The History of London by Walter Besant (best classic books TXT) 📕

this war, it must be remembered that such loss fell most heavily on the noble families; the mass of the population was not so much disturbed by it.

~Long Acre~: a street near Drury Lane, now chiefly occupied by carriage-makers.

~delirium~: a wandering in the mind caused by fever.


51. THE TERROR OF THE PLAGUE. PART II.

~Registers~: a record of names of persons who have died. Such records are now accurately kept by the registrars of births, deaths, and marriages.

~The King~: Charles II., who, whatever his faults may have been, was at least good-natured and averse to suffering.

~Samuel Pepys~ (born 1632, died 1703) was Secretary to the Admiralty in the reigns of Charles II. and James II. His famous diary gives a graphic picture of life during these reigns.


52. THE TERROR OF FIRE. PART I.

~Coleman Street~ runs northward from Lothbury (behind the Bank of England) to Moorgate. The name goes back even to Saxon times, and probably comes from one Ceolmund, who had a farm near.

~St. Erkinwald~: an early Saxon Bishop of London, who encouraged the citizens to restore their ruined city, and himself built the Bishop's Gate (named after him). His shrine in St. Paul's was long an object of reverence.

~Paternoster Row~: always a great centre of the book trade: it was a row immediately adjoining the precincts of the Cathedral before encroachments were made. Naturally much of the booksellers' wares was religious--paternosters, aves, credos, &c.

~chancel~: the east end of a church in which is the altar, separated from the rest of the church by a screen or railings. (Latin _cancelli_, a grating.)

~transept~: the part of a cathedral projecting on either side. Cathedrals are generally built in the shape of a cross; the transept is the arms of the cross in the ground plan.


53. THE TERROR OF FIRE. PART II.

~Astronomer~: one who studies the stars or heavenly bodies.

~John Evelyn~ (born 1620, died 1706), a gentleman of the reign of Charles II., was made one of the commissioners for the restoration of London after the Great Fire. He wrote a diary, which is not so amusing as that of Pepys (_see_ Chapter LI.)

~St. Dunstan-in-the-East~, in Tower Street, was the first church restored by Wren after the fire.

~John Dryden~ (born 1631, died 1700): one of the greatest English poets. He was a supporter of the house of Stuart, and was made poet laureate.

~obnoxious~: exposed to.


54. ROGUES AND VAGABONDS.

~Vagabonds~: wanderers who have no settled home.

~Wapping~: called Wapping Wash (or Marsh) in the time of Queen Elizabeth, when it was first drained and banked in, lies on the north bank of the Thames, in Middlesex, near the Thames Tunnel.

~Lambeth~, facing Westminster, on the south bank of the river, is low-lying, and was called in Saxon times Lambhythe, meaning loamy or muddy landing place.

~Bermondsey~ (_ey_--island), on the south bank of the Thames, one mile S.E. of St. Paul's, is a centre of the leather and wool trade.

~Rotherhithe~ (or Redriff), on the south bank of the Thames, lies east of Bermondsey and faces Wapping. The south end of the Thames Tunnel is in Rotherhithe.

~stringent~: strict.

~impotent~: powerless, unable to work.

~stocks~: a wooden frame in which the legs of criminals were confined.

~The Barbican~: a street near the site of the old Aldersgate. Barbican means defensive works for a gate. ~Turnmill Street~ is near Farringdon railway station.


55. UNDER GEORGE II. PART I. THE WEALTH OF LONDON.

~Essayists~: people who write essays; that is, short compositions on any subject.

~picturesqueness~: beauty and grace; qualities which might be supposed to make anything a good subject for a _picture_.

~ruffles~: pieces of some white material plaited and attached as a frill to the collar and sleeves of garments.

~ostentation~: making a great show.

~Puritanism~: the more sober style of life and thought introduced by the Puritans, who were a religious party in the times of Elizabeth and the Stuarts, and were desirous of a purer and simpler doctrine and mode of living.


56. UNDER GEORGE II. PART II.

~Predecessors~: those that went before them.

~cruciform~: in the form of a cross. The ground plan of many churches is shaped like a cross.

~St. Stephen's, Walbrook~, stands behind the Mansion House, where the Walbrook used to flow.

~lectureship~: the office of a lecturer, one who gives lectures, discourses, or (as in this case) sermons. Money was left to pay for these sermons, that is, the lectureships were ~endowed~.

~harbouring~: sheltering.

~organisers~: those who get up and arrange anything.

~Haymarket~ (obviously once a hay market) is near Trafalgar Square, and ~Coventry Street~ near Leicester Square.

~innovations~: novelties, new things.


57. UNDER GEORGE II. PART III.

~Broad Street~: between the Royal Exchange and Liverpool Street.

~Whitecross Street~ is near the Barbican, Aldersgate Street; ~Whitechapel~, in which is ~Middlesex Street~ (commonly known as Petticoat Lane), is reached through Aldgate.

~Hogarth~ (born 1697, died 1764): a celebrated English painter, chiefly famous for moral, satirical and humorous pictures drawn from everyday life.

~asphalt~: a kind of mineral pitchy substance which melts in heat and can be laid down so as to form a hard, smooth roadway.

~Vauxhall~: in Surrey, in the parish of Lambeth, on the south of the Thames. There was once an old manor house here called Faukes or Fox Hall.

~Bermondsey Spa~: so called from a mineral spring discovered there in 1770. (Spa, a place where there is a mineral spring, gets its name from a celebrated watering-place in Belgium of that name.)

~punch~: a drink containing five ingredients--water, spirits, sugar, lemon-juice, spice.


58. UNDER GEORGE II. PART IV.

~Decorous~: behaving in a decent and respectable way.

~appreciation~: estimate, judgment about.

~congregation~: gathering together.

~Benjamin Franklin~ (born 1706, died 1790): a native of Boston, U.S.A., who lived for some time in England. As a scientist he is famous for electrical experiments; as a politician, for the share he took in upholding the independence of the American States.

~transmission~: handing down from father to son.

~externally~: outwardly.

~St. Katharine's~, ~Ratcliff~, ~Shadwell~, ~Stepney~, are all in the East End of London.

~jurisdiction~: legal authority.


59. UNDER GEORGE II. PART V.

~Lighters~: large boats or barges used in unloading ships.

~bleaching-grounds~: where cloth was laid out to be bleached or whitened by the wind and sun.

~hopbines~: the stalks of hop plants.

~transportation~: conveying convicted criminals abroad. Till 1869 convicts were sent to Australia; now they are kept in convict prisons at home.

~classification~: dividing and arranging into classes.

~embezzle~: to steal something entrusted to one's care.

~press-gang~: a party of sailors under an officer who forcibly took men to serve in the Royal Navy.

~anarchy~: absence of rule, disorder.

~Gordon Riots~: in 1780, led by the fanatic Lord George Gordon. The mob raised the cry of 'No Popery' on account of a law then proposing to remove hardships from Roman Catholics. Riot and plunder were the real object of the mob. The disorder had to be suppressed by military force.

~Police~: organised in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel, after whom the members of the force were called 'bobbies' and 'peelers.'


60. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY. PART I.

~Denominations~: religious bodies or sects, the members of which are all called by the same name. (Latin _nomen_, a name.)

~every conceivable topic~: every subject you can think of.

~community~: a people, the public.

~achieved~: won by effort.


61. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY. PART II.

~Symbol of~: the representative of; the presence of a policeman is the outward form taken by the law in the eyes of the people.

~mote~: meeting; hence ~folks' mote~, meeting of the folk or people; ~ward mote~, meeting of those living in the same ward or city division.

~The Companies~: such as those of the Goldsmiths, Merchant Taylors, Drapers, &c.

~Quarter Sessions~: the sessions or sittings of the Law Courts in a county or city held every quarter.

~archives~: public records.

~sergeant~ means 'servant,' 'officer'--here of the law. Ordinarily it is a rank in the army.


62. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY. PART III.

~Advocate~: argue in favour of.

~tenacity~: perseverance, holding on. (Latin _teneo_, to hold.)

~livery~: because the members of the different trade companies used to wear a distinguishing uniform or livery.

~fletchers~: arrow-makers. (French _fleche_, an arrow.)

~trust-money~: money entrusted for a certain purpose for which alone it can be used.

~technical~: where useful trades and sciences are taught.


63. LONDON. GREATER LONDON.

~Conservative~: preserving, so far as convenient, the present state of things.

~functions~: powers and duties.

~reformatory schools~: where boys and girls who have committed some crime are sent to be reformed to better ways.

~assets~: property actually held, so that it can be set off against a debt.

~democratic~: giving power and influence to the people.

~oligarchic~: giving power and influence to the few.

~'law worthiness'~: right to assist in the making of laws.

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Publication Date: 08-26-2010

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