time could only throw a ton of water per minute through a 34inch branch, or nozzle, and, as we see, the fire-plug was simply pulled up, and the water very wastefully supplied.

Water, by the by, was somewhat scarce, and certainly not good. Drinking water was mainly supplied from pumps, both public and private, and when we see the arrangement of pumps, in the country, now-a-days, how, in order to be near the house, they are, generally, thoughtlessly placed in close approximation to the cesspool—we can imagine, in some degree, what the supply of drinking water must have been like in crowded London, with its defective drainage, and its festering graveyards. There was a supply, to certain districts, of New River water. Some yet flowed from the heights of Hampstead, and there were also the Water Works at London Bridge, which were inaugurated by the "Dutchman," Peter Moritz, in 1582, and which continued to pump up the muddy, sewaged water, until the new bridge was built. They are thus described in a contemporary work (1802): "The Water Works, on the north-west side of the Bridge, supply a considerable part of London with water for domestic purposes, in the same manner as is effected by the New River. But as London Bridge lies very low, the water requires to be forced up to a bason on the top of a tower, 120 feet in height. From this bason, it again descends into the main pipes, and is conveyed in all directions through the town. The water is raised by the action of four great wheels, which are

WATER SUPPLY.

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turned by the stream, and every turn of the four wheels causes 114 strokes of the piston rods-by this means 40 to 50,000 hogsheads of water are raised every 24 hours." There was yet another water supply, which was obtained from pumps and springs, and which afforded a livelihood to many hard-working, and industrious, men. Perhaps, one of the last places in the vicinity of London thus supplied, was Hampstead-a neighbourhood noted for

DRINKING WATER SUPPLY-1802,

springs, where the water used to be thus fetched from the "Conduit Meads" and other places, and retailed at id. or 2d. per bucket, according to distance. This only ceased when the Midland Railway ran a tunnel underneath the spring, and destroyed it.

The water supply from the Thames, and New River, it must be remembered, was only turned on three times a week.

The Streets of London in 1804 are thus contemporaneously described: "It may well excite our admiration to go from Charing Cross to the Exchange, and pass a double row of carriages, one coming, another going, with scarcely an intermission. Yet,when we recollect the numerous causes that put so many things, and persons, in motion, we may admire, but must own it was to be expected. Not only are the streets filled with carriages, but with foot passengers; so that the great thoroughfares of London appear like a moving multitude, or a daily fair. To this deception the endless shops lend their aid; it is, indeed, the remark of strangers in general, that London is a continual fair. The display made by the traders, the numerous wares they have to sell, and the continual crowd that is passing and re-passing, forcibly contribute to the delusion."

Yet the streets were narrow, or at least we think them so, for we have always to widen them for the perpetually increasing traffic; and the shops could in no ways at all compare with ours. Small panes of glass, and small

windows were not calculated to show off the traders' wares to advantage. Even the contemporary guide-books, can give no shops of particular excellence-except those which sold keramic ware. In this, that particular portion of the century was pre-eminent, and one longs to have had a stroll, looking in first at Wedgwood's warehouse in St. James's Square, then at the Worcester China Warehouse, Coventry Street; from thence to the show rooms of Derby

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277

china, in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden; and finishing up with Spode's exposition of Staffordshire ware, in Portugal Street.

The streets were not over well scavenged, and, as I have before said, sewers did not obtain much more than in the main thoroughfares. These, too, were watered in the summer, by means of a wooden tank hung below the axle-tree of a pair of wheels, delivering the water from a perforated wooden box at its back. "The Watering Cart is usually drawn by one horse, but on some roads two horses are applied, when the leader is rode by a boy, and the driver sits on the seat upon the cart. In districts contiguous to ponds, the carts are driven into the water, and are filled very expeditiously; but where they have not this convenience, they are obliged to supply them with water from the pump, which is hard labour for two men."

000

CHAPTER XXVI.

Daily life of the streets-The Chimney Sweep-Mrs. Montagu-Instances of the hard life of a climbing boy"-The Milkmaid-Supply of milk to the Metropolis-"Hot loaves" Water cresses "-whence they came-Other

cries.

L

ET us go to authentic sources, and, in our imaginations,

people the streets as they then were, following the

example which Gay has so worthily given in his "Trivia." Leaving aside the roysterers, and nightly bad characters, together with the watchmen, the first industrial perambulator, would probably be the Sweep. In the frontispiece to this volume, the "climbing boy," as he was called, is faithfully depicted, drinking his early cup of saloop, the utensils of his trade, his brush, shovel, and scraper, lying by his side; in his cap is a brass plate containing his master's name and address. Poor little fellows! their lives were harsh! With hard taskmasters, badly constructed chimneys, and flues to sweep, and laborious work, climbing with back and knees; with a foul atmosphere, and lungs choked with soot,