The Fleet. Its Rivers, Prison, and Marriages 28

The Fleet. Its Rivers, Prison, and Marriages 28

This arrangement has, of course, had to "march with the times," and in

1860 the Master of the Rolls approved of, and sanctioned, a scheme of

the Charity Commissioners, whereby nearly all the funds appertaining

to Bridewell are utilized by two industrial schools called "King

Edward's Schools," most impartially divided--one at Witley, in Surrey,

affording accommodation for two hundred and forty boys, and another in

St. George's Fields, Lambeth, for two hundred and forty girls; so that,

even in these latter days, Bridewell still exists, and, if the spirits

of its numerous benefactors have the power to see the manner in which

their money is being spent, I fancy they would not grumble.

 

Before leaving the topic of Bridewell, as a prison, I must not fail to

mention a notorious, but naughty, old woman who lived in the time of

Charles II., commonly known as "Old Mother Cresswell." It is no slander

on her memory, to say that her sense of morality was exceedingly lax,

and she died in Bridewell. She evidently had saved some money, and with

that curious spirit which possesses some people, and produces adulatory

epitaphs, she would fain be better thought of after her death, than

she was estimated when alive, for, in her will, she left a legacy for

a sermon at her funeral, the preacher's remuneration to be £10, on one

condition, that he should say nothing but what was _well_ of her. A

clergyman having been found, he preached a sermon generally adapted to

the occasion, and wound up by saying: "By the will of the deceased, it

is expected that I should mention her, and say nothing but what was

_well_ of her. All that I shall say of her, however, is this: she was

born _well_, she lived _well_, and she died _well_; for she was born

with the name of Cress_well_, she lived in Clerken_well_, and she died

in Bride_well_."

 

There was a fine old Court-room, which is thus described in the

"Microcosm of London" (1808):

 

"The Court-room is an interesting piece of antiquity, as on its site

were held courts of justice, and probably _parliaments_, under our

early kings. At the upper end are the old arms of England; and it

is wainscotted with English Oak, ornamented with Carved work. This

Oak was formerly of the solemn colour which it attains by age, and

was relieved by the carving being gilt. It must have been no small

effort of _ingenuity_ to destroy at one stroke all this venerable,

time-honoured grandeur: it was, however, _happily_ achieved, by

daubing over with paint the fine veins and polish of the old oak,

to make a bad imitation of the pale modern wainscot; and other

decorations are added in similar _taste_.

 

"On the upper part of the walls are the names, in gold letters, of

benefactors to the hospital: the dates commence with 1565, and end

with 1713. This is said to have been the Court in which the sentence

of divorce was pronounced against Catherine of Arragon, which had been

concluded on in the opposite monastery of the Black Friars.

 

"From this room is the entrance into the hall, which is a very noble

one: at the upper end is a picture by Holbein,[83] representing Edward

VI. delivering the Charter of the hospital to Sir George Barnes,

then Lord Mayor; near him are William, Earl of Pembroke, and Thomas

Goodrich, Bishop of Ely. There are ten figures in the picture, besides

the king, whose portrait is painted with great truth and feeling: it

displays all that languor and debility which mark an approaching

dissolution, and which, unhappily, followed so soon after, together

with that of the painter; so that it has been sometimes doubted

whether the picture was really painted by Holbein--his portrait,

however, is introduced; it is the furthest figure in the corner on

the right hand, looking over the shoulders of the persons before him.

 

"On one side of this picture is a portrait of Charles II. sitting,

and, on the other, that of James II. standing; they are both painted

by Sir Peter Lely. Round the room are several portraits of the

Presidents and different benefactors, ending with that of Sir Richard

Carr Glyn. The walls of this room are covered with the names of those

who have been friends to the institution, written in letters of gold."

 

This Hall was pulled down in 1862.

 

[Footnote 76: See next page.]

 

[Footnote 77: Of Spain.]

 

[Footnote 78: A.D. 1553.]

 

[Footnote 79: A Beetle is a portion of a trunk of a tree, large

or small as occasion demanded, sometimes more than one man

could lift, _vide_ Shakspeare (2 _Hen. IV._ act i. sc. 2),

"Fillip me with a three-man beetle," _i.e._, one with three

handles. All exogenous fibres have to be crushed, in order to

release the fibre from the wooden core, and this, which is now

done by machinery, was then done by beetles, or wooden

hammers.]

 

[Footnote 80: Brazil wood.]

 

[Footnote 81: Sir Robert Jeffries the President and Justice at

Bridewell, when he knocked with a hammer the punishment

ceased.]

 

[Footnote 82: In Hogarth's picture both men and women are

working together.]

 

[Footnote 83: The writer is in error, as the event it

represents took place some ten years after Holbein's death. The

picture is now in Christ's Hospital.]

 

 

 

 

[Illustration]

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER XVIII.

 

 

Bordering upon Bridewell, and almost part and parcel of it, was

Whitefriars, which, westward, ran to the Temple, and eastward to

the Fleet. It is so-called from a Carmelite monastery, established

here in the reign of Edward I. Within its precincts was the right of

sanctuary, and, like the Jewish Cities of Refuge, offenders against

the law might flee thither, and be protected from arrest. Naturally,

the very scum of London floated thither, to the Mint in Southwark, and

the precincts of the Savoy in the Strand, in none of which the King's

warrant ran, unless backed by a force sufficient to overawe the lawless

denizens of these localities. Whitefriars we may take as its original

name, but there was given it a nick-name, "Alsatia," from Alsace, or

Elsass, on the frontier between France and Germany, which was always

a battle-field between the two nations; and so, from the incessant

fighting that went on in this unruly neighbourhood, it acquired its

cognomen.

 

Sir Walter Scott, in "The Fortunes of Nigel," gives a vivid description

of the utter lawlessness and debauchery of this quarter of the town,

but his was second-hand. Perhaps one of the most graphic pictures of

this sink of iniquity is given in Shadwell's "Squire of Alsatia," acted

in 1688, and which was so popular, that it had a run of _thirteen_

nights. Here we get at the manners and customs of the natives, without

any glossing over; and, just to give an example of the real state of

the district at that time, I make two or three extracts, showing how

the denizens were banded together in mutual defence.

 

"_Cheatly._ So long as you forbear all Violence, you are safe;

but, if you strike here, we command the _Fryers_, and will raise

the _Posse_....

 

[_A Noise of Tumult without, and blowing a Horn._]

 

_Cheatly._ What is this I hear?

 

_Shamwell._ They are up in the Friers; Pray Heav'n the Sheriff's

Officers be not come.

 

_Cheatly._ 'Slife, 'tis so! 'Squire, let me conduct you----This

is your wicked Father with Officers.

 

 

_Exit._

 

 

[_Cry without, the Tip-Staff! an Arrest! an Arrest! and the horn

blows._]

 

[_Enter Sir William Belfond, and a Tip-Staff, with the

Constable, and his Watchmen; and, against them, the Posse of the

Friers drawn up, Bankrupts hurrying to escape._]

 

_Sir Will._ Are you mad, to resist the Tip-Staff, the King's

Authority?

 

[_They cry out, An Arrest! several flock to 'em with all sorts

of Weapons, Women with Fire-Forks, Spits, Paring Shovels, &c._]

 

* * * * *

 

_Tip-Staff._ I charge you, in the King's Name, all to assist me.

 

_Rabble._ Fall on.

 

[_Rabble beat the Constable, and the rest run into the Temple.

Tip-Staff runs away._]."

 

So that we see how an ordinary sheriff's officer and the civil

authorities were treated when they attempted to execute the law; but,

further on in the play, we find a Lord Chief Justice's warrant, backed

up by a military force--and then we see the difference.

 

"_Truman._ What do all these Rabble here?

 

_Constable._ Fire amongst 'em.

 

_Sergeant._ Present.

 

[_The Debtors run up and dozen, some without their Breeches,

others without their Coats; some out of Balconies; some

crying out, Oars! Oars! Sculler! Five Pounds for a Boat! The

Inhabitants all come out arm'd as before; but as soon as

they see the Musqueteers, they run, and every one shifts for

himself._]

 

And almost at the close of the play one of the characters, _Sir Edward

Belfond_, moralizes thus:

 

"Was ever such Impudence suffer'd in a Government? _Ireland's_

conquer'd; _Wales_ subdued; _Scotland_ united: But there are

some few Spots of Ground in _London_, just in the Face of the

Government, unconquer'd yet, that hold in Rebellion still.

Methinks 'tis strange, that Places so near the King's Palace

should be no Parts of his Dominions. 'Tis a Shame to the

Societies of the Law, to countenance such Practices: Should any

Place be shut against the King's Writ, or Posse Comitatus?" This right of sanctuary was taken from Whitefriars by William III., the nest of rogues, vagabonds, and thieves broken up, the occupants dispersed, and law reigned supreme in that once defiant place.