Part 32 (1/2)
1 Abbot's Park--The King's Bench.
2 On board the Fleet--The Fleet Prison.
~248~~”These societies have the following officers and servants: a treasurer, sub-treasurer, steward, chief butler, three under-butlers, upper and under cook, a pannierman, a gardener, two porters, two wash-pots, and watchmen.
”The Benchers a.s.sume and exercise a power that can scarcely be reconciled to the reason of the thing. They examine students as to their proficiency in the knowledge of the law, and call candidates to the bar, or reject them at pleasure, and without appeal. It is pretty well known that students in some cases eat their way to the bar; in which there can be no great harm, because their clients will take the liberty afterwards of judging how far they have otherwise qualified themselves. But every man that eats in those societies should be called, or the rejection should be founded solely on his ignorance of the law, and should be subject to an appeal to a higher jurisdiction; otherwise the power of the Benchers may be exercised on private or party motives.
”The expence of going through the course of these Societies is not great. In the Inner Temple, a student pays on admission, for the fees of the society, 3L. 6s. 8d. which, with other customary charges, amounts to 4L 2s. A duty is also paid to the King, which is high. Terms may be kept for about 10s. per week, and, in fact, students may dine at a cheaper rate here than any where beside. The expences in the princ.i.p.al societies of like nature are something more.
”Their kitchens, and dinner-rooms, merit the inspection of strangers, and may be seen on applying to the porter, or cooks, without fee or introduction. Our time is short now, or we would take a peep; you must therefore content yourself with my description.
”The Temple is an irregular building. In Fleet-street are two entrances, one to the Inner, and the other to the Middle Temple. The latter has a front in the manner of Inigo Jones, of brick, ornamented with four large stone pilastres, of the Ionic order, with a pediment. It is too narrow, and being lofty, wants proportion. The pa.s.sage to which it leads, although designed for carriages, is narrow, inconvenient, and mean.
”The garden of the Inner Temple is not only a most happy situation, but is laid out with great taste, and kept ~249~~in perfect order. It is chiefly covered with green sward,, which is pleasing to the eye, especially in a city, and is most agreeable to walk on. It lies, as you perceive, along the river, is of great extent, and has a s.p.a.cious gravel walk, or terrace, on the bank of the Thames. It forms a crowded promenade in summer, and at such times is an interesting spot.
”The Middle Temple has a garden, but much smaller,, and not so advantageously situated.
”The hall of the Middle Temple is a s.p.a.cious and elegant room in its style. Many great feasts have been given in it in old times. It is well worth a visit.
”The Inner Temple hall is comparatively small, but is a fine room. It is ornamented with the portraits of several of the Judges. Before this hall is a broad paved terrace, forming an excellent promenade, when the gardens are not sufficiently dry.
”There are two good libraries belonging to these societies, open to students, and to others on application to the librarian, from ten in the morning till one, and in the afternoon from two till six.
”The Temple church belongs in common to the two societies. The Knights Templars built their church on this site, which was destroyed, and the present edifice was erected by the Knights Hospitallers. It is in the Norman style of architecture, and has three aisles, running east and west, and two cross aisles. At the western end is a s.p.a.cious round tower, the inside of which forms an elegant and singular entrance into the church, from which it is not separated by close walls, but merely by arches. The whole edifice within has an uncommon and n.o.ble aspect. The roof of the church is supported by slight pillars of Suss.e.x marble, and there are three windows at each side, adorned with small pillars of the same marble. The entire floor is of flags of black and white marble; the roof of the tower is supported with six pillars, having an upper and lower range of small arches, except on the eastern side, opening into the church: The length of the church is eighty-three feet; the breadth sixty; and the height thirty-four; the height of the inside of the tower is forty-eight feet, and its diameter on the floor fifty-one.
”In the porch or tower are the tombs of eleven Knights Templars; eight of them have the figures of ~250~~armed knights on them, three of them being the tombs of so many Earls of Pembroke. The organ of this church is one of the finest in the world.
”The Temple church is open for divine service every day, at eleven o'clock in the morning, and at four in the afternoon. There are four entrances into the Temple, besides those in Fleet-street; and it is a thoroughfare during the day, but the gates are shut at night. The gardens are open to the public in summer. It is a place of much business and constant traffic, I a.s.sure you.”
”I perceive it,” said Bob, ”by the number of persons pa.s.sing and repa.s.sing, every one apparently animated and impelled by some business of importance.”
”Yes, it is something like a steam-boiler, by which a considerable portion of the engines of the Law are kept in motion. They can alarm and allay according to the pockets of their customers, or the sagacity which they are able to discover in their heads. There are perhaps as many Quacks in this profession as in any other,” continued Tom, as they regained Fleet-street; when, perceiving it was half past four o'clock by St. Dunstan's--”But we must now make the best of our way, or we may be cut out of the good things of this _Globe_.”
”What are so many persons collected together here for?” enquired Bob.
”Merely to witness a little of ingenious machinery. Keep your eye on the two figures in the front of the church with clubs in their hands.”
”I do,” said Bob; ”but there does not appear to me to be any thing very remarkable about them.”
He scarcely uttered the words, when he observed that these figures struck their clubs upon the bells which hung between them to denote the time of day.
”These figures,” said Tom, ”and the circ.u.mstance of giving them motion every fifteen minutes by the movements of the clock, have attracted a great deal of notice, particularly among persons from the country, and at almost every quarter of an hour throughout the day they are honoured with spectators. The church itself is very ancient, and has been recently beautified. The _Bell thumpers_, whose abilities you have just had a specimen of, have been standing there ever since the year 1671.”
”It is hard service,” said Bob, ”and they must certainly deserve a pension from Government more than many of ~251~~the automatons who are now in the enjoyment of the national bounties.”
”You are right enough,” said a Translator of Soles,{1} who had overheard Bob's last remark, with a pair of old shoes under his arm; ”and d----n me if I would give a pair of _crazy crabsh.e.l.ls_{2} without _vamp or whelt for the whole boiling of 'em_{3}-there is not one on 'em worth a b.l.o.o.d.y jemmy.”{4}
Upon hearing this from the political Cobbler, a disturbed sort of shout was uttered by the surrounding spectators, who had rather increased than diminished in number, to hear the observations of the leathern-lung'd Orator; when Tom, giving his Cousin a significant pinch of the arm, impelled him forward, and left them to the enjoyment of their humour.
”Political observations are always bad in the street,” said Tom; ”it is a subject upon which scarcely any two persons agree distinctly-_Old Wax and Bristles_ is about _three sheets in the wind_,{5} and no doubt there are enough to take advantage of any persons stopping at this time of the day.”{6}
”What have we here?” said Bob, who observed a concourse of people surrounding the end of Fetter Lane.