_(For the Mirror.)_
On the 25th of December, 1749, a most severe frost commenced; it
continued without intermission for several weeks, during which time the
people, especially the working classes, experienced dreadful hardships.
Many travellers were frozen to death in coaches, and even foot
passengers, in the streets of London, shared the same fate. Numerous
ships, barges, and boats, were sunk by the furious driving of the ice in
the Thames. Great were the distresses of the poor, and even those who
possessed all the comforts of life, confined themselves within doors,
for fear of being frozen if they ventured abroad.
The watermen of the river received great assistance from merchants, and
other gentlemen of the Royal Exchange; but the fishermen, gardeners,
bricklayers, and others, were reduced to a miserable extremity. These
poor men, presenting a sad aspect, assembled to the number of several
hundreds, and marched through the principal streets of the metropolis,
begging for bread and clothing. The fishermen carried a boat in
mourning, and the unfortunate mechanics exhibited their implements and
utensils. The citizens of London contributed largely to their relief, as
did most of the inhabitants of the main streets through which the
melancholy procession passed.