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While martial bands with nodding plumes appear,
And waving streamers close the gay career.

Here too a Chief the opening ranks display,
Whose radient armour shoots a beamy ray;
So Britain erst beheld her troops advance,
And prostrate myriads crouch beneath her lance:
But though no more when threat'ning dangers nigh,
The glittering cuisses clasp the warrior's thigh;
Aloft no more the nodding plumage bows,
Or polished helm bedecks his manly brows;
A patriot band still generous Britain boasts,
To guard her altars and protect her coasts;
From rude attacks her sacred name to shield,
And now, as ever, teach her foe to yield.

Mr. Alderman Wood on the first day of his second mayoralty, in 1816, deviated from the usual procession by water, from Westminster-ball to London, and returned attended by the corporation, in their carriages, through Parliament-street, by the way of Charing-cross, along the Strand, Fleet-street, and so up LudgateBill, and through St. Paul's churchyard, to Guildhall whereon lord Sidmouth, as high steward of the city and liberties of Westminster, officially protested against the lord-mayor's deviation," in order, that the same course may not be drawn into precedent, and adopted on any future occasion."

During Mr. Alderman Wood's first mayoralty he committed to the house of correction, a working sugar-baker, for having left his employment in consequence of a dispute respecting wages.The prisoner during his confinement not having received personal correction, according to the statute, in consequence of no order to that effect being specified in the warrant of committal, he actually brought an action against the lord-mayor in the court of common pleas, for nonconformity to the law. It was proved that he had not been whipped, and therefore the jury were obliged to give a farthing damages; but the point of law was

reserved.*

On the 6th of September, 1776, the then lord-mayor of London, was robbed near Turnham-green in his chaise and four, in sight of all his retinue, by a single highwayman, who swore he would shoot

• Gentleman's Magazine.

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A FATHER'S WISHES.
Richard Corbet, bishop of Norwich,
wrote the following excellent lines

TO HIS SON, VINCENT CORBET,
On his Birth-day, November 10, 1630,
being then three years old.
What I shall leave thee none can tell,
But all shall say I wish thee well
I wish thee, Vin, before all wealth
Both bodily and ghostly health:
Nor too much wealth, nor wit, come to thee,
So much of either may undo thee.
I wish thee learning, not for show,
Enough for to instruct, and know;
Not such as gentlemen require,
To prate at table, or at fire.
I wish thee all thy mother's graces,
I wish thee friends, and one at court,
Thy father's fortunes, and his places.
Not to build on, but support ;
To keep thee, not in doing many
Oppressions, but from suffering any.
I wish thee peace in all thy ways,
Nor lazy nor contentious days;
And when thy soul and body part,
As innocent as now thou art.t

Bishop Corbet, a native of Ewell in Surrey, was educated at Westminster school, and Christchurch, Oxford; took the degree of M. A. in 1605, entered into holy orders, became doctor of divinity,

• Gentleman's Magazine.

+ Bp. Corbet's Poems, by Gilchrist.

obtained a prebend in the cathedral of Sarum, and other church preferment, and being a man of ready wit, was favoured by king James I., who made him one of his chaplains. In 1618, he took a journey to France, of which he wrote an amusing narrative. In 1627, his majesty gave him the deanery of Christchurch; in 1629, he was raised to the bishopric of Oxford, and in 1632, translated to that of Norwich. He died in 1635. The poems of bishop Corbet are lively and amusing compositions, such as might have been expected from a man of learning and genius, possessed of a superabundance of constitutional hilarity. The latter quality appears to have drawn him into some excesses, not altogether consistent with the gravity of his profession. After he was a doctor of divinity, being at a tavern in Abingdon, a ballad-singer came into the house, complaining that he could not dispose of his stock; the doctor, in a frolic, took off his gown, and assuming the ballad-singer's leather jacket, went out into the street, and drew around him a crowd of admiring purchasers. Perhaps he thought he could divest himself of his sacerdotal character with his habit; for it seems he shut himself up in his well-stored cellar, with his chaplain, Dr. Lushington, and taking off his gown, exclaimed: "There goes the doctor;" then throwing down his episcopal hood," there goes the bishop"-after which the night was devoted to Bacchus. Riding out one day with a Dr. Stubbins, who was extremely fat, the coach was overturned, and both fell into a ditch. The bishop, in giving an account of the accident, observed, that Dr. Stubbins was up to the elbows in mud, and he was up to the elbows in Stubbins. Bishop Corbet was not distinguished as a divine; his sentiments however were liberal, and he inclined to the Arminian party, which then began to prevail in the church of England.*

In the bishop's lines "to his son on his birth-day," there is something of the feeling in the wise man's supplication, “Give me neither poverty nor riches."

NATURALISTS' CALENDAR.
Mean Temperature . . . 43. 72.

November 11.

ST. MARTIN.
The customs of this festival, which is
General Biographical Dictionary, 1826, vol. i.

retained in the church of England calendar and almanacs, are related under the day in last year's volume.

NATURALISTS' CALENDAR.
Mean Temperature . . . 44 · 40.

November 12.

ADMIRAL VERNON'S BIRTH-DAY. To the mention of the pageant "at Chancery-lane end," in honour of admiral Vernon on this day, in the year 1740, may be added some ingenious verses commemorative of Vernon's exploits. They were written in the same year by John Price, a land-waiter in the port of Poole, and are preserved in Mr. Raw's "Suffolk Garland," with the following introduction:

ADMIRAL VERNON'S ANSWER TO AD

MIRAL HOSIER'S GHOST.

In Dr. Percy's "Reliques of Ancient Poetry," vol. ii. p. 376. is an admirable ballad, intituled "Hosier's Ghost," being an address to admiral Vernon, in PortoBello harbour, by Mr. Glover, the author of Leonidas. The case of Hosier was briefly this:

In April, 1726, he was sent with a strong fleet to the Spanish West Indies, to block up the galleons in the ports of that country; but being restricted by his orders from obeying the dictates of his courage, he lay inactive on that station, until he became the jest of the Spaniards. He afterwards removed to Carthagena, and continued cruizing in those seas, till far the greater part of his crews perished by the diseases of that unhealthy climate. This brave man, seeing his officers and men thus daily swept away, his ships exposed to inevitable destruction, and himself made the sport of the enemy, is said to have died of a broken heart. The ballad concludes

"O'er these waves, for ever mourning,
Shall we roam, depriv'd of rest,
If to Britain's shores returning,
You neglect my just request:
After this proud foe subduing,

When your patriot friends you see,
Think on vengeance for my ruin,

And for England-sham'd in me." In 1739, vice-admiral Vernon was appointed commander-in-chief of a squadron

In vol, i. col. 1478.

then fitting out for destroying the settlements of the Spaniards in the West Indies; and, weighing anchor from Spithead on the 23d of July, arrived in sight of PortoBello, with six ships only, under his command, on the 20th of November following. The next day he commenced the attack of that town; when, after a most furious engagement on both sides, it was taken on the 22d, together with a considerable number of cannon, mortars, and ammunition, and also two Spanish ships of war. He then blew up the fortifications, and evacuated the place for want of land forces sufficient to retain it; but first distributed ten thousand dollars, which had been sent to Porto-Bello for paying the Spanish troops, among the forces for their bravery.

The two houses of parliament joined in an address of congratulation upon this success of his majesty's arms; and the nation, in general, was wonderfully elated by an exploit, which was certainly magnified much above its intrinsic merit.

Hosier! with indignant sorrow,

I have heard thy mournful tale
And, if heav'n permit, to-morrow

Hence our warlike fleet shall sail.
O'er those hostile waves, wide roaming,
We will urge our bold design,
With the blood of thousands foaming,

For our country's wrongs and thine.
On that day, when each brave fellow,
Who now triumphs here with me,
Storm'd and plunder'd Porto-Bello,

All my thoughts were full of thee.
Thy disast'rous fate alarm'd me;

Fierce thy image glar'd on high,
And with gen'rous ardour warm'd me,
To revenge thy fall, or die.
From their lofty ships descending,
Thro' the flood, in firm array,
To the destin'd city bending,

My lov'd sailors work'd their way.
Strait the foe, with horror trembling,
Quits in haste his batter'd walls;
And in accents, undissembling,
As he flies, for mercy calls.

Carthagena, tow'ring wonder!
At the daring deed dismay'd,
Shall ere long by Britain's thunder,
Smoking in the dust be laid.
Thou, and these pale spectres sweeping,
Restless, o'er this wat ry round,
Whose wan cheeks are stain'd with weeping,
Pleas'd shall listen to the sound.

Still rememb'ring thy sad story,
To thy injur'd ghost I swear,
By my hopes of future glory,

War shall be my constant care:

And I ne'er will cease pursuing

Spain's proud sons from sea to sea,
With just vengeance for thy ruin,

And for England sham'd in thee.

As we are to-day on a naval topic, it' seems fitting to introduce a popular usage among sailors, in the words of captain Edward Hall, R. N., who communicated the particulars to Dr. Forster, on the 30th of October, 1823.

CROSSING THE Line.

tom of shaving at the tub by Neptune, as The following is an account of the cusEquator, Tropics, and Europa Point. practised on board vessels crossing the ancient, and it is commonly followed on The origin of it is supposed to be very board foreign, as well as British ships. the places, it may have arisen at the time Europa Point at Gibraltar being one of when that was considered the western boundary of Terra Firma.

On the departure of a vessel from England by either of the aforesaid routes, much ingenuity is exerted by the old seamen and their confederates to discover the uninitiated, and it is seldom that any escape detection. A few days previous to arriving at the scene of action, much mystery and reserve is observed among the ship's company: they are then secretly collecting stale soapsuds, water, &c., arranging the dramatis personæ, and preparing material. At this time, also, the novices, who are aware of what is going forward, send their forfeits to the captain of the forecastle, who acts as Neptune's deputy; the forfeit is either a bottle of rum, or a dollar: and I never knew it refused, except from a cook's mate who had acted negligently, and from a steward's mate who was inclined to trick the people when serving provisions.

On board of a man-of-war it is generally performed on a grand scale. I have witnessed it several times, but the best executed was on board a ship of the line of which I was lieutenant, bound to the West Indies. On crossing the Tropic, a voice, as if at a distance, and from the surface of the water, cried "Ho, the ship ahoy! I shall come on board:" this was from a person slung over the bows, near the water, speaking through his hands. Presently two men of large stature came over the bows; they had hideous masks on: one personated Neptune-he was naked

1

1395

to his middle, crowned with the head of a
uge wet swab, the ends of which reached
to his loins to represent flowing locks; a
piece of tarpaulin, vandyked, encircled the
head of the swab and his brows as a dia-
dem; his right hand wielded a boarding
pike manufactured into a trident, and his
body was marked with red ochre to repre-
sent fish scales: the other personated Am-
phitrite, having locks also formed of
swabs, a petticoat of the same material,
with a girdle of red bunten; and in her
hands a comb and looking-glass. They
were followed by about twenty fellows,
also naked to their middle, with red ochre
scales as Tritons. They were received on
the forecastle with much respect by the
old sailors, who had provided the carriage
of an eighteen-pounder as a car, which
their majesties ascended, and were drawn
aft along the gangway to the quarter-deck
by the Tritons; when Neptune, address-
ing the captain, said he was happy to see
him again that way, that he believed there
were some Johnny Raws on board that
had not paid their dues, and who he in-
tended to initiate into the salt water
mysteries. The captain answered, he was
happy to see him, but requested he would
make no more confusion than was neces-
sary. They then descended on the main
deck, and were joined by all the old
hands, and about twenty barbers, who
submitted their razors, brushes, and
suds to inspection; the first were made
from old iron hoops jagged, the second
from tar brushes, and the shaving suds
from tar, grease, and something froin the
pigsty; they had also boxes of tropical
pills procured from the sheep pen. Large
tubs full of stale suds, with a movable

1396

board across each, were ranged around the
filled with water. Thus prepared, they
pumps and engine, and plenty of buckets
divided themselves into gangs of a dozen
each, dashed off in different directions,
and soon returned with their subjects.
were as follows:-Being seated on a
The proceedings with each unlucky wight
board across a tub of water, his eyes were
quickly bandaged, his face lathered with
the delightful composition; then a couple
of scrapes on each side of the chin, fol-
lowed by a question asked, or some pre-
tended compassionate inquiry made, to
either dashed the shaving-brush, or a pill,
get his mouth open, into which the barber
which was the signal for slipping the
was then left to flounder his way out of
board from under the poor devil, who
the tub, and perhaps half drowned in at-
tempting to recover his feet, by buckets
of water being dashed over him from all
quarters; being thus thoroughly drenched
and initiated, I have often observed spi-
rited fellows join their former persecutors
in the remainder of their work.
hour or two spent in this rough fun, which
all seem to enjoy, Neptune disappears
decks are washed and dried, and those
somewhere in the hold to unrobe, the
that have undergone the shaving business,
oil or grease their chins and whiskers to
get rid of the tar. This custom does not
accord with the usual discipline of a man-
of-war; but, as the old seamen look on it
as their privilege, and it is only about an
E. H.*
hour's relaxation, I have never heard of
any captain refusing them his permis-
sion.

* Perennial Calendar.

A SEA-PIECE-IN THREE SONNETS

Scene-Bridlington Quay.

At night-fall, walking on the cliff-crowned shore,
When sea and sky were in each other lost,
Dark ships were scudding through the wild uproar,
Whose wrecks ere morn must strew the dreary coast;
I mark'd one well-moor'd vessel tempest-tost;

Sails reef'd, helm lash'd, a dreadful siege she bore,
He decks by billow after billow cross'd,

Whi e every moment she might be no more,
Yet firmly anchor'd on the nether sand,
Like a chain'd lion ramping at his foes,

Forward and rearward still she plunged and rose,
'Till broke her cable;-then she fled to land,
With all the waves in chase, throes following throes;
She 'scaped, she struck,—she struck upon the sand.

After an

The morn was beautiful, the storm gone by;
Three days had pass'd; I saw the peaceful main,
One molten mirror, one illumined plane,
Clear as the blue, sublime, o'er-arching sky.
On shore that lonely vessel caught mine eye;
Her bow was sea-ward, all equipt her train,
Yet to the sun she spread her wings in vain,
Like a maim'd eagle, impotent to fly,

There fix'd as if for ever to abide :

Far down the beach had roll'd the low neap-tide,
Whose mingling murmur faintly lull'd the ear,
"Is this," methought," is this the doom of pride,
Check'd in the outset of thy proud career,
Ingloriously to rot by piecemeal here ?"

Spring-tides return'd, and fortune smiled; the bay
Received the rushing ocean to its breast;
While waves on waves innumerable press,
Seem'd, with the prancing of their proud array,
Sea-horses, flash'd with foam, and sporting spray :
Their power and thunder broke that vessel's rest;
Slowly, with new-expanding life possest,
To her own element she glid away;
There, buoyant, bounding like the polar whale,
That takes his pastime, every joyful sail
Was to the freedom of the world unfurl'd,
While right and left the parting surges curl'd.
-Go, gallant bark, with such a tide and gale,
I'll pledge thee to a voyage round the world!

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THE "BRIDEWELL BOYS," AND BARTHOLOMEW AND SOUTHWARK FAIRS. On the 13th of November, 1755, at a court of the governors of Bridewell hospital, a memorable report was made from the committee, who inquired into the behaviour of the boys at Bartholomew and Southwark fairs, when some of them were severely corrected and continued, and others, after their punishment, were ordered to be stripped of the hospital clothing and discharged.*

The bridewell-boys" were, within recollection, a body of youths distinguished by a particular dress, and turbulence of manners. They infested the streets to the terror of the peaceable, and being

See vol. 1. col. 1473,

› Gentleman's Magazine.

Montgomery.

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