_MIDDLE OF EIGHTEENTH CENTURY._
The further we advance into the years which mark the Hanoverian
succession, the more profligate, reckless, and cruel do the people seem
to become. Public exhibitions of the most disgusting character are every
day advertised; ruffians and swashbucklers abound, and are ready to do
anything for a consideration; animals are tortured at set periods for
the delectation of the multitude; and we see verified, by means of the
notices in the papers, the peculiarities which Hogarth seized and made
immortal, and which so many squeamish people consider to be overdrawn
nowadays. Assignations of the most immoral character are openly
advertised, and men of the time may well have attempted to ignore the
existence of female virtue. A recent writer, commenting on this state of
affairs, says, in reference to the latter class of shameless
advertisements: “We are far from saying that such matters are not
managed now through the medium of advertisements, for they are, but in
how much more carefully concealed a manner? The perfect contempt of
public opinion, or rather the public acquiescence in such infringements
of the moral law which it exhibits, proves the general state of morality
more than the infringements themselves, which obtain more or less at all
times. Two of the causes which led to this low tone of manners with
respect to women were doubtless the detestable profligacy of the courts
of the two first Georges, and the very defective condition of the
existing marriage law. William and Mary, and Anne, had, by their
decorous, not to say frigid lives, redeemed the crown, and in some
measure the aristocracy, from the vices of the Restoration. Crown,
court, and quality, however, fell into a still worse slough on the
accession of the Hanoverian king, who soiled afresh the rising tone of
public life by his scandalous connection with the Duchess of Kendal and
the Countess of Darlington; whilst his son and successor was absolutely
abetted in his vicious courses by his own queen, who promoted his
commerce with his two mistresses, the Countesses of Suffolk and
Yarmouth. The degrading influence of the royal manners was well seconded
by the condition of the law. Keith’s Chapel in Mayfair, and that at the
Fleet, were the Gretna Greens of the age, where children could get
married at any time of the day or night for a couple of crowns. It was
said at the time that at the former chapel six thousand persons were
annually married in this offhand way; the youngest of the beautiful Miss
Gunnings was wedded to the Duke of Hamilton at twelve o’clock at night,
with a ring off the bed-curtain, at this very ‘marriage-shop.’ The
fruits of such unions may be imagined. The easy way in which the
marriage bond was worn and broken through, is clearly indicated by the
advertisements which absolutely crowd the public journals, from the
accession of the house of Brunswick up to the time of the third George,
of husbands warning the public not to trust their runaway wives.” It
must not be imagined, though, that wives were the only sinners, or that
vice was confined to any particular and exclusive class. It was the
luxury of all, and according to their opportunities all enjoyed it.
About this time Fleet marriages, and the scandals consequent upon them,
were in full swing. In a number of the _Weekly Journal_ this statement
is made: “From an inspection into the several registers for marriages
kept at the several alehouses, brandy-shops, &c., within the Rules of
the Fleet Prison, we find no less than thirty-two couples joined
together from Monday to Thursday last without licences, contrary to an
express Act of Parliament against clandestine marriages, that lays a
severe fine of £200 on the minister so offending, and £100 each on the
persons so married in contradiction to the said statute. Several of the
above-named brandy-men and victuallers keep clergymen in their houses at
20s. per week, hit or miss; but it is reported that one there will stoop
to no such low conditions, but makes at least £500 per annum of Divinity
jobs after that manner.” A fair specimen of the kind of advertisement
published by these gentlemen is this:--
G. R.--At the True Chapel, at the old Red Hand and Mitre, three doors
up Fleet Lane, and next door to the White Swan, Marriages are
performed by authority by the Rev. Mr. Symson, educated at the
University of Cambridge, and late chaplain to the Earl of Rothes.
_N.B._--Without imposition.
A curious phase of the dangers of the streets is found in a narrative
published in the _Grub Street Journal_ of 1735, which is well worth
reproducing: “Since midsummer last a young lady of birth and fortune was
deluded and forced from her friends, and by the assistance of a
wrynecked swearing parson, married to an atheistical wretch, whose life
is a continued practice of all manner of vice and debauchery. And since
the ruin of my relative, another lady of my acquaintance had like to
have been trepanned in the following manner: This lady had appointed to
meet a gentlewoman at the Old Playhouse in Drury Lane, but extraordinary
business prevented her coming. Being alone when the play was done, she
bade a boy call a coach for the city. One dressed like a gentleman helps
her into it, and jumps in after her. ‘Madam,’ says he, ‘this coach was
called for me, and since the weather is so bad, and there is no other, I
beg leave to bear you company; I am going into the City, and will set
you down wherever you please.’ The lady begged to be excused, but he
bade the coachman drive on. Being come to Ludgate Hill, he told her his
sister, who waited his coming but five doors up the court, would go with
her in two minutes. He went, and returned with his pretended sister, who
asked her to step in one minute, and she would wait upon her in the
coach. The poor lady foolishly followed her into the house, when
instantly the sister vanished, and a tawny fellow in a black coat and a
black wig appeared. ‘Madam, you are come in good time, the doctor was
just agoing!’ ‘The doctor!’ says she, terribly frighted, fearing it was
a madhouse; ‘what has the doctor to do with me?’ ‘To marry you to that
gentleman. The doctor has waited for you these three hours, and will be
paid by you or that gentleman before you go!’ ‘That gentleman,’ says
she, recovering herself, ‘is worthy a better fortune than mine;’ and
begged hard to be gone. But Doctor Wryneck swore she should be married;
or if she would not he would still have his fee, and register the
marriage for that night. The lady finding she could not escape without
money or a pledge, told them she liked the gentleman so well she would
certainly meet him to-morrow night, and gave them a ring as a pledge,
‘which,’ says she, ‘was my mother’s gift on her deathbed, enjoining
that, if ever I married, it should be my wedding ring;’ by which cunning
contrivance she was delivered from the black doctor and his tawny crew.”
Pennant, in his “Some Account of London,” says: “In walking along the
street in my youth, on the side next the prison, I have often been
tempted by the question, ‘Sir, will you be pleased to walk in and be
married?’ Along this most lawless space was hung up the frequent sign of
a male and female hand enjoined, with ‘Marriages performed within’
written beneath. A dirty fellow invited you in. The parson was seen
walking before his shop; a squalid, profligate figure, clad in a
tattered plaid nightgown, with a fiery face, and ready to couple you for
a dram of gin or a roll of tobacco.” Some of the notes found in the
registers purchased by Government in 1821, and deposited with the
Registrar of the Consistory Court of London, are very amusing. Here are
one or two extracts: “June 10, 1729. John Nelson, of ye parish of St
George, Hanover, batchelor and gardener, and Mary Barnes, of ye same,
sp. married. Cer. dated 5 November 1727, to please their parents.”
“1742, May 24.--A soldier brought a barber to the Cock, who I think said
his name was James, barber by trade, was in part married to Elizabeth:
they said they were married enough.” “A coachman came, and was half
married, and would give but 3s. 6d., and went off.” “Edward ---- and
Elizabeth ---- were married, and would not let me know their names.” A
popular error was current at this time, that if a newly-married woman
ran across the street with nothing on but her shift, she would free her
husband from all liability as to her debts. More than once the
following, or words akin to it, is found: “The woman ran across Ludgate
Hill in her shift.” Riotous persons often terrified these parsons, such
memoranda as the following occurring now and again: “Had a noise for
four hours about the money.” “Married at a barber’s shop one Kerrils,
for half a guinea, after which it was extorted out of my pocket, and for
fear of my life delivered.” “Harrowson swore most bitterly, and was
pleased to say that he was fully determined to kill the minister that
married him. He came from Gravesend, and was sober.” And so on through
infinite variety. But to return to our advertisements.
Though advertisements were by no means scarce about this time, the
imposition of the duty still told heavily with regard to the regular
business community, for in regular trade few things were advertised with
the exception of books and quack medicines, all other commercial matters
being disposed of by means of agents who advertised in a general manner,
of which the following, from the _London Journal_ of February 7, 1730,
is a fair specimen:--
THE _Public General_ CORRESPONDENCE _of affairs, for Improving Money,
Trade and Estates, etc._
Some Persons want to BUY ESTATES HELD BY LEASE from any Bishop, Dean
and Chapter, or College, either for Lives or Term of Years.
A Person desires to dispose of considerable SUMS OF MONEY, in such
manner as will bring him in the best interest, tho’ liable to some
uncertainty.
A Rev. Clergyman is willing to EXCHANGE A RECTORY of about £250 a
year, in a pleasant cheap country, for a Rectory in or near London,
tho’ of less value.
Persons who want to raise a considerable sum of money on ESTATES,
FREEHOLD or FOR LIFE, may be served therein, and in such a manner as
not to be obliged to repayment, if they do not see fit.
ESTATES _which some Persons want to_ BUY.
Some Freehold Lands not far from Hertford.--An Estate from £200 to
about £500 a year, within 60 miles of London.--A large Estate in
Middlesex or Hertfordshire.--A good Farm in Sussex or Surrey.--And
several persons want to buy and some to hire other estates.
ESTATES _which some Persons want to_ SELL.
Several good Houses in and about London, both Freehold and
Leasehold.--A very good house for a Gentleman, pleasantly situated
near Bury, with good gardens, etc. and some estate in land.--Several
houses fit for gentlemen in the country, within 20 miles of London,
some with and some without land.--And several persons want to sell,
and some to let other estates.
_The Particulars will be given by Mr Thomas Rogers_, Agent _for
persons who want any such business to be done. He answers letters_
Post-paid, _and advertises if desired, not otherwise_, All at his own
charge _if not successful_.
He gives Attendance as undermentioned:
Daily except Saturdays from 4 to 6 o’clock at home in Essex Street,
then at Rainbow Coffee-house, by the TEMPLE.
At 12 } Tuesday at Tom’s Coffee-house, by the EXCHANGE.
o’clock} Thursday at Will’s Coffee-house, near WHITEHALL.
And on sending for he will go to persons near.
The next advertisement which offers itself for special notice is of a
somewhat ludicrous character, and shows into what straits a man may get
by means of a highly-developed imagination and an indiscreet tongue. It
runs thus:--
_Bristol, January 19, 1732/3._
WHEREAS on or about the 10th day of November last I did say in the
Presence of Several People, That Anthony Coller, living at the Sign of
the Ship and Dove in the Pithay in Bristol, was sent to Newgate for
putting Live Toads in his Beer, in order to fine it; I do solemnly
declare, That I never knew any such Thing to have been done by the
said Coller nor do I believe he was ever guilty of the aforesaid or
any like Practice; I am therefore heartily sorry for what I have said
and hereby ask Pardon for the same of the above said Person, who, I
fear, has been greatly injur’d by the unguarded Tongue of
JOSEPH ROBINS.
To this curious confession, which was evidently extorted from the
imaginative but timid Joseph, four witnesses appended their names. The
next gentleman to whom our attention is directed was still more
unfortunate than Mr Robins, for he received punishment without having
committed any particular offence. He, however, seems to have been made
of very different mettle from the Bristol man, for he is anxious to try
his chances on better terms with those who assaulted him. The
advertisement is from the _Daily Post_ of January 22, 1739-40:--
WHEREAS on Saturday the 12th instant between six and seven at night, a
gentleman coming along the north side of Lincolns Inn fields was set
upon by three persons unknown and receiv’d several blows before he
could defend himself, upon a presumption, as they said that he was the
author of a Satire call’d “the Satirist.” This is to inform them that
they are greatly mistaken, and that the insulted person is neither the
author of that Satire nor of any Satire or Poem whatever, nor knows
what the said Satire contains: and therefore has reason to expect, if
they are Gentlemen, that they will not refuse him a meeting, by a line
to A. Z., to be left at the Bar of Dick’s Coffee House, Temple Bar, in
order to make him such atonement as shall be judged reasonable by the
friends on each side; otherwise he is ready to give any one of them,
singly, the satisfaction of a Gentleman, when and wherever shall be
appointed, so as he may not have to deal with Numbers.
A. Z. must have been possessed of a considerable amount of faith if he
believed that the rufflers who set upon him unawares would consent
either to expose themselves, or to give what he and others called, in a
thoughtless manner, “the satisfaction of a gentleman.” It must have
been rare satisfaction at any time to be run through the body or shot
through the head, after having been insulted or injured. In the _London
Daily Post and General Advertiser_, shortly after this (February 5,
1739-40), is an advertisement which looks suspiciously like a hoax,
unless, indeed, it was believed at the time that one swallow would make
a summer. As the advertiser was probably devoted to the agricultural
interest, this is a not unlikely solution of the problem, more
especially as a caged bird would naturally not be expected to possess
the desired power:--
IF any person will deliver a Swallow, Swift (commonly called a Jack
Squeeler) or Martin, alive to Mr Thomas Meysey, at Bewdley in
Worcestershire, before the 22d day of this instant February, he shall
have Ten Guineas Reward paid him, and all reasonable charges allowed
him for his journey by the said Thomas Meysey: Or if any person will
deliver either of the said birds to Mr John Perrins, Distiller, in
Butcher Row, London, soon enough to send it to the said Thomas Meysey
at Bewdley before the 22d Instant February, and the bird shall be
alive when delivered, or come to live after it is delivered to the
said Thomas Meysey, he shall have Ten Guineas Reward paid him, and all
reasonable charges allowed him by the said John Perrins.
These birds are oftentimes found in the clifts in great rocks, old
chimneys, and old houses, seemingly dead; but when they are put before
a fire, they will come to life.
_N.B._--It must not be a Swallow, Swift or Martin that has been kept
in a cage.
There must have been much capturing of small birds, and many may have
been roasted alive in attempts to preserve them for the benefit of
Thomas Meysey. It certainly does appear as if about this time humour was
so rife that it had to find vent in all sorts of strange advertisements,
and the quacks were not slow to follow the lead thus set, as is shown by
the exercising swindle which follows, and which certainly must have
exercised the minds of many who read it at the time. It appears in the
same paper as the foregoing, on March 7, 1739-40. (It is almost time by
March to know what year one is in.)
FULLER _on_ EXERCISE.
(_A Book worth reading_)
NOTHING ought to be thought ridiculous that can afford the least ease
or procure health. A very worthy gentleman not long ago had such an
odd sort of a cholick, that he found nothing would relieve him so much
as lying with his head downwards; which posture prov’d always so
advantageous that he had a frame made to which he himself was fastened
with Bolts, and then was turned head downwards, after which manner he
hung till the pain went off. I hope none will say that this was
unbecoming a grave and wise man, to make use of such odd means to get
rid of an unsupportable pain. If people would but abstract the benefit
got by exercise from the means by which it is got, they would set a
great value upon it, if some of the advantages accruing from exercise
were to be procured by any other medicine, nothing in the world would
be in more esteem than that Medicine.
This is to answer some objections to the book of the Chamber Horse
(for exercise) invented by HENRY MARSH, in Clement’s Inn Passage,
Clare Market; who, it is well known, has had the honour to serve some
persons of the greatest distinction in the Kingdom; and he humbly begs
the favour of Ladies and Gentlemen to try both the Chamber Horses,
which is the only sure way of having the best. This machine may be of
great service to children.
Mr Marsh may have been clever at making horses for chamber use, but he
doesn’t seem to have understood argument much; for whatever pleasure
there may be in bolting oneself on to a board, and then standing on
one’s head, it isn’t much in the way of exercise, even though Fuller may
have been at the bottom of it. We beg his pardon _on_ it. Still, the
idea is ingenious, and in a population, the majority of which, we are
informed, consists mainly of fools, would succeed now. From this same
_London Daily Post and General Advertiser_, which is full of strange and
startling announcements, we take another advertisement, that is likely
to arouse the attention and excite the envy of all who nowadays suffer
from those dwellers in tents and other forms of bedsteads, the “mahogany
flats” or Norfolk Howards, who are particularly rapacious in lodgings
which are let after a long term of vacancy. This knowledge is the result
of actual experience. The date is March 15, 1740:--
MARY SOUTHALL
_Successor to_ John Southall, _the first and only person that ever
found out the nature of_ BUGGS, _Author of the Treatise of those
nauseous venomous Insects, published with the Approbation (and for
which he had the honour to receive the unanimous Thanks) of the Royal
Society_,
GIVES NOTICE,
THAT since his decease she hath followed the same business, and lives
at the house of Mrs Mary Roundhall, in Bearlane, Christ Church Parish,
Southwark. Such quality and gentry as are troubled with buggs, and are
desirous to be kept free from those vermin, may know, on sending their
commands to her lodgings aforesaid, when she will agree with them on
easy terms, and at the first sight will justly tell them which of
their beds are infested, &c., and which are free, and what is the
expense of clearing the infested ones, never putting any one to more
expense than necessary.
Persons who cannot afford to pay her price, and is willing to destroy
them themselves, may by sending notice to her place of abode
aforesaid, be furnish’d with the NON PAREIL LIQUOR, &c. &c.
Bugs are said to have been very little if at all known in the days of
our ancestors. It is indeed affirmed in that valuable addition to
zoology, Southall’s “Treatise of Bugs” (London, 1730, 8vo), referred to
in the advertisement just quoted, that this insect was scarcely known in
England before the year 1670, when it was imported among the timber used
in rebuilding the city of London after the fire of 1666. That it was,
however, known much earlier is not to be doubted, though probably it was
far less common than at present, since Dr Thomas Muffet, in the
“Theatrum Insectorum,” informs us that Dr Penny, one of the early
compilers of that history of insects, relates his having been sent for
in great haste to Mortlake in Surrey, to visit two noble ladies who
imagined themselves seized with symptoms of the plague; but on Penny’s
demonstrating to them the true cause of their complaint--viz., having
been bitten by those insects, and even detecting them in their
presence--the whole affair was turned into a jest. This was in the year
1583. It is a somewhat remarkable fact, well known to those whose
misfortunes subject them to contiguity with these highly-scented
bloodsuckers, that within the past few years bugs have altered
considerably. The old, nearly round-bellied, and possibly jovial fellow,
has given way to a long dangerous creature who is known to experts as
the “omnibus bug,” not so much on account of his impartiality as because
of his shape. It is believed by some that this change is the result of
bugs being discontented with their position, and their natural (and
laudable) attempt to become something else in accordance with scientific
theory; but we fancy that the true reason of this change is that foreign
bugs have been imported in large numbers among cargoes, and not
infrequently about passengers, and that the original settlers are being
gradually exterminated in a manner similar to that which led to the
extirpation of the black rat in this country. There is yet another
theory with regard to the change which it would be unfair to pass over.
It is that the bugs have altered--it is admitted on all sides that the
alteration first exhibited itself at the East End of London--in
consequence of feeding on mixed and barbarous races about Ratcliffe
Highway and other dock purlieus. Any one who pays his money for this
book is at liberty to take his choice of hypotheses, but we can assure
him that the change is undoubtedly matter of fact.
The next specimen taken is of a literary turn, and appears in the
_Champion, or the Evening Advertiser_, of January 2, 1741. From it we
may judge of the number of burlesques and travesties which, some large,
some small, were called into existence by the publication of what many
consider to be Richardson’s masterpiece. Whatever rank “Pamela” may hold
as compared with “Clarissa Harlowe,” “Sir Charles Grandison,” and other
works by the same author, it is very little regarded now, while one of
the books to which it gave rise is now a representative work of English
literature. Here is the literary advertisement of the day:--
_This Day is publish’d_
(Price One Shilling and Sixpence),
AN APOLOGY for the LIFE of Mrs. SHAMELA ANDREWS, in which the many
notorious _Falsehoods_ and _Misrepresentations_ of a book called
_Pamela_ are all expos’d and refuted; and the matchless _Arts_ of that
young Politician set in a true and just light. Together with a full
Account of all that passed between her and Parson Arthur Williams,
whose character is represented in a Manner somewhat different from
what he bears in _Pamela_, the whole being exact Copies of authentick
Papers deliver’d to the Editor. Necessary to be had in all Families.
With a modern Dedication after the Manner of the Antients, especially
CICERO. By Mr. _Conny Keyber_.
Printed for _A. Dodd_, at the Peacock without Temple Bar,
_Where may be had, Price 1s._,
1. The COURT SECRET, a Melancholy Truth. Translated from the Original
_Arabic_. By an Adept in the Oriental Tongues.
_Remember that a Prince’s Secrets are Balm conceal’d;
But Poison if discover’d._
--MASSINGER.
_Also, Price 1s.,_
2. A Faithful Narrative of the Unfortunate Adventures of _Charles
Cartwright_, M.D., who in his voyage to _Jamaica_ was taken by a
Spanish Privateer, and carried into _St Sebastians_. His hard usage
there, and wonderful Escape from thence, &c. &c.
The “Court Secret” is possibly a satire on the evil doings which were
notorious in connection with high places at that time, but which happily
died out with their primary causes; and the other book is doubtless one
of those quaint stories of slavery and adventure which form interesting
reading even to this day. Next we come upon an advertisement which
offers special temptation to the female mind, as it combines the
gratification of more than one ruling passion of the time. It is from
the _General Advertiser_ of April 27, 1745:--
The Interpretation of
WOMEN’S
DREAMS,
With the _Prints_ of these DREAMS finely Engraved.
If a _Single_ WOMAN _Dreams_ the 18th DREAM, it tells when she’ll be
married. If the 19th, she may make her fortune.--The 35th tells what
children she’ll have. But if she dreams the 34th DREAM
She may as well wed FARINELLI, _All one_
With a curious print of FARINELLI finely engraved,
Plainly shewing to open and clear view, etc.
The 42d DREAM describes the man she’s to have, and
The 33d tells a WIFE also to LOOK ABOUT HER.
The rest of the DREAMS tell, etc. etc. etc.
To which is added A LOTTERY
For HUSBANDS for young MAIDS,
With the _Prints_ of these HUSBANDS, Finely Engraved.
Not one Blank, but ALL Prizes, the _Lowest_ of which
Is a very _Handsome_ and RICH _Young Gentleman_ that keeps his COACH.
--And if she draws of the 6th class of _Tickets_, she is then sure to
be
MY LADY.
To be drawn as soon as full--And
Any Maiden that will put off TWO _Tickets_, shall have ONE for _Her
Self_ to put her in Fortune’s way.
’Tis GIVEN GRATIS at Mr BURCHELL’S ANODYNE NECKLACE SHOP in Long Acre,
Cutler and Toyshop. The sign of the case of knives next shop to _Drury
Lane_,
Where _on the counter it does_ Ready _Lie
For_ ALL _who’ll_ step in _for’t in Passing by_.
This Mr Burchell of the Anodyne Necklace was a notorious quack of the
time, to whom reference is made further on. It is patent to the most
casual observer that he is able to dispose his wares in the most
tempting manner, and the book, as well as the tickets, must have had a
very good sale indeed. Also portraying the tastes and peculiarities of
this portion of the eighteenth century is an invitation taken from the
_General Advertiser_ in October 1745, which displays inordinate vanity
on the part of the writer, or, to put it in the mildest form,
peculiarity of behaviour on that of the lady to whom he addresses
himself:--
WHEREAS a lady last Saturday evening at the playhouse in Drury Lane in
one of the left-hand boxes, was observed to take particular notice of
a gentleman who sat about the middle of the pit, and as her company
would be esteemed the greatest favour, she is humbly desired to send
him directions, where and in what manner she would be waited upon, and
direct the said letter to be left for P. M. Z. at the Portugal Coffee
house near the Exchange.
Notices of this kind--many of the most barefaced, and not a few of a
decidedly indelicate description--must have been a fruitful source of
income to the proprietors of newspapers; and that professions of
adoration for unknown women--most of whom were presumably married, else
why all the concealment and strategy?--did not fall off as years
progressed is shown by the following, taken from a wealth of the same
kind in the commencement of 1748. It is also from the _General
Advertiser_:--
WHEREAS a young lady was at Covent Garden playhouse last Tuesday
night, and received a blow with a square piece of wood on her breast;
if the lady be single and meet me on Sunday at two o’clock, on the
Mall in St James’s Park, or send a line directed for A. B., to Mr
Jones’s, at the Sun Tavern at St Paul’s Churchyard, where and when I
shall wait on her, to inform her of something very much to her
advantage on honourable terms, her compliance will be a lasting
pleasure to her most obedient servant.
This man, though somewhat rude in his style, and, judging from the
description of his adventure at the playhouse, rather coarse in his
manners, is noticeable for stipulating that his charmer shall be single.
Let us hope that, if his intentions were honourable, he prospered in his
suit. If he didn’t, then perhaps he felt consoled by the knowledge that
virtue is its own reward.
TO THE JOYOUS.--The Bloods are desired to meet together at the house
known by the name of the Sir Hugh Middleton, near Saddler’s Wells,
Islington, which Mr Skeggs has procured for that day for the better
entertainment of those Gentlemen who agreed to meet at his own house.
Dinner will be on the Table punctually at two o’clock.
The advertisement just given, which appears in the _General Advertiser_
for January 13, 1748, is one of the rare instances of anything relating
to politics in advertisements. The only time when political significance
is given to an advertisement is when party dinners, of which the
foregoing seems to be one, are advertised. The Sir Hugh Middleton is
still in existence, and a few years back, when Sadler’s Wells was the
only home for legitimacy in London, was much frequented by theatrical
stars and the lesser lights of the drama. Comparatively recently a
music-hall has been added to the establishment, which, however
profitable in a pecuniary sense, hardly adds to the reputation of this
well-known and once suburban tavern. In another preliminary notice,
which appears early in April, attention is directed to another part of
the town, and probably to another phase of political and party
existence. It is, like the others, from the _General Advertiser_, which
at the time was a great medium. The two which follow it are also from
the same paper:--
HALF-MOON TAVERN, CHEAPSIDE.--Saturday next, the 16 April, being the
anniversary of the Glorious Battle of Culloden, the Stars will
assemble in the Moon at six in the evening. Therefore the choice
spirits are desired to make their appearance and fill up the joy.
It is not hard to determine the sentiments of those who then called
Culloden a glorious battle, though we should think there are few
nowadays who, whatever their tastes and sympathies, would affix the
adjective to a victory which, however decisive, was marred by one of the
most disgraceful and cowardly massacres of any time. But the shame still
rests on the memory of that man who was truly a butcher--a butcher of
the defenceless, but an impotent officer and arrant coward in the
presence of armed equality; and so, as his name leaves a nasty taste in
the mouth, we will pass on to a contemporary card put forth by an
enterprising tradesman:--
JOHN WARD, STAY-MAKER,
AT the Golden Dove, in Hanover Street, Long Acre, Makes Tabby all over
for £1, 13s. 0d., for large sizes £1, 16s. 0d.; ticken backs £1, 7s.
0d., for large sizes two or three shillings advance, with the very
best of goods and the very best of work; neither would I accept a
ship-load of the second-best bone, and be obliged to use it, to
deceive people, nor tabby nor trimming. I am willing to produce
receipts in a court of justice for tabby, bone, &c., and be entirely
disannulled business, or counted an impostor and a deceiver, if I act
contrary to what I propose; which if I did I should be guilty of
nothing but deceit, nor nothing less than fraud, and so don’t ought to
be allowed; but I can give the direct contrary proofs; for I can prove
I have had eighteen measures at a time by me since Christmas, for
people as I have made for several times before, and all the winter
never less than five or six in a week, often more, all old customers;
and in consideration its all for ready money, it shows a prodigious
satisfaction. I buy for ready money, and that commands the best of
goods, and the allowance made in consideration thereof.
Mr Ward speaks like a conscientious man, but so do most of the
manufacturers of female apparel--or at least they endeavour to--who
advertise. The _General Advertiser_ was started in 1745, and its title
indicates the purpose for which it was intended. It was “the first
successful attempt to depend for support upon the advertisements it
contained, thereby creating a new era in the newspaper press. From the
very outset its columns were filled with them, between fifty and sixty,
regularly classified and separated by rules, appearing in each
publication; in fact the advertising page put on for the first time a
modern look. The departure of ships is constantly notified, and the
engravings of these old high-pooped vessels sail in even line down the
column. Trading matters have at last got the upper hand. You see ‘a pair
of leather bags,’ ‘a scarlet laced coat,’ ‘a sword,’ still inquired
after; and theatres make a show, for this was the dawning of the age of
Foote, Macklin, Garrick, and most of the other great players of the last
century; but, comparatively speaking, the gaieties and follies of the
town ceased gradually from this time to proclaim themselves through the
medium of advertisements.” The great earthquake at Lisbon so frightened
people about this time that a law was passed prohibiting masquerades;
and the other means of amusement, the china auctions, the rope-dancing,
the puppet shows, and the public breakfasts, became scarcer and scarcer
as a new generation sprang into being, and the padded, powdered, and
patched ladies of high descent and doubtful reputation faded from the
world of fashion. This, however, was a work of time, and the crop of
noticeable advertisements, though smaller, is still sufficiently large
for the purpose of making extracts.
Continuing, then, on our way, we do not travel far from the staymaker’s
announcement, and are still in the same month, when we drop upon a
notice which requires no explanation, so well does it apply itself to
the minds of those whom it may concern. It runs thus:--
WHEREAS Ministers of State and other persons in power are often
importuned for places and preferments which are not in their disposal,
and whereas many Gentlemen waste their lives and fortunes in a long
but vain dependance on the Great; This is to give notice, that in
order to preserve the suitors, on the one hand, from such
disappointments, and the vexation, expense, and loss of time with
which they are attended; and men in power, on the other, from being
solicited on matters not in their department of business:
At No. 15, one pair of stairs, in the King’s-bench Walk, in the
Temple, gentlemen at an easy charge may be informed what is in their
patrons’ power to bestow, and what with consistency and propriety they
may ask for; (either civil, ecclesiastical, or military, by land or
sea, together with the business of each employment, salaries, fees,
&c.) as also by what methods to apply, and obtain a speedy and
definite answer.
At the same place the most early and certain intelligence may be had
of the vacancies which occur in all public offices. Those who have any
business to transact with the Government, may be put into the easiest
and readiest way to accomplish it, and those who have places to
dispose of may depend on secrecy and always hear of purchasers.
_N.B._--At the same place, accompts depending in Chancery, or of any
other kind, are adjusted; as likewise the business of a money
scrivener transacted, in buying and selling estates, lending money
upon proper securities, and proper securities to be had for money.
This agency, if properly conducted, must have been as convenient for
patrons as for place applicants, and doubtless the “ministers of State
and other persons in power” must often have been astonished to discover
what power they really possessed, which discovery would never have been
made had it not been for the services of the gentleman up one pair of
stairs.
In January 1752, the widow Gatesfield discovered the advantage likely
to accrue from the quotation in an advertisement of any independent
testimony, no matter how remote, and so being anxious to acquaint the
public with the superiority of the silver spurs, for fighting cocks,
manufactured at her establishment, she concluded her announcement in the
_Daily Advertiser_ as follows:--
☞ Mr Gatesfield was friend and successor to the late Mr Smith
mentioned in Mr Hallam’s ingenious poem called the _Cocker_, p. 58.
As curious artists different skill disclose,
The various weapon different temper shows;
Now curving points to soft a temper bear,
And now to hard their brittleness declare.
Now on the plain the treach’rous weapons lye,
Now wing’d in air the shiver’d fragments fly:
Surpris’d, chagrin’d, the others gaze,
And SMITH alone ingenious artist praise.
The following, which appears about the same time, is of a rather
doubtful order. It is inserted in the _General Advertiser_ of January 6,
1752, and seems to be an attempt to renew a friendship broken off by
some frolicsome fair ones at the sacrifice of as little dignity as
possible. The advertiser certainly seems to know a good deal about the
missing ladies:--
WHEREAS two young ladies of graceful figure, delicate turned limbs and
noble aspect, lately absenting themselves from their admirers, are
suspected maliciously to have sent an expensive Packet, containing
four indecent Words in various Languages, to a gentleman near Hanover
Square: This is to give notice whosoever shall induce these ladies to
surrender themselves to that gentleman, shall receive a suitable
reward. The ladies may depend on the gentleman’s discretion.
The tender honour of the fine gentlemen of sixscore years ago is
admirably shown by the next two public announcements, the first of which
appears in the _General Advertiser_ for January 13, 1752:--
DURING the performance on Saturday night at Drury Lane playhouse, a
dispute was carried to a great length, between two gentlemen, but all
the reparation demanded by the injured party being publicly granted,
the affair had no bad consequences.
Three days after, the advertisement was repeated in the same paper with
the addition of some particulars:--
DURING the performance on Saturday night at Drury Lane playhouse, a
dispute was carried to a great length between Mr V----n and a
gentleman unknown; but on the stranger being made sensible of his
error, and making public submission and gentleman-like reparation, it
was amicably terminated.
Mr V----n was evidently very anxious that his friends should know he had
borne himself bravely, and like a gentleman, even at the risk of
bloodshed. Nowadays he would have endeavoured to get his advertisement
into another portion of the paper, and “Jenkins’s” services and leaded
type would doubtless have been brought into requisition.
The _General Advertiser_ seems to have been a medium for affairs of
gallantry, for just at this period we find the annexed:--
A TALL, well-fashion’d, handsome young woman, about eighteen, with a
fine bloom in her countenance, a cast in one of her eyes, scarcely
discernable; a well-turned nose, and dark-brown uncurled hair flowing
about her neck, which seemed to be newly cut; walked last new year’s
day about three o’clock in the afternoon, pretty fast through Long
acre, and near the turn into Drury Lane met a young gentleman, wrapp’d
up in a blue roccelo cloak, whom she look’d at very steadfastly: He
believes he had formerly the pleasure of her acquaintance: If she will
send a line directed to H. S. Esq. to be left at the bar of the Prince
of Orange Coffeehouse, the corner of Pall Mall, intimating where she
can be spoke with, she will be inform’d of something greatly to her
advantage. She walked in a dark coloured undressed gown, black hat and
capuchin; a low middle-aged woman plainly dressed, and a footman
following close behind, seemed to attend her.
It is to be presumed that the hair, and not the neck, is referred to as
being newly cut, though at this distance of date it certainly does not
matter much which, except for the purpose of discovering probable fresh
peculiarities among our very peculiar ancestors. That more than one
cunning tradesman began about now to understand the full value of
judicious puffery, is well shown by the following ingenious
advertisement, in the form of a letter to the editor of the _General
Advertiser_, of January 19, 1752, which is a good specimen of that
disinterested friendship which people always have for themselves:--
SIR,
Your inserting this in your paper will be of great service to the
public, and very much oblige,
Your humble servant,
E. G.
That Mr Parsons, staymaker at the Golden Acorn, James Street, Covent
Garden, makes stays for those that are crooked, in a perfect easy
pleasant manner: so that the wearer is as easy in them, though ever so
crooked, as the straitest woman living, and appears so strait and easy
a shape that it is not to be perceived by the most intimate
acquaintances. As to misses that are crooked or inclined to be so,
either by fall, sickness, etc., he always prevents their growing
worse, and has often with his care and judgment, in particular methods
he has in making their coats and stays, brought them intirely strait,
which I can attest, if required, by several which were infants at my
boarding School and are now good-shap’d women. I have often persuaded
Mr Parsons to let this be published in the Papers, for the good of my
sex, for what would not any gentlewoman give, who has this misfortune,
either in themselves or their children, to know of a man that can make
them appear strait and easy, and their children made strait or
preserved from growing worse. But his answer was that he did not like
it to be in the Papers; and not only that, but the Public might think
he work’d only for those who have the misfortune of being crook’d. But
certainly in mine, and every thinking person’s opinion, as he is so
ingenious to make such vast additions to a bad shape, he must and can
add some beauties to a good one by making a genteel stay. He has been
in business for himself to my knowledge 26 years; consequently has,
and does work, for genteel shapes as well as bad. I have several
fine-shaped misses in my School that he works for, whose parents
always give me thanks for recommending him, and are pleased to say
that he makes the genteelest stays, robes, or coats they ever saw; and
I doubt not, but every one that employs him will say the same.
Sir, as the publishing this in the Papers (which I acknowledge was
first without your consent), has been of such universal service,
therefore I desire you’ll permit the continuance of it, for I
sincerely do it for the good of my sex, knowing whoever applies to you
will receive great benefit thereby.
ELIZABETH GARDINER.
Mrs Gardiner seems to have known just as much about Mr Parsons as Mr
Parsons knew about himself, or at all events as much as he cared to let
other people know. Very different is the next selection, which goes to
show that however unfashionable a thing love at first sight may be now,
it had some claims to consideration in 1752, from the _Daily Advertiser_
of March 30, in which year, this is taken:--
IF the young gentleman who came into the Oratorio last Wednesday and
by irresistible address gained a place for the lady he attended is yet
at liberty, Sylvia may still be happy. But, alas! her mind is racked
when she reflects on all the tender anxiety he discovered (or she
fears she saw) in all his care of her that evening. How much, how deep
was all his attention engaged by that too lovely, too happy fair! At
all events an interview is earnestly sought, even if it be to talk to
me of eternally lasting sorrow. Notice how to direct to him shall not
want gratitude. He may remember a circumstance of a lady’s mentioning
as he passed the sentimental look and sweetness of his eye.
There is just a suspicion of humbug about this, unless, indeed, it
emanated from an amorous dame of the Lady Bellaston school, for no young
lady of even those days would have penned such an effusion. Of quite a
different kind is the following, and yet there is a covert satire upon
the doings of the day in it, which suggests a relationship. It is not
impossible that both this, which is from the _Daily Advertiser_ of
October 27, 1752, and that which precedes it, emanate from the same
source:--
_An Address to the_ GENTLEMEN.
_GENTLEMEN_,--It is well known that many of you spare neither pains
nor cost when in pursuit of a Woman you have a mind to ruin, or when
attached to one already undone. But I don’t remember to have heard of
any considerable benevolence conferred by any of you upon a virtuous
Woman: I therefore take this method to let you know, that if there
should be any among you who have a desire to assist (with a
_considerable_ present) an agreeable Woman, for no other reason than
because she wants it, such Person or Persons (if such there be), may
by giving their Address in this Paper, be informed of an occasion to
exercise their disinterested Generosity.
There seems to have been no hurry on the part of the gentlemen to
respond to this appeal, which might have stirred the heart of a
knight-errant, but which had no effect on the bloods and fribbles of the
middle of last century. In this year 1752, as previously noticed, the
Act was passed forbidding a notification of “no questions asked” in
advertising lost or stolen property.[33] The _Edinburgh Courant_ of
October 28, 1758, supplies us with our next example, and also shows that
the course of true love was as uneven then as now:--
GLASGOW, _Octob. 23, 1758_.
WE Robert M‘Nair and Jean Holmes having taken into consideration the
way and manner our daughter Jean acted in her Marriage, that she took
none of our advice, nor advised us before she married, for which
reason we discharged her from our Family, for more than Twelve Months;
and being afraid that some or other of our Family may also presume to
marry without duly advising us thereof, We, taking the affair into our
serious consideration, hereby discharge all and every one of our
Children from offering to marry without our special advice and consent
first had and obtained; and if any of our Children should propose or
presume to offer Marriage to any, without as aforesaid our advice and
consent, they in that case shall be banished from our Family Twelve
Months, and if they should go so far as to marry without our advice
and consent, in that case they are to be banished from the Family
Seven Years; but whoever advises us of their intention to marry and
obtains our consent, shall not only remain Children of the Family, but
also shall have a due proportion of our Goods, Gear, and Estate, as we
shall think convenient, and as the bargain requires; and further if
any one of our Children shall marry clandestinely, they, by so doing,
shall lose all claim or title to our Effects, Goods, Gear or Estate;
and we intimate this to all concerned, that none may pretend
ignorance.
There is something original about discharging a member of one’s family
for twelve months or seven years, and then taking her back again; and so
there is in the idea that all members of this same house are not only
over-anxious to marry, but that they are unduly sought after. The family
must have been, indeed, a large one to necessitate notification through
the public press; and though our ignorance may be lamentable, we must
confess to not knowing why Mrs M‘Nair declined to call herself by her
husband’s name. We presume--nay, we hope--that Robert and Jean did not
upon principle object to wedlock, though the advertisement, coupled with
the fact of the dissimilarity of names, might lead any one to suppose
so. Marriage was much thought of in 1758, so far as advertisers are
concerned, as the following, culled from many of the same kind, which
now began to appear in the _Daily Advertiser_, will show:--
A PERSON of character, candour and honour, who has an entire knowledge
of the World, and has great Intimacy with both Sexes among the
Nobility, Gentry and Persons of Credit and Reputation; and as it often
happens, that many deserving Persons of both Sexes are deprived of the
opportunity of entering into the state of Matrimony, by being
unacquainted with the merit of each other, therefore upon directing a
letter to A. Z. of any one’s intention of entering into the above
State, to the advantage of each, to be left at Mr Perry’s, Miller’s
Court, Aldermanbury, Secrecy and Honour will be observed in bringing
to a Conclusion such their Intention. Any Person who shall send a
Letter, is desired to order the bearer to put it into the Letter-box
for fear it may be mislaid: and it is desired that none but those who
are sincere would make any application on the above subject.
That people were, however, quite capable of conducting their own little
amours whenever a chance offered, the following, which is another of the
love-at-first-sight effusions, and a gem in its way, will show. It is
from the _London Chronicle_ of August 5, 1758:--
A YOUNG LADY who was at Vauxhall on Thursday night last, in company
with two Gentlemen, could not but observe a young Gentleman in blue
and a gold-laced hat, who, being near her by the Orchestra during the
performance, especially the last song, gazed upon her with the utmost
attention. He earnestly hopes (if unmarried) she will favour him with
a line directed to A. D. at the bar of the Temple Exchange
Coffee-house, Temple-bar, to inform him whether Fortune, Family, and
Character, may not entitle him, upon a further knowledge, to hope an
interest in her Heart. He begs she will pardon the method he has taken
to let her know the situation of his Mind, as, being a Stranger, he
despaired of doing it any other way, or even of seeing her more. As
his views are founded upon the most honourable Principles, he presumes
to hope the occasion will justify it, if she generously breaks through
this trifling formality of the Sex, rather than, by a cruel Silence,
render unhappy one, who must ever expect to continue so, if debarred
from a nearer acquaintance with her, in whose power alone it is to
complete his Felicity.
This goes to prove what we have before remarked, that the concocters of
these advertisements were in the habit of falling in love with the women
whom they saw with other men; and so it is only natural to suppose, that
however honourable they may have protested themselves in print, they
were in reality mean, cowardly, and contemptible. The well-known Kitty
Fisher finds the utility of advertising as a means of clearing her
character, and in the _Public Advertiser_ of March 30, 1759, puts forth
the following petition, which had little effect upon her persecutors, as
the little scribblers continued, as little scribblers will even
nowadays, and “scurvy malevolence” also held sway over her destinies for
a considerable period:--
TO err is a blemish entailed upon Mortality, and Indiscretions seldom
or ever escape from Censure; the more heavy as the Character is more
remarkable; and doubled, nay trebled, by the World, if the progress of
that Character is marked by Success; then Malice shoots against it
all her stings, the snakes of Envy are let loose; to the human and
generous Heart then must the injured appeal, and certain relief will
be found in impartial Honour. Miss Fisher is forced to sue to that
jurisdiction to protect her from the baseness of little Scribblers and
scurvy Malevolence; she has been abused in public Papers, exposed in
Printshops, and to wind up the whole, some Wretches, mean, ignorant
and venal, would impose upon the Public by daring to pretend to
publish her Memoirs. She hopes to prevent the success of their
endeavours by thus publicly declaring that nothing of that sort has
the slightest foundation in Truth.
C. FISHER.
We have already referred to an article written by Dr Johnson, in an
_Idler_ of 1759, on the subject of advertisements. It is very amusing,
and in it he says that “whatever is common is despised. Advertisements
are now so numerous that they are very negligently perused, and it is
therefore become necessary to gain attention by magnificence of
promises, and by eloquence sometimes sublime and sometimes pathetic.” He
then passes in review some of the most inflated puffs of that period,
and continues: “Promise, large promise, is the soul of an advertisement.
I remember a washball that had a quality truly wonderful--it gave an
exquisite edge to the razor. And there are now to be sold, for ready
money only, some duvets for bed-coverings, of down, beyond comparison
superior to what is called ottar down, and indeed such, that its many
excellences cannot be here set forth. With one excellence we are made
acquainted--it is warmer than four or five blankets, and lighter than
one. There are some, however, that know the prejudice of mankind in
favour of modest sincerity. The vendor of the beautifying fluid sells a
lotion that repels pimples, washes away freckles, smooths the skin, and
plumps the flesh; and yet, with a generous abhorrence of ostentation,
confesses that it will not restore the bloom of fifteen to a lady of
fifty. The true pathos of advertisements must have sunk deep into the
heart of every man that remembers the zeal shown by the seller of the
anodyne necklace, for the ease and safety of poor toothing infants, and
the affection with which he warned every mother, that she would never
forgive herself if her infant should perish without a necklace. I cannot
but remark to the celebrated author, who gave, in his notifications of
the camel and dromedary, so many specimens of the genuine sublime, that
there is now arrived another subject yet more worthy of his pen--A
famous Mohawk Indian warrior, who took Dieskaw, the French general,
prisoner, dressed in the same manner with the native Indians when they
go to war, with his face and body painted, with his scalping knife,
tom-axe, and all other implements of war! A sight worthy the curiosity
of every true Briton! This is a very powerful description: but a critic
of great refinement would say that it conveys rather horror than terror.
An Indian, dressed as he goes to war, may bring company together; but if
he carries the scalping knife and tom-axe, there are many true Britons
that will never be persuaded to see him but through a grate. It has been
remarked by the severer judges, that the salutary sorrow of tragic
scenes is too soon effaced by the merriment of the epilogue: the same
inconvenience arises from the improper disposition of advertisements.
The noblest objects may be so associated as to be made ridiculous. The
camel and dromedary themselves might have lost much of their dignity
between the true flower of mustard and the original Daffy’s Elixir; and
I could not but feel some indignation when I found this illustrious
Indian warrior immediately succeeded by a fresh parcel of Dublin butter.
The trade of advertising is now so near to perfection, that it is not
easy to propose any improvement. But as every art ought to be exercised
in due subordination to the public good, I cannot but propose it as a
moral question to these masters of the public ear, Whether they do not
sometimes play too wantonly with our passions? as when the registrar of
lottery tickets invites us to his shop by an account of the prizes which
he sold last year; and whether the advertising controversists do not
indulge asperity of language without any adequate provocation? as in
the dispute about strops for razors, now happily subsided, and in the
altercation which at present subsists concerning Eau de Luce. In an
advertisement it is allowed to every man to speak well of himself, but I
know not why he should assume the privilege of censuring his neighbour.
He may proclaim his own virtue or skill, but ought not to exclude others
from the same pretensions. Every man that advertises his own excellence
should write with some consciousness of a character which dares to call
the attention of the public. He should remember that his name is to
stand in the same paper with those of the King of Prussia and the
Emperor of Germany, and endeavour to make himself worthy of such
association. Some regard is likewise to be paid to posterity. There are
men of diligence and curiosity who treasure up the papers of the day
merely because others neglect them, and in time they will be scarce.
When these collections shall be read in another century, how will
numberless contradictions be reconciled; and how shall fame be possibly
distributed among the tailors and bodice-makers of the present age?”
Judging by the advertisements which continued, the worthy advertisers of
1759 had a very poor opinion of men yet to come, and might have asked,
had they thought of it, with the Irish member, “What’s posterity ever
done for us?”--a query which would have puzzled even Dr Johnson.
The short-sleeved dresses of 1760 must have called for all kinds of
apparatus for whitening and beautifying the arms, and among many a
kindred and attractive advertisement of the time we take the following
from the _Chronicle_ of April 19-21:--
_Gloves for Ladies._
THE true prepared French Chicken and Dog-skin Gloves, for clearing and
whitening the hands and arms, perfumed and plain. As some ladies have
had but small confidence in these Gloves, till they have been
prevailed upon to wear one Glove for eight or ten Nights, when they
have evidently seen to their agreeable satisfaction that hand and arm
brought to such a superior degree of whiteness over the other, as
though they did not belong to the same Person.
The above Gloves are prepared and sold only by Warren & Co.,
Perfumers, at the Golden Fleece, in Marybone Street, Golden Square, at
5s. a pair, who import, make and sell, all sorts of perfumery Goods,
in the utmost perfection. The Violet-Cream Pomatum, and celebrated
quintessence of Lavender, by no other person.
☞ Ladies sending their servants are humbly desired to send a Glove of
the size.
_N.B._--Just landed, a fine parcel of the famous _India_ Pearl.
⁂ The Queen’s Royal Marble, at 20s., and Chinese Imperial Wash ball,
at 5s., that are so well known to the Nobility, &c. Ladies’ Masks and
Tippets.
All this effort at decoration and beautifying is very wrong, but we are
stopped in our desire to “improve the occasion” by the recollection that
no age has been more deep in the mysteries of cosmetic, enamel, pearl
powder, and paint than our own, in which quacks abound, and old ladies
have been known to submit themselves to the operation of being made
beautiful, not for all time, but for ever. A little further on, in the
_Evening Post_, we come upon an ambitious author who has attempted to
regenerate the drama, and who advertises his work. Shakespeare seems
always to have been considered capable of improvement by somebody, but
as the mania for touching the immortal bard up, and making him
respectable and fit for the understandings of small tradesmen, still
goes on, and fortunes are made at it, we will give the following without
comment, lest some original author of the present day might think we
were obliquely alluding to him:--
_In the press and shortly will be published_
THE Students, a Comedy, altered from Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour Lost,
and adapted to the stage, with an original Prologue and Epilogue.
Printed for Thomas Hope, opposite the north gate of the Royal
Exchange, Threadneedle St.
Deserters are plentiful about this period, our soldiers, however brave
they may have been when put to it, having an evident objection to the
pomp and circumstance of war. That was, perhaps, because their share of
the latter was unduly large as compared with their participation in the
former. The following is from _Lloyd’s Evening Post_ of April 26-28, and
is a fair specimen of the remainder:--
_Deserted_
FROM the 16th Regiment of Dragoons, Captain Walmesly’s troop,
WILLIAM BEVEN,
Aged 16 years, about five feet five inches high, stoops a good deal as
he walks, and but very indifferently made; absented himself from his
Quarters last Saturday night, the 17th instant; he says he was born in
the parish of the _Hays_, in the County of Brecknockshire, and by
trade a labourer; he went away with a light horse man’s cap, a coarse
red frock faced with black, a striped flannel waistcoat, and a pair of
leather breeches.
Whoever apprehends and secures the above Deserter, so as he may be
committed to any of His Majesty’s gaols, shall, by applying to George
Ross, Esq., Agent to the regiment, in Conduit Street, London, receive
twenty Shillings, over and above the reward given by Act of
Parliament.
Those who are in the habit of expressing themselves as to the decadence
of the British soldier, and of the British human being generally, will
do well to ponder over this advertisement, and judge from it the
difference between the defenders of hearths and homes of then and now.
Yet, with all his want of size and possession of awkwardness, this same
youth, who would not nowadays be admitted into the worst regiment of
militia fallbacks in existence, is deemed worthy of an extra reward. So
much for “our army” in the middle of the eighteenth century.
[33] This Act seems to have been forgotten, or capable of evasion, for
a statute of the 7 & 8 Geo. IV., c. 29, s. 59, imposes a penalty on
any person who shall advertise, or print, or publish an advertisement
of a reward for the return of property stolen or lost, with words
purporting that no questions shall be asked, or promising to
pawnbrokers or others the return of money which may have been lent
upon objects feloniously acquired.