 
farm  in  the  County  of  Essex." — (Times,  Sept.  25,  1797.) 

"  At  some  of  our  first  Boarding  Schools,  the  fair  pupils  are 
now  taught  to  play  whist,  and  cassino.  Amongst  their  winning 
ways,  this  may  not  be  the  least  agreeable  to  Papa  and 
Mamma. 

"  It  is  calculated,  that  a  clever  child,  by  its  cards,  and  its 
novels,  may  pay  for  its  own  education." — (Times,  Nov.  2, 
I797-) 

"At  a  boarding-school  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Moor- 
fields,  the  mistress  complains  that  she  is  unable  to  teach  her 
scholars  either  Whist,  or  Pharo.  However,  she  says,  they  play 
perfectly  well  at  Kissino,  and  all-fours." — (Times,  Nov.  2, 
I797-) 

"  So  completely  has  gambling  got  the  better  of  dancing,  that 
at  a  private  Ball,  last  week,  a  Gentleman  asking  a  young  Lady, 
from  Bath,  to  dance  the  two  next  dances,  she  very  ingenuously 


I 
I 


Old  Times.  181 

replied,' Yes,  if  you  will  play  two  rubbers  at  Cassino.'"— (Times, 
Dec.  22,  1797.) 

"Gaming,  that  hydra  of  calamities,  has  again  made  its 
appearance  with  its  black  catalogue  of  horrors.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  late  interference  of  the  Police,  there  are  at  present, 
exclusive  of  subscription  tables,  no  less  than  18  public  gambling 
houses,  at  the  West  End  of  the  Town.  The  golden  table  in 
Leicester  Square  takes  the  lead  in  guilty  pre-eminence.  The 
gaming  crimes  are  already  very  numerous.  They  dress  well, 
frequent  the  most  fashionable  taverns,  and  coffee  houses,  and, 
having  succeeded  in  insinuating  themselves  into  company,  take 
an  opportunity  of  introducing  a  card,  or  bill  of  fare,  of  their 
respective  establishments." — (Times,  Sept.  13,  1798.) 

"Last  week  1272  packs  of  cards,  unstamped,  pretended  to 
be  made  for  exportation,  but  really  intended  for  home  con- 
sumption, were  burned  in  the  High  Street  of  Shoreham,  by 
order  of  the  Commissioners." — (Times,  Dec.  6,  1798.) 

"In  every  part  of  the  Metropolis,  that  most  destructive 
game  of  E.  O.1  is  now  in  high  practice,  but  more  particularly 
so  in  the  neighbourhood  of  S.  James's  Street,  Pall  MJ1,  and 
what  is  called  the  fashionable  end  of  the  town.  The  Tables>, 
even  if  they  were  fairly  constructed,  must  be  the  ruin  of  all 
adventurers ;  because,  in  the  course  of  one  hour,  they  play  at 
a  game  where  the  Table  has  clearly  one  hundred  and  tiventy- 

1  "  A  thousand  witnesses  might  be  produced  to  prove,  that  at  every 
Ridolio,  part  of  the  company  is  seated  at  a  round  table,  which  has  a  hollow, 
moveable,  circle  in  the  middle,  with  a  declivity  from  the  centre,  and  its 
circumference  divided  into  little  separate  cavities,  or  cells,  distinguished 
by  the  letters  E,  and  O,  placed  over  them  alternately :  the  hollow  circle  is 
put  in  motion,  and  a  small  ivory  ball  thrown  upon  it  in  a  contrary  direc- 
tion ;  after  several  turns,  the  inclination  of  the  surface  carries  the  ball  down 
towards  the  cavities  prepared  for  its  reception,  in  one  of  which,  having 
rebounded  several  times,  it  at  last  rests,  and  the  parties  concerned  in  this 
interesting  event,  succeed,  or  fail,  as  they  chance  to  have  chosen,  or  not, 
the  letter  under  which  the  ball  happens  to  lie." — "The  World,"  No.  180, 
lothjune,  1756. 


1 82  Old  Times. 

four  chances  to  one  in  its  favor  within  that  hour.  If  this  does 
not  rouse  the  Magistracy,  Justice  may  then  be  announced  to 
be  in  a  somniferous  state — occasioned  probably,  by  a  yellow 
mineral  application."— (Times,  June  22,  1795.) 

"  It  is  impossible  that  the  Magistrates  can  be  ignorant  of 
the  number  of  E.  O.  Tables,  now  held  at  the  West  end  of  the 
town.  At  one  of  these,  established  close  to  King's  Place,  a 
young  man  lost,  on  Sunday,  .£1500. "—  (Times,  June  20,  1795.) 


"PRIVATE  LOTTERIES. 

"Amongst  the  various  species  of  Gaming  that  have  ever 
been  practised,  we  think  none  exceeds  the  mischiefs,  and 
calamities,  that  arise  from  the  practice  of  private  Lotteries, 
which  at  present  are  carrying  on,  in  various  parts  of  the  town, 
to  very  alarming  extents,  much  to  the  discredit  of  those  whose 
province  it  is  to  suppress  such  nefarious  practices,  as  they 
cannot  be  ignorant  of  such  transactions.  '  The  little  go,'  which 
is  the  technical  term  for  a  private  Lottery,  is  calculated  only 
for  the  meridian  of  those  understandings,  who  are  unused  to 
calculate,  and  discriminate,  between  right,  and  wrong,  and 
roguery,  and  fair-dealing ;  and,  in  this  particular  case,  it  is 
^hose  who  compose  the  lower  order  of  society,  whom  it  so 
seriously  affects,  and  on  whom  it  is  chiefly  designed  to  operate. 
No  man  of  common  sense  can  suppose  that  the  Lottery  Wheels 
are  fair,  and  honest,  or  that  the  proprietors  act  upon  principles 
anything  like  honor,  or  honesty ;  for,  by  the  art,  and  contri- 
vance, of  the  Wheels,  they  are  so  constructed,  with  secret 
springs,  and  the  application  of  gum,  glue,  &c.,  in  the  internal 
part  of  them,  that  they  can  draw  the  numbers  out,  or  keep 
them  in,  at  pleasure,  just  as  it  suits  their  purposes ;  so  that  the 
insurer,  robbed,  and  cajoled,  by  such  unfair  means,  has  not 
the  most  distant  chance  of  ever  winning :  the  whole  being  a 
gross  fraud,  and  imposition,  in  the  extreme.  We  understand 
the  most  notorious  of  these  standards  of  imposition  are  situ- 
ated in  Carnaby  Market,  Oxford  Road,  in  the  Borough, 
Islington,  Clerkenwell,  and  various  other  places,  most  of 


Old  Times.  183 

which  are  under  the  very  nose  of  Magistracy,  in  seeming 
security,  bidding  defiance  to  law,  and  preying  upon  the  vitals 
of  the  poor  and  ignorant. 

"  We  hope  the  Magistrates  of  each  jurisdiction,  and  those 
who  possess  the  same  power,  will  perform  their  duty  on  behalf 
of  the  poor,  over  whom  they  preside,  and  put  a  stop  to  such 
a  growing,  and  alarming,  evil,  of  such  pernicious,  and  dangerous 
tendency :  particularly,  as  the  Proprietors  are  well-known  bad 
characters,  consisting  of  needy  beggars,  desperate  swindlers, 
gamblers,  sharpers,  notorious  thieves,  and  common  convicted 
felons,  most  of  whose  names  stand  recorded  in  the  Newgate 
Calendar  for  various  offences  of  different  descriptions." — 
(Times,  July  22,  1795.) 

"The  term  of  little  goes  for  the  private  lotteries  is  apt 
enough,  for  the  poor  devils  who  risk  their  property  there, 
have  but  little,  and  that  little  goes  to  nought. 

"  If  the  wheels  of  fortune,  and  the  cash,  seized  at  the 
private  lotteries,  become  the  property  of  the  police  runners, 
the  old  adage  will  be  strongly  verified,  '  What  is  got  over  the 
devil's  back,  will  be  spent  under  his  belly.'" — (Times,  Aug. 
i3»  I795-) 

"  On  Friday  night  last,  in  consequence  of  searching  warrants 
from  the  Parochial  Magistrates  of  St.  James's,  Westminster, 
upwards  of  30  persons  were  apprehended  at  the  house  of  one 
M'Call,  No.  2,  Francis  St.,  near  Golden  Square,  and  in  the 
house  of  J.  Knight,  King  St.,  where  the  most  destructive 
practices  to  the  poor  were  carrying  on,  that  of  Private  Lotteries 
(called  Little  Goes.)  Two  wheels,  with  the  tickets,  were 
seized  on  the  premises.  Upon  examination  of  those  persons, 
who  proved  to  be  the  poor  deluded  objects  that  had  been  there 
plundered,  they  were  reprimanded,  and  discharged. 

"  The  wives  of  many  industrious  mechanics,  by  attending 
these  nefarious  houses,  have  not  only  been  duped  out  of  their 
earnings  (which  ought  to  have  been  applied  to  the  providing 
bread  for  their  families)  but  have  even  pawned  their  beds, 
wedding  rings,  and  almost  every  article  they  were  possessed  of 
for  that  purpose." — (Times,  Aug.  n,  1795.) 


184  Old  Times. 

But  nothing  was  said  against  the  big  State  Lotteries 
— which  were  going  on  without  let,  or  hindrance — and, 
absolutely,  educating  the  people  in  the  taste  for  gambling. 
Here  are  two  anecdotes  of  the  lottery : — 

"  Dr.  B.,  a  physician  at  Lime  (Dorset),  a  few  days  since,  being 
under  pecuniary  embarrassment,  and  his  house  surrounded 
by  bailiffs,  made  his  escape  by  a  window,  into  a  neighbour's 
house,  from  whence  he  fled  to  London.  The  furniture  was 
seized,  and  the  sale  actually  commenced,  when  it  was  stopped 
by  a  letter,  stating  that  the  Doctor,  upon  his  arrival  in  London, 
found  himself  the  proprietor  of  the  ^20,000  prize.  We 
guarantee  the  truth  of  this  fact." — (Times,  Dec.  27,  1797.) 

"  The  ^20,000  prize,  drawn  on  Friday,  is  divided  amongst 
a  number  of  poor  persons :  a  female  servant  in  Brook  St., 
Holborn,  had  a  sixteenth ;  a  woman  who  keeps  a  fruit-stall 
in  Grays-Inn-lane  another ;  a  third  is  possessed  by  a  servant 
of  the  Duke  of  ROXBURGHE'S  ;  a  fourth  by  a  Chelsea  Carrier 
of  vegetables  to  Coven*.  Garden;  one  eighth  belongs  to  a 
poor  family  in  ?.utiandshire,  and  the  remainder  is  similarly 
divided." — (Times,  Mar.  19,  1798.) 


Of  Horse  Racing  we  do  not  hear  much — the  prizes 
were  small — and  gambling  on  the  Turf  was  not  reduced 
to  a  Science  as  it  is  now-a-days.  Even  when  attending 
races,  the  chief  losses  were  at  the  gaming  tables  which 
accompanied  them. 

"  Poor  Newmarket  is  completely  done  up !  The  Spring 
Meeting  boasts  so  few  bets  in  the  calendar  of  gambling,  that 
the  chance  will  not  pay  post-chaise  hire  to  the  black  legs. 
Thus  falls  the  destructive  sport  of  the  Turf — and,  as  that  is 
the  case,  it  would  do  honour  to  his  Majesty  to  change  the 
Kings  Plates  into  rewards  for  the  improvement  of  Agriculture" 
— (Times,  April  17,  1794.) 


I 

5: 

i 


Old  Times.  185 

"The  Duke  of  QUEENSBERRY  was  a  principal  loser  at 
Epsom  Races.  The  Noble  Duke  had  his  vis-a-vis,  and  six 
horses,  driving  about  the  course,  with  two  very  pretty  emigrees 
in  it.  The  Duke  was  in  his  cabriolet.  The  Duke  of  BEDFORD, 
Lords  EGREMONT,  and  DERBY,  were  also  on  the  course. 
Several  carriages  were  broken  to  pieces :  and  one  Lady  had 
her  arm  broken. 

"There  was  much  private  business  done  in  the  swindling 
way  at  the  last  Epsom  races.  One  black  legged  fellow  cleared 
near  a  thousand  pounds  by  the  old  trick  of  an  E.O.  Table. 
Another  had  a.  faro  table,  and  was  on  the  eve  of  doing  business, 
when  he  was  detected  with  a  palmed  card  :  almost  the  whole 
of  what  may  be  justly  styled  '  vagabond  gamblers '  of  London 
were  present. 

"  Mr.  BOWES,  half  brother  to  the  Earl  of  Strathmore,  was 
robbed  of  a  gold  watch,  and  a  purse,  containing  30  guineas, 
at  Epsom  races,  on  Thursday  last.  Many  other  persons 
shared  a  similar  fate,  both  on  the  same  evening,  and  Friday. 
Upwards  of  30  carriages  were  robbed  coming  from  the  races." 
—(Times,  May  25,  1795.) 

"Never  since  racing  was  patronised  by  the  Merry  Monarch, 
has  the  Turf  been  so  much  on  the  decline  as  at  this  period. 
His  Grace  of  BEDFORD  is  the  only  person  who  retains  a  con- 
siderable stud.  Lord  GROSVENOR  has  disposed  of  nearly  the 
whole  of  his,  with  the  reserve  of  two,  or  three,  capital  horses, 
and  some  few  brood  mares." — (Times,  Sept.  8,  1797.) 

"  A  Mr.  Marston,  of  the  Borough,  has  laid  a  bet  of  2000 
guineas,  that  he  will,  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  week,  go 
into  one  of  the  great  wheels  of  the  water-works  at  London 
Bridge,  while  it  is  in  its  swiftest  motion  with  an  ebb-tide,  stay 
there  five  minutes,  and  come  out  again  with  safety,  though 
not  without  accident,  in  a  different  part  from  that  in  which  he 
went  in  :  and  afterwards  walk  one  mile  within  an  hour,  on 
condition  that  the  lower  bucket  of  the  wheel  is  two  feet  dis- 
tance from  the  river  bottom." — (Times,  Sept.  n,  1797.) 


1 86  Old  Times. 

These  water-wheels  which  were  situated  where  Fish- 
mongers Hall  now  stands,  were  commenced  in  1582,  by 
a  Dutchman,  named  Peter  Moritz,  or  Morrice,  with  one 
wheel.  Hatton,  in  his  "  New  View  of  London,"  published 
in  Queen  Anne's  time,  says,  "  besides  the  old  work 
erected  by  Mr.  Morris,  the  New,  placed  in  the  4th  Arch 
of  the  Bridge,  consists  of  2  Wheels  with  7  Engines,  set 
up  about  the  year  1702,  so  that  there  are  in  all  13 
engines.  They  are  the  contrivance  of  that  great 
English  Engineer  Mr.  Sorocold,  whereby  the  Thames 
Water  is  raised  from  the  N.  end  of  the  Bridge,  to  a  very 
great  altitude,  hy  which  means,  many  parts  of  the  City, 
&c.,  are  served  with  the  Thames  Water." 


Old  Times.  187 


THE    THEATRE. 

OUR  forefathers  were  fond  of  the  Theatre,  and  patronised 
it  nightly.  They  were  exacting  as  to  the  quality  of  the 
acting  represented  before  them,  and  that  very  exigeance 
procured  them  what  they  wanted. 

In  the  years  of  which  I  treat,  there  were,  in  London, 
the  following  Theatres  : — The  King's  (now  Her  Majesty's) 
in  the  Hay  market — Drury  Lane — Covent  Garden — The 
Theatre  Royal,  Haymarket — Royalty  Theatre,  Wells 
Street,  Goodman's  Fields — Royal  Circus,  St.  George's 
Fields — Sadler's  Wells — The  Royal  Grove,  and  Amphi- 
theatre (Astley's)  Westminster  Bridge  —  afterwards 
Astley's  Royal  Saloon — and  still  later  called,  Astley's 
Amphitheatre  of  Arts.  Whilst  at  the  Lyceum  in  the 
Strand,  there  were  Musical  Entertainments,  and  a  New 
Circus. 

It  was  an  age  of  good  actors,  and,  taking  them  hap- 
hazard, we  have  only  to  glance  at  the  following  names, 
to  prove  the  assertion,  were  it  needed.  Suett,  who  drank 
himself  to  death  in  1805.  John  Kemble,  the  best  tragic 
actor  since  Garrick.  From  an  education  for  the  priest- 
hood, to  performing  with  a  strolling  company,  was  a 
great  leap — but  his  success  was  assured  when,  in  1783, 
he  made  his  de"but,  at  Drury  Lane,  as  Hamlet.  He 
retired  from  the  stage  in  1817,  and  died  in  1823. 
Baddeley  was  not  a  first  rate  actor,  and  I  but  mention 
him  because  of  his  bequest  of  Cake,  and  Wine,  to  be 


1 88  Old  Times. 

partaken  of,  annually,  by  the  Company,  in  the  Green  room 
of  Drury  Lane,  every  Twelfth  night.  Quick  was  irresis- 
tibly comic — and  none  could  see  him  act  without  laugh- 
ing. He  lived  to  a  good  old  age  (acting  up  to  1813), 
above  83— dying  in  the  year  1831. 

Edmund  Kean  was  born  in  1787,  and  went  on  the  stage 
as  soon  as  he  could  walk. — After  his  education  at  Eton,  he 
went  on  the  provincial  boards — not  playing  in  London, 
until*  1814,  when  he  played  Shylock,  at  Drury  Lane. 
Died  1833.  Macklin,  "the  Jew,  that  Shakespeare  drew," 
acted  until  he  was  90 — appearing,  for  the  last  time,  on  the 
occasion  of  his  benefit,  May  7,  1789.  After  he  was  dressed 
for  Shylock,  he  went  into  the  Green  Room,  and,  seeing 
Mrs.  Pope  there,  said  "My  dear,  are  you  to  play  to-night?" 
"  To  be  sure  I  am,  Sir,"  she  replied,  "  do  you  not  see  I 
am  dressed  for  Portia  ?  " — "  Ah  !  very  true  ;  I  had  for- 
gotten— but  who  is  to  play  Shylock  ! "  They  got  his 
poor  old  feeble  mind,  at  last,  to  grasp  the  situation,  and 
he  went  on  the  stage — but,  after  two,  or  three,  speeches, 
he  was  obliged  to  give  it  up,  and  had  to  ask  the  indul- 
gence of  the  audience,  and  beg  of  them  to  accept  Mr. 
Ryder,  as  his  substitute.  He  lived  some  years  after- 
wards, till  I  ith  July  1797 — when  he  died,  at  the  age  of  98. 

Bannister  began  his  theatrical  career  at  the  early  age 
of  12.  At  his  engagement  at  Drury  Lane,  in  I779>  he 
played  tragedy,  but,  after  the  death  of  Edwin,  he  supplied 
his  place,  and  played  Comedy.  He  died  8th  Nov.  1836, 
aged  76.  Incledon  was  the  sweetest  singer  of  his  time, 
and  made  his  debut  at  Covent  Garden  in  1790 — Died 
1826.  Elliston  first  appeared  in  London,  at  the  Hay- 
market  in  1796.  Although  he  was  not  a  famous  actor, 
he  cannot  be  omitted  from  a  list  of  theatrical  celebrities. 
Then,  too,  among  the  lesser  stars,  were  Barrymore,  Ryder, 


we 


Old  Times.  189 

Johnstone,  Pope,  Holman  and  Munden — not  even  forget- 
ting Delpini  the  famous  Clown,  and  Scaramouch. 

Among  the  chief  actresses,  was  Mrs.  fordan,  whose 
real  name  was  Dorothy  Bland,  who  became  a  decided 
favourite,  with  a  London  audience,  at  her  first  appear- 
ance at  Drury  Lane,  in  1785.  Her  connection  with  the 
Duke  of  Clarence,  afterwards  William  4th,  is  well  known. 
They  lived  very  happily  together,  and  had  ten  Children, 
but  the  connection  was  broken  off  in  1811 — and  she  was 
left  to  shift  for  herself.  She  died  in  1816. 

The  name  of  Sarah  Siddons  is  too  well  known  to 
elicit  any  remark ;  as  a  tragedian,  her  equal  has,  pro- 
bably, never  been  seen  on  an  English  Stage.  She  had  a 
long  career — from  her  debut,  at  Drury  Lane,  in  1775, 
till  her  last  appearance,  in  London,  in  1816.  Died 
1831 — aged  76. 

Miss  Farren,  was  a  most  lady-like,  and  elegant  actress. 
She  was  tall  and  slim,  and  was  caricatured  as  being 
positively  scraggy — but  she  captivated  the  then  Lord 
Derby,  who,  in  physique  was  her  complete  antithesis, 
having  short  legs,  a  very  corpulent  body,  and  a  hydro- 
cephalous  head.  She  retired  from  the  stage  before 
her  marriage,  in  1796. 

Mrs.  Crouch,  and  Mrs.  Billington,  the  rival  songstresses, 
were  actresses,  but-  they  generally  had  parts  assigned 
them,  in  which  they  could  exercise  their  vocal  powers, 
and  they  sang  at  Oratorios,  and  Concerts.  Mrs.  Billing- 
ton  did  not  retire  from  her  profession  until  1 800.  She 
died  in  1817. 

Mrs.  Frances  Abington  first  appeared  before  a  London 
audience  on  2 1st  Aug.  1755,  and  played,  with  few  inter- 
missions, until  1798.  After  Mrs.  Clive,  she  was  the 
best  comic  actress  on  the  English  stage,  and  could  equally 


i  go  Old  Times. 

play  Lady  Teazle,  Lady  Betty  Modish,  a  Chambermaid, 
a  Romp,  or  a  Country  girl — Died,  1815. 

Mrs.  Bellamy,  can  just  claim  a  notice,  because  she  died 
in  1788,  but  she  left  the  stage  in  1785.  She  was  a  tragic 
actress,  and  was  reckoned  equal  to  Mrs.  Gibber. 

Chief  among  the  next  rank  of  actresses,  we  must  place 
Miss  Brunton,  Mrs.  Martyr,  and  Mrs.  Pope. 

Thinking  it  would  interest  my  readers,  I  have  taken 
some  portraits  of  the  chief  Actors,  and  Actresses,  of  the 
time,  from  a  very  rare  book,  and  they  are  interesting  to 
the  present  generation,  as  shewing  the  Costumes  in 
which  the  plays  were  acted,  and,  which,  I  suppose, 
satisfied  the  gesthetic,  and  archaeological,  taste  of  our 
grandfathers. 

Both  audience,  and  press,  were  very  outspoken  in 
their  criticisms,  and,  indeed,  in  those  days,  dramatic 
criticism  was  real,  and  had  not  been  reduced  to  a  fine 
art,  as  now.  Take  the  following  instance  : — 

"Theatre,  Covent  Garden.  Hoadley's  agreeable  Comedy 
of  The  Suspicious  Husband,  was,  last  night,  in  general,  presented 
here  with  spirit,  and  attended  by  a  considerable  audience. 
The  Character  of  most  prominent  merit,  as  to  performance, 
was  Strickland,  which  Farren  supported  with  strong  emotion, 
and  probable  impression.  Mrs.  Abington  would  have  repre- 
sented Clarinda  with  more  effect,  if  she  had  not  directed  all 
her  share  of  the  dialogue  entirely  to  the  audience.  Pope  was 
the  Frankly,  but  he  must  take  great  pains  before  he  will  acquire 
the  ease  necessary  for  genteel  Comedy.  Lewis's  Ranger  was 
not  sufficiently  marked  by  the  appearance  of  that  airy  dis- 
sipation which  the  part  demands.  Mrs.  Wells'  Jacintha  was 
only  distinguished  for  rustic  dialect,  and  awkward  deport- 
ment.^ Mrs.  Bernard  had  the  merit  of  being  decent  in  Mrs. 
Strickland."— (The  Morning  Post,  Jan.  3,  1788.) 

The    Theatre,   was,    then,    as    now,   a   passion    with 


1, 
I 


Old  Times.  191 

some   people,    and    amateur    theatricals    were    in    high 
favour. 

"At  the  Blenheim  Theatre,  her  Grace  the  Duchess  of 
Marlborough  attended  her  guests  in  person,  and  superintended 
the  refreshments  of  Sandwiches,  fruit  and  wines,  which  were 
distributed  in  profusion." — (Morning  Post,  Mar.  28,  1788.) 

The  Newspapers  gave  Theatrical  Gossip — as  the 
following,  all  from  the  Morning  Post,  Jan.  15,  1789, 
shews : — 

"It  has  lately  been  a  practice  with  one,  or  two,  of  the 
female  performers  at  Drury  Lane  Theatre,  to  refuse  appearing 
on  the  stage,  though  much  after  the  time  of  commencing  the 
play,  because  the  boxes  may  not  happen  to  be  filled  with 
fashionable  visitors,  regardless  of  any  disapprobation  which 
may  arise  from  the  impatience  of  the  audience. 

"  When  the  New  Theatre  is  erected  for  the  Managers  of 
OLD  DRURY,  it  is  in  contemplation  to  fix  a  Clock  over  the 
Stage,  where  the  inscription  is  now  placed,  that,  if  the  per- 
formance should  be  improperly  delayed,  and  the  audience 
become  clamorous,  the  Public  may  be  informed  to  whom  the 
blame  should  be  applied." 

"A  whimsical  incident  happened  the  other  night,  at  the 
reading  of  Cumberland's  new  Comedy.  The  Author,  who 
read  the  piece  himself,  began  with  the  Dramatis  Personos, 
thus,  '  The  Impostor,  by  Mr.  Palmer : '  A  laugh  occurring  at 
this,  the  Author  became  embarrassed  on  seeing  Mr.  Palmer 
in  the  room,  but,  recovering  himself,  he  added,  'being  his 
first  appearance  in  that  character.' " 

"Mrs.  Jordan  and  Kemble,  according  to  Green  Room 
report,  are  not  upon  the  most  amicable  footing.  It  is  supposed 
that  the  lady  takes  advantages  of  her  popularity  to  be  ill  when 
she  pleases,  and  has  refused  to  perform  in  a  farce  when  Mrs. 
Siddons  appears  in  the  play,  and  for  this  modest  reason,  *  that 
she  will  not  fill  the  house,  and  let  Mrs.  Siddons  run  away  with 
the  reputation  of  it.'  " — (Morning  Post,  Mar.  10,  1789.) 


1 92  Old  Times. 

We  come  across  a  curious  glimpse  of  Mrs.  Robinson 
— the  "Perdita,"  (deserted  by  her  "  Florizel,")  in  the 
Morning  Post,  March  u,  1789. 

"Perdita,  the  once  beautiful  Perdita,  parades,  every  day, 
along  Pall  Mall,  in  her  carriage,  from  which  she  frequently 

'  Casts  a  longing  ling'ring  look,' 

in  hopes  that  her  charms,  which,  formerly,  commanded  the 
grave  and  the  gay,  may  revive  an  attachment  long  since  extin- 
guished. This  unhappy  beauty  had  better  try  Hyde  Park,  if 
she  must  have  a  little  morning  air — such  a  daily  excursion 
would  be  more  serviceable  to  her  "health,  than  an  anxious 
ride  through  Pall  Mall,  can  be  gratifying  to  her  pride." 

Theatrical  Salaries  were  not  very  high — for,  fesfe,  the 
Morning  Post,  of  March  13,  1789: — 

"  It  is  said  that  Mrs.  Jordan  has  but  Six  POUNDS  a  week. 
Who  will  venture  to  say,  that,  considering  the  present  attrac- 
tion of  her  talent,  this  is  an  adequate  recompense  ?  " 

The  Morning  Post,  Oct.  27,  1798,  has  the  following  two 
paragraphs  as  to  behaviour  at  the  theatres  : — 

"  Two  men  in  the  pit  at  Drury  Lane  Theatre,  last  night, 
were  so  turbulent,  and  riotous,  during  the  last  act  of  Henry 
the  Fifth,  that  the  performance  was  interrupted  upwards  of  a 
quarter  of  an  hour.  The  audience,  at  last,  asserted  their 
power,  and  turned  them  disgracefully  out  of  the  Theatre. 
This  should  always  be  done  to  crush  the  race  of  disgusting 
puppies  that  are  a  constant  nuisance  at  the  playhouse  every 
night." 

"  A  box  lobby  puppy  having  insulted  a  gentleman  at  Covent 
Garden  Theatre,  on  Friday  night,  received  a  very  suitable 
drubbing.  When  this  necessary  chastisement  was  completed, 
the  beater  demanded  satisfaction.  '  Have  I  not  thrashed  you 
to  your  heart's  content?'  said  the  gentleman.  The  other 


Old  Times.  193 

replied,   with  great  simplicity,    'Sir,   that  is  no  satisfaction 
tome.'" 

Fancy  our  modern  Royal  Family,  on  their  visits  to 
the  Theatre— -joining  heartily  in  the  choruses,  and  witness- 
ing slang  dances  :  yet  so  it  was  in  1793. 

"The  very  pleasant  Comedy  of  Notoriety  was,  yesterday 
evening,  performed  before  their  Majesties,  the  three  elder 
Princesses,  and  a  very  brilliant  house.  Some  well-timed  songs 
introduced  into  the  pantomime  of  Harlequin's  Museum,  gave 
the  audience  an  opportunity  of  testifying  their  loyalty  to  the 
King,  and  attachment  to  both  her  Majesty,  and  her  family, 
who  joined  heartily  in  the  choruses.  We  never  saw  them 
better  entertained.  But  surely  the  Slang  dance  which  is 
introduced  might  be  very  properly  omitted  : — it  is  too  vulgar 
for  so  elegant,  and  well  conducted,  a  theatre." — (Times,  Feb. 

5,  I793-) 

"  The  private  boxes  at  the  Haymarket  Theatre  are  so  thinly 
partitioned,  that  we  are  surprised  any  person  should  deem  them 
proper  places  to  recapitulate  domestic  bickerings" — (Times,  Feb. 

6,  I793-) 

The  following  is  apropos  of  Mrs.  Jordan  : — 

"Performers  at  the  Theatres  are  now  paid  more  liberally 
than  heretofore.  We  are  sorry  when  their  public  conduct  gives 
reason  for  complaint.  As  the  frequenters  of  them  are  their 
support,  it  will  ever  be  necessary,  in  the  public,  to  bring  them 
to  a  proper  sense  of  their  situation.  It  is  only  by  this  means 
the  conductors  of  our  entertainments  can  have  any  sway  over 
them." — (Times,  Mar.  10,  1793.) 

"  BRANDENBURGH  HOUSE  THEATRICALS. 

"The  opening  of  the  New  Theatre,  belonging  to  the 
Margrave  of  Anspach's  Villa,  at  Hammersmith,  took  place  on 
Thursday  evening,  with  an  entertainment  the  most  costly, 

N 


194  Old  Times. 

and  at  the  same  time,  the  most  tasty,  and  elegant,  we  ever 
remember  to  have  witnessed.  The  Prince  of  WALES,  who 
was  present,  declared  he  had  never  seen  anything  more 
splendid,  and  handsomely  conducted.  The  Theatre  is  built 
at  a  short  distance  from  the  house,  between  which  there  is  a 
communication  by  means  of  a  colonnade.  The  outside  appear- 
ance rather  resembles  an  old  Gothic  building,  than  a  Temple 
devoted  to  the  Muses.  The  inside  is  prettily  fitted  up,  but 
the  ceiling  is  too  low  for  the  size  of  it. 

"  The  performance  opened  by  a  prelude  :  after  which  a  little 
piece  was  represented,  entitled  FANFAN  AND  COLAS,  the 
characters  by  the  MARGRAVINE,  young  KEPPEL  CRAVEN, 
Mons.  and  Medame  TEXIER,  and  Count  D'ALET,  Lord  High 
Chamberlain  of  the  Household,  The  third  petite  piece  was  a 
very  humorous  dialogue  called  LE  POULET,  between  Mrs. 
HOBART,  as  an  English  servant  maid,  and  Mons.  LE  TEXIER, 
as  a  French  Valet.  Both  were  inquisitive  after  news  :  the  one 
told  all  the  chit  chat  of  the  town  in  her  English  dialect  :  the 
other  told  the  great  exploits  going  forward  in  France,  in 
French.  Mrs.  HOBART  played  her  part  to  admiration,  and 
very  aptly  introduced,  among  other  things,  the  story  of  her 
own  public  Fete,  last  summer,  at  Ham,  where  the  torrents  of 
rain  poured  down,  in  such  abundance,  as  to  turn  all  her  fine 
creams  into  poor  milk  and  water. 

"  The  supper,  after  the  play,  was  magnificent  in  the 
extreme,  and  consisted  of  a  profusion  of  all  the  delicacies  of 
the  season.  Besides  Soups,  and  every  dainty  meat,  there  were 
pine  apples,  new  grapes,  cherries,  strawberries,  &c. 

"After  the  supper,  there  was  a  Masquerade,  and  Ball, 
which  was  quite  unexpected  to  the  Company.  The  Margravine 
had  provided  new  dresses  for  all  the  company,  and  the  Ladies, 
and  Gentlemen,  each  dressed  in  separate  rooms.  The  Duke 
of  CLARENCE  changed  his  dress  seven  different  times,  and 
greatly  added  to  the  hilarity  of  the  entertainment.  The 
PRINCE  was  in  a  domino." — (Times,  April  27,  1793.) 

"  It  having  been  observed,  in  some  public  prints,  that  the 
Hon.  MRS.  TWISLETON  was  the  first  female  of  fashion  who  had 


5 

"N 


4 


4 


Old  Times.  195 

made  the  stage  her  profession,  it  is  but  justice  to  notice,  that 
Mrs.  HOLMAN  (the  ci-devant  Mrs.  HUGHES)  who  made  her 
debut  in  Dublin,  some  years  since,  has  a  priority  to  public 
notice  on  this  account :  if  real  rank  by  birth,  education,  and 
fortune,  give  a  title  to  distinction,  if  admission  to  the  first 
orders  of  fashionable  society  have  pretensions,  the  friends  of 
that  Lady  have  certainly  a  right  to  enter  her  claims  on  this 
subject." — (Times,  Feb.  13,  1794.) 

OPENING  OF  NEW  DRURY. 

"Public  curiosity,  which  has  long  been  on  the  tip-toe  of 
expectation,  was  yesterday  gratified  by  the  opening  of  this 
superb  edifice,  under  the  immediate  management  of  Mr. 
KEMBLE,  whose  approved  talents  well  entitle  him  to  so  flatter- 
ing a  mark  of  distinction.  Of  this  Theatre,  language  must  be 
inadequate  to  give  even  a  faint  idea  of  the  effect  it  produces 
on  the  spectator,  at  his  entr'e :  nor  does  the  first  impression  in 
the  least  diminish  from  a  more  minute  examination  into  its 
structure,  and  decorations :  the  whole  forming  a  happy  com- 
bination of  the  gay,  and  the  grand.  The  Stage,  fitted  as  it  was 
for  an  Oratorio,  presented  a  nouvelle,  and  pleasing,  prospect. 
The  representation  of  a  Gothic  Cathedral,  with  the  'Long 
sounding  Isle,'  and 

'  Storied  windows  richly  dight 
Casting  a  dim  religious  light,' 

was  admirably  adapted  to  suit  with  the  solemnity  appertaining 
to  sacred  selections. 

"  From  the  opening  of  the  doors,  to  the  first  crash  of  the 
band,  most  able  in  all  its  movements,  the  satisfaction  and 
delight  of  the  audience  was  expressed  by  repeated,  and 
increasing,  plaudits — encouraged  not  a  little  by  the  care,  and 
attention,  evinced  by  the  Proprietors,  for  the  convenience  of 
the  public,  in  the  approaches  to  the  House — in  every  respect 
answering  to  the  magnificence,  and  accommodation,  within. 
Independent  of  the  attraction,  long,  very  long,  to  be  expected 
from  the  novelty,  as  well  as  beauty,  of  the  NEW  DRURY,  some 


196  Old  Times. 

credit  ought  to  be  given  to  that  which  must  ever  have  its 
weight  with  the  people  at  large,  as  well  as  amateurs — a 
numerous,  and  well  appointed,  set  of  VOCAL  performers.  The 
names  of  HARRISON,  STORAGE,  KELLY,  CROUCH,  and  DIGNUM, 
are  too  proverbial  for  excellence  in  their  several  lines,  to  need 
our  eulogium.  Miss  LEAKE,  whose  unaffected  correctness  of 
style,  and  melody  of  tone,  must  shortly  place  her  deservedly 
high  in  her  profession,  may  also  be  deemed  almost  as  powerful 
an  acquisition  as  Miss  PARKE,  at  the  other  House.  Mr. 
MEREDITH,  from  Liverpool,  possesses  a  fine  deep  volume  of 
voice,  which  he  exerted  to  great  advantage.  This  Gentleman, 
we  recollect  some  years  since  at  Ranelagh,  and,  if  we  are  not 
very  much  mistaken,  at  the  Little  Theatre,  as  the  PRODIGAL 
SON  of  DR.  ARNOLD'S  charming  Oratorio. 

"  Giornovici's  Concerto  would  have  gone  off  much  better, 
had  the  subject  not  been  so  tedious.  This  is  a  fault  we  have 
too  often  cause  to  find  with  Concerto  Performers,  who  fre- 
quently give  us  too  much  of  a  good  thing.  His  mode  of 
introduction  was  particularly  awkward — some  other  might  be 
contrived  than  pitching  him  upon  a  plank,  brought  in  at  the 
hazard  of  discomfiting  the  head  dresses,  or  breaking  the  noses 
of  the  ladies  in  the  Orchestra. 

"  The  sound  was  rather  too  redundant,  in  general,  and  the 
language  of  the  Gods,  now  and  then,  too  plainly  heard  in  the 
pit ;  but,  as  it  arises  merely  from  the  freshness  of  the  building, 
this  inconvenience  will  gradually  be  amended. 

"  The  PRINCE  OF  WALES  was  with  MRS.  FITZHERBERT,  and 
MR.  SHERIDAN,  in  the  box  appropriated  to  his  Royal  High- 
ness. Lord  THURLOW  sat,  apparently  well  pleased,  in  the  box 
beneath.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  KEMBLE,  Mrs.  SIDDONS,  and  Sir 
FRANCIS  BOURGEOIS,  saw  that  all  was  well,  in  one  of  the 
orchestra  boxes. 

"  From  the  frequent  encores,  the  Selection  was  not  over  till 
a  late  hour.  The  usual  cry  of  '  take  care  of  your  pockets '  on 
quitting  the  Theatre,  was  superfluous  :  for  Townsend  attended 
to  keep  a  '  wary  eye ; '  so  the  pickpockets,  of  course,  found  it 
impracticable  to  make  any  'palpable  hits.'" — (Times,  March 
i3»  I794-) 


Old  Times.  197 

"  Miss  FARREN  has  left  London  for  Dublin  where  she  is  to 
perform  12  nights.  The  terms  of  her  engagement,  are  ^500, 
and  a  clear  benefit.  It  is  not  true  that  she  takes  Derby  in  her 
route." — (Times,  June  26,  1794-) 

"The  high  demands  made  by  some  Actresses  on  the 
Management  of  Theatres,  are  so  exorbitant,  that  we  trust  they 
will  not  be  complied  with.  Mrs.  JORDAN,  and  STORAGE,  have 
demanded,  the  first,  ^30,  and  the  latter,  £20,  a  night.  Much 
as  we  admire  the  abilities  of  each  on  the  stage,  yet  we  know, 
from  experience,  that  the  higher  the  salaries  of  some  performers 
are,  the  more  they  are  prone  to  disrespect  the  public,  and  to 
give  themselves  insufferable  airs." — (Times,  Oct.  4,  I794-) 

Storace.  has  come  down  to  the  terms  of  her  last  engagement, 
and  they  are  adequate  to  her  abilities.  The  ci-devant  PRINCESS 
of  PETERSHAM  still  holds  out :  but  it  is  thought  that  want  of 
ammunition  will  occasion  her  soon  to  capitulate.  When  the 
theatre  was  opened  in  Goodman's  fields  a  first  rate  actress 
thought  herself  amply  paid  wth  forty  shillings  per  week  :  but, 
now,  a  first  rate  actress  has  the  conscience  to  demand  forty 
founds  PER  NIGHT." — (Times,  Oct.  9,  1794.) 

"  Mrs.  JORDAN  has  at  last  condescended  to  descend  to  her 
former  situation  in  the  Theatre,  at  her  former  salary."— (Times, 
Oct.  1 8,  1794.) 

"  The  popular  DRAMATIST,  in  his  rage  for  hunting  down  the 
follies  of  the  day,  we  hope  will  not  forget  to  be  in  at  the  death 
of  our  masculine  women  of  fashion.  Their  hunting,  shooting, 
driving,  cricketing,  faroing,  and  skating,  present  a  monstrous 
chaos  of  absurdity,  not  only  making  day,  and  night,  hideous, 
but  the  sex  itself  equivocal.  Lady  men,  or  men  ladies, '  you'll 
say  'tis  PERSIAN,  but  let  it  be  changed.'"— (Times,  Oct.  18, 
I794-) 

"  Much  has  been  said  upon  the  BATH  FRACAS,  but  the  cir- 
cumstance has  never  yet  been  explained.  It  is  briefly  this  : 


198  Old  Times. 

The  Hon.  Mrs.  TWISLETON  was  at  the  Ball-room,  and  stood  up 
to  dance  :  she  stickled  a  little  for  precedence  as  an  Honorable  : 
the  Master  of  the  Ceremonies  began  to  object  to  her  dancing  at 
all,  as  a  Public  Performer.  Her  partner  instanced  a  Performer, 
M.  YANIEVITZ,  who  was  in  the  constant  habit  of  appearing 
there.  The  Master  of  the  Ceremonies  went  up  to  this  amiable, 
and  distinguished,  foreigner,  and  intimated  that  his  appearance 
there  was  thought  too  frequent,  by  the  Subscribers.  Mr. 
YANIEVITZ,  demanded  who  had  given  the  Master  of  Cere- 
monies this  intimation :  a  satisfaction  which  was  refused. 
Next  morning  Mr.  YANIEVITZ  wrote  a  proper  letter  to  the  M. 
C.  expressive  of  his  sentiments  upon  this  occasion. 

"  A  meeting  of  subscribers  was  called,  and  they  resolved, 
that,  in  future,  no  Public  Performer,  of  any  description, 
should  be  permitted  to  appear  in  any  of  the  Public  rooms." — 
(Times,  March  4,  1795.) 

"  Annual  tickets,  and  orders  are  accompanied  with  a  very 
great  inconvenience  :  the  side  boxes  are  filled,  at  present,  with 
butlers,  and  valets- de-chambre.  It  is  not  that  these  persons 
conduct  themselves  amiss,  but  they  deter  gentlemen  from 
entering,  whose  appearance  might  prove  distressing  to  them." 
— (Times,  Sept.  26,  1795.) 

"  On  an  information  being  likely  to  be  made  against  many 
of  the  performers  in  both  Theatres,  on  the  Act  against  profane 
cursing,  and  swearing — it  became  a  question,  as  the  Act  is  a 
discriminating  one,  whether  they  swore  as  gentlemen :  when  it 
was  decided  that  they  should  be  treated  according  to  the 
Character  they  personified." — (Times,  Dec.  17,  1795.) 

"The  Theatres  were  shut  on  Saturday  evening,  to  com- 
memorate, with  the  greater  solemnity,  the  Martyrdom  of  KING 
CHARLES." — (Times,  Feb.  i,  1796.) 

Drury  Lane  Theatre  has  not  experienced  a  riot  so  wild,  and 
unappeasable,  as  that  of  Tuesday  evening,  since  the  Blacka- 
moor Washed  White,  of  famous  memory.  The  Entertainments 


Old  Times.  199 

advertised  for  the  night's  amusements  were  three.  The  Smugglers, 
having  nothing  contraband  on  board,  was  not  only  suffered 
to  pass,  but  was  hailed  with  three  cheers  : — The  Virgin  Un- 
masked had  her  admirers — but  the  Deserter  was  mauled  most 
dreadfully — for  Young  WELSH  had  permitted  a  new  Skirmish 
to  make  his  debut,  as  Suett  phrased  it :  and,  being  a  miserable 
wretch,  when  the  audience  expressed  a  disapprobation,  the 
Performers,  to  shorten  the  ridicule,  shortened  the  scenes, 
which  on  such  occasions,  is  usual,  and  prudent — but,  the  cur- 
tain dropping  at  ten  minutes  past  ten,  created  a  violent  burst 
of  indignation.  KELLY  first  attempted  to  enquire  the  wishes 
of  John  Bull,  and  expressed  himself,  in  the  name  of  the 
Performers,  ignorant  of  how  he  was  disobliged.  All  striving  to 
be  heard,  none,  of  course,  could  be  so,  and  he  retired.  Uproar 
still  increased,  and,  after  near  half  an  hour  of  this  din,  SUETT 
made  his  appearance,  and  apologised  for  the  badness  of  the 
stage  struck  hero,  but  he  was  soon  given  to  understand,  that 
that  was  not  the  cause  of  the  Row,  but  that  the  audience 
expected  to  have  the  "Deserter"  played  wholly  over  again. 
Mr.  S.,  after  "  looking  as  queer  as  a  quartern  of  soap  after  a 
week's  wash,"  expressed  his  concern  that  many  of  the 
Performers  were  gone,  and  the  stage  lights  out,  but  this  was 
the  cause  of  fresh  howlings,  and  as  somebody  cried  out,  '  God 
save  the  King,'  he  promised  to  send  as  many  of  the  Orchestra, 
as  could  be  found.  In  five  minutes  this  popular  hymn  was 
received  with  acclamation.  The  curtain  drew  up,  and  all  the 
Performers  in  the  Theatre  sung  it.  The  curtain  again  dropt 
amid  violent  tumults  which  continued,  and  increased.  Again 
Mr.  SUETT  appeared,  and  declared  '  how  much  hurt  the  Pro- 
prietors were  at  any  part  of  the  Performance  being  omitted : 
that  it  was  without  their  concurrence,  or  even  knowledge,  and 
that  such  a  circumstance  should  never  happen  again.'  This 
rather  mollified  the  audience,  and  many  dispersed  at  a  quarter 
past  1 1.  Almost  the  whole  of  the  lights  in  the  house  had  been 
long  extinguished  :  and  some  of  the  benches  were  torn  up." — 
— (Times,  May  13,  1796.) 

"  On  Thursday  last  a  ludicrous  fracas  took  place  in  one  of 


2oo  Old  Times. 

the  boxes  of  the  first  circle,  at  Drury  Lane  Theatre.  A 
gentleman,  finding  himself  much  incommoded  by  the  heat, 
had  recourse  to  his  smelling-bottle.  One  of  the  fighting  lobby 
loungers,  who  stood  close  to  him,  took  offence  >t  the  scent, 
and  desired  him  to  put  it  up.  The  demand  not  being  obeyed, 
an  altercation  ensued,  which  ended  with  the  customary  etiquette 
of  BoabdiVs  presenting  his  card,  and  desiring  his  antagonist's, 
in  return.  The  card  was  accepted,  but  the  only  notice  taken 
of  it,  was  a  formal  offer  of  the  smelling-bottle.  This  retort 
completely  disconcerted  the  would-be  Duellist,  who  found 
himself  so  unexpectedly  taken  by  the  nose,  and  the  affair  con- 
cluded with  a  general  laugh  at  the  impertinence  of  the 
offender." — (Times,  Oct.  7,  1797.) 

"The  indecent  behaviour  of  the  Box-lobby  loungers,  be- 
comes, every  day,  more  disorderly,  and  offensive.  Two  of 
this  contemptible  class,  who  frequent  the  Theatre,  merely  to 
interrupt  the  performance,  and  disturb  the  audience,  quarrelled, 
on  Tuesday  night,  at  Drury-Lane  house,  and,  regardless  of 
every  kind  of  decorum,  stripped  in  the  lobby,  and  decided 
their  dispute  d  la  Mendoza.  We  trust  that  the  timely  inter- 
ference of  peace  officers  will  prevent,  for  the  future,  a  conduct 
so  degrading  to  society,  and  so  reproachful  to  public  manners." 
—(Times,  Oct.  1 8,  1798.) 


Cant  phrases,  and  catch  words,  have  been  in  use  on 
the  stage  for  many  years,  Paul  Bedford's  sonorous 
"  I  believe  you  my  Bo-o-o-o-y,"  and  Lionel  Brough's 
"  That's  the  sort  of  man  I  am,"  being  illustrations  of  the 
fact.  Something  like  these,  tickles  the  fancy  of  the 
audience,  and,  in  very  little  time,  the  phrase  is  all  over 
the  town,  and  in  everybody's  mouth. 

"  Knight's  cant  phrase  of  '  That  accounts  for  it,'  is  pleasantly 
made  use  of  in  the  new  Farce  at  Covent  Garden.  Bond  St. 
Bobbies  have,  all,  their  different  cant  phrases,  indeed,  they 


I 


Old  Times.  201 

must  say  something,  and  have  no  other  talents  for  conversa- 
tion, so  'that  accounts  for  it."' — (Times,  Dec.  5,  1798.) 

"Cant  Phrases. 

"Our  Dramatic  Authors  have  lately  amused  themselves, 
and  the  Public,  with  cant  phrases,  instead  of  character,  '  That's 
your  fort ' — '  Keep  moving' — &c.  Young  Dibdin,  in  his  few  and 
Doctor,  seems  to  have  hit  upon  the  happiest  cant,  imaginable ; 
'  That  accounts  for  it,'  which  seems  applicable  in  almost  all 
cases. 

"  There  is  no  opposition  to  Government,  in  the  House  of 
Commons — for  a  change  of  Ministry  would  ruin  the  country 
— that  accounts  for  it. 

"A  very  great  Personage  pays  no  regard  to  Lovers'  Vows: 
he  has  been  disgusted  with  a  German  translation — that 
accounts  for  it. 

"  Buonaparte  wishes  to  return  to  Paris,  though  he  should  go 
thither  as  naked  as  the  back  of  his  hand ;  he  prefers  soup- 
maigre  to  water  melons — that  accounts  for  it. 

"  Women  complain  of  the  want  of  Gallantry  in  men,  though 
the  modern  dress  shows  more  than  enough  to  excite  passion, 
but — that  accounts  for  it. 

"This  cant  phrase  would  comprehend  all  the  science  of 
Logic,  if  properly  used,  and  appropriately  designed.  It  might 
be  amplified,  in  the  present  instance,  to  any  length  of  space, 
but  exemplification  breaks  off  because  ne  quid  nimis — that 
accounts  for  it? — (Times,  Dec.  14,  1798.) 

"  The  mania  of  private  acting,  rages  with  more  fury  than 
ever.  There  are,  at  present,  no  less  than  six  Private  Theatres, 
in  the  Cities  of  Westminster,  and  London.  This  is  a  kind 
of  amusement  which,  on  the  ground  of  morality,  should  be 
'  more  honoured  in  the  breach  than  the  observance,'  and  calls 
for  the  interference  of  the  Magistracy." — (Times,  Dec.  26, 
1798.) 

"During  the  representation  of  the  play  of  Macbeth,  at  a 


2O2  Old  Times. 

Provincial  Theatre,  some  nights  since,  an  incident  occurred, 
which  totally  disconcerted  all  the  gravity  of  the  Tragic  Muse. 
In  the  Banquet  Scene,  Banquets  murderer  was,  by  some 
untoward  accident,  missing,  and  the  business  of  the  drama 
was  threatened  with  suspension,  when  in  the  exigency  of  the 
moment,  an  ignorant  candle-snuffer  was  pushed  forward  to 
tell  the  horrible  tale : — on  seeing  him,  Macbeth,  who  had 
been  motionless  with  confusion,  and  embarrassment,  burst 
from  his  state  of  torpor,  and  exclaimed,  '  There's  blood  upon 
thy  face  ! '  'Is  there  by  G — ,'  cried  the  astonished  clown, 
and  clapping  his  hands  to  his  cheek,  with  a  mixture  of  anger, 
and  alarm,  continued,  '  Then  that  domn'd  blunt  razor  has 
cutten  me  agen.'" — (Times,  Jan.  7,  1799.) 


A  notice  of  the  Stage,  of  this  time,  would  be  incomplete, 
if  Ireland's  impudent  forgery  of  "  Vortigern  and  Rowena," 
were  not  mentioned.  It  was  supposed  to  be  an  undis- 
covered play  of  Shakespeare's,  and,  with  many  other 
Shakespearean  forgeries,  was  fabricated  by  W.  H.  Ireland, 
who  is  classed  as  follows  : — 

"  Four  forgers  born  in  one  prolific  age, 
Much  critical  acumen  did  engage  : 
The  first *  was  soon,  by  doughty  Douglas,  scar'd, 
Tho'  Johnson  would  have  screen'd  him,  had  he  dar'd. 
The  next  had  all  the  cunning  of  a  Scot ;  2 
The  third,  invention,  genius, — may,  what  not  ?  3 
Fraud,  now  exhausted,  only  could  dispense 
To  her  fourth  son,  their  threefold  impudence." 

Sheridan  believed  in  the  play,  and  engaged  with 
Samuel  Ireland,  the  father  of  the  forger,  to  pay  down 
£300,  and  half  the  profits  of  the  first  60  nights.  It  was 

1  Wm.  Lauder  who  tried   to  make  Milton  out  a  plagiarist, — but  his 
quotations  from  various  Latin  authors  were  proved  to  be  false. 

2  James  Macpherson,  for  his  Ossian.  3  Chatterton. 


Old  Times.  203 

produced  at  Drury  Lane  Theatre,  on  2  Ap.  1796, 
Kemble,  playing  Vortigern.  He  was  an  unbeliver  in  the 
authenticity  of  the  MS.,  and,  certainly,  did  not  attempt 
to  uphold  it  by  his  acting.  In  fact  he  burst  the  bubble, 
altogether,  in  the  fifth  Act,  by  emphasising,  with  much 
meaning,  the  words,  "  And  when  this  solemn  mockery 
is  o'er,"  that  the  audience  caught  at  it,  and,  amidst  a 
chorus  of  yells,  and  hisses,  the  play  was  utterly  con- 
demned. W.  H.  Ireland  soon  afterwards  confessed  all 
his  forgeries. 


204  Old  Times. 


OPERA    AND    BALLET. 

If  there  were  good  Actors,  in  those  days,  there  were 
also  good  singers,  traditions  of  whom  have  lasted  until 
our  time.  Of  course,  they  were  fewer  than  the  Actors, 
because  there  was  but  one  Opera — and  the  operas,  then  in 
vogue,  required  but  a  very  limited  number  of  artists. 

Still,  the  names  of  several  of  the  prime  donne  are  yet 
remembered,  and  the  names  of  Mara,  Storace,  and  Crouch 
will  always  live  in  the  annals  of  song. 

Elizabeth  Mara,  whose  maiden  name  was  Schmelling, 
was  born  at  Cassel  in  1750.  She  commenced  her 
musical  education'  by  playing  on  the  violin,  but,  sub- 
sequently, finding  she  had  a  good  voice,  she  devoted 
herself  to  its  cultivation,  and  so  far  succeeded,  as  even 
to  earn  unqualified  approbation,  and  applause,  from 
Frederick  the  Great — who  was,  as  a  rule,  absolutely 
indifferent  to  Music.  She  first  came  to  England,  in 
1784,  and  chiefly  resided  here  till  1802;  when  she 
retired  to  Moscow,  where  she  had  property,  which,  how- 
ever, was  destroyed  at  the  French  Invasion,  and  de- 
struction of  the  city,  in  1812,  and  she  was  reduced  to 
poverty.  She  then  went  to  reside  at  Revel,  where  her 
old  friends  kindly  helped  to  support  her.  She  came 
once  more  to  London,  in  1819,  and  gave  a  Concert — but 
her  voice  was  gone,  and  this  was  her  last  effort.  She 
went  back  to  Revel,  where  she  died,  in  1833,  aged  84. 


1 


-  m- 


or  Grim  hard  from  Paris. 


Old  Times.  205 

Anne,  Selina  Storace,  was  born  in  England,  and  was 
sister  of  the  celebrated  Composer.  She  was  an  excellent 
actress,  a  beautiful  singer,  and  was  universally  popular. 
She  died  in  1814. 

Of  Mrs.  Crouch,  ne'e  Phillips,  1  have  already  written, 
slightly,  as  an  Actress.  She  was  born  in  1763,  and 
went  early  on  the  stage,  making  her  debut,  at  Drury 
Lane,  in  the  play  of  "The  Lord  of  the  Manor,"  in  1780, 
so  that  she  was  but  17.  In  1784,  she  went  to  Ireland, 
where  her  admirers  were  numerous,  and  some  most 
passionate.  One  young  man,  whose  affection  she  did 
not  return,  declared  he  would  shoot  both  her,  and  himself 
— and  went  to  the  theatre,  ostensibly  to  carry  out  his 
threat,  but  he  was  ejected  from  the  building,  and, 
ultimately,  left  the  country. 

But  there  was,  about  this  time,  a  very  romantic  episode 
in  her  life.  She  was  loved  by  a  young  man,  heir  to  a 
title,  and  fortune,  and  she  returned  his  love.  Naturally, 
under  the  circumstances,  his  family  had  higher  matri- 
monial aims  for  him,  so  the  young  people  had  no 
other  course  open  to  them,  than  a  clandestine  Marriage. 
They  were  even  before  the  Altar,  of  a  Roman  Catholic 
Chapel,  but  the  priest  refused  to  marry  them,  on  hearing 
the  name  of  the  bridegroom,  unless  he  had  his  father's 
consent.  No  priest  could  be  found  to  marry  them,  for 
the  lover  was  under  age,  so  the  love  lorn  couple 
eloped,  hoping,  at  some  seaside  port  to  find  a  ship  for 
Scotland.  They  were  followed  by  both  irate  fathers, 
Mr.  Phillips  having  informed  the  other.  The  lovers  were 
separated,  but  history  is  silent  as  to  whether  they  ever 
met  again. 

After  she  got  over  this  disappointment,  which  took 
some  time,  she  married  Lieutenant  Crouch  of  the  Navy, 


206  Old  Times. 

— good  looking,  but  dissipated,  and  spendthrift. — Of 
course  the  marriage  was  not  a  happy  one,  and  they 
parted  : 

Her  voice  was  exquisitely  sweet,  and  she  was  a  most 
graceful  actress.  She  kept  her  hold  on  the  public,  and 
was  on  the  stage  until  a  short  time  before  her  death, 
in  1805. 

The  names  of  Incledon,  and  Braham,  have  only  to  be 
mentioned,  to  recall  their  vocal  triumphs. 

Benjamin  Charles  Incledon,  was  the  son  of  a  surgeon 
— arid  was  born  at  St.  Keveran,  in  Cornwall,  in  1764. 
He  made  his  first  appearance,  in  London,  in  1790 — 
when  he  played  in  "  The  poor  Soldier."  He,  at  once, 
became  a  public  favourite,  and  so  continued  until  his 
retirement  from  the  stage,  which  was  some  time  before 
his  death,  in  1826.  His  acting  was  clumsy,  and  un- 
graceful, but  his  sweet  voice  rendered  him  unequalled 
in  ballad  singing,  which  was  his  especial  forte. 

John  Braham,  (or  more  correctly  Abraham,}  was  born 
of  Jewish  parents,  in  London,  A.D.  1774.  Early  left 
an  orphan,  he  was  brought  up  by  Leoni,  a  celebrated 
Italian  Singer,  and  so  well  taught  by  him,  was  he,  that 
he  came  out,  as  a  public  vocalist,  before  he  was  eleven 
years  old,  when  he  sang  bravura  songs,  which  had  been 
written  for  Madame  Mara.  After  singing,  both  in 
English,  and  Italian,  Opera,  he  went  to  Italy — and,  after 
his  return,  he  appeared  at  Co  vent  Garden,  in  1801.  He 
died  in  1856. 

Michael  Kelly  was  both  composer,  and  singer,  but  he 
cannot  take  rank  with  either  Incledon,  or  Braham.  He 
made  his  first  appearance  on  the  stage  of  the  Metropolis, 
at  Drury  Lane,  in  1787.  He  composed  elegant,  and 
pretty,  airs,  and  he  sang  nicely,  but  many  of  his  com- 


I 


Old  Times.  207 

positions  are  said  to  have  had  their  origin  in  Italian,  and 
German,  sources.  This  gave  rise  to  a  bon  mot  of 
Sheridan's,  when  he  heard  that  Kelly  had  turned  wine 
merchant — he  suggested  that,  over  his  door,  should  be 
painted,  "  Michael  Kelly,  composer  of  wine,  and  importer 
of  music."  Died  1826. 

Far  more  eminent  than  he,  as  composers,  were  Arnold, 
Shield,  Storace,  Linley,  and  Jackson. 

Samuel  Arnold,  Mus.  Doc.,  was  born  in  1740 — and 
had  the  advantage  of  studying  music  under  Nares.  He 
was,  during  his  lifetime,  both  organist  to  the  King,  and 
to  Westminster  Abbey,  wrote  several  Oratorios,  and 
published  selections  of  sacred  music — but  it  is  as  a  com- 
poser for  the  theatre,  that  we  have  to  consider  him. 
When  only  twenty-three  years  of  age,  he  was  appointed 
composer  to  Covent  Garden  Theatre,  and  his  earliest 
operas  were  there  produced.  In  1776,  he  filled  the 
same  position  with  regard  to  the  Haymarket,  and  this 
versatile  genius  composed  Operas,  and  Oratorios,  until 
his  death  in  1802. 

William  Shield  (born  in  1754)  carved  his  own  way 
up  to  the  eminence,  which  he  enjoyed,  in  his  profession. 
Apprenticed  to  a  boatbuilder,  he  gave  up  that  business, 
as  soon  as  he  was  out  of  his  time  :  and,  being  musical, 
and,  playing  well  on  the  violin,  he  soon  obtained  a  situa- 
tion at  Scarborough,  as  leader  of  Concerts  there,  and 
gained  such  a  reputation,  that  he  was  offered,  and 
accepted,  the  position  of  first  Viola,  at  the  Italian  Opera 
House.  His  first  theatrical  work  was  composing  the 
Music,  (in  1778),  to  "The  Flitch  of  Bacon."  He  wrote 
the  music  for  many  other  plays — and,  on  the  death  of 
Sir  W.  Parsons,  he  gained  the  appointment  of  "  Master  of 
his  Majesty's  Musicians  in  ordinary."  He  died  in  1829. 


208  Old  Times. 

In  spite  of  his  foreign  name,  Stephen  Storace,  was 
born  in  England,  although  of  Italian  parentage.  He  was 
early  sent  to  Italy,  and  studied  at  the  Conservatorio  of 
St.  Onophris,  at  Naples,  in  1787,  being  then  24  years 
of  age.  He  returned  to  England,  and,  soon  afterwards, 
was  appointed  Composer  to  Drury  Lane ;  and,  up  to  his 
death,  in  1796,  he  was  actively  engaged  on  Operas,  &c. 

Thomas  Linley  received  his  musical  education  from 
Chilcott,  the  organist  at  Bath.  One  of  his  daughters, 
Eliza,  married  Sheridan,  and,  soon  after  the  production 
of  his  first  theatrical  essay,  "The  Duenna,"  he  became 
joint  patentee,  with  his  son-in-law,  in  Drury  Lane 
Theatre,  and,  leaving  Bath,  went  to  reside  in  London. 
There,  he  wrote  for  the  Stage,  and  composed  many 
operas,  besides  songs,  madrigals,  &c.  He  received  a 
severe  shock,  when  his  son  was  drowned,  in  1778 — and, 
although  he  lived  till  1795,  he  never  recovered  from  it. 

William  Jackson  (whose  7!?  Deum  is,  or  was,  such 
a  favourite),  was  born,  at  Exeter,  in  1730,  and  was 
afterwards  Organist  to  the  Cathedral  of  that  city.  He 
did  not  write  much  for  the  Stage,  preferring  sacred 
music,  songs,  and  canzonets. 

The  following  paragraph  shows  a  curious  state  of 
things  at  the  Opera : — 

"  When  the  Gallery  at  the  Opera  House,  on  Saturday  night, 
expressed  its  disapprobation  of  the  crowded  stage,  Sir  John 
Gallini  !  !  ! *  who  was  part  of  that  crowd,  very  modestly  declared, 
that,  unless  the  gentlemen  behind  the  scenes  left  the  House, 
there  would  be  no  Opera. — But,  upon  being  asked  where  the 
half  guineas  should  remain,  if  the  gentlemen  retired,  this  shark 
for  words  recanted  his  former  assertion,  and,  very  composedly, 
swallowed  the  gilded  pill." — (Morning  Post,  Apr.  10,  1788.) 

1  Sir  John  Gallini,  was  connected  with  the  Theatre.     It  was  to  him  that 
"  The  Monster,"  was  sent  to  learn  dancing. 


- 


Old  Times.  209 

The  same  paper  (15  Ap.  1788)  in  its  Notice  "to 
Correspondents  "  rather  injures  him  with  its  forbearance. 
"The  various  articles  sent  to  this  paper  against  Mr. 
GALLINI,  previous  to  his  Benefit,  we  have  uniformly 
refused  to  insert,  being  unwilling  to  injure  a  POOR  MAN, 
at  so  important  a  period." 

"  How  we  are  ruined !  Bruni,  the  new  singer,  has  1400 
guineas,  Mara  1000,  and  a  benefit,  and  Millerd,  1000  for  the 
present  Opera  season." — (Times,  Febr.  16,  1793.) 

"  Haymarket  Opera.  Almost  all  the  subscribers,  in  Town, 
graced  the  Boxes,  with  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  Duke  of 
Clarence,  at  the  head  of  the  list.  The  Pit  had  some  pretty, 
as  well  as  well  dressed,  women ;  but  we  were  sorry  to  observe 
several  of  the  gentlemen  in  round  hats,  and  many  of  them 
slovenly  to  a  degree,  descending  even  to  boots.  This  ought 
not  to  be  permitted." — (Times,  Jan.  13,  1794.) 

OPERA. 

"II  CAPRICCIO  DRAMATICO,  considerably  curtailed,  on 
Saturday,  again  introduced  Signora  Negri,  and  her  reception 
was  again  most  flatteringly  favorable.  The  Burletta  has  to 
boast  some  very  beautiful  music,  and  the  Finale  in  particular 
is  much  indebted  to  the  exertions  of  the  performers.  So  far, 
all  was  peace,  and  harmony.  Would  we  could  say  the  same 
of  DON  GIOVANNI,  whose  reception  was,  throughout,  dis- 
approved. So  determined  an  opposition  to  this  kind  of 
entertainment  we  have  never  witnessed :  and,  indeed,  some 
of  the  occurrences  were  so  peculiarly  striking,  as  to  baffle  all 
description.  Several  blows  passed  in  the  pit ;  and  one  gentle- 
man, who  was  remarkably  forward  in  having  a  slap  at  DON 
JUAN,  got  a  slap  in  the  face  from  an  enraged  amateur,  who, 
perhaps,  would  have  been  better  employed  in  beating  time. 
In  short,  till  the  fall  of  the  curtain,  MORELLI'S  pretty  Venetian 
Ballad,  excepted,  which  gained  an  encore,  all  was  noise  and 
uproar ;  and  the  scene  of  HELL,  magnificent,  and  terrific,  as 
it  was,  had  so  far  the  characteristic  accompanyment  of  groans, 

o 


2io  Old  Times. 

not  of  the  damned,  but  of  those  troubled  spirits  who  wished 
to  torment  the  Manager. 

"  The  Procession  was  totally  omitted,  and  several  other 
judicious  alterations  made,  but,  as  the  sense  of  the  subscribers, 
as  well  as  the  public,  seems  decidedly  against  a  repetition  of 
this  Opera,  we  have  no  doubt  but  the  Manager  will  submit, 
respectfully,  to  their  fiat — comforting  himself  with  the  reflec- 
tion^ that  his  liberal  exertions  deserve — though  it  is  not  always 
in  the  power  of  mortals  to  command — success. 

"  The  Opposition  to  the  new  Opera  of  DON  GIOVANNI,  on 
Saturday  night,  is  said  to  have  been  preconcerted  :  and  it  was 
known  in  the  morning  of  that  day  that  there  was  to  be  a  riot. 
In  one  part  of  the  Pit,  the  disturbance  became  so  serious, 
that  two  Gentlemen  called  each  other  out,  and  agreed  to  meet, 
as  yesterday  morning.  Sir  W.  H.  was  at  the  head  of  the 
opposition  party.  In  justice  to  the  Manager  of  the  Opera,  it 
should  be  recollected  by  those  who  are  dissatisfied  with  the 
present  company  of  performers,  that  the  same  unprecedented 
circumstances  which  prevented  several  Dancers  from  leaving 
France,  also  deterred  several  singers  from  coming  from  Italy, 
as  they  must  pass  through  a  part  of  France.  This  incon- 
venience is  only  of  a  temporary  nature,  and  cannot  be  pre- 
vented. In  the  meantime,  the  subscribers,  and  the  public, 
have  the  most  magnificent,  as  well  as  the  most  commodious, 
theatre  in  Europe  to  resort  to." — (Times,  Mar.  10,  1794.) 

"  Tweedle  dum,  and  Tiveedle  twee — the  Soprano,  and  Tenor, 
of  the  Italian  Opera  are  objects  equally  important,  no  doubt, 
in  the  eye  of  the  public.  Instead  of  high  notes  they  have  gone 
to  high  words.  Signer  Tenor,  not  having  taken  the  precaution 
to  soap  his  nose, — Signer  Soprano  got  fast  hold,  and  gave  it  a 
musical  shake,  not  perfectly  in  unison  with  the  feelings  of 
the  tenor,  who,  now,  if  he  wishes  to  sleep  in  a  whole  skin, 
will,  no  doubt,  alter  the  tenor  of  his  conduct!!" — (Times, 
Jan.  14,  1795.) 

"  The  OPERA. — The  Public  are  acquainted,  that  on  Satur- 
day se'nnight  there  was  a  violent  disturbance  at  the  Opera 
House,  in  consequence  of  the  Subscribers  shewing  great  dis- 
satisfaction at  the  want  of  novelty  in  the  Performances.  The 


Old  Times.  2 1 1 

Manager,  having  understood  that  the  greatest  clamour  came 
from  the  Boxes  of  the  Countess  SPENCER,  and  Mr.  POLE,  Mr. 
TAYLOR  (a  few  days  since)  sent  a  letter  to  her  Ladyship,  and 
Mr.  POLE,  saying,  that  as  they  were  not  satisfied  with  the 
Performances,  he  desired  to  return  them  their  subscription 
money,  which  he  did.  The  Subscribers  have  taken  up  this 
business,  which  they  consider  as  a  gross  affront,  and  dis- 
respect, and  yesterday  there  was  a  meeting  of  them  at  the 
Thatched  House  Tavern,  the  result  of  which  we  have  not 
learnt.  We  are  sorry  that  there  should  be  any  misunderstand- 
ing respecting  an  Entertainment,  where  harmony  only  ought 
to  prevail :  and,  we  are  equally  concerned,  that  the  Manager 
should,  so  indiscreetly,  send  such  a  letter  to  Lady  SPENCER, 
who  is  the  last  person  in  the  world  who  would  be  suspected 
of  any  impropriety  of  behaviour,  for,  a  Lady  of  greater  accom- 
plishments, and  more  unaffected  manners,  is  not  to  be  found 
in  the  whole  circle  of  Nobility."1— (Times,  Febr.  20,  1795.) 

"  The  excuse  for  the  rows,  in  a  certain  box,  at  the  OPERA, 
is,  that  the  Gentlemen  come  in  tipsy.  This  is  an  excuse, 
(whether  good,  or  bad,  we  will  not  determine)  for  the  Gentle- 
men. But,  as  we  take  for  granted  the  Ladies  are  not 
tipsy,  pray  what  excuse  is  to  be  offered  them?" — (Times, 
Dec.  26,  1796.) 

The  Ballet  does  not  receive  so  much  attention  in  the 
public  press,  as  the  Opera — and,  as  far  as  I  know, 
there  are  no  means  of  getting  at  the  biographies  of  the 
premieres  danseuses. 

The  first  of  note  during  this  period  is  Mdlle.  Guimard, 
who  was  then  playing  in  the  ballet  of  "  Ninette."  It 
is  just  possible  that  there  may  be  a  suspicion  of  carica- 
ture in  the  illustration. 

The  Ballet  was  a  special  feature  at  the  Pantheon 
Theatre  (the  site  of  which  is  now  occupied  by  Messrs. 

1  Feb.  29. — A  long  Advertisement  appeared  in  the  form  of  an  apology 
from  Mr.  Taylor  to  the  Duke  of  Leeds,  who  presided  at  the  Meeting  of  the 
Subscribers  at  the  Thatched  House. 


212  Old  Times. 

W.  &  A.  Gilbey  of  Oxford  Street),  which  was  built  as 
a  counter  attraction  to  Carlisle  House,  then  popularly 
conducted  by  Madame  Cornelys,  of  whom  more  anon. 

"  The  Pas  Trois,  introduced  into  the  Ballet  at  the  Opera 
House  on  Tuesday  night,  for  the  first  time,  had  a  very  pretty 
effect.  It  goes  to  the  tune  of  '  God  save  the  King,'  and  is 
intended  as  a  compliment  to  his  Majesty." — (Times,  Feb. 
16,  I793-) 

"Simonet,  the  dancer,  and  Grenier,  who  keeps  the  hotel 
in  Jermyn  Street,  were,  last  week,  ordered  to  depart  the 
kingdom."1 — (Times,  March  26,  I793-) 

The  centre  figure  in  this  illustration  is  M.  Didelot — 
and  the  danseuse  on  the  left,  is  Miss  Rose,  an  English- 
woman, who  was  not  bewitchingly  handsome,  though 
a  good  ballerina.  The  lady  on  the  right  is  probably 
Mdlle.  Parisot. 

"The  OPERA. — The  mania  of  expectation  was,  on  Satur- 
day night,  at  the  very  acme  of  curiosity.  The  Pit  was  so 
crowded  even  before  the  drawing  up  of  the  curtain,  that  it 
was  not  possible  to  edge  another  face  into  the  area.  Stars, 
garters,  feathers,  and  turbans,  were  so  jumbled,  and  inter- 
mixed, at  the  doors,  that  all  sex  and  identity  were  indis- 
tinguishable. The  stage  itself  was  crammed  on  all  sides, 
and  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  render  the  shifting  of  the  scenery 
'  a  work  of  labour,  and  a  service  of  danger.'  So  eager, 
indeed,  was  the  desire  of  seeing  DIDELOT  and  ROSE,  that 
the  wings  were  crowded  with  Ladies.  Amongst  those  Ladies 
who  thus  made  their  first  appearance  on  the  stage,  we  heard 
some  very  respectable,  and  titled  names. 

"  The  new  Ballet  of  Les  Trois  Sultanes  taken  from  Marmontd 
Hillisberg,  is  the  '  Cock-nosed  English-woman,'  yet  while  we 
remember  Abingdon  and  Jordan  in  Roxalana,  with  all  the 
roguishness  of  language,  mere  action  must  appear  dull,  and 
unentertaining.  It  were  injustice,  to  be  sure,  to  decide  what 
effect  the  Ballet  might  have  produced,  could  it  have  been 

1  Probably  for  political  reasons. 


Old  Times.  213 

fairly  exhibited :  but  the  stage  was  so  very  full,  that  figure 
dancers  could  scarce  round  a  horse-shoe  to  trip  in,  and  no 
performer  could  make  an  exit.  Didelot  and  Rose  appeared 
again  in  the  Ballet,  lugged  in  without  character,  merely  to 
shew  themselves.  We  hope  that  some  Ballet  will  be  got  up 
wherein  they  may  display  the  fulness  of  those  powers,  and 
talents,  which  the  great  world  allow  them  to  possess." — (Times, 
Feb.  22,  1796.) 

"The  Stage  at  the  Opera  is  so  crowded,  that  Madame 
ROSE,  in  throwing  up  her  fine  muscular  arm  into  a  graceful 
attitude,  inadvertently  levelled  three  men  of  the  first  quality 
at  a  stroke." — (Times,  May  9,  1796.) 

Mdlle.   Parisot. 

The  length  of  Mdlle.  Parisot's  skirts  would  have 
delighted  the  Bishop  of  Durham  (Shute  Barrington),  who 
was  much  exercised  in  his  mind,  in  1798,  as  to  the 
brevity  of  those  worn  by  the  ladies  of  the  ballet.  He 
seems  to  have  entered  into  a  crusade  against  the  ballet, 
before  he  made  his  memorable  speech  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  on  2nd  March,  1798 — for  the  next  illustration  is 
dated  January  in  that  year. 

It  was,  however,  on  the  occasion  of  the  second  reading 
of  Esten's  divorce  bill,  that  the  wrath  of  the  Right 
Reverend  Father  in  God,  fairly  boiled  over,  and  the 
Times  of  3rd  March,  reports  him  to  have  spoken  thus. 
"  He  considered  it  a  consequence  of  the  gross  immorali- 
ties, imported  of  late  years,  into  this  kingdom,  from 
France ;  the  Directory  of  which  country,  finding  that 
they  were  not  able  to  subdue  us  by  their  arms,  appeared 
as  if  they  were  determined  to  gain  their  ends  by  destroy- 
ing our  morals.  They  had  sent  over  persons  to  this 
country,  who  made  the  most  indecent  exhibitions  on  our 
Theatres ;  exhibitions  which  would  not  have  been  allowed 


214  Old  Times. 

even  in  France ;  and  which,  so  far  from  being  allowable 
in  a  Christian  Country,  would  have  disgraced  the  ancient 
Theatres  of  Athens  and  Rome. 

"  It  was  his  intention  to  move,  on  some  future  day,  that 
an  Address  be  presented  to  his  Majesty,  beseeching  him 
to  order  all  such  persons  out  of  the  Kingdom,  as  people 
who  were  likely  to  destroy  our  morality,  and  religion  ; 
and  who  were  very  probably,  in  the  pay  of  France." 

This  tirade  made  him  a  fitting  subject  for  the  Cari- 
caturists, and  they  did  not  forget  him. 

In  a  picture  by  Gillray,  I4th  Mar.  1798,  "  Operatical 
Reform,  or  La  Danse  a  1'Eveque,"  we  recognise  Miss 
Rose,  on  the  extreme  right  of  the  three  ladies,  who  have 
little  other  covering  for  their  bodies  but  the  episcopal 
apron  and  lawn  sleeves.  At  the  foot,  is  this  verse — 

"  "Pis  hard  for  such  new-fangled  orthodox  rules, 
That  our  Opera  troupe  should  be  blamed  ; 
Since,  like  our  first  Parents,  they  only  (poor  fools !) 
Danced  naked,  and  were  not  ashamed." 

And  there  was  yet  another  amusing  Caricature  of  the 
Prelate,  in  connection  with  this  subject.  In  July  1798, 
Gillray  published  a  picture  of  "  More  short  Petticoats,  or 
the  Highland  Association  under  Episcopal  Examination." 
The  Bishop  is  accompanied  by  Lord  Salisbury,  the  then 
Lord  Chamberlain,  and  inspects  the  Kilts  of  three  High- 
landers, who  assure  him  "  You'll  find  them  exactly 
according  to  the  rules  of  the  Highland  Association." 
But  the  Bishop's  modesty  is  blushing  violently,  and  he 
replies  "  Don't  tell  me  of  rules,  I  say  it's  abominable ! 
It's  about  half  a  foot  too  short  according  to  the  opera 
Standard.  Bring  the  large  breeches  directly ;  why,  the 
figurantes  would  be  ashamed  of  it." 


(Bcc/£sfashcal  £cruh'ny.  -  or  -Me  Durham  Inyucsf  on  Quiy— 


Old  Times.  215 


MASQUERADES,   CONCERTS,   &c. 

MASQUERADES  were  introduced  into  England  by 
Henry  8th,  but,  perhaps,  at  no  time  were  they  so 
fashionable,  as  during  the  latter  half  of  the  i8th  Cen- 
tury, although  they  do  not  always  seem  to  have 
been  successful.  The  Morning  Post,  Feb.  6,  1788, 
speaks  of  a  Masquerade  at  the  Opera  House,  thus  : — 
"  The  Supper  and  Wines  were  consistent  with  the  well 
known  parsimonious  principle  of  the  conductor,  the 
provision  being  very  unequal  to  the  appetite,  and  number, 
of  the  guests.  The  music  was  very  indifferent."  Thus 
we  see  that  these  amusements  were  not  of  equal  quality, 
and  the  Critics  did  not  fear  to  say  what  they  thought 
of  them." 

"PANTHEON,  Jan.  26,  1788.  The  Nobility  and  Gentry  are 
respectfully  acquainted  that  the  First  MASQUED  BALL,  at  this 
place,  will  be  on  Thursday  next,  the  3ist  Instant.  There  will 
be  a  Supper  as  usual,  with  Wines,  &c.  Tickets  at  One 
Guinea  each  may  be  had  at  the  Office." — (Morning  Post, 
Jan.  26,  1788.) 

This  Masquerade  seemed  to  be  very  popular. 

"  The  PRINCE'S  visit  to  the  Brandenburgh-house  Masquerade 
was  to  have  been  in  female  habiliments ;  but  the  shortness  of 
the  notice  did  not  allow  time  for  preparing  them,  and  neither 
the  shoes,  corsette,  nor  robe,  of  Mrs.  VANNECK,  for  which  his 
Royal  Highness  sent,  could  be  made  capacious  enough  for 


2 1 6  .  Old  Times. 

a  momentary  covering.  The  sailor's  habit  was,  therefore, 
adopted  without  any  preparation  for  the  character.  The  MAR- 
GRAVINE'S Masqued  Ball  produced  many  whimsical  events, 
but  none  more  than  that  from  a  character  representing 
ACTEON,  who,  in  brandishing  a  huge  pair  of  antlers,  run  full 
butt  against  a  French  looking-glass  of  300  guineas  value,  and 
smashed  it  to  pieces.  The  MARGRAVE  being  near,  endea- 
voured to  give  the  accident  a  pleasant  turn,  by  remarking  in 
German  'that  there  could  be  no  jollity  where  they  let  the 
glass  stand.' " — (Times,  March  i,  1794.) 

"  The  MASQUERADE. 

"  The  entertainment  given  by  the  Manager  of  the  OPERA 
HOUSE,  on  Monday  night,  was  the  best  attended  of  any  we 
have  seen  for  many  years,  and  fully  answered  the  expectations 
that  had  been  formed  of  it.  The  space  allotted,  however, 
large  as  it  was,  with  the  addition  of  the  new  room,  and 
another  above  stairs,  was  by  no  means  sufficient  for  so  large 
a  company  :  and  the  pressure  of  the  crowd  rendered  the 
rooms  insufferably  hot,  as  well  as  prevented  the  masks  from 
appearing  to  advantage.  For  so  large  an  assembly,  there 
were  fewer  masks  than  usual,  but  the  hilarity  of  the  company 
made  amends  for  this  deficiency.  The  Prince  of  WALES  was 
in  a  black  domino,  arm-in-arm  with  Captain  CHURCHILL,  and 
Lord  GEORGE  CONWAY;  the  Duke  of  CLARENCE  was  the 
whole  evening  with  Mrs.  Jordan  in  a  private  box  upstairs. 
Michael  Angela  Taylor  was  dressed  in  women's  cloaths,  but 
was  less  talkative  than  usual.  The  supper  was  extremely  well 
conducted,  and  the  provisions  better  than  usual.  The  refresh- 
ments were  also  liberally  supplied.  There  were  about  2700 
persons  in  the  rooms,  and  among  them  some  of  the  prettiest 
women  in  town." — (Times,  March  5,  1794.) 

"MASQUERADE  AT  THE  OPERA  HOUSE. 

"  On  Thursday  night,  for  the  first  time  this  season,  there 
was  a  grand  masquerade  at  this  House,  which  was  very 
numerously  attended,  as  every  room  was  crowded,  and  the 


(ornelys. 


Old  Times.  217 

numbers  computed  at  about  1600.  A  party  of  Bon-vivans, 
unmasked,  came  into  the  rooms  about  two  o'clock,  who  had 
evidently  made  too  free  use  of  the  juice  of  the  grape.  The 
primitive  dress  of  one  of  them,  who  appeared  to  be  a  Quaker, 
did  not  quite  accord  with  his  manners,  which  were  more  prone 
to  the  flesh  than  the  spirit.  Although  the  new  regulations  in 
price  is  in  favour  of  Masquerades,  yet  the  freedom  of  conversa- 
tion which  is  allowed  in  these  motley  meetings,  became,  on 
this  occasion,  indecent  ribaldry,  and  licentiousness.  The  low- 
ness  of  the  price  of  admission  was  in  a  great  measure  the 
cause  of  introducing  many  low  visitors,  who  made  themselves 
obnoxious  to  delicacy,  and  good  manners,  by  the  coarsest 
language." — (Times,  Feb.  17,  1798.) 

There  is  a  paragraph  in  the  Times  of  August  23, 
1797,  whereby  "hangs  a  tale" — 

"  The  miserable  death  of  Mrs.  CORNELYS,  in  the  Fleet  Prison, 
adds  another  melancholy  instance  to  the  catalogue  of  vicissi- 
tudes in  what  is  generally  termed  fashionable  life.  She  was 
formerly  the  law-giver  of  the  circles  of  dissipation,  and  gaiety, 
yet  closed  her  existence  in  the  hospital  room  of  the  prison,  in 
which  she  had  obtained  permission  to  reside,  by  the  kindness 
of  the  Warden." 

The  history  of  Teresa  Cornelys  is  very  singular,  show- 
ing how  a  nobody — for  no  one  knows  even  from  what 
part  of  Germany  she  came — could  come  here,  and,  by 
her  business  qualities,  and  tact,  become  a  person  abso- 
lutely indispensable  to  Society.  All  we  know  of  her  is 
that  she  was  supposed  to  be  a  German,  who  had  been  a 
public  singer,  both  in  France,  and  Germany,  and  that 
she  came  over  here  about  1756  or  1757.  Whether  there 
was  a  Herr  Cornelys  alive,  we  have  no  knowledge — but 
she  had  a  son,  and  daughter.  That  she  was  not  bad 
looking,  is  evidenced  by  her  portrait,  which  must  have 
been  taken  in  her  declining  years :  that  she  must  have 


218  Old  Times. 

been  shrewd,  business-like,  and  possessed  of  much 
savoir  faire,  is  undeniable — for  she  held  "  Society "  in 
her  grasp,  and,  for  a  time,  made  it  do  just  what  she 
wanted. 

What  she  did  for  the  first  five,  or  six  years,  after  her 
coming  to  England  is  not  known,  but  she  must  have  been 
possessed  of  some  Capital,  or  she  could  not  have  taken, 
as  she  did,  Carlisle  House — a  mansion  in  Soho  Square. 
Here  she  started  a  sort  of  fashionable  Social  Club,  called 
"The  Society,"  either  in  1762,  or  1763,  and  this  was  its 
programme.  "The  subscription  is  seven  guineas  for 
twelve  nights,  one  ticket  each,  which  introduces  only  one 
person,  whether  gentleman,  or  lady ;  but  there  are  fre- 
quent subscriptions  in  the  year,  and  two  ladies  may  be 
admitted  six  nights  on  one  subscription.  No  person 
can  be  admitted  a  Subscriber  to  this  Society,  but  through 
the  recommendation  of  a  subscriber.  Four  ladies  of 
quality,  having  each  of  them  a  book,  have  the  joint 
management,  direction,  and  choice,  of  the  subscribers ; 
every  one's  name  must  be  entered  in  one  of  those  ladies' 
books. 

"A  non-subscriber  can  only  be  admitted  by  a  sub- 
scriber's ticket,  writing  his,  or  her  name  on  the  back ;  in 
consequence  of  which  rule,  and  to  avoid  the  possibility 
of  improper  company,  their  names  are,  immediately  after 
the  night  is  over,  printed,  and  hung  up  in  the  outer 
room. 

"The  doors  are  opened,  at  9  o'clock,  of  the  lower  rooms, 
which  consist  of  six,  each  superior  to  the  other;  few 
people,  however,  assemble  before  10,  and  those  who 
profess  themselves  of  the  genteelest  order,  not  till  eleven, 
when  they  walk  about,  and  amuse  themselves  with 
accosting  their  acquaintance,  and  forming  themselves 


Old  Times.  219 

into  select  parties  for  the  evening ;  then  regaling  with 
jellies,  syllabubs,  cakes,  orgeat,  lemonade,  fruits,  &c., 
prepared  in  a  kind  of  arched  shelving  all  round  the 
hangings  of  the  tea  room. 

"  At  ten,  the  upper  flight  of  rooms  open,  which  consist 
of  two  large  rooms,  besides  a  very  large  ball  room, 
furnished,  and  hung,  in  the  most  superb  taste,  with  an 
exceeding  good  band  of  music  in  an  orchestra  erected  at 
the  upper  end,  and  rows  of  benches,  down  the  sides, 
placed  one  above  the  other.  In  this  room  they  dance 
country  dances,  but  no  minuets  at  all. 

"  At  half-past  eleven,  the  company  in  general  repair  to 
tea,  and  have  small  round  tables  for  their  separate 
parties. 

"  At  twelve,  the  Cotillion  gallery  opens,  with  another 
range  of  seven  rooms  underground,  which,  from  the  vast 
variety  of  furniture  and  ornaments,  the  grandeur,  and 
magnificence,  of  some,  the  elegant  simplicity  of  others, 
together  with  the  amazing  beauty  of  the  lights,  one  of 
the  principal  excellencies  of  the  whole,  form  a  view,  on 
descending  a  perpendicular  flight  of  stairs  most  sumptu- 
ously, and  pleasingly,  striking. 

"  In  these  lower  range  of  rooms,  the  company  finish 
the  evening,  the  young  in  dancing  cotillions,  the  others  in 
looking  on ;  for  there  are  no  cards,  nor  gaming,  of  any 
kind.  At  one,  the  company  begin  to  separate,  and  con- 
tinue going  till  four,  but  the  major  part  break  up  about 
two." 

By  which  set  of  rules  we  see  that  Madame  Cornelys, 
started  her  establishment  in  the  strictest  propriety,  what- 
ever became  of  it  afterwards ;  and  these  rules  were 
strictly  carried  out.  The  rooms,  on  off  nights,  were 
used  for  other  purposes ;  for  instance,  she,  knowing  the 


22O  Old  Times. 

power  of  the  class,  gave  a  servants'  ball ;  and  the  Old 
Westminster  scholars  held  their  Anniversary  Meeting  in 
her  rooms. 

Her  prosperity  excited  envy,  and  many  were  the 
rumours  set  afloat,  to  her  detriment.  For  instance,  in 
1766,  it  was  said  she  owed  her  late  cook  £50,  and  that 
she  had  run  away  from  her  ruined  creditors,  to  France, 
with  many  thousand  pounds. 

She  had  to  contradict  these  reports,  and  said  that  she 
had,  within  thirteen  months,  spent  ^"11,000,  on  the 
house,  &c. 

Concerts,  both  instrumental  and  vocal,  were  given  at 
Carlisle  House,  and  the  tickets  for  them,  which  survive, 
are  very  beautiful,  many  of  them  being  drawn  by  Cipriani, 
and  engraved  by  Bartolozzi. 

The  Royal  Family  used  to  patronise  her  soirees,  as 
did  also  the  King  of  Denmark,  when  he  visited  England 
in  1768. 

Early  in  1770,  she  gave  her  first  Masquerade,  which 
immediately  lowered  the  tone  of  her  establishment,  and 
was  the  precursor  of  her  downfall.  This  was  under 
the  patronage  of  the  "  Tuesday  Night's  Club,"  and  the 
Dukes  of  Gloucester,  and  Cumberland — besides  numbers 
of  the  aristocracy  of  both  sexes,  were  present,  and  it 
was  a  very  brilliant  affair. 

She  had  another  grand  Masquerade  on  6  February 
1771,  to  which  the  price  of  admission  was  two  and  a 
half  guineas.  The  same  Royalty  was  present,  and  also 
the  leading  Nobility — Among  the  masques  were  five 
devils,  a  bear,  and,  worst  of  all  bad  taste,  a  shrouded 
corpse  in  a  coffin,  (said  to  be  a  brother  of  Colonel 
Luttrell),  but  he  was,  after  a  short  time,  ejected  by  some 
pseudo  sailors. 


Old  Times.  221 

From  this  time  her  fortunes  declined — she  was  twice 
fined  £50  for  performing  Operas,  under  the  guise  of 
harmonic  meetings,  and  Guadagni,  her  principal  vocalist, 
had  been  fined  £50  for  singing  in  the  same,  and  these 
musical  performances  were  put  a  stop  to. 

But,  in  spite  of  all  her  enemies  could  do  to  her,  she 
still  had  some  friends,  if  we  can  believe  the  London 
Chronicle,  19-21  February  1771. 

"A  certain  D s,  who  is  a  principal  promoter  of 

the  New  Opera  House,  declared,  lately,  she  would 
persist  in  support  of  Mrs.  C,  whatever  was  the  conse- 
quence, '  for/  said  she,  '  I  hate  the  thoughts  of  mixing 
with  any  body  merely  because  they  have  half  a  guinea 
in  their  pocket ;  and  that  such  scums  should  sit  on  the 
same  bench,  and  think  themselves  on  a  level  with  the 
first  nobility ! '  'I  agree  with  you '  (says  Lady 

A r),  'and  am  grieved  to  think  that  we  are,  one 

day  or  other  to  mix  in  heaven  with  the  dregs  of  the 

people.'  '  God  forbid '  (says  the  D s),  ( I  should 

ever  be  in  such  company.' " 

The  Subscription  balls,  and  Masquerades  still  went 
on — and  she  instituted  a  society  called  "  the  Coterie," 
which  had  not  the  reputation  of  insisting  on  the  strictest 
morality  on  the  part  of  its  members. 

This  coterie  broke  up.  The  Pantheon  was  built,  and 
opened,  in  opposition  to  her.  Perhaps  she  was  extra- 
vagant, but,  anyhow,  from  some  cause  or  other,  she 
became  bankrupt,  and  was  so  gazetted  on  the  9th 
Nov.  1772,  as  a  "chapwoman,  and  dealer  in  gloves." 
Her  goods  were  sold  in  Dec.  1772,  and  it  must  have 
been  a  famous  sale,  as  the  Catalogues,  to  admit  two, 
were  five  shillings  each. 

She,  herself,  was  taken  to  a  debtor's  prison,  where 


222  Old  Times. 

she  could  not  have  stopped  very  long,  as  there  are 
advertisements  of  Masquerades  conducted  by  her,  at 
Carlisle  House,  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1773. 

She  was  again  a  bankrupt  in  Dec.  1774,  and  Carlisle 
House  was  advertised  to  be  sold.  Still,  somehow  or 
other,  she  must  have  found  friends,  with  money,  to 
help  her,  for  she  issued  an  advertisement,  15  January 
1776.  "  Mrs.  Cornelys  most  respectfully  takes  the 
liberty  to  acquaint  the  nobility,  and  gentry,  that,  through 
the  kind  assistance  of  her  friends,  she  is  again  reinstated 
in  Carlisle  House,  on  her  own  account." 

But  nothing  could  bring  back  her  old  patrons,  and 
the  social  status  of  her  masked  balls  got  lower  and 
lower.  Worse  than  all,  the  refreshments  were  not  so 
plentiful  as  of  old,  as  we  may  see  in  the  "  Citizen's 
Complaint  to  the  Priestess  of  Soho,"  which  concludes 

thus — 

"  Yet  fairy  scenes  and  preparations, 
With  all  your  novel  decorations, 
Are  diet  fitter,  let  me  tell  ye, 
To  feed  the  Fancy  than  the  Belly." 

In  1778,  Carlisle  House  was  again  to  be  sold,  but 
still  Madame  Cornelys,  somehow,  kept  her  clutches  on 
it.  She  established  an  "Academy  of  Sciences  and 
Belles  Lettres" — a  Library  with  Newspapers,  &c. — 
and  a  debating  society,  open  to  both  Sexes.  This 
"School  of  Eloquence"  collapsed  in  1781.  Scientific 
lectures,  Joseph  Borouwlaski,  the  Polish  Dwarf,  and  some 
more  Masquerades,  were  all  tried,  but  without  avail,  to 
resuscitate  her  fallen  fortunes.  It  was  said  that  she 
gave  four  and  a  half  Masquerades,  the  half  being 
accounted  for,  by  the  fact  that  no  license  had  been 
taken  out,  and  the  masquers  were  ejected. 


Old  Times.  223 

After  1782  Carlisle  House  seems  to  have  been  shut 
up ;  on  28  June  1785,  Christie  sold  the  furniture,  China, 
and  other  effects ;  and  in  1788  the  old  Mansion  was 
pulled  down,  and  what  was  the  grand  Saloon  has  been 
altered  into  a  Roman  Catholic  Chapel,  St.  Patrick's, 
Soho. 

There  is  no  record  of  Madame  for  some  years,  but 
we  know  from  Newspaper  notices,  that  in  1792  she 
took  a  large  house  and  grounds  in  Knightsbridge  Road, 
formerly  occupied  by  a  dealer  in  Asses  milk,  and  con- 
verted it  into  a  "  female  archery." 

Luck  was  against  her,  this  failed ;  she  was  very  old, 
had  fought  her  fight,  and  now  the  refuge  for  the 
remainder  of  her  days  was  the  Fleet  Prison.  There, 
however,  she  met  with  kindness  from  friends,  and 
help  from  her  daughter,  who  was  very  accomplished, 
and  no  more  is  heard  of  her,  until  the  paragraph  in 
the  Times,  which  heads  this  memoir. 

"  Masquerade  at  Marlboro  House. 

"At  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough's  ,Gala,  on  Wednesday 
evening,  one  of  the  principal  ornaments  was  the  statute  of 
Precedency,  elegantly  illuminated,  in  variegated  lamps  over 
the  grand  entrance.  Lyon,  Clarencieux,  and  Garter,  Kings-at- 
Arms,  in  their  coats  of  office,  were  stationed  in  the  hall,  and 
marshalled  the  guests  upon  their  arrival.  Upon  the  first  land- 
ing place,  were  Her  Grace's  Vice- Chamberlain,  and  three 
Masters  of  the  Ceremonies,  attended  by  deputy  Masters,  and 
the  Pages  of  the  Presence,  and  back  staircase.  In  the  ante- 
chamber, covers  were  provided  for  the  Lord  Mayor,  and 
Sheriffs  of  London,  whose  pease  were  said  to  be  served  cold, 
but  his  Lordship  eat  his  peaches  without  hazarding  any 
remarks.  His  Mace  was  thought  to  be  one  of  the  finest 
pieces  of  sculpture  ever  executed  in  pastry.  It  contained  a 


224  Old  Times. 

fine  pine-apple  in  the  capital,  with  a  beautiful  crown  in  Naples- 
biscuit,  and  his  chair  was  entirely  composed  of  barley  sugar 
drops.  In  the  next  room  were  the  Barons  and  Baronesses, 
the  newly  created  ones  next  the  door,  and  the  premier  Baron 
very  near,  but  not  in  contact  with  the  lowest  Viscount,  in  the 
corridor  of  the  third  chamber.  The  Lord  Chamberlain,  the 
Lords  of  the  Bedchamber,  the  Gold  and  Silver  Sticks,  &c.,  had 
their  wands  of  the  best  double  refined  sugar,  excepting  the 
Gold  Stick,  whose  staff  was  of  barley-sugar,  or  as  some  say 
sugar-candy. 

"In  the  inner  rooms,  according  to  their  rank,  rand  date, 
were  placed  the  Earls,  Marquisses,  and  Dukes  of  England. 
The  premier  Duke,  and  E.  M.,  nearest  to  the  Noble  Hostess. 
The  Lords  on  the  cross  bench  were  served  with  some  difficulty 
by  Beefeaters,  who  were  obliged  to  move  like  the  Knights  at 
Chess,  which  had  a  very  pretty  effect.  It  added  to  the  liveli- 
ness, and  gaiety  of  the  meeting,  that  every  mask  had  for  its 
neighbour,  on  both  hands,  the  same  individual  it  conversed 
with  so  frequently  at  Mr.  Hasting's  trial,  which  made  the 
'  I  know  you,'  and  '  Who  are  you  ? '  exceedingly  facetious  and 
happy.  The  Lords  of  the  Bedchamber  were  in  high  glee, 
and  spirits,  but  were  discovered  by  their  jokes,  some  of  which 
were  remembered  upon  former  occasions.  The  Maids  of 
Honour  were  in  perfect  character  and  detected  in  an  instant." 
— (Times,  June  21,  1799.) 

Music  was  much  in  vogue  both  publicly  and  in  private. 
Concerts  were  plentiful,  the  most  aristocratic,  perhaps, 
being  held  in  Willis's  Rooms,  of  which  I  will  give  one 
Advertisement,  relating  to  a  ball. 

Advt. — "  ASSEMBLY  ROOMS,  King  Street,  St.  James's  Square. 

"  WILLIS  humbly  begs  leave  to  acquaint  the  Nobility,  and 
Gentry,  Subscribers,  that  the  first  BALL,  this  season,  com- 
mences THIS  DAY. 

"  The  Rooms  will  be  lighted  at  Ten,  and  the  Ball  will  be 
opened  at  Half-past  Ten  o'clock,  precisely. 


I 

I 


V 

I 


Old  Times.  225 

"  N.B. — By  order  of  the  Ladies  (Directresses),  no  person 
whatever  will  be  admitted  without  producing  their  ticket,  and 
no  ticket  but  those  of  the  night,  can  possibly  be  admitted. 

"  The  Nobility  and  Gentry  are  most  earnestly  requested  to 
order  their  Coachmen  to  set  down,  and  take  up,  with  their 
horses'  heads  towards  St.  James's  Street. 

"The  side  doors  are  for  chairs  only." — (Morning  Post,  Feb. 
14,  1788.) 

This  refers  only  to  the  subscription  Balls,  which  were 
so  famous,  and  so  select — but,  as  I  said  above,  this  was 
the  chiefest  Concert  Hall.  A  greater  libel  against  the 
English  nation  never  was  uttered,  than  when  it  was 
said  they  were  not  a  musical  nation — and  it  was, 
essentially,  in  Chamber  music,  glees,  madrigals,  ballads 
— small  home  concerts  in  which  a  few  friends  met 
together  and  spent  a  pleasant  evening — in  which  the 
harpsichord,  or  pianoforte  (for  that  instrument  was  then 
in  vogue),  joined  with  the  cello,  violin,  and  flute,  in 
pretty,  and  harmonious,  quartets. 

This  Illustration  shows  Mrs.  Billington  and  the  Duke 
of  Sussex,  with  two  friends,  thus  engaged,  and  an 
exceedingly  home-like  group  it  is. 

It  was  an  unusual  thing  for  ladies,  then,  to  play  on 
any  other  instruments  than  the  harpsichord,  or  piano, 
and  the  harp,  or  guitar;  this  latter  coming  specially 
into  vogue,  some  twenty  years  later,  after  the  Peninsular 
War,  so  Mrs.  Billington  created  some  surprise. 

"Mrs.  Billington  who  is  solicitous  for  musical  distinction 
in  any  respect,  as  far  as  her  talents  can  extend,  is  now  apply- 
ing, with  very  great  diligence,  to  the  violin;  and,  from  the 
present  state  of  her  progress,  it  is  supposed  she  will  hereafter 
figure  amongst  the  most  shining  performers  on  that  instru- 
ment."— (Morning  Post,  Feb.  16,  1788.) 

P 


226  Old  Times. 

Judging  by  this  illustration,  the  ladies  of  1799  were 
not  at  all  restricted  in  their  choice  of  instruments. 

Apropos  of  Concerts,  we  get  several  paragraphs  about 
them  from  one  Newspaper,  the  Morning  Post  of  Jan. 
15,  1789. 

"Since  the  illness  of  a  certain  Great  Personage,1  Lady 
Young  has  entirely  surmounted  her  religious  qualms,  and  is 
determined,  once  more,  in  defiance  of  the  proclamation,  to 
fix  her  Concerts  on  the  SABBATH  DAY.  Thus,  Politics  and 
religion,  and  music,  go  hand  in  hand." 

"  Lord  Hampden,  Lord  Cholmondeley,  the  Duke  of  Queens- 
bury,  Lady  Petres,  the  Duchess  of  Bolton,  Lady  Bridget 
Tollemache,  &c,  &c.,  will  have  their  alternate  concerts,  as 
usual." 

"The  dissensions  continually  subsisting  between  the  dif- 
ferent performers  and  directors  of  the  Tottenham  Street 
Concert,2  added  to  the  present  indisposition  of  its  Royal 
Patron,  and  the  daily  decrease  of  subscribers,  will,  it  is  feared, 
reduce  that  light  amusement  to  its  primitive  obscurity." 

"  Should  CRAMER  quit  the  above  Concert,  it  will  be  a  loss 
not  to  be  repaired,  as  they  might  as  well  attempt  to  proceed 
without  HARRISON,  as  without  that  incomparable  leader.  Mr. 
BATE  may  conduct,  but  he  cannot  lead ;  every  man  may  blow 
the  bellows,  but  it  is  certainly  more  difficult  to  play  the  organ'' 

"LORD  UXBRIDGE'S  new  Music  Room  in  Vigo  Lane,  will 
be  opened  in  the  course  of  this  season ;  the  time  is  not  yet 
fixed,  but  it  is  supposed  it  will  be  as  magnificent  a  Gala,  as 
music  can  afford.  The  extreme  care  taken  that  nothing 
should  obstruct  the  sound,  has  nearly  answered  every  pur- 
pose, and  it  certainly  promises  to  be  the  best  private  room 
for  music  in  London ; — we  hope,  when  filled  with  company, 
the  small  reverberation  at  present  remaining,  will  be  entirely 
dispelled.'' 

It  is  sad  to  read  of  such  a  case  of  reverse  of  fortune 
as  the  following  : — 

1  The  King's  first  attack  of  insanity.  2  Ancient  Music. 


ojavoyards    of  Fashion  — 


Old  Times.  227 

"  A  French  Marchioness,  who  a  few  years  since,  possessed 
a  fortune  of  ^"5000  a  year,  is  engaged  to  sing  before  their 
MAJESTIES  at  the  Concerts  of  Antient  Mu'sic,  which  com- 
mence on  Wednesday  next." — (Times,  Feb.  i,  1794.) 

Of  Pictorial  Art,  we  hear  but  little  in  Old  Times — but 
the  Art  Critic  of  the  Morning  Post,  May  20,  1788,  did 
not  fear  to  speak  out,  and  give  his  opinion  freely. 

"  ROYAL  ACADEMY. 

"  235.  Theseus  receiving  the  Clue  from  Ariadne.  H.  Fuseli. 
— Poor  Theseus,  with  a  broken  leg,  is  endeavouring  to  support 
Ariadne,  whose  figure  suggests  more  the  idea  of  a  sick  ideot, 
than  a  beautiful  woman.  Whilst  we  pity  the  situation  of  these 
two  lovers,  we  cannot  forbear  laughing  at  the  little  cock-tailed 
Minotaur,  galoping  about,  for  amusement,  in  the  distance. 
The  design,  however,  has  some  merit,  but  Theseus  appears  as 
if  he  had  left  his  skin  behind  him,  and,  indeed,  some  of  his 
muscles  are  not  in  their  proper  places. 

"181.  Portraits  of  three  Children.  P.  Reinagle,  A. — 
The  Colouring  of  this  picture  is  Currant  Jelly  and  Chalk. 
The  glare  of  crimson  and  red,  confines  the  eye,  in  such  a 
manner,  that  it  is  difficult  to  find  out  what  the  subject  is  meant 
for.  This  picture  (like  most  of  this  Artist's  works)  is  an  imita- 
tion of  the  stile  of  some  other  master,  which  is  certainly  very 
commendable  in  a  painter  who  possesses  no  genius  of  his  own  ; 
but  as  we  do  not  think  this  is  the  case  with  Mr.  Reinagle,  we 
recommend  him,  as  before,  to  look  at  nature. 

"  175.  Portrait  of  a  young  Gentleman,  and  his  brother,  flying 
a  Kite.  W.  R.  Bigg,  A. — We  cannot  determine  on  the  like- 
ness of  these  portraits  ;  we  are  also  at  a  loss  to  say,  whether 
the  figures,  or  the  Kite,  are  drawn  with  most  taste  and 
elegance." 

Fuseli  opened  a  Gallery  for  the  display  of  a  series  of 
his  paintings  illustrating  "  Paradise  lost." 

Advt. — "  The  general  impression  felt  by  all  kinds  of  people, 


228  Old  Times. 

on  entering  the  Milton  Gallery,  is,  this  is  unlike  everything 
we  have  seen  before.  The  old  nurses  stories  about  the 
devil  are  properly  confuted  by  the  exhibition  of  a  figure  that  is 
bold,  daring,  and  majestic,  and  a  model  of  muscular  strength 
and  'gigantic  symmetry.  '  I  have  often  wondered,'  said  a 
Lady,  'how  Eve  could  have  been  tempted  to  transgress  by 
such  a  hideous  monster,  as  Satan  has  been  represented  to  me  : 
but,  if  he  was,  in  reality,  such  a  being  as  Mr.  Fuseli  paints 
him,  why — That  accounts  for  it.'"1 — (Times,  June  17,  1799.) 

Advt.          "  CURIOUS  NEEDLEWORK. 

"  VIEWS  in  EMBROIDERY  will  begin  to  be  exhibited 
THIS  DAY  at  No.  n,  New  Bond  St.,  consisting  of  three  views 
of  Constantinople,  two  of  Egypt,  one  of  Switzerland,  one  of 
Weymouth,  one  of  the  Tower,  and  London  Bridge,  and  of 
Blackfriars,  &c.,  taken  from  the  top  of  the  Albion  Mills,  the 
same  as  has  been  seen  at  the  Panorama. — Admittance  25  6d. 
An  Explanation,  with  a  sketch  of  the  above  Views,  will  be 
given  gratis,  at  the  place  of  Exhibition." — (Times,  April  13, 
I795-) 

Advt.  "DAY  EXHIBITIONS. 

"  The  convenience  of  Day  Exhibitions  must  be  obvious  to 
the  Polite  Circles,  who  are  otherwise  engaged  in  the  evening. 

"At  the  MECHANIC  THEATRE,  No.  38  NORFOLK 
STREET,  STRAND,  will  be  exhibited  the 

"  ANDROIDES. 

"  Doors  open  every  day  at  half-past  12,  and  begins  at  i,  and 
every  Evening  doors  open  at  half-past  7  and  begins  at  8. 

"  These  much-admired  Pieces  of  Mechanism,  which  not 
only  imitate  human  actions,  but  appear  to  possess  rational 
powers,  consist  of,  ist — 

"  The  WRITING  AUTOMATON. — A  Figure,  about  the  size  of 
a  Boy  of  four  years  old,  which  will  be  brought  to  a  table,  and 

1  A  slang  phrase  then  in  use. 


Old  Times.  229 

set  to  write  any  word,  words,  or  figures  required,  in  a  round 
legible  hand,     and — 

"  THE  FRUITER Y — the  model  of  a  neat  rural  mansion,  and 
contains  the  following  figures  :  first,  the  Porter,  which  stands 
in  the  gate,  and,  on  being  addressed,  rings  a  bell,  when  the 
door  opens,  the  Fruiteress  comes  out,  and  any  Lady,  or 
Gentleman,  may  call  for  whatever  fruit  they  please,  and  the 
figure  will  return,  and  bring  the  kind  required,  which  may  be 
repeated ;  and  the  fruit  varied  as  often  as  the  company  pleases  : 
it  will  likewise  receive  flowers,  or  any  small  articles,  carry  them 
in,  and  produce  them  again,  as  called  for.  As  the  Fruits  are 
brought  out,  they  will  be  given  in  charge  to  a  Watch  Dog,  which 
sits  in  front  of  the  house,  and  on  any  person  taking  away,  or 
touching  them,  will  begin  to  bark,  and  continue  to  do  so  until 
they  are  returned.  The  next  figure  belonging  to  this  piece  is, 
the  LITTLE  CHIMNEY  SWEEPER,  which  will  be  seen  coming 
from  behind  the  house,  will  enter  the  door,  appear  at  the  top 
of  the  chimney,  and  give  the  usual  cry  of  '  Sweep '  several 
times,  descend  the  chimney,  and  come  out  with  its  bag  full  of 
soot.— Third, 

"The  LIQUOR  MERCHANT  AND  WATER  SERVER.  These 
are  on  a  platform  of  about  two  feet  square,  which  (as  the 
former  pieces)  will  be  placed  on  a  table.  The  Liquor  Merchant 
stands  at  a  small  cask  from  which  it  will  draw  every  kind  of 
spirits,  wine,  &c.,  required.  The  Water  Server  stands  at  a 
pump,  and  will  fill  a  tumbler  with  water  as  often  as  called 
for. — Fourth, 

"  The  HIGHLAND  ORACLE  :  a  Figure  in  the  Highland  Dress, 
stands  on  a  Time-piece,  and  gives  the  Hour  and  Minutes 
whenever  asked,  by  striking  its  Sword  on  a  Target :  it  gives  a 
rational  Answer  (by  Motion)  to  any  Question  proposed  :  it 
calculates  Sums  in  Arithmetic,  and  gives  the  amount  instantly 
of  any  number  of  pounds,  yards,  &&,  at  any  given  price,  beats 
time  to  music,  &c. 

"  The  Table  the  different  Pieces  will  be  played  on,  contains 
an  Organ,  on  which  the  Proprietor  introduces  a  few  Notes  :  also 

"  The  MACHINE  OR  (SELF-PLAYING)  ORGAN,  will  play  occa- 
sionally several  Pieces  of  Music,  Airs,  Country  Dances,  &c. 


230  Old  Times. 

"  Mr.  HADCOCK  flatters  himself  the  Androides  will  be  found 
more  curious  than  anything  of  the  kind  ever  before  offered  to 
the  Public,  as  the  principles  of  Action  are  entirely  new.  The 
Theatre  is  neatly  fitted  up,  and  everything  calculated  to  give 
satisfaction  to  a  polite  and  discerning  Audience. 

"  Boxes  45.,  Gallery  23.  Admittance,  after  the  Two  First 
Parts,  Half  Price.  Exhibition  lasts  nearly  Two  hours." — ( Times, 
Jany.  15,  1796.) 

If  there  was  little  mention  of  "  Art/'  in  the  old  news- 
papers, there  was  still  less  of  "  Literature,"  except  in  the 
advertisement  of  new  books. 

"What  is  Jemmy  Boswell  about?  where  is  his  Life  and 
Adventures  of  the  great  Lexicographer,  the  ATLAS  of  obscure 
sentiment,  and  pompous  phraseology  ?  Mrs.  Piozzi's  last  work 
hath  been  read,  and  re-read,  with  avidity,  and  admiration.  If 
the  men  doth  not  look  sharp,  the  women  will  run  off  with  all 
the  biographic  laurels." — (Morning  Post,  June  12,  1788.) 

Mrs.  Thrale's  book,  "  Letters  to  and  from  S.  Johnson," 
was  published  in  1788,  and  her  "  Anecdotes  of  S.  John- 
son, during  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life,"  in  1786. 
Boswell's  "  Life  of  Samuel  Johnson,"  &c.,  was  published 
in  1791. 

"  The  last  exit  of  the  celebrated  Mr.  GIBBON,  was  attended 
with  some  very  extraordinary  circumstances.  He  was  sitting 
with  an  intimate  friend,  on  the  evening  of  his  death,  and 
remarking  of  himself,  that  he  thought  there  was  a  probability 
of  his  enjoying  thirteen,  or  fourteen,  more  years  of  life.  He 
had  not  been  long  in  bed,  before  he  was  seized  with  excru- 
ciating pains.  He  endeavoured  to  swallow  some  brandy,  but 
in  vain.  He  then  made  a  signal  to  his  valet  to  leave  the 
room,  and  in  a  few  minutes  expired.  He  has  left  everything 
indiscriminately  to  a  young  Swiss  gentleman,  to  whom  he  was 
attached,  and  who  accompanied  him  last  year  to  this  country." 
— (Times,  Jany.  27,  1794.) 


Old  Times.  231 

"  Four  thousand  and  seventy  three  Novels  are  now  in  the 
Press,  from  the  pens  of  young  Ladies  of  Fashion.     At  Mrs. 

D 's  School  all  the  young  Ladies  write  Novels,  in  the 

fourth  class  ! !  and  those  whose  parents  are  rich,  or  honourable, 
are  at  the  expense  of  printing  them.  Lady  L.  G.  and  Lady 
C.  C.  are  busily  employed  upon  two  rival  Novels,  which  are 
the  favourite  work  for  Young  Ladies  at  present :  and  the  lawful 
successors  of  bell-ropes,  coronet  cushions,  and  painted  flower- 
pots. Lady  G.'s  is  entitled — '  Duke  or  no  Duke,'  Lady 
CHARLOTTE'S  'All  for  Nothing.'  Those  who  have  seen  the 
latter,  are  loud  in  the  praise  of  its  beauties :  the  plot  of  the 
former  is  not  thought  to  have  been  welllaid" — (Times,  April 
18,  1796.) 


232  Old  Times. 


MONETARY. 

WE  are  apt  to  think  that  among  the  other  advantages 
of  progressive  Civilisation  which  we  possess  in  this 
latter  part  of  the  iQth  Century,  Commercial  failures  and 
stoppage  of  Banks  are  peculiarly  our  own,  but  it  was 
not  so  ;  the  years  1793  and  1796 — the  former  especially — 
were  times  of  severe  mercantile  depression — the  tale  of 
which  is  best  told  in  the  language  of  the  times. 

"  The  late  considerable  failures  in  the  City  are  no  longer 
to  be  concealed;  public  credit  cannot  therefore,  suffer  the 
more  by  our  publishing  the  fact.  Four  very  considerable 
mercantile  Houses  have  stopped  payment  within  the  last  ten 
days :  they  are  principally  engaged  in  American  West  India 
Brokerage,  and  Insurance  concerns.  One  house,  alone,  has 
failed  for  ^800,000,  and  another  for  ^500,000.  It  is  feared 
that  many  more  persons  will  become  involved  in  these  failures 
— as  there  has  been  a  very  extensive  circulation  of  paper. 
The  failures  already  known,  are  estimated  at  three  millions, 
and  it  is  conjectured  that  they  will  extend  to  two  millions 
more.  They  have,  naturally,  created  a  great  scarcity  of  cash 
in  the  City,  and  the  Bank,  as  well  as  the  Bankers,  are  ex- 
tremely shy  of  discounting." — (Times,  Feb.  28,  1793.) 

"Some  more  very  considerable  failures  have  taken  place 
in  the  City,  within  the  last  two  or  three  days.  A  very  large 
African  house,  at  Bristol,  has  likewise  stopped  payment,  and 
the  letters  from  thence  advise,  that  it  is  feared  many  more  will 
follow." — (Times,  March  10,  1793.) 

"The  Bankers,  in  the  City,  have  refused  to  discount  any 


Old  Times.  233 

more  paper,  for  the  present.  The  alarm  on  the  Royal  Ex- 
change, is  beyond  conception  to  those  who  are  not  in  busi- 
ness."— (Times,  March  26,  1793.) 

"At  the  Meeting,  on  Monday,  of  the  Noblemen,  and 
Gentlemen,  belonging  to  the  County  of  Northumberland,  we 
understand  that  ^340,000  was  subscribed,  to  support  the 
NEWCASTLE  BANKS,  the  Proprietors  of  which,  are  gentlemen 
of  the  first  landed  property,  and  known  to  be  worth  many 
hundred  thousand  pounds. 

"  The  commercial  stoppages,  we  are  sorry  to  learn,  have  at 
length  reached  MANCHESTER,  and  the  most  serious  incon- 
veniencies  are  to  be  dreaded,  if  some  effectual  support  is  not 
given  to  that  town.  The  mischief  is  so  much  dreaded,  that  a 
committee  of  Gentlemen,  of  that  town,  have  come  to  London, 
to  offer  securities  to  the  BANK,  provided  it  will  afford  a 
temporary  relief  to  the  manufacturers  who  reside  there." — 
( Times,  April  1 8,  1793.) 

"  PUBLIC  CREDIT. 

"  The  very  depressed  state  of  the  public  credit  of  the  country, 
is  now  so  universally  known,  and  felt,  that  it  cannot  suffer 
any  additional  injury  by  our  stating  the  fact,  and  the  means 
which  are  about  to  be  carried  into  effect,  as  an  experiment  of 
relief.  We  daily  hear  of  new  stoppages  among  persons,  many 
of  whom  have  ever  been  considered  as  men  of  large  real 
property  :  on  a  very  minute,  and  fair,  enquiry  into  the  truth 
of  this  supposition,  we  have  the  best  reason  to  believe  that  the 
fact  is  so;  and  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  mercantile 
houses,  which  have  been,  lately,  obliged  to  suspend  their  pay- 
ments, is  still  solvent,  and  well  able  to  pay  every  demand,  in 
the  course  of  time.  At  Manchester,  Liverpool,  and  other 
large  trading  towns,  particularly  at  the  former,  this  fact  is  well 
authenticated ;  but  the  failures  at  the  country  banks  have 
stopped  the  circulation  of  money  so  suddenly,  that  present 
engagements  have  not  been  able  to  be  fulfilled.  To  adopt  a 
remedy,  if  possible,  at  this  very  alarming  state  of  public  credit, 
a  meeting  was  held  at  Mr.  PITT'S  house,  in  Downing  Street, 


234  Old  Times. 

on  Monday  last,"to  consult  on  the  business.  The  grievance 
being  explained  to  Mr.  PITT,  he  assured  the  Gentlemen  of  his 
anxiety,  and  readiness  to  give  every  assistance,  in  his  power, 
to  the  mercantile  interest,  and  he  requested  they  would  consult 
among  themselves,  and  form  some  specific  proposition,  for  his 
consideration.  A  meeting  was  accordingly  held,  yesterday 
morning,  at  the  Mansion-house,  to  consider  of  the  plan  which 
should  be  proposed  to  Mr.  Pitt.  The  number  of  gentlemen 
was  reduced  to  1 1,  as  being  more  convenient :  and,  at  nine 
o'clock  last  night,  they  waited  on  the  Minister,  to  obtain  his 
approbation. 

"  We  do  not  take  upon  us  to  state,  OFFICIALLY,  the  nature 
of  the  plan  which  has  been  proposed,  but  we  are  led  to 
believe  that  the  outlines  of  it  are  as  follows :  '  That  four 
millions  of  Exchequer  Bills  should  be  issued  for  the  sup- 
port of  public  credit,  as  a  loan  to  the  mercantile  interest; 
that  the  security  required,  should  be  on  goods  actually  ware- 
housed, and  the  advance  to  be  made  on  two-thirds  of  their 
value.  Commissioners  to  be  appointed  to  superintend  the 
securities,  and  the  value  of  the  merchandise.  The  Exchequer 
Bills  to  be  called  in  as  they  become  redeemed.  The  bor- 
rowers to  be  answerable  for  any  loss  in  the  discount  of  them.' 
The  plan  was  left  for  Mr.  Pitt's  consideration,  who  is  to  give 
his  answer  this  morning.  Should  he  approve  of  it,  it  is  pro- 
bable he  will  propose  some  resolution  upon  it,  this  day,  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  to  the  end  that  the  relief  may  be  as 
speedy  as  possible." — (Times,  April  24,  1793.) 

"The  FUNDS  continued  falling  yesterday,  and  CONSOLS 
were  below  60,  for  money.  We  shall  be  very  much  surprised 
if  there  were  not  some  very  considerable  failures  before 
the  next  settling  day.  Some  persons  connected  with  French 
Houses  are  known  to  be  great  losers." — (Times,  July  15, 1796.) 

"  We  yesterday  mentioned  our  expectation  that  there  would 
be  considerable  failures  among  persons  connected  with  French 
Houses,  before  the  next  settling  day.  A  principal  Stock- 
broker, immediately  ^  connected  with  a  Gentleman,  formerly  a 


Old  Times.  235 

Member  of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  in  France,  was,  yester- 
day declared  a  defaulter  at  the  Stock  Exchange.  His 
differences  are  upon  near  half  a  million  of  Stock,  which  he 
had  purchased  at  67  and  68.  This  failure  is  the  commence- 
ment of  exposing  that  destructive  system  of  gambling,  called 
continuations.  The  Consols  were  done""yesterday  at  59,  for 
money." — (Times,  July  16,  1796.) 

"Notwithstanding  the  enormous  failures  of  two  Stock 
brokers,  whose  differences  amount  to  full  ^100,000,  the 
desperate  game  of  Continuation  still  continues  nearly  as 
strong  as  ever.  Bargains  for  time,  in  Stock,  were  yesterday 
made  for  the  next  settling  day,  at  a  rate  of  20  per  cent.,  In- 
terest."— (Times,  July  20,  1796.) 

"A  very  extraordinary  fluctuation  took  place,  yesterday, 
in  the  Funds,  which,  after  having  fallen  in  the  early  part  of 
the  day,  to  53^,  rose,  towards  the  close  of  the  market,  to  56! 
for  the  October  settling.  The  reason  alleged,  for  this  sudden 
rise,  was,  that  Mr.  Hammond  having  been  unsuccessful  at 
Berlin,  had  gone  from  thence  to  Paris.  Such  was  the  report !" 
(Times,  Sept.  7,  1798.) 

"The  Chancellor  (Irish)  has  declared  from  the  Bench, 
that,  in  the  present  period  of  distress,  no  person  shall  be  made 
a  Bankrupt." — (Times,  June  12,  1796.) 

The  following  is  but  a  foreshadowing  of  our  Railway 
Mania : — 

"  Canal  Shares,  which  at  one  time  rose  to  ^180,  are 
now  down  to  ^40.  The  Mania  is  over;  and  this  earth- 
cutting  business,  in  a  great  measure,  at  a  stand." — (Times, 
Aug.  1 6,  1796.) 

In  1796,  there  was  an  extraordinary  scarcity  of  silver, 
which  taxed  severely,  the  resources  of  the  Government 
to  meet.  The  difficulty  was  met,  to  some  extent,  by  the 
issue  of  Spanish  Dollars,  taken  from  Prizes,  and  stamped 


236  Old  Times. 

at  the  Tower,  where  the  Mint  then  was,  with  a  small 
head  of  the  King. — These  were  issued  at  45.  pd.  each — 
The  same  scarcity  arose  in  1803—4,  and  the  same 
expedient  was  resorted  to — only  then  the  dollars  were 
issued  at  a  price  over  their  value,  so  as  to  offer  no 
premium  for  their  destruction. 

"  So  great  is  the  scarcity,  and  high  price  of  silver,  that  the 
silver  smiths  give  55.  3d.  for  a  crown  piece,  and  a  premium 
is  given  for  shillings." — (Times,  fan.  7,  1796.) 

"  Silver  is  so  exceedingly  scarce,  that  there  is  not  a  sufficient 
quantity,  for  exchange,  in  the  channels  of  business,  either 
good,  or  bad,  and  yet  we  are  sorry  to  observe  (which  we  have 
repeatedly)  the  number  of  unfortunate  victims  who  are,  every 
Session,  brought  to  trial,  for  coining.  Surely  the  wisdom  of 
the  Legislature  might  prevent  this  evil,  by  issuing  a  sufficient 
quantity  for  the  purposes  of  circulation." — (Times,  Sept.  15, 
1796.) 

"  The  distress  for  want  of  Silver,  is  daily,  more  and  more 
felt  among  the  trading  parts  of  the  Metropolis.  These  are 
put  to  the  greatest  inconvenience,  for  want  of  a  greater 
circulation ;  and,  we  understand  that  those  who  have  many 
men  in  their  employ,  are  obliged  to  give  one  per  cent.,  to 
procure  it.  The  many  complaints  which  are  made,  on  this 
subject,  induces  us  to  hope  that  the  issue  of  a  fresh  coinage, 
from  the  Mint,  will  speedily  take  place.  T.he  want  of  it  has 
another  bad  effect,  as  it  increases  the  coining  of  base  half- 
pence."— (Times,  Sept.  29,  1796.) 

"Yesterday,  the  Committee  of  Bankers  had  another  Meet- 
ing at  Mr.  PITT'S,  to  request  his  interference  in  procuring 
them  a  certain  quantity  of  specie,  for  the  demands  of  their 
business.  The  Minister  returned  for  answer,  that  he  could 
only  assist  them,  at  present,  with  50,000  guineas  :  which, 
being  divided  among  all  the  Bankers,  will  not  amount  to 
1000  guineas  for  each  House. 


Old  Times.  237 

"We  hope  that  the  BANK,  instead  of  issuing  dollars  at 
43.  6d.,  will  place  a  value  of  55.  on  them,  in  order  that  they  may 
not  become  an  object  of  traffic  :  their  intrinsic  worth  is  above 
43. 6d.,  and  they  should,  therefore,  be  issued  at  some  higher  price, 
in  order  that  they  may  not  be  hoarded. 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever,  but  that  large  sums  of 
specie  have  been  drawn  out  of  the  BANK,  and  concealed  in 
the  houses,  or  gardens,  of  private  persons.  As  this  stoppage 
of  general  circulation  is  highly  prejudicial  to  the  Public  Weal, 
we  have  only  to  observe  to  such  persons,  that  their  extreme, 
and  foolish  timidity,  may  produce,  to  themselves,  the  very 
consequences  they  seek  to  avert :  and  that,  instead  of  being 
richer,  they  may  fall  the  first  victims  of  their  alarms.  Wher- 
ever large  sums  of  money  are  privately  deposited,  except  it  is 
with  those  whose  occupation  it  is  to  hold  it,  such  persons  are 
likely  to  be  the  first  objects  of  popular  revenge.  The  BANK, 
or  the  houses  of  BANKERS,  are  the  only  secure  places  of 
deposits." — (Times,  March  3,  1797.) 

"According  to  letters  received,  on  Wednesday,  in  town, 
the  Banks  at  Norwich,  and  at  Bath,  have  stopped  payment  in 
specie.  Since  the  news  reached  the  country,  of  the  Bank  of 
England  stopping  payment,  not  a  guinea  is  to  be  had,  in  ex- 
change for  Bank-notes,  on  any  of  the  Public  roads." — (Times, 
March  3,  1797.) 

"On  Saturday,  a  small  quantity  of  one,  and  two,  Pound 
Notes  were  issued  from  the  Bank,  principally  for  the  use  of 
the  country.  A  very  large  issue  will  be  made  in  the  course 
of  this  day,  and  to-morrow." — (Times,  March  6,  1797.) 

"  This  day,  the  Governors  of  the  Bank  will  issue  a  quantity 
of  dollars,  to  which  the  Tower  Stamp  is  affixed,  in  order  to 
relieve  the  present  embarrassment  arising  from  scarcity  of 
specie." — (Times,  March  6,  1797.) 

"  Sterling  Silver  was  done,  on  Saturday,  as  high  as  53.  8d.  per 
ounce,  and  Gold  at  £4,  8s.  The  price  of  Silver,  is  5d.  per 
ounce,  above  the  rate  at  which  coined  silver  passes,  and  the 


238  Old  Times. 

price  of  Gold  los.  per  ounce,  above  the  current  price  of  the 
Guinea  \"— (Times,  March  8,  1797.) 

"Yesterday,  the  BANK  began  to  issue  Dollars  at  45.  gd.  each. 
There  is  the  Mint  Stamp  affixed  to  each,  which  consists  of 
the  King's  Head,  marked  on  the  King  of  Spain's  neck.  We 
trust  that  this  issue  of  Dollars  is  intended  to  make  room  for  a 
new  importation  from  some  rich  Spanish  prizes,  which  we 
hope  to  see  in  some  of  our  ports." — (Times,  March  10,  1797.) 

"  Several  German  Hard  Dollars,  or  four-gold-pieces,  nomi- 
nally worth  45.  8d.  have  been  issued  from  the  Bank,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  Spanish  Dollar." — (Times,  March  27,  1797.) 

"The  Dollars  now  issuing  at  the  Bank,  are  those  which 
were  taken  on  board  the  St.  Jago  prize  ship." — (Times, 
March  17,  1797.) 

"A  very  serious  inconvenience  has  occurred  to  many 
people,  from  the  multiplicity  of  forgeries  in  the  stamps  on  the 
dollars,  which,  from  being  issued  by  the  Bank,  at  a  price  so 
far  above  their  real  value,  has  tempted  the  coiners  to  forge 
the  Mint  Stamp,  which  it  is  impossible  for  a  common  observer 
to  detect,  Since  their  first  issue,  many  chests  of  dollars  have 
been  imported  into  this  country,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  forging 
the  stamp.  As  they  are  circulated  at  43.  9d.,  and  their  value  is 
only  45.  2d.,ithas  afforded  too  great  a  temptation  to  beresisted. 
Besides  the  vast  number  of  copper  dollars  coined,  it  is  sup- 
posed that  more  than  half  of  those  in  circulation,  are  counter- 
feited in  the  stamp,  though  the  dollars  are  good.  When  taken 
to  the  Bank  they  are  refused,  which  has  caused  a  deal  of  ill 
humour." — (Times,  Sept.  4,  1797.)  \ 

•  "  In  consequence  of  the  great  quantity  of  bad  Dollars,  in 
circulation,  the  BANK  DIRECTORS  gave  notice,  in  the  Gazette 
of  last  night ;  that  they  mean  to  issue  Gold  coin,  to  the  amount 
of  the  Dollars  now  in  circulation,  and  which  have  been 
stamped  at  the  Tower." — (Times,  Sept.  27,  1797.) 

"  The  DOLLARS  having  been  taken  out  of  circulation,  there 


Old  Times.  239 

is  now  such  a  scarcity  of  silver,  as  to  impede  the  'ordinary 
negotiation  of  business  very  materially.  It  would  be  a  public 
convenience  if  the  new  73.  gold  coin  was  put  in  circulation." 
—(Times,  Oct.  5,  1797.) 

"The  new  gold  coinage  of  seven  shilling  pieces  is  to  be 
issued  from  the  Bank,  this  day." — (Times,  Dec.  i,  1797.) 

Up  to  this  time  forgeries  of  Bank  of  England  notes 
had  been  very  rare. 

"  Last  week  a  man  was  apprehended  at  Manchester,  on  a 
charge  of  forging  Bank  of  England  notes.  On  searching  his 
house,  was  found  a  plate,  with  a  one  pound  note  engraved,  on 
one  side  of  it,  and  a  two  pound  note,  on  the  other  •  together 
with  a  number  of  notes  just  struck  off,  but  not  filled  up.  On 
his  examination  he  confessed  the  fact,  and  thereby  impeached 
his  brother,  who,  he  said,  was  then  in  Yorkshire  :  and  acknow- 
ledged that  they  had  practised  it  about  six  months,  during 
which  time  they  had  disposed  of  about  200." — (Times,  March 
30,  1798.) 

"A  small  delivery  of  Mr.  BOULTON'S  zd.  pieces,  was,  on 
Friday,  made  at  the  Treasury ;  the  likeness  of  the  King  is 
much  better  executed  than  in  the  id.  pieces  :  they  are  full 
twice  their  thickness,  weighing  rather  better  than  two  ounces 
each." — (Times,  Feby.  12,  1798.) 

"  The  trade  of  counterfeit  halfpence,  though  it  got  a  tem- 
porary check  within  the  last  five  weeks,  is  again  getting  for- 
ward. The  turnpike  men,  coffee-house  waiters,  haberdashers' 
shops,  fruit  women,  and  porter  houses,  are  at  their  old  work. 
The  turnpike  men  will  give  bad,  but  not  take  them  at  present. 
If  the  traveller  objects,  he  is  abused  and  kept  waiting,  perhaps 
ten  minutes,  for  change  of  6d. :  the  coffee-house  waiters  say 
they  have  no  others,  and  that  they  give  and  take ;  the  haber- 
dashers fold  the  change  up  in  a  clean  bit  of  paper,  which 
when7*  opened,  contains  the  worst  of  counterfeit  halfpence : 


240  Old  Times. 

and  the  fruit  women  and  porter  houses  say  '  they  give  what 
they  take.'" — (Times,  Oct.  2,  1794.) 

"  Bad  shillings  are  sold  to  chandlers  shops,  turnpike  men, 
and  waiters  at  coffee-houses  and  taverns,  at  the  rate  of 
twenty  shillings  for  five  and  sixpence.  No  wonder  they  are  in 
such  general  circulation." — (Times,  Nov.  29,  1794.) 

"At  this  season  the  Jew  fruitmen  should  be  particularly 
guarded  against.  They  care  not  at  how  small  a  price  they  sell, 
so  the  quantum  reaches  to  silver.  In  that  case  it  is  their 
custom  'to  hope  you  will  give  them  good  silver,  as  the 
gardeners  are  very  particular.'  They  then  rub  it  with  both 
thumbs,  dexterously  contriving  to  fillip  up  your  shilling,  and 
drop  down  another,  which  they  beg  you  to  change,  protesting 
that  they  believed  it  good  but  "are  not  certain.  Serving  you 
the  same  a  second  or  third  time,  and  you  are  induced  through 
an  appearance  of  great  civility,  and  apparent  ignorance,  to 
indulge  them.  The  silver  you  receive  as  your  own  is  speciously 
good :  but  it  changes  black  in  a  few  hours.  The  writer  of 
this  bought  his  experience  at  the  price  of  three  succeeding 
shillings."— (Times,  July,  30,  1795.) 


"BAD  HALFPENCE. 

"To  THE  MASTER  OF  THE  MINT — 
"THE  PETITION  OF  MORE  THAN  TEN  MILLIONS  OF  BAD 
HALFPENCE, 
"MOST  HUMBLY  SHOWETH, 

"  That  your  Petitioners,  for  a  number  of  years,  have  given 
bread  to  thousands  of  his  Majesty's  subjects,  called  Coiners : 
and  that  they  have  been  long  in  uncontrouled  circulation  : 

"That  your  Petitioners  have  enabled  Waiters  at  Taverns, 
and  other  houses,  to  wear  hair-powder,  to  the  manifest  increase 
of  his  Majesty's  Stamp-duties. 

"  That  your  Petitioners  have  been  the  means  of  the  Turnpike 
Tolls  increasing  in  value,  on  account  of  the  Toll-takers  being 


Old  Times.  241 

obliged  to  put  off  a  certain  quantity  of  your  Petitioners,  each 
week,  at  a  stipulated  price  from  the  Renters. 

"  That  your  Petitioners  have  long  been  a  fine  bonus  to  the 
Paymaster  Serjeants  of  the  different  Regiments,  who  bought 
your  Petitioners  at  the  rate  of  303.  for  203.,  thereby  making 
those  brave  fellows  to  live  more  comfortably,  than  their  regular 
pay  would  allow  them  to  do  : 

"  That  your  Petitioners  have,  for  a  series  of  time,  been  of 
infinite  service  to  those  industrious  men,  the  Tribes  of  Levi, 
and  Manassa,  who  distributed  your  Petitioners,  in  the  most 
plentiful  manner,  to  their  own  great  advantage  : 

"  That  your  Petitioners  have,  in  some  manner,  been  the  means 
of  peopling  Botany  Bay,  as  numbers  of  persons,  who  were  first 
in  the  habit  of  forming  your  Petitioners,  afterwards  mounted  to 
the  honour  of  makmg  shillings,  and  sixpences  : 

"  That  your  Petitioners,  with  great  sorrow,  perceive,  by  the 
effect  of  a  new  coinage  of  Penny,  and  Twopenny  Pieces,  that 
their  existence  is  rapidly  on  the  decline  : 

"  Your  Petitioners  therefore  pray  that  their  grievances  may 
be  taken  into  consideration  :  and  they  will,  as  in  duty  bound, 
ever  pray.  BAD  HALFPENCE." 

—(Times,  Aug.  17,  1795.) 

"FALSE  COINAGE. 

"  The  numerous  evils  arising  from  the  now  general  circula- 
tion of  Base  Money,  are  too  well  known,  to  make  it  necessary 
that  they  should  be  dwelt  on  by  us.  We  have  always  consi- 
dered the  different  Administrations  of  this  Country,  as  highly 
blameable  for  not  paying  more  attention,  than  they  have  done, 
to  prevent  the  nefarious  practices  which  are  introduced  in  the 
introduction  of  almost  every  species  of  Counterfeit  Coin  into 
the  circulation  of  the  country,  because  it  certainly  has  the 
means  in  its  own  power,  of  lessening  the  mischief,  by  issuing 
a  new  coinage,  particularly  of  Halfpence,  which  are,  now,  so 
generally  bad,  and  so  profligately  circulated,  that  scarce  a 
good  halfpenny  is  to  be  seen.  .  .  .  The  vast  increase,  and  the 
extensive  circulation,  of  base  Money,  particularly  of  late 
years,  .  .  .  almost  exceeds  credibility,  and  the  dexterity,  and 
ingenuity,  of  these  criminal  people  have  enabled  them  to 

Q 


242  Old  Times. 

finish  the  different  kinds  of  counterfeit  Money,  in  so  masterly 
a  manner,  that  it  has  become  extremely  difficult,  for  the 
common  observer,  to  distinguish  the  base  Coin,  now  in  circu- 
lation, from  the  worn  out  Silver,  from  the  Mint.  And,  so 
systematic  has  this  nefarious  traffic  become,  that  the  great 
dealers,  who  in  most  instances  are  the  employers  of  the 
Coiners,  execute  orders  for  the  Town,  and  Country,  with  the 
same  regularity  as  other  manufacturers  in  fair  branches  of 
trade.  Scarce  a  waggon,  or  coach,  departs  from  the  metro- 
polis, that  does  not  carry  boxes,  and  parcels,  of  base  coin,  to 
the  camps,  seaports,  and  manufacturing  towns,  insomuch,  that 
the  country  is  deluged  with  counterfeit  Money.  In  London, 
regular  markets,  in  various  public,  and  private,  houses,  are 
held  by  the  principal  Dealers,  where  Hawkers,  Pedlars,  fraudu- 
lent Horse-dealers,  Unlicensed  Lottery  Office  Keepers,  Gam- 
blers at  Fairs,  Itinerant  Jews,  Irish  Labourers,  Servants  of  Toll 
Gatherers,  and  Hackney-Coach  Owners,  fraudulent  Publicans, 
Market  Women,  Rabbit  Sellers,  Fish  Cryers,  Barrow  Women, 
and  many  who  would  not  be  suspected,  are  regularly  supplied 
with  counterfeit  Copper,  and  Silver,  with  the  advantages  of 
nearly  100  per  cent,  in  their  favour  :  and  thus  it  happens,  that 
through  these  various  channels,  immense  quantities  of  base 
Money  get  into  circulation,  while  an  evident  diminution  of 
the  Mint  Coinage,  is  apparent  to  every  common  observer.  .  .  . 
Discoveries  have  been  recently  made,  of  no  less  than  120 
persons,  in  the  metropolis,  and  the  country,  who  are  employed, 
principally,  in  coining,  and  selling,  Base  Money:  and  this, 
independent  of  the  numerous  horde  of  utterers,  who  chiefly 
support  themselves  by  passing  it  at  its  full  value. 

'"  It  will  scarcely  be  credited,  that  of  these  criminal  people 
who  have  either  been  detected,  prosecuted,  or  convicted, 
within  the  last  seven  years,  there  stand  upon  the  register  of 
the  Solicitor  of  the  Mint,  no  less  than  608  names !  and  yet 
the  evil  increases  rapidly.  And  when  it  is  known,  that  two 
persons  can  finish  from  ^200,  to  ^£300,  in  base  silver,  in  six 
days,  and  that  three  people,  within  the  same  period  will  stamp 
the  like  amount,  in  Copper,  and  when  the  number  of  known 
coiners  are  taken  into  the  calculation,  the  aggregate  in  the 
course  of  the  year  must  be  immense  ! " — (Times,  Oct.  5,  1796.) 


Old  Times.  243 


LAW    AND    POLICE. 

IN  treating  the  above  heading,  I  have  no  wish  to  intro- 
duce the  "  Newgate  Calendar  "  element  into  this  book. 
Let  those  who  like  such  literature,  consult  that  work — 
and,  doubtless,  they  will  be  rewarded  for  their  pains  ; 
but,  in  going  through  these  old  papers,  much  that  is 
curious  is  met  with,  which  throws  light  on  the  manners, 
and  customs,  of  our  forefathers. 

Of  Police,  as  we  understand  the  word,  there  was 
none — and  the  parochial  Constables,  and  watchmen,  who 
were  supposed  to  guard  the  premises  of  the  rate  payers, 
and  to  keep  the  peace,  were  veritably  of  the  Dogberry 
and  Verges  type — utterly  useless  for  the  detection,  or 
suppression,  of  crime,  and  only  fit  to  "  comprehend  all 
vagrom  man,"  or  lead  some  roysterer  home. 

All  day  long  they  were  not ;  but,  at  night,  they  came 
out  with  the  bats,  and  owls,  armed  with  a  long  staff,  and 
a  lantern,  periodically  droning  out  the  hour  of  the  night, 
and  the  state  of  the  weather.  This  was  done  with  the 
laudable  intention  of  shewing  their  vigilance,  but  it  must 
equally  have  acted  in  an  opposite  direction,  for  every 
thief  must  have  had  due  warning  of  the  watchman's 
whereabouts.  They  had  temporary  shelters,  larger  than 
the  Military  Sentry  box,  and  the  wild  spirits  of  those 
days  delighted  to  catch  a  watchman  napping,  and  over- 
turn his  box,  thus  temporarily  incapacitating  him  from 


244  Otd  Times. 

giving  an  alarm,  or  following  their  flight.  For  the 
former  purpose  they  used  huge  rattles,  smaller  specimens 
of  which  were  carried,  for  the  same  purpose,  by  our 
own  Metropolitan  Police,  until  1884. 

Each  parish  looked  after  its  own  interests,  had  its 
own  watch  and  ward,  and  was  mightily  jealous  of  inter- 
ference from  another  parish — an  arrangement  evidently 
very  much  to  the  advantage  of  a  thief.  People  were 
always  grumbling — but  the  state  of  things  was  never 
altered.  Hear  what  they  said  about  it  in  1788  : — 

"The  DECREPID  OLD  DOTARDS,  to  whose  vigilance  the 
different  Vestries  have  confined  their  fellow  Citizens,  are  likely 
to  profit  from  the  order  of  nature  being  reversed  by  the  life  of 
our  modern  nobility,  who,  rising  at  two,  dining  at  eight,  and 
paying  afternoon  visits  at  midnight,  have  superseded  the  neces- 
sity of  having  watchmen,  and  are,  in  fact,  with  their  servants, 
a  much  better  patrole  than  any  of  the  Bow  Street  Justices 
could  furnish." — (Morning  Post,  April  21,  1788.) 

There  were  amateur  thief  catchers  like  Jonathan 
Wild,  men  who  would  be  the  companions,  and  con- 
federates, of  Highwaymen,  Housebreakers,  and  Thieves, 
drawing  Money  from  them  until  they  were  sucked  dry, 
and  then  sacrifice  them  without  an  atom  of  remorse. 

And  there  were  the  detectives  of  that  time,  the  Bow 
Street  Runners,  or  Robin  Red  breasts  as  they  were7 
called,  from  their  wearing  red  waistcoats.  Peter  Pindar 
sang  of  them,  especially  of  the  three  that  were  detailed 
for  the  protection  of  the  Royal  family  at  the  time  of  the 
French  Revolution. 


What  a  bright  thought  in  George  and  Charlotte, 
Who  to  escape  each  wicked  Varlet, 

And  disappoint  Tom  Paine's  disloyal  crew, 


Old  Times.  245 

Fixed  on  Macmanus,  Townsend,  Jealous, 
Delightful  company,  delicious  fellows, 

To  point  out,  every  minute,  who  is  who  ! 
To  hustle  from  before  their  noble  graces, 
Rascals  with  ill  looks,  designing  faces, 

Where  treason,  murder,  and  sedition  dwell ; 
To  give  the  life  of  every  Newgate  wretch, 
To  say  who  next  the  fatal  cord  shall  stretch, 

The  sweet  historian  of  the  pensive  cell." 

Townsend,  was  undoubtedly  the  sharpest  of  the  three, 
but  he  was  a  pushing,  boastful  fellow,  and  never  hid  his 
light  under  a  bushel.  He  was,  however,  courageous, 
and  never  heeded  where  he  went,  or  what  odds  were 
opposed  to  him ;  so  that  the  criminal  classes  began  to 
respect  him,  and,  at  last,  never  thought  of  opposing  him. 
He  was  extremely  natty  in  his  dress,  and  his  flaxen  wig 
was  as  well  known,  as  his  short  stout  figure,  and  his 
red  face — 

"•  Of  all  the  wigs  in  Brighton  Town, 
The  black,  the  gray,  the  red,  the  brown, 
So  firmly  glued  upon  the  crown, 

There's  none  like  Johnny  Townsend's  ; 
It's  silken  hair,  and  flaxen  hue, 
It  is  a  scratch,  and  not  a  queue, 
When  e'er  it  pops  upon  the  view, 

Is  known  for  Johnny  Townsend's." 

It  was  by  his  means,  that  the  famous  pickpocket, 
Barrington,  was  convicted,  and  transported,  a  fact  which 
was  very  much  to  Barrington's  advantage,  for  he  helped 
to  put  down  a  mutiny  on  board,  whilst  on  his  passage 
out,  for  which  he  was  well  rewarded,  and,  by  his  good 
conduct,  he  rose  from  step  to  step,  always  in  the  Colonial 
police — until  he  died  Chief  of  the  Constabulary  in  New 
South  Wales. 


246  Old  Times. 

The  laws  were  then  frightfully  severe  in  their  punish- 
ments, but  this  severity  did  not  act  as  a  deterrent  to 
crime.  The  punishment  of  death,  (and  hanging  was  the 
punishment  for  many  trivial  crimes)  seems  to  have  had 
no  terror — for  we  read  in  the  Morning  Post,  July  nth 
1788,  "  The  number  of  Capital  Convicts  at  present  in 
Newgate  is  eighty-one  !  "  Of  course,  these  were  not  all 
executed,  some  having  their  sentences  commuted  to 
transportation  for  life.  Let  us  take  a  few  cases  from  one 
Newspaper  only,  the  Morning  Post,  September  n,  1788. 
It  was  the  Sessions  at  the  Old  Bailey,  9th  September  : — 

"John  Dancer,  was  put  to  the  bar,  and  tried  before  Judge 
Grose,  for  a  burglary,  and  robbery,  in  the  empty  dwelling-house 
of  Daniel  Dancer,1  a  farmer,  near  Uxbridge.  This  offence  is 
made  capital  by  the  39th  Elizabeth.  The  jury  brought  in  a 
verdict,  guilty,  of  the  value  of  ^5.  — Death. 

"  John  Crawford,  for  a  burglary  in  the  house  of  Francis 
Bias.  The  crime  being  fully  proved. — Guilty — Death. 

"  William  Johnson,  for  a  burglary  and  robbery  of  poultry, 
in  the  dwelling  house  of  Margaret  Allen,  at  Hampstead. — 
Guilty— Death. 

"  Thomas  Jones,  for  a  highway  robbery  of  a  watch  &c. 
He  was  taken'in  the  manier — i.e.  with  the  watch  upon  him. — 
Guilty— Death. 

"  Several  other  prisoners  were  tried  and  acquitted  for  various 
offences,  particularly  one  for  a  rape — his  crime  was  only 
SEDUCTION  ! " 

"  Monday  evening,  as  a  lady  was  passing  along  Long- Acre, 
she  was  jostled  into  a  Court  by  a  number  of  those  abandoned 
wretches,  who  to  the  disgrace  of  our  police  and  magistrates, 
infest  every  corner  of  the  Metropolis,  where  they  stripped  her 
of  her  cloak,  bonnet,  and  of  almost  everything  she  had  on, 
besides  grossly  insulting  her.  The  Public  Offices  of  Justice 

1  The  celebrated  Miser.  During  the  last  20  years  of  his  life,  his  house 
is  said  to  have  been  entered,  by  thieves,  no  less  than  fourteen  times — and 
the  amount  of  his  losses,  is  calculated  at  ,£2,500. 


Old  Times.  247 

are  every  morning  full  of  these  women  of  the  town,  who  have 
been  taken  up  for  their  disorderly  behaviour.  But,  while  the 
connection  between  them  and  the  Watchmen  subsists,  the  evil 
must  still  remain.  It  is  an  evil  of  the  most  serious  and  alarm- 
ing nature,  and  peculiarly  calls  for  the  interposition  of  the 
Legislature." — (Morning  Post ',  Sept.  26,  1788.) 

"There  are  at  this  time,  in  Newgate,  upwards  of  Seven 
Hundred  prisoners,  the  greatest  number  ever  known  to  be  in 
that  place  of  confinement,  at  the  same  time." — (Morning  Post, 
Dec.  5,  1788.) 

"  Kelly  who  was  pilloried  at  Reading,  brings  actions  against 
those  who  pelted  him.  This  is  a  new  cause  of  trial,  but  clearly 
a  legal  one." — (Morning  Post,  Dec.  23,  1789.) 

Here,  they  evidently  "  caught  a  Tartar."  The  pelting 
could  have  been  no  part  of  the  man's  sentence — but  what 
was  the  issue  of  his  appeal  to  law,  I  know  not. 

About  the  year  1790,  occurs  a  most  singular  police 
episode,  so  singular,  and  so  comparatively  unknown,  that 
I  cannot  refrain  from  somewhat  enlarging  upon  it. 

In  the  early  spring  of  1790,  murmurs  began  to  be 
heard  of  ladies  being  attacked,  and  stabbed,  by  a  monster 
in  human  form.  The  murmurs  were  low  at  first,  and 
"  monster  "  was  printed  with  a  small  "  m  ; "  but,  very 
shortly,  they  grew  into  a  roar,  and  no  capitals  were 
found  too  large  for  THE  MONSTER. 

Indeed,  even  before  that,  and  as  far  back  as  May, 
1788,  a  Mrs.  Smith  had  been  stabbed  in  the  upper  part 
of  her  thigh  by  a  man  in  Fleet  Street,  and  was  even 
followed  by  him  to  a  house  in  Johnson's  Court,  to  which 
she  was  going,  and  watched  by  him  until  she  was  let  in. 
In  May,  1789,  a  Mrs.  Godfrey  was  similarly  stabbed  in 
Boswell  Court,  Fleet  Street ;  and  another  lady  was  left 
wounded  at  her  door.  In  March,  1790,  a  Mrs.  Blaney, 
of  Bury  Street,  was  stabbed  at  her  door  after  she  had 


248  Old  Times. 

knocked.  Dr.  Smith,  seeing  an  account  of  this  outrage 
in  a  newspaper,  inserted  a  notice  in  the  Morning  Herald, 
and  that  journal,  having  made  some  severe  remarks  on 
the  matter,  public  opinion  began  to  be  awakened,  and 
numerous  letters  were  written,  on  the  subject,  to  the 
newspapers  of  the  day.  The  thing  began  to  be  talked 
of  in  the  higher  circles.  A  young  lady  named  Porter 
had  been  stabbed  whilst,  in  the  company  of  her  sisters, 
returning  from  the  Drawing  Room  at  St.  James's,  on 
the  1 8th  of  January,  the  Queen's  Birthday  ;  and  since 
that  time,  several  people  had  been  wounded  by  this  mis- 
creant, who,  fortunately,  always  failed  in  doing  serious 
injury  to  his  victims. 

Mr.  John  Julius  Angerstein  (whose  name  will  ever  be 
associated  with  the  commencement  of  our  National 
Gallery)  was  very  active,  and  inaugurated  a  subscription 
at  Lloyd's,  to  which  the  guineas  flowed  merrily,  for  the 
capture,  and  conviction  of  the  "  Monster."  The  police 
began  to  bestir  themselves,  and  they,  too,  issued  placards. 
One  will  serve  as  a  type  of  all  : — 

"  PUBLIC  OFFICE,  Bow  STREET, 
Thursday,  April  29,  1790. 

"ONE  HUNDRED  POUNDS  REWARD. 

"  Several  ladies  having,  of  late,  been  inhumanly  cut,  and 
maimed,  by  a  person  answering  the  following  description, 
whoever  will  apprehend  him,  or  give  such  information  to  Sir 
Sampson  Wright,  at  the  above  office,  as  may  be  the  means  of 
his  being  apprehended,  shall  immediately  upon  his  committal 
to  prison,  receive  fifty  pounds  from  Mr.  Angerstein  of  Pall 
Mall,  and  the  further  sum  of  fifty  pounds  upon  his  conviction. 
N.B. — He  appears  to  be  about  thirty  years  of  age,  of  a  middle 
size,  rather  thin  make,  a  little  pockmarked,  of  a  pale  com- 
plexion, large  nose ;  light  brown  hair,  tied  in  a  queue,  cut 
short  and  frizzed  low  at  the  sides ;  is  sometimes  dressed  in 


Old  Times.  249 

black,  and  sometimes  in  a  shabby  blue  coat ;  sometimes  wears 
straw-coloured  breeches,  with  half  boots,  laced  up  before  :  some- 
times wears  a  cocked  hat,  and  at  other  times  a  round  hat,  with  a 
very  high  top,  and  generally  carries  a  Wangee  cane  in  his  hand. 
"  All  servants  are  recommended  to  take  notice  that  if  any 
man  has  stayed  at  home  without  apparent  cause,  within  these 
few  days,  during  the  daylight.  All  washerwomen  and  servants 
should  take  notice  of  any  blood  on  a  man's  handkerchief,  or 
linen,  as  the  wretch  generally  fetches  blood  when  he  strikes. 
All  servants  should  examine  if  any  man  carries  sharp  weapons 
about  him,  and  if  there  is  any  blood  thereon,  particularly 
tucks ;  and  maid-servants  are  to  be  told  that  a  tuck  is  generally 
at  the  head  of  a  stick,  which  comes  out  by  a  sudden  jerk.  All 
cutlers  are  desired  to  watch  if  any  man  answering  the  above  de- 
scription is  desirous  of  having  his  weapon  of  attack  very  sharp." 

All  baker's  men  were  asked  to  give  notice  at  every 
house  they  called  at,  of  the  above  reward,  and  Mr. 
Angerstein  promised  twenty  poun,ds  to  any  man  by 
whose  instrumentality  the  Monster  was  discovered. 

Additional  publicity  was,  moreover,  given  by  other 
means.  The  Morning  Herald  of  April  2/th  says : 

"  A  new  musical  piece  was  produced  last  night  at 
Astley's  called  The  Monster,  and  being  brought  forward 
at  a  time  when  the  attention  of  all  London  was  engaged 
in  discovering  him,  cannot  fail  of  producing  full  houses. 
Astley  seems  to  have  taken  up  the  matter  very  seriously, 
as  the  piece  abounds  with  much  satire  against  the 
Monster.  The  songs  also  are  well  adapted  :  the  chorus 
of  one  concluding  as  follows, 

'  When  the  Monster  is  taken  in  the  fact 
We'll  have  him  tried  by  the  Coventry  Act,1 
The  Black  Act 
The  Coventry  Act,' 

1  This  Act,  against  cutting  and  maiming,  owed  its  name  to  Sir  John 
Coventry,  who,  in  Charles  the  Second's  time,  was  favourable  to  a  motion, 


250  Old  Times. 

produced  unbounded  applause.  :This  piece  will  cer- 
tainly be  a  good  acquisition  to  Astley,  who  is  said  to  be 
the  author." 

One  lady  (Mrs.  R.  Walpole)  was  fortunate  enough  to 
escape  being  wounded,  owing  to  her  having  an  apple  in 
her  pocket :  an  incident  which  gave  rise  to  some  poetic 
effusions  : 

"  Eve,  for  an  apple,  lost  immortal  life  : 
From  you  an  apple  turn'd  the  Monster's  knife  ! 
Can  greater  proof,  since  Eve,  be  given 

Of  diabolic  strife, 

Or  interposing  Heaven  ?  " 

"  The  apple  was,  in  days  of  yore, 
An  Agent  to  the  Devil, 
When  Eve  was  tempted  to  explore 
The  sense  of  good  and  evil ; 
But  present  chronicles  can  give 
An  instance  quite  uncommon, 
How  that  which  ruined  Mother  Eve 
Hath  saved  a  Modern  Woman." 

The  Monster  was  even  made  a  party  to  Anti-slavery 
agitation,  for  at  the  Westminster  Forum  in  Panton  Street, 
Haymarket,  "  by  desire  of  several  ladies,"  was  debated 
the  question  :  "  Which  is  the  greater  disgrace  to  humanity, 
the  ruffian  who  drags  the  female  African  from  her  family, 
her  kindred,  and  her  native  country,  or  the  Monster  who 

in  the  House  of  Commons,  to  impose  a  tax  on  play-houses,  which  was 
opposed  by  the  Court.  Sir  John  Birkenhead  having  remarked  that  the 
players  were  the  King's  servants,  and  a  part  of  his  pleasure,  Sir  J.  Coventry 
asked  "Whether  the  King's  pleasure  lie  among  the  men,  or  the  women, 
that  acted  ?  "  This  was  neither  forgotten  nor  forgiven,  and  Sir  John  was 
set  upon  whilst  walking  home,  by  some  ruffians.  He  defended  himself 
desperately,  and  wounded  some  of  his  assailants,  but  was  overpowered, 
and  his  nose  slit  to  the  bone,  "  for  reflecting  on  the  King."  This  outrage 
excited  great  indignation  at  the  time. 


Old  Times.  251 

has  lately  wounded,  or  terrified,  many  ladies  in  this 
metropolis  ? "  The  result  of  this  discussion  is  not 
handed  down  to  posterity. 

Still  the  Monster  kept  steadily  at  his  work,  and  almost 
every  day  brought  its  tale  of  some  woman  being  stabbed  : 
and,  one  being  injured  in  St.  Pancras  Parish,  a  meeting  of 
the  inhabitants  was  called  at  the  Percy  Coffee  House,  on 
May  7th,  and  an  association  was  formed  "  to  nightly  patrol 
the  streets  of  the  south  division  of  Saint  Pancras,  from 
half-an-hour  before  sunset,  till  eleven  at  night,  for  the 
public  safety,  and  especially  to  guard  that  sex  which  a 
Monster,  or  Monsters,  in  opposition  to  the  dictates  of 
nature,  and  humanity,  have  dared  to  assault,  and  wound, 
with  wanton,  and  savage,  cruelty." 

The  idea  that  these  outrages  were  not  done  single- 
handed,  was  on  the  increase,  and  the  indefatigable  Mr. 
Angerstein  again  issued  a  placard,  and  "  informs  the  public, 
that  from  information  he  has  received  of  the  person  who, 
since  Friday  last,  has  assaulted  and  wounded  several 
women,  there  is  great  reason  to  fear  that  more  than  one 
of  these  wretches  infests  the  streets :  it  is  therefore 
thought  necessary  to  give  the  following  description  of  one, 
who,  within  this  week,  has  committed  many  acts  of 
cruelty  upon  women,"  and  gives  four  descriptions  of  the 
man's  dress,  which  would  lead  to  the  inference  that  the 
Monster  was  in  possession  of  a  very  extensive  wardrobe. 

People  were  now  gradually  getting  into  a  state  of 
ferment,  and  the  Monster  was  the  engrossing  topic  of 
public  interest.  Of  course,  then  as  now,  the  wrong 
people  were  arrested  occasionally.  One  "  Walter  Hill, 
was  brought  before  the  Magistrate  at  Litchfield  Street 
on  suspicion  of  being  one  of  the  wretches  who  have  cut 
several  women  ;  he  was  apprehended  in  Windmill  Street, 


252  Old  Times. 

Tottenham  Court  Road,  near  the  place  where  two  women 
were  cut,  though  Miss  Porter,  and  several  other  ladies, 
declared  the  prisoner  was  not  the  person  who  wounded 
them."  Nothing  could  be  proved  against  him,  and,  ulti- 
mately, he  was  discharged. 

Even  the  light-fingered  fraternity  entered  into  the 
spirit  of  the  times,  for  The  World  of  May  nth  has — 
"  Public  Office,  Bow  St.,  before  Sir  Sampson  Wright. 
Yesterday  evening,  about  half  after  seven  o'clock,  a 
gentleman  of  family  and  fortune,  was  surrounded  in 
Holborn  by  a  number  of  pickpockets,  who,  after  hustling 
him,  and  robbing  him  of  his  watch,  money,  and  hat, 
called  out :  '  That  is  the  Monster,  he  has  just  cut  a 
woman.'  A  vast  number  of  people  immediately  pursued 
the  gentleman,  some  calling  '  The  Monster ! '  others, 
'  Stop  thief/  till  at  length  he  was  knocked  down,  and 
surrounded  by  near  a  thousand  people,  by  whom  he  was 
very  ill-treated,  and,  probably,  would  not  have  escaped 
with  life,  had  he  not  been,  by  some  gentleman,  taken 
into  Gray's  Inn  Coffee  House  ;  from  whence  he  was  con- 
veyed to  the  Brown  Bear,  in  Bow  Street,  in  a  hackney- 
coach  ;  where  the  mob  were  so  exasperated  that  they 
broke  the  windows  of  the  house,  and,  could  they  have 
got  at  him,  would,  no  doubt,  have  massacred  him  :  by 
stratagem  he  was,  at  nine  o'clock,  brought  to  this  office. 
When  the  above  facts  appeared,  Sir  Sampson  Wright 
lamented  that  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  punish  the  per- 
petrators of  this  daring,  and  alarming,  assault,  but  did 
all  he  could,  by  giving  that  gentleman  his  protection 
until  the  mob  dispersed." 

Accounts  of  mock  assaults  were  written  to  the  papers, 
one  of  them  extremely  circumstantial,  telling  how  a 
courageous  lady  drew  a  pistol  "  from  her  pocket  and 


Old  Times.  253 

discharged  it  into  the  wretch's  neck,  immediately  under 
the  ear,  who  instantly  left  her,  uttering  the  most  dreadful 
imprecations."  This,  it  is  needless  to  say,  was  denied, 
and  exposed  next  morning. 

Imposture,  of  course,  took  advantage  of  such  a  golden 
opportunity,  and  we  find  that  "  the  account  which  appeared 
in  all  the  newspapers  of  Miss  B.  of  Marylebone  Street, 
having  been  twice  wounded  by  the  Monster,  proves  to 
be  a  fabrication,  for  the  purpose  of  exciting  compassion, 
and  money,  and  has,  in  some  degree,  answered  the  pur- 
pose. The  above  discovery  has  been  made,  by  an  investi- 
gation of  this  business,  by  the  Select  Vestry  of  Marylebone 
Parish.  This  is  a  new  kind  of  Monster  ! " 

The  Oracle  of  May  i/th  tells  the  following  little 
story  : — "  Tuesday,  about  nine  o'clock,  as  Mr.  Heather 
was  crossing  Tower  Hill,  he  observed  a  well-dressed 
woman  upon  the  ground  :  when  he  went  to  her,  she  said 
a  very  tall  man  had  just  wounded  her  with  some  sharp 
instrument,  and  begged  his  assistance  to  get  to  the 
Minories  to  a  coach,  which  he  readily  complied  with, 
upon  observing  blood  in  several  places  upon  her  gown 
and  apron.  However,  the  coach  had  not  been  gone  ten 
minutes,  before  he  found  she  had  picked  his  pocket  of 
his  watch,  and  about  three  guineas." 

Although  there  was  now  a  cessation  of  real  attacks  by 
the  Monster,  the  public  feeling  rose  to  very  fever  height. 
As  one  newspaper  remarked  :  "  The  Monster  is  now  a 
mischief  of  more  than  common  magnitude.  Inhuman 
himself,  the  villainy  is  visited  upon  all  who  are  of  the 
same  sex  :  alike  the  source  of  apprehension,  terror,  and 
flight.  It  is  really  distressing  to  walk  our  streets  towards 
evening.  Every  woman  we  meet  regards  us  with  dis- 
trust, shrinks  sidling  from  our  touch,  and  expects  a 


254  Old  Times. 

poignard  to  pierce  what  gallantry,  and  manhood,  consider 
as  sacred.  There  must  be  a  very  criminal  supineness 
somewhere,  or  these  execrable  villains  would,  with  greater 
speed,  expiate  with  their  lives,  the  insulted  humanity 
of  being." 

As  an  example  of  the  pitch  to  which  the  excitement 
was  wrought,  the  following  case  may  be  taken.  A  man 
met  a  girl,  and  went  with  her  into  a  public-house.  They 
sat  down,  and  he  showed  her  an  artificial  bouquet,  or 
nosegay,  as  it  was  then  called,  which  he  had  in  his  hand, 
and  begged  her  to  accept  it.  The  girl,  in  taking  hold  of 
it,  felt  something  prick  her,  and  it  made  her  hand  bleed. 
She  went  away,  and  told  the  story  to  some  of  her  friends, 
who  immediately  insisted  that  it  must  be  the  Monster, 
and  that  a  dagger  was  certainly  concealed  in  the  nosegay. 
The  man  was  in  consequence  arrested,  and  kept  all  night 
in  the  watch-house.  On  enquiry  in  the  morning,  it  was 
found  that  the  girl's  hand  had  only  been  pricked  by  the 
wire  used  to  bind  the  flowers  together,  and  the  poor  man 
was,  of  course,  discharged. 

But  Nemesis  was  at  hand.  One  of  his  victims — 
that  Miss  Porter,  who  was  stabbed  after  the  Drawing 
Room,  on  the  Queen's  birthday — was  walking  with  Mr. 
John  Coleman,  in  St.  James's  Park,  on  Sunday,  June 
1 3th,  and  the  Monster  passed  her.  She  at  once 
recognised  him,  and,  her  agitation  being  remarked  by 
Mr.  Coleman,  she  said,  "  There  is  the  wretch  who 
wounded  me."  Mr.  Coleman  left  her  in  charge  of  her 
friends,  and  followed  the  man,  who  walked  very  fast — 
evidently  feeling  he  had  been  noticed,  and  endeavoured 
to  dodge  about  from  Spring  Gardens,  to  Admiralty 
Passage,  back  again  to  Spring  Gardens,  and  up  Cockspur 
Street,  to  Pall  Mall  :  thence  to  St.  James's  Street,  and 


Old  Times.  255 

Bolton  Street,  where  he  knocked  at  the  door  of  a  house, 
and  was  let  in.  He  stayed  there  about  five  minutes, 
and  then  went  to  Piccadilly,  and  St.  James's  Street, 
where  he  knocked  at  another  house,  and  asked  the 
servant  some  question.  Leaving  there,  he  went  to 
Bond  Street,  Mr.  Coleman  endeavouring  to  insult  him, 
by  walking  before  and  behind  him,  and  staring  him  in 
the  face.  He  then  went  to  Oxford  Street — then  called 
Oxford  Road — and  Vere  Street,  where  he  knocked  at 
an  empty  house.  Then  Mr.  Coleman  spoke  to  him,  and 
asked  him  what  was  the  use  of  knocking  so  violently  at 
a  house  palpably  empty ;  and  he  replied  that  he  knew 
the  people  of  the  house,  named  Pearce,  and  knocked 
again  for  three  or  four  minutes.  .He  then  crossed  to 
South  Molton  Street,  knocked  at  a  house,  and  'was 
admitted.  Mr.  Coleman  asked  the  master  of  the  house, 
Mr.  Smith,  for  information  as  to  the  man,  but  he  refused 
to  give  any,  unless  some  reason  was  assigned.  Mr. 
Coleman  replied  that  the  other  had  insulted  some  ladies 
under  his  protection,  and  that  he  demanded  satisfaction. 
The  Monster  offered  to  meet  him  at  any  coffee-house, 
and  gave  his  address  as  Fifty-two  Jenny n  Street.  Mr. 
Coleman  then  let  him  go,  but  upon  second  thoughts 
hurried  back,  and  again  met  him  in  St.  James's  Street ; 
and  looking  at  him,  told  him  he  did  not  think  he  was 
what  he  described  himself,  and  asked  him  to  come  with 
him  to  Mr.  Porter's  house,  which  was  not  far  off.  He 
consented,  and  on  seeing  him,  two  of  the  Miss  Porters 
immediately  fainted,  but  upon  recovery  unhesitatingly 
declared  him  to  be  "  the  wretch."  He  turned  to  Mr. 
Coleman  and  asked :  "  Do  the  ladies  suspect  me  to  be 
the  person  advertised  ?  Am  I  suspected  ?  " 

He  was  given  into  custody,  and  on  the  i$th  of  June, 


256  Old  Times. 

the  newspapers  gave  full  accounts  of  his  capture  and 
examination. 

He  proved  to  be  a  native  of  Wales,  named  Renwick 
(or  Rhynwick)  Williams,  aged  about  twenty-three,  who 
was  sent  young  to  London,  where  he  was  bound 
apprentice  to  Sir  John  Gallini,  with  a  view  to  his 
becoming  a  dancer  on  the  stage.  A  misunderstanding, 
as  to  the  disappearance  of  a  watch,  severed  this  con- 
nection, and  he  then  led  a  very  loose  life.  For  some 
little  time,  about  two  months,  he  was  a  lawyer's  clerk, 
but  this  employment  being  only  temporary,  he  was 
reduced  to  difficulties,  until  he  met  with  Mr.  Aimable 
Michell,  of  Dover  Street,  who  taught  him  artificial- 
flower  making,  and  -with  whom  he  remained  until  his 
arrest. 

He  was  dressed  very  respectably,  in  a  blue  coat, 
lined,  and  edged,  with  buff,  buff  waistcoat,  and  black 
satin  breeches. 

He  was  fully  identified  by  the  Misses  Porter,  Miss 
Frost,  Miss  Baughan,  and  Mrs.  Franklin,  whilst  numer- 
ous ladies  who  had  been  wounded  could  not  identify 
him.  He  was  of  course,  remanded.  Royalty,  in  the 
person  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  (afterwards  King  of 
Hanover),  was  present  at  his  examination,  and  great 
difficulty  was  experienced  in  preserving  the  prisoner 
from  the  fury  of  the  exasperated  mob. 

On  the  1 6th  of  June  he  was  again  brought  up,  was 
identified  by  two  more  ladies,  and  confronted  with 
others,  who  could  not  be  sure  he  was  the  man  who  had 
wounded  them.  The  Dukes  of  York,  and  Cumberland, 
and  Prince  William  of  Gloucester,  besides  several  peers, 
were  present. 

He  was  brought  before  the  magistrates  once  more, 


0 


^ 


0 


ftfnar/ct    U 


Old  Times.  257 

when  another  lady  identified  him,  and  he  was  committed 
for  trial. 

Owing  to  the  novelty  of  the  crime,  great  difficulty  was 
experienced  as  to  his  indictment,  but  it  was  at  last 
settled  that  he  should  be  tried  under  the  statute  6th 
Geo.  I.  c.  23,  s.  n,  which  made  it  felony,  punishable 
with  transportation,  for  seven  years,  to  assault  any 
person  in  the  public  streets,  with  intent  to  tear,  spoil, 
cut,  burn,  or  deface,  the  garments,  or  clothes,  of  such 
person,  or  persons,  provided  the  act  be  done  in  pur- 
suance of  such  intention. 

On  Thursday,  the  8th  of  July,  Williams  was  tried  at 
the  Old  Bailey,  before  Mr.  Justice  Duller,  charged  with 
making  an  assault  upon  Ann  Frost,  spinster,  on  the  Qth 
of  November  last,  in  Jermyn  Street,  St.  James's,  and 
wickedly,  wilfully,  and  maliciously,  tearing,  and  spoiling, 
her  garments,  to  wit,  the  gown,  petticoats,  and  shift,  of 
the  said  Ann,  against  the  statute  in  that  case  provided. 

He  was  also  indicted  for  the  commission  of  a  similar 
offence  in  Holborn,  on  the  5th  of  May,  on  Sarah,  the 
wife  of  John  Davis.  The  same  on  Sarah,  the  wife  of 
John  Godfrey,  on  the  i$th  of  May,  in  St.  Marylebone. 
The  26th  of  September,  on  Mary  Forster,  in  Maxwell 
Street.  The  6th  of  December,  on  Elizabeth  Baughan, 
in  Parliament  Street.  For  a  like  act,  on  the  same  day, 
in  the  same  street,  on  Frances  Baughan.  For  a  like  act, 
on  Ann  Porter,  on  the  i8th  of  January,  in  St.  James's 
Street. 

He  pleaded  not  guilty,  and  was  defended  by  counsel. 
The  case  of  Miss  Porter  was  then  gone  into,  and  the 
evidence,  as  already  detailed,  was  adduced.  For  the 
defence,  he  called  his  master,  Mr.  Michell,  who  swore 
that  he  was  at  work  till  twelve,  on  the  night  of  the  i8th 

R 


258  Old  Times. 

of  January,  and  did  not  quit  his  house  till  after  supper 
at  half-past  twelve,  which  was  also  substantiated  by  the 
witness  of  his  sister,  Miss  Michell,  Catherine,  and  Molly 
Harmond,  and  two  of  the  workwomen,  besides  a  customer : 
and  ten  witnesses  were  called  as  to  character.  The 
judge  summed  up  very  favourably  for  the  prisoner,  but 
the  jury,  without  hesitation,  found  him  guilty.  The 
judge  said,  as  this  was  a  new  case,  and  he  had  some 
doubts  as  to  the  indictment,  he  would  respite  judgment 
until  he  had  laid  the  case  before  the  twelve  judges.  So 
this,  and  the  other  indictments,  were  put  off  until  the 
December  Sessions. 

There  were  many  accounts  of  the  trial,  and  numerous 
portraits  were  published  of  Williams,  who  was  by  no 
means  bad-looking,  thin  and  pale,  with  powdered  hair 
"  en  queue." 

The  caricaturists  took  the  matter  up,  nnd  treated  the 
matter  as  a  joke,  recommending  ladies  to  have  copper 
petticoats,  &c. 

But  the  most  awful  picture  is  that  of  "  The  Monster 
going  to  take  his  afternoon  luncheon,"  where  he  is  de- 
picted as  a  terrible  being  about  to  devour  a  pretty  girl — 
but  the  caricaturist  shows  us,  kindly,  "  the  Monster 
disappointed  of  his  afternoon  luncheon,"  in  which  engrav- 
ing, he  has  a  double  shot — one  at  the  somewhat  delicate 
subject  of  the  "  dress  improver "  of  the  day,  and  the 
other,  how  this  fashion  might  be  utilised  to  baffle  the 
Monster  of  his  intended  meal. 

There  was  the  usual  newspaper  correspondents' 
wrangle,  in  which,  of  course,  it  was  unpopular  to  advance 
any  argument  in  favour  of  the  Monster.  Indeed,  The 
World,  of  October  i6th,  says  :  "  Writing  a  defence  of 
the  Monster  carries  with  it  more  serious  consequences 


protection  from    Me     MOHSTCF(. 


Old  Times.  259 

than  people  are  at  first  aware  of,  because  it  would  appear 
as  if  publishing  accounts,  in  the  newspapers,  or  other- 
wise, could  really  justify  atrocious  acts.  As  Junius  has 
said :  '  The  people  at  large  are  never  mistaken  in  their 
sentiments,  and,  if  they  have  formed  an  opinion,  there 
is  no  taking  them  out  of  it  by  misrepresentation.'  "  That 
there  was  an  opinion  in  his  favour  is  not  only  evidenced 
by  this,  but  at  the  City  Debates,  Capel  Court,  Bar- 
tholomew Lane,  the  question  was  debated  on  July  12  : 
11  Did  the  late  extraordinary  conduct  ascribed  to  Renwick 
Williams  (commonly  called  the  Monster)  originate  in  an 
unfortunate  insanity,  a  diabolical  inclination  to  injure  the 
fair  part  of  the  creation,  or  the  groundless  apprehension 
of  some  mistaken  females  ?  " 

But  the  man  kept  up  the  feeling  against  him,  by  his 
own  conduct,  and  could  not  be  quiet  in  prison.  The 
Oracle,  of  August  the  2Oth,  has  the  following  account  of 
"  The  Monster's  Ball "  :— "  The  depravity  of  the  times 
was  manifested  last  week,  in  an  eminent  degree,  in 
Newgate.  The  Monster  sent  cards  of  invitation  to 
about  twenty  couple,  among  whom  were  some  of  his 
alibi  friends,  his  brother,  sisters,  several  of  the  prisoners, 
and  others,  whom  we  shall  take  a  future  opportunity  to 
notice. 

"  At  four  o'clock  the  party  sat  to  tea ;  this  being 
over,  two  violins  struck  up,  accompanied  by  a  flute,  and 
the  company  proceeded  to  exercise  their  limbs.  In  the 
merry  dance,  the  cuts,  and  entrechats,  of  the  Monster 
were  much  admired,  and  his  adroitness  in  that  amusement 
must  be  interesting,  from  the  school  in  which  he  acquired 
this  branch  of  his  accomplishments. 

"  About  eight  o'clock  the  company  partook  of  a  cold 
supper,  and  a  variety  of  wines,  such  as  would  not  dis- 


260  Old  Times. 

credit  the  most  sumptuous  gala,  and  about  nine  o'clock 
departed,  that  being  the  usual  hour  for  locking  the 
doors  of  the  prison." 

Williams  gradually  faded  away  from  public  notice 
until  early  in  November,  when  eleven  of  the  judges  met 
in  Serjeants'  Inn  Hall,  and  consulted  on  his  case,  which 
had  been  reserved.  The  questions  were  :  First,  whether 
his  having  an  intention  to  cut  the  person  of  Miss  Porter, 
and,  in  carrying  that  intention  into  execution,  cutting 
the  garments  of  that  lady,  is  an  offence  within  the  statute 
of  6th  Geo.  I.  c.  23,  s.  1 1,  on  which  he  was  convicted ; 
the  jury  having,  in  their  verdict,  found  that  in  cutting 
her  person  he  had  thereby  an  intention  to  cut  her 
garments  ?  Secondly,  whether  the  statute  being  in  the 
conjunctive,  "  that  if  any  person  shall  assault  with  an 
intent  to  cut  the  garment  of  such  person,  then  the 
offender  shall  be  guilty  of  felony,"  and  the  indictment, 
in  stating  the  intention,  not  having  connected  it  with  the 
act  by  inserting  the  words  that  he  "  then  and  there  "  did 
cut  her  garment,  could  be  supported  in  point  of  form  ? 

Nine  out  of  the  eleven  judges  were  of  opinion  that  the 
offence,  notwithstanding  the  finding  of  the  jury,  was  not 
within  the  statute,  and  that  the  indictment  was  bad  in 
point  of  law. 

This  decision  reduced  the  Monster's  crime  to  a  mis- 
demeanour. 

On  Monday,  December  I3th,  he  was  brought  to  trial 
at  the  Sessions  House,  Clerkenwell  Green,  and,  as  a 
proof  of  the  interest  it  created,  even  the  names  of  the 
jury  are  recorded.  The  trial  began  at  ten,  A.M.,  and  was 
inaugurated  by  the  prisoner  reading  a  paper  declaring 
his  innocence.  He  was  indicted  for  assaulting  Miss 
Porter,  with  intent  to  kill,  and  murder  her :  there  was  a 


Old  Times.  261 

second  count  which  stated,  that  he,  "  holding  a  knife  in 
his  right  hand,  did  wilfully  give  the  said  Ann  Porter  a 
dreadful  wound,  of  great  length  and  depth  on  the  right 
thigh  and  hip  ;  to  wit,  of  the  length  of  nine  inches,  and 
the  depth  of  four."  A  third  count  charged  him  with  a 
common  assault.  The  evidence  was  similar  to  that  in 
the  former  trial,  and,  after  a  trial,  lasting  thirteen  hours, 
he  was  found  guilty. 

He  was  afterwards  found  guilty  of  other  assaults,  and 
was  finally  sentenced  to  two  years'  imprisonment  in 
Newgate,  for  each  assault  on  Miss  Porter,  Elizabeth 
Davis,  and  Miss  E.  Baughan,  and  at  the  end  of  the  six 
years,  he  was  to  find  bail  for  good  behaviour  for  seven 
years,  himself  in  the  sum  of  two  hundred  pounds,  and 
two  sureties  in  one  hundred  pounds  each. 

What  finally  became  of  him  is  not  known.  Mr. 
Angerstein  offered  the  reward  to  Miss  Porter,  as  it  was 
by  her  instrumentality  that  the  Monster  was  captured, 
but  she  refused  it. 

The  recollection  of  the  Monster,  did  not  quickly  fade 
away,  for  we  read  in  the  Times,  20  Dec.  1799,  "Another 
new  Monster  on  Wednesday,  made  his  appearance  in 
town.  His  passion  is  for  biting  the  Ladies'  toes  and 
finger  ends.  They  say  his  name  is  Frost" 

Food  riots,  the  natural  outcome  of  an  almost  starving 
and  ignorant  population  were  rife ;  but,  in  the  following 
paragraph,  there  is  a  curious  allusion,  that  the  grain  was 
intended  to  be  shipped  to  France,  with  which  nation  we 
were  then  at  war. 

"  Several  towns  in  Cornwall  were  last  week  visited  by  large 
bodies  of  Miners,  from  the  different  works,  in  search  of  con- 
cealed corn,  which  they  insist  upon  is  intended  for  exportation 


262  Old  Times. 

to  France.  At  Wadebridge,  they  found  about  25,000  bushels 
in  store,  which  they  obliged  the  Owners  to  sell  at  reduced 
prices.  At  Looe  upwards  of  6000  bushels  of  grain  were 
stopped  by  them  from  being  shipped,  but  we  do  not  hear  of 
their  committing  any  other  outrage.  Part  of  the  first  regiment 
of  dragoons  is  gone  from  Devonshire,  to  assist  the  magistrates 
in  restoring  peace." — (Times,  Feb.  6,  1793.) 

Highway  robberies  were  of  daily  occurrence,  so  much 
so,  that  they  are  not  worth  chronicling,  unless  some 
special  circumstance  occurs  in  connection  with  them. 

"The  pickpockets  are  all  turned  highwaymen.  Thus  far 
the  metropolis  has  been  delivered  from  these  free-booters  :  and 
the  relief  is  certainly  owing  to  the  new  Police  Bill." — ( Times > 
March  9,  1793.) 

"  At  Oxford,  a  person  was  convicted  of  having  robbed  the 
Worcester  and  Oxford  Coach,  near  Woodstock,  of  a  portman- 
teau, and  this  peculiar  circumstance  attended  it : — The  man 
committed  the  offence,  was  taken,  indicted,  tried,  and  con- 
victed, within  twelve  hours  after  the  commission  of  the  crime. 
He  was  indicted  for  petty  larceny  only." — (Times,  March  28, 
I793-) 

"  Mr.  BURDON,  the  Member  for  the  County  of  Durham,  had 
25,000  guineas  in  his  chaise  when  he  was  stopped,  the  other 
evening  by  footpads,  who  robbed  him  of  25  guineas  only. 
Mr.  Burdon  was  carrying  down  this  sum,  for  the  relief  of  the 
Durham  Bank." — (Times,  April  26,  1793.) 

A  shocking  trade  had  sprung  up,  which  was  not  long 
in  developing.  As  Science  grew,  so  was  a  knowledge 
of  Anatomy  becoming  of  more  vital  importance  to  the 
medical  profession — but  subjects  for  operation  were 
scarce.  True,  those  malefactors  who  were  hanged,  and 
had  no  friends,  were  given  over  to  the  Surgeons  for 
dissection,  but  this  means  of  supply,  fell  far  short  of  the 
demand — which,  however,  was  met,  by  the  ghastly 


Old  Times.  263 

device  of  robbing  the  grave-yards  of  their  newly  buried 
dead.  Here  are  some  contemporary  records  of  the 
doings  of  these  ghouls  : — 

"Friday,  a  gang  of  persons,  called  Resurrection  men,  were 
apprehended  between  two,  and  three,  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
near  the  Churchyard  at  Hampstead;  they  had  dug  up  the 
body  of  a  Mr.  John  Lloyd,  who  had  been  buried  the  day 
before,  put  it  into  a  sack,  and  a  hackney-coach  was  waiting  to 
receive  it ;  but,  by  the  vigilance,  and  resolution,  of  the  watch- 
men, they  lost  their  prey ;  for,  having  stopt  the  coach,  they 
found  the  body  in  it,  and  two  men,  whose  names  are  Tom 
Paine,  and  Peter  Mackintosh,  together  with  their  shovels,  and 
tools,  for  opening  the  coffin.  They  were  both  carried  before 
Master  Montague,  together  with  John  Peach,  the  driver  of  the 
Coach,  and  were  committed  to  gaol  upon  the  fullest  evidence. 
There  were  two  others  of  the  party,  who  made  their  escape. 
One  of  them  had  the  appearance  of  a  Gentleman,  and  is  sup- 
posed to  be  a  surgeon." — (Times,  March  15,  1794.) 

"  On  Monday  evening,  a  set  of  Resurrectionists,  were  appre- 
hended at  a  house  near  the  Turnpike,  Mile  end.  That  morn- 
ing, a  coach  was  observed  to  stop  at  this  house,  and  an  ill 
looking  man  came  out  of  it  with  a  sack,  containing  as  it  was 
supposed,  a  body,  which  he  carried  into  the  house,  and  returned 
immediately  with  a  large  hamper : — they  then  drove  off  to  a 
neighbouring  public-house,  when,  after  a  short  stay,  they  took 
up  some  others,  and  were  traced  to  the  Launch,  at  Deptford. 
In  the  meantime,  the  parish  officers  were  informed  of  the 
circumstance.  About  six  in  the  evening,  the  coach  again 
returned  with  a  similar  lading,  which  was  deposited  in  the 
house.  Some  constables,  accompanied  by  a  number  of  people, 
surrounded  the  house,  and  forcing  an  entrance,  they  found  two 
men,  and  a  woman,  drinking  tea  on  a  bench,  at  one  end  of 
which  lay  the  bodies  of  two  children.  They  were  secured : 
and,  on  entering  an  adjoining  room,  the  bodies  of  six  adults 
were  discovered,  unmutilated;  besides  which,  the  floor  was 
strewed  with  limbs,  in  a  state  too  shocking  for  public  descrip- 
tion."— (Times,  March  20,  1794.) 


264  Old  Times. 

"  A  very  particular  account  has  been  sent  to  this  Paper,  of 
the  late  shocking  discovery  of  dead  bodies  at  Mile-End :  but 
we  deem  it  unfit  for  publication,  as  the  circumstances  are  too 
horrid  to  meet  the  public  eye.  Every  room  in  the  house  was 
a  scene  of  the  most  shocking  brutality,  and  it  is  supposed  there 
were  upwards  of  100  bodies,  some  whole,  others  mangled. 
The  remains  found  at  this  house  have  since  been  removed  to 
Bethnal  Green  church-yard,  for  a  second  interment.  We  most 
sincerely  hope  that  his  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  CANTERBURY 
will  move  for  a  bill  in  Parliament,  making  it  death  to  rob  a 
church  yard" — (Times,  March  22,  1794.) 

(Adv.)    "ROBBERIES  IN  CHURCHYARDS  AND  BURIAL 
GROUNDS. 

"  Some  persons  having  been  discovered,  on  the  evening  of 
the  8th  February  last,  conveying  dead  Bodies  in  Sacks,  from 
the  Burial-Ground  belonging  to  the  Parish  of  St.  Mary,  Lambeth, 
and  who,  upon  the  alarm  being  raised,  made  their  escape ;  a 
reward  of  One  hundred  Pounds,  for  apprehending  them,  was 
immediately  offered  by  the  Churchwardens,  to  be  paid  upon 
their  conviction :  and  the  first  opportunity  was  taken  of 
assembling  the  Parishioners  in  Vestry,  in  order  to  consider  by 
what  means  they  might  secure  the  offenders,  bring  them  to 
punishment,  and  prevent,  in  future,  such  depredations.  A 
Committee  was  accordingly  appointed  for  this  purpose,  and 
discoveries  of  similar  robberies  in  Church-yards,  and  Burial- 
grounds,  in,  and  near,  this  Metropolis,  have  been  made,  the 
recital  of  which,  together  with  an  account  of  the  horrid  traffic  in 
which  many  have  been  long  engaged,  with  impunity,  cannot  fail 
to  excite  the  indignation  of  the  Public,  and  which  it  is  intended, 
in  a  short  time,  to  give  them,  taken  from  Affidavits  made  before 
Magistrates,  and  from  other  evidence  procured  on  this  melan- 
choly occasion.  It  will  be  needless  to  say,  that  the  Relatives, 
and  Friends,  of  those  who  have  been  lately  buried  there,  before 
this  discovery,  have  suffered  great  anguish  of  mind,  and  it  is 
not  doubted  but  that  all  will  concur  in  adopting  measures, 
which  may  effectually  check  such  abominable  practices.  For 
this  desirable  end,  an  application  to  Parliament,  early  in  the 
next  Session,  is  deemed  highly  necessary,  as,  at  present,  the 


Old  Times.  265 

punishment  is  found  to  be  by  no  means  sufficient  to  prevent 
the  crime.  The  Parishes  therefore,  within  the  Bills  of  Mor- 
tality, and  near  London,  will,  it  is  hoped,  approve  of  such 
application,  and  it  is  intended  that  a  Circular  Letter  shall  be 
sent  to  them,  to  invite  them  to  join  in  it.  In  the  meantime, 
the  Committee  of  the  Parish  of  Saint  Mary,  Lambeth,  will  be 
glad  to  receive  any  communications  from  any  other  Parishes, 
on  this  subject,  under  cover,  directed  to  Thomas  Swabey, 
Vestry  Clerk,  Lambeth." — (Times,  April  21,  1794.) 

"  Early  on  Tuesday  Morning,  some  suspicion  being  enter- 
tained that  the  Pesthouse  burial-ground,  in  Old-Street-Road, 
had  been  frequently  violated,  the  parish  watchmen  were 
ordered  to  keep  a  good  look  out,  when  a  hackney  coach 
was  observed,  'waiting  near  the  spot.  Upon  the  watchman's 
approaching  it,  he  was  assaulted,  and  beaten,  by  three  men, 
who  then  made  off :  but  afterwards,  springing  his  rattle,  the 
assistants  took  the  coachman  into  custody,  who  had  three 
sacks  in  his  coach,  two  of  them  containing  the  body  of  a  man 
each,  and  the  other,  three  children.  Several  other  bodies, 
which  had  been  dug  up  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  away, 
were  found  under  the  wall  of  the  burying-ground  :  and,  it  is 
generally  believed,  that  almost  all  the  bodies  deposited  there- 
in, for  5  weeks  past,  have  been  stolen,  which,  upon  an  average, 
must  have  been  15  per  week.  The  hackney-coachman,  who 
owned  he  was  to  have  had  ten  guineas  for  his  night's  fare,  was 
committed  to  the  New  Prison,  Clerkenwell.  This  fellow,  it 
should  seem,  was  hardened  to  his  business :  for,  though  put 
into  the  cage  with  the  bodies  he  was  carrying  off,  he  slept  so 
sound,  that  it  was  with  some  difficulty  he  was  awakened  by 
the  visit  of  a  brother-whip,  previous  to  his  going  before  a 
Magistrate." — (Times,  Dec.  23,  1796.) 

Sentence  of  death  was  passed  on  Criminals  for 
offences  we  should  now  think  totally  inadequate  to  that 
punishment — but  although  sentenced,  those  convicted 
of  the  lighter  offences — were  almost  all  respited,  and 
transported  for  life. 


266  Old  Times. 

"At  the  Assizes  for  York  and  County,  the  following  prisoners 
received  sentence  of  death,  viz.,  T.  Jewitt,  for  stealing  four 
heifers  :  Saml.  Bathurst,  for  privately  stealing  in  a  shop ; 
Wm.  Atkinson,  and  Hannah  Hobson,  for  riotously  assembling 
and  pulling  down  the  house  of  John  Cooper,  of  Whitby  :  John 
Holt  and  Richard  Watson,  for  house  breaking,  and  three  others 
for  sheep-stealing." — (Times,  March  30,  1793.) 

"  A  petition  from  Wm.  Brunskill,  (commonly  called  Jack 
Ketch]  was  presented  to  the  Court  of  Aldermen,  stating  that 
he  was  the  public  executioner,  and,  on  that  account,  could  not 
get  any  other  employment :  that  he  was  obliged  to  keep  an 
assistant,  though  his  allowance  was  so  small,  and  his  income 
so  trifling,  as  to  be  insufficient  to  maintain  himself,  and  family, 
and  praying  relief. — The  Court  referred  the  same  to  the 
Sheriffs." — (Times,  fan.  30,  1794.) 

The  next  paragraph,  which  is  very  brief,  tells  its  own 
story. 

"  There  is  now  a  man  confined  for  debt  in  Newgate,  who 
has  been  a  prisoner  there,  over  fifteen  years,  for  a  debt,  the 
original  sum  of  which  does  not  exceed  forty-five  shillings." — 
(Times,  April  25,  1793.) 

In  Dec.  1794,  and  Jan.  1795,  there  was  a  terrible 
frost — and,  in  the  latter  month,  we  hear  that  seven  men, 
attempting  to  pass  over  the  ice,  to  a  Collier,  by  Rat- 
cliffe  Highway — were  drowned — and  how — two  days 
afterwards — two  watchmen  were  frozen  to  death  at 
Bloomsbury.  Hard  indeed  must  have  been  the  lot  of 
the  poor  debtors,  and  we  may  fancy  the  anxious  scrutiny 
of  the  box,  which  the  debtor  whose  turn  it  was,  would 
rattle  outside  the  bars  of  Ludgate,  making  the  while  his 
monotonous,  and  melancholy,  whine,  "  Pity  the  poor 
debtors ;  pity  the  poor  debtors."  Some  hearts  were 
softened  towards  them,  and  they  were  sensibly  grateful 
for  such  seasonable  assistance. 


Old  Times.  267 

"ADVT.—  The  unfortunate  DEBTORS  in  LUDGATE 
PRISON  beg  leave,  thus  publicly,  to  return  their  grateful 
Thanks  to  LADY  TAYLOR,  of  Spring  Gardens,  for  her 
munificent  Benefaction  of  149  Ibs.  of  Beef,  21  half  Peck 
Loaves,  21  sacks  of  Coals,  and  66  Ibs.  of  Cheese,  each 
Article  being  of  the  best  quality. 

"  At  the  same  time,  they  entreat  the  LORD  MAYOR  to 
accept  their  unfeigned  Thanks,  for  his  kind  present  of  a 
Guinea,  which  was  equally  divided  among  the  unfortunate 
Debtors. 

"  N.B.  The  smallest  Benefaction  from  their  fellow  Citizens 
and  other  liberal  minded  persons,  will  at  all  times  be  thankfully 
received,  particularly  at  this  inclement  season  of  the  year." — 
(Times,  Dec,  29,  1794.) 

"  The  unfortunate  DEBTORS,  in  Ludgate  Prison,  beg  leave 
to  return  their  grateful  Thanks,  to  the  Right  Hon.  the  LORD 
MAYOR,  for  448  Ibs.  of  Beef  and  Mutton  of  the  best  sort, 
which  he  has  sent  them  since  the  loth  day  of  Nov.,  also  for 
two  Chaldron,  and  an  half,  of  Coals  sent  yesterday." — (Times, 
Jan.  i,  1795.) 

"  As  the  DEBTOR  and  CREDITOR  Bill  comes  on  to-morrow, 
it  is  recommended  to  its  noble  framer,  to  try  the  pulse  of  the 
Law  Lords,  by  introducing  a  clause  which  shall  interdict  the 
Marshal  of  the  King's  Bench,  and  the  Warden  of  the  Fleet, 
from  taking  a  shilling  per  week  from  each  debtor  for  his  bed, 
unless  as  the  very  foundation,  and  cause  of  this  fee  originally 
was,  that  the  Keeper  of  the  Prison  furnishes  the  Debtor  with 
furniture  to  the  amount  of  £30.  The  Keepers  have  very 
handsome  salaries,  and  therefore,  there  should  be  no  exactions 
from  the  prisoners.  Indeed  the  nature  of  their  imprisonment 
interdicts  such  a  practice,  for  how  is  the  insolvent  man  to  find 
money?  ex-nihilo,  nihil  fit." — (Times,  May  8,  1793.) 

"  Were  any  one  Lord  in  the  House  of  Peers  to  move  that 
the  Royal  Assent  to  Acts  of  Parliament  should  be  given  in 
plain  English,  and  not  in  old  Norman  French,  the  House 
would  unanimously  adopt  the  idea  of  banishing,  in  future,  the 
barbarous  language  of  that  Country." — (Times,  May  10,  1793.) 


268  Old  Times. 

"  A  curious  matter  was  heard  yesterday  before  the  Borough 
Police,  respecting  the  wife  of  a  gentleman  at  Sheerness,  who 
had  eloped  with  a  black  servant.  They  were  pursued  to  the 
Nags  Head  in  the  Borough  on  Sunday,  where  Blackey  fired 
a  pistol  at  his  pursuers,  for  which  he  was  taken  up  and 
committed.  The  Lady  had  two  children  by  her  husband. 
The  matter,  we  understand  is  made  up" — (Times,  Feb.  n, 
I794-) 

"  The  manner  in  which  the  Black  business  was  settled,  in 
the  Borough,  was  this  : — The  husband  took  her  two  children, 
and  all  the  property  he  found  in  the  coach,  desired  his  wife  to 
go  where  she  pleased,  (after  she  said  she'd  live  with  no  one 
but  the  Black)  and  Mtingo  was  taken  by  a  press  gang,  and 
put  on  board  the  tender." — (Times,  Feb.  12,  1794.) 

"  Monday  last  two  Bailiffs  followers  made  a  seizure  for  rent 
at  a  house  in  Kingswood,  near  Bristol :  an  alarm  being  given, 
they  were  surrounded  by  a  number  of  colliers,  who  conveyed 
them  to  a  neighbouring  coal-pit,  and  let  them  down,  where 
they  were  suffered  to  remain  till  about  two  the  next  morning, 
when  they  were  had  up,  and,  each  having  a  glass  of  gin,  and 
some  gingerbread,  given  him,  were  immersed  again  into  the 
dreary  bowels  of  the  earth,  where  they  were  confined,  in  all, 
near  twenty  four  hours.  On  being  released  they  were  made 
to  pay  a  fine  of  6s.  8d.  each,  for  their  lodging,  and  take  an  oath 
never  to  trouble,  or  molest,  any  of  them  again." — (Times, 
April 25,  1795.) 

"The  friends  of  an  apprentice  to  a  stocking- weaver,  at 
Lambeth,  brought  the  lad  to  this  office  (Public  Office,  Bow 
St.)  to  shew  one  of  the  modes  of  punishment  adopted  by  the 
master,  when  the  boys  committed  any  fault.  It  consisted  of 
an  iron  collar,  fastened  round  the  neck,  by  a  padlock.  The 
lad  said  that  he  had  worn  it  for  above  a  month,  and  that  he 
understood  it  was  his  master's  intention  he  should  wear  it  till 
he  was  out  of  his  time.  The  master  living  in  the  county  of 
Surrey,  Mr  BOND  could  not  interfere  in  the  business,  but 
advised  the  parties  to  go  to  Union-Hall,  in  the  Borough.  The 
master  of  the  apprentice  alluded  to,  we  understand,  has  got 


Old  Times.  269 

between  60  and  70  boys,  most  of  whom  he  has  had  from  the 
different  workhouses  in  the  county  of  Surrey." — (Times, 
Aug.  27,  1795.) 

"  Owing  to  the  high  price  of  victualling,  the  demand  for 
shipping  and  risque  of  capture,  or  the  price  of  insurance,  the 
contract  for  conveying  the  last  convicts  from  Great  Britain, 
and  Ireland,  to  Botany  Bay,  was  ^80  per  man ;  and  the  ex- 
pence  exceeding  all  the  good  that  could  arise  to  either  country, 
from  the  banishment,  or  the  evil  that  could  arise  from  the 
continuance  in  either  country,  of  the  miscreants. 

"  It  is  a  known  fact,  that  so  far  are  the  miscreants,  who 
usually  come  under  sentence  of  transportation,  from  consider- 
ing it  a  punishment,  that  they  laugh  at  the  joke,  and  consider 
it  a  very  great  benefit. — Adventurous  spirits  like  those,  averse 
to  all  manner  of  industry,  insensible  to  ignominy,  and  totally 
unconscious  of  any  such  feelings  as  the  amor  patrice,  delight 
in  nothing  more,  than  shifting  the  scene,  and  being  conveyed 
to  a  distant  country,  from  that  in  which  they  have  no  hope  of 
existing,  but  at  the  perpetual  risk  of  the  gallows. 

"It  is  more  than  probable  that  severe  flagellation,  such  as 
military  codes  prescribe,  would  prove  infinitely  more  formid- 
able in  detering  villainy :  and  it  is,  at  least,  worth  the  experi- 
ment of  a  statute,  which  costs  nothing,  to  try  whether  the 
penalty  of  500,  or  1000  lashes,  which  would  not  cost  the 
country  one  shilling,  would  not  prove  a  stronger  barrier  against 
larcenies,  and  clergyable  felonies,  than  transportation  to  Botany 
Bay,  at  the  enormous  expense  of  £60  or  80  per  man,  which 
operates  in  reality  as  a  heavy  penalty  on  the  Republic  of 
honest  men,  and  a  bounty  on  villainy.  Besides,  have  we  not 
copper  mines,  coal  mines,  canals,  and  other  such  places  of 
employment,  at  home,  for  those  criminals,  which,  at  present, 
alienate  the  husbandmen,  and  honest  labourers  of  the  country, 
from  the  business  of  agriculture.  The  labour  of  criminals,  in 
this  way,  would  prove  a  benefit  to  the  country,  and  some 
compensation  to  the  State,  their  crimes  had  injured." — (Times, 
Sept.  9,  1795.) 

"The  Calamities  of  War.  Amongst  the  distresses  it  has 
occasioned,  it  is  a  lamentable  fact,  that  five  Attornies  have 


270  Old  Times. 

been  deprived  of  an  honest  livelihood,  and  have  actually 
entered  as  foremast  men,  on  board  a  frigate  in  the  Thames." 
— (Times,  Nov.  2,  1795.) 

"The  LORD  CHANCELLOR  was  occupied  on  Friday,  and 
Saturday,  with  hearing  an  important  cause.  Earl  POMFRET  v. 
Sir  CH.  TURNER. 

"  It  respects  a  very  valuable  lead  mine,  in  the  vale  of  Arking- 
hall,  Yorkshire.  Such  is  the  expedition  of  our  laws,  that  this 
cause  has  lasted  only  ninety  three  years,  being  first  instituted  in 
the  year  1703  ! ! !" — (Times,  Apr.  12,  1796.) 

"  The  King  v.  Middleton. 

"The  defendant  was  convicted  of  enticing  a  number  of 
Artificers  from  this  country,  to  go  to  Kentucky  in  America ; 
a  rule  was  afterwards  obtained,  to  shew  cause  why  the  judg- 
ment should  not  be  arrested,  for  reasons,  which  appeared 
insufficient  to  the  Court.  That  Rule  therefore,  was  dis- 
charged, and  the  Defendant  received  judgment  according  to 
the  Statute,  that  is,  he  was  ordered  to  pay  a  fine  of  £500,  and 
to  be  confined  in  Newgate  for  the  space  of  one  year" — (Times, 
June  10,  1796.) 

"  On  Saturday  John  Paviour  (one  of  these  persons  called 
Bullock  Hunters)  was  tried  at  the  Old  Bailey — for  driving  a 
bullock  out  of  Smithfield  Market,  early  on  the  morning  of 
the  23rd  May  last  and  was  found  guilty — DEATH.  It  is  hoped 
therefore,  that  this  prosecution  will  greatly  check,  if  not  wholly 
put  an  end  to  that  pernicious  practice,  by  which  not  only  the 
Property,  but  the  lives  of  the  Public  are  so  much  endangered, 
in  and  about  this  metropolis." — (Times,  June  28,  1796.) 

"  The  trial  which  was  to  have  come  on  at  the  Assizes  in 
York,  concerning  estates  in  Cleveland,  for  which  a  Special 
Jury  was  to  be  summoned,  of  four  Knights,  and  their  twelve 
Esquires,  girt  with  swords,  is  deferred  until  next  Assizes." — 
(Times,  July  27,  1796.) 

"Yesterday,  a  Jew  was   convicted  at  the  Public  Office 
Bow  Street,  for  selling  a  hat,  in  the  street,  without  a  stamped 


Old  Times.  271 

lining,  contrary  to  the  late  Act  of  Parliament,  and  was 
sentenced  to  be  imprisoned  for  two  months,  in  the  House  of 
Correction.  Hatters  selling  Hats,  without  a  stamped  lining, 
are  liable  to  the  penalty  of  ;£io.  In  the  above  case,  im- 
prisonment is  the  only  mode  of  punishment." — (Times,  Sept. 
3,  i796-) 

"  Certainly  the  number  of  Lawyers,  which  is  only  computed 
to  be  20,000  in  Great  Britain,  is  not  so  much  their  fault,  as 
our  own.  We  can  neither  marry,  nor  die,  without  them  :  but 
then  there  is  no  living  for  them." — (Times,  Sept.  28,  1796.) 

"The  number  of  Attornies  posted  up  for  admission  next 
term,  outside  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  are  eighty-two. 
Surely  some  stop  should  be  put  to  this  growing  evil,  for  there. 
is  not  a  doubt,  but  that,  with  an  increase  of  Attornies,  must 
consequently  follow  an  increase  of  litigation.  For  where  the 
numbers  surpass  all  reasonable  bounds,  they  will  have  re- 
course to  the  most  desperate  means  to  excite  business." — 
(Times,  Jan.  31,  1797.) 

"The  convict  who  was  lately  executed  at  Leicester,  and 
who  adopted  the  singular  mode  of  travelling,  in  a  post  chaise, 
to  the  place  of  execution,  was  no  less  remarkable  for  his 
crimes,  than  a  copious  fund  of  low  humour.  He  got  the 
following  notice  put  up  in  the  most  frequented  houses  in 
the  town,  'Wanted  an  agreeable  companion,  in  a  post  chaise, 
to  go  a  journey  of  considerable  length,  and  upon  equal  terms. 
Enquire  for  particulars  at  the  CASTLE.'  It  is  almost  super- 
fluous to  mention  that  upon  the  terms  being  made  known,  the 
gentleman  could  not  find  a  partner." — (Times,  Sept.  8,  1797.) 

The  following  is  a  somewhat  curious  Police  Case 
(Times,  Jan.  17,  1798)  :  "  Robert  Richards,  and  William 
Packer,  were  indicted  on  a  charge  of  assaulting  Ryan 
Thackars,  on  the  3Oth  of  December,  and  robbing  him 
of  half  a  guinea,  a  73.  piece,  and  is.  6d.,  in  silver, 
his  property.  t 

"  The  Prosecutor  was  a  Jew,  and  a  common  informer, 


272  Old  Times. 

in  which  character  he  had  gone,  on  the  above  mentioned 
day,  to  the  Fleet  Prison,  to  serve  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Richards,  with  a  notice  to  answer  to  an  information 
for  wearing  hair  powder  without  a  licence.  On  his 
serving  the  Notice,  Mr.  Richards  called  him  back,  but 
he  refusing  to  return,  the  other  assaulted  him,  threw 
him  down  upon  his  back,  said  he  knew  him  very  well, 
that  he  was  a  damned  informer,  and  that  he  should  be 
pumped.  Then  the  two  Prisoners  dragged  him  to  the 
pump,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  others,  kept  pouring 
water  upon  him,  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  A  pail  of 
water  was  afterwards  thrown,  by  somebody,  on  his 
face.  His  clothes  were  all  torn  :  and,  when  they  let 
him  go,  he  missed  his  money.  Being  asked  by  the 
Court  if  he  could  charge  the  Prisoners  with  having 
robbed  him,  he  answered  he  could  not ;  nor  was  the 
money  found  on  them  when  apprehended.  The  Recorder 
then  told  the  Jury,  that  as  no  charge  was  made  out  against 
the  prisoners,  they  must  acquit  them. — Not  Guilty" 

"BASE  COIN  FINISHED  AT  NEWGATE. 

"  A  very  singular  circumstance  occurred  a  few  days  ago  at 
the  gaol  of  Newgate  :  One  of  the  Magistrates  of  Police  having 
received  information  that  a  person  of  the  name  of  Pullen,  a 
notorious  offender  who  was  sentenced  to  a  year's  imprison- 
ment for  dealing  in  base  money,  had  been  carrying  on  his 
former  trade,  while  in  confinement :  that  the  base  money  of  the 
similitude  of  a  shilling,  being  previously  prepared  of  blanched 
copper,  with  KING  WILLIAM'S  head  faintly  impressed  on  one 
side,  and  plain  on  the  other,  was  brought  into  the  prison 
privately  by  Agents  whom  he  employed :  that  after  the  Cells 
were  locked  up,  this  adroit  Coiner  prepared  a  liquid  in  which 
very  thin  pieces  of  silver  were  mixed,  which,  being  rubbed 
upon  the  Copper  shillings,  instantly  give  them  the  appear- 
ance of  worn  down  coin  of  the  Mint :  that  he  was  assisted 
in  the  operation  by  several  of  the  prisoners  in  the  same  ward, 


Old  Times.  273 

some  of  whom  were  his  associates  in  iniquity,  and  convicted 
of  offences  against  the  Mint  Laws  :  That  his  customers  came 
regularly  to  the  prison,  and  purchased  the  base  money  so 
finished  at  two  for  one>  paying  sixpence  for  each  shilling, 
although  intrinsically  not  worth  a  halfpenny :   that  the  dies, 
and  some  other  implements  for  coining  belonging  to  these 
delinquents,  had  been  actually  lodged  in  their  trunks  at  New- 
gate, and  they  were  brought  there  privately,  on  every  alarm 
of  danger  from  officers  of  justice,  as  a  place  of  greater  security. 
This  information  having  been  communicated  to  Sir  WILLIAM 
STAINES,  one  of  the  present  Sheriffs  of  London  and  Middlesex, 
with  the  zeal  for  the  public  good  which  characterises  the 
active  Magistrate,  he  went  alone  to  Newgate,  early  in  the 
morning,   before  the  cells  were  unlocked,   and  caused  the 
trunks,  and  boxes,  belonging  to  the   persons  convicted  of 
offences  against  the  Mint  Laws,  to  be  searched;   and,  in  a 
trunk  concealed  under  Pullerfs  bed,  were  found  no  less  than 
^107,  2s.  of  base  money,  of  the  similitude  of  shillings,  ready 
for  circulation,  and  a  machine  for  rounding,  or  milling,  the 
edges  of  half  crowns ;  and  in  another  trunk  belonging  to  an 
associate  of  Pullen,  were  found  two  plain  dies,  and  two  others 
for  halfpence,  and  farthings.     It  would  appear  that  some  other 
dies  for  halfcrowns,  and  shillings,  which  had  been  deposited 
for  some  time  in  a  trunk  belonging  to  Pullen,  were  removed, 
together  with  the  book  he  kept  for  entering  the  names  of  his 
customers  who  visited  him,  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  base 
money  for  the  town,  and  country,  circulation.  .  .  .  The  LORD 
MAYOR  and  SHERIFFS  have  investigated  the  means  by  which 
these  nefarious  practices  have  been  carried  on,  and,  we  are 
happy  to  learn,  that  it  arose  entirely  from  the  arts,  and  devices, 
so  familiar  to  criminals,  without  the  knowledge,  or  privity,  of 
the  Turnkeys.      The  result  is,  that  the  LORD  MAYOR  and 
SHERIFFS  are  taking  immediate  steps  for  establishing  such 
rules,  as  will  probably  prevent  a  repetition  of  the  same  evil." 
— (Times,  Nov.  29,  1796.) 

PRIZE  FIGHTING  AND  DUELS. 

Prize  fighting  was  beginning  to  develop  into  a  fine 
art,  and  it  was  thought  no  more  derogatory  in  a  fine 

S 


274  Old  Times. 

gentleman  to  assist,  by  his  presence,  at  a  "  Mill,"  than 
to  be  present  at  a  Cock  fight.  It  was  patronised  by 
Royalty,  as  we  see  by  the  following  Newspaper  Cutting. 
Indeed,  the  Prince  of  Wales  attended  several  prize  fights, 
until  a  man  was  killed,  and  then  he  left  the  ring  to  itself. 

"On  Friday,  a  battle  was  fought  at  Blackheath  between 
Crabbe,  a  Jew,  and  Oliver,  commonly  called  Death;  in 
which  the  former  was  victorious.  All  the  great  patrons,  and 
distinguished  professors  of  this  fine  art  were  present,  and 
many  bets  were  laid.  The  battle  was  honoured,  in  particular, 
by  the  attendance  of  his  ROYAL  HIGHNESS  THE  PRINCE  OF 
WALES."—  (Morning  Post,  April  18,  1788.) 

Even  those  "  feeble  folk,"  those  superfine  gentlemen, 
the  Macaronis,  learned  to  use  their  fists,  as.  we  see  by 
this  illustration. 

Any  one  caring  for  such  particulars  will  well  know 
that  this  was  the  golden  age  for  pugilism.  There  were 
Tom  Johnson,  1783-1791.  Benjamin  Brain  (Big  Ben), 
1786-1791.  Daniel  Mendoza,  a  Jew,  1784-1820.' 
Richard  Humphries,  "  the  Gentleman  boxer,"  1784-1790. 
John  Jackson,  1788-1795.  Bill  Hooper  (the  Tin  man), 
1789-1797.  Tom  Owen,  1796-1799-1820.  Tom  Jones 
(Paddington  Jones),  1786-1805.  Bill  Warr  (of  Bristol), 
1787-1792.  Will  Wood,  the  Coachman,  1788-1804. 
George  I  ngleston,  the  Brewer,  1789-1793.  Bob  Watson, 
of  Bristol,  1788-1791.  Tom  Tyne,  "the  Tailor,"  1788- 
1792.  Symonds  (the  Ruffian),  1791-1795.  Jem  Belcher, 
1798-1809.  This  is  the  list  of  the  Chief  Gladiators  of 
the  period. 

"Mendoza's  terms  for  teaching  are  reasonable  enough  — 
eight  lessons  for  a  guinea."  —  (Morning  Post,  May  26,  1788.) 


"  Mendoza  &s\&  Ward,  finding  that  the  blackguard  exercise 
of  boxing  had  fallen  into  disrepute,  took  up  the  genteel  trade 


1 


4 


Old  Times.  275 

of  crimping,  and  became  acting  Serjeants,  at  a  house  in  St. 
George's  Fields,  until  a  stop  was  put  to  that  nefarious  business 
by  authority.  We  are  sorry  to  find  that  these  notorious 
blackguards  have  since  returned  to  their  former  occupation." 
— (Times,  April  16,  1795.) 

Duels  were  of  as  common  occurrence,  as  highway 
robberies,  and  need  as  much  comment.  Still,  I  give 
two,  or  three,  instances  to  show  on  what  trifles,  men, 
then,  ventured  their  lives. 

The  first  is  an  ordinary  duel  between  two  officers, 
reported  in  the  Morning  Post  of  22nd  June  1788 — in 
which  one  of  them  was  wounded  in  the  thigh.  This 
report  brings  a  letter  from  some  one,  probably  a  second, 
who  gives  his  version  thus  : — "  Sir,  in  your  account  of 
the  duel  between  Captains  Tonge  and  Paterson,  in  your 
Paper  of  the  22nd,  there  is  a  mistake  or  two,  which,  for 
the  sake  of  truth,  I  beg  leave  to  correct.  You  say, 
'  that  Capt.  T.  wished  to  apologise  for  the  injury  he  had 
done.'  The  truth  is,  Captain  T.  being  not  quite  himself 
when  the  affray  happened,  remembered  very  little  of 
what  had  passed,  except  that,  on  some  provocation,  he 
had  struck  Capt.  P.  Considering  himself,  therefore,  as 
having,  palpably  broken  the  peace,  he  was  ready  to  ask 
Capt.  P.'s  pardon. 

"  This  was  not  deemed  sufficient  satisfaction,  and  the 
duel  took  place.  You  tell  us,  that  Capt.  T.'s  ball  passed 
Capt.  P.,  thereby  implying  that  Capt.  T.  actually  fired  at 
his  antagonist.  Now,  Sir,  I  can  positively  affirm  that 
Capt.  T.  was  determined  not  to  fire  his  pistol,  and  that 
it  was  involuntarily  discharged,  after  he  was  wounded, 
and  not  levelled  at  Capt.  P.  You  tell  us  then,  that  Capt. 
T.,  upon  falling,  declared  that  '  he  had  merited  his  fate, 
and  begged  Capt.  P.'s  pardon.'  His  words  were,  Are  you 


276  Old  Times. 

satisfied  ?  I  fear  I  am  dangerously  wounded,  I  therefore 
advise  you  to  fly. 

"  To  enable  the  Public  to  judge  properly  of  this  affair, 
it  is  necessary  they  should  be  told,  that  the  first  offence 
was,  Capt.  T.'s  treading  accidentally  on  Capt.  P.'s  heel, 
who,  though  he  saw  Capt.  T.  was  intoxicated,  continued 
to  follow  him.  Rich.  Weeks." 

"  Captain  PARKHURST  and  'a  MR.  KELLY,  are  the  names 
of  the  gentlemen  who  exchanged  blows  at  the  Opera  House 
on  Saturday  evening." — (Times,  March  n,  1794.) 

"On  Sunday  morning  a  duel  was  fought  in  Hyde  Park 
between  Mr.  PARKHURST  and  LIEUT.  KELLY  of  the  Navy. 
The  dispute  originated  in  some  difference  about  places  at  the 
Opera  pit  on  the  preceding  night.  A  brace  of  pistols  was 
discharged,  and  the  latter  gentleman  wounded  in  the  shoulder. 
The  seconds  then  interfered,  and  brought  the  matter  to  a 
termination." — (Times,  March  13,  1794.) 

"Friday  morning  a  duel  was  fought  in  a  field  on  the 
Uxbridge  Road,  between  Mr.  Duke,  surgeon,  and  Captain 

D s,  in  consequence  of  an  old   dispute  revived  a  few 

nights  ago  in  the  Hay  market  Theatre.  The  parties  discharged 
a  brace  of  pistols  without  effect,  but  upon  Mr.  D.  discharging 
his  second  pistol,  a  ball  was  lodged  in  Capt.  D.'s  arm — upon 
which  the  seconds  interfered,  and  a  reconciliation  took  place." 
— (Times,  Feb.  18,  1793.) 

FRENCH  EMIGRANTS. 

We  have  seen  how,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  French 
Revolution,  the  French  came  over  here  in  thousands — 
escaping  here  as  to  a  haven  of  refuge.  For  the  most  part 
they  were  of  the  better  class ;  still  there  were,  as  in  1870, 
a  large  number  of  very  suspicious  characters  (to  use  the 
mildest  term)  among  them — and  the  government  was 
compelled  to  keep  a  very  jealous  eye  on  their  movements. 


Old  Times.  277 

Taken,  however,  as  a  whole,  they  behaved  wonderfully 
well,  and  in  no  ways  abused  the  asylum,  and  protection, 
they  had  sought. 

"  Government  is  ridding  the  country  very  fast  of  JACOBINS  : 
and  in  doing  so,  it  is  taking  only  a  proper  precaution  during  a 
time  of  war.  Some  hundreds  have  been  already  either  expelled, 
or  have  quitted  the  country  through  apprehension ;  but  many 
more  still  remain  here :  and  we  recommend  very  strongly  to 
the  notice  of  the  Police  Department,  the  general  body  of 
French  Dancing  Masters  practising  in  London,  who  are  the 
veriest  Jacobins  in  existence.  An  exportation  of  some  of  these 
Hop  Merchants,  and  certain  French  Milliners,  whom  we  could 
name,  might  be  permitted  without  a  drawback,  and  without 
doing  any  injury  to  the  Revenue." — (Times,  Feb.  15,  1793.) 

"The  Maitre  cT Hotel  of  the  Duke  of  York  was,  on  Saturday 
last,  ordered  to  quit  the  country.  We  some  time  since  remarked 
that  there  were  several  rank  Jacobins  in  his  Royal  Highness's 
household" — (Times,  Feb.  16,  1793.) 

He  was  sent  out  of  the  Country  either  for  theft  or 
embezzlement. 

"The  Jermyn-Street  Gun,  which  is  filled  with  combustible 
matter,  should  be  unloaded,  and  spiked,  or  it  may  become 
more  dangerous  than  it  is  even  at  present.  A  clause  ought  to 
be  added  to  the  Alien  Bill,  interdicting  Frenchmen  to  meet, 
either  in  public,  or  private,  houses,  in  a  greater  number  than 
5,  at  one  and  the  same  time.  We  cannot  be  too  strict  at  this 
moment :  and,  being  sojourners  here,  as  objects  of  public 
bounty,  they  cannot  complain  of  any  regulations  which  Govern- 
ment may  deem  necessary  to  make." — (Times,  Feb.  16,  1793.) 

"THE  FRENCH  EMIGRANTS.1 

"  Some  of  the  papers  have  circulated  very  idle  reports  rela- 
tive to  the  arrival,  in  London,  of  140  French  soldiers;  the  story 

1  On  March  6,  there  was  a  letter  from  the  agents  of  the  owners  of  the 
ship,  putting  a  different  complexion  on  the  matter  :  the  mutinous  conduct 
of  the  emigrants  being  the  cause  of  all  the  trouble. 


278  Old  Times. 

is  precisely  as  follows  :  These  unfortunate  Emigrants,  most  of 
them  descended  from  opulent,  and  illustrious,  families  in 
France,  having  savedj  themselves,  with  the  French  Princes, 
from  the  daggers  of  assassins,  were  necessitated,  at  the  end  of 
the  campaign,  to  enter  the  service  of  Spain.  They  embarked, 
on  the  4th  Dec.,  at  Bois  le  Due,  for  Rotterdam,  and  from 
thence,  they  sailed  in  the  ship  David  and  Abraham,  commanded 
by  Captain  Riendirk.  It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  the 
bad  usage  they  received  on  board.  Obliged  to  lay  upon  the 
bare  deck,  without  a  bed,  and  fed  with  mouldy  biscuit,  and 
beer,  mixed  with  salt  water ;  in  this  lamentable  situation  they 
remained  five  weeks.  These  miserable  men  were  covered 
with  vermin,  most  of  them,  dreadfully  galled  with  sores,  and 
ulcers.  Some  had  not  changed  their  linen  for  two  years  and  an 
half :  others  had  no  linen  of  any  kind,  and  the  clothes  of  the 
whole  troop  were  in  tatters.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
the  Captain  of  the  vessel  proposed  to  sell  them  as  malefactors, 
to  be  sent  to  Batavia.  The  ship,  however,  was  driven  on  our 
coast,  and  as  soon  as  our  Government  was  apprized  that  these 
poor  men  were  at  anchor  in  Sheerness,  they  took  every  measure 
to  soften  the  rigour  of  their  fate.  Two  of  their  countrymen 
were  dispatched  to  bring  them  to  London.  The  barbarous 
inhumanity  of  the  Dutch  Captain  was  notoriously  conspicuous, 
and  we  hope  some  measures  will  be  taken  to  bring  him  to 
justice,  and  make  him  an  example  to  others,  to  avoid  similar 
acts  of  inhumanity." — (Times,  Feb.  28,  1793.) 

"  It  is  said  that  Lord  MOIRA,  notwithstanding  the  strange 
part  he  acts  in  domestic  politics,  distributes  the  amount  of 
;£io,ooo  annually  amongst  the  French  Emigrants,  who  are 
only  known  to  him  by  their  distresses." — (Times,  Dec.  27, 
I797-) 

A  French  Emigrant  was,  yesterday,  examined  before  Mr. 
Ford,  at  the  Duke  of  Portland's  Office,  on  a  charge  of  being  a 
Spy.  The  circumstances  adduced  were  on  the  information  of 
a  Journeyman  Shoemaker,  against  his  Master,  a  Mr.  Deboo, 
for  making  a  pair  of  boots  with  a  Cavity  between  the  Soles ; 
covered  with  sheet  lead  to  prevent  the  wet  perforating,  for 
letters  of  a  secret  nature.  After  a  long  examination,  it  was 


Old  Times.  279 

proved  that  he  was  employed  by  the  Duke  d'Harcourt,  on  a 
mission  to  the  officers  of  his  corps  in  Germany,  and,  his  papers 
containing  nothing  improper,  he  was  discharged:  but,  the 
maker  of  the  boots  having  been,  for  some  time,  considered  a 
disaffected  person,  is  to  be  sent  out  of  the  Kingdom  under  the 
Alien  Bill."— (Times,  fan.  6,  1798.) 

"In  order  to  obtain  a  correct  information  of  all  the 
Foreigners  who  reside  in  this  vast  metropolis,  and  whose 
numbers  are  said  to  amount  to  80,000,  and  upwards,  Govern- 
ment has  ordered  the  parish  Officers  to  go  from  house,  to 
house,  and  to  take  down  the  name  of  any  foreigner  who  resides 
in  the  parish.  This  measure,  we  conceive,  would  become 
still  more  efficacious,  if  every  landlord,  or  tenant,  of  a  house, 
who  lets  out  lodgings,  were  obliged  to  inform  the  Justice  of 
the  Peace,  of  every  Foreigner  who  comes  to  lodge  in  his 
house,  or  leaves  it.  None  but  suspicious  persons  will  have  to 
complain  of  the  severity  of  these  measures." — (Times,  March 
n,  1797.) 


280  Old  Times. 


POLITICAL. 

WITH  Politics  I  had  no  intention  of  dealing,  but  the  book 
would  be  incomplete  if  there  were  no  indication  of  the 
party  strife  of  the  period,  so  that  I  have  been  tempted  to 
make  a  few  extracts  principally  of  1793-4,  when  party 
spirit  ran  very  high.  The  revelations  as  to  Elections, 
will,  probably,  somewhat  astonish  the  next  generation. 

"  The  Marquis  of  Lansdowne's  carnage  conveyed  the  whole 
phalanx  of  opposition,  in  the  house  of  Lords,  to  their  respec- 
tive homes,  after  the  debate  of  Friday  night :  and  even  then, 
one  corner  of  the  coach  was  unoccupied. 

"The  opposition  in  the  Commons,  who  are  a  little  more 
numerous,  were  all  bundled  into  Mr.  Fox's  coach,  and  that  of 
Michael  Angelo  Turner,  with  the  assistance  of  a  hackney- 
coach  for  Jack  Courtney,  and  Jekyll. 

"  Opposition,  sunk  to  a  minority  that  is  insignificant  in  the 
extreme,  was  afraid  to  try  the  question,  on  Friday,  in  either 
House,  well  knowing  that  they  could  not  reckon  more  than  a 
dozen,  in  the  Commons,  and  three  in  the  House  of  Lords. 
Must  not  this  convince  the  French  of  the  unanimity  of  the 
people  of  England?" — (Times,  Pel.  4,  1793.) 

"All  the  Members  of  the  Opposition,  in  both  Houses  of 
Parliament,  are  to  have  a  grand  civic  feast  on  Saturday  next. 
Dinner  is  bespoke  for  FOURTEEN!  ! !" — (Times,  Feb.  5,  1793.) 

"  The  Irish  papers  are  full  of  information  of  indictments  on 
the  part  of  the  Crown,  against  the  printers  of  newspapers  in 
Ireland.  Thirty  or  forty  names  are  mentioned  in  one  of  the 
latest  Gazettes  from  thence." — (Times,  Feb.  6,  1793.) 


Old  Times.  281 

COUNTY  OF  LEICESTER.— Dec.  19,  1792. 

"It  appearing  to  be  the  unanimous  opinion  of  all  true 
friends  of  the  Constitution,  that,  in  order  to  prevent  the  mis- 
chievous consequences  attending  a  misrepresentation  of  their 
sentiments,  either  at  home,  or  abroad,  some  public  avowal  of 
their  principles  is  become  necessary;  We,  whose  names  are 
hereunto  subscribed,  adopting  the  resolutions  of  the  Society, 
at  the  Saint  Alban's  Tavern,  do  hereby  declare,  that  we  are 
unanimously,  and  decidedly,  of  opinion,  that,  for  the  security 
and  happiness  of  all  classes  of  our  fellow-subjects,  for  the 
maintenance  of  our  own  rights,  and  liberties,  and,  for  the 
dearest  interests  of  our  posterity,  it  is,  in  the  present  moment, 
incumbent  upon  us  to  give  to  the  Executive  Government,  a 
vigorous,  and  effectual,  support,  in  counteracting  the  numerous 
efforts  of  sedition,  in  detecting,  and  bringing  to  legal  punish- 
ment, the  persons  concerned  therein,  and  in  suppressing,  in  their 
beginning,  all  tumults,  or  riots,  on  whatever  pretence  they 
may  be  excited :  do  hereby  publicly  declare  our  determination 
to  take  all  such  steps  for  these  purposes,  as  are  within  the 
limits  of  our  duty,  in  the  several  stations  in  which  the  Con- 
stitution of  our  country  has  placed  us,  and  to  afford,  by  our 
individual  exertions,  that  active  assistance  to  the  authority  of 
the  lawful  Magistrate,  and  to  the  maintenance  of  the  Estab- 
lished Government,  which  is  at  all  times  due  from  the  subject 
of  this  realm;  but  which  we  feel  to  be  more  particularly 
necessary,  under  the  circumstances  of  the  present  time. 

"For  these  purposes,  and  to  this  intent,  we  are  resolved,  and 
do  declare — 

1.  "That  we  will  jointly,  and  individually,  use  our  utmost 
endeavours  to  discover  the  Authors,  Publishers,  and  Distri- 
butors, of  all  Seditious  Writings,  which  shall  be  published,  and 
distributed,  within  the  County  of  Leicester,  and  particularly,  all 
persons  who  shall  be  engaged  in  any  illegal  Associations,  or  Con- 
spiracies, for  the  Publication,  and  Distribution,  of  such  writings, 
or  for  the  exciting  Tumults,  and  Riots,  within  the  said  County. 

2.  "That,  in  order  to  carry  the  above  resolutions  into  effect, 
we  do  hereby,  mutually,  bind  ourselves  to  each  other,  that 
whenever  it  shall  come  to  our  Knowledge,  that  any  person,  or 
persons,  have,  within  the  said  County,  Published,  or  Distributed, 


282  Old  Times. 

Seditious  Writings,  or  engaged  themselves  in  such  Associations, 
or  Conspiracies,  for  the  purposes  aforesaid,  we  will  do  our 
utmost  endeavours  to  put  the  laws  strictly  in  force  against  him, 
or  them. 

3.  "  That  we  will,  on  every  occasion,  exert  ourselves,  on  the 
first  appearance  of  Tumult,  or  Disorder,  to  maintain  the  public 
peace,  and  to  act  in  support  of  the  civil  authority,  for  suppress- 
ing all  Riots,  and  for  bringing  the  promoters  of  them  to  legal 
punishment. 

"  Those  who  agree  in  the  principles  here  stated,  are  invited 
to  set  their  names  to  this  Declaration — Copies  of  which  will 
be  sent,  for  that  purpose,  to  every  town,  and  village,  in  the 
county,  at  the  Banks  of  Boultbee  &  Co.,  and  Bensley  & 
Co.,  in  Leicester,  and  at  the  Post  Offices,  in  the  several 
Market  Towns  of  the  county,  Subscriptions  will  be  received, 
from  such  persons,  as  may  be  willing  to  contribute,  towards 
defraying  the  expenses,  which  may  be  incurred  in  carrying  into 
execution  the  measures  here  stated,  and  in  counteracting  the 
mistaken,  and  pernicious,  notions  which  are  so  industriously 
circulated." — (Times,  Feb.  7,  1793.) 

"ST.  MARY,  ISLINGTON,  Mitre  Tavern,  opposite  the 
Church,  Jan.  23.  We,  the  undersigned,  being  PUBLICANS 
within  this  Parish,  from  a  sense  of  duty  we  owe  to  the  present 
Constitution,  and  Government  of  this  country ;  and,  having 
a  desire  to  preserve  to  the  utmost  of  our  Power,  Peace,  and 
Good  Order,  by  preventing  the  assembling  of  Persons  as 
Societies,  or  Clubs,  for  seditious  purposes,  in  our  several 
Houses — have  this  day  met,  and  resolved,  and,  by  this,  do 
pledge  ourselves,  to  give  immediate  Information  to  the  Com- 
mittee appointed  at  the  Church,  on  the  8th  Day  of  Dec.  last, 
for  the  preservation  of  the  Public  Peace,  &c.,  of  any  Person, 
or  Persons,  making  use  of  disloyal  Expressions  or  otherwise 
offending  against  the  Peace  of  the  Parish,  whereby  he,  or 
they,  may  be  brought  to  Punishment  for  the  same.  Agreed, 
That  this  Resolution  be  signed  by  as  many  Publicans  within 
this  Parish,  as  shall  approve  the  same,  and  that  it  may  be 
advertised  in  the  daily  Papers. 

"  N.B. — The  signatures  contain  the  whole  Number  of  Publi- 
cans in  this  Parish." — (Times,  Feb.  7,  1793.) 


Old  Times.  283 

"It  is  rather  extraordinary,  that  the  WHIG  CLUB  should 
forget  to  drink  the  Duke  of  PORTLAND'S  health  last  Tuesday, 
and  the  House  of  CAVENDISH.  There  was  a  time,  when  the 
Whig  Club  was  respectable;  but  that  is  over,  and  perhaps 
never  to  return.  The  last  meeting  was  a-la-mode  D'Egalite" 
— (Times,  Feb.  7,  1793.) 

"As  the  Members  of  the  NATIONAL  CONVENTION  are  so 
very  fond  of  Pain,  it  cannot  be  deemed  unfeeling  to  ex- 
press a  sincere  wish  that  they  all  felt  it." — (Times,  Feb.  7, 
I793-) 

"  Lady  Dover's  house,  it  is  confidently  said,  was  set  on  fire 
by  a  Frenchman.  The  person's  name  has  been  publicly  men- 
tioned. What  may,  and  must,  surprise  a  number  of  Britons 
is,  that  in  most  of  the  late  Opposition  families  of  eminence, 
the  principal  servants  are  Frenchmen  : — and  it  is  necessary  to 
make  public,  that  these  foreigners,  under  the  roofs  of  those 
who  give  them  bread,  utter  the  most  treasonable  blasphemies 
against  the  present  Government  of  this  country.  As  some 
new  tax  may  be  requisite,  to  assist  the  necessary  resources  of 
Government,  a  most  heavy  impost  on  French  servants  would 
be  extremely  popular.  The  Steward,  the  Butler,  the  Cook, 
the  Valet,  and  the  rest  of  the  principal  servants  in  one  of  the 
first  families  of  Opposition,  are  French.  Does  this  accord 
with  national  friendship?" — (Times,  Feb.  8,  1793.) 

"  There  are  no  patriotic  gifts  now  made  for  carrying  on  the 
war  in  France ! — no  bodkins,  scissors,  thimbles,  rings,  and 
necklaces !  The  Army  is  left  to  shift  for  itself:  and,  if  they 
cannot  plunder  a  day's  subsistence,  they  must  fast." — (Times, 
Feby.  9,  1793.) 

"  In  the  year  1782,  when  Mr.  Fox  gave  notice  of  motion  on 
the  state  of  the  nation,  the  House  was  filled  at  an  early  hour 
to  an  overflow.  But  on  a  similar  notice,  from  the  same 
person,  in  1793,  there  were  not  sufficient  Members  to  make  a 
House,  and  the  Speaker  adjourned  to  next  day.  Tempora 
mutantur." — (Times,  Feb.  9,  1793.) 


284  Old  Times. 

"  QUERIES. 

"  Why  is  opposition  like  a  stumbling  horse  ? 

Because  it  is  broken  down. 

Why  is  Lord  LANSDOWNE  like  a  man  with  the  gout  ? 

Because  his  mind  is  engrossed  by  Paine. 

Why  is  the  NATIONAL  ASSEMBLY  of  France  like  a  Croco- 
dile? 

Because  it  deceives,  in  order  to  destroy. 

Why  is  Mr.  COURTNEY  like  an  apothecary's  bill  ? 

Because  he  is  ditto  repeated  on  all  occasions. 

Why  is  Mr.  ERSKINE  like  the  first  two  words  of  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Eclogues  of  Virgil  ? 

Because  he  commences  with  llle  Ego. 

Why  is  Michael  Angela  Taylor  like  a  barrel  organ  ? 

Because  any  person  can  play  upon  him. 

Why  is  Lord  COURTNEY  like  Narcissus  ? 

Because  he  is  in  love  with  himself. 

Why  is  Mrs.  STURT  like  a  young  kitten  ? 

Because  she  is  fond  of  play. 

Why  is  the  Club  at  Brookes 's  like  cannibals  ? 

Because  they  prey  one  upon  another. 

Why  is  Mrs.  SIDDONS  like  the  late  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  ? 

Because  she  deceives  the  public  into  a  belief  that  art  is 
nature. 

Why  is  Lord  WYCOMBE  an  advocate  for  peace  ? 

Because  his  father  made  nothing  until  he  put  an  end  to 
the  war. 

Why  are  the  Members  of  OPPOSITION  like  the  live  stock  of 
a  Register  Office  ? 

Because  they  want  places" — (Times,  Feb.  9,  1793.) 

"  In  days  of  yore,  Lady  WALLACE  would  have  been  burnt 
for  a  witch  from  the  prophecies,  now  verified,  which  she 
published  a  year  ago,  in  a  letter  to  her  son : — She  foretold 
that  the  Prince  would  soon  throw  off  the  corrupt  ministers  to 
his  youthful  pleasures,  and  shew  himself  the  protector  of  that 
happy  Government,  which  alone  can  insure  the  wealth,  free- 
dom, and  glory,  of  England  !  She  says,  "  he  will  emerge  in 
all  the  splendour  which  attends  the  noon-day  sun,  after  having 


Old  Times.  285 

dispersed  the  clouds  exhaled  from  foul  vapours  beneath 
him."  She  foretold  that  the  united  forces  would  not  succeed 
in  their  attack  upon  France :  that  England  must  inevitably 
be  speedily  involved  in  war,  from  the  convulsed  state  of  the 
Continent : — She  said,  that  if  foreign  Powers  would  take  no 
hostile  part  against  the  French,  that  they  would  prey  like 
wolves  upon  each  other,  and  do  more  towards  a  Counter- 
revolution, by  their  frenzy  being  vented  in  internal  discord, 
than  all  Europe  would  ever  force  them  to  do.  It  was  her 
Ladyship  who  first  boldly  exposed  to  a  great  personage,  and 
society,  Egalite's  crimes,  and  foretold,  that,  after  having 
washed  his  daggers  in  Royal  blood  at  Paris,  he  would  send 
his  hireling  ruffians  to  attempt  like  horrors  here  !  truths  which 
are  well  known  now,  although  they  appeared  then  incredible. 
Her  information  when  on  the  Continent,  and  knowledge  of 
foreign  politics,  are  most  accurate,  and  valuable." — (Times, 
Feb.  12,  1793.) 

"  The  first  speech  Mr.  GREY  ever  delivered  in  Parliament, 
was  on  the  subject  of  the  Commercial  Treaty  with  France 
At  that  time  Mr.  Grey  expressed,  in  very  forcible  language,  his 
abhorrence  of  any  connexion  whatever  with  the  French,  and, 
strongly  insisting  on  their  inbred  hatred  to  this  country, 
declared,  they  were  a  perfidious,  and  treacherous,  people,  and 
on  no  account  to  be  trusted." — (Times,  Feb.  14,  1793.) 

"  On  Mr.  Grey,  being  the  only  Man  not  in  Mourning  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  on  a  late  melancholy  occasion." — ( Times, 
Feb.  14,  1793.) 

"  'Twas  unfeeling  forsooth, 
Every  Man  in  the  House 
Was  in  mourning,  but  one  who  drest  gay  ; 
As  he  would  not  be  Black, 
He'll  be  made  to  look  Blue, 
A  mixture  which  forms  a  bad  Grey." 

"  It  is  said  that  there  have  been  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
one  Changes  in  the  Peerage  since  the  commencement  of 
Mr.  HASTINGS'S  trial  in  1788." — (Times,  Feb.  18,  1793.) 


286  Old  Times. 

"  An  EXPOSTULATION  with  JOHN  BULL,  in  favour  of  the 
Marquis  of  L — NSD — N  : — 

"  Of  the  Candidates  JOHN  for  thy  favour  of  late, 
Among  all  who  are  noble,  and  wish  to  be  great, 
Sure  L — NSD — N,  with  reason  may  fairly  complain, 
That  his  merits  could  never  your  confidence  gain  ! 
The  Moralists  too,  will  confess  with  a  tear, 
That  Virtue  performs  but  a  Pilgrimage  here  ! 
Else  had   L — NSD — N  long  since  been  possess'd  of  that 

pow'r 

Which  England  took  from  him,  in  splenetic  hour. 
He  was  always  a  Friend  to  his  Country's  Cause, 
The  prop  of  her  Church,  the  support  of  her  Laws  ; 
He  ne'er  with  Republicans  chose  to  accord, 
And  his  Foes  never  call'd  him  the  LEVELLING  LORD. 
He  made  the  fam'd  Peace  of  the  year  EIGHTY  THREE, 
A  Peace,  John,  as  good  for  himself,  as  for  thee. 
In  his  speech  he  is  open,  and  candid  no  doubt, 
For  which  side  he  espouses,  no  man  can  find  out ; 
Whether  Whig,  whether  Tory,  of  High  Church,  or  Low  ; 
You  may  puzzle  your  brains,  but  you  never  will  know. 
As  a  proof  that  the  Marquis  is  no  Partizan, 
Let  the  world  call  six  persons  his  Friends — if  it  can.1 
Great  JEKYLL,  that  man  so  renowned  at  the  Bar, 
More  witty  than  FIELDING,  more  learned  than  PARR, 
Who  punning  despises,  as  L — NSD — N  does  place, 
Says,  his  Patron's  pure  mind,  is  as  fair  as  his  face, 
That  his  Bounty  and  Eloquence  equally  flow, 
To  comfort  the  Weak,  and  to  succour  the  Low. 
Yet  this  eloquent  speaker,  this  statesman  so  just, 
No  Sect  will  confide  in,  no  Party  will  trust ; 
And  I  speak  it,  alas !  with  reproach  to  mankind, 
To  his  Merits  and  Virtue,  his  Country  is  blind  ! 
And  when  full  of  honours  and  Years  he  shall  die, 
Ungrateful  Britannia,  will  not  heave  a  sigh ; 

1  We  imagine  Political  Friends  must  here  be  alluded  to — for  the  amiable 
and  endearing  qualities  of  the  Marquis's  sympathising  heart,  must  have 
insured  him,  in  private  life,  the  warm  affections  of  all  his  relations  and 
dependants.  ( 


Old  Times.  287 

Nay,  perhaps  with  a  sneer,  she  may  scoffingly  say, 
The  SUN  of  my  GLORY,  is  faded  away ! ! 1 

"  ZTIF." 
—(Times,  Feb.  16,  1793.) 

"  No  less  than  eighty  four  actions  of  bribery  are  brought  on 
the  business  of  the  Stockbridge  election ;  the  penalties  sued  for 
amount  10^42,000." — (Times,  Feb.  28,  1793.) 

" '  Want  of  information  is  our  bane,'  says'the  female  politician 
in  the  Humourist :  but  the  following  anecdote,  which  is  a  fact, 
will  prove  that  want  of  information  is  not  numbered  among 
the  wants  of  Administration.  A  Young  Gentleman,  Clerk  in 
an  Office  under  Government,  in  consequence  of  strong  entreaties 
from  a  friend,  accompanied  him  to  a  meeting  of  about  thirty, 
at  a  tavern,  when,  after  dinner,  several  very  seditious  toasts 
were  given,  the  visitor  was  called  on,  and  gave  the  KING  ;  this 
toast,  however,  being  rejected,  and  all  expostulations  proving 
in  vain,  he  left  the  company  soon  after,  and  the  next  day,  by 
the  advice  of  his  friends,  waited  on  Mr.  PITT,  to  tell  his  story. 
But,  judge  his  surprise,  when  the  Minister,  interrupting  him, 
produced  a  paper,  in  which  was  written  the  names  of  the 
parties,  the  order  in  which  they  sate,  the  toasts  drank,  and 
here,  sir,  added  Mr.  PITT,  observe  your  own  name  placed  at 
the  bottom  ! ! !  " — (Times,  March  5,  1794.) 

"DIAMOND  CUT  DIAMOND. — DR.  PRIESTLY,  we  will  not 
say  lately,  gave  '  the  Sans  Culottes  of  England '  at  a  dinner 
party.  A  Clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  willing  to  get 
rid  of  politics,  archly  exclaimed — '  Yes,  with  all  my  heart,  I 
presume  you  mean  the  single  ladies,  for  the  married  ones 
generally  wear  the  breeches.'  The  wit  being  called  upon  in 
his  turn,  Dr.  PRIESTLEY  desired  the  President  to  be  on  his 
guard,  for  he  saw  plainly  that  the  Clergyman,  if  presented  with 
an  INCH,  would  take  an  ELL,  'Thank  you  for  the  hint, 
Doctor,'  replied  the  Clerical  Humourist.  '  Yes,  I'll  take  three 
L's,  so  here's  LIBERTY,  LOYALTY,  and  LAWN  SLEEVES  ! '  The 

1  At  the  conclusion  of  the  American  War,  when  the  noble  Marquis 
came  into  power,  he  emphatically  said  "  the  Sun  of  England's  Glory  was 
set  for  ever,"  and  many  grave  people  entertained  that  opinion  during  the 
short  time  his  Lordship  was  Minister  of  this  Country. 


288  Old  Times. 

room,  of  course,  was  in  a  roar,  and  the  Doctor,  quite  SHOCKED, 
went  off  like 'lightning  without  a  CONDUCTOR."  —  (Times, 
March  4,  1794.) 

"  The  late  contest  at  Wycombe,  between  Sir  F.  BARING  and 
Mr.  DASHWOOD,  was  carried  on  to  a  very  high  pitch  by  the 
mob.  Lord  WYCOMBE  was  thrown  down  in  the  mud.  Mr. 
DASHWOOD  lost  his  hat  in  the  affray,  and  all  was  confusion  and 
riot.  The  Lansdowne  interest,  however,  prevailed,  and  Sir 
Francis  was  returned." — (Times,  Feb.  7,  1794.) 

"  SIR  FRANCIS  BARING  is  elected  Member  for  High  Wycombe, 
in  the  room  of  Sir  JOHN  JERVIS.  Sir  FRANCIS  was  opposed 
by  Sir  JOHN  DASHWOOD.  The  votes  were,  for  Sir  F.  B.  29, 
Sir  John  D.  22." — (Times,  Feb.  5,  1794.) 

"  The  Society  for  Constitutional  Information,  held  a  meeting 
at  the  Crown  and  Anchor,  in  the  Strand,  on  Friday  last,  where 
toasts  of  the  most  seditious  tendency  were  drunk,  and  senti- 
ments expressed  which  ought  to  send  the  speakers  to  Botany 
Bay.  The  number  of  seditionists  who  met  on  the  above 
occasion,  amounted  to  300  persons ;  among  whom  were  not 
to  be  found  above  three  who  possessed  an  acre  of  land  in  this 
country.  They  were  men  mostly  in  desperate  circumstances, 
who  had  everything  to  gain,  and  nothing  to  lose,  by  a  Revolu- 
tion. They  toasted  success  to  the  French,  sung  the  Marseillois 
treasonable  Hymn,  and  C,a  ira,  arraigned  the  justice  of  the  law 
that  had  punished  traitors  in  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  England, 
and  gave  the  health  of  those  traitors.  They  abused  and 
vilified  the  House  of  Commons,  called  the  Royal  Family,  and 
the  Nobility  of  Great  Britain,  beggars  :  said  it  was  the  interest 
of  the  people  to  join  with  those  struggling  in  the  cause  against 
which  our  Country  was  fighting.  In  short  they  did  everything 
short  of  active  rebellion? — (Times,  May  5,  1794.) 

"  On  a  lamp  post,  in  the  Westminster-Road,  is  a  paper  with 
the  Title  of  PUBLIC  NOTICE,  respecting  some  parish  business, 
and  immediately  underneath  it,  is  Sir  JOSEPH  MAWBEY'S  late 
speech  at  Epsom.  Two  sailors  stopping  on  Sunday  to  read  it, 
when  one  had  began,  the  other  cried  out — "  Stop,  Jack  :  you're 


Old  Times.  289 

wrong,  don't  you  see  it  is  beneath  PUBLIC  NOTICE  ? '  alluding  to 
the  paper  above  it :  and  they  both  walked  away." — (Times, 
Nov.  3,  1794.) 

A  Reform  Bill  was  sorely  needed  in  the  matters  of 
Elections. 

"  Election  for  Launceston,  Cornwall     Candidates,  Hon.  Mr. 
RAWDON,  Mr.  BROGDEN.     The  numbers  were  as  follows  : — 
Hon.  Mr.  Rawden  and  Mr.  Brogden,       .       .       12. 

Dalkeith  and  Garthshore, n. 

"This  contest  here  was  a  hard  fought  battle  between  the  Duke 
of  Northumberland  and  the  Duke  of  Buccleugh.  Both  parties 
have  spent  a  great  deal  of  money  :  but  the  former  has  carried 
the  day." — (Times,  June  6,  1796.) 

"  Shrewsbury  Election. — The  state  of  the  Poll  on  Monday 
was  as  follows  : — SIR  W.  PULTENEY,  1607  ;  JOHN  HILL,  Esq., 
834 ;  HON.  W.  HILL,  832.  The  Election,  it  is  thought,  will 
cost  SIR  RICHARD  HILL  ^100,000.  The  expence  to  each 
party  is  about  ^1000  per  day." — (Times,  June  9,  1796.) 

"A  certain  new  Member  for  a  Borough  in  the  West  of 
England,  is  indebted  to  the  family  Jewels  of  his  wife  for  bear- 
ing the  expence  of  his  Election.  Not  only  her  diamonds,  but 
the  greater  part  of  her  cloaths  have  been  withheld.  Those 
that  were  returned  to  her,  would  have  disgraced  her  waiting 
woman." — (Times,  July  4,  1796.) 

"Yesterday  conformable  to  an  ancient  ridiculous  custom, 
came  on  the  Election,  at  Wandsworth,  for  a  MAYOR  of 
GARRATT.  The  candidates  were  two — Sir  George  Cooke, 
Greengrocer  and  Inhabitant  of  Lambeth :  and  Sir  Harry 
Dimsdale,  a  Muffin  Baker.  Sir  George  set  off  from  his  house 
in  the  morning,  surrounded  by  all  the  appendages  of  grandeur, 
and  placed  in  an  open  landau,  drawn  by  six  beautiful  horses, 
with  postillions  on  the  first  four,  elegantly  attired  in  red.  A 
coach  and  four  preceded  him  all  the  way  in  equal  style. 

"  After  he  had  arrived  at  the  entrance  of  Wandsworth,  his 
horses  were  taken  out  by  the  mob,  and  he  was  drawn  by  them 
to  the  Hustings,  where  he  joined  his  opponent,  who  was  little 

T 


290  Old  Times. 

short  of  Sir  George  in  point  of  etiquette.  After  a  long  preamble 
from  each  party,  promising  unremitting  attention  to  the  duties 
of  the  office,  the  honours  of  the  day  were  conferred  on  Sir 
George  Cooke." — (Times,  Aug.  25,  1796.) 

"  Garrat  Election. — Most  of  the  Morning  Prints  of  yesterday 
misstated  this  business.  It  was  Sir  Harry  Dimsdale,  and  not 
Sir  George  Cooke,  who  was  returned.  Those  who  supported 
Sir  George,  did  not  even  put  him  in  nomination.  He  was 
drawn  there,  it  is  true,  but  he  made  no  stand :  he  gave  up 
the  contest,  and  Sir  Harry  was  crowned  with  a  green  bough, 
and  the  horses  taken  from  his  carriage  by  the  populace,  who 
drew  him  in  triumph  to  the  Bull,  at  East  Sheen,  to  dinner, 
where  above  six  hundred  people  sat  down  to  a  plentiful  dinner. 
After  dinner,  it  was  proposed  that  Sir  Harry  should  go,  on 
Friday,  in  State,  to  the  Royal  Circus,  in  St.  George's  Fields, 
and  this  motion  being  carried,  we  understand  the  Muffin 
Knight  will  actually  be  there  this  evening." — (7imes,  Aug.  26, 
1796.) 

This  was  the  last  of  these  mock  elections — and  we 
may  well  pause  for  a  while,  and  examine  this  curious 
institution — unique  in  its  way — not  thoroughly  well- 
known — and  whose  origin,  even,  is  in  dispute. 

Not  far  from  Wandsworth,  on  the  road  to  Tooting, 
is  found  the  hamlet  of  Garrett,  or  Garrat,  which,  in  the 
time  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  appears  to  have  consisted  of  a 
single  house,  called  "  the  Garvett."  This  was,  at  the 
time  of  its  destruction,  about  the  year  1 760,  in  the 
possession  of  the  Broderick  family,  and  its  grounds  were 
then  let  to  a  market  gardener.  Ly  son's,  writing  in 
1792,  says  the  hamlet  consisted  of  about  50  houses — but 
it  grew  until  it  became  incorporated  into  Wandsworth, 
and  its  site  is  still  known  by  "  Garret  Lane,"  "  Garret 
Green,"  "  Garret  Hill,"  &c. 

As  regards  the  curious  mock  election  which  took  place 
here  with  each  new  Parliament,  nothing  certain  is  known, 


Jeffrey  Dvs? start,  —  Ordinary  (pstume. 


Old  Times.  291 

and  opinions  are  divided,  as  to  its  origin.  Dr.  Ducarel, 
an  antiquary,  writing  in  1754,  tells  us,  that  as  far  as  he 
can  find  out,  it  began,  some  60  or  70  years  previously, 
with  some  Wandsworth  Watermen,  who  went  to  a  public 
house,  called  the  Leather  Bottle,  at  Garrat,  to  spend 
a  merry  day — and,  it  being  a  general  election,  they, 
in  fun,  chose  one  of  their  number  as  Member  for 
Garrat. 

Another  version  is  given  in  the  "  Gentleman's  Maga- 
zine "  for  1781,  in  which  a  writer  says  he  was  told,  that 
about  thirty  years  previously,  several  persons  who  lived 
near  that  part  of  Wandsworth  which  adjoins  to  Garrat 
Lane,  had  formed  a  kind  of  Club,  not  merely  for  the 
pleasures  of  the  table,  but  to  concert  measures  for  remov- 
ing the  encroachments  made  on  that  part  of  the  Common; 
and  to  prevent  any  others  being  made,  for  the  future. 
When  a  sufficient  sum  of  money  had  been  subscribed 
amongst  them,  they  brought  an  action  against  the 
encroacher,  in  the  name  of  the  president  (or,  as  they 
called  him,  Mayor,)  of  the  Club.  They  gained  their  suit, 
with  costs,  and,  ever  after,  the  president,  was  called  "the 
Mayor  of  Garrat."  This  event  happening  at  the  time 
of  a  general  election,  the  ceremony,  which  took  place 
every  new  parliament,  of  choosing  outdoor  members  for 
the  borough  of  Garrat,  was  continued. 

The  earliest  record  of  Members  being  chosen,  is  in 
1747,  when  three  Candidates  for  the  honour  appeared. 
Lord  Twankum  Squire  Blow  me  down  (Willis,  a  Water- 
man) and  Squire  Gubbins,  (one  Simmonds,  a  publican.) 
The  "  Clerk,"  and  "  Recorder,"  issued  from  an  imaginary 
Town  Hall.  There  were  proper  Hustings,  at  which  an 
oath  was  administered  to  the  electors  which,  according 
to  Grose,  was  sworn  on  a  brick  bat — and  the  qualification 


292 


Old  Times. 


was,  that  the  juror  had  had  an  amour  in  the  surrounding 
open  fields. 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  rough  wit  in  the  candidate's 
speeches,  and  Foote,  Garrick,  and  Wilkes,  were  credited 
with  writing  their  addresses.  Foote  even  wrote  a  play, 
called  "  the  Mayor  of  Garratt,"  which  was  produced  at 
Drury  Lane.  There  were  elections  in  1761,  1763, 
1768,  &c.  That  of  1781 — was  famous  for  the  magni- 
ficence of  its  procession — having  a  real  live  man  in 
armour.  In  1784,  Sir  Jeffrey  Dunstan  (they  all  dubbed 
themselves  knights)  was  elected  to  the  honourable  post, 
and  he  held  it  till  his  death  in  1796. 

This  worthy  needs  a  passing  notice.  His  birth,  and 
education,  were  but  humble,  for  he  was  found,  wrapped 
in  a  cloth,  on  the  door  step  of  a  Church  warden,  of  St. 
Dunstan's  in  the  East — hence  his  name  of  Dunstan.  He 
grew  up  deformed,  and  rickety,  and,  at  the  age  of  12, 
was  apprenticed  to  a  greengrocer,  for  9  years — but  the 
servitude  galled  him,  and  he  ran  away,  finding  employ- 
ment at  Birmingham.  He  returned  to  London  in  1776 
and  soon  afterwards  married — and  had  two  daughters, 
who  were  really  fine  young  women.  He  was  squalid, 
and  filthy,  in  his  dress,  and  got  his  living  by  buying,  and 
selling,  old  wigs.  His  humour,  however,  gained  him  his 
election  for  Garrett.  The  accompanying  illustrations 
shew  him  in  his  ordinary  dress,  as  "  Old  Wigs,"  and  in 
the  superb  court  suit  which  he  sported  at  election  times. 

The  Election,  at  last,  led  to  such  disgraceful  scenes, 
that  even  the  publicans,  who  were  its  chief  mainstay, 
would  no  longer  support  it :  and  Sir  Harry  Dimsdale, 
holds  the  proud  pre-eminence  of  being  the  last  elected 
Member. 


S'fj€ffr£y  Oun^an,  —  QwrtDress. 


Old  Times.  293 


ROYALTY. 

LIVES  of  the  Georges,  and  their  families,  have  been 
written  ad  nauseam,  and  I  did  not  intend  making  any 
notes  upon  the  Royal  personages,  then  living — but  I 
found  some  few  paragraphs,  which  lie  outside  regular 
history,  and  may  interest  my  readers. 

"  It  was  rather  unfortunate  for  the  Prince  of  WALES'S  proxy 
at  the  Court  of  BRUNSWICK,  that  he  should  be  attacked  with 
the  GOUT,  on  the  night  of  the  marriage  ceremony !  Lord 
MALMESBURY  continued  to  be  confined  to  his  room  when 
the  last  accounts  came  from  Brunswick." — (Times,  Dec.  15, 
J794-) 

"TO  LORD  MALMESBURY, 

"  On  his  being  attacked  by  the  GOUT,  the  day  he  represented 
the  PRINCE  OF  WALES,  in  marriage  with  the  PRINCESS  OF 
BRUNSWICK  : — 

"  At  such  a  time,  the  Gout  to  have, 

Is  much  to  be  lamented, 
What  must  the  Royal  Bride  conceive 

Of  him  you  represented  ?  CUPID." 

— (Times,  Dec.  16,  1794.) 

"LORD  MALMESBURY'S  GOUT. 

"  His  Lordship's  sent  to  Brunswick's  Court 

By  Proxy,  there  to  wed 
A  Royal  Princess  :  as  Consort 
To  GEORGE,  our  Prince's,  bed. 


294  Old  Times. 

But  charms  like  hers,  in  bloom  of  life, 

Too  strong  for  age  to  meet : 
As  he  approached  th'  intended  wife  : 

Deprived  him  of  his  feet" 

— (Times,  Dec.  17,  1794.) 

"  THE  LAME  LOVER,  or  BRITISH  AND  FRENCH 
SYNONIMY. 

"  With  coach  and  six,  with  servants  eight, 
With  liveries  spic  and  span  ; 
Too  sure,  alas  !  a  wretched  fate 
Befel  the  splendid,  happy  man. 
At  such  a  time,  as  this,  the  GOUT  ! 
'Twas  pity,  Sirs,  and  yet  'tis  true : 
The  Proxy's  good,  if  Fame's  not  out — 
His  ROYAL  HIGHNESS  has  a  Gout." 

— (Times,  Dec.  18,  1794.) 

"  Her  MAJESTY  is  very  busily  employed  in  embroidering  a 
coat  and  waistcoat,  for  his  MAJESTY,  which  are  to  be  worn  at 
the  approaching  nuptials  of  the  PRINCE,  and  PRINCESS  of 
WALES.  The  coat  is  made  of  garter  blue,  broad  cloth,  and 
the  waistcoat  of  white  satin.  The  ornamental  part  is  spoken 
of  as  being  extremely  beautiful." — (Times,  Jan.  13,  1795.) 

"  The  usual  dress  liveries  of  the  Prince  of  WALES,  while  a 
bachelor,  cost  fifty  guineas  each  :  those,  in  which  they  will 
appear  before  the  PRINCESS,  have  cost  one  hundred  guineas 
each." — (Times,  March  17,  1795.) 

"Amidst  the  curious  bills  which  are  daily  being  brought  to 
light,  under  the  investigation  of  the  Prince's  Trustees,  is  one 
of  Mr.  LAYTON  the  farrier,  which,  for  the  last  seven  years, 
amounts  to  no  less  than  ,^17,500  !'' — (Times,  Aug.  29,  1795.) 

"  The  KING  being  prevented,  by  the  severity  of  the  weather, 
from  taking  his  usual  diversion  of  hunting,  at  Windsor,  his 
Majesty,  with  his  usual  suite,  makes  daily  pedestrian  excursions, 
some  of  which  amount  to  a  route  little  short  of  20  miles," 
— (Times,  Dec.  9,  1796.) 


Old  Times.  295 

The  Times  of  Jan.  17,  1798,  contains  a  paragraph, 
showing  the  domesticity,  and  simplicity  of  life,  in  the 
Royal  Family. 

"  The  Princess  of  Wirtemberg  expects  to  lie  in,  towards  the 
latter  end  of  next  month  ;  and  her  Majesty,  and  the  Princesses, 
are  very  busily  employed  in  making  the  childbed  linen,  which 
is  to  be  a  present  from  the  Queen." 

(The  Queen's  Birthday.) 

"  The  BALL-ROOM.  The  Ball  was  the  thinnest,  in  com- 
pany, that  we  have  ever  witnessed,  there  being  only  two  Ladies 
on  the  benches  allotted  for  those  who  dance.  Neither  the 
Prince,  nor  Princess,  of  WALES,  the  Duke,  or  Duchess  of 
YORK,  were  present.  Soon  after  nine  o'clock,  their  Majesties 
entered  the  Ball-room.  The  Duke  of  CLARENCE  danced  the 
two  first  minuets  with  the  Princess  AUGUSTA,  and  two  more 
with  the  Princess  ELIZABETH,  which  is  very  unusual.  Prince 
WILLIAM  danced  the  next  two  with  the  Princess  MARY,  and 
two  more  with  the  Princess  SOPHIA.  Lord  MORTON  then 
danced  two  dances  with  Lady  MURRAY,  daughter  to  the  Duke 
of  ATHOL,  and  two  more  with  Lady  M.  THYNNE.  There  were 
four  country  Dances,  but  only  six  couple.  The  Ball  broke  up 
soon  after  n  o'clock." — (Times,  Jan.  19,  1798.) 

Here  is  a  specimen  of  Royal  economy,  which  was 
certainly  unpopular : — 

"  Some  of  the  cream-coloured  horses  formerly  attached  to 
the  Royal  Coach,  and  which  were  only  used  on  state  days,  are 
now  employed  in  the  daily  drudgery  of  hackney  coaches.  The 
present  proprietor  values  them  very  highly,  and  thinks,  from 
their  great  receipt  of  custom,  that  they  will  draw  him  into  an 
easy  fortune." — (Times,  Aug.  10,  1796.) 

"To  THE  CONDUCTOR  OF  THE  TIMES. 

"  SIR, — Among  many  others,  I  was  yesterday  a  spectator  of 
what  you  notice  in  your  paper  of  this  morning.  A  pair  of 
those  noble  animals,  which,  for  several  years,  have  drawn  his 
Majesty's  State  Coach,  degraded  to  a  hack.  The  spectacle 


296 


Old  Times. 


really  gave  me  concern,  and  must  certainly  reflect  disgrace 
somewhere.  It  necessarily  suggests  two  considerations,  one 
relative  to  the  dignity  of  Majesty  itself,  the  other  to  the  natural 
emotions  of  sensibility.  What !  say  the  vulgar,  are  the  King's 
State  Horses  come  to  this  ?  Oh  !  what  a  pity  !  says  the  man 
of  sensibility,  that  these  poor  creatures  recently,  and  habitually, 
so  caressed,  and  pampered,  should  experience  such  a  lament- 
able reverse !  How  fallen,  how  abused,  how  galled  !  I  assure 
you,  Mr.  Editor,  they  are  literally ',  and  grievously,  galled.  Surely 
his  Majesty  must  be  a  stranger  to  all  this :  and  it  would  be  of 
no  dis-service  to  him,  to  let  the  Public  know  that  he  is  so. 
Those  who  love  him,  cannot  but  feel  for  his  horses,  nor 
refrain  from  thinking  that  his  sensibility,  as  a  man,  must  be 
hurt,  at  hearing  of  the  sufferings  of  thdse  stately  animals, 
which  once  contributed  to  his  most  magnificent  public  appear- 
ance. A  DUTIFUL  SUBJECT." 
— (Times,  Aug.  12,  1796.) 

Here  is  a  bit  of  Satire  on  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who 
was  notoriously  at  variance  with  both  his  father  and 
mother. 

"An  illustrious  Personage  is  now  engaged  in  making  a 
collection  of  the  profile  likenesses  of  his  friends.  The  number 
already  collected  is  stated  to  amount  to  fifty.  His  friends  are 
certainly  more  numerous  than  those  of  almost  any  Prince  we 
ever  heard  of,  except  our  own  Sovereign.  The  wealthy  Crcesus 
had  but  one  friend,  and  that  was  his  son." — (Times,  Nov.  6, 
I799-) 


Old  Times.  297 


VARIETIES. 

THE  year  1788  begins  well,  with  an  account  of  a  coming 
of  age,  which  seems  to  have  been  conducted  in  the 
classical  taste  peculiar  to  this  period. 

"The  late  celebration  of  Miss  Pulteney  coming  of  age,  bore 
much  the  appearance  of  idolatrous  sacrifice.  The  procession 
headed  by  an  ox,  adorned  with  flowers,  his  horns  painted  blue, 
and  tipped  with  gold,  preceded  by  a  band  of  music,  and  after- 
wards offered  up,  were  all  so  much  in  character,  that  could 
the  High  Priest,  himself,  of  Rome  been  present,  and  beheld 
the  charming  object  of  their  veneration,  he  would  have  mis- 
taken her  for  a  Venus,  and  joined  the  throng,  with  all  that 
ardour  the  immediate  presence  of  a  divinity  ought  to  inspire." 
— (Morning  Post,  Jan.  i,  1788.) 

The  following  advertisement  from  the  Morning  Post  of 
March  13,  1788,  gives  us  perhaps  the  earliest  glimmer  of 
reform  on  the  old  tinder  box,  flint  and  steel,  and  matches, 
Lucifer  Matches  not  being  generally  used  till  1834 : — 

"FOR  TRAVELLERS,  MARINERS,  &c. 
"PROMETHEAN  FIRE  AND  PHOSPHORUS. 

"  G.  Watts  respectfully  acquaints  the  public,  that  he  has  pre- 
pared a  large  variety  of  machines  of  a  portable,  and  durable 
kind,  with  Promethean  fire,  paper  and  match  inclosed,  most 
admirably  calculated  to  prevent  those  disagreeable  sensations, 
which  frequently  arise  in  the  dreary  hour  of  midnight,  from 
the  sudden  alarm  of  thieves,  fire,  or  sickness ;  as,  by  procuring 
an  instantaneous  light,  the  worst  calamities  and  depredations 
might  often  be  prevented  in  families.  Experience  has  likewise 
proved  this  invention  to  be  of  the  first  utility  to  the  traveller, 


298  Old  Times. 

mariners,  and  those  people  who  frequently  rise  in  the  night- 
time, as  they  can,  with  one  of  these  matches  procure  light 
instantly,  without  the  great  expence,  and  danger,  of  burning 
a  lamp  or  candle." 

Anything  that  illustrates  the  Social  Life  of  "  Old 
Times,"  must  needs  be  of  interest,  even  though,  as  in 
the  accompanying  engraving,  the  subject  be  painful.  It 
is  by  Rowlandson,  and  shews,  better  than  words  can 
convey,  the  then  treatment  of  that  saddest  of  all  human 
maladies — mental  aberration. 

Chained  by  the  neck  to  a  wall — scantily  clothed — 
barefoot,  and  with  but  straw  to  lie  on,  was  hardly  the 
usage  by  which  the  alienated  intellect  could  be  restored 
to  its  proper  tone — yet  so  it  was,  in  too  many  cases, 
that  mad  people  were  treated :  the  whip,  and  even 
harsher  punishment  following,  should  they  show  any 
signs  of  rebellion. 

"The  bet  of  his  Grace  of  Bedford,  that  Lord  Barrymore 
will  not  eat  a  live  Cat,  is  not  without  precedent  on  the  records 
of  sporting.  On  a  wager  of  fifty  pounds,  a  fellow  who  lived 
near  the  race-course  of  Kildare,  in  Ireland,  devoured  five 
fox  cubs,  and  literally  began  eating  each  while  alive.  It 
is,  however,  to  be  observed,  that  the  devourer  was  a  natural 
fool,  having  been  born  deaf,  dumb,  and  without  a  palate." — 
(Morning  Post,  Mar.  15,  1788.) 

"A  fine  topaz  sold  at  Tenducci's  sale  for  seven  guineas;  the 
finest  in  the  kingdom :  is  the  property  of  Mrs.  More  of  Stock- 
well,  and  what,  perhaps,  would  increase  its  value  in  the  esti- 
mation of  many  people,  this  topaz  once  belonged  to  QUEEN 
ANNE.  It  is  near  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  of  most  uncommon 
brilliancy." — (Morning  Post,  Ap.  17,  1788.) 

That  Agriculture  was  not  neglected,  we  can  well 
imagine,  for  England  had  to  be  almost  self  contained, 
as  regarded  food  for  her  population — but  few  know  to 


treatment'  of  Lunatics. 


Old  Times.  299 

what  a  pitch  of  perfection  sheep  breeding  was  carried — 
nor  the  enormous  prices  paid  for  the  hire  of  stud  rams. 

"Mr.  Bakewell,  the  famous  grazier,  has  lost  one  of  his 
most  remarkable  rams.  It  was  of  such  value,  that  he  let  it 
out  to  hire,  and  received  ^"400  for  the  season." — (Morning 
Post,  Sept.  12,  1788.) 

This  was  the  far  famed  agriculturist.  Robert  Bake- 
well — who  brought  his  father's  famous  "  Dishley  "  sheep 
to  such  perfection,  that  in  1787,  he  let  three  rams,  for  a 
year,  for  ^"1250,  and  was  offered,  but  refused,  £1050 
for  twenty  ewes.  When  we  think  of  the  difference  of 
the  value  of  Currency,  then,  and  now,  these  prices  are 
fairly  staggering.  These  Dishley  sheep  had  good 
qualities,  they  were  quiet — they  fattened  quickly,  and 
well — and  they  had  small  bones.  But  Bakewell,  even  in 
his  cattle,  as  well  as  his  sheep,  always  kept  in  view,  what, 
even  now,  are  the  guiding  principles  in  our  Cattle  shows 
— Perfection  of  form — the  most  meat  from  the  least  food — 
the  least  offal — and  large  joints  with  small  bones. 

"  The  following  is  a  copy  of  a  hand  bill,  which  was  a  few 
days  ago  distributed  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh  : — 

"  '  Thou  shalt  not  steal — All  persons  whom  it  may  concern 
are  desired  to  take  notice,  that  steel  traps  of  the  largest  sort,  for 
catching  breakers  of  the  eighth  Commandment,  are,  every  night, 
placed  in  the  garden  at  St.  Bernard's,  between  Stockbridge  and 
the  Water  of  Leith,  on  the  North  side  of  the  water :  That 
spring  guns  are  set  to  rake  the  Walls  with  shot,  upon  a  touch 
of  a  wire ;  and,  that  a  tent,  having  in  it  an  armed  Watchman, 
is  pitched  in  the  middle,  with  orders  to  fire  without  mercy. 

"  '  If,  therefore,  any  evil  disposed  unhappy  person  or  persons, 
shall  attempt  to  break  into  the  ground  of  St.  Bernard's,  their 
blood  be  upon  their  own  heads. 

"  '  Of  the  fruit  of  the  garden  thou  shalt  not  eat ;  for  in  the 
day  that  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt  surely  die,' "  Gen.  2.  27. 
—(Morning  Post,  Sept.  17,  1788.) 


3OO  Old  Times. 

"One  day  last  week  a  Sub  distributor  of  Stamps,  who 
resides  a  few  miles  from  London,  and  who  is  also  a  Glover,  was 
convicted  in  the  penalty  of  Eighty  Pounds,  before  the  Sitting 
Magistrates  at  the  Public  Office,  in  St.  Martin's  Lane,  for  sell- 
ing Four  Pair  of  Gloves  without  Stamps."  Probably  under  25 
Geo.  3,  cap.  55.  (1785.) — (Morning  Post,  Oct.  20,  1788.) 

The  following  singular  inscription  is  literally  taken 
from  a  sign  in  the  vicinity  of  Reading  : — 

"BEARDS  TAKEN  OFF  AND  REGISTERED. 
"  By  Isaac  Fac-totum. 

"Barber,  Peri- wig  maker,  Surgeon,  Parish  Clerk,  Scool 
master,  and  Man  midwife. 

"  Shaves  for  a  penne,  cuts  hare  for  toopense  and  oyld  and 
powdird  into  the  bargain — Young  Ladys  genteely  edicated, 
Lamps  lited  by  the  hear  or  quarter.  Young  Gentlemen  also  taut 
their  Grammer  Langwage  in  the  neetest  maner  and  great  cear 
takin  of  their  Morels  and  Spelin — Also  Saline  singing  and  horse 
Shewin  by  the  real  maker !  Likewise  makes  and  mends  all  sorts 
of  Butes  and  Shoes.  Teches  the  Ho-boy  and  Jews-harp,  Cuts 
corns  bledes  and  blisters  on  the  lowes  Terms;  Glisters  and 
purgis  at  a  penne  apiece.  Cow-tillions  and  other  dances  taut 
at  home  and  abrode.  Also  deals  holesale  and  retale  pirfum- 
mery  in  all  its  branchis.  Sells  all  sorts  of  Stationary  wair 
twogether  with  blackin  balls  red  herrins  gingerbred  Coles 
scrubbin  brushes  traycle  mouce  traps  and  other  swetemetes. 

"Likewise  Godfathers  Cordiel  red  rutes  Tatoes  Sassages 
and  all  other  gardin  stuff.     N.B. — I  teches  joggrafy  and  those 
outlandish  kind  of  things — A  Bawl  on  Wensdays  and  Fridays 
all  pirfomed  god  willin          by  me          ISAAC  FACTOTUM." 
— (Morning  Post)  Nov.  19,  1788.) 

"  AN  IMPROMPTU 
ON  MR.  DOMFORD'S  PIETY. 
"  So  pious  was  Josiah's  care 
He  sacred  would  keep  one  day, 
And  in  the  gutter  threw  his  beer 
For  WORKING  on  a  SUNDAY." 
— (Morning  Post,  Jan.  6,  1789.) 


Old  Times.  301 

Who  can  say  after  reading  the  following  that  our 
grandfathers  were  not  a  match  for  the  Americans,  at 
telling  a  "  tall  "  story  : — 

"  NATURAL  HISTORY. 

"A  very  curious  incident  happened  near  Edmonton  last 
week,  to  account  for  which  we  are  unable,  and  leave  the 
explanation  to  botanical  and  Chirurgical  professors. 

"A  farmer  requested  some  lettuces  from  a  gentleman  in 
the  neighbourhood,  who  permitted  the  farmer's  maid  to  gather 
what  she  wanted ;  she  gathered  likewise  some  Cucumbers, 
and  near  them  were  glasses  covering  sensitive  and  humble 
plants,  which  the  wench  gathered  as  small  sallad. 

"  The  farmer  eat  heartily  of  these,  and  the  effect  was,  that 
after  dinner,  tho'  he  is  a  very  fat  man,  a  slight  touch  from 
another  person  made  him  shrink  at  least  five  stone;  but,  towards 
the  evening,  he  recovered  gradually  his  usual  bulk  and  weight ; 
and,  when  he  had  evacuated  the  sallad  and  mimosa,  he  retained 
his  corpulency  as  if  nothing  extraordinary  had  happened. 

"This  we  insert  as  a  caution  to  persons  not  to  mix  this 
plant  with  other  pot  herbs." — (Morning  Post,  Aug.  31,  1789.) 

Gillray,  Oct.  4,  1791,  gives  us  the  accompanying 
extremely  graphic  illustrations — shewing  the  difference 
of  behaviour  at  the  Opera  and  at  Church — the  vivacity 
of  the  one,  and  the  somnolence  of  the  other. 

"A  CARD 

"Addressed  to  those  among  the  female  sex,  whose  desires  are 
neither  Romantic  nor  Extravagant,  who  stand  in  need  and 
wish  for  such  an  opportunity  as  is  now  offered. 

"  A  SINGLE  GENTLEMAN  who  is  blest  with  an  Inde- 
pendence, adequate  to  every  real  comfort  in  life,  and  having 
none  to  provide  for,  prefers  permanent  friendship  and  protec- 
tion to  a  Lady  possessing  the  following  requisites  :  age  not 
exceeding  35,  person  well  shaped,  teeth  sound  and  regular, 
good  voice,  a  stranger  to  the  hackneyed  tricks  of  the  town : 
good  temper,  constancy,  a  social  disposition,  engaging  manners, 
a  turn  to  economy,  and  a  ^knowledge  by  experience  of 


302  Old  Times. 

domestic  concerns,  a  taste  for  simplicity  and  elegance  in  dress, 
spruce  in  her  person,  and  attentive  to  neatness  in  others ;  free 
from  incumbrance,  affectation  and  unpleasant  habits  :  a  pleas- 
ing countenance,  if  the  face  should  neither  be  beautiful  nor 
pretty — musical  talents,  vocal  and  instrumental — and  she  who 
may  be  the  greatest  proficient  on  the  pianoforte  or  harpsichord, 
or  what  is  still  more  irresistible,  the  harp,  if  in  other  respects 
equal,  will  claim  the  preference.  The  Lady,  of  course,  must 
be  totally  at  her  own  disposal :  if  a  native  of  Britain,  a  Know- 
ledge of  French  so  as  to  speak  it  fluently;  if  a  foreigner, 
capable  of  speaking  and  writing  the  English  language  with 
ease  and  propriety  :  and  both  native,  and  foreign,  habituated  to 
the  English  Customs  in  every  point  of  cleanliness  and  delicacy. 

"  Should  she  be  conversant  with  Italian,  with  a  genius  for 
painting,  poetry,  astronomy,  botany,  &c.,  she  would  be  the 
more  acceptable.  Not  only  the  utmost  regard  to  decorum 
will  be  observed  upon  this  occasion,  but  that  respect  which 
the  delicacy  of  the  sex  demands,  shall  be  manifested  as  early 
as  possible.  He  hopes,  therefore,  since  his  motives  are  so 
obvious,  that  those  whose  sentiments  are  congenial  with  his 
own,  who  mean  to  notice  this  address  will  do  it  speedily,  as 
the  Author  will  soon  be  going  to  the  Continent  on  an  exten- 
sive tour. 

"  For  this  and  other  cogent  reasons,  which  hereafter  may  be 
specified,  Principals  only  will  be  treated  with.  Such  communi- 
cations, and  positively  no  other,  as  are  written  in  the  Party's 
own  hand,  at  once  explicit  respecting  situation,  intention  and 
expectation,  &c.,  shall  according  to  their  merits  be  duly  acknow- 
ledged, and  the  necessary  steps  in  consequence  will  be  pointed 
out  to  bring  the  matter  with  safety  to  an  immediate  issue. 

"  Should  an  object  whose  person,  talents,  and  accomplish- 
ments, &c.,  are  superior  to  the  generality  of  females,  be  dis- 
covered with  proofs  of  serious  intention,  a  marriage  may  be 
the  result  The  want  of  pelf,  if  of  a  respectable  connection, 
should  with  the  Author,  be  no  impediment  thereto,  being, 
with  prudence,  amply  provided  for.  The  Advertiser  forbears 
saying  any  more  of  himself,  than  that  his  person,  age,  qualities , 
&c.,  would  probably  suit  such  a  Lady  as  he  has  described : 
and  as  a  well  cultivated  mind,  united  with  the  requisites  above 
stated,  would  be  preferred  to  the  consideration  of  either  family, 


Old  Times.  303 

or  fortune,  he  hopes  some  credit  will  be  allowed  him  for  his 
good  intentions. 

"Letters  free  of  postage  will  be  received  if  addressed  to 
G.  A.  S.,  at  the  Recorder  Printing  Office,  No.  12  Duke  St. 
Drury  Lane." — (Times,  Feby.  7,  1793.) 

"ELEGANT  PRIZE  FOR  LADIES. 

"Marriage  Ceremonies,  Science  of  Match-Making,  Names 
Qualifications  and  Fortunes,  of  Heirs  and  Heiresses — Copious 
and  Alphabetical  List  of  Marriages  in  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland — New  and  Chaste  Love  Epistles — Matrimonial  Bon 
Mots — Art  of  Tormenting — New  and  predominant  Fashions, 
delineated  by  the  Pen  and  Pencil, — And  a  new  Cassino  Fan, 
by  way  of  reward,  to  the  Lady  who  shall  best  answer  the  prize 
Enigma,  Charade,  or  Puzzle. 

"This  day  is  published,  price  6d,  embellished  with — i. 
Ludicrous  representation  of  a  Foreign  Marriage  Ceremony. — 
2.  Exact  sketches  of  the  newest  and  most  prevailing  Male  and 
Female  Dresses. — 3.  A  new  Matrimonial  Song  set  to  Music. 

NUMBER  i.  (to  be  continued  monthly)  of 

"THE  MATRIMONIAL  MAGAZINE  for  JANUARY  1793. 
To  contain,  besides  what  is  above  enumerated,  original  Essays, 
Biographical  Sketches,  Dramatic  Tales,  Tales  humorous  and 
pathetic,  alike  calculated  for  the  Maid,  the  Widow,  and  the 
Wife,  the  Stripling  and  the  Greybeard.  Wit  will  be  combined 
with  decency,  and  humour  with  sense. 

"  London :  Printed  for  H.  D.  Symonds,  No.  20  Paternoster 
Row." — (Times,  Feb.  15,  1793.-) 

"Advt.— BOLD  STROKE  FOR  A  WIFE. 

"  A  person  who  has  been  six  months  deprived  of  what  he 
calls  Heaven's  chiefest  blessing,  domestic  happiness,  is  not 
ashamed  of  thus  avowing  his  intention  of  again  endeavouring 
to  regain,  by  Marriage,  that  solid  felicity  he  so  much  regrets 
the  loss  of,  and  hopes  this  way  to  become  acquainted  with 
some  Maiden  Lady,  who  has  a  soul  superior  to  vulgar  pre. 
judices,  and  who  will  venture  to  go  a  little  out  of  the  beaten 
road,  in  order  to  form  a  truly  rational  plan  for  that  sociable 
happiness  which  is  only  to  be  found  in  the  Marriage  State. 
The  writer  of  this  has  no  children,  his  age  is  between  40  and 


304  Old  Times. 

50 :  he  has  acquired,  by  trade,  ^20,000,  has  a  house  at  the 
West  end  of  the  town,  another  in  Kent,  and  a  Coach  to  take 
him  from  one  to  the  other  :  so  that  he  thinks  himself  deserv- 
ing of  a  Lady  of  equal  fortune :  the  more  so,  as  he  will  permit 
her  to  make  it  over  to  herself  or  her  relations :  and  if  she 
should  not  possess  more  than  half  that  sum,  'he'd  ne'er 
quarrel  for  that.' — A  line,  addressed  to  W.  W.,  No.  32  Snow 
Hill,  by  any  Lady,  or  her  friends,  will  be  considered  as  a  mark 
of  good  sense,  and  treated  with  the  respect  that  is  due  from  a 
man  of  sense  to  the  fair  sex." — (Times,  March  10,  1794.) 

ADVT. — "  MATRIMONY.  A  Gentleman  of  small  independent 
Fortune,  occupying  a  Farm  in  a  retired  Part  of  the  Country, 
within  20  miles  South  West  of  London,  takes  this  public 
method  of  addressing  any  Lady,  who  may  feel  happy,  and 
disposed  to  place  herself  under  the  protection  of  such  a 
person.  He  is  a  Widower,  28  years  of  age,  with  an  only 
child,  who  is  amply  provided  for.  On  the  part  of  the  Lady, 
it  will  be  expected  that  her  person  be  fair,  her  mind  amiable, 
and  well-informed,  her  disposition  feminine.  In  return,  the 
conduct  of  the  Gentleman  will  be  found  to  be  in  every  respect 
manly,  honourable,  and  sincere.  A  line  by  way  of  introduc- 
tion, addressed  to  Mr.  Amiens,  Epsom,  will  be  paid  every 
attention  to,  and  it  is  particularly  entreated,  that  no  other,  but 
of  the  above  description,  will  give  themselves  that  trouble." — 
(Times,  Novr,  26,  1798.) 

The  French  were  very  badly  off  for  clothing,  and  as 
war  was  on  the  very  eve  of  commencement — (diplomatic 
relations  between  the  two  Countries  having  ceased,  and 
the  French  already  having  begun  open  hostilities) — 
clothing,  naturally,  was  considered  "Contraband  of 
War  :  "  hence  the  following  : — 

"  A  vessel  loaded  with  cloathing,  to  the  amount  of  £i  20,000, 
was  on  Tuesday  stopped  in  the  River.  She  was  bound  to  a 
port  in  France." — (Times,  Feb.  7,  1793.) 

"  The  EARL  OF  BUTE'S  grand  Orrery  was  sold  yesterday  for 
the  trifling  sum  of  sixty  guineas,  and  the  celebrated  annual 


Old  Times.  305 

clock,  regulating  the  revolutionary  movements  of  two  globes, 
and  of  an  orrery  for  twenty-six  guineas."— (Times,  Feb.  9, 
I793-) 

"  Tuesday  as  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  (George  4th's  wife)  attended 
by  Miss  Bell  Pigott,  was  riding  in  her  carriage  in  Pall  Mall, 
the  carriage  of  Colonel  Strickland  came  in  close  contact  with 
that  of  the  ladies,  by  which  they  were  both  overturned. 

"  On  Mrs.  FITZHERBERT  and  Miss  BELL  PIGOTT'S  overturn — 

"  What  ups  and  downs  a  Woman  feels 

In  almost  every  station ; 
Down  went  our  Heads,  up  came  our  Heels 
'  Talk  of  a  Coronation  ! ! ! ' 

"CCETERA  DESUNT." 

— (Times,  Feb.  28,  1793.) 

"On  the  late  INUNDATION  in  OLD  PALACE  YARD. 

"  On  one  side  Duke  NORFOLK*  pushed  forward  with  strife 
FOR  HE  NEVER  LIKED  WATER  throughout  his  whole  life." 
— (Times,  March  i,  1793.) 

"  The  Duke  of  NORFOLK  is  attacked  by  the  Hydrophobia, 
he  can't  bear  the  sight  of  water.  His  Physicians  have  pre- 
scribed WINE.  The  Marquis  of  Stafford,  Marquis  of  Bath, 
and  Lord  Thurlow  who  were  present,  sanctified  this  prescrip- 
tion with  their  most  hearty  consent." — (Times,  Feb.  17,  1794.) 

"  A  new  way  to  travel  expeditiously  and  safely. 

"  The  Duke  of  Luxembourg,  wishing  to  return  to  his  family 
at  Lisbon,  and  being  apprehensive  of  going  in  one  of  the 
common  packets,  which,  if  taken  by  the  French,  would  probably 
cost  him  his  life,  lately  applied  to  Lord  CHATHAM,  for  a  passage 
in  an  English  frigate  going  to  Lisbon.  His  Lordship  very 
obligingly  acquiesced,  and  a  few  days  since  the  Duke  sailed 
in  her  from  Portsmouth.  It  turns  out,  however,  that  this 
frigate  has  been  ordered  to  cruise  for  six  weeks  before  she 
makes  for  Lisbon  :  and  thus  is  the  unfortunate  Duke  exposed 
to  the  risk  of  the  elements  and  the  hazard  of  an  engagement, 

1  He  was  notorious  for  his  drinking  propensities. 


306  Old  Times. 

from  having  employed  his  influence  to  procure  a  safe  passage? 
— (Times,  May.  10,  1793.) 

"  There  was  a  rapid  trade  between  Birmingham  and  France, 
of  base  coin,  carried  from  the  former  to  the  latter  in  Folkstone 
vessels,  and  with  this  coin  great  part  of  the  Army  was  paid, 
but  the  whole  is  now  stopped,  and  the  French  Soldiers  are 
paid  in  paper." — (Times,  May  10,  1793.) 

"The  Duke  of  BEDFORD  has  just  completed  at  Wooburn 
a  Dog-Kennel,  that  far  exceeds  his  Grace  of  RICHMOND'S  in 
all  points  of  extent  and  magnificence :  independently  of  the 
immense  suite  of  canine  apartments,  it  has  baths,  coffee  rooms, 
billiard  room,  &c.,  and  in  the  centre  is  a  most  spacious  riding 
house,  &c.,  for  the  equestrian  amusement  of  his  friends  in  bad 
weather." — (Times,  fan.  31,  1794.) 

"We  know  not  the  Nobleman  or  Gentleman  alluded  to 
lately  in  the  House  of  Commons,  as  contracting  at  ;£8oo  a 
year  for  supplying  his  Dog-Kennel;  but  we  have  heard  it 
said  on  very  good  authority,  that  there  are  two  kennels,  not 
far  from  Brighton,  in  Sussex,  which  cost  very  little  short  of 
this  sum.  The  Duke  of  BEDFORD'S  Dog-Kennel  is  a  mere 
nothing  to  either  of  those  alluded  to." — (Times,  April  13, 
1796.) 

"  THE  FUNERAL  ! ! 

"  It  was  not  a  TOM  CAT,  for  its  melodious  squalls  plainly 
proved  it  had  long  been  qualified  for  the  Opera. — It  was,  how- 
ever, a  prodigious  favourite  with  its  Mistress.  Long  had  it 
lived  upon  the  fat  of  the  land,  in  Charlotte  St.,  Queen  Anne 
St.,  where  it  took  great  care  of  Number  ONE  !  For  the  space 
of  six  years  and  three  months  did  its  Mistress  indulge  it  with 
•RIVERS  of  Milk;'  and  besides  it  was  a  sad  Cat,  for  the 
matter  of  that,  in  skimming  the  cream  off  everything  worth 
skimming.  But  as  Cats,  though  they  may  have  nine  lives,  are 
not  immortal,  poor  RALPH  fell  sick  and  died — without  giving 
time  even  for  a  consultation  of  Physicians !  His  Mistress, 
after  the  first  transports  of  grief  were  subsided,  sent  for  a 
Surgeon,  who  opened  the  body.  He  reported  that  poison  was 
not  the  cause,  as  suspected,  of  his  death,  but  that  he  was 


Old  Times.  307 

literally  killed  with  kindness.  In  plain  English,  he  died  of 
a  Plethora,  for  he  was  fat  at  heart. 

"Away  posted  the  Lady  and  purchased  a  piece  of  ground, 
just  large  enough  to  swing  a  Cat  in,  at  the  new  burial  ground 
in  Mary-le-bonne.  The  charge  was  trifling,  only  two  guineas ; 
an  Undertaker  provided  a  coffin  in  miniature :  Grimalkin, 
after  having  lain  in  state,  and  several  of  the  frail  sisterhood, 
friends  of  the  Lady,  partaken  of  wine  and  cake,  of  which 
plenty  was  provided  ;  a  Hearse  with  WHITE  Plumes  drove  to 
the  door,  and  the  Lady,  a  Chief  Mourner,  attended  by  her 
weeping  friends,  who  rilled  several  Mourning  Coaches,  fol- 
lowed RALPH  to  the  grave  last  Tuesday  week,  like  'Niobe 
all  in  tears ; '  and  after  the  body  had  been  deposited  in  the 
earth,  though  with  but  'maimed  rites/  'tis  true,  she  returned 
slowly  to  the  house  of  mourning. 

"But  now  comes  the  sad  CAT-astrophe — Whether  the  Under- 
taker who  had  undertaken  to  keep  the  secret,  had  blabbed, 
or  whether  the  spectators  of  this  sad  ceremony  smelt,  as  the 
Cat  had  often  done,  a  RAT,  so  it  was,  however,  that  the  body 
had  not  remained  an  hour,  quietly  inurned,  ere  they  burst 
open  the  hinges  of  its  sepulchre,  and  parading  with  it  to  the 
place  from  whence  it  came,  proceeded  to  break  the  windows 
of  the  afflicted  fair  one's  house :  and  but  for  the  timely  inter- 
position of  the  Magistrates,  the  Lady,  as  well  as  her  house, 
in  all  probability  would  have  been  pulled  to  pieces  ! ! ! 

"  N.B. — The  above  is  strictly  a  matter  of  FACT." — (Times, 
March  21,  1794.) 

"The  access  to  KENSINGTON  GARDENS  is  so  inconvenient 
to  the  visitors,  that  it  is  to  be  hoped  the  politeness  of  those 
who  have  the  direction  of  it  will  induce  them  to  give  orders 
for  another  door  to  be  made  for  the  convenience  of  the  public 
— one  door  for  admission,  and  another  for  departure,  would 
prove  a  great  convenience  to  the  visitors.  For  want  of  this 
regulation  the  Ladies  frequently  have  their  cloaths  torn  to 
pieces;  and  are  much  hurt  by  the  crowd  passing  different 
ways." — (Times,  March  28,  1794-) 

"  Two  Ladies  were  lucky  enough  to  escape  thro'  the  gate 
of  Kensington  Gardens,  on  Sunday  last,  with  only  a  broken 


308  Old  Times. 

arm  each.  When  a  few  lives  have  been  lost,  perchance  then 
a  door  or  two  more  may  be  made  for  the  convenience  of  the 
families  of  the  survivors." — (Times,  May  8,  1794.) 

"We  noticed  last  year  the  nuisance  at  the  door  of  KENSING- 
TON GARDENS,  leading  from  Hyde  Park,  and  was  in  hopes, 
those  who  have  the  care  would  attend  to  it.  As  the  season 
is  approaching  when  company  frequent  it,  we  again  recom- 
mend that  an  additional  door  should  be  made,  and  an  inscrip- 
tion put  over  it  'The  company  to  go  in  at  this  gate,  and 
return  at  the  other,'  by  which  means  the  press  will  be  avoided, 
and  directions  given,  that  all  servants  do  keep  away  from  the 
doors,  who  behave  with  great  impertinence  to  their  superiors 
as  the  company  go  in.  If  the  gardens  are  to  be  a  public 
accommodation,  surely  so  trifling  an  expence  can  be  no 
object.  A  greater  number  of  seats  in  the  gardens  is  very 
desirable." — (Times,  April  24,  1795.) 

"The  public  in  general,  and  the  ladies  in  particular,  are 
much  obliged  to  the  Ranger  of  Hyde  Park,  for  having  taken 
the  hint  given  in  this  paper  towards  their  accommodation,  by 
ordering  a  new  gate  to  be  made,  as  an  entrance  into  Kensing- 
ton Gardens.  This  convenience  was  yesterday  much  noticed, 
as  there  is  now  one  gate  for  the  entrance,  and  another  for 
leaving  the  gardens,  which  were  extremely  crowded.  But  so 
little  regularity  was  observed  in  the  procession  of  carriages, 
on  the  Park  Road,  that  there  was  a  general  stoppage  about 
four  o'clock,  for  nearly  an  hour;  in  the  throng,  several 
carriages  were  overset,  and  many  much  injured.  We  never 
witnessed  so  much  confusion  on  any  similar  occasion." — 
(Times,  May  4,  1795.) 

"After  a  very  elegant  dinner  given  by  the  LORD  MAYOR 
to  the  visitors  at  the  MANSION  HOUSE  on  Monday,  there  was 
a  ball  as  usual,  which  was  very  numerously  attended :  and  was 
honored  by  the  presence  of  the  Turkish  Ambassador,  several 
of  the  Corps  Diplomatique  and  many  of  our  own  Nobility. 
The  harmony  and  gaiety  of  the  Entertainment  was,  however, 
interrupted  about  two  o'clock  yesterday  morning,  by  the  intru- 
sion of  a  number  of  Gentlemen  in  the  Dancing  Room,  who 


Old  Times.  309 

had  sacrificed  too  freely  to  the  Jolly  God,  and  seemed  deter- 
mined to  kick  up  a  riot.  They  had  continued  drinking  till 
one  o'clock  in  the  Dining  parlour,  and  on  entering  the  Ball- 
room behaved  in  such  an  improper  manner,  as  to  make  it 
necessary  to  call  in  the  Peace  Officers  to  turn  them  out.  A 
terrible  uproar  ensued ;  and  we  understand  that  two  or  three 
of  the  Rioters  were  sent  to  the  Poultry  Compter:  and  we 
hope  they  remained  there  till  they  recovered  their  senses." — 
{Times,  April  23,  1794.) 

"  CITY  EXTRAVAGANCE. — During  the  Rout,  we  had  almost 
said  RIOT,  at  the  Mansion  House  on  Tuesday  Morning,  several 
very  prudent  Citizens  were  observed  to  be  OUT-RUNNING  THE 
CONSTABLE  !  " — (Times,  April  24,  1794.)  . 

"We  are  informed  from  Abbey  Laddercroft,  in  Cumber- 
land, that  a  woman  called  Jane  Forrester,  who  lives  in  that 
parish,  is  now  in  the  i38th  year  of  her  age.  When  Cromwell 
besieged  the  City  of  Carlisle,  1645,  she  can  remember,  that  a 
horse's  head  sold  for  23  6d,  before  the  garrison  surrendered. 
At  the  martyrdom  of  King  Charles  I.,  she  was  nineteen  years 
of  age.  At  Brampton,  about  six  years  ago,  she  made  oath 
before  the  Commissioners,  in  a  Chancery  suit,  to  have  known 
an  estate,  the  right  of  which  was  then  disputed,  to  have  been 
enjoyed  by  the  ancestors  of  the  present  heir  101  years. 
She  hath  an  only  daughter  living,  aged  103.  And  we  are 
further  informed,  that  there  are  six  women  now  living  in  the 
same  parish  where  she  resides,  the  youngest  of  whom  is  99 
years  of  age." — (Times,  May  16,  1794.) 

Pidcock's  Menagerie  was  the  nearest  substitute  for 
our  present  Zoological  Gardens,  that  London  could  boast 
of,  and  Exeter  Change,  where  the  Exhibition  took  place, 
stood  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Gaiety  Theatre. 

Advt  "  ELEPHANTS. — Lately  arrived  in  the  Rose  East  India- 
man,  a  most  wonderful  living  Male  Elephant,  and  to  be  seen 
in  a  commodious  room,  over  Exeter  Change,  in  the  Strand. 
Admittance  is  each.  Likewise  is  lately  added  to  the  Grand 
Menageries,  as  above,  two  very  singular  and  most  astonishing 


3io  Old  Times. 

Kanguroos,  male  and  female,  from  Botany  Bay.  Admittance  is. 
Also,  just  arrived,  and  to  be  seen  in  a  commodious  apartment, 
under  the  Great  Room,  as  above,  three  stupendous  living 
Pelicans  of  the  Wilderness,  two  males  and  a  female.  Admit- 
tance is.  The  three  Exhibitions  may  be  viewed  for  23  6d. 
each  person.  Foreign  Birds  and  Beasts  bought,  sold,  &c.,  by 
G.  Pidcock." — (Times,  May  22,  1794.) 

Advt.  "FOREIGN  BIRDS.— Just  arrived  at  No.  i 
Coventry  St.,  opposite  the  Haymarket,  among  which  is,  that 
renowned  Bird  the  Ostrich,  described  in  ancient  and  modern 
History,  to  be  the  largest  in  the  world,  it  measures  9  feet  high, 
and  can  admit  of  two  young  Ladies  or  Gentlemen  to  ride  on 
its  back  at  a  time.  This  Bird  exceeds,  also,  in  strength,  swiftness, 
and  running,  all  the  feathered  tribe  in  the  Creation ;  it  has  the 
best  plumage  ever  seen  on  an  Ostrich,  in  this  country,  for 
many  years.  There  is  also  a  very  extraordinary  Bird,  whose 
feathers  resemble  hair,  and  which  has  very  much  the  appear- 
ance of  a  beast,  weighing  near  200  Ibs.  weight.  The  Great 
Horned  Owl,  described  as  the  inhabitant  of  Babylon :  the 
Royal  crowned  Crane  of  Africa,  and  other  curious  and  un- 
common Birds  :  also  a  very  singular  Animal  resembling  a 
Spider,  called  the  Bush  Devil ;  it  makes  use  of  its  Tail  as  other 
Animals  do  their  paws.  Admittance  is.  each,  Children  and . 
Servants  6d." — (Times,  Jan.  5,  1795.) 

We  get  a  very  vivid  description  of  how  illuminations 
after  a  great  victory,  were  managed  and  received — in 
those  which  took  place  after  Lord  Howe's  "  Glorious  first 
of  June." 

Earl  Howe's  Victory. 

"  Several  mobs  paraded  about  the  streets,  at  one,  and  two 
o'clock,  yesterday  morning,  breaking  the  windows  of  those  who 
had  already  shown  their  good  wishes  to  the  general  cause,  by 
illuminating  their  windows,  but  had  retired  to  rest.  Other 
houses  again,  belonging  to  the  QUAKERS,  were  damaged 
because  no  lights  were  put  forth.  Such  acts  are  contrary  to 
the  way  of  thinking  of  this  very  respectable  class  of  Citizens. 
In  this  outrageous  manner  did  several  mobs  proceed  during 


Old  Times.  311 

the  early  part  of  yesterday  morning,  to  the  very  great  incon- 
venience of  domestic  comfort,  and  infringement  on  public 
tranquillity." — (Times,  June  13,  1794.) 

"  The  LORD  MAYOR  requests  the  Inhabitants  of  the  City  to 
discontinue  the  Illuminations  which  have  taken  place  since  the 
News  received  of  the  very  glorious  Victory  obtained  by  the 
British  Fleet,  under  the  command  of  Lord  Howe.  The  Lord 
Mayor  hopes,  that  the  Public  will  be  satisfied  with  the  general 
Joy  which  has  been  so  conspicuously  expressed,  and  thinks 
that  a  further  display  of  it  will  tend  to  disturb  the  peace  and 
good  order  of  the  Metropolis." — (Times,  June  14,  1794.) 

"  ILLUMINATIONS. — The  very  idea  of  the  horrors  attending 
the  cry  of  '  Put  out  your  lights,'  made  a  poor  Loyal  German, 
in  Bedfordbury,  watch  his  little  farthing  rush-lights,  on  Wednes- 
day last,  till  a  late  hour.  At  length  he  ventured  really  to  put 
out  his  lights :  prudently  pasting  up  at  his  door  the  following 
notice  in  capitals  :  '  Two  O'CLOCK — gone  to  bed.  If  I  am  to 
light  again,  pray  be  so  obliging  as  to  ring  the  bell.'"  (Times, 
June  19,  1794.) 

"  MR.  WILKES  bears  the  loss  of  his  fine  windows  with  that 
pleasant  humour  so  peculiar  to  him,  and  absolutely  refuses  to 
prosecute  any  of  the  mob — '  They  are  only,'  said  he, '  some  of  my 
pupils  now  set  up  for  themselves.'" — (Times,  June  21,  1794.) 

MR.  EDITOR. 

"  A  Gentleman  of  a  village  near  town,  in  his  zeal  for  illumi- 
nating on  the  late  joyful  Victory  by  Lord  HOWE,  placed  so 
many  candles  in  his  windows,  and  that  in  so  negligent  a 
manner,  that  by  two  in  the  morning,  three  or  four  of  his  sashes 
were  burnt.  A  Constant  Reader  will  be  favoured  by  your 
making  room  for  the  following  on  the  occasion  : — 

"  VILLAGE  ILLUMINATIONS. 

"  Quoth  Dick,  I  scorn  such  mean  display 
As  rush-lights,  sixes  and  such  trash  is ; 
I  show  my  zeal  in  a  nobler  way — 
I  d — n  the  French  and  burn  my  sashes." 
— (Times,  July  14,  1794.) 


312  Old  Times. 

"The  following  circumstance  occurred  last  week  at  Long 
Milford  near  Bury  St.  Edmund's  :  Three  young  Ladies  of  that 
place,  one  of  whom  is  very  much  celebrated  for  her  mental,  as  well 
as  personal,  accomplishments,  agreed  a  few  days  since,  to  bathe 
in  a  river  about  half  a  mile  distant  from  the  town,  there  being  no 
private  accommodation  for  that  purpose  in  the  neighbourhood. 

"  An  early  hour,  at  which  they  would  be  the  least  liable  to 
be  discovered  by  strangers,  was  determined  on,  and  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  they  proceeded  from  home  to  the 
appointed  place.  As  they  walked  through  the  town,  they  were 
espied  by  a  blacksmith,  who,  about  the  same  hour,  usually  gets 
up  to  his  work.  Curiosity  prompted  him  to  find  out  whither 
the  fair  ones  were  bound :  but  he  did  not  discover  himself  to 
them  till  they  were  in  the  river,  the  perfect  images  of  their 
mother  Eve ;  when  perceiving  him  approach,  they  screamed 
out,  and  prudently  sat  down  in  the  water.  The  Modern  Vulcan^ 
dead  to  the  distresses  of  the  Venus's,  determined  to  divert  his 
uncouth  fancy  by  carrying  off  their  clothes,  with  which  he  did 
not  return.  In  this  pitiable  situation  they  were  obliged  to 
remain  for  near  an  hour,  when  a  poor  woman  passing  that  way, 
on  hearing  the  rude  behaviour  they  had  experienced,  and  their 
consequent  embarrassment,  procured  them  such  necessary 
articles  of  apparel,  as  enabled  them  to  get  home. 

"The  blacksmith  has  since  made  a  public  boast  of  his 
exploit,  saying  it  was  a  fine  piece  of  sport :  and,  owing  to  his 
unfeeling  and  brutish  conduct,  the  young  Ladies  have  ever 
since  been  ashamed  to  be  seen,  even  by  their  relations." — 
(Times,  Aug.  8,  1794.) 

"The  three  water  nymphs  at  Bury  have  preferred  an  in- 
dictment against  the  blacksmith  who  stole  their  cloaths,  and 
this  may  probably  turn  out  a  very  serious  affair,  and  make 
poor  Vulcan  pay  for  \\vs>  peeping." — (Times,  Aug.  9,  1794.) 

"  BATH  CHARTER. — A  further  degree  of  power,  to  be  vested 
in  the  Magistrates,  being  deemed  necessary,  a  new  charter  was 
a  short  time  since  granted  for  that  purpose.  It  was  sent  by 
the  Mail  Coach,  and  for  want  of  care  in  the  packing,  the 
impression  of  the  Great  Seal  was  knocked  to  atoms.  It  was 
presented  to  the  Lord  Chancellor  to  be  resealed  :  but  this  his 


Old  Times.  313 

Lordship  refused  unless  the  Mayor  and  Corporation  would 
petition  the  Court  setting  forth  the  reasons.  The  Charter  of 
Bath  conveys  the  exclusive  privilege  of  electing  two  Members  to 
the  British  House  of  Commons  to  the  select  Corporation  of  26, 
excluding  ALL  the  other  inhabitants." — (Times,  Aug.  9,  1794.) 

We  have  seen,  in  the  Historical  Summary  attached  to 
this  book,  how  gallantly,  year  after  year,  Wilberforce 
attacked  slavery.  In  England,  we  see,  they  euphemised 
the  word  slave,  and  called  them  Indented  Black  Servants, 
the  same  as  those  poor  wretched  white  slaves,  the 
"  Redemptioners  "  who  sold  themselves  into  bondage  in 
the  Plantations.  See  the  following  Advertisement. 

"  ABSCONDED  from  his  master's  service  at  CHELTENHAM,  on 
Friday  night  the  8th  August,  between  the  hours  of  9  and  10, 
an  INDENTED  BLACK  SERVANT  LAD,  named  TONEY, 
aged  about  19  or  20  years.  He  is  very  black,  and  slender 
made,  but  with  remarkably  long  feet.  He  went  off  in  a  striped 
dressing  jacket,  nankeen  waistcoat  and  breeches,  ribbed  cotton 
stockings,  shoes  and  plated  buckles.  He  is  articled  for  5 
years,  from  the  21  April  last;  and  upwards  of  ^30  has  been 
laid  out  upon  him,  in  having  him  taught  to  shave  and  dress, 
cloathing,  and  other  necessaries  for  him.  A  reward  of  TEN 
POUNDS  will  be  paid  to  any  person  who  shall  apprehend, 
and  deliver  him,  to  Mr.  Coningham,  Sherborne  Lane,  London ; 
or  lodge  him  in  any  Gaol  in  this  Kingdom,  and  give  notice 
thereof  as  above.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe,  that  great 
art,  and  industry,  have  been  used  to  seduce,  and  spirit  away, 
the  lad ;  otherwise  that  he  would  not  have  formed  a  thought 
of  quitting  his  master.  If,  therefore,  any  person  will  give  such 
information,  and  evidence,  as  shall  be  sufficient  to  convict  any 
responsible  person  of  having  enticed,  seduced,  or  carried  away, 
the  negro  lad  above  described,  a  reward  of  TWENTY 
GUINEAS  will  be  paid  to  the  person  so  informing,  and  giving 
evidence." — (Times,  Aug.  13,  1794.) 

"  On  Tuesday  last,  the  corpse  of  a  Gentleman,  as  it  was 
proceeding  in  a  hearse  to  the  Burial  Ground,  was  arrested  by 
a  Sheriff's  officer  and  his  followers,  under  a  warrant  as  usual 


314  Old  Times. 

granted  against  the  body.  The  friends  who  followed,  imme- 
diately left  their  coaches,  and  told  the  officer,  if  he  chose,  he 
was  welcome  to  the  body,  but  he  should  have  neither  coffin, 
shroud,  nor  any  particle  in  which  the  body  was  enveloped ; 
and  if  he  took  them  by  force,  he  should  be  indicted  for  a  high- 
way robbery,  as  those  matters  were  the  property  of  the  Executors; 
nay,  they  went  further,  and  said,  that  as  the  deceased  had,  by 
his  will,  bequeathed  his  body  to  the  Executors,  no  execution 
would  hold  good  against  the  corpse,  the  process  must  be 
against  them.  The  Bailiff,  very  properly  being  persuaded  that 
the  spirit  of  the  law  meant  a  living,  and  not  a  dead  body, 
marched  off  without  insisting  on  the  legality  of  his  capture. 
This  is  the  first  instance  of  the  kind  that  has  happened  since 
the  arrest  of  the  dead  body  of  a  Sheriff  of  London,  not  many 
years  since." — (Times,  Sept.  5,  1794.) 

"  To  the  CONDUCTOR  of  the  TIMES. 

"  SIR, — Leaving  a  shop  in  the  City  a  few  days  ago,  I  fell  into 
a  reverie  with  the  thoughts  of  what  trade  would  come  to  next 
century  :  how  it  would  be  conducted,  and  by  what  description 
of  persons  :  as  in  the  shop  I  had  just  left,  one  servant  said  to 

another,    '  Do    you    know   were    Master    S is    gone '  ? 

Another   answers,   Mr.    R (which   was    an    apprentice) 

knows  :  ask  him.  Presently  came  down  stairs  a  maid  servant, 
to  enquire  whether  all  the  gentlemen  (meaning  the  shopmen) 
would  come  to  dinner.  Half  these  gentlemen  were  booted,  as 
if  going  to  take  a  morning's  ride.  O  tempore  !  O  mores  ! " — 
(Times,  Sept.  30,  1794.) 

"  The  Glove  Manufacturers  in  the  different  counties,  will  no 
doubt  make  the  most  of  the  Princess  of  WALES'S  delicate 
hand :  but  there  is  something  more  than  ordinarily  ludicrous 
in  the  extravagant  anticipation  of  a  Shopkeeper,  at  the  West 
End  of  the  Town,  who  puts  up  in  Roman  characters,  "  WED- 
DiNG-ring  maker  to  the  Princess  CAROLINE  OF  BRUNSWICK." 
— (Times,  Nov.  15,  1794.) 

The  Lady  Lade,  here  mentioned,  once  rode  a  race  on 
horseback  at  New  Market — but  lost  it : — 


Old  Times.  315 

"  Lady  Lade  and  Mrs.  Hodges  are  to  have  a  curricle  race  at 
Newmarket,  at  the  next  Spring  Meeting,  and  the  horses  are 
now  in  training.  It  is  to  be  a.  five  mile  course,  and  great  sport 
is  expected.  The  construction  of  the  traces  is  to-  be  on  a 
plan  similar  to  that  by  which  Lord  March,  now  Duke  of 
Queensbury,  won  his  famous  match  against  time.  The  odds, 
at  present,  are  in  favour  of  Lady  Lade.  She  runs  a  grey  mare, 
which  is  said  to  be  the  best  horse  in  the  Baronefs  stables" — 
(Times,  Dec.  20,  1794.) 

"The  following  circumstance  is  extraordinary  beyond 
parallel : — On  Tuesday  se'nnight  died,  on  her  return  from 
Bath,  Miss  Henrietta  Dickenson,  the  fourteenth  daughter  of 
the  late  John  Dickenson,  Esq.  of  East  Place,  in  Yorkshire, 
having  attained  precisely  that  age  at  which  each  of  her  13 
sisters  died." — (Times,  Dec.  22,  1794.) 

"  Crosthwaite  Church,  in  the  Vale  of  Keswick,  Cumberland, 
hath  five  chapels  belonging  to  it.  The  Minister's  stipend  is 
five  pounds  per  annum,  and  goose  grass,  or  the  right  of  com- 
moning  his  geese  :  a  whittle  gate,  or  the  valuable  privilege  of 
using  his  knife  for  a  week  at  any  time,  at  any  table  in  the 
parish  ;  and  lastly,  a  hardened  sark,  or  a  shirt  of  coarse  linen  : 
whereas'the  Rectory  of  Winweck,  a  small  village  in  Lancashire, 
is  the  richest  living  in  England.  The  Rector  is  Lord  of  the 
Manor,  and  has  a  glebe  of  ^"1400  annual  rent.  The  whole 
living  is  worth  ^3000  a  year." — (Times,  Dec.  26,  1794.) 

"  At  Hanworth  Booths,  a  public-house  near  to  Lincoln,  a 
few  days  ago,  a  man  dropped  a  Boston  Bank  Bill,  value  five 
guineas,  which  momentarily  disappeared,  and  a  strict  search 
was  made  without  producing  any  favourable  effect.  At  length 
a  woman  present  recollected  a  playful  whelp  chewing  something 
apparently  white.  This  observation  consigned  the  life  of  the 
poor  dog  to  an  immediate  sentence  and  he  was  instantly 
hanged,  and  his  thorax  opened,  wherein  the  lost  bill  was 
found  in  a  mangled  state  :  but  nevertheless  the  purport  of  the 
paper  was  evidently  discoverable,  and  cash  to  the  amount  was 
got  for  it  at  the  Boston  Bank." — (Times,  Jan.  14,  1795.) 

"  In  the  various  researches  made  throughout  the  house  of 


316  Old  Times. 

Langleys,  the  seat  of  JOHN  JOLLIFFE  TUFFNELL,  Esq.  in  Essex, 
two  caskets  of  family  Jewels  have  been  found  concealed 
amongst  old  linen,  and  near  ^150,000  in  specie,  behind  the 
books  in  the  library,  the  chief  part  of  which  sum  he  is  sup- 
posed to  have  sold  out  of  the  funds,  with  a  view  of  purchasing 
some  advertised  estates  in  that  county." 

"  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  number  of  deaths  in  this 
metropolis,  within  the  last  few  months  past,  amounts  to  double 
what  it  ever  has  been,  within  the  same  space  of  time,  since 
the  plague,  which  desolated  London  in  the  last  century." 
(Times,  Feb.  20,  1795.) 

"  So  great  has  been  the  mortality  in  the  metropolis,  that  the 
Undertakers,  like  the  distressed  Prompter  we  read  of,  have 
been  obliged  '  to  mow  away  brown.'  A  hearse  with  bay 
horses  was  actually  observed  in  one  of  the  many  melancholy 
processions  in  the  course  of  last  week." — (Times,  March  7, 

I795-) 

"We  are  informed  there  is  a  Cask  now  building  at  Messrs 
Meux  and  Co.'s  Brewery,  in  Liquor-pond  Street,  Grays  Inn 
Lane,  the  size  of  which  exceeds  all  credibility,  being  designed 
to  hold  twenty  thousand  barrels  of  porter ;  the  whole  expense 
attending  the  same  will  be  upwards  of  ;£  10,000." — (Times, 
April  i,  1795.) 

"  Numbers,  it  is  said,  have  gone  into  the  King's  Bench  and 
Fleet  Prison,  under  an  idea  that  there  would  be  an  Act  of 
Grace,  on  account  of  the  PRINCE'S  marriage — but  no  such  act 
is  to  take  place." — (Times,  April  27,  1795.) 

"  In  the  absence  of  our  Reporter,  "we  understand  that  Mr. 
MAINWARING,  on  Monday,  presented  a  Petition  to  the  House 
of  Commons  signed  by  above  10,000  Livery  Servants,  against 
the  Employing  of  Foreigners  in  that  capacity  ;  which  not  being 
seconded,  was  not  received." — (Times,  April  30,  1795.) 

Advt.— ASTROLOGY.  Mrs.  NEWTON  respectfully  in- 
forms her  friends  and  the  Public,  that  she  continues  at  No.  1 1 1 
in  Wardour  St.  Soho,  where  she  may  be  consulted  on  Plane- 
tary Influence,  as  it  relates  to,  involves,  and  guides  all  the 


Old  Times.  317 

Events  and  Occurrences,  as  Marriages,  Legacies,  Possession 
of  Wealth,  Attainment  of  any  particular  Desire,  the  State  of 
an  Absent  Friend  by  Sea  or  Land,  or  whatever  can  interest 
our  Hopes,  or  agitate  our  Fears.  The  private  Door  in  Port- 
land St.,  and  the  Name  under  the  one-pair-of-stairs  window." 
— (Times,  May  6,  1795.) 

Medicinal  Waters  were  in  great  repute,  and  if  there 
were  any  spring,  at  all  charged  with  mineral  matter, 
near  the  Metropolis,  it  was  a  good  thing  for  the  pro- 
prietor. They  existed  at  the  Beulah  Spa,  Norwood — Spa 
fields,  Bermondsey —  Hampstead — Clerkenwell — Holy- 
well  Street,  and  at  this  "  Duck  and  Dog  "  St.  George's 
Fields.  This  was  a  famous  suburban  publichouse — much 
as  the  Welsh  Harp  is  nowadays — where  shooting  matches 
at  small  birds  was  a  favourite  pastime. 

"Advt.— DOG  AND  DUCK  SPA  AND  BATH,  ST. 
GEORGES  FIELDS. — J.  HEDGER  respectfully  informs  the  Public, 
that  the  Gardens  of  the  above  Spa  are  open  for  the  reception 
of  those  who  wish  to  drink  the  Waters  on  the  spot,  at  the 
usual  terms  of  3d.  each  person.  The  general  salubrity  of  this 
Spa  is  well  known :  and  its  happy  medicinal  effects  in  Scor- 
butic, Scrophulous,  and  eruptive  Complaints  :  as  well  as  in 
the  Gravel,  and  several  other  Disorders,  have  been  long  and 
incontestibly  established.  It  will  be  sent  to  any  part  of  the 
town  in  bottles,  corked  and  sealed  at  the  pump,  on  receiving 
orders  as  above.  The  Bath  and  Bowling  Green  are  also  open 
to  Subscribers." — (Times,  May  26,  1795.) 

The  Mr.  Brothers  mentioned  in  the  following  para- 
graph had  been  a  Lieutenant  in  the  Navy — and  held 
most  extravagantly  visionary  religious  views — he  pre- 
tended to  have  revelations  from  the  Deity,  and  set  up 
as  a  Prophet.  He  was  imprisoned  in  1794  for  fear  he 
should  create  some  political  disturbance. 

"  Many  persons  were  yesterday  not  a  little  terrified  by  St. 


318  Old  Times. 

PauFs  clock'  striking  10  three  times  within  an  hour,  expecting 
every  moment,  that  Mr.  Brothers^  prophecy  was  about  to  be 
fulfilled,  which  had  appointed  some  dreadful  calamity  to  befal 
the  City  of  London  before  the  4th  day  of  June  instant." — 
(Times,  June  4,  I795-) 

In  the  next  paragraph,  we  must  bear  in  mind 
the  difference  in  the  value  of  the  Currency  then  and 
now. 

"  It  is  with  infinite  pleasure  we  hear,  that  the  Bishops  in 
their  respective  dioceses,  in  conjunction  with  the  opulent 
pluralists  and  other  beneficed  Clergy,  are  advancing  the  sti- 
pends, and  making  contributions,  for  their  necessitous  CURATES, 
in  these  times  of  scarcity.  A  liberality  (or  rather  an  act  of 
justice)  which  most  probably  originated  with  the  Bishop  of 
LONDON,  who  declared  in  his  Charge  to  the  Clergy  of  his 
dioceses,  as  long  since  as  the  year  1790,  that  he  would  licence 
no  Curate  to  a  single  church  under  ^50,  nor  to  two  under 
^70  per  an."—  (Times,  Aug.  13,  I795-) 

"  That  practical  bulls  are  not  confined  to  Ireland,  take  the 
following  specimen  :  A  tradesman  of  this  city,  out  of  charity, 
took  a  French  boy  into  his  family,  who  was  sent  out  one 
evening  in  a  great  hurry  for  butter.  His  haste  threw  him  into 
the  kennel,  butter  and  all.  This  was  an  unfortunate  mishap  : 
the  dirt  he  could  scrape  off,  but  that  partial  adhesion  of  water 
to  grease  could  not  so  easily  be  removed.  At  last  he  hit  upon 
an  experiment :  The  maid  was  bawling  out  for  the  butter — 
'Well,  well,'  quoth  Jaques,  'you  shall  have  it  quickly.  I 
had  the  misfortune  to  wet  it,  and  have  just  hung  it  up 
on  a  string,  before  the  great  stove — it  will  be  dry  in  a 
moment,  for  it  dripped  before  I  came  away.'" — (Times,  Aug. 
21,  I795-) 

"  What  would  our  forefathers  have  thought  to  see  a  board 
with  this  inscription  : — '  With  the  nicest  taste,  and  by  men  most 
exquisite  for  their  professional  abilities '  over  a  Barber's  shop  ?  " 
—(Times,  Aug.  21,  1795.) 


Old  Times.  319 

"  EPIGRAM.      IN  UTRAMQUE  PARATUS. 

"  How  shall  we  DR.  DRAWL  obey, 

His  different  counsel  keep  : 
Whose  Text  advises  '  Watch  and  pray,' 

Whose  Sermon  bids  you  '  Sleep.' " 
—(Times,  Aug.  27,  1795.) 

"  In  an  advertisement  addressed  to  a  young  lady  who  has 
eloped,  she  is  most  earnestly  requested  to  return  to  her  most 
disconsolate  parents :  but  it  is  added,  that  if  she  does  not 
choose  to  come  herself,  she  is  most  particularly  desired  to  send 
the  key  of  the  tea  chest  /" — (Times,  Sept.  4,  1795.) 

"The  grand  match  of  Cricket,  for  one  thousand  guineas, 
between  Kent  and  All  England,  was  some  days  since  ter- 
minated at  Dandelion,1  in  favour  of  Kent." — (Times,  Sept.  15, 
I795-) 

"A  Clergyman  in  Essex,  who  had  long  farmed  his  tythes 
alternately  among  his  parishioners,  began  at  last  to  suspect 
that  the  rogues  endeavoured  to  keep  the  income  of  his  small 
living  still  less,  and  so  determined,  this  year  at  least,  to  take 
his  tythes  in  kind.  To  '  Cheat  the  Parson '  is  one  of  the 
oldest  jokes  in  the  history  of  agriculture,  and  stands  on  the 
same  authority  with  the  wittier  malevolence  of  distressing  him. 
These  gentlemen,  determined  not  to  be  behindhand  with  their 
predecessors  :  and,  in  the  last  harvest,  sent  to  the  Parson  to 
take  away  his  hay  the  moment  it  was  cut  down,  alleging,  that 
as  soon  as  it  was  cut  into  swathes,  it  was  no  longer  grass,  and 
that  he  might  turn  it,  and  cook  it,  himself.  Rather  than  '  go  to 
law '  the  Parson  submitted,  and  took  his  next  Sunday's  text  on 
brotherly  kindness,  beginning  thus — 'Brotherly  kindness  may 
be  divided  into  three  parts — domestic  affection — social  love — 
and  charity  :  from  all  which  proper  inferences  may  be  drawn 
for  instruction.  Thus  brethren,  I  give  you  a  sermon  in  swathes 
— you  may  turn  it,  and  cook  it,  yourselves.'  The  plan  suc- 
ceeded ;  his  parishioners  doubled  the  income,  acknowledging 

1  Dent  de  Lion,  Margate, 


320  Old  Times. 

it  even  then  less  than  it  should  be  :  and  thus,  what  justice,  and 
law,  might  have  kept  from  him  for  years,  was  given  up  to  a 
clerical  joke." — (Times,  Sept.  19,  1795.) 

"  A  curious  circumstance  occurred  here  (Brighton)  yesterday. 
Sir  JOHN  LADE,  for  a  trifling  wager,  undertook  to  carry  Lord 
CHOLMONDELY,  on  his  back,  from  opposite  the  Pavilion,  twice 
round  the  Steine.  Several  ladies  attended  to  be  spectators  of 
this  extraordinary  feat  of  the  dwarf  carrying  a  giant.  When 
his  Lordship  declared  himself  ready,  Sir  JOHN  desired  him  to 
strip.  '  Strip  ! '  exclaimed  the  other  :  '  why  surely  you  promised 
to  carry  me  in  my  clothes ! '  '  By  no  means/  replied  the 
Baronet.  '  I  engaged  to  carry  you,  but  not  an  inch  of  clothes. 
So  therefore,  my  Lord,  make  ready,  and  let  us  not  disappoint 
the  ladies,'  After  much  laughable  altercation,  it  was  at  length 
decided  that  Sir  JOHN  had  won  his  wager,  the  Peer  declining 
to  exhibit  inpuris  naturalibus" — (Times,  Oct.  2,  1795.) 

What  would  the  writer  of  the  following  have  thought 
if  he  could  only  have  seen  Girton  and  other  cognate 
female  Colleges  ? 

"  Nobody  can  doubt  of  the  use  and  advantage  of  Boarding- 
Schools  in  an  immense  capital  like  this.  When  a  Tradesman's 
daughter  is  taught  to  jump  a  dance,  to  play  a  tune,  and  spit 
French,  she  is  fit  for  any  thing — but  a  wife." — (Times,  Oct.  17, 

I795-) 

"  An  amiable  great  lady,  though  very  accomplished  in  the 
English  language,  now  and  then  makes  some  innocent  mis- 
takes. She  lately  asked  Lady  Jersey  if  her  child  would  not 
like  new  milk?" — (Times,  Nov.  23,  1795.) 

"  A  Gentleman  lamenting  the  robbery  committed  at  Mr. 
ERSKINE'S  house  last  week,  after  enquiring  the  particulars, 
said,  he  '  hoped  none  of  the  Family  were  alarmed  ? '  '  No,' 
replied  Mr.  E.,  'but  I  wish  they  had'" — (Times,  Dec.  23, 
I795-) 

"  The  name  of  Merchant  of  London  will  be  as  common  in 
London  as  in  France.  A  fellow  who  keeps  a  caricature  shop 


Old  Times.  321 

in  Oxford-Road,  has  the  impudence  to  write  in  large  characters 
against  his  house,  Caricature  Merchant. 

"  We  think  the  Magistrates  are  deficient  in  their  duty,  when 
they  permit  such  a  number  of  obscene  prints  to  be  exposed 
in  their  windows.  It  is  well  known  that  some  of  them  have 
likewise  rooms  in  their  houses,  where  they  expose  those 
prints  to  debauch  the  rising  generation,  and  have  agents  at 
the  public  seminaries,  where  they  introduce  them  among  the 
boys." — (Times,  Dec.  25,  1795.) 

"  The  Confectioners  begin  to  tremble  from  the  fear  that  there 
will  not  be  frost  enough  to  enable  them  to  lay  in  a  stock  of 
ice  sufficient  for  the  consumption  of  the  ensuing  summer.  Ice 
is  become  so  much  a  necessary  of  life  in  this  climate,  that  the 
Island  has  not  always  produced  a  sufficient  quantity  for  the 
supply  of  the  inhabitants,  and  many  vessels  sent  to  Norway 
have  returned  freighted  with  this  new  luxury.  How  would 
QUEEN  ELIZABETH'S  Maids  of  Honour  have  stared  at  iced 
oranges  after  a  hot  dinner  ?  They  would  probably  have  given 
them  the  same  emphatical  appellation  with  a  late  English 
Admiral— -painted  snow  balls." — (Times,  Jan.  22,  1796.) 

"  The  vast  estate  of  the  Duke  of  Portland,  in  Marybone, 
cost  his  ancestors,  about  100  years  ago,  but  ^"9000;  and  the 
estate  of  Mr.  Berners,  (all  the  streets  about  the  Middlesex 
Hospital)  now  ^6000  a  year,  were  in  the  year  1730,  at  a 
rental  of  ^330  a  year." — (Times,  Jan.  25,  1796.) 

"The  Balls  at  Southampton  are  exceedingly  lively,  and 
well-attended.  The  young  Ladies  are  particularly  favourable 
to  a  German  Dance,  called  the  Volse:  for  squeezing,  hugging, 
&c.,  it  is  excellent  in  its  kind,  and  more  than  one  Lady  has 
actually  fainted  in  the  middle  of  it." — (Times,  Feb.  19,  1796.) 

"Thirteen  thousand,  five  hundred  vessels,  freighted  with 
property,  to  the  value  of  between  60,  and  70,  millions  sterling, 
sailed  from,  and  arrived  at,  the  port  of  London,  in  the  course 
of  a  year." — (Times,  Aug.  29,  1796.) 

"Campus  Nautica  may  be  sailor-latin  for  a  pleasant 
exhibition,  though  not  quite  concordical.  A  sailor  at  Oxford 

X 


322  Old  Times. 

some  time  ago,  wished  to  prove  the  whole  University  to  be 
sailor-like,  and  he  managed  it  in  this  way.  'The  Gownsmen 
are  Puppes,  the  Tradesmen  are  Naves,  and  the  women  are 
nauttz?  What  though  the  puns  don't  quite  spell,  they  are  not 
less  true  for  all  that." — (Times,  Feb.  29,  1796.) 

"  Lately  died,  in  Scotland,  James  Anderson,  a  well-known 
itinerant  tinker,  at  the  astonishing  age  of  114,  after  carrying 
his  budget  since  his  i4th  year." — (Times,  March  12,  1796.) 

"We  learn  from  Chester,  that  the  Grand  Jury  at  Conway 
Assizes  found  an  Indictment  against  the  Bishop  of  Bangor, 
his  Agent,  Chaplain,  and  two  other  Divines,  for  a  riot ;  and 
also  another  Bill  against  the  Bishop  for  an  assault ! ! !  " — Times, 
April  5,  1796. 

"There  was  a  Bank  Note  came  into  the  Bank  the  other 
day,  the  interest  of  which,  calculated  from  the  time  it  had 
been  in  circulation,  amounted  to  more  than  ^4300." — (Times, 
April  26,  1796.) 

"  Mrs.  MILLS  had  fourteen  rooms  open  at  her  famous  Rout 
and  Supper,  in  Piccadilly,  the  other  night.  The  bill  for  green- 
peas  was  seventy-five  pounds." — (Times,  May  18,  1796.) 

"  At  one  of  Lady  B 's  elegant  Entertainments  at  Ham- 
Common,  amongst  other  amusements  provided  for  her  refined 
company,  were  a  pig  with  a  soaped-tail  and  a  smock-race.  A 
Great  Number  of  young  women  were  collected  by  curiosity, 
but  none  of  them  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  contend  for  the 
last  prize.  They  declared  ingenuously,  that  they  only  came 
for  curiosity,  as  they  thought  her  Ladyship  and  her  Company 
were  to  run  for  it." — (Times,  June  29,  1796.) 

" '  I  should  like  to  be  an  emigre]  said  Mr.  V n  the 

other  day.  '  Why  so  ? '  answered  a  gentleman  present.  '  Be- 
cause,' he  replied,  '  the  emigrants  are  the  only  people  in  town 
who  know  how  to  amuse  themselves.' 

"  And  surely  nothing  can  exceed  the  refined  elegance  of  the 
balls  given  by  some  of  the  emigrated  Ladies,  where  the  widows 
of  twenty  guillotined  poor  souls,  trip  the  merry  country-dance 
with  all  the  swiftness  of  a  fairy.  We  must,  however,  observe 
that  these  eminent  dancers  disdain  the  name  of  emigrees,  and 


Old  Times.  323 

call  themselves  Americaines,  from  the  property  they  possess 
in  the  West  Indies,  in  order  to  avoid  the  reproach  of  thus 
squandering  the  superfluities  of  their  incomes,  which  would  be 
better  employed  in  comforting  so  many  unfortunate  families, 
driven  from  their  own  country." — (Times,  Aug.  i,  1796.) 

"A  DAY  AT  MARGATE. 

"  Rose  at  seven ;  went  to  SAVER'S  Bathing  House,  set  my 
name  down  on  the  slate :  took  a  walk  on  the  Pier.  Came 
back  and  waited  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  then  bathed.  Not  a 
little  delighted  with  the  idea  of  realising  in  some  degree  la 
theorie  des  sentimens  agreables  by  dipping  in  the  same  ocean  with 
the  sea  nymphs  from  the  City.  Returned  to  my  lodgings  to 
dress  for  breakfast.  Finding  nobody  in  the  Coffee-room,  went 
back  to  the  Pier,  arrived  at  the  happy  moment,  just  as  a  hoy 
was  vomiting  out  its  sick  :  witnessed,  as  Peter  Paragraph  says, 
the  Queen  of  France  abuse,  like  a  drab  of  Drury,  one  of  the 
passengers.  The  case  seemed  a  strong  one,  and  well  made 
out  on  the  part  of  the  Lady,  but  produced,  as  far  as  I  saw,  no 
conviction. 

"  Went  to  breakfast  at  BENSON'S,  having  first  called  at  the 
Post-Office,  and  found  not  sorted  on  the  door :  eat  my  shilling's 
worth,  one  buttered  roll,  one  dry  toasted,  and  one  cold  ditto : 
heard  who  had  won,  or  lost,  at  whist,  and  billiards,  the  night 
before ;  read  the  newspapers,  and  wrote  a  letter.  Went  over 
the  way  to  SILVER'S  library,  who  at  my  request  gave  me  the 
choice  of  three  rides,  observing,  that  I  might  take  a  little  of 
each  by  going  round  by  Kingsgate,  the  North  Foreland,  and 
Broadstairs  to  Ramsgate,  then  crossing  over  to  the  Camp,  and 
figuring  in  by  Dandelion.  'What  a  charming  General'  (said  I) 
'spoilt  in  a  Toyman.  How  you  understand  tactics,  Mr.  Silver!' 
'  Used  to  it  all  my  life,  Sir,'  (said  he  with  a  pleasing  flippancy) 
'  plan  rides  for  the  company  daily  all  over  the  Island.'  Set 
out  with  the  carte  du  pays  in  my  pocket :  visited  all  the  places 
in  it,  and  finished  with  the  cricket  match,  and  the  place  of  the 
public  breakfast.  Heard  a  lady  say  she  had  won  two  lotteries, 
and  saw  Tom  Lord  run  without  winning  a  notch.  Went  to  the 
ordinary  in  the  gardens  at  6s.  6d.  a  head,  for  cold  chicken, 
and  roast  lamb,  with  a  haunch  of  venison  given  by  a  Noble 


324  Old  Times. 

Lord,  who,  very  kindly,  having  helped  himself  to  the  first  slice, 
sent  it  on.  The  heat  on  the  cricket  ground  was  intense.  I 
was  sorry  I  did  not  bring  my  white  hat :  but  a  remedy  was  at 
hand,  as  I  learnt  afterwards,  if  I  had  been  ingenious  enough 
to  have  tied  a  white  handkerchief  round  the  crown  of  my 
black  one.  Having  finished  my  second  breakfast,  I  rode  home 
to  dine  at  Margate.  The  green  where  the  breakfast  was,  was 
much  cooler  than  the  burning  cricket  field,  having  the  advan- 
tage of  being  shaded  by  the  trees  in  the  garden  at  its  back ; 
but  I  found  I  was  out  of  luck,  as  there  was  no  dancing,  and, 
indeed,  at  the  public  breakfast,  it  sometimes  happens,  that  the 
wagtails,  and  the  yellow-hammers  from  the  Capital  are  so 
numerous,  and  frisky,  that  the  humming  birds,  the  cockatoos, 
and  the  birds  of  Paradise  of  the  higher  order  won't  always 
hop  with  them.  Got  back  to  Margate  on  my  pony,  for  which 
I  was  to  pay  i8d.  a  side,  and  thought  as  I  rode  along  on  the 
sands,  where  I  should  dine.  The  boarding  houses  were  all 
open  to  me,  on  paying  for  a  week,  or  one  guinea.  This  was 
a  great  temptation :  but  having  been  offered  a  party  at  the 
Bowling  green,  on  Prospect  Place,  I  conceived  this  to  be  a 
better  thing,  on  account  of  the  humours  of  the  loaded  pigeon, 
and  the  fun  of  the  canting  machine,  and  the  fireworks  at  night. 
I  accordingly  rode  to  my  lodgings  to  dress,  and  went  immedi- 
ately to  dinner.  After  dinner  proceeded  to  the  libraries,  where 
the  raffling  lists  were  filling  fast :  was  induced  to  throw  in  my 
shillings  at  SILVER'S  and  WERE'S  :  from  thence  passed  on  to 
WOOD'S,  SURFLEN'S,  and  GARNER'S.  At  Surflen's  heard  music, 
and  several  favourite  glees :  from  thence  to  the  playhouse, 
where  I  was  invited  to  the  rehearsal  of  a  new  piece,  which 
was  to  be  full  of  good  things,  if  it  had  been  suffered  to  be 
represented.  It  was  now  time  to  go  to  supper :  I  accord- 
ingly returned  to  the  Coffee  House,  and  from  thence  to  the 
Billiard  Room,  where  there  was  a  violent  cry  of  swindler, 
black-legs,  and  pickpocket,  at  which  Mrs.  Benson  interfered, 
whilst  her  husband  walked  coolly  up  and  down  the  Piazza,  not 
venturing  to  intrude.  The  obnoxious  person  being  turned 
out,  and  order  restored,  I  retired  at  one  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  EPHEMERIS." 

—(Times,  Oct.  2,  1795.) 


Old  Times.  325 

Fancy  seeing  an  advertisement  like  the  following,  in 
the  Times  nowadays  : — 

Advt.  "A  MARE'S  to  be  SOLD, 

About  six  years  old, 
That's  warranted  perfectly  sound  : 
Her  height's  fourteen  hands, 
And  an  inch  as  she  stands, 
And  will  trot  freely  all  the  way  round. 
The  Mare's  to  be  seen 
Any  time  that's  between 
The  hours  of  twelve,  and  of  three, 
At  the  Inn  called  One  Bell, 
In  the  Strand  they  will  tell, 
Price  twenty-five  Guineas  and  three." 
— Times  >  June  17,  1796. 

"  RAMSGATE.     (EXTRACT  OF  A  LETTER.) 

"  Our  early  season  has  already  begun,  and  those  who  are 
fond  of  cheap  lodgings,  have  made  their  appearance  hirundine 
prim&,      I  assure  you,   we   have   City   Misses   here  at   this 
moment,  each  of  whom,  in  the  vain  idea  of  rising  '  A  new 
born  Goddess  from  the  Sea '  sowces  into  salt  water  every 
morning.     Our  company  is  of  the  greater  sort.     We  have  Mrs. 
Deputy  Plumb,  with  her  naked  daughters,  who  have  scarce 
more  cloathing  than  a  fig  leaf  on  them,  and  imitate  their  great 
grand-dame  Eve  in  much  more  even  than  that.     Then  we 
have  Mrs.  Pop  from  Whitechapel.     She  came  down  in  state 
in  her  own  job-coach,  which  was  loaded  so  full  with  unredeemed 
Articles  for  family  wear,   that  her  dear  pledges  of  domestic 
Love,  her  daughters,  who  are  the  very  duplicate  of  herself,  in 
delicacy  and  beauty,  were  forced  to  come  in  the  Hoy.     But 
she  vows  it  is  so  shocking  to  her  feelings,  that  they  never 
shall  ride  down  no  more  in  that  nasty  sort  of  water  convey- 
ance, though  she  should  spend  upon  their  luxury  and  elegance 
ten,  out  of  that  thirty  per  cent.,  which  she  grinds  from  the 
necessitous  miseries  of  hard-earned  industry.     Then  we  have 
three  learned  Ladies,  who,  after  the  great  fatigues  of  novel- 
writing  in  the  winter,  have  retired  hither  to  display  themselves 
to  the  vast  pleasure,  and  edification,  of  some  ancient  enamo- 
ratus,  who  would  not  yield  to  Old  Q  himself  in  pretensions  to 
gallantry.     In  truth,  we  begin  to  look  gaily,  early  as  it  is  :  and 


326  Old  Times. 

I  would  that  the  salt-water,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Pops,  and  the 
Plumbs,  who  frequent  our  watering  places,  could  as  easily  wash 
away  the  mud  of  vulgarity,  and  affectation,  from  their  hearts, 
as  it  does  the  rouge  from  their  faces." — (Times,  July  8,  1796.) 

"  BRIGHTON.—  The  Prince  and  Princess  of  WALES'S 
arrival  has  been  talked  of  much  in  London ;  but  as  yet  we 
have  no  signs  of  it  here.  The  Duke  and  Duchess  of  MARL- 
BOROUGH  pass  their  time  in  a  very  retired  manner  indeed. 
His  Grace  walked  for  some  time  yesterday  evening  upon  the 
Steyne  ;  the  company  consisted  chiefly  of  opulent  Jews,  needy 
fortune  hunters,  broken-down  Cyprians,  fishermen's  daughters, 
and  several  fat  city-dowdies,  from  the  environs  of  Norton 
Folgate.  Her  Grace  commands  the  Play  on  Friday  evening, 
which  will  be  heryfirf/  appearance 'in  public  here  for  this  season. 
The  Officers  of  the  Blues  are  the  great  dashers  of  the  place : 
they  associate  with  no  one  but  their  own  Corps.  The  most  of 
them  keep  their  blood-horses,  their  curricles,  and  their  girls.  At 
one  o'clock  they  appear  on  the  parade,  to  hear  the  word  of  com- 
mand given  to  the  Subaltern  Guard  :  afterwards  they  toss  off 
their  goes  of  brandy,  dine  about  five,  and  come  about  eight  to  the 
Theatre,  Vivent  U Amour  et  Bacchus? — (Times,  July  13,  1796.) 

"Yesterday  a  curious  cricket  match  was  played  at  Mont- 
pelier  Gardens,  between  n  of  the  Greenwich  Pensioners, 
wanting  an  arm  each,  against  the  same  number  of  their  fellow 
sufferers  with  each  a  wooden  leg.  Not  fewer  than  5000 
people  were  assembled  on  the  occasion,  who  were  highly 
entertained  with  the  exertions  of  the  old  veterans  of  the  ocean, 
who  never  acted  against  their  most  inveterate  enemy  with 
more  energy,  each  party  striving  to  quit  the  field  victorious. 
The  evening  coming  on,  the  contest  could  not  be  decided, 
but  it  was  so  much  in  favour  of  the  Timber  toes,  as  never  to 
be  recovered  by  the  dint  of  Arms." — (Times,  Aug.  10,  1796.) 

"  On  Wednesday  morning  the  1 1  men  with  one  arm,  and  1 1 
men  with  but  one  leg,  were  brought  by  three  Greenwich  stages 
engaged  for  that  "purpose,  to  the  new  Cricket  Ground,  the  back 
of  the  Montpelier  Tea  Gardens,  Walworth,  when  the  match  was 
played  out,  and  the  men,  with  one  leg,  beat  the  one  arms, 
by  103  runnings.  After  the  match  was  finished,  the  eleven  one- 


Old  Times.  327 

legged  men  ran  a  race  of  100  yards  distance,  for  20  Guineas, 
and  the  first  three  had  prizes."— (Ti 'mes,  Aug.  12,  1796.) 

"A  new  embankment  of  the  River,  on  the  Middlesex 
shore,  from  Westminster  to  Chelsea,  is  just  commencing,  to 
prevent  the  encroachments  which  are  making  almost  daily." — 
(Times,  Aug.  20,  1776.) 

"On  Tuesday  morning,  a  young  whale  came  up  the  River 
as  far  as  Rotherhithe,  and  was  killed  near  Execution  Dock 
after  having  overset  two  boats.  It  measured  19  feet  in  length." 
—(Times,  Aug.  25,  1796.) 

"  This  day,  the  Publicans  in  the  Metropolis,  and  its  vicinity, 
have,  conformable  to  an  agreement  amongst  themselves,  with- 
drawn from  the  Public  the  accommodation  of  finding  them 
Pewter  Pots,  agreeable  to  a  long  established  custom,  which 
will,  of  course,  occasion  great  inconvenience  to  workmen  of 
every  description,  who  are  employed  in  raising  buildings, 
repairing  houses,  &c. ;  as  well  as  lodgers,  and,  even,  to  many 
respectable  families.  The  profits  upon  Porter,  for  a  length  of 
time,  have  been  very  considerable,  which  proves  itself  beyond 
a  doubt,  by  their  acknowledging,  in  a  Bill  left  at  the  houses  of 
their  customers,  that  they,  collectively,  sustain  a  loss,  annually, 
of  £  1 00,000  per  annum,  in  Pots,  which,  by  no  means,  could 
have  been  afforded,  were  not  their  returns  somewhat  enormous. 
Under  that  idea,  it  is  presumed,  having  availed  themselves  of 
an  opportunity,  no  longer  to  be  liable  to  losses  of  that  kind, 
in  future,  they  will,  as  a  recompence  to  the  Public,  make  a 
reduction  in  price  of  the  necessary  article  of  Porter." — (Times, 
Sept.  2,  1796.) 

"The  late  determination  of  several  of  the  Publicans,  to 
alter  the  established  mode  of  serving  their  outdoor  customers, 
with  quart,  and  pint  pots,  seems  to  have  been  copied  from  an 
old  resolution  of  a  certain  Borough,  which  ran  thus  :  '  Re- 
solved, that  the  best  means  of  preserving  our  lamps  from 
being  broken,  is  to  take  them  down  by  night,  and  put  them 
up  in  the  day.'  Such  of  the  Publicans  as  have  come  into  this 
new  regulation,  seem  to  estimate  the  loss  of  a  few  pots,  be- 
yond that  of  the  most  respectable  of  their  customers.  It  is, 
however,  very  probable,  that  the  Small-Beer  Brewers  will 


328  Old  Times. 

profit  by  this  circumstance,  as  table-beer  may  be  ordered  in  by 
those  who  cannot  be  served  any  longer  in  the  usual  manner." 
— (Times,  Sept.  21,  1796.) 

"The  university  of  Oxford  has  lately  printed,  at  its  own 
expence,  to  be  distributed  gratis  among  the  French  Clergy  who 
have  taken  refuge  in  Great  Britain  (ad  Usum  Cleri  Gallicam 
in  Anglia  exidantis,  as  the  title  states)  2000  copies  of  the 
Vtdgate  of  the  New  Testament,  which  is  the  Latin  version  used 
by  the  Roman  Church  in  all  Public  Prayers. 

"  The  Marquis  of  BUCKINGHAM,  distinguished  for  his  muni- 
ficence towards  the  Clergy,  has  likewise  caused  to  be  printed 
at  his  expence,  2000  copies  at  the  same  press,  and  for  the  same 
use.  The  University  of  Oxford  has  sent  its  copies  to  the  vener- 
able Bishop  of  St  Pol  de  Leon,  for  distribution,  accompanied 
by  a  letter,  analogous  to  the  generous  sentiments  which  dictate 
this  honourable  mark  of  esteem  for  the  French  Clergy,  who  are 
fully  sensible  of  the  value  of  the  gift." — (Times,  Oct.  25,  1796.) 

"Christmas  Eve,  1796,  will  be  recorded  hereafter,  as  the 
Frost  was  more  rapid,  and  more  rigorous,  it  is  supposed,  than 
in  1739-40,  or  any  degree  of  cold  ever  experienced  in  England : 
the  quicksilver  in  a  thermometer  in  Somerset-place  sunk  from 
28  to  4  degrees  above  o  in  12  hours,  3  degrees  below  the 
depression  of  the  Mercury  in  1794  and  28  degrees  below  the 
freezing  point,  while  it  must  necessarily  have  been  still  lower 
in  the  country." — (Times,  Dec.  28,  1796.) 

Bartholomew  fair  was  first  held  A.D.  1133,  an(*  it  was 
then  the  principal  mart  for  the  vendors,  and  buyers,  of 
cloth  :  in  fact  the  name  of  a  street,  contiguous  to  Smith- 
field,  where  the  fair  was  held,  and  which  has  come  down 
to  us, — "  Cloth  fair,"  proves  it,  were  there  any  need. 
Of  late  years  it  got  a  nuisance,  and  public  opinion 
demanded  its  dissolution.  The  shows  were  discontinued 
in  1850,  and  the  fair  was  proclaimed,  for  the  last  time, 
in  1855.  We  see  by  the  following  paragraph,  from  the 
Times,  what  was  thought  of  it  by  decent-minded  people, 
as  far  back  as  1796. 


Old  Times.  329 

"BARTHOLOMEW  FAIR. 

"The  various  troops  of; itinerant  Comedians,  Showmen, 
Ropedancers,  Jugglers,  Conjurors,  Fortune  Tellers,  Giants, 
Dwarfs,  wild  Beasts,  learned  Beasts,  and  every  lusus  natures  that 
can  be  collected  throughout  the  Kingdom,  with  all  the  appen- 
dages of  immorality,  and  vice,  were  on  Saturday  put  in  legal 
possession  of  Smithfield,  as  the  theatre  of  their  achievements. 
When  we  add  to  these,  the  numerous  tribe  of  pickpockets, 
ring-droppers,  and  sharpers  of  every  description,  we  cannot  but 
sincerely  regret,  that  a  scene,  productive  of  so  much  idleness, 
and  debauchery,  should  be  sanctioned  by  the  letter  of  the  law, 
while  the  spirit  of  it  shudders  at  the  toleration  of  such  excesses. 

"  The  purposes  for  which  this  fair  was  held  by  its  original 
tenure  were  of  a  nature  directly  opposite  to  those  to  which  it 
is  now  prostituted.  They  went  to  the  encouragement  of  in- 
dustry by  the  previous  manufacture,  and  subsequent  sale,  of 
necessary  articles ;  but  they  are  now  made  subservient  to  cor- 
rupt the  public  mind  by  the  most  abandoned,  and  dissolute, 
manners.  The  motley  multitude  that  infests  the  fair,  are  the 
more  audacious  in  their  conduct,  from  knowing  that  they  are 
warranted  in  their  proceedings,  at  least  by  the  appearance  of 
law,  which  sanctions  this  annual  ribaldry. 

"  We  seriously  lament,  that  this  '  congratulation J  of  living 
vapours '  so  foul  and  pestilential  to  society,  should  be  suffered 
to  exist  in  the  metropolis,  and  that  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 
City  of  London  should  be  annually  compelled  to  degrade  his 
dignity  as  the  principal  guardian  of  the  public  peace  and 
morals,  by  going  in  state,  to  license  a  scene,  which  constantly 
terminates  in  the  most  fatal  abuses." — (Times,  Sep.  5,  1796.) 

"  At  the  general  Meeting  of  the  Magistrates  for  the  division 
of  Kensington,  on  Saturday  last,  complaints  were  made  not 
only  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  as  Lord  of  the  Manor,  but  by 
other  respectable  inhabitants  thereof,  of  a  nuisance  that  has 
prevailed  from  time  to  time  on  Wormholt  Scrubs  by  bull- 
baiting,  to  the  great  annoyance  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  the 
disturbance  of  the  public  peace,  when  the  Magistrates  came  to 
the  laudable  resolution  of  issuing  warrants  to  the  High,  and 

1  Sic  in  original. 


33O  Old  Times. 

Petty,  Constables  of  the  Division,  requiring  them  to  exert  their 
utmost  endeavours  to  prevent  the  same  in  future.  And,  having 
understood  that  many  Publicans  within  their  division  had 
conveyed  beer,  and  other  liquors,  from  their  frespective  houses 
to  Wormholt  Scrubs,  where  they  had  retailed  it  during  such 
bull-baiting,  they  determined  not  to  renew  their  licences." — 
(Times,  Sept.  8,  1796.) 

"  A  few  days  ago  some  villains  broke  into  the  Lea  Church, 
Gloucestershire,  and  stole  a  quantity  of  money,  the  property  of 
a  company  of  singers  belonging  to  the  said  church.  A  reward 
of  £20  was  immediately  offered  for  discovering  the  offenders, 
accompanied  by  a  threat  that  application  would  be  immediately 
made  to  a  conjuror,  who  lived  not  far  off,  to  tell  who  the 
robbers  were.  The  sacrilegious  rascals,  being  convinced  that 
the  Devil  would  betray  them,  by  informing  the  cunning  man 
who  they  were,  went  in  the  night  to  the  church,  and  pushed 
all  the  money  they  had  taken  through  a  slit  in  the  door,  where 
it  was  found  the  next  morning." — (Times,  Oct.  4,  1796.) 

"  An  ingenious  artist  has  invented  a  new  Coffin,  for  which 
he  has  taken  out  a  Patent  In  his  advertisements  he  says,  he 
thinks  no  family  would  like  to  be  without  one,  and  that  all  who 
have  made  trial  of  them,  prefer  them  to  anything  in  that  way, 
and  recommend  them  to  their  friends." — (Times,  Nov.  2,  1796.) 

"We  hope  the  Corporation  of  Bath  will  avoid  a  similar 
mistake  as  happened  when  the  Duke  of  YORK  was  there  last 
year,  when  the  gold  box  was  presented  to  the  Duke,  but  some- 
how or  other,  it  was  forgotten  to  put  the  freedom  into  it." — 
(Times,  Nov.  28,  1796.) 

The    gushing,   and    eloquent,   George    Robins    could 
hardly  exceed  the  following  : — 

Advt  "RUS  in  URBE  PULCHERRIMAM.  To  be 
LET  furnished,  the  FIRST,  SECOND  and  THIRD  FLOORS  with  a 
Kitchen,  altogether  the  most  convenient  and  beautiful  little 
Dwelling  in  Europe.  Satisfactory  references  will  be  required. 
Enquire  at  Messrs  &c." — (Times,  Oct.  14,  1796.) 

"  Lady  E.  being  lately  complimented  upon  her  excellent 
complexion,  assured  her  friend  it  was  owing  to  her  custom  of 
dipping  into  cold  water  every  morning.  '  But  I  see,'  said  she, 


Old  Times.  331 

'you  don't  believe  me.'  'Pardon  me,'  said  the  Gentleman, 
'  if  your  Ladyship  said  you  bathed  in  the  Red  Sea,  I  should 
have  believed  you.'" — (Times,  Nov.  24,  1796.) 

"  Last  Sunday,  agreeable  to  his  sentence  in  the  Ecclesias- 
tical Court,  a  Butcher  of  Newport  Market,  did  penance  in 
St.  Ann's  Church,  for  scandalizing  a  neighbour's  character." 
— (Times,  Dec.  2,  1796.) 

"  There  is  a  Club  in  St.  James  St.  called  the  Transalpine. 
To  be  a  Member,  it  is  indispensable  that  you  have  crossed 
Mont  Cents.  One  of  the  advantages  of  modern  travelling  is, 
to  be  entitled  upon  your  return  to  waste  your  time  at  home, 
with  those  who  have  wasted  their's  abroad.  This  is  the 
reward  of  what  is  called  seeing  the  world  :  namely,  seeing 
those  who  have  seen  it  too." — (Times,  Jan.  25,  1797.) 

"  A  noble  Viscount  has  instituted  a  Club,  called  the  Ubi- 
quarians — the  Club  is  ambulatory,  and  held,  in  turn,  at  as 
many  chop-houses  as  there  are  parishes  in  the  capital.  The 
dinner  is  at  half-a-crown,  but  it  costs  as  much  more  to  those  who 
are  not  good  walkers  to  get  at  it." — (Times,  Jan.  25,  1797.) 

"  It  is  a  very  curious  fact,  that  the  Turkish  custom  of  taking 
opium  is  beginning  to  prevail  in  what  are  called  the  first  circles 
of  London.  This  dissipation  is  spreading  wide  amongst 
female  fashion." — (Times,  Feb.  10,  1797.) 

"  The  Gentlemen  of  the  Rainbow  (footmen),  whose  only 
wear  is  motley,'  have  within  these  few  days,  shewn  evident 
symptoms  of  uniting.  They  declare  their  wages  are  very 
inferior  in  value  to  their  services,  and  threaten  their  masters 
with  a  revolution  in  their  conduct.  When  pampered  valets 
claim  an  increase  of  salary,  on  the  ground  of  meritorious  ser- 
vice, a  general  discharge  would  certainly  be  the  most  effectual 
way  of  quieting  their  complaints." — (Times,  June  6,  1797.) 

"We  are  pleased  to  be  able  to  commend  one  change  of 
fashion,  at  least,  that  which  has  deprived  the  servants  of 
Officers  of  the  cockade  in  their  hats :  and  we  hope  to  see  it 
spread,  till  it  becomes  as  singular,  as  it  is  absurd,  to  dress  up 
a  Domestic  in  the  characteristics  of  the  field!"  —  (Times, 
June  10,  1797.) 


332  Old  Times. 

"  On  Sunday,  for  the  first  time,  the  Civil  Power  interested 
itself  in  breaking  up  what  was  called  Cooper's  Fair  in  the 
Spa  Fields,  in  consequence  of  the  weekly  holdings  forth  of  a 
variety  of  Enthusiasts  :  such  as  Mystics,  Methodists,  Quaking 
Jews,  &c.  One  of  the  latter  description  being  eager  for  per- 
secution, insisted  upon  going  into  confinement,  and  was  con- 
veyed to  Clerkenwell  Bridewell." — (Times,  July  20,  1797.) 

"On  the  25th  of  February,  died  in  the  Barony  of  Ivereagh, 
in  the  County  of  Kerry,  Ireland,  in  the  nath  year  of  his  age 
DANIEL  BULL  MACARTHY  Esq.  He  had  been  married  to  five 
wives :  he  married  the  fifth,  who  survives  him,  when  he  was 
84  and  she  14,  by  whom  he  had  twenty  children,  she  bearing 
a  child  every  year.  He  was  very  healthy :  no  cold  could 
affect  him  :  and  he  could  not  bear  the  warmth  of  a  shirt  in 
the  night  time,  but  put  it  under  his  pillow,  for  the  last  seventy 
years.  In  company  he  drank  plentifully  of  rum,  and  brandy, 
which  he  called  naked  truth  ;  and  when,  out  of  complaisance 
to  other  gentlemen,  he  took  claret,  or  port,  he  always  drank 
an  equal  glass  of  rum,  or  brandy,  to  qualify  those  liquors  :  this 
he  called  a  wedge.  He  used  to  walk  eight,  or  ten,  miles  in  a 
winter's  morning  with  greyhounds,  and  finders,  and  seldom 
failed  to  bring  home  a  brace  of  hares." — (Times,  Aug.  5,  1797.) 

"  On  Sunday  morning,  about  five  o'clock,  ten  Police  officers 
came  to  Norwood  in  three  hackney-coaches,  threw  down  all 
the  gypsey  tents,  and  exposed  about  30  men,  women,  and 
children,  in  the  primitive  state  of  man.  They  carried  them 
to  prison,  to  be  dealt  with  according  to  the  Vagrant  Act. 

"  It  appears  that  they  have  made  good  harvest,  this  summer, 
of  female  credulity,  and  have  often  gained  a  guinea  on  a 
Sunday.  Not  only  young  girls,  panting  for  matrimony,  have 
been  their  dupes,  but  the  well  experienced  dames,  curious  to 
trace  the  steps  of  their  dear  spouses,  have  paid  liberally  for 
discovery,  as  the  following  story  will  prove :  On  Thursday,  as 
two  Gentlemen,  who  dined  at  Norwood,  were  looking  out  of 
a  window,  they  observed  a  respectable,  well-dressed  woman  in 
deep  consultation,  for  a  sum  paid  to  the  old  gypsey.  They 
observed  the  good  woman  greatly  agitated,  and  heard  her  ask 
'  If  she  was  sure  it  was  true  '  ?  On  being  answered  '  As  sure 
as  God  was  in  heaven'  she  gave  the  gypsey  a  further  sum, 


Old  Times.  333 

and  made  further  enquiry,  and  at  last  gave  her  a  good  pocket- 
handkerchief,  and  departed  seemingly  full  of  vengeance.  The 
gentlemen,  curious  to  learn  the  nature  of  the  good  woman's 
consultation,  sent  for  the  old  gypsey,  who  candidly  told  them, 
that  she  enquired  of  her  if  her  husband  was  continent,  and 
that  she  answered  he  was  not,  and  thereby  obtained  three 
presents  instead  of  one." — (Times,  Aug.  22,  1797.) 

Partridge  shooting  began  on  I4th  September  then, 
instead  of  the  1st  as  now. 

FOURTEENTH  OF  SEPTEMBER. 

"  Bemired  up  to  the  knees,  wetted  from  head  to  foot  by  the 
incessant  rain,  fatigued  and  disappointed,  the  Cocknies  yester- 
day returned  from  their  annual  field-sport,  with  very  little  game 
indeed.  A  detachment  from  Cheapside,  which  had  filed  off 
early  in  the  morning,  toward  Hampstead,  with  the  locks  of 
their  fowling-pieces  wrapped  up  in  their  handkerchiefs,  were 
so  galled  by  the  rain,  that  they  got  no  further  than  Old  Mother 
Red  Cap's,  where  they  diverted  themselves  all  day  with  firing 
from  a  window  at  some  Dutch-pins  in  the  skittle  ground. 
One  of  these  pins  was  mortally  wounded  in  the  belly  by  Ensign 
Tight  Breeches,  a  man  milliner's  foreman,  who  drove  a  ball 
into  it,  at  the  amazing  distance  of  two  yards,  without  letting 
the  gun  fall  out  of  his  hand. 

"  Six  journeymen  weavers,  from  Spital-fields,  who  went  in  a 
chaise  cart,  to  Ealing,  with  two  guns,  were  rather  more  for- 
tunate, in  respect  to  Game.  They  killed  a  lame  hen  at  Acton, 
shot  one  goose  on  the  Common,  wounded  a  large  sow,  and 
filled  their  pockets  and  Game-bags  with  turnips,  and  cabbages. 
They  imagined  they  sprung  a  pheasant  near  Gunnersbury 
House, — but  it  proved  to  be  an  old  turkey-cock.  At  Eleven, 
they  returned,  very  wet,  and  very  drunk,  having  lost  one  of 
their  guns,  and  broke  the  stock  of  the  other,  by  flinging  it  at 
a  tame  rabbit,  in  a  farmer's  yard. 

"  Four  gentlemen  from  Leadenhall-Market,  who  went  on  the 
long-coach  to  Woolwich,  as  there  are  partridges  in  that  part  of 
Kent,  killed  two  crows  in  Hanging-Wood  Lane,  blinded  a 
jackass  near  the  Warren,  and  wounded  a  sparrow,  several 
feathers  being  perceived  to  drop  from  its  wings.  They  had 


334  Old  Times. 

tolerable  good  sport  with  a  bat,  their  terriers'^  being  of  an 
excellent  breed,  and  having  worried  a  flock  of  ducks  in  a 
ditch,  and  killed  one,  they  returned  from  Partridge  shooting 
about  nine  at  night,  very  much  fatigued  indeed. 

"  Five  gentlemen  who  went  sporting  from  Kent  Bar  to 
Lewisham,  notwithstanding  the  wetness  of  the  day,  had  toler- 
able good  luck. 

"  They  belonged  to  the  Trained  Bands,  and  depended  more 
upon  their  bayonets,  than  their  guns.  At  the  Half- Way-House 
they  killed  a  fine  buck-cat,  as  he  was  watching  a  chaffinch. 
From  the  Half-Way-House  to  New-Cross  Turnpike,  every 
sparrow  was  affrighted  by  the  noise  of  their  guns  :  but  the  rain 
by  this  time  having  completely  wetted  the  locks,  and  damped 
the  powder,  they  were  obliged  to  charge  with  bayonets,  and 
every  tree  bore  marks  of  their  prowess,  to  the  Lion  and  Lamb 
.  at  Lewisham,  where  they  dined,  got  drunk,  killed  two  hogs, 
and  a  Chinese  sow,  and,  in  the  evening,  were  carried  home  by 
the  Lewisham  stage. 

"  St.  George's  Fields,  once  the  mart  of  London  sportsmen, 
being  now  almost  covered  with  houses,  very  few  prentice-boy 
gunners  were  seen  there.  The  birds  which  now  inhabit  that 
quarter,  are  many  of  them  jail-birds,  and  if  the  new  Magistrates 
were  to  sport  their  authority  a  little  more  than  they  do,  they 
might  bring  down  some  of  the  most  dangerous  game  with 
which  a  neighbourhood  was  ever  infested. 

"  Very  few  were  the  sportsmen  on  Blackheath,  to  the  great 
joy  of  sheep  and  jackasses,  and  to  the  safety  of  stage-passen- 
gers, who  were  often  endangered  by  the  random  shot  of  those 
one-day  sportsmen.  As  to  partridges,  their  lives  were  in  no 
danger,  not  one  of  those  sportmen  out  of  fifty  knowing  the 
difference  between  a  partridge  and  a  crow ;  besides,  as  their 
dogs  are  generally  of  the  bull-dog  kind,  of  the  terrier,  or  the 
fox  breed,  the  game  are  in  very  little  danger  of  injury  from 
their  ability." — (Times,  Sept.  15,  1797.) 

"  There  will  be  more  Powder  expended  to-day  against  the 
innocent  Partridges,  than  would  drive  Buonaparte  and  his 
crew  out  of  Asia.  The  Bank  Clerks,  India  House  Jemmies, 
Men  Milliners,  and  tippy  Apprentices,  most  loudly  complain 
against  the  enclosures  of  that  Cockney  Manor,  St.  George's 


Old  Times.  335 

Fields,  bewailing  the  loss  of  their  sport,  and  lamenting  that 
there  is  not  a  sparrow  left  to  exercise  their  prowess  upon." — 
(Times,  Sept.  14,  1798.) 

"  So  great  is  the  rage  for  watering  places,  that  the  Margate 
Packet  had,  the  week  before  last,  one  hundred  and  fifty-two 
passengers  on  board,  who  were  27  hours  on  their  passage; 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  it  rained  so  as  to  drive 
them  under  deck,  and  made  them  as  comfortable  as  the  people 
in  the  black  hole  at  Calcutta." — (Times,  Sept.  16,  1797.) 

"  On  Thursday  evening  last,  one  George  Kent,  a  Callender, 
in  New  Compton  St.,  St.  Giles's,  eat,  for  a  trifling  wager,  the 
enormous  quantity  of  30  boiled  eggs,  a  two-penny  loaf,  and  a 
quarter  of  a  pound  of  butter,  in  the  short  space  of  27  minutes, 
being  three  minutes  less  than  the  time  given  to  perform  it." — 
(Times,  Oct.  2,  1797.) 

(Advt.)  "  GUILDHALL. 

"THREE  GUINEAS  will  be  given  for  a  GENTLEMAN'S 
TICKED  to  DINE  THIS  DAY  at  GUILDHALL,  by  sending  it  before 
12  o'clock,  to  Mr.  Short,  Hair  Dresser,  Bearbinder-lane,  near 
the  Mansion  House." — (Times,  Nov.  9,  1797.) 

"  Never  could  any  Country  boast  an  equal  respect,  and  even 
partiality,  for  age,  with  our  own.  Our  favourite  Sultanas  are 
grandmothers,  at  the  least :  the  Actresses  that  charmed  our 
grandfathers  return  to  the  stage  in  the  full  bloom  of  their 
wrinkles :  and  we  have  boys  of  seventy,  and  fourscore,  in  our 
regiments." — (Times,  Nov.  15,  1797.) 

"  Amongst  the  great,  and  worthy,  pluralists  of  the  Church,  few 
can  equal,  and  none  exceed,  in  spiritual,  and  temporal,  fortune, 
young  Dr.  Price,  nephew  to  Bishop  Barringlon  ; *  he  is  Canon, 
and  Prebendary,  of  Salisbury,  worth  ^"300  per  annum,  Golden 
Prebendary  of  Durham,  worth  ^"1200  per  annum  :  and  Rector 
of  Milksham,  worth  ^1000  per  annum,  and  is  possessed  of 
a  temporal  fortune  of  between  2  and  ^3000  per  annum  ! 

"  Dr.  Moss,  a  lately  appointed  Residentiary  of  St.  Paul's, 

1  Shute  Barrington.     Bishop  of  Llandaff  1769.     Bishop  of  Salisbury 
1782.     Bishop  of  Durham  1791. 


336  Old  Times. 

worth  ;£i2oo  per  annum,  is  Chancellor  of  the  Diocese  of 
Wells,  Prebendary  of  Wells,  Westminster,  and  Salisbury,  and 
also  Canon  Residentiary  of  the  latter,  to  which  he  was  elected 
when  he  was  about  24  years  of  age,  on  the  resignation  of  his 
father.  In  addition  to  the  above  preferments,  Dr.  Moss  is 
also  rector  of  Newington  in  Oxfordshire,  worth  ^600  per 
annum.  The  present  Bishop  of  WELLS,  with  his  family,  it  is 
computed  has  received  upwards  of  ^"100,000  out  of  the 
Cathedrals  of  Salisbury  and  Wells.  He  strongly  insisted  that 
his  son  should  continue  his  Canonry  of  Salisbury,  which  Mr. 
PITT  would  not  allow."—  (Times,  Nov.  17,  1797.) 

"In  investigating  a  trivial  cause  yesterday,  at  Bow-Street, 
arising  from  an  infamous  practice,  which  we  hope  will  be 
represented  to  Lord  KENYON,  of  issuing  Marshalsea  Court 
Writs  for  debts  of  8s.  or  123.',  a  fraud  of  some  importance  was 
discovered.  It  appears  that  it  was  the  custom  of  Publicans, 
when  they  want  to  let  their  houses,  to  get  a  'number  of  people 
together,  whom  they  treat  with  beer. 

"They  call  them  show-men,  and  this  is  done  for  the  pur- 
pose of  deceiving  the  persons  who  come  to  view  their  house, 
and  to  make  them  suppose  it  has  good  custom."  —  (Times,  Nov. 


Advt.         "PROCESSION  TO  ST.  PAULS.1 

"To  BE  LET,  a  DRAWING-ROOM  about  20  feet  long, 
the  windows  nearly  level  with  his  Majesty's  Carriage.  Twenty 
Persons  may  be  comfortably  accommodated.  It  is  wished  by 
the  Proprietor  of  the  above  Premises,  that  the  Party  may  be 
of  their  own  selection  :  a  strange  mixture  of  Company  on  these 
occasions  is  unpleasant  to  most  Families  who  wish  to  enjoy 
their  own  society.  Price  20  Guineas.  Enquire  at  Salmon's 
Goldsmith,  No.  49  facing  Old  Round  Court,  Strand,  between 
York  buildings  and  the  Adelphi."  —  (Times,  Dec.  8,  1797.) 

Advt.  "ROYAL  PROCESSION. 

"  One  of  the  grandest  sights  since  the  days  of  Queen  Anne, 
and  in  all  probability  we  shall  never  see  the  like  again. 
Those  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  who  are  desirous  of  being 

1  To  return  thanks  for  Admiral  Duncan's  victory  over  the  Dutch  fleet. 


Old  Times.  337 

accommodated  with  one  of  the  best  views  in  the  City  to  see 
the  procession  (not  only  as  it  passes  by,  but  of  seeing  the 
Company  go  into  Church),  will  apply  to  No.  28  Ludgate- 
Street,  the  corner  of  Ave  Maria-Lane,  next  the  Churchyard. 
The  Front  Seats  in  the  Dining  Room  are  only  2  Guineas,  the 
second  seats  i|  guinea,  third  seats  i  Guinea:  seats  in  the 
shop,  which  is  very  pleasant  i  Guinea  each :  a  two  pair  front 
room,  with  3  windows,  for  a  large  party,  at  20  Guineas  for  the 
day,  an  excellent  prospect.  Also  a  3  pair  of  stairs  front  room 
which  has  a  capital  view  of  the  Churchyard,  for  12  Guineas. 
Ladies  and  Gentlemen  will  be  accommodated  with  sight  of  the 
procession  at  the  west  end  of  the  Town,  where  they  may  have 
small  rooms,  or  large,  on  moderate  terms,  that  is  to  say,  a  very 
handsome  dining-room  for  15  Guineas,  a  small  room  adjoining 
for  5  Guineas,  large  room,  2  pair,  for  10  Guineas,  small  room 
adjoining  for  4  Guineas,  by  applying  to  Mr.  Farrance,  Pastry 
Cook,  the  Corner  of  Spring  Gardens,  Charing  Cross." — 
(Times,  Dec.  12,  1797.) 

"  The  eight  cream-coloured  horses  belonging  to  the  KING'S 
State-Coach,  are  every  morning  drove  to  St.  Paul's  Church  to 
train  them  to  the  flags  in  Queen  Ann's  Church-yard." — 
(Times,  Dec.  14,  1797.) 

"In  England  the  amount  of  French  prisoners  is  23,600. 
In  France  the  British  do  not  exceed  1500."— (Times,  Dec. 
14,  I797-) 

In  an  article  of  half  a  column  length  (Times,  Jan.  8, 
1798),  treating  of  the  French  Prisoners  of  war — the  follow- 
ing is  the  concluding  paragraph  : — 

"In  respect  to  the  quantity  of  their  allowance,  we 
state,  on  the  most  certain  authority,  that  their  sub- 
sistence is  a  pound  of  bread,  and  half  a  pound  of  good 
fresh  beef,  every  day  in  the  week,  together  with  a  full 
proportion  of  vegetables.  A  subsistence  which  thou- 
sands of  our  own  poor  would  be  glad  to  have." 

"The  firm  conduct  of  our  Government  in  refusing  any 

V 


338  Old  Times. 

longer  to  make  advances  for  the  maintenance  of  French 
Prisoners,  has  had  the  good  effect  of  obliging  the  Executive 
Directory  to  come  forward  with  the  necessary  supplies,  and 
as  the  French  agents  have  now  the  whole  management  of 
this  concern,  we  shall  no  longer  be  subject  to  their  odious 
calumnies  against  the  humanity  of  this  country. 

The  number  of  French  prisoners  in  England,  amounts  to 
about  22,000  j  the  Dutch  prisoners  are  about  2,500.  The 
daily  cost  of  these  men,  since  the  French  agents  had  the 
charge  of  them,  has  been  ,£1,370  sterling  a  day  (about 
is.  id.  each):  and  their  annual  expence  is  upwards  of  ONE 
MILLION  sterling.  The  number  of  English  prisoners  in 
France  does  not  exceed  4000." — (Times,  Feb.  27,  1798.) 

"  Southampton  was  thrown  into  consternation  on  Saturday 
morning,  by  an  event  which  was  variously  reported  by  different 
narrators  in  the  course  of  the  day;  but,  'ere  night,  all  ideas 
of  French  spies,  false  Emigrants,  &c.,  subsided,  and  the  event 
turned  out  to  be  'that  three  French  prisoners  from  Por- 
chester,  had  made  their  escape  to  Southampton.'  A  party 
of  pleasure  had  engaged  WasseWs  vessel  to  go  to  the  Isle  of 
Wight.  At  an  early  hour  on  Saturday  morning,  on  repairing 
to  the  Quay,  the  man  could  not  discover  his  pleasure  boat. 
Every  one  was  concerned  for  his  loss,  and  many  hours  elapsed 
before  any  tidings  could  be  heard  of  her,  when  some  fishing 
boats  gave  information  that  they  had  met  her  near  Calshot 
Castle,  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but  had  no 
suspicion  she  had  been  run  away  with.  In  the  evening,  news 
arrived,  that  in  steering,  to  keep  as  far  from  Spithead  as  possible, 
the  Frenchmen  were  near  running  on  shore  at  Ride.  This  cir- 
cumstance convinced  the  pilots  that  Wassell  was  not  on  board 
when  they  went  to  her  assistance,  secured  the  three  French 
men,  and  saved  the  vessel  for  the  owner." — (Times,  July  2, 
I799-) 

'"To  which  university,'  said  a  lady,  some  time  since,  to 
the  late  sagacious  Dr.  WARREN,  'shall  I  send  my  Son?' — 
'Madam,'  replied  he,  'they  drink,  I  believe,  near  the  same 
quantity  of  port  in  each  of  them.'" — (Times,  Feb.  19,  1798."" 


Old  Times.  339 

It  was  in  this  year  that  Jenner  first  wrote  on  Vaccina- 
tion. The  following  paragraph  refers  to  Inoculation, 
which  was  introduced  into  England,  circa  1718,  by  Lady 
Mary  Wortley  Montague,  who  had  seen  it  practised  in 
Turkey  : — 

"Memento  narare  multis  officium  alterius. — Mr.  W.  HOLT, 
Surgeon,  of  the  parish  of  Tottenham  High  Cross,  has 
generously  undertaken  (within  the  last  two  months)  to  inocu- 
late the  poorer  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  parish,  for  the 
small  pox,  which  he  has  done  (and  that  gratis)  to  the  amount 
of  some  hundreds,  the  whole  of  which  number  have  done 
well,  not  one  patient  excepted.  The  above  act  is  praise- 
worthy, and  will  redound  much  to  Mr.  Holt's  honour.  It  is 
to  be  hoped  the  above  example  will  be  followed  by  other 
Medical  Gentlemen,  if  so,  in  a  few  years  we  shall  not  see, 
as  we  now  daily  do,  the  ill-effects  of  that  dreadful  disease,  the 
small  pox,  in  the  natural  way." — (Times,  March  28,  1798.) 

"Previous  to  the  HUMANE  SOCIETY'S  Procession  (at  the 
London  Tavern,  next  Tuesday)  of  those  who  have  been 
restored  to  life  this  year,  an  Introductory  Dialogue,  written 
after  the  manner  of  Virgil's  pathetic  and  beautiful  pastorals, 
by  JOHN  GRETTON  Esqre,  will  be  spoken  by  two  young 
Gentlemen.  Rising  genius  was  fully  experienced  at  the  last 
Anniversary.  What  then  must  not  be  the  gratification  to  a 
British  heart,  where  to  the  solemn  scene  of  our  resuscitated 
brethren,1  is  superadded  the  efforts  of  these  able  advocates  in 
the  cause  of  humanity,  and  the  sublime  views  of  this  most 
excellent  Institution  ?" — (Times,  April 14,  1798.) 

"  ANECDOTE. 

"  It  is  a  fact  of  which  we  can  assure  our  readers,  that  the 
following  extraordinary  Letter  was  sent  to  a  worthy  Baronet 
not  a  hundred  miles  from  Whitehall.  It  was  tied  round  the 
neck  of  an  unfortunate  animal,  who,  we  are  sorry  to  say, 


1  The  persons  recovered  during  the  year,  by  the  instrumentality  of  the 
Society,  appeared  in  solemn  procession  at  the  anniversary  dinner. 


340  Old  Times. 

appears  to  have  been  made  the  victim  of  party  malice,  and  the 
unfeeling  passions  of  men  : 

A 

"THE    RATS    LETTER. 

("  Health  and  Fra/ernity.) 

"  SIR, — I  am"a  desperate  Rat,  gratified  indeed  in  the  present 
opportunity  of  congra/ulating  you,  though  lately  separated 
from  my  family  and  connexions,  having  been  caught  in  the 
grating  of  Mr.  PITT'S  cage,  in  Downing  St.,  prostrate  at  his 
feet,  I  escaped  death,  and  even  castration,  in  the  considera/ion 
that  I  belong  to  your  worthy  fraternity,  and  upon  condition 
that  I  should  inform  you  of  certain  truths,  however  grating. 
Since  the  discovery  of  the  conspirators,  your  orations  have  not 
been  underated.  for  they  have  not  been  rational.  If  your 
treaty  with  them  has  been  ra/ified,  you  will  be  well  scratched, 
and  so  forbear  prating  for  the  present.  Besides  it  is  a 
desideratum  that  you  should  have  nothing  to  say  to  Mr. 
Gra/tan,  and  that  you  should  not  Co-operate  with  the  Irish- 
Mara/s.  Let  your  narrations  concerning  Ratisbon,  or  Ratstadt, 
be  moderate,  and  endeavour  to  make  reparation  for  all  the 
nonsense  you  have  talked,  and  the  mischief  you  have  not 
operated.  Sequestrate  yourself  with  your  venerated  old 
Aunts,  and  deal  out  rations  of  oatmeal,  and  cheese,  to  your 
prating  brats,  whom  everybody  commiserates,  and  arbitrate 
between  cowherds,  and  bullock  drivers.  Demonstrate  that 
you  are  a  wise  man  in  your  generation :  Exempli  gratia.,  this 
year,  having  been  beat  blind  by  the  bulk  of  bullocks,  try  next 
to  run  down  your  successor  in  a  race  of  ameliorated  Rats. 
Full  of  admiration,  and  great  gratitude,  I  give  you  the  fraternal 
hug,  and  rate  myself,  with  great  considera/ion,  without 
alteration.  Your  grateful  Frafer  (Gratis) 

"  Democrat" 
— (Times,  June  4,  1798.) 

"  We  are  sorry  to  hear  that  the  Rat  that  wrote  the  famous 
letter,  was  cruelly  murdered  by  the  enraged  servants.  The 
Rat  is  now  said  to  have  been  over-driven,  and  made  mad  in 
Downing  St.,  in  order  that  he  might  scratch  the  Knight  into 
the  Ca/-aphobia»  He  anxiously  expects  the]  cat-astrophe. 


Old  Times.  341 

The  jRaf's  letter  has  very  much  exaspera/ed  the  Worthy 
Baronet  to  whom  he  addressed  it."— (Times,  June  8,  1798.) 

"  Colonel  Twiss,  and  other  officers  of  the  engineers,  have 
been  employed  by  government  to  examine  a  proposition  made 
by  a  Mr.  Dodd,  for  forming  a  tunnel  under  the  River  Thames, 
from  Gravesend,  to  Tilbury."— (Times,  July  16,  1798.) 

"  Tower  Hill  is  soon  to  lose  that  name,  and,  in  compliment 
to  the  Trinity  House,  it  is  in  future  to  be  called  Trinity 
Square."— (Times,  July  16,  1798.) 

They  knew  how  to  puff— in  those  days  : — 

"  Advt. — Thirty  Thousand  Pounds  gained  for  Five  shillings, 
without  a  Lottery.  A  Gentleman  of  the  Navy  had,  for  some 
time,  been  paying  his  addresses  to  a  Lady  of  Fortune,  and 
gained  her  affections  :  being  suddenly  ordered  off  to  the  West 
Indies,  the  marriage  was  deferred  until  his  return.  On 
arriving  at  St.  Domingo,  he  was  attacked  by  the  Yellow 
Fever,  which  appeared  externally  in  scabby  eruptions,  arising 
from  living  in  too  free  a  manner  in  that  destructive  climate, 
which  disfigured  his  face  so  much,  that,  on  his  return  to 
England,  the  Lady  was  disgusted,  and  broke  off  the  match. 
This  turn  so  affected  the  Gentleman  that  a  slow  nervous  fever 
resulted,  which  reduced  him  so  low  that  his  recovery  was 
despaired  of.  Fortunately,  an  officer  of  the  Guards,  his 
intimate  friend,  calling  on  him,  told  him  he  thought  the  per- 
usal of  Dr.  Brodum's  Guide  to  Old  Age  would  be  of  service : 
and,  in  consequence,  purchased  a  Guide  for  five  shillings, 
which,  with  the  aid  of  the  Dr.'s  Botanical  Syrup,  completely 
restored  him,  and  on  calling  on  the  Lady  after  his  recovery, 
she  was  so  well-pleased  at  his  healthy  appearance,  as  to 
immediately  consent  to  unite  herself  with  him,  and  make  over 
a  fortune  of  ^30,000." — (Times,  Nov.  20,  1798.) 

"  A  story  is  told  at  Brighton  of  a  certain  Baronet  having 
been  most  cruelly  imposed  upon  by  some  young  Bucks,  at  that 
place,  who  sent  him  a  pretended  letter  from  the  wife  of  a 
Dentist,  requesting  a  tender  interview.  The  Baronet  flew  to 


342  Old  Times. 

her  lodgings  on  the  wings  of  love,  but  the  first  person  he  met 
was  her  husband.  The  Baronet,  with  a  ready  attention  to  pro- 
fessional circumstances,  said  he  came  to  ask  advice  for  the 
toothache:  the  operator  rejoined,  that  an  extraction  was  the 
most  certain  cure,  and  the  unfortunate  Baronet  actually  sub- 
mitted to  an  incision  in  his  jaw,  to  save  the  rest  of  it  from 
being  broken." — (Times,  Nov.  30,  1798.) 

"  This  being  the  first  day  of  May,  Mrs.  MONTAGUE  will  give 
her  annual  entertainment  of  roast  beef,  and  plum-pudding,  to 
the  Chimney-sweepers  of  the  Metropolis,  in  the  court  yard  of 
her  house  in  Portman  Square,  in  commemoration  of  discovering 
her  child  among  them,  long  after  it  had  been  trepanned  away." 
—(Times,  May  i,  1799.) 

"The  donations  given  by  Mrs.  MONTAGUE,  of  Portman 
Square,  every  May-day,  proceed  from  pure  benevolence  towards 
the  distressed  poor.  The  story,  which  Jias  been  generally 
believed,  of  her  having  once  lost  a  child,  who  was  trepanned 
from  her  house,  is  wholly  unfounded." — (Times,  May  2,  1799.) 

"The  Lady  Mayoress  is  in  the  straw,  and  the  Bambino, 
according  to  the  customs  of  the  City,  is  to  be  rocked  in  a 
cradle  of  solid  silver.  This  is  a  very  ancient  privilege,  and,  as 
it  costs  the  City  about  FIVE  HUNDRED  POUNDS,  the  Aldermen 
will  probably  look  twice,  before  they  elect  family  men  again 
with  their  wives  in  the  family  way." — (Times,  July  i,  1799.) 

What  occasioned  the  following  ? 

"  Such  senseless  extravagance  as  eating  Bank  notes  has  not 
been  known  since  the  French  Courtezan,  who  curled  her  hair 
with  them  :  or  the  days  of  Cleopatra,  who  swallowed  a  jewel  as 
a  rich  repast." — (Times,  Aug.  22,  1799.) 

The  singular  belief  that  used  to  obtain,  and  still  is 
prevalent,  especially  among  the  lower  classes,  that  a  man 
might  sell  his  wife  to  any  bidder,  provided  that  he  did 
so  in  open  market,  and  with  a  halter  round  her  neck, 
was  in  full  force  at  the  latter  end  of  the  1 8th  Century. 


Old  Times.  343 

That  this  belief  has  not  died  out  may  be  seen  in  an 
article  on  "Wife  Selling,"  by  my  brother,  in  "All  the 
year  Round"  20th  Dec.  1884,  in  which  he  cites  cases 
as  recently  as  1862,  1870,  1881 — and  two  in  1882 — in 
one  of  which,  the  wife  was  sold  for  a  glass  of  ale,  and 
the  other,  for  a  penny  and  a  dinner. 

"  By  some  mistake,  or  omission,  in  the  report  of  the  Smith- 
field  Market,  we  have  not  learned  the  average  price  of  wives 
for  the  last  week. 

"The  increasing  value  of  the  fair  sex  is  esteemed  by  several 
eminent  writers  as  the  certain  criterion  of  increasing  civiliza- 
tion. SMITHFIELD  has,  on  this  ground,  strong  pretensions  to 
refined  improvement,  as  the  price  of  Wives  has  risen  in  that 
market  from  half  a  guinea,  to  three  guineas  and  a  half." — 
(Times,  July  22,  1797.) 

"  An  Hostler's  wife,  in  the  country,  lately  fetched  twenty-five 
guineas.  We  hear  there  is  to  be  a  sale  of  wives  soon  at  Christie's. 
We  have  no  doubt  they  will  soon  go  off  well." — (Times,  Sept. 
19,  I797-) 

"  On  Friday  a  butcher  exposed  his  wife  to  sale  in  Smithfield 
Market,  near  the  Ram  Inn,  with  a  halter  about  her  neck,  and 
one  about  her  waist,  which  tied  her  to  a  railing,  when  a  hog- 
driver  was  the  happy  purchaser,  who  gave  the  husband  three 
guineas,  and  a  crown,  for  his  departed  rib.  Pity  it  is,  there  is 
no  stop  put  to  such  depraved  conduct  in  the  lower  order  of 
people." — (Times,  July  18,  1797.) 

"On  Saturday  evening  last,  John  Lees,  steel-burner,  sold 
his  wife  for  the  small  sum  of  6d.  to  Samuel  Hall,  fell-monger, 
both  of  Sheffield.  Lees  gave  Hall  one  guinea  immediately,  to 
have  her  taken  off  to  Manchester  the  day  following  by  the 
coach:  she  was  delivered  up  with  a  halter  round  her  neck, 
and  the  clerk  of  the  market  received  4^.  for  toll.  It  would  be 
,well  if  some  law  was  inforced  to  put  a  stop  to  such  degrading 
traffic  ! !  (Sheffield  Register)  "—(Times,  March  30,  1796.) 


344  Old  Times. 

"  At  the  last  sale  of  wives  there  was  but  a  poor  show  though 
there  were  plenty  of  bidders.  One  alone  went  off  well,  being 
bought  by  a  Taylor,  who  outbid  eight  of  his  competitors." — 
(Times,  Dec.  2,  1797.) 

Advt.  "To  THE  CURIOUS.  J.  Harrison  begs  leave  to 
inform  his  Friends,  and  the  Public,  that  he  has,  for  sale,  a 
great  variety  of  grafted  Gooseberry  Plants,  in  pots,  with  red, 
white,  and  black  Currants  growing  on  each,  the  fruit  of  the 
finest  flavour :  and  handsome  standard  Currant  Trees,  5  feet 
high,  with  red,  white,  and  black,  fruit  on  each,  likewise  dwarf 
Apple  Trees,  handsome  plants,  suitable  for  the  borders  of 
pleasure  gardens,  being  full  of  fine  fruit.  Gentlemen  and 
Ladies  are  invited  to  come  and  view  his  plants,  now  the  fruits 
are  on  them,  at  his  Nursery,  opposite  the  Turks  Head,  half-way 
to  Deptford  Upper  Road." — (Times,  Aug.  9,  1799.) 

"  When  the  order  for  the  embargo  was  received  at  Graves- 
end,  two  hoys,  the  one  for  Margate,  the  other  for  Ramsgate, 
lay  off  the  town,  and  were  immediately  subjected  to  the  restric- 
tion. One  had  nearly  200  persons  on  board,  the  other,  upwards 
of  150  ;  they  were  obliged  to  land,  and  the  place  not  affording 
accommodation  for  so  large,  and  unexpected,  an  influx  of  com- 
pany, a  whimsical  scene  of  confusion,  disorder,  and  embarrass- 
ment, ensued :  some  in  carts,  &c.,  got  on  to  Rochester,  and  Can- 
terbury :  but,  owing  to  the  march,  and  embarkation  of  troops, 
all  the  carriages,  and  horses,  on  the  road  were  engaged,  and 
several  days  elapsed  before  these  unfortunate  people  reached 
the  place  of  their  destination." — (Times,  Aug.  19,  1799.) 

"  Lately  died  at  Lynn,  in  her  78th  year  Miss  Mary  Breese. 
She  never  lived  out  of  the  parish  she  was  born  in,  was  a 
remarkable  sportswoman,  regularly  took  out  her  shooting 
license,  kept  as  good  greyhounds,  and  was  as  sure  a  shot,  as 
was  in  the  county.  At  her  desire,  her  dogs,  and  her  favourite 
mare,  were  killed  at  her  death,  and  buried  in  one  grave."— 
(Times,  Oct.  8,  1799.) 

"  Late  on  Sunday  evening  last  a  beautiful  Circassian  arrived 
at  the  Turkish  Ambassador's  Hotel.  She  was  brought  from 


Old  Times.  345 

Smyrna  in  the  *  Princess]  Capt.  W.  Lee,  as  a  present  from  the 
Grand  Seignior  to  his  Excellency  the  Ambassador.  She  is 
peculiarly  elegant,  and  beautiful,  and  was  escorted  hither  by 
six  black  eunuchs.  The  Ambassador  showed  great  attention 
to  Capt.  Lee  on  account  of  the  care  he  had  taken  of  his 
mistress." — (Times,  Dec.  19,  1799.) 

"  The  fair  Circassian  has  not  yet  made  her  appearance  in 
public.  A  very  splendid  equipage  is  now  building  in  Long 
Acre  for  her.  Several  of  our  dashing  young  men  of  fashion 
have  offered  themselves  as  drivers  to  the  Eastern  beauty." — 
(Times,  Dec,  24,  1799.) 

I  have  not  been  able  to  trace  the  fate  of  this  lady — she 
was  only  a  nine  days'  wonder  in  fashionable  society. 


INDEX. 


ABINGTON,  Mrs.,  the  actress,  189, 
190 

"Academy  of  Sciences  and  Belles 
Lettres,"  222 

Actresses  of  good  birth,  194,  195 

Adams,  Daniel,  23 

Advertisement,  curious,  in  the  Times, 
325»  330 

Albany,  Duchess  of,  3 

Aldermen,  regulate  price  of  bread, 
148  ;  visit  fraudulent  bakers,  150 

Aliens,  16,  22 

All  fours,  1 80 

Ancient  Music,  Concert  of,  226 

Androides,  228 

Anecdote  of  Lady  E.,  330 

Angerstein,  John  Julius,  248,  249, 
261 

Anson,  Hon.  Thomas,  59 

Anspach,  Margrave  of,  147,  193, 
216 

Apprentice,  cruel  treatment  of  an, 
268 

Archer,  Lady,  71,  166,  167,  168, 
169,  177,  179 

Arms,  seizure  of  in  Ireland,  44 

Army,  strength  of,  36 ;  patriotic 
gifts  to,  by  ladies,  95 ;  convicts 
enrolled,  95  ;  French  emigrants 
enrolled,  95  ;  curious  enlistment, 
97,  98;  kidnapping,  98,  99,  100, 
101,  102,  103,  104,  105,  106  ; 
young  officers,  107,  108  ;  soldiers' 
bread,  109 ;  bounty  for  soldiers, 


1 10 ;  courtmartial,  1 1 1 ;  sale  of 
commissions,  in,  112  ;  hair 
powder  dispensed  with,  130 

"  Army  of  England,"  42 

Arnold,  Dr.,  musical  composer,  196, 
207 

Artificers,  enticing,  punishment  for, 
270 

Ashurst,  Mr.  Justice,  34 

Assessed  taxes,  131,  132 

Assize  of  bread,  148 

Astrology,  316 

Automata,  228,  229 


B 

BADDELEY,  the  actor,  187 
Bailiffs  imprisoned,  268 
Bakers,  fraudulent,  150 
Bakewell,  Robert,  agriculturist,  299 
Ballet  and  Opera,  204,  211 
Bangor,    Bishop    of,    indicted    for 

riot,  322 

Bank  Bill,  singular  recovery  of,  315 
Bank  of  England,  37,  44 
Bank  notes,  issue  of,  37  ;  £i    and 

£2,  237  ;     interest  on  a,    322  ; 

eating  them,  342 
Bannister,  the  actor,  188 
Barber's  shop,  inscription  over,  318 
Baring,  Sir  Francis,  288 
Barrington,  the  pickpocket,  245 
Barrymore,  the  actor,  188 
Barrymore,  Lord,  his  wager,  298 


348 


Index. 


Bartholomew  Fair,  history  of,  328  ; 

description  of,  329 
Bartolozzi,  220 
Bath,  its  charter,  312  ;  its  freedom, 

330 
Bath,   knights  of   the,  installation 

supper,  114 
Bathing-ladies,  312 
Bear's  grease,  58 
Beau,  a,  56 
Beef,  price  of,  146 
Bedford,  Duke  of,  24,  25,  6 1,   185, 

298,  306 

Bellamy,  Mrs.,  190 
Bernard,  Mrs.,  the  actress,  190 
Bigg,  W.R.,  A.R.A.,  227 
Billington,  Mrs.,  189,  225 
Black  servants,  (Indented),  313 
Blood,  a,  54 
Boarding  schools,  advance  in  price 

of,  146 

Boarding  schools,  lady's,  320 
Bonaparte,  (see  Napoleon) 
Bond  Street  Lounge,  the,  64,  76 
Borouwlaski,  Jos.,  222 
Boswell,  James,  230 
Bounty  for  soldiers,  1 10 
Bourgeois,  Sir  Francis,  196 
Bow  Street  Runners,  244 
Bowes,  Mr.,  185 
Bowyer,  Admiral,  26 
Box-lobby  loungers,  200 
Bread,  household,  recommended  by 

Privy  Council,  138  ;  subscriptions 

to  reduce   price  of  to  the  poor, 

139  ;  noblemen,  &c.,  pledge  them- 
selves   to    eat   household    bread, 

140  ;   to  make  good  bread,  141 ; 
to  consume  but   little,   143,  144 ; 
bread  used  at  the  Royal  table,  147 ; 
price  regulated  by  the  Aldermen, 
148  |  assize  of  bread,   148  ;  short 
weight  of,  150 

Bridge  water,  Duke  of,  6 1 

Bridport,  Lord,  38,  39 

Brighton,  dress,  52 ;  company  at, 
326 

Brothers,  Lieut,  (a  pretended  pro- 
phet), 317 

Bruni,  vocalist,  209 

Brunton,  Miss,  the  actress,  190 

Buck,  a,  54 

Buckingham,  Marquis  of,  42 

Buckinghamshire,  Lady,  166,  167, 
168,  172,  177,  179 

"  Bull,"  a,  318 

Bullock'stealing,  punishment  for,  270 


Burke,  Edmund,  16 
Bute,  Lord,  304 
Butter,  price  of,  146 


CAMBACERfcS,  50 

Camelford,  Lord,  93,  94 

Camperdown,  Victory  off,  42 

"  Campus  nautica,"  321 

Cant  phrases,  200,  20 1 

Canterbury,  Archbishop  of,  178 

Capital  punishment,  246,  265,  266 

Card  money,  176 

Cards,  unstamped,  181 

Caricature  sellers,  320 

Carlisle,  Earl  of,  43 

Carlisle  House,  218,  220,  222,  223 

Cask,  large  one  at  Meux's  Brewery, 

3i6 

Cassino,  180,  181, 
Cat,  funeral  of  a,  306 
Chamber  Music,  225 
Chaplaincy,  sale  of,  112 
Charing  Cross,  kidnapping  riots  at, 

98,  99,  100,  101,  102 
Charlotte,  Queen,  2,  5,  6,  7,  26,  31, 

33.  44,  294 

Chatham,  Earl  of,  29,  305 
Choice  spirit,  a,  54 
Christmas  boxes,  117 
Chudleigh,  Miss  (afterwards  Duchess 

of  Kingston),  76 
Gibber,  Mrs.,  190 
Cipriani,  220 
Circassian,  the  fair,  344 
Clarence,  Duke   of,  189,  194,  209, 

2 1 6,  295 

Clergyman's  stipend,  curious,  315 
Clerical  pluralists,  335 
Clive,  Mrs.,  the  actress,  189 
Clothes,  cost  of,  62 
Clubs,   the    Transalpine,    331  ;   the 

Ubiquarian,  331 
Coals,  price  of,  155,  156 
Cockade,  disuse  of,  331 
Coffin,  a  patent,  330 
Coin,  base,  239,  240,  241,  242,  272, 

273.  306 

Commercial  failures,  232,  233,  234 
Commissions  in  the  army,  sale  of, 

III,  112 
Common  Council  and  dinners,  136  ; 

offer  bounty  for  fish   brought  to 

market,  137;  abolition  of  dinners, 

142 


Index. 


349 


Concannon,  Mrs.,  171,  172,  177,  179 

Concerts,  226 

Convicts,  cost  of  transportation,  269  ; 

a  jocular,  271 

Cooper's  Fair,  abolition  of,  332 
Cornelys,  Mdme.,  212,  217,  219,  222, 

223 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  45 
Corpse  seized  by  bailiffs,  313 
Corresponding  Society,  29 
"Coterie,  the,"  221 
Court  dresses,  59 
Co  vent  Garden  Theatre,  31 
"  Coventry  Act,"  the,  249 
Cricket  match  for  1000  guineas,  319; 

one-armed  and  one-legged  match, 

326 

Croix,  M.  de  la,  42 
Crop,  a,  57,  61,  62,  64,  128 
Crouch,  Mrs.,  189,  205 
"  Culloden,"  Mutiny  on  board  of  the, 

85,86 
Cumberland,     Duke    of,     2-6-220 

256 

Curates,  increase  of  stipend,  318 
Curtis,  Sir  Roger,  25,  26 


D 

DANDY,  a,  56 

Death,  singular,  315 

Deaths,  extraordinary  number  of,  in 

1795.  3i6 
Debry,  Jean,  66 
Debtors,  266,  267,  316,  336 
Dentist,  anecdote  of  a,  341 
Derby,  Lord,  185,  189 
Devonshire,  Duke  of,  129 
Didelot,  a  dancer,  212,  213 
Dignum,  the  vocalist,  196 
Dillon,  Viscount,  III 
Dimsdale,    Sir    Harry    (Mayor    of 

Garratt),  289,  290,  292 
Dockwra,  21 
Dogs,  tax  on,  128 
Dog-kennels,  306 
Dollars,   forgery  of,   238  ;  issue  of, 

235,  236,  237,  238 
Don  Giovanni,  opera  of,  209 
Douglas,  Capt.  Sir  A.,  87 
Draper's  Company,  the,  139 
Drury,  Anecdote  of  Captain,  91 
Drury  Lane  Theatre,  195 
Duels,  275,  276 
Duncan,  Admiral,  42 
Dundas,  Mr.,  84 


Dunstan,    Sir    Jeffrey     (Mayor    of 

Garratt),  292 
Durham,  Bishop  of,  213,  214 


E 

EAST  INDIA  COMPANY,  138 

Effingham,  Lord,  54 

Egremont,  Lord,  185 

Elcho,  Lady,  176 

Elections,  see  Politics 

Elliston,  the  actor,  188 

Elopement,  advertisement  respecting 

an,  319 

Elopement  with  a  negro,  268 
Embargo,  344 
Emigrants,   French,   276,  277,  278, 

279,  322 

Enlistment,  curious,  97,  98 
E.  O.,  173,  181,  182,  185 
Epigram,  on  a  dull  sermon,  319' 
Erskine,  Mr.,  robbery  at  the  house 

of,  320 


"FACTOTUM,  Isaac,"  300 
Farms,  large  or  small,  137,  138 
Faro,  167,  1 68,   169,   170,  171,  172, 

173,  174,  179 

Farren,  the  actor,  190 

Farren,  Miss,  189,  197 

Fast,  General,  47 

Feadle,  Jimmy  Lincum,  56 

Feathers,  75 

Fees  to  servants,  1 60 

Fitzgerald,  Lord  Edward,  44 

Fitzherbert,  Mrs.,  196,  305 

Fitzroy,  Lady  Ann,  107,  108 

Food,  135 

Food  riots,  28,  261 

Footmen,  dissatisfaction  of,  331 

Forestalling,  150,  152 

Fox,  Charles  James,  5,  25,  27,  34, 
169 

France,  war  with,  18 

Franking  letters,  121,  122,  123 

Frederick  the  Great,  204 

French  emigrants,  13,  14,  15,  22, 
276,  277,  278,  279,  338 

French,  Invasion  of  Ireland  and 
defeat,  45, 46 

French  prisoners,  numbers  in  Eng- 
land, 50,  337 


350 


Index. 


French  Revolution,  8,  13,  17,  21,  22 
Frith,  'John,  threw  a  stone  at  the 

King,  10 

Frost,  great,  4,  37,  328 
Funds,  the,  234,  235 
Fuseli,  H.,  227 


G 


GALLINI,  Sir  John,  208,  209 

Gaming,  166 

Gardner,  Admiral,  26' 

Garratt,  account  of,  290 ;  election 
for,  289,  290,  291,  292 

Cell,  Admiral,  87 

George  III.,  his  illness  in  1788,  3  ; 
his  recovery,  6  ;  thanksgiving, 
goes  to  St.  Paul's,  7 ;  stone  thrown 
at  his  coach,  10;  message  to 
Parliament  declaring  war  with 
France,  1 8  ;  inspects  the  guards, 
20  ;  shot  at  and  hissed,  29  ;  stone 
thrown  into  his  carriage,  33  ; 
asked  to  dismiss  his  Ministry,  41  ; 
gives  ^20,000  as  patriotic  sub- 
scription, 44 ;  reviews  volunteers 
in  Hyde  Park,  48  ;  inspects  vol- 
unteers, 49  ;  receives  a  letter  from 
Napoleon,  50  ;  eats  brown  bread, 
147  ;  at  the  theatre,  193 ;  lets  his 
cream  coloured  horses  for  hire, 
295,  296 

Gibbon,  death  of,  230 

Giornovici,  musical  composer,  196 

Gloucester,  Duchess  of,  106 

Gloucester,  Duke  of,  2-29,  220, 
256 

Gloves,  stamps  on,  300 

Gluttonous  wager,  335 

Gooseberries,  curious,  344 

Gordon,  Lady  Georgiana,  76 

Gordon,  Lord  George,  I 

Government  appointments,  sale  of, 
117,  118,  119 

Grenville,  Lord,  42,  50 

Grey,  Charles  Earl,  27,  34 

Grey,  Mr.,  M.P.,  epigram  on,  285 

Grosvenor,  Lord,  185 

Guadagni,  vocalist,  221 

Guildford,  Earl  of,  24 

Guildhall  dinner,  ticket  for,  335 

Guimard,     Mdlle.,     ballet    dancer, 

211 

Gypsies  at  Norwood,~332 


H 


HAIR,  FALSE,  73,  74 
Hair-powder,  60,  61,  73,  128,  129, 

130 

Halfpence,  bad,  239,  240 
Hamilton,  Duke  of,  152 
Hampden,  Lord,  172 
Handbill,  curious,  300 
Han  way,  Jonas,  56 
Hardy,  Thomas,  23, 
Harrington,  Lady,  33 
Harrison,  the  vocalist,  196 
Harvest,  bad,  27,  28 
Hastings,  Warren,  his  trial,  2 
Hats,  stamp  on,  270 
Hats,  subscription  for,  131 
Hectors,  54 

Highway  robberies,  262 
Hill,  Sir  Rowland,  21 
Hobart,  Mrs.,  169,  171,  194 
Hogs,  number  of,  147 
Holland,  French  occupation  of,  26, 

English  defeat,  27 
Holman,  the  actor,  189 
Hood,  Sir  Alexander,  26 
Horses,  the  royal   cream  coloured, 

295.  296,  337 
Horse  racing,  184,  185 
Howe,  Lord,  25-26-38,  39,  310,  311 
Humbert,  General,  45,  46 
Hyde  Park,  308 


ICE,  321 

Illuminations,  310,  311 

Incledon,  the  singer,  188,  206 

Impromptu,  an,  300 

Income  tax,  132 

Informer,  common,   punishment  of 

a,  271,  272 

Inoculation  for  small-pox,  338,  339 
Inspection  of  volunteers,  49 
Insurance  against  being  drawn  for 

militia,  112 

Invasion  of  England,  40,  41 
Ireland,  French  invasion  of,  45,  46 
Ireland,  rebellion  in,  44,  46 
Ireland,  union  with  England,  47 
Ireland,  Sam.,  202 
Ireland,  W.  H.,  202,  203 


JACKSON,  W.,  musical   composer, 
207,  208 


Index. 


351 


Jenner,  Dr.,  338 

Jersey,  Lady,  anecdote  of,  320 

Jervis,  Sir  John  (Lord  St.  Vincent), 

41 

Jessamy,  a,  54 
Job-masters,  knavery  of,  158 
Johnson,  Dr.  S.,  230 
Johnstone,  the  actor,  189 
Jordan,  Mrs.,  189,  191,  192,  193,  197, 

216 

Joyce,  Rev.  Jeremiah,  23 
June,  glorious  first  of,  25,  310,  311 

K 

KEAN,  Edmund,  189 
Kelly,  the  vocalist,  196,  199,206,  207 
Kelsey's,  108 

Kemble,  John,  187,  191,  196,  203 
Kensington  Gardens,  307,  308 
Kenyon,  Lord,  34,  178,  179 
Ketch,  Jack,  266 

Kidnapping  for  the  army,  98,   99, 
100,  101,  102,  103,  104,  105,  106 
Killala,  landing  of  French  at,  45 


LADE,  Lady,  314 

Lade,  Sir  John,  his  wager  with  Lord 

Cholmondeley,  320 
"Lady's  Monthly  Museum,"  68 
Lake,  Lord,  45 

Lashes,  one  thousand  given,  1 1 1 
Law  and  police,  243 
Lawsuit,  a  long,  270 
Lawyers,  number  of,  271 
Le  Brun,  50 
Lemons,  price  of,  154 
Letters,    franking,    121,    122,    123; 

rates  for,  123 
Letters  of  marque,  19 
Lewis,  the  actor,  190 
Linley,    Thos.,    musical    composer, 

207,  208 

Litchfield,  Bishop  of,  43 
Livery  Servants,  petition  from,  316 
Lloyd's,  26 

Loan,  42  ;  subscriptions  to,  43 
London,  port  of,  commerce  of,  321 
Longevity,  309,  322,  332 
Lorn,  Marquis  of,  60 
Lotteries,  178,  184 
Lotteries,  private,  182,  183 
Lough  S  willy,  defeat  of  the  French 

off,  46 


Louis  XVI.,  17 
Loyalty  loan,  36 
Lucifer  matches,  297 
Ludgate  Prison,  266,  267 
Lunatics,  treatment  of,  298 
Luttrell,  Lady  Elizabeth,  179 
Luxembourg,  Duke  of,  305 


M 

MACARONI,  the,  53,  274 
Macdonald,  John,  55 
Macklin,  the  actor,  188 
Mackworth,  Sir  Robert,  59 
Malmesbury,  Lord,  35,  42,  293,  294 
Mansion  House,  riot  at  the,  308,  309 
Mara,  Mdlle.,  vocalist,  204,  206,  209 
March,  Lord,  64 
Margate,  65  ;  a  day  at,  323  ;  crowded 

state  of,  335 

Marlborough,  Duchess  of,  191,  223 
Marlborough,  Duke  of,  43 
Marston,  Mr.,  his  bet,  185 
Martyr,  Mrs.,  the  actress,  190 
Masquerades,  215,  223 
Matrimonial    advertisements,    301, 

302,  303,  304 

Matrimonial  Magazine,  the,  303 
Meat,  high  price  of,  152 
Mechanic  Theatre,  228 
Medicinal  waters,  317 
Menageries,  309,  310 
Mendoza,  the  prize  fighter,  274 
Men's  dress,  50 
Merveilleux,  the,  57 
Milford,  Lord,  40 
Militia,  97,  in,  112 
Millerd,  vocalist,  209 
Milton   Gallery  (H.  Fuseli's),  227, 

228 

Mohocks,  54 
Moira,  Lord,  278 
Monetary,  232  et  seq. 
Money  and  jewels,    great   find  of, 

315,  3i6 

"Monster,  the,"  247  to  261 
Montague,      Mrs.,      the      chimney 

sweeps'  friend,  341,  342 
Moritz,  Peter,  186 
Mount  Edgcumbe,  Lady,  177 
Munden,  the  actor,  189 
Muns,  54 

Musical  composers,  207 
Mutiny  in  the  navy,  37,  38,  39,  40, 

85,  86 
Mutton,  price  of,  151,  153 


352 


Index. 


N 


NAPOLEON  I.,  42,  47,  50 

"Natural  History,"  301 

Navy,  ships  commissioned,  8;  press 
ing  for,  8,  9,  10,  19,  83,  84,  85 
bounty  for  sailors,   20 ;    strength 
of,  36  ;  mutiny  in,  37,  38,  39,  40 
victory  off  Cape  St.  Vincent,  41 
victory     off    Camperdown,     42 
defeat     of     French     off    Lough 
Swilly,   46  ;  battle  of  the   Nile, 
46 ;    treatment    of   seamen,    80 
pressgang  described   by  Smollet, 
8l  ;   mutiny  on  board  the  Cullo- 
den,   85,   86 ;   recruiting  for,   86 
87 ;  prize  money,  87,  88 ;  parishes 
raise  men,  89,  90 ;  mutilation  to 
avoid  service,  90,  91  ;    a   female 
sailor,  94 

Needlework,  curious,  228 

Negro,  elopement  with,  268 

Newgate,  number  of  prisoners  there- 
in, 247 ;  dancing  party  therein,  250 

Newland,  Abraham,  36 

Newspapers,  hire  of,  forbidden,  133 

New  South  Wales,  colonization  of,  I 

Nile,  battle  of  the,  46 

Norfolk,   Duke    of,   his    dislike   to 
water,  305 

Northumberland,  Duchess  of,  129 

Norwood,  Gypsies  at,  332 

Novels,  231 


O 


OATS,  bruising  of,  143 

Officers    in    the    army,    youth    of, 

107,  108 

Opera,  loud  talking  at,  21 1 
Opera  and  Ballet,  204 
Opium,  taking,  331 
Orange,  Prince  of,  26 
Orrery,  sale  of  Lord  Bute's,  304 
Oxford    (city    of),    43 ;    University 

print  book  for  benefit  of  French 

clergy,  328 


PAGET,  Hon.  Mr.,  60,  61 
Palmer,  the  actor,  191 
Pantheon  Theatre,  212,  215,  221 
Parishes    raise  men    for  the   navy, 

89,  90 
Parisot,  Mdlle.,  ballet  dancer,  212, 

213 


Parker,  Rd.  (mutineer),  40 

Pasley,  Admiral,  26 

Pastry,  disuse  of,  138,  139 

Patriotic  gifts,  42,  43 

Paul's,  St.,  procession  to,  336 

Pavement,  bad,  165,  166 

Pawnbrokers  rates,  133,  134 

Peace,  rumour  of,  32 ;  debate  on, 
34 ;  negotiations  for,  35 ;  failure 
of,  36  ;  negotiations  for,  42 

Peas,  price  of  green,  153,  154,  322 

Peel,  Mr.,  43 

Penance,  a  butcher  doing,  331 

Penny  Post,  21,  119,  I2O 

Peterson,     Lieut,    (shot    by    Lord 

Camel  ford),  92 
Phillips,    Capt.,   first    Governor    of 

New  South  Wales,  I 
Pidcock's  Menagerie,  309 
Pillory,  curious  case,  247 
Piozzi,  Mrs.,  230 

Pitt,  William,  5,  6,   13,  27,  32,  34, 
36,  37,  41,  84,  88,  105,  131,  132, 
233,  234,  287 
Pluralists,  335 
Police  and  law,  243 
Politics,  280  to  292 
Poor,  rules  for  the,  145 
Pope,  the  actor,  189,  190 
Pope,  Mrs.,  the  actress,  188,  190 
Popham,  Captain,  93,  94 
Portland,  Duke  of,  29,  30,  33,  40, 

45.  131 

Portland  estate,  value  of,  321 
Posting,  158 

Post   Office,   franking  letters,   121, 
122,  123 ;  rates  for  letters,  123  ; 
uniform  for  men,  124 
Potatoes,  bounty  for  growing,  135 ; 

price  of,  15 1 
Poultry,  scarcity  of,  138 
Pressing  for  the  navy,  8,  9,  10,  81, 

82,  83,  84,  85 
Pretender,  (Prince  Charles  Edward), 

death  of,  3 
Priestley,  Dr.,  287 
'rincesses,  the  Royal,  295 
'risoners  of  war  in  France,  109,  no 
:>rize  fighters,  list  of.  274 
Prize  fighting,  273,  274 
rize  money,  87,  88 
^recession,   Royal,    to    St.    Paul's, 
336 

romethean  fire  and  phosphorus,  297 
revisions,  price  of,   136 ;   sugges- 
tions for  economy,  142 
ublic  Houses,  134,  135] 


Index. 


353 


Publicans  and  pint  pots,  327 ;  an 

"showmen,"  336 
Puff,  a,  341 
Pulteney,  Miss,  com  ing  of  age,  297 


Q. 

QUEENSBERRY,  Duke  of,  60,  185 
Quick,  the  actor,  171,  188 


R. 

RAIN  BEAU,  a,  57 

Ramsgate,  325 

Rat's  letter,  the,  339 

Regrating,  150,  153 

Reinagle,  P.,  227 

Resurrection  men,  262,  263, 264,  265 

Review  of  Volunteers  in  Hyde  Park, 

Rich,  rules  for  the,  144 
"  Ride,  a  delightful,"  159 
Riding  lessons,  price  of,  157 
Road,  the,  and  streets,  157 
Robinson,  Mrs.,  the  actress,  192 
Rose,  Miss,  ballet  dancer,  212,  213, 

214 

Ross,  the  hairdresser,  65 
Roulette,  173 

Royal  family,  domesticity  of,  295 
"  Royal  George,"  loss  of,  80 
Royalty,  293,  294,  295,  296 
Russell,  Lord  W.,  61 
Russia,  Emperor  of,  93,  94 
Ryder,  the  actor,  188 


S. 


SACRILEGE,  330 

St.  George's  Fields,  kidnapping  riots 

at,  102,  103,  104,  105,  106 
St.  jean  d'Acre,  47 
St.  Paul's  clock  strikes  wrongly,  318 
St.  Vincent  Cape,  victory  off,  41 
Sale  of  Government  appointments, 

117,  118,  119 
Scarborough,  Earl  of,  54 
Scourers,  54 
Sea  Kale,  154 
Sedition,  see  Politics 
September  I4th  (commencement  of 
I!*-  partridge  shooting),  333 
Servants,  fees  to,  160 
Servants  wages,  &c.,  115,  116,  117 


Seven  shilling  pieces,  issue  of,  239 
Sheep  (Dishley),  price  of,  299 
"Shepherds,  I  have  lost  my  waist,"  72 
Sheridan,  Richard  Brinsley,  17,  196, 

202,  207 

Shield,  W.,  musical  composer,  207 
Shillings,  bad,  240,  241,  242 
Shopmen,  manners  of,  314 
Siddons,  Mrs.,  189,  191,  196 
Silver,  scarcity  of,  235,  236,  237 
Skeffington,  Mr.,  59 
Slave  trade,  abolition  of,  II,  12,  20, 

27 

Smart,  a,  55 
Smock  Race,  a,  322 
Social  Economy,  114 
"  Society,  The,"  218 
Sorocold,  the  engineer,  186 
Soup,  consumption  of,  136 
Spas,  317 
Spencer,  a,  63,  64 
Spencer,  Earl,  63 
Sportswoman,  a,  344 
Spring  guns  set  in  a  garden,  299 
Stage  coaches,  163 
Stage  wagon,  159 
Stanhope,  Earl,  23-26 
Stationers  Company,  dinner  at  the, 

146 
Statue  of  George  III.  at  Pall  Mall, 

49 
Storace,  S.,  musical  composer,  207, 

208 
Storace,  Signora,  the  vocalist,  196, 

197,  205 

Storm,  destructive,  32 
Story,  a  "  tall,"  301 
Strathmore,  Earl  of,  185 
Sturt,  Mrs.,  167,  169,  172,  179 
Suett,  Rd.,  187,  199 
Sussex,  Duke  of,  225 


PALBOT,  Miss,  (the  female  sailor),  94 
Talleyrand,  50 
Telegraph,  the,  124,  125,  126,  127, 

128 
Thames,  embankment,  327  ;  tunnel 

under,  340 
i'hames  frozen,  4,  266 
^hanksgiving  for  the  king's  recovery 

from  illness,  7 
'heatre,  the,  187 
heatres,  private,  20 1 

helwall,  John,  23 

Z 


354 


Index. 


Thrale,  Mrs.,  230 

Thurlow,  Lord,  2,  6,  30,  196 

Titiretus,  54 

Tooke,  Rev.  John  Home,  23 

Topaz,  a  cheap,  298 

Townsend,  (Bow  street  runner),  i< 

245 

Trinity  Square  first  named,  340 
Tunnel  under  the  Thames,  340 
Twopenny  pieces,  issue  of,  239 
Tythes,  story  respecting,  319 


U 

UMBRELLAS,  55 
University,  choice  of  a,  338 


V 

VACCINATION,  338 
Varieties,  297  to  end 
Villiers,  Lord,  6 1 
Vinegar  Hill,  battle  of,  45 
Volunteers,  24,  48,  49,  95,  96, 

"3 

Vortigern  and  Rowena,  202 


W 

WAKE,  Kidd,  32,  33 

Wales,  Prince  of,  2,  5-7,  33,  51, 

169,  194,  196,  209,  215,  216,  274, 

293,  294,  295,  296 
Wales,  Princess  of,  76,  293,  294, 

295.  3H 


Waltz,  the,  321 

Warren,  Sir  John  Borlase,  46 

Watchmen,  243,  244 

Waters,  medicinal,  317 

Water  wheels  at  London   Bridge, 

185,  186 

Wells,  Mrs.,  the  actress,  190 
Westmoreland,  Lord,  30,  31 
Wheat,  bounty  on,  28  ;  cheapness 

of,  34;   scarcity  of,  135;  rise  in 

price,  138 
Whist,  1 80 

Whitbread,  Samuel,  24 
Wife  selling,  342,  343 
Wilberforce,   William,    II,    12,   20, 

27 

Wilkes,  John,  311 
Williams,   Renwick   (the  Monster), 

247  to  261 
Willis,  Dr.,  4,  6 1 
Willis's  Rooms,  224 
Willoughby  de  Broke,  Lord,  60 
Windsor  uniform,  64 
Wines,  price  of,  155 
Women's  dress,  69 
Worcester,  Marquis  of,  125 
Wormholt  Scrubs,  nuisance  on,  330 


X  YZ 

Yanievitz,  the  actor,  198 
York,  Cardinal,  3 
York,  Duchess  of,  70,  295 
York,  Duke  of,  2,  6,  20,  107,  256, 
277.  295 


THE  END. 


PRINTED  BY  BALLANTYNK  HANSON  AND  CO. 
EDINBURGH  AND  LONDON. 


FEBRUARY  1885. 


PUBLICATIONS 


OF 


JOHN    C.    NIMMO, 

14  KING  WILLIAM  STREET,  STRAND, 
LONDON,   W.C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo. 


PROSPECTUS. 


Iplbe   MUsabetban    ;n>ramatfst0. 

Post  Svo,  cloth.     Published  price,  Js.  6d.  net  per  volume. 


NOTE. — The  type  will  be  distributed  after  each  work  is  printed,  the 
impression  of  which  will  be  four  hundred  copies,  post  8vo,  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty  large  fine-paper  copies,  medium  8vo,  which  will  be 
numbered.  

To  realise  the  supremacy  of  Shakespeare  we  must  be  acquainted  with 
the  writings  of  his  contemporaries.  Such  masterpieces  as  Dr.  Paustus, 
the  Duchess  of  Malfi,  and  the  Maid's  Tragedy  are  of  the  highest  value  in 
preparing  the  student  to  appreciate  the  unique  power  of  Lear  and  Macbeth 
and  Othello. 

But  putting  aside  Shakespearean  considerations,  it  may  be  justly  said 
that  there  is  no  study  more  fascinating  to  thoughtful  men  than  the  study 
of  the  Elizabethan  Dramatists.  Their  works  were  largely  planned  ;  and 
there  is  the  stamp  of  sincerity  in  every  page. 

That  there  is  a  great  and  growing  interest  in  our  Old  Dramatists  among 
educated  men  is  undeniable ;  but,  strange  to  say,  the  works  of  some  of  the 
chief  dramatists  are  unprocurable. 

The  noble  contributions  made  to  the  English  drama  by  Middleton  and 
Shirley  are  known  only  to  the  few  ;  the  books  have  long  been  out  of  print. 

Library  editions  of  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  Marlowe,  Massinger,  and 
others  are  greatly  needed.  The  quartos  of  Ben  Jonson's  plays  have  never 
been  carefully  collated.  It  is  barely  a  year  ago  since  Mr.  A.  H.  BULLEN 
discovered  (and  printed  for  private  circulation)  a  tragic  masterpiece  by 
Fletcher  and  Massinger,  and  a  sprightly  comedy  by  Shirley,  which  were 
lying,  in  MS.,  unnoticed  in  the  British  Museum. 

This  newly-edited  Edition  will  begin  with  Shakespeare's  greatest  pre- 
decessor, Christopher  Marlowe,  in  three  volumes. 

An  edition  of  Middleton  will  follow ;  and  Middleton  will  be  succeeded 
by  Shirley. 

For  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  much  time  and  labour  will  be  required  ; 
but  the  Editor  has  already  commenced  the  arduous  task,  and  will  give  the 
closest  attention  to  the  question,  "  How  far  was  Massinger  concerned  in 
the  authorship  of  plays  attributed  to  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  !  " 

The  remaining  dramatists  of  this  Period  will  follow  in  due  order. 

One  of  the  chief  features  of  this  New  Edition  of  the  Elizabethan  Drama- 
tists, besides  the  handsome  and  handy  size  of  the  volumes,  will  be  the  fact 
that  each  Work  will  be  carefully  edited,  and  new  notes  given  throughout. 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  IV.  C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo. 


TjEbc  JgUsabetbau  ^Dramatists, 

The  Works  of  Christopher  Marlowe. 

Edited  by  A.  H.  BULLEN,  B.A. 

IN  THREE  VOLUMES. 
Post  8vo,  cloth.     Published  price,  'js.  6d.  net  per  volume. 

[Ready. 

NOTE. — This  is  the  first  instalment  towards  a  collective  edition  of  the 
Dramatists  who  lived  about  the  time  of  Shakespeare.  The  Edition  is 
limited  to  Four  Hundred  copies,  post  8vo,  and  One  Hundred  and  Twenty 
large  fine  paper  copies,  medium  8vo. 


SOME    PRESS    NOTICES. 

Athenaeum. 

"  Mr.  Bullen's  edition  deserves  warm  recognition.  It  is  intelligent,  scholarly, 
adequate.  His  preface  is  judicious.  The  elegant  edition  of  the  dramatists  of 
which  these  volumes  are  the  first  is  likely  to  stand  high  in  public  estimation. 
.  .  .  Middleton,  who  is  to  come  next,  might  have  been  taken  first,  as  he  is 
quite  out  of  reach.  The  completion  of  the  series  will  be  a  boon  to  biblio- 
graphers and  scholars  alike." 

Saturday  Review. 

"  Mr.  Bullen  has  discharged  his  task  as  editor  in  all  important  points  satis- 
factorily. Marlowe  needs  no  irrelevant  partisanship,  no  'zeal  of  the  devil's 
house,'  to  support  his  greatness.  .  .  .  Mr.  Bullen's  introduction  is  well 
informed  and  well  written,  and  his  notes  are  well  chosen  and  sufficient.  .  .  . 
We  hope  it  may  be  his  good  fortune  to  give  and  ours  to  receive  every  drama- 
tist, from  Peele  to  Shirley,  in  this  handsome,  convenient,  and  well-edited  form. " 

The  Academy. 

"  Mr.  Bullen  is  known  to  all  those  interested  in  such  things  as  an  authority 
on  most  matters  connected  with  old  plays.  His  reading  in  them  is  extensive 
and  peculiar.  We  are  not  surprised,  therefore,  to  find  these  volumes  well  edited 
throughout.  They  are  not  over-burdened  with  notes.  Where  explanations 
are  necessary,  they  are  given  in  as  terse  a  form  as  possible,  without  too  much 
parade  of  parallel  passages  ;  and  no  difficulty,  so  far  as  we  have  seen,  is  passed 
over.  .  .  .  Mr.  Bullen  supplies  an  elaborate  Introduction,  extending  over 
eighty  pages,  and  we  are  glad  to  see  he  has  printed  in  an  appendix  Here's 
fine  play  of  the  '  Death  of  Marlowe.' " 

Illustrated  London  News. 

"It  is,  perhaps,  a  bold  venture  on  the  part  of  the  publisher,  or  would  be  if 
he  had  chosen  an  editor  less  competent  than  Mr.  A.  H.  Bullen.  The  series 
begins  with  the  works  of  Marlowe,  whose  genius,  considering  when  he  worked 
and  how,  fills  the  reader  with  wonder.  His  power  was  felt  by  Shakespeare, 
and  felt  also  by  Goethe ;  and  Mr.  Bullen  is  not,  perhaps,  a  rash  prophet  in 
saying  that,  '  so  long  as  high  tragedy  continues  to  have  interest  for  men,  Time 
shall  lay  no  hands  on  the  works  of  Christopher  Marlowe  !  "' 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  IV.  C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo. 


PRESS  NOTICES  OF  " MARLOWE  "—continued. 

Scotsman. 

"  Never  iu  the  history  of  the  world  has  a  period  been  marked  by  so  much  of 
literary  power  and  excellence  as  the  Elizabethan  period  ;  and  never  have  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  literature  seemed  to  be  greater.  The  three  volumes 
which  Mr.  Nimmo  has  issued  now  may  be  regarded  as  earnests  of  more  to 
come,  and  as  proofs  of  the  excellence  which  will  mark  this  edition  of  the 
Elizabethan  Dramatists  as  essentially  the  best  that  has  been  published.  Mr. 
Bullen  is  a  competent  editor  in  every  respect." 

Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

"That  Shakespeare  learned  from  Marlowe  a  portion  of  the  secret  of  his 
marvellous  versification  is  now  accepted,  as  is  the  fact  that  in  his  '  Edward 
11.'  Marlowe  came  nearer  Shakespeare  than  did  any  tragedian  of  later  date, 
such  as  Webster,  Chapman,  or  Ben  Jonson.  .  .  .  Marlowe  has  indeed  passed 
the  age  of  simple  eulogy,  and  has  reached  that  of  comment.  The  task  set 
before  him  by  Mr.  Bullen  is  that  of  supplying  a  text  which  shall  be  a=  clear 
and  intelligible  as  the  conditions  under  which  plays  were  printed  in  the  six- 
teenth and  early  seventeenth  centuries  render  possible.  In  this  he  has  been 
successful.  ...  If  the  series  is  continued  as  it  is  begun,  by  one  of  the  most 
careful  editors,  this  set  of  the  English  Dramatists  will  be  a  coveted  literary 
possession." 


^Dramatists. 


The    Works    of    Thomas    Middleton. 

Edited  by  A.  H.  BULLEN,  B.A. 

In  Eight  Volumes,  post  8vo. 
First  Four  Volumes  ready  in  March. 


Dyce's  Edition  of  Middleton,  published  in  1840,  has  been  out 
of  print  for  many  years,  and  is  now  difficult  to  procure.  The 
need  of  a  new  edition  has  been  keenly  felt.  Middleton  had  not 
the  sustained  tragic  power  of  Webster  or  Ford ;  but  in  single 
scenes,  when  his  work  is  at  its  highest,  he  is  surpassed  only  by 
Shakespeare. 

His  romantic  comedies  display  a  freedom  of  fancy  that  belongs 
to  the  "  brightest  heaven  of  invention ; "  and  his  comedies  of 
intrigue  are  always  lively  and  attractive.  No  student  of  the 
English  Drama  can  afford  to  neglect  the  works  of  Thomas 
Middleton. 

NOTE. — The  above  is  uniform  loith  the  Works  oj  Alarlowe,  both  in  price 
and  number  of  copies  piinled  of  both  small  and  targe  paper  editions. 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo. 


"IRew  Series  of  Ibtstoncal  flDemoirs/' 

Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Colonel 
Hutchinson, 

GOVERNOR  OF  NOTTINGHAM. 
By  his  Widow,  LTJCY. 

Edited  from  the  Original  Manuscript  by  the  Rev.  JULIUS  HUTCHINSON. 

To  which  are  added  the  LETTERS  OF  COLONEL  HUTCHINSON, 
and  other  Papers. 

Revised,  with  Additional  Notes,  by  C.  H.  FIRTH,  M.A. 

With  Numerous  Portraits,  newly  etched,  of  eminent  personages. 

In  Two  Volumes,  fine  paper,  medium  8vo,  and  handsome  binding,  425. 


NOTE. — Only  500  copies  are  being  printed,  300  for  England  and  200 
for  America.     Type  distributed.  [Ready  in  March. 


To  understand  the  history  of  any  period,  it  must  be  studied  not  only  in 
the  records  of  public  events,  but  also  in  the  daily  lives  of  individuals. 

Of  the  many  Memoirs  and  Autobiographies  which  illustrate  the  Civil 
Wars  of  the  seventeenth  century,  none  is  more  popular  or  entertaining 
than  the  "Life  of  Colonel  Hutchinson."  But  though  these  Memoirs  have 
passed  through  many  editions,  and  their  value  universally  admitted,  they 
have  not  yet  been  edited  with  the  care  and  labour  they  deserve. 

In  the  earlier  editions  the  irregular  and  unfamiliar  spelling  of  the  ori- 
ginal renders  the  book  difficult  for  the  general  reader  to  enjoy.  In  the 
later  ones  the  text  has  been  modernised  with  more  freedom  than  fidelity. 
In  the  present  edition  the  spelling  alone  will  be  modernised,  whilst  the 
phraseology  and  grammatical  peculiarities  of  the  original  will  be  carefully 
preserved. 

The  most  valuable  of  the  annotations  of  the  Rev.  Julius  Hutchinson  will 
be  retained,  and  a  large  number  of  new  explanatory  and  illustrative  notes 
will  be  added.  Letters  written  by  Colonel  Hutchinson  during  his  govern- 
ment of  Nottingham,  and  other  documents  of  interest,  will  be  for  the  first 
time  collected.  A  full  and  accurate  index  to  the  Memoirs  will  complete 
the  work. 

A  number  of  etchings  from  the  portraits  of  persons  of  whom  mention  is 
made  in  the  text  will  help  to  render  this  a  worthy  edition  of  an  English 
classic. 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo. 


Old  Times. 

A  PICTURE  OF  SOCIAL  LIFE  AT  THE  END  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

Collected  and  Illustrated  from  the  Satirical  and  other  Sketches  of  the  Day. 

By  JOHN  ASHTON, 

Author  of  "  Social  Life  in  the  Reign  of  Queen  Anne." 

One  Volume,  fine  paper,  medium  8vo,  handsome  binding,  Eighty  Illustra- 
tions, price  2is. 


NOTE. — Sixty  copies  will  be  printed  on  fine  laid  imperial  8vo  paper, 
with  an  extra  12  plates,  not  so  suitable  for  the  ordinary  edition. 

[Ready  in  March. 

This  book  is  a  compendium  of  the  Social  Life  in  England  at  the  end  of 
the  last  century,  corresponding  with  Mr.  Ashton's  "  Social  Life  in  the 
Reign  of  Queen  Anne." 

Avoiding  history,  except  in  so  far  as  to  make  the  work  intelligible,  it 
deals  purely  with  the  daily  life  of  our  great-grandfathers.  Nothing  is 
taken  from  diaries  or  lives  of  the  upper  classes ;  it  aims  solely  to  give  a 
fair  account  of  the  life  of  the  majority  of  people  then  living,  or,  as  we 
now  term  it,  of  the  middle  class.  This  could  best  be  done  by  taking  the 
daily  notices  in  the  press,  which  would,  naturally,  be  a  perfect  record  of 
each  passing  folly  of  fashion,  or  even  of  the  markets ;  so  that,  by  this 
means,  we  get  a  glimpse  of  the  inner  life  of  that  time,  unattainable  by  any 
other  method. 

"The  Times,"  which  commenced  1st  January  1788,  is  taken  by  pre- 
ference, but  when  that  authority  is  unavailing,  other  contemporaneous 
newspapers  have  been  consulted. 

Profusely  illustrated  from  the  satirical  and  other  sketches  of  the  day,  it 
forms  a  volume  of  reliable  authority,  such  as,  up  to  the  present  time,  has 
been  looked  for  in  vain. 

The  work  will  contain  some  eighty  full-page  illustrations. 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo. 


Uniform  with  "  Characters  of  La  JBruyZre"  and  a  "Handbook  of 
Gastronomy" 


Robin  Hood. 

A  COLLECTION  OF  ALL  THE  ANCIENT  POEMS,  SONGS,  AND  BALLADS 
now  extant,  relative  to  that  celebrated  English  Outlaw  ; 

To  which  are  prefixed  Historical  Anecdotes  of  his  Life, 
By  JOSEPH  BITSON. 

Illustrated  with  Seventy-Four  Wood  Engravings,  by  the  celebrated 
THOMAS  BEWICK. 

Also  Six  Original  Drawings,  painted  by  A.  H.  TOURRIER  and  etched  by 
an  eminent  French  Etcher. 

8vo,  half  parchment,  gilt  top,  423. 


NOTE. — 300  copies  printed,  and  each  numbered.  Type  distributed. 
Also  sixty  copies  on  fine  imperial  paper,  with  etchings  in  two  states. 
Each  copy  numbered.  [Ready  in  March. 

This  edition  of  "  ROBIN  HOOD  "  is  printed  from  that  published  in  1832, 
which  was  carefully  edited  and  printed  from  Mr.  RITSON'S  own  annotated 
edition  of  1795. 

The  Original  Wood  Engravings  by  the  celebrated  THOMAS  BEWICK 
have  been  again  used,  and,  from  being  printed  on  China  paper,  will  be 
found  superior  in  clearness  and  beauty  to  the  first  impressions. 

The  Six  Etchings  now  given  are  from  newly-painted  drawings  by 
A.  H.  TOURRIER. 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo. 


of  Kantasi?  anb  Rumour, 

(SSntform  fcritfj  tfje  ©In  Spanish  anB  ffinglisfj  Romances.) 

To  be  completed  in   Twelve  Volumes  crown  8vo,  cloth  or  parchment, 

Js.  6d.  per  volume, 
And  Illustrated  with  Etchings  by  Eminent  Artists. 


The  Tales  and  Poems  of  Edgar  Allan 
Poe, 

With  Biographical  Essay  by  JOHN  H.  INGRAM  ;  and  Fourteen  Original 
Etchings,  Three  Photogravures,  and  a  Portrait  newly  etched  from  a  life- 
like Daguerreotype  of  the  Author.  In  Four  Volumes,  crown  8vo. 


Weird  Tales,  by  E.  T.  W.  Hoffmann, 

A  NEW  TRANSLATION  FROM  THE  GERMAN. 

With  Biographical  Memoir,  by  J.  T.  BEALBY,  formerly  Scholar  of  Corpus 
Christi  College,  Cambridge. 

With  Portrait  and  Ten  Original  Etchings,  by  AD.  LALAUZE, 
in  Two  Volumes,  crown  8vo. 

NOTE. — The  type  is  distributed  as  the  edition  is  printed,  the  impression 
of  which  is  one  thousand  copies  crown  8vo,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  each 
large  fine  paper  copies,  with  Etchings  on  Japanese  and  Whatman  paper. 


SOME  OPINIONS   OF   THE   PRESS. 

Saturday  Review. 

"A  very  handsome  edition,  in  four  volumes,  of  the  Tales  and  Poems  of 
Edgar  Allan  Poe.  The  edition  is  remarkable  for  containing  the  fragment 
called  'The  Journal  of  Julius  Rodman,'  hitherto  unpublished  in  any  collec- 
tion. Furthermore,  it  should  be  stated  that  in  the  new  edition  the  works  are, 
for  the  first  time,  intelligibly  classified." 

Athenaeum. 

"  Mr.  Ingram  is  so  well  known  for  his  great  knowledge  of  Poe,  and  the  ser- 
vices he  has  rendered  to  the  poet's  fame,  that  there  is  little  need  to  dwell  at 
length  on  this  handsome  and  convenient  edition  which  he  has  edited  for  Mr. 
Nimmo.  The  tales  have  been  classified  ;  the  poems  have  been  chronologically 
arranged  as  they  should  be  ;  the  text  has  been  corrected  and  revised.  Both 
publisher  and  editor  may  be  congratulated  on  this  edition." 

Notes  and  Queries. 

"This  new  edition  puts  forward  strong  claims  upon  recognition.  It  is,  in 
the  first  place,  the  most  attractive  collection  that  has  yet  appeared,  the  etch- 
ings with  which  it  is  accompanied  giving  it  precedence  over  any  other  edition. 
Mr.  Ingram 's  biographical  essay  is  remarkable  in  the  respect  that  it  gives  a 
concise,  a  readable,  and  an  animated  account  of  Poe's  career." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 

A  2 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS— continued. 

Daily  Telegraph. 

*'  The  volumes  before  us  are  unquestionably  the  fullest  and  best  arranged 
edition  of  Poe's  writings  as  yet  given  to  the  world  ;  in  fact,  it  is  the  only  one 
in  which  any  serious  attempt  is  made  to  classify  the  prose  tales,  those  of 
Imagination  being  assigned  to  one  volume  and  those  of  Humour  to  another, 
the  Miscellaneous  Stories  and  the  Poems  filling  the  third  and  fourth." 

Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

"Mr.  John  H.  Ingram  is  well  known  to  be  a  specialist  on  the  subject  of 
Edgar  Allan  Poe,  himself  the  most  insoluble  of  the  many  problems  with  which 
he  mystified  the  world.  The  etchings  and  photogravures  are  most  appropriate. 
There  is  something  entirely  harmonious  with  the  manner  of  Poe  in  the  weird 
Rembrandtesque  effects  attainable  by  these  processes,  and  the  artists  have 
entered  thoroughly  into  the  spirit  of  their  task." 

Whitehall  Review. 

"In  the  empire  of  fantasy  Hoffmann  is  undisputed  autocrat.  Indeed,  that 
empire  is  itself  strangely  limited,  and  contains  not  only  few  possible  rivals  and 
peers,  but  very  few  subjects.  We  can  easily  count  on  the  fingers  of  our  two 
hands  all  the  names  that  can  with  any  show  of  reason  be  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  that  of  Hoffmann's  in  the  part  of  the  continent  of  romance  where  he 
has  built  his  kingdom.  Next  and  nearest  to  Hoffmann  comes  his  wild  Ameri- 
can brother,  Edgar  Allan  Poe,  kinsman  in  mind,  kinsman  in  riot,  kinsman  in 
melancholy  death.  What  Mr.  Bealby  has  done  he  has  done  well,  and  as  his 
book  is  beautifully  printed  and  illustrated  with  some  delightful  etchings  by 
Lalauze,  it  will  be  a  welcome  friend  on  the  shelves  of  the  few  who  have  long 
known  and  loved  Hoffmann,  and  of  the  many  who  must  love  him  if  they  will 
give  themselves  the  pleasure  of  reading  these  ten  intoxicatingly  attractive 
stories." 

British  Medical  Journal. 

"A  new  translation  from  the  German,  in  two  volumes,  with  ten  origina 
etchings  by  Ad.  Lalauze.  These  tales,  to  many  to  whom  they  will  now  be- 
come known  for  the  first  time,  will  have  a  charm  which  they  largely  possess  in 
the  original,  and  of  which  they  have  lost  little  by  being  translated  into  another 
tongue." 

Bookseller. 

"  An  acceptable  service  has  been  rendered  to  students  of  German  literature 
by  presenting,  in  a  handsome  and  compact  form,  the  volume  of  the  stories  by 
Ernst  Theodor  Wilhelm  Hoffmann,  a  striking  figure  in  the  most  attractive 
period  of  German  imaginative  literature.  The  stories  are  in  themselves  very 
attractive,  and  would  have  made  a  reputation  for  a  less  gifted  author ;  but 
Hoffmann  always  appeared  to  be  capable  of  greater  achievements,  which  he 
never  realised.  Carlyle  said  of  him,  'There  are  the  materials  of  a  glorious 
poet,  but  no  poet  has  been  fashioned  out  of  them.'  Imagination  he  unques- 
tionably possessed,  fancy  was  still  more  conspicuous,  and  he  possessed  a 
strange,  weird  faculty  of  relating  incidents  which  appear  to  have  been  con- 
ceived in  dreams,  exercising  an  influence  over  the  reader  which  it  is  difficult  to 
account  for  on  ordinary  principles  of  criticism.  Mr.  Bealby 's  biographical 
memoir  is  well  written,  and  his  estimate  of  Hoffmann's  powers  appear  to  be 
able  and  impartial.  Eleven  stories  are  included  in  this  collection,  and,  besides 
a  portrait  of  the  author,  eleven  exquisite  etchings  by  Lalauze — little  gems  of 
art." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo.  \\ 

The  Characters  of  Jean  de  La  Bruyere. 

NEWLY  RENDERED  INTO  ENGLISH. 

With  an  Introduction,  Biographical  Memoir,  and  Copious  Notes, 

By  HENRI  VAN  LAUN. 

With  Seven  Etched  Portraits  by  B.  DAMMAN,  and  Seventeen  Vignettes 
etched  by  V.  FOULQUIER,  and  printed  on  China  paper. 

8vo,  half-parchment,  gilt  top,  425. 

NOTE. — Three  hundred  copies  printed,  and  each  numbered.     Type 
distributed. 

Athenaeum. 

"  If  either  the  living  M.  Van  Laun  or  the  dead  M.  de  La  Bruyere  is  dissatisfied 
with  the  care  and  expense  which  the  publisher  has  apparently  devoted  to  the 
equipping  of  the  Characters  of  Jean  de  La  Bruylre,  translated  by  Henri  Van 
Laun,  all  we  can  say  is  that  there  is  a  very  unreasonable  translator  in  this 
world  or  a  very  unreasonable  author  in  the  other.  Almost  all  the  details  of  the 
book's  production  deserve  praise." 

Saturday  Review. 

"  M.  Van  Laun's  translation  of  the  immortal  Caracteres  deserves  one  recom- 
mendation at  least,  which  may  be  given  heartily  and  without  stint  or  qualifica- 
tion. It  is  one  of  the  handsomest  books  that  have  recently  been  issued  from 
any  English  press  or  publishing  house,  tastefully  bound,  portly  without  being 
unwieldy,  excellently  printed,  with  well  proportioned  margins,  and  on  paper  of 
good  colour,  texture,  and  substance." 

Daily  Telegraph. 

"This  English  rendering  of  La  Bmyere  should  be  welcome  to  all  who  study 
style.     As  M.  Van  Laun  aptly  remarks,  '  perhaps  no  author  is  oftener  quoted 
in  Littre"s  "  Dictionnaire  de  la  Langue  Franfaise"  than  is  La  Bruyere.'    The 
present  edition  is  adorned  with  many  etched  portraits  and  vignettes." 
Scotsman. 

"  La  Bruyere  was  one  of  those  men  who  have  risen  from  time  to  time  in  France, 
and  who,  in  the  midst  of  comparatively  frivolous  surroundings,  wrote  down 
high  and  useful  thoughts.  The  book  is  a  repertory  of  wit  and  wisdom.  It  has 
furnished  many  an  orator  with  suggestions  ;  it  is  a  mine  from  which  many  of 
the  philosophers  of  these  later  days  have  drawn  what  seem  to  have  been  some 
of  their  happiest  inspirations,  and  in  its  present  form  it  will  do  much  to  foster 
thought  and  enlarge  the  sphere  of  the  reader's  knowledge. " 
Notes  and  Queries. 

"To  see  M.  Van  Laun's  English  at  its  best,  the  chapter  on  opinions  should 
be  read.  The  short,  crisp,  epigrammatic  sentences  of  this  are  reproduced  in 
English  with  singular  spirit  and  fidelity.  To  say  that  this  is  the  best  transla- 
tion of  La  Bruyere  is  little.  .  .  .  He  has,  besides,  enriched  his  edition  with  a 
series  of  admirable  notes.  A  chief  attraction  of  the  volume  has  yet  to  be 
mentioned.  Six  portraits  specially  etched  by  M.  Damman,  a  series  of  lovely 
headpieces  etched  by  M.  Foulquier,  and  a  portrait  of  La  Bruyere  by  the  same 
artist,  render  the  book  one  of  the  most  sumptuous  issued  from  the  English 
press." 

Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

"  Handsome  even  among  the  handsome  books  which  the  last  few  years  have 
seen  issuing  in  much  greater  numbers  from  the  English  press  than  at  any  time 
during  the  present  century.  The  merit  of  this  version  and  the  remarkable 
beauty  of  the  book  ought  pretty  speedily  to  exhaust  the  limited  edition  which 
has,  we  understand,  been  printed,  and  which,  according  to  a  practice  agreeable 
to  collectors,  if  not  to  lovers  of  literature,  the  publisher  binds  himself  not  to 
reprint." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo. 


Carols    and    Poems 

FROM  THE  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 
Edited  by  A.  H.  BULLEN. 

With  Seven  Illustrations  newly  designedly  HENRY  G.  WELLS. 
Post  8vo,  full  parchment,  gilt  top,  price  IDS.  6d. 


NOTE. — One  hundred  and  twenty  copies  printed  on  fine  medium  8vo 
paper,  with  the  illustrations  on  Japanese  paper.     Each  copy  numbered. 


Saturday  Review. 

"  Since  the  publication  of  Mr.  Sandys's  collection  there  have  been  many  books 
issued  on  carols  ;  but  the  most  complete  by  far  that  we  have  met  with  is  Mr. 
Bullen's  new  volume,  '  Carols  and  Poems  from  the  Fifteenth  Century  to  the 
Present  Time.'  The  preface  contains  an  interesting  account  of  Christmas  fes- 
tivities and  the  use  of  carols.  Mr.  Bullen  has  exercised  great  care  in  verifying 
and  correcting  the  collections  of  his  predecessors,  and  he  has  joined  to  them 
two  modern  poems  by  Hawker,  two  by  Mr.  William  Morris,  and  others  by  Mr. 
Swinburne,  Mr.  Symonds,  and  Miss  Rossetti.  No  one  has  been  more  success- 
ful than  Mr.  Morris  in  imitating  the  ancient  carol : — 

'  Outlanders,  whence  come  ye  last  ? 

The  snow  in  the  street  and  the  wind  on  the  door. 
Through  what  green  sea  and  great  have  ye  past  ? 
Minstrels  and  maids  stand  forth  on  the  floor.' 

Altogether  this  is  one  of  the  most  welcome  books  of  the  season." 

Spectator. 

"  Mr.  Bullen  divides  his  'Carols  and  Poems  from  the  Fifteenth  Century  to 
the  Present  Time'  into  three  parts,  'Christmas  Chants  and  Carols,'  'Carmina 
Sacra,'  and  'Christmas  Customs  and  Christmas  Cheer.'  These  make  up 
together  between  seventy  and  eighty  poems  of  one  kind  and  another.  The 
selection  has  been  carefully  made  from  a  wide  range  of  authors.  Indeed,  it  is 
curious  to  see  the  very  mixed  company  which  the  subject  of  Christmas  has 
brought  together — as,  indeed,  it  is  quite  right  that  it  should.  Altogether,  the 
result  is  a  very  interesting  book. " 

Morning  Post. 

"  Good  Christian  people  all,  and  more  especially  those  of  artistic  or  poetic 
inclinations,  will  feel  indebted  to  the  editor  and  publisher  of  this  fascinating 
volume,  which,  bound  as  it  is  in  white  parchment  vellum,  ornamented  with 
sprigs  of  holly,  may  fairly  claim  to  be  considered  par  excellence  the  gift  book  of 
the  season.  '  Carols  and  Poems '  are  supplemented  by  voluminous  and  in- 
teresting notes  by  the  editor,  who  also  contributes  some  very  graceful  dedicatory 
verses." 

Notes  and  Queries. 

"  Mr.  Bullen  does  not  indeed  pretend  to  cater  for  those  who  regard  carols 
from  a  purely  antiquarian  point  of  view.  His  book  is  intended  to  be  popular 
rather  than  scholarly.  Scholarly  none  the  less  it  is,  and  representative  also, 
including  as  it  does  every  form  of  Christmas  strain,  from  early  mysteries  down 
to  poems  so  modern  as  not  previously  to  have  seen  the  light." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo.  13 

Egyptian   Obelisks. 

By    HENRY     H.     GORRINGE. 

With  Fifty  full-page  Illustrations,  Thirty -one  Artotypes,  Eighteen 
Engravings,  and  One  Chroma-lithograph. 

Royal  4to,  cloth  elegant,  price  425. 


NOTE. — This  work  is  devoted  to  what  may  be  termed  the  recent  records 
of  those  striking  monuments  of  history,  minute  particulars  of  the  difficulties 
which  have  been  experienced  in  the  transportation  of  many  across  the  high 
seas,  and  the  engineering  operations  by  which  these  have  been  overcome. 


The  Times. 

"There  is  really  more  stirring  incident  in  the  book  than  in  many  a  popular 
sensational  novel,  though  much  of  the  technical  matter  may  be  only  of  value 
to  experts  and  engineers.  But  every  one  ought  to  be  interested  in  the  inge- 
nious speculations  as  to  the  means  by  which  the  ancient  Egyptians  manipulated 
and  moved  the  ponderous  masses  of  stone,  which  may  endure  while  the  world 
remains  as  colossal  monuments  of  their  achievements." 

Building  and  Engineering  Times. 

"The  American  engineer,  pardonably  enough,  gives  the  foremost  place  to 
his  own  work,  and  we  have  illustrations  of  the  mode  in  which  he  cased  the 
obelisk  after  possession  was  given  to  him,  how  he  lowered  and  finally  conveyed 
it  and  its  pedestal  to  New  York,  and  there  re-erected  it.  On  taking  it  down  it 
was  found  by  an  inscription  on  the  'crabs'  which  supported  it  that  it  was 
erected  by  Pontius,  an  architect,  in  the  reign  of  Augustus  Caesar  (circa  22  B.C.), 
and  its  size  and  weight  are  about  the  same  as  the  obelisk  on  the  Thames 
Embankment,  weighing  about  448,000  Ibs.,  69  ft.  high,  and  7  ft.  9  in.  square 
at  base.  The  greatest  known  obelisk  erected  is  that  of  the  Lateran,  which 
weighs  1,020,000  Ibs.,  and  is  as  104  to  64  in  height  to  the  obelisk  on  the 
Thames  Embankment.  In  the  quarry  at  Syene  there  is  one  less  in  height  but 
greater  in  bulk,  whose  estimated  weight  is  no  less  than  1,540,000  Ibs.  The 
smallest  recorded  is  one  at  Lepsius,  which  only  weighs  some  200  Ibs.  Thus 
we  have  them  of  all  sizes  and  weights.  ...  Of  the  inscriptions  and  their 
purport  we  need  here  say  nothing,  but  refer  the  curious  to  the  valuable  con- 
tribution to  our  knowledge  on  the  subject  which  we  owe  to  Lieut.-Commander 
Gorringe,  whose  handsome  volume  is  profusely  and  elegantly  illustrated. " 

Daily  Telegraph. 

"  Lieutenant-Commander  Henry  Gorringe  has  contrived  to  make  a  volume 
which  holds  some  curious  matter  likely  to  amuse  the  general  reader,  besides 
carrying  out  the  primal  and  technical  objects  of  the  work.  There  is  a  chapter 
on  Egyptian  obelisks  in  general,  and  notes  on  the  ancient  methods  of  quarry- 
ing, transporting,  &c.,  while  forty  full-page  illustrations  and  numerous  'arto- 
types '  add  to  the  usefulness  of  the  book." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


14  Publications  of  John   C.  Nimmo. 

NEW  WORK  by  GEORGE  W.  CABLE,  Author  of  "  Old  Creole  Days," 
"The  Grandissimes,"  &c. 

The    Creoles    of    Louisiana. 

With  Fifty  Full-page  Illustrations.  . 
Square  8vo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  price  los.  6d. 


Daily  News. 

"Mr.  Cable's  account  of  the  Creoles  and  history  of  Louisiana  are  curious  in 
themselves  and  full  of  picturesque  interest.  Necessarily  the  story  centres  in 
the  capital 'of  the  province,  which,  together  with  its  environs,  furnishes  a 
considerable  proportion  of  the  subjects  of  Mr.  Pennell's  charming  pictures. 
The  story  of  the  battle  of  New  Orleans,  when  the  British  forces  were  so  dis- 
astrously, though  not  ingloriously,  defeated  under  the  Duke  of  Wellington's 
brother-in-law,  Pakenham,  by  General  Jackson,  is  told  with  spirit  in  a  narrative 
which  the  reader  will  find  it  interesting  to  compare  with  the  accounts  by 
English  authorities." 

Daily  Telegraph. 

"Written  with  a  purity  which  is  itself  indicative  of  ancestral  or  patriotic 
pride,  this  book  is  full  of  interest,  and  its  many  illustrations  of  the  picturesque 
old  city,  which  looks  as  though  it  had  been  transported  bodily  from  Southern 
Europe,  increase  the  value  of  the  text." 

St.  James's  Gazette. 

"  This  book  recalls  the  period  when  France  bid  fair  to  be  a  greater  colonial 
power  than  England,  when  her  settlements  in  America  were  apparently  more 
flourishing  than  ours,  and  when  in  India  her  influence  was  greater.  No  man 
is  more  competent  than  Mr.  Cable  for  the  work  he  has  here  undertaken.  He 
knows  his  subject  thoroughly — the  land  and  the  people  alike ;  while  as  a 
writer  he  belongs  to  the  elect,  who  are  '  born,  not  made.'  His  work  is  one  of 
great  interest  and  lasting  value." 

Scotsman. 

"  Mr.  Cable  is  the  poet  of  the  Creole  and  of  New  Orleans,  He  has  written 
for  the  delectation,  not  merely  of  the  American  public,  but  of  the  whole  world, 
a  series  of  stories  of  Creole  life  in  New  Orleans,  which  for  tenderness  and 
beauty  are  nowhere  surpassed.  ...  It  is  a  book  in  which  there  is  much  of 
historical  value  told  by  one  who  loves  his  subject,  and  who  has  always  some 

touch  of  tenderness  with  which  to  light  up  the  dark  passages There  is 

lucidity  in  every  sentence." 

Manchester  Examiner. 

"Mr.  Cable  is  now  an  authority  about  Creoles,  and  he  provides  us  with  a 
definition  which  effectually  shuts  out  all  idea  of  negro  blood ;  he  calls  them 
"the  French-speaking  native  portion  of  the  ruling  class"  in  Louisiana,  and 
they  do  not  extend  much  beyond  the  city  of  New  Orleans.  The  very  beautiful 
volume  before  us  is  really  a  history  of  the  short  but  chequered  life  of  this  city, 
from  its  French  foundation  to  the  present  time.  History  does  much  to  make 
a  city  picturesque,  and  the  picturesque  look  which  New  Orleans  has  more  than 
any  other  American  city  is  not  a  little  owing  to  the  time  when  French  and 
Spanish  banners  waved  over  her.  The  book  contains  some  charming  illus- 
trations. " 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo.  15 

A  Wonder  Book  for  Girls  and  Boys. 

By   NATHANIEL  HAWTHORNE. 

With  Thirty-six  New  and  Original  Illustrations  by  the  eminent  American 
Artist,  FREDERIC  S.  CHURCH. 

Royal  8vo,  cloth  elegant,  price  ios.  6d. 


Extract  from  the  Author's  Preface. 

"  In  performing  this  pleasant  task — for  it  has  been  really  a  task  fit  for  hot 
weather,  and  one  of  the  most  agreeable,  of  a  literary  kind,  which  he  ever 
undertook — the  author  has  not  always  thought  it  necessary  to  write  downward 
in  order  to  meet  the  comprehension  of  children.  He  has  generally  suffered 
the  theme  to  soar,  whenever  such  was  its  tendency,  and  when  he  himself  was 
buoyant  enough  to  follow  without  an  effort.  Children  possess  an  unestimated 
sensibility  to  whatever  is  deep  or  high  in  imagination  or  feeling,  so  long  as  it 
is  simple  likewise.  It  is  only  the  artificial  and  the  complex  that  bewilder 
them." 

Magazine  of  Art. 

"  The  new  edition  of  Hawthorne's  delightful  '  Wonder  Book,'  which  has  just 
been  issued  by  Mr.  Nimmo,  should  be  one  of  the  books  of  the  season.  Haw- 
thorne retold  the  old  stories — '  King  Midas,'  the  '  Quest  of  the  Golden  Apples,' 
the  '  Slaying  of  the  Gorgon,'  and  all  the  rest  of  them — so  beautifully  and  well, 
that  his  work  is  even  now  as  full  of  life  and  charm  as  it  was  when  it  was  first 
given  to  the  world." 

The  Graphic. 

"  Perhaps  English  boys  and  girls  are  not  over-familiar  with  Nathaniel  Haw- 
thorne's  delightful  rendering  of  classic  myths,  so  that  the  present  handsome 
edition  of  a  '  Wonder  Book '  will  form  an  acceptable  gift.  Mr.  Church's  en- 
gravings are  cleverly  drawn,  and  as  imaginative  as  the  legends  they  illustrate." 

Daily  Telegraph. 

"  It  is  now  almost  thirty-five  years  since  the  author  of  '  The  Scarlet  Letter" 
and  '  The  House  with  the  Seven  Gables '  offered  his  re-readings  of  classical 
myths  to  a  rising  generation  which  has  since  risen,  and  is  giving  place  to 
younger  comers.  By  the  very  indestructibility  of  these  immortal  fables,  they 
are  legitimate  subjects,  as  the  author  pleads,  '  for  every  age  to  clothe  with  its 
own  garniture  of  manners  and  sentiment,  and  to  imbue  with  its  own  morality.' " 

Literary  World. 

"The  present  edition  of  the  'Wonder  Book'  is  probably  the  handsomest 
form  in  which  it  has  ever  appeared.  It  is  beautifully  illustrated  with  thirty-six 
new  original  drawings  by  an  eminent  artist,  and  has  further  the  attractions  of 
fine  paper  and  printing  and  handsome  binding.  In  its  new  dress  it  ought  to 
find  many  new  friends,  and  revisit  many  of  the  old  ones  too." 

Illustrated  London  News. 

"Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  prince  of  American  story-tellers,  wrote  a  '  Wonder 
Book  for  Girls  and  Boys,'  consisting  of  six  fine  old  legends  of  classical  origin, 
or  of  still  remoter  antiquity,  which  he  interfused  with  Gothic  or  German  senti- 
ment, and  made  them  attractive  to  modern  youthful  minds,  and  not  yet  worn 
out  by  two  or  three  thousand  years'  popularity  among  different  nations." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


1 6  Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo. 

A  VERY  FUNNY  ILLUSTRATED  HUMOROUS   BOOK. 

Stuff  and  Nonsense. 

By  A.  B.  FROST, 

The  Illustrator  of  Carroll's  "  Rhyme  and  Reason." 

Small  4to,  illustrated  boards,  price  6s. 

Mr.  Frost  has  made  a  wonderfully  amusing  and  clever  book.  There 
are  in  all  more  than  one  hundred  pictures,  many  with  droll  verses  and 
ludicrous  jingles.  Others  are  unaccompanied  by  any  text,  for  no  one 
knows  better  than  Mr.  Frost  how  to  tell  a  funny  story,  in  the  funniest  way, 
with  his  artist's  pencil. 

Standard. 

"  This  is  a  book  which  will  please  equally  people  of  all  ages.  The  illustra- 
tions are  not  only  extremely  funny,  but  they  are  drawn  with  wonderful  artistic 
ability,  and  are  full  of  life  and  action. 

"It  is  far  and  away  the  best  book  of  'Stuff  and  Nonsense'  which  has  ap- 
peared for  a  long  time." 

Times. 

"  It  is  a  most  grotesque  medley  of  mad  ideas,  carried  out  nevertheless  with  a 
certain  regard  to  consistency,  if  not  to  probability." 

Figaro. 

"The  verses  and  jingles  which  accompany  some  of  the  illustrations  are  ex- 
cellent fooling,  but  Mr.  Frost  is  also  able  to  tell  a  ludicrous  story  with  his 
pencil  only." 

Press. 

"The  most  facetious  bit  of  wit  that  has  been  penned  for  many  a  day,  both 
in  design  and  text,  is  Mr.  A.  B.  Frost's  'Stuff  and  Nonsense.'  'A  Tale  of  a 
Cat '  is  funny,  '  The  Balloonists '  is  perhaps  rather  extravagant,  but  nothing  can 
outdo  the  wit  of  'The  Powers  of  the  Human  Eye,'  whilst  'Ye  ./Esthete,  ye  Boy, 
and  ye  Bullfrog'  may  be  described  as  a  '  roarer.'  Mr.  Frost's  pen  and  pencil 
know  how  to  chronicle  fun,  and  their  outcomes  should  not  be  overlooked." 

Graphic. 
"  Grotesque  in  the  extreme.     His  jokes  will  rouse  many  a  laugh." 

Daily  News. 

"  There  is  really  a  marvellous  abundance  of  fun  in  this  volume  of  a  harmless 
kind." 

Athenaeum. 
"  Clever  sketches  of  grotesque  incidents." 

Literary  World. 
"A  hundred  and  twenty  excruciatingly  funny  sketches." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo.  17 

The  History  of  England, 

FROM  THE  FIRST  INVASION  BY  THE  ROMANS  TO  THE  ACCESSION  OF 

WILLIAM  AND  MARY  IN  1688. 
By   JOHN    LINGARD,   D.D. 

Copyright  Edition,  with  Ten  Etched  Portraits.     In  Ten  Vols.  demy  8vo 
cloth,  £5,  55. 

This  New  Copyright  Library  Edition  of  "  Lingard's  History  of  Eng- 
land," besides  containing  all  the  latest  notes  and  emendations  of  the 
Author,  with  Memoir,  is  enriched  with  Ten  Portraits,  newly  etched  by 
Damman,  of  the  following  personages,  viz.  :  —  Dr.  Lingard,  Edward  I. 
Edward  III.,  Cardinal  Wolsey,  Cardinal  Pole,  Elizabeth,  James  I.,  Crom- 
well, Charles  II.,  James  II* 

The  Times. 

"  No  greater  service  can  be  rendered  to  literature  than  the  republication,  in 
a  handsome  and  attractive  form,  of  works  which  time  and  the  continued  appro- 
bation of  the  world  have  made  classical.  .  .  .  The  accuracy  of  Lingard's  state- 
ments on  many  points  of  controversy,  as  well  as  the  genial  sobriety  of  his  view, 
is  now  recognised." 

The  Tablet. 

"  It  is  with  the  greatest  satisfaction  that  we  welcome  this  new  edition  of  Dr. 
Lingard's  '  History  of  England.'  It  has  long  been  a  desideratum.  .  .  .  No 
general  history  of  England  has  appeared  which  can  at  all  supply  the  place  of 
Lingard,  whose  painstaking  industry  and  careful  research  have  dispelled  many 
a  popular  delusion,  whose  candour  always  carries  his  reader  with  him,  and 
whose  clear  and  even  style  is  never  fatiguing." 

The  Spectator. 

"  We>  are  glad  to  see  that  the  demand  for  Dr.  Lingard's  England  still  con- 
tinues. Few  histories  give  the  reader  the  same  impression  of  exhaustive  study. 
This  new  edition  is  excellently  printed,  and  illustrated  with  ten  portraits  of 
the  greatest  personages  in  our  history." 

Dublin  Review. 

"  It  is  pleasant  to  notice  that  the  demand  for  Lingard  continues  to  be  such 
that  publishers  venture  on  a  well  got-up  library  edition  like  the  one  before  us. 
More  than  sixty  years  have  gone  since  the  first  volume  of  the  first  edition  was 
published  ;  many  equally  pretentious  histories  have  appeared  during  that  space, 
and  have  more  or  less  disappeared  since,  yet  Lingard  lives — is  still  a  recognised 
and  respected  authority." 

The  Scotsman. 

"  There  is  no  need,  at  this  time  of  day,  to  say  anything  in  vindication  of  the 
importance,  as  a  standard  work,  of  Dr.  Lingard's  '  History  of  England.'  .  .  . 
Its  intrinsic  merits  are  very  great  The  style  is  lucid,  pointed,  and  puts  no 
strain  upon  the  reader  ;  and  the  printer  and  publisher  have  neglected  nothing 
that  could  make  this — what  it  is  likely  long  to  remain— the  standard  edition  of 
a  work  of  great  historical  and  literary  value." 

Daily  Telegraph. 

"True  learning,  untiring  research,  a  philosophic  temper,  and  the  possession 
of  a  graphic,  pleasing  style,  were  the  qualities  which  the  author  brought  to  his 
task,  and  they  are  displayed  in  every  chapter  of  his  history." 

Weekly  Register. 

"  In  the  full  force  of  the  word  a  scholarly  book.  Lingard's  History  is 
destined  to  bear  a  part  of  growing  importance  in  English  education." 

Manchester  Examiner. 

"He  stands  alone  in  his  own  school;  he  is  the  only  representative  of  his 
own  phase  of  thought.  The  critical  reader  will  do  well  to  compare  him  with 
those  who  went  before  and  those  who  came  after  him." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


1 8  Publications  of  John   C.  Nimnw. 

Imaginary    Conversations. 

By  WALTER  SAVAGE  LANDOR. 

In  Five  Vols.  crown  8vo,  cloth,  303. 

FIRST    SERIKS — CLASSICAL  DIALOGUES,  GREEK  AND  ROMAN. 
SECOND  SERIES — DIALOGUES  OF  SOVEREIGNS  AND  STATESMEN. 
THIRD    SERIES — DIALOGUES  OF  LITERARY  MEN. 
FOURTH  SERIES — DIALOGUES  OF  FAMOUS  WOMEN. 
FIFTH   SERIES — MISCELLANEOUS  DIALOGUES. 

NOTE. —  This  New  Edition  is  printed  from  the  last  Edition  of  his  Works, 
revised  and  edited  by  John  Forster,  and  is  published  by  arrangement  with 
the  Proprietors  of  the  Copyright  of  Walter  Savage  Lander's  Works. 

The  Times. 

"The  abiding  character  of  the  interest  excited  by  the  writings  of  Walter 
Savage  Landor,  and  the  existence  of  a  numerous  band  of  votaries  at  the  shrine 
of  his  refined  genius,  have  been  lately  evidenced  by  the  appearance  of  the  most 
remarkable  of  Lander's  productions,  his  '  Imaginary  Conversations,'  taken  from 
the  last  edition  of  his  works.  To  have  them  in  a  separate  publication  will  be 
convenient  to  a  great  number  of  readers." 

The  Athenaeum. 

"The  appearance  of  this  tasteful  reprint  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the 
present  generation  is  at  last  waking  up  to  the  fact  that  it  has  neglected  a  great 
writer,  and  if  so,  it  is  well  to  begin  with  Lander's  most  adequate  work.  It 
is  difficult  to  overpraise  the  '  Imaginary  Conversations.'  The  eulogiums 
bestowed  on  the  '  Conversations '  by  Emerson  will,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  lead 
many  to  buy  this  book." 

Scotsman. 

"An  excellent  service  has  been  done  to  the  reading  public  by  presenting  to 
it,  in  five  compact  volumes,  these  '  Conversations.'  Admirably  printed  on  good 
paper,  the  volumes  are  handy  in  shape,  and  indeed  the  edition  is  all  that  could 
be  desired.  When  this  has  been  said,  it  will  be  understood  what  a  boon  has 
been  conferred  on  the  reading  public  ;  and  it  should  enable  many  compara- 
tively poor  men  to  enrich  their  libraries  with  a  work  that  will  have  an  enduring 
interest." 

Literary  World. 

"  That  the  '  Imaginary  Conversations '  of  Walter  Savage  Landor  are  not 
better  known  is  no  doubt  largely  due  to  their  inaccessibility  to  most  readers,  by 
reason  of  their  cost.  This  new  issue,  while  handsome  enough  to  find  a  place 
in  the  best  of  libraries,  is  not  beyond  the  reach  of  the  ordinary  bookbuyer." 

Edinburgh  Review. 

' '  How  rich  in  scholarship  !  how  correct,  concise,  and  pure  in  style !  how 
full  of  imagination,  wit,  and  humour  !  how  well  informed,  how  bold  in  specula- 
tion, how  various  in  interest,  how  universal  in  sympathy !  In  these  dialogues 
— making  allowance  for  every  shortcoming  or  excess — the  most  familiar  and 
the  most  august  shapes  of  the  past  are  reanimated  with  vigour,  grace,  and 
beauty.  We  are  in  the  high  and  goodly  company  of  wits  and  men  of  letters  ; 
of  churchmen,  lawyers,  and  statesmen  ;  of  party-men,  soldiers,  and  kings  ;  of 
the  most  tender,  delicate,  and  noble  women  ;  and  of  figures  that  seem  this 
instant  to  have  left  for  us  the  Agora  or  the  Schools  of  Athens,  the  Forum  or 
the  Senate  of  Rome." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,   W.  C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo.  19 

The  Fables  of  La  Fontaine. 

A  REVISED  TRANSLATION  FROM  THE  FRENCH. 

With  24  original  full-page  Etchings  and  Portrait  by  A.  DELIERRE. 

Super  royal  8vo,  half  parchment  elegant,  gilt  top,  315.  6d. 

NOTE. — 500  copies  printed.     Type  distributed. 

Athenaeum. 

"  Mr.  Nimmo  has  issued  '  The  Fables  of  La  Fontaine, '  with  etchings  by  A. 
Delierre,  who  has  designed  and  drawn  them  in  a  manner  which  is  curiously  in 
keeping  with  the  date,  and  even  with  the  taste,  of  La  Fontaine.  They  are 
neatly  delineated  and  prettily  composed." 

Bookseller. 

' '  We  are  tempted  to  linger  over  these  beautiful  etchings  ;  and  how  gratified 
will  be  the  fortunate  recipients  of  such  a  book,  elegant  as  it  is  in  style  and 
workmanship,  and  embellished  with  drawings  of  the  highest  merit." 

Spectator. 

' '  This  translation  has  the  recommendation  of  being  sufficiently  easy  and 
readable.  The  merits  of  the  etchings  with  which  it  is  illustrated  are  evident." 

Art  Journal. 

"  An  admirable  translation,  founded  on  that  of  Robert  Thompson  ;  and  the 
etchings  which  lighten  this  present  edition  are  very  good." 

Daily  News. 

"  The  force  and  breadth  of  M.  Delierre's  etchings  contrast  favourably  with 
the  pretty  feebleness  which  is  apt  to  characterise  the  efforts  of  the  etcher's 
needle  when  employed  on  book  illustrations.  The  elegant  simplicity  of  the 
vellum  back  and  grey-green  covers,  with  their  decorative  ornaments,  is  very 
pleasing  to  the  eye." 

Harper's  Monthly. 

"  The  happy  rendering  of  the  quaint  and  piquant  fables,  and  the  perfection 
with  which  the  printer  and  binder  have  done  their  work,  make  the  volume 
everything  that  could  be  desired." 

Daily  Telegraph. 

"This  beautiful  edition  of  '  The  Fables  of  La  Fontaine,'  which  now  appears 
in  a  form  that  is  highly  creditable  to  the  publisher  as  well  as  to  the  printer,  is 
enriched  with  etchings  by  Delierre,  which  are  admirable  alike  for  quality  and 
appropriateness." 

Westminster  Review. 

"  A  splendid  edition  of  '  The  Fables  of  La  Fontaine,'  with  twenty-five 
original  etchings  by  Delierre.  Of  these  we  cannot  speak  too  highly,  and 
select  for  special  commendation  the  portrait  of  La  Fontaine,  the  Heron,  the 
Peacock,  and  the  Ducks  and  Tortoise. " 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


20  Publications  of  John   C.  Nimnio. 

The   Fan. 

By  OCTAVE  UZANNE. 

ILLUSTRATIONS   BY  PAUL    AVRIL. 

Royal  8vo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  315.  6d. 


The  Sunshade,  Muff,  and  Glove. 

By  OCTAVE  UZANNE. 

ILLUSTRATIONS  BY  PAUL  AVRIL. 
Royal  8vo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  315.  6d. 

NOTE. — The  above  are  English  Editions  of  the  unique  and  artistic  -works 
"  L' Eventail"  and  "  Z' Ombrelle"  recently  published  in  Paris,  and  now 
difficult  to  be  procured,  as  no  new  Edition  is  to  be  produced,  joo  copies  only 
are  printed. 

Saturday  Review. 

"An  English  counterpart    of  the  well-known   French  books  by  Octave 
Uzanne,  with  Paul  Avril's  charming  illustrations." 
Standard. 

"  It  gives  a  complete  history  of  fans  of  all  ages  and  places  ;  the  illustrations 
are  dainty  in  the  extreme.     Those  who  wish  to  make  a  pretty  and  appropriate 
present  to  a  young  lady  cannot  do  better  than  purchase  '  The  Fan.' " 
Athenaeum. 

"  The  letterpress  comprises  much  amusing  'chit-chat,'  and  is  more  solid  than 
it  pretends  to  be.     This  brochure  is  worth  reading  ;  nay,  it  is  worth  keeping. " 
Art  Journal. 

"  At  first  sight  it  would  seem  that  material  could  never  be  found  to  fill  even 
a  volume ;  but  the  author,  in  dealing  with  his  first  subject  alone,  'The  Sun- 
shade,' says  he  could  easily  have  filled  a  dozen  volumes  of  this  emblem  of 
sovereignty.  The  work  is  delightfully  illustrated  in  a  novel  manner  by  Paul  Avril, 
the  pictures  which  meander  about  the  work  being  printed  in  varied  colours." 
Daily  News. 

"  The  pretty  adornments  of  the  margin  of  these  artistic  volumes,  the  nume- 
rous ornamental  designs,  and  the  pleasant  vein  of  the  author's  running  com- 
mentary, render  these  the  most  attractive  monographs  ever  published  on  a 
theme  which  interests  so  many  enthusiastic  collectors." 
Glasgow  Herald. 

"  '  I  have  but  collected  a  heap  of  foreign  flowers,  and  brought  of  my  own 
only  the  string  which  binds  them  together,"  is  the  fitting  quotation  with  which 
M.  Uzanne  closes  the  preface  to  his  volume  on  woman's  ornaments.  The 
monograph  on  the  sunshade,  called  by  the  author  '  a  little  tumbled  fantasy,' 
occupies  fully  one-half  of  the  volume.  It  begins  with  a  pleasant  invented 
mythology  of  the  parasol ;  glances  at  the  sunshade  in  all  countries  and  times  ; 
mentions  many  famous  umbrellas ;  quotes  a  number  of  clever  sayings.  .  .  . 
To  these  remarks  on  the  spirit  of  the  book  it  is  necessary  to  add  that  the  body 
of  it  is  a  dainty  marvel  of  paper,  type,  and  binding  ;  and  that  what  meaning 
it  has  looks  out  on  the  reader  through  a  hundred  argus-eyes  of  many-tinted 
photogravures,  exquisitely  designed  by  M.  Paul  Avril." 
Westminster  Review. 

"  The  most  striking  merit  of  the  book  is  the  entire  appropriateness  both  of 
the  letterpress  and  illustrations  to  the  subject  treated.  M.  Uzanne's  style  has 
all  the  airy  grace  and  sparkling  brilliancy  of  the  petit  instrument  whose  praise 
he  celebrates  ;  and  M.  Avril's  drawings  seem  to  conduct  us  into  an  enchanted 
world  where  everything  but  fans  are  forgotten." 

24  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  IV.  C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo.  21 


A   Handbook   of   Gastronomy 

(BRILLAT-SAVARIN'S  "Physiologie  du  Gout"). 

New  and  Complete  Translation,  with  52  original  Etchings  by 
A.  LALAUZE. 

Printed  on  China  Paper. 
8vo,  half  parchment,  gilt  top,  425. 

NOTE. — joo  copies  printed,  and  each  numbered.     Type  distributed. 
(Out  of  print.} 

The  Times. 

"The  translator's  notes  are  interesting  and  scholarly;  and  M.  Lalauze's 
etchings  are  so  prettily  executed,  that  they  form  quite  an  attractive  gallery  of 
bijou  pictures. " 

The  Athenaeum. 

"A  new  and  complete  translation  of  Brillat-Savarin's  '  Physiologie  du  Gout,' 
former  editions  of  this  piquant  work  being  more  or  less  incomplete.  The  trans- 
lation is  lively,  clear,  and  practically  exact.  No  man  who  likes  his  dinner  ought 
to  dine  without  having  read  this  book  at  least  once.  The  vignettes  and  cuh- 
de-lampe  are  charming,  and  the  only  cause  for  regret  is  that  fifty-two  is  not  half 
so  many  as  we  could  have  welcomed. " 

Daily  Telegraph. 

"A  numbered  edition  of  the  '  Physiologie  du  Goftt,'  translated  afresh  into 
English,  and  illustrated  with  upwards  of  fifty  Etchings  by  Lalauze.  It  is  a 
volume  for  connoisseurs." 

The  Saturday  Review. 

' '  The  translation  is  a  decidedly  good  one.  The  paper  is  splendid,  and 
taken  as  a  whole  the  work  has  been  well  done.  Therefore  we  would  say,  read 
'A  Handbook  of  Gastronomy,'  and  as  Brillat-Savarin  himself  would  put  it, 
'  You  will  see  something  wonderful.' " 

Scotsman. 

"  The  excellence  of  this  volume  depends  not  only  upon  the  goodness  of  the 
translation  of  Savarin's  book— it  is  all  that  could  be  desired— but  upon  the 
general  beauty  of  its  get  up,  and  its  illustrations  by  Lalauze." 

Illustrated  London  News. 

"One  of  the  most  sumptuous  books  of  the  season  is  the  'Handbook  of 
Gastronomy,'  being  a  new  translation  of  Brillat-Savarin's  'Physiologic  du 
Gout.'  The  English  translation  has  been  executed  with  the  minutest  care  and 
the  most  thorough  appreciativeness.  Among  its  charms,  with  its  handsome 
paper,  uncut  edges,  and  '  river  of  type  running  through  a  meadow  of  margin,' 
are  the  fifty-two  exquisite  illustrative  etchings  by  A.  Lalauze,  printed  on  China 
paper  in  the  text. " 

Glasgow  Herald. 

"In  every  respect  a  dainty  volume,  and  replete  with  excellent  matter 
throughout." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


22  Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo. 

Imperial  8vo,  fine  paper. 

The    Complete   Angler; 

OR,   THE  CONTEMPLATIVE  MAN'S  RECREATION  OF  IZAAK 
WALTON   AND   CHARLES   COTTON. 

Edited  by  JOHN  MAJOR. 

This  Extra-illustrated  Edition  of  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER  is  specially 
designed  for  Collectors  of  this  famous  work  ;  and  in  order  to  enable  them 
either  to  take  from  or  add  to  the  Illustrations,  it  will  simply  be  issued 
unbound,  but  folded  and  collated. 

The  Illustrations  consist  of  Fifty  Steel  Plates,  designed  by  T.  STOT- 
HARD,  R.A.,  JAMES  INSKIP,  EDWARD  HASSELL,  DELAMOTTE,  BINKEN- 
BOOM,  W.  HIXON,  SIR  FRANCIS  SYKES,  Bart,  PINE,  &c.  &c.,  and 
engraved  by  well-known  Engravers.  Also  Six  Original  Etchings  and 
Two  Portraits,  as  well  as  Seventy-four  Engravings  on  Wood  by  various 
Eminent  Artists. 

To  this  is  added  a  PRACTICAL  TREATISE  on  FLIES  and  FLY  HOOKS, 
by  the  late  JOHN  JACKSON,  of  Tanfield  Mill,  with  Ten  Steel  Plates, 
coloured,  representing  120  FJies,  natural  and  artificial. 

One  Hundred  and  Twenty  copies  only  are  printed,  each  of  which  is 
numbered. 


A  HANDSOME  LARGE  FINE  PAPER  EDITION  OF 

The  Works  of  William  Hickling  Prescott. 

In  15  Volumes  8vo,  cloth  (not  sold  separately),  253.  per  vol. 
With  30  Portraits  printed  on  India  paper. 

Athenaeum. 

' '  In  point  of  style  Prescott  ranks  with  the  ablest  English  historians,  and 
paragraphs  may  be  found  in  his  volumes  in  which  the  grace  and  elegance  of 
Addison  are  combined  with  Robertson's  majestic  cadence  and  Gibbon's 
brilliancy. " 

J.   Lothrop  Motley. 

"  Wherever  the  English  language  is  spoken  over  the  whole  earth  his  name  is 
perfectly  familiar.  We  all  of  us  know  what  his  place  was  in  America.  But 
I  can  also  say  that  in  eight  years  (1851-59)  passed  abroad  I  never  met  a 
single  educated  person  of  whatever  nation  that  was  not  acquainted  with  his 
fame,  and  hardly  one  who  had  not  read  his  works.  No  living  American  name 
is  so  widely  spread  over  the  whole  world." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W,C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo.  23 

Types  from  Spanish  Story; 

OR, 

THE  OLD  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  CASTILE. 
By  JAMES  MEW. 

With  36  Proof  Etchings  on  Japanese  paper  by  R.  DE  Los  Rios. 

Super  royal  8vo,  elegant  and  recherche  Binding  after  the 
iSth  Century,  315.  6d. 

The  Times. 

"  It  was  a  happy  thought  that  of  illustrating  the  most  famous  Spanish  or 
Franco-Spanish  romances  with  this  blending  of  the  real,  the  quaint,  and  the 
fantastic.  The  volume  is  a  worthy  key  and  companion  to  the  most  entertaining 
books  of  the  witty  authors  who  sprinkled  their  pages  with  the  '  Spanish  salt ' 
that  Richard  Ford  appreciated  so  thoroughly." 

Daily  Telegraph. 

"  Mr.  James  Mew  displays  both  scholarship  and  geniality  in  his  critical 
analyses  of  romances,  and  has  invested  them  collectively  with  an  additional 
interest.  The  etchings  of  Senor  de  los  Rios  enrich  the  book  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  make  it  a  picture-gallery  in  boards.  Indeed  the  cover  itself  is  like  the 
exterior  of  a  graceful  edifice,  designed  as  a  storehouse  of  art." 

Athenaeum. 

"  The  etchings  have  considerable  spirit,  richness  of  handling,  tone,  and 
other  picturesque  qualities." 

Glasgow  Herald. 

"  The  illustrative  story  essays  have  been  selected  chiefly  from  books  which 
may  be  taken  to  represent  the  classic  literature  of  romance  in  Spain.  The  idea 
is  a  good  one,  and  has  been  industriously  worked  out,  the  result  being  the 
present  handsome  volume." 

Standard. 

"  The  etchings  are  charming  alike  in  drawing  and  execution,  and  afford  an 
admirable  illustration  of  manners  and  customs  in  Spain  in  the  days  of  Don 
Quixote.  The  printing  and  get  up  are  worthy  of  the  illustrations." 

Scotsman. 

"  It  is  a  volume  which  ought  to  be  greatly  prized  because  of  its  illustrations. 
It  is  in  all  respects  handsome." 

Publishers'  Circular. 

"  A  right  grateful  book  to  take  up  from  a  drawing-room  table  for  half  an 
hour.  Its  chapters  equal  in  number  its  illustrations,  each  of  which  is  a  genuine 
piece  of  art  work.  The  binding  is  a  choice  and  appropriate  bit  of  colouring." 

14  King  William  Street^  Strand,  London^  W.  C. 


24  Publications  of  John   C.  Nimmo. 

<g>lfc  ^.nalisb  Romances. 

Illustrated  with  Etchings. 
In  12  Vols.  crown  8vo,  parchment  boards  or  cloth,  73.  6d.  per  vol. 

NOTE. — A  few  copies  printed  on  large  fine  white  paper,  with  etchings 
on  Japanese  and  Whatman  paper.     {Out  of  print.} 

THE   LIFE  AND  OPINIONS  OF   TRISTRAM  SHANDY, 

GENTLEMAN.     By  LAURENCE  STERNE.     In  Two  Vols.    With  Eight 
Etchings  by  DAMMAN  from  Original  Drawings  by  HARRY  FURNISS. 

THE  OLD  ENGLISH   BARON  :  A  GOTHIC  STORY.    By  CLARA 
REEVE. 


THE  CASTLE  OF  OTRANTO  :  A  GOTHIC  STORY.  By  HORACE 
WALPOLE.  In  One  Vol.  With  Two  Portraits  and  Four  Original  Draw- 
ings by  A.  H.  TOURRIER,  Etched  by  DAMMAN. 

THE  ARABIAN   NIGHTS  ENTERTAINMENTS.     In  Four 

Vols.  Carefully  Revised  and  Corrected  from  the  Arabic  by 
JONATHAN  SCOTT,  LL.D.,  Oxford.  With  Nineteen  Original 
Etchings  by  AD.  LALAUZE. 

THE    HISTORY   OF  THE   CALIPH   VATHEK.      By    WM. 

BECKFORD.     With  Notes,  Critical  and  Explanatory. 


RASSELAS,  PRINCE  OF  ABYSSINIA.  By  SAMUEL  JOHNSON. 
In  One  Vol.  With  Portrait  of  BECKFORD,  and  Four  Original 
Etchings,  designed  by  A.  H.  TOURRIER,  and  Etched  by  DAMMAN. 

ROBINSON  CRUSOE.  By  DANIEL  DEFOE.  In  Two  Vols.  With 
Biographical  Memoir,  Illustrative  Notes,  and  Eight  kEtchings  by 
M.  MOUILLERON,  and  Portrait  by  L.  FLAMENG. 

GULLIVER'S  TRAVELS.  By  JONATHAN  SWIFT.  With  Five 
Etchings  and  Portrait  by  AD.  LALAUZE. 

A  SENTIMENTAL  JOURNEY.     By  LAURENCE  STERNE. 

ALSO 

A  TALE  OF  A  TUB.  By  JONATHAN  SWIFT.  In  One  Vol.  With 
Five  Etchings  and  Portrait  by  ED.  HEDOUIN. 

The  Times. 

"Among  the  numerous  handsome  reprints  which  the  publishers  of  the  day 
vie  with  each  other  in  producing,  we  have  seen  nothing  of  greater  merit 
than  this  series  of  twelve  volumes.  Those  who  have  read  these  masterpieces 
of  the  last  century  in  the  homely  garb  of  the. old  editions  may  be  gratified 
with  the  opportunity  of  perusing  them  with  the  advantages  of  large  clear  print 
and  illustrations  of  a  quality  which  is  rarely  bestowed  on  such  re-issues.  The 
series  deserves  every  commendation." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  A'immo.  25 

Athenaeum. 

"A  well-printed  and  tasteful  issue  of  the  'Thousand  and  One  Nights. 
The  volumes  are  convenient  in  size,  and  illustrated  with  Lalauze's  well- 
known  etchings." 

Magazine  of  Art. 

' '  The  text  of  the  new  four  -  volume  edition  of  the  '  Thousand  and  One 
Nights '  just  issued  by  Mr.  Nimmo  is  that  revised  by  Jonathan  Scott,  from 
the  French  of  Galland ;  it  presents  the  essentials  of  these  wonderful  stories 
with  irresistible  authority  and  directness,  and,  as  mere  reading,  it  is  as  satis- 
factory as  ever.  The  edition,  which  is  limited  to  a  thousand  copies,  is 
beautifully  printed  and  remarkably  well  produced.  It  is  illustrated  with 
twenty  etchings  by  Lalauze.  ...  In  another  volume  of  this  series  Beckford's 
wild  and  gloomy  'Vathek'  appears  side  by  side  with  Johnson's  admirable 
'Rasselas.'" 

Glasgow  Herald. 

' '  The  merits  of  this  new  issue  lie  in  exquisite  clearness  of  type ;  completeness ; 
notes  and  biographical  notices,  short  and  pithy ;  and  a  number  of  very  fine 
etchings  and  portraits.  In  the  'Robinson  Crusoe,'  besides  the  well-known 
portrait  of  Defoe  by  Flameng,  there  are  eight  exceedingly  beautiful  etchings  by 
Mouilleron  ....  In  fine  keeping  with  the  other  volumes  of  the  series,  uniform 
in  style  and  illustrations,  and  as  one  of  the  volumes  of  his  famous  Old 
English  Romances,  Mr.  Nimmo  has  also  issued  the  '  Rasselas'  of  Johnson 
and  the  '  Vathek'  of  Beckford." 

Westminster  Review. 

"Mr.  Nimmo  has  added  to  his  excellent  series  of  'Old  English  Romances 
three  new  volumes,  of  which  two  are  devoted  to  '  Tristram  Shandy,'  while 
the  third  contains  'The  Old  English  Baron'  and  'The  Castle  of  Otranto.' 
Take  them  as  they  stand,  and  without  attributing  to  them  any  qualities  but 
what  they  really  possess,  the  whole  series  was  well  worth  reprinting  in  the 
elegant  and  attractive  form  in  which  they  are  now  presented  to  us." 


Essays  from  the  "  North  American 
Review." 

Edited  by  ALLEN  THOBNDIKE  BICE. 

Demy  8vo,  cloth,  Js.  6d. 

i 

Saturday  Review. 

"  A  collection  of  interesting  essays  from  the  North  American  Review^ 
beginning  with  a  criticism  on  the  works  of  Walter  Scott,  and  ending  with 
papers  written  by  Mr.  Lowell  and  Mr.  O.  W.  Holmes.  The  variety  of  the 
essays  is  noteworthy." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W>  C. 


26  Publications  of  John   C.  Nimmo. 


Illustrated  with  Etchings. 
In  12  Vols.  crown  8vo,  parchment  boards  or  cloth,  •}%.  6d.  per  vol. 

NOTE.  —  A  few  copies  printed  on  large  fine  paper  with  etchings 
on  Japanese  and  Whatman  paper.     (Out  of  print.} 

THE  HISTORY  OF    DON  QUIXOTE  DE  LA  MANCHA. 

Translated  from  the  Spanish  of  MIGUEL  DE  CERVANTES  SAAVEDRA 
by  MOTTEUX.  With  copious  Notes  (including  the  Spanish  Ballads), 
and  an  Essay  on  the  Life  and  Writings  of  CERVANTES  by  JOHN  G. 
LOCKHART.  Preceded  by  a  Short  Notice  of  the  Life  and  Works  of 
PETER  ANTHONY  MOTTEUX  by  HENRI  VAN  LAUN.  Illustrated 
with  Sixteen  Original  Etchings  by  R.  DE  Los  Rios.  Four  Volumes. 

LAZARILLO  DE  TORMES.  By  Don  DIEGO  MENDOZA.  Trans- 
lated by  THOMAS  ROSCOE.  And  GUZMAN  D'ALFARACHE. 
By  MATEO  ALEMAN.  Translated  by  BRADY.  Illustrated  with  Eight 
Original  Etchings  by  R.  DE  Los  Rios.  Two  Volumes. 

ASMODEUS.  By  LE  SAGE.  Translated  from  the  French.  Illus- 
trated with  Four  Original  Etchings  by  R.  DE  Los  Rios. 

THE  BACHELOR  OF  SALAMANCA.  By  LE  SAGE.  Trans- 
lated  from  the  French  by  JAMES  ToWNSEND.  Illustrated  with  Four 
Original  Etchings  by  R.  DE  Los  Rios. 

VANILLO  GONZALES  ;  or,  The  Merry  Bachelor.  By  LE  SAGE. 
Translated  from  the  French.  Illustrated  with  Four  Original  Etchings 
by  R.  DE  Los  Rios. 

THE  ADVENTURES  OF  GIL  BLAS  OF  SANTILLANE. 

Translated  from  the  French  of  LE  SAGE  by  TOBIAS  SMOLLETT. 
With  Biographical  and  Critical  Notice  of  LE  SAGE  by  GEORGE 
SAINTSBURY.  New  Edition,  carefully  revised.  Illustrated  with 
Twelve  Original  Etchings  by  R.  DE  Los  Rios.  Three  Volumes. 

The  Times. 

"This  prettily  printed  and  prettily  illustrated  collection  of  Spanish  Romances 
deserve  their  welcome  from  all  students  of  seventeenth  century  literature." 

Daily  Telegraph. 

"A  handy  and  beautiful  edition  of  the  works  of  the  Spanish  masters  of 
romance.  .  .  .  We  may  say  of  this  edition  of  the  immortal  work  of  Cervantes 
that  it  is  most  tastefully  and  admirably  executed,  and  that  it  is  embellished 
with  a  series  of  striking  etchings  from  the  pen  of  the  Spanish  artist  De  los 
Rios." 

Scotsman. 

"  Handy  in  form,  they  are  well  printed  from  clear  type,  and  are  got  up  with 
much  elegance  ;  the  etchings  are  full  of  humour  and  force.  The  reading 
public  have  reason  to  congratulate  themselves  that  so  neat,  compact,  and  well 
arranged  an  edition  of  romances  that  can  never  die  is  put  within  their  reach. 
The  publisher  has  spared  no  pains  with  them." 

Saturday  Review. 

"  Mr.  Nimmo  has  just  brought  out  a  series  of  Spanish  prose  works  in 
twelve  finely  got-up  volumes." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


Publications  of  John  C.  Nimmo.  27 

A  Cursory  History  of  Swearing. 

By  JULIAN  SHARMAN. 

Post  8vo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  price  73.  6d. 

"  Ha  !  this  fellow  is  worse  than  me  ;  -what,  does  he  swear  with  pen  and  ink .'" 

THB  TATLER. 

Notes  and  Queries. 

"  A  difficult  task  is  accomplished  with  as  much  delicacy  and  taste  as  could 
well  he  expected.  The  '  History  of  Swearing '  is,  indeed,  both  philosophical 
and  scholarly." 

St.  James'  Gazette. 

"  Mr.  Sharman  has  written  a  very  interesting  book  on  an  ancient  custom 
which  is  now  falling  into  decline." 

Scotsman. 

"  The  book  is  one  of  great  interest.  Some  curious  facts  are  brought  to  light 
in  it,  and  a  good  deal  of  industry  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Sharman  is  proved.  The 
volume  is  admirably  got  up,  and  it  is  likely  to  take  its  place  as  one  of  those 
curious  monographs  which  attain  a  high  value  in  the  book  market." 

The  World. 

"  The  account  of  '  The  Scufflers'  Club'  is  amusing,  and  there  is  much  quaint 
lore  and  there  are  some  good  stories  in  Mr.  Sharman's  volume,  which  is,  more- 
over, very  well  bound  and  printed — no  slight  advantage  in  a  book  of  this 
class." 

Bookseller. 

"  Throughout  it  is  uniformly  interesting  and  genial.  There  is  a  certain  dash 
of  kindly  Bohemianism,  and  a  broad,  humanising  feeling  which  gives  a  fine 
flavour  to  the  book.  Altogether  it  is  both  a  curious  and  a  pleasant  pro- 
duction." 

Glasgow  Herald. 

"  To  any  one  who  cares  to  go  into  the  matter,  Mr.  Sharman's  book  promises 
some  reward,  as  he  has  there  brought  forward  some  very  curious  and  interest- 
ing information." 

Publishers'  Circular. 

"  This  quaintly  but  appropriately-titled  volume  takes  us  into  a  bypath  of 
literary  history,  and  from  the  early  oath-taking,  half  pagan,  half  barbaric,  down 
to  all  the  modern  varieties  of  the  curse,  he  traces  the  growth  and  progress  of 
the  habit  of  using  expressions  which  are  so  often  sacred  in  their  origin,  although 
in  modern  parlance  they  have  reached  a  secular  if  not  a  vicious  platform.  The 
appendix  to  the  book  contains  some  interesting  documentary  evidence  on  the 
matters  dealt  with  in  the  preceding  pages." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


28  Publications  of  John   C.  Nimmo. 

The  Imitation  of  Christ. 

FOUR  BOOKS. 

Translated  from  the  Latin  by  Rev.  W.  BENHAM,  B.D., 

Rector  of  St.  Edmund,  King  and  Martyr,  Lombard  Street, 

With  Ten  Illustrations  by  J.  P.  LAURENS,  etched  by  LEOPOLD  FLAMENG. 
Crown  8vo,  cloth  or  parchment  boards,  IDS.  6d. 


Scotsman. 

"We  have  not  seen  a  more  beautiful  edition  of  'The  Imitation  of  Christ' 
than  this  one  for  many  a  day." 

Magazine  of  Art. 

"  This  new  edition  of  the  '  Imitation '  may  fairly  be  regarded  as  a  work  of 
art.  It  is  well  and  clearly  printed  ;  the  paper  is  excellent ;  each  page  has 
its  peculiar  border,  and  it  is  illustrated  with  ten  etchings.  Further  than  that 
the  translation  is  Mr.  Benham's,  we  need  say  nothing  more." 


BOOK-CORNER    PROTECTORS. 


Metal  Tips  carefully  prepared  for  placing  on  the  Corners  of  Books 
to  preserve  them  from  injury  while  passing  through  the  Post  Office  or 
being  sent  by  Carrier. 

Extract  from  "The  Times,"  April  i8th. 

"That  the  publishers  and  booksellers  second  the  efforts  of  the  Post  Office 
authorities  in  endeavouring  to  convey  books  without  damage  happening  to 
them  is  evident  from  the  tips  which  they  use  to  protect  the  corners  from 
injury  during  transit." 

is.  6d.  per  Gross,  nett. 
14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.  C. 


Publications  of  John   C.  Nimmo. 


29 


The  American  Patent  Portable  Book-Case, 


For  Students,  Barristers,  Home  Libraries,  &c, 


THIS  Book-case  will  be  found  to  be  made  of  very  solid  and  durable  mate- 
rial, and  of  a  neat  and  elegant  design.  The  shelves  may  be  adjusted  for 
books  of  any  size,  and  will  hold  from  150  to  300  volumes.  As  it  requires 
neither  nails,  screws,  or  glue,  it  may  be  taken  to  pieces  in  a  few  minutes, 
and  reset  up  in  another  room  or  house,  where  it  would  be  inconvenient  to 
carry  a  large  frame. 

Full  Height,  $_ft.  iij  in.  ;  Width,  ^ft.  8  in.  ;  Depth  of  Shelf ,  io£  in. 
Black  Walnut,  price  £6,  6s.  nett. 


"The  accompanying  sketch  illustrates  a  handy  portable  book-case  of  American 
manufacture,  which  Mr.  NIMMO  has  provided.  It  is  quite  different  from  an  ordinary 
article  of  furniture,  such  as  upholsterers  inflict  upon  the  public,  as  it  is  designed  expressly 
for  holding  the  largest  possible  number  of  books  in  the  smallest  possible  amount  of  space. 
One  of  the  chief  advantages  which  these  book-cases  possess  is  the  ease  with  which  they 
may  be  taken  apart  and  put  together  again.  No  nails  or  m-lal  screws  are  employed, 
nothing  but  the  hand  is  required  to  dismantle  or  reconstruct  the  case.  The  parts  fit 
together  with  mathematical  precision  ;  and,  from  a  package  of  boards  of  very  moderate 
dimensions,  a  firm  and  substantial  book-case  can  be  erected  in  the  space  of  a  few 
minutes.  Appearances  have  by  no  means  been  overlooked  ;  the  panelled  sides,  bevelled 
edges,  and  other  simple  ornaments,  give  to  the  cases  a  very  neat  and  tasteful  look.  For 
students,  or  others  whose  occupation  may  involve  frequent  change  of  residence,  these 
book-cases  will  be  found  most  handy  and  desirable,  while,  at  the  same  time,  they  are 
so  substantial,  well-made,  and  convenient,  that  they  will  be  found  equally  suitable  for 
the  library  at  home." 

14  King  William  Street,  Strand,  London,  W.C. 


DA  Ash ton,  John 
485  Old  times 
A75 


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