The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-12-20

| c1lcd n, and tho '"sy IN which Toote treated ii
10 bis farce Of The N1.", gives as an insight into
one Of the MODES OF inlCrp citation adoptad At the
| time. Sir Matthew Mite SAYS That Wa .tting
| ton lived, no doubt can be male; that he was
| LOid mayor OF London was equally true bus rs
| 70 his cat that, gentlemen, is the G0rdan knot
| 70 unite. And hLro, gentlemen, bo IL permitted
/ 20 me to define what cat Is A cnt is a dones
| tic, whiskcted, four footed animal, whose en-
| ploymcnt is catching Of mice but lot puss have
utth eve 20 subtle, let puss have been ever 50
successful, 10 what could puss's capture amount
| No tanner can curry the skin Of a mouse, no
ami'y make meal OF the meat consequently
| nocat could give Wilmington his wealth. From
whence, then, does this error proceed Bl that
my cart to Point ut. The commerce this worthy
| nciciant carried on was chiefly confined tn our
COSTS, iur this purpose he constructed a vessel
/ Nli'h, Tor 10, agility aud Iightntss, he aptly
| chiisleued Cat. From thence it appears 90 was
Lotth Nlieh,rcd' iour- footed, mpuse.killing cat
that was the source OF the magistrates wealth,
but the cuusting, sailing, cstl-Curyiug cat"
In an early MS. tie value Of q cat is stated
TO be equal 10 that Of q milch sheep with
IT'S lamb and its wool; and IN auOher the pro.
Itty Necessary 90 institute proper hau.eH
Is saio 20 coWprisc nine buiidugs, one p pugb,
one kilut one CDuru, one bull, one cock, and olp
cat. One OF the Spanish WI ers says tha. tigh,
hunCttu gold pieces were given for fhn ursf
Spanish Dat laldcd iu Chill, by AImhgr1. the
companion OF IEIrrJ, while another put, dIFu
the sUm 90 six huu1rCi and states chat a ..aa gro
ave uc god for the cat, nos the car Tor She
CODA usCtUaucv which tends 90 snow that
there YVES some foundation for the s.ory
JtBu EathOr, ia his "Desripiou Of Guinea"
published iu 1850, speaks OF that country being
Infested with .ats and mice, aud Of tho grca, con.
stqutnt va nc attached 10 cat. pgnnaut give,
NiTy marvellous story, TO the effect that
"AlphonsO PuTtugucsc, wrecked on the col,t
OF Guinea, wis presented by tho king with his
weight OF gold for cat TO k,ll fni,e H,d AN
ointment 20 xiii flies, which sum hc improved
In five years o. six Thousand pounds" Ptunant
makes use of thi, as a weapon with which 10
knock down the Whttrg,Un story, but Mr..
lysUus accepts 10 IS MI.g rather Hyrrohprttive
than destructive. Mr.. keghlcv describes a
doorway W luJc Cathedral, In JutIaud, ia which
is sCuiptured ultu-rcIIeyo of a cat and tonr
nice, commemorate of poor mariner who
made fortune by she sale OF q cat IN some
iIeGn land. MI LysOus quotes from a work
published lg 1871, showing IN how grcat e,t-
nation cats have at certain times b.eu held.
AT AK, IN Provence, on the festival of Corpus
Chrrti, the finest Tom cat In the country, wrapped
in swAdduug clothes like child, who on this
occasion exhibited to the admiration Of the gap
ing multitude IN magnificent shrine. Flowers
were strcwed before him; every knee ben, as he
passed. This strange and shocking ceremony
did not die out till the year 1857 we only notice
1t in connection with the fact that cats, from
Whatever cause, were more highly valued in past
times than in the present day.
That Dick Whitting.ou rose TO be dis
tiDguished man is now unreasonable. He was
made u member of the MERGERS Company in
1922 he became alderman about the same
llnlCi ulyOft or lOtu mayor llt is not quite
certain at what date the mayOrwas first bclorded),
IN 1898, and again in 1907; member of par
Lament for the city Of London in lil6; lord
mayor third time in 1920, and was knghtel
some few years before his death in 1893 HIS
trade was not merely that of mercer; he was, as
Mr.. Lysons expresses il, sort Of "IIOwell and
Jfmes,' dealing in the cOstliGst silks Jewels, and
other luNuiies. Among the Issue Rolls, under
the date 9TH Henry the Fourth, is an entry of
payment Of two hundred and forty-eight pounds
ten shillings and siXpenCc Ga large sum In those
days) TO Richard Wilmington, citizen and mercer
Of London, for pearls and cloth of gold, provided
for the sOCmnilatiOn Of the marriage of Phlippa,
the kings daughter. In Hakluyt's collection of
Voyages poem called the "Libe of England's
Policie' makes mention of our hero as one ofthe
recognized merchant. princes Of the ago:-
Now think Of tho some
Ot nerchandy, Richard Of Nhittingdun,
That loaoC stcrre and chief chosen Howece.
What han by him our England OF honolrel
And yet tasteth daily his wOrthnessc!
A famous story IS told Of him as a worthy cit
"During his last mayorllty, after the war with
France, he entertained Henry the Fifth and his
queen ut Guildhall in most splendid manner
and received from his sovereign the order of
knighthood. The king, In order to carry on the
war, had been obliged to contract many debts, for
which he had given his bonds. These bonds had
been bought up by Wilmington to the amount Of
sixty thousand pounds aud on the present occa-
sion while The king was admiring fire which
had been made In the room, in which were
burned several sorts OF precious woods, mixed
with clnpamon and other spices, Wilmington
took out the kings bonds, threw them into the
fire, and burned them thus, a. his own expense
freeing the king from his debts. All we're amazed
at such proceeding; and the king exclaimed -
Never had prince such a subjectn to which
Wilmington adroitly rep led Never had subject
such prince!" We may doubt that the sum
was so large as sixty thousand pounds, without
doubling the general tenor Of the story.
But Sir Richard Wilmington was not m rely
a merchant so wealthy as to be able to assist
needy monarchs; he was an enlightened man,
who won the hearts of the citizens by the many
public Improvements he introduced. Whit
tngton made a conduit from lIighbury 10 Crip-
plegate, where he formed a well, or fountain
Tor the use of the public. He arehcd over
spring near the City wall ditch to keep the
water pure for use. lie began to rebuild
during his lifetime the prison OF Newgate of
which an old Chronicler speaking Of its pre-
viOus condition, relates that "hyt was febel
over lltel, and 80 contagious OF eyre yat hyt
caused the death Of many men," He began
building library for the Grey Friars Monastery
in Newgate street, and supplied it with books
(Of course MSS. in those days.. He arranged
with his executors for building library attached
to Guildhall. lie repaired ST. BarthOlomeRs
Hospital, which had fallen into decay. He
supplied with glass "a luxury in those tmes) the
windows Of Gulldhall, and paved the floor, which
had until then been merely strewed with rushes.
He rebuilt the Church of st. Michael PaternOster
in Tower Royal, and annexed to IL a college for
a master, chaplain, clerks, and choristers. He
built chapel adjoining Guildhall. Henry the
Fifth intrusted to him joint supervision, with
the monk Richard Hawarden, over the restoration
of Westminster Abbey, the nave of which had
remained in ruins for many years; and, more
over in lil5, the king issued minutes Of council,
directing that the corporation should not demo-
lish any building wall in the city without FIRST
obtaining the opinion of Richard Whittngto1.
There were many of the elements of a great man
in all this
The far-famed cat has taken part in good
many matters relating 20 the illustration Of Sir
r chard's career. His executors rebuilt New gate
according TO his bequest and adorned the front
| with q sculpture Of Wilmington and his cat.
This rem maned standing till 1880, though injured
| by the great fire of 1866. The MERGERS Company
! had once portrait OF Wilmington with his Cat,
| dated 1886; they have now one OF later date.
ElstTack engraved a third in 1890. GraiHer, in his
| History Of England says that Elstrack's picture
had at first deaths head instead Of a cat; that
the public would not buy il; that Elstrack erased
| the deaths head and put in q cat; that the print
then sold well, and that the deaths head impress
| sions became extremely rare. by far the most
| curious matter assocatng Wilmington with q cat
| has come TO ligh. since the publication Of Mr.
| Lysons' book. On removing the foundation OF q
| house in Wesigate street. Gloucester, in 1862,
| there was found q stone sculptured in bas-
relief il appeared to have been part either OF
| wall-tabet or Of q chimney-p.ece. The sculpture
represented youth with cat in his arms and