"It is curious to observe how correctly the lamplighters of this city comply with the terms of their contract. In the advertisement for this purpose, it is recited, that they are "to be lighted and kept burning from sun-setting to sun-rising, from the first day of August 1804, to the first day of August 1805, (except three days before and three days after every full-moon.")
"Now it is a notorious fact, that during the first fortnight in August, when the evenings were pitchy dark and the streets were thronged with every description of persons, and all kind of carriages, (being the assizes, races, and lammas fair,) not a lamp was to be seen! And even at the late new moon, when the nights were "dark as Erebus;" not a single lamp displayed its twinkling glimmer, Yet, during the last week, when Luna shone so brightly, that she seemed almost to rival the noon-day sun; an extraordinary degree of care was apparently used to put these "farthing rushlights in a blaze." - Bless us! with such things staring us in the face, we cannot but apprehend that the moon has had a very serious influence on many of the regulations in this city, for some time past."
Bless us! How much more conscious we citizens of Exeter were of the movements of sun and moon two centuries ago, I dare say the City could save a lot of electricity these days by not lighting-up at the full-moon and little children would look up and see good old Luna again.
"Farthing rushlights"is Aesop and "Dark as Erebus" is Shakespeare. The Georgian writers of newspaper columns certainly had a lot of fun with their literary allusions.
Source, The Exeter Flying Post, 27th September 1804.
Source: The Exeter Flying Post 27th September, 1802.
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