known: it was brought over from Holland, in some Levant goods, about
the close of the year 1664: its progress was arrested, in a great
degree, by a hard frost which set in in the winter; but as the spring
of 1665 advanced, its virulence advanced. Infected houses were shut
up and red crosses painted on the doors, with this inscription, "Lord
have mercy upon us." Persons going to market took the meat off the
hooks themselves, for their _own_ security, and for the _Butcher's_,
dropped their money into pans of vinegar; for it was supposed that even
their provisions were tainted with the infection. In the months of
August and September the greatest mortality occurred; for the deaths
of one week have been estimated at 10,000! It may be supposed, that no
great accuracy existed in the Registers, to afford a correct estimate;
for, in the parish of Stepney, it is said they lost, within the year,
116 sextons, grave-diggers and their assistants; and, as the disorder
advanced, the churchyards were incapable of holding more bodies, and
large pits were therefore dug in several parts, to which the dead
were brought by cartloads, collected by the ringing of a bell and the
mournful cry of "Bring out your dead." Add to this, that these carts
worked in the night, and no exact account was kept, as the clerks
and sextons were averse to a duty exposing them to such dangerous
consequences, and often carried off before such accounts as they had
taken were delivered in. All the shops were shut up, grass grew in the
most public streets, until about December 1665, when the plague abated,
and the citizens who had left their abodes for the country, crowded
back again to their residences. The computation is, that this horrible
disease carried off 100,000 persons in London: it is singular, that the
only parish quite exempt from infection was St. John the Evangelist, in
Watling Street.
LANDSLIP AT COLEBROOK, SHROPSHIRE.
A most remarkable circumstance happened there in the morning of the
27th of May, 1773, about four o'clock. Near 4,000 yards from the river
Severn stood a house, where a family dwelt; the man got up about three
o'clock, heard a rumbling noise, and felt the ground shake under him,
on which he called up his family. They perceived the ground begin to
move, but knew not which way to run; however, they providentially and
wonderfully escaped, by taking an immediate flight, for just as they
got to an adjacent wood, the ground they had left separated from that
on which they stood. They first observed a small crack in the ground
about four or five inches wide, and a field that was sown with oats
to heave up and roll about like waves of water; the trees moved as
if blown with wind, but the air was calm and serene; the Severn (in
which at that time was a considerable flood) was agitated very much,
and the current seemed to run upwards. They perceived a great crack
run very quick up the ground from the river. Immediately about thirty
acres of land, with the hedges and trees standing (except a few that
were overturned), moved with great force and swiftness towards the
Severn, attended with great and uncommon noise, compared to a large
flock of sheep running swiftly. That part of the land next the river
was a small wood, less than two acres, in which grew twenty large oaks;
a few of them were thrown down, and as many more were undermined and
overturned; some left leaning, the rest upright, as if never disturbed.
The wood was pushed with such velocity into the channel of the Severn
(which at that time was remarkably deep), that it forced the waters up
in columns a considerable height, like mighty fountains, and drove the
bed of the river before it on the opposite shore, many feet above the
surface of the water, where it lodged, as did one side of the wood;
the current being instantly stopped, occasioned a great inundation
above, and so sudden a fall below, that many fish were left on dry
land, and several barges were heeled over, and when the stream came
down were sunk, but none were damaged above. The river soon took its
course over a large meadow that was opposite the small wood, and in
three days wore a navigable channel through the meadow. A turnpike road
was moved more than thirty yards from its former situation, and to all
appearance rendered for ever impassable. A barn was carried about the
same distance, and left as a heap of rubbish in a large chasm; the
house received but little damage. A hedge that was joined to the garden
was removed about fifty yards. A great part of the land was in confused
heaps, full of cracks, from four inches to more than a yard wide.
Several very long and deep chasms were formed in the upper part of the
land, from about fourteen to upwards of thirty yards wide, in which
were many pyramids of earth standing, with the green turf remaining on
the tops of some of them. Hollows were raised into mounts, and mounts
reduced into hollows. Less than a quarter of an hour completed this
dreadful scene.
CURIOUS CUSTOM AT STRASBOURG.
At Strasbourg they show a large French horn, whose history is as
follows:--About 400 years ago, the Jews formed a conspiracy to betray
the city, and with this identical horn they intended to give the enemy
notice when to attack.
The plot, however, was discovered; many of the Jews were burnt alive,
the rest were plundered of their money and effects, and banished the
town; and this horn is sounded twice every night from the battlements
of the steeple in gratitude for the deliverance.
The Jews deny the fact of this story, except the murdering and
pillaging their countrymen. They say the whole story is fabricated to
furnish a pretext for these robberies and murders, and assert that the
steeple of Strasbourg, as has been said of the Monument of London,--
"Like a tall bully lifts the head and lies."
DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN.
The following is an extraordinary instance of the recklessness of
sailors when in the pursuit of what they call pleasure. In the year
1779, a Mr. Constable, of Woolwich, passing through the churchyard
there at midnight, heard people singing jovially. At first he thought
they were in the church, but the doors were locked, and it was all
silent there:--on looking about he found some drunken sailors who had
got into a large family vault, and were regaling with bread, cheese,
tobacco, and strong beer. They belonged to the Robust, man of war,
and having resolved to spend a jolly night on shore, had kept it up in
a neighbouring alehouse till the landlord turned them out, and then
they came here to finish their evening. They had opened some of the
coffins in their dare-devil drunkenness and crammed the mouth of one
of the bodies with bread, and cheese, and beer. Constable, with much
difficulty, prevailed on them to return to the ship. In their way one
fell down in the mud, and was suffocated, as much from drunkenness as
the real danger. The comrades took him on their shoulders, and carried
him back to sleep in company with the honest gentlemen with whom he had
passed the evening.
CHAIR BROUGHT OVER TO AMERICA IN THE MAYFLOWER BY THE PILGRIM FATHERS.
[Illustration: [++] John Carver's Chair.]
How frequently do we obtain, from the ordinary articles of domestic
life which they were accustomed to use, a correct idea of the habits
and tastes of whole communities which have long since passed away.
A striking instance of this is the chair, of which the above is a
correct sketch. It belonged to John Carver, who was one of the band of
single-hearted men who constituted the Pilgrim Fathers, and who after
first setting out from Holland, eventually sailed from Plymouth in
England, in August, 1620. They landed in Cape Cod Harbour, New England,
on the 9th of November following. Carver, was one of the chief spirits
of the band, and the chair which we have sketched was one of his best
articles of furniture, which he took with him in the Mayflower. He
was elected the first governor of the community, and died in the year
following his election. How forcibly does it show the simplicity of
taste, and the freedom from pomp and vanity which characterised the
devoted and fearless men who left their native shores, and sought
"freedom to worship God" in a land to them unknown, that they should
have selected as their first governor, an individual, the best chair in
whose house was the homely article which we have here depicted.
A HARMLESS ECCENTRIC.
[Illustration: [++] Jenny Darney, a Harmless Eccentric.]
The annexed cut represents a singular character who was well known
about the year 1790 in the southern part of the county of Cumberland.
Her appearance is thus described by a correspondent of the Gentleman's
Magazine of that date:--"Though I have seen her at various times, and
frequently conversed with her, for these 20 years, I have never been
able to learn any particulars respecting her family, friends, or name.
The country people know her by the appellation of Jenny Darney, from
the manner, I presume, in which she used to mend her clothes. Her
present garb is entirely of her own manufacture. She collects the small
parcels of wool which lie about the fields in sheep farms, spins it on
a rock and spindle of her own making; and as she cannot find any other
method of making the yarn into cloth, she knits it on wooden needles,
and by that means procures a warm comfortable dress. In the lifetime of
the late Charles Lutwidge, Esq., of Holm Rook, she took possession of
an old cottage, or rather cow-house, on his estate, in which she has
ever since been suffered to continue. Her intellects seem at certain
times greatly deranged, but her actions are harmless, and her language
inoffensive. On that score she is caressed by all the villagers, who
supply her with eatables, &c., for money she utterly refuses. She
seems a person in her lucid intervals, of much shrewdness, and her
understanding is above the common level. This has also been improved
by a tolerable education. Her appearance has been much the same for
these 20 years, so that she must now be nearly 90 years of age; but of
this, as well as her family and name, she is always silent. She seems
to have chosen out the spot where she now lives, to pass the remainder
of her days unknown to her friends, and in a great measure from a
distaste of a wicked world, to 'prepare herself,' as she often in her
quiet hours says, 'for a better.'"
THE RULING PASSION.
A remarkable instance of the irresistible strength of the ruling
passion was to be seen a few years ago in a Londoner, who had kept are
retail spirit-shop, and retired into the adjoining county when he had
made a fortune, to enjoy himself. This man used to amuse himself by
having one puncheon filled with water, and measuring it off by pints
into another. There was also another retired cit who used every day to
angle in his round wash-hand-basin sized fish-pond for gold-fish. One
fish he knew, because it had once lost its eye in being caught--and he
used to say "Confound that fellow, this is the fifth, sixth, &c., time
that I have caught him this season." It used to provoke him.
INTERESTING REPORT WRITTEN BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN.
In the history of public buildings and monuments, it is always
curious to note the original plans of those who designed them, and to
mark the different proposals and suggestions which were taken into
consideration. On this account our readers will no doubt be gratified
by perusing the following Report of Sir Christopher Wren, on the
ornament which it would, in his opinion, be most desirable to place on
summit of the Monument, on Fish Street-hill. The Report was drawn up
for the use of the Committee of City Lands:--
"In pursuance of an Order of the Comittee for City Landes, I doe
heerwith offer the several designes which some monthes since I showed
His M{tie}. for his approbation; who was then pleased to thinke a
large Ball of metall, gilt, would be most agreeable, in regard it would
give an Ornament to the Town at a very great distance; not that His
M{tie}. disliked a statue; and if any proposall of this sort be more
acceptable to the City, I shall most readily represent the same to His
M{tie}.
"I cannot but comend a large Statue, as carrying much dignitie with it,
and that w{ch} would be more valewable in the eyes of Forreiners and
strangers. It hath been proposed to cast such a one in Brasse, of 12
foot high for L1,000. I hope (if it be allowed) wee may find those who
will cast a figure for that mony of 15 foot high, w{ch} will suit the
greatnesse of the pillar, & is (as I take it) the largest at this day
extant, and this would undoubtedly be the noblest finishing that can be
found answerable to soe goodly a worke in all men's judgements.
"A Ball of Copper, 9 foot diameter, cast in severall peeces with the
Flames and gilt, may well be don with the iron worke and fixing for
350lb., and this will be most acceptable of any thing inferior to a
statue, by reason of the good appearance at distance, and because one
may goe up into it, & upon occasion use it for fireworkes.
"A Phoenix was at first thought of, & is the ornament in the wooden
modell of the pilar w{ch} I caused to be made before it was begun; but
upon second thoughtes I rejected it, because it will be costly, not
easily understood at that highth, and worse understood at a distance,
and lastly dangerous, by reason of the sayle, the spread winges will
carry in the winds.
"The Belcony must be made of substantial well forged worke, there being
noe need at that distance of filed worke, and I suppose (for I cannot
exactly guesse the weight) it may be well performed and fixed according
to a good designe for fourscore & ten poundes, including painting, All
w{ch} is humbly submitted to your consideration.
"July 28, 1675.
"CHR. WREN."
CHANGE OF SEX.
Connected with the plumage of birds is an extraordinary problem which
has baffled all research, and towards the solution of which not the
slightest approach has been made. Among certain of the gallinaceous
birds, and it has been observed in no other family, the females
occasionally assume the male plumage. Among pheasants in a wild state,
the hen thus metamorphosed, assumes with the livery a disposition
to war with her own race, but in confinement she is spurned and
buffeted by the rest. From what took place in a hen pheasant in the
possession of a lady, a friend of the late Sir Joseph Banks, it would
seem probable that this change arises from some alteration in the
temperament at a late period of the animal's life. This lady had paid
particular attention to the breeding of pheasants. One of the hens,
after having produced several broods, moulted, and the succeeding
feathers were exactly those of a cock. This animal never afterwards
laid an egg. The pea-hen, has sometimes been known to take the plumage
of the cock bird. Lady Tynte had a favourite pea-hen, which at eight
several times produced chicks. Having moulted when about eleven years
old, the lady and her family were astonished by her displaying the
feathers peculiar to the other sex, and appearing like a pied peacock.
In this process the tail, which was like that of the cock, first
appeared. In the following year she moulted again, and produced similar
feathers. In third year she did the same, and then had also spurs
resembling those of the cock. The bird never bred after this change of
her plumage.
TILBURY FORT.
The chief fame of Tilbury rests on the formation of the camp here, in
the reign of Queen Elizabeth, to defend London against the Spanish
invasion. Although it is unnecessary to recount the well-known
circumstances which led to the formation of the Tilbury camp, it may
not be out of place to give the famous speech of Queen Elizabeth on the
occasion of her visit:--
"My loving People,--We have been persuaded by some that are careful of
our safety, to take heed how we trust ourselves to armed multitudes
for fear of treachery; but assure you I do not desire to live to
distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear. I have always
so behaved myself that under God I have placed my chiefest strength
and safeguard in the loyal hearts and goodwill of my subjects; and
therefore I am come among you at this time, not as for my recreation or
sport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live
or die amongst you all--to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and
for my people, my honour and my blood even in the dust. I know that I
have but the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart of a
king, and a king of England too; and I think foul scorn that Parma or
Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of
my realms to which, rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I will
myself take up arms--I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder
of every one of your victories in the field."
The most full description of Elizabeth's reception at Tilbury is
printed in a sort of doggrel poem, headed, "Elizabetha Triumphans,
briefly, truly, and effectually set forth, declared, and handled by
James Aske."
The poem mentions, that when about 20,000 well-appointed men had
arrived at Tilbury, orders were sent to the various shires to cause the
troops in each to remain until further notice; and so great was the
desire to meet the enemy, that one thousand men of Dorsetshire offered
L500 to be allowed to march to the camp at Tilbury.
The alarm of the Spanish invasion was, however, not the last to
threaten the Londoners, and direct attention to Tilbury.
On the 8th of June, 1667, Ruyter, the Dutch admiral, sailed out of
the Texel with fifty ships, and came to the mouth of the Thames, from
whence he detached Vice-Admiral Van Ghent, with seventeen of his
lightest ships and some fire-ships. Van Ghent in the same month sailed
up the Medway, made himself master of the fort of Sheerness, and,
after burning a magazine of stores to the value of L40,000, blew up
the fortifications. This action alarmed the City of London; so that
to prevent similar mischief, several ships were sunk, and a large
chain put across the narrowest part of the Medway. But by means of an
easterly wind and a strong tide, the Dutch ships broke through the
chain, and sailed between the sunk vessels. They burnt three ships,
and carried away with them the hull of the "Royal Charles," besides
burning and damaging several others. After this they advanced as far as
Upnor Castle, and burnt the "Royal Oak," the "Loyal London," and the
"Great James." Fearing that the whole Dutch fleet would sail to London
Bridge, the citizens caused thirteen ships to be sunk at Woolwich, and
four at Blackwall, and platforms furnished with artillery to defend
them were raised in several places. The consternation was very great,
and the complaints were no less so. It was openly said the king, out
of avarice, had kept the money so generously given to him to continue
the war, and left his ships and subjects exposed to the insults of
the enemy. After this exploit, Ruyter sailed to Portsmouth, with a
design to burn the ships in that harbour; but finding them secured,
he sailed to the west, and took some ships in Torbay. He then sailed
eastward, beat the English force before Harwich, and chased a squadron
of nineteen men-of-war, commanded by Sir Edward Spragg, who was obliged
to retire into the Thames. In a word, he kept the coasts of England in
a continual alarm all July, till he received news of the conclusion of
peace.
[Illustration: Water-gate of Tilbury Fort.]
This daring attack was no doubt the cause of Tilbury Fort being made
to assume its present form. It is now a regular fortification, and
may be justly looked upon as the key to the City of London. The plan
of the building was laid out by Sir Martin Beckman, chief engineer to
Charles II., who also designed the works at Sheerness. The foundation
is laid upon piles driven down, two on end of each other, till they
were assured they were below the channel of the river, and that the
piles, which were pointed with iron, entered into the solid chalk rock.
On the land side, the works are complete; the bastions are faced with
brick. There is a double ditch, or moat, the innermost of which is 180
feet broad, with a good counterscarp, and a covered way marked out
with ravelins and tenailles. There are some small brick redoubts; the
chief strength, however, of this part of the fort consists in being
able to lay the whole level under water, and, by that means, make it
impossible for an enemy to carry on approaches that way. On the river
side is a very strong curtain, with the picturesque water-gate shown
in our engraving in the middle. Before this curtain is a platform, in
the place of a counterscarp, on which are planted cannon of large size.
These completely command the river, and would no doubt cripple the
ships of an enemy attempting to pass in this direction. A few years ago
there were placed on the platform 106 cannon, carrying from 24 to 46
pounds each, besides smaller ones planted between them. The bastions
and curtains are also planted with guns.
The circular tower shown in the engraving was in existence in the time
of Queen Elizabeth, and was called the Block-house.
RINGING THE CHANGES.
It is curious to note the number of changes which may be rung on
different peals. The changes on seven bells are 5,040; on twelve
479,001,600, which it would take ninety-one years to ring at the rate
of two strokes in a second. The changes on fourteen bells could not
be rung through at the same rate in less than 16,575 years: and upon
four-and-twenty, they would require more than 117,000 billions of years.
DISGRACEFUL STATE OF THE LONDON POLICE IN 1724.
That notorious burglar, Jack Sheppard, finished his disgraceful career
at Tyburn in the year 1724, and we notice the event, not with the view
of detailing the disgusting particulars of an execution, but because
the outrages which were allowed to take place after the dreadful scene
was over, exhibit in a striking light the miserable police regulations
which existed at that period, and the manner in which the mob were
allowed to have it nearly all their own way. The Sheriff's officers,
aware of the person they had to contend with, thought it prudent to
secure his hands on the morning of execution. This innovation produced
the most violent resistance on Sheppard's part; and the operation was
performed by force. They then proceeded to search him, and had reason
to applaud their vigilance, for he had contrived to conceal a penknife
in some part of his dress. The ceremony of his departure from our
world passed without disorder; but, the instant the time expired for
the suspension of the body, an undertaker, who had followed by his
friends' desire with a hearse and attendants, would have conveyed it to
St. Sepulchre's churchyard for interment; but the mob, conceiving that
surgeons had employed this unfortunate man, proceeded to demolish the
vehicle, and attack the sable dependants, who escaped with difficulty.
They then seized the body, and, in the brutal manner common to those
wretches, beat it from each to the other till it was covered with
bruises and dirt, and till they reached Long-acre, where they deposited
the miserable remains at a public-house called the Barley-mow. After
it had rested there a few hours the populace entered into an enquiry
why they had contributed their assistance in bringing Sheppard to
Long-acre; when they discovered they were duped by a bailiff, who
was actually employed by the surgeons; and that they had taken the
corpse from a person really intending to bury it. The elucidation of
their error exasperated them almost to phrensy, and a riot immediately
commenced, which threatened the most serious consequences, The
inhabitants applied to the police, and several magistrates attending,
they were immediately convinced the civil power was insufficient to
resist the torrent of malice ready to burst forth in acts of violence.
They therefore sent to the Prince of Wales and the Savoy, requesting
detachments of the guards; who arriving, the ringleaders were secured,
the body was given to a person, a friend of Sheppard, and the mob
dispersed to attend it to the grave at St. Martin's in the fields,
where it was deposited in an elm coffin, at ten o'clock the same night,
under a guard of soldiers, and with the ceremonies of the church.
A TRIUMPH OF ENERGY.