with Death and Burial. On all of these points there are many curious things to be told, and the telling does not incline the reader to wish that he had lived in the "good old times." Good living (although not according to modern taste) was much thought of, and our "Schools of Cookery" had their forerunners in Pastry Schools, where young ladies were taught how to make "all sorts of pastry and cookery, Dutch hollow works and butter works.'

Foreigners do not appear to have approved of the English cuisine, but Misson makes an exception for Pon

tack's in Abchurch Lane, which he praises highly. Fish was often dear, but oysters were sold in the streets at twelve pence a peck. Pickled oysters were imported from Jersey, and sold at IS. 8d. per hundred. Drinks were dear, for only the poorer and lower middle classes drank beer; well-to-do people took wine, and when this was good the price was high. Champagne came over in baskets or hampers containing ten dozen to two hundred bottles per basket, and was sold retail at about 8s. a

for the term of five years, for carrying on the war with vigour."

Three chapters are devoted to dress and cosmetics, and there is much to be said of the eccentricities of men and women in respect to their wearing apparel. Possibly the Jew old clothesman, who then, as subsequently, was drawn with three hats on his head, did a better business in cast-off apparel than now.

Local Manners.-Coffee houses and taverns were to be found in all parts of the town, and a list of some of them, which Mr. Ashton prints, fills seven double columned pages of his second volume. Here, if anywhere, the social life of the time was to be studied. The man with time on his hands could get through much of it at the coffee house. All classes met here, and anyone was welcome who could pay his penny. There were certain rules by which order was keptthus, if a man swore he was fined Is., and if he began to quarrel he was fined "dishes " round. Discussion on religion was prohibited, no card playing or dicing was allowed, and no wager might be made exceeding 5s. Clubs were held at the taverns, and as strong drinks were indulged in there, order was not so well kept. We see in Fig. 1 one of those scuffles which were then so common. Gambling was indulged in by men and women to great excess, and the plays and sermons of the time are full of the evils attendant on the spirit of speculation that had bitten all classes. All kinds of insurances were subscribed for, and the evil became so great that an Act of Parliament was passed, by which "every person who, after the 24 June, 1712, shall

bottle. Burgundy cost 75. a bottle; good bottled clarets cost from 35. or 4s. to 10s. a bottle, but ordinary claret could be bought from the wood for 4s. to 6s. per gallon. The price of Brunswick Mum was 9s. and 10s. the dozen, and bottled cider 6s. per dozen. Bohea was 16s. a pound.

We often hear of a joking proposal to tax bachelors, but this was no joke in the reign of William III., when an Act of Parliament was passed for "granting His Majesty certain rates and duties upon marriages, births, and burials, and upon bachelors and widowers

erect, set up, or keep any office or place for making insurance on marriages, births, christenings, or service, or any other office or place under the denomination of sales of gloves, of fans, of cards, of numbers, of the

abundance of ribaldry to be heard, and some of the language which was then common, so shocked Sir Roger de Coverley that he said, on one occasion, that "if he were a Middlesex Justice he would make such vagrants

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queen's picture, for the improving of small sums of money, or the like offices or places under pretence of improving small sums of money, shall forfeit for every such offence the sum of £500, to be recovered with full costs of suit." But the Go

know that Her Majesty's subjects were no more to be abused by water than by land."

Amusements.-There were the theatres, where could be seen mighty actors whose names are still familiar in our ears; the

opera, with Handel's compositions to be heard; public concerts, and those more private musical gatherings which were one of the redeeming features of the social life of the time. Englishmen have always been famous for their love of sightseeing, and many sights were prepared for the amusement of the subjects of Queen Anne. Bar tholomew Fair was then a recognized institution, and even the comedians of the Theatre Royal condescended to act in one of the booths. Sports were rough, and when bear and bull-baiting and cock-fighting were common, we need not be surprised at the

gers which attended the pedestrians, particularly at night, were numerous. The Thames still continued what it had been for centuries -the "Silent Highway." Here there was

spirit of cruelty which was abroad, and which drew from Hogarth his horrible examples of its various stages.

Crime.-Cruelty naturally leads to crime, and as the means taken to protect the honest were quite insufficient, we find that criminals were often allowed a considerable amount of latitude. Fig. III. shows the watch, with the constable in front; and such inefficient guards continued to perambulate the streets some way into the present century.

The highwayman was one day gambling with men of quality, and the next he was robbing the mail, and soon afterwards hanging in chains near the scene of his crime. The prisons were foul in the extreme, but so they remained until Howard's energy caused a reform, and therefore the reign of Queen Anne cannot be singled out for special reproach in this respect.

Duels were common, and any quiet place was considered suitable for them. Lincoln's Inn Fields, the fields at the back of Montague House (now the British Museum), St. James's and Hyde Parks, were the favourite resorts. The famous duel between James, Duke of Hamilton, and Charles, Lord Mohun, is represented in Figure IV. Colonel Hamilton, the Duke's second, on oath accused General Macartney, the other second, of having treacherously stabbed the Duke over his (the Colonel's) shoulder, and although there is reason to believe that this was a mistake, the slander was pictured at the time.

Religion.-In Anne's reign the Church was inactive; the clergy were held in little esteem, and small attention was paid to the structures intended for public service; and yet in this, which must be considered one of the deadest periods of the Church, two most important movements were originated. Queen Anne's Bounty, which is still administered, owes its origin to the queen whose name it bears; and the largest attempt to grapple with the spiritual destitution of London, until the Bishop of London's Fund was established by the late Archbishop Tait, was to be found in the Act for building fifty new churches, within the Bills of Mortality, to which Queen Anne gave her royal assent in 1711.

There was but little enthusiasm in religion, either among Dissenters or Churchmen, and

both alike agreed to ridicule the Quakers. Mr. Ashton justly says a good word for this inoffensive sect, but we must bear in mind that it is not now as it was in the reign of Queen Anne, and probably the figure above is no caricature.

We must now take leave of Mr. Ashton's most entertaining volumes, which fill a blank in modern literature. We strongly recommend them to those who wish to learn how our forefathers passed their time in "the good old days."

Captain Wallis, of the Portmahon."

MONG a box-full of dusty and forgotten old books and papers, I lately came across a MS, which is decidedly interesting in these days of eighteen-inch plated ironclads worked by steam, electricity, and telephone. This MS. consists of a series of official orders issued to the captain of a vessel of the line, during the war with France in North America. The vessel was the Portmahon, and its captain, Samuel Wallis the circumnavigator.

Captain Wallis was a member of the family of that name resident for generations in the parish of Camelford, Cornwall; his daughter Betty was married to Henry Lewis Stephens, Esquire, of Tregenna Castle, near St. Ives.

The Order-book illustrates the early part of the celebrated discoverer's naval career; and from it we learn that in July 1756, Captain Wallis was in command of the Swan sloop, with 110 men. One of the first orders acquaints the Captain that, "In pursuance of the King's pleasure signified to us by Mr. Fox, one of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State," he is in no wise to interfere with the trade of any Spanish vessels during the war. A little later he is directed to cruise about the south coast to protect it from the French privateers, who "are so bold as to chace vessels quite in shore;" and he is to

raise as many men as possible, "agreeably to your press warrant."

The two following orders will show the great and reasonable dread inspired by privateers at this time ::

Mr. Henry Bird, who is under contract for building ships for His Majesty, represents that he hath two sloops employed in bringing timber from Lyme, one of which is now at that place loaded, but can't proceed for want of convoy; the other is at Topsham light, and bound to Lyme to take in her loading, but is also prevented from sailing on the said account.

Here is the other:

The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty having received a petition from the Mayor, Aldermen, Merchants, etc., of the town of Weymouth and MilcumRegis, setting forth the great trade that is carried on from that port, and that several French privateers have been seen lately hovering off the coast thereabouts, one of which has actually taken a sloop bound from thence to Guernsey, and drove another on shore, and praying that a necessary force may be sent there to protect them; you are hereby required and directed to call in at Weymouth Road, and send ashore to the Mayor to know if there is any intelligence of privateers of the enemy being on that coast, and if there is, to go in quest of them, and endeavour to take or destroy them, and then prosecute your former orders.

On the 14th of April, 1757, Captain Wallis is ordered to take on board the Portmahon, then at Plymouth, "one lieutenant, one sergeant, and twenty-eight private men of the second battalion of the Royals . . . and carry them to Cork." Subsequently this regiment is spoken of as "late Shirley's and Peperil's Regiment." Are these the names of colonels?

In July of the same year, we find the ship Portmahon in the harbour of Halifax, with the blue squadron under Vice-Admiral Holburne. Strict orders were at once issued, that no seamen or marines were to remain on shore after "tap-too;" the following will therefore need no explanation

It is the Admiral's directions that a boat with an officer and a file of men from each ship attend the execution ofthe sentence of the Court Martial on Morgan Dougharty and Michael Purcell, seamen belonging to the Northumberland, whenever the Northumberland hoists a red pendant at the foretop-gallant-mast head, and fires a gun. Two boatswain's mates of the ship where they are punished to inflict the punishment.

In August, Captain Wallis took on board. his ship "General Hopson and his retinue,"

and parts of the 28th, 55th, 22nd, and 48th regiments, in Halifax harbour. We now also find a memorandum to the effect that "the surgeon of every ship who is in want Elixir of Viterol may go to the agent of the Hospital."

In June 1758, the Portmahon was employed in watching the enemy's fleet, which lay in the harbour of Lewisburgh. All movements on the part of the French ships were by Captain Wallis signalled to Admiral Hardy, who was on board the Royal William with the body of the fleet. On shore, General Wolfe was acting in concert with the English vessels.

What follows gives a clear idea of subsequent proceedings :

Orders to be observed by Lieutenant Clarke of His Majesty's ship Portmahon :-Is to proceed in the Portmahon's barge at dusk with the boat's crew, a petty officer, and a carpenter with his broad ax (the boat's crew to have each a musket, a brace of pistols, a cutlass, and a pole Ax, with cartouch boxes and a sufficient number of ammunition, with one sail, compass, and a grap-line), and to rendezvous on board the Prince Frederick on the starboard of that ship, and follow such orders and directions as he shall receive from Captain Lafforey, taking care on all accounts to prevent, his men from speaking or making any noise, and not any one suffered to go out of the boat when alongside of the Prince Frederick, and when they go into the harbour that on boarding he leaves the coxswain and two more men to stay in the boat to take care of her.

These are a copy of Sir Charles Hardy's orders, and he is directed strictly to comply therewith.

Given under my hand on board His
Majesty's ship Portmahon off Louisbourg
this 26th day of July, 1758.
S. WALLIS.