The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 14, No. 395, October 24, 1829

In Short

Published in late October 1829, this periodical gathers an eclectic mix of history, travel writing, biography, and cultural commentary. Readers journey from the founding of London's Royal Exchange and the solemn tolling of St. Sepulchre's execution bell to the rugged coast of Jersey and the vibrant river festivals of Burma. Along the way, the volume explores the early brilliance of Mozart, the stark realities of opium addiction in Turkey, and the disciplined valor displayed at Waterloo. It endures as a fascinating cultural snapshot of nineteenth-century curiosity and literary taste.

The Story

The volume opens with a detailed historical account of London's Royal Exchange, tracing its evolution from early merchant gatherings in Lombard Street through Sir Thomas Gresham's vision, its repeated destructions and rebuildings, and its ongoing financial burdens upon the Mercers' Company and the Corporation of London. This civic focus shifts abruptly to sombre penal traditions with the history of St. Sepulchre's bell, detailing how a charitable bequest established a midnight warning ritual for condemned prisoners awaiting execution at Newgate, illustrated by the tragic fate of Stephen Gardener.

Moving outward from the capital, the narrative transitions to maritime exploration via Alexander Sutherland's tour of the Channel Islands. Readers experience the turbulent tidal currents of the Alderney Race and explore the rugged topography, fortifications, and history of Jersey, including Elizabeth Castle and the solitary cliffside hermitage of St. Elericus. From these windswept shores, the collection turns toward human psychology and physical anthropology, presenting a poignant vignette of an utterly dependent, intellectually disabled child whose singular attachment to his mother provides a window into elementary human feeling, followed by a wide-ranging geographical survey correlating English head sizes across various counties and trades.

The scope then broadens internationally and biographically. A retrospective on the youth and genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart traces his early musical triumphs across European courts, his astonishing auditory memory in capturing Allegri's Miserere in Rome, and the bittersweet struggles of his later adult career where artistic brilliance collided with professional neglect. This musical biography flows into military history through an assessment of the tactical maneuvers at Waterloo, highlighting the unyielding endurance of British squares against French cavalry and the decisive rout orchestrated by Wellington.

Further expanding its global horizon, the periodical transports readers to the Irawadi River for Burmese boat-races and water festivals, contrasting royal pageantry on fish-shaped barges with popular entertainments like boxing matches supervised by an indulgent monarch. The cultural tour continues into the harrowing realities of Ottoman society through Mr. Madden's firsthand observations of opium-eaters in Istanbul, illustrating the profound physical and moral ruin exacted by the habit. Finally, the volume weaves together classical verse extracts from dramatists and poets such as Ben Jonson, Sir Philip Sidney, and Lord Bacon, before concluding with miscellaneous anecdotes, fashionable Parisian oddities, a parliamentary joke involving Sheridan, and a melancholy reflection on a stagnant literary season, rounding out a multifaceted mosaic of contemporary nineteenth-century thought.

How It Unfolds

Civic foundations The volume opens with a comprehensive architectural and financial history of London's Royal Exchange, detailing its origins under Sir Thomas Gresham, its recurring structural failures, and the heavy financial burdens shouldered by the Mercers' Company. Moving from civic masonry to penal tradition, the text explores the bequest of Robert Dove and the solemn parish custom of ringing St. Sepulchre's bell to warn condemned prisoners on the eve of their execution.

Island exploration The narrative ventures outward to the English Channel through Alexander Sutherland's vivid travel notes on a voyage past Alderney and into the rugged, picturesque landscapes of Jersey. Detailed observations of towering promontories, the tidal fury of the Alderney Race, Elizabeth Castle, and the ancient hermitage of St. Elericus highlight the dramatic interplay between maritime danger and human solitude.

Human portraits The focus shifts to intimate human observation through a poignant, tender anecdote detailing the life of an utterly dependent, intellectually disabled child who finds safety only in his mother's arms. This behavioral study is complemented by a curious phrenological survey that maps average adult head measurements and physical proportions across various English shires, weaving together psychology and anthropology.

Musical and military triumph The collection examines the extraordinary youth and artistic evolution of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, charting his triumphal tours of European capitals, his astonishing musical memory in Rome, and the later professional hardships he faced. This biographical study is followed by an insightful military analysis of the enduring courage displayed by British infantry squares and the sweeping French rout at Waterloo.

Global spectacles and closing verse Finally, the periodical transports readers to distant lands to witness the vibrant water-festivals and boat-races on the Irawadi River in Burma, contrasted sharply with the harrowing moral and physical decay observed among Turkish opium-eaters in Istanbul. The issue closes with an assortment of classical verse extracts, theatrical anecdotes, and a melancholic editorial note regarding a stagnant cultural season.

The People

Sir Thomas Gresham wants to provide London merchants with a permanent, covered exchange modeled after Antwerp's Bourse, overcoming the initial reluctance of the Common Council to erect a grand building at his own expense; he successfully leaves a lasting civic monument managed jointly by the Mercers' Company and the Corporation of London.

Stephen Gardener wants to avoid the gallows and live outside the shadow of the law, but poverty, suspicion of felony, and his own criminal acts stand in his way; he ends up condemned to death, tragically chanted over by the very bellman he once encountered in a watch-house.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wants artistic freedom, recognition, and a secure permanent appointment to exercise his creative powers, but financial instability, professional neglect, and the waning interest of former patrons stand in his way; he ultimately achieves immortal musical greatness while enduring a lifetime of worldly cares and poverty.

Leopold Mozart wants to secure health, safety, and appreciative royal audiences for his precocious children during their arduous European tours, overcoming dangerous illnesses and the treacherous malaria of Rome to foster his son's legendary genius.

Mr. Madden wants to understand the subjective experience of Turkish society, setting out to personally test the effects of opium despite the social degradation around him; he ends up thoroughly enlightened regarding the terrifying moral and physical debility suffered by long-term addicts in Istanbul.

In Its Own Voice

Reflecting on the grand aspirations behind London's commercial center, the playwright Thomas Heywood captured its formal christening in verse:

"Proclaim through every high street of the city, / This place be no longer called a Burse; / But since the building's stately, fair, and strange, / Be it for ever called--The Royal Exchange!"

Warning prisoners facing imminent execution, the midnight bellman delivered solemn admonitions outside Newgate prison:

"All you that in the condemned hold do lie, / Prepare you, for to-morrow you shall die! / Watch all and pray, the hour is drawing near / That you before the Almighty must appear:"

Describing the frightful physical toll visible among regular consumers in an Istanbul market, Mr. Madden noted their unsettling demeanor:

"Their gestures were frightful; those who were completely under the influence of the opium talked incoherently, their features were flushed, their eyes had an unnatural brilliancy, and the general expression of their countenances was horribly wild."

What It's Really About

Beneath its mosaic of miscellaneous articles, this periodical investigates the enduring interplay between human ambition, institutional legacy, and physical fragility. It asks how civic infrastructure and cultural memory survive the ravages of time, fire, and political change, from the rebuilding of the Royal Exchange to the preservation of Mozart's musical immortality. Simultaneously, the volume probes the stark extremes of human experience—contrasting the disciplined, stoic endurance of soldiers in Waterloo's squares and condemned men facing St. Sepulchre's bell with the tragic debility of opium addiction and the pure, uncalculated affection of an intellectually disabled child. Ultimately, it reflects on the quiet resilience required to create lasting art and order amidst a transient world.

Why Read It Today

Readers fascinated by nineteenth-century journalism and the texture of Regency-era public life will find immense charm in these pages. Reading this volume feels like wandering through an expansive nineteenth-century cabinet of curiosities, where architectural history sits side by side with travel sketches and startling medical anecdotes. Modern readers should be prepared for nineteenth-century period attitudes, particularly in unsparing descriptions of disability and foreign cultures, as well as occasional archaic prose structures and dense factual digressions. Yet what stays with you long after closing the book is the vivid immediacy of its details: the chilling cadence of the midnight bellman outside Newgate, the raw resilience of soldiers holding firm in battle squares, and the timeless wonder of a young composer asking his sister to give the horns something good to do. It offers a rare, unfiltered window into the intellectual diet of an earlier era, rewarding patient readers with moments of profound human resonance.