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CORFE CASTLE-A HISTORY and DESCRIP

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THEOLOGICAL BOOKS.

LIST of NEW BOOKS.

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ALSO

H

checks to a considerable extent the action of the skin, an alterative is required to compensate the body by means of other channels. Holloway's Pills can be confidently recommended as the easiest, surest, and safest means of attaining this desirable end without weakening the most delicate or incommoding the most feeble. When from frequently recurring chills or the inhalation of impure air the blood becomes foul and the secretions vitiated, these Pills present a ready and efficient means of cleansing the former aud correcting the latter. By this salutary proceeding disease is arrested at its outset, its pains and inconveniences averted, and the nervous structures saved from the depressing effects entailed upon them by an illness.

Evolution in Animals"; Geographical Notes; Astronomical Notes; Societies; Meetings; Gossip.

FINE ARTS-Cathedral Cities; Minor Exhibitions; Notes from Rome; Sales; Gossip.

MUSIC-The Week; Gossip.

DRAMA-Lord Tennyson's Plays; The Week; Gossip.

Published by JOHN C. FRANCIS, 20, Wellington Street, Strand, London W.O.

LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 1884.

CONTENTS.-N° 219. NOTES:-Early Housing of the Poor, 181-Scullery and Scullion, 183-Cazoose-Good Luck in the Tip of a Cow's Tongue-Gilding the Cross in Cheap, 185-Birthday Books -Land set apart-Answering by Milestones-Women with Male Names-Dead Hand-Recent Use of Cutty StoolPaley Family-Letter of Lord Byron, 186. QUERIES:-In Stauro-Breda Baronage-Earldom of Stirling-Gould Family, 187-Bardolf of Mapledurham-" Virgo pronoris "-Liscombe-Mrs. Mitchell-Petting Stone-West African Proverb-An Old Clockmaker-Knowing-Small Coats of Armour, 188-Tulse Hill-Poem of Moore-George King, Engraver-Mob-places-Distinctly-Lady DavenantWolcot-Authors Wanted, 189.

REPLIES:-Grace Darling, 190-"Notes on Phrase and Inflection," 191-Heraldic Shield versus Lozenge, 192-Erratum in Taylor's "Life of Christ," 193-Date of Bishop Barlow's Consecration, 194-Peter Jackson, Philip Jackson-Castle Foggies-Lords Danganmore-Cunedda: Ordovices-Picture of Marshal Conway, 195-Cheshire Wesleyans-Hodmondod, 196-Nathan the Composer-Scottish Regiments-Plea for Book-buying-Tennis-Court-Erskines of Chirnside-Dewdrop-Offal, 197-Chinese Junk in the Thames-MahdiMarriage Custom at Whitburn-Parent of Pleasure Canoes, 198.

NOTES ON BOOKS:-Forman's Keats's "Works"-Coutts's Taylor's "Marriage Ring"-" Northamptonshire Notes and Queries" - Brownson's "Works" - Greenhill's Browne's "Religio Medici."

Notices to Correspondents, &c.

Notes.

THE EARLY HOUSING AND TREATMENT

OF THE POOR.

is somewhat complicated, but not difficult. We have to take into account

1. The intrinsic value of the coinage.
2. The rate of wages.

3. The prices of the necessaries of life in the currency of the period.

4. The rent of land at the time.

In the early part of the sixteenth century, just before the Reformation, the ounce of silver was worth 38. 4d., or, in other words, the shilling of Henry VIII. was in intrinsic value 1.55 the modern coin. The wages of an ordinary labourer were 63d. per day. The rents of cottages varied from 2s. 8d. to 4s. per annum. Six or eight days' labour was, therefore, sufficient to pay the year's rent. At the present day, taking an agricultural labourer's wages at 15s. a week, and cottage rent at 2s. a week, or 5l. a year, it requires forty days' labour to pay the yearly rent. No doubt the cottages at that time were mere hovels; but I fear a large number at the present day are little better.

About the same period wheat was 6s. 8d. per quarter, the price of a pig 3s. 2d., and of a cow 16s. A labourer earning 6d. a day, or 3s. 3d. per week, could purchase a quarter of wheat with a fortnight's labour, which would now require three weeks', or a pig with one week's work, which would certainly now require the labour of three. Leaving out of view the cost of clothing and of the higher agrémens which modern habits require, there can be no doubt that the common people before the Reformation enjoyed an amount of rude plenty which has never since been equalled.

Previous to the Reformation the housing of the poor, especially in the rural districts, and the provision for paupers rested almost entirely with the monasteries. The monks were easy landlords, and were not backward in making suitable provision for their tenants. Harrison (Description of England, 1577) says:

"Herein I will commend sundrie of the monasticall votaries, especiallie moonkes, for that they were authors of manie goodlie barowes and endwares, neere unto their dwellings, although otherwise they pretended to be men separated from the world."

We possess considerable sources of information as to the homes of the working classes in the fifteenth and early part of the sixteenth century, from which it seems evident that their command of the necessaries of life in proportion to their wages was greater than at the present time. The comparison of prices and wages between the two periods involving the purchasing power of money

favourites, the poor became an incumbrance, and every effort was made to get rid of them. Leland, in his Commentaries, referring to this subject,

says::

"There are some which are not so favorable when

they have gotten such lands, as to let the houses remaine upon them to the use of the poore, but they will compound with the lord of the soile to pull them downe for altogither, saieng that if they did let them stand surcharge the rest of the parish, and laie more burden they should but toll beggers to the towne, thereby to upon them...... Certes a great number complaine of the increase of povertie, but few men doo see the verie root from whence it doth proceed."

Harrison says:

search made to find what tenements are fallen either "If the old records of every manor be sought, and down, or into the lord's hands, or brought and united together by other men, it will soon appear that in some one manor seventeen, eighteen, or twenty houses are notwithstanding that some one cottage be here and shrunk. I know what I say by mine own experience, there erected of late, which is to little purpose." He goes on to say:—

to be verie grievous unto them, to wit, the inhansing of "They speake also of three things that are growen rents; the dailie oppression of copiholders, and the third

cottage suffering any such inmate or other family than one, shall forfeit to the Lord of the Leet within which such cottage shall be, the sum of ten shillings for every month"

such inmate shall continue. Presentments were to be made at the Leet courts upon inquiry by the oath of the jurors.

66

Driven from the country into the towns, and prevented by penalties from occupation as lodgers, the poor were placed, as it were, between the devil and the deep sea," and must have suffered considerable hardship. This Act was not allowed to lie dormant; prosecutions are recorded for building cottages in the country, and the provisions for the avoiding of inmates or inmakes in the towns, were very soon put into permanent operation, as will be seen in the records of many of our boroughs. Thus, in the Port Moot minutes of the city of Liverpool, October, 1589, the grand jury present "That all those who keep or succour any inmakes within this town shall avoid the same inmakes or cause them to be avoided before the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle next ensuing, upon pain of their fines."

This system of informations and presentments led to an inquisitorial interference which must have been almost intolerable. Thus :

"1623, Jan. 13. We doe agree that any housekeeper in this towne whosoever, that hath anie strange woman in his house being with child, that they shall forthwith upon payne of their fyne cleare there howses from them." 1681, Oct. 24. Mr. Rd. Cleaveland is presented as having in his house five inmates, who turned out to be his own servants.

1686, Oct. 4. Port Moot, "Wee p'sent John Catterall for harbouring his father and mother without giving notice or securite to Mr. Maior, vis. viiid."

Of course, after the passing of the Poor Law Act this feeling was intensified by the dread of the poor obtaining parochial settlements.

1678. "John Chorley, Gent, Maior. Whereas by dalye experience wee find that by reason of the late improvements in buildinge of houses and shipps in and about this burrough and Corporation, a great concourse of people have of late time resorted hither, and have beene concealed in designe to gaine settlements whereby this burrough is become verie grievouslie burdened with idle and wandringe persons of suspected reputations......It is therefore ordered that in everie streete within the liberties there shalbee elected and chosen by the homage of the said burrough yearlie one or more inhabitants to observe the office of Inspectors of Inmates for one yeare,"

&c.

The inmates so reported were presented at the Port Moot and mulcted, the fine being usually 38. 4d. for each individual. This became in course of time really a poll tax upon lodgers, and was continued far down into the eighteenth century. The casual poor were treated with little ceremony:

1623. "We doe all agree that the reste of the lewd p'sons not haveinge there frends in towne, nor that any

man knoweth how they are releeved, togeither with all the rest of the boyes and wenches newly come shall lykewyse avoyd."

The various attempts to put down poverty by the strong hand and to treat it as a crime having failed, milder measures were gradually adopted. The 14 Eliz. cap. 5 provided for the relief of poor prisoners. The 18 Eliz. cap. 3 sanctioned the formation of a fund for setting the poor to work. The 39 Eliz. cap. 3 contained the outline of the Poor Law, which, extended by the celebrated 43 Eliz. cap. 2, has been, with modifications, the law of the land ever since.

The above sketch will show that in regard to the housing and treatment of the poor there has been a gradual amelioration and a more sympathetic feeling. The present generation in this respect will not suffer by comparison with any of those which have gone before. J. A. PICTON. Sandyknowe, Wavertree.

SCULLERY AND SCULLION.

With regard to scullery, Prof. Skeat (following Mr. Wedgwood) tells us, "The word is really English, though the suffix -y is French "; that is to say, sculler is English and y is French. He then goes on to say that "sculler is a remarkable alteration of swiller, i.e., a washer, from the verb swill, to wash, A.-S. swilian......This is proved by the history of the word, in which two changes took place : (1) from swiller to squiller; and (2) from squillery to scullery." Later on he says, "There is, in fact, no doubt as to the matter "; but he allows that "the change from swillery or squillery to scullery was helped out by some confusion with O.F. escuelle (from Lat. scutella, a dish), so that a scullery was looked on as a place for dishes rather than as being merely the place for washing them."

Now to this derivation I have the following objections to make: (1) That there is no evidence whatever to show that the verb swill ever became squill; (2) That it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a word ending in ery in which the er is altogether English and the y French; (3) That it is very unlikely that squillery would have become scullery.

With regard to (1), Prof. Skeat does, indeed, produce some examples showing that initial sw may become squ; but this does not prove that swill ever did become squill, it only shows that it might have done so. He seems to think, too, that because we find in the Prompt. Parv., p. 471, "Sqwyllare, dysche-wescheare," therefore squiller stands for swiller. But surely it shows nothing more than that the writer of the book thought dish-washer a good English equivalent for squiller.

As for (2), I should have thought that the words pantry and buttery, which Prof. Skeat quotes as instances in which there is the Fr. ending y used of the place or room where certain operations are