350
[Book III,
that the same devices by which persons entered buildings, would also an-swer the purpose of escaping from them : and as the utmost ingenuity ofthe ancients was exercised in devising means to accomplish the one, it wasexceedingly natural that modern inventors should hit upon similar contri-vances to effect the other. In the cuts to the old German translation ofVegetius , to which we have so of'ten referred, there are ladders of ropeand leather, in great variety, with hooks at the ends which when thrownby hand or an engine, were designed to catch hold of the Corners and topsof the walls or Windows—folding ladders of wood and metal, some con-sisting of numerous pieces screwed into each other by the person ascend-ing, tili he reached the required elevation ; others with rollers at theirupper ends to facilitate their elevation by rearing them against the frontof the walls—baskets or chests containing several persons raised perpen-dicularly on a movable frame by means of a screw below, that pushedout several hollow frames or tubes contained within each other, like thoseof a telescope, whose united length reached to the top of the place at-tacked—sometimes the men were elevated in a basket suspended atthe long end of a lever or swape. Several combinations of the lazy tongs,or jointed parallel bars are also figured—one of these moved on a car-riage raised a large box containing soldiers, and is identical with a fireescape described in volume xxxi of the Transactions of the London So-ciety of Arts.
Anciently the authors of accidental fires were punished in proportionto the degree of negligence that occasioned them ; and they were com-pelled to repair to the extent of their means, the damage done to theirneighbors. A law of this kind was instituted by Moses, probably inimitation of a similar one in force among the Egyptians. Other preven-tive measures consisted in the establishment of watchmen, whose duty itwas to arrest thieves and incendiaries, and to give alarm in case of fire.From the earliest days, those who designedly fired buildings were put todeath. A very ancient custom which related to the prevention of fires,is still partially kept up in Europe , although the design of its Institutionis almost forgotten, viz : the ringing of town bells about eight o’clock inthe evening, as a signal for the inhabitants to put out their lights, raketogether the fire on their hearths, and cover it with an instrument nameda curfew ; a corruption of couvre feu, and hence the evening peal becameknown as “the curfew bell.” It has been supposed that the custom origi-nated with William the Conqueror , butit prevailed over Europe long be-fore his time, and was a very beneficial one, not only in constantly remind-ing the people to guard against fire, but indicating to them the usual timeof retiring to rest; for neither clocks nor watches were then known, andin the absence of the sun they had no device for measuring time. Alfred the Great , who measured time by candles, a ordered the inhabitants ofOxford to cover their fires on the ringing of the bell at carfax every night.The instrument was made of iron or copper. Its general form may beunderstood by supposing a common cauldron turned upside down anddivided perpendicularly through the centre; one half being furnished witha handle riveted to it would be a couvre feu. When used it was placedover the ashes with the open side close to the back of the hearth. (SeeDict. Trevoux: Hone’s Every Day Book, vol. i. 243, and Shakespeare ’sRomeo and Juliet , Act iv, scene 4.)
In the thirteenth year of Edward I. (A. D. 1285,) an act was passed
a In Shakespeare ’s play of Richard III . act v. scene 3, there is a reference under thename of a watch to these candles. They were marked in sectiotis, each of which was a cer-tain time in burning, and thus measured the hours during the night or cloudy vveather.