pledged, till they were nearly naked, and all this to insure, or buy tickets." Round the building where the tickets. were drawn a frightful scene was presented; a crowd of all classes, but chiefly of the lowest, were assembled, in eager expectation. Prostitutes, thieves, dirty workmen, or labourers, almost naked-mere children, pale and anxious, awaiting the announcement of the numbers. When would theirs turn up--would it be a blank or a prize? An awful question. Oaths, screams, the vilest ribaldry met the ear on every side; they were a godless, hopeless, raving crowd! Persons of large means often yielded to the same temptation. Noblemen, possessors of land, talented clergymen, and astute lawyers sacrificed their all to the same infatuation, and wore out their last days in the workhouse.

The "Morocco men were a remarkable class; they were so called from the large pocket-books they carried. Pigeons in youth, and rooks in old age. Commonly, they were well educated, and possessed superior manners. They were known in the blackest dens of St. Giles's, but not less so in the noblest mansions of the great. Every house was infested by them. They were the moral pestilence of society. No crime was too atrocious, if 7 per cent. could be procured by it. The young were specially their prey, but even the old and experienced were often their victims. Many of them died at Tyburn;

more were

"Doomed the lone isle of Sydney cove to see,"

and the pillory was their daily punishment. The recognized dealers in lottery tickets were frequently capable of the grossest frauds. "I know of no class," said Mr. Littleton, "excepting hangmen and informers, on whom I should be less disposed to bestow one word of com

mendation." Mr. Parnell proposed the following epitaph for a Chancellor of the Exchequer :

"Here lies the Right Honourable Nicholas Vansittart,
Who patronized Bible societies,

Built churches, encouraged savings banks, and supported
lotteries."

A committee reported to the House of Commons, after careful deliberation, that "The foundation of the lottery is so radically vicious, that under no system can it become an efficient source of gain, and yet be divested of the evils and calamities of which it has proved so baneful a source. Idleness, dissipation, and poverty are increased; sacred and confidential trusts are betrayed; domestic comfort is destroyed, madness often created; crimes subjecting the perpetrators to death are committed. No mode of raising money appears so burdensome, pernicious, and unproductive. No species of adventure is known where the chances are so great against the adventurers; none where the infatuation is more powerful, lasting, and destructive. In the lower classes of society the persons engaged are, generally speaking, either immediately or ultimately tempted to their ruin; and there is scarcely any condition of life so destitute and so abandoned but its distresses have not been aggravated by this allurement to gaming." In spite of this and other warnings, the needed reform was deferred. Ameliorations were proposed, but no real good effected, and lotteries were not prohibited until

1826.

When I was a child of about six years old, a kind but injudicious relative took me to Bish's, on Cornhill, to purchase the sixteenth of a lottery ticket. She said it was to be my fortune. Woe to me, had she

been a true prophet-for of course it proved a blank. I remember that I noticed in some alarm a group of ill-favoured

fellows in the office, and when a heap of shares was produced for my choice, I took the first that offered, that I might get home the sooner. I was not troubled at being told that my sixteenth was a failure, for toys and sweets were dearer then than money. At ten or twelve, however, I used to long for tickets, no doubt because everybody about me was attracted by them. When a second sixteenth part of No. 5,020 was given me, I certainly did anticipate it would bring me inexhaustible riches. It was really a prize, but then, costing £1 6s., it only yielded 168. 4d., which rather disgusted me, and, perhaps, served to wean me from the fascinations of lotteries. I never purchased share or ticket again; nor, indeed, have I ever speculated in railway or mining companies, or building societies, from a conviction that the uncertain gains they yield compensate but poorly for the constant risk and anxiety. No account of lotteries, or of their effects, can supply the vivid recollections they have left on my mind. Society, whether high or low, was deeply permeated by the evil influence. As acquaintances on meeting now speak of the fine or inclement weather as the one subject in which all are interested, so, then, the almost invariable reference was to the great prize just, or about to be drawn, and to the fortunate winner; or to thẻ blank you had just drawn, and your confident belief that No. 1,962 would be the £20,000 prize. Then, while the drawing was in progress-and it was the work of many days-the whole town was shaken from its propriety; messengers were continually passing backwards and forwards to the insurance offices, or when they were distant, pigeons were thrown up that the intelligence might not linger; or when a great card was drawn, swift horses with light weights were despatched to expectant holders, bearing the important tidings. The tickets were usually drawn from the wheel by a blind-folded Bluecoat

boy; and for many years the whole number, up to 20,000 or 30,000, were drawn. People sagely speculated as to whether the Christchurch scholar could influence the drawing; would a handsome present propitiate him? When both blanks and prizes were all out, the folks you met in the streets presented strange contrasts. The majority looked in the worst possible temper, while the faces of many were darkened by despair. On the contrary, you encountered a joyous few who seemed delivered from all their troubles, and were anticipating perpetual gladness of heart.

The stirring drama is played out; blanks and prizes are forgotten; winners and losers are alike tranquil now. If men must gamble, it can only be in stocks, cotton, or indigo; or, if their ambition is small, they can invest in a raffle for worsted-work or a Twelfth-night cake. The imaginative Chancellor forbears to give a line in his budget for lotteries; and though we still use such idle words as luck, chance, and fortune, experience has convinced or is convincing us that, though we are in some sense the architects of our own good or evil estate, "The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.”

138

ST. PETER UPON CORNHILL.

THE particulars I am about to cite respecting a church claiming an antiquity above that of most other City sanctuaries are contained-but in a much more voluminous form-in some manuscript folios in the library at Guildhall. Some use was made of them about forty years since for the pages of "Londina Illustrata," but my business with them is chiefly in the way of condensed quotations, which will prevent my acknowledging any special extract; and, indeed, the whole collection consists of little else than citations from parish registers and similar documents.

An attempt at the history of the church is made on a brass plate still preserved within its walls. The age assumed for the foundation is not supported by any proof, and we may reasonably doubt on the subject. The plate is of tarnished brass, lacquered, 19 inches by 17, enclosed in a carved oaken frame, painted black and varnished. It now hangs over the chimney in the vestry. In the sixteenth century it was chained to a pillar in the church itself; the inscription is of the time of Henry VI. Holinshed mentions it in 1567, and Stow says of it, in 1598, "It was written, I know not by what authority, but of a late hand;" while, in a republication of Stow by Anthony Munday, in 1618, he alters this to "of no late hand." We now give the inscription verbatim :- -"Bee it