London to John O 1 Groat's. 315 



by the Saxon Edgar or Alfred it matters not which ; 

 they were only a century or two apart, and that space 

 is but a trifling circumstance in the history of this old 

 country. One of these kings appointed an officer 

 called a " wakeman " for the town. He must origi- 

 nally have been a kind of secular beadle of the 

 community, or a curfew constable, to see the whole 

 population well a-bed in good season. One of his 

 duties consisted in blowing a horn every night at nine 

 o'clock as a signal to turn in. But a remarkable con- 

 sideration was attached to faithful compliance with this 

 summons. If any house or shop was robbed before 

 sunrise, a tax was levied upon every inhabitant of 4d. 

 if his house had one outer door, and of 8d. if it had 

 two. This tax was to compensate the sufferer for his 

 loss, and also to put the whole community under bonds 

 to keep the peace and to feel responsible for the safety 

 of each other's property. Thus it not only acted as a 

 great mutual insurance company of which every house- 

 holder was a member, but it made him, as it were, a 

 special constable against burglary. This old Saxon 

 institution is in full life and vigor to-day. The wake- 

 man is still the highest secular official of the town. 

 For a thousand consecutive years the wakeman's toot- 

 horn has been blown at night over the successive 

 generations of the little cathedral city. This is an 



