CHELSEA HOSPITAL women conceited and turn their heads! 103 Poor things I cannot see that sketching them would have done any very great harm even had it had that effect! Along the Chelsea Embankment one comes upon old Chelsea pensioners strolling along. They still wear the three-cornered hat of William the Third's time; but about 1850 trousers were substituted for the breeches and gaiters of earlier days. In the summer they have scarlet coats faced with blue; in the winter dark blue coats are worn. Chelsea Hospital is so silent and still that it might be in a wilderness instead of a corner of busy London. It is a solid yet harmonious building designed and carried out by Sir Christopher Wren— somewhat on the plan of the Hôtel des Invalides, Paris-and is built of red brick, faced with stone, and darkened by age-the roofs of green-toned slate, the whole in beautiful proportion. The burying ground is full of interest. It is carefully kept, and trees have recently been planted. The graves are not banked up above the ground. The turf lies flat. The tombstones mostly lie flat, and the monuments are few. The first burial was that of one Simon Box in 1652, and from that date until the ground was closed in 1855 about 9000 have been 104 FAMILIAR LONDON interred in this small space. One of the epitaphs is worth repeating : Here lies Richard Hiseland If long service be a merit Having served upwards of the days of man Antient but not superannuated Engaged in a series of wars Civil as well as foreign Yet not maimed or worn out by either His complexion was fresh and florid His health hale and hearty His memory exact and ready He exceeded the military size He surpassed the prime of youth What rendered his age Still more Patriarchal When above one hundred years old Read fellow soldiers and reflect Born VI of August 1620. Died VII of February 1732, aged 112. To me the fact of his having survived his marriage at his time of life for twelve years is not the least astonishing part of the story! Hiseland VERY OLD PENSIONERS 105 was well known at the Cross Keys in Gracechurch Street, City, an old coaching house. For many years his half-length portrait hung in the public room there. It came into the possession of Lord Rosebery, who kindly presented it to the Chelsea Hospital, as being the fittest place for it. It now hangs in the corner of the Great Hall, with the following inscription: "William Hiseland the Pensioner of Chelsea College did 1st August 1730 sit for this picture, who was then 110, and in perfect health. George Alsop Pinxt. The registers give us several instances of old pensioners living to a very advanced age. "There is something very peaceful about these old men's graves," says Mrs Basil Holmes, in her work, The London Burial Grounds. "The grain, gathered by the Reaper whose name is Death, was fully ripe." The old men's gardens alongside the burying ground are a pretty sight on a summer's day. 106 FAMILIAR LONDON There are 500 pensioners and 139 allotments. Not all the men are gardeners, and there is sufficient space for those who are. Some of the little plots are very bright and gay, and the old men know much about their fruit and vegetables-indeed, some have quite a scientific knowledge of their hobby, and send their produce to the best exhibitions, very often with success. In a community like this at Chelsea there is rarely anything which a man can look upon as his own, and just a small amount of egotism is good, if only from the feeling of responsibility it engenders. The first day I was there I had a chat with one of the pensioners. I asked the old fellow if he was Irish. "No, thank God!" said he. This put an end to conversation on my part! I once bought a whole bed of white lilies from a County Clare man, with the condition that they were not to be touched until I had done painting them. The care he bestowed on them was great; but a heavy downpour of rain spoilt them considerably, and put a stop to my painting. I said to him, "I wish this rain would cease: it is bad for your work, and bad for mine." He answered, "I'm thinking it does not much matter what you or I want: the Lord will send what is best for us |