CHAPTER XVIII.
BORDERING upon Bridewell, and almost part and parcel of it, was Whitefriars, which, westward, ran to the Temple, and eastward to the Fleet. It is so-called from a Carmelite monastery, established here in the reign of Edward I. Within its precincts was the right of sanctuary, and, like the Jewish Cities of Refuge, offenders against the law might flee thither, and be protected from arrest. Naturally, the very scum of London floated thither, to the Mint in Southwark, and the precincts of the Savoy in the Strand, in none of which the King's warrant ran, unless backed by a force sufficient to overawe the lawless denizens of these localities. Whitefriars we may take as its original name, but there was given it a nick-name, "Alsatia," from Alsace, or Elsass, on the frontier between France and Germany, which was always a battle-field between the two nations; and so, from the incessant fighting that went on in this unruly neighbourhood, it acquired its cognomen.
Sir Walter Scott, in "The Fortunes of Nigel," gives a vivid description of the utter lawlessness and debauchery of this quarter of the town, but his was second-hand. Perhaps one of the most graphic pictures of this sink of iniquity is given in Shadwell's "Squire of Alsatia," acted in 1688, and which was so popular, that it had a run of thirteen nights. Here we get at the manners and customs of the natives, without any glossing over; and, just to give an example of the real state of the district at that time, I make two or three extracts, showing how the denizens were banded together in mutual defence.
"Cheatly. So long as you forbear all Violence, you are safe;
but, if you strike here, we command the Fryers, and will raise the Posse....[A Noise of Tumult without, and blowing a Horn.]
Cheatly. What is this I hear?
Shamwell. They are up in the Friers; Pray Heav'n the Sheriff's Officers be not come.
Cheatly. 'Slife, 'tis so! 'Squire, let me conduct you——This is your wicked Father with Officers.
Exit.
[Cry without, the Tip-Staff! an Arrest! an Arrest! and the horn blows.]
[Enter Sir William Belfond, and a Tip-Staff, with the Constable,
and his Watchmen; and, against them, the Posse of the Friers
drawn up, Bankrupts hurrying to escape.]Sir Will. Are you mad, to resist the Tip-Staff, the King's Authority?
[They cry out, An Arrest! several flock to 'em with all sorts of
Weapons, Women with Fire-Forks, Spits, Paring Shovels, &c.]
Tip-Staff. I charge you, in the King's Name, all to assist me.
Rabble. Fall on.
[Rabble beat the Constable, and the rest run into the Temple. Tip-Staff runs away.]."
So that we see how an ordinary sheriff's officer and the civil authorities were treated when they attempted to execute the law; but, further on in the play, we find a Lord Chief Justice's warrant, backed up by a military force—and then we see the difference.
"Truman. What do all these Rabble here?
Constable. Fire amongst 'em.
Sergeant. Present.
[The Debtors run up and dozen, some without their Breeches, others
without their Coats; some out of Balconies; some crying out,
Oars! Oars! Sculler! Five Pounds for a Boat! The Inhabitants
all come out arm'd as before; but as soon as they see the
Musqueteers, they run, and every one shifts for himself.]
And almost at the close of the play one of the characters, Sir Edward Belfond, moralizes thus: