J ^93' strictures on juaimers, 2c^ 



only for a fliort time, they lived idle all the rest of 

 the year, and commonly all the rest of their lives, 

 one succefsful campaign, by pay and plunder, and the 

 ransom of prisoners, was sufficient to raise a man a 

 small fortune, which no doubt was a great induce- 

 ment to enter into the service. 



The increase of commerce within the last three 

 centuries, has introduced a very great increase of e- 

 legance in buildings, furniture, equipages, tables, 

 and drefs, throughout all Europe Until the reign 

 of Henrj' vri. the bulk of the houses of England 

 was generally very mean in comparison of the pre- 

 sent times. They had very few stone buildings, or • 

 even brick ones, excepting some large churches, 

 some of the great men's houses, and the larger mo- 

 nasteries, the generality of houses not only in Lon- 

 don and other cities, but many capital court seats, 

 were of timber, with clay or plaisier intermixed ; 

 and those of most farmers, and in villages, were of 

 mud and clay. 



In these days, they had scarce any other than thatch- 

 ed houses in the most polillied countries of Eu- 

 rope. 



And, although those countries were overrun with 

 woods, they had not even learnt to guaid against 

 the cold by means of chimnies, (the kitchen excep- 

 ted,) an invention so lAeful and ornamental to cur 

 modern apartments. The custom then was for the 

 whole family to sit in the middle of a smoaky hall 

 round a large stove, the funnel of wliich pnf.ed 

 through the ceiling. 



