Sketches in London ... Third edition

Front matter

£Æ.e__6 ■ BjthepoTiffa's! e__l__D_edl_L__s ctraii7hjp____,afifi__i 011077 irradiatiiigliis cc__.t6_.ance asliega_e_a_M_KBrthe powers! xliatsame's justthj? thing'. Isritit,: ; amS-rife.. SKETCHES IN LONDON. BY JAMES GRANT, AUTHOR O. " RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE LORDS AND COMMONS," "THE GREAT METROPOLIS," &c. &c. WITH Œfoentg'JFour humorous Illustrations BY "PHIZ," AND OTHERS. •' Many poople wonder at the love of London. Why so ? It is certainly the beet Sumtrur residence— none other is so cool.— The best abode in Winter— for none other is so warm.— The rich prefor it for containing every luxury ; and for the poor, where can money be made to go so far ?"— Sir F. B. Head. THIRD EDITION. LONDON : WILLIAM TEGG, 85, QUEEN STREET, CHEAPSIDE. MDCCCL.

Preface

. In presenting this volume to the public, the Author thinks it proper to mention that his object has been to exhibit life in London in some ofthe more striking aspects it assumes; and at the same time to lay before the reader such information respecting this modern Babylon, as may prove instructive as well as amusing. Everything the Author has described, has either come under his own observation, or been verbally communi cated to him by friends who were cognizant of the facts stated, and in whose veracity he could place -the utmost reliance ; and he trusts that the work will be found to contain a great amount of information which is not only nowhere else to be found, but which is possessed of permanent interest. With regard to the Illustrations by 44 Phiz," which embellish the volume, the Author can speak more unreservedly than he could do of the letter-press.

They are among the happiest achievements of the genius of one who, though yet but young in years, is unquestionably, in this particular style of engraving, the first artist of the day. London, September I, 1838. PAGE CONTENTS.

Chapter I. Begging Impostors

Begging-letter Impostors — Their supposed number — Probable amount of the money they receive — Probable number of letters they send, with the proportion of successful to unsuccessful applications — General materials of their letters — Occasional remarks on the result of their applications — Means bjr which they obtain available information regarding the parties to whom they apply — Modes of going to work — Illustrative anecdotes — Underwood anfl other begging-letter impostors — Specimens of their letters, &c. — Street-begging impostors — Their probable number, aud the amount of their aggregate gains — Large sums which some of them have amassed — Expedients resorted to by them in the prosecution of their calling — Instances of feigned distress — Blind beggars — Speculations in the business of begging — Begging copartneries — Professional rehearsals — Meetings and carnivals of the fraternity — Crossing-sweepers ........... 1

Chapter II

. DEBTORS' PRISONS THE QUEEN'S BENCH. Debtors' Prisons — The various debtors' prisons — The average number of prisoners in each — The Queen's Bench ; extent and nature of the accommodation in it — The practice of chumming prisoners — Shops, business, &e. — Story nf the Pie-man— The tap-room — Eccentric characters — Tom Snaggs — Circumstances under which persons are imprisoned— Partiality of some of the prisoners to the Queen's Bench — Striking instance of this — Efforts made by some of the prisoners to keep up their former dignity — Story of a dinner — Various classes of persons in the Queen's Bench— Changes in the external appearance of the better class of prisoners after they have beeii a short time in the place — Unexpected meetings of friends in the Bench — Illustrative anecdotes — General observations, and anecdotes CONTENTS. ■n

Chapter III. The Lumber Troop

PAGE Origin of the Troop — Distinguished members— Coat of Arms— Troop Hall— Admission of distinguished members— Remarks on the Charge delivered on the admission of Troopers of distinction — System of punishments adopted by the Troop — Scenes which sometimes occur on the proposed exaction oe fines— An instance given— Visit of the City Members to Troop Hall— Their speeches on the occasion — The uproarious scenes which sometimes occur — 89 Specimen of one — Miscellaneous observations

Chapter IV. The Victoria Farliamemt

Meeting of Parliament — Taking the uaths — Introduction of a new Peer into the House of Lords — Further observations on taking the oaths — Mr. O'Connell's manner in taking the oaths — Opening of the Parliament by her Majesty in person — Appearance of the House of Lords on the occasion — Conduct of the members o' the House of Commons on being summoned into the presence of the Queen — The Queen's delivery of her speech — Her Majesty's personal appearance — Moving the Address in the Lords, in answer to the Queen's speech — The Duke of Sussex — Lord Portman — Lord Broughan — The Address in the Commons — Lord Leveson — Mr. Gibson Craig — Scenes in the House of Commons — A missing amendment which had been moved by Mr. Daniel Whittle Harvey — Parliamentary debuts in the present session — Mr. Blewitt — Mr. D'lsraeli — Remarks on the reception of the latter gentleman by the House — New members — Miscellaneous observations . . . .129

Chapter V. Penny Theatres

Their supposed number — Computed attendance in them — Their moral tendency — The manner in which they are fitted up — Destitute condition of the performers — Squabbles between proprietors and actors about pay — Differences among the performers — Abridging pieces — Character of the productions written by the actors — The intimacy which subsists between the actors and the audience — Dramatic taste of the audiences — Specimens of the pieces — The play-bills — Mr. Guff and his bear — Mr. Abel Smith's two dogs — Quality of the acting — The suppression of the Penny Theatres recommended . . CONTENTS. ■'II

Chapter VI. The Police Offices

PAGE Their Number and Names — Remarks on Bow Street Office — The Thames Police Office — The Magistrates — Number of cases daily brought before them — Yearly Expenses of the Police Offices — Their Expenses Forty Years ago — The Station Houses — Anecdote of a Prisoner — Scenes to be witnessed in the Station Houses — Exhibitions of Human Nature to be witnessed in the Police Offices — Specimens given — North Country Simplicity — The Poetical Cobbler — A Drunken Frolic — Case of alleged Horse-Stealing .... 193

Chapter VII. Workhouses

Inmates of Workhouses — The Republican Character of the Communities in Workhouses — Difficulty of obtaining accurate Statistics regarding them — Marylebone Workhouse — Its Size and Statistics — Statements and Calculations as to Metropolitan Workhouses generally — Farming out Paupers — The Horror generally entertained of the Workhouse — Description of a particular case, illustrative of the fact— The Romantic Incidents in the life of many inmates The New Poor-Law Bill— Its Harshness and Injustice to the poor— Concluding observations 225

Chapter VIII. Lunatic Asylums

Difficulty of obtaining accurate Information on the subject of the Lunatic Asylums in London — Private Madhouses — Their Number, and the Number, &c, of their inmates — Public Lunatic Asylums — St. Luke's — Bethlcm — Hanwell Asylum — Insanity on one particular point, while on all other points the party is quite rational — Sanity on one point, while on all others the parties are insane — Diversified ways in whicli Insanity manifests itself — Partiality of particular lunatics to particular employments — Instances given — Cunning of some lunatics—Their great Physical Energies — Harsh Treatment they sometimes receive — General Remarks 257

Chapter IX. Bartholomew And Greenwich Fairs

Prefatory Remarks— Bartholomew Fair — The Numbers which attend it — Descriptive Observations— Greenwich Fair— The Numbers which frequent it— The Voyage downward — Throwing the Stick, and other Games — The Park — The Hill— Blackheath— The Appearance of the Fair— Supply of Commodities —Exhibitions— Theatres— Gamblers and Gaming— Swings— Booths— Immoral Tendencv of the Fair • CONTENTS.

Chapter X. Courts Of Requests

PAGE Their Origin and Objects — Their Number, and for what Districts — The Westminster Court of Requests — The Court of Requests for the Borough — The Court of Requests for the City — The Court of Requests for the Tower Hamlets — The County Court of Requests — Mode of proceeding in the Courts of Requests — Number of Suits instituted for various sums — Curious Cases decided at these Courts — Instances given — The Useless Cradle — Board, Lodging, and Love— The Ultra-Radical Patriot — The Cambric Pocket Handkerchief — An Affecting Case — Utility of Courts of Requests . . . 321

CHAPTER XL GAMING-HOUSES AND GAMBLERS.

Supposed origin of Gambling — Little known of its History — Increase in the number of Gaming-Houses in London — Many of them kept open all day — How managed — Morals of the Upper Classes, in connexion with Gambling — Visit to a Gambling-House — Anxiety consequent upon Gambling — Its pernicious effects on the Mind— Suicides caused by play — The Injuries it entails on Relatives and Families — Insidious Character of Gambling — Gambling in the last century — Female Gamblers — Cheating at the Gambling- Table — Instances of the Debasing Tendencies of Gambling — Universality of the Vice — The Propriety of doing something to put an end to Gambling . 535

Chapter XII. The Metropolitan And City Police

Introduction of the New System — The Old Police — Number, Salaries, &c, of the New Police — Their Organization — Pensions for the aged and infirm of their number recommended — Character of the New Police Difference between them and the Old Police, in regard to their trustworthiness and efficiency — The City Police — Its Composition, and the Expense of its Maintenance — Number of the City Police — Contemplated Amalgamation of the Metropolitan and City Police — Diminution of Crime since the introduction of the New Police — Their Ingenuity in tracing out guilty parties — Reference to the French system of Police

Chapter I. Begging Impostors

Begging-letter Impostors — Their supposed number — Probable amount of the money they receive — Probable number of letters they send, with the proportion of sac. cessful to unsuccessful applications— General materials of their letters Occasional remarks on the result of their applications — Means by which they obtain available information regarding the parties to whom they apply — Modes of going to work — Illustrative anecdotes — Underwood and other begging-letter impostors — Specimens of their letters, &c. — Street-begging impostors — Their probable number, and the amount of their aggregate gains — Large sums which some of them have amassed — Expedients resorted to by them in the prosecution of their calling — Instances of feigned distress — Blind beggars — Speculations in the business of begging — Begging copartneries — Professional rehearsals — Meetings and carnivals of the fraternity — Crossings sweepers.

London is proverbial all the world over for the number and ingenuity of the tricks which are daily practised in it ; but per haps there is no department of metropolitan roguery in which a greater amount of ingenuity is displayed than in that of begging. The London beggars are divided into a great variety of classes ; but I shall confine myself to the begging impostors who ply their avocation by means of letters, and to those who by the assumption of distress which they do not actually feel, endeavour, in the open streets, to enlist the sympathies of the charitable and humane in their behalf. Of the begging-letter class of impostors, it is exceedingly difficult to obtain statistical information so copious as could be desired. I have been at great pains to possess myself of as full and accurate particulars as are accessible.

If I have not succeeded to the extent of my own wishes as regards the copiousness of my facts. I have great reason for reposing an implicit reliance on the accuracy of those I have ascertained. I need hardly say, that it is impossible to ascertain what may be the average number of persons in the metropolis who make a trade of writing begging-letters. There can be no question that hundreds do so who are either never detected in the practice, or who if they are so by some of the individuals on whom they have sought to impose, are never publicly exposed ; and conse quently their names are unknown. A guess, however, may be made at the number of these men. The great majority of them confine their attempts at deception to the nobility and gentry. The reason is obvious enough ; they know, in the first place, that the aristocracy are so much occupied with other matters, that they are less likely than the middle classes of society to put themselves to the trouble, in the event of any suspicion of attempted imposition, of detecting and prosecuting the offenders ; in the second place, they know that, while the chances of detection are less with the nobility and the more affluent portion of the gentry, than with persons in an humbler sphere of life, they will necessarily, in the event of success, reap a much more abundant harvest from the former than from the latter.

Half a crown, or five shillings, even were their tale of distress be lieved, would bo all that they could, taking one case with another, expect to receive from persons in the middle classes of society ; whereas, with the aristocracy they never dream of a successful effort being productive of less than a sovereign ; while the average produce, from calculations I have made, and which they, as a matter of course have made long before me, is about fifty shillings. Assuming, then, as before stated, that the vast majority of people who follow the avocation of writing and sending letters soliciting charity under got-up cases of -distress, confine their business to the higher classes, I am enabled by means of data which are in my possession, to form something like a confident conjecture as to the average number of such impostors.

Some time ago I saw a letter from a nobleman of a very humane and benevolent disposition, in which it was stated that, in the course of the year, he had received nearly three hundred and fifty begging letters, all of which were dated from London, and de tailed trumped-up cases of the deepest distress. The noble lord, before remitting any amount of money in answer to either of the letters, took the precaution, which he had been led to do from having been so often imposed on before, of inquiring into the individual cases. And what does the reader suppose was the result . Why that forty -nine out of every fifty of the parties were gross impostors. And as these persons are, for the most part, men of great shrewdness, it is fair presumption that they would take care to find out who were the noblemen to whom BBGOING IMPOSTORS. they might apply with the greatest prospect of success, and, consequently, that the nobleman to whom I refer was not likely to be overlooked by many of them.

In all the circumstances, I think it is a very moderate computation when I suppose the average number of those who live by begging-letter impositions to be about two hundred and fifty. Another question will very naturally be asked — " What is the probable amount per annum which is averaged by the begging letter impostors?" If I cannot answer the question with an absolute certainty, I have facts in my possession which enable me to speak with confidence as to what is near the sum. The highest which any one of the fraternity was in tho habit of yearly deriving from his impositions, was very nearly 1000/. This may appear an incredible sum ; it is nevertheless a true one. I shall have occasion to refer to the case more particularly in an after part of the chapter. The lowest sum earned by any of. the supposed two hundred and fifty begging-letter impostors to whom I have alluded, cannot be under 100/. a year ; but as a greater number are between this sum and that of 300/. than there are above the latter amount, I should suppose that if the average sum were estimated at tho intermediate sum of 200/. we are pretty near the mark.

This, then, would give no less than 50,000/., out of which the benevolent public of London, chiefly the nobility, are annually swindled by the begging-letter impostors. I have been at some pains to ascertain the probable number of begging-letters which are, on an average, daily addressed to noblemen, gentlemen, and ladies in the metropolis. To speak with any thing like certainty on the subject were, of course, out of the question. From all the facts I have been able to learn, I should. suppose that there must be at least, speaking in round numbers, 1000 such letters written everyday by these impostors. Those who confine themselves to what they call the higher game, namely, the nobility and affluent gentry, do not deal.to a great extent in epistles of this description, because the field is of ne cessity comparatively limited, and also because if they succeed in one case out of five they make a rich harvest, seldom receiving less than two sovereigns, in many instances five, in some ten, and occasionally, though very rarely, as high as twenty ; but in my computation as to the probable number of begging-letters written daily in London, I include the class of impostors who chiefly, if not exclusively, confine their labours to epistolary applications to clergymen, dissenting ministers, and other persons of known benevolence, in the middle ranks of life.

Instances consist with my own personal knowledge of an individual of this last class of impostors, writing no fewer than twenty of these Utters in a day. Not long since sixteen letters of this descripb2 tion, all sealed and ready for delivery, were found in a basket at the house of one of these persons, in Blackfriars Road ; and it was ascertained that all the sixteen had been intended to be for warded to their respective destinations within a few hours after the discovery. If then some of these rogues are so indefatigable in their epistolary attempts on the pockets of the charitable and humane, as to pen twenty letters in one day, surely, considering their number, and after making every allowance for the compa ratively contracted labours of the least industrious portion of the swindling community, there is nothing extravagant in the supposition that 1000 such letters are daily indited and forwarded to their several destinations in London.

As to the average proportion the successful bear to the un successful applications in such cases, I have no data on which to ground even a confident conjecture. The comparative success in individual cases depends, as a matter of course, on the dexterity of the parties. To insure distinguished success as a begging-letter impostor, two things are indispensable ; first, judgment in the selection of the persons on whose pockets the attempt is to be made ; and secondly, skill or ingenuity in de ciding on the form or mode of making it. These are just as necessary to success in this way, as the choice of a proper place and a skilful baiting of the hook, are to success in angling for any species ofthe finny tribe. The difference in the comparative success of the begging-letter impostors is very great.

Some do not succeed in above one case out of twenty ; others success fully practise their impositions every fifth time they make the attempt. I believe that this last amount of success is the most distinguished that any of them meet with. It will appear on the first blush of the thing incredible, but the fact has in various cases been established beyond all question, that some of the more successful begging-letter writers keep their clerks, and sport their horses and gigs. This was the case with blind Williams, so well known in town some years ago. It was ascertained at the time, that his annual income, from his begging epistles, averaged from 600/. to 800/. He regularly em ployed two clerks, at a salary, if I remember rightly, of 80/, a-year, in the one case, and 50/. in the other. He also kept his horse and gig, and might often be seen " showing off" in the most fashionable parts of the town.

He kept his mistress also, and on his death, his principal clerk, Joseph Underwood, of whom I shall have to speak hereafter, actually married her, regarding the printed documents and business materials* of her late " pro tector" — for so the term is in such cases perverted — as equivalent I shall astei wards have occasion to state of what this stock in trade consisted. to a fortune. The other clerk of Williams also afterwards esta blished a good business, on his own account, in the begging-letter way ; but it was not nearly equal to that of his late employer. A common practice in the begging-letter business is, for a number of impostors to enter into a sort of partnership together, it being found that the trade can generally be carried on most successfully that way. In such cases, however, they do not all " share-and-share alike."

The company, if I may so speak, is formed on the banditti principle ; in other words, they have always a head who acts in the capacity of a general, and all their movements or "operations," as they themselves phrase it, must be in strict conformity with his instructions. The late notorious Peter Hill, whose case was brought so prominently before the public ten or twelve years since, was the head of one of these companies or gangs. It was ascertained, beyond all question, at the period to which I refer, that the average amount of which the charitable public were daily plundered by the impositions of Peter and his gang, was upwards of 20/. His own share, alter paying all the subordinates, or his "men,1' as he used to call them, and after deducting for expenses, in the shape of paper, postage, and other incidentals, was not much under 600/. a-year.

Of all the begging-letter impostors of whom I have heard, Peter was unequalled in the facility and success with which he could change his personal appearance. In the course of one day he could assume and sustain, with admirable effect, seven or eight different characters ; so that those who saw him, and were conversing with him, at ten o'clock in the morning, might have been in his company at twelve, and never had the slightest suspicion of the fact. He had a pair of huge artificial whiskers, which he put on and off just as he pleased ; and he had also a pair of moveable mustachios, which a Spanish Don would have looked on with envious eye. Of wigs, too, he had an abundant supply, embracing every variety of colour ; while his wardrobe was so extensive, that you would have thought he had purchased tho entire contents of some Jew clothesman's shop in Holywell-street.

By these means, coupled with great natural cleverness, he was able to assume so many different characters, and to appear so very unlike himself, if there be not an Irishism in the expression, that, though the Mendicity Society had at one time no fewer than three hundred cases of begging letter impos tures against him, and though its officers had repeatedly seen him in the police-offices, they passed him day after day in the public streets, without recognising him. I may mention one fact, out of hundreds, illustrative of the singular adroitness with which he managed to disguise himself, and to assume different characters; namely, that he applied personally one morning to the Earl et Harrowby, as an unbeneficed clergyman of the Church of Eng land, in great distress, when he received a sovereign, and in tho evening in the character of an unfortunate portrait-painter, when he again received a sovereign from the hands of the noble Earl, after having had a personal interview with his Lordship on both occasions.

The notorious Underwood, who was brought so prominently before the public three or four years ago, under innumerable aliases, was also the head or general of a gang of this description. He is the impostor to whom I have before alluded as having netted about 1000/. per annum as his own share of the plunder. He also jkept his gig, and had a private clerk at a handsome salary. Underwood made one of the most successful single hits to be found, perhaps, in the annals of the letter-begging profes sion. Not many years since, he swindled the late Earl of Ply mouth out of 50/. by one letter. I know several instances in which 20/., 25/., and even 30/., have been got at once ; but this is the only case which has come to my knowledge of 50/. being given at a time. When I come to describe some of the in genious expedients resorted to by these impostors in the prosecution of their avocation, I shall refer to the way in which the above benevolent nobleman was swindled out of his 50/., and shall, at the same time, make some observations on Underwood's qualifications for his profession.

The more experienced class of begging-letter writers conduct their operations on the most approved business principles. In addition to their constantly retaining clerks in their employ, whenever the success of their schemes will justify that expense, they keep their books in the most perfect order. There is not a merchant in the city who is more regular or correct in this way. They make a memorandum of each day's proceedings, which an s vers to the day-book of the merchant ; while they have also a book corresponding with the ledger of the mercantile man. All the begging-letter impostors who carry on an extensive business keep a regular diary of their proceedings. The following is copied from one of the morning papers of June last, as the journal of a notorious impostor named John Douglas, who was only liberated from the House of Correction, where he had been confined for his fraudulent practices, in September.

I may just observe, that I some time since saw the original of the journal, but not having access to it at present, I. am obliged to quote the extract from the morning paper referred to. It will be seen that, in most cases, the writer first mentions the name of the party applied to ; then the assumed name in which the ap plication is made; thirdly, the fictitious case of distress got up ; and lastly, the result of the application where successful. In some cases one or two terms are made use of, as " Derry''' in the first entry, which are not so intelligible : — F'eb. 6. — Marquis of Bristol. Derry ; Mary Cole ; blind ; seven chil dren ; three cripples. Feb. 8. — Admiral Curzon. Ship Pallas ; Sam Bowden, mate ; seized for 41. 4s. rent ; paralytic stroke. Result, 21. Feb. 1.5. — Admiral Curzon.

Ship Douglas ; Powden, Mackey, and Bill Stroud, cripples, and two stone blind. Received 21. Feb. 26. — Sir Peter Durham. Lieutenant Spratt ; leg off; hard up. Result, 20/. March 12 — Countess of Mansfield. Widow; nine children ; hoop ing cough ; cholera morbus ; measles. March 14. — Lord Melbourne. Jane Simpson ; father blind ; mother aead ; no money to bury her. March 18. — Countess of Mansfield. Daughter supporting mother and grandmother by needle-work ; lost use of both hands ; furniture seized for 61. 10s. Received 3/. March 24. — Earl Fitzwilliam. Goods seized for 41. 4s. ; no bed ; wife just lying-in. Result, 21. The above is, of course, but a mere skeleton or outline of the letters which are addressed. The writers dwell with an edifying circumstantiality, and expatiate with an amazing pathos, on the pretended cases of distress ; and are great adepts at that sort of flattery of the persons addressed, which, to use their own ex pression, is most likely to ''gammon" them.

Of the admirable tactics of these epistolarian impostors I shall have occasion to speak at greater iength by-and-bye, when I shad give some ap proved specimens of their correspondence. Some of the begging-letter writers occasionally make droll remarks in their journals, as to the result of their applications. The following is a specimen : — June 20 Addressed the Duke of Richmond under the name of John Smith ; case, leg amputated, out of work for six months, aud wife and seven children starving. Result, 21. Not amiss, but hope to be more successful next time. June 25. — Letter to Bishop of London ; name, William Ander son ; case, licensed clergyman of the Church of England, but unem ployed for four years, and wife dead three weeks ago, leaving five mother less children. Result, no go ; too old a bird to be caught with chaff; but try it on again next week.

June 28. — Try Sir Peter Laurie ; case, industrious Scotchman, but no employment ,- lived on bread and water for eight days, but no bread, nor anything to eat, for the last three days ; name, John Laurie. Re sult, referred to the Mendicity Society, Sir Peter being too far north to be done; knowing rogues these Scotchmen; there is no gammoning them. June 30.— Addressed Sir Peter Durham ; case, lost a leg and arm in the service; was one of his men on board the ship Pallas ; great desti tution ; not even as much as to get my timber leg repaired, being broken by accident ; name, Jack Scraggs. Result 51. ; Sir Peter a regular trump ; drink his health in a bottle of best Madeira ; have at him again in a fortnight or so ; plenty more cases to be got up ; plenty more names to assume. July 4. — Address Lord Wyndford ; name, Samuel Downie ; case, ruined by attachment to Toryism ; have often detected treasonable con spiracies, and been a proscribed man by my former acquaintances in con sequence ; great hater of Reform, which means Revolution ; ready to shed my blood in defence of Church and State.