THE GARRAT ELECTIONS.

THE GARRAT ELECTIONS.

6

also two pages, one to shield her beauties under *They were copied in Hone's Every-Day Book, vol. ii., but with alterations and omissions, to compress them into two small cuts. We have re-engraved them strictly in accordance with the originals. Green is best known as a

a huge umbrella, the other to ply an enormous very good mezzotint engraver; he was born in Warwickshire, 1739, came to London in 1765, was appointed keeper of the British Institution upon its first foundation, a post he filled with zeal and integrity. He died 1813.

fan. She was graphically described to Hone by an old lady of Wandsworth. I remember her very well,' said she, and so I ought, for I had a good hand in the dressing of her. I helped to put together many a good pound of wool to make her hair up; Ï suppose it was more than three feet high, at least; and as for her stays, I also helped to make them, down in Anderson's barn. They were neither more nor less than a washingtub without the bottom, well covered, and bedizened outside to look like a stomacher; as she sat in the boat she was one of the drollest creatures for size and dress ever seen!'

The boats were mounted on wheels and drawn by horses, though in one instance we see them dragged by men. The racket and semi-masquerading of the populace is a notable feature; many are habited in quaint wigs and hats, one drummer is in female costume; women join the rowers, quarrels and fights abound, and the scaffolding in front of the 'Spread Eagle' falls with its occupants. There is one remarkable spectator in the right-hand corner of this scenea coatless, loosely-dressed, bald-headed man, with a porter-pot in his left hand; this is the publican, Sam House, celebrated at all Westminster elections for his zeal in the cause of Fox. He was never seen to wear either hat or coat, and has been spiritedly depicted by the famed caricaturist Gillray.

Sir John Harper addresses his constituents from a phaeton drawn by six horses, with mounted postilions, and preceded by horsemen carrying mops and brooms. Upon his carriage is inscribed, Harper for ever! No Whigs! an allusion, possibly, to Sir Jeffrey Dunstan. He is speaking opposite the inn known as The Leathern Bottle,' which still stands unchanged in Garrat Lane, nearly opposite the common, which was the glory of the place. Sir William Swallowtail came to the poll in a wicker-chariot made by himself, and was preceded by hand-bell players. Sir Christopher Dashwood was drawn in a boat, with drums and fifes, and a Merry-Andrew mounted beside him. The road was kept by the Garrat Cavalry,' consisting of forty boys of all ages and sizes, so arranged that the smallest boys rode the largest horses, and vice versa; who were commanded by a Master of the Horse,' in caricature regimentals, with a sword seven feet long, boots reaching to the hips, provided with enormous spurs, and mounted on the largest dray-horse that could be procured.

At the next election, in 1785, the death of Sir John Harper left Sir Jeffrey Dunstan without a rival; but in that for 1796 he was ousted by a new candidate, Sir Harry Dimsdale, a muffin-seller and dealer in tin-ware, almost as deformed as himself, but by no means so great a humorist. The most was made of his appearance, by dressing him in an ill-proportioned tawdry court suit, with an enormous cocked hat. He enjoyed his honour but a short time, dying before the next general election; he was the last' of the grotesque mayors, for no candidates started after his death, the publicans did not as before subscribe toward the expenses of the day, and the great saturnalia died a natural death.

6

CLIEFDEN HOUSE.

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

After a lapse of thirty-four years, when the whim and vulgarity of a Garrat election was only remembered by a few, and recorded by Foote's drama, the general election of 1826 seems to have induced a desire to resuscitate the custom. A placard was prepared to forward the interests of a certain Sir John Paul Pry,' who was to come forward with Sir Hugh Allsides (one Callendar, beadle of All Saints' Church, Wandsworth), and Sir Robert Needall (Robert Young, surveyor of roads), described as a 'friend to the ladies who attend Wandsworth Fair.' placard, which may be read in Hone's Every-Day Book, displays a plentiful lack of wit." The project of revival failed; and Garrat has had no parliamentary representative out-of-doors' since the worthy muffin-seller was gathered to his fathers at the close of the last century.

CLIEFDEN HOUSE.

The

in the story, she was perhaps supremely happy. But she was suddenly roused from her enjoyment by perceiving that her bed-curtains were in flames. Too terrified to alarm the family, she sank down on her bed and fainted. While she lay helpless and unconscious, the flames gathered strength, and spread to other parts of the building. Happily, many of the family were still awake, and in a few minutes the whole household was in motion. Such, according to tradition, was the origin of the conflagration. Certain it is, that however it originated, the fire occurred at the date mentioned, and calamitous were its effects. Every life indeed was saved, but the whole mansion, with the exception of its two end wings and the terrace, perished in the flames, and nearly all its rich furniture, its valuable paintings, and beautiful tapestry, shared the same fate. This house, which had been originally designed by Archer for the profligate George Villiers, second Duke of Buckingham, was built of red brick, with stone dressings. At each end was a square wing, connected with the main building by a colonnade, and a magnificent terrace about 440 feet long. The Duke of Buckingham, who purchased Cliefden from the family of Manfeld, its ancient proprietors, expended large sums, and evinced much taste in its arrangement and decoration. Regardless of expense, he procured the choicest productions of our own and other countries, and enriched this naturally lovely spot with a variety of trees, shrubs, and flowers, scarcely to be met with, at that period, in any other grounds of the same extent. He also adorned it, according to the fashion of the day, with alcoves and similar buildings.

Cliefden was his favourite place of residence; and here he carried on his amours with the infamous Countess of Shrewsbury, whose husband he killed in a duel.

'Gallant and gay, in Cliefden's proud alcove,

The bower of wanton Shrewsbury and love.' His gallantries, however, were often rudely curtailed by the want of money, and, from the same cause, he was unable to complete the mansion here; for, although the inheritor of immense property, his lavish expenditure had involved him deeply in debt, and he died in middle life, self-ruined in health, in fortune, and in reputation.

After the death of the Duke of Buckingham, Cliefden was purchased by Lord George Hamilton (fifth son of the Duke of Hamilton), who for his military services was created Earl of Orkney. At considerable cost he completed the house, and added new beauties to the ground. He died in 1737, and leaving no surviving male issue, his eldest daughter, Anne, became Countess of Orkney, and succeeded to the Cliefden estate. While in her possession, it was rented by his Royal Highness Frederick Prince of Wales, who for many years made it his summer residence. This amiable prince, unlike his father, who never appreciated the character of his British subjects, or sought their true interest, exerted his best energies to acquire a knowledge of the British laws and constitution, and to assimilate his own tastes and feelings to those of the people

CLIEFDEN HOUSE.

he expected to be called on to govern. In his general behaviour he was courteous and considerate to all. He was a zealous promoter of every measure that he considered likely to forward the public good, and a special patron of the arts, sciences, and literature. Cliefden, as his residence, became the resort of the literati of the day, among whom Thomson and Mallet are still memorable in connexion with it. Mallet first received the prince's patronage, and was made his under-secretary, with a salary of two hundred pounds a year. Thomson's introduction to the prince, as described by Johnson, is amusing. The author of the Castle of Indolence appears to have been by no means diligent himself. His muse was a lazy jade, except under the sharp spur of necessity; and Thomson, having received a comfortable appointment under Government, indulged his love of ease and good living, paying little or no attention to his poetical mistress. But a change of ministry threw him out of his lucrative post; his finances were soon exhausted, and he lapsed into his former indigence. While in this condition he was introduced to the prince, and being gaily interrogated,' says Johnson, 'about the state of his affairs, he replied, they were in a more poetical posture than formerly.' He was then allowed a pension of one hundred pounds a year; but this being inadequate to his now luxurious habits, he began again to court his muse, and several dramatic productions were the result. One of them was a masque entitled Alfred, which he and Mallet in conjunction composed for the Prince of Wales, before whom it was performed for the first time, in 1740, at Cliefden. One of the songs in that masque was Rule Britannia. The masque is forgotten; the author of the song, and they who first heard its thrilling burst from the orchestra, are mouldering in their tombs; the halls through which the strain resounded have long since perished; but the enthusiasm then awakened still vibrates in the British heart to the sound of those words,

Rule Britannia, Britannia rule the waves, For Britons never, never shall be slaves!' Cliefden House, after the fire in 1795, remained nearly as the flames left it till 1830, when it was rebuilt by Sir George Warrender, who had purchased the estate. After the death of Sir George Warrender, Cliefden was purchased from his trustees by the Duke of Sutherland; and within a few months after his purchase was again burnt down, on the 15th of November, 1849, being the day of thanksgiving for the cessation of the cholera.

In the summer of 1850, the mansion was rebuilt by the Duke of Sutherland in a still more magnificent style, from designs by Barry. The centre portion, which is a revival of the design for old Somerset House, now extends to the wings, which, together with the terrace, are made to harmonize with the new building. It is indeed a magnificent and imposing structure, though by those who prefer the more picturesque appearance of the Tudor style, it may be considered heavy and formal. It is now (1862) the residence of the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland.

CLIEFDEN HOUSE.

But the grounds of Cliefden, which are about a hundred and thirty-six acres in extent, are its chief attraction. They have often been celebrated both in prose and verse. 'It is to Cliefden,' says a modern writer, that the river here owes its chief loveliness; and whether we view the valley of the Thames from it, or float leisurely along the stream, and regard it as the principal object, we shall alike find enough to delight the eye and kindle the imagination. Cliefden runs along the summit of a lofty ridge which overhangs the river. The outline of this ridge is broken in the most agreeable way, the steep bank is clothed with luxuriant foliage, forming a hanging wood of great beauty, or in parts bare, so as to increase the gracefulness of the foliage by the contrast; and the whole bank has run into easy flowing curves at the bidding of the noble stream which washes its base. A few islands deck this part of the river, and occasionally little tongues of land run out into it, or a tree overhangs it, helping to give vigour to the foreground of the rich landscape. In the early morning, when the sun has risen just high enough to illumine the summit of the ridge and highest trees, and all the lower part rests a heavy mass of shadow on the sleeping river, the scene is one of extraordinary grandeur.'*

THE SALTPETRE MAN.

It will perhaps surprise some readers to learn that chemical science was so far advanced in this country two hundred and twenty years ago, that a patent was granted (dated 1625) to Sir John Brook and Thomas Russel, for obtaining saltpetre, for the manufacture of gunpowder, from animal exuviæ, from the soil of slaughter-houses and stables, and even from the floors of dwellinghouses. But it appears that the patent did not immediately produce a supply equal to the demand; for in the year 1627, the third of the reign of Charles I., a proclamation was issued to remedy the inconvenience arising to the service from the want of a full and proper supply of nitre for the gunpowder manufactures. It first set forth that the saltpetre makers were never able to furnish the realm with a third part of the saltpetre required, more especially in time of war; and then proceeded to state that, since a patent had been granted to Sir John Brook and Thomas Russel, for the making of saltpetre by a new invention, they were authorized to collect the animal fluids (which were ordered by this same proclamation to be preserved by families for this purpose) once in twenty-four hours, from house to house, in summer, and once in fortyeight hours in winter. It will not require a very fertile imagination to conceive that this proclamation was offensive and highly inconvenient to the people, and that the frequent visits of the Saltpetre Man and his agents would be anything but welcome. This, however, was not the worst. All soils throughout the kingdom which were impregnated with animal matter were claimed by the Crown for this peculiar purpose. And the same proclamation empowered the saltpetre makers to dig up the floors of all dove-houses, stables, cellars, slaughter-houses, *Rambles by Rivers.

THE SALTPETRE MAN.

&c., for the purpose of carrying away the earth; and prohibited the proprietors from relaying such floors with anything but mellow earth,' to afford greater facilities to the diggers. An obvious consequence was, that individuals anxious to preserve their premises from injury by this ruinous digging, resorted to bribery, and bought off the visits of the Saltpetre Man. He, on the other hand, conscious of the power his privileges gave him, became extortionate, and made his favours more ruinous than his duties. These vexatious and mischievous visits were put a stop to in 1656, by the passing of an act forbidding saltpetre makers from digging in houses or enclosed lands without leave of the owners. It also appears, from the extensive powers of the act under which the above-named patent was granted, that the corporate bodies of certain, or perhaps all, municipal towns were compelled at their own charge to maintain works for the manufacture of saltpetre from the refuse of their respective localities-a supposition which is confirmed by the fact that, in the year 1633, an order was made by the corporation of Notting. ham, to the effect that no person, without leave from the mayor and common council, should remove any soil except to places appointed for the reception of such matter; nor should any such material be sold to any foreigner (stranger) without their license. Four years later (1637) the hall book of the same corporation contains the following entry :- William Burrows agreed to be made burgess on condition of freeing the town from all charges relating to the saltpetre works.' Doubtless the corporation were glad enough to rid themselves of the obnoxious character of the Saltpetre Man, with all its disagreeable contingencies, when relief could be had on such easy terms.

Troubles with the Saltpetre Man can be traced to a still earlier date than any we have mentioned, as the following curious memorial will show.

'To the Righte Honorable oure verie goode Lorde, the Lorde Burghley, Lorde Highe Threasiror of Englande.

'Righte Honorable, oure humble dewties to your good lordshippe premised, maye it please the same to be advertised, that at the Quarter Sessions holden at Newarke, within this countie of Nottingham, there was a general complaynte made unto us by the whole countrie, that one John Ffoxe, saltpetre maker, had charged the whole countrie by his precepts for the earyinge of cole from Selsona, in the countie of Nottingham, to the towne of Newarke, within the same countie, being sixteen miles distant, for the making of saltpetre, some towns with five cariages, and some with lesse, or else to give him four shillings for evrie loade, whereof he hath receved a greate parte. Uppon which complaynte we called the same John Ffoxe before some of us at Newarke, at the sessions there, to answere the premises, and also to make us a proposition what lodes of coles would serve to make a thousand weight of saltpetre, to the end we might have sette some order for the preparing of the same; but the saide Ffoxe will not sette down anie rate what would serve for the making of a thousand. Therefore, we have thoughte

Born.-Philip II. of Spain, 1527, Valladolid; Francis Egerton, Duke of Bridgewater, promoter of canal navigation in England, 1736; Bryan Edwards, historian of the West Indies, 1743, Westbury; John, Lord Lyndhurst, Chancellor of England, 1772, Boston, U.S.

Died.-James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, 1650, Edinburgh; Cornelius Tromp, Dutch admiral, 1691, Amsterdam; Jacques Maboul, French preacher, 1723, Aeth; Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, prime minister of Queen Anne, 1724; Sir John Hawkins, author of A History of Music, &c., 1789; Dr Thomas Warton, poet, Professor of Poetry, Oxford, 1790, Trinity College, Oxford; Maria Edgeworth, novelist, 1849.

THOMAS WARTON.

Thomas Warton was but a sorry singer himself, little better than an elegant gatherer and disposer of other men's stuff,' but he did good service to English literature, chiefly by the impulse he gave to a better appreciation of our early poets.

Warton was an Oxford Fellow, of an easy temperament, polished manners, and romantic taste. When only twenty-one-in 1749-he rendered himself notorious and popular by his early poem, The Triumph of Isis, a defence of Oxford against certain strictures of Mason. His Observations on the Faerie Queen of Spenser appeared in 1754, and showed where his greatest strength lay. Three years later he was made Professor of Poetry, which office he filled very efficiently for ten years, indulging in many excursions into general literature, and working chiefly at a handsome and elaborate translation of Theocritus, which he published in 1770. But his greatest and most elaborate work was a History of English Poetry, which he brought down to the end of the Elizabethan age. The completion of this useful and laborious task has often been projected, and not seldom commenced, but never fully accomplished, but will at some future day, it is to be hoped, find some one who will do it

AN EARTHQUAKE.

justice, and supply a need, and merit the gratitude of a nation not-in this branch of literature inferior to any.

Warton's Notes on Milton, though somewhat diffuse, possess great merit, and bear witness to extensive reading. This work, begun in 1785, the same year in which he was made Camden Professor of History and poet laureate, was not more fortunate than the History of Poetry, in that it was not completed when the author died.

Warton was a lounger in the pleasant fields of literature, and would have accomplished more had he undertaken less. He edited the works of poets, wrote biographies, histories of localities, comic scraps, papers in the Idler, and other periodicals, a history of Gothic architecture, of which the manuscript was lost, and produced a variety of heterogeneous matter; or at other times spent his life leisurely wandering in old cathedrals and by pleasant streams, or figuring at Johnson's literary club, or musing in his favourite haunts in his brother's garden at Winchester.

His Sonnets are the best of his poems, and that To the River Lodon the most natural of these.

To the River Lodon.

'Ah! what a weary race my feet have run
Since first I trod thy banks with alders crowned,
And thought my way was all thro' fairy ground,
Beneath thy azure sky and golden sun;
Where first my muse to lisp her notes begun!
While pensive Memory traces back the round,
Which fills the varied interval between ;
Much pleasure, more of sorrow, marks the scene.
Sweet native stream! those skies and suns so pure
No more return, to cheer my evening road!
Yet still one joy remains, that, not obscure,
Nor useless, all my vacant days have flowed,
From youth's gay dawn to manhood's prime mature;
Nor with the muse's laurel unbestowed.'

AN EARTHQUAKE.

May 21, 1382, 'There was a great earthquake in England, at nine of the clock, fearing the hearts of many; but in Kent it was most vehement, where it sunk some churches and threw them down to the earth.'-Stow's Chronicles.

A song written at the time upon this earthquake has been preserved, and must be considered as something of a curiosity. It treats the matter as a great warning to an over-careless people.

'And also when this earth quoke, t

Was none so proud he n'as aghast, And all his jollity forsook,

And thought on God while that it last; And as soon as it was over-past,

Men wox as evil as they dead are ;
Each man in his heart may cast,
This was a warning to beware.

Forsooth, this was a lord to dread,
So suddenly made men aghast,
Of gold and silver they took none heed,

But out of their houses full soon they passed; *Political Poems and Songs relating to English History. Published under direction of the Master of the Rolls.

The original language is here given in modern spell