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[Illustration: CAPTAIN COLES’S NEW IRON TURRET-SHIP-OF-WAR.]




KNOWLEDGE

FOR THE TIME:

A Manual

OF

READING, REFERENCE, AND CONVERSATION ON SUBJECTS OF LIVING
INTEREST, USEFUL CURIOSITY, AND AMUSING RESEARCH:

HISTORICO-POLITICAL INFORMATION.
PROGRESS OF CIVILIZATION.
DIGNITIES AND DISTINCTIONS.
CHANGES IN LAWS.
MEASURE AND VALUE.
PROGRESS OF SCIENCE.
LIFE AND HEALTH.
RELIGIOUS THOUGHT.

Illustrated from the best and latest Authorities.

BY JOHN TIMBS, F.S.A.

AUTHOR OF CURIOSITIES OF LONDON, THINGS NOT GENERALLY KNOWN,
ETC.


_LONDON_:

Lockwood and Co., 7 Stationers’-hall Court.

MDCCCLXIV.




TO THE READER.


The great value of contemporary History--that is, history written
by actual witnesses of the events which they narrate,--is now
beginning to be appreciated by general readers. The improved
character of the journalism of the present day is the best evidence
of this advancement, which has been a work of no ordinary labour.
Truth is not of such easy acquisition as is generally supposed;
and the chances of obtaining unprejudiced accounts of events are
rarely improved by distance from the time at which they happen.
In proportion as freedom of thought is enlarged, and liberty of
conscience, and liberty of will, are increased, will be the amount
of trustworthiness in the written records of contemporaries. It is
the rarity of these high privileges in chroniclers of past events
which has led to so many obscurities in the world’s history, and
warpings in the judgment of its writers; to trust some of whom has
been compared to reading with “ spectacles.” And, one of
the features of our times is to be ever taking stock of the amount
of truth in past history; to set readers on the tenters of doubt,
and to make them suspicious of perversions; and to encourage a
whitewashing of black reputations which sometimes strays into an
extreme equally as unserviceable to truth as that from which the
writer started.

It is, however, with the view of correcting the Past by _the light
of the Present_, and directing attention to many salient points
of Knowledge for the Time, that the present volume is offered to
the public. Its aim may be considered great in proportion to the
limited means employed; but, to extend what is, in homely phrase,
termed a right understanding, the contents of the volume are of a
mixed character, the Author having due respect for the emphatic
words of Dr. Arnold: “Preserve proportion in your reading, keep
your views of Men and Things extensive, and _depend upon it a mixed
knowledge is not a superficial one_: as far as it goes, the views
that it gives are true; but he who reads deeply in one class of
writers only, gets views which are almost sure to be perverted, and
which are not only narrow but false.”

Throughout the Work, the Author has endeavoured to avail himself of
the most reliable views of leading writers on Events of the Day;
and by seizing new points of Knowledge and sources of Information,
to present, in a classified form, such an assemblage of Facts and
Opinions as may be impressed with warmth and quickness upon the
memory, and assist in the formation of a good general judgment, or
direct still further a-field.

In this Manual of abstracts, abridgments, and
summaries--considerably over Three Hundred in number--illustrations
by way of Anecdote occur in every page. Wordiness has been avoided
as unfitted for a book which has for its object not the waste but
the economy of time and thought, and the diffusion of concise
notions upon subjects of living Interest, useful Curiosity, and
amusing Research.

The accompanying Table of Contents will, at a single glance, show
the variety as well as the practical character of the subjects
illustrated; the aim being to render the work alike serviceable
to the reader of a journal of the day, as well as to the student
who reads to “reject what is no longer essential.” The Author has
endeavoured to keep pace with the progress of Information; and in
the selection of new accessions, some have been inserted more to
stimulate curiosity and promote investigation than as things to
be taken for granted. The best and latest Authorities have been
consulted, and the improved journalism of our time has been made
available; for, “when a river of gold is running by your door, why
not put out your hat, and take a dip?”[1]

The Author has already published several volumes of “Things not
generally Known,” which he is anxious to _supplement_ with the
present Manual of Knowledge for the Time.

FOOTNOTE:

[1] Douglas Jerrold.




THE FRONTISPIECE.

CAPTAIN COLES’S IRON TURRET-SHIP-OF-WAR.


The precise and best mode of constructing Iron Ships-of-War, so
as to carry heavy guns, is an interesting problem, which Captain
Coles believes he has already satisfactorily solved in his Turret
ship, wherein he proposes to protect the guns by turrets. Captain
Coles offered to the Admiralty so long ago as 1855 to construct a
vessel on this principle, having a double bottom; light draught of
water, with the power of giving an increased immersion when under
fire; sharp at both ends; a formidable prow; her rudder and screw
protected by a projection of iron; the turret being hemispherical,
and not a turn-table, which was unnecessary, as this vessel was
designed for attacking stationary forts in the Black Sea.

Captain Coles contributed to the International Exhibition models of
his ship; admitting (he states) from 7 to 8 degrees depression. In
two this is obtained by the deck on each side of the turret sloping
at the necessary angle, to admit of the required depression; in
the other two it is obtained by the centre of the deck on which
the turret is surmounted being raised sufficiently to enable the
shot, when the gun is depressed, to pass clear of the outer edge
of the deck. A drawing published in 1860, of the midship section
from which these models were made, also gives a section of the
_Warrior_, by which it will be seen that supposing the guns of each
to be 10 feet out of water, and to have the usual depressions of
guns in the Navy (7 degrees), the _Warrior’s_ guns on the broadside
will throw the shot 19 feet further from the side than the shield
ship with her guns placed in the centre, that being the distance
of the latter from the edge of the ship: thus, with the same
depression, the shield ship will have a greater advantage, this
being an important merit of the invention, which Captain Coles
has already applied to the _Royal Sovereign_. The construction of
these turrets, the guns, and the turn-tables on which they are
placed, with the machinery to work them, is very interesting; but
its details would occupy more space than is at our command. (See
_Times_, Sept. 8, 1863.)

Captain Coles, in a communication to the _Times_, dated November
4, 1863, thus urges the application of the turret to sea-going
vessels, and quotes the opinion of the present Contractor of the
Navy on the advantages his (Captain Coles’) system must have over
the old one, in strength, height out of water, and stability, and
consequent adaptation for sea-going ships. The Captain states:

“I believe I have already shown that on my system of a revolving
turret, a heavier broadside can be thrown than from ships armed on
the broadside; but it possesses this further advantage, that my
turrets _can be adapted to the heaviest description of ordnance_;
indeed, no other plan has yet been put in practice, while it is
impossible to adapt the broadside ships to them, without the
enlargement of the ports, which would destructively weaken the
ships, and leave the guns’ crew exposed to rifles, grape-shot or
shells.” Captain Coles then quotes the armaments of the _Prince
Albert_ (now constructing at Millwall,) and the _Warrior_, and
shows that although the broadside of the _Prince Albert_ is
nominally reduced to 1120 lbs. (still in excess of the _Warrior’s_
if compared with tonnage); it still gives this great advantage,
that whereas late experiments have demonstrated that 4½-inch
plates can be made to resist 68-pounder and 110-pounder shot, they
have also shown that the 300-pounder smashes them when formed into
a “Warrior target” with the greatest ease. The _Prince Albert_,
therefore, can smash the _Warrior_, though the _Warrior_ carries
no gun that can injure her; nor can she, as a broadside ship, be
altered to carry heavier guns.

The Engraving represents Captain Coles’s Ship cleared for action,
and the bulwarks down.




CONTENTS.


I.--HISTORICO-POLITICAL INFORMATION, 1-56:

Politics not yet a Science,--The Philosopher and the Historian,
1.--Whig and Tory Ministries, 2.--Protectionists,--Rats, and
Ratting,--The Heir to the British Throne always in Opposition,
4.--Legitimacy and Government,--“The Fourth Estate,” 5.--Writing
for the Press,--Shorthand Writers, 7.--The Worth of Popular
Opinion, 8.--Machiavelism,--Free-speaking, 9.--Speakers of the
Houses of Parliament, 10.--The National Conscience, 11.--“The
Nation of Shopkeepers,” 12.--Results of Revolutions, 13.--Worth
of a Republic,--“Safe Men,” 14.--Church Preferment,--Peace
Statesmanship,--The Burial of Sir John Moore, 15.--The Ancestors
of Washington, 16.--The “Star-spangled Banner,”--Ancestry of
President Adams, 18.--The Irish Union, 19.--The House of Bonaparte,
20.--Invasion of England projected by Napoleon I., 21.--Fate of
the Duc d’Enghien, 24.--Last Moments of Mr. Pitt, 25.--What drove
George III. mad, 27.--Predictions of the Downfal of Napoleon
I., 29.--Wellington predicts the Peninsular Compaign, 30.--The
Battle of Waterloo, 31.--Wellington’s Defence of the Waterloo
Campaign, 32.--Lord Castlereagh at the Congress of Vienna,
33.--The Cato-street Conspiracy, 34.--Money Panic of 1832, 36.--A
great Sufferer by Revolutions,--Origin of the Anti-Corn-Law
League, 37.--Wellington’s Military Administration, 38.--Gustavus
III. of Sweden, 39.--Fall of Louis Philippe, 40.--The Chartists
in 1848, 41.--Revival of the French Emperorship, 43.--French
Coup d’Etat Predictions,--Statesmanship of Lord Melbourne,
44.--Ungraceful Observance, 45.--The Partition of Poland, 46.--The
Invasion of England, 47.--What a Militia can do, 48.--Whiteboys,
49.--Naval Heroes,--How Russia is bound to Germany, 50.--Count
Cavour’s Estimate of Napoleon III., 51.--The Mutiny at the Nore,
52.--Catholic Emancipation and Sir Robert Peel,--The House of
Coburg, 53.--A few Years of the World’s Changes, 55.--Noteworthy
Pensions, 56.


II.--PROGRESS OF CIVILIZATION, 57-84:

How the Earth was peopled, 57.--Revelations of Geology, 58.--The
Stone Age, 59.--What are Celtes? 60.--Roman Civilization of
Britain, 61.--Roman Roads and British Railways, 62.--Domestic
Life of the Saxons, 64.--Love of Freedom, 65.--The Despot
deceived,--True Source of Civilization, 66.--The Lowest
Civilization,--Why do we shake Hands? 67.--Various Modes of
Salutation, 68.--What is Comfort? 69.--What is Luxury?--What do
we know of Life? 70.--The truest Patriot the greatest Hero,--The
old Philosophers, 71.--Glory of the Past, 72.--Wild Oats,--How
Shyness spoils Enjoyment, 73.--“Custom, the Queen of the World,”
74.--Ancient Guilds and Modern Benefit Clubs,--The Oxford Man
and the Cambridge Man, 75.--“Great Events from Little Causes
spring,” 76.--Great Britain on the Map of the World, 80.--Ancient
and Modern London,--Potatoes the national food of the Irish,
81.--Irish-speaking Population,--Our Colonial Empire, 82.--The
English People, 84.


III.--DIGNITIES AND DISTINCTIONS, 85-102:

Worth of Heraldry, 85.--Heralds’ College, 86.--The Shamrock,--Irish
Titles of Honour, 87.--The Scotch Thistle, 88.--King and Queen,
89.--Title of Majesty, and the Royal “We,” 90.--“Dieu et Mon
Droit,”--Plume and Motto of the Prince of Wales, 91.--Victoria,
92.--English Crowns,--The Imperial State Crown, 93.--Queen’s
Messengers,--Presents and Letters to the Queen, 95.--The Prince
of Waterloo,--The See of London, 96.--Expense of Baronetcy
and Knighthood, 97.--The Aristocracy, 98.--Precedence in
Parliament,--Sale of Seats in Parliament,--Placemen in Parliament,
99.--New Peers,--The Russells,--Political Cunning, 100.--The
Union-Jack,--Field-Marshal, 101.--Change of Surname, 102.


IV.--CHANGES IN LAWS, 104-144:

The Statute Law and the Common Law, 104.--Curiosities of the
Statute Law, 105.--Secret of Success at the Bar,--Queen’s
Serjeants, Queen’s Counsel, and Serjeants-at-Law, 107.--Do not
make your Son an Attorney,--Appellate Jurisdiction of the House
of Lords, 108.--Payment of an advocate,--Utter-Barristers,
109.--What was Special Pleading?--What is Evidence? 110.--What is
Trial?--Trial by Jury, 111.--Attendance of Jurors,--The Law of
Libel, 113.--Induction of a Rector, 115.--Benefit of Clergy,--The
King’s Book, 116.--Compulsory Attendance at Church, 117.--The
Mark of the Cross,--Marriage-Law of England, 118.--Marriage
Fines, 119.--Irregular Marriages, 120.--Solemnization of
Marriage, 123.--The Law of Copyright, 124.--Holding over
after Lease,--Abolition of the Hop Duty, 125.--Customs of
Gavelkind,--Treasure Trove, 126.--Principal and Agent,--Legal
Hints, 129.--Vitiating a Sale, 130.--Law of Gardens,--Giving a
Servant a Character, 131.--Deodands, 132.--Arrest of the Body
after Death,--The Duty of making a Will, 133.--Don’t make your own
Will, 134.--Bridewell, 135.--Cockfighting, 136.--Ignorance and
Irresponsibility,--Ticket-of-Leave Men, 137.--Cupar and Jedburgh
Justice,--What is to be done with our Convicts, 138.--The Game
Laws,--The Pillory, 139.--Death-Warrants,--Pardons, 140.--Origin
of the Judge’s Black Cap,--The Last English Gibbet, 141.--Public
Executions, 142.


V.--MEASURE AND VALUE, 146-169:

Numbers descriptive of Distance,--Precocious Mental Calculation,
146.--The Roman Foot, 147.--The Peruvian Quipus, 148.--Distances
measured,--Uniformity of Weights and Measures, 149.--Trinity
High-water Mark,--Origin of Rent, 150.--Curiosities of the
Exchequer, 151.--What becomes of the Public Revenue, 153.--Queen
Anne’s Bounty, 154.--Ecclesiastical Fees,--Burying Gold and Silver,
155.--Results of Gold-seeking, 157.--What becomes of the Precious
Metals? 158.--Tribute-money, 159.--The First Lottery,--Coinage of a
Sovereign, 160.--Wear and Tear of the Coinage,--Counterfeit Coin,
161.--Standard Gold,--Interest of Money, 162.--Interest of Money in
India,--Origin of Insurance, 163.--Stockbrokers, 164.--Tampering
with Public Credit,--Over-speculation, 165.--Value of Horses,--Friendly
Societies, 166.--Wages heightened by Improvement in Machinery,
167.--Giving Employment,--Never sign an Accommodation Bill, 168.--A
Year’s Wills, 169.


VI.--PROGRESS OF SCIENCE, 171-232:

What human Science has accomplished,--Changes in Social
Science, 171.--Discoverers not Inventors, 172.--Science of
Roger Bacon, 173.--The One Science, 174.--Sun-force, 175.--“The
Seeds of Invention,” 176.--The Object of Patents,--Theory and
Practice,--Watt and Telford, 177.--Practical Science,--Mechanical
Arts, 178.--Force of Running Water,--Correlation of Physical
Forces,--Oil on Waves, 180.--Spontaneous Generation,--Guano,--What
is Perspective? 181.--The Stereoscope,--Burning Lenses, 182.--How
to wear Spectacles,--Vicissitudes of Mining, 183.--Uses of
Mineralogy, 185.--Our Coal Resources,--The Deepest Mine, 186.--Iron
as a Building Material, 189.--Concrete, not new,--Sheathing
Ships with Copper, 190.--Copper Smelting,--Antiquity of
Brass,--Brilliancy of the Diamond, 191.--Philosophy of
Gunpowder,--New Pear-flavouring, 192.--Methylated Spirit,
193.--What is Phosphate of Lime?--What is Wood?--How long will
Wood last? 194.--The Safety Match, 195.--Pottery,--Wedgwood,
196.--Imposing Mechanical Effects, 197--Horse-power,--The First
Practical Steam-boat, 198.--Effect of Heavy Seas upon Large
Vessels, 199.--The Railway,--Accidents on Railways, 200.--Railways
and Invasions, 202.--What the English owe to naturalized
Foreigners, 203.--Geological Growth, 204.--The Earth and Man
compared,--Why the Earth is presumed to be Solid,--“Implements in
the Drift,” 205.--The Centre of the Earth, 206.--The Cooling of the
Earth, 207.--Identity of Heat and Motion, 208--Universal Source of
Heat, 209.--Inequalities of the Earth’s Surface, 210.--Chemistry
of the Sea, 212.--The Sea: its Perils, 213.--Limitations of
Astronomy, 214.--Distance of the Earth from the Sun, 215.--Blue
Colour of the Sky, 216.--Beauty of the Sky, 217.--High Temperatures
in Balloon Ascents,--Value of Meteorological Observations,
Telegraph, and Forecasts, 218.--Weather Signs, 220.--Barometer
for Farmers, 222.--Icebergs and the Weather, 223.--St. Swithun:
his true History, 224.--Rainfall in London, 225.--The Force of
Lightning, 226.--Effect of Moonlight,--Contemporary Inventions and
Discoveries, 227.--The Bayonet, 228.--Loot,--Telegram,--Archæology
and Manufactures, 229.--Good Art should be Cheap, 230.--Imitative
Jewellery, 231.--French Enamel, 232.


VII.--LIFE AND HEALTH, 233-266:

Periods and Conditions of Life,--Age of the People, 233.--The
Human Heart,--The Sense of Hearing, 234.--Care of the Teeth,--On
Blindness, 235.--Sleeping and Dreaming, 236.--Position in
Sleeping,--Hair suddenly changing Colour, 237.--Consumption
not hopeless, 238.--Change of Climate,--Perfumes, 239.--Cure
for Yellow Fever,--Nature’s Ventilation, 240.--Artificial
Ventilation,--Worth of Fresh Air, 241.--Town and Country,
243.--Recreations of the People,--The Druids and their Healing Art,
244.--Remedies for Cancer, 245.--Improved Surgery,--Restoration
of a Fractured Leg, 246.--The Original “Dr. Sangrado,”--False
Arts advancing true, 247.--Brief History of Medicine, 248.--What
has Science done for Medicine? 249.--Element of Physic in Medical
Practice, 250.--Physicians’ Fees,--Prevention of Pitting in
Small-pox, 251.--Underneath the Skin, 252.--Relations of Mind
and Organization, 253.--Deville, the Phrenologist, 254.--“Seeing
is believing,” 255.--Causes of Insanity, 256.--Brain-Disease,
257.--The Half-mad, 258.--Motives for Suicide,--Remedy for
Poisoning, 259.--New Remedy for Wounds,--Compensation for
Wounds,--The Best Physician, 260.--The Uncertainty of Human Life,
262.


VIII.--RELIGIOUS THOUGHT, 266-286:

Moveable Feasts,--Christmas, 266.--Doubt about Religion, 267.--Our
Age of Doubt, 270.--A Hint to Sceptics,--What is Egyptology?
271.--Jerusalem and Nimroud, 272.--What is Rationalism? 273.--What
is Theology? 274.--Religious Forebodings, 275.--Folly of
Atheism,--The First Congregational Church in England, 276.--Innate
Ideas, and Pre-existence of Souls, 277.--Sabbath of Professional
Men, 278.--“In the Beginning,” 279.--The last Religious Martyrs in
England,--Liberty of Conscience, 281.--Awful Judgments,--Christian
Education,--The Book of Psalms, 283.--The Book of Job, 285.


APPENDIX.

  Great Precedence Question                                  287




KNOWLEDGE FOR THE TIME.




Historico-Political Information.


_Politics not yet a Science._

Mr. Buckle, in his thoughtful _History of Civilization_, remarks:
“In the present state of knowledge, Politics, so far from being
a science, is one of the most backward of all the arts; and the
only safe course for the legislator is to look upon his craft as
consisting in the adaptation of temporary contrivances to temporary
emergencies. His business is to follow the age, and not at all to
attempt to lead it. He should be satisfied with studying what is
passing around him, and should modify his schemes, not according
to the notions he has inherited from his fathers, but according
to the actual exigencies of his own time. For he may rely upon it
that the movements of society have now become so rapid that the
wants of one generation are no measure of the wants of another;
and that men, urged by a sense of their own progress, are growing
weary of idle talk about the wisdom of their ancestors, and are
fast discarding those trite and sleepy maxims which have hitherto
imposed upon them, but by which they will not consent to be much
longer troubled.”


_The Philosopher and the Historian._

“I have read somewhere or other,” says Lord Bolingbroke, “in
Dionysius Halicarnassus, I think, that History is Philosophy
teaching by Example.”

Walter Savage Landor has thus distinguished the respective labours
of the Philosopher and the Historian. “There are,” Mr. Landor
writes, “quiet hours and places in which a taper may be carried
steadily, and show the way along the ground; but you must stand a
tip-toe and raise a blazing torch above your head, if you would
bring to our vision the obscure and time-worn figures depicted on
the lofty vaults of antiquity. The philosopher shows everything in
one clear light; the historian loves strong reflections and deep
shadows, but, above all, prominent and moving characters.”

In writing of the Past, it behoves us to bear in mind, that while
actions are always to be judged by the immutable standard of right
and wrong, the judgment which we pass upon men must be qualified
by considerations of age, country, situation, and other incidental
circumstances; and it will then be found, that he who is most
charitable in his judgment, is generally the least unjust.

It is curious to find one of the silken barons of civilization and
refinement, writing as follows. The polite Earl of Chesterfield
says: “I am provoked at the contempt which most historians show for
humanity in general: one would think by them that the whole human
species consisted but of about a hundred and fifty people, called
and dignified (commonly very undeservedly too) by the titles of
emperors, kings, popes, generals, and ministers.”

Sir Humphry Davy has written thus plainly in the same vein:
“In the common history of the world, as compiled by authors in
general, almost all the great changes of nations are confounded
with changes in their dynasties; and events are usually referred
either to sovereigns, chiefs, heroes, or their armies, which
do, in fact, originate entirely from different causes, either
of an intellectual or moral nature. Governments depend far more
than is generally supposed upon the opinion of the people and
the spirit of the age and nation. It sometimes happens that a
gigantic mind possesses supreme power, and rises superior to the
age in which he is born: such was Alfred in England, and Peter in
Russia. Such instances are, however, very rare; and in general it
is neither amongst sovereigns nor the higher classes of society
that the great improvers and benefactors of mankind are to be
found.”--_Consolations in Travel_, pp. 34, 35.


_Whig and Tory Ministries._

The domestic history of England during the reign of Anne, is that
of the great struggles between Whig and Tory; and Earl Stanhope,
in his _History of England_, thus points out a number of precisely
parallel lines of policy, and instances of unscrupulous resort to
the same censurable set of weapons of party warfare, in the Tories
of the reign of Queen Anne and the Whigs of the reign of William
IV.

  “At that period the two great contending parties were
  distinguished, as at present, by the nicknames of Whig and
  Tory. But it is very remarkable that in Queen Anne’s reign the
  relative meaning of these terms was not only different but
  opposite to that which they bore at the accession of William
  IV. In theory, indeed, the main principle of each continues
  the same. The leading principle of the Tories is the dread of
  popular licentiousness. The leading principle of the Whigs is the
  dread of royal encroachment. It may thence, perhaps, be deduced
  that good and wise men would attach themselves either to the
  Whig or to the Tory party, according as there seemed to be the
  greater danger at that particular period from despotism or from
  democracy. The same person who would have been a Whig in 1712
  would have been a Tory in 1830. For, on examination, it will be
  found that, in nearly all particulars, a modern Tory resembles a
  Whig of Queen Anne’s reign, and a Tory of Queen Anne’s reign a
  modern Whig.

  “First, as to the Tories. The Tories of Queen Anne’s reign
  pursued a most unceasing opposition to a just and glorious war
  against France. They treated the great General of the age as
  their peculiar adversary. To our recent enemies, the French,
  their policy was supple and crouching. They had an indifference,
  or even an aversion, to our old allies the Dutch. They had a
  political leaning towards the Roman Catholics at home. They were
  supported by the Roman Catholics in their elections. They had a
  love of triennial parliaments in preference to septennial. They
  attempted to abolish the protecting duties and restrictions of
  commerce. They wished to favour our trade with France at the
  expense of our trade with Portugal. They were supported by a
  faction whose war-cry was ‘Repeal of the Union,’ in a sister
  kingdom. To serve a temporary purpose in the House of Lords, they
  had recourse (for the first time in our annals) to a large and
  overwhelming creation of peers. Like the Whigs in May, 1831, they
  chose the moment of the highest popular passion and excitement to
  dissolve the House of Commons, hoping to avail themselves of a
  short-lived cry for the purpose of permanent delusion. The Whigs
  of Queen Anne’s time, on the other hand, supported that splendid
  war which led to such victories as Ramillies and Blenheim. They
  had for a leader the great man who gained those victories.
  They advocated the old principles of trade. They prolonged the
  duration of parliaments. They took their stand on the principles
  of the Revolution of 1688. They raised the cry of ‘No Popery.’
  They loudly inveighed against the subserviency to France, the
  desertion of our old allies, the outrage wrought upon the peers,
  the deceptions practised upon the sovereign, and the other
  measures of the Tory administration.

  “Such were the Tories and such were the Whigs of Queen Anne.
  Can it be doubted that, at the accession of William IV., Harley
  and St. John would have been called Whigs; Somers and Stanhope,
  Tories? Would not the October Club have loudly cheered the
  measures of Lord Grey, and the Kit-Cat find itself renewed in the
  Carlton?”

The defence of the Whigs against these imputations seems to
be founded upon the famous Jesuitical principle, that the end
justifies the means. They do not deny the facts, but they assert,
that while the Tories of 1713 resorted to such modes of furthering
the interests of arbitrary power, they have employed them in
advancing the progress and securing the ascendancy of the democracy.


_Protectionists._

This name was given to that section of the Conservative party
which opposed the repeal of the Corn-laws, and which separated
from Sir Robert Peel in 1846. A “Society for the _Protection_
of Agriculture,” and to counteract the efforts of the Anti-Corn
Law League, gave the name to the party. Lord George Bentinck was
their leader from 1846 till his death on September 21, 1848. The
administration under Lord Derby not proposing the restoration of
the corn-laws, this society was dissolved February 7, 1853.


_Rats, and Ratting._

James, in his _Military Dictionary_, 1816, states:--

  “Rats are sometimes used in military operations, particularly for
  setting fire to magazines of gunpowder. On these occasions, a
  lighted match is tied to the tail of the animal. Marshal Vauban
  recommends, therefore, that the walls of powder-magazines should
  be made very thick, and the passages for light and wind so narrow
  as not to admit them (the rats).”

The expression _to rat_ is a figurative term applied to those who
at the moment of a division desert or abandon any particular party
or side of a question. The term itself comes from the well-known
circumstance of rats running away from decayed or falling
buildings.--_Notes and Queries_, 2 S., No. 68.


_The Heir to the British Throne always in Opposition._

Horace Walpole somewhere remarks, as a peculiarity in the history
of the _Hanover family_, that the heir-apparent has always been
in opposition to the reigning monarch. The fact is true enough;
but it is not a peculiarity in the House of Hanover. It is an
infirmity of human nature, to be