Friend--A Tithe Cause tried--A strange Assemblage of
Witnesses--Traits of Character--Effects of the Farmers'
Success--An odd Cavalcade--Rejoicings at Berkeley.
~284~~The road from Cheltenham to Gloucester affords a good view of the
Cotswold and Stroudwater Hills, diversified by the vales of Evesham,
Gloucester, and Berkeley, bounded on the east by the Severn, and
presenting in many situations a very rich picturesque appearance. We
are not of the dull race who dwell on musty records and ancient
inscriptions, or travel through a county to collect the precise date
when the first stone of some now moss-crowned ruin was embedded in
the antique clay beneath. Let the dead sleep in peace; we are not
_anti-queer-ones_ enough to wish the mouldering reliques of our
ancestors arrayed in chronological order before our eyes, nor do we mean
to risk our merry lives in exploring the monastic piles and subterranean
vaults and passages of other times. No; our office is with the living,
with the enriched Gothic of modern courts, and the finished Corinthian
capitals of society, illustrating, as we proceed, with choice specimens
of the rustic and the grotesque; now laughing over our wine with the
Tuscan bacchanal, or singing a soft tale of love in the ear of some
chaste daughter of the composite order; ~285~~trifling perhaps a little
harmless badinage with a simple Ionic, or cracking a college joke with a
learned Doric; never troubling our heads, or those of our readers, about
the origin or derivation of these orders, whether they came from early
Greece or more accomplished Home; or be their progenitors of Saxon,
Norman, Danish, or of Anglo-Saxon character, we care not; 'tis ours
to depict them as they at present appear, leaving to the profound
topographers and compilers of county histories all that relates to the
black letter lore of long forgotten days.
Gloucester is proverbial for its dulness, and from the dirty appearance
of the streets and houses, was, by my friend Transit, denominated the
black city; a designation he maintained to be strictly correct, since it
has a cathedral, a bishop, and a black choir of canonicals, and was
from earliest times the residence of a black brotherhood of monks, whose
black deeds are recorded in the black letter pages of English history;
to which was added another confirmatory circumstance, that upon our
entrance it happened the assizes for the county had just commenced, and
the black gowns of Banco Regis, and of the law, were preparing to try
the blacks of Gloucestershire, out of which arose a black joke, that
will long be remembered by the inhabitants of Berkeley, and the tenantry
of the sable colonel.
We had made our domicile at the Ham Inn, by the recommendation of our
Cheltenham host, where we met with excellent accommodations, and what,
beside, we could never have anticipated to have met with in such a
place, one of the richest scenes that had yet presented itself in the
course of our eccentric tour.
The unusual bustle that prevailed in every department of the inn,
together with a concatenation of sounds now resembling singing and
speaking, and the occasional scraping of some ill-toned violins above
our heads, induced us to make a few inquisitive ~286~~remarks to mine
host of the Ham, that quickly put us in possession of the following
facts.
It appeared, that a suit respecting the right of the vicar of Berkeley
to the great tithes of that town had been long pending in the court of
Chancery, in which the reverend was opposed to his former friend, the
colonel, the churchwardens of Berkeley, and the whole of the surrounding
tenantry. Now this cause was, by direction of the Lord Chancellor, to
be tried at these assizes, and, in consequence, the law agents had been
most industrious in bringing together, by subpoena, all the ancient
authorities of the county, the aged, the blind, and the halt, to give
evidence against their worthy pastor; and as it is most conducive to
success in law, the keeping witnesses secure from tampering, and in
good-humour with the cause, the legal advisers had prepared such festive
cheer at the Bam, for those of the popular interest, as would have done
honour to the colonel's banquet at the castle. Such was the information
we obtained from our host, to whose kind introduction of us to the
lawyers we were afterwards indebted for a very pleasant evening's
amusement.
We were ushered into the room by one of the legal agents as two
gentlemen from London, who, being strangers in the place, were desirous
of being permitted to spend their evening among such a jovial society.
The uproarious mirth, and rude welcome, with which this communication
was received by the company, added to the clouds of smoke which
enveloped their chairman, prevented our immediate recognition of him; but
great and pleasant indeed was our surprise to find the most noble, the
very learned head of the table, to be no other than our old Eton _con._
little Dick Gradus, to whose lot it had fallen to conduct this action,
and defend the interests of the agriculturalists against the mercenary
encroachments of the church militant. This was indeed no common cause;
and the greatest difficulty ~287~~our friend Gradus had to encounter
was the restricting within due bounds of moderation the over-zealous
feelings of his witnesses. It was quite clear a parson's tithes, if left
to the generosity of his parishioners, would produce but a small modicum
of his reverence's income. The jovial farmer chuckled with delight
at the prospect of being able to curtail the demands of his canonical
adversary. "Measter Carrington," said he, "may be a very good zort of
a preacher, but I knows he has no zort of business with tithing my
property; and if zo be as the gentleman judge will let me, gad zooks!
but I will prove my words, better than he did the old earl's marriage,
when he made such a fool of himsel' before the peers in parliament."
"That's your zort, measter Tiller," resounded from all the voices round
the table. "Let the clergy zow for themselves, and grow for themselves,
as the varmers do; what a dickens should we work all the week for the
good of their bodies, when they only devote one hour in the whole seven
days for the benefit of our zouls?" "That's right, Measter Coppinger,"
said some one next to the speaker; "you are one hundred years of age,
and pray how many times have you heard the parson preach?" "I never zeed
him in his pulpit in the whole courze of my life; but then you know that
were my fault, I might if I would; but I'ze been a main close attendant
upon the church for all that: during the old earl's lifetime, I was a
sort of deputy huntsman, and then the parson often followed me; and when
I got too old to ride, I was made assistant gamekeeper, and then I very
often followed the parson; so you zee I'ze a true churchman, every inch
of me; only I don't like poaching, and when his reverence wants me to
help him sack his tithes, old Jack Coppinger will tell him to his head,
he may e'en carry the bag himself." "A toast from the chair! Let's
hear the lawyer' zentiments on this zubject," said another; with which
request Gradus complied, by giving, "May he who ~288~~ploughs and plants
the soil reap all its fruits!" "Ay, Measter Gradus, that is as it should
be," reiterated a farmer on his right, "zo I'll give you, 'The varmers
against the parsons,' and there's old Tom Sykes yonder, the thatcher, he
will give you a zong about the 'tithe pig and the tenth child,' a main
good stave, I do azzure you." A request which the old thatcher most
readily complied with, to the great delight of all present; for
independent of his dialect, which was of the true rich west-country
character, there was considerable wit and humour in the song, and
an archness of manner in the performer, that greatly increased the
good-humour of the society. In this way the evening was spent very
pleasantly; and as the cause was to come on the first thing on the
ensuing morning, Transit and myself determined to await the issue,
anticipating that, if our merry-hearted companions, the rustics, should
be successful, there would be no lack of merriment, and some exhibition
of good sport both for the pen and pencil.
We had strayed after breakfast to view the cathedral, which is very well
worthy the attention of the curious, and certainly contains some very
ancient relics of the great and the good of earliest times. On our
return, the deafening shouts of the multitude, who were congregated
outside the Sessions House, proclaimed a favourable verdict for the
farmers, who, in the excess of their joy at having beaten their
reverend adversary, gave loose to the most unrestrained expressions
of exultation: a messenger was immediately despatched to Berkeley to
convey, express, the glad tidings; and the head farmers of the parish,
with whom were the church-wardens, determined to commemorate their
victory by roasting a bullock whole on the brow of the hill which
overlooked their vicar's residence, and for the preparation of which
festivity they also sent their instructions. The next grand point was,
how to ~289~~convey the witnesses, who were very numerous, to the scene
of action, a distance of eighteen miles. To have despatched them in
post-chaises, could they have found a sufficient number in Gloucester,
was neither in accordance with economy, nor with the wishes of the
parties themselves, who were very anxious to have a grand procession,
and enjoy themselves as they went along in smoking, singing, drinking,
and proclaiming their triumph to their neighbours and friends. Mine
hostess of the Ram, with every female in her establishment, had been,
from the moment the verdict was given to the departure of the group,
busily engaged in making large blue favours, of the colonel's colour,
to decorate the hats of the visitors, until Mr. Boots arrived with the
dismaying intelligence, that not another yard of riband, of the colour
required, could be obtained in all the city of Gloucester. With equal
industry and perseverance the host himself had put in requisition every
species of conveyance that he could muster, which was calculated to
suit the views of the parties, and form a grand cavalcade; without much
attention to the peculiar elegance of the vehicles, to be sure, but with
every arrangement for social comfort. It had been decided that my friend
Transit and myself should accompany Richard Gradus, Esq. the solicitor
to the fortunate defendants, in a post coach in front, preceded by
four of mine host's best horses, with postillions decorated with blue
favours, and streamers flying from the four corners of the carriage; and
now came the marshalling of the procession to follow.
[Illustration: page289]
One of the colonel's hay vans had been supplied with seats, lengthwise,
in which the first division of farmers placed themselves, not, however,
forgetting to take in a good supply of ale and pipes with them; next in
order was one of the old-fashioned double-bodied stages, which had not
been cleaned, or out of the coach-yard, for twenty years before, and
both in the ~290~~inside and on the roof of which the more humble
rustics and farmers' labourers were accommodated: this vehicle was drawn
by four cart horses, of the roughest description; the rear of the whole
being brought up by a long black funeral hearse, with three horses,
unicorn fashion, on the roof of which the men sate sidewise, while the
interior was, by Gradus's orders, well filled with casks of the best
Gloucester ale. About a dozen of the farmers, on horseback, rode by the
side of the vehicles; and in this order, with the accompaniment of a
bugle in the hay van, and a couple of blind fiddlers scraping on the
centre of the roof of the hearse, did we sally forth in most grotesque
order, amid the joyous acclamations of the multitude, on our way to
Berkeley, every countenance portraying exultation and good-humour, and
every where upon the road meeting with a corresponding welcome. A more
humorous or whimsical procession cannot well be imagined, men, animals,
and vehicles being perfectly unique. By the time we had reached our
destination, the potent effects of the Gloucester ale, added to the
smoking and vociferous expressions of joy that attended us throughout,
had left very few of our rustic friends without the visible and outward
signs of their inward devotions to the jolly god. On our arrival near to
Berkeley, we were met by crowds of the joyous inhabitants, and proceeded
onward to the spot selected for the festive scene, where we found the
bullock already roasting on the top of the hill, and where also they had
pitched a tent, and brought some small cannon, with which they fired
a _feu de joie_ on our arrival, taking special care to point their
artillery in the direction of the vicar's residence. On the opposite
side of the road was the church; and it is not a little singular, that
the steeple, belfry, and tower are completely detached from the body of
the building. The vicar, dreading the riotous joy of his parishioners
upon ~291~~this occasion, had locked up the church, and issued his
mandate to the wardens to prevent a merry peal; but these persons
insisting that as the church was detached from the belfry, the vicar had
no authority over it, they directed the ringers to give them a triple
bob major, which canonical music was merrily repeated at intervals,
to the great dismay of the parson, who, over and above the loss he was
likely to sustain in his future interests, had by this defect suffered
under a legal expenditure of some thousands of pounds. The colonel did
not show, perhaps from prudential motives of respect to his old friend,
but his agents were well instructed in their duty, and there was no
lack of a plentiful supply of provision and ale for his tenantry to make
right merry with. Thus ended our trip to Berkeley, where, after taking
a view of the castle on the following morning, and surveying the
delightful scenery with which that most ancient building is surrounded,
we bade adieu to our friend Gradus, and mounted the Cheltenham coach, as
it passed through, on our way to Bristol.
[Illustration: page291]
[Illustration: page292]
A DAY IN BRISTOL.
A Glance at the Bristolians--Their Pursuits and
Characteristics--The London Mail--A Walk to the Hot Wells
and Clifton--Blackmantle and Transit start for the
Territories of King Bladud.
~292~~The worthy Bristolians must not feel offended if we pass them
by rather briefly; had ours been a tour of business, connected with
commercial pursuit instead of a search after whim and character, we
should no doubt have found materials enough to have filled a dozen
chapters; but such pursuits are foreign to the eccentric volumes of
the English Spy, whose sole aim is humour, localized, and embracing
characteristic scenes. Such is the above sketch, which struck Transit
and myself, as we took a stroll down Bridge-street while our breakfast
was preparing at the White Hart; it was a bit of true life, and cannot
fail to please: but, after all, Bristol resembles London so closely, at
least the ~293~~eastern part of the metropolis, that although we saw
much that would have been worthy the attention of the antiquary and
the curious in their several churches and museums, or might, with great
advantage, have been transferred to the note book of the topographer,
yet we met with none of that peculiar whimsical character that
distinguishes the more fashionable places of resort. The sole object of
the Bristolians is trade, and every face you meet with has a ledger-like
countenance, closely resembling the calculating citizen of London, whose
every thought is directed to the accumulation of wealth, by increased
sales of merchandize, or the overreaching his neighbour in taking the
first advantage of the market.
[Illustration: page293]
The arrival of the London mail, which comes in about ten o'clock in the
morning, afforded Transit another opportunity of picking up what little
of character there was to be found. At Bristol there is always a great
anxiety to obtain the London news and price current; so much so, that
the leading merchants and others assemble in front of the Post-office,
which also joins the Exchange, to wait the arrival of the mail (see
Plate), and receive the letters of advice which are to regulate their
concerns. It is but justice to add, there is no place in the kingdom of
the same distance to which the conveyance is quicker, and the facility
of delivery more promptly attended to. After breakfast we took a stroll
round the docks, and then bent our steps towards the heights, and along
the delightful walk which leads to the Hot Wells and Clifton.
To attempt a just description of the magnificent and romantic scenery
which surrounds Clifton, as it is viewed from the Downs, would occupy
more space than our limits will allow us to devote to the beauties of
landscape; and would, besides, interfere with an intention which Transit
and myself have in view at some future period of our lives, namely,
the making a topographical and characteristic tour through the United
Kingdoms, which being divided into counties, ~294~~and embracing not
only the historical and the picturesque, will be enlivened by all the
humorous vagaries, eccentric characters, and peculiar sports of each,
written in a colloquial style; and embracing the lingual localisms,
proverbs, and provincialisms of the inhabitants: thus producing a
humorous but most correct view of the present state of society and
manners. The materials for such a work have gradually presented
themselves during the progress of the present eccentric volumes; but, as
our object here has been good-humoured satire joined to comic sketches
of existing persons and scenes, more in the way of anecdote than
history, we hope to meet with the same kind friends in a more extended
work, among those who have journeyed onwards with us through two
years--pleasantly we must suppose, by their continued support; and
profitably, we are gratefully bound to acknowledge, to all parties
interested. An early dinner at Clifton, and a pleasant walk back by the
terrace-road, brought us once more into the busy streets of Bristol,
where after sauntering away the time until five o'clock, we mounted a
Bath coach, and started forwards with a fresh impetus, and much promise
of amusement, to explore the territories of King Bladud.
[Illustration: page294]
[Illustration: page295]
SKETCHES IN BATH.
~235~~
First View of the elegant City--Meeting with Old Blackstrap
--Domicile at the Castle Tavern--Matthew and Mrs. Temple
worthy Characters--Sportsmans Hall--Bath Heroes of the Turf
the Ring, and the Chace--Portraits and Peculiarities drawn
from the Life.
May I ne'er flutter in the thoughtless train
With fashion's elves, the giddy, and the vain;
May I ne'er stroll again with Milsom swells
To Tully's shop, or lounge with pump-room belles;
May I no more to Sidney Gardens stray,
If, Bath, I wrong thee in my hum'rous lay.
Court of King Blad', where crescents circling rise
Above each other till they reach the skies;
And hills o'er-topping with their verdant green
The Abbey Church, are in the distance seen:
~296~~Where inns invite ye, and where lodgings smile A ready welcome to
some Grecian pile; Where chairmen wait ye, ready to attend And box ye up
upon your latter end; Where summer breezes on Hygeia wait, And cards and
fashion hold their courts of state. Hither we're come to Bath, to spy
and tell What reigning follies mark the beau and belle; What stars
eccentric move within thy sphere, Or who's the greatest lion of the
year. "Have at ye all," we satirists give no quarter; Yet shall our
mirth prove grateful as Bath water.
The distant appearance, or first glimpse of the city of Bath, is enough
to impress a stranger with the most favourable opinions of the place.
The regularity of the streets, and the tasteful character of the
architecture of the principal buildings, are certainly superior to that
of any other place of public resort in England; added to which, there is
an attention to cleanliness apparent in the costume of the lower classes
that is not so conspicuous in other places. "Blest source of health!
seated on rising ground, With friendly hills by nature guarded round;
From eastern blasts and sultry south secure, The Air's balsamic, and the
soil is pure." Surrounded by delightful scenery, and guarded from the
piercing north winds by the hilly barriers of nature, the spot
seems above all others best calculated to restore the health of the
valetudinarian, whose constitution has become shattered and infirm by
a course of fashionable dissipation, or a lengthened residence in the
pestilential climates of the Indies. "Sweet Bath! the liveliest city of
the land; Where health and pleasure ramble hand in hand, Where smiling
belles their earliest visit pay, And faded maids their lingering blooms
delay. Delightful scenes of elegance and ease! Realms of the gay, where
every sport can please." ~297~~Thus sings the Bath poet, Bayly; who,
if he is somewhat too servile an imitation of Moore in his style, has
certainly more of originality in his matter than generally distinguishes
poems of such a local nature. One of the greatest characters in the
city of Bath was the worthy host of our hotel, the Castle; at whose door
stood the rubicund visage of our Cheltenham friend, Blackstrap, ready to
give us a hearty welcome, and introduce us to Matthew Temple, who making
one of his best bows, led the way into the coffee-room, not forgetting
to assure us that Mistress Temple, who was one of the best women in the
world, would take the greatest care that we had every attention paid to
our commands and comforts; and, in good truth, honest Matthew was right,
for a more comely, good-humoured, attentive, kind hostess exists not in
the three kingdoms of his Gracious Majesty George the Fourth. In short,
Mrs. Temple is the major-domo of the Castle, while honest Matthew,
conscious of his own inability to direct the active operations of the
garrison within doors, beats up for recruits without; attends to all
the stable duty and the commissariat, keeps a sharp look-out for new
arrivals by coach, and a still sharper one that no customer departs
without paying his bill; and thus having made his daily bow to the inns
and the outs, honest Matthew retires at night to take his glass of grog
with the choice spirits who frequent Sportsman's Hall, a snug little
smoking room on the left of the gateway, where the heroes of the turf
and the lads of the fancy nightly assemble to relate their sporting
anecdotes, sing a merry chaunt, book the long odds, and blow a friendly
cloud in social intercourse and good fellowship.