- An Ale-stake
- An Ancient brewery
- An Early Departure
Man in Top hat - An East End Factory
An East End Factory - An East End Wharf
An East End Wharf - An inward View of Stonehenge
- Ancient Alehouse
- Ancient Britons
The country we live in is a large island, called BRITAIN. It is divided into two parts : the northern part is now named SCOTLAND, and the southern part, ENGLAND. At first there were no houses, gardens, or fields, such as we see now; but most of the island was covered with great forests and marshes. The people who lived in it were called BRITONS, and were wild, ignorant savages. In summer they went about naked ; and in winter they clothed them-selves with the skins of the wild beasts which they killed in hunting. Their hair was allowed to grow very long, and they stained their bodies of a blue colour, to frighten their enemies. They ate acorns and other wild fruits, and lived in caves, or in huts made of branches of trees covered over with mud. These were generally built together in little villages in the midst of forests. Their time was chiefly spent in hunting in the woods, or in fishing. For the latter, they used small boats called coracles, made of wicker-work covered with skins. They were often at war with each other, and fought with a rude kind of spear and arrows, of which the heads were made of sharp pieces of stone. The Britons were divided into many tribes. Each tribe had a chief, who led them in battle, and ruled over them in time of peace. - Ancient sport
The Greeks had a pastime called Hippas, which, we are told, was one person riding upon the shoulders of another, as upon a horse; a sport of this kind was in practice with us at the commencement of the fourteenth century, but generally performed by two competitors who struggled one with the other, and he who pulled his opponent from the shoulders of his carrier was the victor. - Ancient Wrestling
The manner in which this pastime was exhibited in the western parts of England, at the distance of two centuries, is thus described by Carew, an author then living. "The beholders then cast, or form themselves into a ring, in the empty space whereof the two champions step forth, stripped into their dublets and hosen, and untrussed, that they may so the better command the use of their lymmes; and first shaking hands, in token of friendship, they fall presently to the effect of anger; for each striveth how to take hold of the other with his best advantage, and to bear his adverse party downe; wherein, whosoever overthroweth his mate, in such sort, as that either his backe, or the one shoulder, and contrary heele do touch the ground, is accounted to give the fall. If he be only endangered, and makes a narrow escape, it is called a foyle." - Ancient Wrestling
Other rewards, no doubt, were sometimes proposed, as we may see upon the engraving below, where two men are wrestling for a cock: the original drawing, from a manuscript in the Royal Library, is certainly more ancient than the time of Chaucer. - Anemone japonica alba
Type of fine-flowered herbaceous plant for associating with foliage-plants. - Anglo-Saxon Dance.—VIII. Century
This engraving represents two persons dancing to the music of the horn and the trumpet, and it does not appear to be a common dance in which they are engaged; on the contrary, their attitudes are such as must have rendered it very difficult to perform - Anglo-Saxon Gleeman—X. Century
We here see a man throwing three balls and three knives alternately into the air, and catching them one by one as they fall, but returning them again in a regular rotation. To give the greater appearance of difficulty to this feat, it is accompanied with the music of an instrument resembling the modern violin. - Anglo-Saxon Gleemen's Bear Dance.—X. Century
One part of the gleeman's profession, as early as the tenth century, was, teaching animals to dance, to tumble, and to put themselves into variety of attitudes, at the command of their masters. This engraving is the copy of a curious though rude delineation, being little more than an outline, which exhibits a specimen of this pastime. The principal joculator appears in the front, holding a knotted switch in one hand, and a line attached to a bear in the other; the animal is lying down in obedience to his command; and behind them are two more figures, the one playing upon two flutes or flageolets, and elevating his left leg while he stands upon his right, supported by a staff that passes under his armpit; the other dancing, in an attitude exceedingly ludicrous. This performance takes place upon an eminence resembling a stage made with earth; and in the original a vast concourse are standing round it in a semicircle as spectators of the sport, but they are so exceedingly ill drawn, and withal so indistinct, that I did not think it worth the pains to copy them. The dancing, if I may so call it, of the flute player, is repeated twice in the same manuscript. - Anglo-Saxon Harper and Hoppestere.—X. Century
Here we see a youth playing upon a harp with only four strings, and apparently singing at the same time, while an elderly man is performing the part of a buffoon or posture master, holding up one of his legs, and hopping upon the other to the music. - Anglo-Saxon Tumblers
- Anglo-Saxons Feasting and Health-Drinking
- Anlaff entering the Humber
he Danes by this time had formed settlements in Ireland as well as England, and we are told that one of their kings, named Anlaff, whom some think to be identical with Anlaff, the son of Sithric, others a different person, arrived from Ireland with many ships, and was joined by Owen of Cumberland, and Constantine, the king of the Scots. According to a late, and not very trustworthy, account of the campaign, it would appear that it was arranged so secretly that Anlaff entered the Humber with a fleet of six hundred sail, and invaded Northumbria before Athelstan had any intelligence of his landing; and with such forces, and the assistance of the Danes settled there, he easily became master of several small ill-guarded towns. - Antique Ballads
- Any Earthen Ware, buy a jug or a tea pot
- Aralia canescens
Deciduous fine-leaved Shrub; hardy everywhere. - Aralia japonica
A valuable species, quite distinct from any of the others, with undivided, fleshy, dark-green leaves. It is usually treated as a green-house plant, but is hardy and makes a very ornamental and distinct-looking shrub on soils with a dry porous bottom. It grows remarkably well in the dwelling-house; in fact it is one of the very few plants of like character that will develop their leaves therein in winter. Not difficult to obtain, it may be used with advantage in the flower-garden or pleasure-ground among medium-sized plants—say those not more than a yard high. It would form striking isolated specimens on the turf, and is also very suitable for grouping. A native of Japan. - Aralia papyrifera
(Chinese Rice-paper Plant).—This, though a native of the hot island of Formosa, flourishes vigorously with us in the summer months, and is one of the most valuable plants in its way, being useful for the greenhouse in winter and the flower-garden in summer. It is handsome in leaf and free in growth, though to do well it must, like all the large-leaved things,be protected from cutting breezes. - Archery
Archery - Archery
Of physical games archery was the most practised. This was the national physical exercise, one which had helped the English soldiers to gain a great reputation for themselves, as at Agincourt (1415). At York the "butts," where men practised archery, were outside the city walls. - Archery Dresses
(About 1832). - Archery.—XIV. Century
The Cornish men are spoken of as good archers, and shot their arrows to a great length; they are also, says Carew, "well skilled in near shooting, and in well aimed shooting;—the butts made them perfect in the one, and the roaving in the other, for the prickes, the first corrupters of archery, through too much preciseness, were formerly scarcely known, and little practised." Other marks are occasionally mentioned, as the standard, the target, hazel wands, rose garlands, and the popinjay, which, we are told, was an artificial parrot. I have not met with such a mark in any manuscript delineation; but, in the following engraving, the reader will find a cock substituted for the parrot, and the archer has discharged his arrow very skilfully. - Arrival of the Royal Procession at the House of Lords
- Asplenium Nidus-avis
This is a remarkable fern, which has been placed out of doors in the garden in summer, from early in June to October; but it is not vigorous or hardy enough to be generally recommended for this purpose. However, as it may have been noticed in abundance at Battersea Park, I allude to it here. The leaves are rather broad, pointed, and undulating, nearly 3 ft. long, and form roundish, spreading, nest-like tufts. It is a favourite subject in places where large collections of tropical ferns are grown, and in such places a plant may be tried in the open air in a very warm, shady, and perfectly sheltered position. E. Indies. - At Dinner
At Dinner - At the National Sporting Club
The most interesting place of amusement for men is the National Sporting Club. Every Monday night during the winter the sports of London meet there in the same building that Colonel Newcome and his son once left because they objected to Captain Costigan’s song. The Colonel would be more amused there now, well-trained and scientific boxers from all the world meet in a roped-in square, surrounded by an orderly crowd of stock-brokers, bankers, and miscellaneous sporting characters, who wait for the best man to win. - At the Pavilion
A Music Hall audience is the most demonstrative and amusing. It will applaud the longest, hiss the loudest, and sometimes join in the chorus. From the moment the numbers are posted announcing the next turn, it is easy to tell what the performer’s reception will be. On both sides of the orchestra are bars, and when a London barmaid stops work to listen and laugh you may be sure that the turn is a good one. Last winter they paid Dan Leno this compliment. The air is filled with tobacco-smoke, and the calcium-light, on its way from the gallery to the stage, looks like a sunbeam in a dusty hayloft. - At the Savoy
At the Savoy - Augustine Preaching before Ethelbert
In the year 596 Augustine with forty other priests landed in Kent. The name of the king of that part was Ethelbert, whose wife Bertha was a Christian. Ethelbert allowed Augustine to preach before him in the open air ; and very soon he saw how wrong it was to worship idols, and was baptized in the Christian faith. The Britons soon followed the good example shown them by Ethelbert, and gave up their false gods, and became Christians. - Austin Friars
- Bagpiper
Bagpiper - Balancing —XIV. Century
Man balancing a sword on his hand - Balancing.—XIV. Century
This engraving, from a MS. in the Bodleian Library, represents a girl, as the length of the hair seems to indicate, habited like a boy, and kneeling on a large broad board, supported horizontally by two men; before her are three swords, the points inclined to each other, and placed in a triangular form; she is pointing to them with her right hand, and holds in her left a small instrument somewhat resembling a trowel, but I neither know its name nor its use. - Balancing—XIV. Century
The man in this engraving, from a drawing in a MS. book of prayers possessed by Francis Douce, esq., is performing a very difficult operation: he has placed one sword upright upon the hilt, and is attempting to do the like with the second; at the same time his attitude is altogether as surprising as the trick itself. - Ballast Heavers
- Balloon-Ball.—XIV. Century
The balloon-ball, was a large ball made of double leather, which being filled with wind by means of a ventil, says Commenius, was driven to and fro by the strength of men's arms; and for this purpose every one of the players had a round hollow bracer of wood to cover the hand and lower part of the arm, with which he struck the ball. This pastime was usually practised in the open fields, and is much commended for the healthiness of the exercise it afforded. The balloon-ball seems certainly to have originated from the hand-ball, and was, I apprehend, first played in England without the assistance of the bracer; this supposition will be perfectly established if it be granted, and I see no reason why it should not, that the four figures represented below are engaged in the balloon-ball play: the original delineation occurs in a manuscript of the fourteenth century in the Royal Library. - Bambusa aurea
A very hardy and graceful Chinese species, differing but slightly from B. viridi-glaucescens in size and habit, and forming elegant tufts with its slender much-branched stems, which attain a height of from 6½ ft. to 10 ft., and are of a light-green colour when young, changing into a yellowish hue, and finally becoming of a straw-yellow when fully grown. The leaves are lance-shaped acute, light green, and are distinguished from those of B. viridi-glaucescens by having their under surface less glaucescent, and the sheath always devoid of the long silky hairs. The preliminary remarks on culture, etc., will apply to all the species here described. - Bambusa falcata (Arundinaria falcata)
A very ornamental species from Nepaul and the Himalayas, and at present the only kind of bamboo much planted with us. It grows from 7 ft. to 20 ft. high, and has woody, twisted, smooth stems of a yellowish-green or straw-colour, knotty, bearing on one side of each of the knots a bundle of small branches equally knotty and twisted. The whole plant has a pale yellowish hue, except in the young spikelets and sheaths, which are occasionally purplish. The leaves are of a fine delicate green, from 4 ins. to 6 ins. long, ribbon-like, linear-acute, sickle-shaped, in two rows, short-stalked, and sheathing. It is hardy over the greater part of England and Ireland, but only attains full development in the south and west. I have seen it attain great luxuriance in Devon, and nearly 20 ft. high near Cork, though in many districts it is stunted. It loves a deep, sandy, and rich soil, and plenty of moisture when growing fast. - Bandy-Ball.—XIV. Century
Here are two figures engaged at bandy-ball, and the form of the bandy, as it was used early in the fourteenth century, from a MS. book of prayers beautifully illuminated and written about that time, in the possession of Francis Douce Esq. - Bank of England
Bank of England, Royal Exchange, Mansion House (Cornhill, Lombard, Threadneedle Streets.) - Banquet to the Queen in the Guildhall
- Bargaining with Hussar Officers
Order ordered by the King William IV "The four regiments of Hussars to be dressed exactly alike. Their officers to have one dress only, and that of a less costly pattern, which will forthwith be prepared." Of course, this, like the former ukase, could not escape the satirist, and we have the accompanying illustration by R. S. entitled, "Raising the Wind by Royal Authority. His Majesty intends diminishing the extravagant expense of the Military Officer's dress. See the papers." Here we see the Jew old clothesmen chaffering against each other and bargaining with Hussar Officers for their compulsorily left-off finery. - Barge-Builders
Barge-Builders - Baron Stockmar
- Bastion of the City Wall
- Bear and Monkey
A tutored bear and monkey performing - Bear-baiting
(From the Luttrell Psalter.) - Beasts at the zoo
Beasts at the zoo - Beaumaris Castle, Bird's Eye View
The great hall, 70 feet by 23 feet 6 inches, occupies most of the first floor of the northern gatehouse, and is lighted from the court by five windows, of two lights each, with a transom, as at Stokesley and Ludlow, contemporary halls. The fireplace was on the opposite side. The roof was of timber, but with one stone rib, as at Charing. The southern gatehouse probably also contained a large chamber, now destroyed. The state-rooms and lodgings were in the gatehouses. The portals were of unusual length, and each was guarded by three grates. - Beaumaris Castle, Entrance
Its inner ward is a quadrangle about 50 yards square, contained within four curtain-walls about 16 feet thick and 40 to 50 feet high. At the angles are four drum-towers, three-quarters engaged, of the height of the curtains. On the east and west sides are intermediate towers, half-round, with prolonged sides, of which that to the east, as at Kidwelly, contains the chapel. In the centre of the north and south sides are the gatehouses, of large size and something higher than the other towers. In each a quadrangular part projects into the court, capped at the two angles by round turrets containing staircases. Outside, half-round towers with prolonged sides flank the entrance. - Beaumaris Castle, Ground Plan
BEAUMARIS Castle is built upon a marshy flat, close to the sea-shore, and but little above the level of the sea, from which its ditch was supplied. It is an example of a purely concentric fortress, in which the engineer was left free to design his works without being governed, as in most other cases, by the irregularities of the ground. - Benjamin D’Israeli
Benjamin D’Israeli - Berberis nepalensis
The noble habit of this plant makes it peculiarly valuable, possessing, as it does, the grace of a luxuriant fern with the rigidity of texture and port of a Cycas. The leaves are occasionally 2 ft. in length and of a pale green colour, sometimes with eight pairs of leaflets and an odd one: some of the leaflets 6 ins. long and nearly 2 ins. broad, with coarse spiny teeth on the margin. The inflorescence is very striking and beautiful. The Nepaul Barberry is one of those subjects that are too hardy to perish in our climate, yet which do not usually attain perfect development in it. It exists about London in the open air, and flowers in early spring; but the leaves seldom attain one-fourth of their full development, and the plant scarcely ever displays its vigorous grace. In mild parts, principally in the south and south-west, it grows more freely, and when judiciously placed in sheltered positions, in deep and rather sandy soil, it becomes a beautiful object. Where it thrives in the open air, it may be most tastefully used in the more open spots near the hardy fernery, here and there among “American plants,” or other choice s - Berkeley Castle, Keep
Berkeley Castle, Keep Entering the outer gate, the visitor finds himself upon a triangular platform, of which the outer gate-house is the apex, and the inner gate-house and part of the keep the base; on the left a modern wall, which replaces the curtain, crests the scarp of the ditch, and forms the north side of the platform 66 yards long. On the right a low parapet, 54 yards long, forms the south side, and caps a revetment wall of about 10 feet in height, at the foot of which the ancient scarp has been laid out in good taste in a terrace garden. This triangular platform is scarcely an outer ward: it is rather a barbican covering the main entrance and the keep. Its area is 7,750 square yards. There is no trace of a second ditch in advance of this side of the keep and the inner gate, but it is very probable that there was one, though, if so, it must have been filled up when the courts were added to the keep, as otherwise it would have completely occupied them.