OLD TIMES.

Although this book does not pretend to be a history of the times of which it treats, still, it will materially help the reader, if, at the outset, some of the principal events which occurred during the period are succinctly narrated.

We start with the year 1788—and one of the first items of importance is the founding of the colony of New South Wales; for Captain Phillips, on 28th January, landed the first batch of convicts, consisting of 561 men, 192 women, and 18 children, also a military force of 212 men. As soon as they were all on shore, Phillips ordered the King's Commission to be read, and assumed the office of Governor. Such was the modest foundation of our great Australian Empire. On the same day at home, Lord George Gordon, of Protestant rioting memory, was brought before the judges of the King's Bench, to receive sentence on two libels, one against the Queen of France, and another on the criminal justice of the country. His sentence for the former, was three years' imprisonment, for the latter, two years, to pay a fine of £500, and find security for his good behaviour for fourteen years. He fled to Holland, was arrested, brought back, and lodged in Newgate. He did not live to regain his liberty, but death set him free 1st November 1793.

An all-absorbing topic of conversation in this year was the trial of Warren Hastings, for his conduct whilst Governor-General of Bengal. The trial commenced on the 13th of February, and it took place in Westminster Hall, which was fitted up with a throne and canopy, having the woolsack for the Lord Chancellor in front. On either side the throne was a private box, one for the use of the King, the other for the Queen: the King never used either throne or box, but, when he went to the trial, he went incognito.

There were seats covered with green baize for the accommodation of members of the House of Commons, but all the rest of the hall was glowing with red baize. Boxes were also provided for the Ambassadors and Corps Diplomatique. The grand show commenced at eleven A.M. with the entrance of the committee appointed to manage the impeachment, all of them in full dress, followed by Burke, who headed the members of the House of Commons.

Hardly had they taken their seats when a buzz of excitement filled the hall, for no one less than the Queen, attended by all her daughters, entered. She did not go to the royal box, but sat in part of the Duke of Newcastle's Gallery. This attracted the attention of all, until the coming in of the peers, including the judges, and the Bishops, the string of Dukes being closed by the Prince of Wales (as Duke of Cornwall), and the Dukes of York, Gloucester, and Cumberland. Lord Thurlow, the Lord Chancellor, came last. The peers all wore their robes and collars, the robes of the royal dukes being borne by pages. Then the Chancellor's mace-bearer cried "Oyez, Oyez, Oyez," and notified to all, that Warren Hastings had come to take his trial, and that his accusers might come forth and make good their charges against him. The Lord Chancellor addressed the prisoner, and told him to be prepared with his defence, to which Hastings replied, "My Lords, I am come to this high tribunal equally impressed with a confidence in my own integrity and in the justice of the court before which I stand." As this trial will not again be mentioned, I may state the fact, that it lasted seven years and three months, and ended in his acquittal, 17th April 1795.

Another remarkable event happened in this year, for on 31st January there died at Rome, at the age of sixty-seven, the young Pretender, Prince Charles Edward Louis Casimir Stuart, grandson of James II.; and, with him, died all hope for the Jacobite party, for he left behind him but one natural daughter, on whom he conferred the empty title of Duchess of Albany. It is true that he left his pretensions to the throne of England to his brother, Cardinal York, but all this Prince did to claim regal honours was to strike a medal, on which he styled himself Henry the IXth. He knew there was no use in continuing the struggle, so accepted a pension from George III., which was paid him until his death.

There is little worth chronicling until we come to the (to Englishmen) most painful event of the year, namely, the King's illness. In July his physicians remarked symptoms in him which gave them grave concern, but he visited Cheltenham, and improved in his health. In October, however, rumours began to get about that all was not well. The Morning Post of 30th October mentions that "On 28th His Majesty complained of a pain in his bowels, and by the advice of his physicians, and the rest of His Majesty's attendants, he is not expected to leave Windsor for the course of a week or a fortnight." Next day we hear that "the chief symptom is said to be a swelling in the legs." Then news is brought, that on the 4th November he had a relapse; on the 7th he is reported better, though, as a matter of fact, he was delirious at dinner on the 5th. On the 9th they say he is better; on the 10th he is MUCH BETTER, and HOPES ARE ENTERTAINED OF HIS RECOVERY. The bulletins of the 11th are vague; that of the 12th reports that he "was not better," and the newspapers of the 13th openly speak of a Regency. In the Morning Post of November 14th it plainly states that "his mental faculties were more deranged." Then his physicians quarrelled amongst themselves as to his treatment, and wrote daily contradictory bulletins, until Dr. Willis took his patient under his sole charge, with good effect. And so ends 1788.

1789 opens with a great frost, one of the heaviest on record. It commenced on the 24th November 1788, and continued, with one intermission (from December 24th to December 26th) until 13th January 1789. On 10th January the Thames at Irongate—which is below London Bridge, by the Tower, was frozen over, and several booths were erected on the ice. The day previously an ox was roasted whole, and eagerly bought by the people who were skating and sliding. The Annual Register thus describes the sight:—"The scene on the Thames is very entertaining; from Putney Bridge upwards, the river is completely frozen over, and people walk to and from the different villages on the face of the deep. Opposite to Windsor Street booths have been erected since Friday last, and a fair is kept on the river. Multitudes of people are continually passing and repassing; puppet shows, roundabouts, and all the various amusements of Bartholomew Fair are exhibited. In short, Putney and Fulham, from the morning dawn till the dusk of returning evening, is a scene of festivity and gaiety. On the 12th a young bear was baited on the ice, opposite to Redriffe (Rotherhithe), which drew multitudes, and fortunately no accident happened to interrupt their sport." The outward-bound vessels at Deptford and Gravesend cleared out with all despatch, lest they should be caught in the ice and detained or damaged.

The usual royal gift of £1000 to the poor of London was this year not forthcoming, so the Prince of Wales ordered that sum to be given from his own treasury. He also sent large sums to the poor of Edinburgh and Brighton.

A Bill to make the Prince of Wales Regent had been introduced in both Houses of Parliament at the latter end of 1788, but was negatived in each; in the Commons by 251 to 178. There had been great squabbling over this Bill, especially between the rival leaders, Fox and Pitt; the former asserting that the Prince of Wales had an absolute right to succeed to the Regency, and the latter would only admit that he had an irresistible claim.

But the King did not get better, and something must be done, yet it was not thought fit to invest the Prince of Wales with altogether regal powers: there must be some limitation. Therefore Pitt wrote to His Royal Highness, detailing the plan intended to be pursued, which was, that the Queen should have the care of the King's person, and the disposition of the royal household, by which means she would enjoy the patronage of 400 places, amongst which were the offices of Lord Steward, Lord Chamberlain, and Master of the Horse: but the Prince should have no power of granting any office, reversion, or pension, for any other term than during the King's pleasure, nor might he confer any peerage.

This, no doubt, was prudent, but was extremely distasteful to the Prince, who wrote a dignified remonstrance to Pitt, at the end of which, however, he consented to accept the terms, being convinced of the evils which might arise were there no Regency. Fifty-five peers, together with the Dukes of York and Cumberland, signed a protest against the limitations, but the Commons cared but little for it. They went on with their work, and, on the 12th February, sent up the Bill to their Lordships for consideration; and they were debating it when the proverb of "There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip" was fulfilled. On the 19th February the Lord Chancellor announced to the House that the physicians reported that the King was rapidly recovering from his malady. On this the House adjourned, and practically no work was done, either by Lords or Commons, for three weeks.

On 27th February the prayer for his recovery was discontinued, and, in its stead, a form of prayer, and thanksgiving for his restoration to health, was ordered to be read in all churches and chapels throughout England and Wales. So completely had he recovered, that he ordered Parliament to be opened by Commission, which was done on 10th March. The 23rd April was appointed for a general thanksgiving, and his Majesty, accompanied by the Queen and the Royal Family, went in solemn state to Saint Paul's, to render thanks to the Almighty for His great mercy.

The following account is much condensed from the report in the Morning Post of 24th April 1789:—"They started early, for, precisely at eight o'clock in the morning, the first carriage that led the procession reached St. Clement's Church in the Strand. After the usual state pioneers, came the members of the House of Commons, followed by the peers according to their several degrees, then the Archbishops, and the princes of the blood royal, after whom came the Prince of Wales, whose equipage outshone all others. Their Majesties' Household came next, and lastly their Majesties themselves.

"The Queen seemed inexpressibly happy: the loud huzzas, which from every quarter rent the air, testified to her, that he who was dearest to her was dearest to the people.

"The King, as if impressed by the weight of the obligation which he owed to Heaven for his recovery, and full of the religious solemnity with which he was going, publicly, to acknowledge that obligation to the Almighty, seemed to be unusually grave and silent; and behaved, at this first appearance in public since his recovery, in a manner which filled the spectators with reverence and awe.

"His Majesty appeared to be much reduced in point of size, but he looked as if in perfect health."

It was a quarter-past three when the procession, on its return, reached Temple Bar, and it was noted that the King looked more cheerful, whilst the Queen was in high spirits.

London was, of course, brilliantly illuminated at night.

This is the principal event of the year, and with it we will close 1789.

As far as England, and its social economy, is concerned, 1790 is very barren. In France, there was the commencement of that dreadful revolution which terrorised all Europe, yet strangely enough all allusion to France was omitted in the Royal Speeches to Parliament, either on 21st January or 26th November.

The navy sadly wanted manning, so much so that a proclamation was issued for encouraging seamen, and landsmen, to enter themselves on board His Majesty's ships of war; that officers on foreign stations should join their respective corps, and recalling, and prohibiting seamen from serving foreign princes, and states. This was all very well, for the fleet was in urgent need of men, owing to the number of ships being put in commission, and ordered to be got ready for sea with the greatest expedition: for instance—

besides others which were expected to be commissioned in a few days.

Ordinary means were not sufficient to provide men, and resort was made to impressment, a mode of obtaining seamen which is of ancient practice. In 1378 a statute of 2 Richard II. speaks of it as being well known, and so it must have been, for the first commission for its use was issued 29 Edward III., 1355. In 1641, Parliament declared the practice illegal, either for the land or sea service; but this has always been ignored when the necessity for seamen arose. It has been regulated by Parliament even so lately as 1835, when, by the statute 5 and 6 William IV., compulsory service is restricted to five years.

How should we feel if some day, in reading our morning paper, we should come across such a passage as the following:—"A very hot press took place in the river Thames, and at all the outports"?—Would you like to know what a "hot press" means?—then learn from the following excerpts from the St. James's Chronicle, May 4-6, 1790:—

"The report of the number pressed in the river on Tuesday night was delivered to the Lords of the Admiralty yesterday morning, which amounted to about 1500 taken in Wapping, and in Southwark, &c., more than 600; amounting in the whole to upwards of 2100 men, besides those at the different seaport towns, reports of which were not received."

"Four tenders went down the river yesterday morning, crowded with impressed men, to be shipped on board a vessel of war lying in Long-reach, ready to receive them. The same tenders were expected up again with the return of the tide, upon the same errand."

Extract of a letter from Chatham, May 5.—"Yesterday morning, between six and seven o'clock, an express arrived from the Lords of the Admiralty to Commodore Pasley, at this port, containing impress warrants: accordingly, a great press commenced about twelve o'clock last night, both in this town, Rochester, &c. &c., and on the river Medway, when many persons were taken, four of whom were lodged in the guardhouse in the yard, and this morning sent on board the 'Scipio,' of 64 guns, lying as guardship at this port, and commanded by Commodore Pasley. A great press likewise commenced last night at Sheerness."

"In consequence of the press warrants, stocks felt a most extraordinary depression yesterday; the Consols opened at 76, and fluctuated from that price to 75-1/4 until very nearly three o'clock."

This then, was a "hot press"—but very little was ever said about it, except a passing notice. The impressed men themselves accepted their fate as inevitable, and, according to the testimony of an old seaman whom I once knew (himself a pressed man), he assured me that, after the first shock was over, they set to work with a will, and did their duty as well as the volunteers. There were supposed to be exceptions, such as apprentices, who were exempt, but I fear, when once in the hands of the pressgang, it was a very poor chance of any one's getting off.

A social note worthy of being recorded, in this year, was that a man named John Frith, lieutenant of the second battalion of Royals, threw a stone at His Majesty's coach. He seems to have done no harm, and was evidently a lunatic, for no one in their senses would have endeavoured to injure a king who was just then in the zenith of his popularity. That he was insane the jury thought, for, on his trial for high treason on 21st May, he was acquitted as being of unsound mind, but he was put under safe watch and ward in Newgate, and only liberated on 11th December 1791, on bail being given to take proper care of him.

The year 1791 is remarkable for its uneventfulness, nothing of national importance occurring during the twelve-month. Impressment still went on, as we see by the St. James's Chronicle, April 16-19.—"Friday night the press in the Thames, and on both sides the river, was the warmest that has been at all since press warrants were last issued. No fewer than eleven gallies were rowing about between London Bridge and Deptford. Every one of His Majesty's frigates and sloops on Channel service, as well as those in the North Sea and on the Irish coast, have received orders to proceed upon the impress service. The smaller vessels, as soon as they have procured forty seamen each, are to deliver them over to the receiving ships at Spithead and the Nore."

In 1787 a society was formed in England having for its object the suppression of slavery, under the auspices of Granville Sharpe, Clarkson, and others, and Mr. Wilberforce (by whose untiring efforts its downfall was at last obtained) joined it. On the 18th April 1791, the House of Commons resolved itself into a committee "to consider of the African slave trade." Wilberforce made an eloquent speech, in which he depicted the horrors of the trade. Among other barbarities he mentioned the whipping, and holding red-hot coals, to the mouths of those (in order to compel them to eat) who were desirous of putting an end to their existence, by starving themselves to death; and, to prove the preference given by those unhappy creatures of death to slavery, he quoted part of the evidence, which told how they took every opportunity of leaping overboard, and that, in the agonies of death, when drowning, they would hold up their hands for joy in having escaped from their tormentors.

He mentioned many cruelties which had passed unpunished, and particularly one, which was committed by a master upon his female slave, a girl about six years old, by cutting her mouth from ear to ear; he showed how injurious the slave trade was to our mercantile navy, quoting from the muster rolls of Liverpool and Bristol, that in one year, out of 12,263 seamen employed in the slave trade, 2643 had died.

After many other arguments, he concluded with a motion, "That the Chairman be directed to move for leave to bring in a Bill for preventing the further importation of African negroes into the British colonies and plantations."

The debate was continued, and adjourned until the next day—when the battle pro slavery or its abolition waxed fierce; but when it came to a decision, the numbers were—for the motion, 88; against, 163—majority against the abolition, 75.

1792 opened, as we would fain have our financial years open now-a-days, with an increase of revenue over the preceding year of £300,000, and a surplus of more than £900,000, besides paying the annual million in reduction of the national debt. Pitt repealed £200,000 of burdensome taxes, added £400,000 to the million to extinguish the debt, and discreetly kept the balance in hand for eventualities. Trade had vastly increased, as we may see from the following figures:—In 1783 the exports were valued at £14,741,000; and, in 1791, they had risen to £20,120,000.

On 2nd April, the House of Commons being in Committee, Mr. Wilberforce again brought forward the question of the slave trade, and, after an eloquent speech, wound up with the motion:—"That it is the opinion of the Committee, that the trade carried on by British subjects, for the purpose of procuring slaves from Africa, ought to be abolished." After a debate, Mr. Secretary Dundas moved as an amendment, to insert the word "gradually" immediately before the word "abolished."

This was carried by a majority of 68, and the motion, so altered, being put, the numbers were—Ayes, 230; Noes, 85—majority for the motion, 145. The Chairman was then ordered to move the House for leave to bring in a Bill, pursuant to the said resolution.

England could not but be affected by the French Revolution. At the commencement of the movement there was some sympathy shown by the Whigs to a people who were struggling to free themselves from the trammels of despotism, but that sympathy rapidly grew cold, and faded, on witnessing the excesses committed by the people of Paris, and some other large cities, until the capture, and imprisonment of the Royal family, turned it to absolute loathing, and hatred.

There was great uneasiness throughout the country as to whether the tide of anarchy might not reach us, especially as numbers of fugitives were daily reaching our shores. Take, for example, two instances quoted in the Annual Register, both of the date 12th September:—

"Southampton.—One Ayland, a fisherman of Hamble, a village about seven miles from Southampton, was fishing for lobsters on the coast of France on Thursday last, and had taken in about half his cargo, when he espied two boats full of men, seemingly in great distress; on which he bore down, and received them on board. They had swam to their boats to get away from the coast, and many of them were much bruised and pelted with stones by others on shore. They begged the fisherman to land them somewhere in England, to prevent their being murdered; which he promised to do, and offered them subsistence till he had completed his lading. They represented the danger of being intercepted, if he did not immediately proceed to sea, and offered him any sum he should ask, to land them as soon as possible. He waived his own interest, set sail, and landed them at the above village; but with a spirit of humanity, which does honour to human nature, he absolutely refused any reward whatever, although he had not completed his fishing, which is the maintenance of his family."

"Lewes.—Upwards of 500 unfortunate emigrants were, last week, landed on our coast, who have had the fury of the elements to contend with, after escaping that of their countrymen. The Brighton packets, heavily laden with them, were driven by the winds far eastward off their usual track, and with difficulty made Hastings, Pevensey, and Eastbourne. At the former place, on Wednesday morning, 76, all ecclesiastics, came on shore, among whom were the Bishop of Auvranches, the Dean of Rouen, and several other dignitaries. The Bishop with great difficulty escaped from Auvranches by the assistance of one of his grand vicars, who, with domestics, accompanied him to Rouen, where they were for some days concealed. The populace having again discovered them, they were again obliged to travel on foot, in disguise, to Dieppe. They arrived in the night, took refuge a few hours in an hotel; and, at the time appointed for the departure of the packet, ran to the sea side, and, it providentially being high water, were enabled to get out of reach of the rabble, who, in one minute after, pursued them to the shore."

Take again an extract or two from the St. James's Chronicle of 11-13th September 1792. "Between daybreak and eight o'clock yesterday morning, thirteen broad-wheeled waggons, crowded with French emigrants, passed through the Borough. During the night, and the whole of yesterday forenoon, waggons, carts, and chaises, and carriages of almost every other description, continued arriving in town with emigrants, by way of Westminster, Blackfriars, and London Bridges."

"It is a known fact, that upwards of forty thousand French men, women, and children, are at this moment in England: two-thirds of them of the lowest class, who, taking advantage of the convulsed state of their native country, come over under the plausible title of exiled aristocrats."

"There are three powerful reasons why the very great number of arrivals here from France should excite the immediate attention of Government. One, that it may occasion a rapid rise in the price of provisions, already at a height that occasions much complaint among the lower orders of people. Second, lest under the appellation of fugitives, a multitude of insidious and evil-designing persons should intrude themselves, with the intention of raising similar disturbances in this kingdom. Third, lest it should be the means of introducing a great number of rascals, thieves, and villains, who are always cowards, and cannot have principle enough to take any side; these, therefore, are the first to run. An inundation of them, added to the bad among our own people, might not only render private property very precarious, but even prove dangerous to the state."

The Government was fully alive to this great influx of Frenchmen, and the possible effect it might have on the people of England; so they introduced, and passed, the "Act for establishing Regulations respecting Aliens arriving in this kingdom, or resident therein, in certain cases," 33 Geo. III. cap. 4. After the preamble, the gist of which has been given, this Act enacts that all masters of vessels are to give to the officer of the Custom, at the port of arrival, a written declaration specifying the names, &c., of foreigners on board. All aliens arriving after 10th January 1793 were to give to the port officer of the Customs a written declaration of their names, rank, &c. If they failed in so doing, they were to depart out of the realm, or be transported for life. The officer of Customs had to furnish them with a certificate, and, if they wished to change their abode, they were to have a passport, which they were to show, or be committed for trial. They must also depart from the realm when ordered by His Majesty's proclamation, &c. &c. &c.

Edmund Burke.

This was a somewhat severe ordinance, but as far as I know, it was never acted on, for the French emigrés were a quiet, law-abiding people, thankful for the refuge they had received. It was during the debate on this Bill that Burke made his historical coup de theatre, the dagger scene in the House of Commons. I quote from the St. James's Chronicle 27-29th December 1792:—Burke loquitur. "It had been declared by a noble Lord (Granville) in another place, that there were known to be nineteen assassins in this country with daggers for the extirpation of kings—but it had been said that nineteen were of no consequence; he thought differently, for there were in that number seven more than necessary to destroy the whole Royal family; the number to him was alarming, for he knew not how many apprentices those murderers might have, nor how many encouragers in this country; the knowledge of nineteen French murderers having arrived, was a full justification of the present Bill. He thanked His Majesty's Ministers for having brought it forward; it might prevent the arrival of nineteen times nineteen of those monsters, and it might counteract the intentions of that Englishman who had ordered the manufacture of 5000 daggers at Birmingham—how many for exportation, or how many for home consumption, he knew not. He had, however, strong reasons to believe that they were intended to introduce French fraternity into the bosoms of Englishmen—to introduce murder and desolation, for 'there! there!' exclaimed Mr. Burke, throwing a dagger upon the floor of the House, 'is the fraternity of freedom; that is the fraternity they wish to plunge into the heart of our Sovereign; into the heart of every virtuous Englishman who was loyal to his King, or worshipped his God,'" &c. &c.

This rodomontade was only provocative of mirth, and it is said that Sheridan asked—"You have thrown down the knife—where is the fork?" which convulsed the House with laughter.

1793 opened gloomily with the trial, sentence, and decapitation of Louis XVI. (sentenced 17th January, beheaded 21st January); and our national sympathy towards the martyred King was shown by an order for a general mourning, which it was hoped would be universal. "As our Court has ordered an etiquette mourning for Louis XVI., there can be little doubt that the people will, as one man, clothe themselves in a garb expressive of their detestation of his murtherers."

Our relations with France had been very strained, for some time past, and war had long been expected. In December 1792 a proclamation had been issued, embodying and calling out the militia. Vessels were being hurriedly equipped, and commissioned, and nobody was surprised, when, on 1st February, Parliament received a message from the King, informing his people that M. Chauvelin had left this country, and that there was an urgent necessity for augmenting the sea and land forces. The number of French in England became a source of uneasiness, and an Order of Council was issued on 2nd February, directing all aliens, save such as were excepted by the Alien Act, to reside within fifty miles of the standard on Cornhill, and ten miles from the sea coasts, and dockyards.

The French had already begun hostilities, by laying an embargo on all British shipping in French ports, and, on 5th February, we retaliated by acting in the same manner; but the terms were not equal, for there were but six, or eight, French vessels in our ports, whilst it was reckoned that the French had got hold of over 1000 of our seamen. But sailors were forthcoming to man the fleet, for we read, under 7th February, that "Upwards of 2000 sailors entered the Royal Navy last week."

On 11th February, the King sent the following message to Parliament:—

"George R.—His Majesty thinks proper to acquaint the House of Commons, that the Assembly now exercising the powers of Government in France have, without previous notice, directed acts of hostility to be committed against the persons and property of His Majesty's subjects, in breach of the law of nations, and of the most positive stipulations of treaty, and have since, on the most groundless pretensions, actually declared war against His Majesty and the United Provinces; under the circumstances of this wanton and unprovoked aggression, His Majesty has taken the necessary steps to maintain the honour of his Crown, and to vindicate the rights of his people; and His Majesty relies with confidence on the firm and effectual support of the House of Commons, and on the zealous exertions of a brave and loyal people, in prosecuting a just and necessary war, and endeavouring, under the blessing of Providence, to oppose an effectual barrier to the farther progress of a system which strikes at the security and peace of all independent nations, and is pursued in open defiance of every principle of moderation, good faith, humanity, and justice.

"In a cause of such general concern, His Majesty has every reason to hope for the cordial co-operation of those Powers who are united with His Majesty by the ties of alliance, or who feel an interest in preventing the extension of anarchy and confusion, and in contributing to the security and tranquillity of Europe.

G. R."

The Government was determined to do nothing by halves, and, as the law of nations had not yet condemned the practice, they (on the 12th February) caused to be issued, by the Admiralty, letters of marque,[1] and reprisals against the French shipping—whilst pressgangs scoured the streets and boarded all vessels for seamen. As, for instance (16th February), "A press broke out in the river yesterday morning, all the seamen were taken from the colliers, and the gangs were very successful." And every means were taken to get sailors to volunteer, vide the following extract out of a letter from Rochester, 15th February:—"Three guineas are given to an able-bodied seaman, two guineas to an ordinary seaman, and one guinea to a landsman (above the King's bounty), to those who shall enter within a month in this city; being the voluntary generosity of the Mayor and corporation here." And this example was followed by many other corporations.

War being declared, preparations for it were carried on with the utmost vigour. The Duke of York, colonel of the Guards (afterwards on 12th April made general), addressed the three regiments on parade, told them that he would accompany them to Holland, and asked for volunteers. This met with an unanimous response, but the number required being limited, such men, only, were selected, who were judged fittest for the service, and they started on their expedition on 25th February, after having been inspected by the King.

It is no part of the scheme of this book to follow the fortunes of the war, and, as there is little else noteworthy in the year 1793, we pass to the next year.

On the 22nd February, 1794, His Majesty sent a message to Parliament, calling attention to the expediency of increasing the land forces, and, consequently, a large increase in the militia, and an addition to the fencible corps, were voted, and the Secretary of State sent a circular to all the Lords-lieutenant of Counties, recommending them to solicit voluntary contributions towards carrying on the war.

Wilberforce still continued to agitate the slave question, although not on the same lines as formerly. He changed his tactics, and, as the sense of the House, on a previous occasion, was in favour of gradually doing away with it, he introduced a Bill for abolishing that part of the slave trade which related to the supply of foreign plantations. Of course it met with opposition, Sir William Young moving that it be read a second time this day (26th February) six months, but it was carried in the Lower House, the numbers for the second reading being 56 against 38—majority, 18. The Bill, however, was thrown out in the Lords, owing to the opposition of Lord Grenville, who argued that such a Bill should not be introduced whilst the House was instituting inquiry into the whole question. And so, for a time, it dropped, perforce.

Many amongst us seem to think that Sir Rowland Hill originated the penny post, but such is not the fact. That it was mainly through his instrumentality that letters could be sent to all parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland, at the uniform price of one penny, and that he did much to re-organise the vast establishment of the post-office, is beyond doubt; but the penny post existed long before that. There is a squabble between Dockwra and Murray as to which of them commenced it in 1683; at all events, the Government took it from Dockwra in 1690, and afterwards gave him a pension of £500 a year, and he was made Controller of the District Post; but he was finally discharged, on account of some charges of malversation, &c., brought against him.

In 1711 an Act was passed abolishing the penny post, and on June 23rd of that year a proclamation was issued, putting it in force. But it was resuscitated, for we find, in the Parliamentary intelligence of the Times, 26th February, 1794: "House of Commons, 25th February. The House having gone into Committee, Mr. Long proposed some resolutions to be adopted as an improvement on the mode of carrying letters by the penny post. It was proposed that letters sent by the penny post should be carried six times every day, and that an additional duty of one penny should be paid to the King,—that is, as we understand it, that the person who receives the letter shall pay a penny in all cases, as well as he who sends it. Another resolution was, that the postage of letters in the islands of Guernsey and Jersey should be the same as in England." Pitt explained that the extra penny would, probably, only cover the extra cost involved in having six deliveries, and, after a short debate, the resolutions passed the Committee.

The Times (28th February 1794), commenting thereon says—"The new Penny Post Office is likely to prove such a very great accommodation to the public, that the only wonder is, it has been so long neglected. Instead of the numbers of deliveries, and the hours of despatch varying in different parts of the town, as at present, there will be six deliveries each day in all parts of the town; by which means a person living at Mary-le-Bonne may send letters to, or receive letters from, Limehouse, a distance of seven miles, five times a day.... Persons putting in letters by nine in the morning, at the distance of ten miles from the chief Penny Post Office, and later, at less distant parts, may receive answers from London the same afternoon."

The Revolution in France still continued, as did then emigration, for a return was made of the number of emigrés, who had been brought off from Toulon by the British Fleet, and this report avers that they numbered 14,877 men, women, and children. No wonder, then, at the passing of the Alien Act.

The French Revolution, no doubt, stirred up the discontented, and disaffected, in England: the perusal of Paine's "Rights of Man" in no ways tended to soothe a rebellious feeling, and the mob, on several occasions, was very riotous. Societies, like the "Corresponding Society" and the "Society for Constitutional Information," were founded in London, and the Government, feeling itself strong enough, was determined to strike a blow and crush them: so, on the 12th May, the King sent a message to Parliament, saying, that "having received information that the seditious practices, which have been for some time carried on by certain societies in different parts of the country, have lately been pursued with increased activity and boldness," &c.... he "has given directions for seizing the books and papers of the said societies in London, which papers have been seized accordingly, and these books and papers appear to contain matter of the greatest importance." He directed them to be laid before Parliament for consideration, so that they might take "measures thereupon, as may appear to be necessary, for effectually guarding against the further prosecution of these dangerous designs."

John Thelwall (political lecturer), Daniel Adams, and Thomas Hardy were taken into custody. The latter two were examined before the Privy Council on the 13th, the former on the 14th, on which date a Royal Messenger went to Earl Stanhope's house, and arrested his lordship's private secretary, the Rev. Jeremiah Joyce. A famous agitator, the Rev. John Horne Tooke, was also taken. Their trials took place in October, November, and December 1794, and ended in the acquittal of the prisoners, after which the Government abandoned similar prosecutions.

But a patriotic feeling was abroad, more than enough to counterbalance these turbulent spirits. The vast majority of the population was loyal, and volunteers hastened to band together for the defence of their country. One or two instances will suffice. "On the 17th April the Court of Common Council of the City of London agreed to open a subscription for raising, and disciplining, a regiment of infantry and a troop of cavalry for the defence of the city, to be called the 'Loyal London Volunteers.'"—"Rutland Volunteers Troops of Cavalry. On the 5th instant, 154 men and horses, consisting of the high sheriff, the noblemen, gentlemen, and yeomen, who intend forming this corps, met at Oakham.... Uniform, French gray and buff. Every person who belongs to this corps binds himself, under £50 penalty, to attend when called upon."—Times, 21st April. These two instances shew the wide range the volunteers' movement—then in its very infancy—took.

The feeling, however, of the nation was not altogether unanimous in favour of war. There was then, as now, a peace party. On 6th March Mr. Whitbread moved an address to the King, strongly disapproving of the policy of the Government, and of their conduct, not only preceding, but succeeding the war. The Earl of Guildford did the same in the Lords, but in both Houses the motions were negatived by large majorities. Nothing daunted by this, on 30th May, the Duke of Bedford, in the House of Lords, reviewed the causes which led to the war, and also the foreign policy of the Government, ending by moving fourteen resolutions, of which the most material were the two following:—"That it appeared expedient to that House, that it should recommend to His Majesty to adopt such measures as might lead to a negotiation for peace."

Or that, "if His Majesty, in his wisdom, thought it advisable still to prosecute the war, that he would be most graciously pleased to state what the object of it was."

After a debate, which lasted till half-past one o'clock, it was adjourned till the following Monday.

In the Commons, Fox took the same tone, winding up with—"The advantages we had gained by sea and land were favourable for the negotiation of a peace, as they served as so many funds to induce the enemy to treat; and, should we fail, we should thereby justify our pacific intentions to the world." He concluded by moving resolutions similar to those of the Duke of Bedford. The result was—For the previous question, 208; for Mr. Fox's resolutions, 55—majority, 153. And no more was heard of the Duke of Bedford's resolutions.

The next, and last, great incident was, Lord Howe's great naval victory over the French off the coast of Ushant, on "the glorious first of June." Two 80 and five 74 gun ships were the substantial fruits of this victory, although "Le Vengeur," one of the 74's, sunk soon after capture, drowning some 300 men. No one knows the French loss in this battle, but we do know, that on board the prizes taken there were found 1200 dead bodies. Our total loss was 904. The news travelled very fast, for that day; Sir Roger Curtis, Howe's first captain, arrived at the Admiralty with despatches on the evening of the 10th June.

The jubilation was great, nor was practical sympathy with the widows and orphans of our seamen wanting. In less than one hour a thousand guineas were subscribed at Lloyd's for their relief. The popular rejoicing took the form of illuminating the houses, smashing Earl Stanhope's windows, and much beer drinking. The thanks of both Houses of Parliament were given to Earl Howe, and, on his arrival at Portsmouth, the King, Queen, and the Royal family went down and paid him a visit on board his own ship, on 29th June. As there is a crispness, and freshness, about contemporary accounts of events, let the Times (July 1st) tell the story.

"On the King being received on board the 'Queen Charlotte,' he presented Earl Howe with a diamond hilted sword. His lordship, perceiving His Majesty's intention, threw the sword he had on his side upon the deck, and, kneeling, received from the Sovereign's hand this distinguished proof of approbation. His Majesty also presented a gold chain, to which a medal is hereafter to be annexed, to Admiral Sir Alexander Hood, and Rear-Admiral Gardner; the like honour was conferred on Lord Howe's first captain, Sir Roger Curtis. The wounded Admirals, Bowyer and Pasley, who consequently could not attend, have been distinguished with similar marks of His Majesty's favour."

Poor Admirals Bowyer and Pasley had to be pensioned off, on account of their wounds, in February 1795, the sum awarded to each being £500 per annum.

At the commencement of 1795 the French took possession of Utrecht, Rotterdam, and Dort: the treasure of the Prince of Orange was sent to London, and the Stadtholder and his family had to make a hurried flight for their lives in an open boat, luckily reaching Harwich safely. The French having thus occupied Holland, the English Government laid an embargo on all Dutch vessels in our ports.

The Opposition still attempted to embarrass the Government on the question of the War, and, on 26th January, Mr. Grey, in a very lengthy speech, brought forward a motion, recommending peace with France. Pitt came forward with an amendment, to the purport that there could be no security for peace whilst the Government of France was an irregular one, and, on its being put, it was carried by 269 to 86.

Wilberforce still kept "pegging away" at the Slave Trade, and, on 26th February, introduced a motion, "for leave to bring in a Bill for the abolition of the slave trade, at a time to be limited." Pitt lent him the weight of his influence, but it was a small House, and he lost it by a majority of 17.

Fox, naturally (being in opposition), was always baiting the Government, and on 24th March he moved, "That the House should resolve itself into a Committee to inquire into the state of the nation;" but he suffered a severe defeat, the numbers against his motion being 219; for, 63.

The English troops in Holland had met with a series of misadventures, and were compelled to retreat. A fine array of 35,000 men left our shores for this expedition, and but about a fifth part could be mustered when they reached the town of Bremen, on the 27th and 28th of March—and right glad were they to embark on board the transports lying in the Elbe, ready to receive them.

The harvest of 1794 had been bad, and bread and provisions generally were so dear as practically to amount to a famine among the poor. People, as a rule, will, unfortunately, not starve quietly, so we hear of food riots occasionally. On 11th April a mob at Portsea attacked the butchers' and bakers' shops, and compelled them with persuasive eloquence to sell, the one, meat at 4d per lb.—the other, bread at 6d a quartern loaf. Again on 20th April, the Oxford Militia, with loaded guns and fixed bayonets, went to Seaford, where, having confiscated all the beef and mutton they could lay their hands on, they sold it at 4d per lb., and then, going to Newhaven, they seized 2000 sacks of flour, and sold it at their own price. This flagrant breach of military discipline was, however, soon punished, for the Horse Artillery and Lancashire Fencibles came up and took the rioters prisoners. But similar riots were rife all through the Midlands.

In the autumn things got even worse, and Parliament was assembled earlier than usual to deliberate on a remedy for this state of things; the outcome of which was an order for a bounty of twenty shillings per quarter on wheat from the Mediterranean, fifteen shillings on wheat from America, and five shillings per quarter on Indian corn. Bills also were passed prohibiting the manufacture of starch from wheat, and also the distillation of spirit from grain.

This scarcity of food, and the heavy burdens, both in taxation, the levying of men, and the pressgangs, fell sorely on the poor, who murmured loudly,—a fact which was duly taken advantage of by the demagogues for their own seditious purposes. They agitated for universal suffrage and annual parliaments, and the movement gathered strength. On the 26th October, the Corresponding Society held a mass meeting in Copenhagen Fields, and the inflammatory speeches there delivered, no doubt, bore their fruit three days afterwards, when the mob stoned the King. As the Times' account of this assault is very meagre, compared with that in the Annual Register, I copy the latter verbatim.

"29th October.—On the occasion of His Majesty's going to the House of Lords, the Mall and the Parade of St. James's Park, and Parliament Street, were completely choked up with spectators. The crowd was by no means so great at the Coronation, and, to see the King go to the House, there never were before more than a tenth part of the numbers of this day; for they, at least, amounted to 200,000. Several noblemen and Cabinet Ministers passed through the Park from Buckingham House about two o'clock. The Earl of Chatham, Duke of Gloucester, &c., were hissed, and the Duke of Portland was very much hooted.

"About twenty minutes afterwards the King left Buckingham House, and was violently hissed and hooted and groaned at the whole way; but no violence was offered till he arrived opposite the Ordnance Office, when a small pebble, or marble, or bullet, broke one of the windows. In returning, the moment His Majesty entered the Park the gates of the Horse Guards were shut, for the purpose of excluding the mob who followed the carriage; at which, as it passed opposite Spring Gardens Terrace, another stone was thrown, but it fortunately struck the woodwork between the windows.

"The crowd now pressed closely round the coach, and His Majesty, in considerable agitation, signified, by waving his hands to the Horse Guards on each side, his anxiety that the multitude should be kept at a distance. In this way he passed on through the Park, and round by the Stable Yard, into St. James's Palace, at the front gate, the bottom of St. James's Street. A considerable tumult took place when His Majesty was about to alight, and one of the horses in the state coach took fright, threw down an old groom of the name of Dorrington, and broke one of his thighs, but it proved, fortunately, a simple fracture; his other thigh was considerably bruised, but not dangerously.

"A few minutes after His Majesty had entered the palace, the mob attacked the state coach with stones, and did it great injury. In its way along Pall Mall to the Mews many things were also thrown at it. After a short time the King went, in his private coach, from St. James's to Buckingham House; but, on his way through the Park the mob surrounded the carriage, and prevented it from proceeding, crying out, 'Bread! Bread! Peace! Peace!'—The Guards were, however, speedily brought up, and they protected the carriage till His Majesty got safe into Buckingham House.

"When His Majesty entered the House of Peers, the first words he uttered were these, to the Lord Chancellor: 'My Lord, I have been shot at!' This alluded to the substance which had broke the window while passing the Ordnance Office.

"Three or four persons were apprehended on suspicion of having thrown stones, &c., at the King, and one of them was charged with having called out, 'No king,' and other such expressions. They were all examined at the Duke of Portland's office; and, waiting the result of this business, nothing was done in the House of Lords till near six o'clock, when Lord Westmoreland, who rode in the carriage with the King, having previously moved 'that strangers be ordered to withdraw,' stated the insult and outrage with which the King had been treated; and added that His Majesty, and those who had accompanied him, were of opinion that the glass of the coach had been broken by a ball from an air-gun, which had been shot from a bow window of a house adjoining the Ordnance Office, with a view to assassinate him.

"The King, through the whole of the riot, displayed the cool magnanimity for which the family have ever been distinguished. At the time that the glass of the coach was broken, he said to Lord Westmoreland, 'That is a shot;' and, instead of leaning back in the carriage, or striving to avoid the assassin, he pointed to the round hole in the pane, and examined it. But this was not all; he went into the private coach, to go from St. James's to the Queen's house, in the midst of the wildest commotions of the multitude, thereby exposing himself, almost without guards, to their fury; and then it was that His Majesty's person was most imminently in danger."

"30th October.—Confident in the attachment of his people, notwithstanding the alarms of the preceding day, the King, accompanied by Her Majesty and three of the Princesses, visited Covent Garden Theatre, and, at their entrance, was received with the usual burst of applause. 'God save the King' was sung twice, and, by a considerable part of the house, over-zealously called for a third time; this, in a corner of the gallery, provoked a few hisses, which, however, were soon overruled, and one or two of the most active of the turbulent party were turned out; after which the performance went on."

Five persons were apprehended for this outrage, but with the exception of one, Kidd Wake, aged 27, a journeyman printer, who owned to his hissing and hooting at His Majesty, and who was committed to take his trial on 14th November, I cannot trace their fate; probably they were discharged for want of evidence.

A Royal Proclamation was issued, offering one thousand pounds reward to any one "who shall give information, so that any of such authors, actors, or abettors, as aforesaid, shall be apprehended and brought to justice."

In November there were fearful storms, especially on the 6th, which were extraordinarily destructive, both to life and property. One of these storms was so severely felt at Weymouth, that nearly 1600 dead bodies were, at different times, thrown up on the beach, 300 being buried at one time, and, had not the Gloucestershire Militia helped in burying them, there would, doubtless, have been a pestilence.

On 8th December Pitt, in the House of Commons, delivered a message from the King, in which occurs the following passage, which must have been hailed with thanksgiving throughout the length and breadth of the land:—"His Majesty, on this occasion, thinks proper to acquaint the House, that the crisis which was depending[2] at the commencement of the present session, has led to such an order of things in France, as will induce His Majesty (conformably to the sentiments which he has already declared) to meet any disposition to negotiation on the part of the enemy, with an earnest desire to give it the fullest and speediest effect, and to conclude a treaty for general peace, whenever it can be effected on just and suitable terms for himself and his allies."

At the commencement of 1796 the Royal Family were still in bad odour with a certain section of the public,—nor can it be wondered at by any one who has studied the satirical prints of the day. Every foible of Royalty was noted, exaggerated, engraved on "perennial brass," exhibited most freely in the shop windows, and most eagerly purchased. Farmer George, and his simple, and somewhat mean habits, the Queen's avarice, the Prince of Wales' licentiousness, and extravagance, and all the scandals (and they were many) appertaining to the rest of the Royal Family, were ruthlessly laid bare, and mercilessly exposed to the public gaze.

That this must have tended to lower the Royal Family in most men's eyes, there can be no doubt, so that we are not very much surprised at the occasional practical manifestations of the mob. On the night of 1st February, there was more stone-throwing on the part of the populace, which the Times of 3rd February thus describes:—"On Monday night, as the Royal Family were returning from Drury Lane Theatre, just as they reached the middle of Pall Mall, a stone was flung at the coach in which were their Majesties and the lady-in-waiting, which broke the glass, and, entering the carriage, struck the Queen on the cheek, and fell into Lady Harrington's lap.

"A deposition of the circumstances was taken yesterday at the Duke of Portland's office, at which his Grace and some of the Bow Street Magistrates were present; when four of the footmen attending their Majesties were examined; a reward will be immediately offered to discover the offender." And so it was to the extent of £1000, but nothing came of it.

Whilst on the subject of the royal unpopularity, I may mention that Kydd Wake, who last year was apprehended for hissing and hooting at the King, was tried before Lord Kenyon, for "trespass, riot, and misdemeanour," and found guilty—sentence being deferred. This, however, was pronounced upon him by Mr. Justice Ashurst at the Court of King's Bench 7th May. His judgment was somewhat long-winded, and he concluded thus:—"It now becomes my duty to pronounce the sentence of the Court; which is, that you be committed to the custody of the keeper of the Penitentiary House, in, and for, the County of Gloucester, and be kept to hard labour for the space of five years; and, within the first three months of that time, that you stand in, and upon, the Pillory for one hour, between the hours of eleven and two o'clock in the afternoon, in some public street on a market day; and that you give sureties in £1000, for your good behaviour for the term of ten years, to be computed from the expiration of the said five years; and that you be further imprisoned till you find the said sureties."

On the 15th February, Mr. Grey, in the House of Commons, again ventilated the subject of peace, this time in the shape of an address to the King, praying him to communicate to the executive government of France, his readiness to meet any disposition to negotiate a general peace. Both Pitt and Fox spoke on the subject, but the motion was lost by 189 to 50.

There was one crumb of comfort to the nation, which had hitherto been suffering from a grievous scarcity of bread-stuffs, and this was the great fall in wheat, which took place on 31st March. On that date, owing to the large importations of foreign wheat, this grain fell 13s. per quarter.

Joy, too, must have sprung up in the national heart when the King made his speech on the opening of both Houses, 7th October. He said:—"I have omitted no endeavours for setting on foot negotiations to restore peace to Europe, and to secure, for the future, general tranquillity. The steps I have taken for this purpose have at length opened the way to an immediate and direct negotiation, the issue of which must either produce the desirable end of a just, honourable, and solid Peace for Us, and for Our Allies, or must prove, beyond dispute, to what cause alone the prolongation of the calamities of war must be ascribed. I shall immediately send a person to Paris with full powers to treat for this object, and it is My anxious wish that this measure may lead to the restoration of General Peace; but you must be sensible that nothing can so much contribute to give effect to this desire, as your manifesting that We possess both the determination and the resources to oppose, with increased activity and energy, the farther efforts with which We have to contend."

The "person" who was to go over to France as Plenipotentiary, was Sir James Harris, who had lately been made Lord Malmesbury—and he arrived at Paris on 22nd October. The usual diplomatic fencing took place, but this was brought to an end by a squabble respecting the annexation of the Netherlands to France. Lord Malmesbury wished to communicate with his Government on this point, but the Directory meant to force his hand, and required his ultimatum within twenty-four hours, and, as he still asked for time, he was told his presence in Paris was useless, and that he must depart within two days. He replied that he would leave next day, and demanded his passports. On the 20th December he left Paris for England, and so ended, for a while, all hopes of peace. That the French had but faint hopes of a successful end to the mission is evident, for, during the negotiations, on 2nd November, the Council of Five Hundred passed a decree, prohibiting the importation of British goods into the Republic.

As a proof of the patriotism of the English people, and their thorough reliance on the Government, Pitt asked for a loan of eighteen millions. This loan, called "The Loyalty Loan," was opened on 5th December, and in 15 hours 20 minutes it was all subscribed. The Times of 6th December says—"Yesterday, soon after 11 o'clock, the SUBSCRIPTION for EIGHTEEN MILLIONS STERLING, for the services of the ensuing year, closed at the Bank; and such was the general desire to subscribe, that the Court Room was a scene of the utmost confusion. Many gentlemen were altogether disappointed; and those who could get near the books to put down their names, did so with the utmost difficulty. There was very little remaining to be subscribed; for a great number of orders had been received by Mr. Newland in the morning, from the country, which claimed a preference; and, accordingly, the doors were shut some time, until these commissions were written down. There is no doubt but that many millions more would have been subscribed, if the public service had required it. There cannot be a greater proof of the patriotism of all ranks of people in thus assisting Government, because, at the time the loan was opened, the other funds were considerably the cheapest purchase."

Nor was it money only, that our forefathers gave. In October 195,000 men were voted for the land service for the year 1797, and 120,000 seamen and marines for the navy. There was also a levy of 15,000 men, from the different parishes, for sea service, and recruiting the regiments of the line, and a supplementary militia was raised, of 60,000 men, not to be immediately called out, but to be enrolled, officered, and completely trained, so as to be ready in a moment of danger, and a force of 20,000 irregular cavalry was also embodied.

The year closed with a frost which exceeded in severity any known for many years. Many people were frozen to death, and the thermometer was 34, and 35 degrees below freezing point.

1797 opened very gloomily; finance, the backbone of a nation, was somewhat dislocated. People were alarmed at the rapid growth of the National Debt, and, selling out of the funds, found other investments for their capital: there had been an enormous drain of bullion to subsidise the allies, and Pitt had borrowed from the Bank in the most reckless manner. It was in vain that the Bank remonstrated with him, but still he borrowed, so that at last he had to be told that if he took any more, it would probably lead to the insolvency of the Bank. There was a run upon the country banks, and its effects were soon felt in London; and, on 26th, an order of the Privy Council was made, forbidding the Bank of England from making cash payments, until Parliament had been consulted. On inquiry, it was found that the Bank was not only perfectly solvent, but, after payment of all liabilities, its capital would amount to £9,660,290. Under these circumstances Mr. Pitt brought in a bill (37 George III. cap. 28), permitting the Bank to issue notes from 20s. upwards, in lieu of cash. This measure brought relief, and saved the National credit.

Perhaps one of the chief National events in the year, was the mutiny of the fleets. Looking at it from this distance of time, one can hardly wonder at it, especially when we consider the way in which the crews were procured, by impressment and otherwise, their hard fare, the bad accommodation for them, the frequent punishments, from 50 to 500 lashes, at the discretion of a possibly irate captain, frequently for venial offences; add to this, small pay, and constant work, and we are fain to acknowledge that the men who could stand such treatment tamely, were almost more than human.

Yet they stated their grievances very properly, and quietly, sending petitions, either in February, or March, to Lord Howe, begging him to use his influence with the Admiralty, to procure them an increase of wages, and an improvement in the quality, and quantity, of their provisions. No notice whatever was taken of this temperate remonstrance, so the men, finding no help came to them, tried to help themselves, and secret communication was opened between all the vessels of the fleet. No one can defend the gross breach of discipline of which they were guilty, but it must be remembered that they were ignorant men, smarting under a sense of injury, rendered especially galling, by their just complaints, and moderate demands, being utterly ignored.

Their plot to seize the ships, and expel the officers, came to be known, and, on 15th April, Admiral Lord Bridport, in obedience to orders from the Admiralty, signalled for the fleet to sail. But the men refused to put to sea (unless an enemy was known to be at sea), until their grievances had been examined into, and redressed. A deputation, of two men from each ship, met in the Admiral's cabin, and another petition was drawn up. On the 18th, a Committee of the Lords of the Admiralty went to Portsmouth, to investigate the seamen's claims; and the result was, that Admiral Bridport returned to his ship on 23rd April, and, having hoisted his flag, he told his crew that he brought with him the redress of all their grievances, and the King's pardon for all offenders.

One would imagine that this would satisfy them, coming as it did from the mouth of their "father and friend," but when, on the 7th of May, he signalled to put to sea, no ship would obey him. The fact is, the men were suspicious; they had been so badly treated with regard to the granting of their moderate demands, that they thought the order for sailing was only a ruse to get them away, and then faith would not be kept with them. This mutiny was unfortunately accompanied by bloodshed, and it lasted until the 14th May. On the 11th, Lord Howe visited the fleet, saw the delegates, and assured them, that before a Royal pardon could be proclaimed, they must express contrition for their conduct. This they did, but solemnly declared they would never again receive on board those officers they had sent on shore. This was agreed to, and Lord Howe, on the 14th of May, showed them an Act of Parliament, which granted what they wished, and the fleet at St. Helens were, for a time, content.

But, at the Nore, there was much discontent, or rather open mutiny; the men had forced the Admiralty to grant their demands, and now thought they could go in for more; and, to enforce it, they attempted to blockade the Thames, and prevent any vessel from entering or departing,—and they did fire on several that attempted to run the blockade. Of course, such a state of things could not last long, and the removal of all the buoys, by the Admiralty, helped to bring about a surrender. Their provisions began to run short, and the Government peremptorily refused to accede to their demands. Some of the fleet left, and returned to their duty, on the 9th June. On the 10th, more struck the red flag, and on the 12th, there were but seven left that were not flying the Union Jack; and next day, five of them sought the protection of Sheerness.

The mutiny was now at an end, and it only remained to deal with the ringleaders, the chief of whom was named Richard Parker, and he, and several others, were duly hanged. Many who were sentenced to death were, however, pardoned, and a general veil of oblivion was wisely thrown over the whole affair, as soon as the men returned to their duty.

Earlier in the year occurred a curious page in our history, nothing less than a practical invasion of England by the French, details of which can best be learned from contemporary accounts.

"London Gazette, Extraordinary, February 25.

"A letter this day received by the Duke of Portland, from Lord Milford, Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Pembroke, dated Haverfordwest, February 23rd, 5 P.M., contains information that two frigates, a corvette, and a lugger, appeared off the coast of Pembrokeshire the 22nd inst., and on the evening of that day disembarked some troops reported by deserters to be about 1200, but without field-pieces."

"London Gazette, Extraordinary, February 26.

"Haverfordwest, February 24, 1797, 6 o'clock A.M.—Since I had the honour of writing last to your Grace by Express, I have received information of the French ships having sailed, and left 300 men behind, who have surrendered themselves prisoners. The great Spirit and Loyalty that the Gentlemen and Peasantry have shown on this occasion exceeds description. Many thousands of the latter assembled, armed with pikes, and scythes, and attacked the enemy, previous to the arrival of the Troops that were sent against them."

"February 24th, 9 o'clock P.M.—I have the honour and pleasure to inform your Grace, that the whole of the French troops, amounting to near 1400 men, have surrendered, and are now on their march to Haverfordwest."

And so ends the invasion of England.

On 14th February, Admiral Sir John Jervis, with fifteen sail of the line, attacked the Spanish Fleet of twenty-seven sail of the line, off Cape St. Vincent, captured four large vessels, and dispersed the fleet. The news reached England on 3rd March, when London was brilliantly illuminated.

The Whigs moved heaven and earth in order to oust Pitt and his Government, but without success. On March 3rd the inhabitants of Westminster met in Palace Yard, and resolved to petition the King to dismiss his Ministry. In the City, too (the bones of whose patres conscripti would shake with indignation, could they but know of the present wave of Conservatism, which has flowed over this Corporation), loud, and many, were the calls to the same purport. In vain were Common Halls convened, in vain did the Remembrancer, and the Sheriffs, wait upon his Majesty with petitions; he would have none of them, but would be glad to see them at a Levée; and so Pitt kept in, notwithstanding the growls all round.

France was making peace with its enemies, one by one, and it could easily be foreseen that, very shortly, England would have to bear all the brunt of the war; therefore, on the 1st June, a note from Lord Grenville was presented to M. de la Croix, the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, in which was expressed the wish of the English Government to negotiate preliminaries of peace. Of course there was some diplomatic fence; but, finally, it was settled that Lord Malmesbury should again go as Plenipotentiary. He arrived at Lisle on 6th July, but the demands of the French were outrageous, and, after, in vain, combating their absurd requirements, he demanded his passports, and left Lisle on 18th September.

On 11th October, Admiral Duncan attacked the Dutch fleet off Camperdown, and, after a terrible action, defeated it, capturing eleven vessels, and sinking one.

About the last event of national interest, occurring in this year, is the formation of the French "Army of England," which was destined for our invasion, and which was to be under the command of General Buonaparte, which is about the first time our great enemy came into active collision with us.

At the commencement of 1798, the financial pressure on the nation, caused by the war, was very great. A triple assessed tax, a loan of £15,000,000, additional duties on salt, tea, dogs, horses and carriages, and a tax on armorial bearings, came home to every one. Yet, English patriotism was sound to the core, and the people helped the Government nobly, by means of voluntary contributions. A few examples will show how every class vied with each other in subscribing. They are taken from the Times.

February 7th.—"Yesterday the Marquis of Buckingham subscribed at the Bank, the profits of one year's income from his Tellership of the Exchequer. On Monday the Duke of Marlborough subscribed £5000 at the Bank. The city of Oxford has subscribed £500 as a voluntary donation, to be continued for three years, if the war lasts so long."

February 8th.—"The subscriptions yesterday at the Bank amounted to upwards of £30,000. Among the subscribers were—the Earl of Carlisle £4000, and the Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry £1000. But the largest individual subscriptions are expected from Manchester, from whence letters were yesterday received, stating that three mercantile houses in that opulent town had subscribed Thirty-five Thousand Pounds, and that Mr. Peele's house gave £20,000."

On the 9th February a meeting, on this subject, was held at the Royal Exchange, the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and most prominent citizens being present—and the result is thus stated in the Times, 10th February:—"As soon as the meeting was dissolved, four separate books were opened on the Hustings; and at the close of the day, the exact sum subscribed in cash, was Forty-six Thousand, Five Hundred, and Thirty-four Pounds, Three Shillings and sixpence, which, if calculated for the time the books were opened, is at the rate of £400 a minute. The number of subscribers was 218, and the subscriptions from one guinea to £3000, which last sum was the donation of Boyd, Benfield, & Co., with the promise of continuing it annually during the war."

14th February.—"The City of London yesterday subscribed £10,000 towards the contributions to the Bank. Yesterday the sum of £18,900 was subscribed by the merchants on the Royal Exchange."

It would be wearisome to detail all the subscriptions, but yet two or three more may be recorded. The Bank of England gave £200,000, and the King and Queen £20,000, and £5000 respectively, out of their private purses; and on 20th September the amount of the voluntary contributions then subscribed, was £1,514,993, 12s. 9d.

Ireland, this year, was more than disaffected: it was in open rebellion, and, on 30th March, a proclamation was issued by the Lord-Lieutenant, for suppressing such rebellion. That it was a most serious one, is evidenced by a paper in Lord Edward Fitzgerald's handwriting, that, at a meeting held 26th February 1798, a return was made that there were in Ulster, Leinster, and Munster, 269,896 armed men, and that their treasurer had £1485, 4s. 9d. in hand. That this was not altogether an exaggeration, is shewn by the fact that, in the year 1797, there were seized by the Government, in the provinces of Leinster, and Ulster, alone, 49,109 guns, 1756 bayonets, 4463 pistols, 4183 swords, 248 blunder-busses, 119 musket-barrels, 106 sword-blades, 22 pieces of ordnance, and 70,630 pikes, besides other weapons voluntarily surrendered. In the same year, 14,973 pikes were surrendered in the county of Kildare alone, and in Dublin, on 11th May 1798, 5 pieces of cannon, and 500 pike handles, were seized.

On 24th May, seeing that war was being openly waged against the Government, the Lord-Lieutenant issued a proclamation warning the people that they were put under martial law, and, on the morrow, the rebels were defeated, with much loss, near Carlow, and, after the engagement, about 200 of them were hanged, or shot. Then the rebels gained a slight advantage, especially at Enniscorthy, where they compelled the garrison to retreat. This, and a few other small successes, were amply avenged by Lord Lake, on 21st June, at Vinegar Hill, a position which the Irish had held since the 28th May. Their rout was complete, and their slaughter must have been immense, for no quarter was given by the Royal troops. Then came the trials of the ringleaders, and the gibbet was in constant requisition.

And, now, the French must needs have a finger in this pie, although their attempt at invasion was simply ludicrous. The following is the first official news, and it is a letter from the Duke of Portland to the Lord Mayor:—"27th August. I think it right to inform your Lordship, that, by official accounts received this morning from the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, it appears that three French frigates, unaccompanied by any transports, appeared in the Bay of Killala, on the evening of the 22nd instant, and landed about 700 men, who immediately took possession of the town of Killala, and made a small party of the Prince of Wales' Fencible Regiment, consisting of an officer and 20 men, and some yeomen, prisoners; a large force is collecting from different quarters, and every necessary preparation making for attacking the enemy."

This expedition, consisting of 1030 privates and 70 officers under General Humbert, had sailed from Rochelle, with the intention of rendering material help to the Irish rebels—and, after the capture of Killala, they marched on Castlebar, where was a force of from 2000 to 3000 regulars, under Lord Lake. The English artillery, however, expended their ammunition too soon; a fact the French did not lose sight of, but, charging, put the English force to flight, and they then occupied Castlebar. But here was the end of their success—General Lake and Lord Cornwallis surrounded them, and the French had to surrender, but no quarter was given to the Irish. The number of French troops, on their surrender, was 96 officers, and 748 non-commissioned officers and privates, the rest having been lost since their landing at Killala. This force was intended to be the vanguard of a larger expedition, which was prevented joining, by want of funds.

Another little expedition set sail from France, to help General Humbert, consisting of one ship of the line, eight frigates, a schooner, and a brig. It was met by Sir John Borlase Warren, who was cruising, with seven sail of the line, off Lough Swilly. They engaged, and, after an action of three hours and forty minutes' duration, the French three-decker, and three of the frigates, hauled down their colours, and of the five frigates that then escaped, three were subsequently captured.

The rebellion in Ireland was now virtually at an end, the rebels were dispersed, and their leaders accounted for. Still, this result was not arrived at without a fearful expenditure of treasure and life; it being estimated that not less than 30,000 lives had been sacrificed. £1,000,000 was voted by Parliament, as compensation for injury done to the Loyalists in Ireland, and that sum was reckoned as only being a third of their actual losses.

On the 1st August of this year was fought the battle of the Nile; the news of which, however, did not reach the Admiralty until the 2nd October, and great were the rejoicings, and illuminations, on the 3rd. With this welcome news, the chronicle of the year may well end.

As far as we can judge, from the lights of history which are left to us, nothing was going particularly wrong with the national arms, or the national prosperity, considering we were at war, but the powers, that were, thought things might possibly go better, if they had a General Fast, so, on the 1st February, 1799, a proclamation was issued:—

"George R.—We, taking into Our most serious consideration the just and necessary War, in which We are engaged, for the Maintenance of the Independence of Our Crown, for the Defence and Protection of the Commerce, and of the Rights and Liberties, Civil and Religious, of Our Subjects, and putting Our trust in Almighty God, that He will graciously bless Our Arms, both by Sea and Land, have resolved, and do, by and with the Advice of Our Privy Council, hereby command that a Publick Fast and Humiliation be observed throughout that part of Our Kingdom of Great Britain called England, Our Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick upon Tweed, on Wednesday, the Twenty-seventh Day of this instant February; that so both We and Our People may humble Ourselves before Almighty God, in order to obtain Pardon of Our Sins; and may, in the most devout and solemn Manner, send up Our Prayers and Supplications to the Divine Majesty, for averting those Heavy Judgments which Our manifold Sins and Provocations have most justly deserved; and imploring His Blessing and Assistance on Our Arms, and for restoring and perpetuating Peace, Safety and Prosperity, to Us and Our Kingdoms," &c. &c. There were special forms of prayer for morning, communion, and evening services.

In January, and February, there was much agitation as to the union with Ireland, to which the Irish Parliament, by small majorities, was agreeable; but it was reserved till 1st January, 1801, to become an accomplished fact.

After besieging St. Jean d'Acre for sixty days, in vain, Napoleon determined to raise the siege, and, on the 20th May, his army began its return march to Egypt. He threw his heavy artillery into the sea, not being able to transport it across the desert, and the English had previously captured his battering train. It need scarcely be said that there was great rejoicing in England.

Volunteers had sprung up as if by magic, and it was felt that it would do good, if they received some direct recognition from royalty, and were reviewed by the King. Accordingly, the time was fixed for the 4th of June, and the place, Hyde Park. I know I shall be pardoned if I give a list of the corps who were then reviewed, as so many of the modern Volunteers must be ignorant that their progenitors were present on this occasion.

In all, there were 8193 effective men, and the Review was very successful, the only exception that was taken to it being, that some of the newly-embodied Corps did not fire with perfect regularity. Every Londoner is familiar with the statue in Pall Mall, of George III. on horseback, doffing his cocked hat. Well, that was how he appeared at this Review, which happened on his birthday. On the 21st, he, and all the young Princes, inspected some 12,200 men, in a very curious fashion. The Corps were not brigaded, as in Hyde Park, but were inspected in their different districts. The Royal party started at a quarter before 9 A.M., returned to Buckingham House at 6 P.M., and then set off for Windsor, a good day's work! especially as it all, with the exception of the journey to Windsor, had to be done on horseback. The King, and party, were to have gone to Leman Street, Whitechapel, to inspect the Shoreditch, Whitechapel, and Mile End Volunteers, but he could not get so far, so turned up Houndsditch, to Finsbury. The only refreshment, and rest, the Royal party seem to have had, was breakfast with the Lord Chancellor, at his house in Upper Guildford Street, where they remained an hour and a-half.

The history of the remainder of the year is centred in Napoleon Buonaparte. On 23rd of August, he suddenly left Egypt, affairs in France requiring his presence there, if he would look after his own interests. Had he not done so, it is probable that the world would never have heard so much of him; as it was, he was elected the First Consul of the three,—Cambacérès, and Le Brun, being his coadjutors.

On the 25th December of this year, Napoleon committed a solecism in diplomatic etiquette, by writing an autograph letter direct to George III., pointing out how each nation was wasting its strength and resources, and suggesting the possibility, and desirability, of peace. Lord Grenville replied to this letter, through Talleyrand, much to Napoleon's disgust, and expressed his regret that the English Government did not yet see its way to enter into negotiations for a peace, which would not, in all probability, be a lasting one.

This year will close with a report of the number of French prisoners in England, taken December 31, when they were delivered over to our Transport Board, the Consular Government refusing to provide for them any longer.

At Plymouth7,477
" Portsmouth10,128
" Liverpool2,298
" Stapleton693
" Chatham1,754
" Yarmouth50
" Edinburgh208
" Norman Cross3,038
———
Total25,646

MEN'S DRESS.

The latter part of the last century was noticeable for the great, and grave, mutations which took place in masculine attire, and, most particularly, during the times here treated of. Previously, the wig, and dress (quaker cut) coat, had long had a successful run, but people visited the Continent more, especially France, and brought back French fashions, which at this time were particularly fantastic. The Prince of Wales, too, delighted in fine dress, and was "arbiter elegantiarum" of his sex. At every levée, and public appearance, his dress was always expatiated on, and the "gilded youth" of the period, dressed up to him, and copied his manner, even to his bow.

We, in our days, cannot afford to jeer at the accompanying illustration, when we see, in the advertisement sheets of some of our periodicals, men's stays advertised, and even vividly depicted; and, therefore, we must not throw the first stone of laughter at the fashions of 1788.

Here we see the transition stage, the modification of the old courtly wig, with its accompanying powder, and black silk bag for the queue, now only to be seen pinned on to the coat collars of court officials, and extremely magnificent major domos, &c., and, also, we see the old court dress coat has now taken unto itself a collar, of that exaggerated description which was so much in vogue during the next twenty years. Frilled shirts, and ruffles, still existed, and the curious custom of wearing two watches was the fashion. Here, again, history has somewhat repeated itself in our modern double watch-chain, except that now only one watch is worn, the other side guarding a sovereign purse.

Brighthelmstone or Brighton—beloved of George the Magnificent, whether as Prince, Regent, or King—was the place where the fashionable youth congregated, and therefore we may take the following extract from the Morning Post (the doyen of the Daily Press) of 18th September, 1788:—

"Brighton Dress.

"The fashionable bathing dress, at Brighton, is chiefly a pair of buff trousers, with a slight jacket.

"This is adopted by all the young men of the place, and a number of idle, sauntering land lubbers meet the eye every morning on the Steyne, that one cannot help wishing for a sturdy pressgang to give them useful employment, or at least keep them out of mischief.

"After breakfast they are accoutred for the sports of the field.

"The sporting dress is a brown jacket, with a multiplicity of pockets, on each side, that reaches from the bottom to the top, so that, from this appearance, it is somewhat difficult to determine which the fashionable tribe most resemble—a set of grooms, or a company of smugglers.

"When the dinner hour arrives, after these sprightly and heroic gentlemen have 'slain their thousands, and ten thousands,' according to their own account, in the field, with as little winking and blinking as Major Sturgeon himself, they then attire themselves in order to enjoy the pleasures of the table, and, however deranged they may afterwards be by convivial excess, they march or stagger away to the Rooms, as circumstances may determine, and entertain the Ladies with elegant and decent gallantry."

The Prince's Bow "Monstrous like the Prince! The very bow, demme!"

Tight Lacing.—1788. "These tight Stays will be the death of me!"

About this time flourished that curious being, the "Macaroni," but most of his portraits are evidently such gross caricatures, that I have not cared to reproduce them. I have been compelled to draw upon the satirical prints of the period, as a future historian would take the pictures from Punch, if he wanted to hit the passing folly of the day; but we must not forget that the satirical prints of the last century, did not their spiriting so gently as our modern caricaturists, but exaggerated in every way, in facial expression, and in costume.

The following brace of Macaronis is taken from a print of the "Mock Duel, or a trip to Flanders," 26th May, 1789: and, although the costume is scrupulously correct, yet one can hardly help thinking that the designer of the wig, which was typical of the genus, has somewhat "drawn upon his imagination for his facts." The name Macaroni was applied, in derision, to those youths who had made the Grand Tour, and were fond, on their return, of shewing off their superior graces, and extolling the polished manners, and superior civilization, of the countries they had visited. In those days you were nothing unless classical. Modern languages were rarely taught, Science was all but unknown, Latin and Greek were the chief branches of education, and rich men were keen collectors of everything classical, marble statues and busts, bronzes, and coins—so Italy was naturally the bourne of these travelled youths, and John Bull, who then was, in the aggregate, a very stay-at-home animal, derided them, when they came back, with the epithet Macaroni, an elegant title derived from the popular Italian dish.

The home-keeping youths imitated their brethren as well as they could, but it was at a very humble distance, and their dress, though partially modelled on that of their confrères, was much exaggerated, and did not display such simplicity or good taste.—John Bull had a name ready for him; a home-manufactured Macaroni was "a Jessamy."

These Jessamies were, like the modern Mashers, effeminate, and comparatively harmless beings—entirely taken up with the contemplation of their external appearance, and the attempted subjugation of the other sex.

See the following quotation from the Morning Post 4th July 1789:—"There is not a man in the nation, no not even Lord Effingham, who bestows so much time and attention in rendering the external appearance of his head, elegant in the extreme, than the Earl of Scarborough. It is said that his Lordship keeps six French frizeurs, who have nothing else to do than dress his hair. Lord Effingham keeps only Five!!!"

The Jessamies, however, were only one class among the youth of the time, and I fear, by far the smallest. The majority were what we now should term "fast." Animal spirits in young men must have vent somehow.

There were then no rowing, cycles, or other means of getting rid of the superfluous energy they possessed. Men's social habits were not at all of a "blue riband" nature, and, after dinner, the bottle circulated freely. So those who, like Charles Reade's description of modern athletic young men, knew "only one language, and lived principally in the open air," naturally became either "A choice Spirit," "A Buck," or "A Blood," descendants of the "Hectors," "Muns," "Titiretus," "Scourers," and "Mohocks"—men that hustled honest folk, sang roaring, maudlin, filthy songs—men from whom no woman was safe; who, armed with bludgeons, and going in company in large numbers, boxed the watch, set the constables at defiance, and made night hideous with their brawls and shouting.

Macaronis (From the Mock Duel, 1789.)

Far be it from me to say that the whole youth of this age could be classed either in one, or other, of these two categories; there were good young men who probably "always came home to their tea," well dressed, well read, well mannered—such as "A Smart."

As a rule, even now-a-days, a man when in the country, very seldom, or never, carries an umbrella: to a Londoner it is part of his costume. In Anne's reign the use of the umbrella was strictly set apart for the softer sex, and then only for those whose avocations compelled them to be out, whatever the weather. As Gay says in his "Trivia"—

"The tuck'd-up sempstress walks with hasty strides,
While streams run down her oil'd umbrella's sides."

But for men, fie! he must be an effeminate coxcomb who would carry one. Hear what fun was made of him (Female Tatler, December 12):—"The Young Gentleman belonging to the Custom House, that for fear of rain borrowed the umbrella at Will's Coffee House in Cornhill of the Mistress, is hereby advertised that to be dry from head to foot on the like occasion, he shall be welcome to the Maid's Pattens."

One John Macdonald, a footman, who wrote his own biography, helps us to fix a date when the use of them, by men, was so rare as to make the user singular. He says that he had "a fine silk umbrella, which he brought from Spain; but he could not, with any comfort to himself, use it, the people calling out 'Frenchman! why don't you get a coach?'" However, he "persisted for three months, till they took no further notice of this novelty. Foreigners began to use theirs, and then the English." Macdonald wrote in 1778. Jonas Hanway, the philanthropist, who had travelled much in Persia and the East, is said to have been the first Englishman who habitually carried an umbrella whilst walking in the street. He died in 1786.

That it was not in general use in the year 1790, is evidenced by the somewhat sneering title of a "Rain Beau," or one that was afraid of a drop of rain. This illustration shews several modifications of fashion besides the use of the umbrella. The cocked hat had gone out—and the galling yoke of the "chimney pot" was being inaugurated. As yet it was limp, of felt, but there is the hideous head covering that has martyrised at least three generations.

Then we cannot but notice that the hair has lost all trace of the wig—and is allowed to be worn "au naturel." A huge cravat swathes the throat, the coat is cut shorter, and more fly-away than hitherto, that knee breeches are disappearing, and pantaloons coming in, to be in their turn superseded by the modern trouser. Lastly, the term Macaroni, or Jessamy, is replaced by Beau—which will soon have to give way to Dandy.

Jimmy Lincum Feadle shows us the Beau of 1791. Here the fashion is evidently imported from France—loud coloured striped coat—pantaloons, boots and all. The French Revolution was hastening on, rapidly, to its culmination, and, the younger Whigs, before the time came when they were utterly disgusted by the brutal excesses of the French, copied the dress of the Revolutionary party.

A Jessamy.—1790.

A Choice Spirit. A Buck.

The accompanying illustration will show how far they succeeded. There is an elaborately studied negligence about the coat, and a height about the hat, which could never be of native production, whilst the bludgeon must have belonged to some "Merveilleux," (the class whom Bonaparte so cordially detested), and have been imported direct from Paris. The supercilious look, and the mincing gait, are warranted truly Parisian, and I have very little doubt but that Isaac Cruikshank sketched him from the life.

The term "a Crop," is indicative of Revolutionary and Republican sympathies. Lucius Junius Brutus, and all the ancient Romans, wore their hair cut short—and so we must needs copy them, and have a revolution in hair cutting, just to show the outer world what our thoughts are on the present position of political parties. The elaborate hair of the Macaroni or the Jessamy, or even the negligent, but natural chevelure of the Beau, would not suit Republican simplicity, and, as in our own Commonwealth, the men of the Republic cropped their heads, as a testimony against their political opponents, so did they in 1791. The Duke of Bedford, especially, attracted public attention, by having his hair cut short, and many are the allusions to him, with respect to it, in the public prints.

But with 1792 came another change of fashion, of which we get two views, back and front, and as they are by a lady (Miss Keate), they are probably not caricatured.

Here we see a return to a more natural style of dress, the colours of which, in "Neck or Nothing," are well chosen, and very becoming. Of course the awful cravat is of white cambric or muslin, and he wears a pink underwaistcoat, white over-waistcoat, and knee-breeches, a mulberry-coloured coat, and blue and white stockings; hair powdered.

"A back view of the cape" is not so felicitous as regards colour, being somewhat "prononcé." The coat is green, breeches yellow, necktie yellow, stockings grey, powdered hair, and a liberal supply of powder on the back of the coat.

In order to keep this hair powder on the hair, it was necessary to saturate it with some kind of grease, even if only a tallow dip, or rushlight, were used; but an advertisement in the Times, of 7th February 1793, gives us some notion as to the antiquity of Bears' Grease, which must have been undoubtedly genuine, if the last paragraph can be taken as a fact:—

"JUST KILLED, an extraordinary fine Fat Russian Bear, at Ross's Ornamental Hair and Perfumery Warehouse, No. 119 Bishopsgate Street (late Vickery's), three doors from the London Tavern.

"The excellent virtue which the fat of Bears possesses, has been experienced by thousands of both sexes, and of all Ages, in this Metropolis. To those who have used the real Bears' Grease, it is evident no Grease whatever beside, retains its moisture so long upon the head, it being the only thing possible to make the Hair grow thick and long, recover it after illness, prevent it falling off, or turning grey, during life: being the most efficacious remedy for making the Hair grow on Horses' knees when broken or chafed.

"It is sold at 1s. per ounce, or 16s. the pound, to be seen cut off the Animal in the presence of the purchaser."

Apropos of "cropping," take the following skit from the Times, January 21, 1794:—

"Sir Robert Mackworth is at Bath, and seems to be no otherways distinguished than by the particularity of his equipage: he drives four horses of different colours in his phaeton, which has four wheels painted to correspond with the colours of the horses: in the midst of his badge of distinction, the bloody hand, is the figure of 4, which he explains in this way, four in hand. The motto 'This is the Tippy.' If anything can add to the folly of the whole it is that he intends to crop four opposite ears of his horses, to make room for four monstrous roses, of different colours, to match."

A Smart.—1790.

A Rain-beau.

The Court dresses which the Nobility and Gentry then wore, were magnificent, and the following are only a few, taken as an example, from the Times, June 4, 1794:—

"KING'S BIRTHDAY.

"Yesterday, being the anniversary of the King's birthday, when His Majesty entered into the 57th year of his age, a Drawing-Room was held in the afternoon, and, at night, a Ball at St. James'. The Gentlemen's dresses were in general embroidered silks and silk cloths: but one half were dressed in Regimentals.

"His Majesty, as usual on his own Birthday, was in a plain suit of clothes. The best dressed Gentlemen whom we saw at Court, and indeed their dresses were very generally noticed for their taste and splendour, were—

"Mr. Skeffington.

"A brown spotted silk coat and breeches, with a white silk waistcoat richly embroidered with silver, stones, and shades of silk: the design was large baskets of silver and stones, filled with bouquets of roses, jonquilles, &c., the ensemble producing a beautiful and splendid effect.

"The Hon. Thomas Anson.

"A striped silk coat and breeches, with a white silk waistcoat, richly embroidered with white silk and dentelle: the waistcoat embroidered to match the coat.

"The Hon. Mr. Paget.

"A brown and blue striped silk coat and breeches, with a white silk waistcoat, the suit elegantly embroidered with silver, stones, and bouquets of flowers.

"Duke of Queensberry.

"A striped, and spotted silk coat, and breeches, with diamond buttons, with a white silk waistcoat embroidered with silver, stones, and silk.

"Marquis of Lorn.

"A blue and brown striped silk cloth coat, and breeches, with a white silk waistcoat, embroidered with dentelle, and shades of silk.

"Lord Willoughby de Broke.

"A dark olive spotted silk coat, and breeches, with a white silk waistcoat, the suit richly embroidered in silver, coloured stones, and shades of silk."

Anent Hair Powder, we have the following, which may be a libel:—

"As a Frenchman cannot exist without a powdered head, and meal being so dear in France, the Beaux are under the necessity of wearing powdered whiting. Rouge is plenty enough, that article not being put in requisition: the ladies therefore, as usual, wear their faces under red masks. They go to bed as blooming as Sol, when he retires to the Lap of Thetis: and rise as pale as Cynthia, in her nocturnal visits to the earth."—(Times, Nov. 29, 1794.)

"Mother of Pearl buttons are likely to take the lead in the fashionable world, as they are both beautiful and ornamental, as well as durable and economical: on the contrary, those made of steel, and other metals, soon rust, and want frequent cleaning."—(Times, Dec. 16, 1794.)

Jimmy Lincum Feadle—1791.

A Scaramouch.

By the 35 Geo. III., c. 49—a Duty was laid on Hair powder—and "the Crops," besides their (as we should term it) Radical tendencies, were extra unpopular among the Tories, because they evaded the Hair Powder duty, by wearing none:—

"A numerous club has been formed in Lambeth, called the Crop Club, every member of which, on his entrance, is obliged to have his head docked as close as the Duke of Bridgewater's old bay coach-horses. This assemblage is instituted for the purpose of opposing, or rather evading, the tax on powdered heads."—(Times, April 14, 1795.)

"The following Noblemen and Gentlemen were of the party with the Duke of Bedford at Woburn Abbey, when a general cropping, and combing out of hair powder took place: Lord W. Russell, Lord Villiers, Lord Paget, &c., &c. They entered into an engagement to forfeit a sum of money if any of them wore their hair tied, or powdered, within a certain period. Many Noblemen and Gentlemen in the county of Bedford have since followed the example: it has become general with the Gentry in Hampshire, and the Ladies have left off wearing powder."—(Times, Sept. 25, 1795.)

"The Bedford Crops.—Something has at last fallen from this party to entertain the Public. We hope they will find their heads cooler for this salutary operation. Dr. Willis[3] is of opinion, that more than one of them ought to have been shaved. If the Shavees think by publishing their names they will gain proselytes, till their absurdity is lost in the crowd, they are mistaken. Can it be supposed that a few drunken persons in a frolic, will be followed by the sober part of the people of England?

"The new Crop is called the Bedford Level.

"An Irish Member once proposed in the House of Commons of that Country, to encourage the breed of Crops. We believe no such proposition is likely to be renewed upon the present occasion."—(Times, Sept. 29, 1795.)

"The price of hair is considerably fallen. The wig-makers declare people are so afraid of having anything from the crops, that they can't sell a single peruke."—(Times, Nov. 23, 1795.)

We get a curious insight into the manners of the young men of that day, in the following cutting from the Times, Dec. 14, 1795:—

"If the young men of the present day have not much wit in their heads, they have it at least in their hats. Amongst the pleasantries we have seen in this way, are the following: 'Not yours.'—'Hands off'—'No vermin'—and 'Rip this as you would a hot potato'—and other charming sallies of refined and elegant vivacity. But the wittiest linings are the political ones: Upon a table, the other day we observed one perfectly clean, in which was written 'Avaunt, Guinea Pig!' and on the lining, in a very powdery hat, that lay in a window in the same room, were inscribed the two following monosyllables, 'Off Crop.'"

"A Crop, who had begun to let his hair grow, was accused of aristocracy, and had his head shaved in the form of a horse-shoe at Wooburn, by a verdict of his Peers."—(Times, Dec. 30, 1795.)

Clothes were dear in those days, as the following Tailor's bill shows—because we must reckon the value of money then at more than double what it is now:—

"Address to the Public.—Those Gentlemen who are inclined to a solicitude to their interests, the undermentioned prices will be found to be highly advantageous:—

"G. Brown & Co., Taylors, No. 17 Sun St., Bishopsgate.

A suit of the best Superfine Cloth£440
A Coat and Waistcoat ditto380
A Coatditto2126
A suit of the best Second Cloth3100
A Coatditto1180
An Elastic Cloth Coat220
A Florentine, or Satin Waistcoat and Breeches of the best330
A pair of Breeches ditto1180
A Waistcoatditto153
A Cassimere Waistcoat and Breeches1160
A pair of Breeches ditto110
All sorts of Manchester Cotton Breeches according to their respective sorts and qualities, from 16s. to140
A superfine Cloth Surtout Coat300
A ditto of Second or Elastic Cloth220
A ditto of Bath Beaver, from 24s. to1116
A frock suit of Livery, all Cloth330
A ditto, with Shag Breeches3120
A Livery Surtout of Drab Cloth200
A Coach-Box Coatditto330
A Cotton Thicksett Frock and Waistcoat220
A Pillow Fustianditto1116
A Duffil Jacket and Waistcoat ditto1100

"The above Prices are calculated for middle-sized men only, and the difference in all colours in grain, Blues and Greys, gilt or extra buttons, Waistcoat sleeves, &c., must be paid for extra."—(Times, April 16, 1795.)

Aping the Frenchman

Among the eccentricities of Costume, was a Coat devised by the then Earl Spencer. He made a bet that he would cut off the tails of the coat which he then wore, and appear in public in a jacket, which, within a week, should be the fashion. He did so, and won his bet. Gillray caricatured the Earl, in a picture 17th May, 1792. Earl Spencer wears (in the picture) a blue spencer red coat with brass buttons, yellow trousers, and blue and white stockings. The "Threadpaper" has a green coat and grey stockings. Both have plenty of powder on the backs of their coats.

The fashion is alluded to in a paragraph in the Times of 16th May 1795, and the "livery" therein alluded to is a covert satire on the "Windsor Uniform," which has been the semi-court dress, from George III.'s time to our own. It is said to have been taken from the uniform of a Berkshire Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, of which the King was Colonel:—

"The general fashion of wearing Spencers, reminds us of a wager laid by Lord March, who betted several years ago a considerable sum with some of his friends, that he would be able to introduce to general imitation, the most humiliating fashion he could think of. Accordingly he appeared several days successively about the Royal Exchange, dressed like a livery servant. The livery consisted of a blue coat, with crimson collar and cuffs; and he gained the wager."—(Times, May 16, 1795.)

The accompanying illustration by W. Hanlon (11th July 1795) is, of course, a caricature, but it is intended to show the eccentricities of dress, in which the "Crops" indulged.

THE BOND STREET LOUNGE.

AN IMPROMPTU.

Modo vir, modo fœmina.—Virgil.
(Times, January 7th, 1796.)

When men in Petty-Coats appear,
No wonder Wives the breeches wear:
Assuming manners quite robust,
Game, swear, drive, box, or take a thrust.
But happier far would be the case,
Were each to keep their proper place:
The fair ones wear the female dress,
And men adorn their persons less;
For such the fashion of the day,
They make it difficult to say,
Whether the pretty things we meet,
Parading through their fav'rite street,
A Male or Female we may call,
Their shapes are so equivocal. V.

London Coffee-House,
January 7th, 1796.

Neck or Nothing; A Back View of the Cape—1792.

A Spencer and a Thread Paper.—1792.

"The high kick of fashion is to wear only one spur, like a postillion, and to have an assortment of long whips tied up behind the curricle, in case of wearing them all out in Bond St., during a ride in the morning."—(Times, August 3, 1796.)

We need not go very far, any day in Winter, to see the young men of our day, doing the same thing, and looking extremely "Norse"—they never telling of the Chamois leather vests they wear.

"One of the latest roads to fame that any of our young men of ton have discovered, is to wrap their bodies carefully in flannel under the shirt, and to keep the coat and waistcoat quite open, to show the strength of their constitution, and set the snow at defiance."—(Times, January 2, 1797.)

"Margate is already beginning to be crowded, as usual, with all sorts, and for all purposes, some to undo, and some to be undone; wives to leave their husbands, and misses to procure theirs. Some tradesmen gone down to get, and others to get rid of their money: old maids to display tresses not their own, and the young men to show off Brutus heads, when the grand point is, whether their's or their type's in Ross's shop window have the most brains: perhaps there cannot be situations more calculated to display what Shenstone terms 'The various ways of dressing a calf's head.'"—(Times, August 5, 1799.)

"Milan, July 15th.—In order to a due execration of the licentious dresses which our Government has forbidden, the executioner of this place, with his wife, appeared in the public walk. He was elegantly dressed, with his head à la Brutus, a large cravat which, concealing the chin, reached to the mouth: long pantaloons, hanging loose: and shoes, the points of which were a finger's length. His wife was quite à la guillotine—naked shoulders, neck and arms."—(Times, August 5, 1799.)

"Our emaciated beaux in their quilted lappelles and stuffed sleeves are like a dry walnut in a great shell."—(Times, August 20, 1799.)

This paragraph is easily explained by a reference to the two accompanying engravings.

These peculiar garments were called "Jean Debry," after the French statesman of that name, who was born in 1760, died 1834. He was a somewhat prominent figure in the French Revolution, and, as his name was at this time much in men's mouths, he was made the peg on which to hang a coat.—"A French Taylor fitting John Bull with a Jean de Bry," is by Gillray, 18th November 1799, and, although a gross Caricature, fairly represents the garment. The tailor is in ecstasy with the fit. "Aha! dere my friend, I fit you to de life! dere is Liberté! no tight Aristocrat Sleeves, to keep from you vat you like! a ha! begar, dere, he only want von leetle National Cockade to make look quite a la mode de Paris!"

John Bull surveys himself in the looking-glass, grumbling at his change of costume. "Liberty! quotha! why, zounds, I can't move my arms at all! for all it looks woundy big! Oh! damn your French Alamodes, they give a man the same Liberty as if he was in the Stocks! give me my old Coat again, say I, if it is a little out of Elbows!"

"The items of a fashionable Taylor's bill are not a little curious at present:—Ditto, to pasteboard for your back; ditto, to buckram for your cape; ditto, for wool for your shoulders, and cotton for your chest. Shakespeare talks of Nature's Journeymen who make men indifferently, but our Journeymen Taylors make their customers of any form and dimensions they think proper."—(Times, Sept. 6, 1799.)

"A Jean Debry" (Mr. Skeffington.)

French Tailor fitting John Bull with a "Jean de Bry"

Modern Costume.

"The Long-toed Shoe which now figures in Bond Street was regulated by an Act of Parliament so long ago as the reign of Edward III. No person under the rank of a Knight then had a right to advance his toe more than four inches beyond the natural extremity.... If ever, in some centuries to come, the little hat, stuffed coat, and long-toed shoe of a modern fine Gentleman should be discovered in some Museum of Antiquities, or to survive upon the Stage, they would no doubt give birth to many learned doubts and extraordinary speculations. By the size of a pair of modern Leather Breeches, it will naturally be inferred that the present race of men were of a Colossal form. When we suppose in the same collection a pair of our Hussar Boots to have escaped the ravage of time, will not our descendants enquire by what descending scale of rapid decay and diminution mankind is hastening into the pigmy state, or the dwarf? Our Coats too, in which the Cotton, the Wool, the Tow, and all the et cetera of quilting, which now form one half of our bulk, will then only seem the remains of the art of the virtuoso: and the curious stuffing he has devised to represent the gigantic proportions of the wearer. It ought, however, to be known, for the honour of this commercial nation, that it is to the spirit of justice and liberality of our tradesmen, that this extraordinary augmentation of our bulk is to be attributed. Having doubled the price of every article upon us, they have very fairly given us double measure, both in our Coats, Boots, and Breeches. The Hatter, I am sorry to say, is not entitled to the same commendation, for he has of late years perpetually diminished and circumscribed the little brim he allows us, in the exact proportion that he has advanced the price of it, so that the scarcity of felt is like that of bread, the less you have, the more you are to pay for it. I paid a guinea and a quarter for the last I bought, and I was ingenuously told that by the time a hat cost two guineas, it would exactly be the size and the weight of one. All these tradesmen, in a fairer sense than the hatters, make the most of their customers: but he to whom the nobler part of man, the head, is committed, diminishes in the most scandalous manner the protection it requires...."—(Times, Sept. 20, 1799.)

Brobdignag.

WOMEN'S DRESS.

The earliest Lady's fashion book I can find in the British Museum, is "The Lady's Monthly Museum," &c. "By a Society of Ladies,"—and it was published in 1799—or just the last year of which this book takes cognizance. But, luckily, the satirical prints supply the want, in a great measure, although they are somewhat exaggerated. From them we are able to see pictorially what might be hard to describe, and may be perfectly certain that they represent "the very last thing out" at their date of Publication. If, then, we have very little written about female attire, in 1788, and the next year, or two, we must be content with viewing the veræ effigies of the belles of that time.

Brighton, of course, was the fashionable watering-place, for there were the life and gaiety of the young Court, in contradistinction to the humdrum existence led by the King, Queen, and younger branches of the Royal Family, at Weymouth. So it will be interesting to know their habits at this famous sea-side resort. The Morning Post, 18th September 1788, has the following:—

"The Ladies have no particular dress for the morning, but huddle away to the bathing place, in close caps, and gipsey bonnets, so that they look like a set of wandering fortune-tellers, who have just had the opportunity of pillaging the contents of a frippery warehouse, with which they had bedecked themselves in haste.

"It is to be remarked that the ladies do not atone for the negligence of the morning, by neatness, and elegance, during the rest of the day, but shuffle on something by dinner time, covering themselves with an enormous nondescript bonnet, which, to the confusion of all order, they afterwards think a proper garb for the Assembly."

In doors, the dresses were not so outré, as we see by the two illustrations taken from "The School for Scandal," 1st August 1788.

That ladies copied the eccentricities of male attire, and made them their own, we have proof in this cutting from the Morning Post, 15th January 1789:—

"Among other fashions lately introduced from Paris is the brace of gold watch chains now sported by our fashionable females. Some economical husbands may wish their wives were less imitative."

The portrait of the Duchess of York (the Princess Frederique, Charlotte, Ulrique, Catherine, of Prussia, married to the Duke, November 1791), shews us the indoor dress of a lady of rank in 1792. She had a remarkably small foot, and many were the delineations of her shoes—actual size, &c.

Of all curious freaks of fashion the following is the most incomprehensible, yet it doubtless obtained:—

"The fashion of dressing, at present, is to appear prominent, and the stays are made accordingly. This is holding out a wish to be thought in a thriving way, even without the authority of the Arches Court of Canterbury—something in the French way—a philosophical desire to be conspicuously great with MISCHIEF, without any regard to law or reason. The idea was at first sent forward by a few dropsical Ladies."—(Times, March 25, 1793.)

"The Wapping Land-ladies are all at the very pinnacle of the fashion. Nature has given them prominences which far out-picture the false mountains at the West end of the town. It is not only the fashion of appearing six months gone, that prevails with the ladies—but that of not having any waists, so that, even with their prominences, they may be called—No-body." (Times, April 15, 1793.)

A Cotillion—1788.

Fashions for 1788.

Indoor Costumes.—1788.

The Duchess of York.

The Duchess.

Frailties of Fashion—1793.

The Height of Fashion—1793.

The Toilette, No. 1.

The Toilette, No. 2.

The Toilette, No. 3.

A series of prints were published which represent the amount of indebtedness, ladies were under, to Art, to repair the ravages made by Nature.

No. 1 shows us most graphically the "levée au matin."—Tears drop from the eyeless socket—a yawn discloses the want of teeth, and, the handkerchief, tied round the head, which does service for a night cap, tells a sad tale of baldness.

In No. 2 the defect of nature is being remedied by the insertion of a glass eye—which the subsequent illustrations prove to be very effective.

No. 3 shows the triumph of the hairdresser's art; and, certainly, it adds much to the ladies personal attractions.

In No. 4 false teeth are being inserted, to replace those, of which unkind nature has robbed her.

No. 5 applies the bloom of youth to the faded cheek,—a bloom that never yet deceived any one.

In No. 6 the Belle has finished her toilette, and is now prepared to break all hearts.

This series is attributed to Rowlandson—and, most probably, is his work. It is called "Six Stages of making a face.—Dedicated with respect to Lady Archer," of which lady we shall hear more anon under the head of "Gaming."

Waists, as may have been perceived by the last two, or three examples, have been gradually disappearing, until, as in "The Scarecrow," they became practically nil. High feathers were beginning to come in, and, in addition to the "panache," was worn a curious thing made of straw, very much resembling the "bristle plume" which used to be worn in the Shakos of our Engineers, and Artillery. In imitation of the men, the ladies' throats were swathed in voluminous wrappers.

With very low bodices, and very high waists, came very scanty clothing, with an absence of petticoat, a fashion which left very little of the form to the imagination. I do not say that our English Belles went to the extent of some of their French sisters, of having their muslin dresses put on damp—and holding them tight to their figures till they dried—so as absolutely to mould them to their form, or that they ever discarded stockings, and went to balls with bare feet, and only wearing sandals, having on but the lightest of classical clothing—but their clothes were of the scantiest, and we shall find that, as year succeeded year, this fashion developed, if one can call diminution of clothing, development. Men made fun of it, vide the following from the Times, 12th August, 1794:—"Amongst prudent papas, the favourite toast at this time is 'The present fashion of our wives and daughters,' viz. No Waste."

There was a very pretty song, called "Shepherds, I have lost my love, Have you seen my Anna?"—and this was parodied as follows—the music being the same as the original song:—

SHEPHERDS, I HAVE LOST MY WAIST.
Shep-herds, I have lost my waist, Have you seen my bo - - dy?
Sac - ri - ficed to mo-dern taste, I'm quite a hod - dy dod - - dy.
For fashion I that part for - sook Where sages place the bel - - - ly;
'Tis gone, and I have not a nook For cheesecake, tart, or jel - ly.

"Never shall I see it more,
Till, common sense returning,
My body to my legs restore,
Then I shall cease from mourning,
Folly and fashion do prevail
To such extremes among the fair,
A woman's only top and tail,
The body's banish'd God knows where!'

[[audio/mpeg]]

A Scarecrow—1793.

Shepherds! I have lost my waist.—1794.

Following the Fashion.

Following the Fashion.

That a fashion may become one person, and not another, is peculiarly exemplified by the two following pictures by Gillray, 9th December, 1794, both called "Following the Fashion:"—

"St. James's giving the Ton,
a Soul without a Body.		"Cheapside aping the Mode,
a Body without a Soul."

The tax on Hair powder was much objected to; people had been used, for a long time, to grease, and powder their hair and wigs; and, when the duty of a Guinea per head was passed, many left off using it. The illustration "Leaving off Powder, or a Frugal family saving a Guinea," was doubtless the fact in many a family. The man, in the coloured engraving, with his "crop," to our eyes does not look so singular, as the lady, with her "fausse chevelure" unpowdered looks so bad, that, no wonder, ladies reverted to their own locks, as we see in future illustrations. So also shall we see the "Cap" of the period, the length of which is most amusingly portrayed.

The wearing of false hair is of very early origin, inasmuch as we possess, in the British Museum, an early Egyptian wig, and, in every age, we find women supplementing their natural attractions, by the addition of some one else's hair. Here is a Hair-dresser's advertisement of 1795, wherein is not only mentioned the price, &c., of hair, but shows the antiquity of the "Chignon," which, otherwise, many might think of modern date.

"TO THE LADIES.—T. BOWMAN respectfully acquaints the Ladies, that he has entirely removed his Shop and Manufactory to No. 102 New Bond Street, near Brook Street. Firmly relying upon the future favors and recommendation of his old Customers, and trusting to the superiority of his articles, he has augmented his stock of Chignons or Braids, from 600 to near 1000, in 14 shades (not 20) of brown colours, besides Auburns, Flaxens, &c., and in 8 lengths (not 50) at 10s., 14s., £1 £1 1s., £1 11s. 6d., £2 2s., £3 3s., £4 4s., and £6 6s. each. Any colour matched in all the sizes in a minute. T. Bowman formerly gave a description of his Braids, but that has been copied by another and applied unto his own, without their possessing one requisite for which Bowman's Braids have been distinguished: and, not contented with slaying by twenties, he now kills by fifties. Bravo! Captain Boabdill, fifty more, kill them!!! As for the shades, what with Chinese hairs, mixing, and dying, he may have them (as he says) of every tint, but for real, natural, Brown colours. T. Bowman, with by far the greatest stock in the Kingdom, cannot make more than 14 shades; he can only challenge a comparison, and pledges himself to make good every assertion he has at any time made. His Brunswick fillets, an entire new and elegant article, with curls complete, fit either for morning or full dress, from 7s. 6d. to 10s. 6d. each, with Tetes, Borders, and every article in ornamental Hair, much cheaper than at any shop in town: having a very large stock, and dealing for ready money only, he has as yet made no advance on his old prices, although the price of hair is now double. Country orders, with money, or reference, duly observed. Chignons, &c., changed when not approved of, if not powdered."—(Times, June 22, 1795.)

"Corsettes about six inches long, and a slight buffon tucker of two inches high, are now the only defensive paraphernalia of our fashionable Belles, between the necklace and the apron-strings.—(Times, June 24, 1795.)

"The annual City Assemblies, from the glowing colours which decorate the belles, may be now fairly styled red-hot balls."—(Times, Dec. 29, 1795.)

Crops.

A Lady putting on her Cap—1795.

Characters in High Life.

A Modern Belle going to the Rooms or Balls—1796.

But Feathers were now used on the shafts levelled at the vagaries of Fashion.

"At all elegant Assemblies, there is a room set apart for the lady visitants to put their feathers on, as it is impossible to wear them in any carriage with a top to it. The lustres are also removed upon this account, and the doors are carried up to the height of the ceiling. A well-dressed Lady, who nods with dexterity, can give a friend a little tap upon the shoulder across the room, without incommoding the dancers. The Ladies' feathers are now generally carried in the sword-case, at the back of the carriage."—(Times, Dec. 29, 1795.)

"A young lady, only ten feet high, was overset in one of the late gales of wind, in Portland Place, and the upper mast of her feather blown upon Hampstead Hill."

"The maroon fever has been succeeded by a very odd kind of light-headedness, which the physicians call the ptereo mania, or feather folly."

"The Ladies now wear feathers exactly of their own length, so that a woman of fashion is twice as long upon her feet as in her bed."—(Times, Dec. 30, 1795.)

"We saw a feather in Drury Lane Theatre, yesterday evening, that cost ten guineas. We should have thought the whole goose not worth the money."—(Times, Jan. 6, 1796.)

Here is a contrivance by which "A Modern Belle going to the Rooms or Balls" can go fully dressed, with her feathers fixed:—

"There is to be seen in Gt. Queen Street, a Coach upon a new construction. The Ladies set in this well, and see between the spokes of the wheels. With this contrivance the fair proprietor is able to go quite dressed to her visits, her feathers being only a yard and a half high."—(Times, Jan. 22, 1796.)

The freaks of fashion, towards the latter end of 1795, are most curious. "Waggoner's frocks," and the "Petticoat" dress, are singular illustrations of feminine taste. This latter is noticed in a paragraph in the Times, 27th Oct. 1795. "The present fashionable dress is the most simple imaginable. The petticoat is pinned to the Cravat, and the arms come out at the pocket holes."

"The only new fashions that remain for our modern belles are certainly puzzling and difficult. There can be nothing new, but going either dressed or naked."—(Times, Jan. 27, 1796.)

The following paragraph from the Times refers not only to the general absence of dress, but also to the famous (or infamous) Miss Chudleigh, a maid of Honour to the Queen, afterwards Duchess of Kingston, and tells the story of how the Princess of Wales, wife of Frederick (father of George III.), rebuked her for her nakedness.

"One night, when the late Duchess of Kingston appeared at Ranelagh in a dress which may be compared with the undress of some of our fashionable belles, a handkerchief was thrown to her, not from the Prince, but the Princess of Wales."—(Times, March 5, 1796.)

"Lady Godiva's Rout, or Peeping Tom spying out Pope Joan," is by Gillray, 12th March 1796, and is a scathing satire on the extremely decolletée, and diaphonous, dresses of the time. The fair one, whose uncovered bosom so attracts the candle snuffer, is intended to represent Lady Georgiana Gordon, afterwards Duchess of Bedford.

"High Change in Bond Street" is by Gillray (27th March 1796), and is a most amusing caricature of the then prevalent fashions both of men and women. The "Bond Street Loungers," are depicted to perfection.

Waggoners Frock-or-No Bodys of 1795.

The Fashion.—Decr. 1795.

Fashionable Modesty.—1796.

High Change in Bond Street—1796.

"At the late Fandango Ball in Dublin, a certain Lady of Fashion appeared in the following very whimsical dress:—Flesh coloured pantaloons, over which was a gauze petticoat, tucked up at each side in drapery, so that both thighs could be seen; the binding of the petticoat was tied round the neck, and her arms were through the pocket holes. Her head dress was a man's pearl coloured stocking, the foot hanging down at the back of the head like a lappet, and in the heel of the stocking was stuck a large diamond pin, the tout ensemble not less novel, than ludicrous."—(Times, May 26, 1796.)

"Whalebone-Veils are worn by all the fashionable dames at Weymouth. This invention is evidently borrowed from the head of a one horse chaise."—(Times, August 27, 1796.)

"High heels are once more the rage; there is, however, no scarcity of flats. During the reign of the flat sole, the Ladies make more faux-pas than ever, so that we need entertain no apprehensions for them, if they chuse to get upon stilts. What with high heels and high feathers, the better half of many an honest man is just one third part of herself."—(Times, August 27, 1796.)

"Fashion would be its own murderer, if it were to be constant and permanent. The last year's dress seems to abdicate entirely; even the waist is walking down towards the hip; and three straps, with buckles in front, have abridged so much of the usurpation of the petticoat. One cannot see so many Ladies of high ton with the straps over the bosom, without thinking how much better they might have been employed over the shoulders."—(Times, Aug. 27, 1796.)

"Before the waist is quite again in fashion, and while the thing exists (which will soon be incredible), we set down the measurement of a petticoat in the summer of 1796, which for a middling-sized woman is five foot and an inch."—(Times, Nov. 4, 1796.)

"It would not be easily believed by our Great Grandmothers, that their lovely daughters cannot make their appearance without a dozen combs in their heads, and as many false curls and cushions. The victory over black pins is complete."—(Times, May 30, 1797.)

"Horse Hair has risen near 50 per cent. since Wigs have become so much the rage."—(Times, April 27, 1798.)

"The women at Paris are every day divesting themselves of some of the customary articles of dress, and the rage for nudity is so great, that it is apprehended, even by the Parisian Journalists, they will shortly have the effrontery to present themselves to the public eye in a state of pure nature. One of them appeared a few days since in the Champs Elysées, in a simple robe of spotted black gauze, and shewed so much that little was left to guess. The spectators were struck with indignation at this flagrant violation of decorum, and she was compelled to make a shameful and precipitate retreat."—(Times, June 18, 1798.)

"An Artist has advertised that he makes up worn out Umbrellas into fashionable Gypsey Bonnets. The transition is so easy, that he is scarce to be praised for the invention.

"The Gypsey Bonnet is commonly worn by the Lancashire Witches."—(Times, July 7, 1798.)

"We are very happy to see the waists of our fair country women walking downwards by degrees towards the hip. But, as we are a little acquainted with the laws of increasing velocity in fashionable gravitation, we venture to express, thus early in their descent, a hope that they will stop there."—(Times, April 15, 1799.)

"Straw in the head-dress, according to the laws and immemorial customs of the stage, denotes the unsoundness of the brain it covers. Several of those useful and respectable young men, who make the campaign of Bond Street, have thought proper to invest their temples with the sacred symbols, and wear straw hats to give notice of their light-headedness."—(Times, July 4, 1799.)

The Censor could also be severe on the harmless "Reticule."

"In the present age of political innovation, it is curious to observe the great veneration for antiquity which prevails in all our dresses and fashions. Queen Elizabeth's ruffs decorate our blooming belles; and our beaux are puckered and stuffed on the shoulders à la Richard the Third. But what is still more remarkable, is the total abjuration of the female pocket. Those heavy appendages are no more worn at present than keys at the girdles. Every fashionable fair carries her purse in her workbag. Her money and her industry lie cheek by jowl: and her gambling gains lie snug by her housewife. Her handkerchiefs, her toothpick case, her watch, and her keys, if she has any, are the constant concomitants of her visits; and while no part of the symmetry of her shape is altered or concealed by the old-fashioned panniers, she has the pleasure of laying everything that belongs to her upon the table wherever she goes."—(Times, Nov. 9, 1799.)

"A dashing Lady of Fashion, inconvenienced by the new custom of carrying a bag with her handkerchief, smelling-bottle, purse, &c., &c., went to a large party the other evening, attended by a Page, who was employed to present the articles as they might be wanted. The Page was well qualified to go through the fatigues of office, being well-made, active, and just one and twenty. Should the example be imitated, Pages will probably be more in request than waiting-women."—(Times, Dec. 7, 1799.)

"If the present fashion of nudity continues its career, the Milliners must give way to the Carvers, and the most elegant fig-leaves will be all the mode.

"The fashion of false bosoms has at least this utility, that it compels our fashionable fair to wear something."—(Times, Dec. 11, 1799.)

With which most pungent criticism, we will take our leave of lady's dress.

NAVY AND ARMY.

No history of England, that I know of, has ever given us so graphic a description of the ways and means for procuring men for the Navy, as the Newspapers of the time, and in this, as in many other things, their help is invaluable.

When we find from what classes the Navy was recruited, we wonder at what the men went through, without much murmuring; and, if their very moderate, and just, demands, had been met in a conciliatory spirit, or even, officially investigated, instead of being pooh-poohed, and shelved—there would have been no mutiny at the Nore, nor elsewhere.

When afloat, sailors were kept in subjection, or as it was termed, discipline, by brutality, foul language, and a plentiful application of the lash, to be recouped by almost unlimited license, whilst on shore, or, for the matter of that, when afloat, if at home in harbour. When the Royal George went down, there were 200 women on board, and in Dibdin's song of "Wapping Old Stairs," the heroine plaintively reminds her temporary lover thus—

"When I passed a whole fortnight between decks with you,
Did I e'er give a kiss, Tom, to one of the Crew?"

When the War with France broke out, it was hardly to be imagined that Fishermen, and Merchant seamen, would volunteer to leave their quiet occupation, to be bullied by petty, and other officers; to be triced up, and lashed unmercifully, for even a venial fault; to be no better paid, nor fed than they were already; and to have an extra chance of death in a Naval engagement, even if the English were victorious, or the certainty of semi-starvation in a French prison, if captured. So the State, wanting food for slaughter, stretched out its strong hand, and took it, by means of the pressgang. I shall have to recount a long list of "severe," or "hot," presses—and, first of all, in order that we may perfectly understand what a "press" was, and so thoroughly identify ourselves with the position, let us see the very minute, and vivid, description of Smollett, in "Roderick Random."

My Poll & my Partner Joe.—1796.

"As I crossed Tower Wharf, a squat, tawny fellow, with a hanger by his side, and a cudgel in his hand, came up to me calling, 'Yo ho! brother, you must come along with me.' As I did not like his appearance, instead of answering his salutation, I quickened my pace, in hopes of ridding myself of his company; upon which, he whistled aloud, and immediately another sailor appeared before me, who laid hold of me by the collar, and began to drag me along. Not being of a humour to relish such treatment, I disengaged myself of the assailant, and, with one blow of my cudgel, laid him motionless on the ground; and, perceiving myself surrounded in a trice, by ten or a dozen more, exerted myself with such dexterity and success, that some of my opponents were fain to attack me with drawn Cutlasses; and, after an obstinate engagement, in which I received a large wound on my head, and another on my left cheek, I was disarmed, taken prisoner, and carried on board a pressing tender; where, after being pinioned like a malefactor, I was thrust down into the hold, among a parcel of miserable wretches, the sight of whom well nigh distracted me.

"As the commanding officer had not humanity enough to order my wounds to be dressed, and I could not use my own hands, I desired one of my fellow-captives who was unfettered, to take a handkerchief out of my pocket, and tie it round my head, to stop the bleeding. He pulled out my handkerchief ('tis true), but, instead of applying it to the use for which I designed it, went to the grating of the hatchway, and, with astonishing composure, sold it before my face to a bum boat woman, then on board, for a quart of gin, with which he treated my companions, regardless of my circumstances, and entreaties.

"I complained bitterly of this robbery, to the midshipman on deck, telling him, at the same time, that, unless my wounds were dressed, I should bleed to death. But compassion was a weakness of which no man could justly accuse this person, who squirted a mouthful of dissolved tobacco upon me through the gratings, told me 'I was a mutinous dog, and that I might die, and be damned.' Finding there was no other remedy, I appealed to patience, and laid up this usage in my memory, to be recalled at a fitter season. In the meantime, loss of blood, vexation, and want of food, contributed, with the noisome stench of the place, to throw me into a swoon; out of which I was recovered by the tar who stood centinel over us, who at the same time regaled me with a draught of flip, and comforted me with the hopes of being put on board the Thunder next day, where I should be freed of my handcuffs, and cured of my wounds by the doctor."

Now let us see how the press worked—

"The Press in the River Thames, for the three last days, has been very severe. Five or six hundred seamen have been laid hold of."—(Times, February 18th, 1793.)

"On Wednesday night the press was very hot on the river Thames; all the ships, both homeward, and outward, bound, were stripped of their hands; not excepting two outward bound East Indiamen, which were to have sailed yesterday."—(Times, March 9, 1793.)

"The press has been so hot, for seamen, since the order of Friday last, that three Tenders, full of men, have been dispatched from the Tower to the 'Sandwich' guardship at the Nore."—(Times, March 27, 1793.)

"A hot press has, for the last two nights, been carried on from London bridge to the Nore; protections are disregarded, and almost all the vessels in the River have been stripped of their hands."—(Times, April 26, 1793.)

"The sailors are so scarce, that upwards of 60 sail of merchants ships, bound to the West Indies, and other places, are detained in the River, with their ladings on board; seven outward bound East Indiamen are likewise detained at Gravesend, for want of sailors to man them."—(Times, Jan. 7, 1794.)

"The number of seamen to be voted for the service of the present year, including 12,000 marines, will be 85,000 men."—(Times, Jan. 29, 1794.)

"There was a smart press on Monday, on the river, for seamen, and, in many of the avenues to the town, several hundreds were picked up, and put on board the receiving ship at the Tower."—(Times, April 2, 1794.)

"Poole, Nov. 30.

"This morning arrived in Steedland Bay, the 'Maria,' from Newfoundland, having some passengers on board, besides the crew; the officers of the impress service expecting to meet some resistance, had called for military assistance, and 20 soldiers, armed, went on board the tender, which went down the harbour, to meet the vessel; when coming alongside, and finding the people obstinate, orders were given to the soldiers to fire, which they did; the pilot (then at the helm), and two other men, were killed on the spot, and seven others dangerously wounded, one of whom is since dead. Lieutenants Phillips and Glover, with all who were on board the tender, are taken into custody, and the whole town is in the greatest commotion."—(Times, Dec. 3, 1794.)

"That part of Mr. Pitt's plan for manning the navy, which recommends to the Magistrates to take cognizance of all idle, and disorderly people, who have no visible means of livelihood, may, certainly, procure a great number of able bodied men who are lurking about the metropolis, if properly enforced. But experience teaches, that, unless the Magistrates see that their Runners do justice to the public, this salutary measure may be in a great measure defeated, from the interest which the Runners are known to have, in nursing those vagabonds, which the law enacts should be laid hold of."—(Times, Feb. 11, 1795.)

"A meeting on the subject of the Navy was held last week at Newcastle, the result of which was, the choosing of a Committee, three of whom are to confer with Mr. Dundas—'to recommend the suspension of the impress, to send into actual service the gangs and crews of the tenders, (amounting, it is said, from seven to ten thousand,) to increase the wages of seamen in the navy, and to pay half of it, monthly, for the support of their families.'"—(Times, Feb. 11, 1795.)

"An Embargo is about to take place on all the shipping in our ports, which it is thought will last SIX WEEKS, or until 20,000 seamen are procured. The embargo was to take place as last night."—(Times, Feb. 19, 1795.)

"There was a very hot press in the river, on Friday night last, when several hundred able seamen were procured. One of the gangs, in attempting to board a Liverpool trader, were resisted by the crew, when a desperate affray took place, in which many of the former were thrown overboard, and the Lieutenant who boarded them, killed by a shot from the vessel."—(Times, June 9, 1795.)

"A very general search for seamen has taken place in the river, for several nights past; such is the greatest want of hands to mix on board the men-of-war now ready at the Nore, Chatham, Sheerness," &c.—(Times, June 18, 1795.)

"The Press gallies are out in the river, night and day, in order to pick up men; the demand for seamen being still very great from the vast quantities of shipping now employed in Government service."—(Times, Aug. 29, 1795.)

"One of the Juries that was impannelled on the Coroner's Inquest, to examine the body of one of the unfortunate men that was killed in the affray that took place between the pressgang, and the sailors, belonging to the 'Maria' of Poole, have returned their verdict of Wilful Murder against the two Lieutenants of the Navy."—(Times, Dec. 5, 1794.)

The following instructive little story will shew how mutinies were made:—

"The mutiny which existed several days on board the 'Culloden' of 74 guns, and which, it is said, originated in the wish of the crew to have the ship docked, previous to her sailing for the West Indies, was, on Wednesday, settled by an order from the Admiralty in the following manner:—'That several Captains were to go on board and inform the crew, unless they immediately returned to their duty, the "Royal George" of 110 guns, and "Queen," of 98 guns, would directly be laid alongside them.' They were allowed half an hour to consider the matter. The officers, and others, who chose to leave the ship, were at liberty so to do. The ship's company several times wanted to make terms, which could not possibly be complied with: in about twenty minutes they all agreed to return to their duty; 12 of the ringleaders were instantly seized, and put in irons, and will no doubt be tried by a Court Martial for the same. During the time the ship was in this mutinous state, the crew flogged several marines because they would not join them, and would have punished the whole, had they gone below."—(Times, Dec. 13, 1794.)

"The cause of the mutiny, on board the 'Culloden,' was briefly this. In coming into Spithead, the 'Sampson,' and 'Culloden,' both run a-ground. The former was a good deal damaged: the latter lost only her rudder, which could easily be repaired at Spithead, but the 'Sampson' was obliged to be carried into dock. Some of the seamen of the 'Culloden,' in a mutinous manner, expressed their doubts of the safety of the ship: and, upon being remonstrated with, insisted upon going into harbour."—(Times, Dec. 16, 1794.)

Which were right, the Sailors, or the Admiralty?

Here is a curious case, which shows the want of men to man the fleet, and how unscrupulously even magistrates lent themselves against all justice, and equity, in helping to kidnap men for the use of the Navy Services:—

"PUBLIC OFFICE, BOW STREET.—A master bricklayer, of the name of Whitehead, brought his apprentice before the sitting magistrate, on a charge of having stolen a scaffolding board, value under ninepence: he had his choice, either to enlist as a soldier, or to be sent on board the fleet: to both of which he objected. The Magistrate then ordered a letter to be written to the Regulating Captain, Tower Hill, to have him sent on board the Navy."—(Times, Jan. 5, 1795.)

On this, one of the spectators addressed Mr. Bond, and told him he was acting improperly.

"Who are you?" says Mr. B——. "I am a Mr. Thompson, a Member of the House of Commons for Evesham: and I tell you that you act illegally." "Do you tell me, sitting here as a magistrate, that I act illegally?" "I do: for the boy has committed a crime, he is not to be punished by you, or any other justice: it is to the laws of the land, and to them alone, that he is amenable: and I say, that it is a violation of the liberty of the subject." Mr. Bond observed, that the King wanted men: and did not Mr. Thompson think that it was proper to procure those for him, who had forfeited their liberty? Mr. T. replied, that he knew that the King did want men, but that that was a very improper mode of coming at them. Mr. Bond then observed, that probably Mr. T. might investigate it in the House of Commons: but whether he did or did not, he should act as he thought proper for that time. He then sent for Major Leeson, and had him enlisted. Mr. Thompson signified as much to him, as that it should be brought before the House."

(On Monday, 5th Jan., the matter was introduced in a speech of Mr. Thompson's, on the Habeas Corpus Bill, but nothing was done.)

Jack did, occasionally, get some prize money, but nothing ever came up to the "Hermione" in 1762, when each ordinary seaman had about £800 for his share; but when we look at the disparity between the Captain's and Sailor's share, we can enter into the spirit of the Sailor's prayer, before an engagement, that the shots might be apportioned, like the prize money,—the greater part among the officers.

"By the determination of the Lord Chancellor in favour of the captors of the St. Jago Register ship, Admiral Gell will get, as his proportion, near £100,000 prize money. All the captains of his fleet will divide about £30,000, and so downwards in proportion. The precise value of the St. Jago, Spanish ship, retaken in April 1793, from the French, which the Lords of Appeal adjudged to the captors, on Thursday evening last, is £935,000."—(Times, Feb. 4, 1795.)

"The first payment of the immense St. Jago prize is commenced, Captain Sir A. Douglas having received his share. The following is the declared proportion of the specie only: Each Captain's share, £13,920; Lieutenant's share, £910; Warrant officer's share, £612; Petty officer's share, £140; Foremast-man's share, £26. Besides two seventh's shares of the whole in reserve, till the question, whether the Boyne, and Powerful, have a right to share with the Squadron. The above statement is independent of the valuable cargo, and bullion, which are yet to be shared. The Admiral's shares are not yet declared."—(Times, March 21, 1795.)

"Saturday, the 26th inst., the sailors on board the Sea Horse frigate, had 2800 dollars served out to them at Portsmouth, and leave of absence for 48 hours' recreation on shore. This ship shares the whole of the Spanish prizes taken by her, and carried into Portsmouth. Their cargoes consist principally of about 300,000 dollars and gold doubloons, and about 120,000 raw hides, tallow," &c.—(Times, Dec. 2, 1796.)

"The Spanish prize, taken by the Raven brig, one of Admiral Earl St. Vincent's squadron, which was sent home, now lies at Deptford, where she is strongly guarded, and no persons suffered to go on board, till she has gone through a complete search, as it is suspected some other valuables, besides the Platina, of which 4000 ounces have been taken out and sold, are hid. Platina is a metal of the colour of silver, and about one eighth heavier than gold. None has ever been seen in Europe, at least in any quantity, but in Spain where it is consigned to the Crown, from South America."—(Times, Sept. 20, 1797.)

"We stated several days since, that it had been determined by Mr. Pitt to alter, very materially, the Bill now before the House of Commons, for manning the navy. The principal alteration will be the taking off the burthen on ship-owners, of finding men before their ships can clear out; instead of which they are to advance a certain proportion of money, and Commissioners are to be stationed, at the out-ports, to find men out of this fund. The measure proposed is as follows,—that each Port shall, according to the number of seamen belonging to it, raise a certain number of men—that these men shall be fixed by Ballot—that those who have enrolled themselves to be balloted, shall receive a certificate of having done so, which shall secure them against pressing—that no man shall be permitted to serve on board a merchant ship, under a very heavy penalty, without such a certificate, that no ship shall be suffered to proceed from any Port, till the number of men required from the Port shall be raised; and that those who do not enrol themselves, shall be liable to be apprehended."—(Times, Feb. 18, 1795.)

As we see by the following paragraphs, the parishes offered bounties to fill up their quota of sailors:—

"The Parish of St. James', Westminster, having, in a public manner, signified their wish, to raise twenty-five men, pursuant to the statute, to serve in His Majesty's Navy, had, by Wednesday last, completed that number: and the g-officer, in the course of the afternoon, examined them, and found them all extremely proper for His Majesty's service: and, on Thursday, they were examined and certified, by the Parochial Magistrates, when the men requesting to have £7, the third part of the bounty-money, advanced to buy slops, bedding, and for other purposes, it was immediately complied with."—(Times, Apr. 7, 1795.)

(Advt.) "Ancient and Loyal City of Westminster.

"At a MEETING of the Vestries, Church-wardens, Overseers, and the principal inhabitants, of the Parishes of St. Margaret, and St. John the Evangelist, Westminster, in St. Margaret's Vestry Room, on Thursday, the 2nd day of April 1795, it was agreed to give a bounty of Twenty-five Guineas each to Twenty Men, to be raised for the Naval Service of His Majesty King George, in defence of Old England. All able-bodied men, willing to serve in His Majesty's Navy, are desired to apply, from the hours of nine in the morning till four in the afternoon, at the Vestry Room, in St. Margaret's Churchyard, Westminster, this, and the following days, Sundays excepted. To any man, who shall be approved by the Regulating Officer, part of the Bounty will be immediately paid, on his enrolment, either to himself or to his wife and family, or to any other person he may appoint to receive the same, and the remainder upon his being mustered on board of ship. He will have an opportunity of leaving a power for part of his wages and prize money, to be paid monthly for the support of his family, who will also be under the care, and protection of a kind and benevolent parish: and if his conduct is approved, he will have the preference, on his return, of any employment the Parish can give him. None need apply but able-bodied men. No volunteer, who shall enter as above, can be taken out of His Majesty's Service, but for a criminal matter. N.B. Persons enrolled, are not liable to serve more than three months after the War, if arrived in any port of Great Britain.

"By Order, T. Drake, Vestry Clerk."

—(Times, Apr. 9, 1795.)

"From the returns of the Regulating Officers, received at the Admiralty, it appears that on the average, about half the men for the navy, are likely to be raised throughout the counties, and that the deficiency will be paid in money. The average price given in the Eastern Counties is £25 per man; so that the fine of £10 added to it, will make the parishes defaulting, advance £35, in lieu of a man, for every 68 assessed houses."—(Times, Apr. 9, 1795.)

"A change is about to take place in the Naval Uniform. Epaulets are to be worn—two by Flag Officers, and these to mark their rank; two likewise by Post Captains, demonstrative of their rank; one, on the right shoulder, by Masters, and Commanders, and one on the left by Lieutenants."—(Times, June 5, 1795.)

"The City of London has now made up its quota of 5704 Seamen, under the Act which laid an embargo on all outward bound vessels, until 20,000 men were raised for the use of the Navy. Among this number are about 1600 able seamen, who count each for two ordinary seamen. The expenses of raising them in London, are found to be much more moderate than the men raised in the country ports."—(Times, Sept. 24, 1795.)

"One Samuel Caradise, who had been committed to the House of Correction, in Kendal, and there confined as a vagabond, until put on board a King's ship, agreeable to the late Act, sent for his wife, the evening before his intended departure. He was in a cell, and she spoke to him through the iron door. After which, he put his hand underneath, and she with a mallet, and chissel, concealed for the purpose, struck off a finger and thumb, to render him unfit for His Majesty's service."—(Times, Nov. 3, 1795.)

"All superfluous ornaments to the heads, and sterns, of King's ships are, we understand, in future to be discontinued. Instead of a figure at the head, a scroll is to be substituted, and the sterns are to be as plain as possible."—(Times, Sept. 9, 1796.)

"The Navy Board have given orders, that ships of war shall be ornamented with carved work at their heads, and sterns, as formerly, which mode, some months since, had been suspended."—(Times, Oct. 6, 1797.)

"Anecdote of Captain Drury of the 'Powerful.'

"About an hour before the action with the Dutch Fleet, he assembled his men, and thus addressed them:—'You are a set of damned, blackguard, mutinous, rascals, and you know I think so of you all: we shall soon see whether you have any courage: I have only this to say to you, you see the Dutch ship that we shall soon be along-side: if you don't silence her in 40 minutes, I shall know what to think of you.—Now return to your quarters.' Turning to the Master, he said, 'Do you take care that these rascals, may not have to complain that they were not near enough.' In 20 minutes the Dutch ship struck her colours, and the 'Powerful' bore away to assist the 'Venerable.' After the action, the Captains of the fore-castle came aft, and asked Capt. Drury if he still considered them a rascally set? 'No,' said Capt. D., 'your behaviour has perfectly satisfied me.' 'Will you then shake hands?' said the men, which he did most heartily, and assured them that he should never reproach them again for what had passed, and would, on his part, entirely forget that anything had ever happened. They then gave him three cheers, and, now, Capt. Drury is almost idolized by the crew."—(Times, Nov. 16, 1797.)

"The French Government has ordered 16 sail of the line, 18 frigates, and 12 ships of war of a smaller size to be built. Good news this for Old England! It saves us the trouble and expense of building them ourselves, as they are sure to find their way into our ports."—(Times, Nov. 26, 1798.)

"Lord Camelford.

"By the Leeward Island Mail, which arrived yesterday, we have received some very circumstantial advices of what passed in the West Indies, respecting Lord Camelford, who was tried by a Court Martial, on the 13th of January last, at Fort Royal Bay, for the murder of Lieut. Peterson, and acquitted.

"Antigua, January 23, 1798.

"On the 13th inst. died, at English Harbour, Charles Peterson, Esq., first Lieutenant of H.M. ship Perdrix. This event was occasioned by a dispute between the deceased, and Lord Camelford, upon the right of commanding at English Harbour. Lord Camelford commanded H.M. sloop-of-war the Favourite, by virtue of an order, or warrant, from Admiral Harvey; and Mr. Peterson, though an older Lieutenant than Lord Camelford, had lately served on board that ship under his command, but, having been removed to the Perdrix, and Lord Camelford not having a commission as Master, and Commander, Mr. Peterson, being then at English Harbour, supposed himself to be the Commanding Officer, and, under that idea, issued some orders to Lord Camelford, which were answered by other orders from Lord C. to Mr. P. Upon Mr. Peterson's refusal to obey these orders, a Lieutenant with a party of Marines were sent to put him under arrest, and Mr. P. prepared for resistance, and ordered the crew of the Perdrix to arm in his defence. But, before any conflict took place, Lord Camelford arrived, went up to Mr. P., demanded if he would obey his orders, or not, and, upon being answered in the negative, he immediately shot him dead upon the spot. An inquest was taken by the Coroner, the next day; but the Jury, not being willing to take upon themselves the determination of the question upon whom the command at English Harbour had devolved, found only that the deceased had been shot by Lord Camelford, in consequence of a mutiny."—(Times, April 11, 1798.)

Extract of a letter from an Officer in H.M. ship Vengeance, dated Antigua, February 9:—

"Lord Camelford appears to me to be a new character in his Class. He is very severe in carrying on duty; seldom ties up a man but he gets six or seven dozen lashes, which is a more severe punishment in this country than what is produced by giving the same number in a northern climate.

"Although his Lordship is a Master, and Commander, he makes use of no swabs (gold shoulder knots), but still appears in a Lieutenant's uniform. His dress is indeed extremely remarkable; all the hair is shaved off his head, on which he wears a monstrous large Gold-laced cocked-hat. He is dressed in a Lieutenant's plain coat, the buttons of which are as green with verdigrease, as the ship's bottom; and, with this, all the rest of his dress corresponds."

Extract of a private letter.

"Cronstadt, August 2.

"Our countrymen who have been employed at Revel, in conducting the embarkation of the Russian troops, have been honoured with great marks of attention from the Emperor, and his Family.

"His Imperial Majesty requested the Nile lugger, in which Captain Popham went to Petersburgh, to be brought up close to his palace at Peterhoff, where he went on board, accompanied by only one Nobleman. The lugger was immediately got under weigh, and, there being a fine breeze of wind, His Majesty was highly surprised, and gratified, at the swiftness of her sailings. After a two hour's cruise, he was landed again at the palace, when the lugger gave him a royal salute.

"It appears the account he gave of the English vessel had greatly excited the curiosity of the rest of the Royal Family, as, next day, Captain Popham was honoured with the company of the Empress, the Emperor, Four Princesses, and Three Princes, with their retinue, when they were, of course, treated with a sail, at which they were highly delighted, and, with great condescension, partook of some ship beef, and biscuit. The Emperor was particularly attentive to everything on board the lugger, visiting every part of her, and, when the sailors were hoisting the sails, he insisted on helping for once, to set the sails of a vessel belonging to his gracious Ally, and actually hauled the rope with the men. The Empress begged that the crew would sing 'God save the King,' which was instantly complied with, to Her Majesty's entire satisfaction.

"Captain Popham was presented by the Emperor, with an elegant snuff-box set with diamonds, and with a valuable ring from Her Imperial Majesty. His Majesty has likewise knighted Captain Popham, conferring on him the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Lieutenant Pratt, Captain Popham's Assistant in this business, has also been presented with a gold snuff-box, from the Emperor, and a handsome gold watch and chain, from the Empress."—(Times, August 28, 1799.)

Was the under-mentioned lady the veritable heroine of the ballad of "Billy Taylor?"

"There is at present in the Middlesex Hospital, a young, and delicate female, who calls herself Miss T—lb—t, and who is said to be related to some families of distinction; her story is very singular:—At an early period of her life, having been deprived by the villany of a trustee, of a sum of money bequeathed her by a deceased relation of high rank, she followed the fortunes of a young Naval officer, to whom she was attached, and personated a common sailor before the mast, during a cruise in the North Seas. In consequence of a lover's quarrel, she quitted the ship and assumed for a time the military character: but her passion for the sea prevailing, she returned to her favourite element, did good service, and received a severe wound, on board Earl St. Vincent's ship, on the glorious 14th of February, and again bled in the cause of her country, in the engagement off Camperdown. On this last occasion her knee was shattered, and an amputation is likely to ensue. This spirited female, we understand, receives a pension of £20, from an illustrious Lady, which is about to be doubled." (Times, Nov. 4, 1799.)

In 1793, the war with France, which was, on and off, to last so long, was an accomplished fact—and one of the first notices thereof, at least, pictorially, makes fun of the good intentions of the patriotic ladies of England, towards the personal comforts of the army.

British Ladies Patriotic Presents to the Army.—1793.

Men were most urgently wanted—but it had hardly come to the following:—

"Major Hanger has made a proposal to Government, rather of a singular nature, to raise a corps of men, from among the convicts. He has received his answer, that, at present, Government can give no countenance to his application." But it did come.—(Times, March 23, 1793.)

"We have already mentioned that a number of convicts in Newgate, under sentence of transportation, have within the last few days, been permitted to enter into marching regiments. The crown debtors in the various prisons, have received similar offers."—(Times, Oct. 9, 1795.)

"The French Emigrants, who are to serve in the legion now assembling at Jersey, have received orders to keep themselves ready, at a short notice, to repair to their destinations. About 400, have enlisted in town, and between 500, and 600, at Jersey."—(Times, Jan. 29, 1794.)

Here is a very early Notice of Volunteers:—

"We are happy to hear that the Grand Juries of the different counties, intend to recommend the forming Volunteer Companies, to augment the Militia. The Grand Jury, at Reading, greatly approved this measure, and the sum of 14, or £1500, has already been subscribed, at that place, for carrying it into effect."—(Times, March 8, 1794.)

"The following are the terms for raising Independent Companies. For a Company, a Lieutenant on full pay is to raise fifty men, including three corporals, to be allowed five guineas levy money, and the pay of three serjeants, and two drummers, during the levy, and to receive £150 from the successor to his lieutenancy. A Lieutenant on half pay, to raise the like number, but to be allowed eight guineas levy-money. For a Lieutenancy, an Ensign on full pay is to raise twenty men, including a corporal, and to be allowed five guineas levy-money with the pay of a sergeant, and a drummer, during the levy. An Ensign on half-pay, to raise the like number, but to be allowed seven guineas levy-money."—(Times, March 7, 1794.)

"The following, we understand to be the heads of the plan to be proposed for the consideration of the Lords Lieutenants of the different counties, for the internal defence of the Kingdom.

"1st. The Militia is to be augmented by Volunteer Companies, or by an additional number of privates to each company, in the option of His Majesty.

"2ndly. Volunteer Companies are to be formed in particular towns: in those particularly situated on the sea coast, for purposes of local defence.

"3rdly. A certain number of soldiers for each Regiment: to act as pioneers, as well as persons in different parishes, and districts, not attached immediately to the Militia, to act in the same capacity: and certain places to be appointed for their rendezvous, particularly upon the sea coast; but these to be ready to assist the regular forces upon every emergency.

"4thly. Volunteer Troops of Fencible Cavalry are to be raised, consisting of from 50, to 80, men per troop, which are liable to serve only during the war, and within the Kingdom: the Officers are to have temporary rank only, and are not to be entitled to half pay: arms, clothing, and accoutrements, to be furnished by the Government, but the levy-money to be found by the persons raising such troops, or troops, as also the horses; for the horses, however, they are to be allowed the Government contract price. The person who, upon the above terms, raises two troops, is to have the temporary rank of Major; he who raises four, that of Lieutenant Colonel; and he who raises six, that of Colonel.

"Fifthly, Bodies of Cavalry are, besides, to be raised within particular districts, or counties, to consist of the Gentlemen and Yeomanry, or such persons as they shall recommend, according to a plan to be approved of by the King, or by the Lords Lieutenant, under authority from His Majesty; the Officers are to receive Commissions from His Majesty, and the Muster Rolls are also to be approved of by His Majesty, or by the Lords Lieutenant, at particular periods to be hereafter fixed; no levy money is to be given, and the horses are to be provided by the Gentry or Yeomanry who compose the particular corps; the arms and accoutrements, are, however, to be supplied at the public expense. Such corps are to be exercised only at particular times, fixed by warrant from His Majesty, or by the approbation of the Lords Lieutenant. They are to be liable to be embodied, or called out of their respective counties, only by special direction from His Majesty, in case of actual appearance of invasion; and to be liable to be called upon by order from His Majesty, or by the Lords Lieutenant, or Sheriff of the county, to act within the county, or in the adjacent counties, for the suppression of riots and tumults. In either case, they are to receive pay as cavalry, and are to be liable to the provisions of the Mutiny Bill."—(Times, Mar. 13, 1794.)

Qualifications.—"The officers of the London Militia, according to the Bill now in the House of Lords, are to be qualified according to the Act of the 26th George III. Cap. 107, Sec. 8.

Realor Personal.
Field Officers£300£5,000
Captains1502,500
Lieutenants30750
Ensign20400

One Moiety in the City, the other in any part of the Kingdom seised of an estate, either in law, or equity, the claim or grant whereof was originally made for 20 years, of the same annual amount, to be a qualification."—(Times, June 26, 1794.)

"An extraordinary circumstance lately happened to a sheriff's officer, in the neighbourhood of Covent Garden. Hot with juniper berry, not the Tuscan Grape, he had an idea of beating the Carmagnols; and in consequence, going to a recruiting party in Bow Street, said he would enlist. The Captain of the party gave him a shilling, in the usual phrase of His Majesty's name:—he said he must have more:—a guinea was given him in His Majesty's name, to serve so and so; he took it, and departed. The matter thus rested for five or six days, when he came back to return the money, which he said he had taken in a frolic. The money was refused. He said he would be revenged, and, having a writ some days after, against one of the enlisted recruits, he went to the rendezvous house to execute it, where the Captain took him up as a deserter, and sent him to the Savoy Prison, from whence he has been released by a Habeas Corpus, contrary, as military men say, to the law by which the military are governed. This will occasion a most curious contest."—(Times, June 30, 1794.)

"Something like a legal mutiny has, it seems, already arisen in the long robed Corps of Volunteers. By a clause in their engrossed agreement, every Member neglecting to attend the regular drill, is bound to pay a fine of three shillings and four-pence, towards purchasing parchment to new head their drums. Against this penalty being levied, some of the absentees have demurred, on the plea that the instrument is not valid in law, from its not being drawn on a six shilling stamp."—(Times, July 17, 1794.)

"A melancholy accident happened yesterday, about one o'clock, at the Recruiting Office, Angel Court, Charing Cross. A sergeant having kidnapped a man, for the better securing him, had confined him in a back-garret at the top of the house, after he had cut off his hair, to disfigure him, and, tying his hands behind him, and locking the door, left him by himself. By some means, the man got his hands loosened, and chose rather to risk his life by jumping from the window, than suffer himself to be any longer in their clutches; accordingly, he attempted to pitch upon a leaded roof, which was about half way to the bottom, but, unfortunately, jumping short, he fell back, and his head falling against the wall, his skull was fractured in such a shocking manner, that he died in about an hour afterwards. The populace were so much enraged at this shocking enormity, which we are sorry to believe is too often repeated, that they almost demolished the Recruiting Office. The mob had increased to so great a degree at ten o'clock last night, that it was found necessary to call out a party of the Horse Guards, for the protection of the neighbourhood."—(Times, Aug. 16, 1794.)

Kidnapping, or a disgrace to Old England.

This was a serious riot. The mob at that time was peculiarly excitable, and had a great deal more of its own way than it has now. So a spark only was wanted to make a flame. This was found in a rumoured case of kidnapping for the army; impressing for the navy could be understood, because it had obtained from time immemorial, that when the king wanted men to man his war vessels, he took seamen, or fishermen, but this was something new, and must be put down, otherwise no man was safe. The truth was not scrupulously adhered to, and the print shops, ever eager to make money by pandering to the passions of the hour, published exaggerated, and heartrending pictures, of the way in which the army was recruited, and, altogether, a very pretty riot was got up.

"On Saturday morning, early, a mob again collected before Angel Court, Charing Cross, and attacked the house from whence the unfortunate young man had thrown himself into the street. The populace proceeded to gut the house, throwing the furniture out of the windows. The street was covered with feathers from the beds which were torn to pieces: they were proceeding to demolish an adjoining house, when the military were called in, and several officer's detachments, both of horse, and foot, again paraded the streets at Charing Cross. The mob having assembled again yesterday morning, and becoming very riotous, a troop of Horse Guards was very properly ordered out, and two or three of the principal rioters about the King's Arms Public House, taken into custody.

"It is some satisfaction that we have heard the Coroner's report on the investigation of this unpleasant business. A most respectable jury sat five hours, on Saturday night, to consider of the verdict: and, after the most minute testimony of several witnesses, it was proved that the young man, whose name was Howe, and lived at Wandsworth, was a Lunatic, and had been several times confined by his friends. He had himself offered to enlist; no blame whatever attaches in this instance, to the people of the house. We trust that this impartial enquiry will satisfy the minds of every one, and that there will be no more mobs."—(Times, Aug. 18, 1794.)

"In consequence of a mob again assembling at Charing Cross, yesterday evening, the Horse Guards were again called out, and paraded the streets till midnight."—(Times, Aug. 19, 1794.)

"THE RIOTS IN LONDON.

"We had flattered ourselves with the hope, that the very fair, and public, investigation which took place on the Coroner's Inquest, which sat on Saturday last on the body of the unfortunate man, Howe, who threw himself out of a window of a Recruiting House, would have satisfied every man's mind, that Howe was a Lunatic, and had been so for many years past: and that it was in a fit of Lunacy, that he destroyed himself. We hoped after this investigation, all kinds of mobs would have ceased.

"We are sorry to observe, that the people are instigated to riot by the false representations daily made in those Jacobin prints, which are, at all times, so eager to announce, and magnify, every public misfortune. One of these yesterday asserted, 'that a poor woman with five children, and herself now pregnant, suspecting the crimps had decoyed her husband into a house in Whitcomb St., watched it, and by chance saw her husband chained to the floor.' An evening paper of yesterday, observes 'that the guards, both horse and foot, were as usual, grossly insulting inoffensive passengers,' and it concludes with a piece of advice to these military gentlemen, 'that they are not always with musquets, and swords, in their hands, and that the people may be roused to resistance.' Now we know that no gentlemen could have observed greater caution than the military have done on this occasion: and the above remarks have no other object than to excite riot.

"On Tuesday last, John Kerr and John Ruggle, were committed to Newgate for stripping a man of his cloaths. Kerr is the man who keeps a house in Whitcomb Street, Charing Cross; which was assailed by a mob on Tuesday night, and very much damaged. It was owing to this riot, that the Horse Guards were again called out, and paraded the streets, through the night, as well as yesterday, to keep the peace.

"Six of those who were found in Kerr's house throwing the furniture out of the windows, were taken into custody, and, yesterday morning, were all committed to Tothill-fields Bridewell.

"A riot also was attempted to be raised at a recruiting-office in Tooley St., Southwark, on Tuesday night.

"Yesterday, a mob assembled before a house of the same description, in Shoe Lane, at which several stones were thrown: and, at length, it became so serious, that the Lord Mayor was called upon to interpose his assistance, and attended, and, by the interference of a few constables, the mob dispersed, but, in the evening, the number of people continuing to increase, a party of guards were sent from the Tower, and the Lord Mayor, at eight o'clock, read the Riot Act. The mob, after being driven out of Shoe Lane by the soldiers, rushed suddenly to Bride Lane, where they broke open a house which had been employed as a recruiting-office, and proceeded to throw the beds, and some little furniture that remained in it, out of the windows; but, hearing of the approach of the military, they fled, saying they had plenty more business to do. It was reported, at the time this paper was going to press, that the Recruiting Offices on Mutton Hill, and Cow-Cross, near Clerkenwell Green, had likewise met a similar fate."—(Times, Aug. 20, 1794.)

"On Wednesday, the examinations closed respecting Mrs. Hanna, who kept the recruiting office at Charing Cross, when she was acquitted, no evidence being adduced to criminate her. This acquittal has been the consequence of a very scrutinizing investigation.

"The riots were not confined, on Wednesday night, to Fleet St. and the neighbourhood, but extended to the Raven, in Golden Lane, and the Sash, in Moorfields, and very much damaged the Rum Puncheon, in Old St., and a private house in Long Lane. They were all recruiting houses. A recruiting house, opposite Fetter Lane, in Holborn, was completely gutted.

"Yesterday, bills were very properly stuck up in different parts of the town, to the following purport:—'You are earnestly requested to depart hence, and not by remaining, encourage others to stop, by which a crowd will be accumulated, and your personal liberty may be endangered.' Parents were likewise warned from suffering their children to appear abroad.

"It is greatly to be apprehended that there exists a scheme to raise mobs, and disturb the peace of the metropolis. On Friday, and Saturday, during the riots at Charing Cross, great pains were taken to persuade the people, that there were subterraneous passages from the houses to the Thames, and that men were sent off in the night. On Monday, and Tuesday, hand-bills were distributed, telling the people that men, and children, were kidnapped, and sent off to Canada, and elsewhere. Nothing can be more notoriously false than such assertions."—(Times, Aug. 22, 1794.)

"On Thursday night there was an attempt made to raise a riot in St. George's Fields, at the Milk House, the corner of the London Road, the master of which is a temporary Serjeant to recruit for some of the volunteer corps; but by the spirited behaviour of the recruits, soldiers and light horse volunteers, in that quarter, the incendiaries did not proceed to acts of violence. It was evidently apparent that the mob was led on by persons above the common rank, whose sole aim is, if possible, under the idea of some pretended grievance, to raise a general riot in the metropolis. On Thursday, several persons were committed to the New Compter, by the Lord Mayor, for being concerned in the riot in Shoe Lane; and six men were committed to Newgate, from the Public Office, in Worship Street, for being concerned in the riots at the Sash, in Moorfields, and at the Black Raven, in Golden Lane.

"In the course of the same day, several attempts of a similar nature were made in different quarters of the town, which were prevented, however, by the appearance of the regular military, and, in some places, by the City Horse Volunteers, who have been out on duty every day. The recruiting offices in Drury Lane, and at Shoreditch, were attempted to be demolished. As the continuance of these riotous proceedings is of the most dangerous nature, we trust that some more decisive steps will be taken, by Government, for their suppression."—(Times, Aug. 23, 1794.)

"The activity of the Magistrates, and the arrival of the Oxford Blues, to assist the Civil Power, caused the mobs to be cautious of appearing on Saturday. They found that it was determined to fire upon them if they did not desist; and, therefore, they thought personal safety the best policy. A very rigid, and severe, investigation will, no doubt, be made into the practice of crimping, and a stop put to the disgraceful manner of recruiting."—(Times, Aug. 26, 1794.)

"Old Bailey.

"Five men were indicted for a riot, on the 20th of last month, at a Public House, known by the name of the Old Sash, in Moorfields. After a trial of five hours, the Jury found all the prisoners—Not Guilty. John Osborn and R. Piggott were indicted for riotously assembling on the 20th August last, in Golden Lane, and beginning to demolish the dwelling house of Hugh Case. Piggott found guilty, sentence, Death. Osborn, not Guilty. J. Strutt, was afterwards tried for beginning to demolish the dwelling house of W. Ostiff, in Johnson's Court, Charing Cross, and, after a trial of several hours, was found guilty, sentence Death. Antony Purchase, and R. Warnbeck, were next tried, for beginning to pull down the house of R. Lazell, and found guilty, sentence Death. They were both of them strongly recommended, by the Jury, to mercy, on account of their youth, and the goodness of their character."—(Times, Sept. 22, 1794.)

"Sunday evening, an affray happened in Whitcomb Street, between a recruiting party, and the mob, on account of the former attempting to trepan a young man, in a state of intoxication. The windows of the recruiting-house were broke, and the affair, which for some time bore an alarming aspect, was at last terminated by the arrival of a party of the Horse Guards." (Times, Dec. 23, 1794.)

RIOT IN ST. GEORGE'S FIELDS.

"However expedient it is to recruit our Land Forces, and strongly as it is requisite to make our Navy respectable, and superior to the enemy, yet, in attaining these essential points, the constitutional liberty of the subject should be preserved. It is, therefore, with a degree of regret, we mention that the power of enlisting men for the Land Service, in particular, has been entrusted to persons who have abused the confidence reposed in them, and who have used the most unjustifiable means to accomplish their purposes. As an instance, among others that have previously been brought before the public, we are authorised, from the circumstances of the case, to state, that on Friday last, a very great mob assembled in London Road, leading from the Obelisk, in St. George's Fields, to the Elephant and Castle, at Newington Butts, and, having intimation that a number of men were there imprisoned by a certain description of Crimps, they attacked the house where these persons were confined, demolished the windows, and released eighteen men, who were chained together by hand-cuffs, and other iron ligaments.

"The Borough Magistrates, on hearing of this outrage, immediately sent down their officers: and the Acting Recruiting Serjeant being taken into custody, he was, after a short examination, committed to the New Gaol. The circumstances which led to the discovery of this imprisonment, was, that of kidnapping a pot-boy, who, before he was chained down, contrived to break a pane of glass in the drawing-room window (for the house was a private one, and elegantly furnished), from whence he cried out 'Murder!' This alarmed the neighbourhood, and, as it had been suspected by them, that persons were illegally confined there, the doors, and windows, were soon demolished, and the prisoners liberated. The Serjeant, and his crew, had two women of the town genteelly dressed up for the purpose of inveigling young men into the house, which they styled their lodgings, where the deluded were instantly hand-cuffed, and, about three or four o'clock, in the morning, sent off in coaches, hired for the purpose, to the country. On Saturday, several more youths, who were confined in other parts of the Fields, were released by the Magistrates, amidst the plaudits of a numerous multitude of spectators."—(Times, Jan. 12, 1795.)

"On Tuesday night some disturbance happened in Charles Streets, Westminster, occasioned by some crimps having inveigled a boy from his parents, and lodged him in a house there. The mob broke the windows of it, and the boy was rescued. We have every reason to hope that the most severe punishment will be inflicted on the crimps, Government having taken every possible pains to prevent such abuses."—(Times, April 16, 1795.)

"Yesterday evening, about seven o'clock, a very considerable mob assembled about Charing Cross, and, under the pretence of delivering a man from the Crimping House, they attacked the house, which is up a little court near Northumberland House, and threw all the furniture out of the windows. Charing Cross was covered with feathers. The mob became so numerous, and disorderly, that it was found necessary to call in the assistance of the Horse Guards: and the Riot Act was twice read by a Magistrate. The street was much thronged, and the tumult continued, when this Paper went to press: although there had been no other act of serious mischief. No one can detest the business of Crimping more than we do: but we have strong reasons to believe that this is very frequently made a stalking horse with the factious, to provoke a riot."—(Times, July 12, 1795.)

"A Mob collected themselves again, last night, at Charing Cross, when, after making every one pull off their hats, as they passed, they proceeded to Mr. Pitt's, in Downing St., and broke several windows in his house; but, the Guards being immediately called out, and appearing in sight, very soon dispersed them.

"The Mob, afterwards, went over Westminster Bridge, and paraded to St. George's-fields, where they attacked the Royal George Public-house, near the Obelisk, and threw all the furniture of it into the road, and there burnt it. They gutted another Recruiting house, in Lambeth-Road, and, afterwards, made a bonfire of the furniture. This was mistaken by many, to be houses on fire. There were some of the Mob who kept watch on the outside of the houses, to give notice of the arrival of the military, who did not come till after the furniture of these two houses were consumed. The Mob compelled the inhabitants of the houses in the neighbourhood, to put up lights.

"The Riot at Charing Cross, on Sunday night, was begun by a very few persons who wished for mischief, and called out the words, Crimps, and Kidnappers! The damage was done almost instantaneously, and the villains escaped, leaving a numerous assembly of people, who were only drawn together by an idle curiosity, on the Surrey-road, near the Circus. Yesterday morning, however, about seven o'clock, it was assailed by a mob, and, notwithstanding it was well defended, and that the door was plated with iron, it was forced, and the prisoners rescued. Last night the mob again assembled about half past eight o'clock, near the Obelisk, in St. George's fields, where they gutted another Recruiting Office, and threw the furniture into the road, of which they made a bonfire. At first, the mob consisted only of about one hundred men, but the flames soon attracted great numbers. About nine, the Horse Guards arrived, and soon dispersed the crowd. We wish they had come sooner, as it is extremely injudicious to the public interest, that such indecent sights should be repeated. It was very well known that a Mob meant to assemble, and, of course, the Military should have been at hand, to meet it. Several persons were much hurt, in not being able to disperse soon enough, which ought to be a warning not to mingle in such a crowd. The Duchess of Gloucester, who was at the Circus, with her daughter, was escorted home by a party of horse."—(Times, July 14, 1795.)

"The Riots continued on Monday evening in St. George's Fields, until the Military arrived to disperse the mob. Several persons were taken into custody, and lodged in the watch-house."—(Times, July 15, 1795.)

Modern Mode of Beating up for Volunteers.

The way in which the patronage in the Army was managed, was a crying shame—children in their cradles had Cornetcies presented to them, and their promotion went on several steps before they left school. We hear of the natural consequence, in the following extract from the Times, 4th Jan. 1794:—

"We are extremely sorry that our public duty should call upon us to make any unpleasant remarks on the officers of our Army abroad, but repeated letters from the Continent, received by all descriptions of persons, agree in saying that there is a great want of Subordination among our troops. We shall not enter into particulars on this subject, as our only object is, that this observation should meet the eye of the Commander-in-Chief, and other General Officers, and that they should take the matter into their serious consideration. The evil is certainly increased by having so many young men introduced into the Army, and placing them over the heads of veteran Soldiers."

"The scandalous abuses which have been so often, and so justly, complained of, as detrimental to the public service, of children being taken from school, and appointed Officers, cannot be too soon remedied, though it will be a Herculean task to cleanse the Augean stable. In mentioning the following circumstance, we have certainly no kind of ill-will towards the party concerned; but it is a fact, that a child, not fourteen years of age, is now under orders for embarkation at Plymouth, who has been taken from school, to join his regiment at St. Domingo, as Captain!!! It is impossible for any man, who has the interest of his country at heart, to hear of such abuses without commenting on them with the utmost severity. The fault is not with Government, but is attached to the custom which prevails in officering the army; a custom which cannot be too soon corrected."—(Times, Feb. 10, 1795.)

"The Duke of York has ordered circular letters to be sent round to the Colonels of Regiments, desiring a return to be immediately made to his Office, of the number of Captains in each Regiment, under TWELVE years of age; and of Lieutenant Colonels under the age of EIGHTEEN!!! The very scandalous abuses that have, of late, crept into the mode of officering the army, are such, as to have demanded a very serious enquiry: for numberless are the evils that have resulted from it, besides that it has given so much disgust to veteran Officers, whose fortunes were not adequate to the purchase of rank. Various are the instances of boys having been taken from school, to take the command of Companies of Regiments."—(Times, March 20, 1795.)

"Over a Warehouse for fashionable dresses, in Fleet St., is written up 'Speculum modorum,' or, the mirror of the fashions; and several young Gentlemen of the Guards are actually learning Latin, in order to understand them. Others have sent for the Alphabet, in gingerbread, as preliminary education."—(Times, Oct. 27, 1795.)

"An alteration, we understand, is shortly to take place in the uniform of the officers of all the regiments of the line. The present full dress coat is to be abandoned in favour of a very short one, without any lace, or lappels, which the officers are always to wear when on duty, but discretionally at other times."—(Times, Nov. 16, 1797.)

"A number of baby officers have threatened to sell out of the Guards. They purchased for the privilege of wearing handsome regimentals, and the new uniform they say is so ugly."—(Times, Nov. 20, 1797.)

"Some of the sucking Colonels of the Guards have expressed their dislike of the short skirts. They say they feel as if they were going to be flogged."—(Times, Nov. 21, 1797.)

Kelsey's was a famous fruiterer's, &c., in St. James's Street, and we are here presented with one of the boy officers, whose legs cannot reach the ground, and who has not yet lost his childish predilection for "Sugar Plums." As a foil to him is given Colonel Burch, of the Royal Household Troops—who is actively engaged in demolishing Ice Creams.

Heroes Recruiting at Kelsey's 1797.

The following paragraph tells a sad tale:—

"The late order of the Cabinet for furnishing all His Majesty's troops with bread, in the same manner as if in camp, namely, a loaf of six pounds weight for five-pence, will, we doubt not, have the desired effect in preventing a continuance of those outrages, to which the military, in many parts of the kingdom, have been compelled, by absolute want."—(Times, April 27, 1795.)

But this order was modified, as we see.

"A new regulation has been made throughout the whole Army, that instead of the additional allowance of Bread-Money, each Soldier is to receive 8d. per day clear."—(Times, Oct. 2, 1795.)

The fate of a prisoner of War is always hard, and, as a rule, they are not too luxuriously treated. When first we had large quantities of French prisoners over here, they were nearly starved, but, afterwards, their lot was much ameliorated. Probably they were better treated than our people who were imprisoned in France, for, if the following letter can be believed, they certainly were neither luxuriously housed, nor fed.

"The following is an Extract of a letter from an Officer of the 'Castor' Frigate, captured some time since, by the French, dated Quimper near Brest, Feb. 27, 1795:—

'I wrote by Lady Ann Fitzroy, which I hope you have received; we were in a very bad state at that time: but since she has been gone, we have been a great deal worse. They now serve out nothing but bread, and horse-beans, for three weeks, or a month, together: and, when they do give meat, it is but six ounces of salt pork per man. It would make your heart ache, to see our poor sailors, without money, without cloaths, worn down by sickness, and emaciated to the last degree, fighting over the body of a dead dog, which they sometimes pick up, and devour with the most voracious appetites: and it is a fact, that the head, and pluck, of a dog, sold for 30 sous, the other day. Such scenes as this, was I obliged to undergo: but I am now in a house allotted for the officers, and am rendered very comfortable by the friendship of our second lieutenant, Mr. Hadaway. I am the only surviving midshipman of four, who came here, belonging to our ship. I have lost all my hair by sickness: but I live in hopes of seeing Old England, and my friends again.'—(Times, April 16, 1775.)

"Several persons escaped from prison, bear the strongest testimony of praise towards Lady Ann Fitzroy, late a prisoner of war at Quimper, in France, who perhaps, suffered more insults, and bad usage, from her jailors, than any of her rank ever suffered before: but, regardless of her own distresses, she made it her sole business to alleviate those of her fellow-prisoners: made shirts, and caps, for all those in need, besides purchasing some hundreds of jackets, and trowsers, which she distributed amongst her unfortunate countrymen, in want of cloathing. Her Ladyship, also, every day, had a great quantity of veal, and soup, dressed, to distribute amongst the sick. Her unparalleled benevolence saved the lives of hundreds."—(Times, June 12, 1795.)

"TWENTY GUINEAS BOUNTY.

"Gray's Inn, in the county of Middlesex, 13th Dec., 1796.

"To all able-bodied MEN, willing to serve in His Majesty's Army.—The Hon. Society of Gray's Inn will give Twenty Guineas, without any deduction whatever, to any Man who shall be approved by the Regulating Officer. No Volunteer who shall enter, as above, can be arrested for Debt, or taken out of his Majesty's Service, but for a criminal Matter.—Application to be made any Day, from the Hour of 10, till 3 o'clock, at the Steward's Office, Gray's Inn.

"Persons enrolled are not liable to serve more than one Calendar Month after the end of the present War."—(Times, Dec. 17, 1796.)

"At the Roscommon Assizes, Lord Viscount Dillon was cast in a verdict of £60, for illegally confining a poor mechanic, a fortnight underground, with a view of forcing him to enlist."—(Times, Sept. 20, 1797.)

"On Saturday last, the sentence of a Regimental Court Martial was carried into execution, on a private soldier, belonging to the 2nd Battalion of the Breadalbane Fencibles, now in the Castle of Edinburgh. He received 1000 lashes, and was drummed out of the Battalion, for having, while on sentry at Leith, on the night of the 15th of September last, loaded his piece, and fired the same into the house of an inhabitant, the Civil Magistrates having delivered him over to the Military Law."—(Times, Oct. 7, 1797.)

The sale of Commissions is here openly acknowledged, although it was not allowed, vide the two following advertisements in the same paper (1798, Jan. 15):—

"Militia.—Any young Gentleman wishing for an Ensignsy in a highly respectable Regiment of Militia, where he will have the opportunity of forming the very first connections, may, on certain conditions of honour, solely between the parties, be so respectably introduced. The Advertiser, who is of the Church, and of undoubted character, as will be known, means to apply this only to a young person of some income of his own; or whose friends would add an allowance to his pay, so as to place him upon a more equal footing with his brother Officers, and superior rank. On a proper behaviour, there is no doubt but that he would soon have a Lieutenant's Commission, and it is to be considered that at the end of the War, he will be entitled to half pay, the same as the line. It is apprehended, too, that it might still more peculiarly suit one who may mean to ultimately go into the regulars, and would prefer having his first steps in the Militia. The Advertiser, not residing in London, a letter at Messrs. Wilson and Wright's, Walker's Court, Soho, for A. P., will be duly honoured in the course of 2 or 3 days, provided it is signed with real name, and address, without which it cannot be noticed.

"Marines.—A young man of respectable connections, and of the best morals, is very anxious to be in the service of his King, and Country, in these momentous times, and therefore ardently intreats the patronage of any Lady or Gentleman, who has the interest to procure him, or the power to bestow upon him, a Lieutenancy of Marines. He does not mean to offer the insult of any pecuniary recompence; but he will assure a greatly more pleasing return to a benevolent mind, that of everlasting gratitude, and the most unimpeachable conduct. The honor of a line to F. G.," &c.

"A company in the Guards has lately been sold for the enormous sum of 8000 guineas."—(Times, April 26th, 1796.)

Commissions in the army were notoriously sold, but one would imagine that a line would be drawn at Chaplains.

Advt.—"TO BE DISPOSED OF, A CHAPLAINCY, in a new Regiment of Dragoons, and a Quarter-Master's Warrant, in a Regiment of Dragoon Guards. Apply to Mr. Hawkes, No. 17 Piccadilly."—(Times, June 9, 1795.)

"MILITIA INSURANCE.

Advt.—"Such persons as wish not to venture the risk of finding a substitute, by being drawn for the Old Militia, Supplementary Militia, and Tower Hamlets, may be secured on the following Terms, viz. Old Militia—7s. 6d. or 10s. per annum; Supplementary Militia £1 1s. or £1 11s. 6d.; Ditto, together, £1, 7s. 6d., or £2 per annum; Tower Hamlets £1, or £1 10s., per annum; by Mr. Cox, Junr., No. 36 Holborn."—(Times, Feb. 7, 1798.)

"The trial of Capt. F. Arthur of the Yeoman Artillery, commenced on Saturday, at Limerick, and terminated, on Monday, the 25th, when he was sentenced by the Court-Martial, to be transported for life, and to pay a fine to the King of £5000."—(Times, July 2, 1798.)

"Some accounts of our present Volunteer Associations will, no doubt, when read a few years hence, excite no small degree of surprise. Of this class are the following paragraphs. 'The Reverend Doctor F—— gave the word of command.'—'Counsellor G—— led his detachment to the charge with uncommon spirit and vigour.'—'An Anthem was sung by Captain-Lieutenant Sale,' &c."—(Times, Sept. 5, 1798.)

"Lewes.—Last week the Volunteers for regular Service from the Derby, Westminster, North Gloucester, and Surrey regiments of Militia, marched into this town, from their respective stations, on their routes to the grand depot, at Horsham. The large bounties which these men have received, enable them to keep up a scene of drunkenness, and insubordination, which it is very difficult to restrain. After parade here, on Saturday evening, Sir Joseph Mawbey, and other Officers, commanding the Surrey Volunteers, were compelled to have recourse to their drawn swords, to enforce order, and maintain their command, which was for some time powerfully resisted, on their ordering a man to the guard-house. And, on dismissing the parade, yesterday evening, a similar disturbance took place. No swords were then drawn, but the clamour demanded the interference of General Hulse, who, in consequence, ordered out a piquet guard of infantry, and a patrole of horse, by which tranquillity was restored, and preserved. Others who have passed through this town, in their drunken frolics, distinguished themselves by swallowing Bank-notes between slices of bread and butter, and lighting their pipes with them, to the no small advantage of the Bankers."—(Times, July 31, 1799.)

SOCIAL ECONOMY.

Under this head are placed many matters which could scarcely be classified.

Take, for instance, the series of groups copied from a long picture of the "Installation Supper, as given at the Pantheon, by the Knights of the Bath, on the 26th of May 1788."

In looking at this series, we must never lose sight of the fact, that, here, we are getting a peep at haut ton—none of your common folk—and, if the picture be a true one, they must have been contented with the roughest accommodation. Hard seats, plain tables, with no Plate, nor floral decorations, no napkins; Knives and forks brandished in a most reckless, and uncouth manner; an utter disregard for the proprieties of the table, even to drinking the gravy out of a plate; and intoxication, in its various phases, passing, seemingly, unchallenged. A tankard of beer admitted to such a banquet, and two people sharing the same "dish of tea," are all, to us, astounding revelations of the social manners of our grandfathers.

Installation Supper.

Sir F Johnston & Lady. Lord Bathurst. Major Topham.

From the following we get a curious glimpse of the Social economy, of the times—a phase of thinking which would scarcely do nowadays:—

"In a complicated machine, any of the inferior parts getting out of order, will soon obstruct the whole: and, conceiving such may be the case with public society, we are led to make a few observations on some improprieties which occur in the present day.

"The wages given to servants have increased during the last 10 years, more than for 30, or perhaps 40, years before: and the misfortune is, that dissipation, and want of morals, have also much increased, particularly among manufacturing labourers, who now have got, in many places, only to work three, or four, days in the week, and to be drunk the remaining time, leaving their wives, and children, neglected, and in rags.

"As to household servants, the accommodation offices for hiring of them, have had the worst effect. They make them indifferent about keeping their places; lure them on with false hopes, and often before a servant gets fixed, they, and the pawnbroker, put them under difficulties.

"Travelling expences, by the profusion in the perquisites given to waiters, post boys, &c., have become enormous, and their attention is less; but, if those who give in that way, were to consider the injury they do the public, and of how little use it is to those who receive it, they would certainly think such money so squandered away, would have been better bestowed, if applied to some public charity, or left for the poor of the parish.

"Increase of trade, and wealth, having produced an increase of luxury, and made the necessaries of life more expensive, it is proper that wages should be increased: but yet not beyond the bounds of proportion; for it will be found in those manufacturing occupations, in which labourers get the most money, they are the most disorderly, continually combining together to leave their work, unless their masters consent to increase their wages, and which only proves a temporary compromise, till they have an opportunity of making a further demand. On the contrary, where less wages are given, we shall find the people more happy, and contented, their wives more attended to, and their children brought up with more religion, and better morals."—(Times, Sept. 5, 1794.)

"To the CONDUCTOR of the TIMES.

"Sir,—Various are the receipts for cheap puddings, and many long, and useful, letters have appeared in your very excellent paper, towards alleviating (as much as is in the power of every Housekeeper) the scarcity, and dearness, of bread: by substituting rice, and potatoes, in the room of pies, or flour puddings: but there still exists an evil which I have not seen spoken against, and which certainly occasions a very great consumption of starch: I mean the general fashion which has prevailed for some years, and does still, from the highest, to the lowest, of wearing white dresses, which, upon a moderate computation, for every individual, must consume at least double the soap, and starch, than when coloured callicoes, silks, and stuffs, were in fashion: Added to this, that every maid servant (who, though she is perhaps not worth a second pair of shoes) will wear her muslin handkerchiefs. I think it is the duty of every good master, and mistress, to stop, as much as possible, the present ridiculous, and extravagant, mode of dress in their domestics. View, on a Sunday, a tradesman's family coming from church, and you would be puzzled to distinguish the porter from his master, or the maid from her mistress. Formerly a plaited cap, and a white handkerchief, served a young woman three, or four, Sundays. Now a mistress is required to give up, by agreement, the latter end of the week for her maids to prepare their caps, tuckers, gowns, &c., for Sunday, and, I am told, there are houses open on purpose, where those servants who do not choose their mistresses shall see them, carry their dresses in a bundle, and put them on, meet again in the evening, for the purpose of disrobing: and where, I doubt, many a poor, deluded, creature, has been disrobed of her virtue. They certainly call aloud for some restraint, both as to their dress, as well as insolent manner. Tell a servant, now, in the mildest manner, they have not done their work to please you, you are told to provide for yourself, and, should you offer to speak again, they are gone. Surely no set of people are more capable of rendering our families comfortable, or the reverse, than domestic servants, nor any set of people who feel the present dearness of provisions so little. I look upon their exorbitant increase of wages, as chiefly conducive to their impertinence: for, when they had five, or six, pounds a year, a month being out of place, was severely felt; but now their wages are doubled, they have, in a great measure, lost their dependence: And what is this increase of wages for? not in order to lay by a little, in case of sickness, but to squander in dress. No young woman, now, can bear a strong pair of leather shoes, but they must wear Spanish leather, and so on in every article of dress. No wonder, then, that there should be so many prostitutes, and so few good wives.

"By inserting these hints, as soon as you conveniently can, you will much oblige,

A Constant Reader."

—(Times, Dec. 25, 1795.)

Sir George Young and Lady.

Lord Amherst

"We trust that the measure, which was, last year, so laudably attempted by the Brewers, Bakers, and Publicans, for the abolishing Christmas-Boxes, will not only be continued by them, but will also be followed up by the other trades, who have hitherto been compelled, by custom, to continue a practice so destructive to the lower orders of people."—(Times, Dec. 17, 1794.)

Advt.—"CHRISTMAS BOXES.—The BUTCHERS, resident within the Parish of HACKNEY, beg leave respectfully to inform their Customers, and the Public, that, on account of the excessive high price of Provisions, they find it impossible to continue the practice of giving CHRISTMAS BOXES to the servants of their customers, without sustaining, on the one hand, a deduction from their profits, which the trade will not allow, or, on the other hand, increasing their charges: they have, therefore, unanimously resolved to discontinue the practice, in time to come, and hope that their conduct, on this occasion, will not be deemed improper, or disrespectful."—(Times, Dec. 9, 1795.)

The following Advertisements, which are only a few out of many, shew how common was the sale of Government appointments:—

"Place under Government. £2000 or £3000 or more will be presented to any Gentleman, who has interest to procure for the Advertiser, a Place in any of the Public Offices, of respectability, and an adequate income. No Agent, or Broker, will be attended to. Letters to be addressed &c., &c."—(Times, March 13, 1793.)

"Place under Government. To be DISPOSED of, a Genteel Place under Government: present Salary £100 a year, with the chance of rising, and other advantages: the next rise will be a considerable one.—Any Young Gentleman, who can command from 500£ to 1000£ will be treated with: and by addressing a line to A. Batson's Coffee-house, with real name and place of abode, will be informed of further particulars. N.B. No Brokers will be attended to."—(Times, April 15, 1793.)

"A PLACE under GOVERNMENT.

"To be sold, a permanent Place, which can always be disposed of at pleasure, the salary £76 per annum, net, payable quarterly, the attendance not more than 20 times in the year, and about 2 or 3 hours each time: the duty is agreeable, and in the line of a Gentleman, and can at all times at a small expence be executed by a Deputy. Address &c., &c."—(Times, Feb. 3, 1798.)

Advt.—"Three hundred Pounds. An adequate Premium of £300 or upwards, will be given to any Lady, or Gentleman, who has interest to procure the Advertiser a Place in one of the Government Offices. As the parties are of the utmost respectability, the greatest honour and secrecy may be depended on. Address to &c., &c."

Advt.—"Fifty Guineas will be given to any Gentleman, or Lady, who has interest to procure the Advertiser, a young Man, 25 years of age, a Situation in any of the Public Offices under Government. Address &c., &c."

Advt.—"A Douceur. Wanted, Information as to Situations in Public Offices, or other Appointments under Government, at home, or abroad, which are at present vacant, or like soon to be, or where those who hold such may be willing to resign, on account of their advanced time of life, or other circumstances, on a Douceur being made them. Any person who can give information of this kind will be waited on at any time, or place, he may appoint. At meeting, all particular terms, and circumstances, can be explained. The Advertiser is a person who can give the most satisfactory testimonials of connections, and abilities, and he wishes to be understood that the object of this Advertisement respects Appointments where the emoluments derived from the Situations may be from £500, down to £200 per ann. The most perfect secrecy may be relied on—"

Lord Sandwich. Dr. Brilland. Dr. Pair.

Advt.—"Five Hundred Pounds will be given to any Lady or Gentleman, who can procure the Advertiser a Place under Government, where the emoluments will be a liberal compensation for the sum proposed, and but little attendance required: or, if constant attendance is necessary, it will be expected that the emoluments should be in proportion. The person who wishes such a situation, is respectable in his connections, and the most inviolable secrecy will be observed. No broker will be attended to. Either in a Civil department, or otherwise. For reference &c. &c. &c."—(Times, Jany. 4, 1799.)

The Penny Post was an institution of those days, although its action was limited as to distance. The following excerpts will enable us to notice its different phases, during the years treated of:—

"The Postmaster General has lately established a Penny Post at Manchester, which promises great convenience to the inhabitants of that place, and its vicinity."—(Times, April 17, 1793.)

"The new Penny Post Office is likely to prove such a very great accommodation to the public, that the only wonder is—it has been so long neglected. Instead of the number of deliveries, and the hours of despatch, varying in different parts of the town, as at present, there will be six deliveries, each day, in all parts of the town: by which means, a person living at Mary-le-bonne, may send letters to, or receive letters from, Limehouse, a distance of seven miles, five times a day. Persons putting in letters by nine in the morning at the distance of ten miles from the chief Penny Post Office, and later, at less distant parts, may receive answers from London the same afternoon. There will be three deliveries of letters, in most parts of the country, within the limits of the Penny Post; and there will be two posts, daily, from all parts within the distance of ten miles from Lombard St."—(Times, Feb. 28, 1794.)

"The proposed plan of a new Penny Post is no longer talked of:—It is every day more, and more, wanted, as the present mode is extremely irregular, and insufficient. According to the new plan, the Penny Post was to have gone out seven times a day."—(Times, May 4, 1794.)

"The PENNY POST.

"The late regulations in the Penny Post Office are certainly of the most essential service to the public: but the conduct of the Letter Carriers requires the most minute attention. They wall defraud where they think they can do it with impunity; and as an instance of this, we give the following fact. From any part of the Metropolis, to the Borough of Southwark, and its adjacent parts, is stated to be but One penny per Letter. The Carriers, however, uniformly charged 2d. per Letter. A Complaint of this imposition was made to the Comptroller, by a Gentleman, whose house is in the Blackfriars Road, and an immediate answer was given 'that the Carrier had been severely reprimanded,' and the surcharge had been returned. His removal from that walk, gave his successor, who, perhaps, did not hear of this reprimand, an opportunity to continue the same imposition, and the letters to Blackfriars Road, and in other parts of St. George's Fields, were again charged 2d. The Comptroller was again applied to, and on the next evening, he wrote a letter to the person who sends this for publication, 'that the Carrier was ordered to return the surcharge.' The publication of this circumstance is requisite, as no doubt, similar extortions are practised in other parts of the suburbs. This is a matter that ought to be universally made known, as cent. per cent., even on a penny, is rather too much for a man, illegally, to pay."—(Times, Oct. 27, 1794.)

"Franking," as the privilege of free postage was called, had already assumed dimensions, so as to have become a scandal, which is well exposed in the following notices:—

"Motion respecting Clerks in Office.

"Mr. Dent said ... Public notoriety went to accuse the offices of great abuse of the privilege of franking ... that such abuses did exist, and to give the proofs of them was the object which he proposed to gain by his present motion. He would state to the House some of the abuses. Certain bags came to the Post Office, marked Ordnance, Navy, Treasury Bags, &c., and the letters contained in these bags were furthered without more enquiry. These bags, perhaps, contained a great quantity of letters from the various Clerks: he could produce an instance of a very inferior Clerk, who had franked to a great amount, by placing his initials on the superscription. He had looked attentively over the list of those who had the privilege, and he did not find his name among them.... Among other instances, he would mention a Mr. Lackington, a celebrated bookseller; he had friends in some one of the Offices, and the whole of his Catalogues were franked to different parts of the country. It was also notorious, that some persons had written to their country correspondents, that if they would deal with them, the whole mass of pamphlets published in London should be sent them free of postage: this was done by means of the Clerks in office. In short, there were persons whose salaries amounted to only £300, or £400 per annum, who from their situation, made £1000 or £1200. It surely could not be the intention of the House to permit such malversation, and, therefore, he should move for a Committee to enquire into these facts. Before the late regulation, venison has passed as nimbly, by the post, as it run when alive in its native park. After further conversation, the House divided.—For the Question, 53; Against it, 41.—Majority, 12."

"It would have been extraordinary indeed, if Sir Benjamin Hammett had not opposed the Franking Bill: for we are informed from very good authority, that Letters franked by, and addressed to, him only, are to the amount of £2400 sterling per annum."—(Times, March 11, 1795.)

"Debate on Franking.

"Mr. Hobart brought up the Report of the Committee upon the Bill to restrain the abuse of Franking.

"Mr. Dent said, he was sorry to add, that this privilege had been notoriously abused, and was so publicly known, that paragraphs had appeared in a newspaper, of a Member having received £300 annually, from a mercantile house, to give them the advantage of this privilege. He hoped this fact was false, but he feared, however, it would be found too well warranted. By this Bill, Members were to receive only fifteen letters, and send ten, therefore the abuse, to this extent, could not be continued. At the same time, he thought, and should, bye-and-bye, more particularly state, in the motion he should submit to the House, that, when they were curtailing their own privileges, the Clerks in office should not be permitted to continue their abuses.

"Mr. Courtenay said, by the official returns it appeared that £30,000 was franked by the various offices, which amounted to one third of the whole of what was franked by Members of Parliament. Now the privilege was restrained in Members of Parliament, it would become more valuable to the Clerks in Office, and he should not wonder, if some of them should become not sleeping, but writing, partners in mercantile houses....

"Mr. Dent observed, abuses in the offices did exist to a very great degree. The Commissioners of the Customs received large Packets which contained letters to all their acquaintances in Town: the abuse did not end here: 20 Custom-House Porters were immediately dispatched to 20 different parts of the town.

"Mr. W. Smith said, ... Public notoriety was sufficient grounds to proceed against the Offices. Though all those letters were superscribed for His Majesty's service, yet they went upon many other purposes. A friend of his had informed him of some Vine cuttings, which had been sent to Ireland, franked: he also knew of a silk gown franked into the country: this was hardly for His Majesty's service.

"Mr. Rose said, if those abuses, mentioned by the Hon. Gentleman, had been privately intimated, they would have had immediate attention and some remedy applied. The laws to prevent the abuse of franking had been transmitted to the several Offices, and by them the first offence was a penalty, and the second, a dismissal from Office.

"The Bill was ordered to be read a third time on Friday."—(Times, April 14, 1795.)

The following are to be the new rates of Postage in this country:—

"For every single Letter by post, for any distance not exceeding 15 miles, be charged 3d. Double letters 6d. Triple 9d. Those of 1 ounce weight, 1s., and so, in proportion.

"Above 15 miles, and not exceeding 30, for single Letters 4d., and so, in the same proportion.

"Above 30 miles, and not exceeding 60, 5d., and so, in proportion.

"Above 60 miles and not exceeding 100, 6d., and so, in proportion.

"Above 100 miles, and not exceeding 150, 7d., and so, in proportion.

"All above 150 miles, 8d., &c.

"Upon every single Letter to Scotland, 1d., the rates of Postage remaining the same, on double letters, 2d., &c.

"That the present rates of Postage between London, and Portugal, and between London, and British America, do cease.

"From any part of Great Britain, to Portugal, exclusive of Inland Postage, every single letter, 1s., &c.

"The same from any part of Great Britain, to British America.

"The Inland Postage upon said Letters according to distance."—(Times, Dec. 12, 1796.)

The following paragraph is interesting, as it fixes the date of the Postal Uniforms—the colours of which are still adhered to by the Postal authorities, in clothing the Mail drivers:—

"The Post Office Letter Carriers in London are to be provided with an uniform of red coats, faced with blue, and to wear numbers."—(Times, Feb. 10, 1793.)

"There is at this time a third of the Mail Guards ill, either from the intenseness of the severe weather or from colds they have caught in the floods: their exertions were in general very great, and meritorious, in saving the Mails."—(Times, Feb. 19, 1795.)

We are here presented with the infancy of Telegraphing—which was then a marvel of the age—but which we, from our standpoint of Electricity, must fain smile at. They were mechanical contrivances placed on hills, or other eminences.

"The Telegraph.—This mode of communication is little understood here, although the invention be not a new one. The process is getting possession of heights at convenient distances, and by fire-works, in different forms, for different letters, spelling the order, or intelligence, from station, to station!"—(Times, Sept. 11, 1794.)

"The new mode of correspondence, by the help of which, the surrender of Quesnoy was known at Paris an hour after the entry of the French troops into that place, is a communication by signals, which are repeated from distance, to distance, by machines, stationed four, or five, leagues asunder. This may explain the celerity with which communications are made.

"The telegraph, now brought into use by the French, appears to have been an invention of Dr. Hooper's, and published in his Rational Recreations, in 1774. The plan of which may be seen in his 'Visual Correspondence.'"—(Times, Sept. 15, 1794.)

"The invention of the Telegraphe, does not belong alone to the French. About ten years ago, Count Possini at Rome, invented a mode of getting intelligence from Naples, in the course of an hour. The Lottery at Rome, depends upon that drawn at Naples. It differs from our Lottery, materially, for there are but six prizes, and these are the first six numbers drawn, and the remainder are all blanks. The Count, whose house is on an eminence near Rome, managed with his confederates, who were placed at certain distances, between Naples, and his estate, to have sky rockets let off, by which they had previously fixed with each other, to ascertain by such signals, any particular number, or numbers, drawn. The plan succeeded, as Tickets continued to be sold in Rome, for several hours after the drawing commenced at Naples, the account of which was always brought by the ordinary courier. By this scheme the party got about 100,000 crowns, and the plot would never have been discovered, had not the Count purchased the whole of the six prizes, which caused suspicion, and of course, excited enquiry."—(Times, Sept. 16, 1794.)

"Astley, who is always employed in the production of something new, brings out, this evening, an exhibition of the much talked of, and ingenious Machine, called the Telegraphe, at the Lyceum, in the Strand."—(Times, Sept. 19, 1794.)

"The invention of the Telegraphe, is now traced back to 1655, and particularly mentioned in a little book, then written, and published, by the Marquis of Worcester, inventor of the Steam Engine. He there gives it the name of Visual Correspondence, and calls it his own invention."—(Times, Sept. 20, 1794.)

"Experiments are now making at Woolwich with a new species of the Telegraphe, to ascertain at what distance intelligence can be conveyed by it during the night. It is composed of letters, or figures, nine feet high, cut out in a board, which is painted black in front, and strongly illuminated behind by patent lamps with reflectors; it is placed on the top of the butt against which the cannon are proved, and proper persons are stationed at Purfleet, and other intermediate places, with telescopes, to determine at what distance letters of that size are legible at night, by which means any word may be written, by a succession of letters, and intelligence may be conveyed, with astonishing celerity, during the night, by having a series of different signal-houses at proper distances between whatever places information is intended to be communicated."—(Times, Oct. 7, 1794.)

"It has been said, that a conversation had actually taken place across the Channel, between Donaghadee and Port Patrick, by means of a Telegraph. The following are the particulars: Two Gentlemen of the county of Longford have been, for sometime past, making experiments, in different positions, in that county, and they succeeded so well, as to induce them to undertake the journey to Donaghadee, where the Channel between Britain and Ireland is the narrowest, being about 18 Irish miles across. They brought down their machinery with them, and, having erected one on each side, they conversed with each other, on Monday evening last, the weather being tolerably clear. The conversation that passed was as follows—The Gentleman on this side said 'I see you, being white, distinctly.' The other replied 'I see you; I wish your's was white also.' (The machine on this side being black.) The Gentleman on this side then asked 'What o'clock is it?' and was answered 'Six.' He then said 'I will shew lights at nine o'clock, do you attend.' He was answered 'I will attend, but I have only one light.' They then made signals of 'good night,' and the communication ended. The machine consists of a triangle, with two long sides and a short one, suspended in the air vertically; it turns on a pivot, and is capable of being put into eight different positions, very distinct from each other. These positions represent eight of the common numerical figures, and these figures, according to their position, denote certain words and sentences, according to a preconcerted dictionary, or vocabulary, alphabetically, as well as numerically, arranged. It is believed this machine is on a principle totally different from the French."—(Times, Sept, 11, 1795.)

"A chain of Telegraphs is erected from Shuter's Hill to Dover. Gad's Hill, and Barham Hill, are the intermediate posts."—(Times, Dec. 30, 1795.)

"Telegraphe.—An improvement on this post-haste mode of travelling, has been offered to the Administration, by two foreigners, who demand £40,000 for the discovery, if it should be found to answer; if it does not, like quacks of another description, they retire with nothing but the shame of the attempt. These foreigners undertake to convey intelligence to all parts of the world, by letter as quick as thought. Certain globes are to be constructed, that, by the power of electricity and attraction, a packet, large as a horse can carry, shall be sent to and from Dublin, in about the time requisite for dispatching a breakfast!! Credat Judeus!"—(Times, Jan. 12, 1796.)

In or about 1796, was instituted the semaphore telegraph—which, until the introduction of the Electric Telegraph, was the best system out.

"The most important services which can be rendered to the public by the Telegraph, is in cases similar to that which occurred last week, in forwarding the news from Deal to London, of the sailing of the Dutch Fleet, within the space of five minutes. This prompt conveyance of the intelligence enabled the Admiralty Board to take such speedy measures for sending a fleet out after the enemy. When the Telegraph is established between London and other ports as well as Deal, the advantage will be very great indeed."—(Times, Mar. 2, 1796.)

"The English are remarkable for improving upon the inventions of their Gallic neighbours. It is well known, that while these aerial wanderers were tumbling down like so many Phaetons from Heaven, we were driving about securely in balloon-coaches, and eating balloon-cakes, and balloon-oysters. The same advantage has resulted from the telegraph, which, beside christening a coach, and a newspaper, is now transferred to the heads of our ladies, and has given us telegraphic hats and telegraphic caps. By this invention a female will travel to Edinburgh, through the observatory at York, Doncaster, Grantham and Huntingdon, from the principal machine in Bond Street, in the time of three Operas, or twenty-four Routs."—(Times, Oct. 15, 1796.)

"Since the invention of the Coiffure télégraphique it is scarcely possible to follow the rapidity of the fashions. The morning dress and the evening dress mean literally the dress of the day they are worn in. It was observed, with concern, at Drury Lane the other evening, that the Lady P's were more than half an hour out of fashion."—(Times, Oct. 21, 1796.)

Among the various tyrannies of fashion, none, perhaps was more curious than that of powdering the hair. Taxation, and the French mode of "Cropping" killed it, but it died hard.—The Tax was treated both jocularly, and au grand serieux.

EPIGRAM.

"On the Hair Powder Licence Tax, at a time when general Expectation looked for a tax on Dogs:—

"Full many a chance, or dire mishap,
Oft'times between the lip, and cup, is;
The Tax, that should have hung our Dogs,
Excuses them, and falls on Puppies."

—(Times, Mar. 11, 1795.)

"A tax on Dogs would certainly have been unobjectionable, as well as expedient, in a two-fold degree; first in creating a revenue, and secondly, in lessening the number of them. At the present period particularly, a tax on Dogs would have a good effect, as it is a well known fact, that the coarser parts of meat are scarcely to be had by the poor, because the rich can afford to buy them for their dogs."—(Times, Apr. 11, 1795.)

"The Tax on Powdered Heads is calculated to produce £450,000 per annum, though the Minister has only calculated it at £200,000. Some Gentlemen are said to have made an offer to farm it at £400,000."—(Times, Mar. 25, 1795.)

"Hair Powder Tax."

"An Annual Certificate to be taken out by every person wearing hair-powder, price one-guinea: every sort, or composition, of powder worn as an article of dress, to be deemed within the meaning of the Act. The Royal Family, and their immediate Servants; Clergymen, whose annual income is under £100; Subaltern, Non-Commissioned Officers, and Privates of the Army, Militia, Marines, and Fencible Corps; Officers of the Navy, under the rank of Commander; Officers, and Privates, in Corps of Yeomanry, or Volunteers; Dissenting Preachers in holy orders, or pretended holy orders, whose annual income is under £100, are exempted. Persons having more than two daughters unmarried, to pay only for two.

"Persons wearing Powder without a Certificate, to forfeit £20. Persons selling, transferring, or using, a Certificate, with intent to defraud the revenue, to forfeit £30."—(Times, May 7, 1795.)

"The Powder Tax has already produced three hundred thousand pounds to Government. The term is to be extended by Act of Parliament, and, according to the most probable conjectures, the final amount will be double that sum.

"The Duke of Devonshire has paid five and thirty guineas for his family. The Duchess of Northumberland, a single guinea for herself: powder is under interdiction among the rest of that family: though not from motives of disaffection. Her Grace assigns a more justifiable motive; namely, a scruple of contributing, in any unnecessary way, to the present scarcity."—(Times, June 12, 1795.)

"Hair Powder Tax. The Caricaturists, who generally paint so plain, that those who run may read, have whimsically described the two orders of beings, who do, and do not, pay. The first are aptly enough termed Guinea Pigs—the latter, Pigs without a Guinea!"—(Times, July 1, 1795.)

"The Commander in Chief of Brighton Camp has notified to the Officers, that the use of Flour, for the privates, will be dispensed with, during the present scarcity of Wheat."—(Times, July 15, 1795.)

"HAIR POWDER. To all those whom it may concern.

"Among the many ingenious, and humane, projects that have been devised for lessening the consumption of Flour, and soothing the minds of the poor, at this interesting period, it is a matter of no small astonishment to me, that that of sacrificing our hair-powder, has not been more universally adopted. To the antiquated virgin, indeed, who still sighs, and hopes, and whose silvery locks might prove too sure an index of that worldly experience, which, for certain prudential reasons, she might wish to conceal, I confess the sacrifice is too great to be expected. To the unhappy hen-peck'd bald-pate, whose lively wife nauseates, and detests, the careless brown-bob, something may be said in his behalf, also: but, to every other character, whether the grave judge, or respectable grandmother, the buxom widow, or the broad shouldered Irish fortune-hunter, the flirting coquette, or her coxcomb colleague, the hardy veteran, or flashy militia captain, the pert lawyer, or the young priggish parson: and lastly, the smart apprentice, who beflours his head to cut a dash at the Dog and Duck, or Bagnigge Wells: all these, I say, and every other character that I have omitted to name, can surely have no possible excuse for thus insulting the feelings of the poor. I repeat the word insulting, for it is the just and proper epithet; for what can we term it but insult, to be thus playing with the feelings of these poor wretches, at a moment when they are suffering the greatest of all worldly miseries—want."—(Times, Aug. 10, 1795.)

"A morning Paper of yesterday, mentions by name, that a Nobleman of the highest rank, in this country, was, last week, summoned to the Police-Office, Queen's Square, for wearing powder without being licensed. The defence set up that his Grace, being a Menial Servant, in the King's Household, was exempt from the Tax: which, being admitted, the matter was dismissed.—We trust that this information is not authentic, for it would be a most pitiful subterfuge to evade the payment of a tax, which is generally allowed to be a proper one." (Times, Feb. 1, 1797.)—(Query, the Duke of Portland.)

All articles of luxury, and very many of absolute necessity, were taxed to supply the drain of the war—and, doubtless, people had to be economical—but the following advertisement reduces economy to a science:—

"ADVANTAGEOUS HAT SUBSCRIPTION. Stamps included.

"Three Hats, value £1, 1s. each, at £1, 14s. 6d. per Ann., delivered as follows. Two on Subscription, the third at the end of eight months, when the two first must be returned, and the third at the end of the year. Four Hats, value £1, 4s. each, at £2, 6s. per Ann., delivered as follows. Two on subscribing, and two at the end of six months, when the two first must be returned, and the other two at the end of the year. The Hats changed as the Fashions vary during subscribing. To remove all prejudices, Gentlemen may call at the Manufactory and see the quality. Old Hats taken in part of the subscription money. Durant and Pitra, Hat Manufactory, middle of Monmouth St."—(Times, Aug. 25, 1796.)

On Nov. 22, 1798, Pitt brought forward his annual statement, relating to public finance—and proposed to raise £7,000,000, by a new tax called a triple assessment—but, eventually, it turned out that it, with the land tax, brought in but about 4-1/2 Millions. A Briton can extract some fun, even out of his misfortunes, so they caricatured this heavy tax. In Dec. 1797 appeared a picture entitled "More visitors to John Bull; or the Assessed Taxes"—showing four little imps coming to John Bull. He naturally asks, "What do you want, you little devils?—ain't I plagued with enough of you already? more pick pocket's work, I suppose?" But the diablotins courteously reply, "Please your honour, we are the Assessed Taxes."

On Dec. 3, 1798, Mr. Pitt again made his annual financial statement—and, of course, he wanted more money—and the way by which he proposed to raise the necessary funds—was by imposing a Tax on Income. He proposed that no income under £60 a year should be touched—and from that sum, to £200 per annum, should be on a smaller scale than over £200—past which sum—a full tenth of all incomes would be demanded. The returns were to be made by the person assessed, subject to the inspection of a surveyor, who should lay before the commissioners any grounds he might have for suspecting the return to be false. The commissioners had no power to call for account books, or to examine clerks, &c. But, if the individual did not clear himself, and they thought he had not returned sufficient, they could make such assessment as they thought fit. After a long debate it was carried by 183 to 17, and made law on 18th Mar. 1799. By the accompanying caricature, "A Visitor to John Bull, for the year 1799, or the Assessed Taxes taking their leave," it was evidently the public impression that the Income Tax would supersede the Assessed Taxes. But it was not so, as they were still kept on.

The little demons still behave courteously towards John Bull, who looks in undisguised horror at the size of the awful fund (the Income Tax) now taking possession of him.

The following paragraph would seem, at first sight, rather harsh—but it must be borne in mind that the War was a cruel drain on our fiscal resources—and not one penny that had been granted by parliament could be bated.

The Assessed Taxes taking their departure.

"The Commissioners of the Stamp Office having been informed that the practice of letting out newspapers for hire, was carried on to a very considerable extent, to the great injury of the revenue, the Commissioners ordered a prosecution to take place, and a newsman was yesterday summoned before the Lord Mayor, and convicted in the penalty of £5, as the Act directs."—(Times, Oct. 23, 1795.)

"Lending Newspapers. James Berridge, a Newsman, was, on Saturday, brought before Sir William Addington, and R. Ford, Esq., charged with letting out Newspapers for hire, from house to house. This was a prosecution instituted by the Commissioners of the Stamps. A great number of complaints were brought forward against him, and he was convicted in six penalties of £5 each. A variety of others were about to be exhibited against him, but in consideration of his having a large family, the Solicitor declined going into them."—(Times, Jan. 2, 1798.)

"The keepers of several reading-rooms in Fleet Street, and Shoe-Lane, were, on Saturday, fined £5 for lending newspapers for hire."—(Times, Sept. 26, 1798.)

"Government intends to have one fixed standard for Weights, and Measures, over the whole Kingdom; as the greatest frauds, for want of that regulation, have, for ages, been practised with impunity. These regulations are much needed, and are an excellent subject for taxation. The lower orders of the community are grievously imposed upon, for want of them, and, doubtless, it will be a popular mode of taxation, and can give no offence to any class of people, but those dishonestly employed."—(Times, Sept. 15, 1796.)

"The following curious view of the incredible loss sustained by raising weekly loans of money, at the Pawnbrokers, it is hoped, will prove an additional incitement to frugality; for certain it is, that in many instances, 1/6th, and in some cases 1/5th, and even as high as 1/4th, of the annual earnings of the more thoughtless, and dissolute part, of the poor, is paid for temporary accommodations. For instance,

"The person who borrows 3d. in pawn, pays 6d. a year, interest, but, if taken out weekly, (a thing very common, particularly during the Lottery),

It is1/2d.per week,or850per cent. on the sum borrowed.
If6d.it is the same"425do.
If9d.do."285do.
If1s.do."215do.
If2s.do."107½do.
If2s. 6d.do."87½do.

"This explanation should be a warning to those who are so improvident, as to pawn their Sunday cloaths, every Monday morning, or 52 times a year, a custom which too frequently prevails, without reflecting that the Interest paid the Pawnbroker would, probably, purchase two or three coats, gowns, or silk cloaks, in the course of the year."—(Times, Mar. 20, 1797.)

"ON PUBLIC-HOUSES. (Condensed.)

"In the City of London, and within the Bills of Mortality, there are at present 5,204 licensed Public Houses, and it is calculated that the Beer, and Spirits, which are consumed in these receptacles of idleness, and profligacy, by the labouring people, only, is little short of three millions sterling a year. It has been lately discovered, that clubs of apprentice boys are harboured in Public Houses, for the purpose of supporting their brethren who run away from their masters, and of indulging themselves early, in scenes of lewdness, and drunkenness, which they generally do, by pilfering their masters property, and disposing of it at the old iron shops.

"In a recent publication, the consumption of Ale, and Porter, annually, in the metropolis, and its environs, is stated to be 1,132,147 barrels, equal to 36,625,145 gallons, making 158,400,580 pots at 3-1/2d.£2,311,466 15 10
"And, by another calculation, the average consumption of Gin, and Compounds, in Public Houses, previous to the stoppage of the distillery, was about 3,000,000 of Gallons975,000 0 0
————————
£3,286,466 15 10

John Bull and the Income Tax.

"If a conclusion may be drawn from the apparent greater degree of sobriety, which is manifested, at present, by the labouring people, and evinced by the number of quarrels, and assaults, being very considerably diminished, and the pressure, with respect to the means of living, apparently less than in the spring of 1795, notwithstanding no charities have been distributed, and bread is considerably higher, it would seem reasonable to attribute this favourable change, to the high price of Gin, which, being in a great measure inaccessible, the lower ranks have it now in their power, to apply the money, formerly spent in this way, to the purchase of provisions, perhaps to the extent of some hundred thousands of Pounds a year, in the metropolis, alone!"—(Times, Oct. 4. 1797.)