THE ruins of Caister Castle, in Norfolk, offer much that is interesting, both intrinsically and historically, to the notice of the antiquarian ;-intrinsically, as being the remains of one of the earliest brick build ings in the kingdom; and historically, as being founded by the celebrated Sir John Fastolf, as having been an object of contention between various of the highest families in the county, and as being associated with many of the principal events, as well as personages, in the annals of our country. It is situated about three miles to the north of Great Yarmouth, and about a mile from the coast. As early as 1363, we obtain notice of the manor of Caister being in the possession of the Fastolf family; but the first mention of erecting any residence appears in the reign of Henry the Fifth, who granted Sir John Fastolf a license "to build it as strong as VOL. XII. | himself could devise," and appointed it as a fortification to the town of Great Yarmouth. The castle, or "hall," as it is termed by contemporary writers, enclosed a court, in form a rectangled parallelogram, whose north and south sides were longer than the east and west. At the north-west corner is the tower of which we annex an illustration. The grand entrance was over a drawbridge on the west side. And here it will be as well to introduce Sir John Fastolf to the reader under his real character; since he it is, who in exchange for his own fair celebrity, is indebted to Shakspeare for a notoriety, which clings, with more tenacity than justice, to his name. This hero was born at Yarmouth about, or shortly before, 1380, and, his father dying early, he became, according to the custom of the times, the ward of a nobleman and was trained up in the family of the 380 Duke of Norfolk, whose splendid and numerous retinue appears to have been the polite school of all the squirearchy around. About 1405-6 he appears in Ireland with Thomas of Lancaster, second son to Henry the Fourth, afterwards Duke of Clarence, and then lord-lieutenant of that country. Two years afterwards he married, in Ireland, Milicentia, daughter of Sir Robert Tibelot, and widow of Sir Stephen | Scroope, with whom he received a large fortune; and shortly after, obtaining posts of considerable trust in Gascony, he went thither to reside. Here he remained, engaged in all the commotions, civil and military, which mark this period, when England was endeavouring to establish her claims to the possession of France. In 1415 we find him, in conjunction with the Duke of Dorset, intrusted with the government of Harfleur, and subsequently present with Henry the Fifth at the battle of Agincourt, on which occasion he especially distinguished himself. After the death of this young monarch he continued to be promoted to posts of higher importance and honour, and to distinguish himself by such services of bravery and danger, as, in 1425, procured him the order of the Garter. In 1428 he gained great honour at the memorable battle of the Herrings, in which, at the head of 2500 Englishmen, he totally routed 4000, or, as some of the French historians admit, 9000 of the French, and succeeded in conducting a convoy of provisions, (consisting chiefly of herrings,) in triumph to the English camp before Orléans. The character of this brave warrior, however, here suffers a partial eclipse, for we find him sharing in the universal panic which infected the English forces, before the mysterious power of the Maid of Orléans. But with returning fortune his name resumed its lustre ; and after a period of active service, he concluded his career with a succession of diplomatic and civil employments. In 1435 the Duke of Bedford, Regent of France, dying, gave a manifest proof of the esteem in which he had held Sir John, by leaving him one of his executors. In 1436 for the space of four years he appears settled in the government of Normandy; after which, in 1440, he finally returned to his native land, and abode in his different estates, but principally in his hall of Caister, where he lived in great splendour and hospitality. He died in 1459, full of years and worth, and was buried in a chapel, erected by himself, in St. Bennett's Abbey, Norfolk, the ruins of which yet remain. He had been twice married, but left no children. The greater portion of his immense fortune was bequeathed to charitable purposes, in which the universities of Oxford and Cambridge largely shared, and especially Magdalen College, Cambridge. Much has been said to prove Shakspeare's injustice in his character of Sir John Falstaff, as represented in his Henry the Fourth and Fifth, &c. ; but herein the same charge of injustice may extend to the critics themselves: for, setting aside the inaccuracy of name, and anachronism of date, it by no means appears that in the person of the unwieldy buffoon, who amuses us equally with his jests and cowardice, Shakspeare ever intended to depict the great and good Sir John Fastolf, celebrated alike in field and council, feared by his enemies, and beloved by his friends. A version more agreeable to probability and history is, that the character of Falstaff was originally written and acted under the name of Sir John Oldcastle, but, imagining it might give offence to the Oldcastle family (then living), Queen Elizabeth ordered our bard to substitute another name. Nor need it be supposed that this buffoon notoriety was more applicable to the real identity of Sir John Old castle, with whom, except in point of age, at no better agreed. And now, having endeavoured to justify the cha racter of this hero of olden time, we must also clear the history of his castle of Caister, from some errors which attach to it. One of them consists in a fallacious idea entertained by some writers, that the castle of Caister was built as a ransom by the Duke d'Alençon, taken prisoner by Sir John, at the battle of Agincourt,-a supposition which is refuted by a letter from Sir John, dated from Caister Hall, 1456, wherein he sues for the money due to him for the said ransom. Another error respects a supposed similarity between the castle of Falaise, in Normandy, the birth-place of William the Conqueror, and that of Caister; the latter being said to built on the exact model of the former; but this is easily refuted by those who have visited both, and enough remains of each to prove that no such correspondence ever existed. The only analogy between them consists in a solid tower, and other apartments, having been added to Falaise about the period of the erection of Caister, by the famous Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, contemporary, and companion in arms, with our Sir John Fastolf. Much light has been thrown on the history of this castle, and the families connected with it, by The Paston Letters edited by Sir John Fen; a collection of the most valuable private correspondence during the eventful period included between the reigns of Henry the Fourth and Henry the Seventh. From this correspondence we find Sir John living in great splendour, keeping up a large body of retainers, engaged in active charity, and in plans for testamentary benefactions, but nevertheless adding yearly to his estates, and administering, and exacting justice in a manner which shows the stern old disciplinarian, as well as the kind friend and master. These were the prosperous days of old Caister; for Sir John's death, while it enriched many excellent public institutions, and diffused much private comfort, gave rise to that usual average of evil, which, four hundred years ago, accompanied the best intentions and deeds, much the same as it does at the present day. His ample estates were chiefly vested in charitable endowments, while that of Caister was left to his cousin, John Paston, Esq., on condition of his maintaining with the profits therefrom, a ❝ college," or rather chapel for seven priests, and seven poor men, a foundation which the knight had laboured to obtain during his life-time, and which it appears the Pastons succeeded in establishing, though not till after the lapse of many years, and innumerable difficulties in obtaining the necessary grant. To detail and elucidate the various plots, open and secret, to dispossess the Pastons of their rightful inheritance-how kings and commons played into one another's hands, and used or abused the law as their interests required, and how all this occurred at a time when the kingdom was torn with civil wars, and the faction of York and Lancaster alternately ascendant, is no easy task. The Duke of Norfolk, then a prince of almost unlimited power, and chiefly resident at his castle of Framlingham, in Suffolk, had, it appears, for some time kept a longing eye upon the fair estate of Caister, and shortly before Sir John Fastolf's death, we find Agnes Paston, widow of Sir William Paston, judge, thus writing to John Paston her son, It is said in this country, that my lord of Norfolk saith, Sir John Fastolf hath given him Caister, and that he will have it plainly. This same John Paston, therefore, a man it appears universally respected, inherited with Caister, a weight and succession of cares, which left him no rest to mind or body. His affectionate wife writes to him,And, at the reverence of God, sloth not your matters now, but make an end to them; either purvey you to make or mar them in haste, for this is too horrible a cost and trouble that ye have and have had, for to endure any while; and it is great heaviness to your friends, and great joy and comfort to your enemies. My lord of Norwich (the Bishop of Norwich,) said to me, that he would not abide the sorrow and trouble that you have abiden, to win all Sir John Fastolf's goods -God be your speed. Through the machinations of powerful enemies John Paston was soon thrown into the Fleet, and though soon liberated, he died, worn out with care, after seven years of precarious possession. Caister then descended to his son, Sir John Paston, a soldier and knight, and quite a gallant of his time, who was principally stationed at Calais, but who, however, set great store by his estate at Caister. About this time, 1468, Thomas Howys openly and unwarrantably proffered to sell the estates of Caister to the Duke of Norfolk, making, on that occasion, most insulting mention of a "pretended bargain, by which John Paston, in his lifetime, thought to have secured all my Master Fastolf's land in Norfolk and Suffolk," Fortified by this nominal and illegal purchase, the duke soon resorted to opener means. At the same time Fastolf of Longshawe, a relation of the late knight's, threatened largely to attack the place, though it does not appear that he ever proceeded to such extremities; and a report went abroad, that Richard, the infamous Duke of Gloucester, also intended possessing himself of Caister. At length, in 1469, the duke threw off all disguise, and openly summoned "John Paston, with his fellowship," to quit Caister at fifteen days' notice. Caister was meanwhile occupied by John Paston the younger, a brother, though of the same name, to Sir John Paston, then at Calais, and he, determined to defend the place, thus writes to his brother ; And how that my demeaning shall be it is too late to send to you for advice, wherefore, if I do well I ask no thank, and if I do ill, I pray you lay the default on over little wit; but I purpose to use the first point of hawking, to hold fast if I may. ance of the place, saying, "We were sore lack of victuals and gunpowder; men's hearts, lack of surety of rescue, were driven thereto to take appointment." The siege of Caister lasted about three weeks, and was concluded at the end of September, 1469. In disputes of this kind, it seems that with the cause of contention, all animosity also ceased; for, after clearing off a few troublesome accounts still remaining between them, we find John Paston the younger resuming service with the Duke of Norfolk, in whose household he had been reared. The Pastons continued suing in vain for justice through various channels, and spending their substance in the necessary bribes accompanying such applications, when a catastrophe occurred which turned the scale in their favour. This was no less than the awfully sudden death of the Duke of Norfolk, in January 1475, then a young man of thirtyfour years of age. He left an only daughter, the Lady Anne, sole heiress of his immense possessions, who, in 1477, was married to Richard Duke of York, second son of King Edward the Fourth, she being at that time five years, and he, three years of age, on which occasion he was created Duke of Norfolk. The little duchess, however, died, we believe, before the innocent prince, her nominal husband, who was murdered with his brother in the Tower, 1483. After which, the estates and title of Norfolk came to Sir John Howard, whose mother was aunt to the late duke, and with the Howards it has ever since remained, being a period of eleven generations. This infantine marriage seems not to have produced the unfavourable result which the Pastons prognosticated, for in June, 1476, Sir John writes, "Blessed be God, I have Caister at my will; God hold it better than it has done before;" on the back of which letter is written, "Caister is gotten agayn," and in the July following, King Edward granted him a warrant under his own hand and privy seal, to take possession of all lands belonging to his late father, &c. Shortly after this, considerable damage was done to the castle by a girl setting fire to it in making a bed. Sir John dying unmarried in 1479, all the Paston property descended to the same John Paston the younger, who retired to the halls of Caister which he had so valiantly defended. In 1485, he was High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk; in 1487 was knighted, and made knight banneret at the battle of Stoke, by Henry the Seventh, and died in 1503. Caister continued the chief and favourite seat of the Pastons, till Clement Paston, grandson of the lastnamed, and a great naval commander, built a magnificent hall at Oxnead, in Norfolk, whereupon the residence of Caister gradually fell into decay. The Paston family continued to increase in wealth and importance, intermarried with the first families in the county and kingdom, were created baronets in 1641, and Earls of Yarmouth and Barons Paston in 1679. With the second of that title, who died in 1732, this noble family became extinct in the male line. This earl had greatly encumbered the estates, and at his death they were purchased by Lord Anson, the great circumnavigator. And hold fast he certainly did, with his little garrison of twenty-eight against a regular siege of 3000 troops, headed by Sir John Heveningham, and joined by many persons of distinction. Whilst the utmost was thus doing to defend the place from within, Sir John Paston was equally indefatigable without. We find him immediately proceeding to lay the matter before the king's council then at York, and moving in his behalf such personages as the Duke of Clarence, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Earl of Essex, &c. Meanwhile the siege commenced. Whatever the decision of the king's council might be, it would seem that my Lord of Norfolk had no great respect for it, and the siege continuing, we are presented with some interesting letters from Margaret Paston to her son, Sir John, written with all a woman's and mother's anxiety, wherein she gives him report of the death of his friends, the danger and hardships of the survivors, the destruction of the place, and the increasing virulence of the duke. Urged by these and other considerations, and by the delays of his powerful friends, Sir John desires Writtill to ascertain the precise state of the besieged, and though equally anxious to preserve his patrimony, to keep or yield it accordingly. The matter winds up in a short letter from John Paston the SPEAK only when you have anything to say which it is deyounger, headed, "Caister yielded," acquainting his sirable to communicate. You do not know what a great gift brother with the bravery of his servants, and of the of God it is, not to be obliged to speak, and to know when to urgent necessity which compelled them to the deliver-hold your tongue.-ST. GREGORY; Book of the Fathers, The village of Caister is also famous as having been the site of a castra æstiva, or summer station of the Romans, (see our article on Burgh Castle, vol. xi., p. 177,) from which the place derives its name. 380--2 RECREATIONS IN NATURAL on WE propose, under the above title, to present our readers with a series of very popular papers, various subjects connected with natural philosophy. As our object is to present the young reader with an easy and agreeable mode of passing his time, and of turning it to useful account, even in the midst of his sports, we shall avoid every appearance of scientific difficulty, which may remind him of work instead of play. Accordingly, we shall adopt no particular arrangement of subjects, but write, from time to time, on such as most readily occur to us; and which we think capable of being best understood, or most likely to afford pleasure. Our experiments will be of such a nature as to be easily repeated, without having recourse to that very expensive gentleman, the philosophical instrument maker. We therefore begin by requesting the young experimentalist to provide himself with some of that cheap and abundant blessing-water-for we are going to talk to him of I. THE SIPHON. MOST persons who inhabit a city or large town, such as London, have seen a distiller's wagon in the streets, with men drawing off spirits from casks into copper vessels, through bent copper tubes; most persons, we say, have seen this; but very few understand the curious law by which fluids admit of being removed from one vessel into another in this way. If we look at the manner in which it is done, we find that the pipe ascends from the upper part of the cask; and is not inserted into the lower part; and, in that respect, differs from all our common notions as to the manner in which liquids move. earth's surface, a mass of air only five miles high would weigh as much as that of the whole fifty miles now does, as it is really constituted. Now this weight acts as a pressure upon all bodies at the earth's surface; and it is precisely this pressure which makes water ascend in the siphon or bent tube of the distiller. The shorter leg of the siphon is, in the first intance, inserted into the bung-hole of the cask, the other end being closed by means of a cock. A small tube is inserted at the side of the siphon above the cock, and passes a little way into it. To the free end of this small tube the man applies his lips, and sucks out the air, the spirit in the cask being pressed upon by the atmospheric air, a portion of it rises up the tube, passes over the bent part, and falls down to the closed end of the siphon; on opening the cock the spirit flows out, and the cask would be almost entirely emptied of spirit, unless the flow were regulated by the turning of the cock at the long end of the siphon. Let us illustrate this by a figure. The annexed in one side of it. In fig. 1 the vessel is rather more than half filled with water, and in fig. 2 it is nearly Why is it that the water will not flow out of a full. The pipe E we will supose to be for the purpose tea-kettle while on the nre, into our tea-pots, unless, of conveying water into the vessel. Now as soon by applying our hand to the handle, we bring the as there is enough water in the vessel to reach up to spout of the kettle to a lower level? It is that the point F, that is, to the mouth of the siphon, the water, under general circumstances, will not ascend, water begins to ascend the tube; and if the vessel but will constantly strive to attain a lower position. gets so full that the water is as high as the top of the The tinman, therefore, who, without being much of siphon, as in fig. 2, it will immediately begin to flow a philosopher, perfectly well knows that such is the down the outer leg of the siphon, and escape at the property of liquids, makes the mouth of the spout end H; but so long as the height of the water is, as of the kettle higher than the body of the kettle, in in fig. 1, less than the height of the siphon, the water order that, although full of water, it may not over-will not flow through the tube, provided the bent flow. The manner in which cocks are fixed into our eisterns and water-butts, the care which we take to prevent any holes being made in the sides of a vessel containing water, &c., all show that we constantly act from a knowledge of the circumstance, that water will descend whenever an opportunity for so doing occurs; but that it shows no tendency to ascend. How is it, then, that the distiller is enabled to draw liquor from a cask by a pipe fixed into the top of the cask instead of into the bottom? This we will now answer. part of the siphon contain air; because that air will act on the water in the inner leg of the siphon, as much as the exterior air acts on the water in the vessel, and will prevent it from flowing outwards. But if the siphon, before it be introduced into the vessel, be inverted and filled with water, the water from the vessel will flow through the siphon, even if there were only just enough water to cover the mouth of the siphon at F. If the conduit pipes F and E be of the same bore, that is, of the same breadth or diameter, as the siphons, the water will flow out as The air which we breathe, and by which we are quickly as it flows in. If the conduit-pipe be of larger always surrounded, is a material substance, although bore than the siphon, the latter will not draw off the we cannot see it. A gallon of it weighs about a water quick enough, and the vessel will soon overflow. quarter of an ounce, and presses on other bodies in If the conduit-pipe be of smaller bore than the siphon, that proportion. A milkmaid, while carrying her the vessel will be emptied down to r; air will then pail upon her head, when going to milk cows, thinks enter the siphon, and no more water will flow from that she has an empty pail upon her head, and it until the level of the water in the vessel and in only bears the weight of the pail: but such is not the siphon has reached to G. All these conditions, the case; she carries a pailful of air besides the pail however, are subject to modifications depending upon itself, the air weighing from an ounce to two ounces. the rapidity with which the water flows into the It is very true that this is a small amount of weight; cistern from the conduit-pipes. but it produces an important effect when witnessed We now understand the action of the distiller's in the grand processes of nature. The atmosphere siphon. is about fifty miles in height from the earth's surface; liquid in the cask; and the air which presses on the The inner leg of the siphon dips into the but it gets so much thinner or lighter as we ascend, liquid in the cask forces it up the siphon, because that if the whole were of the same density as at the the latter, being full of lic uid, cannot allow the air to press in an opposite direction. It must always be understood, however, that the mouth of the outer leg of the siphon must be at a lower level than the surface of the liquid in the vessel, or the liquid will not flow through the siphon. This property of water is the source of one of the grandest, as well as one of the most valuable, phenomena of nature: we mean the formation of springs and fountains. The rain which descends from the clouds, falls, some on hilly districts, and other portions on plains and valleys. That which falls on hills is partially absorbed by the soil, and a number of minute streams combine to form a reservoir, which frequently exists in the bosom of a mountain. From this reservoir streams descend through the sandy strata, following the windings of those kinds of soil, or earth, or gravel, which will admit them to pass most easily. These little streams may thus descend and wind, until they arrive under the surface of a neighbouring valley: when, if the soil above them be porous, they will rise to the surface and exhibit themselves to us under the form of bubbling streams. The reason why the water rises to the surface is, that all the little channels leading from the reservoir to the spring, form collectively a sort of siphon turned upside down, because there is a continuous stream of water from one end of the siphon to the other. If the soil on the surface of the valley lie on a chalky foundation, the little streams will probably be unable to penetrate upwards through the chalk; but if a well be dug at that part, a hole or passage is prepared for the water, through which it will ascend. If the reservoir in the neighbouring mountain be under the level of the valley, the stream will form a well; but if it be at a higher level, the stream will form a fountain, because the water will strive to reach as high a level at the valley as at the mountain. The poet Thomson, in some beautiful lines, thus describes the above phenomenon : These roving mists, that constant now begin Whence gush the streams, the ceaseless fountains play, The property which enables liquids to flow from one vessel into another through a siphon, was taken advantage of to form a rude kind of clock, before our present admirable watches and clocks were invented. To explain how this was done, we must first consider another mode of attaining the same object. Fig. 3, is a Clepsydra, or Water-Clock. It consists of an upright hollow tube, with a little hole in the bottom, and an open vessel placed underneath. The hole in the bottom of the tube is so small, that the tube-full of water takes twelve hours to flow out. The tube is filled with water at a certain hour, and when the water has all flowed out, it indicates that twelve hours, or half a day, have elapsed. But how shall we know when one, or two, or three hours have Fig. 3 elapsed? If the water flowed through the hole with a constant rapidity, it would be sufficient to divide the height of the tube into twelve equal parts; and we should know that when one of those divisions was emptied, one hour had elapsed; when two divisions were emptied, two hours had elapsed, and so on. But such is not the case: the water flows more rapidly when the tube is nearly full than when it is nearly empty; indeed, so great is the difference, that if the tube were twelve inches high, almost two inches of water would flow out in the first hour, and only onetwelfth part of an inch in the last hour It therefore became necessary, in order to make this water-clock indicate correct hourly intervals, to divide the height of the tube into twelve unequal divisions, the smallest being at the bottom, and increasing upwards in length according to a certain law of increase; this we see roughly indicated in our engraving. Fig. 4. But it was not always easy to graduate the tube in the exact proportion desired; and, in order to obviate the necessity of so doing, the principle of the siphon was employed, as in the annexed figure, fig. 4. Here DE is an open vessel for containing water, and ABC is a siphon, with the outer opening c at a lower level than the inner opening A. On filling the vessel with water, and immersing the shorter leg of the siphon in it, the water will flow through the siphon, and escape at the lower orifice c, provided, of course, the siphon be properly prepared by being full of water before the short leg is immersed in the vessel. In this way the vessel may be completely emptied of its water We have now to inquire whether the water flows at an equal velocity through the siphon at all times; for if such is not the case, we shall be as far off as ever from obtaining a correct time-measurer. Now such is not the case, unless the lower orifice c of the siphon is at a constant distance below the surface of the fluid in the vessel: as that distance increases, so does the rapidity of the flow through the siphon increase. In order, therefore, to keep this distance always equal, the shorter leg of the siphon is fixed through a flat piece of cork, which floats on the surface of the water; so that as the water sinks the siphon sinks with it, and the consequence is, that the water flows with a constantly equal rapidity through the siphon. This we perceive is precisely the object which we desired: the vessel loses equal portions of water in equal times. If, therefore, the height of the vessel be divided into twelve equal parts, either one of the divisions will be emptied of its water in an hour; for the diameter of the siphon, and the size of the vessel, are so adjusted, as to cause the whole of the water to flow out in twelve hours. If the vessel is filled with water at noon, one-twelfth will have flowed out by one o'clock, and the surface will be at 1, as in the figure. We have represented the cork-float at between the levels of 7 and 8; it is thus indicated that nearly two-thirds of the water have flowed out, and that nearly two-thirds of twelve hours have elapsed in the flowing, which indicates likewise that the time is now between seven and eight o'clock. |