a bear-baiting. The game was put
a stop to in 1835, but the "cage" was there in 1841, about which time
the Passage became built up on both sides throughout.

~Vaughton's Hole.~--An unfortunate soldier fell into a deep clay pit
here, in July, 1857, and was drowned; and about a month after (August 6)
a horse and cart, laden with street sweepings, was backed too near the
edge, over-turned, and sank to the bottom of sixty feet deep of water.
The place was named after a very old local family who owned considerable
property in the neighbourhood of Gooch Street, &c., though the
descendants are known as Houghtons.

~Vauxhall.~--In an old book descriptive of a tour through England, in
1766, it is mentioned that near Birmingham there "is a seat belonging to
Sir Listen Holte, Bart, but now let out for a public house (opened June
4, 1758), where are gardens, &c., with an organ and other music, in
imitation of Vauxhall, by which name it goes in the neighbourhood." The
old place, having been purchased by the Victoria Land Society, was
closed by a farewell dinner and ball, September, 16, 1850, the first
stroke of the axe to the trees being given at the finish of the ball, 6
a.m. next morning. In the days of its prime, before busy bustling
Birmingham pushed up to its walls, it ranked as one of the finest places
of amusement anywhere out of London. The following verse (one of five)
is from an "Impromptu written by Edward Farmer in one of the alcoves at
Old Vauxhall, March 6. 1850":--

"There's scarce a heart that will not start,
No matter what it's rank and station,
And heave a sigh when they destroy,
This favourite place of recreation.
If we look back on memory's track,
What joyous scenes we can recall,
Of happy hours in its gay bowers,
And friends we met at Old Vauxhall!"

~Velocipedes.~--We call them "cycles" nowadays, but in 1816-20 they were
"dandy-horses," and in the words of a street billet of the period

"The hobby-horse was all the go
In country and in town."

~Views of Birmingham.~--The earliest date "view" of the town appears to
be the one given in Dugdale's Warwickshire, of 1656, and entitled "The
Prospect of Birmingham, from Ravenhurst (neere London Road), in the
South-east part of the Towne."

~Villa Cross~ was originally built for and occupied as a school, and
known as Aston Villa School.

~Visitors of Distinction~ in the old Soho days, were not at all rare,
though they had