THE 
 
 EYTHEi'UTHOROFTHE 
 
 TMnAinmnzctTJT
 
 Case 
 
 ^lackie &f So 71 L/ mi tec/ 
 T^7'ivate Lii'ra?y 
 
 C....C Rh^lf 10 
 
 Shelf.
 
 THE 
 
 HISTORY OF PROGRESS 
 
 GREAT BRITAIN
 
 THE 
 
 fflSTORY OF PEOGRESS 
 
 IN 
 
 GREAT BRITAIN/ 
 
 -^ ' T!V TTTR ATTTTTnTJ fl 
 
 BY THE ATTTnOR OP THE 
 
 'ENQUIEE WITHIN" AND "EEASON WHY" SERIES, "THAT'S IT," ETC. 
 WITH NUMEEOUS ILLUSTEATIONS 
 
 SHIPS OF THE TniRTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 THIRD THOUSAND 
 
 LONDON 
 H O U L S T O N AND AV E I G H T 
 
 65, PATERNOSTEE ROW 
 
 .MDCCCLXTI.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The " History of Progress in Great Britain " is submitted to the 
 reader's attention, believing that it contains some interesting 
 Facts and Kecords not hitherto known, or, at least, not heretofore 
 applied to demonstrate the growth of the British mind, and the 
 development of the Nation's material resources. 
 
 Though necessarily concise, the History is not superficial. The 
 Author has endeavoured to throw himself as far as possible into the 
 moral and mental atmosphere which surrounded former generations. 
 He has striven to realize their life, thoughts, fears, and difficulties. 
 The reader will find that he frequently quotes their words, in 
 preference to using his own ; feeling convinced that no language of 
 his could so aptly explain the old notions of vegetation (for instance) 
 as those which have been given from Goodge, Piatt, Gabriel Plattes, 
 Markham, and other " ingenious husbandmen," who undertook to 
 enlighten mankind upon their favourite theme ; and that the notes 
 by Pigafetta upon Magalhaen's voyage most significantly show the 
 scantiness of knowledge of Natural Phenomena and History in the 
 sixteenth century. 
 
 This Work was designed to be essentially a British History, 
 and confined, as far as possible, to the advancement made within 
 these Islands. But as Britain is connected, by the Sea and her 
 Shipping, with every part of the world, it was found necessary, in 
 the section upon Navigation and Geographical Discovery, to wander 
 beyond the prescribed limits, and to include the Portuguese and 
 Spanish discoveries, which opened to British enterprise a highway 
 East, West, and South.
 
 vi PREFACE. 
 
 The subjects included are complete as far as possible. Their 
 further progress will henceforward, it is presumed, consist rather 
 of the application of Inventions already tested, than of the in- 
 troduction of new applications; for the genius of Man appears 
 to have ransacked the stores of Natural Philosophy, and already to 
 have gleaned therefrom ever}' element of previously hidden power. 
 
 A considerable portion of space has been devoted, in the Second 
 Series of this Work, to the deeply interesting subject of Civil and 
 Religious Liberty ; but so grand and comprehensive a Theme must 
 have its own separate Historian who shall be worthy of it. Mean- 
 while, the brief notices here given are commended to the reader's 
 indulgence. Whatever be their faults, they have been written by 
 one who ardently desires to see his country, and all mankind, in 
 the fullest possible enjoyment of everything that is conveyed in the 
 words Civil- and Religious Liberty. These, rightly understood and 
 determinedly acted on, must tend to elevate the individual nature of 
 Man, and bring the entire Human Family into complete and 
 harmonious unity. 
 
 The Author tenders his grateful acknowledgments for the favour 
 with which this Work has been received, and for the popularity it 
 has attained since it was first published. He confidently anticipates 
 that this new and cheaper edition will find a phice in every Library, 
 public or private, in all Reading Clubs and Mechanics' Institutes, 
 for which it is specially adapted. 
 
 London, February, 18G6.
 
 CONTENTS OF THE FIRST SERIES. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 VIEW OF BEITAIN AT THE PERIOD OF THE ROMAN 
 
 INVASION 1 
 
 THE PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURE . . . .65 
 
 THE PROGRESS OF ROADS, CARRIAGES, AND WATER 
 
 CONVEYANCE 137 
 
 THE PROGRESS OF DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE . . 205 
 
 THE PROGRESS OF SHIPPING, OF NAVIGATION, AND OF 
 
 GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERY .... 273
 
 WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 — • m 
 
 DAILY WANTS, DICTION AKY OF. 7s. U. 
 
 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE, DICTIONAEY OF. 10s. 
 
 MEDICAL AND SURGICAL KNOWLEDGE, DICTIONAEY OF. 5s. 
 
 REASON WHY. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. 3s. 6rf. 
 
 REASON WHY. DENOMINATIONAL. 3s. U. 
 
 ENQUIRE WITHIN UPON EVERYTHING. 2s. 6i. 
 
 PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE AND FAMILY MEDICAL GUIDE. 2s. M. 
 
 FAMILY SAVE-ALL; oB, SECONDARY COOKERY. 2s. 6rf. 
 
 REASON WHY. GARDENER'S AND FARMER'S. 2s. <od. 
 
 REASON WHY. GENERAL SCIENCE. 2s. 6i. 
 
 HISTORICAL REASON WHY. ENGLISH HISTORY. 2». 6<i. 
 
 REASON WHY. NATURAL HISTORY. 2s. M. 
 
 BIBLICAL REASON WHY. SACRED HISTORY. 2$. 6i, 
 
 HOUSEWIFE'S REASON WHY. DOMESTIC SCIENCE. 2s. U. 
 
 NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 2s.M. 
 
 CORNER CUPBOARD. A FAMILY REPOSITORY. 2s. 6d. 
 
 THE INTERVIEW. 2s. 6i. 
 
 HOW A PENNY BECAME A THOUSAND POUNDS. \^^ g^^ 
 LIFE DOUBLED BY THE ECONOMY OF TIME, j 
 
 'Each of these two Works separately, \s. 6d., cloth. 
 
 THAT'S IT; or, PLAIN TEACHING. Cloth, gilt edges, is. M. 
 
 WALKS ABROAD AND EVENINGS AT HOME. Cloth, gilt edges, 3s. QJ. 
 
 ELEGANT WORK FOR DELICATE FINGERS. Is. 
 
 PHILOSOPHY AND MIRTH UNITED BY PEN AND PENCIL. Is. 
 
 THE USEFUL TEACHER. Is.t 
 CoKPHiBiNQ English Geammab; Qeogkapht; and History. 
 
 Each subject separate, Sd. 
 
 *HANDY-BOOK OF SIIOPKEEPING; OU, SHOPKEEPER'S GUIDE. Is.
 
 HISTORY OF PROGRESS 
 
 IN GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 GENERAL YIEW OF THE STATE OF BRITAIN AT THE 
 PERIOD OF THE ROMAN INYASION. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 liSTKODUCTION. 
 
 Among our Celtic ancestors some were worshippers of the Sim, others of 
 the Moon ; some paid their adorations to Fire, others deified Mountains, 
 Rivers, Lakes, and Trees. "We thus learn, even from those barbaric times, 
 as well as from the experience of to-day, that where and whenever 
 objects present themselves to the minds of men, there will arise diifer- 
 ences of opinion respecting them. Whether this deduction from the 
 experience of ages tends to depreciate or to exalt the dignity of the human 
 mind — whether it siiggests that to pursue the Truth is to seek the 
 Impossible — will be earnestly considered in those Chapters in which the 
 History of Opinion Avill be recorded, and various mental phases and 
 speculations examined. 
 
 There is reason to believe that between the worshippers of the Sun 
 and Moon, Fire and AVater, and the Polytheistic deities, there raged 
 an infatuated warfare on behalf of their respective gods. The terrible 
 sacrifices ascribed to the Druids, in which they are said to have immo- 
 lated thousands of human beings, could scarcely have been attributed 
 to simple warfare. Those sacrifices, always directed by the Druidical 
 priesthood, were conducted with all the imposing solemnity of the 
 
 13
 
 2 IXTEODUCTION. 
 
 religious rites of tlii' period, and wore doubtless, in some instances, 
 designed to exterminate heresies Avhieli were imagined to vex the gods 
 of the dominant faith. 
 
 It has been found that neither the cross, the sword, nor the stake, 
 nor these combined, can perpetuate error or extinguish truth. Those 
 bearded men in their sacerdotal robes, who were once believed to be 
 the appointed priesthood of the gods they revealed, have passed away — 
 themselves, their deities, their rites, are now known only upon the 
 page of history ; while a few rude stones remain to show the wreck of 
 their temples, and the fate of the workers of sacrifices. 
 
 AVhen, liowever, we turn back to the Past, and form oiu* judgment 
 of its history, we should exercise the like charity whicli Ave would apply 
 to the Future. The " learned" men of whom we write — before whom 
 the poor, the captive, and the ignorant bowed and trembled — were not 
 beings of their own creation, nor was their religion an enigma of their 
 own invention. When they gathered in dark recesses of sacred groves 
 to communicate their unA\Titten mysteries to the younger priesthood ; 
 when they bowed to worship the serpent, or performed their incanta- 
 tions witli the aid of the serpent's egg ; when they disembowelled their 
 victims, and foretold events by the writhings and contortions of the 
 dying, and the direction of streams of blood, — they were guided by 
 "tlic wisdom of their ancestors," and pronounced divinations by nJes 
 that had traditionally descended to them from remoter times. 
 
 Even amid the clouds of Druidical ignorance, there appears to have 
 shone a star of truth. It was a part of their belief that the world was 
 to undergo an endless succession of great revolutions, some of which 
 Were to be effected by the power of Fire, others by that of Water. What 
 fire and water have done, under the direction of tlie human mind, for 
 the civilization of tlie world, it Avill be one of tlie purposes of tliis 
 History to sliow. There is this dift'ereuce, liowever, that may be at once 
 pointed out, between tlic IJritons (jf old and Englishmen of to-day: 
 they were superstitious enougli tt) Avorship that Avhicli Ave are bold 
 enough to command. In looking back to the opinions of the past, we 
 shall find that there lias scarcely ever been received a form of error in 
 Avhich there did not lie some ingredient of truth. But the mass could 
 not be refined, and truth separated from the dross of error, because 
 there has ahvays been some dominant poAver to patent the dogma of the 
 age, and to forbid the free working of tlu- lniinnii mind. But for this 
 couserA'atiA'e policy — a policy Avliicli ])rcscr\cs the withered trunk, and
 
 INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 forbids the young brandies to grow — the last of the Druids miglit 
 have witnessed the first fulfihnent of tlie ti-uth they taught, bv an 
 allegory they could not comprehend. 
 
 The Author has decided to commence this History of Progress from 
 the remotest times, for the purpose of showing how tardy is the growth 
 of good when the nation's mind is under the stern control of autocratic 
 authority — how rapid its development when the blighting grasp of 
 inquisitorial tribunals is relaxed, and currents of thought are permitted 
 to flow and mingle as freely as the winds of heaven. 
 
 Nor will this History be confined to the recording of the growth of 
 abstract principles and rights. It will treat of the growth of our daily 
 comforts — those small blessings which have surrounded us imperceptibly 
 and swollen the tide of our happiness to a degree which can scarcely be 
 appreciated without a knowledge of the troubles and privations of past 
 ages. It will treat fully of these, as well as of those larger strides of 
 Progress which have achieved wonders greater than those the ancients 
 ever ventured to invoke from their gods. 
 
 A histor^^ of the People, their struggles, tlieir industrial and mental 
 improvement in all ages, whether rapid or sIoav, remains to be ■written. A 
 history which shall not seek to dazzle the public mind by pointing to the 
 achievements of war as the best monuments of our national greatness ; 
 which shall not call the demolition of cities a " victory," nor shedding 
 the blood of innocents, " glory ;" Avhich shall not designate oligarchal 
 selfishness " loyalty," nor wild outbiu'sts of popular Avrath " patriotism ;" 
 but shall faithfully depict, according to the best evidences that remain, 
 the grand battle which had been raging from the earliest ages between 
 Eight and AVrong, Knowledge and Ignorance, Motion and Inertia — 
 now advancing, now rolling back — now lulling into silence, like the 
 stilbiess of a sullen evening — now breaking out into instant tumult, 
 like the thunder of a stifled night, until, among the mighty elements of 
 social warfare, there arose a great ally of Truth and Freedom — the Press 
 — which at once proclaimed that God, who gave to man the garden of the 
 earth to subdue and cultivate, had given to him the garden of the 
 mind, with its rarer atmosphere of tliought, and its richer flowers of 
 imagination, not to remain a desert waste, a dark chaos, over which no 
 voice should pronounce the benediction, "Let there be light !" — the Press, 
 which abolished the serfdom of mind, as slower agencies had previously 
 abolished the serfdom of those bodily machines that are the instruments
 
 lyTKODUCTIOX. 
 
 of mind — the Press, wliicli rapidly created a power that uo sword's 
 edge is keen enough to wound, no fires of persecution fierce enough to 
 extinguish. 
 
 A Histor}^ so written, wliile it will teach to the I'ew liberality, and 
 confidence in popular rectitude, ^\ ill also teach to the Many moderation, 
 and a due knowledge of the stages of growth thrf)ugh which every plant 
 of Progress must pass before it can bear fruit. If these lessons shall 
 be faithfully given and received, there will be no lack of labourers for 
 the harvest of the Future, and those w^ho have hands to Avork will 
 readily obey those who have minds to direct. 
 
 In undertaking to write a History of these pretensions, the Author 
 has resolved to add to the interest of the subject by frequent pictorial 
 illustrations. Scattered in old manuscripts, tapestries, and illuminated 
 and printed volumes, there are many curious illustrations of the 
 manners and customs of by-gone ages ; but the Author will prefer to 
 render them in the style of modern art, and to interpret them by 
 the text of history, rather 
 than to perpetuate the ab- 
 surdities and incongruities 
 which were attendant upon 
 the productions of times 
 when the arts Avere little 
 luiderstood. In justifica- 
 tion of such a course, it 
 may be explained that 
 in no age could a warrior 
 have continued to fi^ht 
 
 o 
 
 after being transfixed with 
 ^^^^^^"-^ ""'^-...Jf^ ^^^ ai-row ; nor Avould a 
 
 l^iiight ha\e appeared on the battle-field 
 with his helmet over his eyes and a sword 
 in each hand, as in the accompanying fac- 
 similes from Strutt's Chronicles. 
 
 The Author ventures to believe that even to men of unreflcctive 
 minds, such a history may present attractive features. Gentlemen 
 who study the etiquette of morning and evening costume, will surely 
 be interested to know that only a few centuries ago their forefathers 
 interposed no garments between tlieir woad-stained bodies and the 
 moving winds, or merely hung loosely about them the skins of beasts.
 
 INTEODUCTIOX. 5 
 
 Those who feel pride iu a long ancestral line will scarcely object to 
 trace their genealogy back to the remotest period. It matters not 
 whether we claim descent from the Celts, the Eomans, the Saxons, the 
 Danes, or the Normans, the same rude story supplies the foundation of 
 the history of all mankind. In the times of which we Avrite, the only 
 polka that had been heard was the whistling of the winds among the 
 trees, and the only national anthem was the song of the waves upon our 
 sea-girt shores. To those who now surround the family fireside, when 
 the curtains are snugly drawn, and cold winds whistle along the imper- 
 vious walls and windows, it must be interesting to know that at one time 
 own ancestors lived in houses formed only of one room, having a fire in 
 the centre of the floor, around which they used to lounge or sit, and 
 spread for bedding at night the skins they wore for garments by day. 
 The roof formed a cone which answered the double purpose of a chimney 
 and a window ; through its large orifice the rain and hail fell, ch-i^ing 
 do^Ti large flakes of soot, and the wind moaned like the solemn voice of 
 a troubled spirit lamenting the ignorance of mankind. At a much later 
 period, and long after the invention of glass, that article was deemed 
 such a luxury that noble families when leaving their town residences 
 for the country season, had the windows-panes removed and carefully 
 packed in straw for security. Glass was not then such as we now 
 have ; it was tinged with a sickly colour, was uneven in sm-face, and full 
 of specks and imperfections. Pewter, from which working men now 
 quail their pints of porter, was such a luxury that noblemen used to 
 hire it for banquets from brokers, as they now sometimes hire silver 
 and gold. But we anticipate oixr History. 
 
 A recent historian,* in the introduction to his " History of England," 
 says — " Unless I greatly deceive myself, the general eftect of this 
 checqiiered narrative will be to excite thankfulness in all religious 
 minds, and hope in the hearts of all patriots. For the history of our 
 country during the last hundred and sixty years is emiuently the his- 
 tory of physical, of moral, and of iateUectual improvement. Those 
 who compare the age in which their lot has fallen with a golden age, 
 Avhich exists only iu their imagination, may talk of degeneracy and 
 decay ; but no man who is correctly informed as to the past will be 
 disposed to take a morose or desponding view of the present." 
 
 The Author of the " History of Progi-ess," so far from taking a 
 morose and desponding view of the present, will probably be found ia 
 
 * Lord Macaulay.
 
 6 IXTRODUCTIOX. 
 
 advance of public opiiiiou in liis estimate of the importance of the Pro- 
 gress tliat has been made, and the benefits that result therefrom. He 
 believes that the gi-eat charters of modern freedom and improvement 
 are not inscribed alone upon marble, or written upon parchment, 
 to be revoked or neutralized at the caprice of a government or the 
 will of a tyrant. They are engraved in lines of iron over the whole 
 face of oui' land ; they are traced in a miUion track- ways upon the seas, 
 even in defiance of tide and wind ; the very earth has found, in electric 
 wires, nerves that are everywhere ready to stir the nation's heart. No 
 " Doomsday Book " Avill ever again be -RTitten ; for there is now a book 
 in every hand, kindling into activity the intelligence which God has 
 aUotted to each of his creatures. 
 
 "With such foundations for their greatness as we now enjoy, the 
 splendid states of Grreece and Eome Avould have been eternal. The 
 Progress of a few centuries has made a mere colony of Eome, the first 
 kingdom of the world ; the absence of Progress has sunk the once 
 mighty empires of Southern Europe to the rank of petty states, adding 
 nothing to the improvement of mankind, but frequently distiu'bing the 
 peace of the world by affording a corrupt arena in which diplomatic 
 iuti'igues are fostered. 
 
 There will be no disposition disj^layed in this History to attack 
 particular parties, or individual men, for the errors and oppressions of 
 the past. Its aim -will be to fearlessly and honestly expose error and 
 oppression, regarding them as in some degree the necessary evils of 
 unenlightened ages : no less repugnant, however, on that account. It 
 will seek to impose upon the Men of the Future the great responsibility 
 of avoiding a repetition of those errors ; and will endeavour to inspire 
 the hearts of all men with a deeper faith in the progressive virtues 
 of the human race, and to obtain from every individual a warmer 
 co-operation for the general good. The work of the future is to 
 perfect Progress, and to diftuse its benefits, since no power can resist 
 its onward course, and its blessings are too many to be held in the 
 grasp of monopoly.
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 A FABULOUS HISTORY, RECEIYED FOE CENTURIES — STATE IN" WHICH 
 THE ROMANS FOL'ND THE ISLAND WIIAT EFFECTED THE CON- 
 QUEST ? — THE ROMAN FLEET : A CONTRAST. 
 
 A DEEP obscurity suri'oimds the history of Britain prior to its invasion 
 by the Eomans under Julius Ctesar. The fabulous account of the first 
 _ _ __ inh.nbitants of Albion, derived from the 
 
 Clun)nieles of Greofirey of Monmouth, a 
 Benedictine monk, Avritten in the twelfth 
 century, is chiefly interesting as an evi- 
 /^ dence of the extent to which stories of 
 the improbable and the marvellous were 
 received through several ages, coming 
 dov^n to a comparatively recent date. 
 
 According to Geoflrey, Brutvis, a 
 lioman, killing his father by accident, 
 \%a'5 overwhelmed with remorse, and fled 
 his native country. He retired into 
 Greece, and mingling with a number of the descendants of the Trojans, 
 who had been scattered by the siege of Troy, he organized with 
 some of those people a predatory excursion, and put to sea. After 
 exploring the shores of the Mediterranean, he entered the Atlantic 
 Ocean, and' achieved various successes against the kings of Gaul. 
 
 After wandering in every known direction, and plundering every 
 people whom his party conquered, he was directed hither by the 
 goddess Diana, whose statue he found in a ruined temple upon a 
 deserted island. The story is thus gravely told and minutely particu- 
 larized by the old chronicler: — 
 
 Brutus, advised by his company, resolved to visit the temple to 
 do homage to tlie goddess, and to inqidre of her the coimtry allotted
 
 O BEUTUS WD THE TKOJANS DIRECTED TO ALBIOI^', 
 
 to them for a place of settlement. He therefore set out, attended by 
 Gerion, a prophet, and twelve old men. Arrived at the Temple, they 
 presented themselves before the shrine, where stood a statue of the 
 goddess, who gave answers to those that paid her homage and solicited 
 her aid. They placed wreaths round their brows, and then kindled 
 three fires to the three deities, Jupiter, Mercury, and Diana, and 
 offered sacrifices to each. Brutus stood before the altar holding a con- 
 secrated vessel filled with wine and the blood of a white hart, and 
 addressed the goddess thus : — 
 
 " Goddess of woods, tremendous in the chase 
 To mountain boars, and all the savage race ! 
 Wide o'er the ethereal walks extend thy sway, 
 And o'er the infernal mansions void of day ! 
 Look upon us on earth ! unfold our fate, 
 And say what region is ovir destined seat ? 
 Where shall we next thy lasting temples raise ? 
 And choice of virgins celebrate thy praise." 
 
 He repeated these words nine times, after which he took foiu- tiu'us 
 round the altar, poured the wine into the fire, and then laid himself 
 down on the hart's skin before the altar, and fell asleep. At the third 
 hour of night the goddess presented herself to him, and foretold his 
 future success as follows : — 
 
 " Brutus ! there lies beyond the Grallic bounds 
 An island wliich the western sea surrounds, 
 By giants once possessed ; now few remain 
 To bar thy entrance or obstruct thy reign. 
 To reach that happy shore thy sails employ ; 
 There Fate decrees to raise a second Troy, 
 And found an empire in thy royal line, 
 Wliich time shall ne'er destroy nor bounds confine." 
 
 They accordingly set sail, and after dangerous voyages and fights with 
 pirates, whom they defeated and deprived of their spoil, they reached 
 the shores of Albion, Avhere they landed at a place where Totness now 
 stands, in the county of Devon. 
 
 Brutus divided the island between himself and Corineus. It was a 
 favourite diversion of the latter to encounter the giants, of which there 
 was a greater number in Cornubia than elsewhere. Among them was a 
 rare monster, Gog-Magog, in stature twelve cubits, and so enormously 
 strong that he could pull up an oak as if it had been a hazel wand. On
 
 THE STORT OF COEINEUS AND GOG-MAGOG. 9 
 
 a day Avlien Brutus was holding a solemn festival to the gods, this 
 giant, with twenty more of his companions, came in upon the Trojans, 
 and made dreadful slaughter ; but the latter at last assembled in a 
 body, and killed all the giants save Gog-Magog. Brutus gave orders 
 to have him preserved alive, wishing to see a combat between him and 
 Corineus, who took great delight in such encounters. Corineus threw 
 aside his weajDons, and challenged the giant to wrestle with him. At the 
 beginning of the encoimter, Corinevis and the giant, standing front to 
 front, held each other strongly in their arms, and panted aloud for 
 breath ; but Gog- Magog presently grasping Corineus with all his 
 might, broke three of his ribs. At which Corineus, highly enraged, 
 roused up his Avhole strength, and snatching him upon his shoulders, 
 ran with him, as fast as the weight would allow, to the next shore, and 
 there getting upon the top of a high clift', hurled down the savage 
 monster into the sea, where, falling on the sides of craggy rocks, he was 
 torn to pieces, and coloured the waves with his blood. The place where 
 he fell is called Gog-Magog's leap to this day!* 
 
 This romantic and highly improbable story of Brutus, the Trojans, 
 and the giants, appears to have been accepted with considerable favoiu", 
 and to have formed the popular history of our nation for a period of 
 four hundred years. Speed, the historian, makes this mention of it: — 
 "The last, but much applauded opinion, for the possessing and peopling 
 of this island, is that of Brute, generally held for the space of these 
 last four hundred years (some few men's exceptions reserved), who with 
 his dispersed Trojans came into and made conquest of this island, the 
 year of the world's creation 2887, and after the tmiversal flood 1231, in 
 the eighteenth yeare of Heli his priesthood in the land of Israel, and 
 
 * The huge eiBgies of two giants, now in Guildhall, London, had their origui 
 probably in the desire of the corporation to perpetuate the memory either of the 
 story of the giants of Albion genei'ally, or of the conflict between Corineus and Gog- 
 Magog, in which the last of the giant race was overthrown. By some persons the 
 opinion is entertained that the present figures represent Gog-Magog and Corineus, 
 the younger looking figure being intended for the Trojan. During Elizabeth's pro- 
 gress to her coronation, Gog-Magog and Corineus, two gigantic figiu-es, were stationed 
 at Temple Bar ; and it seems higlily probable that these effigies were brought from 
 Guildliall for the occasion. The history of these figm-es, which were first made of 
 wicker-work covered with paper, can be traced to a period prior to the great fire in 
 1666, when the haU being much damaged, two new figures of gigantic magnitude 
 were ordered to be made. These efiigies were sometimes conveyed through the City 
 as a part of the pageantry of the Lord Mayor's show. It is not improbable that they 
 originated in the twelfth or thu-teenth century, a period when the history contained 
 in the Chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth was beheved even by learned people.
 
 10 THE INTASIO]S' BT JULIUS C.ESAE. 
 
 before the incarnation of Christ our Saviour, one thousand fifty-nine." 
 This historian, writing in the commencement of the seventeenth cen- 
 tury, finds it necessary to quote the opinions of numerous authorities, 
 and to estimate various discrepancies of dates and facts, with the view 
 of disproving the foregoing account of the descent of the Trojans upon 
 our island, and the gigantic statm^e and ferocious nature of its primitive 
 inhabitants !* 
 
 At the time of the invasion of this ishind by Julius Csesar, the 
 country was divided into settlements occupied by diflerent tribes, of 
 which those on the southern coast, opposite to Graul, were the most 
 advanced towards civilization, on account of their intercourse with the 
 people of Graul, and probably of other nations. But those southern 
 tribes, of whom it may be said that they were only slightly removed 
 from al3solute barbarism, constituted a small number in comparison to 
 the inhabitants of the island, upon whom no ray of civilization had 
 dawned. The conquests of Julius Caesar penetrated the interior of the 
 country to a very limited extent. f It was not until the governorship 
 of Agricola, some hundred and forty years after the invasion by Csesar, 
 that the whole of the tribes occupying the interior, and a portion of the 
 north of the island, were subdued. Even then the Caledonians, and 
 the Picts and Scots, contiimed their hostility not only to the Eoman 
 authority, but to the British people on their borders. In the interval 
 between the invasion by Caesar and the fui-ther conquest of Britain by 
 Agricola, new tribes were frequently discovered which were before 
 unkuown, and battles were constantly waged by the various Eoman 
 generals to bring the newly-discovered people into subjection. 
 
 A very great portion of the island was then covered with Avoods, 
 fens, and marshes ; the assemblages of rude houses which constituted 
 the towns were invariably centered in forests, some of the trees being 
 felled to clear the ground for a settlement, the trunks thereof being 
 iised as barriers against the incursions of enemies, and further 
 strengthened by ditches dvig around tliem. Tlie approaches to those 
 
 * The acute and judicious Camden, at the end of the sixteenth centiu-y, was 
 ahnost the first inquirer into our national antiquities who ventiu-ed to question the 
 long-credited tale ; yet nearly a hundred years afterwards we find a behef in its 
 truth still lingering in the poetic imagination of Milton.— Knighfs Fictorlal England. 
 
 t Tacitus, wTiting one hundred and fifty years after Csesar, says distinctly that, 
 although Cffisar struck terror into the islanders by successful battles, he could only 
 maintam his authority on the sea coast. He saw only a small portion of the island ; 
 and the fui-ther he receded from the sea, tlie more barbarous he found the inhabitants.
 
 STATE IN WHICH CESAR rOUiS'D THE ISLAND. 11 
 
 towns were little more than track- ways through the forests. Julius 
 Caesar said, they give the names of towns to certain cumbersome 
 woods, which they fortify A^dth rampires and ditches, whither they 
 retire to eschew the invasions of their enemies. And Strabo describes 
 a British town as a spacious round plot of ground, where they biiild 
 for themselves houses and cottages, and for their cattle set up stalls 
 and folds, but those for present use only, and not for long. This 
 testimony suggests that e^en their towns were only temporary settle- 
 ments, that they were liable to be driven away by the attacks of their 
 enemies, or compelled periodically to migrate to find pasturage for their 
 cattle. Caesar speaks repeatedly of his army driving the Britons into 
 the woods, and of their frequently surprising his legions by suddenly 
 emerging from the fastnesses to which they had fled. Some of those 
 Avoods were of immense extent, and covered whole counties, except in 
 the parts which had been cut away to form settlements ; and so great 
 were the obstacles presented by those vast forests to the progress of the 
 Roman armies, that the first work of the invaders was to cut wide ways 
 through the woods, that they might the more eflectually pursue the 
 Britons, and also defend themselves from the frequent attacks of large 
 numbers of their enemies collecting in ambuscade. 
 
 Bogs and marshes, too, presented great obstacles to the progress 
 of the Eomans into the interior. The Britons, knowing the situations 
 of those marshes, were able to avoid them ; and one of their stratagems 
 of war was to make their flight in such a direction, that their pursuers 
 might become involved in the marshes and destroyed. An engagement 
 is mentioned in the reign of Claudius wherein the Britons, knowing 
 the fordable passages of a boggy country lying near the mouth of the 
 Thames, made a retreat, and a large munber of the Eomans, pursuing 
 them too rashly, fell into inipassidjle bogs, and were destroyed. The 
 Eomans, therefore, found that until they cut through the woods, con- 
 structed roads, and drained the marshes, they had little chance of 
 effecting a complete conquest of the people. In the expedition of tlie 
 Emperor Severus to Caledonia, as long as two hundi-ed and sixty years 
 after the invasion, the Eomans met with little opposition from the 
 British tribes ; but the obstacles presented by woods and fens were 
 almost insurmountable. Severus, who held his coiu-t at York, resolved 
 to enter Caledonia and subdue the northei-n barbarians. The county of 
 Durham, and the country lying to the north, was still an impassable 
 wilderness ; every league that the Eoman army advanced gave them an
 
 12 
 
 WHAT TJLTIMATELT SUBDUED THE BRITOKS. 
 
 incalculable amount of labour in cutting do-\Mi forests, draining mo- 
 rasses, constructing roads, and bridging rivers. Stagnant and marshy 
 waters created pestilence among liis troops, and so great was their 
 sufferings that some of the soldiers are said to have implored their 
 companions to kill them, that they might not, while plague stricken, 
 fall into the hands of their enemies. It is stated that in this expedition 
 Severus lost no fewer than fifty thousand men, though he fought no 
 battle nor saw any large body of enemies. 
 
 From these facts we may gather some idea of the primitive wildness 
 of our island prior to the Eoman invasion, and for nearly three centuries 
 
 BEITONS OF THE TEIXOBA>"TES, CANTII, AND SOUTHEJIN SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 subsequently. Eut we do more than this : we learn that it was to the 
 pick and spade, rather than to the sword ; that it was to the levelling 
 of forests, rather than to the slaughtering of armies of men ; to the 
 draining of marshes, and not to the draining of human veins ; to the 
 opening of ways, and not to the construction of walls and fortresses* 
 that the Komans, after a struggle of two hundred and sixty years, 
 chiefly owed the ultimate subversion of a barbarian people. True, 
 great sacrifices of life were made in those early works of Progress ; but 
 the sacrifices were due to the war element which still lurked in those 
 designs, causing tliem to be pursued with an unnecessary impatience
 
 A BBITISII TOWN. 
 
 13 
 
 destructive of human strength. By those improvements the Roman 
 rule gradually assumed such a hold upon the British heart, that when 
 at a later period the Romans withdrew from Britain, and released the 
 people from allegiance to then' power, the emancipated Britons, dreading 
 again the disturbance of their kingdoms and the spoil of their settle- 
 ments, which had assumed a happier aspect imder the Roman dominion, 
 implored their conquerors to remain, and tendered their warmest adhe- 
 sion to Latia authority. Thus, in that darlc age, a barbarous people 
 was taught so to appreciate the benefits of advanced government, that 
 
 
 If I 4 v/ 
 
 BKITISH TOWX. 
 
 they readily submitted to be governed, and parted with their first 
 conquerors with regret. 
 
 While the impassibility of the land for a long period gave great 
 advantages to the Britons in warfare against their invaders, the sea 
 afforded vast facilities to the Romans, since the Britons had not yet 
 learned the art of ship-building. Their boats, or coracles, as described 
 by Caesar, were built of light wood covered over with leather. In 
 those frail vessels they floated about upon the rivers, made excursions 
 along the coast, and sometimes voyaged to Gaul, to Hibernia, and to the 
 islands of Mona, Monoeda, and Vecta. But so little did the Britons
 
 1-1 THE DISASTERS OF THE ROMA^T FLEET. 
 
 know of sliips of any considerable dimensions, that Ciosar says they 
 ■o'ere awed at the first invasion by the shape and appearance of his 
 galleys, and that they halted, and began to fall back. It is probable 
 that some of tliem, who had been trading with the Pho'uicians and 
 the Granls, might have seen large vessels ; bnt to the hosts who had 
 gathered on the shore to resist the landing of the Eomau legions, the 
 appearance of formidable galleys, propelled rapidly by a mnnber of 
 rowers, inspired terror. And still later (a.d. 84), when Agricola took 
 his fleet to explore the coasts of the powerful nations that dwelt 
 beyond the Forth, the Britons of those parts were struck with 
 consternation. 
 
 When we consider the great maritime supremacy of the British 
 people in the present day, it becomes interesting to ponder upon these 
 evidences of the simplicity of oiu* ancestors. 
 
 Such has been our mighty advance in maritime progress, that not 
 only do the coracles of the jjrimitive Britons appear insignificant, 
 but even the fleets of imperial Home will scarcely bear comparison 
 with the squadrons of fishing craft that now daily expand their white 
 sails iipon the bosom of our blue waters. When we consider the 
 safety and power with which oiu' ships majestically plou^gh the briny 
 deep, the exploits and disasters of the Eoman fleet possess a complexion 
 of Quixotic colouring. 
 
 In his first invasion (b.c. 54), Csesar left the Gallic shore with two 
 legions of infantry, on board eighty transports. His cavalry also em- 
 barked in eighteen other transports, and were ordered to follow Caesar, 
 "as soon as weather permitted." But the weather did not permit, and 
 the Homan horse were detained some four days, until their services 
 were " no longer required," at least for the actual purposes of the 
 invasion. Arrived on the Britisli coast, at ten o'clock on the morning 
 of the 25th of Avigust, C.Tsar found that he had selected the AVTong 
 spot to eftect a landing, so he bore along the coast, from a point near 
 Dover, until he reached an open and flat shore, supposed to lie be- 
 tween AValmer Castle and Sandwich. Here some laggard vessels, 
 which in so short a -Noyage had dropped away from the fleet, hove in 
 sight, and at three o'clock in the day, the Eoman legions eftected a 
 landing, in spite of a stubborn resistance from tlie Britons, who had 
 journeyed along the coast for the purpose of opposing them. Some 
 days after, wlien a peace had been concluded between C^psar and the 
 southern Brituns, tlie transports having the cavalry on board hove in
 
 SHIP BUILDING COMMENCED. 15 
 
 sight ; but before the_y could reach the shore, and while they were in 
 view of Caesar's camp, a tempest — such a one as our fishing craft would 
 now probably defy — drove them all back to the port whence they had 
 sailed. And, to make Csesar's disaster all the worse, it happened that 
 same night to be full moon, the occasion of spring-tides — a fact 
 unknown to the Eoman navigators. The galleys which had landed the 
 troops, and which had been drawn upon the shore for greater 
 security, were seized by the swelling tide, and washed away, and the 
 transports, which lay at anchor in the roadstead, were either dashed 
 to pieces or rendered unfit for sailing. As soon as the Britons dis- 
 covered the disasters to Caesar's fleet, they revoked the terms of the 
 peace they had concluded, and again put themselves in open hostility 
 to his authority. Ca?sar did the best he could to collect his scattered 
 fleet, and repair those vessels that were not fatally injured. After a 
 few skirmishes with the enemy, in which he again established the 
 supremacy of the Roman arms, he concluded fresh conditions of peace 
 Avith the Britons, upon easy terms, and determined to return to G-aul, 
 "because the equinox was approaching, and his ships were leaky." 
 
 In the spring of the following year he once more embarked from 
 tlie same point, with a fleet of 800 vessels of all classes, carrying 
 30,000 men, and 2000 cavalry. He effected an unopposed landing- 
 near the same jioint as before ; and having moved ? large proportion 
 of his force inland, in pursuit of the islanders, who had broken the 
 terms of the peace previously concluded, he fought a battle with them 
 near the spot where the city of Canterbury now stands. The Eomans 
 drove the Britons into a dense wood. The following morning they 
 were about to follow up the advantage they had gained ; the trumpets 
 had soimded for the advance, when a party of horsemen arrived to 
 inform Caesar that his fleet had again been completely wrecked during 
 the night. He immediately ordered a retreat, and returning Avith 
 his disappointed legions to the sea-shore, found that forty ships had 
 been totally wrecked, and the rest so damaged that they scarcely 
 seemed capable of repair. Then the carpenters of the army were set 
 to work, other artizans were sent for from Gaul, ship-building com- 
 menced upon the British coast, and the ships, for better security, 
 were drawn upon dry land, in the immediate vicinity of the camp. 
 Such is the history of the grand Eoman fleet, whose exploits contri- 
 buted largely to the fame of Julius Ca>sar! 
 
 Let us now contrast the coracle of the ancient Britons, or the
 
 IG 
 
 THE CORACLES OF THE BEITONS. 
 
 proudest vessel of the Eoman fleet, or the whole fleet collectively, with 
 the most recent triumph of naval architecture. Nineteen centuries 
 ago our forefathers constructed their rude hoats by covering a descrip- 
 tion of wicker-basket with the hides of buff"aloes. Some historians 
 have conjectured that they also had larger vessels, and that those boats 
 Avere so frequently mentioned by ancient Avriters on account of their 
 singularity. We must, however, bend to the authority of Ca>sar, 
 whose conquests were effected upon the sea coasts, and who, from a 
 general disposition to exalt his feats of prowess, would certainly have 
 mentioned the British ships, if any such existed. Not only did the 
 
 COEACLES OF THE ANCIENT BlilTONS. 
 
 Britons oppose no naval resistance to Ca-sar, but they appear not to 
 have had a single vessel by which they could Avatch the motions of his 
 fleet. The descent of Cjcsar upon tlio Britisli shore Avas, therefore, a 
 matter of sudden surprise to the Britons, so far as tlie time and place 
 were concerned. The voyages that Avere made in those small coracles 
 appear to have been undertaken only in the more temperate seasons. 
 Solinus confirms this view, saying, that " tlie sea Avhicli floAvs between 
 Britain and Ireland is so unquiet and stormy, that it is only navigable 
 in summer, Avhen the people of those countries pass and repass it in
 
 THE GKEAT LEVIATHANS'. 
 
 17 
 
 small boats made of wattles, and covered carefully with tlie hides of 
 oxen." Had they other and larger vessels, they would scarcely have 
 limited their voyages to the extent indicated, or have performed them, 
 even in the more favourable season, in coracles of wattles. Those 
 boats doubtless varied in size, according to their employment, either on 
 the sea-shore, or in rivers and shallow waters. Sometimes the coracles 
 were carried in carts many miles overland, to meet the water ; upon 
 other occasions, the navigator, returning to the shore, swung his boat 
 across his back and bore it to his hut. A superstition is said to have 
 prevailed among the Britons, which prohibited their taking food during 
 
 STJiKI,-K£EL AND bCKEW-SHAFT OF THE LEVIATHAN. 
 
 a voyage. This alone would prevent their undertaking to make sea 
 passages of any considerable extent. The statement can scarcely be 
 received, except with some reservation, for Timaeus, a very ancient 
 historian, related that the people of Britain used to voyage to an island 
 at the distance of six days' sailing; and he also says, that the boats in 
 which they made those long voyages were made of wattles, covered 
 with skins. Superstitions, creeds, and prejudices, have always been 
 found to yield to necessities. It is not improbable, therefore, that 
 when the Britons undertook those long voyages, they received some 
 
 c
 
 18 SIZE OF THE EnMA:^' VESSELS. 
 
 kind of dispensation to release them from the bonds of superstition, 
 and permit them to satisfy tlieir appetites. 
 
 Of the dimensions of the ships of the Eoman fleet, some idea may 
 be formed -when it is remembered that in his second invasion eight 
 hunch-ed A'essels are stated to have conveyed 32,000 men to these 
 shores, besides 2000 horses. These figures are liable to much doubt, 
 since they are founded solely upon modern calculations of the number 
 of men composing the legions Avliich Ca?sar states to have accompanied 
 him. According to the statement given, each ship must have been 
 large enough to transport four hundred soldiers, independently of the 
 horses. 
 
 Setting the doubts respecting the dimensions of those vessels aside, 
 we may gather some idea of the " sea "worthiness " of the Eoman fleet 
 by tlie repeated disasters whicli befel it. In the two expeditions the 
 ships were severally driven back, scattered, and 'UTecked. But we 
 learn more of their probable dimensions and strength when we read, 
 from Ca-sar's own account, tiiat upon one occasion, forty ships were 
 entirely destroyed, and the rest so much damaged that they were 
 hardly repairable. He immediately set to work all the carpenters of 
 the fleet, sent for others from Graul, drew all his ships on shore, and 
 enclosed them witliin the fortifications of his camp ; and, by the 
 vigorous and incessant toil of tlie Avhole army, this Avas accomplished 
 in the short space of ten days. 
 
 "AVe turn now to contemplate the grandest and the most recent 
 work of naval architecture. Lying off" the town of Deptford, like 
 an unfinished Avorld midergoing the preparations tliat are to adapt it 
 to the reception of liuman beings, there floats tlie Leviathan, upon 
 those waters on Avhich, in the daAA^n of our nation's story, our ancestors 
 paddled to and fro in their coracles of wattles and hides. There she 
 floats, in peaceful majesty, already a proud monument of the victories 
 of Mind and Industry, and tlie boldness of British enterprise. Men 
 of every clime — the Ethiopian, the Arabian, the Asiatic, the American, 
 gaze upon her Avitli Avonder, as tiiey pass her toAvering sides in the 
 humbler craft that ])]y the busy river. Princes haA-e visited her, and 
 paid homage to the heaven-born genius and the industrious hands that 
 have united to send forth from the Thames so glorious an evidence of 
 youtli and vigour slill animating the souls of the children of Old 
 England. 
 
 The power and success of this Ocean City are, to some extent,
 
 FAITH IX PROGRESS. 19 
 
 matters of speculation. But the day lias come when mankind may 
 have confidence in this, that whatever the spirit of Progress proposes, 
 it has the power ultimately to accomplish. Times have been, and 
 unfortunately too often, when the nation's means and sinews, drained 
 by distracting wars, its heart crushed by internal discord, and mind 
 cramped by rampant bigotry, the hand of Progress has been paralyzed, 
 and has been deterred from attempting, or marred in performing, the 
 works which its genius had projected. But ever when the weight of 
 folly and oppression has been diminished, and the bandage of bigotry 
 removed from the people's eyes, a noble army of inventors and 
 labourers have gone to work for the good of themselves and of man- 
 kind. They have made the world their workshop, and the elements 
 their material. This applies not alone to the inventors of vast schemes, 
 and the investigators of deep problems, but to every one "who 
 holdeth the plough, and glorieth in the goad that di'iveth the oxen, 
 and is occupied in their labours, and whose talk is of the breed of 
 bullocks. He that givetb his mind to make furrows ; and is diligent 
 to give the kine fodder. So every carpenter and work-master that 
 laboureth night and day ; and they that cut and grave seals, and are 
 diligent to make a great variety, and give themselves to counterfeit 
 imagery, and watcli to finish a work. The smith also sitting by his 
 anvil, and considering the iron- work ; the vapour of the fire wasteth 
 his flesh, and he fighteth with the heat of the furnace ; the noise of 
 the hammer and the anvil is ever in his ears, and his eyes still look 
 upon the pattern of the thing that he maketh ; he setteth his mind to 
 finish his work, and watcheth to polish it perfectly. So doth the 
 potter sitting at his work, and turning the wheel about with his feet, 
 who is always carefully set at his work, and maketh all his work by 
 number ; he fashioneth clay with his arm, and tempereth it with his 
 feet ; he applieth himself to lead it over ; and he is diligent to make 
 clean the surface. All these trust in their hands ; and every one is 
 Avise in his work. Without these a city cannot be inhabited." 
 
 The Leviathan is the work of such hands. Long before she grsAv 
 into actual existence, she was seen in the " mind's eye " of one of those 
 great translators of the ideal into the actual, whose triumphs over 
 natural obstacles eclipse the victories of Alexander — Caesar — Napoleon 
 — "Wellington! The astronomer excites our wonder by penetrating 
 illimitable space, and discovering celestial gems shining in the solemn 
 darkness of an unbounded solitude. But the inventor of a thing
 
 20 
 
 THE IDEAL BECOMES THE ACTUAL. 
 
 hitherto unknown, the speculator npoii .1 problem untried, dives into 
 greater depths, and from a more ethereal essence than that which fills 
 the vast universe of space, calls into existence a neAV creation : thus, 
 from a thought which may have flitted in the darlaiess of night across a 
 sleepless brain— a brain ever probing the depths of the unlmo^ra and 
 the imtried, for some new triumph over difficulty— came the first con- 
 ception of the Leviathan, which, like a phantom-ship, must have passed 
 and repassed the sea of imagination until the true moment of inspira- 
 tion came, when her lines, ^A'hich at first existed only in the realms of 
 
 nCTS OF THE NORTH. 
 
 fancy, were transferred to paper, and the ideal tlieuccforth became|^the 
 actual. Prom this we see how erroneous is tlie view of those economic 
 theorists who contend that only thos(> who labour bodily are producers — 
 aU else consumers and absorbers of the wealth created by mankind. A 
 thought kindled in the mind of an earnest thinker, and directed to 
 some object of practical good, may open mines of wealth, giye work to 
 thousands, and add vastly to the liappiness of mankind. 
 
 Compare the coracles of our British forefathers with the floating 
 city whose majestic form wiU soon ride upon the heaving bosom of the 
 waves. See the proportion which man bears to his works of eighteen
 
 THE LETIATJIAN AND THE ROMAN ELEET. 
 
 21 
 
 hundred years ago, and those of the present day. Standing upon the 
 work of his ovra industry, man seems little more than a specie — like an 
 eagle, whose form may be dimly descried upon a mountain peak. 
 
 One vessel, of the capacity and speed of the Leviathan, would have 
 accomplished more than the whole of Caesar's fleet of eight hundred 
 ships. It would have crossed the channel before the Eoman vessels 
 could get into position to disembark their legions. And in four trips 
 it would have lauded his army of 32,000 men upon the British 
 shores. 
 
 This city of the seas is provided with accommodation for 4,000 
 
 CALEDO^•IA^■S. 
 
 passengers, independently of her crew — a number equal to the popula- 
 tion of some of oiu- floiu-ishing to\\'ns. But she might, upon an emer- 
 gency, carry 10,000, allowing them the usual accommodation aftorded to 
 troops. She will travel at the rate of twenty miles an hour, wiU reach 
 the antipodes in from thirty to thirty-five days, and will then lie keel 
 upwards towards the point from which she sailed ! She will make her 
 way against wind and tide with the power of two thousand six hundred 
 horses. Her five saloons will afibrd accommodation equal to that of five 
 of our celebrated hotels ; while her deck will aftord a vast area, a
 
 22 POWEKS A>'D 1»IME>'SI0XS Ol" THE LETIATHA^'. 
 
 promenade around wliieli will be equal to a quarter of a mile. Her 
 screw propeller is twenty-four feet in diameter, and its sliaft is one 
 hundred and twenty feet long : the diameter of each paddle-wheel is 
 fifty-six feet — considerably larger than the circus of Astley's theatre. 
 She ^^•ill carry twenty large boats on deck, and will bear on her sides 
 two screw steamers, each one hundred feet long, and between sixty and 
 seventy tons biu-den. There will be an electric telegraph on board, to 
 commiuiieate orders simultaneously from the officer in command to the 
 distant parts of the ship. She will be lit by gas, which Avill be made on 
 board ; and the electric light is designed to shine like a star of the 
 first magnitude from her mast-head!
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 THE MAX>"^EES A>'D CUSTOilS OP THE AXCIE>'T BEITISH PEOPLE. 
 
 A RAPID sketch, of tlie manners and customs of the Britons will be 
 interesting as a starting point for the contemplation of those nmnerous 
 works of Progress which have metamorphosed the Avhole aspect of 
 society, and given to the humblest man in the State powers and 
 pleasures which even a little span of time ago kings could not enjoy. 
 
 Caesar distinctly states that all the Britons used to dye themselves 
 with woad, which imparted to their skins a blue colour. He assigns as 
 the reason for their doing so, the desire to make themselves appear 
 more terrible in war ; for which reason also, it is said, the men tattooed 
 themselves in various parts of the body with the forms of ferocious 
 beasts. Herodian says that they knew no use of garments at all, but 
 wore about their waists and necks chains of iron, supposing them to be 
 a goodly ornament and a proof of their wealth. Pliny adds another 
 ornament, and says that they wore rings on their fingers. Herodian 
 further adds, that they marked their bare boxlies with sundry pictures, 
 representing all manner of living creatures ; and therefore they would 
 not be clad, for hiding the gay paintings of their bodies. According to 
 the testimony of Ciesar, they allowed the hair of their heads to grow 
 long, and it was naturally curled, and of a yellow colour. They shaved 
 all other parts of their bodies, except the upper lip. 
 
 As various authorities difter to some extent in their description of 
 the Britons, it may be luiderstood that the maimers and customs of 
 different tribes were dissimilar, and hence arose the discrepancies to be 
 found in the early histories. It appears pretty clearly estabbshed that 
 among those tribes that Avore clothing, the skins of beasts for a con- 
 siderable period formed their only attire, and that those skins Avere 
 frequently cast aside, just as our warmer garments may be in these 
 days ; and thus the same people went sometimes clad in skins, and at 
 other times naked.
 
 24 DRESS OF THE BRITOXS. 
 
 Dr. Henry, a very careful inquirer into the uiamiers and customs of 
 the ancient Britons, gives the following account of the first progress 
 of the British tribes from their nude condition to the habit of wearing 
 garments : — The nppcr garment of the ancient Britons, and of all 
 other Celtic nations, was the mantle or plaid. This was a piece of cloth 
 of a square form, sufficiently large to cover the whole trunk of the 
 body, both behind and before. It was iastened upon the breast, or one 
 of the shoulders, Avith a clasp ; or, for want of that, with a tlioi'n or 
 sharp-pointed piece of wood. As this garment succeeded the mantles 
 made of skins of some of the larger animals, which had formerly been 
 worn by the Celtic nations, it was n^.ade to imitate those skins in their 
 shape and form ; and iu several countries, as particnlarly in Britain, 
 those who were poor or less civilized still continued to wear skins, while 
 those who were more wealthy or more improved Avere clad in plaids. 
 Xot only did the plaids or mantles of cloth which were first used 
 resemble the mantles of skins which they had worn before in their 
 shape, but also in their appearance, and in other respects, being all of 
 one colour, smooth on the inside, with long hair, either straight or 
 curled, on the outside, not unlike the rugs Avliich are still used in some 
 parts of Britain by the common people upon their beds. Those plaids, 
 or rather rugs, Avhen they were first introduced, were esteemed so 
 precious and so great a piece of luxury, that they were only used by 
 persons of ranlc and wealth, and by them only in the winter season 
 when they went abroad, being carefully laid aside in summer or when 
 they were within doors. By degrees this garment became more common, 
 and was worn by pei-sons of all ranks and at all seasons, at home as Avell 
 as abroad, the mantles of skins being no longer used. As those most 
 ancient plaids were made of coarse Vtocl, ill dressed, and spun in yarn of 
 a great thiclvness, they A\ere only one degree more comfortable than the 
 skins to wliich they succeeded, and were particularly inconvenient in 
 the summer season on account of tlieir weight. This put the British 
 weavers, now become a little more oxpei't in tlicir business, iipon 
 making others of fine avooI, better di'essed, and woven the same on both 
 sides. These were worn at first by persons of distinction, and in fair 
 weather. 
 
 For a considerable time the ancient Britons, and other Celtic 
 nations, had no other garments but llieir plaids and mantles, which, 
 being neither \cry long nor very liroad, Ici't their legs, arms, and some 
 other parts of their bodies nalced. 
 
 As long as the ancient Britons and other Celtic nations only
 
 CHANGES INTRODUCED BV THE KOMANS. 
 
 25 
 
 oovered their bodies Avitli their plaids or mantles, leaving their arms, 
 thighs, and legs naked, it is not to be imagined that thej had any 
 covering either for the head or the feet ; but after they had provided 
 garments for all the other parts of the body, they would naturally begin 
 to think of some kind of covering for its extremities. Some of these 
 nations, and perhaps the Britons, had no other shoes but a piece of the 
 skin of a horse, cow, or other animal, tied about the feet, with the hair 
 ■outwards. Prom a figure of a British captive on a Roman monument 
 in Glasgow, it seems probable that the common people wore a kind of 
 cap on their heads very like the bonnet which is still used in the high- 
 lands of Scotland, The dress of the women in the time of Boadicea 
 may be gathered by the description given by Die of the dress which 
 that heroic queen herself wore : — " She Avore a tunick of various colovu's, 
 long and plaited, over which she had a large and thick mantle. This 
 was her common dress, which she wore at all times ; and upon occasions 
 of war she bore a spear." 
 
 The Roman conquest made a considerable change in the di'ess and 
 clothing of the people. Not a few of them, and particidarly of their 
 young nobility, adopted the dress as well as the language and manners 
 ■of their conquerors. 
 
 Speed remarks of the diet of the Britons, that their religion prohibited
 
 26 DIET AXD COOKEET. 
 
 theiu from eating either a hen, a hare, or a goose ; yet they bred those 
 animals as a matter of ftxncy. jN'either did they feed daintily at full and 
 rich meals, but could in necessity live upon barks and roots of trees. 
 They are said to have had a kind of meat, of which a small piece no 
 bigger than a bean would stay their hunger. This Avas probably some 
 narcotic preparation of herbs. The ruder tribes tilled no ground, 
 neither did they catch fish, although the rivers were abundantly 
 stored therewith ; but tliey lived upon the plunder which they obtained 
 from the more frugal tribes, or subsisted by the hunt upon venison, to 
 which they added wild fruits. They used millv and butter, but were 
 imacquaiuted with the method of making cheese ; they also had a drink 
 which was made of barley. One authority only accuses our ancestors 
 of cannibalism. St. Jerome is said to have wTitten to this eifect : — 
 " AYlieu I was a j'oimg man, I saw in Graul the Attacotti, a British 
 nation who fed on himian flesh. AVhen they fovmd in the woods herds 
 of hogs and cattle, and flocks of sheep, they used to cut off" the buttocks 
 of the herdsmen and the breasts of women, esteeming those parts of the 
 body the greatest dainties." Tliis assertion, however, is generally dis- 
 credited. St. Jerome was a boy about the middle of the fourth century, 
 at "which period it is highly improbable that cannibalism prevailed 
 among even the most barbarous of the tribes, supposing it ever to have 
 previously existed. The story told to St. Jerome, when he was a little 
 boy in Gaul, was probably one of those mischievous inventions too 
 frequently employed, even in the present day, to alarm children, and 
 make them afraid of something terrible or unnatural. 
 
 The cookery of the ancient Britons was limited to a few very simple 
 processes. Some of the Celtic nations had the art of roasting acorns 
 and other wild fruits, grinding them into meal, and malcing them into a 
 kind of bread. The following is said to have been their method ot 
 cooking venison : — A pit, lined with smooth stones, Avas made, and near 
 it stood a heap of smooth flat stones of tlie flint kind. The stones, as 
 Avell as the pit, were heated with heath ; then they laid some venison at 
 the bottom, and a stratum of stones above it ; and thus they did alter- 
 nately till the pit was full. The whole was covered over a\ itli heath to 
 confine the steam. 
 
 ^J'liey eat only tuice a day, making a slight breakflist in the fore- 
 noon, and a supper towards the evening, when the labours and diversions 
 of the day were ended. The last was their chief meal, at which, when 
 they had an opportunity, they ate and drank with great freedom, or even
 
 MODES OF EATIXG, DRiyKI>'G, A>'D DAVELLIXG. 27 
 
 to excess. On those occasions the guests sat in a circle upon the ground, 
 with a little hay, grass, or the slvin of some animal under them, A low 
 table, stool, or block of wood, was set before each person, wdth his meat 
 upon it. In this distribution they never neglected to set the largest 
 and best pieces before those that were most distinguished for their rank, 
 their exploits, or their riches. Every guest took the meat set before 
 him in his hands, and, tearing it with his teeth, fed upon it in the 
 best manner he could. If any one found difficulty in separating 
 any part of his meat with his hands and teeth, he made use of a 
 large knife that lay in a particiJar place for the benefit of the whole 
 company. Servants, or young boys and girls, the childi'en of the family, 
 stood behind the guests ready to supply them with drink, or anything 
 they wanted. 
 
 The dishes, in which the meat was served up, were either of wood, 
 or earthenware, or a kind of basket made of osiers. These last were 
 most used by the Britons, as they very much excelled in the art of 
 making them, -both for their o^vn iise and for exportation. The drink- 
 ing vessels of the G-auls, Britons, and other Celtic tribes, were, for the 
 most part, made of the horns of oxen and other animals ; but those 
 used among the Caledonians consisted of large shells, which are still 
 used by some of their posterity in the Highlands of Scotland. Their 
 houses have already been described as circular, the fire-place being in 
 the centre, with a large chimney, which, with the door, constituted the 
 only sources of light. The doors were high and wide, and it was not 
 uncommon for a horseman upon a journey to ride into a house, converse 
 with the inmates, still keeping upon horse-back, and when his interWew 
 had ended, kicking the sides of his steed, and making his exit without 
 having alighted. Their beds were made ujion the floor by the skins of 
 beasts, or coarse woollen garments, which they wore in the day-time, 
 and a whole family slept in a circle around the fire-place. 
 
 Caesar alleges that their wives were ten or twelve, and says that they 
 held them common among brothers and parents ; but the issue was reputed 
 his who first married the mother when she was a maid. It is not, how- 
 ever, improbable that Caesar was led into error in his estimate of their 
 marriage institution on account of the promiscuous manner in wliich 
 they lived. The revolt of a number of the formidable tribe of the 
 Brigautes against their Queen for having proved false to the king, is a 
 clear indication that marinage was regarded, by some of the tribes at 
 least, as a sacred institution.
 
 28 METHODS or AVAEFAEE. 
 
 C.Tsar savs that the traffic they held between themselves, was not of 
 much worth ; and it should always he remembered that he speaks of the 
 more advanced tribes whom lie coiKjuered in the southern pai-t of tlie 
 island. The coins which they had Avere either of brass, or else iron 
 rings, and bits of metal cut to certain Aveights. 
 
 He describes their system of warfare thus :• — They ride about all 
 parts of the battle casting their darts ; and oftentimes, with the terrible 
 noise of their horses, and the rattling of their chariot AAheels, they 
 amaze the enemy and break their array. And Avhen they have wound 
 themselves in among the troops, they leap forth from their Avaggons and 
 fight on foot. In the meanwhile the Avaggoners AvithdraAV themselves 
 somewhat out of the battle, and set their Avaggous in such order that, 
 if tliey be overcharged by the enemy, they may have speedy and 
 easy recoiu'se to them ; by means Avhereof tliey are as ready to remote 
 as horsemen, and as stedfast to stand in the battle as footmen, and 
 supply botli duties in one; and they are come to such perfectness by 
 daily practice and exercise, that even in steep and falling places, they 
 AAill stop their horses running a full gallop, and guide and turn tliem in 
 a short room, and run upon the verges, and stand upon the beams, and 
 quickly recover themselves back again into the waggons. The chariots, 
 or more properly Avaggons or low carts, Avhich they used in battle, 
 appeared to be common only to the southern tribes, no mention of them 
 being made in the account of tlie battles Avilli the tribes in the interior 
 of the country. 
 
 The Avoiiien appear to have borne arms together Avith the men; and 
 certain it is that many of that sex A\ere renoAvned for courage among 
 them. But besides the use of arms, the British Avomen liad another 
 employment in the field. Tacitus tell us tliat Avhen Paulinus Suetonius 
 attacked the Druids in the isle of Mona, the British army stood on the 
 shore, tliiclv of men and munition, and Avomen running up and doAMi 
 among tliem like furies, can-ying burning firebrands, in rueful attire, 
 and Avith tlieir hair lianging about their shoulders. The Druids, mean- 
 while, Avent Avitli their liands lifted up In heaven, ])ouriug out prayers 
 and imprecations. The strangeness of a\ hicli sight so amazed the Eoman 
 soldiers, that tliey stood stock still, Avhile the others Avoiinded them at 
 their pleasure, till I'auliuiis cin-ouragcd llicni, and apjicaleil lo tliciiniot 
 to be so daunted bv an army of Avoincii and wizaids.
 
 ©I^TRIBFTIOIT 
 of Hie Aiicieut
 
 CHAPTER IT 
 
 THE ANCIENT BRITISH TRIBES. 
 
 The several tribes wliicli occupied this island appear to have been con- 
 stantly at war with each other, prior to the Roman invasion. ]S'o idea 
 of a common nationality prevailed among them. The tribes of South 
 Britain, however, entered into a confederacy to resist the Romans, and 
 appointed Cassibelanus, the chief of the powerful tribe of Catieuehlani, 
 to be the commander of their united forces. But so weak were the 
 ties of this confederacy, that it soon dissolved, several of the other 
 states making peace with Caesar, leaving Cassibelanus alone in his 
 resistance to the Romans. One motive of the tribes for submitting to 
 the Romans was the hope of obtaining the overthrow of Cassibelanus, 
 wlio had long been an antagonist from whose encroachments they had 
 suffered much. 
 
 Although those tribes were generally at war, and the Britons 
 looked upon fighting as their daily occupation, some of the ruder tribes 
 subsisting by plundering the cattle and corn of the more privileged 
 communities, yet there are evidences of friendly relations subsisting 
 between them, as occasion demanded. 
 
 Hospitality and kindness to strangers, when not at war, is set forth 
 as being one of tlieir most remarkable virtues. As soon as they beheld 
 the face of a stranger, all their haughtiness and ferocity were laid aside ; 
 they felt the sincerest joy at his arrival ; accosted him with the most 
 friendly greetings ; and gave him the warmest invitations to enter tlieir 
 doors. It was even esteemed infamous for a chieftain to close the 
 door of his house at all, lest, as their bards said, " the stranger should 
 come and behold his contracting soul." As soon as the stranger 
 accepted the friendly invitation, and entered the hospitable door, water 
 was presented to him to wash his feet ; and if he received and used it, 
 and at the same time delivered liis arms to the master of the house, it
 
 30 THE CRAX-TAUA, OR WAR SIGNAL. 
 
 was luiderstood as an intimation tliat lie designed to favonr him with 
 his company for some time. An entertainment was then prepared, as 
 sumptuous as the host could aftord. After the entertaimnent had 
 concluded, the host might, without any breach of the laws of hospitality, 
 enter into familiar conversation with his guest, ask his name, from 
 whence he came, whither he was going, and such questions. As long 
 as the stranger stayed, his person was esteemed sacred and inviolable, 
 the season was devoted to festiAity, and every amusement in the power 
 of his host was procured for him, to make him pass his time agreeably, 
 and prolong his stay. Before his departure, it vras usual for the 
 stranger to exchange a sword, spear, shield, or some piece of armour, 
 ■with his hospitable entertainer, and these they preserved as marks of 
 mutual friendship, and the rights of hospitality established between 
 them and their families and posterity. 
 
 As war was the favourite profession of the Britons, they had many 
 remarkable customs in the prosecution of it. Our knowledge of some 
 of these customs are derived from purely conjectural soiu'ces, yet the 
 following, which are among the most clearly established, will be regarded 
 with interest. Wlieu an unfortunate chieftain implored the protection 
 and assistance of another, he approached the place of his residence 
 with a shield all bloody in one hand, to intimate the death of his friends, 
 and a broken spear in the other, to represent his incapacity to revenge 
 them. A prince having immediate occasion for the assistance of his 
 Avarlike followers to repel some invasion, or engage in some expedition, 
 besides striking the shield and sounding the horn, to give warning to 
 those who were within hearing, sent the cran-tara, a stick burnt at the 
 end, and dipped in the blood of a goat, by a swift messenger, to the 
 nearest hamlet, where he delivered it, without saying one word but the 
 place of rendezvous. This cran-tara, which was well understood to 
 denounce destruction by fir(> and sword to all who did not obc}" this 
 summons, was carried with great rapidity from village to village ; and 
 the prince in a little time found himself surroiuided by warriors I'eady 
 to obey his conunands. 
 
 "When one chieftain entered the territories of another on a friendly 
 visit, he and his followers carried their spears inverted, with their 
 points behind them ; but when they came with hostile intentions, they 
 carried theui with the points before. An invading army never neglected 
 to draw blood from the first animal they met with on the enemy's 
 ground, and sprinkle it on their shields.
 
 INDEPENDENCE OF THE TRIBES. 31 
 
 When a British prince gained a victory, he sekloin neglected to 
 erect some monument on the held of battle, to perpetuate the memory 
 of his success. Those monuments consisted commonly of one large 
 stone placed erect in the ground, without any inscription ; of which 
 there are many still standing in different parts of Britain. As Britisli 
 warriors had their arms put into their hands in public, and with various 
 ceremonies, so they resigned them when they became old and unfit 
 for the toils of war, in the same public manner, and with equal cere- 
 mony. When two British kings or cliiefs made peace after a Avar, or 
 entered into an alliance, they commonly confirmed the peace or alliance 
 by feasting together, by exchanging arms, and sometimes by drinking 
 a few drops of each other's blood, which was esteemed a most sacred 
 and inviolable bond of friendship.* 
 
 Every tribe had its own chief, or chiefs ; and although the will of 
 the chiefs was absolute, they used to call the common people together, 
 and confer with them upon all matters concerning their general welfare. 
 Of these petty kings, or chiefs, the historian Speed thus speaks : — 
 
 " Such was Cassibelan over the Tribonants ; Cingetorex, Caruilius, 
 Taximagulus, and Segonax, all four rulers together in Kent ; Comius, 
 supposed to be the king of the Attrebatii, and to be the same Comius of 
 Arras, whom Caesar employed to tease and worke the Britaines to his 
 subjection ; Caractacus, the warlike king of the Silures ; Galgacus, the 
 worthy king of the Caledonians ; yea, and euen women also, Avithout 
 exception of sex, held government among them, such Avas the faithlesse 
 Cartismandua, Queene of Brigantes, and famous Boudicea, Queene of 
 the Icenians. AVhereby it seemeth that euery several prouince owed 
 service and allegiance only to their 0A\'n prince. And as their govern- 
 ments were confined unto certaine boimds and limits, so were the 
 inhabitants diuided and distingvdshed by diners names ; of A\^hom 
 because we shall have occasion hereafter often to speak, it shall not 
 therefore be amisse in this place once for all, tablcAvise, to lay doAATi the 
 same, whereby our narrations may passe ATitroubled Avithout more 
 explanations." (See Map, p. 29.) 
 
 Such Avere the people who early occupied this island, which has 
 risen to great fame among the nations of the earth. 
 
 Where CornwaR now pursues its peaceful fisheries, and seventy 
 thousand hands are daily employed in raising the mineral treasures of 
 the earth ; where Devonshire spreads its rich pastures, and grazes its 
 
 * Dr. Hciirr's "History of England."
 
 32 THE DANMONII — THE BELGiE. 
 
 quiet hei'ds — there flourished the Danmonii, a race remarkable even in 
 tliose times for their robust natures and warlil^e courage. Carn Bos- 
 cawen, in Cornwall, was the seat of the chief Druid of the Danmonii ; 
 the stones of their Druidical altars remain to this day. In Madern 
 parish there was a holed stone used by the Druids for the purpose of 
 drawing children through for the cure of diseases ! In Devonshire, 
 according to Greoffrey of Monmouth, the struggle took place between 
 Corineus and Grog-Magog, in which the last of the giant race occupy- 
 ing this island Avas destroyed ! 
 
 Where Somersetshire spreads its rich pastures, and where, in the 
 midst* of rural plenty and beauty, manufactories raise their tall 
 chimneys, and flourish surrounded by fields of waving corn ; where 
 "Wiltshire multiplies its sheep and swine, and contrasts its sterile 
 plains with fertile valleys, and nests of manufacturing industry ; where 
 Hampsliire displays its grand forests and extensive heaths ; where 
 the quick hammer of the shipwright ia heard in the extensive dock- 
 yards of Portsmouth ; and where busy steamers from a neighbouring 
 isle, or from far distant shores, disturb the slumber of Southampton 
 Avaters — there flourished the Helgce, a race of people who originally 
 " were the most remote of old Gaul, as well in point of cultivation as 
 in locality."* A very early accoimt of Somersetshire desci"ibes it as " a 
 vast wilderness, covered witli brambles and briers, with thick woods 
 extending every way, and with high mountains and amazing valleys." 
 To the north of Salisbury Plain, in AViltshire, lies Stonehenge, one of 
 the most interesting relics of Driddical antiqtuty. Many conjec- 
 tixres respecting the massive stones of Stonehenge have been indulged 
 in. There remains, however, no doubt that it formed one of the chief 
 temples of Druidical worsliip, and was probably the seat of their great 
 assize. Skulls of cattle, sacrificed by the Druids, have been dug up in 
 the immediate neighbourhood. Stonehenge was, in all probability, 
 founded four hundred and five years prior to the landing of Julius 
 Ca)sar. It is believed to have been devoted to the worship of the 
 Moon. There was a similar temple at Abury, Avhich Avas the seat of 
 the Arch-Druid of the Belgae. There was also a similar temple in 
 Somersetshire. Around Stonehenge are barroAvs, or bui'ial-places of 
 the Britons, which rise like waves upon tlie green plain, so numerous 
 that " one may coimt fifty at a time, in the evening Avhen the sloping 
 rays of the sun shine on the ground beyond them." 
 
 * Camden.
 
 IN t-Qv^-- 'X'~''i>/ jwmm 'i r 
 
 
 5?, 
 
 Y;,^^^# ^ »/^-
 
 THE DUEOTEIG^ THE ATTREBATII THE CATIEUCHLANI. 
 
 33 
 
 Dorsetsliire, now abounding in flocks of sheep, and wooded with 
 luxuriant orchards, was then the settlement of the Dwrotrigce, whose 
 name was probably derived from the British words Dour, or Dwr, 
 signifying water, and Trig, an inhabitant ; meaning inhabiting near 
 the water or sea.* 
 
 Where now are spread the fine corn-fields of Berkshire— where the 
 waters of the Thames pursue their devious way, laving the fertile banks 
 of green meadows and ducal parks — there dwelt the Attrehatu, a colony 
 of people from Graul, on the banks of the Seine. Comius was the chief 
 
 COIN OF COMIUS. 
 
 of this tribe. While Csesar was pursuing his conquests in Gaul, he 
 defeated Comius, who fled, with the remnant of his followers, to the 
 sea-shore; but finding that the ships were agroimd, and that they 
 could not, therefore, embark before the Eomans would overtake them, 
 he ordered the sails of the ships to be spread, notwithstanding that 
 they lay dry upon the beach. Csesar, seeing from a distance the 
 swelling sails of the vessels, believed that Comius was already on the 
 sea, and abandoned the pursuit. By this stratagem Comius and his 
 followers escaped, and reaching Britain, founded the colony now 
 described. Comius afterwards entered into friendly relations with 
 Caesar, and became his ambassador to the Britons. 
 
 Other tribes were located on the opposite side of the river. 
 Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, and Huntingdonshire, formed the 
 settlement of the Catieuchlani, over whom Cassibelanus was chief. 
 These people were a very powerful tribe, constantly at war with their 
 neighbours, upon whose territories they committed frequent depreda- 
 tions. But when the island was threatened by Caesar, the southern 
 tribes entered into an alliance for the defence of their territories, 
 and placed Cassibelanus at their head. The warlike skill of the 
 British chief occasioned great difficulties to the Eoman arms; and, 
 
 * Camden. 
 
 D
 
 34 THE DOBUNl — THE EEGNI. 
 
 but for jealousies and antipathies between the subordinate chiefs, 
 the success of Ca?sar, partial as it was, would have been a very doubt- 
 
 COIN OF CASSIBELANUS. 
 
 ful issue. The tribes, breaking through their alliance one by one, 
 sought to make terms of favour with the Eomans, until at last 
 Cassibelanus stood alone against the common enemy, and yielded 
 only when every chance of success had fled. 
 
 Oxfordshire, now the seat of classic learning, proud in the splendour 
 of its colleges and halls, was, with the picturesque county in which it 
 stands, the seat of the Dobuni, who occupied also the county of Glou- 
 cestershire, and had their towns scattered upon the banks of the beauti- 
 ful Avon, whose immortal bard has so powerfully told the most thrilling 
 story of Saxon times.* Of the Dobuni nothing more is known 
 than that they suffered severely from the attacks of the Catieuchlani, 
 and that Plautius, about the year 45, made terms with them, took 
 them under Roman protection, and created garrisons among them for 
 their defence. 
 
 "Where Surrey displays its picturesque iiplands, romantic heights, 
 woodland dells, verdant valleys, and plains covered with waving corn — 
 where Sussex spreads its broad downs, and lofty white clifts look 
 down upon the waters of the blue ocean — there lived the Herjid, whose 
 king was Cogidunus. The spot at present knovsTi as Holwood Hill, in 
 Surrey, is said to have been the seat of the capital of the tribe. The 
 Devil's Dyke, near Brighton, to which so many fashionables flock in 
 the summer season, was a British earth-work, believed to have been 
 constructed as a retreat for the distressed Britons. It is almost 
 
 * Sliakspere's Tragedy of Kin/^ Lear was first publisliecl in 1608, under the title 
 of" Mr. William Sbake-spcare, liis true Chronicle History of the Life and Death of 
 Kin^' Lear and his tlu-ee Daugliters. AVith the unfortunate Life of Edgar, Sonne 
 and Ileire to the Earle of Gloucester, and his sulkn and assumed humour of Tom of 
 Bedlam."
 
 THE CANTII THE TRIXOBANTES. 35 
 
 certain that on the very spot where Brighton now stands — on the 
 Esplanade, where throngs of pleasure'Seekers pass to and fro, breathing 
 the inspirations of the ocean winds, there once existed rude towns of 
 the aboriginal people. 
 
 Where Kent displays its beautiful hop-gardens, rivalling the vine- 
 yards of sunnier climes, there flourished the Cantii. It was within the 
 settlement of this people that Csesar effected his landing upon two 
 occasions ; and with the Cantii his first battles must have been mainly 
 fought. A portion of Dover Castle is said to have been of early British 
 construction. The Cantii, in the time of Caesar, had four kings, named 
 respectively, Cyngetorex, Carvilius, Taximagulus, and Senogax. There 
 is little doubt that before the landing of the Romans the space of 
 
 COIN OF SENOGAX. 
 
 country between Deptford and the Thames, as high up as Lambeth, 
 was a swampy marsh, a great part of which was constantly overflowed 
 by the tide, and quite uninhabitable. This marsh, with the channel 
 of the Thames as its extremity, might be looked upon by the Cantii 
 and the Trinobantes as a kind of barrier between them. The Romans 
 afterwards, to secure this barrier, drained as much of the land as 
 served their piu-pose, erected a station, and made roads to it ; but 
 on their further conquests they removed to the north side of the 
 river, where London now stands ; after which, neither of the above 
 people claiming the drained district, it became part of the country 
 of the Regni.* 
 
 The counties of Middlesex and Essex formed the district of the 
 Trinobantes. AVlien we contemplate the vast city of London, with its 
 two millions and a half of inhabitants, and think of the wonders of 
 social, political, and scientific triumph that have emanated from it, 
 it becomes curious to reflect that this, the greatest and richest city in 
 the world, was founded by the Britons, in all probability many years 
 before the Romans set foot upon our soil, and that it must have been 
 
 * Camden.
 
 36 
 
 THE TRIXOBANTES. 
 
 originally a mere town, or series of straggling villages (such as we 
 have already described), scattered along the south bank of the Thames. 
 That learned antiquary and historian, Camden, speculating upon the 
 origin of the name of London says — " For myself, as Caesar and Strabo 
 expressly say that the Britons give the names of cities or towns to 
 woods and groves fortified by trees which they had cut dowTi, and I am 
 informed that groves in the British language are called Lhwn, I am 
 almost inclined to think that London had its name from thence, as the 
 city, by way of eminence, or the city in the grove.'''' By others the 
 name is said to be derived from Llyn-Din, meaning the town on the 
 lake. The Trinobantes were the first people who submitted to the 
 liomans, which they did on account of the oppressions of Cassibelanus 
 and the Catieuchlani. They were, however, long regarded with preju- 
 dice by the contemporary Britons for having been the first to submit. 
 Cassibelanus murdered Imanuentius, king of the Trinobantes, and drove 
 the son of the king, and successor to the throne, Mandubratius, into 
 Graul, where he sought the favour and protection of Csesar, who, the 
 better to promote his own designs, succoured Mandubratius, and 
 reinstated him on the throne of his kingdom. At a later period the 
 territories of the Trinobantes, the Catieuchlani, and the Dobuni were 
 united under the government of Cunobeline, a grandson of the British 
 king, Lud. Cmiobeline was at an early age taken to Bome, and edu- 
 cated in Roman manners ; when he was set up over the three king- 
 doms, he exercised great influence with the Britons in favour of the 
 Romans, and preserved the peace of the states for many years. He 
 held his court at Camulodunum, now Maldon, iu Essex, where it is 
 said the first coins were struck in this country. Cunobelinus certainly 
 
 COIN OF CU>'0BELINU3. 
 
 did institute and encourage coining to an extraordinary extent ; no less 
 than forty difierent coins have been satisfactorily traced to him, and 
 are still preserved. It is probable, however, that tlie first British coins
 
 THE ICENI. 
 
 37 
 
 were struck at Venilam, now St. Alban's (of whicli the annexed en- 
 graving is a specimen), before the Komans were in possession of tliat 
 
 EARLIEST BRITISH COIN.* 
 
 place. One side of the coin bears no device, and on the other is a 
 rude design, evidently intended, by the horse and wheel, to represent a 
 war-chariot. This intention is sufficiently explained by another British 
 coin, in which the war-chariot is more evidently indicated by the 
 
 
 BRITISH COIN. 
 
 attitude of the driver, and the horse which is galloping over a 
 prostrate foe. 
 
 The districts now represented by Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, and 
 Huntingdon were peopled by the Iceni, who sustained a remarkable 
 part in the troubled history of those early times. About the year 61, 
 a revolt was commenced by these people, which had nearly proved 
 destructive of Roman supremacy. The history of this revolt affords so 
 good an insight into the turbulent and unsettled state of the times, 
 that it should be given at length. 
 
 Suetonius succeeded to the government of Britain in the year 58. 
 He found that the Druids were the greatest enemies to the Eoman 
 rule, stirring up " seditions" against their authority, and that the Isle 
 of Mona (now called Anglesea) had become the stronghold of refugees, 
 who fled before the advances of the Eoman sword. He therefore 
 
 * The money first used by the Britons consisted of rude pieces of brass, tin, and 
 iron, formed into rings or other simple shapes. See the Initial, p. 55.
 
 38 
 
 EEYOLT or THE ICEJ^IANS. 
 
 determined to conquer that island, and exterminate the last of the 
 Druidical priesthood. For this purpose he collected the chief part 
 of his army, and marched towards Mona. Of the occurrences there 
 we shall have to speak hereafter. 
 
 Whilst Suetonius was thus employed, the Britons of the south 
 determined to seize an opportunity of casting ofl' the yoke. The 
 Icenians were the first to stir in the revolt, and their example was 
 soon followed by other tribes. The immediate cause which led to this 
 formidable rebellion was as follows : — 
 
 Prasutagus, king of the Icenians, who had been during his reign a 
 faithful ally to the Eomans, died; and in order the more firmly to 
 establish the peace of his state, he decreed a will, in which he made 
 Nero joint-heir with his two daughters to all his efiects. But his 
 death was no sooner known than, tempted by his wealth, the Eomans 
 seized upon his possessions, and overran them with plunder and 
 spoliation. The queen, Boadicea, remonstrating against these unjust 
 
 COIN OF BOADICEA. 
 
 proceedings, was seized by the soldiers, and scourged in a contemptuous 
 manner, her daughters were violated, and all the relatives of the late 
 monarch were reduced to indignity and slavery. The queen, being a 
 woman of great courage, appealed to her people to avenge their 
 wrongs, and, responding to that appeal, they determined to make a last 
 struggle for the recovery of their liberty. Desperate in their rage, 
 they rushed to arms, and were quickly joined by the Trinobantes. 
 Among the latter, the Bonian soldiers stationed at Camulodunum had 
 exercised the most tyrannical power, thrusting the inhabitants from 
 tlieir houses, seizing their goods, and subjecting the people to the most 
 ignominious treatment. Stirred to rebellion by these repeated injuries, 
 they rose against their tyrannical oppressors, and, with burning hope of 
 revenge, flocked to the standard of Boadicea. The Britons poured like 
 an irresistible torrent upon the Eonian colony at Camulodunum. The 
 Ixitter, unable to withstand the overwhelming attack, tied to the temple,
 
 REVOLT OF THE ICENIANS. 39 
 
 and defended themselves for two days, when the Britons forced an 
 entrance, put every soul to the sword, and reduced the city to ashes. 
 
 As the Britons were retiring from the scene of their recent victory, 
 they came upon the ninth Roman legion, which was advancing to the 
 aid of the colony. The Britons suddenly surrounded them, cut to 
 pieces all the infantry, and the cavalry escaped with great difficulty. 
 
 In the meantime, Suetonius, receiving information of these 
 alarming events, left Anglesea with the greatest speed, and passing 
 through a part of the enemy's country, hastened to London, which city 
 still remained faithful to the Romans, As a stratagem of war, he 
 determined to remove his troops from the narrow confines of the city, 
 where they would fight under considerable disadvantages, and abide the 
 issue of a battle upon an open plain. The inhabitants of London 
 implored him to stay and protect them ; but he knew that the issue 
 would be a vital one, and he left the city, with its numerous 
 inhabitants, to the doubtful mercy of an exasperated foe. 
 
 As soon as the Roman army had left the city, the Britons, with 
 Boadicea at their head, entered it, and slaughtered all they found 
 therein. From thence they marched on to the city of Verulam 
 (St. Alban's), which they also conquered and despoiled. They reta- 
 liated the injuries they had received from their enemies with a terrible 
 revenge ; they would neither sell nor exchange prisoners, but either 
 killed with the sword, gibbeted, burnt, or crucified all those who fell 
 into their bauds. 
 
 It is remarkable that this historical passage, with all its terrible 
 features of outrage, oppression, rebellion, and massacre, should find so 
 exact a parallel under British rule in India, after a lapse of eighteen 
 hundred years ! And why ? Because the progressive lessons of 
 experience have been forgotten. Thirst for dominion and wealth, 
 without regard to the principles and rights that should ever attend the 
 operations of enlightened governments, and regulate the intercourse of 
 the pioneers of civilization even with barbarous people, has been as 
 iniquitously indulged as if the conquerors of India had never read a 
 page of history. 
 
 That the Britons were subsequently beaten in an open battle, that 
 80,000 of them were slain, and that Boadicea destroyed herself rather 
 than yield to the tyranny of the Romans, are matters of liistory 
 sufiicieutly authenticated. But even with this terrible defeat, the 
 Britons were unconquered ! A hundred and seventy years had rolled
 
 40 
 
 THE COEITANI THE COENAYII — THE SILURES. 
 
 away after this event, and yet tlie clash of British and Eoman swords 
 was frequently heard in various parts of the island. The ultimate 
 subjection of tlie people was mainly due to causes to which we have 
 already alluded at page 12. 
 
 The countries now divided into Eutlandshire, Northamptonshire, 
 Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire were 
 occupied by the Coritani. Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, 
 and Cheshire formed the settlement of the Cornavii. 
 
 The Sihires occupied those parts which the Welsh in their language 
 called Dehenbarth, or the south part, divided at present into the 
 counties of Hereford, Monmouth, Glamorgan, Brecknock, and Eadnor. 
 Theii' king was Caractacus. The Silures, as described by Ptolomy, 
 
 COIN OF CAEACTACUS. 
 
 were a tribe distinctively marked from the other British people. 
 Tacitus supposed them to have been orignally Iberians. Their com- 
 plexions were ruddy, their hair dark and curled ; they were warlike, 
 impatient of slavery, of great intrepidity, and exhibited a stubbornness 
 iminfluenced alike by clemency or severity. The physical character- 
 istics, as tlius described, have come down with the inhabitants of Silm*ia 
 to the jjresent day, and confirm, in a remarkable degree, the description 
 given of them in those early times. 
 
 When the Eomans invaded their territory, they withstood so 
 harassing a war, and inflicted such heavy losses upon their invaders, that 
 Ostorious, the lioman general, died worn out with grief and difficulties, 
 and Veranius, who subsequently attacked the Silures, did so in vain. 
 Caractacus was, however, defeated and made captive. Being severely 
 pressed, he retired into the dominions of t]ie Ordovices, whose territory 
 included a portion of Shropshire, and his last great battle was fought 
 upon a hill, now called Caer-Caradoc (twelve miles from Ludlow). 
 Caractacus fortified the liill with a rampart of stones, and held it 
 obstinately against tlie Komans, until the latter effected breaches in 
 the rude rampart, remains of which may still be seen, and drove the
 
 THE DIMET^ THE BRIQANTES. 
 
 41 
 
 Silures in disorder to the mountains. Caractacus fled for protection to 
 the territory of the Brigantes ; but the Silures were not reduced until 
 the time of Vespasian, when Julius Proutinus conquered them, and 
 placed garrisons of the legionary troops among them. Further mention 
 of Caractacus will be made in the accoimt of the Brigantes, and in 
 the Chapter in which the general character of the Britons will be 
 reviewed. 
 
 Pembrokesliire, Carmarthenshire, and Cardiganshire formed the 
 settlement of the Dimet<s ; and neighbouring these, and with them 
 partaking of the general characteristics of the Silures, were the 
 Ordovices, occupying the districts now known as Carnarvonshire, 
 Flintshire, Denbighshire, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire, and Angle- 
 sea (then called Mona). They were a robust and powerful people, 
 keeping fast to their mountains. They continued to be independent of 
 the Eomans until the time of Domitian, when Julius Agricola reduced 
 almost the whole nation. 
 
 Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumberland, and Durham formed the king- 
 dom of the Brigantes, the most numerous and warlike of the Britisn 
 tribes. Within the boundaries once occupied by this powerful tribe 
 have sprung up those great marts of commercial and manvifacturing 
 industry — Liverpool, Manchester, Wigan, Bolton, Blackburn, Bradford, 
 Preston, Newcastle, Sunderland, and a host of other places. The 
 county of Lancaster alone now possesses a population double that of 
 the whole island at the Roman period. The Brigantes probably 
 derived their name from their piratical character. They committed such 
 outrages among their neighbours, that Antoninus Pius on that account 
 took away the greatest part of their territory. This tribe occasioned 
 great trouble to the Romans, to whom they were at length subjected 
 by the treachery of their queen, Cartismandua, a woman described as of 
 
 COIN OF VENUTITTS. 
 
 great power, invincible will, and noble birth. She dishonoured her 
 king, Venutius, by taking his armour-bearer to her bed, and openly
 
 42 THE PAEISI — OTTADANI PICTI — SCOTI — CALEDONII. 
 
 espousing him on tlie throne. This led to a revolt among the people, 
 and occasioned a fatal war. The husband had on his side the affection 
 of his subjects ; the queen resorted to the Eomans for aid, which 
 they, wishing for an opportvinity of crippling the strength of the 
 Brigantes, rendered her, and overthrew Venutius. Another circum- 
 stance which favoured Cartismandua with the Eomans was, that when 
 Caractacus was defeated, and fled to her for refuge, she had delivered 
 him up to Ostorius, who sent him and his children captive to Eome. 
 
 The Parisi held a settlement adjoining to the Brigantes, and are 
 supposed to have been a division of the tribe. They occupied the 
 south-eastern angle of Yorkshire, now called Holderness. 
 
 Northumberland was occupied by the Ottadani, a people svipposed to 
 have been dependent upon, or confederated with, the Brigantes, in the 
 same manner as the Parisi. Their name is probably derived from the 
 situation occupied by them ; it means beyond, or above, and was 
 intended to indicate their situation with respect to the river Tyne — 
 as above the Tyne. 
 
 Still further north, upon the borders of Scotland, were the Picts, a 
 people peculiarly ferocious, who, together with the Scots, occasioned 
 frequent troubles to the northern Britons by their predatory incursions. 
 Some historians derive these people from the Grermans, others from the 
 Pictones of Gaul, while Bede says, that " the Picts came, as they 
 report, from Scythia, in a few long ships, to Ireland," and after in vain 
 soliciting a settlement among the people whom they found there, at 
 their advice came over to Britain, and established themselves. What- 
 ever may have been their ox'igin, there can be no doubt of the important 
 part which they played in the history of the earliest times. Their 
 name is said to have been derived from the habit of painting their 
 bodies, which they adhered to when most of the other families of Britons 
 had abandoned that custom — they therefore became distinguished as 
 the Picts, or painted people. 
 
 It is scarcely possible to separate the Picts from the Scots and 
 Caledonians, so little is known of the history of those tribes, which 
 were never, in fact, brought into subjection to Eoman rule, nor in- 
 fluenced by Eoman polity. Doubtless they had, as was common with 
 aU the British tribes, frequent feuds among themselves. But upon 
 every occasion, when the Eoman power waned, or when the Britons, 
 turning to works of industry, sought to improve their condition, hordes 
 of these northern barbarians swept in upon them, and dealt murder
 
 INKOADS OP THE PICTS AND SCOTS. 43 
 
 and spoliation on every side. The chain of forts extending from the 
 Clyde to the Forth, erected under Agricola, and the wall of Hadrian, 
 
 COIN OF GAIXJACUS, KIN& OF THE CALEDONIANS. 
 
 though immensely strengthened by Severus, were but feeble defences 
 for the Britons against the wild multitudes that besieged their barriers, 
 and broke in upon their settlements in pursuit of plunder. The 
 history of the Britons, for a period of nearly five hundred years after 
 the first Eoman invasion, is little more than a continuous story of 
 bloodshed and misery. Invaded from the south by a powerful and 
 disciplined foe ; overwhelmed on the north by barbarian tribes, burst- 
 ing in from a barren country, like hungry wolves, to feed upon their 
 prey ; themselves occupying every interval of time and opportunity 
 wdth intestine strife, and sanguinary struggles which wasted their own 
 strength ; no wonder " that grievous famine increased ; that they 
 abandoned their cities and fortifications, and took to flight from a 
 ruthless enemy, by whom they were rent in pieces like lambs in the 
 hands of bloody butchers, or in the jaws of savage beasts ; no wonder 
 that the poor distressed people forbore not to rob each other of the 
 little sustenance they possessed, and so increased their hostile oppres- 
 sions by domestic vexations,"* until, sinking under despair in the year 
 428, they petitioned the Emperor Honorius for protection, saying — 
 "The babbarians beat us back to the sea; the sea again 
 deives tjs back upon the babbaetans : thus, between two 
 kinds of death we abe eitheb slaughtebed ob droavned !" 
 
 Notwithstanding these calamities, do we not see, even to this day, 
 in the men of Scotland, the Northumbrians, the Welsh, the Cornish, 
 and the Southern English, the strong impress of those original features 
 which the Eoman annalists so faithfully depicted? The infusion of 
 
 * Speed.
 
 44 
 
 A RETEOSPECT. 
 
 Saxon and Norman blood, while it modified the physical constitution 
 of the aboriginal races, still left the old British types in the 
 ascendant. 
 
 "When we look back to those troubled times, and count the years 
 that have rolled away, we find that we are only removed therefrom the 
 life-times of some twenty men ; and yet from that barbarian stock has 
 sprung a race that are now regenerating the world ! 
 
 -X 
 
 -y^^ 
 
 // 
 
 <I- 
 
 
 1 / 
 
 
 EKITISII WAIi-CUARIOT.
 
 CHAPTEE Y 
 
 THE DKUIDICAL llELIGION OF THE BRITOKS. 
 
 
 «f;HE Druidical religion 
 of the Britons was one 
 of the most profound 
 and poetical supersti- 
 tious that ever absorbed 
 the minds of men. Its 
 deities were an un- 
 known Spirit, gods visi- 
 ble in the Sun, Moon, 
 and Stars, moving every- 
 where in the elements, 
 inhabiting sacredgroves, 
 dwelling in the waters 
 of wandering streams, 
 or hidden in mysterious 
 caves. Thus the great 
 mystery which sui'- 
 rounds the universe, the 
 mysteriously grand phe- 
 nomena which are wit- 
 nessed in it, and the 
 beautiful and more comprehensible things of the earth, all lent their 
 aid to enchain the minds of the untutored races, and to give to 
 the priesthood unbounded power over the people. Those who could 
 not be subdued by the awe or beauty of these superstitions, were 
 operated upon by the mysterious rites of the Druidical priests, and 
 made to tremble at the feet of altars reeking with the blood of 
 sacrifices.
 
 46 THE DRTJIDICAL SUPEBSTITION. 
 
 " Eeligious superstition," says Strutt, " is easily raised in ignorant 
 and unenlightened minds ; every people, however barbarous, have 
 some faint ideas of a Being to whom they owe their existence ; and those 
 weak sparks of fire may, without much difficulty, be blown up into a 
 flame of zeal by others, Avho appear to be better acquainted with sacred 
 matters, or more holy than themselves. Thus, all nations have religious 
 rites, and priests to assist their ojfferings to the superior powers. The 
 Druids found it needful to call to their aid pretended miracles, and 
 mysterious doctrines, assisted by solemn and unusual gestiires, to 
 strike upon their beholders ; for, though the ignorant may have been 
 easily persuaded to believe whatever should be told them of the wisdom 
 and reality of their gods, yet the genius of mankind generally makes 
 them fond of the wonderful, and impels them to esteem those things 
 the most which they can the least comprehend. It requires a greater 
 light than that which is barely afforded by Nature to conquer those 
 prejudices, and lead a man to judge fairly for himself in matters which 
 seem to be (and undoubtedly are) of such real importance to him. 
 Hence it became necessary for the designing priests to keep their 
 knowledge to themselves, and lead the generality of people into 
 greater darkness than they were before. But lest some aspiring genius 
 might spring up to discover the fallacy of their proceedings, and 
 pluck the film from the eyes of the deluded multitvide, a certain 
 boimd was set to their religious inquiries, and every individual strictly 
 forbad, under pain of the severest penalties, to believe either more 
 or less than what he had been instructed by the priests themselves. 
 Yet, as something more than Nature and naked truths -were required 
 to keep the multitude in obedience, and make them quietly acquiesce 
 in these arbitrary measures, the priests were not backward in the 
 propagation of wonders and extraordinary events ; whilst, by their 
 mysterious actions, and pretending to secrets of the highest conse- 
 quence, they secured the respect of the vvdgar, who regarded them 
 as the favourites of the gods. By such means they laid fast hold 
 of the minds of their followers, so that they were ready to sacrifice 
 their wealth, their families, nay, their own lives, at the shrine of 
 that which has been proved to be a worthless invention. All the 
 ancient records of the known world cannot furnish a more striking 
 view of the prevalence of superstition in a people, or the arbitrary 
 government of priests, than we find among the deluded Britons. 
 
 This superstitious religion formed a very considerable part of
 
 SYSTEM OF THE DRUIDS. 47 
 
 the ancient government — the Druidieal priests were the chief authority 
 in the settlement of the aftairs of the people. Besides their minis- 
 tering at the altar, they were entrusted with the tuition of youth. 
 They enjoyed an exception from taxes, and were never called upon 
 to serve in wars ; they determined controversies ; decreed rewards 
 and punishments ; and if the offender did not abide by their sentence, 
 he was forthwith excommunicated. 
 
 Under the general name of Druids were comprehended three 
 different classes of religious men, who had separate functions to 
 fulfil. The office of the first class, the Bards, was to recite by music 
 and poetry the deeds of great men and heroes ; and to satirize and 
 censure the conduct of evil men, and those who were public or private 
 enemies. Their songs are described as being highly impassioned, 
 and as exercising a surprising effect. When the Britons were engaged 
 with a common foe, the bards would rush in among them, and by a 
 rhapsody of blessings upon their arms, and curses upon their enemies, 
 would inspire them to deeds of the highest courage and daring. 
 At other times, when the British tribes had quarrelled, and their 
 adverse ranks stood fronting each other in array of battle, their 
 swords dra\\Ta, their lances pointing to each other, and waiting but 
 the signal to begin the bloody conflict, the bards rushed in between 
 them, and touching their harps wath sweet harmony, and declaiming 
 in impassioned words against the folly of the quarrel, so influenced 
 the enraged Britons that they forgot their fierce resentment, and set 
 aside their arms. 
 
 The following specimen of Druidieal bardic composition, though 
 derived from a much later period than that of which we write, is 
 interesting. It is addressed by a "Welsh bard to Rhys, one of the 
 princes of that coimtry : — 
 
 [^Translation.^ 
 
 " O thou, consolidator of the comely tribe ! — Since I am returned home into 
 thy dominion, to celebrate thee under heaven — O thou, with the goklen, protecting 
 spear, hear my bardic petition ! In peace let us taste the cauldron of Prydain. 
 Tranquillity round the sanctuary of the uneven niimber, with sovereign power 
 extend ! It (the bardic sanctuary) loves not vehement loquacity ; it is no cherisher 
 of useless sloth ; it opposes no precious concealed mysteries (referring to 
 Christianity) : disgrace alone is excluded from bardic worship. It is the guardian 
 bulwark of the breaker of shields. It is wise and zealous for the defence of the 
 country, and for decent manners ; a foe to hostile aggression, but the supporter 
 of the faint in battle."* 
 
 * Davis's BriiUh Druids.
 
 48 
 
 SYSTEM OF THE DEUIDS. 
 
 This is one of tlie latest productions of Druidical song, derived 
 from a time when the Druids, after the lapse of centuries, had resolved 
 that Christianity might be "tolerated." 
 
 The next class of Druids were the Yaits, or prophets. These 
 performed the principal parts of all the religious ceremonies, such as 
 sacrificing victims, making ofterings, and delivering poetic prophecies 
 
 
 ^'t^ 
 
 ■/ V 
 
 THE AEMY 01' SUETONIUS CEOSSINa THE MENAI STRAITS TO EXTEEMINATE 
 
 THE DEUIDS. 
 
 and predictions. They also composed sacred hymns in honour of 
 the gods. 
 
 The third, and most numerous class, were the ordinary Druids. A 
 great part of their employment was to make researches into the 
 mysteries of Nature, to study the motions and appearances of the 
 heavenly bodies, to estimate the magnitude of the universe, and 
 of the earth, and to discourse of these things to their disciples.
 
 SYSTEM OF THE DEUIDS DRIJIDESSES. 
 
 49 
 
 Besides these there were different classes of Druidesses, of which 
 there were those who vowed perpetual virginity, and dedicated all 
 their time to the services of religion, living in lonely places, sequestered 
 from mankind. They were much addicted to divination, prophecies, 
 and miracles, by which they gained great influence among the common 
 people. Another class of these religious females were married, but 
 passed a great part of their time with the Druids, assisting in the 
 performance of religious rites. And a third class performed menial 
 offices about the temples, the sacrifices, and persons of the Druids. 
 
 BKITANNIA TXJBULAE BRIDGE, ACROSS THE MENAl STRAITS. {See p. 54.) 
 
 These were not parted from their husbands, but governed their 
 families, brought up children, and laboured at home when their 
 attendance was not required by the Druids. 
 
 Over these several religious orders and grades there were a limited 
 number of Arch-Druids, who held authority over certain districts, 
 and who attended the more solemn festivals, and also what has been 
 termed the great assize, in which various causes and disputes were 
 heard and decided. 
 
 The Druidical doctrines consisted of two distinct systems ; one
 
 50 .? THE DBTJIDICAL DOCTEINES. 
 
 commiinicated only to tliose who were initiated, and admitted into 
 their own order, and which they Avere bound by solemn vows never 
 to divulge. So careful were they lest their secret instructions should 
 be overheard, that they taught their disciples in the most private 
 places, such as the caves of the earth, and the deep recesses of thick 
 forests. These doctrines were not permitted to be written, lest they 
 should be divulged to the common midtitude. Their religious belief 
 was, that after death the souls of men ascended to some higher orb, 
 and enjoyed a more exalted state of felicity than they could experience 
 in this world. This was probably to be the ultimate reward of man, as 
 they also taught that the moment their souls fled from one body they 
 entered other li^nng and temporal bodies, and enjoyed a state of life 
 proportionately honourable and happy to the valour of their former 
 deeds. The tendency of this doctrine was to make them desperate 
 in war, and to look upon death as a mere outlet of the spirit for an 
 existence of greater happiness. They deified the Sun and Moon, and 
 paid religious homage to trees, rivers, water and fire. Their philo- 
 sophers taught that fire and water were the great elements that 
 would revolutionize the world. If it were possible to gi^'e a succinct 
 history of the religion of those early times, it would be shoAvn that 
 when the Eomans first conquered the Britons, they sought to establish 
 their ovra religion among them. The mythology of the Romans must 
 have been regarded at first by the Druids as a baneful heresy ; but as 
 it spread among the people, as temples to the Pagan gods appeared 
 in different parts of the island, and the followers of the Druids were 
 becoming tainted with the new doctrine, the Druids were not slow in 
 discovering that there Avas a harmony - between their own mystical 
 belief and the mythology of their conquerors. "We accordingly find 
 that in the Eoman period Druidism partook of new mythological ele- 
 ments, and the churches rivalled each other in the homage they paid to 
 the like gods. So, at another time Ave find the heathen mythologists 
 persecuting and exterminating Christians; but, when they found they 
 could not resist the spread of Cliristianity, tliey also discovered that 
 there Avas an accordance betAveen Paganism and the new faith, and 
 became "tolerant" of that Avhicli tliey had tried to exterminate in 
 vain. Were Ave to folloAV the parallel examples to be found in religious 
 history, Ave should be brought down to a period which lias its living 
 witnesses. That duty, however, must be reserved for the Chapters 
 upon the History of Opinion.
 
 DBUIDICAL SACRIFICES AND TEMPLES. ' 51 
 
 The Druidical worship and sacrifices were performed in sacred 
 groves, and in open temples constructed of enormous stones. There 
 were many such places in Britain, of which remains exist at the 
 present day, and of these Stonehenge, Abury, Dartmoor, and Shap, 
 in AVestmoreland, afford the best examples. It was an article of 
 the Druidical creed, that it was unlawful to worship the gods within 
 walls or under roofs. Their temples were therefore constructed by 
 placing enormous stones at considerable distances apart, the whole 
 forming a circular area of vast dimensions. The hours for their 
 religious services were probably at noon and night. At noon they 
 paid homage to the sun, and at midnight to the moon and stars, and 
 the mysterious powers of darkness. 
 
 Their sacrifices were not confined to beasts of the brute crea- 
 tion. We are told, upon the direct authority of Caesar, that they 
 delighted in human sacrifices, and that though the persons destroyed 
 by these sanguinary rites were generally ofienders against the law, 
 or prisoners taken in war, there were occasions when, desiring to 
 move the gods by special appeals, they not only sacrificed the inno- 
 cent, but selected the most beautiful and virtuous for their horrid 
 purpose. So much did they delight in human sacrifices, that they 
 constructed large figures of wicker-work, effigies of the human form, 
 and then, filling these figures with human beings, they set fu-e to the 
 living mass, and ran, danced, shouted, and made the most discordant 
 noises around the scene of the terrible immolation. 
 
 Another part of their system was to practice the arts of divination, 
 professing to have the power to foretell events, to detect crimes, and 
 to work charms. They divined matters by giving flight to birds, and 
 observing the manner and the direction in which they took wing ; by 
 serpents' eggs ; by the inspection of the entrails of victims slain in 
 sacrifices. "When great occasions required the consultation of the 
 deities, a man was made the victim, and slain by a priest with one 
 blow of a sword, struck above the diaphragm. By observing the 
 posture in which he fell, his convulsions, and the direction of the 
 blood which flowed from his wound, they made their predictions, 
 according to rules secretly communicated from generation to generation 
 of the priesthood. 
 
 The oak was held in great veneration amongst the Druids, espe- 
 cially when found with the mistletoe growing upon it. The trees 
 under which they assembled to worship were the most majestic of the
 
 52 EFFECT OF DRUIDICAL SUPEESTITIQXS. 
 
 Ibrest, and the cutting of the mistletoe from the oak was a matter 
 of great parade and solemnity. This was done on the 10th of March, 
 their N^w-year's day, in the following manner : — Pirst, they marched 
 in solemn procession to tlie wood ; then, having the sacrifices prepared 
 under the tree, two milk-white bullocks were brought forth. The 
 chief Druid, habited in a white robe, ascended the tree, and with a 
 golden pi'uning-knife cut oif the mistletoe, which was carefully dropped 
 upon a white cloth held by persons standing beloAv. Then many 
 orations and incantations were pronounced over it, the bullocks were 
 slain, and the mistletoe, thus hallowed, was carefully kept, and a 
 decoction from it employed as an antidote for poison, a sure remedy 
 for barrenness, and a cure for many bodily diseases ! 
 
 'No Druidical grove, we believe, now remains ; but within little 
 more than a century, ancient oaks were still standing around some of 
 the circles of stones set upright in the earth, which are supposed to 
 have been the temples of the old religion.* The oak, under which the 
 Druids performed their barbarous and mystic rites, was destined by 
 the hand of human iudustry to be transformed into a noble ship, and 
 to bear the pioneers of civilization into remote and still barbarous 
 regions of the world ! 
 
 These miserable superstitions of the Druids held such an ascen- 
 dancy over the people's minds, and caused so many revolts against 
 the Eoman authority, such strife between the Pagans and the Druids, 
 that the Pomans determined to force Paganism upon the people at 
 llie point of the sword. They compelled the inhabitants of the con- 
 (|uered provinces to build temples to the Pagan gods, and perform 
 sacrifices of beasts only, after the Eoman fashion. They deprived the 
 Druids of civil autliority, and punished them with the utmost severity 
 when concerned in any revolt. The disconsolate Druids, therefore, fled 
 to Mona, where they strove to revive the hopes of their expiring 
 authority. But Paulinus Suetonius, in the year 61, determined to 
 pursue and exterminate them. He marched with a large army through 
 the kingdom of the Ordovices, and crossing the Menai Straits by 
 means of flat-bottomed boats, made a terril)l(^ assault upon the 
 assembled Britons. The Briti^li anny (•(•(nvdcd ihr shore, resolutely 
 determined to abide their last chance. Among the soldiers were 
 women running up and down like furies, carrying burning firebrands, 
 and witli their liair ll(j\ving over their slioulders ; tlie Druids ran to 
 
 * I'ietorial J£nylund.
 
 SUETONIUS EXTERMINATES THE DRUIDS. 
 
 o3 
 
 and fro with their hands lifted uj) to lieaven, while they poured out 
 solemn prayers and dreadful imprecations. The strangeness of tlie 
 sight so amazed the Eoman soldiers, that they shrunk from the 
 attack, until Suetonius encouraged them, saying, " Be not daunted by 
 an army of women and wizards!" The Eomaus conquered, put the 
 wretched Druids to death, destroyed their temples, cut down their 
 groves, and overturned their altars. Those of them who escaped fled 
 
 
 DRUIDICAL SACEIFICES. 
 
 into Caledonia, Hibernia, and Monoeda (or further Mona, now the 
 Isle of Man). But such a deep impression had the Druidical super- 
 stitions made upon the national mind, that, during the sixth, seventh, 
 and eighth centuries, there were numerous edicts of emperors and 
 canons of the councils against the worship of the sun, moon, mountains, 
 lakes, trees, etc. Even so late as the eleventh century, in the reign 
 of Canute, the following edict was issued : — " We strictly charge and
 
 54 EDICTS AGAINST DEUIDISM. 
 
 forbid all our subjects to worship the gods of the Gentiles ; that is to 
 say, the sun, moon, fires, rivers, fountains, hills, trees, or woods of 
 any kind!" 
 
 It is remarkable that near the very spot where the last battle 
 was fought, having for its object the extermination of a sanguinary 
 and baneful superstition, there now stands a great monument of the 
 triumphs of Progress. The Britannia Tubidar Bridge crosses the 
 Menai Straits near the place where the army of Suetonius fought 
 the Britons who had assembled to guard the Druids, whom they 
 revereueed as a sacred order of men ; where women ran up and down 
 like furies ; and where the Druids were burnt in the fires they had 
 kindled to sacrifice their enemies. No longer have we need of exter- 
 mination : the aim and effort of to-day is to mingle the families of 
 the human race, and to trust to the peaceful operation of Truth, to 
 root out error and superstition, wherever they may still linger and 
 clog the onward paths of men.
 
 CHAPTEE YI. 
 
 or THE LATENT MOEAL AND INTELLECTUAL QUALITIES OF THE 
 BEITISH CHARACTER. 
 
 HE vast strides of Pro- 
 gress which the British 
 people have made within 
 a comparatively brief space 
 ^ of history, render it im- 
 possible to escape the 
 conclusion that there must 
 have been among our an- 
 cestors elements of cha- 
 racter favourable to the 
 noble developments that 
 have subsequently and 
 rapidly taken place. Or 
 why should they, who were 
 barbarians when many 
 liatious of antiquity boasted not only of civilization, but of refinement, 
 have overtaken and far outstripped those nations, and gained for 
 themselves the foremost position among the people of the earth ? 
 
 Let not this proposition be said to savour of national vanity, 
 since it is suggested not by a vain conceit, but by facts which are 
 patent to the whole world. Some nations have achieved greatness 
 from the period of the world's history when they were first founded ; 
 others, from the vastness of their undisputed possessions ; others, from 
 peculiar geographical advantages, and from physical circumstances 
 which give energy and courage to the character of a people. It 
 was not the period of our nation's foundation which fostered its
 
 56 ^ THE ISLAXD AND ITS INHABITANTS. 
 
 coming greatness : Egypt, Greece, and Eome, had gone before it 
 in all the splendours and triumphs which the world then understood. 
 The mere sp;ui of land which contributed to our entire dominion, proves 
 that it was not our territory which constituted our greatness ; and 
 this view is strengthened by the fact, that the riches which we 
 now possess internally were undeveloped for many centuries, and 
 the entire island was, for a long period, so uncultivated that it 
 afforded only a precarious existence to its inhabitants. Nor could 
 it have been from our geographical or physical advantages, because, 
 until Britain was cleared of swamps and woods, its atmosphere was 
 far more humid and insalubrious than at the present day. The 
 oldest writers agree in representing this island as a land of mists, 
 surrounded by a dark and dangerous sea ; a description not untruthful, 
 when we consider that the draining and clearing of the land materially 
 altered the constitution of our atmosphere, and that the seas must 
 have been dangerous at a time before improvemeuts in ship-building 
 gave to man power over the waves. The immigration of Eomans, 
 Saxons, Danes, and Normans has been held by some authorities 
 to have extinguished the original types of British character, and 
 to claim for the immigrant races the credit for those characteristics 
 of courage, daring, and perseverance which really belongs to the 
 blood of the aboriginals. The physical characteristics of the Britons, 
 as described by Ca?sar and Tacitus, are singularly applicable at the 
 present day. The Britons, on the parts of the island which lay 
 opposite to Gaul, were described as generally being of fair complexion 
 and light hair; the Caledonians were described as having red hair 
 and muscular limbs ; and the Silures as having dark complexions, and 
 black and cui-ly hair. 
 
 That they were a brave and energetic people rests not alone upon 
 the willing testimony of Eoman historians, but upon the facts of 
 history ah-cady recorded, Avhich show that the Eomans, after the 
 lapse of centuries, had not completely subdued the island. That 
 they submitted to government wlien it was justly and mildly 
 administered, is evident irom Tacitus, wlu) says: — "The Britons 
 themselves cheerfully submit to conscriptions, taxes, and all other 
 imposts, provided injustice be withheld ; but this they will not 
 patiently tolerate, being as yet merely reduced to obedience, and 
 jiot to slavery." 
 
 In the absence of other materials by which we may judge of the
 
 SPEECH OF CARACTACUS. 57 
 
 dormant qualities of the British people, we may turn to the speeches 
 of some of their chieftains on the occasion of great battles, or imder 
 the disap})ointment of defeat, and we shall find therein expressed 
 sentiments which would do liouour to any people or any age, and 
 figures of speech, and methods of appeal, that would have graced 
 the oratory of Greece or Rome. 
 
 Caractacus, king of the Silures, having been betrayed into the 
 hands of the Romans, was, with his wife and daughter, taken caj)tive 
 to Rome, and brought before Claudius. He was led in triumpli 
 through the streets of the city. Pirst went the vassals of 
 Caractacus, drooj)ing their heads, and showing how deeply they 
 felt the humiliation of their king. Then followed the caparisons, 
 chains, and other paltry spoils taken in the war. After these 
 went the wife and daughter of Caractacus, weeping at their degrada- 
 tion. Then came the stout-hearted chieftain: across his loins was 
 slung the skin of a beast ; the parts of his body which were revealed 
 were painted with figures of divers beasts. He wore a chain of 
 iron about his neck, and another about his waist ; his hair hung down 
 in curling locks, covering his shoulders, and the hair of his upper lip, 
 parted on both sides, lay upon his breast. He neither hung dovoi his 
 head as daunted, nor craved mercy, but with a confident spirit, and 
 high bearing, held on until he came into the imperial presence, and 
 there addressing Claudius, he spoke in a firm voice to this purpose : — 
 
 " Had my moderation in prosperity been equal to the greatness of my bii'th 
 and estate, or the success of my late attempts been equal to the resolution of my 
 mind, I might have come to this city rather as a friend to be entertained, than 
 as a captive to be gazed upon. Neither woiddst thou then disdain to have 
 received me on terms of amity and peace, being a man of royal descent, and a 
 commander of many warhke nations. But what cloud soever hath darkened my 
 present lot, yet have the Heavens and Natiu-e given me that in birth and mind 
 which none can vanquish or deprive me of. I well see that you make other 
 men's miseries the subject and matter of your triumphs, and in this my calamity, 
 as in a still water, you now contemplate your own glory. Yet know that I am, 
 and was a prince, furnished with strength of men and habihments of war ; and 
 what marvel is it if all be lost, seeing experience teacheth that the events of war 
 are variable, and the success of policies guided by imcertain fates. As it is with me, 
 who thought that the deep waters, hke a well enclosing our land, and it so situated 
 by the gods as might have been a sufficient privilege and defence against foreign 
 invasions ; but now I perceive that the desire of your sovereignty admits no hmitation ; 
 and if you Romans must command aU, then all must obey. For mine own part> 
 while I was able I made resistance ; and unwilling I was to submit my neck to a 
 servile yoke ; so far the law of Nature aUoweth every man, that he may defend himself 
 being assailed, and to withstand force by force. Had I at first yielded, thy glory and
 
 58 SPEECH OF BOADICEA. 
 
 my ruin had not been so renowned. Fortune hath now done her worst ; we hare 
 nothing left us but oiu* hres, which if thou take from us, oiu* miseries end, and if 
 thou spare us, we are but the objects of thy clemency." 
 
 At a subsequent time, when walking through the city of Rome, 
 and observing its grandeur, " Why," said he, " when possessed of such 
 sj)lendours as these, do you covet our humble cottages F" 
 
 The address of Boadicea, to her army, is even more poetical and 
 patriotic : — 
 
 " My friends and companions of eqiial fortiines ! — There needeth no excuse 
 of this my present authority or place in regard of my sex, seeing it is not vmknown 
 to you all that the wonted manner of our nation hath been to war under the 
 conduct of women. My blood and birth might challenge some pre-eminence, 
 as sprung fi-om the roots of most royal descents ; but my breatli, received from 
 the same air, my body sustained by the same soil, and my glory clouded with 
 imposed ignominies, I disdain all superiority, and, as a fellow ia bondage, bear 
 the yoke of oppression with as heavy weight and pressure, if not more ! Had I, 
 ■with Caesar's mother, been suspected of treason, or with false Cartismandua, defiled 
 my bed, and betrayed a faithful king, my goods might have gone under the title 
 of confiscation, and the lashes of the whip which I have endm-ed, under pretext 
 of justice. But why name I justice in these grand catalogues of oppressions, 
 whose actors respect neither person, age, sex, nor cause? For what abuse can 
 be so vile, that we have not sufiered; or indignity so contemptible, that we 
 have not borne? My stripes, and the violent rapes of these my harmless 
 daughters, against the laws of God and man, do witness well what govern- 
 ment our enemies intend ; and yoior wealths consmned by their wasteful 
 wantonness, your painful travads upholding their idleness, does seal the 
 issues of our succeeding miseries, if not tunely prevented by our joint endeavour. 
 You that have known the fi-eedom of life, will with me confess that liberty, though 
 in a poor estate, is better than bondage with fetters of gold. And yet this com- 
 parison hath no coiTcspondence in us ; for we now enjoy no estate at all, nothing now 
 being ours but what they will leave us, and nothing left us that they can take away^ 
 having not so much as our heads toU free. Have the Heavens made us the ends of the 
 world, and not assigned the end of our wrongs ? Or hath Nature, among all our free 
 works, created us Britons only for bondage ? Why, what are the Romans ? Are 
 they more than men, or immortal ? Their slain carcases sacrificed by us, and their 
 putrefied blood corrupting our air, doth tell us they arc no gods. Ovu- persons are 
 more taU, our bodies more strong, and our joints better knit than theirs ! But you 
 will say — they are our conquerors. Indeed, overcome we are, but by ourselves, by 
 our own factions, still giving way to their intrusions. For had not the dictator a 
 Mandubrace ?* Cahgula an Adminius ? Claudius a Bcricus and Cogidunus ? 
 Nero, Cartismandua — that strumpet, and our still Uving shame ? Eouic's instru- 
 ments and Briton's vipers, without which you should see Cws&r in single fight lose his 
 eword, and after fly the country ; Tiberius forego his tribute ; Claudius glad to make 
 peace ; and Nero might still have foUowed his fiddling trade at Eome, had not oiir 
 discords at home made up his music here abroad. Our dissensions, therefore, have 
 
 * Alluding to the British kings who had allied themselves with the Komans.
 
 SPEECH OF OALOACUS. 59 
 
 been their only rising, and our designs still weakened by home-bred conspirators. 
 Neither hath oiu* noble resistance ever been without desert or note of honour ; their 
 public triumphs being made more admirable by one Briton's conquest, than usually 
 hath been solemnized over whole kingdoms. Cahgula, for beholding our cliffs only, 
 would have divine honours ; and forgetful Claudius, remembered unto posterities, a 
 glorious siirname from us. Our strengths have been acknowledged the main support 
 of other states,* and shall it not be supplied to maintain our own ? We have as much 
 to keep as bh'thright has given us ; that is, our land, possessed by our ancestors from 
 aU antiquity : ours by inheritance, theirs by intrusion ; claims so different in the scale 
 of justice that the gods themselves must needs redress, and set the balance in their 
 equal poise. We have seen their propitious beginnings, in making vis instruments 
 over seventy thoiisand of our enemies ; and yet in then* revenge our forces not 
 diminished, but much mcreased in number and power ; which thing, as it serves to 
 our encouragement, so it is to their fear. See we not the army of Plautius crouched 
 together hke fowls in a storm ? If we but consider the ntunber of their forces and 
 the motives of the war, we shall resolve to vanquish or die. It is better worth to 
 fall in honour of liberty, than be exposed again to the outrages of the Romans. 
 This is my resolution, who am but a woman ; you who are men may, if you please, 
 live and be slaves !" 
 
 This speecli is full of vigorous eloquence and patriotic feeling. 
 Again, Galgacus, addressing liis army of Caledonians when they stood 
 on the Grrampians, towards which the army of Agricola was advancing 
 to attack them, said: — 
 
 " When I behold this present assembly, and consider the cause of this instant 
 necessity, I have reason to presume that this day, and this owr agreement in consent, 
 win give a happy beginniiig to om* freedom and an end of troubles unto our island. 
 For we which inhabit these furthest promontories, know no land beyond us where- 
 unto we may fly, nor no seas left us now for safety, the Roman navy (thus as you 
 see) surveying our coasts ; so that combat and arms, which men of valour desire for 
 honour, the very dastard of force must now use for his security. We that are the 
 flower of the British people, and are seated here in the uttermost parts of the isle, 
 saw never yet the borders of those coimtries which seized in slavery, our eyes being 
 unpolluted and free from all contagion of tyranny. Our former battles fought with 
 the Romans had their events, yet so that refuge and hope rested still in our own 
 hands ; we have hitherto hved in liberty, whereas none beside us are free ; we 
 hitherto this corner and secret recess hath defended, now the uttermost point of our 
 land is laid open ; and things the less they have been within knowledge, the greater 
 the glory is to welcome them. But what nation is there now beyond us, what else see 
 we but water and rocks, and the Romans within landlords of all, nay, rather robbers 
 of all both on land and sea, whose intolerable pride by humble subjection in vain shall 
 we seek to avoid ? If the country be rich, they seek to win wealth ; if poor to gain 
 glory ; but neither east nor west can satisfy their greedy affection, much less this 
 . cold north can set an end to their desire. To kill, to spoil, and take away by force, 
 that, falsely, they term empire and government ; and when all is made a waste 
 
 * Alluding to the assistance rendered by the Britons to the Gauls agains 
 Julius CiBsar.
 
 60 SPEECH OF OALGACTJS. 
 
 wilderness, that they call peace. Most clear unto man are his children and blood ; 
 but those are pressed for their wars, and serve as their slaves we know not where ; 
 our goods are their tributes, our corn their provision ; our wives, sisters, and 
 daughters, in war violently forced ; in peace, under the title of friends and guests, 
 shamefully abused, and our own bodies worn and consumed in paving of bogs and 
 other sersile di-udgeries, with thousands of stripes, and many indignities more. 
 Slaves which are bom to bondage are sold but once, and after are fed at their owner's 
 expense; but Britany daUy buyeth, daily feedeth, and is at charges with her own 
 bondage. We are the last to be conquered, and therefore is our destruction most 
 sought as being the most vUe in account. No fields have we to manure, no 
 mines to be digged, no ports to trade in, and to what purpose then should 
 they reserve us ahve ? Besides, the manhood and fierce courage of the subject 
 pleaseth not much the jealous sovereign, and this comer being so secret and 
 out of the way, the more security it yieldeth us ; in them it works the 
 greater suspicion. Then, seeing aU hope of favour is past, let iis take courage 
 to defend and maintain our ovra safety as well as our houoiu*. The Icenians, 
 led by a woman, fired the colony, forced the castles ; and if that lucky 
 beginning had not been ended in a careless security, the southern Britons might, with 
 ease, have shaken off the yoke. We, as yet, never touched, never subdued, and bom 
 to be free, not slaves to the Romans ; we (I say) now are to make proof of our valour, 
 and to show in tliis encoimter what men Caledonia hath reseiTed for herself. And do 
 you think that the Romans are as valiant in war as they are wanton in peace ? I 
 assure you nothing less ; for not by their virtues, but by our jarrings, they are grown 
 into fame ; and of the enemies' faidts they make use to the glory of their ovm army ; 
 composed (we know) most of divers nations, and therefore, as in prosperity they hold 
 not aU always together, so doubtless, if fortune turn aside, their services will appear. 
 Unless you suppose the Gauls and Germans, and (to our shame be it spoken) many 
 of our own nation (which now lend their Hves to estabhsh a foreign usiu"per), be led 
 ■\dth heart's affection ; whereas, contrariwise, it is apparent that terror and distrust 
 (weak workers to conserve love) are the only cause ; which once removed, then 
 those that have made an end to fear, ynU. soon begin to hate. All things that 
 may incite unto victory are for us ; the Romans have no wives to hearten them on, if 
 they faint ; no parents to upbraid them, if they fly. Most of them have no countrj' 
 at aU ; or if they have, it is by intrusion taken from others. A few fearful persons 
 stand here before us, trembhng and gazing at the strangeness of the heaven itself, at 
 the sea, and at the woods ; whom' the gods have delivered mewed up and fettered into 
 our hands. Let not these brave shows of ghttering gold or silver any way dismay you, 
 which of themselves neither offend nor defend. And be you well of mind amongst our 
 enemies we shall find many on our side. The Britons will agnize their own cause, 
 the Gauls will remember their former liberty and wonted estate, and the rest of the 
 Germans will leave and forsake them, as of late the Vsipians did. Wliat then shall 
 ■we fear? The castles are empty; the colonies pco)iled with aged and impotent 
 persons ; the free cities discontent and in factions ; whilst those wliicli are under obey 
 with ill-will, and they which do govern rule against right. Here you see before us is 
 the general and the army ; on each side tributes, servitudes, and other miseries 
 inseparable, which, whether we shall continue for ever, or cast off subjection as free- 
 bom Britons, it lieth this day in this field and your approved manhoods. Where- 
 fore, I beseech you, in forming battle,- bear in your minds your worthy ancestors, 
 yourselves, and following posterities ; which, if you fail, shall for ever be in subjection 
 and slavery."
 
 SPEECH OF AaRICOLA. (51 
 
 From these addresses we learn that the British chieftains, tliouo-li 
 clad in the skins of beasts, had within tliem the sonls of men and tlie 
 hearts of patriots. Take, in comparison with the foregoing, the speech 
 of Agricola, addressed to his soldiers prior to the battle with the army 
 of Galgacus : — 
 
 " Fellow Soldiers ! — The eighth year is now passing since, by the valour and for- 
 tune of the Roman Empire, and by your own loyalty and energy, you have conquered 
 Britain. Throughout so many expeditions, so many battles — whether lieroism 
 against the enemy, or perseverance and toil in suniiounting physical impediments, 
 were called for, I have neither been dissatisfied with my men nor you with your 
 commander. Having consequently overstepped the limits of former governors and 
 former armies, we now occupy the utmost limit of Britain, not merely with our 
 name and reputation, but with our arms and encampments. Britain has been dis- 
 covered and subdued. Many a time, on the march, when fens, mountains, and 
 rivers tried your perseverance, have I heard the bravest of you exclaim, ' When is 
 the enemy to show himself ?' ' When shall the battle come ?' Tliey are coming 
 now, hunted from their lahs ; youi- wishes and your valour have now an open field ; 
 aU things lean toward the conquerors ; all tells against the vanquished. For, though 
 the performance of so long a march, the treading of the forests, the crossing of the 
 estuaries, are creditable and glorious for an advancing army ; still, our present 
 greatest advantages would become our most serious dangers in retreat, because we 
 have not the same acquaintance with the localities, or the same supplies of provisions 
 — nothing but our hands and arms, and on these our whole dependence. For my 
 own part I have been long convinced that a retreat is unsafe, both for troops and 
 commander. An honourable death, therefore, is preferable to a Hfe of degradation 
 and security and glory stand together ; nor should it be discreditable to faU even in 
 this verge of the earth and creation. 
 
 " If nations unknown, and an army hitherto untried, were marshalled against us, I 
 would urge you by the examples of other armies. As it is, recount your own 
 successes ; question yom* own eyes. These are the men whom you defeated last 
 year by a shout, when they treacherously attacked a single legion in the night ; they 
 are the most timid of all the Britons, and therefore so long in existence. As, in 
 traversing the forests and the glades, the fiercest animals confront you in the 
 consciousness of their strength, while the timid and harmless take flight even from 
 the noise of an advancing host : so the most vahant of the Britons have long since 
 fallen, and the remainder are a multitude of the helpless and the cowardly, whom 
 you have found out at last ; not because they awaited you, but because they are the 
 last, and have been overtaken. They have placed their cause, and — in the agony of 
 their terror — their bodies, where they now stand, and where you may achieve a 
 glorious and imposing victory, have done for ever with the campaign, crown its 
 fifty years with one great day, and satisfy the republic that the army cannot be 
 charged either with a continuance of war, or a pretext for its renewal." 
 
 There is nothing in this speech which might not have been 
 addressed by a brigand to his band — no principle of justice, no 
 sentiment worthy of humanity. And yet these Caesars and Agricolaa
 
 62 ADTA>'TAGES OF HISTORY. 
 
 have been deified by the ancients, and handed down to posterity as 
 the great heroes of early aj^es, Avliile our stanneh old British ancestors 
 have been almost forgotten, or merely mentioned as the most pro- 
 minent among barbarians. Cjesar, describing the Gauls, said — " They 
 accounted robbery honourable, provided it was not committed Avithin 
 their owti tribes ; they thought it gave occupation to their yomig men, 
 and made them active." Wliat were Cajsar and the Romans but 
 robbers seeking possession without right, pursuing conquest without 
 mercy ? Tlie want of a true sentiment upon this subject has per- 
 petuated the war policy, and the profession of the soldier is still 
 looked upon as one of the honourable callings of our times. A 
 father, having two sons, determines one for the church and the other 
 for the army, deeming the sacerdotal robe and the militar}' cloak 
 eqiial emblems of honourable distinction. This is almost the only 
 matter of opinion in which Ave have stood still ; but the time is 
 coming when the last prop of iniquity must give way ; when, if armies 
 must still be maintained by external necessities, the sword shall never 
 be imsheathed but in the cause of Justice. 
 
 The brief sketch which has been afforded of the British and Eoman 
 period, and which has been qiute as ample as the rehable materials of 
 history woidd allow, will serve as a starting-point for the inquiries we 
 have to pursue in tracing the footsteps of Progress. As a railway 
 practically reduces space ; as a telescope brings distant objects near ; 
 and as a microscope reveals the xinseen : so a faithful historical sketch 
 condenses into one focus the events of ages, and enables us in imagina- 
 tion to reach the very poles of time, and to explore the antipodes of 
 social conditions. We, who can breakfast in Edinburgh and sup 
 in London, have in these brief recitals, been carried back to a period 
 when Scotland and Ireland were unhioicn to England, and when the 
 Boman generals would only venture upon expeditions of discovery in 
 ]S"orth Britain " in the summer time ! " 
 
 Having sat with the Briton in his liut ; having seized spear and 
 shield and rushed forth with liim wlien the cran-tara was planted in his 
 village, and fiercely battled witli a marauding neighbour, or a foreign 
 foe ; having stood before the Druidical altar, and shrieked with mad 
 excitement when a human being has been ripped open, or tlie fires 
 lighted around a living \)\\q ; having seen a successful robber become
 
 FTJETHEB PEOGRESS. G3 
 
 the chief of a tribe, and found that in his position of chief he became 
 the greater robber, we are able to estimate more fully the advantages 
 of law and order that now exist, and to rtyoice more sincerely in the 
 secui'ity that dwells around our British hearths. 
 
 Having dwelt with a British tribe, and felt that their forests were 
 the boundaries of freedom, and that to pass beyond those boundaries 
 was to meet death ; having wandered through their track-ways, and 
 waded through their marshes and streams, hastening home lest the 
 settiug of the sun should cut us ofl" from our village to become the 
 captive of an enemy or the prey of a wolf, we can the better prize 
 the Macadamized road, and the paved and illuminated street, or the 
 flying train that bears us with bird-like speed to our domestic 
 nests. 
 
 And when we shall have traced the steps of Progress, and learned 
 how our present advantages grew ; how difficulty after difficulty was 
 overcome ; prejudice after prejudice broken down ; and triumph after 
 triumph achieved ; we shall be able to meditate not only upon that 
 which HAS BEEN, but that which is tet to be — we may find 
 pleasure in the contemplation of Progresses that are to come, and 
 share, by anticipation, those better things which our children 
 will in their time enjoy. 
 
 Nor need we fear that a time of retrogression will come; that 
 by too rapid a development we shall be like the stream of a swift 
 river, which, instead of deepening its bed, destroys the banks that 
 protect its course, until its waters are dissipated upon a broad plain, 
 and become stagnated under that sun which once shone -ft-itli golden 
 beauty upon their rippling waves. There was a time when such a fear 
 might have been entertained, and more than once the very existence 
 of our kingdom has been threatened. 
 
 . Nations that are chiefly warlike stake their fortunes upon the 
 success of arms, and rise or fall with the vicissitudes of battle ; but 
 England, by her indomitable spirit of enterprise, has been the first 
 nation to strike her roots of commerce in a perfect network over the 
 whole face of the globe. The decline of England's greatness would 
 involve the disruption of all the States of Europe, the impoverishment 
 of many of them, and spread like a lasting palsy through the civilized 
 world. 
 
 As in every separate State a sovereign power is necessary to 
 perfect the organization of that State, and hold its parts together, so
 
 64 
 
 FURTHER PROGRESS. 
 
 among the many kingdoms of the earth, a supreme sovereignty is 
 necessary for the better security of the rights of established dominions. 
 We have seen, in late years, how a trespasser against the laws of 
 nations was brought to account ; and we know that, although the 
 administration of justice to so great an offender was a thing of mighty 
 cost and sacrifice, punishment was inflicted. It will be a happy era 
 for mankind when, in the great afiairs of kingdoms, as in the minor 
 concerns of men, the Ordeal by Battle shall be done away with, and 
 differences settled by appeal to laws founded upon reason, and adminis- 
 tered by a pure jurisprudence. Then the sceptre of authority Avill be 
 held still more firmly by the nation which is first in morals, greatest in 
 influence, and most liberal in its own constitution. Until that time 
 comes, and Avhile the sword must still be made a terror to those who 
 persist in disguising Brigandage under the name of Sovereignty, it 
 may be a blessing for all nations that the one among them which is 
 most free, enlightened, and humane, shall also be the most powerful. 
 
 There were times when man, having but meagre knowledge, and 
 rare opportunities of acquiring it, the onward march of improvement 
 was made by timid and irregular steps ; that which was gained in one 
 generation was frequently willingly relinquished by another. The 
 mind of man was so weak, that it dared not grapple with things 
 uukuown ; but the time has come, thanks to those heaven-born spirits 
 who led the way to the assault of Ignorance, when men have not only 
 shaken oft' their chains, but made useful tools of the fetters that 
 bound them. The whole people is now at school : millions of papers 
 and tens of thousands of books are their daily teachers. If men 
 
 COULD GROPE THEIR WAY FROM THE DARKKESS OF THE PaST, AND 
 ACCOMPLISH SO MUCH GOOD, IN SPITE OF YAST IMPEDIMENTS, "WHAT 
 ABE THEY LIKELY TO DO, NOW THET HAVE KINDLED THE LAMP OF 
 KNOWLEDGE, AND CAN SEE THEIR WAY INTO THE BROAD AVENUES 
 
 OF THE Future? 
 
 END OF THE FIRST BOOK.
 
 PEOGEESS OF THE AETS, SCIENCES, INDUSTETAL 
 PUESUITS, AND THE POLITICAL, EELIGIOuS, AND 
 SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS OF THE BEITISII NATION. 
 
 I. THE PEOGEESS OE AaEICTJLTUEE. 
 
 • fruits, 
 
 I LINT has recorded the 
 story of au industrious 
 and ingenious husband- 
 man, who, being in ad- 
 vance of the knowledge 
 of his time, cultivated a 
 small piece of ground 
 upon an improved me- 
 thod, by which he ga- 
 thered much more fruits, 
 andreaped larger profits, 
 than the neighbours' 
 about him, though their 
 possessions were more 
 ample. His uncommon 
 success excited their 
 envy, insomuch that they 
 brought this accusation 
 against him — " That by 
 sorcery, charms, ajid 
 witchcraft he had trans- 
 ported his neighbours 
 fertility, and increase to his own fields." For this he was 
 
 r
 
 66 CORy GROWN BY THE BRITONS. 
 
 ordered peremptorily, by Albinus, a Eoman general skilled in agri- 
 culture, to ansAver the charge before liim. Cresinus, fearing the 
 issue, resolved upon his best defence, brought his plough and other 
 rural implements, and displaying them openly, he set there also 
 his daughter, a lusty, strong lass, big of bone ; then, turning to the 
 citizens — " My masters," quoth he, " these are the sorceries, charms, 
 and all the enchantments that I use : I might also allege my own 
 travel and labour, my early rising and late sitting up, and the painful 
 sweat that I daily endure ; but I am not able to present these to your 
 view, nor to bring them with me into this assembly." This bold and 
 open defence captivated the people ; it proved the coiijp de main which 
 turned a doubtful result to his entire favour ; he was pronounced " not 
 guilty," and those present took note of his inventions. 
 
 This story, though not strictly belonging to the history of our own 
 island, is derived from those who are said to have first taught to the 
 Britons the arts of husbandry. It may, therefore, be fairly employed 
 to show that the firsf improvers of agriculture had their days of trial ; 
 that in all ages and countries, and in every path of inquiry and 
 invention — in the discovery of the rotation of crops, as in tliat of the 
 rotatory motion of the earth — a Galileo has had to answer for 
 his daring before some embodiment of ignorance constituting an 
 Inquisition. 
 
 It has been already shown that the ancient inhabitants of this 
 i sland Avere divided into a number of warlike tribes, and that they 
 were constantly engaged in hostilities between themselves or with 
 their invaders. Such a state of existence at once precludes all idea of 
 the cultivation of the soil. Still, there are some evidences that corn 
 was grown and husbanded as a material article of subsistence, by those 
 people who occupied the southern extremities of the island. Caesar 
 described the inhabitants of the interior as being the most barbarous, 
 and especially mentions tliat they (jrew no corn, thereby admitting the 
 inference that the more advanced people were not only acquainted 
 with the uses of corn, but that they raised it by a method of culti- 
 vation, however rude, lie also speaks of having employed foraging 
 parties to scour the country, and bring in what corn they could. The 
 foragers found that the natives had gathered in their harvest, except 
 in one field ; and while they were cutting down the corn which stood 
 there, the Britons made a resolute attack upon them. At a subse- 
 quent time, Ca-'sar compelled the Britons to send com into his camp.
 
 tINDERGEOUND GRAXARIES. 
 
 G7 
 
 UNDEEGEOFND GEANAEY. 
 
 Another authority* meutious their having subterranean places in which 
 
 they stored coru in the 
 
 ear, beating out, day by 
 
 day, as much as they 
 
 required for use. The 
 
 corn which they grew 
 
 was a description of 
 
 barley, wheat being then 
 
 unknown. Ears of barley 
 
 are figured ixpon several of the British coins. (See p. 40.) 
 
 That they kept flocks and herds has been testified by Strabo, who 
 speaks of their having abundance of milk, though they were unac- 
 quainted with the manufacture of cheese. Caesar described the island 
 as abounding with cattle, and the people of the interior as living upon 
 milk and flesh. Even in the northern parts, where the people 
 depended most upon hunting, they were not altogether destitute of 
 flocks and herds ; but these consisted of wild cattle, driven into 
 enclosures to be fed upon pasturage until they were required for food. 
 The Britons were forbidden by their religion to eat the flesh of either 
 hares, geese, or fowls, though the former were plentiful in a wild state, 
 and the latter were bred for pleasure. 
 
 The animals which abounded in Britain were the ox (generally 
 white, with reddish ears), horses of a small but powerful breed, dogs 
 of a large kind, said to have been sometimes used in war (see Plate, 
 p. 33) ; others resembling the greyhound, employed in the chase ; 
 hogs, wolves,t foxes, and hares, fen-eagles, bustards, cranes, herons, 
 and a variety of water-fowl. 
 
 During the Roman occupation, the tribes which were subdued 
 began to think of works of industry, and to draw instruction from 
 their conquerors. Hence we find, in the successive E-oman historians, 
 indications of the growth of agriculture in Britain. Pliny speaks of 
 the inhabitants of Gaul and Britain having found out another kind 
 
 * Diodorus Siculus. 
 
 t It is remarkable that the early historians make little mention of wolves in 
 Britain, though it is evident that they must have been very numerous, and a great 
 terror to the inhabitants. Three hundred heads of wolves were demanded by King 
 Edgar as a yearly tribute from Wales ; and in the reign of Edward I. a mandate was 
 issued for the destruction of them in the various eoimties. The last presentment for 
 destroying wolves was made in Ireland, county Cork, so late as the year 1710.
 
 68 INDIOEXOUS YEGETATIOX. 
 
 of manure for their grounds, wlaich was a fat clay or earth. Tliey 
 were represented, by the same authority, as digging a hundred feet 
 deep into the earth to obtain the best kind of marl — a fact which 
 sufficiently indicates the importance attached to its use. They also 
 probably knew the use of lime, since it is recorded that they exported 
 large quantities of it to Gaul. 
 
 It would be exceedingly interesting to learn wliat descriptions of 
 trees, shrubs, grasses, and edible leayes and roots were known to our 
 British ancestors. The subject is, uufortunately, siirrounded with 
 difficulty. It may, howeyer, be confidently asserted, that, although 
 the vegetation of this island was exceedingly vigorous, the orders of 
 plants indigenous to it were few. The principal trees and shrubs 
 were the oak, mistletoe, ivy, birch, alder, pine, mountain-ash, juniper, 
 sweet-gale, dog-rose, osiers, heaths, and a few otliers. The fir, chestnut, 
 beech, elm, poplar, mulberry, lime, cypress, cedar, laurel, box, laurus- 
 tinus, laburnum, and weeping-willow were unknown. Of fruit-bearing 
 trees and shrubs, if any Avere then upon the island, they were only the 
 gooseberry, currant, raspberry, alderberry, crab-apple, strawberry, and 
 a few roseworts or bramble-berries ; and these in so wild a state as to 
 be unproductive of any material contribution to the food of man. The 
 woods which crowTied our island must therefore have been vast assem- 
 blages of oaks, stately in the maturity of ages, their spreading branches 
 darkened by clustering mistletoe and ivy ; while underneath, seeking 
 the neighbourhood of streams, the alder put forth its dark-green 
 leaves, and lit the shades of the forest with its star-like fiowers. In 
 the undergrowth, brambles M'ove an impenetrable network amid tufts 
 of rank grass, heath, ferns, and mosses. The forest foliage of the 
 country was varied only by a few pines, standing in solitude upon the 
 hills, and becoming more numerous towards their native habitat, 
 Scotland ; while heath and juniper, in wild luxuriance, over-ran the 
 downs. 
 
 AVith regard to nutritious vegetables, now so liberally supplied to 
 our daily tables, and used as fodder for beasts, it may be asserted tliat 
 none of tlicm were made available, at least for liuman food. Cabbages 
 existed only as wild colewort, growing on clifis near the sea-coast ; 
 cauliflowers and Ijroccoli, which are developments from the cabbage- 
 plant, were, of course, unknown. Turnips, parsnips, and carrots 
 grew wild ; but their roots were small, dry, and stringy, and their 
 uses undiscovered. Peas, beans, and potatoes were unknown ; celery
 
 FLOATEES OF ANCIENT BEITAIK. G9 
 
 was au acrid and poisonous plant, growing by the banks of ditches 
 and brooks in the neighbourhood of the sea. Lettuces and endive 
 were unknown. Spinach, onions, and leeks grew wild ; but, if they 
 were noticed at all, were regarded as useless weeds. Ehubarb was 
 unknown ; asparagus was a stunted plant, growing w^ild by the sea- 
 coast ; and though mushrooms must have abounded on the margins of 
 the great woods, it is doubtful whether they were ever regarded other 
 than as the poisonous plants to which they are allied. 
 
 The streams abounded with rushes, cowbane, water-cresses, and the 
 more common kinds of fresh-water algae. The sea-coasts, at a time 
 when the ocean was little navigated, and marine plants were unem- 
 ployed for manure, must have been loaded with weeds, which would 
 frequently obstruct the estuaries of rivers, and keep the surrounding 
 land in a state of humid corruption. 
 
 The floral beauties of the island were confined to those wild- 
 flowers which are the delight of childhood. The eyes of the 
 " barbarians " looked upon the modest daisy, which then presented 
 the same simple form that it does to-day. Primroses, nursed in 
 the recesses of gnarled roots of trees, came forth in abundance in 
 the spring; so did the blue-bell and the violet. These familiar 
 flowers, with dog-roses, fox-gloves, traveller's-joy, flowering heaths, and 
 water-lilies were the chief beauties of the bouquet of ancient Britain. 
 Fuchsias, balsams, dahlias, auriculas, hyacinths, pinks, tulips, roses, 
 and a host of other beauties that now adorn our gardens and dwellings, 
 were then quite unknown. Even the wall-flower and the mignonnette 
 were strangers to our land ; and the honeysuckle, which is now a 
 common habitant of the hedges, came to Britain a stranger, and stole 
 out of the confines of a garden, to share the fortunes of our native 
 wild-flowers. JS'or was this state of British vegetation pecidiar to 
 the earliest period. It prevailed, with only slight additions and 
 improvements, down to the sixteenth century! "We shall have, 
 however, to enter more fully upon these matters when treating of 
 the Progress of Horticulture;* and therefore we at once pass on 
 to facts more legitimately belonging to our present subject. 
 
 * Horticulture is that branch of rural economy which is concerned with the 
 formation and culture of gardens. Compared with Agriculture, it is the cul- 
 tivation of a limited spot by manual labour, and greater complexity of operations, 
 either for culinary vegetables, fruits, flowers, ornament, or recreation. — Encydo. 
 MetropoUtana.
 
 70 riTZHERBEET FIRST BOOK OX lirSBANDRT. 
 
 Early in the sixteentli century books upon husbandry began to 
 appear; and, from such of them as have been preserved, we gather 
 the first reliable information upon the state of agricultm-e at that time. 
 A few works had been issued at prior dates, but they were either 
 translations from the French and Grerman, and related to continental 
 modes of cultivation, or treated only incidentally of husbandry, in 
 connection with herbal, astrological, and other matters, generally put 
 forth as "grand secrets" and "mysteries" then first made knoAvn. 
 
 The earliest work of any importance by an English author, was 
 " The Boke of Hvsbandry," by Sir A. Eitzherbert, published in 1534. 
 It contained no new views of agriculture, but merely a collection of 
 rules and observations upon the difi"erent branches of husbandry as 
 then pursued, founded upon the experience of the author, who had 
 followed farming occupations for forty years. He reprobated some 
 of the negligences of the existing system, such as the practice of 
 leaving deep stubble to be mowed at leisure late in the winter, showing 
 that thereby the ground became hardened, weeds gained strength, 
 and stubble, good for manure, became wasted. He made but little 
 mention of lime, which shows that it was not extensively used in 
 his day ; but frequently spoke of marl, and gave directions to farmers 
 how to make their own implements . (which was then the common 
 practice) in intervals of comparative leisure, that they might be ready 
 for the time of need. This volume contains many good industrial 
 and frugal maxims, and is remarkably free from the superstitious 
 views of planetary influences which are frequently found mentioned 
 in works of much later date. Although books could have exercised 
 but little influence at a time when few persons, especially of the 
 rural classes, could read; yet Fitzherbert's work appears to have 
 excited attention, a second edition being " newely prynted " in the 
 year 1548. He also published a work upon Surveying, in the year 
 1539, and the substance of his "Boke of Hvsbandry" was adopted 
 by various authors, and again publishml in difl'erent forms at later 
 dates. 
 
 An interesting sketch of the farm and family of a British yeoman 
 of the sixteenth century, is aff'orded by the following passage from 
 one of Hugh Latimer's discourses, preached before Edward YI. It 
 also indicates the value of land at the period : — 
 
 " My father was a yeoman, and had landes of his owne ; onlyc he had a farme 
 
 of three or four pound by yearc at tlie uttermost ; and hereupon he tilled so
 
 MARTIN" TUSSER — aOODGE. 71 
 
 much as kepte halfe a dozen men. lie had walke for a hvmdrcd sheps, and mv 
 mother mylkod thirty kyne. He was able, and did find the king a harnesse, 
 with hymselfe and hys horse, wliyle he came to the place that he should receive 
 the kynge's wages. I can remembre that I buckled his harness, when he went 
 into Blak heeath felde. He kept me to schole, or elles I had not been able to 
 have preached before the kynge's majestie now. He marryed my sisters with 
 five poimde, or twenty nobles a pece; so that he brought them up in godliiics 
 and fear of God. He kept hospitalitie for his pore neighbours, and sum ahnes 
 he gave to the pore, and all things did he of the same farme." 
 
 Ill 1562 Mftrbm-Tusser published his " Five Hundred Points ot 
 Husbandry." This book appears to have embodied all the olden 
 maxims, and to have given a proverbial form to information upon 
 rural matters. It is written in irregular verses and stanzas ; 
 and to a subsequent edition (1604) were appended " The Pointes ol 
 Huswiferie, united to the Comforts of Husbandry." It was printed 
 in black letter, thus : — 
 
 *' ©tcs, rtc, or else bnrlfe, m\ti fokat tljnt is grnp, 
 biings InnD out of comfort, ant( soone to teeny : 
 
 <©ne after another, no comfort ktluccnc, 
 is crop upon crop, as Inill quicfjlii be scene. 
 
 ^till crop upon crop mang farmers tio tafie, 
 anti reape little profit for grectiinesse salie." 
 
 In this way, with much quaintness, the rules of husbandry were given, 
 and few things then knowTi omitted. 
 
 G-reat stress was laid by the olden writers upon the effects of the 
 moon and wind. In Goodge's " Booke of Husbandry," 1577, farmers 
 are told that in manuring the ground, it is necessary to " looke that 
 the wind be westerly, and the moon in the wayne." This advice 
 is repeated in "The Perfect Husbandman," 1657, and it is therein 
 remarked that " this observation (of the moon and wind) helpeth 
 greatly to the bettering of the ground." From the same work we 
 learn that, although there was a general agreement upon the influence 
 of the moon upon vegetation, there were differences of opinion as to the 
 most favourable periods for securing that influence : — 
 
 " In sowing some think you must have regard to the moonc, and to sow and set 
 in the increase, and not in the wane. Some againe thinke it best from that 
 she is four dayea old, till she be eighteen ; some after the third, others from the 
 tenth tin the twentieth : and best (as they aU suppose) the moone being aloft 
 and not set."
 
 72 SIR IIUOII PLATT, 
 
 The same book observes, with regard to the planting of trees, 
 that " if the tree be planted in the increase of the moon, it groweth 
 to be very great ; but if in the wane it will be smaller, jet a great 
 deal more lasting." 
 
 In the year 1594, Sir Hugh Piatt contributed some works to 
 the literature of husbandry. Sir Hugh is described as having been 
 " the most ingenious husbandman of his age," and as having " held 
 a correspondence with all lovers of agricultiire throughout the 
 kingdom." AVe, therefore, turn to his work, " The Jewell House 
 of Art and Nature," with considerable interest. The motive of the 
 author for thus undertaking books of instruction upon husbandry, 
 is thus stated: — 
 
 " What eie doth not pitty to see the great Tveaknes and decay of our ancient 
 and common mother the earth, which now is grown so aged and stricken in 
 yeares, and so wounded at the hart with the ploughman's goad, that she 
 beginneth to faint under the husbandman's hand, and groaneth for the decay 
 of her natural balsam. For whose good health and recorery, and for the better 
 comfort of sundry simple and needy farmers of this land, I haye partly under- 
 taken these strange labours, altogether abhorring from my profession, that they 
 might both know and practise some farther secrets in their husbandry, for the 
 better manuring of their leane and barren groundes with some new sorts of 
 marie not yet knowne, or not sufficiently regarded by the best experienced men 
 of our daies." 
 
 From his Avork, entitled " Diverse New Sorts of Soyle not yet 
 brought into any Public Use for Manuring both of Pasture and 
 Arable Ground," we gather many interestiug particulars upon the 
 deficiency of knowledge respecting materials available for, and the 
 properties of, manures. In fact, seeing that the manures recommended 
 in this work include salt, street dirt, and sullage of streets, 
 clay, fuller's earth, moorish earth, hair, malt-dust, the oflal of 
 slaughter-houses, burnt vegetable matter, soap-boilers' ashes, fish, 
 some new kinds of marl, and other things, and that these are 
 said to have been " not yet brought into any public use," we cannot 
 wonder that the land began " to faint under the husbandman's 
 hand." The same work afibrds a curious instance of the want 
 of knowledge upon the laws of vegetation. The one idea seemed 
 to be, that there existed a universal, generative, and fructifying 
 salt, to which all soils and earths owed their fertility. Por the 
 advancement of this theory, which was the crude " agricultural
 
 THE UNIVETISAL SALT TIIEOBT. 73 
 
 chemistry" of its time, Sir Hugh Piatt introduced into his work 
 upon soils what he termed the " philosophical treatises" of M. 
 Bernard Pallisy, and I'ranciscus Valetius, upon the properties of 
 this universal salt. In those days every experiment in science 
 had first to undergo the test of accordance with Scripture, and we 
 find that the discoverers of the universal salt theory sought to 
 harmonize their views with the sacred text. But as in Scripture 
 salt is figuratively spoken of as both a blessing and a curse, it 
 occasioned much trouble to the philosophical essayists to reconcile 
 the conflicting passages, and to harmonize their theory with both. 
 However, this accomplished, they proceeded to show the vegetative 
 virtues of salt, declaring that it not only promoted generation in 
 plants, but procreation in animals : — " Plutarch doth witnesse, that 
 ships upon the sea are pestred and poisoned oftetimes, with exceeding 
 store of mice. And some hold opinion, that the females, without 
 any copulation with the males, doe conceive onely by licking of 
 salt. And this maketh the fishmongers' wives so wanton, and so 
 beautifiill !" After many illustrations tending to show that com- 
 mon salt was the salt meant, the farmer was told that the 
 philosophers " speak not of common salt," but of a mysterious 
 " vegetative salt." This assumed philosophy was stated with con- 
 fidence, and its expression maintained with obvious conceit: — 
 
 " The secret virtues which lie hid in salt confli-m the same. For salt whiteneth 
 all thinges, it hardeneth all thinges, it preserveth all thinges, it giveth favour 
 to all thinges, it is that masticke which gleweth all thinges together, it gathereth 
 and knitteth aU mmerall matters, and of manie thousand peeces it maketh one 
 masse. This salt giveth sounde to aU thinges, and without the sounde no 
 metall will wring in his shirle voyce. Salt maketh men merrie, it whiteneth 
 the flesh, and it giveth heautie to aU reasonable creatures, it entertayneth that 
 love and amitie which is betwixt the male and female, through the great vigour 
 and stirring uppe which it provoketh in the engendering members ; it helpetli 
 to procreation, it giveth unto creatures their voyce, as also unto mctaUes. 
 ***** And it is salt that maketh all seedes to flourish and growe, 
 and although the niuuber of men is verie small, which can give anj' true reason 
 whie dungue shoulde doe anie good in arable groundes, but are ledde thereto 
 more by custome than anie philosophical! reason, nevertheless it is apparaunt 
 that no dungue, which is layde uppon barraine groundes, could anie way enrich 
 the same, if it were not for the salt wliich the straw and hay left behinde 
 them by their putrifaction." 
 
 Sir Hugh Piatt expresses his astonishment that so good a 
 philosophy as this should have remained for a long period unnoticed.
 
 74 ACCIDENTAL STEEPING OF SEED-CORN OABEIEL PLATTES. 
 
 And, "n'Isliing to console his readers as to the great store of this 
 " regatative salt," which might be employed for " the enriching 
 of so many thousand acres of barren ground as this realm of 
 England doth now present unto us," he remarked : — 
 
 " I must here acknowledge that the best naturall jjhilosophie that I ever 
 collide leara in this point, was neither out of Aristotle's Physieks, nor Velcurie's 
 Natui-all Philosophy, nor garseous meteors, nor out of any of the olde philosophicaU 
 fathers, that writ so many hundred years past ; but that little which I have, 
 I gathered it on the backside of Moore fieldes, where, by sundi'ie undoubted 
 argument, I did heare it maintained, that all the elementes doo onely difler in 
 attenuation and condensation : so as earth beeing attenuated becommeth water ; 
 and water condensate, becommeth earth ; water attenuated becommeth aier, and 
 aier condensate becommeth water; and so likewise aier attenuated beconmieth 
 fire, and fire condensate becommeth aier ; and thus all of them spring from one 
 roote, which being admitted is a manifeste proofe that there is a greate and 
 necre affinity betweene the lande and the sea, wherein we shall finde salte 
 water enough for oiu- piu'pose." 
 
 Sir Hugh fvu^ther enforced the arguments for the fertilizing 
 properties of salt by the following narrative, founded upon a very 
 probable event : — 
 
 " A sillie swaine, passing over an arm of the sea with his seede come in a sacke, 
 by mischance at the landing, his sacke fell into the water, and so his come being 
 lefte there tin the next low water, became somewhat brackish, yet such was the 
 necessity of the man, as that he (notwithstanding hee was out of all hope to 
 have any good successe thereby, yet not being able to buie any other) bestowed 
 the same wheat upon his plowed groundes, by the advice of a gentleman of good 
 worship from whence I received the report thereof, and in June when the harvest 
 time came about, he reaped a rich crop of goodly wheat such as in that yeare not 
 any of his neighbours had the hke, and yet notwithstanding (for aught that 
 ever I could yet learne) neither he nor any other of his countrimen would ever 
 adventure to make any furtlier use thereof, belike beuig perswaded, unless that 
 the conic h^ chance fell into the sea, it Avould never fructifie." 
 
 Gabriel ]^latt(>s, an earnest and original promoter of husbandry, 
 became prominent in the reign of Elizabeth. He commenced the 
 publication of his observations in the year 1594, and continued to 
 pursue the improvement of husbandry through the troubled times of 
 James and Charles, and also during three or four years of the Common- 
 wealth. At that time we find that farmers were little raised above the 
 common labourers, except that they were freemen. Wives and 
 children were subjected to heavy toil. A yeoman having a small piece 
 of land of his o\\ u, was a very independent man ; but his mode of
 
 SETE>'TY PLOUailS MEET JAMES I. 75 
 
 living was little superior to that of liis own labourers. lie lived on 
 the produce of his land, fed his labourers at his board, and seldom had 
 any dealings by means of money. Wool was the principal article sold. 
 Sheep were kept on extensive commons, and at little expense ; and in 
 some places the folding of them upon the land was the only means of 
 manuring it. In the winter, the only provender the flocks had was 
 hay, and in severe winters great numbers of them died. Root crops 
 and artificial grasses were unknown, and natural meadows, tlierefore, 
 paid an enormous rent. For want of winter provender, cattle were 
 killed when lean, and salted down for winter food. Very little fresh 
 meat was eaten during tlie winter and spring ; and the autumn was 
 regarded as a general salting season. 
 
 Agricultural improvements had begun to excite attention at the 
 close of the reign of Elizabeth. On the accession of James I., that 
 monarch, passing from Scotland, on his way to London, was 
 met at Godmanchester, by seventy teams of horses, drawing new 
 plouglis. Addressing the people, the king told them that he was 
 "mightily rejoiced to see so many good husbandmen in one town." 
 Bat the distractions arising out of the civil wars put a check upon 
 improvements. In an age of religious feuds, plots, assassinations, 
 beheadings, and civil wars, Grabriel Plattes ventured to remind the 
 people that "wealth gotten by vanitie shall be diminished, but he 
 that gathereth it by labour shall prosper." And in pointing out the 
 evils arising out of religious hatred, and its hindrance to the general 
 good, he was bold enough to say that which, at such a time, it required 
 much courage to utter : — 
 
 "Doth not a strong conceited Papist, and a strong- conceited Protestant, 
 think one another to be mad, and dehided by their fancies ? And doth not a 
 Jew think the same by them both? And doth not a Tm-ke thinke the hke by 
 all three ? And doth not a learned Pagan thinke the like by all the reste ? * * * 
 I could wish that Christians shoiild not be so violent in maintaining bloudshed, 
 as they are, but rather take another way more powerfuU, and lesse prejudiciall 
 to the generall good : also I could wish that the rest woidd looke into their 
 folhes, and not be so ready to break the generall bond of peace, and great law 
 of nature, for their particular fancies." 
 
 In the year 1639, just before the breaking out of the civil war, he 
 published his " Discovery of Infinite Treasure, hidden since the 
 "World's Beginning." In this work he set forth, according to his best 
 knowledge, the " means by which barren lauds might be rendered
 
 76 rinST MEKTIOK OF DRILL mJSBAI^'DIlT. 
 
 fertile, and that as the people increase, so by their industry food may 
 increase." He also urged that the common Avay of husbandry, as at 
 that time pursued, would "produce in length of time nothing but 
 poverty and beggary." This author affords another instance of the 
 curious and crude hypotheses which men used to consti'uct -when they 
 had no scientific knowledge to guide them in their researches. He 
 thus states his views of the principles of vegetative nutrition : — 
 
 " I find a double fatnesse in every compounded body, the one combustible, 
 the other incombustible : the combustible fatnesse causeth vegetation by its rarifying 
 and vaporing qualitie, when it feeleth the heate of the simne ; the incombustible 
 or fixed fat --esse causeth coagulation of the said vapours by heat of the sunne, 
 likewise by its astringent quahtie, and of these two fatnesses are all riches and 
 treasures engendered. * * * Por there is no difierence of dungs, but as the 
 incombustible astringent fatnesse doth over-match, or is over-matched by the 
 combustible; so it is more or lesse apt for a cold, or an hot ground." 
 
 This book also gives us an insight into the period when the rota- 
 tion of crops began to excite attention. The author remarks that " it 
 is usually found in the Yale of Belvoire, where the best and purest 
 wheat in Europe usually groweth, that if the farmers sow their wheat 
 upon the fallowes, then it is usually blasted, by reason of the fatnesse 
 of the ground ; but if they sow it with barley first, and peason next, to 
 abate the fertilitie, and over-much fatnesse thereof, then it is not 
 subject to blasting." 
 
 The introduction of drill husbandry has been generally ascribed to 
 Jethro Tull, who wrote a work upon the subject in 1731. This, how- 
 ever, is incorrect. Sir Hugh Piatt, in the year IGOO, in his " New Found 
 Arte of Setting Corn," recommended the system of " setting" in pre- 
 ference to " sowing," and described a board witli a number of lioles 
 tlierein, which might be worked by two men, directed by a gardener's 
 line, so as to keep them straiglit in the course of setting. lie spoke, 
 moreover, of tlii.s rude method having ])vvn ])rcviously tried, and of 
 various opinions prevailing respecting it. Eut in Gabriel Plattes' 
 " Discovery," dating more than a hundred years previously to the days 
 of Tull, the description of a drilling machine is most minutely given. 
 He says -. — 
 
 " It is not intended that this work of setting of come, should be generally 
 put in practise at the first; but in every place a httle in tlio most convenient 
 and apt places, that so the people may be well pkilkd in it, and fit 
 to follow it more earnestly in time of dearth and scarcitie, wherein so much
 
 GABRIEL PLATTES' DRILLINO MACUIXE. 77 
 
 come may be saved for present releefe and necessitie, that it will bo good as a 
 general storehouse for the whole kingdome, for by this invention we doe aa 
 it were borrow of nature a multitude of quarters of corne for present maintenance 
 of foode till the ensuing hai'vest." 
 
 He speaks of " the tedious manner of going to worke, by digging 
 the ground, and setting the wheate with such a number of workmen, 
 for want of invention that did make the loss intolerable." He then men- 
 tions two engines, which he calls " my two new inventions," by which 
 " two men or boys may set an acre upon a day," and then describes 
 the boards, the holes, funnels, sockets of brass, and iron points, which 
 were to be made to " play up and down at pleasure." And that this 
 was the first machine of the kind is evident from these words : — 
 " Though the making of this engine be somewhat chargeable and 
 troublesome, yet, if skilful men first break the ice, then it will be 
 common, and the most profitable invention that ever Avas found out." 
 The second invention, from the description given, must have been a 
 a kind of harrow, to follow the drill. The credit, therefore, of inventing 
 and introducing the di-illing machine is due to Gabriel Plattes, of Avhom 
 it is sad to record the fate, that although his labours were productive 
 of bread to others, he became so destitute of the common necessaries 
 of life, as to fall down in the streets of London, and die of hunger ! 
 
 Gervase Markham was a writer who followed Gabriel Plattes, and 
 from his work we gather other particulars of the state of husbandry 
 and husbandmen at that period. In his " First Book of the English 
 Husbandman," he described himself as " recording the most true and 
 infallible experience of the best knowing husbands in this laud," and 
 stated that he had followed the occupation of husbandman himself or 
 a considerable time, and preserved those rules which he found infallible 
 by experience. As this author put himself forward as one of the advanced 
 minds of the time, to record the knowledge of the best husbandmen, 
 we may gather what was the state of the rural intelligence when their 
 teachers were found to say that writing and reading were unnecessary 
 in the husbandman. Markham thought that, " as touching the master 
 of the family himself, learning could be no hurtlien,^'' but " if we speake 
 as touching some especiall servants in husbandrie, as the bayliffe, 
 the under-farmer, or any other ordinary accountant, it is not uuk-Ii 
 materiall whether they be acquainted tlierewith or no, for there is more 
 trust ill an honest score chaulkt on a trencher, than in a cunning icritten 
 scrowle. And there is more benefit in simple and single numeration in
 
 78 GERYASE MAEKnAM: — EOTATIO^' OF CHOPS. 
 
 cliaiilke, than iu double multiplication, though in never so faire an 
 hand -RTitten !" There are some people even in the present day, it is 
 to be feared, -who have faith in the sufficiency of chalk ; but what 
 will they say of the following mode of ascertaining the probable 
 state of the corn-market, which belongs to the same order of intel- 
 ligence, and was put forth by Markham as a well-founded piece 
 of instruction: — 
 
 " If YOU would know wlietlier come shall be clieape or deere, take twelve 
 prineipall graynes of wheate out of the strengthe of the eare, upon the 1st day 
 of Januarie, and when the harth of your chimney is most hot, sweepe it clene, 
 then make a stranger lay one of those gi-aynes on the harth, then mark it well, 
 and if it leape a httle, come shall be reasonably cheape, but if it leape much, 
 then come shall be exceeding cheape, but if it lye still and move not, then the 
 price of come shall stand, and continue still for that moneth, and thus you 
 shall use your twelve graynes the first day of every moneth one after another, 
 that is to say, every moneth one gi*aine, and you shall know the rising and falLuig 
 of corne in every moneth, all the yeare following !" 
 
 Husbandmen were not only doctors of cattle, but they seem 
 to have systematically physicked and bled themselves. In the 
 directions for the preservation of health given in Mr. Markham's 
 work, they are particularly told when they may, and when they 
 may not, let blood. It a^^pears, from Markham as well as 
 from Plattes, that the rotation of crops began in some measure 
 to be understood and extended. " It is to be noticed that the black 
 clay of all earth is the most fruitfuU, and demandeth from the 
 husbandman the least toyle, yet bringeth forth his encrease in the 
 greatest abundance : it will well and sufficiently bring forth three 
 crops ere it desire rest, namely, the first of barley, the second of 
 pease, and the third of wheate." And, further, " rather than your 
 land should lye idle, and bring forth no profit, I conclude it best 
 to sow these pulses, which both bring forth commodity, and also 
 out of their own natures doe manure and inrich your ground, 
 making it more apt and fit to receive much better seede." 
 
 It is obvious, from " The English Husbandman," that, back- 
 ward as were the systems of cultivation in Markham's time, general 
 changes had taken place. He expresses his desire to " show the 
 industrious husbandman the perfect and true reason of the general 
 alteration of our workes of husbanch-ie through this our realme of 
 England ;" the principal improvements in wliich appear to have been 
 compounding of soils, to give body to those that were light, and
 
 TAILUBE OF THE FIRST ATTEMPTS AT DEILLINa. 79 
 
 to relieve the astringeucy of tliose that were heavy, together with 
 the introduction of various manures not hitherto generally employed. 
 Respecting the new method of setting corn, as recommended 
 by Gabriel Plattes, though Markham makes no mention of Plattes 
 by name, he evidently refers to the system of drilling, when he 
 says that he alludes to certain methods, " not because he is carried 
 away with any novelty or strange practice," but because he " would 
 not have our English husbandman to be ignorant of any skill or 
 obscure facultie which is either proper to his profession, or agreeable 
 with the fertilitie and the nature of our climates." The new system 
 appears for a time to have excited a great deal of attention, and 
 it was at first thought, by some enthusiastic experimentalists, 
 that the use of the drill would supersede the necessity for the 
 plough : — 
 
 " Some few yeares agoe, this (as it then appeared secret) being with much 
 admii-ation bruited through the kingdome, insomuch, that according to our 
 weake accustomed dispositions (which ever loves strange things best) it was 
 held 80 worthy, both for general profit and particular ease, that very few (except 
 the disereete) but did not alone put it in practice, but did even ground strong 
 beliefes to raise themselves great common- wealthes by the profits thereof; some 
 not only holding insufiicient arguments, in great places, of the inutUitie of the plough, 
 but even utterly contemning the poor cart jade, as a creature of no necessitie, 
 so that poulters and carriers were in good hope to buy horse-flesh as they bouglit 
 egges, at least five for a penny ; but it hath proved otherwise, and the husbandman 
 as yet cannot loose the horses' service!" 
 
 He next describes the primitive method of drilling with a board 
 of sixe foote square, bored full of large wimble holes, six inches from 
 each other, then, with a stick pushed through every hole in the 
 board, holes were to be made in the ground, and a corne of wheat 
 dropped into each hole so made. He testified to the great saving 
 of seed-corn, and increase of crops by the new method, but never- 
 theless declared, that the " intricacy, trouble, and casualties, which 
 attended it, were such, and so insupportable, that almost no 
 husbandman could undergoe it." For these reasons the system 
 appears to have been generally abandoned: — 
 
 " To which wee neede no better testimony tlian the example of those which 
 having out of mere covetousnesse and luci-e of gaine, followed it with all greedinesse, 
 seeing the mischiefes and inconveniences which hath incountcred their works, 
 have even desisted, and forgotten that ever there was any such practice."
 
 80 SAMUEL HAETLIB — STEEPI>'G SEED-COEN. 
 
 Considerable attention was paid to the selection of seed-corn. 
 Husbands, wives, children, and servants, in times of leisure, pulled out 
 of the sheaves the finest ears, and out of the ears the largest grains, to 
 be used as seed. If the ground upon which they designed to sow- 
 wheat Avas rich and fertile, then they preferred seed which had grown 
 upon the most barren earth ; and they justified this preference upon 
 the groiuid that — 
 
 " The seed which prospereth upon aleane ground being put into a rich, doth out of 
 that superfluitie of -warmth, strength, and fatnesse double his increase ; and the seed 
 which commeth from the fat ground being put into leane, having all the vigour, 
 fuUnesse, and juice of fertilenesse, doth not only defend itself against the hungrrnesse 
 of the ground, but brings foorth increase contrary to expectation !" 
 
 In 1651, Mr. Samuel Hartlib became a prominent advocate of 
 improved methods of cultivation. He published " The Eeformed 
 Husbandman ; or, a Brief Treatise of the Errors, Defects, and Incon- 
 veniences of English Husbandry," etc. The views embodied in this 
 work were stated by Mr. Hartlib to have been " imparted to him some 
 years ago ;" and here, again, we are probably indebted to the unfor- 
 tunate Gabriel Plattes, who was an acquaintance and correspondent of 
 Hartlib, and who bequeathed his papers to him. "We are the more 
 confirmed in this opinion, because " The Eeformed Husbandman" pro- 
 posed to make known a plan for the improvement of the cultivation 
 of corn, provided the parties most interested in the matter came 
 forward to assist the expenses necessary to be incurred ; which plan 
 was evidently no other than Gabriel Plattes' new method of machine 
 drilling, which had gone out of use ; for Hartlib says, referring to the 
 scheme he intended to propose — " Though it be liere called sowing, 
 as being most generally understood under that expression, yet the true 
 meaning is to plant or set the corn at due depth and distance ; for 
 which purpose I have also invented most apt and easie wayes or 
 instruments, and also more ready wayes to procure and also manure a 
 compost to an advantage much beyond anything yet known or used." 
 Mr. Hartlib advocated the erection of a College of Husbandry, for the 
 taking in of pupils or apprentices, and also friends of the same College 
 or Society ; but his proposition, though of an excellent nature, appears 
 to have met with no response. 
 
 The process of steeping corn for seed appears to have excited 
 renewed attention at this time. Cow, slieep, and pigeon's dung were 
 the ingredients to be employed, together with common salt, boiled in
 
 THE SALT THEORY AKTIFICIAL GRASSES. 81 
 
 rain-water. In this solution the grain was to be soaked for various 
 periods. The salt theory still prevailed ; and it was also set forth as 
 a discovery that the larger grains of wheat were the " more masculine," 
 and that the earth was to the masculine seed as " a female." The 
 steeping of the seed in salt just before sowing increased its aptitude 
 for impregnating the feminine earth. Saltpetre was declared to be the 
 true salt, in the absence of which common salt might be used. " In 
 this salt water steep the seed for twenty-four hours. So shall you 
 have a better crop than usuall, though you sowe but halfe the usuall 
 quantity of seed, and though your ground be not so often ploughed, 
 nor be at all dunged; nay, though it were barren itselfe. Your 
 harvest will be ripe sooner by a moneth, and by reason of the salt- 
 peter this corn wiU be fitter for store-houses ; for there it will lie ten 
 years uncorrupted." The difficulty, which we have already stated, 
 arising out of the conflicting allusions to salt in the Scriptures was by 
 this time disposed of by a singularly crude hypothesis, which was 
 this: — " That the matter by which men are killed and fed is but one 
 and the same, and differs only in the minde and hand that uses it ; 
 and that Grod will go beyond the Devil in his own materials of 
 destruction, by changing the use of them into a blessing ; for that is 
 most agreeable to his power and goodnesse, to raise best out of worse 
 by changing onely the use." 
 
 In Hartlib's " Legacie ; or. An Enlarged Discourse of Husbandry," 
 1652, he speaks of sainfoin as a grass just introduced, and tried 
 experimentally at Cobham Park ; of trefoil, as being in cultivation to 
 a limited extent. He also alludes to lucern, saying — " There is at 
 Paris likewise another kind of fodder which they call la lucern, which 
 is not inferior, but rather preferred before this Saint Poine." He also 
 mentions a grass " which groweth nine miles from Salisbury, where- 
 with they fat hogs, and which is twenty-four foot long, a thing almost 
 incredible, yet commonly kno-vvn to all that shire."* In this work 
 Hartlib again enforces the advantages of spade husbandry and drUling. 
 and here he makes direct allusion to Gabriel Plattes as having been 
 the first proposer of the plan. "We gather, also, from Mr. Hartlib 
 some particulars of the first gardening experiments, which are so inti- 
 mately connected with our subject that we must not pass them by : — 
 
 "About 50 years ago, about wbich time Ingenuities first began to flourish in 
 England, this Art of Gardening began to creep into England, into Sandwich and 
 
 * " Gramen Caninum Supinvun Longissimum."
 
 82 THE FIRST GARDENS, 
 
 Surrey, Fulkam, and other places. Some old men in Siirret/, -where it flourisheth 
 veiy much at pi'esent, report, Tliat they knew the first Gardiners that came into 
 those parts to plant Cabases, CoUeJlowers, and to sowe Tumeps, Garrets, and 
 Parsnips, to sowe SaitJi (or early rape), Rape, Pease, all which at that time were 
 great rarities, we having few or none in England, but what came from Holland and 
 Flaunders. These Gardiners with much ado procured a plot of good gi'oimd, and 
 gave no lesse than 8 pound per acre ; yet the Gentletnan was not content, fearing 
 they would spoil his ground, because they used to dig it. So ignorant were we of 
 Grardening in those dayes. 
 
 " Many parts of England are as yet ignorant. Within these 20 years, a famous 
 Toion lesse than 20 miles of London, had not so much as a messe of Pease but 
 what came from London, where at present Gardening flourisheth much. I coidd 
 instance divers other places, both in the North and West of England, where the 
 name of Gardening and Howing is scarcely known, in which places a few Gardiners 
 might have saved the Uves of many poor people, who have starved these deare 
 years. 
 
 " We have as yet divers tilings from beyond the Seas, which the Gardiners may 
 easily raise at home, though nothing nigh so much as formerly ; for in Queen 
 EUzahetKs time, we had not onely our Gardiners' ware from Eolland, but also 
 Cherries from Flaunders; Apples from France; Saffron, Licori^h from Spain; 
 Hopps from the Loio Countreys. And the Frenchman who writes in the Treasure 
 FoliticJc saith, that its one of the great deficiencies of England that Hopps will not 
 grow, whereas now it is known that Licorish, Saffron, Cherries, Apples, Peares, 
 Hopps, Cabbages of England are the best in the world. Notwithstanding we as yet 
 want many tilings, as for example we want Onnions, very many coming to England 
 from Flaunders, Spain ; Madder for dying cometh from Zurich- Sea by Zealand; we 
 have Red Roses from France ; Anice seeds, Fennel seeds, Cumine, Caratvag, Rice, 
 from Italy, which without question would grow very well in divers moist lands 
 in England; yea. Sweet Marjorame, Gromwell seed, and Virga Aurea, though 
 they grow in om- hedges in England." 
 
 Contemporary with Hartlib was Walter Blith, who j)iiblished 
 " The English Improver Improved," and another volume, entitled 
 " The Survey of Husbandry, discovering the Methods of Improving 
 all sorts of Land." In the introduction to the former work, 
 addressed, " To the Eight Honorable the Lord Generall Cromwell, 
 and the Eight Honorable the Lord President, and the rest of 
 that Most Honorable Society of the Councill of State," he pointed 
 out tho ^ariou^ influences which, in his opinion, stood to the 
 prejudice of good husbandry in that day: — 
 
 " The first prejudice is, that if a tenant be at never so great paines or 
 cost for the improvement of his land, he doth thereby but occasion a greater 
 nick rent upon himself, or else invests his land-lord into his cost and labour 
 gratis, or at least lyes at his land-lord's mercy for requital ; which occasions 
 a neglect of all good husbandry, to his owne, tlie land, tlie land-lord, and the 
 commonwealili's suffering.
 
 ■WALTER BLITH — HINDRANCES TO IMPROVEMENTS. 83 
 
 " The second prejudice is against tliat great improvement by floating landp, 
 wliich exposeth the improver to sute of law for turning a VFater-coiu'se, by millers 
 or others, which are minded to molest the improvement. 
 
 " The third prejudice is, when all men's lands lie intermixed in common fields 
 or meddowes ; the ingenious are disabled to the improving of them, because 
 others will not, neither sometimes can the improvement be made upon any, 
 unlesse upon all jointly. As also the not cutting straight such watercourses, of 
 such brooks and gutters that are exceeding crooked, which some that would 
 cannot, because of others interests that will not, abundance of the best land in this 
 nation is hereby lost, and wonderful improvements hindred, the waters raised, 
 the lands flouded, sheep rotted, and cattell spoyled, aU by this neglect. 
 
 " A fourth is unlimited commons, or commoning without stint on any lieatli, 
 moore, forrest, or other common. This is a great prejudice to many poore men, 
 both cottagers and land-holders, who have not of their own to stock their 
 commons, and bo lose all, that have least need, and for whome those commons 
 were chiefly intended. And also a great hindrance to all ; for being without that, 
 every man layes on at randome, and as many as they can get ; and so overstock 
 the same, that ordinarily they pine and starve their goods therein ; and once 
 in foure or five yeares you shall observe such a rott of sheepe, that all the 
 oppressor hath gained by eating out his poore neighbours all the other yeares, 
 is swept away in one, and so, little advantage redoundeth to any : so that 
 many thousand of acres of land are as it were useless, which, were all men 
 limited according to their proportion of land or dwellings to which the common 
 is due, the poore that could not stock theirs might set them, and reape some 
 benefit by them. 
 
 " A fifth prejudice is the want of law to compell all men to kUl their wonts 
 or moales ; the good husbandman doth, and the slothful man neglects it, and 
 thereby raiseth such a magazine or nursery, that they cannot be destroyed, 
 but as fast as one destroy es them, the other nurseth a fresh supply to fill the 
 country : the prejudice is greater than can be reported. 
 
 " The sixth prejudice is the not compelling men to plant wood where they 
 doe cut downe, then to set againe a treble proportion or more to what they doe 
 destroy, especially now so much of the gallant wood of the nation is exposed 
 to sale." 
 
 These are the prejudices stated by Mr. Blitli to have hindered 
 the improvement of husbandry. In an address to the reader he 
 makes a sort of summary of the works published upon husbandry, 
 and of the general state of knowledge : — 
 
 " I would dii-ect thee a little to consider what hath been written in this kind 
 by former gallant instruments, worthy of perpetual honour. Mr. Markham did 
 excellently well for his time, so did Mr. Gouge in his Husbandry ; Mr. Tusser 
 rimes out his experiences to good purpose, and in aU their bookes thou maist 
 finde out many things worth thy observation. Sir Francis Bacon's Naturall 
 History is worthy high esteeme ; it is full of rareties and true philosophy. Sir Hugh 
 Piatt's Adam's Art Eevived is of good report ; I never yet could gaine the sight 
 of it, though Mr. Gabrell Plnttes' Discovery of Hidden Treasure is very ingenuous ; 
 and couldst thou but fathome his corne-setting engine, and cleare it to thine owne
 
 84 DISAPPOINTMENTS TEOM TUE EIEST EIPEEIMENTS. 
 
 and other8 appreliensions, it would be of excellent use ■without question : tut for 
 the Country Farmer ti-anslated out of French, with some two or three other bookes, 
 I can finde but little edification or addition to our owne English experiences. What 
 other men can finde out of them I know not, but leave to thee to discover, but for 
 the rest, thcj have been a great and cleare light to our horizon : yet among some 
 of them, one thuig is worthy reprehension, which is their large observations of 
 season, signes, and planets, forgetting God the maker of them and blesser of all 
 tilings, as if seeds, herbs, and plants were to be sowed in the moone or planets, 
 wliich should they be observed, they had need to produce a double profit, because 
 not halfe of any would be sowed or planted." 
 
 He mentioned tlie great and frequent disappointments of experi- 
 menters, the exaggerated promises of tlie propounders of new secrete, 
 and the deceptions practised by designing persons — evils which obvi- 
 ously would be incident to a time when knowledge had scarcely 
 dawned, and when the niBans of commvnii cation and instruction 
 were very few : — 
 
 "And there is a naughty generation of men that have brought an HI report 
 upon ingenuity through their pretences of great abilities in engineership, and great 
 experiences of raising and drawing water, floating land, oyUng come, advising 
 strange compositions for seed and land, pretending great advantages of chymistiy, 
 yet have or could not bring forth the fruit of their great undertakings, some 
 through want of means to accomplish their worke, not wisely forecasting at first 
 what it would cost, others indigent in their principles, having scene or done 
 sometliing, therefore thought they could doe all tilings ; and others through a 
 base spirit of deceit, and may bee some for want of patience to try the issue, all of 
 wldch have brought a scandall upon ingenuity." 
 
 The means of improvement pointed out by Mr. Blith presented 
 no new principles to the mind of the agriculturist, although some 
 new inventions for raising water, draining lands, etc., were recom- 
 mended. The aids to husbandry recommended by him consisted 
 of the watering of lands that needed it ; the draining or reducing 
 of boggy, fenny, and sea-drowned lands ; the enclosure of common 
 fields, heaths, moors, etc. ; the ploughing of pasture lands that were 
 spoiled for want thereof, and pasturing others that had been 
 destroyed by too much ploughing ; the compounding of soils adapted 
 to particular lands ; and tlie planting of trees upon such grounds as 
 could not be otherwise employed. He laid particidar stress upon the 
 necessity for irrigating dry and barren lands, and draining those that 
 were dro'vs'ned or rotted by water. Although the advantages 
 ])ronnsed by these propositions had been previously recognized, and 
 huids to some extent reclaimed ; notwithstanding, too, that the great
 
 ANOTHER THEOET OF VEGETATTOK. 85 
 
 example of the recovery of land from the sea by the Romans, afforded 
 by Eomney Marsh, must have been known to tlie landed interests ; 
 these improvements were very tardily pursued, and the true principles 
 and advantages of draining were never fully recognized until a recent 
 date. 
 
 In the " Systema Agricultura," 1668, some new speculations upon 
 the vegetative theory were offered for the instruction of agriculturists. 
 The imiversal salt was stated to be of great importance in the gene- 
 rative operations of Nature ; but it could do nothing when tincomlined 
 with mercurial sjnrit and sulphur. Nor did the latter possess vital- 
 izing qualities unless united with the saline spirit : — • 
 
 "Although the Spirit of Mercury be that active and moTing part that prin- 
 cipally appears in the Generation or Conception of any Vegetable or Animal, and 
 is also the first that flies in the separation or dissolution of Bodies ; yet it is imbecile 
 and defective without that most Excellent, Eich, and Sulphureous Frineiple, which 
 is of a little thicker consistence than the Spirit, and next unto it the most active ; 
 for when any mixture or compound is separated, the Spu-its first fly, then follow 
 after the Sulphureous Particles, the Temperature of everything so far as to the Heat, 
 Consistence, and curious Texture thereof doth principally depend on Sulphur, from 
 hence every Plant, Fruit, and Flower received those infinite varieties of Forms, 
 Colours, Gusts, Odours, Signatures, and Vertues ; it is that which is the proper 
 medium to unite the more Volatile Mercury or Spirit to the more fixed Salt. This 
 Sulphur, or oyly part, is easily separated and distinguish'd in VegetaMes by the 
 more curious, it arisetli out of the earth with the aforesaid Mercury or Aqueous 
 Spirit, though not at the first discemable, yet in everj* Plant more and more matmated 
 and augmented by the Svm's influence, as the Seed or Matrix is more or less 
 inchned to this principle. This is also that which gives to our hot and stinking 
 Dungs, Soils, or Manures, the Oleaginous Pinquidity and Fertihty, and which 
 begets that fiei-y heat which is in Vegetables, Hay, Corn, etc., laid on heaps not 
 thoroughly dry." 
 
 In this work the subject of drilling corn and other seeds was again 
 brought under consideration. The system of hand-drilling, it stated, 
 had been tried, and foimd to be too laborious and expensive ; while 
 the machine invented by Mr. Gabriel Plattes had proved too compli- 
 cated for farmers to construct, or to keep in good working order when 
 once made. To meet this difficulty, Mr. Worlidge proposed a plough- 
 drill of simple but cumbrous parts. But this invention appears to 
 liave attracted no notice, and would obviously, from its imperfections, 
 have failed to meet the requirements of agriculturists. It was not, 
 therefore, until the commencement of the eighteenth centiuy that 
 drill-husbandry was attended with any satisfactory results.
 
 86 
 
 FOUNDATION OF THE EOYAL SOCIETY. 
 
 The state of agricultural knowledge underwent no material im- 
 provement down to the closing period of the seventeenth century. 
 
 SIMPLIFIED DEILLING MACHINE, PKOPOSED IN 1688. 
 
 Various books, publislied from 16G8 to 1700, merely reproduced the 
 crude theories already stated, and supplied empirical rules of cultiva- 
 tion which the husbandman must have found to be so conflicting as to 
 have made his " confusion worse confounded." Little wonder that Lord 
 Bacon, who had made as large a collection of agricultural works as 
 the publications of the time could supply, ordered them to be piled 
 up in his court-yard and burnt, saying, " In all these books I find no 
 principles ; they can, therefore, be of no use to any man !" 
 
 The institution of the Eoyal Society, and the commencement of 
 the " Pliilosophical Transactions," in the year 16G5, was a first grand 
 step towards the acquirement and diffusion of knowledge, of which 
 agriculture felt the effects, although, from certain causes incident to 
 the time, those effects were manifested only by slow degrees. This 
 institution was founded upon a truly liberal basis ; it admitted men 
 of every religion, profession, and country ; it brought together men 
 of title, and men whose only title lay in their zeal for the pursuit 
 of truth ; it aimed at inquiry into the soundness of every phi- 
 losopliical theory, and supported every investigation by expe- 
 riments and observations u])oii the broadest scale; by an exten- 
 sive correspondence with all j)arts of the world, it drew a great fund 
 of useful information into one focus, to be reflected again throughout
 
 DEFECTIVE AGRICULTUKAL IMPLEMENTS. 87 
 
 that kingdom for whose good it was immediately collected. The 
 operations of the Royal Society embraced every walk of art, science, 
 and industry, and some of its earliest investigations were addressed to 
 the interests of agriculture, and the various phenomena by which its 
 prosperity is affected. There can be no doubt that the example 
 afforded by this institution led to the subsequent formation of those 
 useful and honourable societies having the prosperity of agriculture 
 as their chief object, whose operations we shall have hereafter to 
 notice. It is worthy of mention here that this great Association, which 
 for nearly two hundred years has so materially promoted discoveries 
 advantageous to the human family, originated at the lodgings of 
 Dr. Wilkins, at Oxford, where " a few gentlemen, who had begun a 
 free way of reasoning," used to assemble together, to have the satisfac- 
 tion of breathing a freer air, and of conversing in quiet one with 
 another, without being engaged in the passions and madness of that 
 dismal age.* 
 
 One great cause of the slow progress of agricultTire was the rude- 
 ness of the implements, which were made by husbandmen on their 
 farms, and were remarkably cumbrous and imperfect. The deficiency 
 of mechanical skill among husbandmen is attested in a remarkable 
 manner by the fact, that although the great advantage of drilling was 
 recognized as soon as introduced, it required more than a hundi'ed 
 years to produce a machine which enabled the improved system of 
 setting seed crops to be advantageously pursued. But the history of 
 the plough is even more remarkable ; the most ancient and simple of 
 machines, yet it has been almost the last to undergo improvement. 
 The first plough is supposed to have been the rude branch of a tree, 
 cut so as to have a cleft end, the point of which, dragged along the 
 surface of the ground, scraped a furrow into which seeds were thrown. 
 
 * The papers read before the Eoyal Society, upon the " Philosophical History of 
 Plants," by Dr. Grew, formed a very material contribution to the knowledge of the 
 laws of vegetation. In the Dedication to Charles II., prefixed to the papers 
 printed subsequently by order of the Society, the author said : — " Your Majesty will 
 here see that there are those tilings witliin a plant httle less admirable than withi:i 
 an animal ; that a plant, as well as an animal, is composed of several organical parts, 
 some whereof may be called its bowels ; that every plant hath bowels of divers kinds, 
 containing different kinds of liquors ; that every plant Uves partly upon air ; for the 
 reception thereof it hath those parts which are answerable to lungs. So that a plant 
 is, as it were, an animal in quires, as an animal is a plant, or rather several plants, 
 bound up in one volume."
 
 88 
 
 PEIMITIVE PLOUGHS. 
 
 It soon occurred to the husbandman that he might relieve his own 
 labour by yoking an animal to the long arm of this primitive instru- 
 
 OEiaiNAL PLOITGH, 
 
 tnent ; then arose the necessity for a handle, affixed to the back, so 
 that the plough might be guided. The strength of the animal soon 
 wore away or broke the cleft of the branch, and this necessity gave 
 rise to the invention of means for attaching moveable shares, first of 
 wood, and next of stone, copper, or iron, worked to a shape adapted 
 to the cutting of furrows, so as to avoid the excessive labour arising 
 
 SAXON PLOUGH. 
 
 from the ploughman's having to lean upon the plough with all his 
 weight to press it into the earth. Just such as implement as these 
 conjectures indicate was used by the Saxous. Some of the facts con-
 
 pLouanraa by the hoese's tail. 89 
 
 nected with the history of the plough are almost incredible. In 
 Ireland there once prevailed a custom of " ploughing by the horse's 
 tail." The draught-pole was lashed to the tail of the horse, and, as no 
 harness was employed, two men were necessary, one to guide and press 
 upon the plough, the other to direct the horse, which he did by 
 walking backwards before the miserable animal, and beating it on the 
 head on either side, according to the direction required. This custom 
 prevailed for a considerable time, in spite of a law which was passed in 
 the early part of the seventeenth century, imposing severe penalties 
 upon persons found guilty of " ploughing by the horse's tail," as in the 
 Act mentioned and described. Prom the Eev. Caesar Otway's " Sketches 
 in Erris and Tyrawley," it appears that the barbarous practice lingered 
 in the remote west of Ireland as late as the year 1840! And from 
 a paper " On the Breed of Horses in Scotland in the Ancient Times," 
 printed in the first volume of the " Transactions of the Society of 
 Antiquaries of Scotland," we find that the same custom was practised 
 in that country as late as the year 1792.* 
 
 The want of proper implements not only impaired the productive- 
 
 * The paper in the " Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," 
 speaks of " the awkward custom of yoking horses by the tail, and the driver of 
 harrows walking backward, with his face du-ectly turned to the horse which 
 he led." The Eev. C. Otway says : — " In ancient times, all through the 
 West of Ireland, it was the practice to work hoth the flovgh and, the harrow 
 with horses drawing from their tails. I am assured that it is still (1840) a part 
 of the Erris husbandry." The following is the Act of the Irish Parliament 
 referred to, passed ia the reign of Charles II., 1634 : — 
 
 " An Act against Flowing ly the Tayle, and PtiUivg the Wool of Living SheejJ^ 
 
 " Whereas, in many places in this kingdome, there hath been a long time 
 used a barbarous custome of ploughing, harrowing, drawing and working with 
 horses, mares, geldings, garrans and colts, by the taile, whereby (besides the 
 cruelty used to the beasts) the breed of horses is much impaired in this kingdome, 
 to the great prejudice thereof: and whereas also divers have and yet do use the 
 like barbarous custome of puUing off the wooU yeai'ly from living sheepe instead of 
 chpping or shearing of them ; be it therefore enacted by the King's Most Excellent 
 Majesty, and the Lords Spu'itual and Temporall, and the Commons in this present 
 Parliament assembled, that no person or persons whatsoever shall, after one yeare next 
 ensuing the end of the present Parliament, plough, harrow, draw or worke with any 
 horse, gelding, mare, garran or colt by the taile, nor shall cause, procure, or suffer 
 any other to plough up or han'ow his ground, or to draw any other carriages with 
 his horses, mares, geldings, garrans or colts, or any of them by the taUe : And that 
 no person or persons whatsoever shall, after the end of this present Parliament, pull 
 the wool off any living sheep, or cause or procure to be pulled instead of shearing or 
 clipping of them ; and if any shall do contrarie to this act and the intention thereof,
 
 90 GENEKAL WANT OF DRAINAGE. 
 
 ness of the soil, but rendered the gathering of its produce a matter 
 of considerable labour and uncertainty ; while, for the want of proper 
 tools to work witli, valuable tracts of land were allowed to lie waste 
 which are now blooming with fertility. 
 
 In the present day, only a faint concejDtion can be formed of the 
 extent to which the agricultural produce of our island was once 
 affected by the humidity of the soil, and the injuries to land constantly 
 occurring from inimdations and encroachments by the sea. It is 
 obvious that an island such as ours, with numerous rivers whose influx 
 and efflux were daily influenced by the tides, must have needed the 
 utmost endeavoiu" to redeem and protect a large proportion of its soil 
 from those liabilities to floods and inundations which its position 
 rendered it subject to. 
 
 In the reign of Henry VI., the grievances arising out of these 
 causes were so great, that the king ordained that for ten years then 
 next ensuing several commissions of sewers shovild be made. After 
 the expiration of the ten years, it was found necessary to further 
 extend the commissions, which was accordingly decreed in the reign 
 of Edward lY., and again in the time of Henry VII. The 
 laws and customs which had prevailed with regard to the em- 
 banking and ditching of Eomney Marsh, inasmuch as they ■were 
 the most ancient precedents, were adopted as a guide for the various 
 commissions appointed to direct the draining and embanking of 
 marshy grounds and water-courses in the several counties. The 
 commissioners had the right to summon parties in default, to levy 
 distresses for the nonfulfilment of orders, to impress as many hedgers 
 and ditchers and other workmen as were needful for the said works, 
 to levy charges upon the occupants of land for the improvements 
 made, and to seize lands if these charges were not paid. 
 
 Tlie importance of draining and embanking marshy grounds may 
 be more keenly impressed upon the mind, if, instead of confining our 
 illustrations to localities that are still purely rural, we mention that 
 a considerable area of the suburbs of London, and a part of the site 
 of the city itself, wore originally fens and moors. Such was the state 
 
 that tlie justices of assize at the generall assizes to he holden before them, and the 
 justices of peace at tlieir quarter-sessions, shall have power by this Act to enquire of, 
 heare, and determine all and every offence and offences done contrary to the present 
 Act, and to punish the offenders which shall do contraiy to the same, by fine and 
 imprisonment, as they in their discretion shall thiuk fit."
 
 LONDON PAKTLT A MARSH. 91 
 
 of Moorfields, which is thus described by Stowe : — " When the 
 great fen which watereth the walls on the north side of the city is 
 frozen, multitudes of people go to play upon the ice. Some, taking a 
 little room to run, do set their feet at a good distance, and glide a 
 great Avay. Others sit upon thick pieces of ice, as big as mill-stones, 
 and being drawn by many who hold hand in hand, when the foot 
 of one slippeth, they all tumble down together. But others more 
 expert in sporting thereon fix bones under their heels, and taking 
 a pike-statf, do shove themselves forward with so much force, that 
 they glide with no less swiftness than a bird flieth." This fen stretched 
 from London Wall, betwixt Bishopgate and the Postern, called 
 Cripplegate, to Finsbury and Holywell. " In the year 1415, Thomas 
 Fawconer, mayor, caused the wall to be broken towards the Moor, and 
 built the Posteme, called Moore Gate, for ease of the citizens to walk 
 that way upon causeys to Isledon and Hoxdon. And in the year 
 1512, Roger Atchley, mayor, caused divers dykes to be cast and made, 
 to drain the waters of Moore Fields, with bridges arched over them ; 
 and the grounds about to be levelled ; whereby the said field was made 
 somewhat more commodious ; but yet it stood full of noysome waters. 
 Whereupon, in the year 1527, Sir Thomas Seymour, mayor, caused 
 divers sluices to be made, to convey the said waters over the town 
 ditch, into the course of Walbroke, and so into the Thames ; and by 
 these degrees was the fen or moor at length made main and hard 
 ground, which before, being overgrown with flags, sedges, and rushes, 
 served no use." Nor was the ground in Smithfield, FleetDitch, and 
 Fleet Street originally much better than a marsh. 
 
 In the commencement of the reign of Edward III., there was 
 a considerable loss of land between a place called Knellesfleete, forming 
 parts of Kent and Sussex, and the town of Eobertbrigge, in Sussex. 
 Six hundred and fifty acres were thereby totally drowned, bridges were 
 destroyed, and highways rendered impassable. The king thereupon 
 granted a commission to inquire into the causes of the said inundation, 
 and the commission gave license to one Geoffi-ey de Knelle, and 
 another, Isabell Archer, the owners of the land which had become sub- 
 merged, to raise embankments, and make sluices and glitters to prevent 
 the encroachment of the waters. No sooner were these works com- 
 pleted, and the drowned lands reclaimed, than a petition was presented 
 to the king, on behalf of one James Echingham, setting forth that the 
 alterations made by Geoffrey de Knelle and Isabell Archer had thwarted
 
 92 LITIGATION CAUSED BY EAELT IMPEOYEMENTS. 
 
 a stream, to the damage of the said king as well as of him the 
 said petitioner, forasmuch as thereby such ships and boats which had 
 used to pass with victuals and otlier tilings, from divers places into 
 those counties of Kent and Sussex, unto his manor of Echingham, 
 through this channel, were then hindered, as also the destruction of 
 his said markct-to'mi of Saleshurst, situate upon the said river, and 
 of his market there, which by the course of that water had been sup- 
 ported ; and out of which the said James and his ancestors had used 
 to receive toll, and many commodities ; the king, therefore, taking 
 the same into consideration, and that the said James Echingham was 
 no party to the previous inquisition, nor called at the taking thereof, 
 did revoke the letters-patent, and commanded that the said embank- 
 ments should be demolished ; and desired it to be ascertained whether 
 the said lands might be preserved by the repair of the old banks 
 on the verge of the stream. 
 
 This is one of the many thousands of cases of litigation and 
 dispute which arose before the water-courses, banks, and drains of 
 the country became somewhat settled. In many cases the disputes 
 led to absolute riots, to the destruction of the works of improvement 
 by lawless people in the night-time, and by open defiance of the 
 authority of the crown, the lawyers frequently reaping a ricli harvest 
 by fostering these contentions, and selling themselves to the highest 
 bidder for the success of the cause. 
 
 The pretexts upon wliich these improvements were opposed, 
 w^ere, severally, that the expulsion of water from the manor of one 
 o\\Tier di'ove it on to the manor of another ; or that the alteration 
 of a water-c-ourse destroyed a neiglibouring stream in wliieh another 
 landowner claimed a right, and which was probably used for the 
 working of mills, or tlio passage of boats ; or that the draining 
 of tracts of country destroyed fisheries or fowling places which 
 were profitable to the maintenance of the poor. 
 
 The history of the county of Lincolnshire, especially with reference 
 to the Isle of Axholme, aftords one of tlie most striking instances 
 of the iiii])()rlaiice of draining and embanking, where rivers and 
 streams intersect the land. The locality of Axholme was originally 
 a dry and woody country, as is evidenced from the great number 
 of oak, fir, and oHicr 1i-c(s, wliicli liave been found at dill'erent times 
 on the moor in digging ditches. It is said that as many as 2000 
 cart-loads have been taken away in a year. The bed of the river
 
 THE ISLE OF AXnOLME. 93 
 
 Trent becoming deteriorated, by causes variously accounted for, 
 destroyed the pre-existiug drainage afforded by tlie minor streams 
 of the Idel, Bicker's Dyke, Dorse, etc., and the waters gradually 
 established themselves upon the low levels of the land, so that the 
 central and higher parts became an island, which designation, 
 though the surrounding lands are now reclaimed, the place still 
 retains. So completely did this tract of land become flooded, that 
 " not only in winter, but in summer, boats laden with plaster 
 passed over that part called Hatfield Chase, to a place called 
 Hollenbridge, near Hatfield Wood house, the water upon the 
 drowned lands being about three feet deep, and the fisher's house, 
 standing on ground thrown up and raised three or four feet above 
 the level, often di-owned."* 
 
 No less than 60,000 acres were involved by these inundations. 
 After a considerable lapse of time, the undertaking to drain this 
 important tract of country was entered into, under a royal grant 
 from Charles I, to Cornelius Vermuyden, a foreigner by birth, 
 then a citizen of London. The said Vermuyden was, by the con- 
 ditions of this grant, to drain the lands, and restore a certain 
 proportion thereof to the enjoyment of the commoners, and should 
 pay to the owners of lands lying within the same level, such sums of 
 money as the said lands should be thought worth by four commis- 
 sioners. The commoners, seeing that the submerged lands were of no 
 use to them, readily acceded to the award, which gave them 6000 
 acres out of 13,400 that were then to be drained. In the space of 
 five years, the water, which formerly overflowed the whole level, was 
 conveyed into the river Trent by sewers and sluices, which let out the 
 drained water at every ebb, and kept the tides back at each flow. The 
 land immediately became valuable, producing excellent crops of corn — 
 seeing which, the commoners became dissatisfied with the award to 
 which they had previously acceded, gave vent to feelings of the 
 bKndest hatred towards the " foreigners" who had stolen their lauds, 
 and broke out into open riot. It was a remarkable sight, after a lost 
 district had been reclaimed from a waste of waters, and fields made to 
 smile again with waving corn, to see a lawless mob, armed with 
 pickaxes and muskets, piilling up the flood-gates of the sewers, and 
 letting the destroying tides in upon the land. Yet they persisted in 
 
 * Dugdale's " History of Imbauking and Draiiiing."
 
 94 THE COUNTY OF ESSEX IN 1714. 
 
 their blind folly, and declared that they would dro\vn the whole level 
 and force the foreigners to swim away like ducks. And this they did 
 for weeks together, until barns were flooded, corn-stacks washed away, 
 and the outstanding crops of nearly 74,000 acres destroyed ! 
 
 In De Foe's " Tour through Britain," 1714, he gives the following 
 account of the county of Essex : — " One thing deserves mention here ; 
 which is, that all along this county it is very frequent to meet with 
 men that have had from five or six, to fourteen or fifteen wives ; and I 
 was informed, that in the marshes, over against Candy Island, was a 
 farmer, who was then living with the five-and-twentieth ; and that his 
 son, who was but thirty-five years old, had already had about fourteen. 
 Indeed, this part of the story I only had by report, tho' from good 
 hands : but the other is well known, and will be attested, about 
 Fobbing, Curringham, Thundersly, Benfleet, Prittlewell, Wakering, 
 Great Stanbridge, Cricksea, Burnham, Dengy, and other towns of the 
 like situation : the reason, as a merry fellow told me, who said he had 
 had about a dozen, was this. That they being bred in the marshes 
 themselves, and seasoned to the place, did pretty well ; but that they 
 generally chose to leave their owti lasses to their neighbours out of 
 the marshes, and went to the uplands for a wife : That when they 
 took the young women out of the wholesome fresh air, they were clear 
 and healthy ; but when they came into the marshes among the fogs 
 and damps, they presently changed complexion, got an ague or two, 
 and seldom held it above half-a-year, or a year at most; and then, 
 said he, we go to the uplands again, and fetch another. Nor do the 
 men in these parts hold it out, as in other coiuities, for we seldom 
 meet with very ancient people among the poor ; insomuch, that hardly 
 one half of the inhabitants are natives of tlie place." 
 
 The general aspect of the country was vastly diflerent from that 
 which it now presents, even in the rudest localities. The subject 
 of roads and wheeled carriages has been deemed sufficiently interesting 
 to form a distinct section of this History.* We will, therefore, 
 only briefly allude to the subject here. In many instances manures 
 had to be conveyed to lands in bags upon horses' backs, a process 
 which rendered the operation slow and expensive. Scarcely a 
 hedge-row was to be seen ; and the want of protection by enclosures 
 retarded the improvement of the whole face of the country. 
 
 * The Progress of Roads, Wheeled Carriages, and Inland Water Conveyances.
 
 UNENCLOSED LANDS — BAD EOADS. 
 
 95 
 
 Upright stones, as in a much more ancient period, defined the 
 limits of manorial rights, but afforded no protection to crops 
 from predatory cattle, or disorderly and mischievous vagrants. Arable 
 and pasture land amounted to little more than one-half the area 
 of the kingdom. From Oxfordshire to Worcestershire, the road 
 passed through a country more than half of which was unenclosed ; 
 
 BOUNDAET STONE. 
 
 from London to Chichester there was scarcely a single enclosure ; from 
 Gloucester to Abingdon the same. The roads of many of the coiinties 
 were in an almost impassable condition. Main roads were frequently 
 repaired by throwing into the ruts stones as large as they were when 
 broken from the quarry, and cross roads were positively dangerous. 
 In Essex, as late as 1767, Arthur Young found the lanes so narrow 
 that not a mouse could pass a carriage, and ruts of an incredible 
 depth ; chalk waggons stuck fast till a line of them were in 
 the same predicament, and it required twenty or thirty horses to be 
 lashed together to each to draw them out one by one. The thorough- 
 fares, in fact, were ditches of thick mud cut up by secondary ditches 
 of irregular depth. In attempting to traverse them, Toung had 
 sometimes to alight from his chaise, and get the rustics to assist him 
 in lifting it over the hedge. " I remember," says he, " the roads of 
 Oxfordshire forty years ago, when they were in a condition formidable
 
 £6 IMPERFECT TETERINART. 
 
 to the bones of all who travelled upon wheels." And he speaks of the 
 wastes which at that period were scattered over the whole kingdom, 
 many of them in the richest counties, under the name of commons, 
 greens, forests, chases, moors, bogs, and marshes, as a national disgrace. 
 The Eev. Arthur Young described the wastes of Sussex as amoimting 
 in 1793 to the proportion of 90,000 acres out of 470,360 acres, " all 
 of which, by a judicious management in the cultivation, might not 
 only be converted to the amazing benefit of the county of which they 
 are a part, but be highly productive to the empire at large." Not- 
 withstanding tlie bad state of the roads, the introduction of turnpikes 
 was generally opposed, farmers being quite accustomed to severe 
 joltings and an occasional upset, and having no idea of the great 
 advantages that would result from better means of communication. 
 
 The extracts which have been given from writers of the olden time 
 exhibit the state of knowledge — the highest degree of agricultural 
 intelligence — down to the close of the seventeenth century. As the 
 agricultural experimentalists and writers of the present day are the 
 representative men of their age, and will transmit to future generations 
 the highest attainments of the cultivators of the soil in the nineteenth 
 century, so do the opinions and experiences of Titzherbert, Tusser, 
 Goodge, Piatt, Plattes, Markham, Hartlib, Blith, and others, as 
 recorded in their works, reveal to us the theory and practice of agri- 
 culture from the commencement of the sixteenth to the end of the 
 seventeenth centuries. We must not forget, however, that the authors 
 mentioned were the leading men of their time, and that, among hus- 
 bandmen generally, a much lower order of intelligence prevailed. 
 Hence we find in works upon witchcraft, and various superstitions, 
 that farmers and rustic labourers were the chief objects of the supposed 
 sorceries ; and that extraordinary stories have descended in books, 
 as well as by traditions, of crops being reaped by the Devil, and carried 
 away in the night ; of cattle being bewitched and dying, or, when 
 diseased, being cured by a " charm" worked by a magician or a sor- 
 ceress. Even in printed works we find it gravely stated that a cow 
 must be put to the bull in the increase of the moon ; that to cure a 
 cow of an internal disorder called *' crowling," she must be " sud- 
 denly brought to see anything swimming, especially (as some wiU have 
 it) a drake o)i the water, when she sliall be presently cured." And 
 further, tliat an excellent remedy for the lungs of a beast infected is to 
 pierce one of his ears with a little bodkin, and put into the holes
 
 IMPEDIMEIS'TS TO AGEICULTUEAL PEOGRESS. 97 
 
 the burnt roots of hazel-trees," etc. ; and that the physic-box of the 
 husbandman should contain the " blood of a sea tortoise," and the 
 "powdered liver of a wolf," as things essential to the cm*e and 
 health of live stock !* 
 
 Before we pass on to the consideration of the great improvements 
 which distinguish the last hundred and fifty years, let us glance at 
 the leading historical events by which the Progress of Agriculture has 
 been affected.f The most important of these are the Conquest and the 
 intestine struggles which followed that event, the Wars of the Roses, 
 and the Civil "Wars in the time of Charles I. 
 
 The Norman Conquest brought 'Vv'ith it an entire humiliation of 
 the English people. Under the system of feudalism w^hich then 
 became established, small landholders were constantly liable to be 
 swept away by the quarrels of rival chiefs, and vassals to be suddenly 
 withdrawn from labour in the fields to duties under arms. If, from 
 lands that were unshackled by the law, a thrifty husbandman took 
 a piece, and proceeded to cultivate it, he thereby invited the notice 
 of some baron greedy of possession, to whom he was compelled by 
 the awe of force to yield it up, and be content to occupy it as a fief, 
 upon the best conditions that could be obtained. The struggles 
 which the people made to resist the Norman dominion were so severe, 
 that the whole face of the country for a time appeared a scene of 
 wretchedness. " From York to Durham not an inhabited vUlage 
 remained. Fire, slaughter, and desolation made it a vast wilderness. "J 
 Not content with those large forests which former kings possessed, 
 the Conqueror resolved to make a new forest near his residence at 
 "Winchester, and for that purpose he laid waste the country to an 
 extent of thirty miles, expelled the inhabitants from their houses, 
 
 * The following " Grood Cure for a Beast that Hath a Strain in the Bladder," is 
 transcribed verbatim from " The Countryman's Treasure," by James Lambert, 
 London, 1676 : — " Take a Swallow's nest, the Birds and aU, if you can get them, and 
 put them all into a Mortar, and pound the Birds, Nest, and Feathers all together, 
 and then boyl them in fair Water, and put in a good handfuj of Plantane 
 leaves and seeds, Blewbottle, and the roots of DaffidiUies, also put in a httle 
 Sumack, and boyl them very well; then strain them and put to a little sweet 
 Wine and give it the Beast Milkwarm fasting. But first let blood in the Neck- 
 vein for to draw the Blood back, and witliin half an hour give them the drink, 
 and it will stay certainly." 
 
 t The laws affecting the Prosperity of Agricidture will be considered in the Section 
 upon the Progress of Legislation. 
 
 J William of Malmesbury. 
 
 H
 
 98 THE NOEMAN CONQUEST. 
 
 seized their property, and made the svifFerers no compensation for the 
 injury.* "With such an example set by the king, every baron enjoying 
 the royal favour emulated his example, and each estate throughout 
 the kingdom became the centre of a petty and distracting tyranny.f 
 Such were the efiects of the Conquest, that four great famines occurred 
 within a few years subsequent thereto, which were attributable to 
 devastations. The following description of the state of the country 
 in 1147 is emphatically descriptive : — " All England wore a face of 
 misery and desolation. Multitudes abandoned their beloved country, 
 and went into voluntary exile ; others, forsaking their own houses, 
 built wretched hovels in the church-yards, hoping for protection from 
 the sacredness of the place. "Whole families, after sustaining life as 
 long as they could by eating herbs, roots, and the flesh of dogs and 
 horses, at last died of hunger; and you might see many pleasant 
 villages without a single inhabitant.";]: 
 
 In the broken intervals of peace, however, agriculture advanced in 
 isolated spots, from causes incidental to the Norman occupation. 
 Thousands of husbandmen, from the fertile plains of Flanders and 
 Normandy, hoping to find favour with their wealthier countrymen, 
 settled in this island, and introduced the better systems of cultivation 
 which they had previously pursued in their own lands. The clergy, 
 and especially the monks, being undisturbed in their possessions, on 
 account of their sacred avocations, took advantage of their security, 
 and devoted attention to the cultivation of the soil. A canon 
 of council, dated 1179, aftords an evidence of the interest which the 
 clerical orders took in the affairs of agriculture. It is thereby decreed 
 that all " presbyters, clerks, monks, converts, pilgrims, and peasants, 
 when they are engaged in the labours of husbandry, shall, together 
 with the cattle in their ploughs, and the seed which they carry in the 
 
 * Wade's "British History." 
 
 + The conduct of Richard de Bulos, Lord of Brunne and Deeping, who was 
 chamberlain to the Conqueror, deserves mention, as an exception to the character 
 of the Norman barons. He took a great dehght in agriculture, and studied the 
 breeding of horses and cattle. He enclosed and drained a great extent of country, 
 embanked the river Wieland, which fi-equently overflowed the fields, built houses 
 and cottages upon the bank, and formed a settlement, which increased so much 
 that in time it formed the town of Deeping, so called from its low situation. Here 
 he planted orchards, cultivated commons, and converted lakes and quagmires into 
 fertde fields and meadows. " Hist. Ingulplii," Oxou, 1G84. 
 
 J " Gesta Eegis Stephani."
 
 WAES OF THE EOSES AKD OF THE COMMONWEALTH. 99 
 
 field, enjoy perfect security ; and that all who molest or interrupt 
 them, if they do not desist when they have been admonished, shall he 
 excommunicated."* This canon aftords an insight into the great 
 discouragements of agriculture which had previously existed. Evi- 
 dently people engaged therein had been liable to frequent molestations, 
 and to have their cattle, ploughs, and even the seeds which they 
 were sowing, carried off" by lawless bands. 
 
 During the protracted Wars of the Eoses, the country again 
 suffered from devastations equal to those of the Conquest. For a 
 period of thirty years, labourers were liable every moment to be called 
 from the plough to the battle-field ; the nobility were almost entirely 
 swept away, and such multitudes of labourers were withdrawn from 
 the pursuit of industry, and fell in battle, that there remained not 
 hands sufiicient to Cidtivate the soil. In this extremity laws were 
 made to reduce the price of labour, to compel men to become labourers, 
 and to prevent persons having lands from putting their sons to any 
 other occupation but that of husbandmen. These laws proved abortive, 
 and the scarcity of labour compelled the landholders to enclose their 
 lands. They had discovered that flocks and herds were better adapted 
 to such troublesome times than growing crops. The former might 
 be removed on the irruption of an enemy, or be disposed of secretly, 
 if the proprietor became involved in the misfortunes of his partv.f 
 The increasing consumption of wool at that period gave an additional 
 impetus to the conversion of arable lands into pasture — a system 
 which, while it enriched the few, greatly impovei'ished the many. 
 Enclosures were multiplied; demesne lands were extended, till the 
 farms of husbandmen were appropriated to pastiu-e — their houses 
 were demolished, or permitted to decay ; while a few herdsmen sutj- 
 planted the yeomen, and, in some instances, the shepherd and his 
 dog were the only occupants of large tracts, save the flocks of sheep 
 which they were tliei'e to guard. 
 
 The Civil War against Charles I. proved another disastrous era 
 in the history of agriculture. The contending forces wandered over 
 the country seizing household stuff", oxen, sheep, cattle, corn, and hay. 
 They laid watch for these commodities going to or coming from 
 markets; and they cut down corn before it was ripe, to feed their 
 horses. The E-oyal party attributed these outrages to the Parliament- 
 arians, and the latter to the Royalists. Counter proclamations were 
 
 * " Cliron. Gervas." f Dr. Heiary's " History of Britain."
 
 100 AGETCITLTTJEE IK THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 frequent. In one of them the King regretted " that the lanes and 
 deep narrow wayes " of the country jDrevented his horse from punish- 
 ing the offenders — a significant indication of the miserable means of 
 , communication. Farmers were crucified between two sets of thieves. 
 The military discipline of the time was so loose that soldiers, regardless 
 of their officers, formed themselves into plundering bands, and com- 
 mitted all sorts of depredations. Every idle vagabond looked upon 
 robbery as the order of the day, and outlaws, having no right but 
 to the gallows, joined the forces of either cause, to save their necks 
 and cover their depredations. With such terrible visitations as these, 
 which are only the more marked of history, it is no wonder that 
 Agriculture languished, and that men were little inclined, even if they 
 possessed the knowledge, to do much to enrich the soil. The losses 
 sustained by unpropitious seasons were also severe and frequent. A 
 wet summer destroyed all the farmer's hopes, and produced famine 
 throughout the land. 
 
 This rapid historical sketch brings us down to the time of Fitzher- 
 bert, and the other pioneers of agricultural inquiry and instruction, 
 with whose writings we are already acquainted. Hartlib was pensioned 
 by the Protector, who bestowed favour upon attempts at agricultural 
 improvement. 
 
 The state of agriculture in the time of the Commonwealth may be 
 thus described : — The same crops were grown year after year, until the 
 land, becoming exhausted, refused to recompense the cost of labour. 
 Then a long period of naked fallow was the expedient for restoring 
 fertility to the soil. Farm-yard dung, impoverished by a bad system of 
 management, was almost the only manure. The practice commonly 
 prevailed of cultivating farms upon what was termed the " in-field " and 
 " out-field " systems,* by which the land near the farm-offices received 
 
 * The system of "in-ficld" and "oixt-field" here alluded to, must not be mistaken 
 for that of the in-lands and oui-lands v/\\ic\\ prevailed in the time of the Anglo-Saxons. 
 In the division of the countiy by the Saxons, those of the leaders who obtained the 
 greatest shares divided their estates into two parts, which were distinguished as 
 in-lands and out-lands. The in-lands were those wliich lay contiguous to the mansion 
 of their owner, which he kept in his own immediate possession, and cultivated by his 
 slaves for the purpose of supplying provisions to his family. The out-lands were 
 such as lay at a greater distance from the dwelling of the lord, and were let to the 
 farmers at a moderate rent, which was generally paid in kind. — JEncyclo. Metro- 
 politana.
 
 INFLUENCE OF GARDENING UPON AGKICULTUEE. 101 
 
 all the manure collected tliere, and those lands were kept for successive 
 years under a corn crop, consisting occasionally of wheat, hut more 
 commonly of oats, rye, harley, or peas ; and although an imperfect 
 fallowing was introduced at the close of each succession of six or eight 
 years, the long continuance of corn crops kept the soil in a continually 
 impoverishing condition. The out-field land, which formed the hulk 
 of the possession, was made to grow a series of oat croj)s, generally three, 
 when, exhausted in strength and over-run with weeds, it was aban- 
 doned to rest, until the caprice of the occupier should deem it prepared 
 to undergo a renewed attempt to produce another series of scanty 
 crops. The only manure applied to this division of the farm was 
 obtained by occasionally folding the few live stock then kept upon 
 detached portions of it, after which it was expected to yield four or 
 five corn crops in the place of three.* Wheat was rarely grown, and 
 more rarely eaten by the humbler classes. Kye, oats, and barley were 
 the prevailing produce. Artificial grasses and root crops were but 
 little known, so that the supply of provender for cattle was exceedingly 
 precarious, and rendered it necessary to kill ofi" a great proportion of 
 stock on the approach of winter, keeping only those that were neces- 
 sary for dairy purposes, or for labour ; since, by feeding stock during 
 winter upon hay alone, they would lose the flesh formed in summer. 
 
 The introduction of Gardening could scarcely have failed to exercise 
 a powerful influence upon the agricultural mind, since it demonstrated 
 that, by a higher system of cultivation, results might be obtained which 
 were never previously contemplated. It may not be unadvisable 
 to ask the Agriculturist to look back to the origin of some of those 
 useful vegetables which now constitute so material a part of our 
 nation's wealth, and contribute so largely to the people's happiness. 
 
 The parent of all the cultivated varieties of Cabbage was originally 
 a wild plant growing on sea-cliff's. From this primitive and valueless 
 stock have been developed not only the different healthful and 
 economical cabbages of our gardens and farms, but also kales, savoys, 
 cauliflowers, and broccoli in remarkable variety. Field cabbages now 
 form one of the most valuable productions of the farm, being vastly 
 productive, accessible at all times, affording an unfailing supply for 
 fodder during the spring months, especially grateful to ewes in lamb, 
 and liked equally by beasts and sheep. A single cabbage sometimes 
 
 * "Agriculture of Scotland:" Mr. John Dudgeon's Prize Essay. "Jom-nalof 
 Agriculture."
 
 102 INSTANCES OF WHAT HAS BEEN DONE BY CULTIVATION. 
 
 weighs as much as 40 lbs. Mr. Amos, of Brothertoft, near Boston, 
 one year planted forty-six acres, a portion of which yielded fifty tons' 
 weight of cabbages to the acre. 
 
 The wild Parsnip, growing upon hillocks and chalky banks, with a 
 small stringy acrimonious root, became, under the hand of the skilful 
 cultivator, the large edible which is now supplied to our tables, 
 and also yields to the farmer a famous feed for milch cows, pigs, and 
 other live stock, while it prepares the ground for the reception of 
 wheat. The produce of this valuable root amounts to as much as from 
 nine to eleven tons per acre, supplying a description of food which 
 stands very high in the scale of nutritives. 
 
 From the common wild Turnip, inhabiting the borders of fields, came 
 the varieties of that very useful root, the introduction of which has 
 exercised not only a material influence upon Agriculture, but has been 
 held by men of sound observation to have saved the kingdom from a 
 calamity which might have endangered its very existence — the calamity 
 of food failing to meet the rapid growth of population. In 1597 there 
 were two sorts of turnips in cultivation — a small and a large one. 
 Gerard spoke of a third sort which he had heard of, but had not seen, 
 and which he thought might have been the red beet, as those who had 
 seen it described it to have red roots, " Small turneps," says Gerard, 
 " grow in fields, and divers vineyards or hop-gardens in most places 
 of England. The small turnep groweth by a village neere London 
 (called Hackeney) in a sandie ground, and is brought to the Crosse in 
 Cheapside by the women of that village to be soldo, and are the best 
 that ever I tasted." There are now so many varieties produced 
 from cross impregnation, that some persons may feel scej^tical as 
 to the unity of their origin. However, whether they sprung from 
 one or more species is a matter of very little moment, since the 
 whole genus presents the same marked advances under culti- 
 vation. The relation of turnijDs to systems of husbandry, and 
 the supply of food to the nation, may be easily explained. 
 The absence of winter food rendered it impossible for farmers to 
 keep stock proportioned to their acres ; and the deficiency of stock 
 limited the supply of manure to be applied to the improvement 
 of the land. It w^as soon found that the growth of ttirnips in 
 rotation with grain, not only yielded abundant and excellent keep 
 for live stock, but gave heart to the land by perforating it with roots 
 which rejected those properties of the soil essential to wheat, and
 
 INTEODUCTION' OF POTATOES. l03 
 
 gave a rich dressing througli the folding of stock, and feeding off 
 the crop. Hence the field culture of turnips combined the advantages 
 of a fallow, a crop, and a dressing at one operation. The land, 
 penetrated and cleaned by turnips, trampled by sheep, and enriched 
 by their manure, yielded abundant grain crops, and thus the increase 
 of stock and the improvement of the granary, which had previously 
 held a partial antagonism to each other, were now promoted by 
 the same means. But the introduction of turnips did more than 
 help our wants : it added to the comforts and health of the people, 
 by affording a supply of fresh meat during the winter, instead of 
 salted flesh, upon which former generations had to live a considerable 
 portion of their time. 
 
 Again, we see the wonderfid results of cultivation in the instance 
 of the Carrot, which, in its natural state grew in. scattered patches 
 over the coimtry, producing a root of proportions scarcely sufficient 
 to excite observation. The enormous size of carrots in the present 
 day, their excellent qualities, both for the table and the stall, and 
 the abundant yield. of 9000 lbs. to an acre, belong to the triumphs 
 of cultivation. 
 
 Our last reference shall be to the Potatoe, that excellent 
 root, which now ranks next to bread in the food of the people, 
 but of which we knew nothing until the year 1586, and understood 
 little until the latter part of the seventeenth century. In Gerard's 
 time, 1597, Virginian potatoes, as they were then called, were just 
 beginning to be known. A sweet potatoe had been previously 
 introduced, which was used as a kind of confection at the tables 
 of the rich. Of these, Gerard says, " They are used to be eaten 
 rosted in the ashes ; some, when they be so rosted, infuse them, 
 and sop them in wine ; and others to give them the greater grace 
 in eating, do boil them with prunes and so eat them. And likewise 
 others dresse them (being first rosted) with oile, vineger, and 
 salt, every man according to his own taste and liking : notwithstanding 
 howsoever they be dressed, they comfort, nourish, and strengthen 
 the bodie."* These were sold by women, who stood about the 
 Exchange* with baskets. The same writer says of the common 
 potatoe, which for a considerable time after its introduction was 
 a rarity, that " it was likewise a foode, as also a meete for 
 pleasure, being either rosted in the embers, or boiled and eaten 
 
 * " Tlie Herball ; or, General Historie of Plantes," 1597.
 
 104 
 
 THE WILD TUEKIP AND CAEKOT. 
 
 with oile, vineger, or dressed anie other way by the hand of some 
 cunning in cookerie." They were originally the size of walnuts. 
 
 From a pamphlet published in 1664, entitled, " England's Hap- 
 piness Increased," it appears that the cultivation of the potatoe 
 had not made much advance. The author recommended the king 
 to import potatoes for seed from Ireland and Wales into England, 
 and to appoint by royal license a number of persons as potatce 
 
 DAtrcirs CAEOTA (Wild Carrot). 
 
 BBASSICA EAPA {Wild Turnip). 
 
 planters, giving to each person licensed a bushel of potatoes to 
 commence his plantation. This suggestion was accompanied by a 
 recommendation to the effect that His Majesty should command the 
 use of potatoe meal by his subjects.* It appears that a prejudice 
 
 * " England's Happiness Increased ; or, A Sure and Easie Eemedy against all 
 ucceeding Dear Years ; by a Plantation of the Eoots called Potatoes, &c. &c.
 
 THE SEA CABBAGE AND THE WILD PAESNIP. 
 
 105 
 
 existed against the potatoe, upon the ground that its use would 
 reduce the people to the level of the savages who lived upon 
 roots ; and it was xirged, by way of reply and reconciliation, that 
 the Indians, among whom potatoes grew, were ignorant of their 
 uses ! "When potatoes were first cultivated, they were only available 
 for food during a few months of the year. There are now endless 
 varieties of them, and the introduction of early and late kinds keeps 
 
 BEASSICA OLEEACEA (Sea Cabbage). PASTINACA SATIVA (Comiiwu Parsnij)). 
 
 up a plentiful supply throughout the year. The potatoe disease 
 has operated to some extent to check this branch of cultivation, 
 but there is every prospect that the impediment will pass away, 
 
 By wliich Ten Thousand Men in England and Wales, who know not how to 
 live, or what to do to get a maiatenance for their famHies, may of One Acre of 
 Ground make Thirty Pounds per Annum. Invented and pvibUshed for the good 
 the poorer sort. By John Forster, Gent. London, 1664."
 
 106 THE ERA OF EXPERIMENTAL INQUIRY. 
 
 and that Mr. Knight's prediction that " more than a thousand 
 bushels of potatoes may and will be obtained from an acre of 
 ground," will be fulfilled. 
 
 The commencement of the eighteenth century may be called the 
 dawTiing of an era of experimental inquiry. Although another hundred 
 years rolled away before Sir Humphry Davy imparted new light and 
 life to the researches of the improvers of agriculture, the history of the 
 intervening period is not devoid of interest. The old and crude theories 
 of a "universal generative salt," of " mercurial spirit," and " fatness in 
 earths," were unsatisfactory to minds that had tasted of the advancing 
 intelligence of the times, though they were unprepared to substitute for 
 what they suspected to be error, any theory more accordant with 
 truth. 
 
 The press, which had begun to operate to the aid of every 
 work of progress, gave a new vitality to the most ancient labour 
 and study of mankind. The gates of another Eden were opened, 
 and to enter those gates it was necessary that the " masters of 
 farms" (to whom Markham had reluctantly admitted that reading 
 and writing miglit be " no hurtlien ") should at least be able 
 to read the reports of important experiments that were then 
 being made, and their results printed in books, transactions of agri- 
 cultural societies, and in newspapers throughout the land. These 
 lessons were no longer the mere speculations of theorists, nor the 
 crude guesses of ingenious minds groping in the dark to find some 
 tangible truth, nor the empirical rules of ambitious book-makers, foimded 
 upon the conflicting testimonies and ill-digested observations of Avork- 
 men steeped in superstition and ignorance. Men said, " Let us "Work, 
 Observe, and Learn ; and, as we can now communicate with each 
 other, let us make known our observations for the general good." The 
 first Associations of Farmers appear to have been those for mutual 
 assistance in the apprehension and prosecution of thieves ; and as 
 they occasionally met for the promotion of these objects, they talked 
 of their crops and flocks ; and thus, the exchange of information 
 proving both agreeable and beneficial, they determined to enlarge the 
 objects of their Clubs. The adoption of this resolution was followed 
 by the establishment of Societies, and the publication of papers and 
 books. As the first water that runs into a ditch stirs up the foulness 
 gathered there, so the effect of the first current of thought and action 
 in the channels of agricultural improvement was to excite discordant
 
 EISE OF AGKICULTUKAL SOCIETIES. 107 
 
 opinions, whicli had long been in a state of stagnation, frequent 
 jealousies, and hasty conclusions. But as, one by one, discords, jea- 
 lousies, and errors were borne away by the onward tide of intelligence, 
 the current of thought became deeper and clearer, and tended to 
 healthier results. 
 
 The earlier part of the century saw the Society of Improvers in 
 Scotland* holding their fortnightly meetings, forming classes to study 
 and improve the different branches of agriciiltui^e, carrying on cor- 
 res2)ondence with neighbouring countries, and answering questions 
 addressed by farmers to the Society upon the best modes of cultivation. 
 Nor was this Society confined to men of high position, such as Lord 
 Cathcart, Lord Eeay, Lord Eollo, Lord Eoss, the Hon. Sir James 
 Fergusson, Sir William Bond, Sir Archibald Grant, Sir George 
 Durham, and others, who took part in its first transactions, and paid 
 " a crown at their entry, and thereafter yearly a crown at the 
 anniversary meetings ;" but the noblemen and gentlemen who 
 founded the institution very laudably passed a rule, " That farmers 
 and gardeners, who shall desire to be members, be received in gratis, if 
 by the Society or council found qualified ; and that how soon any 
 experiments or machines of husbandry are agreed upon by the council 
 as fit to be made, advertisement be given to such workmen as please, 
 to come and enter their names in a book to be kept by the secretary." 
 And further, " That members of the Society who want the opinion of 
 the council concerning their farms or grounds, shall, upon sending to 
 the secretary the exact situation and nature of them, with queries, 
 be answered by the council without any expense, excepting 
 postage. That it be recommended to the said persons to retvirn the 
 secretary a particidar account of the success ; and that this shall 
 be immediately inserted in the newspapers, to certiorate all concerned." 
 The result was just what might be expected — experiments in every 
 direction, followed by great improvements in the agriculture of 
 Scotland. After twenty years' operations, the practices of draining, 
 enclosing, summer fallowing, sowing flax, hemp, rape, turnip and 
 grass seeds, planting cabbages after, and potatoes with the plough, 
 in fields of great extent, were introduced, and such improvements 
 made in husbandry in general, that " more corn was grown yearly, 
 where corn never grew before, than a sixth of all that the kingdom 
 used to produce at any previous time." 
 
 * Founded on the 8tli of June, 1723.
 
 108 EISE OF AGEICULTUEAL SOCIETIES. 
 
 In Ireland, soon after the rise of the Scottish Society, a number of 
 gentlemen began to associate themselves for similar objects, when Mr. 
 Prior, of Eathdo\\Tiey, Queen's County, led a movement which resulted, 
 about the year 1734, in the formation of the Dublin Society for the 
 Promotion of Husbandry. In 1736 the Society commenced publishing 
 a series of " "Weekly Observations," the object of which was " in the 
 plainest manner to direct the industry of common artists ; and to 
 bring practical and useful knowledge from the retirements of libraries 
 and closets into public view." In 1749 the Society obtained a royal 
 charter, enlarged its operations, granted premivmis for improvements, 
 and contributed materially to advance the condition and the system 
 of agriculture. 
 
 In England the Eoyal Society continued its operations, and added 
 greatly to the increase of knowledge upon vegetable physiology. In 
 1755 was founded the Society for the Encouragement of Arts and 
 Manufactures, which for many years offered great encouragement to 
 improvements in agriculture. In the list of premiums for the year 
 1758, among several others relating to agriculture, were the fol- 
 lowing : — " Eor an eifectual method to prevent or destroy the turnip 
 fly, £10." " For planting and raising the best roots of madder, 
 £20 ;" with three other prizes of smaller amount. " For the best set 
 of experiments, with a dissertation on the nature and operation of 
 manures, a gold medal." " For the best set of experiments, with a 
 dissertation on soils, a gold medal." " For an effectual method to 
 prevent or cure the rot in sheej), £10." Similar premiums were offered 
 annually ; and although, after the rise of agricultural societies, the 
 Society of Arts was regarded as less an agricultiu-al institution than 
 formerly, the fact should be remembered, that it was the first association 
 in England which offered specific rewards for agricultural improve- 
 ments. The first officers of the Society of Arts were Lord Viscount 
 Folkestone, president ; Lord Eomney, the Eev. Dr. Stephen Hales, 
 and Charles Whitworth and James Theobald, Esqrs., vice-presidents ; 
 John Goodchild, Esq., treasurer ; and Mr. "William Shipley, secretary. 
 Minor societies sprung up everywhere ; and although it has been said 
 that " they were rather associations for the promotion of eating and 
 drinking, than for the advancement of tbe arts by which the materials 
 for eating and drinking are increased,"* there can be little doubt that 
 they tended to rouse the energies of a class of men of dormant habits 
 
 * Quarterly Review, No. 206, art. " The Progress of Agricultui'e."
 
 roRMATroisr of the smithfield cli'b. 109 
 
 and uncultivated miuds,* aud to make them ambitious to be able to 
 introduce to their meetings instances of improvement, which might 
 gain for them the approbation of their associates. Among those 
 institutions, the Bath and West of England Agricultural Society, 
 established in 1777, took a high position, which it retains to this 
 day. Before the close of the century (1793), the English Board of 
 Agriculture was established by Act of Parliament, promoted chiefly 
 by the exertions of Sir John Sinclair, assisted by the intelligence of 
 Mr. Arthur Young, to whose valuable Experiments and Surveys we 
 must hereafter refer. 
 
 The national society, now known as the Smithfield Club, was 
 instituted under the title of the " Smithfield Cattle and Sheep 
 Society," December 17, 1798. Mr. J. "Wilkes, of Measham, Derbyshire, 
 the founder, and several other well-known agricultvirists, assembled for 
 its formation on that day, being the great Smithfield market-day before 
 Christmas. The late Erancis Duke of Bedford occupied the chair. 
 There were also present Lord Somerville, John Bennet, the Earl of 
 "Winchelsea, John "Westcar, Eichard Astley, John Ellman, Arthur 
 Young, and twenty-one others. Later in the day, Sir Joseph Banks 
 and seven other members were elected. t 
 
 Here, then, had arisen in England, Scotland, and Wales great 
 
 * In a work published in 17 18, entitled, " A True Relation or Collection of the 
 most Eemarkable Dearths and Famines," the following story is told with all gravity. 
 It affords an illustration of the kind of instruction which fanners still continued to 
 receive: — "An. Dom. 1234, 18 Henry the 3, was a great Frost at Christmasse, wliich 
 destroyed the come in the ground, and the roots of hearbes in the gardens, continuing 
 till Candlemasse without any snow, so that no man could plough the ground, and aU 
 the year after was imseasonable weather, so that barrenesse of aU things ensued, and 
 many poor folks dyed for want of victuaUs, the rich being so bewitched with avarice, 
 that they could yield them no reliefe. Amongst whom Walter Gray, then Archbishop 
 of York, was not least covetous, of whom it is recorded that his corne being then 5 yeares 
 old, bee doubting the same to be spoiled with vermine, did command that it should 
 be delivered to the husbandmen that inhabited his mannours, upon condition that 
 they should pay him the like quantity of new come after harvest, but would give none 
 to the poor for God's sake, wherevipon it came to passe, that when men came to a 
 great stack of corne, which stood near the Towne of Rippon, there appeared in the 
 sheaves aU over the same the heads of wormes, serpents, and toads ; besides, a voice 
 was heard out of the corne-mow, saying, ' Lay no hands on the corne, for the Arch- 
 bishop and all that hee hath is the DevilVs.^ To conclude, the Bailiffes were forced to 
 build a high wall round about the come, and then to set it on fii-e, lest the venemous 
 wormes should have gotten out and poisoned the come in other places." The writer 
 very quaintly adds, " How this Bishop died I have not read, and whether he went to 
 God or the DevUl, it is not for me to detennine." 
 
 t " History of the Smithfield Club," by B. T. B. Gibbs, Esq.
 
 110 JETHEO TULL. 
 
 institutions drawing the intelligence of tliose countries to their several 
 centres, kindling desire for information, satisfying that desire by 
 frequent intercourse, and by well written publications, and converting 
 many important farms and estates into trial-grounds for experiments 
 which until then had been unconnected, ill-conducted, unreported, and 
 which, if they had not disappointed the hopes of their promoters, had 
 at least contributed no general aid to Agricultural Progress. 
 
 "We must now rettirn to the period of the origin of the first 
 Agricultural Society, to mention the efibrts of an individual who about 
 the same time took upon himself the great work of agricultural 
 reformation. To Jethro Tull, whose name has already been men- 
 tioned in this history, agriculture owes far more than the 
 results of his individual experiments and opinions, since by an 
 energetic line of conduct he aroused attention, and provoked 
 inquiries which might otherwise have been long deferred. In 1731 
 he published his " Horse-hoeing Husbandry ; or, an Essay on the 
 Principles of Vegetation and Tillage, Designed to Introduce a New 
 Method of Culture." The services he rendered to agriculture were 
 of two kinds : one, the introduction of an improved system of cultiva- 
 tion, with the aid of better implements than had previously existed ; 
 the other, the bold assertion of a theory which excited so much dis- 
 cussion, that it contributed to the discovery of truths to which it was 
 diametrically opposed. " Tull was the first who boldly and zealously 
 contended for the adoption of improved machinery in all agricultural 
 operations ; the ploughs which accompany his ' Horse-hoeing Hus- 
 bandry ' have not been very materially improved in the last century. 
 He invented several varieties of hand and horse-hoes. He was very 
 nearly, if not quite, the first who produced a practically useful drill. 
 He shared the fate of all those who, as discoverers, have the temerity 
 to disturb old systems. He was regarded by the bulk of his contem- 
 poraries as an idle, restless innovator. He was ridiculed, thwarted, 
 and opposed in every way, not, as might have been reasonably expected, 
 by the most ignorant, but by those who either did know, or ought to 
 have known, better things. His neighbours regarded him as a lunatic ; 
 and the tradition in the neighbovirhood of Shalborn still is, that he 
 was even wicked enough to attempt to banish the flail from his farm, 
 and that he had a machine in his barn at Prosperous,* which worked a 
 
 * Near Hungerford.
 
 tull's theoet. Ill 
 
 set of sticks so readily as to thrash out his corn without the assistance 
 of a labourer. This, there is little doubt, was an attempt to 
 construct a thrashing machine ; and that it was, in those quiet days, 
 regarded as a wonder, is proved by the existence of the tradition."* 
 The theory which Tall endeavoured to establish was, that manures were 
 altogether useless ; that effective pulverization of the soil by frequent 
 ploughings answered every end, by bringing into contact with the 
 roots of plants the elements of soils that were essential to their 
 nourishment ; and that the same pulverization of the earth which 
 afforded nourishment to roots, admitted air, dew, and rain to the 
 soil, by which it became replenished. Hence, he contended, under 
 proper treatment, there was an exhaustless store of nourishment 
 in all soils ; and he further argued, that the intermixture of manures 
 had been previously found beneficial only in so far as they had assisted 
 the aeration and pulverization of the earths with which they had been 
 combined. 
 
 Tail's theory, it will be seen, was based upon the supposition that 
 plants consist of earth, Avhich they take up in small particles, and 
 that when we finely pvdverize the soil we reduce its particles to a size 
 adapted to the mouths of plants, just as with a knife we cut bread 
 and cheese to adapt it to our own mouths ! For a time, after repeated 
 ploughing, and with the aid of new cultivators and drills, his lands, which 
 had previously lain under the imperfect tillage of by-gone years, gave 
 increased crops without manure, and the results were pointed at by 
 Tull with exultation. As soon, however, as the organic matters which 
 are common to all soils that have been imperfectly turned became 
 exhausted by pulverizing and cropping, Tull saw his produce failing, 
 and reluctantly returned to the employment of manures, but still in- 
 sisted that their use was " not to nourish, but to dissolve." In his long- 
 continued and anxious experiments he rendered considerable service to 
 agriculture by proving the negative of his own proposition, and 
 preparing the way for truths that were soon to be manifested. His 
 system of deep-ploughing and of thoroughly pulverizing the soil, together 
 with the introduction of horse-hoeing and drilling, and improved 
 machinery for these systems, constituted a great gain to agriculture, 
 which amply compensates for the error he made in the construction of 
 a theory. This error will appear the more excusable, if we remember 
 that of the science of chemistry scarcely anything was then imder- 
 * Johnson's " Farmer's Encyclopaedia."
 
 112 baker's expeeiments. 
 
 stood. At the time when TuU was blundering through a too hasty 
 conclusion, Priestley was a boy in an academy at Daventry, and had 
 not yet commenced his observations upon the food of plants, and 
 the production of the various gases, nor had he experimented upon 
 the sprig of mint which gave off bubbles of oxygen in water. One 
 set of men believed that plants lived upon air, another insisted that 
 their food was water, while a third, led by Mr. TuU, declared that they 
 were solely sustained by the earth. And it is remarkable to observe, in 
 the discussions of these different advocates, how near man may 
 approach to the truth, and not reach it ; for in every sentence of the 
 arguments upon the theories of Van Helmont, Dr. "Woodward, Mr. 
 Bradley, and Mr. TuU, agricultural chemistry peeps out with a smile 
 which anybody may now recognize. If, instead of each insisting upon 
 his own views, they had set their theories together, and combined 
 the good of all, they could scarcely fail to have made those dis- 
 coveries which were begun by Priestley, improved by Davy, and 
 confirmed by Liebig. Still, every discussion does good, and men 
 who enter the arena of debate are worthy to stand among the 
 pioneers of truth, though they find not the right way. Only the 
 indolent, who close the windows of the mind against the free air of 
 inquiry, are objects of condemnation. 
 
 Another individual to whom Agriculture stands largely indebted 
 is Mr. John "Wynn Baker, who, for several years, commencing 
 1766, conducted upon his farm, Laughinstown, in the county of 
 Kildare, Ireland, a series of experiments, noting down their cost, 
 result, and profit with the greatest care. These experiments were 
 published by the Dublin Agricultural Society. Mr. Baker's object 
 was to "seek for experimental matter, upon which to build a sys- 
 tem," for as yet agriculture was, as had been remarked by Bacon, 
 utterly without principles. These experiments embraced every kind 
 of agricultural inquiry : the rotation of crops ; the value of artificial 
 grasses and of roots ; the effect of these crops upon manures, and 
 of the manures upon the land ; the amelioration of land by root 
 crops instead of naked fallows ; the relative values of sowing broad- 
 cast and drilling ; the greater economy of keeping horses or work- 
 ing oxen ; the comparative efficiency of new and old implements ; 
 and numerous other problems which then required solution. He 
 also established a factory for the manufactui-e of implements, and 
 issued a catalogue of no less than seventy various machines and
 
 ARTHUE YOUNG S LABOFES. 113 
 
 tools, including drill-ploughs and harrows, a four-coultered plough, 
 a scarificator with five coulters, a drain-plough, drain-spades and 
 scoops, a winnowing machine, and numerous other inventions novel 
 at the time. Here Avas an approach towards the establishment of 
 princijyles — the principles of rural economy : for the philosophy of 
 agriculture was still unknown. These experiments were set before 
 country gentlemen and farmers in language that could not be mis- 
 understood. Although principles were sought, these alone would 
 make no impression upon the farmer: facts and figures — land at a 
 stated rent, labour at such a cost, soil of a given kind, manures in 
 specified quantity and description, amount and cost of seed, quarters 
 of grain or tons of turnips produced, and the £ s. d. resulting 
 from the experiment — were the things to make an imjDression. 
 When TuU's system of soil-pulverizing failed, drilling, which had 
 been advocated by him in connection with his pulverizing system, 
 suffered by the disrepute. Baker's experiments revived the claims 
 of the drill. The Dublin Society passed a resolution authorizing 
 Mr. Baker to "allot a portion of ground, not less than one acre, 
 for the culture of wheat in drills, horse-hoeing the intervals ; and 
 that he also allot another portion of ground, the same quantity, 
 for the culture of wheat in broad-cast ; that these two portions of 
 ground lie as contiguous to each other, and be as much of the 
 same sort of soil, as may be; that they be both sown with the 
 same seed, and that Mr. Baker report his observations, resulting 
 from 4his experiment, to the Society." AVe can do no more than 
 state the result, which showed a profit of £1 12*. 3|J. (on a cal- 
 culated average of fifteen years) in favour of the drilled acre, 
 making a difierence in that time of £969 \0s. in favour of forty 
 acres of drilled tillage. In Mr. Baker's own words — "Let us put 
 this calcidation in another light, and we shall find that the superior 
 profit of a drilled acre, amounting in fifteen years to £24 4ts. Qd., 
 will be a sum sufficient to purchase the fee-simple of the land, 
 valuing the rent of the land at 18^. an acre, as in the calculations 
 of each experiment, and that at twenty-seven years' purchase. Thus 
 it appears, that every fifteen years the fee-simple of all the tillage 
 lands of the kingdom is lost to the community by the common 
 course of tillage." This was language which everybody could 
 understand. 
 
 AYhat ]Mr. Baker did in Ireland, Mr. Arthur Toung also did in 
 
 I
 
 114 
 
 MARSHALL S EXPERIMENTS. 
 
 England, about the same time. Upon a small farm at Bradfield 
 Combhurst, near Bury, in Suftblk, be carried on experiments of every 
 kind relating to agriculture. In fact, by bis entbusiasm, be out- 
 farmed himself. His experiments cost him nearly twelve hundred 
 pounds, exclusive of the products, "not," as be says, "arising from 
 bad husbandry, but from a resolution to try everything, even those 
 experiments which I was sensible could not answer, but which, being 
 recommended by ^^-riters of character, I brought to the fair test of 
 experience alone." Of the difficulties under which the improvers of 
 agriculture laboured from the want of proper implements, even in Eng- 
 land at this late date, may be gathered from what Mr. Young says : — 
 " I did not possess a drill-plough till the spring of 1766 ; before that 
 time, I executed all, at a very great expense, by a line and hoe, covering 
 with a rake. After I had a drill-plough, my expenses decreased ; but 
 my difficulties, from the worthlessness of the instrument, increased ten- 
 fold."* Young was a man of singular genius, possessing great powers 
 of observation and description, combined with a high degree of enthu- 
 siasm. He was just the man not to farm profitably, but to give more 
 practical and cautious men a sufficient impetus to lift them out of 
 the stagnation in which they had been bred. He had the generosity 
 to see, through his own losses, his country's gain ; and when be gave 
 up farming, and commenced his Tours through several counties of 
 England and "Wales, publishing his observations for the general 
 good, be conferred a vast benefit upon agricultural interests. f 
 
 * We must not omit to mention a series of very careful experiments made by Mr. 
 Marshall on a farm of 270 acres, two miles east from Croydon, Surrey, during the 
 years 1776-8. These experiments were afterwards pubhshed, arranged in the 
 following manner : — 
 
 THE INTENTION. 
 
 Sowing Clover. 
 
 THE PKOCESS. 
 
 April, 177G. 
 
 Harrowed all the Wheat 
 with a pair of very light 
 harrows, in order to raise 
 fresh mould for the seed 
 to drop upon : 
 
 Except a belt across 
 the middle. 
 
 Is harrowing the sod 
 before sowing Clover over 
 Wheat beneficial to the 
 crop ? 
 
 No. Not by this ex- 
 periment. 
 
 THE RESULT. 
 July, 1777. 
 
 Tlie whole field wa« 
 equally good. 
 
 The belt wrs neither 
 harrowed befoi'e nor rolled 
 after sowing. 
 
 In addition to the results of these experiments, Mr. Marshall pubhshed some 
 very valuable observations upon them. 
 
 t " A Six Weeks' Tour through the Southern Counties of England and Wales," 
 1768-9. "A Six Montlis' Tour through the North of England," 1770, "The 
 Farmer's Tour," 1770. " Tour in Ireland," 1780, etc.
 
 PREJUDICES OF EAEMERS. 115 
 
 In Young's time, farmers very rarely ventured beyond the boun- 
 daries of their own locality ; the market or the fair were their chief 
 opportunities of intercourse, and then there was too much eagerness 
 to sell or buy, too much excitement from beer, to enable them to 
 discuss anything of an improving tendency. Besides, the farmer was 
 a man of prejudices ; he would scarcely look over a hedge to watch 
 the progress of an experiment. When the father of Mr. George 
 Turner, of Barton, Devon, the well-known breeder of Devon cattle and 
 Leicester sheep, who had learned something in his visits with stock 
 to Holkham, began to drill turnips, a well-to-do neighbour looked 
 down from the dividing bank, and said to the son — " I suppose your 
 father will be sowing pepper out of a cruet next !" A Mr. Coojjer, 
 who went into Dorsetshire from Norfolk, covild only get his turnips 
 hoed by working himself year after year with his labourers, and 
 refusing to be tired out by their deliberate awkwardness for the 
 purpose of defeating his design. After he had continued the practice 
 for twenty years, and all the surrounding farmers had witnessed the 
 vast benefits to be derived from it, not a single one of them had begun 
 to imitate him. Mr. Cooper, with two liorses abreast, and no- driver, 
 ploughed an acre of land, where his neighbours, with four horses and a 
 driver, ploughed only three-quarters of an acre. Yet not a labourer 
 would touch this unclean implement, as they seemed to think it, and 
 no farmer, with such an example perpetually before his eyes, chose to 
 save on each plough, the wages of a man, the keep of two horses, 
 and the extra expenditure incurred by the diminished amount of work 
 performed in the day. No longer ago than 1835, Sir Eobert Peel 
 presented a Farmer's Club at Tamworth with two iron ploughs of the 
 best construction. On his next visit the old ploughs with the wooden 
 mould-boards were again at work. " Sir," said a member of the Club, 
 " we tried the iron, and we be all of one mind, tliat they made the 
 weeds grow.'''' When Young recommended the Dorsetshire farmers to 
 fold their ewes, they treated the idea with contempt, saying, that " the 
 flock, in rushing out of the fold, would tread down the lambs."* 
 Jethro Tull said that the sowing of artificial grasses was so long before 
 it became common amongst farmers, that though Mr. Blith WTote of 
 it in Cromwell's time, yet thirty years ago (about 1770), when any 
 farmer in the country was advised to sow clover, he was certain to say, 
 " Gentlemen might sow it if they pleased, but they (the farmers) must 
 * Quarterly Eeview, No. 206, art. " Progress of English Agricultui-e."
 
 116 PREJUDICES or FAEMERS. 
 
 ialce care to pciij tlicir rent.'''' And now the case is so much altered that, 
 although rents are increased, and the profit of clover is less since it has 
 become common, they cannot pretend to pay their rent without 
 sowing it. 
 
 The innovations of new systems caused deep regret to the minds 
 of some men who were wedded to their prejudices. " Not many 
 months ago," said Mr. Donaldson, in 1775, " I was much pleased to see 
 a heavy-laden waggon pass through Turuham Green, in its way to 
 Herefordshire, drawn by six oxen, with one horse only as a leader ;" 
 and he was so delighted at this " picture of a team," that he added, 
 " If my family could have spared so much of my fortune, I would have 
 franked the owner through every toll-bar he should ever pass !" Exam- 
 ples of the old kind of intelligence still remain. AYe know a farmer, 
 residing within twenty miles of London, who despises even Markham's 
 " chaulked trencher," and measures his profits and losses by keeping 
 money, silver and gold all together, in a wooden bowl. He estimates 
 the results of the year by the rising or falling of the money in the 
 bowl. If he finds it sinking, he becomes irritable, and gets up a series 
 of brawls with his wife, which generally continue until the bullion in 
 the Avooden bank appears to be again on the increase. Another, a 
 grazier, had hoarded a considerable sum of money, and at last he 
 resolved to pu.t it into a country bank, which he did. He had been in 
 the habit of going into the bank, according to his need, and paying in 
 money, or asking for such sums as he wanted. But he had never 
 commenced the use of a cheque-book ; and when one day a clerk of 
 the bank told him that he thought he had better have a book, and 
 so keep his account properly, he thought it was a mark of suspicion, 
 flew into a passion, demanded his money, and left the bank declaring 
 that he had " zev'r'l round hunderds that they gnawed nothin' aboot." 
 Such cases are now so rare, that they seem like instances of eccentricity. 
 But there was a time, and that not very remote, when the general 
 state of the agricultural mind rarely exhibited higher qualifications than 
 the two -men last mentioned now display. The truth of this assertion 
 is sufiiciently evidenced by the facts given in the earlier part of our 
 history. Let not these remarks for one moment be supposed to be 
 directed against the character of British farmers, so far as their innate 
 qualities are concerned- a more generous, hospitable, frank, and 
 courageous race of men it would be difHcult to find. Therefore develop 
 that nature in its higher qualifications, and recognize the truth_, that
 
 THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 
 
 117 
 
 we take the best means to cultivate the soil, when we cultivate the 
 man who is to be its master. 
 
 Young wrote and edited about a hundred volumes, nearly all of 
 them on agriculture, and possessing merit of a very high order. Upon 
 the establishment of the Board of Agriculture, he was deservedly 
 appointed secretary, Sir John Sinclair being the president. In 
 speaking of the early proceedings of the Board we may, therefore, be 
 understood to attribute to the ability and earnestness of Mr. Young 
 many of those useful undertakings which emanated from that body. 
 
 The Board assembled for the first time on the 4th of September, 
 1793, and among its first resolutions were two of a very important 
 character. 1. To address to intelligent farmers throughout the king- 
 dom a list of Queries, with blanks for them to insert their replies. 
 2. To appoint in every county a competent person to draw up a Survey 
 of the state of agriculture in that county, and to transmit the same to 
 the Board for publication. 
 
 The queries addressed to Farmers were of the following character, 
 but we can only quote a few of them : — 
 
 " 1. Wliat is the nature of the soil and 
 climate in jour neighbourhood ? 
 
 " 2. The manner in which the land is 
 occupied, and whether the farms are, in 
 general, small or great ? 
 
 " 3. The manner in which the land is 
 employed, whether in pasture, in hus- 
 bandry, or a mixtm'e of both ? 
 
 "4. If in pasture, what grasses are cul- 
 tivated ? "^^Tiat species of stock is kept ? 
 Whether the breeds can be improved, or 
 whether new breeds ought to be tried ? 
 
 " 5. Wliether any of the land is 
 watered, and whether any considerable 
 extent of ground is capable of that im- 
 provement ? 
 
 " 6. If the land is employed in hus- 
 bandry, what are the gi'ams principally 
 cultivated ? 
 
 " 7. WTiat is the rotation of crops, and 
 in particular whether green crops, as tur- 
 nips, clover, etc., are cultivated, and how 
 they are found to answer ?" 
 
 The questions to be investigated by the Surveyors were of a similar 
 nature. We select a few from their instructions : — 
 
 " 11. What ai-e the usual sorts of 
 ploughs, carts, and other implements of 
 husbandry ? 
 
 " 12. Whether oxen or cows are made 
 use of? 
 
 " 14. Wliether the land is enclosed, or 
 in open fields ? 
 
 " 17. Whetlier enclosm-es have in- 
 creased or decreased population ? 
 
 "20. "V\Tiat is the extent of waste 
 lands, and the improvement of which they 
 are capable, whether of being planted, 
 converted into arable, or into jjasture 
 land? 
 
 " 26. What is the state of the roads, 
 both public and parochial, whether they 
 are in good order, or capable of iuiprove- 
 ment ?"
 
 118 A STIll AMONG THE FAllMEHS. 
 
 Here, then, commenced a general stirriug-np of the agricultural 
 mind of the country. Farmers, honoured by a communication from 
 the Board of Agriculture, were obliged to think of something, ascertain 
 sometliing, communicate something. What a bustle mvist have arisen 
 in many a farm-house, when the postman, after having sauntered up a 
 long lane, and set all the dogs barking and geese cackling, at length 
 handed to the smock-frocked proprietor a long official letter, with a 
 large seal, and coat of arms ! How Farmer Hodge must have knit 
 his brows when he opened the formidable-looking document, and espied 
 questions about his lease, and the number of oxen and sheep lie 
 possessed ! Possibly he set off to some neighbouring farmer to obtaiji 
 help in sjjelling it over, and to learn what it all meant. How relieved 
 he must have been when, instead of its being a notice of proceedings 
 in Chancery, it turned out to be a complimentary application for 
 information, implying him to be a man of superior intelligence. And 
 how he must have puzzled himself (probably with chalk and trencher) 
 to resolve some of the problems, such as, " What is the weight of beef 
 that will be added to a lean ox by an acre of grass, of turnijDS, etc., 
 or by a ton of oil-cake ?" or, " AVhat is the annual value of the manure 
 made by a horse ?" And, when he had settled these things, what an 
 important night it was when the schoolmaster came to write the reply, 
 and what a memorable morning when Hodge got upon horseback to 
 ride with his letter, for the " London Board of Agriculture," to the 
 post-office, showing it to every neighbour he chanced to meet, and 
 dropping in at the wayside public, to tell them all about it."* 
 
 Beyond a general commendation of the judicious measures adojjted 
 by the Board of Agriculture to stimulate improvements, and the 
 beneficial influences which their Inquiries, Surveys, Communications, 
 and Premiums must have produced, we are compelled to limit 
 ourselves to the mention of the one predominant fact, that Sir 
 Humphry Davy, in 1802, delivered before the Board those 
 celebrated lectures upon Agricviltural Chemistry, which for the first 
 time gave principles to agriculture, and brought to the aid of the 
 experimentalist the light of philosophy. Pordyce had previously 
 made known " certain elements of chemistry necessary to be 
 
 * This pictivre cannot be said to be overdrawn. Some manuscripts written bv 
 members of the Board are now before us. They consist of a large school-boy scrawl, 
 and at the foot of some of the pages is this obvious mark of literaiy juvenility : 
 " Please to tukx oveh."
 
 SIE H. DAVY GIVES PRINCIPLES TO AGEICULTURE. 119 
 
 understood for the explanation of the principles of agriculture ;" 
 but his system made no mention of the most material part of 
 agricultural chemistry, the conversion of inorganic bodies into gases, 
 and the assimilation of gases hy organic structures. The words in 
 which Sir Humphry Davy announced the new philosophy were 
 these — " Vegetables derive their component principles, which are 
 for the most part hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen, either 
 from the atmosphere by which they are surrounded, or from the 
 soil in which they grow. The process of vegetation appears to 
 depend upon the perpetual assimilation of various substances to 
 the organs of the plant, in conseipence of the exertion of their 
 living powers and of their chemical affinities." He then proceeded 
 to show that the air consists of nitrogen, oxygen, carbonic acid 
 gas, and extraneous vapoui's ; that plants cannot live without air ; 
 and that light stimulates plants to feed upon air, just as hunger 
 prompts us to take food. That almost all soils contain certain 
 portions of decomposing vegetable matter, which, when acted upon 
 by water and the oxygen of the atmosphere, produce compounds 
 capable of being absorbed by the organs of plants. That soils 
 contain mineral elements which, though not in themselves nutritious, 
 by acting chemically upon other constituents, adapt them to become 
 the food of plants. That as different vegetables are nourished by 
 different food, and as they require to be supplied with food in various 
 manners, so they vegetate to the greatest advantage in various 
 soils. That water is absorbed by plants in great quantities from 
 the atmosphere in which they grow, and that hydrogen, which forms 
 so large a proportion of the solid structures of plants, is obtained in 
 a great measure from the decomposition of water. That animal and 
 vegetable manures contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, upon which 
 plants live ; and that mineral manures, by a chemical agency, render 
 the common food of plants more nutritive, and also stimulate the 
 vegetable organs to act with greater energy upon the food. That 
 in cultivating lands it is necessary to study with accuracy the 
 nature of the different soils ; to discover by experiments what 
 vegetable substances they are best calculated to support ; and to 
 determine how far their nature may be modified by successions of 
 crops of different vegetables, or improved by fallowing, liming, and 
 other processes. 
 
 But this knowledge came not all at once ; nor was its elaboration
 
 120 PAST AND PRESENT THEORIES. 
 
 a matter of ease to its first propounders. Tbe " Pliilosoplaical Trans- 
 actions" of the Eoyal Society had long thrown considerable light 
 upon the anatomy of plants ; but it had not been ascertained 
 what their wonderful organisms of cells, spirals, fibres, ducts, and 
 tissues were for. Carbonic acid gas was discovered by Dr. Black, 
 in 1752 ; Dr. Rutherford had, in 1772, called attention to nitrogen, 
 and Priestley had experimented upon it ; in 1774 Priestley discovered 
 oxygen, and succeeded in obtaining it from the leaves of plants ; 
 the properties of Air and "Water had not long been known when 
 Sir Humphry Davy appeared before the Board, clad in the glory 
 of a new triumph. The prior discoveries of vegetable anatomy and 
 physiology at once dovetailed with the new organic chemistry : 
 the parts of plants which had been view^ed with wonder through 
 the microscope, were their organs — their mouths, stomachs, veins, etc.; 
 their food was derived from air, water, manure, soil ; not by the mere 
 act of sucking up or drawing in, but by operations of beautiful and 
 wonderful delicacy, transmuting air, water, and earth, into new forms, 
 taking from each only such elements as contributed to the wants of 
 vegetable life. Thus a plant became recognized as a living thing, 
 operating physiologically and chemically upon substances around it ; 
 and it was obvious that the easiest way to produce a perfect plant 
 was to study the laws of its existence, and supply whatever those 
 laws were found to require. Within the embraces of the new science 
 came not only tall trees, beautiful flowers, and prolific vegetables, but 
 every blade of grass assisting to clothe the earth ! 
 
 How miserable the old notions of " generative salt," " spirit of 
 mercury," and the " dust-feeding" theory of Tull, appear before the 
 grandeur of the new science, which brought with it not only great 
 attractiveness, but its own confirmation by positive evidence ; for 
 analytical chemistry now separated from air, water, and soils, the 
 elements upon which plants lived ; and from the substances of plants 
 in corroboration, obtained the elements which they had consumed! 
 
 Prior to these discoveries, Helmont, ambitious to find out whence 
 plants derived their sustenance, planted a willow of five pounds' weight, 
 in two hundred weight of dried earth, which he watered with rain or 
 distilled water, and, to keep any other earth from getting in, he covered 
 it with a perforated tin cover. Pive years after, weighing the tree, 
 with all the leaves it had borne in that time, he foimd it to amount to 
 one hundred and sixty-nine pounds three ounces ; but the earth had
 
 IMPROVEMENTS OF LITE STOCK, 121 
 
 only diminished about two ounces ! Then men began to wrangle as to 
 what had fed the tree. Some insisted upon it that it was air, others 
 water, and others earth ! The truth which we now know was then 
 concealed. 
 
 There was such a vast stride from the old state of theory to the 
 new, that it was long before Agricultural Chemistry took a material 
 hold of the public mind. The recent treatises of Liebig have greatly 
 contributed to advance the science ; but the day has yet to come when 
 the full effect of this great discovery shall be seen upon the broad 
 acres of British soil. 
 
 We have now to record the progress of another material brancli 
 of agriculture, the selection and management of Live Stock. Before 
 the introduction of artificial grasses and root crops, the farmer had but 
 slight control over the development of good carcases. Bad seasons 
 and the scarcity of winter food were impediments that discouraged 
 every efibrt ; therefore the choice of breeds and the obtaining of 
 good crosses were matters little thought of. With a plentiful supply 
 of food, however, arose the necessity of converting that food into 
 flesh in the best and most speedy manner. Societies that had 
 encouraged the gro\\i;h of grasses, turnips, carrots, and parsnips, 
 soon found it advisable to stimulate the keeping and improvement of 
 stock. The London Society of Arts offered premiums with this 
 view ; so did the Bath and the Dublin Societies ; but those premiums 
 were generally for the encouragement of those " who shall during 
 the space of one year keep the greatest weight of horned cattle," 
 rather than for the production of fine animals, or the establishment of 
 new breeds. At length the tide of improvement set in. Live stock 
 was found to thrive upon the abundance of food, and enterprising 
 farmers rivalled each other in the production of the largest beasts. 
 Size and fat were the two things sought. The system of grazing 
 lacked principles, as general agriculture had done ; and little was 
 achieved in the way of improvement, except the production of 
 monstrosities, which were wheeled about in vans, and exhibited to 
 wondering yokels at sixpence a-head. 
 
 Mr. Robert Bakewell, of Dishley, Leicestershire, stands prominent 
 as the most successful improver of stock. A man of singular sagacity 
 and acute observation, he succeeded in establishing a system of animal 
 development, which the highest men in Europe were glad to take from 
 a plain British yeoman. In his estimation, size was almost the last
 
 122 
 
 nOBERT BAKEWELL. 
 
 consideration. The leading idea whieli governed bim was, to procure 
 that breed which from a given amount of food woukl yield the largest 
 quantity of profitable meat — that in which the proportion of the best 
 meat to the amount of offal was greatest, and in which the best joints 
 were unusually large. These characteristics, with smallness of bone 
 
 PEIZE ox, CHEISTMAS, 1800.' 
 
 and tendency to early ripeness, were the qualities which he succeeded 
 in establishing. And these qualities he obtained by picking out 
 animals Avith the best points, and breeding " in-and-in," until he 
 produced a marked variety. He travelled in search of stock all over 
 England, Ireland, and Holland. In 1787, his fame brought him 
 reward for these labours, for in that year he let three of his celebrated 
 Leicester rams for £1250, and was offered £1050 for twenty ewes. It 
 was under Bakewell's teaching that the "points of a beast," as now the 
 guage of judgment, became settled. On his plan, the points to attend to 
 in a beast are those where the valuable joints lie, the rump, the hip, the 
 back, the ribs, and after these the flank — that is to say, the backward 
 upper quarter; but the belly, shoulder, neck, legs, and head should be light. 
 It costs the farmer as much to make horns, bone, and offal, as it does 
 to make beef; but it is only the beef which is profitable to him. " The 
 
 * From a plate in the " Commercial and Agricultural Magazine," Dec. 1800.
 
 EITALRY OF BIIEET)EKS» 
 
 123 
 
 old notion was," says Mr. Arthur Young,* " that where you had large 
 bones there was plenty of room to lay the flesh on. This Mr. Bakewell 
 has proved to be a mistake. He asserts, the smaller the bones the 
 
 l^^l 
 
 truer will be the make of the beast — the quicker she will fatten — and 
 lier Aveight will have a larger pi'oportion of valuable meat." Bakewell's 
 theory was true beyond his knowledge. Hunter, Clive, and others 
 have shoAvn that the formation of a large bony system is the result of 
 defective nutrition. 
 
 The rivalrv of agriculturists in their endeavours to establish 
 
 PRIZE DEVON ox, CHKISTMAS, 185G. 
 
 favourite breeds frequently ran very high. That between Chaplin, of 
 Lincolnshire, and Bakewell is an instance. The one was champion of 
 the Lincolnshire, the other of the Leicester, sheep. Challenges to 
 
 * Youns's " Tom' in the East of England : Visit to Disliley," 1771.
 
 124 
 
 tut: smithfield cattle club. 
 
 show against each other were of frequent occurrence ; and upon one 
 occasion, Bakewell was caught in Chaplin's folds examining his flocks, 
 an offence of such serious magnitude in Chaplin's eyes, that it led to a 
 great deal of recrimination in print. 
 
 This state of things prompted the formation of the Smithfield Club, 
 in 1798, the president being the late Duke of Bedford, having for its 
 object the encouragement of breeders, and the improvement of breeds by 
 an annual show and competition for prizes. The first show was held at 
 Wootton's livery stables. Dolphin Yard, Smithfield. The three days' 
 admission money amounted to £40 3^. In 1807 there were no ex- 
 hibitors for the long-horn, short-horn, and Sussex prizes. The prize 
 in the class for Devons was not adjudged, for want of sufficient 
 merit, and there were no exhibitors for the cow prize. In 1817 the 
 
 OLD JEESEY COW, FROM 1800 TO 1830.* 
 
 Duke of Bedford (successor of the previous illustrious president) 
 suggested that the ends for which tlie Club had been established had 
 been sufficiently answered, but yielded to the opinion expressed in a 
 resolution of the Clvdj, that the " improvements in live stock are yet in 
 successful progress as to the essential points of disposition to fatten, 
 early maturity, and consequent cheapness of production." In 1821 the 
 Duke of Bedford withdrew from the presidency, reverting to his former 
 opinion that the ends for which the Club had been established had been 
 amply realized. In the year of the Duke's retirement there were 
 
 * " Journal of Royal Agricidtui-al Societj."
 
 ITATUEALIZATIOIf OF THE ALPACA. 
 
 125 
 
 fourteen classes for competition ; the prizes amonnted to £245, and silver 
 medals ; and the amount paid to the Club by the projjrietors of the 
 around where the exhibition took place, was about £60. In 1857 
 there were twenty competitive classes, £1050 and fifty-five medals 
 given as prizes, and the amomit paid to the Club, being the proportion 
 upon the increase of admission money, was £700 ! 
 
 The engravings which we give of the Prize Ox of 1800, and the 
 Prize Devon Ox of 1856 ; of the old Jersey Cow of 1800, and 
 "Beauty," the Prize Cow of 1843; and of the old English Sow, and 
 the modern cross-bred Sow, will sufficiently^ evidence the changes and 
 improvements which have taken place in this important branch of 
 agriculture ; to say nothing of the substitution for the coarse long- 
 horned Norfolk Sheep, of the improved Leicesters and Southdowns. 
 
 " BEATJTT," PRIZE COW OF 1843.* 
 
 "We may here mention, as a subject of interest to the agriculturist 
 and the manufacturer, the endeavours which are being made to natu- 
 ralize the Alpaca. It is presumed by natural historians that sheep were 
 not indigenous to this country, though known here at a very early 
 period. Discussions have arisen as to whether the parent stock came 
 from the musmon of the mountains of the Mediterranean islands, or 
 the wild Asiatic sheep tenanting the mountains of Central Asia, the 
 Eocky Mountain sheep of the North American mountains, or the 
 bearded sheep of Africa. An attempt is now being made to introduce 
 
 * "Journal of Royal Agricultural Society."
 
 12G MR. gee's flock of llamas. 
 
 the Peruvian alpaca, and thus establish, either in our inland or some of 
 her colonies, a new blood and stock to eni-ich our already valuable wool- 
 produce. The superiority of alpaca avooI is a matter too well under- 
 stood to require an explanation ; but the rapid increase of the importa- 
 tion of Peruvian wool may be unknown to many. The importations of 
 wool, principally alpaca, from Peru into Liverpool have thus steadily 
 increased:— In 1S35, 8000 bales; 1836, 12,800; 1837, 17,500; 1838, 
 25,765; 1839, 31,513; 1840, 31,221 — a fourfold increase in six 
 years. 
 
 The Peruvian Grovernment, naturally anxious for the interests of 
 their country, issued a decree in 1815, prohibiting the exportation of 
 alpacas, and condemning in heavy penalties any persons found con- 
 travening the law. The Bolivian Government did the same thing, and 
 hence the only territories of which the alpaca is native were closed 
 ao-ainst every enterprise of this description. Nevertheless, there have 
 not been wanting men of spirit to endeavour to leap the fence of 
 monopoly, and secure for the British empire the benefits of a new and 
 valuable breed of animals. Some time ago we heard that Mr. C. 
 Ledger, by dint of indomitable energy, intimate knowledge of the 
 habits of the alpaca, and the roads of the country, and by judicious 
 manao-ement of the Indians, had succeeded in getting 300 alpacas 
 fairly en route for New South Wales. And very recently Mr. Ben- 
 jamin Whitehead Gree, of Acton, succeeded in bringing to England a 
 flock of about thirty llama alpacas, which had been smuggled from 
 Peru to the United States. A¥hen we saw the flock, in a meadow at 
 Steyne Mills, near Acton, they were in excellent condition, and there 
 was among them a lamb a few days old. Llamas and alpacas are varie- 
 ties of the same stock, of which the true alpaca is the most valuable. 
 The flock brought over by Mr. Gee are a cross between the llama and 
 alpaca, and it is anticipated that by procuring tAvo or three bucks of the 
 pure alpaca breed, the alpaca may be thoroughly established. The 
 alpaca would be found a suitable and economical stock, not only on 
 mountain farms in Scotland and Ireland, but also on the Welsh hills, 
 where the old breeds of sheep and goats gradually disappear. The 
 alpaca is said to be not liable to many of the disorders incidental to 
 common sheep, neither is its off'spring exposed to the various accidents 
 which befal the lamb. To the alpacas the snow-storm is disarmed of 
 all its terrors ; and as the stranger, when naturalized among us, would 
 feed upon herbage left behind by cattle and sheep which had gone over
 
 THE ROTAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 127 
 
 the ground before him, he woukl not materially interfere -with the pas- 
 turage of our present herds and flocks, nor diminish the food resei'ved 
 for them. The income which the farmer would derive from this new 
 breeding stock may be readily calculated, when it is taken into account 
 that the Southdown fleece seldom weighs more than two j)Ounds 
 whereas the alpaca yields from six to eight, and his wool always com- 
 mands a higher price, besides keeping for seven years, should the 
 markets be low.* Its flesh is considered equal to venison, and would, 
 with its wool, doubtless improve. Its skin, when prepared, might be 
 appropriated to various uses, such as the making of accoutrements, 
 traces, straps, and also for bookbinding.f 
 
 Prom the Smithfield Club sprung the Royal Agricultural Society 
 of England, which, since the year 1839, has exercised such a high 
 influence upon agricultural improvement. The benefits resulting from 
 the Club within the field of its limited operations, suggested that among 
 its promoters were men who might give life and influence to a great 
 National Society ; and, consequently, the subject was mooted at the 
 auuual dinner of the Smithfield Club, held at the Freemasons' 
 Tavern, on the 11th of December, 1837, when the Earl Spencer, 
 after a previous conference with some of the members, said to the 
 company, " If a Society were established for agricultural purposes 
 exclusively I hesitate not to assert that it would be productive of the 
 
 * Walton, " On the Naturalization of the Alpaca." 
 
 t There have been several llamas and alpacas introduced at various times. 
 In 1841 there were in England :— at the Earl of Derby's, Knowsley Hall, 
 Lancashire, 16 ; at the Marquis of Breadalbane's, 6 ; Duke of Montrose's, 3 ; 
 Earl Fitzwilham's, 1 ; Zoological Gardens, Dublin, 6 ; Zoological Gardens, Regent's 
 Park, 2 ; J. J. Hegan's, Esq., Harrow Hall, Cheshire, 7 ; Charles Tayleiu'e's, Esq., 
 Parkfield, near Liverpool, 5 ; John Edwards', Esq., Pye Nest, Hahfax, 6 ; Mr. 
 Stephenson's, Olan, 6 ; Wm. Bennett's, Esq., Farringdon, 12 ; Surrey Zoological 
 Gardens, 1 ; Zoological Gardens, Liverpool, 3 ; travelling caravans, 4 ; total, 
 79. Of Mr. Gee's flock, Lloyd, Beilby, and Co., of the Eoyal Exchange, 
 bought eight females and two males, which have been sent to Sydney. A com- 
 mittee, consisting of William Westgrath, Esq., Edward Wilson, Esq., and J. F. 
 Sargood, Esq., 4, Princes Street, Mansion House, purchased eight bucks and fifteen 
 does, to present to the colony of Victoria. Mr. Patterson, of the linn of Patterson 
 and Cockran, of Glasgow, purchased three ; and Miss Burdett Coutts bought three, 
 includhig a lamb about four days old. Mr. Gee thinks that the animals hitherto 
 introduced have been too much regarded as curiosities, or ornaments for gentlemen's 
 parks. They have been divided ; dii'ectly a lamb has been dropped it has been 
 made a present to some one of note. To do well, and to answer the true object 
 of then- uatui-ahzation, they should be kept in considerable flocks.
 
 128 
 
 GKOWTH OF THE ROYAL AGEICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 
 
 most essential benefits to the English farmer ;" to wliich the Duke of 
 Eichmond afterwards added that he felt it his duty to give his support 
 to his noble friend's exertions to establish such a Society.* !From that 
 
 OLD ENGLISH SOW-f 
 
 time the Eoyal Agricultural Society of England took its rise. At the 
 first meeting of the Society, held at Oxford in 1839, there were fifty-six 
 prizes awarded for cattle, and five prizes for improved implements. At 
 
 MODERN CEOSS-BEED SOW.;}: 
 
 the meeting lately held at Chester (July, 1858), there were ninety-two 
 prizes offered for live stock of all kinds, fifty-three prizes for poultry, 
 and fifty-five for implements. There were 1026 entries of live stock, 
 exclusive of poultry ; and the Official Catalogiie of Implements occupied 
 nearly 350 pages of closely -printed matter ! 
 
 * Gibbs's " History of the Smithfield Club." 
 
 t Low's " Domesticated Animals." 
 
 J Ibid. Obtained by a cross between a native boar, and a sow of tlie Siamese
 
 WHAT HAS BEEN GAINED ? 129 
 
 In recounting what lias been gained by Agricultural Progress, it 
 will be unnecessary to enter into details of the Systems of cultivation 
 now pursued. We need only point out the Eesults arising from 
 those improvements which have been indicated in the course of the 
 previous history. Those results are of two kinds : — 
 
 I. Benefit of the Nation. 
 
 II. Pbosperitt of the Agriculttjeal Interest. 
 
 I. The Benefit to the Nation consists in the greatest of all natural 
 blessings, a plentiful and settled supply of food, chiefly the growth of 
 our own soil. Since the time when Malthus enunciated the shameful 
 doctrine that famine, pestilence, and war were checks designed by 
 Grod to decimate the people of his own creation, the population of 
 Grreat Britain has doubled itself.* In 1801, there were, on an average, 
 in England and Wales, /bt^r acres of land to every person, and twenty- 
 three acres to every inhabited house ; in 1851, there were, on an 
 average, two acres of land to every person, and eleven acres to every 
 inhabited house. Yet the people are now better fed, and the blessings 
 of a variety of good and cheap food are more widely diffused than at 
 any former period of our country's history. Thus we see that, in half 
 a century, two people have to be siistained where only one existed 
 before, in England and A¥ales ; and the increase for the whole area of 
 Great Britain is less than this only by some 10 per cent. With the 
 increase of people, a bountiful Creator, using the hands of Science 
 and Industry, has sent Food — not Famine ! At the time when 
 Malthus, sitting in his gloomy study, summoned around him the 
 Grenii of Small-pox, Plague, Famine, and War, and commvmed with 
 them as the angels of a stern Providence, whose law they declared to 
 be, that population must always be kept down to the level of the means 
 of subsistence. Sir Humphry Davy looked from the window of his labo- 
 ratory upon the face of a smiling country, and, taking a nobler view of 
 the attributes of the Deity, declared that, by the scientific cultivation of 
 the land, the means of subsistence might be increased according to the 
 demands of the population. This was the doctrine of Sir Humphry 
 Davy and scientific agriculture, as against that of Dr. Malthus and 
 the laws of extermination. The most elaborate and avithentic docu- 
 ment ever prepared upon the internal state of the resources of any 
 
 * The population of Great Britain and of the islands in the British Seas, 
 amounted to 10,917,433, in March, 1801 ; and to 21,121,967 in Marcli, 1851.
 
 130 IKCEEASE OF PRODUCE, 
 
 country — tlie Census of G-reat Britain, 1851 — shows that, notwith- 
 standing the enormous increase of population, the quantity of produce, 
 either consisting of, or exchangeable for, the conveniences, elegancies, 
 and necessaries of life, has, in the mass, largely increased, and is 
 increasing at a more rapid rate tlian the population. 
 
 Porter, in his " Progress of the Nation," shows that in wheat 
 alone the increased produce, in forty-nine years, has heen equal to the 
 support of an additional population of five and a-half millions. And 
 when we take into account the increased and improved produce of the 
 field in peas, beans, carrots, turnips, beet, potatoes, and other vege- 
 tables, and the increased and constant supply of butcher's meat 
 through the growtii of fodder for cattle, we become sensible of the 
 great profit resulting to our country through Agricultural Progress. 
 "Within the memory of many persons now living, the safety and yield 
 of each harvest were matters of terrible anxiety to the nation, and 
 the lives of many thousands of people were saved or lost in pro- 
 portion to the scarcity or plenty that prevailed. Our anxieties now 
 simply rest upon the prices of the market, and the efiect of com- 
 parative scarcity iipon labour and commerce ; but we never think of 
 famine. This is because there is not only a wider and a better 
 cultivation of the soil in respect of grain, but nutritive vegetables of 
 so many kinds are introduced, that the season which proves ungenial 
 to one stimulates the growth of another of a different habit ; and hence 
 the very causes of the frequent famines of the olden times have now 
 a tendency to correct their own consequences. 
 
 The nation is benefited by the great examples of what has been 
 accomplished, and encouraged to have faith in the improvements that 
 yet may come. The history of Holkham will present itself to the 
 public mind so long as there remains an uncultivated tract of land in 
 the kingdom. When, in 1776, Mr. Coke succeeded to the estates of 
 the Leicester family, he found one part of it a blowing sand, another a 
 sharp flinty gravel, and no part of the soil of Holkham so good as 
 Hounslow Heath. On these strata, aided by the skill, capital, and 
 enterprise of the founder of its agriculture, the blowing sand and the 
 flinty gravel became a fertile estate, the pride of the agricultural 
 world. ■. "When Dr. Eigby visited Holkham, in 1816, he was astonished 
 at the exuberance of the crops, the richness of the soil, and its unex- 
 ampled freedom from weeds. The crops that attracted his notice were 
 extensive ones of wheat and barley ; he had never seen such crops
 
 THE EXAMPLE OF HOLKHAM. 131 
 
 before. Mr. Coke (afterwards Earl of Leicester) estimated the wheat 
 from ten to twelve coombs per acre, and said that nearly twenty- 
 coombs per acre of barley had been grown npon it, which was at least 
 double the average crop in the county of Norfolk, and nearly treble 
 that of many of the counties in the kingdom ; and yet so sterile was 
 this part of the estate considered, when he came into possession of it, 
 that a large tract of it had been let, tithe free, on a long lease, at 
 three shillings per acre ; and Mr. Coke offered another lease of 
 twenty-one years at five shillings per acre, but the tenant had not 
 the courage to take it. At that time wheat was not cultivated 
 in the district ; in the whole tract, between Holkham and Lynn, 
 not an ear was to be seen, nor was it believed that one would grow. 
 And very properly did Dr. Eigby remark, that " if Holkham could 
 be brought from what it was to loliat it is, then might the whole 
 of the United Kingdom, except where elevation of land prevents the 
 ripening of corn, be brought to the same state of cultivation." 
 
 II. Prosperity to Agricultural Interests arises from the fact, that 
 agriculture has discovered within itself expansive power and wealth, 
 which it was never supposed to possess. The farmer has passed 
 from the time of ignorance and sloth, Avhen " the eie pittied to 
 see the great weakness and decay of our ancient and common 
 mother the earth, which is grown so aged and stricken in yeares, 
 and so wounded at the hart with the ploughman's goad, that 
 she beginneth to faint under the husbandman's hand," to a time 
 when the restoration of the soil has so far advanced, that it is found 
 necessary, in some instances, to redvice its richness by taking two 
 white crops in succession. 
 
 The farmer now has the means of acquiring information upon 
 every subject affecting his interests. The difficulties which hitherto 
 lay in the way of improvement were pointed out by Mr. Gladstone, 
 at the Chester meeting of the Eoyal Agricultui'al Society. " If 
 we look," said he, " to the case of manufactures, it is their nature 
 to collect themselves in enormous masses around great centres of 
 industry. If we look to commerce, incessant communication between 
 every part of the commercial system of the country is the very 
 vital air it breathes, and it is naturally inseparable from commercial 
 development. But with agriculture the case is different ; for, on 
 the contrary, its nature is- to be gathered around local centres.
 
 132 ABUNDANCE OF MATEEIALS. 
 
 which, vinder ordinary circumstances, have little or no communication 
 with one another. It is, in comparison, an isolated art, and therefore 
 it might follow, under general circumstances, that agriculture was 
 languishing in various quarters of the country, simply from the 
 want of knowledge of the progress achieved in other portions of 
 the land." Then he spoke of the excellent influences of the Eoyal 
 Agricultural Society bringing together the men and the minds of all 
 parts of the kingdom — the stock of Devonshire, the horses of Suftblk — 
 the various products of England. By such means the agriculture 
 of England is rapidly attaining to the position to have but one 
 heart and one mind — one common pulse that causes the circulation 
 of the vital fluid throughout the whole system — one common stock, 
 into which everything that skill, industry, intelligence, and capital 
 has achieved in every part of the country, is made the common 
 property of the other portions of the kingdom. If the farmer is 
 unable to select macliinery, the award of judges is ready to guide 
 him ; if he cannot analyze soils, the chemist is ready to assist him ; 
 if he wishes to see the cultivation of any part of the kingdom, 
 railways are ready to convey him ; and if a new crop, or a new 
 breed is anywhere introduced, the newspaper at once places him in 
 possession of the facts. 
 
 The enterprising farmer can now obtain an unlimited sujjply of 
 material to carry out his imj)rovements. Agricultural chemistry 
 has discovered, in a variety of substances, those elements of nutrition 
 which are essential to plants, and can point out with certainty the 
 description of soils for which those substances are adapted. The 
 discovery of the use of bones as manure was a matter of accident 
 in the neighbourhood of a dog-kennel in Yorkshire, and Mr. Nelson, 
 one of the late Lord Yarborough's teuants, made it his boast that 
 he had realized £80,000 out of his farm by employing bones as 
 manure before other people knew how to use them. Within the last 
 five-and-twenty years the application of this manu.re to light soils 
 has become very general, and the result has been to raise the value 
 of such lands very materially. Bones are now brought from foreign 
 countries, and even battle-fields have been cleared of the remains 
 of the dead to help to give sustenance to the Living. Though the 
 time has not arrived when the " sword shall be beaten into a 
 ploughshare," the wreck of battles has been gathered up to yield 
 support to those who, it may be hoped, will prove wiser and better 
 generations. The numerous herds of cattle that roam in a state of
 
 STEAM-POWER AVAILABLE. 133 
 
 nature over the plains of South America used formerly to be 
 slaughtered for the sake of their hides, tallow, and horns, which 
 were brought to Europe. Their bones were left to whiten on the 
 plains, but these are now carefully collected together, and ships are 
 regularly despatched to be loaded with them for the use of 
 agriculturists. A new treasure was also found in the deposits of birds 
 on certain islands in the Pacific and off the coast of Africa, and with 
 this exuvia of the winged creatiu-es of by-gone ages the soil of our 
 British island is enriched. Agricultural chemistry makes known at 
 once that which previously required years of experiment, and which 
 frequently failed to produce any good result for the want of accurate 
 observation. In fact, the new science— for such it still is — teaches 
 us that in the debris of the world's life and death of ages there 
 are treasures stored up for the use of coming generations, and that 
 the vegetable kingdom is the great sanitary machine, distilling from 
 the filth and refuse of towns and cities those nourishing substances, 
 rich colours, and sweet perfumes, which give life to animals and 
 impart beauty and joy to the world. 
 
 Another great power is now waiting the command of agriculture. 
 Steam cultivators, ploughs, thrashing and reaping machines, and 
 other useful inventions, are now in that probationary state which 
 usually precedes adoption. That steam has already done for agricul- 
 ture more than agricultiu-ists themselves are aware, may soon be 
 demonstrated. The writer of the excellent article in the " Quarterly 
 Review," to which we have frequently referred, places the matter in 
 the following light ; — 
 
 " For several years past, all the railway companies have agreed to convey Hve 
 stock free, and implements at half their usual charges, to and from the shows 
 of the Royal Agriculttiral Society, the railway company, at the town where the shows 
 are held, generally providing accommodation for the mechanical comj^artment. 
 This at Chelmsford cost the Eastern Coimties upwards of £3000. Railway fares 
 and speed covild alone bring the number of sliilling-paying strangers who contri- 
 bute to the enormous expense of these exhibitions. The population of the city of 
 Sahsbury, iacluding men, women, and children, only amounts to 10,000; but the 
 visitors to the show-yard, in 1857, were over 35,000. Tliis is of itself a striking 
 proof of the wide and eager practical interest wliich is felt in agricvdture, for 
 there is httle to gratify the eye of mere hohday gazers ; and when ui addition 
 we consider the mountains of coal, iron, timber, artificial manure, lime, and 
 chalk, conveyed in the one direction, and the quantity of hve stock and corn in 
 the other, we cannot help coming to the conclusion that George Stephenson's 
 locomotive has been the great cultivator of the farmer's mind and the farmer's 
 land — the great agent for the extraordinary advance which British agricidture has 
 achieved in the last quarter of a century."
 
 13i ME. MECHI'S CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 Such, then, are the features of Agricultural Progress, of which 
 those only can estimate the full value who Avill look back and care- 
 fully contemplate the Past, and estimate in all their force the troubles 
 through which Agriculture has struggled. That we have not yet 
 reached the zenith of our agricultural glory is clear ; every one 
 may see, in the scientific discoveries and mechanical inventions 
 of late years, the dawning of an era of greater improvements, 
 of which we can now form no adequate conception. We are happy 
 to be able to introduce, in the closing pages of this history, the con- 
 clusions to which Mr. Alderman Mechi has arrived, after years of 
 experience, at Tiptree Hall. Mr. Mechi was kind enough to furnish 
 these " conclusions," at the Author's request, and we are glad to 
 perceive that he still looks far beyond present achievements, and 
 has a perfect faith iu the further " Progress of Agriculture." 
 
 "me. MECHl'S CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 " 1. That my farming has paid me a handsome profit for several years. 
 
 " 2. Tliat my land is increasing in fertility. 
 
 "3. That my neighbom-s woidd be in a much better position than they now 
 are, had they to pay, as I do, an interest or £30 per acre, expended in improve. 
 ments. 
 
 " 4. That there are miHions of acres m tliis kingdom imperfectly cidtivated, and 
 on which might be expended, with advantage to landlord and tenant, at least 
 £25 per acre, on drainage, squaring, levelling, sub-soLling, chalkmg, claying, manur- 
 ing, clay-burning, krigating, improved buildirigs and roads, steam-machinery and 
 improved implements. 
 
 " 5. That an enormous economy and advantage would result from such im- 
 provements by saving in seed, for it would become an imperative necessity to 
 diminish the quantity sown in proportion to the increasing fertility of the soil. 
 
 " 6. That the practice of sowing or drilling from three to six bushels of oats 
 per acre, two to three bushels of wheat per acre, and other things in proportion, 
 is ruinously injurious by largely duninishing the growing crop. 
 
 " 7. That the false economy of neglecting to hoe and weed every crop, so as to 
 prevent the growth and seeding of weeds, tends largely to dimmish the crops 
 and lessen the farmer's profit. 
 
 " 8. That whilst our agricidture has much unproved, and is in advance of many 
 nations, it is sadly in arrear when tested by a high standard of perfection. 
 
 " 9. That the use of steam-power, on farms, is by no means sufficiently 
 general. 
 
 " 10. That town sewage, and general irrigation, shoidd become the means of 
 agricultural increase and profit. 
 
 " 11. That there is a great deficiency in the manurial powers of agriculture 
 arising from waste and miscalculation ; that by making much more meat per acre, 
 the resulting manm-e would be proportionately increased and the crops enlarged. 
 
 " 12. That county agricultural colleges for farmers' sons, and schools and reading- 
 rooms for our labourers, would enlighten and enlarge the agricullui-al mind, with 
 a profitable result."
 
 SIJEYET OF SCOTLAIfD. 135 
 
 In the year 1844-5, a new statistical Survey of Scotland was made 
 by the clergy of the Scottish Chvxrch. An interval of forty years had 
 passed since a former statistical account -was furnished by the clerical 
 body, at the request of Sir John Sinclair, the great promoter of the 
 Board of Agriculture. In this elaborate Survey the agricultural 
 improvements of every parish were pointed oiit. The general character 
 of those improvements may be gathered from the account of the parish 
 oflnveresk. "An improved system of husbandry prevails. Some of 
 the farms are of large extent, under the management of skilful tenants. 
 Tile-draining has recently been practised to a considerable extent, and 
 with complete success. By this important improvement, by a skilful 
 application of manures, and by a judicious selection of the best seeds, as 
 well as by the practice of drilling grain crops, the produce of the land 
 has been greatly increased. Tu.ruip husbandry is successfully practised ; 
 the Swedish variety appears to thrive particularly well. In a good 
 many instances, the crop is eaten off the land by sheep, a system which 
 is found materially to improve light, sandy soils. The farm-houses and 
 steadings are of a substantial, improved, and superior description. On 
 one farm, a steam-engine has been erected for thrashing, and there are 
 upwards of a dozen steam-engines in the parish employed for various 
 purposes. Besides lime and dung, and compost of lime and earth, a 
 considerable quantity of rape-^cake and crushed bones has lately been 
 used as manure." In the preface to these Surveys, which occupy 
 fifteen thick volumes, the committee superintending the publication 
 remark, that they " do not hesitate to announce that they now 
 present, not merely a new statistical accouut, but, in a great measure, 
 the statistical account of a new country ^ 
 
 At the meeting of the Eoyal Agincultural Society of Ireland, 
 in August, 1858, the Lord-Lieutenant produced the following 
 statistics of the increase of agricultural wealth in that part of the 
 kingdom : — " Five millions have been granted by Parliament for 
 internal drainage, improvement of rivers, and other things of that 
 sort, and sixteen millions in the way of loan. It is only of late years 
 the results of those great efforts have begun to tell, but they have 
 begun to tell in a manner the most satisfactory. The first item is 
 the enormous increase of live stock in Ireland since 1852. In round 
 numbers there has been an increase of 85,000 horses, 570,000 cattle, 
 750,000 sheep, 330,000 pigs. Calculating them at the moderate price 
 of £8 for horses, £6 10*. for cattle, £1 2s. for sheep, and £1 5^. for
 
 133 COEEOBOEATIVE STATISTICS. 
 
 pigs, it makes the enormous increase in tlie value of property in 
 Ireland of live stock alone of £5,000,716. As regards the increase 
 of acreage that is now under cultivation, notwithstanding the enormous 
 increase of pasture, in 1852, in round numbers, the acreage under 
 ciiltivation was 5,739,000, and in 1857 it was 5,881,000, making an 
 increase of 49,700 acres." 
 
 The present annual value of the agricultural produce of the 
 TTnited Kingdom has been estimated at — wheat, £66,000,000 ; all 
 other grain, £51,000,000 ; hay, seeds, garden and green crops, 
 £30,000,000; cattle, £30,000,000; sheep and lambs, £15,000,000; 
 potatoes, £25,000,000 ; wool, £8,000,000 ; butter, £5,000,000 ; cheese, 
 £5,000,000 ; poultry, milk, eggs, fruit, and vegetables, £3,000,000 ; 
 horses, £3,000,000; pigs, £2,000,000; other animals, £1,000,000; hops, 
 £1,500,000; timber, £2,500,000; lands (uncultivated), £2,000,000. 
 Total, £250,000,000. Unfortunately there are no reliable statistics 
 upon which to ground a calculation ; yet there can be little doubt 
 that, since the introduction of drill husbandry, the total value of 
 agricultural produce in the United Kingdom has moee than 
 
 DOUBLED. 
 
 This, then, is the reward which has followed the laboui^s of those 
 who at various times, and under great obstacles, have sought to 
 increase the productiveness of the soil. Without this increase in 
 our internal resources, what would have been the condition of our 
 rapidly increasing population ? Then, indeed, famine and pestilence 
 would have been beneficent visitors, to assuage by death the terrors 
 of unsupported life. But Science and Industry have gone hand-iu- 
 hand, and millions of people now exist who otherwise would never 
 have lived to give a retrospective application to the sentiment, that 
 " Whoever has made two ears oe corx, or two blades of 
 
 GRASS, to grow "tJPOK A SPOT OE GROUND WHERE ONLY ONE GREW 
 BEEORE, DESERVES BETTER OF MANKIND, AND HAS DONE MOEE 
 ESSENTIAL SERYICE TO HIS COUNTRY, THAN THE WHOLE RACE OF 
 POLITICIANS PUT TOGETHER." 
 
 (End of the " Agricultural Section,")
 
 II.— ROADS, CAERIAGES, and AYATER-CONVEYANCES. 
 
 HE Eoads of a country 
 may be compared to 
 the Acins and arteries 
 of a living organism. 
 They communicate life 
 and vigour to the parts 
 to which they lead. 
 They constitute the se- 
 cond social necessity of 
 mankind : man needs 
 * first, land to dwell upon; 
 second, roads to move 
 upon, that he may turn 
 the land to account, and 
 bring to his dwelling 
 those things of neces- 
 sity which grow or exist 
 beyond his immediate 
 reach. In the embryo, just Iciudliug into life, the first symptom of 
 vitality is a slight motion, which is followed by the formation of one vessel, 
 or road, from the normal heart, then another, and so on, until number- 
 less communications exist between the elements of nutrition and the 
 centre of organization, and then the system gathers power, grows, 
 lives, and rejoices in a healthfid vitality. Set men down in an unin- 
 habited country, and, like the embryo, tlaey will at once throw out 
 arms of communication. Their feet will tread doAvn the first track- 
 ways, their hatchets will fell the trunks and limbs of trees whicli 
 obstruct their movements ; they will cast stones into miry places, and 
 across brooks, that they may find safe passage ; and when they ha^e 
 heavy burdens to carry, they will ease themselves by the employment 
 of some beast of labour, or drag their load along the beaten ground 
 
 L
 
 138 
 
 IXTEEEST OF THE SUBJECT. 
 
 upon a rude machine ; if a water-course runs in the direction of their 
 path they "will form a raft, and floating their burden thereon -will ease 
 the toils of their journey. Here Ave have the rudiments of the 
 Eoad, the Bridge, the Cart, the Barge, the Canal. 
 
 The history of Roads may at first seem to the reader to be a dry 
 and uninteresting subject. That is a misconception. Of the various 
 narratives of Progress few Avill be found to present such attractive 
 features, and none will exhibit a more rapid march from the time 
 when the importance of the subject was understood, or be proved 
 to have wrought greater changes for good upon the mental and 
 moral, as well as the material, interests of the British people. 
 
 Enough has already been said of the early Britons to show that 
 they knew little of the advantages or the modes of road-making. But 
 it is interesting to know that in A¥iltshire, Berkshire, and other 
 parts, there are still unmistakable traces of the track-ways and 
 ridge-waj^s of our British ancestors. 
 
 r:r-^'Ai>^^-^ 
 
 TT-^ 
 
 -#if 
 
 -^t -"ti "t^T 
 
 
 -'^^^^ 
 
 ANCIENT BlUTISH TRACK-WAT. 
 
 The one good thing which the Eomans did for Britain was to 
 construct those great roads which facilitated communication with 
 the principal parts of the island. The walls which tliey built as 
 lines of demarcation and defence have been thrown down ; but their 
 roads remain, or have disappeared before improvements of a kindred 
 nature. The very stones of their Avails and fortresses have been 
 broken into bits, and cast upon the highways to sustain the com- 
 munication and traffic of better times. 
 
 Of the four Eoman roads, or " streets," as tliey Avere called,
 
 TUE FOI'R ROMAX KOADS. 139 
 
 Leland says, " the Fosse appears to liave gone through Tottenesse 
 through Lincoln to Catlinesse ; WatUng-street from Dover to Chester ; 
 Erming-street from the Southernmost part of the island directly 
 jS'orth; and IcJcnild from East to "West." Here Avere four great 
 highways from sea to sea ; and it is remarkable that a part of one 
 of those early veins of communication runs into the very heart 
 of the metropolis, and is still known as Watling Street. Those 
 roads must have been vast undertakings in their time, and the 
 Britons, who complained that " the Eomans put their hands and bodies 
 to the drudgery of clearing woods and paving fens," never surmised 
 how largely they v.ere contributing to the future prosperity of the 
 country. 
 
 There is little known of what took place respecting roads and 
 conveyances during the fierce wars of the Saxons and the Danes 
 and the Conquest by the Is ormans. The probability is, that it was 
 not until several reigns after the Conquest, when comparative quiet 
 was restored, that attention was given to the improvement and 
 extension of the public ways. At that point, therefore, the real 
 historic interest of the subject begins. 
 
 Of the state of society at tliat time it is necessary something 
 should . be known, that the relation which the Avell-ordering of the 
 public ways bears to the condition of national morals and prosperity 
 may be fully comprehended. In the reign of Edward I., several Acts 
 Avere passed for the suppression of robberies, murders, burning of 
 houses, and other oiiences, which crimes were then Aery frequent, 
 and much on the increase. One of those Acts directed that, "for 
 the greater security of the people, walled towns shall keep their 
 gates shut from sun-set to sun-rising ; and none shall lodge all night 
 in their suburbs, without his host shall answer for him. And all 
 towns shall be kept, as in times past, with a watch all night at 
 ^ach gate, with a number of men, from Ascension Day to Michael- 
 mas." Xor Avere the roads and country places alone exposed to 
 the offences of desperate characters. A laAV was passed in the same 
 reign, Avhich, after reciting that murders, robberies, and riots Avere 
 committed in the city of London, not only in the night, but in the 
 open day, enjoined, " that none be found in the streets, either Avith 
 tfpear or buckler, after the curfew bell of tlie parson of St. Martin's- 
 le-G rand rings out, except tliey be great lords, and other persons
 
 140 THE FIEST EOAD-IMPROVEMENT ACTS, 
 
 of note ; also tliat no tayern, either for Aviiie or ale, be kept open 
 after that bell rings out, on forfeiture of forty pence." 
 
 In 1285, in the same reign, the first law relating to highways, 
 or roads leading from one market to another, was passed. But 
 this Act, so far from being designed for the promotion of public 
 intercourse and commerce, was principally intended for the prevention 
 of robberies. It directed " those ways to be enlarged where bushes, 
 w^oods, or dykes be, where men may lurk ; so that there be neither 
 dyke, tree, nor bush within two hundred feet on each side of those 
 roads, great trees excepted. If the lord of the soil neglect to do 
 as above, and robberies ensue, he shall be answerable for the felony, 
 etc. For the king's demesne lands and roads the like rule shall hold, 
 and no park shall be less than two hundred feet from the highways." 
 
 In the reign of Edward III. we find an account of a very early 
 toll, probably the first ever levied for the repair of public ways. In 
 the year 1346, Edward granted " his commission to the Master of the 
 Hospital of St. Griles's-in-the-Eields, Avithout the city of London, and 
 to John of Holborn, to lay a toll on all sorts of carriages, for two years 
 to come, passing through the highway leading from the said hospital, 
 to the Bar of the Old Temple of London. Also through another 
 certain highAvay, called Perpoole" (now Gray's Inn Lane), "joining 
 to the before-named highway." Which roads M'ere, " by tlie frequent 
 passage of carts, waggons, and horses, to and from London, become 
 so miry and deep as to be almost impassable ; as also the highwa}' 
 called Charing" — probably Avhat is now called St. Martin's Lane, 
 leading to Charing Cross, which was then the village of Charing. 
 
 Erom that time we meet with nothing relating to this subject 
 (except the paving of the suburbs of London, etc.) till Henry 
 YIII.'s reign, in which there were five statutes — two for altering or 
 removing certain kinds of roads in the "Weald of Kent, and in " the 
 deep ways of Sussex" — the old ways being described as "worn out ;" 
 a third for mending a lane near the city of Chester ; the fourth 
 for the repair of bridges, and of highways at the ends of bridges. The 
 Act 7 Henry YIII. Avas passed to encourage the repair of the 
 highways in Sussex, which were described as having " become so deep 
 and noyous by Avearing and course of Avater, and other occasions, that 
 people cannot have their passages and carriages by horses upon or 
 by the same Avay, but to their great pains, perils, and jeopardy." 
 This Act simply gave the right to any person to lay out a ucav Ava;/
 
 IXEFFICACT OF THE EAELT LAWS. 141 
 
 ou liis o^vu ground, aud offered him, as recompense, the ground of 
 the old way, to be added to his lands. The words of the Act were, 
 that " if any person or persons in any place within the said weld 
 of the said count}-, of his good mind and disposition, without any 
 value of good by him or by them to be received for the same, will, 
 for the common weal of the king's people assign and lay out a more 
 commodious way," etc., such person or persons " shall and may, for 
 the same new way, so assigned and used, receive and hold * * * 
 the soil and ground of the old way." 
 
 Another Act in the same reign, in consequence of frequent rob- 
 beries and murders committed in the counties of Gloucester and 
 Somerset, in the parts adjoining the Severn, directed that no boatman 
 or ferryman should convey any passengers between sunset and 
 sunrise, and that persons keeping ferries should give security that 
 they would not at an}' other times convey passengers, goods, and 
 chattels, except for such persons as were known to them. But 
 commerce beginning to increase considerably in the reign of Philip 
 and Mary, whereby the roads became much more frequented by heavy 
 carriages, an Act was passed in the year 1555, which recited, " that 
 the highways were then very noisome and tedious to travel in, and 
 ■dangerous to all persons and carriages ; wherefore be it now enacted, 
 that every parish shall annually elect two surveyors of the highways, 
 to see that the parishioners, according to their lands, abilities, farms, 
 etc., send their carts, horses, men, and tools, four days in every year 
 for mending the roads." It was afterwards complained tliat this 
 conscription of implements and labour was in many cases inoperative : 
 farmers and landholders sent their worst horses and carts, and their 
 laziest men ; the men, looking upon it that " everybody's Avork is 
 nobody's," lolled about upon the roadside for the four days ; and 
 those who did actually and honestly repair the roads employed their 
 labours exclusively upon the j^ortions which led to their own farms, 
 and thus the public ways benefited very little by the enactment. 
 Thei'e were five other Acts relating to roads in Mary's reign, nineteen 
 in Elizabeth's, and one in James the First's. After which there were 
 no others until the E-estoration. jS'otwithstanding these legislative 
 efforts to maintain in passable condition the highways of the country, 
 the increase of traffic was so great, that the roads suftered severely ; 
 and, in 1629, Charles II. issued a proclamation, commanding tliat " no 
 common carrier, or other person whatsoever, shall travel with any
 
 142 haerison's desceiptiok or eoads i^^ 15SG. 
 
 waiue, cart, or carriage, Avith more than tAvo AA'heels, nor Avitli above 
 the weight of twenty hundred, nor shall draAV any AA'aine, cart, or other 
 carriage with ahove five horses at once." In 16G3, the first Turnpike 
 Act, 15th Charles II., was passed, Avliicli set forth that, " The 
 ancient higliway and post-road leading from London to York, and 
 so into Scotland, and likewise from London into Lincolnshire, lieth 
 for many miles in the counties of Hertford, Cambridge, and Hunting- 
 don, in many places of the road, by reason of the great and many loads 
 which are Aveekly drawn in waggons through the said places, as well 
 by reason of the great trade of barley and malt tliat cometh to Ware, 
 and so is conveyed by vrater to the city of London, as other car- 
 riages, both from the north parts, as also from the city of Norwich, 
 Saint Edmund's-biu-y, and the town of Cambridge, to London, is very 
 ruinous, and lecome almost imjmssahle, insomuch that it is very 
 dangerous to all his Majesty's liege people that pass that way." 
 
 In the " Description of Eritaine," prefixed to " Holinshed's 
 Chronicles," by William Harrison, 1586, there is an account of 
 the state of the public highways, which is exceedingly interesting, 
 having been written by an actual observer : — 
 
 " To speake generallie of our common high waies through the English part of the ifle 
 (for of the rest I can saie nothing), you shall understand that in the claie or cledgie soile they 
 are often verie deepe and troublesome in the winter halfe. Wherefore by authoritie of 
 Parlement an order is taken for their yearlie amendment, whereby all sorts of the common 
 people doo imploie their travelle tor six dales in summer time upon the same. And albeit 
 that the intent ot the statute is verie profitable for the reparations of the decaied places, yet 
 the rich doo so canccU their portions, and the poore so loiter in their labours, that of all the 
 six scarcelie two good dales works are well performed and accomplished in a parish on these so 
 necefsary affaires. Besides this such as have land lieing upon the sides of the waies doo 
 utterlie neglect to dich and scowre their draines and water-courses, for better avoidance of 
 the winter waters (except it may be set off or cut from the meaning of the statute) whereby 
 the streets doo grow to be much more gulled than before, and thereby verie noisome for such 
 as travell by the same. Sometimes also, and that veiy often, these dales works are 
 not emploied upon those waies that lead from market to market, but each surveior 
 amendeth such by-plots and lanes as seeme best for his owne commoditie, and more casie 
 passage into his fields and pastures. And whereas in some places there is such want of 
 stones, as thereby tjie inhabitants are driven to seeke them farre off in other soiles : the 
 owners of the lands wherein those stones are to be had, and which hitherto have given 
 monie to have them born awaie, doo nov/ reape no small commoditie by raising the same 
 to excessive prices, whereby their neighbours are driven to grievous charges, which is another 
 cause wherefore the meaning of that good law is verie much defrauded. Finallie, this is 
 another thing likewise to be considered of, that the trees and bushes growing by the streets' 
 sides, doo not a little keep ofF the force of the sun in summer for drieing up of the lanes. 
 Wherefore if order were taken that their boughs should continuallie be kept short, and the 
 buslies not suffered to spread so far into the narrow paths, that inconvenience would also be
 
 TREQUEXCY OF BOBBERIES A>'D MrEDEBS. 143 
 
 remedied, and manie a slough prove hard ground that ye: is deepe and hollow. Of the 
 daily encroaching of the covetous upon the hie wales I speak not. But this I know by 
 experience, that whereas some Gtreets within these five and twenty yeares have been In most 
 places fiftie foot broad according to the law, whereby the traveller might either escape the 
 steepe, or shift the mire, or pafse the leaden cart without danger of himselfe and his horse ; 
 now they are brought into twelve, or twcntie, or tix and tvventie at the most, which is 
 another cause also why the wales be the Vi-orse, and many an honest man encumbered in 
 his journic." 
 
 Of tlie frequency of robberies and murders when the public Avays 
 ■R'ere in a neglected state, Ave ha^e further evidence in a paper of the 
 time of Cromwell, which states that " at the sessions and jail delivery 
 for JS'ewgate there were numerous notable highway robbers, too 
 numerous to jyarticuhirise. One man was pressed to death, becaiise 
 he refused to plead. Seven men and one woman were condemned to 
 be hanged ; twenty-four burnt in the hand," etc. 
 
 About the same time, there were frequent appeals to the Government 
 for the suppression of robberies. One writer suggested that " parties 
 of horse be stationed all along the avenues of the city of London, so 
 that if a coach or waggon wanted a convoy, two or three or more may 
 be detached by the commanding officer. Tliese shall be registered, 
 and answei^able for the charge, and for encouragement shall receive so 
 much per mile, or on the whole, convoy mone}'." For persons on foot 
 there were also to be armed attendants, who were to be requited 
 in a similar manner. Books were also published exposing the prac- 
 tices of robbers, giving travellers warning of certain places infested 
 by them, and explaining various manners and peculiarities by which 
 the best disguised thieves might be detected. So that travelling in 
 those days required strong nerve ; and the contemplation of the 
 beauties of nature Avere liable to be broken in xipon by impressions 
 of anything but a poetical descri2)tiou. 
 
 In the reign of "William and Mary, an Act was passed, the preamble 
 of which set forth, that notwithstanding the previous " divers good and 
 necessary laws," the highways were not " in many parts sufficiently 
 amended and repaired, but remain almost impassable ; all which is 
 occasioned, not only by reason of some ambiguities in the said laws, 
 but by want of a sufficient provision to compel the execution of the 
 same." This Act directed that the previous laws should be put in force, 
 and that penalties should be imposed upon the persons appointed to 
 carry them out, if they failed to do so. All cartways leading to 
 market-towns Avere to be made eight feet wide at the least, and as near
 
 141 EESTRICTIOXS UPON PL'BLIC CAERIEUS. 
 
 as may be even and level, and no causeway for horses was to be less 
 than three feet in breadth ; an assessment might be made for the 
 repair of the ways. The Act also set forth that as " divers Avaggoners 
 and other carriers, by combination among themselves, have raised the 
 prices of the carriage of goods in many places to excessive rates, to 
 the great iujnry of trade," the jvistices of the peace should have the 
 power of settling the rates to be charged for land carriage. 
 
 An Act of the same reign, consequent upon the expiration of the 
 powers imder the Act of Charles II., provided for the further enlarge- 
 ment of the highways of the kingdom, setting forth that the previous 
 improvements had been inadequate, and directed that when two or 
 more cross-ways met, posts should be put up with inscriptions thereon 
 in large letters, showing the name of the next market-town to which 
 each of the joining highways led. 
 
 In the reign of Aune, an Act was passed confirming a previous 
 enactment which compelled waggoners to use a pole or sliafts with 
 their wheel-horses, and prohibiting them from vising more than six 
 horses or oxen to one ^^aggon at a time, except up-hill ; enforcing the 
 penalties of the said Act, and authorizing the seizure of cattle employed 
 by offenders. The object of this law was to prevent the drawing ot 
 heavy loads, by which the soft roads then existing were cut into 
 deep ruts. 
 
 In the reign of G-eorge I., so much of the previous Act as 
 allowed Avaggoners to use six horses Avas repealed, andjive horses only 
 allowed, except for purposes of husbandry, or for his Majesty's 
 service ; the reason of the alteration being that the excessive weights 
 laid upon waggons or other carriages drawn by six horses, w^ere 
 found by experience to be so heavy that the roads Avere thereby 
 rendered almost impassable. Anotlier Act of the same reign set 
 forth that the roads Avithin ten miles of the cities of London and 
 "Westminster had greatly decayed, through the carriage of very heavy 
 loads of meal, malt, bricks, and coals. The Act provided that after 
 March 25, 1720, no waggons or carts should carry more tlian tAveh^e 
 sacks of meal, each sack coiitaining five bushels and no more ; no 
 more than twelve quarters of malt, nor more tlian seven hundred 
 and a-half of bricks, nor more than one chalder of coals. Persons 
 offending Avere to forfeit one of the horses employed to draw the 
 load. 
 
 About the year 1700, the Eev. jMr. Brome determined to see the
 
 ME. BEOME's " TIIEEE TEAES' TEAYELS." 145 
 
 kingdom, and for this purpose he undertook a series of journeys, in 
 which he progressed in a very slow and laboured manner. In 1707 
 he gave the public an accovmt of " Three Years' Travels in England, 
 Scotland, and Wales." Mr. Brome was the Eector of Cheriton, 
 in Kent. He may, therefore, be regarded as an intelligent man of 
 his time, and one who would not be likely to palm deceptions upon 
 his readers. He commenced his narrative by the significant 
 announcement, that he began his journey as soon as " the spring 
 had rendered the roads passahle.^^ The account of his travels is 
 chiefly coufined to the notice of antiquities, curiosities, and the castles 
 and seats of the nobility ; he frequently makes mention of " employ- 
 ing giiides" to conduct him, and gives descriptions of various natural 
 wonders that quite rival the romances of foreign travel. The 
 narrative is divided into a series of journeys, one of which ending at 
 Brentford, he wintered there, and Avaited again for the spring. After 
 which, he says, " we resolved to undertake once more a pilgrimage of 
 a greater extent than any we had done before ; and the vernal season 
 which then began to attire the country in all its bravery, did 
 mightily conduce to quicken our resolutions in steering our course 
 about the maritime coasts of our native soil. Hereupon equipping 
 ourselves, like provident pilgrims, with all things requisite for so 
 great a journey, and having some friends which accompanied us on 
 our way, our first remove was into the county of Essex." His 
 friends went with him as far as Eumford, a distance of ten miles, 
 where they halted for the night. In the morning, when he discerned 
 " the first blushes upon Aurora's cheeks," he rose to pursue his 
 pilgrimage. Having to bid his friends farewell, they " embraced 
 each other with passionate expressions of kindness," and, with a gale 
 of good wishes, he was speeded forward on his journey. 
 
 Mr. Brome some time afterwards stayed a few days at York, 
 and, being hospitably entertained, passed a high eulogium upon the 
 generous character of the gentry " dispersed throughout those 
 northern climates." Of the wonders which he met with on his way, 
 one example will suffice. In the neighbourhood of Darlington he 
 found — 
 
 " Three Pits of Water, of a wonderful depth, called by the common people Hell 
 Kettles, concerning which Sir Richard Baker in his Chronicle gives the following Account : — 
 That in the 24th year of King Henry the Scconi the Earth in this place lifted up itself 
 in the manner of a high Tower, and so remained immoveable from morning until
 
 146 DE toe's TOUK TIIllOrOH THE ISLAND. 
 
 evening, and then fell with so horrible a noise that it affrighted all the Inhabitants there- 
 abouts, and the Earth swallowing it up, made there a deep Pit, which is to be seen to 
 this day. That these Pits have Pafsages under Ground was first experimented, they say, by 
 Bishop Tunstiill, who, to satisfy his curiosity herein, marked a Goose, and let her down into 
 them, which very Goose he found afterwards on the River Tees." 
 
 The account of the journey is full of marvels of this kind. He 
 found the inhabitants of Northumberland " fierce, hardy, and long- 
 lived." In proof of the latter peculiarity, he mentions the case of one 
 Mr. Macklain, parson of Lesbury, who died at the age of 116 years, 
 two years before which, though for forty years previously he could 
 not read without spectacles, he renewed his sight, so tliat he could 
 read the smallest print, and his hair having fallen off, it grew again, 
 just like a child's. He describes the Highlanders as being very like 
 the " wild Irish," and said that when they went to war with their 
 enemies, their weapons were still bows and arrows. The Lowlanders 
 were more civilized, but as yet retained some barbarovis customs. 
 He speaks of wolves infesting the country, and being very mischievous, 
 and of foxes also. To prevent the latter from destroying poultry, 
 the inhabitants in every house in Glenmoor bred up a young fox, 
 then killed it, and, mixing it with other food, gave it to the fowls ta 
 eat. After this, no wild fox would touch a fowl for a space of almost 
 two months ! He reached as far as Aunandale, after which he returned 
 towards his " native soil." In Devonshire he found the roads so 
 rocky and narrow, that it was not possible for the farmers to use 
 waggons ; they therefore gathered in their corn upon horseback. He 
 reached the boundaries of Cornwall, into which he desired to travel, 
 but the " unseasonableness of the weather" deterred him. 
 
 The book of " Three Years' Travels " appears to have been well 
 received, though it contained only the most meagre account of the 
 places visited. Its favourable reception shows how little covild have 
 been known by the inhabitants of Britain of the country which they 
 inhabited. 
 
 Another Avork, " A Tour through the whole Island of Great 
 Britain," in four volumes, ascribed to Daniel De Toe, appears to have 
 become a favourite hand-book at a later date. The " seventh edition, 
 with very great additions, improvements, and corrections," is before us. 
 In the third edition, 1742, the author apologized to his readers, saying 
 that he had " discovered many very material omissions." In fact, he 
 had omitted from his " Tour througli Great Britain," the whole of the
 
 BEPECTS OF lIANr-BOOKS. 
 
 147 
 
 countj of Hertford, excepting St, Albaii's and one or two villao-es, as 
 also the isles of Wight, Portland, Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, and 
 &arlc, together Avith the isle of Man and the Boots' Isles. He also 
 discovered that he liad directed his Tour in such a manner as to pass 
 wholly by several of the best towns and most remarkable places. 
 There are, unfortunately, very few references to the state of tlie roads 
 iu this work. " In July, 1739," says the author, " a very good design 
 was begun to be put in execution on Shooter's Hill (near Loudon), a 
 number of hands being employ'd in cutting a new road, wide enough 
 for three carriages to pass abreast on the eastern descent of the hill^ 
 
 THE NAKEOW WAY.^ 
 
 which was formerly so narrow that it Avas impossible for a passenger, 
 if way-laid, to escape falling into a ruffian's hands, and which gave 
 occasion to many robberies being committed there." 
 
 There is an account of an equestrian journey from Glasgow to 
 London in the year 1749, in which the travellers met with no turnpike 
 road imtil within 110 miles of the great city. Up to that point they 
 travelled on a narrow causeway, with an unmade soft road on each side 
 of it. They met with gangs of pack-horses, following each other in a 
 
 * From Gambado's "Art of Hoi'semansliip," 1788; a skit iipon the uarrowiiess 
 of the roads.
 
 148 OGILBl's " ITIKEEAEirSI ANGLI.^^:." 
 
 line, conducted by an old leader, by the side of whose head there hung 
 a tinkling bell. Upon meeting witli these gangs the travellers were 
 obliged to quit the road, and allow them to pass, as the causeway did 
 not afford room eDough. 
 
 A more complete view of the chief roads of tlie countrj^ for a 
 period of nearly fifty years is afforded by the several editions of 
 Ogilby's " Itinerarium Angliee," 1675 to 1717, in which descriptions 
 of the roads are given not only in letter-press, but by a series of 
 elaborate diagrams (see Plate, p. 152). We must remember, how- 
 ever, when reading these descriptions, that tlie excellent M'Adamized 
 and paved roads of the present day were then entirely unknown, 
 and those which Mr. Ogilby describes as " good " must have been 
 vastly inferior to the ordinary roads of the present time. The 
 following are a few of his desci'iptions of the " quality of the way :" — 
 
 London to Bcr^ivkk. — " One of the most frequented Roads of the kingdom, though none 
 of the best Way, for after the first 20 or 50 Alile 'tis generally so bad, that there was a 
 certain late Imposition upon Travellers, during 3 years, at Stilton and a place or two on this 
 side of about a Penny for a Horse, uzz., towards the Repairs of this part of it." 
 
 London to H^the. — " Affording a reasonable Road to Farningham, but lefs commendable to 
 Hith, being generally a rough, hard, narrow Way, and not much frequented." 
 
 London to Holyhead. — " The first 30 miles very good Way, thence 'tis indilTcrent through 
 Buckinghams/iirc and Northamptonilni-e,^^ Sec. 
 
 London to Neivka-vcn. — " Not commendable fur its goodness, either as to the quality ot 
 the way, or otherwise." 
 
 London to Rye. — " Not altogether commendable, especially beyond Tunhridge.'''' 
 
 London to Bath and Welh. — " Affording an indifferent good Road to Chipcnham, thence to 
 Bath is something rough and stony, and after to IVclls over Mendlp Down, a bad Winter Road." 
 
 London to Derby. — " In general a bad deep Way." 
 
 London to Montgomery. — " Affording a good Road to JFickham, not so ple.isant to 4 Shire- 
 stone, and from thence very bad to Worceiter, thence to Ludlow indifferent, and better to 
 Bishop's Castle, after to Montgomery, bad again." 
 
 Bristol to Weymouth. — " A great part of it is a bad deep Way." 
 
 London to St. Neots\ — " The first part of the Road being reasonably good Way, but 
 Baldock Lane is notorious for its badness, neither is the succeeding part of it at all com- 
 mendable." 
 
 Cambridge to Co'uentry. — " In general a deep and unpleasant Way." 
 
 Exeter to Barnstaple. — " A rough, hard Way." 
 
 Hereford to Leicester. — " Affording but a hard Way to WorceHcr, thence to Coventry 
 indiflerent, and hard again to Leicester." 
 
 Kings Lynn to Norwich. — "Affording a very good Way (much open and heathy), as 
 indeed the whole county generally does, which makes it reported that King James once 
 pleasantly said, He would ha'vc all Norfolk cut out into Roads, to supply the rest of the kingdom.'' 
 
 The state of the roads was such that accidents were of very frequent 
 occurrence ; and travellers, weary of the difficulties of their journeys,
 
 GALLOWS A>'D GIBBETS. 149 
 
 took their way over private grounds, and frequently committed tres- 
 passes whicli led to litigation. We find it estimated that the 
 amount of fines for trespasses in a certain district exceeded the 
 probable cost of making a road which would render such trespasses 
 unnecessary. These facts are sufficiently evidenced by the preambles 
 of the Turnpike Acts. 
 
 In Ogilby's work we find that Beacons were set up to warn 
 travellers from dangerous places : — " You pass by Stamcay, and by the 
 Beacon over the heath." " The way being moorish ground, then at 
 161'6, by a Beacon on the right." " Whence through an Arable at 
 89'3, passing by a Beacon on the Eight 2 Furlongs." 
 
 It must be remembered that Mr. Ogilby's book was not merely for 
 perusal. It was, in fact, a practical Guide to the Eoads, as " Brad- 
 shaw" is a guide to the iron roads of the present time. A frequent 
 encouragement held out to travellers in their hand-book was, that when 
 they reached their various stages they would be rewarded by " good 
 entertainment." Sometimes they were told that if they waited for the 
 ebb of the tide, they might quit the hard and rugged roads, and find 
 a pleasant way across the sands. One of the most remarkable features 
 of the old hand-book is the frequency with which gallows and gibbets 
 were referred to as road marks. Here are a few instances : — 
 
 "By the Gallows and three Windmills Enter the Suburbs of York." 
 
 "Leaving the forementioned Suburbs (Durham), a small Ascent, pafsing between the 
 Gallov/s and Crokehill." 
 
 "You pals through Hare Street, &c., and at 1 3*4 part of Epping Forest, with a Gallows 
 to the Left." 
 
 " You pass by Pcn-treKh Hall, and at 250*4 HUldraught Mill, both on the Left, and 
 ascend a small Hill with a Gibbet on the Right." 
 
 " At the end of the city (Wells) you cross a Brook, and pass by the Gallows." 
 
 " At 2'3 leaving the acute way on the Right to Towting, Ewel, &c., just at the Gallov.'s, 
 or Place of Execution of Malefactors, Convicted at Southwark. At 8'5 you pass by a 
 Gallows on the Left, and at io'2 enter Croyden." 
 
 " A small Rill with a Bridge over it called Felbridge, separating it from Surrey, whence 
 by the Gallows you are conveyed to East Grimted." 
 
 " Leaving Peterborough you pafs the Gallows on the Left." 
 
 " You leave Fratnpton, Wilherton, and Sherheck, all on the Right, and by a Gibbet on the 
 Left, over a Stone Bridge." 
 
 " Leaving Nottingham you ascend an Hill, and pafs by a Gallows." 
 
 " From Bristol, through St. John's Gate, and over Froom Bridge, you go up a steep 
 ascent, leaving the Gallows on your Right." 
 
 "You cross the River Saint, leaving the Gallows en the Left, and enter Caei- 
 nar'von."
 
 150 NUMEROUS llOAD-BOOKS. 
 
 These hideous instruments of death standing by tlie highway no 
 ■doubt awoke terror in the breast of the traveller. IMeeting only a 
 few persons upon the road, he saluted and passed them with suspicion, 
 and feared every one he met as one who might be a robber or a 
 murderer. On the road from London to East Grinstead, a distance 
 of 26 miles, there were no less than three of those unsightly con- 
 trivances upon the sides of the highway — to say nothing of the 
 gibbets erected in by-lanes and secluded places along the roads, in 
 neighbourhoods where crimes had been committed, and the number of 
 " Hangman's Lanes" that ti'avellers met with on the way. In Bewick's 
 works upon Birds and Quadrupeds, whenever that eminent naturalist 
 and artist introduced an illustration of English scenery, a gibbet was 
 almost certain to be included as one of the characteristics of the 
 " picturesque." 
 
 Mr. Ogilby's work, when it first appeared, was a large folio, as thick 
 and large as a family Bible. Being too wieldy to be portable, it was 
 kept at inns and posting-houses to be consulted by travellers, who 
 copied into their pocket-books the directions for the route. The study 
 •of the particulars of a journey was often a long and serious affair 
 before starting ; and when the time came for departure, friends parted 
 with tearful anxiety. The unportable dimensions of Ogilby's GTuide 
 led to the publication in subsequent years of quarto editions ; then fol- 
 lowed numerous "Books of Eoads," "Travellers' Guides," "Travel- 
 lers' Companions," " New Ti-avellers' Companions," " Travellers' 
 Assistants," " Itineraries," etc. Eor the most part these were pla- 
 giarisms of Ogilby's elaborate work, and some of them continued to 
 reproduce his descriptions a hundred years afterwards without any 
 alterations ; so that travellers, with hard roads to travel upon, and 
 imperfect books to guide them, must have found endless inconveniences 
 by tlie way. 
 
 We will give a fac-simile of Ogilby's Diagram of the Eoad from 
 London to Arundel, and the explanatory letter-press ; and will 
 then, after a few other particulars respecting the roads, pass on to 
 consider the modes of travelling over these rude and imperfect public 
 Avays. As this description of road-book has been entirely superseded, 
 the flight of years will render such a memorial of the past 
 increasingly interesting.
 
 The Road from 
 
 LONDON to ARUNDEL, 
 
 In SUSSEX. 
 
 1. ^'TpHE ?omt of Bearing SJV. by S. 
 
 2. -L The direct Horizontal Distance 49 M. 
 
 3. The vulgar Computation 46 M. 
 
 4. The Dimensuration 55'4 M. 
 
 From LONDON, 
 
 
 Comp. Measure. 
 
 Comp. Measure. 
 
 to Towting . 05 
 
 05 
 
 06' 7 
 
 o6'7 
 
 14'© 
 
 to Stonefleet . 05 
 
 25 
 
 o.S'.S 
 
 300 
 
 Ewell . . Ob 
 
 II 
 
 07' I 
 
 Billinghurst 10 
 
 SS 
 
 ii'3 
 
 41'S 
 
 Letherhead 05 
 
 16 
 
 055 
 
 195 
 
 Amberley . 08 
 
 43 
 
 09'7 
 
 Si' 7. 
 
 Dariing . 04 
 
 20 
 
 04' 6 
 
 243 
 
 j^ run del . 03 
 
 4b 
 
 04' 2 
 
 55'4 
 
 With the continuation from Arundel to CHICHESTER, thus: 
 
 From Arundel Comp. Measure. 
 
 to CHICHESTER, 08 io'4. 
 
 Middlesex, Surrey, and Sufsex include the whole 
 Road, and the Thames, Mole, Oke, Arun, and Lavant are 
 the principal Rivers past over, affording an indifferent 
 Way, but good Entertainment. 
 
 The Road We exhibit is by Darking, yet some w^ill 
 pafs by Horsham, 3 or 4 miles to the Left, and others 
 travel the more frequented Way on the Left to Darking 
 by Stretha?n, Micham, and Sutton. 
 
 Thus much in general, the Turnings to be avoided 
 being these that follov/ : 
 
 At i'7 t\\Q.^\^tto Kingston. 
 2'3 the Left to Cr^iyi^^ijw. 
 8'4 the Right forward to 
 Kingston. 
 i^'l the I^eft to N^on such. 
 141 the Right to the 
 
 Common. 
 T5'5 the Right. 
 i5'7 the Left. 
 I '4 in Letherhead the 
 Right to Guilford. 
 24'3 in Darking the Right I 
 to Guilford. I 
 
 At32'7 
 
 the Left along 
 Honey-lane, uniting 
 again. 
 
 33'3 the Right to Guil- 
 ford. 
 
 34'/ the Left to Horsha?n. 
 
 352 the Left by Screw- 
 bridge, uniting again. 
 
 454 the Right to Pul- 
 horow. 
 
 5i'4 the Left. 
 
 53'5 the Right to 
 CHICHESTER. 
 
 Counties past 
 
 through. 
 
 Rivers crost 
 
 over. 
 
 The quality 
 
 of the way. 
 
 Acute turn- 
 ings to be 
 avoided.
 
 152 
 
 THE ROAD FROM LONDON TO ARUNDEL. 
 
 LONDON, 
 S.JV. b: S. 
 
 Nezuingtov, i'^. 
 
 Toivtingheck, 6'4 
 Towting-gia- 
 venny, 7 M. 
 Moredon, io'2. 
 
 Eivcl, 14 M. 
 Ehesham, I5'4- 
 
 Letherkcad, 
 19'S S. 
 
 Mkkleimm, 
 
 2I'5. 
 
 Darkin, 24' 1 . 
 
 Store-street, 30 
 M. 
 
 Okeivood Bridg 
 3o'7- 
 
 [3/5 5. by /r.] 
 
 From the Standard in Cornhil^ LONDON-^r/V/^ 
 and through Soiitlnuark^ as in the Description of 
 LONDON, a small interval brings you at 14 to 
 Newington^ of 2 Furlongs Extent, at the End of 
 which the acute Way on the Right to Kingston^ Guild- 
 ford and Portsmouth branches out, and another at the 
 Gallows to Stretham and thence to Lewes and Nezvhaven 
 by Croydon^ or to Arundel by Horshain or Darking. 
 
 Hence over Clapha?n-\\e-^t\\ you come at 64 to 
 Toivting-beck^ a small Village, at 7 Miles pafs through 
 Tozvting-gravenny^ a Village of 2 Furlongs, whence an 
 indire6t way brings you at io'2 to Moredon^ another 
 little Village, and leaving Non-such on your Left, a 
 stately House of the King's, Built by H. %th^ you pafs 
 through ^tf^/ at i4Miles, a small Market-Town of about 
 
 2 P'urlongs long; and at I5'4 through p2.rt of Ehesham^ 
 vulgo Epsum^ a Town much frequented for its Me- 
 dicinal Waters, the W^ell lying 3 Furlongs on the right 
 at l6'6. But proceeding, at 193 you enter Letherhead^ 
 of 3 Furlongs length, affording good Entertainment ; 
 whence bearing to the Left, and at 21 '5 pafsing through 
 Mickleha-m^ a V illage of 2 Furlongs, a Mile farther you 
 crols the River Mole^ near the place where it has a 
 subterranean Pafsage for a Mile or two, and enter 
 Darking^ alias Darkin^ at 24' I, situate on a Branch of 
 the Mole^ a large Town of good Reception, with a 
 Noted Market on Thursdays^ especially for Fowl. 
 
 From Darkin over a Hill of 3 Furlongs height, 
 succeeded by another Ascent, and woody on each 
 side, you come to Cold-harbor Hill, ascending for 3 
 Furlongs, but descending a Mile, and conveying you 
 at 30 Miles to Store-street^ a scattering Village whence 
 a Cause-way of 2 Miles, part of the old Ro?na72 Port- 
 way call'd Stany-street (near which is Okeley or Aclea^ 
 where King Ethelwald^ Son of King Egbert^ obtained 
 an eminent Victory over the Danes)^ conveys you by 
 a small Descent at 30'/ to Okewood Bridg, and ascend- 
 ing Oke-wood Hill, enter Sufsex at 32'7, the forward 
 Way leading through Honey-Lane^ to avoid the Dirty- 
 nefs of which, you bear to the Right, and at 34'7 the 
 forward Way on the Left leads to Horsham,, about 
 
 3 Miles distant, a good Borough and Market-Town, so 
 called from Horsa^ a Brother of Hengist ; Govern'd by 
 2 Bayliffs, Electing Parliament Men, and is the place 
 where the County Gaol is kept ; omitting which you 
 come next to Rohook a small Village, where you have 
 again a different Way on the Left.
 
 Corn, 
 
 5I'2. 
 
 52'6. 
 ;5'4- 
 
 j\ 
 
 '.byS. 
 
 6'5. 
 
 TER
 
 vv 
 
 1 
 
 Pao 8IM1LB of Ogilb\ 3 Majj of the Itoad from London to Anmdel, taken from Ins work, dated 167&, in which the most minute descriptions of the Main 
 Itoftd' Cross Roads Bndges, Tummgs, Churches Beacons Blacksmith s fahops, etc , .weie given for the guidance of Travellera, at a time when there were few Public 
 C6n\eyance3 and when Travellera generally jourmed upon horseback Among other pioniment objects pomted out for the guidance of the travellers were Gallows, 
 GibbtU etc of winch two appear upon the road to Arundel The doited Unea indicote the portions of the road that were unenclosed ; the solid lines the parta that
 
 THE ROAD FROM LONDON TO ARUNDEL. 
 
 153 
 
 Hence through a small Wood, at 36'4 you croi5 
 the River Arun^ leaving Detsum Place on the Left, 
 and uniting the last mention'd Way at 37'5, whence a 
 direct Road through Bucknam-Corn^ a small Village, 
 leads you at 41'! into BiU'ingherst of 3 f'urlongs and 
 good Accommodation ; thence through a small Village 
 called Muhey^ and over New^-Eridg and Pulborow 
 Common, you descend for 3 Furlongs, pafs over 
 Wickford Bridg, and at 47*6 through Wickenholt^ a 
 small Village, and after by Parham Park, Sr. Cecil 
 Bishop's^ and the Place on the Left you come to Par- 
 ham^ a little Village ; whence 3 succefsive Descents 
 convey you at 51 miles into Amhcrley^ a reasonable 
 Thorouhfare of 3 Furlongs. 
 
 At 52'2 over Houghton Bridg you crofs the River 
 Arun^ and 4 Furlongs farther pafs through Houghton 2 
 Furlongs long, whence after an Ascent of 3 Furlongs 
 you come to Arundel at 55*2 by x}(\&^?ij ol Mary gate ^ 
 whence to the Bridg it extends 6 Furlongs ; an antient 
 Borough-Town, Seated on the N.W. of the River 
 Arun^ over which it has a fair wooden-Bridg where 
 ships of 100 Tun may ride ; is Govern'd by a Mayor, 
 12 Burgesses, a Steward, &c., has a great Market on 
 Thursdays^ and a small one for Provision on Saturdays^ 
 and 4 Fairs annually, the 3d o^ May^ the lOth oi August^ 
 the 14th of September^ and the 6th of Dece?nber ; It 
 enjoys a good Trade, several Ships being here built, as 
 of late the Society and the Mary^ he. The Castle 
 famous in the Saxon Times, and yet, as having the 
 honour of an Earldom, entailed upon the Possefsors 
 thereof, now in the Noble Family of the Pxowards^ 
 Earl of Arundel and Duke of Norfolk^ is seated on the 
 East of the Tame, and reputed a Mile in circumfer- 
 ence. 
 
 From Arundel through the old Fhh Market and 
 Watergate ; by Hookswood on the Left, and Arundel 
 great Park on the Right (the little one lying between 
 Marygate and the Castle) at 2'7. You descend 
 Annford Hill of 4 Furlongs, and at 4 miles over 
 Mac kr els Bridg, and after by Half-way Tree^ pafsing 
 through Crockerhil at 6'5, a small Village j Thence by 
 Boxley Church at 7 Miles, and Sr. William Morley' s 
 House on the Right and Tangmere on the Left, at 8'2. 
 You pafs through Mandline^ a scattering Village, and by 
 Hampnet Church on the Right, and the Place on the 
 Left, you crofs the Lavant, at 9'6 enter the suburbs of 
 CHICHESTER^ seated in a Plain and on the River 
 
 Bucknam-Corn, 
 
 39'4- 
 Bil/ifig/tcrst, 
 
 4i'3-' 
 
 fVickenhcltf 
 47'6. 
 
 Amherley, 5l'2. 
 H'Mghton, 52'6. 
 
 Arundel, 5 5 '4. 
 
 Arundt!,JV.hyS. 
 
 [fz JV.'] 
 Crockerhil, 6'5. 
 
 CHICHESTER 
 io'4.
 
 154 
 
 THE ROAD FROM LONDON TO ARUNDEL. 
 
 Backward turn- 
 ings to be avoid- 
 ed. 
 
 Lavant near its confluence with the Sea, a City indiffe- 
 rent large, numbering 4 Parish Churches within the 
 Walls, besides the Cathedral, and One without East 
 Gate, and another without fVest Gate, both Demolisht 
 in the late Wars, hath 4 Gates respecting the 4 Car- 
 dinal Points, to which the 4 principal Streets lead, and 
 are called East-street^ IVest-street^ North-street^ and 
 South-street ; Is Governed by a Mayor, Recorder, Al- 
 dermen, &c. ; sends Burgesses to Parliament, hath 2 
 well-furnish'd Markets Weekly on Wednesdays and 
 Saturdays^ which are Noted to be the greatest for Fish 
 in the County, and 5 Fairs annually, ■y/z. 23rd oi Jpril^ 
 IVhitsun Munday^ 25th of 'July^ Michaelmas Day^ and 
 9 Days after, call'd Slow Fair. 
 
 I. At the End of Mand- 
 line the Left to Pet- 
 worth. 
 
 1. In Amberley the Left. 
 
 3. A Furl, beyond Dar- 
 king^ the Right to 
 LONDON by Stret- 
 ham. 
 
 . \n LetherheadxkiQ\i^it 
 to Kingston. 
 
 At the Entring Ewel 
 the Left to Kingston. 
 
 At the Mid-way be- 
 tween Mordan and 
 Towting^ the Left to 
 IVinibleton. 
 
 A great number of local and general Acts for the improvement of 
 roads were passed in the reigns of the G-eorges. Those Acts must 
 have amounted to some himdreds in number ; and yet such had 
 been the condition of the country before improvements were ener- 
 getically taken in hand, and so great was the wear and tear of roads 
 by the increase of traffic, that the highways were still in a very 
 imperfect state. Those in the neighbourhood of London were so cut 
 up by excessive use, that they were inferior to the roads of remoter 
 districts. Mr. Waterhouse, whose head-quarters were at the Swan 
 with Two Necks, kept 400 horses ; those worked within 50 miles of 
 London, which on the average cost £30 each, lasted about four years ; 
 those at a greater distance, costing £15 each, six years. He used to 
 say that eight horses on the more distant roads would perform as many 
 miles as ten nearer London ; that three horses would draw the mail 
 on Mr. Telford's roads in North Wales with as much ease as four on 
 the road from London to Dunchurch. Mr. Home, of Charing Cross, 
 also kept 400 horses : he bought 150 every year ; those worked near 
 London lasted but three years ; those at a greater distance double the
 
 STATE OF THE CEOSS-EOADg. 155 
 
 time, in consequence of their work being ligMer, their food better, and 
 their lodging more airy. Mr. Eames, of the " "White Horse," Fetter 
 Lane, kept about 300 horses : he found them to last three years in 
 post-coaches, and as long again at a distance from London. He said 
 that his drivers represented the " crossing backwards and forwards 
 through the gravel, heaped sometimes in the middle of the roads near 
 London, as ' tearing the horses' hearts out.' " This was the state of 
 the metropolitan highways prior to the introduction of Telford's and 
 M'Adam's improvements. 
 
 Such being the condition of the main roads, what must have been 
 the state of those shorter and minor ways which intersected remote 
 localities, leading from farms to markets, and from village to village ? 
 In order to arrive at Gruildford from Petworth, in Sussex, travellers 
 were obliged to make for the nearest point of the road leading from 
 Portsmouth to London. This was a work of so much difficulty as to 
 occupy the whole day, and the Duke of Somerset had a house 
 at Guildford, which was used as a place of rest by his family 
 travelling to London. A letter from a servant of the Duke's, dated 
 from London, and addressed to another at Petworth, states that the 
 Duke intended to set out for Petworth on a certain day, and directs 
 that " the keepers and persons who knew the holes and the sloughs 
 must come to meet his Grace vrith lanthorns and long poles to help 
 him on his way."* In December, 1703, Charles, King of Spain, slept at 
 Petworth on his way from Portsmouth to Windsor, and Prince George 
 of Denmark went to meet him there. The following account of this 
 little journey, in which a King and a Prince were the distinguished 
 travellers, was related by one of the attendants : — " "We set out at six 
 o'clock in the morning to go for Petworth, and did not get out of the 
 coaches (save only when we were overturned or stuck fast in the mire) 
 till we arrived at our joimaey's end. 'Twas hard service for the Prince 
 to sit fourteen hours in the coach that day without eating anything, 
 and passing through the worst ways that I ever saw in my life : we 
 were thrown but once indeed in going, but both our coach, which was 
 the leading, and his highness's body coach, would have suffered very 
 often, if tlie nimble boors of Sussex had not frequenfli/ poised it or 
 st(pported it loitli tlieir sliouJders from Godahning almost to Petworth; 
 and the nearer we approached the Duke's house the more inaccessible 
 it seemed to be. The last nine miles of the A^ay cost us six hours'' time 
 
 * J. H. Marklandj Esq., in " Arcbseologia."
 
 156 STATE OP TUB CROSS-EOADS. 
 
 to conquer them, and indeed we liad never done it if our good master 
 had not several times lent his pair of horses out of his ovs^n coach, 
 whereby we were enabled to trace out the way for him. They 
 made us believe that the several grounds we crost, and his Grace's 
 park, would alleviate the fatigue, but I protest I could hardly 
 perceive any difference between them and the common roads !" 
 "We have already shown (p. 95) that in 1767 Mr. Young " found 
 the lanes so narrow that not a mouse could pass a carriage, and ruts 
 of an incredible depth ; waggons stuck fast until a line of them were 
 in the same predicament, and required twenty or thirty horses to be 
 lashed togetlier to each to draw them out one by one." He had 
 sometimes to alight from his chaise, and get the rustics to assist 
 him to lift it over a hedge before he could proceed. A much later 
 testimony* speaks of the by-roads as " a disgrace to the age and 
 country." " The expenditiu-e on good roads," says this autliority, 
 " may not appear to a vestry of farmers to return so direct a profit as 
 that laid out in ploughing and sowing, but its profits are equally 
 certain, since it must cause a very considerable diminution in the wear 
 and tear of their carts and waggons, and the number of horses in their 
 teams." The editor of the " Farmers' Journal," 1821, stated that when 
 he passed over the road from Grantham to Stamford, tliirty years ago 
 (1791), the road was rut-quartered in such a manner that a saddle- 
 horse could scarcely set a foot down with safety, or find a path. By 
 Mr. M'Adam's improvements, that road in 1821 was made as level as 
 the drive in Hyde Park. 
 
 From the facts already given, it might have been expected that 
 every inhabitant in the kingdom would have rejoiced to witness 
 improvements, and would gladly have contributed to their accom- 
 pKshment ; but we shall see that the improvers of roads, the 
 introducers of coaches, and the promoters of canals, have in succession 
 had severe hostilities to contend with. 
 
 About the year 1728 riots broke out in various parts of the 
 kingdom in which armed bodies of men assembled and destroyed the 
 turnpikes that had recently been erected. ISTor did they confine their 
 acts of destruction to turnpike houses and toll-gates ; they demolished 
 the locks, sluices, and floodgates of rivers which had been rendered 
 navigable, and upon which tolls were levied. They could see no 
 advantage in improvements ; they had been accustomed to slow move- 
 
 * "Quarterly Ecview," 1832.
 
 TURIfPIKE RIOTS. 157 
 
 ments and to heavy joltings all their lives, and were quite contented 
 to go on in their old way at their accustomed pace, and therefore they 
 felt the exaction of tolls to be an oppression. It was found necessary 
 to pass a special law to punish turnj)ike rioters. In the year 1736 
 turnpike riots again took place, and one Reynolds was hanged at 
 Tyburn as a ringleader. He was cut down too soon by the hangman' 
 and, while being placed in the coffin, he revived, and struggled to 
 escape, upon which the mob rescued him, and carried him off" to a 
 house, where, however, he died. Other turnpike riots occurred in 
 1749, when a great number of iSomersetshire people demolished the 
 turnpike near Bedminster, on the Ashton road. About the same time 
 riots broke out in Gloucestershire ; men with their faces blacked 
 destroyed the gate and house at Don Jolm's Cross, about a mile from 
 Bristol ; they bored holes in the large posts, and blew them up with 
 gunpowder. Cross-bars and posts were again erected, and chains put 
 across the roads ; men were hired to resist the toll-takers, and the 
 Commissioners, about a dozen in a body, took it by turns to stand at 
 the gates and oblige travellers to pay toll. Several drovers, hoM'- 
 ever, going to a neighbouring fair w4th cattle, with the assistance of 
 the mob, forced their way. A few days afterwards the Somersetshire 
 people demolished the works which were put up for the re-erection of 
 the turnpike on the Ashton road. When the gate was completed it 
 was found necessary to guard it with a number of sailors, armed with 
 muskets, pistols, and cvitlasses ; yet the mob succeeded a third time in 
 destroying the gate. They also destroyed the gates on the Bath and 
 Pensford roads. The " Eebecca riots" in Wales, in 1842-3, are the 
 latest, and we trust the final, instances of a mistaken populace rising 
 against works of improvement, of which the humblest classes in the 
 state are generally the first to find the benefit. 
 
 No sooner had agriculturists of the counties surrounding London 
 discovered the improved facilities of communication upon turnpike 
 roads, than they petitioned against the extension of them into the 
 remoter parts of the kingdom, alleging that corn and hay would be 
 sent to the London markets from the cheaper districts, and that this 
 would have the efiect of ruining them ! Here was a new phase of 
 feeling. Having tasted of the benefits of improvement, the knowing 
 Southerners wished to monopolize it to themselves ! 
 
 Having described the early roads, we have now to speak of the 
 modes of travelling adopted by our ancestors, and of the early use of
 
 158 PACK-HOKSES. 
 
 private and public carriages. To the commencement of the eighteenth 
 century, a very large proportion of the traffic of the country was 
 carried on by means of pack-horses. The introduction of waggons, 
 and coaches was regarded in their time as an innovation, and, as 
 with the railways — indeed everything of a progressive nature — the 
 most serious evils were predicted to result from the adoption of them. 
 Harrison describes the horses as being " high, although not com- 
 monly of such huge greatnesse as in other places," " yet if you 
 respect the easinesse of their pace, it is hard to say where their like 
 may be had." " Such as are kept for burden will carry four hundred 
 weight commonlie, without anie hvirt or hinderance." 
 
 For mutual protection, for company, and for various conveniences 
 upon their journey, these horses travelled in gangs of forty or fifty ; 
 they formed a single line, and were so well broke to their duty, that 
 each horse knew and kept his place in the rank with the utmost regu- 
 larity. The leading horse carried a bell, or pair of bells, suspended to 
 his head-gear, and the tinkliug of those bells guided the horses in the 
 dark, or in the turnings of narrow lanes, and warned passengers on 
 the road of their approach, so that they might move aside and allow 
 them to pass. If the journey was unusually long, the old and 
 weary horses lagged behind ; yet they never broke the order of 
 their march, but pushed on to their utmost strength, and many 
 an old "pack" died from the exertions made to keep pace with his 
 companions. 
 
 The loads carried by a gang of pack-horses were commonly of a 
 most medley character : bags of wool, sacks of meal and hops, baskets 
 of geese and poultry, the carcases of animals, barrels of butter and 
 baskets of eggs, fruit, vegetables, fish, and so on in endless variety 
 The method of loading the horses required considerable skill, and, even 
 M^hen well performed, the ups and downs of the journey demanded 
 constant attention, to prevent the burden from being scattered on the 
 road. The circuitous and hilly nature of many of ovu* early roads 
 arose from the fact that they were formed upon the tracks of the 
 pack-horses, whicli found little difficulty in crossing hills, and 
 frequently made a circuitous route to avoid low and marshy 
 ground. 
 
 Royal and noble personages when they journeyed were attended 
 by a long retinue of followers, all on horseback. The men were 
 booted, belted, spurred, and armed, and the women were strapped and
 
 ANCIENT MODES OF RIDINa. 
 
 159 
 
 PILLION-EIDING. 
 
 hooded, and some of the horses of the train bore a provision of straps, 
 saddles, pillions, buckles, cloths, and other essentials, in case of 
 accidents by the way. In 
 
 1582, the Earl of Leicester, 
 
 giving instructions for an 
 
 intended journey, wrote : " I 
 
 think my company will be 
 
 twenty gentlemen and twenty 
 
 yeomen, besides their men 
 
 and my housekeepers. I 
 
 think to set forwards about 
 
 the 11th of September, from 
 
 Wingfield to Leicester, to 
 
 my bed, and to make but 
 
 four days' journey to Lon- 
 don."* When the wife of 
 
 the last Earl of Cumberland 
 
 rode from London to Lon- 
 
 desborough, in 1640, she had thirty-two horses in her train, and the 
 
 journey occupied eleven days. 
 
 In like manner, the commoners rode in company whenever prac- 
 ticable. Eriends setting out 
 from the same town, or tra- 
 vellers becoming acquainted 
 upon the road, joined in par- 
 ties, and gave confidence and 
 cheer to each other on their 
 way. A solitary journey in 
 those early days must, for rea 
 sons sufficiently obvious, have 
 been a matter of grave anx- 
 iety. " The inexperienced 
 passenger must have needed 
 some courage in his journeys 
 ^ across the semi-deserts of un- 
 
 cultivated En<?land. But soon 
 
 PILLION AND PANNIEE-EIDING.t 
 
 he is in a lane some four feet 
 wide, sometimes floundering in the mud, at other times slipping upon a 
 
 * Lodge's Illustrations. f Grainbado's "Art of Horsemanship." London, 1791.
 
 160 DESCRIPTION or HAGBUSH LANE. 
 
 paved causeway, with a thick shidge on either side of the narrow 
 track. In the hills of Derbyshire have we ridden the sure-footed pony of 
 the country down these winding roads, shut out from the wide prospect 
 around us by overhanging hedges, a privation which the pack-horse 
 traveller little cared for. Not only in Derbyshire, in the days before 
 men sought the picturesque, were such roads travelled over, but in the 
 very thickest of our metropolitan suburb."* Hagbush Lane, once well 
 known in the neighbourhood of Isledon,t but which disappeared 
 upon the construction of the great New North Eoad, was one of the 
 ancient bridle- ways to and from London and the North of England. 
 It is thus alluded to by AVilliam Hone : — " The lane is so narrow 
 as only to admit convenient passage for a man on horseback. This 
 was the general width of the road throughout, and the usual width of 
 all the roads made in ancient times. They did not travel in carriages, 
 or carry their goods in carts, as we do, but rode on horseback, and 
 conveyed their wares or merchandize in pack-saddles or packages on 
 horses' backs. They likewise conveyed their money in the same way. 
 In an objection raised in the reign of Queen Elizabeth to a clause in 
 the Hue and Cry Bill, then passing through Parliament, it was urged, 
 regarding some travellers who had been robbed in open day within 
 the hundred of Bayntesh, in the county of Berks, that 'they were 
 clothiers, and yet travailed not withe the great trope of clothiers ; 
 they also carried their money openlye in wallets xipon their saddles.' 
 The customary width of their roads was either four feet or eight feet. 
 Some parts of Hagbush Lane are much lower than the meadows on 
 each side ; and this defect is common to parts of every ancient way." 
 In the " Correspondence of Sir George EadcHffe," we have many 
 proofs of the serious inconveniences that attended travellers in the 
 early part of the seventeenth century. The following is a curious 
 instance of the simplicity of manners which prevailed at that period. 
 The editor observes : — " At this time, 1609, the communication between 
 the north of England and the Universities was kept up by carriers 
 who pursued their tedious but uniform route with whole trains of 
 pack-horses. To their care were consigned not only the packages, but 
 frequently the persons of young scholars. It was through their 
 medium, also, that epistolary correspondence was managed, and as they 
 always visited London, a letter could scarcely be exchanged between 
 Yorkshire and Oxford in less time than a month !" 
 
 * Knight's " Land We Live In." f Islington.
 
 EARLY FORMS OF CARRIAGES. 161 
 
 That the ancient Britons were acquainted with wheeled carriages 
 is evident from the use they made of war chariots. Though dignified 
 by the name of chariots, those vehicles must have been rudely formed 
 of massive wood, with wheels consisting of merely round pieces of the 
 trunks of trees. It is probable that as they knew the use of these 
 chariots, they woidd also construct carts for employment in the little 
 husbandry which they 
 pursued. The annexed 
 illustration represents 
 a cart in use until a 
 recent date in some 
 parts of Wales, and 
 which is supposed to — ^^^=^- 
 
 ^ ^ HEITISH CAET. 
 
 be a type of the an- 
 cient British construction. There was a description of carriage 
 in use among the Saxons, the representations of which have 
 more the appearance of a bed than a carriage. A kind of ham- 
 mock appears to have been slung upon a frame mounted on 
 wheels. To what extent this was used, we have no evidence. 
 Probably it was only for the conveyance of persons of great state, 
 ladies, or invalids. 
 
 Before entering more fully upon the history of wheeled carriages, 
 we may notice a mode of conveyance which was long used, especially 
 by females of rank on occasions of ceremony, and by the sick. This 
 was a horse-litter, in many respects like the sedan, but borne by horses 
 and mules, instead of men. It was also employed in carrying the dead. 
 Litters continued to be used in England even after the introduction 
 of coaches,* and they were sometimes borne by men, at others by 
 horses or mules. 
 
 The oldest carriages used by the ladies in England were known 
 under the now forgotten name of wliirlicotes. When Eichard II., 
 towards the end of the fourteenth century, was obliged to fly before 
 his rebellious subjects, he and all his followers were upon horseback ; 
 his mother only, who was an invalid, rode in a carriagetf The period 
 when coaches were first introduced is a matter of uncertainty. 
 Harrison speaks of the carriages of the nobility as " cartes," and they 
 were probably nothing more, though somewhat raised from the common 
 
 * J. H. Markland, Esq., " Archseologia," vol. xx. 
 t Beckman's " History of Inventions."
 
 162 
 
 EAELT FORMS OY CAREIAGES. 
 
 description by ornament : — " This furthermore is to be noted, that our 
 princes and the nobilitie have their carriage commonlie made by cartes, 
 
 wherby it commeth to 
 passe, that when the 
 Queen's Majestic doth 
 remoove from anie one 
 place to another, there 
 are usuallie 400 care- 
 wares, which amount 
 to the summe of 2400 
 horses appointed out 
 of the counties ad- 
 joining, whereby her 
 cariage is conveied safelie unto the appointed place." The carriage of 
 King John appears to have been of very simple construction. It was 
 without springs, the body rested upon the axletree, and the wheels 
 were to all appearance cut out of solid pieces of circular wood, carved 
 ornamentally for the sake of lightness, and bound round with a thick 
 wooden tire. The carriage of Elizabeth was mounted upon four wheels, 
 
 CABEIAGE OF KING JOHN, 
 
 CARRIAGE OF QUEEN ELIZABETH.* 
 
 without springs or hangings, but the wheels appear to have been 
 made of spokes, bound together by a thick wooden rim. 
 
 Stowe records that, in 1605, long waggons for the conveyance of 
 passengers and goods were in use between London, Canterbury, and 
 other large towns. Anderson makes this also the period when coaches 
 began to be in common use. But it is highly probable that long 
 
 * From a curious old print, by Hofnagel, in the Palace of Nonsuch. 
 Date 1582.
 
 ilAELT FOEMS OF CAKEIAGES. 
 
 163 
 
 waggons were the first pubKc veliicles communicating between distant 
 places, and that stage-coaches were designed as an improvement upon 
 them, for the conveyance of passengers and goods at a greater rate of 
 speed for higher charges. 
 
 LONa WAGGON, ONE OF THE EAELIEST PUBLIC CONVEYANCES. 
 
 These " long waggons," or " machines," as they were variously called, 
 were constructed to carry a large number of passengers ; and of 
 necessity travelled at a miserable pace. The " boots " of these vehicles 
 
 WAGGON-COACH. 
 
 projected at the sides, and were probably taken by "outside pas- 
 sengers," who paid a lower fare than the occupants of the covered ul- 
 terior. It is not an unreasonable conjecture that a guard rode with
 
 164 ME. PAEKEb's EIDE to LONDON. 
 
 the passengers in each boot, and that this kind of seat was originally in- 
 tended for that purpose, as it gave the guard, who sat sideways, an oppor- 
 tunity of seeing all the points of the road. Some of these vehicles ran 
 only in the long days of summer, when the duration of day-light enabled 
 them to perform a day-journey. To accomplish the greatest possible 
 distance vnthin the day, the journey generally commenced at day -break 
 in the morning. Soon after these long waggons came into use, the 
 " waggon-coach " was introduced. This was a vehicle having a body 
 like the ordinary stage-coach, with an enormous basket-like appendage 
 behind. The baskets, or boots, were probably for the accommodation 
 of third-class passengers, who were huddled together with all kinds 
 of wares, the second-class occupying the top of the vehicle, and the first 
 the inside. 
 
 Wlien Mr. Edward Parker rode from Brownsholme to London, 
 in 1663, he probably travelled in a vehicle of this kind. A letter, 
 addressed by Mr. Parker to his father,* is singularly interesting : — 
 
 " To my honoured Fatker, Edward Parker, esquire, at Browusliolme, these : — 
 
 " Leave tliis letter with ye Post Master, at Preston, Lankashire, too bee sent 
 as above directed. 
 
 " Honoured Father, 
 
 " My dutie premised, &c., I got to London on Saturday last, my joiimey 
 was noe ways pleasant, being forced to ride in the boote all the waye, ye company 
 yt came up with mee were persons of greate quahty, as knights and ladyes. My 
 joiu'ney's expence was 30*. This traval hath soe indisposed mee, yt I am 
 resolved never to ride up againe in ye coatch. I am extreamely hott and feverish, 
 what this may tend too I know not, I have not as yet advised with any doctor. 
 As for newes wee have onely this, yt ye Queene is very weU recovered, but tis 
 thought she is not with childe. Justice Hyde (who was one of ye Judges of ye 
 Common Pleas) is now called to bee Lord Chiefe Justice. Doctor Hinckman, 
 who was Bishop of Sahsbury, is translated to London. Collonel Hutchinson, who 
 was one of the regicides, is taken in tliis last plott ; hee was apprehended at Newarke, 
 and brought to London (by his Majesty's speciall command) upon Saturday last : 
 wee had his company on some parte of the roade. Our forraigne newes is onely such 
 as you have in ye country ; ye Turke proceedes vigorously in Hungary. I desire yt 
 all my manuscripts may bee sent up with speede. This is all, but yt I am your 
 dutifuU and obedient sonne, 
 
 "Edward Paekee. 
 " London, 3rd November, — 63." 
 
 It will be observed that tlie company that travelled with Mr. 
 Parker, being persons of great quality, did not ride with him in the 
 boot. He evidently complains of his having had to do so as a hardship. 
 
 * Prmted in Mr. Markland's communication to the Archaeological Society.
 
 THE OLD STAGE-WAGGON. 
 
 165 
 
 "WTien the fast-running coaclies commenced, tlie public conveyances 
 appear to have gradually assumed a division into two classes : ' one 
 travelling at the highest speed practicable for the conveyance of 
 passengers ; the other conveying heavy goods at a slow rate. Then 
 commenced the stage-waggons with broad wheels, which they were 
 compelled to use by Act of Parliament, to prevent the injury they 
 would otherwise do to the roads ; and in some instances these waggons, 
 with wheels of a specified width, were privileged to travel at reduced 
 tolls in consequence of the good eflect of their wide wheels in crushing 
 down and levelling the ruts made by other descriptions of vehicles. 
 
 
 STAGE-WAGaON. 
 
 The precise date of the introduction of stage-coaches into England 
 is not known. Hired carriages existed as early as 1625 ; but the 
 following copy of an advertisement from the " Mercurius Politieus" 
 for Thursday, April 8th, 1658, is the earliest public notification of that 
 mode of travellino- :* — 
 
 "AN ADVEETISEMENT. 
 
 " From the 26th day of April 1658 there will continue to go stage-coaches from 
 the George Inn without Aldersgate, London, unto the several Cities and Towns, for 
 the rates and at the times hereafter mentioned and declared. 
 
 "Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 
 
 " To Sahshuiy in two days for xxs. To Blandford and Dorchester in two days 
 and a half for XXX5. To Exmaster, Nunnington, and Exeter in four days xls. To 
 Stamford m two days for XX5. To Newark ia two days and a half for xxvs. To 
 
 * "Notes and Queries."
 
 1G6 ADVEETISEMENTS OF THE EAELT COACHES. 
 
 Bawtrey in three days for x.xxs. To Doncaster and Ferribridge for xxxv*. To 
 York in four days for XLs. 
 
 " Mondays and Wednesdays to Ockinton and Plimouth for Ls, Every Monday 
 to Helperby and Northallerton for xlv.?. To Darneton Fen-yhd for L*. To Divrham 
 for LV5. To Newcastle for nil., to Edinburgh for iyI. a peece, Mondays. Every 
 Friday to Wakefield in four days for XLs." 
 
 The foUowiug copy of a bill twenty years later shows no improve- 
 ment in the rate of travelling : — 
 
 "YORK FOUR DAYES STAGE-COACH, 
 
 " Begins on Monday the 18 of March 1678. 
 
 " AH that are desirous to pass from London to York or return from York to 
 London or any other Place on that Road ; Let them repair to the Black Swan in 
 Holborn in London and the Black Swan in Cony-Street in York. 
 
 " At both which places they may be received in a stage-coach every Monday, 
 Wednesday, and Friday, which performs the whole jom-ney iii Foui" days (if God 
 permit) and sets forth by Six in the Mornmg. 
 
 " And retiu-ns from York to Doncaster in the Forenoon, to Newark in a day and 
 a half, to Stamford in Two days and from Stamford to London in Two days more. 
 
 r Henry Mottlen, 
 " Performed by < Maegaeet Gardnee, 
 C Francis Gardner." 
 
 Sixty years later, the following advertisement appeared in " The 
 Daily Advertiser" of the 9th April, 1739 :— 
 
 " The old standing constant Froom Flying Waggon in Tlu'ee Days. 
 
 " Sets out with Goods and Passengers from Froom for London every Monday by 
 One o'clock in the morning, and will be at the King's Arms Inn, Holborn, by Twelve 
 o'clock at noon ; from whence it will set out on Thm-sday morning by One o'clock 
 for Amesbury, Shrewton, Chittern, Heytesbury, Warminster, Froom, and aU other 
 places adjacent, and will continue allowing each passenger fourteen pounds, and be 
 at Froom on Saturday by Twelve at noon. " Joseph Clavet." 
 
 On the 17th of April, 1767, the following advertisement 
 
 also appeared in " Crutwell's Sherborne, Shaftesbury, and Dorchester 
 
 Journal :" — 
 
 " The Proprietors of the 
 
 " FROME STAGE MACHINE, 
 In order to make it more agreeable to their Friends in the West, have 
 engaged to set out Post Chaises from the Christopher Inn in Wells every Sunday, 
 Tuesday, and Thm-sday evenings, at Five o'clock, to stop at the George Inn, at 
 Shepton Mallett, and set out from thence at a quarter past Six, to carry pas- 
 sengers and parcels to Frome, to be forwarded from thence to London in the 
 One Day Flying Machine, which began on Sunday, April the 12th, 1767 : Also
 
 COiS^TETANCE OE LETTEES. 
 
 167 
 
 a Chaise from Frome every Tuesday, Thursday, and Satm-day evenings, to Shepton 
 and Wells as soon as the Coach arrives from London. 
 "Performed by 
 
 "R. Messeter, at the Crown, at Thatcham, 
 
 and 
 "J. HiTCHCOCE, at the Catherine Wlieel, Eeckhampton." 
 
 The conveyance of letters previous to the seventeenth century v^^as 
 chiefly confided to " postmasters," whose chief business consisted of 
 furnishing post-horses to such persons as were desirous of travelling 
 expeditiously. As a matter of private speculation, however, postmasters 
 undertook to forward extraordinary packets and dispatches on special 
 occasions. 
 
 In the year 1635 Charles I. erected a letter-office for England 
 and Scotland, but tliis extended only to a few of the prin- 
 cipal roads. The times of carriage were uncertain, the postmasters 
 being compelled to furnish horses at the lowest possible rates ; but the 
 establishment did not succeed. 
 
 At the time of the Commonwealth, however, an establishment 
 was instituted in the year 1649 for the conveyance of letters weeMy 
 to all parts of the kingdom, and in 1656 it was still further improved by 
 Cromwell. The Post-office, notwithstanding, continued long afterwards 
 a very imperfect 
 institution. The 
 mails were sent by 
 boys onhorseback, 
 or in two-wheeled 
 carts made for the 
 purpose, and in- 
 stead of being the 
 most expeditious 
 and safest convey- 
 ance, the post 
 gradually became 
 the slowest in the 
 kingdom ; so much 
 so, that whereas 
 prior to the year 
 
 •' POST OF 1780. 
 
 1784 the dili- 
 gence between London and Bath accomplished the journey in seventeen
 
 168 MR. palmer's suggestion or mail-coacues. 
 
 hours, the post did not accomplish the same distance under forty 
 hours ; and on other roads the same rate of travelling showed 
 about the same proportion. 
 
 This being the case, it occurred to Mr. John Palmer, manager 
 of the Bath Theatre, that a great improvement might be effected, 
 by contracting with the proprietors of stage-coaches for the carriage 
 of the mail, binding them to perform the journey in a specified 
 time, and to take a guard for protection. 
 
 Palmer's scheme was submitted to the Grovernment. It met with 
 violent opposition, but was zealously supported by Mr. Pitt, and 
 was at length carried into operation. In the " Gentleman's Maga- 
 zine," of the year 1784, we read the following notice : — 
 
 " Monday, Aug. 2. —Began a new plan for the conveyance of the Mail 
 between London, Bath, and Bristol, by coaches constructed for that purpose. 
 The coach wliicli left London tliis evening at 8 o'clock arrived at Bristol the 
 next morning before 11 ; and the coach that set out from Bristol at 4 o'clock 
 in the afternoon, got into Loudon before 8 o'clock next morning ; and in this 
 regvdar order the coaches have continued their course every day since." 
 
 This mode of conveying the mails, with occasional improvements, 
 was in operation until the introduction of railways.* 
 
 We have already hinted at the opposition which coaches met with 
 at their introduction. Taylor, the " w^ater poet," writing against them 
 in 1623, says, " I thinke it is in the memory of many men when in 
 the w^hole kingdome there was not one." " Por in the yeare 1564 one 
 William Boomen, a Dutchman, brought first the use of coaches hither, 
 and the said Boomen w^as Queen Elizabeth's coachman. A coach was a 
 strange monster in those dayes, and the sight of them put both horse 
 and man to amazement : some said it was a great crab-shell brought 
 out of China, and some imagined it to be one of the Pagan temples in 
 which the cannibals adore the devil !" He added, " the mischiefs that 
 have been done by them are not to be numbered, as breaking of legges 
 and armes, overthrowing dowaie hills, over bridges, rimning over 
 children, lame and old people." In 1672 an agitation was organized 
 against them, in which certain " inne-holders, sadlers, cordwayners, 
 sword-cutlers, watermen," and others of London, w^ho fancied them- 
 selves injured by the innovation, joined. The movement does not 
 appear, however, to have been attended by any great success, though 
 it was sufiicient to evidence the state of opinion of a part of the popu- 
 
 * A complete History of the Post-office will be given in a futm'e Section.
 
 POPULAR OBJECTIONS TO COACHES. 169 
 
 latiou upon the subject.* Among tlie most earnest advocates for the 
 suppression of stage-coaches as a national evil, was one who styled 
 himself " A Lover of his Coxmtry," and under that cognomen 
 appealed to tlie public to aid him in his endeavours to put down 
 obnoxious innovation. His arguments were, that coaches destroyed 
 the breed of good horses ; were prejudicial to tlie strength of the 
 nation, by making men careless of horsemanship ; that they hindered 
 the breed of watermen, and thereby deprived the navy of good 
 seamen ; and that they lessened the king's revenues. The writer's 
 estimate of the number of passengers conveyed at that time presents 
 a striking contrast with the bustling characteristics of the present 
 age :— 
 
 " Tork, Chester, and Exeter Stage Coaches, each of them with forty Horses a piece, carry 
 eighteen Paffengers a week from London to either of these places, and in like manner as 
 many in return from these places to London ; which comes in the whole to 1872 in the year." 
 And again : — " Take the short stages within twenty or thirty miles of London, each coach 
 with four Horses carries six Paffengers a day, which are 36 in a week, 1872 a year j if these 
 Coaches were supprest, can any man imagine these 1872 paffengers could be carried by four 
 Horses ?" Then he contended, that by ranning coaches on the roads bordering upon 
 the Thames, the watermen were rviined : — " These are they who carry all the Letters, 
 little Bundles, and Paffengers, which, before the Coaches set up, were carried by water." 
 The revenue was injured, because, instead of people riding tlieii" journeys upon 
 horseback, and having to ahght and take drink at the roadside inns, they reclined 
 lazily in the coaches, and went a long way without spending money. Coaches 
 did injury to trade, becavise, " Before they were set up, Travellers rode on Horseback, 
 and men had Boots, Spurs, Saddles, Bridles, Saddle-clothes, and good riding suits. Coats and 
 Cloaks, Stockings and Hats ; whereby the Wool and Leather of the Kingdom was consumed, 
 and the poor people set at work by Carding, Combing, Spinning, Knitting, Weaving, 
 Fulling J and your Cloth-lVorkers, Drapers, Taylors, Saddlers, Tanners, Curriers, Shoe-Makers, 
 Spurr'iers,\ Lorrayners, Felt-Makers, had a good Imploy," etc. etc. Then we get an 
 evidence of the guarded mode of travelhug in those days : — " Besides, it is a great hurt 
 to the Girdlers, Sivord-Cutlers, Gun-Smiths, and Trunk-Makers ; most gentlemen, before they 
 travelled in their Coaches, using to ride with Swords, Belts, Pistols, Holsters, Portmanteaus, 
 and Hat-cases, etc. And if they were women that travelled, they used to have Safeguards 
 and Hoods, Side-saddles and Pillions, with Strappins, Saddle or Pillion-cloths, which (for the 
 most part) were either laced or embroidered." And tlien thei'e were great moral evils 
 attending the introdiiction of coaches : — " Paffage to London being so easy. Gentlemen 
 came to London oftener than they need, and their Ladies either with them, or having the 
 
 * In the reign of Elizabeth, an attempt was made to enact a " Eill to restrain the 
 excessive use of coaches within this reahn of England," bvit it was rejected on the 
 second reading. In 1659 the popidar nickname for coaches among the Londoners 
 was " Hell-carts." 
 
 t The absence of the mention of stlrrtqjs in this minute enumeration of 
 e(]uestrian equipments, leads to the inference that they had not been introduced 
 at that time.
 
 170 POPULAR OPJECTIOXS TO COACHES. 
 
 conveniences of these Coaches, quickly follow them. And when they are there they must 
 be in the Mode, have all the new Fashions, buy all their Cloaths there, and go to Plays, 
 Balls, and Treats, where they get such a habit of Jollit}', and a love to Gayety and Pleasure, 
 that nothing afterwards in the Country will serve them, if ever they should fix their minds 
 to live there again" ! All tlie inus except those at which the coaches stopped, and all 
 the roads, save those over which the coaches travelled, were to he ruined : — " What 
 must become of all the rest of the Inns on the Roads wliere these Coaches stay not? Take 
 all the grand roads in England^ as, York, Exeter, Chester, Sec. There are about 500 Inns on 
 each Road, and these Coaches do not call at fifteen or sixteen of them ; then what can follow, 
 but that the rest be undone, and their Landlords lose their rents?" 
 
 We have already (p. 116), seen tlie praise bestowed by Mr. 
 Donaldson upon a team of six oxen, witli one liorse only as a leader ; 
 "\ve may, therefore, be prepared to hear that he was also one "nho 
 lamented the introduction of stage-eoaehes as a national evil : — 
 
 " When they consider," said he, " the unthrifty breed of horses so neceflary to furnish 
 the multiplicity of post-chaises, the mischievous increase of stage-coaches, the extravagant 
 number of private ones * * * the difiiculty of resolving the cause of the evil 
 must vanish, as they clearly see that the pastures which formerly fed such herds of beasts, and 
 flocks of sheep, are now appropriated for the run of brood mares and colts. * "* * Some 
 regulation should take place to keep within bounds the licentiousness of stage-coachmen, who, 
 upon their present unrestrained liberty of loading their coaches as they please, counteract the 
 many laws contrived for the preservation of the roads ; besides, many lives are lost, and 
 many valuable people rendered uselefl" to themselves and families by broken limbs ; from the 
 number of accidents which happen within the year from those overloaded carriages, and the 
 number of idle profligates they crowd on the box, the roof, and behind, is a nuisance to evei-v 
 sober person who travels upon, or lives by, the road they pafl", as their ears are sure to be 
 affaulted by the most vulgar and indecent jests." 
 
 Mr. Donaldson was evidently a sober-minded gentleman, who had 
 little prescience of the Avonderful things that were to come. He 
 thought that the " gad-about" spirit of the age in which he lived 
 was leading the community to ruin, and, as a check to such an evil 
 tendency, he recommended' that no minor should be permitted to keep 
 or hire a horse without a "license" from his parents, guardians, or 
 masters. Then, said he, 
 
 " Students at universities would attend much more to their learning, clerks and 
 apprentices to their profeffion, or busineif; and the demand for horses being so much taken 
 off, hay and corn would neceflarily sink in their price, and draught cattle be maintained 
 at a lelT expense. From this restriction, trade would derive most noble advantages; the 
 application of our youth v.-ould give it credit ; and lowering markets would quicken that 
 ancient spirit (!) which gives perception and energy to commerce." 
 
 Sucli being the sentiment of Mr. Donaldson upon the evils of 
 perambulations upon land, what must have been his view of the larger 
 adventures by sea, which in his time had bei^uu to exhibit a bolder
 
 MAIL-COACHES CAEICATUEEB. 
 
 171 
 
 spirit ? He denounced tlie discovery of the mariner's compass as 
 "pernicious," and complained that it led people to "think more of 
 ploughing the ocean than of ploughing the fields." Tut this Mr. 
 Donaldson was no mean man in his time : he was the Secretary to the 
 Grovernment of Jamaica, and tlie letters, in wliich he breathed these 
 wailings and forebodings, were " inscribed to the king." It probably 
 had never occurred to liini to ask how he could have held the proud 
 office of "Secretary to the Governnient of Jamaica," but for the "per- 
 
 BT AUTHOR JTT. 
 
 FElii>ON^ ylND tROFERTf I'RO'LECTED. 
 
 uicious discovery" whicli he lamented ! There were thousands of 
 men who entertained similar sentiments in his time. 
 
 ]S"ot only was the pen employed in condemnation of stage and mail- 
 coaches, but the pencil of the caricaturist, which always aifords an 
 index of popular feeling, supported the common prejudice. The 
 annexed engraving is a fac-simile of a caricature which appeared in 
 1785 — mail-coaches having been instituted about the year 1784. 
 The illustration is interesting, as throwing light upon one or two 
 points essential to our history : there were no springs to the coaches — 
 no back seat — the guard " furnished, paid, clothed, and armed at the
 
 172 mSlIOXEST IKXKEEPERS. 
 
 expense of the revenue," sat in front, and carried a brace of pistols 
 and a blunderbuss ! 
 
 There are frequent imputations iu books of the seventeenth 
 centiu'y against the integrity of innkeepers, Avho ^vere suspected 
 to connive at, if not to participate in, robberies committed in their 
 houses and upon the roads : — 
 
 " Certes (says Harrison) I believe not that chapman or traveller in England is robbed 
 by the waie without the knowledge of some of them, for when he commeth into the inne, 
 and alighteth from his horse, the hostler forthwith is verie busie to take downe his budget or 
 capcase in the yard from his saddle-bow, which he poiseth slilie in his hand to feele the 
 weight thereof: or if he miffe of this pitch, when the guest hath taken up his chamber, 
 the chamberlaine that looketh to the making of the beds, will be sure to remove it from the 
 place where the owner liath fet it, as if it were to set it more convenientlie some where else, 
 whereby he getteth an inkling whether it be monie or other short wares, and thereof giveth 
 warning to such od guests as hant the house, and are of his confcderacic, to the better 
 undoing of many an honest yeoman as he journieth by the waie."* 
 
 Another authority says : — 
 
 " It is as common a custom, as a cunning policie in thieves, to place chamberlains in 
 such great inns wliere cloathkrs and graziers do lye ; and by their large bribes to infect others, 
 who were not of their own preferring ; who noting your purses when you draw them, they'l 
 gripe your cloak-bags, and feel the weight, and so inform the master thievs of what they 
 think, and not those alone, but the Host himself is oft as base as they, if it be left in charge 
 with them all night 5 he to his roaring guests cither gives item, or shews the purse itself, 
 who spend liberally, in hope of a speedie recruit."-}- 
 
 In nothing has the anxious care of Parliament for the welfiire of 
 the country been so marked, as in the various legislative enactments 
 and inquiries upon the subject of Eoads. The most minute and 
 curious points have from time to time been brought under considera- 
 tion, and made the subjects of Parliamentary investigation:- — the 
 width of the roads — the growth of wayside trees and shrubs — ditch- 
 ing and draining — the prevention of temporary obstructions by 
 markets, fairs, sports, strayed cattle, falling trees, floods, etc. — the 
 growth of thistles and Aveeds on the roadsides — the setting up of 
 direction and mile posts — the affixing of the names of towns and 
 vUlages to their chief entrances — the prevention of windmills being 
 
 * Introduction to Hollinslicd. 
 
 f "A Brief yet ^Notable Discovery of Ilovisebreaker.';," etc., 1659. See also, 
 " Street Eobberies Considered ; a Warning for Housekeepers," 1676 ; " Hanging 
 not Punislunent Enough," IVOI, etc.
 
 IMPEOYEMENTS PEOMOTED BY PAELIAMKXT. 173 
 
 set up too near roads, by Avhich horses might be frightened — the 
 blocking up of highways by allowing carts to remain too lono- for 
 purposes of loading or unloading — the rate of speed to be travelled — 
 the width and construction of wheels — the weights to be carried — the 
 number of passengers — the number of horses or other cattle — the 
 most advantageous methods of harnessing and attaching animals to 
 carriages — the best forms of axles, whether they should be straight 
 or dished, the dishing being designed to bring the surface of the 
 Avheels in a fairer bearing upon the convex surface of the roads — 
 whether the heads of nails used in affixing the tires of iieavy carriages 
 should be rose-headed and project above the tire, be level with the tire, 
 or countersunk throiighout its substance — the preservation of the 
 rights of foot-passengers — the imcarting of rubbish or soil by the way- 
 side — the removal of night-soil — the fencing of dangerous places — and 
 a hundred other things, have been made the subject of anxious and 
 important Parliamentary supervision. Talent of every kind has been 
 called in ; interests of every nature appealed to ; and the most ener- 
 getic measures taken to remove evils, as soon as a probable remedy 
 had been pointed out. Hence the great superiority of the highways 
 of our kingdom in the present day.* 
 
 The difficulties which lay in the way of improA"ement were very 
 great, chiefly on account of the absence of a correct system of road- 
 making. The preamble of a bill passed in 1774, set forth that, rtot- 
 witlistancling the establishment of turnpiJce trusts, and the frequent 
 repair of roads, yet they were " in a short time hroheii vp and 
 
 * The progress of turnpike legislation may be thus stated: — From 1700 to 
 1710, twelve Turnpike Acts received the Koyal Assent ; from 1710 to 1720, twenty- 
 one Acts ; from 1720 to 1730, seventy-one Acts ; from 1730 to 1740, thirty-one 
 Acts ; fi'om 1740 to 1750, twenty-nine Acts : thus far existed one hundred and sixty- 
 nine Tm'npike Acts. From 1750 to 1760, one hundred and eighty-five Acts were 
 added ; from 1760 to 1770, one hvmdred and seventy-five Acts ; so that five hundred 
 and thu'ty such Acts existed in the year 1770. These Acts were limited to twenty- 
 one years' duration, the Legislature presuming that tolls might not continue to be 
 always necessary ; but, since the year 1830, the term has been prolonged to thu'ty- 
 one years, and most of the Turnpike Acts have been renewed. In 1838 (the period 
 when railways began to supersede roads) the total number of Turnpike Trusts 
 exceeded eleven hundred. The debts of the Trusts at that time amounted to 
 £8,500,000, of which £1,000,000 was unpaid interest. They paid £300,000 interest 
 annually upon bond debts amounting to £7,100,000. Tlie annual income from toUs 
 was £1,800,000 ; their expenditm-e in making, maintenance, and improvements, 
 £1,064,000; in management, £135,000.
 
 174 
 
 LEGISLATION LPOX ROADS \SD C'AHKIAGLS. 
 
 Summer. 
 
 Wint-ev. 
 
 Tons 
 
 CHvt. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Cwt 
 
 . s 
 
 . 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 . ti 
 
 10 . 
 
 G 
 
 10 
 
 . G 
 
 . 
 
 G 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 10 . 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 . 4 
 
 5 . 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 o 
 •J 
 
 10 . 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 . :3 
 
 . 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 12 . 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 . 1 
 
 10 . 
 
 1 
 I- 
 
 7 
 
 destroyed.'''' In order to prevent the cutting np of the roads, it was 
 enacted that weighing machines shoidd he set up in connection with 
 toll-bars, and that heavy penalties should he inflicted u2)on parties 
 offending against the statute. Tlie weights allowed were : — 
 
 "Waggons witli 16-inch wheels 
 
 Waggons rolling a surface of 16 inches 
 
 Waggons with 9-inch wheels 
 
 Waggons rolling a sui'face of 11 inches 
 
 Waggons with G-incli wlieels 
 
 Waggons with wheels less tlian (> inches 
 
 Carts witli 9-ineli Avheels 
 
 Carts with 6-iuch wlieels 
 
 jS^arrow wheels . . . . . 
 
 So great, liowever, was the incivase of traflic, and so imperfect the 
 principles of road-making, that, notwithstanding tlie relief aflbrded 
 by navigable rivers and canals, which had been nudtiplying for a 
 period of fifty years, the state of the roads at the commencement 
 of the eighteenth century was a matter of constant anxiety to the 
 Legislature. 
 
 A Parliamentary Committee, in 1800, reported that the restrictions 
 respecting tlie number of horses used in waggons and carts were in- 
 suiiicient, and that the laws for the repair of highways were utterly 
 inadequate. 
 
 In 1S06, a Committee appointed to examine into the use of broad 
 wheels, and to determine which shape was best calculated for ease of 
 draught, and for the preservation of the roads, and also to consider the 
 Act limiting the number of passengers to be carried by stage-coaches, 
 reported that the laws passed by Parliament for the security of the 
 public, and the preservation of the roads, had been grossly evaded, 
 "insomuch that, instead of six (the number limited by law), twenty 
 passengers and more are often carried on the outside of stage-coaches. 
 It is not unusual to see ten on the roof, three on the box, besides the 
 driver, four behind on what is called the gam on board, and six on the 
 dickey or chair ; in all, often above thrice the number intended to be 
 allowed." The consequence was, " accidents are continually happen- 
 ing in one part of the kingdom or another ; and, indeed, scarce a week
 
 ACCIDENTS TO COACHES. 175 
 
 passes -without some of tliose carriages breaking down, and often 
 killing the unfortunate passengers." 
 
 Here is the testimou}^ of one of the witnesses, I\Ir. AVilliani 
 Clarke :— 
 
 " Last week tlie Croydon coaeli broke down by being overloailecl, luiviii"- 
 sixteen outside passengers, exclusive of the coachman, and two persons lost theii- 
 lives, and several others were much bruised. Some httle time ago the Ware 
 coach broke down at Stamford-hill, one person was killed then, and several 
 others received material hurt. The Portsmouth coach also broke dovtn some 
 time ago, and the coachman was killed ; also the Bath coach, abovit a month ago, 
 when several passengers received material injmy. The Liverpool coach also, before 
 Christmas last, broke down, and the same coach about eight months before that, 
 when several passengers were dangerously hui-t. In short, the instances are 
 innumerable." 
 
 Another witness, Mr. "Wm. Jackson, testified that — 
 
 " One of the Greenwich coaches broke down the week before last, near 
 "Westminster Bridge, when a woman broke her thigh, and several persons were 
 dangerously woimded. The Woolwicli coach, tlu-ee days before that, was upset 
 near Charlton, when one man was killed, and one lad very much injiu-ed, and 
 all the other passengers liiu-t very materially." 
 
 Tlie Eev. John Milton's coach was an invention, recommended hy 
 the Committee, designed to prevent these dreadful accidents, by placing 
 as much as possible of the heavy luggage in a luggage-box below 
 the body of the carriage. To prevent the fatal and disastrous 
 consequences of breaking down, there were placed at the sides or 
 corners of this luggage-box, small, strong, idle wheels, with their 
 periphery below its floor ; ready, in case of a wheel coming off 
 or breaking, or an axle-tree failing, to catch the falling carriage, and 
 continue its previous speed, thereby preventing its overthrow. But 
 only a small number of these patent coaches were put upon the 
 roads, probably in consequence of their being lieavier than the 
 orduiary coaches. 
 
 The Committee, in concluding their report upon the general state 
 of the roads, made the following comment : — 
 
 "The man of cm'iosity, who travels for his pleasm^e; the man of business, 
 who traverses the country in pm-suit of liis affau-s ; those whose occupation it 
 is to supply one part of the kingdom with the produce of the other, or to convey 
 from the mterior to the sea-ports the articles of our industry for foreign con- 
 sumption ; and tliose who are to be supphed by these means with the necessaries 
 or luxuries of life, are equally disappointed in their hopes, and where they look 
 for pleasure, security, economy, and expedition, they have to encounter fatigue and 
 danger, expense and delay.^^
 
 17G INCOXVENIE^'CES TO FAEMEES. 
 
 Farmers suffered considerable annoyaDcc aud loss from the 
 operation of the Acts regulating the weight of loads, the widtli of 
 wheels, and tlie number of draught beasts to be employed. In hilly 
 countries the parish roads were so narrow, and worn by time aud 
 torrents, that they lay far below the level of the adjoining land. 
 In these, carriages with broad Avheels could scarcely move at all. To 
 overcome the difficulty, farmers were frequently tempted to yoke 
 more beasts than the existing Acts allowed. AYandering over the 
 country there were a number of men who made a trade in laying 
 informations. The informer took care to post himself on a turnpike 
 road, near a place where some of these narrow lanes opened into it. 
 When he observed a waggon drawn by additional beasts coming 
 out of one of these ravines, he seldom allowed the driver time to 
 take off Ids supernumerary animals, but, jumping from the hedge, 
 o-ave notice of his intention to inform. In this Avay he extorted 
 money — a system of robbery on the highways, '• as effectual, and 
 scarcely more innocent, than if extorted under terror of the pistol." 
 
 Small husbandmen complained of the freedom from toll extended 
 to broad-wheeled waggons, by which large farmers were able to send 
 enormous weights of produce to market, at a smaller cost, and 
 undersell their weaker neighbours. Gardeners, and the holders of 
 small farms, endeavoured to counterbalance the privilege of the 
 broad-Avheeled waggons, by avoiding the turnpike roads, so that 
 the parish roads were cut up, until they were in a deplorable 
 condition. 
 
 In 1808, the Committee, which stiU continued its investigations, 
 found the difficulties of the subject so great, that they ventured to 
 express the opinion, that "the idea of conveying ^(^oof^i' and carriages 
 on railways is likely to prevail the more the subject is considered." 
 They also drew the attention of Parliament to a suggestion by 
 Mr. Matthews for the construction of atone raihvatjs upon turnpike 
 roads. These were to consist of two parallel lines of stone-paving 
 upon which the wheels of carriages were to run, and were estimated 
 to cost £4000 per mile.* 
 
 From a communication -nTitten by jMr. Edgeworth, in 1808, it 
 
 appears that springs were not generally applied to stage-coaches 
 
 even at that late date. Before the application of springs to these 
 
 coaches, the proprietors of the Shrewsbury coach paid, in the course 
 
 * The History of Railways will form a distinct Section.
 
 STOiS^E EAILWATS SUGGESTED. 177 
 
 of a ticelvemontli, £000 for goods damaged by jolting in the carriage.* 
 " I recollect Avlien, before springs were put to stage-coaebes, one 
 could not send a trunk fifty miles Avitbout having it knocked to 
 pieces. "t 
 
 DIAGKAM OF A STO^'E ItAILWAY. 
 
 A discussion respecting the merits of conical or cylindrical 
 wheels lasted more than fifty years, and came many times imder 
 the consideration of Parliament. The questions Avcre, which of those 
 
 * Tlie idea of applying springs to carriages is said to have first occm-red to 
 Mons. Thomas, a resident of Paris, in 1703 ; but that it was many years afterwards 
 before his suggestion began to be adopted. This must be an error, for we find 
 the following curioiis advertisement in the Atlieman Mercury, A^Jril 9, 1692 : — • 
 
 " An Ad'verthemcnt about the Pattent for easie Coac/ies. 
 " A LL the Nob'lity and Gentry may have the Carnages of their Coaches made new, or 
 -^-*- their old ones altered after this New Invention at reasonable Rates, and Hackney and 
 Stage-coachmen may have Licenses from the Patentee, Mr. yo/m Green, and Mr. TVillian: 
 Dockivra his partner, at the rate of I2d: per week, to drive the Roads and Streets, some 
 of which having this week begun, and may be known from the common Coaches, by 
 the words Fattent-Coac/j, being over both doors in carv'd letters. These Coaches are so 
 hung, as to render them easier for the Paflenger, and lefl' labour to the Horses. The 
 Gentlemen's Coaches turning in narrow Streets and Lanes in as little, or less room than 
 any French Carriage with a Crane-neck, and not one-third part of the charge. The 
 manner of Coachmen's sitting is more convenient, and the motion like that of a Sedan, 
 being free from that tossing and joulting to which other Coaches are liable, over rough 
 and broken Roads, Pavements, or Kennels. These great Conveniences (besides others) 
 are Invitations sufficient for all Persons (that love their own ease, and would save their 
 horses draught) to use these sort of Carriages, and no other, since their Coaches need 
 no alteration. All persons may be further informed at Mr. Green s house, in Carteret- 
 Etreet, by the Cock-pit Royal, in Westminster, and at Mr. Dockwra's house in Little 
 St. Helen's in Bis/jopsgate-street, who hopes his Partner and he shall fare better by this 
 Invention, than he did by setting up that of the Penny-Post." 
 
 Tliis is probably the advertisement of the first introduction of springs, 
 together with the system of " locking" carriages, and turning them easily, which 
 was rendered more practicable when the carriages were raised by springs. 
 
 t Testimony of George Orr, Esq., 1809.
 
 178 
 
 DISCUSSIOK ABOUT "WHEELS. 
 
 wheels were most injurious to the roads — wliicli most Ijeueficial 
 for purposes of draught. Couuected with this (pestiou there were 
 others of relative importance — whether roads should be convex, and 
 to wliat degree — or concave, so that the Avlieels might run upon 
 
 /sr= — t:> 
 
 CTLISUEICAL WIIEKL. 
 
 COXICAL WIIEl^L. 
 
 ■"^^^ 
 
 embankments — wliether they sh )u]d be shelving towards one side — 
 or have an even flat surface. Each kind of wheel had its partisan — 
 each description of road its advocate. Mr. Bourn proposed carts 
 with broad rolling Avheels, for exceeding the dimensions of those in 
 use. But the flat surfaces of these rollers 
 became so clogged with the muclc and shingle, 
 Avhich then formed a thick superstratum upon 
 all roads, that their use was found to be quite 
 impracticable. After a contest of manj^ years, 
 the conical v/heels Avere fairly beaten. The 
 experiments of Mr. Gumming, Mr. Edge- 
 worth, Mr. Walker, Mr. Deacon, Mr. Jessop, 
 and others, substantiated tliat conical wheels 
 had a constant tendency to grind and pulverize 
 into impalpable powder the hardest materials, which in wet seasons 
 continually supplied a deep body of sludge ; the dragging and friction 
 on the conical rim, occasioned by the dift'erent velocities of the 
 several parts of its periphery, broke the texture of the materials, 
 and left them i]i a state to admit Avater ; they increased the labour 
 of cattle, and the extra exertion thus occasioiied liad no other effect 
 than the destruction of the roads. 
 
 jIE. BOURN S liOLLlXG CAliT;
 
 ETIDEXCE or WITNESSES. 170 
 
 But, uotwitlistanding all these efforts to regulate traffic and govern 
 the construction of vehicles, so that roads might be preserved in some- 
 thing like working condition, and the outlaj^ of enormous sums of 
 money for keeping them in repair, they were in a most deplorable 
 state. Several of the outlets about town cost nearly £100 per mile 
 for repairs. That of the Highgate trust, of twenty miles, required 
 10,961 loads of ballast, at 6s. the load, yearly. Uxbridge is foiu-teeii 
 miles from London ; the trustees were offered £2500 for the tolls, 
 which they refused ; yet the roads were sometimes allowed to remain 
 in an impassable state. Mr. AVallvcr, Avho gave this evidence before a 
 Parliamentary Committee in ISOS, expressed his opinion that nothing 
 but cast-iron coidd withstand the iucreasino- wear and tear of the liio-h- 
 ways. ]\Ir. Waterhouse, a large coach proprietor, stated to the Com- 
 mittee that he had frequently known the road across Hounslow Heath 
 to be two feet deep in imid. 
 
 That such a state of things was prejudicial to the energies and 
 (commercial interests of the kingdom there can be no doubt. Travel- 
 ling was expensive,* slow, and dangerous. Kobbers still infested the 
 roads. Persons travelling by night preferred the mail, " no other 
 coach being safe."t As late as 1761 large quantities of potterj'- 
 ware were conveyed from Burslem and Newcastle to Bridgenorth 
 and Bewdley, in large crates, on horseback, for exportation, at 
 £2 10s. per ton, there being no better mode of conveyance. In 
 1798, Mr. Porter+ left the town of Gosport at one o'clock in 
 the morning in the " Telegraph," then considered a " fast coach,"' 
 and arrived at Charing Cross at eight in the evening, thus occupy- 
 ing nineteen hours in travelling eight}" miles, being at the rate 
 of rather more than four miles an hour. § The rate of speed of 
 
 * The mail-coacli going from Loudon to Manchester caiTiecl fom- inside passen- 
 gers, at £1 14s. Gd. eaeh ; two outside passengers at £2 12s. 6d. each ; thi-ee 
 hundred- weight of luggage at 4d. per lb. The " Telegraph " (stage-coach) earned 
 four inside passengers to Manchester at £4 4s. each; and ten hundi-ed- weight of 
 luggage at id. per lb. — Jlr. Hasher's Evidence before a Parliamentary/ CummiHee, 
 1811. 
 
 t Evidence of Mr. Hasker. 
 
 J Author of the " Progress of the Nation." 
 
 § There is extant the storj' of a man with a wooden leg, who was stumping along 
 a road, when he passed a hostelrie where a four-horse coach was changing its team. 
 Being known to the coachman, that functionary hailed him, saying, " Halloa ! Jim ; 
 going our way ? You're welcome to a lift." " No, thank 'e," replied the pedestrian 
 with the stmnp, " I'm in a hurry !"
 
 180 cllA^'ClEs wnicn had taken place. 
 
 coaclies Avas six and a-lialf miles an hour, and this " tore the horses 
 hearts out," so that they lasted only three years. The stage-coach 
 left Manchester at four in the afternoon, and arrived at London about 
 nine the folloAving morning, accomplishing the distance of one hundred 
 and ninety miles in twenty-nine hours. The mail-coach left Man- 
 chester about two o'clock in the morning, and arrived in London about 
 six the following morning : thus the mail took about one hoiu- less 
 than the stage. 
 
 Yet this was a complete revolution from the state of locomotion 
 in a remoter time. Tourteen days Avere once required to perform the 
 journey between London and Edinburgh. The Earl of Shrewsbury 
 thought a four days' journey from Wingfield to London, one hundred 
 and forty-six miles, a very short one. The carters of Cumberland took 
 eleven days to travel from London to Londesborough, two hundred 
 and t])irty-four miles. Queen Elizabeth died on the 2ith of March, 
 and James of Scotland was proclaimed king in London on the sam.e 
 morning ; " yet the ucavs of it reached not York luitil Sunday, March 
 the 27th." James I. occupied five weeks travelling from Edin- 
 burgh to London ; but his progress Avas a royal one, in those days slow 
 and full of pageantry. The news of the abdication of James II. did 
 not reach the Orkneys until three months after the event took place. 
 Although occasional and important matters Avere hastened more 
 rapidly, a communication between Oxford and Yorkshire usually re- 
 quired a month. Charles I. made a great improveuient when he 
 appointed a post that should go to Edinbiu^gli and back in six days. 
 The news reached BridgeAvater that CroniAvell Avas made Protector 
 nineteen days after that event, and tlie bells were then set ringing. 
 Sir William Dugdale, in 1659, took three days in travelling by coach 
 from Coventry to London. In 1G67 a coach journey from Oxford to 
 London required tAvo days. In 1682 a similar journey from Notting- 
 ham to London occupied four days. In 1678 an agreement Avas made 
 to run a coach between Edinburgh and GlasgoAV, a distance of forty- 
 four miles, which Avas to be draAvn by six horses, and to perform the 
 journey from GlasgoAv to Edinburgh and back in six days. In 1752 
 the fast coacli took four days journeying from London to Exeter. 
 The journey Avas completed in the folloAving stages : — Monday, dinner 
 at Egliam ; put up for the night at Murrell's Green. Tuesday, dinner 
 at Sutton ; night at Salisbury. Wednesday, dinner at Blandford ; 
 night at Dorchester. Thursday, reached Exeter at one. So late as
 
 STATE or scotla:>d. 181 
 
 1763 there was but one stage-coach from Ediuhurgli to London, and 
 that set out only once a month, taking from twelve to fourteen days 
 to perform the journey. Prior to railway communication between 
 Lofidon and Scotland, there were three or foiu' coaches which set out 
 each day from Edinburgh to London, and conversely, performing the 
 journey in from forty-five to fox*ty-eight hours. In 1712 the one 
 stage-coach that travelled between London and Oxford began the 
 journey at seven in tlie morning, and did not reach its destination 
 until the eveuing of the following day. The same journey has since 
 been regularly performed lij coaches in six hovirs. Instances are 
 recorded of persons travelling in carriages, as late as 1780, taking care 
 that their attendants carried hatchets for the purpose of lopping the 
 branches of trees tliat stood in the way. Even so late as the middle 
 of the last century it took a day and a-half for the stage-coach to 
 travel from Edinburgh to Glasgow. 
 
 In Scotland, and the remoter parts of Great Britain, matters were 
 much Avorse. 
 
 Sir Alexander Gordon, of Culvenan, in Scotland, giving evidence 
 before a Parliamentary Committee, 1808, stated that in the year 1758 
 there were no made roads in the two counties of Galloway, Scotland ; 
 t]iat there were only four or five carriages for travelling, and about twice 
 as many carts, and no inland trade except in cattle. " About fifty years 
 ago," he said, " the Marquis of Downshire was travelling tln-ough 
 Galloway, having lahouro's icitli their tools attending his coach, which 
 was then a necessary part of the retinue ; but notwithstanding that 
 precaution, his Lordship and family were obliged to send away their 
 attendants, and to juiss a night -in his coach, upon the Corse of Slakes, 
 a iiill three miles from the viUage of Creetoicn. That event was the 
 cause of consultation between his Lordship and tlie Duke of Queens- 
 berry, and other noblemen and gentlemen of the neighbourhood ; and 
 forty-seven or forty-eight years ago, Colonel Eixon was sent by Go- 
 vernment, with a large party of soldiers, to make a road through 
 these counties and Dumfries." 
 
 ^ Nor were these defects peculiar to the " unmade " roads. In Mr. 
 ^Vrthiu' Young's '• Tour in the North of England," 1770, he gives the 
 i' illovv^ing description of a turnpilce road between Preston and Wigan: — 
 •• I know not, in the whole range of language, terins sufficiently 
 expressive to describe this infernal road. To look over a map, and 
 perceive that it is a pi'incipal one, not only to some toA^-ns, 1mt even
 
 182 Cosmo's travels ii^r 10G9. 
 
 wliole counties, one would naturally conclude it to be at least decent ;. 
 but let me most seriously caution all travellers wIjo maj^ accidentally 
 piirposo to travel this terrible county, to avoid it as they would the 
 devil, for a thousand to one but they break their nechs and limbs' by 
 overthrows and breakings down. They will here meet with ruts, 
 which I actually measured, four feet deep, and floating vnth. mud, only 
 from a wet summei- — what, therefore, must it be after a winter ! The 
 only mending it receives in places is the tumbling in some loose stones, 
 which serves no other purpose but jolting a carriage in the most 
 intolerable manner. These are not merely opinions, but facts, for I 
 actually passed three carts broken down, in these eighteen miles of 
 execrable memor3^" 
 
 The Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosmo III., visited England in 
 IGGO, and made a journey through some of its principal parts. At 
 the request of the Duke, several large views of the places visited by 
 him were taken; and from these we gather interesting particulars 
 of the general aspect of the country at that time. In many of the 
 landscapes there are ]io indications of roads, altliough they embrace 
 a large extent of country ; but wherever roads appear, they are repre- 
 sented as cut into deep ruts, with large stones thrown down in the 
 Avorst places to fill them up. Not one of them exhibits a fence. The 
 wide road in front of "Whitehall, which may be supposed to have been 
 the best of its time, being near the seat of royalty and of government, 
 is shown to have been cut into four deep ruts, Avhich are carefully 
 depicted by the artist to the extreme perspective of the picture. In 
 these views, therefore, we have a picturesque survey corroborating all 
 the scattered evidence which we have gathered upon the defective 
 state of the highwaj'S. In fact, it Avas only a fcAV years prior to 
 Cosmo's visit, that an Act was passed (1662) to regidate the width 
 of the wheels of carts and waggons, and when it was endeavoured to 
 enforce the laAV, it Avas foimd that the wheels, as then constructed, 
 coidcl not travel in ilie ruis, and as the ruts could not be done away 
 Avith, a proclamation was issued to stay the punishment of offenders, 
 until further proceedings in Parliament. 
 
 It has often been said that the exigencies of states give birth to 
 genius in men by which difficulties may be overcome. AVe find, beyond 
 this principle, a significant and remarkable providence in the fact, 
 that at the time Avhen our comatiw Avas distressed and languishing for
 
 m'ada:\i axd TELroKD. 183 
 
 the want of better means of intercomminiicatiou, there were born two 
 individuals gifted from childhood with the peculiar talents which 
 the necessities of tlie age demanded. M'Adam was born in 1750, 
 and Telfoei) in 1757. It is remarkable, too, that as the genius of 
 each became developed, one should exhibit, as Telford did, a pre- 
 dilection for the construction of canals, bridges, locks, roads, and 
 tunnels, requiiing for his plans new appliances and fresh materials, 
 wdiile the other, M'Adam, made it his particular aim to repair the 
 old ways, and to apply to the construction of excellent roads the 
 materials which lay in accumulated abundance upon every ancient 
 highAvay, but which, from ignorance of the simplest principles of 
 road-making, encumbered and barricaded the thoroughfares they were 
 designed to repair. It is remarkable, too, that these men, vrhose 
 services can never be too highly appreciated, having fulfilled their 
 mission, died Avithin two years of each other,* but not until they had 
 seen the complete success of their ovfn labours, and caught a glimpse 
 of those greater works which had been begun by other hands to 
 meet the increasing wants of a still advancing nation. 
 
 M'Adam pointed out that v»^hile the construction of wheeled cai'- 
 riages, the v.'eights they were to draw, and the breadth and form of 
 their wheels, had been the subjects of constant inquiry, the main 
 question, the fiaiure of tJ/e o'Gads on u'liich tlie carriages toere to travel, 
 had not heen adeqiiatehj attended to. He pointed out that the roads 
 round the metropolis were made with gravel, which was a defective 
 material, inasmuch as that it contained earth, the component parts 
 being of very unequal size, and all of them of a round form, having no 
 points of contact, did not consolidate and form a smooth surface ; the 
 consequences Avere, that those roads were very heavy, were ahvays loose 
 and needing continual reparation. They were also generally so raised 
 in the middle as to make it dangerous for carriages to pass over them, 
 and many accidents happened from this erroneous form. In Essex, 
 Kent, and Sussex, where flint was abundant, it was thrown upon the 
 roads in just the state in which it was dug from the earth. The 
 unequal action of large and small pieces jarred and jolted the carriages, 
 and caused the highways to be in a continual state of roughness and 
 want of repair. In Grloucester, Somerset, and "Wilts, where lime- 
 stone abounded, it also was laid down in imbroken and unequal masses, 
 and the same evils prevailed. In Staffordshire and Shropshire, the 
 
 * Telford died in 183 I, M'Adam in 1836.
 
 184 MR. GABRIEL STONE. 
 
 roads were priucipally made of round pebbles, of ten or twelve pounds' 
 weigbt, mixed witli sand, and tbose roads, although very expensive, 
 were nearly impassable. In Devonshire, and in tlie northern English 
 counties and southern Scotcli counties, although good materials were 
 abundant, the principles of road-making were so imperfectly inider- 
 stood, that the highways, kept up at an enormous expense, were in a 
 most deplorable condition. M'Adam pointed out that the previous 
 method of effecting repairs had been altogether erroneous, for when 
 they were needed, the j)lan was to bring a supply of new materials, 
 and throAV them down upon the old and bad foimdation. The materials 
 of roads, he shovrcd, were not worn out, lut simplij displaced, and 
 therefore every old road had a quantity of materials sufficient to 
 last for several years. As a proof of this, the cost of M'Adamizing 
 Eegent Street, Whitehall, and Palace Yard, amounted to £12,842, 
 which was reduced by the value of the old materials to £6055. 
 
 A writer in the JFarmer''s Journal, 1821, claimed for Mr. Grabriel 
 Stone, of Somerset Farm, near Axbridge, Somerset, the credit of 
 iutroduciug the system of what is termed Macadamizing roads prior to 
 the time of M'Adam. He " rendered tlie road from Axminster to 
 Hiu'tspit, and beyond, almost as smooth as a bowling-green, dry, firm, 
 and effectual, inasmuch as stage-coachmen cowplained iliat it teas too 
 good, (IS if made hotli coachmen and horses careless, so that theij offener 
 tripped on this road than on the roads which tcere icorse.'''' These pre- 
 judices against new roads were not confined to coachmen. Many 
 looked upon tlie works which were commenced as an unjustifiable 
 cutting up of tlie country, and even quoted Jeremiah vi. 16.* The 
 old conservative coachman, the IMarlborough one, Avould not use the 
 new turnpike road, but stuck to the old waggon track. f Tlie Blandford 
 waggoner said, " Eoads had but one object — for waggon driving. He 
 required but five foot width in a lane, and all the rest might go to the 
 devil." " The gentry," he considered, " ought to stay at home and be 
 d — d, and not ruu gossiping up and do^mi the country. "J 
 
 There can be no doubt that, although Mr. Stone may have adopted, 
 to some extent, the system of M'Adam in one locality, it was to 
 tlie great zeal and energy of the latter that the coimtry became 
 
 * " Thus saitli the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, 
 where is the good way, and walk in it, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But 
 they said, We wiU not walk in it." 
 
 t Roberts's " Social History." + " Gentleman's Magazine."
 
 m'adam's and Telford's systems. 185 
 
 indebted for the excellent, safe, and economical roads wliicli soon 
 displayed their improved and durable surfaces in every part of the 
 kingdom. 
 
 M' Adam's principle of road -making consisted in this — that 
 angtdar fragments of hard material, sufficiently reduced in size, will 
 coalesce, or bind, with other admixtures, into a compact and stone-like 
 mass, nearly impenetrable to water, which being laid almost flat, so as 
 to allow of carriages passing freely upon all parts of the road, will 
 wear evenly throughout, not exhibiting the appearance of ruts, or of 
 other inequalities. He laid it down as an important part of his 
 system, that when roads were made they should not be abandoned 
 to chances, and be put in repair only when they had become almost 
 imj)assable ; but that a newly Macadamized road should be watched 
 for some time after its construction, and every inequality at once be 
 filled up, until a hard and level surface had been obtained, when 
 the road would last for years without further attention, and it would 
 then matter little what wheels or weights travelled over it. 
 
 The system of road-making pursued by Telford was more elaborate 
 and expensive than that of M'Adam. It was a part of his plan to 
 reduce all steep ascents, and to take the most direct course to the 
 places to be reached. Pie would allow no acclivity that sliould 
 exceed one foot in thirty-five, so that no difficulty might be presented 
 to fast driving, either in ascending or descending ; the road should be 
 properly fenced, and be of regular form and width ; when likely to be 
 much used by heavy carriages, it should have a regular foundation 
 of large stones, over which a coating, about six inches deep, of small 
 broken stones should be laid, so as to present a surface, solid, uniform, 
 smooth, and convex. The road should also be raised above the level 
 of the surrounding ground, have proper di'aius, and an exposui'e to 
 sun and wind, so as to produce rapid evaporation of moisture. Of the 
 perfection of Telford's system the following will aff"ord some evidence. 
 He had been engaged by the Commissioners of Highland Eoads and 
 Bridges to construct a new road in the Highlands of Scotland. Most 
 of the new road was to be carried through extensive districts 
 previously devoid of even a horse-track, or any accommodation for 
 travellers ; the lime for mortar was of necessity carried upwards of 
 twenty miles upon horses' backs, and arch-stones were imported by sea. 
 Tet in twelve and a-quarter miles of the above-mentioned road (as an 
 example of its elaborate structure) there were seventy cross di-ains, 
 
 o
 
 18G IMPEOYEMENTS EErECTEl). 
 
 equal to two feet square eacli ; iiiue arches of three feet span, one of 
 four feet, two of six feet, two of eight feet, one of ten feet, one of six- 
 teen feet, one of twenty feet, two of thirt}' feet, one of thirty-five feet, 
 in all twenty in number, besides the repairs of still larger bridges over 
 the Spey and Avon. The road was twenty feet in breadth, and the 
 cost was about £530 per mile. 
 
 In Telford's Eeport to the Lords of the Treasury, made in tlie 
 autumn of 1802, he stated that, previous to 1732, the roads in the 
 northern parts of Scotland Avere mere tracks ; and although, between 
 1715 and 1745, a few military roads Avere formed, and afterwards many 
 more, they Avere little adapted to civil piirposes ; that, although bridges 
 were tlien constructed over some of the smaller streams, yet the 
 principal rivers could only be crossed by inconvenient and dangerous 
 ferries. On the Avestei-n side of the island, the military road, com- 
 mencing near Dumbarton, passed through Inverary to the Black 
 Mount — down the narrow, rocky pass of Griencoe, to Port William — 
 and along the Great Grlen, Avith a bi-auch to Bernera Barracks, opposite 
 to the Isle of Skye ; in aU which routes tlie roads were equally rugged 
 and impassable. In the course of eighteen years upAvards of 920 miles 
 of ncAv roads were made in the Highlands of Scotland under Telford's 
 system, in connection Avith AAhich there were 1117 bridges. The eifect 
 Avas to open a new country, to increase tlie value of land, and to facili- 
 tate communication Avith parts that had previously been cut off from 
 the centres of civilization. In England, the Carlisle road to Glasgow, 
 and the London and Holyhead road, were reconstructed on Telford's 
 plan ; and in Wales the South road Avas surveyed and improved by 
 Telford. These excellent higliAvays are noAv unrivalled in any part 
 of the world. 
 
 In England, the system of Macadamizing was found to be so 
 successful and economical, that not only the main-roads and bye-Avays 
 underwent a complete transformation, but, in many of the principal 
 streets of large cities, the carriage-paving was taken xip, the stones 
 broken and scattered, and the streets rendered smooth, dry, noiseless, 
 and durable. By a Parliamentary Paper, 1843, it appears that the 
 expense of maintaining and cleansing certain Macadamized streets in 
 London amounted yearly to less than two shillings the square yard ; 
 that the expense of maintaining stone carriage-paving was about nine 
 shillings the square yard. It is barely necessary to mention that wood- 
 paving, whicli was tried at an expense of about ten shillings the square
 
 EFFECTS or IMPROYEME>'TS UPON POPULATION. 187 
 
 yard has proved a complete failure.* M'Adam was rewarded for his 
 patriotic exertions by a grant of £10,000 from the Government. He 
 declined a proffered knighthood, which honour -oas subsequently 
 conferred upon his son. Telford found his reward in constant and 
 remunerative employment upon the greatest public Avorks of this 
 kingdom, and of other countries — for his fame had spread through- 
 out the world. We shall have, however, to speak of his other 
 achievements. 
 
 Of the moral and social effects of road improvements, we have 
 some interesting testimonies : — " When I first became acquainted with 
 the Highlands," said Mr. Loch, before a Parliamentary Committee, 
 in 1835, " the great proportion of the people, in place of being imme- 
 diate tenants of the landlord, held of the different tacksmen. Since 
 then almost all persons occupying land have become immediate tenants 
 to the landlord. They were extremely irregular in their habits, being 
 poachers on the river, and smugglers, and since then, in Sutherland, 
 they have given up both, and have become most industrious workmen 
 in every class of agricultural labour. It was uecessarj^, at the period 
 I mention, to get ploughmen from Elgin, and that side of the Moray 
 Firth ; and there was not a person who could build a stone wall, the 
 ordinary mode of enclosing land in that country." 
 
 In 1822, ]\rr. Crriffith, speaking upon the subject of roads in Ire- 
 land, said — " The fertile plains of Limericlc, Cork, and Kerry are 
 separated from each other by a deserted country, hitherto nearly an 
 impassable barrier. This large district comprehends upwards of 900 
 square miles, and in many places it is very populous. The people are 
 turbulent, and their houses being inaccessible for want of roads, it is 
 not surprising that, during the disturbances of 1821 and 1822, this 
 district was the asylum for white-boys, smugglers, and robbers, and 
 that stolen cattle were drawn into it as to a safe and impenetrable 
 retreat." 
 
 In the course of the succeeding seven years, several roads were 
 opened through this deserted country to the places where communities 
 had begun to gather. During that short period, according to the same 
 testimony, " a very considerable improvement had taken place in the 
 vicinity of the roads, both in the industry of the inhabitants and the 
 
 * These figures may be liable to partial inaccuracies, in consequence of some 
 inexplicable deficiencies in the Parliamentary Paper referred to.
 
 188 LORD JOHN Russell's erroneous criminal statistics. 
 
 appearance of the country ; upwards of sixty lime-kilns had been built ; 
 carts, ploughs, harrows, and improved implements had become com- 
 mon ; new houses of a better class had been built, new enclosures 
 made, and the country had become perfectly tranquil, and exhibited a 
 scene of industry and exertion at once pleasing and remarkable." 
 
 A Board of Commissioners of Public Works was appointed in 
 Ireland in 1S31. In one of their subsequent reports the Commis- 
 sioners state, that " Eoads have been the means of fertilizing deserts, 
 and of depriving the lawless disturbers of the public peace of their 
 place of refuge, affording them at the same time resources for an active, 
 honest industry, of which, we must do them the justice to observe, 
 they have not shown any indisposition to avail themselves. In tra- 
 versing a country covered with forms, and in a high state of cultivation, 
 showing every sign of a good soil, and of amply remimerating produce, 
 it becomes difficult to credit the fact that, ten or twelve years since? 
 the whole country was a barren waste, the asylum of a miserable and 
 lawless peasantry, who were calculated to be a burthen rather than a 
 benefit to the nation ; and that this improvement may entirely be 
 attributed to the expenditure of a few thousand pounds in carrying a 
 good road of communication through the district."* 
 
 * AVliile writing upon this subject, tlie Author's attention has been called to 
 some Criminal Statistics quoted by Lord John Russell, in his inaugural address at 
 the meeting of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science, at 
 Lirerpool, October 11, 1858. His Lordsliip is reported to have said — " From the 
 returns jjresented to Parliament, I am about to quote the results of the trials 
 wliich have taken place on several subjects of criminal jurisdiction. Those are the 
 offences of — 1, shooting at, stabbing, or wounding ; 2, robbery ; 3, burglary ; 4, 
 housebreaking ; 5, larceny in a dwelling-house ; 6, forgery, and uttering forged 
 instruments. The returns show tlie numbers convicted, sentenced to death, and 
 executed for these offences in one year in every 10 fi'om 1817 to 1857, or, in 
 other words, the changes which have taken place in 40 years. I give you the 
 results : — 1817, 911 convicted, 911 sentenced to death, and 78 executed ; 1827, 
 1113 convicted, 1113 sentenced to death, and 41 executed ; 1837, 1061 convicted, 
 405 sentenced to death, and none executed ; 1847, 1498 convicted, 18 sentenced 
 to death, and none executed ; 1857, 2057 convicted, 21 sentenced to death, and 
 none executed. The population of Great Britain has increased, from 1811 to 1851, 
 in round numbers, from 12,000,000 to 21,000,000 ; and in England and Wales from 
 10,000,000 to 18,000,000. You will perceive that convictions have increased in a 
 greater proportion. Upon examining these returns more in detail, there is a further 
 result, namely, a great increase in the crimes accompanied with personal violence. 
 Tims, the number convicted of shooting at, stabbing, or wounding, has increased, 
 between 1817 and 1857, from 26 to 208, and of robbery from 154 to 378; while 
 larci.'ny in a dwelling-house has only increased from 143 to 246; burglary has
 
 CONYICTIOyS IXCEEASED, NOT CRIME. 189 
 
 According to the returns made in 1841 for England and Wales, by 
 surveyors of parishes, townships, or places which repair their own high- 
 increased from 374 to 473 ; housebreaking, from 152 to 568 ; forgery, etc., from 
 62 to 184. It would be vei-y desirable to have more complete information on these 
 several heads. It is very important to ascertain whether the repeal of capital punish- 
 ment has led to greater readuiess to proseciite on the part of the injured, and greater 
 readiness to convict on the part of juries, and, lastly, whether, and to what extent, 
 crime has really inci-eased." It is much to be regi-etted that, upon so conspicuous an 
 occasion, and by such an eminent social reformer, a statement thus calcidated to dis- 
 courage the friends of Progi'ess should have been put forth without due consideration- 
 His Lordship's statement amounts to this — that, in the face of our national improve- 
 ments, and the diffusion of knowledge, crimes of the worst description have increased 
 in a greater ratio than population. The many authentic facts contained in this 
 History of Roads sufficiently negative such a conclusion. His Lordship's statistics 
 commence in 1817, and extend to 1827, 1837, 1847, and 1857, each decennary period 
 exhibiting a large increase in the number of coniictions. Omitting from pi-esent 
 consideration the great increase of population, it must be remembered that soon after 
 the first period, the organization of an efficient pohce commenced. In 1824, the 
 Irish Police was remodelled ; in 1829, the Metropolitan Pohce was remodelled under 
 Sir Eobert Peel ; the preamble of the Edl set forth that the local estabhshment of 
 nightly watch and nightly police have been found inadequate to the prevention [and, 
 of course, to the detection] of crime, by reason of the frequent inaptness of the 
 individuals employed, the insignificancy of their numbers, the limited sphere of 
 their authority, and their want of connection and co-operation with each other. 
 Further improvements were made in 1836 ; the Counties and District Constabulary 
 were organized in 1839 ; in 1837, the most efficient detective, the electric telegraph, 
 came into operation ; during the same period, several extradition treaties were 
 concluded between England and foreign states, and the escape of a criminal rendered 
 almost impossible. The classes of offenders committing acts of personal violence, 
 shown to have so much increased, are just those who, under the old system of 
 watching and constabulai^, would have escaped ; but, vmder a well-organized system 
 of police, they are now brought to justice. The abolition of capital punishment 
 in cases of forgery and felony, as hinted at by liis Lordship, renders the pro- 
 secution of such ofieuders a matter of greater ease than hitherto, when the death 
 penalty was considered by the prosecutor and by juries to be more than adequate 
 to the ofi'ence. These facts, together with the growth of population, explain the 
 apparent increase of crime. The truth is, the detection of crime, and the adminis- 
 tration of justice, have progressed with the general impronement of the institutions of 
 the country. 
 
 The figures quoted by Lord John EusseU, unexplained, point to these absurd 
 hypotheses : — that education is more favourable to crime than ignorance ; that 
 wide streets, ht by gas, ofier greater facdities to thieves than narrow lanes and 
 flickering oil-lamps, or absolute darkness ; that railways are conducive to high- 
 way robberies ; and that electric telegraphs are of no effect in capturing felons ; 
 that the old " watch" was superior to the present system of well-disciiJ lined 
 pohce ; and that the best remedy for crime is to let it alone in unmolested ignorance, 
 since, to instruct the people and to institute protective forces, only augments the 
 criminal calendar!
 
 190 STATISTICS OF BOADS AND COACHES. 
 
 ways, it appears that, iu 1839, tlie length of turnpilce roads was 1966 
 miles ; of streets or roads repaired rnider local acts, 28G9 miles ; and of 
 all other highways, 90.902 miles ; making of highways for wheeled car- 
 riages in England and AVales, 119.527 miles.* The average expenditure 
 in the repair of highways (exclusive of turnpilic roads and streets under 
 local Acts) was £12 1Sa\ 5t7. per mile. According to other returns, the 
 average annual expenditure in the five years ending 1839, on 22,000 
 miles of tur]]pikes and roads luider local acts, was nearly £51 per mile, 
 of which £3G were for repairs, £9 for improvements, and £6 lor 
 management. 
 
 There were in England in 1837, at which time they probably 
 attained their maximiun number, fifty-fotu* four-horse, and forty-nine 
 pair-horse mail-coaches. The greatest speed attained by them was a 
 little over ten miles an hour. There were thirty four-horse mails in 
 Ireland, and ten in Scotland. The number of stage-coaches, including 
 mails, licensed by the Commissioners of Stamps at the beginning of 
 1837, was 3026. Of this number, about one-half were connected 
 with London. t In the year 1765, it was estimated that the number of 
 four-wheeled carriages in the kingdom was 12.904, in 1825, they had 
 increased to 20,799, besides two-wheeled carriages, which in 1765 
 were a very inconsiderable number, but amounted in 1825 to 
 45,856. 
 
 In 1821, a Canterbury paper published a brief article upon the 
 improvement of coach travelling, in which it remarked upon the fact, 
 " that we can now travel to London and back, and have time to 
 transact business in one day," the whole distance being a hundred and 
 twelve miles. That, indeed, Avas a great achievement in those times. 
 Then the stage-coach, with its beautiful team, had become a " thing 
 of beaiity and of joy" — but not "for ever." The sober people of 
 Canterbury, as they ran to their doors when they heard the rattling of 
 the wheels, or the shrill vibrations of the horn, may have thanked 
 their stars that they lived in times to see such a beautiful picture, and 
 when, as they believed, the perfection of locomotion had been achieved ! 
 The Brighton road may be said to have been covered with coaches, no 
 less than twenty-five running upon it in the summer. The fastest was 
 the Eed Rover, whidi performed the journey rmder five hours. 
 
 * There were some deficiencies in the return?, which would probably have 
 added 1000 or 2000 miles more. 
 
 t Porter's "Progi-css of the Nation."
 
 '^'-'^^^(.7^ 
 
 "Tliis was what is termed on the 
 road, a long fall of ground, and tlic 
 coach rather pressed upon tlie horse?. 
 The temper of the race-horse hecanie 
 exhausted ; breaking into a caiiter, lie 
 was ot little use, and there was then 
 nothing tor it hut a gallop. The near 
 leader only wanted the signal; and the 
 point of the thong being thrown lightly 
 over his back, they were otf like au 
 arrow out of a bow : but the rocking 
 of the coach was awful, and more par- 
 ticularly so to the passengers on tlie roof. 
 Nevertheless, she was not in any dan- 
 ger: the master-hand of the artist kept 
 her in a direct line ; and, meeting the 
 ojjposing ground, she steadied, and all 
 was right." 
 
 THE STAGE-CUACU.
 
 RUJJNIXG rOOTMEK. 191 
 
 That called the Age, driven and horsed by Mr. Steveusou, was an 
 object of such admiration at Brighton, tliat a crowd collected every 
 day to see it start. Mr. Stevenson had been a graduate at Cambridge, 
 but his passion for the lench got the better of all other ambitions. 
 At a certain change of horses on the road, a silver saudwich-box was 
 handed to his passengers by 3Ir. Stevenson's servant, accompanied by 
 a glass of sherry. 
 
 The Edinbm-gh mail ran tlie distance, 400 miles, in forty houi's, 
 and people regulated their watches by her punctuality. Stoppages 
 included, this approached eleven miles an hour, a great deal of it 
 by lamp-light. The Exeter dajr-coach, the Herald, ran over the ground, 
 173 miles, in twenty hours — an admirable performance, considering 
 the hilly country through which she luade her journey.* 
 
 But we are aroused from this pleasant contemplation of the 
 past by a sense that we have ali-eady exceeded the limits allotted 
 to our subject. 
 
 The paper of the dayf has just been brought in, and, siugulaidy 
 ■enough, our eyes fall upon the following paragraph : — 
 
 " The Last Mail Coach. — The old Derby mail, the last of the foui'-horse 
 coaches out of Manchester, finished its course on Saturday. When the rivah-y of 
 rails and steam had run all other coaches ofl" the road, the ' Derby Dilly' still held 
 its own, and the well-known route tlu-ough Buxton and Bakewell to Rowsley could 
 still boast its fom'-in-hand, though the team was hardly equal to what had been seen 
 ■when coaching was m its best days. It was thought, however, that amid the hills 
 and peaks of Derbyshire, a relic of the old coaching gloiy might bo maintained. 
 But the Midland hne penetrated as far as Rowsley some time ago, and more recently 
 the London and North-Western reached Whaley Bridge on the other side, leaving bnt 
 ^ short hnk to be filled up, and the last of the old four-in-hand mails has succiunbed 
 to the competition of the u'ou horse."J 
 
 We have hitherto made no mention of an important appendage 
 to every noble retinue, at a time when the roads of the country were 
 undeveloped, when there was no post, and when conveyances were 
 few and slow : these were Running Footmen, who were employed 
 to bear messages and letters with speed, and also to attend on foot 
 persons travelling on horseback or in carriages, so as to be ready, 
 
 * " Quarterly Review," 1832. t October 9, 1858. 
 
 X Tiie last mail-coach probably of the Midland Counties. There are others yet 
 lingering on the roads of Cornwall, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, waiting for the 
 vextension of the iron arms of railways.
 
 192 RUNNING FOOTMEN. 
 
 iu case of any emergency or disaster, to render assistance, or be the 
 bearers of messages. The following description of one is from the 
 " Eecollections of the Life of John O'Keefe :" — 
 
 " My Lords, or the Squires, was called the Big House, and had its privileged fool or satirist, 
 its piper, and its Running Footman : the latter I have often seen skimming or flying acrofs the 
 road 5 one of them I particularly remember, his dreff, a white jacket, blue silk sash around 
 his waist, light black -velvet cap, with a silver taffel on the crown, round his neck a frill with 
 a ribbon, and in his hand a staff' about seven feet high, with a silver top. He looked so agile, 
 and seemed all air, like a Mercury: he never minded the roads, but took the shortest cut, and, 
 by the help of his pole, absolutely seemed to fly over hedge, ditch, and small rivers. His use 
 was to cany a letter, mefl'age, or despatch ; or, on a journey, to run before and prepare the 
 inn, or baiting-place, for the family or master, who came the regular road in coach and two, 
 or coach and four, or coach and six : his qualifications were fidelity, strength, and agility. It 
 was the general rule of every man in the character of a gentleman, never to gallop, or even 
 trot hard, upon a road, except emergency required haste." 
 
 The running footmen wore caps like our present jockey caps, and 
 their clothing, when running, was very slight. The use of their long 
 poles was, as has been seen, to enable them to leap brooks and 
 tiitches ; but it had also another utility : in the knob at the head they 
 carried a potion of white wine and egg, to reinvigorate themselves 
 when exhausted. Some of these men would run three-score miles 
 a-da_y. One of the Dukes of Marlborough (prior to 1780) drove a 
 phaeton-and-four from London to Windsor against one of them for 
 a wager, and just beat him, but the poor fellow died soon after the 
 feat. About sixty years ago there was residing at Lyndhurst a very 
 old man, who had been a rvmning footman. It was his boast that 
 he once ran from London to Lyndhurst, about eighty-six miles, in 
 one day. AVhen roads became improved, and carriages lightened, 
 these expert runners became useless. Aristocratic families, however, 
 were unwilling to entirely give vip such an ancient retainer, and the 
 running footman by degrees degenerated into the liveried attendant 
 with a long cane, following ladies in the parks, and leading a pet 
 lap-dog. 
 
 We shall have, hereafter, to record the Progress of the Post-office, 
 of Newspapers, and of Telegraphs for the transmission of intelligence. 
 But we may now observe, that in the earlier periods of our present 
 history the spread of news was a very tardy operation, and the country 
 was frequently disturbed " in patches," if the term may be allowed, by 
 strange rumours and false alarms. Ey the time that the intelligence
 
 SLOW TEA>'SMISSIO>' OF NEWS. 193 
 
 of any uncommon piece of news reached the northern counties, or 
 the west of England, it was ahnost forgotten at the point whence it 
 originated. Indeed, the chief newsman was the ballad-hawker, who 
 perambiJated the eoimtry, shouting out, with stentorian voice, a sort 
 of recitative, narrating a " glorious victory," an " 'orrid murder," a 
 " last dying speech and confession," or a " hawful happarition," and 
 then commenced singing, in strains not the most melodious, the details 
 of the intelligence, in doggerel rh}Tne, to some popular air. Here 
 is an example of one of the ballad news-sheets of 1665 : — 
 
 " THE EOYAL TICTOEY 
 
 Obtained (with the Providence of Almighty Grod) against the Dutch 
 Fleet, June the 2nd and 3rd, 1665, a fight as bloody (for the time 
 and number) as ever was performed upon the Xarrow Seas, giving 
 a particular account of Seventeen Men of Warr taken ; [Fourteen Sunk 
 and Fired. But Forty that could escape of their whole Fleet, which 
 at this time are hotly piorsued by the Earl of Sandwich. Their Ad- 
 miral, Opdam, slain by the Duke of YorJce's own Frigat. Tan Tnwij} 
 Sunk by Capt. Holmes. 
 
 " The number of their kill'd men amounts to 10,000. 
 
 " To the Tune of Packingtons Pcund." 
 
 [Here follow two rude engravings, a portrait of the Dute of York, and a 
 picture of the battle, and then eleven verses, of which the following forms the 
 conclusion.] 
 
 " Stout Lawson, and Moira, there did both play their parts, 
 Who emptied their Guns in their Enemies' hearts, 
 The burly fat Dutchman being cut out in Slips, 
 The Vessels did looke more like Shambles than Ships. 
 God prosper the Fleet 
 And send they may meet 
 Du Ruiter to make up the Conquest compleat. 
 God bless all the Princes, and Everything 
 That Fights for y^ Kindome and prayes for y^ King." 
 
 Among the various news-sheets of the sixteenth centun^ we have 
 found some curious examples, such as " Sad Keices from BlackicuU," 
 " Glorious Xeices from G-reenwich,'''' etc., published in London probably 
 a week after occurrences to which they related. 
 
 The first mention of the improvement of Eiver Xa^-igation for the 
 ease of inland commerce is that of the union of the rivers Trent and
 
 194 IMPROVEMENTS OF IIIVEIIS. 
 
 Witham, in the reign of Henry I., lor tlie purpose of establishing 
 a navigation from Yorksea to Lincoln, a distance of seven mil es.* 
 In the reign of Henry Yl., an Act was passed for deepening the river 
 Lea from the town of Ware to London. We find no other enact- 
 ments, either for the improvement of rivers or havens, luitil the reign 
 of Henry VIII., that of the Itli Henry VII., for preserving the 
 river Thames, relating only to the fishing therein. In 1G06 an Act 
 of Parliament passed, directing a passage to he made by water from 
 London to Oxford ; but, through some defects, either in the law, or in 
 the plan proposed, the Act was afterwards repealed. In 1624 another 
 Act passed for making the river Thames navigable for barges, lighters, 
 and boats, from the village of Burcot, seven miles on this side of 
 Oxford, to that city, " for the conveyance of Oxford free-stone, by 
 water, to the city of London ; and of coals, and other necessaries, from 
 London to Oxford, now coming, at a dear rate, only by land-carriage ; 
 whereby the roads were become exceeding bad." We learn from the 
 preamble of this Act, that river navigation had existed for some time 
 previously, since it stated that " the river Thames, for many miles 
 beyond the city of Oxford, is already navigable for such barges, 
 lighters, etc., and also from Burcot to London." In 1634 King- 
 Charles granted a license to one Thomas tSkipwith to make the river 
 Soare navigable, from its falling into the ri^er Trent, up to the town 
 of Leicester, Skipwith yielding a tenth part of all the profits, to be 
 paid into the King's exchequer. In 1635 King Charles directed a 
 special commission for making the river Wey navigable from Guild- 
 ford to the river Thames at Weybridge. The river had evidently 
 been previously navigated, as the record observes that " it is now 
 become unfit for the carrying of barges, boats, or vessels of any 
 burden, for transporting of commodities to and from the town of 
 Guildford ;" and Commissioners were thereby authorized to survey 
 the said river AVey, and to inquire by what means the same had 
 become unfit for the carrying of barges, etc. In 1636 Ave find another 
 Commission to a number of lords and gentlemen, for enabling William 
 Sandys, an esquire, to make the river Avon navigable for boats and 
 barges, from the river Severn, near Tewkesbury, through Warwick- 
 shire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire, to the city of Coventry ; 
 and also the river Team, on the west side of the Severn, towards 
 Ludlow. The early eftbrts for the improvement of river navigation 
 
 * Anderson's " History of Coiniuoree.''
 
 THE DUKE OF BEIDGEWATEll's CANAL. 195 
 
 were, however, confined to the deepening of the beds of the rivers, 
 and to the clearing and strengthening of the towing-banks. Por 
 the most part, these improvements were not very successful. The 
 current of the rivers gradually changed the form of their chan- 
 nels ; the dykes, and other artificial constructions, were apt to 
 be destroyed by inundations ; alluvial sand- banks were formed 
 below the weirs ; in summer the channels were frequently too 
 <lry to admit of being navigated, while at other times the current 
 was so strong as to render it quite impossible to ascend the river, 
 which at all times, indeed, was a laborious and expensive imder- 
 taking. These difficulties in the way of river navigation seem to have 
 suggested the expediency of abandoning the channels of most rivers, 
 and of digging parallel to them artificial channels in which water might 
 be kept up at the proper level, by means of locks. The Act passed by 
 the Legislature in 1755, for improving the navigation of Sankey Brook, 
 on the Mersey, gave rise to a lateral canal of this description, about 
 eleven miles in length, whicb deserves to be mentioned as the earliest 
 effort of the sort in England.* 
 
 But it was the Duke of Bridgewater who first aroused public atten- 
 tion to the national importance of undertakings of this kind, by a canal 
 which he formed to convey coal from one of his estates, at AYorsley, to 
 Manchester, about nine miles distant. The no\el features of this work 
 consisted then (1759) in its taking a direction away from all natural 
 water-courses, passing boldly across the river Irwell, at a height of forty 
 feet above it, by means of an aqueduct 600 feet long, and tunnelling 
 through the solid rock of a large hill, to reach the mouths of the coal 
 pits. This canal, and many others, were made at the private expense 
 of the Duke of Bridgewater, who is said to have lived upon the limited 
 income of £400 a-year, in order that he might invest the Avhole of his 
 princely income in these great undertakings. The signal success which 
 attended the first canals convinced the nation of the great advantao-es 
 to be derived from still-water navigation ; and extensions from the ' 
 river Mersey to the Trent, Severn, and Thames quickly followed.f 
 Mr. Telford, in his autobiography, mentions, as an instance of the 
 eagerness of the public, about 1790, for canal speculations, that, at the 
 first general meeting of the promoters of the Ellesmere Canal (112 
 
 * M'Cullocli's " Dictionaiy of Commerce." 
 t Waterston's '• Cyclopaedia of Commerce."
 
 196 
 
 STATISTICS OF CAXALS. 
 
 miles long, and connecting the Mersey, Dee, and Severn), four times 
 the estimated cost was at once subscribed without hesitation. 
 
 From the commencement of the Canal period to the introduction of 
 railways, there had been formed in England about 2400 miles of 
 
 CANAL NAVIGATION. 
 
 canals ; in Ireland, 300 miles ; in Scotland, 200. These works were, in 
 their time, unequalled for extent, and for all sorts of difficulties over- 
 come. As specimens of the latter may be mentioned the tunnel at
 
 STATISTICS OF CAKALS. 
 
 197 
 
 Blisworth, on tlie Grand Junction Canal, wliicli "vras 3080 yards in 
 length. The underground cuttings in the Duke of Bridgewater's Canal 
 were said to amount to 18 miles long, and to have cost £170,000. The 
 Marsden tunnel, in the Huddersfield Canal, was 5451 yards long. The 
 
 TEAXSTEESE SECTION OF THE THAMES AND MEDWAT CANAL THNNEL, 
 
 Showing the aji^earance of the opening at the distance of one mile within.* 
 
 tunnel at Supperton, in the Thames and Severn Canal, was two miles 
 and three-eighths in length, and 250 feet below^ the highest point of 
 the hill through which it was made. In the Thames and Medway 
 Canal, between Gravesend and Eochester, a timnel two miles and one- 
 
 * From Simms's " Public Works of Great Britain."
 
 198 TAST CANAL DOATS. 
 
 eiglitb was cut through cliallc, and one of tlie tuunels of the Leominster 
 Canal, at Pensax, was 3850 yards long.* 
 
 The slowness of Canal communication, however, rendered it a weak 
 competitor with Jioads for the conveyance of passengers. During 
 the progress of canals, roads underwent, as Ave have already shown, 
 considerable improvement. In Scotland, a greater amount of canal 
 passenger traffic occurred than in any other part of the kingdom. 
 The Eorth and Clyde Canal Company succeeded in attaining a high 
 rate of speed, by the adoption of extremely light barges, called " swift 
 boats," weighing only from two to three tons, and made so as to divide 
 the water easily. They travelled at the rate of from eight to nine miles 
 an hour, and conveyed from eighty to ninet}' passengers each. They 
 performed the distance (5G miles) between Edinburgh and Glasgow in 
 seven hours. On the Grand Juuction Canal, between London and 
 Birmingham, flij-hoats were employed, which averaged a speed of four 
 miles an hour ; they Avcighed from seven to seven and a-half tons, and 
 carried from ten to fifteen tons of goods. The ordinary heavy boats 
 were towed at the rate of from two to two and a-half miles an hour, 
 they weighed six and a-half tons, and carried twenty tons of goods. 
 
 To illustrate the advantages to commerce arising out of the means 
 of communication afforded by canals, it may be mentioned that when 
 the Duke of Bridgewater commenced his canal, the price of water- 
 carriage by the old navigation on the rivers Mersey and Irwell, from 
 Liverpool to Manchester, was twelve shillings the ton, and from War- 
 rington to Manchester ten shillings the ton. Land-carriage was forty 
 shillings the ton ; coals at Mancliester were retailed to the poor at 
 sevenpence per hundred-weight, and often dearer. Upon the opening 
 of the canal tlie tonnage at once fell to one-half the previous amoimt, 
 and coals were sold at fourpence the hundred-Aveight. 
 
 Nor was this the only advantage gained. "With the exception of 
 Avinter frosts, canals afforded a constant and certain passage for 
 merchandise. The communication by rivers Avas frequently ruinously 
 sloAv, from the resistance of the streams, and their winding course, from 
 floods in wet seasons, or from A'^aluable freights being gromided for the 
 Avant of sufficient Avatcr in summer. Manufacturers and merchants 
 were doomed to ruinous losses by these interruptions of intercourse. 
 Thus, neither by road nor river Avas it possible for a healthy commerce 
 to be carried on. Before the Aire and Calder Navigation was 
 * "Watersion's " Cycloptcdin of Commerce."
 
 OPPOSITION TO CAXALS, ETC. 199 
 
 improved, tlie clotliiers of Halifax had no water-carriage within thirty 
 miles, and they sustained great losses by the breaking down of car- 
 riages through the badness of the roads. The clothiei's of Leeds and 
 "Wakefield were often obliged to suspend their business for two mouths 
 at a time, on account of the roads to market being impassable. 
 
 JN^otwithstandiug the great utility of these public works, they were, 
 in many instances, strongly opposed. It was a connnon objection to 
 them, that a large number of people Avere sitpported by land- carriage, 
 and that canals would be their ruin. An advocate of the new canals, 
 regretting that such great injuries woidd residt to carriers, gravely 
 proposed, as a compromise, that no canal sliouhl he alloiced to come 
 within four miles of a j)0])ulous town, so that carriers might find 
 employment in conveying goods from the canal termini to their 
 ultimate destination. It was contended also that canals would have 
 the effect of destroying the breed of horses, and that tlie number kept 
 would be so reduced, that persons would be imable to sell their oats, 
 and must inevitably be ruined. Other arguments against them were, 
 that they would swallow up, as with a water}' deluge, an enormous 
 amount of land, upon which food might be grown ; that the lands in 
 their locality would become swampy, and overgrown with rushes ; that 
 their banks would burst, and towns and villages be constantly liable 
 to be swept away ! 
 
 When tlie project was first started for constructing a eaual from 
 Birmingham to the tStafTordshire and Worcestershire Canal, through the 
 principal coal-worlds, it met with violent opposition from various 
 quarters, particularly from many landowners, and the usual newspaper 
 controversy, pamphlets, squibs, declarations, and protests emanated 
 from the contending parties. It was denounced as an unnecessary and 
 mad scheme ; the interested Avho had invested their capital in many 
 thousand carts and horses, and Avho delivered coal in the town at 
 thirteen shillings per ton, scoffed at the scheme of boats bringing it 
 cheaper, and every conceivable objection was opposed to the new 
 project. When the canal was proposed from Eoading to London, a 
 vehement opposition was raised against it. It v/as urged that the 
 Thames would be injured and neglected ; that the town of Bray, and 
 the neighbouring villages woidd be deluged ; and so energetic were 
 the opponents of this scheme that they succeeded in causing its 
 rejection. These are only a few instances out of a large number. 
 AVhen the Duke of Bridgewater's canal was completed as far as
 
 200 
 
 CASTLE IN THE AIR EEALIZED. 
 
 Barton, Mr. Brindley, the Duke's engineer, proposed to carry it 
 over the Irwell by an aqueduct thirty-nine feet above the surface of the 
 water in the river. This was, however, regarded by many as being an 
 extravagant project, and Mr. Brindley, wishing to assure the Duke of 
 the practicability of the scheme, requested that the opinion of another 
 engineer might be taken. The plan was laid before that authority, 
 and he pronounced upon it this judgment : — " I have often heard of 
 * castles in the air,' but ne\'er before was shown where one of them was 
 to be built!" 
 
 AQXJEDTICT OVER THE IRWJiLL : BEINDLEY'S " CASTLE IN THE AIE." 
 
 This unfavourable verdict did not, however, deter the Duke from 
 supporting the project. The aqueduct was commenced in September, 
 17G0, and the first boat sailed over it on the l7th July, 1761. " It 
 is no unpleasant sight," said a spectator at the time, "to see one 
 vessel sailing over another, which is floating upon the waters nearly 
 fifty feet below !" 
 
 Of the imperfect and dangerous state of river navigation, prior to 
 the enactment of laws to control boatmen, no adequate conception 
 can be formed. An Act was passed in 1G91, 2nd and 3rd William 
 and JMary, to enforce a series of regulations respecting the bargemen 
 and watermen of the river Thames. Prior to the passing of this Act, 
 many disasters had occurred through boats being managed by infirm 
 old men, or young and incapable boys. The watermen were given to
 
 EAKLY ]S^ATIGATI0:N' OF THE THAMES. 201 
 
 dicing, carding, and di-inking, to the neglect of tlieir duties to 
 passengers, and were generally described as " rude, ignorant, and 
 unskilful." Upon the issuing of a Eoyal Commission for the impress- 
 ment of seamen, the able-bodied Tvatermen all absconded, and it was 
 a matter of difficulty to obtain men capable of managing boats on any 
 part of the Thames. The watermen, driven into the country, without 
 means of subsistence, lived by robbery, and when the Commission 
 ceased, they returned to their former pursuits still more brutalized 
 and hardened. Frequently they took passengers into their boats, and 
 rowing them towards some unobserved place, robbed, and either 
 drowned them, or set them on shore, at a point diffici.Jt of access, 
 in a state of complete destitution. To such an extent did these evils 
 prevail, that the Act declared that " Passengers were daily put in fear 
 and peril of their lives." 
 
 Various Acts for the improvement of the Thames' navigation, and 
 the regulation of Avatermen, were passed from time to time. The 
 passage to and from Gravesend to London was made more commodious 
 and safe for passengers than before, by Act of Parliament passed in 
 1736 — 7, for regulating the Company of AVatermen, etc., between 
 Gravesend and Windsor, which limited the number of passengers to 
 forty at the most, on board the tilt-boats, and ten at most by the 
 w^herries ; directed the burden of the said boats ; prohibited close 
 decks, and bails nailed down in the Avherries ; regulated the age of 
 watermen navigating the said boats ; and directed a punishment 
 against such watermen as wilfully lost the tide, or set passenffers on shore 
 tii'o miles short of the place to ichich tliey were hound. The officers 
 of the AYatermen's Company were thereby bound to provide men at 
 Billingsgate, and at Gravesend, who, as near as possible, night and 
 day, at every time of high-water, and first of flood, were, at the 
 respective places, to ring publicly a beU set up for that purpose, for 
 fifteen minutes, to give notice to the tilt-boats and wherries to put off, 
 and make the best of their way, without lying by or putting on shore, 
 being within two miles of their respective ports. — " Which excellent 
 provision must be a great ease and safety to all persons who are 
 obliged to use this passage." 
 
 There was then only the old London Bridge across the Thames, 
 and the difficulty and delay of conveyance to and from the opposite 
 sides of the river must have been considerable. Tet, vrheu it was 
 proposed to build another bridge at Westminster, it met Avitli deter-
 
 202 "WESTillXSTEK BRIDGE OPPOSED. 
 
 niined opposition. Tlie followiug " Eeaso^'s " against the new bridge 
 were gravely drawn up and presented to Parliament, and printed at 
 the time as a Parliamentary docnment : — 
 
 ^^ R E A S O N S 
 
 AGAINST 
 
 Building a Bridge over the Thames at JVest7nin$ter. 
 
 -J-o 
 c 
 
 - 
 
 \ ^HIS Nev/ Bridge will prejudice the Navigation of the 
 
 ©• "^'^ ,-^-'''Jy^ River : 
 
 9' . ' X : ' ■© By retarding the Flux of the Tide; 
 
 '' ® By increasing the Sliallows and the Sandbanks ; 
 
 jj ^ ^ Q By creating new ones in the River everywhere within the compafl" of 
 
 rl^e)©@©©v '^'tc Flux of the Tide; 
 
 By the Danger and Delay which it will create to the Conveyance of Goods 
 and Paflengers, more especially in and about the New Bridge ; 
 
 Danger to the Wherries or smaller Boats. 
 
 to the larger Barges particularly, which are unwieldly, heavy loaded, and not 
 
 cnoily governed either by Sail, Rudder, or Poles. 
 
 by the Fall of the vVater there, whether upon the Flux or Reflux of the Tide : 
 
 by the Eddies which will thereby be created ; 
 
 by the Shallows and Sand-Banks which will be cast up thereabout. 
 
 Delay even to Wherries or small Boats, more especially to larger Veflels, which must no 
 longer palTthat Way by Night, nor in the Day Time, but at High Water, nor then without 
 Danger of falling upon the Piers of the said Bridge, especially in High Winds. 
 
 All which Suggestions are verified by Experience in the like Case. 
 
 Hence iv'tll folloiu : 
 
 The Increase of Labour and Wages ; 
 
 The rise of the Price of all Commodities, whether of Provisions most ncceflaiy, as 
 Grain, Meal, Malt, Fuel, &c., or 
 
 Other Goods and Merchandise whatsoever, brought hither from the Western Parts ; 
 .:s of Commodities sent hence thither, as Coals, Merchandise, &c. 
 
 The Danger of the Loss of valuable Cargoes, of the value of L.2000 and more. 
 
 The Decrease of Watermen so useful to the Sea Service, whether 
 
 Private, or 
 
 Publick Service. 
 
 Danger to the Houses and L.mds adjoining, especially between the two Bridges; 
 
 by Overflowings ; 
 
 by Breaches which may be made in the Banks, which may neither be pre- 
 vented nor retrieved. 
 
 ^dd hereto. The Injury which v/ill be done to the City of Lcndon, whether 
 In its Rents, Tolls, and Profits of Markets, etc. 
 
 The Revenue appropriated for the maintenance of the Bridge will be greatly leflencd. 
 The Revenue of the City of London will, in many respects, be injured, and the 
 Trade thereof ruined. 
 If the City's Estate be impaired, the Orphans Vvill loose Part of the Security for their 
 Debt; and though the City may be able to pay on L.8000 per annum to the said Orphans 
 (which is a question) it will be impofTible to pay in a Few Years L. 14,000 per annum, as the 
 City stands oblig'd to do. In the Trade of the City, v/hich by this means will be transferred 
 to the West End of the Suburbs, and which City will thenceforward be no longer able to pay, 
 as hitherto it hath done, and still doth, no less than above L.60,000 per annum towards the 
 Land-Tax only, at Two Shillings in the Pound, besides all other Public Taxes, Parish Taxes, 
 Ward Taxes, and Scots of Freedom, which are very large. 
 It will be injurious to the Property of the City : 
 In the Soil of the River Thames : 
 
 In the Conservancy of the River Thames, w^hich reaches from above Ztanes Bridge 
 down to Tcnland, in the County of Kent. 
 
 Lastly, The like Proposals have been formerly made in the several Reigns of King Charles 
 II., King James II., and King George ; but rejected for Reasons now suggested."
 
 THE >'ATION S GRATITUDE DUE TO THE IMPEOVEES. 203 
 
 When we view the Thames in its present state, aud contemplate 
 llie series of heautiful bridges, from the new Suspension Bridge at 
 Pimlico to that which bears the name of London — thronged by day, 
 and busy even at night ; when we look down from the broad arches of 
 these splendid stiiictures, and see steamers plying to and fro at rapid 
 speed, their decks crowded with passengers ; when we reflect that not 
 only over the Avaters of the Thames do tens of thousands of people 
 pass daily, but that under the bed of the river, beneath the coming 
 or returning rush of waters, men cross and rccross, and pursue their 
 pleasures or their toils free from delay and danger — we look back 
 Avith a sad interest to the time when a considerable number of the 
 people feared, distrusted, and opposed, every step to improvement, and 
 Avhen the national mind, lacking the boldness and energy which 
 characterize it in the present day, was ready to crucify the propounder 
 of a new theory, or the projector of a new invention. 
 
 To Brindley, the Duke of Bridgewater's engineer — the projector 
 of the "Castle in the Air" — the nation is largely indebted for the 
 great experiments which established canal communication, and per- 
 fected those bold undertakings of engineering and commercial enter- 
 prise that gave the public confidence in works of progress, without 
 which the enormous improvements of subsequent years would have 
 been deemed mad and ruinous schemes. Brindley preceded M'Adam 
 and Telford by some forty-one years, and when he died, they were 
 ready to continue the work he had began. Telford directed his atten- 
 tion especially to the extension of canals and bridges, which found a 
 great increase, and a high perfection, under the direction of his skill. 
 Nor must we omit the Duke of Bridgewatcr from those to whom 
 the nation's gratitude is due. Born to wealth and greatness, he 
 devoted both money and influence to works productive of the public 
 good. These were the men who conferred upon their country benefits 
 the value of which can never be fully estimated. If we could return 
 to by-gone times, and realize but one day of the difficulties, incon- 
 veniences, and dangers which were incidental to them, we should then 
 be able to comprehend how large a debt of gratitude we owe to those 
 Avho, before our coming, " exalted tlie valleys, made the mountains 
 low, the crooked straight, and the rough places plain." 
 
 The improvement of roads practically extended the ai'ea of every
 
 204) RESULTS TO SOCIETY — GEEATER IMPROVEMENTS TO COME. 
 
 man's social existence — broke down barriers between localities 
 and converted clans, tribes, races, and foctions into one great com- 
 munity — gave ex|)ansiveness to man's ideas, boldness to liis enterprises, 
 honesty and patriotism to liis motives — and taught mankind that 
 their future work should be construction, not spoliation. AVhile 
 improvements were under discussion, it was a constant argument in 
 their favour that, in the event of rebellion or invasion, soldiers might 
 be mai'ched from one extremity of the island to another, and heavy 
 artillery be conveyed with a speed liitherto unknown. This was with 
 many the narrow motive of the approbation and support Avhich they 
 gave to projected improvements. AVe have to be thankful that oiu* 
 better roads have not proved tlie highways to battle-fields. The few 
 local disturbances which have broken out since the era of improvement, 
 occiu-red before the effects of freer eommimication had been fully mani- 
 fested, or in localities where they had been little felt. In a previous 
 century the same amomit of local discontent would have caused the 
 State years of anxiety and peril. Eesults have arisen which were 
 foreseen only by a few. The luxuries of cities and towns have been 
 diffused through villages and hamlets, and the produce of the country, 
 and the surrounding sea, has been transmitted in abundance to the 
 central markets. Organs of information and instruction have found 
 their way into the most remote places, and the broad line of demar- 
 cation between citizen and countryman is fast disappearing. When tlie 
 stage-coach had arrived at perfection, it was frequently spoken of as 
 " a powerful agent of civilization." We shall have hereafter to record 
 the history of works of Progress which eclipse all tliat have previously 
 occu])ied our attention. But let lis never forget the debt of gratitude 
 we owe to those who in less fiivoured times were the first to 
 
 " Bid Ilarbours open, Public Ways extend ; 
 Bid Temples worthier of their God ascend ; 
 Bid tlie broad Arch the dangerous flood contain, 
 The Mole projected break the roaring main ; 
 Back to his bounds, their subject Sea command, 
 And roll obedient Rivers through the land." 
 
 (End OF THE Section upon "Eoads, Carriages, and Inland 
 Navigation.")
 
 STKKET AKl lllTKCTUHK DF THE FIFTEENTH CENTLKY.
 
 III.— DOMESTIC AECHITECTIJEE. 
 
 HE primitive arcliitecture 
 of all countries exhibits a 
 striking simplicity, and dif- 
 fers only in so far as the 
 variations of climate, and 
 the nature and produce of 
 the soil, may necessitate. 
 The Esquimaux constructs 
 a rude hut of snow, and 
 shelters himself from biting 
 winds within walls of con- 
 gealed water; the Arab 
 [)rotects himself from the 
 t^corching sun by a can- 
 vas tent, propped up by 
 branches of trees ; while 
 the Hottentot erects a 
 dwelling which exhibits an 
 intermediate character be- 
 tween these extremes — a hive-like hut of canes and reeds, with 
 a skin, or piece of matting, falling over the opening which forms 
 the door-way. In various parts of the world there still exist all 
 the primitive and various types of human habitations ; nay, in our 
 own kingdom, within a few hundred miles of each other, the 
 mud-cabin of the Irish labourer, and the palace of the Queen, 
 supply, at the present moment, examples of architecture whose eras 
 in British history are divided by a period of nearly two tliousand 
 years. 
 
 In Britain, doubtless, before the system of building took any 
 settled form, and long before the art of architecture arose to 
 direct the operations of workmen, there were many and varied 
 
 Q
 
 20G 
 
 RUDIMENTARY BUILDINGS. 
 
 EUDIJIENTAET HTJT. 
 
 contrivances foi' tlie construction of huts and sheds. Yitruvius, 
 
 ■vvho wrote upon the subject in the time of Augustus, described 
 
 the most general and primitive building as 
 
 consisting of trees fixed upright in the "^^f^^ 
 
 ground, side by side, so as to include the 
 
 space to be inhabited. The roof was laid 
 
 over the tops of the upright trees, and, 
 
 above these, other trees were placed in a 
 
 manner which supported the roof and united 
 
 the sides, the interstices being filled with 
 
 boughs, or stopped with broken fragments of wood, and cemented 
 
 by clay. 
 
 The houses of the ancient Britons were described by Diodorus 
 Siculus as being built of wood, the walls 
 being made of stakes and wattles, and the 
 thatches of either reeds or straw. Coesar 
 describes the houses of the Britons of the 
 south of the island as being similar to 
 those on the opposite coast of Gaul, and 
 Strabo represents the latter as being built 
 of poles and wattled work, in the form of 
 a circle, with lofty and pointed roofs. The 
 
 illustration of a British town, p. 13, is based upon various highly 
 
 probable evidences. 
 
 Dr. Henry carries his ingeniou^s 
 
 speculations back to a time when even 
 
 the rudimentary forms of houses were 
 
 unknown, and when the aboriginals had 
 
 no better dwellings than thickets, dens, ■*'4 
 
 or caves. " Some of the subterraneous, \^ 
 
 or earth houses," he says, " are still 
 
 remaining in the Western Isles of 
 
 Scotland, and in Cornwall."* We ob- 
 tain, from Trajan's column, the repre- 
 sentation of a Gaulish dwelling, which 
 
 supplies a valuable evidence of the 
 
 character of the houses of our British 
 
 * Since Dr. Eenry's time, other subterranean habitations have been discovered 
 in Ireland. 
 
 EUDIJIENTAET CIECrLAE 
 FOEJI. 
 
 BRITISH HOrSE.
 
 GAULISH HUTS — BRITISH MASONRY. 
 
 207 
 
 ancestors. It cliflers only from the previous illustration, and from 
 the description given by Strabo, in hav- 
 ing a circular instead of a conical roof. 
 In several parts of the kingdom there 
 yet remain traces of the foundations of 
 British circular houses, which appear to 
 have been raised upon circles of stones 
 embedded in the earth. 
 
 In all ages, religious and military 
 edifices have improved greatly in advance 
 of the domestic. Hence monuments of 
 the former have descended to us in ancient British hut, as sculp- 
 
 i 1 -1 --i ii TXJEED ON TEAJAN'S COLUMN. 
 
 numerous mstances, while, with the ex- 
 ception of the circles of stones already alluded to, no traces of 
 British domestic buildings can be found ; and even those of the 
 Saxons are almost extinct. The Britons, whose houses were of the 
 most miserable description, foimd means to construct the great 
 religious temples of Stonehenge and Abviry, the vastness of whose 
 blocks of stone leaves the problem of the means of their transportation 
 stiU unsolved. 
 
 That the Britons had arrived at some notions of constructive 
 
 masonry, is e\'ident from their 
 laborious formation of tombs, 
 and of rudimentary arches, 
 which have occasionally been 
 found. The few remains of 
 military architecture attribut- 
 able to the Britons are ser- 
 Adceable in this one respect, 
 that they throw a strong light 
 upon the simplicity of British art, and show that everything con- 
 tributing to domestic convenience must have been of a very mean 
 descrij:)tion. 
 
 As soon as the Eomans determined to colonize this island, they 
 zealously endeavoured to imiDrove its buildings, and to raise superior 
 edifices for public pur]30ses. They built not only solid and con- 
 venient structures for their own accommodation, but encouraged the 
 Britons to imitate their example. In sixteen years after London 
 fell into the possession of the Eomans, it grew to be a beautifid 
 
 eudimentakt aech.
 
 208 
 
 AGRICOLA THE GUEAT IXSTRTJCTOE OF THE BRITISH. 
 
 BEITISn KEEP. 
 
 and populous city. Agricola was the greatest improver of British 
 works of civil utility. Tacitus distinctly records, that in order to 
 induce the Britons, who led a roaming and unsettled life, and were 
 easily instigated to war, to contract a love of peace, Agricola ex- 
 horted and assisted them to build houses, courts, and market-places. 
 
 And when he had succeeded thus far, he 
 encouraged them to build edifices for or- 
 nament and pleasure, such as porticoes, 
 galleries, baths, banqueting -houses, etc. 
 From this time to the middle of the fourth 
 century, architecture, and the arts allied 
 to it, began to flourish, and the solid, con- 
 venient, and ornamental buildings, which 
 had long been characteristic of Italy, were 
 introduced into Britain. Every Roman 
 colony became encompassed with strong 
 walls, which surrounded religious temples, 
 and palaces, courts, baths, and markets, 
 with other buildings, both for use and ornament. Many well-built 
 villages, towns, forts, and stations were founded ; the com- 
 parative peace of the country was for some time secured by the 
 military wall, which extended from 
 the north of the river Tyne to the 
 Solway Firth ; and the taste of the 
 British became so far improved, that 
 " this island became famovis for the 
 great number of its architects and 
 artificers."* 
 
 "With the decline of the Roman 
 power, and its ultimate withdrawal 
 from Britain, came one of those 
 terrible relapses, in which works of 
 great utility are wrecked, and even 
 the principles of art and the ob- 
 jects of improvement forgotten. 
 During the protracted wars in 
 which the Britons, Picts, Scots, and Saxons engaged, many noble 
 structures were despoiled, cities and towns depopulated, and forts 
 
 * Dr. Henry. 
 
 EOMAN-BEITISH WOEK.
 
 SPOLIATIONS BY THE SAXONS. 
 
 209 
 
 EOMAK-BEITISH WORK. 
 
 and walls demolislied. The features which Eome had imparted to 
 
 the face of the country were almost literally swept away, and the 
 
 people appear to have returned 
 
 again to their barbarous habits, 
 
 and lodged once more in forests, 
 
 huts, and caves, like their untutored 
 
 ancestors. 
 
 With the Anglo-Saxon era we 
 therefore begin the history of 
 architecture anew; but we shall be 
 rewarded by a better insight into 
 the construction of domestic build- 
 ings than that which we were able 
 to obtain from the Anglo-Eoman 
 period. 
 
 " It cannot be supposed," says Dr. Henry, " that a people who 
 wantonly demolished so many beautiful and 
 useful structures, had any taste for the arts 
 by which they had been erected. The truth 
 is, that the Anglo-Saxons, at their arrival 
 in this island, were almost totally ignorant 
 of these arts, and, like all the other nations 
 of Germany, had been accustomed to live 
 in wretched hovels, built of wood or earth, 
 and covered with straw or the branches 
 of trees ; nor did they much improve in the knowledge of archi- 
 tecture for two hundred years after their arrival. During that period, 
 masonry was quite unknown and unpractised in this island, and the 
 walls even of cathedral churches were built of wood." Bede, in his 
 " Ecclesiastical History," states that there was a time when there 
 was not a stone church in all the land. The first cathedral of York 
 was a wooden edifice. He mentions a stone church, to which, 
 probably from its rarity, miraculous influences were ascribed : — 
 " Paulmus, the first Bishop of York, built a church of stone in the city of 
 Lincoln, whose walls are standing though the roof is fallen down ; and some 
 healing miracles are wrought in it every year, for the benefit of those who 
 have to seek them." It is more than probable that the first edifices 
 said to be of stone were only partly so, their upper portions being 
 of wood. 
 
 EUDIHENTAET SAXON 
 HOUSE.
 
 210 
 
 SAXOIf AECniTECTURE AND MASONRY. 
 
 In the beginning of tlie eighth century, there were no artificers 
 in Scotland sufficiently skilled to erect a church ; for which reason 
 Naitan, King of the Picts, earnestly entreated Ceolfred, Abbot of 
 "Weremouth, a.d. 710, to send him some masons who could build a 
 church of stone in his kingdom, '^in imitation of the Homans" thereby 
 clearly implying the deficiency of such artificers, and also that the 
 Saxon edifices were commonly of wood. 
 
 The first attempts at masonry, on the part of the Saxons, appear 
 to have been exceedingly rude, which is the more remarkable on 
 account of the excellent examples which the 
 Eomans had afforded. But masonry was re- 
 vived, and some of the arts connected with 
 it restored, in England, towards the close of 
 the seventh century, by Wilfrid, Bishop of 
 York, and Benedict Biscop, founder of Were- 
 mouth Abbey. Wilfrid caused several admi- 
 rable structures of stone to be raised at York, 
 Eipon, and Hexham. Benedict Biscop made 
 six journeys to Rome, for the purpose of col- 
 lecting books, pictures, statues, and other 
 works of learning and art, and of persuading 
 artificers in various trades to remove from Italy and France, and 
 settle in England. He obtained a grant of a considerable estate of 
 Ecfffrid, Iving of jSTorthumberland, near the mouth of the river Were, 
 upon which he founded a monastery in the year 67-1. Eor the erection 
 of this institution he visited France, where he collected a number of 
 masons, and brought them over Avith him, in order to huild the church 
 of the monastery of stone, after the Roman manner. AVhen the work 
 had far advanced, he sent agents into France to procure some glass 
 makers, a kind of artificers quite unknown in England, and to bring 
 them over to glaze the windows of his church and monastery. The 
 glass makers were obtained, and they not only performed the work 
 required, but instructed the English in the art of making glass for 
 windows, etc. 
 
 But though these arts of erecting stone buildings, and furnishing 
 them with glass windows, were thus introduced in the latter part of 
 the seventh century, it appears, from many incidental hints in the 
 early historians, that stone buildings were still rare in the eighth and 
 ninth centuries, and King Alfred found it necessary, for the repair 
 
 ■SAXuX HASOXRY, PROM 
 BAEKOW CHURCn.
 
 EAELT AECHITECTUEE IN SCOTLAND AND WALES. 211 
 
 of the buildings despoiled by the Danes, to bring many artificers from 
 foreign countries. Even Alfred, with the aid of foreign skill, con- 
 structed churches, and probably other buildings, of wood. 
 
 In Wales, the style of building continued down to this period to be 
 of a very primitive description. The chief palace, where the kino-s, 
 nobles, and wise men assembled to deliberate and make laws, was 
 constructed of woven twigs, from which the bark had been peeled, 
 which was thence called " the iohite palace.''' Whoever burnt or 
 destroyed the king's hall or palace was obliged to pay one pound and 
 eighty pence, besides one hundred and twenty pence for each of 
 the adjacent buildings, which were eight in number, and comprised 
 a kitchen, chapel, granary, bake-house, store-house, stable, and dog- 
 house. Therefore it appears that a royal residence in Wales, with 
 all its offices, when those laws were made, was valued at £5 Qs. ^ch, 
 equal to £200 of our present money. 
 
 In Scotland, about the same period, or soon after it, the art 
 of building in stone appears to have made considerable progress, 
 although, in 710, the Pictish king was obliged to procure stone-masons 
 from Northumberland. Several large castles were erected, having 
 high towers, which justly rank among the chief works of Scottish 
 antiquity.* 
 
 Notwithstanding the erection of these stone edifices, the chief 
 material for building continued to be wood, and the common use made 
 of wood down to a very recent date, jn'obably arose more from its 
 cheapness and lightness, and the facility by which it might be trans- 
 ported, than from an actual want of a knowledge of masonry, or the 
 scarcity of artificers who could work in stone. 
 
 The prevalence of wooden buildings gave rise to great excellence in 
 carpentry. Houses of the nobility began to be constructed with 
 considerable ornamentation, and ecclesiastical and monastic edifices 
 of a very improved character were raised. The following is an authen- 
 tic record of particulars respecting Croiland church : — " With this wood 
 the nave of the church of Croiland was built, and the tower construdled 
 of strong and lofty beams, most exaftly joined together, before the death 
 of Abbot Turkitull. . After the decease of that abbot, his succefsor, 
 Egelric, built many beautiful edifices of the same material. In particular, 
 he eredled an infirmary for the monks, of a proper length and breadth ; a 
 chapel ; a bath, with other necefsary houses ; a hall, and two large chambers, 
 
 * Malcolm's Castle, Castle Clionel, Castle Tellve, Castle Troddan, etc.
 
 212 AECIIITECTURAL ILLTJSTEATIONS FROM ILLUMIjSTATED MSS. 
 
 for the accommodation of ftrangers ; a new brew-house ; a bake-house ; and 
 very large granaries, and ftables. All these edifices were construfted of 
 beams of wood and boards, moll: exadlly joined, and moil: beautifully 
 polished, by the admirable art of the carpenter, and covered with lead."* 
 
 The previous facts refer more to ecclesiastical aud. monastic 
 buildings than to the humbler dvvellings of the people. But the 
 explanations which they aftord were essential to the aid of a history, 
 the materials of which are lamentably scanty. We will now turn 
 to evidences of a different description. 
 
 The earlier illustrated manuscripts are chiefly copies of the 
 Scriptures, or books of a religious character, aud the buildings 
 represented in these are mostly ecclesiastical. But in the illuminated 
 romances of the thirteenth century, there are many drawings of 
 houses and castles, to which the text furnishes useful explanations. 
 Some recent essays in the Archaeological Journals, founded upon 
 a careful examination of these early ilhiminated manuscripts, throw 
 considerable light upon the construction of the habitations, and the 
 domestic usages, of the Anglo-Saxons, t the information respecting 
 
 which, in Strutt's " Manners and 
 Customs," is singularly meagre. 
 Strutt describes the Saxon house, 
 illustrated in the annexed engrav- 
 ing, as presenting a wing con- 
 structed either of large bricks, 
 or squared stones, and as being 
 well covered in with slates. It 
 is more likely that the wing 
 was constructed of squares of 
 wood, or was painted in imita- 
 tion of such squares, and that the 
 roofing consisted not of slates, but of red tiles, which the Saxons 
 had in common use. That architecture made considerable progress 
 during the Anglo-Saxon period is manifest. The Saxon houses at 
 first were of the rudest construction, but differed materially from 
 
 * Ingulfs " History of Croiland." Dr. Henry's " History of England." 
 t See Mr. T. Wright's papers in vols. i. and ii. of the " Archreological Journal." 
 Also a paper, by J. H. P., vol. v. ; and another, by Mr. Wright, vol. i. of the 
 ' Journal of tlie Arcliteological Association." 
 
 ANGIO-SAXOX HOUSE, FEOM STKUTT.
 
 CONSTRUCTION OF SAXON HOUSES, 
 
 213 
 
 those of the Britons. Those of the former were square, occasionally 
 lofty, with apertures for light and air, and in some of them chimneys. 
 Even their rudest houses exhibited a tendency towards ornamentation, 
 and the rough unhewn timber of wliich they were built was frequently 
 painted externally with bright colours, producing a gaudy effect ; 
 and it is not improbable that the squares giving the appearance of 
 large bricks, or blocks of stone, were painted. The Saxons progressed 
 from miserable sheds of wood, and twisted osiers daubed over with 
 clay, to great buildings of stone and bricks ; and, though the latter 
 were confined to public structures, their dwellings doubtless improved 
 in a high degree. 
 
 Mr. Wright, to whose comments upon the illuminated manu- 
 scripts of the middle ages, we are now about to refer, thinks 
 that the buildings of the Anglo-Saxons were not so mean as is 
 commonly supposed, and that they were frequently of stone. But 
 he does not distinctly intimate to what period of the Saxon era his 
 remarks apply. He deduces the following descriptions from the 
 metrical tales of the thirteenth century, at which time, he says,* the 
 houses of the people had 
 in general no more than 
 a ground floor, of which 
 the principal apartment 
 was the hall, into which 
 the chief door opened, 
 and which was the room 
 for cooking, eating, re- 
 ceiving visitors, and the 
 other ordinary usages of 
 domestic life. Adjacent 
 to this was the chamber, 
 which was by day the 
 private apartment and re- 
 sort of the female poi'- 
 tion of the household, 
 and by night the bed- 
 room. Strangers and visit- 
 ors generally slept in the 
 
 V^^IW\ 
 
 \^ 
 
 EAELY SAXON INTEKIOE. 
 
 hall, beds being made for them apparently on the floor. 
 * " Archaeological Journal," vol. i., p. 213. 
 
 Sometimes,
 
 214 
 
 CONSTRUCTION OF SAXON HOUSES. 
 
 however, the whole family made their beds iudiscriminately with 
 strangers in the hall, for there was little delicacy of manners in those 
 times. 
 
 A stable was frequently adjacent to the hall, probably on the 
 side opposite to the chamber or bed-room. Behind the house was the 
 court, which was siu-rounded by a fence, and included the garden, with 
 a sheep-cot, and other outhouses; the back-door opened into this 
 court. 
 
 The description leads us to svippose such houses to have been 
 built chiefly of wood. Thieves entered by making holes in the walls — 
 probably in those parts which were of plaster, between the beams — 
 and persons within were liable to observation, from loiterers on the 
 outside, through crevices in the walls. The houses of knights and 
 gentlemen appear to have consisted frequently of the same number 
 and arrangement of apartments as those already described, which 
 comprised the dwellings of the middle and lower classes. The 
 
 anne?:ed illustration of a Saxon 
 house is enlarged from a seal,* in 
 a perfect state of preservation, 
 attached to a deed, which bears 
 date in the month of June, 56 
 Henry III., 1272. This represen- 
 tation clearly indicates the con- 
 struction of houses with wooden 
 beams and plaster. The central 
 chimney forms a very prominent 
 object. The house could not have 
 had a second story, unless we 
 may imagine that the chimney ran 
 through the centre of it. There were, however, houses belonging 
 to the richer classes whicli had upper floors, and were reached 
 by flights of stairs or steps on the outside of the huildings. The 
 door, it wiU be seen, opens outwards, and is left standing open, 
 a sign of hospitality, which, even in troubled times, was almost 
 boundless between those who had established friendly relations. 
 The roof is covered with oval tiles, and exhibits two ornamented 
 points. 
 
 SAXON HOUSE. 
 
 * Kindly lent to Mr. Wright by the Rev. L. B. Larking, vicar of Ryarsh, 
 Kent.
 
 EXTEEKAL STAIRS. 
 
 215 
 
 STAIRCASE OF THE PEECEPTOET AT 
 SWINGFIELD, FOUNDED BEFORE 
 THE CLOSE OF THE TWELFTH 
 CENTURY. 
 
 " The stairs," says Mr. Wright, " appear to have been outside the 
 
 hall, and there seems to have been 
 
 a latticed window, looking from the 
 
 top of the stairs into it. The expres- 
 sion, that they came down stairs, 
 
 and into the house, shows that the 
 
 staircase was on the outside." In 
 
 one of the romances a hermit and his 
 
 companion seek a night's lodging at 
 
 the house of a rich but miserly usurer, 
 
 who refuses them admittance, and will 
 
 only permit them to sleep under the 
 
 staircase, in what the story calls an 
 
 auvent, or shed.* There are many in- 
 stances of such external staircases. 
 
 The Mansion, or House of Boothby- 
 
 Pagnell, which remains nearly in its 
 
 original state, is built in the form of a parallelogram, with a gable 
 
 at each end ; the lower story is vaulted, and has no communication with 
 
 the habitable apartment above, which was originally divided into two 
 
 rooms, of which one only had a 
 chimney ; the entrance was by an 
 external stair, probably moveable. 
 In the roof was a loft, accessible 
 only by a ladder, for there is no 
 appearance of an internal staircase 
 m this building, nor in any other 
 ol the same class. f 
 
 When a house possessed a 
 second story, the upper part, or 
 solar, was considered the place of 
 greatest security, as it could only 
 be entered by one door, which was 
 approached by a flight of steps, 
 and was, therefore, more readily 
 defended.^ Sometimes the steps 
 w^ere drawn up for greater safety, 
 t " Pictorial England." 
 
 STAIRCASE PARTIALLY COVERED. 
 
 * " Archseological Journal," p. 218. 
 
 X " Ai'chseological Journal," vol. i.
 
 216 
 
 STAIRS ENCLOSED IN TOWERS OE " CASES. 
 
 In course of time, as architecture progressed, staircases were 
 partially covered, and when at first they were taken completely under 
 the roof, that was accomplished, in some instances at least, by the 
 erection of stair-towers. This is curiously exhibited in the construc- 
 tion of tlie old Manor-House, of Tawkesliall, which, though it was 
 
 THE AXCIEXT JIAJJOE-HOrSE OF FAWKESHALL.* 
 
 erected so late as the beginning of the seventeenth century, retained 
 the tower staircases. In the buildings of old Edinburgh, these tower- 
 stairs to dwelling-houses were very common ; we believe that several of 
 them still exist. 
 
 The solar, according to Mr. Wright, was considered a place of 
 honour and security for rich lodgers who paid well. According to one 
 of the romances, three blind men came to the house of a burgher, 
 and required to be treated better than usual. They Avere shown up- 
 stairs. A clerk who followed, after putting his horse in the stable, sat 
 at table with his host in the hall, while the three guests were served 
 " like knights," in the solar above. Stables were necessary append- 
 ages even to common houses, because at that period all householders 
 were in the habit of letting or giving lodging to travellers, who 
 generally came on horseback. t 
 
 The arrangement of domestic houses continued, it would appear, 
 the same through the twelfth and two following centuries. A house 
 
 * From Wilkinson's "Londina." f " Archaeological Journal," vol. i., p. 219.
 
 ARCniTECTrEE OF THIRTEElS'Tn AND FOURTEENXn CENTURIES. 217 
 
 of the better description consisted of a hall, with a building attached 
 to each end of it. The hall was generally the whole height of 
 the house (but occasionally there were low rooms under it), and 
 was the usual living apartment for the whole family. 
 
 " The building at each end was divided into an upper room, 
 called the solar, and a lower room, which at one end was usually 
 
 
 INTERIOR OF THE SOLAR, CHARNET, 
 
 the cellar, and at the other the kitchen; at least, this seems in 
 some instances to have been the case, for the exact place of the 
 kitchen is still an unsettled point, the cooking was sometimes 
 carried on in the hall, and sometimes certainly in the open air, 
 as represented on the Bayeux tapestry, and in the celebrated 
 manuscript of the fourteenth century of the ' Eomaunt d' Alexandre,' 
 so extensively used by Strutt in his ' Sports and Pastimes ;' but
 
 218 AECHITECTUEE OF THE 
 
 this Tvas probably the case only on great and special occasions; 
 it could scarcely have been the ordinary practice. The upper room 
 at one end was sometimes the chapel, but this does not appear to 
 have ever been the general practice ; the chapel was often a small 
 room attaclied to the solar. 
 
 " The first house to which, by way of illustration, we will call 
 attention, is situated at Charney, in the parish of Longworth, near 
 "Wantage, in Berkshire, close to the small church or chapel of Charney, 
 but has a private chapel of its own, though the church being 
 older than the house, it must always have been side by side with 
 it. This may, perhaps, be accounted for by the circumstance that 
 it was a grange belonging to the abbey of Abingdon, and the occa- 
 sional residence of an abbot. In those days every manor had its 
 grange, which was often a house of considerable importance, more 
 what we shoidd now call a manor house, than a mere farm house, 
 which we now commonly understand by a grange. 
 
 " The house consisted of a hall and two transverse wings. The two 
 wings are nearly perfect, the front gables are in the same plane 
 with the plane of the hall, but they extend much further backwards, 
 and the south wing, which adjoins the chvirchyard, is lengthened 
 still more by the addition of a chapel attached to the upper room 
 at the east end, the principal front of the house facing the Avest. 
 The place of the altar is quite distinct ; the piscina and locker 
 remain ; the east window is of two lights, quite plain, the south 
 window a small lancet with a trefoil head, widely splayed ; the 
 roof is modern. It is separated from the large room by a stone 
 wall, with only a small doorway through it, and is itself so made 
 that it appears to have been merely a private oratory for the abbot, 
 or the two or three monks who usually inhabited the house. The 
 whole of the details of this chapel, and of the rest of the original 
 work in the house, belong to the latter part of the thirteenth 
 century, the end of the reign of Henry III., or the beginning of 
 Edward I. 
 
 "The ground-floor of the south wing is divided into two rooms, 
 corresponding to the solar and chapel above ; the larger room is thirty 
 feet by sixteen, and lias an original fire-place in it, the head of which is 
 of the form, so common at that period, called the square-headed trefoil ; 
 and three original "wandows, two of them square-headed, the third, at 
 the cast end, a double lancet ; it has a door into the court-yard, and
 
 THIETEEXTH AXD FOrETEENXn CENTURIES. 219 
 
 had another into the hall. This room would appear to have been the 
 kitchen ; but the fire-place is not large enough for very extensive 
 cooking. The small room under the chapel appears to have been a 
 cellar, and is still used as such ; it has no windovrs, only small loops. 
 
 " The solar, or larger room above, adjoining the chapel, has its 
 original open timber roof, which, although plain, is of good character. 
 The entrance to the solar is hy steps from the yard, and it apjiears 
 always to have been external, and in the same situation, probably by a 
 covered projecting staircase, opposite to one of the doors of the hall, 
 traces of which still remain. 
 
 " At Sutton Courteney, near Abingdon, is another house of about 
 the middle of the fourteenth century, or the reign of Edward III., 
 and in this instance the hall is nearly perfect ; it measures 40 ft. by 
 23 ft. 10 in. ; its original open timber roof remains ; it is very lofty. 
 There are two windows on each side, which have originally been lofty, 
 with pointed heads carried up through the roof. The lights below the 
 transoms have never had glass in them, but must have been closed 
 with casements or shutters. * * * The original entrance to the 
 solar is by an external covered staircase, opposite to a door at the 
 north-east angle of the hall ; the roof is similar to the one at Charney. 
 The building is of stone, with the exception of the upper part of the 
 east wing, which is of wood. 
 
 " At Charney, the fire-place on the ground-floor is more perfect, 
 and evidently original ; in both cases, these rooms were probably the 
 kitchens. In other instances the fire-places have generally been found 
 in the upper rooms only, and not, as in these cases, on the ground- 
 floor ; no instance has yet been noticed of a fire-place on the ground- 
 floor in the twelfth century : the finding them in the thirteenth and 
 foui'teenth, and not in the twelfth, may possibly be a mark of progress 
 in civilization."* 
 
 If we reflect upon the evidences we possess, paying due regard to 
 the latest and best examples that survived the Norman spoliations, we 
 are compelled to regard the Anglo-Saxon architecture as rude, heavy, 
 and unworkmanlike. This seems to be acknowledged by the eftbrts 
 the Saxons themselves made to cover the defects of their works, by the 
 employment of gaudy colours externally, and ornamental hangings 
 within. In the residences of their princes rich hangings of silk, with 
 figures of golden birds, or Scriptural devices, wrought by the needle, 
 
 * Contribution by I. H. P., " Archseological' Journal," vol. v.
 
 220 INFLUENCE OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 
 
 were employed for the purpose of hiding the imperfect carpentry of the 
 walls, and to keep out the wind which entered through the crevices. 
 The latter inconvenience led King Alfred to invent lanterns, to protect 
 candles, by which he measured the hours, from being wasted away 
 by di'afts of wind.* The floors were sometimes paved with encaustic 
 tiles, but more frequently the native earth upon which they trod was 
 covered with sand, or strewed with rushes. 
 
 We have traced the history of Anglo-Saxon architecture even 
 through the Norman era. We must now return to the time of the 
 Conquest, to consider the changes introduced by tlie Normans. Had 
 the Saxon nobles entrenched themselves in vast feudal castles, as the 
 Normans immediately proceeded to do, it is doubtful whether the 
 latter could ever have established themselves in this island. The 
 Conqueror was fully sensible that the want of foi'tified places in 
 England had greatly facilitated his victory ; he therefore made every 
 exertion to strengthen his position, before the multitudes by whom he 
 was surrounded — whom he had plundered, and now designed further 
 to oppress — should once more gather their strength and demand their 
 own. William excelled all his predecessors in building castles. All 
 his early barons, and even prelates, imitated his example ; and it was 
 the first care of every one who received the grant of an estate from 
 the crown to build a castle upon it for the defence of his residence. 
 The disputes about the succession, in the following reigns, kept up this 
 spirit for building great castles. AVilliam Kufus was a great builder 
 of royal castles and palaces. In his reign the castles of Dover, 
 Windsor, Norwich, Exeter, the palace of Westminster, and many 
 others, were founded. Henry I. was also a great builder of castles 
 and monasteries. But the rage for building fortified places reached its 
 height in the turbulent reign of King Stephen, from 1138 to 1154. 
 In this reign, every one who was able built a castle, so that the poor 
 were worn out with the toil and burden of these buildings, and the 
 whole kingdom was covered with castles. t It has been computed, that 
 besides all the castles before that time in England, no fewer than 
 eleven hundred and fifteen were raised from the foundation in the 
 nineteen years of Stephen's reign. 
 
 The houses of the common people in the country, and of the 
 
 * See the Section upon the "Progress of Domestic Comforts." 
 t Saxon Chronicle.
 
 IMPROVEMENTS PROMOTED BY TKE RELIGIOUS ORDERS. 221 
 
 lower burgesses in towns and cities, were very little improved in their 
 structure in the course of this period. Even in the capital, London, 
 all the houses of mechanics and common burgesses were built of wood, 
 and covered with straw or reeds, towards the end of the twelfth 
 century.* But the science of architecture improved in a manner 
 which could not fail to lead ultimately to the improvement of domestic 
 edifices. The castles, monasteries, and greater churches, raised or 
 restored in this period, were generally covered with lead, the windows 
 glazed, the walls neatly plastered and white-washed, on both sides. 
 The doors, floors, and roof were commonly made of oak planks and 
 beams, exactly smoothed and joiiited, and neatly carved. In the 
 erection of these works, architects and workmen must have acquired 
 considerable experience and skiU. Some of the architects of this 
 period are famed in history for their works. William of Sens, 
 architect to Archbishop Lanfranc, in building his cathedral, is said to 
 have been a most exquisite artist, both in wood and stone. According 
 to the testimony of Grervase of Canterbury, William of Sens made not 
 only a model of tlie whole cathedral, but of every particular piece of 
 sculpture and carving, for the direction of the workmen, and invented 
 many cm-ious machines for loading and unloading ships, and conveying 
 heavy weights by laud, stones being brought from Normandy. Walter 
 of Coventry, who flourished towards the end of this period, was also 
 an excellent architect. t 
 
 Mr. Turner attributed to the Normans the introduction of greater 
 novelty of detail, than novelty of plan, in the erection of their build- 
 ings. J The amount of accommodation in a Norman house, he says, 
 was not greater than in a Saxon house, or homestead ; we behold, 
 stiU, only the chief room, or hall, and the single bed-chamber. By the 
 Normans, however, the principles of the Romanesque style were more 
 generally applied to civil as weU as to ecclesiastical buildings ; yet, 
 even in this respect, no considerable alteration could have occurred 
 before the close of the eleventh or commencement of the twelfth 
 century. It is not to be supposed, continues Mr. Turner, that the 
 Norman invaders were attended by legions of architects and masons, 
 who began at once to reconstruct every edifice in the island. It took 
 William years to consolidate his power, and the only buildings of 
 
 * Stowe's " Sm-vey of London." 
 
 t Dr. Henry's " England." 
 
 X Turner's " Domestic Arcliitecture in England."
 
 222 
 
 DOMESTIC LIFE IN THE ANCIETfT POETEESSES. 
 
 importance erected during that unsettled period were fortresses. 
 That, like the Saxons, the Normans continued to build, in towns, of 
 wood, and mud-clay in timber frame-work, is beyond doubt ; houses 
 of stone were then, as they have generally been, exceptions to the 
 general method of construction. The cost of the latter material, and 
 the still greater expense of working it, must have necessarily 
 limited its employment in domestic buildings to the more opulent ; and 
 in the middle ages there were comparatively few modes of displaying 
 opulence. One of the few, however, was in the external decoration 
 of houses — a fashion which declined in proportion as the advance of 
 commerce and the arts enlarged the catalogue of human necessaries 
 and luxuries. Yet, although the few examples of the domestic 
 architecture of the twelfth century which have survived to this 
 time, exhibit, in a mutilated state, all the main features of the 
 Eomanesque style, both in its early and its transition stages, it 
 would be a great mistake to suppose that there were in that century 
 in London, or in any other city, many houses of a decorative 
 character. 
 
 In the castles and fortresses of Norman origin it is very evident 
 tliat their founders sacrificed convenience to security. The apart- 
 ments reserved for do- 
 mestic purposes were 
 cold and gloomy, the 
 bed - chambers were 
 few and small, the 
 passages narrow and 
 intricate, and the 
 stairs, or steps, steep 
 and dai'lv. Even the 
 houses of Norman con- 
 struction presented a 
 cold and defiant as- 
 pect. A general in- 
 security, with strong 
 prejudices of caste and 
 country, still shed their pernicious influence over society. In 
 Scotland, and particularly in the border country, where society 
 long remained in a state of incessant warfare, even the private 
 houses continued for centuries to be erected in the form of towers, 
 
 NORMAN HOUSE.
 
 DOMESTIC LIFE IN THE ANCIENT FOETEESSES. 
 
 223 
 
 with windows reduced to loop-holes ; the ground-floor strongly 
 barricaded, being used to secure the cattle at night, and the 
 family dwelling in the ill-lighted apartments above, where they were 
 sometimes obliged to shut themselves up for days together.* 
 
 Of domestic life within these fortresses, we find an evidence 
 in the arrangements of Lord Lovat's Castle Dunie, which prevailed 
 as lately as the year 1740. "The residence of this powerful laird 
 was a sort of tower, forming at best such a house as would be 
 esteemed but an indifl^erent one for a private country gentleman in 
 England. It had in all only four apartments on a floor, and none 
 of them large. Here, however, he kept a sort of court, and several 
 public tables, and had a very numerous body of retainers always 
 attending. His own constant residence, and the place where he 
 received company and dined with them, was in one room only, and 
 that the very room in which he lodged. His lady's sole apart- 
 ment was her bed-chamber. The only provision made for lodging 
 either the domestic servants, or the numerous retainers, was a 
 quantity of straw, which was spread every night over the lower 
 rooms, where the whole of the inferior part of the family, consisting 
 of a great number of persons, took up their abode. Sometimes 
 above 400 persons attending this petty coiu-t were kennelled there." 
 
 In the construction of the Norman castles, everything essential 
 to domestic comfort was naturally regarded as secondary to general 
 security. The plan of these castles consisted of chief towers 
 
 NOEMAK LOOP-HOLES, WHICH SERVED ALSO AS WINDOWS TO THE LOWEK STOEIES 
 OF PRIVATE HOrSES. 
 
 which were denominated "keeps," and the objects kept in view 
 in the erection of the castles were — to render the entrances imposing 
 and impregnable ; to secure the garrison, and enable them to annoy 
 the besiegers ; to give the strongest part an appearance of weakness. 
 * "Pictorial England."
 
 224 DOMESTIC LIFE IN THE AXCIENT rOETRESSES. 
 
 in order to mislead the besiegers ; to put their prisoners, provisions, 
 and implements of war out of the reach of dauger; to convey the 
 engines of war to any place of tlie castle with ease and expedition ; 
 to communicate intelligence in a moment to any part of the build- 
 ing ; to provide secret passages of escape when successfully attacked ; 
 to ensure a constant and certain supply of water, removed from 
 the possibility of its being cut ofi" by the enemy ; to convey away 
 smoke and impurities ; to provide a safe habitation for the lord and 
 his family. To accomplish some of these ends, the principal tower 
 was divided within into two equal parts by a thick partition of 
 wall-masonry, from the bottom to the top. The well for supplying 
 the garrison with water was under the foundation of this partition- 
 wall, and the pipe of it was carried up in the middle of the wall 
 to the leads of the castle, where the pulley for di-awing water was 
 fixed. The people on each floor had access to the pipe of the 
 well for furnishing themselves with water, by a small arched opening 
 in the partition-wall. From the ground-floor to the water, little 
 square cavities were cut in the sides of the pipe, at proper dis- 
 tances, by which a person might descend to cleanse the well. It 
 seems to be impossible to invent a more eftective method than 
 this to prevent the garrison from beiug deprived of water; the 
 contrivances to answer other purposes were no less ingenious. 
 
 When we consider what must have been the inconveniences 
 of domestic life within these great and gloomy fortresses, we shall 
 little wonder that upon the first interval of repose from civil wars, 
 there was exhibited a general tendency to enlarge the comforts 
 of the baronial residences, so far as could be accomplished without 
 the positive sacrifice of safety, and of military prestige. Nor is it 
 remarkable that the growing power of the crown should display 
 a distrust of the vast and numerous baronial fortresses, and endeavour 
 to discourage and control them. Before the close of the twelfth 
 century, most of the castles, especially those which had been founded 
 in the reigns of Stephen and of Henry II., were dismantled, and 
 some of them razed to the ground. In the reign of Henry III., 
 licenses to embattle manor-houses were frequently granted. Thus, 
 early in the thirteenth century, there commenced a new order of 
 fortified edifice, from which we derive the Baronial Halls, of which 
 so many iateresting monuments remain. 
 
 In these new structures we pass from the darkness and coldness
 
 THE EISE or BAEONIAL HALLS. 
 
 225 
 
 of tlie Norman castles, to those scenes of festivity wLich supply the 
 warmest pictures of the domestic history of our ancestors. The 
 chief halls were erected upon a gigantic scale, and adorned with 
 a degree of magnificence. They were still mainly constructed of 
 wood, being built of massive beams of oak, naturally curved, and 
 of which each pair seems to have been sawed out of the same 
 trunk. These spring from the ground, and form a bold Gothic arch 
 overhead ; the spars rest upon a wall-plate, as that is again sustained 
 by horizontal spars, grooved into the principals. It was then of no 
 importance that such erections consumed great quantities of the 
 finest ship-timber ; and, indeed, the appearance of one of these rooms 
 is precisely that of the hull of a great ship inverted, and seen from 
 
 AEEANaEMENT OF A MEDI^TAl HALL. 
 
 A, The Fire. 
 
 B, Galleiy for Musicians, etc. 
 
 C C C C C, Tapestries— Hangings. 
 
 D, Open roof througti which the 
 
 smoke escaped. 
 EEE, Doors. 
 
 within. Specimens of this most ancient style, in perfection, were 
 the old hall of the manor-house at Samlesbury, and the Lawsing Stedes 
 Barn, at Whalley. Here, instead of walls, there were nothing but 
 oak boards fijxed diagoually, like a Venetian blind. The hall at 
 Eatclifi" supplies a specimen of the time of Henry IV. The style
 
 226 whittakee's classification of buildings. 
 
 of architecture in wood evidently kept pace with that in stone ; 
 and when, in the time of Henry VII., the arch in stone-work became 
 broader, and more depressed in tlie centre, a corresponding change 
 was introduced in our ancient timber-buiklings. Wooden pasterns, 
 indeed, still descended to the ground, but tliey wei-e }iow become 
 perpendicular, sc^uare, and fluted. Yrom the top of tliese, elegant 
 and ornamental springers received liori/.ontal roof-beams, while all was 
 still open to the roof above, and the rafters continued to rest on a 
 wall-plate. Thus, the idea of a complete frame, independently of the 
 walls, was still preserved ; but the low basement story of stone, still to 
 be observed in our most ancient buildings, now advanced to the square, 
 though the cross-pikes are generally of wood. This precisely describes 
 the hall of Little Milton, and another noble specimen of somewhat later 
 date, the west wing of Samlesbury Hall, built by Sir Thomas Southworth, 
 1532, of which the outer wall, however, is of brick, and one of the 
 earliest specimens of the employment of that material. I^he wood 
 used in the construction of this last mansion, must almost have laid 
 prostrate a forest ; and, while the principal timbers were carved with 
 great elegance, and the compartments of the roof painted with figures 
 of saints, the outsides of the building being adorned with profile 
 heads of wood, cut in bold relief, within huge medallions, it is curious 
 to observe that the inner doors are without a panel or a lock, and have 
 always been opened, like those of modern cottages, with a latch and 
 string. The general decay of native wood occasioned a gradual disuse 
 of this material in buildings, about the latter end of Henry VIII. 's 
 time. The first instance of an entire hall-house of bi'ick and stone, is 
 Stubley, near Eochdale, unquestionably of that period ; and in the 
 reign of Elizabeth, which was a new era in domestic architecture, 
 numbers of old timber-halls having gone to decay, were replaced by 
 strong and plain mansions of stone, yet remaining.* 
 
 In the brief but interesting " Dissertation on the Origin and 
 Progress of Domestic Architecture," appended to " Whittaker's His- 
 tory of AVhalley " — from which we have just quoted — the dwellings 
 of our forefathers are arranged according to the descending orders 
 of society, and the successive ages. This arrangement, with some 
 modifications and additions, we will adopt. The classification is as 
 follows : — 
 
 1. The castle ; 2. The castlet, keep, or tower ; 3. Tlie unembat- 
 
 * Wliittaker's " History of Whallcy."
 
 TNEMBATTLED AND EMBATTLED MANOK-HOUSES. 
 
 227 
 
 tied manor-house ; 4. The large and small embattled mansions of the 
 time of Elizabeth, or James I. ; 5. The ordinary hall-house ; G. The 
 farm-hoiiHe ; 7. The cottage ; 8. The storehouses, vaults, cellars, 
 booths, stalls, and shops of the trading classes. 
 
 Kespecting castles, which are excepted from our subject, enough 
 has already been said. 
 
 With regard to castlets, keeps, and towers, these were common to 
 times and localities, especially to border counties, marked by deeds 
 of turbulence and bloodshed, when family feuds often ended in 
 slaughter. The lord of a manor, or a considerable landowner, not 
 
 MOATED MANOK-nOUSE, WITH URAW-JJUIDOE. 
 
 being in a position to support a castle, and a large number of retainers 
 would frequently deem himself unsafe in the protection of an ordinary 
 dwelling-house, even against a neiglibour. Not to be wholly without 
 defence, he would erect one of these minor fortresses in the neighbour- 
 hood of his dwelling. Buildings of this description remained upon the 
 Scottish Borders long after th(!y )vere abandoned in the more settled 
 districts. They may be described generally as consisting of a single 
 tower of several stories, contrived for the reception of cattle beneath 
 and a family above, and well calculated for resistance by a small 
 number of defenders against a sudden assault.
 
 228 MOATED MANOE-nOUSES. 
 
 Of the unembattled manor-liouses, with whatever material these 
 mansions were constructed, all agreed in one particular, that they 
 surrounded a quadrangle, and were generally defended by a moat. 
 The last precaution was substituted for the want of strength in 
 their walls and gates. This arrangement was adopted in all 
 erections of which the object was not so much defence as seques- 
 tration and partial confinement. The squares of these buildings 
 included the barns, stables, and other offices. 
 
 There is a curious illustration of a moated manor-house in "Wil- 
 kinson's " Londina." The origin of this house, named " Holland's 
 Leaguer," is involved in some obscurity. It was the manor-house 
 belonging to the manor of Paris- Garden, Southwarlc, and was 
 anciently, with the estate of Paris- Gardens, part of the possessions 
 of Bermondsey Abbey. It came to the crown on the dissolution, 
 and remained part of the royal domains until the middle of the 
 reign of Elizabeth, when it was exchanged away by that princess 
 to lier cousin. Lord Hunsdon. It affords a curious, and, so far as 
 its plan, an accurate illustration of the moated houses of the 
 fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. 
 
 The embattled houses of Elizabeth or James I. were of two 
 kinds, the greater and the less ; one, an improvement upon the rude 
 quadrangle ; the other an expansion of the ancient castlet ; one 
 luminous and magnificent, with deep projecting bow-windows ; the 
 other lofty, square, comj)act ; and both proving themselves to be 
 the work of tranquil times, at liberty to sacrifice strength to con- 
 venience, security to sunshine. The characteristic accompaniments 
 of these houses within, were huge arched fire-places in their halls 
 and kitchens ; chimney-pieces in their " chambers of state," richly 
 carved, and adorned with armorial bearings of wood, stone, or alabas- 
 ter, raised hearths, long and massy tables of oak, bedsteads of the 
 same, frequently inlaid with arms, cyphers, scrolls, etc., of white 
 wood, and from their bulk calculated to last for centuries ; portraits 
 upon boards ; and, in short, a whole system of internal ornament 
 and accommodation, intended to resist the ravages of time, without 
 an idea of the revolutions of war or of fashion. One apartment, 
 seldom omitted in houses of this rank and date, but never found in 
 those of higher antiquity, was a long gallery for music and dancing, 
 sometimes 150 feet long — a proof that " the hall " was now beginning 
 to be deserted. At all events, the practice of dining in these great
 
 THE SMALLEB MAKOR-HOrSES. 229 
 
 apartments, at different tables, according to tlie rank of the o-uests 
 was scarcely continued below the !Restoration. Till that time, 
 however, the old train of " servers and senescalls " were mostly kept 
 up. But the general interruption of old hospitality in great houses, 
 occasioned by the civil wars, and afterwards the introduction of 
 foreign manners, in consequence of the return of the royal 
 family, and their numerous dependents, occasioned a total revolu- 
 tion in domestic economy, and consequently in architecture. 
 
 The great hall of Lambeth was, indeed, rebuilt by Archbishop 
 Juxon, who, perhaps, thought the old style best became the gravity 
 of an archiepiscopal palace, but it was probably the last specimen ; 
 and, in the reign of Charles II., the sash-window, and model of the 
 square modern house, were first imported from Italy. As our old 
 mansions decayed, they were rebuilt after the new form ; and those 
 which remain have been preserved, not so much by the care as by 
 the desertion or extinction of the families to which they belonged. 
 In addition to this change of style without, the introduction of 
 mahogany, about a century and a-half ago, formed a new era in 
 the history of internal decoration. 
 
 The ordinary hall-house was a form of very high antiquity, 
 consisting of a thorough lobby, a hall, with a parlour beyond it on 
 one side, and kitchens and offices on the other. In this respect no 
 change took place upon the general erection of brick or stone houses 
 in the reign of Elizabeth. The frame of the building rested upon 
 crooks of the oldest form ; the windows were apertures about six 
 inches wide, not originally intended for glass ; the floors of clay, the 
 chimney wide and open, the partitions of rude oak ; the apartments, 
 one only excepted, long and narrow. So lived our yeomanry and 
 smaller gentry, and such probably continued do-wjn to the beginning of 
 Elizabeth's reign, when the forests being exhausted, and the old houses 
 decayed, and a period of great tranquillity ensuing, a general 
 spirit of brick and stone building commenced. In the new structxires, 
 the original form was retained, though with great enlargements. On 
 the right of the entrance was the hall, lighted usually by one great 
 range window, a massy table beneath ; at the loM'er end a gallery for 
 music, or to connect the apartments above ; and a fire-place, embracing 
 in its ample space almost all the width of the room, the Christmas 
 scene of rude and boisterous festivity ; beyond was vmiformly a parlour, 
 where, till the days of our grandfathers, on a ground-floor, paved with
 
 230 DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE OLD TEOMAl!fRT. 
 
 stones, disdaining, or unacquainted with, the accommodation of carpets, 
 and upon an oaken bedstead, massive as the timbers of a modem house, 
 slept the hardy master and mistress. Here their offspring first saw 
 light ; and here, too, without a wish to change their habits, fathers 
 and sons in succession resigned their breath.* In the windows of 
 such houses, and their contemporary mansions of the rank immediately 
 above them, are often found remains of painted glass, in a style 
 which seems to have been fashionable about the beginning of the last 
 century. They consist of arms, cyphers, figures of animals, personifi- 
 cations, etc., of which the drawing is extremely correct, but the colours 
 faint and dingy, very unlike tlie deep and glowing tints of the fore- 
 going centuries. To complete the picture of these ancient and inte- 
 resting mansions, we have to add huge barns, long and low, with 
 bending roofs ; high stone walls, gray with mosses and lichens ; courts 
 and gardens, adorned with ferns, or other venerable evergreens, and 
 backgrounds formed of aged oaks, ashes, and sycamores, fi'equently 
 overhanging deep glens, and inhabited by colonies of rooks. 
 
 Let it not be thought a trifling or impertinent digression (re- 
 marks Whittaker), if we now take a view of the interior economy of 
 the families who inhabited these houses, from the reign of Elizabeth 
 down to the civil wars in the last century, or a little later. They 
 were precisely in that station which James I. pronounced to be the 
 happiest in human society, i. e., beneath the rank of a sherift', and above 
 that of a constable. Their system of life was that of domestic economy 
 in perfection. Occupying large portions of his own domains, working 
 his land by his own oxen, fattening the aged, and rearing a constant 
 supply of young ones ; growing his own oats, barley, and sometimes 
 wheat ; making his own malt, and fui-nished often with kilns for the 
 drying of corn at home, the master had constant and pleasing occu- 
 pation in his farm, and his cottagers regular employment under 
 him. To these operations the high troughs, great garners, and 
 
 * Whittaker indulges in these reflections, in wliich we find a warm affection for 
 "the good old times," and a disparagement of modern refinements: — "It is not 
 unusual to see one of these apartments transformed into a modern drawing-room, where a 
 thoughtful mind can scarcely forbear comparing the present and the paft ; the spindled 
 frippery of modern furniture, the frail but elegant apparatus of the tea-table, the general 
 decorum, the equal absence of everything to afRidl or to transport, with what has been heard 
 or seen or felt within the same walls, the logs of oak, the clumsy utensils, and, above all, the 
 tumultuous scenes of joy or sorrow called forth perhaps by the birth of an heir, or the death of 
 a husband, in minds little accuftomed to reftrain their pafTions."
 
 DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE OLD TEOMANET. 231 
 
 cbests, yet remaining, bear faithful -witness. "Within, the mistress, her 
 maid-servants, and daughters, were occupied in spinning flax for the 
 linen of the family, which was woven at home. Cloth, if not always 
 manufactured out of their own wool, was purchased by wholesale, and 
 made up into clothes at home also. They had much plate and few 
 booJis, and those generally theological. Tet the grammar-schools, not 
 then perverted from their original purpose, diffused a general tincture 
 of classical literature. Their simple way of life required little arith- 
 metic, and they kept a rude kind of day-books (from some of which 
 accompanied with ancient inventories, this account has been collected) 
 and in the old figures, Arabic numerals not having been generally intro- 
 duced. The fortunes of the daughters were partly paid in cattle, or 
 even oatmeal ; and the wardrobe of a wife, which was to last for life, 
 was conveyed by oxen, in a bride-wain much adorned, and a chest 
 enriched with carving. 
 
 This is the pleasing side of the picture. On the other hand, the 
 men were rough, boisterous, and quarrelsome. Their feasts, though 
 generally regtdated by the festivals of the Church, were banquets of 
 Lapithae and Centaurs ; but it required the economy of half a life to 
 enable men in this rank to aiford to die, for their funerals were scenes 
 of prodigality not to be described. Their intemperance, though enor- 
 mous at some seasons, was rather periodical than constant, their farm- 
 ing occupations ordinarily keeping them employed. They had, however, 
 ordinarily no planting, since their oak-woods mostly grew up of them- 
 selves ; neither had they gardening nor music, one of which a coun- 
 try gentleman now requires. For fishing they had few opportunities. 
 Shooting flying was unknown, though nets were much in use. If they 
 addicted themselves to himting, which is always a social diversion, 
 they grew reckless and sottish, and their estates, not of magnitude 
 enough to bear neglect, went to ruin. 
 
 Next in the scale is the old farm-house, supported on crooks,* low, 
 dark, and picturesque. Great numbers of these appear to have been 
 rebuilt early in the last century, and they were evidently abridgments 
 of the haU ; for in these the lower wing is completely cut ofi", the haU 
 has become a house, but the parlour still maintains its relative situation 
 and ancient use. In these dwellings, driven as to their last retreat, 
 are still many remains of ancient furniture, which have seen better 
 houses and better days ; the long table, the carved " armary," the dated 
 * By crooks are meant arched timbers, ascending from the ground to the roof.
 
 232 EAELT TRADING ESTABLISHMENTS. 
 
 wardrobe, all, when imder tlie Lands of a good housewife, bright and 
 clean ; and here " the smoky rafters," loaded with winter provisions, 
 and the great chests rammed with oatmeal, which is calculated to out- 
 last the year, fill the mind with pleasing ideas of rustic plenty, and 
 ancient simplicity. 
 
 Last of the rural edifices is the cottage. These are single apart- 
 ments, without chambers, open to their thatched roofs, and supported 
 upon crooks. We have traced the histoiy of these from the wattled 
 huts of the Britons, to the wooden houses of the Saxons, and shall 
 have to revert to them again in our remarks upon modern cottage 
 architecture. 
 
 With regard to the early stores of the manufacturing merchant and 
 trading classes, we may here observe that at a time when property was 
 insecure, and the state of society turbulent, nothing analogous to our 
 modern shops existed. The religious and baronial establisliments, and 
 the extensive households of the gentry, were supplied wholesale by 
 dealers who kept their wares in well-guarded cellars and store-houses ; 
 while the occasional requirements of smaller households were supplied 
 by periodical fairs, or hawkers travelling the country. The few shops 
 which had then commenced, were little more than cells, where workmen 
 followed their handicraft, and vended the produce of their own indus- 
 try. The words stall, hooth, and sliop are derived from Saxon roots, 
 and signify severally, the forepart of a shop or counter, a shelter or 
 hovel, and an .office for the sale of wares, the latter being a junction of 
 the two former, already described. The nuisance of stalls thronging 
 the kerb of the narrow and crowded streets of Old London, was the 
 subject of complaint from an early period, and enactments w^ere made 
 at different times, from the fourteenth centin-y downwards, for their 
 suppression.* We shall, however, enter morefully upon the history of 
 shops and trading-establishments when we come to the examination 
 of street architecture. 
 
 There is one description of edifice, not included in the previous 
 enumeration, to which we may as well now refer. This was the open 
 court in which law proceedings were conducted. The annexed engraving 
 illustrates the court-house of Grodmanchester, which continued " open" 
 until the passing of the Eeform Bill. Causes " tried in open court" 
 is a phrase familiar to all; but in ancient times the courts were 
 literally " open." The court of Godmanchester, which is a type of 
 * Archer's " Vestiges of Old London."
 
 OPEN LAW COURTS. 
 
 233 
 
 others of its period, remained perfectly open until the memorable 
 year 1832, when, for the comfort and convenience of a new race of 
 justices unaccustomed to privations, it was bricked and plastered in. 
 Here, until within our own time, was justice administered openly as 
 in the earliest ages, when a broad tree frequently formed the sole 
 
 '^^tJ^j *^ 
 
 OPEN COUET, OE COUET OF PIE-POWDEE.* 
 
 shelter for judge and people. Down to a comparatively late period, 
 the law courts were thus held both in Gruildhall and AVestminster 
 Hall, in London. In a much earlier age Parliament was similarly 
 seated; Eichard II. erected for the members a temporary wooden 
 house, while rebuilding "Westminster Hall, and this house was open, 
 on all sides to the weather, and to all men ; the members being 
 protected by 4000 archers, placed round them by the king, " to secure 
 freedom of debate." Such open meeting-houses were by no means 
 uncommon in the olden time.f 
 
 Blackstone, in his Commentaries, says — " The lowest, and, at the 
 same time, the most expeditious court of justice known to the law in 
 England is the Court of Pie-powder, curia pedis pulverizati, so called 
 from the dusty feet of the suitors ;" or, according to Sir Edward Coke, 
 " because justice is there done as speedily as dust can fall from the 
 foot."J Stowe writes, that " opposite the Bishop of Coventry's Inn 
 
 * From HaU's "Baronial HaUs." 
 
 t Archer's " Vestiges of Old London." 
 
 X See the Section upon " The Progress of Civil Jurisprudence."
 
 234 CAUSES iisr open court. 
 
 in the High Street (now the Strand), stood a stone cross, where, in 
 the year 1294, and divers other times, the justices itinerant sat 
 without London." The courts of Pie-powder were of two kinds — those 
 having absolute jurisdiction to settle general and important causes, 
 and those having immediate and local jurisdiction over disputations and 
 causes arising at markets and fairs, and which required immediate 
 settlement. In the latter, two things were requisite : First, the court 
 was to he for matters arising in the market or fair ; second, the causes 
 were to be determined during the continuance of the market or fair, 
 and by the court annexed to such market or fair. These courts appear 
 to have taken their origin from the old British courts, which were 
 held in the open air, where judges presided to minister justice lohile 
 dust was on the feet. The coxu-ts of absolute and general jvirisdiction 
 arose from the Saxon institution, which appointed twelve of the most 
 eminent and grave men to ride different circuits, that justice might 
 not be impeded to the meanest individual. Hence arose judges itine- 
 rant. AVe will merely add, upon this subject, that when the taste for 
 grandeur and luxury introduced covered j)laces for deciding causes, 
 the superior court of Pie-powder lost its ancient consequence, and, 
 from being a court of general judicatm-e, it degenerated into the 
 inferior court which, for some time afterwards, continued to hold its 
 open sittings for the speedy and sudden despatch of differences arising 
 in markets and fairs, for the benefit of merchants and tradesmen ; for 
 determining also all doubts and questions, then and there arising, 
 respecting sales and contracts made within, and during the time for 
 which the market or fair is held, and not for matters arising other- 
 wise than in the market or fair.* 
 
 The account of " the manner of building and furniture of houses," 
 given in Harrison's Introduction to " HoUinshed's Chronicle," corro- 
 borates, in all material points, the history we have given, Virile it adds 
 many interesting details of a more modern date (1586-7), which 
 cannot be omitted : — " The greateft part o^ our buildings," says Harrison, 
 " in the cities and good townes of England consifteth onlie of timber, for as 
 yet few houses of the commonaltie (except here and there in the wefl 
 countrie townes) are made of ftonc. * * It is not in vaine in speaking 
 of building to make a diftindlion between plaine and woodie soils : for as 
 in these, our houses are commonlie ftrong and well timbered, so that in 
 
 *■ * Wilkinson's " Londina."
 
 HAEEISON S DESCEIPTION OF BUILDINGS. 235 
 
 manie places, there are not above foure, six, or nine inches between ftud 
 and ftad ; so in the open and champaigne countries they are inforced for 
 want of ftufFe to use no ftuds at all, but onlie frank polls, raisins, beames, 
 pricke pofts, groundsels, sumners (or dormants), transoms, and such prin- 
 cipals, with here and there a girding whereunto they fallen their splints or 
 ravels, and then call it all over with thick claie to kecpe out the wind, 
 which otherwise would anoie them. Certes this rude kind of building made 
 the Spaniards in Queene Marie's dayes to wonder, but cheeflie when they 
 saw what large diet was used in manie of these so homlie cottages, in 
 so much that one of no small reputation amongft them said after this 
 manner : These English (quoth he) have their houses made of ilicks and 
 dirt, but they fare commonlie so well as the king. Whereby it appeareth 
 that he liked better of our good fare in such coarse cabins than of their owne 
 thin diet in their princelike habitations and palaces. In like sort, as everie 
 countrie house, is thus apparelled on the outside, so is it inwardlie divided 
 into sundrie roomes above and beneath ; and where plentie of wood is they 
 cover them with tiles [evidently, from this, wooden tiles~\ ; otherwise with 
 flraw, sedge, or reed, except some quarrie of slate be neere at hand, from 
 whence they have for their monie so manie as may suffice them. 
 
 " The claie wherewith our houses are impanelled is either white, red, or 
 blue, and of these the first doth participat verie much with the nature of our 
 chalke, the second is called lome, but the third soonest changeth colour, so 
 soone as it is wrought, notwithstanding that it looke blue when it is throwne 
 out of the pit. Of chalke also we have our excellent Asbellos, or white 
 lime, made in moll places, wherewith being quenched we llrike over our claie 
 workes and ftone walls, in cities, good townes, rich farmers' and gentlemen's 
 houses : otherwise in fteed of chalke (where it wanteth, for it is so scant 
 that in some places it is sold by the pound) they are compelled to burne a 
 certain kind of red llone, as in Wales, and 'else where, other llones and 
 shells of oiilers and like fishe found upon the sea coafl, which being converted 
 into lime doth naturallie (as the other) abhore and eschew water whereby it 
 is difsolved, and neverthelefse desire oile, wherewith it is easilie mixed, as I 
 have seen by experience. Within their doores also such as are of abilitie 
 doo oft make their floores and parget of fine alaballer burned, which they 
 call plafter of Paris, whereof in some places we have great plentie, and that 
 verie profitable againft the rage of fire. 
 
 *' In plallering likewise of our fairell houses over our heads, we use to 
 laie firft a laire or two of white morter, tempered with hair upon laths, 
 which are nailed one by another (or sometimes upon reed or wickers, more
 
 23G HAKEISOX'S DESCRIPTION OF BUILDINGS. 
 
 dangerous for fire, and made fall here and there with saplatlies for falling 
 dovvne), and finallie cover all with the aforesaid plafter, which beside the 
 delegable whiteness of the ftufFe it selfe, is laid on so evenlie and smoothlie, ■ 
 as nothing in my judgment can be done with more exaftnefse. Tlie walls of 
 our houses on the inner sides in like sort be either hanged with tapeftrie, 
 arras worke, or painted cloths, wherein either diverse hiftories, or hearbes, 
 beasts, knots, and such like are ftained, or else they are seeled with oke of 
 our owne, or wainscot brought hither out of the eaft countries, whereby the 
 roomes are not a little commended, made warme, and much more close 
 than they otherwise would be. 
 
 " As for stooves wc have not hitherto used them greatlie, yet do they 
 now begin to be made in diverse houses of the generic and wealthie citizens, 
 who build them, not to worke and feed in, as in Germanie and elsewhere, 
 but now and then to sweat in, as occasion shall need and require it. This 
 also hath been common in England, contrarie to the customes of all other 
 nations, and yet to be scene (for example in moft streets of London) that 
 manie of our greatefl. houses have outwardlie beene very simple and plaine to 
 sight, which inwardlie have been able to receive a duke with his whole 
 traine, and lodge them at their ease. Hereby moreover it is come to pafle, 
 that the fronts oi^ our ftreets have not been so uniforme and orderlie builded 
 as those of foreigne cities, where (to say the truth) the other side of their 
 mansions and dwellings have oft more cost bestowed upon them than all the 
 refte of the house, which are often verie simple, and uneasie within. 
 
 " Of old time our countrie houses, infteed of glafse, did use muche lattise, 
 and that made either of wicker or fine rifts of oke in chequerwise. I reed 
 also that some of the better sort, in and before the time of the Saxons 
 (who notwithftanding used some glafse also since the time of BenedicEl 
 Biscop the monke, that brought the feat of glafsing firft into this land), did 
 make the panels of home instead of glafse, and fix them in wooden calmes. 
 But as home in windows is now quite laid downe in everie place, so our 
 lattises are also growne into lefse use, because glafse is come to be so plen- 
 tiful, and within a verie little so good and cheape, if not better than the 
 other. 
 
 " Heretofore, also, the windows of our princes and noblemen were often 
 built of berill* (an example whereof is yet to be scene in Sudelcie Castell), 
 and in diverse other places with fine cristall, but this especiallie in the time 
 of the Romans, whereof also some fragments have been taken up in old 
 ruines. But now these are not in use, so that only the clearest glafse is 
 * A description of crystal.
 
 BRAMHALL HALL, CHESHIRE. 
 
 i;av-\vl\J)(j\v in j'-uam iiai.i, n \i.i„ ( iii:siiikk. 
 
 (Trom Nash's " Maiisiont "!' Hntfland.")
 
 THE niSTORT 01" THE " FIEE-PLACE." 237 
 
 mofl: efleemcd. * * * Moreover the mansion houses of our countrie 
 townes and villages (which in champaigne ground Hand altogether by ftreets, 
 adjoining one another, but in woodland soiles dispersed here and there, each 
 one upon the several grounds of their owners) are builded in such sort gene- 
 rallie, as that they have neither dairie, ftable, nor brue-house annexed unto 
 them under the same roofe (as in manie places beyond the sea, and some of 
 the north parts of our countrie) but all separate from the first, and one of 
 them from another. And yet, for all this, they are not so farre distant in 
 sunder, but that the goodman lieing in his bed may lightlie heare what is 
 done in cache of them with ease, and call quicklie unto his mcinie if anie 
 danger fhould attack him. 
 
 " The ancient manours and houses of our gentlemen are yet and for the 
 most part of strong timber, in framing whereof our carpenters have been 
 and are worthilie preferred before those of like science among all other nations. 
 Howbeit such as be latelie builded are commonlie either of bricke or hard 
 stone, or both; their roomes large and comelie, and houses of office further 
 distant from their lodgings. Those of the nobilitie are likewise wrought with 
 bricke and hard stone, as provision may best be made ; but so magnificent 
 and statelie, as the basest house of a baron doth often match in our dales with 
 some manours of princes in old time." 
 
 Connected as the fire-place and cTiimney are with the most treasured 
 moments of domestic happiness, their history forms an interesting 
 episode in our present subject. 
 
 The absence of chimneys from the illuminations of the tenth and 
 eleventh centuries may be attributed to the fact, that the manuscripts 
 were translations or copies of the sacred texts, and that the illumina- 
 tions thereto were designed to illustrate Scripture history, and not to 
 portray the domestic life of the period. Most of the buildings de- 
 picted upon the early illuminations consist of structures in the form of a 
 parallelogram, open at one end, but hung with drapery, the curtains of 
 which being drawn aside, revealed an altar, and a lamp suspended over 
 it. By the side of each of those buildings stood a small wing, probably 
 the dormitory for a priest. That such was not the structure of the 
 Anglo-Saxon churches scarcely requires argiiment. The other buildings 
 which appear upon the illumiuations consist, to a very great extent, of 
 open corridors and arcades — a style quite inconsistent with the neces- 
 sities of the British climate, and evidently indicating, on the part of the 
 illuminators, an attempt to give an idea of Eastern structures. So far
 
 238 
 
 THE FIEST CHIMNEYS. 
 
 FIRE-PLACE, EOCHESTER CASTLE. 
 
 as the details are concerned — the tiles, doorways, pillars, porches, and 
 windows, and other parts of Saxon buildings — these manuscripts bear 
 valuable testimony, and there appears little change, in these par- 
 ticulars, in the illuminations 
 from the tenth to the four- 
 teenth centuries. The metri- 
 cal romances of the latter 
 period enter more into the 
 details of domestic life, and 
 in these chimneys appear. It 
 seems therefore probable that 
 in Saxon houses there were 
 central chimneys, as repre- 
 sented in the illustration, p. 
 214, the roof of the house there 
 illustrated exhibiting a strictly 
 Saxon character ; and the 
 true prototype of our modern 
 flues probably arose with the 
 construction of Norman castles, which, consisting of several galleries or 
 stories, rendered the open and central chimney impracti- 
 cable. Fire-places were then necessarily removed from 
 the central situation to apertures in the walls, and the 
 smoke was allowed to escape through a stone vent hav- 
 ing for its outlet a loophole, since a larger opening 
 was incompatible with the sought-for security. The 
 elongation of the flue soon suggested itself, as a means 
 of improving the fires, and purifying the air of con- 
 fined apartments ; then commenced the chimney-shafts, 
 which, in various improved forms, prevail to the 
 present day. 
 
 Understanding the construction and uses of these 
 chimneys, as the Normans did, it is remarkable that 
 builders of the middle ages preferred the central fire- 
 places for their halls, leaving the smoke to find its 
 way through the open lantern, or to soil the arras and 
 blacken the roof before escaping. chimney of 
 
 Yet there are instances of chimneys being constructed, atdon castle, 
 and of houses being aitercu or miproved by them. In land 1280
 
 TKE CENTRAL REREDOSSE. 
 
 239 
 
 drawings of tlie time of Henry III., cylindrical chimneys are repre- 
 sented rising considerably over the roof, and orders to " raise " the 
 chimneys of the king's houses were frequent in this reign. These 
 alterations were probably made in the smaller and upper apartments, 
 the central fire-places still being retained in great halls. 
 
 Eoberte Langelande, in his " Visions of Pierce Plowman," written 
 " in the Tyme of Kynge Edward the Thyrde," regrets the neglect of 
 the genial fire in the haU, and looks upon the resort to a private 
 apartment with a chimney as a selfish gratification : — 
 
 ''Ellengeis* the hal, every day in the weke, 
 There the lorde ne ladye, liketh not to sytte, 
 Now hath eche ryche a rule, to eaten by himselfe 
 In a privi parler, for poore men's sake, 
 Or in chamber with a chimney, and leave the chiefe hall. 
 That was made for meales, men to teate f in, 
 And all to spare to spende, that spoyl shall another." 
 
 The central fire-places in the better class of dwellings were slightly 
 elevated upon a kind of reredosse, and 
 the burning wood was raised by iron 
 fire-dogs, sometimes of plain form, in 
 other cases ornamental. In the dwell- 
 ings of the poorer people, a few stones, 
 grouped upon the native earth, consti- 
 tuted the only fire-place. 
 
 The form of the ciu-few, which 
 was used in the time of the Nor- 
 mans, shows that fires were made 
 against the walls, and, therefore, 
 ventilated by flues or chimneys. 
 For the central fires there were pro- 
 bably curfews of other forms, since the 
 Conqueror imposed upon his subjects 
 the extinction of all fires at the ringing of a certain bell, hence 
 called the " curfew bell." "Whether a bell was rung for the express 
 purpose, or that the signal was to be taken from the vesper bells 
 of the convents, is a matter of doubt. The employment of the 
 curfew was imposed as a precaution against fires, houses being cliiefly 
 built of wood, and was not peculiar to this country, nor to the 
 
 * Forlorn. t Treat. 
 
 EEEEDOSSE AND FIEE-DOGS.
 
 240 
 
 THE CURFEW — INCEEASE OF CHIMNETS. 
 
 CTJEFEW.* 
 
 dominions of the Conqueror. That it was many centuries before 
 
 chimneys became general, may be 
 gathered from the incidental testimony 
 "^ of numerous writers. Leland, writing 
 in the sixteenth century, expresses 
 surprise at a chimney which he found 
 in Bolton Castle, and which he says 
 " was finiched or Kynge Richard the 2 
 dyed. One thynge I much notyd in the 
 hawle of Bolton, how chimeneys were 
 conveyed by tunnels made on the syds 
 of the walls betwixt lights in the hawle, and by this means, and by no 
 covers, is the smoke of the harthe in the hawle wonder strangely con- 
 veyed." 
 
 Harrison, writing at the close of the same century, says — " There 
 are old men yet dwelling in the village where I remaine, which have noted 
 three things to be marvellouslie altred in England within their sound remem- 
 brance : one is the multitude of chimnies latelie erected, whereas in their 
 young dales there were not above two or three, if so manie, in the most 
 uplandish townes of the realme (the religious houses, and manour places of 
 their lords alwaies excepted, and peradventure some great personages), but 
 ech one made his fire against a reredosse in the hall, where he dined and 
 dressed his meat."t 
 
 From the reign of Henry VIII., when the use of bricks for building 
 was revived, chimneys began to multiply, and some of them were highly 
 ornamented. A tax was imposed upon every fire-place, or hearth, in 
 England, in the reign of Charles II. This has been improperly called 
 a " tax on chimneys ;" it was, in fact, levied upon fire-places, or 
 hearths, whether accompanied by chimneys or not. It yielded two 
 hundred thousand pounds, and caused great discontent among the 
 poorer orders of people,^ which a tax upon chimneys would not have 
 done at that time. The poorer householders were frequently unable to 
 
 * This utensil is called a ciu-few, or couvre-few, fi-om its use, which is that of 
 suddenly putting out a fire. The method of employing it was thus : — The wood and 
 embers were raked as close as possible to the back of the hearth, and then the curfew 
 was placed over them, the open part, placed close to the back of the chimney ; by this 
 contrivance, the air being almost totally excluded, the lire was of course extinguished. 
 — Grose's "Antiquities." 
 
 t Introduction to HoUinshed. 
 
 X Macaulay's " England."
 
 THE HEARTII-TAX. 
 
 2-il 
 
 pay their hearth-money to the day. When this happened, their furni- 
 ture was distrained without mercy, for the tax was farmed, and a 
 farmer of taxes is, of all creditors, proverbially the most rapacious. 
 The collectors were loudly accused of performing their unpopular duty 
 with harshness and insolence. It is said that as soon as they aj)peared 
 at the threshold of a cottage, the children began to wail, and the okl 
 women ran to hide their earthenware. Nay, the single bed of a poor 
 family had sometimes been carried away and sold.* In the reign of 
 WiUiam and Mary, the House of Commons resolved that the collection 
 of hearth-money was a great oppression to the poorer sort, and a badge 
 of slavery upon the whole people, exposing every man's house to be 
 entered into and searched at pleasiu-e by persons unknown to him. 
 This tax was therefore abolished. By the reign of Elizabeth chimneys 
 had come to be appreciated. When ladies paid visits to their friends, 
 if they coiild not be accommodated with rooms provided with chim- 
 neys, they were frequently sent out to other houses, where they could 
 enjoy that luxury. f Even at the close of the seventeenth century, 
 chimneys were not universal. At that period there were "windows 
 
 %Ar7wT?vAXI7P5^ 
 
 FIRE-PLACE OF KNOWLE HAIL, KENT. 
 
 every where glazed, not made of paper or of wood. Chymnies in most 
 places, no stoves." 
 
 In the Elizabethan halls, when the central reredosse was super- 
 seded in all new structures, fire-places assumed considerable size and 
 
 * Macaulay's " England." 
 
 t Chamberlaines " Present State of Britain," 1700.
 
 243 INTKODUCTION OF COALS. 
 
 elegance. The fire-dogs were ornamental, frequently faced with highly- 
 polished metal, which reflected the brilliancy of the flames, and radi- 
 ated a generous lieat, or consisted of casts of elaborate moulding in 
 metal. Armour, weapons, banners, and bucks'-horns were tastefully 
 grouped over the massive mantels, or they were surrounded by elabo- 
 rate carvings of family busts and shields. 
 
 The introduction of coals, the exact date of which is uncertain, 
 must have contributed to the increase of chimneys. Before coals were 
 employed as fuel, they were used for denoting land-marks, being black 
 and imperishable. "Whether they were employed for fires by the 
 Eomans in Britain has been a matter of antiquarian discussion. It is 
 sufficient for oiu" present purpose to know that they were not in use 
 in the more advanced towns and cities of the kingdom before the 
 thirteentb century. Henry III. granted a charter to the townsmen 
 of Newcastle-upon-Tyne for liberty to dig coals in the vicinity of that 
 place, 1239.* The first mention of coal that occurs in any charter in 
 Scotland, is found in a grant executed in the year 1291, in favour of 
 the abbot and convent of Dunfermliue, conferring the privilege of 
 digging coal in the lands of PittencrieflT, in the county of Fife. 
 
 Charcoal was used, prior to the introduction of coal, probably for 
 superior fires in noble edifices, and for furnaces in various processes 
 connected with art and science. Coal was called " sea colys," being 
 conveyed by ships over the sea, and in distinction from the " char 
 cholys " in previous use. 
 
 The " Northumberland Household Book," commenced in 1512, by 
 Percy, fifth Earl of Northumberland, furnishes the most minute par- 
 ticulars of the expenses of the great ducal establishment. In this we 
 find the following curious entry : — 
 
 " Char Cholis. 
 
 " ITEM, to be payd to the said Richard Gowge and Thomas Percy for to make provision 
 for XX quarters of Charcolys for th' expensys of my house for oone hole yere after xi}d. the 
 quarter with the cariage Somme xxs. Whych ys apoynted to be payd to the said Richard 
 Gowge and Percy all to geder at Sayntt Andro day next cummynge bicause they must be 
 purveyd all at cons for to serve in the tyme of Crlstymmas next after which ys bicause the 
 Smook of the Seecolys would hurrt myne arras when it is hunge. And to the hole Somme 
 of full contcntacion for the said Charcolys for oone hole yere ys = xxj." 
 
 The " Northumberland Household Book " contains, also, several 
 items for " fagoots " and " greet woode," in large quantities, which show 
 
 * Brand's " Uistory of Newcastle."
 
 BURNING or COAL A CAPITAL OFFENCE. 243 
 
 that altliougli coal had been introduced, it was only nsed partially ; 
 that charcoal, wood, and sea-coal were severally employed. The large 
 wood is described as being necessary, " bicause Colys will not byrne 
 withowte Wodd," which Mr. Eoberts* thinks indicates that the coal- 
 miners had not then found means to reach the deep strata known as 
 "main coal." These explanations show that various kinds of fire-places 
 must have existed. 
 
 The increasing price of wood led to the demand for a cheaper 
 material by smiths, brewers, and others, whose trades required large 
 quantities of fuel, and towards the close of the thirteenth century 
 coal was imported into the metropolis from Newcastle for the use of 
 furnaces. In 1306, however, the king was petitioned to stop the 
 consumption of the noxious article in the City ; and, accordingly, a 
 royal proclamation was issued prohibiting the burning of coal. The 
 royal command being disregarded, a commission of oyer and terminer 
 was appointed for the pm^pose of ascertaining what persons used sea- 
 coal (i. e., coal brought by way of the sea to London), with power to 
 punish by fine, for the first offence, and, afterwards, the demolition of 
 the ofliending furnaces. As the consumers of coal had by this time 
 learnt its value, and persisted in employing it, a law was passed making 
 it a capital offence to burn it within the precincts of the City. In the 
 reign of JEdward I. a man tvas actually executed for the commission of the 
 crmie.f The nobles and commons assembled in Parliament complained 
 against the use of coal as a public utdsance, alleging that it corrupted 
 the air with its stink and smoke. Finding that the use of this eco- 
 nomic and valuable fuel could not be suppressed, the next endeavour 
 was to prevent the employment of it during the sittings of Parliament, 
 and while the king remained in London. 
 
 By a petition in Parliament, 1321-2, it appears that coals had found 
 their way into the royal palace. The petition set forth that ten shil- 
 lings' worth of sea-coals, used at the king's coronation, which had been 
 ordered of Eichard del Hurst, by the clerk of the palace, had not been 
 paid for ! In the reign of Edward III. some coals were required for the 
 furnaces built at Windsor for tlie smiths and plumbers engaged in the 
 alterations then being made at Windsor Castle. But, owing to the 
 prejudice of the Londoners, and the stringency of the pre-existing laws 
 respecting the use of coals, none could be procured in the mctroj^olis. 
 The king, therefore, sent his writ to the Sheriff" of Northumberland, 
 
 * Eoberts's " Social History." f " Quarterly Eeview," vol. xcvi., p. 148.
 
 244 PBEJUDICES AGAINST CHIMNEYS. 
 
 ordering him to buy seven hundred and twenty-six chaldrons of coal, 
 and send tliem to London. The Sheriff purchased them by the 
 " greater hundred," at Winlaton, in the county of Durham, at Vld. the 
 chaldron. From Winlaton they were conveyed in " keles " to New- 
 castle-ou-Tyne, and thence shipped. The freight to the south was at 
 the rate of 3^. Qd. a chaldron. On their voyage to London the colliers 
 met with a " mighty tempest at sea," and through this, and by reason of 
 the excess of London measure over that of Newcastle, a loss of eighty- 
 six chaldrons and one quarter was incurred, the greater part having 
 been thrown overboard during the tempest. Arrived at London the 
 coals were put on board " shutes," or barges, and taken to Windsor, at 
 a cost of Is. a chaldron. The total expense of bringing this insignificant 
 quantity of fuel to London, including its cost price, was £165^5*. 2d., 
 to which must be added the barge-hire to Windsor.* 
 
 Coals continued to be used in forges, and other large works, long 
 before they were employed for domestic fires. Ladies were strongly 
 prejudiced against them, believing that the fumes they emitted were 
 obnoxious to their complexions. They refused to attend parties where 
 coal-fires were burnt ; and many persons declined to partake of meat 
 cooked by those fires. 
 
 In 1365 the coal-trade had become so important that it was found 
 necessary to control it by Acts of Parliament. 
 
 Harrison, speaking of the increase of the use of coal (1586), says, 
 the employment of them " beginneth to growe from the forge into the 
 kitchen and halle." He laments the innovation of chimneys as tending 
 to produce efleminacy in the people : — " Now we have manye chimnyes, 
 and yet our tenderhngs complaine of rewmes, catarres, and poses ; then had 
 we none but reredosses, and our heads did never ake. For as the smoke in 
 those days was supposed to be a sufficient hardening for the timber of the 
 house, so it was reputed a far better medicine to keep the goodman and his 
 family from the quack or pose, wherewith as then very few were acquainted !" 
 In like manner he questions the advantage of the more substantial 
 buildings that had sprung up : — " When cure houses were buylded of 
 willowe, then we had oken men, but nowe that oure houses are come to be 
 made of oke, oure men are not only become willowe, but a great many 
 altogether of ftraw, which is a sore alteration !" 
 
 From the same authority we learn that, although coals had been in 
 use for some centuries, there were some parts of the kingdom to 
 
 * Turner's " Domestic Ai'cliitecture."
 
 EFFECT OF COALS UPON NATITE WOODS. 
 
 245 
 
 which they were unknown : — " Of cole-mines we have such plenty in the 
 north and western parts of the island, as may suffice for all the rcalme of 
 Englande. And soe must they doe hereafter indeede, if woode be not better 
 cherished than it is at present : and to say the truth, notwithftanding that 
 very many of them are carried into other countreys of the maine, yet theyr 
 greatefl trade beginneth to growe from the forge into the kitchen and halle, 
 as may appear already in moft cities and townes that lye about the coft, 
 where they have little other fewell, except it be turfe and hafsocke. I mar- 
 vayle not a little that there is no trade of these into Sufsex and Southampton- 
 shire, for want whereof the smith'' s doe worke their yron with charre-conl." 
 
 When coals were first introduced to domestic use, they were spar- 
 ingly used for the fires of the upper apartments of inns and large 
 houses. The trade in wood declined, and thousands of acres, that had 
 been employed to feed fires with fuel, were grubbed up, and applied to 
 
 r 
 
 
 OLD FIRE-PLACES ADAPTED TO THE BURNIKG OP COALS.- 
 
 the growth of corn. In De Foe's " Tour," 1742, the gradual transi- 
 tion from wood-fires to coal, and the consequent effect, is thus alluded 
 to: — "At Shooter'' 5 Hill y^e have a country much overgrown with coppice- 
 wood, which is cut for faggots and bavins, and sent up by water to London. 
 Here they make those faggots which the wood-mongers call ostrey-wood, and 
 in particular thoie small, light bavins which are used in taverns in London 
 to light their faggots, and are called in the taverns a brush. 'Tis incredible 
 what vast quantities of these used to be laid up at Woolwich, Erith, and Dart- 
 ford ; but since the taverns in London are come to make coal fires in their 
 upper rooms, the trade declines ; and though that article would seem to be 
 trifling in itself, 'tis not immaterial to observe what an alteration it makes in 
 the value of those woods in Kent, and how many more of them than usual 
 are yearly grubbed up, and the land made fit for the plough." 
 
 The introduction of coals gave rise to a new description of fire-place,
 
 246 
 
 AKGLO-SAXON WINDOWS. 
 
 the old-fasliioned grate, which was originally an " iron cradle for burn- 
 ing sea-coals," and many and curious were the forms which this new 
 essential of domestic economy passed through before it gained approved 
 
 shape and proportions. Old fire-places 
 were altered to suit the combustion of 
 the new fuel, of which instances are 
 afforded at Haddon Hall, Naworth 
 Castle, Sizergh Hall, etc. In one of the 
 illustrations we see the once-favoured 
 " fire-dog" pushed aside, and a rude iron 
 cradle, filled Math flaming coals, taldng 
 the place of the wood fire. In another 
 large blocks of stone are employed to 
 fill up the wide span of the chimney 
 and support a primitive grate. In the 
 third the arch of the chimney has been 
 regiilarly built in, and an improved 
 grate set low u2:)on the hearth. We 
 will reserve for our future Chapter upon Domestic Comforts, the 
 further mention of fire-places, and the modern improvements in 
 their construction. 
 
 Some facts relating to windows have already been incidentally 
 mentioned. In the earlier Anglo-Saxon houses windows consisted ot 
 
 ANCIENT TIEE-PLACE, MODERNIZED. 
 
 ANGLO-SAXON "WINDOWS OF AN ANGLO-SAXON 
 ANGLO-SAXON STONE WINDOW {Belfry VTINDOW. CASTELLATED MANSION. 
 
 Tower, Dunhiirst, Gloucestershire.) {From 3ISS. of the 10th Centuri/.) 
 
 openings in the walls, with very little attempt at variation or orna- 
 ment. The wind was kept out by internal hangings, and by wooden
 
 WINDOWS or TRE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 247 
 
 shutters, which closed the apertures as night set in. Lattices of 
 wicker, or of rifts of oak, arranged chequerwise, as Harrison deserihes 
 them, were probably used in the earliest times. Oiled linen, horn, 
 and other materials, such as paper, parchment, thin wood, and papyra 
 
 WINDOW, 13th centuet. PRISON' WINDOW, 13th cextuey. 13th century. 
 
 — in fact, any substances that would admit a moderate amount of light, 
 and exclude the cold wind— were probably employed, with the view of 
 enhancing the comfort of dwelling-houses. The windows of churches 
 were originally composed of strained canvas, sometimes painted as trans- 
 parencies. From a manusci^ipt of the commencement of the fourteenth 
 
 I I 
 
 WOODEN WINDOWS, 13tH CENTTJET. 
 
 EOOF WINDOW, 13th CENTUEY. 
 
 century we have collected a variety of window-structures, some oi 
 which continued down to a much later date. Although the introduc- 
 tion of glass to the windows of domestic buildings occurred in the 
 thirteenth century, it was long before it found its way to the ordinary 
 residences of the people. And even in the houses of the wealthy, a 
 portion only of the windows were glazed, the lattices and wooden
 
 248 
 
 DOORS OF THE TENTH CENTURY. 
 
 THIBTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 shutters being still retained in the inferior apartments. In the time 
 
 of Henry VIII. glass windows had made an observable increase in 
 
 London. But the greater number were still of oiled linen, and other 
 
 like material. In 1586 the use of horn had become, in large cities at 
 
 least, quite superseded, but unglazed lattices still remained, and in 
 
 many houses the dingy 
 
 light of oiled cloth was all 
 
 that the inmates enjoyed. 
 
 Even after glass began to 
 
 be used in windows, it 
 
 was still preserved with 
 
 great care, as a precious 
 
 rarity, as appears from the 
 
 survey of Alnwick Castle, 
 
 made in 1567, in which 
 
 this very remarkable passage occurs : — " And because throw extreme 
 
 winds the glafse of the windowee of this and other my Lord's caftles and 
 
 houses here in the countrie dooth decay and 
 waste, yet were good the whole leights of everie 
 windowe at the departure of his Lordshippe 
 from lyinge at anie of his said castels and houses, 
 and dowring the tyme of his Lordship's absence, 
 or others lying in them, were taken downe and 
 lade upe in safety : and at sooche tyme as other 
 his Lordshipe or any other sholde lye at any of 
 the said places, the same might then be set 
 uppe of new with small charges to his Lp. 
 wher [i. e. whereas] now the decaye thereof 
 shall be verie costhe and chargeable to be re- 
 payrcd." Erom this it appears that, as late 
 as the year 1567, glazed windows were so 
 rare and costly that in a great ducal esta- 
 blishment they were talien out and carefully 
 stowed away, during the absence of the lord. 
 Of the doorways of domestic edifices 
 few particulars can be gleaned. The an- 
 nexed engraving is from an illuminated MS. of the tenth century, 
 and represents a desci'iption of doorway common to the Anglo-Saxon 
 houses, which appears to have prevailed through subsequent periods- 
 
 ANGLO-SAXON DOOK.
 
 DOOES OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTTJET. 
 
 249 
 
 Tlie door has three ornamental hinges, and although no lock or bolt is 
 indicated, the system of fastening by an internal chain is evident 
 from other illustrations in the same manuscript. The two following 
 illustrations are from a manuscript of the fourteenth century. One of 
 them affords a very perfect illustration of various details — the porch, 
 
 DOORWAYS OF THE FOtTETEENTH CENTUET, 
 
 lock, knocker, hinges, etc. The other exhibits a door in another 
 aspect, showing its construction from the inside, with the hinges, bolt, 
 etc. Such doors, " made with two leaves," were common in London 
 in Henry VIII. 's time. 
 
 The large doorways, with massive frame-work, and heavy-headed 
 nails — the broad arch and ponderous porch, wdth a seat for waiting- 
 men within — belong to a class of bidldings that rise above the sphere of 
 domesticity which we have kept in view as far as possible throughout 
 this history. 
 
 The old-fashioned door, divided into two leaves, an upper and 
 lower — over the latter of which the gossips of the town loved to lean 
 and talk — appears to have found no place in buildings of the periods to 
 which we have referred, or at least have left no traces of so early an 
 existence. 
 
 In the superior houses of the Tudor period, windows became highly 
 decorative. Then commenced those beautiful bay-windows, of which 
 such a perfect specimen was afforded by Bramhall Hall (see Plate). 
 The gable-ends of buildings were also considerably ornamented,
 
 250 
 
 DESCEIPTION OF MOBETON HALL. 
 
 and decorated with carvings and beautiM barge-boards. One of the 
 most remarkable and interesting buildings of this description was 
 Moreton Hall, in Cheshire, in which tradition relates that Queen 
 Elizabeth danced, during a fete on one of her royal progresses, and 
 Oliver Cromwell held a council chamber during the Ci\dl "Wars. 
 The glazing in Moreton Hall was very remarkable, the panes being 
 unusually small, and joined by slips of lead, so as to represent many 
 pretty patterns. Upon bands around one of these windows were the 
 following inscriptions : — " God is al in al thing. Tliis window where 
 made by Wm. Moreton, in the yeare of oure Lorde mdlii." " Rjcharde 
 
 MOKEXON HAI;L. 
 
 Dale, Carpeder, made theis window, by the grace of God."* Many of the 
 rooms of Moreton Hall had floors of plaster. The fastenings of some 
 of the doors of the upper rooms were curious ; they consisted of large 
 iron rings standing out from the middle of the doors, through which 
 were passed bars of wood.t The walls were made of wood, wattles, 
 and plaster. 
 
 Moreton Hall was surrounded by a narrow moat ; and in the 
 mansions of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the means of defence 
 and seclusion were still considered, although they were modified by the 
 
 * Ilall's " Baronial Halls." f Ibid,
 
 BOUSES OF WEALTHY CITIZENS. 
 
 251 
 
 improving peacefulness of the times. The domestic apartments still had 
 their fronts directed to an inner court, as if the time had not yet 
 arrived when the inmates might trust themselves to turn to the face of 
 the open country ; and in border districts, liable to frequent disturb- 
 ances, these characteristics of distrust and seclusion were preserved 
 
 -/V'^'^W 
 
 ^ifl 
 
 r^ j<^- 
 
 j«T^'^iin«w|i|»N^i » _ _ 
 
 HOUSE WITH FOLIATED FEOXT.* 
 
 to a very late period. The seats of the gentry, and the large farm- 
 houses, continued to be fortified, down to the time of George III. ;t 
 but iti more settled localities, where large communities had begun to 
 flourish, and citizens to grow wealthy, they displayed their prosperity 
 
 * From Smith's " Topography of London." 
 t Macaulay's " History of England."
 
 252 HOUSES A"N"D STREETS OE LONDOTT. 
 
 in erecting houses elaborately constructed of oak, and enricted witli 
 carved work. This multiplied those ornamental gables to which 
 allusion has already been made, and also gave rise to houses with 
 foliated fronts, which became numerous in towns. The ornaments 
 with which those houses were decorated were made of compositions of 
 plaster, and were sometimes carried to the most fanciful and incon- 
 gruous extremes. One of these buildings, the subject of the annexed 
 engraving, stood on the west side of Moor Fields. The inharmonious 
 appearance of the decorations, and of the wooden launders which con- 
 veyed the rain from the roof to the street, is sufficiently obvious. In 
 many of the houses thus externally embellished, the internal fittings 
 were still in a rude state. Plaster ceilings had not been introduced, 
 and wainscoting had found its way only into buildings of a still higher 
 class. Hangings were therefore employed in the chief apartments to 
 hide defects. 
 
 Smith, in his " Antiquities of London," thus describes the streets 
 of the metropolis : — " The particular style of building in old London w^as 
 for one story to project over another, w^ith heavy beams and cornices, the 
 ftreets being paved with pible stones, and no path for foot-passengers but 
 what was common for carriages, scarce a lamp to be seen, and except a 
 few principal streets, they were in general very narrow, and those incum- 
 bered with heavy projefting signs, and barbers' poles. London must have 
 had a very gloomy appearance when neighbours in a narrow street might 
 shake hands from the opposite garrets. No wonder the plague was so 
 dreadful in 1665 !" Not only were the streets thus opposed to sanitary 
 requirements, but the apartments within the houses " were stifling, 
 lighted by lattices, so contrived as to prohibit the occasional and salu- 
 tary admission of external air. The floors were of clay, strewed with 
 rushes, which being seldom changed, remained a foul receptacle of 
 every pollution."* 
 
 The more peacefid times which followed the accession of Henry 
 VII. aff'orded a great impetus to the commerce and trade of London. 
 In previous reigns, on account of the prevailing insecurity, no such 
 establishments as the modern shops existed. Merchants took care to 
 fortify their stores. Some of them built towers at the entrances of 
 their establishments. One was erected by a merchant in the butter- 
 market of Lyne. Portcullises, to let down by day and draw up by night, 
 
 * Erasmus.
 
 THE FIRST SHOPS. 
 
 253 
 
 "were common. In the time of Charles I. there was a castellated house, 
 probably the residence of a merchant, at the corner of Milk Street, in 
 Cheapside. This house had two corbel-towers. As soon as trade 
 began to thrive, most of the streets were crowded daily with stalls, 
 and itinerant vendors importuned foot-passengers to buy their wares. 
 Broils were frequent between contending dealers, and riots not un- 
 common between the citizens, who believed themselves privileged, and 
 foreign dealers who resisted a monopoly. The stalls and booths 
 became so numerous that the public ways were obstructed. The 
 palings of public buildings and churches were converted into props for 
 miserable tents, and churchyards turned into disorderly fairs. House- 
 holders appear to have claimed the right of letting the space in front 
 of their houses for the erection of stalls. In the year 1602, the 
 Common Council decided, " That no citizen, or other inhabitant of Lon- 
 don, for the future, shall, under any pretence whatever, presume to let before 
 his, her, or their house, any ftall, ftand, or perprefture, upon the penalty of 
 forty shillings." Prior to that local enactment, it was one of the pre- 
 scribed duties of each wardmote to regulate the street-stalls, which 
 were to be but " two feet and a-half in breadth, and to be flexible and 
 moveable, viz., to hang by jew-mews, or garnets,* so that they may be taken 
 up and let down." The 
 suppression of stalls 
 led to a rapid change 
 in the appearance of 
 streets ; the dealers 
 took to cellars and pas- 
 sages, and every kind 
 of inlet which did not 
 interfere with the pre- 
 scribed limitations ; the 
 walls of houses were 
 knocked in, and sub- 
 stantial stalls, or bulks, 
 took the place of rick- 
 ety booths. But the 
 windows were quite 
 open, like butchers' shambles of the present day. The only protec- 
 tion to shop-windows was afforded by wooden lattice-work— the 
 * A kind of iron hook. 
 
 SHOP IN goldsmiths' eow, cheapside, in 154.7.
 
 254 
 
 THE OLD BULK-SHOPS. 
 
 lattices of ale-liouses being painted red as a mark of distinction. The 
 whole of the frontage of Cheapside consisted of these open shops. 
 About the year 1547, some of them were pulled down, and better 
 structures erected in their stead. These were so great an improvement 
 that they were the cause of much attraction. Thousands of people 
 flocked from the suburbs to see " the glorious appearance of the 
 goldsmiths' shops." The new shops extended from the Old Change to 
 Bucklersbury, iu one line, and were all occupied by goldsmiths, except 
 four, which were devoted to other trades. Yet the windows were 
 unglazed; and only the middle windows of the houses had glazed lattices, 
 the upper ones being quite open, except when closed by wooden 
 shutters. The shops were built high from the ground, as a protection 
 against thieves, and some one stood at the doors for the double purpose 
 of catering for customers, and protecting the goods.* 
 
 A representation of the old bulk-shops is afibrded by the 
 annexed engraving. They were probably called bulk-shops from 
 
 the large projecting 
 
 I liiiii'iiiii . ,. I 
 
 head, which extended 
 over the pathway, 
 being turned up at 
 the rim, after the 
 manner of an old- 
 fashioned beaver, in 
 order that the rain 
 might be carried oif 
 end-ways. In these 
 sliops, some of which 
 were never closed by 
 shutters, night-strol- 
 lers sometimes took 
 their rest. The poet 
 Savage is said to have 
 frequently had re- 
 course to such shelter 
 during liis moody 
 night wanderings ; and Boswell tells of Derrick meeting Floyd in one 
 of these places, and of their being mutually surprised and ashamed 
 when they recognized each other. The shop represented in the 
 
 * Arc'liei-'s " Vosti^es of Old Loudon " 
 
 UULK-oUOi-H, FOKMEKLT IX LOXG- LANE.
 
 THE FIRST GLAZED SHOP WINDOWS. 
 
 255 
 
 engraving appears to have been of considerable dimensions in its 
 prime, but to have been subsequently divided into two establishments, 
 one of which received a glazed sash. 
 
 Over the massive " bulks" of these shops, and from the house-tops, 
 were frequently to be seen growing large patches of the house-leek. 
 In those simple times it was regarded as a " protection against thunder 
 and lightning" — a crude notion which still lingers in rural districts. 
 Horse-shoes were frequently nailed over the doorways — an equally 
 eftective charm against witches. In 1813, Sir Henry Ellis counted 
 seventeen of them nailed over the shop-doors in Monmouth Street. 
 But light has dawned even there, and the curious may now look in 
 that locality for a horse-shoe in vain. 
 
 The annexed engraving represents the basement window of a 
 house which stood in Sweedon's Passage, Grrub Street, and is said 
 to date from the 
 time of Henry IV. 
 
 The house to which 
 it was attached is said 
 to have been occu- 
 pied by Sir Hi chard 
 Whittington, in the 
 reign of Henry IV., 
 and by Sir Thomas 
 Grresham, in the reign 
 of Elizabeth. The 
 windows are those of 
 the latter reign, and 
 afford a good illus- 
 tration of the appearance of the first glazed windows of shops. 
 From a drawing of Cheapside, about the year 1760, it will be found 
 that shops still continued open, though some of the windows had 
 begun to receive the protection of glass. These shops stood by the 
 side of Bow Church. AVhile shops remained open, the interruptions to 
 trade must have been constant. In bad weather it would be impos- 
 sible to expose goods for sale for days together ; and when a sudden 
 shower came on, it would be necessary to put up the shutters quickly, 
 or to drag the wares away in a confused heap. In the winter, the dis- 
 play of goods would be vastly inferior to that of the summer, and the 
 very aspects of the shops must have been changed. In many of these 
 
 EAltLY GLAZED SHOP FKONT.
 
 266 
 
 CHEAPSIDE IN 1760. 
 
 shops articles were both made and sold, for the mere retailer had then 
 scarcely found an existence. Along the streets, therefore, prevailed 
 the discordant noise of hammers, the click of shears, and burr of lathes ; 
 
 SHOPS NEXT ST. MAKT-LE-BOW CHtJECH, CHEAPSIDE. 
 
 and idlers, lounging by the doors or squatting upon the open \\indows, 
 whiled away the tedious hours of a spiritless life. 
 
 As late as 1810 there were sixteen open shops in White Horse 
 Yard, Drury Lane, inhabited by wooUen-drapers and piece-brokers, 
 whose goods were exposed to all weathers. When the windows of 
 shops were first glazed, they were generally formed with sashes, so 
 that in fair weather they could be thrown open, for there was a 
 great prejudice against the glazing of windows, the feeling being 
 that customers would never enter unless they could be first brought 
 to " higgle" about the goods. The shop which forms the subject of 
 the following illustration must have been a great improvement in its 
 day. The panes of glass are tolerably large, and the oil lamp over 
 the door shows that it must once have been an establishment of some 
 importance.
 
 EMBLEMS OE TRADES IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 257 
 
 The whole of the fittings of these old-fashioned shops were rude 
 and clumsy. The windows were closed by sliding shutters, which were 
 pushed along a deep groove extending the whole length of the window ; 
 then a heavy bar of iron, which every night endangered the head of 
 
 ANCIENT SHOP ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF LONDON WALL. 
 
 some foot-passenger plodding his way in the dim light, was necessary 
 to guard them ; and after the zealous endeavours of two persons, one 
 inside and the other outside, to fix certain ponderous screws and bolts, 
 the labour was accomplished, the shop closed, and the flickering 
 candle withdrawn from the sportive pranks of the wandering wind. 
 In Scotland it was not unusual to embellish the fronts of houses of 
 the trading classes with rude sculptures indicating the employment 
 of the occupiers. The undertaker appeared with tears shaped like 
 tadpoles trickling over his face, and falling upon a coffin below ; 
 a tempting portraiture of sheeps' heads and haggises denoted the 
 butchers ; the cobbler appeared "sticking to his last;" and the smith 
 was represented before a flaming forge, with his hammer raised as 
 if about to descend upon the anvil.* 
 
 A striking instance of the effect of local circumstances in giving 
 * " Quarterly Eeview," vol. Iviii.
 
 258 THE " rows" at CHESTER. 
 
 character to the architecture of domestic dwellings, is to be found 
 in the City of Chester. The city is divided into four principal streets, 
 called Eastgate Street, Northgate Street, Bridge Street, and Watergate 
 Street. The carriage-road in these streets is on a level with the 
 underground warehouses ; over these are open galleries, called rotvs, 
 
 
 HOUSES AT CHESTEE.* 
 
 for the accommodation of foot-passengers, which occupy the space 
 between the front of the tradesmen's shops and the street ; the 
 upper rooms of the houses project over the rows, so as to be even 
 with the warehouses beneath. The general appearance of these rows 
 * From the Builder newspaper.
 
 REVIVAL OF BEICK BUILDINGS. 259 
 
 is as if the first stories in front of all the houses had been laid open, 
 and made to communicate with each other, pillars only being left 
 to support the upper structure : the foot-passengers appear from the 
 street as if they were walking along within the houses up one pair 
 of stairs. At the intersection of the streets there are flights of steps 
 leading to the opposite rows. Some of the rows are so wide that 
 the proprietors of the houses place stalls between the footway and 
 the street, which they let <*fut advantageously to other tradesmen, 
 particularly during the fairs. The origin of these rows is attributed 
 to the period when Chester sustained repeated attacks from the Welsh, 
 which induced the inhabitants to build their houses in this form, 
 that when the enemy should at any time have forced an entrance, they 
 might avoid the danger of the horsemen, and annoy their assailants as 
 they passed through the streets.* Some of these houses having fallen 
 to decay, have been rebuilt in the old style. The savage Cambrian 
 horsemen no longer shout their war-notes through the streets, and that 
 which was once intended as an artificial ambuscade is now converted 
 into a description of corridor, rich with the fruits of commerce and 
 manufactures. 
 
 The revival of brick buildings, ia the fourteenth century, exercised 
 a considerable influence upon the architecture of subsequent periods. 
 In the Roman era bricks were known and employed; but upon the 
 Saxon ascendancy the practice fell into desuetude. Both the Romans 
 and the Saxons appear to have used wall-tiles of various sizes and 
 shapes : these were employed for the facings of walls, and also laid 
 across them at convenient distances, to bind the materials together, and 
 at the external angles to strengthen them, but not for their solid 
 construction. During the wars in France, in the reigns of Edward 
 I. and II., wall-tiles, which before were of uncertain dimensions, began 
 to be made after the Flemish manner, which rendered them more 
 applicable to the construction of substantial edifices. The earliest 
 reference to the revival of building with bricks assigns it to the reign 
 of Richard II., when, according to Leland, " the town of Kyngeston-on- 
 HuU waxed very rich, and Michael de la Pole, merchant there, was made 
 Count of SufFolk, in whose tyme the towne was wonderfully augmented 
 in building, and was enclosyd with ditches, and the wall begun, and yn 
 continuance endyd and made all of brike, as most part of the houses of the 
 
 * Ljsson's " Magna Britannia."
 
 260 bbick: and flint buildings. 
 
 towne at that tjme was. * * * Michael de la Pole builded a goodly 
 house of brike again the north, and of Saint Mary's church, like a palace, 
 with goodly orchard and garden enclosed with brike. He also builded three 
 houses besides in the towne, whereof every one has a tour of brike." 
 The use of bricks, however, does not appear to have much increased 
 until the reign of Henry VI. In the first year of this reign a license 
 was granted to Eoger Tennis, knight, to embattle and fortify his 
 mauor-house at Herts Monceaux, in Svfesex. The house was wholly 
 built of brick, in the castellated style. The seat of the Tyrrels, at 
 Heron Gate, in Essex, was another embattled building, coeval with 
 Herts Monceaux, and built of bricks.* Eton College, and Queen's 
 College, Cambridge, two considerable brick buildings, are ascribed to 
 this period. 
 
 The lower parts of the early brick walls, about two feet above the 
 ground, were commonly made of rag-stones, laid in the common 
 manner ; but the upper parts were faced with bricks on the outside, 
 and on the inside with soft stone, or any materials the locality 
 afforded ; others were faced on both sides with half-bricks, and the 
 space between filled up with any description of turf, peat, or 
 rubbish. 
 
 The prices of bricks precluded their employment for the humbler 
 dwellings of the people. In Edward III.'s time they were 6s. per 
 thousand; in the time of Richard II. 65. 8<?., at which price they 
 continued down to the reign of Henry V. These prices were con- 
 siderable in those days. The first application of bricks to private 
 houses was, therefore, in the construction of chimneys, for which 
 they were adapted, not only for the facility of building, but for the 
 secui'ity which they afforded against fire. 
 
 In the time of Henry YII. flints were employed in building, and 
 the newly-raised edifices assumed a more regular form. In the reign 
 of Henry VIII. bricklayers had become skilled workmen, to which 
 the Palace at Hampton Court and St. James's Palace bear witness in 
 the present day. 
 
 About this time it was customary to chequer the fronts of brick 
 and stone buildings with black flints, sometimes in regular square 
 figures, at other times intermixed with stone, in imitation of open 
 Gothic work. Many of these were neatly executed, and presented a 
 good effect. About the year 1530, Hans Holbein built a beautiful 
 
 * " Archseologia," vol. i.
 
 LONDON IN THE EEIGN OF JAMES THE EIRST. 261 
 
 gate opposite the banqueting-house, "Wliiteliall, in this manner, and 
 ornamented the fronts with busts, in circular recesses, with mouldings 
 round them of baked clay in proper colours, and glazed in the manner 
 of delft ware.* The monotony of brick fronts was relieved by chequers 
 formed of glazed bricks, of a darker colour than the rest, which were 
 generally of a deep red. The window-frames were sometimes of stone, 
 but very often of moulded bricks, covered with strong plaster or stucco, 
 imitating stone. During the reigns of Queens Mary and Elizabeth, 
 the ornaments of Grrecian architecture, which had been introduced in 
 the time of Henry VII., were frequently imitated in burnt clay, and 
 with them the fronts of houses and shafts of chimneys were ornamented. 
 But still the buildings were badly executed ; the walls continued to be 
 little better than two thin shells of brick, filled in with small rough 
 stones, mixed with clay instead of mortar, and others with turves 
 or peat. 
 
 Fuller, in his " Church History," asks pardon for a digression, and 
 remarks — "Indeed now [1587] began beautiful buildings in England, as to 
 the generality thereof, whose houses were but homely before, as small and 
 ill-contrived, much timber being necdlefsly lavished upon them. But now 
 many moft regular pieces of architefture were erefted ; so that, as one saith, 
 they begin to dwell latins and lautius, but I suspect not l(etius\ hospitality 
 much decaying." And he adds : — " Indeed, at this time there was more 
 uniformity in the buildings than conformity in the church." 
 
 London, having in the reign of James I. increased beyond that 
 monarch's conceptions of due metropolitan size, he issued several 
 proclamations prohibiting its further extension. In the second year 
 of his reign, he issued the first of these prohibitory mandates, which 
 preclude all manner of building within the city, and a circuit of 
 one mile thereof Among its commands was the salutary one to a 
 wooden metropolis, that all persons should henceforward build their 
 fore-fronts and windows of either brick or stone. A previous procla- 
 mation to the same efiect had emanated from Queen Elizabeth, but to 
 no effect ; and, in 1607, offenders were censured in the Star 
 Chamber for building contrary to the tenor of the king's proclamation. 
 This had the result of increasing brick and stone buildings in the 
 metropolis. At this time, too, architecture began to revive under the 
 influence of the genius of Inigo Jones, the king's chief architect. 
 
 * " Archceologia," vol. iv. 
 
 t Widely and elegantly, but not -joyfully.
 
 262 rREQTJENCT OP FIEES. 
 
 The first house of note that was erected in conformity with the procla- 
 mation was one in the Strand, built for Colonel Cecil. After that, 
 one near Draper's Hall, Throgmorton Street, another for an opulent 
 goldsmith in Cheapside, opposite to Saddlers' Hall, and one for a 
 leather-seller in St. Paul's Churchyard, the proprietor of which was 
 compelled to take down, and rebuild it according to the reqviirements 
 of the proclamation, after he had constructed it of timber. Inigo 
 Jones's plans of houses were introduced from Italy, and probably 
 partook too much of the Italian character for the climate and habits of 
 the English. He erected several private buildings, the designs of 
 which Avere unequalled, and were calculated to impart a new life to 
 domestic architecture, but for the troubles of the time in which he 
 lived, and the overthrow of King Charles, his second patron. Jones 
 was a Eoman Catholic, for which delinquency he had to pay a fine of 
 £545 in the year 1646. The intolerance of his time, and the troubles 
 consequent thereon, wore out the genius whose works give immortality 
 to his name. 
 
 The fire which destroyed London in 1666, a few years after the 
 death of Inigo Jones, brought into notice the talents of Christopher 
 Wren, whose career was opened under the reign of Charles II. And 
 what an advent ! A¥hat a situation was he placed in ! And what 
 a terrific visitation occurred to the nation in his time ! A burning 
 metropolis, whose inhabitants had just been ravaged by a pestilential 
 plague — a nation burdened with imposts, a foreign war, and an extra- 
 vagant monarch. Yet AVren designed and executed more works than 
 any other arcliitect, ancient or modern.* 
 
 The allusion to " a burning metropolis" reminds us of the dire 
 calamities into which whole communities were frequently plunged by 
 accidents of this description. London seemed made for a general 
 bonfire ; and such was the condition of every considerable town. To 
 confine a fire to a single dwelling, when houses were built of thatch, 
 wood, and plaster, with their overhanging stones inviting the ascend- 
 ing flames, was a matter of impossibility. Whole streets were swe^^t 
 away in a few hours. Besides, the means for the extinction of fires 
 were then utterly inadequate. Tru^e, every alderman was provided 
 with a hook to pull down burning edifices, but there was no organized 
 fire brigade with efficient engines, and daring men, ready on an instant 
 notice to fly to the rescue of life and property. Nor were there fire 
 
 * Ebnes's " Life of Sir Cliristopher Wren."
 
 DOUBTS AS TO IMPKOTEMENTS. 268 
 
 insurances before the commencement of the seventeenth century, thougli 
 houses were, in a few instances, insured by private speculators before 
 that time. Briefs were granted to persons " burnt out" to solicit 
 charity from the benevolent. These were signed by clergymen, who 
 recommended the sufferers to the pity of the charitable ; but such 
 means may well be supposed to have served the purposes of the 
 impostor far better than the need of an industrious tradesman reduced 
 in a few hours from comfort to beggary. 
 
 "We feel it to be no part of our duty to give the history of architec- 
 tvtre as an ai"t, nor to enter into an exposition of its various styles. Our 
 object is simply to describe the improvements that have taken place in 
 the dwellings of people of all classes, and to indicate the degree in 
 which those improvements have ministered to the comfort and morality 
 of a rapidly growing population. That among the professors of architec- 
 ture there are some who believe in the decline of the art, we are aware ; 
 and yet they are compelled to concede that in all that relates to the 
 comfort and decency of domestic life, incalculable improvements have 
 heen made: — 
 
 " Are we," asks Mr. Scott,* " as Englishmen, satisfied with the state of domestic 
 architecture amongst us ; or, ought we to be so ? / am not asking tvhether our dining- 
 rooms are comfortable, our drawing-rooms brilliant, or our parlours snug — we are 
 pretty sure to take care of ourselves as to comfort — but are our houses pleasant 
 things to look upon, as well as comfortable to live in ? Are they objects wliich we 
 feel a national pride in, or could wish to point out to our visitors fi'om other countries 
 as symbohzing well with the state of civilization we have attained ? Do they contrast 
 satisfactorily with the houses of our forefathers, built in periods that we are accus- 
 tomed to think rude ? Do our town-houses add grandeur and picturesque effect to 
 the streets of our cities ? Do our country-houses harmonize well with the scenery 
 around them, and add beauty to the landscape ? Then, again, how do we feel satis- 
 fied with the look of our country towns ? Does a view of their streets tend to elevate 
 the feelings, and excite our patriotic pride ? Do oiu- great manufacturing and com- 
 mercial towns contrast favourably with the ancient seats of industry and commerce, 
 such as we see in Flanders and Germany ? Again, how do we like the look of the 
 cottages of our poor, as compared with the old cottages we often find of the sixteenth 
 and seventeenth centuries, such as those of the villages of Grloucestershire, Nortli- 
 amptonshire, and Somerset ? " And he adds, " Now, let us look back for a moment 
 to former periods, when civihzation was less far advanced. Go back almost as far as 
 you like — go to the very infancy of modern civihzation — and as far back as any 
 remains of domestic buildings have escaped the hand of time, we find them more 
 systematically treated as to care for external appearance than is usual among our- 
 selves. From the twelfth century onwards, we have domestic remains which, in 
 
 * " Remarks on Secular and Domestic Architecture," by G. G. Scott, A.R.A.
 
 264 THE DOUBTS EEMOVED. 
 
 every instance, however simple they may be, display real architecture, thought and 
 care. Of the thirteenth century, many of the remains of houses, both in cities and in 
 the country, though never richly ornamented, are really noble specimens of arcliitec- 
 ture. In the fourteenth they became — though retaining a grand superiority of treat- 
 ment — magnificent ; while, in the fifteenth and sixteenth, the domestic architects 
 strained every nerve to render their cities noble and picturesque, and their counti-y- 
 houses beautiful additions to the scenery which sxuTounded them." 
 
 As far as relates to the decorative acliievements of architecture, 
 there may be some truth in this. Aud yet that truth is only partial, 
 for the skill of architects, in the times to which Mr. Scott refei's, was 
 directed to endowed edifices, to public buildings, and to the mansions 
 of the nobility — the remains to which he points, in corroboration of his 
 opinions, Avere the exceptions, and not the rule. Only within a very 
 recent period has the eye of the architect been turned towards the 
 dwellings of the humbler classes of the community. In modern days 
 thousands of people, having acquired means of moderate independence, 
 have become the proprietors of their own houses. Of such persons, 
 those who may be considered the middling orders of society, have been, 
 for the most part, left to become their own architects. Hence the 
 tardiness watli which the improvements made in the accommodation, 
 arrangement, and exterior beauty of the mansions of the wealthy, have 
 found their way to the dwellings of the middling classes.* 
 
 But let us test the challenge which has been offered by Mr. Scott, of 
 comparing the buildings of " the very infancy of modern civilization " 
 with those of the present day. Here is a house, ranking no higher 
 than a gate-lodge, which, from a striking similarity of outline with the 
 manor-house of the thirteenth century, may be contrasted therewith. 
 The rude internal arrangement of houses of that period has been already 
 described. Instead of a central chimney, rising over an open fire- 
 place, the middle of the roof is occupied by a group of chimney-shafts, 
 communicating with each of the principal apartments. The house is of 
 two stories, which are divided into six bed-rooms, a spacious living-room, 
 a dairy, scullery, and closet. Every room is lit by a window, and 
 the different shapes of the windows are made to contribute to the 
 architectural elegance of the structure. The gables are ext;-uded 
 beyond the walls, their extremities being brought to rest upon simple 
 pillars, adding considerably to the beauty of the building, by throwing 
 deep accidental shadows upon the walls, without burying the whole in 
 
 * Brook's " Cottage and Yilla Architecture."
 
 CONTENIEKCES IN A MODERN COTTAGE. 
 
 205 
 
 shade. The projection, being continuous, protects the walls from wet, 
 and aifords a dry passage around the house in rainy weather. The win- 
 dows on the ground-floor are placed low, so that light is not obstructed 
 by the overhanging roof, while those above are either placed in gables 
 or in the roof itself. Thus, in a mere cottage, in comparatively 
 little space, the modern architect manages to combine internal comforts 
 and conveniences, many of which were unknown even in the best houses 
 of the Middle Ages. What we claim for modern arcldtecture is, that 
 
 DUNSTALl HALL GATE-LODGE.* 
 
 it has brought into the humblest dwellings of the people all the conve- 
 niences of the best buildings of ancient times, with many additions 
 thereto — everything, in fact, but their great dimensions — and it has 
 accomplished this without necessarily sacrificing the beauty of the edifice. 
 Wherever architectural design is in favdt, the explanation may 
 generally be sought for in causes wholly independent of the skill of the 
 architect, or the aspirations of the times. 
 
 * Tlie design of Francis Groodwin, author of " Km-al Ai-chitecture."
 
 26G 
 
 MODERN STREET ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 THE SOVEIIEIGN LIFE OFl'lCES. 
 
 As an example of the street architecture of the present time, we 
 may invite attention to the buildings recently erected for the Sovereign 
 Life Offices, St. James's, Piccadilly, a style which is daily extending, 
 and supplanting the deformities of the old thoroughfares. Not only is
 
 MODERN STREET ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 2G7 
 
 THK trXIOX INSUEANCE OFFICES, CHAXCEliY LANE. 
 
 external decoration adequately regarded in these new buildings, but 
 e\'ery attention is paid to internal economy, and to safety against fire. 
 Yew houses are, at this time, erected in the streets of London without
 
 26S MODEE>' STREET ABCHITECTUEE. 
 
 some attempt at decoration. The luiildiug of -whicli we now give a 
 view was desitrned by 3Ir. Horace Jones, ai'cliitect. Tlie fronts of the 
 STOund and mezzanine floors, and the cornices and dressings to the 
 upper part are executed in Caen stone : the facing of the upper part is 
 of Bath stone. The lower portion of this building is devoted to the 
 uses of the Sovereign Office. The ground-floor contains the public 
 office, secretary's and strong-room ; the mezzanine floor, th.e board-room 
 and lobbv, directors' waiting-room, etc., and the medical officers' room ; 
 the basement contains washing-rooms for clerks, a second strong-room, 
 hoiisekeeper's apartments, and cellarage ; the three upper floors are 
 three separate sets of chambers, with three rooms, and requisite 
 convenience to each set.* 
 
 Buildings of this type are constantly multiplying, not only in the 
 more aristocratic neighbourhoods, but ia the very centres of business 
 localities : witness the new edifices in Fleet Street and Chancery Lane, 
 and the vast improvements in Xew Cannon Street, where the depots 
 of our merchants rise, not merely with the dimensions of the palaces 
 of old, but witb a solidity and grandeur which do honour alike to the 
 wealth, of the world's metropolis, and the science and skill of its 
 architects and builders. 
 
 It has generally been objected to brick buildings, that their mono- 
 tonous and gloomy appearance was ill calculated to give dignity to the 
 aspect of our cities. Tavistock Chambers, represented ia the following 
 illustration, has been recently erected from the designs of Mr. Charles 
 G-ray, who has paid much attention to the adaptation of brickwork to 
 street architecture. The fronts are faced with yellow malm bricks, and 
 the gauged arches to the windows, cornice, and other parts are executed 
 in red and black bricks. The ground-story throughout is built of red 
 and yeUow bricks, constructed in alternate courses. The string-course 
 to the third story is ornamented with Minton's porcelain tiles, and the 
 whole of the dressings to the windows, the porch, entrance, shafts, and 
 caps of columins are executed in Bath stone. Ve have the assurance 
 of the architect, that the total cost of the ornamental brickwork and 
 stone dressings of this building did not exceed in amount the ascer- 
 tained cost of covering the building with stucco, and the cement 
 decorations generally put on a building of a similar class. f 
 
 It is unnecessary, we think, to do more than call attention to the 
 excellent suburban residences of our gentry, and the merchant and 
 
 * The Builder newspaper. f Hid.
 
 MODEE>' STREET AECHITECTmi 
 
 269 
 
 trading classes. Every populous to^v^l and city is gradually becoming 
 surrounded with mansions and ^-illas, detached and semi- detached, 
 where, vrith more or less of garden-ground and conservatory, the 
 retired merchant or the busy tradesman reaps the reward of rears of 
 toil, or throws off at intervals the cares of life, and gathers fresh health 
 and energy to pursue its struggles. 
 
 TAVISTOCK CHAi£BER3, SOUTHAMPIO' STREET, STEAJNT). 
 
 But one of the most commendable features of the present time is 
 to be foimd in the efforts that are being made by philanthropic 
 individuals and benevolent societies, to improve the dwellings of the 
 artizan and labouring classes. From among the numerous designs of 
 
 r
 
 270 
 
 DWELLINGS ¥0E A1^TIZA^'S. 
 
 edifices for tliis purpose we select those known as '• Prince Albert's 
 Cottages," as being perfectly unique, and combining every provision 
 for domestic health, comfort, and decency, with great neatness and 
 economy of design. 
 
 Eacli building is calculated for the accommodation of four families. 
 The most prominent pecidiarity of the design is that of the receding 
 and protected central open staircase, with the connecting gallery on 
 
 THE PRINCE CONSOET S COTTAGES FOR AETIZAXS. 
 
 the first floor, formed of slate, and sheltered from the weather by the 
 continuation of the main roof, which also screens the entrances to the 
 dwellings. 
 
 The four tenements are arranged on precisely the same plan, two 
 on each floor. 
 
 The entrance is through a small iohly, lighted from the upper part 
 of the door. 
 
 The living-room has a superficial area of about 150 feet, with a 
 closet on one side of the fire-place, and in and upon the walls are 
 various domestic conveniences, such as shelves, etc. 
 
 The scullery is fitted up with a sink, beneath which is a coal-bin ; 
 a plate-rack at one end, drained by a slate slab into the sink, covers 
 the entrance to the dust-shaft, which is enclosed by a balanced self- 
 acting iron door. The dust-sliaft leads into a closed depository, under
 
 CONCLUSION. 271 
 
 the stairs, and has a ventilating flue, carried above tlio roof. The 
 meat safe is ventilated through the hollow brickwork, and shelves are 
 fixed over the doors. 
 
 The sleeping apartments, being three in number, provide for that 
 separation which, with a family, is so essential to morality and decency. 
 Each lias its distinct access, and a window into the open air ; two 
 have fire-])laces. 
 
 The cliildren^s hed-rooms contain 50 feet superficial each, and, 
 opening out of the sitting-room, an opportunity is afforded for the 
 exercise of parental watchfulness, without the unwholesome crowding- 
 of the living-room by its use as a sleeping apartment. 
 
 The parents'' hed-room has a superficial area of about 100 feet. 
 The recess in this room provides a closet for linen. In each of the 
 bed-rooms a shelf is carried over the door, with a rail fixed 
 beneath. 
 
 The water-closets, of which there are four, are fitted up with 
 Stafibrdshire glazed basins, which are complete without any wood 
 fittings, and supplied with water from a slate cistern in common of 
 160 gallons, placed on the roof over the party-wall and the stair- 
 case walls. The same pipes which carry away the rain-water from the 
 roof serve for the use of the closets. 
 
 The rooms are ventilated by hollow bricks, communicating with 
 the principal fire-place, and the buildings ^yq fire-proof . 
 
 With this illustration we close our history of the Progress of 
 Domestic Ai'chitecture. It is true that much remains to be done • 
 but then mucli is doing ; fresh strides are made daily in the road of 
 improvement. Kings and Princes have hitherto gained honour for 
 having been the founders of chixrches, monasteries, palaces, and castles. 
 It is a significant mark of Progress that, in these days, the Prince, whUe 
 enjoying the luxuries of Palaces, zealously endeavours to promote 
 the comforts of the Cottage, and studies the minutest details which 
 involve the health, morality, and happiness of the labouring community. 
 
 "We must say a word or two respecting a class of buildings of 
 which the present generation may well be proud, and which assume 
 a social, if not a domestic character. These are our Theatres, Public 
 Halls, Galleries, and Museums, in which the people gather daily to 
 realize the inspirations of Music and the Drama, to listen to the
 
 272 CONCLUSION. 
 
 teachings of philosophers, and the eloquence of statesmen, to con- 
 template works of Art, and to behold the productions of Nature 
 gathered from the remotest regions of the earth. There was a time 
 when the cock-fight and the bull-bait formed the chief amusements 
 of the masses, and when Shakespeare's Play House found a formidable 
 rival in the neighbouring Bear G-arden. The hundreds of thousands 
 of people who, in present days, visit our museums and galleries, or 
 the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, are being schooled in the hunaanizing 
 arts of refinement, and trained to fitness for a higher state of civili- 
 zation. Lessons may be learned in our very streets ; in the varied 
 display of modern shop-windows there are to be found works of value 
 and of beauty, the productions of every clime, and the produce of 
 every description of human skill and industry. Looking upon these, 
 the humblest member of the State must insensibly be instructed, and 
 impressed with some degree of aspiration. The improvement of the 
 individual promotes the elevation of the mass ; and, though there yet 
 remain rags and dirt, drunkenness and squalid homes, we may cherish 
 the hope that the stagnant morasses of our social state are gradually 
 being drained, and that places now rank Avith corruption, will one 
 day bear fruit. 
 
 [End of the Section upon " Domestic Aechitectuee.".]
 
 3 
 
 MM Bw rm weELD 
 
 AS IT WAS KNOWN S . " "1,-^ 
 
 llumt 150 fm^ itltrrtln* Mrtli of (!lln%t. 
 
 -ss'sjsia^^jfefjajisca^.i--
 
 IV.— THE PROGRESS OF SHIPPING, NAVIGATION, 
 AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERY. 
 
 ^ — r^IIERE wag a time when 
 kJ I the " discovery" of 
 ^^ I the island of Britain 
 ^_^ aroused in ascendant 
 Rome a greater curio- 
 sity and wonder than 
 attended the finding of 
 the New World by the 
 daring Columbus. Al- 
 though Britain was 
 known to some of the 
 nations of the East 
 before the invasion un- 
 der Julius Ciiesar, and 
 was traded with by the 
 Phoenicians and the 
 Gauls, the Romans 
 prior to the invasion, appear to have known as little of Albion as the 
 Genoese discoverer did of the great American continent, when told by 
 a Portuguese pilot, that, after the wind had be'en westerly for several 
 days, he found in the sea a piece of wood, curiously wrought, but not 
 with iron, and that, after westerly winds, large canes came floating upon 
 the sea from the direction of some unknown land. Therefore, when 
 Caesar took his British captives to Rome, they were paraded througli 
 the streets of the city, and their rude dresses, warlike equipments, 
 and one of their simple coracles exhibited to the wondering crowd. 
 So it was when Columbiis entered Barcelona with a few of the painted 
 natives of the Bahama Islands, and when Drake returned to England, 
 bringing with him a group of kidnapped South Sea Islanders. 
 
 The Phoenicians, finding their trade to Britain profitable, were
 
 274 
 
 THE BRITONS DESTTTIJTE OF SHIPS. 
 
 anxious to conceal it from the knowledge of other nations. Strabo 
 says, that " In the moft ancient times, the Phoenicians from Cadiz were 
 the only persons who traded to these islands, conceahng that navigation 
 from all others. When the Romans once followed a Phoenician ship with a 
 design to discover this market, the master maliciously and wilfully run his 
 ship among shallows, and the Romans, following, were involved in the 
 same danger. The Phoenician, by throwing part of his cargo overboard, 
 made his escape ; and his countrymen were so pleased with his condufl, 
 that they ordered the lofs he had suftained to be paid out of the public 
 treasury." 
 
 We have already made some remarks* upon the want of shipping 
 on the part of our British ancestors, whose vessels appear to 
 
 ^J^^' 
 
 COIUCLES OP ANCIENT BKITAIN. 
 
 have been notliing more than rude coracles, consisting of frames of 
 wicker, covered by the hides of buflaloes. But at the period which 
 commen<'es our native history, the art of building ships seems to have 
 been understood in many parts of the world. Not only the maritime 
 states of Greece, but the Greek colonies of Italy, Sicily, and Gaul, 
 excelled, according to the knowledge of tlicir age, in the arts of ship- 
 
 • Page 16.
 
 EOMAN YESSELS DESCEIBET). 275 
 
 building and navigation. History tells of a prodigious sliip built at 
 Syracuse, under the direction of Archimedes. This vessel was con- 
 structed 200 years before the birth of Christ, and, like the great 
 " Leviathan," appears to have stuck fast for a time, for means to her 
 completion. According to Athenfeas, she " had three mafls, of which 
 the second and third were got without much difficulty ; but it was long 
 before they could find a tree fit for the firft or main-mast. This at length 
 was discovered upon the mountains of Britain, and brought down to the 
 sea-coaft by machines invented by a famous mechanic." 
 
 From Charnock's " Marine Architecture," vre gather the fol- 
 lowing particulars respecting Eomau vessels: — The triremes* were 
 105 feet long and 11 feet broad ; the quadriremesf were 125 feet long 
 and 13 feet broad. The triremes, after the time of Julius Ca>sar, were 
 90 feet long and 10 feet broad. These dimensions give a much greater 
 comparative length to breadth than the proportions adopted for the 
 Maltese and Neapolitan galleys of more modern times ; in them the 
 length seldom exceeding seven breadths. Caesar himself gives a good 
 idea of the size of the Eoman vessels employed in the invasion of 
 Britain ; for he says, that they were so large that they could not 
 approach the shore near enough for the soldiers to disembark, but 
 that they Avere obliged, encumbered as they were with their arms, 
 to jump into the water, which was breast-high. * * * These 
 ships were built invariably of pine, cedar, or other light woods, ex- 
 cepting about the prows (which were of oak, strengthened with 
 iron or brass), to withstand the shock of opposing vessels. Oak was 
 first applied to ship-building by the Veneti. Copper or brass was 
 introduced for fastenings, in consequence of the rapid corrosion of iron, 
 about the time of Nero. Pliny speaks of the use of flax for caulking 
 the seams. So far from sheathing being a modern invention, an old 
 author, Leo Baptist! Alberto, mentions in his " Book of Architecture," 
 lib. v. cap. 12, a ship of Trajan's, that was raised from the Lake of 
 Hiccia, after lying there for 1300 years, and which was sheathed all 
 over with lead, fastened on with copper nails. 
 
 The ships of the Veneti, inhabitants of France, near the entrance of 
 the Loire — a people who were aided by the Britons in their engnge- 
 ments with Caesar — are thus described by the Eoman conqueror : — 
 " Their bottoms were somewhat flatter than oiu's (the Eoman), the 
 
 * Vessels with three rows of oars. 
 
 t Vessels with four tiers of oars and rowers.
 
 27G 
 
 TESSELS OF THE TENETI. 
 
 better to adapt them to the shallows and to sustain without damage the 
 ebbing of the tide. Their prows were very high and erect, as likewise 
 their sterns, to bear the hugeness of the waves and the violence of the 
 tempests. The hull of the vessel was entirely of oak, to stand the 
 
 E05IAX GALLEY, FROM TRAJAN S COLUMN. 
 
 assaults and shocks of the tempestuous ocean. The benclies of the 
 I'owers were made of strong beams about a foot in breadth, and were 
 fastened with iron bolts an inch thick. Instead of cables they fastened 
 
 BOMAN MEHCHANT SHrP, FEOM TEA.IAN's COLUMN. 
 
 their aiicliors witli cliains of iron, and used skins with a sort of thin, 
 ])liaut Icallicr lor sails, either because they wanted canvas and 
 were ignorant of tlie arts of makiug sail-cloth, or because they imagined 
 that canvas sails were not so proper to bear the violence of tempests,
 
 THE SHIPS OF THE SAXONS. 277 
 
 the rage and fury of the winds, or to propel sliips of that hulk and 
 burden." 
 
 While the Britons learned something of naval architecture from their 
 conquerors, the latter contrived to gain something from the people 
 wliom they had subjugated. They constructed a vessel which they 
 called a,picta* This was a long boat like a modern pinnace, smeared 
 with wax to facilitate its passage through the water, and was manned 
 by about twenty rowers. As its principal use was to gain intelligence, 
 or to dart upon an enemy, it was desirable it should remain unseen as 
 long as possible ; for which reason the sails and rigging were dyed of a 
 light blue colour, to resemble the sea, and the crew wore clothing of the 
 same hue. The Eomans improved the British shipping ; the Emperor 
 Claudius bestowed several privileges by law on those who built ships 
 for trade, so that about the year 359 there were eight hundred ships 
 employed in the exportation of corn from Britain to Gaul. Besides the 
 merchant vessels, the Eomans had also a fleet of ships of war to secure 
 the coast and protect the trade ; this fleet was commanded by an officer 
 of great rank, and his title was the High Admiral of the British Seas. 
 Soon after the death of Alectus, the Saxon pirates, who had before in- 
 fested the sea-coasts, began again their usual ravages ; plundering the 
 inhabitants near the sea-shore, and seizing upon the merchant ships 
 which were proceeding on their voyages ; these insults obliged the 
 Eomans to keep a strong fleet, and to erect several forts upon the coasts 
 Avhere the pirates usually landed; and these were put imder the 
 command of an officer of considerable rank, called the Count of the 
 Saxon Shore in Britain. t 
 
 The ships of the Saxons are thus described in Cliarnock's " Marine 
 Architectiu'e : — " The keel of their large, flat-bottomedj boats was 
 framed of light timber, but the sides and up2)er works consisted only 
 of wicker, with a covering of strong hides. The Saxon boats drew so 
 little water that they could easily proceed fourscore or a hundred 
 miles upon the great rivers. The weight was so inconsiderable, that 
 they were transported on waggons from one river to another ; and the 
 pirates who had entered the mouth of the Seine or the Ehine, might 
 descend with the rapid stream of the Ehone into the Mediterranean." 
 
 The form of the Saxon ships in the eighth century, or the beginning 
 of the ninth, is to be found depicted in some of the manuscripts of 
 
 * A tenn implying anything painted. t Strutt's Chronicles. 
 
 X This appUes only to the period of the first Saxon invasion of Britain.
 
 278 
 
 THE SHIPS OF TUE SAXOJfS. 
 
 that date. They seein to have beeu built of stout planks laid one over 
 the other ; their heads and sterns were very erect, and rose high out of 
 the water, ornamented at top witli some vtneouth head of an animal, or 
 tlie head of a human being rudely sculptured ; they had one mast only, 
 the top of which was also decorated with a bird, or with a human head 
 upon which a bird of prey was seen to feed ; to this mast was secured 
 a large sail, which, from its nature and construction, covdd only be 
 a\ ailable when the vessel went before the wind. The ship was steered 
 by a large oar with a flat end — somewhat resembling a gigantic 
 spoon — passing by the side of the stern ; and this was managed by the 
 pilot, wlio sat in the stern, and from thence issued his orders to the 
 mariners. 
 
 The stern of the annexed Saxon ship is ornamented with the head 
 and neck of a horse ; the two oars, one on either side, were for 
 
 
 SAXON snip, FAC-SIMIJ.K FKOM STKUTT's " UOEDA." 
 
 the steering of the vessel, instead of a rudder. Mid-ships, near 
 the mast, is erected the cabin (in the form of a house) for the com- 
 modious reception of the voyagers. The keel runs from the stern, 
 growing gradually broader to the prow or head of the ship, which 
 ultimately termiuates in a point, for the more ready cutting water 
 in the ship's course. When the vessel had received her full burthen, 
 ^she was sunk at least to the top of the third (nailed) board, so 
 tiiut the prow itself was nearly, if not quite, immersed in the water.
 
 THE COUNT OF THE SAXON SnOBE. 279 
 
 Over the prow is a projection, which was, perhaps, either for the oon- 
 veuieut fastening of the ship's rigging, or to hold tlie anchor. It 
 appears that this was a sailing vessel only, for there are no holes or 
 places made for the using of oars. 
 
 The nine ports under the command of the Count of the Saxon 
 Shore were: — 1, Branodimun, Brancaster ; 2, Garionnonun, Buri/ 
 Castle, near Yarmouth, both on the Norfolk coast ; 3, Otliona, Ithan- 
 caster, near Maldon, since overflowed by the sea; •!, liegrebium, 
 Becluver ; 5, Kutupa?, Richhorough ; G, Dubris, Dover; 7, LemansD, 
 Lime — the last four on the coast of Kent ; 8, Anderida, Hastings or East- 
 homme, in Sussex ; 9, Portus Adurnus, Portsmouth, in Hampshire. These 
 nine ports were garrisoned by two thousand two hundred foot, and two 
 hundred horse — a sufficient evidence of the strength of the piratical 
 invaders by which the shipping and the settlements on the coasts were 
 perpetually harassed. 
 
 The vessels which the Saxons generally used upon their piratical 
 expeditions were very light, and so built as to weather out a storm in 
 which a larger ship would be in danger ; they were generally swift 
 sailers, so that the pirates could suddenly assail the foe, and as easily 
 escape if they were overpowered.* 
 
 In the reign of Ethelred several good laws were made for the 
 security of the persons and eflects of merchant navigators, when, by 
 contrary winds, they were obliged to put into ports, or were wrecked 
 upon the coasts. 
 
 Nothing can more fully demonstrate the low state of the shipping 
 and trade of England at the accession of Alfred to the crown, than 
 the feebleness of the first fleet with which he encountered his enemies at 
 sea. After four years' preparation, he got together five or six small 
 vessels, with which he put to sea in person, in the year 875 ; and, meeting 
 with six sail of Danish pirates, he attacked them, took one, and put the 
 rest to flight. t As soon as he had obtained the great victory over the 
 Danes at Eddington, he increased his eftbrts for the augmentation 
 of the navy, and fitted out a fleet, w^hicli he partly manned Avith Danes, 
 who were excellent sailors, and with these he fought battles Avith othejj 
 piratical Danish fleets. He put many of his own subjects on board 
 these vessels, to keep the Danes in subjection, and also to acquire skill 
 in navigating and commanding ships in battle. Still further to increase 
 the number of his seamen, he invited foreigners who were skilled in sea- 
 * Strutt's Chronicles. t Saxon Chronicle.
 
 2S0 THE riEST ATTEMPTS AT GEOGBAPHTCAL DTSCOVEET. 
 
 nianship to enter into his service, and gave them every possible 
 encouragement. Knowing that a foreign trade was the best nursery for 
 seamen, he encouraged his subjects to embark in it, and lent them 
 money and sliips for the purpose. By these means Alfred raised so 
 great a naval jjower in a few jears, that he was able to secure the 
 British coasts from the piratical spoliations which had previously 
 crippled the prosperity of the island. 
 
 The ships called Jceels, or cogs, were clumsily built, being low, 
 short, and broad, which made them very hard to work, and slow. 
 Alfred, taking these defects into consideration, caused some vessels to 
 be biult of an improved construction. His new ships were twice as 
 long as the keels, and much higher, which not only made them more 
 beautiful in appearance, but also much more commodious for either 
 war or commerce ; for they sailed much swifter, and then- motion in 
 the water was more steady and certain. Some of these vessels had 
 sixty oars, and others more ; therfore they could not have been of 
 insignificant size. 
 
 Alfred also encom'aged expeditions for making maritime discoveries. 
 There is still extant a very ciu'ious relation of one of these voyages of 
 discovery, undertaken for the British king by one Oclitcr, a Nor- 
 wegian. The simplicity of this document, which was drawn up for 
 the king's information, upon the return of the expedition, will show 
 liow little was then known of the great world, and how timidly the 
 boldest adventurers Avcnt about the work of discovery. 
 
 " Ociiter informed his lord, Alfred the king, that his habitation 
 was to the north of all the other jS'ormans, in that coimtry which is 
 Avaslied on the nortli by the western ocean. He said that country 
 stretched very far towards the north, and was qviite destitute of 
 inhabitants, except a few Finnians, who lived in the winter by hunting, 
 and in tlie summer by fishing. He added, that he had conceived a 
 strong desire to examine how far that country extended towards 
 the north, and whether any people resided beyond that desert ; and 
 with these views had sailed directly northward, keeping the desert 
 i;uid on his right hand and the open sea on his left, for three days, 
 wlien he was as far north as the whale-fishers used to i^o. After that 
 he sailed otlier tliree days in the same course, Avhen he found tlie laud 
 make a turn towards tlic east : liiit wlidlier tliis was a great bay or not 
 he could not certainly Icll ; this he knew, that he waited there some 
 time for a north-west wind, by which he sailed eastward four days
 
 IMPEOVEMENTS "UNDER ATHELSTAN AND CANUTE. 281 
 
 near the shore. Here again lie waited for a uortli wind, because the 
 land turned directly southward, or the sea ran into the land that 
 way, he knew not which; but he sailed southward as far as he 
 could sail in five days close by the coast, when he came to the 
 mouth of a great river, which ran up far into the land. In 
 this place he put an end to his voyage, not daring to sail up that 
 river, because the country was well inhabited on one side of it. This, 
 he said, was the only well-peopled country he had met with after he 
 had left his own home. For during the whole voyage the land on his 
 right hand was all a desert, having in it only a few wondering fishers, 
 fowlers, and hunters, who were all Finnians ; on his left hand all was 
 open sea. 
 
 " He said further, that the Bearms told him their country was 
 well inhabited, but he durst not go on shore. The land of the Pir- 
 finnians was almost a desert, being inhabited only by a few fishers, 
 hawkers, and hunters. The Bearms, he said, told him many things 
 both about their own country and the neighbouring countries ; but 
 whether these things were true or not, he coiild not tell, because he 
 had not seen them himself. He thought that the Einnians and the 
 Bearms spoke nearly the same language." 
 
 Athelstan, son of Alfred, took still more pains to increase his fleet, 
 and made successful trading the road to honoiu\ By one of his laws 
 he decreed, that if any mariner or mercliant so froii]}ered as to make 
 three voyages over the high seas in a ship tvith caryo of his oicn, he should 
 thenceforth he advanced to the dignity of a Thane, and entitled to the 
 same privileges. 
 
 Athelstan, for the encouragement of commerce, established mints 
 in such large towns as enjoyed any considerable foreign trade. The 
 principal of these towns were London, Canterbury, "Winchester, 
 Eochester, Exeter, Lewes, Hastings, Chichester, Southampton, Ware- 
 ham, and Shaftesbury. It will be seen that very few of these toAvns 
 were sea-ports, though they enjoyed communication with the sea by 
 rivers. 
 
 After the accession of King Canute, and when the wars between 
 the Danes and the English subsided, trade began to flourish ; and 
 such was the tranquillity of the times, that forty ships only were kept 
 at sea to protect trade and guard the coasts, and this number was soon 
 after reduced. The ships that Canute had kept at sea during his reign 
 were supported at a moderate expense; but his successor, Harold,
 
 282 THE FLEET OF WILLIAM THE CONQrEUOE. 
 
 raised the wages of the sailors, giving to every common seaman eight 
 mancusses,* and to every commander twelve mancusses yearly, out of 
 which they were to provide themselves with every necessary. Ilardi- 
 canute, who succeeded Harold, raised the numher of ships to sixty, and 
 gave the same wages as his predecessors, the payment of which caused 
 the ship-tax to be so heavy, that it gave rise to occasional tumults. 
 From this time to the death of Harold II., 1066, tlie naval and mer- 
 chant marine power of Great Britain gradually increased, and, upon 
 the arrival of the Duke of iS'ormandy, had attained a prosperity never 
 previously equalled. 
 
 The Danes Avere very formidable on the sea, and greatly liarassed 
 the coasts both of England and France. Their vessels were com- 
 monly rowed by twelve oars ; but they had others more capacious, 
 some of which, in the eleventh century, are said to have been 
 capable of holding a hundred and twenty men. The northern kings 
 often built vessels of an extraordinary size. Harold Horfayre built 
 one which he called the Dragon, of enormous bulk. 
 
 The ships in which Sweyn, the Danish pirate, made his descent 
 upon the coast of jS^orfolk, a.d. 1004, are thus described by Strutt : — 
 " Each vessel had a high deck, and bore a distinctive emblem, indicating 
 its commander, which it may be presumed was similar in its object to 
 the banners of subsequent chieftains. The prows of the ships were 
 ornamented with figures of lions, bulls, dolphins, or men made of 
 copper, gilt ; and at the mast-heads of others were vanes in the shape 
 of birds with expanded wings, showing the quarter whence the wind 
 blew. Their sides were painted with various colours ; and the shields 
 of the soldiers, of polished steel, Avere placed in roAvs round the 
 gunAvales." 
 
 The fleet of the Conqueror has been variously said to have con- 
 aisted of 896 and 696 ships, liichard I., when on his expedition to the 
 Holy Land, had in his train thirteen lii,ccan, anIucIi were ships Avith 
 triple sails, besides one hundred sliips of burthen, and fifty galleys, each 
 having a triple bank of oars. The huccas appear to have been A^essels 
 of the largest size ; and in the greatest fleets described by the Norman 
 writers, we meet A\ith not more than tA\^enty or thirty at most, which 
 always took the lead. The huccas had three sails, the other A-essels but 
 one. The ships of burthen, distinguished by the names of carilces or 
 mallcs, Avere als(j large vessels. The (jallcys Avere of two sorts, some 
 
 • A mancu3 was worth about eight shillings sterling.
 
 OKIGIN OF THE CIXQtJE PORTS. 
 
 283 
 
 sailed and rowed, others rowed only. The larger galleys were large 
 enough to carry sixty men in armour, besides 101 men who rowed, 
 and the sailors ; some of tliem had triple banks of oars, one over the 
 other. The huccas were flat-bottomed boats, used chiefly to convey 
 troops to the shore in shallow waters. 
 
 IfOElIAN SHIP, FROM BAYEUX TAPESTET. 
 
 Camden, in his " Britannia," gives the following account of the 
 origin of the Cinque Ports : — " King William the Conqueror, looking 
 upon Kent as the key of England, set a Constable over Dover Castle ; and, 
 in imitation of the ancient Roman cuftom, conftituted him Governor, /. e., 
 Wat-den of five ports, viz., Dover, Haltings, Hythe, Romney, and Sandwich, 
 to which Winchelsea and Rye are annexed as principal ports, and some other 
 little towns as harbours only. And because they are obliged to serve in the 
 wars by the sea, with each five ships, they enjoy many and large immunities; 
 such as — Firft, freedom from subfidies. Secondly, from wardship of their 
 children, as to body. Thirdly, from being sued in any courts but within 
 their own towns. Fourthly, such of their inhabitants as have the name of 
 Barons support the canopy at the coronation of the kings and queens of 
 England ; and the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports has \vithin his jurisdic- 
 tion, in several cases, the authority of Admiral, and other privileges." 
 According to Hakluyt, in the year 1278, it was stipulated, " That 
 whenever the king goes beyond sea, the Cinque Ports ought to attend him 
 with fifty-seven ships, each having twenty armed soldiers, and to maintain
 
 284 
 
 SHIPS OF THE TIIIETEENTIT CEKTUET. 
 
 them at their own cost for the space of fifteen days." In the year 1297 
 King Edward I. directed a precept " To the Barons and good men of the 
 pore of Hastings, that, on account of certain urgent affairs, relating to us and 
 to our faithful subjects, you get ready, and send to our port of London, your 
 whole service of shipping, well supplied with arms, &c., so as our service 
 be by no means retarded. [The number of sliips, and the ports by which 
 they are to be sent, are then specified, and the precept proceeds.] We 
 also defire of you, that over and above the before-named service which you 
 are bound to us, you do send to us all your other shipping, as well of forty 
 tons, as of upwards of forty tons of wine [meaning tons by Avine measure] 
 well furnifhed as aforesaid ; which last demand, however, above your wonted 
 service, shall not be drawn into consequence hereafter." 
 
 SHIPS OF THE THIETEENTH CENTTJET. 
 
 In the year 1304 King Edward I. lent to Philip of France, for an 
 expedition against the Elemings, twenty ships, to be assembled at 
 Sandwich, and to be inched out from amongst the hest and largest of 
 those of the several ports of London, Sandwich, Winchelsea, Komney, 
 Hythe, Rye, Faversham, Hastings, Soutliamjiton, and Portsmouth ; 
 each of which ships were to be manned with at least forty stout men, 
 and well furnished with all requisites for war. The small complement 
 of men for each of tliose ships sufficiently demonstrates the meanness 
 of ships of war in those days. At this period, and for 200 years 
 after, the kings of England had no ships of w^ar that were properly 
 their own. The ships now mentioned appear to have been hired of 
 their owners, and were doubtless the best and largest that could be 
 procured in England.
 
 FIEST STEP TOTVAUDS A EOTAL NAYT. 285 
 
 In 1335 a precept, directed from King Edward II. to the Mayor and 
 Sherifts of London, directed them to "Take up all ships in their port, and 
 of all other ports of the kingdom, of the burthen ol forty tojis and upwards, 
 and to furnifh the same with armed men, and other neccflarics for war, 
 against the Scots." 
 
 In the year 1339, a declaration of the House of Commons 
 afiGirmed that, " for keeping of the sea, the Cinque Ports, or other haven- 
 towns, who are discharged from all other contributions, should do 
 the same aid for their coasts. And that such as have lands thereby, be 
 bound to keep thereon twenty-one ships by the Cinque Ports, and nine 
 by the Thames ; to bear half the charges themselves, the other half by 
 the Privy Council." This declaration prohably means, that when 
 the Cinque Ports were dismissed from direct services to the crown, they 
 should be bound to protect the coasts. The apportioning of one-half 
 of the expense to the Privy Council, seems to be one of the first steps 
 towards the recognition of a royal na\'y. 
 
 About the year 1340, large trading ships begiui to carry cannon, to 
 protect themselves from pirates. 
 
 Kiug Edward III.'s fleet, when engaged in the siege and blockade 
 of Calais, which lasted about eleven months, consisted of 738 English 
 ships, carrying 14,956 mariners, being but twenty men to each 
 ship on an average ; each having fourpence per day for their pay, 
 being about twelvepence in value of our modern money. There 
 arrived also, by w^ay of aid, fifteen ships, and 459 mariners, from 
 Bayonne, which is but thirty men to each ship on an average. Seven 
 ships and 184 men came also from Spain, being on an average 
 twenty-six sailors per ship ; one ship and twenty-five men from 
 Ireland ; fourteen ships and 130 men from Elanders, scarcely ten 
 men per ship ; and one ship and twenty -four men from Gruelderland ; 
 in all thirty-eiglit ships, and 805 mariners from foreign parts. This 
 affords a pretty good clue to the dimensions of the largest ships 
 of the fourteenth century. It also shows that the English navy 
 was, as indeed it continued to be for 200 years afterwards, a sort of 
 naval militia, each British port being compelled to contribute accord- 
 ing to certain conditions, and that when external aid was required, 
 ships were hired wherever they coidd be obtained. The actual 
 weakness, not only of the navy, but of mercantile shipping, at this 
 period is shown by the fact that, in the year 1372, the English 
 fleet being surprised and defeated by a superior French force,
 
 2S6 
 
 CrSTOM AS TO SHIPWRECKS. 
 
 Edward III. found it necessary to direct "all the ships in the 
 several ports, east, west, north, and south, to be taken up, of the 
 burthen of twenty tons and upwards." These were "to repair to 
 Portsmouth and Southampton, to join the expedition against France." 
 
 In the year 13G5, a ship of Aberdeen, in Scotland, belonging to 
 the bishop of that city, laden with merchandise, was driven by a 
 storm from her anchors in the roads of Aberdeen as far as Great 
 Yarmouth. The people on the ccast seized on the ship and goods 
 as a wreck, although there were two men left alive and on board. 
 Upon the Scottish ambassador's claiming the ship and cargo. King 
 Edward directed, that if there were any living creature found in 
 tlie said ship, the vessel and all its cargo should be delivered to 
 the owners ; " This," said the king, " being agreeable to the laws 
 and customs of ovir kingdom." 
 
 In 139 i, a mandate of Richard IT. again commanded the subsidies 
 of the Cinque Ports. The previous subsidy was to " reconnoitre the 
 coast of Berwick," in consequence of a war with Scotland. Upon 
 
 this occasion, as the king ex- 
 presses it in his mandate, " we 
 have ordained a great naval arma- 
 ment for our present voyage to 
 Ireland ; we therefore direft the 
 said Cinque Ports to attend us at 
 Bristol." The object of the 
 "great naval armament" was 
 to suppress a rebellion in the 
 sister country. This royal man- 
 ^ date set forth the pay to be 
 given to the different classes of 
 mariners : — " i . The master of 
 each fhip fhall have sixpence [or 
 fifteenpence of our money] per day. 2. The conftablc the Hke wages. 
 3, Each of the other men threepence [or scvenpence-halfpenny of our money] 
 per day." The ships and men were to be at the expense of the 
 Cinque Ports for the first fifteen days, and at the expense of the 
 crown after tliat time. 
 
 In the eiglith volume of Rymer's " Fa'dera," we find an account 
 of King Henry IV.'s "further preparations for war." The king 
 issues mandates to a number of towns to build and fit out certain 
 
 OE OF THE CIXQUE PORTS' SHU'S.
 
 SHIPS OF THE rOUKTEEIvTlI AND FirTEEN'TII CEXTURIES. 287 
 
 vessels for sea service, called larrjes and laUinfjrrs. Tlic first, Avhic-li 
 appear to have been the largest and most costly, were to be supplied 
 by the larger towns, and the ballingers by the smaller ones. Inland 
 towns were commanded to unite with sea-ports, and jointly fit out 
 one barge, or one ballinger. 
 
 King Henry V., for his invasion of France, hired ships from 
 Holland and Zealand. He also directed all English ships of twenty 
 tons burthen, and upwards, to attend him. His fleet numbered 
 1400 sail of ships, 
 hulks, barges, etc. 
 About the year 
 1449, one John 
 Taverner, of Hull, 
 "built a ship as large 
 as a great carrack, 
 or larger." King 
 Henry VI. granted 
 that " the said ship 
 then lying in the 
 river Thames, on 
 account of its un- 
 usual largencfs, shall 
 be called the Grace 
 Dieu Carrack, with 
 a license to the said 
 John Taverner to 
 lad^ thereon and ex- 
 port wool, tin, skins, 
 leather, and other 
 merchandise, from 
 the ports of London, 
 
 &c., belonging either to English or foreign merchants, and freely to carry 
 the said merchandise througli the Straits of Morocco into Italy, he paying 
 alien's duty for the same, and upon firm expectation that he would, in 
 return, bring home such merchandise of other nations as were moft wanted 
 in England, such as bow-staves, wax, etc., whereby a great increase of the 
 duties and cuftoms to the crown would ensue, and much gain to the subjects." 
 
 The largest ship upon record down to this period (1455) ajipears 
 to have been a Swedish vessel : — " King Henry VI., at the request of 
 
 SUIP OF THE POTTRTEENTH AXD PIFTEENTn CENTtTEIES.
 
 288 ESTIMATED TALUE OF SUIPS TX 1470. 
 
 Charles, King of Sweden, granted a license for a fliip of the burthen of looo 
 tons or under, laden with merchandise, and having one hundred and twenty- 
 persons on board, to come to the ports of England, there to dispose of her 
 lading, and to relade back with Englifh merchandise, paying the usual 
 cuftoms." Thus the people of the Hanseatic ports had obtained vessels 
 of great dimensions prior to eitlier the English or the French. One 
 WiUiam Canning, of Bristol, who forfeited the king's peace by having 
 committed piracies upou the high seas, had at a previous date obtained, 
 either by purchase or robbery, from the Hauseatics, ships of much larger 
 burthen than were common to the British seas. He had obtained 
 in all " two thousand four lumdred and seventy tons of shij)ping, among 
 which there was one ship of nine hundred tons burthen, another of five 
 hundred tons, one of four hundred, and the rest smaller." Being 
 condemned to pay 3000 marks as a fine for his piratical exploits. King 
 Edward IV. took his ships in lieu of the fine, and forgave the 
 ofience ! 
 
 In 1470, seven Spanish vessels, laden with iron, wines, fruits, 
 wool, etc., bound for l^'landers, were captured by certain English ships. 
 The Spanish owners complained to King Henry VI., and moved for 
 redress. They deposed ujion oath the burthen and the value of their 
 shij)s, and the prices which the merchandise Avould liave realized 
 in Elanders. The jiarticulars are interesting and suggestive : — 
 
 One ship of 100 tons and her furniture, valued at . . £107 10 
 
 One „ of 120 tons, at 110 
 
 One „ of 110 tons, at 110 
 
 One „ of 120 tons, at 180 
 
 One „ of 40 tons, at . . . . . . . VO 
 
 So that the highest value of any one of these ships was but thirty 
 shillings per ton, furniture included. 
 
 In the thirteenth volume of tlu; " Fanlera" tliere is an indenture 
 in English, between King Henry VJII. and his admiral, Sir Edward 
 Howard, which affords an insight into the manner of fitting out 
 fleets of war in those times (1512). There were to be 3000 men 
 "armed for sea war;" and Avere allotted to 700 soldiers, mariners, 
 and gunners, in King Henry's ship, the Hefjent. The 3000 men 
 consisted of the captains of the eighteen English ships, 1750 
 soldiers, and 1232 mariuci-.s and gunners. The admiral was to have, 
 for the maintenance of liimself in diet, and for wages and reward, 
 ten shilling daily pay during the voyage; and each captain one shilling
 
 TAT OF MAHTXEUS, ETC., IN 1512. 289 
 
 and sixpence per day, or about two shillings and tenpence of our modem 
 money. The soldiers, mariners, and gunners to have per month of 
 twenty-eight days, five shillings wages, and five shillings more for 
 victuals. The ships are specified to consist of the Eegent, 1000 tons 
 burthen; the Mary Rose, 500 tons ; the Peter Pomegranate, 400 tons ; 
 John Hopton's ship, 400 tons ; the Nicholas Reede, 400 tons ; the Mary 
 G-eorge, 300 tons. The rest of the eighteen ships were from 140 tons 
 down to one of 70 tons burden. It was about this time that ships first 
 began to be reckoned by their strength in guns as well as by tonnage ; 
 gunners being now first mentioned in the " Foedera." We find a mention 
 in Rapin's " History of England," that in 1512 James IV. of Scotland 
 equipped a fleet, in which was the largest ship that had yet been seen on 
 the sea. But the fleet was lost or disabled. The dimensions of the 
 said largest sliip are not given. In the same j'ear, King Henry VIII. 
 built the largest ship ever known in England ; she was named the 
 Hegent, of 1000 tons, and her capacity has been already indicated by 
 reference to the number of soldiers, marines, and gunners she was 
 appointed to carry. The Scottish writers affirm that the Begent 
 was but a copy of the great ship of James IV. of Scotland. Mr. 
 Burchet, in his " Naval History," states that the Regent engaged a 
 French ship, the Cordeliere, before Brest. The latter was the largest 
 ship of the French Fleet. They were in close engagement, when the 
 French ship took fire, communicated the flames to the Regent, and 
 both were destroyed. Henry, to repair the loss of the Regent, built 
 a larger vessel which he named the Henry Grace Dieu. This was the 
 first English two-decker. 
 
 According to Wheeler, who wrote the " Treatise of Commerce," 
 1601, there were not, sixty years before he wrote, " above four ships, 
 besides those of the navy royal, that were above 120 tons each, withLu 
 the river Thames." Wheeler was the secretary to the Company of 
 Merchant Adventurers, and may be supposed to have possessed con- 
 siderable knowledge of mercantile aflfairs. 
 
 Our English naval historians think that, dovnx to the year 1545, 
 ships had not port-holes ; but that they carried only a few guns, which 
 were placed upon the deck. It is certain, however, that King Harry's 
 ship, the Orace Dieu, had regular port-holes. And there is a men- 
 tion, by Father Daniel, of a French ship, about the same period, 
 which carried 100 large brass cannon. 
 
 In 1650 we have the testimony of Sir Walter Raleigh to certain 
 
 T
 
 290 SIR WALTER EALETGH ON SniPPlNG. 
 
 improvements : — " lu my own time," says Sir Walter, " our English 
 ships have been greatly bettered. It is not long since the striking of 
 the top-mast (a wonderful great ease to great ships both at sea and 
 harbour) hath been devised, together with the chain pumpe, which 
 takes up twice as much water as the ordinary did ; we have lately 
 added the bonnet and the drahler. To the courses we have devised 
 studding sayles, top-gallant sayles, sprit sayles, top sayles. The 
 weighing of anchors by the capstone is also new. We have fallen into 
 consideration of the length of cables, and by it we resist the malice 
 of the greatest winds that can blow. In extreamity we carry our 
 ordnance better than we were wont, because our nether overloops are 
 raised commonly from the water, to wit, between the lower part of the 
 port and the sea. We have also raised our second decks, and given 
 more vent thereby to our ordnance, tying on our nether overloope. 
 We have added crosse pillars in our royall ships to strengthen them, 
 which be fastened from the kelson to the beams of the second decke, 
 keepe them from settling, or from giving way in all distresses. We 
 have given longer floares to our ships, then in elder times, and better 
 bearing under water, whereby they never fall into the sea, after the 
 head and sliake of the whole body, nor sinck sterne, nor stoope upon a 
 wind, by which the breaking loose of our ordnance, or the not use of 
 them, with many other discommodities arc avoided." 
 
 In the year 15G3 a law was passed, for the encouragement of 
 English shipping, in which were the following curious clauses : — "That, 
 as well for the maintenance of shijDping, the increase of fishing and 
 mariners, and the repairing of port towns, as for the sparing and 
 increase of the flesh victual of the realm, it shall not be lawful for 
 any to eat flesh on Wednesdays and Saturdays, under the forfeiture of 
 three pounds for each offence, excepting cases of sickness, and also 
 those by special licenses to be obtained. For which said licenses, 
 obtained by peers, shall be paid one pound six shillings and eight 
 pence to the poors box of the parish ; by knights and their wives, 
 thirteen sliillings and four pence ; and by others, six shillings and 
 eight pence each. Ikit no license is to extend to the eating of beef 
 on those days, at any time of the year, nor to the eating of veal, in any 
 year, from IMicliaelmas to the first of May. And because no person 
 shall misjudge the intent of this statute, be it enacted, That whoever 
 shall, by preaching, teacliiiig, writing, or open speech, notify that any 
 eating of fish, or forbearing of flesh, mentioned in this statute, is of
 
 STATE OF SHIPPING IN THE TIME OF ELIZABETH. 291 
 
 any necessity for the saving of the soul of man, or that it is the service 
 of God, otherwise than as other politic laws are and be ; then such 
 person shall be punished as the spreaders of false news ought to be." 
 The other clauses of this curious enactment provide that herrings, and 
 other fish caught upon oar coast, might be exported duty free ; that no 
 foreign ships shall carry goods coastwise from one English port to 
 another ; and that wines and wood shall be imported from Prance in 
 English shipping alone. 
 
 According to Sir William Monson's " Naval Tracts," there were not 
 above four merchant ships in England of 400 tons burthen at the time 
 of Queen Elizabeth's death. In the reign of James I., the navy was 
 increased to almost double the strength it bore in Elizabeth's reign. 
 The largest ships at the time of the Queen's decease consisted of 
 1000 tons, carrying but 340 mariners and forty guns. To encourage 
 the building of large ships, Queen Elizabeth ordered an allowance of 
 five shillings per ton for every ship built above the burthen of 100 tons; 
 which was revived by King James ; King Charles allowed five shillings 
 per ton for every ship built of 200 tons and upwards. 
 
 According to D'Avenant's " Discourses on the Public Eevenue and 
 Trade of England," the tonnage of the merchant ships in England, in 
 1688, was nearly double what it amounted to in 1660. Also that the 
 tonnage of the royal navy, which, in the year 1660, was only 62,594 
 tons, was, in the year 1688, increased to 101,032 tons. 
 
 An Act of the reign of William and Mary, for encouraging the 
 building of good and defensible ships, granted one-tenth of the tonnage 
 and poundage duty to the builders of three-declced ships of at least 
 450 tons burthen, and thirty-two guns, for ten years ensuing, to 
 be allowed only on or for their first three voyages. 
 
 The Eddystone rock, lying off" Port Plymouth, having been expe- 
 rienced to be a very dangerous one, the corporation of Trinity House 
 in 1696 began a lighthouse thereon, and completed it in three years. 
 
 In the seventh and eighth year of King William, an Act of 
 the English Parliament for the increase and enconragement of 
 seamen established a register of 30,0C0 seamen, to be ready at 
 all times for supplying the royal navy, for a premium or boinity of 
 forty shillings yearly. None but such registered seamen (who might 
 be either mariners, watermen, fishermen, lightermen, bargemen, keel- 
 men, or other seafaring men between the age of eighteen and fifty years) 
 shall be capable of any preferment to any commission or waiTant-
 
 292 GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERIES. 
 
 offices in tlie royal navy. They shall, moreover, have a double share or 
 dividend for all prizes more than non-registered seamen of equal rank ; 
 with other privileges as in the Act set forth, and particularly and 
 solely, when maimed or superannuated, an admission into the newly- 
 established hospital at G-reenwich ; as also, if killed in the service, an 
 admission therein for their widows and children. Sixpence per month 
 to be deducted from the pay of all seamen for the support of Green- 
 wich Hospital. 
 
 In 1796, the Admiralty, at the head of which was Earl Spencer, 
 directed that the ponderous heads which disfigured our ships should no 
 longer be continued, and that the galleries and carved work should be 
 removed from their sterns. This was a great step towards that sim- 
 plicity so much to be desired in every mechanical construction ; but it 
 was not tin 1811 that Seppingswas enabled to bring the simple circular 
 bow now employed into use • nor till 1816 that he proposed that the 
 same system should be adopted in the stern. These alterations met 
 with violent opposition. 
 
 In the year 1291, the Genoese being then in the highest credit for 
 their naval and mercantile skill and power, made an effort to effect 
 discoveries in the western seas, which their countryman, Columbus, 
 successfully effected two centuries later. Two galleys were despatched 
 for this important purpose, under Theodosias Doria and Ugolin 
 Vivaldo, who were directed to sail far westward without the Straits of 
 Gibraltar, in quest of new lands ; but they were never heard of more. 
 
 In 1344, the isle of Madeira was first discovered. An Englishman, 
 named Machan, having fled from England to sea with a favourite 
 mistress, was thither storm-driven. Afterwards leaving the island in a 
 canoe, he reached the African shore, and from tlience joui'ueying 
 to Spain, he made known his discovery. 
 
 In 1434, Prince Henry of Portugal renewed his attempts to make 
 discoveries southward on the west of the coast of Africa, and his 
 expedition succeeded in passing beyond the dreaded Cape Bajador. 
 Tliey found the country inhabited, tliough previously deemed to be 
 uninhabitable. ]n 1441, the Portuguese expedition succeeded in 
 getting as far south as Cape Blanco, from whence they brought home 
 some of the natives, and also some gold-dust out of a river. In 
 the year 1446, they reached as far as the river Senegal ; and in 
 1447 to Cape de Verde, and thence to Rio Grande.
 
 THE FIEST DISCOVERT OF AMEUICA DISPUTED. 293 
 
 From tte time of King Alfred to the year 1360, there appear 
 to have been no attempts on the part of the English to discover 
 new territories. There is a vague historical mention only of one 
 Nicolas de Lerina, a friar, of Oxford, who was a great astronomer, and 
 who is said to have made several voyages to the most northerly islands 
 of the world, the draughts of which he presented to King Edward III. ; 
 but the records of those voyages have been lost, and it is conjectured 
 that they extended only to Iceland and the coasts of Norway, and were 
 made for astronomical purposes. 
 
 About the year 1410, Prince Henry of Portugal began to direct his 
 thoughts to new geographical discoveries along the west coast of Africa, 
 southward — a part of the watery world so long lost in obscurity, that 
 the cape called Cape Nas, or Cape Niin, was then said to be so named, 
 as forbidding any to venture beyond it, even as far as Cape Bajador, in 
 about twenty-four degrees of north latitude ; but finding at the last- 
 aamed cape a very stormy sea, and not daring in tliose days to venture 
 Jar from the coasts, not understanding the use of the mariner's compass, 
 they dared not attempt further discoveries. Upon making a third 
 attempt, the isle of Port Santo, near the island of Madeira, was 
 reached. But this haid been already discovered by an Englishman 
 in 1344. 
 
 In the reign of Henry YII., Bartholomew Columbus came to 
 England to present to the king some new maps of the world, and also 
 charts for navigation, which, up to that time, had not been employed. 
 He also laid before his Majesty the views of his brother, Christopher 
 Columbus, respecting the existence of a vast continent across the 
 waters of the Atlantic ocean. But these views met with no 
 encouragement from the English court ; with the king the invasion 
 of a neighbouring nation was a higher object than the discovery of a 
 new world ! Bartholomew therefore rejoined his brother in Spain, and 
 England lost the honour of being patron to the greatest geographical 
 discovery recorded in the pages of history. An attempt was subse- 
 quently made to prove that America had been discovered 300 years 
 previously by the Welsh, under Prince Madoc. The futile claims 
 of this pretension are thus examined by Captain Pinkerton: — 
 
 " When America was first made known, it occasioned abundance of 
 inquiries; and, as it was natural, recalled to many people's remem- 
 brances and considerations stories which had before been deemed 
 scarce worthy of notice ; amongst the rest our nation put in its claim ;
 
 294 THE ACCOUNT OF PRINCE MA DOC OF WALES. 
 
 and the tale told in fiivour of us, as it is the earliest in point of time, 
 seems to merit relation. This story asserts that Madoc, Prince of 
 "Wales, was the first discoverer of America, and the detail of his 
 expedition ran thus. He flourished in the twelfth century, and was 
 son of Owen Guyneth, Prince of North Wales. His brethren raising a 
 civil Avar about the division of his father's dominions, he chose rather to 
 go to sea with a few of his friends, and seek out new habitations, than 
 run the hazard of what might happen. Accordingly, about the year 
 1170, steering due west, and leaving Ireland on the north, he came 
 to an unknoTATi country, where he settled a colony ; and returning 
 thence into Wales, carried a second supply of people, but was heard 
 of no more. 
 
 " That the country he went to was really America, is more than 
 can be thoroughly proved ; but that this tale was invented after the 
 discovery of the countr}^, on purpose to set up a prior title, is most 
 certainly false. Meredith ap Rees, who died in 1477, and was a famous 
 Welsh poet, composed an ode in favour of this Madoc, wherein was 
 contained an account of his new discoveries. Now, as this was several 
 years before Columbus made his first voyage, we may be sure that this 
 was really a British tradition, and no tale of a late contrivance. Some 
 critics have endeavoured to prove that it was not America, but 
 Grreenland, to which our Welsh prince sailed. In proof of which they 
 have observed that this country was well known in the ninth and tenth 
 centuries, though it was afterwards lost. 
 
 "But, with submission to these great men, this story does not 
 answer their purpose ; for it is evident the course does by no means 
 agree, since if he liad sailed to that country, he could not have left 
 Ireland to the north. There is a very ingenious discourse upou this 
 subject, in which it is suggested that Prince Madoc landed in some 
 part of Florida ; tliat in process of time the colony he planted there 
 proceeded round by land, and reached the northern parts of Mexico, 
 which country they conquered, and v/ere those foreign ancestors of the 
 Mexicans, of whom we have heard so much from the Spanish writerg 
 that have recorded the adventures of Cortes ; and it is remarkable that 
 several British words are to be found in the old Mexican tongue. If 
 there had been really any desire in the English nation to contest 
 the title of the crown of Spain to the country of America, it might have 
 been undoubtedly fixed upon a much better foundation; for, in the 
 life of Don Christopher Columbus, written by his son, in the reign
 
 OOLTJMBUS's DISCOTERY. 295 
 
 of King Henrj VIII., it is expressly said, that Columbus sent his 
 brother Bartholomew to England, to offer his discovery to King 
 Henry VII., and he did accordingly present a map, dated the 13lh of 
 February, 1488, to that monarch; and having explained to him his 
 brother's design, and what he proposed thereby, it was readily 
 accepted ; and Don Bartholomew was sent to invite his brother to 
 Englaad, with the assurance that the king would grant him all he 
 desired. This agreement was four years before the voyage of 
 Columbus, and therefore, had we been so much inclined to hunt for 
 titles to this new-found country, here had been a fair pretence. But 
 King Henry VII. was of another disposition; and though he was 
 a prince much addicted to encourage such kind of useful undertakings, 
 he scorned to aim at reaping the fruits of other princes' adventures ; 
 and therefore he contented himselij after missing by mere accident 
 Columbus's discovery, Avith inviting other seamen of known reputation 
 to enter his service for like purposes." 
 
 The encouragement said to have been offered to Columbus by 
 Henry VII. rests upon a really slender foundation. Certainly there 
 was no substantial effort made by the king to promote the enterprise, 
 otherwise Columbus would never have continued for years to abide in 
 Spain, struggling with every difficulty, until Queen Isabella, with true 
 greatness and energy, favoured his enterprise, and offered her jewels to 
 promote its accomplishment. 
 
 The history of Columbus has so great a bearing upon our present 
 subject, that we must record its chief features. He went to sea at 
 fourteen years of age, and was, on several occasions, under the 
 command of an old relation, who carried on a predatory war against 
 the Mahomedans and Venetians. About the year 1470 he settled at 
 Lisbon, then the great resort of navigators. Here he became connected 
 with Patestrello, who had been a distinguished navigator, which con- 
 nection appears to have led Columbus to the great discoveries that 
 immortalize his name. Having become thoroughly convinced of the 
 practicability of the undertaking, but, at the same time, too poor to 
 engage in it without patronage and assistance he applied to King John 
 of Portugal. The treatment he received at this monarch's hands was 
 singularly mean. An objection was raised to the proposed expedition, 
 on the pretext of the heavy expenditure that would be incurred, but, 
 in secret, a caravel was equipped, and sent in the very course pointed 
 out by Columbus. The captain and crew, however, who were des-
 
 296 COLUMBTJS'S DISCOVEBT, 
 
 patched on this expedition, were wanting in the necessary energy and 
 perseverance, and, having tossed about many days at sea, they 
 returned without accomplishing anything. Disgusted with the 
 Portuguese government, Columbus set out for Spain with his son. 
 On the road he stopped at a [Franciscan convent, to beg some bread 
 and water for his child ! The superior of the convent, entering into 
 conversation with him, was so struck by the vast extent of his 
 views, that he gave the wanderer a letter of introduction to the 
 Spanish court. After many years of fruitless application, Columbus 
 was on the point of transferring his plans to the King of France: 
 but a first application being made to Isabella, Queen of Spain, she 
 became so interested in the expedition, that she at length succeeded 
 in overcoming the indifference of King Ferdinand, and even offered 
 her own jewels to defray the expenses of the voyage. His brother, 
 Bartholomew, had previously gone to England, but had met with no 
 practical encouragement. At length stipulations were signed by 
 Ferdinand and Isabella at Granada, on the 17th of April, 1492. 
 
 Having been appointed admiral of the lands he hoped to dis- 
 cover, he sailed on the 3rd of August, 1492, from the Bar of Saltes, 
 near Palos, with three vessels and ninety men, who were partly 
 pressed into the service. Two of those vessels were caravels, or light 
 barges, no better than our coasting craft. On his arrival at the 
 Canaries, he had scarcely time to refit when he received an account of 
 a Portuguese expedition having been sent to intercept him ; he there- 
 fore sailed in haste on the 6th of September. When out of sight of 
 land, tlie courage of the men began to fail, and the Admiral found it 
 necessary to hold out to them the most brilliant prosj)ects of the 
 countries to be discovered. In order to diminish their apprehensions, 
 he pretended that they had sailed only fifteen, and not eighteen, leagues, 
 that day ; and he continued the same method, in order that they should 
 not think themselves so far from Spain as they really were. 
 
 On the 12th of September he discovered the trunk of a large tree 
 floating ; but on the 13th, a circumstance occurred enough to appal 
 the most courageous adventurer. This was the variation of the needle, 
 when at about 200 leagues west of the island of Feiro. He forbade it 
 to be mentioned to the crew till it was noticed also by the pilots, 
 when Columbus succeeded in allaying their terrors by ascribing it to 
 the movement of tlie Pole star. Continuing their course steadily to 
 the westward, tliey fre(]ueutly met indications of approaching land, as
 
 Columbus's discoveht. 207 
 
 weeds and flights of birds ; but, although their expectations were thus 
 kept up, every day added to their discontent at being so far removed 
 from land. It is also to be recollected that in some of the discussions 
 on the enterprise, before the expedition sailed, it had been asserted 
 by high authorities that, as the world was a sphere, sailing to the west 
 would bring them downwards, and that, in order to return, they would 
 have to ascend, which would be impossible. Accordingly, on the 20th 
 of September, when the wind veered to the south-west, the crews were 
 cheered, as it seemed to show a probability of their return. Dis- 
 content, however, progressively increased, and on the evening of the 
 10th of October, there were violent exclamations against the obstinacy 
 of the Admiral ; and the seamen at length began to talk of throwing 
 him overboard, and of directing their course homeward. Columbus, 
 sometimes by threats, and at other times by encouragements, kept them 
 to their duty. Once a cloud was mistaken for land, and they were 
 desirous that he should at least steer sideways ; but lie, taking advan- 
 tage of the wind, steadily continued his course to the westward. 
 Once, when on the point of open mutiny, they were restrained by the 
 appearance of a flight of sparrows and other birds. These manifesta- 
 tions of land soon afforded hope even to the most dejected, and on 
 the 11th a green rush was seen, and a branch of a thorn full of red 
 berries, which seemed to have been newly broken off. After the 
 evening prayer, the Admiral ordered a careful look-out, and proclaimed 
 a reward to the first who should see land. He himself remained on the 
 high stern of his vessel, and at about ten at night saw a glimmering 
 of light which disappeared ; but at two in the morning the caravel 
 " Pmta," which was a-head, gave the signal of laud. All the ships 
 now lay-to till day-break, when they perceived an island fifteen leagues 
 in length, with a flat sui'face, full of trees, a lake in the middle, and 
 numerous inhabitants. This was San Salvador, one of the Bahama 
 islands. 
 
 The naked and painted natives, when they had recovered from their 
 fright, regarded the white men, by whose confidence they were soon 
 won, as visitors from the skies Avhich bounded their horizon ; they 
 received from them, with transport, toys, and trinkets, fragments of glass 
 and earthenware as celestial presents possessing a supernatural virtue. 
 They brought in exchange cotton, yarn, and cassava bread. On the 
 24th of October, Columbus set out in quest of gold and Cipanjo. 
 After discovering Conception, Exuma, and Isla Larga, Cuba broke
 
 298 Columbus's DiscovEnr. 
 
 upon him like an Elysium, He no longer doubted that this beautiful 
 land was the real Cipanjo. Wlien this delusion was over, he fancied 
 Cuba (which to the time of his death he supposed to be part of the 
 mainland of India), to be not far from Mango and Cathay. He next 
 took Hayti or San Domingo for the ancient Ophir, the source of the 
 riches of Solomon ; but he gave it the Latin denominative of Hispaniola, 
 from its resemblance to the fairest tracts of Spain. Leaving here the 
 germ of a future colony, he set sail homeward on the 4th of January, 
 1493. A dreadful storm overtook him on the 13th of February. 
 Fearing the loss of his discovery more than the loss of his life, he 
 retired to write two copies of a short account of it. He wrapped them 
 in wax, enclosed them in two separate casks, one of which he threw 
 into the sea, and the other he placed on the poop of his vessel, that it 
 might float in case he should sink. Happily the storm subsided, and 
 at last he landed triumphantly at Palos on the 15th of March, 1493. 
 In his journey through Spain he received princely honours all the way 
 to Barcelona, where the court had gone. His entrance here with some 
 of the natives was a triumph as striking and more glorious than that 
 of a conqueror. Ferdinand and Isabella received him seated in state, 
 rose as he approached, raised him as he knelt to kiss their hands, and 
 ordered him to be seated in their presence. On the 25th of September, 
 1493, he left Cadiz on a second expedition, with seventeen ships and 
 1500 men. He discovered the Carribee Islands, Porta Hico, and 
 Jamaica ; and after repeated mutinies of his colonists, and great hard- 
 ships, he returned against the trade winds to Cadiz, June 11, 1496. 
 Having confuted all the calumnies that had been uttered against him, 
 he embarlced on the 30th of May, 1498, at San Lucar de Barrameda, on 
 a thii'd expedition, with only six vessels. In this voyage he discovered 
 La Trinidad, the mouth of the Orinoco, the coast of Paria, and the 
 Margarita and Cubagua islands. On the 14th of August he bore away 
 for Hispaniola, to recruit his shattered health. But fresh calumnies 
 against Columbus induced Ferdinand in July 1500 to despatch Fran- 
 cisco Bovadella to supersede him, and bring him back in chains. The 
 officer who had him in cliargc, and the master of ihe caravel, would 
 have taken the chains off, but Columbus indignantly refused to have 
 them removed ; " I will wear tliem," said he, " till the King orders 
 otherwise, and will preserve them as memorials of liis gratitude. He 
 hung them up in his cabinet, and requested tliey should be buried in 
 his grave. The general burst of indignation at Cadiz, which was echoed
 
 COLUMBtrs's BEATir. 209 
 
 throughout Spain on the arrival of Columbus in fetters, compelled Fer- 
 dinand himself to disclaim all knowledge of the transaction. But still 
 the King kept Columbus in attendance for nine months, wasting his 
 time in fruitless solicitations for redress, and at last appointed Nicliolas 
 Ovando governor of Hispaniola in his place. With a spirit unrepressed 
 by persecution, but with a power wasted by over-exertion and sickness, 
 Columbus sailed from Cadiz again on the 9th of May, 1502, with four 
 caravels and 150 men, in search of a passage to the East Indies, near 
 the Isthmus of Darieu. 
 
 Being denied relief and even shelter at San Domingo, he was swept 
 away by the currents to the north-west ; he however at last reached 
 Truxillo, Avhence he coasted Honduras, the Mosquito shore, Costa 
 Hica, Veragua, as far as the point which he called El Eetrete. But 
 here, on the 5th of December, he yielded to the clamour of his 
 crews to return in search of gold to Veragua, a country which he 
 himself mistook for the Aurea Chersonesus of the ancients. Einally, 
 the fierce resistance of the natives, and the crazy state of his ships, 
 forced him, at the close of April, 1503, to make the best of his way to 
 Hispaniola, with only crowded wrecks, which came, on the 24th of June, 
 to anchor at Jamaica. After famine and despair had occasioned a series 
 of mutinies and disasters far greater than any he had ever yet ex- 
 perienced, he at last arrived on the 13th of August at San Domingo. 
 Sailing homewards on the 12th of September, he anchored at San 
 Lucar on the 7th of November, 1504. Erom San Lucar he proceeded 
 to Seville, where he soon after received the news of the death of 
 his patroness Isabella. He was detained by illness till the spring of 
 1505, when he arrived wearied and exhausted at Segovia, to have only 
 another courtly denial of redress, and to linger a year longer in 
 neglect, poverty, and pain, till death gave him relief at Yalladolid, on 
 the 20th of May, 150G. His remains were honoured with solemn 
 funeral rites, and upon his tomb was inscribed this inscription : — 
 
 " A Castilla y a Leon 
 Nuevo muiido dio Colon."* 
 
 We must not pass over in silence the claims of another eminent 
 
 navigator and geographer, to be the discoverer of the New AYorld. 
 
 Martin Beham, born at Nuremburg, in the fifteenth century, asserted 
 
 the probability of the existence of antipodean worlds, and of a great 
 
 * Rose's " Biographical Dictionary."
 
 300 beham's discoveet. 
 
 western continent. Pilled with this idea, he paid, in 1459, a visit to 
 Isabella, daughter of John I., King of Portugal, at that time regent of 
 the Duchy of Burgundy and Planders ; and having informed her of his 
 designs, he procured a vessel in which, sailing westward, he was the 
 first European who is known to have landed on the island of Fayal. 
 He there establislied a colony of Flemings, in the year 1460. After 
 haviug obtained from the regent a grant of Payal, and resided there 
 about twenty years, Beham applied in 1484 (eight years before Colum- 
 bus's expedition), to John II., King of Portugal, to procure the means 
 of undertaking a great expedition to the south-west. This prince gave 
 him some ships, Avith which he discovered that part of America which 
 is now called Brazil ; it is said that he even went to the Straits of 
 Magellan, which had not then been discovered. It is even asserted 
 that Magellan made his voyage, in which he discovered the straits that 
 bear his name, by the aid of a chart which had belonged to Beham. 
 That Beham rendered some very important services to the crovsrn of 
 Portugal, is put beyond all controversy by tlie recompense bestowed on 
 him by King John, when, in 1485, he made him a knight and governor 
 of Fayal ; he is also said to have espoused the daughter of a great lord 
 " in consideration of the important services he had performed." In 
 1492, crowned with honours and riches, he undertook a journey to 
 Nuremburg, to visit his native country and family. He there made a 
 terrestrial globe, which is looked upon as a masterpiece for the time, 
 and which is still preserved in the library of that city. The outline of 
 his discoveries may there be seen, under the name of Western Lands ; 
 and from their situation it cannot be doubted that they are the present 
 coasts of Brazil and the environs of the Straits of Magellan. This 
 globe was made in the year that Columbus set out on his expedition ; 
 therefore it is impossible that Beham could have profited by the works 
 of that navigator, who, besides, went a much more northerly course.* 
 
 It is not unlikely that both these navigators, living in the same age, 
 pursued the same object almost simvdtaneously. It appears that Beham 
 and Columbus were intimate friends, and eminent geographers in their 
 day. As such they must frequently have conferred upon the great 
 topic of their ambition. Beham's claims are founded upon many cor- 
 roborative testimonies; and Columbus's accounts of his own expedition 
 are minutely circumstantial, and apparently independent of any 
 extraneous aid. 
 
 * Chahncrs'e " Eiographical Dictionary."
 
 THE MAKINER S COMPASS. 801 
 
 The mention of the mariner's compass in the account of Columbus's 
 expedition, and the discovery by him of the variation of the needk^, 
 affords us an opportunity of making a brief digression. At wliatever 
 time the mariner's compass was invented, it is certain that it was not 
 commonly used in navigation before the year 1420. In that year the 
 science was considerably improved under the auspices of Henry, Duke 
 of Visco, brother to the King of Portugal. In the year, 1485, Eoderick 
 and Joseph, physicians to John II., King of Portugal, together with one 
 Martin de Bohemia, a Portuguese, calculated tables of the sim's decli- 
 nation for the use of sailors, and recommended the astrolabe for taking 
 observations at sea. Columbus is said to have availed himself of the 
 instructions of Martin. The account of Columbus's voyage is pregnant 
 with interest, affording, as it does, an insight into the system of navi- 
 gation prior to the use of the compass. His seamen became alarmed 
 when they lost sight of the land, and their commander was obliged to 
 deceive them as to the number of leagues they had sailed from the 
 shore. The flight of a bird, or the floating of a reed, were eagerly 
 regarded as indications of land. From this, and from other testimonies, 
 we learn that prior to the use of the compass and of charts, ships made 
 their voyages by coasting along the shore, and rarely ventured out of 
 sight of laud. Thus they were doubly exposed to the perils of ship- 
 wreck, by being driven ashore, or by striking upon unseen rocks ; while 
 there was no possibility of maritime discovery, since ships could never 
 quit the cautious track along the coast. 
 
 In " Purchas's Pilgrim " we find, by an account of the voyage of 
 Eloco, a Norwegian pirate, made in the early part of the tenth century, 
 from Shetland to Iceland, that pirates used to elude capture, by 
 putting oiit to sea to a distance to which other navigators dared not 
 venture. And these marauders adopted the expedient of taking land- 
 birds with them, and setting them free, to ascertain whether they 
 were a great or small distance from the shore : — " There was yet no 
 use of the mariner's compafle, wherefore Floco, leaving Hietlandia, tooke 
 certaine ravens unto him ; and when hee thought hee had sayled a great 
 way hee sent forth one raven, which, flying aloft, went back again to 
 Heitlandia which she saw behind. Whereupon Floco, perceiving that hee 
 was yet nearer to Heitlandia than other countries, and therefore courageously 
 going forward, he sent forth another raven which because she could see no 
 land, neither before nor behind, Hght upon the ship again. But, laftly, the 
 third raven was sent forth by Floco, and having for the moll part performed
 
 302 THE SCUEVT AMONG CREWS. 
 
 his voyage, through the sharpnefle of her quick sight attained the land she 
 speedily flew thither, whose diredlion Floco following, beheld firfl the 
 eaftern side of the island." 
 
 "We are reminded, also, by the perusal of the last-mentioned work, 
 of the dreadful ravages which were common among the crews of ships 
 before matters of marine hygiene became properly understood, and 
 which in small ships, which were slow sailers, difficult of management, 
 and carrying a very limited number of men, must have produced 
 thousands of disasters that have never been recorded : — " Bein^ betwixt 
 three and four degrees of the equinoftial line, my company within a few 
 daies began to fall ficke of a disease which seamen are apt to call the scurvie ; 
 And seemeth to be a kind of dropfie. ....... 
 
 And I wifh that some learned man would write of it, for it is the plague of 
 the sea and the spoyle of mariners ; doubtlcffe it Avould be a worke worthy 
 of a worthy man, and moft beneficial for our countrie ; for in twenty years 
 (since I have used the sea), I dare take upon me to give account of ten 
 thousand men consumed with this diseased 
 
 There is an account of the same dreadful malady in " Commodore 
 Anson's Voyage." The transcriber of the voyage relates that, after 
 passing through the straits of Magellan the scurvy attacked the 
 ship's company : — " And now, as it were to add the finishing stroke to 
 our misfortunes, our people began to be universally afflicted with that 
 most terrible, obstinate, and, at sea, incurable disease, the scurvy ; 
 which made a most dreadful havoc among us, beginning at first to 
 carry off two or three a-day, but soon increasing, and at last carrying 
 off eight or ten ; and, as most of the living were very ill of the same 
 distemper, and the little remainder, who preserved their healths better, 
 in a manner quite worn out with incessant labour, I have some- 
 times seen four or five dead bodies, some sewn up in tlieir hammocks, 
 others not, washing about the decks for want of help to bury them 
 in the sea." The above passage is dated the 8th of March; upon 
 the 8th of May — that is, in a period of two months — the writer 
 says : — " Our unspeakable distress (arising from the deplorably bad 
 weather) was still aggravated by the difficulties we found in working 
 the ship, as the scurvy had by this time destroyed no less than 
 200 of our men, and had in some degree affected almost the whole 
 crew." 
 
 The Trial sloop, which accompanied Lord Anson's ship, was,
 
 CABOT S EXPEDITIOTT. 303 
 
 in its degree, equally affected by the scourge. Upon its arrival at 
 the island of Juan Fernandez, the rendezvous of the squadron, thirty- 
 four of its crew had perished, and the survivors vrere so weakened 
 that only its captain, the lieutenant, and three of the men could stand 
 by the sails. 
 
 Arrived at the island, and the means of arresting the scourge, by 
 means of an improved diet, being within reach, we yet find that of 
 135 patients sent on shore sixty died within a few days. 
 
 It will be borne in mind that the squadron, under Commodore 
 Anson, had been fitted out to cruise about and attack the Spanish 
 settlements in South America. By various unfortunate mischances 
 the expedition failed. But it is in point to remark that the Spanish 
 fleet, sent out to attack them, also miscarried in its object, in the 
 words of the author just quoted : — " In attempting to pass Cape 
 Horn, they had been forced to put back after encountering storms 
 and famine, besides being grievously attacked by the scurvy, which 
 had made greater havoc among them than among us.'' 
 
 About the year 1496, Henry VII., perceiving his error in not 
 listening in time to the proposal of Columbus, endeavoured to retrieve 
 it by granting to John Cabot, a Venetian, then settled in Bristol, and 
 to his sons, power and authority " to navigate all the parts, countries, 
 and bays of the eastern, western, and northern seas, under our ban- 
 ners, flags, and ensigns, with five ships, and such and so many mariners 
 and men as they shall judge proper, at their sole cost and charges, to 
 discover and investigate whatsoever islands, countries, regions, or 
 provinces of gentiles or infidels, in whatever part of the* world they 
 may be situated, which have hitherto been unknown to all Christians, 
 with power to set up oui* said banners, or ensigns, in any town, castle, 
 island, or continent of the countries so to be discovered by them. 
 And such of the said towns, castles, or islands so found out and 
 subdued by them, to occupy and possess, as our vassals, governors, 
 lieutenants, and deputies, the dominion, title, and jurisdiction 
 thereof, and of the continent so found out remaining to us, pro- 
 vided that out of all profits and produce arising from this expe- 
 dition, the said Cabot and sons shall be obliged to pay us, for each 
 voyage they shall so make, on their return to our port of Bristol, to 
 which port they are hereby absolutely bound to steer, after all needful 
 costs and charges are deducted, one-fifth part of the whole capital
 
 204 
 
 CABOT S EXPEDITION". 
 
 gain, either in mercliandise or money. The said Cabots to be free 
 from all customs on the goods they shall import. The lands they shall 
 discover and subdue shall not be frequented nor visited by any others 
 of our subjects, without the license of Cabot and sons, under 
 forfeiture," etc. 
 
 Here was a sufficient charter to the Cabots for taking possession of 
 all the continent of North America, had they possessed resolution and 
 means sufficient for planting what they the following year discovered, 
 or had the king possessed spirit enough to have supported such an 
 expedition for a national purpose ; whereby the English would have 
 been the first planters of the American continent.* 
 
 The Cabot expedition set out in one Bristol ship and three from 
 London, laden with various wares, and went as far as the north side of 
 
 SHIP OF CABOT S EXPEDITION. 
 
 Labrador. Captain Fox, in his book called " The North-West Fox," 
 printed in the year 1635, says, " he took tlie way towards Iceland, 
 from beyond the Cape of Labrador, until he found himself in fifty- 
 eight degrees and better, and thence he sailed along the shores of 
 America, as far as the Isle of Cuba ; and so returned back to England ;" 
 
 * Anderson's " Ilislory of Commerce."
 
 *«^i-S3^ /. 
 
 
 ^~7 C?^!!£iJ^^i^IJ^i^4^ 
 
 THE HAHBY GRACE DIEU
 
 DISCOVERT OF TRE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. ;]05 
 
 where, King Henry being engaged in a war with Scotland, he found no 
 encouragement to continue his enterprises, so that Sebastian, the most 
 active and ingenious of the Cabots, entered into the King of Spain's 
 service, and was instrumental in other American discoveries. The 
 principal object of the Cabot expedition was said, by the writers 
 of those times, to have been to discover a nortli-west passage to 
 the Indies, or Spice Islands, or to Cathaia, as they then termed 
 China, whither some travellers had gone overland in the eleventh, 
 twelfth, and thirteenth centuries. Cabot having sailed as far north 
 as 67", the land which he first saw was the country between the 
 north of the river of Canada and Hudson's Strait, which he there- 
 fore named Prima Vista, or first discovered. It next received the 
 name of Corterealis, from a Portuguese, who, sailing from Lisbon, 
 fell in with that coast in the year 1500. Herrera, in his " History 
 of America," says that Cabot " advanced as far as sixty-eight degrees 
 of north latitude, and finding the cold very intense, even in July, 
 he durst not proceed any further ; but he gave a better account of 
 all those parts than any other had done," 
 
 The Cape of Grood Hope was first discovered in 1493, by a Por- 
 tuguese squadron under the command of Bartholomew Diaz. But 
 Diaz merely saw it : the tempestuous aspect of the sea, produced by 
 currents meeting from opposite oceans, deterred that navigator from 
 completing this great discovery. Diaz gave to it the name of the 
 " Cape of Tempests;" it was believed at the time to be impossible to 
 sail round it. The King of Portugal, some few years afterwards, deter- 
 mined to follow up the discovery, and sent ships, under the command of 
 Yasco di Grama, to try to pass beyond the Cape. Di Gama surmounted 
 the difficulties which had deterred his predecessors, and, ui the year 1497, 
 European sliips for tlie first time entered the Indian seas, and trade 
 commenced with the Indies, and the Islands of the Indian Archipelago, 
 by the Indian Ocean, instead of the Mediterranean Sea, and the Arabian 
 Oulf, interrupted by the Isthmus of Suez. 
 
 The voyage of Di Gama, like that of Columbus, was one of those 
 bold adventures which only a man of great intelligence, high courage, 
 and strong determination could have imdertahen and completed. The 
 most experienced mariners at Lisbon considered that he was goiug to 
 certain destruction. Like Columbus, he had to contend with the muti- 
 nous despondency of his crews, and his difficulties were increased by 
 tempests which occurred at the Cape. But his courage and dcter- 
 
 z
 
 306 DISCOYERT OF THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 
 
 inination were superior to all obstacles : his ships doubled the Cape on 
 the 20th November, 1497, and having proceeded as far as Calicut, 
 doubled the Cape again in April, 1 199, and returned to Lisbon in a 
 little less than two years and two months. For a long time the approach 
 to the Cape was regarded -ndth dread. A Y03^ager of the seventeenth 
 century remarks, " the Cape of Good Hope might better be called the 
 Cape of Death, because of the continual fear of death they are in who 
 come near it. For the space of eight days we w^ere tossed in a terrible 
 manner."* 
 
 The reason why no earlier attempts had been made to sail around 
 the African continent ai'e thus lucidly explained by Dr. Eoberts: — 
 " While the operations of their Indian trade were carried on within a 
 sphere so circumsci'ibed, the conveyance of a cargo by the Arabian 
 GruLf, notwithstanding the expense of land carriage, either from Elath 
 to Ehiuoculura, or across the desert to the Nile, was so safe and com- 
 modious, that the merchants of Tyre and Alexandria had little reason 
 to be solicitous for the discovery of any other. 
 
 '• The situation of both these cities, as well as that of the other con- 
 siderable commercial states of antiquity, was very different from that of 
 the countries to which, in later times, mankind have been indebted for 
 keeping up intercourse with the remote parts of the globe. Portugal, 
 Spain, England, Holland, which have been most active and successful in 
 tliis line of enterprise, all lie on the Atlantic Ocean (in Avhich exerj 
 European voyage of discovery must commence), or have immediate 
 access to it. But Tyre was situated at the eastern extremity of the 
 Mediterranean ; Alexandria not far from it ; Ehodes, Athens, Corinth, 
 which came afterwards to be ranked among the most active trading 
 cities of antiquity, lay considerably advanced towards the same quarter 
 in that sea. The commerce of aU these states was long confined 
 within the precincts of the Mediterranean, and in some of them never 
 extended beyond it. Tlie pillars of Hercules, or the Straits of Gibraltar, 
 were long considered as the utmost boundary of navigation. To reach 
 them was deemed a signal proof of naval skill ; and before any of these 
 states could give a beginning to an attempt towards exploring the vast 
 unknown ocean Avhich lay beyond it, they had to accomplish a voyage 
 (according to their ideas) of great extent and much danger. This was 
 sufficient to deter them from engaging in an arduous undertaking, fi'om 
 
 * Voyage to Argo, by Augclo and Carli, ICGG.
 
 DISCOVERY or MAGALHAEX'S STIJAITS, 307 
 
 which, even if attended with success, their situation prevented tlieir 
 entertaining hopes of deriving great advantage. 
 
 ''But could we suppose the discovery of a new passage to India to 
 liave become an object of desire or piu'suit to any of these states, their 
 science, as well as practice of navigation was so defective, that it would 
 have been hardly possible for them to attain it. The vessels which the 
 ancients employed iu trade were so small as not to afford stowage for 
 provisions sufficient to subsist a crew during a long voyage. Their 
 construction was such that they could seldom venture to depart far 
 from land, and their mode of steering along the coast (which I have 
 been obliged to mention often) so circuitous and slow, that from these, 
 as well as from other circumstances which I might have specified, we 
 may pronounce a voyage fi'om the Mediterranean to India by the Cape 
 of Good Hope to have been an undertaking beyond their power to 
 accomplish, in such a manner as to render it, in any degree, subservient 
 to commerce." 
 
 This discovery was followed in 1522 by another of equal importance 
 and interest. Eernando Magalhaen, a Portuguese, had formed, in 
 conjunction with a countryman, Euy Falero, the design of finding a 
 western passage to the East Indies and the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, 
 which were regarded by the Spanish and Portuguese as offering an 
 important field for extended commerce in their rich productions. Like 
 all such great enterprises, it lay in abeyance for a time — was rejected 
 by Emmanuel, King of Portugal, upon the groimd that it would open 
 the way for other nations to the East Indies, the trade of which the 
 Portuguese desired to monopolize. This, however, kindled the rivalry 
 of the King of Spain, and in the month of September, 1519, jNIagalhaen 
 sailed from San Lucar de Barremeda, his expedition consisting of five 
 ships and 236 men. The Portuguese officers under his command soon 
 displayed a spirit of insubordination, deeming it to be derogatory to 
 their honoiu' to be directed by an alien. Magalhaen discovered that 
 three of the captains had formed a conspiracy against him, and the 
 plot was so dangerous to his object and safety, that he found it 
 necessary to execute two of the captains, and to turn another ashore 
 among the wild Indians on the Brazilian coast, together with a priest 
 who had encoiu-aged the plans of the conspirators. This done, he 
 proceeded on his voyage, and, on the 21st of October, 1520, having 
 been out above a year, he discovered the movith of the Straits of 
 Patagonia, which he at once entered, and to which he gave his name.
 
 SOS 
 
 pigafetta's accoukt of magalhaen's expeditioit. 
 
 The solemn grandeur of the rocky clifts and mountains which form 
 tlie walls of tliis narrow and perilous passage, with little variation, for 
 a distance of 350 miles, was sufficient to appal the hearts of the crews, 
 who 'Jinew not to what dangers they were approaching. Having 
 
 riGAFETTA S ClIAllT OF Tll£ SIKAITS Ui" MAGAIHAEN. 
 
 sailed about 150 miles in the strait, they discovered an arm of it 
 branching off from the main channel. ]Maga.lhaen ordered one of 
 liis ships to explore this, and bring him an accoimt of it. The 
 seamen, being parted fr(jm the company of their commander, mutinied 
 against the captaui, deserted the expedition, and returned to Spain. 
 Magalhaen, finding that the ship did not return, and suspecting the 
 cause, proceeded through the strait, and entered the South Sea with 
 only three ships, one having been previously WTCcked. Tltese tcere tlie 
 first European ships ihat had entered tlie great Southern Ocean, upon 
 the waters of which Xunez; Balboa had, in the year 1513, gazed with 
 Avonder, after a perilous march across the Isthmus of Panama. When 
 Magalhaen looked upon the vast expanse of waters before him, he shed 
 tears of joy. He gave to the Southern Ocean the name of "the 
 Pacific," on account of the calmness ])revailing in that watery region. 
 The last laud of ilie strait he called Cabo Descado, or Cape Desire,
 
 PIGAFETTA's account or MAGALUAEN'S EXrEDTTION. 809 
 
 because it was the end of his desired passage to the Houth Hea. 
 Wishing to explore the great ocean which he had been the first to 
 enter, he steered in a west-north-west direction, and saik'd three 
 months and twenty days without seeing land. Famine and disease 
 overtook his crews ; they were compelled to eat leather, torn from 
 the masts and rigging, and to drink water that liad become putrid 
 under the heat of the torrid zone. Nineteen men died, and tliirty 
 were helpless. After sailing 1500 leagues, in the face of famine 
 and death, he found a small island in latitude 88" south, llanng 
 obtained some relief there, he held on his course until, in about 12' 
 north latitude, he came to a group of islands which he named De los 
 Ladrones, or of thieves, because the wondering natives, amazed at the 
 sight of the ships, flocked around them in their canoes, and going on 
 board stole evex'ything they could lay hold of, regarding the meanest 
 article of manufacture as a prize of enormous value. 
 
 In these early expeditions, the amazement of savages upon seeing 
 ships and strange people approach their coasts, scarcely surpassed the 
 wonder of adventurous explorers at the novel objects which met their 
 sight, and the dread with which the common mariners regarded 
 expeditions into unknown seas. Hence we can understand why the 
 crews of Columbus, Di Gama, and INIagalhaen were alike mutinous, and 
 disposed to take every chance of flying from the perils of their voyages. 
 
 Among Magalhaen's company was a gentleman of Vicenza, 
 Cavallero Antonio Pigafetta, who wrote an account of the voyage, 
 and from whose notes we may gather an insight into the feelings 
 of the more intelligent members of the exploring party. Pigafetta 
 thus explains his motives for joining the expedition : — " As from the 
 books I had read, and from the converfation of learned men wlio frequented 
 the houfe of the Bishop and Prince of Teramo, I knew that by navigating the 
 ocean wonderful things were to be seen, I determined to be convinced 
 of them by my own eyes, that I might be enabled to give others the 
 narrative of my voyage, as well for their amusement as advantage, and at the 
 same time acquire a name that fliould be handed down to poftcrity." 
 
 He states that Magalhaen * was cautious of disclosing the fact that 
 
 * Pigafetta -writes Magaglianes, the Portiigixese Magalhaens, the Spaniards 
 Magallenes, the French Magellan. — Amoretti. Each of these nations has altered the 
 orthography to preserve the sound of his name. The EngUsh, on the contrary, have 
 neither preseiTed the sound nor the original mode of speUing of the Portuguese
 
 310 PIGAFETTA S ACCOUKT. 
 
 ]ie intended to take a course yet unexplored by mariners, lest it 
 might have the effect of disheartening liis crews. The expedition 
 arrived at an island called Teneriffe, where they heard of a singular phe- 
 nomenon — " That it never rains, and that the island has neither spring nor 
 river, but that it produces a large tree, the leaves of which continually diftil 
 excellent water ; this is colledled in a pit at the foot of the tree, and hither 
 the inhabitants go for what water they want, and all the animals, tame and 
 wild, to quench their thirst. This tree is perpetually encircled by a thick 
 mist, which doubtlcfs supphes its leaves with Avater." 
 
 Sailino- directly south, " We saw birds of many kinds. Some appeared 
 to us to have no rump; others make no nefts for want of feet; but the female 
 lays and hatclies her eggs on the back of the male in the midfl: of the 
 sea. There are some which live on the excrements of other birds; and 
 I have myfcif oftentimes seen one of thefe birds purfuing another without 
 interruption until it voided its excrement, upon which it seized with 
 avidity." 
 
 Two of these marvels are explained by the existence of a wiiter- 
 fowl having feathered legs, and of the young, wliich are hatched on 
 shore, getting on the back of the motlier ^vhen in the sea ; the other 
 relates to birds which watch for the divers, and chase them to seize the 
 fish which they bring up. 
 
 In the Brazils they discovered " hogs, which seemed to have their 
 navel on the back." They found also, " cannibals of gigantic size, whose 
 voice was as loud as the bellowing of a bull." " This man was of such 
 immense ftature that our heads scarcely reached to his waist." They found 
 an animal which " had the head and cars of a mule, the body of a camel, 
 the legs of a flag, and the tail of a horse." 
 
 The inhabitants of one of the islands visited " had such large holes in 
 their ears, and the ends of them were drawn down so much, that one might 
 thruft an arm through the orifice." They were told, *' that in these seas 
 are birds of a black colour, resembling our crows, which, when the whale 
 appears upon the surface of the water, watch the moment it opens its mouth 
 to fly into it, and thence proceed to pluck out its heart, which they carry 
 away with them to some other spot to feed upon. The only proof they 
 have, however, of this fact is their having seen this bird feeding on the heart 
 of the whale, and their finding the whale dead, without a heart." 
 
 name, but have adopted the orthogi-aphy of the French : following the practice Of 
 other nations, if the sound were preserved, the name should be \\Tittcn in EnglisJi 
 Maghelyong, or Maghelyawnes. — Note hy the Translator of l?i(jafcttcC s Voyage.
 
 ptgafetta's AccorxT. 311 
 
 They found a tree, the leaves of which had feet, and when they dropped 
 from the tree waUced about. " I kept one in a box for nine days ; on 
 opening the box at the end of this time, the leaf was alive, and walking round 
 it. I am of opinion they live on air." They " likewife caught a fish, 
 the head of which, refembling that of a hog, had two horns. The body was 
 clothed with a bony subftance, and on its back was a kind of faddle." Pif^a- 
 fetta repeatedly alludes to the Corpora Sancfa saving them from wreck. 
 "The whole squadron nearly experienced fliipwreck, owing to the furious 
 winds with which it was afsailed, and which occafioned a very rough fea; 
 but God and the Corpora Sancta (that is to say, the lights which fhone on 
 the summits of the masts) brought us succour, and saved us from harm." 
 " On Saturday, 26th October, juft after the close of day, we experienced 
 a hurricane, during which we took in our fails, and prayed to God for 
 protedlion. Hereupon ^ve saw our three faints fettle on our masts, who 
 dispersed the darknefs. They remained there upwards of two hours ; 
 St. Elrhe on the mainmaft. Saint Nicholas on the mizen, and St. Clare 
 on the foremaft. In gratitude for the favour they had done us, we vowed 
 them each a slave, and accordingly made them an offering each of one."* 
 
 Their old pilot from the Moluccas told them of an island called 
 Arucheto, " the inhabitants of which, men as well as women, are not more 
 than a cubit high, and have ears as long as their body ; so that when they lie 
 down to reft, one serves as a mattrass to lie upon, and the other as a coverlid. 
 We would willingly have visited this island, but were prevented by the 
 fhallows and currents." The same old pilot told them of "an island 
 called Ocoloro, below Java, which is peopled by women alone, who are 
 rendered pregnant by the wind. Should they produce a boy, they kill 
 him immediately ; if a girl, it is preserved. If a man at any time prefumes 
 to visit the ifland, they put him to death." They learned also of the 
 existence of birds so large that they were "able to fly away with a 
 buffalo or an elephant." 
 
 Such were the wonders seen and heard of by the early explorers. 
 They may be fairly acquitted of any desire to exaggerate. Their powers 
 of observation and judgment were immature — they were bewildered by 
 the appearances of things completely new to them : hence they saw 
 giants in painted savages of high stature, walking leaves in an insect 
 having leaf-like wing-cases ; and the forms of saints in the Auroras, 
 or other electric phenomena, of the skies. Kings and queens listened 
 
 * The meaning of the latter sentence is, probably, that tlicy devoted to the poor a 
 sum equal to the value of a slave.
 
 312 DEATH OF MAGALnAE^. 
 
 with interest and awe to these nan-atives. " I went to Vaglaiadohd," 
 says Pigafetta, "where I presented to His Sacred Majelty, Don Carlos 
 (Charles V.) , neither gold nor silver indeed, but things more precious in his 
 eyes. Afterwards I travelled through Spain to France, where I prefented 
 different articles from the other hemifphere to the Queen Regent, mother of 
 the Moft Chriflian King, Francis I." 
 
 Unfortunately, Magalhaen, the great projector of this expedi- 
 tion, never lived to accomplish the first circumnavigation of the 
 globe, which is associated with his name. In his zeal for the spread 
 of Christianity, he had converted some of the island kings, teUing 
 them that, by planting the cross upon the island, " neither storms 
 or thunder would hereafter do them injury." He told these kings, 
 too, that if they had any enemies, he " would willingly combine to 
 combat them with all his vessels and warriors," and also assured them 
 that among the other advantages that would accrue from embracing 
 the Christian faith would be that of their being so strengthened, as 
 with greater facility to overcome their enemies. Ha\dng proclaimed 
 that all who embraced Christianity should destroy their idols, 
 Pigafetta " showed the Queen a small image of the Virgin, with the 
 infant Jesus, with which she was much affected and delighted. She begged 
 it of me to replace her idols, and with great willingness I acceded to her 
 request." 
 
 In an affray 'on behalf of the Christian King of Tubu, INIagalhaen 
 Avas killed, and his body preserved by the Indians as a monument 
 of their victory. The ships were then placed under the command 
 of Odoard Barbosa, a Portuguese, and Juan Serero, a Spaniard. 
 The account of the return of this expedition, which first navigated 
 the circumference of the globe, should be told in Pigafetta's own 
 words : — 
 
 "Some of our men, especially the sick, were desirous of making the shore at Mozam- 
 bique, where is a Portuguese eftablishment, as our vefsel was very leaky, the cold we endured 
 extremely severe, and, above all, as we had no other than rice and water to live upon 5 
 for all the meat which, for want of salt we had been unable to pickle, had become putrid. 
 But the major part of the crew being still more'attached to honour than life, we determined 
 on using every exertion to return to Spain, however great the perils we might have to 
 undergo. 
 
 "At length by the help of God, on the sixth of May we doubled this terrible Capej* 
 but to effect this we were forced to approach within five leagues of it, as otherwise, from the 
 conftancy of weft winds, we could never have effected this end. 
 
 * The Cape of Good IIopo.
 
 BETUEN or MAGALHAEJf's SHIPS. 313 
 
 " We afterwards steered north-west for two whole months together (the months of May 
 and June), without any rest, and in this interval lost twenty-one men, including Indians. 
 We made a singular observation on throwing them into the sea; the corpses of the Chriftlans 
 floated with the face towards heaven, but those of the Indians with the face downwards. 
 
 " We were now almoft wholly deftitute of provisions, and had not heaven favoured us 
 with fine weather, we should all have perished with hunger. On the ninth of July, on 
 a Wednesday, we diftinguished Cape Verd Islands, and anchored off that called St. Jago. 
 As we knew we were in an inimical countr)', and expefted w^e might excite suspicion, 
 we had the precaution of enjoining the men in the longboat, whom we sent on shore for 
 provisions, to say that we had touched at this port on account of our foremaft being split on 
 crofsing the line, which occasioned us to lose so much time, that the Captain-General, 
 with two other vefsels, had continued his course to Spain without us. We moreover spoke 
 in such manner as to cause them to imagine we came from the shores of America, and not 
 from the Cape of Good Hope. We obtained credit, and our longboat was twice laden from 
 the shore with rice, in exchange for different merchandize. 
 
 "In order that we might discover if our journals had been regularly kept, we inquired on 
 shore what day it was, and was answered Thursday; this occasioned us much surprise, as, 
 according to our journals, it appeared to be Wednesday. We could not be satisfied of having 
 loft a day ; and for my part I was ftill more aftonished at the circumftance than the reft, for 
 I had enjoyed so perfedl a ftate of health as to be able, without interruption, to mark the 
 days of the week, and the months. We afterwards found that there was no miftake in our 
 calculation ; since, having conftantly travelled weftward and followed the course of the sun, 
 on our return to where we departed from w-e ought naturally to have gained twenty-four 
 hours on those who remained on the spot ; this, to be convinced of, requires but a moment's 
 reflection. The longboat on its third trip, we perceived was detained, and we had reason 
 to suspedl, by the movements of certain caravellas, that a design was meditated againft 
 our ship ; in consequence, we resolved on immediate flight. We afterwards were informed 
 that it had been ftopped on account of one of the sailors having divulged our secret, by 
 relating that the Captain-General was dead, and that our ship was the only one of the 
 squadron which had returned to Europe. 
 
 "Thanks to Providence, on Saturday, 6th of September, we entered the bay of San 
 Lucar ; and of sixty men, of which our crew consisted on our leaving the Malucho Islands, 
 but- eighteen remained, moft of whom were sick. The residue had either run away from 
 the ship at the island of Timor, had for different crimes there been punished with death, 
 had died of hunger, or become prisoners to the Portuguese at San Jago. 
 
 " From our departure from the bay of San Lucar to the day of our return, we reckoned 
 to have sailed upwards of fourteen thousand six hundred leagues, having circumnavigated the 
 globe from eaft to weft. 
 
 "On Monday, 8th September, 1522, we caft anchor near the Mole of Seville, and fired 
 the whole of our artillery. On Tuesday, we repaired in our shirts, barefooted, and carrying a 
 taper in our hands, to the church of our Lady of Victory, and to that of Sta. Maria dc 
 Antijua, as we had vowed to do in the hour of danger." 
 
 In the year 1525, King Henry VIII. sent out two sliips 
 towards the American coasts, one of which was cast away in the 
 Gi-ulf of St. Lawrence, and the other returned home the same year, 
 without any material discovery. 
 
 In the reign of Edward YI., about the year 1553, Sir
 
 314 EAELT TOYAGE TO AFRICA. 
 
 Hugh "Willougliby was sent with three ships to make discoveries in 
 northern parts. He sailed in May, and having spent much time 
 about the northern islands subject to Denmark, where he found no 
 commodity but dried fish and train-oil, he was obliged, about the 
 middle of September, after losing the company of two of his ships, 
 to put into a harbour in Lapland, where they could find no inhabit- 
 ants. They made an attempt to ^vinter there, but were all frozen 
 to death. However the Eclimrd, which was the second ship in this 
 expedition, and commanded by Eichard Chancellor, who was chief 
 pilot for the voyage, having lost Sir Hugh Willoughby, made its 
 way for the port of Wardhouse, in Norway, where they had appointed 
 to meet if parted by storms. Chancellor staid there seven days ; 
 and finding tliat none of the company came to join him, proceeded 
 on his voyage, and ai-rived in the Bay of St. Nicholas, on the coast 
 of IMuscovy, where he was well received by the natives, heing tlie 
 first sliip that ever came iipon their coast. Chancellor himself went 
 to the court of Moscow, where he settled a trade between England 
 and Muscovy, with the Czar then reigning. Tliis done, he returned 
 to England with the honour of being the first discoverer of Hussia.* 
 
 Tlie earliest English voyage to the coast of Africa, of which 
 there is any record, was performed by INIr. Thomas AVindham, but 
 no details are preserved. In 1553, Windham, with Anthonio Pinteado, 
 a Portuguese, sailed with three ships from Portsmouth ; they traded 
 for gold along the coasts of Guinea, and from thence proceeded to 
 the kingdom of Benin, where both the commanders and most of the 
 men died, through the severity of the climate. One ship only returned, 
 bringing forty men. In 1554, Mr. John Lock xmdertook a voyage 
 to Guinea, v/ith three ships, and, trading along that coast, brought 
 away a considerable quantity of gold and ivory, but proceeded no 
 further. The following years Mr. 'William Towerson traded to the 
 coast of Guinea ; but the English made little progress along this coast 
 until they commenced their voyages to the East Indies. 
 
 In 1558, Anthony Jenkinson sailed for Muscovy with foxu- ships 
 under his command. He left his vessels, and travelled by land to 
 Moscow, where he was graciously entertained by the Czar ; obtained 
 a pass, and continued his journey through Muscovy, across the 
 kingdoms of Cassan and Astracan, wliere, talking boats on the river 
 
 * Locke's " Ilistory of IS^avigation."
 
 SIE MAETIN FEOBISllEE. 315 
 
 Volga, he sailed down into tlie Caspian Sea, having travelled by- 
 land about six hundi-ed leagues, in the Czar's dominions, from Moscow. 
 On the Caspian Sea he spent twentj-seven days; after which he 
 made a five days' journey by land among a wild tribe of Tartars, 
 with a caravan of one tliousand camels ; then twenty days more 
 through a desert, suffering much from hunger and thirst. This brought 
 him again to another part of the Caspian Sea. Hence he continued 
 his discovery in the Tartar countries, and returned to Moscow with 
 letters from Queen Elizabeth to the Czar, and taking the same way 
 as before, down to the Caspian, crossed over into Hircania ; where, 
 being honoured and conducted by the princes of that country, he 
 passed through the coiu't of the King of Persia, at Casbin, obtained 
 several privileges for the English nation, and returned home in 
 safety.* 
 
 Sir Martin Erobisher for fifteen years fruitlessly endeavoured to 
 discover a north-west passage to China, At length he obtained the 
 favour of Dudley, Earl of "Warwick, and sailed from Deptford on the 
 8th June, 1576, Queen Elizabeth witnessing his departure, and waving 
 her hand to bid him farewell. He missed the discovery of Hudson's 
 Straits, but discovered a small strait rmining parallel therewith, to 
 which he gave his name. Among other products of the lands visited 
 by him, he brought a large black stone, which was found to contain gold. 
 Another expedition was then planned, consisting of a ship of the Eoyal 
 Navy, and two barges, which sailed from Greenwich on the 31st May, 
 1577. After discovering some bays and islands, and procuring some 
 golden ore, he returned, and reached England at the end of September. 
 A third expedition, which sailed the 31st May, retiu-ned in October. 
 On their second voyage, being outward bound, they called at the 
 Orkney Islands. The people fled from their cottages with shrieks, and 
 ran to alarm their neighbom's. Their fear arose from the fiict, that they 
 were often troubled hy pirates. Arrived in Greenland, they sought 
 intercourse with the people, who from fear flew to their canoes. The 
 sailors then took to their boats, and drove the canoes ashore. The fol- 
 lowing incident is recited in a paper by one of the voyagers in the 
 second expedition: — 
 
 " When they were landed, they fiercely afTaulted our men, who wounded three of them 
 with our arrows, and perceiving themfelves thus hurt, they defpcrately leaped off the rocks 
 
 * Locke's "Histoiy of Xavigalion.'
 
 316 . SIR JOUN HAWKINS. 
 
 into the sea, and drowned themfelves, which if they had not done, but had submitted them- 
 felves, or if by any means we could have taken them alive (being their enemies as they judged), we 
 would both have faved them, and alfo have sought remedy to cure their wounds received at our 
 hands. But they, altogether void of humanity, and ignorant what mercy meaneth, in extremities 
 look for no other than death ; and, perceiving they fhould fall into our hands, thus miserably by 
 drowning rather desired death, than otherwise to be saved by us ; the reft perceiving their 
 fellows in this diftrefs, fled into the high mountains. Two women, not being so apt to escape 
 as the men were, the one for her age, and the other being encumbered with a young 
 child, we took. The old wretch, whom divers of our sailors supposed to be either a devil or 
 a witch, had her bu/kins plucked off to see if she were cloven-footed, and for her ugly hue and 
 deformity we let her go. The young woman and the child we brought away. We named 
 the place where they were flain Bloody Point, and the bay or harbour, York's Sound, after 
 the name of one of the captains of the two barks. Having this knowledge both of their 
 fiercenefs and cruelty, and perceiving that fair means as yet is not able to allure them to 
 familiarity, we disposed ourselves, contrary to our inclination, something to be cruel, returned 
 to their tents and made a fpoil of the same ; where we found an old fhirt, a doublet, a girdle, 
 and also fhoes of our men, whom we loft the year before ; on nothing else unto them belonging 
 could we set our eyes." 
 
 Sir Martin Frobislier, afterwards joined in the expedition of Sir 
 Francis Drake to tlie West Indies. 
 
 A small squadron was fitted out in 1562 by Captain Jolin Hawkins, 
 with which he sailed to the coast of Guinea, and commenced the 
 inhiunan trafl&c in slaves. The following note upon his first expedition 
 is from Hakluyt : — 
 
 " He departed from the coaft of England in the month of October, 1562, and in his 
 course touched first at Teneriffe, where he received friendly entertainment. From thence he 
 pafled to Sierra Leone, upon the coaft of Guinea, which place by the people of the country is 
 called Tagarin, where he ftayed some good time, and got into his pofsefsion, partly by the 
 sworde, and partly by other meanes, to the number of 300 negroes at the leaft, besides other 
 merchandises which that country yeeldeth. With this praye he sayled over the ocean sea 
 unto the island of Hispaniola, and arrived firft at the port of Isabella : and there he had 
 reasonable utterance of his Englifli commodities, as also of some part of his negroes, trufting 
 the Spaniards no further, then that by his owne strength he was able ftill to mafter them. 
 From the port of Isabella he went to Puerto de Plata, where he made like sales, ftanding 
 always upon his guard, from thence also hee sailed to Monte Christi, another port on the north 
 side of Hispaniola, and the laft place of his touching where he had peaceable traffique, and 
 made vent of the whole number of his negroes, for which he received in those three places 
 by way of exchange such quantitie of merchandise, that hee did not onely lade his owne 3 shippes 
 with hides, ginger, sugars, and some quantities of pearls, but he fraighted also two other 
 hulks with hides, and other like commodities, which hee sent into Spaine. And thus leaving 
 the Island, hee returned and disembarked, pafsing out by the islands of the Caycos, without 
 further entering into the bay of Mexico, in this his firft voyage to the West India. And so 
 with prosperous succcfse and much gaine to himsclfc and the aforcsayde adventurers, he came 
 home, and arrived in the moneth of September, 1563."* 
 
 * Hawkins' f3 Voyages, page 522.
 
 COMMEKCEMENT Ol^ THE liKITISU SLAVE TEADE. 
 
 317 
 
 It is remarkable that the princiijal ship of tlie expedition \vliicli 
 commenced that awful trafilc, which will ever remain as a, dark spot 
 upon our history, was named the Jesus, and of this vessel Hawkins 
 was the captain. In his own account of the second expedition, which 
 sailed in 1564, he frankly says: — " In this island we stayed certaine daics, 
 going every day on Ihore to take the inhabitants with burning and spoiHng 
 their townes." In his account of " The third troublesome voyage made 
 with the Jesus, and foure other fliips," etc., he says : — 
 
 " But even in that present inftant, there came to us a negro, sent from a king, opprcfscd 
 by other kings, his neighbours, desiring our aide, with promise that as many negroes as by 
 these warres might be obtained, as well of his part as of ours, Ihould be at our pleasure : 
 whereupon we concluded to give aide, and sent 120 of our men, which the 15th of Januarie, 
 afsaulted a towne of the negroes of our allies adversaries, which had in it 8000 inhabitants, 
 being very strongly impaled and fenced after their manner, but it was so well defended, that 
 our men prevailed not, but loft five men and fortie hurt : so that our men sent forthwith to 
 me for more helpe : whereupon considering that the good succefs of this enterprise might 
 highly further the commoditie of our voyage, I went mysclfe, and with the help of the king 
 of our side, afsaulted the towne, both by land and sea, and very hardly with fire (their houses 
 being covered with dry Palme leaves), obtained the towne, and put the inhabitants to flight, 
 where we tooke 250 persons, men, women, and children, and by our friend the king on our 
 side, there were taken 600 prisoners, whereof 
 we hoped to have our choise : but the negro (in 
 which nation is seldom or never found truth) 
 meant nothing lefT: for that night he removed 
 his camp and prisoners, so that we were faine 
 to content us with those few which we had 
 gotten ourselves." 
 
 These expeditions were fitted 
 out by companies of imprincipled 
 adventurers, of which several were 
 formed in the sixteenth century, for 
 the purpose of sending armed squa- 
 drons to any part of the w^orld to 
 discover and to plunder. Sucli acts, 
 so far from being condemned by the 
 public voice, and by the government, 
 were highly applauded, and the law- 
 less pirates, after sweeping the seas, 
 and desolating settlements, were re- 
 ceived with acclamation. Hawkins, 
 
 in reward for his achievements, was knighted by Queen Elizabctli. and 
 he adopted as his crest a demi-negro manacled! 
 
 ARMS OF SIR JOUX HAWKINS.
 
 318 sill FEANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 The exploits of Hawkius excited the ambition of Captain Drake, 
 whose successes upon the seas, and especially against the Spaniards, 
 form a remarkable passage in our naval history. It is said that Drake 
 ^\as brought up at the expense of Sir John Hawkins, who was his 
 kinsman. This will account for his adventurous spirit, and for the 
 little importance he attached to the rights of any but his own country- 
 men. About the year 1570, he projected an expedition against the 
 Spaniards in the AVest Indies, which he no sooner announced, than he 
 foimd volunteers in sufficient numbers to accompany him. He con- 
 ducted successive expeditions against the Spanish settlements and 
 shipping, and committed so man}'' outrages that he was complained of 
 by the Spanish Ambassador as a pirate, and made to deliver up some of 
 the plunder he had taken. In 1572, with only two ships, one of seventy 
 the other of twenty-five tons, he stormed the town of Nombres de Dios, 
 on the Isthmus of Darien. He afterwards took Vera Cruz, and 
 obtained great booty by falling in with fifty mules laden with silver, 
 of which his men carried ofl' as much as they could, and buried the rest. 
 In subsequent years he sacked the to-vA-n of St. Jago, in the Cape de Yerd 
 Islands, took the City of Carthagenia, and obliged the inhabitants to ran- 
 som it ; sacked the port of St. Augustine, and took away about £2000 
 in money and fourteen brass cannon. Thus the adA'cnturers in his expe- 
 ditions were rewarded, and their unprincipled thirst for gain gratified. 
 
 The following notes, from HakluA-t, of Drake's valiant doings in 
 New Spain, are significantly illustrative of the spirit of his age : — 
 
 " Wee kept our course from the Isle of Cano (which lyeth in eight degrees of northerly- 
 latitude, and within two leagues of the maine of Nicaragua, where wee calked and trimmed 
 our ship) along the coaft of Nuena Espanna, untill we came to the Haven and Towne of 
 Guatulco, which (as we were informed) had but seventeene Spaniards dwelling in it, and wee 
 found it to stand in fiftccnc degrees and fiftie minutes. 
 
 " As soone as wee were entered this Haven w^e landed, and went presently to the towne ; and 
 to the Towne-housc, where we found a judge sitting in judgment, he being aflbciate with three 
 other officers, upon three negroes that had conspired the burning of the Towne : both which 
 judges and prisoners we tooke, and brought them a shippeboard, and caused the chiefe judge 
 to write his letter to the Towne, to command all the Townesmen to avoid, that we might 
 safely water there. Which being done, and they departed, wee ransacked the Towne, and in 
 one house we found a pot of the quantitic of a bushcll full of royals of plate, which we 
 brought to our ship. 
 
 " And here one Thomas Moonc, one of our companic, took a Spanish gentleman as he 
 was flying out of the Towne, and searching him, he found a chaine of gold about him, and 
 other jewels, which we tooke, and so let him goe." 
 
 It is consolatory to find tliat cAeu in Dralce's time there were
 
 sill FEAXCIS DRAKE. 310 
 
 differences of opinion respecting his conduct. The immense amounts of 
 wealth he brought home secured for him the support and apologies of 
 many, who contended that his exploits were not only honourable to 
 himself, but to his country ; that it would establish our reputation for 
 maritime skill in foreign nations, and raise an useful spirit of emulation 
 at home ; and that, as to the money, our merchants having suSered 
 much from the faithless practises of the Spaniards, there was nothino- 
 more just than that the nation should receive the benefit of Drake's re- 
 prisals. But there was another party, wlio alleged that he was no better 
 than a pirate ; that, of all others, it least became a trading nation to 
 encourage such practices ; that it was not only a direct breach of the 
 late treaties -with Spain, but likewise of our old leagues with the house 
 of Burgundy; and that the consequences would be much more fatal 
 than the benefits reaped from it conld be advantageous. This difference 
 of opinion continued during the remainder of 1580 and the spriag of 
 the succeeding'year ; but at length the sanction of the Crown was given 
 to Drake's services : for, on April 4th, 1581, her Majesty, going to 
 Deptford, went on board his ship, where, after dinner, she conferred 
 on him the honour of knighthood, and declared her absolute appro- 
 bation of what he had done. She likewise gave directions for the 
 preservation of his ship, that it might remain a monument of his 
 own and his country's glory.* A war with Spain soon aftem-ards 
 occurring. Sir Francis Drake was appointed Yice-Admiral of the Fleet, 
 and his numerous successes form a conspicuous page in naval 
 records. 
 
 The part of Drake's history which more especially interests us, is 
 the fact that he was the first Englishman who circumnavigated the globe 
 after Magalhaen. Having seen the waters of the Southern Ocean from 
 tlie Isthmus of Darieu, he felt an ambition to be the fii-st Englishman 
 who should sail on the Pacific. His proposals were well recei\-ed at 
 Corn^;. The Queen furnished him v\itli means, and liis fame quickly 
 drew together a sufficient force. The fleet with Avhich he sailed on this 
 extraordinary undertaking consisted only of five small vessels, and 
 about 164! able men. He sailed from England, December 13th, 1577; 
 on the 25th, fell in with the Coast of Barbary, and on the 29th with 
 Cape Verd. March 13th, he passed the equinoctial ; made tlic coast of 
 Brazil, April 5th, 1578, and entered the Eiver de la Plata, where 
 he lost the company of two of his sliips ; but meeting them again 
 
 * Chalmers's "Biographical Dictionary."
 
 320 SIB TRANCIS DEAKE. 
 
 and taking out tLeir provisions, lie turned tliem adrift. ISIay 
 tlie 29tli lie entered the port of St. Julian, where he continued 
 two months, for the sake of \ajmg m provisions. August 20th, he 
 entered the Straits of Magalhaen, and September 25th, passed them, 
 having then only his own ship. JSTovember 25th, he came to Maehao, 
 which he had appointed for a place of rendezvous in case his ships sepa- 
 rated, but Captain Winter, his vice-admu'al, having repassed the Straits, 
 had returned to England ; thence he continued his voyage along the 
 coast of Chili and Peru, taking all opportunities of seizing Spanish ships, 
 and attacking them on shore, till his crew were sated with plunder, and 
 then coasting Korth America to the height of 48°, he endeavoured, but 
 in vain, to find a passage back into our seas on that side. He landed? 
 however, and called the country ]S"ew Albion, taking possession of it 
 in the name of Queen Elizabeth, and, having careened his ship, set sail 
 from thence, September 29th, 1579, for the Moluccas. He is supposed 
 to have chosen this passage round, partly to avoid being attacked by the 
 Spaniards at a disadvantage, and partly from the lateness of the season, 
 when dangerous storms and hurricanes were to be appi'ehended. October 
 13th, he fell in with certain islands inhabited by the most barbarous 
 people he had met with in his voyage ; November 4th, he had sight of 
 the Moluccas, and, coming to Ternate, was extremely well received by 
 the king thereof, who appears, from the most authentic relations of this 
 voyage, to have been a wise and politic prince. December 10th, he 
 made Celebes, where his ship unfortunately ran upon a rock, January 
 9th following, from which, beyond aU expectation, and, in a manner 
 miraculously, they got off, and continued their coiu'se. March 16th, 
 he arri\'ed at Ja^■a j\Iajor, and from thence intended to have directed his 
 course to Malacca, but found himself obliged to alter his i)urpose, 
 and to return home. On June 15th, he doubled the Cape of Good 
 Hope, having then on board 57 men, and but three casks of water. 
 July 12th, he passed the line, reached the Coast of Grxiinea the 16th, 
 and there watered. September 11th, lie made the Island of Tercera 
 and, November 3rd, entered the harbour of Plymouth. This 
 voyage round the globe was performed in two years and about ten 
 months. 
 
 In 1580, :Mr. Arthur Pet and Mr. C1iiu-lcs Jackman sailed iu 
 May from Harwich, in two barques, to make discoveries in the north- 
 east beyond AVeygats. After various disasters, one of the ships 
 retimied ; the other was lost, after wintering at a port iu NorAvay. Tlie
 
 SIR WALTER HALEIGJl. 321 
 
 English, liaving found the latter attempt at northern discovery unsuc- 
 cessfid, abandoned the object for man}- years ; when the Dutch followed 
 uj) the design with much energy. 
 
 In 1584, Sir Walter Ealeigh obtained from Queen Elizabeth letters 
 patent for discovering unknown provinces, and in the same year 
 despatched two ships, which took possession of a large tract of 
 country, afterwards named Virginia, in honour of Queen Elizabeth. 
 Although the continents of North and South America had long 
 been known, their features and extent were little understood, and 
 no efforts had been made to draw advantages from this great 
 increase of the known world, with the exception of the fisheries 
 on the coasts of Newfoundland, and a limited trade with the West 
 Indies. 
 
 The biographical accounts of Sir Walter Ealeigh invariably say 
 that he himself sailed for Virginia, and took possession thereof, and 
 also ascribe to him the introduction of tobacco and potatoes. This, 
 however, is certainly erroneous. In Hakluyt's Voyages,* we find an 
 account of the " first voyage made to the coasts of America, with two 
 barks, wherein were Captaines M. FJtilip Amadas, and M. Arthur JBar- 
 lowe, who discovered part of the country now called Virginia, anno 
 1584. Written by one of the^said Captaines, and sent to Sir Waller 
 jRaleigli, Knight, at whose charges and direction the said voyage was 
 made." 
 
 The Captain, in commencing the account of the voyage, expresses 
 himself thus, which at once puts an end to any doubt as to Sir 
 Walter Ealeigh's presence in the expedition : — 
 
 "The 27tli day of April, in the yeei'c of oiu* redemption 158i, we departed the "West 
 of England, with two barkes well fm-nished with men and victuals, having received our 
 last and perfect directions by your letters, confirming the former instructions, 
 commandments delivered by yoiu" selfe at omt leaving the river of Thames. And I 
 thinte it a matter both unnecessarj', for the manifest discoverie of the countrey, sa 
 also for tediousness sate, to remember unto you the diumall of our course, sayling 
 tliither and retm-ning : onely I have presmned to present unto you this briefe 
 diseoui'se, by which you may judge how profitable this land is likely to succeede, 
 as well to your selfe (by whose du-ection and charge, and by whose servantes this our 
 discoverie hath become performed), as also to her Ilighnessc, and the Commonwcaltli, 
 in which we hope yoiu' ^visdome wil be satisfied, considering that as much by us hath 
 bene brought to Hght, as by those smal meanes, and niunbcr of men we bad, coidd any 
 way have been expected or hoped for." 
 
 * Yol. iii., p. 2 J 6, London, 1600. 
 
 A A
 
 322 TUB COLONY OF TIRGINIA. 
 
 Having sailed ou the 27th clay of April, they " scented" the 
 Tvesteru shore on the 2nd of July : — 
 
 "We foiuicl shole vi-atcr, where we smelt so sweete and so strong a smel, as it" we 
 had bene in the midst of some delicate garden abounding with all kinde of odoriferous 
 flowers, by which we were assured that the land could not be faiTe distant: and 
 keeping good watch, and bearing but slackc sailc, the foiirth of tlie same moneth we 
 aiTived upon the coast, which we supposed to be a continent." 
 
 They landed, and took possession of the same, " in the riglit of 
 the Queen's most excellent Majestie." The only white people ever 
 seen upon those coasts belonged to a ship that had been wrecked there 
 some five-and-tweuty years before, of which they obtained an aceoimt 
 from the natives. They brought to England with them two savages. 
 
 In the year 1585 Sir Richard Grenville made another voyage ou 
 behalf of Sir "Walter, sailing from Plymouth on the 9tli day of Ajjril, 
 1585 ; the fleet consisting of seven ships, of large and small tonnage. 
 On the 29th, they fell in with a Spanish frigate, which they captiu'ed ; 
 the next day they took another, " with good and rich freight, and 
 divers Spaniards of accoiint in her, which afterwards we ransoramed for 
 good round summes." A number of persons who went Avith this 
 expedition remained a whole year in A^irginia, for the jmrpose of testing 
 the nature of the climate, and they communicated to Sir AValtei" a 
 glowing account of the country, and of the capacity for vessels, of the 
 ports upon its coast. 
 
 A third voyage was made in 15S6, by a ship despatched I'or the 
 relief of the settlers, "at the sole charges of Sir AValter Raleigh." 
 Tlie colony had fallen into want, but had begun to groAv corn, and other 
 things necessary for their subsistence. Sir Francis Drake, returning 
 from sacking St. Domingo, called at Virginia to see hoAV his countrymen 
 fared. He left them three ships of his fleet, so that if relief came not 
 from England, they might return. INEost of the people of the small 
 colony being aboard Sir Erancis Drake's ships, were driven to sea by 
 a storm ; seeing which, the remainder embarked in some vessels Mhich 
 had not started, and the whole of the colony returned to England. 
 
 About fourteen days after this occurrence, Sir Richard Grenville 
 arrived with three ships, and iinding nowhere the colony he had 
 previously left, marvelled greatly ; and, desiring not to lose possession 
 of the country, left fifteen men. The mention of tobacco occurs in 
 an enumeration of the I'oiiiiiKuliiics of \'ii-gitn"a, bv one of the 
 colonists : —
 
 NOirril AMERICA COLO>-IZED. ;j23 
 
 "There is au lierbc wliich is sowed ajiart by itselfe, and is called by tlic inhabitauls 
 Vjppowoc: in the West Indies it hath divers names, according to the several! |>laces 
 and countreys where it groweth and is used : the Spainyards generally call it Tabacco. 
 The leaves thereof being di-ied and brought into i)owder, (hey use to lake the fume or 
 smoake thereof, by sucking it tliorow pipes made of clay, into their stomach and Iiead ; 
 from whence it purgetli superfluous fleame and otlier grosse humours, and openetli all 
 the pores and passages of the body : by A\hieh meancs the use thereof not only 
 preserveth the body ii-om obstructions, but also (if any be, so that they have not bene 
 of too long continuance) in short tunc breaketh them : whereby their bodies are 
 notably preseiTcd in health, and know not many grevious diseases, were withall wc in 
 JEngland are often times aflheted." 
 
 Potatoes find tlie following mention : — 
 
 " OpenarJc are a kinde of roots of round fonne, some of the bignessc of Walnuts, 
 some farre greater, which are found in moist and marish grounds growing many 
 together one by another in ropes, as though they were fastened with a string. Being 
 boiled or sodden, they are very good meat. Monardes calleth these roots, Beads or 
 Paternostri. of Santa Helena.''^ 
 
 In the year 1587, Sir Walter Ealeigh despatclied three ships, with 
 about one hundred and fifty emigrants, to plant and extend the 
 colony. There went in this expedition one John "White, who was 
 appointed by Sir Walter to be the Governor, and twelve assistants, to 
 whom a charter of incorporation was given, under the title of " the 
 Governor and Assistants of the City of Ealeigh, in Virginia." Sailing 
 from Portsmouth on the 26th of April, they anchored at Cowes, in tlie 
 Isle of Wight, the same daj% and lay there eight days. On the 5th of 
 May they reached Plymouth, and remained there two days. On the 
 16th of July they fell in with the land of Virginia, which they mistook 
 for an island ; they I'ode there two or three days, and were nearly cast 
 away, on account of their ignoi'ance of the coast. They went on sliore 
 in search of the former fifteen, " but found none of them, nor any sign 
 that they had been there, saving onely wee found tlie bones of one of 
 those fifteeue, which the savages had slaine tlie day before." They went 
 further over land, hoping stdl to find some traces of the former settlers, 
 but found only their houses standing unhurt, the lower rooms being 
 completely overgrown with melons of various sorts. This cohmy 
 succeeded in establishing themselves ; they were befriended by the two 
 savages, Manteo and Towaze, who were brought to England, and taken 
 back again by the colonists. There were in all ninety-one men, 
 seventeen women, nine boys, and two childi-en bom soon aftci* 
 the emigrants reached Virginia. Thus was the groat continent of 
 North America first colonized by people of British blood.
 
 324 SIE THOMAS C'.VTENDISn. 
 
 In the year 1586, Thomas Cavendish undertook an expedition, 
 which resulted in tlie second En(jlisli circumnavigation of ilie gJole. 
 His father had died in 1572, leaving to him a large fortune, which 
 he soon squandered. To repair his losses, he resolved to engage in 
 a predatory expedition against the transatlantic dependencies of Spain, 
 which had previously afforded so much booty to Sir Francis Drake. 
 The expedition w^as mainly fitted out by Cavendish himself, for which 
 piu'pose he mortgaged the remnant of his estates. His squadron 
 consisted only of three small ships, one of a hundred and twenty tons, 
 and two of sixty and forty tons respectively ; and the united crews, 
 officers and men, numbered only 123. The mind of every one of 
 these adventurers Avas inflamed with ideas of plunder. Cavendish 
 embarked in the largest ship, and sailed from Plymouth on the 21st of 
 July, 15SG. 
 
 Crossing the Atlantic, after touching for a few days at Sierra Leone, 
 he ran along the continent of South America, as far as the Straits of 
 jMagalhaen, into which he sailed on the Gth of January, 1587. It took 
 him thirty-three days to clear the Straits. "When he reached the Pacific 
 Ocean (21th of February), he turned northward, and soon came to the 
 scene of action which he had selected as likely to furnish most boot}-. 
 The men fought and pillaged without control, and suffered considerable 
 loss. Tliey burnt Paita, Acapulco, and other settlements, on or near 
 the coast ; they took some Spanish ships, destroyed others, and 
 ravaged the sea-board of Chili, Peru, and New Spain. But the 
 crowning bloAV of the expedition, and that on which Cavendish counted 
 for wealth and honour, was the capture of the annual galleon, the ^S*^. 
 Anna, which was laden with valuable merchandise, and contaiacd 
 122,000 Spanish dollars in specie. This ship was 700 tons burden, and 
 well manned ; yet, after lying in ambush for her under Cape Lucas, on 
 the coast of California, the English, whose number, small at first, was 
 reduced by battle and sickness, attacked and boarded her. After this, 
 Cavendish, starting from California, crossed the Pacific to the Ladronc 
 Islands, whence he sailed through the Indian Archipelago and the 
 Straits of Java to the Cape of Good Hope. He then made for England, 
 and reached J'lymouth on tlie 9tli of September, 15SS, having been 
 absent no more tlian two years, one month, and nineteen days, the 
 sliortest period in which the circumnavigation of the globe had been 
 effected. 
 
 Cavendish had the merit of making some geographical corrections ;
 
 SIB THOMAS CAVi;>J)ISII. 325 
 
 lie estimated at its proper lenj^tli the distaueo from Java to tlio Capo 
 of Good Hope, wliich the Portuguese; had greatly exaggerated; and 
 accomplished much towards the hydrography of the Straits of 
 Magalhaen. He was also the first to point out to the English the 
 local advantages of St. Helena, which before had been resorted to only 
 by the Portuguese. He touched at that island, which he described 
 as covered with trees. 
 
 On his return Elizabeth knighted him ; and from the portion of the 
 spoils that feU to his share as capitalist and commander, Sir Thomas 
 Cavendish was said, in the language of the time, to have been " rich 
 enough to purchase a fair earldom." But in three years he was a poor 
 man again, and to better his foi-tunes, once more turned his eyes to the 
 New "World ; and on the 26tli of August, 1591, sailed from Plymouth' 
 having under his command " three tall ships and two barks," suitably 
 • equipped. But henceforth the genius of Cavendish seems to have 
 deserted him. Insubordination, siclcness, hunger, desertion, and 
 tempestuous weather conspired to render abortive the plans of the 
 commander, who, after capturing and pillaging the toAvai of Santos, iu 
 Brazil, died on his voyage home, heart broken from want, mental 
 anguish, and fatigue.* 
 
 The following passages selected from " The Admirable and Prosperous 
 Voyage of the worshipful Master Thojnas Cavindish, of Trimly, in the 
 countie of Suffolke, Esquirre, into tlie South Sea, and from thence round 
 about the circumference of the whole earth. Written by Master Francis 
 Pretty, lately of Ely in SufFolke, a gentleman employed in the same action," 
 will afford fiu'ther evidence of the spirit in whicli such enterprises were 
 carried out. .Arrived at Sieri'a Leone, 
 
 " On Monday morning, being the 29th day, our Gencrall landed with 70 men or 
 hereabout, and went up to their townc, where we burnt 2 or 3 houses, and took what spoile 
 wee would, which was but little, but all the people fled." 
 
 They fell in with a barque which had been despatched to warn some 
 of the Spanish settlers of their coming : — 
 
 " There were in the sayde barke one Fleming and three Spaniards ; and they were all 
 sworne and received the sacrament before they came to sea by three or four friers, that 
 if wee Ihould chance to meete them, they fhould throw those letters over boord, which (as 
 wee were giving them chase with our pinnefse) before wee could fetch them up, they 
 had accordingly throwen away. Yet our Generall wrought so with them, that they did 
 confesse It: but hee was faine to cause them to bee tormented with their thumbcs in a winch, 
 
 * Rose's " Biograpliical Dictionary."
 
 32G SIR THOMAS catendisk. 
 
 and to continue them at severall times with extreme paine. Also he made tlic old Flemming 
 beleeve that hee would hang him ; and the rope being about his necke hee was pulled up a 
 little from the hatches, and yet hee would not confefse, chusing rather to die, then hee would 
 be perjured. In the end it was confefsed by some of the Spaniards, whereupon wee burnt the 
 barke, and carried the men with us." 
 
 Tliey landed at the town of Paita — 
 
 "Which was very well builded, and marvellous cleane kept in eveiy strcete, with a 
 towne-house or guild-hall in the middeft, and had to the number of two hundred houses at 
 the leaft in it. Wee set it on fire to the ground, and goods to the value of five or sixe 
 thoufand pounds; there was also a barke riding in the roade, which wee set on fire, and 
 departed, directing our course to the island of Puna." 
 
 They found the Island of Puna almost as large as the Isle of Wight, 
 with fair gardens and orchards, and plenty of herbs. After committing 
 various depredations — 
 
 "Wee set fire to the towne, and burnt it to the ground, having in it to the number 
 of three hundred houses ; and Ihortly after made havock of their fieldes, orchards, and 
 gardens, and burnt some great fliips which were in building on the ftocks." 
 
 They lauded at a haven called Puerto de Xatividad, set the houses 
 on fire, and burnt two ships of 200 tons each. After they had 
 captured the Great St. Anna, the General, " of his great mcrcie and 
 humanitie," spared the lives of the people on board that ship, but turned 
 them ashore, and gave them some provisions. The great amount of 
 plunder derived from this capture had nearly destroyed the future 
 progress of the expedition, for in the di^^sion of the booty a mutiny 
 broke out, but it afterwards subsided. The pilot, whom they had 
 kidnapped from the Great St. Anna, and pressed into their service, 
 having sent a letter to some of towns to the effect that the English 
 ships had been burning and sacking all the places along the coast, the 
 (reneral ordered him to be hanged. Such were the acts which 
 cliaracterized the Cavendish expedition, and of whieli he wrote to 
 the Lord Cliamberlaine upon his return : " It hath pleased the Allmighty 
 
 to suffer mce to circompasse the whole globe of the world I 
 
 navigated alongft the coast of Chili, Peru, and Ncuea Espanna, where I made 
 great spoiles: I burnt and sunkc 19 sailcs of fliips, small and great. All the 
 villages and townes that ever I landed at I burnt and spoiled." These 
 expeditions, ostensibly directed against tlie Spaniards, were purely 
 piratical. Tliey had been carried on by Drake before the war broke 
 out, and were one of causes of tlie attempted invasion iu 158S. In
 
 UNSUCCESSFUL EXPEDITION TO THE EAST INDIES. 327 
 
 niauy of the i)laces sacked by Cavendish, there were oi)ly a liaudtul 
 of Spaniards among a considerable population. 
 
 Three large ships, the Penelope, the Jlerchaut Eoyal, and the 
 Edward Bonaventure, were fitted out at Plymouth in 1591, under the 
 command of Mr. George Eaymond, and sailed on the 10th of April for 
 the coast of Guinea and the East Indies. They departed on the 10th 
 of April, and on the 1st of August came to an anchor in a bay fifteen 
 leagues north of the Cape of Good Hope. Here they continued several 
 days, and traded with the blacks for cattle ; when, finding many of 
 their men had died, they sent back the lioj/al Merchant with fifty 
 men, there being too few hands to work the three ships, if they 
 proceeded on their voyage. The Penelope and Bonaventure proceeded, 
 and doubled the Cape of Good Hope ; but coming to Cape Corrientes 
 on the 14th of September, a violent storm parted them, and they 
 never met again ; the Peneloj)e was never more heard of, but the 
 Bonaventure held on the voyage. Passing by Mozambique, they came 
 to the island Conera, Avhere the Moorish people, after much pretence 
 of friendship, killed thirty-two of the men, and stole a boat ; which 
 obliged the vessel with all haste to put to sea. After much delay by 
 contrary winds the ship doubled Cape Comori, opposite the Island of 
 Ceylon, in the month of May, 1592. Thence in six days, with a strong 
 wind, she came mDon the Island of Gomes Polo, near the northern- 
 most point of the Island of Sumatra ; and the winter season coming on, 
 stood over to the Island of Pulo Pinao, lying near the coast of 
 Malacca, and there remained until the end of August, during which 
 time twenty-six of the men died. Then the captain directed his 
 course along the coast of Malacca, and, like his predecessors, indulged 
 in exploits more characteristic of the pirate than the discoverer ; having 
 taken some prizes, he sought to return home ; but being detained 
 by equinoctial calms, the ship's stores ran short, and they called at 
 the AVest Indies to get supplies. There, Avhilc the captain and some 
 of the crew had gone on shore, leaving a boy and five men on 
 board, the latter cut the cables, and sailed away with the ship. 
 
 In the year 1593, Sir Eichard Hawkins, son of Sir Jolui Hawkins, 
 undertook another voyage to the South Sea. His published " Obser- 
 vations"* are interesting, as aftording proof of the narrow limits of 
 geographical and nautical knowledge, even on the part of those who 
 
 * " The Observations of Sir Eichard Hawkins, Knight, in his Voyage into tho 
 South Sea." London, 1622.
 
 328 SIR ETCHAKD ir.UVKTNS. 
 
 enjoyed the greatest advantages of the age. Foi* his expedition he had 
 a ship expressly built : she was "betwixt three and foure liundred tunnes, 
 which was finifhcd in that perfection as could be required. For ihe was 
 pleasing to the eye, profitable for stowage, good of sayle, and well-conditioned." 
 This ship was to be attended by another of one hundred tons, and a 
 pinnace of sixty tons. The vessel met with a mishap at the outset, 
 the nature of which, with the other instances mentioned by Sir 
 Kiehard, are iudi('ative of neglects and disasters which were of 
 frequent occurrence : — 
 
 " Having taken my unhappy last leave of my fother, Sir 'John Ha'zvklns, I tooke my 
 barge, and rowed downe the river, and comming to Barking, we might see my fhip at an 
 anchor, in the midft of the channell, where fhips are not wont to more themselves ; this 
 bred in me some alteration. And comming aboord her, one and otlier began to recant the 
 perill they had part of lofse of Ihip and goods, which was not little ; for the winde being at 
 eaft north-eaft, when they set sayle, and vered out southerly ; it forced them for the doubling 
 of a point to bring their tacke aboard, and looffing up 5 the winde freiliing, sodenly the /Hipp 
 began to make a little hele ; and for that fliec was very deepe loaden, and her ports open, 
 the water began to enter in at them j which no bodie having regard unto, thinking them- 
 selves safe in the river, it augmented in such maner, as the waight of the water began to 
 prefse downe the side, more then the winde. At length when it was scene, and the shete 
 flowne, shee could hardly be brought upright. But God was pleased that with the diligence 
 and travell of the company, shee was freed of that danger : which may be a gentle warning 
 to all such as take charge of /hipping, even before they set sayle, eyther in river or harbour, 
 or other part, to have an eye to their ports, and to see those fliut and callked, which may 
 cause danger j for avoyding the many mifhaps which dayly chance for the negleft thereof, 
 and beene moft lamentable speftacles and examples unto us : experiments in the Great 
 Harry. Admirall of England, which was overset and suncke at Pcrtsmoitth, with her Cap- 
 talne, carew, and the moft part of his company drowned in a goodly summer's day, with a 
 little flawe of w-lnde ; for that her ports were all open, and making a small hele, by them 
 entered their destruftion j where if they had beene ihut, no wind could have hurt her, 
 especially in that place. 
 
 " In the river of Thames, Mafter Thomas Candlsh had a small Hiip over-set through the same 
 negligence. And one of the Fleete of Syr Francis Drake, in Santo Domingo Harbour, turned 
 her keele upward likewise, upon the same occasion j with many others, which wee never 
 have knowledge of." 
 
 This mischance so disheartened his mariners, that they would not 
 proceed any further except she were lightened. He was accordingly 
 obliged to obtain another ship and transfer to her a part of the 
 cargo. By the time they had reached Cape Blanco, the scurvy had 
 wasted more than half of the men, and it was found necessary to 
 burn one of the ships. 
 
 * "Hawkins's Voyages," ]). 5, sect. ii.
 
 SIR KTCIIAIID HAWKI3fS. 329 
 
 They met witli a Portuguese ship, Avliieli tlicy seized, and took out 
 of lier a good quantity of meal and sugar. On board tliis vessel 
 there was a Portuguese Icnight, together with his wife and daughter. 
 The knight was old, and complained that after many years' service 
 for his king, he was brought to that poor estate, and for tlie support of 
 his wife, daughter, and himself, he had no other substance but 
 what was on board the ship. This moved their compassion, and 
 they gave him the ship, taking only some of the meal and sugar, 
 and depriving the men of their arms. The feeling of compassion was 
 evidently iniluenced by the fact that what they had on board was of 
 " no great moment." Then they continued their course for the Straits, 
 the "people much animated with this unlooked-for refreshing, and praised 
 God for his bountie, providence, and grace extended towards us." When 
 off the coast of Brazil, one of the ships, giving them no signal, took 
 advantage of a foir \vind to desert the expedition and return to 
 England. 
 
 Remarking upon the frequency of such desertions, and referring to 
 several special instances. Sir Hichard observes : — " These absentings and 
 escapes are made most times onely to pilfer and stcale, as well by taking of 
 some prize when they are alone, and without command, to hinder or order 
 their bad proceedings, as to appropriate that which is in their intruilcd fliip ; 
 calling the fault, if they may be called into account, upon some poore 
 and unknowne Mariners, whom they suffer with a little pillage to absent 
 themselves, the cunninglier to colour their greateft disorders and robberies.'' 
 
 Shortly after this event, they were encouraged by the capture of 
 five ships, one having a good supply of gold on board. In the midst of 
 these plunderings they deprecated the want of honesty on the part of 
 those whom they captured : — 
 
 " In this fhip we had some good quantitie of gold, which fhee had gathered in BalJi-via, 
 and the Conception, from whence flic came. Of this /hippe was pilot, and part owner, 
 Ahn-zo Ferc%hucno, whom we kept for our pilot on this coaft ; till moved with compafsion 
 (for that he was a man charged with wife and children) we set him afhore betwixt Santa and 
 Truxillo. Out of this fliippe we had also ftore of good bacon, and some provision of bread, 
 hennes, and other victuall. And for that ihee had brought us so good a portion, and her owner 
 continued with us, the better to animate him to play the honeft man (though we trufted him no 
 further than we saw him, for we presently discovered him to be a cunning fellow), and for that 
 his other partner had loft the greateft part of gold, and seemed to be an honeft man, as after 
 he prooved by his thankfialnefs, in Lyma ; we gave them the ftiip, and the greateft part of 
 her loading freely." 
 
 Some difficulties arose respecting the division of the spoil, the
 
 330 SIR RICIIABD H.VWKINS. 
 
 particulars of wliicli sliow that tbe robbers entcrtaiued a sti'ong distrust 
 of each other : — 
 
 " Leaving the coaft of C/iili, and running towards that of Peru, my company required the 
 third of the gold we had gotten, which of right belonged unto them ; wherein I desired to 
 give them satisfaction of my juft intention, but not to divide it till we came home, and so 
 perswaded them with the beft reasons 1 could ; alleging the difficultie to divide the barres, 
 and being parted, how easie it was to be robbed of them, and that many would play away 
 their portions, and come home as beggerly as they came out ; and that the fliares could not be 
 well made before our return to England, because every man's merits could not be discerned 
 nor rewarded till the end of the voyage. In conclusion, it was resolved and agreed, that the 
 things of price, as gold and silver, fliould be put into chefts with three keys, whereof I fhould 
 have the one, the mafter another, and the third some other person, whom they fliould name. 
 This they yeelded unto with great difficultie, and not without reason ; for the bad corres- 
 pondence used by many captains and owners with their companies upon their retume, 
 defrauding them or diminiihing their rights, hath hatched many jealousies, and produced many 
 disorders, with the overthrow of all good discipline and government, as experience teacheth ; 
 for where the souldier and marriner is unpaide, or defrauded, what service or obedience can be 
 required at his hands ?" 
 
 !K'o discoveries of any importance resulted from this expedition, and 
 but few observations were made of any moment to navigators. A 
 division of tbe Spanish armada ultimately fell in with Sir Eichard 
 Hawkins's ships, and after a rixnning fight, which lasted several days, 
 the English flag was struck, but the prisoners were treated with a 
 lenity which they little merited. 
 
 In September, 1594, " the worshipfull John Wats, Alderman, worshipfull 
 Paul Banning, Alderman, and others of the citv of London, victualled three 
 good ships " for an expedition to the coast of Brazil. The ships were 
 placed tinder the principal command of Captain James Lancaster, who 
 had previously sailed with a squadron to the East Indies, and committed 
 various depredations in the Islands of Ceylon and Sumatra, but who, 
 rettrrning home, was driven upon an island on the coast of Africa, and 
 deserted by his crew. He escaped in a French vessel, however, and 
 landed at Eye. 
 
 The squadron consisted of three ships, one of 210 tons, one of 170 
 tons, and a third of 60 tons. The crews amounted to 275 men and 
 boys. They had been only a short time at sea when they began their 
 acts of legalized piracy. Their first capture was a Spanish ship of 80 
 tons, laden with Canary wine, which the chronicler of the voyage 
 quaintly says, "came not unto us before it was welcome." 
 
 Arrived at the port of Pernambuco, and seeing some heavily laden 
 carracks lying therein, Lancaster determined to assault the place, and
 
 Slli UK'II MM) II WVKINS. 331 
 
 hauled liis sliips up iu uttuckiui;- ordi'i-. A few paHiculars of Hie 
 capture of the town will show the npiril and iiianmr in wlilcli tlu-so 
 marauding expeditions wei*e conducted : — 
 
 "About 12 of the clock the Governor of the towne sent a Portingale 
 aboord the Admirall's sliip, to know wluit he would have and wherefore 
 he came ? 
 
 " He returned him this answer : * That he wanted tlie carraek's goods ; 
 and for them he came, and them he would have, and that he should 
 shortly see.' " 
 
 Pernanibuco was soon in possession of the assailants, after a feeble 
 resistance on the part of the iidiahitants, who fled in every direction. 
 The to\vii consisted of about a hiindi-cd houses, and iu it wen- ioinid 
 "great store of merchandizes of all sorts: as Braxil-wood, sugars, calico- 
 cloth, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, maze, nutmegs, with divers other good 
 things, to the comfort of us all." The Admiral went up and down the 
 town, and insisted that there should be no pilla<;iui,% but Ihat all 
 the goods should be collected, and liiirly divided. 
 
 After they had been in possession of the town for sonu' dajs, and 
 while they Avere heaping togetlier the things they had seized, some of 
 the inhabitants showed a disposition to treat with them, which 
 was thus met by the British Admiral: — 
 
 " Tlio tliird day aflcr our coiniuiiig in, fiiiiu' downe iVom (Iu- liiglior (owiio, wliidi 
 might bo about four miles oil" upon a hill, thi'ce or foure of the priucipall gontlonicn 
 of the country, and sayd that from the bishop, themselves, and the rest, Ihey would 
 Iiavc some eonlerence with our Adinii-all. This iiewcs being bi-ought lo the Aduiirall, 
 ho hung downe his head for a .small season ; and when ho had muzed awhile, lu' 
 answered, I must go aboord of Ibe Flemings upon busiues that importeth me, and, 
 thci'cforc let them stay if they will : and so ho went and sat there with the Tlemings 
 from nine of the clocke till (wo at (he afternoone. In (his space divers messengers 
 went to the Admirall, to come away; for (heso gonllemen stayd. To whom he gave 
 this answere : Ai'o they not gone }e( ? And abo\d (wo of the clocke he came aland, 
 and then they tolde him they were departed. Many of the better sort of our men 
 marvelled, and thought much, because he woidd not vouchsafe to come, and have 
 conference with such men of aecoiuit as they seemed to be. But the Admirall made 
 them this answei'e. Sirs, I liave been brought np among this people ; I have lived 
 among them as a gentleman, served with them as a soidcher, and Uved among as a 
 merchant, so that I should have some inulers(anding of their demeanors and nature ; 
 and I know when they cannot prevaile will I the sword by force, then (hey deal with 
 their deceivable tongues ; for faith and truelh they have none, neither will use any 
 iinlesse it be to their owne advantage. And this I give you warning, that if you give 
 them parle, they will betray ; and for my part, of all nations in the world, it would 
 wreivo mo most to be overtalcen by this nation and the Spainards : and I am glad it 
 was my fortune to pay them with one of their owne fetches, for I warrant you they
 
 332 THE EARL OE CUMBERLAND. 
 
 undevstancl me better than you tliink they do. And with tliis I pray you be satisfied ; 
 I liope it is for all oui* goods ; for tvhat shall we gain it/ parle when {l)tf the help of 
 God) we have gotten already that ive came for ? Should toe venture that we have gotte 
 with our suiords, to see if they can take it from us hg loords or policy ? there were no 
 wisdome in so doing. You know what it hath cost us, and how many men he woimded 
 that be not yet hole of this other night's liurts : and, therefore, from henceforth I 
 give this commission, that if any be taken, he be sent away with tliis order, although 
 he come as a friend, tliat if cither he or any other approach us from hencefoi'th, he 
 shall be hanged out of hand : and other com'se then this I will not take with them. 
 Wliich course was followed j for, witliin 3 or 4 dayes after, it was performed by two 
 taken in the night." 
 
 In tlie year 1596 tlie Earl of Cumberland, afterwards the principal 
 adventurer in tlie first establishment of the East India Company, fitted 
 out an expedition and put to sea. In the account of his voyage, 
 written by himself, it is plainly manifest that no rights were respected, 
 and that the great motive to action, though sometimes under the 
 pretence of war, was nothing else than robbery npon the high seas. He 
 describes his sliip as painted black, which well furthered his device, 
 because " though she were great, yet she showed not afar-off." He was 
 loolving oTit for some rich carracks, and therefore would not pursue 
 some smaller prizes which presented themselves. But when needed, lie 
 laid hold of Portuguese, Hamburgh, French, or other craft, as suited 
 his jiurpose. He reached the Canaries, where lie heard of a rich 
 marqnis, "worth 100,000/. if he could be taken suddenly." He therefore 
 sailed " under a itrange and ancient flagge,"a ul landing a party of soldiers, 
 not accompanying them himself, " fearing an ague," to prevent which he 
 remained on board, " took physic, and was let bloud." The soldiers 
 stormed the marquis's castle, but found no marquis, nor aught else, save 
 a few pieces of ordnance, and some wine, with which they debauched 
 themselves, the effects of which rendered the victory too dear. 
 
 jMiout the year IGOO a company of Merchant Adventurers was 
 established in London, for the better purpose of " the discoverie for 
 the trade of the East Indies." Among the names of the adventurers 
 are to be found those of (xeorge Earl of Cumberland, William 
 Cavendish, Esq., John "Wats, Paul Banning, James Lancaster, and 
 others, whose names have been mentioned in connection Avith previous 
 expeditions, but who now appear to liave contemjdated the more 
 honourable and profitable design of establishing trade with the East. 
 Tlie capital of the company amounted to £72,000 ; they fitted out four 
 vessels, with four hundred and eighty men, which were entrusted to the
 
 ORIGIN or THE EAST INDIAX COMPANY. 333 
 
 command of Captain James Lancaster. The expedition sailed, from tbe 
 Thames on the 13th of February, IGOO. The ships had not got beyond 
 Torbay on the 2nd of April, and it was the 1st of November before they 
 doubled the Cape of Good Hope. That the opening of trade was 
 substantially the object of the expedition, is evident from the fact that 
 about £27,000 in merchandize and Spanish money was shipped for the 
 purpose. The patent granted to them by Quee]i Elizabeth, after 
 reciting the names of the adventurers, ran thus : — " have of our certain 
 knowledge been petitioners unto us, for our Royal Assent and License to 
 be granted unto them, that they, at their own adventures, costa and charges, 
 as well for the honour of this our Rcalnic of England, as for the 
 increase of our navigation, and advancement of trade of merchandize 
 within our said realmes, and the dominions of the same, might adventure 
 might set, forth one or more voyages, with convenient number of ships 
 and pynnaces, by way of traffique and merchandize to tlie East 
 Indians," etc. 
 
 But, in accordance with the spirit of the times, the expeditionists 
 could not resist the temptation of indulging in privateering whenever 
 an opportunity occurred. This voyage forms so interesting and 
 important an event in the history of British navigation and commei'ce, 
 that it merits especial consideration, being, in fact, the origin of the East 
 India Company, and of our trade with the Indian Islands and Empire. 
 
 They sailed from Torbay on the 2nd of April, for the Canaries, and 
 on the 5th of ]May they caught sight of one of the islands. On the 7th 
 of May they left the Canaries for the Guinea Coast ; and from the 20th 
 of May to the 20th of June, they were becalmed. Meeting with 
 a Portuguese ship, they chased her, made her a prize, and took from 
 her a hundred and forty-six butts of vsdnc, twelve barrels of oil, 
 and a great quantity of provisions. 
 
 On the last day of June, about midnight, they crossed the line. 
 Soon afterwards their men began to fall sick of the scurvy, and when 
 the}' arrived at Soldaria, for the purpose of refreshing, the men were 
 so weak that they could scarcely let go the anchors. Here they made 
 an encampment for the sick men on the shore ; obtained fresh meat 
 from the natives, and recovered strength. On the 29th of October, 
 1601, they again put to sea. On the 7th of December they first saw 
 the Island of St. ]Mary (Madagascar), and they lay here, again 
 refreshing their crews, until the 23rd of December; on the 25th 
 they ran into the Bay of Antongill. Here they heard of five Holland
 
 334 OETGIX OF TJIE EAST I^-DIA]S' COMPAT^T. 
 
 vessels that had beeu there two months before, their creAvs very sick, so 
 that they had lost from a hundred and fifty to two hundred men. 
 
 On the Gth of ]\rarch, 1602, they again set sail, and met another 
 island in lOJ" south latitude. Here they cruised about for some 
 time, apparently with little knowledge of their course, until, on the 9th 
 of May, they had sight of the Islands of Nicobar. They stayed here 
 ten days. On the 20th of April, they altered their course, and sailed 
 for the Island of Sumatra. The wind, however, proving adverse, they 
 were driven to another island north of JS'icobar, where, from frequently 
 striking upon coral reefs, in their Avay through the Indian Ocean, the 
 slu'ps Avere all leaky. On the 29th of May, they set sail from Sombrero, 
 and on the 2nd of June had sight of the land of Sumatra. On the 5th 
 of June they came to anchor in the roads of Acben, where they 
 concluded the first treaty of amity and commerce with the king, and 
 received as a present for the queen, " a ring of gold, beautified with a 
 ruby, richly placed in his sctc, two vcfturcs woven with gold, enclosed in a 
 red box of tzin." 
 
 In the Straits of jMalacca, the}^ captured a rich carrack : — 
 
 " The (liird day of October, we being in the Straits of Malacca, laying off and on, 
 tlie Hector espyed a sayle, and calling to the rest of the shippcs, we all descried her, 
 and being toward night, a pressent du'ection was given, that we should all spread om-- 
 selves a mile and an halfe, one from another, that she might not passe us in the night. 
 The shippe fell with the Hector, that Ih'st espyed her, and pressently she called vmto 
 her, and shot off two or three pieces of ordnance ; so that the rest of the sliippes had 
 intelligence, and drew aU about her, and began to attempt her witli their great 
 ordnance, and she returned sliot again. But when the Admiral's sliip came u]i, 
 he discharged sixe peeces together out of his prow, and then her maine yard fell 
 downe. After that she shot no more, nor any of our shippes, fearing least some 
 iinfoi-tvmate shot might light betweene wind and water, and so sinke her (for the 
 Oenerall was very carefnll) ; so the fight ceased till the morning. At the breake of 
 day, the Captain, with some of the rest, entered their boate, and the Hector being next 
 licr, called (hem to come aboord him, and Maister John Middleton, the Captain, being 
 Yicc-Admirall, broiight the boate and Captain aboord the Grcnerall, to whom they 
 rendered tlunr shippe and goods. Tlie (ionerall pressently caused all the chiefe men of 
 tlio Prize to be placed aboord our shippes, and oncly placed but foure of our men 
 .-iboord the Prize, for fear of rilling and pillaging the goods that were within her, and 
 1 1 lose foure sullbred none other to come aboori]. And their charge was, if any thing 
 >lioidd be missuig, to answer the same out of their wages and shares, for when 
 ilie shippes was imladen, the boatswainc and the marriners of the same ship]ie 
 did wholly mdade her, and none of ours came within her to doe any labour. Only 
 llicy received the goods into their boats, and carried tliem aboord such sliippes as the 
 (lenerall appointed them to doe; so that by tliis order there was neither rifling, 
 Iheeving, ])illaging, or sjioiling, wich othenvisc would hardly have becnc avoydcd in 
 such businesse as this. Witlnn li\c or sixe daies, we had unladen her of nine himcb-cd
 
 ORIGIN or THE EAST INDIAN COMPANY. iV.io 
 
 and fiftie pactes of Calicoes, and Pintadoes, besides many packets of Merchandize; she 
 had in hex- much Eice, and other goods, Avlicreof we made small account. Now a storm 
 arising all tlieir men were set aboord, and we left her, riding at an anchor. This sliiijiie 
 came fi-om a place called St. Thomas, that lyeth in the Bay of Bengala, and was goiii" 
 for Malacca. Wlien we intercepted her, she had in her about sixc liundred persons, 
 Men, Women, and Chilch-en ; her burthen was nine hundred tuns. Tlie Gcncrall 
 would never goe aboord to see liei% and liis reason was, to take away suspicion, both 
 from the Marriners that were there, and the Merchants that were at London, least 
 they might charge, or suspect him for any dishonest deaUng, by helping himselfe 
 thereby. He was very glad of this good hap, and very thankfidl to God for it, and as 
 lie told me, he was much bound to God, that had eased hun of a very heavv care, and 
 that hee coidd not be thankfidl enougli to him for this blessing given liim. For, saith 
 he, he liath not onely suppUed my necessities, to lade these sliips I have, but 
 hath given me as much as will lade as many more shippes as I have, if I had them to 
 lade. So that now my care is not for money, but rather, where I sliall leave these 
 goods that I liave, more then enough, in safety, till the retuini of the ships out 
 of England." 
 
 On the 9th of November, they departed, having seut one of tlie ships 
 with letters to England. Having stopped at some other islands, tliev 
 entered the Straits of Huuda, and passed thence into the Eoads of 
 Bantam on the 15th of December. They were well received by the 
 officers of the hing, who was a child. Here they both sold and 
 purchased goods, the people of Java behaving well in their dealings. 
 They left eight men and three factors here, for the purpose of making 
 acquaintance with the people, for the better management of future 
 trade. On the 20th of Eebruary, they set sail for England. On 
 the 5th of June, after serious disasters, they reached St. Helena. Tlie 
 crew being again sick of the scurvy, they Avere obliged to lie here, 
 and recover themselves. On the 5th of July, they sailed from St. 
 Helena ; on the 13th, passed the Ascension ; on the 19th, they crossed 
 the Line ; on the 29th of August, they passed the Island of St. 
 Mary ; and on the lltli day of Sej)tember, they arri\ed safely in 
 the Downs. 
 
 The adventurers followed up their first expedition by a second, in 
 the year 1604, under the command of Sir Henry Middleton. Tlu' 
 squadron consisted of four ships, which sailed on the 2nd of April, and 
 came to anchor in Bantam Eoads on the 16th of August. The cre^vs 
 were attacked with scurvy; in one of the ships, out of iifty-tliree 
 men, only ten survived. Two of tl>ese ships were loaded with pe])[)or. 
 They reached the Downs on tlie 6th of May, 1606, one of the yliips 
 being lost. 
 
 The Company despatched the third expedition, consisting of three
 
 336 ORiGix or the east ixdia^t company. 
 
 sliips, iu the year 1607, under the command of AVilliam Keeling. One 
 of the ships parted company; the two others did not arrive at the 
 Island of Sumatra until the following year ; having spent much time 
 along the coast of Africa, and in beating against contrary Avinds. 
 In this YOA^age a settlement of commerce was agreed upon between the 
 commanders of the expedition on behalf of the Queen of England 
 and a Siamese Ambassador, on account of his imperial master. Some 
 observations were made upon monsoons and currents, which must 
 have been a valuable addition to the existing nautical notes. 
 
 In 1608, the Indian merchants sent out the fourth expedition, there 
 being two ships, the Union and the Ascension, commanded by Alexander 
 Sharpy and Eichard Eowles. The ships sailed on the 14th of March, 
 and having spent above a year by the way, and lost the Union in a 
 storm, the Ascension came to anchor before the city of Aden, on the 
 coast of Arabia Felix, on the 8th of April, 1G09. Thence she sailed 
 into the Eed Sea, being tlie Jirst English ship tJiat ever entered if, and 
 on the 10th of June anchored in the roads of the city of Mocha ; and 
 having made a short stay to refit, sailed for the coast of Cambaya, 
 where, refusing to take a pilot, the ship was lost on the shoals, but the 
 men saved, and dispersed on their homeward joui'uey. Few of them 
 ever returned to England. The Union, which separated from the 
 Ascension in a storm, called at the Bay of St. Augvistin, in the Island of 
 Madagascar, where the captain and five more, goiug ashore upon 
 friendly in\4tation, were killed by the natives, who thought to have 
 surprised the ship with their boats, but were beaten off with great 
 loss. Sailing hence, they directed their course to Achen, on the Island 
 of Sumatra, where they took on board pepper ; but, on their home- 
 ward voyage, all tlie men died, except three English and an Indian, 
 who were scarcely alive ; and not being able to manage their sails, the 
 ship was carried upon the coast of Brittany, where the Erench took her 
 into harbour, and most of the lading was saved for company. 
 
 In these latter voyages we find little mention of piratical acts, 
 though there is an account given by Captain William Hawkins of a 
 reprisal made upon English ships by the Portuguese, which, as it shows 
 the spirit and the manners which then prevailed between nations, 
 should be told in Captain Hawkins's own words : — 
 
 " I met -witli some tcnnc or twelve of oiu' men, of the better sort of them, very 
 much frighted, telling me the heaviest newes, as I thought, that ever came unto 
 me, of the taking of the Barkcs by a FoHugal Frigat or two : and all goods and
 
 POETUGUESE EEPKISALfi. 337 
 
 men taken, onely tliey escaped. I demanding in what manner they were taken, and 
 whether they did not fight, their answer was No : M. Marlow would not sullcr them, 
 for that the Portufjals were our friends ; and Bticke, on the other side went to the 
 Portugall without a pawne, and there he betrayed us, for he never came unto us afier. 
 Indeed, BucTcc went upon the oath and faithfid promise of the Captainc, but was never 
 suffered to retume. 
 
 " I presently sent a letter unto the Captaine Major, that he release my men and 
 goods, for that we were Englishmen, and that oiu- Kings had peace and amity togctlier. 
 And that we were sent imto the Mogols country by our King, and with his letter 
 imto the Mogol, for his subjects to trade in his country : and with his ilajestics 
 Commission for the government of liis subjects. And I make no question, but m 
 deHvering backe his Majesties subjects and goods, that it would be weU taken at his 
 King's hands : if tlie contraiy, it would be a means of breach. At the receit of mv 
 letter, the proud Eascall braved so much, as the Messenger told me, most 'N'ilely 
 abusing his Majestic, tearming him King of Fishermen, and of an Island of no import, 
 and a fart for his Commission, scorning to send me any answer. 
 
 " It was my chance the next day, to meete with a Captaine of one of the Portugal 
 Frigats, who came about businesse sent by the Captaine Major. The businesse as I 
 imderstood, was that the Governom" shoidd send me as prisoner unto liim, for that we 
 were Hollanders. I vmderstanding what he was, tooke occasion to speake with him 
 of the abuses offered the Kmg of 'England, and his subjects : his answer was, that 
 these Seas belonged imto the King of Portugall, and none ought to come here 
 without liis hcense. I told him, that the Kmg of Englands hcense was as good as the 
 King of Spaines, and as free for liis subjects as the King of Spaines, and he that 
 saith the contrary, is a traytor, and a viUaine, and so tel your great Captaine, that 
 in abusing the King of England, he is a base viUauie, and a traytor to his King, and 
 that I vrill maintaine it with my sword, if he dare come on shore. I senduig liim 
 a challenge, the Mores perceiving I was much mooved, caused the Portugal to depart. 
 This Portugal some two houres after, came to my house, promising me, that he would 
 procure the hbertie of my men and goods, so that I would be hberall unto him : I 
 entertamed him kindly, and promised hun much, but before he departed the Towne, 
 my men and goods were sent for GoaP 
 
 Notwithstanding the discoveries already recorded, the great ocean, 
 which extends from the tropic of Capricorn to the Antarctic circle, 
 remained unexplored until the commencement of the seventeenth cen- 
 tury. The Spaniards had penetrated into the new world of tlie AVest, 
 and had extended their possessions and conquests there ; the Portu- 
 guese had succeeded in accomplishing a passage round " the Cape of 
 Tempests," opening a highway to the islands of the Indian Archipelago, 
 where the representatives of rival nations began to assemble, and 
 dispute the favour of the island chiefs. 
 
 A consideration of the small proportion of land yet discovered in 
 the Southern Ocean, inspired many minds with the belief that there 
 were still vast continents to be found. There aro, accordingly, historic 
 
 B V
 
 338 DISCOVEKIES BY DE QUIROS, 
 
 traces of various Yoyages for the purpose of exploring tlie Avaters 
 of tlie South ; but the records of them are Yague and unsatisfactory.* 
 It is certain, however, that about the year 1G06, Peter Fernando de 
 Quiros, a flamous pilot, as navigators were then called, undertook a 
 voyage which resulted either directly or indirectly in the discovery 
 of Australia, 
 
 There are extant copies of memorials, addressed by De Quiros to 
 Philip II. of Spain, urging upon his Majesty the further prosecution 
 and settlement of this discovery of what De Quiros styles " the fourth 
 part of the ^vorld, Australia Incognita^ The commencement of his 
 " eighth meuiorial," which embodies a lengthy description of the 
 country or countries discovered, is sufficiently expressive of De 
 Quiros's earnestness, and practical acquaintance with the subject : — 
 
 [translation.] 
 
 <'Sir, — I Captain Pedro Fernandez de Quiros say, That with this I have presented to your 
 Majefty eight Memorials, relative to the settlement, which ought to be made in the country 
 which your Majefty commanded to be discovered in Auftralia Incognita, without, to this 
 time, any resolution being taken with me, nor any reply made me, nor hope given to affure 
 me, that I shall be dispatched ; having now been fourteen months in this court, and having 
 been fourteen years engaged in this cause, without pay, or any other advantage in view, 
 but the succefs of it alone ; wherewith, and through infinite contradidions, I have gone by 
 land and sea 20,000 leagues, spending all my eftate, and incommoding my person, suffering 
 so many and such terrible things, that even to myself they appear incredible ; and all this 
 has come to pafs, that this work of so much goodnefs and benevolence should not be 
 abandoned. In whose name, and all for the love of God, I moft humbly supplicate your 
 Majefty, that you will be pleased not to permit of so many and such continual labours and 
 watchings, and of so noble and determinate a perseverence, that I should fail to reap those 
 fruits which I so much desire and solicit, being, as it is, so much to the honour and glory 
 of God, and to the service of your Majefty, and produftive of innumerable benefits, which 
 shall laft as long as the world subsists, and then be eternal. 
 
 "The magnitude of these countries newly discovered, is judged of, by what I saw, 
 and by what Captain Baez (de Torres) my admiral informed your Majefty on good grounds : 
 its longitude is as much as that of all Europe, Asia Minor, and to the Caspian Sea, and Persia, 
 with all the islands of the Mediterranean and Ocean, which are in its limit embraced, 
 including England and Ireland. That unknown part is a quarter of the whole globe, and 
 so capacious, that it may contain in it double the kingdoms and provinces of all those your 
 
 * The names of Ilernan Gallcgo, Juan Fernandez, anclAIvaro Mendana de Neyra 
 are associated with the earliest expeditions into the Southern Ocean. De Quiros was 
 pilot in the second expedition of Mendana in 1595. Pemandez sailed from Peru to 
 Chili in 1572, and discovered a small group of islands, wliieli afterwards bore Ms 
 name. In 1571, quitting Chili, and steering south-west, he fell in with a large island, 
 which is supposed to have been New Zealand. Mendana discovered the islands of 
 Guadalcanal, St. Cin-istopher, and Isabella, in 15G8 ; and in 1595 the islands of 
 Solomon and the Marquesas. He afterwards discovered Santa Cruz.
 
 DISCOVERIES UY DE (iuinos. 339 
 
 Majefty is at present lord : and that without adjoining to Turks, or Moors, or others of the 
 nations which are accuftomed to disquiet and difturb their neighbours. All the countries 
 seen fall within the torrid zone, and there is part of them which touchcth the cquinoftial, 
 whose latitude may, perhaps, be of 90 deg. and others of somewhat lefs, and if it comes 
 to pafs as it promises, there will be countries, which will be antipodes to the better part 
 of Africa, and a.\\ Europe, and the reft of all Asia Major (and will not be inferior to them)." 
 
 The vast extent of the new country, so particularly pointed out by 
 De Quiros, is uni'avom-able to the supposition entertained by some 
 authors, that the Australia which he discovered was only one of the 
 islands belonging to the Archipelago of the jSTew Hebrides. This 
 opinion is probably fcunded upon the description which De Quiros 
 gives of the animal and vegetable productions that came under his 
 observation. It must be remembered, however, that he gives a 
 general account of all that he saw, and that he docs not distiugui.sh 
 the natural characteristics of particular islands or lands, either 
 large or small. Hence the description given of the whole may be 
 inapplicable to Australia as a part. 
 
 The manner in which De Quiros obtained information from a 
 native cliief respecting the islands which he afterwards visited, is 
 full of interest. His ships lay at anchor, for ten days, in a bay of 
 an island called Tarmaco. Tumay, the chief of that island, befriended 
 them, and supplied their wants. "This person," says De Quiros, 
 *' came on board the ship to see me, and in it I examined him in the 
 following manner : — 
 
 "Flrft, I ihowed him his ifland and the sea, and our fliips and people, and pointed to all 
 parts of the horizon, and made other certain figns ; and by them a/ked him, if he had seen 
 Ihips and men like ours ? and to this he replied no. 
 
 "I afked him, if he knew of other lands, far or near, inhabited or uninhabited ? and as 
 soon as he underftood me, he named above sixty iflands, and a large countr)-, which he called 
 Mankolo. I wrote down all, having before me the compafs to know in what direction each 
 Jay, which were found to be from his ifland to the S.E., S.S.E., W. and N.E. ; and to 
 explain which were sm^all, he made small circles, and pointed to the sea with his finger, and 
 made figns that it surrounded the land ; and for the larger, he made large circles and the 
 same figns ; and for that large country he opened both his arms, without joining them again, 
 iTiowing that it extended without end ; and to make known which were the diftant or were 
 nearer, he pointed to the sun from E. to W., reclined the head on one hand, (hut his eyes, 
 and counted by his fingers the nights which they flept on the way ; and by figns (hewed 
 which people were Whites, Negroes, Indians, and Mulattoes, and which were mixed, and 
 which were friends and enemies ; and that in some iflands they eat human flesh, and for tins 
 he made figns of biting his arm, (hewing clearly that he hated this people ; and in this, and 
 by means of other figns, what he said was underftood, and it was repeated so often that he 
 seemed to be tired ; and pointing with his hand to S.S.E. and other points, gave them fully 
 to underftand what other lands they were. He (hewed a defire of returning to his house ; I
 
 340 CAPTAIN Hudson's attempt to find a noetii-west passage. 
 
 gave him things that he could carry, and he took leave, saluting me on the cheek, with other 
 marks of aftedlion. 
 
 "Next day I went to his town, and to be the better confirmed of what Tumay declared, I 
 carried with me many Indians to the Ihore, and having the paper in my hand, and the 
 compafs before me, afked all of them many times about the lands of which Tumay ^zvt the 
 names 5 and in every thing all of them agreed, and gave intim.ation of others inhabited all of 
 people oi the colours before mentioned, and also of that great country, wherein by proper 
 figns they said that there were cows or buffaloes, and to make it underftood that there were 
 dogs they barked, and for cocks and hens they crowed, and for hogs grunted ; and thus, in 
 this manner, they told what they wanted, and replied to whatever they were afked 5 and 
 because they were fhewn pearls in the taflel of a rosario, they intimated that they had 
 such. All these queftions and inquiries others of my companions made this day and other 
 times of these and other Indians, and they always said the same, from whence it appeared 
 they were people who speak truth." 
 
 The ships Avhieh formed De Quiros's squadron, beiug separated by a 
 storm, one of them, commanded by Luis Yas Torres, fell in with the 
 coast of New Gruinea, which was previously known. Sailing to the west 
 in 11° south latitude, he observed land to the southward, and found that 
 he had passed through a strait between the coasts of JSTew Gruinea and 
 the peninsula of jSTorth Australia. This is the Torres Strait, now 
 marked uj)on our charts. 
 
 In IGIO, Captain Henry Hudson sailed with a single barque, and a 
 crew of twenty-three men, for the jnu^pose of discovering a north-west 
 passage to the Indies. This was his foui'th attempt ; his previous voy- 
 ages having resulted in various disasters, which, nevertheless, failed to 
 deter him from pursuing his cherished design. Sailing north-west, he 
 reached, in 60' latitude, the mouth of the strait now bearing his name. 
 When he reached the bay, he, for some time rejoiced in the belief that 
 he had found the object of his expedition. In this hope he continued to 
 proceed, taking soundings and making various observations ; but found, 
 at last, there was no outlet from the vast gulf, save the strait through 
 which he had sailed. The season Avas then too far advanced for him to 
 return, and he wintered there, suflering extreme privations. In the 
 spring, instead of returning, he again pursued the object of his voyage, 
 and his crew were once more reduced to the point of starvation. The 
 latter, entertaining the suspicion that, in consequence of the shortness 
 of provisions, he intended to desert some of them, seized him and his 
 son, and forcing them into a boat, with seven sick and infirm of their 
 own number, turned them adrift. Tims perished the discoverer of what 
 may be regarded as the most nortlicrly limit of practicable commerce 
 and navigation, wl)ich afterwards became, and still remains, the seat of
 
 BAFFIN'S BAT— CAPE HORN. 341 
 
 the cliartered Hudson Bay Company, carrying on an extensive 
 trade in oils and furs. 
 
 The discovery of Hudson Bay was followed, in 1616, by an expedi- 
 tion fitted out by private adventurers, commanded by Captains BafTin 
 and Bylot. This resulted in tlie discovery of that large inland sea now 
 known as Baffin's Bay, which they entered through the straits visited 
 by Captain Davis, about 1585. No other navigators venturing 
 into these extremely northern latitudes for more than two hundred 
 years subsequently to Baffin and Bylot, the existence of Baffin's Bay 
 became a matter of doubt, and it was commonly omitted from charts, 
 until confirmed by the expeditions of Captains Eoss and Parry. 
 
 In the same year, 1616, a geographical discovery of leading interest 
 and importance was made — the passage into tlie Pacific round Cape 
 Horn, instead of through the dangerous Straits of Magalliaeu, which, 
 for more than a century, had been the only channel of communication 
 between the Atlantic and tlic Pacific Oceans. Varying in breadtli, from 
 a mile and a half to forty miles ; in its depth, suddenly changing from 
 upwards of 1500 feet to extreme shallows ; studded in parts by rocks 
 and islands ; subject to heavy tempests and violent currents ; the 
 perilous nature of that passage must for ever have operated as a barrier 
 to a frequent communication with the Pacific, but for the discovery of 
 the southern extremity of the lands of the Western Hemisphere. 
 
 This discovery was made by Schouten, a native of Home, in Holland, 
 the object of the expedition being to find a new way to the East Indies 
 without infringing the monopolies set up by the Dutch East India 
 Company, which had obtained a patent, giving them the exclusive right 
 of passage by the Cape of Grood Hope, eastward, or through tlie Straits 
 of Magalhaen, westward. Schouten, who had been tliree times to the 
 East Indies, projected a new passage, by which he might sail thither 
 without infringing the patent mentioned. 
 
 Eor this purpose, two ships were equipped, the Home, of 110 tons, 
 and the Unite, of 360 tons. The Unite carried sixty-five men, nineteen 
 " great pieces," twelve slings, with muskets, and other provisions of 
 war ; the Home carried twenty-two men, eight pieces, four slings, etc. 
 They sailed on the l-lth of June, 1015. On the 13th of July, they saw 
 the Island of Teneriffe ; on the 21st of August they saw the higli land of 
 Sierra Leone ; on the 5th of October, " under four degrees seven and 
 twenty minutes," the Home was struck by a sword-fish, with the exist- 
 ence of which the navigators had evidently no prior acquaintance : —
 
 342 DISCOVERT OF THE PASSAGE ROITXD CAPE HOEX. 
 
 "The fifth of October, we were under foure degrees seven and twenty minutes; the same 
 day about noone, there was such a noyse in the Bough of our Shippe, that the Mafter being 
 behind in the Gallerie, thought that one of the men had fallen out of the Fore-fhip or from 
 the Boe-sprlt into the Sea, but as hee looked out over the fide of the Ship, hee saw the sea 
 all red, as if great ftore of bloud had been poured into it, whereat he wondered, knowing not 
 what it meant j but afterwards hee found that a great Fifli, or a Sea monfter having a home, 
 had therewith striiken againft the Ship with moft great ftrenth. For when wee were in 
 Porto Desire, where wee set the Ship on the Strand to make it cleane, about seven foot under 
 water before in the Ship, wee found a Home flicking in the Ship, much like for thicknefse 
 and fafhion to a common Elephant's tooth, not hollow, but full, very ftrong hard Bone, 
 which had entred into three Planks of the Ship, that is two thicke plankes of greene and one 
 of Oken wood, and so into a Rib, where it turned upward, to our great good fortune ; for if 
 it had entred betweene the Ribbes into the Ship, it would happily have made a greater hole, 
 and have brought both Ship and men in danger to be loft. It ftucke at leafl: halfe a foote 
 deepe into the Ship, and about halfe a foote without, where with great force it was broken 
 off, by reason whereof the great monfter bled so much." 
 
 On the 3i'd of November tliey had sight of the Aseeusion Islands ; 
 on the 7th of December they stood off Port Desire ; on the 18th the 
 Home was destroyed by fire, on the shore of King's Island, where 
 they had laid her up to clean her and make repairs. On the 29th of 
 December — 
 
 " About evening we saw land againe, lying North Weft and North North Weft from us, 
 which was the land that lay South from the ftraits of Magellan which reacheth South-ward, 
 all high hilly land, covered over with snow, ending with a iharpe point, which we called 
 Cape Home. It lieth under fiftie seven degrees and fortie eight minutes. 
 
 " Then wee had faire weather, and a North wind, with great Billowes out of the Weft, 
 we held our course Weft, and found a ftrong ftreame that ranne Weftward. 
 
 " The thirtieth, we ftill had great Billowes out of the Weft, with hollow water and a 
 ftrong ftreame that went Weft-ward, which aflured us that wee had an open way into the 
 South Sea, then we were under fiftie seven degrees, thirtie foure minutes. 
 
 " The one and thirtieth wee had a North wind, and sayled Weft, and were under fiftie 
 eight degrees : then the wind turning Weft, and Weft South-weft, somewhat variable, wee 
 pafTed by Cape Van Home, and could see no more land, and had great billowes out of the 
 Weft, and verie blew water, which then fully aflured us that we had the broad South Sea 
 before us, and no land : the wind was very variable, with great ftore of haile and raine, which 
 forced us oftentimes to winde to and fro. 
 
 "The firft of February, wee had cold weather, with a ftorme out of the South-weft, and 
 sayled with our maine sayles, lying North-weft, and Weft North-weft. The second, the 
 wind Weft, wee sayled South-ward, and were under fiftie seven degrees fiftie eight minutes, 
 and found twelve degrees North-ward variation of the Compafle. That day wee saw many 
 great Sea-mcwcs and other Birds. 
 
 " The third, we were under fiftie nine degrees twentle five minutes, with indifferent 
 weather, and a hard Weft wind, and guefsed that we were that day under fifty nine degrees 
 and a halfe but saw no land, nor any figne thereof in the South. The fourth, we were under 
 fifty sixe degrees fortie three minutes, with variable windes, most Southweft, and wound to 
 and fro as the wind blew, with eleven degrees North-eaftward variation of Compafle. The 
 fifte wee had a ftrong ftream out of the Weft, with hollow water, whereby we could bear ta 
 sayle, but were forced to drive with the winde.
 
 TASMAN's DISCOVEET or tax DIEMEN's LAXl). 313 
 
 " The twelfth, our men had each of them three cups of wine in fignc of joy for our 
 good hap, for then the Straits of Magellan lay Eaft from us." 
 
 Ou the 23rd of October tliey anchored before the Island of Tacatia, 
 on their homeward voyage. Here tlieir sliip and goods were seized on 
 behalf of the Dutch East India Company, though they " nio\vcd many 
 reasons to the contrarie." The discoverers of the passage round Cape 
 Horn, thus stripped of everything, were left to find their way to 
 Holland by any chance that offered. 
 
 In 1642 Abel Janssen Tasman was employed by the Dutch East 
 India Company, to make discoveries in Australia; tbe information 
 given by De Quiros and Torres still being regarded as little more than 
 fictions. Tasman sailed from Batavia with two ships, ou tlie 14th of 
 August, the above year. The notes of his voyage exhibit a considerable 
 improvement in nautical observations, and especially in tlie calculation 
 of latitudes and longitudes, so essential in voyages of discovery. 
 
 On the 24th of JN'ovember, Tasman discovered Van Diemen's 
 Land, which he supposed to be a part of the Australian continent, 
 Bass's Strait being Tinknown for more than a century afterwards. On 
 the 13th of December he discovered New Zealand, where his crew were 
 attacked by savages, and some of them killed; from which circumstance 
 he called the place which he had entered " Murderers' Bay." He after- 
 wards discovered some smaller islands ; and it appears that ho circum- 
 navigated the continent of Australia, without being aware of the im- 
 portant bearing which his so doing had ujDon geograpliical science. In 
 a second voyage, 1G44, Tasman entered and explored the great Gulf 
 of Carpentaria. 
 
 The next English voyages of particular interest were performed by 
 Captain Dampier, in the years 1G81-1G88. His expeditious, like tliose 
 of his predecessors, were for buccanneering purposes ; but he made a 
 great number of interesting observations in geography and natural 
 history, and published a narrative of his voyages in three volumes. 
 
 Some time afterwards, a Mr, Eunnel, who had sailed with Dampier 
 as steward, published an account of one of the voyages, in which he 
 made certain charges against Dampier, to which the latter replied in a 
 pamphlet, from which we quote a few passages, that throw a strong 
 light upon the " heroic deeds " of these marauders. It would be 
 wearisome to follow^ the dispute throughout ; but Dampier apologizes 
 for himself, and seeks to cast the blame of certain mishaps upon his 
 accusers : —
 
 34i DAMPIEIl's EXPEBITIOK. 
 
 " I mention only the two adl'ions of the voyage, on which depend the miscarriage of the 
 whole, by the mens disorder. The firft of which is the French fhip that we engaged, that 
 was coming to the Island of Juan Fernandos', to whom we gave chase from 3 in the after- 
 noon, and fetched upon her so faft, that making of her to hull, I found (he was an European 
 Ihip, and not a Spaniard ; upon which I was not willing to pursue her any further, but the 
 men being, as they pretended, in a defire of engagement, right or lurcng, I followed her, and 
 next morning early we came up with her; and when I saw nothing would disengage them 
 from an irjlgn'ificant attempt, I encouraged them all 1 could. By this time my consort had 
 given her a Broadfide ; so I ranged up her other fide, and gave her a Brcadjide likewise. 
 Now, to ihew the confusion they were then in, they Fir'd upon cur Consort* in his falling 
 aftern, and hindered his Help. Notwithftanding this I came up again, and exchanged 3 or 
 4 Broadjides with her, wherein Ten of my men suftered, 9 kill'd and i wounded, which 
 Dismay'd my men so much, they actually run down off the Deck, and made nothing of it 
 atterwards ; so that when I could have boarded her and carried her, the mate, Cleppington by 
 name, cry'd. The men are all gone j and Bcllhajh the mafter, whose office it was to be always 
 upon Dee!:, was gone also, tho' this Gentleman is now a Valiant Talker, to my Detriment." 
 
 lu auotlier engagement wliicli followed : — 
 
 " Before the beginning of this Acftion we were to the Windward of her, fhe {landing to 
 the IVcfitvard, and v\e Bearing away upon her with a Flown fheet, I then order'd my Officers 
 to keep enough to be sure to Windward of her ; inflead of this, spite of my Heart, they edg'd 
 away, and were so far from having the Power to Command and Board her, as I intended, 
 that we loft the Opportunity, and were forced to Leward the firft time ; after that I tacked, 
 came about, and had her under my Lee-Bow : and then I hop'd to Batter her with my chace 
 guns, Ihe having no ftern-chace to Gall us ; this I took to be the beft way of disabling her, 
 and this way I could have made her yield. Inftead of this, to fhew the World how ready 
 my Officers were to board her, or perform their Duty, the Aiajlcr and the Mate left the 
 Braces, and betook them to the Great Guns; so in this confusion, neither they nor the 
 private men (let 'em talk what they will) ever intended Boarding her: For it is an argument 
 againft all they can say, there was not a man to be Aflistant to any Purpose ; No Yards 
 brac'd, not a Rope splic'd or knotted in all the Adlion. For the very Man at Helm contra- 
 di<fled my Orders, Edg'd her away to Lev.'ard once more ; on which / offer d to poot him 
 through the Head. While things were at this pafs, the Boatsivain being at the Braces, I ask'd 
 him what they did intend to do? He told me to Board her. Clap her on a JVind then, said I. 
 But for want of Wind by this time (they being Drunk and Bewitched) as if all things had 
 concurr'd to our Wrong, The Ship had neither Way, or ivcudjhe Keep to. Now could I have 
 gotten alongfide, they were so far from being Defirous to Board her, that the Mr.Jler went 
 about Discouraging of the Men ; not only that, but he and another came to me, fhewing' the 
 Powder Barrels at the Enemy's Yard Arms. About 4 in the Afternoon, when we were a 
 great way to the Leward, Clark the Mate, who by this time was Potent in Liquor, cry'd Board 
 her, Board her!" 
 
 A voyage made by Danipier in 1699 was directed to discoveries 
 on the coast of Xew Holland, of wliicli he gave a more circumstantial 
 account than liad previou.sly been obtained. He sounded several parts 
 of tlie north-west coast, marked the positions of some bays, discovered 
 
 * Tliat is, his omi inen fired into one of tlicir own ships.
 
 KESL'LTS CI" IJISCOVEUIES. 3 15 
 
 dangerous slioals, and made valuable observations upon tlie vegetable 
 and animal productions of the country. Tlie inhabitants, liowever, 
 were so wild that they would not enter into fi-iendly communication 
 Avith him. He also visited A'^ew Guinea, and some of the islands of 
 the Moluccas, of which he gathered similar information. 
 
 "We have now arrived at the close of the seventeenth century — a 
 period when, to the understanding of man, the world assumed a new 
 form, and its navigable and habitable portions had received enormous 
 accessions. If our globe holds an important place in the great scheme 
 of the miiverse ; if that importance arises from its being the arena in 
 which the deep problem of man's destiny is to be solved; if that 
 solution lies in the spread and cuhnination of civilization ; and if these 
 depend upon the free intercourse of nations, and the unlocking of the 
 earth's riches — how much do we OAve to the men who, in little more than 
 a century and a half, doubled the previous vastness of the knoAvn Avorkl ; 
 braved, in their frail ships, the terrors of seas Avhich for ages had defied 
 the courage and skill of the boldest adventurers of the human race ; 
 encountered disease and famine ; risked and withstood the attacks of 
 savages who kneAv not the great mission upon Avhich they came ; and 
 pursued their designs in opposition to the sneers of the benighted and 
 incredulous, the mutinous insubordination of the faint-hearted, and 
 the tardy support of those from Avhom alone encouragement and 
 sympathy could be expected ! Such men Avere CoLUiiBrs, MAOALnAEK, 
 Diaz, QiiiEOS, Tasmax. Take aAvay their discoveries, and you blot 
 out at once the "Western Hemisphere, most of the islands of the Pacific, 
 and the great continent of Australia; you close the Western and Indian 
 Oceans, give back the islands of the Indian Archipelago to their ancient 
 exclusion, and make the world collapse to those eastern boundaries, 
 where empires had decayed, and were still decaying, and into which the 
 barbarism of the north was beginning to surge like a resistless sea. 
 
 Let it be remembered, too, that these discoverers were real workers 
 in the cause of human progress : theirs were no piractical and maraud- 
 ing expeditions ; they Avent not forth to rob and murder. Armed for 
 protection only, they looked for their roAvard in the discoveries they 
 might make, and in the substantial glory they should gam for their 
 several states. 
 
 Honour to the old Tranciscan monk AAho gained for Columbus a 
 hearing at the court of Spain ; honour to the Queen Avho stripped her
 
 346 
 
 EESULTS OF DISCOYEEIES. 
 
 fair form of jewels to lielp the doubtful adventures of a humble navi- 
 gator, to whom an English monarch had turned a deaf ear ; honour to 
 the Prince who took up his abode on the unhealthy shores of Africa,* the 
 better to promote the work of geographical discovery ; honour to every 
 mariner, however humble and unlcnown, that trimmed the sail or plied 
 the oar in these expeditions ; and immortal fame to tlie men who 
 conceived and persevered in these great designs! 
 
 Disgrace eternal to those who, following in the track of the pilot 
 and the pioneer — sailing over oceans, and penetrating into lands they 
 had neither known nor dared, but for the nobler spirits that preceded 
 
 LVNDS OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHEEE, rXKNOWN BErOKE THE 
 TIME OF COLUMBITS. 
 
 them — stained the newly discovered shores with blood, trafficked iu the 
 bodies of their kindred, and made the great and glorious seas, as soon 
 as they were thrown open to enterprise, the arena of pii'acy and 
 murder ! 
 
 The wars with France and Spain, whicli extended over the first 
 sixty years of the eighteenth century, operated as a material check 
 
 * Princo Henry V., of Portugal.
 
 EESITLTS OF BISCOVEniES. 
 
 317 
 
 to the prosecution of lurtlier discoveries, or the completion of those 
 that had been commenced. Soon after the accession of George III., 
 the country enjoyed an interval of peace, and his IMajesty laudal>ly 
 promoted several expeditions of discovery, the motives to which were 
 expressed in the first article of instruction to Commodore B^tou, 
 dated the 17th June, 1761 :— 
 
 "Wliereas notliing can redound more to the honour of the nation, as a maritimo 
 power, to the dignity of the Crown of Great Britain, and to the advancement of tho 
 ti'ade and navigation thereof, than to make discoveries of countiies liitherto unknown ; 
 and whereas there is reason to beheve that lands and islands of great extent, hitherto 
 unvisited by any Eui-opean power, may be found in the Atlantic Ocean, between 
 
 SOrXHEEN DISCOVEEIES, C0:.IME>-CrN-O WITH DIAZ, AND EXTEXDIXG TO TOE 
 TIME OF CAPTAIN COOK. 
 
 the Cape of Good Hope and the Magallenic Strait, withm the latitudes convenient for 
 navigation, and ia chmates adapted to the produce of commodities usefid in connncrce ; 
 and whereas his Majesty's islands, called Pcpy's Island and the Falkland Islands, 
 lying within the said tract, notwithstanding their having been first discovered by 
 British navigators, have never yet been so sufficiently surveyed as that an accurate 
 judgment may be formed of their coasts and product : liis Majesty, taking the pre- 
 mises into consideration, and conceivmg no conjunctiu-e so proper for an enterprise 
 of this nature, as a time of profound peace, which his kingdoms at present happily 
 enjoy, has thought fit that it should now be undertaken."
 
 348 DISCOVERIES PEOilOTED BY GEOEOE III. 
 
 Several expeditions followed each otlier in quick succession. Com- 
 modore Byron sailed on tlie 21st of June, 17Gi ; Captain AVallis, on 
 the 19th of June, 1766 ; Captain Caterot, on the 1st of July, 1766 ; 
 and Captain Cook, on his first voyage, 3Iay the 25th, 176S. These 
 expeditions were properly equipped for the sole object of discovery, 
 and their conductors were urgently desired to demean themselves in 
 a friendly manner to the people of all countries. 
 
 It is impossible to read the accounts of these voyages vithout 
 being impressed by the superior powers of observation exhibited 
 by their commanders, and the humanizing tone of feeling displayed 
 by them, contrasting strongly Avith the examples occuiTing in a pre- 
 vious century. It is also observable that disasters from the prevalence 
 of scurvy among the crews were far less formidable, because the 
 navigators, Imowing where certain previously discovered islands lay, 
 were able at intervals to obtain supplies of scurvy-grass, fresh vege- 
 tables, meat, and water. These islands became, as it were, to the 
 South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, so many places of supply and 
 refreshment, without which, even with the improved ships of the 
 eighteenth century, it would have been impossible to carry on navi- 
 gation successfully upon those seas. 
 
 The incidents attending the first meeting of dift'erent races of people 
 — the curiosity and wonder Avith Avhich they regard each other — the 
 difliculty of mutual explanations, tlieir languages being utterly strange 
 — the quarrels arising out of mutual distrust — and the immediate 
 ascendency of civilized over uncivilized man, where the numbers of the 
 latter are not overwhelming — the whoop of war, the treaty of peace — 
 the chief pacificator found among the savages in one of their tribe a 
 little more advanced than the rest — and tlie ultimate perception by the 
 barbarians that to trade is better than to fight — form a chapter of 
 surpassing interest in the narratives of all such expeditions. 
 
 Captain AVallis's ship was repeatedly attacked by tlie natives of 
 Otaheite, and it became necessary to fire some heavy guns at their 
 canoes, by which many of them were destroyed. Still, increasing in 
 numbers and daring, they renewed their attacks day after day, until at 
 length it became imperative to show them the full power of the ship's 
 ordnance. About fifty canoes were shattered to pieces at once. But it 
 was necessary to show the savages that the guns were potent at a long 
 distance, as well as near at hand. They were, therefore, directed to a
 
 CAPTAIN AVALLIS'S TOrAGK. 349 
 
 point on the shore where other canoes were being lauliclied, and to a liill 
 where a multitude of women had gathered to witness tlie attack of tlie 
 canoes. Tlie first shots that fell among them at those long distances 
 filled them with terror; they fled into the country, deserted their homes, 
 and were not seen for some time afterwards.. At length negotiations 
 of peace and commerce were concluded in this manner : — 
 
 "About ten of the natives came out of the wood with green boughs in their hands, 
 which they stuck up near the water's side, and retired. After a short time they 
 appeared again, and brought \^-ith them several hogs, -with then- legs tied, which they 
 placed near the green boughs, and retired a second time. After this they brought down 
 several more hogs, and some dogs, withtheir fore-legs tied over their heads, and going 
 again into the woods, brought back several bundles of the clotli which they use for 
 apparel, and which has some resemblance to Indian paper. These they placed upon 
 the beach, and called upon us on board to fetch them away. As we were about the 
 distance of tlu-ce cables' length, we coidd not then perfectly discover of what this peace- 
 ofFering consisted ; we guessed at the hogs and the cloth ; but seeing the dogs, with 
 their fore-legs appeai-mg over the huider part of the neck, rise up several times, and 
 run a httle way in an erect posture, we took them for some strange imknown animal, 
 and were very impatient to have a nearer view of them. The boat was, therefore, 
 sent on shore with aU expedition, and our wonder was soon at an end. Our people 
 found nine good hogs, besides the dogs and the cloth ; the hogs were brought off, but 
 the dogs were turned loose, and the cloth left behind. In return for the hogs, our 
 people left upon the shore some hatchets, nails, and other thmgs, making signs to some 
 of the Indians, who were in sight, to take them away with tlieir cloth. Soon after the 
 boat had come on board, the Indians brought down tnvo more hogs, and called to us to 
 fetch them ; the boat therefore retmiied, and fetched off the two hogs, but still left the 
 cloth, though the Indians made signs that we shoiUd take it. Our people reported 
 that they had not touched any of the things which they had left upon the beach for 
 them ; and somebody suggesting that they woidd not take our offering because we had 
 not accepted the cloth, I gave orders that it shoidd be fetched away. The event proved 
 that the conjectiu-e was true, for tlie moment tlie boat had taken the cloth on board, 
 the Indians came down, and vi-ith every possible demonstration of joy, canned away aU 
 I had sent them into the wood. 
 
 " The next moniing I sent tlie boats on shore, with a guard, to fill some more 
 casks of water, and soon after the people were on shore, the same old man who had 
 come over the river to them on tlie first day, came again to the further side of it, where 
 he made a long speech, and then crossed the water. When he came up to the waterers, 
 the officer showed him the stones that were piled up like cannon-balls upon the shore, 
 and had been brought thither smce our first landing, and some of the bags that had 
 been taken out of the canoes which I had ordered to be destroyed, filled with stones, 
 and endeavoured to make liim understand that the Inchans had been tlie aggressors, 
 and that the mischief we had done them was in our own defence. The old man seemed 
 to apprehend bis meaning, but not to admit it. He immediately made a speech to tlie 
 people, pointing to the stones, slings, and bags, with gi*eat emotion, and sometimes his 
 looks, gestiu-es, and voice were so furious as to be frightfid. His passions, liowever, 
 subsided by degi'ees, and the officer, who, to his regi-et, could not understand one word 
 of all that lie had said, endeavoured to convince him, by all the signs he could devise.
 
 350 CAPTAIN cook's VOYAGES. 
 
 that we wished to Uve in ffienclsliip with them, and were disposed to show them every 
 mark of kindness in om' power. He then shook hands with huu, and embraced him, 
 givLug him, at the same time, several such trinkets as he thought would be most 
 acceptable. He contrived also to make the old man imderstand that we wished to 
 traffic for provisions, that the Indians should not come down in great nmnbers, and 
 that they shoidd keep on one side of the river, and we on the other. After tliis the 
 old man went away with great appearance of satisfaction, and before noon a trade was 
 estabhshed, which fm-nished us with hogs, fowls, and fi-uit in great abundance, so that 
 aU the sliip's company, wliether sick or wcU, had as much as they could xise."* 
 
 Here was a treaty concluded, and a boundary defined, without a 
 written sentence, or an intelligible word, but simply by appealing 
 to mutual interests and necessities of opposite tribes of men. The 
 occurrence took place less than a century ago. Upon this island — 
 nay, probably, the very spot — the huts of natives and the dwellings 
 of Europeans now intermingle. Commerce exists — the exports being 
 pearl-shells, sugar, cocoa-niits, cocoa-nut oil, and arrow-root ; the 
 imports, cloth, cutlery, and other articles of manufacture. In a neigh- 
 bouring island there are a missionary station, schools, and a printing 
 press established. 
 
 In 1767 the Eoyal Society resolved to send some competent persons 
 to one of the South Sea Islands to observe the transit of Venus over 
 the suJi's disk. His jNIajesty George III. favouring the object, a ship, 
 named the JEndeavotir, built for the coal trade, was commissioned, and 
 the command given to Captain Cook. He sailed on the 30th of July, 
 1768, accompanied by Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Eoyal Society, 
 and Dr. Solander. On the 30th of October he arrived at Eio Janeiro, 
 and on the 13th of April, 1769, reached Otaheite, where the transit of 
 Venus was observed in different parts of the island. He stayed there 
 until the 13th of July, after which he went in search of several islands, 
 which he discovered. He then proceeded to Xew Zealand, and on the 
 10th of October, 1770, arrived at Batavia with a vessel almost Avorn out, 
 and the crew much fatigued and very sickly. The repairing of the ship 
 compelled him to continue at this unhealthy place luitil the 27th of 
 December, in which time many of the company died, and more in the 
 passage to the Cape of Good Hope, which place he reached on the 15th 
 of March, 1771. On the 14th of April he left the Cape, and the 1st of 
 May anchored at St. Helena, from whence he sailed on the 4th, and 
 anchored in tlie Downs on the 12th of June, after having been absent 
 almost three years, and in that time experienced every danger to wliich 
 
 * Ca]^^tain Vv'aliis's Voyage.
 
 CAPTAIN cook's VOYAGES. 351 
 
 a voyage of sucli length was tlien incident. From the astronomical, 
 geographical, and scientific observations made during tliis voyage, it 
 deserves to be classed among the most important and honourable 
 enterprises ever accomplished. It threw new light upon botany and 
 natural history ; gave precision to many matters of importance to 
 navigation ; and added largely to the store of general Icnowledge. 
 
 Sir Joseph Banks, one of the chief promoters of this expedition, is 
 now universally remembered as an eminent naturalist and philosopher. 
 Although the expedition was promoted by the Grovernment, Sir Joseph 
 contributed largely to it from his private purse ; and in order to avail 
 himself of the services of an able coadjutor, engaged Dr. Solander, of 
 the British Museum, to accompany him. Solander was a Swede by birth, 
 and one of the most eminent pupils of Linnreus, whose scientific merits 
 had been his chief recommendation to patronage in this coimtry. 
 Banks engaged also in his suite two artists — one for the purpose of 
 taking views and delineating scenery, the other to draw objects of 
 natural history ; he also provided himself with all lands of philosophical 
 instruments, with the means of preserving such specimens iu natural 
 history as he might collect, and other articles likely to be of ser%ace xa 
 scientific observation. In the company were also Mr. Monlihouse, 
 surgeon, and Mr. G-reen, astronomer. During their passage to jMadeira 
 they discovered many marine animals and productions that had, till 
 then, escaped observation. They called at the Island of Madeira, and 
 visited a convent of nuns, the ladies of Avhich expressed a great curiosity 
 to see "the philosophers" of whom they had heard so much. The 
 ladies thought it an excellent opportunity to inquire when the next 
 thunder-storm would happen ? and whetlier a spring of water could be 
 found within the walls of the convent ? — such being their ideas of 
 philosophical qualifications. 
 
 At Eio Janeiro the Portuguese governor admitted only a very 
 guarded intercourse with them; some precedents of an unfavourable 
 nature probably being fresh in his memory. He positively refused to 
 let any of the party go up the country for the purpose of gathering 
 plants. And when he was told that the object of the voyage was to 
 make observations upon the transit of Venus, he coidd form no other 
 conception of what was meant, than tliat it was " the passing of the 
 Xorth Star thi'ough the South Pole." 
 
 Notwithstanding the prohibition rigidly insisted upon by the 
 governor, that none of the party should land, they vcntiux'd ashore at
 
 352 CAPTAix cook's totages, 
 
 daybreak, and remained, at tlie peril of tlieir lives, imtil dusk in the 
 evening. Eut they went neither to kidnap nor plunder : they regained 
 the ship at night, having with them treasures of great value — a 
 collection of plants and insects. 
 
 The first rule laid down for the guidance of the Company, in their 
 intercourse Avith the people of the lands that might be discovered, was 
 " to endeavour, by every fair means, to cultivate a friendship with the 
 natives, and to treat them with all imaginable humanity." 
 
 Soon after Captain Cook's return from his first voyage, he was 
 appointed to command an expedition to again explore the Southern 
 Hemisphere. It had long been a prevailing idea, that the unexplored 
 part contained another continent, one of the crude arguments by 
 which the hypothesis was supported being, that a vast extent of land 
 was necessary in those latitudes to establish the equilibrium of the 
 earth's weight and proportions. Two ships sailed from Deptford on the 
 9th of April, 1772 : the Sesohition, under the command of Captain Cook ; 
 and the Adventure, commanded by Captain Furneaux. They arrived at 
 the Cape of Grood Hope on the 30th of October, and departed thence on 
 the 22nd of November, and from that time until the 17th of January, 
 1773, continued endeavouring to discover the continent, when they were 
 obliged to relinquish the design, the sea being covered with ice from the 
 direction south-east to the south-west. They then proceeded into the 
 South Seas, and made several discoveries of islands, in addition to those 
 Avhich they had visited on the previous voyage, and returned to the 
 Cape of Good Hope on the 21st of March, 1774, and from tlicnce to 
 England on the 14th of July ; having, during three years and eighteen 
 days, lost but one man by sickness in Captain Cook's ship (and that 
 one not from a disease incidental to the sea), although he had 
 navigated throughout all the climates from fifty-two degrees north 
 to seventy-one degrees south, with a company of a hundred and 
 eighteen men. 
 
 The want of success which attended the search for a southern con- 
 tinent did not discourage another plan being resolved upon, which had 
 frequently occupied attention, and been attempted before. This was 
 the finding a north-west passage, which for many years had been a 
 favourite scheme. Althougli Captain Cook had contemplated resigning 
 the toD? and dangers of new expeditions, ho accepted the proposal to 
 once more encounter the difficulties and dangers of a perilous voyage, 
 and sailed in the niontli of Julv, 177G. The circumstances of Cook's
 
 CAPTAIN COOK S DISCOTERTES. 353 
 
 death, on the Island of Owhyliee, which happened when homeward 
 bound from this voyage, form a mehmcholy termination to a life of true 
 heroism and incalculable utility. He was barbarously murdered by the 
 natives while endeavouring to recover a boat which some of thera 
 had stolen. 
 
 Perhaps no science ever received greater accessions from the labours 
 of a single man than geography has done from those of Captain Cook. 
 In his first voyage to the South Seas he discovered the Society Islands ; 
 determined the insularity of New Zealand ; discovered the straits 
 which separate the two islands, and are now called by his name ; and 
 made a complete survey of the shores. He afterwards explored the 
 eastern coast of New Holland, hitherto unknown, and extending 
 upwards of two thousand miles. In his second expedition he resolved 
 the great problem of a southern continent, ha\4ng traversed the hemi- 
 sphere in such a manner as not to leave a possibility of its existence, 
 unless near the Pole, and out of the reach of navigation. During this 
 voyage he discovered New Caledonia, the largest island in the Southern 
 Pacific, except New Zealand ; the Island of Georgia, and an imknown 
 coast, which he named Sandwich Land, the Thule of the Southern 
 Hemisphere ; and having twice visited the tropical seas, he settled the 
 situations of the old discoveries, and made several new ones. But the 
 last voyage is distinguished above all the rest by the extent and impor- 
 tance of its discoveries. Besides several smaller islands in the Southern 
 Pacific, he discovered, to the north of the equinoctial line, the group 
 called the Sandwich Islands ; which, from their situation and produc- 
 tions, have become of great consequence in the system of European navi- 
 gation. He afterwards explored what had hitherto remained unknown 
 of the western coast of America, containing an extent of three thou- 
 sand five hundred miles ; ascertained the northern proximity of the great 
 continents of Asia and America ; passed the straits between them, and 
 surveyed the coasts on each side, to such a heiglit of northern latitude 
 as to demonstrate the impracticability of a passage in that hemispliere 
 from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean, eitlier by an eastern or a 
 western course. In short, he almost completed the hydrography of the 
 habitable globe. 
 
 Captain Cook may be said to have completed the work of maritime 
 discoveiy. The names of Phipps, Pickersgill, Clerk, Gore, Perouse, 
 Portlocke, Bligh, Vancouver, Bass, etc., are variously associated with 
 experimental voyages ; but, from the time of Cook, such expeditions 
 
 c c
 
 354 EOSS— PARRY — FRANKLIN, ETC. 
 
 were set ou foot rather to explore than to discover ; they were designed 
 to make known the resources and capabilities of lands already found. 
 The history of such adventures will, therefore, be set apart for a 
 separate section, and will be found to possess an interest unsurpassed 
 in the annals of progress. 
 
 It now only remains to speak of modern attempts at the discovery 
 of a north-west passage. The idea that such a passage existed between 
 the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, prevailed, as we have seen, from a very 
 early period. After the establishment of the Hudson Bay Company, 
 their fur hunters traversed the distant and inhospitable wilds that lay 
 between the shores of Hudson's Bay and the chain of the Rocky 
 Mountains. Some of the more adventurous among their officers 
 reached, by long overland journeys, the waters of the Frozen Ocean. 
 Among the latter were Samuel Hearne, who, in 1771, traced the course 
 pf the Coppermine River towards its outlet ; and Alexander Mac- 
 kenzie, who, eighteen years later, descended the great river which bears 
 his name. But the space between the outlets of these rivers, and 
 beyond them, long remained, a blank upon the charts. 
 
 In 1818 the British Grovernment fitted out an expedition, consisting 
 of two ships, the Livestigator and the Alexander, with the view of 
 finding the long desired passage. Captain Ross was chief in command, 
 Lieutenant Parry the second. The voyage was unproductive of any 
 practical or theoretical satisfaction. In the following year, Lieutenant 
 Parry renewed the attempt, endeavouring to find a passage by way of 
 Behring's Straits. Lieutenant Parry succeeded in passing through 
 Lancaster Sound, and its continuation, Barrow's Strait, and advanced 
 as far to the westward as the meridian of 113\ He had thus accom- 
 plished half the distance between Baffin's Bay and Behring's Straits by 
 a navigation of more than 600 miles, through unknown and ice-encum- 
 bered seas. In subsequent voyages he added materially to a knowledge 
 of those northern extremes. 
 
 In 1819, Captain Pranklin made an overland journey, with the 
 yiew of co-operating with Captain Parry, whose vessels, it was hoped, 
 might have been enabled to reach the nortliern shores of the American 
 continent, in the neighboui'hood of the coasts towards which it was 
 directed. The sulferings which the whole party underwent were of 
 tlie most frightful description ; but they passed over several thousand 
 miles of country previously unknown, and explored a large extent of 
 coast to the eastward of the Coppermine River.
 
 C01\[PLETI0N OF AUCTIC EXPEDITION — m'cLURE. 35.") 
 
 In 1825, rranklin, accompanied by Eichardsou and Black, con- 
 ducted a second overland expedition. On this occasion, the intrepid 
 explorers passed down the stream of the Mackenzie, and thence 
 dividing into two parties, explored the coasts to the east and west of 
 its outlet in the ocean. The subsequent voyage of Captain Beechey, 
 by way of Behring's Strait, in 182G, and the boat voyages of Dease 
 and Simpson in 1837-8, completed the delineation of the northern 
 shores of America, from the furthest point reached by Franklin to the 
 Icy Cape of Captain Cook. 
 
 The spirit of polar adventure slumbered for a time, but was not 
 extinguished. There were still believers in the feasibility of a " north- 
 west passage," and gallant men who were willing to peril their lives in 
 the cause of geographical science. Foremost among these was the 
 hero of Arctic adventure, Sir John Franklin. Two well-appointed 
 ships, the Erehus and Terror, commanded by Sir John Franklin and 
 Captains Fitzjames and Crozier, sailed from Sheerness in May, 1845. 
 They were last seen in the northern part of Baffin's Bay in the August 
 of the same year. They were svibsequently ascertained to have passed 
 the winter of 1815-6 near Cape Riley, a point on the eastward of the 
 entrance to Wellington Channel. Their further course and individual 
 fate is unknown. Dr. Hae, in 1854, brought to England undoubted 
 remains of the Franklin expedition, consisting of forks, spoons, etc., 
 which he obtained from a tribe of Esquimaux in the neighboui'hood of 
 Buck's River. 
 
 The record of numerous expeditions despatched to tlie northerly 
 regions of America since 1845, pertains rather to the history of the 
 search after Sir John Franklin than to the chronicle of geographical 
 discovery. But to Captain M'Clure (now Sir Robert) belongs the 
 honour of completing the Arctic investigation. Sir Robert M'Clure's 
 expedition sailed from England in January, 1850, and passed through 
 Behring's Strait early in the summer of that year. Ere the brief Arctic 
 summer had passed, M'Clure had reached the shores of Baring Island, 
 wintered on its eastern shore, and the two succeeding winters upon 
 its northern shore. Thence a party of tlie oHifcrs and crew crossed 
 the ice to the southern side of Melville Island, the furthest point of 
 Parry's discoveries. The combined discoveries of Parry and !M'Cluro 
 prove the continuity of an icy channel between the two great oceans 
 that wash the opposite shores of the New AYorld, and the problem of 
 three centuries and a half is solved.* 
 
 * Maimder's " Treasury of Geography."
 
 356 
 
 CANNON CABRIED ON DECK. 
 
 It has beeu already stated that, for a considerable time after the 
 use of cannon, ships were not provided with port-holes, but that the 
 
 guns were carried upon deck, 
 and appear to have been ele- 
 vated to obtain a range over 
 the bulwarks. So long as, 
 ^ :^<% from the defective rigging of 
 tW^'i^^l ships, oars were necessary to 
 lylilr ; / their propulsion and steerage, 
 it was impossible to occupy 
 their sides with anything but 
 the platforms upon which the 
 rowers stood. But even after 
 rigging had improved, when 
 two masts were adopted instead 
 of one, and a bowsprit added, 
 by which they could work 
 closer to the Aviud, and be 
 more independent of the as- 
 sistance of oars, guns were 
 still carried upon deck, and 
 no port-holes were provided. 
 Subsequently the bulwarks 
 appear to have been hatched, 
 portions being made move- 
 able, to take away or let down, and the guns were run out through 
 the openings thus made.f These openings must have been prejudicial 
 in naval engagements ; and in the early part of the sixteenth century, 
 they were abandoned for regular port-holes, which were invented 
 l)y a l-'rcnch builder at Brest, and afterwards adopted by the 
 English. Some of the holes were round, others square, and they 
 were usually so small as to interfere with the training of the 
 gun. Port-holes were not only adopted in newly-built ships, but 
 (;ld vessels had their sides pierced. However, they could carry only 
 a very small number of guns, their construction being ill adapted 
 for the weight of ordnance, which in heavy seas caused numerous 
 disasters. 
 
 * From Strutt's " Horda ; " tlicrcin from a Cottoniau MS. 
 t •"Jee illustration, p. 287. 
 
 SHIP OP THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.*
 
 CANXON BALLS OF STONE AND CEMExNT. 
 
 357 
 
 That the guiis origiually introduced were not very efFective 
 weapons, is apparent from the fact that the cross-bow and sling 
 remained in use 
 long after tlie 
 introduction of 
 cannon and hand- 
 guns, and were 
 used in ships 
 simultaneously 
 with the latter. 
 From several 
 incidents men- 
 tioned in the ae- 
 coimt of Magal- 
 haen's voyage, it 5 
 may fairly be in- 
 ferred that the 
 range of the 
 ship's guns was 
 very short, and 
 
 thus the savages were rather frightened than harmed by their 
 effects. 
 
 Cannon appear to have consisted at first of two kinds, a large 
 one for discharging stones, called a bombard, and a smaller sort for 
 discharging darts or quarrels. The following order proves this dis- 
 tinction : in 1377, 1 Richard II., Thomas Xorbury was directetl 
 to provide from Thomas Eestwold, of London, two great and two 
 less engines, called cannons, 600 stone shot for the same, and salt- 
 petre, charcoal, and other ammunition, for stores to be sent to the 
 castle of Bristol. 
 
 Soon after the invention of cannon, darts and bolts were shot 
 from them, but before these, stones were used instead. In 1388, 
 a stone ball, which weighed 195 lbs., was discharged from a bombard, 
 called the Trevisan. 
 
 These stone balls continued long in use. There is preserved 
 an order of Henry V., 1418, addressed to the clerk of his ordnance, 
 commanding him to arrest artificers in stone for the purpose of 
 making cannon balls : — 
 
 ORIGINAL POET-HOLES.
 
 358 ikteoduction of the euddee. 
 
 [literal translatiox.] 
 
 " The King to his beloved John Louth, Clerk of the Works of our 
 Ordnance, and to John Benet of Madeston, Mason, greeting : 
 
 " Know you that we have afligned to you to arreft and take as many artificers and work- 
 men as will be found necefTary for the making of seven thousand ftones for the several sorts 
 o.' guns, and of a sufficient stuffura of stone for the same, both from the quarries of Madeston, 
 Hithe, and such other places as you may think proper j and to place and retain the said 
 workmen in the said our Works till the said ftones be quite conftrufted and finiftied. 
 
 "Also to take and to provide as many cars, boats, and veflels with their seamen and 
 workmen, as will be found neceflary for the carriage, or transport of the said ftones from the 
 places where they are, into our kingdom of Anglia or to places beyond the sea. 
 
 " Therefore we command you to attend with diligence to the above, and to do and to 
 execute everything in due form. 
 
 " And we command to all and every Viscounts, Majors, Bailifs, Constabularies, Minifters, 
 and to all our other faithfuls and subjedts both within and without the Liberties, by these 
 presents that they help and advise you in these things as beft as poflible. 
 
 " Witnefs the said Cuuos of Weftminster, loth of Febr., 1418. 
 "For the Council." 
 
 Tlie mention of " stuffura of stone" suggests tlie inference that 
 not only were stone balls employed, but that broken fragments of 
 stone were cemented into balls; and this inference is supported by 
 the terms of another order of the same reign. 
 
 A jooint of great nautical interest, upon which some light can be 
 thrown, though the question involved cannot be definitively settled, 
 is the time of the invention of the modern rudder, of which great 
 doubt has long existed ; and no English antiquary has traced it to 
 an earlier date than the middle of the reign of Edward III., or 
 about 1350. It appears, however, that the old plan of steering 
 ships by a paddle on each side was not abandoned until long after 
 the rudder was invented. In a manuscript of probably about the 
 year 1300, two drawings of ships are given, in both of which the 
 rudder appears at the stern, and a man is seen steering with a 
 tiller. In another manuscript of tlie middle of the fourteenth 
 century, there are two delineations of Noah's ark, represented by 
 sliips having a large house on their decks ; both of these have 
 rudders at the stern, Avith two pintles and gudgeons, and a tiller. 
 From the perfect manner in which the rudder appears in these draw- 
 ings, it is highly probable that though not then, nor until a much 
 later period, in general use, yet that it had long been applied to large 
 Acssels, whose height and size out of the water must have rendered it
 
 SnEATHING OF SHIPS. 359 
 
 extremely inconvenient to steer with the ancient paddles. The preju- 
 dice which seamen of all ages and all countries have shown against 
 innovations, accounts, however, for the tardy adoption of even the most 
 obvious improvements in nautical science.* 
 
 Sheathing of ships is, according to facts stated in Locke's " History 
 of Navigation," a practice of greater antiquity than might be imagined. 
 Leo Baptisti Alberti, in his book of architecture, has these words : 
 " But Trajan's sliip weighed out of the lake of Eiccia at tliis time, while 
 I was compiling this work, where it had lain sunk and neglected for 
 above 1300 years ; I observed that the pine and cypress of it had lasted 
 most remarkably. On the outside it was built with double planks' 
 daubed over with Greek pitch, caulked with linen rags ; and over all a 
 sheet of lead fastened on with little copper nails." llaphael Yolater- 
 ranus, in his geography, says, this ship was weighed by the order of 
 Cardinal Prospero Colonna. Here we have caulking and sheathing 
 together, above 1600 years ago ; for I suppose (says Mr. Locke) no 
 man can doubt that the sheet of lead nailed over the outside with 
 copper nails was sheathing, and that in great perfection ; the copper 
 nails being used rather than iron, which, when once rusted in the 
 water with the working of the ship, soon lose their hold and drop out. 
 Another instance is found in Purchas's " Pilgrims," in Captain Saris's 
 voyage to the Court of Japan, about the year 1612, where the captain 
 giving an account of his voyage says : — " That rowing betwixt Firando 
 and Puccate, about eight or ten leagues on this side Xemina-seque, he 
 found a great town, where there lay in a dock a juuck of eight or ten 
 hundred tun burden, sheathed all with iron." 
 
 But the sheathing of ships does not appear to liave been general 
 prior to the sixteenth century. The longer voyages which had then 
 become common, rendered every improvement in the construction of 
 ships a matter of the utmost importance. The Spaniards appear to 
 have introduced this in those of their ships which sailed to their 
 western colonies, and the English took the example from them. The 
 protection of ships' bottoms was not, however, generally sought by the 
 application of metallic sheathing, but more commonly by planks of wood, 
 within which was placed a thick composition of pitch and other 
 materials. 
 
 The mariner's compass has already been mentioned incidentally in 
 * Steinitz's " History of the Sliip."
 
 3G0 THE maeinee's compass. 
 
 connection with Columbus's discovery of America, Before tlie dis- 
 covery of the compass, the north star was the mariner's chief guide ; 
 and long after the introduction of the compass, it consisted only of a 
 magnetic needle, fixed to a piece of rush or cork, and floated upon water 
 contained in a small vessel. This simple contrivance could only have 
 been used when the sea was perfectly smooth, and by day, or by night 
 when the polar star happened to be obscured. 
 
 In all ages, prior to the discovery of the compass, ships were merely 
 coasters. The English, French, Danes, and Dutch have all, within the 
 period of modern history, been powerful at sea. They aU in their turns 
 ventured far from home, either to rob, conquer, or trade ; but all in the 
 same manner, creeping along the shores, without daring to venture into 
 the breadth of ocean, having no guides out of sight of land but the 
 stars, which in cloudy nights failed them. Indeed, in the winter 
 months, the seas were closed, and navigation stopped.* 
 
 The vsriter of the article on Magnetism in the " Encyclopaedia 
 Britannica," has shown that the loadstone was employed as a nautical 
 guide as early, at least, as the latter part of the eleventh century. And 
 he observes, " that the mariner's compass was known in the twelfth 
 century, about the year 1150, is proved by notices of it in various 
 authors." He then quotes the lines of Gruyot de Provins, who, he says, 
 was alive in 1181. These are lines of much interest, a literal translation 
 of which was made for Dr. Larimer's " Concise Essay on Magnetism," 
 and afterwards given by Macpherson : — " This (Polar) liar docs not move. 
 They (the seamen) have an art which cannot deceive, by virtue of the rnanite, 
 an ill brownifh ftone to which iron spontaneoufly adheres. They search for 
 the right point, and when they have touched a needle on it, and fixed it to a 
 bit of ftraw, they lay it on water, and the ftraw keeps it afloat. Then the 
 point infalliably turns towards the flar; and when the night is dark and 
 gloomy, and neither ftar nor moon is visible, they set a light befide the 
 needle, and they can be aflurcd that the ilar is oppofite to the point, and 
 thereby the mariner is dircdlcd in his course. This is an art which cannot 
 deceive."t 
 
 The "dial" and "sailing needle" are occasionally noticed in the 
 records of the reigns of liichard II., Henry IV., and Henry V. ; but 
 the entries occur so seldom, compared with other articles of sea stores, 
 
 * Lock's " Essay on Navigation." 
 t Finchman's "Naval Architecl ure."
 
 PIRACIES OX THE BIUTISII COASTS. 361 
 
 as to justify the suggestion that every vessel might not have been 
 supplied with them, and possibly only the admiral or leading sliip 
 of a squadron or fleet.* 
 
 This was the " pernicious discovery " — so pronounced by Mr. Donald- 
 son, secretary to the government of Jamaica, in liis letters to the king 
 — which " presented us with new worlds and new ideas ! Ploughing the 
 ocean was more thought of than ploughing the fields ! The simple herd, 
 whose irresolute spirit dared not vifit a church-yard by moonlight, now 
 hardened his mind againit the frightful imprefsions of the tremendous deep." 
 
 It is observable that in the accounts of early voyages there is fre- 
 quent mention of the difficulties of discovering objects at a distance, 
 doubts as to clouds, rocks, or land. The tall mast of a sliip was fitted 
 with a circular gallery, in M^hich a mariner was commonly placed to keep 
 a " look out." The telescope had not then been invented; and when 
 invented, it was, like the mariner's compass, denounced as a ])erniciou3 
 discovery, tempting man to pry into the mysterious works of God ! To 
 the mariner the telescope, which was invented about the year 1590, 
 became a most useful instrument, enabling him, at a time when charts 
 were notoriously imperfect, to scan the coast, and guard against rocks 
 and breakers, while bearing off" at a safe distance from points of 
 danger. 
 
 Piracies, not only upon the high seas, but upon the coasts, and even 
 Id harbours, prevailed to a serious extent down to the seventeenth 
 century. Some examples have been already afforded in the doings of 
 Hawkins, Drake, Cavendish, etc. But the piracies to which we now 
 aUude were committed not only upon the ships of foreign countries, 
 but upon those of our o^vn, by English outlaws. The ships of the 
 Cinque Ports, though in treaty with the King for the protection of the 
 coasts, abused the powers vested in them, and committed atrocities 
 which no Government was powerful enough to restrain. 
 
 About the year 1237, Sir William de Marish, a knight who had 
 been accused of murder and treason, took refuge in the Isle of 
 Lundy; and, being joined by many other criminals, he became a 
 formidable pirate. Vessels passing up the Bristol Channel were 
 plundered of their cargoes, especially provisions ; and tliese outlaws 
 
 * Nicolas's " History of the Ko\ al !Nav\ ."
 
 3G2 piE.vciES o>' THE ehitisii coasts. 
 
 lauded on the neighbouring shores, where they committed every 
 kind of excess. It was found impracticable to take Marish and his 
 band by force ; but he was at length captured by a stratagem, 
 conveyed in chains, with sixteen of his associates, to London, and 
 there hanged. 
 
 In 131-1, William de Huntingdon stated, in a petition to the King, 
 that he had gone to the port of Dublin with his ship and cargo, and 
 that while he was lying in that port, paying the customs for his said 
 ship, John de Lung, of Bristol, with other malefactors and pirates, 
 captured and carried off his ship, with all the goods and merchandise on 
 board, and afterwards maliciously biirnt the vessel. 
 
 In 1322, two merchants of Sherborne complained that they had 
 laden a ship of Whitsand with cloth and canvas, and that when it 
 arrived off Portsmouth, Robert de Battayle, and others of the Cinque 
 Ports, boarded the ship, and carried off about eighty pounds' worth of 
 her cargo. About the same time Albrith le Brene, a German merchant, 
 complained to the King that he was with his ship — containing a valu- 
 able cargo — lying in the port of Orwell, when two ships, one belonging 
 to Winchelsea, and the other to Greenwich, full of armed men, came 
 into the harbour, boarded his ship, drove him and his nine men on 
 shore, and then pursued them, killing one, and wounded others of 
 the crew, after wliich they carried off the ship. 
 
 About 1314 a ship called the Blessed Mary, of Fontarabia, near 
 Bayonne, belonging to the king's subjects, with a cargo worth £2200 
 sterling, going to Gascony, was driven on shore. The wreck was 
 immediately jiluudered by sailors belonging to Winchelsea, Eye, and 
 Eomney ; and when an inquiry was ordered to be made by the AVarden 
 of the Cinque Ports at Winchelsea, the people of that to^\-n, Eye and 
 Eotaney, interfered, and by force and violence prevented the investiga- 
 tion from taking place. 
 
 About 1324 the sliip Arnot, of Ditton, laden with fisli of various 
 kinds for the king's use, was boarded between Lynn and Oxford, by 
 John Eussell, and other malefactors of Spalding, who killed the crew 
 and took the vessel to Seaford, where tliey sold the ship and cargo. 
 
 Wrecking practices prevailed down fo a much later period. In 
 1747 the Ni/nipliia, a very rich })rize, wliicli had just before been cap- 
 tured from the I'rench, was driven on sliore at Beachy Head. A 
 riiinoiir having |)rcvimis]y gone abroad of tlie enormous amount of gold 
 on board this vcst^el, the news of her being on shore spread like wild-
 
 PIRACY AND WRECKING. 363 
 
 fire, and multitvidcs flocked to the shore for phmder. It was found 
 necessary to take a company of sokliers to protect tlie wreck. Several 
 of the wretched people perished with cold upon the shore, and many 
 more were found nearly dead upon the roads. A woman was found 
 dead, with two children crying over her corjjse. The soldiers engaged a 
 party of smugglers who came down to attack the wreck ; two of the 
 smugglers were killed, the rest fled. 
 
 It is impossible ' to think of these atrocities, of which only a few 
 examples have been given, without reflecting upon the frequent 
 robberies and murders committed upon the seas, of which no 
 evidence ever came to light. It is impossible to think of the 
 privateering exploits of Sir Francis Drake, and others of his time 
 without wondering what became of the crews of the captured ships, 
 of whom no mention is subsequently made. Doubtless they were 
 forced to "walk the plank," or were deliberately assassinated. 
 Some of them, we know, were set ashore in lands peo])led by 
 savages, where death could only be for a short time deferred. 
 We find it mentioned of Sir Thomas Cavendish that when he 
 captured the Great St. Anna, he, " of his great mercie and humanitie," 
 spared the lives of the people on board : the exception may, therefore, 
 be taken to prove the rule. Yet there are not wanting in the present 
 day men who vaunt the heroism of these marauders, and plead for 
 them that they acted in accordance with the spirit of their age.* 
 
 It can scarcely be pleaded that Drake and his contemporaries acted 
 " in the spirit of his age," for there were great dissensions even then 
 about his proceedings. But, long before the reign of Elizabeth, laws 
 had been passed with the view of suppressing such outrageous practices, 
 which destroyed the peace and safety, and crippled the commerce 
 of the kingdom. Impressed with a sense of the cruelty of those 
 
 * The Eev. Charles Kingsley dedicates his recent novel, " Westward Ho !" which 
 is a tale of the Buccaneers, in these words : — " To the Rajah Sir James Brooke, K.C.B., 
 and George Augustus Selwyn, D.D., Bishop of New Zealand, this book is dedicated, 
 by one who (imknown to them) has no other metliod of expressing his admiration 
 and reverence for their characters. That type of English virtue, at once manful and 
 godly, practical and enthusiastic, prudent and self-sacrificing, which he has tried to 
 depict in these pages, they have exliibited in a fomi even purer and more heroic tlian 
 that in which he has dressed it, and than that in which it was exhibited by the wortliiee 
 whom EUzabeth, without distinction of rank or age, gathered round her in the ever- 
 glorious wars of her great reign." The " even purer and more heroic" can scarcely 
 make the compliment palatable.
 
 364 ROYAL Sllirs LEXT TO MERCHANTS. 
 
 piratical proceedings which had loug disgraced most maritime countries, 
 and particularly England, Henry V. determined to repress such 
 conduct in his own subjects, without stipulating that other governments 
 should do the same, being satisfied with setting an example of humanity 
 and justice to the nations of Europe — an enliglitened policy far in 
 advance of his time. When Parliament met, the Cliaucellor 
 pointed out the frequent infractions of truces wliich had been 
 committed on the high sea, in the ports, and on the coasts of the 
 realm, whereby many persons who were protected by truces, and 
 others who liad safe conducts, had been killed, or robbed and pillaged, 
 to the great dishonour and scandal of the King, and against his dignity, 
 the which offenders had been encouraged and supported by the people 
 in many counties. It was therefore enacted, that such proceedings 
 should be considered high treason ; and that a conservator of the 
 truce shoidd be appointed in each port to inquire into those oflences, 
 and to punish the parties ; and that if they captured anything, they 
 should bring it into their port, and make a full report to him 
 before the goods were sold.* 
 
 It is obvious, therefore, that the buccaneers of Elizabeth's reign 
 acted iu violation of principles that had long been recognized, 
 and broke tlirough salutary laws which had existed for a century 
 and a half. 
 
 It appears that though ships were at times impressed into the 
 King's service, upon other occasions, when a strong naval force was 
 not required, ships belonging to tlie Crown were lent to merchants, who 
 gave security for their return. One instance will suffice : — In 1232, 
 John Blancboilly liad the custody of Ilenry III.'s great sliip, the Queen, 
 with all her anchors, cables, and other tackle, to trade wheresoever he 
 pleased, he paying for her use the annual rent of fifty marks. He was 
 bound, at his own expense, to keep the ship in complete repair, against 
 all accidents excQpt perils of the sea, so that the ship might be restored 
 to the King in as good a state as when he received it ; and all his lands 
 in England were charged with the fulfihneut of tlio contract. f 
 
 The oidy instances wliich liave been found, down to the commence- 
 ment of the fourteenth century, of ships having two masts, is in tlie 
 statement of the monk of St. Denys, that some of the I'reuch vessels 
 
 * Nicolas's " IILstory of the Royal Navy." f IbLl.
 
 IMPROTEMEKTS IN SHIP BUILDING. 3G.J 
 
 in the expedition against England in 1386 had two sails, and in the list 
 of the stores of the King's carrack, about 1410, among which were 
 "one large mast" and " one small mast ;" but she seems to have had 
 only "one sailyai-d of two pieces," and "one tref with two bonnets," 
 which are the only notices of a yard or sail belonging to her. 
 
 The illustration, p. 287, is taken from a MS. in the Cotton Library, 
 " done by the hand of John E.ouse, the Warwickshire antiquary and 
 historian," who died the 14th of January, 1491. The ship represents 
 the one in which " Erie Eichard sailed towards the Holy Land, and 
 specially to the holy city of Jerusalem." This event occurred in the 
 reign of Henry IV., which commenced in 1399, the illustration is, 
 therefore, one of the earliest drawings of a two-masted ship. In the 
 same ]\IS. there are several ships with two masts, and others with four, 
 the additional ones being small, and probably used only for the display 
 of flags, dr knightly emblems. The Great Harry, built in the reign of 
 Henry VII. {Plate, p. 305), carried four regular masts, as did also, 
 the Harry Grace de Biett, bviilt by Henry VIII. In these ships are 
 exhibited in their extreme development the fore and stern castles of 
 these floating fortresses, the cumbersome rig of the old men-of-war 
 with their mast galleries, and fixed top-masts, which caused them to 
 labour heavily in hard weather. 
 
 These features were considerably modified and improved in the Royal 
 Sovereign, built in 1637. This vessel had three flush decks and a fore- 
 castle, a half-deck, a quarter-deck, and a round-house. Her lower tier 
 had thirty ports, which were furnished with demi-cannon and whole 
 cannon ; her middle tier had thirty ports ; her third tier twenty-six 
 ports ; her forecastle twelve, and her half-deck fourteen ports. She 
 had thirteen or fourteen ports more, besides a great many loop-holes 
 out of the cabins, for musket-shot. She carried ten pieces of ordnance 
 in her right forward, and ten right aft. 
 
 The building of this ship clearly showed that a most important 
 advance had been made in the art, an advance that distinguished 
 the age in which it was made. This ship appears to have been the 
 iirst tliree-decTced sliip built in England. Her masting and rigging 
 appear to have been considerably lightened ; her topmasts were made 
 to strike ; but as yet we see no evidence of the jib, foresail, or 
 mainsail, and the whole rig being square shows that she could not 
 hold close to the wind. 
 
 The first thing observable in modern ship-building is the cutting
 
 8G6 
 
 IMPROVEMENTS IX SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 down of the bulk which our ancestors were fond of piling above 
 the water. The castles, qnarter-decks, and poops, with which they 
 delighted to encumber their vessels, began first to give way at the 
 bows ; and the forecastle has long been a mere name, having vanished 
 more than a century ago. It was not, however, until a much more 
 recent period, that the mountains of timber piled up astern began to 
 be reduced. The tendency of improved ship-building is to lay the 
 whole expanse of deck as nearly as possible upon the same level ; at all 
 
 XllE ItUYAL SUVJiKiilGN. 
 
 events, the modest lieiglit of tlie quarter-decks now constructed contrasts 
 strangely with tlie old notion of a towering poop, ornamented with 
 cumbrous carvings, and furnished with range over range of quarter- 
 galleries. Beneath the water-mark, the tendency of advancing ship- 
 building has been so to adapt the curve of the swelling side and the 
 concave portions of the ship which " take hold of the water," as to 
 prevent, in a great degree, the heavy and injurious rolling motion, 
 which is increased by the weight a ship, and especially a man-of-war, 
 carries above the water ; to cause tlie ship to sit stiilly, and heel over as
 
 IMPROVEMENTS IN SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 3(5; 
 
 little as possible. To these qualities the naval arcliitect has to add the 
 consideration of speed, and the delicacy of the ship in answering tlie 
 slightest tovich of the helm. The peculiarities of modern im})rovement 
 in all these respects are easily observable upon comparison of an old- 
 fashioned with a newly-built hull. The bows of modern men-of-war 
 will be found to be sharper and finer than the old style ; and tliat there 
 
 THE COLLINGWOOD SHIP OF WAK. 
 
 is more of the concave shape about them — a form which flings the sea 
 sideways and backwards instead of aboard, as the old bluff" bows used to 
 do ; that the belly of the ship is by no means so round as it used to be, 
 the sides or walls being far flatter, an improvement which diminishes 
 the tendency to roll ; and that the dimensions of the port of the ship 
 diminish immediately before the rudder, called the run, and in which 
 the convex form changes into a finely modelled concave, so as to allow
 
 368 IMPUOVEMEKTS IN SHIP BUILDIKG. 
 
 tlie body of water displaced to close quickly and easily, flinging 
 its full force upon the helm.* 
 
 An example of a modern built ship of war, in which these several 
 improvements are combined, is to be found in her Majesty's ship 
 Collingwood, the build of which exhibits the following dimensions: — 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 Length of gun deck ....... 190 
 
 ' Length of keel for tonnage . . ... . 155 
 
 Breadth, extreme . . . . . . . 56 3 
 
 Breadth, moulded ... . . . . . 55 6 
 
 Depth m hold 23 4 
 
 Burthen .' . . . 2609 tons. 
 
 In the lines of modern ships of Avar, as well as of merchantmen, there 
 is a remarkable a2:)proach to the style of building long previously 
 adopted in the construction of yachts — the bows sharper and finer ; 
 the runs of great size and delicacy of mould ; and the height of the 
 shin attaining its extreme point when measured from the taifrail to 
 the lower extremity of the stern-port. The effect of this latter arrange- 
 ment, taking into consideration that the shij^s are made to sit with the 
 stern low in the water, is to cause them to draw many more feet aft 
 than forward, to give them great steering power and a strong, firm hold 
 of the water. 
 
 The yacht-like mould is exhibited in the highest degree in ships 
 which are called " clipper" built. These are constructed upon the 
 general theory, that a small amount of stowage room may be advan- 
 tageously given up to secure a great amount of speed, and with that 
 speed a preference for cargo, and a greater degree of safety from the 
 accidental risks of the sea. No one can dispute that a vessel able to go 
 ten or twelve miles an hour, stability not being sacrificed, must, in the 
 nature of things, be a more secure ship than one which is able to go 
 only five or six. The clippers were, we believe, first built to carry 
 perishable cargoes of salmon from Norway and the north of Scotland to 
 the Thames They are now commonly used in traffic for the conveyance 
 of easily-spoiled goods, and for that of cattle, whicli are deteriorated in 
 condition by being long at sea. The general fruit-trade from the Mediter- 
 ranean, the orange trade from the Azores, as well as the Scotch coasting 
 
 * Illustrated London Netos ; article upon the " Models of Naval Architecture, in 
 the Great Exhibition, 1851."
 
 .MI.KCIIAN r-.MAHINK, .\1AK1M; Kwli l'():iT.
 
 I'MI'ROVEMENTS IX SITTP RI'ILDIKO. liij?! 
 
 trafBc, are now almost entirely carried cni by clippers — craft uf as 
 beautiful an appearance on the water as any of Cooper's slaving, or 
 pirate, or privateer schooners, and able to go from the Nore to the 
 Humber in the time which a clumsy Newcastle brig would take to work 
 down the Swin to Harwich. 
 
 At first tlie principles of the clipper build were applied to schooners 
 employed in the coasting trade, or running only short voyages. The 
 clipper schooners — those of Scotland — were formed abaft much upon 
 the ordinary moulding of a yacht, while forward they were upon the 
 principle of the bows of a Clyde steamer, involving great sharpness, 
 rising into a concave shoulder. The effect of this construction, though 
 it does not prevent the vessel pitching, prevents her shipping water by 
 the bows, the overlapping portion of the latter flinging the water 
 downwards and backwards, so that the vessel ships only the amount of 
 wet that is wind-driven from the surface. 
 
 More recently the principle of the clipper build has been applied 
 to the largest classes of ships, performing the longest voyages ; and 
 the results fall little short of being wonderful. An example of this 
 class of vessel, and their capacity for all that can be desired of them, 
 is afiorded by the packet-ship Marco Polo. When the tide of emi- 
 gration from this country first set in towards the gold regions of 
 Australia, it experienced a great check in the length and tedium of the 
 voyage. The ships, which had previously been engaged in the trade to 
 Australia, took from one hundred to one hundred and twenty days 
 on the voyage. 
 
 The distinguishing feature of the Marco Polo is the peculiarity of 
 her hull. Her lines fore and aft are beautifully fine, her bearings 
 brought well down to the bilge ; thus, while slie makes amidships a 
 displacement that prevents unnecessary " careening," she has an 
 entrance as sharp as a steam-boat's, and a run as clear as can be con- 
 ceived. Below the draught-line her bows are hollow, but aloft she 
 swells out handsomely, which gives ample space on the top-gallant 
 deck; in fact, with the bottom of a yacht, she has aloft all the 
 appearance of a frigate. She is a three-decker, and being adopted as 
 a type of a new class of vessels that are now extensively employed in 
 conveying passengers to the British colonies, where those young 
 nations are springing up which in future years will change the political 
 geography of the world, a somewhat minute description oi her may be 
 read with interest. 
 
 D D
 
 370 
 
 FAST-SAILTNa " CLTPPEu" SHIPS. 
 
 The length of the 3farco Polo from stem to stern (inside measure- 
 ment) is 185 feet; but over all she makes considerably more. Her 
 beam is 38 feet, and her depth of hold from the " coombings " 30 feet. 
 Her register tonnage is 1625, but her burthen considerably exceeds 
 
 THE MAECO POLO. 
 
 2000 tons. On deck, forward of the poop, which is used as the ladies' 
 cabin, is a " home on deck," used as a dining saloon ; it is ceiled 
 with maple, and the pilasters are pannelled with richly-ornamented and 
 silvered glass ; coins of various countries being a novel feature of the 
 decorations. Between each pilaster is a circular ajierture, about six 
 feet in circumference, for light and ventilation ; over it is placed a 
 sheet of plate-glass, with a cleverly-painted picturesque view in the 
 centre, with a framework of foliage and scroll, in opaque colours 
 and gold. 
 
 The whole panels are brought out slightly by a rim of perforated 
 zinc, so that not only does the light from the ventilator diffuse itself 
 over the whole, but air is freely admitted. The saloon doors are 
 pannelled with stained glass, bearing figures of Commerce and Industry. 
 In the centre of the saloon is a table or dumb-waiter, made of thick
 
 FAST-SAILINa "CLIPPER" SHIPS. 
 
 371 
 
 plate-glass, which has the advantage of giving light to the dormitories 
 on the deck below. The upholstery is in embossed crimson velvet. 
 The berths in separate state rooms are ranged in the 'tween decks, 
 and are rendered cheerful by circular glass hatch-lights, of novel and 
 effective construction. 
 
 Her height between decks is eight feet, and no pains have been 
 spared in her construction to secure thorough ventilation. In 
 
 HOLD OF A MODEItN MEllCIIANT SHIP. 
 
 strength she could not be well excelled ; her timbering is enormous ; 
 her deck beams are huge balks of pitch pine ; her timbers are well 
 formed and ponderous. The stem and stern frame are of the choicest 
 material. The hanging and lodging knees are all natural crooks, and 
 are fitted to the greatest nicety. The exterior planking and ceiling is 
 narrow ; and while there has been no lack of timber, there has been a 
 profusion of labour.
 
 372 
 
 QUICKEST VOYAGE EOUXD THE WOKLD. 
 
 The Marco Folo sailed from Liverpool on the 4th of July, 1852, for 
 Port Philip, and made the voyage out in the unprecedentedly short 
 space of sixty-eight days, and the passage home in seventy-four days. 
 Including twenty-eight days spent in unloading and loading at Port 
 Philip, only five mouths and twenty-one days elapsed between her 
 leaving and regaining the shoi'es of Britain. Here was at once a 
 gain upon the rates of the old voyages of more than tico mouths — a 
 matter of enormous imjoortance to the interests of commerce and of 
 passenger conveyance. On the 10th of Avigust the Marco Polo 
 was in lat. 32° north, bound for Port Philip, by the Cape of Good 
 Hope ; and on the 11th of November she was again in lat. 32° north, 
 on her return by Cape Horn, having thus sailed round the world 
 in ninety-four days. 
 
 The improved construction of ships, their increased dimensions, better 
 ventilation, and shorter voyages, produce the most important effects upon 
 
 Qr.VKTEK-DPXK AND POOP. 
 
 the health of crews and passengers. Notwithstanding the ciimbrous 
 appearance of ships has entirely given way to the more graceful and 
 sea-worthy form, the dimensions of all the ships' departments have 
 increased, and they are now no less floating fortresses than formerly, 
 while their internal economy jji-uvides many facilities and comforts 
 which were formerly unknown.
 
 ECONOMY or A MODERN SHIP OF WAR. 373 
 
 The quarter-deck and poop of the CoIIinf/wood is the subject of 
 
 WORKING A GITN. 
 
 the illustration p. 372 It presents all the appearance of a battery, 
 
 .^^i;j,j;ifiT!'l"'ilriH^iii'^Tniii,^|iii,i|Wiii|iiMii|i|-r<yj,^^^^ 
 
 WAKD-KOOir, OK OFFICERS' CABIN.
 
 374 
 
 ECOXOiir OF A MODERN SHIP OF WAR. 
 
 affordiBg a great promenade sheltered by high bulwarks : while upon 
 the gun-deck the scope is ample for efficient action, and greater than 
 was found to exist in some of the stone batteries of Sebastopol. A 
 34-pouiider is generally worked by thirteen men and a boy, consisting 
 of two gun-captains, first and second ; two fire-men, two sail trimmers, 
 two pumpers, two boarders, or small armed-men, two spongers, and a 
 boy to carry powder, On the event of any exigency, each gun contri- 
 butes its quota of two men, who are headed by an officer selected for 
 that purpose. For instance, when the roll of the drum summons the 
 
 MESS TABLE. 
 
 boarders, two men quit each gun and form a boarding force, under the 
 command of proper officers. 
 
 The ward-room is the dining-room and drawing-room of the officers, 
 and is in the after-part of the main-deck. Here are located the commo- 
 dore, lieutenants, masters, marine officers, surgeons, purser, and chaplain. 
 It is fitted with dormitories or cabins on each side, and these are 
 furnished by their occupants with considerable taste. 
 
 Between each two guns on the lower deck is a table about twelve 
 feet long, and three feet or more wide, known as the men's table. 
 It is generally fixed by a moveable pin in a hinge to the side of the ship.
 
 ECONOMY OF A MODERN SHIP OF WAR. 
 
 375 
 
 and suspended from the deck overhead by slings or ropes at the outer 
 end, so as to be capable of removal in an instant, when the ship has to 
 be cleared for action. A mess is generally composed of eight, and 
 sometimes twelve men ; and there are generally located between each 
 two guns thirty men. They have stools or forms to sit on, the legs of 
 which can be taken out for the better convenience of stowing away. 
 The beds of the sailors are made in hammocks, himg from the 
 beams on the gun-deck, which is much healthier than sleeping in 
 close berths. 
 
 §: 
 
 LASHING THE HAMMOCKS. 
 
 A part of the ship, generally on the starboard or right-hand forward, 
 is set apart for a sick- ward, or hospital, when any of the crew are ill 
 or wounded. This part is kept exceedingly clean and quiet, and is 
 placed ujider the sole charge of the surgeon and his assistants. It is 
 not interfered with in any way, save for the purpose of cleaning in the 
 morning, which is superintended by the mate of the main deck, and the 
 department is also under the superior inspection of the captain.
 
 376 
 
 ECOXOMY OF A MODERN SHIP OF WAB. 
 
 Between the fore and main hatchways, on the main-declf, there is a 
 regidar fixed sheep-pen of two tiers, each about four feet high, aud 
 
 --§«£ 
 
 ' ///T^^^^pi 
 
 THE HOSPITAL. 
 
 capable of holding eighteen or twenty sheep each. There are also 
 extra pens between such guns on the main-deck as are not likely to bo 
 
 6HEEP-PEN8 AND POULTUIT-COOPS. 
 
 used, except upon extraordinary occasions. The live stock consists of 
 sheep, goats, and poultry. The goats supply milk, and thus fresh
 
 ECONOMY OF A MODERN SHIP OF AVAR. 
 
 377 
 
 meat, eggs, and milk are obtained upon the voyage. AVhen a ship has 
 been six weeks at sea, it is usual to serve out to the crew an allowance 
 of lime-juice, an excellent specific against scurvy. 
 
 The method of weighing anchor by the capstan is one of the im- 
 provements which Sir Walter Ealeigh wrote of, as belonginor to his 
 time. But for this improvement it would have been almost impossible 
 to raise the heavy auchors now required for vessels of great dimensions. 
 
 ii.\a A>CHOB BY THii CAPSTAN. 
 
 In no department has the progress of Grreat Britain been more 
 marked than that of her shipping, and her increasing communication, 
 with every part of the world. As we have seen, within comparatively 
 a modern date, a ship of one thousand tons burden was regarded as a 
 prodigy ; now, ships of two thousand tons are regarded as little more 
 than of medium size ; and those of two thousand three hundred, and 
 two thousand five himdred tons, and upwards, are every day becoming 
 more common. 
 
 In 1701 there belonged to English ports (chiefly London, Bristol, 
 and Yarmouth) 3281 vessels, estimated to measure 261,222 tons, and 
 carrying 27,196 men. The shipping is supposed to have been douhled 
 between 1701 and 1760; after which its increase became quite 
 extraordinary. In 1800, it amounted in England to 1,466,632 tons ; 
 Scotland, 161,511; Ireland, 54,262; Channel Islands, 16,110; 
 and Colonies, 157,364 ; total, 1,855,879 tons ; employing 138,721 
 men. In 1831, the registered tonnage of 24,242 British ships amounted 
 to 2,581,y(>4 tons ; in 1841, 30,052 ships registered 3,512,480 tons ; in
 
 378 
 
 INCEEASE OF SHIPS AND TONXAGE. 
 
 1851, 34,244 ships registered 4,332,085 tons. The recent statistics of 
 shipping are so mixed up with the results of the introduction of steam- 
 navigation, that we must defer, until treating of that subject, a few 
 tabular statements illustrative of the wonderful progress of Britain 
 upon the seas. 
 
 Not only have improvements extended to the larger shipping, the 
 "wooden walls" of our island, but the smaller coasting craft have 
 
 W 
 
 PXSHINa SMACKS. 
 
 participated in the general advance. The thousands of fishing-smacl<s 
 that daily leave our havens, are no longer tlie tub-like boats of 
 old, but of the true clipper cut, making rapid runs to their iisliing- 
 grounds, and returning thence with their valuable cargoes for the 
 markets with a speed and regularity which our boating fathers would 
 have been amazed at. The same degree of improvement may be 
 observed in the craft of our pilot service, a most important depart- 
 ment of mercantile marine. Ships returning from foreign ports,
 
 IMPROVEMENTS OF COASTING CEAFT. 
 
 379 
 
 with valuable freights, require the earliest and safest conduet to their 
 anchorage. 
 
 For communication with such ships, craft of small tonnage, capable 
 of facing all weathers, are required, and these are to be found in all 
 our principal ports — fast sailing, staunch, and managed by skilful 
 hands. 
 
 As if the march of improvement must nowhere halt, the yacht 
 
 / I 
 
 mould, which has gradually been encroached upon by the mercantile 
 marine, has assumed even fairer lines ; so that it is impossible to 
 conceive forms more beautiful than are now displayed by the pleasure- 
 craft that glide about our shores. Nor is sea-worthiness sacrificed to 
 mere ideas of beauty ; some of these vessels have performed voyages 
 and encountered weathers which at the first contemplation would 
 appear impossible. The amoimt of canvas borne in a moderate breeze 
 by some of our racing craft assumes almost fabulous proportions, and
 
 3S0 
 
 IMPROTEMENTS OF COASTIXG CRArX. 
 
 presents a fairy-like appearance, whicli suggests that every act of toil 
 has a poetical phase, and that by the hard hand of the shipwright there 
 is wrought a form whose lines are true to the principles of beauty — a 
 kind of Nautilus amid the productions of human skill. 
 
 The substitution of iron for timber is a subject of great national 
 magnitude : but this will also come more appropriately in the Section 
 upon Steam-navigation. We may, however, here remark that the 
 
 Ss^^ra^ 
 
 YACHT SC1I0().\I;K. 
 
 invention of iron shipping has been justly regarded as establishing the 
 supremacy of Great Britain as a maritime power for many ages to 
 come. It is not at all improbable that but for this adaptation, the 
 rapid growth of our marine must sooner or later have sustained a check. 
 An oak, in good soil and situation, will in seventy-five years from the 
 acorn contain a ton of timber. The same oak, at one hundred and fifty 
 years of age will contain aljuut eight tons of timber, or twelve loads 
 of square timber. To build a 71-gun ship requires about 2000 tons.
 
 IMPROTEMEIsTS OF COASTING CEAFT. 
 
 381 
 
 whict, at the rate of a load and a-half to a ton, would give 3000 
 loads of timber, and would, consequently, require 2000 trees of seventy- 
 five years' growth, or 250 of one hundred and fifty years' growth. It has 
 also been calculated that, as not more than forty oaka can stand upon an 
 acre, fifty acres are required to produce the oaka neceasary for every 
 74-gun ship. 
 
 We have, however, within our immediate reach, ample stores of 
 
 EACING SLOOP. 
 
 iron, which afford our builders the means of competing with those new 
 countries whose supplies of cheap timber, it was feared, would afford 
 them an advantage over us. But the extent of the benefit conferred, 
 was not at first sufficiently appreciated. The iron ship-builder is 
 comparatively inde^^endent of locality in carrying on his trade. 
 'WHierever water can be found to float a ship, when completed, the
 
 382 
 
 IRON SHIPS. 
 
 builder who adopts iron as bis material may erect bis stocks and work- 
 shops, free from the trammels of the builder in wood, who is bound 
 inexorably to the dear accommodation afforded in our sea-ports — inas- 
 much as there alone he can have a sufficient stock of timber to select 
 from. A fine example of an iron-built ship is the Tayleur, an Australian 
 clipper, launched in 1853, from the building yard of the Bank-quay 
 Company, at Warrington, an inland place on the river Mersey, distant 
 by water about twenty miles from the port of Liverpool. The Tayleur 
 
 IRON CLIPPER snip TAYLEUR. 
 
 is one of the largest sailing merchant-men ever built in this country. 
 She is 2100 tons new measurement, and carries 4000 tons of cargo on 
 a draught of twenty-one feet. Her dimensions are : Length of keel, 
 210 feet ; rake forward, 15 feet 4 inches ; stern-port rake, 5 feet ; over 
 all, with counter, 250 feet ; breadth of beam, 40 feet. 
 
 Although built as a three-decker, having a spar deck, the Tayleur is 
 only intended to carry passengers on one — the main-deck ; and even on 
 tliis she is only fitted up for about three-fourths of the number which
 
 PLANS FOE PEOPELLING SHIPS IN CALMS. 
 
 383 
 
 slie is capable of carrying, the remaining space being liberally given up 
 by her owners to increase the accommodation afforded. That this is 
 unusually great, is at once obvious, from the fact that her beam (forty 
 feet) is ten feet wider than that of the ordinary class of vessels engaged 
 in the trade ; thus allowing an increased space along the middle of the 
 deck, between the rows of berths. She is also very lofty, and her ven- 
 tilation is perfect. A shaft through her fore-top-gallant-deck, and four 
 port-holes in her stern afford a constant current of air through the 
 ship ; and she has besides seven covered hatchways, with windows to 
 open and close ; and side-lights, about eight feet apart, along her whole 
 length, and opening into every berth. She is divided into five com- 
 partments, to accommodate different classes of passengers — the fittings 
 and arrangements in each of which are of a very superior description. 
 
 SCALE Of j2f£-£- 
 
 Prior to the introduction of steam, the great difficulty of navigation 
 consisted in the liability of ships to fall into calms, and thus to remain 
 motionless while their cargoes perished and their crews sickened. 
 Even with sailing vessels this difficulty is now greatly obviated, because 
 of the perfected hydrology of the earth, and the accumulated knowledge 
 of the geographical distribution of currents of water and of air. 
 To remedy the difficulty, it was proposed by Mr. Thomas Savery, 
 
 about the year 1698, to 
 navigate ships in calms 
 by an engine which should 
 turn side paddles. The 
 handles, d d, were to be 
 worked by men, after the 
 manner of the capstan ; 
 the motion thus obtained 
 was to be communicated 
 to the shaft, H h, by a 
 rack-wheel, and the pro- 
 pulsion to be effected by 
 paddle -blades forming a 
 wheel. The proposition, with all its crudity, was gravely submitted 
 to the Admiralty, and tried experimentally upon the Thames. A 
 similar plan was proposed in France in the year 1753, and received the 
 reward of the Eoyal Academy of Sciences, as the most advantageous 
 manner of supplying the action of the wind upon large ships. But this
 
 3S4 
 
 PLAXS FOE PEOPELIJXG SHIPS IN CALMS, 
 
 was ten years after Jonathan Hull's patent for paddle-wlieels worked 
 by steam had been taken out in England. 
 
 In 1730 a patent was taken out by Dr. John Allen, for an invention 
 to navigate a ship in a calm. This was by ejecting water from tubes 
 placed at the ship's stern, by machinery represented in the engraving. 
 " The method I propose," said the inventor, " is very different from 
 anything that has ever yet been attempted, no part of its machinery or 
 apparatus being Avithout the ship. In short, the principle of giving 
 motion to the ship, in my way, is by forcing water or some other fluid 
 
 through the stern or hinder part of it 
 into the sea, by a proper engine or 
 engines placed within the ship for 
 ^y, that purpose. 
 
 K ^% ^c.^'^^ ^ T\\\'$, is an ope- 
 J^ ration consen- 
 ^ss^"^ taneous to na- 
 
 ture, agreeable 
 to what the Author of it has shown 
 us in the swimming of fishes, who 
 proceed in their motion, not by any 
 vibration of their fins, as oars, but by 
 pi'otrusion with their tails. 80, likewise, ducks 
 and other water fowls swim forward by paddling 
 with their feet behind their bodies. Nor is it 
 dissonant to some productions of art ; witness the sky-rocket ascending 
 in the air by virtue of a stream of fired gunpowder forcibly bursting 
 out at the lower end of it, and the recoiling of a cannon when it is fired 
 ort'." This proposal was also tried experimentally, and strenuously 
 advocated by its inventor, who further suggested that " the engine for 
 raising water by fire " — the original steam-engine — might be employed 
 to work his machinery. Now, as this proposal was made in 1730, it 
 a])pears that the first idea of steam navigation, attributed to Jonathan 
 Hull, belongs to Dr. Allen, whose claims we shall more fully enlarge 
 upon when entering upon the history of steam navigation. 
 
 Another plan, proposed by Mathon de la Cour, in the year 1753, 
 shows how tlie inventive spirit of the age was converging to that point 
 wliich afterwards became of such immense importance in our naval 
 historv. In this latter invenlldii, wheels were to be attached to the 
 sides of the sliip. .'ind to be worked by tlie mechanical power of men,
 
 TLANS FOR PROl'ELLlXa SllIl'S ll,' CALMS. 
 
 3So 
 
 treading, it would seem, upon tlie rods attached to an endless n.pc 
 communicating motion to the wheels by driving belts. In arguing 
 that the physical power of man was the only means that could be 
 
 looked to for the turning 
 of these wheels, M. de la 
 C(nir said : " One can 
 hardly think of having 
 other moving power than 
 that of men ; horses re- 
 quire for their subsistence 
 too great a quantity of 
 water, hay, and corn ; they 
 would be unable to endure 
 the labour, joined to the 
 hardship of the voyage, and they can be employed only with machines 
 too complicated, and taking up too much room. Let us, then, 
 endeavour to draw the greatest amount that we can from the strength 
 of men." 
 
 Thus we arrive at the time when, in 1736, Jonathan Hull's steam- 
 boat took a sailing ship in tow, and amid the wonder, doubts, and jeers 
 
 THE riEST STEAM-BOAT. 
 
 of spectators, made a great splash, a loud noise, and a black smoke, yet 
 managed to haul the cumbrous hulk along, and gave promise that the 
 child, which had distinguished himself by such an unheard-of feat, 
 
 E E
 
 386 COMMEXCEMEXT OF STEAM NAVIGATIOIT. 
 
 would one day become a giaut of great strength, and be a mighty 
 power, either for evil or for good. 
 
 It was a maxim of Sir "Walter E-aleigh, " That whosoever commands 
 the sea commands the trade ; whosoever connnands the trade of the 
 world, commands the riches of the world, and, consequently, the world 
 itself." But his notion of commanding the sea was that of sweeping 
 from its face the ships of every nation that rivalled our superiority. 
 
 The sea has now become a highw^ay for the enterprising of all 
 nations. As the roads of our land have been freed from highwaymen, 
 the sea has been cleared of lawless pirates ; and whether upon the water 
 or on the soil, men feel that it is more honourable and profitable 
 to labour and trade, than to fight and plunder. We do, perhaps, still 
 need our naval armaments, and the broadsides of men-of-war may 
 tend to keep some of the greater rogues of the human race in check, as 
 policemen's truncheons are a terror to petty thieves. Still a wonderful 
 advance has been made. Every ship that crosses the ocean and enters 
 the port of a kingdom not its own, is a pledge of peace. Such pledges 
 are of great consequence, when moral and religious considerations fail to 
 enforce a conviction of the absolute wickedness of war. 
 
 EXn or THE SECTION. 
 
 ^J-
 
 m