of the universal influence of the Christian faith, believed the dark
cross on the back of the ass to date only from the day on which our
Saviour made his entry into Jerusalem. The ass of the desert was an
animal of great price. Pliny mentions that the Senator Arius paid
for one the sum of four hundred thousand sesterces. Naturalists have
frequently remarked the extraordinary dimensions of an ass's heart,
which is thought an indication of courage; and it is the custom of the
peasantry of some countries to make their children wear a piece of
ass's skin about their person. The ass's skin is peculiarly valuable,
both for the manufacture of writing-tablets and drums; which may be
the reason why a dead ass is so rarely seen. It is too valuable to be
left on the highway. In many places, the ass serves as a barometer.
If he roll in the dust, fine weather may be expected; but if he erect
his ears, rain is certain. Why should not these animals experience the
same atmospheric influences as man? Are we not light-hearted in the
sunshine, and depressed in a heavy atmosphere?
CHOICE RECEIPTS FROM "PHYSICK FOR THE POOR. LONDON, 1657."
_To make any one that Sleepeth answer to whatsoever thou ask._--Take
the heart of an oul, and his right legg, and put them upon the breast
of one that sleepeth, and they shall reveal whatsoever thou ask them.
_To know any Man or Woman's minde when they are Asleep._--Take the hart
of a dove, and the legg of a frog, dry it well, and beat them to powder
in a morter, put this up in a linnen cloth, with three or four round
pibble stones, as big as wallnuts, then lay this upon the parties pit
of their stomach, and they shall tell you all things that they have
done, if there is anything remarkable that troubles them.
_To make the Nose Bleed._--Take the leaves of yerrow, put it up in thy
nose; this will make the nose bleed immediately.
_To make a Tooth Drop out._--Mizaldus saith that if you make a powder
of earth-worms and put it in the hollow of a rotten tooth, it will
immediately drop out.
How strange must have been the education and intelligence of the
period, when people could write, publish, and practice such incredible
trash!
SHOCKING DEPRAVITY.
The following account, from an old magazine, affords a strange and
lamentable instance of a wretch just about to die, being only intent
with his latest breath to defame his own mother:--
Mary Lynn, condemn'd last Assizes for the County of Norfolk, was burnt
to ashes at a stake, for being concern'd in the murder of her mistress;
and Smith, the principal, was hang'd for the same fact. She deny'd her
being guilty, and said Smith could clear her if he would. She behaved
with decency, and died penitent. Smith was drunk at the gallows; and
seem'd to have but little sense either of his crime or punishment;
however, desired all masters to pay their servants' wages on Saturday
night, that they might have money to spend, and not run in debt. Said,
"My mother always told me I should die in my shoes, but I will make her
a liar;" so threw them off.
PERSONAL CHARMS DISCLAIMED.
If any human being was free from personal vanity, it must have been
the second Duchess d'Orleans, Charlotte Elizabeth of Bavaria. In one
of her letters (dated 9th August, 1718), she says, "I must certainly
be monstrously ugly. I never had a good feature. My eyes are small, my
nose short and thick, my lips broad and thin. These are not materials
to form a beautiful face. Then I have flabby, lank cheeks, and long
features, which suit ill with my low stature. My waist and my legs
are equally clumsy. Undoubtedly I must appear to be an odious little
wretch; and had I not a tolerable good character, no creature could
endure me. I am sure a person must be a conjuror to judge me by my eyes
that I have a grain of wit."
CADER IDRIS.
On the very summit of Cader Idris there is an excavation in the solid
rock, resembling a couch; and it is said that whoever should rest a
night in that seat, will be found in the morning either dead, raving
mad, or endued with supernatural genius.
OLD LONDON SIGNS.
Some notion of the houses and shops of old London may be gathered by
a visit to Bell Yard, near Temple Bar; Great Winchester Street, near
the Bank; the wooden houses near Cripplegate Church; and a few other
districts which were spared by the Great Fire of 1666. In Bell Yard,
for instance, the national feeling for improvement has from time to
time effected changes; the lattices of diamond-shaped lead-work, carved
pendants, and the projecting signs of the various tradesmen, have
disappeared, and here and there sheets of plate glass have been used,
to give a somewhat modern appearance to the places of business. Still
the projecting and massive wood-work of the shops, and the peculiar
picturesque appearance of the houses, cannot be altogether disguised;
and if any of our readers, who may be curious in such matters, will
walk up Bailey's Court, on the west side of Bell Yard, he will there
see a group of wooden buildings exactly like the great mass which was
cleared by the fire. In some of the pictures of London of about this
time, the shops of the various tradesmen were chiefly unglazed, and
above the door of each was suspended the silver swans; the golden
swans; the chained swans; the golden heads; mitres; bells--black, red,
white, and blue; rising and setting suns; moons of different phases;
men in the moon; sceptres; crowns, and many other devices, which, even
at that time, were necessary to distinguish one shop from another. The
chequers; St. George and the dragon; royal oaks; king's heads; and
double signs, such as the horseshoe and magpie; bell and crown; bell
and horns, and such like, were more particularly set apart for the use
of the various hostelries. Everyone, however, who had a London shop of
any kind or consequence, had his sign. Many of them were well carved in
wood, and ornamented with emblazonry and gilding.
No doubt if it were possible to find at the present time the same
picturesque architectural displays as were to be met with in London in
Queen Elizabeth's days, our artistic friends would be able to pick up
many a nice subject for their pencils, but in those days there were
plenty of drawbacks; the pavement was bad, the drainage was worse, and
from the eaves of the houses and pents of the shops, streams of water
ran down in wet weather upon the wayfarers, and, by lodging in the
thoroughfares, made the London streets something in the same state as
those of Agar Town and some other neglected parts of the metropolis.
We must not forget that in the days to which we allude there were no
flagged footpaths, and that the only distinction from the horse and
cart roads, and that for the foot passengers, was a separation by
wooden posts, which, in genteel places, were made supports for chains.
People, however, got tired of this bad state of things, and measures
were taken to put a stop to the streams of water from the roofs, &c.
After the Great Fire, an enactment was made for an alteration in
the spouts, &c.; all barbers poles, and projecting signs, and other
projections were to be done away with, and other changes made for the
better. Up to the reign of Queen Anne, we find, by reference to views
of Cheapside and the neighbourhood of the Monument, that the projecting
signs were still in use; and that even at that recent date, many of
the London shops in the important neighbourhoods above mentioned were
without glazing, and looked much like some of the greengrocers' sheds
in use now in Bermondsey and some other places.
Severe measures seem to have been at length taken against the
projecting signs, and most of them disappeared, and then it became
a most difficult matter either to address letters, or find a man's
shop. In Dr. Johnson's day, he and other persons gave the address
"over against" a particular sign, or so many doors from such a sign.
In consequence of this uncertainty, many houses in London, which from
their association with eminent men would possess much interest now,
cannot be pointed out; and it was a wonderful benefit to the metropolis
when the plan of numbering the houses in each street was hit upon. But
for this, considering that the population has doubled in the last fifty
years, it is difficult to know how the genius of Rowland Hill would
have worked his plan of London post-office delivery, or business could
be carried on with any kind of comfort.
The booksellers and publishers seem to have been the last, with the
exception of the tavern-keepers, to give up the old signs. After the
Great Fire, some of the ancient signs which were cut in stone, and
which had escaped the conflagration, were got out of the ruins, and
afterwards placed in the front of the plain, yet solid, brick buildings
which were erected after that event. Some of these--the "Chained
Bear," the "Collared Swan," the "Moon and Seven Stars," and "Sun," in
Cheapside, and some others which we now engrave--are still preserved.
The carved wooden sign of the "Man in the Moon," in Wych Street,
Strand, is a rare example; and the "Horse-shoe and Magpie," in Fetter
Lane, is one of the last of the suspended signs to be now found in the
City.
[Illustration: [++] Painted Signs of London Taverns.]
Amongst the painted signs of London taverns worth notice, is one in
Oxford-street (nearly opposite Rathbone-place), said to have been
painted by Hogarth. The subject is "a man loaded with mischief." He has
a stout woman on his shoulders, together with a monkey, magpie, etc.
The male figure shown in this street picture seems to bear up pretty
well under his burden.
NARROW ESCAPE.--CALM RELIANCE ON PROVIDENCE.
In the year 1552, Francis Pelusius, of sixty-three years old, digging a
well forty foot deep in the hill of St. Sebastian, the earth above him
fell in upon him to thirty-five foot depth; he was somewhat sensible
before of what was coming, and opposed a plank, which by chance he had
with him, against the ruins, himself lying under it; by this means he
was protected from the huge weight of earth, and retained some room
and breath to himself, by which he lived seven days and nights without
food or sleep, without any pain or sorrow, being full of hope, which
he placed in God only. Ever and anon he called for help, as being yet
safe, but was heard by none, though he could hear the motion, noise
and words of those that were above him, and could count the hours as
the clock went. After the seventh day, he being all this while given
for dead, they brought a bier for his corpse, and when a good part of
the well was digged up, on a sudden they heard the voice of one crying
from the bottom. At first they were afraid, as if it had been the
voice of a subterranean spirit; the voice continuing, they had some
hope of his life, and hastened to dig to him, till at last, after they
had given him a glass of wine, they drew him up living and well, his
strength so entire that to lift him out he would not suffer himself to
be bound, nor would use any help of another. Yea, he was of so sound
understanding, that, jesting, he drew out his purse and gave them
money, saying _He had been with such good hosts, that for seven days it
had not cost him a farthing_.
CEILING OF WHITEHALL.
The celebrated painting on the roof of the Banqueting House, has been
restored, re-painted, and refreshed, not fewer than three times. In the
reign of James II., 1687, Parrey Walton, a painter of still life, and
the keeper of the king's pictures, was appointed to re-touch this grand
work of art, which had then (as appears by the Privy Council Book)
been painted only sixty years. Walton was paid L212 for its complete
restoration, which sum was considered by Sir Christopher Wren, "as very
modest and reasonable." It was restored a second time by the celebrated
Cipriani; and for a third time by a painter named Rigaud.
BUNYAN'S BIBLE.
John Bunyan's Bible (printed by Bill and Barker) bound in morocco, and
which had been his companion during his twelve years' unjustifiable
confinement in Bedford gaol, where he wrote his "Pilgrim's Progress,"
was purchased at the sale of the library of the Rev. S. Palmer, of
Hackney, March, 1814, for the late Samuel Whitbread, Esq., for the
sum of L21. This Bible, and the "Book of Martyrs," are said to have
constituted the whole library of Bunyan during his imprisonment.
SPECIMENS OF ROYAL GRANTS.
In 1206, King John grants to W. de Camville a licence to destroy game
in any of the royal forests, which proves the origin of the Game Laws.
1238. Henry III. gave 500_l._ to Baldwyn, Emperor of Constantinople.
1342. King Edward III. forgives to the mayor and citizens of London the
indignation and rancour of mind that he had conceived against them.
1344. The king grants to Adam Thorp, the trimmer of his beard, certain
lands at Eye, near Westminster. The scrupulous attention which Edward
III. paid to that ornament of his face, may be seen in his bronze
effigy in Westminster Abbey, which was taken from a mask after his
death.
1409. The king settles on Joan of Navarre, his queen, 10,000_l._ per
annum.
1417. Henry V. grants to Joan Warin, his nurse, an annuity of 20_l._
during life.
1422. The jewels which had belonged to King Henry V., and were valued
at so large a sum as 40,000_l._, were delivered to Sir Henry Fitz Hugh,
and his other executors, for the payment of his personal debts.
1422. The "Pysane," or great collar of gold and rubies, was pawned by
the king to his uncle, Cardinal Beaufort, who is supposed, at the time
of his death, to have amassed more wealth than any subject in England.
COFFEE AND TEA.
The bill for attendance at the Dorchester Assizes in 1686 of Mr. John
Bragge, the town-clerk of Lyme, presents this novelty--the article
_coffee_ is charged 2d. This may have been drunk at a coffee-house.
Coffee was introduced from Turkey in 1650.
An advertisement in the "Mercurius Politicus," Sept. 30, 1658,
instructs how "That excellent and by all physitians approved _China_
drink, called by the Chineans Tcha, by other nations, _tay_ alias
_tee_, is sold at the Sultana's Head Coffee-house, in Sweeting's-rents,
by the Exchange, _London_.--"
There was a "cophee-house" in St. Michael's-alley, Cornhill, about
1657. Tea, coffee, and chocolate were placed under the excise. There
was no tax upon these commodities when imported, but when made into
drink, as tea was, at 8d. a gallon, and sold at these houses.
REMARKABLE PRESERVATION OF HUMAN HAIR SINCE THE NORMAN PERIOD.
In 1839 a coffin was discovered in the abbey church of Romsey, which
had originally contained the body of a female of the above early time.
The bones had entirely decayed, but the hair, with its characteristic
indestructibility, was found entire, and appeared as if the skull had
only recently been removed from it, retaining its form entire, and
having plaited tails eighteen inches in length. It is still preserved
in a glass case, lying upon the same block of oak which has been its
pillow for centuries.
PUBLIC TASTE FOR CONJURING IN 1718.
One of the amusements of 1718 was the juggling exhibition of a
fire-eater, whose name was De Hightrehight, a native of the valley
of Annivi in the Alps. This tremendous person ate burning coals,
chewed flaming brimstone and _swallowed_ it, licked a red-hot poker,
placed a red-hot heater on his tongue, kindled coals on his tongue,
suffered them to be blown, and broiled meat on them, ate melted pitch,
brimstone, bees-wax, sealing-wax, and rosin, with a spoon; and, to
complete the business, he performed all these impossibilities five
times _per diem_, at the Duke of Marlborough's Head, in Fleet-street,
for the trifling receipts of 2s. 6d., 1s. 6d., and 1s. Master
Hightrehight had the honour of exhibiting before Lewis XIV., the
Emperor of Germany, the King of Sicily, the Doge of Venice, and an
infinite number of princes and nobles--and the Prince of Wales, who had
nearly lost this inconceivable pleasure by the envious interposition of
the Inquisition at Bologna and in Piedmont, which holy office seemed
inclined to try _their mode of burning_ on his _body_, leaving to him
the care of resisting the flames and rendering them harmless; but he
was preserved from the unwelcome ordeal by the interference of the
Dutchess Royal Regent of Savoy and the Marquis Bentivoglia.
THE TRIUMPHS OF SCIENCE AND PERSEVERANCE.
Distance seems not to have entered into the calculations of the
engineers who built those monuments of human skill--carriage-roads
over the Alps. They were after a certain grade, and they obtained it,
though by contortions and serpentine windings that seem almost endless.
Thus the Simplon averages nowhere more than one inch elevation to a
foot, and, indeed, not quite that. Thirty thousand men were employed on
this road six years. There are six hundred and eleven bridges in less
than forty miles, ten galleries, and twenty houses of refuge, while
the average width of the road is over twenty-five feet. The Splugen
presents almost as striking features as the Simplon. From these facts,
some idea may be gathered of the stupendous work it must be to carry a
carriage-road over the Alps.
CHRISTMAS PIE.
The following appeared in the _Newcastle Chronicle_, 6th January,
1770:--
"Monday last was brought from Howick to Berwick, to be shipped for
London, for Sir Henry Grey, bart., a pie, the contents whereof are as
follows:--2 bushels of flour, 20 lbs. of butter, 4 geese, 2 turkeys, 2
rabbits, 4 wild ducks, 2 woodcocks, 6 snipes, 4 partridges, 2 neats'
tongues, 2 curlews, 7 blackbirds, and 6 pigeons: it is supposed a very
great curiosity, was made by Mrs. Dorothy Patterson, housekeeper at
Howick. It was near nine feet in circumference at bottom, weighs about
twelve stones, will take two men to present it at table; it is neatly
fitted with a case, and four small wheels to facilitate its use to
every guest that inclines to partake of its contents at table."
THE UPAS, (POISON) TREE.
We give here an instance of the extravagancies of ancient travellers,
this tissue of falsehoods being taken from "Foersch's Description of
Java:"--
The _Bohon Upas_ is situated in the Island of Java about twenty-seven
leagues from Batavia, fourteen from Soulis Charta, the seat of the
Emperor, and between eighteen and twenty leagues from Tinkjoe, the
present residence of the Sultan of Java. It is surrounded on all sides
by a circle of high hills and mountains; and the country round it,
to the distance of ten or twelve miles from the tree, is entirely
barren. Not a tree, nor a shrub, nor even the least plant or grass is
to be seen. I have made the tour all around this dangerous spot, at
about eighteen miles distant from the centre, and I found the aspect
of the country on all sides equally dreary. The easiest ascent of the
hills is from that part where the old Ecclesiastick dwells. From his
house the criminals are sent for the poison, into which the points of
all warlike instruments are dipped. It is of high value, and produces
a considerable revenue to the Emperor. The poison which is procured
from this tree is a gum that issues out between the bark and the tree
itself, like the _camphor_. Malefactors, who for their crimes are
sentenced to die, are the only persons who fetch the poison; and this
is the only chance they have of saving their lives. After sentence is
pronounced upon them by the Judge, they are asked in Court, whether
they will die by the hands of the executioner, or whether they will go
to the Upas-tree for a box of poison? They commonly prefer the latter
proposal, as there is not only some chance of preserving their lives,
but also a certainty, in case of their safe return, that a provision
will be made for them in future by the Emperor. They are also permitted
to ask a favour from the Emperor, which is generally of a trifling
nature, and commonly granted. They are then provided with a silver or
tortoise-shell box, in which they are to put the poisonous gum, and are
properly instructed how to proceed while they are upon their dangerous
expedition. They are always told to attend to the direction of the
wind, as they are to go towards the tree before the wind; so that the
effluvia from the tree is always blown from them. They go to the house
of the old ecclesiastick who prepares them by prayers and admonitions
for their future fate; he puts them on a long leathern cap with two
glasses before their eyes, which comes down as far as their breast; and
also provides them with a pair of leather gloves. They are conducted by
the priest, and their friends, and relations, about two miles on their
journey. The old Ecclesiastick assured me that in upwards of thirty
years, he had dismissed above seven hundred criminals in the manner
described, and that scarcely two out of twenty have returned. All the
Malayans consider this tree as an holy instrument of the great prophet
to punish the sins of mankind, and, therefore, to die of the poison of
the Upas is generally considered among them as an honourable death.
This, however, is certain, that from fifteen to eighteen miles round
this tree, not only no human creature can exist, but no animal of _any
kind_ has ever been discovered, there are no fish in the waters, and
when any birds fly so near this tree that the effluvia reaches them,
they drop down dead.
DEATH CAUSED BY SUPERSTITION.
In Hamburg, in 1784, a singular accident occasioned the death of a
young couple. The lady going to the church of the Augustin Friars,
knelt down near a Mausoleum, ornamented with divers figures in marble,
among which was that of Death, armed with a scythe, a small piece
of the scythe being loose, fell on the hood of the lady's mantelet.
On her return home, she mentioned the circumstance as a matter of
indifference to her husband, who, being a credulous and superstitious
man, cried out in a terrible panic, that it was a presage of the death
of his dear wife. The same day he was seized with a violent fever,
took to his bed, and died. The disconsolate lady was so affected at
the loss, that she was taken ill, and soon followed him. They were
both interred in the same grave; and their inheritance, which was very
considerable, fell to some very distant relations.
ST. PAUL AND THE VIPER.--THE CHURCH AT MALTA.
Not far from the old city of Valetta, in the island of Malta, there
is a small church dedicated to St. Paul, and just by the church, a
miraculous statue of the Saint with a viper on his hand; supposed to be
placed on the very spot on which he was received after his shipwreck
on this island, and where he shook the viper off his hand into the
fire, without being hurt by it. At which time the Maltese assure us,
the Saint cursed all the venomous animals of the island, and banished
them for ever; just as St. Patrick treated those of his favourite isle.
Whether this be the cause of it or not, we shall leave to divines to
determine, though if it had, St. Luke would probably have mentioned it
in the Acts of the Apostles; but the fact is certain, that there are no
venomous animals in Malta.
THE FIRST HERMITS--WHY SO-CALLED.
Hermits, or _Eremites_, (from the Greek [Greek: _eremos_], a desert
place,) were men who retired to desert places to avoid persecution;
they lodged in caves and cells:--
"Where from the mountain's grassy side,
Their guiltless feast they bring;
A scrip with herbs and fruit supply'd,
And water from the spring."
The first hermit was Paul, of Thebes, in Egypt, who lived about the
year 260; the second, was St. Anthony, also of Egypt, who died in 345,
at the age of 105.
ST. JAMES'S SQUARE.
The author of _A Tour through the Island of Great Britain_ (Daniel
Defoe), second edition, 1738, gives us the following particulars of
this aristocratic locality:--"The alterations lately made in St.
James's Square are entitled to our particular notice. It used to be in
a very ruinous condition, considering the noble houses in it, which are
inhabited by the first quality. But now it is finely paved all over
with heading-stone; a curious oval bason full of water, surrounded with
iron rails on a dwarf wall, is placed in the middle, mostly 7 feet
deep and 150 diameter. In the centre is a pedestal about fifteen feet
square, designed for a statue of King William III. The iron rails are
octagonal, and at each angle without the rails, is a stone pillar about
9 feet high, and a lamp on the top. The gravel walk within the rails
is about 26 feet broad from each angle to the margin of the basin.
It was done at the expense of the inhabitants by virtue of an act of
parliament. The house that once belonged to the Duke of Ormond, and
since to the Duke of Chandos, is pulled down and makes three noble
ones, besides fine stables and coach-houses behind, and two or three
more good houses in the street leading to St. James's Church. This
noble square wants nothing but to have the lower part of it, near Pall
Mall, built of a piece with the rest, and the designed statue to be
erected in the middle of the basin.