Evening star., 1901-07-29
NEWSPAPERS OF LONG AGO
CURIOUS THINGS FOUND IN THE
PRESS OF EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
Items, Paragraphs and Advertise
ments That Show the Customs In
England in Reign Of George III.

From the Leisure Hour.
To those who are interested In the past
there is hardly anything more entertaining
than reading through h.e OF old news
papers. The morning paper OF the present
day contains a much larger and more va
ried collection of matter, but 1t is rlvaled
In interest by the newspaper of a century
and a half ago, which presents us with
pictures of our ancestors in their haplt as
they lived" more striking and trustworthy
than can be found in novels or essays,
and mirrors for US in pleasant hVeiy
way 1.-The very age and body of the time.
Its form and pressure Some still anect
to look back upon the good old times
with regret-"all times when old are good
but If we may estimate our moral and
social progress by a comparison OF the
daily life of the past disclosed in the news
papers of the eighteenth century with that
Of the present day, few will be found TO
deny the marked advancement that has
been made in civilization and refinement.
Some copies Of the Ipswich Gazette, ex-
tending from 1874 to 1876, afford interest
ing Illustrations of the lives and manners
of our forefathers In the days of George
II.
The paper contained four pages, meas
uring about ten inches by eight, and was
published weekly, price I'd, by John Bag
nall The Gazette was chiefly filled with
foreign intelligence. Its local news was
very meager, often not more than a few
paragraphs each week. The publisher
never had to apologize for "the pressure
on our space by advertisements" as they
only averaged six by seven per week, and
were principally of the quack medicines Of
the period. One of these vaunts the tran
scendent virtues Of
Tabulae Cardialgicae, or LoZenges for
the Heart Burn, which in or 3 minutes
effectually cure that Distemper even In
the most violent Degree. They are a
pleasant medicine, and Excel every Thing
that has yet Appeared in the World.
Old Marriage Notices.
The marriage notices of George lis SUBJ
jects were recorded in more piquant lam
guage than is used now for such announce
ments. Thus we learn that
On Thursday last DIR. Adams, a physi-
clan, son of Governor Adams, was marry d
to Miss Gray, agreeable Young Lady.
and a fortune of 10000.
Another of these alluring notices de-
scribes the lady's personal beauty:
Yesterday Mr.. Roberts, an eminent Cab
inetmaker in Piccadily, one of the people
called Quakers, was joind in Holy Matri-
mony unto Mrs. Elizabeth Mercer of the
exceeding fair countenance, and lovely to
behold, at the Quakers Meeting house,
opposite Exeter Exchange. In the Strand.
Among the worst social abuses of this
period were the Fleet marriages. Officiat-
ing priests Of the marriage houses
(Which were mostly low taverns) employed
touters. as cheap photographers do now,
to entice the couples in. Sometimes the
parsons piled for customers on their own
account. Young gentlemen were made
drunk and entrapped into an union with
the worst of characters. Well might a
newsletter urge the necessity Of a bill to
prevent Clandestine marriages" when they
contained such paragraphs as the follow
ing:
Last week the nephew Of general officer
was married at the fleet to q servant maid
he Is but thirteen years OF age and was
heir expectant to very considerable es-
tate: she is about 20. They were married
by fictitious names.
On Tuesday last an apprentice to pack
er Of this city was married at the Heet TO
a young gentlewoman Of Mile-end Green,
sixteen years of age, and fortune OF ill.,
GOO.
Frequency Of Crimes.
Some idea of the social condition of the
country may be gained from paragraphs
showing the frequency Of highway robber-
les, burglaries and other crimes, and the
extreme severity with which they were
punished; the extraordinary amount OF
smuggling that was carried on. and the
fearful prevalence of drunkenness, with
the futile attempts of the government to
suppress that vice by legislation. To begin
with highway robberies. This was the
palmy period Of the knights Of the road.
At no time In the history of this country.
RaIhsRsd Ra and Gea pleks Furpn type u In % SUCH % an
ascendant. These old newspapers abound
in accounts of highway robberles, and
people, generally speaking. appear to have
accepted highwayHen as one Of the In
stitutions OF the country-a kind Of neces-
sary evil.
Saturday a coach and six was attacked
near Kensington Gravel Pits by two high.
waymen: the gentlemen and ladies In II
had provided themselves with purses con-
| tanning q few shillings and halfpence. and
| affected with SO much reluctance to part