2 Curious ornamented Cakes 2 12 0
12 Dishes Blomanges, representing
different figures 12 12 0
12 Ditto Clear Marbrays 14 8 0
16 Ditto fine Cut Pastry 16 16 0
2 Ditto Mille Fuelles 1 10 6
_The Centre of the Table._
1 Grand Pyramid of Demies of Shell
Fish of various sorts 2 2 0
32 Cold things of sorts; _viz._
Temples, Shapes, Landscapes in
Jellies, savoury Cakes, and Almond
Gothes 33 12 0
2 Grand Epergnes, filled with fine
Pickles, and garnished round with
Plates of Sorts, as Laspicks, Rolards,
&c. 6 6 0
-----------------
Total of the King's Table 374 1 0
Totals of the several BILLS.
Mr. George Dance, Clerk of the Works 65 4 6
Mr. Richard Gripton, Coffee-man 56 10 0
Ditto, Coffee, Tea, &c. for the
Committee 31 13 0
Mr. John Read, Carpenter 876 6 0
Mr. Kuhff, Confectioner 212 1 0
Mr. Wilder, ditto 121 14 0
Mr. Scott, ditto 91 14 0
Messrs. Kuhff, Wilder, and Scott, ditto 174 9 0
Mr. Baughan, Wax Chandler 31 0 0
Mr. Garrard, ditto 30 12 0
Mrs. Jones, ditto 30 12 0
Mr. Cotterel, Chinaman 30 11 0
Mr. Vere, ditto 18 12 0
Mr Wylde, Paul's-head Tavern 47 13 0
Mr. Edward Wix, Bricklayer 147 16 0
Mr. Charles Easton, Mason 6 4 0
Messrs. Alexander and Shrimpton,
Smiths 300 11 0
Mr. Peter Roberts, Remembrancer 63 0 0
Messrs. Wareham, Oswald, Angel,
Horton and Birch, Cooks 1600 0 0
Mr. Stanley, Band of Musick 115 0 0
Mr. Thomas Pattle, Hall-keeper 126 0 0
Messrs. Chesson, Saunders, and
Woodroffe, Upholsterers 458 19 0
Mr. Allan, Wine 178 12 0
Mr. Francis Magnus, ditto 175 8 0
Mr. Frederick Standert, Hock 116 8 0
Messrs. Brown and Righton, Wine 48 5 0
Mr. Thomas Burfoot and Son,
Woollen-drapers 258 5 0
Messrs. Pistor and Son, ditto 74 13 0
Mr. Thomas Gilpin, Plate 57 17 0
Mr. Deputy Samuel Ellis and Richard
Cleeve, Pewterers 264 3 0
Mr. Christopher Dent, Butler 190 0 0
Mr. Robert Dixon, Baker 8 0 10
Mrs. Rachel Stephens, Brewer 8 8 0
Messrs. Barber and Shuttleworth,
Fruiterers 100 0 0
Messrs. Mason and Whitworth, Ribbands 7 3 0
Mr. Charles Gardner, Engraver 23 13 0
Artillery Company 20 0 0
Mr. Charles Rivington, Printer 3 3 0
City Musick 13 3 0
Mr. Bromwich, Papier Maché 70 14 0
Mr. James Dobson, Bear Inn,
Basinghall-street 42 15 0
Mr. John Handford, Swan with Two Necks,
Lad-lane 20 15 0
Mr. John Greenhow, Castle, in
Wood-street 29 5 0
Mr. Richard Overhall, Blossom's-inn, in
Lawrence-lane 34 5 0
Mr. Thomas Whaley, Bell-inn, in Wood
street 12 10 0
Mr. Richard Walkden, Stationer 6 15 0
City Marshal 100 0 0
Mrs. Mary Harrington, Glazier 15 16 0
Messrs. Willis and Machel, Plumber 63 12 0
Messrs. Pope and Son, Painters 27 18 0
Heron Powney, Esq. Sword-bearer's
claim 5 0 0
Mr. William Palmer, Senior Attorney of
the Mayor's Court, claim 2 0 0
Serjeants of the Chamber, for delivery
of the Tickets, &c. 4 10 0
Yeomen of the Chamber's claim 4 0 0
Peter Denny, for lighting the
Chandeliers 20 0 0
Sir James Hodges, Town-clerk, for
attending the Committee 157 10 0
William Rix, Clerk to Sir James
Hodges, for ditto 15 15 0
Andrew Boson, Hall-keeper's man 10 10 0
Six Marshal's-men 1 10 0
Six Necessary Women 6 6 0
Town-clerk's Servants 5 5 0
Chamberlain's Household Servants 5 5 0
Messrs. Chesson, Woodroffe, and
Saunders, Extra Bill 10 10 0
Mr. Thomas Gilpin, for the use of
Plate 20 0 0
Mr. Chamberlain's Clerks 5 5 0
Daniel Philpot, Esq. Cook to his
Majesty 10 10 0
Thomas Denny, for attending the
Committee 1 1 0
------------------
Total 6898 5 4
------------------
It was ordered that the said Report be entered in the Journal of the
Court; and the following motion being made, was unanimously agreed to:
"That the thanks of this Court be, and are hereby given, to the
Committee appointed to conduct the entertainment of their Majesties
and the Royal Family at Guildhall, on Lord Mayor's day last, for their
constant and spirited attention, in that service, to the honour of the
Crown, and the dignity of this City."
A futile plan has long been in use, intended to lessen the number of
women of the town; and particularly in 1762, when the Society for the
Reformation of Manners followed an old and unprofitable example, by
sending some of their constables through the streets to apprehend
those miserable young persons; 40 were taken to Bridewell, eleven were
whipped, one sent to the Magdalen, and the remainder are said to have
been returned to their friends. Such has been the practice at long
intervals ever since, perhaps with some variations in the punishment
inflicted, and I am afraid an omission of enquiring for their friends.
One need only pass through the Strand and Fleet-street late in the
evening, to perceive how ineffectual this method of reformation has
been.
It appears from a very solemn address to the publick inserted in the
Newspapers for 1762, that the brutal custom of throwing at Cocks on
Shrove Tuesday was not then so uncommon as it happily is at present.
When we are passing through the streets of London, it but too
frequently happens that our ears are offended by hearing shocking
oaths, repeated with an emphasis which indicates violent irritation;
but, upon observing the parties thus offending against the laws of
morality and of the realm more closely, it may be immediately perceived
that nothing particular has occurred to produce anger, and that the
vice has become so much a custom, that oaths are now mere flowers of
rhetorick with the vulgar.
However _unpleasant_ the reflection, we may console ourselves in the
certainty that we are not more reprehensible than our predecessors
have been; as a proof, I present the reader with an excellent
Charge delivered by Sir John Fielding, April 6, 1763, at Guildhall,
Westminster.
"A Charge delivered to the Grand Jury, at the General Quarter
Session of the Peace, held at Guildhall, Westminster, on
Wednesday, April 6, 1763, by Sir John Fielding, Knight,
Chairman of the said Session. Published at the unanimous
Request of the Magistrates then present, and the Grand Jury."
In order to remind the Grand Jury of their duty, rather than to inform
them of it, Sir John Fielding considers, 1st, the object of the enquiry
they are expected to make, and 2dly, the manner in which it might be
made.
The object of it is, offences towards God, the King, to one another,
and to the publick in general.
Speaking of the offences against God, "I cannot sufficiently lament
(says this devout Magistrate) that shameful, inexcusable, and almost
universal practice of prophane swearing in our streets: a crime so easy
to be punished, and so seldom done, that mankind almost forget it is
an offence; and, to our dishonour be it spoken, it is almost peculiar
to the English nation! I beg, Gentlemen, you would use your utmost
endeavours to suppress this dreadful evil wherever you can; but this
you will best do by your own example, as the offence is punishable
in a judicial way before a Magistrate. Nor should I mention it here,
was I not sensible that I am speaking in the presence of a great
number of peace-officers, whose immediate duty it is to apprehend such
miscreants, and carry them before a Magistrate; and who are not only
blameable, but punishable, for the neglect of this duty.
"The last offence I shall mention on this subject is, the breach of
the Sabbath; a practice as shameful as it is common: but, as these are
unworthy members of the Church, and not only disgraceful, but noxious
members of society, they will therefore, I doubt not, meet with the
detestation of all honest and pious men, and consequently with every
punishment due to such an insolent crime, which it may be in your power
to inflict; for this sort of impious neglect partakes of the deepest
ingratitude from the creature to the Creator."
With regard to offences committed against the Publick in general; "Of
these (says this diligent Magistrate) there are a great variety, but I
shall confine myself to the three following, _viz._ public lewdness,
bawdy-houses, gaming-houses. And first, as to public lewdness:
"It is the observation of a moral writer of eminence, 'That there
is some degree of virtue in a man's keeping his vices to himself:'
for, as example is allowed to be more efficacious than precept in
recommendation of virtue, where men act as it were in opposition to
the depravity of human nature, how must the open and public example of
lewdness draw men into the tide of wickedness, when their own passions
and inclinations serve as winds to carry them down the stream! Men
like these deserve punishment as public as their crimes. But, as this
offence belongs to none but the most abandoned mind, I thank God it is
not common; and perhaps it would be much less seen, were those persons
punished, who exposed to sale the most abandoned prints of lewdness,
and the most infamous books of bawdry, which are considerably bought
by curious youths, to the danger of their modesty, the hazard of their
morals, and too often to the total destruction of their virtue.
"As to bawdy-houses, they are the receptacles of those who still have
some sense of shame left, but not enough to preserve their innocence.
"These houses are all sufficiently injurious, and do great mischief.
But those I would particularly point out to your attention, are the
open, avowed, low, and common bawdy-houses, where vice is rendered
cheap, and consequently within the reach of the common people, who are
the very stamina of the constitution.
"These are the channels through which rottenness is conveyed into the
bones of the artificer, labourer, soldier, and mariner; by this means
weakness and distemper are entailed on their offspring, whose utility
to the publick depends on their health and strength. These are the
houses that harbour and protect undutiful children, idle servants,
and disobedient apprentices. Let me then intreat you, as fathers, as
masters, and as tradesmen, to put an end to these sinks of vice in your
respective neighbourhoods.
"Let not that common vulgar error, of being afraid of these people,
because they are litigious, desperate, and full of threats (for these
fears are groundless, and should not, nay, I hope will not) deter you
from this particular duty. You present; and we will punish.
"As to gaming-houses; such numbers of persons of all ranks have
brought themselves, some to the greatest distresses, and others to
most shameful and ignominious ends, by frequenting these houses, where
gentlemen, sharpers, highwaymen, tradesmen, their servants, nay, often
their apprentices, are mixed together; that, when I mention the very
name of a gaming-house, I am persuaded that it conveys to your minds
such ideas of mischief to society, that you will not suffer any of them
to escape that come to your knowledge: and by a particular attention to
the last-mentioned offences, you may be the happy means of preventing
frauds, thefts, and robberies; most of which take their rise from
these impure fountains of extravagance."
What the Justice, speaking of the manner of the enquiry, remarks with
regard to the contempt of oaths, is but too just, and alarming:
"When I mention the word Oath; where shall I find language to express
the hearty concern I feel, when I consider with what shameful
insensibility this great defence of our lives, this barrier of our
liberties, this security of our properties, an oath, is treated by the
lower rank of the community! I too much fear, that one of the principal
causes of this contempt is the slovenly manner in which this solemn
obligation is administered; which does not only take off the awe, but
even the very idea, of the presence of Almighty God."
A facetious writer presented the following observations to the Editor
of the London Chronicle, in June 1765. I think the Reader will find
they promote the object of this work.
"It is common with the old men to assert, that times alter for the
worse, and that every age increases in ignorance and folly. At the
Theatres, they will tell you, that Garrick and Mrs. Cibber are
tolerable performers, but they will not allow them to be equal to
Booth and Mrs. Oldfield. 'When I was a boy, things were otherwise,' is
their common expression. Now, Mr. Printer, in despite of all this,
I affirm, that instead of altering for the worse, we daily improve,
not only in Commerce, but also in Manners and the Polite Arts. Think
not by the Polite Arts I mean only the Exhibitions in Spring-gardens
and Maiden-lane. No, Sir, my inference is a general one; I include
artists of every denomination, from the genteel Mr. Pencil, the
Portrait-painter, to honest Brush, the Sign-painter; both Mr. Heeltap,
the Shoemaker of St. James's, and plain Crispin, the Cobler of
London-house-yard. And that we only began to improve of late years, is
evident from the sarcastic sneer of a shop-keeper at Epping, who, about
ten years ago, had painted over his door, 'All sorts of Manchester
stuffs sold here; also cardinals, nails, and hats.' The force of
the witticism is too plain to need an explanation. This, I imagine,
gave rise to the number of Dancing-masters, who have of late filled
England; and that we are, since that time, greatly polished, no one, I
dare say, will attempt to deny; but that it may not be thought that I
assert what I am unable to prove, I will only remind your readers of
the revolution that common things have undergone in their names. Have
we now any shops? Are they not all turned into warehouses? Have we
not the English warehouse, the Scotch warehouse, the Irish warehouse,
the shirt warehouse, the stocking warehouse, the shoe warehouse, the
hat warehouse, nay, even the buckle and button warehouse? In like
manner our drinking-houses are refined: they no longer go under the
vulgar denominations of gin-houses, purl-houses, ale-houses, and
porter-houses, but are all turned into coffee-houses without coffee,
taverns without wine, and inns without a stable-yard. Not content
with this, they even left off the showy sign-post and exuberant sign,
which formerly distinguished the best-accustomed houses: convinced of
their own merit, they have come to a right understanding of the words
_simplex munditiis_; and therefore only put up a black board with the
name of their _quondam_ sign upon it. But I would just hint to them,
that it would be something more grammatical, if, instead of '_This
is_ the Boar's-head,' they were to say, '_This was_ the Boar's-head.'
Indeed I cannot help thinking, that a very great improvement might be
made by one of these alehouse innkeepers on the Essex road, who has a
board with a large punch-bowl painted on it, and under it these words:
'The Boar's-head Inn.' Surely he would have more custom, if (like the
man at Bath, who changed his sign of the Royal Oak into that of the Owl
in the Ivy-bush, and wrote under it, 'This is not the Royal Oak') he
would say under his punch-bowl, 'This is not the Punch-bowl Inn.'"
The impropriety and folly of employing young and vigorous men to serve
female customers with articles of dress, and those silly catch-pennies
idly supposed ornaments to the person now so prevalent, is by no
means a new trait in our customs; that it should be continued, though
severely reprehended even so long since as 1765, is astonishing. At
that time the antient sisterhood of _tire-women_ were almost extinct;
but now what head can be dressed fit to be seen without the assistance
of a smart male hair-dresser? or what lady will purchase her bandeaus,
her ribbands, gloves, &c. &c. from the hands of a young woman, when the
same shop contains--a young _man_? Unfortunately this is a fatal custom
to many fine blooming females, who, thus consigned to idleness and
temptations, often fall victims to seduction.
A strange infatuation prevailed for many years in that class of the
community which might be termed demi-fashionables, of sending their
daughters to Convents in France for education; if that could be so
termed, which amounted to nothing more than speaking the French
language tolerably correct, cutting and pasting coloured paper together
in silly shapes, and learning tambour, or working in imitation of lace.
To mention the disadvantages attending the practice would be futile;
the Revolution in France, the dissolution of Monasteries, and our
endless wars, have totally abolished the custom, at least as far as
relates to Convents; though I have no doubt that, should Peace ever
again smile on us, French boarding-schools will be preferred to British.
Many of the pernicious customs which disgrace the populace of London
may, and indeed must be continued, by their attendance at the various
Fairs still held near the Metropolis; some that are now suppressed,
and that of St. Bartholomew's London, will be noticed hereafter. As
long as the Legislature think proper to permit the exhibition of wild
beasts, and the anticks of human brutes, the wicked and the curious
will attend them: thus the profligate receives legal authority to
continue his baneful and licentious manners, and the curious innocent
learns to imitate them without restraint as something very worthy of
imitation. It is well known that the passions of human nature require
the utmost coercion, even in families of undoubted honour and virtue:
is it then prudent, much less wise, to send apprentices, youth from
schools, girls the offspring of the lower classes, and servants, into
these regular scenes of riot and systematic violations of order and
decency, where customs must be acquired which will not bear repetition?
The very tradition of the origin of _Horn_ fair, held at Charlton and
Blackheath, though ridiculously unfounded, was a sufficient cause for
its abolition, when we recollect the absurd reference it had to a
shocking offence against the laws of society. The frequenters of this
fair went to it prepared to laugh at those injured by seduction; and
the exhibition of articles made of Horn invited constant inuendos and
vulgar _double entendre_.
Accident this very day afforded me other arguments against Fairs.
Entering the Kingsland-road, I was astonished at the scene before me:
the foot-paths and the carriage-way were crowded with pedestrians and
vehicles, from the humble dung-cart to the hackney-coach; the two
latter filled with every description of persons, and the whole rushing,
impelled by one governing mind, to Edmonton fair. Hundreds of carts and
waggons, provided with seats placed on the sides, and others lengthways
in the midst, were stationed by the owners in the neighbourhood of
Shoreditch church, where several principal streets communicate with
the road to Edmonton; and were immediately filled by the infant, its
sisters, brothers, parents, the journeyman, the apprentice, and the
master, and the female servant, all dressed in their best clothing;
many of the latter and the daughters of tradesmen in white muslin, silk
spencers, and new straw bonnets, worth at least 30_s._ each. I would
ask what the conversation of five-and-twenty persons thus assembled in
a cart or waggon, some of whom consisted of the very dregs of society,
could well be at noon-day, when sober; but what _at night_ on their
return, when some at least were intoxicated? We will say nothing of the
_fun_ of the Fair.
The succeeding letters which were published in 1768 require no comment.
"To the Inhabitants of the three united Parishes of St.
Mary-le-Bow, St. Pancras, and Allhallows Honey-lane.
"Gentlemen,
"It is a pain and grief to me, after having been your Minister
four-and-twenty years, to have any occasion to make any complaint
of your behaviour; but complain of you I must, for suffering the
subscription for the daily prayers to be so diminished, and reduced
almost to nothing; a manifest sign that your Parishes are much poorer
or less religious than they were, for either of which I should be very
sorry, but more especially for the latter; for the former may be your
misfortune, the latter must be your fault.
"The former Inhabitants were so convinced of the reasonableness, the
propriety, the expediency, and necessity of the daily prayers, that
they thought it just and fitting to make an extraordinary allowance
for this extraordinary duty, and entered into a voluntary annual
subscription for this purpose, which contributions have in some measure
been continued from the first building and opening of your church till
within these few years. And will you, Gentlemen, suffer so good a work,
which hath been carried on so many years, to perish in your hands?
Have you so little concern for the honour of your Church, one of the
first and most conspicuous in the City, the principal of the Archbishop
of Canterbury's peculiars, the chief Court of Arches, where so many
Bishops are confirmed, and so much public business is transacted? And
shall such a Church, that ought to be a pattern of regular devotion to
others, be the first to set an example of irreligion? I hope you have
too much sense of honour, too much sense of religion, to bring such
a load of reproach and infamy upon your names and characters: for it
would be an eternal reproach and infamy to you in this world and in the
world to come; and the piety of your predecessors would 'rise up in the
judgment against you, and condemn you.'
"You will say, perhaps, that you have not time to attend the daily
prayers. But why have you not time? What are you doing better? Ask God
and your own conscience. Scarce more than half an hour is taken up
in the daily prayers: and depend upon it, you will find the time not
lost, or ill employed; you will proceed to business with the greater
cheerfulness, and prosper the better for it. But if you cannot or will
not attend the prayers yourselves, yet why should you hinder others
who would attend? Why not rather, to make some amends for your own
deficiency, contribute something, that others may have opportunities
for praying for a blessing upon the community? For what will avail
all your care and attention, all your labour and pains, without the
blessing of God to prosper them? And how can you ever expect the
blessing of God upon your undertakings, if you neglect and despise,
and in effect destroy and abolish his service? The neglect of public
worship is soon followed by the neglect of other duties, and it behoves
you seriously to consider, whether this may not be the first source
and origin, the principal cause and occasion, of so many failures and
bankruptcies among you.
"You will urge perhaps that other charges and taxes lie heavy upon
you, the price of every thing is advanced, and you cannot afford
to do as you have done. But of all charges and expences why must
this of the daily prayers be the first to be retrenched? Retrench
every vanity and folly, retrench every idle pleasure and diversion,
retrench all your superfluous, all your unnecessary expences, rather
than what you contribute to the public service of God. But no great
matter is required or expected from you. As but a very short portion
of your time is taken up in the daily prayers, so a very small part
of your substance will be sufficient to support so pious and useful
an institution. All that I desire of you is, that of the better sort,
every one would subscribe ten shillings a-year, that is half a crown a
quarter, and of those in lower circumstances every one would subscribe
five or four shillings a year, that is, at least a shilling a quarter.
Some few (to their honour be it spoken) have all along continued to do
the very thing that I desire; but I wish the thing to be general, and
every one of you to do the same. You cannot surely think so small and
inconsiderable a sum any loss or burden to you. You may easily make it
otherwise, by riding out a Sunday or two less in a year, or by going an
evening or two less in a year to Vauxhall or Ranelagh, to the Tavern
or the Play. This you will do, if you are not 'lovers of pleasure more
than lovers of God;' and what you thus 'lend unto the Lord,' will be
_paid_ you in blessings _again_.
"But I would rather prefer another proposal to your consideration,
which probably may be more easy and agreeable to you, as it would be
taking nothing immediately out of your own pockets, and certainly would
be more easy and agreeable to your Ministers, as it would be less
precarious and uncertain, though perhaps not altogether so beneficial.
Whatever may be the case of some few individuals, your parishes are in
general very wealthy. Your poor's-rate is low in comparison to that of
many other parishes, where it is nearly equal to that of the land-tax.
You are in possession of several considerable estates left you by the
piety and charity of former inhabitants, amounting to 300_l._ a year
or more: and these estates being left without any appropriation but
to the best uses of your parishes, how can any part of them be applied
to a better use, or more agreeably to the intention of the pious and
charitable donors, than for the public benefit of men in the public
service of God? Let me therefore recommend it to you, out of these
estates, or in any other method that you may think more proper, to
allow to your Rector, that is, not to your Rector properly, but to your
Rector for his Curate and Reader of the daily prayers, a salary of
_five-and-twenty pounds_ a year, which is no more than three shillings
and three-half-pence in a year from every house: and surely you cannot
refuse so small a boon for the honour and credit of your parishes, for
your own character and reputation, for the good of your own souls and
the souls of others. You see I am very moderate and reasonable in my
demands, and I hope you will be as reasonable in your compliance. This
is not making _godliness a gain_. Only _the labourer is worthy of his
hire_: and you would not pay to a Clergyman for double service in a
day, less than you would pay to a porter.
"Though I have now been your Rector, as I said, these four-and-twenty
years, yet I have never in all that time asked any thing of you. I have
not sent any person to collect your Easter offerings, as other City
Rectors do, and I might also justly have done. I have received nothing
from you but what is strictly my due, and what you are obliged by law
to pay: and I shall think I have very little weight and interest with
you, I shall think that either I have preached the word of God, or
you have heard it, to very little purpose, if after all my services I
cannot obtain this favour from you; not that it is any favour to me,
but as it is a real benefit to yourselves, and may prove the happy
means of your salvation. Your not complying with this request would be
such a disparagement and discouragement to my ministry, that I should
almost despair of ever doing any further good among you, and could
only leave you to your own reflections upon that solemn commination of
Christ unto the Angel of the Church of Ephesus, Rev. ii. 5: 'Remember
from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works; or
else I will come unto thee quickly, and remove thy candlestick out
of its place, except thou repent.' God forbid that this should ever
be your case! On the contrary I wish to say with the Apostle, Heb.
vi. 9, 10, 11: 'Beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and
things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not
unrighteous, to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have
shewed towards his name, in that ye have ministered unto the saints,
and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same
diligence, to the full assurance of hope unto the end:' And with this
trust and confidence in you, I remain, Gentlemen,
"Your loving Friend,
and faithful Servant in Christ Jesus,
"THOMAS BRISTOL."
_March 21, 1768._
"To the Right Reverend Father in God THOMAS Lord
Bishop of Bristol, Rector of the Three United Parishes of St.
Mary-le-Bow, St. Pancras, and Allhallows, Honey-lane.
"My Lord,
"The first sentence in your Address to our united Parishes gave
us inexpressible concern, as we found ourselves charged with some
behaviour which had been the occasion _of great pain and grief to your
Lordship_; but we were happily relieved from this distress, as soon
as your Lordship condescended to mention the nature of the crime with
which we are charged; _viz._ 'That we had suffered the subscription for
the daily prayers to be diminished, and reduced almost to nothing.'
"When we reflect for twenty-four years past you have laboured amongst
us in the Lord, we can have no doubt but this endearing connection
which has so long subsisted between us will occasion your Lordship to
receive with _paternal candour_ every plea we have to offer in our
defence.
"Permit us then to remind your Lordship, that, though the attendance on
the morning prayers has been generally omitted, and the subscription to
them reduced, yet we have hitherto endeavoured to promote the honour
and reputation of St. Mary-le-Bow, all that we could. We acknowledge
with your Lordship, 'that it is one of the first and most conspicuous
Churches in the City,' and we often view its lofty spire both with
pride and pleasure; we are happy in 'its being the principal of the
Archbishop of Canterbury's _peculiars_, the chief Court of Arches,
where so many Bishops are confirmed, and so much public business is
transacted;' and we have always endeavoured, at a great expence, to
keep every part of the Church in such good order, as that it might both
decently and conveniently accommodate the good company which frequently
resort there on the above solemn occasions.--Surely, my Lord, this part
of our conduct must convince the world, and your Lordship, that those
motives which you have suggested to us _have already produced_ every
effect which ought to be expected from them.
"But to enter more particularly into our defence.--Our not attending
these _subscription prayers_ is not generally owing either _to the
want of time_, or to _the desire of saving the expence_, but proceeds
from a very different motive--a motive which we cannot urge, till we
have again bespoke your Lordship's affectionate candour. It is this:
That we are not convinced of 'the reasonableness, the propriety, the
expediency, and necessity of having the daily prayers' at those hours,
and under those circumstances, for which your Lordship so warmly
recommends a subscription; and there are two reasons on which our
doubts are founded.
"The first is, that as your Lordship has undertaken the care of our
souls, and in consequence of this trust, receives at least three
hundred pounds _per annum_, we think ourselves fully authorised to
believe, that this _extraordinary duty_, as your Lordship properly
calls it, cannot be essentially necessary to our salvation; for, if
it was so, it would, and must have been, a part of your _Lordship's
own duty_, and consequently have rendered any extraordinary allowance
unnecessary: And we think ourselves assured, that the other high
offices which your Lordship sustains in the Christian Church could by
no means divert you from duly executing the prior engagements made with
us,--even though you had been obliged to employ a Deputy to share with
you the honour of attempting our salvation.
"Nor, secondly, is it possible that these services referred to should
be omitted, if they were really so absolutely necessary to prevent 'the
eternal reproach and infamy in this world, and the next,' of _us_ who
are committed to your care. Your Lordship, receiving 300_l. per annum_
for watching over this flock, could never permit it to be involved in
_eternal infamy_, when so small a boon (as your Lordship acknowledges)
as 25_l. per annum_ would prevent it. Far from us be such imaginary
fears as these! The great _Apostles_, to whom your Lordship succeeds in
an uninterrupted line, were inspired with such divine zeal to promote
the salvation of men, that so far from their hesitating to part with
twenty-five pounds out of three hundred pounds _per annum_, which is
but 8_l._ 6_s._ 8_d. per cent._ deduction, they calmly received
'bonds and afflictions, neither counted they their lives dear unto
themselves, so that they might finish their course with joy, and the
ministry which they had received.' (Acts xx. 24, &c.) 'They gloried in
having coveted no man's silver or gold' (neither for themselves nor
their Curates); and were enabled to make this honourable appeal to
their flock,--'Ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered
unto our necessities, and to those who were with us.'
"For our part, therefore, we shall rest assured, that as 'the line of
the Apostolic Succession is uninterrupted,' so also is the 'Apostolic
Zeal;' and that, 'as the labourer is worthy of his hire,' so also is
'the hire worthy of a labourer;' and therefore we hope your Lordship
will permit us to conclude, that when a wise, a learned, and pious
Minister of Christ receives _the hire_, he will conscientiously perform
_the labour_, or cause it to be performed.
"Our dependance, therefore, on your Lordship's exact and devout
views of this _awful_ and _responsible connection_ must necessarily
calm every fear on our part concerning our _own_ 'eternal infamy and
reproach on this account;' for we are legally committed to your care,
for the established outward _means of grace_;--and such means as are
absolutely necessary for rendering your Lordship a good Shepherd,
or us a well-fed flock, we are very confident we shall never want,
whilst we have the pleasure of being under your spiritual guidance and
instruction.
"We are, my Lord, your Lordship's
"Most respectful, affectionate,
"and obliged humble servants,
A B C D E F G."
_St. Mary-le-Bow,
April 12, 1768._
When the King of Denmark visited our Court in 1768, he observed the
eagerness of the middle and lower ranks in their attempts to view his
person; and politely ordered that they should be admitted while he
dined. The consequent press and rudeness was such, that the permission
was rescinded after _one_ trial: that rudeness may be estimated by
the following paragraph: "A correspondent observes, in the London
Chronicle, that the crowds which follow after and so rudely press upon
the King of Denmark, render his situation very disagreeable, as he is
constantly obstructed in the gratification of his curiosity at any
public place of diversion, or of seeing any thing curious in or near
the Metropolis, for fear of being stifled. He adds, that he wishes the
people would consider the great rudeness they are guilty of, by thus
treating so very high and respectable a Personage: and let all who
have once had a view of him in any public place pass on, and not stand
staring in the King's face with such intolerable effrontery as too many
have done, to the annoyance of his Majesty, as well as the hindrance of
others from the pleasure of seeing him."
The hospitality with which this Prince was received by the superior
ranks and all the public bodies, particularly the Corporation of
London, deserves the highest commendation.
The practice of Betting is tolerably prevalent at present, and by no
means confined to any particular class of the community. In short, I am
afraid it might be traced very far back in the history of our customs;
but it will be sufficient for the information of the reader, that I
present him with an article from the London Chronicle for 1768, which I
think will remind him of some recent transactions in the City.
"The introduction and amazing progress of illicit gaming at Lloyd's
Coffee-house is, among others, a powerful and very melancholy proof of
the degeneracy of the times. It is astonishing that this practice was
begun, and has been hitherto carried on, by the matchless effrontery
and impudence of one man. It is equally so, that he has met with so
much encouragement from many of the principal Under-writers, who
are, in every other respect, useful members of society: and it is
owing to the lenity of our laws, and want of spirit in the present
administration, that this pernicious practice has not hitherto been
suppressed. Though gaming in any degree (except what is warranted by
law) is perverting the original and useful design of that Coffee-house,
it may in some measure be excusable to speculate on the following
subjects:
"Mr. Wilkes being elected Member for London, which was done from 5 to
50 guineas _per cent._
"Ditto for Middlesex, from 20 to 70 guineas _per cent._
"Alderman B----d's life for one year, now doing at 7 _per cent._
"On Sir J---- H---- being turned out in one year, now doing at 20
guineas _per cent._
"On John Wilkes's life for one year, now doing at 5 _per cent._--N. B.
Warranted to remain in prison during that period.
"On a declaration of war with France or Spain in one year, 8 guineas
_per cent._
"And many other innocent things of that kind.
"But when policies come to be opened on two of the first Peers in
Britain losing their heads within a year, at 10_s._ 6_d. per cent._
and on the dissolution of the present Parliament within one year, at
5 guineas _per cent._ which are now actually doing, and underwrote,
chiefly by Scotsmen, at the above Coffee-house; it is surely high time
for Administration to interfere, and by exerting the rigour of the laws
against the authors and encouragers of such insurances (which must be
done for some bad purpose) effectually put a stop to it."
There are certain wags who find great amusement in contriving wonderful
stories for the publick, which are sometimes circulated verbally, and
frequently inserted in the newspapers.--This waggery has recently
received the elegant term of _hoaxing_. Twice very lately crowds have
been sent to the ship-yards below London to witness the launching of
men of war and Indiamen which were not ready to launch; and last winter
_re-produced_ an old story of a gardener digging a pit to receive the
body of a servant he had seduced, _whom he intended to have murdered_,
had not his master luckily discovered the plan by the intervention of a
dream. Many of these inventions are so slightly contrived that persons
of very little sagacity might detect the impostor; and yet numbers are
deceived.
The newspapers of 1772 furnish a rare instance of this description,
which take _verbatim_:
"At the house of one Mrs. Goulding, a single gentlewoman, at Stockwell,
in the parish of Lambeth, in Surrey, about eleven o'clock in the
forenoon on Monday last, there being no person except herself and
servant (Ann Robinson, aged fifteen years or thereabouts) several
earthen plates, and one dish, of what is called the Queen's-ware, which
were placed on a shelf in one of the kitchens, fell down, and all broke
except the dish, without any visible cause; in a little time after,
several candlesticks, and other things, the furniture of a mantle-piece
in the back kitchen, were thrown into the middle of the floor, though
no person was in that room; then some china, &c. on the mantle-piece
in the other kitchen was in like manner thrown into the middle of the
floor, and broke, and as the pieces lay, they snapped and flew just
as though they had been thrown on an exceeding hot fire; a glazed
lanthorn, which hung on the staircase, was thrown down; a clock also
was thrown down and broke; a red earthen pan, containing salt beef,
flew in pieces, and the beef fell about; and many such like uncommon
things happened; which causing an alarm, the people from the road,
without distinction, ran into the house, some supposing it to be on
fire, others thought the house had received a shock from the explosion
of a powder-mill at Hounslow, which was blown up about an hour before.
However, all concurred in moving the goods; and Mrs. Goulding, together
with her maid-servant, went to Mr. Gresham's, a gentleman who lives
in the next house to Mrs. Goulding's, whither the goods were carried,
and particularly a tray full of china, an iron bread-basket japanned,
two mahogany waiters, several bottles of different sorts of liquors,
a gallipot of jelly, and a pier-glass worth about five pounds, which
glass was taken down by one Mr. Saville (a neighbour to Mrs. Goulding)
who handed it to one Robert Hames, and a part of the gilt-work on each
side of the frame flew off before he could put it down in the garden;
but when it was laid down, remained without farther damage till it was
taken into Mr. Gresham's, and put under a side-board, where it flew to
pieces. Mr. Saville and others going to drink of a bottle of rum and a
bottle of wine, they both flew in pieces, though they were uncorked;
the china in the tray flew in pieces, some while it was in the house,
and the rest in the garden, whither it was removed by the affrighted
spectators after it began to break; the bread-basket was thrown down
and broke, as also were the two mahogany waiters, and the pot of jelly,
together with bottles of liquors and jars of pickles, all of them the
property of Mrs. Goulding. Mrs Goulding, being ill with the fright, was
let blood by Mr. Gardener, a Surgeon of Clapham, who borrowed a pint
china bowl of Mr. Gresham's people to receive the blood, which being
afterwards set upon a side-board, near a bottle of rum, the property of
Mrs. Goulding, both bottle and bowl jumped on the floor and broke, the
bowl going into five pieces (a piece of which is now in the possession
of Mr. Waterfield at the Royal Oak Inn, Vauxhall). Mrs. Goulding and
her servant then went to Mr. Maylin's next door to Mr. Gresham's;
but during their stay there (which was but very short) nothing
extraordinary happened; from thence they went to the house of Farmer
Payne (to whose wife Mrs. Goulding is related) on Rush-common, near
the Wash-way, about half a mile distant from her own house, where they
found Mr. and Miss Gresham, Mr. Payne and his family; it being about
dinner-time, they all dined with Mr. Payne; some time after dinner
Mrs. Goulding's servant was sent home to examine into the state of the
house, and returned with an account that every thing there had been
quiet from the time they left it. In a little time after the return
of the servant, Mr. and Miss Gresham went home (nothing unaccountable
having yet happened at Mr. Payne's); but Mrs. Goulding and her servant
staid, and about seven o'clock in the evening the same kind of uncommon
operations as had been seen at Mrs. Goulding's began at Mr. Payne's,
by seven pewter dishes out of eight falling from the top shelf over a
dresser in the kitchen, without any apparent cause, which was followed
by an infinite number of examples not less strange, and particularly
the following: a pestle and mortar jumped from the mantle-piece in the
kitchen to the floor, about six feet; a row of pewter plates fell from
the second shelf (over the dresser) to the ground, and being taken up,
and put one in the other on the dresser, which is about three feet
high, they were thrown down again, and lay in the same manner as plates
are generally placed on a shelf; the pewter, china, earthen-ware, &c.
were then almost all set upon the floors in the kitchen and parlour (to
prevent being broke or bruised by falling), but four pewter plates were
left on one of the shelves over the dresser, which plates did not move
the whole night. While the things were putting on the ground, a stone
tea-cup jumped out of a beaufet to the floor; on the floor a glass
tumbler jumped about a foot and a half and broke; another that stood
near it jumped also about the same distance, but remained whole for
some hours after, then took another spring and broke also; a china bowl
jumped from the floor in the middle of the parlour, and went behind the
feet of a claw table, which was standing in the same parlour, at the
distance of about eight feet, but did not break at that time, but being
replaced by one Mr. Fowler, remained whole for a considerable time
afterwards, and then flew to pieces; three china cups, which had been
left on the dresser in the kitchen, flew slant-wise across the kitchen
about twelve feet, by which two were broke: an egg flew from the lower
shelf over the dresser, taking the same direction as the cups had
done, and went nearly the same distance; there was another egg on the
shelf, which did not move the whole night: a candlestick flew from the
mantle-piece in the kitchen into the parlour door-way, about fifteen
feet from the place where it stood; a tea-kettle under the dresser was
thrown out about two feet: another tea-kettle, which stood on the side
of the grate, was thrown off against an iron that is fixed to keep the
children from the fire; a mustard-glass, which was a little broke by
some natural accident, was thrown from a table into a pewter-dish on
the floor, at about seven feet distance, but did not break, neither was
it broke afterwards; the cup that had escaped when the other two were
broke (as is before-mentioned) being set on a table in the parlour,
flew off to the distance of nine feet, and broke; a tumbler, with a
little rum and water in it, standing on a waiter upon a table in the
same parlour, jumped about ten feet, and broke; the table then overset,
and threw off a silver tankard of Mrs. Goulding's, a candlestick, and
the waiter the tumbler had jumped from; two hams, which had been hung
up in the chimney to dry, fell down, though the nail and strings on and
by which they had hung were not broke or misplaced; a case-bottle of
liquor, part of which they had just drank, flew into pieces; and, in
short, about four o'clock in the morning of Tuesday, almost every thing
in the parlour and kitchen were animated, and made such a racket, that
Mr. Payne's maid-servant ran up stairs, and took a child out of bed,
and carried it into the stable naked, thinking it was not safe longer
to stay in the house. Mrs. Goulding then seeing the general confusion,
went with her servant across the road to Mr. Fowler's (the same Mr.
Fowler as is before-mentioned in this narrative) and were accompanied
by Mrs. Payne and her son, about nine years of age; and the confusion
at Mr. Payne's immediately ceased, when Mr. Fowler had let them into
his house, he proceeded to light a fire in his back room, which done,
he put the candlestick and candle he had used upon a table in his
fore-room (through which Mrs. Goulding and her servant had passed),
where also stood another candlestick with a tin lamp in it, but they
did not stand long before they were knocked against each other, and
thrown to the ground by some invisible agent; then a lanthorn in the
back-room, that had been used in lighting Mrs. Goulding, &c. across the
road, was thrown to the ground; and lastly a basket of coals, which was
brought from Mr. Payne's, overset, and emptied itself upon the floor.
Mr. Fowler upon this told Mrs. Goulding he feared she had been guilty
of some bad act, as it was plain the cause of such wonderful events
was carried with her; but Mrs. Goulding answered, that her conscience
was clear from any extraordinary evil, and that she could not tell the
cause why she was so troubled, or such like words; however, Mr. Fowler
desired her to quit his house, as he could not afford to have his goods
destroyed; whereupon Mrs. Goulding and her servant left his house,
which has been quiet ever since, and returned to her own house; and,
in a little time after their arrival, a cask with some beer in it was
thrown from its stand, and a pail of water was moved from its place a
little, and some of the water spilled, but nothing more happened; then
she discharged her servant, and has remained quiet ever since."
Another account has the following additional circumstance:
"Some plates of Mr. Gresham's, by way of trial, were placed upon the
same shelf with those of Mrs. Goulding's; the former stood unhurt, the
whole of Mrs. Goulding's were broke in pieces.
"The servant girl is gone home to her father, the clerk of Lewisham
parish; and what remains are now just as inanimate as the furniture of
other houses."
The following extracts from Nugent's translation of M. Grosley's Tour
to London are inserted as the means by which the reader may collect
facts in proof of my opinion, that the manners of the populace are
greatly improved since the above period.
"Amongst the people of London we should properly distinguish the
Porters, Sailors, Chairmen, and the Day-labourers who work in the
streets, not only from persons of condition, most of whom walk a-foot
merely because it is their fancy, but even from the lowest class of
shopkeepers.
"The former are as insolent a rabble as can be met with in countries
without law or police. The French, at whom their rudeness is chiefly
levelled, would be in the wrong to complain, since even the better
sort of Londoners are not exempt from it. Inquire of them your way to
a street: if it be upon the right, they direct you to the left, or
they send you from one of their vulgar comrades to another. The most
shocking abuse and ill language make a part of their pleasantry upon
these occasions. To be assailed in such a manner, it is not absolutely
necessary to be engaged in conversation with them; it is sufficient
to pass by them. My French air, notwithstanding the simplicity of my
dress, drew upon me, at the corner of every street, a volley of abusive
litanies, in the midst of which I slipped on, returning thanks to God I
did not understand English. The constant burthen of these litanies was,
French dog, French b--: to make any answer to them, was accepting a
challenge to fight; and my curiosity did not carry me so far. I saw in
the streets a scuffle of this kind, between a Porter and a Frenchman,
who spit in his face, not being able to make any other answer to the
torrent of abuse which the former poured out against the latter without
any provocation. The late Marshal Saxe, walking through London streets,
happened to have a dispute with a scavenger, which ended in a boxing
bout, wherein his dexterity received the general applause of the
spectators: he let the scavenger come upon him, then seized him by the
neck, and made him fly up into the air, in such a direction, that he
fell into the middle of his cart, which was brimful of dirt.
"Happening to pass one day through Chelsea, in company with an English
gentleman, a number of Watermen drew themselves up in a line, and
attacked him, on my account, with all the opprobrious terms which the
English language can supply, succeeding each other, like students
who defend a thesis: at the third attack, my friend, stepping short,
cried out to them, that they said the finest things in the world, but
unluckily he was deaf: and that, as for me, I did not understand a word
of English, and that their wit was of consequence thrown away upon me.
This remonstrance appeased them; and they returned laughing to their
business.
"M. de la Condamine, in his journey to London two or three years ago,
was followed, wherever he went, by a numerous crowd, who were drawn
together by a great tube of block-tin, which he had always to his ear;
by an unfolded map of London which he held in his hand; and by frequent
pauses, whenever he met with any object worthy of his attention. At
his first going abroad, being frequently hemmed in by the crowd, which
prevented his advancing forward, he cried out to his interpreter, 'What
would all these people have?' Upon this, the interpreter, applying his
mouth to the tube, answered by crying out to him, 'They are making game
of you.' At last they became used to the sight; and ceased to crowd
about him as he walked the streets.
"The day after my arrival, my servant discovered, by sad experience,
what liberties the mob are accustomed to take with the French, and
all who have the appearance of being such. He had followed the crowd
to Tyburn, where three rogues were hanged, two of whom were father
and son. The execution being over, as he was returning home through
Oxford-road with the remains of the numerous multitude which had been
present at the execution, he was attacked by two or three blackguards;
and, the crowd having soon surrounded him, he made a sight for the
rabble. Jack Ketch, the executioner, joined in the sport, and entering
the circle, struck the poor sufferer upon the shoulder. They began to
drag him about by the skirts of his coat, and by his shoulder-knot;
when luckily for him, he was perceived by three grenadiers belonging
to the French guards, who, having deserted, and crossed the seas, were
then drinking at an ale-house hard by the scene of action. Armed with
such weapons as chance presented them, they suddenly attacked the mob,
laid on soundly upon such as came within their reach, and brought
their countryman off safe to the ale-house, and from thence to my
lodgings. Seven or eight campaigns which he had served with an officer
in the gens-d'armes, and a year which he afterwards passed in Italy,
had not sufficiently inured him to bear this rough treatment; it had
a most surprising effect upon him. He shut himself up in the house a
fortnight, where he vented his indignation in continual imprecations
against England and the English. Strong and robust as he was, if he
had had any knowledge of the language and the country, he might have
come off nobly, by proposing a boxing bout to the man whom he thought
weakest amongst the crowd of assailants: if victorious, he would have
been honourably brought home, and had his triumph celebrated even by
those who now joined against him. This is the first law of this species
of combat; a law which the English punctually observe in the heat of
battle, where the vanquished always find a generous conqueror in that
nation. This should seem to prove, in contradiction to Hobbes, that in
the state of nature, a state with which the street-scufflers of London
are closely connected, man, who is by fits wicked and cruel, is, at the
bottom, good-natured and generous.
"I have already observed, that the English themselves are not secure
from the insolence of the London mob. I had a proof of this from the
young Surgeon who accompanied me from Paris to Boulogne.
"At the first visit which he paid me in London, he informed me, that, a
few days after his arrival, happening to take a walk through the fields
on the Surrey-side of the Thames, dressed in a little green frock which
he had brought from Paris, he was attacked by three of those gentlemen
of the mobility, who, taking him for a Frenchman, not only abused him
with the foulest language, but gave him two or three slaps on the face.
'Luckily,' added he in French, 'I did not return their ill language;
for, if I had, they would certainly have thrown me into the Thames,
as they assured me they would, as soon as they perceived I was an
Englishman, if I ever happened to come in their way again in my Paris
dress.'
"A Portuguese of my acquaintance, taking a walk in the same fields,
with three of his countrymen, their conversation in Portuguese was
interrupted by two Watermen, who, doubling their fists at them, cried,
'French dogs, speak your damned French, if you dare.'
"Happening to go one evening from the part of the town where I lived
to the Museum, I passed by the Seven-dials. The place was crowded
with people waiting to see a poor wretch stand in the pillory, whose
punishment was deferred to another day. The mob, provoked at this
disappointment, vented their rage upon all that passed that way,
whether a-foot or in coaches; and threw at them dirt, rotten eggs, dead
dogs, and all sorts of trash and ordure, which they had provided to
pelt the unhappy wretch, according to custom. Their fury fell chiefly
upon the hackney-coaches, the drivers of which they forced to salute
them with their whips and their hats, and to cry _huzza_; which word
is a signal for rallying in all public frays. The disturbance upon
this occasion was so much the greater, as the person who was to have
acted the principal part in the scene, which by being postponed had put
the rabble into such an ill-humour, belonged to the nation which that
rabble thinks it has most right to insult.
"In England, no rank or dignity is secure from their insults. The young
Queen herself was exposed to them upon her first arrival at London: the
rabble was affronted at her Majesty's keeping one window of her sedan
chair drawn up.
"The politeness, the civility, and the officiousness of people of
good breeding, whom we meet in the streets, as well as the obliging
readiness of the citizens and shopkeepers, even of the inferior sort,
sufficiently indemnify and console us for the insolence of the mob, as
I have often experienced.
"Whatever haste a gentleman may be in, whom you happen to meet in the
streets, as soon as you speak to him, he stops to answer, and often
steps out of his way to direct you, or to consign you to the care of
some one who seems to be going the same way. A gentleman one day put
me in this manner under the care of a handsome young directress, who
was returning home with a fine young child in her arms. I travelled on
very agreeably, though I had a great way to go, lending an arm to my
guide; and we conversed together as well as two persons could do, one
of whom scarce understood a word spoken by the other. I had frequent
conversations of this sort in the streets, in which, notwithstanding
all the pains I took to make myself understood, and others took to
understand me, I could not succeed: I then would quit my guide, and say
to him, with a laugh, and squeeze of the hand, _Tower of Babylon_! He
would laugh on his side likewise; and so we used to part.
"Having occasion to inquire for a certain person in Oxford-road, I
shewed his address at the first shop I came to; when out stepped a
young man, in white silk stockings, a waistcoat of fine cloth, and
an apron about his waist. After having examined whether I was able
to follow him, he made me a sign, and began to run on before me.
During this race, which was from one end of the street to the other, I
thought that my guide had interest in view; and therefore I got ready a
shilling, which I offered him upon arriving at the proper place; but he
refused it with generous disdain, and taking hold of my hand, which he
shook violently, he thanked me for the pleasure I had procured him. I
afterwards saw him at the tabernacle of the Methodists.
"To take a man in this manner by the arm, and shake it till his
shoulder is almost dislocated, is one of the grand testimonies of
friendship which the English give each other, when they happen to meet:
this they do very coolly; there is no expression of friendship in their
countenances, yet the whole soul enters the arm which gives the shake.
This supplies the place of the embraces and salutes of the French.
The English seem to regulate their behaviour upon these occasions by
the rules prescribed by Alexander Severus to those who approached his
person[390:A].
"I met with the same politeness and civil treatment at all the public
and private assemblies to which I was admitted. At the House of Lords
as well as at the House of Commons, a foreigner may take the liberty
to address himself to any gentleman who understands his language; and
those who are applied to upon these occasions think it their duty
to answer his questions. At the first meeting of the House of Lords
to try Lord Byron, I happened to be seated amidst a family as much
distinguished by their high rank as their amiable qualities. They all
shewed the utmost eagerness to satisfy my curiosity with regard to the
several particulars of this extraordinary spectacle; to explain to me
all that was said; to instruct me with regard to the origin of the most
remarkable ceremonies; and, in fine, to share with me the refreshments,
which the length of the trial made it necessary for them to provide.
"When the King came to the House of Lords to give the royal assent
to Bills, one of the Bishops near whom I was seated offered to be my
interpreter; and he took upon him to serve me in that capacity during
the whole time I staid.
"At the courts of Common Pleas, King's Bench, and Exchequer, in
Westminster, I seated myself amongst the Lawyers; and upon my speaking
French to the two next me, neither of whom happened to understand that
language, one of them rose, and brought a brother Lawyer, who, being
acquainted with the French tongue, explained to me the best he could
all that passed.
"At the play-houses and other public diversions, I had the same good
fortune. Those that did not understand me, were eager to look for
somebody that did; and my interpreter, who had taken a bottle of wine
with him, never drank without afterwards presenting me with it: I made
it a rule to drink, because having declined the first time it was
offered, I was given to understand, that such a refusal was contrary to
the laws of English politeness.
"It must, however, be observed, that this obliging behaviour is not
accompanied with all those external demonstrations of civility, which
are customary upon such occasions in France. If an English gentleman,
who did not understand me, went in quest of an interpreter, he rose,
and quitted me with an air, which seemed rather to be that of a
whimsical humourist, than of a gentleman who was going to do a polite
action; and I saw no more of him.
"I met with the same civility and complaisance amongst all the
shop-keepers, whether great or little. The tradesman sent his son or
his daughter to me, who often served me as guide, after having first
acted as an interpreter: for some years past, the French language has
been taught as universally as the English, in all the boarding-schools
of London; so that French will soon be by choice the language of the
people of England, as it was by constraint and necessity under the
Norman Kings. This is a demonstration, that the antipathy of that
Nation for every thing belonging to the French is not universal and
without exception.
"The French are apt to imagine, that it is on account of their country
they are pushed and shoved in the most frequented streets, and often
driven into the kennel; but they are mistaken. The English walk very
fast: their thoughts being entirely engrossed by business, they are
very punctual to their appointments, and those who happen to be in
their way are sure to be sufferers by it: constantly darting forward,
they jostle them with a force proportioned to their bulk and the
velocity of their motion. I have seen foreigners, not used to this
exercise, let themselves be tossed and whirled about a long time, in
the midst of a crowd of passengers, who had nothing else in view but to
get forward. Having soon adopted the English custom, I made the best
of my way through crowded streets, exerting my utmost efforts to shun
persons who were equally careful to avoid me.
"We should be equally in an error, if we were to imagine that the
English fashions, diametrically opposite to those of France, are
contrived in the manner they are, in order to avoid all resemblance
to those of our Nation: on the contrary, if the former are any way
influenced by the latter, it is by the desire of imitating them. A mode
begins to be out of date at Paris, just when it has been introduced at
London by some English Nobleman. The Court and the first-rate Nobility
immediately take it up: it is next introduced about St. James's by
those that ape the manners of the Court; and by the time it has reached
the City, a contrary mode already prevails at Paris, where the English,
bringing with them the obsolete mode, appear like the people of another
world. The little hats, for example, at present so fashionable in
France, begin to be wore by the Nobility, who borrowed the model from
Paris: by degrees the English will come at the diminutive size; but the
great hats will then be resumed at Paris. This holds good in general,
with regard both to men and women's apparel."
It has long been customary for the lower classes to hold a burlesque
election at Wandsworth after a dissolution of Parliament for the
choice of a Mayor of Garratt. To describe the strange proceedings
of the candidates, who are always selected from the most ludicrous
or most hideous of the community, or the riotous freaks of the mob,
would be impossible. One vast wave of the populace rolls impetuous
from London after the candidates and officers of the election; and,
if there is but little taste in their dresses, there is always much
"unreal mockery" of finery disposed in a manner which cannot but excite
laughter, and the curiosity of those who are but little satisfied to
witness the quarrels and intoxication that distinguish the electors of
the borough of Garratt.
Many whimsical and satirical imitations of speeches and promises are
made upon these occasions; but the electors, contrary to the customs of
other elections, always _treat themselves_, though _tin_ sixpences have
sometimes been thrown amongst the mob _as bribes_.
The present member for Garratt is _Sir_ Henry Dimsdale, Citizen and
Muffin-seller, one of the oddest productions of injured nature, _and
an idiot_. It is strange that the people who act these follies cannot
perceive they are satirizing themselves. If they were not willing to
be deceived, promises never meant to be performed would not be made;
and, if they would neither receive bribes nor be treated, candidates
would never offer the former, or furnish materials for the latter. When
they chair a real member through Westminster, after having violated the
freedom of election by deeds which deserve hanging, these wanton fools
pull the hustings over their own heads, and frequently maim peaceable
spectators.--Such are the electors of Garratt and . . . . . . . . !