CURIOUS BILL OF FARE, AND STORM, IN 1739.
I send you two morsels, copied from a small MS. volume of a very miscellaneous character, consisting of poetical extracts, epigrams, receipts, and family memoranda of the ancestors of the gentleman who has kindly permitted me to send you the inclosed.
"A Bill of ffare at the Christning of Mr. Constable's Child, Rector of Cockley Cley in Norfolk, Jan. 2, 1682.
"1. A whole hog's head, souc'd, with carrotts in the mouth and pendants in the ears, with guilded oranges thick sett.
2. 2 ox.'s cheekes stewed, with 6 marrow bones.
3. A leg of veal larded, with 6 pullets.
4. A leg of mutton, with 6 rabbits.
5. A chine of bief, chine of venison, chine of mutton, chine of veal, chine of pork, supported by 4 men.
6. A venison pasty.
7. A great minced pye, with 12 small ones about it.
8. A gelt fat turkey, with 6 capons.
9. A bustard, with 6 pluver.
10. A pheasant, with 6 woodcocks.
11. A great dish of tarts made all of sweetmeats.
12. A Westphalia hamm, with 6 tongues.
13. A jowle of sturgeon.
14. A great chargr of all sorts of sweetmeats, with wine and all sorts of liquors answerable.
"The child, a girle; godfather, Mr. Green, a clergyman; godmothers, Mis Beddingfield of Sherson, and a sister-in-law of Mr. Constable's.
"The guests, Mr. Green, Mr. Bagg and his daughter, and the godmothers.
"The parishrs entertained at another house with rost and boild bief, geese, and turkeys. Soon after the child dyd, and the funerall expenses came to 6d."
"1739. Dec. 28, Friday, began a frost. Satterday and Sunday with the most severe sharp wind that ever was known. Monday and Tuesday fell a great deal of snow, wch continued upon the ground, with the most severe frost ever known, without intermission till Friday, Feb. 1st, then thaw'd in the day. Sharp frost at night. Thaw'd Satterday and Sunday, with rain and sleet of snow, cold air with frost, and continued till Sunday ye 10, when it thaw'd very fast with smal rain and wind: continued till Monday, when it changed into severe frost and a fall of snow, wch held till Sunday, then thaw'd, wind west, in the most gentle manner, insensibly wasting, no flood: extream dry, cold weather till ye 21 of April: yt day a little rain, and on the 22 fell a great deal of snow with a severe north and north-east wind: a little wet and cold wind continued till the 5th of May, when there was hail and snow a foot thick in many places. Continued cold till ye 9th. Wheat 6s. 6d. a strike; barley 3s. 6d.; mutton, in London, 5-1/2d. and 6d. pd, beife 5d.; 3-1/2d. mutton in the country, beife 3d.
"No rain from the 21 April till the 7th of June, but continued cold east and north-east wind, with a frost. June 3d, bread cost at London, ye first sort at 11s. 8d. a strick, a little while. On the 7th of June, wind south-south-west, a charming rain fell every where, wch lowered ye exesive prises: after yt, a drought succeeding, corn kept a high price, wheat 6s., barley 4, till near harvest, and exportation stoped: grass burnt up all summer: very little hay: butter and cheese very dear: everything continued so. Ye 7 of Nov. fell a great snow and rain wch made a flood: ye 10 begun a hard frost, wch continued with great severity, the ground covered with snow till ye 22: the 21 fell a great deal of snow, wch went away with some rain, and was a very great flood. During this frost the Thames was frose, and great calamitys feared from the want of hay and straw, wch the happy thaw prevented."
EDW. HAWKINS.