Part 13

William Gerard Hamilton, the Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer (born 1729, died 1756), has been handed down to posterity under the name of =Single-speech Hamilton=, because he delivered but one speech in the House, and that was such a marvellous outburst of rhetoric that it electrified all who heard it. This memorable incident took place November 13, 1755. Henry Dundas, afterwards Lord Melville (born 1740, died 1811), merited the sobriquet of =Starvation Dundas= in consequence of his repeated use of the word “starvation” in the course of a debate on American affairs in the year 1775. Sir Robert Peel (born 1750, died 1830), during the time he was Chief Secretary for Ireland (1812 to 1816), was popularly denominated =Orange Peel=, on account of his strong anti-Catholic spirit [_see_ ORANGEMEN]. William Pitt, Earl of Chatham (born 1708, died 1778), was styled =The Heaven-sent Minister= because the most splendid triumphs of British arms were achieved during his administration. John Russell, afterwards created Earl Russell (born 1792, died 1878), received the nickname of =Finality John= from the fact of his maintaining that the Reform Bill of 1832 was a _finality_. The late Earl of Beaconsfield (born 1804, died 1881) owed his popular name of =Dizzy= to his own habit of setting forth his early novels during the lifetime of his father under the authorship of “D’Israeli the Younger.” In course of time this became shortened into “Dizzy,” and it clung to him ever afterwards.

Mr. W. E. Gladstone (born 1809) first received the nickname of =The Grand Old Man= on the occasion of the unseating in the House of Commons of Mr. Charles Bradlaugh (June 1880), through his refusal to take the oath after his election as member for Northampton. At this time Mr. Bradlaugh found a strong champion in Mr. Labouchere; and the nickname arose out of the latter’s conversation in the tea-room of the House “I told some friends,” said Mr. Labouchere, referring to the incident of Mr. Bradlaugh’s expulsion, “that before I left Mr. Gladstone came to me, and that _grand old man_, with tears in his eyes, took me by the hands and said, ‘Mr. Labouchere, bring me Mr. Bradlaugh back again.’”

Mr. William Henry Smith, M.P., the present First Lord of the Treasury (born 1825), is popularly known by the name of =Bookstall Smith= because he originated the idea of railway bookstalls, and founded the now widely-popular firm of “W. H. Smith and Sons.”

Sir Christopher Hatton (born 1540, died 1591) was styled =The Dancing Chancellor= because he first attracted the notice of Queen Elizabeth by his graceful dancing at one of the Court masques. In recognition of this accomplishment he was created a Knight of the Garter and subsequently made Chancellor of England. =Praise-God Barebones=, or, rather, Barebon, who died in 1680, was a leather-seller and the leader of the celebrated “Barebones Parliament.” It was a common custom among the Puritans to nickname people in accordance with their habits and peculiarities; consequently this individual must have been addicted to praising God in the hearing of his neighbours. William Huntingdon, the preacher and theologian (born 1744, died 1813), called himself =Sinner-saved Huntingdon= for reasons doubtless best known to himself. =Orator Henley=, otherwise John Henley (born 1692, died 1756), was an English divine who in 1726 delivered a course of lectures on theological subjects on Sundays, and on secular subjects on Wednesdays, in a kind of “oratory” or chapel in Newport Market, which attracted large congregations.

=Memory Woodfall= was the sobriquet of William Woodfall (born 1745, died 1803), brother to the reputed author of the famous “Letters of Junius.” This person’s memory was so perfect that he was able, after listening to a Parliamentary debate, to report it the next morning word for word without the assistance of any notes whatever. Of another kind was the memory possessed by John Thompson, the son of a greengrocer in the parish of St. Giles, popularly known as =Memory-corner Thompson= (born 1757, died 1843) on account of his astounding local knowledge. Within twenty-four hours, and at two sittings, he drew entirely from memory a correct plan of the parish of St. James’s. This plan contained all the squares, streets, lanes, courts, passages, markets, churches, chapels, houses, stables, and angles of houses, in addition to a number of minor objects, such as walls, trees, &c., and including an exact plan of Carlton House and St. James’s Palace. He also, on another occasion, made a correct plan of St. Andrew’s parish, and offered to do the same with the parishes of St. Giles, St. Paul’s, Covent Garden, and St. Clement-Danes. If a particular house in any given street were named, he would tell at once what trade was carried on in it, the appearance and position of the shop, and its contents. In going through a large hotel completely furnished, he was able to retain a recollection of everything he saw, and afterwards make an inventory of the whole. But, perhaps more wonderful than all, he could, after having read a newspaper overnight, repeat any desired portion of its contents _verbatim_ the next morning. Nowadays such a one would be exhibited at the Royal Aquarium as a natural curiosity.

Another well-known London character was =Dirty Dick=, otherwise Nathaniel Bentley, the miser, who never washed himself. This extraordinary individual died in the odour of dirt in the year 1809, leaving an ample fortune to console his heirs for his loss (?). The house which he inhabited in Bishopsgate Street Without has now been converted into a modern wine and spirit establishment, under the style of THE D.D. CELLARS. Laurence Brown, the English landscape gardener (born 1715, died 1783) was nicknamed =Capability Brown= owing to his habitual use of the word _capability_. At the present day the Duke of Cambridge (born 1819) is usually denominated =George Ranger= in allusion to his appointment as Ranger of the Royal Parks. Ernest Benzon, author of “How I Lost £250,000 in Two Years,” rejoiced in the title of =The Jubilee Plunger= because he entered upon his gambling career in 1887, the Jubilee year of Queen Victoria [_see_ PLUNGER].

A few of the more celebrated painters may now detain us. Peter Aartsen, the Flemish painter (born 1507, died 1573), bore the name of =Long Peter= on account of his extraordinary height; while Gaspar Smitz, the Dutch portrait painter (died 1689), was styled =Magdalen Smith= because his pictures comprised mostly “Magdalens.” The real name of the French landscape painter, =Claude Lorraine= (born 1600, died 1682), was Claude Gelée _of_ Lorraine; that of Paolo Veronese, or =Paul Veronese= (born 1528, died 1588), was Paolo Cagliari, his birth having taken place in Verona; and that of Jacopa da Bassano, called =Il Bassano= (born 1510, died 1592), was Jacopa da Ponte, whose native place was Bassano, in the Venetian State. Pietro Vanucci (born 1446, died 1524), though recognizing Città della Pieve as his birthplace, was all his life established in the neighbouring city of Perugia, where he claimed the right of citizenship; hence the origin of his more common name =Il Perugino=. Francesco Rossi (born 1510, died 1563), adopted the name of =Del Salviati=, in honour of his patron, Cardinal Salviati, who was his own age exactly, and, strangely enough, died in the same year as himself. Giuseppe Ribera (born 1588, died 1656), was popularly surnamed =Lo Spagnoletto= (“the Little Spaniard”), from the shortness of his stature and his birth at Xativa, in Spain; while Tommaso Guidi (born 1402, died 1428), merited his better-known name of =Masaccio=, owing to the slovenliness of his habits, the direct consequence of an all-absorbing attention to his studies. Jacopo Robusti (born 1512, died 1594) received his now far more popular name of =Tintoretto= because his father followed the occupation of a _tintore_, or dyer. During his lifetime, this celebrated Italian painter merited the additional sobriquet of =Il Furioso= owing to the rapidity with which he produced his work. Quintin Matsys (born 1466, died 1530), whose masterpiece, “The Taking Down from the Cross,” has achieved a world-wide reputation, is equally known to fame by the name of =The Smith of Antwerp=, owing to the circumstance of having followed for a time, and with great distinction, his father’s occupation of a blacksmith. His attachment to the pretty daughter of a painter, however, caused him eventually to forsake the anvil for the palette. Nearer home the historical portrait painter, David Allan (born 1744, died 1796) was surnamed =The Scottish Hogarth= in compliment to his excellence; and William Huggins (born 1821, died 1884), =The Liverpool Landseer=, in favourable comparison with the celebrated English animal painter of that name.

Simon Bolivar, the South American hero (born 1783, died 1830), justly merited the dignified title of =The Liberator=; while General John Charles Fremont (born 1813, died 1890) won the surname of =The Pathfinder= after his fourth successful exploring expedition across the Rocky Mountains in 1842. Lastly, Jonathan Hastings, a farmer of Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., was styled =Yankee Jonathan= in consequence of his addiction to the word _Yankee_ in the place of “excellent.” Thus he would say, “A Yankee good horse,” “A Yankee good cider,” &c. This individual, however, must not be confounded with “Brother Jonathan,” the nickname of the typical American, to which reference is made in another portion of this work.

_THE INNS OF COURT._

As by reference to our article on TAVERN SIGNS it will be seen how the word _Inn_ originally denoted a private mansion, it will suffice to state here that the various colleges of the law students in London are styled =Inns= because the chief of them were at one time the residences of the nobility whose family names they still bear. Thus, =Lincoln’s Inn= was the town mansion of the Earls of Lincoln, =Gray’s Inn=, of the Earls Gray, =Furnival’s Inn=, of the Lords Furnival, and =Clifford’s Inn=, of the Lords Clifford. The two first-named, together with the Inner and Middle Temple, are the principal =Inns of Court=, so called because the earliest seminaries for the study of the law were established in one of the courts of the King’s palace. The Inns of lesser import are:--=Serjeants’ Inn=, originally the establishment of the “Frères Serjens,” or Serving Brothers to the Knights Templars who occupied =The Temple= close by; =Barnard’s Inn=--sold and abolished in 1881--named after its ancient owner; =Staple Inn=, formerly the Hall of the Merchants of the Staple, _i.e._, wool; =Clement’s Inn= and =Dane’s Inn=, so designated from their proximity to the Church of St. Clement-Danes; and =New Inn=, the latest of all the Inns erected in the early part of the last century. =Thavie’s Inn= no longer exists, but the title still adheres to a range of modern buildings erected upon its site. No person of the name of Thavie ever owned or occupied the original premises; nevertheless, when the Inn was established as an appendage to Lincoln’s Inn, about the middle of the fourteenth century, the Benchers unanimously agreed to perpetuate the memory of one John Thavie, an armourer who, dying in the year 1348, bequeathed a number of houses in Holborn, representing considerable rentals, to the neighbouring church of St. Andrew, and named it “Thavie’s Inn” accordingly.

The senior members of the Inns of Court are styled =Benchers= by reason of the benches on which they formerly sat.

_RACES._

=Goodwood Races= are held once a year in Goodwood Park, the property of the Duke of Richmond; =Ascot Races=, on Ascot Heath, in Berkshire, and =Epsom Races=, on Epsom Downs, near London. The =Derby Stakes=, at Epsom, were named after Edward Smith Stanley, twelfth Earl of Derby, who founded them in 1780, the year after he established the =Oaks Stakes=; so called from an inn known as “Lamberts’ Oaks,” originally erected by the Hunters’ Club and rented by a family named Lambert upon land which subsequently passed into the possession of the Derby family. The =St. Leger Stakes=, otherwise the =Doncaster St. Leger=, annually run for at Doncaster, were established by Colonel Anthony St. Leger in 1776.

A =Hurdle Race= is one in which hurdles are placed at different points along the course. A =Steeplechase= is confined to thoroughbred hunters whose riders are bound to make for the winning-post straight across the country, guided by flags displayed on the highest points along the line, and to clear whatever ditches, fences, walls, or other obstacles that may lie in their course. The term originated from the incident of an unsuccessful hunting-party agreeing to race to the village church, of which the steeple was just in sight; and he who touched the building first with his whip was to be declared the winner. A =Scratched Horse= is one whose name has been struck out of the final list of runners in a particular race. A =Sweepstake= is a term used to denote the whole amount staked by different persons upon one race, and cleared literally “at one sweep” by the fortunate individual who has backed the winner.

_LONDON CHURCHES AND BUILDINGS._

In all probability the name of =Westminster Abbey= would never have come into existence had it not been necessary to distinguish the Abbey Church lying to the west of St. Paul’s (founded by Ethelbert in 610) from another Abbey Church that stood upon the rising ground now known as Tower Hill. Consequently, the one was described as the _West Minster_, the other the _East Minster_; and when, in course of time, the latter was swept away, the western edifice not only retained the description of “The West Minster,” but gave its name also to the district around. The earliest mention of West Minster occurs in a Saxon charter dated 785.

The =Temple= comprised the chief seat in this country of the Knights Templars after their return from the Holy Land. The =Savoy Chapel= is a modern edifice built by the Queen to replace the original, destroyed by fire July, 7, 1864, which formed the only remaining portion of the old =Savoy Palace= erected by Peter of Savoy, the uncle of Eleanor, queen of Henry III., in 1249, on land granted to him by that monarch.

The Church of =St. Clement-Danes= owes its compound title to the fact of being dedicated to St. Clement, and of Harold, a Danish king, together with several other Danes lying buried within its walls. The Church of =St. Mary-le-Bow=, Cheapside, otherwise =Bow Church=, was so denominated because it was the first church ever built upon bows or arches. The Church of =St. Mary Woolnoth=, at the corner of Lombard Street and King William Street, is supposed to be a corruption of St. Mary Woolnough, so called by way of distinction from a neighbouring church of “St. Mary of the Wool,” that stood beside the beam or wool-staple. The Church of =St. Mary-Axe=, now vanished, received this name from its situation opposite to a shop that displayed an axe for its sign. The Church of =St. Catherine Cree=, Leadenhall Street, is properly St. Catherine and Trinity, being originally a chapel dedicated to St. Catherine in the churchyard of the priory church of Holy Trinity, afterwards merged into the parishes of Christ Church, St. Mary Magdalen, and St. Michael. The Church of =St. Catherine Coleman=, Fenchurch Street, dedicated to St. Catherine, is so designated because it was built in a large garden belonging to a person named Coleman. The Church of =St. Margaret Pattens=, Rood Lane, did not receive its denomination from the patten-makers who congregated in this neighbourhood, but because its roof was formerly decorated with gilt spots or _patines_; a patine being the name of a small circular dish of gold used to cover the chalice at the altar. Lovers of Shakespeare may recollect the passage in the _Merchant of Venice_ where Lorenzo, referring to the stars, says:--

“Sit, Jessica: Look how the floor of heaven Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold; There’s not the smallest orb which thou behold’st, But in his motion like an angel sings, Still quiring to the young-ey’d cherubins; Such harmony is in immortal souls, But whilst this muddy vesture of decay Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it.”

The original =Church of St. Sepulchre=, founded during the time of the Crusades, was so denominated in honour of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. The name of =St. Bride’s Church=, Fleet Street, is a contraction of St. Bridget’s Church. The Church of =St. Andrew Undershaft=, Leadenhall Street, dedicated to St. Andrew, was originally so called because its steeple was of lesser altitude than the tall shaft or maypole which stood opposite the south door. Hence, the church was literally “under the shaft.” The parish of St. Mary-Axe is now united to that of St. Andrew Undershaft. The Church of =St. Helen’s=, Bishopsgate, was built and dedicated to St. Helena, the mother of Constantine, in 1180, just thirty years before William Fitzwilliam, a rich goldsmith, founded in connection therewith a priory of Benedictine nuns, dedicated to the Holy Cross and St. Helena. The neighbouring Church of =St. Ethelburga= was so named in honour of the daughter of King Ethelbert. The Church of =Allhallowes Barking=, at the bottom of Mark Lane, derived the second portion of its title from the fact that it belonged to the ancient abbey and convent at Barking, in Essex. =St. Olave’s Church=, Tooley Street, is properly described as =St. Olaf’s Church=, being dedicated to Olaf, a Norwegian prince of great renown, who came over to this country at the invitation of the King Ethelred, and rendered good service in expelling the Danes.

The central portion of the Tower of London, supposed to have been built by Julius Cæsar, is known as the =White Tower= on account of the white stone employed in its construction. In the =Bloody Tower= the Infant Princes were murdered by order of their uncle, Richard III.; and in the =Beauchamp Tower=, Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, was imprisoned by Richard II. for leading the conspiracy of the Barons for the removal of Sir Simon de Burley, the young King’s favourite. At the accession of Henry IV. the Earl obtained his liberty. =Traitors’ Gate= denotes the river gate by which all State prisoners convicted of high treason were admitted into the Tower. =Newgate Prison= derived its name from its original situation next to the newest of the five principal gates of the City. The prison is first mentioned in history under date 1207. The present gloomy edifice was built in 1782. The open space between the prison and the Old Bailey was formerly known as the =Press Yard=, because here it was that prisoners who refused to plead upon trial were barbarously pressed to death. The =Old Bailey= Sessions House received its name from the street in which it stands [_see_ OLD BAILEY in the article “LONDON STREETS AND SQUARES.”] The old =Marshalsea Prison=, Southwark, abolished and pulled down in 1842, was so called because it contained the Court of the Knight-Marshal, whose duty it was to settle disputes occurring between the members of the Royal Household. This office now belongs to the Steward of the Royal Household. =Bridewell= was a corruption of “St. Bridget’s Well,” discovered in the grounds attached to an ancient hospital, afterwards converted into a house of correction for females. An iron pump let into the wall of the churchyard at the upper end of Bride Lane indicates the exact spot where the dames of old were wont to drink the virtuous waters. The =Fleet Prison= took its name from the river, now a common sewer, near which it stood. The northern boundary of the prison is now defined by =Fleet Lane=, which runs from Farringdon Street to the Old Bailey.

=St. John’s Gate=, Clerkenwell, is the sole remaining portion of the priory of St. John of Jerusalem, the seat in this country of the Knights Hospitallers, instituted by Godfrey de Boulogne. The Gate now forms the headquarters of the St. John’s Ambulance Association. =Temple Bar= was not one of the City fortifications, but the ordinary gateway of the Temple. It was popularly known as =The City Golgotha=, owing to the spiked heads of traitors exposed thereon--_Golgotha_ being Hebrew for “the place of skulls.” The Bar was taken down in 1878. =London Bridge=--that is to say, the original structure--was the first bridge over the Thames. The present structure was thrown open August 1, 1831. =Billingsgate= traces its origin to Belin, one of the early kings of Britain, who built a gate on the site of the present market and gave it his name. =St. Katherine’s Docks= received their title from an ancient hospital dedicated to St. Katherine, swept away by their construction in the year 1828. =The Mint= is so called in accordance with the Anglo-Saxon _mynet_, coin [_see_ MONEY]. The =Trinity House=, the seat of the Trinity Corporation, which controls the pilotage of the Thames and the various lighthouses, buoys, harbour-dues, &c., around our coast, owed its foundation to Sir Thomas Spert, Comptroller of the Navy of Henry VIII., and commander of the _Harry Grace de Dieu_, originally situated at Deptford; it was incorporated in 1529 under the style of “The Master-Wardens and Assistants of the Guild, or Fraternity, or Brotherhood, of the most glorious and undivisible Trinity, and St. Clement, in the parish of Deptford, Stroud, in the County of Kent.” The present edifice was built in 1795. =Crosby Hall=, Bishopsgate, at one time a palace, but now converted into a restaurant, was built by Sir John Crosby about the middle of the fifteenth century. The =Congregational Memorial Hall=, Farringdon Road, which occupies part of the site of the old Fleet Prison, was built in 1872 to memorate the ejection of more than two thousand Church of England ministers from their charges, August 24, 1662, consequent upon their refusal to subscribe to the “Act of Uniformity” [_see_ NONCONFORMISTS]. The =Guildhall= is the hall of the City guilds; the word GUILD being derived from the Anglo-Saxon _gildan_, to pay, alluding to the fee paid for membership. =Doctors’ Commons=, originally established as a college for the Professors of Canon and Civil Law, received its name from the rule which required the Doctors to dine at a common table. That sombre-looking structure, the =College of Arms=, otherwise =Heralds’ College=, is the office where the records of the genealogical descent of all our noble families are preserved, and where searches for coats-of-arms may be instituted. The Corporation of the College dates back to the year 1484. The General Post Office is officially denominated =St. Martin’s-le-Grand= because it occupies the site of a collegiate church and sanctuary of that name founded by Within, King of Kent in 750, and chartered by William the Conqueror in 1068.