Contents
CHAPTER I.
CHILDHOOD AND EDUCATION (BOYS).
PAGE
The Duke of Gloucester — The Queen’s refusal to marry again — Treatment of children after birth — Baptismal feasts — A christening — ‘Daffy’s Elixir’ — Treatment of infantile diseases — The nursery — Toys — Children’s books — Horn-books — Private tuition — Boarding and day schools — Free schools — Classical education — School-books — Penmanship — Runaway boys — College education — Charity schools 1
CHAPTER II.
CHILDHOOD AND EDUCATION (GIRLS).
Boarding schools — Town and country educations — Pastry schools — Dancing — Toasts — ‘The Little Whig’ — Madame Spanheim 17
CHAPTER III.
MARRIAGE.
Eloping with heiresses — Marriage between children — Tax on bachelors — Valentines — Marriage settlements — Pin money — Posies — Drummers — Private marriages — Irregular marriages — Fleet parsons — Marriage Act — Facility of marriage — Liability of husbands — Public marriages — Marriage customs — Bride’s garters — Throwing the stocking — The Posset — Honeymoon 22
CHAPTER IV.
DEATH AND BURIAL.
Longevity — Undertakers’ charges — Costliness of funerals — Mourning — Burial in woollen — Burial Societies — Burial by night — A cheat — Mourning rings — Funeral pomp — Monuments — Description of a funeral — A Roman Catholic funeral — Widows 35
CHAPTER V.
HOUSES, FURNITURE, ETC.
‘Queen Anne’ houses — Vanbrugh’s house — Real ‘Queen Anne’ houses — Hangings and wall papers — Letting and rent — Prevention of fire — A fire — Insurance companies — Water supply — Thames Water Works — New River — Coals — Furniture — China — Bedsteads 46
CHAPTER VI.
SERVANTS.
Number of servants — Footmen — Wages — Liveries — ‘How d’ye’ — The Upper Gallery — Footmen’s Parliament — Accomplishments — White slaves from Barbary — Negro slaves — Runaways — Apprentices 58
CHAPTER VII.
DAILY LIFE (MEN).
Out-of-door amusements — A holiday — Hatred of French fashions — Beaus’ oaths — Kissing — Fops: their daily life 63
CHAPTER VIII.
DAILY LIFE (WOMEN).
Receiving in bed — A lady’s life — A fine lady’s diary — Walking — Visiting — Tea-table scandal — Shopping — Daily church — Pets — Dancing — Books on ditto — A dancing-master 68
CHAPTER IX.
GAMBLING AND SPECULATION.
Games at cards — Curious cards — Price — Tax on cards — Female passion for gambling — The Groom Porter’s — Gaming houses — Gamesters — Noted gamesters — Debts of honour — Speculation — Life insurances — Marine and other insurances — Shopkeepers’ lotteries — Government lotteries — Prizes and winners 78
CHAPTER X.
SUPERSTITION.
Astrologers — Their advertisements — Their tricks — Witchcraft — Cases of witchcraft 89
CHAPTER XI.
COSMETICS, ETC.
Habit of snuff-taking — Perfumes — Charles Lillie — List of Scents — Soaps — Wash-balls — ‘Complections’ — Tooth powder — Hair-dye — Spectacles 95
CHAPTER XII.
TRADE, ETC.
The penny post — Dockwra’s vindication of himself — Abolition of penny post — Post days and rates — Halfpenny post — Method of doing business — The Exchange — Description of frequenters — Bankers — Curious advertisement of Sir Richard Hoare’s 99
CHAPTER XIII.
MEN’S DRESS.
A beau — An inventory of him — Hats — Wigs: their price: varieties — Hair powder — Robbery of wigs — Natural hair — Neck-cloths — Shirts — Open waistcoats — Colonel Edgworth — Coats — Cheap clothiers — Stockings — Boots and shoes — Shoeblacks and blacking — Handkerchiefs — Muffs — Swords — Walking-sticks — Watches — Overcoats — Night-caps — Night-gowns 104
CHAPTER XIV.
WOMEN’S DRESS.
The Commode — Description of ladies’ dress — The Petticoat — The Bodice — A costly wardrobe — Underlinen — Dressing like men — Scents — Patches — Patching Whig and Tory — Masks — The hood — High-crowned hats — Furs — Umbrellas — Pattens — The fan — Mobs — Shopping — Stuffs — List of Indian stuffs — Lace — Linens — Tallymen — Jewellery — Diamonds — Plate — Children’s jewellery 123
CHAPTER XV.
FOOD (SOLID).
English fare — Time of dining — Pontack’s — Other ordinaries — Books on cookery — Receipts — Pudding — Fish — Oysters — Poultry — Assize of bread — Markets — Vegetables — Lambeth gardeners — Fruit — Dried fruit 141
CHAPTER XVI.
FOOD (LIQUID).
Beer — Hard drinking — ‘Whetters’ — Wines — List of French and Spanish wines — Wines of other countries — Duties on wines — Spirits — Liqueurs — Homemade wines — Prices of tea — Adulteration — Price of coffee — Chocolate — Its price — Duty on 150
CHAPTER XVII.
TOBACCO.
Habit of smoking — Women and children smoking — Prices of tobacco — Customs duty — Origin of snuff-taking — The Vigo expedition — Snuff-rasps — Ladies taking snuff — Proper use of the snuff-box — Use of a spoon — Prices of snuffs — List of ditto — Duty on snuff 156
CHAPTER XVIII.
COFFEE-HOUSES AND TAVERNS.
Universal use of coffee-houses — Their convenience — Company — First coffee-house — Number of them — Anecdote of Bishop Trelawney — Description of interior — The news — Advance in price — Chocolate-houses — Famous coffee-houses — Button’s Lion — Lloyd’s — Sales by candle — Jenny Man — Don Saltero’s collection — Taverns — Noblemen frequenting them — Drinking own wine — Purl houses — List of old taverns 161
CHAPTER XIX.
CLUBS.
Origin — October Club — Calves’ Head Club — Kit Cat Club — Other clubs — Suggested clubs 179
CHAPTER XX.
SIGHT-SEEING AND FAIRS.
Royal visits to the City — Lord Mayor’s show — The lions at the Tower — The Armoury — Tombs at Westminster — Bartholomew Fair — Description — Shows — Tight-rope dancing — Natural curiosities — Theatrical performances, etc. — Abolition — May Fair — Lady Mary — Pinkethman — Shows — Visit to — Abolition — Southwark Fair — Its Shows 185
CHAPTER XXI.
OTHER SIGHTS.
The Lincolnshire ox — The large hog — The whale — Monkeys and wild beasts — ‘The Lest Man and Hors in the World’ — Performing horse Dwarfs and giants — Human curiosities — Helen and Judith — Conjurers — Posture masters — Mr. Clinch — Waxwork — Mrs. Salmon, etc. — Westminster Abbey wax-figures — Powell’s puppets — Moving pictures — Glass-blowing — Miraculous fountain — Winstanley — His waterworks — The four Indian chiefs 201
CHAPTER XXII.
ROUGH SPORTS.
Bear-baiting — Bear-gardens — Bull-baiting — Description — Extraordinary bull-bait — Cock-fighting — Cock-pits — Value of matches — Training 223
CHAPTER XXIII.
HORSE-RACING, HUNTING, SHOOTING, ETC.
The Queen’s love of racing — Visit to Newmarket — Queen’s plates — Value of matches — Race meetings — Tregonwell Frampton — His horse Dragon — The Queen’s love of hunting — Sir Roger de Coverley — Fox-hunting — Stag-hunting — Hare-hunting — Coursing — Packs of hounds — Fishing — Hawking — Netting — The Game Act — Shooting sitting and flying — Match shooting — Archery 228
CHAPTER XXIV.
SWORD-PLAY AND OTHER SPORTS — GARDEN, ETC.
Challenges — The stakes — The combatants — Description of fights — General combativeness — Boxing — Cudgel-playing — Pedestrianism — Tennis — Cricket — Football — Skating — Billiards — Country wakes — Bowling — Bowling greens — Formal gardening — Clipping trees — Books on gardening — Trees and Flowers — Town and country life — Country labourers 237
CHAPTER XXV.
THE DRAMA.
The theatres — Dorset Gardens — Its demolition — Performances — Lincoln’s Inn Fields — Theatre Royal, Drury Lane — Its company — Mrs. Tofts — The Queen’s Theatre, Haymarket — Its foundation stone — Its operas — Pinkethman’s theatre at Greenwich — The Queen and the stage — Her reforms — Strolling players — Behaviour at the theatre — Orange wenches — Stage properties — Actors — Betterton — Verbruggen — Cave Underhill — Estcourt — Dogget — Colley Cibber — Wilks — Booth — Pinkethman — Minor Actors — Actresses — Mrs. Barry — Mrs. Bracegirdle — Mrs. Oldfield — Mrs. Verbruggen — The ballet 243
CHAPTER XXVI.
OPERAS — CONCERTS — MUSIC.
Introduction of Italian opera — Its rapid popularity — Mixture of Languages — Handel — His operas, and visit here — Singers — Abel — Hughs — Leveridge — Lawrence — Ramondon — Mrs. Tofts — Her madness — Foreign singers — Margherita de l’Epine — Nicolino Grimaldi — Isabella Girardeau — Composers — Dr. Blow — Jeremiah Clarke — Dean Aldrich — Tom D’Urfey — Henry Carey — Britton, the small coal man — His concerts — His death — Concerts and concert rooms — Gasparini, the violinist — Musical instruments — Musical scores 268
CHAPTER XXVII.
PAINTERS AND ARCHITECTS.
Wollaston — Murray — Hugh Howard — Lewis Crosse — Luke Craddock — Charles Jervas — Richardson — Sir James Thornhill — Sir Godfrey Kneller — Closterman — Pelegrini — Sebastian Ricci — Vander Vaart — Laguerre — Dahl — Boit — Class of pictures in vogue — Water Colours — Drawings — Engravings — Sculpture — Grinling Gibbons — Architects: Sir C. Wren — Vanbrugh 279
CHAPTER XXVIII.
SCIENCE, ETC.
Its infancy — Virtuosi — Gresham College — Visit to the Royal Society’s Museum — Their curiosities — Their new house — Geology — Experimental philosophy — Courses of chemistry — Mathematics — List of patents — Hydraulic machinery — Savery’s steam-engine — Description 286
CHAPTER XXIX.
LITERATURE, THE PRESS, ETC.
Authors — Public libraries — Their condition — George Psalmanazar — Hack writers — Poverty of authors — Their punishment — The Press — Daily Courant — List of newspapers — London Gazette — Postboy — Postman — Dawk’s News Letter — Dyer’s — Evening papers — Dearth of domestic news — Amenities of the press — Roper and Redpath — Tutchin — His trial — Press remuneration — Mrs. Manley — ‘The Essay Papers’ — The half-penny stamp — Its effect — Advertising — Almanacs — List of them — Moore’s — ‘The Ladies’ Diary’ — ‘Poor Robin’s Almanack’ — ‘Merlinus Liberatus’ — The Essayists and Partridge — His false death — His elegy and epitaph — An amateur magazine 293
CHAPTER XXX.
MEDICAL.
List of diseases — Quackery — Bleeding, etc. — Physicians — Surgeons — Apothecaries — Dissension between the physicians and apothecaries — The Dispensary — Pharmacopœias — Some nostrums — Prescriptions — Cupping — Treatment of lunatics — Physicians’ carriages — Dr. Radcliffe — Sir Samuel Garth — Sir Hans Sloane — Dr. Mead — His duel with Woodward — Study of anatomy — Surgical instruments — Oculists — Sir William Read — Roger Grant — The Queen touching for the evil — Description of the ceremony — Quack remedies — Quacks’ harangues 313
CHAPTER XXXI.
SPAS AND BATHING.
Bath — Manners of the company there — Description of Bath — Its gaieties — Sale of the water — Tunbridge — Epsom — Hampstead — Other spas — Turkish baths — Controversy on hot and cold bathing — The Hummums — Description of a Turkish bath — Other bagnios — Cold bathing and baths 329
CHAPTER XXXII.
RELIGIONS.
Inactivity of the Church — Dulness of Sunday — Contempt of the clergy — Low estimation of a chaplain — Dress of the clergy — Church furniture — Traffic in benefices — Forged Orders — Dr. Sacheverell — ‘The Modern Champions’ — Queen Anne’s Bounty — Its history — Fifty new churches — Protestant tone of Church feeling — The effigies on Queen Elizabeth’s birthday — Oppression of Roman Catholics — Religious sects — Eminent Nonconformists — Daniel Burgess — Dislike to Quakers — Examples — William Penn 337
CHAPTER XXXIII.
LEGAL.
The different branches of the law — Briefless barristers — Green bags — Forensic wigs — Attorneys — Knights of the Post — Lord Somers — Lord Cowper — His abolition of New Year’s gifts 353
CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE RIVER.
Use as a highway — River slang — Rates of watermen — Description of wherries — Pleasure parties and barges — The Folly — Its frequenters — Gravesend tilt boat — Fares at the Horse Ferry — The Fleet Ditch 356
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE STREETS.
Size of London — Pall Mall — London in wet weather — Early morning — Street cries — A list of them — Roguery in the streets — Orderly regulations — State of the roads — Rule of the road — Street signs — Description of the streets — Milkmaids on May Day — Hyde Park — Its regulations — Lighting the streets — The streets at night 362
CHAPTER XXXVI.
CARRIAGES, ETC.
Smithfield — Horse coursers — Waggons — Stage coaches — Travelling in them described — Bad roads — Posting — Hackney coaches — Their fares — Hackney coachmen — State coaches — Other carriages — Suburban drives — Mechanical coach — Mourning coaches — Harness — Sedan chairs — Chairmen 372
CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE MOHOCKS.
Scourers, etc. — Bully Dawson — Two outbreaks — That in 1712 — Hawkubites — Exploits of the Mohocks — Sir Roger de Coverley — Swift’s fear of them — Emperor of the Mohocks — Gog and Magog — The Queen’s proclamation — Decline of the scare — Constables and watchmen 382
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
DUELLING.
Its prevalence — Bullying — Fielding’s duels — Favourite localities — Its illegality — Col. Thornhill and Sir Cholmley Dering — Their quarrel and duel — Duke of Hamilton and Lord Mohun — Story of their duel 390
CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE ARMY AND NAVY.
Sale of commissions — General practice — Its illegality — Arrears of pay — Descriptions of officers — Army chaplains — The rank and file — Description of them — Irregularity of pay — Rations — Recruiting — Bounty — Gaol birds — Vagrants — Desertions — Story of seditious drummers — Train bands — The navy — Its deeds — Unpopularity of the service — Pressing — Desertion — Rewards for capture — Pay — Description of Admiralty — Mercantile marine 396
CHAPTER XL.
CRIME.
Capital punishment — Its frequency — An execution described — Behaviour on the scaffold and way to execution — Revival after hanging — ‘Peine forte et dure’ — Hanging in chains — Highwaymen — Claude du Val lying in state — Ned Wicks and Lord Mohun — Their swearing match — A highwayman hanged — Highwaymen in society — Highway robberies — Footpads — Burglars — John Hall — Benefit of clergy — Coining — Pickpockets — Robbery from children — Perjury — Sharpers — Begging impostors — Gipsies — Constables — Private detectives — Commercial frauds — ‘Society for the Reformation of Manners’ — Statistics of their convictions — The pillory — Ducking stool 407
CHAPTER XLI.
PRISONS.
Dreadful condition of prisons — Bridewell — Description of — Flogging — Houses of Correction — Compters — Description of the Poultry Compter — ‘Garnish’ — Newgate — Description of — Marshalsea — Queen’s Bench — Fleet and Ludgate — Poor Debtors — Kidnappers — Country prisons — Bankrupts 425
CHAPTER XLII.
WORKHOUSES, HOSPITALS, ETC.
The London Workhouse — Life therein — Bedlam — Its building — Regulations — Description of interior — Governors — Bartholomew Hospital — St. Thomas’s — Almshouses 435
Appendix
Lilli-Burlero 439
Hunt the Squirll 439
Moll Peatley 440
A List of all the Persons to whom Rings and Mourning were presented upon the occasion of Mr. Pepys’s Death and Burial 441
Lord Mayor’s Delight 444
Walsingham 445
The Children in the Wood 445
A List of some of the Coffee-houses in London during Queen Anne’s Reign, 1702-14 448
Chocolate-houses 453
Sir Roger de Coverley 453
Roger of Coverly 453
Christ Church Bells in Oxon 454
Cheshire Rounds 455
The Nightingale 455
INDEX 459