. Early English poetry, ballads, and popular literature of the Middle Ages ;. the heralds of ancient Rome, heldsacred from personal insult or violence, which noteven the lowest of the populace ever attempted.*Next these men, and at the head of the proces-sion, appeared the dragon, familiarly known assnap. The universal popularity of the dragon inpublic shows, and on great festivities, has beenfrequently noted, both here, and on the Continent;I am glad to be enabled, thi-ough the kindness ofS. W. Stevenson, Esq. of Norwich, to give thetrue pourtraicture and effigies of the last of theDragons, a
. Early English poetry, ballads, and popular literature of the Middle Ages ;. the heralds of ancient Rome, heldsacred from personal insult or violence, which noteven the lowest of the populace ever attempted.*Next these men, and at the head of the proces-sion, appeared the dragon, familiarly known assnap. The universal popularity of the dragon inpublic shows, and on great festivities, has beenfrequently noted, both here, and on the Continent;I am glad to be enabled, thi-ough the kindness ofS. W. Stevenson, Esq. of Norwich, to give thetrue pourtraicture and effigies of the last of theDragons, as he figured in that town; the more so, * The office had been held in the family of the last ofthe whifflers, William Dewing, for more than two centuries ;and mention is made in Kemps Nine Days Wonder oftheir being employed when he danced into Norwich in coloured print of this whiffler was published in 1841, by , of Norwich, from which our cut is copied. xxvm as I had been informed, on a visit to Norwichthree years ago, that he had fallen into total The body of this monster was formed of lightmaterials, being composed of canvas stretchedover a framework of wood : the outside was paintedof a sea-green colour, witli gilt scales, picked outwith red. The body was five feet in length, andwas sometimes used to secrete wine abstractedfrom the mayors cellars. The neck was capableof elongation, (measuring three feet and a halfwhen extended), was supported by springs attachedto the body, and was caj)able of being turned inany direction at the will of the bearer. Frombetween the ears the whole outer extremity ofthe back was surmounted by a sort of mane, ofcrimson colour, tied in fantastic knots around thejuncture of the enormous tail, which extendedabout five feet, curling at the further extremity,as exhibited in the cut (a). Between the wingswas a small aperture for air, and beneath the bodywas hung a sort of petticoat to conceal the legs of XXIX the bearer, whose
Size: 2429px × 1029px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, booksubjectenglishliteratureear
