THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES AN ACCOUNT or THE ISLAND OP JERSEY; CONTAINING A COMPENDIUM OF ITS ECCLESIASTICAL, CIVIL, AND MILITARY, HISTORY: A STATEMENT OF ITS POLITY. LAWS, PRIVILEGES, COMMERCE, POPULATION, AND PRODUCE : A SURVEY OS THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS, ANTIQUITIES, AND NATURAL HISTORY: TOGETHER WITH SOME DETAIL RESPECTING THE MANNERS & CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS. CmbtllisljtB triri) srtural tygftty fimsfcco AND A CORRECT MAF OF TUG ISLAND, From a rtcent Surety, made exfrtulyfor thi* fTerk. BY W. PLEES; Many Years Resident in Jersey. OOTBAMPTON t FBIMTED BT T. BAKER, AVD SOLO IV t FllTCHER } OLD AUO IN LONDON, BT LONGMAN, UIJRST, ItKES, OBME, AMD MOWN, PATERNOSTER ROW ; * v J. HATCHAKD, PtCCADIIXT } AN BT ALb TBK BOOUEUJCRS IN JKftSBY. 1617. DA 6 7O Oift, TO THEIR EXCELLENCIES GENERAL GEORGE DON, Lt. Licutcnatt Governor, anA Commander in Chief, o AND LIEUTENANT GENERAL SIR TOMKYNS H1LGROVE TURNER, The present Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief; THIS ACCOUNT OF THE ISLAND OF JERSEY IS, BY THEIR PERMISSION, RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, BY THE AUTHOR. Jersey, March, 1816. ?717 PREFACE. AT a time when regions, distantly situated, and un- connected with Great Britain, either by political or commercial affinity, are thought worthy of appearing in print, it seems natural to hope, that an island, in the vicinity of England, so long and so PECULIARLY at- tached to it as JERSEY, will be considered as entitled to still greater attention. JERSEY, though an ancient appendage to the En- glish crown, has hitherto been comparatively but little known. Extensive in foreign commerce, its mercantile connexion with the mother country is confined to a few ports in Great Britain and Ireland. It is now become a considerable military depot, and its former defences have recently been greatly strengthened and increased. JERSEY, considered abstractedly, appears to be a very minute and uninteresting portion of the widely ex- tended British empire ; and were its importance to be estimated by this rule, a particular account of it would be a presumptuous claim to public notice: but if we turn our eyes from so contracted a medium, and view it with a proper reference to its locality, the small speck dilates, and the apparently insignificant spot assumes an imposing attitude on the European theatre. Tills island might indeed demand respect, as part of a PECULIAR and venerable heir loom of the English crown; but even this UNIQUE and honourable claim to regard, is strengthened by the advantages acquired by Great Britain from its situation. It is a rampart, an advanced post, a frontier ; and, in these several rela- tions, it has withstood various fierce assaults, and hum- bled the pride of many a celebrated warriour. Placed within the very jaws of a mighty, a frequent, an invete- rate, and, sometimes, an insidious foe, it has constantly kept on the alert ; has nobly resisted the force, and in- dignautly spurned the seductive promises, of a powerful neighbour, to whom possession of the islands in this quarter would prove an inestimable acquisition. . JERSEY is likewise highly valuable as a nursery for seamen : its mariners are generally employed in voyages of no long duration, and are therefore always, as it were, at hand, ready on any emergency. It is considered in war time as a proper military de- pot; and it is then extremely useful in harrassing the opposite coast, when France happens to be the enemy with whom we contend. In a commercial light JERSEY is eminently useful, as a regular market for various articles of British manufac- ture : these it is enabled to purchase for the consump- tion of its inhabitants, and for its foreign demands, not only by the produce of its soil, but also by its fo- reign .commerce, the profits of which it pours iuto the lap of Britain. JKHSE-Y, though in extent but a very small portion of the empire, yet is the only part of its European pos- sessions or domains that has for ages maintained an intimate and .almost daily intercourse with the neigh- m bouriog continent in times of peace, aud where a foreign language has always been, and still is, the vernacular tongue,* being constantly employed in the pulpit, at the bar, and in all public documents : it follows, neces- sarily, that the modes and habits of the natives, speaking generally, must, in several respects, differ from our own : they cannot therefore fail to excite inquiry ; and it has been the author's study to have this natural and lau- dable spirit duly gratified. JERSEY exhibits, in its edifices for public worship, that style of Norman architecture, which prevailed from the commencement of the twelfth century to the middle of the fourteenth. Most of those structures, if not all of them, have received considerable additions, and under- gone various alterations ; yet the original form is still visible. Chapels, evidently anteriour to the present churches, still remain, as lasting monuments of simpli- city in design, and solidity in construction. The intended object of publication was, to produce a series of original designs, drawn expressly for the pro- posed work, comprising picturesque and romantic pros- pects in Jtrsey, together with near views of several pub- lic buildings, both ancient and modern; all in highly finished engravings : and to render the plates still more interesting, they were to be accompanied with appro- priate descriptions; and a copious introduction was also to be prefixed. Such was the intention ; but in the course of collecting materials for this purpose, they accumulated so much beyond the author's expectation, and he received o many valuable communications from different friends, that he was induced to extend his plan, * Manx is not properly a foreign but a local language ; nor is it in 80 general Hie hi the /sfe of Man, ns French is in Jersey. B ir and attempt a more enlarged undertaking. In confor- mity with this alteration he now proposes to publish two works, so distinct that each will be complete in itself; and yet be so connected, that they may mutually refer to each other. The present volume contains a general account of Jersey; in which the natural, political, and commercial, importance of the island is displayed, a summary of its laws produced, its geological character adverted to, its antiquities noticed, and the most striking circumstances and events, whether physical, historical, or accidental, are recorded. But though a more ample statement is now given than was at first intended, yet to call the work a regular history of Jersey, or to pretend that it contains a com. plete statistical account of the island, would be pre- sumption: it will however be found to comprise a great variety of useful and interesting subjects, particularized in a manner suited to their general or local importance : it is enriched with four engravings, as specimens of the style and execution of those that are to follow, and a correct map of the island, from a recent survey, under- taken expressly for the present work. The publication of the proposed subsequent work will depend on the reception which the present volume may receive from the public. Should the author's assiduity in this attempt be successful, it is intended that the views, which are already drawn, and their several de- scriptions, shall be published by subscription ; particulars of which will be stated in a prospectus at the end of the present volume. They will then constitute a sceno- graphical and topographical supplement; and having the same type and dimensions, may be bound up with the present work : but as the engraving of thirty views, and a number of vignettes, must necessarily involve a considerable expense, the author cannot venture to incur the risk, without public encouragement: this encourage* ment he hopes to receive, that he may be enabled to continue and complete his plan. That no information however may be withheld, in consequence of not immediately publishing the views, a tour round and through the island is annexed to the present volume : thus an ample description of the coun- try at large is given, without depriving the views of that immediate local interest, which will be necessary to identify the several objects they exhibit, or the scenery they delineate. Though the present publication is on a different plan from any other respecting Jersey, yet in writing the ac- count of any civilized country, much must of course be drawn from the labours of preceding authors, unless where no such previous work has appeared. This spe- cies of plagiarism is absolutely indispensable, and it is not the author's design or wish to depreciate any former writer on the subject: but though he readily acknow- ledges any assistance he may have derived from former publications, it extends to only a very inconsiderable portion of the work : the far greater part is completely- new. The original historian of the island was Phillipot Payn, Seigneur de Samares, who wrote Les Chroniquet de Jersey: these end in A. D. 1585, and were never published. From the M. S. of that gentleman, the Rev. Mr. Falle, who is in general the oracle to which all his- torical appeals are made, copied the earl* i < rtion of his liistorj. He was likewise supplied with some physical VI .and other remarks from Mr. Poindextre,* one of the ju- rats of the royal court. The last edition of Mr. Falle's own book descends only to A. D. 1734. The author of the present work has availed himself of his reverend precursor's assistance; has occasionally, though very rarely, copied from hint, and has also drawn much in- formation, in several respects, from other sources. Mr. Falle's account is said to be, in some historical instances, erroneous ; but real events are often corroborated by other evidence : and the author hopes he has not fol- lowed that writer in any material errors : he has some- times mentioned what others have said on the same sub- ject. On several points be has found it extremely diffi- cult to obtain precise information. The war prevented researches on the continent, respecting articles of ancient date : the return of peace having removed that obstacle, much valuable assistance from our continental neigh- bours may very likely be obtained ; and it is highly probable that some families possess records that might elucidate many important circumstances. It is hoped that no offence will be taken at the very few animadversions contained in the work. " Though " the office of the historian of human manners is deh'ne- " ation, rather than panegyric,"f jet no general cen- " sures have been intentionally introduced. The author can truly say, with a modern writer, " I look upon na- " tional reflections, in general, to proceed from the nar- " rowest and most illiberal turn of mind ; and have al- " ways been cautious not to judge of the physical and " moral character of any people, from a partial and su- " perficial view."J He has seen, in Jersey, the same * So written by Mr. Falle. + Hannah More. J Coxe's Travels through Switzerland. Vll rariety of character that is found in England, and else- where: he has remarked several proofs of public spirit and general liberality : and in the charms and endear- ments of private life he has witnessed many instances of kindness, flowing from pure "milkiness of soul"; from the highest and best source, "love towards each other"; from a ray of that beneficence which animates the FA- THER OF MERCIES, and from whose divine influence, as from a common centre, proceed all the charities that link together the truly humane and generous part of mankind, in one common bond of affection. This so- cial and sympathizing tie must not be confounded with politeness : even a comparison would be too degrading. The author has studiously avoided all discussion of local politics, either past or present: parly dissentions form an object of regret, but are not connected with the work. He has merely glanced at some inconveniences produced by them. The author hopes likewise not to be misunderstood, res- pecting the public schools, lately established in Jersey. He mentions that defects exist in both the systems now practised in England. Some ameliorations have been effected, and experience will best show where more may be introduced : he is very far from wishing to discredit the laudable attempts. He is even firmly convinced, that several of the regulations, in both the Madras school, and that originally instituted by Mr. Lancaster, might be advantageously adopted in seminaries of a higher nature; but, as it has been well observed, the master of a private school, who should have the hardi- ness to put either plan in practice, must expect to encounter considerable and probably insurmountable objections ; yet the " principles have been partially in V11I " use at Winchester college, and in some other classical ' schools."* The extension of Christianity, under almost any form, cannot but prove a universal blessing.. Never were its beneficent effects, in calming the passions of mankind, more strikingly experienced than at the pre- sent period. A great but wicked man, who was long the scourge of Europe, and who immolated millions of his fellow creatures, at the bloody shrine of an insatiate ambition, has lately been " hurled from his" usurped " throne." We see this man treated with a lenity, of which history affords no precedent. Legitimate sove- reigns, once dethroned, have seldom long survived their loss of power : usurpers hardly ever : yet has not death nor even severity been the fate of Buonaparte. Under the protection of Great Britain the fallen tyrant's life is secure from either open or secret attacks ; and as all the allied powers have consented to afford him an un- merited asylum, there is reason to believe, that, how justly soever offended they may be, his wretchedf existence would have been equally preserved, had he been placed within the grasp of any other potentate, even that of the sovereign of France itself. If indeed we find crimes, of a very atrocious nature, particularly prevalent of late years, is it not because the benevolent principles of the gospel require to be more energetically inculcated, and more generally diffused ? In mentioning that acts of parliament do not operate in Jersey, unless sanctioned by an order in council, and Tiie New School, by Sir Thomas Bernard, hart, f This term cannot be deemed misapplied: in a moral point of view, he must be considered as a miserable being ; and in a woi-HJy sense, he mu*t experience all the mortifying effects and sen- sations, attendant on blasted ambition* registered in the island, the author means only to state, that this is always the mode of proceeding ; and it seems to have originated in that dependence on the Norman courts, and the sovereign of that dutchy, which continued long after Jersey became subject to the Eng- lish crown. (See page 173.) lu several parts of the work, some names of office are wiitten in French, others in English, even in the same sentence. The fact is, that the latter language has, of late years, gained so much ground, that several offices are now usually spoken of in English, while others retain their former appellations. Different places also have how both French and English names, and are mention- ed indiscriminately in either tongue : this is in part ow- ing to that intermixture of both languages which becomes daily more prevalent. The same expression or mode of speech will some- times perhaps appear to recur too frequently, and parti- cularly in the tour: this repetition it is difficult to a- void, as other writers must have experienced.* The author has inserted as notes, a number of ex- tracts from other writers, in corroboratiou of his own sentiments ; and he has, in general, mentioned the sour- ces from whence those extracts have been drawn : this mode he has thought more likely to give his opinions weight, than if he had, by varying the phraseology, in- troduced the quotations as his own. He has thus also prevented the charge of plagiarism. In his own obser- * " Some, perhaps many expressions, and occasionally whole sen- " tences, may have been inadvertently repeated : a fault, great with- " out doubt, but pardonable because almost unavoidable in descrip- " tire composition." Eustace's Classical Tour through Italy. rations, he has frequently spoken in the plural inimbci, as savouring least of egotism. From a perusal of this work, it will be readily per- ceived, that it was begun during the long war against Buonaparte. The wonderful events that occurred iu that terrible space of time, were succeeded by others, if possible, still more astonishing. When an apparently lasting peace was concluded with France, in 1814, various additions and alterations, ac- commodated to the then existing circumstances, were made by the author ; and though be contemplated the hope of general permanent tranquillity with a fearful heart, he was very far from suspecting, that so desirable an expectation would, in the short course of a few months, pass away " like the baseless fabrick of a vision." From the very peculiar features of the contest that en- sued, the political horizon seemed pregnant with destruc- tion to the human race : but that all-powerful BEING who *' rides in the whirlwind, and directs the storm," soon displayed his divine will; and affrighted Europe saw, once more, the bloody sword returned into its scabbard. These rapid changes necessarily exacted repeated alter- ations in the work, as those changes affected Jersey iu several respects : and as they could not always be inter- woven with the body of the work, without deranging the- connexion, notes, dated at different periods, were added, as circumstances rendered them requisite. So extraordinary a coincidence of opposite wonders could not possibly be foreseen : the publication of the work, already in the press, became suspended, in the hope of concluding in a more durable state of political affairs : during the interval, other notes were added and placed by themselves, at the end of the volume* The great and inconvenient distance from the press will, it is hoped, be an apology for the long list of errata. The author has to acknowledge his obligations to se- veral respectable friends in the island, who have favour- ed him with much valuable information on different sub- jects ; and he feels himself happy in thus publickly ex- pressing his thanks to Charles Konig, esq, of the British Museum, for different extracts from a M. S. in that na- tional repository ; and more especially for his own in- teresting remarks on the mineralogy of Jersey. This subject would have been placed in a preceding part of the work , but the author did not receive all his inform- ation respecting it in time. Authors are frequently accustomed to plead for pub. lie indulgence : in some cases, at least, this is a reason- able claim. The writer of the present volume hopes to be favoured in the same respect. He is not the party by whom it was to have been composed, having de- clined the undertaking : but as he had recommended it to a gentleman, who soon after left the island, and as some expenses had been incurred, he determined to proceed himself; and it has formed the principal em- ployment of his leisure hours. He trusts, therefore, that no one will accuse him of being influenced by the Juror scribendi ; and that the circumstance just mention- ed will plead for minor errors: for any of a greater kind he does not desire to be exonerated. He must in- deed submit to be arraigned before that formidable body of critics, who, behind the curtain themselves, even direct and regulate the public taste; at whose shrowded but awful tribunal, they who presume to enter within the literary confines, must. il'swwDioued, appear ; from whose xii sentence there lies no appeal ; and, respecting whose condemnation, there remains no other remedy than pa- tient submission. To these censors, should they con- descend to notice this work, he can only say, " as ye are stout, be merciful"! CONTENTS. Name . . * Situation, Boundaries, Form, and Extent 2 Appearance . 5 Tides, Currents, and Ports . 15 Climate, and Air . . 18 Soil, and Fertility , , 22 Divisions 33 Enclosures, Hedge- rows or Banks, and Waste Lands 33 Highways, and New Military Roads v 36 Mineral Waters t 37 Produce f , t 38 Manure, Wrack called Vraic, and Vraicking 43 Zoology . j 45 Language 50 Antiquities I . 64 Privileges . ... 73 Commerce . '- * 80 Manufactures ; . , 88 Revenue of the Island : 89 Coins, and Pecuniary Substitutes 90 Population . , 93 Learned and Eminent Men ; 9ft CONTENTS. Dress, Customs, Manners, &c. . . 97 Town of St. Helier 108 Provisions . ^ . 12/4 The New Prison . . . 129 Mont de la Ville . . . 132 Ecclesiastical History . ' ' 140 Present State of Religion in Jersey . 150 Civil and Mifitary History . 165 Military Defences . 215 Military Government . ' . 217 Civil and Criminal Jurisdiction . 221 Assembly of the States * , ' . * 236 Miscellaneous Articles respecting the Laws 237 Feodal Tenures, &c. . . 255 Mineralogy ' ; * . 204 A Descriptive Tour round the Island of Jersey 279 JERSEY. NAME. JL HE name by which JERSEY was known, in an- cient times, is not decisively ascertained. Like other states, it has had several appellations; some so re- mote, both in sound and orthography, from others, as to elude every attempt to trace their etymology to one common source. As navigators of different countries frequently dis- tinguish the same spot by various names, as local or temporary circumstances dictate, so this island may have been known to the Phrenicians,* the Cartha- ginians,* the Celtae, the Gauls, the Romans, the Francs, and the Normans, under different denomina- tions. The names of Jersey ', Gearsey, Gersey, and Jereseye^ are allowed to -have been derived from * Probably both these nations had commercial relations with all the islands in the channel. t Called by this last name in the records of the tower and ex- chequer. B Ccesarea, by which distinction this island was known to the Romans.* Some have conjectured that it was previously called Augia : by this name it was indeed given by Childebert, King of France, the son of Clovis, to Samson, Archbishop of Dol, in Armorica, about A. D. 550 : but this being subsequent to the declension of the Roman power in Gaul, seems rather to corroborate a contrary opinion. SITUATION, BOUNDARIES, FORM, AND EXTENT. JERSEY, at its N. \V. point, is situated in north la- titude 49 16', and in 2 22' longitude west of Lon- don, t It forms the most southern island of that groupe,^: which lies in St. Michael's Bay, on the coast of Lower Normandy and Britany. That ample gulf sweeps from Cap de la Hague, in the former province, to Cap de Frehellc, in the latter. The distance from Jersey to Carteret, or to Port * It is so named by the Emperor Antoninus, in his Itinerary. t These calculations are from Moore's Tables. } This groupe is composed of the following islands, viz. Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sercq; with the smaller ones of Herm ? Jtthou, ami the rocky isles of Chaussy^ Ecrehou, &c. 3 Bail, which are the two nearest French ports, is only from five to six leagues. To Guernsey, about seven leagues ; To Alderney, about ten leagues : To Weymouth, about twenty-five leagues: To the Isle of Wight, about thirty leagues : To Southampton, about forty leagues : The form of this island is that of an irregular paral- lelogram. Its greatest length, from S. E. to N. W. is about twelve miles ; and the average breadth may be estimated at full five miles: the width does not in any part exceed seven miles. By a very accurate measurement, it contains a superficies qf between thirty-nine and forty thousand acres.* JERSEY exhibits an inclined plane: part of its eastern coast, commencing at Mont Orgueil, and the whole of its northern shore, form one continu- ous range of rocks, rising abruptly from the ocean, frequently to an elevation of from forty to fifty fathoms. This natural defence renders the island, in those quarters, nearly inaccessible. The rocks, exteriorly, are, in general, mere naked ridges, pro- jecting their sharp angles into the sea ; thus adding to the rapklity of the currents, and varying their * In Jersey land is computed by vsrgee$ ; two vcrgeet and a quarter making cue English acre. courses. In several places the rocks are loosely Mended with other terrene combinations, or are in a state of great disintegration ; hence many deeply indented inlets, and sundry excavations, have been formed by boisterous tides, rising, occasionally, to forty or fifty feet in perpendicular height, and dashed about in every possible direction. From these rugged cliffs the land declines towards the southern coast, \vhich, in several places, is nearly on a level with the sea. In this respect, Jersey displays a striking contrast with Guernsey, the southern boundary of which shoots up in high rocks from the water, and declines towards the north. Jersey and Guernsey may be thus delineated. JERSEY. GUERNSEY. This contraposition is supposed to occasion that considerable difference in the nature of the soil, and in the temperature of the atmosphere, in the two islands, 5 which the trifling distance between them seems other- wise to render inexplicable.* In general, the strata of the rocks run from north to south, thus following the form of the island ; but those layers are usually more inclined than the regular declination of the surface. APPEARANCE. From the wedge-like form of JERSEY, it must be evident, that little table-land exists in the island; Nor is the surface a widely extended declivity : it is mostly composed of elevated parts, running from north to south, intersected by deep, and, in ge- neral, by narrow vales. The sides, or Coteaux, of these eminences are frequently steep and craggy. They follow the inclined course of the island ; o likewise do the numerous rivulets of excellent * Dans tin meme lieu, et sous une merac latitude, la temperature " peut-etre tres diffe rente, selon que le terrain, incline au nord ou au " raidi, prcscnte sa surface plus ou moins obliqucmeut aux rayons du " soleil. " Voila pourquoi, rommc 1'a tres-bien observe Montesquieu, la *' Tartarie, sous le parallele de rAngletcrre et de la France, est in- ' finiment plus froide que ces contrces." VOYAGE EK SYRIE, &r TAR VOINEY. 6 water that gurgle along tbe valleys : these receive the tributary streamlets that issue from so infinite a variety of sources, that perhaps no spot in the universe is more amply and beneficially furnished. The com- paratively long course of these rivulets is particularly advantageous to so small an island, as thereby a num- ber of corn mills are supplied. Though JERSEY maybe considered as an aggregate of different rocky substances, moulded into a single irregular heap, yet its western, its southern, and part of its eastern shores, are scooped into open sandy bays, separated from each other by solid projecting masses. The principal of those inlets are the bays of St. Catherine, Rosel, Boulat/, De Lecq, St. Ouen, St. Brelade, St. Aubm, and Groutille. In tracing the marine line, we may begin with the continued range of rocks before mentioned 3 at Mont Orgueil, on the eastern side : proceeding from this spot, we skirt the whole northern boundary, until, doubling the point at Gros-nez, we reach a rugged mass, called ISEtac. Here an extensive curve, like the segment of an immense circle, com- prises a moiety of the western shore ; and this sweep receives the full unbroken waves of the Atlantic Ocean. At the southern extremity of this too fre- quently boisterous bay) the cliffs rise again to a con* gider.ible height, and continue to a well known rocky pile, called La Corbiere : thence, turning eastward, they line the southern coast, until they touch the town of St. Aubin, situated in a beautiful bay of the same name. Passing that town, the rocks re- cede inland, until a projection takes place at Mont Cochon, and another at Le Mont Patibulaire :] far- ther on lies the sandy plain, on which stands the town of St. Helier. Immediately beyond this spot rises the insulated rock, called Le Mont de la Ville, which extends to Havre dcs Pas. Here the eminences, that form a lofty sea wall, terminate ; and the re- maining part of the coast, from this inlet to Mont Orgueil, is flat, and so low as to be occasionally subject to partial inundations. Thus is JERSEY nearly bounded by physical de- fences. It is still additionally protected by a chain of rocks that rise about a league from the shore, on the north-eastern and northern sides. They are called Ecrehou, Les Dirouillcs, and Les pierres de Lecq^oi the Paternosters, having a narrow rocky passage be- tween each. To the south, but more distant from the land, lies another ledge, named Les Minquiers; and, to the south east, but slill farther from Jersey, is the small rugged island of Chausey, Chauzey, Chaussey, r Chozt. These and a great variety of smaller protu- 8 berances,* both above and below the surface, in differ- ent parts of the surrounding ocean, constitute a most formidable barrier. Nor are these all, this immense assemblage of rocks, by obstructing the natural course of the tides, produces a multitude of strong and di- versified currents, which contribute a prodigious accession of strength to the other natural outworks. It is a very probable conjecture, that many of the adjacent rocks were originally part of the island it- self; but torn from it by the force of violent tempests. On the southern, the eastern, and the western sides, there are incontrovertible proofs that large portions of useful land have been ingulfed ; and strong sea banks are found, in many places, necessary to pre- vent farther encroachments. t * Every individual rock that rises above high water mark is distin- guished by a particular name, which is well known to the fishermen, and to the farmers who resort to it during the seasons for cutting vraic. + The following is extracted from an old MS. in the Harleian Col- lection, at the British Museum : " It is acknowledged, and the records of those times testify it, that " in the parish of St. Ouen, the sea hath overwhelmed within these " 350* years the richest soil of that parish, that is a vale from beyond " the poole towards Lts'.ac in length, and in breadth from the hill. " very farre into the sea, and that to this day stumps of oakes are " found in the sand during the ebbe, and some mines of buildings " among the rocks: the like whereof is also seen in the bay of St. Bre- " lade. But of late years, within the memory of most men, two great * Should not thii be 250? See Son. AM> FSBTIUTT. There is a legendary tradition, that this island was once so contiguous to France, that persons passed over, on a plank, or a bridge, paying a small toll to the Ab- bey of Cotttances. That all the islands in this quarter formed a portion of the continent itself, does not seem very improbable : their external appearance evi- dences some dreadful convulsion: the rocks, by which they are encircled, together with those between them and France, support this hypothesis. If, how- ever, a near approach, or even a contact, ever existed, " rocks lying one behind the other in the sea, at a place called Le Hoc, " in St. Clement's parish, the nearest of which is severed from the " land a bow-shot at full sea, were joyned to it and served many 41 men yet alive to drye vraic upon : which, in former times, was the " fate of a great tract of land neere Mont Orgueil Castfe, called Le " Bane du Vielltt ; which appeareth above water at halfe ebbe, like *' an island, at some distance from the main land." HAUL. Coc. '* The danger of losing valuable land by drifts of moving sand, " forms a drawback on the value of property in several of the He- ' bridean Mauds. The grounds, overblown with sand, in the island '' of Coll, amount to several thousand acres. On the east coast of " Scotland, these moving sands have been known to do considerable " mischief. The sand, being kept in motion by every breeze, is never " suffered to rest so long as to acquire natural herbage on its surface. " The aid of art becomes accordingly indispensable; and, to promote " the growth of sea bent, was formerly considered, both in Holland ' and in this country, the best expedient for stopping the movement " of sand ; but the methods hitherto practised have been very insuffl- " cient for that purpose. Dr. Walker has given a list of variou* " plants much better adapted for it. Part of these would answer " the doable purpose of confining the sand, and of affording pasture ' to cattle." WALKER'! ECONOMICAL HISTORY ov THBHEBBIDKS,*C. G 10 it must have been at a very remote period, as no direct historical account whatever records or alludes to it.* Many traditionary stories, perhaps most of them, originated in real events, or circumstances : these, con- founded with others, or obscured, by an admixture of fable, become, in process of time, enveloped in mys- terious darkness. The height to which the tide rises, at certain times, seems to render the account improbable ; yet it may partly be founded on truth. Le Pinacle, a high rock, close to the shore, in the north-west corner of Jersey , would be completely insulated, twice daily, were it not connected with the island, at its base, which rises above the level of the highest tides. Supposing, therefore, that this point of contact did not exist, and that Le Pinocle were a rocky promontory, project- ing from another island, sufficiently near to admit of a bridge, and all improbability ceases ; while the utility of such a medium must be sufficiently evi- dent. Several circumstances give a colour to the probabi- lity, that the whole of St. Michael* s Bay, from Cap de la Hague to Cap de Frehelle, or the greater part of * The Roman remains at Mnt Orgueil Castle, and the camp near Rosel, afford tolerable proofs that they were, when erected, on the Jtorder of the sea, as they still continue to be. it, TTOS once dry ground, either forming a portion of the main land, or insulated. From Ecrehou to the coast on which Gouey is situat- ed, the depth of water is only from two to five fathorai, with a rocky bottom, and long sand banks : and for more than one third of the distance between Les Minquiers and the town of St. A r afo, the water is so shallow, and the bottom so broken, that it is marked as impassable.* In that open bay wherein Mont St. Michel is situated, and from which the neighbouring sea takes its name, the shore is so flat, that, in equinoctial tides, the water sometimes ebbs and flows through the pro- digious extent of seven leagues. From Grantille to Chausey, and even to Les Min* quiers, there is no great depth, seldom more than seven fathoms ; and between Chausey and the main are many shoals. Proceeding northwards, along the coast of France, there is, near the mouth of the river Sienne, a branch of which runs up to Coutances, the small village and haven of Regnedlle. At a distance often miles from this place, the sea has only a depth of from one and a quarter to two fathoms. The Seigneur du Mont Chaton, in the neighbourhood of Regneville, had the fishery of the river, down to a rock, named Ranqui,- * These marine observation* are mostly from La Rocbette't Chart with which icveral others, io many respects, agree. 12 which is now nearly two leagues from high -water mark, and only dry at very particular spring-tides. This affords a proof that the land extended, formerly, to the rock itself : it would otherwise have been absurd to term it a river fishery. Some time prior to the French Revolution, that exclusive privilege was con- tested ; and, after a very expensive process, con- firmed only two months before the total abolition of all seigniorial rights in France. A tradition has been handed down, in Normandy, that there existed formerly, between Jersey and the diocese of Coutances, a forest, which extended from Le Mont St. Michel to Cherbourg : it is conjectured that the greater part of this forest has been absorbed by the [sea ; because, at spring-tides, a number of trees and stumps are discovered : a circumstance that strengthens the idea is, that no vestiges remain of a forest, called Sisci, which is mentioned in old writings. The verge of this forest is supposed to have extended to the parish church of St. Pi-re, which is now on the very border of the shore, near Granmlle ; that church was erected on the site of t^g monastery of Sisci.* * The following extract, from the Roman Catholic Breviary, bean n the same subject : ' " Dans le 6one. siecle, Saint Pere, ou Paterae, et Saint ScubiHon, 13 After passing Carteret, at which place the tide ebbf three miles, the water along the coast begins to deepen. This is the natural consequence of approaching the race of Alderney, in which strait the current, at spring, tides, runs at the rate of six miles in an hour. An additional reason for supposing that Normandy and Jersey were, at one time, less distant from each other than they now are is, that the latter is mentioned by Papyrius Massonius, as an island of the shore of Coutance.* This expression seems to indicate an ap- proximation which the present distance would not justify. A still stronger proof, and one that would alone be sufficient, is the following extract from Steeven's Sup- plement to Dugdale's Monasticon : *' Bernard d'Abbeville, to avoid being chosen Prior of " St.Ct/prian's,proceededto the borders of Brittany, into " the peninsula of Chaitssey, on the north- side of that " province." vinrent de Poitier, en Jfevstriie se fixerent Jans le Diocese de Co- tances; mais ayant envie dc passer dans une isle voisine, pour j vivre dans une plus grande solitude, ils furent retenus par let Chretiens de Sisci, qui les priepentde resler au milieu d'eux, pour r eitirper IMdolatrie : ils y consentircnf, et y fonderent le uunastrrc de Sisci. Ensuite Saint Pere, ayant etc elu Eveque D'Avrunche, vint, a Page de 82 ans, visiter le susdit monastcre : il y mourut le lendemaio de la fete de Paque. See Falle'i History. 14 This last quotation seems, likewise, to confirm the opinion, already expressed, that the encroachment of the sea was principally on the continental side. It is, however, highly improbable, that an ingulfment, which tore away so extensive a portion of Norman' dy, should have been the consequence of a single inundation : it was, doubtless, effected by repeated breaches, and at different periods. From all the circumstances now recited, there is good ground for supposing that an absorption of con- siderable magnitude formerly took place ; that it happened on the continental side ; and that it ex- tended to the present rocks, and little isle, of Ecrehou, to Les Dirouilles, and to the Paternosters ; but whe- ther this rugged range ever formed part of the conti- nent, or of Jersey, or whether it may be the remains of an intermediate island, must still be a matter of un- certainty. The great depth of forty fathoms between Jersey and some part of this extensive ledge, which depth does not decrease more than ten fathoms, along the northern shore, from Belle Houguc to Ple- y* renders it probable that the limits of Jersey, in * There is not more than half the depth between Jersey and Ecrthou ; the rocks in that corner of the former, which is opposite to the latter, -are of a very different contexture from those on the northern coast, had, in general, aie perfectly sound. 15 this quarter, have not experienced much diminution : at the same time, it must be admitted, that, throughout the whole northern extent, the rockj cliffs are, most- ly, in a state of great disintegration : the numer- ous excavations sufficiently prove this. The force of tides, rising forty feet and upwards, round the island, and impelled from Mont St. Michel, at full flood, sometimes from a height of more than fifty feet, must, necessarily, in stormy weather, and with par- ticular winds, act powerfully on rocks in so deterioated t state. TIDES, CURRENTS, AND PORTS. There is something very extraordinary in the tides, that flow and ebb among these islands. The directions they follow seem totally uninfluenced by others in the channel. They receive indeed their momentum at its mouth, but take different impulses, from the various obstructions that divert the regu- larity of their course. They flow E. S. E. to the Bay of Mont St. Michel. The declivity of the shore, in this gulf, is so inconsiderable, that the com- mon extent of the tide is from twelve to sixteen 16 miles ; and the bay is filled in the short space of tw hours. When this is effected, a new direction takes place. The saturated inlet resists a greater accession, and the water is impelled along the Nor- man coast, northwards, until, in the course of twelve hours, it has encircled the islands, and returned to the spot from whence it began to flow. The cur. rents, from being frequently intersected, succeed each other, in so rapid a manner, that they are in continual motion : there is no appearance of still water in these parts, as in the channel, at low ebb. The following diagram will best explain this : dOURSE OF v^" THE TIDES BETWEEN THE CASKETS, ALDERNEY, GUERNSEY, JSj-^r~ SERCQ, AND THE CORBIERE, OP JERSEY, IN 12 HOURS. ^. 17 These tides rise from forty to forty-five feet, round the islands : at St. Malo their height exceeds fifty feet. It will readily be conceived, that an immense body of water, rising, in the space of six hours, to so great an elevation, and diverted, from its natural course, by so many intervening obstructions, must, necessarily, produce a variety of impetuous currents, running in different directions ; and must, likewise, form many submarine banks. These circumstances apply more particularly to Jersey than to the neighbouring islands ; for though the bottom of the sea, in the open parts, is tolerably uniform, and the depth may be averaged from thirty- five to forty fathoms, yet it is said to be more variable on the coast of Jersey than round any of the other islands. It is high water at Jersey about six o'clock, at every new and full moon. As the flood commences, by rushing full against the rocks on the northern shore, it is high water half an hour earlier on that and on the western side, than on the southern and eastern shores. Though there is good anchorage at Boulay Bay, St. Aubin's Bay, and at other inlets round the coast, yet not one of them is land-locked ; and the two ports of St Hclier, and St. Aubin, are both dry at 18 low water. To remedy this last defect, it has been suggested, that a safe and commodious harbour might be constructed at Boulay Bay ; there being always a sufficient depth of water for the largest vessels : but this idea has not yet been carried into execution, nor, indeed, has it ever been a subject of public investigation. Such a port would be very de- sirable, particularly in time of war ; as, in the ma- rine line of France, from Dunkirk to Brest, if we ex- cept the modern port of Cherbourg, there are only tide havens, and not one of them has even sufficient depth for ships of the line. CLIMATE AND AIR. From the trifling difference between the latitude of Jersey , and that of the southern coast of England, and from proximity to the continent, by which it is em- braced on three sides, an Englishman would not be led to expect any great variation, between the climate of Jersey and that of his own country. There is, however, a sensible difference, particularly with respect to the season of winter. Frost is rarely of any continuance ; snow seldom lies more than two or 19 three days on the ground ; and shrubs that require to be sheltered, even in Devonshire, and Cornwall, are here exposed without any covering, and seldom receive much injury. We see, also, carnations, pinks, and other spring flowers, blowing, during the winter, in the open air, if in a favourable aspect ; and, with a little shelter, even the Chinese rose. The rains are, indeed, more frequent, in Jersey; fogs, that rise from the sea, and spread themselves over the land, are not uncommon ; and the island is subject to boisterous gales of wind, especially from the western quarter, from whence it blows more frequently than from any other point of the compass. The weather is, occasionally, very warm in summer time ; but that oppressive sultriness, sometimes ex perienced in Eng- land, and on the continent, in hot summers, is seldom felt. This nearer approach to equability of temperature, is the natural consequence of Jersey's being com- pletely open, on one side, to the Atlantic Ocean, and to its comparative minuteness, whereby every part receives a portion of the vapours, exhaled from that immense body of water. In the latter part of the spring, a keen easterly wind prevails, usually, for some tune : this is re- markably penetrating to delicate constitutions. 20 On the whole, the climate may be considered us mild, and the air as very salubrious. Camden says, that, in his time, the island did not even stand in need of a physician ; and in the memory of persons, now living, there was only one in the town of St. Helier : at this day, the medical practitioners are numerous, and most of them have full employment. Aguish complaints are, indeed, not uncommon, in the few swampy parts ; and it must be owned, that pulmo- nic attacks are very frequent, and, too generally, fatal. These last chiefly affect young persons ; and they may be fairly attributed to causes, that have not any reference whatever to climate.* Bilious af- * Mr. Gamble, in bis " View of Society and Manners in the North of Ireland," mentions the prevalence of consumptions ; and having received a medical education, he attributes the disease to the unfortu- nate fashion, among females, of going too lightly clad for the variableness and dampness of the climate. Is not this the case in Jersey, especially as females are, more generally, victims of the complaint than males ? "Where young persons are, from their earliest infancy, accustomed to brave all seasons, sudden transitions from heat to cold have little effect. The children of many peasants are permitted to run about, nearly in a state f nudity. During a severe frost in England, the author once saw a chimney sweeper, with no other covering whatever than a coarse blanket, just fastened at his neck, and hanging loosely, so as to leave his body nearly exposed. This young man was standing, in the open air, to see some boys that were sliding. He laughed heartily when auy ane chanced to fall, and did not appear at all sensible of the cold. But when persons, more delicately brought up, rush, at midnight, from hot rooms into a frigid atmosphere, and. thus take a 21 factions are likewise prevalent, particularly in the summer season. Perhaps, however, no part of Europe can furnish more instances of vigorous longevity, under circumstances by no means favourable to health,* which did not exist in Jersey when Camden wrote. kind of bath a la Russe, they ought to have Russian constitutions. The transition is more particularly felt in Jersey, where very few of the inhabitants have close carriages. This alludes to the prodigious quantity of salted provisions, of different descriptions, especially fish, consumed in the island ; and for which indigestible, and sometimes putrid food, the country people exchange the nutritive produce of their farms. To this source the many cases of scrofula, which exhibits itself in a sad variety of forms, may, in all probability, be traced. To ascribe these deplorable ef- fects to local or atmospherical contingencies, would bean insult to common sense, and a libel on the benevolent Author of nature. Even the higher ranks of inhabitants have been too much accustomed to in_ dul^e a relish for so deleterious an aliment. Happily, however, this vitiated and pernicious taste is now declining, among all but tfcrt lower classes. SOIL AND FERTILITY. The soil of JERSEY is, necessarily, very variable, from the inequality of its surface. The whole island is a huge stony mass, the elevated parts of which are often but slightly covered with a gritty substance, composed of the detritus of rock, and of sea sand, amalgamated with decayed vegetables. On the con- trary, the valleys have a great depth of alluvial mat- ter, washed down by violent rains, from the steep de- clivities of those slopes, called coteaux, by which they are straitened in their course. These valleys, where not swampy, are extremely fertile, and all might be drained, and rendered highly productive. In many places, even where the surface is less indented, there are from twelve to fourteen feet of vegetative earth, and sometimes more. An exception must, however, be made to a large tract of land, called Les Quenvais, or Quenves, in the S. W. corner of the island. This district is now a mere assemblage of sandy hillocks, which, in several places, rise one hundred feet from the level of the shoie, and scarcely afford nourishment to some scattered plants, and a few meagre blades of 23 spiry grass. It is completely open to the western gales ; so that, when these are violent, clouds of sand, from St. OUCH'S Bay, are drifted over this devoted part of the country, and a constant sterility is thus maintained. The Rev. Mr. Falle, the historian of Jersey, says, that towards the close of the fifteenth century, this desert was very fertile. He quotes, from an ancient M.S. that the sad change " happened by divine ven- geance, on the owners of those lands, for detaining the goods of strangers, shipwrecked ;" but he adds, that it might have been from " those high westerly winds that blow here, at almost all seasons of the year, and that, on this side of the island, are daily seen to drive the sands to the tops of the highest cliffc." It will, naturally, be asked, why the sand did not cover this tract of ground until the sixteenth century. Mr. Falle's own account suppb'es a very rational an- swer which does not seem to have struck him. He says, " In the parish of St. Ouen, the sea has, within these 250 years, swallowed up a very rich vale, where, to this hour, at low water, the murks of build- ings appear among the rocks, and great stumps of oaks are seen in the sand after a storm.* * ee Appearance. In fact, the rich vale, of which he speaks, was wholly, or in part, an extensive wood ; which, while it remained, sheltered the more inland quarter. That defence thrown down, the wind had full powejr over the open adjacent country : and the sand, which, since the accident, has continued to cover Les Quen- vaisy* may be a portion of the very earth in which the forest grew ; for St. Ouen's bay is, in a manner, paved with flat rocks to a considerable way in the sea, beyond low-water mark. These had, doubtless, a superstratum of excellent soil: the number of trees, that are at times discovered, with their roots still penetrating the fissures of the rocks, and thus clinging to them, attests this truth. It is absurd to suppose, that a desolation, so considerable in extent, and su complete in its effects, could have been the consequence of a single gale, or even of an uninterrupted succession of storms : the change was gradual, though, probably, ra- pid ; and greatest at the commencement, from * To trace the etymology of local names is generally a difficult task, and frequeotly an unsatisfactory attempt. Mr. Falle, speaking of les Quenvais, quotes thus from a Latin M. S. of Philip de Carteret, eq. Seigneur de St. Ouen : " Nunc Canvetos vocant." Quenvais, or Quenves, seems to be a very natural derivation from Canvetos ; and as the M. S, on this subject says, " ventis pertlata fuerit, et nniversam illam agrorum fcecunditatem vastaverit/' may we 25 - , the quantity of soil, disengaged by the wayes, when the ingulfmcnt took place. The argillaceous and other particles being washed away, or dis- solved, left the sandy molecules behind, which thus, uncemented, became the sport of every wuia. Les Quenvais now form a large and barren common. There is an intention of enclosing it for cultivation : a design which is suspended, in con- sequence of some claims, of ancient date, that have lately been renewed to the whole district. General Don, from a truly public spirited mo- live, enclosed forty-five vergtes, or twenty acres, which he trencjied very deep, and thus reached the natural soil : whether this laudable trial may answer, in point of expense or not, is uncertain : his Excel- lency has however set an example, worthy of being imitated, in the same or some other shape. But though generally speaking- the soil is so fer- tile, that large families are maintained on the produce of ten vergees, or less than four acres and a half of ground, yet the ample supply of not imagine the barbarous term Canvttos to have originated from the words frtmpMiand ventus t and thus to signify let champs du vent* Even this last phrase glides into Quenoais or Qttenves, asiii that dia- lect, whieh is called Jersey French, ch is pronounced like k, as iu Greek apd some other languages. A provincial manner een only so recent 1* restated, hay has fallen to one fourth of the price it obtained a few month* hack, and horses are daily declining in value. 30 a light, sandy, and highly prolific earth.* We * The following comparative estimate* will best display^the degree of fertility, to which the soil of Jersey attains : The standard Cabot of the island for wheat, and for that grain alone, measures fourteen inches and a quarter wide, and eight inches and a quarter deep, English measure ; consequently it contains 1315.7536 cubic inches. A legal Winchester bushel measures eighteen inches and a half wide, and eight inches deep ; it therefore contains 2150.4252 cubic inches. The average produce of wheat per acre, in Essex and in Hampshire, has been estimated at 24 bushels, each weighing from 60 to 64 pounds avoirdupois. The Rev. Mr. Warner, in his History of the Jsfe of flight, makes the average in that island only 21 bushels. 24 bushels, at 62 pounds each, make 1488 pounds. In Jersey the average on different articles is as follows : Wheat 30 Cabots, each weighing 30} Barley 26 36^ Pounds Jersey weight Oats 30 ,, 27 per Vtrgee. Potatoes 300 40) The utmost produce of wheat may be taken at 40 Cabots ; though in 1813 the utmost produce, on the best land, \vas50Cadolsof 33 pounds each. There is a difference between the pound avoirdupois and that of Jersey, 104 of the latter being considered as fully equal to 112 of the former ; therefore 13 Jersey pounds are equivalent to 14 pounds avoir* dupois. Calculating on tiie above estimates, a Winchester bushel of Jersey wheat will weigh full 49 Jersey pounds, or nearly 52 pounds 18 ounces avoirdupois. As two Verge'es and a quarter are equal to one statute acre, the average produce of Jersey wheat, at 30 pounds per Cabot, will be SOya Jersey pounds, or nearly 2181 pounds avoirdupois, per acre. The results from the foregoing estimates are interesting : they prove that Jersey wheat is lighter than English wheat, in the proportion of 52 pounds 13 ounces to 62 pounds : but that the produce of wheat from the Jersey soil, exceeds that of England in the proportion of 3181 to 1488. Great however as this excess is, the same dispropor- tion IB the quantity of flour will, it ii presumed, not exist $ because 31 meet also with blue and yellow clajr. A singular the Jersey grain being lighter, hai probably a greater proportion of husk, or bran : still the difference in the quantity of flour must be very considerable. The Cabot in which barley and every other kind of grain, (wheat excepted,) pease, beans, potatoes, &c. are measured, is more ca- pacious than that used for wheat, the proportion requiring 4 of the later to fill 3 of the former. The preceding estimates of barley^ oats, and potatoes, must therefore be regulated accordingly. All the articles mentioned are struck, with the exception of pota- toes, the measure of which is heaped up. In addition to the excess in Jersey wheat, it must he considered, that both in England and the Isle of Wight, farming is carried on with great attention : whereas in Jersey, several material advan- tages are either wanting or neglected. The author's informations from England respecting potatoes vary 10 much, that he finds it difficult to fix a proper average. One ac- count states the average produce of an acre to be 400 bushels, at 74 pounds per bushel, or J9,600 pounds. Mr. Warner's statement res- pecting the Isle of Wight is, from 60 to 80 sacks : taking this at the medium of 7C, the produce at 74 pounds per bushel, will amount to only 15,540 pounds. This estimate is considered as too low, the other as considerably too high : perhaps 20,000 pounds would be a fairer average. The Jersey produce of potatoes is after the rate of 27,OOQ Jersey pounds, or nearly 29,077 English pounds, per acre ; so that in this article also, the difference is in favour of Jersey. The general crop of hay is averaged at about one ton per vtrgee, which must also be deemed a very considerable produce. The after- math is sometimes mown, but more usually grazed. A few calculations deducible from the foregoing estimates, and that may be iseftil in Jer?:y, are now subjoined. It requires about 13 ,\ Cabots of wheat to make an English quarter. An English quarter of English wheat, contains 496 7 Pounds One of Jersey wheat, contains 452JJ Avoirdupoii. Deficiency 43} The produce of Jersey wheat from an acre is about 41 * bushels. 32 circumstance is, that though a very great varie- ty exists in the mineralogical department of Jer- sey, neither lime-stone, chalk, nor any substance of a calcareous nature, has ever been discovered. ' . 7 except in trifling specimens :* nor is there marie, nor any true gravel. The inhabitants repair their roads with rock, broken into suitable fragments ; and they employ the same substance taken from particular spots, in a disintegrated state, for walks iu their gardens and pleasure grounds. The sort used for these purposes is very argillaceous; con- sequently it binds extremely well, and when properly chosen in point of colour, has much the appearance of real gravel, and uearly all its advantages. The slopes, or coteaux, yield timber, broom, gorse, fern, and where neither too steep nor too jocky, tolerable pasture. The parishes of St. Ouen, and St. Brelade, are generally the earliest, by a fortnight, in their harvestings; St. John's is considered as later than any other. Much of the land near the town of St. ffclier, has a superstratum of brick earth, though not of the best quality for the purpose : it is however See MINERALOGY. employed ; and From a recent demand for the public' works, and for the enlargement of the town itself, the vicinity is now crowded with brickcries. DIVISIONS. The island is divided into twelve parishes; theso are Trinity, St. John's, and St. Mary's, on the north; St. OUCH'S, St. Peter's, and St. Brelade's, (or BreverlarcTs}, on the west; St. Lawrence's, St. Heller's, and St. Saviour's, on the south; St. Cle- tnent's t Grouville, and St. Martin's, on the east. These, with the exception of the parish of St. Ouen, are again divided into Vintaines, or double tythings. The divisions in that parish are called Cuillettes. All border, more or less, on the sea, except St. Sa- viour' s f and even this has one point of contact. ENCLOSURES, HEDGE-ROWS OR BANKS, AND WASTE LANDS. . The custom of Gavel-fond or an equal distribu- tion of fortune among children, prevailing, though in a very partial manner, in Jersey y the landed pro- F perty is necessarily divided into small estates ; this of course occasions corresponding enclosures. These circumscribed portions are surrounded by banks of an extraordinary height, and of several feet in thick- ness. Many are even faced with stone, so as to have the appearance of ramparts ; and most of them have hedges, or trees, planted on their summits. It is difficult to ascertain why so extraordinary a waste of ground, on such limited estates, and in so small an island, should have been introduced, and still more so that it should have become a general cus- tom. The approach to most houses in the country, above those of the lower class of farmers, is through a long and narrow avenue, called une chasse: this likewise is, in most cases, an unprofitable use of ground, as the timber seldom grows to any advanta- geous size. Lands so subdivided in extent, and proprietor- ship, require an infinite number of narrow roads, in- tersecting each other in all directions. The waste of ground, from all these several causes, is compara- tively immense. Mr. Falle computed, that, in his time, nearly one third of the island was taken up in these, and in other hedge-rows, gardens, orchards, an dthe issues of houses.* In other respects it can- * Thongh these are aot all waste lands, yet they are in an inferior not be said that there is much waste land ia Jetsey, except, as before mentioned, Les Quenvais, together with some marshy places, in the parishes of St. Pe- ter, St. Lawrence, and Grouvilley and a few Mi* elles, or sandy tracts, bordering- the shore, on the Southern side of the island. There is, at the same time, sufficient cause for asserting, that the island might, by greater attention, be rendered much more productive. In the north, in a variety of places, the lands bordering on the sea are little better than heaths : on these are seen only a few sheep, or goats, browsing; and yet, merely separated from those open parts by a low wall of stones, loosely piled up, may occasionally be found cropa of corn, whose tate of cultivation, and the aggregate amount is considerably more than the proportion of unimproved lands in England and Walts ; the joint area of which countries contains 49,450 square miles, of 31,648,000 acres. Tbe waste lands in these comprise 7,768,777 acres, or about one fourth part. Some accounts make the propor- tion of commons and waste lands, in England and Wales, as little more than one sixth. In a small island like Jersey, depending 10 much on other countries for the tery necessaries of life, and so liable to be, occasionally, de- prived of these assistances, the cultivation, to the utmost degree, and in the most beneficial manner, of every foot of ground, becomes an object of th\e highest importance j more especially when we reflect, that the standing population of Jersey, on an average of the same ex- tent of territory, is not far short of double that of both England aotl (See POPULATION.) 36 appearance evinces, that more of this apparently infertile ground might be rendered equally prolific. . To sum up this subject in a few words : the Jersey landholders are not enterprising in character ; but being in general easy in their circumstances, and consuming in their families the greater part of their own produce, they in most instances follow, with little deviation from the beaten track, the customary modes of their progenitors. HIGHWAYS, AND NEW MILITARY ROADS. The Highways were formerly of different widths. and were under strict regulations in this respect: there was one of these, called Perquage, in each parish, and it had a peculiar destination. It be- gan at the church, and from thence led direct- Jy to the sea. Its use was to enable those, who, for some capital crime, had taken sanctuary in the church, and had been sentenced to exile, to reach the shore in safety. If they strayed at nil from the perquage in going, they forfeited all the advantages of sanctuary, became liable to be seized, and suffer the penalties of the law. These privi- leged paths were abolished at the Reformation. Along most of the old roads there runs a paved foot-path; but this, and the carriage - way, arc in many places rough, and as there is seldom room for quartering, the ruts are frequently deep. These circumstances render it necessary to have the country carls made very strong : for the same reasons the wheels are flat, and turn loosely round an axle, that projects considerably on each side, and thus permits the wheels to extend or con- tract, according to the distance between the ruts. As the banks that confine the highways, are generally much elevated, and lined with over- shadowing trees, those roads afford a cool shelter during the heats of summer ; but a* winter ap- proaches they become extremely gloomy, damp, and muddy. Of late several highways have been enlarged ; others closed up and converted into fields. New military roads are either completed or forming, all round the island; besides others in several cross directions. MINERAL WATERS. All the waters of this description hitherto dis- covered in Jersey 9 . arc of a chalybeate nature. 38 Ferruginous springs are visible in many parts of the island, but two only are of any note, and even to these little attention is paid. One is in the parish of St. Mary 9 the other in that of St. Saviour. PRODUCE. This is an ample field, as well with respect to the natural growth, as to that which is the effect of cultivation. Under the former branch may be comprised most kinds of forest trees, particularly the chesnut, elm, and white oak. These and other species of timber trees, would acquire much greater height, and girt, were it not for the circumscribed area of the enclosures round which they are planted.* These small fields requiring exposure to the sun, the farmers are obliged to lop the wide-spreading branches, and also the heads. A few groves in- * In proof of this, we need only mention, that, in the year 1704, an oak was felled in the cemetery of Grovville church. The dimen- sions of this tree were so extraordinary, that it was supposed to con- tain fifty tons of timber. The bark alone filled six cart' : yet the whole sold for only the trifling sum of foitv-four ecus, of three Kvrtt each, or, according to the present rate of money, 5 10s. sterling. 39 deed exist, but nothing that can be called a wood. Yet so numerous are those pollards, that, on ta- king a view from any elevated part inland, the whole island appears like one continued forest 3 many houses being deeply buried in glens, and embowered by the thick foliage of surrounding shade. These gloomy recesses were, probably, in the interiour parts, selected for shelter from the high winds, that are so frequent in this island; and near the coast, in order to be unseen bjr piratical invaders. Among the wild plants that appear to be in- digenous, we may particularize as of most utility, the Rubia Tinctoria, (madder), the Lvteola, (weld), single- chamomile, gorse, broom, fern, and heath, with an extensive variety of aromatic herbs.* There arc also morels, common mushrooms, and the smaller kind, called equally Champignons , by the French. Layer and samphire are found, though chiefly on the northern coast : the former is a marine production, of which little use is made in Jersey: the latter can be gathered without that terrifying risk, which our great dramatic poet, * Siagle-chumomile and heath generally supply the place of the double-chajnoniile, and produce a more pungent though less agreeable kilter. 40 so emphatically and justly describes. The rocky cliffs, though frequently very steep, are seldom of so beetling a form, as to prevent the hardy natives from descending them without assistance. Among the dangerous though medicinal species, those most nu - merous are the Digitalis, (fox-glove), Thymelcea, (spurge),* and the common night-shade. In an agricultural respect, Jersey produces all the farinaceous species of grain, and the various edible roots, and other vegetable substances, that are reared in England. The bearded wheat, call- ed in Jersey Froment Tremais, (Frmnentum tri- mcstrejy from being sown in the spring and reap- ed in three months, is likewise cultivated. It is esteemed to be equally nutritive as the species usually raised in Great- Britain, but the flour is not so white. Lucern and clover are in general cultivation, wherever the soil will admit of the former, whose tap root, when it finds an oppor- tunity, will penetrate to the depth of several yards. Few other artificial grasses, if any, are sown. *. r 1 .?! --{I r^mX, Hr This plant is constantly met with in the slopes, or coteaux, espe- cially if under the cover of' trees, or underwood : in these places, where the free current of air is impeded, spurge is extremely offensive to the olfactory nerves, and must be pernicious. The author has some reason to think, that he contracted an indisposition that lasted several days, from having inadvertently left some spurge one night in his bed-chamber. 41 Of other plants, an unsuccessful attempt has been made to rear hops. From the nature of the soil, it appears likely to answer, though so delicate a plant as to be injured by slight causes. Private gardens yield every natural* luxury that the climate can produce ; and from this source the market is principally supplied with such articles as require attention. The peach-apricot is remarkable for its size and beauty. Melons are in profusion, and straw berries have been noticed for superiority of flavour. Of wintry fruits the pearmain, which in, England is principally applied to culinary purposes, and seldom lasts for any length of time, is here a very good eating apple also, and reckoned to keep longer then any other ; whereas the russeting, which in England is considered as the best store ap- ple, is in Jersey but little esteemed, and soon decays. But the pride of this island is the Chau- manlelley a pear, sometimes nearly a pound in weight. This delicious fruit frequently sells on the spot for five guineas per hundred, and is sent to English friends as a particular present. The colmar, though in less general estimation, is by many considered as even a superiour kind. Both * The word natural is used, because in Jersey hot-house fruits are little known. G 42 these species keep for several months ; but they re- quire great care and almost daily attention. The chief produce, however, of the island is gi- der, of which about 24,000 hogsheads are annually manufactured;* and of which nearly 1800 hogs- headst are exported to England. This liquor is the common beverage of Jersey ; but the farmers are sel- dom very nice in assorting their fruit, so that differ- ent kinds are mixed together, and the damaged ap- ples are not often separated. The cider retailed at St. Heller's is in general detestable, though the regulations respecting it are very strict. There have of late years been two cider manufac- tories established, and from these the liquor is ex- cellent. Formerly the principal drink in use was mead ; at that time there were many apiaries : these are now much neglected, though the Jersey honey is said to be of a very superiour quality. * This is supposed to be the average : in a plentiful year 36,000 hogsheads have been made, and perhaps a still larger quantity ; but, among the fanners, who are large consumers of this beverage, much water is mixed with the juice of the apple. From this cause, and from the nature of the subject, it is hardly possible to ascertain the actual produce of the fruit itself. f This is computed from a registered average of five years, being from 1809 to 1813, both years inclusive. (See COMMERCE.) MAtftJRE, WR iamed gradeau ; but it wants the peculiar scent that the real smelt emits. animal is equal in size to a middling oyster ; bat has no under protection : it is very muscular, and thus clings to the rocks. The interiour of its shell exhibits the prismatic colours, and has been used instead of mother of pearl, though too thin for general pur- poses. The rocks round Jersey swarm with con- gers, some of which are six feet in length. There are also four species of the squalus genus, including the sqitalina, or angel fish ; the last is indeed seldom caught. All the other three sorts are eaten by the lower class of inhabitants : these fish are from less than two feet to six or seven in length. There is a slender fish like a very small eel, named lancon* This kind is also taken in the west of England, and is there called sand-eel. Though an inhabitant of the water, it is seldom caught there ; but having bu- ried itself in the sand, remains under that moist cover- ing as the tide ebbs. The sand being raked with a blunt instrument, shaped like a reaping hook, the fish is brought up by it. Night is considered as the most eligible time for this employment, which is like- wise often followed as an amusement. Great numbers of the actinia or sea anemone, some with red and others with white tentacula, cover the rocks that are left dry as the tide recedes. There is likewise found in the little pools, formed in the ca- 50 yities of these rocks, a species of the Umax marinus. It appears like a lump of coagulated blood ; and, on being gently pressed, emits a beautiful purple liquor of some durability, and which does not seem to be very readily effaced by the usual chymical agents. This marine animal, if put into a basin of sea water, soon exhibits itself as a kind of enormous slug, ha- ving on each side a large membrane like a wing, covering half its body, and which it moves like a fin as it glides along, but which is not displayed unless the creature is in full vigour. There not being any running streams that can be termed rivers in Jersey, and but few ponds, there is very little fresh- water fish. LANGUAGE. The vernacular language is French. Divine service, and preaching, the pleadings at court, and the public acts, are all in good French; though, in legal documents some obsolete forensic terms are still retained. The upper ranks understand and occa- sionally speak it ; but, in compliance with custom, and to avoid the appearance of an affected superi- ority, over the lower classes, they, too frequently, converse in the provincial tongue, or, as it is called, 51 Jersey French.* This is a heterogeneous compoun;! of antiquated French, intermixed with modern exptes- sions and gallicised English words, so that it may be termed a kind of lingua franca; and it is pro- nounced, especially in the country districts, with a most abominable patois. The different parishes even vary in these respects, so that there are more dialects in the language of Jersey than in the ancient Greek. This medley is really disgraceful to the island, and it is extraordinary that no efforts have yet l>cen made to remedy the defect. English is, however, beco- ming daily more and more prevalent ; the necessity of comprehending the soldiery has made it under- stood, even by the market women : it would indeed be soon equally spoken throughout the island, as the present jargon, were it particularly encouraged. Political considerations seem to render this highly de- sirable. The author of the present work was so fully imprrssed with a sense of its importance, that he once formed a plan for more generally disseminating the English language in the island. He reasoned then, and he still reasons, thus : Jersey is situated on the * In this respect the Jersey gentry are more ctindrsreiuling than the higher inhabitants of Hamburgh. At llii- latter plarr, a master speaks to his servant in lli m>> September 29, HIT St. OUCD September 4, 1130 St. Saviour - May 30, 1154 Trinity September 3, Ii63 St. Peter . June 29, 1167 St. Lawrence V January 4, 1199 St. John . August 1, 1204 Grouville . August 25, 1312 St. Mary - Octobers, 1320 St. Helier . August 15, 1341 The above are the dates entered in Lt Livre noir de L'Etichi de 64 lion being a broad pilaster in resault on each side, in the middle of the aisle : this projection is continued like a band, to the crown of the arch. In these re- spects the chapels are archetypes of what the church- es originally were, with the exceptions, that the latter had two short wings or transverse aisles projecting from the centre ; thus forming a kind of cross. that the long aisle contains two or mort pilasters and bands in their whole length, and that there is in some a slight ornament in the dome, where the arches intersect, consisting of light ribs, springing diago- nally, and uniting under a patera in the centre. The crucial form was the standard for religious edifices, in that which is called the Saxon style of architecture : the same mode of building prevailed also in that which bears the appellation of Norman style. Over the intersection of the cross was raised a tower, or a ^pire. To this plan all the churches in Jerf*y appear originally to have conformed. The walls of these edifices are very substantial, and have external buttresses, some of which project considerably, and are very massive ; others are flat like pilasters : it is therefore doubtful whether any were designed to strengthen the fabrick itself, but ra- ther were considered as ornamental. The roofs, like 65 the Willis, are, as before mentioned, of stone, no tim- ber entering into any part of their construction. Every church had invariably that species of point- ed or Gothic arch, termed an ox-eye arch, and the windows were of the same form. The doors alone were crowned with a semicircular arch. The ma- sonry of these edifices does not, in general, appear to have had that accuracy so peculiar to the Saxon and early Norman architecture : instead of small stones, nicely squared, and laid in regular courses, most of the churches exhibit a confused irregular mixture of rocky fragments, of various shapes and dimensions; many doubtless taken from the sea shore, and of course impregnated with saline particles : nor does it seem that more attention was paid to the mortar by which these components were united : it was in part composed of sea sand ; and though now, in many places, hard externally, yet internally it has been found soft, and even moist. From these two circum- stances the churches are damp ;* and unless fre- quently white-washed, become spotted and dingy. The open work of the windows was simple, though formal : in those that have been added the ornaments * Mr. Falle attributes this to their being built of stone ; but the two causes we bave mentioned are much more likely to have produced (he efiect. 66 are much more fanciful. Every part of the win- dows, both externally and internally, especially the latter, was chamfered off.* * We hare been thus particular respecting the architecture of th Ecclesiastical structures in Jersey, as it does not accord with the ge- nerally received opinion on this subject. It has been asserted, (See Dr. Rees's Cyclopedia,) that, in the Saxon and early Norman styles, which were nearly similar, the arches were always semicircular ; or, at least, if pointed, it was more an accidental circumstance than a prevailing taste ; that the pointed style appeared in no part of Christendom, before the 12th century ; and that the period from which we may date the commencement of the pointed-arch style, or that which is vulgarly called Gothic, is A. D. 1 155. We read, in the same highly respectable work, that " what is call- " ed the Gothic or pointed arch, is generally supposed to have first " appeared in the 13th century;" whereas we are informed, that at Couiances, in Normandy, the stupendous aqueduct, conjectured to have been raised by the Romans, has pointed arches of prodigious height, and connected by piers, so slender, as to appear insufficient to sup- port the superincumbent weight. Since the foregoing note was written, Dr. E. D. Clarke has pub- lished part 2, section 2, of his travels; in which he not only posi- tively contradicts an opinion, countenanced by some authors, that the pointed Gothic arch is of English invention, but he expressly confutes what is said in the Cyclopaedia,* in regard to the period of its intro- duction into Europe. Respecting the first circumstance, Dr. Clarke mentions pointed arches in buildings of great antiquity, both in the Holy Land, and ia Egypt. He says, " This kind of arch is a peculiar characteristic of " the architecture of the Saracens in Egypt, in all their oldest build- " ings. It moreover exists in some of the sepulchres in Upper Fgypt, " and among the ruins of Tartar edifices/' in a remote district, It is extremely unpleasant to reflect on so respectable and elaborate a work at the Cyclopsdia, especially as, from its comprehensive nature, the compiler, or com* pilers. must frequently have written from the information of otben. We cannot however but notice the very erroneous account, iu several respects, that if given of Jen y. A mong these mistakes it is stated , that the island bag only eight churches ; whereas there have been, for iie.i rl \ 50O years, twelve of those parochial structures. It is the more extraordinary because the Cyclopedia quotes toe Rev. Mr. Falle, from whose history a better account might have been obtained. 67 Though we readily admit that the prelates, in the It is also a remarkable circumstance, notion! by the same author, though not applied by him t.> the present subject, that one of the py- ramids of Saeoara, all of which he supposes to be oven more ancient than those of Dji/a, has externally the form of a pointed arch. It is indeed so very obtuse, as to be a mean between the ox eye and the hansed arch : still however it has the Gothic form. Dr. Clarke adds, that in the " Voyages At Chardin are plates tbat " afford specimens of the pointed arch," in Persian buildings " There is a remarkable curre in all these arches. At about two " thirds of the distance from the spring of the arch r " visited lona; and in the numerous vestiges of ecclesiastical splen- " dor which he then observed in the rude baa-reliefs belonging to the sepulchral monuments of that island, the granite en 3ns, but above " all the remains of the pointed Gothic style, a traveller there might " rather imagine himself viewing antiquities belonging to the Holy 11 Land, and edifices erected by the mother of Constantine, tha^vof " an ecclesiastical establishment upon a small island in the Hebrides ^ " upon an island too, which was already thus d : stinguished, before *' the inhabitants of England could be said to be converted to Chris- *" Witnettthe Interesting, though almost unnoticed, model of the church of the "Holy Sepulchre, called the Hound Church, In Cambridge, built by the Kii , , Jerusalem, and showing precisely the form of the building, as it was ia the se- rr Tenth century." 68 early Norman reigns, were men of consummate skill in architecture, and that they displayed evident proofs of it in the Anglo-Norman structures; yet it seems very likely that Jersey might not be consider- ed as sufficiently important to require the same atten- tion, that was bestowed on the religious edifices in England and Normandy. The great Norman ab- bots were patrons of all the churches in Jersey ; and, as will be clearly shown in its proper place,* fleeced the island as much as possible, leaving a very modicum of revenue to the officiating ministers: as therefore they were so sparing to the rectors, there is little reason for supposing that they were very liberal in their expenditure on the buildings. Eight of the churches have steeples ; two have lost whatever was formerly erected over the cross; and those of St. Helier 9 and St. Saviour, have square towers : that of the former church is faced on every side with Mont-Mado stone in regular courses, which gives it a more modern appearance than the other parts of the structure : indeed it seems, that this attention to regularity was, at one time, a preva* " tianity ; and at an sera when the king of the East Angles was " actually sending into Burgundy for missionaries to preach the ** CJuristian faith." See ECCLESIASTICAL HISIOKY. 69 lent mode ; as, in buildings of stone, even in the erec- tion of a common wall, composed of misshapen frag- ments, it is still customary in Jersey to lay them in regular courses. The churches however do not af- ford any proof of this in their general construction. After mentioning the pristine form of the Jersey churches, we must now remark their present appear, ance. All have been so enlarged, and otherwise altered, that in most of them it is very difficult to trace the original plan. In all these edifices, a second, and in some even a third, aisle has been added, running parallel to the original one, with communicating arches, supported by short heavy circular pillars: these pillars are plain, with a flat or a rounded moulding, as a ca- pital, or impost, and a narrow ring, or astragal, at the top and bottom of the shaft : under the lower ring is simply an ogee moulding round the column, and a plain polygonal plinth below, without any dado, or inferiour ornament. The alterations have, in several instances, been made without the smallest attention to uniformity of design : this is strikingly demonstrated in one church, (St. Lawrence's) ; the original aisle had clearly a pointed arch throughout its whole extent ; whereas now, though the western half preserves this 70 form, the eastern part has a flat scheme arch, which Springs so awkwardly from a very elevated quarter of the more ancient Gothic one, that the crown of that segment is but just raised above the pointed top of a Gothic window, at the eastern extremity : finally, to destroy all idea of unity, an additional aisle has been added, surmounted with a pointed arch, the vaulted part of which is ornamented with light moulded ribs, springing diagonally as if from groins, and having pateras at the point of every intersection. If the other parts of the building corresponded with this aisle, the church would form a beautiful model. The additions to the churches, are likewise distin- guishable by the open part of the windows ; those of later date deviating from the original style. Notwithstanding these violations of uniformity, we cannot but admire the boldness of those architects by \vbom the enlargements were made, for their skill in constructing the arches of communication ; as, in some of the churches, a new aisle has been erected on each side of the old one. On inspection, it clearly appears, that, in making these communications, the workmen broke through the outside wall of the church, and stooped out arches in the apertures, raising pillars to support the remaining mass : but from thence it is evident tha* 71 these columns were not in any instance whatever, in the original construction of the building. The frac- tured ends of the bands that sprung from the flat pilasters in resault, show where they were broken off to form the openings. The very circumstances of breaking through thick walls, supporting ponderous roofs of solid stone, constructing arches in the ex- cavations thus made, and placing massive pillars between them, seem to prove that nearly the whole of one side wall of the edifice was taken down) and sometimes the other. This, apparently, must have been the case. The pillars could not have been left between the places hollowed out, and after- wards moulded into their present form; because every arch must, necessarily, have had its harices and its spandrels, together with its squares or pa- rallelograms, to sustain the superincumbent pressure. In some churches, even the added aisle has had pilas- ters and bands, which have been broken by the for* mation of subsequent arches. With the exception of St. Helier > church, there is hardly one that possesses any monumental memo- rials worth noticing ; and even the few in that temple are comparatively modern. The ancient inhabitants of Jersey were in general too poor, or too unam- bitious, to affect 72 " The storied urn, or animated bust." Their utmost attempt at sepulchral fame, was con- fined to a flat stone, or a low sarcophagus, with the rough effigy of a human being engraved on it, and a plain legend, beginning with the old Norman Cy gi/st, or with hicjacet, round the edges. How vain soever, during life, of their petty feudal distinctions, they wisely thought, with the French poet, " Qu'unjour dans le monde rant mille ans dans I'histoire.'* In fine, what is worldly grandeur ? Solomon says : " One generation passeth away, and another genera- " lion cometh." tc All go unto one place: all arc u of the dust, and all turn to dust again." A celebrated modern author* says, " On jete tin <{ peu de terre sur la tete, et en voila pom jamais." " Let vanity adorn the marble tomb, " With trophies, rhymes, and scutcheons of renown, '* In the deep dungeon of some Gothic dome."f I may say, with Dr. Pope, in his celebrated moral song, " If a thousand years hence here lies W. P, " Be found on my tombstone, what is it to me !" Sic transit gloria mundi ought to be a memento mori * Chateaubiiand. + Beanie's Minstrel. 73 to every human being. Happy are they -who con- sider this solemn truth, and act accordingly ! PRIVILEGES. Mr. Falle says, " there would be no living in this " island, for English subjects, without great freedoms "and immunities." His observation is very just: Jersey is situated in the very grasp of France. The annals of history show how exposed the island is to constant attacks from enemies. In war time, its regular foreign trade is materially injured : the in- ternal commerce cannot be very considerable,* in a country where so many live on their own inherit- ances. Its manufactories are few, and extremely li- mited in extent. Every man is a soldier, and the inhabitants are frequently under arms. The coast round the island is guarded by them nightly through- out the year ; and they are summoned to assemble, completely accoutred, on every alarm. Frontier places are usually favoured with particular privileges, to counterbalance their various inconveniences ; and no country ever merited distinguished marks of royal beneficence more than Jersey. See COMMERCE. There is not any existing record respecting the privileges of this island before the reign of King John ; it is therefore impossible to ascertain those that it possessed under the preceding monarchs, or under its more ancient sovereigns. That monarch gave to Jersey and Guernsey a body of constitu- tions, consisting of eighteen articles. Two great privileges are therein granted ; one, that no process, in either of the islands, commenced before any ma- gistrate of that island, can be transferred out of it, but must be decided there. The other, that no per- son, convicted, out of the said islands, of felony, is to forfeit the inheritances he may have in them, so as to deprive his heirs of their natural possession. This does not however extend to crimes committed in either island, and decided there. The two foregoing articles seem to have been inserted to show how completely independent these islands always were of the English courts of judica- ture. Few provinces indeed enjoyed, at one time, pri- vileges so great, and so favourable, as Jersey. The preambles of its several charters recite the motives that induced the kings of England to grant them : as, firstly, to recompense the steady and zealous loy- alty of its inhabitants ; secondly, to engage them ta 73 pursue the same course ; and, thirdly, to ameliorate the disadvantages of their situation. JERSEY enjoys the lienefit of being a free port, the restrictions in this respect being more properly regu- lations. There were, until the late peace took place, only a few duties* on the imports, but no prohibi- bitions.t The island is also protected from the im- press act. Formerly there were not any taxes; unless we consider as such the parochial rates for the indigent, and for the highways : these have of late been raised ; but they are still very moderate, when compared with similar assessments in England. The expense of constructing new military roads, ip different parts of the island, must necessarily bear heavy for the moment ; this however is a burden which, it may naturally be presumed, will, in the course of a few years, be lightened, as the materials for keeping the highways in repair are readily found in almost every quarter. A difference in opinion has arisen respecting the utility of the new roads, in a general point of view ; it is not our business to enter into the question : we * They have, of late years, been fncreased, but are still inconside- rable. t Since the conclusion of the war, the States have prohibited the importation of foreign living horned cuttle. 76 may indeed observe, that the increased facility of communication, throughout the island, occasioned by good roads, will tend to produce a more general and social intercourse : this pleasurable circumstance will at the same time diffuse a knowledge of the English language, which we have already considered as highly desirable in a political sense. The only restraint on the foreign commerce of Jersey^ relates to the British West-India islands, with which there is not any direct intercourse. The inhabitants of these islands are for ever ex- empted from all taxes, imposts, and customs, in the towns, markets, and ports, of England, that are not levied on other subjects. They elect all their own magistrates, with the ex- ception of the bailiff, his deputy, and a few other officers. No act of the British parliament will extend to Jersey, unless it be specifically named in the act, and its provisions applied to the island; and even such an act cannot operate, unless accompanied with an order of council : but even parliament does not levy any tax. This exemption is not so properly a grant, or privilege, as a natural and necessary con- sequence of these islands being A PECULIAR OF THE ENGLISH CROWN : for r as Lord Chief Justice Coke 77 says, Though they are parcel of the dominion of the CROWN of EN GLAND) yet they are not, nor ever were, parcel of the RE.ILM of ENGLAND.* A privilege, that this island once enjoyed, is of so remarkable a nature, that it cannot be improper to give an extract from Mr. Falle's translation of a charter granted by Queen Elizabeth. He says, " In " every charter, from Edward the fourth inclusive, " and successively downwards, there is a privilege " confirmed to us in common with the other islands ?' in this tract, of so extraordinary a nature, and t( mentioned by writers as so great a singularity, that " I cannot avoid enlarging upon it." Then follows the translated extract. " In time of war, the merchants of all nations, and " others, as well foreigners as natives, as well enemies *' as friends, may and shall be permitted, freely, law- vsatp , LEARNED AND EMINENT MEN. Circumscribed as JERSEY is in extent, and limited as was formerly the connexion with Great Britain^ it has nevertheless produced a number of characters eminent in the various departments of scientific know- ledge, celebrated as public characters, or distin- guished as warriours. Of these, as literary men, we may mention Durell, dean of Windsor; Brevint, dean of Lincoln ; Falle, whose history of the island jias been, in several respects, the archetype of all sub- sequent accounts ; D'Auvergne,* who transmitted to posterity the most memorable campaign of William (he third ; Morant, the antiquary ; Dr. Durell, principal of Hertford college, Oxford ; Dr. Bandinel, public orator of that university ; Dr. Dumaresq j and the late Rev. Mr. Le Couteur: to which ho- nourable list may be added two living characters ; the Rev. and venerable Dr. Valpy, the author of many valuable works ; and the Rev. Dr. Lempriere, the compiler of a biographical dictionary. Nor should His S. H. the present Duke of Bouillon is one of the descendants of thia gentleman. 96 the names of John Poingdestre, esq,* formerly lieu- tenant bailiff of the island, and of Phillipot Payn, Seigneur de Samarez, be omitted. The former is honourably mentioned by Mr. Falle, and from the M. S. chronicles of the latter, the reverend historian drew great part of his historical materials. As magistrates, Messieurs Le Geyt, and Pipon, most particularly distinguished themselves. Among the characters, from this island, most cele- brated in the naval and military annals, we may notice Philip de Carteret, Seigneur de St. Ouen, in the reigns of Henry the sixth, and Edward the fourth ; Sir George Carteret, during the grand re- bellion j and, in modem times, Hardy, Durell, and Kempenfelt. During the late war, many of the natives served, both in the army and navy ; several of whom highly distinguished themselves, but whose names it might appear invidious to select. Courage is indeed a quality that Jerseymen have always been acknowledged to possess in an eminent degree. * The name is variously spelt in different accounts of JERSEY ; Poingdestre is now the common orthography. 97 DRESS, CUSTOMS, MANNERS, &c. The dress of all the inhabitants at St. Jlelier's, and its environs, is now nearly that which is common in English towns. With the men, fashion seems to claim little attention ; while among the fair sex there appears to be a general attempt at rivality, which descends even to those that are employed in domestic offices. In this respect there has been, of late years, an astonishing, and, it is to be feared, an unfavoura- ble change, which is daily extending its influence to the distant parts of the island. In some other par- ticulars, equal deviations from former habits have been introduced, in which both sexes are impli- cated. Though local circumstances have, in this island, restrained dissipation from making the same rapid advances as in larger communities, yet, to adopt Mr. Falle's language, " it would be next to a miracle, if it were not tainted in some degree." Only a few years since, among even the higher class of natives, there were chiefly familiar sociable visitings, and the females were plainly apparelled : now expensive dinners attract the gentlemen, detaining them fre- 98 guently far beyond the " midnight hour," and a perpetual round of dressed balls, and card parties, invite the ladies. These amusements, circumscribed within proper bounds, we do not cynically mean to condemn ; but when indulged without due restraint, they become injurious in both a public and a private sense. In the latter respect, it is truly said : " Domestic happiness, thou only bliss " Of paradise that has survived the fall ! " Thou art not known where pleasure is adored." COWPER. . Were these gratifications, if such they are deemed, confined to that circle of inhabitants alone, the evil would not perhaps be so greatly pernicious ; but the fascinating principle descends to the inferiour orders ; among these we see, in one sex, a predilection for the same convivial enjoyments; and, in the other, a style of visiting, a sort of equality in dress, and even an affectation of all the whimsies of fashion, with those above them. There is not indeed in JERSEY that essential differ- ence in rank, as in England. What is there under- stood by nobility is unknown here : families are so connected by marriage, and parental inheritances are often, necessarily, so disproportionately divided, that many claims of affinity are made, by persons io 99 much more humble situations, than those with whom they challenge relationship. Siill a distinction does exist, and should be maintained, even in appear- ance, if the bond of society is to be preserved un- broken ; and it may exist, without injuring that no- ble spirit of independence which it is highly honour- able in every one to cherish.* It is peculiarly unpleasant to say, that this disre- gard to propriety is particularly manifested by the more amiable part of our species. There is now little apparent distinction in dress: a cheap ornament makes a showy appearance : but it should be con- sidered, and well considered, that finery cannot con- fer elegance of deportment: even the same dress, and of the same materials, will appear different on. two females, whose habits of life are not the same. Persons accustomed to genteel life quickly perceive the difference, and are prompted to smile at the at- tempt, t * " I acknowledge to possess a certain pride of feeling, which la " not the best calculated for getting forward in the world. This " pride is not owing to the slightest wish to withhold a respectful " attention to my superiours, in rank and situation in life : but I " cannot bend to an obsequiousness that has an appearance of ' sinking, or lessening, my own character ." Harriott''* Struggles through Life. + " As far as the agreeable effect of an ornament arises from as- * sociation, the effect will continue only while it is confined to the O > 100 In England persons may, by dress and address, mi* in the first circles ; but it Is not so in Jersey: here every one is known : those below a certain station are not admitted into the first assemblies, either pub- lic or private ; and an attempt to intrude would only expose the parties to insult. In fine, what can be more inconsistent with propriety, than to see females, on one day decked out in all the frippery of affected fashion, and, on the next, engaged in menial offices ; or, what is tantamount, to see daughters studious of appearance, while their parents are performing the business of domestics ? Is this the right method of qualify ing themselves to shine, as wives, or mothers, in their class of society ?* This attention to what is termed fashion descends even to servants, who, most assuredly, cannot afford so much expense in deco- rating their persons, t " higher orders. When it is adopted by the multitude, it not only *' ceases to be associated with ideas of taste and refinement, but if is as *' sociated with ideas of affectation, absurd imitation, and vulgarity." DUGALD STEWART. * " Those whose good sense leads them to avoid these mistaken pttr. suits, cannot be offended at a reproof which does not belong to them." HANNAH MORE. i No liberal minded person would wish to see sumptuary laws again enforced : yet they once existed in this island. By an order of the Court, dated the twenty-second of September, 1636, to remedy abuses in the dress of the lower classes, as well men as women, as well in excess of clothing, as in lare and silk hoods, above theii condition. 101 What effect these attempts at equalization may produce, it would be premature to foretel : they ap- pear to be of far more serious import than is gene- rally imagined.* We shall only add, lliat, but a few years since, professed abandoned women were scarcely to be seen, in the island : they now appear publickly ; and many of the female domestics assume so bold an air, that it is impossible not to expect a corresponding conduct. Jn the country, indeed, notwithstanding late inno- vations, we not un frequently meet the old farmer, with his large cocked hat, and thin queue, a la f ran* faise; and, among females, the short jacket, or bed gown, and coarse red petticoat, still form a prevalent though declining costume. Secluded, in a great measure, from the circles of fashion and commerce, they live in a kind of insulated manner, and thus retain the modes and customs of their ancestors. Among them we still trace the nearly eradicated no-, tions respecting witches, and other imaginary demo- niacal agents. such females are forbidden to wear lace of above fifteen sols per yard, and that for the hood only, of to use silken hoods, tied, which, $ays this curious decree, belongs only to the rank of ladies. * As one consequence of aiming at equalization, we venture to tendon, that the titles of Ecuytr, and Gentilhommt, are not only too indiscriminately applied, but even assumed by one sex, as Madame, and Madcmoiscllt, are applied to, and assumed by, the other. 102 Like the lower classes in England, many inhabit- ants, even some of a rather higher order, assemble m jovial parties on Easter monday. The most general place of rendezvous is near the old castle. During the month of May the environs of St. Heller's are, early every morning, crowded with the youth of both sexes, who in groupes walk to different farm bouses, for the purpose of drinking milk, warm from the cow. The natives have likewise some customs, that originated from other sources ; such as making a particular sort of cake on the festival of All Saints, and the singularly discordant ceremony of faire braire les poties, on the eve of St. John's day, which indeed is chiefly practised in the parish named after that apostle. At Midsummer the natives of Jersey and Guern- sey , respectively pay visits to their relations and friends in the sister island, and remain some time with them.* During the season of Christmas, it is customary to have large family parties. * These and other customs were, in former times, the general prac- tice : whereas several of them are now no longer in vogue among the higher class. Many customs have probably a Celtic origin. There is, in Nor- mandy, during the season of Lent, a ceremony something similar to that formerly practised by the Druids, on May day, but which is, 103 Marriages, among all but til*? lower classes, arc generally solemnized in the evening, and at home. The rite of Bapfism, If performed in private, must be renewed at the parish church. "When any one dies, it is usual to send an early notice to relatives and particular friends : these, in re- turn, are expected to pay a visit of condolence, before the day of inhumation. The nearest in affinity to the deceased, seldom appears : some other relative re ceives the visitors. A general invitation for rela- tions, friends, and neighbours, to attend the funeral, is then issued. A corpse is therefore followed to the grave by a numerous concourse, who, even among the lower ranks, are mostly in mourning: this indeed forms nearly the general dress of the island : inter- marriages link so many persons together, that the family connexions of every one are extensive, and by the pennants, appropriated to Ores. They go about with torches, made of different rude materials, and, in a kind of song, invoke that goddess to destroy the mole* and field mice, and to grant a plentiful harvest. Part of that district in Normandy, called Le Contcntin, still bears the name of le Valde Ceres. As the Druidical rite was in honour of Belinus, or the Sun, so the >(inn;m holiday is always held on a Sunday. As Midsummer day was likewise a Celtic festival, the custom offaire brairc Ifs peetet, in Jersey, on St. John's eve, may perhaps have sprung from the same source. The milk maid's garland on May day, in England, does not however seem to havo any analogy with either > Druidical or .Nor van festivity. May day is not celebrated in Jersey. 104 it is customary to assume the sable garb, even for an infant. The interment frequently takes place within two or three days after death, and a subse- quent visit to the nearest relations is again expected. An opinion has been too much diffused, and that by persons of some rank in life, that the natives are \infriendly to English residents. The author of this \\ ork can truly aver, ( that he never met with more friendly respect, in the whole course of his life, than he has experienced, during a long residence in Jer* scy / and he readily embraces this pccasion, to e*? press his sense of it. He ventures moreover to say, that every person who may cqme to the island, properly iptroduced, who will conduct himself with propriety, and forbear to intermeddle with locaj politics, will be respected, Supercilious and eccen- tric characters are every where to be found. It should be considered that Jersey has not, until of late years, had any very extensive intercourse with the mother country, or with other nations. The more persons are confined within their own limits, the more contracted will be their ideas, the more striking 1 their peculiarities, and the more deeply rooted theii predilections ; but enlarge the circle of theip foreign relations, and their ideas will expand, pe. culiarities will wear away, and prejudices 105 a '. L ,^_ . -IL j* *vi3i " .j ' .ttui 3 t until tlie first occupy a comprehensive sphere!, and the other two become in a great measure annihilated. Jersey is now very different from what it was, even twenty years since; and every day contributes to render the contrast more striking. Whether the in- terests of piety and morality have experienced an equal degree of improvement, may perhaps admit of a doubt. The islanders have likewise been censured, even by some of their own countrymen, as selfish and ava- ricious. In these respects also the writer can say, that, of their compassion and liberality, in cases of distress, and of their attention to friends, when labour- ing under mental or corporal affliction, he has wit- nessed many evident and affectionate proofs. Perhaps one of the old school may think, that there is not here so many instances of that sua-oiter in fnodOf which he conceives to be an essential ingredi- ent in true politeness, as he witnessed formerly : but to this observation it may be replied, by a question : Is it now to be found in England, or elsewhere? The remark should be general, and not confided to Jersey, or any other particular spot. French ega- liti introduced a certain unusual freedom of beha- viour, which has made the former accomplished gen- tleman a rara avis in terra. Indeed, while iu Great 106 Britain,men of high rank affect the dress,- the man- ners, the language of grooms and coachmen ; while they prostitute themselves so far, as to associate with common boxers, from the purlieus of St. Giles's, and Toothil fields ; while they thus degrade them- selves, is it surprising that their conduct should pro- duce some uapropitious change in the public man- ners. 5 * * " Quedetalensenscvelis, que d'arts ahandonnes, quede terres In ** cultes, auroient besoin de leur secours, et les appellant a grands 44 cris, sans en etre ecoutes ! Fruges consumere naft." Conseils de i' ' Amitie, " Sous les Emperenrs Romains, dans un temps ou Athenes etoit en- " corel'ecoledu tnonde, les gladiateurs representoi nt leurs jeux sang- * lans sur le theatre de Bacchus. Les chefs-d'oeuvre d'Eschyle, de " Sophocle, et d'Euripide, ne se jouoient plus : on avoit substitue des " assassinats et des meurtres a ces spectacles, qui donnent une grande ' idee de 1'esprit humain, et qui sont le noble amusement des nations " policees. Les Atheniens couroient a ces cruautes avec la meme ar- *' deur qu'ils avoient couru aux Dionysiaques. Un peuple qui s'etoit " eleve si haut, pouvoit-il descendre si bas ? Qu'etoit done devenu " cet autel de la Pitie, que Ton voyoit au milieu de la place publique " a Athenes, et auquel les supplians venoient suspendre des bande- " lettes, et des tresses de cheveux ? Si les Atheniens ecoient les seuls " Grecs qui, selon Pausanias, honorasseht la Pitie, et la regardassent " comme 'a consolation de la vie, ils avoient done bien change I ct Certes, ce n'etoit pas pour des combats de gladiatcurs qu'Atlienes ic avoit etc uommee le sacre domicile des dieux. Pent etre les peu- " pies, ainsi qur les homines, sont ils cruels dans leur decrepitude ' comme dans leur enfance ; peut-etre le genie des nations s'epuise- ** t-il ; etquand il a tout produit, tout parcouru, tout goute, rassasie ** de ses propres chefs-d'oeuvre, et incapable d'en produire de nou- '* vt-auj, il s'abrutit, et retourne aux sensations p > etnent physiques. ' Le Christianisme empechera les nations modcrnes de finer par one 107 If their example has diffused any portion of its influ- ence to this island, different causes have likewise co- operated. Here, as in other places, some have risen suddenly, and unexpectedly, to wealth and power; others have not had opportunities of mixing in polish- ed society : there is likewise a reason, peculiarly lo- cal, why a certain freedom, perhaps sometimes bor- dering on bluntness, may be noticed in Jersey : this is that connexion by intermarriages, already mentioned, whereby the natives are become as it were members of one large family. The present state of parties in the island is another, and a very powerful bar, to a pleasing amenity of behaviour ; as it occasionally produces too great a familiarity on the one hand, and too much coolness on the other. " aussi deplorable vieillesse ; mais si tout religion venoit a s'eteindre " parmi nous, je ne seroit point etonne qu'on eutendT les cris dn gla- " diateur mourant sur la srene ou retentissent aujourd'hni les dou" " leurs de Phedre et d'Andromaque." Chateaubriand. Is the British nation verging towards this melancholy season of moral decrepitude ? shall .1 great and humane people, in this en- lightened age, realize the gloomy apprehensions of the French philo- sopher ? Shall such dark shades obscure the bright tints of British sensibility? " Shall the gates of hell prevail" against the precepts of Christianity ? God forbid ! " Impiety provokes a frown, absurd - " ity a smile; and many who glory in the imputation of the former, " cannot bnt feel when they are convicted of the latter." Bishop P 108 TOWN OF ST. HELIER. This forms so prominent a feature in a description of Jersey, that it claims a very distinguished place in in our narration. The towns of St. Helier and St. Aubin are the only two in the island ; and the latter, though more pleasantly situated, bears no compara- tive proportion, in any other respect, to the former. St. Heller's is the seat of government and of justices the centre of business, of fashion, and of amusement. It has, in the course of only a few years, made a rapid progress in improvement ; and it now contains between one fourth and one third of the whole popu- lation of Jersey.* The town itself consists of nearly a thousand houses,t without reckoning those that are, in every direction, scattered through the environs. This town has undergone so rapid an increase and amelioration; See POPULATION. f There are more than nine hundred in front of the several streets ; and many are behind the others, without any separate entrance. This singular mode of placing them, was owing to a particular cause : formerly, in some streets, the houses had small gardens in front : as the town became more populous, and more commercial, it was found profitable to cover those floral spots with buildings, as shops and dwellings for retail dealers. In Mr. Falle's time, the town cod- tallied only about four hundred houses. 109 s few other places have experienced. Not many years since, it was composed chiefly of two streets, running in nearly parallel lines : the western entrance was under an old, confined, and ill-contrived prison : this has Ix'en lately taken down, and a new spacious edifice, for the same purpose, is just finished in an airy eituation. The principal avenue of the town is broad etreet, which, contracted at first, widens as it pro- ceeds towards the square, or old market place. It has had several projecting t>hops removed, and now pre- sents a very handsome appearance. The square forms a general focus ; there are leading into it four carriage ways, and one foot way : several new streets have been projected to different quarters. Anciently all the houses were substantial stone edifices with small windows ; consequently gloomy ; and the greater number of them were (I Hitched. JvOvv the walls of many are composed of brick, and even those of former date are, in general, modernised. The pavement was likewise very uneven ; whereas, at the present period, nearly every street has a regu- lar carriage road, paved with a very hard granitel, brought from Guernsey,* with as broad a flat foot- path on each side as the width will admit. The Stones Minil.ir in quality are found iu Jersey; but they are not in equal estimation. 110 dark holes of shops have, in most places, been sue* ceeded by light airy ones; and, in the course of a few more years, every part \* ill partake of the same ameliorations. As yet the town is not lighted ; but this very desirable addition to its conveniences, will, in all probability, soon take place. ]t will then be able to vie, in every rtspect, with any country town in Great Britain. At present it must amuse a stranger, to see the number of small lanterns, in con- tinual motion, every night. The square is ornamented with a gilt pedestrian statue of George the second, in a Roman military costume; elevated on a stone pedestal, and sur- rounded with a neat iron railing. On one Side of this square, is La Cohue, or Court House, a sohc: but plain structure. Its internal ar- rangements have, very ncently, undergone several material improven ents. In this building is held the Assenblyoi the Stales, together with the Courts of Civil and Criminal Jurisdiction. At one extremity of the vestibule, or rather UOM, in an open space oJ the tribunal, is a hill length portrait, large as life, of the laU Marshal Conway, vho \vas> urmeily governor of Jersey: this was painted by Gainsborough : at the ether end, now parted oft, am: terming a small reti- ring room, is a portrait, equal in dimensions, of Ill present Majesty, in his robes of state, painted by Mr. Jean, a native of the island. Government house, the town residence of General Don,* has a partial view of the square, and has been rendered more commodious than it was, particularly by the addition of offices appropriated to public business. The gardens have likewise been enlarged ; so that it is now become a desirable mansion, though scarcely adequate to the rank of a lieutenant gover- nor, according to the present establishment. The exposed situation of those who came from the country, to vend their several commodities, in the old market place, induced the inhabitants to erect, on a more eligible spot, a singularly neat and convenient set oi covered sheds, with broad open spaces at intervals. The main entrance is through tolding iron gates, be- tween massive stone pillars. From these an iion rail* ing, terminated by a smaller entrance, spreads on each side. The other three sides are walled round. The butchers, in two double ranges of shops, separated by broad gravelled walks, occupy the centre of the market ; and the sides are appropriated to the sale of poultry, butter, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and flowers, unless during the winter season, when nearly one side * Now that of Lieut. General Sir Tomkyns Hilgrovc Turner, the pwseui lieutenant govtruor. (February 1315.) 113 w used as a pork market. In front of the shops, ancl round the three, walled sides, are piazzas, with blender columns supporting them. The spaces between these columns are crowned with very flat elliptical arches. Adjoining to the general market is another for fish, in the same style. A place in the vicinity ftas been walled in for a cattle market, and a shed is just erected for the venders of oysters. The only general market day is Saturday : another would be a desirable acquisition, especially during the summer season. A few vegetables are indeed sold through* out the week, but the quantity thus exposed is com- paratively trifling.* There was, in former times, a corn market ; but it no longer exists, as the town is now principally sup- plied with flour from England^ and the country in- habitants consume the greater part of their own pro- duce. The late ameliorations arose from a particular cir- cumstance. A lofty hill, called Le Mont de la Vittc 9 * Since the restoration of peace, the articles of provision, brought over from France, have been so numerous, and the quantity of each so abundant, and so constant, that a regular daily supply is now ob* toined for many eatables. i Since the peace, from France also. 113 impends over one part of the town.* That eminence was purchased, some years since, of the -omlaine in which it stands, by government, for the sum of jg 1 1, 280 sterling. By adding a little to this sum, ,20,000, three per cents, were purchased ; and the dividends on this stock have been applied, by the proprietors of houses, in the vintaine, principally to the purpose of paving their part of the town, in a more regular manner: but as the annual interest was inadequate to the immediate disbursements, for the different improvements projected, a mocle of raising a larger temporary supply was adopted, and is still continued. For this purpose, the procureurs of the vintaine issue promissory notes, in their of- ficial character, payable at very distant periods, some of these securities having more than thirteen years to run : they bear no interest ; but to give them currency, they are countersigned by some inha- bitants, by whom they are made payable on de- mand : this is seldom required, and should it be, the notes are re-issued. Thus large sums are borrowed,* for a considerable length of time; and thus have so many, and such extensive, undertakings been, very rapidly, carried into execution : but though the notes * This is probably one reason why many house* are inconvenienced bv smoky chimnej?. 114 are at so long a date, yet the payment of them is anticipated, whenever the funds of the vintaine admit of an earlier liquidation. The example of the vintaine stimulated the pro- prietors, in other quarters, until the new payment became very general. About the time that these improvements took place, a great influx of fresh inhabitants, as well strangers as persons from the country, naturally occasioned an increased demand for houses, and, consequently, a considerable aug- mentation of their value. New streets became neces- sary : some have been built, and others planned. An enthusiastic passion for building was excited, which perhaps has not yet reached its acme: whether it will not be carried too far is a question for those who are still speculating in this way to consider ; espe- cially since some projects of the same nature have already failed. It may be truly said, that, within the last twenty years, the number of bouses in the town, and its vicinity, have been nearly doubled : an addition, which is by many supposed to be much beyond the increase of resident inhabitants. A stream of water from the north, swelled by Various tributary rivulets, is, on approaching St. Heller's, separated into different channels, and thus passes through various parts of the town. This is an accommodation of the highest importance, in many respects ; though sometimes attended with the incon- venience of an overflow, occasioned by a sudden ac- cession to the main stream, from hasty and violent rains. Many houses are furnished with wells; but the greater part of the town lying in a low situation, and on the sea shore, the water is not, in that district, re- markable for its purity: there are, however, some springs of an excellent quality. THE CHURCH. The established place for divine worship being, in every Christian country, an important object, we can- not proceed further without describing the metropoli- tan church of the island : it is more modern than any other in Jersey ^ having been consecrated A. D. 1341. We might, from this circumstance, be in- duced to expect fewer alterations in that edifice, from the original plan, than in others ; whereas not one has been subjected to more. This fact may however be accounted for, from the consideration that St. Hclier's was not always the principal town; 116 and that, -when it became such, an increasing 1 acces- sion of inhabitants rendered different enlargements necessary. Its construction partook of the cru- cial form so common to the Saxon and early Norman churches : it now comprises two paral- lei aisles of equal length, with communicating arches, together with a vestibule, as an addition, at the eastern end. In the centre of the nor 'hern and original aisle is a chapel, which constituted one extremity of the transverse part : that which fronted it is now included in the southern aisle. This aisle has evidently been added : it is narrower than the other, being only the same in breadth as the northern transverse one is in length. Its eastern window is less elevated than that of the original aisle, and the style of the open work is not so chaste. The south, ern buttresses are far less deteriorated by time than those on the northern side, with the exception of two in the centre, which are much more corroded. These two doubtless belonged to the southern chapel, or wing, and thus constituted part of the original fabrick. The tops of the former buttresses are still visible in the western division of the aisle that has been added. Over the centre* of the northern aide rises a tower, * This is not not? the precise centre of the building. The western part seems to have been lengthened ; probably when a second aide 117 of no ^reat height, faced with squared masonry, and surmounted with a parapet. It is quadrangular, with the exception of a small projection on one side for a staircase. This tower appears fresher than the other parts of the edifice : in fact, every church has experienced considerable repairs, besides repeated alterations and enlargements. The interiour exhibits, m every part, the same pointed arch that is found in all the Jersey churches, and the arches of communication are sustained by the same kind of massive columns, though better propor- tioned than in some of the other churches. The capital, astragal, and plinth, of these columns, are octangular. The dome over the central part of the northern aisle, where the general intersection takes place, is ornamented \\iih ribs, meeting under a painted rosette ; and the groined arches, that thus intersect, are supported by very solid polygonal pil- lars, having in front of each a slender three-quarter column, placed there to lighten the ponderous ap- pearance, and sustaining the moulded part of the in- cumbent arch. The church has been materially beautified inter- nally .within the space of a few years, and a neat was erected : part of the western extremity is used as au ecclesiastical court,ad pail coaiaias ibe town artiiierj organ erected by voluntary subscriptions. Several handsome monuments are affixed to the walls, but none of an earlier date than the seventeenth century One of them is commemorative of the death of Major Pierson, who to bravely fell in repelling the French invasion in 1781 : this was erected at the public expense as a token of islandic gratitude. There not being any altar, a temporary one is placed before the pulpit, whenever the sacrament is admi- nistered. The deficiency is extremely inconvenientj to both the minister and the communicants. Besides the parochial church, there is a chapel for the "VVesleyan Methodists, and another for the pro- fessors of Calvinism : these are neat and spacious buildings, both recently erected. A chapel of ease is also in contemplation. The Catholics have the privilege of openly celebrating the rites of their persuasion ; though, hitherto, from pecuniary res- trictions, they have not raised a permanent place of worship, but perform their devotions in a hired room. At the western extremity of the town is the public hospital, and poorhouse, for the whole island. This establishment is supported by a fuiul 119 raised by legacies, by a rate, and by contributiorts. It was rebuilt in consequence of the former one ha- ving been destroyed in the year 1 783. A considera- ble quantity of gunpowder had been deposited in it ; and exploded. The general number of inmates may be averaged at a hundred, of which not more than two thirds are natives of the island. The number that labour under mental derangement may be esti- mated as one in ten. Near the hospital is the new prison. At this skirt of the town is a large empty space called Les Mielles. It was until lately an assem- blage of sandy hillocks. General Don caused the whole to be levelled, formed into a lawn, and en- closed with a dwarf wall. It is now converted into a parade, and round it runs a gravelled walk, on each side of which trees are to be planted. The immediate environs of the town are crowded with small private gardens, from many of which the market is supplied with fruit and vegetables. The walks and rides in the neighbourhood are interesting and diversified. Ascending the heights, the whole of St. AubMs bay, together with Elizabeth castle, pre- sent themselves to view ; and though, from recent al (er.it ions, some of the highways are divested ol the trees, by which they were formerly shaded, yet several 120 less public roads still preserve their umbrageous ca- nopy. There are also two valleys, that areextremely plrasing- ; one leading from Les Moulim de la ViUe to Moulin df Paul; the other, called Ifs Vaux^ branches from the same point. Both these sequestered dales run between sloping hills ; and each of them is rendered more attractive by the murmur of a " bubbling brook." This town possesses a public library, erected, and furnished with books, at the expense of the Rev. Philip Falle, the venerable historian of the island ; ^ho, at that time, was nearly eighty years of age. He was a native of Jersey, a canon of Durham, and formerly chaplain to King William tbe third, This benefaction was increased by the late Rev. Dr. Dumaresq, who added majiy valuable books. The annual subscription is very moderate; but few par- take of the literary benefits that so excellent an in- stitution offers. There are in the town several schools for both sexes, and for all cofiditions : like,, wise private instructors in different branches of eclu, cation. A chamber of commerce has been long esta- blished. There are two reading societies, and se- veral other private associations. Three island ga zettes in .French are published every Saturday, and cue iu English every Wednesday. 121 An unfinished house has benn converted into a theatre, and some comedians from England come over occasionally, and perform for a few months. There is a regular assembly, during the winter, and a continued round of subscription dinners, balls, &r, Sec ; so that few places, of the same limited extent, can now exceed this town in the frequency of its amusements. During the summer months, several reviews contribute to put the lovers of pleasure on the qui vive, as well as to discipline the troops. In the town are two hotels, with several respecta- ble taverns; and, in the parish, between 130 and 140 public houses, of which about 100 are in the town it- self: none can be opened without a license. The beautiful bay of St. Attbin is well adapted for excursions on the water ; but these do not seem to attract the town inhabitants, nor are they more in- clined to frequent the walks th t ihe vicinity presents. It will not perhaps be difficult to account for this in- attention to amusements, that give great interest to a country town in England. Hurdly any of the Jer- sey natives are without country relatives : mon cou- sin, and ma cousine, connect half the families of the island : visits of a few days, or weeks, to friends at a distance, are therefore preferred to the pleasure of diurnal perambulations. It may appear of trifling importance to mention the mode of conveying merchandise along the streets ; but the carts, employed for the carriage of wine and liquors, possess advantages that render them worthy of notice. The body of these vehicles is very low and strong : at the end is a narrow tail ladder. A solid iron axle passes under the body of the cart, and, rising on each side, receives the nave of a common-sized wheel : in front is a capstan, turned by a winch : to the cylinder are fastened two ropes, that, in loading, pass round any barrel, and draw it up the ladder : this ladder is then raised, rendered steady by the same ropes, and thus serves as a, back rail to the cart. Unloading is executed with still more facility. The machine will carry two pipes : loading as well as discharging is performed with greater ease and safety, than if several London wine porters were employed ; and the business of unload- ing is frequently done by the carman without any assistance. These machines have been long used in Guernsey r , from whence they were introduced here. Three packets are established between St. Helier's and Wet/mouth : one of these leaves the latter place every Wednesday and Friday evening, unless pre- vented by contrary winds, or boisterous weather. 123 The passage may, on an average, be estimated at sixteen hours ; though it has been performed in less than ten. The cabin fare for each passenger is twenty-six shillings and six pence. There are, like- wise, three regular traders between St. Heller's and Southampton : this voyage is made in from sixteen, to twenty-four hours. The passage fare in them is one guinea. Both the packets and traders are anned with carriage guns, and are well majuied. Two scouts, or guarda cost as 9 are, also, in constant employ. Besides the packets and regular traders, other vessels occasionally pass over, not only from the ports in England, already mentioned, but likewise to and from Bristol, Poole, S&anage, Lyme t Sfc* Those from the latter port are chiefly cutters, be- longing to the contractors that supply the troops with beef. The bullocks are brought over alive. These were the arrangements made, respecting the packets, and other vessels, during the war, and they still remain on the same footing ; but there can be lit- tle doubt, that peace will make a material difference. There will, probably, be fewer passengers, less mer- chandize, a reduced military force, and the contract- ors will import their cattle, alive or dead, from France : this intercourse they have already com- menced, K 124 PROVISIONS. This subject, though placed by itself, is more im- mediately connected with the town of St. Helier, than with any other part of Jersey ; for the reasons already assigned, respecting the country inhabitants. As the island, during a war with France, must ne- cessarily draw many articles, that come under the head of provisions, from England, it follows, as a mat- ter of course, that most of them must also bear an advanced price. The drawback on foreign commo- dities affords some relief, so far as these productions are concerned j yet even that deduction does not al- ways compensate, for the expenses of commission, freight, insurance, and other disbursements ; besides the disadvantage, incident to every trader who cannot make his own purchases, but who is obliged to de- pend, in some measure, on the integrity of persons, distantly situated. The produce of the island itself is naturally influ- enced by the value attached to imported articles of a similar kind ; and, in fact, one description of food affects every other. The mess tables, and the nu- 125 merous entertainments, have likewise contributed : they must be supplied, coute qui coute, and the ven- ders have not failed to take advantage of it. From a variety of causes, of -which increasing luxury has had no small share, articles of the first necessity have risen, -within the course of a very few years, and long since the war commenced, to more than double their former prices : in several instances, the augmentation has been much greater. The effcds of this ad vance, as we have already shown, have not been confined to provisions : they have extended to estates, the rents of farms, and of houses, and to every other species of islandic property. The higher classes complain of the increasing influ- ence acquired by the lower orders. Are they not themselves, in some degree, contributing to this influ- ence, by yielding implicitly to the demands made by those who supply the markets ? Would not a little restraint on their own gratifications, and a resolute perseverance in refusing to purchase, at immoderate prices, enforce a reduction in these prices? Would not every annuitant in the island be rendered more comfortable ? Would not the blessings of the poor ascend up to heaven in their favour ? Might it not enable the rich to say with Job, " The blessing of 126 him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widows heart to sing with joy." ?* As a proof of the height to which the prices of provisions has attained, it is only necessary to state one striking fact : this is, that the fishermen from Torbay, find it profitable to bring hither their car- goes, caught on their own shore, though frequently * From the low rale at which the inhabitants are assessed for the poor, and from the comparatively few that are in the hospital, it may, perhaps, be conjectured, by persons little acquainted with the inland, that the indigent class is not very numerous. Facts, however, prove that this is far from being the case. On the contrary, their number is considerable. From the manner of dividing property, the income of many must be extremely limited: different incidents have reduced others to poverty : yet notwithstanding the inconveniences of strait- ened circumstances, there exists ill Jersey a certain pride, which, within due bounds, is an honourable sentiment, and which is more generally, operative in small societies than in large communities. In this island, where the link of affinity is so extended, that passion has great influence. A Jerseyman, thus inspired, would feel an applica* tion for public relief to be disgracing his family. This idea enables him to strnffele against difficulties, or to bear distress in secret. Many families cherish this principle in their poorer relations, and privately assist them : some, indeed, do not : in this case, the unhappy sufferers must submit to the double misfortune of want, and neglect : but though this species of pride may be considered as an honourable incentive to exertion, it may, also, be carried too far. If it produce sullenness, and discontent, it changes its nature, and becomes censurable, even !u a moral sense. Poverty, when accompanied with the men$ conscia recti, is no crime, but a merciful, though severe, trial from the Almighty. If, therefore, private beneficence fail, the impoverished sufferer should not disdain that assistance which is provided at the public expense. 127 in a state approaching to putrcscency wlicn they ar- rive ; and that, in this state, the fish will sell for more iu Jersey, than it would produce, in that part of Eng- land fromvihcncc it is brought, if disposed of there in a marketable and wholesome condition. This is the more mortifying, as it is well known, that the sea round the islands is crowded with an infinite variety of fish, several of which are of the first quality, and easily caught. Jersey men pursue the harvests of their favourite -craze, in all weathers, though hardly a season passes without some of them experiencing fatal accidents : yet they will not encounter the same de- gree of inclemency, in procuring fish, notwithstand- ing its advanced value. Mr. Falle lamented, long since, that fishing was not practised with greater assiduity : he would now have more reason to complain. The plain fact is, that most of the country inhabitants, and among them the fishermen, if any can be entitled to the appellation, are the farmers of their own small inheritances. This necessarily occupies some portion of their time ; and being, generally, in easy circumstances, they will not follow fishing as a livelihood. The beef, veal, Iamb, and pork, of the island, are excellent, when properly fattened, which, owing to the increased demand, in consequence of additional 128 (own inhabitants, is not always the case. Mutton, though tempting to the eye, is generally tough, and divested of moisture. During the spring and summer months, the butter is very fine. The country people have a custom of potting it, for their own winter consumption, and for sale ; but, from an improper process, it has a rank taste, especially when melted for sauce. Whenever an uninterrupted trade with France takes place, it may be truly said, that peace is coupled with plenty. The inhabitants of Normandy, less affluent, or more industrious, than their insular neighbours, then crowd to Jersey , and pour in so large a supply of various articles of food, that provisions become much lower than in any part of England. These imports, as in the former case, regulate the island produce, in respect of price, and in their consequences influence the value of estates, rents, &c. The observations under this head, were written be- fore the sword of war had been returned into its scab- bard. They wilt show the state of Jersey, in respect of provisions, at that time. The restoration of peace has already begun to be felt : boats, laden with every edible article, that the opposite provinces can sup- ply, arrive daily. The streets are filled with those 129 who practise this cabotage. Property of every kind is falling; and a much greater redaction is confi- dently expected. THE NEW PRISON. The old Gaol being inconveniently situated, cir- cumscribed in extent, deficient in accommodation, and much dilapidated, the annexed very handsome stone edifice was begun in 1812, and is just finished. (April, 1815.) It is erected on an airy spot, at the western ex- tremity of St. Jfelifr's, and borders on the sea shore. The basement floor has a squared rustic front of Mont Mado sienite. It is separated from the upper story by a fascia of dark grey granitel, from Sorely a rocky promontery, in the northern quarter of the island. The front, above the fascia, is of the sienite from Mont Mado. The uniformity of this part is relieved with pilasters between every window ; and the whole completed with an elegant cornice, of the Grecian Doric order : this is of Portland stone. The front of the building stands on an open vaulted arcade, resting on Welch groins : this arcade mea- 130 sures one hundred and twenty feet in length, and eight feet in width : the intercolumniatioris are grated to the crown of the arches. The cells for male criminals are on the ground floor and vaulted : every one is nine feet square, fourteen feet in height, has a grated window, an aperture in the door, and is furnished with a water closet. The space within the arcade is for the accommoda- tion of this description of prisoners, when they leave their gloomy dormitories : they have, also, the use of a common room, provided, during the winter season, with a fire.* * There is, in most prisons, one circumstance that does not seem consistent with the acknowledged principle, that every person i* to be presumed innocent until convicted : the circumstance is, that all persons accused of crime, are treated, in some measure, as if really guilty ; and as a truly benevolent writer* says, in his State of the Prisons in England, Scotland, and Wales, " A man may suffer six months imprisonment, under the bare suspicion of crime, from which, at the end of that dreary term, his country may, perhaps,' honourably acquit him." Safe custody is essentially necessary ; but, beyond this, every possible indulgence should, injustice, be al- lowed to persons so unconvicted. Why might not presumptive cri- minals be kept apart from convicted felons, have a different diet, and be more comfortably lodged ? In Jersey, indeed, FETTERS, that too frequent source of emolument to English gaolers, are sel- dom used, even for real convicts, and suspected prisoners are sooa brought to trial. Even the accommodations towards those in con- nnement, in the New Prison, are greater than in many other places, * James Neild, Esq. 131 One half of the upper story, with a separate stair- case, is appropriated to female criminals, who have the use of a private yard. The debtors occupy the remaining half of the floor : their rooms are from eleven to twelve feet square, and well lighted. They are indulged with an open part in front of the build- ing, for the benefit of air and exercise. The centre of the upper floor forms a chapel, to which the several classes of prisoners are conducted through different doors ; and the room is divided by partitions of sufficient height to prevent any communication whatsoever. On the premises is a well of good water : this, by means of a forcing pump, is raised to a capacious cistern in the roof; and the prisoners, of every des- cription, have access to a large and constant supply. The waste water is carried off through a sewer, and in its passage clears away the soil: this last use is indeed the only one to which the rain water is ap- plied : it might be advantageous to collect it for general purposes. Detached from the prison is a neat house for the gaoler, who from thence commands the whole front,* Would not a central situation in the very prison itself have been preferable, as affording the gaoler a belter opportunity of hearing any attempt to break out at night, or any disturbance during the day} The New prison at Cheittr Is said to be so constructed, that the gaol* ?r, from bis dwelling house, can look into every one of the cells. g 133 MONT DE LA VILLE. The Mont de la Ville, or Town Hill, is a long insu- lated rock, elevated 150 feet above high-water mark. Its northern extremity rises so close to the town of St. ffelier, that, before it became the property of government, the gardens of several houses were con- tinued in repeated hanging terraces to its summit. The rock is a closely granulated sienite. It differs from that of Mont Mado, in being considerably finer in grain, firmer in texture, and with more difficulty wrought to a regular surface. The felspar is like- wise less beautiful in colour. The appearance of this rock evidences some violent though remote con- vulsion ; as well from its craggy exterior, as from the irregularity of its seams, and the different fissures that intersect the natural declination. In order to render the fortress less accessible, the rock has been cut down, and thus a vertical section exposed. It exhibits a broken upper surface, the chasms of which are filled up with small pieces of the same rock. The seams decline in general from N. E. to S. W.; but this prevalent course is frequently broken. Under the principal entrance 133 they run in a variety of directions, within the com- pass of fifty yards. Some are quite horizontal, others nearly vertical ; some decline towards the south, and others towards the north : the rifts arc filled up with horizontal layers of schist. On the summit of the hill is now constructing a regular fortress, that will contain between two and three thousand men. When completed it will cover the harbour, and afford protection to Elizabeth castle. It will likewise serve as a retreat to the de- fenceless portion of inhabitants, should the island be attacked, having a number of bomb-proof casemates. A well has been dug to the depth of 233 feet : this has at the surface a diameter of fourteen feet, and is walled round ; but after a short descent the width is reduced to nine feet, and the walling discontinued, the rest of the well having been cut all the way through the live rock, which is in its whole depth of the same quality. The well has generally from eighty to a hundred feet of very fine water, the daily produce of which is from six to eight thousand gallons. This excavation was a most laborious undertaking, and necessarily attended with considerable expense; but the advantages of so large and constant a supply, must, to a garrison, be incalculable. \9t It is highly probable, that the uncertainty res- pecting water prevented an earlier application of this eminence to the purpose of a defensive post. In the reign of Edward the sixth, it attracted the notice of the duke of Somerset, then governor of this island, tinder whose auspices a declaration, or ordinance, from the king was issued. It was dated the 15th of April, A. D. 1550, and addressed to the bailiff, and jurats, and other inhabitants of Jersey. The fol- lowing is a translated extract from this document. " And because we are informed, that, in case of " foreign invasion, you have no fortress, or place of u refuge, into which you may retire, we have " thought proper to require you, for this purpose, to " contribute among yourselves, for your own safety, * c and convenience, and for a retiring place for your " families and property, in times of danger, to a " secure place, to construct a town, at St. fitter's, " high up the same hill, which, we are informed, " may, with a little assistance and expense, be made " strong and defensible.*' " We are the more disposed to induce you to do " this, because we doubt not you are persuaded, that " your only convenience and safety, depend on it."* * The M> S. from which this extract is translated, is in French | but the original vva, most likely, in English. 135 As no subsequent mention is made of this plan, it 'Was, probably, considered as inconvenient in some respects, or impracticable. On levelling the surface of this hill, in 1785, for the purpose of forming a parade, there was disco* vered, under an artificial mount, a Poqitelaye, or Druidical temple, composed of unhewn stones, and of ft different construction from any other hitherto met with in the island ; though there may b more of these ancient monuments, concealed under similar eminences** It is well known that the Romans waged an exter- fninating war against the Druids; as well from a consciousness of the influence over the people, possessed by those idolaters, as from the horrid barbarity of their religious rites. To secure, there- fore, their hallowed fanes from destruction, the Druids, on the approach of imminent danger, adopted the mode of covering them with earth. Mr. Poindextre,* who wrote on the subject, found about fifty (Collections of stones, which he conceived to be of Okie construe. tiou, and be reckoned only those that were then visible. This af- fords a proof that Jersey had, at the remote period of their being erected, a very considerable population. It seems also to contra- dict the opinion, held by some antiquarians, that the monuments of his kind are Danish. The northern nations hardly included, in their tettled conquests, 10 small and distant an island as Jersey: wuch less is it likely that populous settlements were made in it, by that roving oudpredatory people, the ancient Danes or Scandinavians* Or i'oiufitlcitre. See pag M. This monument comprised a collection of stones, ar- ranged in a circular manner, the exterior periphery of which was seventy -two feet. This circle was formed by six small cromlechs, or cromleches, altars, or cells* from three to nearly five feet in height, and the same in length, separated from each other by upright stones, mostly in a kind of triangular form, and varying in height from four to seven feet, with the exception of one, the height of which was only eighteen inches i* this was opposite to the north, and is sup* posed to have been designed for a more common entrance than that in the eastern front. The principal opening fronted the east, and was through a covered passage, eight feet long and three feet wide. On the left of this was a smaller stone, about fourteen inches high. In some of the cells ashes were found, and in one of them, which was nearly opposite to the entrance, were evident traces of smoke : this cell differed also from the others ; instead of being covered with a flat stone, the superiour surface of its upper one was extremely irregular, and apparently little calculated to hold a victim. If we conceive the whole structure to have beeu * The heights are such as the stones measured above ground : they ere, doubtless, much longer. 137 destined for adoration and sacrifice, it is probable that this cavity contained the sacred fire from which the altars were supplied. The Poquelaye was encir- cledwith a dwarf wall, three feet in height, having four lateral steps on the outside, and three within. The external circumference of this wall was about 128 feet.* It is extremely difficult to ascertain the use to which this curious though rude structure was ap- plied. It has been said, that every Bardic circle had, in the centre, a cromlech, whereas the area of this circle was completely void of any erection what- ever. The cells appear on too contracted a scale to have served either as sacrificial altars, (particularly for human victims), or as places of sepulture. If de- signed as sacred repositories for human ashes, col- fccled from funeral piles, urns or other vessels would probably have been found in some of them ; and, moreover, had the cells been intended for kist- vaens, the entrance of each recess would have been closed; whereas every one was open in front. In fine, they were precisely like cromlechs, on a di- minished scale. * This description is from a model, the scale of which is half an inch to a foot : thu model was carved before the remoral of the mo* uument. 138 The States, in a moment of enthusiasm, unani. mously voted this monument to Marshal Con way, then, governor of Jersey^ who caused it to be re- moved to Park place in Berkshire, and there had it erected, exactly, (as it is said), according to its original form, and conformably to its real dimensions, though several stones were broken in displacing them. This was an unfortunate event to the island, as so precious a relic of remote antiquity would, doubtless, kave drawn thither a number of learned admirers : nor did the marshal himself escape severe censure, for having accepted so valuable a token of esteem, which, however retaining its pristine appearance, lost that consequence which it derived from original po- sition. The loss is indeed now of less importance, as the fortress erecting on the hill would, in all proba, bility, have occasioned its removal. On Monday, the 4th of June, 1804, an accident happened which, had not its consequences beea timely prevented, would have reduced the town of St. Helier to a heap of ruins, and have proved fatal tp many of its inhabitants. Being His Majesty's birth day, the fortresses in the island fired, at noon, a royal salute. Among these were the cannon of the fortifications on tht 139 hill. By the most inexcusable want of proper arrangement, instead of patting the matches that were used on such occasions in a separate place, it was customary to replace them in the magazine s one or more of those matches must have been deposited there without having been thoroughly extinguished. The magazine contained, at that time, more than 200 barrels of powder, charged shells, caissons filled with cartridges, together with a va- riety of other combustible and destructive articles. About six o'clock in the evening, smoke was per- ceived to issue from the magazine. The soldiers on guard left the fort, one only excepted, who, with the officer of the signal post, and another Jerseyman,* boldly resolved to risk their lives on so momentous an occasion. No time was to be lost : the danger was great, and the exigence pressing. They broke down the palisade by which the magazine was encircled ; forced several padlocks ; and providentially found a cask full of water, near the spat, with a small earthen pitcher: this little implement, and their hats, ena- bled two of them to supply the other with that essen- tial material; and, after an arduous exertion, it * The names of these three courageous men, who thus devoted themselves, ought to be recorded. They were Mr. Philip Lys, offi- cer of the signal post ; Edward Touzel, a carpenter; and William Penteney, a private in the thirty -first regiment of foot. T 140 pleased the Supreme Disposer of all events to crown their brave efforts with success. The lapse of a few minutes more would, in all probability, have ren- dered all their endeavours abortive ; the fire had reached two of the caissons; one of them was actu* ally perforated ; and near it stood an open barrel of powder, to which it must inevitably have communi- cated. This signal deliverance should for ever be held, by the inhabitants of St. Heller's, in grateful remem- brance ; and even a solemn annual commemoration would be no improper mode of expressing their sense of the divine protection. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. The earliest account of religious worshippers in Transalpine Gaul, to which Jersey, and the neigh- bouring islands unquestionably belonged, is that of Caesar. He says, that, among the Celtae, there were only two orders of men in any high degree of honour OT esteem : these were the Druids and the nobles. The Druids had the supreme direction in every thing relat* ing to religion ; their province was also to administer 141 justice. Their principal deity was Mercury.* Accord- ing to others, the sun was worshipped, under different names : thus Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, is by many supposed to have been a temple dedicated to that luminary ; and the annual rural pastime in Britain, on the first day of May, has probably been derived from a Celtic origin ; that day being, with the Dru- ids, a great festival in honour of the sun. " The Druid doctrine, in its primeval state, was < f sublime and simple. Jt taught the existence of " one Eternal, Almighty God, the Creator and Ruler " of the Universe, to whom all things were subject " and obedient. It taught also the immortality of *' the soul ; that great principle, which is the most " effectual spur to virtue, the greatest check to vice, " and happiest antidote to despair. It further in- " culcated, the belief of a future state, in which the u spirits of the departed were to be clothed with " incorruptible bodies, unfading youth, and perpe- " tual beauty ; and invited Us followers to rectitude " in peace, and gallantry in war, by prospects of an " unceasing repetition of those pleasures (though " infinitely exalted and refined), in the island of the " West, which they had most esteemed and dc- " lighted in, during their residence on earth*" * CBS. de bcllo Gall. 142 " Thus simple and noble was the Druidical re* " lipion originally ; before the ignorance, the errors, " and the fears of the multitude, had corrupted and " distorted its philosophical tenets. The policy of *' its ministers, the Druids, however, involved these ** truths in wilful obscurity, and in order to preserve " their empire over the public mind, they wrapped " themselves and their doctrine in the mantle of " mystery. This conduct naturally increased their ee own importance and the veneration of their fol- " lowers ; but, at the same time, left the latter to the ne, ad senectu- ' 'tern usque, sint cxclusi, certc magua ex ^ui i " Cl>.rtc. in Prtv, xxii. 6. last order, public schools* must be highly efficacious, if properly conducted. A large subscription is not altogether the "one thing needful." A few active members are more essentially useful than a long list of passive subscribers, who, satisfied with paying their respective annual quotas to any novel under- taking,f never think of putting their hands to the plough : a confidence in this negative charity ren- ders many well-concerted establishments inefficient. There are two plans for the gratuitous instruction of indigent children now in vogue ; for even charity " The ignorant die even before death. Their bodies, though not " inhumed, are but the sepulchres of their souls." Quoted from a Turkish writer, in Thornton's Present State of Turkey. There are few places, if any, where boys of the lowest sort stand ia greater need of moral instruction, than in the town of St. Tfelier. They are not only extremely ignorant, but so daring as almost to defy the authority of the police. t We live in an age of refinement. Sir Isaac Newton supposed the sun to be a fiery sphere, sui generis: some years since, a person fead lectures in London, to prove that it was a solid body of ice. Formerly bilious affections were imagined to proceed from a redun- dancy of bile: but, lately, a physician has undertaken to prove that they arise from the biliary ducts not being sufficiently supplied with- that secretion. Since comets have been ranked among bodies moving in regular though highly eccentric orbits, and not as casual meteors, they have been considered as luminaries, formed at the same time as the others of our solar system : whereas it has been recently suggested, by an eminent astronomer, that they may be polypi, every spark from whose bodies produces a fresh comet, or hermapbroditical orbs, ge- nerating, of themselves, a new race of the same specie* !!| 163 itself has its frisson. Though neither of them is free from material defects, yet both comprise highly use- ful regulations, and either may he made greatly sub- servient to the intended benevolent purpose. They who first reduced these systems to practice deserve to be honoured as universal benefactors. Without entering into the comparative merits of these modes of public instruction, we mny wish, witbj a philanthropic gentleimn,* who has paid great at- tention to the subject, " that half of the ignorant poor " of this kingdom" had " the benefit of one mode, " anJ the other half of the other." It may, however, be permitted to doubt, whether the seminaries that receive only the children of pa- rents who adhere to the church establishment, would not gain by a general admission of all protestant chil- dren ; nay even of catholics. f Miny might, per- haps, be drawn within the national ecclesiastical pale, whose exclusion from the schools more effectu- ally drives them from it. It is said that, in Jersey, the Methodists and the Calvinists admit into their se- * Sir Thotnag Bernard, bart. f " Religion, let it embrace whatever f.iith it may, and education, " must inevitably create a low of social order: superstition and ig. " ooraoce must ercr engender a spirit which is hostile to it." Carr's Stranger in Ireland. 164 minaries children of all other religious denominations, without any restriction respecting their places or modes of worship ; and thus, probably, in several cases, make proselytes both of them, and their pa- rents. In the "church militant", this is a very al- lowable ruse de guerre, even should it be dictated by policy alone: the dissenting Christians appreciate its importance, and thus blend general liberality of sen- timent, with the particular interests of their own community.* It has been observed, and perhaps jnstly, that in England the education at charity schools is not properly directed, particularly with regard to boys : that they are frequently pushed on, in a manner that disqualifies them for their station ; inducing them to aim at situ- ations above it, and thus to intrude on a class whose parents pay for that instruction which the others receive gratuitously. As a modern author* says : " I will not take upon me to determine, *' what precise degree of knowledge it may be necessary to afford to " the lower ranks of people ; but I think we may venture to say, all " such information ought to be bestowed, as can tend to impress their " minds with a proper sense of their obligations to God, the commu- *' nity, and themselves." Where children discover particular traits of genius, it would be acting on a narrow principle to restrain their expanding powers : the objection lies against endeavouring to make every one excel in branches of science, a moderate acquirement of which is sufficient for that humble, though eminently useful, rank, in which Divine Providence has placed those who are instructed at the public expense. AH institutions of this nature, however, are defec- tive that do not proceed beyond the usual tuition: they should ex- tend to schools of industry ; in which the boys might be taught dif- ferent handicraft arts, and a portion of time be allotted for girls to acquire some knowledge of domestic employments, with a view of Warren. 165 CIVIL AND MILITARY HISTORY. The origin of small states can seldom be properly ascertained. Absorbed in the history of larger territo- qualifying them for servants. This last observation applies, in an especial manner, to Jersey. The native females of the lower order are either extremely ignorant, or if, fortunately, they acquire anj education, they aspire at being semstresses, from the mistaken idea, that thereby they are less under control. The consequence i?, iliat genteel families are under the necessity of hiring English servant*), who are not always such as would be engaged in England. Some have objected, that Jersey is too circumscribed for so en- larged a charity : this appears to be begging the question. It lias b ucceeded in other places, and is well worthy of a trial. It is in- tended to erect school rooms for five hundred children : this can hardly be termed a very circumscribed number. " In the female orphan house at Dublin, there are 125 girls, who " have been received from five to ten years old, and are kept until they are sixteen or seventeen. They learn writing, reading, ac- " counts, and needle work. The produce of (he latter, for the last " year, amounted to 240." Carr's Stranger in Ireland. The Isle of Wight contained, in 1802, a population of 22,602 souls, a number something under that of the permanent population of Jersey (See POPULATION) : yet, in the former island, there has been erected a house of industry, which, including childrrn, ronuiins from 600 to 550 persons. Various manufactures are carried on at tiiis es- tablishment ; and to so considerable an extent, that, in 1&0'>, the poor's rate of the town of Newport had been reduced from 5s. 61. to little more than 2s. 6d. in the pound ; and the average of country parishes did not exceed 2s. About the year 1770, an act of parlia- ment enabled the inhabitants to borrow ^20,000. In 1802, this s>um had been reduced to 12,500. On an average of some years, the manufactory had cleared, after deducting every expense, '200 annu- ally. If the same advantages have continued, since 1802, what fruit must that island now reap from so excellent an in-titution ! Either of the foregoing measures is within the compass of Jersey. Ties, they seldom become objects of notice; and when they have engaged the attention of any early writer, the account transmitted to posterity is ge- nerally a tissue of real facts and fabulous extravagan- cies; so interwoven as to render it difficult and fre- quently impossible to unravel them. JERSEY has, in this respect, shared the fate of other minor countries ; it is, therefore, quite uncertain at what time it became peopled, or who were its abo- rigines. It was, unquestionably, inhabited at an early period : the various monuments of Celtic wor- ship, that formerly existed, feme of which still re- main, sufficiently attest this ; and the Punic, the earlj Roman, and the Gaulish, coins, discovered at diflercnt times and places in the island, corroborate it. About I0 years before the Christian aera, Tran- salpine Gaul was portioned out among three nations. The Celtce, called by Caesar, Galli or Gauls, occu- pied more than one halt of the territory. Their do- minion extended from the &eine to tht> Garonne. It was at the above period that the Romans meditated the conquest of these nations, all of whom had originally migrated from Italy. To the Celts, therefore, succeeded the Romans. Ha 16T We arc ignorant respecting the precise time; though, as the greater part of Tiansalpine Caul was sulxlued by Julius Caesar, about forty-eight years prior to the birth of our Saviour, it is most iikelj that these islands were conquered by the Romans at nearly the same period. That part of Mont-orgveil castle, called Le Fort de Cr.var, the immense earthen rampart near Rose? f and the remaining traces of a camp at Dielament, to- gether with the many Roman coins found in different parts of the island, ascertain that it was a place of some consequence under that people : yet as no histori- cal records,while it continued under their government, now remain, it may be presumed that Jersey was only a military station, though an important one. After the Romans, the Franks or French, by ex- pelling them, became masters of the island. They first visited the western coast of Europe about A. D. 280, at which time thry sailed from Sicily, coasiing round Spain and Gaul; but it does not appear that, at this early period, they attempted to form any set- tlements on the Atlantic shore. In A. D. 536, tlieir sovereignty in Gaul was firmly established. They issued from Germany in the fifth century, and spread themselves in evciy direction. Under their sove- 168 reigns of the Merovingian* and Carlovingian^ races, they founded an empire which extended from the ocean to the Danube. Its more general division was* into west France and east France ; the first called Weslria, and afterwards Neustria, which now is Normandy, though far more circumscribed than the ancient Neustria. The islands in its vicinity very naturally constituted a part of the district.! About the year of Christ 550, Childebert, king of France, and son of Clovis, made a gift of these islands to Samson, archbishop of Do/, in Armorica, so far as respected their ecclesiastical government. About A. D. 837, during the reign of Ludovicus Pius, son of Charlemagne, the Normans began to carry on a piratical war, on the western coast of France. By degrees, their ravages became frequent and more extensive. Their vessels were light, which enabled them to ascend the rivers, and sack the interiour of the country. In their blind zeal for idolatry, they committed the most horrid barbarities, fire and sword marking their steps. So great was the terror excited, throughout France, by these Pagans, that, in the public service of the church, an addition * So called from Meroveiis, the grandfather of Clems. t So named from Charles Mattel* $ See Falle's History. 169 was made to the Litany. After saying from plague, pestilence, and famine, they subjoined, AXD FROM THE FURY OF THE NOR.V3UfS, good Lord, deliver us. These islands were not exempted from the de- predatory visits : and if they did not suffer in the same degree as their continental neighbours, it was more from the poverty of their inhabitants than from their means of resistance. In one of these descents, the Normans murdered St. Helier, a venerable an choret, whose cell still remains on a rock near Elina- beth castle. Their incursions continued nearly eighty years. At length Charles the fourth, sur- named the simple, concluded a treaty with Rollo, the chieftain of that restless band, A. D. 912. By this Jigreement he married the king's daughter and Lad Normandy, together with these islands, ceded to fcim, as a fief of the crown of France. Rollo was baptized ; and aj his example in this respect incited bis followers, so his authority also controlled them, to become converts to Christianity.* * An ancient M. S. gives a different account. It is therein said, that, from about the year 751, unto (be time of King John, the island of Jersey was always under (he donininn and power of the dukes of Vormawfy. This countenances the idea that, in the time of Rollo, Vormandv was in a state of civilizvion, and, if so, was re- gulated by established laws, instead of being the den of unprinci- pled robbers, or the occasional source of predatory warfare. It 170 The character of Rollo, as handed down by histo- rhns, and as seemingly corroborated by circum- stances, does not accord with his being the leader of a banditti. He is said to have been remarkable for the strictness and impartiality with which he admini- stered justice. Whether originating in his own ap- pointment, or from a veneration for his name, is un- certain; but a singular custom prevailed, during his lifetime, of appealing to him, however distant he might be, in cases of oppression or encroachment. Aa ! or Ha ! is supposed to be the exclamation of a person suffering. Ro ! is an abbreviation of Rollo ; so that,on Ha-Ro being pronounced aloud by the ag- grieved party, the oppressor was obliged, at his peril, to forbear: *In Jersey the cry is Ha-Ro y a Faide t mon prince ! also renders the character that Rollo has acquired in history more consistent, than the supposition that he could at once emerge from barbarism to just notions of property, and a strict sense of distribu- tive justice. The early Normans were, doubtless, barbarians; but even their character is, perhaps, too deeply coloured The only chroniclers of the times were the monks; and, as a late historian* says of the Saxons in England, who are represented as a very cruel nation : " we must remember that their enemies have drawn the " picture." -" De Haro". " Notre vieille chronique nous en fournit un exemple memorable, " en la per&onne d'un pauvre homme, de la ville dc Caen. 11 arreta, * Goldsmith. 171 This clameur de Ilaro still subsists, in practice; but the complainant must make the appeal before two witnesses ; and should it be made without a sub- stantial reason, the appellant may be fined by the court. Including Hollo,* (or, as he was baptized, Robert), six dukes of Normandy were lords of Jer- sey. The seventh was William the conqueror.t These princes are represented as not having degene- rated; all being like their progenitor, eminent both in peace and war. It is by no means unlikely, that largesses to the church, and an unlimited submission to the crafty monks, might procure them this eulogy. " en vertu d'un Ilaro, la pompe funebre de Guillaume le conquer- " ant, qui lui avoit 6t un champ de terre, jusqu'a ce qu'on lui eflt "fait raison de cette usurpation. Eten 1'annce 1418, la ville de "Hoflen 6tant assicpce par Henri, Roi d'Angleterre, un pr6tre fut " depute pour lui faire cette harangue, et au Due de Bourgogne"- " Tres excellent prince, and seigneur, il m'est enjoint de crier contra *' vous le grand Haro, qui signifie r oppression qu'ils ont des Anglois ; " comme raporte Monstrelet." Coutumes de Normandie, par Batnage. * Otherwise Ron, Roul, and Raoul. f The Norman records mention, respecting the decisive battle of Hastings, a circumstance but little known in English history: this is, that all the Normans wore long swords ; and to these, and to their long bows, their writers ascribe the victory. The English fought with poleaxes. After the Normans had discharged their ar- rows, a close fight commenced. Then the English, in handling their heavy weapons, were obliged to raise both arms: this leaving their bodies open, enabled the Normans to run them through with their long swords. Z in It is certain, that, from the time of their conversion, the Normans became equally zealous in the cause of Christianity, as they had previously been in that of paganism. They were probably informed by their ghostlv counsellors, that, to expiate the crimes of their heathenish forefathers, it was necessary to make temporal sacrifices. On this principle, a Norman nobleman of the posterity of those that put St. Helier to death, is said to have erected an abbey, which was consecrated in the name of that martyr.* Though, in England, the laws, customs, manners, and even the language, underwent a material altera- tion at the conquest, no change occurred in Jersey, or neighbouring islands, in any of the foregoing respects. Under Henry the first all of them were finally annexed to the kingdom of England as a part of Normandy. The intestine troubles by which England was agi- tated, during the reign of King John, enabled the French to invade and subdue Normandy. Twice they also attempted these islands, but were repulsed. The king himself came over, and encouraged his loyal subjects to defend his and their patrimony. * This abbey was a monastic establishment for canons regular of the Augustine order, until the reign of Henry tke second. He an. nezed it to an abbey at Cherburgh, It was suppressed as an alien priory, in the reign of Henry the fifth. The landed proptrty be- longing to it was seiaed by the crown, and still continues vested ia the sovereign. 173 He gave to Jersey* a body of constitutions. This code is the foundation of all its franchises and immu- nities; and has been the basts of all subsequent charters, down to the present time : these are very numerous, and have been granted by different En- glish monarchs, from Henry the third to Charles the second. Since his reign no fresh charter has been given; but orders from the sovereign in council, have, at sundry times, been issued to a similar effect. This code may, with strict propriety, be called the Magna Charta of Jersey. Thus was the island freed from its dependance on Normandy. It had been usual to make appeals from Jersey to the supreme court of that dutchy ; but after the latter became a province of France^ they were referred to His Majesty in council. While these islands constituted a portion of Nor- mandy, several gentlemen had estates in both : but when the separation took place, they were required to relinquish their subjection to one or the other of the two contending kings, and to quit his dominions. The con- sequence of this requisition was the abandonment of such estates as lay within the territories of the monarch whose sovereignty they disavowed. This, though a necessary alternative, was rendered an act of flagrant Called in the deed Qerete. 174 injustice, the owners not being permitted to sell the property abandoned. The greater part of the land- holders declared in favour of that sovereign in whose domains they had the largest possessions : but the Seigneur de St. Ouen, of the name and family of Car- teret, remaining fixed in his allegiance to England, was deprived of his lordship of Carteret and other estates, which were much more valuable than his property in Jersey. Edward the first presented Jersey with a seal, which is still affixed to all important public acts. Under Edward Ihe second, the islands in this quar- ter suffered from the mal administration of affairs. Jiulges of assize were sent over, from England, who wantonly distressed the inhabitants, by a flagrant vio- lation of their most valuable rights : but, on a pe- tition from the two chief islands, Edward the third put an effectual stop to those abuses. The French made, occasionally, attempts on Jer- sey, in the reigns of Henry the third, Edward the first, and Edward the third ; but all these attacks proved unsuccessful. Und'T Henry the third, Philip d' tnbigny, at that time governor of Jersey, inter- cepted a fleet conveying French troops to England. During the life time of Edward the third, the enemies were repulsed before Mont-Orgueil castle, 175 then called Le Chasfeau de G our ay. They sue. ceeded better at Guernsey, which they conquered and held for three years. At length, a fleet arriving, from England, to retake the former island, the inha- bitants of Jersey raised a contribution of 6400 marks, and assisted the English in recovering the sister isle. In a subsequent invasion, commanded by the famous Bertrand de Guesclin, constable of F,-ance y the castle of Mont Orgueil was on the point of sur- rendering, when the siege was raised, by the inter- vention of an English fleet, dispatched to its relief. The French again assaulted Jersey, during the reign of Henry the fourth. They ravaged the open- country, yet could not make any impression on the castle ; which, it is said, from this period, received the name of the castle of Mont Orgueil. But where force was unavailable, treachery suc- ceeded. During the eventful reign of Henry the sixth, commenced the civil wars between the white and red roses ; or, more properly speaking, between the houses of York and Lancaster. Margaret of dnjou, Henry's queen, went over to France, with a view of obtaining assistance from Lewis the eleventh. The intriguing monar h, not daring openly to es. her cause, yet desirous of profiting by her mis. 176 fortunes,* connived at her treating with one of his courtiers : this was a nobleman > named Pierre dt Brezt^ Comic de Maulevrier, et de la Sarenne. He agreed to raise a body of troops, and make a descent in England, on condition of having these islands made over to him and his heirs, to be held indepen* dently of the English crown. Accordingly he sailed to Britain with 2000 men, and sent one Surde* val, a Norman ^gentleman, to take possession of Mont* Orgueil castle. This fortress, the English com- mander, who was of the Lancastrian party, had se- cret orders to deliver up ; but to prevent any ap- pearance of collusion, it was concerted, that the go- vernor should be surprised in his bed. The deep- laid scheme was effected. The count arrived after- wards, styling himself, in all public acts, Pierre de Brezt, Comte de 3fo/rcrw?r, #c, lord of the islands of Jersey, Guernsey > Alderney, and the others ad- joining : but as a proof that he was merely an agent for the politic French king, he added to his other ti- tles, those of counsellor and chamberlain of our sove* reign lord the king of France. The inhabitants were enraged at this declaration : * " Loub H a nui a la droiture, et a la franchise naturelles a la * nation qu'il gouverooit." 177 and all the count's endeavours to appease their dis- content were unavailing. In the spice of six years, he could not reduce more than as many parishes. The other six, influenced by Philip de Carteref t Seigneur de St. Outn, an ancestor of the present Lord Carteret, defied the count's power, and thwart* ed his measures. At that time the place called Gros-nez castle, the origin and use of which are now uncertain, existed s this De Carteret held, as a post of defence for E&> gland, against the French and Normans. Under Edward the fourth, Sir Richard Harliston, vice admiral of England, arriving at Guernsey, with a squadron, De Carteret applied to htm for assist* ance. Harliston came over to Jersey privately; and having concerted measures with De Carter*-*, the inhabitants were directed to assemble, on a night ap- pointed, and they . approached the fortress of Mont Orgveil with the most profound silence. " Each patient bosom bushed " Its struggling ; nor, in whispers, breathed " The rapturous ardour virtue tken inspired. " So louring clouds along the ethereal void, " In slow expansion, from the gloomy north, " Awhile suspend their horrors, destined soon "To blaze in lightnings, and to burst in storms." GLOVER. 178 The fortress was, therefore, suddenly, and by a simultaneous effort, blockaded both by sea and land. After a short though spirited resistance, it surren- dered, before any account of its being even besieged had reached bormandy. To reward the islanders on this glorious occasion, they were gratified with a new charter, in which their loyalty was highly extolled ; and this honoura- ble mark of royal approbation has ever since been inserted in all subsequent charters, in perpetuam rei memoriam.* So distinguishing a badge, thus conse- crated to the latest posterity by a public document, is far more durable than the bronze profile, or the tri- umphal arch, of those warriours who fight for con- quest only, and who " bear the bloody standard of " ambition."t These evanescent glories may be called " Wreaths, which at last the dear bought right convey, " To rust on medals, or on stones decay ."f After the reduction of Mont-Orgueil castle, Har- liston had the government of Jersey conferred on him : in this post he continued nearly sixteen years. He added a tower to the castle, and acquired general osteem; but, unfortunately for him, he was induced SeeFalle. t Bishop Home. J Johnson. 179 to believe, that the person known in the annals of England by the name of Perkin Warbeck, was really the duke of York, younger son of Edward the fourth. Under this persuasion he quitted the island, and went over to the dutchess of Burgundy, in Flanders: but on the failure of Warbeck 's enter- prise, Sir Richard, not daring to return, remained at the court of that princess ; and at his decease his body was honourably interred at her expense. Matthew Baker, who succeeded Sir Richard Har- liston, was a man of a very different character. He continually and rigorously oppressed the inhabitants ; until, in consequence of his tyrannical conduct, he was superseded. Baker's arbitrary measures induced Henry the seventh to issue an order, restraining him, and every future governor, from appointing any dean, or bailiff, in the island: this privilege he reserved to himself. He forbid any governor from inti'rtering with either the ecclesiastical, or civil, court, and required that all disputes, wherein the governor might be interested, should be cognizable only by the king in council. Henry, when earl of Richmond, a-;d while es- caping from his pursuers, landed in Jersey ; where he remained concealed until an opportunity pre- AA 180 sented itself by which he was enabled to pass over to the continent. The government and pub- lie administration of Jersey appearing to him de- fective, this prince, when he became king, endea- voured to remedy them ; and as John had given con- stitutions to the island, Henry issued ordinances, comprised in thirty-three articles : these, with occa- sional alterations, continued long in force ; but they were superseded by a code of laws, in 1771. The next governor after Baker was Thomas Overay, a merchant of Southampton) who was received in Jersey with the most flattering attention. He added fresh defences to Mont-Orgueil castle, particularly Bell Tower, on which his arms were placed. He died in the island, and, according to Mr. Falle, was universally regretted.* After the death of Overay, Sir Hugh Vaughan suc- ceeded to the government. The haughty demean- our and arbitrary measures of this man during the reign of Henry the eighth, were extremely odious and highly oppressive to the inhabitants of Jmey; but being a creature of Cardinal Wolsey, he was, by In a private M. S. he is not mentioned in so honourable a man- ner. He is therein accused of an injustice, by falsely imprisoning the seigneur f a fi e f ; and it ig added, that, on bit death bed, heac- impropriety of that action. 181 this prelate, skreencd and protected. At length, wearied and irritated by a long continuance of the governor's unjust proceedings, Helier de Carteret, Seigneur de Hondo is t and bailiff of Jersey, deter, mined to seek redress, both for the island and himself, by a personal application in England. There, in the star chamber, before the cardinal himself, and the lords of the council, he spoke with so much warmth, and demanded justice with so much firmness, that, in a short time, he triumphed over the insolent oppressor, and obtained his removal from the island, over which he had tyrannized more than thirty years. About the year 1518, this island, and especially the town of St. Helier t experienced that dreadful visitation, the plague; so that the court, and the market, were removed to Grouville. Without mentioning the different governors that succeeded each other, it will merely be necessary to say, that Jersey was not only subjected to various vexations from its governors and their deputies, but had long groaned under oppressions of another kind : oppressions more severe, from being inflicted by one class of inhabitants on their interiours. The leudui system so prevalent, lor ages, on the continent, had natuially been introduced hero by the Normans. Every seigneur of a fief was, in las disir.ct, a Lidc sovereign ; or, more properly, a petty tyrant, exer- cising the power of life and death over his vassals. The unfortunate dependant on * the little tyrant of bis fields," was obliged to espouse his lord's quarrels, and to engage in arms, in the support of his private interests. Thus a ferocious spirit was maintained ; bloody intestine wars continually desolating and de- populating the devoted country, which a better sense of their real interest should have taught those barba- rous chieftains to protect. This dreadful scourge was more severely felt in Jersey than on the conti- nent. The vicinity of the sea enabled the seigneurs to increase their power, and consequently their vexa- tions, by attaching to their cause the pirates that infested the neighbouring seas, and who, living by plunder, profited by every means of adding to tbeir booty. It must naturally be supposed that, if they thus enriched themselves, it was at the expense of the miserable natives. Thus, as the population of a country must in a great measure depend on the man- ner in which justice is exercised, Jersey, so cruelly treated, lost by degrees its inhabitants; and an island so favoured by nature was becoming a mere desert. The kings of EngJand\w& frequently endeavoured to correct this abuse of power ; but all their exertions 183 were fruitless, and the people still sunk under the iron rod of oppression. Henry the seventh, despair- ing of producing by forcible means any beneficial ef- fect, or of inspiring the seigneurs with a sense of justice and humanity, determined to employ spiritual instead of carnal weapons, as a more efficacious mode ef accomplishing his purpose. He therefore applied to Pope Sixtus the fourth, stating the miserable con- dition of his Jersey subjects ; and representing how much the seigneurs themselves injured each other by their private quarrels. The pope, accordingly, is- sued a bull, excommunicating those who should con- tiuue these intestine commotions. Fear operated where force had proved ineffectual. Those very men, whom neither the royal authority, nor the strong arm of power, could restrain, were intimidated bjr the threat of papal excommunication. Thus has religion a happy influence over the passions of man- kind ; and thus does the dread of retribution, in ano- ther world, contribute to restrain the vindictive spirit of revenge, in our present state of existence. Since that period, the seigneurs have completely changed their conduct : from being unfeeling ty- rants, they have become the protectors of the people, an '*'. 1 -tj.'i'l ' "Of'tvl '\;L 'V 1 |"' f 'J "^(i fl'o m 'llvf ' * " Le vainqueor est un maitre qni pent disposer de tout, qui ne " doit rien, et qui fait grace de tout ce qu'il laisse. Tel fut le droit " des Remains, des Grecs, et de tontes ces societes de brigands que *' Ton a deeores du nom de conquerans." VOLNET. t Guthrie. J White we censure the French, as possessing an inordinate share of ambition, we ought, injustice, to recollect our own. The page of English history exhibits, in many instances, a thirst after dominion, that has carried all the horrors of war into France, Scotland, and Ireland. The path of glory has been, too frequently, deluged with blood, wantonly shed ; and even treachery has, sometimes, been the harbinger of invasion. There are, however, some rational nations, that prefer the solid blessings of peace to the visionary charms of warlike triumphs; some monarehs who are more gratified with the praises of a happy and contented people, than with the lo pteans so lavishly bestowed on ambitious potentates : this the following ex- tract will prove : " Lcs bistoriens ne nous ont transmia aucnn exemple, que lei 197 "Without attempting to palliate the arbitrary con- duct of that virtuous but unfortunate monarch, Charles the first, otherwise than by stating it to have proceeded from hereditary prejudices, in respect of royal prerogative, and without wishing to extenuate th6 less excusable tyranny, the licentiousness, and the general ingratitude, of his son Charles the second, it is certain that unto both these sovereigns Jersey is greatly indebted. The former prince contributed to its security in the midst of his most pressing necessi- ties ; and the latter, when possessed of power, fa- voured the island, uniformly supported its privileges, and proved, on every occasion, a zealous friend and guardian. The troubles that, in Ireland, followed The Revo- lution, and which were fomented by France, in favour of James the second ; the continental wars in which the French monarchs were engaged during the reigns of our sovereigns, William the third, Anne, George the first, and George the second : together with the rebellions excited and supported during the last two reigns, by the French, in support of the exiled " gouverains da Japan enssent tente de faire dcs conqnetes sur leuri " voisins : c'est, sous doute, a cet esprit pacifique, que ce peuple doit " son bonheur actuel ; et ce dcgre de prosperite, que les nations lei " plus civilisees de 1'Europe auront de la peine a atteindre." Foy. de Thunberg. 198 Stuart family ; these prevented further attempts on Jersey; and it does not appear that any important events disturbed the internal peace of the island, du- ring the whole of this long interval. The first subsequent effort against Jersey, made on the part of that enemy by whose attacks it had for- merly been endangered, was in A. D. 1779. On the first of May, the prince of Nassau, commanding a bo- dy of from five to six thousand men, appeared with a fleet off St. OUCH'S bay. Here this army attempted to disembark ; but by a forced march of the seventy- eighth regiment, assisted by a corps of militia, and supported by artillery, the enemy was repulsed. Frustrated in the first design, the hostile squadron, proceeded to St, Brelade's bay ; but perceiving a similar opposition prepared, in (his quarter also, the enterprize was abandoned. Dissentions and recriminations, among the French officers, being a natural consequence of this failure, a second attempt was planned ; but before it could be carried into effect, the fleet, destined to cover the in- vasion, was attacked by a British squadron, under Sir James Wallace, and nearly annihilated. The next and last project of this nature was of a very alarming description : not indeed from the force employed on the occasion, since it amounted to only 199 2,000 men ; but from the circumstances that ac- companied the attempt, and the consequences that were likely to have resulted. This being the most recent attack, will render some detail interesting. In the night of December the 25th, 1780, a fire was discovered blazing, between Rosel and La Coupe. It continued to burn about eight minutes, when it was answered by another, on the coast of France, which lasted about a quarter of an hour. These preconcerted signals were made at a time when no British ships of war were on the station.* On the following morning, French troops were embarked, at Granxille, under the command of the Baron de Rullecourt, an adventurer, who intended to land in the night, during the festive season of Christ- mas ; at which time he hoped to possess the island, by a coup de main, conceiving that the inhabitants would be in a state less capable of defence than at any other time.t * This deficiency has happened, at different times, since that p riod. Not many years ago, a French privateer, of eighteen guns, sailed unmolested round Me island, and entered every bay. The want of a port, open at all tinvs of the tide, and sufficiently sheltered, accounts for Jersey having been expos, d to so daring an insult. f The baron was right in his conjecture respecting the season, a- a time of festivity, but egregiously mistaken in his inference: for though, in particular instances, I hr stmas might exhibit scenes, of ebriety, yet this vice was by no means its general concomitant. 200 Rullecourt quitted France in very tempestuous weather: many of his transports were, in conse- quence, dispersed ; and the rest obliged to seek for shelter at the rocky island jof Chauzey : this checked his progress, and reduced his little army to 1,200 men. With this diminished force, however, he again set sail, on January the 5th, 1781, and reached Jersey about eleven in the evening. The place at which he arrived was Le Bane de tielet 9 a projecting point of flat rocks, covered at high water, at the S. E. corner of the island. To this point his ships were driven by the current. Though not the spot at which he intended to disembark, his troops were or- dered to land: only 700 got on shore; 200 being wrecked in their vessels, and the rest prevented, by the tide, from effecting their purpose. " The feast of reason" usually accompanied " the flow of soul." In fine, the jocund parties, at that time of the year, might, with greater propriety, be designated as patriarchal meetings. The heads of fa- milies then assembled around them all their descendants, men, wo- men, and children ; and thus enjoyed the cordial satisfaction of see- ing themselves surrounded by persons, every one of whom had a claim to parental affection. These delightful family assemblages are still continued ; and it is the pride and anxious wish of all, to be, if possible, present at the an- nual festival. Many convivial entertainments, of late date, will not indeed bear to be so honourably noticed ; but these are formed from other mo- tives, are not influenced by seasons, and are generally attended by a different description of visitors. 201 It may seem wonderful, that boats could approach a shore, so studded with rocks, and where rapid currents run between these craggy protuberances:, but the baron had with him a traitorous Jerseyman, who had formerly lived at La Rogue, and was a very experienced pilot. This infamous wretch, having committed a murder, had absconded from the island, and now added a public to a private crime. Rullecourt's. first care was, to seize on a small battery of four guns : this he manned ; and having- left a company to protect the boats, and, in case of necessity, secure his retreat, he proceeded to M. Heller's, avoiding the shore to prevent being dis- covered at any of the guard houses. His troops were, however, obliged to march near barracks oc- cupied by artillery invalids, and close to a battery ; yet they passed unperceived. On entering the town, they massacred one man, who was standing at his door, and wounded a few other persons, whom they met with on their mid. Arrived at the market place, they killed the ccntincf , and surprised the guard : there escaped, however, one man, who ran immediately to the general hospital, inwhich was quartered a regiment of high landers, The inhabitants were astonished to see, at break of flay, the market place filled with French soldiers, without a single gun having been fired, or the least alarm given. The lieutenant governor, at this time, was major Moses Corbet. He was in bed when first made ac- quainted with the enemy's arrival. His house being soon surrounded, he was taken prisoner : some others that were with him shared the same fate. Corbet, though thus surprised, found means to send information, to the seventy-eighth, eighty-third, and ninety-fifth regiments, that were stationed in dif- ferent parts of the island. The French general, having had the lieutenant go- vernor conducted to the court house, represented to him that resistance was useless ; that he had landed 4,000 men in different parts of the island ; that the British troops, stationed near La Roque, were prison- ers; and that he had two battalions in the vicinity of the town. He pretended to send an order for these to approach ; and then issued a proclamation , in the name of the French monarch, promising pro- tection to the inhabitants that would submit quietly, and menacing all that might resist with immediate punishment. Having produced articles of capitulation, for the island, he required major Corbet to sign them ; say- 203 ing, that in default of instant compliance, he bad orders to bum the town, with the shipping, and to put every inhabitant to the sword. The major refu- sing, in consequence of being a prisoner, and making some remarks on the articles, Rullccourt laid his watch on a table, observing, that the objections were made merely with the intention of gaining time, and that unless the articles were signed in half an hour, he would set fire to the town, and abandon it to pillage. Several of his officers disgraced themselves by en- couraging him to execute his menaces. At last, to avert the threatened destruction, for this was the rea- son assigned by Major Corbet, in his defence, be and Major Hogge signed the capitulation. This conven- tion was then presented to the king's advocate, to the constable, and to several other persons; but they refused their signatures, though strongly urged, and particularly by a Turk of rank, who had accom- panied Rullecourt in his expedition, and who drew a dagger, to render his threats more effectual. The baron now conceived himself to be master of the island. He therefore produced a commission from the king of France , appointing him a general in his army, and governor of Jersey. Under these new titles he invited several gentlemen to dine with him at Major Corbet's. He then ordered all the shops to be DD 204 opened, and every thing to proceed as usual, for- bidding, however, the assembling together of any number of inhabitants. He had taken care to oblige Major Corbet to send a written order to the different corps of troops, not to move from their respective barracks ; this the British officers were compelled to obey, until convinced that the major issued it while a prisoner. During these eventful scenes, the militia assembled in different places, and prepared for a severe encoun - ter. Every regiment moved towards the town ; the greater part joined the Highlanders, who were en- camped on le Mont Patibulaire or Gallows hill : and a company marched to Elizabeth castle. Corbet now dispatched an order, for the troops on the heights, to bring their arms to the court house ; and sent notice of the capitulation to the castle. Shortly after this message had been for- warded, the French army left St. Helier's y to take possession of that fortress. Rullecourt marched at the head of the column, holding Major Corbet by the arm. They were no sooner on the beach, than a shot from the castle an- nounced resistance. Advancing still, a second ball wounded several j>f the enemy. This hostile recep- tion induced the French general to halt, and send an 205 officer to the garrison, with a copy of the capitula- tion, and a written order from Corbet to surrender the castle : this being refused by the commanding of- ficer, and the messenger representing the force al- ready landed as very formidable, he was permitted, with a bandage over his eyes, to enter ; and being led up to the citadel, was shown the strength of the fortress. Rullecourt, compelled to retire to the town again, denounced vengeance. Major Corbet then sent a peremptory order, commanding the gates to be opened, and the French to be received as conquerors. The answer to this mandate was such as became a spirited British soldier. During these transactions, the regular troops, un- der the orders of Major Pierson, of the ninety-fifth regiment, who was the next in command to the captive lieutenant governor, together with the island militia, were assembled upon the heights near the town. Rullecourt's bright prospect now began to lower : a dark cloud was gathering round him. lie seized on the parochial artillery, which he planted at the avenues leading to the market place. He soon re- ceived information that the troops were descending from Gallows hill, in columns, having the regulars in front. 206 In this critical moment) the baron made a last effort to revive his withering laurels, and to obtain actual possession of his assumed conquest. He sent an officer to meet the advancing troops, and to prevail on Major Pierson to conform to the capitulation : thus to spare the effusion of human blood, and save the town from inevitable ruin. On the major's refu- sal, the French officer requested time to return, ancfc make a report to his commander. He required an hour for this purpose ; but the island troops evinced an impetuosity that Major Pierson found it difficult .to repress. He consented to halt for half an hour ; at the same time sending the adjutant of the ninety- fifth regiment to accompany the French officer, and to demand the liberation of the lieutenant governor. On their arrival at the court house, where they feund Rullecourt and Major Corbet, the adjutant asked if the latter was a prisoner : both are said to have an- swered in the negative, though not in a manner satis- factory to Pierson's messenger. The baron perceiv- ing that negotiation was not likely to become effec- tual, added, that he should now so dispose of his men, as to prove that he could enforce submission. The time granted by Major Pierson to the French officer appeared long to the little army under his orders: the militia, in particular, displayed that 207 enthusiastic loyalty, which the islanders had, on so many momentous occasions, exerted. The major had, however, a reason for restraining this ardour, He had detached the light companies of the seventy- eighth and ninety-fifth regiments, together with two from the militia, with directions to take a circuitous route, and possess themselves of the town hill : thi detachment had not yet arrived at the place of its destination : the major was likewise at a loss how to fcct : he had received the lieutenant governor's orders not to engage ; and he repeatedly observed, that if that officer was not a prisoner, he must, necessarily, conform to the directions of his superiour in corn- mand. On the adjutant's return, the whole body formed into one column, and marched towards the town. It had been hitherto imagined, that the force sta- tioned near the old castle, had, agreeably to R die- court's OWD assertion, sustained a defeat, and that a formidable portion of his army remained posted in the same quarter : in fine, his strength in the island was quite unknown. During the march of Major Pierson's corps, he received a letter from the officer who commanded the troops near Mont Orgueil, by which he learned, that so far from having been made prisoners, they 208 were proceeding to attack a party of the enemy that had taken possession of a battery at La Roque. The British and island troops now arrived at St. Heller's, and separating into two divisions, pressed forwards towards the market place. An immediate and impetuous attack was made by one of these columns: rendered furious by disappointment, the French fought desperately. When this onset took place, part of the detachment which had reached the town hill, bore down on the enemy, from another quarter of the town. At the same moment, the division headed by Major Pierson, appeared in the market place : he entered it througli a short street, opposite to the present government house. The enemy made an immediate discharge, and that gallant officer fell dead into the arms of his grenadiers. Surprised, and, for an instant, discouraged by this unfortunate stroke, his troops gave way ; but they soon rallied, formed again, and regained the groun^ which they had lost. Rullecourt seeing his men driven from every street into the market place, added wanton cruelty to his previous falsehood and treachery. He went out from the court house, holding the captive lieutenant governor by the arm : a short renewal of the conflict ensued : the baron received a mortal wound ; some of his soldiers secreted themselves in the adjacent 209 houses; the rest surrendered: and the victory was complete. Major Corbet escaped unhurt, though lie received two balls through his hat. The firing having ceased, Major Corbet resumed the command; and having secured his prisoners in. the church, he marched towards the place where the French had landed, and were supposed to have a detachment. The battery of which they obtained possession on landing, had been re- taken in the morning ; and such of Rullecourt's army as were not either killed, or made prisoners, escaped to their vessels. The enemy's loss in this ill-concerted and ill-fated business has never been known: the British had nearly fifty of the regulars killed and wounded, and about thirty of the militia. Major Pierson was interred in the church of St. Helier, and a monument erected, at the island expense, to commemorate his bravery and lamented death. A second descent being expected on the same night, some of the militia, though greatly fatigued, remained under arms until the morning. A general alarm was, indeed, at midnight, spread through the island, and all expected a fresh conflict; but the ap- prehension subsided. It has been asserted, that a large French force was destined for the expedition so happily rendered abor- 210 five : that it was to have sailed whenever a landing could be secured ; and that the plan was to obtain and keep possession of all these islands ; that the com- mander in chief was the prince of Nassau ; and that the inhabitants were to be transported to a remote part of France. Such was the report circulated soon af- ter, respecting the enemy's intention.* Since the attack just detailed, Jersey has, at dif- ferent times, been both menaced and alarmed; but has not experienced any actual assault. Buonaparte, in his threatened invasion of England, called these islands stepping stones to that kingdom ; yet be never thought it advisable to trust either himself, or any of his armies, on them. It cannot be expected, that a work of this nature, should do more than mention the internal disputes that have unhappily arisen, in Jersey, during the present reign. They are events that must excite regret, as having fomented discord between families, friends, and neighbours ; but on which it is not our province to comment. From the year 1779, to the year * Major Corbet was tried, and superseded ; but is said to have received a pension. We must not, therefore, impute to him any greater culpability than was found by the court martial. We may, however, say, that, though treachery did not attach to his conduct, it appears difficult to exonerate him from both negligence and a de- gree of pusillanimity. 1793, feuds were carried on with great animosity ; and the opposite parties were distinguished by differ- ent appellations. Though those dissentions subsided, their effects may still be traced ; and they, pro- bably, tended to increase those that haye more recently divided the inhabitants.* Few extraordinary events, in the natural worlds have, of late years, occurred in Jersey. It is, how- ever, proper to mention, in a general account, that on Saturday, July 2nd, 1808, a sudden and violent storm came on in the forenoon : hail fell that mea- sured one inch and a half in diameter : these substan- ces were semi-transparent, mostly spherical and hol- low; but, though comparatively light, yet, from their unusual dimensions, they occasioned great da- mage, not only to the windows exposed to their direc- tion, but, also, to the orchards, c. In the beginning of the present year, A. D. 1814, this island had the honour of becoming the temporary residence of his royal highness the Due de Berri, ne- pbew of his most Christian Majesty, Lewis the eigh- teenth. Every attention was paid by the inhabitants to the illustrious visitant ; while the condescending urba- " Were meekness, gentleness, and forbearance, universal, the " sword mir. *f Regulations respecting bakers, and the assize of bread."* " Regulations respecting game, and the season for killing it."t " Regulations respecting the harbours of St. Anbin, and St. Heller, to preserve them free from incumbrances, and to prevent fires from breaking out among the shipping." tl No new cider to be retailed before the first daj of November ; nor mixed with that of a former year nor with water, if for sale." " All the members of the States to attend at the times appointed, unless prevented by any reasonable hindrance." " In times of drought, the waters that supply the mills are not to be diverted from their customary channels ; and they who, at other times, use part of any stream, to irrigate their meadows, must close up the breach." " All tanned leather to be examined, by a per- son sworn for that purpose, and stamped, if pro- perly finished : the monopoly of raw hides strictly forbidden." * This subject seems, necessarily, to require strict investigation. t This is likely to become an obsolete law ; there being hardly any game left in the island. 231 * Ordinances for a due observance of the Sab- bath day." " No inhabitant to receive any foreigner into liis honse for more than one night, without informing the constable of the parish, who is to report the in- formation to the govern or." " Foreigners may not remain in the island, nor marry any of the native women, without the gover- nor's permission." " Foreigners, known to be protestants, and of good moral character, who come to reside, are to be fa- vourably received ; but must find security, if requi- red. They will not be permitted to wander about the country, nor to approach the fortifications." " Neither foreigners nor non residents, to sell by retail ; but they will be allowed tq deal in the whole-- Bale way, during the space of time that may be grant- ed to them by the governor, on obtaining a permis- sion, under the hand of the chief magistrate, to an- nounce publickly the articles to be vended." " No inhabitants, that are retailers, may purchase any articles from foreigners, until the said goods have been exposed to sale for three days." " The interest of money limited to five per cent." " Two acts of parliament, prohibiting the exporta- tion of wool, woolfells, fuller's - earth, &c., from 232 England, Wales, Ireland, or any British island ; and regulating the quantity of wool, allowed to be imported into Jersey, and Guernsey; by which acts, 4,000 tods, of thirty-two pounds per tod, of unkeambed wool, is allotted for Jersey ; to be ship- ped from the port of Southampton." tc Regulations /i la Cour (T Heritage.'** o iiioHr- ' rate, that each individual can, with ease, earn a daily surplix; ' and, in this case, an account is taken of it, and i- is delivered, in 'cash, to the respective claimants, on liberation. Thus the roort " industrious often accumulate a sufficiency to enable them, once " more, to begin au honest business.'' J A\SON' Stranger in America 242 jank in order, according to the time when their res- pective actions against the debtor commenced. Ar- rears of rents, if registered, have a preference over simple contract debts; but those arrears cannot be recovered by action, or distraint, after a lapse of five years.* When the creditors are assembled, they whose debls have not been sued for, and registered, are first applied to, and asked, whether any of them will lake the estate, paying all the debts sued for, or relin- quish their claims : should one or more of them con- sent, the whole property of the bankrupt is adjudged to him or them, and the decree ends : but should all those creditors decline, their respective debts become annulled, and the same offer is made to the last in rank of the registered creditors ; should he likewise refuse the proposed condition, his demand is also cancelled, and the same proposal is made to the creditor next in priority before him. This manner of proceeding is continued, until a sufficient number of debts being re- linquished, some creditor, (generally one whose de- mand is considerable), agrees to take the estate, sub- ject to the condition attached to it.t * See page 225. t It sometimes happens, that by this arrangement, the creditor who accepts, obtains move than his debt, and even should the effects of tire debtor prove insufficient to pay the other creditor?, and theft In case of imprisonment, the debtor has not the Tight of Habeas Corpus : in the statute it is said to ex. tend to Jersey ; but it is not registered in the island, and the court does not admit of such a right. It is, in fact, of little consequence, there being but one gaol in the island, and prisoners are, in general, soon brought to trial. to liquidate his own demand, in toto, yet whatever may remain, after satisfying the prior creditors, becomes a dividend on bis own claim, whichhe would, by non-acceptance, have forfeited. Partial as this custom may be in Its operation, we must not cm- sure, without considering the principle from which it originated* In England the same practice obtains with respect to mortgages. Should an estate be unable to discharge all the debts, contracted by its proprietor, and for which it was rendered liable, the mortgagees are paid in full, according to the priority of their respective claims, until the whole produce is expended : thus all the later creditors lose the whole of their demands. In a limited community, and where commerce is nearly unknown, few simple contract debts will exist. Money may indeed be bor- rowed, to complete landed purchases, or to extend improvements. In these cases, mortgages become a natural consequence ; and pre- ference, in point of priority, an equitable measure. The only hard- ship, in England^ arises in counties where theseclaims are not regis- tered : an inconvenience which might easily be obviated. As commerce extended in that country, it became necessary to dis- tinguish between the mortgagee, and the simple contract creditor j and commissions of bankruptcy were issued, in ordei to equali/.e Uie rights of the latter description of creditors. Should Jersey continue to enlarge her foreign relations, a similar measure will, probably', take place. A few heavy mercantile losses, sustained by creditors in England, or abroad, will evince its propriety. The merchants TV ill, undoubtedly, see the necessity of such an arrangement; for wherever preferences in commercial paymebts are sanctioned 'by law, credit must naturally decline. The renter in Jersey wbold not* be injured by this change of system: his preferable claim must still remain equally secure from infraction as at present. II JTo proprietor of lands or rents* can beimprison- cd for debt, unless by order of the court. A debtor who desires to have his effects secured, with a view of having time to make an arrangement with his creditors, must satisfy the court that he is solvent : two jurats are then appointed to superin- tend the collecting of all debts, rents, &c., due to the party, who is to have a reasonable sum allotted for the maintenance of himself, and his family. Un- der this arrangement he is allowed a year and a day to liquidate his debts ; in failure of which, at the ex- piration of the time limited, he becomes a bankrupt. The real and personal property of any one, dying insolvent, are equally liable to his debts. The landlords of houses, &c., may attach for rent accruing, but not due, and thereby prevent the re- moval of any articles so attached ; and, if perishable commodities, they may proceed to sale. To enter at large into the laws of succession would open too extensive and too complicated a subject. The same may be said respecting rents.* Both are sources of dissention, and litigation. The legal fees, and charges, are however very moderate : nor could 1-Tft : i -* --.-.. . t-.'j. . ' ..'':*'. ' v .'I- -- This term does not, in Jtrsey, apply to the rents of houses, cr of land, let out for certain sums, annually: the difference is ex- plained, ia a subsequent part of the present head. 245 they well be otherwise, as many controversies respect matters of trifling import. Falle lamented them in his time ; for he says : " I take the multiplicity of " suits, and chicaneries of law, to be the unhappy 11 source of all our broils, and squabbles : and men's " interests, in this island, are so involved and en- " tangled one with another, by guaranties, and other " waies, peculiar to tts, that some controversies mil, " necessarily arise.*'* Notwithstanding the intricacy of the subjects, we shall endeavour to give some idea, respecting both inheritances, and rents. It has been already said,t that the custom of gavel-kind exists in Jersey: but though it professes equalization in principle, it ope- rates very unequally in practice. In the code of 1771, it is said, that in the partition of country inheritances, should there be a house upon the estate, the eldest child, whether male or female,}: in^ direct succession, is to have the house, with its * The Marquis of Ahercorn makes it a positive rule, to prohibit kis tenants from going to law with each other ; and is saiii to appro- priate a considerable portion of his own lime, lo the adjustment of differences : an example highly worthy of imitation. See GAMBLE'S View of Socitty $ Manners in the North of Ireland* \ See ENCLOSURES, &c. This does not seem to be clearly expressed t the female has tbu preference only when tJ-ne if no male child. 246 appurtenances; together with thirty perches of ground, for a kitchen garden ; and should there not be above four vergtes more, the said eldest to take the whole: if there should be a greater quantity, the said eldest to have the first choice of four vergees t and afterwards, of the tenth vergfo of what may re- main. He has also other privileges, in order to en- able him to pay the rents due on the estate : after these have been arranged, the remainder of the pro- perty, whether consisting of houses, lands, or rents, to be divided between the said eldest, and the other inheritors, according to the ancient custom and prac- tice of theisland :* but should there not be any house belonging to the inheritance, or if one, should it be situated in either of the towns of St. ffelier, or St. Aubin, the said eldest, in this case, to have, besides the house so situated, only the tenth vergte of land * According to this statement, it would appear, that all the pro- perty, excepting that which belongs specifically to the eldest, is to be divided equally bel ween the other claimants: this however is not the case: after the eldest son hat- been -ati-ri.-d, in respect of his pri- mogeniture, the residue is to be divided thus : two thirds among the males, including the eldest, who now shares with the younger sons ; and only one third between all the riaughtf rs, bow numerous soever. Nor must the portion of any daughter exceed that of the youngest son ; so (bat, if in a family, consisting of ten children, there should be five or rix daughters, the respective portion of each daughter would, probably, be a mere trifle. 347 for his birth right, together with a tenth part of the neat rents.* According to the ancient custom of Normavdi/ 9 the inheritors, in choosing, arc to consult the con- venience of each other ; and are not to dismember or divide any part, unless the partition cannot otherwise be equally arranged. None of the younger inheritors, nor their represent. atives, can raise any pretension to a division, should the claim have remained unnoticed more than forty years. In each parish, six appraisers are to be appointed, at the parish meeting : their business is to value the lands that are to be divided. A prisoner for debt is not, during his confinement, to deteriorate, or cause to be deteriorated, any of his inheritances. A person enjoying an estate, uninterruptedly, du- ling the term of forty years, or more, cannot be dis- turbed, or molested, except in respect of servitude, t Tbii Aon not seem consistent with the general intention, of gi- ving a considerable preference to the eldest son ; Ixrau-e, should there not be a liouv on the estate, the said son is not to possess any Bore land, as bib hirth right, than if there should be one in either of the town-, where, it may be presumed, that a house must be moie valuable than one in the country. f This term alludes to certain services, due to the seigneurs of the respective fiefi* from which inconvenience, however, deliverance may be obtained, by a non- requisition of service, during the above space of time. No person is to build a house, except in the towns of St. Helier, and St. Aubin, on an estate of four vergees, or less, except on land free from- all rents ; nor can any rents be in future borrowed on it ; nor can it be sold otherwise than for money. All persons may in future plant two tcrgees, of ara- ble tend, with apple trees, for each household ; and four additional apple trees, but not more, for every xer* gee of arable ground : but these restrictions do not ex- tend to the valleys, or to lands that cannot be plough- ed. Persons who may now, or who shall hereafter, have more than the above proportions planted, arc to reduce them to the foi egoing adjustment. All tall trees on the south side of another person's estate, are to be lopped, or felled, within three years : and none are in future to be planted, unless as under- wood : all branches overhanging the ground of ano- ther person, to be lopped off. It is a singular circumstance, that in the code of 1771, from which we have translated many particu- lars respecting the laws, no mention is made of the portion due to widows : this is the more extraordi- nary, because though a man may, during his life time, 249 alienate any part of his fortune, whether real or personal, yet his widow, who in all legal documents retains her maiden name, and even her appellation of Demoiselle, &c., has a life interest in one third of every part of all landed estates, or rents, of which her husband wasr possessed on the day of marriage, or of which he afterwards became possessed, by inheri- tance, in direct succession. The other two thirds of which he may have died possessed, fall to his heirs at law : this disposition he cannot, in any respect, alter. With regard to personal property, a man may, if he please, devise one third to whom he will ; his widow will have a right to another third ; and the heirs at law to the remaining third. The personal estate, thus divided, becomes the absolute property of the parties to whom the portions fall. It will readily be perceived how much these re- gulations, respecting successions, are likely to create family dissentions. A guardian has not the power of selling the inhe- ritance of his ward, so as to give a secure title to a purchaser, should the estate belong to a minor or to minors : such children, when they attain the age of twenty years, may, within a year and a day, reclaim it, on repaying the purchase money, together with 250 tfte amount expended for any additional buildings. Should any person make a bad use of his property, the heirs at law may, on applying to the court, and showing sufficient cause, have a guardian appointed ; in which case the proprietor loses all power over hit efiects ; and is considered in this, and some other res- pects, as in England a man would be, against whom a statute of lunacy should be issued. The laws respecting rents are no less intricate, and productive of law suits, than those that relate to succession. Mr. Falle says : " a rent charge is not a thing un- " known in England,' but here those rents are differ " ently constituted, being made payable in corn, or " things of the like nature. Such a rent may, ori- Samares, Trin* ity, and Meleches. We shall present our readers with a translation from the extent of Edward the third, A. D. 1331, respecting two of them, as nearly specimens of all. (f St. OUCH'S Parish. Reynold de Carteret holds, " in the said parish, the manor of St. Ouen, with its " appertenances, by homage, suit of court,* and re- " lief ;t the value of which relief, when the case " occurs, is nine Imres tournois; and for services, " that he is bound to serve our lord the king, in time t rat inn formed by this singular aggregate, and tbe " parts composing it, exhibited, by tbe circumstances of their posi- " tion, striking proofs of the power of an inundation ; having drag- " ged along with it all the component parts of the mixture, &c." Dr. E. D. CLARKE'S Travttt, vl. I. MM 268 The interiour of the pebbles is generally of an un- natural colour, and some have externally a white crust like that of flints. They are not in strata, as if deposited at various times, or as if composed of sub- stances differing in density ; but form one compact aggregate. As this combination spreads inland, it becomes less pebbly, and the petrified gluten or mu- cus more friable, until, by degrees, the whole dis- appears, and is lost in other terrene commixtures. Dr. Mac Culloch says, that no metallic traces, ex- cept of iron, and lately of manganese, have ever been observed in Jersey ; and that the schistus, though spread wide over the island, has not hitherto, afforded any slate. Ochres of various hues, particularly those of a reddish cast, are found in many places ; and near Rosel the author observed some specimens of fine tripoly. That there is not any appearance of lime has been noticed by every one ; and yet at a spot called Eng- lish harbour, within the pier, at St. JHelier's, are many flints both black and grey.* This fossil is fre- quently present in gravel, and perhaps always in * These flints are not fonnd in any other place, nor even in any other part of the harbour : this seems to prove that they are, from time to time, washed in by the sea, from some neighbouring sub-ma- rine situation. 269 chalk ; yet neither of these substances is to be found in Jersey; the only substitute for the former being particles of sienite, in a disintegrated state, from the decomposition of its feldspar : but though pure lime does not seem to hold a place in the geological depart- ment of Jersey, the author has found it combined with other substances. It exists in strata, blended with clay or alumine, and also with silex. He has likewise found veins of gypsum . Though no true granite has been observed in the island, yet mica- ceous particles abound in some places. The author has in his possession a large rounded stone, almost wholly composed of quartz and mica ; and in which the latter substance may be said even to predominate ; he found it on the beach, at St. Heller's, so that its origin cannot be ascertained. On a level with the sea, but deeply buried under high cliffs, that impend over the harbour at St. II e- lier's, are large masses of rounded rock, the smooth surfaces of which sufficiently indicate the manner in which they assumed their present shape. The foregoing short sketch of the mineralogy of Jersey, might have sufficed for a limited account of the island. The author has it however in his power to enter more in detail on that interesting subject. He has been favoured with some particulars from 270 Charles Konig, esq., of the British Museum, who visited Jersey a few years since. That gentleman is desirous that his remarks may appear more as if de- rived from colloquial conversation, than from episto- lary information. He observes, that his stay in the island was short, which prevented him from bestow- ing any great degree of attention on the subject. It is a matter of regret that gentlemen, so well qualified for the purpose, as Dr. Mac Culloch, and Mr. Konig, could not have devoted more time to the pur* suit in this island, and given a complete history of the Jersey mineralogy. The author trusts, however, though Mr. Konig is pleased to term his remarks desultory observations, that the public will appreciate their merits in a much higher degree. The following are the particulars communicated by Mr. Konig: " The rocks of which the island is composed ap- l( pear chiefly to belong to the trap and porphyry " formations of Werner. Granite, strictly speak- *' ing, is not observed here, but a rock nearly related " to it, viz, sienite, is very prevalent in the island, " and found in various states of freshness. In all " places where it is seen, it shows a tendency to sub- u division. The variety which approaches nearest 271 " to real granite, strictly speaking, is that quarried at " Mont Madoy which also naturally separates into " distinct masses ; but these blocks are of much " larger dimensions than those of the other varieties. " They are indiscriminately angular, and of a more " or less prismatic form: their surface is of a deeper " color, which is generally seen to penetrate two or t( three inches deep into the interior. This Mont- c< Mado rock, of which ample use has been made for " architectural purposes, is as hard as any granite : *' it is of a close and rather small grain ; the propor " tion of its feldspar, which is of a pale red color, far (( exceeds that of the quartz and hornblende, the lat- u ter of which is not seen in quantity in any of the " varieties that occur here. Another variety of this " stone, equally hard and compact, is quarried at the " western side of St. Brelade's bay, beyond the " church : it separates more than the other into ** pieces of various shape and size, some of them very " small and wedge-shaped. Sometimes the blocks u appear perfectly white on the rifts, in consequence " of the disintegration of the feldspar. The sienite " of Plemont is of a close grain, but separable into " small masses, and therefore not so useful as that of " Mont Mado. " A beautiful variety of granite-like sienite is that 272 ie seen in various parts of the coast, especially in St. " Aubhfs bay, towards Noirmont point, in which " the feldspar, which constitutes by far the greater " part of the mass, is of a deep flesh and brick red " color, with large grains of white quartz, which is " sometimes found crystallized in it, and not nnfre- " quently mixed with much massive thallite or epi- " dote, which here and there forms small veins. It " juts out in huge masses, and is in some places over- " laid by thick beds of loam, with imbedded blocks " and rolled pieces of the same rock, of which also " innumerable rounded fragments are scattered about " on the shore. In the bay of St. Brelade it occurs " with veins of common quartz, which is sometimes " indistinctly crystallized. In this bay stands a small c< insulated rock of the same large-grained sienite, in <' which may be seen enclosed a moveable rounded tf piece of the same mass, which partly projects from " the hollow in which it is lodged. The thallite oc- " curs also in considerable masses in the sienitic rocks " that stand out at that part of St. Aubiri's bay where " the barracks are, where likewise considerable veins " of brick-red feldspar are seen in it. " The varieties of sienite appear in some parts to c. Tram*., ?!. i. 318 To defend the important post of Grecc dc Lecq, there is a battery HJleur d'eerw, with several flanking guns on different elevated points. Of late years, some very neat barracks, for the accommodation of two hundred and fifty men, have been erected. Irregular as the surface of the coast generally is, in this quarter of the island, a few level spots are inter- spersed. The soil of these appears to be hungry, and is applied to the feeding of some straggling sheep and goats, or to the growth, (one cannot with pro- priety say culture,) of fern and gorse ; yet, here and there, may be observed a few strips of tolerable corn, that clearly evince the ground to be susceptible of greater improvement. The little enclosures are not, as in England, ap- plied each to a particular species of grain, or herb- age ; but even in very small fields, there may be seen growing, at the same time, grass, wheat, barley, par- sneps, &c, &c. This has introduced generally, and indeed necessarily, throughout Jersey, the custom of tethering horses and cows ; and also that of fettering sheep and goats, by linking together the fore and hind leg of the same side. The last mode prevents was found, on the following morning, in a deplorable condition : the Tital lamp was not quite extinguished, but the injuries he had re- ceived baffled every effort to relume it. 319 them from leaping over the low stone walls, that are common in the northern quarter of Jersey , or break- ing through the hedges ; but in precipitous places, it sometimes occasions fatal accidents : even horses that are turned into the lanes to graze, are restrained in both these ways ; and from the latter distressing mode they must acquire an awkward and unnatural habit of walking : horned cattle frequently fare still worse; when pastured in orchards, their heads are linked to their fore legs, to prevent them from tearing off or eating the branches. From the unequal sur- face of the island, and from their being worked too young, many horses have broken knees, and are in- jured in their wind. We cannot quit Greve de Lecq without noticing a remarkable cave there. Many excavations, in different parts of the globe, are supposed by geologists to have been the effects of violent convulsions of the earth ; and it is admitted that different metallic veins have filled up some of the smaller fissures or rifts: but, in Jersey, the caverns arc principally, if not wholly, by the sea side, and their apertures are generally so low that the tide flows into them. We have already remarked, that the sea, rising to a prodigious height, acts with great violence on the whole northern coast, making continually breaches in 320 the locks, which, from the decomposition of their feldspar, and perhaps also from the atmospherical ef- fects on their argillaceous cement, are in a very dete- riorated state. These circumstances combined af- ford the most probable origin for the caves in Jersey; though from the rugged state of the rocks on the northern side, and from the varied and sometimes ab- rupt declination of the seams, terrene concussions may likewise have contributed. The most remarkable caverns are at Gre-ce de Lecq^ Plemont, and La Moye ; the first of which is little known, and the last still less so. Few strangers make excursions in Jersey ^ without visiting the caves ; and the far greater number are directed to go at once to Plemont, without even hearing that, at GrevedeLecq, is a cavern much more interesting than any other in the island. We have already noticed a perforated one ; but that which is particularly worthy of atten- tion, lies under a hill that shelves rapidly on the western side of the bay, until it terminates abruptly in a precipice. An approach to it along the shore is prevented by a ledge of broken rocks ; but by fol- lowing the sinuosities of a narrow track, that runs along the hill, by the very edge of the precipice, a rough path descends to the spot. This chasm is in- undated as the tide rises, but becomes dry at half 321 ebb. The month is an irregular opening-, nearly twenty feet in height, but much narrower in width. The cavern rises from the entrance to a considerable degree of elevation, and penetrates horizontally to the depth of fifty or sixty feet. When the solar rays gleam into this obscure excavation, and glitter on the sandy floor, the dark tints of the rugged sidef and roof become softened by the reflected light. Looking outwards from the extreme depth, when the cavern is thus half illumined, it instantly conveys the idea of a church, with a lofty vaulted roof.* Masses of rock project indeed on each side, but they do not injure the perspective. The most interesting time for viewing this sublime object, is when the tide has risen, so as to admit of entering it in a boat. Solemn music, on such an occasion, must produce a fine effect : it would slowly vibrate through the deep recess ; and the sounds, rendered full, and yet soften- ed, by the water, would make every nerve trill with the most delightful sensations; while the "sweet " queen of parley ,"t reverberating each note, would " give resounding grace" to the heavenly " harmo- " nies" such music must produce. From Gre-ce de Lecq the road ascends, along a well* shaded path : it then becomes level, and passes See the viw*. t Echo. See Miltoi. 322 between two ancient mansions, named Vinchelez de haul, and Vinchelez de bas, exactly opposite to each other. The back part of the former edifice has a ve- nerable aspect, and displays all the feudal characters of a court yard, surrounded with high walls, and a machicolated gateway to defend the entrance^ with its turret and bell. The De Carteret arms are placed over the portal. Vinchelez de bos has been in part modernised ; but a wall, forming an interiour defence, has been per- mitted to remain. At the gateway of this barrier are two whale bones, taken from a fish of that species which, many years since, was cast on the neighbour- ing shore : they are naturally considered, as almost a unique curiosity of the kind, in so southern a latitude. Soon after quitting Vinchelez, a narrow and flexu- ous turning on the right, leads through enclosures, entirely divested of embrowning shade, separated by rough stone walls, and not manifesting any great de- gree of fertility. The tortuous path leads to Pie- mont, a high rugged cape, jutting further into the sea than the other headlands on the northern coast, and like them characterized by acute ledges of sienite. On the elevated ground, before we descend to Plemont, there is all the appearance of a barrow, 323 which seems to have been opened : most probably however it is a natural mound. On the common in this quarter, some large stones, or perhaps projections of rock, are supposed to be vestiges of a Poquclaye, covered over with earth, like that which was discovered on the town hill. It would not be difficult to ascertain the truth. The promontory of Plemont is so deeply intersect- ed on each side, as to be joined to the main land by a very narrow isthmus : this has been cut down to a considerable depth, so that it is, though im- properly, termed an island. Over the dep fosse is a draw bridge, and close to it is placed a guard house, with a small military detachment, to prevent any hostile access. The rock, on one side of the draw bridge, drops in nearly a perpendicular line to the sea : another, which is at least two hundred feet in height, is abso- lutely vertical ; has a surface equally level as an arti- ficial wall, and glows with a splendid variety of beautiful tint*, when reflecting the brightness of a clear morning sun. Thia place has long been celebrated for its caves,* which are marine excavations in the lower part of a rocky bill : they arc chiefly on the western side of a SC9 the views* TT 324 small inlet, of which the eastern point is formed by the promontory of Plemont. The usual descent to those caverns is on this side : the declivity is safe though steep : that from the hill which covers them is seldom used, and is said to be dangerous. The stories told in the neighbourhood, respecting the depth of these caves, are very marvellous, and obtain too ready and too general a belief. Being at a distance from the town, rather difficult of access, and usually teeming with humidity, from water oozing through the super incumbent rock, and from the daily influx of the sea, they are seldom explored. A slight survey satisfies common curiosity, and of course terminates the search. Few of the openings pierce far into the cliffs : one alone may perhaps pe- netrate to nearly four hundred feet. A little rill, which has been dignified with the appellation of cascade, gurgles down the hill, and at last falls over the mouth of a shallow excavation, from the height of about thirty feet. The volume of water that forms this stream must, necessarily, after violent rains, be increased, but not in any degree equal to what is re- ported.* All the caves should be reconnoitred by water, and not by land. With a boat from Greve de Lec^ it See the ?iews. 325 would be easy to land close to every opening in the cliffs ; it would avoid the scrambling over masses of rock, or winding along narrow paths, that skirt the edges of precipices ; and thus the caves might be viewed before the receding tide would admit of pro- ceeding to them by land. Great caution would however be necessary : a good offing must be pre- served in doubling any of the sharp ledges ; as, in general, strong currents and broken water are preva- lent near those angles, especially towards low ebb, when many sunken rocks become dangerous, that arc well covered when the tide rises. From Plemont we quickly reach another promon- tory, which from its bluff form has acquired the name of Gros-nez. In the way to it we pass a small cove, that possesses a fine sandy beach ; but to this inlet it is very difficult, if not dangerous, to descend . Gros-ncz constitutes the north-western boundary of Jersey, and like other parts of the northern line, its coast, notwithstanding a bluff appearance, is bris- tled with angular points. No other way leads down the cliffs in this quarter, than those airy meandering and doubtful paths, made by the foot of a few strag- gling sheep, that here and there crop the scanty herbage; and the elevation of those cliffs, is such, that 326 " The murmuring surge, " That on the jagged points thus idly chafes, " Cannot be heard so high." SHAKESPEARE. To those who have sufficient courage to descend, the aspect of the towering eminences is terrifyingly grand and awful. Masses of grey rock, spotted with hoary mosses, protrude in wild magnificence, and seem ready to overwhelm the daring foot that pro- fanes their sacred recesses. The spiry grass, that finds, in shelving spots, a slender hold, serves just to cast a less dusky tint over the venerable pile. Scarcely can the astonished eye presume to look up : it trembles at having ventured down so far, and shrinks with horror from the beetling acclivity, which seems to preclude every attempt to reascend, and from the chaos of broken rocks still below. Here no trifling object diverts the mind: all is great: all is strikingly sublime. The precipitous cliff, in solemn stillness, frowning above, and casting a gloomy shade around. The hoarse waves of an expanded ocean, robed in its darkest blue, roaring below, and exciting a tremulous motion in the solid rock. Destruction threatens in various forms and on every side.* * See the views. 327 Who can survey the craggy masses of misshapen rocks, that, in every quarter of the globe, present their shivered forms to view, without being instantly impressed with an evident proof of the cause ! They clearly evince some dreadful convulsion of nature ; some great subterraneous explosion, whereby the solid granite, and the more durable limestone, were rent asunder by tremendous shocks, and their torn fragments hurled, with gigantic force, into the darkened air ; or, like the mountains of Ossa and Olympus y in Grecian mythology, piled one on an- other ! W ho can view these shattered wrecks of a more magnificent system, without casting a re- trospective glance on that terrible day, when "all " the fountains of the great deep were broken up, " and the windows of heaven opened"! And who that seriously and religiously contemplates those aw* ful ruins, but must also look forward to a future time of similar universal concussion ! A catastrophe equally horrible, though effected by different means ; when, instead of a watery deluge, " all the fountains *' of the great deep" shall vomit forth torrents of liquid fire, " and the windows of heaven" pour down streams of lurid flame : when " the heavens shall " pass away with a great noise, and the elements " shall melt with fervent heat": when " the earth 328 te also, and the works that are therein, shall be burn- ed up."! The whole peninsula, of which Gros-nez forms a part, is a rock of reddish sienite, on which time and hurricanes hare thrown a covering of sand : this, to- gether with decayed vegetable matter, and disinte- grated rocky particles, has formed a soil, over the arid surface of which the eye seeks in vain to find a rest* ing place, except in the broad isthmus, that connects the peninsula with the other parts of St. Ouen's pa- rish. On that spot is a hamlet, in which are some decent houses, and several cottages very neatly thatched. This place is also prettily shaded with trees. The surface of the whole N. W. corner seems to- lerably even ; yet this is a deceptive appearance : it is really very rugged and broken ; but the inequali- ties have been levelled by high winds, that have in part smoothed the exterior covering. Jutting out in many places, and thus disclosing the subterrene un- evenness, are large blocks of sienite, in which are fre- quently imbedded lumps of impure hornstein. Si- milar blended masses appear in other parts of the western district. At the extremity of the promontory are some tri- fling ruins, that bear the pompous name of Gros-nex 329 castle. A small gateway, and two projecting angles,* constitute the remains of a portal. The walls of this place enclosed a very circumscribed area; and they are now so nearly effaced, that scarcely a vestige marks their former existence. The origin of this desolate enclosure is unknown, and even its pristine destination uncertain. Some have conceived it to have been a monastic foundation; others a defensive post : it seems too limited in extent for either of these purposes. t A signal post is erect, ed on a conspicuous part in this quarter ; and an un- interrupted view of all the neighbouring islands skirts the northern horizon. On the western side of the peninsula, a bold and lofty headland seems to bound the rot ky coast : but, looking down from this eminence, there is seen a ver- dant and nearly level plat, projecting further out, and at high tides not greatly elevated above the wa* ter. Advancing still beyond this into the sx-a, and only connected with the main land by the green plain below, rises suddenly a most singular colossal rock. It is an irregular pillar, more than a hundred feet in height, and tapering but little from its broad cruggjr See the view*. f It is very probable that a strict search among old family record* Blight throw foiue light on this subject. 330 basis. This natural tower is very appositely named Le Pinacle. On quitting Gros-nez the rocky cliffs begin to lose their aspiring elevation ; and this progressive reduc- tion in height gives the vertical section of Jersey that form of an inclined plane, for which it has long been remarked.* The last of the rugged eminences, in this district, is called L?Etac.\ It is a large irregular mass, jutting out from the shore, and becoming from its position the northern boundary of a long but de- pressed curve, named St. Ouerfs bay. This inlet sweeps from UEtac to the southward of La Rocco 9 a tower erected on a rock, about half a mile below high-water mark, though dry as the tide recedes. It is however at times, nearly inaccessible for several weeks, from the violent surf that breaks over the rough surface of low rocks, and that roars along the whole extent of this too frequently dangerous coast. During a strong westerly gale, the mountainous The rocks rise again round the coast of St. Brelade's parish, though they do not attain the same elevation as those on the northern shore. i A few years since a cutter, sailing to Guernsey, was, owing to the currents, driven on one of the many sunken rocks, nearly off Z/Eiac, and wrecked. On this unfortunate occasion, eight person* perished. The commander of the vessel supported himself on a plank, until he was taken up by a boat. The melancholy catastrophe happened in full view of his own bouse. 331 tvaves of the Atlantic pour, with unobstructed fury, into this broad open bay; and were it not for flat rocks, that as it were pave the lower part of the beach, and thus secure the island foundation in this quarter, more land would be added to that al- ready ingulfed by the ocean. Over Ihat rough pave- ment the surge rolls immense volumes of sand : these impelled, in different directions, by varying winds, produce banks that are continually shifting their si- tuation; while the lighter and drier particles are whirled in eddying clouds over the main land, which is the point exposed to the most prevalent wind. In one part, and in only one, is a beautiful beach, free from the generally rugged character of this boisterous shore. Part, if not the whole, of this extensive bay, was once a fertile valley, in which grew a forest of atattty oaks. Not possessing, like the northern coast, a bar- rier of lofty rocks, a sudden irruption of the sea* in- undated the vale, or a portion of it, A breach once This in all probability happened about the end of the fifteenth century, or the beginning of the rixteemh ; for a* Mr. Falle quote*, from a M. S., that it was the efcct of divine vengeance, in COMB* quence of the inhabitants having, in A. D. 1495, plundered son* Spanish vessels, that were wrecked on the coast, the ingulfmrot mart have taken place toon after that event, or it could not k>e been tP- aidered at a judgmcit. (See SOIL and FKKIIUTT.) TO 332 effected, it soon became wider : by degrees, the waves stripped off the rich soil, and laid its sylvan honours prostrate. These were, doubtless, in the first in- stance, the effects of a tremendous storm from the westward, to which point of the compass the whole bay is completely exposed; and most probably a succession of wintry gales completed the devastation. The former existence of a wood is sufficiently evident. After violent storms, the flat rocks are frequently bared : at these times, many trunks of trees are dis- covered, chiefly near low-water mark. Those stumps still cling to the rocks by their roots that pierce the clefts. The length ef one trunk was when found fif- teen feet in the main stem, and it measured from nine to ten feet in girt: it then spread itself into two branches, each of nearly the same length and sub- stance as the stem itself. The remains of stone build- ings are also sometimes disclosed. There is likewise a bed of peat in the bay ; but over it the waves fre- quently deposit a covering of sand : it is therefore only occasionally visible. About the centre of the bay, and close to the beach, are some wooden barracks. Near them is a sheet of fresh water, being a portion of large open meadows, overflowed by the junction of several rivu* lets ; thus forming a shallow lake, in which however there is good fishing. Part of the lake being reedy* affords shelter, during the "winter season, to a few wild ducks, and other aquatic birds. In one of the meadows near the lake are three large blocks of stone, doubtless the remains of a Cel- tic monument : two of them are erect ; the other block lies on the ground, and is, apparently, only a part of what it originally was. The end supposed to have been broken off exhibits the appearance of a recent fracture. The ground about the barracks and the lake is good pasture land, and there are farms even on the verge of that desolated part of the country called Les Quenncus. Approaching this desert vintaine, tiic soil becomes, by a very rapid degradation, a mere as- semblage of sand hills, rising and sinking alternately, With scarroly n shnrlow of vegetation.* In this quarter of the island, and indeed the same may be said of other districts, they who make plea- surable excursions, find it difficult to procure refresh- ment. A very few mean public houses are ihiiiljr scattered about; but even these solitary caravausa- lies, like those in the eastern deserts, afford little en- See SOIL and FCXTILITT. 334? tertainment for either man or horse. Gay's carrier, who, " every night and morn, " Would see his horses eat their corn", must have foregone the " pleasure 1 ' of hearing " the ce grinding teeth", had he visited the island. A good tourist is seldom very solicitous about him- self : he can, previously to setting out, fill a pocket with sandwiches ; or, if not, he will be satisfied with any fare during the day ; but as " a merciful man is sula: from that station, the islands of Guernsey ^ Al- dfrneyj Scrcq, Jethon, and Iferm, appear as if on the same line ; and when a silvery mist softens theit harsh exterior, they compose a pleasing chain to bind the marine horizon. The general character of the soil on this coast is sandy, and, apparently, rather infertile : being verj open, it is exposed to the westerly hurricanes, that frequently blow with great violence ; yet a little in land the country is well wooded, and appears to pos sess great fecundity. At a short distance from the signal post, the sea has undermined the rocky ground, and scooped out a deep cavern,* of very difficult access by land, though it is left dry as the tide goes down. la one place, the covering of this cave has fallen in, leaving a large and frightful chasm, full a hundred feet in depth, but by which it is impossible to descend* The light thus thrown in gives a singular appearance to the cavern. \V ith the flood, the tide rises above the top of the entrance. This excavation is little known, except in its own neighbourhood. Near the signal station, and in several other places, tuge wcky protuberances, some single, others See tbe vie vi. 338 grouped with more of the same character, rise high above the surface. It is not improbable that some of these may be the remains of Druidical structures ; but as in general they appear like pieces of rock, half buried in the ground, and as the respective pro- prietors occasionally quarry them for building, it is now nearly impossible to ascribe to them any other than a natural origin. There is however in a field, about a quarter of a mile N. W. of the signal sta- tion, and close to the garden of a farm house, a sin- gle upright stone, of large grained sienite, about twelve feet in height, and fifteen in circumference : near it are several more stones, of the same quality and dimensions ; some forming part of a wall, others lying flat : these blocks may therefore be considered as an artificial assemblage, and may justly claim a Celtic origin. On the high ground to the N. E. of these frag- ments, and on the border of Les Quenvais y is another tall upright stone, very conspicuously situated. It is part of a rock that rose above the surface, and that has been quarried away, so as to leave a large and solitary rude pillar: possibly this may also be of Druidical origin, notwithstanding it is an integral part of the rock cm which it appears to be placed ; 339 round it are several flat masses that seem to compose a kind of oval. In an enclosure, adjoining the signal station, are three more stones that form a sort of triangle. They are about four feet in height : these, like the upright stones just described,, are grouped with other blocks, apparently half covered with the soil. From the apparent infecundity of this and the north- ern coast, which must necessarily evince a paucity of inhabitants, and from the circumscribed limits of the island itself, it seems very reasonable to infer, that there could not have been many Pagan temples in Jersey , notwithstanding the assertion of different au- thors on this subject, but who, in fact, have all copied from one and the same original. Doubtless several Celtic structures were erected in the island ; but probably not so many as some persons have sup- posed. It appears more rational to conclude that many of those equivocal assemblages, perhaps the greater number, are natural exuberances, partaking of the general rugged character of all the rocks in Jersey ; and that they were thrown into their present problematical shapes by those convulsions that so evi- dently operated on the island. Could the sandy soil that has filled up the chasms, and, in different places, formed a level surface over the shattered frame of 340 Jersey ) be removed, the veil of obscurity would be removed likewise. Antiquarians however, eager after discoveries, are apt to suffer enthusiasm to supersede their judgment, or rather to prevent the operation of its discriminating power, and thus to indulge credu- lity in forming hypothetical conjectures. Approaching St. Brdade's church from La Moye y the road winds round denuded rocky cliffs, that mark the entrance of St. Brelade's bay. That road or path is only a few feet in width, and runs along the edge of a precipice that is from forty to fifty feet above the level of the water, while the cliffs tower above : inland, however, is a sloping valley, the upper part of which displays several farms, very beautifully situated, and protected from the winds by interposing and flourishing groves. St. Brelade's church, the most ancient in the island,* bears little resemblance to a parochial religious edi- fice, t It was probably erected when either the in- habitants were much circumscribed in their means, or when the " holy Vandals" that fleeced them to enrich the Norman abbeys, opened a lingering and sparing hand. Though there is reason to believe that all the churches in Jersey affected the crucial form, yet in this structure, the assimilation to its archetype is now * It was consecrated May 27tb, A, D. 11 H. t See the views. 341 very indistinct. The whole building is small, very plain, both internally and externally : it has neither spire nor tower ; but over the nave it is roofed like a house. There is indeed a round turret, that rises from the ground, but which is built in a nook, and ascends only to a small belfry. It has an altar at the eastern end, and likewise pillars and communicating arches, similar to those in the other churches. The legendary tradition respecting this edifice is, that it was intended to be erected on the eastern side of the bay ; but that whenever any materials were collected for the purpose, on the proposed spot, fai- ries carried them away, together with the workmen's utensils, to the place where the church now stands : this being done repeatedly, the superstitious and ig- norant people, conceived, that it was a miraculous in- terposition, to point out the divinely selected site.* As Christian bigots, it would have been more natural to expect that an angel, or, at any rate, the tutelary saint, should have been employed on this momentous occasion. It is however conjectured, that the rector or priest, who had the spiritual superintendence of the parish, was, directly or indirectly, the invisible agent, who not finding the intended situation convenient to * The same traditionary story is told respecting some of the other churches. 342 himself, employed persons in his interest to execute the supposed celestial mandate. However absurd the former of these traditions may be, the latter affords another circumstance in favour of the author's opinion, that the chapels were erected before the churches,* as it seems to prove that the island was even then divided into parishes, and of course had places for the celebration of divine service. In the cemetery of St. Breladt's church, and with- in a few feet of it, stands one of the ancient chapels, to which we have just alluded, and of which so few now remain : it was called La chapelle C-s pecheurs, and its proximity to the church strongly proves its anterior ity.i This chapel is supposed to have taken its name from the number of fishermen residing in the neigh- bourhood, fish constituting the principal traffic of its inhabitants. The rectors, if then so called, of all the parishes in Jersey enjoyed at that time a tithe of fish : this is still their right ; but from the difficulties and altercations an enforcement would occasion, it is . no longer claimed. Another account of the chapel is, that it was frequently the resort of Norman fisher- * See ANTIQUITIES. + Perhaps we should not err in ascribing the building of these cha- pels, or at least of several, to St, Samson, Si. Magloire, and Praetex- Utus, in the sixth century. 343 men, who had a priest residing near it to perform the ministerial offices ; one either selected by themselves, or delegated from the see of Coutances, and -who might possibly receive his emoluments, wholly or partly, in fish caught by the strangers, or from the produce of what they sold to the natives in the vi- cinity, or bartered with them : the former of these traditions seems to be the most probable account. The interiour of the chapel has been ornamented with a variety of figures, displaying different scenes from the New Testament. These figures are about four feet in height, and painted in colours on the plastered walls ; but time, accident, and perhaps wantonness, have nearly effaced them. On the right is still distinguishable an angel, having in one hand a scroll, on which is an inscription in Gothic charac- ters. He holds this towards a female, whose hands are uplifted in the attitude of praying : behind her, on a curvated pole, is a reading desk, with a book open, in which are some nearly illegible letters. We may venture to suppose this to represent the annunci- ation. On the left-hand wall is a man, crowned, with an antique sword in his right hand : from his mouth issues a scroll, on which is inscribed, fjffcD It fO, His garments are of an olive colour, and over them is a scarlet robe flowing to the ground. On. a lower part of the same "wall is Jesus Christ, bear- ing his cross, depicted with yellowish hair, and his head surrounded with a glory. Over, the entrance, which is opposite to the west, is the figure of a man, robed, with a number of naked persons round him; some at full length, others just emerging from the ground. This is doubtless a representation of the general resurrection. The figures of this composition are smaller than those on the side walls. All are to- lerably well proportioned; bul, like many other an- cient religious portraits, there is little expression in the features of those personages. The figures are mere sketches ; but the colours appear to be well pre- served. The chapel is now employed as an armory for the parochial artillery, so that the whole of those antique designs cannot be seen, unless when the guns &c. are drawn out ; and even then, the greater part of the figures being nearly effaced, it is difficult to identify the occurrences to which the paintings refer. "W hether they may be coeval with the chapel itself or not, it appears evident that they existed before the church. Even supposing the chapel not to have been immediately abandoned, after the more spacious edifice was built, still it is very highly improbable, that pains should have been taken to decorate a place of worship, that was become in a great degree useless, 345 and especially when the new structure was permitted to remain so uiioriKimcnted. It is hazarding very lit- tle to assert, that it must be at least a thousand years since the pointings were" executed. St. Breladt's bay* is a semicircular basin, the re- gular contour of which is broken, on its eastern side, by a projecting mass of rocks, t and by which a se- cond curve is made, forming a smaller bay. The A\hole is bounded on the land side by high rocky hills : those on the northern and eastern sides are full of vertical fissures, with, occasionally, others that are horizontal, so that they have something of a basaltic appearance, though they are entirely composed of sienite, in a state of extreme disintegration. These hoary cliffs are partially covered with fern, gorse, and a scanty herbage. The beach of the larger bay is a fine whitish sand, remarkably firm and smooth, and the shore declines very gradually. Being com- pletely sheltered on three sides, this bay would make an excellent place for sea balhing. The smaller inlet has also next the sea a beach of sand, but its exterior boundary is skirted with loose pebbles. This differ- ence, on the same beach, arises from the following cause : the rocks on the western side are in general compact, and very finely grained j they are therefore * See the views. t See tic fiew. 346 of less ancient formation than those on the eastern side, the granulation of which is extremely coarse and friable. With a violent wind from the S. W., the waves break with great fury against the pile that separates the two bays, detaches lumps of the mouldering rock, breaks them into smaller pieces, and by the force of continual attrition, rolls them into pebbles of various shapes and sizes. These rounded stones now form a kind of sea wall, and protect a sanely valley, into which probably the tide at one time flowed. The sandy part of the beach sparkles with minute specks of feldspar, from the pulverized rocks. The valley is a steril spot, scantily strewed over with meagre blades of grass ; yet a species of ground rose creeps over the sandy surface. The flower resembles that of the common dog rose, and is delightfully fragrant.* Over one of the clefts in the rocks a huge fragment has fallen, and formed a sin- gular but inaccessible bridge. On the eastern point of St. Brelade's bay the sie- nite becomes again more finely grained and compact, so as to admit of being quarried into large blocks. The acclivity of this point from the bay is too steep to be ascended on horseback,t though^ more inland, * The same odoriferous rose is found on the northern part of 7*J Qucnvais ; it seems to affect a sandy infertile soil* i See the views. 347 there is a tolerable road which crosses the cliff. The eminences, in different parts of St. Breladt's bay, are veined with ochres of various colours, generally of a reddish hue. Winding with the coast, from the eastern point, we arrive at a small inlet, called Porlelet :* in this cove rises a rock, on which is erected a low circular fort, having a piece of ordnance, turning on a swivel. Rounding this curve we reach Noirmont point, the extremity of which drops sharply from a considerable height, and terminates in a low rock, on which has lately been erected a martello tower. The situation is very judiciously chosen, as it guards the western en- trance of St. Aubin^s bay, and, at the same time, commands a range of coast towards St. Breladt's bay. On the heights above the point are two assemblages of very massive fragments, seemingly thrown upon each other in a confused manner : they may be class- ed with those problematical blocks, of a similar ap- pearance, that are seen in various parts of the island, and that become objects of antiquarian speculation, merely because Jersey is supposed to have abounded in relics of paganism. The vintaine of Noirmont constitutes another part of St. Brclade's parish. Like the vintaine ef La See I he viewi. YY 348 it is a peninsula, bounded by high rocky cliffs, and separating St. Brdade's bay from that of St. Aubin. The inland parts are more level than its rugged exterior, and in some places produce tolera- ble crops of corn. There seems reason to believe, that, under increased cultivation, the soil might be greatly ameliorated, and thus rendered more prolific. Some parts are marshy, even on very high ground. Gorse and fern partially cover other places. These downs are divided into separate enclosures, by low walls formed of stones, piled up without mortar, or any other cement. Scarcely is a tree to be seen. There are few houses in this district until we reach St. Atibin's. The approach to this town is along a new and very pleasant road, which, about half way up the cliffs, winds from Portdet along the sinuosities of the shore. The seams of the rocks throughout the vin- taine are variously inclined ; so much so as to be in some places nearly vertical, and in others as nearly horizontal. In the country, during the winter season, it is usual for female neighbours to assemble every evening in a room, hung round with flowers, &c. There, by the light of a lamp, they sit and knit. During the time, some tell stories, others sing, and thus amuse 349 themselves, and beguile the passing hours. They have not any fire ; but round the apartment is strew- ed a quantity of straw, on which they sit, and are thus kept warm. They pay in turn for the oil, or are rated respectively at a certain sum per head. Men occasionally frequent these nocturnal assemblies, The meeting is called La Veille, which is a corrup- tion of Le Veillte. This mode of passing the long wintry evenings is similar to that of a private family, mentioned by the ill-fated Mungo Park, in his first expedition to the interiour of Africa. St. Aubin's* is a small town, situated under the long and scarcely undulating range of cliffs, that se parate its bay from that of St. Brelade. It consists principally of one street, and though not possessing all the bustle of St. Heliei's, it shares some portion of the foreign trade. It is well sheltered from the winds that are most prevalent in the island, and com* mantis a fine and interesting view of the bay, on the border of which it is built. St. AubMs constitutes part of St. Brelade's pa. rish ; but being very distant from the church, a neat chapel has been erected by private subscriptions. That part of the bay on the edge of which this towUf is placed, bears the name of the Great road : near the * See the vicwi. 350 mouth it has always a depth of water for frigates ; though from being exposed to southerly winds, they seldom remain there during the winter : when gales from that quarter arise they occasion a heavy swell. The bay is landlocked on every other side. It con- tains a dangerous sunken rock, which was little no- ticed, until a frigate named the Diamond struck on it : from this event it has since been called the Dia- mond rock. Near St. Aubiri's, a fort,* mounting fourteen guns, has been erected on a rock, which, though dry at low water, becomes an islet as the tide rises. From the fort a strong pier projects, within which there is, at new and full moon, a depth of thirty feet ; but this is merely a tide harbour. It was built between the years 1673 and 1699. That at St. Helier's was begun immediately afterwards. The road from St. Aubin's to St. Helier's, over the sand, when the tide permits, is very pleasant : a new one has been lately constructed, which is much more elevated ; but the prospect from neither of them is greatly diversified. Instead therefore of returning at once to the goal from whence our tour commenced, we will bend to the left, and pursue an inland course. * See the views. 351 About two miles brings us to St. Peter's church ;* which, like all the other churches in Jersfy^ has un- dergone several alterations, anJ received several addi- tions. Enlargements in all these religious edifices, are irrefragable proofs that, when they were erected, the island was far less populous than in after ages. They afford also strong evidence in favour of the an- teriority of the chapels. The spire of St. Peter's church is the highest in Jersey : it was, many years since, injured by light- ning, but has been repaired. On one of the buttres- ses at the west end are engraved several blacksmiths* implements, respecting which singular tablet no in. formation can be procured. If a conjecture might be hazarded, it was placed there by some pious smith, who wished to perpetuate cither his piety or ingenuity. About a mile to the southward of the church, and almost on the verge of Les Quenvais, have recently been erected several large and handsome stone build* ings for barracks: the intention is to abandon several of the smaller depots round the coast, t and to make the new establishment a central one. The apartments for the commissioned officers, the non-commissioned See the views. i Since the peace, this has been carried into execution, and the materials have beeu sold, (September, 1815.) 352 oificers, and the privates, are all detached from each other. Tha situation is elevated ; and an extensive level parade affords space for every evolution : when completed, it will contain a thousand men. St. Peter's valley, which is not far from the church of the same name, is highly picturesque. On one side runs a narrow road,* at the foot of a rocky range, considerably elevated and sparingly supplied with verdure. The other side of the valley is bound, cd by lofty hills completely clothed with wood. These eminences, as the valley bends, present bold but well-covered projections. The flat part of the valley is divided into meadows, and is marshy ; a de- fect that undoubtedly might be remedied, as there is a sufficient though gradual descent towards the sea : in proof of this, at a mill in the valley, the stream of a rivulet turns a wheel of considerable magnitude. We must now explore a cross country way, along narrow and intricate roads, to St. Lawrence's church ; a structure which, perhaps more than any other reli- gious edifice in Jersey, shows how little attention waS paid in altering it to preserve a conformity with iti original plan. Internally this church now presents a heterogeneous mixture, of pointed and circular arch- es, of simple and ornamented reliefs.* The eastern * Now widening* 353 windows are light, and were formerly embellished with painted glass: mueh of this has been broken, and the fractured places repaired at random. It has nei- ther steeple nor tower, though it undoubtedly had ei- ther the one or the other ; nor respecting this can the oldest inhabitant furnish the slightest information. From St. Lawrence's church we pass on, through a continuation of devious ways, to that dedicated to St. Martin, in the N. E. corner of the island. This edifice has, exteriorly, many very large and promi- nent buttresses : on one of these is an ancient piece of sculpture, respecting which nothing beyond conjec- ture can be obtained. It seems to comprise two boys, supporting a kind of shield, in which is a fi- gure, apparently rising into the air : it therefore if See ANTIQUITIES. T We have already mentioned the numerous instances of longevity in Jersey : many retain their families, and even a considerable de- gree of personal str -ngth, at a very advanced age. We are apt to view old people with compassion, as sull" ring under great debility, both of body and mind ; but when- the latter remains sound, we are reminded of the following exquisitely beautiful line* of Waller, which alone are sufficient to immortalize bis name : " The soul's dark cottage, battered and decayed, " Lets in n< w light itnougli chinks that time has made. " Stronger by w aknes 1 -, wiser we become, "As we draw near to our eternal home. " Quitting the old, at once both worlds they view * Who viand upon the threshold of the new." 354 probably a monumental tablet, though supposed to be an armorial bearing, belonging to the ancient pos- sessors of the fief of Roscl. The sculptured tablet appears to be coeval with the buttress on -which it is engraved. The church was consecrated January 4, A. D. 1 1 16, and is therefore one of the most ancient in Jer- sey. Arms did not appear on sepulchral monuments prior to those dated A. D. 1144, in the Temple church in London ; and Camden says, that the here- ditary use of arms was not established till the time of Henry the third, who began to reign A. D. 1216. Originally none but the nobility possessed the right of bearing arms ; and as all the baronial privileges were tenaciously kept from infraction, it is not likely that the seigneur of a fief, in an inconsiderable island, should possess what was esteemed to be so great an honour. Even supposing the engraving in question to be arms respecting the fief, yet we believe that such bearings, termed u arms of succession", did not ap- pear much before the fourteenth century. It must however be admitted, that the tablet is placed on the buttress of an aisle that has been added to the original one: it may therefore not be so ancient by several centuries : it is much corroded. Turning towards St. Heller's, we arrive at La 355 Hougtie-bie,* a singular structure, erected on a high artificial mount, about a mile inland from the village of Gorey. The traditionary origin of this former chapel, though shrowded in the legendary mytholo- gy, contained in L,e livre noir de Coutances, is per* haps not altogether divested of truth. The account we have is, that this part of the island was infested by a monstrous serpent or dragon, the ravages of TV Inch desolated the country. t Fired with an ardent desire to destroy the dreadful hydra, a Norman Hercules, named De Hambie, or De Hambye, undertook the adventurous enterprise, and was successful : but in the terrible conflict, this heroic nobleman was appa- rently suffocated by the pestilential breath of the dy- ing monster. De Hambie was attended in this expe- dition by a supposed trusty domestic, who, percei- ving his master begin to revife, assassinated him. Returning to Normandy, with the tragical account, that his lord did not long survive the encounter, he presented to the disconsolate widow a letter, which he said was written by De Hambie just before his death, and which contained an earnest request that his lady would recompense the faithful servant by the * Sec the views. t Probably apiratical marauder, who resided in Jcriey> and iaftg* ted (be Norman coast. ZZ 356 * gift of her hand. The artifice prevailed, and the c< mourning bride" was united, at the sacred altar, to the murderer of her deceased husband : but on the very day in which this vile miscreant .was thus con- gratulating himself on the success of his villany, he was suddenly seized with a delirious paroxysm, dis- closed the horrid truth, and on recovering, was tried on his own confession, and publickly executed. De Hambie's widow, as well to testify her grateful thanksgiving to Heaven for this miraculous deliver- ance, as to establish a lasting memorial of conjugal affection towards her murdered lord, caused a large and high mound of earth to be raised on the spot where De Hambie was buried; on the summit of which mount she built a chapel, with so lofty a tower as to be visible from her own mansion at Coutance. Another account varies from the foregoing, and states, that De Hambie killed the serpent, and cut off his head : that reposing himself after the combat his servant assassinated him while he slept : that this trai- terous homicide, returning to Coutance, persuaded his mistress that De Hambie fell in the encounter, and that he himself, to avenge his master, destroyed the monster: that having married the widow, he was tormented by terrifying dreams ; so that becoming suspected, he was arrested, arid confessed the murder,, 357 That the lady of De Hambie raised the mount only ; and that, in after times, a chapel was erected on its summit.* Mabon, dean of Jersey , from A. D. 1512 to 1543, is said to have enlarged the building, made several alterations, and to have pretended that miracles were wrought there by the Virgin Mary. He is reported to have done so, with a view of imposing on the ere. dulity of those Christians who might visit the chapel, and present offerings ; and that, before his decease, he made a donation of the estate, for the public cele- bration of mass. The mount is bordered with a shrubbery, and stands in a neglected pleasure ground. It is the property of H. S. H. the duke of Bouillon, who, until lately, made it a banquet-house. The building is now in rather an unsafe state. The greater part of Jersey may be seen from the tower. A signal post is erected on the mount, as, notwithstanding its inland situation, it serves as a communicating medium. Passing from La Hougue-bie, through a variety of narrow roads, bordered with high pollards, whose overhanging branches cast an embrowning shade, and whose trunks are encircled with ivy, and other para* * At any rate it is certain that La Ilougne-bit it not one of the an* eieot chapels. x 358 sitical plants, we arrive at the fief of Dielament. The opening to its former mansion, \vhich no longei exists, is through a spacious gateway, with two side footways, all piercing a tolerably high wall. These entrances display a vista, through a long and lofty avenue of beech trees, the interlacing branches of Khich inspire the idea of an aisle in an old cathedral, and readily induce the belief that such an avenue was the prototype of the pointed Gothic arch.* It may be considered as a unique in this island, though there is a miniature of it in the road from La Hougue, the late summer residence of General Don, to the manor bouse at St. See the views. f " We vent," (at Rosetta in Egypt,) " to see a building of very " great, although of unknown, antiquity, used as a warehouse for " keeping stores. It has a vaulted stone roof, with the remarkable <* appearance of pointed arches, resulting from the intersection of *' palm branches. The trunks of the trees, whence tliese ramifiea- *' tiuns proceed, beautifully sculptured, are represented as stationed " in the four corner*, and by the sides of the vaulted chamber." Dr. D. CLARKE'S TRAVELS. " The ancient Goths used to worship the Deity in groves and. " woods ; and, perhaps, sometimes in those immense caverns, which " are occasionally formed by nature among the rocks. When, in the " progress of civilization, they left their woods and caves, and began *' to erect artificial churches, they imitated in stone, the shade, ramifi- " cations and solemnity of their woods, groves and caves. The *' doors, or arches, which led to their places of worship, they decora- " ted with a profusion of foliage and tendrils; which, with a sort of 359 Returning to St. Jfelier's, we conclude our tour, after passing St. Saviour's church.* This, like the other religious edifices, has been greatly enlarged, and has experienced various alterations, and at dif- ferent times. The original windows are narrower, in proportion to their height, than those of any other church in the island. At the eastern end of its least ancient aisle is a neat altar, railed in. The window above it contains some painted glass, probably the shattered remains of a regular design. This church has a square tower, like that at St. ffelier^s, with a projection for a staircase. The corners of the tower are of Mont-Mado stone : the other parts are com- posed of fragments, differing in size, but laid in regu- lar courses. Close to the largest southern projection, which doubtless formed one wing of the original *' negligent wildness, spread over the way. This was either intend- '* ed to represent the entrance to a cavern, about which are scattered " a profusion of shrubs, bines and wild flowers ; or the opening into " a wood, formed by the opposite trees, intertwining with each other. ," " The great west entrance into Litchfield cathedral is remarkably " beautiful ; in the middle arises the trunk of a tree, exactly delinea- " ted ; and which, by an expansion of its branches, on each side, " forms a passage through two arches ; whence the whole avenue of " columns, with their spreading ramifications towards each other, " and along the roof, forms a perspective, which stays attention by ' its grandeur and its beauty.*' See the viewi. 360 cross, lies an ancient flat stone, on which is sculptured a human effigy, nearly of the proper size : but this fi- gure is almost effaced. The cemetery is surrounded with oaks and various other trees, that greatly embel- lish the spot. The church being erected on very ele- vated ground, it commands a delightful prospect, and its tower forms a beautiful object, when viewed from several distant points. The country round is richly variegated ; for in the vicinity we see " The sheltered cote, the cultivated farm, " The never-failiug brook, the busy mill," crowned with " The decent church that" tops " the neighbouring hill". GOLDSMITH. " The waters bursting from their slimy bed, *' Bring health and melody to every vale ; " And from the breez) main, ai.d mountain's bead, w Ceres and Flora, to the sunny dale, " To fan their glowing charms, invite the fluttering gale". BEATTIE. 361 ADDITIONAL NOTES. Page 2, line 8. Referring to opinion. Mr. Berry, in his History of Guernsey, says, that the ancient name of Jersey was Bar* ta, and that of Guernsey, Caesarea. X Page 29, line 10. Referring to ST. HELIER'S. This very summer, (July, 1815) in consequence of a long drought, the water mills had not a sufficient supply of that element to be kept constantly at work. Many families in town were there- fore, more than once, obliged to substitute biscuit for bread, until relieved by the vessels from Southampton. Page 43, line 6. Referring to vraic. . The sort preferred is the yuercut marina. Page 43, line 20. To follow after "effect." Vraicking is, too fre- quently, a dangerous employment. Fatal accidents hap- pen, almost every season. The boats go occasionally to a considerable distance from the shore, and return deeply laden. A sudden squall rises : the currents are rapid: and the unwieldy bark is either overset, v In-lined beueaih lue surge, or wrecked ou some sunken rock, 362 Page 65, line 6. Referring to arch . St- Sampson's church at Guernsey was consecrated within a few days of St. Brelade's church at Jersey. It has pointed Gothic windows, and the entrance is through a similar Gothic archway. Page 66, second note. After weight add, The ancient cathedral there., dedi- cated to St. Peter, is also said to have pointed arches: the present cathedral is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and is not so ancient as the other. Page 66, line 29. At the end of the last note bnt one, after district, add: In another place he says : " The advocates for the early " origin of the pointed style will have cause enough for *' triumph, in the Cyclopean gallery at TYRYNS", (in the Peloponnesus) " exhibiting" " lancet arches, almost " as antient^as the time of Abraham." (Part 2, Sect. 2.) Page 68, last line of note. After Christian faith add, Whosoever views the ave- nue at Dielament* hi Jersey, must instantly be impress* ed with the idea of a Gothic aisle; and as the intersec- tion of circular arches gives the exact shape of ox-eye arches, one of these two forms seems more likely than any other to have been the prototype of the pointed Gothic arch. Whether, however, the pointed arch originated in two stones, inclined towards each other, and thus, by a pointed apex, exhibiting a specimen of the lancet arch, like the entrance into the largest pyramid of Djiza, i.B See the view*' 363 the hemispherical mound, as supposed by Dr. Clarke, (See his travels, part 2, sect. 2,) in interlaced avenues of trees, iu intersected circular arches, or in any other simple or combined form, is immaterial to our present purpose : we have only been solicitous to show that the pointed Gothic arch was well known in Jersey, at a much Earlier period than is generally assigned to the appearance of that style in Europe ; and thereby to prove the high antiquity of the Jersey chapels. Page 73, line 11. Note referring to inheritances. A large temporary accession was made to both the external and internal trade of Jersey, during the late war; but this arose from adventitious circumstances, and cannot be consi- dered s a regular commerce. Page 75, line 12. Note referring to England. Levies are however sometimes made, for the purpose of defraying any ex- traordinary expenses. Page 92. Add to the first note, The number of those notes is again increasing, and doubtless will continue to increase, unless checked by stricter regulations. (Nov. 1815.) Page 103, line 7. Note. After Sunday add, This does not indeed ac- cord with the preceding account of its being consecra- ted to Ceres. Page 107, last line. 4fter other add, still, however, politeness will b AAA 364 found to exist in Jersey, as well as elsewhere, and per- haps in as great a degree. Page 118, line 16. Note referring to contemplation. It is now erecting. (October, 1815.) Page 127, line 9. Note referring to caught. In ancient times, " the " fish taken by the fishermen of the islands, supplied " the greatest part of the convents and considerable re- " ligious houses along the coast of Normandy and Brit- " tany. The petty harbour dues then formed one third " of the revenue of the crown." Berry's History of Guernsey* Page 137, line 1J. Note referring to Cromlech. This does not appear to have been always the case; witness Stonehenge, the Rolle rich, stones in Oxfordshire, a circle near Biscaw- woane in Cornwall ; together with circular assemblages of stones in different places in the same county, and in other parts of England. Page 162, line 9. Note referring to inefficient. The charity schools, formerly established at St. Helier's, declined, from non- attendance on the part of the subscribers ; and should a similar relaxation in active personal exertions take place, it must produce the same paralyzing effect on the present highly laudable though incomplete institution. Page 166. Note referring to the end of the second paragraph,. 365 Coins have been found in Jersey, of almost all the Ro- man emperors, from Julius to Constantine, and even a few of the lower empire, down to Theodosius. Several very ancient Roman Consular coins have also been ob- tained ; such as the Denarius, As, Quadrans, Sextans, &c : of the Imperial description, those most frequently discovered are of Claudius, Trajan, and Gordian. Page 189, line 4. Note referring to inhabitants. It must not however be concealed, that though the major part of the island- ers remained firm in their attachment to the royal fa- mily, some did not : this is evident from a proclamation, issued by the king, in the year 1643, offering, with a few exceptions, a general pardon to the inhabitants. Page 215, line 11. After " lead them " add as a note. On Saturday evening, March 23, 1818, the following melancholy acci- dent happened. The balance, a French transport, bound from Havre de Grace to the port of St. Malo, struck on a part of Les Dirouilles, and soon filled. In the course of the night, the flood tide rose ten feet above the deck of the vessel. There were on board about 110 persons, men, women, and children, the far greater number being passengers, who were to have pro- ceeded from St. Mahy to the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, near Newfoundland. Of those unfortunate people, nearly 40 perished before assistance could be procured ; though, when the sad event was known, several boats went off to their relief. The survivors were lodged in Roscl barracks, and in the neighbouring bouses, and the most humane and assiduous attentions 366 exerted, as well by the inhabitants of the vicinity, as by a detachment of the 8th Royal Veteran Battalion, sta- tioned at the barracks, the latter of whom gave up their messes, clothes, and beds, to the suffering strangers. The most prompt and effectual measures were adopt- ed by Sir Hilgrove Turner, the Lieutenant Governor, for victualling them, and they received contributions of clothes and money from various parts of the island. They left Jersey, deeply affected with the benevolence they had experienced ; and the Sous-Refet of St. Malo wrote a letter of thanks to the Lieutenant Governor ; at the same time requesting him to express the same grate- ful sentiments to the inhabitants. Deplorable as the event undoubtedly was, it served to characterize the sympathy of the islanders, whrle the French magistrate's grateful acknowledgements were highly honourable to that nation. If such mutual cordiality on all occasions subsisted between neighbouring states, this earth, notwithstanding all its physical calamities, would become a terrestrial paradise, instead of being, as it now is, an immense slaughter house, wherein rational and accountable beings are accustomed to destroy one another: often, as a late historian* expressed himself, "to satisfy the empty "" ambition of the weakest, or the worst of mankind"!!! Page 217, line 18. Note referring to parish. The last- mentioned range of barracks, having been built with a view of forming a point of concentration for troops of the line, several temporary edifices, formerly occupied by the military, Lave just been demolished. (June, 1815.) * Goldsmith. 367 Since this work has been in the press, the author has been favoured with the following extracts from the M. S. in the British Museum, already noticed. " It" (Jersey) " lay heretofore about a hundred years " since almost open, with fewe inclosures ill it, and very " fewc orchards. The ordinary drink of those times " being not as at pnt* cj dar, but a kind of meade made " of hony as y e principall ingredient of two sorts ; the " one called rittoe, soe strong that it made men drunk, " as cydar doth now, from whence there is still a proverb " used among the people Vous estes envlttoc for one who " knows not what he doth, y e other sort was called bos- " chet." The M. S. speaks of " that kind of sheep whereof thi " females had most times foure homes, and the rams oft " times six, that is three of each side whereof two made " a circle towards the nose, two others another circle " backwards towards the ears, and two stood upright be~ " tweene them, which kind was of small size and is all- " most abolished by the substitution of a larger kind " like those in Salisbury plaine." Speaking of fish, the M. S. says, " You may guess at " the q tf that is or may be taken by what happened " when Otto de Grandisou was governor of these isles " he forced an impost only upon the congers that were " salted for transportation & y* s* impost amount' to " 400 livres Tournois in 1 year for both islands, and yet " it was but one denier per conger above 10N> weight." The Poqutlayes are, in the M. S., called Roquelayes, an appellation that bears some affinity to the nature of * present. 368 those ancient monuments, which are composed of slabs and fragments of rock, or, as in French, roque. Page 295, line 9. Note referring to fishery. During the last year, more than 200 vessels from England followed this traffic, and a still greater number are expected in the course ef the present season. In consequence of so large an increase, it is in contemplation to erect a commodious pier. That protection against storms, which is now called a harbour, scarcely merits the name of a breakwater. Vessels have been wrecked within it. (April 1816.) 369 TABLE OF MILES; Giving the true distances from the Royal statue, in St. Helier's Square, to different places in the island of Jersey, from correct measurements made by authority. To St. Clement's church Grouville barracks by ditto Grouville church , . Grouville barracks . , Gorey . . . Mont-Orgueil castle . St. Saviour's church St. Martin's church . Rosel barracks Trinity church . Boulay bay . St. Peter's church . St. Ouen's church . St. Lawrence's church St. John's church , St. Mary's church . St. Brelade's church . St. Aubiu's pier . Miles 2 Fur. 4 Yards 66 4 09 2 6 66 3 3 132 4 4 6 33 1 2 99 3 6 66 5 6 3 6 4 6 4 6 6 2 3 2 & 5 66 6 6 4 3 6 132 Southampton : primed by T, Baker. - : ERRATA. J*Jig 11, latt lint but two, for quarter to two fathoiv,<=, lend quarte.- fathom to two fathoms. 66, one of note, after nations add qni. 63, line 8, for of stones, read with stones. 71, 6 and 7, pondfrouB roofs of solid stone, read pon- derous stone roofs. 75, 3, a free port, read almost a free port. 98, note, * spelt, written. Ill, line 0, and, et. 187, 15 and 16, procurer - procurator or attorney 238, 1 5, grand, grande, in both ulactj. 52, 2,/oi-Tendu, vendue. 871, 6, indiscriminately, indeterminately. 297, 82, storm, storms. 307, 16, many, rainy. , last line, exist, exit. 313, tine 19, Ronet, Ronez. 316, 7, 90, 60. 345, 5, St. Brelade's Bay, The inland portion : St. Brelade's Bay. 360, 10, Sotfi-Refrt, SOBS Prefet. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. tEC'D Form L9-50m-9,'60(B3610B4)444