nyght._--Take verye many of the lyttle beastes shyninge by nyghte, and
put them beaten smale in a bottel of glasse, and close it, and burye
it in hoate horses doung, and let it tarye xv dayes, afterwarde thou
shalte destyll water of them Peralembicum, which thou shalt put in a
vessel of Christal or glasse. It giueth so great clearnesse, that euery
man may reade and write in a darke place where it is. Some men make
this water of the gall of a snale, the gal of a wesel, the gall of a
feret, and of a water dogge: they burie them in doung and destyll water
out of them.
_If thou wylt see that other men can not see._--Take the gall of a male
cat, and the fat of a hen all whyte, and mixe them together, and anoint
thy eyes, and thou shalt see it that others cannot see.
If the hart, eye, or brayne of a lapwyng or blacke plover be hanged
vpon a mans necke it is profitable agaynste forgetfulnesse, and
sharpeth mans vnderstanding.--"_Albertus Magnus._" _Black Letter: very
old._
ADVERTISEMENT OF ROAST PIG IN 1726.
"On Tuesday next, being Shrove Tuesday, there will be a fine _hog
barbyqu'd_ whole, at the house of Peter Brett, at the Rising Sun, in
Islington Road, with other diversions.--_Note._ It is the house where
the ox was roasted whole at Christmas last."
A hog barbecu'd is a West Indian term, and means a hog roasted whole,
stuffed with spice, and basted with Madeira wine. Oldfield, an eminent
glutton of former days, gormandised away a fortune of fifteen hundred
pounds a-year. Pope thus alludes to him,--
"Oldfield, with more than harpy throat endu'd,
Cries, 'Send me, O, gods, a whole hog _barbecu'd!_'"
DYING OF OLD AGE AT SEVENTEEN YEARS.
March 19th, 1754, died, in Glamorganshire, of mere old age and a
gradual decay of nature, at seventeen years and two months, Hopkins
Hopkins, the little Welchman lately shown in London. He never weighed
more than seventeen pounds, but for three years past no more than
twelve. The parents have still six children left, all of whom no way
differ from other children, except one girl of twelve years of age, who
weighs only eighteen pounds, and bears upon her most of the marks of
old age, and in all respects resembles her brother when at that age.
"WE HAE BEEN."
In Ayrshire there is a tradition, that the family motto of De
Bruce--"We have been," originated from a lady named Fullarton, married
to a cadet of the family of Cassilis. They had been gained to favour
England during the chivalrous achievements of Wallace, and still
continued zealous partisans of Edward. Before Bruce avowed his purpose
to emancipate his country, he came, disguised as a palmer, to acquaint
himself how far he could rely on aid from the people. A storm compelled
him, and a few faithful adherents, to take shelter on the coast of
Ayrshire. Extreme darkness, and the turbulence of the billows, deprived
them of all knowledge where they landed; and as, in those unhappy
times, the appearance of a few strangers would create alarm, the chiefs
dispersed in different directions. Bruce chanced to go into the house
of Mr. Kennedy, where the servants treated him with great reverence.
The lady had gone to bed, and the prince wished they would not disturb
her, but permit him to sit by the fire till day; however, one damsel
had given her immediate notice of the visitor. He was ushered into her
presence. She eyed him with scrutinizing earnestness. "We hae been--we
hae been fause," said she, in the Scottish dialect, "but a royal ee
takes me back to haly loyalty. I seid ye, mes royal de Bruce, I ken
ye weel. We hae been baith untrue to Scotland, but rest ye safe: and
albiet a' that's gane, Meg Fullarton wad dee in your cause."
ORIGIN OF THE PENNY POST.
The penny-post was devised in 1683, by one Mr. David Murray, an
upholder in Paternoster Row. It soon became an object of attention to
Government; but so low were its profits that one Dockwra, who succeeded
Murray, had a pension of only L200 a year given him in lieu of it. This
occurred in 1716.
A RAFFLE IN 1725.
May 8. The following copy of an advertisement, in the _Newcastle
Courant_ of this date, may be considered curious:--"On Friday in the
race week, being the 28th of May, at the Assembly House, in Westgate,
will be raffled for, 12 fine Fans, the highest three guineas, the worst
5s., at half a Crown per Ticket. Note: the lowest throw is to have the
second best Fan, value L3, the other according to the height of the
numbers which shall be thrown. There will be an assembly after for
those who raffle."
A VISIT TO THE RESIDENCE OF DR. JOHNSON, IN INNER TEMPLE LANE, LONDON.
In one of the dreary, old-fashioned houses leading from the arched
entrance to the Temple, which almost every passenger through Temple
Bar must have remarked, whether he is a stranger, or a resident in the
metropolis, Dr. Johnson, who occupies one of the most distinguished
positions in the literature of our country, resided for several years.
[Illustration: Dr. Johnson's Residence in Inner Temple Lane.]
It was in this place that Dr. Johnson became acquainted with his future
biographer, Boswell, who thus describes their first meeting:--
"A few days afterwards I called on Davies, and asked him if he thought
I might take the liberty of waiting on Mr. Johnson at his chambers
in the Temple. He said I certainly might, and that Mr. Johnson would
take it as a compliment. His chambers were on the first floor of No.
1, Inner Temple Lane, and I entered them with an impression given me
by the Rev. Dr. Blair, of Edinburgh, who described his having found
the giant in his den. He received me very courteously; but it must be
confessed, that his apartment, and furniture, and morning dress, were
sufficiently uncouth. His brown suit of clothes looked very rusty; he
had on a little, old, shrivelled, unpowdered wig, which was too small
for his head; his shirt neck and knees of his breeches were loose, his
black worsted stockings ill drawn up, and he had a pair of unbuckled
shoes by way of slippers;--but all these slovenly particulars were
forgotten the moment he began to talk."
The "den" in which the "giant" lived, the staircase leading to it, and
indeed the whole appearance of the locality, has recently undergone
demolition, and its interesting features knocked down to the highest
bidder, to be, let us hope, preserved in some museum or other place of
safety.
[Illustration: Old Staircase in the Residence of Dr. Johnson.]
Dr. Johnson resided at various times in Holborn, the Strand, and other
places, and died, as it is well known, in No. 8, Bolt Court, Fleet
Street, in 1784. His remains were placed in a grave under the statue
of Shakspere, in Westminster Abbey, and near the resting-place of his
friend and companion, David Garrick.
ORIGIN OF THE STUFF BALL AT LINCOLN.
During the want of employment in the manufactories in 1801, Mrs.
Chaplain, of Blankney, in Lincolnshire, formed a patriotic institution
for the encouragement of the local trade of the district. A ball was
given at Lincoln for the benefit of the stuff manufactory, at which
ladies were admitted gratis, on their appearance in a stuff gown and
petticoat, spun, wove, and finished within the county, and producing a
ticket signed by the weaver and dyer at Louth, one of which tickets
was delivered with every twelve yards of stuff. The gentlemen were
required to appear without silk or cotton in their dress, stockings
excepted. The impulse thus given to trade, was of the most signal
service in relieving distress, and at the same time promoting habits of
industry.
STEVENS'S SPECIFIC.
In the reign of Charles II., Dr. Jonathan Goddard obtained 5,000_l._
for disclosing his secret for making a medicine, called "_Guttae
Anglicanae_." And in 1739, the Parliament of England voted 5,000_l._ to
Mrs. Stevens for a solvent for stone.
The celebrated David Hartley was very instrumental in procuring this
grant to Joanna Stevens. He obtained also a private subscription to the
amount of L1,356, published one hundred and fifty-five _successful_
cases, and, by way of climax to the whole, after eating _two hundred
pounds weight_ of soap! David himself died of the stone.
AN IMPOSTOR.
From the Testament of Jerome Sharp, printed in 1786:--"I entered,"
says the narrator, "with one of my friends, and found a man resembling
an ourang-outang crouched upon a stool in the manner of a tailor. His
complexion announced a distant climate, and his keeper stated that he
found him in the island of Molucca. His body was bare to the hips,
having a chain round the waist, seven or eight feet long, which was
fastened to a pillar, and permitted him to circulate out of the reach
of the spectators. His looks and gesticulations were frightful. His
jaws never ceased snapping, except when sending forth discordant cries,
which were said to be indicative of hunger. He swallowed flints when
thrown to him, but preferred raw meat, which he rushed behind his
pillar to devour. He groaned fearfully during his repast, and continued
groaning until fully satiated. When unable to procure more meat, he
would swallow stones with frightful avidity; which, upon examination
of those which he accidentally dropped, proved to be partly dissolved
by the acrid quality of his saliva. In jumping about, the undigested
stones were heard rattling in his stomach."
The men of science quickly set to work to account for these feats,
so completely at variance with the laws of nature. Before they had
hit upon a theory, the pretended Molucca savage was discovered to
be a peasant from the neighbourhood of Besancon, who chose to turn
to account his natural deformities. When staining his face for the
purpose, in the dread of hurting his eyes, he left the eyelids
unstained, which completely puzzled the naturalists. By a clever
sleight of hand, the raw meat was left behind the pillar, and cooked
meat substituted in its place. Some asserted his passion for eating
behind the pillar to be a proof of his savage origin; most polite
persons, and more especially kings, being addicted to feeding in
public. The stones swallowed by the pretended savage were taken from
a vessel left purposely in the room full of them; small round stones,
encrusted with plaster, which afterwards gave them the appearance of
having been masticated in the mouth. Before the discovery of all this,
the impostor had contrived to reap a plentiful harvest.
PERUVIAN BARK.
In 1693, the Emperor Kanghi (then in the thirty-second year of his
reign, and fortieth of his age) had a malignant fever, which resisted
the remedies given by his physicians; the emperor recollected that
Tchang-tchin, (Father Gerbillon), and Pe-tsin, (Father Bouret) two
jesuit missionaries, had extolled to him a remedy for intermittents,
brought from Europe, and to which they had given the name of chin-yo
(two Chinese words, which signify "_divine remedies_;") and he proposed
to try it, but the physicians opposed it. The emperor, however, without
their knowledge took it, and with good effect. Sometime afterwards,
he experienced afresh several fits of an intermittent, which, though
slight, made him uneasy; this led him to proclaim through the city,
that any person possessed of a specific for this sort of fever, should
apply without delay at the palace, where patients might also apply to
get cured. Some of the great officers of his household were charged
to receive such remedies as might be offered, and to administer them
to the patients. The Europeans, Tchang-tching, (Gerbillon) Hang-jo,
(Father de Fontenay, jesuit) and Pe-tsin, (Bouret) presented themselves
among others, with a certain quantity of quinquina, offered it to the
grandees, and instructed them in the manner of using it. The next
day it was tried on several patients, who were kept in sight, and
were cured by it. The officers, or grandees who had been appointed
to superintend the experiment, gave an account to the Emperor of the
astonishing effect of the remedy, and the monarch decided instantly on
trying it himself, provided the hereditary prince gave his consent.
The prince, however, not only refused, but was angry with the grandees
for having spoken so favourably of a remedy, of which only one
successful trial had been made; at last, after much persuasion, the
Prince reluctantly grants his consent, and the emperor takes the bark
without hesitation, and permanently recovers. A house is given by the
emperor to the Europeans, who had made known the remedy, and through
the means of Pe-tsin (Father Bouret) presents were conveyed to the King
of France, accompanied with the information, that the Europeans (that
is, the French jesuits) were in high favour.--_Histoire Generale de la
Chine, &c._ tome xi. p. 168, 4to. Paris, 1780.
WHITE CATS.
In a number of "Loudon Gardener's Magazine," it is stated that white
cats with blue eyes are always deaf, of which extraordinary fact there
is the following confirmation in the "Magazine of Natural History," No.
2, likewise conducted by Mr. Loudon:--Some years ago, a white cat of
the Persian kind (probably not a thorough-bred one), procured from Lord
Dudley's at Hindley, was kept in a family as a favourite. The animal
was a female, quite white, and perfectly deaf. She produced, at various
times, many litters of kittens, of which, generally, some were quite
white, others more or less mottled, tabby, &c. But the extraordinary
circumstance is, that of the offspring produced at one and the same
birth, such as, like the mother, were entirely white, were, like her,
invariably deaf; while those that had the least speck of colour on
their fur, as invariably possessed the usual faculty of hearing.
A WOMAN DEFENDS A FORT SINGLY.
Lord Kames in his "Sketches of the History of Man," relates an
extraordinary instance of presence of mind united with courage.
Some Iroquois in the year 1690, attacked the fort de Vercheres, in
Canada, which belonged to the French, and had approached silently,
hoping to scale the palisade, when some musket-shot forced them to
retire: on their advancing a second time they were again repulsed, in
wonder and amazement that they could perceive no person, excepting
a woman who was seen everywhere. This was Madame de Vercheres, who
conducted herself with as much resolution and courage as if supported
by a numerous garrison. The idea of storming a place wholly undefended,
except by women, occasioned the Iroquois to attack the fortress
repeatedly, but, after two days' siege, they found it necessary to
retire, lest they should be intercepted in their retreat.
Two years afterwards, a party of the same nation so unexpectedly made
their appearance before the same fort, that a girl of fourteen, the
daughter of the proprietor, had but just time to shut the gate. With
this young woman there was no person whatever except one soldier, but
not at all intimidated by her situation, she showed herself sometimes
in one place, sometimes in another, frequently changing her dress,
in order to give some appearance of a garrison, and always fired
opportunely. In short, the faint-hearted Iroquois once more departed
without success. Thus the presence of mind of this young girl was the
means of saving the fort.
INDENTURE OF A HORSE-RACE BETWIXT THE EARLS OF MORTON AND ABERCORN AND
THE LORD BOYDE.
As indicating the state of the English language amongst the nobility of
Scotland in 1621, the following is curious:--
"_Ane Indentour of ane Horse-raise betuix my Lords Mortoun, Abercorne,
and Boyde._--The erle of Mortoun obleissis himselff to produce George
Rutherfuirdis Barb Naig: The erle of Abercorne obleissis him to produce
his gray Naig: My lord Boyd obleissis him to produce his bay horse;
Upone the conditions following. Thay ar to run the first Thursday
November nixtocum, thrie mett myleis of Cowper raise in Fyff. The
waidger to be for euery horse ten dowbill Anegellis. The foirmest horse
to win the hail thretty. Ilk rydare to be aucht scottis stanewecht.
And the pairtie not comperaud, or refuisand to consigne the waidger,
sall undergo the foirfaltour of this sowme, and that money foirfaltit
salbe additt to the staik to be tane away be the wynner. Forder, we
declair it to be lesum to ony gentilman to produce ane horse and the
lyk waidger, and thay salbe welcum. Subscrybith with all our handis, at
Hammiltoune the fyfteine day off August 1621. MORTON, ABERCORNE, BOYDE."
EARLY USE OF CHOCOLATE.
An advertisement in "The Public Adviser," from Tuesday, June 16th, to
Tuesday, June 23d, 1657, informs us that "in Bishopsgate-street, in
Queen's-head-alley, at a Frenchman's House, is an excellent West India
drink, called _Chocolate_, to be sold, where you may have it ready at
any time, and also unmade, at reasonable rates."
MATTHEW BUCKINGER.
[Illustration: [++] Matthew Buckinger.]
Of all the imperfect beings brought into the world, few can challenge,
for mental and acquired endowments, any thing like a comparison to
vie with this truly extraordinary little man. Matthew Buckinger was
a native of Nuremberg, in Germany, where he was born, June 2, 1674,
without hands, feet, legs, or thighs; in short, he was little more
than the trunk of a man, saving two excrescences growing from the
shoulder-blades, more resembling fins of a fish than arms of a man. He
was the last of nine children, by one father and mother, viz. eight
sons and one daughter; after arriving at the age of maturity, from the
singularity of his case, and the extraordinary abilities he possessed,
he attracted the notice and attention of all persons, of whatever rank
in life, to whom he was occasionally introduced.
It does not appear, by any account extant, that his parents exhibited
him at any time for the purposes of emolument, but that the whole of
his time must have been employed in study and practice, to attain the
wonderful perfection he arrived at in drawing, and his performance on
various musical instruments; he played the flute, bagpipe, dulcimer,
and trumpet, not in the manner of general amateurs, but in the style of
a finished master. He likewise possessed great mechanical powers, and
conceived the design of constructing machines to play on all sorts of
musical instruments.
If Nature played the niggard in one respect with him she amply repaid
the deficiency by endowments that those blessed with perfect limbs
could seldom achieve. He greatly distinguished himself by beautiful
writing, drawing coats of arms, sketches of portraits, history,
landscapes, &c., most of which were executed in Indian ink, with a pen,
emulating in perfection the finest and most finished engraving. He was
well skilled in most games of chance, nor could the most experienced
gamester or juggler obtain the least advantage at any tricks, or game,
with cards or dice.
He used to perform before company, to whom he was exhibited, various
tricks with cups and balls, corn, and living birds; and could play
at skittles and ninepins with great dexterity; shave himself with
perfect ease, and do many other things equally surprising in a person
so deficient, and mutilated by Nature. His writings and sketches of
figures, landscapes, &c., were by no means uncommon, though curious;
it being customary, with most persons who went to see him, to purchase
something or other of his performance; and as he was always employed
in writing or drawing, he carried on a very successful trade, which,
together with the money he obtained by exhibiting himself, enabled
him to support himself and family in a very genteel manner. The late
Mr. Herbert, of Cheshunt, in Hertfordshire, editor of "Ames's History
of Printing," had many curious specimens of Buckinger's writing
and drawing, the most extraordinary of which was his own portrait,
exquisitely done on vellum, in which he most ingeniously contrived to
insert, in the flowing curls of the wig, the 27th, 121st, 128th, 140th,
149th, and the 150th Psalms, together with the Lord's Prayer, most
beautifully and fairly written. Mr. Isaac Herbert, son of the former,
while carrying on the business of a bookseller in Pall-Mall, caused
this portrait to be engraved, for which he paid Mr. Harding fifty
guineas.
Buckinger was married four times, and had eleven children, viz., one
by his first wife, three by his second, six by his third, and one by
his last. One of his wives was in the habit of treating him extremely
ill, frequently beating and other ways insulting him, which, for a
long time, he very patiently put up with; but once his anger was so
much aroused, that he sprung upon her like a fury, got her down, and
buffeted her with his stumps within an inch of her life; nor would he
suffer her to arise until she promised amendment in future, which it
seems she prudently adopted, through fear of another thrashing. Mr.
Buckinger was but twenty-nine inches in height, and died in 1722.
WONDERFUL PROVISION OF NATURE.
The insects that frequent the waters, require predaceous animals to
keep them within due limits, as well as those that inhabit the earth;
and the water-spider (_Argyroneta aquatica_) is one of the most
remarkable upon whom that office is devolved. To this end, her instinct
instructs her to fabricate a kind of diving-bell in the bosom of that
element. She usually selects still waters for this purpose. Her house
is an oval cocoon, filled with air, and lined with silk, from which
threads issue in every direction, and are fastened to the surrounding
plants. In this cocoon, which is open below, she watches for her prey,
and even appears to pass the winter, when she closes the opening. It
is most commonly, yet not always, under water; but its inhabitant has
filled it for her respiration, which enables her to live in it. She
conveys the air to it in the following manner: she usually swims on her
back, when her abdomen is enveloped in a bubble of air, and appears
like a globe of quicksilver. With this she enters her cocoon, and
displacing an equal mass of water, again ascends for a second lading,
till she has sufficiently filled her house with it, so as to expel all
water. How these little animals can envelope their abdomen with an
air-bubble, and retain it till they enter their cells, is still one
of Nature's mysteries that has not been explained. It is a wonderful
provision, which enables an animal that breathes the atmospheric air,
to fill her house with it under water, and by some secret art to clothe
her body with air, as with a garment, which she can put off when it
answers her purpose. This is a kind of attraction and repulsion that
mocks all inquiries.
STOMACH BRUSH.
One of the Court Physicians, in the reign of Charles II., invented an
instrument to cleanse the stomach, and wrote a pamphlet on it; and
ridiculous as a chylopoietic-scrubbing-brush may appear, it afterwards
got a place among surgical instruments, and is described as the
_Excutor Ventriculi_, or cleanser of the stomach; but the moderns not
having _stomach_ for it, have transferred it to the wine merchant, who
more appropriately applies it to the scouring the interior of bottles.
Heister gives a minute description of it, and very gravely enters on
the mode and manner of using it: the patient is to drink a draught
of warm water, or spirit of wine, that the mucus and foulness of the
stomach may be washed off thereby: then, the brush being moistened in
some convenient liquor, is to be introduced into the oesophagus, and
slowly protruded into the stomach, by twisting round its wire handle.
When arrived in the stomach, it is to be drawn up and down, and through
the oesophagus, like the sucker in a syringe, till it be at last
wholly extracted. Some recommend plentiful drinking in the operation,
to be continued till no more foulness is discharged. But though this
contrivance is greatly extolled, and said to prolong life to a great
age, especially if practiced once a week, month, or fortnight; yet,
there are very few (probably, because tried by very few) instances of
its happy effects.
POPULAR AMUSEMENTS IN 1743.
In _Merrie England of the Olden Time_, we find the following copy of a
handbill announcing performances:--
By a company of English, French, and Germans, at Phillips's New Wells,
near the London Spa, Clerkenwell, 20th August, 1743.
[Illustration: [++] Rope Dancing.]