<span style="color:grey"> I e is most true . . . . . I te foortients ( of cy h me.
IN tre of t City of London lies a small neiging of a cluster of narroreets and courts, of very venerable and debilitated tLE BRItAIN. C C.
Bartal bound it on t; Smite Street, like an arm of t from tern part of ty; reet separates it from Butce. Over ttle territory, ted, t dome of St. Pauls, servening ernoster Roection.
ter derives its appellation from times, ttany. As London increased, o t, and trade, creeping on at took possession of ted abodes. For some time Little Britain became t mart of learning, and ed it, and, emigrating beyond t strait of Nee Street, settled doernoster Ro. Pauls Cinue to increase and multiply even at t day.
But, to decline, Little Britain still bears traces of its former splendor. to tumble dos of uralist to classify. te Street, certain remains of o several tenements. en be found tty tradesman, s trumpery furniture, burroiquated ?nery in great rambling time-stained apartments ted ceilings, gilded cornices, and enormous marble ?replaces. ts also contain many smaller on so grand a scale, but, like your small ancient gentry, sturdily maintaining to equal antiquity.
to treet, great bo in lead, grotesque carvings, and low arched doorways.*
* It is evident t teresting communication itle of Little Britain, man of ttle lanes and courts t belong immediately to Cloth Fair.
In t venerable and sered little nest years of existence, comfortably lodged in t but oldest edi?ces. My sitting-room is an old ed c off ure. I icular respect for ted carnister days, and less ?gured in some of ttle Britain. to me to keep togeto look doempt upon ttomed neigry carry a y o associate. t of my sitting-room is taken up s for many generations, mingled gentleman-like poetry, ten in cers y of Little Britain ion, and pay my bill regularly every gentleman of to learn ternal state of a community so apparently s up self, I o o all ts of the place.
Little Britain may truly be called ts core of ty, trongrue Jo is a fragment of London as it s better days, s antiquated folks and fas preservation many of toms of yore. tants most religiously eat pancakes on Suesday, cross-buns on Good Friday, and roast goose at Micters on Valentines Day, burn tletoe at Cmas. Roast beef and plum-pudding are also itious veneration, and port and sain true Englislandish beverages.
Little Britain s long catalogue of city s consider t bell of St. Pauls, olls; t strike t St. Dunstans clock; t; tos in Guildill believe in dreams and fortune-telling, and an old lives in Bull-and-Moutreet makes a tolerable subsistence by detecting stolen goods and promising t to be rendered uncomfortable by comets and eclipses, and if a dog nig is looked upon as a sure sign of deat-stories current, particularly concerning t is said strange sigimes seen. Lords and ladies, ttomed er in lappets, stays, e c nigo be t proprietors in t-dresses.
Little Britain s sages and great men. One of t important of tall, dry old gentleman of tenance, full of cavities and projections, acles. of by tuffed alligators tles. reader of almanacs and nes of plots, conspiracies, ?res, eartions; o deal out to omers time puts boto an uproar. believer in omens and predictions; and Nixon and Moton by . No man can make so muc of an eclipse, or even an unusually dark day; and ail of t comet over tomers and disciples until tened out of ts. ely got . t among t sibyls, op of Bos ake place. trange conjunction, it seems, rangely come to pass. tect ely on teeple of Boe, tually lie, che yard of his workshop.
quot;Ot; as Mr. Skryme is accustomed to say, quot;may go star-gazing, and look for conjunctions in t ion on t ions of astrologers.quot; Since tentous ogets anding t y-t; anoted tings in all parts of t Mancer; t plot in Cato Street; and, above all, turned to England! All ter events are recounted by Mr. Skyrme erious look and a dismal saken ed in tors uffed-sea-monsters, bottled serpents, and itle-page of tribulation, t gloom ttle Britain. t ted any good to come of taking do steeple, old not glad tidings, as tory of tington and bears ness.
ttle Britain is a substantial c of one of tly lodged as a round-bellied mite in t of one of tle standing and importance, and ends to Aldermanbury. aken in affairs of state, ury, togetlemans Magazine, Rapins ory of England, and the Naval Chronicle.
ored est of time and use for centuries. It is quot;it is a moral impossible,quot; so long as England is true to anyto say on t of tional debt, national bul of tle Britain until of late years, y of a Sunday cane, o take o ead, e, and otoropolis telescope and endeavoring to descry teeple of St.
Bart a stage-coacreet but touc as e a patron at t. Pauls C for o make an expedition to Margate, but doubts of teamboats, and indeed too advanced in life to undertake sea-voyages.
Little Britain s factions and divisions, and party spirit ran very one time, in consequence of t;Burial Societiesquot; being set up in ts meeting at tronized by t t is needless to say t tter ?ouris eacion as to t mode of being buried, tive merits of cogets on t of patent iron cof?ns. I ion discussed in all its bearings as to ty of proing tter on account of ty. ties e; but time prevailing troversy, ttle Britain being extremely solicitous of funeral ably in their graves.
Besides ties te a different cast, o t meets once a a little old-fas by a jolly publican of taff, and bearing for insignia a resplendent seductive buncions to catcy ruman, ire,quot; quot;ine, Rum, and Brandy Vaults,quot; quot;Old tom, Rum, and Compounds,quot; etc. temple of Baccime immemorial. It affs, so t its ory is tolerably preserved by t landlord. It s and cavalieros of to nos of C aff principally prides urnal rambles, broke tors aff. t of the landlord.
ts tle Britain.quot; tcories t are traditional in t to be met of tropolis.
taker a merry song, but t of Little Britain, is bully agstaff ors ock of songs and jokes, ion to generation as tle fello belly, a red face merry eye, and a little s t o sing ;Confession of Fait; ;Gammer Gurtons Needle.quot; , to be sure, ions, as from anding favorite at t ten; nay, en before ty and gentry at Cmas mummeries, ain s glory.*
* As mine of t be familiar to ty of readers, and as it is a specimen of t songs of Little Britain, I subjoin it in its original ort table and clattering of pes.
<span style="color:grey">But, belly, God send thee good ale ynoughe,
<span style="color:grey">Cc.
<span style="color:grey">Cc.
<span style="color:grey">No tyll they nod and winke,
<span style="color:grey">And all poore soules t have scowred bowles,
<span style="color:grey">God save their wives,
<span style="color:grey">Cc.
It o , ts of merriment, tcs of voices, reet is lined eners, o t of gazing into a confectioners eams of a cook-shop.
ts ir and sensation in Little Britain: t. Bartime of t gossiping and gadding about. te quiet streets of Little Britain are overrun ion of strange ?gures and faces; every tavern is a scene of rout and revel. taproom morning, noon, and nig eac eyes, s on one side, pipe in moutankard in e families, up at otimes among my neig turnalia. ts ely set madding -So, ter, ted Mr. Paap, and t. too lavisoys and gilt gingerbread, and ?ll tian din of drums, trumpets, and penny wles.
But t anniversary. to by tants of Little Britain as test potentate upon eart coac of rain, as t of earts. in t t enter ty ?rst knocking at te of temple Bar and asking permission of t migy co cut do offends against ty of ty; and ttle man porringer on s at tate coacy saff. Odds blood! if sy itself is not safe.
Under tection of ty potentate, ttle Britain sleep in peace. temple Bar is an effectual barrier against all interior foes; and as to foreign invasion, t to to torain-bands, and put tanding army of Beef-eaters under arms, and o the world!
ts os os otle Britain to t fungous metropolis. I as a c, ional cer e and degeneracy. I of prevailed t it; for t nos of ties, yet t transient clouds and soon passed a ed beheir backs.
I could give rare descriptions of snug junketing parties at om-come-tickle-me, and otimes ry dance to tune of Sir Roger de Coverley. Once a year also togety to Epping Forest. It o see t t took place ed on trees. s of laug ttle agstaff and taker! After dinner, too, t blindmans-buff and o see tangled among to o alk politics, for t out a nes to pass aime in try. to be sure, get a little ; but tes ed by reference to a ly compre, managed someo decide in favor of boties.
All empires, orian, are doomed to cions. Luxury and innovation creep in, factions arise, and families noion and intrigues tem into confusion.
tter days ranquillity of Little Britain been grievously disturbed and its golden simplicity of manners tened otal subversion by tired butcher.
t ttle Britain, and everybody endance on t oric over it; tely smitten up a one- a bit of gold lace round t, and alk and detestation of to play at Pope-Joan or blindmans-buff; t quadrilles, ain; and took to reading novels, talking bad Frencoo, o an attorney, set up for a dandy and a critic, cers o unknos, and alking about Kean, t;Edinburg;
ill o o invite any of t t deal of genteel company from ts to. tance from Grays Inn Lane and ton Garden, and not less ters. t to be forgotten or forgiven. All Little Britain tling and jingling of be seen popping t-caps out at every c of virulent old cronies t kept a look-out from a opposite tired butcicised every one t knocked at the door.
t open o say to t is true t Mrs. Lamb, y acquaintance, tle ea-junketings to some of ;quite,quot; as s;in a friendly ; and it is equally true t ations ed, in spite of all previous voo trary. Nay, t and be deligo strum an Irisen erest to Mrs. Lambs anecdotes of Alderman Plunkets family, of Portsoken ard, and timberlakes, tc ted tes by canvassing at t gossiping convocation everyt all to pieces.
t could not be made fasired butc Lamb, in spite of ty old fellotled like ters alleman, addressed ;papaquot; in tones of in?nite softness, and endeavored to coax o a dressing-golemanly s. Do , tcurdy nature y vulgar good- on coat of a morning, dining at t of sausage ea.quot;
o sy of his family.
o a ?ing at quot;some peoplequot; and a about quot;quality binding.quot;
ttled and perplexed t butcers, e policy of taking advantage of tance, at lengto give up ernoons pipe and tankard at agstaffs, to sit after dinner by ake of port--a liquor ested--and to nod in ary and dismal gentility.
t noing along treets in Frencs alking and laug it distressed t so far as to attempt patronage, and actually induced a Frencer to set up in t ttle Britain took ?re at it, and did so persecute t o pack up ?ddle and dancing-pumps and decamp ation t ely forgot to pay for his lodgings.
I tered myself, at ?rst, all tion on t of ty ion, and I applauded t contempt tart pride, Frenc I grieve to say t I soon perceived tion aken my neiger condemning, o follouning o let ters er at Frenc t take a fes, precisely like t Little Britain.
I still all t t move out of t die, or migtorneys apprentices, and t quiet and simplicity migored to ty.
But unluckily a rival po oilman died, and left a ure and a family of buxom daug at t fat do aspirings. tion, being norained, broke out into a blaze, and took t tc is true t t start, urally an advantage of ttle bad Frencances; but trotters to be distanced. s, trotters mounted four and of trotters to be be not boast of as good company, yet twice as merry.
ty lengtself into fasions under tom-come-tickle-me are entirely discarded; tting up an country dance; and on my attempting to kiss a young lady under tletoe last Cmas, I ly repulsed, t quot;s; Bitter rivalry as to t fas of Little Britain, tanding up for ty of Cross-Keys Square, and trotters for ty of St. Bartholomews.
ttle territory torn by factions and internal dissensions, like t empire alent at prognostics, to determine, t it erminate in total downfall of genuine John Bullism.
te effects are extremely unpleasant to me. Being a single man, and, as I observed before, ratleman by profession in tand ties, and o counsels and mutual backbitings. As I am too civil not to agree ted myself most ies by abusing ts. I migo reconcile to my conscience, ing one, but I cannot to my apprerotters ever come to a reconciliation and compare notes, I am ruined!
I ermined, to beat a retreat in time, and am actually looking out for some ot in t city up, radesmen. teran rat, en ao my present abode, and leave tions of trotters to divide tracted empire of LIttLE BRItAIN.