June 21.

“Dunmow, Nuper Priorat.At a court baron of the right worshipful SirThomas May, knt. there holden uponFridaythe 7th day ofJune, in the 13th year of the reign of our sovereign lordWilliamIII. by the grace of God, &c. and in the year of our lord 1701, beforeThomas Wheeler, gent. steward of the said manor, it is thus enrolled:Homage.{Elizabeth Beaumont, Spinster}Jurat.Henrietta Beaumont, SpinsterAnnabella Beaumont, SpinsterJane Beaumont, SpinsterMary Wheeler, Spinster

“Dunmow, Nuper Priorat.

At a court baron of the right worshipful SirThomas May, knt. there holden uponFridaythe 7th day ofJune, in the 13th year of the reign of our sovereign lordWilliamIII. by the grace of God, &c. and in the year of our lord 1701, beforeThomas Wheeler, gent. steward of the said manor, it is thus enrolled:

“Be it remember’d, that at this court, in full and open court, it is found, and presented by the homage aforesaid, thatWilliam Parsley, ofMuch Eastonin the county ofEssex, butcher, andJanehis wife, have been married for the space of three years last past, and upward; and it is likewise found, presented, and adjudged, by the homage aforesaid, that the saidWilliam Parsley, andJanehis wife, by means of their quiet, peaceable, tender, and loving cohabitation, for the space of time aforesaid, (as appears by the said homage) are fit and qualify’d persons to be admitted by the court to receive the antient and accustom’d oath, whereby to entitle themselves to have the bacon ofDunmowdelivered unto them, according to the custom of the manor.

“Whereupon, at this court, in full and open court, came the saidWilliam Parsley, andJanehis wife, in their proper persons, and humbly prayed, they might be admitted to take the oath aforesaid; whereupon the said steward, with the jury, suitors, and other officers of the court, proceeded, with the usual solemnity, to the antient and accustomed place for the administration of the oath, and receiving the gammon aforesaid, (that is to say) the two great stones lying near the church door, within the said manor, where the saidWilliam Parsley, andJanehis wife, kneeling down on the said two stones, and the said steward did administer unto them the above-mentioned oath in these words, or to this effect following, viz.

You do swear by custom of confession,That you ne’er made nuptial transgression,Nor since you were married man and wife,By houshold brawls, or contentious strife,Or otherwise, in bed or at board,Offended each other in deed or in word;Or in a twelvemonth’s time and a day,Repented not in thought any way;Or since the church clerk saidAmen,Wished yourselves unmarried again,But continued true, and in desireAs when you joyned hands in holy quire.

“And immediately thereupon, the saidWilliam Parsley, andJanehis wife, claiming the said gammon of bacon, the court pronounced the sentence for the same, in these words, or to the effectfollowing—

Since to these conditions, without any fear,Of your own accord you do freely swear,A whole gammon of bacon you do receive,And bear it away with love and good leave,For this is the custom ofDunmowwell known;Tho’ the pleasure be ours, the bacon’s your own.

“And accordingly a gammon of bacon was delivered unto the saidWilliam Parsley, andJanehis wife, with the usual solemnity.

“ExaminedperThomas Wheeler, steward.”

The same day a gammon was delivered to Mr.Reynolds, steward to SirCharles Barrington, ofHatfield Broad Oak.

The custom of this manor is commemorated “in this old distich” viz.

He that repents him not of his Marriage in a year and a day either sleeping or wakingMay lawfully goe to Dunmow and fetch a gammon of Bacon.

It is further mentioned in “Piers Plowman’s Vision,” and Chaucer refers to it in the following words:

The bacon was not set for hem I trowe,That some men haue in Essex at DonmoweWife of Bath’s Prologue.

The bacon was not set for hem I trowe,That some men haue in Essex at Donmowe

Wife of Bath’s Prologue.

There is a similar usage, in the “Honor of Tutbury,” the whole whereof is here set forth in Dr. Plot’s words, viz.:

“I find that Sr.Philip de Somervile10 ofEdw. 3.held the Manors ofWhichnovre,Scirescot,Ridware Netherton, andCowlee, all inCom. Staffordof the Earles ofLancasterLords of theHonorofTutbury, by these memorableServices, viz.By two small fees, that is to say,

“When other Tenants pay for Reliefe one whole Knight’s fee, One hundred Shillings, he the said SirPhilipshall pay but Fifty shillings: and when Escuage is assessed throgheowtt the land; or to Ayde for to make th’ eldest sonne of the Lord, Knyght; or for to marry the eldest daughter of the Lord, the said SirPhilipshall pay bott the moitye of it that other shall paye. Nevertheless, the said SirPhilipshall fynde, meyntienge, and susteingne oneBacon flyke, hanging in his Hall atWhichenovre, redy arrayede all times of the yere, bott (except) in Lent; to be given to everyche mane, or woman married, after the day and the yere of their marriage be passed: and to be gyven to everyche mane of Religion, Archbishop, Bishop, Prior, or other Religious; and to everyche Preest, after the year and day of their profession finished, or of their dignity reseyved, in forme followyng. Whensoever that ony suche byforenamed, wylle come for to enquire for theBaconne, in there own persone; or by any other for them, they shall come to the Baillyfe, or to the Porter of the Lordship ofWhichenovre, and shall say to them, in the manere as ensewethe;

“Bayliffe, or Porter, I doo you to knowe; that I am come for my self (or, if he be come for any other, shewing for whome) to demaunde one Bacon flyke, hanging in the Halle, of the Lord ofWhichenovre,after the forme thereunto belongyng.

After which relacioun, the Baillyffe or Porter shall assign a day to him, upon promyse, by his feythe to retourne; and with him to bryng tweyne of his neighbours.

“And, in the meyn tyme, the said Bailliffe shall take with him tweyne of the Freeholders of the Lordship ofWhichenovre; and they three, shall go to the Manoir ofRudlowe, belongynge toRobert Knyghtleye, and there shall somon the forseidKnyghteleyor his Baillyffe; commanding him, to be redy atWhichenovre, the day appoynted, at pryme of the day, withe his Caryage; that is to say, a Horse and a Sadylle, a Sakke, and a Pryke, for to convey and carye the said Baconne, and Corne, a journey owtt of the Countee ofStafford, at hys costages. And then the sayd Baillyffe, shall, with the sayd Freeholders, somone all the Tenaunts of the said Manoir, to be ready at the day appoynted, atWhichenovre, for to doo and perform the services which they owe to the Baconne. And, at the day assign’d, all such as owe services to the Baconne, shall be ready at the Gatte of the Manoir offWhichenovre, frome the Sonnerysing to None, attendying and awatyn for the comyng for hym, that fetcheth the Baconne. And, when he is comyn, there shall be delivered to hym and hys felowys, Chapeletts; and to all those whiche shall be there; to do their services deue to the Baconne: And they shall lede the seid Demandant wythe Trompes and Sabours, and other maner of Mynstralseye, to the Halle-dore, where he shall fynde the Lord ofWhichenovre, or his Steward, redy to deliver the Baconne, in thismanere:—

“He shall enquere of hym, whiche demandeth the Baconne, yf he have brought tweyn of hys Neghbors with hym. Whiche must answere;They be here ready. And then the Steward shall cause thies two Neighbours to swere, yf the seyd Demandaunt be a weddyt man; or have be a man weddyt: and yf sythe his Marriage, one yere and a day be passed: and, yf he be a freeman, or a villeyn. And yf hys seid neghbours make Othe, that he hath for hym all thies three poynts rehersed; then shall the Baconne be take downe, and broghte to the Hall-dore; and shall there be layd upon one halfe a Quarter of Wheatte; & upon one other of Rye. And he that demandeth the Baconne shall kneel upon his knee; and shall hold his right hand upon a booke; which booke shall be layde above the Baconne, and the Corne; and shall make Othe, in this manere.

“Here ye, SirPhilippe de Somervile,Lord ofWhichenovre,mayntener and gyver of this Baconne; That IA.sithe I WeddedB.my wife, and sythe I hadd hyr in my kepyng, and at my wylle, by a yere and a day, after our Mariage; I wold not have chaunged for none other; farer, ne fowler; rycher ne pourer; ne for none other descended of greater lynage; slepyng, ne waking, at noo tyme. And yf the seydB.were sole, and I sole, I would take her to be my Wyfe, before alle the wymen of the worlde; of what condiciones soever they be; good or evylle, as helpe me God ond hys Seyntys; and this fleshe, and all fleshes.

“And hys neighbors shall make Othe,that they trust veraly he hath said truly. And, yff it be founde by his neighbours, before-named, that he be a Free-man; there shall be delyvered to him half a Quarter of Wheate, and a Cheese. And yf he be a villeyn, he shall have half a Quarter of Rye, wythoutte Cheese. And then shallKnyghtleye, the Lord ofRudlowe, be called for, to carrye all thies thynges, tofore rehersed: And the said Corne shall be layd upon one horse, and the Baconne above ytt: and he too whom the Baconne apperteigneth, shall ascend upon his Horse; and shall take the Cheese before hym, yf he have a Horse: And, yf he have none, the Lord ofWhichenovreshall cause him have one Horse and Sadyll, to such time as he be passed hys Lordshippe: and so shalle they departe the Manoir ofWhichenovre, with the Corne and the Baconne, tofore hym that hath wonne itt, with Trompets, Tabouretts, and other maner of Mynstralce. And, all the Free-Tenants ofWhichenovreshall conduct hym, to be passed the Lordship ofWhichenovre. And then shall all they retorne; except hym, to whom apperteigneth to make the carryage and journey, wythowtt the Countye ofStafford, at the Costys of hys Lord ofWhichenovre. And, yff the saydRobert Knightley, do not cause the Baconn and Corne, to be conveyed, as is rehersed; the Lord ofWhichenovreshall do it be carryed, and shall dystreigne the seydRobert Knyghtleyfor his defaulte, for one hundred shyilings, in his Manoir ofRudlowe; and shalle kepe the distres, so takyn, irreplevisable.

“Moreover, the said SirPhilippeholdeth of his Lorde, th’ Erle, the Manoir ofBriddleshalle, by thies services; that, att such tyme, that hys sayd Lorde holdeth hys Chrystemes atTutbury, the seyd SirPhelippeshall come toTutbury, upon Chrystemasse Evyn; and shall be lodged yn the Town ofTutbury, by the Marshall of the Erlys house: and upon Chrystymesse-day, he himself, or some othyr Knyght (his Deputye) shall go to the Dressour; and shall serve to his Lordys meese: and then shall he kerve the same meet to hys sayd Lord: And thys service shall he doo aswell at Souper, as at Dynner: and when hys Lord hath etyn; the said SirPhilippeshall sit downe, in the same place, wheir hys Lord satt: and shalle be served att hys Table, by the Steward of th’ Erlys house. And, upon SeyntStevyn-day, when he haith dyned, he shall take leve of hys Lorde, and shall kysse hym: and, for hys service he shall nothing take, ne nothing shall gyve. And all thyes services, tofore-rehersed, the seyd SirPhilippehath doo, by the space of xlviii. yeres; and hys ancestors byfore hym, to hys Lordys, Erlys ofLancastre.

“Item, the said SirPhilippeholdeth of his seid Lord, th’Erle, his Manoirs ofTatenhullandDrycotte, en percenerye, by thies services; that the seid SirPhelippe, or his Atturney for hym, shall come to the Castell ofTutburye, upon SeyntPetyrday, inAugust, which is calledLammesse; and shall shew the Steward, or Receiver, that he is come thither to hunt, and catch his Lord’s Greese, at the costages of hys Lorde. Whereupon the Steward or the Receiver shall cause a Horse and Sadylle to be deliveryd to the sayd SirPhelippe, the price Fifty shillings; or Fifty shillings in money, and one Hound; and shall pay to the said SirPhelippe, everyche day, fro the said day of SeyntPeter, toHoly Roode-day, for hymself Two shillings six pence a day; and everyche day for his servant, and his Bercelett, during the sayd time twelve pence. And all the Wood-masters of the Forest ofNedewodeandDuffelde, withe alle the Parkers and Foresters, shall be commandyd to awatte, and attend upon the sayd SirPhelippe, while theyre Lord’s Greese be takyn, in all places of the seyde Forestys, as upon their Master, during the said tyme. And the said SirPhelippe, or his Attorny, shall deliver to the said Parkers, or Foresters, that shall belonge to their Lordys Lardere; commandyng them to convey itt to the Erlys Lardyner, abyding atTutbury: and with the remenant, the seyd SirPhelippeshall do hys plesoure. And, uponHoly-Rood-daythe sayd SirPhelippeshall returne to the Castell ofTutbury, upon the said Horse, with his Bercelet; and shall dyne with the Steward or Receyver: and after Dynner he shall delyver the Horse, Sadylle, and Bercelett to the Steward or Receyvour; and shall kysse the Porter and depart.”

Having here set forth these singular usages in the “Peaseason,” it may not be amiss to add thefollowing—

The best time is betweenSeptemberandChristmas. Procure a large wooden trough; lay the sides of the hog in the trough, and sprinkle them heavily with bay-salt; leave them twenty-four hours to drain away the blood, and other over-abounding juices. Then take them out, wipe them dry, and throw away the drainings. Take some fresh bay-salt, and heating it well in anironfrying-pan, (beware not to use copper or brass though ever so well tinned,) rub the meat till you are tired; do this four days successively, turning the meat every other day. If the hog is large, keep the sides in the brine (turning them ten times) for three weeks; then take them out, and dry them thoroughly in the usualmanner.[216]

Finally, remembering that the customs before stated relate to marriage, it occurs that there is the following

Receipt for a Good Match.To make a good match you have brimstone and wood,Take a scold and a blockhead—the match must be good.

Receipt for a Good Match.

To make a good match you have brimstone and wood,Take a scold and a blockhead—the match must be good.

Mean Temperature 60·47.

[212]Plott, in his Staffordshire, from History of Robert Fitzwalter. Lond. 1616.[213]Inscription on Ogborne’s Print.[214]L. 14, page 226.[215]Dugdale’s Monasticon.[216]Trans. Soc. Arts.

[212]Plott, in his Staffordshire, from History of Robert Fitzwalter. Lond. 1616.

[213]Inscription on Ogborne’s Print.

[214]L. 14, page 226.

[215]Dugdale’s Monasticon.

[216]Trans. Soc. Arts.

This day the sun enters the sign Cancer, and is then at his extreme distance north of the Equator, passing in the zenith over the heads of all the inhabitants situated on the tropical line; while to us, who reside in London, he appears at his greatest altitude, and hence arises the increased heat we experience from his rays.

To individuals within the Arctic circle the sun at this time does not set.

Cancer is the first of the summer signs, and when the sun enters it we have our longest day. According to Sir William Jones, “the Hindu Asbrono mer Varaha lived when the solstices were in the first degrees of Cancer and Capricorn.” It is now above 2000 years since the solstices thus coincided, and, at present, the sign Cancer begins near the two stars which form the upper foot in the constellation Gemini, and terminates about the fourth degree within the eastern boundary of the constellation Cancer. In the Zodiac of Dendera this sign is represented by ascarabæusor beetle.

To the eye and palate of the imagination, this month and the next are richer than those which follow them; for now you can “haveyour fruit andeatit too;” which you cannot do then. In short, now the fruit blossoms are all gone, and the fruit is so fullysetthat nothing can hurt it; and what is better still, it is not yet stealable, either by boys, birds, or bees; so that you are as sure of it as one can be of any thing, the enjoyment of which is not actually past. Enjoy it now, then, while you may; in order that, when in the autumn itdisappears, on the eve of the very day you had destined for the gathering of it (as every body’s fruit does),youalone may feel that you can afford to lose it. Every heir who is worthy to enjoy the estate that is left to him in reversion,doesenjoy it whether it ever comes to him or not.

On looking more closely at the Fruit, we shall find that the Strawberries, which lately (like bold and beautiful children) held out their blossoms into the open sunshine, that all the world might see them, now, that their fruit is about to reach maturity, hide it carefully beneath their low-lying leaves, as conscious virgins do their maturing beauties;—that the Gooseberries and Currants have attained their full growth, and the latter are turning ripe;—that the Wall-fruit is just getting large enough to be seen among the leaves without looking for;—that the Cherries are peeping out in white or “cherry-cheeked” clusters all along their straight branches;—and that the other standards, the Apples, Pears, and Plums, are more or less forward, according to theirkinds.[217]

Mean Temperature 59·49.

The Longest Day.For the Every-Day Book.Cradled in glory’s ether-space,By Venus nursed till morn,—The light unrolls thy golden lifeAnd thou art sweetly born.O lovely Day of bloom and shine,Of heat, and air, and strain!Millions rejoice and millions dieWithin thy halcyon reign.Hopes, fears, and doubts, the passions move;’Twas yesterday the same:—To-morrow! thou wilt join the dead,And only live by name—Jupiter guides thee through the skiesTo Hope’s eternal shore:The sun departs—Thou, Longest Day—Thou wilt be seen no more!Methuselah of England’s year!Thou Parr of Time—Farewell!St. Thomas, shortest of thy race,Shall ring thine annual knell.J. R. Prior.

The Longest Day.For the Every-Day Book.

Cradled in glory’s ether-space,By Venus nursed till morn,—The light unrolls thy golden lifeAnd thou art sweetly born.O lovely Day of bloom and shine,Of heat, and air, and strain!Millions rejoice and millions dieWithin thy halcyon reign.Hopes, fears, and doubts, the passions move;’Twas yesterday the same:—To-morrow! thou wilt join the dead,And only live by name—Jupiter guides thee through the skiesTo Hope’s eternal shore:The sun departs—Thou, Longest Day—Thou wilt be seen no more!Methuselah of England’s year!Thou Parr of Time—Farewell!St. Thomas, shortest of thy race,Shall ring thine annual knell.

Cradled in glory’s ether-space,By Venus nursed till morn,—The light unrolls thy golden lifeAnd thou art sweetly born.

O lovely Day of bloom and shine,Of heat, and air, and strain!Millions rejoice and millions dieWithin thy halcyon reign.

Hopes, fears, and doubts, the passions move;’Twas yesterday the same:—To-morrow! thou wilt join the dead,And only live by name—

Jupiter guides thee through the skiesTo Hope’s eternal shore:The sun departs—Thou, Longest Day—Thou wilt be seen no more!

Methuselah of England’s year!Thou Parr of Time—Farewell!St. Thomas, shortest of thy race,Shall ring thine annual knell.

J. R. Prior.

The following letter is to be considered as addressed to the reader, rather than the editor, who, as yet, is not even a tyro in the art wherein his respected correspondent has evidently attained proficiency. Indeed the communication ought to have been inserted in May. If its agreeable writer, and his good-natured readers, can excuse the omission, the birds and the editor will be equally obliged.

To the Editor of the Every-Day Book.

Now, thro’ the furrows where the skylarks build,Or by the hedge-rows green, the fowler strays,Seeking the infant bird.

Sir,—As the time has arrived for taking the young from the feathered tribe, it may not be amiss to say a few words by way of advice to the uninitiated, concerning the rearing, and training of these amusing creatures, who repay our cares with their rich melody.

We may now get Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Linnets, Larks, &c. in the streets, or at the different shops at a very small expense, either singly, or by the nest, according to their ages, but I should recommend all who wish to purchase young birds to go to a regular dealer, who sell them quite as cheap, and warrant them cocks. Buy them when they begin to feed themselves—or, if younger, when you have them home, put them in a cage, rather roomy:—then for Linnets, Goldfinches, or Chaffinches, mix rape-seed, bruised, and bread, steeped in boiling water—with which, when cooled, you may feed them, putting it into their mouths from the end of a stick, about every two hours; water they will not require, the food being sufficiently moist for them. When you find them peck at the stick, and take their food eagerly from it, which they will do at about a fortnight old, place some food about the cage with clean dry gravel, scattering among it some dry seed bruised; they will pick it up, and so be weaned off the moist food, which is no longer proper for them—also place water in the pot. This, as regards their feeding, is all you have to do, while they remain healthy—if sick, you must treat them according to the nature of their complaint. I think their sickness at this early stage of their existence is either caused by cold, or by the oily nature of their food, it being too strong for their stomachs; to remedy this, mix a little of the fine gravel with it, this will help their digestion. Sometimes the seed will scour them, in that case, boiled milk, or rust of iron put into their water is a remedy. So much as concerns the hard-billed tribe.

If your fancy runs on soft-billed birds, such as the skylark, woodlark, nightingale, or robin, you must feed them with egg, and bread moistened with water; or beef, raw or cooked; changing it as they grow and begin to feed themselves, to dry egg chopped small, and crumbled bread; throwing in with it German paste, until you find them contented with the latter. All these birds will live healthy, and sing stout, on this food, except the nightingale; hemusthave beef and egg. The remedy for sickness and scouring is as before; if the paste binds them, give them raw beef, or chopped fig; the latter is good for all birds, keeping them in beautiful feather, and cool in body. When a month old, cage them off in their proper cages.

Give your captives good food, and clear water; keep their dwellings free from vermin, which you may always doby having a spare cage to turn them into once a week, while you search the other, and destroy the devouring race of red lice that breed in their crevices and corners.

Squirt a mouthful of water over your birds now and then, it will do them good; this will much assist them in their moulting, and make them throw their feathers faster, particularly larks, nightingales, and robins. The latter may have their water-pans to fix inside the cage, so that they can dabble in them, when they like; this will save the trouble of taking them out to clean their feet. Larksmustbe taken out once a week, or their claws will become clogged with dirt, and rot off. The cleaning their feet is but very little trouble; dip them in warm water, and rub the dirt gently off with your thumb and finger. As these innocent creatures delight you with the beauty of their feathers, and sweetness of their song, too much cannot be done for their comfort.

Hoping this little dissertation (if I may so call it) will be useful,

I am, &c.S.R.J.

I conclude with the following

SonnetOn hearing a Thrush singing in the rain.How sweet the song of the awakened thrush—Mellow’d by distance, comes upon the ear,Tho’ gather’d clouds have made the heavens drear,And the rain hisses in the hazel bush,Wherein he warbles with a voice as clearAs if blue skies were over, and he nearThe one that lov’d him—sweet, yet sad to hear!For it remindeth me of one I’ve heard,Singing to other ears, herself unseen,In her own bower, like that delightful bird,While yet her bosom’s hopes were fresh and green,One, whom I heard again in after years,When sorrow smote her,—singing midst her tears.S. R. J.May, 1826.

SonnetOn hearing a Thrush singing in the rain.

How sweet the song of the awakened thrush—Mellow’d by distance, comes upon the ear,Tho’ gather’d clouds have made the heavens drear,And the rain hisses in the hazel bush,Wherein he warbles with a voice as clearAs if blue skies were over, and he nearThe one that lov’d him—sweet, yet sad to hear!For it remindeth me of one I’ve heard,Singing to other ears, herself unseen,In her own bower, like that delightful bird,While yet her bosom’s hopes were fresh and green,One, whom I heard again in after years,When sorrow smote her,—singing midst her tears.

S. R. J.

May, 1826.

The editor has often wished, for the sake of feathered posterity, that he could ensure their liberty; but he can no more do that, than persuade those who think they have “vested rights” in the bodies of certain of the airy race, to open their cages and “set the prisoners free.” It is in his power, however, to assist a little in ameliorating their condition, by urging re-perusal and strict attention to the preceding letter. He is himself particularly struck with the direction, “squirtamouthfulof water over your birds now and then—it will do themgood.” He ventures with becoming diffidence to suggest, whether tosyringealittlemay not be as beneficial as to “squirtamouthful.” This is the only exception he dares to hint, and it is to be marked as a qualified one, and, under a sense of inexperience, made “at a hazard.” But he agrees that “anightingale,”—acagednightingale, alas!—“musthave beef and egg;” and “that larksmustbe taken out once a week”; and—he may be wrong—if they fly away, so much the better. He is strongly of opinion that birds are like himself—they cannot “bear confinement,” and be happy.

[217]Mirror of the Months.

Parliament having existed to its utmost legal duration, the electors exercised, or withheld the exercise of their franchise, according to their individual wishes or hopes, desires or fears, intelligence or ignorance; or as feelings of independence directed, or influence over weakness misdirected. Contests were as numerous and fierce as usual; and, as might have been expected, in some places, the numerical state of the poll-books intimated more of intellectual enlargement than the final results. No new arguments or means were resorted to. The following paragraph is only inserted as an instance, that to buy as cheap, and sell as dear as possible, as a principle of trade, was not thoroughly lost sight of by dealers.

During the election at Sudbury, four cabbages sold for 10l., and a plate of gooseberries fetched 25l.; the sellers, where these articles were so dear, being voters. At Great Marlow, on the contrary, things were cheap, and an elector during the election bought a sow and nine young pigs for apenny.[218]

The “County History” says, that the Hamlet ofGarrettis in the road fromWandsworthtoTooting. About two centuries ago it appears to have been a single house called theGarvett. In it was the mansion-house of the Brodrick family, pulled down about fifty years ago; the ground is let to a market gardener; part of the garden wall remains. Garrett now contains about fifty houses, amongst which are some considerable manufactures. This used to be for many years the scene of amock election, and much indecency on the meeting of every new parliament, when several characters in low life appeared as candidates, being furnished with fine clothes and gay equipages by the publicans, who made a good harvest. The last of these, known by the name of Sir Harry Dimsdale, was a deformed dwarf, little better than an idiot, who used to cry muffins in the streets about St. Ann’s, Soho, and died about 1809. It has been dropped at the two last general elections; but the memory of it will be preserved by Foote’s diverting farce of “The Mayor of Garrett.”—There are three prints displaying the proceedings on occasion of thiselection.[219]

Since the preceding statement, which is almost in the words of Lysons, Garrett has been increased, and may be said, in 1826, to contain double the number of houses. Lysons and Bray call it a “hamlet;” and this denomination, if taken to mean “a small village,” is applicable to this place.

For particulars concerning the “Mock Election,” with a view to insertion in theEvery Day-Book, Garrett itself has been visited, and persons seen there, and in the neighbourhood, who took part in the proceedings, and well remember them. Their statements of this public burlesque will be laid before the reader presently.

As a preliminary, it may be remarked that in the election for Garrett, there was a whimsical assumption of office, and an arbitrary creation of officers and characters unknown in the elections of other boroughs. In particular, there was a “Master of the Horse.” The person so dignified at its latter elections was pointed out as the oldest individual in Wandsworth, who had figured in the “solemn mockery,” and as, therefore, most likely to furnish information, from “reminiscences” of his “ancient dignity.” He was described as “Old Jack Jones the sawyer;” and it was added, “You’ll find him by the water side; turn down by the church; he is lame and walks with a crutch; any body’ll tell you of him; he lives in a cottage by the bridge; if you don’t find him at home, he is most likely at the Plume of Feathers, or just in the neighbourhood; you’ll be sure to know him if you meet him—he is a thorough oddity, and can tell all about the Garrett Election.” The “Plume” was resorted to, and “old Jack Jones” obligingly sought by Mr. Attree the landlord, who for that purpose peregrinated the town; and the “Master of the Horse” made his entry into the parlour with as much alacrity as his wooden assistants helped him to. It was “the accustomed place,” wherein he had told his story “many a time and oft;” and having heard, “up town” that there was “somebody quite curious about the Garrett Election,” he was dragging his “slow length along,” when “mine host of theFeathers” met him on the way.

John Jones may be described as “one of thehasbeens.” In his day he was tall of stature, stout of body, and had done as much work as any man of his time—when he was at it. But, then, he had overstrained himself, and for some years past had not been able to do a stroke of work; and he had seen a deal of “ran-dan,” and a racketty life had racketted his frame, and

——————————“TimeHad written strange defeatures on his brow.”

After the first civilities, and after he had deposited his crutch and stick by the side of a chair, and himself in an adjoining one, and after the glowingpleasure from seeing a fresh face had subsided, and been replaced by a sense of the importance which attaches to the possession of something coveted by another, he talked of the “famous doings,” and “such sights as never were seen before, nor never would be seen again;” and he dimmed the hope of particular information, by “quips, and quirks, and wanton wiles;” and practised the “art of ingeniously tormenting,” by declarations of unbounded knowledge, and that “hecoulda tale unfold,” but would not; because, as he said, “why should I make other people as wise as I am?” Yet there was a string which “discoursed most excellent music”—it was of himself and of the fame of his exploits. His “companions in arms” had been summoned to their last abiding-place, and, alas,

“They left him alone in his glory!”

John Jones’s topic was not a dry one, nor was John Jones dry, but in the commencement he had “preferred a little porter to any thing else in the world,” except, and afterwards accepted, “a drop of something by itself;” and, by degrees, he became communicative of all he could recollect. In the course of the present article his information will be embodied, with other memoranda, towards a history of the elections of the “borough of Garrett.”

Had an artist been present at the conversation, he might have caught the features of the “Ex-master of the Horse,” when they were heightened by his subject to a humorous expression. He was by no means unwilling to “have his head taken off;” but he deemed the “execution” an affair of so much importance as to solemnize his features from their wonted hilarity while speaking, to the funereal appearance which the writer has depicted, and the engraver perpetuated, in the followingrepresentation:—

John Jones, of Wandsworth,MASTER OF THE HORSE AT THE LAST ELECTIONS FOR GARRETT.

As a memorial of a remarkable living character, thisportraitmay be acceptable; he is the only person alive at Wandsworth, of any distinction in the popular elections of its neighbourhood.

The following interesting account respecting Garrett is in “A Morning’s Walk toKew”—

By Sir Richard Phillips.

Wandsworth having been the once-famed scene of those humorous popularelections of a mayor, or member forGarrat; and the subject serving to illustrate the manners of the times, and abounding in original features of character, I collected among some of its elder inhabitants a variety of amusing facts and documents, relative to the eccentric candidates and their elections.

Southward of Wandsworth, a road extends nearly two miles to the village of Lower Tooting, and nearly midway are a few houses, or hamlet, by the side of a small common, calledGarrat, from which the road itself is calledGarrat Lane. Various encroachments on this common led to an association of the neighbours about three-score years since, when they chose a president, ormayor, to protect their rights; and the time of their first election being the period of a new parliament, it was agreed that the mayor should be re-chosen after every general election. Some facetious members of the club gave, in a few years, local notoriety to this election; and, when party spirit ran high in the days ofWilkes and Liberty, it was easy to create an appetite for a burlesque election among the lower orders of the Metropolis. The publicans at Wandsworth, Tooting, Battersea, Clapham, and Vauxhall, made a purse to give it character; and Mr. Foote rendered its interest universal, by calling one of his inimitable farces, “the Mayor of Garrat.” I have indeed been told, that Foote, Garrick, and Wilkes, wrote some of the candidates’ addresses, for the purpose of instructing the people in the corruptions which attend elections to the legislature, and of producing those reforms by means of ridicule and shame, which are vainly expected from solemn appeals of argument and patriotism.

Not being able to find the members for Garrat in Beatson’s Political Index, or in any of the Court Calendars, I am obliged to depend on tradition for information in regard to the early history of this famous borough. The first mayor of whom I could hear was called Sir John Harper. He filled the seat during two parliaments, and was, it appears, a man of wit, for, on a dead cat being thrown at him on the hustings, and a bystander exclaiming that it stunk worse than a fox, Sir John vociferated, “that’s no wonder, for you see it’s apoll-cat.” This noted baronet was, in the metropolis, a retailer of brick-dust; and, his Garrat honours being supposed to be a means of improving his trade and the condition of his ass, many characters in similar occupations were led to aspire to the same distinctions.

He was succeeded by Sir Jeffery Dunstan, who was returned for three parliaments, and was the most popular candidate that ever appeared on the Garrat hustings. His occupation was that of buyingOLD WIGS, once an article of trade like that in old clothes, but become obsolete since the full-bottomed and full-dressed wigs of both sexes went out of fashion. Sir Jeffery usually carried his wig-bag over his shoulder, and, to avoid the charge of vagrancy, vociferated, as he passed along the street, “old wigs;” but, having a person like Esop, and a countenance and manner marked by irresistible humour, he never appeared without a train of boys, and curious persons, whom he entertained by his sallies of wit, shrewd sayings, and smart repartees; and from whom, without begging, he collected sufficient to maintain his dignity of mayor and knight. He was no respecter of persons, and was so severe in his jokes on the corruptions and compromises of power, that this street-jester, was prosecuted for using what were then called seditious expressions; and, as a caricature on the times, which ought never to be forgotten, he was in 1793 tried, convicted, and imprisoned! In consequence of this affair, and some charges of dishonesty, he lost his popularity, and, at the general election for 1796, was ousted by Sir Harry Dimsdale, muffin-seller, a man as much deformed as himself. Sir Jeffery could not long survive his fall; but, in death as in life, he proved a satire on the vices of the proud, for in 1797 he died, like Alexander the Great, and many other heroes renowned in the historic page—of suffocation from excessive drinking!

Sir Harry Dimsdale dying also before the next general election, and no candidate starting of sufficient originality of character, and, what was still more fatal, the victuallers having failed to raise aPUBLIC PURSE, which was as stimulating a bait to theindependentcandidates for Garrat, as it is to theindependentcandidates for a certain assembly; the borough of Garrat has since remained vacant, and the populace have been without aprofessedpolitical buffoon.

None but those who have seen a Londonmob on any great holiday can form a just idea of these elections. On several occasions, a hundred thousand persons, half of them in carts, in hackney-coaches, and on horse and ass-back, covered the various roads from London, and choked up all the approaches to the place of election. At the two last elections, I was told, that the road within a mile of Wandsworth was so blocked up by vehicles, that none could move backward or forward during many hours; and that the candidates, dressed like chimney-sweepers on May-day, or in the mock fashion of the period, were brought to the hustings in the carriages of peers, drawn by six horses, the owners themselves condescending to become theirdrivers[220]!

Before relating certain amusing facts which have never before appeared in print, or giving further particulars respecting Sir Jeffery Dunstan and Sir Henry Dimsdale, it seems fitting to add from the “Gentleman’s Magazine” of 1781, asfollows:—

“Wednesday June 25, the septennial mock election for Garrat was held this day; and upwards of 50,000 people were, on that ludicrous occasion, assembled at Wandsworth.”

In the same volume there is an article which, as it is the only other notice in that useful miscellany concerning this celebrated usage, and as there is not any notice of it in other magazines of the time, is here annexed.

July, 25.

Mr.Urban.—The learned antiquary finds a pleasure in tracing the origin of ancient customs, even when time has so altered them as totally to obliterate their use. It may therefore not be unpleasing to the generality of your readers, while it is yet recent in memory, to record in your Magazine the laudable motive that gave rise to the farcical custom of electing a Mayor of Garrat, which is now become truly ridiculous.

I have been told, that about thirty years ago, several persons who lived near that part of Wandsworth which adjoins to Garrat Lane, had formed a kind of club, not merely to eat and drink, but to concert measures for removing the encroachments made on that part of the common, and to prevent any others being made for the future. As the members were most of them persons in low circumstances, they agreed at every meeting to contribute some small matter, in order to make up a purse for the defence of their collective rights. When a sufficient sum of money was subscribed, they applied to a very worthy attorney in that neighbourhood, who brought an action against the encroachers in the name of the president (or, as they called him, theMAYOR) of the club. They gained their suit with costs; the encroachments were destroyed; and ever after, the president, who lived many years, was called “The Mayor of Garrat.”

This event happening at the time of a general election, the ceremony upon every new parliament, of choosingoutdoormembers for the borough of Garrat, has been constantly kept up, and is still continued, to the great emolument of all the publicans at Wandsworth, who annually subscribe to all incidental expenses attending this mock election.

M. G.

The late eminent antiquary, Dr. Ducarel, made inquiries respecting this custom of the late Mr. W. Massey of Wandsworth, who answered them in the followingletter:—

Wandsworth, June 25, 1754.

Dr. Ducarel.—I promised to give you an account of the mock election for Garrat, a district within the compass of the parish of Wandsworth. I have been informed, that about 60 or 70 years ago, some watermen, belonging to this town, went to the Leather Bottle, a public house at Garrat, to spend a merry day, which, being the time of a general election for members of Parliament, in the midst of their frolick they took it into their heads to chuse one of their company a representative for that place; and, having gone through the usual ceremonies of an election, as well as the occasion would permit, he was declared duly elected. Whether the whimsical custom of swearing the electors upon a brick-bat, ‘quod rem cum aliqua muliere, intra limites istius pagi, habuissent,’ was then first established, or that it was a waggish after-thought, I cannot determine, but it has been regarded as the due qualification of the electors for many elections last past.

This local usage, from that small beginning,has had a gradual increase; for no great account was made of it, that I can remember or hear of, before the two elections preceding this last, which has been performed with uncommon pomp and magnificence, in the plebeian mode of pageantry. And, as it has been taken notice of in our public newspapers, it may probably have a run, through those channels, to many parts of the kingdom, and, in time, become the inquiry of the curious,whenandwhysuch a mock usage was commenced.

I have herewith sent you copies of some of the hand-bills of the candidates, that were printed and plentifully dispersed (in imitation of thegrand monde) before the election came on, by which you may judge of the humour in which the other parts of it were conducted. Their pseudo-titles, as you will observe, are Lord Twankum, Squire Blow-me-down, and Squire Gubbins. Lord Twankum’s right name is John Gardiner, and is grave-digger to this parish; Blow-me-down is —— Willis, a waterman; and Squire Gubbins, whose name is —— Simmonds, keeps a publichouse, the sign of the Gubbins’ Head, in Blackman-street, Southwark.

Some time hence, perhaps, also it may be a matter of inquiry what is meant by the Gubbins’ Head. This Simmonds formerly lived at Wandsworth, and went from hence to keep a public-house in Blackman-street; he being a droll companion in what is called low-life, several of his old acquaintance of this town used to call at his house, when they were in London, to drink a pot or two; and, as he generally had some cold provisions (which by a cant name he usually called “his gubbins”), he made them welcome to such as he had, from whence he obtained that name; and putting up a man’s head for the sign, it was called the “Gubbins’ Head.” A hundred years hence, perhaps, if some knowledge of the occasion of the name of this sign should not be preserved in writing, our future antiquaries might puzzle themselves to find out the meaning of it. I make no question, but that we have many elaborate dissertations upon antique subjects, whose originals, being obscure or whimsy, like this, were never truly discovered. This leads me to the commendation of the utility of your design in recording singular accidents and odd usages, the causes and origin of which might otherwise be lost in a long tract of time.

It seems to be the desire of certain admirers of certain popular customs to get up another burlesque election for Garrett; the last was thirty years ago.

The following is a copy of a Notice, now executing (June 23, 1826) at a sign-painters, on a board ten feet high, for the purpose of being publicly exhibited. It need scarcely be observed that the commencing word of this very singular composition, which ought to beOyez, is improperly spelt and divided, and “yes” is unaccountably placed betweenthreeinverted commas; the transcript is verbatim, and is arranged in this column as the original is on the signboard.

O ‘‘‘Yes’’’NOTICEThat onThursday6thJuly, 1826In conformity ofTHE HIGHAUTHORITIES,Of theUnitedKINGDOMwill assembleTHROUGHOUTtheEMPIREand particularlyat theHustingsatGARRAT,to whit, conformableto the CustomOfour AncientLIBERTY.SIR JOHNPAUL PRY,now offers himselfto a GenerousPUBLICGOD SAVE THEKING

The last representative of Garrett was a “remarkable character” in the streets of the metropolis for many years. His ordinary costume was very different fromthe court dress he wore on the hustings, wherein he ishererepresented—

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