shall apply themselves to him; but I have put off his public licence till next Court-day.

"N. B. He teaches under ground."

It appears from the lucubrations of Mr. Bickerstaff, that the idea of obtaining a wife by advertisement was not unknown in 1710; there is a specimen in the Tatler of September 23. It will be remembered that the hint has been pretty well improved upon.

There was a paper published in 1711, called The Growler. True to the assumed character, this modern Diogenes snarled at the vices and follies of the day. One of his subjects was the Mercers, who are thus introduced: "Alas! a handsome young Mercer cannot carry on his business with any reputation without an embroidered coat to stand at the shop-door in, instead of a sign or a footman in a laced livery, to invite in his customers."

The Tatler of May 1, 1711, speaks of the strange infatuation then and at present prevalent, of walking in the Park during the Spring. He says that "No frost, snow, nor East wind, can hinder a large set of people from going to the Park in February; no dust nor heat in June. And this is come to such an intrepid regularity, that those agreeable creatures that would shriek at an hind-wheel in a deep gutter, are not afraid in their proper sphere of the disorder and danger of seven rings."

Perfumes

Perfumes scented the air, and rendered the paths of fashion delightful and inviting, long before the period at which I date my review. The votaries of this fickle Goddess distributed their money so liberally amongst the inventors and combiners of sweets, that they had become very conspicuous persons by the reign of Queen Anne; as Mr. Charles Lillie will serve to prove, who had the good fortune to be celebrated by Sir Richard Steele in his Tatlers, and by the authors of the original numbers of the Spectator. But, that this gentleman may not monopolize all the fame of his day, I shall proceed to exhibit the flowing periods of another retailer of essences, who points out in which way they were generally used by the belles and beaux of the time. "Incomparable perfuming drops for handkerchiefs, and all other linen, clothes, gloves, &c. being the most excellent for that purpose in the Universe; for they stain nothing that is perfumed with them any more than fair water; but are the most delectable, fragrant, and odoriferous perfume in nature, good against all diseases of the head and brain. By their delicious smell, they comfort, revive, and refresh all the senses, natural, vital, and animal, enliven the spirits, cheer the heart, and drive away melancholy; they also perfume rooms, beds, presses, drawers, boxes, &c. making them smell surprizingly fine and odoriferous. They perfume the hands excellently, are an extraordi

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nary scent for the pocket, and, in short, are so exceeding pleasant and delightful, so admirably curious and delicate, and of such general use, that nothing in the world can compare with them. Sold only at Mr. Payn's Toy-shop, at the Angel and Crown in St. Paul's Church-yard, near Cheapside, at 2s. 6d. a bottle, with directions."

One of the most inconsiderate and provoking customs prevalent in the lower classes of the community was the peal rattled in the ears of a newmarried pair on the morning after their nuptials. The Spectator mentions drums on such occasions; those, though they were continued till within these very few years, are not now used; and I 'believe the practice is confined to the procession of Butchers' men and boys, who ring their discordant cleavers with leg-bones of oxen in a sort of chime, which may be prevented by a few pence, and is always a day-light operation.

Another of the customs of the Londoners is thus accidentally noticed in the British Mercury, October 1712, "who plied there to be hired, like Chimney-sweepers, at Cheapside Conduit."

The Peace of 1713 gave great satisfaction to the Citizens; and the Proclamation of it was honoured with the usual State ceremonies, the responses of shouts and bonfires, and with general illuminations. Although many eccentric methods may have been taken by individuals to express their joy, one only of those has been recorded,

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corded, which was the thought of the keeper of the Spread Eagle Inn, in Gracechurch-street, who advertized one shilling tickets for a Peace Pudding, nine feet in length, twenty inches in breadth, and six inches deep.

The ingenuity of Mr. Winstanley, exhibited at his Winter Theatre by his widow on the same occasion, may be worthy notice. That lady advertised, as a specimen of their skill in Hydraulicks, "six sorts of wine and brandy coming out of the famous barrel, to drink the Queen's health, and Peace. Being enlarged, there will be an addition of claret, pale ale, and stout, playing out of the head of the barrel when it is in the pully, and water at the same time, &c. &c."

"A Coach-maker, of Long-acre, actuated by mistaken zeal, provided the effigies of Dr. Burges, just then deceased, which he placed in an old chariot, with a pipe in the mouth, and two tapers before him. Thus represented, as if in his pulpit, he gave the whole to the mob to burn, which they did in due time, much to his shame.”

The tenth number of the Lover, published March 18, 1714, treats on the absurdity of filling the best rooms of the houses of fashionable females with china. The author says, that the venders of articles of this description usually bartered them for rejected clothing, a custom now faintly discernible amongst certain Jews, who exchange with servants glass, earthen-ware, and

a little

a little china, for old clothes. Mr. Addison, who wrote the paper, adds, that he remembered when the largest article of china was a coffeecup; but that it had then swelled to vases as large as a half-hogshead, and that those useless. jars were accompanied by a variety of absurd representations, arranged, I suppose, in cupboards and on mantle-pieces, as the reader may have seen in some old-fashioned apartments of the present day: indeed, I believe some of the jars may be found in corners yet; but it would perhaps puzzle the owners to designate their use, or to prove in what respect they are even ornamental.

The year 1714 gave rise to the practice of a contrariety of customs. The Queen died, and the Nation outwardly mourned in black habits. Custom was thus complied with in relation to Death. But the joyful entry of George the First required the gayest apparel and the appearance of happiness. Surely the publick must have been puzzled how to express these opposite feelings; to-day all grief and sables, to-morrow all splendour, laces, scarlet, gold, and jewels; and the third, a recurrence to mourning.

As the public entry of this King undoubtedly secured the succession in the Protestant line, I shall be diffuse upon the ceremonies attending it; and those will be best explained by the ensuing original orders, published by the Earl of Suffolk. "A Cere

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