XVI. FOOD…

XVI. FOOD

(LIQUID.)

Beer -- Hard drinking -- 'Whetters' -- Wines -- List of French and Spanish wines -- Wines of other countries -- Duties on wines -- Spirits -- Liqueurs -- Homemade wines -- Prices of tea -- Adulteration -- Price of coffee -- Chocolate -- Its price -- Duty on.

Beer always has been the alcoholic liquor most largely consumed in England, and, among the poorer and lower middle classes, it was so in Anne's reign; but it was looked down upon, and despised, by the upper classes. It was of different qualities, from the 'penny Nipperkin of Molassas Ale'[269] to 'a pint of Ale cost me fivepence.'[270] Not only were there the local brewers in London, but the excellence of 'right Darby' and 'Sleeford or Lincolnshire' ales was such that these breweries were represented. 'Right North Country Pale Ale ready bottled at 4_s._ per dozen' was also to be had; and pale ale was exported. 'Any Merchant that has occasion for Pale Ale and Stout, to send to the West Indies, may at any time be supplied at the Fountain Brewhouse, by the Hermitage, with Beer for Shipping at reasonable rates.' Dantzic Spruce was also imported. Beer was taxed then, as now, by the barrel. 'Yesterday the Commons, in a Committee of Ways and Means, resolved, That an additional duty of 3_d._ per barrel be laid upon all beer and ale above 6_s._ per barrel; and under 6_s._, 1_d._; vinegar 9_d._; cyder per hogshead 5_d._; strong waters mead and matheglin 1_d._ per gallon.'[271]

[Footnote 269: London Spy.]

[Footnote 270: Journal to Stella, Nov. 29, 1710.]

[Footnote 271: Luttrell's Diary, Jan. 24, 1710.]

But, for well-to-do people, wine was the drink, and the variety was nearly as great as in our time. It was a hard-drinking age, and the habit was universal. 'I look'd to have found you with your Head ake and your morning Qualms'[272] must have been a not unusual salutation; but it was not done for the same reason as by those gentlemen mentioned in the Guardian (No. 58), 'who drink vast quantities of ale and October to encourage our manufactures; and another who takes his three bottles of French claret every night because it brings a great custom to the Crown.'

[Footnote 272: The Virtuoso.]

Nightly on bended knees, the musty Putt, Still Saints the Spigot, and Adores the Butt; With fervent Zeal the flowing Liquor plies But Damns the Moderate Bottel ... for its size. The Tripe Club, Swift.

These evening potations rendered a morning's draught generally necessary; but, after that, drinking was again postponed till the day's work was over. The modern system of 'nipping' did obtain to a slight degree, but it was reprehended. 'Whereas Mr. Bickerstaff, by a letter bearing date this twenty fourth of February, has received information that there are in and about the Royal Exchange a sort of people commonly known by the name of WHETTERS, who drink themselves into an intermediate state of being neither drunk nor sober before the hours of Exchange, or business; and in that condition buy and sell stocks, discount notes, and do many other acts of well disposed citizens; this is to give notice, that from this day forward no WHETTER shall be able to give or endorse any note, or execute any other point of Commerce, after the third half pint, before the hour of one; and whoever shall transact any matter or matters with a WHETTER, not being himself of that order, shall be conducted to Moorfields[273] upon the first application of his next of kin.'[274]

[Footnote 273: Bedlam.]

[Footnote 274: Tatler, 138.]

The war with France made the French wines somewhat scarcer than they would otherwise have been, and opened a trade for wines from other countries; still the number of prizes taken, laden with clarets, etc., and the efforts of smugglers, kept the market pretty well supplied. The wines seem to have been good, although the Spanish and Portuguese wines were fortified with 'Stum,' a fact well known, especially as to its effects: 'get drunk with Stum'd wine.'[275] The French wines were very numerous--some even unknown to us by their names--comprising Champagne, Burgundy, Frontiniac, Muscat, Anjou, Bouvrie (? Vouvray), Bayonne, Obrian (Hautbrion), Pontack, Claret, Bomas (? Pomard), High Priniac (Preignac), La Fitt, Margouze (Margeaux), La Tour, Graves, Cahorze, Blacart, Monson, Hermitage, Langoon, Bosmes (? Beaumes), Macco (? Macon), Languedoc, and Cap Breton clarets. Their prices were various: ordinary clarets from the wood 4_s._ to 6_s._ per gallon; good bottled clarets from 3_s._ or 4_s._ to 10_s._ a bottle. Champagne came over in baskets or hampers containing ten dozen to two hundred bottles per basket, and was sold retail about 8_s._ a bottle. Good Burgundy cost 7_s._ a bottle, but these prices varied, as they do now, with the quality.

[Footnote 275: Shadwell's Epsom Wells.]

French wines, however, were not universal favourites. 'A Bottle or two of good solid Edifying Port, at honest George's, made a Night chearful, and threw off Reserve. But this plaguy French Claret will not only Cost us more Money, but do us less Good,' growls Steele.[276] Being at war with France, it was considered patriotic not to drink French wine, and Port became popular. Its introduction was owing to the treaty with Portugal in 1703, called the Methuen Treaty, from the name of our minister at Lisbon. It is famed as being the shortest treaty known, consisting of only two clauses, one that the Portuguese should take British cloths, and the other that Portuguese wines should be admitted here at one third less duty than the French wines paid. Red Viana seems to have been frequently substituted for port, and it was sold at about 5_s._ a gallon. Then there were White Viana, Lisbon, Passada, Annadea, Bende Carlo (Beni Carlos), Barrabar, Carcavella, and Ribidavia, whilst the Spanish wines were Sherry, Malaga, Tent, Saragusa, Villa Nova, Barcelona, Alicant, Re Gallicia, Sallo or Mattero, and White Muscadine. There were Florence wines, which came over in rush-covered flasks with oil in the neck of the flasks--Chiante, Multapulchana (? Montepulciano), Madeira, Canary, Tockay from Hungary, and also (verily, there is very little new under the sun) Carlowitz, from the same country; there were wines from Neuchatel, and a wine I cannot class, called Mount Allaguer. We hear very little of Rhenish wines. In 'Tunbridge Walks' an uncomplimentary reference is made, 'Dam rotgut Rhenish'; but fine old hock was selling in 1713 at 26_s._ a dozen, including bottles, or new Rhenish might be had for 1_s._ 8_d._ a quart, or 6_s._ a gallon. It is hardly worth going into the prices of these miscellaneous wines. One advertisement will be sufficient. 'Advertisement to Private Families of 33 Dozen Bottles of excellent rich Palm Canary Wine, a Flower; also 45 Dozen of Curious Red Zant, a most noble and scarce Wine, no Champaign or Burgundy drinks finer, and likewise 60 Dozen of Choice Florence Wine, true Flavour and Colour, all perfect Neat, and as good as ever was tasted, reserv'd by a Gentleman for his own drinking, but oblig'd to sell them: The Palm Wine at 30_s._ a Dozen, the Zant and Florence each 36_s._ Bottles and all (none less than 4 Bottles) which is but at the rate of 2_s._ 3_d._ a Quart for the Palm Wine, and 2_s._ 9_d._ for the Zant and Florence, tho' would fetch more if the Owner could Keep them, the like being scarcely to be had in Town, at leastwise not under 3_s._ a Quart the first, and 3_s._ 6_d._ the last, if for that, and will be dearer.'

[Footnote 276: Spectator, No. 43.]

Retailers had to take out a licence to sell wine; and of course there were customs duties. Luttrell says, Dec. 4, 1703: 'Yesterday the Commons, in a Committee upon the Supply, resolved, nemine contradicente, that 1_s._ per gallon be laid upon all Wines over and above the present Customs, to be paid by the retailer;' but, afterwards, he writes, Jan. 15, 1704, that the Commons rejected the bill for 1_s._ per gallon upon wines. On March 20, 1706, the Queen gave her royal assent to an Act 'for a further duty on low Wines'; and, in 1713, French wines paid a duty of 4_s._ 6_d._ per gallon!

The wine merchants of the time were an enterprising firm named Brooke & Hellier (mentioned in the Spectator more than once), who had several branch establishments in various parts of London, even brought wine by road from Bristol, and one year paid as much as 25,000_l._ customs duties; but they came to grief in 1712, and dissolved partnership. Brooke afterwards set up in business by himself.

There was Batavian arrack for those that liked it, usquebaugh (both green and golden), and brandy--especially Nants brandy--beloved of the poor in penny drams. Not but what there were other brandies--Gaudarella, Viana or Fial (? Fayal), Strasburg, Spanish, and even our familiar old friend British brandy. The average retail price of 'right Nants' seems to have been about 12_s._ per gallon, but Spanish could be got 2_s._ 6_d._ per gallon cheaper. In 1713 the customs duty on brandy was 6_s._ 8_d._ per gallon; freight and leakage came to 2_s._ 6_d._; so that it did not leave much profit after paying for the brandy.

There were liqueurs and cordials; and they must have been very diversified, for the name of the 'Still room' was not then an empty sound; and scandal just whispered that it was sometimes possible that the dear creatures tasted their own manufactures. Are we to believe the following sketch? 'It would make a Man smile to behold her Figure in a front Box, where her twinkling Eyes, by her Afternoon's Drams of Ratifee and cold Tea, sparkle more than her Pendants.... Her Closet is always as well stor'd with Juleps, Restoratives, and Strong Waters, as an Apothecary's Shop, or a Distiller's Laboratory; and is herself so notable a Housewife in the Art of preparing them that she has a larger Collection of Chemical Receipts than a Dutch Mountebank.... As soon as she rises, she must have a Salutary Dram to keep her Stomach from the Cholick; a Whet before she eats, to procure Appetite; after eating, a plentiful Dose for Concoction; and to be sure a Bottle of Brandy under her Bed side for fear of fainting in the Night.'[277]

[Footnote 277: Adam and Eve Stript of their Furbelows.]

These cordials were not always palatable, if we can believe Addison's description of 'Widow Trueby's Water,' which Sir Roger 'always drank before he went abroad.' There were the 'Ratafia of Apricocks,' the 'Fenouillette of Rhé,' 'Millefleurs,' 'Orangiat,' 'Burgamot,' 'Pesciot,' and citron or cithern water, with many others. Elder and other home-made wines were in use. Let us see how they were appreciated. 'Her female Ancestors have always been fam'd for good Housewifry, one of whom is made immortal, by giving her Name to an Eye Water and two sorts of Puddings. I cannot undertake to recite all her Medicinal Preparations; as Salves, Sere cloths, Powders, Confects, Cordials, Ratifia, Persico, Orange Flower, and Cherry Brandy, together with innumerable sorts of Simple Waters. But there is nothing I lay so much to Heart, as that detestable Catalogue of Counterfeit Wines, which derive their Names from the Fruits, Herbs or trees of whose Juices they are chiefly compounded: They are loathsome to the taste and pernicious to the health; and as they seldom survive the Year, and then are thrown away, under a false Pretence of Frugality, I may affirm they stand me in more than if I entertain'd all our Visiters with the best Burgundy and Champaign.'[278]

[Footnote 278: Spectator, 328.]

Punch had begun to make its appearance, but it was a simple liquor to what afterwards became known by that name. Here is a receipt given by a noted brandy merchant of the time: 'Major Bird's Receipt to make Punch of his Brandy. Take 1 Quart of his Brandy, and it will bear 2 Quarts and a Pint of Spring Water; if you drink it very strong, then 2 Quarts of Water to a Quart of Brandy, with 6 or 8 Lisbon Lemmons, and half a Pound of fine Loaf Sugar: Then you will find it to have a curious fine scent and flavour, and Drink and Taste as clean as Burgundy Wine.'

There was also an intoxicating liquor, still in limited use, called 'Brunswick Mum,' whose price was '9_s._ the dozen without doors, and 10_s._ within.' The name of this compound is supposed to be derived from its power of making men speechlessly drunk.

The clamorous crowd is hush'd with mugs of mum, Till all, turn'd equal, send a general hum.

Bottled cyder, too, could be obtained at 6_s._ per dozen.

The antidote to all these intoxicants was to be found in 'The Essence of Prunes, Chymically prepar'd by a Son of Monsieur Rochefort, a Sworn Chymist of France. It gives English Spirits the smell and taste of Nantz Brandy; it prevents any Liquor from intoxicating the Brain.'

We must not forget, however, that tea, coffee, and chocolate were in much demand, and that both the coffee and chocolate houses really supplied these beverages as their staple article. Tea was more of a home drink, and was very dear, reckoning the different values of money. Perhaps there were greater fluctuations in its price than in any other article of food. Black tea varied in 1704 from 12_s._ to 16_s._ per lb.; in 1706, 14_s._ to 16_s._; in 1707, which seems to have been an exceptionally dear year, 16_s._, 20_s._, 22_s._, 24_s._, 30_s._, and 32_s._; in 1709, it was from 14_s._ to 28_s._; and in 1710, 12_s._ to 28_s._ Green tea in 1705 was 13_s._ 6_d._; in 1707, 20_s._, 22_s._, 26_s._; in 1709, 10_s._ to 15_s._; and in 1710, 10_s._ to 16_s._ The difference between old and new is given once. The new tea is 14_s._, and the old 12_s._ and 10_s._

The margins in price are not only accounted for by the difference in age, but it was well known that old leaves were redried, and used in the cheaper sorts; indeed, there is a very curious advertisement in the advertising portion of the Tatler, Aug. 26, 1710: 'Bohea Tea, made of the same Materials that Foreign Bohea is made of, 16_s._ a Pound. Sold by R. Fary only, at the Bell in Grace Church Street, Druggist. Note. The Natural Pecko Tea will remain, after Infusion, of a light grey Colour. All other Bohea Tea, tho' there be White in it, will Change Colour, and is artificial.'

Luttrell writes, Dec. 16, 1704: 'The Commons in a Committee of wayes and means, resolved to double the duties on Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate.'

The first noteworthy incident in the price of coffee in this reign is an advertisement.[279] 'Whereas Coffee was formerly sold at 2_s._ 6_d._ per pound, and is now already amounted to betwixt 6_s._ and 7_s._ per pound, the Majority of the Retailers have thought it reasonable to request their Customers to pay 3 half pence per Dish, and do assure that no person that sells Coffee for 1_d._ a Dish can make good Coffee.' It is rather interesting to watch the fluctuations in price. In 1706, from 6_s._ to 6_s._ 8_d._ per lb.; in 1707, from 7_s._ it fell to 5_s._ 10_d._ and 5_s._ 4_d._; in 1708 it rose, either owing to speculation, or a failure in the crop, to 8_s._ 4_d._, 10_s._, and 11_s._ 6_d._, which was the highest price, when it fell to 9_s._ 10_d._ and 9_s._ In 1709 it still further fell--7_s._ 4_d._ and 6_s._ 8_d._; and in 1710 it was 5_s._ 8_d._

[Footnote 279: Postman, April 27/30, 1706.]

Attention was paid to its manufacture, for we find that 'Thomas Burges, Druggist, removed from Snow hill to the Blew Anchor in Fleet Street, near Serjeants Inn, sells the best of Coffee roasted after a new way, having a better flavour, and is a much sweeter way than the common method of roasting Coffee.'

As tea came into favour, chocolate-drinking fell into disuse, although it was generally taken as a drink the first thing in the morning, before taking tea and toast. It was of two kinds, Caracas or Caraco, and Martineco; and the former was the most esteemed. It was roasted and ground, and either sold plain or mixed with sugar. Its usual price was 3_s._ per lb. for the one, and 2_s._ 6_d._ for the other. Early in 1703, a man advertised a machine of his invention, for making chocolate of a far superior quality, at least 1_s._ per lb. under the then prices; and, as his advertisements are somewhat curious, an example is given: 'To the Nobility and Gentry. Whereas the Author of the new Invention for making Chocolate, hath given a general Satisfaction both for its fineness, goodness and Cheapness, to all those that ever yet drank of the same, besides the Satisfaction all persons have of its being cleanly made, upon sight of the Invention, which some Malicious persons, the better to impose upon the World to vend their foul broken Nuts does imitate; but for the working part are as Ignorant as a Natural Bull. But the Author of this Invention thinks himself oblig'd to declare to the World, after 10 Years improving the same with great charge and labour, as many honourable persons in London can testifie; and if any person can make it appear, that they were the first Inventers of this so great a conveniency, as does no ways exceed 12 Inches, before himself, the Author will lay it by, and Act no more, notwithstanding he is now actually petitioning Her Majesty for a Patten, and, till such time as he shall obtain the same, will continue to make and sell his Chocolate at these Rates following, viz. All Spanish Nut with Vanello at 4_s._ 8_d._ a pound, plain 4_s._ 2_d._ all Marteneco Nut with Vanello 3_s._ 8_d._--plain 3_s._ 2_d._--both sorts made up with Sugar answerable. If any Chocolate maker, or others, can make it appear he reserves above 8_d._ in selling a pound for labour and charges in making, a farther remittance shall be made in the price.' This gentleman subsequently advertised that he sold it at '2_d._ per Dish liquid--14_d._ a Quart without doors. Sundays excepted.'

The duty on the nuts was sufficiently high to induce smuggling. 'Last Week 6 Sacks of Cocoa Nuts were seiz'd by a Custom House Officer, being brought up to Town for so many sacks of Beans.'[280]

[Footnote 280: London Post, April 14/17, 1704.]

Spotted a typo or a problem in this chapter? Tell us

XVII. TOBACCO

Habit of smoking -- Women and children smoking -- Prices of tobacco -- Customs duty -- Origin of snuff-taking -- The Vigo Expedition -- Snuff rasps -- Ladies taking snuff -- Proper use of the snuff-box -- Use of a spoon -- Prices of snuffs -- List of ditto -- Duty on snuff.

Allusion has been made to the prevalent use of tobacco, both in smoking and as snuff; and, perhaps, at no time in the century was there a larger consumption. The habit of meeting convivially at the coffee-houses, and taverns, favoured the practice of smoking among the men. Ward, who disliked smoking, gives the following account of a famous tobacco shop in Fleet Street. Speaking of the company assembled, he says: 'There was no Talking amongst 'em, but Puff was the Period of every Sentence; and what they said was as short as possible, for fear of losing the Pleasure of a Whiff, as How d'ye do? Puff. Thank ye. Puff. Is the Weed good? Puff. Excellent. Puff. It's fine Weather. Puff. G--d be thanked. Puff. What's a clock? Puff, &c. Behind the Counter stood a Complaisant Spark who I observ'd show'd as much Breeding in the Sale of a Pennyworth of Tobacco, and the Change of a Shilling, as a Courteous Footman when he meets his Brother Skip in the Middle of Covent Garden; and is so very Dexterous in Discharge of his Occupation, that he guesses from a Pound of Tobacco to an Ounce, to the certainty of one single Corn. And will serve more Pennyworths of Tobacco in half an Hour, than some Clouterly Mundungus Sellers shall be able to do in half Four and Twenty. He never makes a Man wait the Tenth part of a Minute for his Change, but will so readily fling you down all Sums, without Counting, from a Guinea to three Pennyworth of Farthings, that you would think he had it ready in his Hand for you before you ask'd him for it. He was very generous of his Small beer to a good Customer; and I am bound to say thus much in his behalf, That he will show a Man more Civility for the taking of a Penny than many Mechanicks will do for the taking a Pound.'

'Tobacco is very much used in England. The very Women take it in Abundance, particular'y in the Western Counties,' writes Misson, and Brown also mentions the practice; but, although Jorevin reports that in Charles the Second's time, in Worcestershire, it was not only usual for the women to join the men in smoking, but that the children were sent to school with pipes in their satchels, and the schoolmaster called a halt in their studies whilst they all smoked--he teaching the neophytes--yet Thoresby runs him very hard. '20 Jan. 1702. Evening with brother &c. at Garraway's[281] Coffee House; was surprised to see his sickly child of three years old fill its pipe of Tobacco and smoke it as audfarandly as a man of three score; after that, a second and a third pipe without the least concern, as it is said to have done above a year ago.'

[Footnote 281: At Leeds.]

The tobacco was twisted into rope and made up in rolls, more after the fashion of Varinas Knaster than of our other twisted tobaccos, and it generally had to be cut up before using. Its price may be learned from the following advertisements. 'Whereas there has been several Persons who have pretended to sell the true Spanish roll'd Tobacco; These are therefore to inform the World, that Jeremiah Stoaks at Garraway's Coffee House in Exchange Ally, bought the whole Parcel that was brought into England, as by Prize taken by Her Majesty's Fleet at Vigo, and that there is not a Nett Portacco in England but what he has in his Hands; These are therefore to advise all Gentlemen, that they may be furnish'd with the same tobacco at 8_s._ per Pound, at the above mentioned Place, and no where else.' This class of tobacco was evidently exceedingly choice, comparing it with the ordinary price. 'Benjamin Howes, Tobacconist, at the Corner of Shoe Lane in Fleet Street, London, who hath lived there 30 years and upwards; he was Partner with Mr. Montague, did sell his best old, mild, sweet-scented Virginia Tobacco for 2_s._ per Pound, does now, and will continue to sell the same for 20_d._, either Large Cut, Small or Long Cut, and Penny Papers for Taverns or Publick Houses, full half Ounces for 20_d._ a Pound (for present Money). He sells right Spanish in the Roll for 8_s._ a Pound, and Spanish and Virginia mixt for 3_s._ a pound, and Encouragement to Country Chapmen.'

There was a Customs duty on tobacco, of course; and we find, in 1707, the Irish Parliament increasing this tax, among many others, in order to vote a supply of 135,000_l._ to Her Majesty. 'Dublin, 5 Aug. Resolved, That it is the Opinion of this Committee that the said Additional Duty be three pence halfpenny per Pound weight on all Tobacco which shall be so Imported into this Kingdom, from and after the said 29th day of September 1707 over and above the Hereditary Duty of two pence halfpenny per Pound, payable for the same.'

But it was the singular growth of the practice of taking snuff that specially marks the reign of Anne, before which time it was comparatively unknown. Lillie, the perfumer, previously mentioned, sold snuff, as all his craft did: and from him we get a very interesting account of its rise. He says: 'Before the year 1702, when we sent out a fleet of ships under the command of Sir George Rooke, with land forces commanded by the Duke of Ormond, in order to make a descent on Cadiz, snuff taking was very rare, and, indeed, little known in England; it being chiefly a luxurious habit among foreigners residing here, and a few of the English gentry who had travelled abroad. Among these, the mode of taking the snuff was with pipes of the size of quills, out of small spring boxes. These pipes let out a very small quantity of snuff, upon the back of the hand, and this was snuffed up the nostrils with the intention of producing the sensation of sneezing, which, I need not say, forms now no part of the design, or rather fashion of snuff taking.

'But to return to our expedition by sea. When the fleet arrived near Cadiz, our land forces were disembarked at a place called Port St. Mary, where, after some fruitless attempts, it was resolved to re-embark the troops, and set sail for England. But previous to this, Port St. Mary, and some adjacent places were plundered. Here, besides some very rich merchandize, plate, jewels, pictures, and a great quantity of cochineal, several thousand barrels and casks of fine snuffs were taken, which had been manufactured in different parts of Spain. Each of these contained four tin canisters of snuff of the best growth, and of the finest Spanish manufacture.

'With this plunder on board (which fell chiefly to the share of the land officers) the fleet was returning to England; but, on the way, it was resolved to pay a visit to Vigo, a considerable port in Spain, where the Admiral had advice that a number of galleons from the Havannah, richly laden, had put in. Here our fleet got in and destroyed most, or all of the Spanish shipping, and the plunder was exceedingly rich and valuable.

'It now came to the turn of the sea officers and sailors to be snuff proprietors and merchants; for, at Vigo, they became possessed of prodigious quantities of gross snuff, from the Havannah, in bales, bags, and scrows,[282] which were designed for manufacture in different parts of Spain. Thus, though snuff taking was very little known or practised in England, at that period, the quantities taken in this expedition, (which was estimated at fifty tons weight,) plainly shew that in the other countries of Europe, snuff was held in great estimation, and that the taking of it was considered not at all unfashionable.

[Footnote 282: Raw hide packages.]

'The fleet having returned to England, and the ships being ordered to be laid in their several ports, the sea officers and sailors brought their snuff (which was called, by way of victorious distinction, Vigo Snuff,) to a very quick and cheap market; waggonloads of it being sold at Portsmouth, Plymouth, and Chatham, for not more than three or four pence per pound.

'This sort of bale snuff had never been seen or known in England before, except through some Spanish Jews, who, in the present case, bought up almost the whole quantity at a considerable advantage.

'The land officers, who were possessed of the fine snuffs taken at Port St. Mary, sold some of them in the several ports at which they landed. Others of them, however, understood better the nature of the commodity which had fallen to their share, and kept it for several years, selling it off by degrees, for very high prices.

'From the above mentioned quantity of different snuffs, thus distributed throughout the kingdom, novelty being quickly embraced by us in England, arose the custom and fashion of snuff taking; and, growing upon the whole nation, by degrees, it is now almost as universal here, as in any other part of Europe.'

But snuff was not always sold ready made: people made their own, out of roll tobacco--by means of rasps, which were generally carried in the pocket. Specimens of these rasps may be seen at the South Kensington Museum, but, unless they are in some loan collection, they are very poor examples. In private collections, and especially on the Continent, are some of them, being exquisite specimens of ivory carving. 'Then there's the Miscellany, an apron for Stella, a pound of chocolate, without sugar, for Stella, a fine snuff rasp of ivory, given me by Mrs. St. John for Dingley, and a large roll of tobacco, which she must hide, or cut shorter out of modesty, and four pair of spectacles for the Lord knows who.'[283]

[Footnote 283: Journal to Stella, Nov. 3, 1711.]

Here we see how customary it was for ladies to take snuff in 1711, although Steele seems to be shocked at it, as quite a new fashion in 1712. Vide his letter in Spectator (344): 'I have writ to you three or four times to desire you would take notice of an impertinent Custom the Women, the fine Women, have lately fallen into, of taking Snuff. This silly Trick is attended with such a Coquet Air in some Ladies, and such a sedate Masculine one in others, that I can not tell which to most complain of; but they are to me equally disagreeable. Mrs. Saunter is so impatient of being without it, that she takes it as often as she does Salt at meals; and as she affects a wonderful Ease and Negligence in all her manners, an upper Lip mixed with Snuff and the Sauce is what is presented to the Observation of all who have the honour to eat with her. The pretty Creature her Niece does all she can to be as disagreeable as her Aunt; and, if she is not so offensive to the Eye, she is quite as much to the Ear, and makes up all she wants in a confident Air, by a nauseous Rattle of the Nose, when the Snuff is delivered, and the Fingers make the Stops and Closes on the Nostrils.... But Flavilla is so far taken with her Behaviour in this kind, that she pulls out her Box (which is indeed full of good Brazile) in the middle of the Sermon;[284] and to shew she has the Audacity of a well bred Woman, she offers it to the Men, as well as to the Women who sit near her.... On Sunday was sennight, when they came about for the Offering, she gave her Charity with a very good Air, but at the same Time asked the Church warden if he would take a Pinch.'

[Footnote 284: See also Tatler, 140.]

But, if the ladies took snuff, how much more did the men? who were especially addicted to 'the humour of taking SNUFF, and looking dirty about the mouth by way of ornament.' They took snuff 'with a very Jantee Air,'[285] as is well exemplified by Steele's humorous puff in Spectator (138): 'The Exercise of the Snuff Box, according to the most fashionable Airs and Motions, in opposition to the Exercise of the Fan, will be taught with the best plain or perfumed Snuff at Charles Lillie's, Perfumer, at the Corner of Beaufort Buildings in the Strand, and Attendance given for the Benefit of the young Merchants about the Exchange for two hours every day at Noon, except Sundays, at a Toy Shop near Garraway's Coffee House. There will likewise be Taught The Ceremony of the Snuff box, or Rules for offering Snuff to a Stranger, a Friend, or a Mistress, according to the Degrees of Familiarity or Distance; with an Explanation of the Careless, the Scornful, the Politick, and the Surly Pinch, and the Gestures proper to each of them.'

[Footnote 285: Centlivre's The Wonder, a Woman Keeps a Secret, ed. 1714.]

Snuff was not always taken with the finger and thumb, but a spoon was used--as it is now, in some parts of Scotland, Lapland, Sweden, Norway, and China. In the prologue of a play called 'Hampstead Heath,' published in 1706, this habit is mentioned.

To Noddles cram'd with Dighton's musty Snuff Whose nicer Tasts think Wit consists alone In Tunbridge Wooden Box with Wooden Spoon.

And in the play (Act 3):--

Chum. Madam, I beg your Pardon, 'tis what the Jews take; but I carry sweet Snuff for the Ladies. (Shows another box.)

Arabella. A Spoon too, that's very gallant; for to see some People run their fat Fingers into a Box is as nauseous as eating without a Fork.

The prices of snuffs varied much in this reign: the following is the best list I can make out:--

1705. 1706. 1707. 1711. 1713. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Lisbon p. oz. 1 6 1 8 and 1s. 2d. 2 p. lb. 26s. -- 1 6 or p. lb. 20s. Tunquin " -- 1 6 -- -- -- Spanish " -- 6 p. lb. 2s. 6d. & 4s. -- 3 6 to 5s. p. lb. -- Havanna " -- 6 -- 6 0 p. lb. -- Seville " -- 6 -- -- -- Italian " -- 1 6 and 1s. -- -- -- Burgamot " -- 1 6 and 1s. -- -- -- Musty " -- 6 -- -- -- Brazile " -- 6 6s. p. lb. 84s. 2s. 6d. p. lb. 32s. 3s. p. oz.

A more exhaustive list could have been made, but enough is given to show the difference in price of the various sorts. These were more than have just been given, and included Oronoko, Barcelona, Portugal, Tonkar, Orangerie, Port St. Mary's, Alicant, Rancia, and Cabinet Havannah.

And there were snuffs which hardly came under the category of harmless sternutatories: as, 'The true Imperial Golden Snuff; which thousands of People have found to be the most effectual Remedy ever known, for all Distempers of the Head and Brain; It immediately cures the Headach, be the Pain ever so violent; instantly removes Drowsiness, Sleepiness, Giddiness and Vapours; it is most excellent against Deafness and Noise in the Ears; cures stoppages or cold in the Head, &c.; and far exceeds all other Snuff for all Humours in the Eyes and Dimness of sight, and certainly prevents Appoplexies and Falling Sickness.'

Snuff played its part in helping to pay for the long war with France.[286] '9 Feb. 1710. Yesterday the House of Commons, in a Committee on Ways and means, resolved, that ... a duty of 3_s._ per pound be laid upon Snuff above what it already pays, except that of Her Majesty's growth.'

[Footnote 286: Luttrell.]

Spotted a typo or a problem in this chapter? Tell us

XVIII. COFFEE-HOUSES AND TAVERNS

Universal use of coffee-houses -- Their convenience -- Company -- First coffee-house -- Number of them -- Anecdote of Bishop Trelawney -- Description of interior -- The news -- Advance in price -- Chocolate-houses -- Famous coffee-houses -- Button's Lion -- Lloyd's -- Sales by candle -- Jenny Man -- Don Saltero's collection -- Taverns -- Noblemen frequenting them -- Drinking own wine -- Purl houses -- List of old taverns.

The coffee-house was not a new institution in Anne's reign, but then it reached the zenith of its popularity. It was the centre of news, the lounge of the idler, the rendezvous for appointments, the mart for business men. Men might have their letters left there, as did Swift;[287] 'Yet Presto[288] ben't angry, faith, not a bit, only he will begin to be in pain next Irish Post, except he sees M.D.'s little handwriting in the glass frame at the bar of St. James's Coffee House, where Presto would never go but for that purpose.' They were alike the haunt of the wit and the man of fashion--a neutral meeting-ground for all men, although they naturally assorted themselves, like to like, by degrees. There

The gentle Beau too, Joyns in wise Debate, Adjusts his Cravat, and Reforms the State[289]

--and he might even rub shoulders with a highwayman, as Farquhar suggests, when he makes Aimwell say to Gibbet,[290] who is a highwayman, 'Pray Sir, ha'nt I seen your face at Will's Coffee House?' and he replies, 'Yes Sir, and at White's too.' But the excellent rules in force, and the good common sense of the frequenters, prevented any ill effects from this admixture of classes. All were equal, and took the first seat which came to hand. If a man swore, he was fined 1_s._, and if he began a quarrel he was fined 'dishes' round. Discussion on religion was prohibited, no card-playing or dicing allowed, and no wager might be made exceeding 5_s._ These were the simple rules generally used, and, if they were only complied with, all must have felt the benefit of such a mild despotism.

[Footnote 287: Journal to Stella, letter 14.]

[Footnote 288: A nickname of Swift's--a play on his name.]

[Footnote 289: The Tripe Club.]

[Footnote 290: The Beaux' Stratagem, act. iii. sc. 2.]

Wood mentions that the first coffee-house was at Oxford, and was kept, in 1650, by Jacobs, a Jew. The first in London seems to have been kept by a foreigner named Rosa Pasquee, in 1652, in St. Michael's Alley, Cornhill, whilst Hatton says[291]: 'I find it Recorded that one James Farr, a Barber, who kept the Coffee House which now is the Rainbow, by the Inner Temple Gate, (one of the first in England) was in the year 1657 presented by the Inquest of St. Dunstans in the W. for Making and Selling a sort of Liquor, called Coffee, as a great Nusance and Prejudice of the neighbourhood, &c. And who would then have thought London would ever have had near 3,000 such Nusances, and that Coffee should have been (as now) so much Drank by the best of Quality and Physicians.' Of these 'near 3,000' I have, in my searches through the newspapers, etc., of the period, found the names of over 500, which, to preserve them again from falling into oblivion, are to be found in the Appendix to this book.

[Footnote 291: New View of London, 1708.]

These coffee-houses sold alcoholic liquors as well as coffee; a fact which is somewhat whimsically illustrated in the following extract from a letter of Bishop Trelawney to Bishop Sprat, July 20, 1702 or 3.[292] 'I had a particular obligation to Burnett, and will publicly thank him in print (among other matters I have to say to him, and to his Articles against our religion) for his causing it to be spread by his emissaries that I was drunk at Salisbury the 30th of January; whereas the Major General,[293] Captain Culleford, a very honest Clergyman, and the people of the Inn (which was a coffee house too) can swear I drank nothing but two dishes of Coffee; and, indeed I had not stopped at all, but to enable my children by a very slender bait, to hold out to Blandford, where I dined at 6 that night.'

[Footnote 292: Atterbury's Correspondence, ed. 1784, vol. iii. p. 87.]

[Footnote 293: His brother. Bishop Trelawney was also a baronet; and he had an unepiscopal habit of swearing occasionally, but when such a faux pas occurred he always said it was the baronet, not the bishop, that swore. The inconvenience of this arrangement was pointed out to him one day by a friend, who remarked that, if the baronet was damned for swearing, what would become of the bishop.]

Misson, speaking of coffee-houses, says: 'These Houses, which are very numerous in London, are extreamly convenient. You have all Manner of News there: You have a good Fire, which you may sit by as long as you please; You have a Dish of Coffee, you meet your Friends for the Transaction of Business, and all for a Penny, if you don't Care to spend more.' Yes, that was all--anybody, decently dressed, might have all this accommodation for One Penny. 'Laying down my Penny upon the Bar,' writes Addison,[294] and 'so briefly deposited my Copper at the Bar,' says Brown, show that the habitués spent no more; and Steele, in the first number of the Tatler, speaking of the expenses attending the production of the paper, says: 'I once more desire my readers to consider, that as I cannot keep an ingenious man to go daily to Will's under two pence each day, merely for his charges; to White's under sixpence; nor to the Grecian, without allowing him some plain Spanish (snuff) to be as able as others at the learned table,' etc.

[Footnote 294: Spectator, No. 31.]

A man with leisure got rid of some hours daily at the coffee-house, or houses, and such a one would spend from 10 A.M. till noon, and again, after his two-o'clock dinner, would be there from 4 to 6, when he would leave for the theatre, or his turn in the park.

The illustration gives us an excellent idea of the interior of a coffee-house, and its domestic economy--the dame de comptoir, the roaring fire with its perpetual supply of hot water, and its coffee and tea pots set close by, so as to be kept warm, and the very plain tables and stools, show the accommodation that was required, and accepted, by the very plain-living people of that day.

A coffee-house is necessarily a pièce de résistance with Ward. He describes it graphically, though somewhat roughly, and he brings the scene of the interior vividly before our eyes. 'Come, says my Friend, let us step into this Coffee House here; as you are a Stranger in the Town, it will afford you some Diversion. Accordingly in we went, where a parcel of Muddling Muckworms were as busy as so many Rats in an old Cheese Loft; some Going, some Coming, some Scribling, some Talking, some Drinking, some Smoaking, others Jangling; and the whole Room stinking of Tobacco, like a Dutch Scoot or a Boatswain's Cabbin. The Walls being hung with Gilt Frames, as a Farriers shop with Horse shooes; which contain'd abundance of Rarities, viz. Nectar and Ambrosia, May Dew, Golden Elixirs, Popular Pills, Liquid Snuff, Beautifying Waters, Dentifrisis, Drops, Lozenges, all as infallible as the Pope,

Where every one above the rest Deservedly has gain'd the Name of Best

(as the famous Saffold has it).'

Brown, also, has plenty to say about them, but one short extract only will be borrowed: 'Every Coffee House is illuminated both without and within doors; without by a fine glass Lantern, and within by a Woman so light and splendid, you may see through her without the help of a Perspective. At the Bar the good Man always places a Charming Phillis or two, who invite you by their amorous glances into their smoaky Territories, to the loss of your sight.' These 'pretty barmaids' are spoken of by Steele[295]: 'Upon reading your late Dissertation concerning Idols, I cannot but complain to you that there are, in Six or Seven Places of this City, Coffee houses kept by Persons of that Sisterhood. These Idols sit and receive all Day long the adoration of the Youth within such and such Districts,' etc. Another contemporary[296] notices that 'A Handsom Bar keeper invites more than the Bush. She's the Loadstone that attracts Men of Steel, both those that wear it to some purpose, and those that wear it to none. No City Dame is demurer than she at first Greeting, nor draws in her Mouth with a Chaster Simper; but in a little time you may be more familiar, and she'll hear a double Entendre without blushing.'

[Footnote 295: Spectator, No. 87.]

[Footnote 296: Hickelty Pickelty.]

Steele[297] gives a polished account of coffee-house frequenters and politicians: 'I, who am at the Coffee house at Six in a Morning, know that my friend Beaver the Haberdasher has a Levy of more undissembled Friends and Admirers, than most of the Courtiers or Generals of Great Britain. Every Man about him has, perhaps, a News Paper in his Hand; but none can pretend to guess what Step will be taken in any one Court of Europe, till Mr. Beaver has thrown down his Pipe, and declares what Measures the Allies must enter into upon this new Posture of Affairs. Our Coffee House is near one of the Inns of Court, and Beaver has the Audience and Admiration of his Neighbours from Six 'till within a Quarter of Eight, at which time he is interrupted by the Students of the House; some of whom are ready dress'd for Westminster, at Eight in a Morning, with Faces as busie as if they were retained in every Cause there; and others come in their Night Gowns to saunter away their Time, as if they never designed to go thither. I do not know that I meet in any of my Walks, Objects which move both my Spleen and laughter so effectually, as these young Fellows at the Grecian, Squire's, Searle's, and all other Coffee Houses adjacent to the Law, who rise early for no other purpose but to publish their Laziness. One would think these young Virtuosos take a gay Cap and Slippers, with a Scarf and Party Coloured Gown, to be Ensigns of Dignity, for the vain things approach each other with an Air, which shews they regard one another for their Vestments.... When the Day grows too busie for these Gentlemen to enjoy any longer the Pleasures of their Deshabille with any manner of Confidence, they give place to Men who have Business or Good Sense in their Faces, and come to the Coffee house, either to transact Affairs or enjoy Conversation.'

[Footnote 297: Spectator, 49.]

News was, of course, one of the prime objects of these gatherings. 'I love News extreamly, I have read Three News Letters to day. I go from Coffee House to Coffee House all day on Purpose,'[298] was literally true of some men. Not that their little newspapers gave them much--but of them hereafter. Yet there was a chance of hearing some news before it got into the papers; and the quidnuncs would go to the Windsor, where was to be had 'also the Translation of the Harlem Courant, soon after the Post is come,' or to Grigsby's, where 'all Foreign News is taken in, and Translated into English immediately after the arrival of any Mail,' or to Elford's, where 'is to be seen and read Gratis, the Journal of the famous Voyage of the Duke and Dutchess Privateer of Bristol that took the rich Aquiápulca Ship containing many remarkable Transactions. Also an Account of a Man living alone 4 Years and 4 Months in the Island of John Fernando, which they brought with them.' This was, of course, Alexander Selkirk, who was brought off the island on February 12, 1709; and this log, or the coffee-house gossip anent it, probably furnished the inspiration for 'Robinson Crusoe,' which Defoe published in 1719.

[Footnote 298: The Scowrers.]

We have seen how the coffee-house keepers tried to advance their beverages from 1_d._ to 1-1/2_d._ because of the rise in coffee; but the effort was spasmodic, and did not last. They had a far better cry in 1712, as we find in the Daily Courant of August 8 in that year. 'These are to give Notice, That the Coffee Men by reason of the present Taxes on Coffee, Tea, Paper, Candles, and Stamps on all Newspapers, find themselves under a necessity of advancing some of their Liquors to the prices following; viz, Coffee 2_d._ per dish: Green Tea 3 halfpence; and all Drams 2_d._ per Dram: to commence from this day.' Let us hope when they got this huge advance they made their tea stronger, and did not give their customers 'that pall'd Stuff too often found in mean Coffee Houses.'[299]

[Footnote 299: Motteux, in the Preface to his Poem in Praise of Tea.]

No doubt, from the familiar abbreviations, such as Tom's, Ned's, Will's, John's, etc., some of the coffee-houses were kept by waiters who had saved a little money--such an one as 'Tom the Tyrant; who, as first Minister of the Coffee House, takes the Government upon him between the Hours of Eleven and Twelve at night, and gives his Orders in the most Arbitrary manner to the Servants below him as to the Disposition of Liquors, Coal and Cinders;'[300] while Kidney, the waiter at the St. James's Coffee House, immortalised in the Tatler as having 'the ear of the greatest politicians that come hither,' could not be spoken with 'without clean linen.'

[Footnote 300: Spectator, No. 49.]

The chocolate-houses seem to have been a specialty, and they were few in number. In the commencement of the reign, in 1702, chocolate was sold at 12_d._ the quart, 2_d._ the dish. I can only find the names of five chocolate-houses (describing themselves as such), and but two of them are of any note, White's and the Cocoa Tree. White's was started in 1698, and was, in Queen Anne's reign, situated five doors from the bottom of the west side of St. James's Street, ascending from St. James's Palace. It had a small garden attached to it. This house was burnt down in 1733, the King and Prince of Wales looking on. Hogarth has immortalised this event in Plate 6 of the 'Rake's Progress.' It was to all intents and purposes a gambling house. When White died is not known, but Mrs. White had it in March 1712. Afterwards it passed into the hands of Arthur, who had it when it was burnt down; and he removed next door to the St. James's Coffee House. It soon ceased to be a chocolate-house, and became a club. In 1755 it was removed to No. 38, on the opposite or east side of St. James's Street. White's Club is supposed to be political; but, apart from its members being Conservative, it takes no leading part, contenting itself with being extremely aristocratic.

The Cocoa Tree Chocolate House stood at the end of Pall Mall, on the site of what now is 87 St. James's Street. It was a Tory house; indeed, Defoe says, 'A Whig will no more go to the Cocoa Tree or Ozinda's, than a Tory will be seen at the Coffee house of St. James's.' The Cocoa Tree Club is now held at 64 St. James's Street.

As the coffee-houses occupied so prominent a part in the social economy of the time, a very brief notice of some of the best known will be of interest. Anderton's is still in Fleet Street, beloved of Freemasons and literary men. Batson's, in Cornhill, was a famous meeting-place for physicians. The Bay Tree still stands in St. Swithin's Lane. Button's, which was opposite Tom's, in Russell Street, Covent Garden, was a great resort of Addison's; and here contributions to the Guardian could be received. The lion's head which served as a letter-box has been immortalised in that paper. It was in imitation of the famous lion at Venice. The original is still in existence, but is not always accessible to the curious. It was removed from Button's when that coffee-house was taken down, and took refuge in the Shakespeare's Head Tavern, Covent Garden. For a time it was placed in the Bedford Coffee House, and was used as a letter box for contributions to The Inspector. It returned to the Shakespeare's Head in 1769, and remained there till 1804. It was then bought by Charles Richardson, the proprietor of Richardson's Hotel, and at his death it came into the possession of his son, who sold it to the Duke of Bedford, and it is now preserved in Woburn Abbey.

Child's was in St. Paul's Churchyard, and was famous for its learned frequenters. It was not far from the College of Physicians, which was then in Warwick Lane, so doctors came there, and, chief among them, Dr. Mead. Sir Hans Sloane and other members of the Royal Society dropped in, and the house was a noted resort of clergymen--so much so, that it is mentioned as such in the Spectator (No. 609): 'For that a young Divine, after his first Degree in the University, usually comes hither only to shew himself, and on that Occasion is apt to think he is but half equipp'd with a Gown and Cassock for his publick Appearance, if he hath not the additional Ornament of a Scarf of the first Magnitude to entitle him to the appellation of Doctor from his Landlady, and the Boy at Child's.'

The Camisards was in St. Martin's Lane, and took its name from the Camisars, who were French religious fanatics, who, being persecuted in their own country, came over here in 1707. They claimed the gifts of prophecy, and of working miracles. The sect soon died out. Dick's, in Fleet Street, still stands, and was so called from its first proprietor, Richard Turner, in 1680.

Garraway's is famous, and derived its name from its original proprietor, Thomas Garway, a tobacconist and coffeeman, who had it in the middle of the 17th century. He is said to have been the first to retail tea. It was always a mercantile resort, and here were sold wines, etc., by auction. The Grecian, in Devereux Court, Temple, was chiefly visited by learned men; it was from this place that Steele, in his scheme of the Tatler, said that all accounts of learning should appear under the title of Grecian. It was not, however, because of this proclivity that it obtained its classical name: it was kept by a Greek named Constantine. Apart from its being naturally frequented by the lawyers, the scientific élite went there, as we gather from Thoresby, June 12, 1712: 'Attended the Royal Society, where I found Dr. Douglas dissecting a dolphin, lately caught in the Thames, where were present the President, Sir Isaac Newton, both the Secretaries, the two Professors from Oxford, Dr. Halley and Keil, with others, whose company we afterwards enjoyed at the Grecian Coffee House.' The Guildhall Coffee House still survives.

Jonathan's was essentially a stockjobbers' house, and was in Exchange Alley, as was also Baker's, which had a similar clientèle. 'I have been taken for a Merchant upon the Exchange for above these Ten Years, and sometimes pass for a Jew in the assembly of Stock Jobbers at Jonathan's,' writes Addison in the first number of the Spectator. 'Stock Jobbers busie at Jonathan's from Twelve to Three,' says Ward. The St. James's was as thoroughly a Whig house as White's was Tory; and 'Foreign and Domestic News you will have from St. James's Coffee House' was part of the Tatler programme. We have seen how Swift used it, and how his letters used to be directed there; but what he wrote to Stella was hardly the reason of his frequenting the house. He seems to have got on very friendly terms with Elliot, the proprietor, rather early in his London career, for he writes: 'I dined to day with poor Lord Mountjoy, who is ill of the gout; and this evening I christened our Coffeeman Elliot's child; where the rogue had a most noble supper, and Steele and I sat among some scurvy company over a bowl of punch, so that I am come home late, young woman, and cannot stay to write to little rogues.'[301] The Jamaica is still in existence, although not where it was in Anne's reign. It was then in Cornhill, 'by the Ship and Castle.' The Jerusalem was then, as it used to be not so long since, 'near Garraway's.'

[Footnote 301: Journal to Stella, Nov. 19, 1710.]

Lloyd's was then in Lombard Street, and indeed to this day, on Lloyd's policies, is stated that this policy shall have the same effect as if issued in Lombard Street. 'And it is agreed by us the Insurers, that this Writing or Policy of Assurance shall be of as much Force and Effect as the surest Writing or Policy of Assurance heretofore made in Lombard Street, or in the Royal Exchange, or elsewhere in London.' Both Steele[302] and Addison[303] mention this coffee-house; and for mercantile purposes it shared, with the Marine in Birchin Lane, the reputation of being the busiest. Here were sales of wine and ships, and the latter business is still transacted there.

[Footnote 302: Tatler, 247.]

[Footnote 303: Spectator, 46.]

A curious custom obtained in this reign--that of selling goods, notably wines, by 'the Candle.' Pepys notes it in his diary as being new to him, so that it had not been long in vogue. Lloyd's and the Marine Coffee Houses were the principal places where these singular auctions were held.

When the custom died out I cannot learn, but probably it was during the first quarter of this century. The latest account I can find of its being practised is in The Saturday Bristol Times and Mirror of March 29, 1873. 'Sale by Candle. The practice of letting by inch of Candle still prevails in the County of Dorset. At the annual letting of the parish meadow of Broadway, near Weymouth, which occurred a few weeks ago, an inch of candle was placed on a piece of board nine inches square, and lighted by one of the parish officers. The biddings were taken down by one of the parish officers, and the chance of taking the meadow was open to all while the candle was burning. The last bidder before the candle went out was the incoming tenant. This year the candle was extinguished suddenly. The land, about two acres in extent, was in 1624 presented to the poor by William Gould, the object of the gift being to keep the poor from working on the highways.' The custom, for aught I know, may still exist in some out-of-the-way places.

Information on maritime matters was even then forwarded to Lloyd's (although his News was not published after Feb. 23, 1696, till 1726), as is shown by the following episode: 'London, August 4th. Yesterday Morning a Letter was sent by the Penny Post to Mr. Edward Lloyd, Coffee man, in Lombard Street; which letter was subscrib'd Jo. Browne, was dated from on Board the Little St. Lewis off Bantry Bay in Ireland. July. 22. and contain'd in Substance, That the said Browne coming in a Vessel of which he was Master, from the Bay of Campeachy for Ireland, was taken by the said little St. Lewis, a French Frigate of 30 Guns, the 14th of July.'[304] He then went on circumstantially to relate how an officer on board had told him that the French had taken the Island of St. Helena and fifteen English East India ships; and that their fleet intended to sail for the Cape, to intercept our outward-bound East India ships. The editorial comment on this news is: ''Tis very probable this Letter is a Forgery, but as we cannot possibly determine whether it be or not, and the Story having made a great Noise in Town, we found ourselves oblig'd to give an Account of it.' It turned out a hoax, for, next day, Lloyd received a letter saying that the rumour had served its turn. 'To which Mr. Lloyd thinks fit to Answer. Sir, Whoever you are that wrote these two letters to Mr. Lloyd, he makes it his Request to you, that you would please to Confirm your Willingness to take off the Amusement made by the first, by writing him a third Letter in the same Hand the first was, which the second is not.' Lloyd died on Feb. 15, 1713.

[Footnote 304: Daily Courant, Aug. 4, 1704.]

There were several coffee-houses kept by persons of the name of Man. There was Old Man's, Young Man's, Man's New Coffee House, Charing Cross, Man's in Birchin Lane, and Man's in Chancery Lane, opposite Lincoln's Inn Gate. Old Man's was in the Tilt Yard, Whitehall, and was the rendezvous for officers in the army. The Paymaster-General's office is now built upon its site. It was kept by the well-known Jenny Man, whom Brown describes as 'pledging an Irish Colonel in Usquebaugh.' The Postboy, June 3/5, 1712, notices her: 'Expect something Extraordinary[305] in our Next. In the mean time, we are inform'd, that Jenny -- Man is indispos'd'; and in the Flying Post, Nov. 6/8, 1712, is a song, one verse of which refers to her:--

[Footnote 305: News of the peace.]

Alas! alas! for Jenny Man, 'Cause she don't love the Warming Pan,[306] High Church will all her Actions Scan Since she was an Inch long, Sirs; She is no Friend to Right Divine, Therefore she must not sell French Wine, But Tea and Coffee, very fine, And sure that is no Wrong, Sirs.

[Footnote 306: An allusion to the story of the Pretender's being smuggled in a warming-pan, and evidence of Jenny's Hanoverian proclivities.]

Young Man's was at Charing Cross, and was a fashionable lounge. It was also a gambling house, for Brown says of it: 'Young Man's Coffee House threw it self in my way, and very kindly offer'd its Protection. I acquiesced then, knowing myself secure from more Dangers than one, and immediately upon my entrance mounted the Stairs, and mingled my Person with the Knights of the Round Table, who hazard three Months Revenue at a single Cast.' Ward is disgusted with the superfine air of the place, and says of its frequenters, 'their whole Exercise being to Charge and Discharge their Nostrils; and keep the Curles of their Periwigs in proper Order.... They made a Humming, like so many Hornets in a Country Chimney, not with their talking, but with their Whispering over their New Minuets and Bories, with their Hands in their Pockets, if freed from their Snush Box.... Amongst them were abundance of Officers, or Men who by their Habit appear'd to be such; but look'd as tenderly, as if they Carried their Down beds with them into the Camp, and did not dare to come out of their Tents, in a cold morning, till they had Eat a Mess of Plum Panada for Breakfast, to defend their Stomachs from the Wind.... Having sat all this while looking about us, like a Couple of Minerva's Birds, among so many Juno's Peacocks, admiring their Gaiety; we began to be thoughtful of a Pipe of Tobacco, which we were not assur'd we could have the liberty of Smoaking, lest we should offend those Sweet Breath Gentlemen. But, however, we Ventur'd to call for some Instruments of Evaporation, which were accordingly brought us, but with such a Kind of unwillingness, as if they would much rather have been rid of our Company; for their Tables were so very Neat, and Shin'd with Rubbing, like the Upper Leathers of an Alderman's shoes. The floor as clean Swept, as a Sir Courtly's Dining Room, which made us look round, to see if there were no Orders hung up to impose the Forfeiture of so much Mop Money upon any Person that should spit out of the Chimney Corner.'

Nando's was in Fleet Street, at the corner of Inner Temple Gate, the house wrongly described as being formerly the palace of Cardinal Wolsey, and now a hairdresser's. It was not particularly famous for anything in Anne's time, only the name is familiar to students of that epoch, as being next door to the shop of Bernard Lintot the bookseller, and mentioned by him in all his advertisements.

Ozinda's was in St. James's Street, and ranked with White's as a Tory house. Robin's was in Exchange Alley. Swift dated some of his letters to Stella from this coffee-house, and Steele mentions it as a Stock Exchange house in the Spectator, No. 454. The Rainbow in Fleet Street is still in existence, and Ward[307] classes it thus: 'Coffee and Water Gruel to be had at the Rainbow and Nando's at Four.' It seems to have been a favourite sign, for I have seven on my list.

[Footnote 307: Comical View of London.]

Squire's was in Fulwood's (now called Fuller's) Rents in Holborn, and has been rendered historical by Addison, who makes Sir Roger ask him[308] 'if I would smoak a Pipe with him over a Dish of Coffee at Squire's. As I love the old Man, I take delight in complying with everything that is agreeable to him, and accordingly waited on him to the Coffee House, where his venerable Figure drew upon us the Eyes of the whole Room. He had no sooner seated himself at the upper End of the high Table, but he called for a clean Pipe, a Paper of Tobacco, a Dish of Coffee, a Wax Candle, and the Supplement with such an Air of Cheerfulness and Goodhumour, that all the Boys in the Coffee room (who seemed to take pleasure in serving him) were at once employed on his several Errands, insomuch that no Body else could come at a Dish of Tea till the knight had got all his Conveniencies about him.' Squire died in 1717.

[Footnote 308: Spectator, No. 269.]

The following note on the Smyrna Coffee House is the best description possible to give of it.[309] 'This is to give notice to all ingenious gentlemen in and about the cities of London and Westminster, who have a mind to be instructed in the noble Sciences of Music, Poetry, and Politics, that they repair to the Smyrna Coffee in Pall Mall, betwixt the hours of eight and ten at night, where they may be instructed gratis, with elaborate ESSAYS by word of mouth on all, or any of the above mentioned Arts. The disciples are to prepare their bodies with three dishes of bohea, and purge their brains with two pinches of snuff. If any young student gives indication of parts, by listening attentively, or asking a pertinent question, one of the professors shall distinguish him by taking snuff out of his box in the presence of the whole audience--

[Footnote 309: Tatler, 78.]

'N.B. The seat of learning is now removed from the corner of the chimney on the left hand towards the window, to the round table in the middle of the floor over against the fire; a revolution much lamented by the porters and chairmen, who were much edified through a pane of glass that remained broken all the last summer.'

John Salter's (or, as he was christened by Steele, or Rear Admiral Sir John Munden, 'Don Saltero') was situated in the middle of Cheyne Walk, Chelsea. He was originally a servant to Sir Hans Sloane, and, when he left his service to set up as barber and coffee-house keeper, Sir Hans gave him some odds and ends from his Museum. Other kind friends followed, and Don Saltero's became a place of note, the curiosities, natural and otherwise, taking up much of the space. Indeed, Steele, in recording a visit to the Don's, says,[310] 'When I came into the Coffee house, I had not time to salute the Company, before my eye was diverted by ten thousand jimcracks round the room and on the ceiling.' The first catalogue of his curiosities that he published, was in 1729, and in the preface he says, 'The first Donor was the Honourable Sir John Cope, bart., to whom and Family I am much obliged for several very valuable pieces, both of Nature and Art.' The list comprises 249 articles, which in the 12th edition, 1741, was increased to 420, so that, probably, in Anne's time there were not more than a couple of hundred. Apart from the natural curiosities, which were numerous, were many undoubtedly spurious, as '(2) Painted Ribbands from Jerusalem with the Pillar, to which our Saviour was tied when scourged, with a Motto on each.' '(40) The Queen of Sheba's Fan.' He seems to have invested largely in this royal lady's property, for we have '(53) Queen of Sheba's Cordial Bottle,' and '(55) The Queen of Sheba's Milk Maid's Hat.' No. 56 was 'Pontius Pilate's Wife's Chambermaid's Sister's Sister's Hat'--a relic which, Steele declares, was made within three miles of Bedford.

[Footnote 310: Tatler, No. 34.]

These rather detract from the possible authenticity of the historical relics, which were numerous, and, if genuine, were curious and valuable. '(15) A Wooden Shoe put under the Speaker's Chair in K. James IId's Time.' '(37) Gustavus Adolphus's Gloves.' '(38) Harry VIIIth's Coat of Mail.' '(39) Queen Elizabeth's Stirrup.' '(41) Katherine Q. Dowager's Coronation Shoes.' '(42) King Charles IId's Band, which he wore in Disguise in the Royal Oak.' '(43) William the Conqueror's Flaming Sword.' '(44) Oliver's Sword.' '(45) King James IId's Coronation Shoes.' '(46) King William the IIId's Coronation Sword.' '(47) King William's Coronation Shoes.' '(49) Queen Anne's Testament.' '(50) Henry the VIIIth's Gloves.' '(51) The Czar of Moscow's Gloves;' and last but not least--an undeniable forgery, '(242) Robinson Crusoe's and his Man Friday's Shirts.'

Steele describes the Don as 'a sage of a thin and meagre countenance; which aspect made me doubt whether reading or fretting had made it so philosophic; but I very soon perceived him to be of that sect which the ancients call Gingivistæ; in our language, tooth drawers.' Besides shaving and tooth drawing, he played on the violin: 'if he would wholly give himself up to the string, instead of playing twenty beginnings to tunes, he might, before he dies, play Roger de Caubly[311] quite out. I heard him go through his whole round, and indeed he does play the "Merry Christ Church Bells"[312] pretty justly;' and another authority says, 'There was no passing his house, if he was at home, without having one's ears grated with the sounds of his fiddle, on which he scraped most execrably.' Steele recommends some of his curiosities to be taken away, 'or else he may expect to have his letters patent for making punch superseded, be debarred wearing his Muff next winter, or ever coming to London without his wife.' Either of these would have punished Saltero severely, for he was known out of doors by his old grey muff, which he carried up to his nose; and Mrs. S. had a temper of her own, to escape which the Don sometimes slipped off to London by himself. His collection seems to have dwindled away, for when it was sold in 1799 there were only 121 lots, and the whole seem to have sold for a little over 50_l._

[Footnote 311: See Appendix.]

[Footnote 312: See Appendix.]

Slaughter's Coffee House in St. Martin's Lane afterwards superseded Old Man's as a military meeting-place, and in the latter half of the century it was frequented by artists and sculptors. Searle's, or Serle's, was a legal coffee-house, and was situated at the corner of Lincoln's Inn Fields. Of Tom's--I have a list of six--perhaps the best known was that in St. Martin's Lane, where, as we have seen, was one of the first insurance offices. The Virginia, which was in St. Michael's Alley, and afterwards in Cornhill, has disappeared within the last few years.

'All accounts of POETRY, under Will's Coffee House,' says the Tatler; it was situated No. 1 Bow Street, at the corner of Russell Street, and took its name from its proprietor, William Urwin. If Ward can be trusted, gamblers as well as wits frequented it, for he says[313] there was 'great shaking of the Elbow at Will's about Ten.' Still it was, par excellence, the Wits coffee-house, a class who are very happily described by a contemporary writer:[314] 'All their words go for Jests, and all their Jests for nothing. They are quick in the Fancy of some ridiculous Thing, and reasonable good in the Expression. Nothing stops a Jest when it is coming; and they had rather lose their Friend than their Wit.' And they are also written of as being 'Conceited, if they had but once the Honour to dip a finger and thumb in Mr. D----'s[315] snush box, it was enough to inspire 'em with a true Genius of Poetry, and make 'em write Verse, as fast as a Taylor takes his stitches.' In fact, it was on Dryden's reputation that Will's coffee-house was then living; and his going there is noticed by Pepys, 'Feb. 3, 1664--In Covent Garden to-night, going to fetch my wife, I stopped at the great Coffee house there, where I never was before: where Dryden, the poet, I knew at Cambridge, and all the wits of the town, and Harris the player, and Mr. Hoole, of our College. And, had I time then, or could at other times, it will be good coming thither, for there, I perceive, is very witty and pleasant discourse. But I could not tarry, and, as it was late, they were all ready to go away.' Here also Pope saw the old man, whom he described as 'a plump man with a down look, and not very conversible.'

[Footnote 313: A Comical View of London and Westminster.]

[Footnote 314: Hickelty Pickelty.]

[Footnote 315: Dryden's.]

Such, then, were some of the principal coffee-houses. What were the taverns like? There were then no hotels proper, such as we know them: a man had to live in private apartments, and, when he wanted dinner, he had to betake himself to a tavern, or ordinary. As Misson remarks, 'At London they hardly so much as know what an Auberge is: There are indeed a thousand and a thousand Taverns, where you may have what you please got for you.' A tavern was a far more free-and-easy place than a coffee-house--in fact, it is a question whether the convenances of a coffee-house would admit of a man 'washing his teeth at a tavern window in Pall Mall';[316] indeed, the keeping of them was hardly considered reputable, for we find[317] that 'Her Majestie sign'd a warrant for continuing the salaries of the prince's servants during her life, provided they kept no publick houses.'

[Footnote 316: Tatler, 11.]

[Footnote 317: Luttrell, Jan. 1, 1709.]

Ward describes[318] the freedom and jollity of these places: 'Accordingly we stept in, and in the Kitchen found half a dozen of my Friends Associates, in the height of their Jollitry, as Merry as so many Cantabridgians at Sturbridge Fair, or Coblers at a Crispins Feast. After a Friendly Salutation, free from all Foppish Ceremonies, down we sat; and when a Glass or two round had given fresh Motion to our drowsy Spirits, and abandon'd all those careful thoughts which makes Man's Life uneasie, Wit begot Wit, and Wine a Thirsty Appetite to each Succeeding Glass. Then open were our Hearts and unconfined our Fancies; my Friend and I contributed our Mites to add to the Treasure of our Felicity. Songs and Catches Crown'd the Night, and each Man in his Turn pleased his Ears with his own Harmony.'

[Footnote 318: London Spy.]

The most singular thing was, that it was not at all derogatory for a nobleman or gentleman to go to a tavern for a carouse--and all clubs were held at taverns. Thoresby relates that, after his reception by the Queen, as one of a deputation from Leeds, on July 2, 1712, 'We left the Duke there, but returned in the High Sheriff's coach to Sir Arthur Kaye's, who, with Sir Bryan Stapleton, accompanied us; from Sir Arthur's we went to the Tavern to drink her Majesty's health, and stayed full late.' And Swift writes to Stella:[319] 'After dinner we went to a blind tavern, where Congreve, Sir Richard Temple, Eastcourt, and Charles Main were over a bowl of bad punch. The Knight sent for six flasks of his own wine for me, and we staid till twelve.' This sending for one's own wine was a peculiar arrangement, but doubtless the landlord was satisfied with a premium on 'corkage.' Swift frequently speaks of this custom: 'To-day I dined with Lewis and Prior at an eating house, but with Lewis's wine.' 'I dined in a Coffee house with Stratford upon Chops, and some of his Wine.' Again he was with Lords Harley and Dupplin, the son and son-in-law of the Earl of Oxford--and 'we were forced to go to a tavern, and send for wine from Lord Treasurer's.'

[Footnote 319: Journal, Oct. 27, 1710.]

But the frequenters of taverns were not all so respectable as these examples; and Brown supplies particulars of another section of society. 'A Tavern is a little Sodom, where as many Vices are daily practised, as ever were known in the great one; Thither Libertines repair to drink away their Brains, Aldermen to talk Treason, and bewail the loss of Trade; Saints to elevate the Spirit, hatch Calumnies, coin false News, and reproach the Church; Gamesters to shake their Elbows; Thither Sober Knaves walk with Drunken Fools to make Cunning Bargains and overreach them in their Dealings; Thither Young Quality retire to spend their Tradesmens Money; Thither Bullies Coach it to Kick Drawers, and invent new Oaths and Curses; Thither run Sots purely to be drunk, Beaux to shew their Vanity, Cowards to make themselves valiant by the Strength of their Wine, Fools to make themselves witty in their own Conceits, and Spendthrifts to be made Miserable by a Ridiculous Consumption of their own Fortunes.'

There were lower depths yet: there were the purl houses, where 'Tradesmen flock in their Morning gowns, by Seven, to cool their Plucks,' and the mug houses,[320] which in George the First's time were made into political clubs. 'King George for Ever' was then the mug-house cry, which the coffee-houses countered with 'High Church and Ormonde; no Presbyterians; no Hanover; down with the Mug.'

[Footnote 320: 'Here is nothing drunk but Ale, and every Gentleman hath his separate Mug, which he Chalks on the Table, where he sits, as it is brought in; and every one retires when he pleases, as from a Coffee House.'--A Journey through England, 1722.]

The following is a list of the principal taverns then in existence, for some of which I am indebted to Timbs' 'Club Life of London.' 'The Bear,' at the foot of London Bridge, Southwark and west side, which was in existence in 1463, was not pulled down till 1761. The 'Boar's Head,' in Eastcheap; Pontack's, in Abchurch Lane; and the 'Pope's Head' tavern in Pope's Head Alley, were all standing; and the 'Cock,' in Threadneedle Street, was only destroyed in 1851. There was the 'Salutation' in Newgate Street, where Wren used to smoke his pipe, whilst St. Paul's was rebuilding. Dolly's chop-house, in Paternoster Row, was established in Queen Anne's reign. The 'White Hart' in Bishopsgate Without, which bore the date 1480, was not pulled down till 1829. The 'King's Head,' in Fenchurch Street, at the corner of Mark Lane, was the hostel at which Queen Elizabeth is said to have dined in May 1554. The 'Devil,' in Fleet Street, now occupied by Childs' bank, was flourishing, and Steele describes it[321] as 'a place sacred to mirth tempered with discretion, where Ben Jonson and his Sons used to make their liberal meetings,' and he says that in the Apollo room were the rules of Ben's Club, painted in gold letters over the chimney piece.

[Footnote 321: Tatler, 79.]

This tavern was so popular that a rival sprang up on the other side of the street, the 'Young Devil,' and here, for a year or so, from the beginning of 1708, till some time in or about 1709, the Society of Antiquaries held their meetings, afterwards at the 'Fountain' tavern, Inner Temple Gate. The 'Cock,' in Fleet Street, has only just been demolished. There was another famous tavern which was near St. Dunstan's Church, in Fleet Street, called 'The Hercules' Pillars,' which was visited by Pepys, as appears by four entries in his diary. Another tavern of this name, at Charing Cross, will be noted when treating of the amusements of the people. The 'Mitre' tavern must not be confounded with the coffee-house of that name in Mitre Court, but was the one frequented by Dr. Johnson, and so often referred to by Boswell.

The 'Palsgrave's Head,' on the south side of the Strand, near Temple Bar, was then a coffee-house, and was so named from the Palsgrave Frederick, afterwards King of Bohemia, who married the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I. The 'Crown and Anchor,' which stretched along the Strand from Arundel Street to Milford Lane, was famous as being the place where the Academy of Music was instituted in 1710. The 'Rose' tavern in Drury Lane is frequently mentioned in the literature of this time. It was afterwards absorbed into Drury Lane Theatre, when Garrick enlarged it in 1776. The 'Rummer Tavern,' at Charing Cross, near Locket's Ordinary, is often mentioned in advertisements, and Brown and Ward speak of 'Heaven' and 'Hell,' which were two ale-houses near Westminster Hall. Pepys notices one of them on January 28, 1660--'And so I returned, and went to Heaven, where Ludlin and I dined.' And last, not least, was the 'Bumper' tavern, which 'Dick Estcourt,' the actor, opened on January 1, 1712, and which Steele so kindly puffed in Spectator No. 264. An exhaustive catalogue of the taverns in the City is given by Ward in his 'Vade Mecum for Maltworms,' a very curious and now rare book; but it is hardly worth while to reproduce their names, even in an appendix.

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XIX. CLUBS

Origin -- October Club -- Calves Head Club -- Kit Cat Club -- Other clubs -- Suggested clubs.

The name of Club is undoubtedly taken from the practice of a jovial company to 'club,' or divide the whole expenses of the entertainment; and 'the payment of our Clubs'[322] is a frequently mentioned wind-up of any festivity. Naturally, such agreeable meetings were repeated until they became habitual, and the society, or club, was formed; and these humble beginnings laid the foundation of that great social organisation which nowhere flourishes better than in England.

[Footnote 322: London Spy.]

The principal clubs of Queen Anne's time were the October Club, the Calves Head Club, and the Kit Cat Club. The October Club was a Political Club, of high Tory proclivities, and it was so called from the 'October Ale' which was supposed to be the drink of the members. It was held at the 'Bell Tavern,' in King Street, Westminster, and they succeeded in plaguing the Whigs to their hearts' content. Swift writes Stella of them:[323] 'We are plagued here with an October Club; that is, a set of above a hundred Parliament men of the Country, who drink October beer at home, and meet every evening at a tavern near the Parliament, to consult affairs, and drive things on to extremes against the Whigs, to call the old ministry to account, and get off five or six heads. The ministry seem not to regard them, yet one of them in confidence, told me that there must be something thought on to settle things better.' Swift wrote a little pamphlet called 'Some Advice Humbly Offered to the Members of the October Club, in a letter from a Person of Honour,' which met with varying fortunes; for he tells Stella, 'The little twopenny letter of "Advice to the October Club," does not sell: I know the reason; for it is finely written, I assure you; and like a true author, I grow fond of it, because it does not sell: you know that it is usual to writers to condemn the judgment of the world; if I had hinted it to be mine, every body would have bought it, but it is a great secret.'[324] A few days later, and he writes, February 1, that it 'begins now to sell; but I believe its fame will hardly reach Ireland.' There is no doubt but that it partially had the desired effect--of making these troublesome gentlemen less obstructive. Poor Swift was once nearly getting into a dilemma with regard to this club, and his story is as follows: 'Then Ford drew me to dine at a tavern, it happened to be the day and the house where the October Club dine. After we had dined, coming down, we called to inquire, whether our yarn business had been over that day, and I sent into the room for Sir George Beaumont. But I had like to be drawn into a difficulty; for in two minutes out comes Mr. Finch, Lord Guernsey's son, to let me know, that my Lord Compton, the steward of this feast, desired, in the name of the club, that I would do them the honour to dine with them. I sent my excuses, adorned with about thirty compliments, and got off as fast as I could. It would have been a most improper thing for me to dine there, considering my friendship for the Ministry. The Club is about a hundred and fifty, and near eighty of them were then going to dinner at two long tables in a great ground room.'[325] Afterwards the October Club was split, and the more Jacobite portion formed themselves into the March Club.

[Footnote 323: Journal, Feb. 18, 1711.]

[Footnote 324: Journal, Jan. 28, 1712.]

[Footnote 325: Journal, April 13, 1714.]

The Calves Head Club was decidedly an opposition one, and its history, true or not, is told in a little book which some people have attributed to Ward,[326] 'The SECRET HISTORY of the CALVES HEAD CLUB: or, the REPUBLICAN UNMASK'D. Wherein is fully shewn the religion of the CALVES HEAD Heroes in their Anniversary Thanksgiving Songs on the Thirtieth of January, by them called Anthems, for the years 1693, 1694, 1695, 1696, 1697. NOW PUBLISHED to demonstrate the Restless, Implacable Spirit of a certain Party still among us, who are never to be satisfied till the present Establishment in Church and State is subverted. The Second Edition.

[Footnote 326: Brit. Mus. 1093, c. 73.]

Discite justitiam moniti, & non temnere Divos. Virg.

* * * * *

London.

Printed, And Sold by the Booksellers of London and Westminster. 1703.'

The author tells the history of the club as follows: 'Happening in the late Reign to be in the Company of a certain active Whigg, who in all other Respects was a Man of probity enough; he assured me, that to his Knowledge, 'twas true, That he knew most of the Members of that Club, and that he had been often invited to their Meetings, but that he had always avoided them: Adding, that according to the Principles he was bred up in, he wou'd have made no scruple to have met Charles the First, in the Field, and oppos'd him to the utmost of his Power; but that since he was Dead, he had no further Quarrel to him, and looked upon it as a cowardly piece of Villany, below any Man of Honour, to insult upon a Memory of a Prince, who had suffer'd enough in his Life Time.

'He farther told me, that Milton, and some other Creatures of the Commonwealth, had instituted this Club, as he was inform'd, in Opposition to Bp. Juxon, Dr. Sanderson, Dr. Hammond, and other Divines of the Church of England, who met privately every 30th of January; and, tho' it was under the Time of the Usurpation, had compil'd a private Form of Service for the Day, not much different from that we now find in the Liturgy....

'By another Gentleman, who, about Eight Years ago, went out of meer Curiosity to see their Club, and has since furnish'd me with the following Papers; I was inform'd that it was kept in no fix'd House, but that they remov'd as they saw convenient; that the place they met in when he was with 'em, was a blind Ally, about Morefields;[327] that the Company wholly consisted of Independents and Anabaptists (I am glad for the Honour of the Presbyterians to set down this Remark); that the Famous Jerry White, formerly Chaplain to Oliver Cromwell, who, no doubt on't, came to sanctify with his Pious Exhortations, the Ribbaldry of the Day, said Grace; that after the Table Cloth was removed, the Anniversary Anthem, as they impiously call'd it, was sung, and a Calves Scull filled with Wine or other Liquor, and then a Brimmer went about to the Pious Memory of those worthy Patriots that had kill'd the Tyrant, and deliver'd their Country from his Arbitrary Sway; and lastly, a Collection made for the Mercenary Scribler, to which every Man contributed according to his Zeal for the Cause, or the Ability of his Purse.'

[Footnote 327: In the ninth ed., 1714, after 'Morefields' it goes on: 'Where an Axe hung up in the Club Room, and was reverenced as a principal Symbol in this Diabolical Sacrament. Their Bill of Fare was a large Dish of Calves-Heads, dressed several ways, by which they represented the King and his Friends, who had suffer'd in his Cause; a large Pike with a small one in his Mouth, as an Emblem of Tyranny; a large Cod's Head, by which they pretended to represent the Person of the King singly; a Boar's Head with an Apple in its Mouth, to represent the King, by this, as Beastial, as by their other Hieroglyphicks they had done Foolish and Tyrannical. After the Repast was over, one of their Elders presented an Ikon Basilike, which was with great Solemnity burn'd upon the Table, whilst the Anthems were singing. After this, another produc'd Milton's Defensio Populi Anglicani, upon which all laid their Hands, and made a Protestation in the form of an Oath, for ever to stand by, and maintain the same;' then the text goes on as above.]

The following 'Anthem,' if not the most refined of the series, is, at least, the most spirited and characteristic:--

An Anthem on the 30th of January 1696.

There was a King of Scottish Race, a Man of Muckle might a, Was never seen in Battels Great, but greatly he would sh---- a; This K. begot another K. which made the Nation sad a, Was of the same Religion, an Atheist like his Dad a: This Monarch wore a Picked Beard, and seem'd a Doughty Hero, As Dioclesian Innocent, and Merciful as Nero. The Churches darling Implement, but Scourge of all the People, He Swore he'd make each Mother's Son Adore their Idol Steeple: But they perceiving his designs, grew plagy shy and jealous, ☞ And timely Choppt his Calve's head off, and sent him to his fellows. Old Rowly did succeed his Dad, such a King was never seen a, He'd lye with every nasty Drab, but seldom with his Queen a. His Dogs at Council Board wou'd sit, like Judges in their Furs a, 'Twas hard to say which had most Wit, the Monarch or his Curs a. At last he died, we know not how, but most think by his Brother, His Soul to Royal Tophet went to see his Dad and Mother. The furious James Usurp'd the Throne, to pull Religion down a; But by his Wife and Priest undone, he quickly lost his Crown a. To France the wand'ring Monarch's trudg'd, in hopes relief to find a, Which he is like to have from thence, even when the D----'s blind a. Oh! how shou'd we Rejoyce and Pray, and never cease to Sing a, ☞ If Bishops too were Chac'd away, and Banished with their King a: Then Peace and Plenty wou'd ensue, our Bellies wou'd be full a, The enliven'd Isle wou'd Laugh and Smile, as in the days of Noll a.

Whether this 'Secret History' be true or not, it would almost appear that there was a Calves Head Club in George the Second's reign, for in the Monthly Intelligencer, which was a portion of the Gentleman's Magazine, we find[328]: 'Friday, January 30, 1735. Some young Noblemen and Gentlemen met in a Tavern in Suffolk Street,[329] called themselves the Calves Head Club; dress'd up a Calfs Head in a Napkin, and after some Huzzas threw it into a Bonfire, and dipt Napkins in their red Wine, and wav'd them out at Window. The Mob had strong beer given them, and for a time hallood as well as the best; but taking Disgust at some Healths propos'd, grew so outragious, that they broke all the Windows, and forc'd themselves into the House, but the Guards being sent for, prevented further Mischief.' Different accounts exist of this occurrence, variously modifying it, until they end in a total denial; but engravings exist professing to give the 'True Effigies' of the scene. Apropos of this, in the 1714 edition of the 'Secret History' is an engraving of 'the Westminster Calf's Head Club,' which is none other than the representation of a coffee-house already produced (see page 162), but altered somewhat to suit the occasion. For instance, the dame de comptoir is erased, and in her place is a huge axe.

[Footnote 328: Gent. Mag. vol. v. p. 105.]

[Footnote 329: Charing Cross.]

Perhaps one of the now best-known clubs of Anne's time was the Kit Cat, which derived its peculiar cognomen (so Addison says) 'from a Mutton Pye.' Attempts have been made to attribute its origin to a political gathering of Whig noblemen and gentlemen, but contemporary authorities all agree that it was founded by Jacob Tonson, the bookseller; and Sir R. Blackmore (a member of the club), who wrote a poem called 'the Kitcats' in 1708, may be considered as knowing something about what he wrote. Whether the pieman's name was Christopher Cat, or Christopher, living at the sign of the Cat and Fiddle, does not much matter: certain it is that the pies from which the club was named were called Kit Cat's pies.

Various domiciles have been given to the club, but Sir R. Blackmore says it was held at the Fountain in the Strand, a site now occupied by the Cigar Divan, as is denoted by the name of Fountain Court.

On the fair Strand by which with graceful Pride, Unrival'd Thamis rolls his alternate Tyde, Between the Courts which most the People awe, (In one the Monarch reigns, in one the Law.) A Stately Building rear'd its lofty Head, Which both the Thames and Town around survey'd. Here crown'd with Clusters Bacchus kept his Court, Where mighty Vats his chearful Throne support; High o'er the Gate he hung his waving Sign, A Fountain Red with ever-flowing Wine. ............................................. One Night, in Seven, at this convenient Seat, } Indulgent BOCAJ[330] did the Muses treat, } Their Drink was generous Wine, and Kit Cat's Pyes their Meat. } Here he assembled his Poetic Tribe, Past Labours to Reward, and new ones to prescribe; Hence did th' Assembly's Title first arise, And Kit-Cat Wits sprung first from Kit-Cat's Pyes. BOCAJ the mighty Founder of the State } Led by his Wisdom, or his happy Fate, } Chose proper Pillars to support its Weight } All the first Members for their Place were fit Tho' not of Title, Men of Sense and Wit.

[Footnote 330: Jacob transposed.]

They showed they had sense at all events, for in the summer they went into the fresh air, and held their meetings at the Flask at Hampstead.

Or when Apollo like, thou'rt pleas'd to lead } Thy Sons to feast on Hampstead's airy Head; } Hampstead that now in name Parnassus shall exceed. }

Another proof, if it were needed, that Tonson was the founder of the club, is that forty-two of its members presented him with their portraits, painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller, to adorn his house at Barn Elms. As the room was not lofty enough to admit of their being the regulation size, special canvases were had (36 × 28 in.), and this is still called Kit Cat size. These portraits are still in existence, and were all shown at the Art Treasures Exhibition at Manchester, and some at the International Exhibition of 1862. This club was famous for the toasts engraved on its drinking glasses, many of which have survived to this day; and this gave rise to Dr. Arbuthnot's epigram--

Whence deathless Kit-Cat took his name, Few Critics can unriddle: Some say from pastry cook it came And some from Cat and Fiddle. From no trim beaus its name it boasts, Grey statesmen or green wits, But from this pell mell pack of toasts Of old Cats and young Kits.

There were numerous social clubs, the Beefsteak, and the Saturday Club, of which Swift makes frequent mention in his letters to Stella. Take one instance[331]: 'I dined with lord-treasurer, and shall again to-morrow, which is his day, when all the ministers dine with him. He calls it whipping day. It is always on Saturday, and we do indeed usually rally him about his faults on that day. I was of the original club, when only poor Lord Rivers, lord keeper, and Lord Bolinbroke came; but now Ormond, Anglesey, lord Steward, Dartmouth, and other rabble intrude, and I scold at it; but now they pretend as good a title as I; and, indeed, many Saturdays I am not there.[331] He also belonged to a club or society for social converse and the encouragement of literature, which was founded in the latter part of the year 1712. Its meetings were on Thursday, and it was the custom of the members to entertain their brethren in turns. He gave one dinner at the Thatched House[332]: 'it will cost me five or six pounds; yet the secretary says he will give me wine.' But they soon got extravagant, for their very next dinner is noted[333] as 'The Duke of Ormond's treat last week cost £20 though it was only four dishes, and four without a dessert; and I bespoke it in order to be cheap;' and this did not include wine. In this society, when money was raised for a benevolent purpose, the members were assessed according to their several estates: thus, the Duke of Ormond paid ten guineas, Swift half a guinea.

[Footnote 331: Journal to Stella, Jan. 9, 1713.]

[Footnote 332: Ibid. Feb. 21, 1712.]

[Footnote 333: Ibid. March 5, 1712.]

Steele, in Tatler No. 9, gives an amusing and graphic account of a club, held at a tavern called the Trumpet, in Shire Lane; and, to show how prevalent the establishment of clubs was in this reign, the following are some suggested ones (of course only in fun) to be found in the Spectator: The Amorous, Chit Chat, Everlasting, Fox hunters, Fringe glove, Hebdomadal, Henpecked, Lazy, Lawyers, Mohock, Moving, Rattling, The Romp, Sighing, Spectator's, Street, Twopenny, Ugly, Widows; and the Guardian supplies a list of supposed clubs of little men, and the Short, Silent, Tall, and Terrible Clubs.

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XX. SIGHT-SEEING AND FAIRS

Royal visits to the City -- Lord Mayor's show -- The lions at the Tower -- The Armoury -- Tombs at Westminster -- Bartholomew Fair -- Description -- Shows -- Tight-rope dancing -- Natural curiosities -- Theatrical performances, etc. -- Abolition -- May Fair -- Lady Mary -- Pinkethman -- Shows -- Visit to -- Abolition -- Southwark Fair -- Its shows.

But clubs were not the only social enjoyments. The populace had, during this reign, many free sights--and the numerous visits of the Queen to the City provided fine shows gratis. She dined at Guildhall on the Lord Mayor's day after her accession, and she visited the City again on November 12 the same year, accompanied by both Houses of Parliament, to return thanks for the successes at Vigo. Certainly January 19, 1704, was kept as a fast; but on September 7 of that year the Queen again went to St. Paul's, in commemoration of the victory at Blenheim and the capture of Gibraltar; and on January 3, 1705, the standards[334] taken at Blenheim were carried, by a detachment of horse and foot guards, from the Tower, and hung up in Westminster Hall. On the 6th of the same month the Duke of Marlborough dined, by invitation, with the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, at Goldsmiths' Hall. Once more the Queen visited St. Paul's, on August 23, 1705, to return thanks for the Duke's forcing the French lines in Brabant, and yet again for the victory at Ramilies on June 27, 1706. This time, the colours taken were deposited in the Guildhall, with great pomp, on December 19, 1706: the Queen, and Prince George, going into St. James's Park to see them pass. On this occasion the Duke dined with the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, in Vintners' Hall. On December 30 of the same year, the Queen gave thanks at St. Paul's for the successes of the last campaign in Spain and Italy; and, as the newspaper account informs us, 'the Night ended with Ringing of Bells, Bonfires, Illuminations, and other Rejoycings.'

[Footnote 334: There was an engraving made of these standards; and a handbill about it (Harl. MSS. 5996, 40) is curious, as showing how they pushed trade then. 'The Colours being only to be seen in Westminster Hall, several Gentlemen and Others have desired to share in the Commemoration thereof, by placing the Representation of 'em in their Halls and Houses: And now to accommodate those who are so disposed, the said Representation with the Imbellishments above mention'd, is done on fine Imperial Paper, and will in a Day or Two be left at your house for your Perusal, till call'd for next Day, when you are desired either to return it, or be pleased to pay Two Shillings and Sixpence to the Person that deliver'd the Same.']

Yet again was there another day of public rejoicing, on May 1, 1707, to celebrate the union with Scotland, and the Queen once more visited St. Paul's. But this was to be the last. On thanksgiving day, July 7, 1713, to celebrate the conclusion of peace, Anne was too unwell to play her accustomed part, and was reluctantly compelled to abandon it and remain at home. The fireworks on this occasion were splendid. 'Those in Smithfield began about Ten at Night, and ended about Eleven: when those upon the Thames, over against Whitehall, began, and lasted till after Midnight. Besides that these were in both Places Excellent in their kind, they were play'd off with the utmost Regularity and good Order; so that we have not heard of the least Mischief done either upon the River or in Smithfield;' and, as was observed in the Guardian, No. 103: 'In short, the artist did his part to admiration, and was so encompassed with fire and smoke that one would have thought nothing but a Salamander could have been safe in such a situation.' But these seem to have been eclipsed by a display at Dublin in honour of the Queen's last birthday, February 6, 1714, as is recorded in the Daily Courant of February 16, 1714.

The Londoner, too, had his Lord Mayor's Show, with its fun, perhaps just a trifle rougher than in our day. Owing to the difference of old and new style, Lord Mayor's day was on October 29 instead of November 9 as now. Ward naturally revels in it[335]: 'Tuesday 29. Windows in Cheapside stuck with more Faces at Ten, than the Balconies with Candles on an Illumination Night. Wicked havock of Neats-Tongues and Hamms in the Barges about Eleven. Artillery Men march by two and two, burlesqued in Buft and Bandileers. The Vintners and Brewers, the Butchers and Apothecaries justle about precedence; 'Tis pity they are not incorporated. The Ladies pelted with dead Cats instead of Squibs from Twelve to Three. Mob tumultuous. Boys starting to see that which, as the Old Woman said, they must all come to one Day.' And in the London Spy he gives a very long account of the show, its pageants, and the rough humour of the spectators.

[Footnote 335: Comical View of London and Westminster.]

'I took three lads, who are under my Guardianship, a rambling, in a hackney Coach, to shew them the town; as the lions, the tombs, Bedlam.'[336] These were the three great sights of London: the lions at the Tower, the tombs in Westminster Abbey, and the poor mad folk in Bedlam. 'To see the lions' is proverbial, and these had to be visited by every one new to the City. In 1703 there were four, two lions and two lionesses--one with a cub. In this reign three of the lions died almost at the same time, and it was looked upon by some as an event of dire portent. Addison laughingly alludes to the popular idea of something awful happening on the death of a 'Tower' lion, when, in the Freeholder, he makes the Jacobite squire ask the keeper whether any of the lions had fallen sick when Perth was taken, or on the flight of the Pretender. When dead they were sometimes stuffed, as Ward relates. He also says there was a leopard, three eagles, two owls, and a hyena. That was in 1703; and Thoresby, writing in 1709, went to see the 'lions, eagles, catamountains, leopards, &c.' He also relates[337] his experiences of a visit to the Tower itself: 'Walked with Mr. Dale to the Tower; was mightily pleased with the new and excellent method the Records[338] are put into (of which see a letter of the Bishop of Carlisle to me;) and viewed many great curiosities of that nature, and original letters from foreign kings and potentates, upon parchment, and paper as old (reckoned as great a rarity) to the Kings of England, very ancient tallies, Jewish stars, &c., which the obliging Mr. Holms showed me, who also gave me an autograph of Queen Elizabeth, that was his own property; then went to view the several armouries, as that more ancient of the weapons taken in the year 1588 from the pretended Invincible Armada, and those modern from Vigo, and in other memorable transactions of this age; the present armoury for use is put to a surprising method, in the form of shields, pyramids, trophies, &c. Some of the elder and later kings' armour are placed as though mounted on horseback.'

[Footnote 336: Tatler, No. 30.]

[Footnote 337: Diary, Jan. 21, 1709.]

[Footnote 338: The records were kept in the Tower until the present reign.]

Ward also visited the Tower, after seeing the lions, and has left a most amusing account of what he saw, which is far too long for transcription. He first noted 'a parcel of Bulky Wardens, in old fashion'd Lac'd Jackets, and in Velvet Flat caps, hung round with divers colour'd Ribbonds, like a Fool's hat upon a Holiday.' Indeed, their costume was identical with their present state dress, only it was utterly marred by their wearing portentous periwigs. Under the guidance of one of these gentry he was shown Traitor's Gate, the White Tower, and St. Peter's Church; and afterwards, the Grand Armoury, where he was particularly delighted to see that 'at the corner of every Lobby, and turning of the Stairs, stood a Wooden Granadier as Sentinel, painted in his proper Colours, cut out with much exactness upon Board.' Arrived in the arsenal, he was handed over to one of the armourer's men, who had 'everything as ready at his fingers' ends, as the Fellow that shows the Tombs at Westminster. The first Figure at our Coming in, that most effected the Eye, by reason of its bigness, was a long Range of Muskets and Carbines, that ran the length of the Armory, which was distinguish'd by a Wilderness of Arms, whose Locks and Barrels were kept in that admirable Order, that they shone as bright as a Good Housewifes Spits and Pewter in the Christmas Holidays, on each side of which were Pistols, Baggonets, Scimiters, Hangers, Cutlaces, and the like Configurated into Shields, Triumphal Arches, Gates, Pillasters, Scollopshells, Mullets, Fans, Snakes, Serpents, Sun Beams, Gorgon's Heads, the Waves of the Ocean, Stars and Garters, and in the middle of all, Pillars of Pikes, and turn'd Pillars of Pistols; and at the end of the Wilderness, fire Arms plac'd in the Order of a great Organ.' Coming thence, he noticed the Tower rooks, as he called those men who asked 'Whether you will see the Crown, the whole Regalia or the King's Marching Train of Artillery?' He would have none of them, but went with a warder into the armoury proper, where he 'View'd the Princely Scare crows, and he told us to whom each Suit of Armour did belong Originally, adding some short Memorandums out of History, to every empty Iron side; some True, some False, supplying that with Invention, which he wanted in Memory.' He would not see the Regalia, but got a description of it from the warder, 'and so Cozened the Keeper of our Eighteen Pence a piece.' The warder told them 'there was a Royal Crown, and a new one made for the Coronation of the late Queen Mary, and three others wore by his Majesty with Distinct Robes, upon several occasions; also the Salt Spoons, Forks and Cups, us'd at the Coronation.' Altogether, a visit to the Tower then very much resembled one nowadays.

As to the tombs at Westminster, what more do we want to know about them, as they then were, than what is contained in Spectator No. 26, where Addison grumbles at Sir Cloudesley Shovel's monument, 'Instead of the brave rough English Admiral, which was the distinguishing Character of that plain gallant Man, he is represented on his Tomb, by the Figure of a Beau, dress'd in a long Perriwig, and reposing himself upon Velvet Cushions under a Canopy of State? 'And for all else in the grand old abbey, have we not the lifelike description of Sir Roger's visit?[339] how he saw Jacob's pillar, sat in the Coronation Chair, handled Edward the Third's sword, and afterwards wanted the Spectator to call on him 'at his Lodgings in Norfolk Buildings, and talk over these Matters with him more at leisure.' It would be a literary profanity to deal with them except in their entirety.

[Footnote 339: Spectator.]

But the lions, the tombs, and Bedlam could never be sufficient recreative pabulum for a large city, so there were outlets for the exuberance of their spirits in the three fairs, Bartholomew, May fair, and Southwark. Bartholomew fair stands pre-eminent, both for its antiquity, its size, and length of duration. In Anne's time it was no longer the great mart for cloth it used to be--and the fair was given over to rioting and unlimited licence. This fair is a most congenial subject for Ward's pen, and he gives it free range--too free, alas! for many extracts. He describes the entrance to it as a 'Belfegor's Concert, the rumbling of Drums, mix'd with the intolerable Squalling of Cat Calls and Penny Trumpets,' so, to get out of the noise and smell, prominent in which latter was 'the Singeing of Pigs, and burnt Crackling of over Roasted Pork' (which was a specialty in the fair), he turned into an ale house, where he had doctored beer, and was so annoyed by a waiter, who would constantly inquire, 'Do you call, sirs?' that he threatened to kick him downstairs. From this upper room he could see the booths, and note the humours of the fair: the mock finery of the actors, who were 'strutting round their Balconies in their Tinsey Robes, and Golden Leather Buskins;' and the sorry buffoonery of the Merry Andrews. Having rested, he sallied forth into the fair, saw the rope-dancers, one of whom was a negress, who set a countryman near Ward into fits of laughter, which he explained: 'Master, says he, I have oftentimes heard of the Devil upon two Sticks, but never Zee it bevore in me Life. Bezide, Maister, who can forbear Laughing to see the Devil going to Dance?' He speaks in high terms of the German rope-dancer, of whom Lauron gives two portraits. He then went into a booth to see 'a Dwarf Comedy, Sir-nam'd a Droll,' but does not seem to have cared much about it. He and his friend then refreshed themselves with 'a Quart of Fill-birds, and Eat each of us two Penny worth of Burgamy Pears,' and witnessed another performance. They then needed solid food, so determined to have a quarter of a pig (sucking pig of course), and made their way to Pye Corner, 'where Cooks stood dripping at their Doors, like their Roasted Swine's Flesh,' but the total absence of cleanliness in the cookery was so repulsive, that they had to forego the luxury.

After undergoing the certain penalty of having his handkerchief stolen, he went to see another droll, the plot of which seems to have been perfectly inexplicable, and he came to the conclusion that 'Bartholomew Fair Drolls are like State Fire Works, they never do any Body good, but those that are concern'd in the Show.' The wax-work was then visited, and then they went to a music and dancing booth, in which they not only had a most discordant instrumental concert, but saw a woman 'Dance with Glasses full of Liquor upon the Backs of her Hands, to which she gave Variety of Motions, without Spilling,' and a youthful damsel perform a sword dance, which was succeeded by 'abundance of Insipid Stuff.' They got away, and passed by the 'Whirligigs,' went into a raffling shop, and the Groom Porter's, after which he went to an alehouse to rest himself and smoke a pipe, and finally went home, thoroughly tired.

This, then, was a true record of a visit to Bartholomew Fair, by the aid of which we shall thoroughly appreciate the following advertisements of the amusements there:--

'At the great Booth over against the Hospital Gate, during the time of Bartholomew Fair will be seen the Dancing on the Ropes, after the French and Italian Fashion, by a Company of the finest Performers that ever yet have been seen by the whole World. For in the same Booth will be seen the two Famous French Maidens, so much admired in all Places and Countries wherever they come (especially in May fair last), where they gain'd the highest Applause from all the Nobility and Gentry, for their wonderful Performance on the Rope, both with and without a Pole; so far out doing all others that have been seen of their Sex, as gives a general Satisfaction to all that ever yet beheld them. To which is added, Vaulting on the High Rope, and Tumbling on the Stage. As also Vaulting on two Horses, on the great Stage, at once. The Stage being built after the Italian manner, on which you will see the Famous Scaramouch and Harlequin. With several other Surprizing Entertainments, too tedious here to mention. Perform'd by the greatest Masters now in Europe. The like never seen before in England.'

Rope-dancing was evidently very popular, for there is another booth, in which Blondin is outdone. 'It is there you will see the Italian Scaramouch dancing on the Rope, with a Wheel Barrow before him with two Children and a Dog in it, and with a Duck on his Head; who sings to the Company, and causes much laughter.' And yet one more, for it introduces us to the most famous rope-dancer of the reign--'Lady Mary.' 'Her Majesty's Company of Rope Dancers. At Mr. Barnes and Finly's Booth, between the Hospital Gate and the Crown Tavern, opposite the Cross Daggers, during the usual time of Bartholomew Fair, are to be seen the most famous Rope dancers in Europe. And 1st. 2 young Maidens, lately arrived from France, Dance with and without a Pole to admiration. 2. The Famous Mr. Barnes, of whose performances this Kingdom is so sensible, Dances with 2 Children at his Feet, and with Boots and Spurs. 3. Mrs. Finly distinguished by the name of Lady Mary for her incomparable Dancing, has much improv'd herself since the last Fair.' Lady Mary is frequently mentioned in contemporary literature, and on one occasion is alluded to 'as little dressed as Lady Mary.' This probably arose from her dispensing with petticoats in dancing. The German rope-dancer, immortalised by Lauron, is dressed in a fine frilled Holland shirt, trunk hose, and tights--in fact, the usual acrobatic dress; and Ward notices two dancers, 'who, to show their Affection to the Breeches wor'em under their Petticoats; which, for decency's sake, they first Danc'd in; But they doft their Petticoats after a gentle breathing.' This probably accounts for the caustic remark in the Spectator (No. 51), 'The Pleasantry of stripping almost Naked has been since practised (where indeed it should have begun) very successfully at Bartholomew Fair.'

There were, also, natural curiosities to be seen. 'At the next Door to the Sign of the Greyhound in Smithfield, is to be shown (by Her Majesty's Order) a Wonderful and Miraculous Sight, a Male Child which was born in Garnsey of the body of Rebecca Secklin, and now sucks at her Breasts, being but Thirty Weeks old, with a prodigious big Head, being above a yard about, and hath been shown to several Persons of Quality.'

'By Her Majesties Authority. At the Hart's Horn's Inn in Pye Corner, during the time of Bartholomew Fair, will be seen these strange Rarities following, viz. A Little Farey Woman, lately come from Italy, being but Two Foot Two Inches high, the shortest that ever was seen in England, and no ways Deform'd, as the other two Women are, that are carried about the Streets in Boxes from House to House, for some years past, this being Thirteen Inches shorter than either of them; if any Person has a desire to see her at their own Houses, we are ready to wait upon them any Hour of the Day.

'Likewise a little Marmazet from Bengal that dances the Cheshire Rounds,[340] and Exercises at the Word of Command. Also a strange Cock from Hamborough, having Three proper Legs, Two Fundaments, and makes use of them both at one time. Vivat Reginæ' (sic).

[Footnote 340: See Appendix.]

'Next Door to the Golden Hart in West Smithfield, between the Hospital Gate and Pye Corner during the time of Bartholomew Fair, is to be seen the Admirable Work of Nature, a Woman having three Breasts; and each of them affording Milk at one time or differently, according as they are made use of. There is likewise to be seen the Daughter of the same Woman, which hath breasts of the like Nature, according to her Age; and there never hath been any extant of such sort, which is wonderful to all that ever did, or shall behold her.'

Theatrical performances naturally took a prominent part; for the two theatres shut up during Fair time, and Mills, Doggett, and Penkethman, all fair actors, and belonging to the regular stage, had booths here, and did well; in fact, Penkethman became wealthy. As Ward remarks[341]: 'After struggling with a Long See-Saw, between Pride and Profit; and having Prudently consider'd the weighty difference between the Honourable Title of one of His Majesties Servants, and that of a Bartholomew Fair Player, a Vagabond by the Statue, did at last, with much difficulty, conclude, That it was equally Reputable to Play the Fool in the Fair for Fifteen or Twenty Shillings a Day, as 'twas to please Fools in the Play House at so much a week.'

[Footnote 341: London Spy.]

At Parker's Booth was played the Famous History of Dorastus and Fawnia, 'With very pleasant Dialogues and Antick Dances.'

'Never Acted before. At Miller's Booth, over against the Cross Daggers, near the Crown Tavern, during the time of Bartholomew Fair will be presented an Excellent new Droll call'd

'The Tempest, or the Distressed Lovers,

With the English HERO and the Highland Princess, with the Comical Humours of the Inchanted Scotchman, or Jockey and the three Witches. Shewing how a Nobleman of England was cast away upon the Indian Shore, and in his Travels found the Princess of the Country, with whom he fell in Love, and after many Dangers and Perils, was married to her; and his faithful Scotchman, who was saved with him, travelling thorow Woods, fell in among Witches, where between 'em is abundance of Comical Diversion. There in the Tempest, is Neptune with his Tritons in his Chariot drawn with Sea Horses and Mairmaids singing. With Variety of Entertainments, Performed by the best Masters; the Particulars would be too tedious to be inserted here. Vivat Regina.'

There seems to have been another version of this play, which, after all, was only a travesty of Shakespeare's 'Tempest.'

'At Doggett's Booth, Hosier Lane End, during the Time of Bartholomew Fair, will be presented a New Droll, called the Distress'd Virgin, or Unnatural Parents, Being a True History of the Fair Maid of the West; or The Loving Sisters. With the Comical Travels of Poor Trusty in search of his Master's Daughter, and his encounter with Three Witches.

'Also Variety of Comick Dances and Songs, with Scenes and Machines never seen before--Vivat Regina.'

In the next advertisement we see three of 'Her Majesty's Servants' combine in keeping a booth in the Fair.

'At Pinkeman's, Mills', and Bullock's Booth,

In the Old Place over against the Hospital Gate, During the time of Bartholomew Fair will be presented, A New Droll call'd

'The Siege of Barcelona, or the Soldier's Fortune, With the taking of Fort Mount jouy,

Containing the Pleasant and Comical Exploits of that Renown'd Hero Captain Blunderbuss and his Man Squib; His Adventures with the Conjuror; and a Surprizing Scene of the Flying Machine, where he and his Man Squib are Enchanted; Also the Diverting Humour of Corporal Scare Devil.

'The Principal Parts Acted by the Comedians of the Theatre Royal,

viz.

Colonel Lovewell Mr. Mills. Captain Blunderbuss Mr. Bullock. Squib, his Man Mr. Norris, alias Jubilee Dicky.[342] Corporal Scare Devil Mr. Bickerstaff. Maria, the Governor's Daughter Mrs. Baxter. The Dame of Honour Mrs. Willis.

[Footnote 342: So called because in 1699 he played the part of Dicky in Farquhar's Constant Couple, or a Trip to the Jubilee.]

'To which will be added the Wonderful Performance of the most celebrated Master, Mr. Simpson the famous Vaulter; Who has had the Honour to teach most of the Nobility in England; and at whose request he now performs with Mr. Pinkeman to let the World see what Vaulting is. Being lately arrived from Italy.

'The Musick, Songs and Dances are all by the best Performers of their kind, whom Mr. Pinkeman has Entertained at extraordinary Charge, purely to give a full Satisfaction to the Town. Vivat Regina.'

'At Ben Johnson's BOOTH (by Mrs. Mynn's Company of Actors). In the Rounds in Smithfield, during the FAIR, Will be presented an excellent Entertainment, being the Famous History of WHITTINGTON, Lord MAYOR of LONDON: Wherein besides the Variety of SONGS and DANCES, will be shown an extraordinary View of several stately and surprising SCENES; as a Rowling Sea, bearing a large Ship under Sayl, with Neptune, Mermaids, Dolphins, &c. Also a Prospect of a Moorish Country, so swarming with Rats and Mice, that they over run the King and Queen's Table at Dinner; Likewise a large diverting SCENE of Tapestry, fill'd with all living Figures; and lastly, concluding with a Lord Mayor's Triumph, in which are presented nine several Pageants, being Six Elephants and Castles, a Magnificent Temple, and two Triumphal Chariots, one drawn by two Lyons, and the other by two Dolphins; in all which are seated above twenty Persons in various Dresses; with Flaggs, Scutcheons, Streamers, &c. The Preparation and Decoration of which infinitely exceed both in Expence and Grandeur, all that has ever been seen on a Stage in the FAIR. The Chief Parts are performed by Actors from both Theatres. Vivat Regina.'

Here we see a departure from the old drolls, and a reliance on the part of the management on mechanical and spectacular effects: besides which, there was the puppet show, pure and simple. 'By Her Majesties Permission. At HEATLY'S Booth, Over against the Cross Daggers, next to Mr. Miller's Booth; During the time of Bartholomew Fair, will be presented a Little Opera, Call'd, The Old Creation of the World Newly Reviv'd, With the Addition of the Glorious Battle obtained over the French and Spaniards, by his Grace the Duke of Marlborough. The Contents are these--

'1. The Creation of Adam and Eve.

'2. The Intreagues of Lucifer in the Garden of Eden.

'3. Adam and Eve driven out of Paradice.

'4. Cain going to Plow. Abel driving Sheep.

'5. Cain Killeth his Brother Abel.

'6. Abraham Offering his Son Isaac.

'7. Three Wisemen of the East guided by a Star, who Worship him.

'8. Joseph and Mary flee away by Night upon an Ass.

'9. King Herod's Cruelty, his Men's spears laden with Children.

'10. Rich Dives invites his Friends, and orders his Porter to keep the Beggars from his Gate.

'11. Poor Lazarus comes a begging at Rich Dives's Gate, the Dogs lick his Sores.

'12. The good Angel and Death contend for Lazarus's Life.

'13. Rich Dives is taken Sick and dieth, he is buried in great solemnity.

'14. Rich Dives in Hell, and Lazarus in Abraham's Bosom, seen in a most glorious Object, all in machines, descending in a Throne, Guarded with multitudes of Angels, with the Breaking of the Clouds, discovering the Palace of the Sun, in double and treble Prospects, to the Admiration of all Spectators. Likewise several Rich and Large Figures, which Dances Jiggs, Sarabrands, Anticks, and Country Dances, between every Act; compleated with the merry Humours of Sir John Spendall, and Punchanello, with several other things never yet Expos'd. Perform'd by Mat Heatly. Vivat Regina.'

This show seems to have been popular, for in another fair we have it again with variations: 'At Crawly's Booth, over against the Crown Tavern in Smithfield during the time of Bartholomew Fair, will be presented a little Opera call'd, The Old Creation of the World, yet newly reviv'd, with the addition of Noah's Flood; also several Fountains playing Water during the time of the Play.

'The last Scene does present Noah and his Family coming out of the Ark, with all the Beasts, two by two, and all the Fowls of the Air seen in a Prospect sitting upon the Trees. Likewise over the Ark is seen the Sun rising in a most glorious manner, moreover a multitude of Angels will be seen in a double rank, which presents a double prospect, one for the Sun, the other for a Palace, where will be seen six Angels, ringing six Bells.

'Likewise Machines descends from above, double and trible, with Dives rising out of Hell, and Lazarus seen in Abraham's bosom, besides several Figures dancing Jiggs, Sarabrands, and Country Dances, to the Admiration of all Spectators; with the merry Conceit of Squire Punch and Sir John Spendall.

'All this is compleated with an Entertainment of Singing and Dancing with several Naked Swords, Perform'd by a Child of Eight Years of Age, to the general Satisfaction of all Persons. Vivat Regina.'

As a specimen of the dancing booth Ward visited, take the following handbill: 'James Miles, From Sadler's Wells, at Islington; NOW keeps the GUN MUSICK BOOTH, in Bartholomew Fair. Whereas Mr. Miles by his Care and Diligence to oblige the Gentry, and all others that are Lovers and Judges of good Musick, has put himself to an extraordinary Charge, in getting such Performers, as, no doubt, will give a general Satisfaction to all. This is also to give Notice to all Gentlemen, Ladies, and Others, That they may be accommodated with all Sorts of Wine, and other Liquors; with several extraordinary Entertainments of Singing and Dancing, which was never perform'd at the Fair, viz.:--

'1. A New Dance between Three Bullies and Three Quakers.

'2. A New Dance between Two Spirits and Two Scaramouches.

'3. A New Dance between Four Swans and Four Indians riding on their Backs.

'4. A Wrestler's Dance, performed by Two Youths.

'5. Likewise Dancing on the Tight Rope, and a Young Man that Vaults the Slack Rope, with variety of Tumbling.

'6. A New Dance of Eight Granadiers, who perform the whole Exercise of War, in their proper Accoutrements, to the just Time of Musick.

'7. A New Scotch Dance, with their Habits and Bonnets, perform'd by Two Boys, to Admiration.

'8. A New Entertainment between a Scaramouch, a Harliquin, and a Punchanello in Imitation of Bilking a Reckoning.

'9. A New Cane Chair Dance by Eight Persons.

'10. A New Dance by Four Scaramouches, after the Italian Manner.

'11. A New Dance by a Scaramouch and a Country Farmer.

'12. A New Swan's Dance, perform'd by Four young Lads, to the Amazement of all Spectators.

'13. We shall also present you with the Wonder of her Sex, a young Woman who dances with the Swords, and upon the Ladder, with that Variety, that she challenges all her Sex to do the like.

'14. A Cripples Dance by Six Persons with Wooden Legs and Crutches in Imitation of a Jovial Crew.

'15. A Posture Dance, perform'd by Eight Persons.

'16. A Dance by Six Men, wherein Two Coopers, Two Grinder and Two Butchers perform everything natural to their Trades.

'17. The Vigo Dance, perform'd by an English Man, a Dutch Man, a French Man, and a Spaniard.

'18. A Blacksmith's Dance.

'19. A Tinker's Dance; together with other extraordinary Entertainments too long to be inserted. Vivat Regina.'

There was a famous Merry Andrew who used to act for Pinkethman, and who, at other times, followed the vocation of a Horse Doctor. There is a very curious elegy upon him, still extant[343]:--

[Footnote 343: Harl. MSS., 5931, 251.]

That us'd to visit Smithfield or May Fair, To pertake of the Lewdness that is acted there; T' oblige the Mobb, that did some Pastime lack, He'd Merry Andrew turn; and name of Quack Forsake a Fortnight, then that time expir'd The name of Doctor was again acquir'd.

Occasionally there were rather more refined exhibitions, but they were very rare. Here is one, 'In the first Booth on the left Hand from the Hospital Gate, over against the Royal Oak Lottery, in Bartholomew Fair, from 9 o'clock in the Morning till 9 at Night, will be exposed to publick View, all the most valuable wrought Plate taken by her Majesties Fleet at Vigo. Having been first Lodged in the Tower and never exposed before but in the Tower, viz., a fine large Altar Piece with 6 Angels at full proportion, standing round on Pedestals, 4 Apostles supporting the 4 pillars, and 4 Angels attending them, with each a lamp for Incence in their Hands, also a Crown set with Valuable Stones, a Holy Water Pot garnish'd with Curious Fillegrin Work, and a great many other extraordinary Curiosities of Gilt and Fillegrin Plate, all brought from Vigo. The like never seen in England before. Price 6_d._'

Bartholomew Fair began on August 24 of each year, being St. Bartholomew's Day, and lasted fourteen days. In 1691 and 1694 it was reduced to the old term of three days, and in 1697, 1700, and 1702 stage plays were prohibited in the fair. The revenue derived from it formed part of the income of the Lord Mayor, and in 1697 a proposal was made to allow the Lord Mayor 4,000_l._ a year for the maintenance of his office, and abolish his perquisites; when Bartholomew Fair was valued at 100_l._ per annum.

On June 2, 1708, 'the Common Council of this City Mett, and the lease for holding Bartholomew Fair expiring the 11th of August, agreed, That for the future none should be kept for Stage Plays, raffling Shops &c. which tend to debauchery; but only 3 dayes for the sale of leather and Cattle, according to its antient custome.'[344] The raffling shops were clearly illegal, for the same writer says, October 11, 1705: 'Yesterday the grand jury found bills of indictment against all those persons who kept raffling shops in the Cloysters during Bartholomew fair.' But all the legislation in the world was impotent to put down this fair, until, in this century, public opinion as to the expedience of fairs was changed, and 'Bartlemy' fair was proclaimed for the last time in 1855.

[Footnote 344: Luttrell.]

May Fair, or, as it was originally called, St. James's Fair, was of old date, as Machyn mentions it in his 'Diary for 1560.' Pepys, also, calls it by the latter name when he speaks of it: its name of May fair was comparatively recent, and was, of course, owing to its being held in that month. It was held on the north side of Piccadilly, and seems to have had even a more evil repute than Bartholomew Fair. The Observator says: 'Can any rational men imagine that her Majesty would permit so much lewdness as is committed in May Fair, for so many days together, so near to her royal Palace, if she knew anything about the matter?' Anyhow the fair flourished during the major portion of Anne's reign.

The shows were very much like those at the larger fair. Here is one in 1702: 'At MILLER'S Booth in May Fair, the Second Booth on the Right Hand coming into the Fair, over against the Famous Mr. Barnes the Rope Dancer, will be presented an Excellent Droll, call'd Crispin and Crispianus; or a Shoemaker a Prince. With the Comical Humours of Barrady and the Shoemaker's Wife. With the best Machines, Singing and Dancing, ever yet in the Fair. Where the Famous Ladder Dancer performs those things upon the Ladder never before seen, to the Admiration of all Men. Vivat Regina.'

'Lady Mary' was at the same fair, and advertises herself by means of a disclaimer: 'Whereas it hath been maliciously reported that Mrs. Finley, who for her incomparable Dancing on the Rope, is unwillingly distinguish'd by the Name of the Lady Mary, was Dead; This is to inform all Persons, That the said Report is Notoriously false, she now being in Mr. Barnes's and Finley's Booth, over against Mr. Pinkethman and Mr. Simson's, next to Mr. Mills, and Mr. Bullock's in May Fair,' &c. And she was there again in 1704: 'At Mr. Finley and Mr. Barnes's Booth, During the time of May Fair, will be seen a Compleat Company of near 20 of the best Rope Dancers, Vaulters and Tumblers in Europe, who are all excellent in their several Performances, and do such wonderful and surprizing things, as the whole World cannot parallel; where Finley, who gave that extraordinary satisfaction before Charles III. King of Spain on Board the Royal Katherine, performs several new entertainments, and where the Lady Mary, likewise shows such additions to her former admirable perfections, as renders her the wonder of the whole world.' She was very popular, as Pinkethman somewhat bitterly remarks in the 'Epilogue to the Bath' (acted at Drury Lane, 1701), where he says he made grimaces to empty benches, while Lady Mary had carried all before her:--

Gadzooks, what signified my Face?

This, however, did not prevent Pinkethman from going there again; for in 1704 he issued the following advertisement: 'In Brookfield Marketplace at the East corner of Hide Park, is a Fair to be kept for the space of Sixteen days, beginning the First of May: The first three days for Live Cattle and Leather, with the same Entertainment as at Bartholomew Fair, where there are shops to be Lett ready built, for all manner of Tradesmen that usually keep Fairs; and so to continue yearly at the same Time and place; being a Free Fair; and no person to be arrested or molested during the Time of this Fair by Virtue of Pye Powder Court. And at Mr. Pinkeman's Droll Booth will be performed several Entertainments which will be expressed at large upon the Bills, especially one very surprizing that the whole World never yet produced the like, viz, He speaks an Epilogue upon an Elephant between Nine and Ten Foot high arriv'd from Guinea, led upon the Stage by Six Blacks. The Booth is easily known by the Picture of the Elephant and Mr. Pinkethman sitting in State on his back, on the outside of his Booth. Any body that wants Ground for Shops or Booths, may hire it of Mr. Pinkeman, enquire at the Bull Head in Brookfield Market, alias May Fair.'

He was there again in 1707. 'At Pinkeman's Booth in May Fair, to entertain the Quality, Gentry, and others, he has got Eight Dancing Doggs, brought from Holland, which are Admir'd by all that see them: and they will dance upon Mr. Pinkeman's Stage in each Show. This Extraordinary Charge he's at (in procuring these Doggs) is purely to divert the Town. They are the Wonder of the World, The last Show beginning between 8 & 9 a Clock for the Entertainment of the Quality, as the Park breaks up.'

There was another theatrical company: 'At the NEW PLAY HOUSE in MAY FAIR, During the time of the FAIR will be play'd, the True and Ancient Story of MAUDLIN the Merchants Daughter of BRISTOL and her lover ANTONIO. How they were Cast away in a Tempest upon the Coast of Barbary; where the Mermaids were seen floating on the Seas, and Singing on the Rocks, foretelling their danger. The DROLL intermingled with most delightful merry Comedy, after the manner of an OPERA, with extraordinary variety of Singing and Dancing: By his Grace the Duke of Southampton's Servants. The Place will be Known by the Balcone adorn'd with Blue Pillars twisted with Flowers. Vivat Regina.'

May Fair boasted of its natural curiosities, as the two following advertisements testify: 'Near Hide Park Corner during the Time of May Fair, near the Sheep pens over against Mr. Penkethman's Booth; Is to be seen the Wonder of the World in Nature, being a Mail Child born with a Bear growing on its Back alive, to the great Admiration of all Spectators, having been shown before most of the Nobility of the Land.'

'By Her Majesties Permission. This is to give Notice to all Gentlemen, Ladies and others, that coming into May Fair, the first Booth on the left Hand, over against Mr. Pinkeman's Booth; During the usual time of the Fair, is to be seen, a great Collection of Strange and Wonderful Rarities, all Alive from several parts of the World.

'A little Black Man lately brought from the West Indies, being the Wonder of this Age, he being but 3 Foot high and 25 Years Old.

'Likewise 2 Wood Monsters from the East Indies, Male and Female, being the Admirablest Creaturs that ever was seen in this Kingdom; they differ from all Creaturs whatsoever, and are so Wonderful in Nature that it is too large to insert here.

'Also a little Marmoset from the East Indies, which by a great deal of Pains is now brought to that perfection, that no Creature of his Kind ever perform'd the like; he Exercises by Word of Command, he dances the Cheshire Rounds, he also dances with 2 Naked Swords, and performs several other Pretty Fancies. Likewise a Noble Civet Cat from Guiny which is admir'd for his Beauty, and that incomparable Scent, which Perfumes the whole Place. Also a Muntosh from Rushy, being very Wonderfully Marked.

'Also a Helliscope from Argier, being the Beautifuls Creature in all the World; specked like a Leopard. Vivat Regina.'

The 'London Spy' would be incomplete without an account of a scene so congenial as May Fair, so of course he visited it; but it does not appear to have vied in any degree with Bartholomew Fair. 'We ordered the Coach to drive thro' the Body of the Fair that we might have the better View of the Tinsey Heroes and the gazing Multitude; expecting to have seen several Corporations of Strolling Vagabonds, but there prov'd but one Company, amongst whom Merry Andrew was very busie in coaxing the attentive Crowd into a good Opinion of his Fraternitie's and his own Performances; and when with abundance of Labour, Sweat, and Nonsense he had drawn a great cluster of the Mob on his Parade, and was just beginning to encourage them to Walk in and take their Places; his unlucky opposite, whose boarded Theatre entertain'd the Publick with the wonderful activity of some little Indian Rope Dancers, brings out a couple of Chattering Homunculusses, drest up in Scaramouch Habit; and every thing that Merry Andrew and his Second did on the one side, was mimick'd by the little Flat nos'd Comedians on the other, till the two Diminutive Buffoons, by their Comical Gestures had so prevail'd upon the gaping Throng, that tho' Merry Andrew had taken pains, with all the wit he had to collect the Stragling Rabble into their proper order, yet like an unmannerly Audience, they turn'd their Backs upon the Players, and devoted themselves wholly to the Monkeys, to the great vexation of Tom Fool and all the Strutting train of imaginary Lords and Ladies. At last comes an Epitome of a Careful Nurse, drest up in a Country Jacket, and under her Arm a Kitten for a Nurslin, and in her contrary hand a piece of Cheese; down sits the little Matron with a very Motherly Countenance, and when her Youngster Mew'd, she Dandled him, and Rock'd him in her Arms, with as great signs of Affection as a loving Mother could well shew to a disorder'd Infant; then bites a piece of the Cheese, and after she had mumbled it about in her own Mouth, then thrust it with her Tongue into the Kitten's. Just as I have seen some Nasty Old Sluts feed their Grandchildren.'

The other shows in the fair seem to have been very poor: two or three dancing booths, a puppet show, 'a Turkey Ram, with as much Wooll upon his Tail as would load a Wheelbarrow,' and a couple of tigers, were all Ward could find worth recording.

The fair was disorderly, and in 1702 an incident occurred which materially assisted its downfall. 'Westminster, May 16. The Constables of this Liberty being more than ordinary vigilant in the discharge of their duty, since the coming forth of her Majesty's pious Proclamation again Vice and Debauchery, and having in pursuance thereof taken up several Lewd Women in May Fair, in order to bring them to Justice, were opposed therein by several rude Soldiers, one of whom is committed to Prison, and the rest are diligently enquired after.'[345] In fact among them they managed to kill a constable, named John Cooper--for which murder a fencing-master named Cook was afterwards hanged at Tyburn; and, although the fair lingered a few years longer, yet it became such a nuisance that in November 1708 the Grand Jury of Westminster 'did present as a publick Nuisance and Inconvenience, the yearly riotous and tumultuous Assembly in a place called Brook Field, in the Parish of St. Martins in the Fields, in this County, called May Fair.'[346]

[Footnote 345: Postman, May 14/16, 1702.]

[Footnote 346: Stow's Survey, ed. 1720.]

This was the beginning of its end, and 1708 saw the last of the fair. 'Saturday 30 April 1709. Yesterday was published a proclamation by her Majestie, prohibiting the erecting or making use of any booths or stalls in Mayfair, for any plays, shows, gaming, musick meetings, or other disorderly assemblies.'[347] That this had been expected is shown by Steele, writing on April 18, 1709. 'Advices from the upper end of Piccadilly say, that May Fair is utterly abolished.'[348]

[Footnote 347: Luttrell.]

[Footnote 348: Tatler, No. 4.]

The Tatler (No. 21) makes merry over its downfall, and says, 'if any lady or gentleman have occasion for a tame elephant, let them enquire of Mr. Pinkethman, who has one to dispose of at a reasonable rate. The downfall of May-fair has quite sunk the price of this noble Creature, as well as of many other Curiosities of Nature. A tiger will sell almost as cheap as an ox; and I am Credibly informed, a man may purchase a cat with three legs, for very near the value of one with four. I hear likewise that there is a great desolation among the gentlemen and ladies who were the ornaments of the town, and used to shine in plumes and diadems; the heroes being most of them pressed, and the queens beating hemp.'

There was also a fair at Southwark, but of this very little mention is made in the newspapers or handbills. It was an old one, dating from 1492, and was founded by a Charter granted by Edward IV., to hold a fair 'for three days, that is to say, the 7th, 8th, 9th days of September to be holden, together with a Court of Pie Powders, and with all the liberties to such Fairs appertaining.' It used to be opened with some degree of state by the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, and was generally called 'Our Lady's Fair.'

The indefatigable public caterer, Pinkethman, was there, in 1704, with 'the same Company that was at Bartholomew Fair over against the Hospital Gate, particularly the two famous French Maidens, and the Indian Woman; and also Italian Interludes of Scaramouch and Harlequin, by those two Great Masters of their kind Mr. Sorine and Mr. Baxter; and likewise extraordinary Performances on the Manag'd Horse by the famous Mr. Evans and Mr. Baxter, who both perform several new things in their Way. And also Mr. Evans walks on the Slack Rope, and throws himself a Somerset through a Hogshead hanging eight Foot high, with several other Entertainments too tedious to insert here.'

In 1705 'the two famous French Maidens the Lady Isabella and her Sister,' again attended the fair, accompanied by 'the Famous Mr. Luly, who walks on the Slack Rope without a Pole, and stands upon one Legg distinctly playing a tune on the violin; and likewise turns himself round on the Rope with as much freedom as if on the Ground.'

An old friend was also there, 'The Whole Story of the Creation of the World, or Paradise lost,' but seemingly its sole attraction was not sufficient, for it was accompanied by 'The Ball of Little Dogs come from Lovain, which performs, by their cunning tricks, Wonders in the World by Dancing. You shall see one of them named Marquis of Gaillardin, whose Dexterity is not to be compared; he dances with Mrs. Poncette his Mistress, and the rest of their Company at the sound of Instruments; observes so well the Cadance, that they amaze every Body. They have danced in most of the Courts of Europe, especially before the Queen and most of the Quality of England. They are carried to Persons of Qualities Houses if required. They stay but a little while in this Place. They give a General Satisfaction to all People that see them.'

Here also was to be seen the English Sampson, William Joyce, described by Ward as 'the Southwark Sampson, who breaks Carmens Ribs with a Hug, snaps Cables like Twine Thread, and throws Dray Horses upon their backs, with as much Ease as a Westphalia Hog can crack a Cocoa Nut.' When he exhibited before William III., he lifted 1 ton and 14-1/2 lbs. of lead, tied a very strong rope round him to which was attached a strong horse, which, although whipped, failed to move him: this rope he afterwards snapped like pack thread. 'We are credibly inform'd that the said Mr. Joyce pulled up a Tree of near a Yard and a half Circumference by the Roots at Hamstead on Tuesday last in the open View of some Hundreds of People, it being modestly computed to Weigh near 2000 weight.'

Spotted a typo or a problem in this chapter? Tell us

XXI. OTHER SIGHTS

The Lincolnshire ox -- The large hog -- The whale -- Monkeys and wild beasts -- 'The Lest Man and Hors in the World' -- Performing horse -- Dwarfs and giants -- Human curiosities -- Helen and Judith -- Conjurors -- Posture masters -- Mr. Clinch -- Waxwork -- Mrs. Salmon, etc. -- Westminster Abbey wax-figures -- Powell's puppets -- Moving pictures -- Glass-blowing -- Miraculous fountain -- Winstanley -- His waterworks -- The four Indian chiefs.

But it must not be imagined that these fairs monopolised all the rarities and natural curiosities. On the contrary, there were plenty on exhibition elsewhere, as we shall see. 'This is to give Notice to all Gentlemen, Ladies, and Others, that the Great Ox that hath been so long talk'd of, and that hath been in the News so often, is now come to London, and is to be seen any Hour of the Day, at the White Horse Inn in Fleet Street, at the same place where the great Elephant was seen. This Large and Famous Beast, otherwise called the True Lincolnshier Ox, is Nineteen Hands High, and Four Yards Long, from his Face to his Rump, and never was Calv'd nor never Suckt, and two Years ago was no bigger than another Ox, but since is grown to this Prodigious Bigness. This Noble Beast was lately shown at the University of Cambridge, with great Satisfaction to all that saw him. The like Beast for Bigness was never seen in the World before. Vivat Reginæ' (sic). Other dimensions are given when it was exhibited at May Fair. 'His shin being 36 inches round, and an Ell broad from Huckle Bone to Huckle Bone across the Back.' The following looks suspiciously like a newspaper puff: 'Yesterday the 17th Instant, was proffer'd for the Great Lincolnshire Ox, 350 Guineas.'[349]

[Footnote 349: Daily Courant, Nov. 28, 1703.]

Then there was a 'Large Buckinghamshire Hog, above 10 Foot long; 13 Hands high; above 7 foot and a half round the Body; almost 5 Foot round the Neck, and 18 inches round the fore Leg, above the Joynt.' And 'At the White Horse in Fleet Street' could be seen the 'Wonderful Worcestershire Mare 19 Hands high, curiously shaped, every way proportionable.'

These were native productions, and, although abnormal, could not compete with rarities from foreign lands--especially with the whale, Vide Daily Courant, September 15, 1712: 'There being last Week a Royal Parmacitty Whale taken in the Thames, which is the noblest Fish ever seen in England, the same will for the curiosity of Gentlemen, &c., be exposed to view in a Barge near the Faulcon over against Black Fryers at 2_d._ a piece.' It got rather odoriferous by keeping, so we read in the Daily Courant of September 22, that, 'the Royal Whale, supposed to be the Spermacete so much admired, will be exposed to Sale by Auction to-morrow at 4 o'clock.' Its purchaser is unknown, but we hear of it again: 'We called at the Isle of Dogs to see the Skeleton of a whale, forty-eight yards long, and thirty-five round.'[350]

[Footnote 350: Diary of Ralph Thoresby, July 14, 1714.]

Of course there was no Zoological Society at that time, and the only way of seeing foreign animals was by small private collections, which, for want of capital, never contained any very rare specimens. Still, it was something even to get this, and we must not forget that our own Zoological collection is the work of the present century, and is an example followed by scarcely any other town in England, where still, as in the villages, people are dependent upon the travelling menageries for any practical knowledge they may possess of the natural history of any land other than their own. In London a permanent collection of wild beasts, or at all events lions and tigers, had existed at the Tower, where once was a white bear, which used, duly fastened by a cord, to fish in the Thames; and we have seen that these animals were one of the principal sights of the City.

'At the White Horse Inn in Fleet Street, any time of the Day or Evening,' were to be seen '1. A little Black Hairy Pigmey, bred in the Desarts of Arabia, a Natural Ruff of Hair about his Face, two Foot high, walks upright, drinks a Glass of Ale or Wine, and does several other things to admiration. 2. A Hyenna. 3. A Murino dear, one of the seven Sleepers. 4. The Remark from the East Indies. 5. The Noble Histix from the West Indies. 6. The little Whifler, admired for his extraordinary Scent. 7. The Mock call, the Bird of Paradise.'

'To all Gentlemen and others, that are lovers of Rarieties. Are to be seen divers sorts of Outlandish Beasts lately brought over, which, altho by Nature feirce and Savage, are here to be seen very gentle and tame, giving great Satisfaction to all the beholders. As first A Leopard, a beast of excellent beauty, presented to an English Merchant in Turkey by the king of the Arabs, as a particular mark of favour for eminent Services performed, who for the Maintenance of it in its voyage from Aleppo, gave One hundred and ninety of the best and fattest fowls. Likewise two Dromedaries Male and Female, the Male being the largest that ever was in England, being seven foot high, and ten foot in length; his common burden is twelve hundredweight, with which he travels 40 miles a day; there is also to be seen a Civet Cat giveing a pleasant smell throughout the Room. Likewise a Wolf and other wild beasts are there to be seen at any time of the day (all being alive).'

A dromedary seems to have been considered a great curiosity, and the following advertisement gives a wonderful description of it. 'By Her Majesties Authority. Betwixt the Queen's Head and Crooked Billet near Fleet Bridge. This is to give notice to all Gentlemen, Ladies, and others, that there is here to be seen, two strange wonderful and remarkable monstrous Creatures, an old She Dromodary, being seven foot high and ten foot long, lately arriv'd from Tartary, and her young One, being the greatest Rarity and Novelty that ever was seen in the three Kingdoms before. These Creatures is much admired above all other Creatures in their way of bringing forth their young, for they go fourteen Months with young; these Creatures resemble several sorts of Creatures, and yet but one at the last; they are headed like a Horse, ey'd like an Ox, nos'd like a Deer, cloven Lipt like a Hare, also neck'd like a Swan, and Tail'd like a Mule, and cloven footed like a Cow, also the young Creature shewing several Actions by the word of Command. Note also that Natural Dromodarys (as these be) are the swiftest Creatures upon Earth: These Creatures are to be seen at any hour of the day from eight in the Morning till nine at night. Vivat Regina.'

'By Her Majesty's Authority. Is to be seen, the Hand of a Sea Monster which was lately taken on the Coasts of Denmark; the whole Creature was very large, and weigh'd (according to Computation) at least fifty Tuns, and was seventy foot in length: His upper part resembled a Man; from the middle downwards he was a Fish, &c. Likewise there is a Man Teger, lately brought from the East Indies, a most strange and wonderful Creature, the like never seen before in England, it being of Seven several Colours, from the Head downwards resembling a Man, its fore parts clear, and his hinder parts all Hairy; having a long Head of Hair, and Teeth 2 or 3 Inches long; taking a Glass of Ale in his hand like a Christian, Drinks it, also plays at Quarter Staff. There is also a famous Porcupine, a Martin Drill, a Pecari from the Deserts of Arabia, the Bone of a Giant above a Yard long, with several other Monstrous Creatures too difficult to describe, all alive. This is to give notice that the Man Teger is removed from Holborn Bars to the sign of the George against the steps of Upper More Fields. Vivat Regina.'

'This is to give Notice to all Gentlemen, Ladies, and Others, that are Lovers of Ra-arities, that over against the Muse Gate, near Chairing Cross, is to be seen the same Creature that was shown at Epsom and the Bath all this Summer. This Noble Creature, which much resembles a Wild Hairy Man, was lately taken in a Wood at Bengall in the East Indies, he Dances upon the strait Rope with a Pole in his hands, he cuts Capers upon the Rope, and Dances true to the Musick. Likewise this Creature walks the Steep Rope with a Pole in his hands. He walks upon a small Slack Rope Swinging, at the same time drinks a Glass of Ale, and all this is performed on a Rope no bigger than a penny Cord; and swings on it, to the great Admiration of all Spectators. He pulls off his Hat, and pays his Respects to the Company, and smoaks a Pipe of Tobacco as well as any Christian. This Noble Creature flings a Strapader, and hangs by his Hands and his Feet, and performs such Wonderful Things, that ne'er was done by any Rope Dancer whatever.' This was the rope-dancer spoken of by Addison: 'He is by birth a Monkey; but swings upon a Rope, takes a pipe of Tobacco, and drinks a glass of Ale, like any reasonable Creature.'[351]

[Footnote 351: Spectator, No. 28.]

Occasionally, but very rarely, the nobler beasts were shown. 'At the Duke of Marlborough's Head in Fleet Street, is to be seen these Rarities following. 1. The noble and majestick Lion, lately brought from Barbary, which for its most surprizing Largeness, and its being so wonderful tame, far exceeds any that ever was seen in the world. 2. A young Lion lately brought over from Algier, so wonderful tame that any Person may handle him as well as his keeper. 3. The noble Panther lately brought from Egypt, one of the beautifullest Creatures in the World for variety of Spots of divers Colours; a Creature much admired by all the Gentlemen, and Ladies that ever saw him. 4. The Noble Pelican or Vulture, lately arrived from America 3 foot high, 9 over. The Head like a Griffin, Neck like a Swan: the like never seen in this kingdom before.'

A rhinoceros could only be seen stuffed, and with its skeleton.

In the latter part of 1711 there was a show of 'the Lest Man and Hors in the World,' which Addison has immortalised in the Spectator (No. 271), saying that the man, his wife, and horse 'are so very light, that when they are put together into a Scale, an ordinary Man may weigh down the whole Family.' These were combined with some wild animals, which evidently would not pay to exhibit by themselves.

'By Her Majesty's Permission. This is to give Notice to all Gentlemen, Ladies, and Others, that JUST over against the Mews Gate at Charing Cross, is to be seen a Collection of strange and wonderful Creatures from most Parts of the World, all alive.

'The First being a little Black Man, being but 3 Foot high, and 32 Years of Age, strait and proportionable every way, who is distinguished by the Name of the Black Prince, and has been shown before most Kings and Princes in Christendom. The next being his Wife, the Little Woman, NOT 3 Foot high, and 30 Years of Age, strait and proportionable as any Woman in the Land, which is commonly call'd the Fairy Queen, she gives a General satisfaction to all that sees her, by Diverting them with Dancing, being big with Child. Likewise their little Turkey Horse, being but 2 Foot odd Inches High, and above 12 Years of Age, that shews several diverting and surprising Actions, at the Word of Command. The least Man, Woman and Horse that ever was seen in the World Alive. The Horse being kept in a Box. The next being a strange Monstrous Female Creature, that was taken in the Wood in the Desarts of ÆTIOPIA in Prestor John's Country, in the remotest parts of AFFRICA, being brought over from Cape de Bon Esperance, alias Cape of Good Hope; from hir Head downwards she resembles Humane Nature, having Breasts, Belly, Navel, Nipples, Legs, and Arms like a Woman, with a long Monstrous Head, no such Creature was ever seen in this part of the World before, she showing many strange and wonderful Actions which gives great satisfaction to all that ever did see her. The next is the noble Picary which is very much admir'd by the Learned. The next being the Noble Jack-call, the Lion's provider, which hunts in the Forest for the Lion's Prey. Likewise a small Egyptian Panther, spotted like a Leopard. The next being a strange monstrous Creature, brought from the Coast of Brazil, having a Head like a Child, Legs and Arms very wonderful, with a long Tail like a Serpent, wherewith he feeds himself, as an Elephant doth with his Trunk. With several other Rarities too tedious to mention in this Bill.'

Before quitting the natural history shows we must notice

'The finest Taught Horse in the World.

These are to give Notice to all Gentlemen, Ladies, and Others, that are Lovers of Sport and Ingenuity, that at the Ship on Great Tower Hill will be shewn a Dancing Horse, which performs a great many Dexterous Actions at the Word of Command, Viz., He fetches and carries like a Spaniel Dog, if you hide a Glove, Handkerchief, Door Key, Pewter Bason, or so small a thing as a Silver Two Pence, he will seek about the Room till he finds it and brings it to his Master.

'Turn him loose in the Room without either Bridle or Halter on his Head, altho' there were a hundred People in the Room, some paying as they come in, and some not paying, yet let them sit and be mixed one amongst another, he will find them out that have not payd from the rest.

'Borrowing several pieces of Money of Persons in the Room, Blind fold this Horse whilst the Money is in Borrowing, yet giving him the Money, he will take it in his Mouth one piece after another and will give it where 'twas Borrowed, and will give account what Pieces they are when he delivers them. He tells all Numbers and findeth any one Person from another; he plays at Cards, at Putt, a thing much to be admired, he plays with as much readiness as any one that plays with him. Tell him that there is an Express Warrant come to press him, and that he must leave his Master to go and serve the French King, unless he can find some way to deceive the Press Masters, he presently falleth so Lame, that he can hardly set one Foot before another, but telling him if he is Alive he must go, he throweth himself on the Ground, and with his Legs stretched out stiff, and his Tongue lying out of his Mouth, as if he were Dead; but telling him that he must rise and Serve Queen Anne, he riseth up and is Extraordinary Brisk and Cheerful; he turns his Body round on one Foot, and will Leap through Hoops, and performs Sixty Actions at Command without Bridle on his Head; the like never seen by no dumb Creature in the World. Vivat Regina.'

Dwarfs always have been shown about, and the following advertisement is probably that of one of the rivals to that spiteful 'little Farey Woman' already noticed.

'At the Brandy Shop over against the Eagle and Child in Stocks Market, is to be seen any hour of the Day, from 8 in the Morning till 9 at Night, a little German Woman, the Dwarf of the World, being but 2 Foot 8 Inches in Height, and the Mother of 2 Children, as straight as any Woman in England; she sings and dances incomparable well, she has had the honour to be shown before Kings and Princes, and most of the Nobility of the Land, she is carried in a little Box to any Gentleman's House, if desir'd.'

'In Bridges Street in Covent Garden, over against the Rose Tavern, is to be seen a Living FAIRY, suppos'd to be a Hundred and Fifty Years Old; his Face being no bigger than a Child's of a Month: was found Sixty Years ago; Look'd as Old then as he does now. His head being a great piece of Curiosity, having no Scull, with several Imperfections worthy your Observation.'

'There were giants in the earth in those days,' and at the 'Hercules's Pillars at Charing Cross' might be seen a German giant, seven and a half feet high, and an Italian giantess 'above Seven foot high, and every way proportionable weighing 425 Pounds Weight.' This seems to have been the normal height of giants, for the Saxon giant[352] who was 'but Twenty Five Years of Age, he is Seven Foot and Five Inches in height, and every way Proportionable.' He was shown to the Queen and Prince George at Windsor; but, previously 'he had the Honour to be presented with a piece of Armour proportionable to his Bigness, by the King of the Romans.'

[Footnote 352: 'This is to satisfie all People that have been inform'd that the High German Tall Man, had kill'd a Man, and was to be hang'd; that it is all false, and has been given out by other Show Keepers, on purpose to take away his Credit and Good Name.'--The Post Boy, April 12/14, 1709.]

Germany, however, was not to have the monopoly of supplying us with giants--that, our patriotism could not stand--so a real live British giant was produced, warranted genuine. The only fault about him is that he does not state his height, so that we have no means of comparing him with the foreign importations.

'This is to give Notice to all Gentlemen, Ladys and Others, that there is now to be seen in this Place, a Tall BRITAIN, Born on a Mountain near Llanriost; from the Age of 16 Years he has Travelled abroad, and has been shown before all the Foreign Kings and Princes in Christendom; and is now lately come into England, and had the Honour to have been shown before Her Present Majesty of Great Brittain and her Royal Consort the Prince to the Great Satisfaction of all Spectators that have seen him, he being the Tallest Man that ever was show'd in this Kingdom.'

'There is lately brought to this place from America a Savage; being a Cannibal Indian or Man Eater who was taken in a Skirmish near South Carolina, between the Natives of that Place and some of the Wild Savage men. Likewise an Indian Woman, a Princess of that Country.'

Divers freaks of humanity were shown, but it requires some credulity to take in the following: 'At the Herculus Pillars at Charing Cross, is to be seen a Girl that was found on a Mountain, in the west of England; When an Eminent Gentlewoman observing her to be without Fingers or Toes; and without Speech in regard to her Distress, ordered her to be brought to her Habitation; this Gentlewoman for many Years, was troubled with Convulsions of a severe kind, was perfectly Cured in a very short time, by the Girls Stroaking. This Girl hath like Success in Pains that arise from the Spleen, Sores, and Swellings, and many other Distempers, and what is very Remarkable also in her; She never spoke one Word in Four Years, and then by a Prophetick Spirit, said, the Gentlewoman that preserved her, would Die by Two a Clock which happened accordingly. The Girl is Ingenious, and can Work at her Needle; and perform several other things worth Observation; Price for seeing her Six Pence a Piece. She Toucheth Gratis.'

'This young Man was Born in Hungary, and is about 18 years of Age, a Foot and a Half High: In the places where the Thighs, or Legs should be; hath Two Breasts in all points like a Woman's on which He Walks. The Natural parts are of the Male kind; Climes, or gets from the Ground upon a Table, and sits on a Corner of it, but 3 Quarters of an Inch broad, and shews more Artful Tricks, to the General Diversion, Satisfaction, and Admiration of all Spectators, and speaks several Languages. Vivat Regina.'

The following, although a curious, could hardly have been a pleasing exhibition. 'The Bold Grimace Spaniard. At the Ram's Head Inn in Fanchurch Street, is to be seen a Bold Grimace Spaniard, lately brought over, by David Cornwell, in the Bilboa Merchant: He liv'd 15 Years among wild Creatures in the Mountains, and is reasonably suppos'd to have been taken out of his Cradle, an Infant, by some Savage Beast, and wonderfuly preserv'd, till some Comedians accidentally pass'd thro' those Parts, and perceiving him to be of human Race, pursu'd him to his Cave, where they caught him in a Net. They found something wonderful in his Nature, and took him with 'em in their Travels thro' Spain and Italy. He performs the following surprising Grimaces, viz. He lolls out his Tongue a Foot long, turns his Eyes in and out at the same time; contracts his Face as small as an Apple; Extends his Mouth Six Inches, and turns it into the Shape of a Bird's Beak, and his Eyes like to an Owl's; turns his Mouth into the Form of a Hat cock'd up three ways; and also frames it in the manner of a four square Buckle; licks his Nose with his Tongue, like a Cow; rolls one Eye Brow two Inches up, the other two down; changes his face to such an astonishing Degree, as to appear like a Corpse long buried; Altho bred wild so long, yet by travelling with the aforesaid Comedians 18 years, he can sing wonderfully fine, and accompanies his Voice with a thorow Bass on the Lute. His former natural Estrangement from human Conversation obliged Mr. Cornwell to bring a Jackanapes over with him for his Companion, in whom he takes great Delight and Satisfaction.'

Queen Anne's time could also match our age with 'Two-Headed Nightingales,' 'Siamese Twins,' or 'Pygopagi.' 'At Mr. John Pratt's at the Angel in Cornhil ... are to be seen two Girls, who are one of the greatest Wonders in Nature that ever was seen, being Born with their Backs fasten'd to each other, and the Passages of their Bodies are both one way. These Children are very Handsome and Lusty, and Talk three different Languages; they are going into the 7th year of their Age. Those who see them, may very well say, they have seen a Miracle, which may pass for the 8th Wonder of the World.' These were Helen and Judith, who were born at Tzoni, in Hungary, October 26, 1701; lived to the age of twenty-one, and died in a convent at Petersburg February 23, 1723. They were well-shaped, very good-looking, and very fond of each other. They spoke Hungarian, high and low Dutch, French, and English.

There was also exhibited 'A young fresh country Lad just arriv'd from Suffolk; who is covered all over his Body, except the Face, Palms of the Hands, and Soles of his Feet, with Bristles like a Hedgehog, as hard as Horn, which shoots off yearly.'

'There is lately arrived a Person that was born without either Arms or Hands, and he does such miraculous things with his Feet, that the like never was known in the World.... He writes very fine with his Mouth, right and left Foot without discerning, which is the best, and in Five sorts of Languages, and makes his own Pens with a Pen Knive; he walks upon his two great Toes, and stands upon one Toe; he lays his Foot in his Neck, and hops upon the other, he stands upon the top of a little Stool, and reaches a Glass with his Mouth from under it; he threads a very fine and small Needle, and sows very prettily; and all Actions whatsoever is done by Hands, he does with his Feet: he Combs or dresses a Perriwig very well, shaves himself, dresses and undresses himself &c., and all with his feet, &c.'

There were conjurors, especially 'the incomparable German.... He makes pass through his Cups 60 Balls, without touching them, and they are turn'd into little live Birds, which whistle upon the Table. He takes a parcel of Cards, and throws them about the Room, and they are turn'd into little live Birds.' He was only equalled by 'An admirable Piece of Ingenuity in Hanging Sword Court, the Middle of Fleet Street,' where twice a day 'several Persons may be Entertained at Table, with various Dishes, and different kinds of Liquors, arising from Fountains on the Table to the drinking Glasses of the Entertained; of the which, when they are satisfied, a Serpent arising from a Box on the Middle of the Table, flyeth away with the Table and what's thereon remaining; and that very moment another Table of the same Dimensions, and furnished with another service, is in place where the former Table stood, without any visible Cause.'

Posture-masters, as the acrobats were then called, abounded, and one of the chief among them was Higgins, successor to the famous Clark, who could dislocate and deform himself at pleasure. But he must have found a worthy imitator in 'The young Posture Master from Exeter, who performs those Postures of Body, that none never yet did; he extends his Body into all deform'd Shapes of Stature; he makes his Hip and Shoulder Bones meet together; he stands upon one Leg and extends the other in a direct Line half a Yard above his Head; he drinks her Majesty's Health on his Head; he lays his Head on the Ground, and turns his Body round twenty Times, without stirring his Face from the Place; he sucks all his Bowels into his Breast, making a pack Saddle on his Back, that he will bear the lustiest Man that will be pleas'd to sit upon his Rump; he will sit in a Posture as if his Body was split, and so divides his Legs that his Toes are separated Six Foot ten Inches from Toe to Toe; he stands on a Table and turns his Head backwards below his Heels; he likewise dances any Dance upon his Knees with his Toes in his Hands, and dances true to the Musick.' But even all these accomplishments do not seem to have been sufficiently attractive of themselves, for with him was 'a Child of Five Years of Age, who does the Activity of Tumbling to the greatest Perfection. After which Mr. Cornwall takes an empty Bag, and turns it twenty times, and stamps on it, if requir'd, and then commands several Eggs out of it, and at last the live Hen.'

Children then, as now, had to go through acrobatic performances. There was 'a Boy that walks upon a Slack Rope no thicker than a Penny Cord, and a little Girl that vaults on the high Rope;' but, even in our time, we should hardly like to see 'a little Child about two Years and a half old perform such wonderful things on the Stiff Rope, as is surprising to all that behold him.' We hear more of this poor little thing. 'Whereas it has been industriously and falsely reported that the little Child that is under 3 years old, that danced on the Rope and tumbled, is dead; Mr. Francis thought it proper to certify all People, that the Child is living and well; and he challenges all Europe to produce a Child of his Age to perform what he does, both for Dancing and Tumbling. Likewise the little Girl about 7 Years old, that danced the Rope, vaulted the Slack Rope, and tumbled to the Admiration of all who saw her.'

There was a curious entertainment that lasted nearly the whole of Anne's reign; of which the first notice I can find is in the Daily Courant, November 27, 1704. By degrees Clench enlarged his répertoire until he did all described in the accompanying handbill. 'These are to give Notice to all Gentlemen, Ladies and Others, that Mr. Clench of Barnet who imitates the Horn, Huntsman and Pack of Hounds, the Sham Doctor, Old Woman, Drunken Man, the Bells, Flute, Double Curtell,[353] the Organ with three Voices, by his own Natural Voice, to the greatest Perfection; (being the only man that ever could Attain to so great an Art,) will perform,' etc. Clinch is mentioned in the Tatler (No. 51): 'A good company of us were this day to see, or rather to hear, an artful person do several feats of activity with his throat and windpipe. The first thing wherewith he presented us, was a ring of bells, which he imitated in a most miraculous manner; after that, he gave us all the different notes of a pack of hounds, to our great delight and astonishment.' Thoresby went to see him, and reports:[354] 'Evening to hear the memorable Mr. Clench, whose single voice, as he has learned to manage it, can admirably represent a number of persons, at sport and in hunting, and the very dogs and other animals, but none better than a quire of Choristers chanting an anthem, &c.'

[Footnote 353: Sort of bassoon.]

[Footnote 354: Diary, Jan. 14, 1709.]

Waxwork figures have always been a popular exhibition, and then was living a Mrs. Salmon, whose fame was as great as Madame Tussaud's. Her handbills were curiosities in their way, but they are so long that one only can be transcribed. The Royal Off Spring: Or, the Maid's Tragedy Represented in Wax Work, with many Moving Figures and these Histories Following. King Charles the First upon the Fatal Scaffold, attended by Dr. Juxon the Bishop of London, and the Lieutenant of the Tower, with the Executioner and Guards waiting upon our Royal Martyr. The Royal Seraglio, or the Life and Death of Mahomet the Third, with the Death of Ireniæ Princess of Persia, and the fair Sultaness Urania. The Overthrow of Queen Voaditia, and the Tragical Death of her two Princely Daughters. The Palace of Flora or the Roman superstition. The Rites of Moloch, or the Unhumane Cruelty, with the manner of the Canaanitish Ladies, Offering up their First-born Infants, in Sacrifice to that ugly Idol, in whose Belly was a burning Furnace, to destroy those Unhappy Children. Margaret Countess of Heningberg, Lying on a Bed of State, with her Three hundred and Sixty-Five Children, all born at one Birth, and baptized by the Names of Johns and Elizabeths, occasioned by the rash Wish of a poor beggar Woman. Hermonia a Roman Lady, whose Father offended the Emperor, was sentenced to be starved to Death, but was preserved by Sucking his Daughters Breast. Old Mother Shipton that Famous English Prophetess, which fortold the Death of the White King; All richly dress'd and composed with so much variety of Invention, that it is wonderfully Diverting to all Lovers of Art and Ingenuity. All made by Mrs. Salmon, and to be seen near the Horn Tavern in Fleet Street. Vivat Reginæ (sic).'

Of the miraculous accouchement of Margaret, Countess of Heningberg, Thoresby says[355]: 'After, walked to Gray's Inn to Mr. Smith, who most courteously entertained me, and gave me some inscriptions he had taken for me in his travels, particularly that for the memorable Countess who had 365 children at a birth; he saw the two basins they were baptized in.'

[Footnote 355: Diary, July 14, 1712.]

Nor was this the only exhibition of the kind; there was yet another similar show. 'The Effigies of his late Majesty King William III., of Glorious Memory, is Curiously done in Wax to the Life, Richly Drest in Coronation Robes, standing by the Effigies of his late Royal Consort, Queen Mary in the like Dress; likewise the late Duke of Gloucester in his Garter Robes. Together with the Effigies of several Persons of Quality and Others, all which are Alive, or have been so of late Years, whereby the Spectators may Judge of Likeness. They are to be seen every Day at Mr. Goldsmith's in Green Court in the Old Jury.'[356] This is the same artist who is spoken of in a newspaper paragraph. 'On Wednesday last Mrs. Goldsmith, the famous Woman for Waxwork, brought to Westminster Abbey the Effigies of that celebrated Beauty the late Duchess of Richmond, which is said to be the richest Figure that ever was set up in King Henry's Chapel.'[357]

[Footnote 356: The English Post, March 23/25, 1702.]

[Footnote 357: Daily Courant, Aug. 6, 1703.]

'To be seen in Exeter Change in the Strand, as well in Christmas and other Holidays, as at all other times, tho' the Change be shut, only then you must go in at that end towards Charing Cross.

[Right sidenote: Note. The Prices are Six-pence, Four-pence, and Two-pence a-piece]

[Left sidenote: There is the Effigies of a Comedian walking behind the Queen]

Just finish'd and to be seen. The present Court of England in Wax, after (and as big as) the Life, in the Inner Walk of Exeter Change in the Strand, much exceeding that which was at the New Exchange tho' both made by the most deservedly famous Mrs. Mills, whom in that Art, all ingenuous Persons own, had never yet an equal: The names of the chief Persons are, The QUEEN, his Royal Highness Prince George, the Princess Sophia, his Grace The Duke of Marlborough, the Countess of Manchester, the Countess of Kingstone, the Countess of Musgrave &c. As likewise the Effigies of Mark Anthony, naturally acting that which render'd him remarkable to the World; Cleopatra his Queen, one of her Egyptian Ladies, Oliver Cromwell in Armour, the Count Tallard: with many others too tedious here to mention. To be seen from 9 in the Morn, till 9 at Night. You may go in at any of the Doors in the Change, and pass thro' the Hatter's Shop in the Outward Walk.

Persons may have their Effigies made, or their deceased Friends on reasonable Terms.

The Westminster waxwork figures were then in a sadly dilapidated condition. Brown says[358]: 'As soon as we ascended half a Score Stone Steps in a dirty Cobweb hole, and in old Worm eaten Presses, whose Doors flew open on our approach; here stood Edward the Third, as they told us, which was a broken piece of Waxwork, a batter'd Head, and a Straw stuff'd Body, not one quarter cover'd with Rags; his beautiful Queen stood by, not better in Repair; and so to the number of half a score Kings and Queens, not near so good figures as the King of the Beggars make, and all the begging Crew would be ashamed of their Company. Their Rear was brought up with good Queen Bess, with the Remnants of an old dirty Ruff, and nothing to cover her Majesty's Nakedness.'

[Footnote 358: A Walk round London and Westminster.]

One of the most popular exhibitions was the puppet shows kept by Robert Powell, a dwarfish deformity. 'This is Mr. Powell--That's he--the little Crooked Gentleman, that holds a Staff in his Hand, without which he must fall.'[359] His 'Punch's Theatre' was in the little Piazza, Covent Garden--and Steele makes the under sexton of St. Paul's[360] Church grumble at his entertainment, because it took people away from him. Defoe says: 'Mr. Powell by Subscriptions and full Houses, has gathered such Wealth as is ten times sufficient to buy all the Poets in England; that he seldom goes out without his Chair, and thrives on this incredible Folly to that degree, that, were he a Freeman, he might hope that some future Puppet Show might celebrate his being Lord Mayor, as he has done Sir R. Whittington.'[361] Both in the Tatler and Spectator he is frequently referred to, especially in the former. In the season he took himself and his puppets to Bath, so that he always kept them employed.

[Footnote 359: Introduction to A Second Tale of a Tub, ed. 1715.]

[Footnote 360: Spectator, No. 14.]

[Footnote 361: Groans of Great Britain.]

His performances were very varied, one being 'The History of King Bladud, Founder of the Bath. The Figures being drest after the manner of the Ancient Britains. With the Walks, Groves, and Representation of the King's Bath and new Pump house. The Figures of Ladies and Gentlemen all moving in real Water.' He caught the passing folly as it flew, and depicted it as in 'The City Rake or Punch turn'd Quaker,' 'Poor Robins Dream or the Vices of the Age Exposed;' or, he had a puppet 'of a Rope Dancer, being an exact pattern of the present Lady Isabella.' He was for ever bringing out some novelty, even if it was such rubbish as 'a New Piece of Machinary after the British Manner, contrived and just finished by Powell, which represents a Paradice wonderful surprising. At the breaking of the clouds arise several Triumphal Arches, which form several most agreeable Prospects; beautify'd by her most Serene Majesty of Great Britain in her Royal Robes, attended by her Peers and Officers of State; under their Feet are represented the Trophies taken from the French and Bavarians by her Majesty's Arms this War.'

One of the last of Powell's advertisements, in Queen Anne's reign, was: 'Whereas it has been reported that Punch of the Bath and Covent Garden was dead, these are to inform the Publick that he was only in a small consumption, but by the long experienc'd Cordial of the Golden Elixir is recovered, and remov'd for the Air to the Great Masquerading House in Spring Garden, where he hopes once more to see his noble Benefactors.'

Pinkethman was far too keen to let Powell have the monopoly of this sort of entertainment, so we find a handbill: 'This is to give Notice, that Mr. PENKETHMAN, who, by his Indefatigable Industry, has ever made it his Study to Invent Something New and Excellent to please the World, has, with the Greatest Diligence, Labour and Expence, set himself to contrive, which he has now, after Several Years Application, brought to Perfection, a most Surprising and Magnificent Machine, call'd the PANTHEON, consisting of several Curious Pictures, and Moving Figures, representing the Fabulous History of the HEATHEN GODS.

'The Whole contains Fourteen several Entertainments, and near a Hundred Figures (besides Ships, Beasts, Fowl, and other Embellishments) some near a Foot in Height; all which have their respective and peculiar Motions, their very Heads, Legs, and Arms, Hands and Fingers, Artificially moving exactly to what they perform, and setting one Foot before another, as they go, like Living Creatures, in such a Manner that Nothing but Nature itself can exceed it. In short, the PAINTING is by the Finest Hands, and the Story and Contrivance so Admirable, that it justly deserves to be esteemed One of the Greatest Wonders of the Age.' This show is casually mentioned in Spectator (No. 31).

Pinkethman was also proprietor of a moving picture, for in an advertisement[362] he says: 'Mr. Pinkethman In order to divert and oblige the Gentry and others of Greenwich, Deptford, Woolwich, Lee, and other adjacent places thereabouts, has remov'd the most Famous Artificial and Wonderful Moving Picture that came from Germany and was to be seen at the Duke of Marlborough's Head in Fleet Street, is now to be seen at the Hospital Tavern in Greenwich,' etc. Thoresby[363] saw this picture when in London in 1709, and was highly delighted with it. He also says: 'I had some discourse with the German inventor of it, Mr. Jacobus Morian.' The following is its handbill:--

[Footnote 362: Daily Courant, May 9, 1709.]

[Footnote 363: Diary, Feb. 11, 1709.]

'To All Gentlemen, Ladies and others

Notice is hereby given, that here is arrived from Germany, a most artificial and Wonderful Original Picture, the like never seen in all Europe: Part of this fine Picture represents a Landskip, and the other part the Water on Sea: In the Landskip you see a Town, out of the Gates of which cometh a Coach Riding over a Bridge through the Country, behind, before, and between the Trees till out of sight; coming on the Bridge, a Gentleman sitting on the Coach, civilly salutes the Spectating Company, the turning of the Wheels and motion of the Horses are plainly seen as if natural and Alive. There Cometh also from the Town Gate a Hunter on Horseback, with his Doggs behind him, and his Horn at his side, coming to the Bridge he taketh up his Horn and Blows it that it is distinctly heard by all the Spectators. Another Hunter painted as if Sleeping, and by the said Blowing of the Horn awaking, riseth up his Head, looks about, and then lays down his Head again to Sleep, to the great Amazement and Diversion of the Company. There are also Painted and Represented, Country men and Women, Travellers, Cows and Pack horses going along the Road till out of sight. And at a seeming distance on the Hills are several Windmills continually Turning and Working. From a River or Sea port, you see several sorts of Ships and Vessels putting to Sea, which Ships by degrees lessen to the sight as they seem to Sail further off. Many more Varieties too long to be inserted here, are Painted and Represented in this Picture to the greatest Admiration, Diversion and Satisfaction of all Ingenious Spectators. The Artist Master of this Piece hath employed above 5 years in contriving, making and perfecting it. It was design'd for a present to a great Prince in Germany, to be put in his chiefest Cabinet of greatest Rarities, but that Prince Dying, the maker kept it to himself, and now presents it to the View and Diversion of all ingenious Persons.' This picture is just noticed in the Tatler (No. 129): 'and I doubt not but it will give as good content as the moving picture in Fleet Street.'

There was another of these mechanical toys, exhibited at the same place. 'Far exceeding the Original formerly shewn, and never publish'd before the beginning of the present Year 1710. Representing several stately ships and vessels sailing out of the Port of a City; a Coach, drawn by four Horses going over a bridge into the Town; a Cart with an Old Woman in it, drawn by two Horses, the Wheels moving: A Gentleman carry'd in a Chair, saluting the Company, A Windmill continually turning round; Swans swimming, which dip their Heads in the Water: A Man digging with a Pick Ax: All in lively Motion,' etc. And still one more appeared in 1713, which was a representation of the sky effects of morning, noon, and night, with ships sailing, and saluting the forts as they passed.

At the Duke of Marlborough's Head, too, was to be seen 'a true and very natural Representation of the most famous Antiquities and Stupendious Works commonly called the Seven Miracles of the World; All which cannot but be pleasant to the Eyes of all curious Beholders, and perhaps more agreeable than may by Words be expressed,' but there is no record of what this exhibition was like.

'In Bell Yard, over against the Middle Temple Gate, Fleet Street, next door to the Bell Inn, at the Arms of Amsterdam, will be shewn for the satisfaction of all persons of Quality and others most Curious and exact Model of the famous City of Amsterdam, being between 20 and 30 foot long, and near 20 foot broad; with all the Churches, Chappels, Stadt house, Hospitals, noble Buildings, Streets, Trees, Walks, Avenues, with the Sea, Shipping, Sluices, Rivers, Canals, &c., most exactly built to admiration; In short, the Situation and Representation of the whole City is performed with such Art and Ingenuity, to the wonderful satisfaction of the States General of the United Provinces, several Foreign Princes, our Nobility, Gentry, Artificers and others, that have seen it, that it is allowed to be one of the greatest curiosities ever yet seen in England. This great piece of Work was 12 years in finishing, and cost a vast sum of Money.'

It is always interesting to watch glass-blowers at work, and see them turn out their pretty but fragile toys; and doubtless they yielded as much, or more, delight in Anne's time.

'By Her Majesties Authority.

This is to give Notice to all Gentlemen, Ladies, and Others, That there is lately arriv'd in this Place, a Rare and Curious ARTIST, which in the presence of all Spectators maketh all Sorts and Fashions of Indian, China, and all Sorts of Curious Figures &c. As Jars, Teapots, Coffee Dishes, Bottle and Flower Pots, as small as they please; being very dexteriously intermixed with red, blew, and other Colours, as Natural as the Indian painting: As also all sorts of Beasts, Birds, Fowls, Images, Figures of Men, Women, and Children, which he bloweth of all Colours in Glass, so curiously, the like was never seen in this Kingdom.

'Besides all this, he sheweth you a most wonderful and admirable Glass of Water, wherein are four or five Images, which he maketh every one to come up and down as he pleases, without any help or assistance, being very pleasant and delightful to all Spectators; with Several other Rarities too tedious to Mention.

'There is a Wheel that's turn'd by Humane power, which Spins Ten Thousand Yards of Glass in less than half an hour.

'He also maketh Artificial Eyes of Glass to admiration, they being so curiously made and colour'd, that they cannot be discerned from the Natural Eyes; Likewise he teacheth how they may fix them in their Heads themselves, to the great Satisfaction of all persons that make use of them.... Vivat Regina.'

There was another artist in glass who blew 'Swans, Ducks, Birds, Knives, Forks, and Scabbards, Decanters, Cruets, Bottles and Ladles, with pipes to smoke Tobacco, and Grenadoes to stick by the Snuff of a candle that gives a report like a Gun; blows Tea Pots and other fancies imitating China.'

A singular mechanical toy, too, deserves special mention: 'At the Black Horse in Hosier Lane, near West Smithfield, is to be seen a large piece of Water Work, 12 Foot long and 9 foot high, with a new Mathematical Fountain 8 foot high, made in white flint glass, in which is a Tavern, a Coffee house and a Brandy shop, which at your command runs at one Cock hot and Cold liquor, as Sack, Whitewine, Claret, Coffee, Tea, Content, plain, cherry and Rasberry Brandy, Geneva, Usquebaugh, and Punch. All these liquors of themselves rising much higher than their level, and each liquor drawn singly at one Cock; The like never performed in any Nation by any Person till Now, by CHARLES BUTCHER.

For satisfaction your own eyes believe, Art cannot blind you, nor your Taste deceive; Com and welcom my friends, and tast e're you pass, It's but 6_d._ to see't and 2_d._ each glass.

But the man who did most with hydraulic power was Winstanley, the builder of the fantastic, semi-Chinese pagoda lighthouse on the Eddystone rock. Winstanley had been a mercer in London, and, having made some money, retired from business, and went to live at Littlebury in Essex. Here he constructed ingenious but useless hydraulic toys, and, from being locally famous, he opened an exhibition of them in London.

The first mention I can find of it in this reign, is in the Postman, May 1/4, 1703: 'Mr. Henry Winstanley's Water Works, will be Opened on Thursday being the 6th of May; And All Persons that please to see them, are desired to be there between 3 and 4 of the Clock. The House is at the lower end of Pickadilly, towards Hide Park.' In the Daily Courant, August 14, 1703, he notifies that: 'Mr. Henry Winstanley's Water Works being now open'd, and several Persons coming too late by reason of the days being shorter, this is to satisfie and give notice, that they will be shewn from Monday next at Four of the Clock. And therefore all Persons that are disposed to see them, are desired to be there before the time, or exactly at it. And also this is further to acquaint, that they will not be shewn this Season longer than 10 or 14 days, by reason of Mr. Winstanley's having extraordinary Occasions of going out of Town.'

It was a disastrous 'out of town' for him, for he had his wish gratified in being in his gimcrack lighthouse 'in the greatest storm ever known,' namely, that of November 27, 1703, which clean swept away the building, Winstanley, and five other persons.'

For some years after his sad death his exhibition was in abeyance, until we see by the Daily Courant, June 5, 1707: 'The famous Water Works of the late Ingenious Mr. Henry Winstanley are now open'd, and will continue to be shown this present June, and the ensuing Month of July (for the Benefit of his Widow) by his old Servants, with several Additions. And all Persons that please to see them, are desir'd to be at the House by 5 of the clock at the farthest, and they will not lose time in staying. The House is at the lower End of Picadilly towards Hide Park, and is known by the Wind Mill on the top of it. As also his famous House at Littlebury in Essex is kept up, and shewn as formerly, with several additions.' His widow continued to show them, with many variations, every summer during the remainder of the reign. In 1711 there were shown 'Sea Gods and Goddesses, Nymphs, Mermaids, and Satirs, all of them playing of water as suitable, and some Fire mingling with the water, and Sea Triumphs round the Barrel that plays so many Liquors; all which is taken away after it had perform'd its part, and the Barrel is broke in Pieces before the Spectators.' In 1712 there is the same entertainment, but fuller details are given: it was 'of 6 several sorts of Wine, and the best brandy and biskets, all coming out of the famous Barrel, and given to the Boxes and Pit; with Geneva, Cherry beer, and Cyder to the first Gallery, there is also Coffee and Tea as at all other times.'

In 1713 'the Curious Barril will be made a Spring Garden, entertaining the Boxes and Pit with Cool Tankards, Spaw Waters, Bisquits, Milk, Ale, Beer, Sullibubs, Cake, and Cheese Cakes, and Flowers Playing of Water: And a very delightful part will be added to the 3 Parts that are usually performed. There is Galuthetis's Flight from Polyheme, and as she is carried in State by Neptune attended by many Figures playing of Water, and some with Fire mingling with it; then will be a great Tempest of Thunder and Lightning and burning Flames rolling in great Cascades of Water, to the Expence of 300 Tun extraordinary.' In 1714, 'the Curious Barrel will be made a Dairy House, entertaining the Boxes and Pit with Curds, several sorts of Creams, Milk, Whey, Cakes, Cheese Cakes, Sullibubs, New Butter, Butter Milk, which a Woman will be seen to churn, and a flying Zepherus, a Flora presenting the Spectators with a Basket of Fruit.... There is Galathea's flight from Polypheme guided by two flying Boys, with a flaming Torch playing Water through the Flames: A flying fiery Dragon, out of whose Mouth comes great Fire Balls, flames of Fire, a large sheet of Water, with many Cascades of Water, to the expence of 800 Tuns extraordinary.' It was a very popular exhibition, and ranked, as we see,[364] with the opera and the play.

[Footnote 364: Spectator, No. 168.]

In 1710 the good folks of London were treated to a somewhat unusual spectacle--that of four real live Indian chiefs or kings, as they were called. They came over in April of that year, and were treated as guests of the nation; apartments being obtained for them at an upholsterer's in King Street, Covent Garden,[365] and they were taken in two of the royal carriages to visit the Queen. Luttrell says: '20 Aprill. Four Indian Sachems, or Kings of the 5 Indian Nations, lately arrived here, offering their services to assist her majestie against all her enemies in those parts, and secure her from the French in and about Canada in America, had yesterday audience of the queen, and accepted very graciously; her majestie ordered them presents, the lord Chamberlain to entertain them at her charge, and that they be shown what is remarkable here.' On the 21st they visited, in a royal barge, Greenwich Hospital and Woolwich Dockyard, and on the 22nd they saw the Banqueting Hall and Chapel at Whitehall. On the 26th they were present at a review of cavalry and infantry in Hyde Park. On the 28th the New England and New York merchants gave them a feast, and the Archbishop of Canterbury presented them each with an English Bible. On May 3 they had their audience of leave, and then went by way of Hampton Court to Windsor, from whence they travelled to Portsmouth, and, embarking on board the Dragon, sailed from Spithead on the 8th May, and landed safely at Boston July 15 of the same year.

[Footnote 365: Tatler, 171.]

The following handbill shows that at some period of their stay they went to see Powell's Marionettes.

'At PUNCH'S Theatre For the Entertainment of the FOUR INDIAN KINGS, viz. (A) The Emperor Tee Yee Neen Ho Ga Row. (B) King Sa Ga Yeau Qua Rah Tow. (C) King E Tow oh Koam. (D) King Oh Nee Yeath Tow no Riow.

'At the Upper End of St. Martin's Lane,[366] joyning to Litchfield Street, will be presented a NEW OPERA, performed by a Company of Artificial Actors, who will present you with an incomparable Entertainment call'd

'The Last Years CAMPAIGNE

[Footnote 366: This was before Powell removed to the Piazza, Covent Garden.]

With the Famous Battle fought between the Confederate Army (commanded by the Duke of Marlborough) and the French in the Woods near Blaguiers. With several Comical entertainments of Punch in the Camp. Also variety of Scenes; with a most Glorious Prospect of both Armies, the French in their Entrenchments, and the Confederates out; where will be seen several Regiments of Horse and Foot engaged in Forcing the French Lines. With the Admirable Entertainments of a Girl of Five Years Old Dancing with Swords.' The 50th Spectator gives an amusing account of their supposed description of this country.

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XXII. ROUGH SPORTS

Bear-baiting -- Bear-gardens -- Bull-baiting -- Description -- Extra ordinary bull bait -- Cock-fighting -- Cock-pits -- Value of matches -- Training.

But all amusements at this time were not so innocent as the foregoing: there were fiercer and more blood-stirring excitements for the men. Take bear and bull baiting. The former was dying out, and was no longer as popular as it was during the reigns of Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I.

Slender.[367] Why do your dogs bark so? be there bears i' the town?

[Footnote 367: Merry Wives of Windsor, Act. 1. sc. 1.]

Anne. I think there are, Sir; I have heard them talked of.

Slender. I love the sport well; but I shall as soon quarrel at it as any man in England. You are afraid, if you see the bear loose, are you not?

Anne. Ay, indeed, Sir.

Slender. That's meat and drink to me now: I have seen Sakerson[368] loose twenty times, and have taken him by the chain; but, I warrant you the women have so cried and shriek'd at it, that it pass'd; but women, indeed, cannot abide 'em; they are very ill-favoured rough things.

[Footnote 368: This bear belonged to Henslow and Alleyn, proprietors of Paris Garden, near the Globe Theatre, Bankside.]

We learn something of a bear-baiting from Hudibras.

And round about the pole does make A circle, like a bear at stake, That at the chain's end wheels about, And overturns the rabble rout. For after solemn proclamation, In the bear's name, as is the fashion, According to the law of arms, To keep men from inglorious harms, That none presume to come so near As forty feet of stake of bear; If any yet be so fool hardy, T' expose themselves to vain jeopardy, If they come wounded off, and lame, No honour's got by such a maim.

Indeed, in 1709, Christopher Preston, of Hockley-in-the-Hole, was attacked and partially devoured by one of his own bears. His funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. Pead, then incumbent of St. James's, Clerkenwell.

The animals destined for combat were paraded through the streets, as we learn from Gay ('Trivia,' Book 2).

Experienc'd Men, inur'd to City Ways, Need not the Calendar to count their Days. When through the Town, with slow and solemn Air, Led by the Nostril walks the muzzled Bear; Behind him moves majestically dull, The Pride of Hockley Hole, the surly Bull; Learn hence the Periods of the Week to Name. Mondays and Thursdays are the Days of Game.

That these places of so-called sport were disorderly need not be said; indeed, to 'make a place a bear-garden' is proverbial. The rough element wanted some safe outlet for its energy, and found it in such exhibitions. Nor must we be too hasty to decry them when we recollect that it was only in 1835 that it absolutely became illegal to keep any house, pit, or other place for baiting or fighting any bull, bear, dog, or other animal. We have our dog-fights now--prize-fighting is not yet extinct, many a quiet main of cocks is fought, many a rat-pit exists, and badger-drawing is not altogether an unknown thing.

There were three bear-gardens--at Hockley-in-the-Hole (Clerkenwell), at Marrybone Fields (at the back of Soho Square), and at Tuttle (Tothill) Fields, Westminster, and at all these, baiting was carried on. Of the latter we find an advertisement promising plenty of sport:[369] 'At William Wells's Bear Garden, in Tuttle Fields, Westminster, this present Monday the 10th of April, will be a Green Bull Baited; and 20 Doggs fights for a Coller, and that Dogg that runs farthest and fairest wins the Coller; with other Diversion of Bull Baiting and Bear Baiting.

[Footnote 369: Harl. MSS. 5931, 282.]

'Here follows the Manner of those Bull Baitings which are so much talk'd of: They tie a Rope to the Root of the Horns of the Ox or Bull, and fasten the other End of the Cord to an Iron Ring fix'd to a Stake driven into the Ground; so that this Cord being about 15 Foot long, the Bull is confin'd to a Sphere of about 30 Foot Diameter. Several Butchers, or other Gentlemen, that are desirous to exercise their Dogs,[370] stand round about, each holding his own by the Ears; and when the Sport begins, they let loose one of the Dogs: The Dog runs at the Bull: the Bull, immovable, looks down upon the Dog with an Eye of Scorn, and only turns a Horn to him to hinder him from coming near: The Dog is not daunted at this, he runs round him, and tries to get beneath his Belly, in order to seize him by the Muzzle, or the Dewlap, or the pendant Glands: The Bull then puts himself into a Posture of Defence; he beats the Ground with his Feet, which he joins together as close as possible, and his chief Aim is not to gore the Dog with the Point of his Horn,[371] but to slide one of them under the Dog's Belly (who creeps close to the Ground to hinder it) and to throw him so high in the Air that he may break his Neck in the Fall. This often happens: When the Dog thinks he is sure of fixing his Teeth, a Turn of the Horn, which seems to be done with all the Negligence in the World, gives him a Sprawl thirty Foot high, and puts him in danger of a damnable Squelch when he comes down. This Danger would be unavoidable, if the Dog's Friends were not ready beneath him, some with their Backs to give him a soft Reception, and others with long Poles which they offer him slant ways, to the Intent that, sliding down them, it may break the Force of his Fall. Notwithstanding all this care, a Toss generally makes him sing to a very scurvy Tune, and draw his Phiz into a pitiful Grimace: But, unless he is totally stunn'd with the Fall, he is sure to crawl again towards the Bull, with his old Antipathy, come on't what will. Sometimes a second Frisk into the Air disables him for ever from playing his old Tricks; But, sometimes, too, he fastens upon his Enemy, and when once he has seiz'd him with his Eye teeth, he sticks to him like a Leech, and would sooner die than leave his Hold. Then the Bull bellows, and bounds, and Kicks about to shake off the Dog; by his Leaping the Dog seems to be no Manner of Weight to him, tho' in all Appearance he puts him to great Pain. In the End, either the Dog tears out the Piece he has laid Hold on, and falls, or else remains fix'd to him, with an Obstinacy that would never end, if they did not pull him off. To call him away would be in vain; to give him a hundred blows would be as much so; you might cut him to Pieces Joint by Joint before he would let him loose. What is to be done then! While some hold the Bull, others thrust Staves into the Dog's Mouth, and open it by main Force. This is the only Way to part them.'[372]

[Footnote 370: These dogs were only a moderate size.]

[Footnote 371: If too sharp, the bull's horns were covered with wooden sheaths.]

[Footnote 372: Misson.]

This, however, was not always the case. Look at the other side:--

Curs'd dog, the bull reply'd, no more I wonder at thy thirst of gore; For thou (beneath a butcher train'd, Whose hands with cruelty are stain'd, His daily murders in thy view) Must, like thy tutor, blood pursue. Take then thy fate. With goring wound At once he lifts him from the ground: Aloft the sprawling hero flies, Mangled he falls, he howls, and dies.[373]

[Footnote 373: Gay, Fable 9.]

Here is a refinement of cruelty: 'At the Bear Garden in Hockley in the Hole, 1710. This is to give notice to all Gentlemen, Gamsters, and Others, That on this present Monday is a Match to be fought by two Dogs, one from Newgate Market, against one of Honey Lane Market, at a Bull, for a Guinea to be spent. Five Let goes out off hand, which goes fairest and farthest in Wins all; like wise a Green Bull to be baited, which was never baited before, and a Bull to be turned lose with Fire works all over him; also a Mad Ass to be baited; With variety of Bull baiting and Bear baiting; and a Dog to be drawn up with Fire works.'[374] These novelties took, for a subsequent advertisement tells us that 'The Famous Bull of Fire works pleased the Gentry to Admiration.' Indeed, it must have been popular, for in an advertisement of the Tatler, Jan. 3/5, 1709 (1710), we find: 'This Day is published The Bull Baiting, or Sach----ll[375] dressed up in Fire works; lately brought over from the Bear Garden in Southwark, and exposed for the Diversion of the Citizens of London: at 6_d._ a piece.' This book, however, is very dreary fun.

[Footnote 374: Harl. MSS. 5931, 46.]

[Footnote 375: Sacheverell.]

But bears and bulls, though baited, were never allowed to be killed by their adversaries, which, however, was not the case with cock-fighting, a pastime passionately indulged in in this reign. There were many cock-pits--one historical one, the Council Chamber at Whitehall, where in 1710 Guiscard stabbed Harley with his penknife, and which went by the name of the Cockpit certainly till 1810. There was 'The Royal Cock Pit on the South Side of St. James Park,' where mains used to be fought for such prizes as '4 Guineas a Battel and 40 the odd Battel.' And there was a famous one near Gray's Inn Walks, or Gardens, where dear Sir Roger walked with the Spectator, and which Brown describes as 'The Lawyer's Garden of Contemplation, where I found (it being early in the Morning) none but a parcel of Superannuated Debauchees, huddled up in Cloaks, Frize Coats and Wadded Gowns, to preserve their old Carcases from the searching sharpness of Hampstead Air.' There had been one there previous to 1704, when we find 'At the New Cock pit at the Bowling Green, behind Grays Inn Walks, this present Tuesday being the 28th of March, will begin a great Match of Cock fighting, for Ten Guineas a Battle, and Two Hundred Guineas the odd Battle, between the Gentlemen of Essex and Cambridgeshire, against the Gentlemen of London and Surry.' In 1706 it was to let, and in 1708 it was burnt down under sad circumstances. 'There had been a great Match fought on Saturday, and the Weather being hard, two of the Feeders, Crompton and Day, would stay all Night with their Cocks; when by Negligence their Candle fell among the Straw, which took Fire. In the Morning one Mr. Newberry, a great Cocker, sent his two Sons to see his Cocks fed, who wonder'd they saw no Snow upon the Cock pit; when coming thither they saw a great Smoak, and before they cou'd make any Body hear, the place was all on Fire. One of the feeders was found burnt, only some part of his Body remaining, and the other is missing.'[376] It was repaired and re-opened 1709, but was again to be re-let in 1710. There were many others, even extending to the suburbs, such as Hampstead.

[Footnote 376: A Looking-glass for Swearers, etc., 1708.]

Misson's description of them is amusing, but it would hardly appear from it that he ever witnessed a fight. 'Cock fighting is one of the great English Diversions; they build Amphitheatres for this Purpose, and Persons of Quality sometimes appear at them. Great Wagers are laid; but I'm told, that a Man may be damnably bubbled, if he is not very sharp.'

County matches used to be arranged; but for a spice of arrogance little can beat this: 'At the New Cock Pit by the Bowling Green behind Gray's Inn Walks, next Tuesday, will begin a great Match of Cock Fighting which will continue all the Week; the Gentlemen of Essex against all the rest of Great Britain, for 10 Guineas a Battle and 500 Guineas the Odd Battle.' These were the highest stakes ever publicly advertised in Queen Anne's reign, whatever might have been done at private matches--as, for instance, in the Tatler's Club (Tatler, 132), Sir Jeoffrey Notch, their chairman, would talk about his favourite old game-cock Gauntlett, 'upon whose head, the Knight, in his youth, had won five hundred pounds, and lost two Thousand.'

The cocks sometimes fought in silver spurs, but generally with steel ones, and of these there were several kinds. 'Note that on Wednesday there will be a single battle fought with Sickles, after the East India manner. And on Thursday there will be a Battle Royal, one Cock with a Sickle, and four Cocks with fair Spurs. On Friday there will be a pair of Shake bags fight for 5_l._ And on Saturday there will be a Battle Royal, between a Shakebag with fair Spurs, and 4 Matchable Cocks which are to fight with Sickles, Launcet Spurs, and Penknife Spurs, the like never yet seen. For the Entertainment of the foreign Ambassadors and Gentlemen.'

Cock-fighting even had a literature of its own. In 1709 was published 'The Royal Pastime of Cock fighting &c. by R. H. a Lover of the Sport'; and in the same year was printed another edition of 'The Compleat Gamesters, by C. Cotton,' in which are full directions as to the breeding, feeding, and fighting of Cocks. As so little is now known of this cruel sport, a few short extracts from this latter work will make us more thoroughly comprehend it as it was then practised.

In shape, the cock must be neither too large nor too small; with a small head and strong legs; his spurs, though long and sharp, turning slightly inwards. He should walk very upright and stately; and if he crows frequently in his pen it is a sign of courage. The combs or wattles are to be cut as soon as they appear; and the cock chickens are to be separated as soon as they begin to peck each other. Fighting cocks should not begin their career as such until they are two years old; and before a battle they should be dieted--i.e. for four days they should be fed with stale bread three times a day; after which they may have a spar, or sham fight, with another cock, their spurs being carefully guarded with leather balls. They must then be stoved, which meant putting them in deep baskets filled with straw, covering them with straw and shutting down the lids; but before undergoing this 'sudatorium' they were to be fed with sugar candy, chopped rosemary, and butter. In the evening the cock was released, and fed with wheatmeal and oatmeal, ale, white of eggs, and butter. 'The second day after his sparring, take your Cock into a fair green Close, and having a Dunghill Cock in your arms, show it him, and then run from him, that thereby you may entice him to follow, you permitting him to have now and then a blow; when he begins to pant, being well heated, take him up and carry him home.' He was then to have a dose of pounded leaves of herb of grace, hyssop, and rosemary, mixed with butter, and then stoved till the evening. Next day he was to rest, and the day after to be sparred, which treatment was to be continued for a fortnight; but for the next month, by which time he was to be fit for fighting, he was merely to be fed and stoved. He was not to be fed before fighting.

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