In the beginning of the civil wars each regiment of the parliamentary army, which mainly consisted of Puritans, had a regular chaplain; but the pious personage did not long remain with it: no doubt he considered that such conduct was not agreeable or consistent with his calling; so that, soon after the battle of Edge Hill, every soldier had his bible, and became his own priest or DD., which produced every species of profanity that can be imagined.

In the year 1649 Cromwell and his military officers prayed and preached in the churches.

If a Puritanical soldier did not growl psalms, whistle sermons, or act some audacious religious caper, he was looked upon as bad as a coward.

But the Puritans who were not engaged in the "dreadful battle's strife," piously endeavoured to draw a solace to their common labours by making their religion furnish it. But this, unfortunately, called into play every sort of extravagance that could be thought of by the most excited fanatical preachers of the day.

Their sermons were often the most perverted and their text the most odd that could be selected; and their pulpit conduct as ridiculously conspicuous as could be acted. I forbear giving numerous historical instances; sorry should I be to add one pang of grief to any serious religious person, or excite the blasphemous merriment of the thoughtless scoffer.

Let us, by all the holy considerations of Christian charity, draw the veil of obscurity over their errors; at this distance of time the worst of them may be "forgotten as fools, or remembered as worse."

In their dress they choose all sorts of plain sad colours, to show a demureness in feeling and a penury of cut. A modern political writer has observed of the Society of Friends, "That if their taste could have been consulted at the creation, what a silent and drab-coloured creation it would have been; not a flower would have blossomed its gayeties, nor a bird been permitted to sing." A ruddy cheek would make a Puritan start with horror; so that they did all they could to

OLIVERIAN OR PURITAN.

expose the whole paleness of their ghastly countenances, and went about clean shaved, with their hair closely cut.

They also discountenanced nearly all sorts of diversions, indoors and out. Drinking healths met with their most loving, most charitable, and most unqualified condemnation.

At first the Society of Friends, which commenced with George Fox, who began to travel and preach in 1643, were very turbulent; they went into the churches, which they insultingly called "steeple-houses :" they did not (though they were great bible readers) follow the first book of Thessalonians, fourth chapter, verse eleventh.

I give the following anecdote from the biography of John Bunyan: "A Friend visited him in Bedford jail, and declared 'that, by the order of the Lord, he had sought for him in half the prisons in England.' Bunyan replied, 'If the Lord has sent you, you need not have taken so much trouble to find me out, for the Lord knows I have been a prisoner in Bedford jail for the last twelve years."

The Cavalier, to show his perfect contempt both for the principles and professions of the Puritans, exhibited a perfect levity and recklessness in contrast, which served to provoke the disgust and demureness of his better-intentioned antagonist.

"Thus their actions are contrary,

Just as votes and speeches vary." HUDIBRAS.

The gay, the gaudy, the ermined, the jewelled cavalier studied all his powers would essay, to have everything that could be produced by land or by sea, to gratify this feeling of bitter contradiction.

At the restoration, on the day of the arrival of Charles II., the people had become so tired of the gloom and constraint of the Puritans, that they lighted bon-fires, rung the bells many a long, merry peal, paraded the streets, and broke the windows. of the "praise God bare-bones" people, set up their old Maypoles, roasted sheep, drank the king's health upon their knees, and made Monk's soldiers reeling drunk for several days.

Swearing under the Puritans had been very properly prohibited by a fine; and now, to show their contempt for everything of that cold, disdainful sect, they swore the faster; so that it became a common saying, that such a one swore to the tune of £2000 per year while Buckingham, Rochester, Sedley, and their associates, fearless of common decency, laughed at the fopperies of the clergy, and made lampoons and drolleries of the Sacred Scriptures.

* Dryden's "Wild Gallant."

The conduct of this party was of the most fulsome, nauseous, and slavish description. The Almighty, the church, and the king were the new Trinity now worshipped; and I am sorry to say it is difficult to state which of these divinities were most glorified: thus

"The mind of mortals, in perverseness strong,

Imbibes with dire docility the wrong." JUVENAL.

Notwithstanding the frivolity of the high-born, full-blooded cavalier, the bulk of the community still retained much of the good old English spirit.

There were many of the royalists who steadily exhibited the best days of Queen Elizabeth: they adhered to the primitive hours under all circumstances; and used the old fare at table, notwithstanding the introduction of French cookery. Before they attended to the regular affairs of the day, they went to their tavern or ale-house, and took their "morning," which consisted of a cup of ale or wine; when business was over, they attended their club or coffee-house, where they discussed on religion, politics, or literature.

Tea, coffee, and chocolate were now first introduced. According to Dryden's "Wild Gallant," they began to be relished as a morning draught by those who had been guilty of excessive drinking on the over-night; and they superseded those fiery liquors that had hitherto accompanied every meal. Thus arose the ever-reviving, ever-pleasant social tea-table.

If such remains of simplicity kept its ground in London in spite of so much evil example on one side, and too stiff a rigidity on the other always exhibited there, we must not wonder it was still more plentiful in the country. The baronial table was still, as it ought ever to have been, heart of oak, heavily laden with cheerful festivity; and the huge sirloins and lusty plum-puddings smoked to scorn every effort of French cookery of fashionable London.

The country squires still gave their tenants their annual feasts at their own houses, and kept up the natural tic still free, yet friendly and unbroken; so that it was a sort of politico family relationship; while the happy farmer, so well described by Cowper as

"An honest man, close button'd to the chin,
Broadcloth without, and a warm heart within,"

gave his jovial sheep-sheerings, harvest suppers, and other set feasts to his workmen and attendants.

These happy, these soul-enlivening, these heart-cheering feasts are all faithfully depicted in the old plays, which, when

now brought forward, are only intended to excite ridicule. Whereas every Englishman ought to blush with shame to think that he has most slavishly suffered himself to be robbed of the means by the never-ceasing tax-gatherer, which now prevents him from doing exactly the same.

CLUBS.

AFTER the restoration of Charles II. came forth political clubs, for politics now were the great excitement; and here came extravagances of another description, equally turbulent and equally as base. They met at coffee-houses; and, as there must be at least two or more parties, each having its idols or factions, to prevent them from coming in open contact with each other, and having street scuffles, they wore ribands in their hats, to mark the distinction. One party wore green ribands, and was called the green riband club.*

In Dryden's time he thus notices clubs: "I would ask you one civil question; what right has any man among you, or any association of men, (to come nearer to you,) who out of parliament cannot be considered in a public capacity, to meet, as you daily do, in factious clubs, to vilifie the government in your discourses and to libel it in all your writings ?"

Otway thus advises :

"Avoid the politic, the factious fool,

The busy, buzzing, talking, hardened knave;

The quaint smooth rogue, that sins against his reason,
Calls saucy loud sedition public zeal,

And mutiny the dictates of his spirit."

In fact, one would suppose that once "merrye Englande," according to the diarists and the tracts of the times, was become a grand den of madmen all let loose, with some mischief-making demon always hurling in the air some new foot-ball to be scuffled and scrambled for.

How true is the following remark of Bolingbroke: "There is a time when factions, by their vehemence, stun and disable one another."

WHIG AND TORY.

IN 1679, according to Roger North, Tory had the start. It was applied to the Duke of York's friends: they were called at * Pepys' Diary.

first Yorkists, but that did not scandalize enough. Then came Tantivy, which implied riding post to Rome. Observing that the duke favoured Irishmen, all his friends were called Irish, or wild Irish, or bog-trotters; then Tory, which signified the most despicable savage among them; and, it being a round and clear-sounding word, it kept its hold.

After beating about for an opposite word, True Blues, Brumingam Protestants, (alluding to forged groats,) they hit upon Whig, which was very significant and vernacular in Scotland, meaning corrupt whey; that ran like wild-fire, and ran up a sharp score on the other side.*

At the revolution of 1688, Whig meant one who approved the setting aside King James II. and his heirs. At the American independence, in 1776, Whig meant setting aside George III. and his heirs for ever.

The following account of these parties and their places of meeting is from a late number of the "Gentleman's Magazine," which brings their history down to the close of the reign of the Stuarts:

"Among the most famous subscription coffee-houses of the olden time were Tom's and Will's, both in the neighbourhood of the theatres, of which we meet with the following curious notice in Mackay's Journey through England,' published in 1724: This amusing depicter of the manners of that period was lodged in Pall Mall, the ordinary residence of all strangers, because of its vicinity to the king's palace, the park, the parliament house, the theatres, and the chocolate and coffee houses, where the best company frequent. If you would know our manner of living, it is this: We rise by nine; and those who frequent great men's levees, find entertainment till eleven, or, as in Holland, go to tea-tables. About twelve the beau-monde assembles in several chocolate and coffee houses; the best of which are the Cocoa Tree, White's chocolate houses, St. James's, the Smyrna, and the British coffee houses, all of which are so near one another that in less than an hour you see the company of them all. We are carried to these places in sedanchairs, which are here very cheap-a guinea a week, or a shilling per hour; and your chairmen serve you for porters to run on errands, as your gondoliers do at Venice. If it be fine weather, we take a turn or two in the park till two, when we go to dinner; and if it be dirty, you are entertained at piquet or basset at White's, or you may talk politics at the Smyrna or St. James's. I must not forget to tell you that the parties have their different places, where, however, a stranger is always well received; but a Whig will no more go to the Cocoa Tree

* Examen.