Part 56
James I., and his subjects who wished to clothe themselves loyally, wore stupendous breeches. Of course the "honourable gentleman" of the House of Commons were necessarily followers of the fashion. But it led to inconveniences in the course of their senatorial duties. It was an old mode revived; and at an earlier day, when these nether garments were ample enough to have covered the lower man of Boanerges, the comfort of the popular representative was thus cared for:--"Over the seats in the parliament-house, there were certain holes, some two inches square, in the walls, in which were placed posts to uphold a scaffold round about the house within, for them to sit upon who used the wearing of great breeches stuffed with hair like wool-sacks, which fashion being left the eighth year of Elizabeth, the scaffolds were taken down, and never since put up." So says Strutt; but doubtless the comforts of the members were not less cared for when the old fashion again prevailed.
PRICES OF SEVRES PORCELAIN.
As one of the curiosities of luxury and taste it is worth while to note the high prices for which some portions of the very choice collection of Sevres porcelain at Stowe were sold:--A small coffee cup, which weighed scarcely three ounces, realised 46 guineas; and another, similar, but somewhat inferior, sold for 35 guineas. A chocolate cup and saucer, Bleu de Roi, with beautiful miniatures of two ladies of the Court of Louis XV., and four paintings of Cupids, though slightly injured during the view, realised 45 guineas. The prices obtained for most of the cups and saucers were from 10 to 12 guineas. A beautiful specimen of a Bleu de Roi cup, saucer and cover, jewelled in festoons, cameos, and imitation of pearls, sold for L35 10s.; and another, somewhat inferior, for 21 guineas. A salver, mounted in a table with ormolu ornaments, sold for 81 guineas; the companion piece for L100.
HENRY THE EIGHTH'S CHAIR.
In the earlier half of the sixteenth century a large proportion of the furniture used in this country, as well as of the earthenware and other household implements during the greater part of that century, was imported from Flanders and the Netherlands. Hence, in the absence of engravings at home, we are led to look at the works of the Flemish and German artists for illustrations of domestic manners at this period. The seats of that day were termed joint (or joined) stools and chairs. A rather fine example of a chair of this work, which was, as was often the case, three-cornered, is preserved in the Ashmolean museum, at Oxford, where it is reported to have been the chair of Henry VIII. We here annex a sketch of it.
MULLET AND TURBOT WITH THE ROMANS.
The Romans were enthusiastic for the mullet. It was for them _the_ fish, _par excellence_. It was sometimes served up six pounds in weight, and such a fish was worth L60 sterling. It was cooked on the table, for the benefit and pleasure of the guests. In a glass vessel filled with brine made from water, the blood of the mackerel, and salt, the live mullet, stripped of all its scales, was enclosed; and as its fine pink colour passed through its dying gradations, until paleness and death ensued, the _convives_ looked on admiringly, and lauded the spectacle.
The turbot was next in estimation, but as, occasionally, offending slaves were flung into the turbot preserves for the fish to feed upon, some gastronomists have affected to be horror-stricken at the idea of eating a _turbot a la Romaine_; quite forgetting that so many of our sea-fish, in their domain, feed largely on the human bodies which accident, or what men call by that name, casts into the deep.
"TOO LATE," QUOTH BOICE.
The history of the ancient castle of Maynooth is one of much interest; abounding in incidents akin to romance. In the reign of Henry the Eighth, during the rebellion of "Silken Thomas," one of the bravest and most heroic of the Geraldines, it was taken by treachery. In the absence of its lord, the governorship was entrusted to "Christopher Parese," his foster-brother. This "white-livered traitor resolved to purchase his own security with his lord's ruin;" and therefore sent a letter to the lord-deputy, signifying that he would betray the castle, on conditions; "and here the devil betrayed the betrayer, for in making terms for his purse's profit, he forgot to include his person's safety." The lord-deputy readily accepted his offer, and, accordingly, the garrison having gained some success in a sally, and being encouraged by the governor in a deep joyous carouse, the ward of the tower was neglected--the traitorous signal given, and the English scaled the walls. They obtained possession of the strong-hold, and put the garrison to the sword--"all except two singing men, who, prostrating themselves before the deputy, warbled a sweet sonnet called _dulcis amica_, and their melody saved their lives." Parese, expecting some great reward, with impudent familiarity presented himself before the deputy, who addressed him as follows:--"Master Parese, thou hast certainly saved our lord the king much charge, and many of his subjects' lives, but that I may better know to advise his highness how to reward thee, I would ascertain what the Lord Thomas Fitzgerald hath done for thee?" Parese, highly elevated at this discourse, recounted, even to the most minute circumstance, all the favours that the Geraldine, even from his youth up, had conferred on him, to which the deputy replied, "And how, Parese, couldst thou find it in thy heart to betray the castle of so kind a lord? Here, Mr. Treasurer, pay down the money that he has covenanted for; and here, also, executioner, without delay, as soon as the money is counted out, cut off his head!" "Oh," quoth Parese, "had I known this, your lordship should not have had the castle so easily." Whereupon Mr. Boice, a secret friend of the Fitzgerald, a bystander, cried out "Auntraugh," _i. e._ "too late," which occasioned a proverbial saying, long afterwards used in Ireland--"Too late, quoth Boice." The castle is said by Archdall to have been erected by John, the sixth Earl of Kildare, early in the fifteenth century; but in that case it must have been preceded by some other defensive structure; for it is certain that the Kildare branch of the Geraldines resided at Maynooth at a much earlier period. The first Earl of Kildare, John Fitz Thomas, was created by patent, dated 14th May, 1316.
SUPPRESSED BIBLES.
1538.--An English Bible, in folio, printed at Paris, unfinished.
1542.--Dutch Bible by Jacob Van Leisvelt. The sixth and best edition given by Leisvelt, and famous as being the cause of this printer being beheaded.
1566.--French Bible by Rene Benoist, Paris, 1566, folio, 3 vols. completed.
1622.--Swedish Bible, printed at Lubeck, in 4to., very defective.
1666.--A German Bible, printed at Helmstedt, in part only, 4to.
1671.--A French Bible, by Marolles, in folio, containing only the books of Genesis, Exodus, and the first twenty-three chapters of Leviticus.
EXTRAORDINARY REPRODUCTIVE POWER OF THE HYDRA.
One of the fresh-water Polypes, from its power of perpetual reproduction, has received the name of _Hydra_, by which it is known among naturalists: as if it realised the ancient monster of fabulous story, whose heads sprouted anew as fast as they were cut off by Hercules.
Most curious monstrosities were produced by the experiments of philosophers on these animals, especially by partial separations. If a polype be slit from the summit to the middle, one will be formed having two heads, each of which will capture and swallow food. If these again be slit half-a-dozen times, as many heads will be formed surmounting the same body. If now all these be cut off, as many new ones will spring up in their place, while each of the severed heads becomes a new polype, capable of being, in its turn, varied and multiplied _ad infinitum_;--so that in every respect our little reality exceeds its fabulous namesake.
The polypes may be grafted together. If cut-off pieces be placed in contact, and pushed together with a gentle force, they will unite and form a single one. The head of one may be thus planted on the trunk of another.
Another method of uniting them, perhaps still more wonderful, is by introducing one within the other; the operator forced the body of the one into the mouth of the other, pushing it down so that the heads were brought together. After forcibly keeping it for some time in this state, the two individuals at length united, and a polype was formed, distinguishable only by having twice the usual number of tentacles.
There is one species which can actually be turned inside out like a glove, and yet perform all the functions of life as before, though that which was the coat of the stomach is now the skin of the body and _vice versa_. If it should chance that a polype so turned had young in the act of budding, these are, of course, now within the stomach. If they have arrived at a certain degree of maturity, they extend themselves towards the mouth of the parent, that they may thus escape when separated. But those which are less advanced turn themselves spontaneously inside out, and thus place themselves again on the exterior of the parent.
A multitude of other variations, combinations, and monstrosities, have been, as it were, created by the ingenuity of philosophers; but these are sufficient to give a notion of the extraordinary nature of these animals; and to account for the wonder with which they were regarded.
EGYPT.
Egypt was the land visited by Abraham in search of food, when there was a famine in his own country;--the land to which Joseph was carried as a slave, and which he governed as prime minister. From Egypt, Moses led the Israelites through the waters of the Red Sea. Here Jeremiah wrote his Lamentations. Here Solon, Pythagoras, Plato, and many other Greek philosophers, came to study. Here Alexander the Great came as conqueror; and here the Infant Saviour was brought by his parents to avoid the persecution of Herod. Egyptian hieroglyphics, in which the characters are taken from visible objects, are the earliest form of writing; and the Hebrew and Greek alphabets were both borrowed from them. Egypt taught the world the use of paper--made from its rush, the papyrus. In Egypt was made the first public library, and first college of learned men, namely, the Alexandrian Museum. There Euclid wrote his Elements of Geometry, and Theocritus his Poems, and Lucian his Dialogues. The beauty of Cleopatra, the last Egyptian Queen, held Julius Caesar, and then Marc Antony, captive. In Egypt were built the first monasteries; the Christian fathers, Origen and Athanasius, lived there. The Arien and Athanasian controversy began there.
The buildings which now remain are the oldest buildings in the world, and the largest in the world. On the banks of its great river may be seen the oldest arch, and the oldest column. Up this noble river sailed Herodotus, the most entertaining of travellers, and Strabo, the most judicious. Indeed, as the country is little more than the narrow strip that is watered by the Nile's overflow, from the river may be seen almost all its great cities and temples.
ABYSSINIAN LADIES.
The women of Abyssinia are dressed quite as decently as any women in the world, without having a particle of the trouble of the ladies of more civilised nations. There is a distinguishing costume for young girls, and for those who, from being married or otherwise, are no longer considered as such. The dress of the former is indeed rather slight, though far more picturesque than that of the latter. In one part of the country (about Shire) the girls merely wear a piece of cotton stuff wrapped round the waist and hanging down almost to the knee, and another (or the end of the former, if it be long enough) thrown over the left shoulder, so as to leave the right arm and breast exposed. In other parts of Tigre, a black goat-skin, ornamented with cowries, is often substituted for this latter. An ordinary woman wears a large loose shirt down to the feet, with sleeves made tight towards the wrist. This, with a "quarry" similar to those of the men, but worn rather differently, and a parasol when out of doors, is a complete suit. A fine lady, however, as in our engraving, has a splendid "mergeff quarry," and her shirt is made probably of calico from Manchester, instead of the country fabric, and richly embroidered in silk of divers colours and various patterns round the neck, down the front, and on the cuffs. She will also, of course, own a mule; and then may choose to wear (alas, that it should be so, even in Abyssinia!) the inexpressibles. These are made of calico, and rather loose, but getting gradually tighter at the ankle, where they are embroidered like the shirt.
The fair sex all over the world are fond of ornaments. In Abyssinia they wear a profusion of silver, in the shape of chains, bracelets, &c., or, to be more explicit, a well-dressed lady will hang three or four sets of amulets about her neck, as well as her blue cord, and a large flat silver case (purporting to contain a talisman, but more often some scented cotton) ornamented with a lot of silver bells hanging to the bottom edge of it, and the whole suspended by four chains of the same metal. Three pairs of massive silver and gilt bracelets are on her wrists, and a similar number of "bangles" on her ankles; while over her insteps and to her heels are a quantity of little silver ornaments, strung like beads on a silk cord. Her fingers (even the upper joints) are covered with plain rings, often alternately of silver and silver-gilt, and a silver hair-pin, something similar to those now worn by English ladies, completes her decoration. Women of the poorer class, and ladies on ordinary occasions, wear ivory or wooden pins neatly carved in various patterns, and stained red with henna-leaves. The Abyssinian ladies, like those of most Eastern nations, stain their hands and feet with henna, and darken their eyelids with antimony.
TREATMENT OF LEPERS IN ENGLAND.
According to the tenor of various old civil codes and local enactments, when a person became affected with leprosy, he was looked upon as legally and politically dead, and lost the privileges belonging to his right of citizenship. By the laws of England, lepers were classed with idiots, madmen, outlaws, &c., as incapable of being heirs. But it was not by the eye of the law alone that the affected was looked upon as defunct, for the church also took the same view, and performed the solemn ceremonials of the burial of the dead over him, on the day on which he was separated from his fellow creatures, and confined to a lazar house. The various forms and ceremonies which were gone through on this occasion are described by French authors; but it is highly probable that the same observances were common in our own country.
A priest, robed with surplice and stole, went with the cross to the house of the doomed leper. The minister of the church began the necessary ceremonies, by exhorting him to suffer, with a patient and penitent spirit, the incurable plague with which God had stricken him. He then sprinkled the unfortunate leper with holy water, and afterwards conducted him to the church, the usual burial services being sung during their march thither. In the church, the ordinary habiliments of the leper were removed; he was clothed in a funeral pall, and, while placed before the altar, between _trestles_, the libera was sung, and the mass for the dead celebrated over him. After this service he was again sprinkled with holy water, and led from the church to the house or hospital destined for his future abode. A pair of clappers, a barrel, a stick, cowl, and dress, &c., were given him. Before leaving the leper, the priest solemnly interdicted him from appearing in public without his leper's garb,--from entering inns, churches, mills, and bakehouses,--from touching children, or giving them ought he had touched,--from washing his hands, or any thing pertaining to him, in the common fountains and streams,--from touching, in the markets, the goods he wished to buy, with any thing except his stick,--from eating and drinking with any others than lepers,--and he specially forbade him from walking in narrow paths, or from answering those who spoke to him in roads and streets, unless in a whisper, that they might not be annoyed with his pestilent breath, and with the infectious odour that exhaled from his body,--and last of all, before taking his departure, and leaving the leper for ever to the seclusion of the lazar house, the official of the church terminated the ceremony of his separation from his living fellow-creatures, by throwing upon the body of the poor outcast a shovelful of earth, in imitation of the closure of the grave.
According to the then customary usage, Leper Hospitals were always provided with a cemetery for the reception of the bodies of those who had died of the malady.
LUMINOUS APPEARANCE OF THE RED SEA.
All who have frequented the Red Sea, have observed the luminous appearance or phosphorescence of its waters. "It was beautiful," says a picturesque writer, who sailed from Mocha to Cosseir, "to look down into this brightly transparent sea, and mark the coral, here in large masses of honeycomb-rock, there in light branches of a pale red hue, and the beds of green seaweed, and the golden sand, and the shells, and the fish sporting round the vessel, and making colours of a beauty to the eye which is not their own. Twice or thrice we ran on after dark for an hour or two; and though we were all familiar with the sparkling of the sea round the boat at night, never have I seen it in other waters so superlatively splendid. A rope dipped in it and drawn forth came up as a string of gems; but with a life, and light, and motion, the diamond does not know." Those sea-lights have been explained by a diversity of causes; but the singular brilliancy of the Red Sea seems owing to fish spawn and animalculae, a conjecture which receives some corroboration from the circumstance that travellers who mention it visited the gulf during the spawning period--that is, between the latter end of December and the end of February. The coral-banks are less numerous in the southern parts. It deserves notice, that Dr. Shaw and Mr. Bruce have stated--what could only be true, so far as their own experience went--that they observed no species of weed or flag; and the latter proposes to translate Yam Zuph "the Sea of Coral"--a name as appropriate as that of Edom.
RECENT PRICES OF SLAVES.
Prices of course vary at Constantinople according to the vigilance of Russian cruisers, and the incorruptibility of Russian agents at Trebizond, Samsoon, and Sinope. The following is the average price in Circassia:--
A man of 30 years of age, L10 " 20 " 10 to L30 " 15 " 30 " 70 " 10 " 20 " 50 " 5 " 10 " 30 A woman of 50 years of age, L10 to L30 " 40 " 30 " 40 " 30 " 40 " 70 " 20 to 25 " 50 " 100 " 14 " 18 " 50 " 150 " 8 " 12 " 30 " 80 " 5 " 20 " 40
TATTOOED ABYSSINIAN LADY.
The annexed cut is a sketch of an Abyssinian lady, tattooed in the height of the fashion. The following extract from that interesting work "Parkyns's Abyssinia" gives a good account of the custom as it prevails in the larger cities there, and of the manner in which the operation is performed. "The men seldom tattoo more than one ornament on the upper part of the arm, near the shoulder, while the women cover nearly the whole of their bodies with stars, lines, and crosses, often rather tastefully arranged. I may well say nearly the whole of their persons, for they mark the neck, shoulders, breasts, and arms, down to the fingers, which are enriched with lines to imitate rings, nearly to the nails. The feet, ankles, and calves of the legs, are similarly adorned, and even the gums are by some pricked entirely blue, while others have them striped alternately blue and the natural pink. To see some of their designs, one would give them credit for some skill in the handling of their pencil; but, in fact, their system of drawing the pattern is purely mechanical. I had one arm adorned; a rather blind old woman was the artist; her implements consisted of a little pot of some sort of blacking, made, she told me, of charred herbs; a large home-made iron pin, about one-fourth of an inch at the end of which was ground fine; a bit or two of hollow cane, and a piece of straw; the two last-named items were her substitutes for pencils. Her circles were made by dipping the end of a piece of a cane of the required size into the blacking, and making its impression on the skin; while an end of the straw, bent to the proper length, and likewise blackened, marked all the lines, squares, diamonds, &c., which were to be of equal length. Her design being thus completed, she worked away on it with her pin, which she dug in as far as the thin part would enter, keeping the supply of blacking sufficient, and going over the same ground repeatedly to ensure regularity and unity in the lines. With some persons, the first effect of this tattooing is to produce a considerable amount of fever, from the irritation caused by the punctures; especially so with the ladies, from the extent of surface thus rendered sore. To allay this irritation, they are generally obliged to remain for a few days in a case of vegetable matter, which is plastered all over them in the form of a sort of green poultice. A scab forms over the tattooing, which should not be picked off, but allowed to fall off of itself. When this disappears, the operation is complete, and the marks are indelible; nay more, the Abyssinians declare that they may be traced on the person's bones even after death has bared them of their fleshy covering."
BULGARIAN FISHERMEN.
The following interesting account of the Bulgarian fishermen on the shores of the Black Sea is taken from the translation of a narrative of a boat excursion made in 1846 by M. Xavier Hommaire, along part of the northern coast of the Black Sea:--