Part 19

Mr. Day perished in a diving bell, or diving boat of his own construction, at Plymouth, in June, 1774, in which he was to have continued for a wager, twelve hours, one hundred feet deep in water, and probably, perished from his not possessing all the hydrostatic knowledge that was necessary. Mr. Spalding was professionally ingenious in the art of constructing and managing the diving bell, he had practised the business many years with success. He went down, accompanied by one of his young men, twice to view the wreck of the Imperial East Indiaman, at Kish Bank, in Ireland; on descending the third time, in June, 1783, they remained about an hour under water, and had two barrels of air sent down to them, but on the signals from below not being repeated, after a certain time, they were drawn up by their assistants, and both found dead in the bell.

BRIBERY.

The triumphant exposure and punishments of corrupt bribe-takers on a grand scale belongs to the close of the seventeenth century. In 1695 Sir John Trevor, the Speaker of the House of Commons, was compelled to put the question himself that he should be expelled. A bill for securing the right application to poor orphans of freemen of London of funds belonging to them could not be carried without purchasing the support of influential members and of the Speaker himself, at a bribe for the latter of 1,000 guineas!

Sir Thomas Cook, the governor of the East India Company, paid L167,000 in one year for bribes to members of the House, of which Sir Basil Firebrace took for his share L40,000. Corruption was universal, therefore deemed venial.

LEGALISED GAMBLING.

The following statement shows the extent to which lotteries encouraged a spirit of gambling among the people, and we may hence appreciate the soundness of the policy which dictated their suppression:--

The _Post Boy_ of December 27, says:--"We are informed that the Parliamentary Lottery will be fixed in this manner:--150,000 tickets will be delivered out at 10_l._ each ticket, making in all the sum of 1,500,000_l._ sterling; the principal whereof is to be sunk, the Parliament allowing nine per cent. interest for the whole during the term of 32 years, which interest is to be divided as follows: 3,750 tickets will be prizes from 1,000_l._ to 5_l._ per annum during the said 32 years; all the other tickets will be blanks, so that there will be 39 of these to one prize, but then each blank ticket will be entitled to fourteen shillings a year for the term of 32 years, which is better than an annuity for life at ten per cent. over and above the chance of getting a prize." Such was the eagerness of the publick in subscribing to the above profitable scheme, that Mercers'-hall was literally crowded, and the Clerks were found incompetent to receive the influx of names. 600,000_l._ was subscribed January 21; and on the 28th of February, the sum of 1,500,000_l._ was completed.

ONE OF THE EFFECTS OF MANUFACTURES.

How greatly does the introduction of a manufacturing establishment into a town where none previously existed, alter its whole character and condition!

It is said that the burgh of Lanark was, till very recent times, so poor that the single butcher of the town, who also exercised the calling of a weaver, in order to fill up his spare time, would never venture upon the speculation of killing a sheep till every part of the animal was ordered beforehand. When he felt disposed to engage in such an enterprise, he usually prevailed upon the minister, the provost, and the town-council, to take shares; but when no person came forward to bespeak the fourth quarter, the sheep received a respite till better times should cast up. The bellman or _skellyman_, as he is there called, used often to go through the streets of Lanark with advertisements such as are embodied in the following popular rhyme:--

"Bell-ell-ell! There's a fat sheep to kill! A leg for the provost, Another for the priest, The bailies and deacons, They'll tak the neist; And if the fourth leg we connot sell, The sheep it maun leeve and gae back to the hill!"

PATES DE FOIES GRAS.

Strasbourg is the great market for _pates de foies gras_, made, as it is known, of the livers of geese. These poor creatures are shut up in coops, so narrow they cannot turn round in them, and then stuffed twice a day with Indian corn, to enlarge their livers, which have been known to swell till they reached the enormous weight of two pounds and a half. Garlick, steeped in water, is given them, to increase their appetites. This invention is worthy of the French nation, where cooks are great as nobles.

INSCRIPTION IN CONWAY CHURCH.

Here lyeth the body of Nicholas Hookes, of Conway, gentleman, (who was the forty-first child of his father, Wm. Hookes, Esq., by Alice, his wife,) the father of twenty-seven children, who died the 27th day of March, 1637.

DROPPING-WELLS.

If you journey through Yorkshire, be sure to stop opposite the ruins of Knaresborough Castle, because, on the south-west bank of the river Nidd, you will observe the petrifying spring of Knaresborough,--the celebrated dropping-well--where the peasants and the needy crowd to make their humble fortunes by afterwards retailing small sprigs of trees, such as the elder or ash, or pieces of the elegant geranium, the wild angelica, or the lovely violet, turned into "obdurate stone."

Every spring does not possess the petrifying properties of that of Knaresborough; but there are, doubtless, many dropping-wells distributed over the earth's crust; and some of these are well known to possess the property of petrifying various objects submitted to the action of their waters. For example: we have seen birds' nests, with the eggs, and delicate sprigs of moss surrounding them, and even the fibres of wool turned into stone, aye, and delicate flowers. Whence is this extraordinary power? From the soil over which the waters flow! The limpid streams absorb the silicious particles, and deposit them in the intimate structure of the materials submitted to the action of the waters; and thus we find the materials of which the earth's crust is composed, always undergoing a change.

Twenty gallons are poured forth every minute from the top of the Knaresborough cliff, and the beauty of the scene can only be appreciated by those who have stood upon the margin of those "stony waters" and beheld the crystal fluid descend from above with metallic fall.

CHINESE IVORY BALLS.

Nothing can afford a greater proof of the patience and perseverance, as well as of the taste of a Chinese handicraftsman, than one of these elegant baubles, each ball being exquisitely carved, and no two alike in pattern. Each of the balls rolls freely within that which encloses it, and is visible through apertures; so that however many there be, the beauties of each can be examined, and the number of the whole counted. Much time is spent upon the carving of these toys, for the cleverest artist will employ a whole month in the execution of each separate ball; consequently the labour of two years is not unfrequently bestowed on the production of a single toy, which is formed out of a solid globe of ivory, and has no junction in any part. The outside of this globe is first carved in some very open pattern, and is then carefully cut with a sharp, fine instrument, through the openings, till a complete coating is detached from the solid part inside, as the peel of an orange might be loosened with a scoop from the fruit, without being taken off. One hollow ball is thus formed, with a solid one inside of it. The surface of the inner ball is then carved through the interstices of the outer one, and when finished, is subjected to the same operation as the first; and thus a second hollow ball is produced, still with a solid one of smaller dimensions inside. This process is repeated again and again, the difficulties increasing as the work proceeds, till at length only a small ball, of the size of a marble, is left in the centre, which is also ornamented with figures cut upon it, and then the ingenious but useless bauble is complete. This process is said to be performed under water.

CREDULITY OF THE ANCIENTS.

The credulity of even the learned men in the early ages may be judged of by the following facts:--

Marcus Varro writeth, that there was a town in Spain undermined with rabbits; another likewise in Thessaly by moles or molewharps. In Africa the people were compelled by locusts to leave their habitations; and out of Gyaros, an island, one of the Cyclades, the islanders were forced by rats and mice to fly away; moreover in Italy the city of Amyclae was destroyed by serpents. In Ethiopia there is a great country lies waste and desert, by reason it was formerly dispeopled by scorpions; and if it be true that Theophrastus reporteth, the Treriens were chased away by certain worms called scolopendres. Annius writes, that an ancient city situate near the Volscian Lake, and called Contenebra, was in times past overthrown by pismires, and that the place is thereupon vulgarly called to this day, the Camp of Ants. In Media, saith Diodorus Siculus, there was such an infinite number of sparrows that eat up and devoured the seed which was cast into the ground, so that men were constrained to depart from their old habitations, and remove to other places.

CLOCK PRESENTED TO CHARLEMAGNE.

The French historians describe a clock sent to Charlemagne in the year 807, by the famous eastern caliph, Haroun al Raschid, which was evidently furnished with some kind of wheelwork, although the moving power appears to have been produced by the fall of water. This clock was a rather wonderful affair, and excited a great deal of attention at the French court. In the dial of it were twelve small doors forming the divisions for the hours, each door opened at the hour marked by the index, and let out small brass balls, which, falling on a bell, struck the hours--a great novelty at that time. The doors continued open until the hour of twelve, when twelve figures representing knights on horseback came out and paraded round the dial plate.

REMARKABLE EVENTS, INVENTIONS, &c.

Memnon, the Egyptian, invents the letters, in the year 1822, _before_ Christ.

The Alexandrian library, consisting of 400,000 valuable books, burnt by accident, B. C. 52.

Silk first brought from India, 274: the manufactory of it introduced into Europe by some monks, 551: first worn by the clergy in England, in 1534.

Glass invented in England by Benalt, a monk, A. C. 400.

The University of Cambridge founded A. C. 915.

Paper made of cotton rags was in use, 1000; that of linen rags in 1170: the manufactory introduced into England, at Dartford, 1588.

Musical notes invented, 1070.

Justices of the Peace first appointed in England in 1076.

Doomsday-book began to be compiled by order of William, from a survey of all the estates in England (and finished in 1086), 1080.

Glass windows began to be used in private houses in England in 1186.

Surnames now began to be used, first among the nobility, in 1200.

The houses of London and other cities in England, France, and Germany, still thatched with straw in 1233.

Tallow candles so great a luxury, that splinters of wood were used for lights, 1298.

Wine sold by apothecaries as a cordial, 1298.

Gunpowder and guns first invented by Swartz, a monk of Cologn, 1340; Edward 3rd had four pieces of cannon, which contributed to gain him the battle of Cressy, 1346; bombs and mortars were invented in the same year.

Cards invented in France for the king's amusement in 1391.

Windsor Castle built by Edward 3rd, 1386.

Guildhall, London, built 1410.

About 1430, Laurentius, of Haarlem, invented the art of Printing, which he practised with separate wooden types. Guttenburg afterwards invented cut metal types: but the art was carried to perfection by Peter Schoeffer, who invented the mode of casting the types in matrices. Frederick Corsellis began to print at Oxford, in 1468, with wooden types; but it was William Caxton who introduced into England the art of printing with fusile types, in 1474.

Shillings first coined in England, 1505.

Silk stockings first worn by the French King, 1543; first worn in England by Queen Elizabeth in 1561.

Tobacco first brought from Virginia into England, 1583.

Watches first brought into England from Germany, in 1597.

Regular Posts established from London to Scotland, Ireland, &c., 1635.

The Plague rages in London, and carries off 68,000 persons, 1665.

The great fire of London began, September 2nd, and continued three days, in which were destroyed 13,000 houses, and 400 streets, 1666.

Tea first used in England, 1666.

The Habeas Corpus act passed, 1678.

William Penn, a Quaker, receives a charter for planting Pennsylvania, 1680.

Bank of England established by King William 1693.

The first public Lottery was drawn same year.

The first British Parliament, 1707.

The Cathedral Church of St. Paul, London, rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren, in 37 years, at one million expense, by a duty on coals, 1710.

Westminster Bridge, consisting of 15 arches, begun 1738, finished in 1750, at the expense of 389,000_l._, defrayed by parliament.

Commodore Anson returns from his voyage round the world, 1774.

The British Museum erected at Montagu House, 1753.

149 Englishmen are confined in the black-hole at Calcutta, in the East Indies, by order of the Nabob, and 123 found dead next morning, 1755.

LEGENDS AMONG SAVAGE NATIONS.

It is curious to note how savages endeavour to account for the prodigies of nature. In the island of Samoa, one of the Sandwich group, there is the following legend.

Mafuie is their god of earthquakes, who was deemed to possess great power, but has, according to the Samoans, lost much of it. The way in which they say this occurred is as follows:--One Talago, who possessed a charm capable of causing the earth to divide, coming to a well-known spot, cried, "Rock, divide! I am Talago; come to work!" The earth separating at his command, he went down to cultivate his taro patch. His son, whose name was Tiitii, became acquainted with the charm, and watching his father, saw him descend, and the earth close after him. At the same spot, Tiitii said, "Rock, divide! I am Talago; come to work!" The rock did not open, but on repeating the words and stamping his foot violently, the earth separated, and he descended. Being a young man, he made a great noise and bustle, notwithstanding the advice of his father to be quiet, lest Mafuie would hear him. The son then asked, "Who is Mafuie, that I should be afraid of him?" Observing smoke at a distance, he inquired the cause of it. Talago said, "It is Mafuie heating his oven." Tiitii determined to go and see, notwithstanding all the persuasions of his father, and met Mafuie, who inquired who he was, "Are you a planter of taro, a builder, or a twister of ropes?" "I am a twister of ropes," said Tiitii; "give me your arm, and I shall show you." So, taking the arm of Mafuie, he twisted it off in a moment. Such a practical illustration of his powers soon made Mafuie cry out, "Na fia ola, na fia ola!"--I desire to live, I desire to live! Tiitii then took pity upon him, and let him go. The natives, on feeling an earthquake, exclaim, "Thanks that Mafuie has but one arm! if he had two, he would shake the earth to pieces."

ORIGIN OF THE WORD LADY.

It was the custom at the time of the Plantagenets, and previously, for ladies of distinction and wealth regularly to distribute money or food to the poor. The title of _lady_, is derived from the Anglo-Saxon, and literally signifies _giver of bread_. The purse, with similar meaning, was named as a receptacle for _alms_, and not as an invention for the preservation of money.

ANECDOTES IN SERMONS.

The fashion which once prevailed of introducing historical anecdotes into addresses from the pulpit, is illustrated by the following extract from a sermon by the Martyr Bishop Ridley:--

Cambyses was a great emperor, such another as our master is; he had many lord-deputies, lord-presidents, and lieutenants under him. It is a great while ago since I read the history. It chanced he had under him, in one of his dominions, a briber, a gift-taker, a gratifier of rich men; he followed gifts as fast as he that followed the pudding, a hand-maker in his office, to make his son a great man; as the old saying is, "Happy is the child whose father goeth to the devil." The cry of the poor widow came to the emperor's ear, and caused him to flay the judge quick, and laid his skin in his chair of judgment, that all judges that should give judgment afterward should sit in the same skin. Surely it was a goodly sign, a goodly monument, the sign of the judge's skin: I pray God we may once see the sign of the skin in England.

STATE OF LONDON IN 1756.

The state of the police regulations in the metropolis at the above date, is exhibited in the following extract from an old magazine:--

"At one o'clock this morning (Oct. 4, 1756), the Hon. Captain Brudenel was stopped in his chair, just as it entered Berkeley-square, from the Hay-hill, by two fellows with pistols, who demanded his money; he gave them five-sixpences, telling them he had no more, which having taken, they immediately made off. The captain then put his purse and watch under the cushion, got out, drew his sword, and being followed by one of the chairmen with his pole, and the watchman, pursued them up the hill, where the Hon. Captain West, who was walking, having joined them, one of the fellows having got off, they followed the other into Albemarle-mews, where finding himself closely beset, he drew a pistol, and presented it, upon which the captain made a lunge at him, and ran him through the body. The fellow at the same time fired his pistol, which, the captain being still stooping, went over his head and shot the watchman through the lungs; at the instant the pistol was discharged, while the fellow's arm was extended, the chairman struck it with his pole and broke it; he was then seized and carried with the watchman to the round-house in Dover-street, where Mr. Bromfield and Mr. Gataker, two eminent surgeons, came; but the captain would not suffer the villain to be dressed, till he discovered who he and his confederates were; when he acknowledged they were both grenadiers in Lord Howe's company. The poor watchman died in half an hour after he was shot; and the soldier was so disabled by his wound that he was carried in a chair to Justice Fielding, who sent him to New Prison, where he died."

FROM A HANDBILL OF BARTHOLOMEW FAIR IN 1700.

The following extract is worth notice, inasmuch as it shows that in the matter of amusement, the tastes of the lower orders of the present day are not much improved since the last century:--

"You will see a wonderful girl of ten years of age, who walks backwards up the sloping rope driving a wheelbarrow behind her; also you will see the great Italian Master, who not only passes all that has yet been seen upon the low rope, but he dances without a pole upon the head of a mast as high as the booth will permit, and afterwards stands upon his head on the same. You will be also entertained with the merry conceits of an Italian scaramouch, who dances on the rope with two children and a dog in a wheelbarrow, and a duck on his head."

PASSAGE THROUGH THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA SUGGESTED THREE HUNDRED TEARS AGO.

_Ancient Globe._--In the Town Library (_Stadt Bibliothek_) of Nuremberg is preserved an interesting globe made by John Schoner, professor of mathematics in the Gymnasium there, A.D. 1520. It is very remarkable that the passage through the Isthmus of Panama, so much sought after in later times, is, on this old globe, carefully delineated.

HEIGHT OF MOUNTAINS.

The perpendicular height of Snowdon is, by late admeasurements, 1,190 yards above the level of the sea. This makes it, according to Pennant, 240 yards higher than Cader Idris. Some state Whernside, in Yorkshire to be the highest mountain in South Britain, and more than 4,000 feet. Helvellyn is 3,324 feet, Ben Lomond 3,262. Mont Blanc rises 15,680 feet; the American Chimborazo is 20,909 feet, the highest ground ever trodden by man; and the mountains of Thibet above 25,000 feet, the highest at present known.

INTRODUCTION OF THE WEEPING WILLOW INTO ENGLAND.

The _Salix Babylonica_, that is the Willow of Babylon, or our English weeping Willow, is a native of the Levant, the coast of Persia, and other places in the East. The manner of its introduction into England is curious; the account is as follows: Pope, the celebrated poet, having received a present of Turkey figs, observed a twig of the basket, in which they were packed, putting out a shoot. The twig he planted in his garden: it soon became a fine tree, and from this stock, all our weeping Willows have descended. This species of Willow is generally planted by a still pool, to which it is a beautiful appropriate ornament; and when in misty weather, drops of water are seen distilling from the extremities of its branches, nothing can be more descriptive than the title it has obtained of _the weeping Willow_.

FINE FOR INSULTING A KING.

The use of gold and silver was not unknown to the Welsh in 842, when their laws were collected. The man who dared to insult the King of Aberfraw, was to pay (besides certain cows and a silver rod) a cup, which would hold as much wine as his majesty could swallow at a draught; its cover was to be as broad as the king's face; and the whole as thick as a goose's egg, or a ploughman's thumb-nail.

CARRONADES.

This species of great gun, so much used on board of ships, is generally accounted a modern invention, taking its name from the Carron foundry where they were made. In the patent office, however, will be found a notice dated September, 1727, to the following effect: "That his Majesty was pleased to grant to Henry Brown, Esquire, a patent for the sole use and benefit of his new invention of making cannon and great guns, both in iron and brass, which will be much shorter and lighter, and with less powder will carry farther than those of equal bore now in use, and which, it is said, will save great expense to the public."

EXTRAVAGANCE AT ELECTIONS.

On the death of Sir James Lowther, his son William stood for the shire of Cumberland, and entertained 3,650 gentlemen freeholders at a dinner, at which were consumed 768 gallons of wine, 1,454 gallons of ale, and 5,814 bottles of punch. Sir James appears to have been eccentric in some of his habits, for after his decease L30,000 in bank notes were discovered in a closet, and L10,000 in the sleeve of an old coat.

MARTIN LUTHER'S TANKARD.

This interesting relic of the great Reformer is of ivory, very richly carved, and mounted in silver gilt. There are six medallions on its surface, which consist, however, of a repetition of two subjects. The upper one represents the agony in the garden, and the Saviour praying that the cup might pass from Him; the base represents the Lord's Supper, the centre dish being the incarnation of the bread. This tankard, now in the possession of Lord Londesborough, was formerly in the collection of Elkington of Birmingham, who had some copies of it made. On the lid, in old characters, is the following inscription--"C. M. L., MDXXIIII." This drinking vessel, which, independent of its artistic merit, was no doubt highly valued as a mere household possession, brings to mind many recollections of the life of him who raised himself from a very lowly position to one of great power and usefulness.