Philadelphia. The distance of 16-1/2 miles was performed by one of them
going in an hour and thirteen minutes, returning (laden both ways) in an
hour and eight minutes. The last mile was done in three minutes.

_Blacking._--Shoes, among the classical ancients, were cleaned by a
sponge; in the middle ages, by washing. Oil, soap, and grease were the
substitutes for blacking, which was at first made with soot, but shone
with a gloss.

_Cool Tankard._--The custom of the Lord Mayor drinking a "cool
tankard" with the governor of Newgate, on his Lordship's way to proclaim
Bartholomew Fair, is better known to our readers than the precise contents
of the said tankard. In olden times the "cool tankard" was, or nearly
coincided with, the wine mixed with _Burrage_, (so the translators
call the herb) of Plutarch, and the _Herbosum Vinum_ of Du Cange. In
all probability, the "cool tankard" of our times implies a well-appointed
_dejeuné à la fourchette_.

_Hanging_--though as a punishment for thieves, ascribed to the reign of
Henry I., occurs in a charter of Edgar. In hanging for public spectacle,
an iron hoop with a strong chain was put round the body; but the chain
was longer than the halter, so that when the latter was cut, the hoop
slipped to the armpits, and left them suspended. When criminals escaped,
an image of them was often hung up for several days; whence our hanging
in effigy.

_Elections._--Bribery, treating, canvassing, processions of voters at
the heels of the candidate, dancing attendance after the great, forming
factions, and other electioneering arts, occur in the classic ages.
Among us, the candidates were not always present at the day of election,