Ten Thousand Wonderful Things Comprising whatever is marvellous and rare, curious, eccentric and extraordinary in all ages and nations

Part 4

Chapter 42,018 wordsPublic domain

Prayers, Unusual Locality for Saying, 171

Praying by Machinery, 314

---- by Wheel and Axle, 539

Pre-Adamite Bone Caverns, 199

Precocious Children, 64

Presence of Mind--Escape from a Tiger, 330

Priests in Burmah, Knavery of the, 266

---- of Sikkim, 663

Prince of Wales, Origin of the Crest of the, 115

Prince Rupert, at Everton, 291

Prolific Author, 320

Proteus Anguinus, The, 152

Psalm, Value of a Long, 512

Pterodactylus, The, 360

Pulpit, Refreshments for the, 262

Punishing by Wholesale, 680

Punishment, Ancient Instrument of, 680

---- Russian, 654

---- and Torture, Ancient Instruments of, 58, 88

Puritan Zeal, 579

Purple, Tyrian, 643

Quackery in the Olden Time, 671

Queen Elizabeth, Banquets of, 414

---- ---- Dresses of, 501

---- ---- Old Verses on, 204

---- ---- saddle of, 340

---- ---- State Coach of, 128

---- ----'s Laws, 151

Raffaelle, Tomb of, 568

Raffle, A, in 1725, 47

Raleigh, Sir Walter, Residence of, 160

Ranelagh, 204

Ranz des Vaches, 173

Rats, Destructive Force of, 463

Ravilliac, Execution of, 132

Receipts, Quaint, 153

Red Sea, Luminous Appearance of the, 454

Regiments, The Modern Names of, 639

Reichstadt, The Duke de, 435

Relics, 393

---- A Group of, 261

---- Rescued, 618

Remarkable Events and Inventions, 145

Revenge, New Mode of, 423

Rheumatism, Strange Cure for the, 201

Rhinoceros, First in Europe, 655

Richardson, the Showman, 251

Ringing the Changes, 192

Rings, Calcinated, 408

Rites, Hindoo, Cruelty of, 627

Roads in 1780, 327

Rock of Cashel, 352

Romans in Britain, Dress of Native Females at that Period, 86

Rouen, The Great Bell of, 650

Royal Touch, The, 42

Royal Giants, Specimens of, 121

---- Prisoner, Expenses of, 260

Sack Pot, Old English, 521

Sacro Catino, The, 608

Sadler's Wells, 112

Saint George, Tomb of, 281

Saint Lawrence, 464

Salagram, Hindoo Adoration of the, 589

Sand Columns in Africa, 610

Sandwiches, Origin of the, 563

Sardonyx Ring, with Cameo Head of Queen Elizabeth, in the possession of Rev. Lord Thynne, 373

Scape Goat, Camel as a, 190

Sceptre, Ivory, of Louis XII., 476

School, Chinese, 525

School Expenses in the Olden Time, 427

Science and Perseverance, Triumphs of, 123

Scottish Wild Cattle, 278

Scriptural Antiquities, 215

Sea, Phosphorescence of the, 418

Sea Serpent, Immense, 42

Sea-Urchin, Wonderful Construction of, 475

Second Sight, 65

Seeing Two Generations, 211

Self-Nourishment, 315

Selkirk and the Dancing Goats, 22

Sepulchral Vase from Peru, 320

Sermons, Anecdotes in, 147

Serpent, Anecdote of a, 85

Seven, The Number, 354

Sevres Porcelain, Prices of, 487

Sex, Change of, 189

"Sforza," Origin of the Title, 554

Shakspeare's Jug, 575

Sham Prophets, 319

Sharks, The Queen's, 203

Sheba, The Queen of, 518

Sheep Killer, Hunting a, 268

Shell Fish, in 1675, Price of, 178

Shetland, The Noss in, 324

Shield, Ancient Danish, 420

Shilling, Cutting a Wife off with a, 359

Shocking Depravity, 117

Shoes, Long-toed, Origin of, 646

Shrine, Curious Figures on a, 202

Shrine of St. Sebald at Nuremberg, 271

Simoom, The, 662

Skin, Human, a Drum made of, 398

Slave Advertisements, 25

Slave Trade, Iniquities of the, 175

Slaves, Recent Prices of, 435

Sleep, Protracted, 483

---- State of the Mind during, 350

Sleeper, An Extraordinary, 28

Smoking, Attachment to, 322

Snake Charmers, 299

Snakes, Power of Fascination in, 64

Snow Storm, Memorable, 327

Snuff Boxes, Ancient, 209

Snuff, Time Wasted in taking, 512

Something like a Feast, 129

Somnambulism, 72

Sound, Phenomena of, 367

Southcottian Delusion, A Phase of the, 230

South-stack Lighthouse, 239

Spain, Wealth of, under the Moors, 235

Spider, Bite of the Tarantula, 13

Spiders Fond of Music, 157

Spirit Drinker, An Aged, 228

Spontaneous Combustion, 431

Sports of the Lower Classes, 155

Sportsman, A Royal, 443

Springs, Intermittent, 455

Stage Coach in 1760, 155

Stag-Hunt in the 16th Century, 511

Stags like Cattle, Driving, 208

Stamps, Antique Roman, 448, 643

Standards, Ancient Banner and, 396, 583

State Coach in 1796, 156

Statue, Metal, the Largest in the World, 454

Steam boat, Facsimile of the First, 301

Stevens's Specific, 50

St. George's Cavern, 421

St. James's Square, 123

St. Paul's, Old, 162

St. Paul and the Viper, 125

St. Winifred's Well, 303

Sticks, Old Walking, 387

Stirrups, 571

Stomach Brush, 55

Stoneware, 649

Strasburg, Curious Custom at, 185

Strength, Feats of, in 1789, 9

Street Cries of Modern Egypt, 401

Stuff Ball at Lincoln, Origin of the, 49

Sultan, City of the, 103

Sun and Moon, Worship of the, 81

Superstition in 1856, 538

---- Curious, 424

---- Death caused by, 124

---- in France, 519

---- Vitality of, 474

Sweating Sickness, 110

Sweets, Artificial, 579

Sword, Curious Antique, 596

---- Executioner's, 340

---- The Hawthornden, 353

---- The Seton, 356

---- Fish and Whales, 565

Sword-Breaker, An Ancient, 672

Taking a Man to Pieces, 79

Tapestry, The Bayeux, 642

Tar and Feather, Notices to, 38

Taxation, Universality of, 318

Tea, 94

Tea-Drinkers, The First, Puzzled, 532

Teapot, The, 482

Temple of Pou-tou, The, 673

---- at Simonbong, 620

Temples of Brambanam, 442

Terrier, Anecdote of a, 358

Thames, Frost Fair on the, 106

---- The First Bridge over the, 428

Thanksgiving Day in 1697, 527

Theatre, Roman, at Orange, 366

Theatres in the Time of Shakespeare, 597

The First Hermits--Why so Called, 125

The Ruling Passion, 32, 188

Theodora de Verdion, 207

Thief Caught in his own Trap, The, 77

---- Singular Discovery of a, 115

Thugs, The, 574

Tiger Cave at Cuttack, 361

Tilbury Fort, 189

Time, Division of, in Persia, 633

Tobacco, Origin of the Use of, 57

Toilet, Absurdities of the, 536

---- Boxes, Egyptian, 381

Tomb, Chinese, 508

---- of Caecilia Metella, 477

---- of Darius, 560

Tomb of the Emperor Maximilian at Inspruck, 590

"Too Late," quoth Boice, 489

Tope, the Sanchi, 389

Topers, Georgians as, 511

Toping in the Last Century, 314

Torture, 639

---- Chamber at Nuremberg, 615

Tower of the Thundering Winds, 93

Trajan, Arch of, at Beneventum, 112

Trance, A, 354

---- at Will, 462

Trap-door Spider, 383

Travelling, Common, 220

---- in Olden Times, 108,162

---- in the United States, 208

Treaty-Stone at Limerick, 563

Tree, Extraordinary Situation for a, 313

Trees, Age of, 521

---- that Grow Shirts, 62

Tripod, Ancient, 549

Trivial Circumstances, A Great Result from, 605

Tumbrel, The, 2

Tunisians, Ingenuity of the, 652

Turban, The, in Arabia, 618

Turkish Mode of Reparation, 326

Twin-Worm, Extraordinary Formation of the, 136

Types, the Invention of, 152

Umbrella, Anglo-Saxon, 624

Upas Tree, 123

Useful and the Beautiful, 647

Vampire, The Blood-sucking, 417

Varnish-Tree of the Japanese, 615

Vases, Ancient, 337

---- Greek, 169

---- Greek, Prices of, 385

---- Roman, in Black Ware, 373

---- Sepulchral, of Greek Pottery, 616

---- Sepulchral, of Ancient Egypt, 607

---- Teutonic, Hut-shaped, 580

Vauxhall, 380

Venetians, The, 428

Vengeance, Novel Mode of taking, 586

Ventriloquist, a Female, 62

Vesuvius, Crater of, in 1829, 165

Vinegar on the Skin, Effect of, 115

Vishnu, Incarnations of, 645

Volcanic Eruption in Japan, 601

Volcano of Jurullo, Formation of the, 163

Volition, Suspended, 199

Voltaire, English Letter of, 422

Vow, Singular Hindoo, 658

Wagers, Curious, 373

Walking-Sticks, Old, 387

Wall, Governor, Execution of, 154

Wallace, the Hero of Scotland, 99

War Boat, A Dyak, in Borneo, 540

---- Dance of the Dyaks of Borneo, 540

---- Chariot of Ancient Egypt, 365

Warwick, the King-Maker, 527

Washing Account, Method of Keeping, 3

Washington, 583

Watch, An Antique, 368

---- presented by Louis XIII. to Charles I. of England, 640

Watches, the First in England, 515

Water for Old London, Supply of, 282

---- Preservative Power of Coal-pit, 25

---- Supply of, for London, in Olden Times, 546

---- Snakes, Battle of, 470

"We hae been", 47

Weapon, Ancient, 660

---- A Poison, 672

Weaver-Bird, The Sociable, 440

Wedding, A, A Hundred Years Ago, 640

Weight, Reducing, 85

Whipping Prisoners, 175

Whitehall, Ceiling of, 121

Whitsuntide, at Durham Cathedral, 8

Why a Man Measures more in the Morning than in the Evening, 75

Wife, Diving for a, 479

Wigs, 17, 31

Will, Eccentric, 209

William the Conqueror, Courtship of, 555

Willow, Weeping, Introduction of the, 148

Wind Mills, The First, 577

Witch-Testing, at Newcastle, in 1649, 21

Wolves in England, 441

Woman, The Hairy, of Burmah, 677

Woman's Cleverness, 260

Women of England, The, 159

---- in Former Times, 127

Wonderful Escape, 215, 300

Wren's (Sir Christopher) Cost of Churches, 171

---- ---- ---- Report, 183

Writing Materials, 481

Writings, Terra Cotta, 466

Yorkshire Tike, The, 24

Yorkshire in the Last Century, 283

TEN THOUSAND WONDERFUL THINGS.

PUNISHMENTS IN PROVINCIAL TOWNS IN THE OLDEN TIME.

The instruments most in vogue with our ancestors were three--the cucking-stool, the brank, and the tumbrel.

The Cucking-stool was used by the pond in many village greens about one hundred years ago or little more, and then deemed the best corrective of a scolding woman.

By the sea, the quay offered a convenient spot. The barbican, at Plymouth, was a locality, doubtless terrible to offenders, however careless of committing their wordy nuisance of scolding. Two pounds were paid for a cucking-stool at Leicester in 1768. Since that it has been placed at the door of a notorious scold as a warning. Upon admission to the House of Correction at Liverpool, a woman had to undergo the severity of the cucking-stool till a little before the year 1803, when Mr. James Neild wrote to Dr. Lettsom. The pump in the men's court was the whipping-post for females, which discipline continued, though not weekly.

_Kingston-upon-Thames._ _s._ _d._

1572, The making of the cucking-stool 8 0 Iron work for the same 3 0 Timber for the same 7 6 Three brasses for the same, and three wheels 4 10 ----------- L1 3 4

At Marlborough, in 1625, a man had 4_d._ for his help at the cucking of Joan Neal.

_Gravesend._

1636, The porters for ducking of Goodwife Campion 2 0 Two porters for laying up the ducking-stool 0 8

The Brank, for taming shrews, was preferred to the cucking-stool in some counties, and was used there for the same purpose. The brank was in favour in the northern counties, and in Worcestershire, though there were, notwithstanding, some of the other instruments of punishment used, called in that county gum-stools.

The brank was put over the head, and was fastened with a padlock. There are entries at Worcester about mending the "scould's bridle and cords for the same."

The cucking-stool not only endangered the health of the party, but also gave the tongue liberty 'twixt every dip. The brank was put over the head, and was fastened with a padlock.

The tumbrel was a low-rolling cart or carriage (in law Latin, _tumberella_) which was used as a punishment of disgrace and infamy. Millers, when they stole corn, were chastised by the tumbrel. Persons were sometimes fastened with an iron chain to a tumbrel, and conveyed bareheaded with din and cry through the principal streets of towns.

_Court of Hustings Book, 1581._ (_Lyme._)

"The jury present that the tumbrel be repaired and maintained from time to time, according to the statute."

In 1583, Mr. Mayor was to provide a tumbrel before All Saints Day, under a penalty of 10_s._

ANCIENT METHOD OF KEEPING A WASHING ACCOUNT.

Shakerley Marmion, in his "Antiquary," says:--

"I must rev'rence and prefer the precedent Times before these, which consum'd their wits in Experiments; and 'twas a virtuous Emulation amongst them, that nothing Which, might profit posterity should perish."

Without a full adherence to this dictum, we would nevertheless admit that we are indebted to the past for the germ of many of our most important discoveries. The ancient washing tablet, although of humble pretensions to notice, is yet a proof of the simple and effective means frequently adopted in olden times for the economy of time and materials.

A reference to the engraving obviates a lengthened explanation. It will there be seen that if the mistress of a family has fifteen _pillow-covers, or so many collars, or so many bands_, to be mentioned in the washing account, she can turn the circular dial, by means of the button or handle, to the number corresponding with the rough mark at the bottom of the dial, above which is written _sheets_, _table-cloths_, &c. This simple and ingenious contrivance, obviates the necessity of keeping a book.

The original "washing board," from which the engraving is taken, was of a larger size, and showed the numbers very distinctly. Similar dials may be made of either ivory or metal.

THE HAIR.