CHAPTER XXI

CHAPTER XXIThe Comic side of the Railway Mania—“Jeames’s Diary,” &c.—Universal Speculation as shown by Parliamentary Return—Rise of Discount—Collapse—Shareholders not forthcoming—Widespread Ruin—George Hudson.Notparticularly exaggerated is “Railroad Speculator” inPunch(Vol. viii., p. 244):“The night was stormy and dark, the town was shut up in sleep: Only those were abroad who were out on the lark, Or those who’d no beds to keep.I passed through the lonely street, The wind did sing and blow; I could hear the policeman’s feet, Clapping to and fro.There stood a potato man, in the midst of all the wet; He stood with his ‘tato can, in the lonely Haymarket.Two gents of dismal mien, and dank and greasy rags; came out of a shop for gin, swaggering over the flags:Swaggering over the stones, these shabby bucks did walk; and I went and followed those seedy ones, and listened to their talk.Was I sober or awake? Could I believe my ears? Those dismal beggars spake of nothing but Railroad Shares.I wondered more and more: Says one, ‘Good friend of mine, how many shares did you write for? In the Diddlesex Junction line?’‘I wrote for twenty,’ says Jim, ‘but they wouldn’t give me one’; His comrade straight rebuked him, for the folly he had done.‘Oh Jim, you are unawares of the ways of this bad town: I always write for five hundred shares, andthenthey put me down.’‘And yet you got no shares,’ says Jim, ‘for all your boast’: ‘Iwouldhave wrote,’ says Jack, ‘but where was the penny to pay the post?’‘I lost, for I couldn’t pay that first instalment up; but here’s ‘taters smoking hot—I say, Let’s stop, my boy, and sup.’And, at this simple feast, the while they did regale, I drew each ragged capitalist, down on my left thumb nail.Their talk did me perplex, All night I tumbled and tost; and thought of railroad specs, and how money was won and lost.‘Bless railroads everywhere,’ I said, ‘and the world’s advance; Bless every railroad share in Italy, Ireland, France; for never a beggar need now despair, and every rogue has a chance.’”But, should anyone wish to watch the progress of the Railway Mania, I would recommend a perusal ofPunch, Vol. ix., in which appears,inter alia,Jeames’s Diary, by Thackeray, afterwards published asThe Diary of C. Jeames De la Pluche, Esq.The idea was started on p. 59, under the heading of—A LUCKY SPECULATOR.Considerable sensation has been excited in the upper and lower circles in the West End, by a startling piece of good fortune which has befallenJames Plush, Esq., lately footman in a respected family in Berkeley Square.One day, last week, Mr James waited upon his master, who is a banker in the city; and, after a little blushing and hesitation, said he had saved a little money in service, and was anxious to retire, and to invest his savings to advantage.His master (we believe we may mention, without offending delicacy, the well known name of SirGeorge Flimsyof the firm ofFlimsy,Diddler, andFlash,) smilingly asked MrJames, what was the amount of his savings, wondering considerably how—out of an income of thirty guineas, the main part of which he spent in bouquets, silk stockings and perfumery—MrPlushcould have managed to lay by anything.MrPlush, with some hesitation, said he had beenspeculating in railroads, and stated his winnings to have been thirty thousand pounds. He had commenced his speculations with twenty, borrowed from a fellow servant. He had dated his letters from the house in Berkeley Square, and humbly begged pardon of his master, for not having instructed the railway secretaries, who answered the applications, to apply at the area bell.SirGeorge, who was at breakfast, instantly rose, and shook Mr P. by the hand;Lady Flimsybegged him to be seated, and partake of the breakfast which he had laid on the table; and has subsequently invited him to her granddejeunerat Richmond, where it was observed that MissEmily Flimsy, her beautiful and accomplished seventh daughter, paid the lucky gentlemanmarked attention.We hear it stated that Mr P. is of very ancient family (Hugo de la Pluchecame over with the Conqueror); and the new Brougham which he has started, bears the ancient coat of his race.He has taken apartments at the Albany, and is a director of thirty-three railroads. He purposes to stand for Parliament at the next generalelection, on decidedly conservative principles, which have always been the politics of his family.Report says, that, even in his humble capacity, MissEmily Flimsyhad remarked his high demeanour. Well, ‘none but the brave,’ say we, ‘deserve the fair.’—Morning Paper.This announcement will explain the following lines, which have been put into our box, with a West End post mark. If, as we believe, they are written by the young woman from whom the Millionaire borrowed the sum on which he raised his fortune, what heart would not melt with sympathy at her tale, and pity the sorrows which she expresses in such artless language?If it be not too late: if wealth have not rendered its possessor callous: if poorMaryannebe still alive, we trust MrPlushwill do her justice.JEAMES OF BUCKLEY SQUARE.A Heligy.Come, all ye gents vot cleans the plate,Come, all ye ladies maids so fair—Vile I a story vil relateOf cruelJeamesof Buckley Square.A tighter lad, it is confest,Never valked vith powder in his air,Or vore a nosegay in his breast,Than andsumJeamesof Buckley Square.O Evns! it vas the best of sights,Behind his Master’s coach and pair,To see ourJeamesin red plush tights,A driving hoff from Buckley Square.He vel became his hagwiletts,He cocked his at withsuchan hair;His calves and viskersvassiech pets,That hall lovedJeamesof Buckley Square.He pleased the hup stairs folks as vell,And o! I vithered vith despair,Missesvouldring the parler bell,And call upJeamesin Buckley Square.Both beer and sperrits he abhord,(Sperrits and beer I can’t a bear,)You would have thought he vas a lord,Down in our All in Buckley Square.Last year he visper’d, “Mary Hann,Ven I’ve an ‘under’d pound to spare,To take a public is my plan,And leave this hojous Buckley Square.”O how my gentle heart did bound,To think that I his name should bear.“DearJeames,” says I, “I’ve twenty pound,”And gev him them in Buckley Square.Our master vas a City Gent,His name’s in railroads everywhere;And lord, vot lots of letters ventBetwigst his brokers, and Buckley Square.MyJeamesit was the letters took,And read ‘em all, (I think it’s fair),And took a leaf from Master’s book,Ashothersdo in Buckley Square.Encouraged with my twenty pound,Of which poorIwas unaware,He wrote the Companies all round,And signed hisself from Buckley Square.And howJohn Porterused to grin,As day by day, share after share,Came railway letters pouring in,J. Plush, Esquire, in Buckley Square.Our servants’ All was in a rage—Scrip, stock, curves, gradients, bull and bear,With butler, coachman, groom and page,Vas all the talk in Buckley Square.But O! imagine vat I feltLast Vensdy veek as ever were;I gits a letter, which I spelt“Miss M. A. Hoggins, Buckley Square.”He sent me back my money true—He sent me back my lock of air,And said, “My dear, I bid ajewTo Mary Hann and Buckley Square.Think not to marry, foolishHann,With people who your betters are;James Plushis now a gentleman,And you—a cook in Buckley Square.I’ve thirty thousand guineas won,In six short months, by genus rare;You little thought whatJeameswas on,PoorMary Hann, in Buckley Square.I’ve thirty thousand guineas net,Powder and plush I scorn to vear;And so, MissMary Hann, forgetFor heverJeames, of Buckley Square.”But, joking apart, there is no exaggeration in Jeames. Look at a “Return to the Order of the Honourable the House of Commons, dated 8th April 1845, for an Alphabetical list of the Names, Description, and Place of Abode of all Persons subscribing to the Amount of £2000 and upwards to any Railway Subscription Contract deposited in the Private Bill Office during the present Session of Parliament,” and amongst the names will be found many of the leading nobility, large manufacturing firms, names well known in commerce and literature, mingled together in a most heterogeneous manner. The same columns shew a combination of peers and printers, vicars and vice-admirals, spinsters and half-pay officers, M.P.’s and special pleaders, professors and cotton spinners, gentlemen’s cooks and Q.C.’s, attorney’s clerks and college scouts, waiters at Lloyd’s, relieving officers and excisemen, barristers and butchers, Catholic priests and coachmen, editors and engineers, dairymen and dyers, braziers, bankers, beer sellers and butlers, domestic servants, footmen and mail guards, and almost every calling under the sun.These, it must be remembered, were subscribers for £2000 and upwards; those who subscribed for less, were supposed to be holders of £21,386,703, 6s. 4d. in Stock.The first blow given to this frightful gambling was on Thursday, 16th Oct. 1845, when the Bank of England raised its Discount, which had such a disastrous effect, that bySaturday, people began to be alarmed, and, as Mr Francis describes the situation, “Money was scarce, the price of stock and scrip lowered; the confidence of the people was broken, and a vision of a dark future on every face. Advertisements were suddenly withdrawn from the papers; names of note were seen no more as provisional committee men; distrust followed the merchant to the mart, and the jobber to the Exchange. The new schemes ceased to be regarded; applications ceased to be forwarded; premiums were either lowered, or ceased to exist. Bankers looked anxiously to the accounts of their customers; bill brokers scrutinised their securities; and every man was suspicious of his neighbour.“But the distrust was not confined to projected lines. Established Railways felt the shock, and were reduced in value. Consols fell one and a half per cent.; Exchequer Bills declined in price, and other markets sympathised. The people had awoke from their dream, and trembled. It was a national alarm.“Words are weak to express the fears and feelings which prevailed. There was no village too remote to escape the shock, and there was, probably, no house in town, some occupant of which did not shrink from the morrow. The Statesman started to find his new Bank Charter so sadly, and so suddenly tried: the peer, who had so thoughtlessly invested, saw ruin opening to his view. Men hurried with bated breath to their brokers; the allottee was uneasy and suspicious: the provisional committee man grew pale at his fearful responsibility: directors ceased to boast their blushing honours, and promoters saw their expected profits evaporate. Shares, which, the previous week, were a fortune, were, the next, a fatality to their owners. The reputed shareholders were not found when they were wanted: provisional committee men were not more easy of access.“One Railway advertised the names and addresses of thirty—none of whom were to be heard of at the residencesascribed to them. Letters were returned to the Post Office, day after day. Nor is this to be wondered at, when it is said that, on one projected line, only £60 was received for deposits which should have yielded £700,000.“It was proved in the Committee of the House of Commons, that one subscription list was formed of ‘lame ducks of the Alley’; and that, in another, several of the Directors, including the Chairman, had, also, altered their several subscriptions to the amount of £100,000, the very evening on which the list was deposited, and that five shillings a man was given to any one who would sign for a certain number of shares.“Nothing more decidedly marked the crisis which had arrived, than the fact that every one hastened to disown railways. Gentlemen who had been buried in prospectuses, whose names and descriptions had been published under every variation that could fascinate the public, who had figured as committee men, and received the precious guineas for their attendance, were eager to assure the world that they were ignorant of this great transgression. Men, who, a month before, had boasted of the large sums they had made by scrip, sent advertisements to papers denying their responsibility, or appealed to the Lord Mayor to protect their characters. Members of Parliament who had remained quiet under the infliction, while it was somewhat respectable, fell back upon their privileges when they saw their purses in danger. There is no doubt that an unauthorised use of names was one feature of fraudulent Companies, and that, amid a list of common names, it was thought a distinguished one might pass unnoticed. The complaints, therefore, of those who were thus unceremoniously treated were just; but the great mass of denials emanated from persons who, knowingly, encountered the risk, and meanly shrunk from the danger.“It is the conviction of those who are best informed that no other panic was ever so fatal to the middle class. It reached every hearth, it saddened every heart in themetropolis. Entire families were ruined. There was scarcely an important town in England, but what beheld some wretched suicide. Daughters, delicately nurtured, went out to seek their bread; sons were recalled from academies; households were separated: homes were desecrated by the emissaries of the law. There was a disruption of every social tie. The debtor’s jails were peopled with promoters; Whitecross Street was filled with speculators; and the Queen’s bench was full to overflowing. Men who had lived comfortably and independently, found themselves suddenly responsible for sums they had no means of paying. In some cases they yielded their all, and began the world anew; in others, they left the country for the continent, laughed at their creditors, and defied pursuit. One gentleman was served with four hundred writs: a peer, similarly pressed, when offered to be relieved from all liabilities for £15,000, betook himself to his yacht, and forgot, in the beauties of the Mediterranean, the difficulties which had surrounded him. Another gentleman, who, having nothing to lose, surrendered himself to his creditors, was a director of more than twenty lines. A third was Provisional Committee man to fifteen. A fourth, who commenced life as a printer, who became an insolvent in 1832, and a bankrupt in 1837, who had negotiated partnerships, who had arranged embarrassed affairs, who had collected debts, and turned his attention to anything, did not disdain, also, to be a railway promoter, a railway director, or to spell his name in a dozen different ways.”But a notice of the Railway Mania would be very incomplete without mention of George Hudson, the Railway King. He was born at Howsham, a village near York, in March 1800, was apprenticed to a draper in York, and subsequently became principal in the business; thus, early in life, becoming well off, besides having £30,000 left him by a distant relative. In 1837 he was Lord Mayor of York, and the same year was made Chairman of the York and North Midland Railway, which was opened in 1839. In1841 he was elected Chairman of the Great North of England Company, and, afterwards held the same position in the Midland Railway Company. He speculated largely in Railways; and in the Parliamentary return, already alluded to (p. 270) his subscriptions appear as £319,835.He came to London, and inhabited the house at Albert Gate, Knightsbridge (now the French Embassy) where he entertained the Prince Consort, and the aristocracy generally. He was elected M.P. for Sunderland in Aug. 1845, and again served as Lord Mayor of York in 1846. The Railway smash came, and year by year things went worse with him, until, early in the year 1849 he had to resign his chairmanship of the Eastern Counties (now Great Eastern), Midland, York, Newcastle and Berwick, and the York and North Midland Railway Companies. He went abroad, where he lived for some time, and tried, unavailingly, to retrieve his fortune. In July 1865 he was committed to York Castle for Contempt of the Court of Exchequer, in not paying a large debt, and was there incarcerated till the following October.He fell so low, that in 1868 some friends took pity on him and raised a subscription for him, thus obtaining £4800, with which an annuity was purchased. He died in London, 14th Dec. 1871.In conclusion, as a place for gambling, the Stock Exchange is of far greater extent than the Turf. The time bargains and options, without which the business of the Exchange would be very little, are gambling pure and simple, whilst the numerousbucket shops, with their advertisements and circulars, disseminate the unwholesome vice of gambling throughout the length and breadth of the land, enabling people to speculate without anyone being the wiser. It is needless to say, that, as on the Turf, they are the losers.CHAPTER XXIIPermissible gambling—Early Marine Assurance—Oldest and old Policies—Lloyd’s—Curious Insurances—Marine Assurance Companies—Fire Insurance—Its origin and early Companies—Life Insurance—Early Companies—Curious story of Life Insurance.But,paradoxical as it may appear, there is a class of gambling which is not only considered harmless, but beneficial, and even necessary—I mean Insurance. Theoretically, it is gambling proper. You bet 2s. 6d. to £100 with your Fire Insurance; you equally bet on a Marine Insurance for the safe arrival of your ships or merchandise; and it is also gambling when you insure your life. Yet a man would be considered culpable, or at the very least, negligent and indiscreet did he not insure.Of the different kinds of Insurance or Assurance, as it is indifferently called, Marine Assurance is the oldest, so old, that no one knows when the custom began, as we see by the preamble of 43 Eliz., c. 12 (1601).“An Acte concerninge matters of Assurances, amongste Marchantes.Whereasit ever hathe bene the Policie of this Realme by all good meanes to comforte and encourage the Merchante, therebie to advance and increase the generall wealthe of the Realme, her Majesties Customes and the strengthe of Shippinge, which Consideration is now the more requisite, because Trade and Traffique is not, at this presente, soe open as at other tymes it hathe bene; and,whereas it hathe bene tyme out of myndean usage amongste Merchantes, both of this Realme and of forraine Nacyons, when they make any greate adventure (speciallie into remote partes) to give some consideracion of Money to other persons (which commonlie are in noe small number)to have from them assurance made of their Goodes Merchandizes Ships and Things adventured, or some parte thereof, at such rates and in such sorte as the Parties assurers and the Parties assured can agree, whiche course of dealinge is commonly termed a Policie of Assurance; by meanes of whiche Policies of Assurance it comethe to passe, upon the losse or perishinge of any Shippe there followethe not the undoinge of any Man, but the losse lightethe rather easilie upon many, then heavilie upon fewe, and rather upon them that adventure not, then those that doe adventure, whereby all Merchantes, speciallie of the younger sorte, are allured to venture more willinglie and more freelie: And whereas heretofore suche Assurers have used to stand so justlie and preciselie upon their credites, as fewe or no Controversies have risen there upon, and if any have growen, the same have from tyme to tyme bene ended and ordered by certaine grave and discreete Merchantes appointed by the Lord Mayor of the Citie of London, as Men by reason of their experience fitteste to understande, and speedilie to decide those Causes; untill of late yeeres that divers persons have withdrawen themselves from that arbitrarie course, and have soughte to drawe the parties assured to seeke their moneys of everie severall Assurer, by Suites commenced in her Majesties Courtes, to their great charges and delayes:For Remediewher of be it enacted,” &c.[64]The Oldest Policy of Assurance I have been able to find is mentioned in the 6th Report of the Royal Commission on Historical MSS., where it is catalogued “1604. A Charter partie, An Assurance of fish from Newfoundland.”[65]Mr F. Martin, who wrote an exhaustive book on theHistory of Lloyd’s and Marine Insurance, says: “The earliest English policy of marine insurance, which we have been able to discover, bears date 1613, and though not a document issued actually by underwriters, but, to all appearances, acopy made for legal purposes, with some lawyer’s notes attached, may be found historically interesting. The discovery was—with others subsequently to be referred to—the result of long and laborious researches among the, as yet, only partly known literary treasures of the Bodleian Library at Oxford. The original is among the Tanner manuscripts, numbered 74, fo. 32, and the manuscript is endorsed, ‘Mr Morris Abbott’s pollesye of Assurance dated the 15 of ffebruary 1613, 11 Jacobi.’”A very old policy hangs, framed and glazed, on the wall of the Committee Room at Lloyds, dated 20th Jan. 1680, and it is for £1200—£200 on the ship and £1000 on the goods. The ship was theGolden Fleece, the voyage from Lisbon to Venice, and the premium was £4 per cent.!Underwriting marine risks was in private hands, and although the underwriters had, some of them, offices of their own, most of the business seems to have been done at Coffee Houses, such as Hain’s, Garraway’s, or Good’s; and there was also a central office at the Royal Exchange, as is shown by several early advertisements, one of which is the following, from theCity Mercury, No. 255 (1680):“Whereas Mr Daniel Parrot caused a Politie to be made Septemb. 28 last, on theCharles of Plymouth, from Newfoundland to Cadiz, which is subscribed by several Insurers, and the Politie lost, and a new Politie made: It is desired that all persons that have subscribed the Politie would come into the Insurance Office, and subscribe the new Politie, that it may be known who the Insurers are; and if any one has found the old Politie, they are desired to bring it to Mr Tho. Astley, at the Insurance Office on the Royal Exchange, and they shall be well rewarded.”The origin of the present Corporation of Lloyd’s was in the Coffee House of Edward Lloyd, who, in 1688, lived in the very busy commercial thoroughfare of Tower Street, as appears from an advertisement in theLondon Gazetteof 18/21 Feb. 1688, relating to a robbery. In 1691 or 1692 he moved to a more central situation, at the Corner ofAbchurch Lane and Lombard Street, where, in the summer of 1696, he started the famousLloyd’s News, of which the Bodleian Library has a complete set, with the exception of the first seven numbers. It only reached seventy-six numbers, when it was discontinued for the reason given in No. 138 of theProtestant Mercury, Feb. 24/26, 1696 (1697). “Whereas, inLloyd’s Newsof the 23rd instant, it was inserted, That the House of Lords Received a Petition from the Quakers, that they may be freed from all Offices, which being groundless and a mistake, he was desired to rectifie it in his next: But return’d for Answer, it was added by the Printer, that he would Print no more at present.” And it remained in abeyance till 1726, when it was resuscitated under the title ofLloyd’s List, a name which it now bears.Lloyd’s Coffee House served its purpose to the Underwriters for a time, but they found it inconvenient, and wanted a place of their own, so they took rooms in Pope’s Head Alley, which they called New Lloyd’s Coffee House, whilst they were looking out for suitable permanent premises. Here, towards the end of 1771, seventy-nine Underwriters met, and each subscribed £100 towards building a “New Lloyd’s.” After a considerable amount of house hunting, it was reported by the Committee, on Nov. 24, 1773, “that after many fruitless researches to obtain a Coffee House in Freeman’s Court and other places, they had succeeded with the Mercer’s Company for a very roomy and convenient place over the North West Side of the Royal Exchange, at the rent of £180 per annum”: and this selection being approved of, they moved into their new quarters on 5th March 1774. There they have abode ever since, except for a brief period when the Exchange was re-building after its destruction by fire in 1838.The underwriters did not always confine themselves to marine risks. Malcolm, writing in 1808, says: “The practice of betting is tolerably prevalent at present, and by no means confined to any particular class of the community. In fact, I am afraid it might be traced very far back in thehistory of our Customs; but it will be sufficient, for the information of the reader, that I present him with an article from theLondon Chronicleof 1768, which, I think, will remind him of some recent transactions in the City.“‘The introduction and amazing progress of illicit gaming at Lloyd’s Coffee House is, among others, a powerful and very melancholy proof of the degeneracy of the times. It is astonishing that this practice was begun, and has been, hitherto, carried on, by the matchless effrontery and impudence of one man. It is equally so, that he has met with so much encouragement from many of the principal underwriters, who are, in every other respect, useful members of society: and it is owing to the lenity of our laws, and want of spirit in the present administration, that this pernicious practice has not, hitherto, been suppressed. Though gaming in any degree (except what is warranted by law) is perverting the original and useful design of that Coffee House, it may, in some measure, be excuseable to speculate on the following subjects:Mr Wilkes being elected Member for London, which was done from 5 to 50 guineas per cent.Ditto for Middlesex, from 20 to 70 guineas per cent.Alderman B—— d’s life for one year, now doing at 7 per cent.On Sir J—— H—— being turned out in one year, now doing at 20 guineas per cent.On John Wilkes’s life for one year, now doing at 5 per cent. N.B.—Warranted to remain in prison during that period.On a declaration of war with France or Spain, in one year, 8 guineas per cent.And many other innocent things of that kind.But, when policies come to be opened on two of the first Peers in Britain losing their heads, within a year, at 10s. 6d. per cent.; and on the dissolution of the present Parliament, within one year, at 5 guineas per cent., which are now actually doing, and underwrote chiefly by Scotsmen, at the above Coffee House; it is surely high time for administrationto interfere; and, by exerting the rigours of the laws against the authors and encouragers of such insurances (which must be done for some bad purpose), effectually put a stop to it.’”In the secretary’s room at Lloyd’s hangs the following policy:—“In consideration of three guineas for one hundred pounds, and according to that rate for every greater or less sum received of William Dorrington; we, who have hereunto subscribed our names, do for ourselves, and our respective heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, and not one for the other or others of us; or for the heirs, executors, administrators and assigns of the other or others of us, assume, engage and promise that we respectively, or our several and respective heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, shall and will pay, or cause to be paid, unto the said William Dorrington the sum and sums of money which we have hereunto respectively subscribed without any abatement whatever.“In caseNapoleon Bonaparte shall cease to exist, or be taken prisoner on, or before, the 21st day of June 1813, commencing from this day. London 21 May 1813.”Although originally intended for the Insurance of Marine risks only, other policies can be taken out at Lloyd’s—such as Fire; against Burglary—although this was also insured against during the South Sea Mania, under the title of “Insurance from housebreakers”; against any lady having twins.À proposof this, there was an underwriter, some years ago, at Lloyd’s, named Thornton—who was fond of writing speculative risks, especially overdue ships, and who died very wealthy. He had a bet with a fellow underwriter—that he should pay him £1000 for every child the Queen bore; but, if there should be twins, at any time, then Mr Thornton was to be paid £20,000. Insuring that a race horse shall run in a particular race; on interest under a will; employer’s liability to workmen; accidents by tram-cars; solvency of commercial firms; earthquakes; and during the six months preceding the Queen’s Jubilee of 20thJune 1897 a vast amount was underwritten, guaranteeing the Queen’s life till that date—and also assuring that she should pass through certain streets. But these policies are not recognised by the Committee, and, should the underwriter fail, they do not rank for dividend out of the caution money held by the Corporation.Besides Lloyd’s Association, where each Member underwrites the amount he chooses, there are Marine Insurance Companies, which are of great utility for the large sums they underwrite. These are not all English, there are many foreign Marine Insurance Companies having Offices in London, as may be seen by the following list, which is very far from being complete:—Baden Marine, Bavarian Lloyd Marine, Boston Marine, Canton Marine, German Marine, Italia Marine of Genoa, Nippon Sea and Land, North China, Rhenish Westphalian Lloyds, Switzerland Insurance, Yangtze Insurance Association, &c., &c., &c. The first English Marine Insurance Companies were the Royal Exchange and the London, both established in 1720.Insurance against Fire began the year following the Great Fire of London (1666), and the first Company for Assurance against Fire was the Phœnix, established about 1682, first at the Rainbow Coffee House, in Fleet Street, and, afterwards, near the Royal Exchange. Their system was to pay 30s. down, and insure £100 for seven years. The second was The Friendly Society, in Palsgrave Court, without Temple Bar, which was the first (in 1684) that insured by mutual contribution, where you could insure £100 for seven years by paying 6s. 8d. down and an annual subscription of 1s. 4d. And, thirdly, The Amicable Contributors, at Tom’s Coffee House in St Martin’s Lane (commenced about 1695), where a payment of 12s. would insure £100 for seven years, at the expiration of which time 10s. would be returned to the assured. This Society seems to have changed its name to the Hand in Hand Fire Office, who gave up their two establishments, at Tom’s Coffee House, and the Crown Coffee House, behind the Exchange,to more suitable premises in Angel Court, Snow Hill, and notified the change in theGazetteof 1st Jan. 1714.This Insurance Company (The Amicable) is generally considered to be the first institution for the Insurance of Lives, although Life Annuities had been in practice for a long time, but a writer inChambers’ Encyclopædia(Vol. vi., p. 175, ed. 1895) says that it did not begin life business until 1836. The same writer continues: “The earliest known Life Assurance Company was established in 1699, and called the ‘Society of Assurance for Widows and Orphans.’ This was what, now, would be called anAssessmentCompany. It did not guarantee a definite sum assured, in consideration of a fixed periodical premium; but, by its constitution it was to consist, when full, of 2000 members, who were to contribute 5s. each towards every death that occurred amongst the members.“The earliest life assurance policy, of which particulars have been preserved, was made on 15th June 1583, at the ‘Office of Insurance within the Royal Exchange,’ in London. Full details of this Policy have been preserved, because it gave rise to the first authentic disputed claim. The policy was for £383, 6s. 8d., to be paid to Richard Martin, in the event of William Gybbons dying within twelve months, and the policy was underwritten by thirteen different persons who guaranteed sums of from £25 to £50 each. The premium was at the rate of 8 per cent. William Gybbons died on the 28th May 1584, and the underwriters refused to pay because he had survived twelve months of twenty-eight days each. The Commissioners appointed to determine such cases, held that the twelve months mentioned in the policy meant one full year, and they ordered the underwriters to pay. These appealed to the Court of Admiralty, which had jurisdiction in such cases, and where, in 1587, two judges upheld the decision of the Commissioners, so that, eventually, the underwriters had to pay.”Mr Francis[66]tells us of the first known fraud in LifeAssurance. “About 1730, two persons resided in the then obscure suburbs of St Giles’s, one of whom was a woman of about twenty, the other, a man, whose age would have allowed him to be the woman’s father, and who was, generally understood to bear that relation. Their position hovered on the debatable ground between poverty and competence, or might even be characterised by the modern term of shabby genteel. They interfered with no one, and they encouraged no one to interfere with them. No specific personal description is recorded of them, beyond the fact that the man was tall and middle aged, bearing a semimilitary aspect, and that the woman, though young and attractive in person, was, apparently, haughty and frigid in her manner. On a sudden, at night time, the latter was taken very ill. The man sought the wife of his nearest neighbour for assistance, informing her that his daughter had been seized with sudden and great pain at the heart. They returned together, and found her in the utmost apparent agony, shrinking from the approach of all, and dreading the slightest touch. The leech was sent for; but, before he could arrive, she seemed insensible, and he only entered the room in time to see her die. The father appeared in great distress, the doctor felt her pulse, placed his hand on her heart, shook his head, as he intimated all was over, and went his way. The searchers came, for those birds of ill-omen were, then, the ordinary haunters of the death-bed, and the coffin, with its contents, was committed to the ground. Almost immediately after this, the bereaved father claimed from the underwriters some money which was insured on his daughter’s life, left the locality, and the story was forgotten.“Not very long after, the neighbourhood of Queen Square, then a fashionable place, shook its head at the somewhat unequivocal connection that existed between one of the inmates of a house in that locality, and a lady who resided with him. The gentleman wore moustaches, and though not young, affected what was then known as the Macaronistyle. The Captain, for that was the almost indefinite title he assumed, was a visitor to Ranelagh, was anhabituéof the Coffee Houses; and, being an apparently wealthy person, riding good horses and keeping an attractive mistress, he attained a certain position among themauvais sujetsof the day. Like many others at that period, he was, or seemed to be, a dabbler in the funds; was frequently seen at Lloyd’s and in the Alley; lounged occasionally at Garraway’s; but appeared, more particularly, to affect the company of those who dealt in life assurances.“His house soon became a resort for the young and thoughtless, being one of those pleasant places where the past and the future were alike lost in the present: where cards were introduced with the wine, and where, if the young bloods of the day lost their money, they were repaid by a glance of more than ordinary warmth from the goddess of the place; and to which, if they won, they returned with renewed zest. One thing was noticed, they never won from the master of the house, and there is no doubt, a large portion of the current expenses were met by the money gambled away; but, whether it were fairly, or unfairly gained, is, scarcely a doubtful question.“A stop was soon put to these amusements. The place was too remote from the former locality, the appearance of both characters was too much changed to be identified; or, in these two might have been traced the strangers of that obscure suburb, where, as daughter, the woman was supposed to die; and, as father, the man had wept and raved over her remains. And a similar scene was, once more, to be acted. The lady was taken as suddenly ill as before; the same spasms at the heart seemed to convulse her frame; and, again, the man hung over her in apparent agony. Physicians were sent for in haste; only one arrived in time to see her, once more, imitate the appearance of death; whilst the others, satisfied that life had fled, took their fees, ‘shook solemnly their powdered wigs,’ and departed. This mystery, for it is evident there was some conspiracy, or collusion, ispartially solved when it is said that many thousands were claimed and received, by the gallant captain from various underwriters, merchants and companies with whom he had assured the life of the lady.“But the hero of this tradition was a consummate actor; and, though his career is unknown for a long period after this, yet it is highly probable that he carried out his nefarious projects in schemes which are difficult to trace. There is little doubt, however, that thesoi-disantcaptain of Queen Square was one and the same person who, as a merchant, a few years later, appeared daily on the commercial walks of Liverpool; where, deep in the mysteries of corn and cotton, a constant attendant at church, a subscriber to local charities, and a giver of good dinners, he soon became much respected by those who dealt with him in business, or visited him in social life. The hospitalities of his house were gracefully dispensed by a lady who passed as his niece; and, for a time, nothing seemed to disturb the tenour of his way. At length it became whispered in the world of commerce, that his speculations were not so successful as usual; and a long series of misfortunes, as asserted by him, gave a sanction to the whisper. It soon became advisable for him to borrow money, and this he could only do on the security of property belonging to his niece. To do so, it was necessary to insure their lives for about £2000. This was easy enough, as Liverpool, no less than London, was ready to assure anything which promised profit, and, as the affair was regular, no one hesitated. A certain amount of secrecy was necessary for the sake of his credit; and, availing himself of this, he assured on the life of the niece £2000, with, at least, ten different merchants and underwriters in London and elsewhere. The game was once more in his own hands, and the same play was once more acted. The lady was taken ill, the doctor was called in, and found her suffering from convulsions. He administered a specific, and retired. In the night he was again hastily summoned, but arrived too late. The patient wasdeclared to be beyond his skill; and the next morning it became known to all Liverpool that she had died suddenly. A decorous grief was evinced by the chief mourner. There was no haste made in forwarding the funeral; the lady lay almost in state, so numerous were the friends who called to see the last of her they had visited; the searchers did their hideous office gently, for they were, perhaps, largely bribed: the physician certified that she had died of a complaint he could scarcely name, and the grave received the Coffin. The merchant retained his position in Liverpool, and bore himself with a decent dignity; made no immediate application for the money; scarcely even alluded to the assurances which were due, and, when they were named, exhibited an appearance of almost indifference. He had, however, selected his victims with skill. They were safe men, and, from them, he duly received the money which was assured on the life of his niece.“From this period he seemed to decline in health, expressed a loathing for the place where he had once been so happy; change of air was prescribed, and he left the men whom he had deceived, chuckling at the success of his infamous scheme.”Nowadays, everything insurable can be insured; you can be compensated for accidents; if your plate glass windows are broken, if hail spoils your crops, or if your cattle die; the fidelity of your servants can be guaranteed: in fact, this field of permissible gambling is fully covered—whilst betting on horse racing rears its head unchecked, stock jobbers thrive, bucket shops multiply, and so do their victims.PRINTED BYTURNBULL AND SPEARS,EDINBURGHMessrs Duckworth & Co.’sNew Books.THE TATLER.Edited with Introduction and Notes by George A. Aitken, Author of “The Life of Richard Steele,” etc. Four volumes, small demy 8vo, with engraved frontispieces, bound in buckram, dull gold top, 7s. 6d. per vol., not sold separately.(See Special Prospectus.)Extract from the Editor’s Preface.“The original numbers ofThe Tatlerwere re-issued in two forms in 1710-11; one edition, in octavo, being published by subscription, while the other, in duodecimo, was for the general public. The present edition has been printed from a copy of the latter issue, which, as recorded on the title-page, was ‘revised and corrected by the Author’; but I have had by my side, for constant reference, a complete set of the folio sheets, containing the ‘Lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff’ in the form in which they were first presented to the world. 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The Comic side of the Railway Mania—“Jeames’s Diary,” &c.—Universal Speculation as shown by Parliamentary Return—Rise of Discount—Collapse—Shareholders not forthcoming—Widespread Ruin—George Hudson.

Notparticularly exaggerated is “Railroad Speculator” inPunch(Vol. viii., p. 244):

“The night was stormy and dark, the town was shut up in sleep: Only those were abroad who were out on the lark, Or those who’d no beds to keep.I passed through the lonely street, The wind did sing and blow; I could hear the policeman’s feet, Clapping to and fro.There stood a potato man, in the midst of all the wet; He stood with his ‘tato can, in the lonely Haymarket.Two gents of dismal mien, and dank and greasy rags; came out of a shop for gin, swaggering over the flags:Swaggering over the stones, these shabby bucks did walk; and I went and followed those seedy ones, and listened to their talk.Was I sober or awake? Could I believe my ears? Those dismal beggars spake of nothing but Railroad Shares.I wondered more and more: Says one, ‘Good friend of mine, how many shares did you write for? In the Diddlesex Junction line?’‘I wrote for twenty,’ says Jim, ‘but they wouldn’t give me one’; His comrade straight rebuked him, for the folly he had done.‘Oh Jim, you are unawares of the ways of this bad town: I always write for five hundred shares, andthenthey put me down.’‘And yet you got no shares,’ says Jim, ‘for all your boast’: ‘Iwouldhave wrote,’ says Jack, ‘but where was the penny to pay the post?’‘I lost, for I couldn’t pay that first instalment up; but here’s ‘taters smoking hot—I say, Let’s stop, my boy, and sup.’And, at this simple feast, the while they did regale, I drew each ragged capitalist, down on my left thumb nail.Their talk did me perplex, All night I tumbled and tost; and thought of railroad specs, and how money was won and lost.‘Bless railroads everywhere,’ I said, ‘and the world’s advance; Bless every railroad share in Italy, Ireland, France; for never a beggar need now despair, and every rogue has a chance.’”

“The night was stormy and dark, the town was shut up in sleep: Only those were abroad who were out on the lark, Or those who’d no beds to keep.

I passed through the lonely street, The wind did sing and blow; I could hear the policeman’s feet, Clapping to and fro.

There stood a potato man, in the midst of all the wet; He stood with his ‘tato can, in the lonely Haymarket.

Two gents of dismal mien, and dank and greasy rags; came out of a shop for gin, swaggering over the flags:

Swaggering over the stones, these shabby bucks did walk; and I went and followed those seedy ones, and listened to their talk.

Was I sober or awake? Could I believe my ears? Those dismal beggars spake of nothing but Railroad Shares.

I wondered more and more: Says one, ‘Good friend of mine, how many shares did you write for? In the Diddlesex Junction line?’

‘I wrote for twenty,’ says Jim, ‘but they wouldn’t give me one’; His comrade straight rebuked him, for the folly he had done.

‘Oh Jim, you are unawares of the ways of this bad town: I always write for five hundred shares, andthenthey put me down.’

‘And yet you got no shares,’ says Jim, ‘for all your boast’: ‘Iwouldhave wrote,’ says Jack, ‘but where was the penny to pay the post?’

‘I lost, for I couldn’t pay that first instalment up; but here’s ‘taters smoking hot—I say, Let’s stop, my boy, and sup.’

And, at this simple feast, the while they did regale, I drew each ragged capitalist, down on my left thumb nail.

Their talk did me perplex, All night I tumbled and tost; and thought of railroad specs, and how money was won and lost.

‘Bless railroads everywhere,’ I said, ‘and the world’s advance; Bless every railroad share in Italy, Ireland, France; for never a beggar need now despair, and every rogue has a chance.’”

But, should anyone wish to watch the progress of the Railway Mania, I would recommend a perusal ofPunch, Vol. ix., in which appears,inter alia,Jeames’s Diary, by Thackeray, afterwards published asThe Diary of C. Jeames De la Pluche, Esq.The idea was started on p. 59, under the heading of—

Considerable sensation has been excited in the upper and lower circles in the West End, by a startling piece of good fortune which has befallenJames Plush, Esq., lately footman in a respected family in Berkeley Square.One day, last week, Mr James waited upon his master, who is a banker in the city; and, after a little blushing and hesitation, said he had saved a little money in service, and was anxious to retire, and to invest his savings to advantage.His master (we believe we may mention, without offending delicacy, the well known name of SirGeorge Flimsyof the firm ofFlimsy,Diddler, andFlash,) smilingly asked MrJames, what was the amount of his savings, wondering considerably how—out of an income of thirty guineas, the main part of which he spent in bouquets, silk stockings and perfumery—MrPlushcould have managed to lay by anything.MrPlush, with some hesitation, said he had beenspeculating in railroads, and stated his winnings to have been thirty thousand pounds. He had commenced his speculations with twenty, borrowed from a fellow servant. He had dated his letters from the house in Berkeley Square, and humbly begged pardon of his master, for not having instructed the railway secretaries, who answered the applications, to apply at the area bell.SirGeorge, who was at breakfast, instantly rose, and shook Mr P. by the hand;Lady Flimsybegged him to be seated, and partake of the breakfast which he had laid on the table; and has subsequently invited him to her granddejeunerat Richmond, where it was observed that MissEmily Flimsy, her beautiful and accomplished seventh daughter, paid the lucky gentlemanmarked attention.We hear it stated that Mr P. is of very ancient family (Hugo de la Pluchecame over with the Conqueror); and the new Brougham which he has started, bears the ancient coat of his race.He has taken apartments at the Albany, and is a director of thirty-three railroads. He purposes to stand for Parliament at the next generalelection, on decidedly conservative principles, which have always been the politics of his family.Report says, that, even in his humble capacity, MissEmily Flimsyhad remarked his high demeanour. Well, ‘none but the brave,’ say we, ‘deserve the fair.’—Morning Paper.

One day, last week, Mr James waited upon his master, who is a banker in the city; and, after a little blushing and hesitation, said he had saved a little money in service, and was anxious to retire, and to invest his savings to advantage.

His master (we believe we may mention, without offending delicacy, the well known name of SirGeorge Flimsyof the firm ofFlimsy,Diddler, andFlash,) smilingly asked MrJames, what was the amount of his savings, wondering considerably how—out of an income of thirty guineas, the main part of which he spent in bouquets, silk stockings and perfumery—MrPlushcould have managed to lay by anything.

MrPlush, with some hesitation, said he had beenspeculating in railroads, and stated his winnings to have been thirty thousand pounds. He had commenced his speculations with twenty, borrowed from a fellow servant. He had dated his letters from the house in Berkeley Square, and humbly begged pardon of his master, for not having instructed the railway secretaries, who answered the applications, to apply at the area bell.

SirGeorge, who was at breakfast, instantly rose, and shook Mr P. by the hand;Lady Flimsybegged him to be seated, and partake of the breakfast which he had laid on the table; and has subsequently invited him to her granddejeunerat Richmond, where it was observed that MissEmily Flimsy, her beautiful and accomplished seventh daughter, paid the lucky gentlemanmarked attention.

We hear it stated that Mr P. is of very ancient family (Hugo de la Pluchecame over with the Conqueror); and the new Brougham which he has started, bears the ancient coat of his race.

He has taken apartments at the Albany, and is a director of thirty-three railroads. He purposes to stand for Parliament at the next generalelection, on decidedly conservative principles, which have always been the politics of his family.

Report says, that, even in his humble capacity, MissEmily Flimsyhad remarked his high demeanour. Well, ‘none but the brave,’ say we, ‘deserve the fair.’—Morning Paper.

This announcement will explain the following lines, which have been put into our box, with a West End post mark. If, as we believe, they are written by the young woman from whom the Millionaire borrowed the sum on which he raised his fortune, what heart would not melt with sympathy at her tale, and pity the sorrows which she expresses in such artless language?

If it be not too late: if wealth have not rendered its possessor callous: if poorMaryannebe still alive, we trust MrPlushwill do her justice.

A Heligy.

Come, all ye gents vot cleans the plate,

Come, all ye ladies maids so fair—

Vile I a story vil relate

Of cruelJeamesof Buckley Square.

A tighter lad, it is confest,

Never valked vith powder in his air,

Or vore a nosegay in his breast,

Than andsumJeamesof Buckley Square.

O Evns! it vas the best of sights,

Behind his Master’s coach and pair,

To see ourJeamesin red plush tights,

A driving hoff from Buckley Square.

He vel became his hagwiletts,

He cocked his at withsuchan hair;

His calves and viskersvassiech pets,

That hall lovedJeamesof Buckley Square.

He pleased the hup stairs folks as vell,

And o! I vithered vith despair,

Missesvouldring the parler bell,

And call upJeamesin Buckley Square.

Both beer and sperrits he abhord,

(Sperrits and beer I can’t a bear,)

You would have thought he vas a lord,

Down in our All in Buckley Square.

Last year he visper’d, “Mary Hann,

Ven I’ve an ‘under’d pound to spare,

To take a public is my plan,

And leave this hojous Buckley Square.”

O how my gentle heart did bound,

To think that I his name should bear.

“DearJeames,” says I, “I’ve twenty pound,”

And gev him them in Buckley Square.

Our master vas a City Gent,

His name’s in railroads everywhere;

And lord, vot lots of letters vent

Betwigst his brokers, and Buckley Square.

MyJeamesit was the letters took,

And read ‘em all, (I think it’s fair),

And took a leaf from Master’s book,

Ashothersdo in Buckley Square.

Encouraged with my twenty pound,

Of which poorIwas unaware,

He wrote the Companies all round,

And signed hisself from Buckley Square.

And howJohn Porterused to grin,

As day by day, share after share,

Came railway letters pouring in,

J. Plush, Esquire, in Buckley Square.

Our servants’ All was in a rage—

Scrip, stock, curves, gradients, bull and bear,

With butler, coachman, groom and page,

Vas all the talk in Buckley Square.

But O! imagine vat I felt

Last Vensdy veek as ever were;

I gits a letter, which I spelt

“Miss M. A. Hoggins, Buckley Square.”

He sent me back my money true—

He sent me back my lock of air,

And said, “My dear, I bid ajew

To Mary Hann and Buckley Square.

Think not to marry, foolishHann,

With people who your betters are;

James Plushis now a gentleman,

And you—a cook in Buckley Square.

I’ve thirty thousand guineas won,

In six short months, by genus rare;

You little thought whatJeameswas on,

PoorMary Hann, in Buckley Square.

I’ve thirty thousand guineas net,

Powder and plush I scorn to vear;

And so, MissMary Hann, forget

For heverJeames, of Buckley Square.”

But, joking apart, there is no exaggeration in Jeames. Look at a “Return to the Order of the Honourable the House of Commons, dated 8th April 1845, for an Alphabetical list of the Names, Description, and Place of Abode of all Persons subscribing to the Amount of £2000 and upwards to any Railway Subscription Contract deposited in the Private Bill Office during the present Session of Parliament,” and amongst the names will be found many of the leading nobility, large manufacturing firms, names well known in commerce and literature, mingled together in a most heterogeneous manner. The same columns shew a combination of peers and printers, vicars and vice-admirals, spinsters and half-pay officers, M.P.’s and special pleaders, professors and cotton spinners, gentlemen’s cooks and Q.C.’s, attorney’s clerks and college scouts, waiters at Lloyd’s, relieving officers and excisemen, barristers and butchers, Catholic priests and coachmen, editors and engineers, dairymen and dyers, braziers, bankers, beer sellers and butlers, domestic servants, footmen and mail guards, and almost every calling under the sun.

These, it must be remembered, were subscribers for £2000 and upwards; those who subscribed for less, were supposed to be holders of £21,386,703, 6s. 4d. in Stock.

The first blow given to this frightful gambling was on Thursday, 16th Oct. 1845, when the Bank of England raised its Discount, which had such a disastrous effect, that bySaturday, people began to be alarmed, and, as Mr Francis describes the situation, “Money was scarce, the price of stock and scrip lowered; the confidence of the people was broken, and a vision of a dark future on every face. Advertisements were suddenly withdrawn from the papers; names of note were seen no more as provisional committee men; distrust followed the merchant to the mart, and the jobber to the Exchange. The new schemes ceased to be regarded; applications ceased to be forwarded; premiums were either lowered, or ceased to exist. Bankers looked anxiously to the accounts of their customers; bill brokers scrutinised their securities; and every man was suspicious of his neighbour.

“But the distrust was not confined to projected lines. Established Railways felt the shock, and were reduced in value. Consols fell one and a half per cent.; Exchequer Bills declined in price, and other markets sympathised. The people had awoke from their dream, and trembled. It was a national alarm.

“Words are weak to express the fears and feelings which prevailed. There was no village too remote to escape the shock, and there was, probably, no house in town, some occupant of which did not shrink from the morrow. The Statesman started to find his new Bank Charter so sadly, and so suddenly tried: the peer, who had so thoughtlessly invested, saw ruin opening to his view. Men hurried with bated breath to their brokers; the allottee was uneasy and suspicious: the provisional committee man grew pale at his fearful responsibility: directors ceased to boast their blushing honours, and promoters saw their expected profits evaporate. Shares, which, the previous week, were a fortune, were, the next, a fatality to their owners. The reputed shareholders were not found when they were wanted: provisional committee men were not more easy of access.

“One Railway advertised the names and addresses of thirty—none of whom were to be heard of at the residencesascribed to them. Letters were returned to the Post Office, day after day. Nor is this to be wondered at, when it is said that, on one projected line, only £60 was received for deposits which should have yielded £700,000.

“It was proved in the Committee of the House of Commons, that one subscription list was formed of ‘lame ducks of the Alley’; and that, in another, several of the Directors, including the Chairman, had, also, altered their several subscriptions to the amount of £100,000, the very evening on which the list was deposited, and that five shillings a man was given to any one who would sign for a certain number of shares.

“Nothing more decidedly marked the crisis which had arrived, than the fact that every one hastened to disown railways. Gentlemen who had been buried in prospectuses, whose names and descriptions had been published under every variation that could fascinate the public, who had figured as committee men, and received the precious guineas for their attendance, were eager to assure the world that they were ignorant of this great transgression. Men, who, a month before, had boasted of the large sums they had made by scrip, sent advertisements to papers denying their responsibility, or appealed to the Lord Mayor to protect their characters. Members of Parliament who had remained quiet under the infliction, while it was somewhat respectable, fell back upon their privileges when they saw their purses in danger. There is no doubt that an unauthorised use of names was one feature of fraudulent Companies, and that, amid a list of common names, it was thought a distinguished one might pass unnoticed. The complaints, therefore, of those who were thus unceremoniously treated were just; but the great mass of denials emanated from persons who, knowingly, encountered the risk, and meanly shrunk from the danger.

“It is the conviction of those who are best informed that no other panic was ever so fatal to the middle class. It reached every hearth, it saddened every heart in themetropolis. Entire families were ruined. There was scarcely an important town in England, but what beheld some wretched suicide. Daughters, delicately nurtured, went out to seek their bread; sons were recalled from academies; households were separated: homes were desecrated by the emissaries of the law. There was a disruption of every social tie. The debtor’s jails were peopled with promoters; Whitecross Street was filled with speculators; and the Queen’s bench was full to overflowing. Men who had lived comfortably and independently, found themselves suddenly responsible for sums they had no means of paying. In some cases they yielded their all, and began the world anew; in others, they left the country for the continent, laughed at their creditors, and defied pursuit. One gentleman was served with four hundred writs: a peer, similarly pressed, when offered to be relieved from all liabilities for £15,000, betook himself to his yacht, and forgot, in the beauties of the Mediterranean, the difficulties which had surrounded him. Another gentleman, who, having nothing to lose, surrendered himself to his creditors, was a director of more than twenty lines. A third was Provisional Committee man to fifteen. A fourth, who commenced life as a printer, who became an insolvent in 1832, and a bankrupt in 1837, who had negotiated partnerships, who had arranged embarrassed affairs, who had collected debts, and turned his attention to anything, did not disdain, also, to be a railway promoter, a railway director, or to spell his name in a dozen different ways.”

But a notice of the Railway Mania would be very incomplete without mention of George Hudson, the Railway King. He was born at Howsham, a village near York, in March 1800, was apprenticed to a draper in York, and subsequently became principal in the business; thus, early in life, becoming well off, besides having £30,000 left him by a distant relative. In 1837 he was Lord Mayor of York, and the same year was made Chairman of the York and North Midland Railway, which was opened in 1839. In1841 he was elected Chairman of the Great North of England Company, and, afterwards held the same position in the Midland Railway Company. He speculated largely in Railways; and in the Parliamentary return, already alluded to (p. 270) his subscriptions appear as £319,835.

He came to London, and inhabited the house at Albert Gate, Knightsbridge (now the French Embassy) where he entertained the Prince Consort, and the aristocracy generally. He was elected M.P. for Sunderland in Aug. 1845, and again served as Lord Mayor of York in 1846. The Railway smash came, and year by year things went worse with him, until, early in the year 1849 he had to resign his chairmanship of the Eastern Counties (now Great Eastern), Midland, York, Newcastle and Berwick, and the York and North Midland Railway Companies. He went abroad, where he lived for some time, and tried, unavailingly, to retrieve his fortune. In July 1865 he was committed to York Castle for Contempt of the Court of Exchequer, in not paying a large debt, and was there incarcerated till the following October.

He fell so low, that in 1868 some friends took pity on him and raised a subscription for him, thus obtaining £4800, with which an annuity was purchased. He died in London, 14th Dec. 1871.

In conclusion, as a place for gambling, the Stock Exchange is of far greater extent than the Turf. The time bargains and options, without which the business of the Exchange would be very little, are gambling pure and simple, whilst the numerousbucket shops, with their advertisements and circulars, disseminate the unwholesome vice of gambling throughout the length and breadth of the land, enabling people to speculate without anyone being the wiser. It is needless to say, that, as on the Turf, they are the losers.

CHAPTER XXIIPermissible gambling—Early Marine Assurance—Oldest and old Policies—Lloyd’s—Curious Insurances—Marine Assurance Companies—Fire Insurance—Its origin and early Companies—Life Insurance—Early Companies—Curious story of Life Insurance.But,paradoxical as it may appear, there is a class of gambling which is not only considered harmless, but beneficial, and even necessary—I mean Insurance. Theoretically, it is gambling proper. You bet 2s. 6d. to £100 with your Fire Insurance; you equally bet on a Marine Insurance for the safe arrival of your ships or merchandise; and it is also gambling when you insure your life. Yet a man would be considered culpable, or at the very least, negligent and indiscreet did he not insure.Of the different kinds of Insurance or Assurance, as it is indifferently called, Marine Assurance is the oldest, so old, that no one knows when the custom began, as we see by the preamble of 43 Eliz., c. 12 (1601).“An Acte concerninge matters of Assurances, amongste Marchantes.Whereasit ever hathe bene the Policie of this Realme by all good meanes to comforte and encourage the Merchante, therebie to advance and increase the generall wealthe of the Realme, her Majesties Customes and the strengthe of Shippinge, which Consideration is now the more requisite, because Trade and Traffique is not, at this presente, soe open as at other tymes it hathe bene; and,whereas it hathe bene tyme out of myndean usage amongste Merchantes, both of this Realme and of forraine Nacyons, when they make any greate adventure (speciallie into remote partes) to give some consideracion of Money to other persons (which commonlie are in noe small number)to have from them assurance made of their Goodes Merchandizes Ships and Things adventured, or some parte thereof, at such rates and in such sorte as the Parties assurers and the Parties assured can agree, whiche course of dealinge is commonly termed a Policie of Assurance; by meanes of whiche Policies of Assurance it comethe to passe, upon the losse or perishinge of any Shippe there followethe not the undoinge of any Man, but the losse lightethe rather easilie upon many, then heavilie upon fewe, and rather upon them that adventure not, then those that doe adventure, whereby all Merchantes, speciallie of the younger sorte, are allured to venture more willinglie and more freelie: And whereas heretofore suche Assurers have used to stand so justlie and preciselie upon their credites, as fewe or no Controversies have risen there upon, and if any have growen, the same have from tyme to tyme bene ended and ordered by certaine grave and discreete Merchantes appointed by the Lord Mayor of the Citie of London, as Men by reason of their experience fitteste to understande, and speedilie to decide those Causes; untill of late yeeres that divers persons have withdrawen themselves from that arbitrarie course, and have soughte to drawe the parties assured to seeke their moneys of everie severall Assurer, by Suites commenced in her Majesties Courtes, to their great charges and delayes:For Remediewher of be it enacted,” &c.[64]The Oldest Policy of Assurance I have been able to find is mentioned in the 6th Report of the Royal Commission on Historical MSS., where it is catalogued “1604. A Charter partie, An Assurance of fish from Newfoundland.”[65]Mr F. Martin, who wrote an exhaustive book on theHistory of Lloyd’s and Marine Insurance, says: “The earliest English policy of marine insurance, which we have been able to discover, bears date 1613, and though not a document issued actually by underwriters, but, to all appearances, acopy made for legal purposes, with some lawyer’s notes attached, may be found historically interesting. The discovery was—with others subsequently to be referred to—the result of long and laborious researches among the, as yet, only partly known literary treasures of the Bodleian Library at Oxford. The original is among the Tanner manuscripts, numbered 74, fo. 32, and the manuscript is endorsed, ‘Mr Morris Abbott’s pollesye of Assurance dated the 15 of ffebruary 1613, 11 Jacobi.’”A very old policy hangs, framed and glazed, on the wall of the Committee Room at Lloyds, dated 20th Jan. 1680, and it is for £1200—£200 on the ship and £1000 on the goods. The ship was theGolden Fleece, the voyage from Lisbon to Venice, and the premium was £4 per cent.!Underwriting marine risks was in private hands, and although the underwriters had, some of them, offices of their own, most of the business seems to have been done at Coffee Houses, such as Hain’s, Garraway’s, or Good’s; and there was also a central office at the Royal Exchange, as is shown by several early advertisements, one of which is the following, from theCity Mercury, No. 255 (1680):“Whereas Mr Daniel Parrot caused a Politie to be made Septemb. 28 last, on theCharles of Plymouth, from Newfoundland to Cadiz, which is subscribed by several Insurers, and the Politie lost, and a new Politie made: It is desired that all persons that have subscribed the Politie would come into the Insurance Office, and subscribe the new Politie, that it may be known who the Insurers are; and if any one has found the old Politie, they are desired to bring it to Mr Tho. Astley, at the Insurance Office on the Royal Exchange, and they shall be well rewarded.”The origin of the present Corporation of Lloyd’s was in the Coffee House of Edward Lloyd, who, in 1688, lived in the very busy commercial thoroughfare of Tower Street, as appears from an advertisement in theLondon Gazetteof 18/21 Feb. 1688, relating to a robbery. In 1691 or 1692 he moved to a more central situation, at the Corner ofAbchurch Lane and Lombard Street, where, in the summer of 1696, he started the famousLloyd’s News, of which the Bodleian Library has a complete set, with the exception of the first seven numbers. It only reached seventy-six numbers, when it was discontinued for the reason given in No. 138 of theProtestant Mercury, Feb. 24/26, 1696 (1697). “Whereas, inLloyd’s Newsof the 23rd instant, it was inserted, That the House of Lords Received a Petition from the Quakers, that they may be freed from all Offices, which being groundless and a mistake, he was desired to rectifie it in his next: But return’d for Answer, it was added by the Printer, that he would Print no more at present.” And it remained in abeyance till 1726, when it was resuscitated under the title ofLloyd’s List, a name which it now bears.Lloyd’s Coffee House served its purpose to the Underwriters for a time, but they found it inconvenient, and wanted a place of their own, so they took rooms in Pope’s Head Alley, which they called New Lloyd’s Coffee House, whilst they were looking out for suitable permanent premises. Here, towards the end of 1771, seventy-nine Underwriters met, and each subscribed £100 towards building a “New Lloyd’s.” After a considerable amount of house hunting, it was reported by the Committee, on Nov. 24, 1773, “that after many fruitless researches to obtain a Coffee House in Freeman’s Court and other places, they had succeeded with the Mercer’s Company for a very roomy and convenient place over the North West Side of the Royal Exchange, at the rent of £180 per annum”: and this selection being approved of, they moved into their new quarters on 5th March 1774. There they have abode ever since, except for a brief period when the Exchange was re-building after its destruction by fire in 1838.The underwriters did not always confine themselves to marine risks. Malcolm, writing in 1808, says: “The practice of betting is tolerably prevalent at present, and by no means confined to any particular class of the community. In fact, I am afraid it might be traced very far back in thehistory of our Customs; but it will be sufficient, for the information of the reader, that I present him with an article from theLondon Chronicleof 1768, which, I think, will remind him of some recent transactions in the City.“‘The introduction and amazing progress of illicit gaming at Lloyd’s Coffee House is, among others, a powerful and very melancholy proof of the degeneracy of the times. It is astonishing that this practice was begun, and has been, hitherto, carried on, by the matchless effrontery and impudence of one man. It is equally so, that he has met with so much encouragement from many of the principal underwriters, who are, in every other respect, useful members of society: and it is owing to the lenity of our laws, and want of spirit in the present administration, that this pernicious practice has not, hitherto, been suppressed. Though gaming in any degree (except what is warranted by law) is perverting the original and useful design of that Coffee House, it may, in some measure, be excuseable to speculate on the following subjects:Mr Wilkes being elected Member for London, which was done from 5 to 50 guineas per cent.Ditto for Middlesex, from 20 to 70 guineas per cent.Alderman B—— d’s life for one year, now doing at 7 per cent.On Sir J—— H—— being turned out in one year, now doing at 20 guineas per cent.On John Wilkes’s life for one year, now doing at 5 per cent. N.B.—Warranted to remain in prison during that period.On a declaration of war with France or Spain, in one year, 8 guineas per cent.And many other innocent things of that kind.But, when policies come to be opened on two of the first Peers in Britain losing their heads, within a year, at 10s. 6d. per cent.; and on the dissolution of the present Parliament, within one year, at 5 guineas per cent., which are now actually doing, and underwrote chiefly by Scotsmen, at the above Coffee House; it is surely high time for administrationto interfere; and, by exerting the rigours of the laws against the authors and encouragers of such insurances (which must be done for some bad purpose), effectually put a stop to it.’”In the secretary’s room at Lloyd’s hangs the following policy:—“In consideration of three guineas for one hundred pounds, and according to that rate for every greater or less sum received of William Dorrington; we, who have hereunto subscribed our names, do for ourselves, and our respective heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, and not one for the other or others of us; or for the heirs, executors, administrators and assigns of the other or others of us, assume, engage and promise that we respectively, or our several and respective heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, shall and will pay, or cause to be paid, unto the said William Dorrington the sum and sums of money which we have hereunto respectively subscribed without any abatement whatever.“In caseNapoleon Bonaparte shall cease to exist, or be taken prisoner on, or before, the 21st day of June 1813, commencing from this day. London 21 May 1813.”Although originally intended for the Insurance of Marine risks only, other policies can be taken out at Lloyd’s—such as Fire; against Burglary—although this was also insured against during the South Sea Mania, under the title of “Insurance from housebreakers”; against any lady having twins.À proposof this, there was an underwriter, some years ago, at Lloyd’s, named Thornton—who was fond of writing speculative risks, especially overdue ships, and who died very wealthy. He had a bet with a fellow underwriter—that he should pay him £1000 for every child the Queen bore; but, if there should be twins, at any time, then Mr Thornton was to be paid £20,000. Insuring that a race horse shall run in a particular race; on interest under a will; employer’s liability to workmen; accidents by tram-cars; solvency of commercial firms; earthquakes; and during the six months preceding the Queen’s Jubilee of 20thJune 1897 a vast amount was underwritten, guaranteeing the Queen’s life till that date—and also assuring that she should pass through certain streets. But these policies are not recognised by the Committee, and, should the underwriter fail, they do not rank for dividend out of the caution money held by the Corporation.Besides Lloyd’s Association, where each Member underwrites the amount he chooses, there are Marine Insurance Companies, which are of great utility for the large sums they underwrite. These are not all English, there are many foreign Marine Insurance Companies having Offices in London, as may be seen by the following list, which is very far from being complete:—Baden Marine, Bavarian Lloyd Marine, Boston Marine, Canton Marine, German Marine, Italia Marine of Genoa, Nippon Sea and Land, North China, Rhenish Westphalian Lloyds, Switzerland Insurance, Yangtze Insurance Association, &c., &c., &c. The first English Marine Insurance Companies were the Royal Exchange and the London, both established in 1720.Insurance against Fire began the year following the Great Fire of London (1666), and the first Company for Assurance against Fire was the Phœnix, established about 1682, first at the Rainbow Coffee House, in Fleet Street, and, afterwards, near the Royal Exchange. Their system was to pay 30s. down, and insure £100 for seven years. The second was The Friendly Society, in Palsgrave Court, without Temple Bar, which was the first (in 1684) that insured by mutual contribution, where you could insure £100 for seven years by paying 6s. 8d. down and an annual subscription of 1s. 4d. And, thirdly, The Amicable Contributors, at Tom’s Coffee House in St Martin’s Lane (commenced about 1695), where a payment of 12s. would insure £100 for seven years, at the expiration of which time 10s. would be returned to the assured. This Society seems to have changed its name to the Hand in Hand Fire Office, who gave up their two establishments, at Tom’s Coffee House, and the Crown Coffee House, behind the Exchange,to more suitable premises in Angel Court, Snow Hill, and notified the change in theGazetteof 1st Jan. 1714.This Insurance Company (The Amicable) is generally considered to be the first institution for the Insurance of Lives, although Life Annuities had been in practice for a long time, but a writer inChambers’ Encyclopædia(Vol. vi., p. 175, ed. 1895) says that it did not begin life business until 1836. The same writer continues: “The earliest known Life Assurance Company was established in 1699, and called the ‘Society of Assurance for Widows and Orphans.’ This was what, now, would be called anAssessmentCompany. It did not guarantee a definite sum assured, in consideration of a fixed periodical premium; but, by its constitution it was to consist, when full, of 2000 members, who were to contribute 5s. each towards every death that occurred amongst the members.“The earliest life assurance policy, of which particulars have been preserved, was made on 15th June 1583, at the ‘Office of Insurance within the Royal Exchange,’ in London. Full details of this Policy have been preserved, because it gave rise to the first authentic disputed claim. The policy was for £383, 6s. 8d., to be paid to Richard Martin, in the event of William Gybbons dying within twelve months, and the policy was underwritten by thirteen different persons who guaranteed sums of from £25 to £50 each. The premium was at the rate of 8 per cent. William Gybbons died on the 28th May 1584, and the underwriters refused to pay because he had survived twelve months of twenty-eight days each. The Commissioners appointed to determine such cases, held that the twelve months mentioned in the policy meant one full year, and they ordered the underwriters to pay. These appealed to the Court of Admiralty, which had jurisdiction in such cases, and where, in 1587, two judges upheld the decision of the Commissioners, so that, eventually, the underwriters had to pay.”Mr Francis[66]tells us of the first known fraud in LifeAssurance. “About 1730, two persons resided in the then obscure suburbs of St Giles’s, one of whom was a woman of about twenty, the other, a man, whose age would have allowed him to be the woman’s father, and who was, generally understood to bear that relation. Their position hovered on the debatable ground between poverty and competence, or might even be characterised by the modern term of shabby genteel. They interfered with no one, and they encouraged no one to interfere with them. No specific personal description is recorded of them, beyond the fact that the man was tall and middle aged, bearing a semimilitary aspect, and that the woman, though young and attractive in person, was, apparently, haughty and frigid in her manner. On a sudden, at night time, the latter was taken very ill. The man sought the wife of his nearest neighbour for assistance, informing her that his daughter had been seized with sudden and great pain at the heart. They returned together, and found her in the utmost apparent agony, shrinking from the approach of all, and dreading the slightest touch. The leech was sent for; but, before he could arrive, she seemed insensible, and he only entered the room in time to see her die. The father appeared in great distress, the doctor felt her pulse, placed his hand on her heart, shook his head, as he intimated all was over, and went his way. The searchers came, for those birds of ill-omen were, then, the ordinary haunters of the death-bed, and the coffin, with its contents, was committed to the ground. Almost immediately after this, the bereaved father claimed from the underwriters some money which was insured on his daughter’s life, left the locality, and the story was forgotten.“Not very long after, the neighbourhood of Queen Square, then a fashionable place, shook its head at the somewhat unequivocal connection that existed between one of the inmates of a house in that locality, and a lady who resided with him. The gentleman wore moustaches, and though not young, affected what was then known as the Macaronistyle. The Captain, for that was the almost indefinite title he assumed, was a visitor to Ranelagh, was anhabituéof the Coffee Houses; and, being an apparently wealthy person, riding good horses and keeping an attractive mistress, he attained a certain position among themauvais sujetsof the day. Like many others at that period, he was, or seemed to be, a dabbler in the funds; was frequently seen at Lloyd’s and in the Alley; lounged occasionally at Garraway’s; but appeared, more particularly, to affect the company of those who dealt in life assurances.“His house soon became a resort for the young and thoughtless, being one of those pleasant places where the past and the future were alike lost in the present: where cards were introduced with the wine, and where, if the young bloods of the day lost their money, they were repaid by a glance of more than ordinary warmth from the goddess of the place; and to which, if they won, they returned with renewed zest. One thing was noticed, they never won from the master of the house, and there is no doubt, a large portion of the current expenses were met by the money gambled away; but, whether it were fairly, or unfairly gained, is, scarcely a doubtful question.“A stop was soon put to these amusements. The place was too remote from the former locality, the appearance of both characters was too much changed to be identified; or, in these two might have been traced the strangers of that obscure suburb, where, as daughter, the woman was supposed to die; and, as father, the man had wept and raved over her remains. And a similar scene was, once more, to be acted. The lady was taken as suddenly ill as before; the same spasms at the heart seemed to convulse her frame; and, again, the man hung over her in apparent agony. Physicians were sent for in haste; only one arrived in time to see her, once more, imitate the appearance of death; whilst the others, satisfied that life had fled, took their fees, ‘shook solemnly their powdered wigs,’ and departed. This mystery, for it is evident there was some conspiracy, or collusion, ispartially solved when it is said that many thousands were claimed and received, by the gallant captain from various underwriters, merchants and companies with whom he had assured the life of the lady.“But the hero of this tradition was a consummate actor; and, though his career is unknown for a long period after this, yet it is highly probable that he carried out his nefarious projects in schemes which are difficult to trace. There is little doubt, however, that thesoi-disantcaptain of Queen Square was one and the same person who, as a merchant, a few years later, appeared daily on the commercial walks of Liverpool; where, deep in the mysteries of corn and cotton, a constant attendant at church, a subscriber to local charities, and a giver of good dinners, he soon became much respected by those who dealt with him in business, or visited him in social life. The hospitalities of his house were gracefully dispensed by a lady who passed as his niece; and, for a time, nothing seemed to disturb the tenour of his way. At length it became whispered in the world of commerce, that his speculations were not so successful as usual; and a long series of misfortunes, as asserted by him, gave a sanction to the whisper. It soon became advisable for him to borrow money, and this he could only do on the security of property belonging to his niece. To do so, it was necessary to insure their lives for about £2000. This was easy enough, as Liverpool, no less than London, was ready to assure anything which promised profit, and, as the affair was regular, no one hesitated. A certain amount of secrecy was necessary for the sake of his credit; and, availing himself of this, he assured on the life of the niece £2000, with, at least, ten different merchants and underwriters in London and elsewhere. The game was once more in his own hands, and the same play was once more acted. The lady was taken ill, the doctor was called in, and found her suffering from convulsions. He administered a specific, and retired. In the night he was again hastily summoned, but arrived too late. The patient wasdeclared to be beyond his skill; and the next morning it became known to all Liverpool that she had died suddenly. A decorous grief was evinced by the chief mourner. There was no haste made in forwarding the funeral; the lady lay almost in state, so numerous were the friends who called to see the last of her they had visited; the searchers did their hideous office gently, for they were, perhaps, largely bribed: the physician certified that she had died of a complaint he could scarcely name, and the grave received the Coffin. The merchant retained his position in Liverpool, and bore himself with a decent dignity; made no immediate application for the money; scarcely even alluded to the assurances which were due, and, when they were named, exhibited an appearance of almost indifference. He had, however, selected his victims with skill. They were safe men, and, from them, he duly received the money which was assured on the life of his niece.“From this period he seemed to decline in health, expressed a loathing for the place where he had once been so happy; change of air was prescribed, and he left the men whom he had deceived, chuckling at the success of his infamous scheme.”Nowadays, everything insurable can be insured; you can be compensated for accidents; if your plate glass windows are broken, if hail spoils your crops, or if your cattle die; the fidelity of your servants can be guaranteed: in fact, this field of permissible gambling is fully covered—whilst betting on horse racing rears its head unchecked, stock jobbers thrive, bucket shops multiply, and so do their victims.PRINTED BYTURNBULL AND SPEARS,EDINBURGH

Permissible gambling—Early Marine Assurance—Oldest and old Policies—Lloyd’s—Curious Insurances—Marine Assurance Companies—Fire Insurance—Its origin and early Companies—Life Insurance—Early Companies—Curious story of Life Insurance.

But,paradoxical as it may appear, there is a class of gambling which is not only considered harmless, but beneficial, and even necessary—I mean Insurance. Theoretically, it is gambling proper. You bet 2s. 6d. to £100 with your Fire Insurance; you equally bet on a Marine Insurance for the safe arrival of your ships or merchandise; and it is also gambling when you insure your life. Yet a man would be considered culpable, or at the very least, negligent and indiscreet did he not insure.

Of the different kinds of Insurance or Assurance, as it is indifferently called, Marine Assurance is the oldest, so old, that no one knows when the custom began, as we see by the preamble of 43 Eliz., c. 12 (1601).

“An Acte concerninge matters of Assurances, amongste Marchantes.Whereasit ever hathe bene the Policie of this Realme by all good meanes to comforte and encourage the Merchante, therebie to advance and increase the generall wealthe of the Realme, her Majesties Customes and the strengthe of Shippinge, which Consideration is now the more requisite, because Trade and Traffique is not, at this presente, soe open as at other tymes it hathe bene; and,whereas it hathe bene tyme out of myndean usage amongste Merchantes, both of this Realme and of forraine Nacyons, when they make any greate adventure (speciallie into remote partes) to give some consideracion of Money to other persons (which commonlie are in noe small number)to have from them assurance made of their Goodes Merchandizes Ships and Things adventured, or some parte thereof, at such rates and in such sorte as the Parties assurers and the Parties assured can agree, whiche course of dealinge is commonly termed a Policie of Assurance; by meanes of whiche Policies of Assurance it comethe to passe, upon the losse or perishinge of any Shippe there followethe not the undoinge of any Man, but the losse lightethe rather easilie upon many, then heavilie upon fewe, and rather upon them that adventure not, then those that doe adventure, whereby all Merchantes, speciallie of the younger sorte, are allured to venture more willinglie and more freelie: And whereas heretofore suche Assurers have used to stand so justlie and preciselie upon their credites, as fewe or no Controversies have risen there upon, and if any have growen, the same have from tyme to tyme bene ended and ordered by certaine grave and discreete Merchantes appointed by the Lord Mayor of the Citie of London, as Men by reason of their experience fitteste to understande, and speedilie to decide those Causes; untill of late yeeres that divers persons have withdrawen themselves from that arbitrarie course, and have soughte to drawe the parties assured to seeke their moneys of everie severall Assurer, by Suites commenced in her Majesties Courtes, to their great charges and delayes:For Remediewher of be it enacted,” &c.[64]

The Oldest Policy of Assurance I have been able to find is mentioned in the 6th Report of the Royal Commission on Historical MSS., where it is catalogued “1604. A Charter partie, An Assurance of fish from Newfoundland.”[65]

Mr F. Martin, who wrote an exhaustive book on theHistory of Lloyd’s and Marine Insurance, says: “The earliest English policy of marine insurance, which we have been able to discover, bears date 1613, and though not a document issued actually by underwriters, but, to all appearances, acopy made for legal purposes, with some lawyer’s notes attached, may be found historically interesting. The discovery was—with others subsequently to be referred to—the result of long and laborious researches among the, as yet, only partly known literary treasures of the Bodleian Library at Oxford. The original is among the Tanner manuscripts, numbered 74, fo. 32, and the manuscript is endorsed, ‘Mr Morris Abbott’s pollesye of Assurance dated the 15 of ffebruary 1613, 11 Jacobi.’”

A very old policy hangs, framed and glazed, on the wall of the Committee Room at Lloyds, dated 20th Jan. 1680, and it is for £1200—£200 on the ship and £1000 on the goods. The ship was theGolden Fleece, the voyage from Lisbon to Venice, and the premium was £4 per cent.!

Underwriting marine risks was in private hands, and although the underwriters had, some of them, offices of their own, most of the business seems to have been done at Coffee Houses, such as Hain’s, Garraway’s, or Good’s; and there was also a central office at the Royal Exchange, as is shown by several early advertisements, one of which is the following, from theCity Mercury, No. 255 (1680):

“Whereas Mr Daniel Parrot caused a Politie to be made Septemb. 28 last, on theCharles of Plymouth, from Newfoundland to Cadiz, which is subscribed by several Insurers, and the Politie lost, and a new Politie made: It is desired that all persons that have subscribed the Politie would come into the Insurance Office, and subscribe the new Politie, that it may be known who the Insurers are; and if any one has found the old Politie, they are desired to bring it to Mr Tho. Astley, at the Insurance Office on the Royal Exchange, and they shall be well rewarded.”

The origin of the present Corporation of Lloyd’s was in the Coffee House of Edward Lloyd, who, in 1688, lived in the very busy commercial thoroughfare of Tower Street, as appears from an advertisement in theLondon Gazetteof 18/21 Feb. 1688, relating to a robbery. In 1691 or 1692 he moved to a more central situation, at the Corner ofAbchurch Lane and Lombard Street, where, in the summer of 1696, he started the famousLloyd’s News, of which the Bodleian Library has a complete set, with the exception of the first seven numbers. It only reached seventy-six numbers, when it was discontinued for the reason given in No. 138 of theProtestant Mercury, Feb. 24/26, 1696 (1697). “Whereas, inLloyd’s Newsof the 23rd instant, it was inserted, That the House of Lords Received a Petition from the Quakers, that they may be freed from all Offices, which being groundless and a mistake, he was desired to rectifie it in his next: But return’d for Answer, it was added by the Printer, that he would Print no more at present.” And it remained in abeyance till 1726, when it was resuscitated under the title ofLloyd’s List, a name which it now bears.

Lloyd’s Coffee House served its purpose to the Underwriters for a time, but they found it inconvenient, and wanted a place of their own, so they took rooms in Pope’s Head Alley, which they called New Lloyd’s Coffee House, whilst they were looking out for suitable permanent premises. Here, towards the end of 1771, seventy-nine Underwriters met, and each subscribed £100 towards building a “New Lloyd’s.” After a considerable amount of house hunting, it was reported by the Committee, on Nov. 24, 1773, “that after many fruitless researches to obtain a Coffee House in Freeman’s Court and other places, they had succeeded with the Mercer’s Company for a very roomy and convenient place over the North West Side of the Royal Exchange, at the rent of £180 per annum”: and this selection being approved of, they moved into their new quarters on 5th March 1774. There they have abode ever since, except for a brief period when the Exchange was re-building after its destruction by fire in 1838.

The underwriters did not always confine themselves to marine risks. Malcolm, writing in 1808, says: “The practice of betting is tolerably prevalent at present, and by no means confined to any particular class of the community. In fact, I am afraid it might be traced very far back in thehistory of our Customs; but it will be sufficient, for the information of the reader, that I present him with an article from theLondon Chronicleof 1768, which, I think, will remind him of some recent transactions in the City.

“‘The introduction and amazing progress of illicit gaming at Lloyd’s Coffee House is, among others, a powerful and very melancholy proof of the degeneracy of the times. It is astonishing that this practice was begun, and has been, hitherto, carried on, by the matchless effrontery and impudence of one man. It is equally so, that he has met with so much encouragement from many of the principal underwriters, who are, in every other respect, useful members of society: and it is owing to the lenity of our laws, and want of spirit in the present administration, that this pernicious practice has not, hitherto, been suppressed. Though gaming in any degree (except what is warranted by law) is perverting the original and useful design of that Coffee House, it may, in some measure, be excuseable to speculate on the following subjects:

Mr Wilkes being elected Member for London, which was done from 5 to 50 guineas per cent.

Ditto for Middlesex, from 20 to 70 guineas per cent.

Alderman B—— d’s life for one year, now doing at 7 per cent.

On Sir J—— H—— being turned out in one year, now doing at 20 guineas per cent.

On John Wilkes’s life for one year, now doing at 5 per cent. N.B.—Warranted to remain in prison during that period.

On a declaration of war with France or Spain, in one year, 8 guineas per cent.

And many other innocent things of that kind.

But, when policies come to be opened on two of the first Peers in Britain losing their heads, within a year, at 10s. 6d. per cent.; and on the dissolution of the present Parliament, within one year, at 5 guineas per cent., which are now actually doing, and underwrote chiefly by Scotsmen, at the above Coffee House; it is surely high time for administrationto interfere; and, by exerting the rigours of the laws against the authors and encouragers of such insurances (which must be done for some bad purpose), effectually put a stop to it.’”

In the secretary’s room at Lloyd’s hangs the following policy:—“In consideration of three guineas for one hundred pounds, and according to that rate for every greater or less sum received of William Dorrington; we, who have hereunto subscribed our names, do for ourselves, and our respective heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, and not one for the other or others of us; or for the heirs, executors, administrators and assigns of the other or others of us, assume, engage and promise that we respectively, or our several and respective heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, shall and will pay, or cause to be paid, unto the said William Dorrington the sum and sums of money which we have hereunto respectively subscribed without any abatement whatever.

“In caseNapoleon Bonaparte shall cease to exist, or be taken prisoner on, or before, the 21st day of June 1813, commencing from this day. London 21 May 1813.”

Although originally intended for the Insurance of Marine risks only, other policies can be taken out at Lloyd’s—such as Fire; against Burglary—although this was also insured against during the South Sea Mania, under the title of “Insurance from housebreakers”; against any lady having twins.À proposof this, there was an underwriter, some years ago, at Lloyd’s, named Thornton—who was fond of writing speculative risks, especially overdue ships, and who died very wealthy. He had a bet with a fellow underwriter—that he should pay him £1000 for every child the Queen bore; but, if there should be twins, at any time, then Mr Thornton was to be paid £20,000. Insuring that a race horse shall run in a particular race; on interest under a will; employer’s liability to workmen; accidents by tram-cars; solvency of commercial firms; earthquakes; and during the six months preceding the Queen’s Jubilee of 20thJune 1897 a vast amount was underwritten, guaranteeing the Queen’s life till that date—and also assuring that she should pass through certain streets. But these policies are not recognised by the Committee, and, should the underwriter fail, they do not rank for dividend out of the caution money held by the Corporation.

Besides Lloyd’s Association, where each Member underwrites the amount he chooses, there are Marine Insurance Companies, which are of great utility for the large sums they underwrite. These are not all English, there are many foreign Marine Insurance Companies having Offices in London, as may be seen by the following list, which is very far from being complete:—Baden Marine, Bavarian Lloyd Marine, Boston Marine, Canton Marine, German Marine, Italia Marine of Genoa, Nippon Sea and Land, North China, Rhenish Westphalian Lloyds, Switzerland Insurance, Yangtze Insurance Association, &c., &c., &c. The first English Marine Insurance Companies were the Royal Exchange and the London, both established in 1720.

Insurance against Fire began the year following the Great Fire of London (1666), and the first Company for Assurance against Fire was the Phœnix, established about 1682, first at the Rainbow Coffee House, in Fleet Street, and, afterwards, near the Royal Exchange. Their system was to pay 30s. down, and insure £100 for seven years. The second was The Friendly Society, in Palsgrave Court, without Temple Bar, which was the first (in 1684) that insured by mutual contribution, where you could insure £100 for seven years by paying 6s. 8d. down and an annual subscription of 1s. 4d. And, thirdly, The Amicable Contributors, at Tom’s Coffee House in St Martin’s Lane (commenced about 1695), where a payment of 12s. would insure £100 for seven years, at the expiration of which time 10s. would be returned to the assured. This Society seems to have changed its name to the Hand in Hand Fire Office, who gave up their two establishments, at Tom’s Coffee House, and the Crown Coffee House, behind the Exchange,to more suitable premises in Angel Court, Snow Hill, and notified the change in theGazetteof 1st Jan. 1714.

This Insurance Company (The Amicable) is generally considered to be the first institution for the Insurance of Lives, although Life Annuities had been in practice for a long time, but a writer inChambers’ Encyclopædia(Vol. vi., p. 175, ed. 1895) says that it did not begin life business until 1836. The same writer continues: “The earliest known Life Assurance Company was established in 1699, and called the ‘Society of Assurance for Widows and Orphans.’ This was what, now, would be called anAssessmentCompany. It did not guarantee a definite sum assured, in consideration of a fixed periodical premium; but, by its constitution it was to consist, when full, of 2000 members, who were to contribute 5s. each towards every death that occurred amongst the members.

“The earliest life assurance policy, of which particulars have been preserved, was made on 15th June 1583, at the ‘Office of Insurance within the Royal Exchange,’ in London. Full details of this Policy have been preserved, because it gave rise to the first authentic disputed claim. The policy was for £383, 6s. 8d., to be paid to Richard Martin, in the event of William Gybbons dying within twelve months, and the policy was underwritten by thirteen different persons who guaranteed sums of from £25 to £50 each. The premium was at the rate of 8 per cent. William Gybbons died on the 28th May 1584, and the underwriters refused to pay because he had survived twelve months of twenty-eight days each. The Commissioners appointed to determine such cases, held that the twelve months mentioned in the policy meant one full year, and they ordered the underwriters to pay. These appealed to the Court of Admiralty, which had jurisdiction in such cases, and where, in 1587, two judges upheld the decision of the Commissioners, so that, eventually, the underwriters had to pay.”

Mr Francis[66]tells us of the first known fraud in LifeAssurance. “About 1730, two persons resided in the then obscure suburbs of St Giles’s, one of whom was a woman of about twenty, the other, a man, whose age would have allowed him to be the woman’s father, and who was, generally understood to bear that relation. Their position hovered on the debatable ground between poverty and competence, or might even be characterised by the modern term of shabby genteel. They interfered with no one, and they encouraged no one to interfere with them. No specific personal description is recorded of them, beyond the fact that the man was tall and middle aged, bearing a semimilitary aspect, and that the woman, though young and attractive in person, was, apparently, haughty and frigid in her manner. On a sudden, at night time, the latter was taken very ill. The man sought the wife of his nearest neighbour for assistance, informing her that his daughter had been seized with sudden and great pain at the heart. They returned together, and found her in the utmost apparent agony, shrinking from the approach of all, and dreading the slightest touch. The leech was sent for; but, before he could arrive, she seemed insensible, and he only entered the room in time to see her die. The father appeared in great distress, the doctor felt her pulse, placed his hand on her heart, shook his head, as he intimated all was over, and went his way. The searchers came, for those birds of ill-omen were, then, the ordinary haunters of the death-bed, and the coffin, with its contents, was committed to the ground. Almost immediately after this, the bereaved father claimed from the underwriters some money which was insured on his daughter’s life, left the locality, and the story was forgotten.

“Not very long after, the neighbourhood of Queen Square, then a fashionable place, shook its head at the somewhat unequivocal connection that existed between one of the inmates of a house in that locality, and a lady who resided with him. The gentleman wore moustaches, and though not young, affected what was then known as the Macaronistyle. The Captain, for that was the almost indefinite title he assumed, was a visitor to Ranelagh, was anhabituéof the Coffee Houses; and, being an apparently wealthy person, riding good horses and keeping an attractive mistress, he attained a certain position among themauvais sujetsof the day. Like many others at that period, he was, or seemed to be, a dabbler in the funds; was frequently seen at Lloyd’s and in the Alley; lounged occasionally at Garraway’s; but appeared, more particularly, to affect the company of those who dealt in life assurances.

“His house soon became a resort for the young and thoughtless, being one of those pleasant places where the past and the future were alike lost in the present: where cards were introduced with the wine, and where, if the young bloods of the day lost their money, they were repaid by a glance of more than ordinary warmth from the goddess of the place; and to which, if they won, they returned with renewed zest. One thing was noticed, they never won from the master of the house, and there is no doubt, a large portion of the current expenses were met by the money gambled away; but, whether it were fairly, or unfairly gained, is, scarcely a doubtful question.

“A stop was soon put to these amusements. The place was too remote from the former locality, the appearance of both characters was too much changed to be identified; or, in these two might have been traced the strangers of that obscure suburb, where, as daughter, the woman was supposed to die; and, as father, the man had wept and raved over her remains. And a similar scene was, once more, to be acted. The lady was taken as suddenly ill as before; the same spasms at the heart seemed to convulse her frame; and, again, the man hung over her in apparent agony. Physicians were sent for in haste; only one arrived in time to see her, once more, imitate the appearance of death; whilst the others, satisfied that life had fled, took their fees, ‘shook solemnly their powdered wigs,’ and departed. This mystery, for it is evident there was some conspiracy, or collusion, ispartially solved when it is said that many thousands were claimed and received, by the gallant captain from various underwriters, merchants and companies with whom he had assured the life of the lady.

“But the hero of this tradition was a consummate actor; and, though his career is unknown for a long period after this, yet it is highly probable that he carried out his nefarious projects in schemes which are difficult to trace. There is little doubt, however, that thesoi-disantcaptain of Queen Square was one and the same person who, as a merchant, a few years later, appeared daily on the commercial walks of Liverpool; where, deep in the mysteries of corn and cotton, a constant attendant at church, a subscriber to local charities, and a giver of good dinners, he soon became much respected by those who dealt with him in business, or visited him in social life. The hospitalities of his house were gracefully dispensed by a lady who passed as his niece; and, for a time, nothing seemed to disturb the tenour of his way. At length it became whispered in the world of commerce, that his speculations were not so successful as usual; and a long series of misfortunes, as asserted by him, gave a sanction to the whisper. It soon became advisable for him to borrow money, and this he could only do on the security of property belonging to his niece. To do so, it was necessary to insure their lives for about £2000. This was easy enough, as Liverpool, no less than London, was ready to assure anything which promised profit, and, as the affair was regular, no one hesitated. A certain amount of secrecy was necessary for the sake of his credit; and, availing himself of this, he assured on the life of the niece £2000, with, at least, ten different merchants and underwriters in London and elsewhere. The game was once more in his own hands, and the same play was once more acted. The lady was taken ill, the doctor was called in, and found her suffering from convulsions. He administered a specific, and retired. In the night he was again hastily summoned, but arrived too late. The patient wasdeclared to be beyond his skill; and the next morning it became known to all Liverpool that she had died suddenly. A decorous grief was evinced by the chief mourner. There was no haste made in forwarding the funeral; the lady lay almost in state, so numerous were the friends who called to see the last of her they had visited; the searchers did their hideous office gently, for they were, perhaps, largely bribed: the physician certified that she had died of a complaint he could scarcely name, and the grave received the Coffin. The merchant retained his position in Liverpool, and bore himself with a decent dignity; made no immediate application for the money; scarcely even alluded to the assurances which were due, and, when they were named, exhibited an appearance of almost indifference. He had, however, selected his victims with skill. They were safe men, and, from them, he duly received the money which was assured on the life of his niece.

“From this period he seemed to decline in health, expressed a loathing for the place where he had once been so happy; change of air was prescribed, and he left the men whom he had deceived, chuckling at the success of his infamous scheme.”

Nowadays, everything insurable can be insured; you can be compensated for accidents; if your plate glass windows are broken, if hail spoils your crops, or if your cattle die; the fidelity of your servants can be guaranteed: in fact, this field of permissible gambling is fully covered—whilst betting on horse racing rears its head unchecked, stock jobbers thrive, bucket shops multiply, and so do their victims.

PRINTED BYTURNBULL AND SPEARS,EDINBURGH

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The volumes will contain brief introductions, bibliographical and explanatory rather than critical, and such annotations as may be necessary.The volumes will be printed in pott quarto, and they will cost, as a rule, 2s. 6d. net. or 3s. 6d. net. each.EARLY VOLUMES.HENRIK IBSEN“Love’s Comedy” (Kjærlighedens Komedie).MAURICE MAETERLINCK“Intérieur.”—William Archer.“La Mort de Tintagiles.”}—Alfred Sutro.“Alladine et Palomides.”VILLIERS DE L’ISLE ADAM“La Révolte.”}—Theresa Barclay.“L’Evasion.”SERGIUS STEPNIAK“The Convert.”—Constance Garnett.EMILE VERHAEREN“Les Aubes.”—Arthur Symons.AUGUST STRINDBERG“The Father” (Fadren).—N. Erichsen.OSTROVSKY“The Storm.”—Constance Garnett.BRIEUX“Les Bienfaiteurs.”—Lucas Malet.HENRYK SIENKIEWICZ“On a Single Card.”—E. L. Voynich.Arrangements are also in progress with representative dramatists of Germany, Spain, Italy, and other countries. Further translations have been promised by DrGarnett, MessrsWalter Leaf,Justin Huntly MacCarthy,G. A. Greene, &c.KNAPP, ARTHUR MAY.FEUDAL AND MODERN JAPAN,by Arthur May Knapp. 2 vols., with 24 photogravure illustrations of Japanese life, landscape and architecture. Small fcap. 8vo, ¼-bound, white cloth, blue sides, gilt top. 8s. net.The work of one who has frequently visited, and for a long time resided in Japan, thus enjoying peculiar advantages for observation and comment.The scope of the book includes a study of the history, religion, language, art, life, and habits of the Japanese.Though written in a thoroughly appreciative spirit, it avoids the indiscriminating praise which has characterised so many works on Japan; and while covering ground which has become somewhat familiar, it presents many fresh points of view, and furnishes much information heretofore inaccessible to the ordinary reader.ROSSETTI, DANTE GABRIEL.THE BLESSED DAMOZEL,by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. With an Introduction by Wm. Michael Rossetti, a reproduction in Photogravure of D. G. Rossetti’s crayon study for the head of the Blessed Damozel, and decorative designs and cover by W. B. Macdougall. Fcap. 4to, 1/4-bound, art vellum, gilt top. 5s. net. (See Special Prospectus.)The poem given here is as it originally appeared inThe Germ, and consequently the version is one hitherto practically inaccessible. Mr W. M. Rossetti’s Introduction deals fully with the history of its composition and the changes through which it subsequently went.Illustrated London News.—“A fine bit of decorative art and an excellent sample of modern format. The frontispiece is very beautiful. Mr Macdougall’s designs are rich.”The Sketch.—“It is really beautifully illustrated. The book is a veritable art treasure.”Speaker.—“This artistic and singularly interesting volume.”Birmingham Gazette.—“Every page contains a broad framework of beautiful design, in which the artist manifests his power in glorious sweeping lines and delicate tracery. A treasure to be appreciated. The noble poem is nobly decked out in every respect.”Manchester Courier.—“The decorative designs are at once original, harmonious and beautiful. A work which will be welcomed alike for its high literary value, and for the high artistic standard to which it attains.”HOUSMAN, CLEMENCE.THE UNKNOWN SEA.A Romance by Clemence Housman, Author of “The Were Wolf.” Crown 8vo, art vellum, gold top. 6s.Literature.—“On the conception of Christian the author may be congratulated. He is ideal without sentimentality, and his sacrifice and death have the poignancy of reality, symbol though he is of the world’s greatest idea.”Guardian.—“Decidedly powerful and effective. Its author has certainly a spell by which, like the ancient mariner, he can force people to listen to and accept his tale.”Pall Mall Gazette.—“The story is a powerful one, stirring the imagination with vague suggestions of mystery, and compelling interest throughout. For those who can appreciate fine writing, moreover, the style itself will prove an added attraction, and will not only sustain the reputation which Miss Housman has already made, but will also enhance the lustre of the talented family of which she is a member.”St James’s Gazette.—“The qualities that commend this book are its fitting impression of the supernatural, its studied and generally successful use of words, and its appreciation of the beauty of visible things. It achieves an absolute effect of beauty, an effect of a kind extremely rare in English that is not verse. The book has beauty and sense—not, thank Heaven, common sense!—in it, and is quite remote from the common trash of the book market.”Nottingham Daily Guardian.—“‘The Unknown Sea’ is not a popular novel; there is too much really fine work in it for that, but hardly a page fails to indicate the author’s delicate methods and robust individuality.”SINJOHN, JOHN.JOCELYN.A Monte Carlo Story by John Sinjohn, Author of “From the Four Winds.” Crown 8vo, art canvas. 6s.Daily Mail.—“The love, as love, is shown with such intensity that it sets the reader’s heart athrob, and the Riviera setting is aglow with colour and life.”Outlook.—“He has set it against a charmingly painted background of warm Southern atmosphere and Mediterranean scenery, and he has drawn, in the persons of the delightfully commonplace Mrs Travis and Nielson—the polished cosmopolitan and professional gambler, with an unsuspected strain of tenderness beneath his impassive exterior—two of the best comedy characters that we have encountered in recent fiction.”Manchester Courier.—“A powerfully written story. The analysis of character is good, and the depiction of life in the Riviera is excellent.”BURROW, C. K.THE FIRE OF LIFE.A Novel by C. K. Burrow, Author of “Asteck’s Madonna,” “The Way of the Wind,” etc. Crown 8vo, cloth. 6s.St James’s Gazette.—“A clever story. The smoothly-written little tale with its rather ambitious title is a real pleasure to read, because it has a wholesome, manly tone about it, and the characters do not appear to be bookmade but of real flesh and blood.”Saturday Review.—“A good, careful, full-blooded novel of a kind that is not common nowadays.”Outlook.—“It has a point of view, a delicate sensitiveness, artistic restraint, subtlety of perception, and a true literary style. Mr Burrow proves himself an artist with many sides to his perception.”Literary World.—“Had we passed it by unread ours would have been the loss. A charming story based on somewhat conventional lines, but told with such verve and freshness as render it really welcome. Mr Burrow has admirably succeeded in writing a really interesting story, and, which is more uncommon, he has well individualised the different persons of his drama. ‘The Fire of Life’ should figure in the list of novels to be read of all those who like a good story, and like that good story well told.”Manchester Courier.—“The whole book is full of ‘fire,’ full of ‘life,’ and full of interest.”Nottingham Express.—“The author’s style is clear and crisp, with a purity of diction it would be difficult to surpass.”PHILIPS, F. C.MEN, WOMEN AND THINGS,by F. C. Philips. Author of “As in a Looking-Glass,” etc. Crown 8vo, buckram cloth. 3s. 6d.Daily Mail.—“There is hardly one of them which is not enjoyable. Mr Philips’s manner is suggestive of the manner of Gyp. He is a capital chronicler of the surface things of life.”Manchester Courier.—“The author has deservedly secured favour as a writer of smart stories. In the present volume of short sketches we have the usual vivid delineation of character, clever dialogue, and at times good use of incident. The volume is decidedly entertaining.”Country Life.—“Everything that is written by the author of ‘As in a Looking-Glass’ is clever. There is ingenuity as well as pathos in these stories.”

Messrs Duckworth & Co.’sNew Books.

THE TATLER.

Edited with Introduction and Notes by George A. Aitken, Author of “The Life of Richard Steele,” etc. Four volumes, small demy 8vo, with engraved frontispieces, bound in buckram, dull gold top, 7s. 6d. per vol., not sold separately.

(See Special Prospectus.)

Extract from the Editor’s Preface.

“The original numbers ofThe Tatlerwere re-issued in two forms in 1710-11; one edition, in octavo, being published by subscription, while the other, in duodecimo, was for the general public. The present edition has been printed from a copy of the latter issue, which, as recorded on the title-page, was ‘revised and corrected by the Author’; but I have had by my side, for constant reference, a complete set of the folio sheets, containing the ‘Lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff’ in the form in which they were first presented to the world. Scrupulous accuracy in the text has been aimed at, but the eccentricities of spelling—which were the printer’s, not the author’s—have not been preserved, and the punctuation has occasionally been corrected.

“The first and the most valuable of the annotated editions ofThe Tatlerwas published by John Nichols and others in 1786, with notes by Bishop Percy, Dr John Calder, and Dr Pearce; and though these notes are often irrelevant and out of date, they contain an immense amount of information, and have been freely made use of by subsequent editors. I have endeavoured to preserve what is of value in the older editions, and to supplement it, as concisely as possible, by such further information as appeared desirable. The eighteenth century diaries and letters published of late years have in many cases enabled me to throw light on passages which have hitherto been obscure, and sometimes useful illustrations have been found in the contemporary newspapers and periodicals.”

HUTCHINSON, T.

LYRICAL BALLADS BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH AND S. T. COLERIDGE, 1798.Edited with certain poems of 1798 and an Introduction and Notes by Thomas Hutchinson, of Trinity College, Dublin, Editor of the Clarendon Press “Wordsworth,” etc. Fcap. 8vo, art vellum, gilt top. 3s. 6d. net.

This edition reproduces the text, spelling, punctuation, etc., of 1798, and gives in an Appendix Wordsworth’sPeter Bell(original text, now reprinted for the first time), and Coleridge’sLewti,The Three Graves, andThe Wanderings of Cain. It also contains reproductions in photogravure of the portraits of Wordsworth (by Hancock, 1798) and of Coleridge (by Peter Vandyke, 1795), now in the National Portrait Gallery.The publishers have in preparation further carefully annotated editions of books in English literature, to be produced in the same style as their edition of the “Lyrical Ballads”—not too small for the shelf, and not too large to be carried about—further announcements concerning which will be made in due course. It is not intended to include in this series, as a rule, the oft-reprinted “classics,” of which there are already sufficiently desirable issues.Athenæum(4 col. review).—“Mr Hutchinson’s centenary edition of the Lyrical Ballads is not a mere reprint, for it is enriched with a preface and notes which make it a new book. The preface contains much that is suggestive in explaining the history and elucidating the meaning of this famous little volume. Mr Hutchinson’s notes are especially deserving of praise.”St James’s Gazette.—“‘Lyrical Ballads’ was published September 1, 1798. By a happy thought this centenary is in anticipation very fitly celebrated—without fuss or futilities—by the publication of an admirable reprint of ‘Lyrical Ballads,’ with an adequate ‘apparatus criticus’ by Mr T. Hutchinson, the well-known Wordsworthian scholar, whose name makes recommendation superfluous. This is a book that no library should be without—not the ‘gentleman’s library’ of Charles Lamb’s sarcasm, but any library where literature is respected.”Notes and Queries.—“The book is indeed a precious boon. Mr Hutchinson is in his line one of the foremost of scholars, and his introduction is a commendable piece of work. No less excellent are his notes, which are both readable and helpful. One cannot do otherwise than rejoice in the possession of the original text, now faithfully reproduced. A volume which is sure of a place in the library of every lover of poetry.”Globe.—“It is delightful to have them in the charming form given to them in the present volume, for which Mr Hutchinson has written not only a very informing introduction, but also some very luminous and useful notes. The book is one which every lover and student of poetry must needs add to his collection.”

The publishers have in preparation further carefully annotated editions of books in English literature, to be produced in the same style as their edition of the “Lyrical Ballads”—not too small for the shelf, and not too large to be carried about—further announcements concerning which will be made in due course. It is not intended to include in this series, as a rule, the oft-reprinted “classics,” of which there are already sufficiently desirable issues.

Athenæum(4 col. review).—“Mr Hutchinson’s centenary edition of the Lyrical Ballads is not a mere reprint, for it is enriched with a preface and notes which make it a new book. The preface contains much that is suggestive in explaining the history and elucidating the meaning of this famous little volume. Mr Hutchinson’s notes are especially deserving of praise.”

St James’s Gazette.—“‘Lyrical Ballads’ was published September 1, 1798. By a happy thought this centenary is in anticipation very fitly celebrated—without fuss or futilities—by the publication of an admirable reprint of ‘Lyrical Ballads,’ with an adequate ‘apparatus criticus’ by Mr T. Hutchinson, the well-known Wordsworthian scholar, whose name makes recommendation superfluous. This is a book that no library should be without—not the ‘gentleman’s library’ of Charles Lamb’s sarcasm, but any library where literature is respected.”

Notes and Queries.—“The book is indeed a precious boon. Mr Hutchinson is in his line one of the foremost of scholars, and his introduction is a commendable piece of work. No less excellent are his notes, which are both readable and helpful. One cannot do otherwise than rejoice in the possession of the original text, now faithfully reproduced. A volume which is sure of a place in the library of every lover of poetry.”

Globe.—“It is delightful to have them in the charming form given to them in the present volume, for which Mr Hutchinson has written not only a very informing introduction, but also some very luminous and useful notes. The book is one which every lover and student of poetry must needs add to his collection.”

STEPHEN, H. L.

STATE TRIALS: POLITICAL AND SOCIAL.Selected and Edited by H. L. Stephen. 2 vols. Uniform with “Lyrical Ballads.”

ENGLISH PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

A new series of books upon the English Public Schools. No series of such School Histories exists, and the publishers believe that many boys, while at school and when leaving it, may like to possess an authentic account of their school issued at a moderate price. The series will, it is hoped, appeal also to old scholars, and to all interested in the history of English education.

(See Special Prospectus.)

CUST, LIONEL.

A HISTORY OF ETON COLLEGE,by Lionel Cust, Director of the National Portrait Gallery.

LEACH, ARTHUR F.

A HISTORY OF WINCHESTER COLLEGE,by Arthur F. Leach, formerly Fellow of All Souls’, Oxford, Assistant Charity Commissioner.

ROUSE, W. H. D.

A HISTORY OF RUGBY SCHOOL,by W. H. D. Rouse, of Rugby, and sometime Fellow of Christ’s College, Cambridge. Illustrated from photographs, contemporary prints, etc. Pott 4to. 5s. net.

(To be followed by others.)

MODERN PLAYS.

Edited by R. Brimley Johnson and N. Erichsen.

It is the aim of this series to represent, as widely as possible, the activity of the modern drama—not confined to stage performance—in England and throughout the continent of Europe. It so happens that, though translations seem to be more in demand every day, the greater number of the Continental dramatists are at present little known in this country. Among them will be found predecessors and followers of Ibsen or Maeterlinck; as well as others who reflect more independently the genius of their own country.

Love’s Comedy, which marks a transition from the early romantic to the later social plays, is the only important work of Ibsen’s not yet translated into English. The name of Strindberg, whose position in Sweden may be compared to that of Ibsen in Norway, will be almost new to the English public. Villiers’La Révolteis a striking forecast ofThe Doll’s House. Verhaeren is already known here as one of the foremost of Belgian writers, who, like Maeterlinck, uses the French tongue; and Brieux is among the most attractive of the younger native French dramatists. Ostrovsky’sThe Storm, painting “The Dark World,” is generally recognised asthecharacteristic Russian drama.The Convert, by Stepniak, will be specially interesting as its author’s only dramatic attempt.

The work of translation has been entrusted to English writers specially conversant with the literatures represented, who, in many cases, are already associated in the public mind with the authors they are here interpreting. Every play will be translatedin extenso, and, if in verse, as nearly as possible in the original metres. The volumes will contain brief introductions, bibliographical and explanatory rather than critical, and such annotations as may be necessary.

The volumes will be printed in pott quarto, and they will cost, as a rule, 2s. 6d. net. or 3s. 6d. net. each.

EARLY VOLUMES.

HENRIK IBSEN

“Love’s Comedy” (Kjærlighedens Komedie).

MAURICE MAETERLINCK

VILLIERS DE L’ISLE ADAM

SERGIUS STEPNIAK

“The Convert.”—Constance Garnett.

EMILE VERHAEREN

“Les Aubes.”—Arthur Symons.

AUGUST STRINDBERG

“The Father” (Fadren).—N. Erichsen.

OSTROVSKY

“The Storm.”—Constance Garnett.

BRIEUX

“Les Bienfaiteurs.”—Lucas Malet.

HENRYK SIENKIEWICZ

“On a Single Card.”—E. L. Voynich.

Arrangements are also in progress with representative dramatists of Germany, Spain, Italy, and other countries. Further translations have been promised by DrGarnett, MessrsWalter Leaf,Justin Huntly MacCarthy,G. A. Greene, &c.

KNAPP, ARTHUR MAY.

FEUDAL AND MODERN JAPAN,by Arthur May Knapp. 2 vols., with 24 photogravure illustrations of Japanese life, landscape and architecture. Small fcap. 8vo, ¼-bound, white cloth, blue sides, gilt top. 8s. net.

The work of one who has frequently visited, and for a long time resided in Japan, thus enjoying peculiar advantages for observation and comment.The scope of the book includes a study of the history, religion, language, art, life, and habits of the Japanese.Though written in a thoroughly appreciative spirit, it avoids the indiscriminating praise which has characterised so many works on Japan; and while covering ground which has become somewhat familiar, it presents many fresh points of view, and furnishes much information heretofore inaccessible to the ordinary reader.

The work of one who has frequently visited, and for a long time resided in Japan, thus enjoying peculiar advantages for observation and comment.

The scope of the book includes a study of the history, religion, language, art, life, and habits of the Japanese.

Though written in a thoroughly appreciative spirit, it avoids the indiscriminating praise which has characterised so many works on Japan; and while covering ground which has become somewhat familiar, it presents many fresh points of view, and furnishes much information heretofore inaccessible to the ordinary reader.

ROSSETTI, DANTE GABRIEL.

THE BLESSED DAMOZEL,by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. With an Introduction by Wm. Michael Rossetti, a reproduction in Photogravure of D. G. Rossetti’s crayon study for the head of the Blessed Damozel, and decorative designs and cover by W. B. Macdougall. Fcap. 4to, 1/4-bound, art vellum, gilt top. 5s. net. (See Special Prospectus.)

The poem given here is as it originally appeared inThe Germ, and consequently the version is one hitherto practically inaccessible. Mr W. M. Rossetti’s Introduction deals fully with the history of its composition and the changes through which it subsequently went.Illustrated London News.—“A fine bit of decorative art and an excellent sample of modern format. The frontispiece is very beautiful. Mr Macdougall’s designs are rich.”The Sketch.—“It is really beautifully illustrated. The book is a veritable art treasure.”Speaker.—“This artistic and singularly interesting volume.”Birmingham Gazette.—“Every page contains a broad framework of beautiful design, in which the artist manifests his power in glorious sweeping lines and delicate tracery. A treasure to be appreciated. The noble poem is nobly decked out in every respect.”Manchester Courier.—“The decorative designs are at once original, harmonious and beautiful. A work which will be welcomed alike for its high literary value, and for the high artistic standard to which it attains.”

Illustrated London News.—“A fine bit of decorative art and an excellent sample of modern format. The frontispiece is very beautiful. Mr Macdougall’s designs are rich.”

The Sketch.—“It is really beautifully illustrated. The book is a veritable art treasure.”

Speaker.—“This artistic and singularly interesting volume.”

Birmingham Gazette.—“Every page contains a broad framework of beautiful design, in which the artist manifests his power in glorious sweeping lines and delicate tracery. A treasure to be appreciated. The noble poem is nobly decked out in every respect.”

Manchester Courier.—“The decorative designs are at once original, harmonious and beautiful. A work which will be welcomed alike for its high literary value, and for the high artistic standard to which it attains.”

HOUSMAN, CLEMENCE.

THE UNKNOWN SEA.A Romance by Clemence Housman, Author of “The Were Wolf.” Crown 8vo, art vellum, gold top. 6s.

Literature.—“On the conception of Christian the author may be congratulated. He is ideal without sentimentality, and his sacrifice and death have the poignancy of reality, symbol though he is of the world’s greatest idea.”Guardian.—“Decidedly powerful and effective. Its author has certainly a spell by which, like the ancient mariner, he can force people to listen to and accept his tale.”Pall Mall Gazette.—“The story is a powerful one, stirring the imagination with vague suggestions of mystery, and compelling interest throughout. For those who can appreciate fine writing, moreover, the style itself will prove an added attraction, and will not only sustain the reputation which Miss Housman has already made, but will also enhance the lustre of the talented family of which she is a member.”St James’s Gazette.—“The qualities that commend this book are its fitting impression of the supernatural, its studied and generally successful use of words, and its appreciation of the beauty of visible things. It achieves an absolute effect of beauty, an effect of a kind extremely rare in English that is not verse. The book has beauty and sense—not, thank Heaven, common sense!—in it, and is quite remote from the common trash of the book market.”Nottingham Daily Guardian.—“‘The Unknown Sea’ is not a popular novel; there is too much really fine work in it for that, but hardly a page fails to indicate the author’s delicate methods and robust individuality.”

Guardian.—“Decidedly powerful and effective. Its author has certainly a spell by which, like the ancient mariner, he can force people to listen to and accept his tale.”

Pall Mall Gazette.—“The story is a powerful one, stirring the imagination with vague suggestions of mystery, and compelling interest throughout. For those who can appreciate fine writing, moreover, the style itself will prove an added attraction, and will not only sustain the reputation which Miss Housman has already made, but will also enhance the lustre of the talented family of which she is a member.”

St James’s Gazette.—“The qualities that commend this book are its fitting impression of the supernatural, its studied and generally successful use of words, and its appreciation of the beauty of visible things. It achieves an absolute effect of beauty, an effect of a kind extremely rare in English that is not verse. The book has beauty and sense—not, thank Heaven, common sense!—in it, and is quite remote from the common trash of the book market.”

Nottingham Daily Guardian.—“‘The Unknown Sea’ is not a popular novel; there is too much really fine work in it for that, but hardly a page fails to indicate the author’s delicate methods and robust individuality.”

SINJOHN, JOHN.

JOCELYN.A Monte Carlo Story by John Sinjohn, Author of “From the Four Winds.” Crown 8vo, art canvas. 6s.

Daily Mail.—“The love, as love, is shown with such intensity that it sets the reader’s heart athrob, and the Riviera setting is aglow with colour and life.”Outlook.—“He has set it against a charmingly painted background of warm Southern atmosphere and Mediterranean scenery, and he has drawn, in the persons of the delightfully commonplace Mrs Travis and Nielson—the polished cosmopolitan and professional gambler, with an unsuspected strain of tenderness beneath his impassive exterior—two of the best comedy characters that we have encountered in recent fiction.”Manchester Courier.—“A powerfully written story. The analysis of character is good, and the depiction of life in the Riviera is excellent.”

Daily Mail.—“The love, as love, is shown with such intensity that it sets the reader’s heart athrob, and the Riviera setting is aglow with colour and life.”

Outlook.—“He has set it against a charmingly painted background of warm Southern atmosphere and Mediterranean scenery, and he has drawn, in the persons of the delightfully commonplace Mrs Travis and Nielson—the polished cosmopolitan and professional gambler, with an unsuspected strain of tenderness beneath his impassive exterior—two of the best comedy characters that we have encountered in recent fiction.”

Manchester Courier.—“A powerfully written story. The analysis of character is good, and the depiction of life in the Riviera is excellent.”

BURROW, C. K.

THE FIRE OF LIFE.A Novel by C. K. Burrow, Author of “Asteck’s Madonna,” “The Way of the Wind,” etc. Crown 8vo, cloth. 6s.

St James’s Gazette.—“A clever story. The smoothly-written little tale with its rather ambitious title is a real pleasure to read, because it has a wholesome, manly tone about it, and the characters do not appear to be bookmade but of real flesh and blood.”Saturday Review.—“A good, careful, full-blooded novel of a kind that is not common nowadays.”Outlook.—“It has a point of view, a delicate sensitiveness, artistic restraint, subtlety of perception, and a true literary style. Mr Burrow proves himself an artist with many sides to his perception.”Literary World.—“Had we passed it by unread ours would have been the loss. A charming story based on somewhat conventional lines, but told with such verve and freshness as render it really welcome. Mr Burrow has admirably succeeded in writing a really interesting story, and, which is more uncommon, he has well individualised the different persons of his drama. ‘The Fire of Life’ should figure in the list of novels to be read of all those who like a good story, and like that good story well told.”Manchester Courier.—“The whole book is full of ‘fire,’ full of ‘life,’ and full of interest.”Nottingham Express.—“The author’s style is clear and crisp, with a purity of diction it would be difficult to surpass.”

Saturday Review.—“A good, careful, full-blooded novel of a kind that is not common nowadays.”

Outlook.—“It has a point of view, a delicate sensitiveness, artistic restraint, subtlety of perception, and a true literary style. Mr Burrow proves himself an artist with many sides to his perception.”

Literary World.—“Had we passed it by unread ours would have been the loss. A charming story based on somewhat conventional lines, but told with such verve and freshness as render it really welcome. Mr Burrow has admirably succeeded in writing a really interesting story, and, which is more uncommon, he has well individualised the different persons of his drama. ‘The Fire of Life’ should figure in the list of novels to be read of all those who like a good story, and like that good story well told.”

Manchester Courier.—“The whole book is full of ‘fire,’ full of ‘life,’ and full of interest.”

Nottingham Express.—“The author’s style is clear and crisp, with a purity of diction it would be difficult to surpass.”

PHILIPS, F. C.

MEN, WOMEN AND THINGS,by F. C. Philips. Author of “As in a Looking-Glass,” etc. Crown 8vo, buckram cloth. 3s. 6d.

Daily Mail.—“There is hardly one of them which is not enjoyable. Mr Philips’s manner is suggestive of the manner of Gyp. He is a capital chronicler of the surface things of life.”Manchester Courier.—“The author has deservedly secured favour as a writer of smart stories. In the present volume of short sketches we have the usual vivid delineation of character, clever dialogue, and at times good use of incident. The volume is decidedly entertaining.”Country Life.—“Everything that is written by the author of ‘As in a Looking-Glass’ is clever. There is ingenuity as well as pathos in these stories.”

Daily Mail.—“There is hardly one of them which is not enjoyable. Mr Philips’s manner is suggestive of the manner of Gyp. He is a capital chronicler of the surface things of life.”

Manchester Courier.—“The author has deservedly secured favour as a writer of smart stories. In the present volume of short sketches we have the usual vivid delineation of character, clever dialogue, and at times good use of incident. The volume is decidedly entertaining.”

Country Life.—“Everything that is written by the author of ‘As in a Looking-Glass’ is clever. There is ingenuity as well as pathos in these stories.”

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