that expresses the rising up of the sun to the going down of the same certainly is more droll than devout, by the frolicsome accompaniment of the bass, which is quite beneath the gravity of the subject. I shall enlarge upon his excellent compositions when I speak of Drs. Croft, Green, and Boyce. CHAPTER IX. PARENTS-WRESTLING FASHION-FEASTS WAKES. CORPORATION An old lady once observed, in my hearing, that my father and mother, when first married, were a handsome couple. My father was of the middle size, well made, with an intelligent face, and handsome leg. My mother was fair, with a fine open countenance, shaded with auburn locks, which she carried to her grave, without a single grey hair, in her 76th year. Wrestling was then considered a manly accomplishment among gentlemen, and, as my father was strong and active, he was persuaded to accept a challenge from Mr. Carr, the banker, who teased him to try his strength in this way, though very contrary to his known tastes and habits. The match took place in public, agreeable to the fashion of that day, when the man of money was presently thrown, greatly to the amusement of the by-standers. The dress of that time has totally disappeared. My father wore his hair in imitation of the enormous wigs, worn by the higher circles. My mother had a high cushion placed on her head, over which the front hair was combed, to join that behind. When propped up on a pair of highheeled shoes, she looked more like a giantess than a middle-sized woman.* Ladies of fashion were still more formidable. Their wide hooped petticoats so spread out the figure, that the men appeared diminutive creatures by the side of them. Cocked hats were universally worn. The gentry had them laced with silver or gold, to match the lace on their clothes. Now-a-days they would be taken for livery servants. Black was never considered as full dress, and was only worn for mourning, and the fashionable world glittered in all the colours of the rainbow. Our victories at sea, during the American war, so raised the enthusiasm of the country, that many entered the navy to partake of the national glory, and the short-knee'd breeches were laid aside for the sailors' trousers. This alteration had a great effect upon the Leicester trade. Stockings were shortened into halfhose, and what we lost in the length of stockings the Yorkshire clothier gained in the increased length of cloth in the trousers. This circumstance entirely destroyed the manufacture of those beautiful and curious stockings, which till then, fashion was constantly * In the Tatler, the shoe heels are described as four inches high, and the wigs three feet long. changing with the utmost variety. At that time we were not so thick thick upon the ground as at present, the whole population being not more than ten thousand. There was less luxury and more leisure. We had numerous feasts in the course of the year. There was the venison feast, the tradesmen's feast, the florists' feast, the singers' feast, and many others, at which vast libations of ale were consumed. The grandest entertainment was the Mayor's feast, which began at three o'clock, with a whet of collared brawn to sharpen the appetite for dinner at four. The table was amply served with an abundance of game, sent by the gentry of the county, which, with a pipe of wine from the town funds, kept the more loyal part till three o'clock in the morning. Wakes and fairs were continually occurring, in which the lower orders indulged in all sorts of sports, as cock-throwing, football, and singlestick. The workpeople had their clubs, foot-ales, and candle-blocks. The farmers had their sheep-shearing, Maypoles, and harvest-cart. In the upper classes, dancing and cards prevailed; but the grand amusement among the gentry was cockfighting. The mains to be fought were advertised in every paper, and were as common as the cricket matches at this time Sometimes, one hundred cocks were slaughtered in a day. The theatre of this amusement, called the cock-pit, stood where now stand the Assembly Rooms. Even men of rank and fashion joined in this cruel sport, and, like our Saxon ancestors, hunted all day and drank all night. The milder sports were angling, bowling, and archery. Of domestic music there was none. It was a rare thing to meet with a jingling spinnet or harpsichord. It is to the invention of the pianoforte, that we must ascribe the brilliant and expressive effects of modern art, and the general spread of a musical taste in all ranks of society. CHAPTER X. DR. FRANKLIN-KING GEO. III.—GEN. BURGOYNE-BUNKER'S 1776. The American war was the great public event of my early life, and, probably, the most important in its results, that ever happened in the history of mankind. The colonists were threatened with the severest chastisement if they dared to resist the measures of the authorities we set over them. Doctor Franklin was sent over to represent to the government the unpopularity of its arbitrary proceedings, with an offer to raise three hundred and fifty thousand pounds, on their grievances being removed. Every effort at conciliation was made by them, and Lord Chatham may be said to have lost his life, in his strenuous endeavours to prevent this unnatural quarrel. King He insisted upon un George III. no one could turn. "Why will Maria, when I gaze, Page 620, vol. 2 of this work. |