October 18th
Born:
Pope Pius II (�neas Silvius), 1405,
Corsignano; Justus Lipsius, miscellaneous writer,
1547, Isch, Brabant; Matthew Henry, eminent divine and
commentator, 1662, Broad Oak, Flintshire; Francois de
Savoie, Prince Eugene, celebrated imperial general,
1663, Paris; Richard Nash (Beau Nash),
celebrated
master of the ceremonies at Bath, 1674, Swansea; Peter Frederik Suhm, Danish
archaeologist, 1728, Copenhagen;
Jean Jacques Regis Cambac�bres, eminent lawyer and
statesman, 1755, Montpellier; Thomas Phillips,
portrait painter, 1770, Dudley, Warwickshire.
Died:
John Ziska, Hussite
commander, 1424; Sarah Jennings, Duchess of
Marlborough, 1744; Rene Antoine de R�aumur, practical philosopher and
naturalist, 1757.
Feast Day:
St. Luke the
Evangelist. St. Justin, martyr, in France, 4th
century. St. Julian Sabas, hermit. St. Monan, martyr,
7th century
ST. LUKE
Of the companion and biographer of St. Paul, little
is recorded in Scripture; but from a passage in the
Epistle to the Colossians, we infer that he had been
bred to the profession of a physician. In addition to
this vocation, he is stated by ecclesiastical writers
to have practised that of a painter, and some ancient
pictures of the Virgin, still extant, are ascribed to
his pencil. In consequence of this belief, which,
however, rests on very uncertain foundations, St. Luke
has been regarded as the patron of painters and the
fine arts. He is commonly represented in a seated
position, writing or painting, whilst behind him
appears the head of an ox, frequently winged. This
symbol has been associated with him, to quote the
words of an ancient writer, 'because he devised about
the presthode of Jesus Christ,' the ox or calf being
the sign of a sacrifice, and St. Luke entering more
largely, than the other Evangelists, into the history
of the life and sufferings of our Saviour.
REAUMUR AND
HIS THERMOMETER
Rene Antoine Ferchault de R�aumur is an instance,
among many, of those persons who, having devoted the
greater part of their lives to scientific
investigations, become known to posterity for only
one, and that often a very subordinate achievement.
R�aumur is now remembered almost exclusively by his
thermometer: that is to say, his mode of graduating
thermometers a very small thing in itself. Yet in his
day he occupied ho mean place among French savans.
From 1708, when he read his first paper before the
Academy of Sciences, till his death on October 18,
1757, he was incessantly engaged in investigations of
one kind or other. Geometrical speculations; the
strength of cordage; the development of the shells of
testaceous animals; the colouring matter of turquoise
gemsthe manufacture of iron, steel, and porcelain
artificial incubation; the imitating of the famous
purple dye of the ancients; the graduation of
thermometers; the reproduction of the claws of
lobsters and crabs; the instincts and habits of
insects all, in turn, engaged the attention of this
acute and industrious man, and all furnished him with
means for increasing the sum total of human knowledge.
Scientific men, each in his own department, fully
appreciate the value of R�aumur's labours; but to the
world at large, as we have said, the thermometric
scale is the only thing by which he is remembered.
Almost precisely the same may be said of Fahrenheit.
Had not the English persisted in using the graduation
proposed by the last named individual, his name would
never have become a 'household word' among us; and had
hot R�aumur's scale been extensively adopted on the
continent, his more elaborate investigations, buried
in learned volumes, would have failed to immortalise
his name.
Till the early part of the last century, the scales
for measuring degrees of temperature were so
arbitrary, that scientific men found it difficult to
understand and record each other's experiments but
Fahrenheit, in 1724,
had the merit of devising a
definite standard of comparison. He divided the
interval between freezing water and boiling water into
180 equal parts or degrees, and placed the former at
32 degrees above the zero or point of intense cold, so
that the point of boiling water was denoted by 212�.
It is supposed that the extreme cold observed in
Iceland in 1700 furnished Fahrenheit with the minimum,
or zero which he adopted in his thermometers; but such
a limit to the degree of cold would he quite
inadmissible now, when much lower temperatures are
known to exist. R�aumur, experimenting in the same
field a few years after Fahrenheit, adopted also the
temperature of freezing water as his zero, and marked
off 80 equal parts or degrees between that point and
the temperature of boiling water. Celsius, a Swede,
invented, about the year 1780, a third mode of
graduation, called the Centigrade; in which he took
the freezing of water as the zero point, and divided
the interval between that and the point of ebullition
into 100 parts or degrees. All three scales are now
employed a circumstance which has proved productive of
an infinite amount of confusion and error. Thus, 212�
F is equal to 80� R, or 100� C; 60� F is equal to 12�
R, or 171/9� and so on. Like the names of
the constellations, it is difficult to make changes in
any received system when it has become once
established; and thus we shall continue to hear of
R�aumur on the continent, and of Fahrenheit in
England.
THE LAST
LOTTERY IN ENGLAND
On the 18th of October 1826, the last 'State
Lottery' was drawn in England. The ceremony took place
in Cooper's Hall, Basinghall Street; and although the
public attraction to this last of a long series of
legalised swindles was excessive, and sufficient to
inconveniently crowd the hall, the lottery office
keepers could not dispose of the whole of the tickets,
although all means, ordinary and extraordinary, had
been resorted to, as an inducement to the public to
'try their luck' for the last time.
This abolition of lotteries deprived the government
of a revenue equal to �250,000 or �300,000 per annum;
hut it was wisely felt that the inducement to gambling
held out by them was a great moral evil, helping to
impoverish many, and diverting attention from the more
legitimate industrial modes of money making. No one,
therefore, mourned over the decease of the lottery but
the lottery office keepers, then a large body of men,
who rented expensive offices in all parts of England.
The lottery originated among ourselves during the
reign of Queen Elizabeth, when 'a very rich lottery
general of money, plate, and certain sorts of
merchandise' was set forth by her majesty's order,
1567 A.D. The greatest prize was estimated at �5000,
of which �3000 was to he paid in cash, �700 in plate,
and the remainder in 'good tapestry meet for hangings,
and other covertures, and certain sorts of good linen
cloth.' All the prizes were to be seen at the house of
Mr. Dericke, the queen's goldsmith, in Cheapside; and
a wood cut was appended to the original proclamation,
in which a tempting display of gold and silver plate
is profusely delineated. The lots, amounting in number
to 400,000, appear to have been somewhat tardily
disposed of, and the drawing did not take place until
January 1568-69. On the 11th of that month, it began
in a building erected for the purpose, at the west
door of
St. Paul's Cathedral, and continued, day and
night, until the 6th of the following May. The price
of the lots was 10s each, and they were occasionally
subdivided into halves and quarters; and these were
again subdivided for 'convenience of poorer classes.' The objects ostensibly
propounded as an excuse to the
government for founding this lottery, were the repair
of the harbours and fortifications of the kingdom, and
other public works.
Great pains were taken to 'provoke the people' to
adventure their money; and her majesty sent forth a
second most persuasive and argumentative proclamation,
in which all the advantages of the scheme were more
clearly set forth; so that 'any scruple, suspition,
doubt, fault, or misliking' that might occur, 'specially of those that be inclined
to suspitions,' should be removed, so that all persons have
'their
reasonable contentation and satisfaction.' That
adventurers had 'certain doubts still, is apparent
from a proclamation issued as a supplement to this
from the lord mayor; in which he says, 'though the
wiser sort may find cause to satisfy themselves
therein, yet to the satisfaction of the scrupler sort' he deigns to more fully
explain the scheme. In spite
of all this, the wiser sort' did not rapidly buy
shares, and the 'scrupler sort held tight their
purses, so that her majesty sent a somewhat fretful mandate to the mayor of
London, and the
justices of Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Hampshire,
because, ' contrary to her highness' expectation,' there were many lots untaken,
' either of their
negligence, or by some sinister disswasions of some
not well-disposed persons: She appoints one John
Johnson, gentleman, to look after her interests in the
matter, and to ' procure the people as much as maybe
to lay in their monies into the lots,' and orders that
he ' bring report of the former doings of the
principal men of every parish, and in whom any default
is, that this matter hath not been so well advanced as
it was looked for;' so that 'there shall not one
parish escape, but they shall bring in some money into
the lots.' This characteristic specimen of royal
dragooning for national gambling in opposition to
general desire, is a very striking commencement for a
history of lottery fraud.
'The fan mount, here pictured, was
exhibited at the Worcestercongress of the
Archaeological Institute. The subject, printed in body
colours on vellum, represents either the great lottery
in 1718, when popular excitement was stimulated in so
extravagant a degree, that �1,500,000 was subscribed,
or that of 1714, which also presented unusual
attractions. The scene, of which so spirited a
representation is given on the fan, is probably in
Mercer's Hall, Ironmonger Lane, Cheapside where
transactions connected with lotteries usually took
place. A dignified person, in black robes, is
presiding; over his head is an escutcheon of St.
George's cross; above are the royal arms, with the
initials of Queen Anne.
Many officials are in
attendance, including three clerks curiously
accommodated in a pit in front of the president. There
is a platform, with side boxes conveniently arranged
for gay gallants and fashionable ladies in the full
costume of the period. The tickets are in the course
of being drawn by Blue coat boys. On one side is the
wheel for blanks; on the other, that for prizes the
valve coverings being marked respectively B. P. These
wheels, when not in use, appear to have been locked up
in cases that separated into two portions when removed
from the drawing apparatus, and bore the queen's
initials.
A precisely similar scene to that here
represented, is given in the contemporary engraving,
by N. Parr, in six compartments, entitled Les
Divertissements de in Loterie.
It was designed by J.
Merchant, drawn by II Gravelot, and published by
Ryland. Ave Maria Lane. Gambling, in private
lotteries, was so prevalent about the time, that they
were suppressed by act of parliament. In reference to
the subject of fan decoration, it may here be
observed, that the practice of adorning these
fashionable appendages with attractive designs, was in
great vogue about the middle of the last century. A
gentleman, writing in the Gentleman's Magazine for May
1753, states the twelve designs upon as many fans held
up before as many pretty faces, at a late celebration
of the communion 'in a certain church of this
metropolis,' as follows: 1. Darby and Joan; 2.
Harlequin and Columbine; 3. The prodigal son, with his
harlots, copied from the Rake's Progress; 4. A rural
dance, with a band of music, consisting of a fiddle, a
bagpipe, and a Welsh harp; 5. The taking of
Portobello; 6. The solemnities of a filiation; 7.
Joseph and his mistress; S. The humours of Change
Alley; 9. Silenus; 10. The first interview of Isaac
and Rebecca; 11. The judgment of Paris; 12.
Vauxhall
Gardens, with the decorations and company.'
In the year following, a lottery 'for marvellous
rich and beautiful armour,' was conducted for three
days at the same place. In 1612, King James I, 'in
special favor for the plantation of the English
colonies in Virginia, granted a lottery to be held at
the west end of St. Paul's; wherof one Thomas Sharplys,
a tailor of London, had the chief prize, which was
4000 crowns in fair plate.' In 1619, another lottery
was held ostensibly for the same purpose. Charles I.
projected one in 1630, to defray the expenses of
conveying water to London, after the fashion of the
New River. During the Commonwealth, one was held in
Grocer's Hall by the committee for lands in Ireland.
It was not, however, until some years after the
Restoration that lotteries became popular. They were
then started under pretence of aiding the poor
adherents of the crown, who had suffered in the civil
wars. Gifts of plate were supposed to be made by the
crown, and thus disposed of 'on the behalf of the
truly loyal indigent officers.' Like other things,
this speedily became a patent monopoly, was farmed by
various speculators, and the lotteries were drawn in
the theatres. Booksellers adopted this mode to get rid
of unsaleable stock at a fancy value, mid all kinds of
sharping were resorted to. ' The Royal Oak Lottery' was that which came forth with
greatest eclat, and was
continued to the end of the century; it met, however,
with animadversion from the sensible part of the
community, and formed frequently, as well as the
patentees who managed it, a subject for the satirists
of the day. In 1699, a lottery was proposed with a
capital prize of a thousand pounds, which sum was to
be won at the risk of one penny; for that was to be
the price of each share, and only one share to win.
The rage for speculation which characterised the
people of England, in the early part of the last
century, and which culminated in the South sea bubble,
was favourable to all kinds of lottery speculations;
hence there were 'great goes' in whole tickets, and 'little goes' in their
subdivisions; speculators were
protected by insurance offices; even fortune tellers
were consulted about 'lucky numbers.' Thus a writer in
the Spectator informs us, ' I know a well-meaning man
that is very well pleased to risk his good-fortune
upon the number 1711, because it is the year of our
Lord. I have been told of a certain zealous dissenter,
who, being a great enemy to popery, and believing that
bad men are the most fortunate in this world, will lay
two to one on the number 666 against any other number;
because, he says, it is the number of the beast.' Guildhall was a scene of great
excitement during the
time of the drawing of the prizes there, and, it is a
fact, that poor medical practitioners used constantly
to attend, to be ready to let blood in cases when the
sudden proclaiming of the fate of tickets had an
overpowering effect. On the foregoing page, we have
copied a very curious representation of a lottery,
originally designed for a fan mount.
Lotteries were not confined to money prizes, but
embraced all kinds of articles. Plate and jewels were
favourites; books were far from uncommon; but the
strangest was a lottery for deer in Sion Park.
Henry
Fielding, the novelist, ridiculed the public madness
in a farce produced at Drury Lane Theatre in 1731, the
scene being laid in a lottery office, and the action
of the drama descriptive of the wiles of office
keepers, and the credulity of their victims. A
whimsical pamphlet was also published about the same
time, purporting to be a prospectus of 'a lottery for
ladies;' by which they were to obtain, as chief prize,
a husband and coachand six, for five pounds; such
being the price of each share. Husbands of inferior
grade, in purse and person, were put forth as second,
third, or fourth rate prizes, and a lottery for wives
was soon advertised on a similar plan. This was
legitimate satire, as so large a variety of lotteries
were started, and in spite of reason or ridicule,
continued to be patronised by a gullible public.
Sometimes they were turned to purposes of public
utility. Thus in 1736, an act was passed for building
a bridge at Westminster by lottery, consisting of
125,000 tickets at �5 each.
London Bridge at that time was the only means of
communication, by permanent roadway between the City
and Southwark. This lottery was so far successful,
that parliament sanctioned others in succession until
Westminster Bridge was completed. In 1774, the
brothers Adam, builders of the Adelphi Terrace and
surrounding streets in the Strand, disposed of these
and other premises in a lottery containing 110 prizes;
the first drawn ticket entitling the holder to a prize
of the value of �5000; the last drawn, to one of
�25,000.
Lotteries, at the close of the last century, had
become established by successive acts of parliament;
and, being considered as means for increasing the
revenue by chancellors of our exchequer, they were
conducted upon a regular business footing by
contractors in town and country. All persons dabbled
in chances, and shares were subdivided, that no pocket
might be spared. Poor persons were kept poor by the
rage for speculation, in hopes of being richer. Idle
hope was not the only demoralisation produced by
lotteries; robbery and suicide came therewith. The
most absurd chances were paraded as traps to catch the
thoughtless, and all that ingenuity could suggest in
the way of advertisement and puffing, was resorted to
by lottery office keepers.
About 1815, they began to disseminate hand bills,
with poetic, or rather rhyming, appeals to the public;
and about 1820, enlisted the services of wood
engravers, to make their advertisements more
attractive. The subjects chosen were generally of a
humorous kind, and were frequently very cleverly
treated by Cruikshank and the best men of the day.
They appealed, for the most part, to minds of small
calibre, by depicting people of all grades expressing
confidence in the lottery, a determination to try
their chances, and a full reliance on 'the lucky office' which issued the
handbill.
'Hone, in his Every
Day Book, vol. ii, has engraved several specimens of
these 'fly leaves,' now very rare, and only to be seen
among the collections of the curious. We add three
more examples, selected from a large assemblage, and
forming curious specimens of the variety of design
occasionally adopted.
It is seldom any sentimental or
serious subject was attempted, but our first specimen
comes in that category. This lottery was drawn on
Valentine's Day; Cupid is, therefore, shown angling for hearts, each inscribed
with their value, �21,000; they float toward him in a
stream descending from the temple of Fortune, on a
hill hi the background; and beneath is inscribed:
'Great chance! small risk! A whole ticket for only
eighteen shillings! a sixteenth for only two
shillings! in the lottery to be drawn on Valentine's
Day; on which day, three of �2000 will be drawn in the
first five minutes, which the public are sure to get
for nothing!!'
A whimsical notion of depicting figures of all
kinds by simple dots and lines, having originated
abroad, was adopted by the keepers of British
lottery-offices. The following is a specimen sent oat
by a large contractor named Sivewright.
When possess'd of sufficient
We sit at our ease;
Can go where we like,
And enjoy what we please.
But when pockets are empty,
If forced to apply
To some friend for assistance,
They're apt to deny.
Not so with friends Sivewright,
They never say nay,
But lead us to Fortune
The readiest way.
They gallop on gaily;
The fault is your own
If you don't get a good share
Before they're all gone.
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Our third specimen is selected from a series
representing the itinerant traders in the streets of
London, engaged in conversation on the chances of the
lottery. This is the fishwoman, who declares:
'Though a dab, I'm not scaly I like
a good plaice,
And I hope that good-luck will soon smile in my face;
On the 14th of June, when Prizes in shoals,
Will cheer up the cockles of all sorts of soals.'
The English government at last felt the degradation
of obtaining revenues by means of the lottery, and the
last act which gave it a legal existence received the
royal assent on the 9th of July 1823, and soon after 'the last' was
drawn in England, as described already.
Lotteries linger still upon the continent; from
Hamburg we occasionally get a prospectus of some
chateau and park thus to be disposed of, or some lucky
scheme to be drawn; but Rome may be fairly considered
as the city where they flourish best and most
publicly. At certain times, the Corso is gay with
lottery offices, and busy with adventurers. All
persons speculate, and a large number are found among
the lower grades of the clergy. The writer was present
at the drawing of the lottery which took place in
November 1856, in the great square termed Piazza
Navona. The whole of that immense area was crammed
with people, every window crowded, the houses hung
with tapestries and coloured cloths, and a showy
canopied stage erected at one end of the Piazza, upon
which the business of drawing was conducted. As the
space was so large, and the mob all eager to know
fortune's behests, smaller stages were erected midway
on both sides of the square, and the numbers drawn
were exhibited in frames erected upon them. Bands of
military music were stationed near; the pope's guard,
doing duty as mounted police. The last was by no means
an unnecessary precaution, for a sham quarrel was got
up in the densest part of the crowd for the purpose of
plunder, and some mischief done in the turmoil. Of the
thousands assembled, many were priests; and all held
their numbers in their hands, anxiously hoping for
good fortune. It was a singular sight, and certainly
not the most moral, to see people and clergy all
eagerly engaged on the Sunday in gambling.
October 19th
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