and other Eminent Persons in their several Stations; 'tis not to be doubted, but that our worthy Superiors will, when apprized of the Hardships under which the oppressed Subject groans, by the Usage of these Miscreants, take proper Cognizance thereof, and justly punish such of them, as may appear to deserve the same, for their exorbitant Impositions and Exactions.

"A Bailiff was formerly look'd upon with such an evil Eye, and the Office reckon'd so scandalous by our Ancestors, that no Englishman could be procured to arrest any one; and it was an Employ taken up and follow'd by Flemings and other Fo reigners, who were held to be the Scum of their own Country, as well as the Pest of ours; And in such great Detestation and Abhorrence were they held among the Common Sort, that they were forced to execute their Office by stealth, for fear of broken Bones, or being stoned by the incensed Populace. At this Day, it is an Office infamous and scandalous, and the Baseness of the Persons in it, and their vile Usage of the Poor and Friendless, are likely to continue it so to future Times.

"As soon as the Unfortunate Person who falls into the Hands of these vile Wretches, is arrested, he is conveyed to some Tavern, where those Swine, plentifully Swig and Carouze at the Expence of the Prisoner, under pretence of waiting till you procure Bail.

"This ended, the Reckoning is call'd for, the Total of which is generally as agreeable to you as the Conversation of your Companions; for you are not only feeding at that Time those rapacious Wolves themselves, but also other private Villains that are their Attendance and Followers (vulgarly call'd Bull Dogs) who are always planted in some place near you.

"Having paid the Reckoning, you are forthwith carried (by way of Civility as they term it) to their Sponging-House as it is properly called, instead of to Newgate the County Gaol, as their Warrant directs them to do. And at the same Time they set forth to you, that Newgate is a horrid, terrible and dismal Place, and that you are greatly Befriended by them, in not being immediately carried thither; and having inspir'd you with the Dread of the Place, they make use of your Fears accordingly, and by threatning to carry you there, when you refuse to comply with their Extortions, they oblige you to be conformable to such villainous Demands as they impudently and frequently impose upon you.

"Being thus arrived at their Hellish Habitation, you are at your Entrance (by those Crocodiles) received with a great deal of seeming Good Manners and Civility; and soon after, their Accomplices are assembled, and your Keeper forthwith calls for a Bottle of Wine, orders a Couple or Half a Dozen of Fowls to be immediately roasted, and other things suitable thereunto VOL. V.

to be provided; which being performed and brought to Table, with great Impudence, they will not only place themselves at the Upper part thereof, but also unmannerly cut, carve, rake and tear, and serve every one before they will admit you even to be able to sit down, and oblige you at last, to be glad of receiving what they dislike, nay, very often leave little more than the bare Bones.

"Their ravenous Appetites being thus plentifully satiated, and some or other being troubled with the Cholick, a Pint of Brandy is call'd for, out of which, if any be left, when they are all serv'd round, perhaps, one Glass may come to your turn, or otherwise you must call for more, or go without.

"The Table being clear'd, Orders are given for Pipes and Tobacco, and a Bowl of Punch to be made immediately, notwithstanding you give no Commission for the same, or that it may chance to be a Liquor diagreeable to you.

These Bowls of Punch are generally of such a Size as are commonly sold for Three Shillings and Sixpence, for which you are charged Ten Shillings each.

"The Bowl being out, they very frequently, with the greatest impudence, order another, though against your Will, and without your Order; and in the Drinking of the same (with the greatest Tranquillity imaginable) demand the Substance of your Misfortunes, &c., and if they think your Case hard, you have the Benefit of the Pity of these Miscreants for all your Expences.

"When the Bowl is out, you are immediately conveyed to your Prison Room, in which you are inclosed with such Security, as not to be easily got to when required.

"About Two Hours afterwards, the chief Swine of the Herd, under a pretence of a Visit, &c. comes to you, and after some few Judas Compliments, he, without asking Leave or Consent, calls for Pipes, Tobacco, and a Bottle of Wine, places himself in a Chair, lights his Pipe, fills his Glass, drinks it off, without the Good Manners of taking any Notice of you; for you must understand, that Good Manners amongst Bailiffs, are as scarce to be found, as Honesty.

"By such time as the Bottle is half out, perhaps 'twill be your turn to have the Opportunity of drinking a Glass or two with him; and then he takes Care to intimate the Necessity of your being immediately carried to Newgate, if yon don't forthwith pay him his Demands for his Civility (by him call'd Civility Coal; viz. Civility Money.)

""Tis true, altho' he has the Modesty and Cunning as not to mention the Sum he demands, yet he has the Impudence to smile in your Face, and deny receiving of what you are disposed to give, provided 'tis 4 E

less than a Guinea; and very often, as the Case is circumstanc'd, he is so base as to extort Two or Three, and sometimes Five Guineas.

"If you do not at that time pay him his Civil Coal, you are certainly used with great Brutality, and lock'd up a close Prisoner for several Days; during which time, you shall not only be deprived of all manner of Conversation, but of seeing of any Persons who come to you; and he will also prevent you from sending to any of your Friends upon your necessary Occasions, till such time you have satisfy'd his unreasonable Expectations. And though you are close lock'd up, and cannot have free Access to the necessary Conveniency, you may ring, knock, or call (very often) for the space of an Hour, before they will come near you, and at the same Time, they'll Scoff and Snap at you, and use you with a great deal of Ill Manners.

"Upon the Whole, I cannot but observe, That by the Words Civility-Money, with which you are forced to compound for hardly tolerable Usage at the best, it is naturally imply'd, That the general Disposition of this Set of Mortals, is such, as renders them the very Reverse to every thing Human, and ranks them more properly in the Lists of those Beasts of Prey, that prowl about to destroy Mankind; and in this resemble the Devil himself, who walks to and fro in the Earth seeking whom he may de

vour.

"Indeed were I particularly to describe the base Methods used by these Canibals, 'twould swell this Volume to an enormous Bulk; I shall therefore proceed as briefly as I can, that I may not tire the Patience of my Reader.

"Your Civil Coal being paid, for some few Days after, you will be treated with a little more Good Manners than before, provided you keep Piping as long as they Dance, or otherwise you'll find but little Difference from your former Usage.

"For the first Night's Lodging you are charged Two Shillings, and One Shilling per Night afterwards, and for your Firing One Shilling per Diem. Every Night before Eight o'Clock (notwithstanding you have before paid Eight times the Value of your Firing) they will either come to you themselves (or send one of their Followers) and will not only put out your Fire, but also take away your Candle, and oblige you to get into your Bed in the Dark, if you offer to sit up till Eight or Nine in the Evening.

"And altho' your Lodging and Firing is so extortionate dear, yet very often you shall be obliged to lie with one, and sometimes with two, in the same Bed; and as to the Fires they are seldom made till Noon each Day, be the Mornings never so

cold.

"If you are inclined to Breakfast with Tea, Coffee, Chocolate, &c., you pay a

Quadruple Price for the same; if Bread, Cheese, Butter, &c. One Shilling; and Fourpence, per Quart for what Beer you drink therewith.

"The Price of your Dinner, if you Dine by yourself, is generally Two Shillings, and sometimes Three; for if there be no other Prisoner than yourself, you are surely charged with the Dinner as provided for the Family in general.

"If you are admitted to sit in Company during the Intervals between Meals, nothing will do but a flowing Bowl of Punch (such as before mentioned) or a Bottle or two of Wine, which, with the greatest Assurance imaginable, they will call for (as aforesaid) without your Consent, and very often without your Knowledge.

"If any of the Female Sex (as the Wife or Daughters of your Gaoler) be in Company, they will provide Tea, Sugar, &c., and place all to your Account, which if you seem the least displeased at, then they tell you of Newgate, of calling a Coach to carry you thither, and many such like Threats, which, to Persons who know not what Newgate is, sounds so terrible, that they are glad to put up with such Impositions; and thereupon, you are commanded to repair to your Prison Room, a loathsome Garret, where you are securely lock'd up, and no Persons admitted to come near you for many Hours after, be your occasions never so importunate.

"The Brandy, as they call it, which they sell in their Houses, is a Composition of diverse Spirituous Liquids, which they dispose of at Eightpence a Quartern, as by them termed, tho' but little more than a HalfQuartern Wine Measure.

"The Geneva they sell at Fourpence per Quartern, and in the same short Measure as that of their Brandy. Their Beer is sold at Fourpence per Quart, each Quart containing about Three half Pints.

"Their Wine is horrid base, not only in respect to Goodness, but Measure: their Bottles which they call Quarts, are actually not Wine Pints, and the Price is Two Shillings each.

"When you have Occasion to send a Letter by a Porter, you must not only beg and pray for that Liberty, but also pay a double Price for the Message. And if you give a Letter with a Penny, to put into the Penny Post-Office, it very rarely goes any further than the first Fire they come to. And every time you send any Letter, either by the Post or a Messenger, it is always opened and read, and very often not delivered at all, especially if they dislike the Contents. Nor do they scruple to open Letters when they are sent, if the Person who brings them, doth not deliver the same into the Hands of the Prisoner.

"Their Followers are still more wretched Miscreants than the Bailiffs, and for the Sake of a Shilling (which is the general Allowance they have out of every Arrest) will

betray the best of Friends, nay, even their own Father, without any manner of Regard to what may follow. And you are not only charged Two Shillings and Sixpence per diem for one of those Followers (who are generally and justly termed Bailiffs Dogs) to be your Keeper; but also One Shilling per Diem, for the Victuals he eats.

"That nothing may escape these Wretches, they always, at the Departure of a Prisoner, ask for some small Matter for the MaidServant of their House; which is seldom deny'd, but is rarely given to her; for if she happens to be absent on any Occasion, and it be left with her Master or Mistress for her, they generally keep it themselves, all being Fish with them that comes to Net. "It were endless to enumerate the Tenth Part of their Villainies, and therefore I shall end this Part of the Parallel, with congratulating my Countrymen on the Hopes, that a Happy End will now be soon put to the vile Impositions and Barbarities of these inhuman Canibals, by the Excellent Law depending at this Time in the Parliament, to prevent Vexatious Arrests and Law-suits. Their Enormities have arriv'd at such a flagrant Height, that the Cries of the Oppressed have reach'd the Ears of our Noble Legislators, who seem determin'd to deliver the poor Subject from the Extortions of these Wretches, which, no doubt will procure the Grateful Acknowledgment of all Honest Men, and draw down upon them a Blessing from the Almighty, who has been graciously pleased to recommend to Mortals, To Visit the Sick, and Relieve the Prisoners, as two great Duties of Human Life. In this Happy Prospect, I shall therefore for the present leave the Subject, and proceed to speak a Word or two in relation to the Humanity observed in the Master Debtors Side of Newgate, in Comparison to the Usage and Impositions of a Sponging-House.

"After being Arrested and carry'd to the Lodge at Newgate, you pay to the Turnkey (as before mentioned) 68 and 6d. and then you are directed to the Ward appointed for you, where, at your Entrance, you pay 10s and 6d (as aforesaid) to the Steward of that Ward for your Garnish-Money; out of which 2s. is spent amongst the Prisoners of your Ward, and the remaining 8s. and 6d. is kept by the Steward, for which he provides very good Fires, Candles, Salt and Brooms, during the whole Time of your Imprisonment, if it prove never so long.

Which being compared with a Sponging-House, where you pay 1s per Diem, for your Fires, which are not light till Noon, and put out every Night at 8 or 9 and left in the Dark afterwards, is no doubt infinitely preferable.

"Your Garnish being paid, you immediately enter into a Mess with the other Prisoners of the Ward, with whom you eat, drink, &c. at a very cheap and reasonable Rate, every Person providing for his Day

as aforesaid, a sufficient Joint of Mutton, Beef, &c., and thereby you have a very good Dinner of Roast or Boil'd every Day for about 4d. each Prisoner, or 6d. at most, at which time you may drink such Liquors as you are inclinable to, and be free from all manner of Impositions and Ill Manners practised by Bailiffs, where you not only pay an extravagant Price, but are obliged to eat what they please to leave, and be subject to their Humours.

"The Liberty you have of Conversing with whom you please, is at no time denied, free Access being given at all times between Eight in the Morning and Nine at Night, at which times you are at liberty to be in private with your Friends to Consult and Advise, &c., as your Business or Affairs may require, without any Person to interfere with you; which in a Sponging-House is the Reverse; for there you cannot speak one Word to your Friend in relation to your affairs, but you have one or two of their Emissaries listening at the Door, to over-hear your Consultations, which may oftentimes prove of a bad Consequence, by having your Secrets discovered to your Adversaries.

"When your Occasions require a Person to carry a Letter to any Place in London, 'tis faithfully performed by the Servants of Mr Rowse and Mr Perry, with great Care and Speed, which is never done at any Sponging-Houses, as I have before observ

ed. Then for the Benefit of Air and Cleanliness, there is no Comparison: for here every thing is kept clean by the Care of the Steward, &c., whereas in a Sponging-House, what with your being close lock'd up, and want of fresh Air, the Stink of a Close Stool (which is very often full at your coming in) the ill-smell of the Bed (for they seldom change the Sheets under two Months) and the Smoaking of the Chimney; the Air is actually so Infectious, that if the Persons confined are not of a strong Constitution, they are liable to great Inconveniencies.

"By this Time, I believe, my Reader will agree with me, That the Master Debtors Side of Newgate, is a Paradise to the best of Sponging-Houses, not only in respect to the least Expence, but also for Health, good Entertainment, Liberty, Pleasure and Conversation; And therefore, I do solemnly declare to all unfortunate Persons, That when they cannot produce Bail or discharge the Action in a short time, 'tis greatly to their Advantage immediately to go to the Master Debtors Side of Newgate, rather than suffer themselves to be imposed on, in the Manner I have related.

The better to exemplify the great Difference there is between the Usage of a Sponging-House, and the Master Debtors Side of Newgate, I shall here subjoin a Bill of Expence for one Day in each. Place; by which the Reader, at a View, will be able to judge of and confirm the Truth of what I have asserted.

Most of our readers are probably aware, that in the year 1818, the long-closed pyramid of Cephrenes was opened by the skill and perseverance of Mr Belzoni. Like the large pyramid, it was found to contain a dark chamber and a stone sarcophagus, in which were a few bones, some of which, on being brought to England by Major Fitzclarence, were submitted to the inspection of Sir Edward Home, and found to be the bones of a cow or bull. This discovery has completely established the theory of the pyramid, previously advanced by Mr Faber in his learned work on the Origin of Pagan Idolatry. We shall, in as few words as possible, lay before our reader the substance of that theory.

The striking uniformity of Paganism, as established in every part of the world, leads to the rationale of the pyramids. As its rudiments are the same, so is there a surprising uniformity in the religious structures of the old idolaters. Pyramids, so far from being peculiar to Egypt, are to be found of different sizes, properties, and materials, in every quarter of the globe.

In no region are they more common than in Hindostan, between which country and Egypt, through the medium of the shepherd kings, there was

a very early and a very close religious connexion. Now the Brahmins are unanimous in declaring, that every Pyramid is an artificial mountain, designedly constructed as a copy of the Holy Mount Meru. This holy mountain they describe as the special abode of Iswara, who, during an universal deluge, floated in the ship Argha, upon the surface of the ocean. Into the particulars of this tradition it is unnecessary to enter.

Exactly the same account, relative to the design and origin of the great pyramid of Cholula, prevailed among the Mexicans, and even at the present day prevails among their posterity.

From these concurring accounts it is evident, that the holy mountain of which every pyramid was an avowed transcript, was no other than Mount Ararat, upon which the ark rested after the deluge. Each pyramid then was a copy of Mount Ararat, whence it appears that the religious notions attached to the pyramid, bore a certain relation to the history of the flood.

The Hindoo theologians, though occasionally differing as to the form which they ascribe to the holy mount Meru, very generally represent it as being square, as standing with an ascurate relation to the four cardinal

points of the compass, and as composed of eight successively diminishing towers placed one upon the other. Such, according to Herodotus and Strabo, was the exact form and arrangement of the Tower of Babylon. But this very pyramid, raised on the banks of the Euphrates, was, according to the Hindoo theologians, the earliest montiform edifice, which the sons of men reared as a studious copy of Mount Meru.

The Mexican legend, attached to the pyramid of Cholula, is a corrupted narrative of the building of the Babylonic Tower, brought away, in the first instance, from the plain of Shinar, by them of the dispersion. The form of the Mexican pyramid corresponds both in shape and position with the Tower of Babylon, as described by the Greek historians. It differs only in having a smaller number of steps, whereas the Egyptian pyramids of Ghiza differ from it, in having a larger. In all other respects they perfectly resemble the Tower of Belus; and the two which have been opened, contain each a dark central chamber, which answers to the similar chamber mentioned by Herodotus as constructed in the heart of the Babylonic pyramid. On the same principle are built the Indian pyramids of Tanjore, with this difference, that they are higher in reference to their base, than the pyramids of Ghiza.

As the first Postdiluvian sacrifice was offered on the summit of Mount Ararat, by the great patriarch who was preserved in the ark, so, on every imitative mountain, whether natural or artificial, sacrifices were devoted to that principal Hero-God, who was said to be the father of three sons, and who, with seven companions, was reported to have sailed over a shoreless ocean in a wonderful ship, by the Hindoos called Argha, and by the Egyptians and the Greeks styled Argo or Baris. For this purpose the pyramidal altar was built with a flat top, which sometimes contained a chapel. The summit of the chief pyramid of Ghiza, though, from the enormous bulk of the fabric, it seems a mere point to the eye of the spectator, is yet a square platform of not less than thirty-two feet. But, admitting that each pyramid were a copy of Mount Ararat, the question arises, in what manner origi

nated the belief, that the pyramids of Egypt were the tombs of the ancient kings of the country? The Greek writers could never have imagined the pyramids to be tombs, unless they had been actually so informed by the Egyptians. They seem to have been told by the priesthood, that each pyramid was the tomb of a very ancient king of Egypt. Having received this general account of them, and finding that the three principal ones were ascribed to the three kings, Cheops, Cephrenes, and Mycerinus, they naturally enough concluded them to be the sepulchres of these three princes. Their opinion, which seemed to rest upon a very solid foundation, was forthwith committed to writing; and hence originated the general persuasion, that these vain-glorious and tyrannical kings had harassed their subjects, and exhausted the wealth of their country, for no better purpose than that they might repose after death in tombs of extraordinary magnitude.

The truth of the matter, however, was this, that instead of being the literal sepulchres of the literal kings of the country, the pyramids were each alike the mystical sepulchre of Osiris, the supposed primeval king and HeroGod of Egypt.

The worship of Osiris, or Thammuz, was of a funereal nature. In the celebration of his mysteries the god was first bewailed as dead, and afterwards his restoration to life was celebrated with riotous mirth and frantic exclamations. To these rites there are frequent allusions in Scripture, for they prevailed in Palestine as much as in Egypt. By the ancient author of the Orphic Argonautics, they are denominated the Lamentations of the Egyptians, and the Sacred Obsequies of Osiris. They were celebrated in the following manner :

In memory of Osiris being compelled to enter into an ark by Typhon, or the evil genius of the ocean, an image of the god was annually placed in a boat shaped like the Lunar Crescent, and set afloat upon the Nile. It was called the Argo, evidently the same as the ship Argha of the kindred theology of Hindostan. It was, however, also deemed the mystic coffin of the god; and as his entrance into it was esteemed the same as his death, so an evasion from it was esteemed the same as