The Merry Past 



houses of the nobility have been demolished. Nor- 

 thumberland House, Harcourt House, and many 

 others are cases in point. Numbers of others were 

 removed years ago, amongst them Salisbury House, 

 which was taken down in the eighteenth century, 

 when Salisbury Street, built by Pain, the architect, 

 covered its site. Cecil Street was built upon the 

 Salisbury property at about the same time as Beaufort 

 Buildings ; part of Cecil Street was built upon the 

 site of Salisbury Exchange, which was a collection of 

 shops or standings, similar to Exeter 'Change, which 

 has now long been taken down. Salisbury Exchange 

 was the scene of a remarkable affair during the pro- 

 tectorate of Oliver Cromwell. The Exchange was 

 then a lounging-place for idlers, and some foreigners 

 were parading it, and acting in a manner that was 

 offensive to the English gentlemen who were present. 

 Swords were invariably worn by gentlemen at that 

 time ; in the scuffle the disputants drew, and one of 

 the foreigners killed an Englishman. The culprit 

 was seized, and committed for trial at the Old Bailey. 

 It was clearly proved that the prisoner did kill the 

 deceased under such circumstances that the jury 

 found him guilty of murder, and sentence of death 

 was passed upon him. 



It then transpired that the offender was brother to 

 the Portuguese ambassador, who, of course, made 

 great exertions to save his relation from a disgraceful 

 end. He influenced the ambassadors of other courts 

 to join in procuring his pardon, and threats were 

 made, the object of which was to prove that the 



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