cannot be denied, often to the detriment of the sufferer's health, and continually to the drawback of his learning. It was only a few months ago I happened to read a police account, in which a poor creature was brought before the magistrate for some breach of the law; the prisoner, a female, pleaded in mitigation the harshness and severity of her mistress, and handed in a paper which contained a summary of those duties which, as a servant to make herself generally useful, she was expected to discharge for the sum of £9 a year, and the reversion of the family teapot :

66 GENERAL RULES.-DAILY DUTY.

"To be up at six o'clock, light kitchen fire, kitchen to be swept, light drawingroom fire, grate to be thoroughly cleaned, fire-irons rubbed, drugget and rug to be taken up and shaken, carpet swept, and everything removed and thoroughly dusted; hot water to be taken up to the bedrooms, breakfast to be laid, knives and forks to be cleaned, breakfast at eight o'clock; during which time passages, &c., to be cleaned, and bell-handle rubbed; breakfast things to be washed up, kitchen tire made up, step of the door hearthstoned; beds to be made and bedrooms to be swept and dusted, slops emptied; stairs swept down and staircase dusted, lamp to be trimmed and cleaned, candlesticks cleaned; dinner to be prepared, to be on table by one o'clock; during dinner to begin cleaning kitchen, everything to be washed up and put in its place; yourself to be cleaned to take out baby; tea to be ready by five o'clock; after tea, slops to be emptied and beds turned down, baby to be washed and put to bed; supper at nine o'clock; everything to be washed up and put away before going to bed.

"DUTY ON SPECIAL DAYS IN EACH WEEK.

"Monday.-Two bedrooms to be swept and scoured, walls and furniture to be well dusted; grates and fire-irons to be cleaned.

“ Tuesday.—All the washing to be done.

"Wednesday.-Clean one bedroom; passage and stairs cleaned, scoured, and

dusted.

"Thursday.-Drawing-room to be well swept with tea-leaves; walls dusted; grate and fire-irons well cleaned; marble and table-covers and outside of windows to be wel! washed with soap and water, and everything to be moved and well dusted; ironing to be done.

Friday.-Tins, coppers, and all kitchen utensils to be cleaned; drawing-room stairs to be cleaned.

"Saturday.-Kitchen and back-kitchen to be thoroughly cleaned; passage to

be scoured."

Now, this sounds like a severe code of duty, and reminds one not a little of the hard task-masters of the Egyptian king of ancient days, or of the more modern Pharaohs of the cotton mills, and yet it was very much the routine of employment that every Westminster boy was subject to forty years ago. It is true, there was some slight difference, for, instead of earning nine pounds a year and the prospect of the teapot, our wages consisted of more kicks than halfpence, and our reversionary interest never brought us in more than the tea-leaves of the two-and-ninepenny Hyson, the wretched remains of a greasy crumpet, or the tail-end of a halfpenny bloater.

But I have been reclining too long sub tegmine Fagi, and must resume my narrative. The day for the " early play" arrived, and at about a quarter of an hour after we had entered school, the king scholar on duty announced the arrival of a most noble marquis, noble in every sense of the word, and who, being an old Westminster, made a point of annually begging a holiday, or, as it was called, an early play. Indeed,

com

in some respects it had an advantage over the whole holiday, as during the latter the boys that did not go home for the day were obliged to attend the Abbey service. No sooner had the Marquis of municated his request to the head of the school-a favour which was instantly granted-than the kind-hearted nobleman, knowing my family, sent, among other boys, for me, and after asking us after our relatives, gave us each a "tip" of a guinea. No sooner had we reached our boarding-house than Kirkonnel and I proceeded to our master's room, to prepare his shooting tackle and gear. We were then ordered off to the house of the celebrated Dick Hubbert, in Tothill-fields, there to await Merston's arrival. Those fields, the willow-walk, the duck-pond, the halfpenny hatch, are now no longer to be traced. On their site the Penitentiary, new squares, crescents, and rows of houses have sprung up, and London has, within the last twenty years, so extended itself east, west, north, and south, that scarcely a vestige of green pasture has been left. How different are the environs of this huge brick-and-mortar metropolis to what they were in by-gone days! and yet, with an increasing population, there is scarcely a spot left where the hard-toiling mechanic can enjoy a sniff of pure air. Our ancestors managed these affairs better, for Fitzstephen, who flourished in the reign of Henry the Second, writes as follows:

"There are on the north part of London principal fountains of water-sweet, wholesome, and clear, streaming forth among the glistening pebble stones; in this number, Holy-well, Clerken-well, and St. Clement's-well, are of most note, and frequented above the rest, where scholars and the youth of the city take the air abroad in the summer evenings."

The same writer informs us that in the afternoon the youth of the city were accustomed to go out into the fields with their teachers to play at ball

"-while the ancient and wealthy citizens came on horseback, to see these youngsters contending at their sport—”

That exercises on horseback, to qualify them for military pursuits, were used every Friday afternoon during Lent. He likewise adds that the citizens took delight in dogs and birds, such as sparrow-hawks and gos-hawks, and everything connected with the sports of the field.

Stow, speaking of the fields in the neighbourhood of London, describes them as

"-commodious for the citizens therein to walke, shoote, and otherwise to recreate and refresh their dulled spirits, in the sweet and wholesome ayre."

He also mentions that it was customary, in olden times

"-for the sheriffs, the porters of the king's beame or weigh-house, and other of the citie, to be challengers of all men in the suburbs, to wrestle, shoot the standard and broad-arrow.'

As late as the reign of Charles the First we find how little London had extended eastward, for on the 24th of July, 1629, that ill-fated monarch having hunted a stag or hart from Wanstead, in Essex, killed him in Nightingale-lane, in the hamlet of Wapping, in a garden belonging to a most respectable citizen, who had some damage among his herbs, by reason of the multitude there assembled suddenly.

With regard to the locale I am about to describe, Maitland mentions Tothill-fields as follows:

"In which fields was a fort, upon the line of communication drawn round the City of London and suburbs, by order of Parliament, in the year 1643. In this work a lazaretto was erected in the year 1665, for the reception of poor objects oppressed with the plague, which place was denominated the Seven Houses."

In my day the fields extended from Milbank-row, Westminster, to the site formerly occupied by Ranelagh Gardens, and covered the ground now occupied by the Penitentiary, the approaches to Vauxhall Bridge, and the numerous streets branching from that road.

66

In the willow-walk and its precincts lived two celebrated characters, Richard Hubbert and William Habberfield, the letter hero better known by the name of Slender Billy. The redoubtable Richard was like his royal namesake, "of courage leonine;" and if his crusades against the hen-roosts, duck-ponds, and dog-kennels of the neighbourhood were not quite so praiseworthy as those of Palestine, Dick's worst enemy could not have withheld the homage due to his undaunted bravery. Miss Hubbert, "the sole daughter of his house and heart," resided with her father, and made herself extremely useful in looking after the badgers, feeding the ducks, which her respected parent kept for the Westminster boys to shoot, at a shilling per shot, the game (if killed) to go to the sportsman. The young lady also made up the cartridges, looked after the pigeons, fed the rabbits, and superintended the aviaries of canaries, bullfinches, thrushes, linnets, and larks. It was whispered that the fair hands of this accomplished spinster occasionally transmogrified London sparrows into piping bullfinches, the process being performed by a few coats of coloured paint, laid pretty thick upon their smoke-coloured feathers; suffice it to say that upon one occasion a very green young gentleman from the country purchased, as he thought, a warbler of the grove," which, upon being exposed to the rain, completely changed his hues. Upon Hubbert being appealed to, he remarked that "them there birds inwariably moulted their feathers at a partiklar time, and that if the young gemman would only keep the bird another year, it would be all right." By some accident the cage-door was shortly afterwards found open, and it was shrewdly suspected that Dick had allowed the inmate to escape to save his daughter from disgrace. Hubbert's residence was very much after the fashion of an Indian wigwam in North America; it consisted of his own "crib," containing two bedrooms, a sitting-room, and a "fencing" office-for Dick, be it spoken to his shame, was a receiver of stolen goods. The yard was filled with small huts and kennels, from the apertures of which might be seen the rough head of a badger, the savage frontispiece of a bull-dog, the sleek head of a pointer, the curly pate of a Scotch terrier, or the one-eyed caput of a mastiff. Then there were pigeon-traps, rabbit-hutches, a kennel for what the Astley's playbills described as "a real fox," and who occasionally made his appearance upon those boards. Then came the poultry-yard, the duck-pond, and a target for pistol, rifle, and fowling-piece practice. Upon reaching this truly sporting residence, Miss Hubbert made her appearance, and finding that we 66 were all on the square," as she termed it, we were ushered into the presence of the verderer par excellence of Tothill-fields.

(To be continued.)

DOINGS OF THE BATAVIA RACE CLUB.

TO THE EDITOR.

SIR,-Actuated by a feeling I can't describe, but to which, I suppose, all young 'uns are liable, as they are to distemper and hoopingcough, I have, of course with an idea of proving myself a second Nimrod, and putting our worthy friend Craven's pipe out entirely, screwed up my courage to address you with the following true and particular account" of the "Doings of the Batavia Race Club ;" and should this my first entry prove, after the due application of the editorial scissors, sound and likely, why run him, Mr. Editor, by all means; but if you think he will not be well placed, destroy him, as I could not stand having him returned as unfit, to say nothing of the expense of sending him back overland.

Having thus taken a preliminary canter, and got my legs well under me, I will start at once for the race-course; and a very prettylooking little course it is-about a mile long, oval in shape, with a grand stand open all round, to admit the air, and allow the fair faces with which it is crowded a chance of seeing and being seen; a fine open plain of about three miles in extent, surrounded with pretty villas embowered in trees; and, at this hour, everything delightfully cool and refreshing. The members of the Club in their scarlet coats, the bright, flashy patterns of the native dresses, together with the numerous satin-jacketed gentry (who, by the bye, are all natives, and ride without boots, holding the stirrup fast between the big toe and its next neighbour), contribute to throw an air of gaiety over the scene, that far surpasses a stranger's expectation.

FIRST DAY.-Thursday, Oct. 21, 1847.

The Maiden Plate of 400f.; entrance, 25f.; heats, R.C., brought out a field of five, of whom Lord George had the call, at even against the field, Buridan standing next on the list; the others not mentioned.

On the flag being dropped, away they went, Buridan making play, with the favourite on his quarter, and the ruck a few lengths behind. At the half-mile his lordship had a slight advantage; but on coming round the last turn, Buridan was two lengths in advance. At the cords Lord George came up, and a splendid race ensued, Buridan winning by a neck. If Lord George had been called upon sooner, I

think he might have won the heat. Lottery a bad third, and the other two nowhere. Pace very good. Second heat: Lord George took the lead, was never headed, and won by two or three lengths; Buridan second, and Lottery third. Third heat: Lord George again went off at a slapping pace, and won easily; Buridan beaten off, and Lottery a bad second.

The Governor's Cup, given by the Baron Van der Capellen, with 800fl. added by the Club; the winner to pay the second horse's stake; entrance, 50f.; heats, R.C. (The only race in which other than country-bred horses are allowed to start).

Betting: 2 to 1 on Qui Hye, and 2 to 1 agst. Lord Bateman.

Lord Bateman led off the dance in the first heat, closely followed by the others, when Qui Hye went through his horses, and took the lead at the half-mile post, was never caught, and won easily in one minute and fifty seconds. This is not bad running, considering the climate; and I am satisfied Qui Hye could have done it in less time. He is a regular race-horse, and was bred in Sydney. The sporting owner of Lord Bateman was the first who imported racers here; and he won the Cup in May, 1846, with this horse, and then challenged any one to bring a horse to beat him. This put some of his brother-sportsmen on their mettle, and, by great good luck, they got hold of Qui Hye. In the second heat Qui Hye had it all his own way, and won easily; Lord Bateman second, and Stanley third. The last race of the day was the Batavia Stakes of 150fl., for ponies under 13 hands; entrance, 15fl.; R.C.; for which six started. Si Blan, the favourite, at 2 to 1; Selim at 4 to 1; and the others, with perhaps the exception of Wallick, who was dark, at any odds.

They started well; and the little devils all kept so close, that it was impossible to see who was first. At the quarter-mile Wallick showed in front, and appeared likely to win, with Adam playing second fiddle. At the half-mile Selim walked through his horses, and took the second place. At the cords the pace seemed to tell upon Wallick; and Selim, coming with a rush, beat him on the post by a head. The rest were tailed off; Adam a bad third, and, I believe, the favourite actually last.

Thus ended the day's sport; and I may here be allowed to notice the excellent arrangements made by the stewards for the accommodation of everybody. The stabling is good; and the heats being run alternately-namely, all the first heats first, and then the second heats, and so on-allows the horses plenty of time to recover their wind.

K