Real Life In London, Volumes I. and II.
select which you may like best, my stock is extensive and good.' He was
consequently invited into the cellar, and tasted from several binns,
particularly marking what he chose to conceive the best. Upon returning
to the parlour again--' Bless me, (cried he) I have had my pocket pick'd
this morning, and lost my handkerchief--can you oblige me with the loan
of one for present use? and I will send it back by one of my servants.'
'Certainly, Sir,' was the reply; and the best pocket-handkerchief was
quickly produced, with another bottle of wine, the flavour of which he
had approved while below. He then wrote a letter, which he said must be
dispatched immediately by a Ticket-porter to Albemarle Street, where
he must wait for an answer. This being done, lie desired a coach to be
called--asked the Landlord if he had any silver he could accommodate him
with, as he had occasion to go a little further, but would soon return.
This being complied with, by the Landlord giving him twenty shillings
with the expectation of receiving a ~304~~ pound note in return,
he threw himself into the coach, wished his accommodating Host good
afternoon, promised to return in less than an hour, but has never shewn
his face here since. Poor B------don't like to hear the circumstance
mentioned.”
“Zounds!” said Tallyho, “somebody was green upon the occasion; I thought
people in London were more guarded, and not so easily to be done. And
who did he prove to be after all?”
“No other than the well-known Major Semple, whose depredations of this
sort upon the public rendered him so notorious.”
Having finished their repast, Tom was for a move; and they took their
way along Thames Street in the direction for Tower Hill.
CHAPTER XX
“This life is all chequer'd with pleasures and woes
That chase one another like waves of the deep,
Each billow, as brightly or darkly it flows,
Reflecting our eyes as they sparkle or weep;
So closely our whims on our miseries tread,
That the laugh is awak'd ere the tear can be dried;
And as fast as the rain-drop of pity is shed,
The goose-plumage of folly can turn it aside;
But, pledge me the cup! if existence can cloy
With hearts ever light and heads ever wise,
Be ours the light grief that is sister to joy,
And the short brilliant folly that flashes and dies.”
“THE building before us,” said Tom, “is the Tower of London, which was
formerly a palace inhabited by the various Sovereigns of this country
till the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Fitzstephens says, it was originally
built by Julius Cæsar; but I believe there is no proof of the truth
of this assertion, except that one of the towers is to this day called
Cæsar's Tower.”
“It seems a place of great security,” said Bob.
“Yes--William the Conqueror erected a fortress on part of its present
site, to overawe the inhabitants of London on his gaining possession
of the City, and about twelve years afterwards, in 1078, he erected a
larger building than the first, either on the site of the former or near
it. This building, repaired or rebuilt by succeeding Princes, is that
which is now called the White Tower.”
“It appears altogether to be a very extensive building,” said Tallyho;
“and what have we here? (turning his eyes to the left)--the modern style
of those form a curious contrast to that we are now viewing.”
“That is called Trinity Square, and the beautiful edifice in the
centre is the Trinity House; it is a new building, of stone, having
the advantage of rising ground for its site, and of a fine area in the
front.” ~306~~ “The Trinity House,” reiterated Bob, “some ecclesiastical
establishment, I presume, from its title?”
“There you are wrong,” continued Dashall; “it is a Corporation, which
was founded in the year 1515 by Henry VIII. and consists of a Master,
four Wardens, eighteen Elder Brothers, in whom is vested the direction
of the Company, and an indefinite number of younger Brothers; for
any sea-faring man may be admitted into the Society by that name, but
without any part of the controul of its concerns. The elder Brethren are
usually selected from the most experienced commanders in the navy and
the merchants' service, with a few principal persons of his Majesty's
Government.”
“But what, in the name of wonder,” inquired Bob, “have Sailors to do
with the Trinity?”
“As much as other persons,” was the reply; “if it is the anchor of hope,
as we are taught, they have as great a right to rely upon it as any
body else--besides, the names given to houses and places in London have
nothing to do with their occupations or situations, any more than
the common language of life has to do with nature; else why have we a
Waterloo House in the vicinity of St. Giles's for the sale of threads,
laces, and tapes--a Fleet for the confinement of prisoners, or the
King's Bench devoted to the same purposes, unless it is,
“That when we have no chairs at home,
The King (God bless him) grants us then a bench.”
Though London contains a round of delights and conveniences scarcely to
be equalled, it is at the same time a combination of incongruities as
difficult to be conceived. The denomination of this House has therefore
nothing to do with the business to which it is devoted. The body which
transacts its concerns is called The Master, Wardens and Assistants, of
the Guild, or Fraternity of the most glorious and undivided Trinity,
and of St. Clement, in the parish of Deptford, Stroud, in the county of
Kent.”
“An admirable illustration of your assertion,” replied Bob; “and
pray may I be allowed, without appearing romantic or unnecessarily
inquisitive, to ask what are the objects of the Institution?”
“Certainly. The use of this Corporation is to superintend the general
interests of the British shipping, military and commercial. To this end,
the powers of the ~307~~ Corporation are very extensive; the principal
of which are, to examine the children educated in mathematics in
Christ's Hospital--examine the masters of the King's ships--appoint
pilots for the Thames--erect light-houses and sea-marks--grant licenses
to poor seamen, not free of the City, to row on the Thames--and
superintend the deepening and cleansing of the river; they have power
to receive donations for charitable purposes, and annually relieve great
numbers of poor seamen and seamen's widows and orphans; and as they
alone supply outward-bound ships with ballast, on notice of any shoal or
obstruction arising in the river Thames, they immediately direct their
men and lighters to work on it till it is removed. The profits arising
to the Corporation by this useful regulation is very considerable.”
During this conversation they had continued to walk towards the Trinity
House, and were now close to it.
“Come,” continued Dashall, “the interior is worth seeing: there are some
fine paintings in it, and the fitting up is altogether of an elegant
description.”
Upon making application at the door, and the customary payment of a
shilling each, they were admitted. The appearance of the Hall, which is
grand, though light and elegant, particularly attracted the attention
of Tallyho. The double stair-case, which leads to the court-room, was an
object of peculiar delight. The beautiful model of the Royal William in
the Secretary's Office was much admired; but the Court-room was
abundant in gratification. Here they were ushered into a spacious
apartment,*particularly elegant, being unincumbered; the ceiling
finished in a superior style, and decorated with paintings of the late
King and Queen--James the Second--Lord Sandwich--Lord Howe, and Mr.
Pitt. Here Bob wandered from portrait to portrait, examining the
features and character of each, and admiring the skill and ability of
the artists. At the upper end of the room he was additionally pleased
to find a large painting containing a group of about twenty-four of
the elder Brethren, representing them at full length, attended by their
Secretary, the late Mr. Court. Many of the persons being well remembered
by Dashall, were pointed out by him to his Cousin, and brought to his
recollection names deservedly celebrated, though now no more. This
picture was the gift of the Merchant Brethren in 1794.
Tallyho was much delighted with his survey of this truly elegant
building, and the luminous account given by ~308~~ his Cousin of
the various persons whose portraits met his eye, or whose names and
characters, connected with the establishment, had become celebrated for
scientific research or indefatigable industry.
“It will occupy too much time this morning,” said Dashall, “to visit
the interior of the Tower, as I have dispatched a Ticket-porter to
Piccadilly, ordering my curricle to be at Tom's Coffee-house at one; we
will therefore defer that pleasure to the next opportunity of being this
way. We will however take a look at the Bank and the Exchange, then a
trundle into the fresh air for an hour, and return home to dinner; so
come along, but we will vary our walk by taking another road back.”
With this intention, they now crossed Tower Hill, and turned to the
left, along the Minories.
“Here is a place,” said Dashall, “well known, and no doubt you have
often heard of--Sparrow Corner and Rosemary Lane are better known by
the appellation of Rag Fair. It is a general mart for the sale of
second-hand clothes, and many a well-looking man in London is indebted
to his occasional rambles in this quarter for his appearance. The
business of this place is conducted with great regularity, and the
dealers and collectors of old clothes meet at a certain hour of the
afternoon to make sales and exchanges, so that it is managed almost upon
the same plan as the Royal Exchange, only that the dealers here come
loaded with their goods, which must undergo inspection before sales can
be effected: while the Merchant carries with him merely a sample, or
directs his Purchaser to the warehouse where his cargo is deposited. The
principal inhabitants of this place are Jews, and they obtain supplies
from the numerous itinerant collectors from all quarters of London and
its suburbs, whom you must have observed parading the streets from the
earliest hour of the morning, crying _Ould clothes--Clothes sale_.”
“It surely can hardly be a trade worth following,” said Talltho.
“There are many hundreds daily wandering the streets, however,” replied
Tom, “in pursuit of cast-off apparel, rags, and metals of different
sorts, or at least pretend so. The Jews are altogether a set of traders.
I do not mean to confine my observations to them only, because there
are persons of other sects employed in the same kind of business; and
perhaps a more dangerous set of cheats could ~309~~ scarcely be pointed
at, as their chief business really is to prowl about the houses and
stables of people of rank and fortune, in order to hold out temptations
to their servants, to pilfer and steal small articles not likely to be
missed, which these fellows are willing to purchase at about one-third
of their real value. It is supposed that upwards of 15,000 of these
depraved itinerants among the Jews are daily employed in journeys of
this kind; by which means, through the medium of base money and other
fraudulent dealings, many of them acquire property with which they open
shops, and then become receivers of stolen property; the losses thus
sustained by the public being almost incalculable--
“For wid coot gould rings of copper gilt--'tis so he gets his
bread,
Wit his sealing-vax of brick-dust, and his pencils without lead.”
It is estimated that there are from fifteen to twenty thousand Jews in