In the education of their children, the Anglo-Saxons only sought to render them dauntless and apt for the two most important occupations of their future lives—war and the chase. It was a usual trial of a child's courage, to place him on the sloping roof of a building, and if, without screaming or terror he held fast, he was styled a stout herce, or brave boy.—Howel.
EXECUTION OF RAVILLIAC, WHO ASSASSINATED HENRY THE FOURTH OF FRANCE.
The scene is thus described in a volume published in 1728:—
"This Francis Ravilliac was born in Angoulesme, by profession a lawyer, who, after the committing of that horrid fact, being seized and put upon the rack, May 27; the 25th he had sentence of death passed on him, and was executed accordingly in the manner following. He was brought out of prison in his shirt, with a torch of two pound weight lighted in one hand, and the knife wherewith he murdered the king chained to the other; he was then set upright in a dung-cart, wherein he was carried to the greve or place of execution, where a strong scaffold was built; at his coming upon the scaffold he crossed himself, a sign that he dyed a Papist; then he was bound to an engine of wood made like St. Andrew's cross; which done, his hand with the knife chained to it was put into a furnace, then flaming with fire and brimstone, wherein it was in a most terrible manner consumed, at which he cast forth horrible cries yet would he not confess any thing; after which the executioner having made pincers red hot in the same furnace, they did pinch the brawn of his arms and thighs, the calves of his legs, with other fleshy parts of his body, then they poured into the wounds scalding oil, rosin, pitch, and brimstone melted together; but to make the last act of his tragedy equal in torments to the rest, they caused four strong horses to be brought to tear his body in pieces, where being ready to suffer his last torment, he was again questioned, but would not reveal any thing, and so died without calling upon God, or speaking one word concerning Heaven: his flesh and joints were so strongly knit together, that these four horses could not in a long time dismember him, but one of them fainting, a gentleman who was present, mounted upon a mighty strong horse, alighted, and tyed him to one of the wretch's limbs, yet for all this they were constrained to cut the flesh under his arms and thighs with a sharp razor, whereby his body was the easier torn in pieces; which done, the fury of the people was so great, that they pulled his dismembered carcass out of the executioner's hands, which they dragged up and down the dirt, and, cutting off the flesh with their knives, the bones which remained were brought to the place of execution, and there burnt, the ashes were cast in the wind, being judged unworthy of the earth's burial; by the same sentence all his goods were forfeited to the king. It was also ordained that the house where he had been born should be beaten down, a recompence being given the owner thereof, and never any house to be built again upon that ground; that within fifteen days after the publication of the sentence, by sound of trumpet in the town of Angoulesme, his father and mother should depart the realm, never to return again; if they did, to be hanged up presently: his brethren, sisters, and other kindred were forbidden to carry the name of Ravilliac, but to take some other, and the substitute of the king's attorney-general had charge to see the execution of the sentence at his peril."
KNIVES AND FORKS.
"In all ancient pictures of Eating, &c. knives are seen in the hands of the guests, but no Forks."—Turner's Saxons.
"Here I will mention a thing," says Coryat in his 'Crudities,' "that might have been spoken of before in the discourse of the first Italian toun. I obserued a custome in all those Italian cities and townes through which I passed, that is not vsed in any other country that I saw in my traules, neither doe I think that any other nation of Christendome doth vse it, but only Italy. The Italians, and also most strangers that are commorant in Italy, doe alwaies at their meales vse a little forke when they cut their meate. For while with their knife, which they hold in one hand, they cut their meate out of the dish, they fasten their forke, which they hold in their other hand, upon the same dish, so that whatsoever he be that sitting in the company of others at meate, should vnaduisedly touch the dish of meate with his fingers from which all at the table doe cut, he will give occasion of offence unto the company, as hauing transgressed the laws of good manners, in so much that for his error he shall be at the least broue-beaten, if not reprehended in words.
This form of feeding, I vnderstand, is generally vsed in all places of Italy, their forkes being for the most part made of yron or steele, and some of siluer; but those are used only by gentlemen. The reason of this their curiosity is, because the Italian cannot by any means indure to have his dish touched with fingers, seeing all men's fingers are not alike clean. Hereupon I myself thought good to imitate the Italian fashion by this forked cutting of meate, not only while I was in Italy, but also in Germany, and oftentimes in England, since I came home: being once quipped for that frequent vsing of my forke, by a certain gentleman, a familiar friend of mine, one Mr. Laurence Whitaker, who in his merry humour doubted not to call me at table furcifer, only for vsing a forke at feeding, but for no other cause."—Coryat's Crudities, 1611.
Even when Heylin published his Cosmography, (1652,) forks were still a novelty. See his Third Book, where having spoken of the ivory sticks used by the Chinese, he adds, "The use of silver forks, which is by some of our spruce gallants taken up of late, came from thence into Italy, and from thence into England."—Antiquarian Repertory.
CHINESE PUNISHMENT OF THE KANG OR WOODEN COLLAR.