Part 16

Sutton, the pipe-maker of Gravesend, was his rival, and dared the mighty Figg to the combat. Twice they fought, with alternate advantage; but, at the third trial, a considerable time elapsed before victory decided for either party; at length the palm of victory was obtained by Figg. In short, neither Ned Sutton, Tom Buck, nor Bob Stokes, could resist, or stand against his skill and valour. He was never defeated but once, and then by Sutton, in one of their previous combats, and that was generally supposed to have been in consequence of an illness he had on him at the time he fought.

When Faber engraved his portrait from a painting by Ellys, he was at a loss what he should insert, as an appropriate motto, and consulting with a friend what he should put, was answered, "_A Figg for the Irish._" This was immediately adopted, and the print had a rapid sale.

Figg died in 1734. William Flander a noted scholar of his, fought at the amphitheatre, in 1723, with Christopher Clarkson, from Lancashire, who was called the Old Soldier. The fashion of attending prizefighting matches had attained its highest zenith in Figg's time, and it was looked upon as a very great proof of self-denial in an amateur if he failed a meeting on those occasions.

From Figg's theatre he will not miss a night, Though cocks, and bulls, and Irish women, fight.

Figg left a widow and several children; so recently as 1794 a daughter-in-law of his was living, and resided in Charles-street, Westminster, where she kept a house, and supported herself very decently by letting lodgings, aided by a very small income.

DRESS IN 1573.

The wardrobe of a country gentleman is thus given from a will, dated 1573, in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, in Brayley and Britton's _Graphic Illustrator_--"I give unto my brother Mr. William Sheney my best black gown, garded and faced with velvet, and my velvet cap; also I will unto my brother Thomas Marcal my new shepe colored gowne, garded with velvet and faced with cony; also I give unto my son Tyble my shorte gown, faced with wolf (skin), and laid with Billements lace; also I give unto my brother Cowper my other shorte gowne, faced with foxe; also I give unto Thomas Walker my night gown, faced with cony, with one lace also, and my ready (ruddy) colored hose; also I give unto my man Thomas Swaine my doublet of canvas that Forde made me, and my new gaskyns that Forde made me; also I give unto John Wyldinge a cassock of shepes colour, edged with ponts skins; also I give unto John Woodzyle my doublet of fruite canvas, and my hose with fryze bryches; also I give unto Strowde my frize jerkin with silke buttons; also I give Symonde Bisshoppe, the smyth, my other frize jerkyn, with stone buttons; also I give to Adam Ashame my hose with the frendge (fringe), and lined with crane-coloured silk; which gifts I will to be delivered, immediately after my decease."

ORIGIN OF THE CREST OF THE PRINCE OF WALES.

The loss of the French at the battle of Crecy was immense. There fell 1,200 knights; 1,400 esquires; 4,000 commissioned officers; 30,000 rank and file; Dukes of Lorraine and Bourbon; Earls of Flanders, Blois, Harcourt, Vaudemont, and Aumale; the King of Bohemia; the King of Majorca. The English lost one esquire, three knights, and less than one hundred rank and file. Here did they first use field artillery; and on this battle-field did the young Prince of Wales adopt the ostrich plumes and motto of the slain King of Bohemia, who, being blind, desired to be led at a gallop between two knights into the thick of the fight, and thus met death. Those feathers and the two words "Ich dien," "I serve," are to this day the heraldic bearings of the Prince of Wales, whom God preserve! So much for Crecy or Cressy!

SINGULAR DISCOVERY OF A THIEF IN 1822.

On February 20, as a servant in the employ of J. L. King, Esq., of Stogumber, was entering a field, his attention was attracted by a magpie, which appeared to have escaped from a neighbouring house. The bird spoke so uncommonly plain that the man was induced to follow it. "_Cheese for Marget, Cheese for Marget_," was its continual cry, as it hopped forward, till it stopped behind a hay-stack, and began to eat. On inspection, a number of hams, a quantity of cheese, &c., were discovered, which had been stolen, a short time previously, from Mr. Bowering, of Williton. The plunder was deposited in sacks, on one of which was marked the name of a person residing in the neighbourhood, which led to the apprehension of four fellows, who have been committed to Wilton gaol.

EFFECT OF VINEGAR ON THE SKIN.

By the use of vinegar the Spanish General Vitellis, made his skin hang about him like a pelisse; but of the wonderful dilatability of the skin, no instance equals the Spaniard who showed himself to Van-Horn, Silvius, Piso, and other learned men at Amsterdam. Taking up with his left hand the skin of his right shoulder, he would bring the same up to his mouth: again he would draw the skin of his chin down to his breast like a beard, and presently put it upwards to the top of his head, hiding both his eyes therewith; after which, the same would return orderly and equally to its proper place.

ADVERTISEMENT OF A DYING SPEECH BOOK IN 1731.

Newgate literature was more popular in the last century than it is now. The following is an advertisement in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ of the above date:--

"A General History of Executions for the year, 1730. Containing the lives, actions, dying speeches, confessions and behaviour, of sixty malefactors executed at Tyburn, and elsewhere; particularly three unfortunate young gentlemen, viz., Mr. Goodburn, a Cambridge scholar, Mr. Johnston, and Mr. Porter, son to the late Lord Mayor of Dublin: and of several notorious highwaymen, foot-pads, street-robbers, and housebreakers, as Dalton, Everet, Doyle, Newcomb, &c., and of the five young highwaymen taken at Windsor, said to have formed a design to rob the Queen there. To which is added, the trial of William Gordon at Chelmsford for a robbery on the highway; an account of the incendiaries at Bristol, and the apprehending John Power, for sending threatening letters, and firing Mr. Packer's house; also the life of Col. Ch--s. Together with an alphabetical list of all the persons indicted or tried at the Old Bailey, the year past. With the judgment of the court respectively passed upon each, referring to the pages in the session books for the trials at large. Printed for R. Newton at St. John's Gate, and sold by the booksellers price bound 2_s._ 6_d._"

ADVERTISEMENT OF A FLEET PARSON.

In the last century, when marriages were allowed to be transacted--we cannot say solemnized--in the Fleet Prison, and the adjacent taverns, the profligate wretches who disgraced their sacred profession by taking part in such iniquities, were obliged to bid against one another for custom--here is one of their advertisements:--

G. R.

At the true Chapel at the old Red Hand and Mitre, three doors from Fleet Lane and next Door to the White Swan; Marriages are performed by authority by the Reverend Mr. Symson educated at the University of Cambridge, and late Chaplain to the Earl of Rothes.

N.B. Without Imposition.

THE ASS.

In all countries, this sure-footed and faithful animal is adopted as an emblem of stupidity, from the patience with which it submits to punishment and endures privation. A pair of ass's ears is inflicted upon a child in reproof of his duncehood; and through life we hear every blockhead of our acquaintance called an ass. Whereas the ass is a beast of great intelligence; and we often owe our safety to its sure and unerring foot beside the perilous precipice, where the steps of the man of science would have faltered.

The Fathers of the Church, and the Disciples of the Sorbonne, persuaded of the universal influence of the Christian faith, believed the dark cross on the back of the ass to date only from the day on which our Saviour made his entry into Jerusalem. The ass of the desert was an animal of great price. Pliny mentions that the Senator Arius paid for one the sum of four hundred thousand sesterces. Naturalists have frequently remarked the extraordinary dimensions of an ass's heart, which is thought an indication of courage; and it is the custom of the peasantry of some countries to make their children wear a piece of ass's skin about their person. The ass's skin is peculiarly valuable, both for the manufacture of writing-tablets and drums; which may be the reason why a dead ass is so rarely seen. It is too valuable to be left on the highway. In many places, the ass serves as a barometer. If he roll in the dust, fine weather may be expected; but if he erect his ears, rain is certain. Why should not these animals experience the same atmospheric influences as man? Are we not light-hearted in the sunshine, and depressed in a heavy atmosphere?

CHOICE RECEIPTS FROM "PHYSICK FOR THE POOR. LONDON, 1657."

_To make any one that Sleepeth answer to whatsoever thou ask._--Take the heart of an oul, and his right legg, and put them upon the breast of one that sleepeth, and they shall reveal whatsoever thou ask them.

_To know any Man or Woman's minde when they are Asleep._--Take the hart of a dove, and the legg of a frog, dry it well, and beat them to powder in a morter, put this up in a linnen cloth, with three or four round pibble stones, as big as wallnuts, then lay this upon the parties pit of their stomach, and they shall tell you all things that they have done, if there is anything remarkable that troubles them.

_To make the Nose Bleed._--Take the leaves of yerrow, put it up in thy nose; this will make the nose bleed immediately.

_To make a Tooth Drop out._--Mizaldus saith that if you make a powder of earth-worms and put it in the hollow of a rotten tooth, it will immediately drop out.

How strange must have been the education and intelligence of the period, when people could write, publish, and practice such incredible trash!

SHOCKING DEPRAVITY.

The following account, from an old magazine, affords a strange and lamentable instance of a wretch just about to die, being only intent with his latest breath to defame his own mother:--

Mary Lynn, condemn'd last Assizes for the County of Norfolk, was burnt to ashes at a stake, for being concern'd in the murder of her mistress; and Smith, the principal, was hang'd for the same fact. She deny'd her being guilty, and said Smith could clear her if he would. She behaved with decency, and died penitent. Smith was drunk at the gallows; and seem'd to have but little sense either of his crime or punishment; however, desired all masters to pay their servants' wages on Saturday night, that they might have money to spend, and not run in debt. Said, "My mother always told me I should die in my shoes, but I will make her a liar;" so threw them off.

PERSONAL CHARMS DISCLAIMED.

If any human being was free from personal vanity, it must have been the second Duchess d'Orleans, Charlotte Elizabeth of Bavaria. In one of her letters (dated 9th August, 1718), she says, "I must certainly be monstrously ugly. I never had a good feature. My eyes are small, my nose short and thick, my lips broad and thin. These are not materials to form a beautiful face. Then I have flabby, lank cheeks, and long features, which suit ill with my low stature. My waist and my legs are equally clumsy. Undoubtedly I must appear to be an odious little wretch; and had I not a tolerable good character, no creature could endure me. I am sure a person must be a conjuror to judge me by my eyes that I have a grain of wit."

CADER IDRIS.

On the very summit of Cader Idris there is an excavation in the solid rock, resembling a couch; and it is said that whoever should rest a night in that seat, will be found in the morning either dead, raving mad, or endued with supernatural genius.

OLD LONDON SIGNS.

Some notion of the houses and shops of old London may be gathered by a visit to Bell Yard, near Temple Bar; Great Winchester Street, near the Bank; the wooden houses near Cripplegate Church; and a few other districts which were spared by the Great Fire of 1666. In Bell Yard, for instance, the national feeling for improvement has from time to time effected changes; the lattices of diamond-shaped lead-work, carved pendants, and the projecting signs of the various tradesmen, have disappeared, and here and there sheets of plate glass have been used, to give a somewhat modern appearance to the places of business. Still the projecting and massive wood-work of the shops, and the peculiar picturesque appearance of the houses, cannot be altogether disguised; and if any of our readers, who may be curious in such matters, will walk up Bailey's Court, on the west side of Bell Yard, he will there see a group of wooden buildings exactly like the great mass which was cleared by the fire. In some of the pictures of London of about this time, the shops of the various tradesmen were chiefly unglazed, and above the door of each was suspended the silver swans; the golden swans; the chained swans; the golden heads; mitres; bells--black, red, white, and blue; rising and setting suns; moons of different phases; men in the moon; sceptres; crowns, and many other devices, which, even at that time, were necessary to distinguish one shop from another. The chequers; St. George and the dragon; royal oaks; king's heads; and double signs, such as the horseshoe and magpie; bell and crown; bell and horns, and such like, were more particularly set apart for the use of the various hostelries. Everyone, however, who had a London shop of any kind or consequence, had his sign. Many of them were well carved in wood, and ornamented with emblazonry and gilding.

No doubt if it were possible to find at the present time the same picturesque architectural displays as were to be met with in London in Queen Elizabeth's days, our artistic friends would be able to pick up many a nice subject for their pencils, but in those days there were plenty of drawbacks; the pavement was bad, the drainage was worse, and from the eaves of the houses and pents of the shops, streams of water ran down in wet weather upon the wayfarers, and, by lodging in the thoroughfares, made the London streets something in the same state as those of Agar Town and some other neglected parts of the metropolis. We must not forget that in the days to which we allude there were no flagged footpaths, and that the only distinction from the horse and cart roads, and that for the foot passengers, was a separation by wooden posts, which, in genteel places, were made supports for chains. People, however, got tired of this bad state of things, and measures were taken to put a stop to the streams of water from the roofs, &c. After the Great Fire, an enactment was made for an alteration in the spouts, &c.; all barbers poles, and projecting signs, and other projections were to be done away with, and other changes made for the better. Up to the reign of Queen Anne, we find, by reference to views of Cheapside and the neighbourhood of the Monument, that the projecting signs were still in use; and that even at that recent date, many of the London shops in the important neighbourhoods above mentioned were without glazing, and looked much like some of the greengrocers' sheds in use now in Bermondsey and some other places.

Severe measures seem to have been at length taken against the projecting signs, and most of them disappeared, and then it became a most difficult matter either to address letters, or find a man's shop. In Dr. Johnson's day, he and other persons gave the address "over against" a particular sign, or so many doors from such a sign. In consequence of this uncertainty, many houses in London, which from their association with eminent men would possess much interest now, cannot be pointed out; and it was a wonderful benefit to the metropolis when the plan of numbering the houses in each street was hit upon. But for this, considering that the population has doubled in the last fifty years, it is difficult to know how the genius of Rowland Hill would have worked his plan of London post-office delivery, or business could be carried on with any kind of comfort.

The booksellers and publishers seem to have been the last, with the exception of the tavern-keepers, to give up the old signs. After the Great Fire, some of the ancient signs which were cut in stone, and which had escaped the conflagration, were got out of the ruins, and afterwards placed in the front of the plain, yet solid, brick buildings which were erected after that event. Some of these--the "Chained Bear," the "Collared Swan," the "Moon and Seven Stars," and "Sun," in Cheapside, and some others which we now engrave--are still preserved. The carved wooden sign of the "Man in the Moon," in Wych Street, Strand, is a rare example; and the "Horse-shoe and Magpie," in Fetter Lane, is one of the last of the suspended signs to be now found in the City.

Amongst the painted signs of London taverns worth notice, is one in Oxford-street (nearly opposite Rathbone-place), said to have been painted by Hogarth. The subject is "a man loaded with mischief." He has a stout woman on his shoulders, together with a monkey, magpie, etc. The male figure shown in this street picture seems to bear up pretty well under his burden.

NARROW ESCAPE.--CALM RELIANCE ON PROVIDENCE.

In the year 1552, Francis Pelusius, of sixty-three years old, digging a well forty foot deep in the hill of St. Sebastian, the earth above him fell in upon him to thirty-five foot depth; he was somewhat sensible before of what was coming, and opposed a plank, which by chance he had with him, against the ruins, himself lying under it; by this means he was protected from the huge weight of earth, and retained some room and breath to himself, by which he lived seven days and nights without food or sleep, without any pain or sorrow, being full of hope, which he placed in God only. Ever and anon he called for help, as being yet safe, but was heard by none, though he could hear the motion, noise and words of those that were above him, and could count the hours as the clock went. After the seventh day, he being all this while given for dead, they brought a bier for his corpse, and when a good part of the well was digged up, on a sudden they heard the voice of one crying from the bottom. At first they were afraid, as if it had been the voice of a subterranean spirit; the voice continuing, they had some hope of his life, and hastened to dig to him, till at last, after they had given him a glass of wine, they drew him up living and well, his strength so entire that to lift him out he would not suffer himself to be bound, nor would use any help of another. Yea, he was of so sound understanding, that, jesting, he drew out his purse and gave them money, saying _He had been with such good hosts, that for seven days it had not cost him a farthing_.

CEILING OF WHITEHALL.

The celebrated painting on the roof of the Banqueting House, has been restored, re-painted, and refreshed, not fewer than three times. In the reign of James II., 1687, Parrey Walton, a painter of still life, and the keeper of the king's pictures, was appointed to re-touch this grand work of art, which had then (as appears by the Privy Council Book) been painted only sixty years. Walton was paid L212 for its complete restoration, which sum was considered by Sir Christopher Wren, "as very modest and reasonable." It was restored a second time by the celebrated Cipriani; and for a third time by a painter named Rigaud.

BUNYAN'S BIBLE.

John Bunyan's Bible (printed by Bill and Barker) bound in morocco, and which had been his companion during his twelve years' unjustifiable confinement in Bedford gaol, where he wrote his "Pilgrim's Progress," was purchased at the sale of the library of the Rev. S. Palmer, of Hackney, March, 1814, for the late Samuel Whitbread, Esq., for the sum of L21. This Bible, and the "Book of Martyrs," are said to have constituted the whole library of Bunyan during his imprisonment.

SPECIMENS OF ROYAL GRANTS.

In 1206, King John grants to W. de Camville a licence to destroy game in any of the royal forests, which proves the origin of the Game Laws.

1238. Henry III. gave 500_l._ to Baldwyn, Emperor of Constantinople.

1342. King Edward III. forgives to the mayor and citizens of London the indignation and rancour of mind that he had conceived against them.

1344. The king grants to Adam Thorp, the trimmer of his beard, certain lands at Eye, near Westminster. The scrupulous attention which Edward III. paid to that ornament of his face, may be seen in his bronze effigy in Westminster Abbey, which was taken from a mask after his death.

1409. The king settles on Joan of Navarre, his queen, 10,000_l._ per annum.

1417. Henry V. grants to Joan Warin, his nurse, an annuity of 20_l._ during life.

1422. The jewels which had belonged to King Henry V., and were valued at so large a sum as 40,000_l._, were delivered to Sir Henry Fitz Hugh, and his other executors, for the payment of his personal debts.

1422. The "Pysane," or great collar of gold and rubies, was pawned by the king to his uncle, Cardinal Beaufort, who is supposed, at the time of his death, to have amassed more wealth than any subject in England.

COFFEE AND TEA.

The bill for attendance at the Dorchester Assizes in 1686 of Mr. John Bragge, the town-clerk of Lyme, presents this novelty--the article _coffee_ is charged 2d. This may have been drunk at a coffee-house. Coffee was introduced from Turkey in 1650.

An advertisement in the "Mercurius Politicus," Sept. 30, 1658, instructs how "That excellent and by all physitians approved _China_ drink, called by the Chineans Tcha, by other nations, _tay_ alias _tee_, is sold at the Sultana's Head Coffee-house, in Sweeting's-rents, by the Exchange, _London_.--"

There was a "cophee-house" in St. Michael's-alley, Cornhill, about 1657. Tea, coffee, and chocolate were placed under the excise. There was no tax upon these commodities when imported, but when made into drink, as tea was, at 8d. a gallon, and sold at these houses.

REMARKABLE PRESERVATION OF HUMAN HAIR SINCE THE NORMAN PERIOD.

In 1839 a coffin was discovered in the abbey church of Romsey, which had originally contained the body of a female of the above early time. The bones had entirely decayed, but the hair, with its characteristic indestructibility, was found entire, and appeared as if the skull had only recently been removed from it, retaining its form entire, and having plaited tails eighteen inches in length. It is still preserved in a glass case, lying upon the same block of oak which has been its pillow for centuries.

PUBLIC TASTE FOR CONJURING IN 1718.