Literary Byways

“My books and instruments shall be my company,On them to look and practise by myself.”

A line under the toast of “The Press” says, in the words of the Merchant of Venice: —

“There are some shrewd contents in your paper.”

We have seen on several menu cards: —

“A good digestion to you all, and once moreI shower a welcome on you – welcome all.”– Henry VIII.

A more general quotation (from Macbeth) is: —

“Now good digestion wait on appetite,And health on both.”

The bill of fare for the Tercentenary Banquet held in 1864, at Stratford-on-Avon, in honour of Shakespeare, is perhaps the best specimen of cuisine literature ever produced. The following are a few of the edibles and the quotations: —

Roast turkey: —

“Why, here comes swelling like a turkey-cock.”

– Henry V.

Roast fowls: —

“There is a fowl without a feather.”

– Comedy of Errors.

Ducks: —

“O dainty duck!”

– Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Boar’s head: —

“Like a full-acorned boar.”

– Cymbeline.

York hams: —

“Sweet stem from York’s great stock.”

– Henry VI. (Part I.).

Tongues: —

“Silence is only commendable in a neat’s tongue dried.”

– Merchant of Venice.

Mayonnaise of lamb: —

“Was never gentle lamb more mild.”

– Richard II.

Braised lamb and beef: —

“What say you to a piece of beef and mustard?

A dish that I love to feed upon.”

– Taming of the Shrew.

Roast lamb: —

“Come you to seek the lamb here?”

– Measure for Measure.

Lobster and mayonnaise salads: —

“Sallet was born to do me good.”

– Henry IV. (Part II.).

Dressed lobsters and crabs: —

“There’s no meat like them: I could wish my best friend at such a feast.”

– Timon of Athens.

Desserts, cakes, jellies, and creams: —

“The queen of curds and cream.”

– Winter’s Tale.

Dressed potatoes: —

“Let the sky rain potatoes.

– Merry Wives of Windsor.

Bitter ale: —

“And here’s the pot of good double beer, neighbour:

Drink, and fear not your man.”

– Henry VI. (Part II.).

In addition to the foregoing, many interesting and well-chosen quotations appear on the famous bill of fare.

The bill of fare of the Annual Dinner of the Norwich Saint Andrew Society, held in 1896, was headed, “Caird o’ Guid Things”: —

“Kail BreeMaukinCockie LeekieGuid Caller FishSole-fleuks, baned an’ stovitCaller Cod wi’ Sauce o’ Caller OuTHE HAGGIS“Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,Great Chieftain, o’ the puddin’ race!”“A nip o’ Fairntosh, an’ it’s no ower perjinkitie measure!”Roast an’ BiledSheeps’ HurdiesSirloins o’ NowteBiled Chuckies an’ TongueRostit Bubblyjock wi’ SausagesTatties Biled an’ ChampitCurly Kail“I’m thinkin’, Sandy, we wadna be the waur o’ a drappie.”Roastit Feesants wi’ Raupit TattiesConfectouriFigmaleerie o’ FruitsJeeliesPlum Puddin’Mince PiesApple Tairts and CreamKebbuck wi’ Celery an’ guid Oat FarlsDessert an’ Coffee“Let them that wants Coffee, hae Coffee; I’m thinkin’ I’ll hae a dram!”

The birthday of Burns is celebrated in all parts of the world: wherever Scotchmen are located the bard is honoured. We have before us a number of Burns dinner toast lists, and several are headed “Should auld acquaintance be forgot?”

The following are from the toast lists of the Hull Burns’ Club. Under the toast of “The Queen,” two lines appear: —

“In the field of proud honour, our swords in our hand,Our Queen and our country to save.”

To the toast of “The Mayor, Sheriff, and Corporation” is this couplet: —

“How wisdom and folly meet, mix, and unite;How virtue and vice blend their black and their white.”

The toast of the evening, “The Memory of Burns,” has under it the following verse from The Cotter’s Saturday Night: —

“O Scotia! my dear, my native soil!For whom my warmest wish to Heaven is sent!Long may thy hardy sons of rustic toilBe blessed with health, and peace, and sweet content.”

We have seen inscribed with this toast a verse from one of Bennoch’s beautiful poems: —

“With reverent silence we will fillA cup whene’er this day returns,And pledge the memory of the Bard,The Bard of Nature – Robert Burns,Immortal Burns.”

Appended to the toast of “The Hull Burns’ Club” are the noble lines: —

“It’s coming yet, for a’ that,That man to man, the warld o’er,Shall brithers be for a’ that.”

“The Visitors,” “Kindred Societies,” are included with suitable quotations. The verse under the toast of “The Press” is a happy selection: —

“Here’s freedom to him that wad read,Here’s freedom to him that wad write,There’s nane ever feared that the truth should be heard,But they whom the truth would indite.”

We have seen the following quoted several times with this toast: —

“A chiel’s amang you takin’ notes,And faith he’ll prent it.”

The concluding toast, that of “The Lassies,” has the familiar lines: —

“The wisest man the warl’ e’er saw,He dearly loved the lassies, O!”

At a dinner of the Hull Literary Club the toast list was enriched with quotations from the works of the Poet Laureate. An excerpt from The Princess on the first page says: —

“Hark the bellFor dinner, let us go!”

Two lines from a poem, To the Rev. F. D. Maurice, head the list: —

“You’ll have no scandal while you dine,But honest talk and wholesome wine.”

To the toast of “The Queen” are four lines, as follow: —

“Her Court was pure; her life serene;God gave her peace; her land reposed;A thousand claims to reverence closedIn her as Mother, Wife, and Queen.”

Five lines from The Battle of Brunanburgh are given to the toast of “Our Brave Defenders”: —

“Theirs was a greatnessGot from their grandsires —Theirs that so often inStrife with their enemies,Struck for their hoards and their hearths and their homes.”

Two quotations appear under the toast of “Success to the Hull Literary Club”: —

“We rub each other’s angles down.” – In Memoriam.“Work in noble brotherhood.” – Exhibition Ode.

With the toast of “Literature and the Arts” is the line: —

“Let knowledge grow from more to more.”

Under “The Press”: —

“News from the humming city comes to it.”

The line under the toast of “The Ladies” is brief and graceful: —

“Made to be loved.”

Toasts and Toasting

Toasting and drinking were more general half a century ago than they are at the present time. In the earlier years of the Queen’s reign temperance, if not teetotalism, was, it is true, making headway, but in a great measure convivial customs were maintained, and toasting was popular. Books were published to supply suitable toasts, for public and private parties. Such compilations must have been extremely useful to those who attended social gatherings, and were not able to express graceful and pithy sentiments.

We have before us a little work issued in London in 1847, under the title of “The Social and Convivial Toast-Master; and Compendium of Sentiment.” It consists of prose and poetry arranged under various headings, such as Loyal and Patriotic, Naval and Military, Masonic, Bacchanalian, Amatory, Sporting, Political, Sentimental, and lastly, Miscellaneous. It cannot be without interest to reproduce from this rare volume a few examples of the toasts of the earlier Victorian era.

The opening section of the book is devoted to loyal and patriotic toasts. The first toast is this: —

“Albert and Victoria; may their union be cemented by love and affection, and their Royal offspring adorn the station they are destined to fill.”

A brief and popular toast was: —

“Church and Queen.”

Another sentiment was: —

“Happiness to the Royal pair – Victoria and Albert.”

A longer toast is as follows: —

“Here’s a health to Her Majesty,Conversion to her enemies,And he that will not pledge her healthI wish him neither wit nor wealth,Nor yet a rope to hang himself.”

Another toast is to this effect: —

“Health to the Queen, prosperity to the people, and may the Ministry direct their endeavours to the public good rather than engage in party distinction.”

A favourite sentiment was: —

“Great Britain’s rising star, the Prince of Wales.”

Many of the patriotic toasts ask for reforms: —

“A revision of the code of criminal laws.”

At this period they were extremely severe.

“A speedy restoration of the rights of the people.”

was another toast, and not a few related to Ireland.

“Truth for England and justice for Ireland”

is one, and another says: —

“The birthplace of wit, the home of hospitality – Ireland.”

Patriotic toasts relating to Scotland are numerous, such as: —

“Scotland, the birthplace of valour – the country of worth.”

“Scottish heroes; and may their fame live for ever.”

A popular toast of the past was: —

“The independence of Greece and the memory of Byron.”

The dislike to France by our fathers is plainly indicated in several sentiments: —

“May French principles never corrupt English manners.”

It would appear from many of the toasts that the nation was weary of war and wanted peace and liberty. The plea for liberty occurs in many of the sentiments; it is the closing wish of the following: —

“May peace o’er Britain spread her wing,And commerce fill her ports with gold;May arts and science comfort bring,And liberty her sons enfold.”

The naval and military toasts, as befits a nation that has gained glory in battles on sea and land, are on the whole good. A few examples only must suffice. How out of date our first appears in this age of ironclads: —

“Old England’s wooden walls.”

Here is a punning toast: —

“Sir Home Popham – and pop-home to all our enemies.”

A nautical toast is: —

“To Nelson’s memory here’s a health,And to his gallant tars,And may our British seamen bold,Despite both wounds and scars,Make France and Spain,And all the mainAnd all the foes to know,Britons reign o’er the main,While the stormy winds do blow.”

Says another toast: —

“May the deeds never be forgot that were done at Trafalgar and Waterloo.”

Wellington is not neglected in the toasts, but he is not so popular as Nelson. The feats of the Life Guards at Waterloo are remembered: —

“The Life Guards: that washed out in blood the blots of Piccadilly.”

Another famous regiment is thus toasted: —

“The Scotch Greys: that made the Eagles look black.”

Half a century ago was a toast which will find to-day a response in many hearts: —

“The Greeks: may they never fall under Turkish bondage.”

Many of the masonic sentiments are fine; they are amongst the best in the book. Here is good teaching: —

“May we never condemn that in a brother which we pardon in ourselves.”“May the evening’s diversions bear the morning’s reflections.”“May every society instituted for the promotion of virtue – flourish.”

Other toasts are equally good, but the masonic allusions make them more suitable for the perusal of members of the craft than for the public.

Next in order come Bacchanalian toasts. Some of the sentiments would not meet with favour in well regulated society at the present period, but we doubt not were hailed with delight in the hard drinking days of old. The first toast under this head is: —

“A friend and a bottle of wine to give him.”

Wine and women find a place in not a few of the sentiments: —

“A full purse, a fresh bottle, and a pretty face.”“Beauty, wit, and wine.”“Wine, women, and wit.”

The foregoing are brief, and are perhaps the best toasts which link women with wine. The next is not a bad toast: —

“May our love of the glass never make us forget decency.”

Punning examples are included, such as the two following: —

“May good fellows be found in every port, and all bad ones obliged to sherry out.”“May we never be out of spirits.”

On the whole, the toasts under this heading are not equal in merit to many of the others in the volume.

We find amatory toasts next in order, and of this class quote three examples: —

“The fairest work of nature – women.”

“The village maid, may she remain so till she gets a good husband.”

“Love without deceit, and matrimony without regret.”

Sporting sentiments are by no means numerous; only four pages are devoted to them. The following are specimens: —

“May the thirst of blood never disgrace a British sportsman.”

“May the love of the chase never interrupt our attention to the welfare of the country.”

“The huntsman’s pleasures – the field in the morning, the bottle at night.”

Some are in rhyme, and the following is a favourable example: —

“May jovial hunters in the mornPrepare them for the chase;Rise at the sounding of the horn,And health with sport enhance.”

Under the heading of political toasts are a number free from party sentiment, advocating more the glory of our country than the praise of a particular party. We can quite understand how favourably a toast like the following would be received: —

“The British Lion, may he never rise in anger and sit down in fear.”

The next is brief: —

“Death or Liberty.”

A popular toast is as follows: —

“Here’s to England, the ruler and queen of the waves,May she ever be found to give freedom to slaves.May she always extend to the weak and oppressed,Those blessings with which her own have been blessed.

Lastly, let us quote one that in our day might be taken to heart by those in office: —

“May Ministers while they are servants of the Crown never forget that they are representatives of the people.”

Next in order come sentimental toasts. Examples of these may almost be culled at random to represent the whole, for there is a great sameness about them: —

“May our great men be good and our good men great.”“May goodness prevail where beauty fails.”“May we never be lost to hope.”“Our friends, our country, our laws, home, love, and liberty.”

Two pages are devoted to flash toasts, but as far as we are able to judge are without interest.

The work closes with a varied and interesting collection of toasts under the heading of “Miscellaneous,” and contains excellent examples of the wit and wisdom of bygone times. The celebrated Roxburghe Club of book-lovers was founded in 1812, and has given to the world many valuable volumes. The social side of the society was well sustained, and the following are the ten bibliomania toasts which were honoured at the festive gatherings: —

1. “The immortal memory of Christopher Valdarfer, printer of the Boccaccio of 1471.”

2. “The memory of William Caxton, founder of the British Press.”

3. “To the memory of Wynkyn de Worde, Pynson, and Notary, successors of Caxton.”

4. “The memory of John, Duke of Roxburghe.”

5. “The memory of Lady Juliana Barnes and the St. Albans’ Press.”

6. “The memory of Gutenberg, Fust, and Schœffer, fathers of the art of printing.”

7. “The Aldine family of Venice.”

8. “The Giunti family of Florence.”

9. “The prosperity of the Roxburghe Club, and in all cases the cause of Bibliomania all over the world.”

10. “The Society of the Bibliophiles Français.”

By-the-way, in St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster, is a memorial to the first English printer, bearing the following inscription: —

“To the memory ofWilliam Caxton,Who first introduced into Great BritainThe Art of Printing;And, who, A.D. 1477 or earlier, exercised that art in theAbbey of Westminster,This Tablet,In remembrance of one to whom the literature of thiscountry is so largely indebted, was raisedAnno Domini MDCCCXXBy the Roxburghe ClubEarl Spencer, K.G., President.”

Professional sentiments are rather plentiful. The surgeon’s toast is: —

“The man that bleeds for his country.”

The schoolmaster’s toasts are rather numerous, but not without point: —

“Addition to patriots,Subtraction to placemen,Multiplication to the friends of peace,Division to its enemies,Reduction to abuses,Rule of three to king, lords, and commons,Practice to reformation,Fellowship to Britons,Discount to the National Debt,Decimal fractions to the clergy.”

Toasts of musicians are included: —

“May a crotchet in the head never bar the utterance of good notes.”

A second sentiment is: —

“May the lovers of harmony never be in want of a note, and its enemies die in a common chord.”

Tradesmen’s toasts are very plentiful, and several include puns. Here is the hatter’s sentiment: —

“When the rogue naps it, may the lesson be felt.”

Respecting the baker is the following: —

“May we never be done so much as to make us crusty.”

The glazier’s toast is: —

“The praiseworthy glazier who takes pains to see his way through life.”

A rather longer toast is that of the greengrocer: —

“May we spring up like vegetables, have turnip noses, reddish cheeks, and carroty hair – and may our hearts never be hard like those of cabbages, nor may we be rotten at the core.”

The sentiment of the pawnbroker is: —

“When we lend our cash to a friend, may it be to his interest to pay the principal, and his principle to pay the interest.”

The shoemaker’s toast is: —

“May the cobbler’s lapstones never fail him.”

In another toast we have an allusion to shoes: —

“May the enemies of Great Britain always have long corns and short shoes.”

Here we close this curious collection of toasts, feeling thankful that such a book is no longer required for the every-day use of the people. A great change for the better has come over the manners and customs of our countrymen. Turning over the pages of this publication has given us pleasure, and we trust the quotations culled from it may not fail to interest our readers.

Curious American Old-Time Gleanings

“The only true history of a country,” said Lord Macaulay, “is to be found in its newspapers.” Sir George Cornewall Lewis expressed his conviction that the historian of the future will find all his materials in the Times. The American historian Mr. Bancroft seldom saw a newspaper without drawing from it materials for his works. The story-teller often obtains from the daily and weekly press suggestive notes. Charles Reade made excellent use of the romantic episodes recorded in the newspapers. His scrapbooks containing clippings from the papers were numerous and valuable, and amongst his most cherished treasures. Many modern men of letters might be mentioned who are alive to the importance of preserving facts drawn from the journals of the day.

Professor James Davie Butler, LL.D., a few years ago wrote an amusing and at the same time a valuable paper on Scrap-books. He related how he had corrected, through seeing in an old Connecticut newspaper an advertisement, statements made by the leading historians of America. It was respecting the horse of General Stark, a hero in the American War, who broke Burgoyne’s left wing. Headley says, “Stark’s horse sank under him.” Everett states, “The General’s horse was killed in the action.” Irving writes, “The veteran had his horse shot under him.” They were led to make the statement from a postscript of a letter the General wrote saying, “I lost my horse in the action.” Here is the advertisement referred to: —

“Twenty Dollars Reward. – Stolen from me, the subscriber, in the time of action, the 16th of August last, a Brown Mare, five years old; had a star in her forehead. Also a doeskin seated saddle, blue housing trimmed with white, and a curbed bridle. – It is earnestly requested of all Committees of Safety, and others in authority, to exert themselves to recover the said Mare, so that the thief may be brought to justice and the Mare brought to me; and the person, whoever he be, shall receive the above reward for both; and for the Mare alone, one-half that sum. How scandalous, how disgraceful and ignominious, must it appear to all friendly and generous souls to have such sly, artful, designing villains enter into the field of action in order to pillage, pilfer, and plunder from their brethren when engaged in battle!

John Stark, B.D.G.

Bennington, 11th Sept., 1777.”

The foregoing may be regarded as a good proof of the value of historical facts gleaned from newspapers.

In recent years several interesting works have been compiled from old newspapers. Perhaps the most important is a set of volumes entitled “The Olden Times Series,” prepared by Mr. Henry M. Brooks, a painstaking antiquary, and published in Boston, Massachusetts. Not the least interesting of the volumes is one devoted to the New England Sunday. The opening page proves that neither the rich nor the poor were permitted to break the strict Sabbath regulations. In Connecticut, in 1789, General Washington was stopped by the officer representing the State authorities for riding on Sunday. The circumstances were reported in the columns of the Columbian Centinel for December of that year. “The President,” it is stated, “on his return to New York from his late tour through Connecticut, having missed his way on Saturday, was obliged to ride a few miles on Sunday, in order to gain the town, at which he had previously proposed to attend divine service. Before he arrived, however, he was met by a Tythingman, who, commanding him to stop, demanded the occasion of his riding; and it was not until the President had informed him of every circumstance, and promised to go no farther than the town intended, that the Tythingman would permit him to proceed on his journey.”

In the old days, little attempt was made to render the places of worship attractive, or even to warm the rooms in which the preachers delivered their long sermons, although the people were obliged by law to attend the services unless they were sick. It was a serious matter not to be a “meeting-goer,” it was, as Mr. Brooks says, to be ranged with thieves and other outlaws. Mr. Felt, the compiler of the Annals of Salem, has brought together some items of interest bearing on the introduction of stoves into the churches of the district. “For a long period,” writes Mr. Felt, “the people of our country did not consider that a comfortable degree of warmth while at public worship contributed much to a profitable hearing of the gospel.” He states that the first stove heard of in Massachusetts for a meeting-house was put up by the first Congregation of Boston in 1773. Two stoves were placed in the Friends’ Society meeting-house at Salem in 1793, and one in the North Church, Salem in 1809. “Not a few remember,” writes Mr. Brooks, “the general knocking of feet on cold days and near the close of long sermons. On such occasions, the Rev. Dr. Hopkins used to say now and then: ‘My hearers, have a little patience, and I will soon close.’”

One of Mr. Brook’s volumes deals with Strange and Curious Punishments, and it gives particulars of many harsh and cruel laws. It appears, from an address delivered before the Essex Bar Association in 1885, that the old-time punishments in America were much milder than the criminal laws of England at the time, and the number of capital offences was greatly reduced. Persons were frequently whipped. The following is an example drawn from the Essex County Court Records: “In 1643, Roger Scott, for repeated sleeping in meeting on the Lord’s Day, and for striking the person who waked him, was, at Salem, sentenced to be severely whipped.”

Whipping appears to have been a common means of punishing offenders who transgressed the laws. In the month of January, 1761, we see it stated that four men for petty larceny were publicly whipped at the cart’s tail through the streets of New York. We gather from another newspaper report that a man named Andrew Cayto received forty-nine stripes at the public whipping-post for house-robbery – namely, for robbing one house, thirty-nine stripes; and for robbing the other, ten stripes. It appears in some instances prisoners had, as part of their sentence, to sit on the gallows with ropes about their necks. We read: “At Ipswich, Massachusetts, June 1763, one Francis Brown for stealing a large quantity of goods, was found guilty; and it being the second conviction, he was sentenced by the Court to sit on the gallows an hour with a rope round his neck, to be whipt thirty stripes, and pay treble damages.” The man was a native of Lisbon, and described as a great thief. “We hear from Worcester,” says the Boston Chronicle, November 20th, 1769, “that on the 8th instant one Lindsay stood in the pillory there one hour, after which he received thirty stripes at the public whipping-post, and was then branded on the hand; his crime was forgery.” It appears that it was the custom to brand by means of hot iron the letter F on the palm of the right hand.

We find that at this period persons found guilty of passing counterfeit dollars were sentenced to have their ears cropped.

To illustrate his subject Mr. Brooks draws from Felt’s Annals of Salem not a few quaint items. It is stated that “in 1637, Dorothy Talby, for beating her husband, is ordered to be bound to and chained to a post.” It is recorded that “in 1649 women were prosecuted in Salem for scolding,” and probably in many cases whipped or ducked. The ducking-stool appears to have been frequently employed. Under date of May 15th 1672, we find it stated: “The General Court of Massachusetts orders that scolds and railers shall be gagged or set in a ducking stool, and dipped over head and ears three times.”