England in 1815 as seen by a young Boston merchant;
Ballard, Joseph, 1789-1877
":Uw_^ G^AwiLJU^ s^ \aaJx;: % »=\v<r. ^-^ ^"va^ ^;;^^ UNIVERSITY OF CAUFOBNIA, SAN O'EGO 3 1822 01947 7082 , ^: QU Central University Library P'ease Note: This Item Ij 's subject to recall. UCSDLfb. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/englandin1815ass00balliala ENGLAND IN 1815 AS SEEN BY A YOUNG BOSTON MERCHANT JOSEPH BALLARD From a water-color portrait painted by John Rubens Smith in 1813 ^^/y^i ENGLAND IN 1815 AS SEEN BY A YOUNG BOSTON MERCHANT BEING THE REFLECTIONS AND COMMENTS OF JOSEPH BALLARD ON A TRIP THROUGH GREAT BRITAIN IN THE YEAR OF WATERLOO BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 1913 COPYRIGHT, jgi3, BY GEORGE U. CROCKER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTr-FIVE NUMBERED COPIES PRINTED AT THE RIVERSIDE PRESS, CAMBRIDGE IN MARCH, 1913 NO. Zl,"^ ILLUSTRATIONS Joseph Ballard Frontispiece From the water-color portrait painted by John Rubens Smith in 1813. The Ship "Friendship" of Salem. A Typical Packet of the Day ... 3 From a painting. Advertisement of Sailing of the Ship "Liverpool Packet" 6 From the Boston Gazette of February 27, 1815. Boston Harbor in 1823 from City Point . 181 From an old engraving. IKTEODUCTIOK THIS journal has a personal interest to Mr. Ballard's descendants as being the work of their ancestor, but they have published it in the hope that it may be found to be of interest to others as a picture of the life and times in England in the year of the battle of Waterloo, as seen through the eyes of a patri- otic young American. Joseph Ballard was born June 2, 1789, on Bromfield's Lane, formerly Rawson's Lane, now Bromfield Street, in Boston, where his father conducted a livery and hack business, having established the first hackney carriage in Boston. In 1795, the family moved to West Street, which was then considered far uptown, and in 1824, Mr. Ballard purchased a house on Washington Street, near Hollis Street, where he continued to live for fifty-three years until his death in 1877. Mr. Ballard's school education ended when he was fourteen years old, at which time he [ vii ] INTRODUCTION received a Franklin Medal at the hands of President Jolin Adams in Faneuil Hall. In 1803, he became an apprentice to Standfast Smith, an Englishman, who was a dealer in carpets, cutlery, upholstery goods, and other household wares in Franklin Street. At the end of his apprenticeship, Mr. Ballard and his brother John became partners of Mr. Smith. Later the firm was J. and J. Ballard, and, afterwards, Ballard and Prince. The firm was located at No. 168 Washington Street from 1822 to 1846, when it moved to No. 11 Brom- field Street. One of Mr. Ballard's boyhood friends and fellow apprentices was S. F. B. Morse, who later became noted as a portrait painter in Eng- land, and afterwards famous as the inventor of the Morse telegraph system and alphabet. Mr. Ballard retired from the active manage- ment of his business at middle age, and devoted the remainder of his long life to his family, his books, and his farm at Hampton, New Hamp- shire, where he spent more than six months of every year. He was twice married. He was left a widower with three young children in 1822. He [ viii ] INTRODUCTION married again in 1824, and lived for fifty-three years with his second wife, who survived him. A century ago, opportunity for education was limited. Books were scarce and libraries few. Mr. Ballard, however, after leaving school, found the opportunity to educate himself by reading The Spectator^ The Gentlemaris Mag- azine, Cook's Voyages, and similar books, and, at the same time, he evidently attended to the arduous duties of an apprentice with fidelity. It is interesting to conjecture whether at twenty-six years of age, when this journal was written, he would have acquired a greater abil- ity to express his thoughts, a more considerable knowledge of social, political, and economic conditions, and a keener power of observation if he had had the advantage of modern educa- tional methods. Joseph Ballard Crocker. December, 1912. JOURNAL OF JOSBPH BALLARD MARCH 12— NOVEMBER 9, 1815 ON Sunday the twelfth day of March One Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifteen, I sailed from Boston on board the Ship Liver- pool Packet, Samuel Nickels commander, bound for Liverpool, England. My fellow passen- gers were Messrs. Bamett, Bangs, Blanchard, Webster,! Wheelock, Plumer, Wright, White and Nielson.2 The weather was remarkably fine 1 Professor J. W. Webster, convicted of murdering Dr. George Parkman on November 23, 1849, and later hanged. ^ The Boston Daily Advertiser of March 13, 1815, gives list of passengers as follows : — Samuel S. Bamett, Joseph Ballard, Isaac Bangs, Charles Blanchard, Jr., John W. Webster, George Wheelock, George Wright, and William B. White, all of Boston, Nathan Plummer of Newport and J. C. Neilson of Baltimore. [ 3 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 and appeared likely to continue so, but early in the afternoon there came on a gale of wind with bad weather which lasted with very little interruption until we arrived in the mouth of the Channel. For twenty days scarcely a day passed without snow, hail or rain, and none without a gale of wind. The cold was exceed- ingly unpleasant to the passengers as the wind prevented our having a fire in the cabin, blow- ing down the funnel in such a manner as to fill the cabin full of smoke. I suffered more than any other from seasickness, the horrid dis» agreeable sensations of which I think I shall ever remember. In four days however I was perfectly hearty and well, which I attribute to fasting as many of the rest suffered longer from having eaten while the sickness was upon them. A few days out we discovered a large island of ice computed to be two miles long and eighty or ninety feet out of water. This alarmed us very much for although we were gratified by the singular beauty of its appearance, yet much was subtracted from that gratification by our sense of danger. We were obliged to be ex- tremely cautious in keeping a good lookout as [ 4 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 our commander was apprehensive of running upon it in the night. On the 29th we experienced a tremendous gale of wind. The waves ran mountain high, and presented a scene so terribly grand as to surpass all description : then I would have gladly exchanged our gilded palace of a cabin for the meanest hovel in creation. I do not know a scene in which a man can be placed wherein he appears in one view more insignifi- cant and at the same time in another more powerful, — To view the wide expanse of waters furiously agitated by the storm, and to contrast his best efforts with the power of the elements, shows his insignificance ; — when we see him by his nautical skill baffling the force of these elements we are astonished at his power ! * At night the gale still continuing we were gratified by a most magnificent and sublime sight. Hundreds of black fish from eighteen to twenty feet in length were sporting amid the " mountain waves." Their appearance when first seen very much resembled a drove of hogs, their bellies being of a dirty white color. Dur- * The following extract from Southey is appropriate to [ 5 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 ing the storm the fears of us fresh water sailors was not a little augmented by the solicitude ex- pressed in the countenance of one of our fellow passengers who on a former voyage was upset in a vessel and after remaining upon the wreck for ten days was providentially rescued from death by a vessel passing that way. One of his fellow seamen was torn in pieces by a huge shark before his eyes, and he suffered every- thing that human nature could bear and yet exist. We passed our time very pleasantly when it did not blow a tempest. Books, conversation and cards served to fill up the vacuity of time. my sensations upon this day and better descriptive of them than any observations of my own : " 'Tis pleasant by the cheerful hearth to hear Of tempests, and the dangers of the deep : And pause at times : and feel that we are safe, Then — listen to the perilous tale again, And with an eager and suspended soul : Woo terror to delight us. But to hear The warring of the raging elements To know all human skill, all human strength Avail not, to look round and only see The mountain wave, incumbent with its weight Of bursting waters : on the reeling bark : Oh God ! this is indeed a dreadful thing : And he who hath endured the horror once Of such an hour, doth never hear the storm Howl round his home : but he remembers it And thinks upon the suffering mariner." [ 6 ] For Liverpool, The well known, regular trading' copperbottomed shipLlVERPOOL PACKET, Samuel Nickles, com- mander, will positively sail in ballast trim, as soon as the ratification of the treaty is known. — The ship having been a regular trader to Liver- pool, is provided with excellent accommodations for passengers. For terms of freight or passage, apply to the master on board at Russell' s-wharf, or to LemuelPope, Jr. Ship Broker, No. 22,St ate- street. feb 2o FROM THE BOSTON GAZETTE FEBRUARY 27, 1815 The ship Liverpool Packet was built at Charlestown, Mass., in 1810. Length 108 feet 9 in. Breadth 28 " Sin. Depth 14 " 4 in. Tonnage 395J| Gross. Owned by Samuel Nickels and Samuel Norwood of Boston. ENGLAND IN 1815 Once in a while we held a court of justice where offences against the dignity of the ship were tried, and the culprits fined in sundry- bottles of wine to be paid at Liverpool : they being obliged to find security for the liberty of the ship until their arrival at that place. These and other pleasantries served to amuse us. April 4th we fell in with sixty sail of Eng- lish vessels under convoy of the Musquito, — brig of war from whom we were boarded. They had heard a rumor of peace and the officer appeared highly rejoiced at our confirming it. Our mate went on board with the ship's papers and the captain's compliments offering to furnish their commander with refreshment. After a short detention he returned with the British captain's steward to whom we gave some fowls and news- papers. I gave the boarding officer some of my papers as he observed he should not get a peep at the " old man's." The next morning we were chased by a frigate who compelled us to heave to after firing her bow guns at us several times. It was vexatious in the extreme to be thus de- tained with a fair wind, but as " might gave [ 7 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 right " we were forced to comply. When she came up with us she proved to be the La Pique of 36 guns mounting 45. We had a full view of her as she passed directly under our stem. She appeared to be a very beautiful vessel. The British lieutenant soon made his appearance upon our quarter deck, and was invited by our captain down into the cabin. He first asked if peace was certain, and was pleased with our answering in the affirmative. Speaking of the treaty he asked " what had become of the south- ern states" (presuming, I suppose, that the northern ones had made a separate treaty). In the reply something was said respecting the New Orleans affair, when he changed the con- versation by a remark upon the weather. The convoy of ships they had with them were from St. Thomas' and consisted of one hundred sail, forty of which they parted with in the violent gale of the 29th. After overhauling our papers he returned on board the ship and most gra- ciously permitted us to proceed. From the time we were boarded from the Musquito until our arrival at Liverpool we were surrounded by this fleet. The pilot whom we took on board C 8 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 informed us of Bonaparte's return to Paris, but this we considered so improbable an event as to pay no serious attention to it, but thought it a hoax which he was playing off on us Yan- kees. On our arrival in the harbour we were boarded by an officer of a 74-gun ship lying at anchor there, who requested Captain Nickels to furnish him with a list of his crew, that in the event of any of them being impressed they might be known and liberated. These orders were from the government, and certainly they indicated a disposition to make the peace of lasting duration as far as regarded this cause of complaint. At our landing on the wharf at Liverpool we were surrounded by a tribe of girls of the town who welcomed us most cheerfully. These and innumerable others whom we met in going to our lodgings, together with the sombre appearance of the buildings, jRrst by lamplight made visible, gave me no favorable opinion of the place. After a long walk which (owing to inactivity on board ship) fatigued me exceedingly I arrived at the Liverpool Arms [ 9 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 (the Inn where Silliman ^ lodged and whose waiter Louis he had most unjustly accused of practising by his politeness upon the purses of the customers). The appearance of the attend- ants at an inn with hair bepowdered and dressed in an appropriate style was to me so new that it was some time before I could make up resolution to call in a consequential tone to the waiter to bring me anything wanted. The next day we were much pestered by Jews who wished to purchase our gold which at this time was at a great advance above paper money. It was extremely amusing to hear these fellows talk of their American connections. They all positively declared that they did all the trade that was done in their line with America. They also asked very many curious questions — " Were Charlestown, S. C, Baltimore and Nor- folk near Boston ! " &c. &c. Liverpool possesses an Athenaeum which con- tains a very large collection of books in every department of literature. There was one book ^ Benjamin Silliman, noted American scientist, 1779- 1864 ; wrote a journal of travels in England, 1810 ; first leo- torer at the Lowell Institute, 1838. [ 10 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 I saw which I thought a great curiosity. It was for teaching the blind, the letters being raised so as to be felt by them. I could not dis- tinguish them by feeling, but suppose a blind person could, as the sense of feeling is with them more acute. I was extremely fortunate in my visit to the blind asylum as I found the objects of its charity were engaged in singing. It was extremely solemn. I had never witnessed a scene more so. Twenty five blind men, women, girls and boys composed the choir. They were singing anthems. The female voices were un- commonly fine-toned. There were many specta- tors present among whom I observed a man with a small blind lad (I presumed his son) whom he had brought for the purpose of being admitted. During the singing the father ap- peared to be very much affected and " the big tears chased each other down his cheeks." In the 'hall are tablets whereon are inscribed the names of the donors to this establishment and in every room is a money box with " pray re- member the poor blind " written upon it. I was witness to one blind person's walking alone across the yard, going up stairs, and seating [ 11 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 himseK to work at a loom. This he did as readily as if he were blessed with sight. One of the rooms is appropriated as a sales-room where baskets, rugs, &c. are shewn. This ad- mirable institution is certainly an honor to humanity ! The Exchange and the Town Hall are superb buildings. In the former are contained a reading room and an insurance office similiar to Lloyd's at London : in the area is an elegant monument to the memory of Lord Nelson. The expense of erecting it was defrayed by voluntary subscription, and the cost 45000 dollars. I took my passage on Saturday in the coach for Warrington eighteen miles distant from Liverpool. The gardens and fields looked de- lightful being in quite as forward a state of vegetation as ours in June. I was much amused at the activity of the tumbling boys who turned head over heels at the side of the .coach and with such swiftness as to even keep up with it for some time, which is done in expec- tation that the passengers will throw them a penny, their parents being so miserably poor [ 12 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 that this is resorted to as a means of subsist- ence. There were six passengers inside and twelve outside the coach besides the coachman and an abundance of luggage. This added to the weight of the vehicle (which generally is two tons or more), makes it almost incredible that they should be able to go at the rate of seven and eight miles per hour. There is not the least derogation from respectability in riding upon the outside. I should certainly myself give it the preference in fine weather as you are enabled to have a much better view of the country through which you pass than when in- side the coach. The danger is however greater in the event of an accident happening to the coach, but as they are made so very strong they are in a degree guarded. We passed the seat of the Earl of Derby. ^ The park is very large. Earl Derby married the celebrated actress Miss Farren. He is much addicted to horse racing and gambling. Warrington is a manufacturing town. The manufactures consist of glass-houses, iron foimd- ^ This was Edward Stanley, twelfth Earl, and founder, in 1780, of the Derby, the most popular of English horse-races. [ 13 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 ries, cotton works, breweries, &c. It has a gloomy dirty appearance in consequence of these works and the quantity of coal used in them. A large part of its inhabitants subsist by their daily labor in these manufactories. It was late in the evening when I arrived. Opposite the inn were assembled a vast crowd of these work- men having (as it was Saturday night) received their weekly wages. This they were spending in ale which soon intoxicated a greater part and such a scene of riot ensued as I shall not attempt to describe. These men are generally intemperate; were it not for this habit they might live quite comfortably on their wages. As it is, their families are starving for food while they are spending all they can in drink. Saturday night does not satisfy them. Sunday and Monday which is called " blue " or " St. Monday" is kept the same, nor can any emer- gency of business whatever call them to resume their work if their last week's wages are not all spent. The old women seen in the streets are the most shocking looking creatures I ever be- held. I have seen them clothed in a man's hat and a short jacket over their gowns driving a [ 14 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 little jackass through the town shewing such a countenance as to bring immediately to one's mind Shakespeare's scene of the witches in Macbeth. There is also an incredible number of children from two to four years of age swarming the street in such a state of nudity and uncleanliness as is quite disgusting. These wretched little beings are at quite an early age buried in the manufactories. I saw some in one who were not seven years of age. They had scarcely a rag to cover them. These poor little wretches earn sixty-seven cents a week ! Could but the advocates of the manufactures of our country but witness the misery attached to those in Warrington, Sheffield, & Leeds, I am sure they would not so strenuously argue that it is for our national welfare that they should be established in America. I went through an ex- tensive glass work, the proprietors of which pay c£600 per week duty to government and £150 wages to the Workmen. They were making a service of glass for the Prince Kegent of Por- tugal, a very superb thing; tumblers were $15.00 each, wine-glasses $5.00. The whole would cost $15,000. It will take one year to finish it. I [ 15 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 was here introduced to a Swiss gentleman, whom I found an intelligent person. Being a fine day we rambled into the country. The fields bore a charming appearance, surrounded by hedges cut in a most regular manner and blown out in flowers resembling the barberry when in blos- som. We stopped at the country house of Mr. A. (with whom we went) and partook of a luncheon of bread, cheese, and ale, and returned to W. to dine. There is but a slight difference between their etiquette at this meal and ours, consequently I have nothing to remark about it except the introduction of apples from France, at the dessert. A conversation took place after dinner respecting the English Clergy, when many sad instances of their misbehaviour were mentioned. This, it was observed, would oft be the case as long as they were independent of their hearers. The Earl of Derby has a liv- ing in his gift the income of which is £10,000 a year.i This is now in the possession of his lordship's nephew, until his son becomes of age ^ This liying was probably at Winwick, and was held by Rev. John James Hornby, the nephew of this Earl. The living is still one of the richest in England, — £2400 per annum. [ 16 ] ENGLAND IN 1816 to take it. The occupant of course is making the most of it and the poor tenants are ground to the dust with his exactions. The dissenting clergy, being chosen by their congregations, are an exception to this and are an honor to their profession. During a walk after dinner we came to a monument erected in commemoration of the defeat of the Scottish rebels in 1775.1 It is over the spot where the person who erected it con- cealed his money and plate. These rebels were stopped at Warrington and prevented from crossing the river by the destruction of the bridge. At the glass works I witnessed a most singular operation in the removal of a broken pot from a furnace " seven times heated," and a perfect pot taken from another furnace equally heated and put in the place of the injured one. These large vessels weighed six to seven Cwt. and were so hot that I was obliged to stand at several yards distance from them. A large iron bar was inserted in the mouth of the pot, while another crossed it. The men, clothed in wet ^ Thia date should be either 1715 or 1745, on both of which dates the Scottish rebels were in the vicinity of Warrington. [ 17 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 sacks, bore it along until it was fixed in its proper situation. A few years ago a workman slipped and fell into the furnace but was not injured, the sack preventing his being burned. At Warrington I became acquainted with Mrs. I. and daughter, with whom I was much pleased. When I entered the house I found Miss I. occupied in the old-fashioned Yankee employment of darning stockings. I was de- lighted with the ease with which I was received. The young lady continued her work until I in- quired for a direction to a place, when she of- fered to accompany me as a guide. So away we trudged, arm in arm, like old acquaintances. We had a deal of chat and I found her a very pleasant companion. I took leave of my Warrington friends after many kind invitations to return and pass a few days with them, then went to the Inn and after paying my bill, " boots," waiter and chamber- maid, departed in the coach for Manchester. In passing some farmhouses I observed a way they have of fastening fruit trees in the manner of a vine to the side of the house, which answers both for ornament and use, as the reflection of C 18 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 the sun ripens the fruit, while the vine hides the dismal looks of the wall, which is solid in consequence of the window tax. Manchester at its entrance has an agreeable appearance, as there are many fine houses in the suburbs, which serves only to render the dis- appointment more extreme when you enter the town. It is a very irregularly built place; a stranger may think himself fortunate if he does not lose himself twenty times a day. The ware- houses are in courts, the entrances to which are obscure and difficult. The rooms in which they show the goods are so darkened by the window squares being painted that a person must be a perfect judge of the effect of light and shade or he may be greatly deceived with regard to their fineness. There is an athenaeum and a reading-room here, supported by subscription. I was highly gratified in viewing the old church, an ancient Gothic building, the tower of which is of a great height : in the interior is some curious carved work, and over the altar a large tapestry picture, the subject of which I could not make out, as it was so defaced by the hand of time. [ 19 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 Over it was a painted window, the colors in the highest perfection, although ages have elapsed since the work was executed. The whole inte- rior has a cold, damp and gloomy aspect, as the whole floor is composed of gravestones, it being used as a cemetery. Some part of the outside was undergoing a repair. In the evening I attended the theatre. The performances were " The Battle of Hexham " and " The MiUer and his men." The acting was tolerably good, but the scenery and decorations not so handsome as at Boston. There were many ladies in the pit, which is customary here. John Bull in the gaUery was quite noisy. En- cores were persisted in until every song was repeated, and when a player who had danced a hornpipe did not make his reappearance John became extremely outrageous and kicked up a row which only subsided by the performer's coming forward, stating that he had lamed him- self and offering the customary apology begin- ning with Ladies and Gentlemen, etc. Manchester is quite a smoky place. Upon my walking a little way out of town I found it was quite fine weather, and what I supposed a foggy [ 20 ] ENGLAND IN 1816 day was only an accumulation of coal smoke from their manufactories. The next day I took the coach for Leeds and after passing rapidly through several small places came to one of the most barren, desolate spots of earth I ever beheld. It was very ex- tensive and covered with a brown heath. In other parts of England I have seen similar tracts of land, some of which was not so sterile, and considering the immense population I think might be made to produce something either for man or beast. At the top of a mountain we passed a reservoir of water for supplying a canal in a dry time, the whole a work of art, and from its size it must contain an amazing quantity of water. After passing the wastes mentioned I saw many farms, the land appearing to be in the highest state of cultivation. The farmers all over the county employ old women and children to pick up dung in the streets and roads, and they gain (I am informed) one shilling per day by this miserable employment. The passengers in the coach were a democratic Scotsman and a most loyal English colonel. The Scot was a warm friend to Bonaparte and asserted that the [ 21 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 ministers had broken every treaty they had made with him. This was sharply resented by the colonel, and there is no telling where the dispute might have ended had not the con- versation turned upon American affairs. The colonel complimented the American troops in a curious manner by observing that they were brave and it was not to be wondered at since they "were descendants of Englishmen." It required all my gravity to make an acknow- ledging bow for this compliment ! I frequently found that the bravery displayed by the Ameri- cans in the last war was accounted for from this source. Leeds is a town of considerable consequence. It is not as gloomy and dull in appearance as most of the manufacturing places. The bricks of which the houses are built are of a lighter color, and more resembling ours. There is a reading room here to which I was introduced by a friend. It was well supplied with news- papers, and served me to pass a leisure hour away. This place is famous for its woolen man- ufactures. On market days a vast quantity of woolens of every description is exposed for sale [ 22 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 in a large building called the cloth-hall. The dealers in the respective cloths here purchase them and have them dyed and finished to suit themselves. I took a short ride to a village in the vicinity of Leeds, called Heckmondwick. My friend and I dined at a small ale-house, just such a one as Fielding describes in his novel of Tom Jones, and Joseph Andrews. The descrip- tion was so forcibly brought to my mind by the place that I almost expected Jones or Parson Adams would make his appearance. There was a kind of bread made of oatmeal hanging in large sheets from the ceiling, and pork sus- pended from the wall, this being the way they cure it, as they seldom pickle it in the manner we do. On our way back to Leeds we met many little children driving jackasses with paniers of coals on their backs. They were carrying them into a neighboring village for sale. We passed near to a large coal pit. The entrance to it was so forbidding that I did not venture down. At Leeds there is a steam engine which draws twenty eight loaded wagons several miles. On Sunday I attended divine service in the morn- ing and in the afternoon took the coach for I 23 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 Sheffield. On the road there, passed some ruins, and a pyramid erected by Lord ^ at a vast expense as the boundary to a view from Went- worth Castle. At dusk arrived at Sheffield and sat myself down a solitary being in the travellers' room. I should have preferred the society of a favorite dog or cat to have passed away the " lagging moments " which were to me almost unsupport- able. The next day visited some manufactories of cutlery, &c. &c. The manufactories of steel are brought to wonderful perfection. I saw twenty pairs of scissors so small that they were kept in a quill of the common size. The town is surrounded by hUls, and were it not for its almost infernal smoke and fire, it would be quite pleasant. The inhabitants of this place partake of the misery resulting from manufactures. The poorer classes are worse off for the articles which they immediately manufacture than the inhabitants of the American back settlements are. Many children not eight years of age are at work in these cursed holes, deprived of edu- cation ; they consequently grow up in ignorance, ^ Probably tbe Marquis of Rockingham. [ 24 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 and all the comfort or pleasure they have is in drunkenness and sensuality. Many of these little wretches are sent from London work- houses to these manufacturing towns. Often has my heart bled to see a poor little sickly being hard at work, deprived of liberty and fresh air, when its situation demanded the in- dulgent care of a tender nurse. In the evening I met at the inn the printer of a newspaper, who remarked that Gales who edits the Intel- ligencer was obliged to fly the town for fear of justice, and that his sisters still carry on a book-shop formerly his. Montgomery ^ the poet is the printer of a newspaper here. He bears a most excellent character, and is much esteemed. Left Sheffield for London ; passed through many fine towns. The country was throughout the whole route highly cultivated. There were three buxon damsels in the coach. After having travelled through the night one of these pulled out a small bottle of rum from her "indispen- sable " and most kindly asked me to partake with her and her companions. At Woburn ^ James Montgomery, 1776-1854. Best knoxrn as the author of many hymns- [ 25 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 passed the seat of the Duke of Bedford. The park wall contmued about two miles along the road until it terminated by an elegant gateway, — the entrance to the Abbey (as the house is called). Near here the road was cut through a mountain of chalk. It lay in large heaps on each side. As we approached London the country be- came thicker settled and more highly cultivated. At St. Albans, twenty-one miles this side, saw the famous abbey which bears that name. The edifice is of stone and is very large. At Isling- ton the houses were pretty and neat, but when I entered the great city I was a little disap- pointed at the narrow streets and lanes, and its appearance generally, which struck me as being dirty and gloomy. 1 took lodgings at the New England Coffee House, the general resort of Yankees. After I had dined with the assistance of Mr. Porter found out Mr. Webster and with him, in the evening, attended Drury Lane Theatre. The building is a most noble structure and is furnished with elegant scenery and de- corations. The play was The Unknown Guest, the concluding scene of which was the storming [ 26 ] ENGLAND IN 1816 and blowing up a castle. It was admirably re- presented. There were soldiers drawing cannon, bomb shells flying and bursting upon the ram- parts, &c. &c., the whole forming I should suppose, a perfect resemblance of a battle. The after-piece was The Woodman's Hut ; one scene of which represents a cottage struck by lightning and consumed, another a wood which took fire and spread until it consumed a row of cottages. One of the actresses much resembles Mrs. Darley. Munden is much like Bernard. On visiting the Bank of England I was as- tonished at its magnitude and the number of clerks employed. Many of the rooms in this great paper-mill of England resembled an ex- tensive school, where the clerks like boys were each set down to his task. The entrances are guarded by the porters dressed in scarlet coats with badges on their arms denoting their em- ployment, and by Beadles with a curious uni- form and huge gold-laced hats. Guildhall is a very large building but, with the exception of a few monuments, is not hand- some. These monuments are quite elegant and are erected in memory of Chatham, Pitt, Nel- [ 27 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 son & Beekford,^ the last representing Beck- ford in his Mayor's robes holding in his hand the famous speech which he made to the King in 1770. This was erected by the city as a tes- timony of their approbation of his sentiments. There are also two mighty images here painted as fine as puppets called Gog and Magog. The Royal Exchange is a capacious building, but has been robbed of a deal of its elegance by the hand of time. The statues in the niches are very much decayed, which altogether renders it less interesting as a fine building than I ex- pected. AU the public buildings in the city are injured in their appearance by the smoke of coal (which is here burnt altogether for fuel) and which adheres to the stones. In the area of the Exchange, merchants from all parts of the earth meet to transact business. It is hung around with advertisements ; one I remarked as being very singular : — a dentist had formed his of the decayed teeth which he had extracted from the jaws of his patients. 1 William Beckford, 1709-1770, Lord Mayor of London, 1762 and 1769. Speech mentioned was made May 28, 1770, and he died June 21, 1770. [ 28 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 These were arranged in such a manner as to give a much prettier effect than one would suppose rotten bones were capable of doing. The Man- sion House, the residence of the Mayor of Lon- don, has a very heavy and gloomy appearance, more befitting a prison than for the purpose it is intended. 20th. This evening attended Covent Garden Theatre. The outside, as well as that of Drury Lane and the Opera, is guarded by soldiers to keep proper order. The play was Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, Miss O'Neil ^ sustained the character of Juliet in a style which as far sur- passed our actresses as the celebrated Cooke ^ did our actors. The funeral scene was extremely solemn; the friars and attendants were over sixty persons who chanted the service in the manner of the Romish church. The music and singing was very fine. The after piece was Lembucca, a modern melodrama resembling ^ Eliza O'Neil, afterwards Lady Becher, bom in Ireland 1791, died 1872. Made her d6but as Juliet at Covent Garden Theatre in 1814. Was for five years until her marriage Eng- land's most popular actress. * George Frederick Cooke died in New York in 1811, and was regarded by Edmund Kean as the g^reatest of actors. [ 29 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 Tekeli. The scenery and dresses to this were very handsome. There were frequently one hun- dred performers on the stage at once. The de- corations of this house on the auditors' parts (in the auditorium) are not so elegant as those of Drury Lane, yet I think the scenery more elegant. There is always attending these theatres an immense number of women of the town. With the exception of the first boxes which are designated as dress boxes they go into all parts of the house and seat themselves where they please. I have often seen many of them in boxes with ladies and gentlemen apparently respect- able. The streets are also thronged with these miserable wretches who accost every person who passes along. Many of them have not where to lay their heads, and pass the night in the streets in any corner which will afford them a shelter. At Covent Garden Theatre, Liston, one of the performers, is endued with such com- ical powers of countenance that one must have a perfect command of the risible powers to pre- vent himself from laughing before he utters a word. There are also some fine dancers at this house, but these ladies are so thinly clad and [ 30 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 throw themselves into such indecent postures that I think a New England audience would not have tolerated them. At night a good many of the streets and stores are lighted up with gas. The brilliancy of light thrown out this way is astonishing ; compared with it the oil lamps look like a " dim candle at noon." It is prepared in some building erected for the pur- pose and conducted through the streets in pipes like an aqueduct, consequently all the proprie- tors have to do is to turn a cock and apply a candle and the house or street is lighted. Within these last few days there has been posted upon the walls and distributed about the city a handbill offering a reward of .£1000 to any person who will apprehend and bring to the old Bailey for trial, Seignor Napoleon Buonaparte, accused with the murder of Captain Wright " contrary to the statutes of Geo. &c. &c. in that case made and provided." One of the public papers remarks that Government should look to this handbill, but as it appears so much like catching the devil it is pretty well understood to be a hoax. The Tower of London is a large pile of [ 31 ] ENGLAND IN 18 IS buildings surrounded by a deep moat. At my entering within the walls I was joined by one of the yeomen of the guards as a conductor. He was habited in the uniform worn by that corps ever since the reign of Henry the 7th, which is grotesque enough ! In the first place he conducted me to the Spanish armory where there is an immense collection of the arms used by the Spaniards in their attempts to in- vade England with the Armada. Queen Eliza- beth's effigy dressed in the identical clothes worn by her at that time is in this room, stand- ing by the side of her horse. The horse ar- moury, where are the seventeen kings from William to George the 2°*^ on horseback, is next shown. This room also contains a great many suits of very ancient armor preserved in the highest perfection. The attendant gener- ally gabbles through the history of these curi- osities in a dull monotonous tone, and should you imfortunately ask him a question in the middle of his story, you must have the pa- tience to hear it all over again, as they never can tell where they stopped. One of the effi- gies of a king whose armor had been taken off [ 32 ] ENGLAND IN 1815 to be repaired had a dirty old bed blanket thrown over his head and shoulders. He of course made a most laughable appearance sit- ting on horseback among his brother kings in polished armor. My guide, not noticing the circumstance, when he came to him went on with countenance unmoved in his story — " this is King &c., with his polished armor of steel, &c &c." Upon my laughing out at his de- scription of the poor blanketed king, he looked up and exclaimed " Oh dear ! 1 've forgotten ; his armor 's gone to be mended ! " The Volun- teer Armoury is the most beautiful of the whole, containing more than thirty thousand stands of arms, most fancifully arranged into pillars and other devices. The next is the Sea Armoury, containing arms sufficient for 50,000 sailors and marines. In the royal train of ar- tillery are many curious cannon and mortars, the trophies of victories. Last is shown the Jewel Office, where the Regalia are kept. This is shown through iron bars to prevent theft. 