Part 53

The following, and we believe they are unique, are Sir John Wynne of Gwedir's instructions to his chaplain, the Rev. John Pryce. "First, you shall have the chamber I showed you in my gate, private to yourself, with lock and key, and all necessaries. In the morning, I expect you should rise, and say prayers in my hall, to my household below, before they go to work, and when they come in at night, that you call before you all the workmen, specially the youth, and take account of them of their belief, and of what Sir Meredith taught them. I beg you to continue for the most part in the lower house: you are to have onlye what is done there, that you may inform me of any disorder there. There is a bayliff of husbandry and a porter, who will be commanded by you. The morning after you be up, and have said prayers, as afore, I would you to bestow in study on any commendable exercise of your body. Before dinner you are to come up and attend grace or prayers, if there be any publicke; and to sit up if there be not greater strangers above the chyldren, who you are to teach in your own chamber. When the table from half downwards is taken up, then you are to rise and to walk in the alleys near at hand until grace time, and to come in then for that purpose. After dinner, if I be busy, you may go to bowles, shuffel bord, or any other honest, decent recreation, until I go abroad. If you see me void of business, and go to ride abroad, you shall command a gelding to be made ready by the grooms of the stable, and to go with me. If I go to bowles or shuffel bord, I shall lyke of your company, if the place be not made up with strangers. I would have you to go every Sunday in the year to some church hereabouts, to preache, giving warnynge to the parish, to bring the yowths at after noon to the church to be catechysed; in which poynt is my greatest care that you should be paynfull and dylygent. Avoyd the alehouse, to sytte and keepe drunkard's company ther, being the greatest discredit your function can have."

TWO MISERS.

In the year 1778 died, at a village near Reading, John Jackson, aged ninety-three, and James Jackson, aged eighty-seven. These two brothers were old bachelors, and afforded a striking instance of the insufficiency of wealth to create happiness. Though these old men had been blest with great riches ever since they were twenty years of age, they absolutely denied themselves the common necessaries of life; and lived in the village for fifty years past as poor men, and often accepted of charity from rich persons who resided near them. They never suffered any woman or man to come into their apartment (which was only one shabby room), and were both taken ill, and languishing a short time, they expired on the same day, within one hour of each other. It is computed, by the writings left behind them, that they died worth L150,000.

ANECDOTE OF THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK.

The following anecdote relating to the august House of Brunswick is taken from the "Annual Register" of 1765:--"The late Duchess of Blakenburgh, great grandmother to the hereditary prince, who died some years since in a very advanced age, had the singular happiness to reckon amongst her posterity, sixty-two princes and princesses; (fifty-three of whom she saw at one time alive;) and amongst them three emperors, two empresses, two kings, and two queens; a circumstance that, probably, no sovereign house but that of Brunswick ever produced anything like it."

AMUSEMENTS OF SOME LEARNED AUTHORS.

Tycho Brahe polished glass for spectacles, and made mathematical instruments. D'Andilly delighted, like our Evelyn, in forest-trees; Balzac, with the manufacturing of crayons; Pieresc, with his medals and antiques; the Abbe de Marolles, with engravings; Rohault's greatest recreation was in seeing different mechanics at their labour; Arnauld read the most trashy novels for relaxation; as did our Warburton, the late Lords Loughborough and Camden; Montaigne fondled his cat; Cardinal Richelieu, in jumping and leaping. Grumm informs us that the Chevalier de Boufflers would crow like a cock, and bray like an ass; in both of which he excelled, not metaphorically but literally.

EARLY GERMAN DRINKING CUP.

The above, taken from the Londesborough collection, is a good example of the German drinking cups of fanciful shape, which were so much in fashion in that country in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The specimen before us is of silver, and dated 1619. The mill and scroll ornament on the cup are gilt. It was held in the hand to be filled, and could not be set down until emptied; the drinker, blowing through the tube into the mill, set the sails in motion, and reversed the cup on the table.

THE KING'S STONE.

Kingston-on-Thames is among the oldest of English towns; and is said to have been "the metropolis of the Anglo-Saxon kings:" certainly it was a famous place when the Romans found and conquered the Britons in this locality: there are indeed arguments for believing that the "ford" which Caesar crossed was here, and not at Walton; and indications of barrows, fosses, and ramparts of Roman origin, are to be found in many places in the neighbourhood. It is more than probable that a bridge was constructed by the Romans here, and that a fortress was erected for its protection. The Saxons followed in due course, and here they had many contests with their enemies the Danes; but A.D. 838, Egbert convened at Kingston an assembly of ecclesiastics and nobles in council, and here, undoubtedly, many of the Saxon kings were crowned: "The townish men," says Leland, "have certen knowledge that a few kinges were crounid afore the Conqueste." Its first charter was from King John, and many succeeding sovereigns accorded to it various grants and immunities. During the war between Charles I. and the Parliament, Kingston was the scene of several "fights," being always on the side of the king. The town is now populous and flourishing, although without manufactures of any kind. Since the establishment of a railway, villa residences have largely increased in the neighbourhood; and the two suburbs, Surbiton and Norbiton, are pretty and densely-crowded villages of good houses. The church has suffered much from mutilation and restoration; it is a spacious structure, and was erected about the middle of the fourteenth century, on the site of an earlier edifice. Amongst the monuments is a fine brass, to a civilian and his wife, of the year 1437. Of existing antiquities there are but few: county historians, however, point out the sites of the ancient Saxon palace, "the castle," the Jews' quarter, and the Roman town, Tamesa; and the game of "foot-ball," it is said, is still practised by the inhabitants on Shrove Tuesday, in commemoration of the feats of their ancestors, by whom the head of a king-assassin was "kicked" about the town. But perhaps the most interesting object now to be found in Kingston is "THE KING'S STONE." It had long remained neglected, though not unknown, among disregarded heaps of _debris_ in "the new court-yard," when it occurred to some zealous and intelligent antiquaries that so venerable a relic of remote ages was entitled to some show of respect. It was consequently removed from its degraded position, planted in the centre of the town, and enclosed by a "suitable" iron railing. It is now, therefore, duly and properly honoured, as may be seen by the preceding engraving.

TRANCE AT WILL.

Colonel Townsend possessed the remarkable faculty of throwing himself into a trance at pleasure. The heart ceased apparently to throb at his bidding, respiration seemed at an end, his whole frame assumed the icy chill and rigidity of death; while his face became colourless and shrunk, and his eye fixed, glazed, and ghastly. His mind itself ceased to manifest itself, for during the trance it was as utterly devoid of consciousness as his body of animation. In this state he would remain for hours, when these singular phenomena wore away, and he returned to his usual condition. Medical annals furnish no parallel to this extraordinary case. Considered whether in a physiological or metaphysical point of view, it is equally astonishing and inexplicable.

DESTRUCTIVE FORCE OF RATS.

The amount of destructive force possessed by rats cannot be better exemplified than in the report given to the French Government, relating to the removal of the horse slaughter-houses, situated at Montfaucon, to a greater distance from Paris; one great objection being the disastrous consequences which might accrue to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, if these voracious creatures were suddenly deprived of their usual sustenance. It is well known that the mischief which they occasion is not confined to what they eat; but they undermine houses, burrow through dams, destroy drains, and commit incalculable havoc in every place and in everything.

The report states, that the carcases of horses killed one day, and amounting to thirty-five, would be found the next morning with the bones picked clean. A person of the name of Dusaussois, belonging to the establishment, made this experiment. A part of his yard was enclosed by solid walls, at the foot of which, several holes were made for the entrance and exit of the rats. Into this enclosure he put the bodies of three horses, and in the middle of the night he stopped up all the holes as quietly as he could; he then summoned several of his workmen, and each, armed with a torch and a stick, entered the yard, and carefully closed the door. They then commenced a general massacre; in doing which, it was not necessary to take aim, for wherever the blow fell it was sure to knock over a rat, none being allowed to escape by climbing over the walls. This experiment was repeated at intervals of a few days, and at the end of a month, 16,050 rats had been destroyed. In one night they killed 2,650; and yet this cannot give an entirely adequate idea of their number, for the yard in question did not cover more than a twentieth part of the space allotted to killing horses. The rats in this place have made burrows for themselves, like catacombs; and so great is their number, that they have not found room close by the slaughter-houses. They have gone farther; and the paths to and from their dwellings may be traced across the neighbouring fields.

ORDEAL OF THE CROSS.

When a person accused of any crime had declared his innocence upon oath, and appealed to the cross for its judgment in his favour, he was brought into the church before the altar. The priest previously prepared two sticks exactly like one another, upon one of which was carved a figure of the cross. They were both wrapped up, with great care and many ceremonies, in a quantity of fine wool, and laid upon the altar, or on the relics of the saints. A solemn prayer was then offered up to God, that he would be pleased to discover, by the judgment of his holy cross, whether the accused person were innocent or guilty. A priest then approached the altar, and took up one of the sticks, and the assistants unswathed it reverently. If it was marked with the cross, the accused person was innocent; if unmarked, he was guilty. It would be unjust to assert, that the judgments just delivered were in all cases erroneous; and it would be absurd to believe that they were left altogether to chance. Many true judgments were doubtless given, and, in all probability, most conscientiously; for we cannot but believe that the priests endeavoured beforehand to convince themselves by strict inquiry and a strict examination of the circumstances, whether the appellant were innocent or guilty, and that they took up the crossed or uncrossed stick accordingly. Although, to all other observers, the sticks, as enfolded in the wool, might appear exactly similar, those who enwrapped them could, without any difficulty, distinguish the one from the other.

KING JOHN AND POPE INNOCENT.

When Cardinal Langton was made Archbishop of Canterbury, by the intrigues of the Pope, whose creature he was, in despite of King John, to appease the latter, his Holiness presented him with four gold rings, set with precious stones, and enhanced the value of the gift (mark that, jewellers!) by informing him of the many mysteries implied in it. He begged of him (John) to consider seriously the _form_ of the rings, their _number_, their _matter_, and their _colour_. Their _form_, he said, being round, shadowed out eternity, which had neither beginning nor end, and he ought thence to learn the duty of aspiring from earthly objects to heavenly, from things temporal to things eternal. The _numbers_ four, being a square, denoted steadiness of mind, not to be subverted either by prosperity or adversity, fixed for ever in the basis of the four cardinal virtues. _Gold_, which is the matter, being the most precious of metals, signified wisdom, which is the most precious of all accomplishments, and justly preferred by Solomon to riches, power, and all exterior attainments. The blue _colour_ of the sapphire represented faith; the verdure of the emerald hope; the richness of the ruby charity; and the splendour of the topaz good works.

DRUID'S SEAT.

The singular pile of stones which we have sketched here is popularly called the "Druid's Judgment Seat," and stands near the village of Killiney, not far from Drogheda, near the Martello Tower. It was formerly enclosed within a circle of great stones and a ditch. The former has been destroyed, and the latter so altered that little of its ancient character remains. The "Seat" is composed of large, rough, granite blocks, and if really of the period to which tradition refers it, an unusual degree of care must have been exercised for its preservation. The following are its measurements: Breadth, at the base, eleven feet and a half; depth of the seat, one foot nine inches; extreme height, seven feet.

BOOTS AN OBJECT OF HONOUR.

Among the Chinese no relics are more valuable than the _boots_ which have been worn by an upright magistrate. In Davis's interesting description of the empire of China, we are informed, that whenever a judge of unusual integrity resigns his situation, the people all congregate to do him honour. If he leaves the city where he has presided, the crowd accompany him from his residence to the gates, where his boots are drawn off with great ceremony, to be preserved in the hall of justice. Their place is immediately supplied by a new pair, which, in their turn, are drawn off to make room for others before he has worn them five minutes, it being considered sufficient to consecrate them that he should have merely drawn them on.

SAINT LAWRENCE.

In the south aisle of the church at Tuxford, beneath a flowery arch is a very rude relief of St. Lawrence placed on the gridiron. By him is a fellow with a pair of bellows, blowing the fire, and the executioner going to turn him. The zealous Fox, in his "Martyrology," has this very thought, and makes the martyr say, in the midst of his sufferings, "This side is now roasted; turn me, O tyrant dear."

PARIS GARDEN AT BLACKFRIARS.

The Blackfriar's Road now passes over the site of Paris Garden where, in the sixteenth century, bear and bull-baiting rejoiced the citizens, the gala days being usually Sundays. Our cut is copied from the rare woodcut map in the time of Henry VIII., in the library at Guildhall, and exhibits in the foreground the kennels for the dogs, and the tanks in which they were washed. A graphic description of the place has been left by Paul Hentzner, a German, who visited it in 1598. He says it was "built in the form of a theatre, for the baiting of bulls and bears: they are fastened behind, and then worried by great English bull-dogs; but not without great risk to the dogs, from the horns of the one and the teeth of the other; and it sometimes happens they are killed upon the spot: fresh ones are immediately supplied in the place of those that are wounded or tired. To this entertainment there often follows that of whipping a blinded bear, which is performed by five or six men, standing circularly with whips, which they exercise upon him without any mercy, as he cannot escape from them because of his chain. He defends himself with all his force and skill, throwing down all who come within his reach, and are not active enough to get out of it, and tearing the whips out of their hands, and breaking them. At these spectacles, and everywhere else, the English are constantly smoking tobacco. Fruits, such as apples, pears, and nuts, according to the season, are carried about to be sold, as well as ale and wine."

CANVASS OF AN INSURANCE AGENT.

The Manchester agent of an Insurance Company, gives the following curious results of a personal canvass at 1,349 houses, in seventy streets in the district of Hulme and Charlton, chiefly rentals from L12 to L24 per annum. The inquiry showed that there were 29 insured; 8 persons too old; 11 who never heard of life assurances, and who were anxious to have it explained to them; 471 who had heard of it, but did not understand it; 419 who were disinclined to assure; 19 favourable, if their surplus incomes were not otherwise invested; 89 persons who had it under consideration, with a view to assure, as soon as their arrangements were completed, and who appointed times for the agent to call again; 21 refused the circulars, or to allow an explanation; 175 doors not answered; 102 houses empty; 3 had sufficient property not to require it; 1 favourable, but afraid of litigation; 1 preferred the saving's bank; 1 used abusive language; 2 would trust their families to provide for themselves; and 1 had been rejected by an office, although he never was unwell, and was consequently afraid to try again, although very anxious.

TERRA-COTTA WRITINGS.

The Assyrians, unlike any other nation of antiquity, employed pottery for the same objects, and to the same extent as papyrus was used in Egypt. Thus bulletins recording the king's victories, and even the annals of his reign, were published on terra-cotta cylinders, shaped like a rolling-pin, and usually hollow, and on hollow hexagonal prisms. These are of a remarkably fine material, sometimes unpolished or unglazed, and at others covered with a vitreous siliceous glaze, or white coating. On the cylinders the inscriptions are engraved lengthwise; on the prisms they are in compartments on each face. Each wedge is about one-eighth of an inch long, and the complicity with which the characters (a cuneiform writing-hand) are arranged is wonderful, and renders them extremely difficult for a tyro to read. Those hitherto published or known, contain the annals of the reign of Sennacherib, and the precis of the reign of another king.

There are the Shergat cylinder, containing the History of Tiglath Pileser; a cylinder of Sargon; Sennacherib's cylinders; Esarhaddon's cylinder.

Sales of land and other title-deeds were also incised on pieces of this polished terra-cotta, and, in order to prevent any enlargement of the document, a cylinder was run round the edges, leaving its impression in relief; or if the names of witnesses were affixed, each impressed his oval seal on the wet terra-cotta, which was then carefully baked in the kiln. The celebrated cylinders of carnelian, chalcedony, and other substances, were in fact the official or private seals by which the integrity of these documents was attested. These title-deeds are portable documents of four or five inches square, convex on each side, and occasionally also at the edges. Their colour varies, being a bright polished brown, a pale yellow, and a very dark tint, almost black. The paste of which they are made is remarkably fine and compact. The manner in which the characters were impressed on the terra-cotta barrels and cylinders is not known; those on the bricks used for building were apparently stamped from a mould, but those on the deeds and books were separately incised, perhaps with a prismatic stick, or rod, or, as others have conjectured, with the edge of a square rod of metal. In some instances, where this substance was used for taking accounts, it seems just possible that the moist clay, rolled up like paste, may have been unrolled and incised with rods. The characters are often so beautifully and delicately made, that it must have required a finely constructed tool to produce them.

Some small fragments of a fine reddish-grey terra-cotta which have been found among the ruins, appear to contain calculations or inventories, whilst others are perhaps syllabaries or vocabularies, to guide the Assyrian readers of these difficult inscriptions. A large chamber, or library, of these archives, comprising histories, deeds, almanacks, and spelling-books, was found in the palace of Sennacherib at Kouyunjik. It is supposed that altogether about 20,000 of these clay tablets or ancient books of the Assyrians, containing the literature of the country, have been discovered. Some of the finer specimens are covered with a pale straw-covered engobe, over which has been thrown a glaze. Some horoscopes have been already found on stone, and careful examination has now detected the records of some astronomer royal of Babylon or Nineveh inscribed on a brick. Thus, while the paper and parchment learning of the Byzantine and Alexandrian schools has almost disappeared after a few centuries, the granite pages of Egypt, and the clay leaves of Assyria, have escaped the ravages of time and the fury of barbarism.

In Egypt some receipts and letters have been discovered written on fragments of tile, and on the fine porcelain of the Chinese are often found extracts of biographical works, snatches of poetry, and even whole poems; but the idea of issuing journals, title-deeds, inventories, histories, prayers, and poems, not from the press, but from the kiln, is startling in the nineteenth century.

WONDERFUL FORMATION OF THE EYE IN INSECTS.