ia 
 
 B
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 CURIOUS ARTICLES 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 SELECTION 
 
 CURIOUS ARTICLES 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 Gentleman's 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN WALKER, LL.B. 
 
 FELLOW OF NEW COLLEGE. 
 
 IN FOUR VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 RESEARCHES, HISTORICAL AND ANTIQUARIAN. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED FOR tONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN, PATER- 
 NOSTER-ROW J AND MUNDAY AND SLATTER, OXFORD. 
 
 1814.
 
 
 Printed by Monday and Matter, 
 High-Street, Oxford. 
 
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 STACK ANNEX 
 
 X 
 
 v 
 
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 v. I 
 PREFACE. 
 
 
 S, IT will be generally allowed, that a small and judi- 
 y cious Selection from a very voluminous and miscel- 
 laneous work*, cannot be made without some labour 
 and difficulty. The Editor, while he endeavours to 
 gratify the various tastes of his readers, must occa- 
 sionally feel a considerable degree of embarrassment, 
 and in his moments of hesitation will be ready to 
 exclaim, 
 
 Quid demr quid non dem? renuis quod tu, jubet alter. 
 
 It was thought proper to confine the Selection to 
 a moderate size. This necessarily obliged the Editor 
 to take those articles only, which, to his judgment, 
 appeared, on the whole, to be the most useful, cu- 
 rious, and interesting. 
 
 * The Gentleman's Magazine commenced in January, 1731. In the 
 beginning of 1783, it was considerably enlarged ; and from that time, each 
 volume has been divided into two parts. 
 
 A3 
 
 ' 
 
 (Safrr ./.? j! 1 -^-
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 AH matters of a temporary nature are omitted. 
 The Editor has found it necessary to use great caution 
 with respect to the articles in BIOGRAPHY and TOPO- 
 GRAPHY; for many of the former are written in a 
 hasty manner, and, though curious a detached notices 
 and memoranda while remaining in their original state, 
 are scarcely worth reprinting : many of the latter, to 
 say the least of them, are of very doubtful authority. 
 These observations are applicable to the omission of 
 many of those on other subjects-. 
 
 The articles are classed under their appropriate 
 heads; a method which the Editor conceived would 
 be more convenient and pleasant to the reader, than 
 if they had been presented to : him in an indigested 
 mass, in no other order than according to their pri- 
 ority of publication in the original work. The date 
 of the Magazine from which each article is taken, is 
 noticed at the end of it; by which means the reader, 
 should he think proper, will be enabled, without 
 trouble, to refer to the original, which will always 
 retain its value, and which cannot be superseded by 
 any selection or abridgment. For the greater facility 
 of finding any particular article, or any subject no- 
 ticed in any article, there is given a Table of Contents 
 at the beginning, and a full Index at the end, of 
 each volume. 
 
 Those who are conversant in the Gentleman's 
 Magazine will recollect, that a work of a similar 
 nature to that now presented to the public, was sug-
 
 PREFACE. Vll 
 
 gested, some years ago, by the author of the " History 
 of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire/' to 
 Mr. Nichols *, who was prevented from undertaking 
 it by other and more important avocations ; a cir- 
 cumstance, which must be considered as an apology 
 for its being arranged and sent into the world by the 
 present Editor. 
 
 J. W. 
 
 NEW COLLEGE, OXFORD, 
 Sept. 1814. 
 
 * Extract of a Letter from Mr. Gibbon to Mr. Nichols, dated Lausanne, 
 February 24th, 1792, which appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine for 
 January, 1794. 
 
 " 1 am tempted to embrace this opportunity of suggesting to you the 
 idea of a work, which must be surely well received by the public, and would 
 rather tend to benefit than to injure the Proprietors of the Geutleman's 
 Magazine. That voluminous scries of more than'threescore years now con- 
 tains a great number of literary, historical, and miscellaneous articles of 
 real value: they are at present buried in a heap of temporary rubbish; but 
 if properly chosen and classed, they might revive to great advantage in a 
 new publication of a moderate size. Should this idea be adopted;, few men 
 are better qualified than yourself to execute it with taste and judgment." 
 

 
 CONTENTS 
 
 FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 RESEARCHES, HISTORICAL AND ANTIQUARIAN. 
 
 Paee. 
 
 I. A DEBATE between the COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF 
 COMMONS in 1657, and O. CROMWELL, upon the 
 humble Petition and Advice of the Parliament, by 
 which he was desired to assume the title of King 1 
 
 II. Inquiry into the Death of CARDINAL WOLSEY 27 
 
 III. Some account of the Articles exhibited against 
 
 CARDINAL WOLSEY in Parliament, by whom they 
 were prepared, and the probable cause of their 
 miscarriage - 34 
 
 IV. The Charge against CARDINAL WOLSEY further con- 
 
 sidered - 3p 
 
 V. Case of CHARLES BRANDON, Duke of SUFFOLK. An 
 
 Obscure Passage in History illustrated 44 
 
 VI. Strange Incident in the Life of Henry V. explained 48 
 
 VII. The Proclamation for celebrating the Coronation and 
 establishing- a Court of Claims, with the Claims 
 made out before the Coronation of JAMFS II. - 49
 
 X CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 VIII. Origin of the HUGONOTS. - - 55 
 
 IX. A particular and authentic account of the Escape 
 of CHARLES EDWARD STUART, commonly called 
 the Young Chevalier, after the Battle of Cul- 
 loden --- 56 
 
 X. Historical Anecdote from a manuscript of Sir 
 
 JAMES WARE. - 74- 
 
 XI. The Triumphs of the Muses : or, the grand Re- 
 ception and Entertainment of Queen ELIZABETH 
 at Cambridge, in 1564, by Dr. Nicholas Ro- 
 binson, Chaplain to Archbishpp Parker, and 
 afterwards Bishop of Bangor. - . - 75 
 
 XII. Queen ELIZABETH'S Speech to the University of 
 
 Cambridge, alluded to in the preceding article 92 
 
 XIII. An attempt to prove the precise Day when JULIUS 
 
 C/ESAR made his first descent upon Britain ; also 
 
 the very spot where he landed - 94- 
 
 XIV. The precise Place of CJESAR'S landing in Britain 
 
 disputed - - - 99 
 
 XV. CAESAR'S Passage over the Thames. In a Letter 
 from Dr. Stukeley to Andrew Coltee Ducarell, 
 LL.D. F.S.A. 101 
 
 XVI; On the Navigation of the Ancients - - 107 
 
 XVII. A Fragment of History relative to the Revolution 115 
 XVIII. Account of King JOHN'S Death, from an ancient 
 
 MS. - - 122 
 
 XIX. Memoirs of RICHARD PLANTAGENET (a natural Son 
 of King Richard III.) who died 22d Dec. 1550. 
 (4- Edw. VI.) In a Letter from Dr. Thomas 
 Brett to Dr. William Warren, President of 
 Trinity Hall - - 123 
 
 XX. Body lately found at Reading not that of HENRY I. 127 
 XXL The Testimony of Clement Maydestone, that the 
 Body of King Henry IV. was thrown into the 
 Thamts, and not buried at Canterbury - 1 32 
 
 XXII. An H&ur-glass found in a Coffin - 13*
 
 CONTENTS. xi 
 
 Page 
 
 XXIII. On Burial Garlands - - 134- 
 
 XXIV. Saxon Idols worshipped in England, whence the 
 
 names of our days are derived - - 137 
 
 XXV. Human Bones found filled with Lead - 138 
 
 XXVI. The ancient Custom of Dunmow - 140 
 
 XXVII. Methods of Embalming - 142 
 
 XXVIII. Long Meg and her Daughters - 143 
 
 XXIX. Ancient Inscriptions - 144- 
 
 XXX. The Picts Wall described - 146 
 
 XXXI. Explanation of the word BRANDONS - 140 
 
 XXXII. On the Custom of Swearing in Discourse - 158 
 
 XXXIII. On the Origin of Tradesmen's Tokens - 160 
 
 XXXIV. Letter from Mr. AMES, Secretary to the Society 
 
 of Antiquaries in London, to Dr. BEVJS; in 
 which were inclosed some ancient dates 
 found in the pulling down part of London 
 
 Bridge, in 1758 - 162 
 
 XXXV. On the Origin and Introduction of the Violin - 165 
 
 XXXVI. On the Country Dance '- 167 
 
 XXXVII. Ancient Custom of Shepherds - 163 
 
 XXXVIII. On the Causes of Dry ness in Dead Bodies - 171 
 
 XXXIX. On Bishop FISHER'S Grave - 174- 
 
 XL. On the first Introduction of Pointing - 178 
 
 XLI. On the Ancient Custom of burning the Dead ' 1 82 
 
 XLII. On Honour due to the Wives of Prelates - 185 
 
 XLIII. On the .Egyptian Lotus - 186 
 
 XLIV. On the Temples of the Ancients - 190 
 
 XLV. Description of the first Theatre at Athens - 201 
 
 XLVI. Description of the Amphitheatre at Nismes - 206 
 XLVII. On the Date of a Book said to have been printed 
 
 in 14-54- - - 209 
 
 XLVIII. Vindication of the Honour of Yeomanry / - 212 
 
 XLIX. On the word BUMPER. Grace Cups - 21 6 
 
 L. On the word CULPRIT 
 
 LI. Stone Coffin discovered at Litchficld - - 2-20
 
 x ji CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 LII. Account of a scarce Gold Coin supposed to be 
 
 Saxon 226 
 
 LIII. On the existence of Gold Coin previous to the 
 
 Reign of EDWARD III. 
 LIV. On the Octaves of Festivals. Low-Sunday and 
 
 Plow-Monday 
 
 LV. On the Holy Places at Jerusalem 
 LVI. On the Custom of taking Persons to Feasts 
 
 without Invitations 
 LVII. Account of the Cross in Cheapside, and its 
 
 Demolition 241 
 
 LVIII. The Phrase, A MONTH'S MIND TO -DO A THING, 
 
 illustrated - - 241 
 
 LIX. On the Custom of adorning Churches with 
 
 Evergreens ... 24-5 
 
 LX. Account of several British Antiquities, found 
 near Chateris, in the Isle of Ely, in a letter 
 from Dr. STUKELEY to Mr. PETER COLLINSOX, 
 F.R.S. - 247 
 
 LXI. Custom of making April Fools - - 25 1 
 
 LXII. On the Regalls, or Rigolls, a Musical Instrument, 
 
 formerly used in the King's Chapel - 252 
 
 LXIII. An Account of the principal Buildings, Streets, 
 &c. in London and Westminster, with their 
 Antiquity, Derivation, &c. extracted from 
 tow, Speed, Maitland, &c. - - 254 
 
 LXIV. On Apostle-Spoons and Peg;-Tankards 262 
 
 LXV. On the General Use and Introduction of To- 
 bacco - - 264 
 LXV!,, Great Entertainments given by Archbishop 
 
 PAKKER at Canterbury - 265 
 
 I.XVII. Account of the ancient Palaces and Houses 
 
 belonging to the See of Canterbury 26S 
 
 LXVIIL On the ancient manner of taking refuge for 
 
 Murder or Felony in the Cinque Ports - 270
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Puge 
 LXIX. Artifice of the Thong in founding Cities and 
 
 Castles exploded - 27 i 
 LXX. Account of the burning and rebuilding the 
 
 Church at Canterbury, in the year II 7 4- 273 
 
 LXXI. Conjectures as to the time of dividing Parishes 282 
 
 LXXII. On Sirnames - - 28-1 
 
 LXXIII. Origin of the word LADY - 295 
 
 LXXIV. Pigs of Lead 295 
 
 LXXV. St. BLASE, the Patron of Wool-combers 304- 
 
 LXXVI. Wild Cats in Britain - 305 
 
 LXXVII. Observations on Stone-henge - 300 
 
 LXXVIII. Auncient Ordre for hallowing of the Crarape 
 
 Rings, &c. 310 
 
 LXXIX. Ancient Baptisteries, Lavatories, &c. - 311 
 LXXX. Manner of punishing offending Monks, and 
 
 Rules for preparing Bread for Hosts - 314 
 LXXXI. Query respecting the Arms of our Arch- 
 bishops, with an Answer - - - 317 
 LXXXII. On the Culture of Vines in England 313 
 LXX XIII. A Saint whose Emblems are naked Boys in a 
 
 Tub - - - 327 
 LXXXIV. The Antiquity of the Woollen Manufacture 
 
 in England - - - - - 329 
 
 LXXXV. Historical Account of the Abbey of Evesham 334- 
 
 LXXXVI. Curious Questions answered by T. Row - 34-2 
 
 LXXX VII. On the Curfeu - - - 345 
 
 LXXXV1II. Yew-trees in Church-yards, their probable 
 
 Use - - 34.5 
 
 LXXXIX. Curious Specimen of early Printing - 352 
 
 XC. Stone in the Coronation Chair - 354 
 
 XCI. Ailes in Cornish Churches - - 353 
 XCII. Monastic Registers of Edmund's Bury Mo- 
 nastery ff& - .361 
 
 XCIII. The Cell called Little Ease - - 303 
 
 XCIV. Emaciated Figures in Churches - 365 
 
 XCV. Ancient customs elucidated * - 36Q
 
 XIV CONTENTS, 
 
 Page 
 
 XCVI. Solemnities of Corpus Christ! Day illustrated - 371 
 XCVII. Origin of the Offices of Lord High Constable and 
 
 Earl Marshal 373 
 
 XCVIII. The word CERCELLA, in old Deeds, explained 377 
 
 XCIX. Cross Bows - 379 
 C. Particulars respecting the first Coffee House in 
 
 England - - 380 
 CI. A Query whether MIMICIS REGIS be not an error 
 
 for INIMICIS REGIS - - 384 
 
 CII. Midivives formerly baptized Infants - - 385 
 
 . CIII. On Sables - S85 
 
 CIV. On the Antiquity and Name of the Jew's Harp 386 
 
 CV. Extract from Whitechapel Registers - 387 
 
 CVI. Observations on FULLER'S Charge against an 
 
 Abbey in Essex - - - 388 
 CVII. Remarkable Particulars in our Ancient Parochial 
 
 Churches : 391 
 
 CVIII. On the Original Embankment of the Tiiamcs 398 
 
 CIX. On the Office of Aulnager 403 
 CX. On the Cities which have formerly been the 
 
 Capital of England - - 404 
 CXI. Days of Public Commemoration, when and why 
 
 instituted - - 410 
 
 CX1I. Origin of the Gibbet - 416 
 CXIII. Bull and Gate, Bull and Mouth, Bear and Ragged 
 
 Staff - - 419 
 
 C'XIV. A passage in Domesday illustrated - 420 
 C.XV. Meretrices. An ancient Tenure investigated and 
 
 explained - - - 422 
 C'XVI. Sea Coal, or Pit Coal, when first used in this 
 
 Kingdom - - 425 
 
 CXVII. Guild ofCalendaries at Bristol. The RollsChapel 427 
 CXVIII. Public Libraries in London about the end of the 
 
 Seventeenth Century - - 429 
 CXIX. Curiosities in London at the end ef the Seven- 
 teenth Century - - 434
 
 CONTENTS. XV 
 
 Page 
 
 CXX. Curious Tenure at Chingford, Essex 440 
 CXXI. Expences of Fox-hunting in the Thirteenth 
 
 Century - 442 
 CXXII. Description of several Barrows opened in Dor- 
 setshire 445 
 CXXIII. Parliament Oak in Welbeck Park - 452 
 CXXIV. Conjecture on the Etymology of London 453 
 CXXV. Antiquity of the use of the Ring in the Mar- 
 riage Service - - 455 
 CXXVI. Druidical Customs retained in Cornwall 457 
 CXXVII. Signification of Sempecta and Ferculum - 459 
 CXXVI1I. St. Paul's Church supposed to be built on the 
 
 Site of Diana's Temple - - 463 
 
 CXXIX. Tyttenhanger. Chapel Wainscot at Luton - 467 
 CXXX. List of the Household, and mode of Living, at 
 
 Ragland Castle - 468 
 
 CXXXI. Use of the Piscinas in Churches - - 470
 
 RESEARCHES 
 
 HISTORICAL AND ANTIQUARIAN. 
 
 J. A Debate between the Committee of the House of Commons in 
 1657, and O. Cromwell, upon the humble petition and advice 
 of the Parliament, by which he was desired to assume the title 
 of King. 
 
 THE following Debate will, doubtless, engage the atten- 
 tion of our readers, not only by the importance of the 
 question, but by the reputation of those who were deputed 
 to discuss it, and the strength of the arguments employed 
 by them, which, we hope, is not impaired by our method 
 or expression. 
 
 The difficulty of procuring this Debate, which was pub- 
 lished in 1660, and we believe never afterwards re-printed, 
 inclined us to insert it in our Magazine without alteration; 
 but we found it, upon a closer examination, by no means 
 adapted to the taste of those who expect entertainment and 
 instruction at the same time ; or require, at least, to be 
 improved without unnecessary labour; for the speeches 
 being taken, probably, in short-hand, with omissions of pas- 
 sages less important, and of such words as the writer ima- 
 gined himself able to supply from the general contexture 
 of the sentence and drift of the discourse, which is fre- 
 quently practised by short-hand writers, are either for want 
 of memory, or care in the copier, so un grammatical, intricate, 
 and obscure ; so full of broken hints, imperfect sentences, 
 and uncouth expressions, that very few would have resolu- 
 tion, or curiosity, sufficient to labour in search of knowledge 
 through so many obstructions. Nor should \ve have attempt- 
 ed it, had we not been encouraged by the hopes of preserv- 
 ing others from so disgusting a task. 
 
 The various arguments made use of by the several mem- 
 bers of the committee, we have reduced, to avoid repeti- 
 tion, into one series or discourse, and annexed to each 
 argument, in the margin, the names of those by whom 
 it was produced. 
 
 VOL. i. B
 
 2 Debate with Cromwell. 
 
 On April the 1 1th, [according to Whitlocke, on the 4th,] 
 the Protector was attended by the committee, appointed by 
 the parliament, to receive and answer his doubts and scru- 
 ples relating to their request and advice, that he would 
 assume the title of King; but the Protector being unwilling 
 to disclose his own sentiments, till he was informed of the 
 reasons by which the parliament had been determined, the 
 following arguments were offered by the committee, which 
 consisted of 100 members; those who were deputed to treat 
 on this subject, being 
 
 Oliver St. John, Lord Chief Justice. 
 
 Lord Chief Justice Glynne. 
 
 Mr. Whitlocke. one of the Commissioners of the Treasury. 
 
 Mr. Lisle and Mr. Fines, Commissioners of the Great Seal. 
 
 Lord Broghill. 
 
 Mr. Lenthal, Master of the Rolls. 
 
 Sir Charles Wolseley. 
 
 Sir Richard. Oiislow. 
 
 Colonel Jones. 
 
 May it please your highness, 
 
 It is with great satisfaction, that we se ourselves deputed 
 by the parliament to confer with your highness, upon the 
 settlement of the public tranquillity, and the establishment 
 of such a form of government as may best promote the great 
 ends for which government was instituted, for which we have 
 been so long labouring, and for which we have hazarded our 
 fortunes and our lives. We doubt not of finding your high- 
 ness ready to concur in any lawful measures, that can con- 
 tribute to the happiness of the public, to the pacification 
 of those differences that have so long divided them, and to the 
 perpetuity of that freedom which has been so dearly pur- 
 chased, and so successfully defended. And we cannot 
 forbear to inform you that, in our opinion, in the opinion 
 of the parliament, and of the people who are represented 
 by it, these purposes cannot be effectually prosecuted by 
 your highness without assuming not the office only, but the 
 title likewise, of King. 
 
 Your highness may demand why, having already made 
 
 x-,, T . you Protector, invested you with the office 
 Cn. Justice J r t r ,- i 
 
 ,,. of chief magistrate, and intrusted vou with 
 
 I Tl ?/)} )lt' *^ * 
 
 the care of our liberties, our commerce, and 
 our honour, we are now grown weary of our institution, and 
 desire to restore a title, which a long series of wicked ad- 
 ministrations had made it proper to abrogate ? To this we 
 can easily answer, tiiat our request is the request of the
 
 Debate with Cromwell. 3 
 
 people, the people whose interest is "chiefly to be consider- 
 <-,- ~, . ed, and to whom it is your highest honour to be 
 
 W I I a faithful servailt - That they have a right to 
 e e ^' judge for themselves, to promote their own hap- 
 piness by their own measures, and to distinguish their ser- 
 vants by what name or titles they shall judge most proper, 
 cannot be denied. Monarchy has always been thought by 
 this nation, the most eligible form of government, and the 
 title of King has been always considered by them as essen- 
 Q.. , tial to it. The office has never been complained 
 W 1 1 S ^' nor ^ e ^ e cnan g e d> even by those parlia- 
 o se ey, ments t hat have made the strictest inquiries into 
 . us ice ^ defers O f our constitution, and have had 
 
 power to reform whatever they disliked. The 
 office in general was always regarded as useful and neces- 
 sary, and the title was reverenced, when the conduct of 
 him that held it was condemned. It is never prudent to 
 make needless alterations, because we are already acquaint- 
 ed with all the consequences of known establishments and 
 ancient forms ; but new methods of administration may 
 
 produce evils which the most prudent cannot 
 Whitlocke. foresee, nor the most diligent rectify. But least 
 
 of all are such changes to be made as draw after 
 them the necessity of endless alterations, and extend their 
 effects through the whole frame of government. 
 
 That the change of the title of King to that of Protector, 
 or any other, would affect the remotest links of subordina- 
 tion, and alter the whole constitution, is evident, at the 
 
 most superficial and transient view of the laws 
 Whitlocke,- and customs of the nation. Every officer of 
 Lenthal, justice acts in the King's name, and by the King's 
 Glynne y authority, an authority that gives life and effi- 
 Fines t cacy to law, and makes every sentence valid 
 
 BroghilL and binding. In all criminal cases the law knows 
 
 not any prosecutor but the King, nor can inflict 
 any punishment but in his name. 
 
 If it be urged, the judges have already taken their com- 
 missions in the name of the lord Protector, and 
 Glynne. supposed his authority and that of the King to be 
 
 the same, let it be remembered that the judges 
 themselves were far from concurring in their opinions; they, 
 whose province it is to justify the proceedings of the go- 
 vernment to the people, were not satisfied themselves, and 
 even those that complied with least reluctance pleaded 
 rather the resistless force of necessity, than the authority 
 of law or the evidence of reason j and let us not reduce our 
 
 B 2
 
 4 Debate with Cromwell 
 
 judges to say, when either the captious or conscientious 
 inquirer shall demand the reason of their conduct, that they 
 act not as they ought but as they must. 
 
 In desiring you to assume this title, the parliament has 
 regard not only to conscience but prudence, not only to 
 the people's happiness but to your safety. The office of 
 
 Protector is new and unheard of till now, and 
 Whitlocke, by consequence unknown to the law, nor un- 
 Glynne, derstood with regard to its relation to other parts 
 Lisle, of the constitution ; so that neither the duties 
 
 JSroghill. of Protector are known by the people, nor those 
 
 of the people by the Protector ; such ignorance 
 and uncertainty can produce nothing but disputes, murmurs, 
 and confusion. 
 
 The knowledge of our duty is necessarily previous to the 
 practice of it, and how can any man know his duty to a 
 
 magistrate, to whose authority he is a stranger ? 
 Wolseley. The limits of obedience to a Protector are settled 
 
 by no law, nor is there any statute in being that 
 condemns any attempt to shake off his authority. For this 
 reason it is not without long hesitation and importunate per- 
 suasion, that juries are prevailed upon to assign the name, 
 and fix the guilt, of treason to any conspiracies against your 
 life or government. The King's authority is supported by 
 the law, and his person is exempt from violation ; but the 
 Protector's office has no such sanction, and his power may 
 therefore be, if not justly, yet legally resisted; nor is his 
 person secured any otherwise than that of the meanest sub- 
 ject. The Protector is, indeed, in a state of greater diffi- 
 culty and embarrassment than any other member of the 
 community ; he is obliged to obey the laws, but with regard 
 to his omce is not protected by them ; he is restrained by 
 the law from any exorbitant exertions of power, but not 
 supported by it in the due exercise of his authority. This 
 defect in the supreme magistracy must affect all subordinate 
 authority ; those who act by the Protector's commission, can 
 receive from him no other power than such as he is invested 
 with, a power which the laws of the nation, those laws to 
 which on all occasions every man must appeal, disavow, and 
 reject. So that no man can be obliged by law to admit the 
 determinations of the courts as obligatory and conclusive; 
 and how great the number is of those who deny any moral 
 or conscientious reason for obedience to the present govern- 
 ment, your highness needs not to be informed. These men, 
 however at present subjected, are at least formidable by 
 their multitudes, and it is always mere eligible to procure
 
 Debate with Cromwell. 3 
 
 a chearful and willing, than constrain an involuntary and 
 reluctant, obedience. All these men allow the 
 Broghill, authority of regal government, and profess their 
 willingness to submit to it ; so that all opinions 
 unite in this point, and all partiesconcurtomakea compliance 
 with this request necessary to your highness. Nor is it only 
 for your own sake that this desire is so warmly pressed, but 
 for the security of those whose endeavours have contributed 
 to the establishment cf the present government, or shall 
 hereafter act by your authority. All those who receive com- 
 missions from the King, by whatever means exalted to the 
 throne, are secured from prosecution and punishment in 
 any change of affairs, by the statute of the eleventh year 
 of Henry the Seventh ; but the name of Protector can con- 
 fer no such security, and therefore the cautious and vigilant 
 will always decline your service, or prosecute your affairs 
 with diffidence and timidity ; even the honest and scrupu- 
 lous will be fearful of engaging where they have nothing but 
 their own opinion to set in balance against the law; and the 
 artful and the avaricious, the discontented and the turbu- 
 lent, will never cease to contrive a revolution, by which 
 they may avenge the wrongs that they imagine themselves 
 to. have received, and riot in the spoils of their enemies. 
 
 The present alienation of the crown of these realms from 
 him who pretends to claim them by his birth, may be com- 
 pared to a divorce, which may, by the mutual consent of 
 both parties, be set aside. It is therefore necessary, to 
 prevent any future reunion, that the crown be consigned to 
 another. 
 
 Were the reasons for your assumption of this title less 
 weighty than they appear, the desire of parliament ought 
 to add to their efficacy. It is not to be conceived 
 Glynne. that we are able to assign all the arguments that 
 might be formed by the united and concurrent 
 wisdom of so numerous and discerning an assembly, an as- 
 sembly deputed by the whole people to judge and to act for 
 them. The desires of a parliament are never to be consi- 
 dered as sudden starts of imagination, or to be 
 Wolscley. rejected as trivial, or unworthy of consideration ; 
 the desire of the parliament, is the voice of the 
 people ; nor can it, indeed, be now disregarded, without 
 breaking all the rules of policy, and neglecting the first 
 opportunity of reinstating the nation in tranquillity. 
 Glynne. The parliament, the only authority which* the 
 nation reverences, has now first attempted to es- 
 tablish a legal and settled government, by conferring oa 
 
 B3
 
 6 Debate with CromwelL 
 
 your highness the title of King, which you therefore cannot 
 
 refuse without encouraging the enemies of our 
 
 Broghill. government, by shewing not only, lhat the chief 
 
 magistrate of the nation hears a title unknown to 
 
 the law, but even such as is disapproved by the parliament; 
 
 that parliament which he himself called. 
 
 But the parliament is far from desiring that their authority 
 alone should enforce their desire, for which they have so 
 many and so strong reasons to allege ; nor are their own 
 reasons alone to be considered, but the authority of all for- 
 mer parliaments, who have ever been to the last degree 
 cautious of admitting the least change in any thing that re- 
 lated to the constituent part of our government. 
 
 When King James, after his accession to the crown of 
 England, was desirous of changing his title to 
 Lenthal. that of King of Great Britain, the parliament 
 refused to admit any alteration in the regal style : 
 not that they discovered any apparent ill consequences arising 
 from it, but because they did not know how far it might 
 affect the constitution, nor to what farther alterations it 
 might make way. In the late parliament, when it was pro- 
 posed that the name of Parliament should be changed to 
 that of Representatives of the People, the proposal was for 
 the same reason disapproved. "Nolumus leges Angliae mu- 
 tari" was a fixed principle of the ancient barons, and cer- 
 tainly nothing can shew greater weakness than to change 
 without prospect of advantage. Long prescription is a suf- 
 ficient argument in favour of a practice against which no- 
 thing can be alleged; nor is it sufficient to affirm that the 
 change may be made without inconvenience ; tor change 
 itself is an evil, and ought to be balanced by some equiva- 
 lent advantage, and bad consequences may arise though we 
 do not foresee them. 
 
 But the consequences of the change now proposed are 
 neither remote nor doubtful ; by substituting the name and 
 office of Protector in the place of those of King, we shall 
 immediately alarm the people, we shall awaken the jealousy 
 of the wise, and the fears of the timorous ; there 
 fines, will be indeed some reasons for apprehension and 
 Lisle. suspicion, which designing men will not fail to ex- 
 aggerate for their own purposes. The first ques- 
 tion that will naturally arise will be, What is this new office 
 of Protector, upon what law is it founded, and what are 
 the limits of his authority ? To these inquiries what answer 
 can be returned ? Shall it be said that his authority is inde- 
 pendent, despotic, and unlimited ? Where then is the
 
 Debate with Cromwell. 7 
 
 liberty for which the wisest and best men of this nation 
 have been so long contending ? What is the advantage of 
 
 all our battles and all our victories? If we say 
 JVhitlocke, that the authority of the Protector is bounded 
 Glynne, by the laws, how shall we prove the assertion ? 
 Fines, What law shall we be able to cite, by which the 
 
 Broghill. duties of the Protector to the people, or those 
 
 of the people to the Protector, are marked out ? 
 
 This then is the great reason upon which the parliament 
 
 have made their request. The people are to be governed 
 
 p , according to the law, and the law acknowledges 
 
 no supreme magistrate but the King. It is neces- 
 sary to the good administration of the state, that the duty 
 both of governors and subjects should be known, limited, 
 
 and stated, that neither the governors may op- 
 JVolseley, press the people, nor the people rebel against 
 Whitlocke, the governors ; the parliament therefore desires 
 Broghill, that the office and title of King may be restored 
 Glynne. as they are understood in their whole extent, 
 
 and in all their relations. Every man is well in- 
 formed when the King acts in conformity to the law, and 
 when he transgresses the limits of his authority ; but of the 
 
 power of the Protector they know nothing, and 
 Fines, therefore will suspect every thing ; nor indeed 
 Lisle, can their suspicions be reasonably censured ; for 
 
 Broghill. till they are informed what are the claims of this 
 
 new magistrate, how can they know their own 
 rights ? 
 
 If your highness should injure or oppress any man, to 
 
 what law can he appeal ? He may, indeed, dis- 
 Glynne. 'cover that the King could not have attacked his 
 
 property, but will never be able to prove that 
 the Protector is subject to the same restraint ; so that nei- 
 ther your highness is protected by the law when you do 
 right, nor the subject redressed if you should do wrong. 
 
 The end for which monarchy has been for some time sus- 
 Brofhill P ell ded, is the happiness of the people, and this 
 
 end can only now be attained by reviving it. The 
 question may indeed be brought to a short issue, for either 
 Fines ^ ie om ^ ce f Protector is the same with that of 
 
 b: <vKing, or something different from it; if it be the 
 same, let us not be so weak as to impose upon ourselves, 
 or so dishonest as to endeavour to deceive others, by reject- 
 ing the name while we retain the thing ; let not an aversion 
 
 to an idle sound, to a name reverenced by the 
 Fines, people, and approved by the parliament, incite 
 
 B 4
 
 S Debate with Cromwell 
 
 Lisle, you to reject the petition of the whole nation, to 
 
 Gtynne. raise difficulties in the distribution of justice, and 
 awaken themselves in the minds of all those who 
 attend more to names than things, who will always be the 
 greatest number, and whose satisfaction ought therefore to 
 be endeavoured by all lawful compliances. 
 
 It is a certain truth that old institutions are, merely be- 
 cause they are old, preferable to new plans, in 
 Broghill, their nature equally good, because a very small 
 Fines, part of mankind judges from any other principle 
 
 Wolseley. than custom, and it will be long before new titles 
 
 attract their regard, esteem, and veneration. 
 But if the office of Protector be not only in its denomi-^ 
 nation, but in nature also absolutely new, we are then yet 
 in a state of uncertainty, confusion and misery ; we have 
 the bounds of his authority to settle, the rights of parlia- 
 ment to state, all our laws to new model, and our 
 Fines. whole system of government to constitute afresh. 
 An endless and insuperable task, from which we 
 intreat your highness to exempt us, by assuming, according 
 to the advice of parliament, the office and title of King. 
 
 The Protector having desired some time to consider the argu- 
 ments that had been offered, returned on dpril the 1 3/A (the 
 tth as may be collected from Whitlccke) his Answer to this 
 effect. 
 
 MY LORDS, 
 
 THOUGH I am far from imagining myself qualified to con- 
 trovert a question of so great importance, with the learned 
 members of this committee, especially as the arguments 
 have been founded chiefly upon the laws and ancient con- 
 stitution of this nation, with which I have had no opportu- 
 nity to be well acquainted ; yet, since it may be reasonably 
 required of me either to yield to your reasons, or to assign 
 the difficulties and objections that hinder me from yielding, 
 I shall attempt to consider and discuss them diligently and 
 distinctly. 
 
 It has been urged, with great appearance of strength, that 
 the title of King is the only title by which the laws acknow- 
 ledge the chief magistrate of this nation ; that t',?e title can- 
 not be changed without supposing a change in the office, 
 and that a change in the office would be a dangerous inno- 
 vation, productive of debate, jealousy, and suspicion ; 
 that the limits of this new-erected authority would be un- 
 known to the people, as being unsettled by the lawj that
 
 Debate with Ci'omwdL 9 
 
 thepeople are best pleased with institutions which they have 
 long known, and that therefore it would neither contribute 
 to the public h?^piness, nor to our own security, to obtrude 
 upon the nation titles and offices either new in reality or iu 
 appearance. 
 
 The apprehension that the parliaments have always ex- 
 pressed of changes and innovations, has been made appear 
 by two remarkable instances, and to shew the necessity of 
 restoring the title of King, it has been alleged, that not only 
 the dangers and discontents that novelty produces will be 
 escaped by it, but that both the chief magistrate, and those 
 that act by his authority, will be more effectually protected 
 by the laws of the nation. 
 
 * These are the chief arguments that have dwelt upon my 
 memory. Arguments doubtless of force, and such as do not 
 admit of an easy confutation, but which, however, in my 
 opinion, prove rather the expediency, than necessity, of re- 
 viving monarchy under its ancient title, and as such I shall 
 consider them, for where absolute inevitable necessity is 
 contended for, the controversy will be very short ; absolute 
 necessity will soon appear by the impossibility of shewing 
 any method of avoiding it, and where any expedient may 
 be proposed that may probably produce the same effects, 
 necessity vanishes at once. Very few actions are really ne- 
 cessary, most of them are only expedient, or comparatively 
 preferable to other measures that may be taken. Where 
 there is room for comparisons, there is room for diversity of 
 opinions. 
 
 That the title of King is not necessary, how long soever 
 it may have been in use, or what regard soever may have 
 been paid it, is plain from the very nature of language. 
 Words have not their import from the natural power of par- 
 ticular combinations of characters, or from the real efficacy 
 of certain sounds ; but from the consent of those that use 
 them, and arbitrarily annex certain ideas to them which 
 might have been signified with equal propriety by any other. 
 Whoever originally distinguished the chief magistrate by 
 the appellation of King, might have assigned him any other 
 denomination, and the power of the people can never be 
 lost or impaired. If that might once have been done, ?t may 
 be done now ; for surely words are of no other value than 
 their significations, and the name of King can have no other 
 use than any other word of the same import. 
 
 That the law may be as regularly executed, and as chear- 
 fully obeyed, though the name of King be entirely reject- 
 ed, is, in my opinion, plain, from the experience both of
 
 10 Debate with Cromwell. 
 
 the time in which I have administered the government, and 
 of that when the execution of the la\vs was intrusted to the 
 Keepers of the Liberties of England, (Custodcs Libertatis 
 Anglian) in which justice has been as regularly, as equally, 
 and as expeditious!}', distributed, as in the happiest days of 
 the most celebrated Kings. The judges did, indeed, hesi- 
 tate for some time about the legality of their commissions, 
 but a short deliberation freed them from their doubts, and 
 certainly their authority ought to be of weight, as they have 
 been excelled by none of their predecessors in learning or 
 abilities. 
 
 That I have never interrupted the course of justice, all 
 the judges can attest, and, I believe, affirm with equal 
 confidence, that it has not been more obstructed by any 
 other impediment than in former times ; so that the title of 
 King appears by no means necessary to the efficacy of the 
 law. 
 
 Such obedience has been paid to the supreme magistracy 
 under two different denominations, neither of which was es- 
 tablished by a parliamentary sanction; and why should we 
 imagine any other title would obtain less regard, when con- 
 firmed by the power to which the title that you now contend 
 for, owes its validity ? 
 
 There was once a time when every office, as well as the title 
 annexed to that office, was newly invented and introduced; 
 from what did it derive its legality and its importance at its 
 first introduction, but from general consent ? The great, 
 binding, the inviolable law, is the consent of the people ; 
 without this nothing is right, and supported by this, nothing 
 Can be wrong. Antiquity adds nothing to this great sanc- 
 tion, nor can novelty take away its authority. What is now 
 determined by the people, or by their proper representa- 
 tives, is of equal validity with the earliest institutions, and 
 whether they will be governed by a supreme magistrate 
 under the King, or any other, the government is equally 
 lawful. 
 
 As therefore neither reason nor experience can prove that 
 this title is absolutely essential to the due administration of 
 justice, it is proper to inquire how far it may be convenient; 
 what proportions of advantage or detriment will arise from 
 it. In this inquiry I hope that the honesty of my intentions, 
 and the purity of my heart, will not be mistaken. 1 hope 
 that neither hypocrisy nor artifice will be imputed to my 
 open declarations and sincere professions ; declarations and 
 professions which I make not hastily and negligently, but 
 with care, rclk-ction, and deliberate caution, in the pre-
 
 Debate with Cromwell. 1 1 
 
 sence of the Almighty power, by whose providence I have 
 been guided, and in whose presence I stand. I hope it 
 will not be imagined that I reject the title of King from 
 fondness for that of Protector, a name and office to which 
 I was far from aspiring, and which I only did not refuse 
 when it was offered me; nor did I then accept it as imagin- 
 ing myself qualified to govern others, who find it sufficiently 
 difficult to regulate my own conduct, nor even from a con- 
 fidence that I should be able much to benefit the nation ; 
 the only motive by which I was induced to engage in so ar- 
 duous and invidious an employment, was the desire of ob- 
 viating those evils which I saw impending over the nation ; 
 and to prevent the revival of those disjDiites in which so much 
 blood had been already shed, and which must inevitably in- 
 volve us in endless confusion. 
 
 Having these prospects before me, I thought it not law- 
 ful to reject an opportunity of preventing calamities, even 
 when there was no hope of promoting happiness : I there- 
 fore could not but accept, what at the same time I could 
 not ardently desire. For nothing can deserve to be pursued 
 with eagerness and assiduity but the power of doing good, 
 of conferring real and solid benefits upon mankind. And 
 surely, while the only end for which greatness and authority 
 are desired, is public good, those desires are at least lawful, 
 and perhaps worthy of applause : they are certainly lawful, 
 if he that entertains them has, by a long and diligent ex- 
 amination of his own heart, an examination serious and sin- 
 cere, without any of those fallacious arts by which the con- 
 science is too frequently deceived, satisfied himself that his 
 ultimate views are not his own honour or interest, but the 
 welfare of mankind, and the promotion of virtue, and that 
 his advancement will contribute to them. 
 
 Having informed you by what means I was raised to the 
 Protectorship, and for what reason I accepted it, I may pro- 
 perly proceed to deliver my own sentiments of the office in 
 which I have engaged, that it may appear, from my own no- 
 tions of my present situation, how little it can be preferred 
 by me, on account of any personal views, to that which the 
 parliament now offers : and that whatever arguments I shall 
 make use of in this question, are not dictated by private in- 
 terest, but by a sincere and unfeigned regard for the happi- 
 ness of the nation. 
 
 I have often considered, with a degree of attention suit- 
 able to the importance of the inquiry, what is the nature 
 of my present office, and what is the purpose which I am 
 principally to have in view, and could never attain to any
 
 12 Debate, with Cromwell. 
 
 Further determination than that I was the chief constable of 
 the nation, and was intrusted with the care of the public 
 peace. This trust I have endeavoured faithfully to dis- 
 charge, and have been so far successful, that peace has 
 never been long interrupted, and whatever miseries have 
 been feared or felt, we have enjoyed the blessings of quiet, 
 a blessing, in my opinion, too valuable to be hazarded by 
 any unnecessary or inconsiderate innovations, and for the 
 sake of which I think it therefore necessary to decline the 
 title uhich is now offered me. 
 
 This argument will not, perhaps, be immediately under- 
 stood, nor is it easy for me to make it intelligible, without 
 giving an account of some past transactions, too long to be 
 excused but by the importance of the subject. 
 
 At the beginning of the late war between the King and 
 parliament, 1 observed that in all encounters the royalists 
 prevailed, and our men, though superior in number, or 
 other advantages, were shamefully routed, dispersed, and 
 slaughtered; and discoursing upon this subject with my wor- 
 thy friend, Mr. John Hampden, a name remembered by most 
 of you with reverence, I told him that this calamity, for- 
 midable as it was, admitted, in my opinion, of a remedy, 
 and that by a proper choice of soldiers the state of the war 
 must soon be changed. You are, said I, in comparing our 
 forces with those of the enemy, to regard, in the first place, 
 the difference between their education and habitual senti- 
 ments. Our followers are, for the most part, the gleanings 
 of the lowest rank of the people, serving-men discarded, 
 and mechanics without employments, men used to insults 
 and servility from their cradles, without any principles of 
 honour, or incitements to overbalance the sense of imme- 
 diate danger. Their army is crowded with men whose pro- 
 fession is courage, who have been by their education forti- 
 fied against cowardice, and have been esteemed throughout 
 their lives in proportion to their bravery. All their officers 
 are men of quality, and their soldiers the sons of gentlemen, 
 men animated by a sense of reputation, who had rather die 
 than support the ignominy of having turned their backs. 
 Can it be supposed that education has no force, and that 
 principles exert no influence upon actions ? Can men that fight 
 only for pay, without any sense of honour from conquest, 
 or disgrace from being overcome, withstand the charge of 
 gentlemen, of men that act upon principles of honour, and 
 confirm themselves and each other in their resolutions by 
 reason and reflection ? To motives such as these, what can 
 be opposed by our men that may exalt them to the same
 
 Debate with Cromwell. 1$ 
 
 degree of gallantry, and animate them with the same con- 
 tempt of danger and of death ? Zeal for religion is the only 
 motive more active and powerful than these, and that it is in 
 our power to inculcate. Let us choose men warm with re- 
 gard for their religion, men who shall think it a high de- 
 gree of impiety to fly before the wicked and profane, to 
 forsake the cause of heaven, and prefer safety to truth) and 
 our enemies will quickly be subdued. 
 
 This advice was not otherwise disapproved than as diffi- 
 cult to be put in execution : this difficulty I imagined my- 
 self in some degree able to surmount, and applied all my 
 industry to levy such men as were animated with a zeal of 
 religion, and to inflame their fervour: nor did the effect 
 deceive my expectation, for when these men were led to 
 the field, no veterans could stand before them, no obstruc- 
 tions could retard, or danger affright them ; and to these 
 men are to be attributed the victories that we have gained, 
 arid the peace that we enjoy. 
 
 Of this account there may be many uses; it may contribute 
 to confirm us in our perseverance in this cause, that it has 
 hitherto succeeded by the endeavours of good men ; it may 
 tend to the confirmation of religious men in their purposes 
 of an holy life, that those principles are more efficacious and 
 powerful than any other ; but with regard to the present dis- 
 pute, I mean only to observe how highly these men are to be 
 valued, how much of our regard they may justly claim, and 
 how weak it would be to alienate them from us by reviving 
 a title which they have been taught to abhor. 
 
 It may be urged, that to refuse obedience to lawful au- 
 thority, under whatsoever name, is not consistent with the 
 character of piety ; and that to abhor the title and office 
 of King, the title lawfully conferred, and the office justly 
 administered, is not so much religion as prejudice, and 
 rather folly than conscience. Nor can I deny either of these 
 assertions ; I am far from thinking it lawful to withhold obe- 
 dience from lawful government, and freely confess, that to 
 reverence, or detest, a mere name, is equally weak. And I 
 am confident that those good men of whom I have been 
 speaking, will obey the legislative power by what title so- 
 ever exercised; and with regard to their scruples, however 
 unreasonable, it is my opinion that they who have done and 
 suffered so much, deserve that some indulgence should be 
 shewed, even to their weakness, and that they should not 
 be grieved with imaginary hardships, or perplexed with tor- 
 menting scruples without necessity ; their readiness to com- 
 ply with authority is a plea for tenderness and regard, which
 
 14 Debate with Cromwell. 
 
 will contribute to unite their endeavours with ours, for the 
 suppression of those who seem to look upon it as their duty 
 to oppose all government, and whose opinions lead them to 
 imagine all human authority impious and detestable. 
 
 The reason for which these men will be offended at the 
 revival of the title and office of King, a reason which, I 
 confess, has some weight with me, and may, perhaps, more 
 strongly affect weaker minds, if any such there are, is this ; 
 we are, indeed, principally to consult the Scriptures as the 
 rule of our consciences, hut we are likewise to have regard 
 to the visible hand of God, and the dispensations of provi- 
 dence, by which the Scripture may be often very clearly 
 and usefully explained; in these explications, indeed, we 
 may easily be deceived ; and therefore ought not to depend 
 upon them with a presumptuous degree of confidence, but 
 to use them with caution, modesty, and a careful attention 
 to every circumstance that may rectify our mistakes ; but 
 we certainly ought not to pass great events over without re- 
 flection, observation, or regard. 
 
 When, in conformity to this rule, I consider the late re- 
 volution that has happened in this nation, and see that, not 
 only the royal family is subdued and exiled, but the name 
 and title eradicated by the providence of God, it appears to 
 me no less than presumption to attempt to restore it. How 
 just these proceedings were with regard to those that trans- 
 acted them, I am not now to dispute, nor need I say how I 
 would act were the same circumstances to recur ; I only 
 desire you to remember, that neither by me, nor by those 
 who invested me with this authority, was the title abolished, 
 but by the Long Parliament. It is sufficient for my purpose to 
 remark, that the title was not laid aside by caprice, or acci- 
 dental disgust, but after ten years' war, by long and sober de- 
 liberation; and what is this less than the hand of God ? When 
 I see that by these instruments of vengeance he has not only 
 expelled the family, but blasted the title ; would not an at- 
 tempt to restore it be like an endeavour to build up Jericho, 
 to defeat the designs of providence, and oppose the great 
 ruler of the universe ? 
 
 These are the reasons for which I think the office and 
 title of King neither necessary nor expedient; whether they 
 ought to convince you I am not able to determine, nor wish 
 that they should have any force which their own weight does 
 not give them. In the desire of a firm and settled form of 
 government, the great end for which this proposal is made, 
 I concur with the parliament, and hope that no reasons or 
 resolution of mine will in the least tend to obstruct it ; for
 
 Debate with Cromwell. 15 
 
 a firm and legal establishment, as it is the only method 
 by which happiness or liberty can be secured, is equally 
 the concern of every wise and honest man, and whoever op- 
 poses it, deserves nothing less than to be marked out as an 
 enemy to this country. I would not wish that this great de- 
 sign should be frustrated by a compliance with my inclina- 
 tions, for settlement and order are surely necessary, whether 
 royalty be necessary or not ; whatever may contribute to 
 this, I intreat you steadily to pursue, nor should I advise 
 even to deny that gratification to the particular prejudices 
 or passions of private men, that may secure their affections 
 to good for the advancement of it. For rny part, could I 
 multiply my person, or dilate my power, I should dedicate 
 myself wholly to this great end, in the prosecution of which 
 I shall implore the blessing of God upon your councils and 
 endeavours. 
 
 On the \3th of April, (according to Whitlocke) the committee 
 attended the Protector, and offered the following reply. 
 
 As the request of the parliament is of too great import- 
 ance to be either granted or refused without long delibera- 
 tion, we have thought it necessary to attend your highness 
 a second time, that this great question, after having been 
 on both sides attentively considered, may at last be diligently 
 discussed, and determined with that caution which is always 
 to be used, where the happiness and tranquillity of the pub- 
 lic is evidently concerned. 
 
 That the title of King is not absolutely and physically 
 necessary to government, will be readily admitted ; for, if 
 government can subsist an hour, or a day without it, no 
 man can affirm that it is absolutely necessary. Necessity in 
 this sense has no place in political transactions. Laws them- 
 selves are not absolutely necessary, the will of 
 Fines. the prince may supply them, and the wisdom and 
 vigilance of a good prince make a people happy 
 without them. Natural necessity allows no room for disputa- 
 tion, being always evident beyond controversy, and power- 
 ful beyond resistance. Therefore in all debates of this 
 kind, by necessity, moral necessity is to be understood, 
 which is nothing more than a high degree of expedience, or 
 incontestable reasons of preference. 
 
 That the title of King is in this sense necessary to tho 
 government of these nations, may perhaps be proved, but 
 an attempt to prove it seems, in the present state of the 
 question, superfluous, because the request of the parliament
 
 16 Debate with Cromwell. 
 
 is in itself a reason sufficient to overbalance all that has been 
 urged in opposition to it. And it may therefore be rather re- 
 quired of your highness to prove the necessity of rejecting 
 that title which the whole people of England entreat you to 
 accept. 
 
 For nothing less than necessity ought to be put in balance 
 
 with the desires of the whole people legally 
 Fines. represented. But how can such necessity be 
 
 evinced ? Or whence can it arise ? That either 
 monarchy, or any other form of government, is contrary to 
 the revealed will of God cannot be pretended. No kind 
 of government is unlawful in its own nature, nor is any 
 one dignified with a higher degree of the divine appro- 
 bation than another; political institutions are like 
 Lenthal. other contracts, in which such stipulations are to 
 
 be made as the contracting parties shall judge con- 
 ducive to their happiness, and they must therefore vary 
 according to the various opinions of those that make them ; 
 
 but when made, they are all obligatory and invio- 
 Fines. lable. There is therefore no necessity, from the 
 
 divine commands, either of accepting this title, or 
 refusing it; there is nothing in the name of a King either 
 sacred as some have had the weakness to assert, or profane 
 as others have imagined with no better reason. The neces- 
 sity on either side must therefore be accidental, and arise 
 from circumstances and relations. And surely the prescrip- 
 tion of many hundred years, the authority of the law, and 
 the approbation of the people, are circumstances that will 
 constitute the highest degree of political necessity. 
 That monarchy under the title of King has all the sanction 
 
 that antiquity can give, is too evident for contro- 
 Ghjnue, versy ; but it may perhaps be questioned how far 
 Fines. the sanction of antiquity deserves to be regarded. 
 
 The long continuance of any practice which might 
 have been altered or disused at pleasure, is at least a proof 
 that no inconveniences have been found to arise from it, 
 and a custom, not in itself detrimental, becomes every day 
 better established, because the other parts of life will be 
 regulated with relation to it, till what was merely arbitrary 
 at liisf, appears in time essential and indispensable. The 
 nati n might doubtless, when government was first instituted 
 here, have chosen any other constitution, no less lawfully^ 
 than that of monarchy; but monarchy, either by deliberation 
 or chance, was established, and the laws have all been made 
 in consequence of that establishment, and so strongly con- 
 UL-cted with it, that they must stand or fall together. The
 
 Debate with Cromwell. 17 
 
 King is obliged to act in conformity to the laws, and the 
 law can only act by commission from the King. The pre- 
 rogative of our monarchs, and the authority of 
 Finesy our laws, it has been already the task of several 
 Glj/?me, ages to regulate and ascertain, a task which must 
 Broghill.be again begun, if the supreme magistrate has 
 
 another title. 
 
 If it be urged that this labour may be spared by one ge- 
 neral act, declaring the power of the Protector the same 
 with that of our former Kings, what then have we 
 Fines, been contending for ? a meer name ! an empty 
 Broghill. sound ! yet a sound of such importance to be pre- 
 ferred to the voice of the whole people ! But this 
 certainly will not be proposed, because if such an act be 
 public, all must be immediately convinced that they are 
 governed as before by a King, and therefore all objections 
 to our ancient constitution remain in their full strength. 
 
 But indeed the long continuance of monarchy, is an irre- 
 fragable proof, that in the opinion of the people, there have 
 hitherto arisen no lasting or heavy calamities from it, and 
 that therefore nothing can reasonably be feared from reviv- 
 ing it, at least nothing equivalent to the discontent that will 
 be produced by a total alteration of our constitution, and 
 the apprehensions which a new power, or new title, must 
 certainly create; a title of which the import is unknown, 
 and a power of which the limits are unsettled. 
 
 Antiquity, which to the wise and inquisitive is often only 
 a proof of general approbation, becomes to the vulgar a 
 foundation for reverence. Institutions and customs are long 
 continued because they are good, and are reverenced be- 
 cause they have been long continued. Thus the danger of 
 changing them grows every day greater, as the real use- 
 fulness is always the same, and the accidental esteem of 
 them is always increasing. To shew how much this regard 
 to antiquity contributes to the good order of the world, and 
 how inevitably it arises from the present state of things, is 
 not at present requisite; since experience may convince us 
 of its influence, and the experience of our own times above 
 any other, in which we have almost every day been chang- 
 ing the form of government, without having been 
 Jones. able to satisfy either ourselves or the people. 
 Whether any of the schemes that have been tried, 
 were, in themselves preferable to that of monarchy, it is 
 difficult to determine ; but this at least is obvious, if they 
 were not preferable, monarchy ought to be restored, and 
 if they were, there needs no farther proof of the affectioij 
 VOL. i. c
 
 18 Debate with Cromwell. 
 
 of the people to the ancient constitution, since they would 
 
 be content with no other, though of greater ex- 
 
 Jones, cellence; but after years spent in fruitless expe- 
 
 Lcnthal. riments, have returned back to monarchy with 
 
 greater eagerness. 
 
 Nor was the disapprobation of these new forms merely 
 popular, but the result of long deliberation, and 
 Lenthal. careful inquiry in those whose opinions ought most 
 to be regarded in questions of this kind. Some 
 of the judges themselves, even of those whose learning and 
 integrity are above distrust, refused to act by any other 
 commission than that of the King; and, as it was observed 
 in our last conference, those that complied, plead- 
 Broghill. ed no other reason for their conduct, than neces- 
 sity, a reason which can last no longer, since that 
 necessity is now at an end. 
 
 Nor can it be wondered, that those whose lives have been 
 laid out upon the study of the laws, have conceived the 
 strongest ideas of the necessity of this title; a title sup- 
 posed by the law so essential to our constitution, that the 
 cessation of its influence, even for a few days, might subvert 
 or endanger it, as the destruction of one of the elements 
 would throw the natural world into confusion. For this 
 reason it is a fixed principle, That the King never 
 Lenthal. dies, that the regal authority is never extinct, and 
 that there has in effect been no more than one 
 King since the first establishment of monarchy. For, during 
 the time that the regal authority should be suspended, the 
 law must cease from its operations; no crime could be pu- 
 nished, nor any question of property be decided ; all power 
 to punish, and all authority to decide, being derived imme- 
 diately from the King, whose office therefore caunot be 
 abrogated ; for no authority can be taken away but by a 
 superior power, and this nation has never known or acknow- 
 ledged any power independent of that of the King. The 
 authority of parliament, and the rights of the people, can 
 boast no deeper foundation, or stronger establishment. The 
 power of parliament has no efficacy but as it co-operates 
 with that of the King, nor can one destroy the other with- 
 out a general dissolution of our government: these two con- 
 current powers are the essential parts of our constitution, 
 which, when either of them shall cease, is equally de- 
 stroyed. 
 
 These considerations are surely sufficient to vindicate the 
 jqdges, whom it would be to the last degree unreasonable 
 to blame, for their steady adherence to the laws, which it
 
 Debate with Cromwell. 19 
 
 is the business of their office to maintain ; but it is not to be 
 imagined that the same motives influenced the bulk of the 
 people to this general desire which was so apparently pre- 
 valent throughout the nation. General effects must have 
 general causes, and nothing can influence the whole nation 
 to demand the restoration of monarchy, but universal ex- 
 perience of the evils produced by rejecting it ; evils too evi- 
 dent to be concealed, and too heavy to be borne. One of 
 
 these, and perhaps not the least, is the interrup- 
 Lenthal, tion of justice, which has not been administered 
 Fines, but by the assistance of the army, the last expe- 
 dient that ought to be made use of. 
 That the laws did not lose more of their authority, and 
 
 justice was not more evaded, is indeed not to be 
 Jones, ascribed to the forms of government which these 
 
 years of distraction have produced, but to the 
 care, integrity, and reputation of those men in whose hands 
 the great offices were placed ; who were reverenced by the 
 people on account of their own characters, rather than from 
 any regard to the powers by whom they were commissioned; 
 powers which yesterday produced, and which were expect- 
 ed to perish tormorrow. For every title, except that of 
 King, which antiquity has made venerable, is considered 
 only as the issue of a momentary caprice, and subject to be 
 
 changed by the inconstancy that erected it, as soon 
 Lenthal. as any inconvenience shall be discovered to arise 
 
 from it ; because what is raised by one act of par- 
 liament, may, by another, be destroyed, and such alter- 
 ations it is reasonable to expect; for as no form of govern- 
 ment is without its defects, while it remains part of every 
 man's right to propose a new scheme, which he will always 
 think more beneficial than any other, every man that has 
 any real or fancied amendments to offer, will be impatient 
 till they have been tried, and will endeavour to facilitate 
 the reception of them, by exaggerating the disadvantages 
 of the present plan, and heightening the discontents that 
 arise from them. Thus shall we go on from change to change, 
 from expedient to expedient. Thus shall we attempt lo 
 remove one evil by introducing another, and gain nothing 
 by all our fatigues, perplexities and sufferings, but new con- 
 viction of the necessity of complying with the laws and the 
 people. 
 
 It is indeed no great proof of regard to the nation, to 
 
 deny any legal request; perhaps more may be said 
 fines. without the least deviation from truth and justice. 
 
 The people, for whose sake only government is 
 C2
 
 20 Debate with Cromwell. 
 
 constituted, have a right to settle the forms of it, and this 
 petition is only an exertion of that natural privilege which 
 cannot be forfeited. All government must derive its legality 
 either from the choice of the people by whom it was esta- 
 blished, or from their consent after its institution ; the pre- 
 sent government was erected without their concurrence, 
 and k is to be inquired whether it be not now dissolved by 
 their petition to dissolve it ? 
 
 But whether this petition may be lawfully refused or not, 
 prudence at least requires that it be complied with ; for it is 
 always absolutely necessary to the happiness of any admi- 
 nistration, that the people love and esteem their governors. 
 The supreme magistrate must therefore assume the title of 
 King ; for no title that has not the sanction of the parliament, 
 
 and is therefore subject to an immediate change, 
 Fines, can be equally reverenced with that which has 
 Whitehouse, been established by the approbation of many 
 Ltnthaly generations, the authority of many parliaments, 
 Jones, and which the experience of the whole nation, 
 
 Glynne, has proved to be without those dangers that may 
 Bright. be justly suspected in any new institution, which 
 
 can never be considered in its whole extest, or 
 pursued to all its consequences. 
 
 No/ can the nation in this demand be charged with in- 
 constancy in their resolutions, or inconsistency in their con- 
 duct; for that the war was begun not against 
 Lcnthal. the office of King, but against the person of him 
 
 who was then invested with it, and discharged 
 it in a manner contrary to the intention for which he was 
 
 intrusted with it, is apparent from four declara- 
 Jones. tions of parliament ; nor is it less known that the 
 
 first breach of unanimity among the friends of 
 Broghill. liberty was produced by the abolition of this 
 
 title, and may therefore be probably repaired by 
 the revival of it. 
 
 If it be urged that the question, which relates only to a 
 name, be trifling and unimportant, it may be replied, that 
 the less is demanded, the greater contempt is shewn by a 
 refusal. That titles are more than empty sounds, may be 
 proved not only from the present dispute, but from the 
 
 ancient constitutions, and the determinations of 
 Onslow. former parliaments, by which the title of King 
 
 was declared essential to the constitution, in the 
 reigns of Edward IV. and Henry VII.; and yet a stronger 
 proof of regard to titles, was given to the parliament of 
 Henry the VIII. in which it was enacted, that the title of
 
 Debate with Cromwell. 21 
 
 Lord of Ireland should be changed to that of 
 Whitlocke. King ; that the difficulties arising from the am- 
 biguity of the title might be removed. Even 
 the late convention called together without the election or 
 concurrence of the people, found the prejudice arising from 
 mere titles of so great force, that they were obliged to 
 assume the name of a parliament, that their determinations 
 might escape contempt. 
 
 Thus the request of the parliament appears not only rea- 
 sonable, but necessary; not only consistent with the present 
 disposition of the people, but conformable to the sentiments 
 of all former acts ; and certainly nothing should produce a 
 refusal of such a request except the impossibility of grant- 
 ing it. 
 
 But the objections raised by your highness seem very far 
 from implying any necessity of declining the title so unani- 
 mously offered you, and so earnestly pressed upon you, 
 being founded upon suppositions merely conjectural. For 
 your first assertion, that the office does not necessarily re- 
 quire the same title, has been already considered, and it 
 has been shewn, that there can be no reason in altering the 
 title, if the power be the same ; and that the supreme ma- 
 gistrate cannot be invested with new powers without end- 
 less confusion and incredible jealousies. It is therefore of 
 no great force to object, that many good men will be dis- 
 satisfied with the revival of the title ; for though it must be 
 granted, that those who have assisted us in shaking off op- 
 pression, have a claim to our gratitude, and that piety, 
 though erroneous, deserves indulgence, yet both gratitude 
 and indulgence ought to be limited by reason. 
 Jones. In things indifferent, considerations of tender- 
 
 ness and respect may turn the balance ; but we 
 have not a right to consult the satisfaction of a few, however 
 great their merits may have been, at the expence of the 
 public tranquillity, and the happiness of succeeding gene- 
 rations. The satisfaction of particulars may be endeavoured 
 by particular provision; but if, in questions of universal im- 
 portance, we have regard to any thing but universal good, 
 and the great laws of reason and justice, we shall be tossed 
 in end less u ncertainty. He that observeth the winds shall never 
 sow, and he that regardeth the clouds shall never reap. He 
 that attends to mutable circumstances, and waits till nothing 
 shall oppose his intention, shall design for ever without ex- 
 ecution. When are we to hope for settlement, if general 
 unanimity must introduce it? Whatever shall be deter- 
 mined, multitudes will still remain dissatisfied, because 
 
 c 3
 
 22 Debate with Cromwell. 
 
 men's opinions will always be various. It was 
 
 fines, not with universal approbation that the title of 
 
 Onslow, Protector was assumed, or that any change has 
 
 hitherto been made; but since some discontent 
 
 Broghill, will always be found, whatever measures shall 
 
 Whitlocke 9 be taken, let not the satisfaction of private men 
 
 Broghill. be preferred to that of the parliament, to the 
 
 determination of which all good men will readily 
 
 submit. 
 
 Still less weight has the objection drawn by your highness 
 from the visible dispensations of providence, of 
 Fines, which we know too little to direct our actions 
 
 Onslow. by them, in opposition to evident reason, to 
 certain facts, and revealed precepts ; lights which 
 \ve always are commanded to use, and of which the two first 
 can seldom, and the last never deceive us. If we consider 
 this position, that because providence has once blasted the 
 title of King, or suffered it to be blasted, it is therefore 
 never to be revived, it will soon appear that we cannot ad- 
 mit it in its whole extent and pursue it through all its con- 
 sequences, without involving ourselves in endless difficul- 
 ties and condemning our own conduct. 
 
 If providence hath blasted the office of King, 
 Jones, how can it be proved that the supreme power, 
 Onslow, in any single head, under whatsoever title, even 
 Fines, the power which you now possess, is not equally 
 Broghill. interdicted ? The acts of parliament extend, 
 equally to all titles, and declare against monarchy 
 under every name. 
 
 But the consequences of this proposition do not ter-r 
 ruinate in this inconsistency of conduct, but extend equal- 
 ly to every determination ; for if what has 
 Fines, . been once destroyed by providence be for ever 
 Jones. after interdicted, what will remain of which 
 
 the use is lawful ? What is there of which we 
 have not at some time been deprived by providence, or 
 which providence has not some time made the instrument 
 of our punishment? May not the dissolution of 
 Broghill, the Long Parliament be interpreted as a blast 
 fines. from heaven with equal justice, and the people 
 be represented no more ? But in reality, the 
 proceedings of providence are not intended as rules of ac- 
 tion ; we are left to govern our own lives by virtue and by 
 prudence ; when a form of government is de- 
 Fines. stroyed, for just reasons it is blasted by provi* 
 dence, and loses its efficacy j when with ecmai
 
 Debate with Cromwell. 23 
 
 reason it is restored, then providence again smiles upon it, 
 and the sanction of heaven renews its validity. If royalty 
 was destroyed by providence, who can deny 
 Onslow, that the same providence directs it to be revived ? 
 JSroghiUy Is not the resolution of the parliament equally 
 Fines. a proof on either side ; or have we any argu- 
 
 ments to prove that the people co-operate with 
 providence less when they require than when they reject a 
 King ? Let us wave such inconclusive arguments and dubious 
 conjectures, and guide ourselves by the steady light of re- 
 ligion, reason, and experience. That a just demand is not 
 to be refused, religion will inform us : reason 
 Broghill. will teach us that the magistrate is to conform 
 to the laws, and not the laws yield to the ma- 
 gistrate : and the experience of many ages may instruct us, 
 that the King has nothing to fear from compliance with the 
 parliament. At least if any danger should arise from the 
 measures now proposed, it will arise from the performance, 
 not neglect of our duty ; and we may therefore encounter 
 it with that resolution which a consciousness of the appro- 
 bation of God ought to inspire. 
 
 THE PROTECTOR'S REPLY. 
 
 {The reply is in many parts remarkably obscure, as well from 
 the negligence and ignorance of the Copiers and Printers, 
 as from frequent allusions to occurrences known to the persons 
 with wlwm Cromwell was conferring, but not mentioned in 
 any History which it is now in our power to consult ; we have 
 therefore collected such of the arguments as we can apprehend 
 the full meaning of, and have omitted some unintelligible 
 passages, and others which related to other articles in the 
 Petition.'] 
 
 On the 26th of April, (and in another conference, May ll,) 
 the Protector made the following reply. 
 
 MY LORDS, 
 
 HAVING seriously reflected on the demand of the parlia- 
 ment, and the learned arguments produced by the com- 
 mittee to support it, I think it unreasonable any longer to 
 delay such a reply as it is in my power to make ; because 
 it is both due to the great body by whom you are deputed, 
 and necessary to the dispatch of public affairs, which seem 
 to be entirely suspended, and to wait for the decision of 
 this question ; a question which I cannot yet think of so 
 ffiuch importance as it is represented and conceived* 
 
 c 4
 
 124 Debate, with Cromwell. 
 
 The arguments produced in the last conference, I shall 
 not waste time in repeating, because they were little diffe- 
 rent from those formerly produced, only graced with new 
 decorations, and enforced with some new instances. With 
 respect to the chief reason, the known nature of the title of 
 King, the fixed and stated bounds of the authority implied 
 by it, its propriety with regard to the laws, and the vene- 
 ration paid to it by the people, I have notiring to add, nor 
 think any thing necessary beyond what I have already offer- 
 ed. I am convinced that your authority is sufficient to give 
 validity to any administration, and to add dignity to any title, 
 without the concurence of ancient forms, or the sanction of 
 hereditary prejudices. 
 
 All government intends the good of the people, and that 
 government is therefore best by which their good may be 
 most effectually promoted; we are, therefore, in establishing 
 the chief magistracy of these kingdoms, chiefly to inquire, 
 what form or what title will be most willingly admitted, and 
 this discovery being once ma,de, it will easily be established 
 by a single act of parliament, concurring with the general 
 desire ot the people. 
 
 It may indeed be urged, that in rejecting the title of 
 King, I deny the request of the parliament, and treat the 
 representatives of the people with a degree of disregard, 
 which no King of England ever discovered. But let it be 
 considered how much my state differs from that of a legal 
 King, claiming the crown by inheritance, or exalted to su- 
 preme authority by the parliament, and governing by fixed 
 laws in a settled establishment. I hold the supreme power 
 by no other title than that of necessity. I assumed the au- 
 thority with which I stand invested at a time when immedi- 
 ate ruin was falling down upon us, which no other man durst 
 attempt to prevent ; when opposite factions were rushing 
 into war, because no man durst interpose and command 
 peace. What were the dangers that threatened us, and 
 upon what principles the factious and disobedient attempted 
 to interrupt the public tranquillity, it may not be at this time 
 improper to explain. 
 
 The parliament which had so vigorously withstood the 
 encroachments of the regal power, became themselves too 
 desirous of absolute authority, and not only engrossed the 
 legislative, but usurped the executive power. All causes, 
 civil and criminal, all questions of property and right, were 
 determined by committees, who being themselves the legis- 
 lature, were accountable to no law ; and for that reason 
 their decrees were arbitrary, and their proceedings violent;
 
 Debate with Cromwell. 23- 
 
 oppression was without redress, and unjust sentence with- 
 out appeal; all the business of all the courts of Westminster 
 was transacted in this manner, and the hardships were still 
 more lamented, because there was no prospect of either 
 end or intermission. For the parliament was so far from 
 intending to resign this unlimited authority, that they had 
 formed a resolution of perpetuating their tyranny ; and ap- 
 prehending no possibility of a dissolution by any other power, 
 determined never to dissolve themselves. 
 
 Such and so oppressive was the government planned out 
 to us, and for our posterity ; and under these calamities must 
 we still have languished, had not the same army which re- 
 pressed the insolence of monarchy, relieved us with the 
 same spirit from the tyranny of a perpetual parliament, a 
 tyranny which was equally illegal and oppressive. 
 
 When, after their dangers and labours, their battles and 
 their wounds, they had leisure to observe the government 
 which they had established at so much expence, they soon 
 perceived that unless they made one regulation more, and 
 crushed this many-headed tyranny, they had hitherto ven- 
 tured their lives to little purpose, and had, instead of assert- 
 ing their own and the people's liberty, only changed one 
 kind of slavery for another. 
 
 They therefore dissolved the parliament which would 
 never have dissolved itself; and that the nation might not 
 fall into its former state of confusion, intreated me to as- 
 sume the supreme authority, under the title of Protector ; 
 a title which implies not any legal power of governing in 
 my own right, but a trust consigned to me for the advantage 
 of another; this trust I have faithfully discharged, and, 
 whenever the means of settling the public shall be found, 
 am ready to give an account of it, and resign it. 
 
 The necessity which compelled me to accept it, was, in- 
 deed, not wholly produced by the illegal resolutions of the 
 parliament, but was much heightened by the ungovernable 
 fury of wild fanatics and tumultuous factions, who, to esta- 
 blish their new schemes, would have spread slaughter and 
 desolation through the kingdom, and spared nothing, how- 
 ever cruel or unjust, that might have propagated their own 
 opinions. 
 
 Of these, sdrme were for abrogating all our statutes, and 
 abolishing all our customs, and introducing the judicial law 
 of Moses as the only rule of judgment, and standard of 
 equity. Of this law every man was to be his own inter- 
 preter, and consequently was allowed to judge according to 
 his passions, prejudices, or ignorance, without appeal.
 
 26 Debate with Cromwell. 
 
 Every man was then to commence legislator ; for to make 
 laws, and to interpret them for his own use, is nearly the 
 same. 
 
 Another set of men there was, who were yet more pro- 
 fessedly for investing every man with the power of deter- 
 mining his own claims, and judging of his own actions ; for, 
 it was among them a principle fixed and incontrovertible, 
 that all magistracy was forbidden by God, and therefore un- 
 lawful and detestable. 
 
 It is unnecessary to say what must have been the state of 
 a nation, in which either of these parties had exalted them- 
 selves to power ; and how usefully that man was employed, 
 who stepping on a sudden into the seat of dominion, had 
 spirit to control, and power to suppress them. 
 
 The reproaches thrown upon my conduct by the ignorant 
 or ill affected, I sometimes hear, but with the neglect and 
 scorn which they deserve : I am acquitted by my own con- 
 science, and I hope by the best and wisest men ; I am con- 
 vinced that I was called by providence to the power which I 
 possess, and know that I desire it no longer than is neces- 
 sary for the preservation of peace, and the security of 
 liberty ; that liberty which I have never violated, and that 
 peace, which amidst murmurs, and discontents, threats, 
 and complaints, I have yet never suffered to be broken. 
 That I aspire to unlimited authority, and therefore assume 
 a title unknown to the nation, is a reproach easily cast, and 
 as easily contemned ; my power has been the offspring of 
 necessity, and its extent has been bounded only by the oc- 
 casions of exerting it. If a settlement is now proposed, and 
 previously to it, a legal establishment of my authority, it 
 may be limited by you ; under whatever title it shall be con- 
 ferred upon me, that title will then be valid, and those 
 limitations cannot be transgressed. 
 
 May 11.] With regard to the particular title which you 
 have so warmly recommended to me, I cannot yet prevail 
 upon myself to accept it; when I consider your arguments 
 I cannot find them inevitably conclusive ; and when I ex- 
 amine my own conscience in solitude, I find it yet unsatis- 
 fied. The desire of parliament is indeed a powerful motive, 
 but the desireof parliament cannot alterthe nature of things; 
 it may determine me in things indifferent, to chuse one ra- 
 ther than another ; but it cannot make those actions law- 
 ful which God has forbidden, nor oblige me to do what, 
 though perhaps lawful in itself, -is not lawful in my private 
 judgment. 
 
 Upon the calmest reflection, I am convinced that I cannot
 
 Cardinal Wolsey. 27 
 
 without a crime, comply with their demand; and there- 
 fore, as I am far from believing that those who sit for no 
 other end than to preserve the liberty of the nation, can 
 design any infraction of mine, I declare that I cannot under- 
 take the administration of the government, under the title of 
 King. 
 
 1741, Feb. and March. 
 
 II. Inquiry into the Death of Cardinal Wolsey. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 1 HE learned and elegant author of the life of Cardinal 
 Wolsey, Dr. Fiddes, is at all times labouring, whenever it 
 is possible, to exculpate his great man. The doctor is, in- 
 deed, a fine and an agreeable writer ; but notwithstanding 
 he is so ready with his well tempered mortar to cover defects, 
 yet I think there is one point, very essential to the Cardinal's 
 character, wherein he has scarcely done his hero justice. 
 It is Wolsey's behaviour at the last ; when if, according to 
 the popular notion of some, the Cardinal actually poisoned 
 himself, it is very inconsistent with that greatness of mind, 
 for which the Cardinal was so eminent, and which his pane- 
 gyrist so justly celebrates on other occasions : to be a sui- 
 cide, at length, argues great pusillanimity; and yet methinks 
 he is but weakly defended by his advocate against an impu- 
 tation so criminal, and so injurious. 
 
 I (propose, therefore, to canvass this point : and, without 
 any intention of patronising the rest of this author's specious 
 glosses relative to the Cardinal, I shall endeavour, partly 
 by strengthening the doctor's reasoning in some cases, and 
 in others, by offering here and there a new argument, to 
 clear this fact, and as I humbly hope, to place it beyond 
 all doubt for the future. 
 
 I conceive then, that in strictness we have no other au- 
 thority for this passage of the Cardinal's life, but that of Mr. 
 Cavendish, afterwards Sir William Cavendish, who was his 
 gentleman usher, and had received particular orders from 
 the king's highness to attend the Cardinal as the chief person 
 about him, and was sworn to that service ; * for as to later 
 authors that mention this matter, they all follow Mr. Caven- 
 dish, giving such a turn to his words as was most agreeable 
 
 f Cavendish's Life of Cardinal Wolsey, p, 138, edit. 1667. 8vo.
 
 28 Cardinal Wolsey, 
 
 to their own sentiments : thus Philipot, in his catalogue of 
 the chancellors, says, the Cardinal died, " not without sus- 
 picion of poison, which he had prepared for himself, and 
 given to his apothecary to deliver when he called for it.'* 
 And Baker, in his Chronicle, says, " But whether it were 
 he took it in too great a quantity, or that there was some 
 foul play used, he fell soon after into such a looseness," &c. 
 The former of these authors insinuates, that the Cardinal 
 poisoned himself; and the latter, that he, perhaps, might 
 be poisoned by others, and yet, I dare say, they both of 
 them made use of Mr. Cavendish ; insomuch, that the whole 
 weight of the evidence rests solely upon his testimony. But 
 then, on the other hand, it must be confessed that Mr. 
 Cavendish's authority is very great, and abundantly suffi- 
 cient in this case. His narrative of the life and death of 
 his master must be read it is true with caution, as requir- 
 ing some care and discernment ; for whilst he relates such 
 incidents as he was not actually privy to, he is liable to the 
 same errors that other biographers are, and consequently 
 has been contradicted upon some points;* but in such mat- 
 ters where he was personally present, ttiere is no room to 
 suspect his fidelity, for in them he is a most competent 
 witness, very fair, and very impartial.f Since then he may 
 be relied upon in such matters as this before us with the 
 utmost implicity, I shall here give you the substance of his 
 narration . 
 
 The Cardinal set out from Cawood for London, in the cus- 
 tody of the earl of Northumberland, and Sir Walter Welsh, a 
 gentleman of the king's privy chamber, Mr. Cavendish at- 
 tending him as his principal servant. They were got as far 
 as the earl of Shrewsbury's, or Sheffield manor, then called 
 Sheffield Lodge, and there the Cardinal staid some days. 
 " It came to pass as he sat one day at dinner, I, being 
 there, perceived his colour divers times to change ; I asked 
 him if he was not well, who answered me with a loud voice, 
 I am suddenly taken with a thing at my stomach as cold as 
 a whetstone, and am not well ; therefore take up the table, 
 and make a short dinner, and return to me again suddenly. 
 I made but a little stay, but came to him again, where I 
 found him still sitting very ill at ease : he desired me to go 
 to the apothecary, and ask him, if he had any thing would 
 break wind upwards. He told me he had ; then I went and 
 shewed the same to my lord, who did command me to give 
 
 * Dr. Fiddes's Life, of Wolsey, passim, f Nicholson's Hist. Library, p. 1C 9.
 
 Cardinal Wohty. 29 
 
 him some thereof, and so I did, and it made him break wind 
 exceedingly. Lo, quoth he, you may see it was but wind, 
 tor now I thank God I am well eased : and so arose from the 
 table and went to prayers, as he used every day after din- 
 ner."* This was the 22d of November, 1529. The Cardinal 
 that afternoon walked about, and seemed to be perfectly 
 recovered ;f and Sir William Kingston, constable of the 
 tower, coming for him at the instant to take him up to Lon- 
 don, he was introduced to him that very afternoon, and the 
 Cardinal said to him, " If I were able and lusty as ever I 
 was to ride, I would go with you ; but, alas ! I am a diseased 
 man having a flux, (at which time it was apparent that he 
 had poisoned himself) it hath made me very weak,"! &c. 
 
 That night when the Cardinal went to bed, " he fell very 
 sick of the lask, which caused him to go to stool from time to 
 time all that night, insomuch that from that time till morn- 
 ing he had 50 stools; and the matter that he voided was 
 very black, which the physicians called adustine, whose 
 opinions were, that he had not above 4 or 5 days to live." 
 However he would have gone with Sir William Kingston 
 the next day, which was Wednesday ; but the earl of 
 Shrewsbury advising him to the contrary, they did not set 
 forward till Thursday. He was able to talk with the guard 
 upon the road, (some of whom beforetime had been his ser- 
 vants) and at night he got to Hardwick-hall, in Derbyshire ; 
 the next day, which was Friday, he arrived at Nottingham, 
 and on Saturday at Leicester-Abbey ; but this last day he 
 was very sick, and was in danger of falling from his mule. 
 He was at his arrival at Leicester so very weak and helpless, 
 that Kingston, who, taking him by the arm, helped him up 
 stairs, said, He never felt so heavy a burthen in all his life. 
 As soon as he was in his chamber he went straight to bed, 
 and never rose out of it after ; for on Monday morning Mr. 
 Cavendish thought he began to draw on towards death. || 
 However he was able to talk with Sir William Kingston a 
 considerable time about a certain business. On Tuesday 
 morning, soon after four o'clock, he eat a small matter, and 
 talked voluntarily and very sensibly with Kingston again; 
 after which the usual signs of death began to shew them- 
 selves, and about eight o'clock he expired. 
 
 This is the unexceptionable narrative of Mr. Cavendish ; 
 after which, let us hear Dr. Fiddes's representation from 
 
 * Cavendish, p. 240. f Idem, p. U3, 144. J Idem, p. 14.?. 
 
 y Idem, p. 147, seq. '3. Idem, 149.
 
 30 Cardinal Wohey. 
 
 p. 499. " The Cardinal," says he, " was entertained with 
 much kindness and respect by the earl of Shrewsbury, at 
 Sheffield- Park, with whom he stayed a fortnight. Whilst 
 he was there, one day at dinner he complained of a sudden 
 extraordinary coldness at his stomach. If he had -any foul 
 play done him, there was more reason to suspect it from 
 those who were charged with the custody of him, than from 
 any attempt that he made upon his own life ; his behaviour, 
 from the time of his going into the North, having been 
 confessedly pious, and suitable to his high character and 
 station in the church." 
 
 Philipot intimates in the passage cited above, that the 
 Cardinal poisoned himself by a medicine prepared before- 
 hand by his own direction ; and it is certain that the obser- 
 vation made by Cavendish, " at which time it was apparent 
 that he had poisoned himself," was subsequent to the taking 
 of the medicine ; but the doctor here insinuates that the 
 potion, or drug, might have been given him in one of the 
 dishes at dinner before ever he took the medicine. But 
 there is no colour of reason for any such supposition as this; 
 for why must foul play be suspected, because a great man 
 was suddenly taken ill ? Such incidents as these are com- 
 mon to all, and as the Cardinal had been indisposed before, 
 as I gather from his words to Sir William Kingston, where 
 he tells him that he had a flux upon him, and that it had 
 made him very weak, the meat he eat might the sooner dis- 
 agree with hiai, especially if it was improper in this case. 
 But who were they that were charged with the custody of 
 him at this time ? I answer, the earl of Shrewsbury ; for 
 the earl of Northumberland and Sir Walter Welch, having 
 executed their commission by delivering him into the hands 
 of the earl of Shrewsbury, were both now gone.* But 
 George, earl of Shrewsbury, was a person of great worth 
 and honour, and appears from Cavendish to have been a 
 good friend of the Cardinal's, and incapable of any foul act 
 of this kind. The doctor allows, that the earl treated his 
 guest, or his prisoner, which you will, with much kindness 
 and respect; he mediated with the king, at the Cardinal's 
 request, f that he (the Cardinal) might answer the accusa- 
 
 * Dugdale's Baronetage, p. 283. 
 
 f Fiddes tells us, the earl assured him, " that God and his friends had 
 wrought, for him according to his own desires, that he had more cause to re- 
 joice Uurn lament, or mistrust the matter; and that his enemies were more- 
 afraid of him, than he had need to be of his enemies : in short, that Sir Wil- 
 liam Kingston had been sent to do him houour, and to convey him forward to
 
 Cardinal Wohey. 31 
 
 lions against him before his enemies.* He afterwards pre- 
 vented him, out of mere tenderness and regard, from going 
 on his journey the day after he had had that fatiguing night ;f 
 and it is plain that Mr. Cavendish always looked upon the 
 earl as his master's assured friend.^ I conclude, it is by no 
 means likely, that the Cardinal should be poisoned by those 
 about him, nor do I think it more probable that he should 
 poison himself: for first, his whole demeanour, as Fiddes 
 observes, was such, as betokened him then to be under the 
 power of very different thoughts from these. 
 
 Secondly, although I am sensible that poisons were not 
 at this time unknown in England, and that great men for- 
 merly would carry with them certain deleterious prepara- 
 tions in order to put an end to life upon an exigence, as is 
 reported of Hannibal and Mithridates, yet nothing of this 
 kind appears in respect to the Cardinal. Fiddes observes 
 in another place, that the Cardinal had no occasion at this 
 juncture to shorten his life;|| and it is remarkable in the 
 case, that he had taken the medicine before he knew any 
 thing of the arrival of Sir William Kingston, or that he was 
 to be conducted to the tower. And this I think equally ma- 
 terial, to wit, that the apothecary who supplied the medi- 
 cine, was an entire stranger to him, and consequently could 
 not be entrusted by his eminence with a secret of this im- 
 portant nature. The Cardinal in his prosperity, indeed, had 
 a retainer of this kind, but he had no such attendant now; 
 and this person, whoever he was, was eithet a servant of the 
 earl of Shrewsbury's, or some practitioner in the neighbour- 
 ing town of Sheffield. Philipot therefore talks wildly, by in- 
 sinuating that the poison was previously lodged with the 
 apothecary by the Cardinal ; for the apothecary here employ- 
 ed was a person of whom the Cardinal had no knowledge. 
 
 London by such easy journeys as he should command." But in Cavendish 
 all this is said, not by the earl, but by Mr. Cavendish himself; however, it 
 shews, that the removal of the Cardinal to London was at his own request. 
 
 * Fiddes says, the earl of Shrewsbury had desired that Sir Wm. Kingston 
 might be sent down to conduct the Cardinal to the tower, but that is an inac- 
 curacy; for the earl in his solicitations neither specified Sir Wm. Kingston, 
 nor proposed that the Cardinal should be sent to the tower. 
 
 f- Cavendish, p. 146. 
 
 J Idem, p. 143. 
 
 || " Neither, indeed," says Fiddes, " was there at that time any reasons for 
 his offering violence to himself, but rather many, why, in respect to the cir- 
 cumstances he was then under, he should not be suspected to have had any 
 such design. He not only behaved himself with spirit, and a becoming resolu- 
 tion upon this arrest, but continually asserted his innocence, pressed for hU 
 trial, and desired nothing more thiiu to see his enemies face to face." 
 ' Cavendish, p. 20.
 
 32 Cardinal Wolsey. 
 
 Thirdly, the words of the historian really amount to no- 
 thing : the Cardinal told Sir William Kingston he had a flux 
 upon him, upon which the historian adds, "at which time it 
 was apparent that he had poisoned himself." Mr. Cavendish's 
 book is printed from a very faulty MS. and my copy of it 
 formerly belonged to some gentleman that had a manuscript 
 in his possession, where this clause was wanting ; for he 
 has underdrawn the words, " at which time it was apparent 
 that he had poisoned himself," and has written in the margin, 
 "This is not in my MS." Insomuch that it seems to me Mr. 
 Cavendish never wrote those words ; and indeed they have 
 very much the appearance of a glosseme. But supposing 
 for argument sake, though not granting, that the words are 
 genuine, they amount to nothing; for they contain only the 
 private opinion of Mr. Cavendish, who confessedly knew 
 nothing of the Cardinal's taking any thing but the carmina- 
 tive medicine sent by the apothecary, and formed his judg- 
 ment solely from his being taken ill so suddenly, and his 
 saying he laboured under a flux; very slender grounds sure! 
 and therefore it will be no impeachment upon this author's 
 veracity in any other respect, should we say he was mis- 
 taken in his opinion. 
 
 But let us hear Dr. Fiddes descant upon this fundamental 
 passage ; " Cavendish, indeed, speaking of the effects 
 wherewith this violent disorder was attended, and from 
 which the Cardinal never recovered, saith, it was apparent 
 that he had poisoned himself'; but it is highly probable this 
 expression ought to be taken in a softer sense than the 
 words strictly import, and that he only intended by it, that 
 he was poisoned by taking something prepared for him by 
 other hands." The expression, no doubt, may be taken in 
 a softer sense ; 'but there is no occasion to imagine, with 
 this author, there was any real poison administered to the 
 Cardinal, either by his own, or by any other hand ; for the 
 latitude of the English idiom is such as to admit of one's 
 sayiny, such a person hath poisoned himself, though he has 
 only taken an improper medicine, or too large a dose of one 
 that was proper, especially if the event prove tragical ; and 
 I apprehend that in the Cardinal's case, who at the time had 
 a tendency to a dysentery, the remedy he took might likely 
 enough be improper, and if so, as it was by his own direc- 
 tion, lie might with still greater propriety be said to have 
 poisoned himself. In short, this expression does not imply 
 design, or that the Cardinal took poison of his own will, but 
 only that what he took proved such in the event. 
 
 But fourthly, the progress of the Cardinal's disorder, as
 
 Cardinal Wolsey. 33 
 
 related in the narrative, does not create any suspicion of 
 poison, but may be easily accounted for otherwise. He 
 had a looseness upon him, and one day at dinner felt a load 
 at his stomach, called for a carminative, took it, broke wind 
 upwards plentifully, and was immediately relieved, observ- 
 ing himself upon it, " you may see it was but wind." After 
 this he does not appear to have been in any pain. At night, 
 indeed, his looseness increased to a great excess, which 
 brought on much weakness ; however he was disposed to 
 enter on his journey the next day, but yielding to the per- 
 suasions of his noble host, deferred it a day longer, and 
 then he mounted and travelled three days together, but still 
 without pain ; and so he continued to the last, always easy, 
 but still growing weaker and weaker, and in that manner ex- 
 piring. I can discern nothing like poison in all this ; on the 
 contrary, it is humbly submitted to the faculty, whether any 
 poison whatsoever, except opiates, can be given in a quantity 
 sufficient to kill, without bringing on, either first or last, the 
 most violent pain! As likewise whether a dysentery, sharp 
 enough to occasion death, and brought on by a real poison, 
 would not unavoidably cause a mortification in the bowels ; 
 and, if so, whether it be possible for a patient to survive a 
 mortification in that part for more than six days, and to tra- 
 vel three of them on horseback ? Besides, there were no 
 symptoms of poison after his death ; for, as Fiddes observes, 
 " when his body, after he was dead, lay publicly exposed, 
 with his face uncovered, at Leicester, and the mayor and 
 alderman there, to prevent false reports of his being alive, 
 took a formal view of it, there appeared no symptom of his 
 being poisoned." And yet I suppose some mark or token 
 of the virulence of the medicine, had there been any, must 
 have been seen. 
 
 But to view things now in a natural way, and to try to ac- 
 count for his death : the Cardinal had been dangerously ill 
 at Esher the Christmas before : the looseness at Sheffield 
 Park was probably a return of that disorder ; he had had it 
 long enough to find himself weakened by it, and his stomach 
 much injured ; insomuch, that one day being oppressed 
 with a flatulency, he prescribed to himself a medicine 
 adapted to that purpose, which was given him without ad- 
 vice, being sent at hap-hazard by a practitioner, who neither 
 saw his patient, nor knew any thing of his case. The inten- '* 
 tion of the medicine was to expel wind, and that it did ef- 
 fectually ; but being either too strong in itself, or taken in 
 too large a dose, and meeting at the same time with crudi- 
 ties in the stomach, and with weak bowels, it took a different 
 
 VOL. i. D
 
 5f Cardinal Wokey. 
 
 turn at night, as carminatives will often do, and induced 
 a dysentery ; and this, being attended with the fatigue of a 
 journey, in a few days' time carried the patient off. This 
 might very well happen, for the physicians were of opinion 
 from the very night that the stools were so frequent, that 
 he had not above four or five days to live ; and whereas the 
 matter he voided was very black and adust ine, that, I pre- 
 sume, is no more than is common in bilious cases. 
 
 To conclude : this, I think, bids fair to be the true solu- 
 tion of this historical problem ; at least it will account for 
 all the phenomena reported in the only authentic relation of 
 Mr. Cavendish, without recurring to the violence of poison 
 wilfully administered by any hand, and is not far remote 
 from the interpretation of Mr. Speed, who, speaking of the 
 Cardinal's exit, writes, "whose death himself had hastened, 
 by taking an over-much quantity of a confection to break 
 wind off his stomach." 
 
 I am, Sir, yours, &c. 
 
 PAUL GEMSEGE.* 
 1755, Jan. 
 
 III. Some account of the Articles exhibited against Cardinal Wol- 
 sey in Parliament, by whom they were prepared, and the pro- 
 bable cause of their miscarriage. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 THE name of Cardinal Wolsey makes so great a figure in 
 our history, is by some held so illustrious and by others so 
 infamous, that I hope I shall not oppress your readers too 
 much if I bestow a few words more upon him. 
 
 When this great minister was thought to be declining in 
 the king's favour, the first thing which his potent enemy 
 the Duke of Norfolk, and the rest of the privy council did, 
 (for none of them loved him, and indeed he had given them 
 no cause,) was, to draw up a body of articles against him 
 in the capacity of privy counsellors, and to present them to 
 the king. But his highness, it seems, had no intention at 
 this time of ruining the Cardinal entirely, though he had 
 shewn him very sensible marks of his displeasure : he there- 
 fore pocketed the charge, and nothing more was done. 
 
 [* The papers with this signature were written by that eminent Antiquary, 
 the late Re*. Dr. SAMUEJ. PSGGE, of whose name, J'aitl Gemtege is the ana- 
 gram. /;.]
 
 Cardinal Wolscu. 35 
 
 *x 
 
 These articles, as Hall tells us, f. 183, were in number 
 34; I think I do not mistake him, but there being some am- 
 biguity in his words, I shall here report them, " And all 
 their accusations were written in a boke, and all their 
 handes set to it, to the nombre of tbirtie and foure, whiche 
 boke," &c. It is not very clear whether the articles, or the 
 nobles and prelates that signed them, were in number 34, 
 but I incline to believe the former was intended, because I 
 do not suppose that the king's council at that time consisted 
 of so large a number of members. Sure I am, that the ar- 
 ticles of impeachment exhibited afterwards in parliament 
 were signed only by seventeen, see the Parliamentary Hist, 
 vol. II. p. 55. But now, on the other hand, the accusations 
 might probably amount to that number; for, as it will ap- 
 pear by and by, there were above forty laid against him in 
 the house. 
 
 These articles, though they differed in number from those 
 which were afterwards preferred in parliament against his 
 eminence, and 1 think varied from them in several other re- 
 spects, yet doubtless were the basis of his impeachment in 
 the House of Commons; for the parliament meeting tiie 3d 
 of November following, to wit, A. D. 1529, a list of accu- 
 sations containing no less than 44, were exhibited against 
 the Cardinal in the lower house, and what they were, may 
 be seen in Dr. Fiddes, Lord Herbert, the Parliamentary 
 Historian, and others. Hall, indeed, (fol. 189. b.) seems to 
 say, that the articles laid against the Cardinal in parliament, 
 were the very same with those, which the lords of the coun- 
 cil had presented to the king; his words are, " during this 
 parliament, was brought doune to the commons the boke of 
 articles, which the Jordes had put to the kyng agaynste the 
 Cardinall." But this cannot be ; for first, this transaction 
 in the council passed before the great seal was taken from 
 the Cardinal, according to Hall ; and consequently before 
 Michaelmas term, for the Cardinal sat in the court of chan- 
 cery the first day of that term, which was then Oct. 9. See 
 Hall, fol. 184, and Cavendish, p. 106. But the articles of 
 impeachment are dated no earlier than Dec. 1. 2dly, Sir 
 Thomas More signs the articles of impeachment as lord 
 chancellor, for he stands there before the dukes of Norfolk 
 and Suffolk, and yet he could not be chancellor when the 
 council preferred their book of articles to the king's highness, 
 for Wolsey at that time filled the place himself, according 
 to Hall, and actually sat as chancellor, the first day of Mi- 
 chaelmas term. Sir Thomas More had not the seal delivered 
 
 D2
 
 S(j Cardinal fV 
 
 to him till Oct. 24. Hall, f. 186.* 3dly, Hall says ex- 
 pressly, that the nobles and prelates joined in signing the 
 book of articles given to the king; but in the original of 
 those brought against the Cardinal in parliament, there does 
 not appear the hand of any one prelate. 
 
 For these reasons then 1 must think, that the two schedules 
 of articles were different, and that not only in number, but 
 probably in some other respects. For, to go one step further, 
 it appears to me, that Hall had never seen the charge that 
 was given in to the House of Commons, but by some means 
 or other had obtained a sight of that which was before de- 
 livered to the king. This annalist, when he comes to speak 
 of the transactions of this parliament, not only declares the 
 articles then brought against the Cardinal to be the same 
 with those which the lords of the council had put into the 
 hands of the king, as was noted above, but moreover, he 
 has inserted nine of them into his work. But now, two of 
 these nine, to wit, his carrying the great seal abroad, and 
 sending so much treasure to Rome, do not appear in the 
 articles of impeachment; which is a plain proof, 1st, that he 
 had never seen the real articles of the impeachment; and 
 2clly, that the book presented by the council to the king, 
 which he had seen, was somewhat different from them, 
 varying not only in the number, but likewise in the matter 
 of the accusations, as I before took the liberty to suggest. 
 For since that book contained but 34 heads, as has been 
 shewn, and yet included two charges that do not appear 
 in the impeachment, which yet consisted of 44, it follows 
 necessarily, that that list of allegations differed materially 
 from the other, to wit, iu the substance and nature of the 
 charges, as well as the number of them. 
 
 The next thing I would observe, is, that Shakespeare in 
 his life of Hen. VIII. Act. 3. Sc. 5. makes the earl of Surrey 
 mention the book of articles delivered to the king, and to 
 
 * Thore is a mistake in Hall, by some means or other, about the tiin when 
 the seal was denial 'cd of Wolscy ; he says it was " seventetie daie of Novem- 
 ber;" he is undoubtedly mistaken in the month, for in the next leaf he says, the 
 seal was, given to Sir Thomas More, on Sunday, Oct. '24, and this is true, for 
 in the year 15'29 the '24th day of O-t. was on a Sunday. Cut I suspect a 
 mistake too, as to the day of the month; for Cavendish says, the seal was de- 
 manded the llth, and delivered the l'2th. Sea Cavendbh, p. 106, and con- 
 sidering that the seal Was first offered to archbishop Warham, before it wa* 
 tendered to SirThomas More, see Bnnict, vol. I. p. 80, the time intervening 
 between Oct. 1'2 and 24, is not too long for such a transaction. To wliich I 
 add, that though it is printed in "Hall's book sevenlene at length, yet in the 
 'copy it was prohably 11, and 11 and 17 arc easily mistaken.
 
 Cardinal Wolsey. 37 
 
 particularize seven of them, in his quarrel there with Wol- 
 sey. There is a great impropriety in the poet's giving this 
 part to the earl of Surrey ; but since I am not so immedi- 
 ately concerned with that, all I shall notice, is, that in the 
 first place Shakespeare took the articles from Hall, as is 
 plain to a demonstration; for though he has omitted two, 
 as thinking them I suppose less material, he has neverthe- 
 less retained those two, of carrying abroad the broad seal, 
 and sending so much riches to Rome, both which are 
 peculiar to Hall, and do not appear in the impeachment ; 
 and in the next place, that by his means, together with Hall, 
 it has come to pass, that these seven articles are the most 
 publicly known. 
 
 But here there arises a question, how, and by whose 
 means, the charge against Wolsey came under the consider- 
 ation of the house of commons ; the Parliamentary His- 
 torian, after printing the articles, with the subscriptions, 
 1. c. remarks, " it appears by the names of the lords who 
 signed these articles, that they were drawn up by a com- 
 mittee, appointed for that purpose. And being read and 
 agreed to by the whole house, they were first presented to 
 the king, and then a copy of them was sent down to the 
 lower house, for their perusal and approbation." But this 
 could not be the case, for amongst the subscribers appear 
 the names of Sir William Fitz-William, Sir Henry Guilde- 
 ford, and of the two chief justices, Fitz-Herbert and Fitz- 
 James. These now were not peers, but only members of 
 the privy council, from whence it is clear, that it was the 
 privy council, and not the house of lords, that impeached 
 the Cardinal in the house of commons. And whereas this 
 author speaks of the articles of the impeachment being 
 " first presented to the king," he plainly confounds the 
 articles communicated to the commons, with that former 
 book of articles mentioned in Hall, which had indeed been 
 presented to the king, as was noted above ; it does not 
 appear that the articles brought into the house had ever been 
 presented to his highness, but only were intended to be 
 offered to him, in case the house should pass them. 
 
 But now let us consider the event of this affair, and the 
 effect, which the Cardinal's escape ought to have upon his 
 character. 
 
 It happened that in this parliament, Thomas Cromwell, 
 afterwards earl of Essex, who had been a servant of the 
 Cardinal's, and a very faithful one, obtained a seat. Bishop 
 Godwyn says, the Cardinal procured him a place in this 
 parliament, on purpose to secure himself; but this does not 
 
 D3
 
 38 Cardinal Wolsey. 
 
 agree with Mr. Cavendish's account, p. 112. However, 
 when this affair of his late master's came before the house, 
 he defended him so handsomely, being not only naturally 
 eloquent, but well instructed by the Cardinal, to whom he 
 had frequent recourse whilst the business was depending, 
 that he brought him fairly off. 
 
 Now the Cardinal's escaping the censure of the house of 
 commons, in this manner, is thought by his advocate, Dr. 
 Fiddes, to be a strong presumption of his innocence, and 
 to amount to a full acquittal of his eminence from the guilt 
 of the charge brought against him. He observes, the Car- 
 dinal was then in disgrace with the king, consequently, that 
 he had no support from the court ; and that his patron 
 Cromwell, having been lately his servant, and of no weight 
 or authority in the house, into which he was but just now 
 introduced, would be heard with great prejudice ; where- 
 upon he remarks, " the Cardinal's acquittal, under such 
 circumstances, and upon the defence made for him, by a 
 person at that time so inconsiderable, and suspected as being 
 partial to him, affords very reasonable grounds of presump- 
 tion, that the articles in general against him, had no very 
 good or solid foundation." Fiddes' s Collections, p. 186. 
 
 But with submission, the Cardinal's escape does not by 
 any means imply his absolute innocence ; for some of the 
 articles might be true, though the proofs offered to the 
 house, by the managers for the privy council, might be in- 
 valid ; others again might be true, but frivolous, and con- 
 sequently the grounds uere not sufficient for the house 
 thereupon to pass any bill of attainder. I will not urge 
 here the testimony of Hall, who writes, fol. 190, that these 
 articles, read in the house of commons, were " signed by 
 the Cardinal's hand, and were confessed by him," because 
 I take this to be a notorious falsehood of an author that did 
 not love him. The Cardinal had confessed himself in a pr&- 
 miimre, by his attorneys, in a court of law. This was true ; 
 and this, I suppose, might be the foundation of Hall's as- 
 sertion. But does not this very fact shew, that some part 
 of the charge was true ? The first article of the charge 
 was, that by exercising his legatine powers he had injured 
 the rights of the bishops, and other spiritual persons. This 
 the Cardinal himself had acknowledged, and his goods had 
 accordingly been seized into the hands of the king; and, 
 in my opinion, this was the very thing that brought him 
 off in the house. He had already suffered the law ; he was 
 in a prtemuniie, and the house, I conceive, could go no 
 further. This I speak, upon the footing of his cardinal 
 
 "
 
 Cardinal Wolsty. 39 
 
 dignity, which secured, as I judge it, both his life and his 
 person ;* to what purpose then, should the house proceed 
 any further, when the party had really suffered all, that in 
 those times the house had it in their power to inflict ? Thus, 
 Sir, you see, that some of the articles mrght be true, and 
 yet the Cardinal might escape the censure of the house. It 
 is true I have here given you but one instance, but there are 
 several others, and one of a very singular nature I propose 
 to send you in my next. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 PAUL GEMSEGE. 
 1755, July. 
 
 IV. The Charge against Cardinal Wolsey farther considered. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 IN the last paper I sent you, as preparatory to this, it was 
 asserted, that in relation* to the charge brought against 
 Cardinal Wolsey in parliament, the house of commons could 
 do no otherwise than they did ; because, though several of 
 the articles alleged against him might be true, he had 
 either suffered the law for them already, or they were not 
 sufficiently proved ; or, lastly, that though they were true, 
 and perhaps well established by the managers on the part 
 of the privy council, yet they might be too inconsiderable, 
 or in their own nature improper, for the house to ground any 
 censure of the Cardinal upon them. This last I take to be 
 the case of the 6th article, which is of so uncommon a stamp, 
 so singular and extraordinary, that the discussion of it upon 
 that sole account, can hardly fail of proving acceptable to 
 many of your readers. The article runs thus : " And also 
 whereas your grace is our sovereign lord and head, in whom, 
 standeth all the surety and wealth of this realm ; the same 
 lord Cardinal knowing himself to have the foul and conta- 
 gious disease of the great pox broken out upon him in 
 divers places of his body, came daily to your grace, sound- 
 ing in your ears, and blowing upon your most noble grace 
 with his perilous and infective breath, to the marvellous 
 
 * &. pramunire ordinarily extended to the party's person; but a Cardinal 
 of the church of Rome, could not, I think, at this time, when the Pope's 
 authority was still subsisting in this kingdom, be imprisoned by the civil 
 powers.
 
 $o Cardinal JVolsey. 
 
 clanger of your highness, if God of his infinite goodness had 
 not better provided for your highness; and when he was once 
 healed of them, he made your grace to believe that his 
 disease was an imposthume in his head, and no other thing." 
 
 This article, as appears from Hall, was one of the heads 
 of accusation preferred before, by the council, to the 
 king; and from Hall it was taken by Shakespeare, and in- 
 serted in the play of Henry VIII. Now although the fact 
 were true, that the Cardinal had contracted the venereal 
 disease, as in the charge was set forth, yet the commons, 
 I think, would pay no regard to it, because it was partly 
 frivolous, and partly coram nonjudice. It was not for them 
 to take cognizance of the crime by which this ecclesiastic 
 had got the foul distemper; and as to.his approaching so 
 near the king's person, and so often, with the disease upon 
 him, it might be indecent, imprudent, impudent, and 
 shameless, but could not amount. to a crime, since the house 
 might easily be satisfied, that the contagion of that odious 
 distemper is not to be communicated by the breath. Dr. 
 Fiddes therefore, in my opinion, acts but a weak part, where 
 he blames bishop Burnet for saying, " that it was notorious 
 the Cardinal had the foul disease," upon the footing of his 
 escaping the censure of parliament ;* for the article might 
 be true, notwithstanding the Cardinal's escape ; and that it 
 was true, I, for my part, make no manner of doubt, for I 
 think there is as much proof of this fact, as the nature of the 
 case, at this time, is capable of. 
 
 In the first place the lords of the council not only charge 
 him with it in those articles they had delivered to the king, 
 but also persist in their charge in these which they were now 
 exhibiting against him in parliament. The Cardinal pre- 
 tended, indeed, it was an imposthume in his head ; but we 
 must suppose hie would say something, when the distemper 
 appeared in his face, as we shall see it did, and it would 
 naturally be asked, both by the king and others, what the 
 matter was with his eminence's face. 
 
 In the next place it is well known that the Cardinal had 
 no aversion to the ladies. It is observed, by a very great 
 antiquary,f that the cardinals were wont to ride upon mules, 
 which was emblematical, for, according to " Upton de Studio 
 Rei Militaris," p. 148. " Isti magni abbates etabbatissae de- 
 bent in suis armis portare leopardos, mulos, burdones, vel 
 
 * Fi-iiles's Life of Wolsey. p.479, and the Collections, p. 191. 
 f Mr. Anstis in Fiddes's Collect, p. 89. 91.
 
 Cardinal IVolsey. 41 
 
 tityros, pro eo, quod ipsi habent et portant instrumenta 
 episcoporum, ut mitram et crucem, ut muli, leopardi, et 
 tales bestiae portant instrumenta generativa equorum et leo- 
 num, non tamen eis utuntur naturaliter, neque habent ipsum 
 actum vel generationis exercitium." This, the learned an- 
 tiquary abovementioned, says, has relation too to the mules 
 upon which the ecclesiastics then rode. Accordingly, when 
 after the fall of Wolsey, Sir Thomas More, then lord chan- 
 cellor, took occasion, in one of his speeches to the parlia- 
 ment, to compare the King to a shepherd, and the people 
 to a flock of sheep, he resembles the Cardinal to a weather, 
 " So the great weather, which of late is fallen," says he;* 
 an expression not accidentally dropt, but used purposely 
 and with great propriety, as signifying to us the legal inca- 
 pacity of the ecclesiastics of these times, through the pro- 
 fession of celibacy, to perform the office of rams. But all 
 this notwithstanding, the Cardinal, as was said, was a person 
 of great intrigue. He had a natural son, who went by the 
 name of Winter, See the article, No. 27, Dr. Fiddes, p. 109. 
 502, and his Collections, p. 182, besides whom, it is alleged 
 in article 38, that he had two children by one Lark's 
 daughter, whom he kept.f Now these things shew me that 
 when Shakespeare makes Queen Catherine say, 
 
 Of his own body he was ill, J 
 
 Dr. Warburton, who explains the passage thus, "i.e. he 
 abused his body by intemperance and luxury," did not ap- 
 prehend the true meaning of it, for the queen no doubt 
 meant to charge him with fornication, as is plain from the 
 sense of that phrase in Hall, Edward V. f. 16. where he 
 makes King Richard say of Jane Shore " She was nought of 
 her body." With this crime the queen expressly charges 
 the Cardinal in Hall, f. 181, and Hall, as is well known, was 
 the author whom our poet chiefly followed. 
 
 But 3dly, the Cardinal had actually lost an eye, and that 
 it was by this distemper, no one, I think can reasonably 
 doubt after what has been said, and that in the terms of the 
 article it is so clearly implied, that the contagion had openly 
 shewn itself about his head. " He is here represented", 
 (says Mr. Anstis speaking of a drawing of the house of lords, 
 anno 1524, in Dr. Fiddes) in a full or rather in a three- 
 
 * Parl. Hist. iii. p. 41. 
 
 f See also Skelton, p. 158 and 148 bis, where there seems to be an allusion 
 to one of his mistresses ; as likewise in Shakespeare, iii. 5. 
 \ Shakespeare, Henry VII I. act iv. scene 2.
 
 42 Cardinal IVolsey. 
 
 quarters face, which is the more observable, if the traditi- 
 onary report have any foundation, that the disease which 
 was objected to him in the articles, had left such a blemish 
 in one of his eyes, that to hide that defect he was constantly 
 pictured in profile. If that should be true, either we are 
 to suppose his station in this part of the house required such 
 a method of the position of his face, or that he contracted 
 the marks of this distemper after the time that this picture 
 was taken." Certainly, if this matter was to be decided by 
 the two representations which we have of the Cardinal, one 
 in this draught of the house of lords, A. D. 1524, and the 
 other, which is much larger in Mr. Cavendish, it would 
 go clearly in the Cardinal's favour; for they being both 
 profiles, (or perhaps one of them a three-quarters face) it 
 has so fallen out, that one of them represents to us the right, 
 and the other the left side of his face, and in both the eyes 
 are very perfect. But one of these drawings was taken 
 1524, and the other nobody knows when, wherefore, as Mr. 
 Anstis observes, he might have contracted the distemper 
 after these pictures were made. Besides, the former of 
 them is so small that one would not build too much upon it. 
 But as he certainly had lost an eye, as I shall shew by and 
 by, if it were before the larger of these drawings were 
 made, it must have been his right eye ; for his left is very 
 conspicuous in that larger one in Mr. Cavendish. Now, 
 that he really had lost one of his eyes, I prove, not only 
 from the tradition mentioned by Mr. Anstis, but by the tes- 
 timony of a contemporary writer, the poet Skelton, who 
 wrote his poem, intitled, " Why go you not to court ?" in 
 the Cardinal's life-time, and expressly calls him Poliphe- 1 
 mus ; the words are these : 
 
 Sequitur Epitoma 
 De morbilloso Thoma, 
 Nee non obscoeno 
 De Poliphemo, &c. 
 
 This Thomas here is the Cardinal, who, he says, was be- 
 come a monoc, by means of a distemper, which distemper 
 he intimates, in the verses that follow, was a-kin to the le- 
 prosy, for he calls him " Naman Syrum," and Mr. Becket has 
 shewn in the Philosophical Transactions, that the great pox 
 formerly often passed here in England under the name of the 
 leprosy, the distemper with which Naaman was affected. But 
 our poet calls it expressly the Neapolitan disease, and says 
 the Cardinal had been cut and slashed for it. But pray take 
 Skeltwn's words from the edition of 1736.
 
 Cardinal Wolsey. 43 
 
 Porro perbelle dissimuiatum 
 Ilium Pandulphum tantum legatum 
 Tarn formidatum nuper prelatum 
 Naman Syrum nunc longatum 
 In solitudine jam commoratum 
 Neapolitano morbo gravatum 
 Malagmate, cataplasmati statum 
 Pharmacopeias ferro foratum, &c. 
 
 It may be said indeed, that tins piece of Skelton's is a 
 virulent satire ; but let his lines be coloured never so 
 strongly, it is ridiculous to suppose he should say the Car- 
 dinal had but one eye if he had both ; and therefore I must 
 insist, that though he should be mistaken as to the cause of 
 the blemish, yet \\e must believe, that by one means or other 
 his eminence was really deprived of the sight of one of his 
 eyes. But I cannot imagine the poet was mistaken as to the 
 cause ; for 
 
 Fourthly, his testimony is very full for the Cardinal's be- 
 ing infected with this distemper, and that it occasioned the 
 loss of his eye. So, p. J74. 
 
 This Naaman Syrus 
 So fel and so irous 
 So ful of melancholy 
 With a flap before his eye 
 Men wene that he is pocky 
 Or els his surgions they lye 
 For as far as they can spy 
 By the craft of surgery 
 It is manus Domini. 
 
 So again, p. 175. 
 
 He is now so overthwart 
 And so pained with panges 
 That al his trust hanges 
 In Balthasor which healed 
 Domingo's nose 
 
 Balthasor that healed Domingo's pose 
 
 From the puskilde pocky pose 
 
 Now with his gummes of Araby 
 
 Hath promised to hele our Cardinal's eie 
 
 Yet some surgions put a dout 
 
 Lest he will put it clean out. 
 
 For Domingo's pose we must read Domingo's nose, and 
 it is very evident from the seat of Domingo Lomelyn's dis-
 
 H Case of Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. 
 
 temper, whom Balthasor had cured, that this last was a 
 doctor at that time famous for the cure of the pox. The 
 Cardinal's friends may call this piece of Skelton's all ca- 
 lumny and slander if they please ; but more impartial judges 
 will think the Cardinal's case notorious, since he was so 
 openly taxed with it, not only by this poet, but in repeated 
 acts of the privy council. 
 
 The conclusion is, that this charge, as well as several 
 others, was true, but being nothing to the purpose, the 
 house passed it over, upon the representation of Mr. Crom- 
 well, who no doubt could easily give the house satisfaction 
 on such a futile accusation as this. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 PAUL GEMSEGE. 
 1755, August. 
 
 V. Case of CHARLES BRANDON, Duke of Suffolk. An obscure 
 passage in History illustrated. 
 
 AT the close of the proceedings at Black Friars, in the 
 cause of the divorce of King Henry VIII. from his queen 
 Catherine of Arragon, it was expected that the two legates, 
 Campeius and Wolsey, would have passed a definitive sen- 
 tence ; but instead of that, Campeius, who was speaker on 
 the occasion, declared, to the disappointment of all the 
 king's friends, that they could not finally determine the suit 
 without acquainting the Pope, and that it being vacation 
 time in the court of Rome, by authority of which their emi- 
 nences sat, the court here must be adjourned from that day, 
 which was the 23d of July, to the 1st of October, and accord- 
 ingly he did so adjourn it. 
 
 The king was then present either in, as Shakespeare has 
 it,* or rather near the court, as say other authors, and being 
 highly exasperated by these delays, the duke of Suffolk, 
 at his highness's commandment, for so we read in Caven- 
 dish, f stept up, and with a haughty countenance uttered 
 these words, " It was never thus in England until we had 
 cardinals amongst us ;" which words were set forth (as the 
 author observes) with such vehemency, that all men mar- 
 
 * See bi Henry VIII. f Caveiulish's Life of Wolsey.
 
 Case of Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. 4S 
 
 veiled what he intended, the duke further expressing some 
 opprobrious words. Campeius being a foreigner, it is pro- 
 bable, understood little of what was said, and therefore was 
 not likely to make the duke any reply ; but Wolsey, who 
 neither wanted spirit nor words on any occasion, answered 
 him, by saying with great sedateness, " Sir, of all men in 
 this realm you have least cause to dispraise cardinals, for if 
 I poor cardinal had not been, you should not at this present 
 have had a head upon your shoulders, wherewith to make 
 
 such a brag in despite of us, who wish you no harm, 
 
 Speak not reproachfully of your friends ; you best know 
 what friendship I have shewn you ; I never did reveal (it) to 
 any person till now, either to mine own praise, or your dis- 
 honour." Whereupon the duke went his way, and said no 
 more, being much discontented. 
 
 It is very plain the duke was stnng, being conscious of 
 the truth of what Wolsey alleged; but the question is, 
 What it was that the Cardinal alluded to; when, and upon 
 what occasion he had saved the duke's life ? Dr. Fiddes, who 
 has written this Cardinal's life, when he comes to this pas- 
 sage, professes himself ignorant of his meaning ; his words are, 
 " But that the charge itself had some foundation, though 
 the fact upon which it is founded is still unknown,"* &c. 
 And yet, I think, it is not difficult to unriddle it ; however, 
 for the clearer apprehension of the matter, we must take 
 things a little higher. 
 
 Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, had a fine person, was 
 endued with great strength of body, and of a noble courage, 
 and having been brought up along with king Henry ViH. 
 his disposition was so conformable to that of the king, that 
 he became a great favourite with him. Nay, that king ac- 
 tually raised him from the condition of a commoner to a 
 dukedom, creating him first viscount Lisle, and then duke 
 of Suffolk ; and this at a time when there were so few peers 
 of that rank in England ; for I think we had no other duke 
 when their graces the dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk were 
 made, 5 Henry VIII. but Edward Stafford, duke of Buck- 
 ingham. Brandon, by means of his close connexion with 
 the king and the court, had an opportunity of recommend- 
 ing himself to the favour of the princess Mary, the king's 
 youngest sister, and one of the finest women of her time. 
 The princess, it is thought, had no dislike to him ; however 
 she was afterwards married to Lewis XII. king of France. 
 
 * Fiddes, p. 454,
 
 46 Case of Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, 
 
 but he dying within three months after the marriage, she 
 became a dowager; and the king, her brother, writing her 
 a letter of condolence upon the occasion, and to know her 
 inclination as to her return into England, amongst others, 
 deputed the duke of Suffolk to carry it; when the- duke, 
 in possession of an opportunity so favourable to his inclina- 
 tions, makes his addresses to the young queen, and in short 
 married her in France, without the king's privity or con- 
 sent. 
 
 This fact, I presume, would have been in construction of 
 law, high treason ; for let the king be never so favourably 
 disposed towards him, the marrying his sister without his 
 consent was a high crime; and had the king, in the vio- 
 lence of his resentment, been inclined to have pushed mat- 
 ters to extremity, his grace would have been tried by his 
 peers ; and, as they were to determine whether a treason 
 had been committed or not, the duke's head would have 
 been in the utmost jeopardy in such a reign. This I infer 
 from the words of the statute 25 Ed. III. " And because 
 that many other like cases of treason may happen in time 
 to come, which a man cannot think nor declare at this pre- 
 sent time, it is accorded, that if any other case, supposed 
 treason, which is not above specified, doth happen before 
 any justices, the justices shall tarry without any going to 
 judgment of the treason, till the cause be shewed and de- 
 clared before the king and his parliament, whether it ought 
 to be judged treason, or other felony " Which shews, that 
 to denominate an act treasonable, depended very much at 
 that time on interpretation ; to wit, whether the fact ex- 
 tended to the king and his royal majesty, which is what the 
 statute required ; and Henry, earl of Surrey, was accord- 
 ingly executed in this reign, only for bearing certain arms 
 which belonged to the king. It is true bishop Burnet says, 
 in his History of the Reformation, torn. i. p. 9. that Henry 
 designed a marriage between his sister and the duke of 
 Suffolk, but would not openly give his consent. But this 
 is said without proof, and when we consider the king's tem- 
 per and circumstances, not at all probable. He was fiery, 
 and very jealous of his honour; and Thomas Howard, 
 youngest son to the duke of Norfolk, was imprisoned in his 
 reign for affiancing himself without the king's consent, to 
 Margaret, daughter to Archibald Douglas, earl of Angus, 
 and his lady, Margaret, the king's sister, and actually died 
 in prison, A. D. 1537. The king had no child himself at 
 this time, his two sons being dead, and the princess Mary, 
 who afterwards reigned, not born ; insomuch that the sue-
 
 Case of Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. 47 
 
 cession might possibly depend upon it : a point which this 
 king ever kept in view, having, though not a persona!, yet 
 a bleeding remembrance of the broils that so lately had de- 
 populated the kingdom during the long contests of the two 
 houses of Lancaster aud York. Henry takes particular no- 
 tice of this affair of the succession in his speech at the Black 
 Friars ;* and it is well known that the remote issue of this 
 very match, in the person of that accomplished lady, the 
 Jadv Jane Grey, was very near creating this king's daughter 
 Alary much trouble at the time of her accession. 
 
 Brandon himself, though a prime favourite, was still hut 
 a subject, and though the king afterwards might be induced 
 to pardon him, and did so, yet it is not likely that he either 
 intended or approved of the match : nay, I must think it 
 impossible but that the marriage being solemnized and 
 consummated without his leave, he, or indeed any other 
 prince, would be highly offended at it ; and if he had pro- 
 ceeded to take off the duke's head for it, it would have 
 been far from being the most arbitrary, or most unjustifiable 
 measure of his but too bloody reign. Both Brandon and 
 the young queen were sensible of the danger they were 
 incurring : she, for her part, interested Francis I. king of 
 France, to use his good offices with her brother before the 
 celebration of the nuptials; and the duke in his letter to 
 the Cardinal upon the occasion says, he told the king of 
 France " He was like to be undone if this matter should 
 come to the knowledge of his master," and yet he ventured 
 to marry without obtaining his hard-ruledf master's leave, 
 or even without acquainting him with his design. It was 
 certainly an act of great presumption, and the duke accord- 
 ingly in one of his letters to Wolsey expresses his fears, 
 that " when the king comes to be acquainted with the mar- 
 riage, he will be displeased," and so he desires him to me- 
 diate in his favour j. 
 
 After the marriage, Suffolk and the French queen wrote 
 to the king to implore his pardon ; and one is obliged to sup- 
 pose, from the natural impetuosity of Henry's temper, that 
 he was incensed enough at first, and that there was the ut- 
 most need for some powerful friend to interpose between 
 the duke and danger: Wolsey was that friend: Wolsey was 
 then but archbishop of York, neither cardinal nor lord high 
 chancellor, and consequently his greatness was but just 
 
 * Cavendish, p. 90. 
 
 f So Shakespeare makes Wolsey style Hvury \\ll. 
 
 % Fiddes, p, 88. .
 
 48 Strange Incident in the Life of Henry V. explained. 
 
 dawning, wherefore the laying an obligation so personal on 
 two such great personages as the king's sister and the duke 
 of Suffolk, would be viewed by him as a step most advanta- 
 geous to his own rising, and as such be most greedily 
 catched at, since by their assistance he might effectually 
 overbalance the duke of Norfolk, the duke of Buckingham, 
 the bishop of Winchester, or any others that he deemed his 
 most powerful rivals in the king's favour. In short, a pardon 
 was obtained for this noble couple, and it was very much 
 owing, as Fiddes himself observes, p. 88, to the good offices 
 of Wolsey. Well might this cardinal then afterwards say to 
 the duke, upon this sole account, that he of all men had 
 the least occasion to speak ill of cardinals, for had it not 
 been for him, his head would not have been upon his 
 shoulders; intimating methinks plainly enough, that the 
 king at the time was so violently enraged against the duke 
 for marrying his sister without his leave, that had not the 
 Cardinal pacified him, when perhaps no person living else 
 could, he would have brought him for it to the scaffold. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 P. GEMSEGE. 
 1755, March. 
 
 VI. Strange Incident in the Life of HENRY V. explained. 
 
 MR. URBAN, Oxford, Feb. 13. 
 
 SPEED, in the life of Henry V. (Edit. 3.) tells us that 
 when he was Prince of Wales, " He came into his father's 
 presence in a strange disguise, being in a garment of blue 
 satin, wrought full of eylet-holes, and at every eylet the 
 needle left hanging by the silk it was wrought with." This 
 strange disguise has often puzzled me as well as the author; 
 and may be one reason why Rapin has taken no notice of 
 it. But since my residence in this city, I have found the 
 meaning of it in the following custom, observed annually 
 on the Feast of the Circumcision, at Queen's College, 
 where the Bursar gives to every member a needle and 
 thread, in remembrance of the founder, whose name was 
 Fgglesfidd, falsely deducing it from two French words, 
 AguiHe Fil, a neeclle and thread; according to the custom 
 ot former times, and the doctrine of rebusses. Egglesfield, 
 however, is pure Saxon and not French; and the founder 
 ot Queen's College was an Englishman, born in Cumberland.
 
 Coronation of James II. 49 
 
 He was, however, confessor to a queen of Dutch extraction 
 daughter to the earl of Hainault and Holland; a circum- 
 stance which probably gave rise to the false derivation of 
 his name. 
 
 Now prince Henry having been a student in that college, 
 this strange garment was probably designed by him to ex- 
 press his academical character, if it was not indeed his aca- 
 demical habit, and such as was then worn by the sons of 
 noblemen. In either case it was the properest habit he 
 could appear in, his father being at that time greatly appre- 
 hensive of some trouble, from his active and ambitious 
 temper, and afraid of his taking the crown from him, as he 
 did at last; and the habit of a scholar was so very different 
 from that of a soldier, in those days, that nothing could 
 better eiface the impressions the king had received against 
 him, than this silent declaration of his attachment to litera- 
 ture, and renunciation of the sword. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 G. S. GREEN. 
 .March. 
 
 VII. The Proclamation for celebrating the Coronation and esta- 
 blishing, a Court of Claims, with the Claims made out before the 
 Coronation of JAMES II. 
 
 PROCLAMATION. 
 
 GEORGE REX. 
 
 WHEREAS we have resolved, by the favour and blessing 
 of Almighty God, to celebrate the solemnity of our royal 
 coronation upon Tuesday, the twenty-second day of Sep- 
 tember next, at our palace at Westminster; and forasmuch 
 as by ancient customs and usages, as also in regard of di- 
 vers tenures of sundry manors, lands, and other heredita- 
 ments, many of our loving subjects do claim, and are bound 
 to do and perform divers several services on the said day, 
 and at the time of the coronation, as, in times precedent, 
 their ancestors, and those from whom they claim, have done 
 and performed at the coronation of our famous progenitors 
 and predecessors; we therefore, out of our princely care 
 for the preservation of the lawful rights and inheritances of 
 our loving subjects, whom it may concern, have thought fit 
 to give notice of and publish our resolutions thereon; and 
 do hereby give notice of. and publish the same accordingly: 
 VOL. I. E
 
 50 Coronation of James II. 
 
 and we do hereby further signify, that by our commission 
 under our great seal of Great Britain, we have appointed 
 and authorised our most dearly-beloved brother and coun- 
 sellor Edward Duke of York, with all the other members of 
 the privy-council, or any five or more of them, to receive, 
 hear, and determine, the petitions and claims which shall 
 be to them exhibited by any of our loving subjects in this 
 behalf: and we shall appoint our said commissioners, for 
 that purpose, to sit in the painted chamber of our palace at 
 Westminster, upon Tuesday, the twenty-first day of this 
 instant, July, at ten of the clock in the forenoon of the same 
 day, and, from time to time, to adjourn, as to them shall 
 seem meet, for the execution of our said commission, which 
 we do thus publish, to the intent that all such persons, 
 whom it may any ways concern, may know when and where 
 to give their attendance for the exhibiting of their petitions 
 and claims, concerning the services before-mentioned to be 
 done and performed unto us at our said coronation : and we 
 do hereby signify unto all and every our subjects, whom 
 it may concern, that our will and pleasure is, and we do 
 hereby strictly charge all persons, of what rank or quality 
 soever they be, who either upon our letters to them di- 
 rected, or by reason of their offices or tenures, or otherwise, 
 are to do any service at the said day or time of our corona- 
 tion, that they do duly give their attendance accordingly, in 
 all respects furnished and appointed as to so great a solem- 
 nity appertained, and answerable to the dignities and places 
 which every one of them respectively holdeth and enjoy- 
 cth; and of this they or any of them, are not to fail, as 
 they will answer the contrary at their perils, unless upon 
 special reasons by ourself, under our hand, to be allowed, 
 we shall dispense with any of their services or attendances. 
 
 Given at our Court at St. James's, the 8th day of July, 
 1761, in the first year of our reign. 
 
 In order more particularly to explain to ottr readers the na- 
 ture of those claims, we have here marked the claims of seve* 
 ral persons to do sewice at the coronation of king James II, 
 and his gneen, in 1683. 
 
 1. TH lord great chamberlain of England claimed at the 
 said coronation, to carry the king his shirt and clothes the 
 morning of the coronation, and with the lord chamberlain to 
 dress the king. To have forty yards of crimson velvet for a 
 robe, also the king's bed and bedding, and furniture of his
 
 Coronation of James II. 5 1 
 
 Camber, where he lay the night before, with his wearing 
 apparel and night-gown: also to serve the king with water, 
 before and after dinner, and to have the basons and towels, 
 and cup of assay. Allowed, except the cup of assay. He 
 received the forty yards -of velvet, and the rest of the fees 
 were compounded for 2001. 
 
 2. The earl of Derby counterclaimed the office of lord 
 great chamberlain, with the fees, &c. but was not allowed. 
 
 3. The king's champion claimed his office as lord of Scri- 
 velsby manor in Lincolnshire, to perform the said office, 
 and to have a gold cup and cover, with the horse on which 
 he rides, the saddle, armour, and furniture, and twenty 
 yards of crimson satin. Allowed, except the said twenty 
 yards of satin. 
 
 4. The said office counterclaimed by another branch of 
 the said family, but not allowed. 
 
 5. The lord of the manor of Lyston, in Essex, claimed to 
 make wafers for the king and queen, and serve them up to 
 their table, to. have all the instruments of silver and other 
 metal, used about the same, with the linen, and certain 
 proportions of ingredients, and other necessaries, and live- 
 ries for himself and two men. Allowed, and the service, 
 with his consent, performed by the king's officers, and the 
 fees compounded for 30l. 
 
 6. The lord mayor and citizens of London claimed to 
 serve the king with wine after dinner, in a gold cup, and to 
 have the same cup and cover for his fee, and with twelve 
 other citizens, by them appointed, to assist the chief butler 
 of England in the butlership, and to hare a table on the left 
 hand of the hall. Not allowed in the reign of king James, 
 because the liberties of the city were then seized into the 
 king's hands; but yet they executed the office, ex gratia, 
 and dined in the hall, and had a gold cup for their fee. 
 
 7. The said lord mayor and citizens of London claimed 
 to serve the queen in like manner ; and were only disallowed, 
 at that time, for the same reason. 
 
 8. The mayor and burgesses of Oxford, by charter, claimed 
 to serve in the office of butlership to the king with the ci- 
 tizens of London, with all fees thereunto belonging. Al- 
 lowed, and to have three maple cups for their fee ; and also, 
 ex gratia regis, a large gilt bowl and cover. 
 
 9. The lord of the manor of Bardolf, in Addington, Sur- 
 rey, claimed to find a man to make a mess of grout in the 
 king's kitchen, and therefore praying that the king's master 
 cook might perform that service. Allowed, and the said 
 lord of the manor brought it up to the king's table. 
 
 E 2
 
 52 Coronation of James It. 
 
 10. The lord of the manor of Iltner, in Bucks, claimed t 
 be marshal, surveyor, and conservator of his majesty'* 
 hawks in England, with divers fees, and the nomination of 
 under officers. Not allowed, because not respecting the 
 coronation, but left to take his course at law, if he thought 
 fit. 
 
 1 1- The lord of the manor of Little Wilden, who at that 
 time was also seised of the bailiwicks of keeper of the 
 king's buckhounds, claimed to be keeper and master of the 
 same, and to keep twenty-four buckhounds and .sixteen 
 harriers, and to have certain fees and liveries for himself 
 and servants. Disallowed, for the same reason as the for- 
 mer, but left to take his course at law. 
 
 12. The master of the king's great wardrobe, claimed to 
 receive from his deputy a pall of cloth of gold, and to carry 
 it to the altar for the king to offer, and that his deputy 
 should attend near Garter king of arms, in a robe of scarlet 
 cloth, with a gold crown embroidered on the left sleeve. 
 Not allowed, but left to take his course at law, if he thought 
 fit. 
 
 13. The clerk of the great wardrobe, claimed to bring a 
 rich pall of cloth of gold, to be held over the king's head, 
 while he is anointed, as also the armil of cloth of tissue, 
 and to attend near Garter king of arms, in a robe of scarlet 
 cloth, with a crown embroidered on the left sleeve. Not 
 allowed, but left to take his course at law, if he thought fit. 
 
 14. The master of the horse to the king, claimed to at- 
 tend at the coronation as serjeant of the silver scullery, and 
 to have all the silver dishes and plates served on that day to 
 the king's table, with the fees thereto belonging, and to 
 take assay of the king's meat at the kitchen-dresser bar. 
 Not allowed, because not claimed heretofore ; but left to 
 make application to the king ; who was pleased to allow the 
 said service and fees, as the duke of Albemarle enjoyed 
 them on the coronation of king Charles II. by virtue of the 
 same post. 
 
 15. The lord bf the manor of Nether Bilsington, Kent, 
 claimed to present the king with three maple cups, by him- 
 self or deputy. Allowed. 
 
 16. The lord of the manor and hundred of Wynfred, 
 Dorset, claimed to serve the king with water for his hands, 
 and to have the bason and ewer for his fee. Not allowed, 
 but left to make his application to the king, if he thought 
 fit. 
 
 17. The duke of Norfolk, as the first earl of England, 
 claimed to redeem the .sword offered by the king at the
 
 Coronation of James II. 53 
 
 ultar, and to carry it before his majesty, in his return to his 
 palace, and reservation of other rights and dignities, with 
 fees, &c. 
 
 18. And also, as earl of Surrey, claimed to carry the se- 
 cond sword before the king, with all privileges and dignities 
 thereto belonging : neither of which allowed, the claims not 
 being made out, and the same being disallowed at the last 
 coronation. 
 
 19. The earl of Exeter, 1 As seised of several parts of the 
 
 20. Sir George Blundel, > barony of Bedford, respectively 
 
 21. Thomas Snaggs, ) claimed to execute the office 
 of almoner ; and as the fees of that office, to have the silver 
 alms-bason, and the distribution of all the silver therein, 
 and of the cloth spread for their majesties to walk on ; as 
 also the fine linen towel, a tun of wine, &c. On reference 
 to the king to appoint which of them he pleased, the earl 
 was appointed, pro hac vice, with a salvo jure to the other 
 two ; but the silver dish, and the cloth from the throne in 
 Westminster-hall to the west door of the Abbey-church, 
 were only allowed. 
 
 22. The dean and chapter of Westminster claimed to in- 
 struct the king in the rites and ceremonies used at the coro- 
 nation ; to assist the archbishop in divine service ; to have 
 the custody of the coronation robes ; to have robes for the 
 dean and his three chaplains, and for sixteen ministers of 
 the said church ; the royal habits put off in the church, the 
 several oblations, furniture of the church, canopy, staves 
 and bells, and the cloth on which their majesties walk from 
 the west door of the church to the theatre, &c. Allowed, 
 except the custody of the regalia ; and the fees referred to 
 the king's pleasure. 
 
 23. The churchwardens of St. Margaret's, Westminster, 
 claimed to have the cloth (lying in their parish) whereon the 
 king goes in procession, for the use of the poor. 
 
 24. The vicar and churchwardens of St. Martin's in the 
 Fields, claimed a share of the said cloth, for their poor. 
 Which claims were only read and not admitted. 
 
 25. The earl marshal of England claimed to appease the 
 debates that might arise in the king's house on this day ; to 
 keep the doors of the same, and of the abbey, &c. and to 
 dispose of the places to the nobles, &c. with all fees belong- 
 ing thereto. Disallowed, as unprecedented; and several 
 of the particulars being counterclaimed by the lord great 
 chamberlain ; but with a salvo jure, to the said earl marshal. 
 
 26. The lord of the manor of Ashlee, Norfolk, claimed to 
 p-erform the office of the napery, and to have all the table- 
 
 E 3
 
 $4 Coronation of James II. 
 
 linen, when taken away. Not allowed because that he had 
 not his evidence ready to make it out, but with a salvo jure. 
 
 27. The earl of Derby, as seised in fee of the isle and 
 castle of Pelhaai, and dominion of Man, claimed to present 
 the king with two falcons on this day. Which was allowed, 
 and the falcons presented accordingly. 
 
 28. The earl of Kent claimed to carry the great spurs be- 
 fore the king ; but not being made out, was not allowed. 
 
 29. The same counterclaimed by the lord de Grey of 
 Thyne, and allowed. . 
 
 30. The same counterclaimed by the duke of Norfolk, as 
 earl of Surrey; but disallowed for want of evidence, and 
 because it was not admitted at the preceding coronation. 
 
 31. The barons of the cinque ports claimed to carry the 
 canopy over the king, and to have the same, with the staves 
 and bells for their fees, and to dine in the hall on the king's 
 right hand. Allowed. 
 
 32. The lord of the manor of Scoulton, alias iBourdelies, 
 Norfolk, claimed to be chief larderer ; and to have for his 
 fees the provisions remaining after dinner in the larder. 
 Which office and fees, as also that of caterer, were like- 
 wise, 
 
 33. Counterclaimed ,by the lord of the manor of Eston 
 at the Mount, Essex ; and on reference to the king, it ap- 
 pearing that other manors were also severally held by the 
 same service, the former was appointed pro hac vice, with a 
 salvo jure, to the other. 
 
 34. The lord of the manor of Wirksop, Nottingham, 
 claimed to find the king a right-hand glove, and to support 
 the king's right arm while he holds the sceptre. Allowed. 
 
 35. Bishops of Durham, and Bath and Weils, claimed to 
 support the king in the procession. Allowed ; the king 
 having graciously consented thereto; and the bishops of 
 London and Winchester being appointed to support the 
 queen. 
 
 36. The lord of the manor of Fyngrith, Essex, claimed to 
 be chamberlain to the queen for the day, and to have the 
 queen's bed and furniture, the basons, &c. belonging to the 
 office; and to have a clerk in the exchequer to demand and 
 receive the queen's gold, &c. Disallowed, because not 
 made out; but left to prosecute it at law, if he thought fit. 
 
 37. The lord of the manor of Great Wymondley, Hert- 
 fordshire, claimed (as chief cup-bearer) to serve the king 
 with the first cup of silver gilt, at dinner, and to have the 
 pup for his fee. Allowed. 
 
 38. The lord of the manor of Heydon, Essex, claimed to
 
 Origin of the Hugowts. 5 5 
 
 liold die bason and ewer to the king, by virtue of one moiety, 
 and the towel by virtue of another moiety of the said manor, 
 when the king washes before dinner. Allowed, JJLS to the 
 towel only. 
 
 39. The duke of Norfolk, as earl of Arundel, and lord of 
 Kenninghall manor, Norfolk, claimed to perform by deputy 
 the office of chief butler of England, ana to have for his fees 
 the best gold cup and cover, with all the vessels and wine 
 remaining under the bar, and all the pots and cups^ except 
 those of gold or silver, in the wine-cellar after dinner. Al- 
 lowed, with only the fee of the cup and ewer. 
 
 VIII. Origin of the Hugonqts. 
 
 HUGO Aubrict, who by merit had gained the esteem of 
 Charles V. of France, was invested with the dignity of pro- 
 vost of Paris when Charles VI. mounted the throne. H 
 shewed himself worthy of that important post by the care 
 which he took for the maintenance of good order, for the 
 embellishment of the city, and for the convenience of its 
 inhabitants. He had contributed to the wholesomeness of 
 the air, and to the neatness of the streets, by means of sub- 
 terraneous channels, of which he was the inventor. He had 
 built many bridges, in order to facilitate the communication 
 between various quarters of the city, and he employed on 
 these different works the beggar, the idle, in a word, those 
 unhappy wretches whom indigence and want of work ren- 
 dered enemies to the state. Every thing manifested his 
 distinguished zeal for the public good ; but he had offended 
 the university, and that ruined him ; the students, most of 
 them men grown, proud of their numbers, and of their pri- 
 vileges, frequently abandoned themselves to scandalous ex- 
 cesses. The provost, attentive to the public tranquillity, 
 treated them with all the rigor tiiat their repeated enormi- 
 ties deserved ; he had ordered his Serjeants to seize them 
 wherever they committed disorders, and to confine them in 
 the dungeons of the little Chatelet, which he had caused to 
 be dug on purpose for them. The members of the univer- 
 sity spared no pains, to take the most cruel revenge on him ; 
 they made private inquiries into the morals of ibis rigid 
 provost, and when they thought their proofs sufficient, they 
 cited him before the ecclesiastical tribunal. At first, de-
 
 56 Escape of Charles Edward Stuart. 
 
 pending on the protection of the court, he despised their 
 prosecution; but the credit of his adversaries prevailed 
 over the favor of princes; he was arrested, and carried to 
 the prison of the spiritual court, and on the evidence of 
 some witnesses, (such as they were) condemned as a bad 
 catholic, intemperate, debauched, as an encourager of wo- 
 men of dissolute lives, particularly of Jewesses, in short, as a 
 Jew and a Heretic. He would have been burnt alive, if the 
 court had not mitigated his sentence. He was obliged to 
 mount a scaffold, and there bare-headed, and without a 
 girdle, he was forced on his knees to ask pardon, in the pre- 
 sence of a crowd of people. The rector, at the head of the 
 university, assisted at this melancholy spectacle, and the 
 bishop of Paris, dressed in his pontifical robes, publicly 
 preached to the accused, and concluded with condemning 
 him to end his days in a dungeon, with bread and water 
 only for his support. Hugo Aubrict was released the year 
 after, by the same populace, who had joyfully assisted at 
 his punishment. It is from this provost of Paris that the 
 Protestants have been called Hugonots, an injurious appel- 
 lation used in France to signify the enemies of the church. 
 
 1764, June. 
 
 IX. A particular and authentic Account of the Escape of CHARLES 
 EDWARD STUART, commonly called the young Chevalier, after the 
 Battle of Culloden. 
 
 THE battle of Culloden was fought on the 16th of April, 
 1746 ; and the young chevalier having his horse shot through 
 the neck with a musket ball, and seeing the rout among his 
 troops universal and irretrievable, was persuaded to provide 
 for his own safety as well as he could. He was soon 
 mounted on a fresh horse, and, accompanied by a few cho- 
 sen friends,* he retreated by Tordurock, a village about 
 nine miles from Inverness, to Aberardar, about three miles 
 farther in Mackintosh's country ; thence to Faroline, five 
 
 # Sir Thomas Sheridan; his two aid-de-camps, sir David Murray, and Mr. 
 Alexander Macleod ; captain O'Sollivan, and captain O'Neille, two Irish gen- 
 tlemen, who had the French king's commission ; Mr. John Hay, one of his 
 secretaries; with these were Edward Bourk, a servant of Madeodj a servant 
 of Mr. Hay j and one Allan Macdonald.
 
 Escape of Charles Edward Stuart. 57 
 
 miles farther in Lovat's country ; and thence to Gortulaig, 
 one mile farther, a house of Mr. Eraser, steward to lord Lo- 
 vat. At this place he found lord Lovat himself, who ex- 
 horted him most pathetically to keep up his courage, and 
 remember his ancestor Robert de Bruce, who, after losing 
 eleven battles, by winning the twelfth, recovered the king- 
 dom. On the other hand, O'Sullivan, and O'Neille, took 
 him aside, and begged him to listen to no such insinuations. 
 
 This was certainly the best advice, and he followed it; 
 for, about ten at night, he set forward, and reached Inver- 
 gary about five o'clock the next morning. Invergary was a 
 castle belonging to Macdonald of Glengary, which was not 
 then burnt, nor was its owner, who afterwards suffered long 
 confinement in Edinburgh Castle, yet taken prisoner ; but, 
 the family being absent, it could afford no entertainment. 
 Bourk, however, was fortunate enough to catch a brace of 
 salmon early in the forenoon, which furnished the little 
 company with a meal. After their repast, a consultation 
 was held, and it was thought proper that the adventurer 
 should proceed with only O'Sullivan, Allan Macdonald, and 
 Bourk, for a guide ; it was farther thought necessary, that 
 he should change clothes with Bourk, which was accord- 
 ingly done ; and setting out about two o'clock they reached 
 Donald Gameron's, at Glenpean, about nine at night. Being 
 exhausted with fatigue, and not having closed his eyes for 
 more than eight and forty hours, he threw himself upon a 
 bed in his clothes, and fell asleep ; he awaked early in the 
 morning greatly refreshed, and continued his course on 
 foot, through places that perhaps had never before been 
 trodden, and over mountains which would have been inac- 
 cessible to all who were not in equal danger, and at length 
 arrived at the Glen of Morar. After a short respite, he pro- 
 ceeded to Boredale in Arisaig, a country of Clanranald's, 
 where he rested several days, giving and getting intelli- 
 gence. At this place he was again joined by captain 
 O'Neille, who acquainted him, that there was not the least 
 hope of re-assembling his men, and that he had nothing left 
 but to get out of the country. With this view, he deter- 
 mined to move towards the western isles, hoping there tci 
 find a ship to carry him abroad, more easily than on the 
 continent. 
 
 At a place called Gualtergil, in the Isle of Sky, there 
 lived an old man, one Donald Macleod, who was a good 
 pilot, and thought to be trusty; this man therefore was sent 
 for, and the adventurer committing himself to him, he en- 
 gaged to conduct him through the isles to a place of safety.
 
 66 scape of Charles Edward Stuart. 
 
 Accordingly, an eight-oared barge was procured, and on 
 the 26th of April, in the dusk of the evening, the chief, with 
 O'Neille, O'Sullivan, Allan Macdonald, Bourk, who offici- 
 ated as boatman, and the old pilot, embarked at Lochnan- 
 naught, in Boredale, the very place where he first landed 
 in Scotland. 
 
 By the time. they had putoff from shore it was become quite 
 dark ; and in a short time they were overtaken by a violent 
 storm of wind and rain : their boat had no covering, and 
 they had neither light nor compass on board, so that they 
 drove all night they knew not whither, the sea every mo- 
 ment breaking over them, and the boat being in equal dan- 
 ger of sinking and oversetting ; it happened, however, that 
 when the day broke, the storm subsided, and they disco- 
 vered, with great joy, a promontory, called Rossinish, in 
 the east part of Benbicula, a small island belonging to Clan- 
 ranald, and lying between north and south Vist. Here they 
 soon landed in safety, and with all possible expedition made 
 a fire, the little crew being half perished with cold. 
 
 In the mean time, the duke of Cumberland supposing, 
 cither from conjecture or intelligence, that the fugitive 
 bad repaired to the western isles, sent general Campbell in 
 pursuit of him, who went immediately to St. Kiloa, where 
 he might probably ha,ve found him, if it had not been fpr 
 $be -storm; so that what appeared to be their danger was 
 iheir security. The general soon found that there was uo- 
 bod}' at St. Kilda but the inhabitants, who had no other 
 <X)moaerce with the world than the payment of .their rent 
 onre a year in Soland goose feathers, and who did not know 
 that such a being as Campbell sought, existed in the world. 
 While this was doing, the adventurer Jay weather-bound 
 at Benbicula ; but, after two days and two nights, he and 
 fcis attendants set sail again, on the 29th, for Stornway, the 
 chief port of Lewis, which is the northernmost of the west- 
 ern isles : it lies about fourteen leagues north of .Benbicula, 
 and belongs to Seafort. Soon after they put to sea, they 
 were overtaken by another storm, which forced them, the 
 next morning, into Seal pay, or Glass, an island belonging to 
 the laird of Macleod, and passing for shipwrecked mer- 
 chants, were hospitably entertained by Donald Campbell, 
 the farmer of the island. 
 
 On the first of 'May, a boat was procured, and Macleod, 
 the old pilot, dispatched to Stornway, to freight a vessel for 
 the Orkneys : in two day 8 he sent notice that the vessel 
 was ready, and the chief immediately put to sea, and on 
 the fourth landed at Loch Shefibrt; from wfceuce, with
 
 Escape of diaries Edward Stuart. 59 
 
 O'S-ullivan, O'Neille, and Bourk the guide, Allan Macdo- 
 nald taking his leave for South Vist, they proceeded on foot 
 for Stornway. Having travelled, or rather wandered through 
 the hills all night, they arrived on the fifth at noon, wet and 
 weary, at the point of Arinish, about half a mile S.E. of 
 Stornwav. Here Macleod, their pilot, was sent for from 
 Stornway, who brought them some refreshments, and then 
 conducted them to lady Kildun's, a Mackenzie, at Arinish, 
 to wait till all should be ready for an embarkation. But the 
 next morning, upon Macleod's return to Stornway, he found, 
 to his inexpressible confusion and surprise, all the people 
 up in arms, and an embargo laid upon all shipping. 
 
 His servant, it seems, had got drunk in his absence, and 
 discovered for whom the ship had been hired. The whole 
 project being therefore totally ruined, the. unhappy fugitive 
 went hastily from lady Kildun's without knowing what 
 course to take : it was at first proposed to sail for the Ork- 
 neys, in the boat they had ; but this the crew, now reduced 
 to two, did not dare to attempt, and it was then resolved 
 that they should steer southward, along the coast, in hopes 
 of succeeding better elsewhere. 
 
 They were, however, soon driven upon a desert island, 
 called Evirn, or Iffurt ; it lies about twelve miles from 
 Stornway, and is not more than half a mile over each way. 
 They found, however, some fishermen upon it, who, taking 
 the wanderers for a press-gang, ran away, and took to their 
 boat with great precipitation, leaving all their fish behind 
 them. Finding, by this means, a good dinner where they 
 least expected it, the chief proposed to leave money in its 
 place ; but being told, that this piece of honesty might 
 raise a dangerous suspicion, he was persuaded to take his 
 meal at free cost. 
 
 In this island, the weather being very tempestuous, they 
 subsisted some days upon some fish wnich they found cu- 
 ring, and some shell-fish which at low water they picked up 
 on the beach. This was bad board, .but they had worse 
 lodging ; for, upon the whole island, there was no trace of 
 human dwelling, except one wretched hovel, of which the 
 walls only were standing; within these walls, therefore, they 
 lay down at night upon the bare ground, and spread a sail 
 over them by way of canopy. 
 
 In the morning of the tenth, the weather being more fa- 
 vourable, they embarked for the Harries, and touched at the 
 hospitable farmer's at Scalpay, when they offered money in 
 vain for a better boat. 
 
 As no time was to be lost, they put to sea again in their
 
 60 Escape of Charles Edward Stuart. 
 
 own ; but it happened, whether by inattention, tbe situa- 
 tion of the coast, or the haziness of the weather, they were 
 surprised by an English man of war, who immediately gave 
 them chase. They rowed away with all their might, and the 
 vessel continued to gain upon them, during a chase of three 
 leagues, so that she \\as once within two musquet shot. 
 The adventurer encouraged his men by the promise of a 
 reward if they escaped, but declared at the same time, that 
 be would not be taken alive ; they therefore redoubled their 
 efforts, and the wind suddenly dying away, the man of war 
 was becalmed, and the skiff was soon out of sight. Having 
 thus escaped once more, when it was but just possible to 
 escape, they got in among the rocks at the point of RoudiJ, 
 an island in the Harries, belonging to Macleod, and keep- 
 ing close along the shore, at length landed upon the island 
 of Loch Siberl, not far from the promontory in Benbicula, 
 where they had been forced on shore by the storm that 
 overtook them soon after their first embarkation at Loch 
 Nannaugh. 
 
 It being low water when they came on shore, the chief 
 assisted the boatmen to fill a keg with partans, or sea-crabs, 
 and, notwithstanding the remonstrances of Macleod, their 
 pilot insisted upon carrying it as his share of the baggage. 
 
 Having wandered about two miles inland, without seeing 
 the least appearance of a house, they at last lighted on a 
 little hovel, the entrance of which was so low, that the ad- 
 venturer was forced to creep into it on his hands and knees. 
 Bourk, their guide, endeavoured to remedy the inconve- 
 nience by sinking the threshold, which, however, made but 
 a very little difference. In this hiding-place, he continued 
 several days, and Clanranald, the lord of Benbicula, and his 
 lady, hearing where he was, came to see him, and promised 
 him all the service in their power. 
 
 By their advice, he retired sixteen miles farther tip the 
 country, near the mountain of Corrodale, in South Vist ; 
 where he arrived under the conduct of Ranald Macdonald 
 on rhe sixteenth. 
 
 Macleod, their pilot, had been sent off tbe day before to 
 the continent, with letters to Lochiel and Murray, to pro- 
 cure three articles of great importance intelligence, mo- 
 ney, and brandy. After an absence of eighteen days, he 
 returned with some intelligence, and two tinkers of brand} 1 , 
 but no money; Murray, whom he found with Lochiel, at 
 the head of Loch Argaig, declaring that he could spare 
 none, having only sixtv louis d'ors for himself. Macleod 
 was glad to find bis master in a better dwelling than he had
 
 Escape of Ckdrles Edxard Stuart. i 
 
 left him, though it was no better than two cow-hides, sup- 
 ported by four moVeable pillars or' wood. 
 
 Having continued here about a month, during which 
 time he endeavoured to amuse himself by hunting, fowl- 
 ing, and fishing, exercises which, if they did not much sus- 
 pend his anxiety, greatly contributed to the subsistence of 
 his company. But hearing that some militia were landed 
 in pursuit of him at Eriska, a little island between Barra 
 and South Yist, he found it necessary to shift the scene: 
 on the fourteenth of June, therefore, with O'Neille, O'Sul- 
 livan, Bourk the guide, and Macleod the pilot, he put once 
 more to sea, and landed at Ovia, or Fovaya, a small island 
 between South Vist, and Benbicula. 
 
 Here he was hospitably entertaine<i four days by Ranald 
 Macdonald, who happened to be upon the island grazing 
 his cattle. 
 
 On the eighteenth, he set out for Rossinigsh, the pro- 
 montory, where he had landed after his first embarkation; 
 but perceiving that boats, with militia on board, were con- 
 tinually cruising round it, he embarked, in order to return 
 to Glen Corrodale in South Vist, and after being forced out 
 of his way by a storm, and obliged to take shelter from the 
 winds and waves, in the cleft of a rock, he at last arrived at 
 Celiestiella in South Vist, and kept moving, to and again, 
 between that place and Loch Boisdale, according to the 
 motions and appearances of his various enemies. 
 
 While he was thus shifting his ground, and pressed on 
 different sides, he received intelligence, that captain Caro- 
 line Scot was landed at Kilbride, within two miles of him. 
 Upon this, he immediately dismissed all his associates, ex- 
 cept O'Neille, with whom he repaired to the top of a moun- 
 tain, where they passed the night. In the morning he 
 learnt, that general Campbell was at Bernera, a small island 
 between North Vist and the Harries. His distress and dan- 
 ger were now very great ; he was hemmed in between the 
 forces, that were on both the landsides of him, and it was 
 impossible to escape by sea, for Macleod the pilot being de- 
 serted by the boatmen, on his dismission, had been obliged 
 to sink the boat. In this dilemma O'Neille thought of ap- 
 plying to Miss Flora Macdonald, whom he knew to be then 
 at Milton, her brother's house in South Vist, whither she 
 had lately come from the Isle of Sky, on a visit. He ac- 
 cordingly went to Milton, leaving his friend, who did not 
 dare to quit his hiding-place, behind, and telling the lady 
 Uis situation, urged her to go to him. To this, at length
 
 62 Escape of Charles Edward Stuart. 
 
 convinced of the necessity, she consented, taking with her 
 only one Mackechan as a servant. 
 
 Miss Flora being conducted by O'Neille to the forlorn 
 fugitive, it was agreed that she should procure him a female 
 dress, and, in that disguise, carry him out of the country as 
 her maid-servant. 
 
 In prosecution of this plan, she set out, on the 21st of 
 June, for Clanranald's, where she hoped to procure such 
 apparel as would be necessary for the execution of it ; but 
 having no passports, she, and her servant Mackechan, were 
 made prisoners by a party of the militia. 
 
 The lady desiring to see their officer, was told he was 
 absent, and would not be with them till the next morning : 
 this was an unfortunate delay, but patience was the only re- 
 medy. In the morning the officer arrived, and Miss Mac- 
 donald was agreeably surprized to find that it was Hugh 
 Macdonald, of Armadale, her father-in-law. Of him she 
 soon procured not only her discharge, but the passports that 
 would be necessary in the prosecution of her scheme : one 
 for herself, one for Mackechan, and one for Betty Bourk, 
 the name to be assumed by the adventurer. She also pre- 
 vailed upon him to give her a letter for her mother, recom- 
 mending Betty as an excellent spinner, knowing that her 
 mother was in great want of such a person. 
 
 Macdonald accordingly wrote the following letter to his 
 wife : 
 
 " I have sent your daughter from this country, lest she 
 should be frighted by the troops lying here. She has got 
 with her one Betty Bourk, an Irish girl, who, as she tells 
 me, is a good spinner. If her spinning pleases you, you 
 may keep her till she spins all your lint, or if you have any 
 wool to spin, you may employ her. I have sent Mackechan 
 along with your daughter, and Betty Bourk to take care of 
 them. 
 
 I am your dutiful husband, 
 
 HUGH MACDONALD." 
 
 Thus Miss Flora's having been stopped by the militia, 
 proved a very fortunate accident, and having obtained all 
 she desired, she proceeded to Clanranald's, where she 
 communicated her design to the lady, whom she found 
 ready to do all in her power to promote it. Several days 
 were spent in preparations, and in receiving and returning 
 u.essages, by the trusty O'Neille. 
 
 On the 27th of June, all things being ready, a boat was
 
 Escape of Charles Edward Stuart* C3 
 
 procured, and Miss Flora Macdonald, lady Clanranald, and 
 fkmest Mackechan, were conducted by O'Neille to his 
 friend's hiding-place, being about eight miles distant; he 
 received thein with an impatience and joy suitable to the 
 occasion, and they congratulated themselves upon the 
 prospect of being soon out of danger; but, while supper 
 was preparing, a servant arrived out of breath, with intel- 
 ligence that an advanced party of the Campbells, under 
 captain Ferguson, were within two miles of them. 
 
 This, at once, put an end to their repast, and they all 
 hurried to the boat, in which they escaped to a farther point, 
 where they passed the night without farther alarm. 
 
 But the next morning the 28th, another servant came, 
 in great haste, to lady Glanranald's, and informed her that 
 captain Ferguson was then at her house, and had passed 
 the night in her bed. This made it absolutely necessary 
 for her to return, in order to prevent inquiries where she 
 was. When she arrived, Ferguson questioned her very 
 strictly where she had been, but she gave him such answers 
 as left him wholly in the dark. 
 
 As soon as lady Clanranald was gone, Miss Flora told heY 
 ward that no time was to be lost ; he therefore put on his 
 female attire ; and they repaired to the water-side, where a 
 boat lay ready: O'Neille earnestly desired to accompany 
 them, but the lady's prudence got the better of his impor- 
 tunity. Betty Bourk then, Miss Flora, and Mackechan, be- 
 ing come to the water-side, it was thought advisable that 
 they should not embark till it was night. They therefore 
 macle themselves a little fire, on a piece of the rock^ as well 
 to warm as to dry themselves ; but they had scarcely got 
 round it before the approach of four wherries, full of armed 
 men, obliged them to extinguish it in all haste, and hide 
 themselves, by squatting down in the heath, till the enemy 
 was gone by. 
 
 Having escaped this danger, they embarked, about eight 
 o'clock in the evening, under a serene sky, but the night 
 proved tempestuous, and drove them out of. their course, so 
 that in the morning, when the wind abated, the boatmen, 
 having no compass, knew not how to steer; at last, however, 
 they discoveret} the point of Waternish, on the west corner 
 of the Isle of Sky, and attempted to land, but, upon ap- 
 proaching the shore, they found the place possessed by a 
 body of forces, and saw three boats, or yawls, upon the 
 strand. They bore away, therefore, with all speed, andj 
 though fired at to bring to, escaped a pursuit. 
 
 On Sunday, the 29th, in the forenoon, they landed at
 
 64 Escape of Charles Edward Stuart. 
 
 Kilbridge in Totternish, about twelve mijes north from Wa- 
 ternish ; they went on shore just at the foot of the garden 
 belonging to a seat of sir Alexander Macdonald, called 
 Monggestot, and Miss Flora leaving Betty Bourk in the 
 boat, went up with her servant to the house. Sir Alexan- 
 der was absent, and she found his lady, and a military offi- 
 cer, who was in quest of her charge. The officer asked her 
 many questions, which she evaded as well as she could, 
 and, at last, found an opportunity to acquaint lady Macdo- 
 nald with the adventurer's situation. Her ladyship was 
 somewhat at a loss how to act in so critical a juncture, but 
 having, by great accident, Mr. Macdonald, of Kingsborrow, 
 a relation of sir Alexander, and his factor, with her in the 
 house, she consulted him, and they agreed to send imme- 
 diately for a friend, Mr. Donald Roy Macdonald, who was 
 at a surgeon's in the neighbourhood, under cure of a wound 
 which he had received at Culloden, in his foot. 
 
 When Roy Macdonald came, it was agreed that Macdo- 
 nald should conduct the wanderer that night to Port Rey, 
 by way of Kingshorrovv, and put him under the protection 
 of the old laird ofilasay. In consequence of this resolution, 
 Roy Macdonald was dispatched, to give the laird of Rasay 
 notice ; and Mackechan was sent to their charge, who was 
 lurking near the boat on the shore, to acquaint him with 
 the scheme that had been concerted for his preservation., 
 and to direct him to the back of a certain hiH, about a mile 
 distant, where he was to wait for his conductor. 
 
 These steps being token, and the boat and boatmen dis- 
 charged, Macdonald found his ward at the place appointed, 
 and after he had taken some refreshment which Macdonald 
 brought him, on the top of a rock, they set forward. 
 
 In their walk they were joined by some country people 
 who were coming from kirk ; the awkward appearance of 
 poor Betty Bourk seemed strangely to excite their curio- 
 sity; and they asked so many questions, that Macdonald 
 was very desirous to get rid of them : this however was no 
 easy matter, till at last, he said, " O sirs, cannot you let 
 alone talking of worldly affairs on the Sabbath, and have 
 patience till another day ?" The simple and honest-hearted 
 peasants were struck with the reproof, and immediately 
 retired. 
 
 The travellers were soon after overtaken by Miss Flora 
 and her servant, on horseback, who had also been joined by 
 some acquaintances on the road. One of the strangers 
 could not forbear making observations upon the long strides 
 and masculine demeanour of the great tawdry woman that
 
 Escape, of Charles Edward Stuart. 65 
 
 was walking with Macdonald ; and Miss Flora, being under 
 great apprehensions for the effects of farther travelling to- 
 gether, urged her company to mend their pace, upon pre- 
 tence that they would be benighted : this artifice succeeded, 
 and the riders soon left the two travellers on foot out of 
 sight. 
 
 They arrived at Kingshorrow, Macdonald's seat, about 
 eleven at night, having walked seven miles of their journey 
 inconstant rain; and Miss Macdonald having giren her 
 company the slip, arrived nearly at the same time by a way 
 farther about. 
 
 The wife of Macdonald, called lady Kingsborrow, who 
 was going to bed, immediately dressed herself again, and 
 ordered a supper. Betty Bourk eat heartily, smoaked a 
 pipe, and went to bed. 
 
 When lady Kingsborrow was alone with Miss Flora, and 
 had heard Betty Bourk's adventures, she expressed great 
 regret at finding that the boatmen had been dismissed ; 
 and observed, very justly, that they ought to have been de- 
 tained at least till the fugitive had got farther from his pur- 
 suers. As it was thought probable that these boatmen 
 might discover the secret of his disguise, he was advised 
 next morning to lay it by ; he readily consented, but as 
 it was necessary for the servants, who took him for a wo- 
 man, to see him depart in his woman's dress, a suit of man's 
 apparel was carried to the top of a hill in, a neighbouring 
 wood, whither he repaired to put it on. 
 
 The female dress was concealed in a bush, and afterwards, 
 upon the alarm of a search, burnt. Betty having now again 
 changed her sex, proceeded with Mackechan, and Mac- 
 donald's cow-boy, about eleven years old, named Macquen, 
 who was to be guide, to Portsey, distant seven long Scotch 
 miles, where he arrived safe, but very wet. 
 
 It was fortunate for him that he performed this journey 
 without detection ; yet it would have been more fortunate 
 if he had continued hidden where he parted with his faith- 
 ful friend O'Neille ; for O'Neille, repairing to South Vist, 
 met, with O'Sullivan there, and two days after a French 
 cutter, with 120 armed men, arrived to carry off the adven- 
 turer to France. O'Sullivan immediately went on board, 
 but O'Neille, with a noble and generous friendship, prefer- 
 ring the interest of him, whom he considered as his prince, 
 to his own, went immediately in quest of him. After some 
 search, he learnt that he had left the place two days be- 
 fore ; and in the mean time, the cutter being discovered 
 and pursued, took the benefit of a fair wind to sail for 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 (J6 . Escape of Charles Edward Stuart. 
 
 France. Poor O'Neille, being thus left behind, was soon 
 after taken prisoner, and confined in Edinburgh Castle, till 
 he was released on the cartel as a French officer. 
 
 At Portsey the adventurer met with Miss Flora and Roy 
 'Macdonald, who had been dispatched to apprise the old 
 laird of Rasay of his guest. Rasay is an island at a little 
 distance from Portsey ; and though the laird was absent, a 
 boat had been procured to carry the adventurer thither; 
 and John and M urdoch, Macleod of Rasay's eldest and third 
 sons, and one Malcolm Macleod, who had been in the re- 
 bellion, were come to Portsey to attend him. Here then 
 he took leave of his friend Roy Macdonald, who could not 
 conveniently travel, as the wound in his foot was not cured ; 
 and of Miss Flora Macdonald, whose sex would not permit 
 her to accompany him farther without suspicion, and early 
 on the first of July arrived at Glam, in Rasay. 
 
 This place, however, they found in a condition very dif- 
 ferent from what they expected ; for a party of the king's 
 troops had burnt all the houses, to the number of several 
 hundred, so that the wanderer had no better asylum than a 
 miserable hut, in which he lay upon the bare ground, with 
 only a whisp of heath for his pillow ; nor had he any other 
 provision than such as one of the gentlemen who could ap- 
 pear without danger, fetched him from time to time in the 
 corner of his plaid. 
 
 After continuing here two days, he sailed, on the third of 
 July, for Trotternish, in Sky, in the same small boat, which 
 could not contain more than seven persons ; he met with a 
 storm, but he diverted the crew from their intention of put- 
 ting back, by singing them an Highland song ; and about 
 eleven at night they landed at a place in Sky called Nichol- 
 son's Great Rock ; the precipice was very sleep, yet they 
 made shift to clamber up, and after wandering about some 
 time, at length took up their abode in a byre, or cow- 
 house. 
 
 At seven o'clock the next morning, July 4th, he set out 
 with only Malcolm Macleod, upon a new progress, as it was 
 dangerous to continue long in a place, though he had yet no 
 prospect of escaping to another country. It was now agreed 
 that he should travel as Macleod's servant, and, the better 
 to support the character, he carried the baggage, which 
 Consisted of two shirts, one pair of stockings, one pair of 
 brogues, a bottle of brandy, some mouldy scraps of bread 
 aud cheese, and a three-pint stone bottle of water. 
 
 In this manner they marched, till they came near Strath, 
 in Mackinuou's country : here a new cireuinstance^of danger
 
 Escape of Charles Edward Stuart. 67 
 
 arose; for Mackinnon's men having been out in the ad- 
 venturer's service, there was the greater risk of his being 
 known. As a farther disguise, therefore, having exchanged 
 his waistcoat for that of his supposed master, which was not 
 so fine, he took off his wig, and putting it iulo his pocket, 
 tied a dirty handkerchief about his head, and puhed his 
 bonnet over it. 
 
 This was no sooner done, than it appeared to have been, 
 done in vain ; for meeting three of Mackinnon's men, they 
 instantly knew their iate master, and burst into tears. 
 
 This mark of their affection prevented any apprehensions 
 of treachery ; and the travellers, pursuing their way through 
 the worst roads in Scotland, after a stretch of four and 
 twenty Highland miles, arrived at the house of John Mac- 
 kmnon, Macleod's brother-in-law. The adventurer was in 
 a miserable condition, having slipped up to the middle in a 
 bog ; he therefore stood greatly in need of refreshment. 
 Mackinnon not being at home, he was introduced to his 
 wife, Macleod's sister, as one Lewis Crew, his servant; and 
 after he had been well washed and fed, he lay down to 
 sleep. 
 
 Macleod, in the mean time, went in quest of Mackinnon, 
 whom he soon found ; and telling him whom he had got for 
 a guest, dispatched him to hire a boat for the Continent. 
 Mackinnon applied to the old laird of Mackinnon, who un- 
 dertook to bring his boat immediately. 
 
 The boat soon after arrived, with the laird and his lady, 
 who brought what wine and provisions they could furnish. 
 They all dined together in a cave; and it was thought 
 proper that no person should proceed with the Wanderer, 
 but the old laird and John Mackinnon, Macleod's brother-in- 
 law ; these three therefore went on board the boat, mauned 
 with four rowers, in the evening of the same 4th of July , 
 having made this progress, slept, dined, and procured a 
 boat, in little more than thirteen hours. 
 
 They landed safely about four o'clock the next morning, 
 after a tempestuous voyage, on the south side of Loch Ne- 
 vis, near Litrle Ma'loch, where they lay three nights in the 
 open fields. On the morning of the fourth day, the old 
 laird and one of the boatmen went in search of a cave, that 
 might afford them belter lodging ; and in the mean time 
 the adventurer, with John Mackinnon and the three other 
 boatmen, took the boat, and rowed up Loch Nevis, along 
 the coast, upon the same errand ; but upon doubling the 
 point, they were surprised and alarmed by the appearance 
 of another boat, with five of the Highland militia on board 
 
 F2
 
 68 Escape of Charles Edward Stuart. 
 
 whom they knew by the red crosses in their bonnets : the 
 militia called to them to come up, but this was only a sig- 
 nal tor them to stand away with all the speed they could 
 make : the militia immediately pursued them ; but the 
 three rowers exerted themselves with such strength and 
 dexterity, that they out-went them, and by turning another 
 point, got out of sight. They thought it safest, however, 
 to go on shore ; and the adventurer, with John Mackinnon, 
 and one of the boatmen, being safely landed, they ran to 
 the top of a hill, where they saw the boat that had pursued 
 them rowing back again : on this hill the poor hunted fugi- 
 tive slept three hours, and then re-embarking, crossed the 
 Loch to a little island about a mile from Scotus's house ; 
 from thence soon after they again passed the Loch, and 
 landed at Mallooh, where they met again with the old laird 
 and the boatman that had been with him ; and having re- 
 freshed themselves, they set out for Macdonald's of Morar, 
 which was distant about eight miles. 
 
 They had not gone far before they discovered some peo- 
 ple at a distance, who were coming towards the road ; upon, 
 this the ad venturer, with the assistance of John Mackinnon, 
 took off his plaid, and folding it up, laid it upon his should- 
 ers, with a knapsack upon it; and then tying a handker- 
 chief about his head, walked behind his associates as a ser- 
 vant : in this disguise he passed unquestioned, and coming 
 up to a shealing, or cow-house, they were refreshed with a 
 draught of milk by Archibald Macdonald, grandson to Mac- 
 donald of Scotus ; they then pursued their journey, and at 
 another shealing procured a guide to Morar. When they 
 came thither, they found Macdonald in a bothy, or hut, his 
 house having been burnt : he received his quests as well as 
 
 O O 
 
 his situation would permit, and having conducted them to a 
 cave, they slept ten hours. In the mean time, he went in 
 quest of young Clanranald ; but not finding him, it was re- 
 solved that the adventurer should set forward for Borodale's 
 of Glen Biasdale, with only John Mackinnon, and a boy, a 
 son of Macdonald's, their host, for a guide. At Glen Bias- 
 dale they arrived before day, but found their friend's house 
 burnt, and himself at a hut hard by. To this gentleman. 
 John resigned his charge, saying, " I have done my duty, 
 do you do yours." 
 
 To this hut Glenaladale, a Macdonald of Clanranald's fa- 
 mily, was sent for, who arrived about the 15th of June, and 
 brought intelligence of Lochiel and others of the party. 
 The adventurer proposed to go to Lochabar, where Lochiel 
 was supposed to be ; but as all the j>asses were closely
 
 Escape of Charles Edward Stuart. 69 
 
 guarded, this was deemed impracticable. Upon more par- 
 ticular inquiry, they found that the king's troops formed 
 one entire line from Inverness to Fort Augustus, and from 
 Fort Augustus to Fort William ; and another from the head 
 of Loch Arkaig across all the avenues to Lochabar. The 
 adventurer, therefore, determined to continue some time at 
 Glen Biasdale ; but in a few days he was alarmed by an ac- 
 count, that some intelligence having been obtained of his 
 retreat, general Campbell was arrived with 400 men on one 
 side of him, and captain Caroline Scot with 500 on the 
 other ; and that they were forming a circle round him at 
 about two miles distant. 
 
 In this situation he was advised to attempt an escape to 
 the braes of Glenmoriston immediately, and to sculk there, 
 and in Lovat's country, till the passes should be opened ; 
 but as he was utterly unacquainted with the country, Do- 
 nald Cameron, of Glenpeau, was sent for to be his guide. 
 Cameron returned with the messenger, and conducted his 
 charge, accompanied by Glenaladale, in safety, through the 
 guards that were in the pass, though they were obliged to 
 creep upon all fours,. passing so close to the tents, that 
 they heard the soldiers talking to each other, and could see 
 them walking between them and the fires. 
 
 At a little distance from these tents they were obliged to 
 pass over a mountain, and a small rivulet that issued from 
 the precipice, which in gliding downward spread over its side, 
 and rendered the steep and pathless route which they took to 
 descend it extremely slippery, it being a mixture of grass 
 and heath. The night was now shut in, and the guide go- 
 ing foremost, his charge came next, and Glenaladale crept 
 along at some distance behind. In this situation it happened 
 that the adventurer's foot slipped, and rolling down the de- 
 clivity, he would inevitably have been dashed to pieces, if 
 Cameron, who was a little before him, had not catched 
 hold of his arm with one hand, and with the other laid fast 
 hold of the heath. In this situation, however, he found it 
 impossible to continue long, for he that fell not being able 
 to recover his legs, and he that held him, being unable long 
 to sustain his weight, he would soon have been obliged 
 either to quit his hold of the heath, and fall with him, or to 
 let him fall by himself. Glenaladale was still behind, and 
 knew nothing of what had happened ; and Cameron feared, 
 that, if he called out, his voice might be heard by some 
 who were in search after him. In this dilemma, however, 
 he at last resolved to call, as their only chance ; and Glena- 
 ladale, alarmed by the cry, ran to their assistance, just in 
 
 F3
 
 *0 Escape of Charles Edicard Stuart. 
 
 time to preserve them : he laid hold of the adventurer'* 
 other iv in, and with great cliilieulty drew him up, and set 
 bin) upon his feet. 
 
 The dangers before him, however, were scarce inferior 
 to those he had escaped ; he had no means of getting off 
 by sea, and on the land-side he \\as hemmed in by a mili- 
 tary line, consisting of twenty-seven little camps, which 
 were called the chain ; and this line it was therefore neces- 
 sary for him to pass, as the only expedient to avoid being 
 starved to death in hishiding-rplace, or falling into the hands 
 of those who sought him. 
 
 They set out on this perilous attempt after sun-set, and 
 the night happened to be remarkably dark ; when they 
 came near the chain, which, notwithstanding the darkness, 
 they could, as they had been long in it, discover at some 
 distance, it was wisely proposed by Donald Cameron to pass 
 it alone, and return again ; for, said he, if I pass it in safety, 
 you may venture to follow me the second time ; and if I am 
 taken, you may for the present escape. Cameron accord- 
 ingly passed the chain alone, and returned ; and his friend 
 then safely passed it with him ; but it was then necessary to 
 walk a considerable way parallel to it, at a small distance, 
 there being no other way to the place they were bound for. 
 As it happened, however, they passed undiscovered, and 
 about three o'clock in the morning of July the 21st, they 
 came to a place called Corriscorridill, near the head of 
 Loch-Uirn, where, chusing a fastness, they took such re- 
 freshment as could be had, which was only a slice of cheese 
 covered with oatmeal, and a draught of water from the 
 brook. 
 
 In this hold they stayed the whole day, and at eight 
 o'clock in the evening, Cameron, knowing the way no far- 
 ther, crept out with Glenaladale, to see if any body could 
 be found who might be trusted as a guide the rest of the 
 way. At this time the sun was not quite set ; and they had 
 gone but * very little way from their hiding-place, when 
 they discovered it to be within cannon-shot of two small 
 camps that made part of the chain, and saw some soldiers 
 driving a few sheep together for slaughter. Upon this dis- 
 covery they threw themselves flat on the ground, and in 
 that posture crept back to warn their friend of his danger ; 
 and they all three set out on a different course. Cameron 
 soon after left him, and he pursued his course towards Glen- 
 moriston, attended only by Glenaladale. 
 
 It happened, as they were making their way through the 
 most unfrequented parts of the hiJls and moors, Glenaladale
 
 Escape of Charles Edward Stuart. \ I 
 
 suddenly missed his purse ; this was a dreadful stroke, for it 
 contained forty guineas, which \vas their whole stock. 
 At'er some consultation, it was determined that he should 
 venture back to seek it, but thai lie should go alone, and 
 that his friend should rest himself on an adjacent hill till his 
 return. 
 
 The adventurer, therefore, sat down alone to wait the 
 event; but he had not sat long, before he was alarmed by a 
 party of soldiers, whom he saw advancing at a distance; 
 lie immediately stooped down, and concealed himself as 
 well as he could, yet not so, but that he might have been 
 seen by the soldiers, if they had looked wistfully that way, 
 for he saw them very plainly pass by, and take the very 
 route that he and his guide would have taken, if the loss of 
 ihe purse had not stopped them. When they were gone, 
 it was some alleviation of that misfortune, to reflect that it 
 had prevented a greater. In this dreary solitude, forlorn 
 and desolate, his situation was endeared by the danger that 
 he had escaped, and his mind was diverted from present 
 evils by the apprehension of future. In a short time, how- 
 ever, Glenaladale returned, and by great good fortune had 
 found his purse. They immediately continued their route 
 together, but were again obliged to change its direction. 
 
 By these accidents, the length and fatigue of their jour- 
 ney were greatly increased ; however, they reached Glen- 
 moriston on the 24th, but were almost famished, having 
 been eight and forty hours without food. It happened that 
 at this place Glenaladale found eight men who were fugi- 
 tives from the rebel army, and who, the moment they saw 
 their commander, knew him and wept. By these sharers of 
 his fortune he was conducted to a natural cave, called Coi- 
 ragoth, in the brae of Glen-moriston, where they refreshed 
 him with the best provisions they had, and made him up a 
 bed with fern and tops of heath. After his repast, he lay 
 down and soon fell asleep, not needing the murmurs of a 
 fine transparent stream that glided through the cave by his 
 bed side to lull him to repose. In this romantic habitation 
 lie continued three days, and then, being sufficiently re- 
 freshed, they removed two miles farther, to a place called 
 Coirskreasch, where they took up their abode in a natural 
 grotto, not less romantic than that they had left. 
 
 They mounted guard regularly every day, placed sentry- 
 posts at the head and foot of the, Glen, and had a foraging 
 party of two, to fetch in provisions in their own cautious 
 way. It is greatly to the honour of these poor fellows, that 
 though neither of them had a shilling in the world, yet they 
 
 F 4
 
 72 Escape of Charles Edward Stuart. 
 
 were proof against a reward of 30,0001. which they knew 
 they might obtain by betraying their trust. 
 
 With these men, and his friend Glenaladale, the adven- 
 turer continued between the braes of Glen-morislon and 
 Glen-strathferrar, till the guards were removed, and the 
 passes opened. It was then generally believed that he was 
 killed, a person having been killed who was taken for him; 
 and the guards after that remitted their vigilance. 
 
 On the 14th of August he went with his new retinue to 
 the seat of Lochiel, at Achnasnal, on the side of Loch Ar- 
 kaig, two miles from Achnacarie in Lochabar. They brought 
 no provisions with them, expecting to be better provided 
 in that country ; but, to their unspeakable disappointment 
 and distress, they found the seat burnt, and the cattle 
 driven away. Here then they remained some time, looking 
 upon each other with a dejection and despair which kept 
 them silent, and which indeed no words could express. 
 
 At last one of them happened to see a single hart, at 
 which he took aim, and fortunately shot. On this, without 
 bread or salt, they made an eager and hasty meal, as soon 
 as it was possible to get it ready. 
 
 From this place one of the company went in search of 
 Lochiel, at the very time when Lochiel had sent in search 
 of the adventurer. Lochiel's messenger found him in a 
 hut, built on purpose for his use, between Achnasnal and 
 Loch Arkaig : he was without shoe or stocking, had a long 
 beard, a dirty shirt, an old black kelt coat, a plaid and phi- 
 libeg, with a pistol and dirk by his side; but cheerful, says 
 the writer of this narrative, and in good health. 
 
 When he heard that Lochiel was safe, he thrice gave 
 solemn thanks to God, and proposed going immediately to 
 him; but understanding that there was a rumour of his 
 having passed Creyarock, with Lochiel and thirty men, they 
 rightly judged that it might occasion a search in the coun- 
 try they were to pass through, and therefore resolved to 
 stay some time longer where they were; and Glenaladale 
 was dispatched to look out for ships on the west coast; and 
 the Glen-rnoriston men, whose services were no longer 
 wanted, were dismissed. 
 
 In this place he was joined by the sons of Cameron of 
 Cluns^ Mr. John Cameron, an itinerant preacher; captain 
 Macraw, of Glengary's regiment, and a few others: with 
 this company he continued moving about, between three 
 different huts, till about the 28th of August. 
 
 As they were one day in the hut, which Cameron of 
 Cluns had built for his family, after his house had been
 
 Escape of Charles Edward Stuart. 73 
 
 burnt, one of the children gave an alarm, that a party of 
 the king's troops were in sight. The adventurer was then 
 asleep, it being about eight o'clock in the morning, and the 
 rest were thrown into great consternation: they waked him, 
 however, and apprized him of' the danger, upon which he 
 called for his gun, assembled his few friends, examined their 
 pieces; and having encouraged them, by a short exhorta- 
 tion, to sell their lives as clear as they could, he marched 
 with them to a neighbouring hill, which commanded a 
 prospect of Glenkingie, but no enemy was to be seen : two 
 of the party were then dispatched to reconnoitre more 
 closely, and it was resolved to go that night to the top of 
 Mallantagart. 
 
 When the scouts had got to the strath of Cluns, the wo- 
 men told them that the party which had been seen, con- 
 sisted of two hundred men of London's regiment, under 
 the command of captain Grant, of Knockando, in Strath 
 Spey; that they had carried off ten milch cows, which 
 Cameron of Cluns had bought after the loss of his own; 
 that they had found out one of the huts in which the adven- 
 turer had been hidden, and that they were gone to fetch 
 BarrisdaPs cattle to the camp. 
 
 Upon receiving this intelligence, the company and their 
 chief removed from the braes of Glenkengie, to those of 
 Achnacarie, wading through the water of Arkey up to mid- 
 thigh. 
 
 While they were at this place, the messenger who had 
 been dispatched to Lochiel, returned, and brought it as 
 his opinion, that the adventurer would be more safe among 
 the hills between the braes of Badenoch and Athol, where 
 he was skulking himself, than in his present situation, and 
 advised him to go thither immediately. This advice was 
 very pleasing, and the adventurer putting it in execution 
 without delay, the two friends, met to their unspeakable 
 satisfaction, soon after. 
 
 About the twelfth of September, Mr. Cameron was sent 
 southward to hire a ship to carry them off from the east 
 coast. A ship was accordingly provided, and a messenger 
 dispatched to give proper notice. But before his arrival, 
 the two friends, who had been watching in the mean time 
 on the west coast, received intelligence that two French 
 ships waited to carry the adventurer off at Mordart 
 
 He therefore sent round to all his friends, that were 
 within reach, acquainting them with the opportunity, and 
 set out himself for Mordart the same night. 
 
 He arrived oil the nineteenth of September, 1746, and
 
 74 Anecdote from Sir James Ware. 
 
 met several of his friends who arrived in time, regretting 
 those who had not the same good fortune. 
 
 On the twentieth, h'aving seen all the friends that were 
 with him on board, he went on board himself. The vessel 
 was called the Bellona, a Nantz privateer of St. M aloes, 
 mounting thirty-two carriage, and twelve swivel guns, and 
 carrying 340 men; and was brought thither by captain 
 Harrow, of Dillon's regiment, who had gone over to France 
 for that purpose. 
 
 As soon as the adventurer was on board, the vessel set 
 sail, ad on the 29th of the same month, after a pleasant 
 voyage, landed him and his friends safely at Roscou, about 
 three leagues west of Morlaix, having narrowly escaped 
 admiral Lestock's squadron, which was then on the coast of 
 Bretagne. 
 
 The Bellona was taken the second of February following, 
 by three men of war, the Eagle, the Edinburgh, and the 
 Nottingham. 
 
 1765, Aug. and Sept. 
 
 X. Historical Anecdote from a Manuscript of Sir JAMES WARE. 
 
 QUEEN Mary having dealt severely with the Protestants 
 in England, about the latter end of her reign, signed a com- 
 mission to take the same course with them in Ireland; 
 and to execute the same with greater force, she nominates 
 Dr. Cole one of the commissioners. This doctor coming 
 with the commission to Chester, on his journey, the mayor 
 of that city, hearing that her majesty was sending a messen- 
 ger into Ireland, and he being a churchman, waited on the 
 doctor, who, in discourse with the mayor, taketh out of a 
 cloak-bag a leather box, saying unto him, " Here is a com- 
 mission that shall lash the heretics in Ireland," calling the 
 Protestants by that name. The good woman of the house, 
 being well affected to the Protestant religion, and also hav- 
 ing a brother, named John Edmunds, of the same, then a 
 citizen in Dublin, was much troubled at the Doctor's words, 
 but watching her convenient time, while the mayor took 
 his leave, and the doctor complimented him down the stairs, 
 she opened the box, takes the commission out, and places 
 in lieu thereof a sheet of paper, with a pack of cards 
 wrapped up therein, the knave of clubs being placed upper- 
 most. The doctor coming up to his chamber, suspecting 
 nothing of what had been done, put up the box as formerly.
 
 Reception of Queen Elizabeth at Cambridge. 75 
 
 The next day, going to the water-side, wind and weather 
 serving him, he sails towards Ireland, and landed cm the 
 seventh of October, 1558, at Dublin; then coming to the 
 castle, the lord Fitz-\\ alter, being lord deputy, sent for 
 him, to come before him and the privy council, who coming 
 in, after he had made a speech, relating upon what account 
 he came over, he presents the box unto the lord deputy, 
 who causing it to be opened, that the secretary might read 
 the commission, there was nothing save a pack of cards, 
 with the knave of clubs uppermost, which not only startled 
 the lord deputy and council, but the doctor, who assured 
 him he had a commission, but knew not how it was gone. 
 Then the lord deputy made answer, " Let us have another 
 commission, and we will shuffle the cards in the mean 
 while." The doctor, being troubled in his mind, went away, 
 and returned into England, and coming to the court, ob- 
 tained another commission; but staying for a wind on the 
 water-side, news came to him that the queen was dead. 
 And thus God preserved the Protestants of Ireland. See 
 Cox's Hibernia Anglicana, or History of Ireland, Vol. II. 
 
 Queen Elizabeth was so delighted with this story, which 
 was related to her by lord Fitz-Walter on his return to 
 England, that she sent for Elizabeth Edmunds, whose 
 husband's name was Mattershead, and gave her a pension 
 of 401. during her life. Harleian Misc. 
 
 177 lj January. 
 
 XI. The Triumphs of the Muses: or, The grand Reception and 
 Entertainment of Queen Elizabeth at Cambridge, in 1564, by 
 Dr. Ts T icholas Robinson, Chaplain to Archbishop Parker, and 
 afterwards Bishop of Bangor. 
 
 ON Friday, August 4th, 1564, sir William Cecil,* secre- 
 tary of state, and chancellor of the University of Cam- 
 bridge, having a soie.leg, came, with his lady, in a coach, 
 and took up his lodging at the master's < hainber of St. 
 John's College, where he was receh ed with an oration; 
 and, when he had reposed himself, he sent for the vice- 
 chancellor (Dr. Hawford, master of Christ's College,) and 
 all the heads, and there at large discoursed with them, con- 
 cerning his former instructions, relating to the manner of 
 
 * Created Lord Burleigh, 1576.
 
 76 Reception of Queen Elizabeth at Cambridge. 
 
 the queen's reception; adding, that " order should be dili- 
 gently kept by all sorts, and that uniformity should be 
 shewed in apparel and religion, and especially in sitting at 
 the communion-table:" and so for that time, he dismissed 
 the whole company, willing and commanding the beadles 
 to wait upon the vice-chancellor homeward ; for they would 
 have remained with sir William, he being high chancellor. 
 
 The University then presented him with two pair of gloves, 
 a March-pain [a kind of biscuit], and two sugar-loaves, 
 and so departed to their lodgings. 
 
 August 5, being Saturday, sir William Cecil, with the 
 heads of Colleges, rode to meet lord Robert Dudley,* at 
 King's College, then called the court, all the beadles going 
 before him bare-headed ; and there lord Robert, after salut- 
 ing sir William, first perused the queen's lodging, and 
 afterwards the chapel, and the way that the queen should 
 come to trie same. Then, both taking their horses, they 
 rode together to his lodging in Trinity College, where the 
 master (Mr. Beaumont) received his honour with an oration, 
 and so brought him through the whole society, being in 
 number 204 persons, to the hall; from thence to his lodg- 
 ing, in the master's chamber, the doors and walls of which 
 were hung with verses of his praises and welcoming; and 
 the University gave to his honour two pair of gloves, a 
 March-pain, and two sugar-loaves. Immediately they both 
 departed to St. John's College, where they were likewise 
 received with an oration ; and then they came to Mr. Secre- 
 tary's chamber, where the vice-chancellor was asked to 
 dinner. 
 
 Then the vice-chancellor, with the heads, repaired to the 
 duke of Norfolk's lodgings, which was at one Mr. Ray's, an 
 alderman, (the duke being steward of the town) and gave 
 to his grace two pair of gloves, a March-pain, and a sugar- 
 loaf; and from thence to the earl of Suffolk, and presented 
 him with a pair of gloves, arid the like to the rest of the 
 nobility. 
 
 August 5, being Saturday, at two o'clock, all the Univer- 
 sity, at the ringing of the University bell, assembled at 
 King's College, and there, by the chancellor, vice-chan- 
 cellor, proctors, and Readies, were set in order, and strictly 
 charged, rt every man to keep his place," and all others 
 " not to mingle themselves with them." 
 
 * Fifth son of the duke of Northumberland, created earl of Leicester, fte 
 September following.
 
 Reception of Queen Elizabeth at Cambridge. 77 
 
 First, at the corner of Queen's College, was set a great 
 falling gate, with a lock and staple. From that place to 
 King's College chapel west door, stood, on both sides, one 
 by one, the whole University. From the gate stood the 
 wilder-graduates, then the bachelors of arts, then the bache- 
 lors of law and physic, then the regent masters of arts, then 
 the non-regents and bachelors of divinity, and, lastly, the 
 doctors in the several faculties, all in their respective habits 
 and hoods. The senior doctor and the vice-chancellor stood 
 on the lowest step of the west door, and by him the three 
 beadles. The whole lane between King's and Queen's Col- 
 leges was strewed with rushes and flags, hanging in several 
 places with coverlets and boughs, and many verses were 
 fixed on the walls. St. Austin's Lane was'boarded up; and, 
 that no person might stand there but scholars, eight men 
 were appointed as tip-staves; and the great south gate of 
 King's College was kept by the queen's porter, with strict 
 charge to suffer none but the queen's train to enter. King'* 
 College chapel was hung with fine tapestry, or arras of the 
 queen's, from the north vestry door round by the commu- 
 nion table, to the south vestry door, and all that place 
 strewed with rushes. The communion table and pulpit 
 were also richly hung. 
 
 On the south side, about the middle, between the vestry 
 door and the communion table, was hung a rich traverse of 
 crimson velvet for her majesty, with all other things apper- 
 taining. Also a fair closet, glazed towards the choir, was 
 made in the middle of the rood-loft for the queen, if she 
 pleased to repose herself, which was not occupied. 
 
 The ante-chapel, not being paved, was strewed with 
 rushes, and in the middle, a fair Turkey carpet was laid, 
 and upon that a short form was set, covered with another 
 carpet, with one cushion to kneel on, and another to lean 
 on, of cloth of gold, on which was laid the bible in Latin. 
 All these were of the queen's stuff. 
 
 On the part of the college, Dr. Baker, the provost, with 
 all his society, were in copes, standing in a line, from the 
 choir door to the north and south doors. 
 
 The bells, both of the colleges and of the town, were 
 rung most part of the afternoon ; and such churches as were 
 negligent therein, were afterwards fined, some 8s. 4d. some 
 more, some less. Care too was taken, that, on the queen's 
 coming to the chapel door, all the bells should cease, that 
 her majesty might hear the oration. , 
 
 All things being thus ordered, the queen came from Mr. 
 Worthington's house at Haslingfield, where she lay all
 
 78 Reception of Queen Elizabeth at Cambridge. 
 
 night, by Grandchester; and, by the way, the duke of Nor- 
 folk, the earl of' Sussex, the bishop of* Ely (Dr. Cox), and 
 several other honourable personages, met her majesty, and 
 conveyed her towards Cambridge. 
 
 The mayor of the town (Robert Lane), with the alder- 
 men, and all the burgesses, with the recorder, met her ma- 
 jesty a little above Newnhatn, on horseback, and there 
 alighted and did their duties, and made by the recorder, an 
 oration in English. 
 
 Then the mayor delivered the mace, with a fair standing 
 cup, which cost 101. and twenty old angels in it, which her 
 majesty received graciously, re-delivering the mace to the 
 mayor, who rode with it before her, and giving the cup, 
 &c. to one of her footmen. Thus she came to Ncwnham- 
 mills, where, being requested to change her horse, she 
 alighted, and went into the miller's house, and then took 
 horse and came forward. 
 
 Sir William Cecil all this time sat upon his horse, at the 
 gate beyond Queen's College, and caused certain of the 
 guard to keep the street, with strict orders to turn all the 
 train into the town, except the lords and chief officers ap- 
 pointed to wait on her grace. 
 
 Then came the trumpeters, and by solemn blast, de- 
 clared the queen's approach. Then followed the lords, in 
 their order and degree, her almoner, the bishop of Ro- 
 chester (Dr. Gheast), bare-headed, with the bishop of Ely, 
 then Garter king at arms, in his royal coat, with several ser- 
 jeants at arms; then lord Hunsdon, with the sword, in a 
 royal scabbard of goldsmith's work; and after him, the 
 queen, with a great company of ladies and maids of honour, 
 who, at the entering at Queen's College, was informed by 
 Mr. Secretary, of what sort and degree the scholars and 
 graduates were. 
 
 When her majesty was about the middle of the under- 
 graduates, two came forth, and kneeled before her, and 
 kissing their papers, exhibited them to her majesty, in 
 which were contained two gratulatory orations, the one in 
 verse, the other in prose, which her highness received, and 
 gave them to one of the footmen. The like was done by 
 tlie bachelors of arts and masters of arts; and so she was 
 brought among the doctors, where all the lords and ladies 
 alighted, and her majesty only remained on horseback. 
 
 She was dressed in a gown of black velvet, pinked, and 
 liad a caul upon her head set with pearls and precious 
 stones, and a hat that was spangled with gold, and a bush 
 of feuthers.
 
 Reception of Queen Elizabeth at Cambridge. 79 
 
 The mayor of the town, riding before her majesty, bare- 
 headed, stopped at King's College south gate, as acknow- 
 ledging that he had no authority or jurisdiction in that 
 place, of which he had been advertised by Mr. Secretary. 
 
 When her majesty came to the west door of the chapel 
 sir William Cecil kneeled down, and welcomed her, shewing 
 her the order of the doctors: and the beadles, kneeling, 
 kissed their staves, and then delivered them to Mr. Secre- 
 tory, who likewise kissing the same, delivered them into the 
 queen's hands, who could not well hold them all ; and her 
 grace gently and merrily re-delivered them, " willing him 
 and other magistrates or the University, to minister justice 
 uprightly, as she trusted they did, or she would take them 
 into her own hands, and see to it;" adding, that " though 
 the chancellor halted (his leg being sore, as above-mention- 
 ed), yet she trusted that justice did not halt." 
 
 The queen was then informed, that the University, by 
 their orator, would speak to her majesty; whereupon she 
 inquired for the orator, and willed him to begin. 
 
 Then Mr. William Master, of King's College, orator, 
 making his three reverences, kneeled down on the first 
 step of the west door (which was, on the walls outward, 
 covered with verses) and made his oration, in length almost 
 half an hour, containing, in effect, as follows : 
 
 First, he " praised and extolled many and singular virtues 
 set and planted in her majesty;" which her highness not 
 acknowledging, bit her lips and ringers, and sometimes 
 broke into passion, and these words, " Non est veritas ; et 
 utinam .'* The orator praising virginity, she said to him, 
 "God's blessing of thine heart; there continue." 
 
 Afterwards, he spoke of" the joy the University received 
 from her presence; of the antiquity of the University, 
 which," he said, " is much older than those of Oxford and 
 Paris; out of which, as from a, most clear fountain, they 
 sprung; and of the foundation of most of the colleges, 
 describing at large the whole state, foundation, and fortune 
 of King's College: and, lastly, dwelling on the praises of 
 lord Robert and sir William Cecil, and humbly intreating 
 her grace to hear them in all such things as the University 
 should intend or purpose for her majesty's entertainment." 
 
 When he had finished, the queen much commended him, 
 and much marvelled that his memory did so well serve him, 
 to repeat such divers and sundry matters, saying, that " she 
 would answer him again in Latin, but for fear she should 
 speak false Latin, and then they would laugh at her." But, 
 in fine, in token of her contentment, she called him to her
 
 80 Reception of Queen Elizabeth at Cambridge. 
 
 presence, and offered him her hand to kiss, requiring his 
 name. 
 
 The queen then alighted from her horse, and, asking of 
 what degree every doctor was, offered her hand to be 
 kissed; and then tour of the principal doctors, viz. the 
 vice-chancellor (Dr. Hawford), the master of Peter-house 
 (Dr. Petne), the master of C. C. C. (Dr. Porie), and Dr. 
 Newton, bearing a canopy, she, under the same, entered 
 into the chapel, and kneeled down at the place appointed, 
 between the north and south doors, lady Strange bearing 
 the train, and all the other ladies following. 
 
 Then the provost, vested in a rich cope, all of needle- 
 work, (standing about four yards from the queen, towards 
 the choir, in the middle of his society, kneeling on both 
 sides) made his obeisance three times, coming towards her 
 'majesty. At last, kneeling at his stool, he kissed his hand, 
 and pointed to the psalm, Deus misereatur, inquiring 
 " whether it would please her majesty to answer and say 
 with him?" and, understanding that she would pray pri- 
 vately, he said that psalm, and after that a collect for the 
 queen. Which done, the whole choir began in English, a 
 song of gladness, and then went orderly into their stalls in 
 the choir. The queen following, went into her traverse 
 under the canopy, and admiring the beauty of the chapel, 
 praised it above ail others in her realm. 
 
 This song ended, the provost began the Te Deitm in 
 English, in his cope, which was solemnly sung in prick- 
 song, the organ playing. After that, he began even -song, 
 tvhich was also solemnly sung. Which being ended, her 
 majesty came out of her traverse, and went towards the 
 lodge by a private way made through the east window of 
 the north vestry door; and, as she went, she thanked God 
 " for having sent her to this University, where she, contrary 
 to her expectation, was so well received, that she thought 
 she could not be better." 
 
 During all the prayer-time, the lords, and other honour- 
 able persons, sat with the doctors in the high stalls; and 
 afterwards, between the doors and walls of the vestry, and 
 the porch of the provost's lodge (now the court), stood the 
 two proctors, and, by lord Robert, and Mr. Secretary, pre~ 
 sented to her majesty, in the name of the University, four 
 pair of Cambridge double gloves, edged and trimmed with 
 two laces of fine gold, and six boxes of fine comfits, and 
 other conceits, devised and provided at London, by Mr. 
 Osborn of the Exchequer, late a scholar at Cambridge, at 
 the appointment of Mr. Secretary, which she thankfully
 
 Reception of Sueen Elizabeth at Cambridge. 8 i 
 
 took, and so went to her chamber. And the beadles, re- 
 ceiving Mr. Chancellor at the same place, went before him 
 with their staves to his lodging at St. John's, he riding on a 
 little black nag. 
 
 Sunday in the morning, August 6th, the beadles brought 
 the high chancellor, with their staves, into the court, viz. 
 into the porch of the provost's place (for you must go at 
 no time further, bearing up your staves); and then, by his 
 commandment, warned all the doctors to give their attend- 
 ance at the court at such times as the queen's majesty would 
 go to church. 
 
 Morning prayer was done between seven and eight, unto 
 which came divers of the lords ; for whose better placing, 
 none of the college but masters of arts sat in the higher 
 stalls; and they next unto the vestry doors; the provost 
 sitting hard by them ; the bachelors of arts, priests, and 
 clerks, in the lower seats, and the scholars on the forms of 
 the choristers. 
 
 When matters were ended, every man repaired unto the 
 court-gate, to wait upon the queen ; all the doctors, saving 
 the physicians, in their gowns of scarlet, as they went con- 
 tinually as long as the queen tarried, and so, accordingly as 
 they were in degree and seniority, stood. 
 
 At the queen's coming, all the gentlemen, under the de- 
 gree of knights, went first ; then (by the gentleman-usher) 
 were appointed the doctors ; then the lords after them, 
 with the gentleman-usher, and the Serjeants at arms; im- 
 mediately before the sword went the three beadles bearing 
 their staves, as they customarily do ; and so the queen, on 
 foot, came up to the north door of the church, which was 
 kept with yeomen of her guard ; and so was the choir door 
 also; to whom, by Mr. Secretary, commandment was given, 
 that they should suffer none to enter, but the masters of 
 arts coming in their habit, to the sermon ad derum. 
 
 At the said church door four of the eldest doctors carried 
 a canopy over her majesty to her traverse; incontinently be- 
 gan the litany ; and after that, Mr. Andrew Perne, *D.D. 
 ready in his doctor's cope, was, by the beadles, brought to 
 the pulpit, which stood over against her traverse, which her 
 highness caused to be drawn open, and so, at the end of the 
 stool, did sit down, and was seen of all the people at the 
 time of the sermon. 
 
 The preacher, after he had done his duty, in craving leave 
 by his three courtesies, and so kneeling, stood up, and be- 
 gan his matter, having for his theme, Omnis anima sitbdita sit 
 VOL. I. O
 
 $2 Reception of Queen Elisabeth at Cambridge. 
 
 poteslatibus super eminent ibus. About the midst of his sermon, 
 iier majesty sent the lord Hunsdon to will him to put on his 
 cap, which he did unto the end. At which time, or before 
 he could get out of the pulpit, by the lord chamberlain, she 
 sent him word, " It was the first sermon that ever she heard 
 in Latin; and she thought she should never hear a better." 
 And then the choir sung, in prick-song, a song, which done, 
 she departed to her palace by the secret way ; the four 
 doctors bearing the canopy as before, which the footmen, as 
 their fee, claimed, and it was redeemed for 31. 6s. 8d. 
 
 This day, Mr. Chancellor called the vice-chancellor to din- 
 ner with the beadles, and afterwards sent to them five 
 bucks, to bestow upon the University. He also sent one 
 unto the beadles; also the lord Robert sent ten for that 
 purpose. 
 
 At evening prayer, the company of King's college being 
 informed that the queen's majesty would not come unto the 
 same, began, and did sing ; and then, being advertised that 
 her grace was coming, staid. And when she was come unto 
 her traverse, by the secret way, they of new did begin the 
 even-song, which ended, she departed back by the same 
 way to the play Aulularia Plauti ; for the hearing and 
 playing whereof was made, by her highness' s surveyor, and 
 at her own cost, in the body of King's College church, a 
 great stage containing the breadth of the church from the 
 one side to the other, that the chapels might serve for 
 houses. In the length it ran two of the lower chapels full, 
 with the pillars of a side. Upon the south wall was hanged 
 a cloth of state, with the appurtenances, and half path, for 
 her majesty, In the rood-loft, another stage for ladies and 
 gentlewomen to stand on ; and the two lower tables, under 
 the said rood-loft, were greatly enlarged and railed for the 
 choice officers of the court. 
 
 There was, before her majesty's coming, made in King's 
 College hall, a great stage. But because it was judged by 
 divers to be too little and too close for her highness and her 
 company, and also far from her lodging, it was taken 
 down. 
 
 When all things were ready for the plays, the lord cham- 
 berlain, with Mr. Secretary, came in, bringing a multitude 
 of the guard with them, having every man in his hand a 
 torch-staff, for the lights of the play (for no other lights 
 were occupied), and would not suffer any to stand upon the 
 stage, save a very few upon the north side. And the guard 
 stood upon the ground, by the stage side, holding their
 
 Reception nf Qtieen Elizabeth at Cambridge. 83 
 
 lights. From the choir door unto the stage was made as it 
 were a bridge, railed on both sides, for the queen's grace 
 to go to the stage, which was straightly kept. 
 
 At last her highness came, with certain lords, ladies, and 
 gentlewomen ; all the pensioners going on both sides, with, 
 torch-staves; but the sword was not carried, neitner the 
 maces; and so took her seat, and heard the play fully, 
 which was played by certain selected persons, chosen out 
 of all colleges of the town, at the discretion of Mr. Roger 
 Kelke,* D.D. who was by the vice-chancellor and heads of 
 colleges specially appointed to set forth such plays as 
 should be exhibited before her grace. To whom were 
 joined four others thought meet for that charge, chosen out 
 of the four principal colleges. 
 
 When the play was ended, her majesty departed to her 
 lodging about twelve of the clock, in such order as she 
 came. 
 
 Upon Monday, August 7 } at eight of the clock, the Uni- 
 versity bell did sound unto the ordinary lectures : for the 
 term, by public consent, was resumed upon Friday, Aug. 4, 
 to continue all the time of the queen's abode here ; and 
 during that space, all things touching all lectures and dis- 
 putations, to be done as fully and wholly as at any other 
 time and season. The ordinaries reading, Mr. Secretary, 
 with other lords and gentlemen, came to the schools, and 
 heard the lectures, as well of physic, dialect, and rhetoric, 
 as of divinity and law. 
 
 The divinity lecture was read in the logic schools at nine 
 o'clock ; for the great divinity school was fraught with 
 wardrobe of beds, and the higher with the office of the 
 spicery ; and in the little chapel (where the doctors usually 
 stand at divinity disputation) was placed the groom porter. 
 
 At nine o'clock was a disputation in arts, and the master 
 brought to the schools with the, beadles ; and to that came 
 so many lords and gentlemen, that no man could stir in the 
 schools. The lords commanded the proctors and Mr. Ley- 
 ton the disputer to put on their caps, and to observe the 
 old ancient rites. In this disputation, Mr. Secretary. ordered 
 the same, as moderator ; and none departed until the end 
 of the disputation. 
 
 Against one o'clock was provided, in St. Mary's church, 
 for disputations, a great and ample stage, from the wall of 
 the belfry-head unto the chancel. In the east end was 
 
 * Collated to the archdeaconry of Stowe, 5th of May, 1563. Ls NBTZ. 
 G 2
 
 84 Reception of 2ncen Elizabeth at Cambridge. 
 
 made a spacious and high room for the queen's majesty, 
 which was, by her own servants, richly hanged with arras 
 and cloth of state, and all other necessaries, with a cushion 
 to lean upon. All the disputations were driven to that part 
 of the stage; and because both the sides were little enough 
 for the lords and ladies, new stages were devised for the 
 doctors, upon the sides, fixed to the side-posts: being 
 some space above those who sat upon the forms, and yet 
 lower than the rails of the higher stages. The divines sat 
 upon the south side, and with them, next to the queen's 
 feet, Mr. Secretary as chancellor, having before him the 
 usual cloth and a long velvet cushion. Upon the other side 
 sat the lawyers and physicians, next the queen's stage, with 
 whom sat Mr. Dr. Haddon, master of requests, in his senio- 
 rity. In the middle almost stood the responsal's seat, look- 
 ing forward. Above that, eastward, sat the B. D.'s on both 
 sides, with the non-regents. And last of all, westward, 
 stood the M.A.'s, who were commanded to be at the dis- 
 putation. All, save the doctors, were in their habits and 
 hoods. 
 
 And here it is to be noted, that great inquisition was 
 made, both at this time and yesterday's sermon ad clerum y 
 and some fault found, as well by the prince as by others of 
 the nobility, why some masters regents went in white silk, 
 and others in mynever.* Also some masters were noted by 
 the queen's majesty to be but masters, because their habits 
 and hoods were torn and too much soiled. Sed htec hacte~ 
 mis. 
 
 The proctors' stall was set, not far from the responsal's, 
 under the D.D.'s. And under them sat the proctors of the 
 University of Oxford, who by common consent, and spe- 
 cial commandment of that whole University, were sent 
 hither, with their esquire and principal beadle, to see and 
 hear, as near as they could, for their better instructions, (if 
 it should fortune the queen's majesty to visit that Univer- 
 sity) all our doings, order, and proceedings. These men 
 went daily in their gowns and hoods, and were very well 
 used of all men, and especially of Mr. Secretary, by whose 
 counsel one of them confessed unto me why they wera 
 moved to come hither. They were daily feasted of one or 
 other; and now, by especial commandment of Mr. Secre- 
 tary, after this sort placed (as they were continually placed) 
 and sat next our proctors, in all our common and open doings. 
 
 * A akin speckled with streaks of white.
 
 Reception of Queen Elizabeth at Cambridge. 85 
 
 When all things were ready, and after the ringing of the 
 University bell, the queen's majesty came to the said place 
 with royal pomp. At whose entering, all the graduates 
 kneeled, and cried modestly, rival Regina ! and she thanked 
 them ; and after, by Mr. Secretary, understood the order, 
 difference, and placing of every person within the theatre. 
 
 Then she inquired, "what the proctors' seat meant?'* 
 And when answer was made, that " it was for the proctors 
 to moderate and rule the disputation," she asked for them. 
 Then the beadles brought them in, who kneeled down ; 
 unto whom she gave licence to order the schools, being 
 moved thereunto by Mr. Secretary ; saying, Umnia Jiant 
 ordinc. 
 
 When the proctors had taken their place, she inquired 
 " of the other seat appointed for the respondent?" And 
 when her grace perceived the end of the same, and the 
 respondent placed, she willed " all to stand up (for until 
 that time all kneeled), and the disputations to begin, and to 
 have the questions delivered unto her." The respondent, 
 named Mr. Thomas Byng,* of Peter-house, delivered his 
 orations, with the questions, to the beadle ; he to Mr. Se- 
 cretary, and he to the queen's highness. 
 
 Then the proctors accordingly set the respondent to his 
 oration, and all were permitted to sit; for otherwise of 
 order none were permitted to sit in her presence. 
 
 When the respondent had ended his oration, four M.A.'s 
 standing near her grace's stage, and looking westward, re- 
 plied ; with whom her majesty was so much pleased, that 
 she, by divers gestures, declared the same ; and sundry 
 times stayed the proctors from taking them up. And when 
 they had cut them off, she seemed to be offended, saying, 
 " if she had the moderation, they should not have been so 
 abridged." 
 
 In the time of this disputation, the beadles, according to 
 the custom, put on their coifs and hoods, and so entered, 
 and kneeled down ; unto whom, after she had for a little 
 time looked upon their habit, she with her hand beckoned 
 to stand up. 
 
 When the disputation was ended, Mr. Dr. Haddon, ask- 
 ing accordingly leave of her highness, determined the ques- 
 tions with a long oration. The questions were, 1. Monaichia 
 
 * Afterwards orator of the University of Cambridge, (in the place of Wil- 
 liam Master) master of Clare Hall, and king's professor of civil Law. 
 
 Fasti Oxou. vol. i. col. 93. 
 G3
 
 86 Reception of Queen Elizabeth at Cambridge. 
 
 est opt i mus status reipublicee. 2. Frequens legum mutatio est 
 periculosa. 
 
 As soon as this disputation was ended, began the act of 
 physic. Dr. Lorkin, taking the responsal's seat, defended 
 first, 1. Simplex cibus praferendus nmltiplici. 2. Caenandum 
 liberalius quam prandendum. First, the proctors willed the 
 disputers to propound the questions; then Dr. Caius, as 
 aneient in the faculty, moved the questions, and then the 
 respondent moved his position. The doctors, in their 
 order, did dispute, being three. But because their voices 
 were small and not audible, her majesty first said unto 
 them, Loquimini altius. And when that would not help, 
 she left her seat, and came to the stage over their heads. 
 But because their voices were low, and yet she could not 
 well hear them, her grace made not much of that disputa*- 
 tion. 
 
 The questions were of one of her own physicians, doctor 
 of this University, named Dr. Hycke, determined ; with 
 whom her majesty merrily jested, when he desired licence 
 of her grace. 
 
 After he had ended his oration, being about seven o'clock, 
 her highness very merrily departed to her palace. And, 
 about nine o'clock came, as the night before, to a play 
 called Dido, which was exhibited and played by, and at the 
 charges of, the company of King's College; and from thence 
 to her lodging. 
 
 Tuesdii}', August 8, ordinary lectures, disputations, and 
 frequenting of the same, were done as the day before. In 
 the afternoon, when all things were prepared, as before, for 
 the disputation in divinity and law, her majesty, for other 
 considerations, deferred the same until the next day. 
 
 This day the lords of the council did sit in the south 
 vestry, called Dr. Argentyn's chapel, then called the coun- 
 cil-chamber. 
 
 At night, about the accustomed hour, and in the same 
 manner, her highness came to the play, called Ezekias, in 
 English ; which was played by King's College, and the 
 charges thereof by them borne; and then her majesty went 
 to her rest. 
 
 This day also order was taken that her majesty should re- 
 main here- one day longer than at the first it was appointed; 
 for. her guests were to depart upon the Wednesday : and a 
 saying wa.s, " if provision of beer and ale could have been 
 made, -her grace would have remained until Friday," her 
 highness was so well pleased with all things. 
 
 Wednesday, August 9, after the ordinary lectures and 
 
 .. >'-
 
 Reception of Queen Elizabeth at Cambridge. 87 
 
 disputations were done, about six o'clock in the morning, 
 the queen's majesty took her progress about to the colleges,, 
 riding in state royal ; all the lords and gentlemen riding be- 
 fore her grace, and all the ladies following, on horseback. 
 
 The beadles waited upon her highness, and in the same 
 manner and order as on Sunday before. 
 
 The mayor that day came not abroad, which was noted of 
 divers, and thought some part of his duty. 
 
 From her palace she went first to Clare Hall, where the 
 master, Dr. Edward Leeds, waited with his company, and 
 received her majesty with an oration. 
 
 Then entered her grace into King's College, where the, 
 provost, Dr. Philip Baker, stood, with the whole household, 
 and caused an oration to be made unto her highness, and. 
 then gave unto her a fair book covered with red velvet, 
 containing all such verses as his company had made of her 
 grace's coming. There was also compiled in the same 
 book, an account of the founder of the said college, (Henry 
 VI.) benefactors, and the names of all such persons as were 
 of any worthy memory, who had been brought up in that 
 college : which book she received, with a mild countenance, 
 and delivered to one of her footmen. 
 
 Here is to be noted, that, before her majesty came to 
 town, by advertisement of Mr. Secretary, order was taken 
 for making of two books, to be exhibited to her grace. In 
 the one should be written, in the Roman hand, all the 
 verses both of Greek and Latin, Hebrew, Chaldee, and 
 English, which were made of her coming, and otherwise 
 set up in divers places of the town, as is mentioned before; 
 and that every college should be placed by itself in that 
 book. In the other should be copied and digested the 
 founders and benefactors of every college : the names of 
 every company at this present time, and their degrees ; and 
 the names of all those who had been brought up in the 
 same, who had come to some great estimation in the world, 
 or been in any high function, as bishops, ambassadors, or 
 any special or entire servant of the prince. 
 
 These books were accordingly made, and fairly bound, 
 severally ; and delivered to Mr. Secretary, who delivered 
 the same unto her highness. And, riding about to the col- 
 leges, Mr. Chancellor carried the books in his hands, and, at 
 every college, perused the same. 
 
 From King's college, her majesty rode into Trinity Hall, 
 and from thence to Gunvill ana Caius College; and in both 
 places was received with an oration. 
 
 From thence she departed to Trinity College j and riding-, 
 
 c 4
 
 8 deception of Queen Elizabeth at Cambridge. 
 
 as in a lane, in the midst of her company, came almost to 
 the east gate, where the master, Mr. Robert Beaumont, 
 stood, and caused an oration in Greek to be made unto her 
 highness. 
 
 Then she went into St. John's College, and, riding into 
 the hall, heard there an oration. 
 
 From thence she rode to Christ's College, leaving Jesus 
 College, because it stood far out of the way; and in her 
 journey next morning she minded to see Magdalen College. 
 At Christ's College was made an oration before her majesty 
 in Greek verses, for the which she rendered thanks in 
 Greek. And the master, Dr. Edward Hawford, (then also 
 vice-chancellor) presented unto her a pair of gloves, in re- 
 membrance of her grandame, the lady Margaret, countess 
 of Richmond and Derby, foundress of that College and St. 
 John's.* 
 
 From thence her grace, by the Market- Hill and Butchery, 
 came to Bene't College. And, because, the time was passed, 
 she would hear no oratiou. But the master, Dr. John Porie, 
 gave her a pair of gloves, and certain boxes of comfits. 
 
 From thence she went into Pembroke Hall, and Peter 
 House, and in both places heard an oration ; and at Peter 
 House, she much commended the son of sir Walter Mild- 
 may,f who, being a child, made a very neat and trim ora- 
 tion, and pronounced it very aptly and distinctly. 
 
 From thence her majesty came home by Queen's College, 
 and St. Catherine's Hall, onjy perusing the houses, because 
 it was almost one o'clock. And so returning to her lodging, 
 as her grace rode through the street, she talked very much 
 with some scholars in Latin, and at her alighting off her 
 horse, with Latin dismissed them. 
 
 At three o'clock the University bell rang to the disputa- 
 tions in divinity, unto the which her majesty came, as be- 
 fore. And, at her entrance, Mr. Halton, who defended the 
 causes, exhibited thirteen copies of his conclusions, made 
 in verses : whereof one was delivered unto her highness by 
 Mr. Secretary ; the others were given to the noblemen by 
 the beadle. 
 
 The conclusions were, 1. Major est authoritas scripture 
 
 # Emanuel and Sydney Colleges were not then founded. The former of 
 these was founded in the year 1584, by Sir Walter Mildmay, chancellor and 
 under-trersurerof the Exchequer; and the latter in 1598, by Frances Sydney, 
 countess of Sussex. 
 
 j- Anthony, who inheritrd his father's estate at Apthorp, in Northamp- 
 tonshire, His only daughter married Francis Fane, earl of Westmoreland,
 
 Reception of Queen Elizabeth at Cambridge, 89 
 
 qnam eccksicz. 2. Civilis magistratus habet authoriiatein in 
 rebus ecclesiasticis. Five of the eldest doctors were ap- 
 pointed to oppugn the first question ; and the rest, the se- 
 cond. 
 
 In the disputations it fortuned, that for lack of time, and 
 through haste to the second question, Mr. Dr. Baker, pro- 
 vest of King's, and Mr. Dr. Francis Newton,* were preter- 
 niitted ; and Mr. Dr. John Stokes, president of Queen's 
 College, senior of the last five, ready to dispute of the se- 
 cond. But my lord chamberlain remembered the queen of 
 Dr. Newton ; whereupon he was commanded to dispute 
 briefly; and afterwards put in mind by rny lord Robert, 
 that Mr. Dr. Baker was yet left behind in that cause to reply ; 
 she willed him to dispute also, alleging in open audience, 
 " That he was her host, and she feared to lack her lodging, 
 if she should chance to come again hereafter, if he should be 
 disappointed."f And so he disputed. 
 
 After him disputed two doctors of the second conclusion. 
 And so because the time was passed (for it was after seven 
 o'clock,) the other doctors were staid. And then the lord 
 bishop of Ely, Dr. Cox, sitting in his bishop's weed, between 
 Mr. Secretary and the vice-chancellor, with a solemn oration 
 determined the conclusions. For the night coming on clean 
 took away the disputation of the lawyers, which were but 
 two, beside the determiner. 
 
 The questions ready to be maintained by her reader, Mas- 
 ter Clarke, of Clare Hall, were, 1. Privatus quilibet, ut munus 
 publicum jubeat, cogi potcst. 2. Mutuans pecuniam ludenti 
 ale& non potest repetere. 
 
 At the end thereof the lords, and especially the duke of 
 Norfolk and the lord Robert, kneeling down, humbly de- 
 sired her majesty to speak somewhat to the University, and 
 in Latin. Her highness at the first refused, saying, " that, 
 if she might speak her mind in English, she would not stick 
 at the matter." But understanding by Mr. Secretary, 
 that nothing might be said openly to the University in 
 English, she required him the rather to speak, because 
 he was chancellor, and the chancellor is the queen's mouth. 
 Whereunto he answered, " that he was chancellor of the 
 University, and not hers." Then the bishop of Ely kneel- 
 ing, said, " that three vrords pf her mouth were enough." 
 
 * Installed dean of Winchester, 21st May, 1565. Lt NEVE. 
 f Dr. Baker was deprived for poperjr, 2'2nd February, 1569, and fled be- 
 yond sea. Ibid.
 
 *0 Reception of 2tteen Elizabeth at Cambridge. 
 
 So, being moved on every side, she complied, and mado a 
 very sensible speech ; in which, among other things, she 
 raised the expectations of the University, with respect to 
 some royal foundation, which, however, she never thought 
 lit to gratify. 
 
 At this speech of the queen's, the auditors being all mar- 
 vellously astoni-shed, and inwardly revising and revolving the 
 sense of it, they presently spoke forth in open voice, Vivat 
 Regtna I But the queen's majesty said on the other side, in 
 respect of her oration, Taceat Regina ! and wished all they 
 that heard her oration had drank of the flood Lethe. And so 
 her majesty cheerfully departed to her lodging. 
 
 Great preparations and charges, as before in the other 
 plays, were employed and spent about the tragedy of So- 
 phocles, called Ajax Flagellifer in Latin, to be this night 
 played before her. But her highness, as it were tired with 
 going about to the colleges, and with hearing of disputations, 
 and over watched with former plays (for it was very late 
 nightly before she came to them, as also departed from them,) 
 and furthermore minding early in the morning to depart from 
 Cambridge, and ride to a dinner unto a house of the bishop 
 of Ely, at Stanton, from thence to her bed at Hinchinbrook,* 
 a house of Sir Henry Cromwell's,f in Huntingdonshire, 
 (about twelve miles from Cambridge,) could not, as other- 
 wise no doubt she would (with like patience and cheerful- 
 ness, as she was present at the other) hear the said tragedy, 
 to the great sorrow, not only of the players, but of the whole 
 University. 
 
 Upon Thursday, August 10, early in the morning, was 
 called a congregation, against eight o'clock ; in the which 
 divers lords of the garter, and other noblemen, were made 
 masters of arts; who gently accepted the offer of the Uni- 
 versity, and were admitted, and promised their fidelity to 
 the University in the chamber of presence, vi2. Thomas 
 Howard,^ duke of Norfolk ; Thomas Ratcliff, earl of 
 Sussex; Ambrose Dudley, earl of Harwich; Edward 
 Vere, earl of Oxford ; Edward Manners, earl of Rutland ; 
 lord Robert Dudley, high steward; Edward Clinton, lord 
 
 
 : , : ___ , . 
 
 * Now the seat of the earl of Sandwich. 
 
 f Grandfather to Oliver Cromwell. 
 
 j Beheaded on Tower-hill, 2nd June, 15 Eliz. for endeavouring to marry 
 Mary cjucui of Scots. 
 
 Eldest surviving son of John duke of Northumberland, and elder brother 
 to lord Robert Dudley.
 
 Reception of Queen Elizabeth at Cambridge. 91 
 
 Clinton; Henry Carey,* lord Hunsdon; William How- 
 ard, t lord Effingham, lord chamberlain ; Sir William Ce- 
 cil, knight, chancellor; Sir Francis Knollys, knight ; John 
 Ashley, Richard Bertie, J Thomas Heneage, Edward Cooke, 
 and William Cooke, esqs. Mr. William Latimer,, clerk of 
 her majesty's closet, doct6r in divinity. 
 
 The queen's highness, about nine o'clock, hasted to horse- 
 back : and at the porch of her lodging met her the provost, 
 (Dr. Baker) and certain of his company, where Mr. Thomas 
 Preston, || iVl.A. fellow of King's College (whom before in all 
 his doings in the University the queen well liked,) made a 
 very goodly oration ; taking their leave, and bidding her 
 majesty farewell ; with whom she was then so well pleased, 
 that she made him, and openly called him " her scholar :" 
 and, in token thereof, offered him her hand to kiss ; and so 
 took her leave and departed. 
 
 At this time Mr. Clark, of Clare Hall, her majesty's reader 
 in law, exhibited to her his oration (of the verity of the 
 questions written before) in writing ; and certain reasons 
 against them; which he did, because the shortness of the 
 time would neither suffer him to speak his mind of the 
 questions, neither his adversaries to repel them, nor the de- 
 terminer to judge of the truth, because no man must be 
 judge of his own causes. 
 
 Passing by King's College, by the schools, Dr. Andrew 
 Perne, and divers others of the University, kneeled, and 
 wished her grace, in Latin, a prosperous and safe progress. 
 To whom she mildly answered again with a loud voice, Va- 
 lete, omnes ! 
 
 The mayor on horseback, and bearing his mace, with all 
 the aldermen, tarried for her majesty against the west end 
 of St. Mary's church, and so waited upon her to the far end 
 of Howse- Causey. And coming by Magdalen College, the 
 master, Roger Kelke, and the' company of the same, were 
 
 * First-cousin to queen Elizabeth. 
 
 f Son of Thomas the second duke of Norfolk. 
 
 \ Father to lord Wi|loug hby, of Eresby, and ancestor of the present duke 
 of Ancaster and earl of . \birigdon. 
 
 Dean of Peterborough, in 1560, and archdeacon of Westminster. 
 
 || Afterwards LL.D. and master of Trinity Hall. He acted so admirably 
 well in the tragedy of Dido, and did so genteelly and gracefully dispute before 
 the queen, that she gave him 201. per annum, for so doing. A. Wood. Pres-. 
 ton's antagonist in -these disputations was the famous Thomas Cartwright, of 
 Trinity College. Cartwright had dealt most with the Muses, Preston with tho 
 Graces. Cartwright disputed like a great, Preston like a genteel, scholar,
 
 98 Speech ofSucen Elizabeth. 
 
 ready to receive her grace uith an oration. But her high- 
 ness excused her staying to hear the same, by reason of the 
 heat of the day and the press of the people, and therefore 
 required the paper of the oration ; which being exhibited, 
 she departed ; and was, by all men's prayers, committed to 
 the grace and tuition of Almighty God, who ever bless her ! 
 Amen. 
 
 The duke of Norfolk accompanied her majesty out of the 
 town ; and then, returning, entered Magdalen College, and 
 gave much money in the same, promising 40l. by year, till 
 they had builded the quadrant of their college; and further 
 promised, " that he would endow them with land for the in- 
 crease of their number and studies." 
 
 1772, Oct. Sup. 
 
 1773, Jan. 
 
 XII. Queen Elizabeth's Speech to the University of Cambridge, 
 alluded to in the preceding Article. 
 
 " ETSI fceminilis pudor, clarissima academia, subditique 
 fidelissimi, in tanta doctorum turba inelaboratum hunc ser- 
 monem et orationem me prohibet apud vos narrare ; tamen 
 nobilium meorum intercessio, benevolentiaque mea erga aca- 
 ilemiaro, me aliquid proferre invitavit. 
 
 " Duobus stimulis ad hanc rem commoveor. Primus est, 
 bonarum literarum propagatio, quam multum cupio, et ar- 
 dentissimis votisexopto: ulterest, vestra (ut audio) omnium 
 expectatio. 
 
 " Q,uod ad literarum propagationem spectat, unum illud 
 apud Demosthenem memini, ' Superiorum verba, apud in- 
 feriores librorum locum habent; et principum dicta legum 
 authoritatem apud subditos retinent.' Hoc itaque unum 
 vos omnes in memoria retinere velim, quod semita nulla 
 rectior, nulla aptior erit, sive ad bona fortunoe acquirenda, 
 give ad principis vestrse gratiarn conciliandam, quam ut gra- 
 viter studiis vestris incumbatis, ut ccepistis. Quod ut faciatis, 
 vos omnes oro, obsecroque. De secundo stimulo, vestra 
 nimirum expectatione, hoc unum dico me nihil libenter 
 pratermissuram esse, quod \estra3 de me animaj benevola? 
 concipiuut cogitatioues. 
 
 " Jam ad academiam venio. Tempore antemeridiano 
 vidi adincia vestra sumptuosa, a meis antecedentibus, cla- 
 tissimis principibus, literarum causa extructa : et inter vi 
 deaduiii, dolor artus meos occupavit, atque ea mentis
 
 Speech of Queen Elizabeth. 93 
 
 piria, quae Alexandrum Magnum quondam tenuisse ferun- 
 tur; qui, cum legisset multa aliorum principum monu- 
 menta, conversus ad familiarem, sen potius consiliarium 
 sman, nuiltuin doluit ' aliquem fuisse qui eum tempore vel 
 actis praecessisset.' Sic ego non minus dolebam, cum 
 vestra axlificia videbam, me nihil adhuc hujusmodi fecisse. 
 Hxc tamen vulgaris sententia me aliquantulum recreavit, 
 quas etsi non auferre, tamen minuere possit dolorem meum; 
 quic quidem sententia haec est, ' Ilomam uno die non fuisse 
 conditam.' Non est enim ita senilis mea aetas, aut tarn lon- 
 gns fuit gubernationis meae ordo,* quin, ante redditionem 
 debiti naturae, (si non nimis cito Atropos lineam vitae rnese 
 amputaverit) aiiquod opus eximium faciam. Et, quamdiu 
 vita bos regit artus, nunquam a proposito deflectam. Et si 
 contingat (quod quam cito futurum sit plane nesciam) me 
 wiori oportere, antequam hoc ipsum quod polliceor, com- 
 plere possim, aiiquod tamen opus egregium post mortem re- 
 Jinquam, quo et memoria mea Celebris fiat, et alios excitem 
 exempjo meo ; et vos omnes alacriores faciam ad vestra 
 studia. 
 
 " Sedjam videtis quantum intersit inter doctrinam rectam, 
 t disciplinam ammo non retentam. Quorum alterius sunt 
 complures satis testes; alterius autem vos omnes, nimis qui- 
 dem inconsiderate, testes hoc tempore effeci. 
 
 " Nunc tempus est, ut aures vestrae, hoc barbaro orationis 
 genere tarn diu detentas, taedio liberentur. E. R. A. dixi." 
 
 TRANSLATION. 
 
 <( Though female modesty, most celebrated University, 
 and most faithful subjects, deters me from delivering an 
 unstudied speech and oration before so great an assembly 
 of the learned, yet the intreaty of my nobles, and my own 
 regard for the University, have induced me to say some- 
 thing. 
 
 " For this I have two motives. The first is, the increase 
 of good learning; which I much desire, and most ardently 
 wish. The other is, (as I hear,) all your expectations. As 
 to the increase of learning, I remember that passage in 
 Demosthenes, ' The words of superiors supply with infe- 
 riors the place of books; and the sayings of princes have 
 with their subjects the authority of laws. 1 I would, there- 
 fore, have you all remember this, that there will be no way 
 
 * Queen Elizabeth was at this time iu the thirty -first year of her age, 
 tlit- sixth of her reiffn.
 
 94 Day of Ctesar''s landing in Britain ascertained. 
 
 more direct, more proper, either to acqure the gifts of for-* 
 tune, or to procure the favour of your prince, than by dili-- 
 gently applying to your studies as you have begun. And 
 this I beg and intreat of you all. As to the second induce- 
 ment, namely, your expectations, I say only this, that I 
 would willingly omit nothing, as your benevolent minds are 
 so partial to me. 
 
 " I now come to the University. I have seen this morn- 
 ing your costly buildings, erected by my predecessors, most 
 
 MI r I i> i J 
 
 illustrious princes, tor the sake or learning ; and on seeing 
 them grief overwhelmed me > and that anxiety of mind, which 
 is said formerly to have oppressed Alexander the Great, who, 
 on surveying the various memorials of other princes, turn- 
 ing to his favourite, or rather counsellor, much lamented 
 * that any one should have preceded him either in life or 
 actions.' In like manner I grieved no less, when I beheld 
 your structures, that I had hitherto done nothing of this sort. 
 But this common saying gave me some consolation ; and 
 though it cannot remove, may yet abate my grief; namely, 
 that Rome was not built in a day. 
 
 " For my age is not so far advanced, nor have I reigned so 
 long,but that before I pay the debt of nature, (if fate does not 
 cut the thread of my life too soon) I may perform some ex- 
 cellent work. And while life remains, I will never deviate 
 from this design. And should I happen to die (which how 
 soon it may be I cannot tell) before I can fulfil this my pro- 
 mise, yet I will leave some excellent work after my death, 
 by which my memory may be renowned, others may be ex- 
 cited by my example, and I may make you all more diligent 
 in your studies. 
 
 " But now you perceive the great difference between true 
 learning and instruction not well retained. Of the former 
 you yourselves are sufficient evidence; of the latter I, too 
 inconsiderately, have made you all witnesses. 
 
 " It is now time that your ears, too long detained by this 
 barbarous sort of an oration, should be released." 
 
 1773, Feb. 
 
 XIII. An Attempt to prove the precise Day when Julius Caesar 
 made his first Descent upon Britain ; also the very Spot where 
 he landed. 
 
 THE authors that mention this expedition, with any cir- 
 cumstances, are, Caesar in his Commentaries, lib. 4, and
 
 Day of Ctesai's landing in Britain ascertained. 95 
 
 Dion Cassius, in lib. 39 ; Livy's account being lost, in whose 
 105th book might possibly have been found the story more 
 at large. It is certain, that this expedition of Caesar was in 
 the year of the consulate of Pompey and Crassus, which 
 was in the year of Rome 699, or the 55th before the usual 
 aera of Christ: and, as to the time of the year, Caesar says, 
 that, exigua parte astatis reliqita, lie came over only with two 
 legions, viz. the seventh and tenth, and all foot, in about 80 
 sail of merchant ships, 18 sail that were ordered to carry the 
 horse, not being able to get out at the same time from 
 another port, where they lay wind-bound. He says, that 
 he arrived about the fourth hour of the day, viz. between 
 nine and ten in the morning, on the coast of Britain, where 
 he found the enemy drawn up on the cliffs ready to repel 
 him ; which place he thus describes : Loci h<uc erat natura, 
 adt'O rnontibus august is inare contiuebatiu; ut ex locis super iori- 
 bus in littns tdum adjici possit ; by which the cliffs of Dover 
 and the South Foreland are justly described, and could be 
 no other land, since he says, in the fifth book of his Com- 
 mentaries, in Britannia m trajectum esw cognoverit circiter 
 inillui passunm triginta a continenti ; the cliffs of the North 
 Foreland being at a much greater distance. Here, he says, 
 he came to an anchor, and laid till the ninth hour, or till 
 between three and four in the afternoon, expecting his 
 whole fleet to come up ; and, in the mean time, called a 
 council of war, and advertised his officers after what manner 
 they were to make their descent, particularly in relation to 
 the surf of the sea, whose motion he calls celtrcm otque in- 
 stabilem, quick and uneven. Then, via. about tour in the 
 afternoon he weighed anchor, and having the wind and tide 
 with him, he sailed about eight miles from the first place, 
 and anchored against an open and plain shore. 
 
 Here he made his descent; and, having told us the op- 
 position that was made, and the means he used to get on 
 shore, he comes to say, that, after he had been four davs in 
 Britain, the 1 8 ships with his horse put to sea, and were come 
 in sight of his camp, when a sudden tempest arose, with 
 contrary wind, so that some of the ships put back again, 
 others were driven to the westward, not without great dan- 
 ger, and coming to an anchor, they found they could not 
 ride it out ; so, when night came on, they put off to sea, and 
 returned from whence they came. That same night it was 
 full-moon, which makes the greatest tides in the ocean ; 
 and they being ignorant thereof, their galleys, which were 
 drawn on shore, were filled by the tide, ike. 
 
 Then he says, that the day of the autumnal equinox being
 
 95 Day of C<tsar*s tandfng in Britain ascertained, 
 
 at hand, after some days stay, wherein there passed no action, 
 because he kept close in his camp by the shore, and not 
 thinking it proper to stay till the winter came on, he re- 
 turned into Gallia. The next year he made another expe- 
 dition, with five legions, and a good body of horse ; but there 
 is but little in the history thereof serving to our purpose, ex- 
 cepting that he says he set sail from the Portus Icius about 
 sun-set, with a gentle south- west wind, leni dfrico p rofectus ; 
 that, about midnight, it fell calm, and being carried away 
 with the tide, by the time it was day, he found he had left 
 Britain on the left hand ; but then the tide turning, they 
 fell to their oars, and by noon, reached that part of the island 
 where he landed before, and came on shore without op- 
 position, and then marched up into the country, leaving his 
 ships at anchor in littore molli et aptrto. 
 
 This is all in Caesar that is any thing pertinent ; and I 
 find no where else any thing to guide us farther, except 
 one passage in Dion Cassius, who, speaking of the first 
 landing of Caesar, says, p<>roi *j 5 On ir^ai^iv ; that is, as I 
 translate, " But he landed not where he intended," for that 
 the Britous, hearing of his coming, had possessed all the 
 
 USUal places of landing. "Ax.ja ru* ar^o/^o- trsgHrXiwraj T- 
 oftn wa6*ofiu<rQy!' K.Tt$a ra; 'orgoffp.'tZotrrets of I? rex. revayrj awofcaiyom 
 
 Hxvcrci tp&n T?? yi? xT>)<ra< : in my English, " Wherefore, 
 doubling a certain head-land, he made to the shore on the 
 other side, where he overcame those that skirmished with 
 him at the water's edge, and so got well on land." Here I 
 make bold to translate the words, i? T rexayn, " at the water's 
 edge," which, in H. Stephen's edition, is interpreted in pa- 
 ludibus; but I have the authority of Suidas, who says, -mayo?, 
 wiAayia iAvf, or " the sea-mud," and is therefore properly the 
 ouse on the sea-shore, and, by an easy figure, may be put 
 for the shore itself, where such ouse commonly is found. 
 
 From these data, that it was in the year of the consulate 
 of Pompey and Crassus, that it was exigua parte testatis reh- 
 yua, and four days before a full-moon, which fell out in the 
 night time, the time of this invasion will be determined to a 
 day : for, by the eclipse of the moon, whereof Drusus 
 wade so good use to quiet a mutiny in the Pannonian army, 
 upon the death of Augustus, it follows, that Augustus die^ 
 anno Christi 14, which was reckoned anno urbis conditae 767 ; 
 and that this action was 68 years before, viz. in the 55th 
 year before Christ current; in which year the full-moon 
 fell out August 30, after midnight, or 31, in .the morning, 
 before d;iy ; and the preceding full-moon was August I, 
 soon after noon; so that this could not be the full-moon
 
 Day of Cesar's landing in Britain ascertained. 97 
 
 mentioned as falling in the day time; nor that in the be- 
 ginning of July, it being not ten days after the summer sol- 
 stice, wnen it would not have been said eiigua parte astatis 
 reliqua. It follows, therefore, that the full-uioon spoken of 
 was on August 30, at night, and that the landing on Britain 
 was August 26, in the afternoon, about a month before the 
 autumnal equinox, which agrees to all the circumstances of 
 the story in point of time. 
 
 As to the place, the high land and cliffs described could 
 be no other than those of Dover, and are allowed to have 
 been so by all; it remains only to examine wnether the 
 descent was made to the northward or southward of the 
 place where he first anchored. The data to determine this 
 are, first, that it was four days before the full-moon; se- 
 condly, that that day, by three o'clock in the afternoon, 
 the tide ran the same way he sailed ; thirdly, that a 8. by E. 
 moon makes high water on all that coast, the flood coming 
 from the southward. Hence it will follow, that that day it 
 was high water there about eight in the morning, and, con- 
 sequently low water about two; wherefore, by three, the 
 tide of flood was well made up, and it is plain that Caesar 
 went with it ; and the flood setting to the northward shews 
 that the open plain shore where he landed was to the north- 
 ward of the cliffs, and must be in the Downs, and this I 
 take to be little less than demonstration A second argu- 
 ment is drawn from the wind wherewith he set out on his 
 second expedition, viz. S. W. as appears by the words leni 
 Africo profectus, with which the navigation of those times 
 would hardly permit a ship to sail nearer the wind than, 
 eight points, or a N.W. course, which would serve, indeed, 
 to go into the Downs, but would by no means fetch the low 
 'land towards Dengyness, which is much about west from 
 Calais, and not more than W.N W. from Boulogne, if it 
 shall be said that that was the Portus Icius from which Cae- 
 sar set out. Whence I take it to be evident, that, if Caesar 
 was not bound more northerly than the South Foreland, he 
 could not have thought the Africus, or S.W. wind proper 
 for his passage, which was then intended for the place 
 where he first landed the year before. 
 
 Justly to determine which the Portus Icius was, 1 find no 
 where sufficient grounds ; only Ptolemy calls the promon- 
 tory of Calais-Cliffs by the name of ix.io* a^o whetii e there 
 is reason to conjecture, that the Portus Icius was very near 
 thereto, and that it was either Ambletuse on one side, or 
 Calais on the other. The same Ptolemy places i t <r. ? %'.ax<; 
 vrivetev in the same latitude with the"i*n> Zap*, but something 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 98 Day of Cesar's landing in Britain ascertained. 
 
 more to the east, which seems to refute those that have 
 supposed the ancient port of Gessoriacum to have been 
 Boulogne ; whereas, by Ptolemy's position, it must be either 
 Dunkirk or Graveling, but the former most likely, both by 
 the distance from the'iy-io* .^ , being about twenty miles, 
 or half a degree of longitude, to the east, or two-fifths of 
 the whole coast of Flanders, which he makes but a degree 
 and a quarter from the slcron Icion to the mouth of the 
 Schelcl, which he calls Ostia Tabudae ; as also for that Pliny, 
 1. iv. c. i6, speaking of Gessoriacum, says, the proximus 
 trajectus into Britain from thence is fifty miles, which is too 
 much unless Gessoriacum were something more easterly 
 than Calais. Dion Cassiuj, makes the distance between 
 France and Britain 450 stadia, or 50 miles, and says like- 
 wise it is the nearest, TO <n,-To/*wTTo. But this is in part 
 amended by the explication given in the Itinerary of Anto- 
 ninus, where the space between Gessoriacum and Rutu- 
 pium is said to be450stadia (for this was the ordinary passage 
 of the Romans into Britain) Rutuphim being more northerly, 
 and Gessoriacum more easterly, than the termini of Caesar's 
 voyage, consequently the distance is more than thirty miles, 
 which Caesar had observed ; and now lately an accurate survey 
 has proved the distance between land and land to be 26 English 
 miles, which shews how near Caesar's estimate was to the truth. 
 A farther argument (but not of equal force with the 
 former, because of the modernness of the author, who wrote 
 above 250 years after) may be drawn from the words of 
 
 Dion Cassius, where he Says, ax. TV &(*>{ xacretv 
 
 that after his first anchoring, he sailed 
 about a promontory to the place where he landed. Now 
 there are no other promontories on all that coast but the 
 South foreland and Dengyness ; the latter of which it could 
 not be, because Caesar says he sailed but eight miles, and 
 the Ness itself is about ten miles from the south and nearest 
 end of the Chalk-Cliffs, by the town of Hithe ; and, to have 
 gone round that point to the other side, the distance must 
 have been much greater; so that the promontory spoken of 
 by Dion must needs be the South Foreland, and Caesar 
 must anchor near over against Dover, from whence sailing 
 eight miles, he would double a headland, and come to the 
 Downs, which is such a coast as he describes in one place 
 by apertum ac planum tittus, and, in his fifth book, by mollc 
 ac apertum littus. As to Dion's word E? T rcm-iy*, what I have 
 already said about it seems sufficient to prove that he means 
 no more than the water's edge ; and the etymologists de- 
 uve it from riyyu, madefacio, because the wash and breach
 
 Place of C<zsar*s landing in Britain disputed. 99 
 
 of the sea do always keep it wet. And this word rttdyi, 
 is used by Polybius for the sea-ouse : and, in another 
 place, he speaks of the difficulty of landing at the mouth of 
 a river, &<* T^ revayuSv srd%o$ov j oi) liinosum accessum ; so that 
 it is not to be doubted that it ought to be rendered, in this 
 place, ad vadum rnaris, rather than in paludibus. And so 
 this objection against the assertion, that Caesar landed in 
 the Downs, which is known to be a firm champaign country, 
 without fens and morasses, will be removed ; and the whole 
 argument will, it is hoped, be admitted by the curious. 
 1774, July. 
 
 XIV. The Precise Place of Caesar's Lauding in Britain disputed, 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 T H E ingenious disquisition (in your July Mag.) on the pre- 
 cise day and spot of Caesar's landing in Britain, which, I 
 think, is Dr Halley's, published long ago in the Philosophi- 
 cal Transactions, No. 193, has long also been answered in 
 the following manner by Dr. Battely :* " Aristotle has dis- 
 tinguished these two, /*/*&{ (sandy), and TsyaT&{ (muddy). 
 The Scholiast, on that passage of Apollonic Rhodius, 
 
 yot,f> 
 
 says, ' renayoj is a marshy place.' Plutarch, relating the 
 action performed by Scaeva, at the landing of Caesar, says, 
 ' it happened in a place that was marshy, and full of water, 
 and near some muddy streams,' which expressions seem 
 clearly to intimate, that there was, in the plnce where they 
 fought, a river, or some muddy stream, such as can scarcely 
 be found on the Deal coast; for there is only sand, than 
 which nothing can be more steady, or more proper for a 
 firm footing, on which account it used even to be spread in 
 the theatres." Dr. Battely, therefore, supposes, (and so do 
 those great antiquaries, Burton, Horsley, and Gale) that 
 Caesar landed not in the Downs, but in the mouth ot 
 Richborough-harbour, the ancient Portus Rutupinus. That 
 exactly agrees with Dion's description. A promontory was 
 there ; that being doubled, such a harbour appeared as Cae- 
 sar sought, " fit to receive a number of large ships." There, 
 
 * In his Antiquitates Rutupinse, of which an abridgment has lately bes 
 published. 
 
 H2
 
 100 Place of Casar's landing in Britain disputed. 
 
 as is usual at the mouths of rivers, was a marshy and muddy 
 shore, on which Cajsar's soldiers leaping 1'rom their vessels 
 could not " keep their footing" [Jirmiter insistcre~]. On tire 
 same promontory, if Plot and Darell be right in their con- 
 jecture, was Caesar's naval carnp, and from thence the place 
 was called Cesar's Camp. As to Caesar's saying that " Ire 
 sailed about eight miles from the first place, and then 
 anchored on a plain and open shore, "a distance which '(from 
 Dover) is undoubtedly more suitable to Deal than to Rich- 
 borough, be it observed, 1. That the words " eight miles," 
 octo millia passuum, do not occur invariably in all the edi- 
 tions of Caesar. '2. That there are other places on that coast 
 no less difficult of access than Dover, on account of the 
 wonderful cliffs by which Cicero affirms that the approaches 
 to the island are fortified. 3. Who but must allow, that 
 Caesar, sailing near an unknown coast, with the wind and 
 tide in his favour, of whose force, he acknowledges, his peo- 
 ple were ignorant, being driven perhaps farther than he 
 suspected, might possibly mistake in his calculation, espe- 
 cially when we consider how unskilful and inaccurate the 
 ancients were in measuring distances by sea, and remember 
 that this great commander, who never erred in war, is 
 charged, however, by Cluverius, with erring in his measure- 
 ment of our island. 4. Though Caesar says, In Britanniam 
 trajectum esse cognoverit circiter millia XXX a contincnti, 
 and the cliffs of the North Foreland are at a much greater 
 distance, the reading in the most authentic copies is 
 " XXXX." This also is approved by those learned 
 writers, Is. Casaubon, Chifflet, and Merula, and is most 
 clearly confirmed by Strabo; who says, that " Caesar's pas- 
 sage to Britain was 320 furlongs, or 40 miles :'' and all ex- 
 perienced seamen know that this is the exact distance be- 
 tween the mouth of Richborough harbour and Boulogne ; 
 for that this was the ancient Gessoriacum from whence 
 Casar sailed, Dr. Battely has also, in my opinion, clearly 
 proved. But for that I must refer to his work, observing 
 only, that, though Dion Cassius, Pliny, and Antoninus, all 
 make the distance between Gessoriacum and Rutupiaj 
 above 30 miles, in these numbers there is apparently an 
 egregious mistake ; for how could Britain be distant from 
 the continent " oO miles or more," when Caesar, by the 
 testimony of Strabo, relates that the most commodious 
 harbour of Gaul was no more than forty miles distant from 
 the most celebrated harbour of Britain ? In short, the 
 promontory which Dion mentions, was probably neither the 
 South Foreland, nor Dengyness, but the utmost extremity
 
 Cesar's passage over the Thames. 101 
 
 of the shore, on the left hand of those who entered Rich- 
 borough harbour, now, perhaps, by the returning of the 
 waves, fur distant from the sea. 
 
 That Ctvsar landed in our island on August 6, in the 
 afternoon, Dr. Halle} 7 seems clearly to have proved ; but, 
 for the reasons above given, your readers, i am apt to 
 think, will still be of opinion, that the place where Caesar 
 landed was Kutupioe, or lliehborough, and not the Downs, 
 or Deal. 
 
 I am, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 CBITO. 
 1774, Sept. 
 
 XV. Cossar's Passage over the Thames. In a letter from Dr. 
 Stukeley to Andrew Coltee Ducarel, LL.D. F.S.A. 
 
 KNOWING well your love for ancient learning, especially 
 that of our own country, I need not plead the title of friend- 
 ship to render the subsequent account agreeable to you, 
 being the result of my observations in the afternoon of a 
 journey I took to Chertsey. 
 
 I first went with eager steps to view the abbey, rather 
 the site of the abbey ; for, so total a dissolution I scarcely 
 ever saw ; so inveterate a rage against every the least ap- 
 pearance of it, as if they meant to defeat even the inherent 
 sanctity of the ground. Of that noble and splendid pile, 
 which took up four acres of ground, and looked like a town, 
 nothing remains; scarcely a little of the outward wall of 
 the precinctus. 
 
 The gardener carried me through a court on the right- 
 hand at the south side of the house, where, at the entrance 
 of the kitchen-garden, stood the church of the abbey ; I 
 doubt not, splendid enough. The west front and tower- 
 steeple was by the door and outward wall, looking toward 
 the town and entrance to the abbey. The east end reached 
 up to an artificial mount along the garden wall. That 
 mount, and all the terraces of the pleasure-garden on the 
 back-front of the house, are entirely made up of the sacred 
 rudera and rubbish of continual devastation. 
 
 Human bones of the abbots, monks, and great person- 
 ages, who were buried in great numbers in the church, and 
 cloisters which lay on the south side of the church, were 
 
 H3
 
 102 Casar's passage over the Thames. 
 
 spread thick all over the garden, which takes up the whole 
 church and cloisters; so that one may pick up handfuls of 
 bits of bones al a time every where among the garden-stuff. 
 Indeed, it put rne in mind of what the Psalmist says : " Our 
 bones lie scattered before the pit : like as when one break - 
 eth and heweth wood upon the earth." cxli. 8. 
 
 Foundations of the religious building have been dug up, 
 carved stones, slender pillars of Sussex marble, monumental 
 stones, effigies, brasses, inscriptions, every where; even be- 
 yond the terraces of the pleasure-garden. 
 
 The domains of the abbey extend all along upon the side 
 of the river for a long way, being a very fine meadow. 
 They made a cut at the upper end of it ; which, taking in 
 the water of the river, when it approaches the abbey, gains 
 a fall sufficient for a water-mill for the use of the abbey and 
 of the town. Here is a very large orchard, with many and 
 long canals, or fish-ponds ; which, together with the great 
 moat around the abbey, and deriving its water from the 
 river, was well stocked with fish. Notwithstanding it is so 
 well fenced, in the ninth century the abbey was sacked by 
 the barbarous Danes, the abbot and ninety monks mur- 
 dered. 
 
 I left the ruined ruins of this place, which had been con- 
 secrated to religion ever since the year 666, with a sigh for 
 the lossof so much national munificence and national history. 
 Dreadful was that storm which spared not, at least, the 
 churches, libraries, painted glass, monuments, manuscripts; 
 that spared not a little out of the abundant spoil to support 
 them for the public honour and emolument. But, sure, it 
 was highly culpable not to give back a sufficient maintenance 
 to the parochial clergy, and without it, little hope can the 
 possessors entertain for the prosperity of their families. 
 
 One piece of history belonging to this place I must men- 
 tion, hitely retrieved by our friend the Rev. Mr. Widmore. 
 The body of that murdered monarch, Henry Vf. was depo- 
 sited in this church under a sumptuous mausoleum. King 
 Henry VII. intending he should be beatified into a saint, 
 removed it to Windsor chapel ; thence to Westminster 
 abbey, where it still rests, but in what place particularly is 
 unknown. The court of Rome demanding too high a price 
 for the favour, the king dropped his design. 
 
 I now resumed my former ardour to pursue the footsteps 
 of the great Ca3sar, who passed the Thames near here. 
 When f lived formerly in London, I made many excursions 
 in cjuest of his nocturnal mansions, and the track of his 
 joumeyings in his two expeditions hither. Very largely
 
 Cesar's passage over the Thames. 103 
 
 have 1 treated that subject in MS. with many drawings, se- 
 veral or' which have been engraved thirty years ago. 
 
 I have no great hope of printing this, and many like works, 
 for more reasons than one. The spirit of solid learning is 
 visibly sunk in my own time, and since 1 prosecuted these 
 studies. With a national regard to religion, sunk and neg- 
 lected, all true knowledge and wisdom fails to the ground. 
 .No patrons of that which is really noble and praise- worthy ! 
 Nor can authors hope for any return for their labours, through 
 the bookseller's craft. 
 
 They that have written on Caesar's journeys hither had 
 very slender notions of it, and of his passing the Thames in 
 particular. That we may come at a proper knowledge of 
 this matter, the great author tells us, in cap. 17 of lib. V. De 
 Bello Gallico, that " the Britons at noon-day attacked with 
 the utmost vigour his foragers, horsemen, and the legionary 
 troops sent to protect them ; but, in the end, received such 
 a defeat, that all the auxiliary forces left the general Casvel- 
 han. Isior did the Britons after this, attempt to fight the 
 Romans in a regular battle." 
 
 This was in Kent, on this side Barham Down. Cajsar 
 found out then, that their intention was to retreat over the 
 river Thames into Casvelhan's own territories, thinking he 
 would not pursue them so high into the midland country. 
 The river Thames was fordable only at one place ; and even 
 this fegre trannri potest, in Caesar's words. This one place 
 is undoubtedly Covvay stakes, between Weybridge and Wil- 
 ton, over against Shepperton. 
 
 The river at this place is wider than elsewhere, any where 
 near it of some miles, and that is the reason of its being ford- 
 able. At this place Casvelhan was determined to make a 
 stand against the Roman arms. We are to disabuse our- 
 selves from the vulgar notions of the Britons being so bar- 
 barous a people ; none could behave with more policy and 
 valour. 
 
 A.t Shepperton, Casvelhan collected all his forces, and 
 those not a few. Moreover, he had fortified the bank-side 
 with sharp pallisadoes ; and, besides, the like stakes were 
 fixed in the very bed of the river, under water. 
 
 Caesar would not have merited his consummate character, 
 had he not taken care to have the best intelligence. Man- 
 clubratius, king of the Trinobantes, who inhabited London, 
 Middlesex, and some part of the country about Southwark, 
 was now with him. He had been driven out of his own 
 country by Casvelhan, and fled to Caesar. From him, from, 
 captives, and deserters, Caesar learned all this. But it was 
 
 H 4
 
 lot- Casals patsage over the Thames. 
 
 in vain to hesitate, and quite distant from his temper ; ht 
 leads his army to Walton, over against the place; it consisted 
 of full 30,000 effective men. 
 
 Many years ago I visited this place for the purpose we are 
 upon. There was reason to judge that his nocturnal camp 
 was in the present town, and where brigadier Watkins's house 
 stands. This house is in his camp ; the ditch of the camp 
 having been converted into canals in his garden, the dimen- 
 sions properly corresponding, which gave me a notion of it, 
 being about 300 feet on a side. 
 
 Authors generally mistake in fancying that the great and 
 operose camp on St. George's hill, hard by, was Caesar's; 
 that was a stationary camp ; by whom made, I have no con- 
 cern at this time to inquire. But far otherwise was the 
 Roman method on expeditions and marches. It is true, they 
 made a camp the very night; such was their discipline; and 
 with reason. But this camp was of very small dimensions, 
 two or three hundred feet only on a side, it was chiefly for 
 state and regularity. It was a pra?toriurn, the head-quarter* 
 of the general and a few chief officers; and perhaps the 
 spoil was there lodged. The Roman army lay around this 
 praetorium ; they did not trust their safety to a few drowsy 
 sentinels, but a third part of their army lay underarms; and 
 they always encamped upon plains, and open heaths, free 
 from vroods, to prevent surprise. 
 
 I have met with many of Ca;sar's nocturnal camps; some 
 were engraven thirty years ago, and unpublished for the 
 reasons abovementioned. 
 
 It would have been an injudicious rashness in Ccesar to 
 have pushed his passage over the Thames at Coway stakes, 
 so pallisadoed above and below water, with resolute troops 
 on the other side ; disadvantages too great for Caesar's pru- 
 dence. But the matter, most absolutely necessary, must be 
 accomplished. 
 
 Therefore Caesar resolves to attempt it somewhat higher 
 up the river. For this purpose he leaves a part of his army 
 at the camp of Walton, stretched out in proper front, to 
 make a show of his stay there; the rest he leads over the 
 river Wye, and finds a very convenient place for his purpose 
 in the meadow a little below where Chertsey bridge now 
 stands. 
 
 1 viewed the place with a great attention, and maturely 
 considered all circumstances, and durst pronounce with 
 assurance, that it was at this very place, of which the great 
 hero thus writes : " He ordered the horse to enter the 
 water, and the legionary troops to follow them closely. The
 
 Ge?5Y*r'j> passage over the Thames* 105 
 
 soldiers" went with so much force and celerity, though they 
 were only head above water, that the enemy could not with- 
 stand the power of the legions and ot the cavalry, but left the 
 bank, and betook themselves to flight." 
 
 Now let us consider the maUer step by step. We cannot 
 doubt of his camp being at Walton, over against the ene- 
 my ; the name of the town proves it, as coming from val- 
 lum , it is a common name of towns where camps are found. 
 There must be much wood about the river Wye then, as 
 now, which would favour his private march. The river 
 comes from Guilford, has been made navigable not many 
 years ago, and that by means of locks and sluices, which 
 raise the water sufficiently for the purpose. But in its na- 
 tural state it was easily fordable any where, nor difficult 
 even now. 
 
 Farther, there is another little brook "which runs into the 
 Wye about Weybridge, but not the least impediment to 
 the inarch of an army. Descending from high ground at a 
 place called Oburn, they came to a very large dry meadow, 
 of which, no doubt, they had good intelligence before. 
 This is just below Chertsey bridge. On ihe opposite open 
 shore is another such very large dry meadow, both of gravel. 
 The bed of the river is gravel. Both the shores plain, flat, 
 and level with the water's edge. 
 
 All these circumstances are extremely favourable. But, 
 farther, this very place is actually fordable in dr^ summers 
 at this day. And, to crown all, there is a fine flexure of the 
 river, which must afford the most desirable assi-tance to the 
 Romans enlarging their front, contracting that of the Bri- 
 tons, and giving the former an opportunity of making an at- 
 tack to great advantage on the flat edge of the water ; many 
 opposing a few, and surrounding them on two sides as well 
 as front. In a word, we may compare it to the operation of 
 a pair of shears. 
 
 Though the Britons, without controversy, awaited Caesar's 
 motions at Shepperton, yet we have not the least room to 
 think they did not watch him higher up the river, but a mile 
 off, and oppose him with part of their forces. But Caesar's 
 good fortune and Roman valour overcame all difficulties, 
 and gained the shore. They drove the Britons back to their 
 main body at Shepperton ; and there too they totally discom- 
 fited them, and took up their station for that night at the very 
 place. 
 
 One more advantage, gained by his passage at Chertsey, 
 is, that the quantity of water in the river is somewhat 
 lessened by all that the Wye furnishes, and that other less
 
 106 Casals passage over the Thames. 
 
 rivulet, and likewise the brook that runs by Cowley's house 
 at Chertsey, arising at St. Anne's hill ; all emptying them- 
 selves into the Thames below this place.* 
 
 Lastly, we must observe, that this year of Caesar's second 
 invasion was remarkably dry ; a circumstance of admirable 
 advantage in facilitating his fording the river at this place ; 
 as, under the like case, it is now fordable. 
 
 I have been informed, that the stakes at Coway, which 
 Casvelhan placed in the river, were very thick pieces of yew- 
 tree ; a wood eminent for its toughness, therefore not easily 
 to be broken. 
 
 The memorial of this passage of Cassar is kept up in the 
 name of the town of Chertsey ; for, the word is made up of 
 Cassar, and the British ridh, ritus, " a passage or ford." They 
 here pronounce Ca?sar soft, after the Italian manner ; so 
 Cherbourg, in France, is Cassaris burgus. So the Latins 
 pronounced cerastes, "a cherry," which was originally pro- 
 nounced kerry by the inhabitants of Pontus, whence Lucul- 
 lus brought the plant. From them the Turks now call them 
 kerrys. 
 
 1 viewed the house in Chertsey where Mr. Cowley the 
 poet lived and died, as they say. it is a good old timber 
 house, of a tolerable model. There is a large garden ; a 
 brook, before-mentioned, arising at St. Anne's hill, runs by 
 the side. They talk of a pretty summer-house which he 
 built, which was demolished not long since; and of a seat 
 under a sycamore-tree by the brook ; which are mentioned 
 in his poems. There are very good fish-ponds too of his 
 making. 
 
 Near Chertsey is that remarkable high hill, called St. Anne's 
 hill, from a chapel built upon it by the piety of former times to 
 the honour of the mother of the blessed Virgin. It is much 
 higher than any ground near it, yet has a very tine spring at 
 the top, never dry ; a matter of philosophy, concerning which 
 I never could in my mind form any sort of solution. 
 
 This hill gives a noble proof of the rotation of the earth 
 on its axis, and of that motion being given it when as yet 
 the surface of the ground was not thoroughly dry. This is 
 a fact I have every where observed in all my travels, and 
 long since given notice of it in the beginning of my Itine- 
 rarium. There is reason to admire at the incogitancy of 
 
 * Perhaps these islets above Chertscy bridge break the force of the stream; 
 
 aiioiuer advantage.
 
 Navigation of the Ancients. 107 
 
 mank'iLd, as much as that they never took notice of it before 
 or since, though a. matter so obvious, so exceedingly ren ark- 
 able. 
 
 Near Feltham runs that artificial river made across the 
 common by king Charles I. from Stanwell to Hampton- 
 court; and east of the powder mills at Belfont, on Houn- 
 slow heath, ] again remarked a very fair piece of the old 
 Roman road from Old Street, north, of London, Portpool 
 Lane, Theobald's Road in my parish, Oxford Road, and so 
 by Turn ham Green, to Staines. This piece is just by the 
 water side, and half a mile in length, where the present road 
 leaves it to go to the bridge. This I mentioned in my 
 Itinerary. It goes across the kingdom in a straight line pa- 
 rallel to the Ikenil Street, from Chichester to Dumvich, in. 
 Suffolk ; the first episcopal seat there, erected by Fcelix the 
 Burgundian, who converted that country to the Christian, 
 faith, and built the school at Cambridge. I call this road, 
 for distinction sake, Via Trinobantica. 
 
 WM. STUKELEY. 
 Oct. 19, 1752. 
 1797, March. 
 
 XVI. On the Navigation of the Ancients. 
 
 MR. URBAN, Aug. 16. 
 
 I SEN D you a letter on Mons. 1'Abbe Cartier's work, which 
 gained the prize of the academy of Antiquaries at Paris, 
 which I gave to Mr. Rey, publisher of the Journal des S^a- 
 vans, at Amsterdam, July 25, 1781. 
 
 " Sir, 
 
 " In your Journal of this month, p. 288, a learned Abbe 
 says, the ancients knew America ; and that, from the little 
 the ancient authors have eft us on the long voyages of the 
 Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Marseillois, and Vannois, there 
 is no doubt of their intercourse with the Americans; and 
 likewise, that Julius Caesar intended to reform the Roman 
 navy on the Rhociian ^nd Vannois plan. 
 
 " Though I believe easily in history when it has an air of 
 trut , yet I cannot but look on these assertions as strange 
 hyp theses; they appear the more so, as the most expe- 
 rienced sea-faring gentlemen can give no probable conjec- 
 ture on such matters, not even how the ancients worked
 
 10S Navigation of the Ancients* 
 
 their ships, nor the manner of managing the number of oar* 
 in their ships of war. 
 
 ** But, Sir, as I have some practice in the nautic arts, and 
 know most of the methods for working ships in the known 
 world, and what has been done for shortening voyages to the 
 East Indies and the western part of the South Seas, I maJie 
 bold to hazard some objections on the opinion of this learned 
 antiquary. 
 
 " i agree that the Ancients built large ships, and some 
 much larger than necessary to cross the Atlantic ocean, 
 though not of a proper figure for that purpose; and that 
 the Greeks constructed vessels double the length of our 
 first-rate men of war, as may be seen by Ptolemy's ship of 
 4OO feet long, and 5O broad in the midship, with a propor- 
 tionable height (Rollin) ; it had 4000 men for rowing, 3000> 
 soldiers, and 200 sailors. This proves that Ptolemy pre- 
 ferred oars to sails, which, in all likelihood, were small in 
 proportion to those made use of in our days; though this 
 ship was double the length of our largest, which have six 
 times more sailors. 
 
 " To give a farther proof of the largeness of some of the 
 ancient ships of war, 1 shall mention what a Trench author 
 says, in his Commerce des Egyptiens. 
 
 ' The military navy of Ptolemy was two ships of thirty- 
 two rows of oars, one of twelve rows, four of thirteen rows, 
 fourteen of eleven rows, thirty-nine of nine rows, with a 
 double number of quadriremes and others ofless size/ 
 
 " Hiero, king of Syracuse, had a ship built under the 
 direction of Archimedes : it was of a very extraordinary 
 size, and had such a number of conveniences, that we can 
 have no notion of them, being so different from those of 
 our time. 
 
 " But, to speak of ships not so extraordinary, and which 
 were more proper tor the Mediterranean sea than auy of 
 those built by the Armoricans, or ancient Gauls, we have 
 but to look on those constructed by Demetrius for the siege 
 of Rhodes, which,, as far as we can conjecture, were such as 
 could contain 1200 men. 
 
 " Here is what Plutarch says of those vessels : 
 
 ' Demetrius built large ships, which had so majestic an 
 appearance that they fascinated the eyes of all those who 
 perceived them, and in such a manner, that his very enemies 
 were struck with admiration when they saw this king's ships, 
 w'rth fifteen and uixtcea . u.vs of ours, pass so quick along the
 
 Navigation of the Ancients. 109 
 
 '* The learned Abbe Carrier says, that ( the death of Cee- 
 .ur hindered the reform he intended to make in the Koman 
 navy Mark Antony, at the buttle of Actiuin, followed ( 
 v*ar's principles; and" it is known that he would have gained 
 tin. 1 day had not Cleopatra tied with her ships.' 
 
 " To such assertions we make hold to answer, that such 
 a man as Mark Antony, engaged in continual civil wars, 
 running from Home to the Alps, then to Lombardy, thence 
 to the capital, and again to Asia, against the Parthians and 
 r.gyptians, and at lust plunged in perpetual feastings, &c. 
 such a man, we must think, was very iu) proper to make re- 
 forms in matters which had been found useful for many 
 centuries, since we see that in our days, we have been more 
 than fifty years in finding the proper length of our naval 
 cannon. 
 
 " I shall not pretend to decide on Caesar 1 s intentions; but 
 t leave you to judge if such an account, as M. I'Abbe gives 
 us of Caesar's intended reform, is probable. What Plutarch 
 eaysof the battle of Actiuin may be a little in favour of An- 
 tony's preferring heavy ships ; but his conduct proved his 
 wrong judgment. This ancient author says, 
 
 * Mark Antony, had no less than five hundred ships, 
 .among which were several of eight and ten rows of oars; his 
 vessel appeared more fit for triumph than battle. 
 
 1 Caesar had two hundred and fifty ships, all light, and easy 
 to work ; but without the least appearance of pomp. 
 
 ' Mark Antony burnt all his small vessels, but reserved his 
 best and largest, from three to ten rows of oars, and sixty 
 Egyptian ships. When every thing was in order, he went 
 round his fleet in a light frigate, encouraging his men to keep 
 their post in the straits, and think themselves upon firm 
 ground, from the weight and steadiness of their ships. After 
 much stay in the same place, Mark Antony's men, impatient 
 to attack, from the opinion they had of the strength of their 
 vessels, made their left wing advance; which Caesar per- 
 ceiving, made his right wing fall back to decoy his enemy out 
 of the straits. Antony's motion was very agreeable to Cae- 
 sar, as he knew Antony had not hands enough to move 
 his ponderous vessels ; for which reason they could not 
 strike with their beaks, as was usual in sea fights. Thus 
 Octavius, taking the advantage he had over his antagonist, 
 gained the victory/ 
 
 "This battle shewed the judgment of Caesar, and the little 
 understanding in Mark Antony iu what was necessary to 
 Work heavy ships; for, if he had had uieu iu propoitiuu to
 
 11 Navigation of the Ancients. 
 
 the size of his vessels, he would have sunk Octavius's ships 
 at the first shock ; but what couid be expected from such an 
 imprudent man ? 
 
 " Let us DOW see if the Romans thought the Gallic ships 
 preferable to theirs. When Julius Csesar's fleet was built 
 on the Loire, and had the necessary quantity of men for 
 rowing, as well as pilots and sailors, in order to attack the 
 Vannois, he says, 
 
 ' The enemy had an advantage from the make of their 
 ships; their bottoms were flatter than ours, and of course 
 they were less liable to be damaged when the tide left them 
 on the shallows ; their heads and sterns were high, and 
 better fitted to withstand the violence of the waves of the 
 ocean ; they were built with oak ; their cross-timbers were 
 a foot square, and fastened with nails of an inch thick ; their 
 anchors fastened with iron chains ;* their sails were made 
 with pliable and well-prepared skins, more proper to endure 
 the tempestuous winds of the ocean, and give motion to such 
 heavy bodies. It was against such ships, said he, our fleet 
 was to engage, but we surpassed them in quickness of mo- 
 tion, though we could not hurt them with our beaks, they 
 being too strongly built for us ; nor could we safely attack 
 them on account of their height ; for the same reason they 
 were not afraid of shallow water, nor being left ashore when 
 the tide went off, all which our vessels dreaded.' 
 
 <f To shew how much fitter the Roman ships were for 
 this purpose than those of the Gauls, we see that, when 
 Caesar first appeared on the British coast, the natives were 
 astonished at the shape and manner of going of the Roman 
 ships, and at the effect of the Roman engines; which made 
 them fall back, and give Caesar's army time to land. This 
 demonstrates that the Roman manner of building was fitter 
 for their purpose than M. 1'Abbe Cartier thinks; from 
 which we may conclude, that Caesar thought little about 
 changing his manner of building to copy after an inferior 
 one. 
 
 " A farther proof that the Romans would never have co- 
 pied the Gallic method of building ships in the. slow manner 
 which the Gauls made their, vessels : the Romans had sure 
 rules, by which every carpenter could work properly, as 
 may be conceived by the great number of ships they built 
 when wanted, and as appears by what these conquerors did 
 
 * These iron instruments prove that the Gauls had iron works.
 
 Navigation of the Ancients. 1 i I 
 
 on the Gallic shore, where Caesar ordered his army to build* 
 as many vessels as they could while he was in winter- 
 cjiiarters; but, as he had observed that, ' the waves or' the 
 ocean w-ere lessened by the going in and out of' the tide, he 
 ordered his ships to be less lofty than those built in the Medi- 
 terranean, in order to have them drawn on shore with less 
 difficulty ; and that they should he broader, in order to 
 carry more burthen, and be lighter for rowing as well as for 
 sailing.' 
 
 " At Caesar's return from winter-quarters, he found up- 
 wards of (J()0 ships, and 28 galleys built,f though his men 
 had had a hard winter; so desirous were they to follow his 
 orders. 
 
 ' Ca?sar, at the head of five legions, left the Gallic shore 
 with a gentle southerly wind, which fell at midnight. This 
 made the tide carry him to the right; and, at day-break, he 
 perceived Britain on his left-hand, which made him tack 
 about to regain what he had lost in the night, in order to 
 land in the same place which had been so fortunate for his 
 return last campaign. On this occasion his soldiers shewed 
 their desire to make up for lost time, and rowed forward the 
 heavy transports with as much quickness as if they had been 
 galleys ; for which Caesar praised them much.' 
 
 " This single instance shews how the Romans could make 
 use of their oars in their ships of burthen ; and that the an- 
 cient vessels were made so as to employ sails and oars at the 
 same time, and, of course, to keep up to the wind nearer 
 than we do in moderate weather. 
 
 " The better to prove the improbability of the Romans; 
 copying the heavy Gallic ships, we have but to look at the 
 sea-fight before Marseilles, where they had much trouble 
 with twelve great vessels, built in thirty clays after they had 
 cut down the trees; the greenness of the wood rendered 
 them so heavy that they could hardly be managed. 
 
 " From these premises every one will conclude, that Caesar 
 
 * This shews that every man could work at ship-building from easy rules, 
 very different from our method, which is attended with an infinity of costly 
 moulds. 
 
 f- At first sight, it is surprising how the Romans could build such a quantity 
 of^hips in a winter; but, if rightly considered, it will be seen, that all the 
 Soldiers could make use of saws, axes, augers, and all the necessary tools for 
 forking wood ; and, as every man who can make use of s-.ich instrument!! can 
 figure timber as he pleases, all the army could be ship-carpenters; and the 
 more so, as the ancients had general and simple rules for ship-building, of 
 course the officers, in the wiiiler-quarters, filled up their time with superintend- 
 ing, those works.
 
 1 12 Navigation of the Ancients. 
 
 never dreamed of changing his manner for tli.it of the 
 clumsy Gallic mode, since, tiiree centuries afterwards, as 
 Appian says, 
 
 ' The Romans had two thousand light ships, and fifteen 
 hundred vessels with five and six rows of oars; they had also 
 eight hundred large ships, which they named Ptolemiques, 
 for their emperor's pomp, carved and gilt from head to 
 stern.' 
 
 " Having said something on what is most remarkable in 
 the ancient ships of war, we must take a little notice of their 
 mercantile vessels. As far as we can discover, their pro- 
 portions were four breadths for one length, as may be seen 
 in the " Wishes" of Lucian, when he mentions a large ship, 
 which carried corn from Alexandria to Rome, which, from 
 bad weather, was driven into the Pira3us, the port of 
 Athens. 
 
 " As the Grecian and Roman seas were not so extensive 
 as those of the ocean, their ships had no need of such strong 
 timbers as we make use of at present; for which reason,, 
 we may safely say, that neither the Grecian nor the Roman 
 merchant-ships could cross the long space in the Atlantic 
 Ocean, which separates Europe from America, though they 
 went over the Black Sea, as appears by what follows. 
 
 " An ancient author, mentioned by Diodorus Siculus, says, 
 thai, 'from the northernmost parts of the Black Sea, where 
 the Scythians dwelt in ice and snow, ships have been seen to 
 come, with a good wind, from those frozen countries, and 
 arrive in ten days at Rhodes ; after which they have been 
 at Alexandria in four days ; and in ten days more went up 
 the Nile into Ethiopia.' Commerce des Egyptiens. And thus 
 they could run, in the space of twenty-four days, from the 
 coldest regions to the hottest. 
 
 " From what has been seen, ship-builders in those days 
 knew how to make their vessels run from the north part of 
 the Black Sea to Egypt in fourteen days, which shews that 
 the Ancients had more knowledge in maritime affairs than 
 generally our sea-faring gentlemen think, who seldom give 
 themselves the trouble of looking into antiquity, where they 
 would find our forefathers had some understanding in the 
 arts as well as ourselves. From what has been said, the Ro- 
 mans had no need to change their system of ship-building 
 for that of the- Gauls. 
 
 " We allow that M. PAbbe Cartier's remarks may be 
 curious ; but, from the little which authors have said on 
 ihcse matters, hb\v could he imagine such a problematic
 
 Navigation qf the dncients. 1 13 
 
 proposition could be believed by the members of the aca- 
 demy ? Yet they did believe it.. But, from what has been 
 shewn, any body may boldly say, that, nineteen hundred 
 years past, our forefathers could never cross the Atlantic 
 Ocean, and of course could not know America. I have 
 heard indeed, forty years ago. that an Irishman, taken by 
 the savages in America, cried out in his native language; 
 and that the words he spoke had such an effect upon these 
 people, that they thougiit there was some connection be- 
 tween the Irish tongue and their own, which induced them 
 to give him his liberty. There, Sir, is one more discovery 
 for your inventive antiquaries ; it may lead them to the 
 analogy of the Hibernian grammar with that of the Ameri- 
 cans, us well as on the arts and sciences, manufactures and 
 commerce, of these wild people. 
 
 " But, to shew how cautious writers should be in advanc- 
 ing hypothetical notions, the shortest way to America is 
 more than thirty degrees in longitude, through strong 
 currents and tempestuous oceans, large enough to swallow; 
 ten millions of Gallic flat-bottomed ships, rigged I know 
 not how, ' with pliant, well-dressed skins, and anchors fast- 
 ened to iron chains.' 
 
 " Besides, they must have had other methods of working 
 their ships than those they have left us a notion of, to navi- 
 gate in those dangerous seas, which make the boldest mari- 
 ner tremble. But to come from that new world, how could 
 they find their way in latitudes where fogs are so thick as to 
 hinder one man's seeing another half way over the ship ? 
 
 " From what you have seen, Sir, it must appear very ex- 
 traordinary that M. I'Abbe Cartier shoukl conclude so po- 
 sitively from, as he says, ' the little documents which the 
 ancient authors have left us ;' but it is still more extraordi- 
 nary that an academy of antiquaries should have crowned 
 such a work, especially when most of the sea-faring gentle- 
 men of our days are of opinion, that all that has been said 
 of the ancients on their ships of war with oars is fabulous. 
 
 " Let these gentlemen remember, that Julius Caesar, in 
 his Commentaries, is very particular in the description of 
 his engagements with the Egyptian ships before Alexan- 
 dria. 
 
 " I do not pretend to give reasons why our writers and 
 mariners do not believe what the ancients have said ; but I 
 am persuaded that those who generally comment on an- 
 cient arts have very little experience in those of our times, 
 as may be aeen in the Encyclopedic, which are almost' 
 
 VOL. L Hat
 
 1 1 4 Navigation of the Ancients. 
 
 written and copied by men who make it their business to 
 write on arts they never have practised. 
 
 " From this we may conclude, that the knowledge of the 
 ancient arts is not easily obtained from the works of 
 our present writers, who, for instance, named three-banked 
 ships, &c. those with three rows of oars, for want of under- 
 standing the practical part; like those translators who un- 
 derstand not the true style of the language, and mucii less 
 the technical terms of arts, which will ever put in confusion 
 the greatest orator in the world, if lie has not experience in 
 the art he speaks of. 
 
 " As you see, Sir, I have given some reasons to shew how 
 far we are from having a thorough knowledge of the ancient 
 maritime arts, I hope to be excused if 1 venture an opinion 
 on what I think material for saving ships in many cases, toge- 
 ther with a great number of men'slives. I mean to take some- 
 thing from the Ancients, and apply it to our manner of act- 
 ing, for which I should propose a premium : ' For the best 
 manner of tacking about, without sail and with sail, to go in 
 and out of port backwards and forwards without turning, in 
 all weathers except storms or strong winds, as the ancient 
 Greeks and Romans did (this to be done without obstruct- 
 ing the present manner of working ships) one thousand 
 pounds.' 
 
 " Many think the French are the best theorists in naval 
 architecture; but their method, as well as those of other 
 nations, appears not to be founded on plain and fixed prin- 
 ciples ; for the dimensions of their ships they are at variance 
 one with the other. For example, says a builder at Brest, 
 a ship ought to be from 175 to 180 feet long, by 47 to 50 
 broad, and 22 to 25 in the hold. Vessels of other sizes 
 have no better rules : a frigate of 36 gnns, they say, ought 
 to be from 120 to 130 feet in length, by 33 or 34 in breadth, 
 and. 16 or 17 in the hold. 
 
 " I shall not say that such a diversity of dimensions 
 proves their not having just ideas of the proportions of their 
 art; but I shall make bold to put a few questions to these 
 gentlemen. 
 
 " What inconvenience would there be in making a first 
 rate ship of 200 feet long, and 50 broad, with a hold of 
 2.5 feet ? It would carry more sail, and go quicker. .Such 
 dimensions are so simple that a child could put them in prac- 
 tice, since they give four breadths for one length, and the 
 hold is in the midship. All ships should be made in these 
 proportions, that is, in aliquot parts; theu we should be cer- 
 tain which would be best for different uses.
 
 Fragment of History relative to the Revolution. 1 1 S 
 
 "To build frigates of 108 or 1 10 feet long for thirty guns, 
 merely for the accommodation of metal, is like being guided 
 by accessary parts to find principles for the direction of the 
 whole, whereas it should be the subject which governs the 
 attribute. Nothing, in short, is more apt to lead into diffi- 
 culties than reasoning from random principles, instead of 
 founding them on harmonious rules, which lead to true 
 maxims, and give the first idea of the parts which compose 
 an invention. This ancient manner of reasoning is not 
 easily to be found in the modern contrivers, who seldom or 
 never look out of the track they are in, and even offer pre- 
 miums to understand a part more of the wrong routine they 
 have ever followed. I am, my good friend, your humble 
 servant, 
 
 " W. BLAKEY." 
 
 1792, Sept. 
 
 XVII. A Fragment of History relative to the Revolution. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 I HEREWITH send you a part of a letter from Dr. Rose, 
 bishop of Edinburgh, to bishop Campbell, at London, which 
 is the more curious, as I have never seen it noticed in any 
 collection of papers, or history of the times to which it refers. 
 It accounts for the conduct of the Scots Episcopal Clergy 
 at the Revolution, and for the suppression of the order of 
 bishops in that kingdom. From this letter, likewise, it may 
 fairly be inferred, that, if tiie Scots bishops had followed 
 the example of their brethren in England, episcopacy would 
 not only have been tolerated but established in Scotland ; 
 and that king William would have been much better pleased 
 to have countenanced the bishops there than the Presbyte- 
 rians, if the bishops would have undertaken to have sup- 
 ported his cause. But from the perusal of the original, the 
 reader will naturally draw his own conclusion. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 Y. D.
 
 116 Fragment of History relative to the Revolution. 
 
 Dr. Rose, Bishop of Edinburgh, to Bishop Campbell, at 
 London. 
 
 October 22, 1713. 
 
 * BECAUSE you desire a short history of my own pro- 
 ceedings and conduct when in London, at the late Revolu- 
 tion, I shall for your satisfaction, and that of others, set 
 down a short and plain sum of it, which is as follows. 
 
 When in October in 1688, the Scots bishops came to know 
 the intended invasion bv the prince of Orange, a good many, 
 of them being then at Edinburgh, meeting together, con- 
 certed and sent up a loyal address to the king. Afterwards, 
 in November, rinding that the prince was landed, and fore- 
 seeing the dreadful convulsions that were like to ensue, 
 and not knowing what damages might arise thence both to 
 church and state, resolved to send up two of their number 
 to the king, with a renewed tender of their duty ; instruct- 
 ing them also to wait on the bishops of England for their 
 advice and assistance, in case that any unlucky thing might 
 possibly happen to occur with respect to our church : this 
 resolution being taken, it was represented by the two arch- 
 bishops to his majesty's privy council, (in which the lord 
 Perth sat as chancellor) and was agreed to and approved of 
 by them. Whereupon, at the next meeting of the bishops, 
 it was not thought fit, even by the archbishops themselves, 
 that any of them (though they were men of the greatest 
 ability and experience) should go up, as being less accept- 
 able to the English bishops, from their having consented to 
 the taking off the sanguinary laws against the Papists, and 
 so that undertaking was devolved over upon Dr. Bruce* 
 bishop of Orkney, and me ; he having suffered for not 
 agreeing to that project, and I not concerned, as not being 
 a bishop at that time ; and accordingly a commission wa$ 
 drawn up and signed for us two, December 3d, 1688. The 
 bishop of Orkney promising to come back from that coun- 
 try in eight or ten days' time, that we might journey toge- 
 ther, occasioned my stay ; but when that time was elapsed, 
 I had a letter from him, signifying that he had fallen very 
 ill, and desiring me to go up post, as soon as 1 could, pro* 
 niising to follow as soon as health would serve ; whereupon 
 I took post, and in a few days coming to ISorthallerton, 
 where hearing of the king's having left Rochester, I stood 
 doubtful with myself, whether to go forward or return ; but 
 considering the various and contradictory accounts 1 had 
 got all along upon the road, and that, in case of t}ie king's 
 tttireineut, matters would be so much the more dark and
 
 fragment of History relative to the Revolution. 
 
 perplexed, I resolved to go on, that I might be able to 
 give just accounts of things to my brethren here, from time 
 to time, and have the advice of English bishops, whom I 
 never doubted to find unalterably firm to their master's in- 
 terest. And as this was the occasion of my coming to Lon- 
 don, so by reason of the continuance of the bishop of Ork- 
 ney's illness, that difficult task fell to my share alone. 
 
 The next day after my arrival at London, I waited on the 
 archbishop of Canterbury,* (to whom I had the honour to be 
 known, some three years before) and after my presenting, 
 and his grace's reading, my commission, his grace said that 
 matters were very dark, and the cloud so thick or gross 
 that they could not see through it; they knew not well 
 what to do for themselves, and far less what advice to give 
 me ; that there was to be a meeting of bishops with him 
 that day, and desired me to see him a week thereafter. I 
 next waited on the then bishop of St. Asaph,f (being my ac- 
 quaintance also) who treated me in such a manner that I 
 could not but see through his inclinations ; wherefore 1 re- 
 solved to visit him no more, nor to address myself to any 
 others of that order, till I should have occasion to learn 
 something farther about them : wherefore the week there- 
 after I repaired again to Lambeth, and told his grace all that 
 had passed between St. Asaph and me, who smiling replied, 
 that St. Asaph was a good man, but an angry man, and 
 withal told me, that matters still continued dark, and that 
 it behoved me to wait the issue of their convention, which 
 he suspected was only that Avhich could give light, and 
 open the scene ; but withal desired me to come to him 
 from time to time, and if any thing occurred, he would sig- 
 nify it to me. In that wearisome season, (wearisome to me, 
 because acquainted with few, save those of our own coun* 
 trymen, and of those I knew not whom to trust) [ waited on 
 the bishop of London,^; and entreated him to speak to the 
 prince, to put a stop to the persecutions of our clergy, but 
 to no purpose. I was also with the then Dr. Burnet, upon 
 the same design, but with no success, who told me he did 
 not meddle in Scots affairs. I was also earnestly desired by 
 the bishop of London, and the then Viscount of Tarbat, and 
 some other Scots peers, to wait upon the prince, and to 
 present him with an address upon that head. I asked whe- 
 ther I or my address would readily meet with acceptance 
 or success, if it did not compliment the prince upon his 
 descent, to deliver us from popery and slavery ; they said 
 
 * Dr. Bancroft, f Dr - Lloyd. J Dr. Compton. E. 
 
 13
 
 118 Fragment of History relative to the Revolution. 
 
 that was absolutely necessary. I told them I was neither 
 instructed by my constituents to do so, neither had I my- 
 self clearness to do it, and that on these terms I neither 
 could nor would either visit or address his highness. In tiiat 
 season also, I had the honour to be acquainted, and several 
 times visited ihe worthy Dr. Turner, bishop of Ely, whose 
 conversation was very useful to me, and every way agree- 
 able. And besides these bishops already mentioned, I had 
 not the honour to be acquainted with any other, and thus 
 the whole time of the convention was passed off, excepting 
 what was spent in necessary duties, and visiting our country-? 
 men, even until the day the dark scene was opened by 
 the surprising vote of abdication ; on which I went over to 
 Lambeth. What passed there betwixt his grace and me (be- 
 ing all private) it is both needless and would be very tedi- 
 ous, and perchance not so very proper to write it. In the 
 close, I told his grace that I would make ready to go home, 
 and only wait on his grace once more before I took my 
 journey. 
 
 While I was making my visits of leave to my country- 
 men, I was surprizingly told that some two or three of 
 them, attempting to go home without passes, were the first 
 stag^ stopt upon the road, and that none were to expect 
 passes without waiting on the prince. Whereupon I re- 
 paired again to Lambeth, to have his grace's advice, who 
 considering the necessity of that compliment, agreed to my 
 making it. Upon my applying to the bishop of London to 
 introduce me, his lordship asked me whether I had any 
 thing to say to the king (so was the style in England then) : 
 I replied I had nothing to say, save that I was going for 
 Scotland, being a member of the convention; for I under- 
 stood that without waiting on the prince, (that being the 
 most coaimon Scots style) I could not have a pass, and that 
 without that, I must needs be stopt upon the road, as seve- 
 ral of my countrymen had been. His lordship asked me 
 again, saying, seeing the clergy have been, and are so 
 routed and barbarously treated by the Presbyterians, will 
 you not speak to the king to put a stop to that, and in fa- 
 vour of your own clergy? My reply was, that the prince 
 had been often applied to in that matter by several of the 
 nobility, and addressed also by the sufferers themselves, 
 and yet all to no purpose, wherefore I couid have no hopes 
 that my intercessions would be of any avail ; but if his lurd- 
 ship thought otherwise, I would not decline to make them. 
 His lordship asked me farther, whether^ny of our countrymen 
 would go along with me, and spoke particularly of sir George
 
 Fragment of History relative to the Revolution. 119 
 
 Mackenzie. I replied, I doubted nothing of that; where- r 
 upon his lordship bid me find him out, that both he and I 
 should be at court that day, against three in the afternoon, 
 and that he would surejy be there to introduce us; all 
 which (I having found sir George) imparted to him, who 
 liked it very well, and said it was a good occasion, and 
 wished that several of our nobility might be advertised by 
 us to be there also ; to which I replied, that I doubted 
 much, whether coming in a body, he (the prince) would 
 give us access; and that our nobility would be much 
 offended at us, if coming to court upon our invitation, ac- 
 cess should be denied them, and therefore I thought it best 
 that we alone should meet the bishop at the time ap- 
 pointed, and advise with him what was fit to be done ; which 
 was agreed to : and upon our meeting with the bishop, sir 
 George made that overture to his lordship, which he closing 
 with very warmly, said he would go into the king, and see 
 if he would appoint a time for the Scots episcopal nobility 
 and gentry to wait upon him in favour of the clergy of 
 Scotland, so sadly persecuted. Whereupon the bishop 
 leaving us in a room of Whitehall, near adjoining to the 
 place where the prince was, stayed above a full half-hour 
 from us, and upon his return told us, the king's answer was, 
 that he would not allow us to come to him in a body, lest 
 that might give jealousy and umbrage to the Presbyterians, 
 neither would he permit them (for the same reason) to come 
 to him in numbers ; and that he would not allow above two 
 of either party at a time to speak to him on church mat- 
 ters. 
 
 Then the bishop directing his discourse to me, said, My 
 lord, you see that the king, having thrown himself upon the 
 water, must keep himself a swimming with one hand. The 
 Presbyterians have joined him closely, and offer to support 
 him, and therefore he cannot cast them off, unless he could 
 see how otherwise he can be served. ' And the king bids 
 me tell you, that he knows the state of Scotland much 
 better than he did when he was in Holland ; for while there, 
 he was made believe that Scotland, generally all over, was 
 Presbyterians, but now he sees that the great body of the 
 nobility and gentry are for episcopacy, and it is the trading 
 and interior sort are for presbytery ; wherefore he bids me 
 tell you, that, if you will undertake to serve him to the pur- 
 pose that he is served here in England, he will take you by 
 the hand, support the church and order, and throw off the 
 Presbyterians. 
 
 My answer to this was, My lord, I cannot but thank the 
 
 I 4
 
 120 Fragment of History relative to the Revolution. 
 
 prince for his frankness and offer; but withal I must tell 
 your .ordship, that, when I came from Scotland, neither my 
 brethren nor I apprehended any such revolution as I have 
 seen now in England, and therefore I neither was, nor could 
 be, instructed by them what answer to make to the prince's 
 offer, and therefore what 1 say, is not in their name, but 
 only my private opinion; uhich is. mat I truly think they 
 will not serve the prince so as he is served in England, that 
 is, as I take it, to make him their king, nor give their suf- 
 ffage for his being king; and though as to this matter, I can 
 say nothing in their name, and as from them, yet for myself 
 I must say, that, rather than do so, I will abandon ail the j 
 interest that either I have, or may expect to have, in Bri- 
 tain. Upon this the bishop commended my openness and 
 ingenuity, and said he believed it was so; for, says he, all 
 the time you have been here, neither have you waited on 
 the king, nor have any of your brethren, the Scots bishops, 
 made any address to him, so the king must be excused for 
 standing by the Presbyterians. 
 
 Immediately upon this, the prince going somewhere 
 abroad, comes through our room, and sir George Macken- 
 zie takes leave of him, in very few words. I applied to the 
 bishop, and said, My lord, there is now no farther place for 
 application, in our church matters, and this opportunity for 
 taking leave of the prince is lost ; wherefore I beg that your 
 lordship would introduce me for that effect, if you can, 
 next day about ten or eleven in the forenoon, which his 
 lordship promised- and performed ; and upon my being ad- 
 mitted into the prince's presence, he came three or four 
 steps forward from his company, and prevented me, by 
 saying, My lord, are you going for Scotland ? My reply was, 
 Yes, sir, if yon have any commands for me. Then he said, 
 I hope you will be kind to me, and follow the example of 
 England ; wherefore being somewhat difficnlted how to 
 make a mannerly and discreet answer, without entangling 
 myself, I readily replied, Sir, I will serve you so far as law, 
 reason, or conscience will allow me. How this answer 
 pleased I cannot well tell, but it seems the limitations and 
 conditions of it were not acceptable, for instantly the prince, 
 without saying any more, turned away from me and went 
 back to his company. Considering what had passed the 
 day before, I was much surprised to find the prince accost 
 me in these terms ; hut I presume, that either the bishop 
 (not having time) had not acquainted him with what had 
 passed, or that the prince proposed to try what might be 
 jnade of me by the honour he did me of that immediate
 
 Fragment of History relative to the Revolution. 1 2 1 
 
 demand. And as that was the first, so it was the last time, 
 I had tne honour to speak with his highness. The things I 
 write were not only upon the matter, but in the self-same 
 individual words, that I have set them down. Whether 
 what the bishop of London delivered as from the prince, 
 was so, or not, I cannot certainly say ; but I think his lord- 
 ship's word was good enoug4i for that : or whether the 
 prince would have stood by his promise, of casting off the 
 Presbyterians and protecting us, in case we had come in to 
 bis interest, I will not determine; though this seems the 
 most probable to me, and that for these reasons: he had 
 the Prtsbyierians sure on his side, both from inclination and 
 interest, many of them having come oter with him, anu the 
 rest having appeared so warmly tor him, that with no good 
 grace, imaginable, could they return to king James's in- 
 terest ; next by gaining, as he might presume to gain, the 
 episcopal nobilit) and gentry, which he saw was a great 
 party, and consequently that king James would be deprived 
 of his principal support; then he saw what a hardship it 
 would be upon the church of England, and of what bad con- 
 sequence to see episcopacy ruined in Scotland ; who no 
 doubt would have vigorously interposed for us, if we by 
 our carriage could have been brought to justify their mea- 
 sures. 
 
 And I am the more confirmed in this, for after my coming 
 ilown here, my lord St. Amirew and I taking occasion to 
 wait on duke Hamilton, his grace told us, a day or two be- 
 fore the sitting down of the convention, that he had it in 
 special charge from king William, that nothing should be 
 done to the prejudice of episcopacy in Scotland, in case 
 the bishops could by any means be brought to befriend his 
 interest, and prayed us most pathetically for our own sake 
 to follow the example of the church of England ; to which 
 my lord St. Andrew replied, that both by natural allegiance, 
 the laws, and the most solemn oaths, we were engaged iu 
 the king's interest, and that we were by God's grace to 
 stand by it in the face of all dangers, and to the greatest 
 losses ; subjoining that his grace's quality and influence put 
 it in his hands to do his majesty the greatest service, and 
 himself the surest honour; and if he acted otherwise, it 
 might readily lie as a heavy tache and curse both upon him- 
 self and his family. I can say no more for want of paper, 
 save that I am as before. 
 
 ALEX. EDINB. 
 1774, April
 
 122 Account of King John's death. 
 
 
 XVIII. Account of King John's Death, from an ancient MS. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 I SEND you herewith, copied from an ancient MS. in my 
 possession, an account of the death of King John, which 
 Rapin rejects, (and his translator after him), because no 
 contemporary writer mentions the same, and on the impro- 
 bability of a man poisoning himself to be revenged of an- 
 other. A dissertator on the history of this reign however 
 (whose tract is added to the fifth volume of the last octavo 
 edition) gives very good reasons for receiving this account, 
 which (according to Mr. Tindal) is first mentioned in Eng- 
 lish by Caxton, a Monk. Whether this MS. history, which 
 is continued down to the beginning of the reign of Edward 
 the third, and comes with internal evidence of being the 
 production of a monkish writer, be written by that Caxton, 
 I leave to some of your ingenious correspondents to deter- 
 mine. 
 
 " The barons of Engelond had so highe partye and helpe 
 thursrh Lowvs the kvnq-es sone of Fraunce, that kynsr John 
 
 & i \ r " r n 
 
 wist not whider tor to tnrne, ne gone ; and so it relle, that 
 he wolde have gon to Nichole,* and as he wente thiderward 
 he come to the abbey of Swyneshened,f and ther he abode 
 ij dayes. And as he sat at mete, he axed a monke of the 
 hows, how meche a Icf was worth that was set byfore hym at 
 the table ; and the monke seide that the lof was worth but 
 an halfpenny. " O," quod he, " tho here is gret chepe of 
 breed ; now," quod the kyng, " & I may ly ve such a lof schal 
 be worth xxd. or half yeer be agon." And when he had 
 seyd this word mych he thoghte .& oft tyme siked, and 
 Home* & ete of the breed, and seyd, " be God, the word I 
 have spoke it schal be soth." The monke that stood before 
 the kyng, was for this woord fol sory in herte, antl thoghte 
 rathere he wold hymselfe souffre pilous deth, and thoght if 
 he myghte ordeigne therefore some maner remedye, And 
 anone the monke went to his abbot, & was schreven^ of 
 hym & told the abbot al that the kyng seyde, and prayed 
 his abbot for to assoyle|| him, for he wold geve the kyng 
 such a watsayii^f that all Engelond schuld be glad thereof, 
 
 * Lincoln. Rapin. ( Swines-head, or Swinstead. * took. 
 
 confessed by htm. || to give him absolution. 
 
 ^i Wat>ayll, wassail or wasst.!, a Saxon Phrase used on drinking healths, 
 literally signifying " Yoiu health;" from thence the bowl used on this occasion
 
 Memoirs of Richard Planta genet. 123 
 
 & joyfull. Tho went the monke into a gardyn, & fonde a 
 gret tode therin ; & nome her up, &, put her in a cuppe, 
 & filled it with good good ale, & prickked the tode thurgh 
 with a broche* meny tymes, tul that the venyme come out 
 in eche side, in to the cuppe. And tho nome the mppe & 
 broght it before the kyng, and knelyng seyde, " Sir," quod 
 he, "watsayli, tor never dayes of youre lyf ne dronk ye of 
 such a cuppe." *' The begynne, monke," quod the kyng; 
 & the mouke dranke a gret draught, & toke the kyng the 
 cuppe, the kyng also dranke a gret draught, and set doun 
 the cuppe. The monke anon right went into the feru;ery,t 
 & ther dide anon, on whos soule God have mercy. Amen. 
 And fyve monkes syngen for his soule speciallich,| & schul 
 while the abbey slant. The kyng aros up anon ful evyl at 
 ese, & commanded to remove the table, and axed after the 
 monke, and men told him that he was dede, for his wombe 
 was broke in sunder. When the kyng herd this tydynge 
 he commanded for to trusse, but al it was for noght for his 
 bely began so to swelle for the drynk that he drank, that he 
 dide withinne ij dayes aftir in the castell of Newerk, and his 
 body was y bury eel at Wynchestre." 
 
 J 7 85, March, 
 
 XIX. Memoirs of Richard Plantagenet, (a natural Son of King 
 Richard III.) who died 22d Dec. 1550, (4-. Edw, VI.) In a Let- 
 ter from Dr. Thomas Brett to Dr. William Warren, President 
 of Trinity Hall. * 
 
 DEAR WILL, 
 
 * * * * Now for the story of Richard Plantagenet. 
 In the year 1720, (I have forgot the particular day, only 
 remember it was about Michaelmas) I waited on the late 
 lord Heneage, earl of Winchelsea, at Eastwell-house, and 
 found him sitting with the register of the parish of Eastwell 
 lying open before him. He told me, that he had been 
 looking there to see who of his own family were mentioned 
 in it. But, says he, I have a curiosity here to show you. 
 
 was called a wassel-bowl. John being descended from the Saxon race of 
 kings, the monk's address on this occasion was peculiarly flattering, and may 
 be supposed very pleasing to the king. 
 
 * A spit, or any sharp instrument. It is a French word. 
 
 f The Infirmary. J Specially appointed. 
 
 It should be Worcester.
 
 124 Memoirs of Richard Plantagcntf. 
 
 And then shewed me, and I immediately transcribed it int 
 ray almanack, " Richard Plantagenet was buryed the 22d 
 daye of December, anno ut supra. Ex Registro de East- 
 well, sub anno 1550." This is all the register mentions of 
 biia ; so that we cannot say, whether he was buried in 
 the church or church-yard ; nor is there now any other me- 
 morial of him except the tradition in the family, and some 
 little marks where his House stood. The story my lord told 
 me was this : 
 
 When sir Thomas Moyle built that house, (Eastwell- 
 Place) he observed his chief bricklayer, whenever he left 
 off work retired with a book. Sir Thomas had curiosity to 
 know what book the man read ; but was some time before 
 he could discover it; he still putting the book up if any 
 one came toward him. However, at last, sir Thomas sur- 
 prised him, and snatched the book from him, and looking 
 into it found it to be Latin. Hereupon, he examined him, 
 and finding he pretty well understood that language, he in- 
 quired, how he came by his learning : hereupon, the man 
 told him, as he had been a good master to him, he would 
 venture to trust him with a secret he had never before re- 
 vealed to any one. He then informed him, that he was 
 boarded with a Latin school-master, without knowing who 
 his parents were, till he was fifteen or sixteen years old : 
 only a gentleman (who took occasion to acquaint him he 
 was no relation to him) came once a quarter, and paid for 
 his board, and took care to see that ne wanted nothing. 
 And, one day, this gentleman took him, and carried him to 
 a fine great house, where he passed through several stately 
 rooms, in one of which he left him, bidding him stay . 
 there. 
 
 Tiien a man, finely drest with a star and garter, came to 
 him ; asked him some questions, talked kindly to him, and 
 gave him some money. Then the fore-mentioned gentle- 
 man returned, and conducted him back to his school. 
 
 Some time after, the same gentleman came to him again, 
 with a horse and proper accoutrements, and told him, he 
 must take a journey with him into the country. They went 
 into Leicestershire, and came to Bosworth field ; and he 
 was carried to king Richard III.'s tent. The king embraced 
 him, and told him he was his son. " But, child," says he, 
 "to-morrow I must fight for my crown. And, assure your- 
 self, if I lose that, I will lose my life too : but 1 hope to 
 preserve both. Do you stand in such a place, (directing 
 him to a particular place) where you may see the battle, 
 out of danger. And when I have gained the victory, come
 
 Memoirs of Richard Plantagenet. \<2 
 
 to me; 1 will then own you to be mine, and take care of you. 
 But, if I should be so unfortunate as to lose the battle, then 
 *hift as well as you can, and take care to let nobody knoir 
 that I am your father; for no mercy will be shewed to any 
 one so nearly related to me." Then the king gave him a 
 purse of gold, and dismissed him. 
 
 He followed the king's directions. And, when he saw 
 the battle was lost, and the king killed, he hasted to Lon- 
 don, sold his horse and fine clothes ; and the better to con- 
 ceal himself from all' suspicion of being son to a king, and 
 that he might have means to live by his honest labour, he 
 put himself apprentice to a bricklayer. But, having a com- 
 petent skill in the Latin tongue, he was unwilling to lose it; 
 and having an inclination also to reading, and no delight in 
 the conversation of those he was obliged to work with, he 
 generally spent all the time he had to spare in reading by 
 himself. 
 
 Sir Thomas said, " You are now old, and almost past your 
 iabour; I will give yon the running of my kitchen as long as 
 you live." He answered, " Sir, you have a numerous 
 family ; I have been used to live retired ; give me leave to 
 build a house of one room for myself, in such a field, and 
 there, with your good leave. I will live and die." Sir Thomas 
 granted his request; he built his house, and there continued 
 to his death. 
 
 I suppose (though my lord did not mention it) that he went 
 to eat in the family, and then retired to his hut. My lord 
 said, that there was no park at that time; but when the park 
 was made, tliat house was taken into it, and continued stand- 
 ing till his (my lord's) father pulled it down. " But," said 
 my lord, " I would as soon have pulled down this house;" 
 meaning Eaatwell-plaee. 
 
 I have been computing the age of this Richard Plantage- 
 net when he died, and find it to be about 81. For Richard 
 III. was killed August 23, 1485, (which subtracted from 
 155O, there remains 65) to which add 16 (for the age of 
 Richard Plantagenet at that time), and it makes 81, But, 
 though he lived to that age, he could scarcely enjoy his re- 
 tirement in his little house above two or three years, or a 
 little more. For I find by Phiipot, that sir Thomas Moyle 
 did not purchase the estate of Eastwell, till about the year 
 1 543 or 4. We may therefore reasonably suppose, that, upon 
 his building a new house on his purchase, be could not 
 come to live in it till I54o, but that his workmen were con- 
 tinued to build the walls about his gardens, and other con- 
 off from ihe bouse. And till he came to live in
 
 12d Story of Richard Plantagenet authenticated. 
 
 the house, he could not well have an opportunity of observ- 
 ing how Richard Plantagenet retired with his book. So 
 that it was probably towards the latter end of the year 1,546, 
 when Richard and -Sir Thomas had the fore-mentioned dia- 
 logue together. Consequently, Richard could not build his 
 house, and have it dry enough for him to live in, till the vear 
 1547- So that he must be 77 or 78 years of age before he 
 had his \\ritofease. * * * 
 
 I am, 
 Dear Brother Will, 
 
 Your humble Servant, 
 
 THO. BRETT. 
 Spring Grove, Sept. 1, 1733. 
 
 The Story of Richard Plantagenet authenticated. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 THE anecdote concerning Richard Plantagenet, natural 
 son of our king Richard III. reprinted in your last magazine 
 from Mr. Peck's Desiderata Curiosa, I observe, has been 
 from thence republished in some of the evening papers. 
 A gentleman, however, who signs R. T. in the St. James's 
 Chronicle of August 8, seems to entertain some doubt con- 
 cerning the authenticity of that story, for he says, " At 
 that time (that is, when the Desiderata Curiosa were pub- 
 lished) I was informed that there was not the least founda- 
 tion for the story, the whole being forged with a view to 
 impose upon the credulity of Mr. Peck, by a person who 
 certainly succeeded, if that was his design." Now, Sir, Dr. 
 Thomas Brett, of Spring Grove, near Eastwell, was the 
 person that penned the story, or that first put down the 
 traditionary account in writing, with a view of obliging his 
 countryman, Dr. William Warren, who was then fellow of 
 Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and there resident. Dr. Brett 
 and Dr. Warren, both of whom I well know, were very se- 
 rious men, and incapable of forming a design of imposing 
 upon any body, in a point of history especially, and this is 
 no more than a piece of justice which I owe to their irre- 
 proachable characters. The gentleman goes on, " the truth 
 of the relation may be easily established, or refuted, by 
 searching into the register of Eastwell ; and therefore if 
 any of your correspondents will give themselves the trouble 
 of inquiring into the reality of this strange and improbable 
 story, it will be esteemed a particular favour by your con- 
 stant reader," &c. If by the reality of the story, he means 
 the whole of the anecdote., I profess 1 can neither give, nor
 
 Body found at RtaiUng, not that of Henry I. 1C7 
 
 procure any further account of Richard Plantagenet than 
 what Dr. Brett has given, the parties being long since dead; 
 and can onlv say, that when 1 lived in the neighbourhood 
 of Eastwell, which I did many years, the tradition very cur- 
 rently ran, as the doctor lias delivered it; but if R, T. will 
 be content with a literal extract from the old register of 
 Eastwell, concerning 'the person in question, I aui ready to 
 oblige him in that, by assuring him, that 1 copied verbatim, 
 above thirty years ago the following entry from thence. 
 
 ' Richard Plantagenet was buryed the 2 L 2d daye of De- 
 cember anno ut supra,' i. e. 1550. 
 
 All I shall farther say, is, and this I think may give some 
 satisfaction, that Uichard III. certainly had a bastard son of 
 the name of Richard, see Mr. Drake's Eboracum, p. 117, 
 where you will find, that he was knighted, when a youth, 
 by his rather, at York. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Yours, 
 
 T. Row.* 
 
 SIR, Aug. 10th, 1767. 
 
 How true the story of Richard Plantagenet may be, I 
 cannot say; but the words of the register of Eastwell, are 
 exactly as quoted by Dr. Brett. It is also remarkable, that 
 in the same register, whenever any of noble family was bu- 
 ried, this V mark is pj-efixed to the name; and the same 
 mark is put to that of Richard Plantagenet. 
 
 P. PARSONS, 
 
 Rector of Eastwell. 
 1767, July y Aug. 
 
 XX. Body lately found at Reading, not that of Henry I. 
 
 MR. URBAN, ' Dec. 1(5. 
 
 I WAS much surprised, in reading your last magazine, to 
 find a letter from on.e of your correspondents, who signs 
 himself F. Pigott, in which he laments a sacrilege commit- 
 ted on the supposed bones of King Henry I. which were 
 some time since dug up amidst the ruins of Reading Abr 
 bey. I have hitherto been withheld from troubling you 
 with my remarks on that circumstance, by a consciousness 
 
 [* The papers with this signature, as well as with that of I'au 
 are from the pen of the late Ke. Dr. Samuel Peggc. E.}
 
 128 Body found at Heading, not that (f Henry I. 
 
 of the little skill I possess in antiquarian researches : nor 
 should I now have ventured to assert my opinion against 
 one so much my superior both in years and knowledge as 
 Mr. P. did not that gentleman's mis-information, and his 
 mis-statement of facts, arising probably from that cause, 
 render some answer indispensably necessary. 
 
 Mr. P. informs us, that, " in digging a foundation for a 
 house of correction, on the spot where the old abbey stood, 
 a vault was Discovered, the only one there, and which was 
 of curious workmanship ; that in the vault was a leaden 
 coffin, almost devoured by time; that a perfect skeleton was 
 contained therein, which undoubtedly was the king's, from 
 the distinguished appearance of the coffin, and the vault in 
 which it was interred, and more particularly from several 
 fragments of rotten leather found in the coffin, the body of 
 that king being said to have been wrapped in tanned ox- 
 hides." If it should be proved that these assertions of 
 Mr. P. are well-founded, and that it really was the body of 
 the king, no one, I trust, will hesitate to join with him in 
 condemning ihe sacrilege he mentions; but if, on the con- 
 trary, it should appear that there is every reason to believe 
 them groundless, there will be little need for those lamenta- 
 tions which Mr. P. has so liberally poured forth. 
 
 A leaden coffin was indeed dug up about eighteen inches 
 beneath the surface. But no appearance whatever of a 
 vault was discovered. I was myself at Reading a few days 
 after, and saw the spot where it was taken up. The whole 
 breadth of the chasm could not be more than two feet, and 
 there was nothing which could lead to a supposition that 
 there ever had been a vault. This intelligence is confirmed 
 by a friend, who was himself a spectator, and who has since, 
 at my request, made particular inquiries on the spot. As 
 Mr. P. has adduced the vault as an argument that it really 
 was the body of Henry 1. if no vault was discovered, the 
 argument will at least be of equal force, that it was not his 
 body. All writers agree that he was buried with great 
 state. " Corpus regium de Normannia ad Radingum allatum 
 est, et aromatibus conditum, et post Ires menses solenniter 
 in eadern ecclesia, cjuam ipse a fundamentis construxerar, 
 venerabilem sepulturam, quam vivus posuit, prsesente rege 
 Stephano cum multis magnatibus, accepit." Mattk. West- 
 miitst. p. 35. fol. Lond. 1570. " Cadaver regis apud Ra- 
 dingum, in ecclesia, quam ipse fundaverat, regaliter est se- 
 pttltum, prassentibtis arehiepiscopis, episeopis, et magnati- 
 bus regni." Math. Paris, p. 74, ed. Wats. Lond. 1640. 
 <* Corpus deportatur ad Redytigium oppidum, magnaquc
 
 Body found at Reading, not that of Henry I. 129 
 
 funeral! pompa sepulturee datur." Potydore Vergil, p. 193, 
 ed. Basil. 1534. It is not therefore improbable, as so much 
 ceremony was used in his funeral, that it should be ex- 
 tended also to the place, and that he should be laid in 
 something better than a common grave, especially as we 
 find mention made of his tomb : Pat. 21 Ric. II. p. 3. m. 16, 
 " confirm, libertatum, modo abbas intra unum annum ho- 
 neste repararet tumbam et imaginem regis Henrici funda- 
 toris ibidem humati." Tann. Notitia Monastica, p. I 5. Lond. 
 1744. 
 
 There is another circumstance which makes still more 
 against it. He is said, by writers of good authority, to have 
 been buried in the church. " His bodie was conveied into 
 England, and buried at Reading, within the abbey church 
 which he had founded." Holinsh. Chron. vol. III. p. 45. 
 11 This town king Henry I. most stately beautified with a 
 rich monastery, where, in the collegiate church of the ab- 
 bey, himself and queene (who both lay veiled and crowned,) 
 with their daughter Maud the empresse, called the lady of 
 England, were interred, as the private history of the place 
 avoucheth, though others bestow the bodies of these two 
 queenes elsewhere." Speed's Theatre of the Empire of 
 Great Britain, p. 27, ed. Lond. 1614. One writer specifies 
 the spot as before the altar : " Corpus itaque Radingas de- 
 latutn cum honore debito in ipsa ecclesia ante altare sepul- 
 tum est." Gervase of Cant. v. Jfistoria Anglia Scn'ptores 
 Decent) p. 1340, ed. Lond. 1652. From these evidences, 
 and from other conclusions, there appears every reason to 
 believe that he was buried there. Now, by the plan of this 
 church, ingeniously and accurately traced by sir Henry En- 
 glefield, bart. v. Archaologia, vol. VI. p. 61, it appears, that 
 the extreme boundary on the eastern side is at the distance 
 of about 180 feet from the piece of wall, against which a 
 small house is built. The distance of the spot where the 
 coffin was dug up from the above-mentioned piece of wall is 
 about 240 feet towards the east, and about 24 towards the 
 south, which can never have been within the limits of the 
 church. 
 
 The accounts of the fragments of rotten leather, I own, 
 stumbled me much. I found your correspondent's informa- 
 tion, that Henry I. was wrapped in tanned ox-hides, con- 
 firmed by almost every writer who has mentioned his death. 
 
 This appeared to carry much weight with it, and, of cir- 
 cumstantial evidences, was indeed one of the strongest that 
 could be adduced. I accordingly applied to a friend on the 
 
 VOL, r. K
 
 130 Body found at Reading, not that of Henry I. 
 
 spot to send me the most minute intelligence with respect 
 to the leather; and from his letter, which is now before 
 me, it is plain they can have no authority in the present 
 question. I will give you his own words : " So far from the 
 pieces of leather giving an indication of its being Henry I. 
 that the plumber assured me those pieces were the rem- 
 nants of an old slipper, which though perfect when disco- 
 vered, crumbled to pieces as soon as touched, and left no- 
 thing of its shape and form but the stitches, which were 
 very discernible." His account of the coffin is, that it was 
 about eight feet long, seven inches high, roofed, at the top, 
 the ridge fluted, and remarkably thiclK with lead ; that the 
 lid was ornamented with a few studs in form of diamonds; 
 that there was an inscription in brass, which was sent to the 
 Antiquarian Society, undistinguishable except the two ini- 
 tial letters, which the plumber does not now recollect. He 
 further adds, that the skull was examined by a very skilful 
 and experienced surgeon of Reading, who gave it as his 
 opinion, that it was of a young person under thirty years of 
 age ; and that the plumber assured him he had not the least 
 idea that it could be the coffin of Henry 1. from the 
 state of the lead, which was cast in the modern manner, as 
 they had not at that time attained to so great perfection in 
 casting it. 
 
 There seems, therefore, every reason to suppose that it 
 was not the body of Henry I. It is probable he was buried in 
 a vault; but no vault was here discovered : the spot where 
 the coffin was found by no means agrees with the place of 
 his burial, mentioned by historians ; the fragments of rotten 
 leather, the only argument which seemed to be of weight, 
 are proved to have no authority : and, from other appear- 
 ances, there are evident marks both of a later date, and of a 
 younger person. Perhaps also the length of the coffin may 
 be some proof against it, as Henry is said to have been of 
 middling stature. 
 
 But there is another circumstance, which, if true, will put 
 the matter past all doubt. It is expressly said by Sandford, 
 that at the Reformation, his tomb was destroyed, and his 
 bones thrown out ; " But well might the memory thereof 
 (his monument) perish, and be buried in the rubbish of 
 oblivion, when the bones of this prince could not enjoy re- 
 pose in his grave (not more happy in a quiet sepulchre than 
 the two Norman Williams, his father and brother,) but were 
 (upon the suppression of the religious houses in the reign of 
 king Henry VIII.) thrown out, to make room for a stable of
 
 Body found at Reading, not that of Henry I. 131 
 
 horses, and the whole monastery converted to a dwelling- 
 house. He then quotes these verses, which are also in 
 Camden, 
 
 " Heeccine sed pietas ? heu ! dira piacula, primum 
 Neustrius Henricus situs hie inglorius urna, 
 Nunc jacet ejectus, tumulum novus advena quaerit 
 Frustra ; nam regi tenues invidit arenas 
 Auri sacra fames, regum metuenda sepulchris." 
 
 Sandford's Geneal. Hist. p. 28, Lond. 1683. Camden 
 p. 143, ed. Gibson, Lond. 1695. 
 
 We know how the intolerant zeal of the reformers ope- 
 rated, when the most stately abbeys, and the most venera- 
 ble remains of ancient architecture, were laid without dis- 
 tinction in the general ruin. The abbey of Reading in par- 
 ticular bears marks of the most unwearied industry em- 
 ployed in its destruction. One of the principal charges 
 against the duke of Somerset, under whom others relate 
 this abbe} 7 was destroyed, is his fury in the demolition of 
 tombs. Several writers expressly confirm the fact of the 
 demolition of that of Henry I. It is not, therefore, proba- 
 ble that the rage of the destroyers would stop here ; that 
 they would spare the bones of him whose tomb they were 
 demolishing, and whose edifices they were levelling in the 
 dust. 
 
 In discoveries like the present, where any thing curious 
 is expected, it is impossible to restrain the minus of the 
 common people, who will infallibly take those steps by 
 which most money may be obtained. It is not therefore 
 wonderful if many of the bones were taken away, with the 
 hopes of selling them as valuable remains, and the coffin 
 immediately disposed of. Your correspondent, however, 
 may rest satisfied with this assurance, that, as soon as the 
 thing was known, there was an immediate order from the 
 mayor that no bones should be carried away, and that they 
 were most of them peaceably deposited again with the rest 
 that were dug up. As to the coffin, as it had nothing re- 
 markable in it, its loss is not much to be lamented. The 
 end of all antiquities seems to be, by collecting the remains 
 of our ancestors, to obtain more certain information con- 
 cerning them, to mark their progress in arts and science, 
 and, by an attentive survey of their productions, to strike 
 out improvements for the benefit of the living. Those an- 
 tiquities, therefore, which are regarded merely for their an- 
 tiquity, are of little intrinsic value. If they elucidate no 
 
 K2
 
 132 Testimony of Clement JUaydastone, <Sfc. 
 
 point in history, if they tend not to ascertain the state of 
 ancient manners or of ancient art, mankind will be little the 
 better for them. They may at first be regarded with some 
 degree of enthusiasm ; but that will be confined to the an- 
 tiquary himself, and with him it will soon subside, when the 
 mind is at leisure to consider their uselessness. 
 
 I readily agree with your correspondent in his encomiums 
 on the late Mr. Spicer; but he is much mistaken if he thinks 
 there are not still many gentlemen in Reading, who would 
 be equally active in preventing any thing that bore the ap- 
 pearance of the sacrilege he mentions. 
 
 Mr. P. is guilty of a little mistake in mentioning Henry 
 the First's death as on the second of September. He will 
 find it corrected in the note at the bottom of page 199, 
 vol. I. of Ilapin, ed. Lond. 1732. John Brompton, Matthew 
 of Paris, Henry of Huntingdon, and Roger Hoveden, say 
 December the first ; Matthew of Westminster, and Gervase 
 of Canterbury, Dec. 2. The fact is, he died at midnight, 
 Dec. 1. which might easily occasion this variation. " Ca- 
 lendas Decembris qua nocte decessit." William of Malms- 
 bury. Vide Rerum AngL Script, post Bedam, p. 100, ed. 
 Lond. 1596. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 JUVENIS. 
 
 1786, January. 
 
 XXI. The Testimony of Clement Maydcstone, that the Body of 
 King- Henry IV. was thrown into the Thames, and not buried 
 at Canterbury. Translated from a Latin Manuscript in the Li- 
 bray of Bene't College, Cambridge. 
 
 THIRTY days after the death of Henry IV,* one of his 
 domestics came to the house of the Holy Trinity, in Houns- 
 low, and dined there. And as the by-standers were talking 
 at dinner-time of that king's irreproachable morals, this man 
 said to a certain esquire, named Thomas Maydestone, then 
 sitting at a table, " Whether he was a good man or not, God 
 knows ; but of this I am certain, that when his corpse was 
 carried from Westminster towards Canterbury, in a small 
 vessel, in order to be buried there, 1 and two more, threw" 
 
 * Henry IV. died Sept. 1 4, 1412.
 
 Testimony of Clement Maydestone, Sfc. 133 
 
 his corpse into the sea, between Berkingham and Graves- 
 end. And (he added with an oath) we were overtaken by 
 such a storm of winds ancl waves, that many of the nobility, 
 who followed us in eight ships, were dispersed, so as with 
 difficulty to escape being lost. But we, who were with the 
 body, despairing of our lives, with one consent threw it into 
 the sea; and a great calm ensued. The coffin in which it 
 lay, covered with cloth of gold, we carried with great so- 
 lemnity to Canterbury, and buried it. The monks of 
 Canterbury, therefore say, that the tomb, not the body, 
 of Henry IV. is with us. As Peter said of holy David, 
 Acts ii." 
 
 As God Almighty is my witness and judge, I saw this man, 
 and heard him swear to my father, Thomas Maydestone, 
 that all the above was true. 
 
 1767, July. CLEMENT MAYDESTONE. 
 
 Testimommn Henrici Quart! Corpus fuisse in Thamesin pro- 
 jectuin et non tumulatum Cantuariae. (MSS. C.C.C.C. 
 M. 14, 197.) 
 
 " Post mortem ejusdem regis accidit quoddam mirabile 
 ad pracdicti Domini Richard! Archipnesulis gloriarh decla- 
 randam et acternoe memoria3 commendandam. Nam infra 
 triginta dies post mortem regis Henrici Quart! venit quidem 
 vir de familia ejusdem ad dorrium Sanctae Trinitatis de 
 Houndeslovve, vescendi causa; et cum in prandio sermoni- 
 zarent circumstantes de probitate morum ipsius regis, re- 
 spondet praedictus vir cnidani armigero vocato Thomae de 
 Maydestone, in eadcm mensa tune sedenti, si fuerit vir bo- 
 nus novit Deus, sed hoc scio verissime quod cum a West- 
 mon' corpus ejus versus Cantuariam in parva navicula porta- 
 retur ibidem sepeliendum, ego fuj unus de tribus personis qui 
 projecerunt corpus ejus in mare inter Berkingham et Graves- 
 end ; et (addidit cum juramento) tanta tempestas ventorum 
 et fluctuurn irruit super nos, quod mult! nobiles sequentes 
 nos in naviculis, octo in numero, dispersi sunt, ut vix mortis 
 periculum evaserunt; nos vero qui eramus cum corpore in 
 desperatione vitae nostrae positi, cum assensu projecimus 
 illud in mare, et facta est tranquillitas magna : cistam vero 
 in qua jacebat panno deaurato coopertam cum maximo ho- 
 nore Cantuariam deportavimus, et sepelivimus earn. Di- 
 cunt ergo monacbi Cantuarisc quod sepulchrum regis Hen- 
 rici Quart! est apud nos, non corpus ; sicut dixit Petru de 
 S'to David, Act. ij. 
 
 K3
 
 13.4 Burial Garlands. 
 
 Dens omnipotens est testis et judex quod ego Clemens 
 Maydestone vidi virum ilium, et audivi ipsum jurantem pa 
 tri meo Thomas Maydestone omnia pra?dicta fore vera," 
 
 1794, Nov. 
 
 XXII. An Hour-glass found in a Coffin. 
 SIR, 
 
 IN June, 1718, as I was walking into the fields, I slopt in 
 Clerkenwell church-yard to see a grave-digger at work. 
 He had dug pretty deep, and was come to a coffin, which 
 had lain so long that it was quite rotten, and the plate eaten so 
 with rust, that he could not read any thing of the inscrip- 
 tion. In clearing away the rotten pieces of wood, the 
 grave-digger found an hour-glass close to the left side of 
 the skull, with sand in it, the wood of which was so rot- 
 ten that it broke where he took hold of it. Being a lover of 
 antiquity, I bought it of him, and took a draught of it as it 
 then appeared : some time after, mentioning this affair in 
 company of some antiquarians, they told me, that it was an 
 ancient custom to put an hour-glass into the coffin, as an 
 emblem of the sand of life being run out; others conjec- 
 tured, that little hour-glasses were anciently given at fune- 
 rals, like rosemary, and by the friends of the dead, put in 
 the coffin, or thrown into the grave. I send you also one of 
 the glasses, (being two inches and a half high, and two 
 inches greatest diameter), which you will observe to be tar- 
 nished by lying in the earth, and to have various colours, if 
 held so as that the light may be reflected from it to the 
 eye. 
 
 Yours, 
 
 W. P. 
 1746, Dec. 
 
 
 XXIII. Of BURIAL GARLANDS, 
 SIR, 
 
 BEING a constant reader of your instructive, as well as di- 
 verting magazine, I take the liberty to present you with 
 some remarks on a passage in that of December last, which
 
 Burial Garlands. 1 35 
 
 gives an account of an hour-glass, found in a grave in Clerken- 
 weli church-yard; and that some antiquarians suppose, that 
 it was an ancient custom to put an hour-glass into the coffin, 
 as an emblem of the sand of life being run out; others con- 
 jectured that little hour-glasses were anciently given at fu- 
 nerals, like rosemary, and by the friends of the dead put in 
 the coffin or the grave. 
 
 But I fear neither of these customs can be proved by the 
 works of any authentic author; besides, had such been thg 
 use or custom, certainly these glasses, or at Jeast fragments 
 of them, would be more frequently discovered. Give me 
 leave, Sir, therefore, to offer what I flatter myself will seem 
 a more probable reason for the hour glass's interment. 
 
 In this nation (as well as others) by the abundant zeal of 
 our ancestors, virginity was held in great estimation ; inso- 
 much that those which died in that state were rewarded, at 
 their deaths, with a garland or crown on their heads, denot- 
 ing their triumphant victory over the Justs of the flesh. 
 Nay, this honour was extended even to a widow that had 
 enjoyed but one husband (saith Weaver in his Fun. Mon. 
 p. 12.). And, in the year 1733, the present clerk of the pa- 
 rish church of Bromley in Kent, by his digging a grave in 
 that church-yard, close to the east end of the chancel wall, 
 dug up one of these crowns, or garlands, which is most arti- 
 ficially wrought in fillagree work with gold and silver wire, 
 in resemblance of myrtle (with which plant the funebrial 
 garlands of the ancients were composed,*) whose leaves are 
 fastened to hoops of larger wire of iron, now something cor- 
 roded with rust, but both the gold and silver remain to this 
 time very little different from their original splendor. It was 
 also lined with cloth of silver, a piece of which, together 
 with part of this curious garland, I keep as a choice relic 
 of antiquity. 
 
 Besides these crowns, the ancients had also their deposi- 
 tory garlands, the use of which were continued even till of 
 late years (and perhaps are still retained in many parts of 
 this nation, for my own knowledge of these matters extends 
 not above twenty or thirty miles round London) which gar- 
 lands, at the funerals of the deceased, were carried solemnly 
 before the corpse by two maids, and afterwards hung up in 
 some conspicuous place within the church, in memorial of 
 the departed person, and were (at least all that I have seen) 
 
 * Sir Thomas Brown's Misc. Tracts, p. '29. 
 K4
 
 1 36 fiitrial Garlands. 
 
 made after the following manner, viz. the lower rim or 
 circlet was a broad hoop of wood, w hereunto was fixed, at 
 the sides thereof, part of two other hoops crossing each 
 other at the top, at right angles, which formed the upper 
 part, heing about one-third longer thtm the width ; these 
 hoops were wholly covered with artificial flowers of paper, 
 dyed horn, or silk, and more or less beauteous, according tq 
 the skill or ingenuity of the performer. In the vacancy of 
 the inside, from the top, hung while paper, cut in form of 
 gloves, whereon was wrote the deceased's name, age, &c t 
 together with long slips of various coloured paper, or rib- 
 bons. These were many times intermixed with gilded or 
 painted empty shells of blown eggs, as farther ornaments ; 
 or, it may be, as emblems of the bubbles or bitterness of 
 this life; whilst other garlands had only a solitary hour- 
 glass hanging therein, as a more significant symbol qf mor- 
 tality. 
 
 About forty years ago, these garlands grew much out of 
 repute, and were thought, by many, as very unbecoming de- 
 corations for so sacred a place as the church ; and at the re- 
 paration, or new beautifying several churches where I have 
 been concerned, I was obliged, by order of the minister and 
 churchwardens, to take the garlands down, and the inhabi- 
 tants were strictly forbidden to hang up any more for the 
 future. Yet notwithstanding, several people, unwilling to 
 forsake their ancient arid delightful custom, continued still 
 the making of them, and they were carried at the funerals, 
 as before, to the grave, and put therein, upon the coffin, over 
 the face of the dead ; this I have seen done in many places. 
 Now I doubt not but such a garland, with an hour-glass, was 
 thus placed in the grave at Clerkenwell, which at the rotting 
 and falling in of the lid of the coffin, must consequently be 
 found close to the skull, as that was said to be, and the 
 wooden frame of the glass being but of slender substance 
 must needs have long since decayed, had it not been in great 
 measure secured from moisture within the hollow part of the 
 garland, though the thread that beld it might m a short time 
 let it slip down to the coffin's lid. 
 
 Thus, Sir, I have given you my thoughts of your Clerken- 
 well hour-glass, although there may be several things found 
 in graves not so easily accounted for: as in digging a grave, 
 anno 1720, for one Mr. William Clements, in Nockholt 
 church-yard, in this county, were found deep in the earth 
 several rolls of brimstone ; and last year was dug out of a 
 grave at Wilmington near Dartford, a quantity of Henry
 
 Saron Idols worshipped in England. \ 37 
 
 the Illd's coins, the particular account of which, I intend 
 shall be the subject of another letter if it will be any ways 
 entertaining or acceptable to your readers; the which 
 be a great pleasure to, 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient, 
 
 Bromley in Kent. 8. ! 
 
 1747, June. 
 
 XXIV. Saxon Idols worshipped in England, whence the names of 
 our days are derived. 
 
 THE Idol of the Sun, from which Sunday is derived, 
 among the Latins dies Solis, was placed in a temple and 
 adored and sacrificed to; for they believed that the sun did 
 co-operate with this idol. He was represented like a man 
 half naked, with his face like the sun, holding a burning 
 wheel with both hands on his breast, signifying his course 
 round the world; and by its fiery gleams, the light and heat 
 wherewith he warms and nourishes all things. 
 
 2. The Idol of the Moon, from which cometli our Mon- 
 day, dies Luna, anciently Moonday : this idol appears 
 strangely singular, being habited in a short coat like a man: 
 her holding a moon, expresses what she is, but the reason 
 of her short coat and long-eared cap is lost in oblivion. 
 
 3. Tuisco, the most ancient and peculiar god of the Ger- 
 mans, represented in his garment of a skin, according to 
 their ancient manner of clothing; next to the sun and 
 moon, they paid their adoration to this idol, and dedicated 
 tl*e next day to him ; from which our Tuesday is derived, 
 anciently Tuisday, called in Latin dies Mortis. But this idol 
 is very unlike Mars, whom Woden much nearer resembles 
 than he does Mercury. 
 
 4. Woden was a valiant prince among the Saxons ; his 
 image was prayed to for victory over their enemies, which 
 if they obtained, they usually sacrificed the prisoners taken 
 in battle to him. Our Wednesday is derived from him, an- 
 ciently Wodensday. The northern histories make him the 
 father of Thor, and Friga to be his wife. 
 
 5. Thor was placed in a large hall, sitting on a bed, ca- 
 nopied over, with a crown of gold on his head, and twelve 
 stars over it, holding a sceptre in the right hand ; to him 
 was attributed the power over both heaven and earth, and,
 
 1 38 Human bones found filled with lead. 
 
 that as he was pleased or displeased, he could send thunder, 
 tempests, plagues, &c. or fair seasonable weather, and cause 
 fertility. From him our Thursday derives its name, an- 
 ciently Thorsday ; among the Romans, dies Jovis, as this idol 
 may be substituted for Jupiter. 
 
 6. Fiiga ; this idol represented both sexes, holding a 
 drawn sword in the right hand, and a bow in the left, denot- 
 ing that women as well as men should fight in time of need : 
 she was generally taken for a goddess, and was reputed the 
 giver of peace and plenty, and causer of love and amity. 
 Her day of worship was called by the Saxons, Frigedaeg, 
 now Friday, dies Veneris; but the habit and weapons of this 
 figure have a resemblance of Diana rather than Venus. 
 
 7. Sealer or Crodo, stood on the prickly back of a perch : 
 he was thin-visageti, and long-haired, with a long beard, 
 bare-headed, and bare-footed, carrying a pail of water in 
 his right hand, wherein are fruit and flowers ; and holding 
 up a wheel in his left ; and his coat tied with a long girdle: 
 his standing on the sharp fins of this fish, signified to the 
 Saxons, that by worshipping him they should pass through 
 all dangers unhurt; by his girdle flying both ways was 
 shewn the Saxons' freedom, and by the pail with fruit and 
 flowers, was denoted that he would nourish the earth. 
 From him, or from the Roman deity Saturn, conies Satur- 
 day. 
 
 174-8, Nov. 
 
 XXV. Human Bones found filled with Lead. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 IN digging a vault, very lately, in the parish church of 
 Axminster in the county of Devon, were found several bones 
 of a human body, very ponderous, which, when opened, 
 appeared to be full of lead, particularly the thigh bone. 
 This, so surprising a thing, has puzzled the most curious in 
 those parts. You are, therefore, desired to give this a place 
 in your next magazine, in order to have the sentiments of 
 your learned readers hereon. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1748, 'May. J. J. 
 
 O.von, Oct. 1 1 . 
 IN your magazine for May, p. 314, is an account of some
 
 Human bones found Jilkd with lead. 139 
 
 human bones lately found at Axminster in the count}' of 
 Devon, filled with lead. An affair of this nature is men- 
 tioned by Weever in his Funendl Monuments, p. 30. I shall 
 here transcribe Mr. Weever 1 s own words. 
 
 ' In the north isle of the parish church of Newport 
 Painell, in Buckinghamshire, in the year 1619, was found 
 the body of a man whole and perfect; laid downe, or rather 
 leaning downe, north and south ; all the concauous parts 
 of his body, and the hollownesse of euery bone, as well ribs 
 as other, were filled up with sollid lead. The skull with the 
 lead in it doth weigh thirty pounds and sixe ounces, which 
 with the neck-bone, and some other bones (in like manner 
 full of lead) are reserued, and kept in a little chest in the 
 said church, neare to the place where the corps were found, 
 there to bee showne to strangers as reliques of admiration. 
 The rest of all the parts of his body are taken away by gen- 
 tlemen neare dwellers, or such as take delight in rare anti- 
 quities. This I saw.' 
 
 By the position of this body mentioned by Mr. Weever, I 
 should judge it to have been buried before, or, at least, very 
 soon after Christianity was received in the island. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1748, Aw. R. M, 
 
 MR. URBAN, Gravcsend, Dec. 15, 174-8. 
 
 WAVING all encomiums on the usefulness of your canal to 
 the learned, as well as to the curious and inquisitive, I ob- 
 serve, in your magazine for Ma}- last, a letter from Axmin- 
 ster, the writer of which is in great surprise on finding, in 
 digging a grave in that parish church, several human bones 
 filled with lead, particularly a thigh-bone, which, he says 
 (justly, no doubt) was very ponderous ; and desires, by 
 your means, to have the sentiments of the learned upon it. 
 Though I have no pretensions to be ranked in that class, 
 yet, observing in your magazine of November last, p. 506. 
 another letter on the same subject from Oxon, of a human 
 skull, &c. mentioned by Weever, dug out of a grave in the 
 church of Newport Pagnel, filled with the same metal, as if 
 it had been an ancient embalming, never till now heard of 
 or discovered ; I beg room for a few lines, to give you my 
 thoughts upon it. 
 
 In the year 1727, the greatest part of this town, together 
 \yith the parish church, were consumed by fire. The roof
 
 140 Ancient custom of Dumrtow. 
 
 of the church was covered with lead, which, being melted, 
 ran in all parts among the ruins ; and being afterwards 
 digged for among the rubbish in order to be new-cast, was 
 tracked into several graves, in the body of the church; out 
 of which were taken many human bones filled with it, and 
 particularly a thigh-bone full of that melted metal, which I 
 both saw and handled. A great many more, perhaps, would 
 have been found, if more minutely traced. Whether this is 
 a satisfactory solution to your inquirer, is humbly submitted 
 
 b y 
 
 Yours sincerelv, 
 
 A. I. 
 
 1748, Supp. 
 
 XXVI. The ancient Custom of Dunmow. 
 
 I HAVE here sent you a copy of the register of the form 
 and ceremony observed at Dunmow in Essex, on a claim 
 made fifty years ago, to a flitch of bacon, by William Pars- 
 ley, of Much Easton, and Jane his wife, founded upon an 
 ancient institution of lord Fitzwalter, in the reign of Henry 
 III. who ordered, " that whatever married man did not re- 
 pent of his marriage, or quarrel with his wife in a year and a 
 day after it, should go to his priory, and demand the bacon, 
 on his swearing to the truth, kneeling on two stones in the 
 church-yard." This custom is still kept up, and by insert- 
 ing the manner of it in your magazine, you will perhaps ex- 
 cite fresh claimants, as many of your young married readers, 
 as well as the ancient wool-couiber of Weathersfield,* may 
 be as justly entitled to it. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 F:D. 
 
 , Nuper At a court baron of the right worshipful sir 
 Priorat' Thomas May, knt. there holden upon Fri- 
 day the 7th day of June, in the 13th year of the reign of our 
 
 [* " Thursday, June 20, 1751, John Shakeshanks, wool-comber, and Anne, 
 bis- wife, of the parish of A\"cathersS(-ld in Kssrx, appeared at the custothary 
 court at Dnnmow-parva, and claimed the bacon according to the custom of 
 that manor." Gent. Mag. E.]
 
 Ancient custom of Duninow. 141, 
 
 sovereign lord, William III. by the grace of God, &c. and in 
 the year of our Lord 1701, before Thomas Wheeler, gent, 
 .steward of the said manor. It is thus enrolled : 
 
 Elizabeth Beaumont, Spinster 
 Henrietta Beaumont, Spinster 
 Anabella Beaumont, Spinster 
 jane Beaumont, Spinster 
 Mary Wheeler, Spinster 
 
 Be it remembered, that at this court, in full and open 
 court, it is found, and presented by the homage aforesaid, 
 that William Parsley, of Much Easton in the county of 
 Essex, butcher, and Jane his wife, have been married for 
 the space of three years last past, and upward ; and it is 
 likewise found, presented, and adjudged, by the homage 
 aforesaid, that the said William Parsley, and Jane his wife, 
 by means of their quiet, peaceable, tender, and loving co- 
 habitation, for the space of time aforesaid, (as appears by 
 the said homage) are fit and qualified persons to be ad- 
 mitted by the court to receive the ancient and accustomed 
 oath, whereby to entitle themselves to have the bacon of 
 Dunmow delivered unto them, according to the custom of 
 the manor. 
 
 Whereupon, at this court, in full and open court, came 
 the said William Parsley, and Jane his wife, in their proper 
 persons, and humbly prayed, they might be admitted to 
 take the oath aforesaid ; whereupon the said steward, with 
 the jury, suitors, and other officers of the court, proceeded, 
 with the usual solemnity, to the ancient and accustomed 
 place for the administration of the oath, and receiving the 
 gammon aforesaid, (that is to say) the two great stones lying 
 near the church door, within the said manor, where the 
 said William Parsley, and Jane his wife, kneeling down on 
 the said two stones, the said steward did administer unto 
 them the above-mentioned oath in these words, or to this 
 effect following, viz. 
 
 You do swear by custom of confession, 
 ^That you ne'er made nuptial transgression; 
 Nor since you were married man and wife, 
 By household brawls, or contentious strife. 
 Or otherwise, in bed or at board, 
 Offended each other in deed or in word : 
 Or in a twelvemonth's time and a day, 
 liepented not in thought any way ;
 
 142 Methods of Embalming. 
 
 Or since ihe church clerk said Amen, 
 Wished yourselves unmarried again, 
 But continue true, and in desire 
 As when you joined hands in holy quire. 
 
 And immediately thereupon, the said William Parsley, 
 and Jane his wife, claiming the said gammon of bacon, the 
 court pronounced the sentence for the same, in these words, 
 or to the effect following. 
 
 Since to these conditions without any fear, 
 
 Of your own accord you do freely swear, 
 
 A whole gammon of bacon you do receive, 
 
 And bear it away with love and good leave, 
 
 For this is the custom of Dunmow well known ; 
 
 Though the pleasure be ours, the bacon's your own. 
 
 And accordingly a gammon of bacon was delivered unto 
 the said William Parsley, and Jane his wife, with the usual 
 solemnity. 
 
 Examined per Thomas Wheeler, steward. 
 
 The same day a gammon was delivered to Mr. Reynolds, 
 steward to sir Charles Barrington, of Hatfield Broad Oak. 
 
 1751, June. 
 
 XXVII. Methods of Embalming. 
 
 iHE ancient Egyptians had three ways of embalming their 
 dead, and artists were particularly trained up for that pur- 
 pose : the most costly method was practised only upon per- 
 sons of high rank ; of which sort are all the mummies that 
 have remained entire to the present times : it was done by 
 extracting the brains through the nostrils, and injecting 
 a rich balm in their stead ; then opening the belly and tak- 
 ing out the intestines; the cavity was washed with palm 
 wine impregnated with spices, and filled with myrrh and 
 other aromatics ; this done, the body was laid in nitre seventy 
 days, at the end of which it was taken out, cleansed, and 
 swathed with fine linen, gummed and ornamented with va- 
 rious hieroglyphics, expressive of the deceased's birth, cha- 
 racu-r and rank. This process completed, the embalmer 
 carried home the body, where it was placed in a coffin, cut 
 in human shape, and then enclosed in an outer case, and
 
 Long Meg and her Daughters. 14.5 
 
 -placed upright against the wall of the burying place belong- 
 ing to the family. Anothrr" less expensive method of 
 
 e.nbcihning was, by injecting into all the cavities of the body 
 a certain dissolvent ; which, being suffered to run off after 
 a proper time, carried with it whatever was contained therein 
 liquified ; and then the body, tints purged, being dried hv 
 the nitrous process as before, the operation was closed by 
 swathing, ivc. By the third and lowest method of em- 
 bahning, which was only in use among the poor, they 
 drenched the body with injections, and then dried it with 
 nitre. The Egyptians had a custom among them of pledg- 
 ing the dead bodies of their parents and kindred, as a secu- 
 rity for the payment of their debts, and whoever neglected 
 to redeem them was held in the utmost abhorrence, and 
 denied the rights of burial themselves. They paid extra- 
 vagant honours to their deceased ancestors ; and there are 
 at this day to be seen in Egypt pompous subterranean edi- 
 fices, called by the Greeks Hypogees, representing towns or 
 habitations under ground, in which there are streets or 
 pa>sages of communication from one to another, that the 
 dead miht have as free intercour.se as w hen alive. 
 
 XXV III. Long Meg and her Daughters. 
 
 SIR, Wigton y July 1 2. 
 
 I WENT some davs 02,0 to examine that curious remain of 
 British antiquity called Long Meg and her Daughters, about 
 which it must be acknowledged all conjectures are extremely 
 uncertain. 
 
 They are situated upon an eminence on the east side of 
 the river Eden, near a mile from it, above a village called 
 Little Salkeld ; this eminence appears to have been all moor 
 formerly, but now about half the stones are within inclo- 
 sures, placed in an orbicular form, in some places double. 
 i make seven tv principal ones, but there are one or two 
 more disputable ; several lie flat on the surface, their 
 greatest eminence not exceeding a foot, others yet less, 
 and others perpendicular to the horizon; the highest of 
 those in the circular range does not much exceed three 
 yards, nor is it more than four wide, and two deep; but 
 none of them have a regularity of shape, though the con- 
 structors seem to have aimed at a parallelopipcdon. Long
 
 144 Ancient Inscriptions. 
 
 Meg herself is near four yards high, and about 40 yards 
 from the ring, towards the south west, but leans much ; it 
 being of what they call the free-stone kind, is more regular" 
 than those in the circle, and is formed like a pyramid on 
 a rhomboidal base, each side being near two yards at the 
 bottom, but a good deal narrower at top. (What I mean by 
 the base is only the ground plan of the stone itself, for as 
 to what is in architecture called base, it has none but the 
 earth.) The others in the orbicular range, are of no kind of 
 stone to be found in that neighbourhood, and the fourfacing 
 the cardinal points are by far the largest and most bulky of 
 the whole ring; they contain at least 648 solid feet, or 
 about thirteen London cartloads, and unless they are a 
 composition, (which I am much induced to believe) no ac- 
 count can be given what carriages could have brought them 
 there, nor by what means they could be placed erect when 
 they came. It is to be noted that these measures are only 
 what appeared above ground; we have reason to suspect 
 that at least a yard is lost in the earth, which will make the 
 whole amount to a prodigious weight more. Others are 
 erect, but not of such enormous size; and others, as I said 
 before, lie flat along, not thrown down, as I think, but so 
 placed either by choice or design, and some of these are 
 also very large. In diameter the ring may be eighty yards 
 or more, and the circle is pretty regular, but how they 
 came there and their destination is the important question. 
 
 I am, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 G. S. 
 1752, July, 
 
 XXIX. ANCIENT INSCRIPTIONS. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 I HOPE the gentlemen addressed will pay a proper regard 
 to the proposal of the right reverend the bishop of Clogher, 
 mentioned in your register of books for April last,* and will 
 
 * A journal from Grand Cairo to Mount Sinai, and back again ; translated 
 -jiu a MS. written by the Prefetto of Egypt; with remarks on the origin of 
 hieroglyphics. By the bishop of Clogher, 5s. Cooper. This book is dedi- 
 cated to the Antiquarian Society, and his lordship observes to them, that as 
 the .journal particularly describes many places in the wilderness, where jrrfcafr
 
 Ancient Inscriptions. 143 
 
 send some qualified person to take an exact copy of that 
 very antique inscription on the rock at Mount Sinai. It 
 may seem very daring in any one, whilst we have s.o few 
 data, and while little more is known relating to this inscrip- 
 tion, but that it exists, to adventure any conjecture con- 
 cerning it, and yet I think one may guess something, from 
 analogy, about the subject matter of it. I believe it will 
 prove to be historical ; since 1 have observed that such an- 
 cient memorials have been preserved in that manner. 
 " That the most ancient people," says Mr. Wise, " before 
 the invention of books, and before the use of sculpture upon, 
 stones, and other smaller fragments, were wont to represent 
 things great and noble, upon entire rocks and mountains, 
 seems so natural, that it is easily imagined and assented ta 
 by all. And that the custom was not laid aside for many 
 ages after, is plain from history. Semiramis, to perpetuate 
 her memory, is reported to have cut a whole rock into the 
 form of herself. Hannibal, long after the invention of 
 books, engraved characters iipon the Alpine rocks, as a tes- 
 timony of his passage over them ; which characters were re- 
 maining about two centuries ago, if we may believe Pau- 
 lus Jovius. But, what is most to our purpose, it appears to 
 have been particularly the custom of the northern nations, 
 from that remarkable inscription, mentioned by Saxo, and 
 several ages after him, delineated and published by Olaus 
 Wormius. This was inscribed by Harold Hyldeland, to the 
 memory of his father : it was cut on the side of a rock in. 
 Runic characters, each letter of the inscription being a 
 quarter of an ell long, and the length of the whole thirty- 
 four ells."* These northern examples are indeed the most 
 for this learned author's purpose, who contends that the 
 White Horse, in the vale of that name in Berkshire, is a mo- 
 nument of this sort, and was intended to perpetuate the 
 
 numbers of ancient characters are hewn in the rocks ; if a person was sent 
 to live, some time among the Arabs, lit- might get copies of the characters, 
 and some helps by which the ancient Hebrew characters now lust, may be re- 
 covered. He adds, " I do not know whom to apply to, more properly to look 
 out for a suitable person. As to the expt:nce, I am willing to bear any pro- 
 portion you shall think proper, in order to have this design effected." The 
 I'reietto had with him persons acquainted with the Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, 
 Syriac, Coptic, Latin, Armenian, Turkish, English, lllyrican, German, ami 
 iiohi niian languages, yet none of them had any knowledge of the character? 
 which were cut in the said rock, twelve and fourteen feet high, with great in- 
 dustry. The bishop declares that he does not make this proposal as a mat- 
 trr of curiosity, but as it may be of erreat service to the Christian r<i\~'at:u, 
 by Corroborating the history of Moses. 
 * Mr. Wise'.-, letter to Dr. Mead, p. 25. 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 146 Tlit Pzcts Wall described. 
 
 remembrance of a signal victory obtained by the Saxons at 
 Ashdown, under the conduct of King JElfred, over the 
 Danes. But the custom was eastern as well as northern, 
 as appears from that very remarkable instance which we 
 have in captain Hamilton's Account of the East Indies. The 
 author, after giving a short history of that successless attack, 
 Tvhich the Dutch made upon the island of Amoy in China, 
 A.D. 1645, adds, " This history is written in large China 
 characters, on the face of a smooth rock that faces the en- 
 trance of the harbour, and may be fairly seen as we pass 
 out and in to the harbour."* This is but a late date com- 
 pared with the monument at Mount Sinai ; but as the eastern 
 people in general are extremely tenacious of their ancient 
 customs, as appears from the travels both of Dr. Pocock and 
 Dr. Shaw, the conjecture is not the less probable, that this 
 Arabian inscription will be found to afford us some historical 
 fact. 
 
 I am, 
 
 June, 27, 1753. Yours, &c. 
 
 1753, July. PAUL GEMSEGE. 
 
 XXX. The Picts Wall described. 
 
 . Warburton, in the year 1715, caused a survey and 
 plan to be made of the ancient Roman wall and military 
 way, to shew the necessity of rendering it passable for 
 troops and artillery, from the eastern to the western sea ; 
 but the rebellion, which had drawn his attention to this sub- 
 ject, being soon after suppressed, the reparation of the way 
 was neglected till it was again wanted in 1745. Upon the 
 suppression of the rebellion which then happened, the 
 work was undertaken, an act of Parliament having been 
 passed for that purpose, and Mr. Warburton was among 
 others, appointed to superintend the execution. 
 
 But he did not desist from his inquiries, when the prin- 
 cipal view with which they were begun was disappointed ; 
 he extended his survey through the whole county of North- 
 umberland, and discovered almost every day some remains 
 
 * Hamilton's Voyages, vol. II. p. 241.
 
 The Picts Wall described. 1 47 
 
 of cities, castles, camps, or other military antiquities that 
 had been hitherto totally unknown among us; the parts 
 called the wastes appeared never to have been trodden by 
 any human foot since the ruin of the buildings and streets, 
 which he could easily trace by the foundations, though 
 they were covered with grass. 
 
 An account of these discoveries he has now published, 
 with representations of the Roman inscriptions and sculp- 
 tures. 
 
 There are two walls which cross the north of England, 
 beginning about three miles more eastward than Newcastle, 
 and extending ten miles farther west than Carlisle, at the 
 distance of near seventy miles. One of these walls is of turf, 
 called Hadrian's Vallum ; the other of stone, called the Wall 
 ofSeverus; and both were intended to keep out the Pictsor 
 Scots, for which purpose Julius Agricola had before carried 
 a series of forts or stations across the country in the same 
 direction, and of equal extent. 
 
 Hadrian's fence consists of a bank or wall on the brink of 
 a ditch, another bank at the distance of about five paces 
 within it, called the south bank, and a third nearly the same 
 distance beyond the ditch to the north. These four works 
 are every where parallel to each other, and probably formed 
 a military way from one part of the old stationary fence to 
 another. 
 
 To Severus's wall, which is of stone, belongs the paved 
 military way, which is now repairing; it is on the south 
 side of the wall, but not in all parts parallel to it. On the 
 north of this wall there is a large ditch, but no appearance 
 of a bank, though the ground is in some places raised by the 
 earth thrown out of it, and a little resembles a glacis. 
 
 Castles were placed upon this wall at unequal distances, 
 which, however, except two or three at the east end, are all 
 less than a mile ; the buildings appear to have been squares 
 of sixty-six feet, of which the wall itself forms the north 
 side. The space between these castles was equally divided 
 by four watch towers, each of which appears to have been 
 about four yards square at the bottom ; and as the centinels 
 in these towers were within call of each other, a communi- 
 cation might easily be continued along the whole line, with- 
 out the help of speaking trumpets, or subterraneous pipes, 
 contrivances which have been feigned in times of gross ig- 
 norance ; and as men are generally credulous of wonders in 
 proportion as the time when they are said to have happened 
 y remote, this method of communication appears to have 
 
 L2
 
 148 The Picts Wall described. 
 
 been believed by almost every writer on the subject, and 
 particularly by Echard. 
 
 There were also upon this wall eighteen larger forts, or 
 stations ; the mean distance between these would be about 
 four miles, but they are placed much nearer to each other 
 in the middle, and toward the extremities of the wall, than 
 On the other parts. 
 
 The wall generally runs along the ridge of the higher 
 ground, the descent being to the enemy on the north ; and 
 to preserve this advantage it is frequently carried out, and 
 brought back in an angle. Hadrian's vallum, on the con- 
 trary, is continued nearly in a straight line, from station to sta- 
 tion; and the paved military way, where the wall passes 
 along the brink of a precipice, or runs into angles, is car- 
 ried so as to keep the level, and as much as possible the 
 line. 
 
 It does not appear that there were gates in this wall, 
 or passes through it, except just in the stations, and where 
 it is crossed by the great military ways from south to 
 north. 
 
 The original dimensions of the walls, ditches, batiks, and 
 military ways, cannot now be certainly known ; but Ha- 
 drian's wall is thought to have been about eight feet broad, 
 and twelve high, and that of Severnsj in thickness measures 
 seven feet, being nearly equal in all parts that remain en- 
 tire, except at Kirkland's on the Sol way Frith, where it is 
 increased to nine feet, for a manifest reason, because at full 
 sea the water has certainly flowed up to it. The breadth of 
 the military way must have been about three Roman paces 
 and a half, as it now measures near seventeen fert. 
 
 Hadrian's ditch measures nine feet deep, and eleven feet 
 over, which appears to have been its original dimensions, 
 and Severus's ditch is every where wider and deeper. The 
 distance between the two walls, is sometimes scarcely a 
 chain, and sometimes more than fifty ; and the distance be- 
 tween Severus's wall and the military way, is generally be- 
 tween two and three chains, sometimes six; and between 
 the two forts west of Shewen Sheels, it is fifteen. 
 
 The materials of which these walls are constructed mar 
 be certainly known by their remains. Hadrian's is of earth, 
 which in some places is mixed with stone, but is no where 
 gtrengthened by timber. .Severus's is of free- stone, and 
 where the foundation was not good, it is built on piles of 
 oak ; the interstices between the two faces of this wall are 
 iillud \\uii broad thin stones, placed not perpendicularly,
 
 Explanation of the word Brandons. 149 
 
 but obliquely on their edges; the running mortar or ce- 
 ment was then poured upon them, which, by its great 
 strength and tenacity, bound the whole together, and made 
 it firm as a rock. But tliough these materials are suffici- 
 ently known, it is not easy to guess where they were pro- 
 cured, for many parts of the wall are at a great distance from 
 any quarry of free-stone ; and though stone of another 
 kind was within reach, yet it does not appear to have been 
 any where used. It will also be difficult to conceive how 
 the Romans could carry on such a work in the face of an 
 enemy, except it be supposed that it was not then the 
 bounds of their conquest, but that they possessed great 
 part of the country farther north. 
 
 Of the present state of these walls it will be sufficient to 
 say, that in some places that of Hadrian cannot be traced 
 without difficulty, though in others it continues firm, and its 
 height and breadth are considerable. In some parts of the 
 wall of Severus, the original regular courses are remaining; 
 in some the stones remain upon the spot, though not in a 
 regular disposition ; in others, the rubbish is high and 
 distinct, though covered with earth and grass, and frequently 
 the vestiges are extremely faint and obscure. 
 
 1754, April. 
 
 XXXI. Explanation of the Word BRANDON.. 
 
 To Mr. Joseph Ames. 
 SIR, 
 
 IN the table for twenty-four years, prefixed to the " Hore in- 
 temperate beate Marie Virginia secundum Usum Romanum,'* 
 printed by Thielman Kerver, the first column is la date de 
 Cannce, the second les brandons, the third pasqucs, &c. 
 and so afterwards to explain the table it is written, " Q.ui 
 veult scavoir les brandous, pasques," &c. And it appears 
 evidently from the table, that the brandons correspond to 
 what we call Quadragesima, or the first Sunday in Lent. 
 But how comes the first Sunday in Lent to be called Les 
 Brandons ? You will find nothing in any French dictionary, 
 not even in Cotgrave or Menagius, that will clear this; and 
 therefore we must try further. 
 
 Now Sir Henry Spelman in his Gloss, tells us, that bran- 
 deum signifies a veil : these are the words, " Brandeum, op- 
 perimenti quidpiain sanctorum reliquiis iuipositum ne te- 
 
 L3
 
 1 50 Explanation of the word Brandons. 
 
 mere violentur. Velum, snclarium. V. Baron, to. I. > 12. 1. 5. 
 et v. ipf. Sanctuarium.* Flodoard. hist. eccl. rem. lib. 1. 
 cap. 20. Corpn ejusdem rubeo constat brandeo involu- 
 tum, et cap. 21. Sudarium cum parte preedicti brandei 
 scriniolo reconditum eburneo." But what has this to do 
 xvith the case in hand ? I answer, it was the custom at this 
 penitential season to hang a veil before the altar, and all 
 the ornaments of it, and to begin particularly to do it on 
 this day, the first Sunday in Lent, from whence this first 
 Sunday came to be called by the French tcs brandons, as 
 much as to say, the Sunday of the Veils. All this I assert 
 upon the authority of Durandus, in his Rationale Divinoruni 
 Officiorum ; from whom take the following passages: fol, 
 <CLXI. speaking of the first Sunday in Lent, he says, " Ab 
 hac die usque ad Parasceuen opperiunt cruces, et velum 
 ante al tare suspendunt, de quo in prima parte dictum est 
 sub ti. de picturis." The purport of which is, ' from this 
 day unto Easter-even, they cover the crosses, and hang a 
 veil before the altar, of which I have already spoken in the 
 first part of this work, where I treat of pictures and orna- 
 ments." The place here referred to is fol. IX. where we 
 read, " Sane omnia que ad ornatum pertinent, tempore qua^ 
 dragesime removeri vel contegi debent. Quod fit secundiim 
 aliquos in Dominica de Passione, quod extunc divinitas fuit 
 abscondita et velata ra Christo. Permisit enim se capi et fla- 
 gellari ut homo, tanquam non haberet in se virtu tern divini- 
 tatis. Unde in evangelic hujus diei dicitur, Jesus autem 
 abscondit'se, et exivit de templo. Tune ergo cooperiunt 
 cruces, i.e. virtus sue divinitatisabsconditur. Alii hoc faciunt 
 a prima Dominica Quadragesime, quod extunc ecclesiain- 
 cipit de ejus passione agere. Unde eo tempore crux ab 
 ecclesia non nisi cooperta portari debet," &c. " Indeed all 
 things which relate to ornament, in the time of Lent, ought 
 either to be removed or covered, which by some is done on 
 Passion Sunday, because from that time the divinity of our 
 Lord was hidden and veiled ; for he suffered himself to be 
 taken and whipt as a man, as if he had not the divinity inr 
 herentinhim. From whence, in the gospel of this day, it 
 is said, But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple. 
 Then, therefore, they cover the crosses, that is, the power 
 of the divinity is hidden. Others do this from the first 
 Sunday of Lent, because from lhat time the church begins 
 to treat and think of his passion, and therefore at that time 
 
 * The author, though, has nothing concerning it iu that place.
 
 Explanation of the 'word Brandons* 151 
 
 th cross ought not to be carried from the church uncover- 
 ed." Brandon, therefore, is a veil, and les brandons in the 
 table, may not improperly be translated Veil Sundays. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 17 54, Nov. S. P. 
 
 . URBAN, Dec. 23, 1754. 
 
 IN your magazine for last month, I observed S. P.'s ex- 
 planation of the French word brandons, as it stands prefixed 
 to Thielman Kerver's table. It appears, indeed, from his 
 quotations, to mean a veil, and that it denotes the first Sun- 
 day in Lent ; but yet I believe, it is not to be applied to 
 that ceremony of veiling images and altars in the Roman 
 church, which is not reckoned so material, as fo need to ac- 
 quaint the people with it, by inserting it in any table or ca- 
 lendar. The true meaning, therefore, is to be found, I pre- 
 sume, i that other ceremony of the same church, of veil- 
 ing new married couples; which the priest performs, by 
 spreading a veil over the parties, immediately after he has 
 joined their hands. From the first Sunday in Advent to the 
 Epiphany, and from Ash^ Wednesday to Low-Sunday, 
 marriages are forbid to be performed in church ; but in 
 some countries, as in Spain, where they allow of private 
 marriages in houses, the marriage rites may be there per- 
 formed, during these intervals of prohibition, all to the ce- 
 remony of veiling, which the priest defers till the parties 
 come afterwards to church. It was necessary to acquaint 
 the people \yith the times in which marriages could be so- 
 lemnized, as they varied every year according to the move- 
 able feasts ; and it was customary in some places to place 
 the notice thereof in their almanacks ; and in Spain, where 
 the marriage may be performed, but not the veiling, they 
 at this day mark it in their almanacks in the following man- 
 ner : 
 
 Advent Sunday, Veilings shut, 
 
 Epiphany, Veilings open, 
 
 j4sli- Wednesday, Veilings shut. 
 
 Low-Sunday, Veilings open, 
 
 Now as these prohibitions may have varied, according to 
 the times and countries, so, in Kerver's time, it might have 
 been only from the first Sunday in Lent, instead of Ash- 
 Wednesday, and his diocese may have followed the custom 
 in Spain of putting down veiling, instead of marriage, in 
 their almanacks, or calendar tables; as the latter could be
 
 152 Explanation of the vord Brandons. 
 
 performed in private, though not the former. The cere- 
 mony of veiling images does not commence at present in the 
 church of Rome, till Passion Sunday. It is the sexton's 
 business, and of the least consequence of any of their super- 
 fluous pageantry. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1754, Dec. G. 
 
 To Mr. Joseph Ames, F.R.S. and Secretary of the Society 
 of Antiquarians. 
 
 * DEAR SIR, 
 
 It plainly appears from Grego^ of Tours, Bede/ Dn 
 Gauge, and others, that Brandeum was a word made use of 
 in the days of what is called the base Latinitv, to signify 
 not only the veils or coverings of the corpses of saints and 
 their re licks, as your learned correspondent Mr. S. P. ob- 
 serves from Sir H. Spelman ; but that the same name was 
 also given to any handkerchief or napkin which had only 
 touched such sacred remains. Till after the time of St. Gre- 
 gory the Great, who was pope about the year 600, none 
 were permitted to touch the bodies of saints; and instead 
 of their bones, it was deemed sufficient to send a piece of 
 cloth that had wiped them, in a box. St. Gregory ex- 
 pressly mentions this custom, and adds, that in the pope- 
 clom of St. Leo, about the year 450, certain Greeks having 
 doubted of the virtue of these veils, that pontiff, for their 
 conviction, took a knife and cut a brandeutn in two before 
 their eyes ; upon which blood issued in plenty, as if it had 
 been the living body of the saint. So much for brandeum, 
 as to which I differ not materially from your friend. But 
 that Kerver's brandons signify ajiy thing like veils, as the 
 same gentleman would have it to do, I can by no means ad- 
 mit. Brandon is an old French word, which signifies a wisp 
 of straw. Thus brandons panonceaux is a law term, which 
 means a wisp of straw fixed to the gate of a seised estate, 
 together with the king's, or the lord of the manor's arms. 
 Brandons also is used for wisps of straw set up in the fields 
 at harvest time, by way of notice that the owner reserves 
 the leasing to himself. Brandon sometimes signifies a torch 
 or flambeau, as brandon d'amour; but more frequently a 
 wisp of straw on fire ; and this leads to the true sense of Its 
 Irandans in Thielman Kerver's little book, as will presently 
 appear. 
 
 In Mr. Bonnet's curious and learned treatise, entitled
 
 Explanation of the word Brandons 153 
 
 liistoirc dc. la Dume, we find that two sorts of sacred dances 
 have been in use in the church, especially in France; the 
 one called Baladoires, the other Brandons. The baladoires 
 had degenerated into so monstrous A licentiousness, even in 
 the early ages of Christianity, that the very pagans were 
 scandalized at them ; the fathers of the church attempted 
 the abolition of them with all their might, and the canons 
 condemned them. Both men and women, like the Adamites 
 of Amsterdam, practised them with the most lascivious ges- 
 tures. New-year's day, and the first day of May, were the 
 times of those strange solemnities. Pope Zachary, in 774, 
 published a decree for suppressing them, and all others that 
 went under the title of sacred dances ; and there are seve- 
 ral ordonnances of the kings of France, which forbid them, 
 as tending to the total corruption of manners. 
 
 The Brandons were celebrated in many cities in France-, 
 on the first Sunday of Lent, round bonfires of straw, whence 
 they had their name. They are now utterly abolished, with 
 the rest, by royal authority, but were for a long time so 
 rooted in the fancies of the people, all over the kingdom, 
 that the bishops and magistrates strove to extirpate them 
 in vain. At the feast of St. Martial, apostle of the Limou- 
 sin, the congregation retained the custom of dancing in the 
 choirs as lately as the middle of the last century ; nnd in- 
 stead of the doxology after every psalm, they sang out, in 
 that country dialect " San Marceau pregrats per nous, et 
 nous epingaren per bous." St. Martial pray for us, and we 
 will dance for you. 
 
 Yours. &c. 
 
 1755, April. J. B. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 I believe you may think it high time to close the dispute 
 about the sense of the word brandons in Thielman Kerver's 
 book ; but with your leave, I have a right to reply, not 
 only by the nature of our proceedings in the courts of law, 
 but likewise by the common rules of disputation, and there- 
 fore 1 shall expect to be indulged a few words. But before 
 I enter upon this subject, I would premise, and am glad of 
 this opportunity of doing it, that whereas I conjectured, in 
 the magazine, Oct. 1754, that the book was printed A. D. 
 1497, which was inferred from the year when the table com- 
 mences, it has since appeared from a more perfect copy in 
 the hands of Mr. Ames, that it was published anno 1500; 
 from whence I think the presumption is, that this being a 
 -Very elaborate performance,, and that it was not unusual for
 
 1 54 Explanation of the word Brandons. 
 
 the printers to carry on several pieces of work at the same 
 time, it was probably put to the press anno 1497, and 
 finished in the year 1.500, when the colophon is dated. In- 
 deed it is the way now of printers to set their dates as for>- 
 ward as they can, in order to preserve and continue the 
 novelty of their productions ; but this was not so much the 
 practice of the more early artists. 
 
 To go now upon the word brandons ; your correspondent 
 G. after rejecting the interpretation I gave of it, thinks the 
 true meaning is to be found in the ceremony of veiling 
 new-married couples in the church of Rome, " which the 
 priest performs by spreading a veil over the parties, imme- 
 .diately after he has joined their hands. From the first Sun- 
 day in Advent to the Epiphany, and from Ash-Wednesday 
 to Low-Sunday, marriages are forbid to be performed in the 
 church ; but in some countries, as in Spain, where they 
 allow of private marriages in houses, the marriage rites may 
 be there performed, during these intervals of prohibition, 
 all to the ceremony of veiling, which the priest defers till 
 the parties come afterwards to church." He proceeds to 
 observe, that the moveable feasts varying every year, it was 
 customary to place the notice thereof, at least in some 
 places, in their almanacks ; " and in Spain, where the mar- 
 riage may be performed, but not the veiling, they at this day 
 mark it in their almanacks in the following manner ; 
 
 Advent Sunday, Veilings shut, 
 
 Epiphany, Veilings open. 
 
 Ash-Wednesday, Veilings shut. 
 
 Low-Sunday, Veiling open." 
 
 After this he suggests, thai in Kerver's time, the prohibition 
 might have been only from the first Sunday in Lent, instead 
 of Ash- Wednesday, "and his diocese may have followed the 
 custom of Spain, of putting down veiling instead of marriage, 
 in their almanacks or-calendar tables." 
 
 This, Sir, is the substance of what this gentleman is 
 pleased to offer, and I can admit his authority in regard to 
 the practice of the church of Rome, in veiling the parties 
 marrying, as likewise all the rest of his narrative, concern- 
 ing the usages in the kingdom of Spain; but I cannot yet 
 be persuaded that the brandons allude to any thing else but 
 the veiling the images, altars, &c. for the following rea- 
 sons : 
 
 1st. 'Kerver's book is secundum nsnm Romanian, that is, it 
 was designed for the Roman church in general, or at least, 
 as contradistinguished to the Gallican church \ for which
 
 Explanation of the ivord Brandons. 155 
 
 reason this term in the table cannot be supposed to relate 
 to the singular practice of any one particular church; had 
 it been expressed secundum usum Hispanicum, it would have 
 been something-; but as it is, and as the practice of veiling 
 images, &c. prevailed every where, even here in this kingdom 
 of England, as will be shewn below, this is a very material ob- 
 jection to this gentleman's interpretation. 
 2dly, The brandons are but one season in the year, as ap- 
 pears from the table; but if they meant all the several times 
 when marriages were restrained, there would have been 
 more than one. See Mr. Wheatky on the Common Prayer^ 
 p. 418. 
 
 3dly, Veiling, according to this gentleman, signifies mar- 
 rying, for veilings shut is as much as to say marriage re- 
 strained, and veilings open, marriage allowed. But bran- 
 dons, or veilings, in our table, cannot mean marrying, but 
 the contrary, to wit, a restraint from marrying, it being ad- 
 mitted by this author that marriage was prohibited from Ash- 
 Wednesday till Low-Sunday. 
 
 4thly, There are no grounds to suppose, as this gentle- 
 man does, that the time of prohibiting marriage was different 
 in Kerver's age from what it is now. (See IVheatley, p. 418.) 
 Or that a printer exercising his trade at Paris should follow 
 a custom peculiar to Spain in a table printed according to 
 the Roman use. No, you may depend on it, Mr. Urban, 
 that the brandons are something of universal usage in the 
 church at that time, and that the veiling of images and altars 
 was such, shall be shewn by and by. For, 
 
 5thly and lastly, the brandons mean the first Sunday in 
 Lent. This is allowed ; and it appears from Durandus 
 that the Romanists actually veiled thejr crosses and altars in 
 Lent, beginning at that day. Brandeum then being the 
 proper name of such veils, as Spelman, there also cited, 
 clearly shews, it follows necessarily, that brandons is the 
 same word with a French termination, and that since the 
 first Sunday in Lent is called Brandons, it was denominated 
 from the brandea or brandons, that is, the veils on that day 
 first applied. This seems to me to be demonstration. But 
 this gentleman thinks this ceremony of veiling images, 
 crosses, and altars, not material enough to find a place in a 
 /calendar. He teljs us again, that it is the sexton's business, 
 and of the least consequence of any of the Romish ceremo- 
 nies. It may be the sexton's business, but the Sacristan, 
 form whence our word sexton is corrupted, is an officer of 
 no small consequence in the church of Rome, and this busi- 
 ness of veiling the holy things in Lout being; a general prac-
 
 Explanation of the word Brcuidonl. 
 
 lice in that church, this is sufficient to make it necessary to 
 give a direction for it, especially as the time varied every 
 vear. That it was a general practice throughout the whole 
 extent of that communion, may appear from the testimony 
 of Duranclus, the tabJe in this book of Kerver's, and lastly, 
 from the custom here in England, which I shall now endea- 
 vour to establish. 
 
 After the passingof the six articles in Henry VIII. 's time, 
 near forty years after the publication of this book of Ker- 
 ver's, the popish party, as Mr. Strype tells us in his life of 
 archbishop Cra-nm-er, p. 74-, endeavoured to introduce & 
 "book of ceremonies, with certain plausible explications. 
 This design did not take effect ; however, one of the heads 
 was, " The covering of the cross and images in Lent." After- 
 wards, A.D. 1545, archbishop Cranmer intercedes with the 
 lung to have "The vigil, and ringing of bells all night long 
 trpon All ha! low-night, and the covering of images in the 
 cfe-urch i-n the time of Lent, with the lifting the veil that 
 covereth the cross on Palm Sunday," &c. all abolished, but 
 rioes not prevail, insomuch that the custom continued, as it 
 seems, to the end of this reign, butAvith that I believe it 
 ended. 
 
 1 have done with Mr. G. but another gentleman, finding 
 the word brnndon to signify a wisp of straw on fire, incline* 
 to believe it to be the name of a dance, so called because it 
 was performed round bonfires of straw. For this he cites 
 Mons. Bonnet's Hiatoire tie la Dame. I have not this book 
 by me, and therefore cannot pretend to pass any certain judg- 
 ment upon It, but so far I may go, as to remark, 1st, That 
 this was a French custom, for it is not pretended to be of any 
 larger extent; but Kerver's book is sccundiun usum Romcatuw, 
 from whence it is obvious to infer, that a general practice of 
 th Roman church must be implied, such a* I have shewn the 
 vefli-ng of altars to be. 
 
 2$ly, I would ask. this gentleman, who I dare say has 
 candour enough to indulge me with an answer, since I can- 
 not consult Bonnet myself, whether this author represents 
 these dances, called Brandons, as allowed in the church by 
 authority so late as A. D. 1500. The gentleman's words, I 
 think, import the contrary. But now, if these dances were 
 only local and even disallowed customs, as they seem to be> 
 it is strange they should find their way into such an authen- 
 tic table -as this of Kerver's. Veiling of altars, crosses, and 
 images, was an approved, general, and authorized custom, 
 and such as -might' reasonably be expected there; but one is 
 obliged to judge otherwise of the disorderly practices oi
 
 of the word Brandon*. 157 
 
 the vulgar, especially when our table is calculated for a dif- 
 ferent climate, and where, as we Juive reason to believe, no 
 such wild doings were ever suffered to prevail. 
 
 But to finish this affair, I have seen, by the favour of a 
 friend, since writing the above, some extracts from the last 
 edition of Menagius's Origines de Ui Lan$-tie Francoisc, which, 
 as it had not been seen by nie, so neither, as it appears, have 
 either of these gentlemen consulted it. The first editicn of 
 the book was printed in 1650; this is that I use, and is par- 
 ticularly commended in the lite of the author, prefixed to 
 the Menaffiana, as an impression remarkably correct. The 
 author himself went on enlarging his work, and a new edi- 
 tion was printed two years, after his death, viz. Io94: but. 
 since that, there is another edition of the Dictimmaire Fty- 
 mologique, par M. Menage, printed anno 17 50-, with copious 
 additions, by several men of learning. The extracts from 
 this book, which are here subjoined, so far as relate imme- 
 diately to the subject, may convince these gentlemen, that 
 neither of their interpretations is so indubitably certain as 
 they niay perhaps imagine, and that upon the whole, the 
 best way must be, to leave at last both theirs, and miiie^ 
 ami t'hes^ fresh ones, to the opinion and judgment of the 
 readers. 
 
 I. Brandon, c'est un mot anclen qui signifie tis&n, <Tou 
 est dit le Dimanche des Brandons, Dominica in Brandonibus, 
 C'est le premier Dimanche de Careme. De I'AUemand 
 brand, qui signifie la meme chose. Menage. Here's an 
 etymology ; and we are told what brandon means; but it i 
 not said, how it came to pass, that Le Dimanche des Brandons 
 is named from it. 
 
 II. In the second extract it signifies a bonfire, but does 
 not relate to the first Sunday in Lent, but to Midsummer- 
 day ; this therefore is out of the question ; but whereas there 
 is mention made of Charles the VIII. th's dancing nine times 
 round the bonfire, after he had kindled it, hence it seems 
 easy to conceive, that brandons may signify a dance round a. 
 bonfire: but then this is not to the purpose. 
 
 III. " Brandon, marque de saisie, appelleoautrement Psn- 
 nonceau de brandeum. Jean la Coste, dans sa preface, sur 
 le titre an code de pignoratitia act tone, expliquant la iivre 
 Qde au code, du titre ut ncinini liccat sine judicis auctori- 
 talc signa rebus imponere alicnis : liaec signa Franci vocant 
 brandons, fiunt enim plerumque ex pannunculis, et inde 
 punonceaux. Brandeum, apud D. Greg-orium, Epist. 30, 
 lib. 3, et apud Sigebertum in Chronico, ubi de Leone Magno 
 J^omano pQiuilice, accipi reperio pro-parfcicula veli vel pall*
 
 158 On the custom qfsweantig in Discourse. 
 
 altaris D. Petri. Ab hac voce deducta sine dubio, " vox Fran.- 
 cica, quod pauci sciunt. V. H." This now is very express on 
 my side of the question; but then on the other hand it must 
 be confessed that the Latin form Dominica in Brandonibus, 
 which we meet with in the first extract, does not so well 
 agree with this etymology. It does not appear, though, 
 what authority there is for that Latin name, nor, supposing 
 it to be the French word brandon, from what sense of that 
 word it takes its rise. 
 
 IV. The fourth is this ; " Brandon, torche, et brahche 
 d'arbre, parceque des branches du tada ou sapin on faisoit 
 des torches. . . . On a appellee le Dimanche des Brandons, le 
 premier Dimanche de Careme. .. . Ce nom vient de ce que 
 par un reste d'idolatrie, quelques paysans mal instruits al- 
 loient ce jour-la avec de torches de paille ou de bois de sa- 
 pin allumees, parcourir les arbres de leurs jardins et de 
 leurs vergers, et les .apostrophant les uns apres les autres, ils 
 les menacoient de les coups par le pied, et de les bruler; 
 s'ils ne portoient pas du fruit cette annee-la. . . . On donne a 
 Lyon le nom de brandons a des rameux verds que le peuple 
 va querir tous les ans aux Fauxbourg de la Guillotiere, le 
 premier Dimanche de Careme, et auxquels il attache des 
 fruits, des gateaux, des o ub lies, et avec ces brandons il 
 rentre dans la ville. C'est ce qui a fais donner a ce dimanche 
 le nom de Dimanche de Brandons." 
 
 The occasions of the name here given, are different from, 
 any of the rest. The whole is submitted to the public by, 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1756, Jan. SAMUEL PEGGE. 
 
 XXXII. On the Custom of Swearing in Discourse. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 1 HAT the vice of swearing in common discourse, is at this 
 day but too frequent in this nation, will be allowed; but 
 then, I think, it is chiefly found amongst the lower sort of 
 people ; and I remember an observation I have read some- 
 where " That it came in at the head, but is going out at 
 the tail :'' I hope the observation is true, and that in time 
 this horrible custom will totally vanish, both in head and
 
 On the custom of swearing in Discourse. 159 
 
 tail. However, this implies that at first it prevailed most 
 amongst the nobility and gentry, and " To swear like a 
 lord," and " To swear like an emperor," are expressions of 
 the same denotement, and which, I dare say, have often 
 sounded in your ears. It is astonishing with what facilitv 
 our kings would formerly swear at every turn. The form, 
 used by Henry VIII. was " By the mother of God," and ac- 
 cordingly Shakespeare, adhering to the history, introduces 
 him saying, 
 
 " Now, by my holy dame." 
 
 And again, 
 
 " By God's blest mother." 
 And afterwards, 
 
 " By holy Mary." 
 
 Shak. Hen. VIII. Act 3. Sc. 4. 
 
 The oath of the conqueror was " By the splendor of 
 God," see Rapin, p. 165, 180. in Not. and that of Rufus, as 
 we are told, " By St. Luke's face," for so Rapin, I. p. 189. 
 " Whereupon the king told the monk, swearing by St. Luke's 
 face, his usual oath, that he best deserved the abbey, and 
 should have it for nothing." But I think there is a great 
 mistake in this matter ; for though the Roman church pre- 
 tends to have the head of St. Luke, both at Prague and at 
 Rome, (See Patrick's Devotions of the Romish Church, p. 14.) 
 yet I think Rufus did not swear by the face of St. Luke, but 
 by the face of Christ. In the monkish historian Eadmarus, 
 this prince swears four times ; 1st. Per sanctum vultum de 
 Luca, p. 19. 2d. Per vultum dei, p. 30. 3d. Per vultum 
 de Luca, p. 47. And lastly, Per vultum dei, again, p. 54. 
 It appears to me that the king intended the same oath in all 
 the four places, and that if he designed to swear by St. 
 Luke's face, in those two instances where St. Luke is men- 
 tioned, he would have said per vultum Lucte, and not per 
 vultum de Luca, for per vultum de Luca, cannot signify 
 St. Luke's face, that is, it is not equivalent to per vultum 
 Luc<e, the Latin writers never using de by way of periphra- 
 sis for the genitive case.* And therefore I take the truth of 
 the matter to be this, that whereas, in every case, the king 
 
 [* When lord Lyttleton's History of Henry II. was published, in which this 
 Bath received a different interpretation, Ur. Pe<rp:e retracted his opinion, and. 
 received a letter from his luiiisiiip, acknowledging the candour with which it 
 was idinquished. .]
 
 160 On the origin of Tradesmen's 
 
 intended to swear by God's face, or the face of Christ, lie 
 meant more especially to swear by some particular one 
 painted by St. Luke, ot' whose works as a painter, the An- 
 cients pretended, as I think the Romanists still do, to have 
 many specimens. See Dr. Caic's Lives of the sJpostles, p. 1 &0. 
 Tims the faces of Christ being various, first his real face ; 
 secondly, the veronica, or his face impressed upon the 
 handkerchief, concerning which see Caltnefs Diet, in we. 
 and thirdly, this painted by St. Luke ; the king chose to 
 swear by this last, and this last might very well be expressed 
 by per sanctum vultum (It: Luca, that is, de Liica factum. 
 The conclusion is, that the usual oath of king William Ru- 
 fus, was not by St. Luke's face, but by the faoe of Christ, 
 depicted by St. Luke, who is said to have been very skilful 
 in that profession, is at this day the reputed patron of the 
 painters, and concerning whom and his works, as an artist, 
 much I presume may be seen in a tract of Greyer the Jesuit, 
 (and something probably about his pourtraitnres of Jesus 
 Christ) but for my part, 1 have not the book by me. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1754, Sup. PAUL GEMSEGE. 
 
 XXXIII. On the Origin of Tradesmen's Tokens. 
 Ma. URBAN, 
 
 THE best account of the money, Called Tradesmen's To- 
 ken*, which we have at present, I presume is to be drawn 
 from the different pages of Mr. Lea he's Historical Account 
 of English Money, London, 1745. 8. Mr. Tknrcskifs Mu- 
 siding p. 379, and Mr. J) rake's Eboracum, in the appendix, 
 p. ex. from whence it appears, that from and during the reign 
 of fjueen Elizabeth to that of king Charles II. the tradesmen 
 and victuallers in general, that is, all that pleased, coined 
 small money or tokens for the benefit and convenience of 
 trade. And for this there was in a manner a perfect necessity*) 
 since, at that time, there were but few brass halfpennies 
 coined by authority, and no great quantity of farthings, 
 which likewise were in bulk very small. - 
 
 IS ow this small money, by which I mean halfpence and 
 f;r things, were coined by the incorporations of cities and 
 boroughs, by several of the companies there, and by the 
 tradespeople and victuallers at pleasure, both in them, and
 
 On the origin of Tradesmen^ Tokens. 161 
 
 in country villages: it was struck for necessary change; the 
 sorts were, as I said, halfpence and farthings ; the figure 
 was sometimes eight square, but mostly round ; the devices 
 very various ; and the materials were lead, tin, copper, or 
 brass. Every community, tradesman, or tradeswoman, that 
 issued this useful kind of specie, was obliged to take it again 
 when it was brought to them, and therefore in cities and 
 larger towns, where many sorts of them were current, a 
 tradesmen kept a sorting box, into the partitions of which, 
 (which we may suppose were nearly as many as there were 
 people there that coined) he put the money of the re- 
 spective coiners, and at proper times, when he had a com- 
 petent quantity of any one person's money, he sent it to 
 him, and got it changed into silver. One of these sorting 
 boxes I once saw, at the city of Rochester in Kent, with ten 
 or a dozen partitions in it. 
 
 And in this manner they proceeded till the year 1672, 
 when king Charles II. having struck a sufficient quantity of 
 halfpence and farthings for the intention and exigencies of 
 commerce, these Nnmmorum Famuli were superseded, and 
 :m end was put to these shifts and practices of the victual- 
 lers and shopkeepers, as being no longer either necessary or 
 useful. 
 
 The inquiry then is, how this affair of coining was man- 
 aged and conducted by the private tradesman. At the 
 borough of Chesterfield, in Derbyshire, Mr. Edward Wood, . 
 and afterwards his son Richard Wood, who were both of 
 them apothecaries, coined money amongst others; and on 
 the death of the late Mr. Edward Wood, son of the said 
 Richard, the dies and the press were found in the house, 
 from whence we are enabled to comprehend the whole pro- 
 cess, which may be presumed not to have been very intri- 
 cate. These Woods coined only halfpennies, and there 
 were two sets of dies, one for the father's, and the other for 
 the son's money, who I suppose had a set of dies made for 
 himself on his lather's decease. They were apothecaries, 
 as was mentioned above, and the device was accordingly, 
 si polio Opifer. These dies I have seen, and by the favour 
 of the gentlemen concerned, to whom I am greatly obliged, 
 one set has fallen into my possession. What I mean by a 
 set is an obverse and reverse ; these were cut upon two 
 small pieces of steel, which were afterwards welded upon 
 a large block of iron. The press consisted of four pieces 
 of good oak, not less than four inches thick, and very 
 strongly dove-tailed together. In the upper cross-piece 
 was fastened an iron box with a female screw, through 
 
 VOL. i. M
 
 162 On Arabic Ntimerals. 
 
 which there passed a stout iron screw of an inch or more 
 diameter, to the bottom of which was fixed one of the dies; 
 whilst the other was received into a square hole made in the 
 bottom cross-piece, where it lay very steady as in a proper 
 bed. The screw was wrought by hand, in the manner of a 
 capstan, by means of four handles affixed to the top of it, of 
 about nine inches long each. And thus, after the copper was 
 reduced to a proper thickness, shorn to a size, and commo- 
 diously rounded, many hundreds of halfpence might be coin- 
 ed, by two persons, in a very short time, by a man we sup- 
 pose to ply the crew, and a woman or boy to put on and take 
 off the pieces. And yet, I assure you, Sir, these Chesterfield 
 halfpennies were extremely well struck. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 S. P.* 
 1757, Nmi. 
 
 XXXIV. Letter from Mr. Ames, Secretary to the Society of An- 
 tiquaries in London, to Dr. Bevis ; in which were inclosed some 
 ancient dates found in the pulling down part of London Bridge, 
 in 1753. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I HAD about two years ago, in some remarks on a date 
 found among the rubbish in taking down the Black Swan 
 Inn, in Holborn, given my opinion, that our numercial cha- 
 racters were first brought into England at the return of 
 Richard I.f from the holy wars, and that probably our people 
 had learned them among the Saracens ; but that it was some 
 time after this that they were received among us, or that 
 people were convinced of their utility. 
 
 Now having looked farther into tnis matter, I continue 
 still of the same mind, and would willingly be informed from 
 you, how early these characters were introduced into astro- 
 nomical MSS. in England, as I know you must have sought 
 after such in the libraries: for how astronomers could carry 
 on their calculations in the Roman way of notation, I am not 
 able to conceive. 
 
 The Arabians and Persians are said to have had these 
 characters many ages ago ; and it is certain they are to be 
 
 [# Samuel Pegrge.] f He came back to England in 1 124.
 
 On Arabic Numerate. 163 
 
 met with in Arabic books of great antiquity; but then it is 
 held, that they had them from the more eastern nations : 
 perhaps some of your foreign correspondents may be able to 
 clear up this point. 
 
 I shewed you and sir Hans Sloane a little MS. of recipes 
 in physic, wherein there are abundance of numeral charac- 
 ters for expressing the subdivisions of weights, used about 
 the time of Henry 111. The marks are so odd and many, 
 that I cannot represent them without a copper-plate, as we 
 have no type or letter to exhibit them withal. One thing is 
 very singular, that when their numbers went beyond ten, they 
 were obliged to put the Roman numerals over them to shew 
 their power or value, as 
 
 XI XIX XX C CCCC M VI. M 
 10.1, 10.9, 20, 100, 400, 1000, 6000, &C. 
 
 Soon after or about this, time, they changed the Arabic 
 five, 0, to q or ^, or drew a stroke through it thus, <D, or 4>. 
 The invention of printing finally settled their form as they 
 have remained ever since. 
 
 The earliest date in Arabic characters that I have met with 
 here, was published in quarto, in the year 1734, by my late 
 Avorthy friend Mr. David Casley, among 150 specimens of 
 various manners of writing (some few of which are still to 
 be disposed of by his widow) is l^ 7 ,* which some read one 
 thousand two hundred ninety-seven, from the similitude of 
 the last figure to our present 7, though I think it like enough 
 to the first figure, to stand for one thousand t\vo hundred 
 ninety-two. 
 
 Some will have it that the Moors brought the Arabic 
 figures into Spam and Portugal, in the beginning of the 
 eighth century, when they overrun those countries, from 
 whence we learned them ; this I think too far back, as we 
 had then but little commerce; besides, had it been so, we 
 should have met with them frequently in MSS. of aucien*er 
 times than we do; however, this I choose to submit to your 
 judgment, and am, 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 * See the original in the Cottoniau IJbrary, YiirAiiAjj, A. II. 1. 01, a strict 
 copy in plate XV. of Mr. Casley's Buuk. 
 
 M 2
 
 164 On Arabic Numerals, 
 
 Dr. Bevis's Answer to the foregoing. 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 I AM so little versed in matters of antiquity, that I do not 
 know to whom you could have applied less qualified to 
 give you satisfaction than myself. All I can say is, that it 
 seems to me probable enough that King Richard's return 
 from the east might bring us the first notice of the Indian 
 or Arabic numerals. I always thought the proofs Dr. Wallis 
 alleges for their much greater antiquity among us, too 
 precarious to be relied upon ; and I find that tar better 
 judges are of the same opinion. The oldest MS. I can re- 
 member to have seen, penned in England, where these 
 characters are used, was in the library of the late William 
 Jones, Esq. F.R.S. and, I suppose, passed after his death, 
 with his whole most valuable collection of mathematical 
 books, into the hands of the present right honourable the 
 carl of Macclesfield. It is a large folio, written by llichard 
 Wallingford, monk, and afterwards abbot of St. Alban's, 
 finished in 1326, and entitled Albion, consisting of astro- 
 nomical canons or rules, and tables ; the figures of four 
 and five being very like those you have specified in your 
 letter. 
 
 After all, perhaps, the Arabians themselves were not 
 perfectly acquainted with the use of the characters in 
 question, above a century or two before Richard's return ; 
 in support of which conjecture of mine, I will offer one 
 plain fact to your consideration. We have in the Bodleian 
 Library an Arabic MS. of Jbn Younis, a famous astro- 
 nomer, who flourished at the latter end of the tenth cen- 
 tury, as we know from his observations of some eclipses 
 near Cairo, recorded in another MS. of his, brought into 
 Europe by Golius, and deposited in the public library at 
 Ley den. " All the numerals employed in the Oxford book, 
 as our learned friend, the reverend Mr. Costard, assures me, 
 who collated it at my request, are the Arabic figures ; and, 
 what is very remarkable, wherever any number is expressed 
 by them, it is immediately after explained in words at length ; 
 thus, if 123 is set down, one hundred twenty and three im- 
 mediately follows. 
 
 I have no foreign correspondent to propose your query to, 
 since the death of professor Sc'h til tens; I am told Dr. Sharps 
 of Oxford is an excellent orientalist, but I huvc not the honoiu 
 gf an acquaintance with him. 
 
 et. Yours, See.
 
 Origin and Introduction of the Violin. 165 
 
 XXXV. On the Origin and Introduction of the Violin. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 I APPREHEND it must be a very difficult matter, to as- 
 certain the exact time of the invention and introduction 
 of any one particular kind of musical instrument, unless it 
 could be assuredly known of what sort those instruments 
 were, which were invented by Jubal, ' who was the father 
 of all such as handle the harp and organ ;' but this, I doubt, 
 is not to be done. The original, as I take it, of the violin 
 is involved in equal obscurity with the rest, concerning 
 which I would put the question thus, at what time, and by 
 whom was the violin invented ? meaning by the violin every 
 species of that genus, the violino, alto viola, violoncello, and 
 violone, for since the transition from one to the other is so 
 obvious, it matters not whether we speak of the bracchia, or 
 the viola di gamba y they evidently springing from the same 
 source. 
 
 Taking therefore the violin or fiddle in this latitude, I 
 would define it in this manner; * a stringed instrument with a 
 neck, a belly placed under or behind the strings, and played 
 upon with a bow.* This definition sufficiently distinguishes 
 it from the ancient lyre, or the modern harp ; as likewise 
 from the lute, the guitar, or mandola, which are touched in 
 a different manner. 
 
 That an instrument of this kind was in use here in England, 
 before the dissolution of monasteries, Temp. H. VIII. I can 
 easily believe ; for I have seen something like it, depicted 
 in a glass window of the chancel of Droniield church, in the 
 county of Derby. 
 
 The rectory of Dronfield, before the reformation, was 
 appropriated to Beauchief Abbey in the same county, and 
 that fine and lofty building, the chancel, which is equalled 
 by very few in our common parochial churches, was erected 
 by the abbot and convent of that house, long before the 
 year 1535, when that religious foundation was dissolved ; 
 but, however, not till after 13 R. II. or 1390, when this rec- 
 tory was first appropriated to the Abbey. I remember also 
 to have seen an instrument of the same sort in the painted 
 glass of a window, in the church of Staple, in the county of 
 Kent. 
 
 But to confine myself to this uncouth thing, at Dronfield, 
 you will please to observe, that it can be called no more 
 than the rudiment of a violin ; there is no neck, but it rests 
 partly upon the performer's breast, and partly upon his 
 
 M 3
 
 166 Origin and Introduction of the Violin. 
 
 knee and moreover was steadied, as I conceive, by the 
 left hand's passing through a strap at the back of it. As 
 there is no finger board, it consequently could not be 
 stopped, and then as there are only four strings, it could 
 yield only four notes, which yet I suppose were sufficient 
 at that time of day, for expressing a chant or a psalm 
 tune. 
 
 But the greatest difficulty is, the absence of the bridge, 
 for it is not easy to conceive, how a performer with a bow, 
 could do any thing without one, even though there were 
 no more than four notes. All that can be said on this hehalf, 
 is, that perhaps the painter himself, had no just notion of a 
 musical instrument at that time so uncommon, and that con- 
 sequently we are not to examine it too strictly. 
 
 It appears to me, upon a view of the windows in this 
 chancel, that this rude figure did not always occupy that 
 place, in which it now stands, but has been removed thither 
 by a glaz'er; nothing being more common than to transfer 
 'painted glass from one situation to another : however, I 
 make no question, but that it always belonged to this chancel, 
 and is of the same age with it, whatever place it formerly 
 stood in 
 
 But to go on ; the word viola, occurs more than once in the 
 Decameron of Boccace , a work which was written A. D. 1348, 
 so that in Italy this instrument seems to have been in vogue 
 as early as then ; and yet the name is thought to be not of 
 Italian, but of Spanish extraction, see Menage, Origines de 
 Lang. Franc, from whence it may be inferred, that it must be 
 a good deal older in Spain. 
 
 At the court of honour at Tutbury in Staffordshire, a king 
 of the fiddlers is chosen every year, in pursuance of an 
 establishment of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, bearing 
 date 4 II. II. or 1381, and in this charter a reference is 
 jnade to the custom of more ancient times. This officer is 
 called at this day King of the Fiddlers, hut this I fear will 
 not come up to the point, since according to Dr. Plot in 
 his Natural History of Staffordshire, from whom I take this 
 account, he was formerly termed King of the Minstrels, 
 le Roy de Ministra/.r, an expression of a lax signification, 
 and which as appears from p. 438, of Dr. Plot's book, in- 
 cluded both wind and string music. Nothing therefore 
 that is precise and certain concerning the use of vio- 
 lins, in the time of Richard II. can be concluded from 
 hence. 
 
 The word ' crowd* is an ancient word for a fiddle, and 
 ' crowder' is a player on that instrument, i:nd it appears,
 
 On the Country Dance. 167 
 
 from Junius's Glossary in voce, and from sir Henry Spel- 
 man, v. Crotta, that it is a term of sufficient antiquity ; nay 
 it occurs even in Chaucer, who died A. D. 1400, or there- 
 abouts ; but then it may be justly doubted, whether at that 
 time it meant exactly the same thing that is now meant by 
 a fiddle or violin, for in the glossary to Chaucer, ' to crowde,* 
 is explained, ' to play on a crowde, or any musical instru- 
 ment; also, to sing, or to make any melody,' which leaves the 
 matter a great deal too much at large for us to learn any thing 
 determinate concerning the form and figure of the crowde 
 at its first invention. Jn short, it might mean originally a 
 musical instrument, very different from the violin, and after- 
 wards might be appropriated to this particular one, by ana- 
 logy, as often happens. 
 
 You see, Mr. Urban, that I for my part, can go but little 
 into this subject, with any tolerable degree of certainty, no 
 farther than the above notice can carry me. But these leave 
 so much room, that they by no means give satisfaction, and 
 therefore I should be glad of further assistance from some 
 of your learned and musical correspondents; and in the 
 mean time, 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 PAUL GEMSECE. 
 1757, Dec. 
 
 XXXVI. On the Country Dance. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 i RUTH is a thing so sacred with me, and a right concep- 
 tion of things, so valuable in my eye, that I always think it 
 worth while to correct a popular mistake, though it be of 
 the most trivial kind. Now, Sir, we have a species of danc- 
 ing amongst us, which is commonly called country dancing, 
 and so it is written; by which we are led to imagine, that 
 it is a rustic way of dancing borrowed from the country 
 people or peasants; and this I suppose is generally taken 
 to be the meaning of it. But this, Sir, is not the case, fur as 
 our dances in general come from France, so does the coun- 
 try dancej which is a manifest corruption of the French 
 
 Ml
 
 168 Ancient Custom of Shepherds. 
 
 c'onlrfdanse,* where a number of persons, placing themselves 
 opposite one to another, begin a figure. This now explains 
 an expression we meet with in our old country dance books, 
 ' long ways as many as will;' as our present English coun- 
 try dances are aH in that manner, this direction seems to 
 be very absurd, and superfluous ; but if you have recourse 
 to the original of these dances, and will but remember that 
 the performers stood up opposite one to another in various 
 figures, as the dance might require, you will instantly be 
 sensible, that that expression has a sensible meaning in it, 
 and is very proper and significant, as it directs a method or 
 form different from others that might be in a square or any 
 other figure. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 PAUL GEMSEGE. 
 1758, April. 
 
 XXXVII. Ancient Custom of Shepherds. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 AS there is something very entertaining to the mind as 
 well as useful, in reviewing the manners of antiquity ; I 
 should be obliged to any of your learned correspondents 
 for the pleasure of knowing the methods, which the shep- 
 herds of Jewry, and the eastern countries followed in the 
 care of their flocks. In St. John x. 3, 4, we have these 
 words; * To him the porter openeth ; and the sheep hear 
 his voice : And he calleth his own sheep by name, and lead- 
 eth them out : and when he ptitteth forth his own sheep, he 
 
 foeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they 
 now his voice.' On these words, Dr. Hammond observes, 
 1st, ' That the shepherds of Judea knew every sheep seve- 
 rally.' (This, as I have been informed, by a gentleman of 
 true value, has been attained to by a shepherd in our own 
 country ;) 2dly, ' That the shephe'rds of that country had a 
 distinct name for every sheep, which each sheep knew and 
 answered by obediential coming, or following, to that call.' 
 This, as very unusual with us, scarcely gains credit. And 
 
 * Marshal Bassompierre, speaking of his dancing country 'dances here 
 in England, in the time of king- Charles I. writes it expressly contredaises. 
 See hi Mcinoires, torn iii. p. 307.
 
 Ancient Custom of Shepherd*: 169 
 
 yet what is there wonderful in it ? Why might not names 
 be given to flocks of sheep, as well as to herds of bullocks? 
 And uhy may not sheep, led into their fold every night by 
 the shepherd, and brought out every morning, (Jed when 
 young, in a great measure too by hand) be taught to follow 
 the accustomed voice of their shepherd, and distinguish 
 that voice too from the voice of a stranger. That the shep- 
 herds gave them names, appears in some measure from the 
 above-cited passage of St. John, but more fully from Theo- 
 critus, Id. v. 1. 103, 104. where a shepherd calls three of his 
 sheep by their names; and that the shepherds often went 
 before, while the flock followed, is above asserted by St. 
 John in express words. Hence God, who is said to go be- 
 fore the Israelites, in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar 
 of fire by night, is, Psalm Ixxx. 1. styled ' the shepherd of 
 Israel that led Joseph like a flock;' hence the title of shep- 
 herd, Is. xliv. 28, is given by God to Cyrus, and by the most 
 ancient authors to kings, who headed their armies to battle; 
 and since David was an expert shepherd, as well as divine 
 poet, after whose sweet strains his flock doubtless went, the 
 fable of Orpheus may, I think, be easily deduced from 
 thence. 
 
 But the care of these shepherds did not stop here. Thev 
 seem to have trained up the ram to collect the flock, when 
 any way scattered, and thus to draw them together in that 
 regular order, in which sheep brought together almost natu- 
 rally stand. Let it be observed, that I am not here posi- 
 tive, though Lucian says of Polyphemus the shepherd, IT:- 
 
 Xa/AEyoj TW xgifj owocra p/i' TT^a.rlti'v uirov i"jri;> E^ta ? ' Ol'dcrino- the 
 
 ram what things he ought to do for me.' Homer has a com- 
 parison of the same nature ; and it must be owned, that all 
 poetical comparisons, either were known, or supposed to 
 have a real existence in nature, and that Homer would not 
 have compared Ulysses, drawing up his men, to a ram or- 
 dering the flock, unless some such thing had really, or sup- 
 posedly, been done. The words of Homer may as well be 
 seen in Mr. Pope's translation as in the original. 
 
 Then said, once more he viewed the warrior train : 
 What's he, whose arms lie scattered on the plain ? 
 Broad is his breast, his shoulders larger spread ; 
 Tho' great Atrides overtops his head. 
 Nor yet appear his care and conduct small ; 
 From rank to rank he moves and orders all : 
 The stately ram thus measures o'er the ground, 
 And, master of the flock, surveys them round.
 
 170 Ancient Custom of Shepherds.. 
 
 This use of the ram at present our sheep dogs supply ; 
 but the dogs of the shepherds at that time appear from 
 Theocritus (see Id. v. 1. 106. and Id. \\. 1. 10.) to be wolf- 
 dogs, kept to preserve the flock from wolves, and other 
 wild beasts. 
 
 There remains yet one very curious observation, and 
 established on the indisputable authority of Philo Judacus. 
 That philosopher, a Jew, born and bred in Egypt, must of 
 course be acquainted with their customs, and lias these re- 
 markable words in his first chapter concerning the creation. 
 
 v, eiop.ti'c.i, xastTrsf a.1 -cro^Et^, TO tTviffiov aTroidai/a* 
 
 vtrtk. ' Woolly rams laden with thick fleeces, 
 in spring season, being ordered by their shepherd, stand 
 without moving, and silently stooping a little, put them- 
 selves into his hand to have their wool shorn ; being ac- 
 customed, as cities are, to pay their yearly tribute to man, 
 their king by nature.' Their sheep, it is plain, stood un- 
 constrained before the hand of the shearer. 
 
 These things may appear strange to us, who never at- 
 tempted to know what the docility of a sheep is; and I 
 shall leave it to the consideration of naturalists, whether or 
 no the shepherds of these countries were not much assisted 
 jn this their government of their sheep, by giving them 
 names, while in the state of lambs, and by using them to 
 go and come daily by these names. Our Saviour's expres- 
 sion in St. John, of ' calling his own sheep by name, and 
 leading them out,' seems to favour this hypothesis. If this 
 is granted, then all the other difficulties vanish ; since every 
 creature, conversant about man, is known to be teachable 
 by names and sounds continually impressed on him, to do 
 things almost incredible to those, who do not duly consider 
 the docility of these creatures. I shall only add, that a 
 sheep standing in this silent inclining posture, willing to 
 part with his fleece for the good of man, is justly made by 
 the prophet Isaiah, chap. liii. v. 7. to image out our Saviour, 
 * who laid down his lite of himself,' standing in the most 
 meek, uncomplaining manner, before his judge, when he 
 was * oppressed and afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth, 
 when he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a 
 sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his 
 mouth.' 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 Smith Afcnlton, De$. 3, 1753, JfoiiN COLERIDGE, 
 
 1753, Dec,
 
 Causes of dry ness in dead Bodies. 171 
 
 XXXVIII. On the Causes of Dryness in Dead Bodies. 
 
 MR. URBAN, Westminster, Dec. 8. 
 
 IF the silence of the grave can sometimes afford a theme 
 of instruction ; the following occurrence, may perhaps oc- 
 casion a speculative mind to take wing, in search of new 
 discoveries. 
 
 In digging up the earth, to lay a foundation for a vault, 
 in the ^church of St. Margaret, Westminster, towards the 
 beginning of June last; the workmen broke into an old 
 coffin, in which they found the body of a woman ; which, 
 from the condition it was then in, must have been buried 
 many years. The skin and flesh were entirely dried up, 
 and appeared to be of the same consistency with vellum or 
 parchment; and in colour very much resembling the latter. 
 The features were all perfect, except the nose, which was 
 almost gone; and the mouth, the upper lip of which, on the 
 right, was in some measure decayed. The hails were all 
 perfect on the hands ; and on the left foot appeared some- 
 thing like the remains of a stocking ; which, upon exami- 
 nation, was thicker than ordinary, and made of thread. 
 
 As curiosity, Mr. Urban, had drawn a great many people 
 to the church, to view these uncorrupted remains of mor- 
 tality, I went there among the rest, with a design to enter 
 upon a cool and deliberate examination of the matter, and 
 to discover, if possible, the cause of such a preservation. 
 The workmen were unable to give me any satisfaction as to 
 the exact length of time it had lain in the ground : no plate, 
 or inscription of any kind being found upon the spot, or 
 thereabouts, even to warrant a conjecture. With a three 
 foot rule I measured the figure, and found the length of it 
 to be four feet eleven inches. From the common fate that 
 attends objects of this nature, one would have expected, 
 that these remains, upon being exposed to the air, would 
 have undergone a sensible, if not a total dissolution ; but, 
 although this figure was handled and examined many days, 
 little or no alteration ensued. There was nothing in the 
 appearance that was ghastly or odious, like what we expe- 
 rience from the view of a body recently buried : but, to 
 speak in the language of a medalist, there was a venerable 
 rouge on the figure, that was rather inviting ; for it bore a 
 strong resemblance to an Egyptian mummy, stripped of its 
 bandages. 
 
 The simple curiosity of an inconsiderate mind is a passion 
 easily gratified, and to the multitude the bare sight qt' these
 
 172 Causes of dryness in dead Bodies. 
 
 remains is found sufficient. But a rational curiosity cannot 
 Vest here. It is this that searches, examines, traces up things 
 to their first, causes, and wades with infinite pleasure through 
 all the narrower channels that lead to the main spring-head. 
 The inquiry to be pursued here, is, to what cause is the 
 preservation of this body to be ascribed ? 
 
 In the decay of bodies committed to the earth, there? 
 seems to be but one operative cause : and that is, the hu- 
 midity of the body. 1 he cadaverous moisture induces pu- 
 trefaction, and that, a dissolution. The intestines, from 
 their laxity, porosity, and humidity, are the first parts that 
 are liable to corruption : from these, the contagion spreads 
 gradually through the whole body ; and the bones are soon 
 stripped of the flesh that covered them. It is evident this 
 was not the case here ; and how came it otherwise ? 
 
 As there seems to be one cause of putrefaction, so there 
 seem to be three causes of preservation, in the case of in- 
 terred bodies, 
 
 1. Embalming. 
 
 2. Dry sand. 
 
 3. Extreme age. 
 
 As to the first, upon the most rigorous inspection that 
 could be made, this body appeared never to have under- 
 gone this operation. No incision of any kind was visible 
 ton the stomach, or any other criterion, to favour such a 
 surmise. 
 
 As to the second cause, it is well known, that dry sand 
 will imbibe, by attraction, the humid effluvia of bodies : and 
 as it partakes of an attractive, but not a repellent quality, 
 human bodies have been found entire after a long course 
 of time, where they have lain in such a stratum. As, on 
 the contrary, where the soil has been naturally moist ; and 
 from that quality, repels as well as attracts, bodies are soon 
 consumed. But upon viewing the earth, where this body 
 lay, it appeared to be a soft loam, rather damp than other- 
 wise: and one would have imagined at first, that as all the 
 "bodies which were hereabouts, except this, were decayed, 
 that this lay in a stratum of earth of a different nature. 
 But, on examination, the earth was every where the same, 
 and no sand visible any where. 
 
 The third cause seems most likely to give some light 
 into this matter, which is that of extreme old age. It is 
 obvious, that in this period of life, the radical moisture be- 
 gins to subside, and that dryness ensues, which is the con- 
 sequence, when the pores are fewer in number, and the 
 perspiration altogether insensible. At this juncture, there
 
 Causes of dry ness in dead Bodies. 1 73 
 
 is a more firm adhesion of the flesh to the bones ; a con- 
 tact and union formed between both, that seems to admit 
 of no separation ; not unlike the case of fruit and other bo- 
 dies, whose moisture has been exhaled by the sun's heat ; 
 we find their component parts more compact and united, 
 and the disunion of them difficult An instance of this kind, 
 we had some years ago, in the workhouse of this parish. 
 It was the case of Margaret Patten, who lived to the age of 
 113. Nature's heat and moisture had been so far exhausted 
 in this woman, that she might be said to have lived in twu 
 different bodies: her muscles, tendons, sinews, and other 
 ramous parts, a long time before her death, being entirely 
 ossified. Should her remains be viewed at this time, they 
 would probably afford an entertainment to a rational curio- 
 sity, no ways inferior to that which we have lately experi- 
 enced in this church. 
 
 Among many instances, that might be produced to con- 
 firm this hypothesis ; that the incorruption of dead bodies 
 is sometimes owing to old age ; I shall mention but one. It 
 occurs in a book, entitled, The History of the Church of St. 
 Peter, Westminster; published by Mr. Widtnore, librarian, 
 to the dean and chapter of that church. The book is only 
 in the possession of the subscribers, and therefore I shall 
 transcribe the passage : 
 
 * Abbot Estney, died in 1498, and was buried on tli 
 south side of St. John the Evangelist's chapel. August 
 17, 1706, by digging near Estney's tomb, in a large coffin, 
 lined with lead, his corpse, clothed in crimson silk, was 
 found entire.' 
 
 The incorruption of Estney's body and that of this wo- 
 man, were certainly owing to the barne cause. The dry 
 season of old age had entirely absorbed the radical mois- 
 ture, the cohesion of all the parts became more uniform and 
 contracted : and by these means, putrefaction was resisted. 
 Such persons as these had possibly a vigour of constitution, 
 equal to that of old AJassinissa, introduced by Tully, in his 
 inimitable treatise l)e fienectitte. ' Arbitror te audire,' say* 
 this master of language, ' Scipio, hospes tuus avitus Massi- 
 riissa qua? faciat hodie, noriaginta annus natus : nullo imbrc, 
 nullo frigore adduci, ut capite operto sit: summam. in eo 
 corporis siccitatem.' 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 EDGAR BOCHART. 
 
 [Dtigdale, in his history of St. Paul's church, remarks 
 that among the rubbish uf the old fabric, whon it was pulled
 
 174 On Bishop Fishers Grave. 
 
 down, the body of bishop Braybroke was found in a leaden 
 coffin ; and though it had been buried more than 26O 
 years, as by the inscription appeared, yet it was not in the 
 least inclined to putrefaction; the flesh, sinews, and skin 
 being so dried to the bones, that when it was set upright 
 it stood as stiff as aboard. The same author tells us of two 
 other bodies found at the same time dried in the same man- 
 ner; and mentions besides, the corpse of William Parr, 
 marquis of Northampton, found in the choir of St. Mary's 
 church, Warwick, in whose coffin, though interred 50 years 
 before, the rosemary and bays were also as fresh as if they 
 had not been laid in it ten days. This he ascribes to the 
 heat and dryness of the dust in which the bodies lay, and 
 not to the sanctity of the persons, as was the prevailing 
 opinion in his time.] 
 1758, Dec. 
 
 XXXIX. On Bishop Fisher's Grave. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 IT is surprising upon what slight grounds the Roman Ca- 
 tholics, so addicted to marvels, will obtrude their sham 
 miracles upon the world. To omit many others, I will 
 here report you one very remarkable instance. Dr. John 
 Fisher, bishop of Rochester, it will be allowed on all sides, 
 was a very learned, pious, and good man, but his warmest 
 advocates, the Papists, will find it difficult to persuade us 
 that any extraordinary or miraculous appearance (for such 
 they would suggest it to be) was seen at his grave. The 
 account given of the matter, by one of those authors, runs 
 thus : 
 
 ' And touching the place of his burial, in [Allhallows] 
 Barking church-yard, it was well observed at that time bv 
 divers worthy persons of the nations of Italy, Spain, and 
 France, that were then abiding in these realms, and more 
 diligently noted and wrote the course of things, and with 
 less fear and suspicion than any of the king's subjects might, 
 or durst do, that for the space of seven years after his burial, 
 there grew neither leaf nor grass upon his grave, but the 
 earth still remained as bare as though it had been continu- 
 ally occupied and trodden. Ituilifs Life of Bishop Fisher, 
 London, lto.3, l'2mo. p. 212. 
 
 This Dr. liaily, the publisher of bishop Fisher's life, was
 
 On Bishop Fisher's Grave. 175 
 
 a plagiary, for the book was written by Dr. Richard Hall, as 
 we are informed by Anih. a Wood, A then. Oxon. I. col. 568. 
 [2d edit.] However the miracle, you see, is vouched by one 
 doctor in divinity, and countenanced by another; but how 
 groundlessly will appear from the following remarks. 
 
 First, The truth of the fact is very disputable, even upon 
 the footing of Dr. Hall's report ; for why was it not ob- 
 served by the English, as well as those foreigners, Italians, 
 Spanish, and French? Why not by the neighbours as well 
 as by the strangers ? This nation was all Romanist at that 
 time of day, and bishop Fisher wanted not friends and well- 
 wishers enough amongst them to observe, to speak, and 
 write of, and even to give an air of miracle to this contin- 
 gency, had there been any such, and yet nobody has ever 
 taken notice of it till this writer; from whence I conclude 
 there never was any such thing. But says Dr. Hall, the 
 king's subjects were more subject to fear, and liable to 
 suspicion, than these foreigners, and therefore durst not, 
 or could not make the remark; a mere empty surmise; 
 for the people, as this author will allow, talked freelv 
 enough of the king's dealings with the bishop of Roches- 
 ter, who had friends sufficient, and zealous enough, had 
 there been any thing extraordinary in the case, to have 
 noted, and even then to have given it this turn. 
 
 But, secondly, supposing the fact to be true, there was 
 nothing miraculous in it : for it is not at all strange or su- 
 pernatural that grass or weeds should not grow upon a 
 grave in a London church-yard, situate within the walls. 
 They do not naturally grow freely in any close places in 
 London, and if it should happen that the earth in a particu- 
 lar place should be cold and sterile, should prove to be a 
 clay, or composed, as often is the case, of dead rubbish, 
 which is either unfit for vegetation or includes no seeds in 
 it, there may be no shoot at all., at least not for more than 
 seven years, the space of time mentioned. 
 
 Again, thirdly, supposing the fact to be true, how docs 
 it prove any miracle in the behalt of the good bishop? The 
 bodies of saints are found, as these writers tell us, all fresh 
 and fragrant, from whence one would expect, had there 
 been a real miracle, that the grave would have been over- 
 grown with flowers, or at least with aromatic plants. I have 
 tiie life of sir Thomas Cantilupe, written by H. S. a Jesuit, 
 and printed at Ghent, 1674, which tells us p. 202, that his 
 body, when his soul first left it, emitted an heavenly fra- 
 grance' that tilled the whole room. So in Osborn's History 
 of the translation of archbishop Klphcge ' Accurrnnt
 
 176 On BiJiop Fisher* a Grai'f. 
 
 itaque admiratione perterriti rex et archiepiseopus, lachri- 
 mantibus oculis introrsuni aspiciunt, vicient orgaiiuin quon- 
 dam spiritus sancti incorruptum jacere, nee quicquam pu- 
 tris it) toto corpore Ursionis inesse.' * The king and the 
 archbishop advance with astonishment, and looking in with 
 weeping eyes they behold the late temple of the holy 
 spirit lying all incorrupt, without one mark of putrefaction 
 in the whole body.* Wlutrtorfs Anl. Sacr. torn. ii. p. 145. 
 and yet this was eleven years after his death. And in the 
 search and inspection into the grave of St. Dunstan, by 
 archbishop Warham, printed in the same volume, p. 228. 
 the remains of that saint are said to smell most sweetly, 
 qiue revera omnia odore redolebant suavissinio ; and yet this 
 was above 500 years after his decease ; from all which one 
 would incline to believe, that a hixiiriancy of grass upon 
 his grave, would better have betokened the sanctity of bi- 
 shop Fisher than a want of it. An observation which I 
 
 lay the more stress upon, on account of Hollingshcd's tes- 
 timony concerning the murder of Mr. Arden, of Feversham. 
 This one thing seemeth very strange and notable touching 
 Maister Arden, that m the place where he was layd, being 
 dead, all the proportion of his body might be seen, two 
 v cares after and more, so plaine as could be; for the grasse 
 did not growe where his body had touched, but betueene 
 his legges, betweene his arnies, and about the holowness 
 of his necke, and round about his body, and where his legges, 
 armes, head, or any part of his body, had touched, no grasse 
 grovved at ail, all that time.' There was no sanctity in 
 the case here, nor did any one ever pretend there was : 
 Arden* had been basely murdered, it is true, but he was a 
 man of a bad character in several respects, as the same 
 historian tells us, and in particular had cruelly taken from 
 a poor widow that very h'sld in which his body was laid. 
 Mr. Lewis in a note on the story, which he has punted in 
 the appendix to his History of Feversham, after citing the 
 above passage of Dr. Hail's, thinks it very probable ' that 
 the grass was kept from growing where Mr. Arden's hocly 
 lay by art ; as was done at Colchester, in keeping the 
 ground bare, where the bodies of those brave gentlemen, 
 sir Charles Lucas, and sir George Lisle fell, when they 
 were shot in the Castle Green, for the sake of getting mo- 
 ney by shewing- people this lying wonder. Thus, we are 
 
 * His tragedy, printed in 1 j'49, is acted at certain seasons Ly the younj 
 people uf F-.ver*hui.
 
 On BisJi&p Fisher's Grave. 177 
 
 told, the popish priests in King Henry VIII.'s time poured 
 soap ashes on Mr. Petit's grave, in the church-yard, to prove 
 him an heretic, affirming that God would not suffer grass 
 to grow on an heretic's grave.' Strypes Memor. vol. i. 
 p. 203. The absence of grass, you observe, Mr. Urban, is 
 esteemed a mark of roguery and villany in Mr. Arden's, 
 and of heresy in Mr. Petit's case, and was given out to be 
 such, as to the latter, even by the papists themselves; how 
 then can it be a token of sanctity in Bishop Fisher's grave? 
 Certainly, in his case, the weeds and grass ought, by parity 
 of reason, to be more copious than ordinary, rather than 
 deficient. 
 
 Bur, fourthly, how can this observation argue a virtue 
 inherent in the bishop's bones, when they were removed 
 from this church-yard in a short time into the Tower? 
 The bishop was beheaded 22d of June, 1535. The sixth of 
 July following, Sir Thomas More suffered, soon after which, 
 * His body was buried in the chapel belonging to the Tower, 
 called S. Peter ad Fincula, by the care of his daughter Mar- 
 garet; to which place, as it is said, she afterwards removed 
 the body of John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, who being 
 beheaded for the same matter on the 22d June going before, 
 was buried in the church-yard of All-hallows Barkin.' 
 Wood's Athen. vol. i. col. 39. 2d edit. 
 
 The removal of the prelate's body not only precludes the 
 pretended miracle, but also will fully account for the want 
 of grass, on his grave ; for from thence, it may be in- 
 ferred : 
 
 Fifthly, and lastly, that the appearance, though it were 
 such as is represented, was no other than what may be ac- 
 counted for in a natural way. This bishop's grave was 
 made by the halberds of the guards, and consequently was 
 but shallow. See his Life, p. 211. After he had lain there 
 a short time, the earth was moved again, as Mr. Wood 
 writes; which second removal would of course retard all 
 vegetation, nothing in the world contributing so much, as 
 moving of earth, to the destruction of grass and weeds. If 
 then along with this we consider the nature of the place, 
 and the situation of it, there might well be but little 
 grass. 
 
 I conclude upon the whole, that there was nothing pre- 
 ternatural in this affair; that the fact itself is doubtful ; that 
 admitting it to be true, the bishop's bones were no other 
 May concerned in occasioning the want of grass, than as 
 they caused the earth to be twice removed ; and, lastly, 
 that upon the whole matter, this is no other than one of 
 VOL. {. N
 
 178 Introduction of Pointing. 
 
 those false miracles,* as was asserted above, with which the 
 modern papists are perpetually injuring the sacredness of 
 truth, and hurting the credit of real ones. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 Nov. 14, 1752. PAUL GEMSEGE. 
 
 1752, Dec, 
 
 XL. On the first Introduction of Pointing. 
 
 MR. URBAN, Westminster, Jan. 8. 
 
 IT is not, perhaps, an inquiry wholly useless, orunentertain- 
 ing, when the usage of stops began amongst us, since upon 
 them all propriety of reading and pronunciation so much 
 depends. 
 
 We will first consider, when they were not; and it will 
 appear that f Lipsius is on the side of truth, when he says, 
 that ' all ancient records, which were within his experience, 
 were without notes of distinction; 1 by which he must mean, 
 regular, determinate, and fixed stops. | Putean, in his ob- 
 servations upon Quintillian, is of the same opinion. What 
 within our own knowledge at this day puts this beyond dis- 
 pute, is, the Alexandrian manuscript, which I have parti- 
 cularly consulted on this occasion. This curious monument 
 of antiquity is at present in the king's library at the British 
 Museum. Whoever examines this, will find, that the whole 
 is written, continuo ductu, without distinction of words, or 
 sentences. How the ancients read their works, written in 
 this manner, is not easy to conceive. Their manner of read- 
 ing was, very possibly, the same with that used in our courts 
 of judicature; and what seems to favour this surmise, is, the 
 ancient custom continued, in these tribunals, of writing with- 
 out stops. 
 
 It has been imagined by some, that this invention of 
 pointing sprung up in the time of Hadrian, but this is a mis- 
 take, and arose from the misinterpretation of a passage in 
 Suidas. Suidas, speaking of Nicanor, the grammarian, 
 says, that he composed a little treatise, m^ rfyf*>j; VK <nra.g 
 'Opr.^u. Kl -rr t c, <&u.^a. Kaxxi^s^a.'. But whoever will take the pains 
 to examine Suidas's meaning here, \\ill clearly see, that he 
 
 * Sec Hall again, p. 3 and 211. f I" liis Inttcr De f)i.<iti'i.ct. 
 
 : 7/i Uistinvt. lib. iv. ='-'C Su/ns in hat; voct.
 
 Introduction of Pointing. 119 
 
 is not talking of stops and pointing, but of emphasis, accent, 
 and pronunciation. Lipsius* indeed supposes, that these 
 words intimate a proposal to introduce pointing, and that 
 the proposal was rejected. His error lies, in not having 
 given due attention to their import. 
 
 Isidore,f indeed, seems to have made a new discovery, 
 when he tells us, that, in his time, they made use of three 
 points, or distinctions. According to him, they were called 
 comma, colon, and period. The form of all three was the 
 same, but their position different ; the first being placed at 
 the bottom, the second at the middle, and the third at the 
 top of the letter. * Positura,' says he, ' est figura ad dis- 
 tinguendos sensus per cola, commata, et periodos. Quae 
 dtiui oidine suo apponitur, sensum nobis lectionis ostendit. 
 Ubi enitn in initio pronunciationis, respirare opor.tet, fit 
 comma, et ad imam literam ponitur. Ubi autem sententiae 
 sensum pracstat, fit colon, mediamque literam puncto nota- 
 nuis. Ubi vero plenam sententise clausulam facimus, fit 
 perioclus, punctumque ad caput literae ponimus.' It must 
 be observed here, that Isidore wrote about the time when 
 the old practice 'of joining words together ceased, and writ- 
 ings, began to be more legible, by separating and distinguish- 
 ing words from each other. About this time we find, from 
 monumental inscriptions, that they made use of certain 
 marks, placed at the end of every word ; not to distinguish 
 sentences, but words. J And, though we call some of our 
 stops, at this day, by the same name, it does not follow that 
 we use them for the same purpose. From Isidore's words, 
 here cited, one would at first imagine, that the points were 
 
 .ly in those places he specifies; out it must be understood, 
 that agreeable to the practice of that age, those notes of 
 distinction were placed after every word, though perhaps 
 not in the same manner. 
 
 In all the editions of the Fasti Capitolini, these points oc- 
 cur. The same are to be seen on the Colutnna Rostrata.^ 
 For want of these, we find such confusion in the Chronicon 
 Marvioreitm, and the covenant between the Smyrnasans and 
 Maghesians, which are both now at Oxford. In Salmasius's 
 edition of Dedicatio Stattue Regilhe. Herodis, the like confu- 
 sion occurs, where we find AEYPITE for AE^'.TE. 
 
 An instance to prove that marks of distinction were 
 
 * In his letter about pointing, printed with Putean'i Fisscrt. de Distinct. 
 
 f De Orig. lib. i. c. 19. 
 
 I SeeCdlurius's Orthography, p. 70. 
 
 Vide J.i-jti Hht. edit. Uxon. torn. vi. p. 207. 
 
 N2 '
 
 I SO Introduction of Pointhig* 
 
 placed at the end of each word, by the ancients, will appear 
 from the Walcote inscription, found near Bath. It present* 
 itself to the eye in the following manner : 
 
 IVLIUSv VlTALISv FABRI 
 CESISv LEGv XXv. Vv. V 
 STIPENDIORUMv &c. 
 
 After every word here, except at the end of a line, we see 
 this mark v . There is an inscription in Montfaucon, which 
 has a capital letter laid in an horizontal position, by way of 
 interstitial mark, which makes one apt to think that this way 
 of pointing was sometimes according to the fancy of the 
 graver. 
 
 P. FERRARIVS HERMES 
 CAECIMAE HDIGNAE 
 CONIVGI H KARRISSIMAE 
 NVMERIAE H &c. 
 
 Here we observe after the words, a T laid horizontally, but 
 not after each word, which proves this to be of a much later 
 age than the former. 
 
 Having now considered, that the present usage of stops was 
 unknown to the ancients, [proceed to assign the time in which 
 this commendable improvement of language began. 
 
 As it appears not to have taken place, while manuscripts- 
 and monumental inscriptions were the only known methods 
 to convey knowledge, we must conclude, that it was intro- 
 duced with the art of printing. The fifteenth century, to 
 which we are indebtea for this mystery, did not, however, 
 bestow those appendages, we call stops ; whoever will be 
 at the pains to examine the first printed books, will discover 
 no stops of any kind ; but arbitrary marks here and there, 
 according to the humour of the printer. In the sixteenth 
 century, we observe their first appearance. We find, from 
 the books of this age,, they were not all produced at the 
 same time : those we meet with there in use, being only the 
 comma, the parenthesis, the interrogation, and full point. 
 To prove this, we need but look into Male's Acts of English 
 f'otarit's, black letter, printed 1530: a book not commonly 
 to be had, but which I have in my collection. Indeed, in 
 the dedication of this book, which is to Edward VI. we dis- 
 cover a colon : but, as this is the only one of the kind 
 throughout the work, it is plain this stop was not established
 
 Introduction of Pointing. 1 8 1 
 
 at this time, and so warily put in by the printer; or if it was, 
 that it was not in common use. Thirty years after this 
 time, in that sensible and judicious performance of sir Tho- 
 mas Elyot, entitled, The Governour, imprinted 1580 ; we see 
 the colon as frequently introduced as any other stop : but 
 the semicolon and the admiration were still wanting; neither 
 of these being visible in this book. In Hackluyt* Voyages^ 
 printed 1599, we see the first instance of a semicolon : and, 
 as if the editors did not fully apprehend the propriety of its 
 general admission, it is but sparingly introduced. The ad- 
 miration was the last stop that was invented, and seems to 
 have been added to the rest, in a period not far distant from 
 our own times. 
 
 Thus we see, that these notes of distinction came into 
 use, as learning was gradually advanced and improved : 
 one invention indeed, but enlarged by several additions. 
 Nothing is more probable, as we can trace them no higher 
 than the fifteenth century, than that the thought was mo- 
 nastic. The monks, however ridiculous in some things, 
 have obliged posterity with others, truly valuable. Learn- 
 ing, such as it was, did not want advocates in this age. If 
 Walsingham, a benedictine monk of St. Alban's in this cen- 
 tury, wrote the Historia Brevis, a work much esteemed at 
 that time, and was distinguished for his literary accomplish- 
 ments, it is something more than conjecture to attribute this 
 invention to him. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 EDGAR BOCHART. 
 1759, January. 
 
 MR. URBAN, Wateringbury. 
 
 Mr. Edgar Bochart, in his essay on the introduction of 
 pointing, says, 'In Hackluyt's Voyages, printed 1599, we 
 see the first instance of a semicolon ; and, as if the editors 
 did not fully apprehend the propriety of its general admis- 
 sion, it is but sparingly introduced. The admiration was 
 the last stop that was invented, and seems to have been 
 added to the rest, in a period not far distant from our own 
 times.' 
 
 That your correspondent is mistaken, in supposing the 
 semicolon to have been prior to the admiration, is evident 
 from the Catechism set forth by king Edward the sixth, and 
 printed by John Day, in the year 1553. In a question in 
 this catechism, p. 19, there is a note of admiration, as 
 
 N3
 
 '182 Ancient custom of burning the Dead. 
 
 follows: 'Master, oh the unthankfulnesse of men! but what 
 hope had our first parents, and from thencefourth the rest, 
 whereby they were relieved.' 
 
 There is no other stop of the like kind, in so much of the 
 book as I have by me (which is imperfect) and not one semi- 
 colon. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 E. GREENSTEADi 
 1759, April. 
 
 XLI. On the ancient Custom of Burning the Dead. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 SlR Thomas Brown, in his spirited treatise, entitled Hy- 
 driotaphiuy iiicidently introduces the ancient usage of burn- 
 ing the dead. It were to be wished, that he, and all those, 
 who preceded him in the disquisition of so abstruse a theme, 
 had considered the subject with a little more attention. One 
 general error seems to have been adopted; that b} r such a 
 precipitate dissolution, the ethereal flame, or soul of man, 
 was purified by its disunion from the gross and servile 
 bandages of matter. Heraclitus, it seems, was the first ex- 
 positor of this doctrine ; by whose means the practice be- 
 came general in every region of Greece. According to 
 him, fire was the predominant principle in the human fa 
 brie ; and that therefore by the reduction of the body to its 
 first principles, the purity and incorruptibility of its magis- 
 terial parts were, by such means, better preserved. To this 
 purpose is Euripides, in speaking of Clytemnestra, 
 
 There was indeed another opinion, which had its foundation 
 in policy: which was, that by burning the body, all rage 
 and malice, tne general issues of hatred and enmity, whicli 
 often survived their object, were checked and prevented, 
 But as this reason grew out of the custom, established a 
 long time before y so the custom in its original, grew out of 
 reasons previous to those beforementioned. It is matter of 
 surprize, that so ingenious a writer as sir Thomas Brown 
 should have imbibed the general opinion ; and not rather 
 have corrected it, by expatiating a little farther into that
 
 Ancient custom of burning tJie Dead. 183 
 
 fruitful soil, where he would soon have discovered a clearer 
 prospect. 
 
 Two considerations then will arise here. The first relates to 
 the antiquity, and the second to the intention, of this custom. 
 Its antiquity rises as high as the Thehan war; where we are 
 told of the great solemnity that accompanied this ceremony at 
 the pyre of Meneceus and Archemorus, who were cotemporary 
 with Jair, the eighth judge of Israel. Homer abounds with 
 funeral obsequies of this nature. Penthesilea,* queen of the 
 Amazons, we find, underwent this fiery dissolution. In the 
 inward regions of Asia, the practice was of very ancient date, 
 and the continuance long: for we are told, that in the reign 
 of Julian, the king of Chinoniaf burnt his son's body, and 
 deposited the ashes in a silver urn. Coeval almost with the 
 first instances of this kind in the east, was the practice in the 
 western parts of the world.;}; The Herculeans, the Getes, 
 and Thracians, had all along observed it; and its antiquity 
 was as great, with the Celtaj, Sarmatians, and other neigh- 
 bouring nations. 
 
 Under the second consideration then, cannot we turn up, 
 and examine the earth a little about the roots of this custom, 
 and see if they do not spread farther then general observa- 
 tion has hitherto gone? Can we not deduce this pyral con- 
 struction, the supremos honores of this kind, from our own 
 feelings ? Yes the custom has its foundation laid deep in 
 nature. An anxious fondness to preserve the memory of 
 the great and good, the dear friend, and the near relation, 
 was the sole motive that prevailed in the institution of this 
 solemnity. Wherefore Heraclitus, when he spoke of fire, 
 as the master principle in all things (the custom of burning 
 bodies existing long before his time) could not be supposed 
 to lay down this doctrine, as a reason for the custom, but as 
 a persuasion to ease the minds of those, who thought there 
 was too much barbarity and inhumanity in the practice of it. 
 Let us see, if the ancients do not furnish us with symptoms 
 of this tenderness. In Homer we see. this confirmed. 
 
 o at taavvvyas uv.v$ 
 X^fa/a Ix. xg>)T>jof, t\uv &7ra? a/^ipi. 
 Qii/ov a.'fi/ffa'oi/.iiici^ j^ajt/.adij % } otvs at yaia 
 fMfJh 
 
 Iliad Y. 213. 
 
 2. Calaber, lib. i. f Ammiznvs Marcettinus. 
 
 ArnoUlis JWontu/iis L, L, Gyraldus. 
 
 N4
 
 1S4 Ancitnt custom tf burning the Dead. 
 
 At Hector's funeral, the preservation of the ashes was the 
 principal concern of the friends and relations that at- 
 tended. 
 
 TlguTW ply ttttTCt 7TVy.aVj c^iffOLV aufloTt o'lvtf 
 floiffotv, oirotr<ror liriyjft irv^ /xto?* etiira.^ tmitac, 
 Ors* favxft hsyovro xo-iy>)Toj, tTeoi TE. 
 
 Iliad n. 791. 
 
 The ashes, when collected and deposited in an urn, were 
 preserved as a memorial of the goodness or greatness of the 
 party deceased ; as an example to excite the same ardour 
 in the minds of those who survived. These were kept in 
 some convenient place, in the house of the next relation or 
 friend. Achilles, we find, had the remains of his dear 
 Patroclus in his tent. 
 
 Iliad . 352. 
 
 Tibullus introduces the same custom, where he speaks of 
 the mother's absence, whose duty it had been to have pre- 
 served her son's remains. 
 
 ' - Non hie mihi Mater y 
 
 2ufB legat in mastos ossa pernsta sinus. 
 
 Thus it appears,, that the reduction of the body to ashes, 
 the urnal inclosure of those ashes, the frequent contempla- 
 tion of them in the urn, were thought good expedients to 
 keep alive the memory of those, who were in their lives most 
 conspicuous in the walk of fame. These were the springs, 
 from whence this custom issued. In the celebrated instance 
 of Artemisia, the fondness extended almost to a deification. 
 A case this, not unlike what we experience in our own times : 
 when a lock of hair, a ring, a seal, which was the property of 
 a deceased friend, and which we have in our possession, is 
 looked upon with reverence, and a peculiar pleasure in the 
 contemplation. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 E. BOCHART. 
 
 P.S. In your last magazine, Mr. Greenstead says, he 
 finds the admiration stop in king Edward's Catechism. I 
 have borrowed the book, and can see no such stop in the
 
 Honour due to the Wives of Prelates. 185 
 
 place he mentions. I would advise him to look again, and 
 see whether it is not rather the artifice of the pen, than the 
 product of the press. 
 
 1759, May. 
 
 XLII. Of Honour due to the Wives of Prelates. 
 
 Honour to whom Honour. 
 
 Rom. xiii. 7. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 IT is matter of wonder with many, that the wives of our 
 prelates are not dignified with the titles of ladies, as the 
 consorts of the lay lords are ; and indeed there is some 
 room for it, as the style runs, ' the lords spiritual and tem- 
 poral in parliament assembled,' by which, precedence hein^ 
 manifestly allotted to the spiritual peers, one would imagine 
 their wives ought in reason to rank at least with the wives 
 of the other. Besides, the refusing them this title is by no 
 means consonant to the courtesy of England, in other re- 
 spects, which in general is inclined rather to exceed, than 
 be sparing of civility, to the fair sex more especially ; thus 
 the consort of the lord mayor of York, is a lady for the 
 whole course of her life, and the wives of baronets, and, 
 even of knights bachelors, do all enjoy the same titles ; and 
 yet the wives of the archbishops of Canterbury were no 
 more than Mrs. Wake, or Mrs. Potter, though their hus- 
 bands, by their dignity, had the precedence of dukes, the 
 highest order of peers. And so it was anciently, for I re- 
 member to have read some where, I think in Strype's Life of 
 archbishop Parker, that queen Elizabeth leaving Lambeth, 
 after an entertainment, spoke in this manner to the archbi- 
 shop's wife, ' Mistress, I will not call you, and madam, I 
 must not call you, but however,' says she, ' I thank you ?' 
 Where you will please to observe, that madam, at that time 
 of day, signified the same as ' my lady ;' in French, madame; 
 in Italian, ma donna. 
 
 But what can be the meaning of this partiality? I take 
 the case to be this; before the Reformation, the prelate, as is 
 well known, did not marry, so that no provision of this kind, 
 could be made till then ; and at that time, and after, as ia 
 the reign of queen Elizabeth and .lames I. puritanism, whicn, 
 is seldom over-burthened with politeness, ran so strong, 
 that the bishops were not likely to acquire any new privileges j
 
 '186 Egyptian Lotus. 
 
 attempts were made to deprive them of some of their old 
 ones, but 1 question whether any one instance can be given 
 of a, new privilege conferred upon their order, as a separate 
 body from the lay lords. 
 
 But what would you have done in this case? No more, 
 Mr. Urban, than what is fitting, and common decency and 
 civility so apparently require, which is, that in direct ad- 
 dresses, the wives of the bishops should be styled ladies ; 
 and that, in speaking of them, as their husbands write 
 themselves John Canterbury, Edward Duresme, &c. so their 
 \vives should be called lady John Canterbury, and lady Ed- 
 ward Duresme, &c. And this method, I apprehend, would 
 answer every purpose, not only supply our present want of 
 civility in this respect, but also be sufficient to distinguish 
 the lady of the bishop from that of the lay lord, where both 
 take their titles from the same place, as in Oxford, Lincoln, 
 and the rest. It would also, in all probability, be sufficient 
 in all cases to discriminate the surviving wife of a prede- 
 cessor from that of a successor, or successors, as it might 
 happen, since the Christian names of their husbands are not 
 often the same. Lastly, I would have the lady to subscribe 
 herself Ethelred W. Canterbury, and then, if the deputy earl 
 marshal would pass an act in the office of arms, or but issue 
 his command to the king of arms, to make the proper entries 
 there, and after that would cause a proclamation to be made 
 jn the Gazette, as is done in cases of public mourning, the 
 business I suppose would be effected. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1759, April. PAUL GEMSEGE. 
 
 XLIII. On the Egyptian Lotus. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 THE following dissertation on a very curious subject, ap- 
 peared to me, upon the perusal, to have so much merit, 
 tiiat I obtained leave 'of my learned and ingenious friend, 
 the author, to impart it to the public by means of your ex- 
 cellent monthly collection. Mons. Mahudel, in Montfuu- 
 corfs Antiqq. torn. vi. saw plainly, that the lotus of Egypt 
 was an aquatic plant, and a species of the nympha;a, agree- 
 ing herein with my valuable friend ; but then it should be 
 remembered, that this last had never seen Mons. Mahudel's
 
 Egyptian Lotus. 1 87 
 
 dissertation, and therefore his paper is justly entitled to all 
 the honour and merit of an original discovery. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 SAMUEL PEG<%F. 
 
 Cubbif, April 2, 1759. 
 
 THE flower of the lotus, which adorns the heads of Isis 
 and Orus, was almost peculiarly sacred to those two Kgyp- 
 tian deities. It has, however, the misfortune of losing more 
 than half its beauties with many, because they are ignorant 
 of tiie meaning of this attribute. For as, when the reverses 
 of medals, or other monuments oi antiquity, that express to 
 us any allegorical deities, do clearly reveal to us the mystic 
 knowledge they contain, no species of learning can be found 
 more pleasing and instructive; so, on the other hand, if the 
 devices remain obscure or unintelligible, what are they but 
 mere blanks or chimaras, affording neither curiosity nor en- 
 tertainment. They, therefore, who have a taste for disqui- 
 %itions of this kind, will find, that of all rational amusements, 
 which tend to improve and refine the human understanding, 
 none give us more noble ideas of man's benevolence or his 
 public spirit, than what is to be met with on the reverses of 
 ancient coins, when once they are thoroughly understood. 
 They represent their princes and great men in their most 
 glorious characters, exhibiting them as public blessings, and 
 the greatest benefactors of mankind. 
 
 Thus, then, if we would have a true knowledge of medals, 
 \ve must consider their reverses as denoting their meaning, 
 1st, by representation, 2dly, by symbols, 3dly, by hiero- 
 glyphics; these being the characteristics, whereby the an- 
 cients were wont to record their public benefactions, toge- 
 ther with the virtues of their heroes, on medals. 
 
 The device I undertake to explain is, the flower on the 
 head of Isis, and in the hand of Orus, without concerning 
 myself with any other [Tart of the medal; and this I consi- 
 der, not as it was received by the Romans in the reign of 
 the emperor Hadrian, but as it was understood by the 
 Egyptians in the earliest ages, even on the canonization of 
 those deities. It seems to have been so long immersed and 
 in such dark oblivion, that in the later times there was no 
 vestige remaining of its first and original state. Isis is ro 
 presented on this reverse as sitting on a chair of state, with 
 a flower of the lotus on her head, and her son Orus sitting 
 on her lap, naked, with the same flower on his head, uith a 
 Jong stalk and a flower at its extremity, in his left hand,
 
 188 Egyptia n Lotus. 
 
 which I shall endeavour to prove, by analogy, to be the stalk 
 and flower of the lotus. 
 
 The various opinions concerning this plant have hitherto 
 rendered every determination very uncertain; and such 
 false and precarious explanations must abate and lessen the 
 credit of those who have so grossly misrepresented it: 
 ' Florem ilium sacrum Isidis capiti impositum, loti esse putat 
 Laur. Pignorius in expositione Mensae Isiacse, et recte, 
 utpote quem jEgyptii inagnificerunt, ut constat ex Plinii 
 lib. xiii. c. 17 et 18, aliis abrotonum referre videtur, de quo 
 Plinius, lib. xxi. c. 10 et 21, roborando utero, vel erucam, de 
 qua dictum, 
 
 * Excitat ad Venerem tardos eruca maritos, 
 
 snnt qui Perseam interpretentur, cujus arbor Isidi sacra 
 fuit.' Oiselius. If Pliny means the birds-foot trefoil, or any 
 other land plant, it is certain he knew nothing of the true 
 Jotus; and if this great naturalist knew not what it was, we 
 may take it for granted, that the people of Rome knew less, 
 who seem, in this case, to have worshipped these deitie$ 
 rather from the knowledge they had of their fables, than the 
 history of their lives; in short, they appear to have known 
 them better as gods than as mortals. 
 
 As for our modern professors of virtu, they are so wide 
 from the mark, that they have quite mistaken the element 
 in which the plant grows ; for if there be any credit to be 
 given to Herodotus, the lotus is not a land plant, as they 
 suppose it, but an aquatic; the water, and not the land being 
 its proper situation ; it was on the overflowing of the 
 Nile, that this father of history saw it floating on the water 
 
 in great abundance : Emot* -nyXvigij? yinjrat o 7roT/x.of, KCU rat 7d 
 
 ' JT Ot 
 
 is piCat ra XWT TSTH ICUOLJJ.Y) x.cu iyy\vaan eWHMtuSi -w r^yyvtoV) fttyiwy 
 
 xcir IW\M. ' When the river is become full, and all the grounds 
 round it are a perfect sea, there grows a vast quantity of 
 lilies, which the Egyptians call lotus, in the water. After 
 they have cut them, they dry them in the sun; then, having 
 parched the seed within the lotus, which is most like the 
 poppy, they make bread of it, baking it with fire. The 
 root also of the lotus is eatable, easily becoming sweet, 
 being round, and of the size of an apple.' Herodotus, Eut. 
 c. 92. From so plain a direction, in so celebrated an author, 
 jt is strange how the writers, mentioned by Oiselius, could 
 be guilty of such a notorious blunder, as to seek this plant
 
 Egyptian Lotus. 189 
 
 on land, where it never did or could grow, instead of the 
 water, where they might have been sure to have found it 
 without much trouhle, if they had but trusted to the evi- 
 dence of an eye-witness, and not to their own fanciful ima- 
 
 ginations. 
 
 The lotus being thus re-instated in its proper element, 
 from whence it has been unfortunately transported for so 
 many ages, the next thing to be done, is, to consider where 
 and to what tribe to refer this plant. This now is no diffi- 
 cult task to one whose wretched destiny it is, to live in the 
 Delta of England, where the principal prospect is water, 
 whereon are crawling insects innumerable, and in which 
 grow some plants, and amongst the rest the lotus. 
 
 If analogy, or similitude, can be admitted as a reason, I 
 will then venture to pronounce, that the Egyptian lotus, and 
 the nymphaea alba major, are one and the same plant, and 
 that there is no difference between them, but what is occa- 
 sioned by the variety or difference of climates. 
 
 Before the reader gives his determination, he should 
 compare what Herodotus has said of the inside of the flower- 
 cup of the lotus, with the inside of the flower-cup of the 
 nymphaea, or the white water lily, and he will find an exact 
 similitude. But this is not all ; he must view the stalk, with 
 the flower at its extremity, in the medal, along with the 
 nymphaea, when floating in the water in July, in all ite 
 glory, from whence he will be clearly convinced, that the 
 stalk in the hand of Orus, with the flower at its extremity, 
 can be no other but the white water lily. This I can assert, 
 that after frequently examining them together, to me they 
 $eem in every part alike. 
 
 The lotus being now found not only to be an aquatic, but 
 also to belong to a certain species, it is to be hoped we may 
 from hence investigate the reason, why it was so particu- 
 larly dedicated to the goddess Isis and her son Orus. It is 
 well known that the Egyptians perpetuated their memora- 
 ble facts by figures, which, when ascribed to their deities, 
 often inculcated a double meaning; that is, they had dif- 
 ferent meanings, according to the different manners in which 
 they were represented. Thus the lotus in this reverse has a 
 two-fold meaning; it is both a representation and a symbol, 
 according to its different situation, and partakes not at all of 
 the hieroglyphic, as it stands here. 
 
 In the hand of Orus it is figurative ; importing no less a 
 transaction, than his preservation. The Egyptians could 
 not devise a more significant attribute to perpetuate the 
 momentous event iu the life of Isis, the saving of her son.
 
 190 Temples of the Ancients. 
 
 from perishing in the water, than the making this most beau* 
 tiful water-flower the type or symbol of the deliverance. 
 " Hunc, dura a Typhone ut spurium accusatum, imo dis- 
 cerptum, et in aquas projectum volunt, a Luna vero, se.u 
 Isicle mundi matre, in aqua repertum, vitseque restitutum et 
 immortalem redditum dicunt." Oiselius, fig. iii. What in- 
 terpretation can be more natural, or so expressive of the 
 story, as what is here given of it upon the medal ? The 
 flower is placed in her son's hand, as a symbol of the fact, 
 which yet was so ancient and obscure, as to be quite forgot- 
 ten in the days of Hadrian ; for, if the Romans then knew 
 not the plant, how should they know the meaning of the 
 device ? 
 
 But now, on the other hand, the lotus, placed on the head 
 of the goddess, was not a symbolical but a real representa- 
 tion, signifying that she had discovered the use of meal for 
 the benefit of man, by kneading it into bread, tyu i^ i V%UT 
 xxgTrov afyuvois tl^ff*. A more beneficial invention never 
 was, nor could be, for man's support, than the act of making 
 bread, which was gratefully commemorated by some cities 
 with much pomp and ceremony : n*tg'rin<ti; h ru <&o\iu>, *a.i TO*? 
 
 n t%etg%iis TV &&> <pXoT%4;j lig&trtut, " In some of 
 
 the cities, in the feasts of Isis, there were carried in the 
 procession, amongst other things, the stamina of wheat 
 and barley, as a memorial of the original and beneficial in- 
 ventions of the goddess." Could any other representation 
 be so full to the purpose, or declarative of the goddess's 
 discovery, as the flower of that very plant, from whence 
 the seed proceeded of which the bread was made ? This 
 however, must be added, that if the lotus of the Nile made 
 no better bread than the nympluea alba major of the fens 
 does, whoever sups on it once will never desire a second re- 
 past of the same. But still Herodotus assures us, that 
 bread was actually made of it, and that's enough for our 
 present purpose, seeing we are not speaking of the good- 
 ness of bread, but the fact of its invention. 
 
 1759, April BEN. RAV. 
 
 XLIV. On the Temples of the Ancients. 
 
 AFTER all the wonders that have been related of the tem- 
 ples of Jupiter Glympius, Diana of Kphesus, Serapis, &c.
 
 Temples of the Ancients. 191 
 
 it may well be questioned, if, upon the whole, those ancient 
 edifices surpassed our modern churches in grandeur and 
 riches. To determine the point, it will be necessary to take 
 a view of the temples, built in the plains, and those erected 
 in great cities. 
 
 Traverse the open countries of Greece, Peloponnesus, 
 nnd the adjacent isles, and you will every where meet with 
 little edifices, said to be temples; some half in ruins, others 
 iu tolerable good condition, without anything material to dis- 
 tinguish them; no external ornaments, most of them brick, 
 and the best of them finished in a dome or roof, ornamented 
 with some slight sculpture. A few, indeed, there are sur- 
 rounded with groves, consecrated by superstition, or de- 
 signed to shade the worshippers of the idol; all of them, 
 placed in deserts, uninhabited, except by here and there a 
 hermit, who makes it his whole study to amuse travellers 
 with fables. It is not, therefore, among these structures 
 that you are to look for the magnificence of the Grecian, 
 temples. 
 
 The Romans, who were also accustomed to erect temples 
 in the country, derived all their deities, celestial, terrestrial, 
 and infernal, from Greek origin. There was not a single cuu- 
 ton of Attica, or Thessaly, where some metamorphosis had 
 not been wrought, or some divine combat happened. These 
 exploits served to extend superstition, and multiply the mo- 
 numents that were to perpetuate it. But the Romans, who 
 were the petty imitators of the Greeks, fell short of their 
 masters in the dimensions of their insulated temples. 
 
 It may perhaps be said, that we give the name of temples 
 to edifices, which, in ancient times, were never considered 
 as such ; but without entering into a discussion, let it suf- 
 fice, that the buildings we are speaking of, were sacred and 
 public; still retaining their first furniture of statues, altars, 
 and tripods. We meet with nothing more essential to the 
 ceremonious part of worship, among the larger temples of 
 Athens and Corinth. If no other structures were to be com- 
 prehended in the denomination of temples, but those whose 
 extent is to be measured by acres and stadia, it must be ad- 
 mitted that Rome herself, the city of all the Gods, had no 
 more than three ; those of Jupiter Capitolinus, of Peace, 
 and the Pantheon. These are the only ones that were above 
 the ordinary size; the last, still remaining, is but 144 feet in 
 diameter. Time has also spared the temple of Fortuna Vi- 
 rilis, and of Vesta; the one is an oblong square, the other 
 round: the Pantheon will hold them both.
 
 192 Temples of the Ancients. 
 
 We know to what heights the bold imagination of the 
 ancient architects ascended, in their profane edifices, as 
 theatres, baths, and basilica?. But we must examine their 
 city temples, to know if they did as much in honour of 
 their gods. 
 
 Most of the antiquaries, who have treated of ancient 
 temples, have been more curious in describing their mag- 
 nificence, than in fixing their dimensions. In what they 
 have said upon this head, we have discovered two marks of 
 inaccuracy, out of which has arisen the false idea that has 
 prevailed of the sacred edifices of Greece and Rome. 1. 
 They apply to temples in general, what appertained only to 
 some particular ones. 2. They distinguish not between the 
 temple and its appendages. They tell us, that in the front 
 of tliese temples there was always a spacious court, called 
 the Area, where merchants vended the necessaries for sacri- 
 fices, offerings, and libations ; that there was besides, a 
 fountain for purify ing the sacrificators and victims; that from 
 the area you passed into a court called Atrium; thence to 
 the Vestibulum, and then into the body of the building, 
 named Cella, where were the Gods, Altars, &c. This Cella 
 consisted of three principal divisions; the Basilica, answer- 
 ing our nave ; the Adytum, like a sanctuary ; and the Tri- 
 bunal, where stood the statue of the deity whose name the 
 temple bore. They speak of the Penetrale and Sacrarium, 
 and are not a little perplexed about the distribution of these 
 several parts. If this description holds good of the temple 
 of Diana Ephesea, or of Jupiter Olympius, it cannot of most 
 of the rest. 
 
 Ancient Rome was of immense extent; but, consider- 
 ing the great number of temples contained within it, we 
 must suppose it at least three times as large as it really was, 
 if all those temples were furnished with Porticos, Prodromi, 
 &c. It is certain, that during the six tirst centuries of 
 Rome the temples were no larger, nor more magnificent, 
 than the houses of the citizens, which were but of one floor; 
 their poverty would admit of no more. Such, at least, was 
 the stute of things before the Romans made conquests in 
 Greece. Pliny assures us. that in the (JG^d year of the city, 
 there was not a marble column in any public edifice ; at 
 which time the temple of the Feretrian Jupiter was but fif- 
 teen feet in length. Fortune was one of the deities most 
 honoured by the Romans; the worship of Vesta uas held 
 most sacred, and what I have remarked of the temples of 
 these goddesses, which are still standing,, may suthce to
 
 Temples of the. Ancients. 193 
 
 Jnoclerate the ideas of those who have not seen them, as to 
 their extent. 
 
 The revolution in the government under Julius Caesar, 
 brought about a general one in the arts; which, till then, 
 were the concern only of a few opulent citizens, as Crassus, 
 Lucullus, Pompey, &,c. The temples of the gods were the 
 first public structures where magnificence succeeded mean- 
 ness, and brick was converted into marble; yet these sacred 
 buildings increased but little in size. The great men built 
 more for themselves than for the gods; they enlarged 
 their palaces; they erected aqueducts, baths, and the 
 forum. 
 
 \\e are not to rely upon the report of architects, concern- 
 ing the sacred monuments of antiquity. Frequently led by 
 prejudice, they are too sparing of criticism in their obser- 
 vations; they too readily imagine beauties in the antique; 
 and, in representing ruins, when they meet not with all their 
 fancy suggests, they are apt to add something of their own. 
 Palladio, for instance, who has designed the temple of 
 Faustina, says, that though he could discover no ornaments 
 within it, yet it must have certainly been enriched with /ery 
 magnificent ones; and so takes his crayon, and sketches 
 niches, statues, and pedestals, and then cries out, suck was 
 the inside of the temple of Faustina! He goes still further, 
 and in the heat of his composition, in the front, and on the 
 right and left, he adds grand porticos, without recollecting, 
 that he encroached on the temple of Remus, which stood 
 but ten paces from the other, and without considering that 
 he barred up the passage of the triumphers, who proceeded 
 to the capital along the via sacra. 
 
 The temple of the Olympian Jove at Athens, we are told, 
 was more than four stadia in circumference; that is, above 
 two thousand four hundred feet; be it so. But let us make 
 he same distribution of this space as the ancients did, and 
 we shall have a just idea of its real size. In this circle must 
 be included a monument, sacred to Saturn and Rhea, a 
 wood, statues without number, and colossuses as enormous 
 as those of Rhodes, all which must reduce Jupiter's temple 
 to the size of an ordinary house, as we shall see hereafter it 
 really was. What then shall we say of the Greek temples, 
 in which were libraries, gymnasia, and baths? Why doubt- 
 less, that they were sacred villa, but not temples. 
 
 M. le Roi's Ruins of the Monuments of Greece, lately pub- 
 lished, have given me the satisfaction of rinding examples 
 .sufficient to justify my notions/as to the magnitude of the 
 ancient temples. According to this gentleman's dimensions, 
 
 VOL. i. O
 
 194 Temples of the Ancients. 
 
 the columns of the Pantheon of Hadrian, one of the vastest 
 monuments of Greece, were scarcely above sixty feet high, 
 though not formed out of one block. Those at Home in the 
 Campo Vaccino, in the forum of Nerva, and in thai of Pal- 
 las, are still shorter, though of several pieces; yet as these 
 served for decorations of public places, it is natural to think 
 they were of some of the largest proportions. 
 
 Perhaps it will be urged that they placed several orders 
 one above another, which was, indeed, the case in some 
 temples of Greece. Pausanias mentions only two or three 
 of these ; which, in so exact and attentive a traveller, is a 
 convincing proof that the double order was rare. Vi- 
 truvius does not assert it of the Hypsethrum, and assigns 
 temples of that form to no less deities than Jupiter, Coelus, 
 and the Sun. 
 
 By entering into these particulars, I pretend not to in- 
 form the connoisseurs, but to give an account of such works 
 as I think necessary towards forming a just idea of the an- 
 cient temples; their structure differing so widely from 
 that of our churches, that the one can by no means lead us 
 to an exact knowledge of the other. Whoever has seen 
 St. Sulpice at Paris, but not St. Roch, may pretty nearly 
 imagine die composition, form, and distribution of the latter 
 church, from a bare knowledge, that it is somewhat less than 
 the former; but such degrees of comparison will be insuf- 
 ficient between the ancient and the modern. It will give 
 very little satisfaction to observe that all antiquity never 
 produced any thing of a sacred building, so vast as St. Peter'* 
 at Rome; a reason should also be given, why it did not, nor 
 could do it. 
 
 I am sufficiently apprised of what strikes the imagination, 
 and raises it to such romantic heights, whilst we attend to 
 the descriptions of ancient temples: it was the prodigious 
 number of columns they were enriched with, that enchants 
 us. How can we avoid believing an edifice to be extremely 
 vast, that is supported by a hundred, or a hundred and fifty 
 pillars? We have seen Gothic churches, with not above 4O 
 or 50, wide enough to lose ourselves in. How vast then, 
 we say, must the temples have been, which had twice or 
 thrice that number? The mistake of the fancy arises from 
 this, that it places within the body of the temple, or in the 
 Cella,that which really stood without it. It should be noted 
 in general, that this Cella was the least object of the old archi- 
 tects' care ; they never began to think about it, before they 
 had distributed and adorned the exterior, because that was 
 to be the proof of genius, taste, aud magnificence. The
 
 Temples of the Ancients. 1Q5 
 
 grand was not then estimated by the number of square feet 
 contained in the area, which the wall inclosed ; but from their 
 outworks, of an hundred and twenty columns, as those of 
 .Hadrian's Pantheon, or of thirty-six only, as those of the 
 temple of Theseus. From the ruins of Athens it even 
 appears, that the richness and extent of the outworks 
 were sometimes the very cause of contracting the Cella 
 within a narrower space than might have been otherwise 
 allotted it. 
 
 What I have been last observing, respects temples of an 
 oblong square, the most useful form. They did not keep 
 altogether to tiie same rules in their Rotundos, or circular 
 temples; some are surrounded with pillars, without any 
 portico to the entrance; such are the temples of Vesta at 
 Home and Tivoli ; others had porticos before them, with- 
 out any encircling columns, an instance of which we meet 
 with in the Roman Pantheon, the most superb and vast 
 monument of that form which perhaps the ancients ever 
 erected; of this latter form of circular temples Vitruvius 
 makes no mention : and, to the former, he assigns a diame- 
 ter of the length of one column only, with its capital and 
 base, so that nothing of a grand extent could ever take 
 place here. 
 
 But to strengthen my proofs of the small extent of the 
 Ancient temples; I will, in the first place, bring that of 
 Jupiter Olympius, at Athens, as an example. According 
 to M. le Roi, the Cella was no more than six toises wide, 
 and something exceeding sixteen in length. Observe now, 
 to what a small matter is an edifice reduced, which has been 
 arlirmed to be no less than four stadia in circumference ! 
 Take notice too, that this was an Hypaethrum, or open at 
 top. Hadrian's Pantheon was twenty toises long, bv less 
 than fourteen wide. Pausanias assigns the height oi' sixty- 
 eight feet to the temple of Jupiter at Olympia, and makes 
 it two hundred and thirty feet long and ninety-five wide, 
 from the length and breadth we must deduct those of the 
 ailes, prodromus, and opisthodromus, taking the height from 
 the ceiling, and not from the angular vertex of the fasti- 
 gin tn ; and then thi temple will, at most, be upon an equa- 
 lity with many churches in Rome and Paris, built about 
 two centuries ago, in the taste of the Greek architecture; 
 but nothing to compare with our Gothic cathedrals, in 
 point of spacious magnitude. 
 
 If we pass from Greece to Uome, and examine the temple 
 of Vespasian, we shall iind that il was really grand ; aiut.
 
 1 96 Temples of the Ancients. 
 
 f the taste of the architecture had been answerable to the 
 capacity and richness of it, Athens itself could not have 
 shewn any thing beyond it; but the architect aiming, per- 
 haps, at something new, was, it must be allowed, bold in 
 In* design, but left it quite destitute of graces. Its length, 
 of three hundred and forty feet, besides the portico, with a 
 breadth of two hundred arid fifty, set it plainly above all the 
 modern churches of France or Italy, except St. Peter's; but 
 it still falls short of many Gothic ones. 
 
 What added much to the majesty of the ancient temples, 
 was their high elevation above the subjacent plain, with an 
 easy ascent to their porticos by a flight of five, seven, or 
 nine broad stairs, which always disjoined them from every 
 profane building, and gave the distant eye a full view of their 
 form and ornaments on every side; the numbers of bronze 
 and marble statues, w : hich decorated the avenues and inside 
 of the porticos; the profusion of gilt work, and the alle- 
 goric groups in the front, all combining to form a mass 
 which carried gravity without heaviness ; grand, but not gi- 
 gantic. Those rich and elegant compositions charm us 
 even in the graver's representations ; what effect then must 
 they not have produced on the minds of those who had the 
 infinitely greater advantage of viewing them on the spot, in 
 their own precious materials! 
 
 After what has been said concerning the temples of the 
 ancients, it is natural to consider the buildings called 
 churches, which succeeded them, after Christianity began 
 to take place of Paganism. These buildings, during a long 
 period of time, wanted both the elegance and the riches of 
 the ancient temples, and it is those only which have been 
 erected since the loth century that can be considered as 
 models, either of proportion or ornament. The several 
 changes, however, which these buildings have suffered in 
 their figure, structure, and decoration, is a subject that 
 seems not altogether unworthy of attention. 
 
 To mark the gradual progress of any art, from its first 
 .rudiments to its perfection, is extremely pleasing ; but we 
 are much more struck when we see this art disappear at 
 once, as if by a stroke of enchantment; when, not even 
 the idea of perfection remains, when the most obvious and 
 easy rules are forgotten, the most natural principles neg- 
 lected, and the most rude and disgusting heaps thrown to- 
 gether, while models of beauty and propriety were every 
 where to be seen in the buildings of former times. 
 
 It is difficult to conceive by what strange fatality it could 
 happen, that the architects of the fifth and sixth centuries,
 
 Temples of the indents. 197 
 
 in all parts of Europe, rejected, as if by common consent, 
 the Greek and Roman manner, chose to set up pillars in- 
 stead of columns, and to render even these pillars more like 
 the Doric, the heaviest of the three Grecian orders, than 
 any other. They saw in the friezes of regular structures, 
 figures of eagles and griffins ; the eagle they neglected, and 
 they copied the griffin for no other apparent reason than be- 
 cause it was a monster not existing in nature ; in the bas-re- 
 lief they found geniuses, trophies, and flowers, none of 
 which they thought proper to imitate; but they hewed out 
 owls, and frogs, and monkeys, and, in a thousand other in- 
 stances, shewed a perversion of taste and judgment, which 
 would have been altogether incredible, if the monuments of 
 it were not still extant among us. Of these the old English 
 Gothic are certainly the chief, both for their antiquity and 
 their grandeur; but before there was any structure erected 
 in the Gothic style, many execrable things, called build- 
 ings, were produced upon the degrading principles of Gre- 
 cian architecture, and the time from the extinction, or ra- 
 ther perversion, of ancient taste, may be divided into three 
 periods ; from the 4th century to the 9th, from the 9th to the 
 end of the 15th, and from that time to the present. 
 
 Though the Christians were at first so scattered and op- 
 pressed by persecution, that they had no better places of 
 worship than the caves, which they formed or made in the 
 sides of rocks, or below the surface of the ground, yet they 
 had public places of worship before the 4th century. Some 
 ecclesiastical authors have asserted, that the Christians 
 had spacious churches richly adorned before the time of 
 Constantine the Great : for they say, that the first object of 
 his care, after the defeat of Maxentius, was the reparation 
 of the temples of the true God ; but to give these authors 
 all their weight, their testimony can only refer to the 
 churches of the east: those in the Lesser Asia, in Syria, 
 and the Lower Egypt ; those of the west, and even of Rome, 
 are entirely out of the question; for though it be true, that 
 from the time of Trajan to that of Constantine, the em- 
 perors resided as much in Asia as in Europe, yet it is 
 equally true, that Christianity was much more repressed and 
 restrained in Europe than in /\sia. During the rei"-n of 
 Dioclesian, and some other emperors, who distinguished 
 themselves by their moderation, the Christians ventured to 
 quit their vaults and catacombs, and erected some build- 
 ings, which were set apart for the public worship of God ; 
 but as they were in perpetual fear of persecution, even 
 when they did not suffer it, so long as the emperors con- 
 
 O 3
 
 193 Temples cf the Ancients. 
 
 tinned idolaters, they did not dare to give their churches 
 an air of grandeur, lest the jealousy of the infidels should 
 raise a new storm against them. It seems therefore pro-; 
 bable, that the spacious and rich churches mentioned by 
 Kusehius and Nicephorus, were only spacious and rich in 
 comparison of the caverns and dens, in which the Christians 
 assembled in times of actual persecution ; of these there 
 are not now the least remains, but perhaps it is easy to form 
 a just idea of them, by considering what the churches 
 were, which were erected when Christianity vvas first the 
 established religion, when its patrons were the lords of the 
 world, and its professors might safely hold the power of idol- 
 aters in defiance. Of these there are several now extant ; 
 some that were built in the reign of Constantine, and others 
 from the time of his children and successors till the total 
 ruin of the empire. 
 
 We must therefore date our inquiry into the form of the 
 architecture and decorations of the churches of the west 
 from the reign of Constantine. This prince, after his con- 
 version, did not content himself with repairing the churches 
 which had been built already, but he signalized his zeal by 
 many monuments of the triumph of that religion which he 
 had adopted. He might indeed have devoted to the 
 service of Christianity some of the finest temples of Pagan 
 superstition, and posterity would then not only have com- 
 mended his piety, but admired his taste. He thought, per- 
 haps, that the Pagan temples had been too much profaned 
 by idolatry to receive the pure worshippers of Christ; he 
 might think them too small, or he might not choose to give 
 his heathen subjects offence ; however, for these, or some 
 other reasons, he chose rather to build new structures than 
 change the use of the old; and, therefore, he gave his own 
 palace of Latran, at Mount Cielius, to supply materials for 
 building a Christian church. Soon after which he built that 
 of St. Peter, at Mount Vatican, and another in the Qstian 
 Way, dedicated to St. Paul. All these were built upon the 
 same plan, and that of St. Paul still preserves its original 
 form, called the Basilick, because it was the same with that 
 of certain large buildings adjacent to royal palaces, where 
 sovereign princes administered justice to theirpeople. Some 
 other buildings, called also from their figure Basilicks, were 
 used as a kind of exchange for merchants to negociate their 
 business in the time of this emperor. A Basilick was a pile 
 of building twice as long as it was wide, and terminated at 
 one of its extremities by a hemicycle; two orders of co- 
 lumns placed one upon another reached the whole length
 
 Temples of the Ancients. 1 99 
 
 ef the building within, and formed one grand walk in the 
 middle, between one ro\v of columns and the other, and 
 two narrower walks, one between each row of columns and 
 the wall. To the extremity terminated by the hemicycle, 
 there was sometimes added a branch, or arm, reaching 
 from one side to the other, and giving the whole building 
 the form of a T. This form of building was preferred by 
 Constantine, probably because it was roomy, solemn, ma- 
 jestic, and expressed the figure of the cross. St. Paul's, how- 
 ever, though in its original state, does by no means give 
 us a just idea of the Basilicks of antiquity from which it was 
 copied; for its want of proportion, and the bad taste of its 
 ornaments, sufficiently shew that architecture was greatly 
 degenerated, even in the time of Constantine. The nave is 
 adorned with four rows of columns, twenty in each row, 
 which divide it into five walks, each column being one 
 block of marble, except a very few ; of the forty that form 
 the middle walk, twenty-four are said to have been 
 brought from the tomb of Hadrian : they are about three 
 feet in diameter, of the Corinthian order, fluted ; the marble 
 is veined with blue, and there is nothing of the kind among 
 all the remains of antiquity that exceeds them, either in 
 workmanship or materials ; the other sixteen are of a 
 greyish white, and are the most clumsy and heavy imagin- 
 able ; scarcely any two of them are the same in all their pro- 
 portions, and there is not one in which the lines of the 
 fluting are straight, or the hollow cleanly cut out, and of 
 an equal depth. It appears, at the first glance, that the 
 carver worked merely by his eye, without any principle to 
 direct him, and at every stroke of his chisel looked with a 
 scrupulous perplexity at his model, supposing that he had 
 not imitated it, when he had chipped the shaft into 
 grooves from the capital to the base. The other forty co- 
 lumns are of granite, and are much less; the surface may be 
 said to be smooth, as a distinction from being fluted, but, in 
 every other sense, it is rough and irregular. In the two 
 branches of the transverse part of the building, at the end 
 which forms the top of the T, there are many columns of 
 different kinds of marble, some red, some grey, and some 
 of a dirty white, not answering to each other in any kind of 
 symmetry. 
 
 The good Greek and Roman architects always gave their 
 columns an entablature: but the architects of Constantine 1 
 not thinking that necessary, the columns of St. Paul's navfe' 
 are without it. Over the columns there is a wall carried 
 up more than thirty feet, which supplies the place of the 
 
 o 4
 
 200 Temples of the /indents. 
 
 second order of columns used in the Basilicks of the Ro- 
 mans; the two branches of the cross only have a ceiling; 
 the nave is only covered with a sloping roof, of which the 
 naked timbers are seen from below. Upon this occasion, 
 it may be remarked, that none of the first Roman churches 
 were vaulted, for among all that remain there is not one 
 with such a roof to be found, and in those which have ceil- 
 ings, the ceiling appears manifestly to have been added in 
 later times; for it was not common, even in the 16th cen- 
 tury, for any part of the church to be ceiled but the chancel. 
 This defect might have been imputed to the timid ignorance 
 of the builders, if it was not certain that those who vaulted 
 the baths of Constantine, might, if they had thought fit, 
 have vaulted a church ; and it might have been imputed to 
 a servile imitation of the Pagan Basilicks, if we had not been 
 told by Vitruvius, that some of them were covered with 
 vaulted roofs. As to the front of the Basilick of St. Paul, 
 there is a modern portico about 20 feet high, and the rest is 
 a brick wall, having on the point at top a Greek cross, de- 
 corated with some rude Mosaic. To this general descrip- 
 tion many particulars may be added, which will shew in a 
 still stronger light the stupidity and ill taste of the time; 
 some of the columns have no base at all ; others are all base, 
 being one great square block ; in one place a column of the 
 Corinthian order is placed opposite to one of the Composite ; 
 in another the Tuscan is contrasted with the Ionic, yet the 
 whole appears to have been the painful effort of long labour, 
 and unremitted diligence ; nor must it be forgotten that the 
 24 columns, which were already exquisitely finished, are, 
 by an ingenious contrivance, made to share in the general 
 impropriety, for, instead of being equally divided in oppo- 
 site rows, thirteen of them are placed on one side, and 
 eleven on the other. 
 
 Thus it appears, that all which the magnificence of Con- 
 stantine, who erected the edifice, and of Theodosius, who 
 added some ornaments, could effect, was to raise a vast 
 structure, and to decorate it with the spoils of those build- 
 ings that had been erected when the arts were in their 
 perfection. After the persecutions against Christianity had 
 entirely ceased, more churches abounded at Rome than at 
 any other place; they were erected over the tombs of 
 martyrs, and even formed out of the houses which they 
 had inhabited ; little obscure oratories were enlarged into 
 public temples, and the edicts that were published from 
 the time of Constantine to that of Theodosius, for the de- 
 struction of Pagan, temples, furnished the pious founders
 
 First Theatre at Athens. 201 
 
 with spoils of inestimable value, of which, however, they 
 made a very bad use ; tor the plan of Constantino's Basilicks 
 was universaily followed, whether the church to be built was 
 little or great, except that sometimes the building at the end, 
 which gave the whole the figure of the cross, was omitted : 
 they are all filled with columns, taken from adjacent build- 
 ings, and set up without the least regard to their height or 
 their diameter, to the kind of marble, the order, or the deco- 
 rations by which they are distinguished; from those which 
 were too long the base is taken away, and to those that were 
 too short a supplemental base was added, so that some co- 
 lumns in the same row have two bases, and some have none. 
 Entablatures were quite out of fashion, and neither frieze nor 
 moulding of the cornice was to be attempted : such are all 
 the churches that are at this time to be found in Rome, ex- 
 cept two or three rotundos, and those which have been 
 erected or modernised since the revival of the arts. Such 
 are the principal productions of twelve successive ages, 
 and when they are beheld and considered, it is easy to make 
 a just estimation of the magnificence which has been attri- 
 buted to them by the authors of the lives of the popes, such 
 as Anastasius, the library keeper; Platina, and some others. 
 There are, however, seven or eight ancient buildings that 
 have been converted into Christian churches, but they are 
 neither great nor beautiful, the Pantheon excepted ; and 
 so diligent \vere the saints, in the first ardour of their zeal, 
 to fulfil the edicts of the emperor, for the abolition of Pa- 
 gan ingenuity, that of 2000 temples, which were standing 
 within the walls of Rome, in the meridian of her glory, these 
 are all that remain. The temple of Faustina serves at 
 this hour for a chapel to a, religious house, and the temple 
 of Remus is become a kind of vestibule to a conventual 
 church. 
 
 1759, July and Aug. 
 
 XLV. Description of the first Theatre at Athens. 
 
 ANCIENT authors have treated of the construction of thea- 
 tres but obscurely and imperfectly. Vitruvius has given us no 
 account either of their dimensions, or of the number of their 
 principal and constituting parts ; presuming, I suppose, that 
 they had been well enough known, or could never have
 
 202 First Theatre at Athens. 
 
 perished; for example, he does not determine the dimen* 
 sions of the row of benches. Among the more modern 
 writers, the learned Scaliger has omitted the most essential 
 parts; and the citations of Bullingerus from Athenacus, 
 Hesychius, Eustathius, Suidas, and others, throw but a 
 weak and imperfect light on the real construction of ancient 
 theatres. 
 
 An exact description of the theatre of Bacchus in Athens, 
 whose circumference is still visible, and whose ruins are a 
 Hionument of its ancient magnificence, will give us a true 
 idea of these structures. The famous architect Philos built 
 this theatre in the time of Pericles, above two thousand years 
 ago : it consisted without of three rows of porticos or galleries, 
 one above the other, and was of a circular form ; the diame- 
 ter was one hundred Athenian feet, nearly the same in Eng- 
 lish measure, for which reason it was called by the Athenians, 
 Hecatompedon. A part of the area, which comprehended 
 fourteen feet of the diameter, did not belong precisely ta 
 the theatre, being behind the scene. 
 
 The theatre itself was divided into two principal partitions, 
 one for the spectators, and the other for the representations. 
 The parts designed for the spectators were the conistra, 
 which the Romans call arena: the rows or benches, the 
 little stairs, and the gallery called circys. The parts appro- 
 priated to the actors were the orchestra, the logtott or 
 thymde, the proscenion, and the scene. In that part of the 
 edifice allotted to the spectators were twenty .four rows of 
 seats, or benches, ascending gradually one above the other, 
 and proceeding round the conistra or arena, in an arch of a 
 circle, to the stage, which the Greeks called proscenion. 
 These benches were distinguished eight and eight, by three 
 corridors, or passages, which were called diazoma. They 
 were of the same figure with the rows of seats, and were 
 contrived for the passage of the spectators froni one story to 
 another, without" incommoding those who were already 
 placed. For the same convenience there were stairs that 
 passed from one corridor to another across the several rows ; 
 and near those stairs there were doors, by which the people 
 entered from the galleries on the outside, and took their 
 places according to their rank and distinction. The best 
 places were in the middle division, containing eight rows of 
 seats, between the eighth and seventeenth : this division 
 was called boulcutico.n, and designed for the magistrates: the 
 other rows were called ephebicon, and were for the citizens, 
 after they were eighteen years of age. 
 
 The JieigUt of ea,ch ot thesq rows of benches, was.
 
 First Theatre at Athens. 203 
 
 thirteen inches; their breadth about twenty-two inches: the 
 lowest bench was near four feet high from the level of the 
 floor: the height and breadth of the corridors, and passages 
 >vas double the height and breadth of the benches. The 
 sides of the stairs passing from the body of the edifice towards 
 the stage were not parallel ; for the space betwixt them grew 
 sharper as they came near the conistra or arena, and ended 
 in the figure of a wedge, whence the Romans called them 
 cunei; to prevent the falling clown of the rain upon those 
 steps, there were penthouses setup to carry off the water. 
 
 Above the upper corridor there was a gallery, called circys, 
 for the women, where those who were infamous, or irregular 
 in their lives, were not permitted to enter. 
 
 This theatre was not so capacious as that which was built 
 in Rome by Marcus Scaurus, the j^Edilis; for in that there 
 was room for seventy-nine thousand persons ; in this there 
 was room for six thousand ; it could not contain less, for the 
 suffrages of the people were taken in it, and by the Athenian 
 laws six thousand suffrages were requisite to make a decree 
 of the people authentic. 
 
 Thus much for the place appointed for the spectators : as 
 to that which was designed for the actors (which compre- 
 hended the orchestra, the logeon or thijmele, the proscenion, 
 and the scene) the orchestra, was about four feet from the 
 ground; its figure was an oblong square, thirty-six feet in 
 length, extending from the stage to the rows of benches; 
 jts breadth is not mentioned in the memoirs I have of the 
 dimensions of this theatre, which were taken on the spot 
 about one hundred years since, by Mons. de la Guillatiere, 
 an ingenious traveller. In certain places of it the music, 
 the chorus, and the mimics were conveniently disposed. 
 Among the Romans it was put to a more honourable use, 
 for the emperor and senate had places upon it. Upon the 
 flat of the orchestra, towards the place of tjie actors, was an 
 elevation or platform, called logeon or thymde, which among 
 the Romans was called pulpitum ; it was higher than the 
 orchestra ; its figqre was square, being six feet every side; 
 and in this place the principal part of the chorus made their 
 recitations, and in cpmical interludes the mimics used to per- 
 form in it. 
 
 The proscemon, or stage, was raised above the logeon. 
 That great architect, Philos, contrived the edifice in such a 
 manner as that the representations might be seen, and the 
 voices of the actors and the music heard, with the greatest 
 advantage. The prpscenion was eighteen feet in breadth, and 
 its length extended from one side of the edifice to the
 
 204 First Theatre, at Athens. 
 
 opposite side, but not diametrically, being eighteen feet dis- 
 tant from the centre. 
 
 The scene, properly speaking, was the columns and orna- 
 ments in architecture, raised from the foundation, and upon 
 the sides of the proscenion, for its beauty and decoration. 
 Agatarchus was the first architect who found out the way of 
 adorning scenes by the rules of perspective, and ^Eschylus 
 assisted him. 
 
 Parasctnion signified the entire space before and behind 
 the scene ; and the same name was given to all the avenues 
 and passages from the music room to the place where the 
 actors performed. 
 
 The theatre of Regilla, not far from the temple of Theseus 
 in Athens, was covered magnificently, having a fair roof of 
 cedar. The odeon, or theatre for music, was covered like- 
 wise; but no part of the theatre of Bacchus, which we have 
 described, was covered, except the proscenion and circys. 
 The Athenians, being exposed to the weather, came usually 
 with great cloaks, to secure them from the rain or the cold ; 
 and for defence against the sun, they had the sciadion, a kind 
 of parasol, which the Romans used also in their theatres by 
 the name of umbrella ; but when a sudden storm arose, the 
 play was interrupted, and the spectators dispersed. 
 
 A sort of tent-work over the entire area of the edifice, 
 might have been contrived as a shelter from the rain, and a 
 shade from the sun. Such a covering would have obviated 
 the inconveniences of roofed theatres, which obstruct the 
 free communication of the air, and of unroofed theatres, 
 which do not keep out the weather. At Athens the plays 
 were always represented in the day-time, which made the 
 unroofed theatres less inconvenient. 
 
 In that now described, Philos has preserved a just sym- 
 metry of architecture, and shewed great judgment in as- 
 sisting the communication of sounds ; for the voice being- 
 extenuated in an open and spacious place, where the distant 
 walls, though of marble, could give little or no repercussion 
 to make it audible : he contrived ceils in the thickness of 
 the corridors, in which he placed brass vessels, supported by 
 wedges of iron, that they might not touch the wall. The 
 voice proceeding from the stage to the corridors, and striking 
 upon the concavity of those vessels, was reverberated with 
 more clearness and force: their number in all were twenty- 
 eight, and were called echea, because they gave an augment- 
 ation, or an echo, to the sound. 
 
 Outwardly there was a portico, consisting of a double gal 
 Jeryy divided by rows of pillars, called the portico of
 
 First Theatre at Athens. 205 
 
 Eumenicus. The floor of this portico was raised a good dis- 
 tance from the ground, so that from the street they ascended 
 to it hy stairs ; it was of an oblong square figure, embellished 
 with green pallisadoes to please the eyes of those who 
 walked in it. Here it was that their repetitions were made 
 and proposed for the theatre, as other music and symphony 
 was in the odeon. 
 
 If ever the present generation, or posterity, would dignify 
 the drama with such noble edifices as were constructed for 
 it by the ancient Greeks and Romans, they should enter 
 into articles with the dramatic poets and performers, that 
 no immodest witticisms be repeated, and no lascivious pas- 
 sions expressed on the stage. If the passion of love is to 
 be described, let it be described with decency, as that of 
 Dido for jEueas, in the ./Eneid. A true dramatic genius 
 can invent other fables on that and models of the like 
 kind. 
 
 Not only the modesty of the spectators is to be scrupu- 
 lously respected ; but likewise every other virtue : when 
 vice is the subject of the drama, it ought to be represented 
 in an odious light ; the unfortunate Mr. Budgel threw him- 
 self into the Thames, to do, what Cato had done, and Addison 
 approved* See the bad effects of vice, represented as a 
 virtue! That the rules of virtue and decorum be regarded 
 in all respects, the theatres should be removed from the 
 neighbourhood of brothels, or the brothels should be com- 
 pelled to remove out of the neighbourhood of the theatres ; 
 then these amusements may become as innocent as they are 
 diverting. In the situation of a theatre, not only the man* 
 ners of the people are to be considered, but also their health, 
 by having it in a free and open air. 
 
 In Athens the scene looked upon the castle-hill ; the 
 Cynosarges, a suburb of Athens, was behind it; the Musason, 
 a hill so called from the poet Musajus, was on the right-hand; 
 and the causey leading to PirJEum, the neighbouring sea- 
 port, was on the other side. 
 
 1760, April. 
 
 * Addison's representation of Cato's suicide does not amount to a full ap- 
 probation of the practice, even upon Cato's principles; but, if it had, it could 
 not encourage the same practice in a Christian; this stricture, therefore, of 
 ur ingenious correspondent, does not seem tw be quite just. E.
 
 206 Amphitheatre at Nismes. 
 
 XLVI. Description of the Amphitheatre at Nismcs. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 I SEND you a genuine extract of a letter, containing a 
 description of the Amphitheatre at Nismes: if you think 
 it can be acceptable to your readers, it is at your service ; 
 from, 
 
 Yours, &c. R. P. 
 
 \ 
 
 * l WE had determined to make Nismes our winter-quar- 
 ters, where, safe from the storms and tempests of the north, 
 and under the influence of a mild and genial day, we might 
 have sufficient leisure to examine those noble remains of 
 Roman magnificence by which this city is distinguished 
 from all others in France. Animated with this idea, and ena- 
 moured of the simple grandeur that distinguishes ancient 
 from modern buildings, we left Paris in the dead of winter, 
 and turned our backs on all the splendid exhibitions with 
 which that fascinating city abounds. Here, while our friends 
 in the north are freezing by the fire, we either sit with the 
 windows open to catch the influence of the enlivening sun, 
 or sally out to visit the Amphitheatre, the temple of Diana, 
 or some other curiosity with which our Roman residence 
 abounds. 
 
 The city of Nismes was chosen by the Romans in pre- 
 ference to every other city of Transalpine Gaul. Having 
 had the whole world as the objects of their choice, they 
 shewed in their preference of Nismes, that they well knew 
 how to chuse a situation. The city stands on a gradual 
 descent; below, a rich valley, covered with corn in its due 
 season, extends till it is lost to the sight ; behind, the hill 
 ascends like a theatre, covered with vines, and olive-trees, 
 almost to the summit, which is crowned with wood. Corn, 
 wine, and oil, are decisive marks of a fertile country. If 
 any thing is wanting to complete the idea, silk might be 
 added; abundance of mulberry-trees are cultivated in the 
 plains, to furnish the large manufactories of silk stockings, 
 for which Nismes has been long famous. But these, it may 
 be said, are present appearances and modern improvements. 
 It is confessed. The state of agriculture and the arts, 
 at the time when this city was cherished and favoured by 
 the Romans, has not been handed down to us with sufficient 
 accuiacy. But a monument of their skill in architecture, 
 one of the noblest and most useful of the arts, has subsisted
 
 Amphitheatre at Nismes. 207 
 
 upwards of 1COO years, and still bids fair to survive modern 
 buildings. Imagine me, my dear friend, as writing this upon 
 one of the seats of the glorious Amphitheatre where th^ 
 once masters of the world were seated. Form to yourself 
 the idea of a perfect ellipse, whose longest axis from east 
 to west is upwards of 400 feet; its shortest more than 3OO. 
 To an eye placed in the arena, and looking up around the 
 32 rows of seats rising over each other, which held the spec- 
 tators, computed at about 20,000, the various party-coloured 
 dresses, different attitudes, &c. which such a numerous and 
 mixed assembly must have produced, create a tout-ensemble 
 that beggars all description, and exceeds all the idea that 
 the imagination of a modern can conceive ; as no spectacle 
 from which to form an analogy now exists on the face of 
 the globe. One of the largest, if not the largest, theatres 
 in Europe, is the opera-house at Paris, which yet does not 
 contain 3000 persons. This Amphitheatre was built by the 
 liomans, in the time of Antoninus Pius, to decorate a pro- 
 vincial city, far from their capital, and at an expense which 
 a nation now could scarcely bear. The external is formed 
 in two rows of columns, of the Tuscan order, opened with 
 two rows of arcades, sixty in a row, which gives such an air 
 of lightness to a building of such amazing extent as is almost 
 inconceivable. Four great arcades give access to the arena 
 and internal part of the building: these arcades are exactly 
 opposed to the four cardinal points, of w : hich the north ap- 
 pears to have been the principal, having a grand pediment 
 over it. These lead to the staircases, which end in three 
 ranges of vomitoria, that conducted the spectators to their 
 seats : the lower range is totally destroyed; of the second, 
 little remains; but of the third, almost the whole. On en- 
 tering the theatre from the upper range of vomitories, the 
 coup d'a'il is most astonishing. The entire wall of more than 
 three fourths of the building is complete : the rows of seats 
 are differently broken in different places : in one they are 
 complete, as far as to 17 : there were originally 32. An au- 
 thor of character, who has written a book purposely on the 
 curiosities of Nismes, has calculated the number of possible 
 spectators at something more than 17,000; by allowing 2O 
 inches of seat to each person, he seats that number vru 
 commodiously. I measured out 20 inches upon one of the 
 seats, and found I did not nearly occupy it; seventeen were 
 sufficient for me, sitting at my ease : and I incline to believe, 
 that in crowded assemblies fourteen inches are as much space 
 as each person, on an average, can separately occupy. I 
 have therefore little difficulty in supposing that 20,000,
 
 208 Amphitheatre at Nismes. 
 
 which is generally given as the round number, might be 
 very commodiously seated within this Amphitheatre. The 
 seats are of a very convenient height, from 18 to 22 inches : 
 they are solid, square, or rather parallelogramic blocks of 
 stone of immense size, and were probably covered for the 
 accommodation of the higher ranks of people. I measured 
 four of the stones in the second row of arcades, and found 
 several upwards of 17 feet in length ; breadth and thickness 
 proportional. They are laid without the smallest quantity 
 of cement, and the whole construction is simple to a de- 
 gree that is almost inconceivable ; yet in some places the 
 junction is scarcely perceptible, but the whole wall appears, 
 as it were, one solid block, with the fissures almost obli- 
 terated. The arches are turned of solid wedge-shaped 
 blocks, placed side by side, and thus the incumbent weight 
 enormous as it was, only pressed the wedges closer toge- 
 ther. Instead of cement, they fastened the stones with 
 large cramps of iron, four or five inches broad, and two 
 inches deep ; but though they rejected the use of mortar 
 from those parts of the building which were exposed to 
 the open air, yet in the internal parts a great quantity is 
 found, but not of that friable kind in use at this day, and 
 which crumbles to dust between the fingers. The Roman mor- 
 tar of this building is as hard as the stone itself, and seems 
 to be composed of pieces of marble, pulverised stones, all 
 connected by a gluten, and now scarcely to be broken with 
 a hammer. Large broad, flat surfaces, accurately fitted to 
 each other, and touching exactly in all points, supported 
 enormous weights in ancient building ; and in a late addi- 
 tion to an ancient work at the Pont du Garde, (another glo- 
 rious remain of ancient grandeur) I remarked, that, to oc- 
 cupy the same surface in similar buildings, where the an- 
 cients made use of two stones, the moderns employ nine, and 
 sometimes twelve. Nothing but the extreme difficulty, per- 
 haps, of taking such a pile to pieces, has preserved it to the 
 present time, considering the number of rude shocks it has 
 undergone from savage hands. Marks of fire appear in 
 several parts of the building. The ornaments of this 
 building are various ; among these one of the most conspi- 
 cuous is the Roman eagle ; and on several of the pillars of 
 the Amphitheatre are sculptured those species, which how- 
 soever indelicate in modern times, one would almost be led 
 to conjecture, were intended, at least in many instances, 
 rather as symbols of population and the strength of a state. 
 All the ornaments are greatly mutilated, and the Roman 
 eagles are all decapitated. The savage conquerors that
 
 On the date of a Book. 209 
 
 triumphed over the Roman power, insulted the vanquished 
 by disgracing and destroying their arms. I now take my 
 leave, shortly to quit the shores of the Mediterranean, and 
 depart for Italy. 
 
 Mar. 22, 1778. 
 
 1778, May. Yours, &c. 
 
 XLVII. On the date of a book said to have been printed in 1454. 
 
 IT has been affirmed by contemporary writers, and is now 
 generally agreed to (except by some Dutchmen too much 
 prejudiced in favour of their country) that the art of print- 
 ing in Europe was first attempted by certain persons at 
 Mentz,* between the years 1440 and 1450, and some few 
 years after, during which time many fruitless trials were 
 made, and perfected in that city, by John Fust and Peter 
 Schoeffer de Gernsheim. The first book we meet with 
 printed by them, with separate metal types, that has a 
 date to it, is the Psalmorum Codex, which came from their 
 press in 1457 : but one, with a supposed earlier date, having 
 lately been taken notice of by the learned, I beg leave on 
 that account to make a few remarks on it. 
 
 This book, which was in the possession of the late Rev. 
 
 * John Gensfleisch, surnamed Guttemberg, John Fust, and John Meyden- 
 bach. It was long a controverted question, whether 'Juttemberg or Fust wat 
 the inventor of that art, the first ideas of which, it is supposed, were conceived 
 about the year 1440, till happily the original instrument was found, whereby 
 it appears, that the former only associated the others with him for the sake of 
 their purses, he not being able to succeed without, on account of the great ex- 
 pences attending the cutting of the blocks of wood, which, after they were onctt 
 printed from, became entirely useless for any other work. This instrument, 
 which is dated Nov. 6, 1455, is decisive in favour of Guttemberg. But the 
 honour of the discovery of single types, made of metal, is ascribed to Fust, 
 wherein he received great assistance from his servant Peter Schoeffer, who de- 
 vised the puncheons, matrices, and moulds, for casting them, on which account 
 he was taken into partnership by his master, after his (Fust's) quarrel with Gut- 
 temberg, and their separation in 1455. Those who have asserted that Fust 
 was the first inventor of printing, have given for a reason, that they have 
 never seen any book with Guttemberg's name to it; without considering, that 
 their first essays in printing both by blocks and moveable types, being sold for 
 manuscripts, were anonymous, the invention being by them intended to be kept 
 secret, nor was it divulged till their disagreement, by which time Fust had 
 made himself master of that art, and Guttemberg was not able to proceed ix 
 it alone, for the reason abovementioned. 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 210 On the date of a Book. 
 
 Mr. Calamy, is mentioned in the catalogue of such part of 
 his library as after his decease was sold, and is there in- 
 serted, page 36, under the following title. ' Engbartus de 
 Leydis de arte dictandi libri tres. Tractatus de Elegantia 
 Cornpositione et Dignitate, per Enghelbertum. Gerardus 
 Leeu impressit 1454 ;' to which is subjoined this note, * Est 
 primus liber impressus. Maittaire, Mead, &c. nunquam 
 viderunt.* These words are the occasion of the present 
 observations, which I make, to shew that it is far from be- 
 ing the first printed book, the date being that of its publi- 
 cation when in manuscript, and not of its impression. 
 
 Some gentlemen have imagined the date in question to 
 have been falsified by the printer, either by design or mis- 
 take ; but for this there was no occasion, as will appear by 
 giving a due attention to the subscription, which is at the 
 end of the treatise De arte dictandi, in the following words : 
 De arte dictandi tres libri expliciunt, ecliti a magistro 
 Engbarto de Leydis, ut ei in mentem Verba venere Anno 
 Dni Millessimo quadrigentesimo quinquagesimo quarto, 
 sextadecima die mensis Aprilis. 
 
 At the end of the other treatise is Gerardus Leeu impressit, 
 but no mention of the time when, or the place where 
 printed. 
 
 Others who have supposed this book to have been really 
 printed in 1454, have been misled by mistaking the mean- 
 ing of the word e editi,' in regard to which, Palmer, (in his 
 History of Printing) observes from M. de la Monnoye, that 
 the phrase of ' libri editi' was used long before the invention 
 of printing, and signified only books published and dis- 
 persed abroad, in some considerable number, in opposi- 
 tion to those that were written fair to be set up in libraries, 
 which were called ' libri script!.' This observation he proves 
 by a quotation from Philelphus, who, speaking of his ten 
 books of Latin Odes (of which the first five were not sent 
 to the press until the year 1497) expresses himself as fol- 
 lows: ' Carminum libri editi quinque versuum quinque 
 milhbus: nam alteri quinque qui tantundem versus com- 
 plectentur partim scripti sunt, non editi, partim ne scripti 
 quidem.' And, upon looking into the classic authors, I find 
 that phrase so frequently occurring, that to the above testi- 
 mony I could, if necessary, add many more, but as the 
 recital of them would be tiresome to the reader, I shall 
 only just mention the following : Nam aliquid est hoc tern- 
 pore edendum. Plin. Epist. L. i. Ep. 2. Ut annales suos 
 ernendern etedam. Cic. Att. ii. 16. Ne prajcipitetur editio. 
 Quintil. ad bibliopolam.
 
 On the date of a Book. 21 1 
 
 Palmer observes further, that the custom of putting the 
 dates of printed books at the end of them was taken up in 
 imitation of many of the manuscripts of the middle age, 
 and that, as many of these dates have been printed verba- 
 tim from the manuscripts, gentlemen should be cautious 
 least they be led into error by them, and not, from the ob- 
 scurity of the subscription, take them for the time of the 
 impression. 
 
 That learned antiquary, Mr. Strype, was, as Dr. Middle- 
 ton observes, led into such an error concerning a piece of 
 rhetoric, written by Laurentius Gulielmus de Saona, and 
 printed at St. Alban's, in 1480, which he imagined, from the 
 words ' Compilation in Ur.iversitate Cantabrigiae 1478,' to 
 have been printed at that time, and in that University. So 
 the first edition of the Stypnerotomachia Poliphili, printed 
 at Venice, by Aldus in 1499, has been supposed to be 
 printed at Treviso in 1467, on account of these words in it: 
 ( Tarvisii, cum decorissimis Polia3 amore lorulis distineretur 
 misellus Poliphilus. M.CCCC.LXVII. Kalendis Maii.' 
 This has been mistaken by many* for the year when the book 
 was printed, whereas the words only shew the time when it 
 was finished by its author Francisco Colonna. If any should 
 doubt this assertion, I refer them to the learned Mr. Mait- 
 taire, in his Typographical Annals, and to Orlandi in his 
 Origine e progressi della Stampa, or rather to the book it- 
 self, when it can be met with, being very scarce; there is 
 a leaf at the end, containing the errata, and concluding 
 thus, Venetiis mense Decembris MID. (in acdibus Aldi Ma- 
 nutii accuratissime\) 
 
 If the book under consideration was not printed so early 
 as 1454, it may now perhaps be expected that I should shew 
 when it was; to this I can only say, that it is not possible to 
 point out the very year of its impression, the book itself 
 having no date ; a circumstance common in many of the 
 works of those who printed towards the close of the fif- 
 teenth century ; it is a short thin folio, and not a quarto, as 
 by mistake it is called in Mr. Calamy's catalogue; the 
 leaves are not paged, but have the signatures, or letters of 
 the alphabet, placed at the bottom of the page, for the di- 
 rection of the binder, an improvement not practised at 
 soonest before the year 1470. Gerard de Leeu, from whose 
 press it came, is well known to have printed at Gouda from 
 
 * Sr.e Catalogue Bibliotliecse Meadianas, p. 174, and in several other cata- 
 logues, uot drawn up by booksellers, but by men of learning. 
 
 r 2
 
 212 Vindication of the Honour of Yeomanry. 
 
 1473* to 1480, and then removed to Antwerp, where he 
 followed his business till the year 1491. 
 
 From what is here said, I hope it will appear to the satis- 
 faction of every one, that although this book has so early a 
 date, yet that it is not that of its impression, but of the 
 publication when in manuscript. 
 
 1 have thought proper to make these observations, in 
 order to prevent the unwary from being deceived by a 
 date ill understood; it is with deference that I submit them 
 to the learned, and in particular to the candour of such 
 gentlemen as have studied the antiquities of the art of 
 printing, the invention of which has proved so beneficial 
 to mankind. 
 
 April 30, 1759. , PiliLARCHAios. 
 
 1759, July. 
 
 XLVIII. Vindication of the Honour of Yeomanry. 
 
 THE title of Yeoman is generally in no esteem, because 
 its worth is not known. A yeoman that is authentically 
 such, is, by his title, on a level with an* esquire. All the 
 difference is, that one hath precedence of the other, as a 
 marquis hath precedence of an earl, and that one is of 
 Norman, and the other of Old English derivation. The title 
 yeoman is of military origin, as well as that of esquire, 
 and other titles of honour. Esquires were so called, be- 
 cause in combat they carried for defence an ecu, or shield; 
 and yeomen were so stiled, because, besides the weapons 
 proper for close engagement, they fought with arrows and 
 the bow, which was made of yew, a tree that hath more 
 repelling force and elasticity than any other. 
 
 * Jo. Christ. Seiz, says 1472, but notwithstanding that he gives the title of 
 a book pretended to be printed by him that year, yet there is great reason to 
 doubt of it, as it is mentioned by no other author, nor does he say, either that 
 he saw it himself, or in whose library it was to be found; and besides, tht 
 his blind partiality to Holland has led him into so many mistakes in his His- 
 torical Narrative of the Invention of Printing, which is little more than a revi- 
 val of the old legend of Hadrian Junius, and so stuffed with forgeries and 
 calumnies, tending to deprive both Guttemberg and Fust of the honour of 
 being the first inventors of the art of printing, the sera of which he carries as 
 far back as the year 1428, attributing it, without the least foundation, to one 
 Laurens Jansz, surnamcd Koster of Hacrlem, that it may be safely said he 
 is not to be relied on.
 
 Vindication of the Honour of Yeomanry. 21 5 
 
 The name bow seems to be derived from yew, or yew 
 from bow, as (falter is derived from Gaulter, Wales 
 from Gales; Gascogne was pronounced fascogne, and t't- 
 vere was pronounced bibere, by the people of that pro- 
 vince. The proper name Eboracum, York, is an instance 
 that the ancients in transferring words from one language 
 or dialect into another, sometimes changed y into b, or b 
 into y; for by leaving out the E in Eboracum, which is done 
 in several other words, as in especial, special; evacuate, 
 vacua te; estate, state; example, sample; exchange, change; 
 engrave, grave; and then changing the b into y, the 
 word is Yoracum, its exact etymology. The participle 
 given was in Old English written and pronounced yiven 9 
 and Guillaume, or IVilliam is sometimes written and 
 pronounced Billy : another instance that the letters y, g t 
 and w, were sometimes, in the derivation of dialects one 
 from the other, changed into b. It is probable, that Guild 
 in Guild or Yuild hall, hath, in the same manner, a relation 
 with the word build, or building ; those public buildings be- 
 ing so named formerly as either house of parliament is now, 
 sometimes by way of pre-eminence, called " the house." 
 Many other instances may occur in reading old authors, in 
 proof of this etymological assertion. What I have said 
 is sufficient to prove that yeoman is originally a military 
 title, derived from the kind of weapons with which they 
 fought in ancient times. That bows were made of yew is 
 certain ; in modern poetry a bow is sometimes expressed 
 by the word yew, as in Dryden's translation of the ./Eneid, 
 Book 9. 
 
 At the full stretch of both his hands he drew, 
 And almost join'd the horns of the tough eugh. 
 
 These verses the poet animadverts as energetical and 
 forceful, the very sound expressing the efforts of a bowman 
 that is struggling with his bow. 
 
 After the conquest the name of yeomen, as to their ori- 
 ginal office in war, was changed to that of archers. Yeo- 
 men of the crown had formerly considerable grants bestow- 
 ed on them. In the fifth century *' Richard Leden, yeoman 
 of the croune, had (by a royal grant) the office of Keeping 
 of the parke called Middle-parke, in the county of Hert- 
 forde.' About the same time ' John Forde, yeoman of the 
 croune, had the moytie of all rents of the town and hun- 
 dred of Shaftsbury ;' and < Nicholas Wortley, yeoman of the 
 chambre, was made baillieffe of the lordships of Scaresdale 
 
 P3
 
 214 Vindication of the Honour of Yeomanry. 
 
 and Chesterfelde, within the county of Derby ;" all which 
 prove, that the title of yeoman was accounted honourable 
 not only in remote antiquity, but in later ages. 
 
 Though there were in all times yeomen to attend the per- 
 sons of our kings, yet the company of those now called yeo- 
 men of the guard, is of later date, being instituted by 
 Henry VII. whereby he did more dishonour than honour to 
 the title of yeoman, because he did not allow them a salary 
 suitable to their office and title. 
 
 Yeomen, at least those that frequent palaces, should 
 have their education in some academy, college, or univer- 
 sity, in the army, or at court, or a private education tiiat 
 would be equivalent. Then our Latin writers would be no 
 longer so grossly mistaken as to their notion in this respect. 
 In Littleton's dictionary, and I believe in all our other 
 Latin dictionaries, yeomanry is latinised plebs, and yeoman 
 rusticns, paganus, colonus. The expressions yeoman of 
 the crown, yeoman of the chamber, yeoman of the guard, 
 yeoman usher, shew the impropriety of this translation; 
 for thereby it is plain, that yeomen originally frequented 
 courts and followed the profession of arms. Yeomen of 
 the crown were so called, either because they were 
 obliged to attend the king's person at court and in the 
 field, or because they held lands from the crown, or both. 
 
 Our Latinists are also mistaken as to the true Latin term 
 for esquire; it should be scutarius, so it is translated by fo- 
 reigners, or scutifer ; so I find it in an order of K. Edward I. 
 to the high sheriff of the county of York,' requiring ' ut 
 omnes in baliva sua milites, scutiferos, &c. praemuniri faciat 
 ad proficiscendum, &c.' Escuage is translated even now 
 scutagium. The title armiger, which is confounded with 
 that of scutarius, is the proper Latin for a yeoman. 
 
 In ancient times, kings, chiefs, and all princely knights 
 were attended by esquires and yeomen, that were so stiled 
 by virtue of their office. In battle, while the king, prince, 
 or chief knight, was occupied in arranging the army, or 
 battalion, and conducting the engagement, the office of 
 the esquires of the body was to defend his person in case 
 of a personal attack, for which purpose they bore shields ; 
 and that of the yeoman was to encounter the enemy, for 
 which they were armed with the most proper offensive 
 weapons; whence the Latin of the first is scutarius, as 
 foreigners agree, and the latter, armiger, as reason 
 sheweth. I cannot aver, that the offices of esquires and 
 yeomen \vere thus categorically distinguished; but it seems 
 certain, that yeomen had much the same honour and office*
 
 Vindication of the Honour of Yeomanry. 2 1 .5. 
 
 before the Norman line of our kings, that the esquires had 
 after. 
 
 I must own, indeed, the title of yeoman is now pretty 
 much disregarded, because our gentry, by reason that the 
 English tongue is not so universal as that of our next neigh- 
 bours, prefer titles derived from their language. Moreover 
 after the conquest, the Roman dialect was introduced, and 
 used for many ages at court and at the bar. If some of our 
 gentry of rank and fortune would agree to be stiled by no 
 other than that genuine English title, it would soon appear 
 in another light. When statutes are deficient, lawyers have 
 recourse to ancient customs, general practices, precedent 
 reports, authorized maxims, and evident conclusions, to de- 
 cide cases at law. Customs and maxims generally approved 
 of were entirely kept in remembrance by some poetical 
 expressions; the title of yeoman is therefore much more 
 considerable than is generally imagined, since it is said, 
 
 A Spanish Don, a German Count, a.nd a French Marquis, 
 A Yeoman of Kent is worth them all three. 
 
 This adagium may be of modern date, and may regard 
 wealth only, but it can be also adapted to honours; for for- 
 merly the titles yeoman of the. crown, yeoman of the chamber, 
 and now the title yeoman usher, is in as much honour with 
 us, as don, count, and marquis, are in their respective nations ; 
 for they are given not only to the higher nobility, but also 
 to the gentry or chief commoners. Wherefore, to argue 
 syllogistically, according to the mode of Aristotle and his 
 a'dherents, who were undoubtedly the best logicians in the 
 schools of Athens,, thougli the worst natural philosophers^ 
 or rather they hardly set up for natural philosophy; let us 
 say, 
 
 Yeomen are on a level with dons, counts, and marquisses ; 
 Dons, counts, and marquisses are on a level with esquires; 
 Therefore, yeomen are on a level with esquires. 
 
 These arguments are, methinks, sufficient to revive the 
 splendor of yeomanry in honour of Old England and the 
 English name; yet I must observe, that it should never 
 be more esteemed than in the present age, because it 
 never was more gloriously signalized ; it should not there- 
 fore become too common, anc^ it is better to be a great 
 yeoman, than a little esquire. 
 
 1759, Sept. 
 
 ^ 
 P 4
 
 216 Etymology of the Word Burner 
 
 i 
 XLIX. On the Word BUMPER. Grace Cups. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 1 HE jolly toper is so fond of the thing we call a bumper, 
 that he troubles not himself about the name, and so long as 
 the liquor is but fine and clear, cares not a farthing in how 
 deep an obscurity the etymology is involved. The sober 
 antiquarian, on the contrary, being prone to etymology, 
 contemplates the sparkling contents of a full glass with 
 much less delight than 'he does the meaning, the occasion, 
 and the original of the name. I, sir, who profess myself to 
 be one of the latter tribe, am for discarding the vulgar 
 original of the name, and for substituting something more 
 plausible in its place. The common opinion (I call it the 
 common opinion, because I have heard it from so many) is, 
 that the bumper took its name from the grace-cup; our 
 Roman Catholic ancestors, say they, after their meals, always 
 drinking the Pope's health, in this form " au bon Pere." 
 But there are great objections to this; as first, the Pope was 
 not the bon Pere, but the saint Pere, amongst the elder 
 inhabitants of this kingdom, the attribute of sanctity being 
 in a manner appropriated to the Pope of Rome, and his see. 
 Again, the grace-cup, which went round of course, after 
 every repast, did not imply any thing extraordinary, or a 
 full glass. Then 3dly, let us consider a little the nature of 
 the grace-cup, Drinking glasses were not in use at the 
 time here supposed, for the grace-cup was a large vessel, 
 proportioned to the number of the society, which went 
 round the table, the guests drinking out ot the same cup 
 one after another. Virgil describes something like it, when 
 speaking of the entertainment Queen Dido gave to Mneas, 
 he says. 
 
 Postquam prima quies epulis, mensaeque remotae ; 
 
 Crateras magnos statuunt, et vina coronant. 
 
 ********** 
 
 Hie regina gravem gemmis auroque poposcit, 
 
 Implevitque mero pateram * * * 
 
 ********#** 
 
 Primaque, libato, summo tenus attigit ore. 
 Turn Bitiae dedit increpitans; ille impiger hausit 
 Spumantem pateram, et pleno se proluit auro. 
 Post alii proceres. 
 
 The feast was ended, the cup went round after it, and 
 the health was, that Jupiter would shower down his
 
 Etymology of the word Bumper. 2 1 7 
 
 blessings, and that peace and concord might reign between 
 the parties, the Trojans and Tyrians; which leads me to re- 
 mark, 4thly, and lastly, that there is no proof of the fact, 
 that the grace-cup was the Pope's health. At St. John's 
 College, Cambridge, the president, or his locum tenens, 
 gave the " old house," meaning prosperity to the college. 
 But then this, it may be said, was since the Reformation, 
 therefore, to go higher, at Mr. Newman's of Westbere, 
 near Canterbury, in Kent, I saw the grace-cup of John 
 Foch, alias Essex, the last Abbot of St. Austin's, Canterbury, 
 and my ever valuable friend, Dr. George Lynch, was pleas- 
 ed afterwards, with Mr. Newman's leave, to make me a 
 present of a very neat drawing of it, which now I have by 
 me. It was mounted with silver gilt, much in the manner as 
 the shells of cocoa nuts commonly are, and was very neat. 
 Foch, the abbot, was a man of note in his time, as likewise 
 afterwards, as appears from John Twyne's Commentary dc 
 Rebus Albionicis, in which piece he is the principal interlo- 
 cutor. Mrs. Newman was a Foch, of the same family, and 
 by that means the cup carne to Mr. Newman. Now, the in- 
 scription round the neck of this cup, in old letters of the 
 time, is this, 
 
 welcome ze be 
 dryng for charite. 
 
 This cup is too small to be a vessel employed in the common 
 refectory of that large foundation, and probably was- only 
 used in the abbot's own apartment. But now, if the Pope's 
 health was not usually drank after dinner, by the religious 
 societies, and I think there is no proof it ever was, we can 
 much less expect it should go round in those jovial meet- 
 ings of the laity, where bumpers were introduced. 
 
 For these reasons, Mr. Urban, I ana for looking out for a 
 different original; and, in the first place, the word is of no 
 great antiquity, but on the contrary rather modern, for it 
 occurs not either in Littleton's Dictionary, or Cotgrave; I 
 should think it might be the French bon verre, which is a 
 genuine French phrase, as may be seen in Boyer; and cer- 
 tainly, B, P, and V, being letters of the same origin, are 
 easily changed one for another. But if this does not please, 
 I would observe next, that in some of the midland counties, 
 any thing large is called a bumper, as a large apple, or 
 pear; hence, bumping lass, is a large girl of her age, and a 
 bumpkin is -a large-limbed uncivilized rustic; the idea of 
 grossness and size, entering the character of a country
 
 218 On the Word Culprit. 
 
 bumpkin, as well as that of an unpolished rudeness. Mr. 
 Johnson, in his dictionary, I observe, deduces the word 
 bumper from bump. But what if it should be a corruption 
 of bumbard, or bombard, in Latin bombardus, a great gun; 
 and from thence applied to a large flaggon, black jack, or 
 a full glass? Thus the lord chamberlain says to the porters, 
 who had been negligent in keeping out the mob, 
 
 You are lazy knaves : 
 
 And here ye lie baiting of bumbards, when 
 Ye should do service. 
 
 Shakes. H. VIII. A. v. Sc. 3. 
 
 Baiting of bumbards is a cant term for sotting and drink- 
 ing, which Nash, in his Supplication to the Devil, p. 44. 
 calls by a like metaphor, beer-baiting. So Shakespear 
 again, " yond some black cloud, yond huge one, looks like a 
 foul bumbard that would shed his liquor." Tempest, A. ii. 
 Sc. 2. where Mr. Theobald rightly explains it a large ves- 
 sel for holding drink, as well as the piece of ordnance so 
 called. P and B y as I said, being so similar, bumbard would 
 easily be turned into bumper. However, Mr. Urban, I 
 should prefer any one of these etymologies to that of au bon 
 Pcre, but which of the three to chuse I arn uncertain, and 
 therefore am very willing to leave it to Squire Jones to 
 take which he likes best; and, if he approves of none of 
 them, the liquor I hope, and the quantity, may still please. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1759, June. PAUL GEMSEGE. 
 
 L. On the Word CULPRIT. 
 
 SlR EDW. COKE sajs, our books of reports and statute? 
 in ancient time, were written in French, and observes the 
 difference betwixt the writing and pronouncing that lan- 
 
 fuage; also, that the legal sense ought not to be changed, 
 believe there is not any word in any language more cor- 
 rupted, or applied with greater impropriety, than the word 
 Culprit. 
 
 After indictment read against the prisoner at the bar, he 
 is asked whether he is guilty or not guilty of the indictment; 
 if he answers not guilty, the clerk of the arraignments
 
 On the Word Culprit. 2 1 9 
 
 replies culprit, which it is said is from cul prist, and cul prist 
 from culpabilis and presto, and signifies guilty already. What ! 
 are our laws so severe, or their procedure so preposterous 
 as to declare a person guilty because he hath pleaded not 
 guilty, and before the prosecutors are called on their recog- 
 nizances to give evidence, and afterwards to ask him how 
 he will be tried ? 
 
 Etymologies are a necessary part of grammar ; by them 
 we arrive at the primary signification of terms, but if far 
 fetched they become ridiculous. How many, Dalton and 
 Burn not excepted, have tortured themselves with the 
 word culprit, a plain corruption from the French qidl 
 paroit? The officer of the court says to the prisoner, guilty 
 or not guilty ? If the prisoner says guilty, his confession is 
 recorded ; if he answers not guilty, the officer says culprit, 
 whereas he ought to say qiCil paroit ; i. e. make it appear, 
 or let it appear if thou art not guilty. Culprit is evidently a 
 corruption of qiCil paroit, which is pure French, and bids 
 the prisoner plead for himself, and make his innocence ap- 
 pear. Culprit hath manifestly changed the legal sense or 
 true reading ; and a false one, which ought to be exploded, 
 hath been admitted. Common reason, common humanity, 
 and similarity of sound evince this. 
 
 M. N. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 I have read in your last Magazine M. N.'s account of the 
 term Culprit. I cannot help thinking that gentleman as 
 much out in his conjecture, as Dalton, Burn, or those whom, 
 he says, have tortured themselves about its etymology. I 
 think its derivation very obvious: Cul prist taken by the 
 tail or skirts, from cul and prendre two French words, and 
 might be a very just definition of a delinquent before he 
 had been imprisoned : or perhaps it might signify one 
 caught in the fact. The term being I presume not applied 
 to debtors. It perhaps came first in use before imprison- 
 ment was so much practised, or when all crimes or misde- 
 meanors were immediately tried before judges appointed 
 for the purpose, in all which senses the term is most pro- 
 per and significant. 
 
 Your constant reader, 
 
 R.J. 
 
 [Another correspondent has suggested, that the word 
 might originally have been culp-pnst } that is, taken (supposed
 
 220 
 
 Stone Coffin discovered at Litchfield. 
 
 or suspected) to be guilty, and in this sense it is an appel- 
 lation extremely proper for a person who has been accused, 
 and is about to put himself on his trial.] 
 1759, June and July. 
 
 LI. Stone Coffin discovered at Litchfield. 
 
 Litchjield,Jan. 13. 
 
 A 
 
 _yujcj\_ 
 
 ^ 
 
 V) 
 
 fe 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 ON the 10th of October 
 last, as some workmen were 
 removing the soil near the 
 north door of the great 
 cross isle of our cathedral 
 church, at the depth of lit- 
 tle more than three feet, 
 they discovered a tomb- 
 stone, of an uncommon 
 size, being near fifteen in- 
 ches thick, upon which is 
 rudely engraved a Calvary 
 cross, having a falchion on 
 the dexter side, with its 
 pummel erect. Upon dis- 
 placing the stone, (though 
 not exactly underneath it) 
 a coffinj of a different 
 kind of stone, with a lid 
 cemented with mortar, was 
 discoverable, and placed 
 due east and west. Within 
 the coffin were to be seen 
 the remains of a human 
 skeleton: the scull, the 
 leg and thigh bones, and 
 the vertebrae of the back 
 were pretty entire, but the 
 rest were mouldered into 
 dust. The scull reclined 
 towards the right shoulder, 
 the arms were a-cross; but every part was disunited. 
 
 As the basis of the cross (see the cut) is different from 
 most I have seen, I should be glad to hear the sentiments 
 of some of your correspondents upon that head, as well as 
 to be informed, whether the falchion does not denote the 
 deceased to have been a warrior.
 
 Stone Coffin discovered at Litchfield. 22 1 
 
 As our dean and chapter have lately removed a building 
 which obstructed a near approach to the north side of the 
 cathedral, and fore-shortened the prospect ; and are now 
 levelling the ground, and laying it out in a more commodi- 
 ous manner, I am in hopes that something more of this sort 
 may be discovered. If this should happen to be the case, 
 you may expect to hear again from, Sir, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 RICHARD GREEN. 
 
 To Mr. Richard Green of Litchfield. 
 SIR, 
 
 ALTHOUGH I can say but little, I fear, to your satisfac- 
 tion, on the points you propose for discussion, to wit, the 
 figure of the cross upon that ancient tombstone, &c. yet I am 
 always very desirous of giving you every testimony of my 
 regard, and shall accordingly select some matters, relative 
 to the discovery lately made at Litchfield, which I hope 
 may not prove entirely disagreeable, and of which therefore 
 I beg your acceptance. 
 
 A question may be started, whether the tomb-stone, and 
 the stone coffin, belong to one and the same person, since 
 the coffin did not lie exactly under the stone ; but I think we 
 may acquiesce in the affirmative, as they are things perfectly 
 consistent one with another, and that a small displacing of 
 the tomb-stone might happen from various causes. 
 
 The person interred, whoever he was, was strongly im- 
 mured, or rather oppressed with stone, 
 
 Tenet hie immania Saxa, 
 
 but I doubt this circumstance will not enable us to discover 
 who he was ; and 3 indeed, the coffin brings with it so fe\y 
 data from the shades, that, in my opinion, nothing certain 
 can be known, either as to the person, or the time of inter- 
 ment. 
 
 It appears to me from the great number of stone coffins, * 
 found in this kingdom, that formerly all persons of rank and 
 dignity, of fortune and fashion, were buried in that manner. 
 
 The Sarcophagus, which is a Greek word, but adopted* 
 by the Latins, and signifies a coffin or a grave, has its name 
 from a certain property which the stone is said to have had 
 
 * At Chesterfield, and Dronfield, in Derbyshire; at Notgrove, in Gloces- 
 tershire. See also Thornton's Antiq. of Nottinghamshire, p. 456. Camden's 
 Britannia, p. 508, 588, 725. Dugdale's Monasticoii, toin. ii. p. J24. Som- 
 nei 's appendix No. xxxviii, Weaver's funeral Mon. p. 262. Drake's Eboracum 
 p. 420, c.
 
 222 Stone Coffin discovered at Litchfield. 
 
 of consuming the dead body in a few days;* but without vi- 
 siting the ancient Greeks and Romans, I shall shew, which 
 is more to the purpose, that this was the custom amongst our 
 Saxon ancestors ; the number of the coffins found, is itself 
 no inconsiderable proof of it; but there is a clear instance 
 in Ven. Bede, who, speaking of Queen yEdylthryd, or St. 
 Awdry, that died of the pestilence in the year 669, says, 
 she was buried, by her express command, by or near the 
 other persons of the monastery, whereof she was abbess, 
 according to the order of her death, and in a wooden coffin, 
 ' et ffique, ut ipsa jusserat, non alibi quam in rnedio eorum, 
 juxta ordinem quo transierat, ligneo in locello sepulta.'f 
 This implies, that otherwise, a person of her high birth, and 
 great dignity, would have been buried in a coffin of stone. 
 This inference is undoubtedly just, for it follows after, in the 
 same author, that her sister Sexburg, who succeeded her as 
 abbess, after she had lain in her grave 16 years, caused her 
 bones to be taken up, put into a new coffin, and translated 
 to a place in the church. ' Jussitque quosdam fratres 
 quaerere LAPIDEM, de quo LOCELLVM in hoc facere 
 possent : qui ascensa navi, venerunt ad civitatulam quan- 
 dam desolatam, et mox invenerunt juxta muros civitatis 
 LOCELLVM de MARMORE ALBO pulcherrime factum, 
 operculo quoque similis LAPIDIS aptissime tectum,' &c. 
 
 Let this then suffice for the antiquity of these stone coffins 
 in this island. As to more modern times, the use of them 
 continued it seems as late as the reign of Henry III. for 
 William Furnival, who flourished at that time, was buried in a 
 stone coffin, as we find in Dr. Thoroton's Nottinghamshire, 
 p. 456, and Sir William Dugdale'sMonasticon, Tom. ii. p. 926. 
 The metrical epitaph being misreported by both these authors, 
 .1 shall here recite it, with the proper corrections. 
 
 Me memorans psalle, simili curris quia calle, 
 De Fournivalle pro Willelino, rogo, psalle. 
 
 But, in some cases, the custom continued as long as Henry 
 VIII.' s time, as appears from Brown Willis's Cathedrals, Vol. 
 Si. p. 59. 
 
 But how comes this coffin, you will ask, to be without the 
 church, and on the north side of it ? It is true that, accord- 
 ingto our present usage, few people are buried in our ordinary 
 
 * Pliny, N. H. Lib. xxxvi. c. xvii. f Bede, iv. c. xix.
 
 Stone Coffin discovered at Litchfield. 223 
 
 parochial church-yards, on the north side of the church. 
 But in cities and towns, you are sensible, it is otherwise, 
 and I suppose I need not give instances to you. As to the 
 other particular, the coffin's lying without the fabric, I ima- 
 gine it never was within it; for when Roger Clinton, bishop 
 of Litchfield, about the year 1148, erected your present 
 neat and elegant cathedral, he certainly did not contract, 
 but rather enlarged the dimensions of the old foundation. 
 Until the time of Cuthbert, archbishop of Canterbury, 
 whose pontificate began A.D. 740, and ended in 748, the 
 custom of burying within the precincts of towns and cities 
 did not prevail here.* But it was not till towards the Nor- 
 man conquest, that persons, how great soever, were buried 
 in churches, unless it happened that they were removed 
 thither on account of their extraordinary sanctity, and in or- 
 der to be reputed and worshipped as saints. Thus St. Awdry 
 above, was translated into the church by her sister; and 
 Bede tell us of your Litchfield prelate, St. Chad, * Sepultus 
 est primo quidem juxta ecclesiam sanctae Marias; sed post- 
 modum constructa ibidem ecclesia beatissimi apostolorum 
 principis Petri, in eandem sunt ejus ossa translata, t' and 
 this is very agreeable to that canon of King Edgar, ' do- 
 cemus etiam ut in ecclesia nemo sepeliatur, nisi sciatur quod 
 " in vita deo bene placuerit, ut inde judicetur, quod sit tali 
 sepultura dignus.' J 
 
 ,The steps by which we came to bury in churches so ge- 
 nerally, as now we do, a custom which almost every body 
 complains of, and nobody cares to rectify, appear to me to 
 be these. Persons of an extraordinary reputed sanctity 
 were first placed there, as in the cases of St. Awdry, and St. 
 Chad. Founders, and patrons, and other great names, be- 
 gan then to creep as near as they could to the fabric, and so 
 were laid in the porch, (and it is observable, that the stone 
 coffin we are speaking of, was, found lying very near the 
 north door of the great cross) or in the entry of the cloys- 
 ters, || or in the cloyster itself before the chapter house 
 door, || or in the chapter house, || or in the sacristy. |j 
 Sometimes the bodies were reposited in the wall, first on 
 the outside, a very notable instance of which, as I remember, 
 
 * Matth. Parker's Antiq. p. 91. and Staveley's Hist, of Churches, p. 26. 
 
 + Bede, lib. iv. c. 3. 
 
 \ Wilkin's Concil. p. 227. 
 
 Staveley's Hist, of Churches, p.261.G'2. 263, Sorao, Autiq. Cant p. 1 17. 
 
 j! Dudg. Monasticon, i. p. 126. 127.
 
 224 Stone Coffin discovered at Litchfield. 
 
 you have at your church at Litchfield, and then in the inside 
 of the wall *. In process of time, they began to erect isles, 
 and to bury and establish chantries in them ; after which 
 they made free with the body of the church ; and lastly, 
 but I think chiefly since the Reformation, except in the 
 cases of sanctity abovernentioned, they had recourse to the 
 chancel. 
 
 It appears from this short state of affairs, that the bones found 
 in the stone coffin in question, must be those of some person 
 of considerable note, that flourished some time after the year 
 748, but probably not till some short time after the Norman 
 conquest, as I judge from the form of the arch, on which the 
 cross is erected, which is mitred, after the manner of the 
 Normans. As to the figure of the cross, nothing precise can 
 be determined from thence; for to say nothing of the heralds, 
 who have varied the forms of crosses immensely, one sees 
 them in shapes, infinitely various, upon tomb-stones. 
 
 We will say then, upon the footing of probability, that 
 this person might be interred about 1170, but as to who he 
 was, we are entirely at a loss. 
 
 On the lid or cover of the coffin, in your draught, there 
 is the representation of a falchion, or some such instrument. 
 Now Bede tells us, that one Ouini, a lay-brother, resided 
 with the other Monks at St. Chad's monastery at Stowe, and 
 was the person that heard the miraculous celestial music 
 that presaged the death of that prelate; that Ouini was an 
 illiterate man, not qualified for the study of the scriptures, 
 though he was a person of note and great worth : and when 
 he retired to a monastery, upon his leaving the world, he 
 came ' simplici tantum habitu indutus, et securim atque 
 asciam in manu ferens,' to Lajstigaeu, ' non enim ad otium, ut 
 quidam, sed ad laborem se monasterium intrare significabat.' 
 From Laestigaeu he came to Stowe, where I presume he 
 died. Certainly, the instrument expressed upon the cover 
 of the coffin, would be proper enough to denote this person, 
 but he cannoc be the party that was interred here, because 
 in all probability he did not long overlive the year 672, 
 which was the time of St. Chad's death, and at that time, 
 our ancestors did not bury in towns, so that the times and 
 circumstances do not at all accord. 
 
 Amongst the Romans, the Ascia was very frequently put 
 upon urns and altars, and the figure of it is very various ; 
 this circumstance of the Ascia placed upon monuments of 
 
 * Somner's Antiq. of Canterb. p. 127. Drake's Eborac. p. 421.
 
 Stone Coffin discovered at Litchjield. 225 
 
 this kind, has occasioned a very puzzling problem to the 
 antiquaries; Montfaucon himself does not pretend to decide 
 amongst them. But you shall hear his account ; he says, 
 that " towards Lyons, and in other provinces of France, at 
 Rome, and at Mayence, sepulchres have been found where 
 there's a certain kind of Hatchet, or Ascia, represented 
 with this inscription, sub Ascia dedicavit, sometimes thus 
 written at length, and sometimes with the first letters only, 
 S. AS. I). There are also some monuments where the 
 Hatchet is exhibited without any inscription. There is a 
 very great variety observable in the shape of these Ascise. 
 The question why an instrument of this kind should be 
 represented on monuments, and why sepulchres should 
 thus be dedicated sub Ascia, ' under the hatchet,' is not easily 
 answered, nor do 1 see that any reason can be assigned for 
 such a custom. But how difficult soever it be to find the 
 meaning of it, a great many have nevertheless attempted 
 it, though I think without success, none having yet hit 
 upon it, [here he reports the groundless conjectures of M. 
 Chorier and Fabretti, and concludes] in short, among all the 
 explications that I have seen there is not one satisfactory ; 
 nor indeed do I think any such will ever be hit upon, until 
 we have more light afforded us from some new discovered 
 inscription."* I shall not pretend to meddle with this diffi- 
 cult question, neither dare I presume to say, that the instru- 
 ment on your cover is the Ascia; for the exhibition of the 
 Ascia was a Pagan custom, whereas, the cross plainly shews, 
 that the person here interred was a Christian ; and perhaps as 
 you conjecture, a warrior; for I do not think he was a pre- 
 late, it being a custom in these early times to inter bishops 
 in pontificalibus, of which the ring and crosier were 
 apart, substances which are not very liable, to waste. This 
 custom relative to the prelates, I infer from a passage in 
 Dugd. Mon. iii. p. 220, where it is remarked, that Richard 
 Pecke, bishop of Litchfield, was buried in the convent of 
 St. Thomas, at Stafford, in his habit of a regular canon, 
 whereupon it immediately follows * NAM allata sunt ponti- 
 ficalia ejus per G. Pecke, consanguineum suum, monachum 
 apud Conventriam, sicut ipse episcopus disposuerat.' But 
 what is very material, there was no prelate buried at Litch- 
 field, about this time. 
 
 You see, Sir, we are involved in the thickest darkness, in. 
 regard to the person interred, and what is worse, we are 
 
 * Motitf. P. I. B. Ill, c. 5. 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 226 Account of a scarce Gold Coin. 
 
 likely to continue so. For whereas you take notice, that 
 the bones of the skeleton found within the coffin were dis- 
 united; this, Sir, I think, is what might well be expected 
 alter the corpse had lain so long a time; for the order of the 
 consumption of dead bodies, 1 suppose to be this, first the 
 bowels, muscles, and skin; then the sinews and ligaments; 
 and at iast the cartilages and bones. The time required for 
 the dissolution and corruption of a dead body, I look upon 
 to be very uncertain, because it will depend very much on 
 the nature of the strata, wherein the corpse shall happen to 
 Le laid. And since none, in the long run, except forsooth 
 the bodies of saints, are exempt from this corruption, it is 
 clear, that the person here interred, there being nothing of 
 him remaining but a few of his bones, could be no saint, 
 which is all the certainty we are able to arrive at, in regard 
 to this discovery. 
 
 I am, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 J7->9, Jan. and Feb. PAVL GEMSEGE* 
 
 LII. Account of a scarce Gold Cein supposed ta be Saxon. 
 
 To the Rev. John Taylor, LL.D. Chancellor of the Dio- 
 cese of Lincoln. 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 THAT very general and extensive knowledge you are con- 
 fessedly master of, prevents you from being a stranger to 
 the violent prejudices our antiquaries have conceived against 
 the existence of coined gold amongst the Anglo-Saxons, I 
 mean of their own fabrication ; you are well aware at the 
 same time of the force of the prejudice, and of the diffi- 
 culty one commonly meets with in extirpating it; however 
 this is the principal intention of the Series of Dissertations*, 
 &c. which, could I impute nothing to your friendship, and 
 yet I am not without vanity on that head, I dare say your 
 curiosity would induce you to peruse. 
 
 The prepossession I am speaking of, began as early as the 
 days of Camdenf, which is as much as to say, is as old as 
 
 f* Dissertations on some Anglo-Saxon Remains. By Samuel Pegge, M.A. J 
 f Camdea'a Remains, in the Chapter of .Mosey.
 
 Account of a scarce Gold Coin. 27 
 
 the very commencement of the study of our English Anti- 
 quities ; and having been, as I think, almost universally* 
 propagated by our authors engaged in this subject, it is be- 
 come in a manner inveterate. But let us examine, if you 
 please, a little into the merits of it. No Saxon coins, say 
 they, in this rich metal, have ever appeared ; but you will 
 think this a very weak argument in the case before us, it' 
 you reflect on what Mr. Thoresby says in relation to the 
 Ericas, namely, that the three in his collection were all that 
 were known at Oxford so lately as the Latin edition of King 
 Alfred's life in l6?8t ; and it is certain that till the year. 
 1695, when a nest of Sticas was discovered at Rippon, in 
 Yorkshire, the Saxon money in copper was extremely 
 scarce. The same gentleman also testifies, in regard to the 
 pennies of William the Conqueror and William Rufus, that 
 they were so very rare in his time, though now so plentiful 
 that there is hardly any collection but what will exhibit you 
 half a dozen of them, that with the utmost diligence he 
 could but procure one of either king till A.D. 1703, when, 
 a fire happening at York, occasioned the finding a box which 
 contained 250 of them. It was some time before the learned 
 antiquaries would believe there were any such pieces as 
 grouts of king Edward I. and yet now they are fully con- 
 vinced of it. As to gold coins in particular, those of 
 Livius Severus are exceedingly rare in this kingdom ; and 
 those of Allectus every where. The late earl of Pembroke, 
 at the suggestion of Mr.Folkes, thought proper to purchase 
 the gold Allectus in Lord Oxford's catalogue. The same I 
 presume which is engraved in the Pembrochian tables, Part I. 
 plate 38. and Mr. Folkes being commissioned by his lord- 
 ship to bid for it, gave no less, as I have been told, than 60 
 guineas for it. But what is most to the present purpose, 
 King Henry III. coined some gold, and yet I cannot learn: 
 that any of the pieces have yet appeared. Mr. Leake in- 
 deed seems to doubt the fact, but there is no room for that; 
 since, besides the manuscript chronicle of the city of Lon- 
 don, by him cited, the words of the record in the Tow -r, 
 if my copy be right, (and it came from the late Mr. 
 Holmes) asserts it most expressly. 
 
 " Rot. claus. Anno 41. Rs. Hen. 3. m. 3. de Moneta Anrea. 
 Mandatumestmnjori et vicecomitibus London, quodclamari 
 
 * Dr. Plot and Mr. Walker may perhaps be excepted j see Dissert. 4. in 
 the Series of Disseitations. 
 f Thoresby's Mi.sseurn, p. 540. 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 Account of a scarce Gold Coin. 
 
 faciant in civitate predicta, quod moneta regis aurea quam 
 rex fieri facit de cetero currat tain in civitate predicta c|iiain 
 alibi per regnutn Anglic tani ad euiptiones quam ad vendi- 
 tiones faciendas, viz. quilibet denarius pro xx denarjis Ster- 
 lingoruui. Et quod moneta regis argentea currat similiter 
 sicut currere consuevit. T. K. apud Cestriam XVL die 
 August!. Per Consilium Regis." 
 
 It is here positively declared that the king had caused 
 some gold money to be made, which was to pass for twenty- 
 pence (not twenty shillings, as is said in the notes on Rapin), 
 and yet no specimen of this money has been hitherto pro- 
 duced. 
 
 The use I would make of these histories, is to shew the 
 unreasonableness and inconclusiveness or the prejudice in 
 question, as likewise the probability, after what lias been 
 said in the Series of Dissertations, of the Saxons .having 
 struck some gold, though so few of their pieces in that 
 metal have as yet come down to us. 
 
 But perhaps you may here ask what can be the occasion, 
 of the Saxon gold coins being scarce ? The probable 
 cause of this, I take to be, the scarcity of gold bullion 
 amongst them. For this island produced none itself, and 
 our foreign trade in those times was but small, very little un- 
 coined gold 1 conceive, was imported into the kingdom. 
 Besides provisions and other necessaries were then so cheap, 
 that there was little occasion for gold in the course of peo- 
 ple's traffic one amongst another; consequently this species 
 of coin being but little wanted for the purpose of com- 
 merce, there was the less necessity for the striking of any 
 great quantity of it. These now were plausible causes of 
 scarcity, and yet not such as to exclude the coinage of 
 gold in some small portions, which is all that is asserted in 
 the Series of Dissertations. 
 
 So much in regard to popular prejudice : you would ob- 
 serve, Sir, that in the preface to the Series of Dissertations 
 I mentioned a gold coin of my own which I imagined might 
 be an Anglo-Saxon, and I dare say you would wonder that I 
 caused it not to be engraved on that occasion. That, Sir, 
 I did not think proper to do, because, though I was suf- 
 ficiently satish'ed myself, from the appearance of it, that it 
 was a Saxon ; yet, to say the truth, 1 could not at that time 
 make out the reverse of it so clearly as I could wish ; but it 
 has happened since then, by a very particular good fortune, 
 that my friend Mr. White, to whom the second dissertation 
 i the Series is addressed, sent me down a o!d coin, 
 which proved to be a duplicate to mine, and though impcr-
 
 On Gold Coin. 229 
 
 feet in the legend of the reverse, as mine was, yet the im- 
 perfection being in a different part, the two coins hoth to- 
 g-ether furnish out a complete legend. The reading is 
 evidently DVITA MONE, that is, Duita Monetarius, and 
 this I think a confirmation of the piece being a real Anglo- 
 Saxon. 
 
 /^at that time had the power of /T, and you are sensible 
 that (he and tw are the initial letters of many Saxon words: 
 and that they should be so in proper names is certainly very 
 analogous : probably the modern name of Dwightis no other 
 than this Saxon one* DVITA : but however that be, DVITA 
 has the appearance of a genuine Saxon name, the first syl- 
 lable of which occurs in that of Duina, one of the bishops 
 of Rochester.* And as Wina and Duina may be supposed 
 to be the same name, so I apprehend Witta and Duita may 
 be the same; and IVitta is the name of the grandfather of 
 Hengist.f The crosses upon these reverses are a good deal 
 after the manner of the French, from whence, one has rea- 
 son to think, the moneyer chose to imitate the gold specie 
 of that nation. This, Sir, is all I shall trouble you with at 
 this juncture, only you must give me leave to intreat you to 
 accept in good part this public testimony of regard from 
 your old and invariable friend, 
 
 S. PEGGE. 
 
 Whittington, June 13. 
 3756, June. 
 
 LIII. On the Existence of Gold Coin previous to the reign of 
 Edward III. 
 
 To Emanucl Mendtz Da Costa, Fellow of the Royal Society ^ 
 and of the Society of /Intiquaries. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 1 HE existence of coined gold, after the Norman acra, and 
 previous to the reign of Edward III. as occasionally mention- 
 ed in the letter to Dr. Taylor, admits of so much further il- 
 lustration, that the learned antiquary must be indispensably 
 
 * Tanner's Biblioth. p. 242, and the authors there quoted, 
 f Chron. Sax. p. 13. 
 
 Q 3
 
 230 On Gold Coin. 
 
 obliged to every gentleman who will contribute any thing to 
 its perfect establishment. The fact rests at present upon 
 the authority of the manuscript chronicle of the city of 
 London, and the record in the Tower, both which, methinks, 
 receive some confirmation from the nature of the florin 
 struck by Edward III. for the florin at 6s. 8d. i. e. eighty- 
 pence, stands in the same proportion to the gold penny of 
 Henry III. which was to pass for twenty-pence, as the 
 silver groat of Edward did to the silver penny. I propose 
 not that gentlemen should lay a grain more weight upon 
 this observation than what it will really bear; but cert.iinly 
 the following Jewish instrument, with which you have been 
 pleased to favour me in an English dress, as I here give it, 
 may demand their best attention, since it so perfectly ac- 
 cords with the other evidences above, and would perhaps 
 be sufficient of itself, were it even destitute of their aid, 
 to establish the point in question. But be that as it will, 
 you will permit me, Sir, to intreat you to accept of this 
 public acknowledgment, together with the remarks subjoined 
 to the instrument (upon which 1 know you will put such a 
 construction as is most consistent with friendship and can- 
 dour) as the best return I can make for the obligation of this 
 humane and seasonable communication. 
 
 I am, 
 
 TOUTS, &c. 
 
 SAMUEL PEGGED 
 
 The Instrument. 
 
 I, the undersigned, do hereby confess with final confes- 
 sion, that at any time there cometh my brother-in-law Rabby 
 Aaron, the son of Rabby Judah, within fifteen days of Pente- 
 cost, in the forty-sixth year of the reign of our Lord the 
 King Henry, the son of King John, and possess me in the 
 house and yard, and the small house, the kitchen and all 
 that belongs to him that he hath given me, by the bond of 
 Eorugraphy, in which bond is expressly mentioned with en- 
 tire possession, and was made before the Rev. Dr. Hamelsar 
 and the aldermen, then at the same time I did confess that 
 J forgave and discharged him of all the debt of fourteen 
 jaku that he owes me upon a bond of acrugraphy, from the 
 creation of the world to the end thereof, and from all other
 
 On Gold Coin. 231 
 
 -debts that were made before Pentecost, as well as those of 
 my honoured father of pious memory, as those of my ho- 
 noured mother who is still living, except that debt he owes 
 me as is declared in the bond of serugraphy of the present 
 that he made me of the said house against his heirs, and 
 against any body that should come by his power, or by 
 the assignment of his hand, and with good witness, that he 
 the said Rabby Aaron cannot pretend to prove or quarrel 
 against the witnesses or the pretension. And if there is no 
 gift or pension of the king limited before the above-named 
 Pentecost, it shall be prolonged for the term of fifteen 
 days after any limited gift or pension of the king, and I 
 do confess with a penalty of two jaku, to possess the said 
 Rabby Aaron with all my might in the court, as is declared 
 in the bond of sale, that I made him in the bond office* for 
 tviojaku of gold, immediately after he has possessed me in 
 the said house, and all what is due to him, and in presence 
 of the Rev. Dr. Hamelsar and the aldermen, if he pleases 
 to receive it from my hands, and this said fine is to our lord 
 the king, and all the time that this bond is in his hand, and 
 he does not put me in possession of it, as is declared above, 
 I cannot neglect to give our lord the king two jaku of gold, 
 and all is right and stedfast, and what I have confessed, 
 1 have signed. 
 
 Aaron, the son of Rabby Haim. 
 
 The Remarks. 
 
 The manuscript chronicle puts the gold coinage of 
 Henry III. at the year 1258, which agrees perfectly with the 
 record in the tower, which is dated 16th Aug. 41 H. III. for 
 Henry acceded to the crown 19th Oct. 1216, and 16th Aug. 
 in the 41st year of his reign, will consequently be in 1258. 
 Tin's instrument, in which jaku of gold are mentioned, is 
 dated some years after the coinage, as one would expect. 
 
 But the question is, what were the jaku of gold ? The 
 word at first sight seems to be no other than the Frenoh, 
 Ecu ; but then it does not appear that the ecu of go 
 coined so soon as this. (See Mons. Le Blanc, p. 200.) 
 sides, as there is mention of fourteen jaku. in the instrument , 
 
 * Hebrew, jerugraphy. 
 
 2 4
 
 232 On Gold Coin. 
 
 without the addition of gold, some sense of the word should 
 be sought for, that will suit hoth with silver and gold money 
 of the time. And this, in my opinion, can be no other but 
 the word sterling. But what connection is there between 
 the word jaku and the word sterling ? I answer, a very close 
 one, if you consider the etymology of the two words. As 
 to the latter, which 1 shall take first, our antiquaries are 
 strangely perplexed, even at this time, about its etymology 
 and the first use of the term in this kingdom. (See Mr. 
 Leak's Introduction, p. 20, et seq.) It first related to the 
 standard or purity of the metal, and afterwards, by me- 
 tonymy, came to signify the piece or, penny coined accord- 
 ing to that standard. The original meaning then is that of 
 standard or alloy. Now, though the word sterling does not 
 occur, as is asserted, in Domesday-book, yet the thing called 
 standard was evidently then known, as is plain from the ex- 
 pression Libra arstz which necessarily implies a standard. 
 (SeeSpelman'sGl. v. Libra.) This author very rationally sup- 
 poses, that at first money was altogether here in this king- 
 dom paid by tale, as ours now is, and from thence a pound 
 of such money was called libra numerate, and contained 240 
 pence.* But afterwards, when by reason of the number 
 of mints, some pennies were made too light, and at the 
 same time the iniquitous practice of clipping commenced, 
 they began to weigh, and from thence came the terms ot 
 libra pema and libra pensata. And lastly, when this provi- 
 sion would not do, but adulteration also began to take place, 
 then they had recourse to the fire, from whence came the 
 expression of libra arsa. Gervase of Tilbury indeed says, 
 that this trial by combustion wasfirst instituted by the bishop 
 of Salisbury, Roger of Caen, temp. Henry L when that prince 
 had converted the eatable and corn fermes into pecuniary 
 payments. But Spelman shews, by several passages out of 
 the record of Domesday, where you have libra arsa, ad 
 arsuram, and arsura, that it was used in the Conqueror's 
 time, and consequently, that the bishop of Salisbury could 
 only be the restorer of that method. What we call standard, 
 you see, was well known at the time of the Conqueror's sur- 
 vey, and so, I dare say, was the term sterling, though it be 
 not found in the record, for it not only denotes the thing, but 
 is actually used by Ordericus Vitalis, an author born in the 
 
 * So we are to read in Spelman, juail not 120.
 
 On Gold Coin. 235 
 
 Conqueror's time, who has the expression of 15 Libr.-Steri- 
 lenaium, &c.* 
 
 By this method of arguing we may venture to advance 
 one step further, and to pronounce that the Saxons had 
 both the thing and the word in their days. As to the thing, 
 their silver is not only all allayed, but \ve have traces iri 
 the monuments, of silver of different goodness being used. 
 Thus in the tenth century Eduoth bought two hides of 
 land for one hundred shillings optimi argentft. A passage 
 unquestionably indicating, that this people knew some- 
 thing of the fineness and coarseness of silver, and also did 
 reduce their knowledge into practice. If then they Avere 
 acquainted with the thing, we are in a manner obliged to be- 
 lieve they had a name for it, and since the word steore sig- 
 nifies lex, canon, regula, it is very natural, as Mr. Somner 
 suggests:}:, to deduce the word sterilensis or sterlingns, (after- 
 wards corrupted by the Normans according to the usage- of 
 their language, into estcrlingus,} from thence, and to be- 
 lieve, that that was their term. And methinks all one can 
 desire in a thing of this nature is, an agreement of fact 
 and etymology. 
 
 Supposing then, for I now return to the matter in handj 
 that the word sterling primarily denoted the purity of the 
 silver, the word jaku comes exactly to the same sense; 
 the root \sjakuk, which in the old Testament is usetf for 
 pure; as for example, Jakuk Zaab, or Keseph, is* the best 
 purified gold or silver. It has been observed above, that 
 the word sterling came in process of time to signify the 
 piece or penny, as well as the standard, and the case is the 
 same with the \\or&jaku in this instrument, where it evi- 
 dently, according to my apprehension, must mean a ster- 
 ling, or penny. Some may fancy, perhaps, that ajaku may 
 possibly mean, not any certain piece of coined money, but 
 some nominal term, as the murk, for instance, and I thiuk it 
 
 , * The reason why it occurs not in Domesday-hook probably was, that bcinjj 
 a term of the mint, it was then cljieliy confined to those offices, which, so 
 far as I can discover from the names ot the mint-masters, were managed in tiic- 
 reigns of the two Williams, by Saxon artificers. The record on the contrary 
 ws compiled in the several counties by commission, and the parties concern- 
 ed, as one has reason to believe, would be for the most part Normans. 
 However, there is no room to think this term was then so generally knowi , 
 as it was afterwards. 
 
 + Histor. Ramf^rns. p. 415. 
 
 J Q. Somneri Gloii. iu X. Script,
 
 23* On the Octaves of Festivals. 
 
 incumbent on me to obviate this objection; in relation 
 to which I have to say, first that the mark of gold was not 
 very common at this time, though perhaps there may be 
 here and there an instance; and 2dly, that there is not the 
 least connection between the word j'aku and the word mart 
 either in sense or orthography, one of which we liave, no 
 doubt, reason to expect. I conclude therefore upon the 
 whole, that the jaku being no denomination, but the name 
 of some coined piece of money, it can mean nothing else 
 but the sterling or penny ; denarim andjaku being used by 
 the Jews of this age, just in the same manner as the Chris- 
 tians applied their words denarius and sterlingus, or penny 
 and sterling ; from whence it must follow necessarily, that 
 the Jaku of gold in this instrument must mean the gold pen* 
 nies coined by King Henry III. and mentioned in the record 
 of the 41st of his reign. 
 
 o 
 
 1756, Oct. 
 
 LIV. On the Octaves of Festivals, Low-Sunday and Plough? 
 
 Monday. 
 
 MR. U its AN, 
 
 IN ancient time, before the Reformation, our greater fes 
 tivals here in England (as I presume the case is now in 
 Popish countries) had each of them their Octave, or 
 eighth day. Of these Octaves, or Utas, as they are often 
 called, mention is frequently made in the law-books and 
 glossaries, and though the word occurs not in our liturgy, 
 yet we have certain vestiges of the thing amongst us, as 
 in Low-Sunday (which is the octave of Easter-Day, and is 
 so called in reference to it, that being the high or principal 
 day of the feast, and this the lower or secondary one) and the 
 proper prefaces in the Communion Office, which are directed 
 to be used on the festival, and seven days after*. See Mr. 
 
 * The preface for Whit-Sunday, is to be used only six days after; but 
 that is because the seventh day, or the octavo, ia absorbed iu the great festi- 
 val oi Trinity-Suuday.
 
 On the Octaves of Festivals. 235 
 
 Wheatley on those two places, as likewise Bishop Sparrow*. 
 The former of these authors again, on the Sunday after 
 Christmas-Day, when the same collect is used, writes thus: 
 " It was a custom among the primitive Christians, to observe 
 the octave, or eighth day, after their principal feasts, with 
 great solemnity; and upon every day between the feast and 
 the octave, as also upon the octave itself, they used to re- 
 peat some part of that service, which was performed upon 
 jthe feast itself," See also Bishop Sparrow, p. 113, from 
 whom it appears, that formerly the same collect was used on 
 Low-Sunday as on Easter-Day; and though it has now a dis- 
 tinct collect, yet this relates as expressly to the Resurrection 
 as that on Easter-Sunday does. 
 
 If you will turn into the calendars prefixed to the Roman 
 Missals and Breviaries, you will find many of the Festa 
 Duplicia, or Higher Feasts, dignified with Octaves; see 
 also Dr. Mareschal's Observations on the Saxon Gospels, 
 p. 538. 
 
 Now the feast of the Epiphany, or the manifestation of 
 Christ to the Gentiles, is Festum Duplex in the calendars 
 above cited, or an holiday of the first rank, and has there 
 its octave, (as likewise it very anciently hadf) which falls 
 upon the 13th of January, or the 20th day after Christmas; 
 and you will find, upon trial, that Christmas-Day, as the 
 old saying in these northern parts imports, is one of the 
 twenty days of festivity, supposing that feast to be kept 
 till the octave of the Epiphany, and not one of the twelve, 
 if you terminate the observation of it on the day of the Epi- 
 phany itself. Whereupon I observe, that the feast of the 
 Nativity was anciently prolonged, in some respects, till the 
 said twentieth day; the expression here under considera- 
 tion clearly implies it; but this was the utmost extent; for 
 the Plough-Monday, which is the Monday after the twelfth 
 day, when the labour of the plough and the other rustic 
 
 * You will find the first Sunday after Easter called Low-Sunday, not only 
 by these authors, but also by Dr. Mareschal, in his Observations on the Saxon 
 (Gospels, p. 535, and in the common almanacks. In country parishes, where 
 weekly communions are in a manner left oft', there is still, in many places, a 
 celebration of it on Low-Sunday, the octave of Easter-day. 
 
 f Ur.Mareschal's Observations on Saxon Gospel:-, p. 528 and 533. Johnson's 
 Collection of Canons, &.c. Anno AJCLXXV. sect. 14. N.B. Mr. Wheatley 
 stems to doubt, whether the Apparition of our Lord, mentioned in this last 
 author, means the Epiphany, or the Transfiguration: but it means the for- 
 mer, as is evident from comparing the beginning of the preface j Quia cum 
 uuiiiuiiUis tuns, in Dr. Wilkins's Councils, i. p. 478, with the Konian missal 
 eu the Fpiphnt.y, where you have a preface that begins so.
 
 536 On the Octaves of Festival*. 
 
 toils begin, never is extended further than the twentieth 
 day, nor can be, for, indeed, it can never extend so far, un- 
 less the twelfth day happen on a Monday. The feast of 
 the Nativity, I say, was prolonged to the twentieth day in 
 some respects, and I might have added with some persons, 
 because the countryman generally returned to his labours 
 before that day; to wit, on the Monday after the twelfth day, 
 and that it was only with the better sort, who were more at 
 leisure, and in respect of the church service, that the feast was 
 extended to the twentieth day. The words of Bishop Spar- 
 row are so full to the purpose, on this point, that I shall 
 recite them. " But when we say, that the church would 
 have these high feasts continued so long, it is not so to be 
 understood, as if she required an equal observance of those 
 several days; for some of those days she commands by her 
 canons and rubrics*, some she seems only to commend to 
 us to be observed ; some are of a higher festivity, some of 
 less. The first and the last, namely the octave of the first, 
 are usually the chief days for solemn assemblies ; yet every 
 one of those days should be spent in more than ordinary 
 meditation of the blessings of the time, and thanksgiving for 
 them: according to that which the Lord commanded to the 
 Jews concerning the feast of tabernacles, Lev. xxiii. 36, 
 Upon every one of the days of that feast an offering was to 
 be made, but the first and last were the solemn convoca- 
 tions, f" You see clearly here the original of the octaves, 
 that it was a practice borrowed from the Jews; that the 
 intermediate days, between the feast and its octave, were of 
 more relaxed observation, and, consequently, that the 
 husbandman might take to his plough on the Monday after 
 the twelfth day!, though it was within the octave of that 
 feast; lastly, that the octave was, nevertheless, a festival 
 to be observed by 'all. 
 
 I observe, lastly, that the Manifestation of our Saviour to 
 the Gentiles, was always reckoned a part of the Christmas 
 solemnity, according to the saying above, that Christmas- 
 Day was not one of the twelve. VVe consider it at this time 
 as such; the octave, consequently of that feast must be SQ 
 too. And this is no more than proper, especially in these 
 
 * Easter-Monday and Tuesday, Whit Monday and Tuesday. 
 
 j. Sparrow's Rationale, p. 170. 
 
 + On this d-iy the young men yoke themselves, and draw a plough about 
 with music, and one or two persons, in antic dresses like jack-puddings, go, 
 from house to house, to gather money to drink; if you refuse them, they 
 plough up your duusrhill. We call them here the Pluu
 
 On the Holt/ Places at Jerusalem. 
 
 western parts of the world ; for, as the inhabitants thereof, 
 ourselves for example, were of the number of those Gen- 
 tiles, the imparting of the Gospel to the Gentiles, was a mat- 
 ter of the utmost consequence to us, and so is very justly 
 made an appendage to the festival of the nativity. 
 
 To comprise the whole in a few words; the twentieth day 
 is the octave of the Epiphany, which festival, with its oc- 
 tave, was usually included in the grand festival of Christ- 
 mas ; the festival is apparently so now, according to every 
 one's apprehension, and the octave, in the nature of things, 
 and according to the usual proceedings of the liturgies in 
 such cases, is an essential part of that festival ; and, though, 
 manual labour did in truth begin before the said octave, or 
 twentieth day, as has been shewn, yet this was always an- 
 ciently reckoned a day of obligation nevertheless, and by 
 our ancestors was constantly kept as an holy day, and that 
 both by the labourer and the gentleman ; for, though 
 the labourer might be allowed to begin to work before, as 
 is said, yet he was always supposed and expected to observe 
 the octave, or the last day as is now, I think, very generally 
 done. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 . 1762, Dec. T. Row. 
 
 LV. On the Holy Places at Jerusalem. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 THERE is-nothing more astonishing in all Popery than the 
 monstrous and boundless credulity of its professors. A 
 true son of the church of Rome believes every thing he is 
 told by his superiors, implicitly. Thus he receives the ar- 
 ticle of transubstantiation, in contradiction to the evidence 
 of every one of his senses that is concerned in it ; he relies 
 on the infallibility of the church, though he knows not well 
 where to lodge it, whether in the pope or a general council, 
 or in both jointly; and though both popes and councils 
 have so often erred, have contradicted and combated one 
 another, he swallows every modern miracle and legend, 
 though the several tricks and artifices whereby they have 
 been palmed upon the world have been so often laid"" open 
 and detected : and the Latin Fathers resident at Jerusalem 
 take the Holy Places, as thjey.are called, :to iae the real spots
 
 2 58 On the Holy Places at Jerusalem. 
 
 which they are pretsnded to be, and shew them for such to 
 pilgrims and travellers, such as Baumgarten, Gemelli^ 
 Sandys, &c. as appears from the books and writings of these 
 travellers. Indeed they would be arrant cheats, impostors, 
 and hypocrites, if they did not, since they actually perform 
 the most solemn devotions at those places. But how great 
 (that I may stick to this point) must be the uncertainty of 
 this, when Jerusalem has so often changed masters, and 
 has been so frequently wasted and destroyed ? It is particu- 
 larly recorded of Titus, that he set his soldiers " to de- 
 molish the city, with all its noble structures, fortifications, 
 palaces, towers, walls, and other ornaments, down to the 
 level of the ground, according to Christ's express predic- 
 tion. He left nothing standing but a piece of the western wall, 
 and the three towers of Hippicos, Phasael, and Mariamne, 
 the former to serve as a rampart to his tenth legion, which 
 he left there, and the three latter to give future ages some 
 idea of the strength of the whole city, and of the skill 
 and valour of its conqueror. His orders were so punctually 
 executed, that, except those few buildings above-men- 
 tioned, there were not so much as any remains left that 
 could serve as an index, that that ground had been once in- 
 habited." The Jewish tradition adds, that Titus had caused 
 the plough to be driven over it. Possibly, as is observed by the 
 authors of the Universal History, tome X. p. 690, this ac- 
 count may be somewhat exaggerated,* yet I suppose no 
 city was ever more totally destroyed by an enemy. In re- 
 gard of what was done here by the Emperor Hadrian, 
 Sandys gives us the following account of it : " Threescore 
 and five years after (the destruction by Titus) ylius Adri- 
 anus inflicting on the rebelling Jews, a wonderful slaughter, 
 subverted those remainders, [Hippicos, Phasael, &c.] and 
 sprinkled salt upon the foundation, where, not long after, he 
 built a city, but less in circuit, taking in Mount Calvary, 
 and a part of Mount Gihon, with a valley between, which 
 lay on the left side, and were excluded in the former city, 
 setting over the gate that openeth towards Bethlehem, the 
 portraiture of a swine, prohibiting the Jews for ever to en- 
 ter, or so much as to look upon it from a more eminent 
 mountain; and after his own name named it ^Elia Capito- 
 lina."t According to these relations, the principal houses 
 must all have been destroyed, the very form of the city 
 
 * Sot> a!<=o Calmet's Diet, v. Jerusalem. 
 f Sandys' Travels, p. 191,
 
 On the Holt/ Places at Jerusalem. 239 
 
 was altered*, and there must have been a mighty chasm in 
 the tradition concerning the sacred places, since the Jews, 
 by the last Emperor, were excluded from entering the city, 
 and making, consequently, the proper observations upon 
 the sites of the respective places ; a fact which must neces- 
 sarily render those sites extremely precarious and uncer- 
 tain, even though the city was not long after inhabited by 
 the Christians. But all this, notwithstanding, the Father* 
 will shew you with the utmost assurance and preciseness, 
 according to Sandys, for I propose to confine myself to this 
 author, David's tower, his sepulchre, the ccenaculum, the 
 house of Annas, and that of Caiaphas, Christ's sepulchre, 
 the house of Zebedee, house of St. Mark, house of St. 
 Thomas, the place where the Jews would have taken away 
 the body of the Blessed Virgin, the fountain of the Blessed 
 Virgin, the place where the palace of Pilate stood, his arch, 
 the place where they met Simon of Cyrene, where Dives 
 lived, who, by the way, was no real person, where the 
 Pharisee dwelt, and Veronica, another imaginary being. 
 
 I suppose, Sir, the above may be sufficient to establish 
 the observation I have made on the credulity of the Papists, 
 but, nevertheless, I desire to add a few more places, e.t 
 abundantia, such as, where Abraham would have sacrificed 
 Isaac, the stone of the anointing, the exact place where 
 Christ appeared to Mary Magdalen, where she stood, of his 
 apparition to his mother, where he was scourged, and the 
 pillar distained with blood, where the angels stood, where 
 Christ was imprisoned, where his garments were divided, 
 vhere he was derided, where he was nailed to the cross, 
 where he was crucified, where the Virgin and St. John, 
 stood at the time of the passion, &c. &c. &c. Perhaps, Sir, 
 you may hardly think it possible that a set of men, pretend- 
 ing to some share of sense and learning, should be so weak 
 and preposterous as to believe they had discovered the 
 precise scenes of the above transactions, but the fathers 
 are so indubitably convinced of them, that I assure you, 
 Sir, many years indulgences are granted to those who visit 
 many of the places from a principle of devotion : and, Sir, 
 if you were inclined to accompany Mr. Sandys to Emmaus, 
 Bethlehem, the mountains of Judea. and the environs of 
 Jerusalem, you will find the like marks of the most sottish 
 credulity extending to many pages ; for many of those 
 places, as where St. Peter wept, where the Apostles hid 
 
 * See Sandys above cited, as likewise below in that page; also page 122.
 
 40 Custom of taking Persons to Feasts not in-cited. 
 
 themselves, and where Christ prayed, Sec. though they 
 are without the city, cannot possihly be at this day better 
 ascertained than those within. But I shall not trouble you, 
 Mr. Urban, with anything further on the subject, as the 
 sample here given, will, i presume, be sufficient both for 
 yourself and the bulk of your readers. 
 
 Yours, 8cc. 
 1 1763, Dec. T. Row. 
 
 LVI. On the Custom of taking Persons to Feasts without Invitations. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 PLUTARCH, in his Symposiacs, Book VII. treats of the 
 origin of the custom of guests taking other persons with 
 them to a feast who were not invited to it. He says this 
 custom took its rise from Socrates, who, being invited to an 
 entertainment by Agatho, persuaded Aristodemus, who was 
 not invited, to go with him. It happened that, Socrates 
 stopping by the way, Aristodemus came in before him, 
 whence he obtained the name of umbra or shade, because he 
 came before the person who invited him, as a shadow goes 
 before the body that follows it. Plutarch then proceeds to 
 lay down some rules for the regulation of this custom. 
 He tells us that he who invites others to go with him to 
 a feast, should not invite many, lest he should seem desirous 
 to treat his friends at the expense of another person. He 
 says also, that he should take the acquaintance of his host 
 with him, and if he cannot do that, he should endeavour to 
 suit the persons he takes with him to the genius and dispo- 
 sition of his friend. He then goes on to prescribe some 
 rules to be observed by those who are invited in this manner. 
 He says that if a great man, who is delighted with pomp 
 and much attendance, invite a person to a feast at another 
 person's table, the person invited must immediately refuse. 
 If a friend or acquaintance ask, we must not easily assent, 
 unless when he appears to have occasion for some discourse 
 that cannot be deferred, or is returned from a journey, or 
 is going abroad, or when he either takes only a few more, or 
 iis only, along with him, or when he designs to introduce us 
 to some worthy person; for if they be bad men, the more 
 they seek to engage us, the more we should resist them. 
 It is also absurd, says he. to go to an unknown person, unless
 
 % Cross in Cheapside. 24 1 
 
 ho be one of excellent virtues, with whom you may 
 be-in an acquaintance by this means. We ought, likewise, 
 to go in this manner to those whom we will permit to bring 
 others to us in the same way. We ought, says Plutarch, 
 by no means to go to generals, or rich and powerful men, in 
 this manner, lest we should appear impudent, unpolite, or 
 ambitious. This custom of taking persons who, are not in- 
 vited, to entertainments, prevailed also amongst the Romans, 
 as appears from Horace, Lib. II. Sat. VIII. 
 
 Q.UOS Maecenas adduxerat umbras. 
 
 I am, Sir, &c. 
 1763, Dec. 
 
 LVII. Account of the Cross in Cheapside, and its Demolition. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 JL HERE has lately fallen into my hands a little print or re- 
 presentation of* an incident that is now but little known, or 
 rather is totally forgotten, by almost all our historians ; 
 and yet deserves in my opinion to be recorded, as it shews 
 the spirit and temper of the times in which it happened ; the 
 apprehensions the people in general were under from the 
 terrors of popery ; and the zeal they shewed in the demo- 
 lition of the last remains of that idolatry in this great me- 
 tropolis. 
 
 The incident here alluded to is the pulling down the old 
 cross in Cheapside, erected, as Strype says, in 129O, by 
 Edward I. at the last resting-place of the remains of his de- 
 ceased queen, in its progress from Herdeby, where she died, 
 to Westminster-abbey, where she was interred. This cross 
 was on this occasion adorned with the queen's image and 
 arms, and afterwards enriched with the statues of saints, 
 martyrs, and popes. In process of time it became still more 
 considerable and useful, and conduits wqre added to it for 
 supplying the city with water, which was brought in leaden 
 pipes from a spring at three miles distance; and a public 
 granary was erected over them to provide against the scar- 
 city of corn, that the city should not be distressed for want 
 of bread. 
 
 This cross, according to Strype, if I understand him right, 
 is wholly different from the late conduit that was. removed 
 from Cheapside, being situated in quite a. different part ot" 
 
 VOL. I. R
 
 242 Cross in Cheapsidc. * 
 
 m 
 
 the street; and the silence of our historians on its demolition, 
 seems to be the more inexcusable, as it appears to have been 
 an object of public attention in more reigns than one. 
 
 In that of Henry VI. letters patent were issued for re- 
 building and enlarging it, conferring a pre-eminence upon 
 it as the grand aqueduct from whence all other aqueducts 
 were to be supplied for the use of the city ; and the public 
 granary was also included in that patent, in order to provide 
 against the calamities of famine, to which all populous cities 
 in the then low state of agriculture, were at certain periods 
 liable to be exposed. The water that supplied the aqueduct 
 was brought in leaden pipes from the pond between High- 
 gate and Hampstead ; and the corn that supplied the granary 
 was bought up at the public expense in years of plenty, 
 and reserved to years of dearth, when it was retailed out at 
 an equal price to rich and poor, that neither might have 
 reason to complain of the arts of engrossers, or the exorbi- 
 tant profits of ordinary retailers. 
 
 The common utility by this means increased the common 
 respect. This cross being the great object of public conve- 
 nience, became, in consequence, the chief object of the 
 magistrates'* attention. All men's eyes were directed to the 
 great fountain from whence issued the two grand articles 
 For the support of life, water and bread. In 1484, the 
 citizens of London raised a subscription to repair and beau- 
 tify it, and it was then considered as the greatest ornament 
 of the great metropolis. In 1 522 it was new gilt with gold, 
 on the arrival of the Emperor Charles V. At the coronation 
 of Edward VI. it received a new polish ; and before the coro- 
 nation of Queen Mary, all the decorations that could flatter 
 popish idolatry were bestowed upon it. At the public entry 
 of King Philip of Spain, it was again re-touched, and mag- 
 nificently ornamented ; but soon after the accession of 
 Queen Elizabeth to the throne, it began to be disregarded. 
 In 1581, the lower images, to which the superstition of 
 popish times inclined idolatrous people to pay divine ho- 
 nours, were defaced and broken down ; the image of the 
 Blessed Virgin was at that time deprived of her infant son ; 
 the arms that held him in her lap were broken ; and her 
 body mangled in a rude and heretical manner. The rage of 
 party generally breaks forth into extremes. In the room of 
 the beautiful statue <>f thj^']Blessed Virgin, a frightful figure 
 o,f Diana took place, y \vitha kind of rude machinery to force 
 water from her naked breast, which, however, sometimes 
 jan, butoftener appeared dry. 
 
 Before the year 1599, the umbers that supported the
 
 ^ Cross in Cheapside. 243 
 
 leaden roof were so decayed that presentments were made 
 at the ordinary sessions that the whole building was a dan- 
 gerous edifice, and a common nuisance ; in consequence 
 whereof it was again repaired, but not yet removed ; the 
 humour of the court was not yet ripe totally to erase that 
 ancient monument of popish adoration ; many people still 
 came secretly in the night to pay their devotions to the 
 Blessed Virgin ; but many more in the day most grossly 
 abused her. On the 24th of December, 1600, a thorough 
 reparation was completed ; the whole cross, by order of 
 court, was beautified, and nothing remained to be done but 
 to remove the scaffolding, when very unexpectedly the 
 image of the Blessed Virgin that had been again restored, 
 was most shamefully defaced; the crown with which she 
 was dignified was plucked from her head, her naked infant 
 torn from her bosom ; and a dagger was left sticking in her 
 breast as an indelible mark of the rancour with which the 
 man was possest, who in the zeal of bigotry, could thus 
 vent his barbarity on a lifeless image. 
 
 From this time till the year 1643, it seems to have under- 
 gone no considerable alteration; but when the Rebellion 
 broke out, and men's minds began to be agitated with reli- 
 gious passions, this Cross became again the object of enthu- 
 siastical resentment. The short note which gave rise to 
 this inquiry, and which is the only relation that I can find of 
 the final demolition of this celebrated structure, is in 
 these words : 
 
 " The 2 of May, 1643, the crosse in Cheapeside was 
 pulled downe, a troope of horse and two companies of foote 
 way ted to garde it, and at the fall of the tope crosse dromes 
 beat, trumpets blew, and multitudes of capes wayre throwne 
 in the ay re, and a greate shoute of people with joy. The 2 
 of May the Almanacke sayeth was the invention of the 
 crosse. And 6 day, at night, was the leaden popes burnt, in 
 the place where it stood, with ringing of bells, and a greate 
 acclamation, and no hurt done in all these actions.'* 
 
 Should any of your numerous correspondents be furnished 
 with a more ample account of this memorable event, it 
 would be an acceptable present to the public to communi- 
 cate it through the channel of your Magazine. 
 
 I am, Sir, yours, 
 
 D.Y.
 
 244 The Phrase, " a Month's mind to do a thing" illustrated. 
 
 LVIII. The Phrase, " A Mouth's mind to do a thing," illustrated. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 I DARC say you have frequently heard it said by those who 
 have a great desire to have or to do something, that they 
 have a month's wind to it, and it is probable that neither you 
 nor any or' your readers can account for the expression. I 
 am hot sure that .1 can do it perfectly myself, but I have 
 something to communicate on the subject, that will perhaps 
 afford entertainment, if not instruction. 
 
 The following is an extract from the will of Thomas Wind- 
 sor, Esq. which was dated in the year J479 : 
 
 " Item, I Will that I have brennyng, at my burying and 
 funeral service, four tapers, and twenty-two torches of wax, 
 every taper to conteyn the weight often pounds, and every 
 torch sixteen pounds, which I will that twenty-four poor 
 men, and well disposed, shall hold, as well at the tyme of 
 my burying, as at my monethe's minded 
 
 " Item, I will, that after my monethe's miyd done, the 
 said four tapers be delivered to the churchwardens, &c." 
 
 "And that there be 100 children within the age of 16 
 years to be at my monethe's minde, to pray for my soul. That 
 against my monethe's minde, the candles bren before the rude 
 in the parish church." 
 
 " Also, that at my monethe's minde, my executor's provide 
 20 priests to sing placebo, dirige,* 1 &c. 
 
 The Monetht's minde mentioned in this extract, was a 
 service performed for the dead, one month after their de- 
 cease ; there were also Week's minds, and Year's minds, 
 which were services for the dead performed at the end of a 
 week and of a year. 
 
 The word mind signified remembrance, a month's remem- 
 brance; after a month's mind, was a remembrance after a 
 month ; a year's mind, a remembrance after a year. The 
 phrase month's mind survived the custom, of which it was 
 the name, and the words being still remembered as coupled, 
 when their original meaning was almost forgotten, it is, I think, 
 easy to conceive that a person who had a strong desire to a 
 thing, might instead of saying I have a mind to it, say 1 have 
 a month's mind to it t as meaning something more. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1765, Suppl.
 
 Churches adorned with Evergreens. 245 
 
 . L1X. On the Custom of adorning Churches with Evergreens. 
 
 Har t rh, Dec. 12, 1765. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 IN the Palladium for 1765, was propounded by Mr. J. Lyon, 
 of Margate, this query, " From whence is derived the cus- 
 tom of putting up laurel, box, holly, or ivy, in churches at 
 Christmas ; and what is the signification thereof?" And in 
 the Palladium for 1 766, we are told, that' it was answered by 
 Nobody. 
 
 Having employed some thoughts on that subject,! should 
 be glad (by means of your Magazine) to offer to the consi- 
 deration of the curious the following conjecture. 
 
 It seems very probable that the origin or first hint of the 
 ancient custom of dressing our churches and houses at 
 Christmas with evergreens, was owing to, or taken from, cer- 
 tain expressions in the following prophecies of the coming 
 of our Saviour : 
 
 " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise 
 unto David a righteous branch* : For behold, I will bring 
 forth my servant the branchf : Thus speaketh the Lord of 
 Hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch, 
 and he shall grow up out of his placej : At that time will I 
 cause the branch of righteousness to grow up unto David Q. 
 Thus saith the Lord God, I will also take of the highest 
 branch of the high cedar, and will set it ; I will crop off 
 from the top of his young twigs, a tender one, and will 
 plant it upon an high mountain, and eminent. In the moun- 
 tain of the height of Israel will I plant it ; and it shall bring 
 fourth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar. 
 In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and 
 g1oriQus^[. For he shall grow up before him as a tender 
 plant, and as. a root out of a dry ground** ; and the Lord 
 shall reign qyer them in mount Zion from henceforth even 
 for ever}- f. Trjere shall come forth a rod out of the stem of 
 Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots||, which 
 
 *" Jeremiah, xxiii. 5. 
 |l Jeremiah, xxxiii. 15. 
 ** Isaiah, liii. 2. 
 
 j- Zecliariah, iii. 8. 
 Ezekiel,xvii. 22, 25. 
 f f Micah, ir, 7, 
 
 J Zechariah,vi. 
 J Isaiah, iv. 2. 
 ^| Isalab/xi, t.* 
 
 1C.
 
 246 Churches adorned with Evergreens. 
 
 shall stand for an ensign of the people*; and my servant 
 David shall be their prince for everf." 
 
 For it must be allowed, that those passages and expres- 
 sions in which our Saviour is represented under the type of 
 a branch, a righteous branch, a bough, the branch of righte- 
 ousness, who will reign for ever, &c. in the above-mentioned 
 clear and eminent prophecies, of his first appearance in the 
 flesh, upon earth, are, in a most lively manner, brought to 
 our memories, and strongly alluded to by those branches and 
 bouglis of evergreens, &c. with which our churches and houses 
 are adorned, whose gay appearance and perpetual verdure 
 in that dead season of the year, when all nature looks com- 
 fortless, dark and dreary, and when the rest of the vegetable 
 world have lost their honours, agreeably charm the un- 
 wearied beholder, and make a very suitable appendage to 
 the universal joy which always attends the annual com- 
 memoration of that holy festival. 
 
 It is not at all unlikely, but that this custom was farther 
 intended as an allusion to those passages of the prophet 
 Isaiah, which foretel the felicities attending*the coming of 
 Christ, viz. 
 
 "The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree,, 
 the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of 
 my sanctuary. (Isaiah, Ix. 13. ) Instead of the thorn, shall 
 come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up 
 the myrtle-tree : and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for 
 an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."| 
 
 I am, Sir, &c. 
 
 GOTHIC. 
 
 P.S. I have met with another opinion concerning the ori- 
 gin of this ancient custom, which you have below, in the 
 anonymous author's own words : 
 
 " William of Malmsbury, in his book of Antiquities of 
 Glastonbury, assures us, that Frecuphus affirms, in the 
 fourth chapter of his second book, that Philip the Apostle, 
 preaching the word of God in Gaul, which is now called 
 France, chose out twelve of his disciples, whom he sent to 
 Britain, to preach the word of life. He appointed over these 
 as chief, Joseph of Arimathea, his dear friend, who buried 
 our Lord. 
 
 " These, according to John Capgrave, who brings Milkin 
 
 Isaiah, xi. 10. f Ezekiel, xxxvii. 25. | Isaiah, Iv. 13.
 
 British Antiquities. 247 
 
 & i :,. 
 
 and Merlin for vouchers, came into this land in the year of 
 Christ's incarnation 36, in the time of Arviragus, who gave 
 to them the isle of Avalon, where they built an oratory of 
 withen wands, or boughs, which was the first Christian 
 church, if one may so call it, which was erected in Britain. 
 We find this custom was followed in the first times, in build- 
 ing the Christian churches in Britain, of boughs ; and I am 
 apt to think that the custom of adorning our churches at 
 Christmas, as well as our houses with evergreens, proceed* 
 from what has been related." 
 1765, SuppL 
 
 LX. Account of several British Antiquities, found near Chateris, 
 in the Isle of Ely, in a letter from the late Dr. Stukeley to Mr. 
 Peter Collinson, F.R.S. 
 
 THE Isle of l5y extends from Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, 
 for forty miles in length, to the old river, called Nine, 
 running eastward to Wisbech river, which divides it from 
 Lincolnshire, therefore called Shire-drain. 
 
 The isle is, for the most part, a vast fenny level, divided 
 into many islets of high ground ; some of gravelly soil, some 
 of chalk ; separated from one another, as well as from the 
 continent, (if so we may express it) by impassable boggy 
 ground, rivers, and large meres. 
 
 These islands of firm ground, are well inhabited, have 
 towns and fair churches, woods, pastures, and fresh springs, 
 so that each, in summer time, is as a paradise detached 
 from the rest of the busy world. 
 
 The fenny parts were originally, for the main, drier, and 
 better ground, than now. I have largely discussed this 
 affair, in cap. iv. of my Medallic History of Carausius, 
 Book II. on account of an artificial canal called Carsdike, 
 which that emperor drew across it, to carry corn boats to 
 the Scottish Pretenturae, and of the many roads he made 
 there. 
 
 Before Roman times, we may be well assured the most 
 ancient Britons, when they advanced so far northward as 
 the isle of Ely, from the southern coasts of their first 
 landing, would greedily seize upon these islets of high 
 ground, so fortified with rivers and fens ; and erect petty 
 sovereignties there, in a soil so rich, and so secure; for each 
 may be reckoned as a British oppuhtm according to Caesar's 
 
 M
 
 248 British Antiquities. 
 
 description of that of Cassibelin, Silvis paludibusque egregic 
 munitum. 
 
 I here exhibit a curious instance, in these remains of re- 
 mote antiquity, found at Chateris, in the summer of the year 
 1757, and given to me by Robert Favvcet, Esq. lord of the 
 manor ; and, as we may say, successor to the king, who owned 
 these martial accoutrements before us. 
 
 The world has been lately obliged in a high degree to Mr. 
 Macpherson, for publishing a translation of those excellent 
 poetic compositions of Ossian in the Ersk language. 
 
 I cannot call it vanity in me, if I think no one can be a better 
 judge of their authenticity. My reason is, because they il- 
 lustrate and confirm those notions, and those ideas, I formed 
 in my mind concerning the original Britons ; when, for many 
 summers, I examined into those stupendous works, the 
 temples of Abury and Stonehenge, the cursus's, and in- 
 numerable barrows, and like matters pertaining to them ; 
 which I have long ago printed. 
 
 The reading of Fingal revives all my former thoughts con- 
 cerning them. I see clearly, that people of his, were the 
 true remains of our most ancient Britons ; wffo came by sea 
 from the eastern countries, Phoenicia, Arabia, Egypt, and that 
 before Gaul was peopled. 
 
 I saw the same notions and customs in the highland heroes; 
 they were the same people, had the same customs and re- 
 ligion as the first Britons. The Ersk language, old Scottish, 
 Manks, Irish, Cornish, all the remains of the most ancient 
 inhabitants, thrust forward by the Romans. 
 
 From this book, I see the reason of the appearance of 
 these present antiquities, agreeable to those I found, in 
 digging into the tumuli, about Abury and Stonehenge. 
 
 Chateris has its name Chartreuse, from a nunnery founded 
 there A.D. 980, by Alfwena mother to Earl Ailwyn, alderman 
 of all England; founder of the noble abbey of Ramsey. 
 
 The scite of Chateris monastery was probably the palace 
 of the monarch among the old Britons, whose tomb they 
 dug up. Jt was a piece of gravelly ground pretty much 
 qlevated, towards Somersham ferry, and was his family bury- 
 ing place, for there were more bodies interred in the same 
 spot. 
 
 They were not above two feet and a half under the turf. 
 On the right side of his body, and under his arm, lay his 
 sword ; the handle consumed, no guard or cross bar at the 
 handle appeared. Such were the long Irish skenes ; on 
 the left side, lay the spear, the staff of it consumed ; the 
 same must be said of his bow, for often they were buried
 
 British Antiquities. 249 
 
 with them. On his breast lay the iron urnbo, or navel of 
 his shield ; the materials of which it was made, a bull's hide, 
 consumed. At his head was placed the great urn as usual, 
 of black earth or clay; this, we suppose, held the bones of 
 his wife, burnt; she dying before him, they were kept to be 
 interred with him. This case I have often observed at Stone- 
 lienge, and this was the origin of urn burial, long before 
 the Roman name was extant ; which I take to be the present 
 case, for this sepulture may be 300O years old; and of some 
 of the first inhabitants of our island. 
 
 The sword is only an intire body of rust ; the same may 
 be said of the spear head, and of the unibo. We may not 
 think amiss, in supposing it of the fabric of Damascus, for I 
 look upon it little to be doubted of, that our first British 
 ancestors were of the progeny of Abraham, in the Arabian 
 line, by Hagar and by Keturah ; those Ishmaelite and Midi- 
 anite merchants, who came hither with theTyrian Hercules 
 to seek for tin. Much I could say in proof of it, but not at 
 this time. 
 
 I am the more persuaded into this sentiment, on account 
 of the curious glass vase, found along with the recited uten- 
 sils; it was broken in pieces as well as the urn, by the work- 
 men. I could not set the pieces together, so as to be certain 
 of the exact figure of the glass ; but the pieces are of a 
 fabric very extraordinary ; and what I have never ob- 
 served before, nor can I guess at its use. 
 
 It is notorious, that our Britons were famous for their 
 artifice in glass works. We find many of their beads, snake- 
 stones, as they are called; and like things of exquisite curi- 
 osity. JVJr. Bell, of the Antiquarian Society, bought a cu- 
 rious piece in glass, representing a snake rolled up. Mr. 
 Baker has another; this is the thing of which Pliny writes, 
 in a marvellous fable. Some curious party-coloured beads 
 of theirs are to be seen ; some in Mr. Edward LKvyd's Plate 
 6f British Antiquities, in Camden's Britannia. 
 
 Between Tyre, and the city Aeon, in Phoenicia, is the 
 famous sand-hill, for making glass, mentioned by Josephus, 
 Strabo, Stephanus the geographer, and Pliny. 
 
 Our Hercules came from Tyre; he built Aeon; he made 
 a serpentine temple there, like that of Abury ; whence the 
 name Aeon, signifying 'a serpent;' hence the Hakpen Hill 
 of Abiivy, signifying ' the serpent's head.' 
 
 I mention all this, to show how our old Britons brought 
 the art of glass-making with them from the east ; and these 
 matters mutually prove one another, both, that they came
 
 250 British Antiquities. 
 
 hither by sea from the Phoenician coast; and that these glass 
 works prove it, among innumerable other arguments which 
 I could produce. 
 
 All considerations demonstrate this to be the true case ; 
 let us consider the measure of the antiquities before us, in 
 regard to the ancient Druid and Oriental cubit ; this is 
 somewhat more than our twenty inches ; the blade of the 
 sword is edged on both sides ; two feet seven inches long, 
 which is exactly a cubit and half; near two inches broad, 
 the fifth part of half a cubit. 
 
 The iron of the spear head is exactly half a cubit long ; 
 some little matter above ten inches. The diameter of the 
 mnbo of the shield half that quantity. 
 
 There cannot be a better proof of the oriental extraction 
 of our old Britons. Here in the isle of Ely, they lived in 
 great security, for the conquest of this particular country 
 gave the Romans no little trouble ; the same of the Nor- 
 mans ; for there was no easy passage into it. 
 
 On the 22d of February 1759, Mr. Jacobs, of Feversbam, 
 gave an account to the Antiquarian Society, of digging up a 
 body near Barbara downs, of an old Briton ; a sword and 
 spear found with it, of like manner as ours; moreover a 
 necklace of glass beads was about the neck of the skeleton. 
 
 Such ornaments I observe about the necks of our British 
 kings on their coins; whereof I have 15 plates engraven, 
 with their descriptions. 
 
 The glass vase found with the body at Chateris, was un- 
 luckily broken in pieces, which renders it impossible to 
 know its exact figure or use ; but the make of it is extraor- 
 dinary, and what, I believe, our present glass-blowers can- 
 not perform; many pipes proceeded from it, but closed ; I 
 think ten in number. I never saw one like it, nor can I con- 
 jecture what its purpose was. 
 
 We learn from Fingal the whole import of this discovery 
 of our British hero; the sword, spear, and umbo, bespeak 
 Tast antiquity, being only a body of rust, like the British 
 king's bridle, founder of the immense work of Abury, which 
 cannot be less than 3000 years old : it was dug up with his 
 "body on Silbury hill, the largest tumulus in the world, and is 
 now in my possession. 
 
 We learn from Fingal the custom of burying these martial 
 instruments, with the owners, and this particular circum- 
 stance, that our hero was the last of his family ; otherwise, 
 it was their custom to bequeath their armour to their sons, 
 to be kept in the hall from generation to generation.
 
 Custom of making April Fools. 251 
 
 From Fingal we learn the use of the brazen horns, here ex- 
 hibited by bishop Pococke; found in Bogs in Ireland ; they 
 sounded with them to battle. 
 
 The sword and bow were the usual instruments of our 
 Britons, as in Fingal ; and as with the heroes of Phoenicia-, 
 probably our hero of Chateris had his bow buried with him, 
 but consumed. 
 
 So Jacob in his last will, Genesis xlviii. 22, gave to 
 his son Joseph, a portion above his brethren; which he took 
 out of the hand of the Amorite, with his sword, and with his 
 bow. 
 
 1766, March. W. STUKELEY. 
 
 LXI. Custom of making April Fools. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 IT is a matter of some difficulty to account for the expres- 
 sion, an April fool, and the strange custom so universally 
 prevalent throughout this kingdom, of people's making fools 
 of one another on the 1st of April, by trying to impose upon 
 each other, and sending one another, upon that day, upon 
 frivolous, ridiculous, and absurd errands. However, some- 
 thing I have to offer on the subject, and I shall here throw it 
 out, if it were only to induce others to give us their senti- 
 ments. The custom, no doubt, had an original, and one of 
 a very general nature ; and therefore one may reasonably 
 hope, that though one person may not be so happy as to in- 
 vestigate the meaning and occasion of it, yet another possibly 
 may. But I am the more ready to attempt a solution of this 
 difficulty, because I find Mr. Bourne, in his " Antiquitates 
 Vulgares," has totally omitted it, though it fell so plainly 
 within the compass of his design. 
 
 I observe, first, Mr. Urban, that this custom and expres- 
 sion has no connection at all with the ' Festum Hypodiaco- 
 norum, Feslum Stultorum, Festum Fatuorum, Festum Inno- 
 centium,' &c. mentioned in Du Fresne; for these jocular 
 festivals were kept at a very different time of the year. 
 
 2dly, That I have found no traces, either of the name, or 
 of the custom, in other countries, insomuch that it appears 
 to me to be an indigenal custom of our own. I speak only 
 as to myself in this ; for others, perhaps, may have discovered 
 it in other parts, though I have not.
 
 252 The Rf'gols, a Musical Instrument. 
 
 Now, thirdly, to account for it; the name undoubtedly 
 arose from the custom, and this I think arose from hence": 
 our year formerly began, as to some purposes, and in some 
 jespects, on the 25th of March, which was supposed to be 
 the incarnation of our Lord ; and it is certain, that the com- 
 mencement of the new year, at whatever time that was 
 supposed to be, was always esteemed an high festival, and 
 that, both amongst the ancient Romans, and with us. Now, 
 Sir, great festivals were usually attended with an Octave ; 
 that is, they were wont to continue 8 days, whereof the 
 first and the last were the principal ; and you will find that 
 the 1st of April is the Octave of the 25th of March, and the 
 closing or ending, consequently, of that feast, which was 
 both the festival of the annunciation, and of the commence- 
 ment of the year. From hence, as 1 take it, it became a day 
 of extraordinary mirth and festivity, especially amongst the 
 lower sort, who are apt to pervert and to make a bad use of 
 institutions which at first might be very laudable in them- 
 selves. 
 
 I am, Sir, &c. 
 
 1766, April. T. Row. 
 
 LXII. On the Regalls, or Rigols, a Musical Instrument, formerly 
 used in the King's Chapel. 
 
 THERE is an officer at this day in the King's Chapel at St, 
 James's, who is called Timer of the fiegalis, and the person 
 is Mr. Bernard Gates, with a stipend of 56]. Now there are 
 few people that know any thing of the nature of this instru- 
 ment, though it was once in public use, and the salary for re- 
 gulating it is still continued: it may therefore he worth 
 while to bestow a few words upon it. 
 
 It is written at present regalls, but in books it is commonly 
 rigolf, and this I take to be the truer orthography. As to 
 the instrument itself, Grassineau makes a kind of faggotina 
 of it,, describing it thus: "A kind of musical instrument, 
 consisting of several sticks bound together, only separated 
 by. beads. It makes a tolerable harmony, being well struck 
 with a ball, at the end pf a stick." Other authors, with 
 more reason, represent it as a clarichord, or clay i chore! . - 
 Thus Skinner, ' Iligols, vox qua; mihi in solo Diet. Angl. oc- 
 currit, exp. inslrumentnm nuisicunj, quod alio nomine cla 
 tichordium, a clavichord, dicitur.' And it must be-acknow- .
 
 The Rigo'ls, a Musical Instrument. 
 
 Hedged that this agrees best with the service to be performed 
 by it in the King's Chapel, where it was employed in the 
 place of the organ ; as likewise with the post it occasioned, 
 which was that of tuning it, or keeping it in order ; see also 
 the passage cited below from Spelman. The etymology^ 
 comes next to be considered, and here Skinner says, * Au- 
 thor somniando, ut solet, suaviter, deducit a Fr. G. Regail- 
 lardir, exhilarari ; sane si talis vox sit, quod nullus credo, 
 mallem deducere a Fr. G. se Rigoler, deridere, irridere, 
 lascivire, hoc a Lat. Ridiculus, ridieulari, vel quod magis 
 placet, a Lat. Lyricula.' As before he said he found the 
 word no where but in the English Dictionary, though it oc- 
 curs in many authors, whom I need not name, so here he 
 professes absolutely to disbelieve there is any such word. 
 However, his etymology from Lyricula is not greatly amiss, 
 since rigols may naturally enough be corrupted or shortened 
 from Lyricula. Nevertheless I do not take it to be the 
 truth, but that the word rather comes from the Italian Riga- 
 bello, being a corruption of that ; for hear Sir II. Spelman, 
 ' In jde Sancti Raphaelis Venetiis, instrmnenti musici 
 cujusdam forma extat, ei nomen rigabello : ciijus in eccle- 
 siis usus fuerit ante organa ilia pneumatica qua; hodie usur- 
 pantur. Rigabello successit aliud quod Tursello dictum 
 est, cujus Venetias usum induxit homo Germanus.' Sanso- 
 vinus, Lib. 6. Descript. Venetiarum. The sense of which 
 is: "Thatin the church of St. Raphael atVcnice,the figure 
 .of a certain musical instrument, called a rigabello, was to 
 be seen ; it was wont to be used in churches, before organs 
 came into vogue. Another instrument, called tnrceJh suc- 
 ceeded the rigabello,, the use of which was introduced at 
 Venice by a German*." 
 
 This passage not only discovers the etymology of the 
 word, namely that it is a corruption or contraction of 
 rigabcllui-, but likewise shows how we came by the instru- 
 ment, viz. that it came to us from Italy in those times when 
 thisisland had a constant intercourse with that country, and 
 in a manner borrowed every thing from thence relative to 
 
 the practice and service of the church. The French, I 
 apprehend, had their word, regale, which signifies the 
 same thing, from the same original, and the same countrv. 
 
 And if any one. after all, should chuse to spell the word 
 
 J > t i 
 
 . Gloss, v. RigabeHo. See al-o riu 1'nsue in oc, 
 \ Rigol.
 
 $54 Buildings in London^ fyc. 
 
 rtgalls, and to fetch it immediately from the French regale, 
 1 shall have no great objection ; however, I am for the oilier 
 etymology myself. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1767, March. T. Row. 
 
 LXIII. An account of the principal Buildings, Streets, &c. in 
 London and Westminster, with their Antiquity, Derivation, &c. 
 extracted from Stow, Speed, Maitland, &c. 
 
 ADLE-STREET, is in old records called King Adel-street, 
 from King Adelstan the Saxon. 
 
 Admiralty-Office was formerly called Wallingford-house. 
 
 Albecnarle-street, so named from the Duke of Albemarle, 
 who bought the east of Clarendon's House, which stood 
 there. 
 
 Aid-Gate, i. e. Old Gate, was one of the four original 
 gates of the city, being mentioned in King Edgar's reign, 
 in 967. The late Gate was rebuilt in 1609. 
 
 Aldermanbury was so called from the mayor and alder- 
 men holding their berry or court, in a hall which formerly 
 stood on the east side of that street, till the New Berry 
 court, or Guildhall that now is, was finished. 
 
 Aldersgate was rebuilt in 1617, and repaired in 1670. 
 
 Arches, court of, kept in the church of St. Mary-le-bo\v, 
 was so called from the arches, or bows, that were on the 
 steeple. 
 
 Ave-mary Lane was so called in the Popish times, from 
 text-writers and bead-makers who dwelt there. 
 
 Bank of England was begun to be built in 1732, and 
 finished in 17:34. 
 
 Barbican took its name from a watch tower, or burk-ken- 
 ning, which stood there, and was destroyed by Henry HI. 
 in 1267. 
 
 Barnard's Inn, was formerly the house of John Mackwortb, 
 dean of Lincoln, and was given by him to the professors of 
 the law. 
 
 Batholomew Fair was instituted in the reign of Henry I. 
 St. Bartholomew Hospital, was also founded by Henry T. 
 was reformed and endowed by Henry V III. and incorporated 
 by Edward VI. It was tebuilt in 17'29. 
 
 Bennet-street, Westminster, so called from Bennet Col- 
 lege, Cambridge, to whom it belongs. 
 
 Bermondsey-street took its name from a priory, or abbey," 
 of St. Saviour, called Bermonds-eye, founded in 1081, and 
 suppressed in 15S9*
 
 Buildings in London, fyc. 
 
 Bethlem, or Bedlam Hospital, was built in 1676, at 
 17,0001. expense. 
 
 Birchin-Lane was anciently called Birchover's- Lane, from 
 its builder. 
 
 Bishopsgate is supposed to have been built by some 
 bishop, about the year 1200. It was rebuilt in 1479., and 
 1735. 
 
 Blackfriars-Bridge was begun in 1761. The expense is 
 not to exceed 160,0001.* 
 
 Blackwell-Hall, corruptly so called, properly Bakewell- 
 Hall, formerly belonged to the ancient family of the Bas- 
 sings, and from thence was called Bassings-Hall, from whom, 
 also that ward takes it name, as Coleman-street from Coie- 
 uian,aud FarringdonWard, from William and Nicholas Far- 
 ringdon, tlie principal owners of those places. This Hall 
 was called Bakewell-hall from Thomas Bakewell, who dwelt 
 in this house in 36 Edward III. Being burnt in 1666, it was 
 rebuilt in 1672 by Christ's Hospital, to whom the city gave 
 the profits ; which are about 1 lOOl. a year. 
 
 Bloomsbury was anciently a village named Lomsbury, in 
 which were the king's stables, till they were burnt in 1354. 
 
 Blossom's- Inn, Lawrance- Lane, was so called from having 
 for its sign St. Lawrence, the deacon, in a border of Blos- 
 soms, or flowers. 
 
 Bridewell, so called from its being near a spring called 
 St. Bridget's or St. Bride's Well, was formerly the king's 
 palace, till, in 1533, Edward VI. gave it to the city as a 
 workhouse for the poor. It was burnt in 1666, and rebuilt 
 in 1682. 
 
 Canonbury- House formerly belonged to the prior and 
 canons of St. Bartholomew's, in West-Smithfield. 
 
 Change, Old, was so called from the King's Exchange, 
 kept there for the coining of bullion, 6 Henry III. 
 
 Channel Row, properly Canon- Row, from the Canons of 
 St. Stephen's, Westminster, who dwelt there. 
 
 Charing-Cross was so called from a Cross set up by Ed- 
 ward I. in memory of his queen, on the spot where King 
 Charles's statue now stands. Charing was then a village. 
 
 Charter House, or more properly Chartreux (so called 
 from the monastery which stood there, and was dissolved by 
 Henry VI II.) was founded and endowed at the sole cost of 
 Thomas Sutton, Esq. who purchased the house of the Earl 
 of Suffolk, for 13,0001. It was opened in October, I6l4. 
 The estate is now above 60001. per ami. 
 
 [* It was finished in 1770, at the expense of 150,8401. .]
 
 . 
 
 56 Buildings in London, fyc. 
 
 Cheapside derives its name from there being a market 
 there, which in Saxon is ' a chepe.' 
 
 Christ's Hospital was founded by Edward VI. in 1552. 
 Clerkenwell, or Clerk's Well, took its name from the 
 parish Clerks of London, who of old used to assemble there 
 every year, to play some large history of Holy Scripture. 
 
 Cleveland Court was formerly a large house called Berk- 
 shire House, purchased by the Duke of Cleveland. 
 
 Clifford's Inn was a house granted by Edward II. to the 
 family of the Cliffords, and afterwards leased, and then sold 
 to the students of the law. 
 
 College of Heralds was incorporated by Richard III. 
 
 of Physicians in 1682. 
 
 Covent (i. e. Convent) Garden, was formerly a Garden 
 belonging to the Abbot and Convent of Westminster. It 
 was granted in 1552 to John, Earl of Bedford. 
 
 Cripple-Gate was built before the conquest, and took its 
 name from the Cripples who used to beg there. It was re- 
 paired in 1633. 
 
 Crutched Fryers took its name from a monastery of the 
 holy Cross, suppressed by Henry VIII. 
 
 Custom House was first established 6 Richard II. Being 
 burnt in 1718, the present building was erected soon after.* 
 East India House was built in 1726. 
 
 Ely House was given by William de Luda, Bishop of Ely, 
 to his successors, in 1297. 
 
 Exeter Change was so called from the house of the Earls 
 of Exeter, which stood near it. 
 
 Fenchurch-street took its name from a fenny, or moorish 
 ground, so made by a stream (called Lang-bourn) that for- 
 merly passed through it. 
 
 Finsbury was formerly called Fensbnry,for the same reason. 
 Fleet Dyke, or Ditch, was formerly called the River or 
 Fleet, being navigable for merchant ships as far as Holborn 
 Bridge. 
 
 Fleet was first made a Prison in the reign of Richard I. 
 Gate-House Prison was built in the reign of Edward III. 
 Gerrard's Hall, properly Gisors' Hall, took its name from 
 John Gisors, mayor of London, who in 1245 was owner of 
 it, and in whose family it continued till 1386. 
 
 Goodman's Fields were in Stow's time, the Fields and 
 Farm of one Goodman. 
 
 Grace Church-street, formerly Grass Church-street, was 
 so called from Grass, or Herbs sold there. 
 
 Gray V Inn was a house belonging to the Grays of Wilton,- 
 
 [* Destroyed by fire, Feb. 12tb, 1314. ,
 
 Buildings in London, fyc. 25? 
 
 tt'ho resided there from 1315, till the reign of Edward III. 
 when they demised it to the students of the law. 
 
 Gresliam College was founded by Sir Thomas Gresham, 
 in 1596. It is now purchased by the government, in order 
 to he converted into an Excise-Office. 
 
 Guild-Hall was begun to be built in 1411, and finished 
 in 1421. 
 
 Hick's Hall was erected for a sessions-house in 1612, by 
 Sir Baptist Hicks, a mercer. 
 
 Holborn was formerly a village called Old-born, or Hill- 
 born, from a stream which broke out near the place where 
 the bars now stand, and ran down the street to Old-born 
 Bridge, and so into the River of Fleet, now Fleet Ditch. 
 This was long ago stopped up at the head, and in other 
 places. Holborn was first paved in 1535. 
 
 Hounds' Ditch was formerly the City Ditch, and whert 
 open, was frequently filled with filth, as dead dogs, &c. 
 whence its name. 
 
 House of Commons was formerly St. Stephen's Chapel, 
 being founded by that king. It was new built and endowed 
 by Edward III. in 1347, and suppressed by Edward VI. since 
 which time it has served us a parliament-house* 
 
 St. James's Palace was anciently an hospital for lepers 
 Being surrendered to Henry VIII. he built the present 
 house. 
 
 St. James's Park was made by Henry VIII. 
 
 St. John's Gate, Clerkenwell, belonged to the priors of 
 St. John of Jerusalem, being the chief seat in England of. 
 those religious knights. It was founded about the year 110Q, 
 and suppressed 32 Henry VIII. 
 
 King Street was so called from its being the King's com- 
 mon road to and from his palace at Westminster. 
 
 Langbourn (or Long Stream) was a great stream breaking 
 out of the ground in Fenchurch Street, which tan swiftly 
 west, across Grass Church-Street, and down Lombard Street, 
 to the west end of St. Mary Woolnoth's church, and then 
 turning south down Shareborn Lane (so styled from sharing, 
 or dividing,) ran in several rills to the Thames. It has been 
 long stopped up at the head, and the rest of it filled up and 
 paved over. 
 
 Leaden Hall was purchased by the city for a common 
 market, and was made free in 1619. 
 
 Lincoln's Inn was so called from being the Inn, or Town- 
 house, of Henry Lacy, earl of Lincoln, constable of Ches- 
 UM-, &c. who died there in 1310. 
 
 Lombard Street took its name from fche Lombards, and 
 
 VOL. i. s
 
 258 JHuildings in London, &V. 
 
 other foreign merchants, who assembled there twice every 
 day before the building of the Hoyal Exchange. 
 
 London Bridge began to be built of stone (the wooden 
 bridge having been burnt) in 1 176, and was finished in 1209, 
 the course of the river being for the time turned another 
 way by a trench dug for that purpose; beginning (as it is 
 supposed) east near Rotherhithe, and ending in the west near 
 Battersea. It is 915 feet long, and 73 wide.* 
 
 London Stone, of the antiquity of this there is no memo- 
 rial, save that it is mentioned in a gospel book, given to 
 Christ Church, Canterbury, before the conquest. 
 
 London Wall is supposed to have been originally built by 
 Theodosius the elder, in the year 368. 
 
 Long Acre, in 1352, was a field, and went by the name of 
 the Seven Acres. 
 
 Ludgate was repaired in 1215, 1260, 1586, and 1669. 
 
 Mansion House was begun in 1739, and finished in 1753, 
 on the site of Stocks market.* 
 
 St. Martin's le Grand, so called from a large college of 
 secular priests, founded in 1056, and suppressed in 1548. 
 
 Merchant Taylors' School was founded by that company, 
 in 1561. It was burnt in 1666. 
 
 Mark Lane was originally Mart Lane, being a public mart. 
 
 Mewse, so called from the king's falcons there anciently 
 kept, was new built for stables in the reigns of Edward VI. 
 and queen Mary/ The north side was rebuilt by George II. 
 
 The Minortes was an abbey of nuns of the order of St. 
 Clare, suppressed in 1539,30 Henry VIII. 
 
 The Monument was erected to perpetuate the memory 
 of the Fire of London. It was begun in 1671, and finished 
 in 1G77. It is 15 feet in diameter, and 202 feet high, the 
 exact distance of it from the spot where the fire first broke 
 out. 
 
 Moor-Fields, in 1477, were a moorish rotten piece of 
 ground, and impassable but for causeways made for that 
 purpose, and so continued till 1605. 
 
 Muor-Gate was built in 1415, a,nd rebuilt in 1674. 
 
 Musajum, British, formerly Montagu House, was built 
 in )677, by Ralph the first duke of that family and was 
 founded and endowed by Sir Hans Sloane, in 1753. 
 
 Newcastle House was built by the Marquis of Powis, in 
 1686. 
 
 Newgate was first biiilt about the reign of Henry I. or 
 Stephen, and rebuilt in 1412. It was afterwards repaired iu 
 J631 ? and rebuilt in 1672. 
 
 * It wus improved iu I7j8.
 
 &ui?di))gs in London, Kd 259 
 
 New Inn was so called to distinguish it from the Old 
 Inn belonging to the society in Seacoal Lane, near Fleet 
 Ditch. 
 
 New River was brought from Chadwell and Ainwell in 
 Hertfordshire, to the reservoir near Islington, at the sole 
 expense of Sir Hugh Middleton, Knight, in 1613, after five 
 years' labour. 
 
 Paternoster-Row was so called from the Stationers, or 
 Text-writers, who dwelt there, and who wrote and sold all 
 sorts of books then in Use, viz. ABC with the Paternoster, 
 Ave, Creed, Graces, &c. There dwelt also turners of beads, 
 and they were called Paternoster makers. 
 
 St. Paul's Church was first founded by Ethelbert, king of 
 Kent, in 610. It was burnt in 1087 with most part of the 
 city, and was rebuilt soon after on stone arches. The steeple 
 which was finished in 1222, was fired by lightning in 1444, 
 and was again burnt, together with all the roof of the church 
 in 1561, by the negligence of a plumber, who confessed it 
 on his death-bed though till then, it was thought to have 
 been done by lightning. Lastly, the whole church being 
 burnt in the fire of London, 1666, was entirely rebuilt by 
 Sir Christopher Wren. It was begun 1675, and finished in 
 1711. 
 
 St. Paul's School was built and endowed by Dr. John 
 Collet, dean of St. Paul's, in 1512. 
 
 Piccadilly was so called from the Piccadillos, i. e. the stifT 
 collars, or bands, formerly worn, by which a taylor got an 
 estate, and built the first houses there. 
 
 Poultry Compter hath been a prison time out of mind. 
 
 Powis House was built by the Marquis of Powis, in queen 
 Anne's reign. 
 
 Privy Garden was so called because it was appropriated to 
 the king's private use, while he resided at Whitehall. 
 
 Queen's Library was erected and furnished by queerrCa- 
 roline, in 1737. 
 
 Queen's Palace, formerly Arlington, and then Buckingham 
 house, being purchased and rebuilt by that duke in 1703. 
 It was bought of Sir Charles Sheffield, Bart, by his present 
 majesty (for queen Charlotte) in 1762. 
 
 The Rolls was formerly the house of the converted Jews, 
 and was founded by Henry III. in 1223; but they being 
 banished out of England, Edward III. in 1377, annexed it 
 to the office of the keeper of the rolls in chancery. It was 
 rebuilt by Sir Joseph Jekyll, at 70001 expense. 
 
 Rood Lane was so called from a Rood placed there in St. 
 Mary's chureh-yard, while the old church was rebuilding, 
 
 82
 
 260 Buildings in London, Kc. 
 
 during which time the oblations made to this Rood were 
 employed towards building the church. 
 
 Royal Exchange was erected by Sir Thomas Gresham, 
 in 1567, on the site of 80 houses, and was so named by 
 queen Elizabeth in person, by sound of a trumpet, &c. in 
 *570. Being destroyed by the fire in 1666, it was rebuilt 
 soon after at 66,0001. expense, king Charles II. laying the 
 first stone. 
 
 The Savoy was first built by Peter, Earl of Savoy and 
 Richmond, uncle to Henry III. in 1245. Afterwards hav- 
 ing been purchased by Queen Eleanor, for her son, Edmund 
 Earl of Lancaster, it was burnt by the rebels of Kent and 
 Essex in enmity to John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, in 
 1381. It was rebuilt and made an hospital of St. John 
 Baptist by Henry VII. about 1509, but was suppressed 
 by Edward VI. It was new founded by Queen Mary in 
 1557.* 
 
 Scotland Yard was so called from the buildings there 
 being erected for the reception of the Kings of Scotland, 
 when they came to the English parliament. 
 
 Shore Ditch derives its name, not as lias been supposed 
 from Jane Shore's dying there, but from Sir John Shore or 
 Shoreditch, its Lord of the manor in the reign of Edward III. 
 
 Sion College was founded at 30001. expense, and endow- 
 ed with 1601. a year, by Dr. Thomas White, one of the 
 residentiaries of St. Paul's. The library was built by Mr. 
 John Simpson, rector of St. Olave, Hart Street. 
 
 Smithfield (i. e. a smeth or smooth ground) was used as 
 a market in Eitz Stephen's time, 550 years ago. It was 
 paved by the city at 16001. expense, in 1614. 
 
 Somerset House was built by the Duke of Somerset, lord 
 protector and uncle to Edward VI. in 1549, and on his 
 attainder it was forfeited to the crown. The back front was 
 rebuilt on a design of Inigo Jones by his son-in-law Mr. 
 Webb.f 
 
 Spittal-fields were so called from the priory of St. Mary 
 (dissolved by Henry VIII.) where sermons were annually 
 preached in the Easter holidays, as they are now at St. 
 Bride's and thence are called Spittal Sermons. 
 
 Staple Inn was once a hall for the merchants of the Staple 
 of wool, but^ias been an inn of court ever since 1415. 
 
 The temple was founded by the knights Templars in 
 
 [* A great part of it was burned down in 1776. JE*.] 
 
 [f Ths old building was puJied down 1"76, when the present was begun. E.
 
 Buildings in London, Kc. 261 
 
 1185, but they being suppressed in 1310, it was given by 
 Edward III. to the knights of St. John of Jerusalem, arid 
 they soon after leased it to the students of the law, iu 
 whose possession it has continued ever since. 
 Temple Bar was built in 1670. 
 
 Thavy's Inn was formerly the house of Mr. John Thavy, 
 in the reign of Edward TIL who let it as an inn to students 
 of the law. 
 
 St. Thomas's Hospital was founded by Edward VI. in 1552. 
 Tower (White) was built by William the Conqueror in 
 1078, and in 1190 it was compassed with a wall and ditch. 
 It was almost new built in 1637-8. Wild beasts were first 
 kept there in 1235, three leopards being then sent by the 
 emperor to Henry III. Gold was first coined there in 1344, 
 and criminals were first executed on Tower Hill in 1466. 
 
 Walbrook was so called from a running water which 
 entered the wall between Bishops' Gate and Moor-Gate, and 
 thence took its name. It ran through the city, with several 
 windings, from north to south into the Thames, and had 
 many bridges over it. It was afterwards vaulted over, paved, 
 and built upon, so that it is now hid under ground. 
 
 Westminster Abbey was built by Henry III. and finished 
 after 50 years' labour, in 1270. Henry VII. built his chapel 
 on the east side in 1502, at 14,0001. expense. It was made 
 a collegiate church by queen Elizabeth, in 1559, who at the 
 same time founded the school. 
 
 Westminster Bridge was built in 1 1 years and nine months, 
 at 218,8001. expense*. 
 
 Westminster Hall was built by William Rufus about 1097. 
 The king's palace, of which this was a part, was burnt in 
 1512. The courts of law were first fixed there in 1224. 
 
 White Hall was so named by Henry VIII. on its being 
 forfeited to him by Cardinal Wolsey's attainder. It was 
 before called York Place, and was the palace of the arch- 
 bishops of York. It was the residence of the King till 1697, 
 when it was burned down. 
 
 Whitehall chapel was formerly the King's banquetting 
 house, and is all that remains of the palace there, to which 
 it was added by James I. according to a design of Inigo 
 Jones. 
 
 Wood Street Compter has been always used as a prison. 
 
 1767, Nov. 
 
 I* It was finished in 1750, and is said to have cost upwards of 400,0001. .] 
 
 s 3
 
 Apostle- Spoons and Peg-Tankards. 
 
 LXIV. On Apostle-Spoons and Peg-Tankards. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 VVE have certain terms or expressions which in a very 
 little time will become obscure ; they are already obsolete, 
 and in a few years may grow perfectly unintelligible. I 
 would do to these, what Mr. Richard Warner proposes to 
 do in respect of Shakespear, that is, prevent if possible, 
 the total obscuration of those evanescent terms. The 
 apostle-spoons are a sort of spoons in silver with round 
 bits, very common in the beginning of the last centur}', but 
 are seldom to be seen now. The set consists of a dozen, 
 and each had the figure of an apostle, with his proper ensign 
 at the top. I have seen in my time, two or three sets, but 
 at present they are scarce, being generally exchanged for 
 spoons of a more modern form, and consequently melted down. 
 Our ancestors were formerly famous for compotation ; 
 their liquor was ale, and one method of amusing them-, 
 selves this way was with the peg-tankard. There are four 
 pr five of these tankards now remaining in this country, and 
 I have lately had one of them in my hand. It had on the 
 inside a row of eight pins one above another, from top to 
 bottom. It held two quarts, (and was a noble piece of 
 plate) so that there was a gill of ale, half a pint Winchester 
 measure, between each peg. The law was, that every 
 person that drank was to empty the space between pin and 
 pin, so that the pins were so many measures to make the 
 company all drink alike, and to swallow the same quantity 
 of liquor. This was a contrivance for merriment, and 
 at the same time a pretty sure method of making all the 
 company drunk, especially if it be considered that the rule 
 was, that whoever drank short of his pin, or beyond it, 
 \vas obliged to drink again, and even as deep as to the next 
 pin. And it was for this reason, that in archbishop Anselm's 
 canons, made in the council of London, A.D. 1102, priests 
 \vereenjoined not to go to drinking bouts, nor to drink to pegs. 
 The words are, * ut Presbyteri non eant ad potationes, nee 
 ad pinnas bibant^ Wilkins, Concil. I. p. 382*. This shews 
 the antiquity of the invention, as well as the evil tendency 
 of it; and as it must have been some time before the abuse 
 and inconvenience of the practice was noted, so as to be 
 
 made a matter of prohibitory injunction, we must suppose 
 
 < 
 
 * Our Saxon ancestors, says Rapin, were so addicted to drunkenness, that 
 they were wont to drink out of large cups and take great draughts, till 
 Edgar, in order to reform this abuse, ordered certain marks to be made in 
 tlifir cups at a certain height, above which they were forbidden tt> ftll undcy 
 ? pevere penalty. ,
 
 .. Jpostk-Spoons and Peg-Tankard* S63 
 
 that these tankards were at least as old as the Norman Con- 
 quest; perhaps might he introduced by those jolly fellows 
 the Danes. The word tankard it is thought comes from the 
 Dutch Tankaerd, and probably it may, but quart;, whether 
 the Dutch word may not, by a transposition of letters, be 
 the Latin cant harm. Such metathesises arefrequent,and par- 
 ticularly in our language. Thus, though I meet with the 
 word galeo and galo, as Latin for a gallon in our monkish writers, 
 yet I conceive the original of the English word gallon to be 
 'lagena, and that the monkish terms were formed upon the 
 English word. To give a third instance, Mr. Johnson and 
 Mr. R. Warner deduce Argosie from the ship Argo ; the 
 authors of the Monthly Review incline rather to think it 
 comes from the old Italian, in which any thing watchful or 
 vigilant was termed an Argo, from Juno's spy, Argus. But 
 now, there is a third etymology, which may seem as plau- 
 sible as either of the above, for in Sir P. Rycaut's Survey 
 of the Ottoman Empire, it is suggested, that this sea-vessel 
 might be denominated from the little republic of Ragusa, 
 Argosie being only a transposition of Ragusie. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 Derbyshire, Aug. IS. T. Row. 
 
 1763, Sept. 
 
 Further thoughts on the Peg-Tankard. 
 
 UNWILLING as I am to extend the former memoir to an 
 indecent and inconvenient length, I chose to drop it where 
 I did with a design of resuming it. 
 
 It has been shewn that the Peg-Tankard, or in this case 
 the Pin-Tankard, was very early, and also very generally 
 known amongst us, and therefore it is most natural to think, " 
 that allusions to it would not be uncommon in our ordinary 
 discourse. It is a saying with us, that a person is in a merry 
 pin ; this, I conceive, was borrqwed from the tankard, being as 
 much as to say he has drank to such a. pin as to make himself 
 cheerful and merry. Another expression is, to take a person a 
 peg lower, by which we mean to humble or abase him in like 
 manner as the liquor is made to diminish by a peg at a time, 
 in the tankard. Mons. Du Fresne in his Gloss, v. Pinna, 
 cites archbishop Anselm's canon of A.D. 1 102. Nee adpinnas 
 oibant. and conjectures, * forte legendum pilas,' because 
 pilu he finds signifies sometimes tabenia, a tavern, or 
 drinking house. But this is a most unhappy conjecture, as 
 the sense is so plain and intelligible without it, and that all 
 the MSS. agree in writing /MH^O*; and so Mr. Johnson, in
 
 264 General Use and Introduction of Tobacco. 
 
 his Collection of Ecclesiastical Laws, &c. translates the 
 canon without scruple, < c that priests go not to drinking 
 bouts, nor drink to pegs." However, Sir, as this Frenchman, 
 and I may add the Benedictines, who have suffered his 
 conjecture to pass without animadversion, knew little of 
 ale, nor ever saw one of these tankards in their lives, they 
 are entirely excusable, to do them justice, upon this head. 
 1 am, Sir, Yours, 8tc. 
 
 T. Row. 
 1768, Get, 
 
 LXV. On the General Use and Introduction of Tobacco. 
 I OFTEN think it very wonderful, Mr. Urban, that a thing 
 so unnatural as the use of tobacco in smoking, should pre- 
 vail so generally over the face of the whole earth. I call it 
 unnatural, because nothing seems to lead to it, that to many 
 it is most disagreeable, and that others find it so difficult to 
 learn it, whilst some, after many repeated trials, can never 
 master it at all. And yet you find the practice of smoking 
 tobacco in the north, and in the south, in the east, and in 
 the west. In those immense regions of Siberia and Tartary, 
 China, Japan, Indostan, Persia, Africa, America, and 
 almost universally in the continent and islands of Europe.- 
 In most places, the usage is pommon to all ranks, and to 
 both sexes. 
 
 The Chinese pretend they have known the use of tobacco 
 many ages*; and for what length of time the Americans 
 have had it amongst them, cannot, I suppose, be discovered, 
 but most anciently without doubt ; possibly they might bring 
 it with them from the east, from Tartary, when first they 
 migrated from thence to the continent of America. To be 
 a little more particular, as to its introduction amongst us ; 
 Stow says, tobacco was brought into England about the 
 20 Eliz. or 1578, and that " Sir Walter Raleigh was the 
 first that brought tobacco in use, when all men wondered 
 what it meant. 5 * But afterwards, in the same page he tells 
 us, "tobacco was first brought, and made known in England 
 by Sir John Hawkins, about the year 1565f, but not used 
 by Englishmen in many years after, though at this day com- 
 monly used by most men, and many women." This was 
 about the year 1631, in the reign of James I. when, however, 
 the use of the herb was under disgrace, Stow, in the index, 
 
 * Bell'f Travels, II. p. 68. 
 
 f Dr. Brookes says it is called tobacco from the island of Tobago, 
 ce it was brought in the year 1560. But quaere, as to the date,
 
 Entertainments at Canterbury. 2(5.5 
 
 palling it " a stinking weed so much abused to God's 
 dishonour." But the king himself also greatly discounte- 
 nanced the use of it, and even wrote against it; and the 
 gentleman who made the following will was heartily de- 
 sirous, as it should seem, of concurring with his majesty 
 in suppressing its use. Peter Campbell, a Derby shi 
 gentleman, made his will 20 Oct. l6i6,~ancT therein has the 
 following very extraordinary clause, " Now for all such 
 household goods, at Darley, whereof John Hoson hath an 
 inventory, my will is, that my son lioger shall have them 
 all toward housekeepinge, on this condition, that yf at any 
 time hereafter, any of his brothers or sisters* shall fvnd 
 him takeing of tobacco, that then he or she so fynding him, 
 and making just prooffe thereof to my executors, shall 
 have the said goods, or the full valewe thereof, according 
 as they shall be praysed, whicli said goods shall presently 
 after my death be valewed and praysed by my executors for 
 that purpose." 
 
 J am, Sir, Sic, 
 1769, April. T- Row, 
 
 LXVI. Great Entertainments given by Archbishop Parker, at Can. 
 terbury, extracted from Speed's Life of that Prelate. 
 
 ARCHBISHOP Parker, who was advanced to the See of 
 Canterbury in 1559, visited his Cathedral and diocese in 
 1560, 1565, 1570, and 1573, 
 
 In 156'4 he finished the repairs of his noble palace and 
 great hall at Canterbury, both being in decay, partly by 
 fire and partly by time, which cost him above 14001. which 
 is equal to near ten times that sum in these days. This hall, 
 built by Archbishop Hubert, in the IGth century, was 
 famous in history for the great feasts that had been made 
 there by Archbishops and Abbots in former times, in par- 
 ticular, at the nuptial feast of King Edward I. in 1290, at 
 the installation of the Abbot of St. Austin's in 1309; at the 
 inthronization of George Nevill, Archbishop of York, in 
 1464; and of Archbishop Warham, in 1504, when Edward 
 duke of Buckingham acted as Lord High Steward of his 
 Household; and lastly, for the entertainment given by that 
 Archbishop in 1519., to the Emperor Charles V. Henry VIII. 
 Queen Catharine, &c. 
 
 * There were 6ve brothers aud tliree sistejrs, so that he must have had 
 jnauy eyes upon him.
 
 16(5 Entertainments at Canterbury, 
 
 In 1565, Archbishop Parker gave three entertainments in 
 this hall at Whitsuntide (which lasted three days) on Trinity 
 Sunday, and in Assize-time. At the two first or' these the 
 Archbishop himself sat in the midst of the uppermost table; 
 on his left hand the mayor, &c. and so on one side of the 
 hall, a continued row of men according to their rank filled 
 . the other tables; and on his right hand sat only some noble 
 women and ladies of quality, the whole length of the 
 hall, corresponding to the row of men on the other side; 
 which order of placing the women was observed in honour 
 of the Queen. The first rank of guests being risen, and 
 the tables cleared, they were furnished again and filled the 
 second time. At the last feast, which was grander than all 
 the rest, the Archbishop entertained the two judges who 
 went that circuit,* the Attorney-general, the High-sheriff, 
 > with all who met at these assizes, as Justices of the Peace, 
 Advocates, and common Lawyers, and all the rest of Proc- 
 tors and Attornies; who all (with a promiscuous company) 
 in troops came in. The hall was set forth with mud plate 
 of silver and gold, adorned with rich tapestry of Flanders, 
 and dainties of all sorts were served in excellent order by 
 none but the Archbishop's servants, the table being often 
 the same day furnished afresh with new guests. While the 
 ladies were nobly entertained in inner parlours by Mrs. 
 Parker, the hall being now filled only with gentlemen. 
 Otherwise, at these feasts, it was the Archbishop's custom 
 in honour of matrimony, to entertain both men and their 
 wives. Of this noble hall and palace, now within 200 years, 
 there is little or nothing left except a few ruins. 
 
 On Whitsunday, 1570, and the two following days, this 
 Archbishop feasted the citizens of Canterbury and their 
 wives in the same manner as he had done before; and oa 
 Trinity Sunday (after consecrating Bishop Curteis of Chi- 
 chester) he made another most Archiepiscopal Feast, 
 inviting another Archbishop, (viz. Grindal of York, who 
 came thither for confirmation) to be his guest; besides 
 whom were present Horn, Bishop of Winchester, and 
 Curteis aforesaid, of Chichester. At the lower table sat all 
 the ministers and servants whatsoever, even the children, 
 who belonged to that church; and at the remotest tables, 
 but in the same hall, in sight, sat the poor of both sexes of 
 the hospitals of St. John's and llarbledowu. On July 11, 
 
 * This proves that the judges of .Assize thrn cam? to Canterbury, though 
 at vas Uieu a Count j iu itself, being so wade in I-itil.
 
 Entertainments at Canterbury. 20* 
 
 being Assize-time, the Judges, High-sheriff, Gentlemen, 
 and the common sort, were ail feasted by the Arehbisboj.) 
 in a splendid manner, as before. Soon after Bishop !Sand\>, 
 of Worcester, elect of London, came to Canterbury to be 
 confirmed. The Archbishop, on- his return, Judged the 
 first night at Sittingbourn, and the next night (after dining 
 at Gravesend) came to Lambeth in barges by the Thames, 
 with all his family. 
 
 Sept. 7, 1573, being Q. Elizabeth's birth-day, Arch- 
 bishop Parker entertained her instjesly, and as many 
 ISoblemen, 8tc. as were present at Archbishop Warham's 
 entertainment in the same hall 54 years before. The Arch- 
 bishop (to use his own words, in a letter to Arehbisbop 
 Grindal, of York) " met her Highness as she was coming 
 to Dover, upon Folkestone Down. 1 left her at Dover, 
 and came home to Bekesburn that night; and after that 
 went to Canterbury to receive her majesty there. Whicli 
 I did, with the bishops of Lincoln and Rochester and 
 my Suffragan [of Dover] at the west door. Where, after 
 the Grammarian had made his oration to her upon her horse- 
 back, she alighted. We then kneeled down, and said the 
 Psalm, J)ens misereatii)', in English; with certain other 
 Collects briefly; and that in our chimers and rochets. The 
 Quire, with the Dean and Prebendaries, stood on either 
 side of the church, and brought her majesty up with a 
 square song, she going under a canopy borne by four of 
 her temporal Knights, to her traverse placed by the com- 
 munion board. Where she heard even-song, and after 
 departed to her lodging at St. Austin's, whither 1 waited 
 upon her. From thence I brought certain of the council, 
 and divers of the court, to my house to supper, and gave 
 them 14 or 15 dishes, furnished with two messes, at my Jong 
 table; whereat sat about 20. And iti the same chamber a 
 third mess, at a square table, whereat sat 10 or 12. My 
 less hall having three long tables furnished with my officers, 
 and with the guard, and others of the court. And so her 
 Majesty came every Sunday to church to hear the sermon ; 
 and upon the Monday it pleased her Highness to dine in my 
 great hall thoroughly furnished with the Council, French- 
 men, Ladies, Gentlemen, and the Mayor of the town, with 
 his Brethren, &e. Her Highness sitting in the midst, 
 having two French Ambassadors Gondius, and Mothe-. 
 Fenelon] at the end of the table, and four Ladies of Honour 
 at the other end. And so three messes were served by her 
 Nobility at waiting, her Gentlemen and Guard bringing 
 her dishes/' &c. On which the Archbishop of York, in his 
 Answer, made this reflection : " Your Grace's iurge
 
 268 Ancient Palaces belonging to the See of Canterbury. 
 
 description of the entertainment at Canterbury, did so 
 lively set forth the matter, that in reading thereof, I almost 
 thought myself to be one of your guests there, and as it 
 were beholding the whole order of all things done there. 
 Sir, I think it shall be hard for any of our coat to do the 
 like for one hundred years, and how long after God 
 Icnoweth." 
 
 In this progress Lord Treasurer Burghley was lodged 
 with Mr. Pearson, the eleventh Prebendary, who, the 
 Archbishop says, " had a fine house," [now Dr. Curleis's.] 
 
 4770, 
 
 LXVII. Account of the ancient Palaces and Houses belonging to 
 the See of Canterbury, from Strype, Lambard, c. 
 
 J. THE Manor of Bekesburn, anciently called Livingsburn, 
 was given to Christ Church, Canterbury, after the year 
 1400. Thomas Goldstone, a Prior of that Church, and a 
 great Builder, in 1508, built the Manor-house for a Man- 
 sion for the Priors, and a chapel annexed, and a new Hall 
 adjoining to the Dormitory, and several other edifices there. 
 At the dissolution this was alienated, and given to Sir John 
 Gage, comptroller of the King's household, who exchanged 
 it with Abp. Cranmer for the Manor of Bishopsburn, and 
 so it returned to the church again from whence it had been, 
 for some time severed ; only the owners changed. Bekes- 
 burn was healthfully and conveniently seated, lying an easy 
 distance from Canterbury, whensoever the Archbishops 
 M'ere minded to be retired. Abp. Cranmer made consider- 
 able buildings there, and probably would have done more, 
 had he continued in his prelacy. In the year 1552, he 
 finished the Gate-house, still standing, as appears from the 
 north and south sides thereof, wherein are two stones, set in 
 the brick-work, with the letters of his name, T. C. and 
 coat of arms, and motto/NoscE TE IPSUM ET DEUM : to- 
 gether with the date 1552. Abp. Cranmer appropriated his 
 Manor-house and his parsonage-barn here for harbour and 
 lodgings for the poor, sick, and maimed soldiers that came 
 from the wars of Bologne, &c. appointing them an almoner, 
 a physician, and a surgeon; besides the common alms of 
 his household that were bestowed on the poor of the coun- 
 try. Archbishop Parker took great delight in this palace, 
 and in 1572, added the hist finishing strokes to it. On the 
 grea! gate are the arms of Parker alone, and the date 1573.,
 
 Ancient Palaces belonging to the Sue of Canterbury. 260 
 
 this label about the crest, MUNDUS TRANSIT ET CoNCUPlscEN- 
 TIA EJUS; all of them cut in wood; which makes it probable, 
 that this archbishop, besides what buildings or reparations 
 he made here, did the inward work, the gate, the doors, 
 the wainscot, &c. Abp. Abbot, of later times, lived in 
 Bekesburn some years, and preached in the parish-church 
 there on Sunday mornings; of which they had a pleasant 
 story; that there were two country fellows met; the one 
 told the other he was making- haste to Bekesburn church, 
 where he was told a great man preached : he thought it was 
 Sir Henry Palmer, who was the greatest man he knew in 
 the parish. This palace was demolished in the year 1658, 
 and no part of it is left standing atthis day, but only a long row 
 of plain brick buildings, called, THE GATE-HOUSE, now Mr. 
 Peckham's, which was the entrance into the palace. The 
 very foundations of all the rest are digged up. Out of the 
 materials of this palace some other houses were built not far 
 off; on some stones whereof still remain the arms of Christ 
 Church, Canterbury ; and in the glass windows may be 
 seen the rebus of Thomas Goldstone, the prior. 
 
 2. FORD, in the parish of Chisiet, the most ancient seat 
 of the Archbishops, was also pulled down in 1658, and the 
 bricks, timber, and other materials /sold. 'Here was also a 
 large park. Archbishop Cranmer often resided there, though 
 the situation is not healthy. 
 
 3. MAIDSTONE Palace was given by William de Corn- 
 wall, to Archbishop Langton. It now belongs to Lord 
 Romney. 
 
 4. At CHARING was an ancient seat, much augmented by 
 Archbishop Morton. The ruins are still remaining. 
 
 5. SALTWOOD-castle, near Hythe, built by the Ro- 
 mans, was given to the See of Canterbury in 1036, and was 
 much beautified and enlarged by Archbishop Courtney, who 
 also inclosed a park about it, and made it his usual place of 
 residence. It now belongs to Sir Brook Bridges, and is 
 venerable in decay. 
 
 6. At ALDINGTON was a fair seat, much enlarged by 
 Archbishop Morton. It had also a park and chace for deer, 
 called ALDINGTON FRITH. The great Erasmus was rector of 
 the parish, being presented to it by Archbishop Warham. 
 
 7. At WINGHAM was a good house, where Archbishop 
 Winchelsea entertained and Ibdged King Edward I. And 
 Archbishop Reynolds in 1324, entertained King Edward II. 
 7'he Manor is now Earl Cowper's. 
 
 8. WROTH AM-House was pulled down by Archbishop 
 I-slip, and the materials employed in finishing Maidstone 
 palace. At this house, iu 1183, Archbishop Richard,
 
 270 Ancient manner of taking Refuge in the Cinque Ports. 
 
 (Becket's successor) had such a terrible dream> that the 
 fright occasioned his death. The 'manor annexed now be- 
 longs to William James, Esq. 
 
 9. AtTEYNHAM was an ancient seat, where Archbishop 
 Hubert died in 1221. The Manor is now Lord Teynham's. 
 
 10. KNOWLE (near Sevenoak) was left to the See of 
 Canterbury by Archbishop BoUrchier, who added much to 
 its magnificence. Archbishop Morton also built here. It is 
 now the seat of the Duke of Dorset. 
 
 11. OXFORD was a magnificent palace, built by Arch- 
 bishop Warham, at 33,0001. expense, he having taken 
 offence at the citizens of Canterbury, where otherwise he 
 designed to have built such a stately palace as should have 
 been a lasting monument of his great wealth and glory. 
 
 All the above, with the Manors belonging to them, 
 (Bekesburn excepted) were exchanged by Archbishop 
 Cranmer with King Henry VIII. for other lands, " To 
 extinguish the passions of such as looked with regret and 
 desire upon the patrimony of the church." 
 
 12. CANTERBURY- Palace, given to the See by Arch- 
 bishop Lanfranc, and afterwards rebuilt by Archbishops 
 Hubert, Boniface, Langton, and Parker, was destroyed in 
 the time of the usurpation. 
 
 So that the Arclibishops have now no Palace or House 
 remaining in their own Diocese, and only Lambeth and 
 Croydon out of it, both of which are in the Diocese of 
 Winchester. 
 
 1770, N<ru. 
 
 Ou the ancient manner of taking refuge for Murder or 
 felony in the Cinque Ports. Extracted from Air. James Ham- 
 mond's Collections of the Antiquities of Dover, Folio 1 \ and 15. 
 l-'roin the Customall of the Cinque Ports. Corrected and amended 
 in the Reigns of Henry the 7th and 8th. 
 
 AND when any shall flee into the church or church-yard 
 for felony, claiming thereof the privilege, for any action of 
 his life, the head-officer of the same liberty, where the 
 said church or church-yard is, with his fellow-jurats, or 
 coroners or' the same liberty, shall come to him, and shall 
 ask him the cause of being there, and if he will not confess 
 felony, he shall be had out of the said sanctuary; and if he will 
 confess felony, immediately it shall be entered in record, and 
 his goods and chattels shall be forfeited, and he shall tarry 
 there forty days ; or before, if he will, he shall make his 
 abjuration in form following, before the head-oflicer, who 

 
 Artifice of the Thong. 271 
 
 shall assign to him the port of his passage, and after his 
 abjuration, there shall be delivered unto him hy the head- 
 orficer, or his assignees, a cross, and proclamation shall be 
 made, that while he be going by the highway towards the 
 port to him assigned, he shall go iu the King's peace, and 
 that no man shall grieve him in so doing, on pain to forfeit 
 his goods and chattels ; and the said felon shall lay hi)} 
 right hand on the book and swear this : " You hear, Mr. 
 Coroner, that I, A. B. a thief, have stolen such a thing-, 
 or have killed such a woman, or man, or a child, 
 and am the King's felon ; and for that I have done many 
 evil deeds and felonies in this same his land, I do abjure 
 and forswear the lands of the Kings of England, and 
 that I shall haste myself to the port of Dover, "which you 
 have given or assigned me ; and that I shall not go out of 
 .the highway ; and if I do, 1 will that I shall be taken as a 
 thief, and the King's felon; and at the same place I shall 
 tarry but one ebb and flood, if 1 may have passage ; and 
 if I cannot have passage in the same place, I shall go every 
 day into the sea to my knees, and above, attempting myself 
 to "go every day to my knees, and above, crying, Passage 
 for the, lo-cc of God, and King N his sake ; and if I may 
 riot within forty days together, I shall get me again into the 
 church, as the King's felon. 
 
 So God me help and by this book according to your 
 
 judgment." 
 
 And if a clerk, flying to the church for felony, affirming 
 himself to be a clerk, he shall not abjure the realm, but 
 yielding himself to the laws of the realm, shall enjoy the 
 liberties of the church, and shall be delivered to the ordi- 
 nary, to be safe kept in the convict prison, according to the 
 laudable custom of the realm of England. 
 1771, Aug. 
 
 LXIX. Artifice of the Thong in founding Cities and Castles 
 exploded. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 i HE story goes, that Dido or Eliza, upon her arrival in 
 Africa, after her flight from Tyre, purchased as much land 
 of the natives of the former place as she could cover or ra- 
 ther inclose, with an ox's hide ; and thereupon cut the hide 
 into thongs, and included a much larger space than the sel- 
 lers expected; and that from thence the place, .which after- 
 wards became the citadel of Carthage, was called Ihtrsa, 
 Bursa signifying an 'ox's hide.' This tale, which is either re-
 
 273 Artifice of the Thong. 
 
 luted or alluded to by Appian and Dionysius the geographer? 
 amongst the Greeks, and by Justin, Virgil, Silius Italicu.s, and 
 others of the Latins, has no foundation, I apprehend, in the 
 truth of history, and indeed is generally exploded by the 
 learned. However, let us see how later writers have con- 
 ducted themselves in respect thereof; it was a subtile pleas- 
 ing artifice, and they were very unwilling not to make use of 
 it, for the embellishment of their respective works. 
 
 First, Sigebert, Monk of Gemblours, who flourished A. 
 1 100, has applied it to Hengist, the first Saxon King of Kent, 
 saying, that the place purchased of the British King, and 
 inclosed by him, was called Castellum Corrigite, or the Castle 
 of the Thong ; but now, there being several more of the name 
 of Thong or Tong in England, as in Kent, Lincolnshire, 
 Shropshire, and Yorkshire, (Doncaster being written in 
 Saxon Thongeceaster,) the story has been applied to most, 
 if not all of them ;* and with equal justice, being probably 
 false in regard to them all. It is true, Sigebert knew no* 
 thing of the Greek authors above-mentioned, but then he 
 was well acquainted with Justin and Virgil ; and the same 
 may b^ said of Jeffrey, of Monmonth, A. 1159, who has 
 the same story, and, if he followed not Sigebert, which is 
 highly probable, took it from one of the Latin authors. 
 
 Secondly, Saxo Grammaticus, who wrote about A. 1170, 
 lias applied the story to Ivarus,f making him use the same 
 artifice in respect of Hella, and by that means getting a 
 footing in Britain, which he became master of for two years. J 
 Saxo might take it either from Jeffrey or Sigebert ; or Jus- 
 tin, if you please, as he made great use of this author. We 
 can account very rationally, you observe, Mr. Urban, for 
 the proceedings of these three authors, Sigebert, Jeffrey, 
 and Saxo Grammaticus, but what shall we say, thirdly, to 
 an affair of the like kind in the East Indies? "There is 
 a tradition," Hamilton says, p. 136. " that the Portuguese 
 circumvented the King of Guzerat, as Dido did the Afri- 
 cans, when they gave her leave to build Carthage, by 
 desiring no more ground to build their cities than could be 
 circumscribed in an ox's hide, Which having obtained, thev 
 cut into a fine thong of a great length," &c. The Indians 
 knew nothing of the authors above-mentioned, nor probably 
 did those Portuguese who first made the settlement at Diu. 
 I am of opinion, therefore, that as Hamilton calls it only a 
 
 * See Lambarde's Topograph. Diet. p. 16. Camdeni Col. 569. 
 f It is a bad omen, that these authors do not a^rrc in lUc person any more 
 than others do in respect of the place. 
 J SuxoGram. p. 176.
 
 Burning and Rebuilding of the Church at Canterbury. 273 
 
 tradition, this tradition was set on foot long after the 
 time, and perhaps by some of the first missionaries that 
 went thither, who, we may suppose, had often heard or 
 read of the like fabulous narrations in Europe, and accord- 
 ingly invented this at Guzerat for the amusement of their 
 countrymen. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient, 
 1771, Aw. T. Row. 
 
 LXX. Account of the Burning and Rebuilding of .the Church at 
 Canterbury, in the year 1 174. From the Latin of Gervase, one 
 of the Monks, who was an Eye-witness. 
 
 ON the 5th of September, in the year of grace 1 1 74, 
 about nine o'clock, the wind blowing from the south with a 
 fury almost beyond conception, a fire broke out before the 
 church gate, by which three small houses were almost burnt 
 down. While the citizens were there employed in extin- 
 guishing the flames, the sparks and ashes, whirled aloft by 
 the violence of the storm, were lodged on the church, and, 
 by the force of the wind, insinuating themselves between 
 the joints of the lead, settled on the planks which were 
 almost rotten, and thus, by degrees, the heat increasing, 
 the decayed joists were set on fire ; but the finely painted 
 ceiling underneath, and the lead covering above, con- 
 cealed the flame. Meantime, the three small houses being 
 pulled down, the people returned home. No one being 
 yet apprized of the fire in the church, the sheets of lead 
 began, by degrees, to melt; and, on a sudden, the flames 
 just appearing, there was a great cry in the church-yard, 
 " Alas ! alas ! the church is on fire. 1 ' Many of the laity ran 
 together with the monks, to draw water, to bring axes, to 
 mount ladders, all eager to succour Christ Church, now just 
 on the point of destruction. They reached the roof, but 
 behold ! all was filled with a horrible smoke and a scorching 
 flame. In despair, therefore, they were obliged to consult 
 their own safety by retiring. And now, the joints of the 
 rafters being consumed, the half-burnt timbers fell into the 
 choir; the seats of the monks were set on fire, and on all 
 sides the calamity increased. In this conflagration, that glo- 
 rious choir made a wonderful and awful appearance. The 
 flames ascended to a great height, and the pillars of the church 
 were damaged or destroyed. Great numbers applied to the 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 J74 Burning and Rebuilding of the Church at Canterbury. 
 
 ornaments of the church, and tore down the palls, and hang- 
 ings, some to steal, others to preserve them. The chests 
 of relics, thrown from the lofty beam upon the pavement, 
 were broken, and the relics scattered ; but lest they 
 should be consumed, they were collected and laid up 
 by the brethren. Some there were, who, inflamed with a 
 wicked and diabolical avarice, saved the goods of the church 
 from the fire, but did not scruple to carry them away. Thus 
 the house of God, hitherto delightful like a paradise of 
 pleasure, then lay contemptible in the ashes of the fire. 
 The people, astonished, and in a manner frantic for grief, 
 tore their hair, and uttered some enormous reproaches 
 against the Lord and his saints, naa*ely, the patrons of the 
 church. There were laymen, as well as monks, who would 
 rather have died than have seen the church of God so 
 miserably perish; for not only the choir, but also the in- 
 firmary, with St. Mary's Chapel, and some other offices 
 of the Court*, were reduced to ashes. The calamities of 
 Canterbury were no less lamentable than those of Jerusa- 
 lem of old under the tears and lamentations of Jeremiah. 
 The grief and distress of the sons of the church were so- 
 great, thaf no one can conceive, relate, or write them; but, 
 to relieve their miseries, they fixed the altar, such as it was, 
 in the nave of the church, where they howled, rather than 
 sung, matins arid vespers. The patrons of the church, St. 
 Dunstan and St. Elphege, were, with incredible grief and 
 anguish, taken from their tombs, and placed, as decently 
 as possible, in the nave of the church, at the altar of the 
 holy cross. Meanwhile, the brethren consulted how, and 
 by what method, the ruined church might be repaired. 
 Architects, both French and English, were therefore assem- 
 bled : but they disagreed in their opinions; some undertook 
 to repair, while others, on the contrary, affirmed that the 
 whole church must be taken down, if the monks wished to 
 dwell in safety. This, though true, overwhelmed them with 
 grief. Among the architects there was one William of Sens, 
 a man of great abilities, and a most curious workman in 
 wood and stone. Neglecting the rest, him they chose for 
 the undertaking. Patiently, though not willingly, they 
 agreed to take down the ruined choir. Attention was given 
 to J;he procuring stones from abroad. He made most 
 ingenious machines for loading and unloading ships, for 
 drawing the mortar and stones. II:? delivered, also, to the 
 masons who were assembled, models for cutting the stones ; 
 
 * Now calk-d the Green Court. E,
 
 Ituming and Rebuilding of the Church at Canterbury. 275 
 
 and, in like manner, he made many other preparations. The 
 choir, therefore, devoted to destruction, was taken down, 
 and nothing more was done for the whole first year. 
 
 ... In the year ensuing, Master William erected four 
 pillars, two on each side. Winter heing over, he placed 
 two more, that on either side there might be three in a row ; 
 upon which, and the other wall of the aisles, he neatly 
 turned arches and a vault; that is, three keys on each side. 
 By the key I mean the whole roof, as the key placed in the 
 middle seems to close and strengthen the parts on each side. 
 This was the employment of the second year. 
 
 In the third year, he placed two pillars on each side, the 
 two last of which he decorated with marble columns; and, 
 because the choir and the crosses were there to meet, lio 
 made them the principal. On them key-stones being 
 placed, and an arch turned, from the great tower as far as 
 the before-mentioned pillars, that is, as far as the cross, 
 he introduced in the lower cloister several marble columns; 
 above which he made another cloister of different materials, 
 and upper windows; after that, three keys of a great arch, 
 namely, from the lower to the crosses : all which seemed 
 to us, and to every one, inimitable, and in the highest 
 degree praiseworthy. 
 
 Thus the third year ended, and the fourth began ; in the 
 summer of which, beginning at the cross, he erected ten 
 pillars, that is, five on each side. Adorning the two first, 
 opposite to the two others, with marble columns, he made 
 them the principal. On these ten he placed arches and 
 vaults. Both the cloisters and the upper windows being 
 finished, while he was preparing his machines for turning 
 the great arch, at the beginning of the fifth year, the scaf- 
 fold on a sudden gave way, and he came to the ground from 
 the height of the crown of the upper arch, which is fifty 
 feet. Being grievously bruised, he was utterly unable to 
 attend to the work. No one but himself received the least 
 hurt. Either the vengeance of God, or the envy of the 
 Devil, wreaked itself on him alone. Master William, being 
 thus hurt, entrusted the completion of the work to a certain 
 ingenious monk who was overseer of the rough masons ; 
 which occasioned him much envy and ill-will. The archi- 
 tect, nevertheless, lying in bed, gave orders what was first, 
 and what last, to be done. A roof, therefore, was made be- 
 tween the four principal pillars; at the key of which roof 
 the choir and the crosses seem, in a manner, to meet. Two 
 roofs, also, one on each side, were made before winter; 
 but the weather, being extremely rainy, would not suffer 
 
 T 2
 
 276 Burning and Rebuilding of the Church at Canterbury. 
 
 more to be done. In the fourth year there was an eclipse 
 of the sun on the 6th of September, at six o'clock, a tew 
 months before the architect's accident. At length, finding 
 no benefit from the skill and attention of his surgeons, he 
 gave up the work, and, crossing the sea, went home to 
 France. 
 
 In the summer of the fifth year, another William, an 
 Englishman, succeeded the first William in the care of the 
 work ; a man of a diminutive stature, but in various ways 
 extremely ingenious and honest. He finished both the 
 north and the south cross, and turned the roof which is 
 over the high altar, which, when every thing was prepared, 
 could not be done the year before, on account of the rains. 
 At the east end, also, he laid the foundation of the chapel 
 of the Holy Trinity, where St. Thomas first solemnized 
 mass, and used to indulge himself in tears and prayers, in 
 the undercroft of which he had been so many years buried, 
 where GOD, through his merits, wrought many miracles; 
 where rich and poor, kings and princes, worshipped him, 
 from whence the sound of his praise went forth into all the 
 world. In digging this foundation, Master William was 
 obliged to take out the bones of several holy monks, which, 
 being carefully collected, were re-interred in a large trench, 
 in the angle between the chapel and the infirmary towards 
 the south. This done, and the foundation of the outer wall 
 being made extremely strong of stone and mortar, he built 
 the wall of the undercroft as high as the bases of the win- 
 dows. This was the business of the fifth year, and the 
 beginning of the sixth ; but the spring of this now approach- 
 ing, and the season of working being at hand, the monks 
 were inflamed with a most eager desire to prepare the 
 choir, so that they might enter it at the next Easter. The 
 architect used his utmost effort to fulfil the wishes of the 
 convent. He also built the three altars of the chancel. 
 He carefully prepared a place of rest for St. Dunstan* 
 and St. Elphegef. A wooden wall, too, for keeping out 
 the weather, was placed across the east end, between the 
 last pillars but one, containing three windows. They were 
 desirous to enter the choir, though with great labour and 
 too much haste it was scarcely prepared, on Easter Eve. 
 But because every thing that was to be done on that Sabbath 
 day, could not, on account of that solemnity, be fully 
 clone, in a proper, decent manner, it was necessary that 
 
 * J)un<tan dird in 988. E. 
 
 f Klpiiege v\us stoned to death by the Danes at Greenwich, in 1012. F..
 
 Surm'ng and Rebuilding of (he Church at Canterbury, 2?7 
 
 rhe holy fathers, our patrons, St. Dunstan and St. Elphege, 
 the fellow-exiles of the monks, should be removed before 
 that day into the new choir. Prior Alan, therefore, taking 
 with him nine brethren of the church on whom he could rely, 
 lest there should be any disturbance or inconvenience, went 
 one night to the tombs of the saints, and, locking the doors 
 of the church, gave directions to take down the shrine which 
 surrounded them. The monks and the servants of the 
 church, in obedience to the commands of the prior, took 
 down that structure, opened the stone coffins of those saints, 
 and took oat their relics, and carried them into the vestry. 
 Taking out also the vestments in which they were wrapped, 
 by length of time in a great measure decayed, they covered 
 them with more decent palls, and bound them with linen 
 girdles. The saints, thus prepared, were carried to their 
 altars, and placed in wooden coffins, inclosed in lead. The 
 coffins, also, strongly bound with iron hoops, were secured 
 with stone tombs, soldered in molten lead*. Queen Edivaf, 
 also, who, after the fire, was placed under the altar of the 
 holy cross, was in like manner carried into the vestry. These 
 things were transacted on the Thursday before Easter, 
 namely, on the 17th day of April. 
 
 Next day, when this translation of the saints came to the 
 knowledge of the whole convent, they were greatly sur- 
 prised and offended, as this was presumptuously done with- 
 out the concurrence of the convent ; for they had proposed 
 (as was proper) to translate these fathers with great and de- 
 vout solemnity. They therefore summoned the prior, and 
 those who were with him, before the venerable Richard 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, on account of the injury pre- 
 sumptuously offered to them and to the holy patrons of the 
 church. Matters were carried to such a length, that both 
 the prk>r and those who were with him were very near being 
 obliged to resign their offices ; but, by the mediation of thu 
 archbishop and other persons of consequence, a proper sa- 
 tisfaction and submission being previously made, the con- 
 vent was prevailed upon to forgive them. * Harmony, there- 
 fore, being restored between the prior and the convent on 
 the holy Sabbath, the archbishop, in his cope and mitre, went 
 
 * la Henry the VII. 's reign (1508) five hundred and twenty years after 
 Dnnstan's death, oq a pretence that lie lay at til.istoiiuury, Archbishop War- 
 ham had his tomb opened, and his body was found just as Gorva-c. II'.TO De- 
 scribes it. His skull was then set in silver, and preserved as a ivlic. The 
 tomb was taken down at the Reformation. L. 
 
 f The mother of Kinu- Edred. /.'. 
 T 3
 
 278 Burning and Rebuilding of the Church at Canterbury. 
 
 at the head of the convent in their surplices, according to 
 the custom of the church, to the new altar, and, having 
 blessed it, he with a hymn entered the ne\v choir. Coming to 
 that part of the church which is opposite to the martyrdom 
 of St. Thomas, he took from one of the monks the pyx, 
 with the eucharist which used to hang over the high altar, 
 which the archbishop with great reverence carried to the 
 high altar of the new choir. The other offices of that fes- 
 tival were, as is usual on that day, solemnly and devoutly 
 performed. This being over, the mitred prelate standing 
 at the altar, the bells ringing, began Te Deum. The con- 
 vent with great joy of heart joining in the hymn, praised 
 GOD for tiie benefits conferred, with shouting hearts and 
 voices, together with grateful tears. The convent was by 
 the flames expelled from the choir, like Adam out of para- 
 dise, in the year of GOD's word 1 174, in the month of Sep- 
 tember, on the 5th day of the month, about nine o'clock. 
 The convent remained in the nave of the church five years, 
 seven months, thirteen days. It returned into the new choir 
 in the year of grace 1180, in the month of April, on the 
 nineteenth day of the month, about nine o'clock, on Easter 
 Eve. 
 
 Our architect had built, without the choir, four altars, 
 where the bodies of the holy archbishops were replaced 
 as they were of old, as has been mentioned above : at the 
 altar of St. Martin, Living*, and Wilfred; at the altar of 
 St. Stephen, Athelardf, and Cuthbert; in the south cross, 
 at the altar of St. John, ElfricJ, and Ethelgar; at the altar 
 of St. Gregory, Bregewinj|, and Phlegemund. Queen Ediva 
 also, who before the fire had lain almost in the middle of 
 the south cross in a gilt coffin, was re-interred at the 
 altar of St. Martin, under the coffin of Living. Besides 
 this, in the same summer, that is, of the sixth year, the 
 outer wall round the chapel of St. Thomas, begun before 
 the preceding winter, was built as high as the spring of the 
 arch. The architect had begun a tower on the east side, 
 as it were, without the circuit of the wall, whose lower 
 arch was finished before winter. The chapel, too, of the 
 Holy Trinity, which was mentioned above, was pulled down 
 
 * Archbishop Living died in 1020, Wilfred in 831. The altars of St. 
 Martin and St. Stephen were in the upper north aisle. E. 
 
 f Uhelard died in 893, Cuthbert in 758. E. 
 
 % Elfric died in ] 005, Ethelarar in 989. The altars of St. John and St. Gre- 
 gory were in the upper south aisle. E. 
 
 || firegewiu died in 1b'2, Pblcscmuud in 923. E.
 
 Burning tind Rebuilding of the Church at Canterbury, 279 
 
 to the ground, having hitherto remained entire, out of re- 
 verence to St. Thomas, who lay in its undercroft. The 
 bodies also of the saints, which had lain in the upper part 
 of it, were translated to other places; but, lest the remem- 
 brance of what was done at their translation should be lost, 
 a brief account shall be given of it. On the 25th of July, 
 the altar of the Holy Trinity was broken, and of it was 
 formed an altar of St. John the apostle. This I mention, 
 lest the memory of this sacred stone should perish, because 
 upon it St. Thomas sung his first mass, and afterwards 
 frequently performed divine service there. The shrines, too, 
 which were built up behind the altar, were taken down, in. 
 which it is said, St. Odo* and St. Wilfredf had a long time 
 lain. These saints, therefore, taken up in their leaden 
 coffins, were carried into the choir. St. Odo was placed in 
 his coffin under that of St. Dunstan, and St. Wilfred under 
 that of St. Elphege. Archbishop LanfrancJ was found in 
 a very weighty sheet of lead, in which he had lain from the 
 first day of his interment, his limbs untouched, mitred, and 
 pinned, to that hour, namely, sixty-nine years and some 
 months. He was carried into the vestry, and replaced in 
 his lead, till it was generally agreed what was proper to be 
 done with so considerable a father. When the tomb of 
 Archbishop Theobald]), which was constructed of marble, 
 was opened, and the stone coffin discovered, the monks 
 who were present, thinking that he was reduced to dust, 
 ordered wine and water to be brought, to wash his bones ; 
 but the upper stone of the coffin being removed, he ap- 
 peared perfect and stiff, adhering together by the bones and 
 nerves, and a small degree of skin and flesh. The specta- 
 tors were surprised, and, placing him on the bier, thus 
 carried him into the vestry to Lanfranc, that the convent 
 might determine what was proper to be done with them 
 both. Meanwhile the story was divulged abroad, and 
 many, on account of his unusual preservation, styled him St. 
 Theobald. He was shewn to several, who were desirous to 
 see him, by whom the account was transmitted to others. 
 He was taken out of his tomb, his corpse uncorrupted, his 
 linen garments entire, in the nineteenth year after his death. 
 By the order of the convent he was buried before the altar 
 
 * Odo died in 958. E. 
 
 f The body of Vv'ilfred, Archbishop of York, was brought from Rippon, by 
 Archbishop Odo. He died in 710. E. 
 \ Laufranc died in 1089. E. 
 jj Theobald died in 1161, . 
 
 T 4
 
 280 Burning and Rebuilding of the Church at Canterbury. 
 
 of St. Mary*, in the nave of the church, in a leaden chest, 
 the place which he desired in his life-time. A marble 
 tomb, as there was before, was also placed over him. Lan- 
 franc, as I said above, was taken out of his coffin in the 
 sheet of lead in which he had lain untouched from the day 
 he was first buried to that hour, namely sixty-nine years; 
 on which account, even his bones much decayed were 
 almost all reduced to dust: for the length of time, the 
 moisture of the clothes, the natural coldness of the lead, 
 and, above all, the transitory condition of mortality, had 
 occasioned this decay. However, the larger bones, col- 
 lected with the other dust, were re-interred, in a leaden 
 coffin, at the altar of St. Martin. The two archbishops 
 also, who lay in the undercroft, on the right and left of St. 
 Thomas, were taken up, and were placed for a time in 
 leaden coffins, under the altar of St. Mary, in the undercroft. 
 The translations of these fathers being thus performed, 
 that chapel, with its undercroft, was pulled down to the 
 ground : St. Thomas alone reserved his translation till his 
 chapel was finishedf. In the mean time, a wooden chapel 
 proper enough for the time and place, was prepared over 
 and round his tomb ; without whose walls, the foundation 
 being laid of stone and mortar, eight pillars of the new 
 undercroft, with their capitals, were finished. The ar- 
 chitect prudently opened an entrance from the old under- 
 croft into the new one. With these works the sixth year 
 ended, and the seventh began ; but, before 1 pursue the 
 business of this seventh year, I think it not improper to 
 enlarge upon some things that have been mentioned, and 
 to add others, which through negligence were forgotten, 
 or for the sake of brevity omitted. It was said above, that, 
 after the fire, almost all the old choir was taken down, and 
 that it was changed into a new and more magnificent form. 
 I will now relate what was the difference. The form of the 
 pillars, both old and new, is the same, and the thickness 
 the same, but the height different ; for the new pillars are 
 lengthened almost twelve feet. In the old capitals the 
 workmanship was plain ; in the new the sculpture is excel- 
 lent. There was no marble column; here are many. There, 
 in the circuit without the choir, the vaults are plain; here, 
 
 * St. Mary's altar was at the east end of the north aisle. E. 
 
 f- This was in 1220, when this pretended saint was translated from the un- 
 dercroft to his shriuc, with great pomp, the king, archbisnop, &.C. attending. 
 The offerings that were made at his shrine enabled the monks to rebuild theic 
 ' church with sucli magnificence. ,
 
 Burning and Rebuilding of the Church at Canterbury. 281 
 
 they are arched and studded. There the wall, ranged on 
 pillars, separated the crosses from the choir; but here, 
 without any interval, the crosses, divided from the choir, 
 seem to meet in one key, fixed in the midst of the great 
 arch, which rests on the four principal pillars. There, was 
 n. \\ooden ceiling, adorned with excellent painting; here, an 
 arch neatly Ibrmed of light standstone. There, was one bal- 
 lustrade; here, are two in the choir, and one in the aisle of the 
 church. All which will be much more easily understood by 
 seeing than b} hearing. But it should be known, that the 
 new building is as much higher than the old, as the upper 
 windows both of the body of the choir and of its side exceed, 
 in height the marble arcade. But lest it should hereafter 
 be asked, why the great breadth of the choir near the tower 
 is so much reduced at the top of the church, I think it not 
 improper to mention the reasons. One of which is, that 
 the two towers, namely St. Anslem's and St. Andrew's, 
 formerly placed in a circle on each side of the church, pre- 
 vented the breadth of the choir from proceeding in a straight 
 line. Another reason is, that it wits judicious and useful, 
 to place the chapel of St. Thomas at the head of the church, 
 where was the chapel of the Holy Trinity, which was much 
 narrower than the choir. The architect, therefore, not willing 
 to lose these towers, but notable to remove them entire, 
 formed that breadth of the choir, as far as the confines of 
 those towers, in a straight line. Afterwards, by degrees, 
 avoiding the towers on both sides, and yet preserving the 
 breadth of that passage which is without the choir as much 
 as possible, on account of the processions which were fre- 
 quently to be made there, he narrowed his work with a 
 gradual obliquity, so as neatly to contract it over against 
 the altar, and, from thence, as far as the third pillar, to 
 reduce it to the breadth of the chapel of the Holy Trinity. 
 After that, four pillars of the same diameter, but of a dif- 
 ferent form, were placed on both sides. After them, four 
 others were placed circularly, at which the new work met. 
 This is the situation of the piliars. Bnt the outer circuit of 
 the wall, proceeding from the above-mentioned towers, 
 first goes in a right line, tlten bends in a curve, and thus 
 both walls meet at the round lower, and there are finished. 
 All these things may much more clearly and more agreeably 
 be seen by the eye, than explained by speaking or writing. 
 But they are mentioned, that the difference of the new 
 work and the old may be distinguished. Let us now ob- 
 serve more attentively what or how much work our masons 
 completed in this seventh year after the fire. To be brief,
 
 82 Conjectures as to the time tf dividing Parishes, 
 
 in the seventh year, the new undercroft, elegant enougfi, 
 was finished, and, upon it, the outer wails of the aisles, as 
 high as the marble capitals ; but the architect neither could 
 nor would turn the windows, on account of the approach- 
 ing rains, nor place the inner pillars. With this the se- 
 Tenth year ended, and the eighth began. In this eighth year 
 the architect placed eight inner pillars, and turned the 
 arches and the vault, with the windows, circularly. He 
 raised also the tower as high as the basis of the upper win- 
 dows under the arch. The ninth year, the work was 
 suspended for want of money. In the tenth year, the upper 
 windows of the tower were finished with the arch ; upon 
 the pillars also the upper and lower ballustrade, with the 
 windows and the larger arch : the upper roof too, where 
 the cross is raised, and the roof of the aisles, as far as to 
 the laying of the lead. The tower also was all covered in, 
 and many other things were done this year. In this year 
 also (] 184) Baldwin, Bishop of Worcester, was translated 
 to the see of Canterbury, Dec. 18- 
 
 177'2, June, July, August. 
 
 LXXI. Conjectures as to the Time of dividing Parishes. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 OUR celebrated historian, Mr. Hume, in his first vol. p. 7^>, 
 edition of 176?, tells us, that parishes were instituted 
 in England by Honorius, the fifth Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury; by which he means the present ecclesiastical divisions 
 of dioceses, committed to the care of the inferior clergy. 
 This opinion, though countenanced by many learned 
 writers, is very problematical, if not entirely false, and 
 seems to have been deduced from the equivocal signifi- 
 cation of the word parochia, which anciently meant a bishop- 
 ric, or diocese, as well as a less parish. Thus, Bede, Hist. 
 Eccles. lib. iii. cap. 7, says, that Cenwalchus, King of the 
 West Saxons, " divisit provinciam in duas parochias," when 
 he made Winchester an episcopal see, which he took out of 
 the diocese of Dorchester : and, in the council of Hertford, 
 held under Archbishop Theodore, there is this canon, 
 tf lit nullus episcoporum parochiam alterius invadat, sed 
 contentus sit gubernatione credilaj sibi plebis." Florence 
 of Worcester, at the year 680, says, that " Merciorum 
 provincia in quinque parochias est divisa," that is into five 
 bishoprics. This opinion, that Honorius divided England
 
 Conjectures as to the time of dividing Parishes. 283 
 
 into parishes, is thus related by Joscelin, in his Lives of the 
 Archbishops of Canterbury ; " JNeqtie solum episcopos tau- 
 fjiiiitu superiores turriutn eustodes ecclesiaj superiinposuit, 
 sed etiam provincial!! suain primus in parochias dividens, 
 inferiores uiinistros ordinavit." If the author means here 
 the limits assigned to the clergy, whom the bishop at slated 
 times sent from his cathedral to preach within the bounds 
 of his diocese, then Honor-ins was not the first that made 
 this division of them. These parochia, r circuits of 
 preaching, which the Bishop appointed to his clergy, who 
 usually resided with him at his cathedral, were almost as old 
 as bishoprics, and were certainly coeval with churches, 
 which, it is plain, were erected in England before the 
 time of Honorius. if parochia be supposed to meaa 
 the limits of parislies as they are now bounded, both 
 in regard of the revenue, and the residence and function 
 of the incumbent, this is plainly repugnant both to the 
 community of ecclesiastical revenues, and the manner of- 
 the bishop and his clergy living together, which, as appears 
 from Bede, continued in England after the death of Hono- 
 rius. Nevertheless, it may be properly said, that Honorius 
 was the first under whom this province was divided into 
 such parochi<c, or bishoprics; because, except Canterbury, 
 London, and Rochester, which were founded nearly at the 
 same time, there were no other episcopal sees in his pro- 
 vince, till, under him, Birinus was made first bishop of the 
 West Saxons, and Felix appointed first bishop of the East 
 Angles. The erecting these two sees, of which there had 
 been no example in the province of Canterbury from the 
 death of Augustine till the time of Honorius, was probably 
 the cause why Honorius is said to have first divided his pro- 
 vince into parishes. And, indeed, if we were to suppose, 
 that he first instituted parishes, according to the modern 
 acceptation of the word, this regulation could not be ex- 
 tended to many of those parts of the kingdom which are 
 now included in the province of Canterbury. For example, 
 Christianity was not received in the kingdom of Sussex till 
 the year 679) when that small kingdom was first converted 
 by Wilfred, the first Bishop of Selsey. 
 
 I am yours, 
 
 Newport, Shropshire , July 3, 1772, S. W. 
 
 1772, July.
 
 284 Sirnames. 
 
 LXXII. Sirnames. 
 
 1. Cursory Observation* on Sirnames deduced Jrom Names 
 of Places. 
 
 jVlR. Camden will inform you, in his " Remains concerning 
 Britain," that a large part of our Sirnames are borrowed from 
 names of places. At first they were written, Robert de 
 Marisco, Anthony a Wood or at Wood (whence our names of 
 Wood and ^(tvood) Richard de. Graveiend, 8cc. In process 
 of time, the preposition, or connecting particle, was dropt, 
 for the sake of currency and expedition, both in speaking 
 and writing; and hence there has arisen a degree of obscu- 
 rity in respect of this species of Sirnames ; for, as these ad- 
 ditional distinctions were sometimes taken from obscure 
 villages, (obscure at least now) and known but to few, the 
 original of the names of many persons is grown to be very 
 intricate, and, indeed, entirely unknown to those who are 
 not attentive to this mode of derivation. The following 
 short list of Sirnames deduced from names of places, (short 
 indeed, being only intended as a specimen, and containing 
 only a few in each letter of the Alphabet) will be abundantly 
 sufficient, both to explain my meaning, and to shew, that 
 certain of our Sirnames, in appearance very singular, and 
 even uncouth, have, nevertheless, a most natural and easy 
 original, and also very obvious to those who happen to live 
 near, or to be acquainted with the names of, the respective 
 places. 
 
 It is possible, indeed, that in here and there an instance, 
 the village may take its name from the proprietor, quite 
 contrary to the position laid down above; but this, I appre- 
 hend, happens very rarely, the names of the owners being 
 usually conjoined with that of the village, being sometimes 
 prefixed, and sometimes postponed, as Monks' Risbcrough, 
 Kewport Pagnell, fyc. 
 
 I observe, again, that some of our Sirnames or Surnames 
 (for the word is written both ways) are taken from places 
 abroad, Percy, J)anvers, Days, &c. others (though not 
 many) from villages in Scot/and, or Ireland, which, never- 
 theless, are now become right and legitimate English Sir- 
 names; but these I do not concern myself with at present, 
 intending the list shall extend only to English towns and 
 villages. 
 
 It may be observed, lastly, that, in all probability, the 
 stocks of such families as are denominated from places, 
 were all once formerly growing at the respective places
 
 Sirnames, 
 
 235 
 
 whose names they bear; and, consequently, that such 
 families sprung originally from thence. 
 
 Here follows our short list. 
 
 Annesly, Nott. 
 Ay skew, Yorksh. 
 Aldrich, Staff. 
 Arthington, York. . 
 Aislabie, York. 
 Aglionby, Cumb. 
 Barrowby, Leic. 
 Biddulph, Staff. 
 Beresford, Staff. 
 Blackburn, Lane. 
 Bowes, York. 
 Bernardiston, Suff. 
 Charlton, passim.* 
 Cave, Leic. 
 Crowle, York. 
 Cudworth, Surry. 
 Cholmondley, Chesh. 
 Crewe, Chesh. 
 Daintry, Northamp. 
 Dalton, passim. 
 Dacre, Cumb. 
 Dale, passim. 
 Dauby, York. 
 Dart, Dev. 
 Ellerby, York. 
 Emerton, Bucks. 
 Eden, passim. 
 Enderby, Leic. 
 Egerton, Kent. 
 Elton, passim. 
 Fazukerly, Lane. 
 Farewell, Staff. 
 Fetherstonhaugh, North. 
 Feckenham, Wore. 
 Frampton, Dorset. 
 Fulhani, Middlesex. / . 
 Gisborne, Lane. /^^./n- 
 Gray, Essex. / / 
 Goring, Sussex. 
 Green, passim. 
 
 Grafton, passim. 
 Gresham, Norf. 
 Hastings, Suss. 
 Holland, Lincoln. 
 Heath, York. 
 Horsemondon, Kent. 
 Hawkesworth, Nott, 
 Hooker, Lane. 
 Ince, Chesh. 
 Islip, Oxon. 
 Ingleby, Line. 
 Irby, Line. 
 Inglefield, Berks. 
 Ireton, Derbysh. 
 Kirby, passim. 
 Kettlewell, York. 
 Kenton, Middlesex. 
 Kennet, Wilts. 
 Ketleby, Line. 
 Kimber, Bucks. 
 Leak, Nott. 
 Lay land, Lane. 
 Lydgate, Suff. 
 Lumley, Durham. 
 Ladbroke, Warw. 
 Lee, passim. 
 Milton, passim. 
 Middleton, passim. 
 Markham, Nott. 
 Musgrave, Westm. 
 Manby, Line. 
 JMarsh, passim. 
 Norton, passim. _ 
 Newton, passim. 
 Newbold, j)assim. 
 Newdigate, Suny. 
 Newnham, Gloc. 
 Narborongh, Norf. 
 Otley, York. 
 Oldham, Lane. 
 
 * N.B. Passim is here used generally, to signify that the name is common 
 to all counties.
 
 Sirnamei. 
 
 Osbalcliston, Lane. Shenstone, Staff. 
 
 Oglethrop, York. Sutton, passim. 
 
 Ofley, Staff. Thornhill, York. 
 
 Okeley, passim. Thornton, York. 
 
 Pinchbeck, Line. Thoresby, York. 
 
 Packington, Leic. Trevor, Wales. 
 
 Pickering, York. Tatton, Chesh. 
 
 Paulet, Som. Tylney, Nott. 
 
 Poynton, Chesh. Vernon, Chesh. 
 
 Pelham, Hert. Upton, passim. 
 
 Russel, Wore. Urswick, Lane. 
 
 Raleigh, Essex. Whitgift, York. 
 
 Ratcliffe, Lane. Walpole, Norf. 
 
 Radford, Warvv. Wintringham,. Line. 
 
 Radley, Berks. Wentvvorth, York. 
 
 Ramsey, Essex. Willoughby. Line. 
 
 Stanhope, Durh. Windham, Norf. 
 
 Skelton, passim. Yalden, Kent. 
 
 Stillingfleet, York. Yardly, Hertf. 
 
 Stukely, Hunt. Yarborough, Lincoln. 
 
 I am, Sir, your humble Servant. 
 1772, March. T. Ro\r. 
 
 2. Origin of Sirnames farther illustrated. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 I AM now going to point out to you another fruitful source 
 of our present English Sirnames, viz. of Christian names 
 converted, by the omission of Filius the Latin, and Fits 
 the French, into common Sirnames. These are, properly, 
 what the Greeks and Romans called Patronymics ; at least 
 they possess much of the nature of them : and there are some 
 of them very singular and uncouth to us at this clay, inso- 
 much that many are really at a loss for the original, and the 
 etymology, of such grotesque appellations as Godscalch, 
 Bagot, Thurstan, &c. The Saxons, our ancestors, made 
 little use of Scripture names, John, Thomas, SCf. so that 
 their Christian names are extremely numerous, much more 
 so than ours; and they seldom carlled a son by the name of 
 his father, which was a right measure, as it prevented con- 
 f i sion of persons in many cases. Godwin, Earl of Kent, 
 had six, or, according to some authors, seven sons, and 
 yet not one of them bore his name. The circumstance, 
 again, occasioned a further variety of names amongst them
 
 Sirnamct. 287 
 
 The next observation is, that, in regard to the difference of 
 orthography, some persons writing Surname, and others 
 Sirname, they are both right, though not in the same re- 
 spect. I shall explain this in few words : those who write 
 the term Surname, allege, and they have reason, that this 
 form, from the French Surname, must be the true ortho- 
 graphy ; because this distinguishing name, which became 
 perfectly necessary after the use of Scripture Christian 
 names was introduced, and there were many Johns and 
 Thomas's in the same place, was originally written over the 
 Christian name, or added to it; either of which well justi- 
 fies the sense of the prefix, Sur ; and for this custom they 
 vouch many instances from old rolls and records. Others, 
 however, are equally right in giving it Sirname, or Sire name ; 
 because this so well expresses the nature of the tiling, 
 wherever the appellation comes from the name of the Sire, 
 or ancestor, with Fitz or Son understood. Both, therefore, 
 are proper, but upon different considerations. But you wilt 
 say, are \ve, in writing correctly, to be always at the trou- 
 ble of recollecting the original, and the nature of the name, 
 when we are to express this addition, and to be perpetually 
 considering whether we ought to write Sirname or Surname ? 
 I answer, there will be no occasion for this, gentlemen 
 being at liberty to use which they please, since it will be 
 always understood what it is they mean. Besides, that 
 figure which we call Catachresis, or an abuse of words, is 
 readily admitted in all languages, and, in this case, is not 
 only pardonable, but even reasonable. I shall add, thirdly, 
 that many of the Sirnames, which I shall produce, appearing 
 very odd and singular, those gentlemen that bear them, 
 and have not thought upon the subject, will not be dis- 
 pleased, I flatter myself, to see these appendages, so inti- 
 mately united to themselves and their own persons, clearly 
 decyphered, and, as it is hoped, in such manner, as may 
 both gratify their curiosity and procure their amusement. 
 And whoever, fourthly, will please to recollect what pains 
 bave been taken by Sigonius, Salmasius, Rosinus, and 
 others, in regard to the Roman names, will incline to think, 
 that no apology need be made for our producing the assem- 
 blage comprized in the following alphabet to the public; 
 especially when it is remembered, that many Jtvman Sir- 
 names, as we may style them, were formed, as the anti- 
 quaries tell us, from their prsenomina, as is exactly the 
 .case here ; and that Mr. Carnden, in his Remains, has 
 Actually omitted this large tribe of English Siraatnes. I 
 add, lastly, that, in names that arc not very obvious, (1 speak
 
 238 
 
 Stniames. 
 
 of Christian names) I shall produce examples, leaving the 
 more common ones to approve themselves ; and, as to the 
 Sirnames, gentlemen will easily recollect families amongst 
 their acquaintance of such names : and I make no question 
 that there are many more cases of the kind than I shall 
 mention, it being not in the least pretended, that the cata- 
 logue I propose to give, though tolerably large, is by any 
 means complete. 
 
 1772, June. T. Row. 
 
 3. ListofSirnames, with their Origin. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 THE alphabet I promised in your last number, and there 
 referred to, goes as follows : 
 
 Amsel. Anselm, Abp. of Can- Bernard and Barnard. St. 
 
 terb. Bernard. 
 
 Austin. Augustinus. Bely. British. 
 
 Allen. Alein, Chron. Sax. Bennet. i. e. Benedict. 
 
 Alanus, Earl of Bretagne. Brandon. Brendanus. 
 
 Awbrey. Alberic, fam. of Baldwin. Abp. of Cant. 
 
 Vere, Earl of Oxford. Bartram. Bertran, or Bert- 
 
 Avery. The same. rand. 
 
 Arnory, or Emery. Hamalri. Brian. Chron. Sax. 
 
 Chron. Sax. Almericus, or Bardolph, A. Wood > Hist. p. 
 
 Almaricus,or Emericus. 88, Domesday. 
 
 Arnold. Common. Bevis. Bogo in Latin. Bevis, 
 
 Avis and Avice. Avisia, Haw- of Southampton. 
 
 isa, and Hawisia, names Blanch, or Blanc. Common 
 
 of women. name. 
 
 Anstis. Anastatius, Anastatia, Blase. Bp. Blase. 
 
 Anstase. Bagot. Domesday-book. 
 
 Ayscough, or Askew. Ascul- Baldric. Baldevicus, Domes- 
 
 phus. day. 
 
 Alphey, Alphege, Abp. of Belcher, Beecher. Belchard, 
 Canterb. Alpheg. Domes- Domesday, 
 day. Berenger. Berengarius, awri- 
 Adelur. Domesday -book. ter of the 1 1th century. 
 Ancher. Ealchere, Chron. Bonier. Bernerius, Domes- 
 Sax, and Domesday. day. 
 Anger. Ansger. Domesday. Bise. Biso, Domesday. 
 Bright. Briht, Chron. Sax. Blcthin. British. 
 
 Bran. Chron. Sax. 
 Baynard. Chron. Sax. 
 
 t'hcmn. Chun, British. 
 Cuthbert. Saiut at Durham.
 
 Sirnames. 
 
 2&9 
 
 Clements. Common. 
 
 Coleman. Bede, and Chron. 
 Sax. 
 
 Cradock. Caradoc, British. 
 
 Cadmon. Ceedmon, Sax. or 
 Catamanus, British. 
 
 Christian. Common, woman's 
 name. 
 
 Clare. St. Clara. 
 
 Caesar. 
 
 Cnute, or Knowd. Canutus, 
 or Cnutus. 
 
 Carbonell. Domesday. 
 
 Chetell, Kettle. Ketellus, 
 Domesday. 
 
 Coif. Colfius, Domesday. 
 
 Corbet. Domesday. 
 
 Corven, or Corvven. Domes- 
 day. 
 
 Crouch. Croce, Domesday. 
 
 Calf. Domesday. 
 
 Collins. SonofCollin. 
 
 Dudley. Common. 
 
 Dunstan. A Saint, abp. of 
 Cant. 
 
 Dennis. Dionysius, French 
 Saint, St. Dennis. 
 
 Durand, or Durant. Durand- 
 us and Durantus. 
 
 Drew. Dru, Domesday. Dru- 
 go, or Drogo, Latin. 
 
 Degory. Common. 
 
 Duncan. Common in Scot- 
 land. 
 
 Dun. Chron. Sax. if not from 
 the complection. 
 
 Ellis. Corruption of Elias. 
 
 Elmer. ./Elmer, Chron. Sax. 
 and Domesday. 
 
 Everet. Everard, bp. of Nor- 
 wich, and fam. of Digby. 
 
 Edolph. Eadulph, Chron. Sax. 
 and Domesday. 
 
 Emery, v. Amory. 
 
 Edwin. Common Saxon name. 
 
 Evans. Brit, for John. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Eachard. Wood, Hist. p. 58. 
 
 A chard, Domesday. 
 Eddy. Domesday. 
 Egenulph. Domesday. Eu- 
 
 genulfus, fam. of Ferrers. 
 Ede. Eudo, Domesday. 
 Edem. Brit. 
 Etty. v. Eddy. 
 Fulk. Fulco, and Falcasius, 
 
 Earl of Aujou. 
 
 Farant. Ital. and Fr. for Fer- 
 dinand. 
 
 Frederick and Ferry. Com- 
 mon. 
 Fabian. A. Pope, and in 
 
 Domesday. 
 Fulcher. Dugd. Warw. p. 
 
 475. and Monast. ii. 231, 
 
 628. 
 Frewen. Freawine, Chron. 
 
 Sax. 
 
 Giffard. Chron. Sax. 
 Gertrude. Common ; a Saint. 
 Gethin. Brit. Gittin. 
 Godard. Common. v 
 Goodman. Godman, Ingulph. 
 
 p. 52. 
 Gerard, Gerald and Garret. 
 
 Girard, Chron. Sax. 
 Gesil, or Sitsil. Brit. 
 Gerald. 0. Gerard. 
 Garret, v. Gerard. 
 Gowen. Brit. v. Walwyn. 
 Godwyn. Earl, Temp. Edw. 
 
 Conf. 
 Guy. Guido, orWido. Chron. 
 
 Sax. 
 
 German. A famous Saint. 
 Gladwin. Saxon. 
 Gunter. Ingulph. p. 101. A. 
 
 Wood, Hist. p. 84. 
 Goody. Godiva, or Goditha, 
 
 woman's name. 
 Godeschai. Godescallus. P. 
 
 Blesensis, p. 120. Camdeii 
 
 Col. CCLIX.
 
 290 
 
 Sirnames. 
 
 Godrick. Domesday. 
 Griffith and Griffin. Brit. 
 Gamlin. Domesday and 
 
 Chaucer. 
 
 Gamble. Gamel, Sax. 
 Girth. A brother of Harold's. 
 Goslin, or Gowling, or Jos- 
 
 celin. Gotcelinus. 
 Goodluck. Godlucus,Domes- 
 
 da}\ 
 Grimes. Domesday. Hence 
 
 Grimsby, com. Line. 
 Gri m bald. A saint. Grimbal- 
 
 dus, Domesday. 
 Guncelin. Domesday. 
 Guthlake. St. Guthlac, 
 
 Domesday. 
 Heward. Domesday. 
 Hesketh. Askaeth and Has- 
 
 cuith, Domesday. So Has- 
 
 coitand Hasculpb, in fam. 
 
 of Musard. 
 Herbert. Chron. Sax. 
 Harvey and Hervey. Bishop 
 
 of Ely. Skelton, and fam. 
 
 of Bagot. 
 
 Hibbert and Hubbard. Hu- 
 bert. 
 
 Hubald. Domesday, 
 liamond. Hamo, common. 
 Harman and Herman. Chron. 
 
 Sax. 
 
 Huldrick. Domesday. 
 Harold. Kings of England. 
 Hoel and HovvelJ. Brit. 
 Hansel in. Ancelin,Domesday. 
 Hode and Hood. Odo or 
 
 Oddo. abp. of Cant, and 
 
 bp. of Baieux. v. Otes, 
 
 below ; and Ottey. 
 Jl.tke. Haco, and Hacun. 
 
 Chron. Sax. 
 IJatneiin. Domesday, and 
 
 Dugd. Bar. I. p. 75. 
 Harding. Domesday, and In- 
 
 gulpli. p. 87. 
 
 Hasting. Domesday. 
 
 Herebrand. Domesday. 
 
 Herward. Chron. Sax. 
 
 Howard. Domesday. 
 
 Jennet. Woman's name, 
 common in France. 
 
 Jeffry. Galfridus, common. 
 
 Jordon. Dr. Thornton, p. 439. 
 
 Josceline. v. Goslin. 
 
 Joyce. Jodoca or Jocosa, wo- 
 man's name. 
 
 Ingram. Ingelramus- or En- 
 gelramus, common. 
 
 Jernegan. Domesday. 
 
 Jolland. Jollan, Domesday. 
 
 Ivo, or Ive. Domesday. 
 
 Ithel. Brit. 
 
 Kennet. Keneth, Scottisk 
 kings. 
 
 Knowd. v. Cnute. 
 
 Retell, v. ChetelJ. 
 
 Liming. Domesday. 
 
 Lambert, and Lambarde, 
 abp. of Cant. 
 
 Lucy. Lucius, or Lucia. M. 
 Paris, p. 576. 
 
 Leverick, and Laverack. 
 Leofric, and Levericus. 
 Annal. Burton, p. 247. 
 
 St. Leger. De Santo Leode- 
 gario. 
 
 Lefwin. Leofwin, common 
 Sax. name, written also 
 Lewen, as in Domesday 
 and P. Bles. p. 116. 
 
 Lewen. v. Lefwin. 
 
 Levin, and Levinz. Domes- 
 day. Livin, Camden. Lifing, 
 Chron. Sax. 
 
 Maurice, and Morris. Mauri- 
 tius, the Saint. 
 
 Merfin, Meretinus, Mervin, 
 British. 
 
 Meredith, Brit. 
 
 Merrick. Meric, Brit. 
 
 Miliceat, woman's name.
 
 Sirnames. 
 
 291 
 
 Muriel, woman's name. 
 Miles. Milo, common. 
 Maud, and Mawd. Matilda, 
 
 woman's name. 
 Mallet. Chron. Sax. 
 Mabel. Mabilia, Mabella, or 
 
 Amabilia. 
 Mauger. Malgerius, Rapin, I. 
 
 p. 165. 
 
 Ma docks, or Madox. Madoc, 
 - Brit* 
 Morgan. Brit. 
 
 Macy, or Massy. Domesday. 
 Maino. Domesday. 
 Maynard. Domesday, Cam- 
 den, p. 73. 
 
 Murdac. Domesday. 
 Murfin. v. Merfin. ' 
 
 name, 
 
 Parnel. Women's 
 
 Petronilla. 
 
 Pigot. Ingulph. p. 87. It may 
 
 be a sirname, meaning 
 
 speckled, Camden, p. 129. 
 Paine, or Payne. Pagan us, 
 
 Domesday. Spelm. Gloss. 
 
 p. 443. 
 Paganel, or Painel. Spelm. 
 
 Gloss, p. 443. 
 Percival, common. 
 Pascal, several Popes. Cam. 
 
 den, p. 128, thinks it may 
 
 bej in some cases, from 
 
 the time when born. 
 Paulin. Paulinus, abp. of 
 
 York. 
 Picotte. Domesday. 
 
 Neale, Negullus, bp. of Ely. Pipard. Domesday 
 
 Niel, Chron. Sax. 
 
 Pontz, orPoyntz. Domesday. 
 
 Noel. Natalis. Camden, p. Puntz. v. Pontz. 
 
 128. thinks it may be from Pritchard. Brit^ap Richard. 
 
 the time when born. 
 Norman. Chron. Sax. 
 
 In- 
 gulph. p. 10. Dugd. Bar. 
 I. p. 8. 
 
 Orwell. Ottuel, Chron. Sax. 
 
 Oiner. Eomer, Chron. Sax. 
 Audomarus, a Saint. 
 
 Price. Brit, ap Rice. 
 Pugh. Brit, ap Hugh. 
 Powel. Brit, ap Hoel^ of 
 
 Howel. 
 St. Quintin. Quintinus, the 
 
 Saint. 
 Rothery. Rodericus. 
 
 Orson. Urso, Domesday, Rudd. Rhudd, Brit. 
 
 Duird. Mon. III. ; 261. Rolle. Raoule, the French of 
 
 Radulph, Ralph, Raulf, and 
 
 Urse, whence Fitz-Urse. 
 Otes. Otho, or Odo, v. Hode. 
 
 Ralf. 
 
 Ottey, a nick-name from Odo, Ralph, v. Rolle. 
 
 or Eudo, v. Hode. 
 Oswald; A saint. 
 Owen, Brit. Audoenus or 
 
 Eugewius. 
 Osborne. Rapin, L p. 168. 
 
 Osbern, Chron. Sax. 
 Oger. Domesday. 
 Olave, the Saint, and in 
 
 Domesda}'. 
 Orme. Domesday. 
 Other. Ohter, Chron. Sax. 
 Ougthred. v. Uctred. 
 
 U2 
 
 Reynard and Rainer, Domes- 
 day. Reynard us, Camden, 
 p. 73. 
 
 Reynold. Sax.Regnold,and 
 Regenold, &c. 
 
 Rose, woman's name. 
 
 Randal and Randolph, com- 
 mon Christian names. 
 
 Raymond, Earls of Provence. 
 
 Remy. Remige, Remy, from 
 Remigius, a Saint. 
 
 Rolf. Domesday.
 
 292 
 
 Sirnames. 
 
 Rotroc. Domesday. 
 
 Sitsel. v. Gesil. 
 
 Seymour. St. Maur, Semarus, 
 
 Domiesday. 
 
 Star and Stor. Domesday. 
 Sewal and Sewald. Siwald, 
 
 Domesday. 
 
 Seward. Siward, Sax. Earl. 
 Siwald. v. Sewal. 
 Silvester, several Popes. 
 Sanders and Saunders, nurse- 
 name from Alexander. 
 Sebright. Ssebyrht, Chron. 
 
 Sax. corrupted of Seige- 
 
 bert, Camden, p. 87. 
 Sampson, common. 
 Selwyn, Saxon. 
 Sidney, common. 
 Savery, Savaricus. 
 Searle. Serlo, very common 
 
 formerly. 
 Sayer. Saerus, M. Westmin. 
 
 p. 280. Domesday. 
 Sankey. Sancho, Span. 
 Staverd. Domesday. 
 Swain. The king. 
 Sentlo. De Sancto Lupo, or 
 
 De Sancto Laudo. 
 Semarton, St. Martin. 
 Seimple, or Sampol, i. e. St. 
 
 Paul. 
 Sampiere, or St. Pierre. St. 
 
 Peter. 
 Samond, or Samon. De Sane. 
 
 A man do. 
 Simberd, or St. Barbe. De 
 
 Sancta Barbara. 
 
 Sinclair. De Sancta Clara. 
 Senliii, Singlis, or Sanliz. 
 
 De Sancto Lizio. 
 Toly. A crasis for St. Olye, 
 
 i. e. St. Olave. 
 St. Tabbe, i. e. St. Ebbe. 
 
 Camden, p. 123. 
 St. Tows, i, e. St. Osythe. 
 
 Camden, ibidem. 
 Tristram, common. 
 Thurstan, abp. of York. 
 Tancred, common. 
 Theobald,abp. of Canterbury. 
 Terrick and Terry. Theo- 
 
 derick. 
 
 Tudor. Brit. Theodore. 
 Talbot. Domesday. 
 Tovy. Domesday. 
 Turgood, or Thoroughgood. 
 
 Turgotus, Ingulphus. 
 Thorold. Dudg. Baron, and 
 
 Ingulph. 
 
 Vincent, many writers. 
 Vivian. Wood's Hist. II. p. 
 
 390. 
 Uctred, or Ougbtred. Chron. 
 
 Sax. and Domesday. 
 Ulmer, Domesday. 
 Walter, common. 
 Wulstan andWolston, a Saint. 
 Walwyn, or Gawen, Brit. 
 Warin. Guerintis. 
 Wishart. Wiscard, or Guis- 
 
 card. 
 
 Wade. Domesday. 
 Walerand. Walaram, Chron. 
 
 Sax. 
 
 Here ends my imperfect list; and I shall only observe 
 upon it, 1st, that the families, bearing names of this kind, 
 are generally old, our earliest distinctions being by the Fitz t 
 afterwards dropped or omitted. 2dly, the British or Welch, 
 as likewise the Scots, had their ap and ab, tnab and mac, in 
 the same manner as we had our Fitz, but in many cases have 
 left them off. 3dly, I think it very remarkable, that, in Dr. 
 Fiddes's life of Cardinal Wolsey, Edmund Bonner, Bishop 
 of London, is called Dr. Edmunds ; and Stephen Gardiner,
 
 Sirnames. 293 
 
 Bishop of Winchester, Dr. Stephens. These prelates indeed 
 had no children ; but these instances may serve to shew, 
 nevertheless, with what facility Christian names would pass 
 into sirnames, in cases where there were children. 
 
 I am, Sir, &c. 
 1772, July. Aug. T.Row. 
 
 4. Sirnames derived from Trades, Occupations, Professions, 
 and Conditions of Life, now obsolete. 
 
 Archer. There is a noble family of this name. 
 
 Arrowsmith. So named from the old trade of making the 
 heads of arrows 
 
 Armitage. Corrupted from Hermitage. 
 
 Abbot. 
 
 Arblaster. Balistarius in Latin. 
 
 Billman. The bill was an instrument much used in war, 
 and by watchmen. 
 
 Bowes. De Arcubus, Campbell's lives of the Admirals, 
 
 JVi p. 267. 
 
 Bowman. Ibidem. 
 
 Butts. The place of exercising with the bow and arrow. 
 
 Boulter. From bolting or sifting flour; or, perhaps a 
 maker of arrowheads, v. Shotbolt. 
 
 Bowyer. He that made or sold bows. 
 
 Broadspear. The spear is now little used. 
 
 Breakspear, v. Broadspear. 
 
 Benbow, quasi Bend-bow. Campbell, iv. p. 267. 
 
 Cardinal. 
 
 Crosier. The ancient pastoral staff of our prelates. 
 
 Forester, and by contraction Forster; an officer of account 
 whilst the Forest-laws were in force. 
 
 Foster. From fostering or nursing ; the first of which is 
 now little used. 
 
 Fortescu, quasi Strong-shield. The shield is now out of use. 
 
 Friar. 
 
 Fletcher. He whose business it was to finish, or put the 
 feathers to the arrows, from the English wordfadge ; or, 
 perhaps, a maker of arrows, from the French flcche. 
 
 Forbisher. In Latin Forbator, vide Spelman's Gloss, in 
 voce ; called horn furbishing, i. e* cleaning and brightening 
 
 U3
 
 294- Sir names. 
 
 of armour, It is not the Saxon formunge, as Spelmari 
 derives it; but is the French fourbir, whence they have the 
 term Fourbisseur, in the same sense. 
 
 Falkner. A falconer. 
 
 Hawker. One that sports with hawks ; and not from 
 hawking and periling, though, in some cases, perhaps, from 
 this last. 
 
 Hookeman. The hook was anciently a warlike instrument. 
 
 Minors. This, I suppose, may be taken from ibe friars 
 ininors, or grey friars, but quaere; for see Camden, p. 150. 
 
 Moigne, or Monke. The French is Le Moine, as appears 
 from the genealogy of Gen. Monke. 
 
 Massinger. Denominated, I suppose, from the mass. We 
 have a good comic poet of this name. 
 
 Masters. J)e monasteriis. Camden, p. 150. 
 
 Nun. 
 
 Prevost. Lat. pr&positw, but immediately taken from the 
 French. 
 
 Pike. An instrument of war now disused j but q. pike t 
 the fish, as Camden, p. 130. 
 . Prior. This has relation to that monastic officer, 
 
 Pope. He has nothing to do here now. 
 
 Pyle. SQ called from the head or pile of the arrow, 
 
 Pilgrim. 
 
 Palmer. A pilgrim returning from Jerusalem, and carry- 
 ing a palm-branch. 
 
 Parmenter. Pergamentariiis, a maker of parchment A. 
 Wood, Hist, et Antiq. p. 90. 
 
 Pointer. A maker of points, formerly much worn ; or 
 perhaps, one that pointed arrows. 
 
 Strongbow. Campbell, iv. p. 267. 
 
 Stringer. He had his emplyment in the trade of bow- 
 jnaking; or, perhaps, in making the strings only. 
 
 Stringfeljpw. Same as the former. A name common in, 
 the north. 
 
 Spearman, v. Broadspear. 
 
 Shakespear, v. Broadspear. 
 
 Shotbolt. The bolt was the head of an arrow, but a 
 square one. 
 
 Talsas, or Talsace. The name of a shield ; but this, I 
 think, died with the person. See Camden's Remains, 
 p. 129, Dugd. Baronage, I. p. 31. 
 
 Valvasor, or Vavasor. The name of a certain rank p? 
 prder. See Spelm. Gloss, v. Valvasores,
 
 PigsofLtad. 295 
 
 Ward. A common name; but the thing has been much, 
 though not entirely, disused, since the abolition of the 
 courts of wards and liveries. Wards there are yet of the 
 court of chancery. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 T. Row. 
 1772, Oct. 
 
 LXXIII. Origin of the word LADY. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 As I have studied more what appertains to the ladies than 
 to the gentlemen, I will satisfy you how it came to pass that 
 women of fortune were called ladies, even before their hus- 
 bands had any title to convey that mark of distinction to 
 them. You must know, then, that heretofore it was the 
 fashion for those families whom God had blessed with afflu- 
 ence, to live constantly at their mansion-houses in the 
 country, and that once a week, or oftener, the lady of the 
 manor distributed to her poor neighbours, with her own hands, 
 a certain quantity of bread, and she was called by them the 
 Laef-day, i.e. in Saxon, the bread-giver. These two words 
 were in time corrupted, and the meaning is now as little 
 known as the practice which gave rise to it ; yet it is from 
 that hospitable custom, that, to this day, the ladies in this 
 kingdom alone, serve the meat at their own tables. 
 
 J am, Sir, &c. &c. 
 1772, Junt. 
 
 LXXIV. Pigs of Lead. 
 l. An ancient Pig of Lead discovered on Hints Commons. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 As some workmen were digging for gravel, last winter, on
 
 296 
 
 Pigs of Lead. 
 
 Hints Common, about three quar- 
 ters of a mile north from the 
 Watling- street- road, they disco- 
 vered at the depth of four feet 
 from the surface of the earth, a 
 pig of lead, one hundred and fifty 
 pounds weight, with an inscription 
 cast in basso relievo, surrounded 
 by a border of an equal height. 
 Through favour of the possessor, 
 Ralph Floyer, Esq. I have been 
 permitted to measure and make an 
 exact drawing of this monument of 
 antiquity, which I have herewith 
 sent you, not doubting of your 
 readiness to oblige your antiqua- 
 rian readers with a representation 
 of it in your Magazine, to whom it 
 is also submitted for an explana- 
 tion, by 
 
 Your humble servant, 
 
 RICHARD GREEN. 
 Litchfield, Oct. 17. 
 
 P.S. Hints, called by the Saxons 
 HENDON, or Old Town, is a plea- 
 sant village, whose lofty situation 
 commands a very extensive pros- 
 pect of the counties of Stafford, 
 Leicester, and Derby ; it is about 
 four miles from Litchfield, and 
 three from Tamworth. Near the 
 church, which is prefcendal, there 
 is a very large tumulus, not long 
 since planted over with firs, 
 
 1772, Dec, 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 WE are infinitely obliged to Mr. Floyer for communicat- 
 ing to the public the very ancient block of lead discovered 
 upon Hints Common, Com. Staff". A.D. 1771, and to Mr. 
 Green, whose accuracy in those things is well known to you, 
 and may be thoroughly depended upon, for presenting us 
 \yith an exact drawing of it. This block, so perfect in all
 
 Pigs of Lead. 297 
 
 its parts, and a remnant of such remote antiquity, may be 
 esteemed a most admirable curiosity. The inscription is to 
 be read Imperatore fespasiano septimiim, Tito Imperatore 
 quintum, Consulibits, and plainly betokens the year of Christ 
 76, U.C. 828, when, viz. before the kalends of July, Vespa- 
 sian and Titus were consuls, the first the seventh, and the 
 other the fifth time*. Titus, the son, is here called em- 
 peror as well as his father, having been associated by his fa- 
 ther in the government of the empiref; and this block of 
 lead is now, A.D. 1773, 1697 years old. 
 
 The weight of the piece is 150lb. avoirdupois, this 
 being, I presume, that species of weight with which the 
 gentlemen tried it. The pound avoirdupois is heavier, as 
 all know, than the Troy pound, and the Troy pound is 
 heavier than the Roman pound, in the proportion of 1560 
 grains to 1256J; insomuch that it weighed more than 150 
 pounds Roman weight. But this is of no consequence, as 
 little would be learned from it, though one should be at the 
 pains of computing the exact Roman weight of it to a 
 scruple. Suffice it therefore to say, in regard to this point, 
 that it was of a proper size (22 \ inches long,) and weight, 
 for loading and unloading, and a suitable burden for a small 
 horse, such as. I imagine, the British horses then were ; 
 and especially in bad roads, as we may suppose the ways 
 in our island certainly to have been before the military roads 
 were formed, which was not done till many years after the 
 feign of Vespasian. 
 
 The figure of the piece is incommodious : the size, indeed, 
 22s inches, was convenient enough for lifting; and the weight 
 was sufficiently manageable by a man in loading: but as 
 the bottom was broader than the top, the inscription being 
 undoubtedly put on the uppermost and most visible side 
 when out of the mould, this of course would make it trou- 
 blesome either in taking up or laying down. The letters, 
 and the border round, were impressed, 1 conceive, by an 
 engraven stamp of iron, applied whilst the metal was hot, 
 if not placed at the bottom of the form or mould, and con- 
 sequently the die must have been renewed every year, the 
 date annually varying. The person that marked the piece 
 was certainly the Roman director, or superintendant of the 
 
 * Fasti Consulates, p. 79. 
 f Universal History, XV. p. 28, 
 J Greave's Works, I. p. 305. 
 
 The face of the country was then OTergrown with woods, and the paths 
 * ere both narrow, and but little beaten.
 
 298 Pigs of Lead. 
 
 mine and furnace, and the stamp was intended to shew, in 
 the way of a certificate, that the block had either paid the 
 proper tribute, or was of the due weight, or of legal purity, 
 or lastly, was added for a reason to be given below. 
 
 As this piece was smelted so long since as the year 76, this 
 may lead us to inquire more minutely into the history of lead 
 in this island ; as also into the country whence this piece in 
 particular came. 
 
 To judge from Caesar's silence, there was no plumbum 
 nig rum*, or lead, in Britain, when he was here ; nor 
 does Strabo, or Diodorus Siculus, as I think, take notice 
 of any. But this notwithstanding, I am of opinion, that 
 the Britons had mines of this metal long before. Caesar 
 staid but a short time in the island on either of his expedi- 
 tions, and could know little or nothing of the mountainous 
 parts of it, where the lead mines usually are, and which in 
 general were very remote. Strabo and Diodorus knew 
 something, and yet not much more than he did. And it 
 appears, from certain particulars, to come to something 
 more positive, that lead was probably gotten here before 
 CaDsar's invasion. According to Bede, piles armed with 
 }ead, and driven into the bed of the river Thames, were 
 he defensive efforts of Cassivellaunus, to obstruct the pas-, 
 sage of that river by Julius Caesarf: and if so, lead was 
 unquestionably the product of the island at that time, and 
 probably long before. This though, perhaps, may be a 
 doubtful fact ; and therefore we shall seek out for some- 
 thing more certain. John Leland mentions a plate of lead, 
 or trophy as he calls it, older than this in question, dug up 
 near the lead mines in Somersetshire, and inscribed with 
 the name of the Emperor Claudius, in the 9th year of his 
 tribimitial power%, or A. D. 49 1|; which surely must have 
 been gotten and smelted by the Britons. Claudius came 
 hither but A.D. 44, when the Legionaries, totally unused to 
 such employments, wanted the necessary skill for opening 
 and jvorking of mines, and manufacturing of ore, even 
 supposing they were informed there was lead in the island. 
 Besides, they had important business of another and very 
 different kind upon their hands, subduing the country and 
 making settlements in it, and therefore were not likely to 
 turn their thoughts towards such undertakings, which are 
 
 * Lead was called plumbum nigrum to distinguish it from tin ,or plumbum, album. 
 f Beda, I. c. 2. 
 
 * Leland Assert. Arthur!, p. 45, in torn, v, of the Collectanea. See ahaDf. 
 Musgrave's"-Work, I. p. IRS. 
 
 |j Dr, Musgrave, I. p. 1S'2,
 
 Pigs of Lead. 299 
 
 more adapted to people long established in a country, and 
 abounding with leisure and opportunity. Dr. Musgrave, 
 indeed, thinks the Romans might be employed in the mines, 
 but it appears to me far more probable, that the natives 
 wrought them A.D. 49, and that they had wrought them long, 
 (how Jong is uncertain) and perhaps many centuries before. 
 
 What further convinces me that lead was known to the 
 Britons before either Claudius or Julius Caesar's time, is its 
 name, which appears to be Celtic. The Saxons, indeed, 
 call this metal by the name of LEAD, whence we have our 
 word : but then this seems to have been borrowed from the 
 British, as the Saxons had probably no acquaintance with this 
 metal till they came hither. In the Irish language, a dialect 
 of the Celtic, and a-kin consequently to the British, lead is 
 called luaiiUu', whence, as I think, the Saxons took their 
 name. The word mine is originally the British nncyn, which 
 is explained by Mr. Richards, the ore of any metal ; and it is 
 certain that, in some places, the ore is called miners well as 
 the shaft is, where such ore is gotten. I infer, that, as the 
 names of the metal, and of the ore whence it is extracted, 
 and of the place where it is dug, are all of Celtic original, 
 the Britons appear to have had the art of mining, and were 
 the first that opened the earth for that purpose here, and 
 that they had done this, in all probability, before the reign 
 of Claudius, and even before the arrival of Julius Caesar. 
 This opinion receives some confirmation from the words of 
 Pliny, xxxiv. cap. 17. ( Nigro plumbo ad fistulas laminasque 
 utimur, laboriosius in Hispania eruto, totasque per Gallias: 
 sed in Britannia summo terrae corio adeo large, ut lex 
 ultro dicatur, ne plus certo niodo fiat.' Pliny finished his 
 work about U.C. 830, a little before his death, and not 
 more than 32 years after the date' of the Claudian in- 
 scription above, and yet his words imply, first, that lead 
 could then be gotten here in any quantity; 2dly, that the 
 Romans had then taken the management or regulation of 
 the works into their own hands, and had passed a restraining 
 act, in respect of quantity, about them. This act, perhaps, 
 was made before A.D. 76, U.C, 828, and might be the cause 
 of our blocks being stamped, supposing, that is, that the said 
 stamp was neither intended to denote that the piece had paid 
 the tribute, nor to assure the purchaser of its legal weight 
 and purity, as conjectured above. And 3dly, that mines, in 
 all probability, had then been long wrought here, and even 
 before the year 49, and, consequently by the Britons before 
 the Roman aera. 
 
 Tb,e next point to be considered is the country whence
 
 300 Pigs of Lead. 
 
 the pig came. As it was found near the Watling-street, 
 which pointed towards Wales, it is obvious to imagine the 
 piece was brought from that quarter of the island ; but then 
 it should be considered, that the road called the Watling- 
 street was not then made, and that Hints Common is nearly 
 in a direct line to London, either from the Peak of Derby- 
 shire or the Wapentake of Worksworth, in the same county, 
 in both which districts lead was gotten very anciently, inso- 
 much that the piece might be brought, with equal probabi- 
 lity, from amongst the Coritani of Derbyshire; I may say, 
 with greater probability, as their country was reduced into 
 the form of a province, by Ostorius Scapula, before the 
 Ordevices were subdued by Suetonius Paulinus, and conse- 
 quently their lead works would be known to, and would 
 corne under the management of, the Romans, sooner than 
 any works in North Wales. In a word, it appears more 
 reasonable, that A. D. 76, a block of Roman lead, for 
 such it then was, should be brought upon a small Peak 
 horse out of Derbyshire, then out of Wales, a country, which, 
 in the north part, seems not to have been peaceably settled 
 till U. C. 826, when Julius Agricola was governor, and 
 but two years before this block was stamped.* 
 
 T. Row. 
 
 I*.S. Blocks of lead were formerly called pigs ; but these 
 being too heavy to be easily managed, as they weighed 
 three hundred weight, more or less, they are now commonly 
 made in Derbyshire into two pieces. The term pig had 
 relation, T conceive, to a sow, which 1 suppose might be an 
 heavier block. The term sow is still retained in the word 
 sow-metal, and perhaps might be chiefly used for blocks of 
 cast-iron, though Dr. Johnson explains it an oblong mass of 
 lead, and Dr. Littleton interprets a sow of lead, by massa 
 plumbi MAJOR coriftata, which shews however, that in his 
 idea, the sow was a larger mass than the pig. 
 
 1773, Feb. 
 
 2. Pig of Lead found near Stockbridge, Hants. 
 MR. URBAN, Nov. 7. 
 
 A PIG of lead was found on the verge of Broughton- 
 brook, near Stockbridge, Hants, on the Houghton side of 
 
 * Univ. Hist. xix. p. 136. seq. The Britannia Prima, whence Claudius's 
 block came, had been formed into a province by Vespasian, before A.D. 49, 
 but our piece could not corne thence j aud the Slures were too far out of tha 
 rout in resuect of London*
 
 Pigs of Lead. 301 
 
 the water, Aug. 11, 1783. It weighs near 1561b. and is'now 
 in the possession of Thomas South, Esq. of Bossington, in 
 the said county, who having very obligingly favoured me 
 with a copy of the inscription thereon, of which, the letters 
 are as perfect as when they first came out of the mould, I 
 send it you for your Miscellany, and hope the learned anti- 
 quaries may be induced to give the public an explanatioa 
 thereof. 
 
 Y.Z. 
 
 HAVING communicated this to one of our antiquarian 
 correspondents, we had the pleasure to find he had received 
 a copy of it, somewhat different, from the Rev. Mr. Price 
 of Oxford, with the same view of obtaining an explanation. 
 Our correspondent has accordingly favoured us with the 
 following: 
 
 Neronis 4ngusti ex Keangis IIII Consults Britannici. 
 
 I read the inscription on this eighth* pig of lead cast by 
 the Romans in Britain, and discovered in the course of two 
 centuries, thus: 
 
 The fourth Consulship of Nero falls A.IJ.C. 813. A. D. 
 60, when he had for his colleague Cornelius Cossus, as 
 Tacitusf calls him; or as the Fasti Consulares, published 
 by Almeloveen^ Cossus Cornelius Lentulus; and in an Insc. 
 Grut.cxvm. cosso LENTVLO cossi FiLio cos. also vni. 5. 
 
 Thus far our way is clear; the former inscriptions of this 
 kind exhibiting the Emperor's names, titles, and consulship. 
 But here Nero seems to have assumed the title of BRITAN- 
 NICVS, which no other of his monuments or coins give him. 
 He certainly was entitled to it, for in his reign the Ro- 
 mans continued to gain fresh conquests in this island, though 
 the Britons, who were very uneasy in this state of servitude, 
 made several efforts to regain their liberty, and particularly 
 under the conduct of Queen Boaclicea. 
 
 The letters HVLPMCOS have the appearance of a consul- 
 ship, but to whom to ascribe it, is the difficulty. 
 
 * The two first are described by Mr. Camden in Cheshire, Brit. p. 463, 
 ed. 1607. The third near Bruton, in Somersetshire. Horsl. Brit. Rom. p. 328. 
 Stuk. It. Cur. I. 143. The fourth and fifth, 1734, 'found in Yorkshire. 
 Phil. Trans. No. 459, and vol. xlix. p. 686; one of which is now in Brit. 
 Mus. (Archsol. V. 370;) the other at Ripley-Hall, the seat of Mr. John 
 Ingoldsby. Pennant's Wales. The sixth on Hints Common, co. Stafford, 
 1772, Gent. Mag. xlii. 558. xliii. 61. The seventh on Cromford 
 Moor, co. Derby, illustrated by Mr. Pegge, Archaeol. v. 369. 
 
 f Ann. xiv. 20. 
 
 J P. 75. 
 
 Ward, in Phil. Trans, xlix. 690.
 
 302 PigS of Lead. 
 
 There is but one Consul of the name of Ulpianus, in the 
 whole series of Fasti Consulates, and that was 178 years after 
 the date here given, viz. A.U. C. 228. See Gruter, civ. 3. 
 (a reference which 1 cannot find;) and Ceiisorinus de 
 Die JNat. e. 2L 
 
 On the other side are the Words EX ARGENt andCAPASCAs j 
 and the sigles like Xxx may be the numerals expressing 
 thirty. 
 
 " Tile intent of making the blocks of lead with the Em- 
 peror's namej might be to authorise the sale of them by 
 virtue of his permission. The year likewise, and the name of 
 the people where the mines lay, were necessary to be added 
 for the sake of the proprietors, in order to adjust their ac- 
 counts with the officers, and prevent frauds in the execution 
 of their trust. And it is observable, that the method now 
 made use of in the lead mines is not much different from 
 this. For the pigs are upon an average nearly the same 
 weight with that preserved in the draught of that found in 
 Yorkshire, viz. Icwt. Iqr. l61b. and they are likewise com* 
 monly marked with the initial letters of the name of the 
 smelter, or factor, and sometimes both, before they are 
 sent from the mines*/' 
 
 No ancient people of Britain have given our antiquaries 
 
 so much trouble to settle as the Cangi. Mr. Horsleyf, 
 
 after a good deal of argumentation, inclines to place them 
 
 in and about Derbyshire, with the addition of the counties 
 
 of Stafford, Warwick, and Worcester. If we admit with 
 
 him and Professor WardJ, that it is by no means necessary 
 
 that the pieces of lead should have been cast in the county 
 
 where they were found, this new discovery will not help us 
 
 at all to ascertain the situation of the Cangi. As the professor 
 
 supposes Camden's twenty pieces found at the mouth of the 
 
 Mersey, in Cheshire, may have been the remains of the 
 
 cargo of some vessel laden with them, and wrecked on that 
 
 shore; so we may suppose the present pig was lost of 
 
 dropped in its passage from the mines, perhaps those of 
 
 Mendip in Somersetshire, which are the nearest I recollect 
 
 to the spot where it was found. It may have been on its 
 
 way down the Rumsey river to the port of Southampton,* 
 
 whose ancient name of Clausentum is by Baxter and Salmon 
 
 derived from Claux, the British word used for a fort, and 
 
 * Ward, Ib. 696. 
 + P. 34, 35, 36. 
 J Ubi sup. p. 6y~.
 
 Pigs of Lead. 303 
 
 Auton, the name of the river, peihaps synonymous with 
 Aufona, oc Avon. 
 
 Dr. Gale* places about the river Itchen a people of the 
 Jiiani, distinct from those commonly known by that name, 
 and takes them for Caesar's Icenimagni or Cenimagni % whose 
 name the Dr. fancied he saw preserved in Mean&toke, Mean- 
 borough f Mean, places hereabouts. But not to mention 
 that he errs in saying that Ptolemy places Portus Magnus 
 [Portsmouth] among the Icenimagni, which is not true 
 (for Ptolemy never mentions them.) Mr. Horsley proposes 
 to read Iceni Cangi, or Iceni Regni, making them two 
 distinct people. 
 
 To return to the Cangi. If I am right in my conjecture 
 that they are meant on the present piece of lead, it may be 
 objected that there is a difference in the orthography ; to 
 which I answer, that on the Hants pig the N is omitted, but 
 a space left for it. On the lead mentioned by Mr. Camden 
 the name is spelt Ceangi. It will be therefore no material 
 variation in orthography, especially considering who the 
 workmen were that made or composed this stamp, to find it 
 here written KIANGI, or the second letter may be an imper- 
 fect E. 
 
 The dimensions of the present pig correspond, within an 
 inch, to those of the Kirshaw and Hints pigs. The weight 
 is near 1561b. that of the Kirshaw Icwt. Iqr. l61b. of the 
 Hints, now in Mr. Green's collection at Litchfield, 150lb. 
 Mr. Pennanit says, this last weighs 152lb. about 2lb. more 
 than the common pigs of lead. 
 
 We have now a succession of these pieces for the reigns 
 of Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, Titus, Doniitian, and Ha- 
 drian. 
 
 The words EX ARC EN may be explained by Mr. Pennant's 
 observation^ that the Romans found such plenty of silver in 
 the Spanish mines, that for some time they never thought 
 it worth their labour to extract it from lead. In later times 
 they discovered an ore that contained silver, tin, and lead, 
 and these three metals were smelted from it. It appears 
 that the first product was the tin, the second the silver, and 
 what Pliny calls galsena, which was left behind in the fur- 
 iiace, and seems to be the same with our litharge, and being 
 
 * Comment, on Antoninus's Itin- p. 109. 
 
 f Wales, 1 56. 
 
 + Ib. 58. 
 
 Strabo, III. p. 221.
 
 50 1 St. Blase, Patron of Wool-combers. 
 
 melted again became lead, or, as this writer calls it, black 
 lead, to distinguish it from white lead, or tin.* 
 
 The piece of lead now under consideration, is, like all 
 the others, of a wedge-like shape prolonged, a transverse 
 section of which would form a wedge, with the acute angle 
 flattened for the sake of the inscription. On the basis 
 is a hole, seemingly for the insertion of an instrument, 
 whereby it might be lifted by a crane. 
 
 1773, Feb. 
 
 LXXV. St. Blase, the Patron of Wool-combers. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 I HAVE been often asked about St, BIase,f and his being 
 the inventor of wool-combing, or, at least, the patron of that 
 art. Little, however, can I find to my satisfaction; but 
 what I can learn of him I shall freely impart to you, never- 
 theless, Mr. Urban, for the information of the querists, and 
 in hopes that those who knew more of this vulgar saint may 
 be induced to give us some further account of him, and, in 
 particular of his connection with the "wool-combers. 
 
 Blase was a Bishop and Martyr; and his see, according 
 to the Breviary, was Sebasta, or Sebask, in Cappadocia.^ 
 He is a person of great note amongst the vulgar, who in 
 their processions, as relative to the wool-trade, always carry 
 an effigy or representation of him, as the inventor or pa- 
 tron of their art of combing it. There was an order of 
 knighthood also instituted in honour of him ; and his day, 
 which stands marked at this day in our calendar, was cele- 
 brated 3d February. He suffered death in the reign of 
 Dioclesian, about the year 283, according to the Legenda 
 Aurea, but the English version of that book has 387 ; neither 
 of the dates are strictly true, since Dioclesian did not suc- 
 ceed to the empire till A. D. 28 1-, and died before the latter 
 date. Indeed, authors vary much about the time of his 
 
 # Plin. xxxiv. c. 6. 
 
 j- He is written also Blasus, and Blai/e or Bluiso. In the Aurea Legenda 
 there ave two etymons of the ijamc, both ut them ridiculous. Aurea Legenda, 
 cap. 38. .1-..-1 
 
 * See also the Aurea Legenda. Others reckon him patron of Armenia; 
 ice Collier's Dictionary, v. Blaise i and Bda, iu Martyrologio, ? 340. 
 
 Collier's Dictionary in voce.
 
 Wild Cats in Britain. 305 
 
 death*. Before his death, which was by decapitation j he 
 was whipped, and had his flesh torn ferrets pecti?iibus, ' with 
 iron combs.' 
 
 It is difficult to say from this account of the Saint, which 
 yet is the best I can procure of him, how Blase, comes to 
 be esteemed the patron of the wool-combers. And when 
 he died, his prayer to our Lord was, as the Golden Legend 
 has it in the English Version, " That whosomever desired 
 hys helpe fro thinfyrmyte of the throtef, or requyred 
 ayde for any other sekenes or infyrmyte, that he would here 
 hym, and myght deserve to be guarisshyd and heledj. And 
 ther cam a voys fro Hevene to hym sayeng that hys peti- 
 cion was graunted and shold be doon as he had prayd." 
 In which prayer, there is not a word, you observe, that 
 concerns the wool-combers. The art, no doubt, had been 
 invented long before the time of Bishop Blase ; it is proba- 
 bly one of those very ancient ones, of which, on account 
 of their great antiquity, the invention is at this day entirely 
 unknown. And as to our bishop, I am of opinion, he was 
 esteemed the patron of the wool-combers, merely because 
 he was tortured with an instrument of the kind, with au 
 iron comb. I can find no other reason for it ; others may, 
 perhaps, be more fortunate. 
 
 Yours, 
 1773, August. T. Row. 
 
 LXXVI. Wild Cats in Britain. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 1 HE dog is thought to be an indigenous animal of this 
 island, as we find mention made of British dogs in the most 
 early accounts we have of the country ;H but it is not so 
 with the cat, as appears from the laws of Hoel Dha, who 
 died A.D. 948, where a considerable value is put upon 
 them, and the property of them is secured by penalties.^ 
 
 * Anuot. ad Beda* Martyrologium. 
 
 f He had cured a boy that had got a fish-bone in his throat, Golden Legend ; 
 and was particularly invoked by the papists in the squinancy or quinsy. 
 Fabric. Bibliogr. Antiq. p. 267. 
 
 + So he was one of the 14 Saints for diseases in general, Fabric, Bibliejr. 
 Andq. p. 266. 
 
 Golden Legend, fol. 135. 
 
 \\ Mr. Pegge's Essay on Coins of Cunobelin, page 97. 
 
 5j Mr. Pennant's British Zoology, I. p. 46. 
 VOL. I. X
 
 305 Observations on Stone-kengc, 
 
 As th<*' cat is a boast of prey, and particularly fond of 
 birds, the creature is apt to stroll into the fields, and, if it 
 meets with success there, will often become wild, without 
 returning home. Hence came a breed of wild-cats here, 
 v hich formerly were an object of sport to huntsmen. Thus, 
 Gerard Camvile, 6 John, had special licence to hunt the 
 hare, fox, and wild-cat, throughout all the king's forests;* 
 and 23 Henry III. William, Earl Warren, by giving Simon 
 de Pierpont a goshawk, obtained leave to hunt the buck, 
 doe, hart, hind, hare, fox, goat, cat, or any other wild beast, 
 in certain lands of Sitnon'sf. 
 
 But it was not for diversion or sport alone, that this 
 animal was pursued in chace; for the skin was of value, be- 
 ing much used by the nuns in their habits, as a fur. Hence 
 in Archbishop William Corboyl's Canons, anno 1127, art. 
 10. it is ordained, " that no abbess or nun use more costly 
 apparel than such as is made of lambs' or cats' skins];." 
 But their furs, I am told, are more valuable in North 
 America. 
 
 The wild-cat is now almost lost in England, but is de- 
 scribed by Mr. Pennant, I. p. 47. And as no other part of 
 the creature but the skin was ever of any use here, it grew 
 into a proverb, that you can have nothing of a cat but her skin. 
 
 1774, April. T. Row. 
 
 LXXVII. Observations on Stone-heuge. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 rr 1 
 
 1 IE inserting in your useful Miscellany the following re- 
 marks on Stcme-henge will be esteemed u favour by your 
 constant reader, 
 
 J. J. 
 
 STONE-HENCE is justly considered as one of the most sur- 
 prising monuments of antiquity in England; and the great 
 difficulty of bringing together and erecting the prodigious 
 stones of which it is composed, has rendered it an object of 
 much speculation to the curious. The late Dr. Stukcley has 
 obliged the world with the best and most accurate account 
 
 * SJF\V. Dugdale's Baron. I. p. C27. 
 
 t Ibidem, II. p. 457. See also I. p. 70.'. Blount's Tonun>si, p. tJO, J04, 
 luuton's Hist, of Pcterb. p. 151, 160. Mr. Pennant, I. p. 48. 
 1 Mr, Johnson's Collection of laws, Ciiiioa-:, ffe .V ; ; , ~.
 
 Observations on Stone-henge. SO? 
 
 of it, 1 believe, that has ever appeared; and his conjectures 
 carry with them as much weight and conviction as we can 
 expect, considering the very remote antiquity of the fabric, 
 and the rudeness of the times when it was erected. The 
 Doctor is of opinion, that the stones were brought from 
 those called the Grey-Weathers, on Maryborough Downs ; 
 that it was built by the Druids, before the arrival of the 
 Romans in Britain ; and that it was once perfect and com- 
 plete, many of the stones having been since broken to 
 pieces, and carried away for other uses. 
 
 But some people, thinking the stones much too large for 
 land-carriage, have endeavoured to account for their pre- 
 sent appearance, by supposing them to be made on the spot, 
 of a kind of cement. This opinion is adopted by Benjamin 
 Martin, in his Natural History of England, Vol. I. p. 101, 
 and seqq. who likewise dissents from the Doctor in some 
 other particulars. His words are as follow : " As to the 
 original of Stone-hengc, it does not appear, from all that he 
 has said, that it was certainly a finished temple at first, or 
 ever built by the Druids; and we think he has not so much 
 as made it probable that the stones which compose it are na- 
 tural or not factitious." But, as Dr. Stukeley's conjectures 
 appear to me well founded, I beg leave to subjoin a few re- 
 marks in defence of them, against B. Martin's objections, 
 which I shall consider separately. And, 
 
 First, I shall endeavour to prove, that the temple was once 
 in a perfect state, which opinion B. Martin attempts to re- 
 fute. He says, that " he cannot see any reason to suppose 
 that this temple was ever complete or finished, because it is 
 confessed, that a great number of stones, and many of the 
 largest size, are now wanting, and no where to be found, 
 which must be supposed to have been there used when the 
 temple was completed. The prodigious labour, time, and 
 expense, employed in demolishing such a structure, to an~ 
 swtr no end at tlic same time, make it more than probable that 
 it was never once completed; but, what is still a greater 
 proof of this, is, that those stones which are now wanting, 
 must still have been in being, and would have been seen or 
 found at no great distance from the place." Indeed, if no 
 end was answered by demolishing this ncble work, it is highly 
 probable we should have seen it in a much more perfect 
 state than we do at present ; but I think his argument will 
 prove of little weight, when we consider, that they might 
 be broken to pieces, and used for building, which is no more 
 to be wondered at than that men should dig stones out of 
 quarries for the same purpose. This very well accounts for 
 
 X2
 
 $08 Obsemations on Stone-henge. 
 
 their being no where to be found; and, considering that 
 Stone-henge has stood for many hundred years liable to such 
 treatment, the labour, time, and expense employed therein, 
 cannot be thought so much as to overthrow my supposition. 
 Another circumstance that pleads strongly in favour of Dr. 
 Stukeley is, thatStone-henge appears to have been long used 
 for a temple ; the many tumuli placed round it, and the re- 
 mains of sacrifices said to be found there, are strong proofs 
 of this; and it is the greatest absurdity to believe that such 
 veneration and regard would have been ever paid to an un- 
 finished pile. 
 
 In the next place, B. Martin thinks it does not appear 
 that the Druids were the founders of this temple. It is 
 true, we can in this particular go no farther than mere con- 
 jecture, not having any certain account of its building left 
 us; but the Druids have, in my opinion, a much better 
 claim to the honour of the work, than any other people that 
 are thought to have any pretensions to it. That it is of equal 
 antiquity with most other edifices of the same kind in this 
 island cannot be doubted, and, as some of them are crossed 
 and mangled by the Roman ways*, it is evident they were 
 erected before the arrival of the Romans, at which time the 
 Druids presided over the worship and religious ceremonies 
 of the Britons; and, as Stone- henge is allowed to have been 
 a temple, they may with great reason be thought the found- 
 ers of it. I think it is plain, from what has been just said, 
 that the Romans can have no claim to it, notwithstanding 
 this was the opinion of the celebrated Inigo Jones; but 
 though he had undoubtedly great merit as an architect, yet 
 I cannot allow that his abilities as an antiquary were equal ; 
 at least, his conjectures on Stone-henge are far from being 
 probable, as it is incredible, that a people so famous as the 
 Romans for the beauty and elegance of their buildings, 
 both at home and abroad, should ever construct a work so 
 very rude and void of all ornaments as Stoue-henge has al- 
 ways been. 
 
 I come now to consider what is offered by B. Martin in 
 support of his notion, that the stones of Stone-henge are 
 factitious. This was, doubtless, invented as the only re- 
 source of those who think it impossible for such ponderous 
 bodies to be moved from one place to another by human 
 art. The folly of such an opinion will appear, when we 
 refiect, that, in an old wall surrounding the famous temple 
 
 * Beauties of Nature and Art, vol. II. p.
 
 Obsewations an Stone-heng'e. 309 
 
 at Balbec, there are stones of much larger dimensions than 
 any of those at Stone-henge; for we are told, that one of 
 them is sixty-three feet in length, and two others sixty a 
 piece, each of them being twelve feet deep, and of the 
 same breadth, and these prodigious stones are also raised 
 up into the wall many feet from the ground* : and that 
 they are natural, cannot be doubted ; their being three 
 separate pieces is a sufficient proof of this, as they lie con- 
 tiguous to each other. I could bring other examples from 
 authentic history, both ancient and modern, to prove what 
 amazing weights may be managed by human art, the me- 
 thods of doing which were not unknown to the Druids, if 
 we allow Stone-henge to be their work ; since I think enough 
 has been alleged to convince any body that the stones of 
 Stone-henge may be natural. Besides, if they were facti- 
 tious, how could the imposts be made of a different piece 
 from the uprights ? would not all the pieces have been united 
 into one block of stone? It may be said, that the imposts 
 were formed into their shape on the ground, and then lifted 
 up into their places ; but those who plead for the stones 
 being artificial, are such as think it impossible to lift such 
 heavy bodies to the height of 18 or 20 feet. Admitting, 
 then, that these stones are natural, it is very probable that 
 they were brought from Marlborough Downs; for though it 
 is objected that there are now none among the Grey- Wea- 
 thers equal to the smaller ones of Stone-henge, yet this by 
 no means proves that there were not some much larger be- 
 fore the building of that temple, but instead thereof, it 
 makes the contrary opinion very plausible, and that the 
 materials of Stone-henge actually came from thence; which 
 I doubt not will appear very practicable, as they might em- 
 ploy a vast number of hands in a work of so public a nature, 
 and perhaps were months, if not years, in performing the 
 task of bringing each of them so far. 
 
 1 hope the above is sufficient to vindicate the sentiments 
 of the learned antiquary before-mentioned : 1 shall there- 
 fore conclude by adding, that his many opportunities of ex- 
 amining Stone-henge, and his great abilities in searching 
 into antiquity, render his authority very respectable; and as 
 his conjectures on the present subject are plausible, so 
 it is likely we shall never see any hypothesis better grounded 
 than that he has favoured us with. 
 
 1774,1%. 
 
 * Beauties of Nature and Art, -vol. X. p. 112. 
 
 X 3
 
 310 Cramp Rings. 
 
 LXXVIII. Auncient Ordre for hallowinge of the Crampe Rings, &c. 
 
 [From a MS. belonging to the late Mr. Anstis, now to the Duke 
 of Northumberland. ] 
 
 " FlRSTE, the kinge to come to the chappell or clossett, 
 withe the lords and noblemen waytinge upon him, without 
 any sword borne before hime as that day, and ther to tarrie in 
 his travers until the bishope and the deane have brought in 
 the crucifixe out of the vestrie, and layd it upon the cushion 
 before the highe alter. And then the usher to lay a carpet 
 for the kinge to creepe to the crossc upon : and that done, ther 
 shall be a forme sett upon the carpett before the crucifixe, 
 and a cushion laid upon it for the kinge to kneale upon. And 
 the master of the Jewell house ther to be ready with the 
 crampe rings in a bason of silver, and the kinge to kneele 
 upon the cushion before the forme. And then the clerke of 
 the dosett be redie with the booke concerninge the halow- 
 inge of the crampe rings, and the aumer muste kneele on the 
 right hand of the kinge, holdinge the sayd booke. When 
 that is done, the kinge shall rise and go to the alter, wheare a 
 gent, usher shall be redie with a cushion for the kinge to 
 kneele upon : and then the greatest lords that shall be ther, 
 to take the bason with the rings, and beare them after the 
 king to offer. And this done, the queene shall come down 
 out of her clossett or traverse into the chappell, with ladyes 
 and gentlewomen waitinge upon her, and creepe to crosse,a.nd 
 then goe agayne to her clossett or traverse. And then the 
 ladyes to creep to the crosse likewise, and the lords and noble-f 
 men likewise." 
 
 Dr. Percy, who has printed this curious extract at the 
 end of his notes on Northumberland Household-book, ob-. 
 serves, that our ancient kings, even in the dark times of 
 superstition, do not seem to have affected to cure the king*s 
 evil; at least this MS. gives no hint of any such power. 
 This miraculous gift was left to be claimed by the Stuarts ; 
 our ancient Plantagenets were humbly content to cure the 
 cramp. The doctor adds, that, in 1536, when the convoca- 
 tion under Henry the VIII. abolished some of the old super- 
 stitious practices, this of creeping to the crosse, on Good Fri- 
 day, &c. was ordered to be retained as a laudable and edify- 
 ing custom. See Herbert's Life of Henry VIII. It appears, 
 in the Northumberland Household-book, to have been ob- 
 served in the earl's family, the value of the offerings then 
 made by himself, his lady, and his sons, being there severally 
 ascertained.
 
 Ancient Baptisteries, Lavatories, Kc. 311 
 
 There is also specified a candle to be offered by each of 
 the above persons on St. Blase's day ; on which the learned 
 editor observes, that " the anniversary of St. Blasius is the 
 3d of February, when it is still the custom, in many parts 
 of England, to light up fires on the hills on St. Blase's night; 
 a custom anciently taken up, perhaps for no better reason, 
 than the jingling resemblance of his name to the word 
 M**? 
 
 , June. D. H. 
 
 LXXIX. Ancient Baptisteries, Lavatories, cc. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 THE sensible and lively author of the book entitled, " A 
 Walk in and about the City of Canterbury," has, at p. 105, 
 given a new name to the circular building, vulgarly called 
 BellJesus, situated near the north door of that cathedral ; 
 but, when Mr. Gostling ventured to be sponsor upon this 
 occasion, I am suspicious he might not recollect, that few 
 old baptisteries are to be traced in the churches and chapels 
 formerly belonging to the monasteries in this kingdom. 
 Archbishop Edmund, in his Constitutions, published about 
 the year 1236, directed a stone font to be provided for 
 every baptismal church: which Lyndwood interprets to be 
 a church having the people (i e. the laity) connected with 
 it; " for," adds this eminent civilian, " in a collegiate or 
 conventual church, which has not the people, there ought 
 to be no font*." Keysler, in his Travels, vol. ii. p. 44, 45, 
 has given a particular description of the baptistery at Flo- 
 rence, mentioned by Mr. G. in which this traveller informs 
 
 * Baptisterium habeatur in qualibet ecclesia baptismal! (a) lapideum, &c. 
 (a) Baptismal!] Sive cathedral!, sive paroebiali; tali nempe qu;e habet 
 jjopulum: nam in ecclesia. colltgiata, vel conventual!, qux non habet popu- 
 lum, non debetessc baptistcrium, tc. 
 
 The writer was from the first doubtful whether their* might not be an instance 
 or two to the contrary of what he has here advanced, and, since he finished 
 his letter, he has discovered, that a bishop of Coventry granted to the abbey of 
 Haghmon, in Shropshire, an officer, whose province it was to baptize as well 
 Jews as infants, and who was to discharge parochial duty for the servants and 
 domestics in that monastery. But the reverend author of the Preface to 
 Tanner's Notit. Monast. p. '29, mentions this to be a very different sacristan 
 from what usually belonged to other religious houses. It may also be re- 
 marked, that Haghmon-abbey was a fraternity of regular Austin canons and 
 not Benedictines, the monks of which stricter order were settled in all eur ca- 
 thedral priories, Carlisle executed. 
 
 X 4
 
 312 Ancient Baptisteries, Lavatories, &,"c. 
 
 us, that it is opposite to the cathedral, that it is called // 
 Battisterio, or St. John's Church, and that all the children 
 of Christian parents in that city are baptized in it. A bap- 
 tistery of this kind could not well have been wanted in 
 Canterbury; because the right of administering baptism 
 seems to have been annexed to all the parochial churches 
 there, from the first establishment of them; and from the 
 author's account of the font in St. Martin's church, there is 
 a presumptive proof of its being more ancient than the ca- 
 thedral itself. For these reasons, I am apt to imagine, that 
 the building in question was never designed for a baptistery ; 
 and, indeed, had there been an edifice for this purpose 
 within the precincts of the cathedral, one should hardly have 
 expected to have found it near the centre of the offices be- 
 longing to the convent. But, as I have taken the liberty to 
 object to the new name conferred on this little building, in 
 order to afford others the like opportunity of making excep- 
 tions, I will hazard a guess at what may have been (he true 
 appellation of it; and, in my opinion, it was the ancient la- 
 vatory, i.e. the place where the members of the priory used 
 to wash themselves. In the constitutions given to the monks 
 of the Benedictine order, by Archbishop Lanfranc, this apart- 
 ment is expressly named, and in a manner which will induce 
 us to fix it not far from the dortor, or dormitory* ; and it ap- 
 pears, by the inclosed extracts from Du Fresne's Gloss. Med, 
 et Infim. Lat. that there was, in other monasteries, such a 
 building, which adjoined to the chapter-room, as did also 
 the scriptorium (i.e. the room in all great convents in which 
 persons were constantly employed to transcribe books for 
 the choir and the libraryf). The situation of this circular 
 recess in Canterbury cathedral nearly answers to this de- 
 scription, it being a very inconsiderable distance from the 
 old chapter-house, and contiguous to the old library, which 
 was over the prior's chapel, and of which library the scrip- 
 torium was probably a part. It is observed by Mr. G. that 
 this building consists of two rooms, one on the ground floor, 
 and the other on a level with the gallery leading to the 
 
 * Cum appropinquaverit tempus horse tertiae pulsetur a secretario modice 
 signum minimum, quam " skillam" vocant, et statim pergant in dormit9'rium, 
 ct calcicnt sediurnalibus, etcultellosaccipiant ; deinde ad lavalorium veniant, 
 et prius laveutse, et postea pectinent, deiudc ad ecclesiam veniant, &,c. &c. 
 Wiikins, Condi. Mag. Britan. v. i. 529. 
 
 H- Lavutorium, ubi mantis lavant monachi priusquam eant ad refectorium 
 
 Pyrale, hypocaustum conventuale, estnve, in quo capitulum celebratur 
 
 Veniunt in pyrale, et inde in lavatorium, necnon et proxiinuui pyrali scripto- 
 rium: et has tres regularissimas prae omnibus quas unqnam viderint, asser^* 
 bunt esse oftjcinas. Eckehardui, junior, de Casibus S, Galii, c/>, 11,
 
 Ancient Baptisteries, Lavatories, sc. ,313 
 
 church. Now, I apprehend the vault to have been the 
 tory tor the monks in general, and the upper room to have. 
 been raised at a different time, for the convenience of the 
 prior, who, Mr. Somner tells ,us, had, through their private 
 chapel, a passage from their lodgings to the church. Per- 
 haps the prior might, in this apartment, discharge the dntv 
 incumbent on him, of washing the feet, and pouring water 
 upon the hands, of some of his monastic brethren, on Maun- 
 day-Thursday. This practice was enjoined by Archbishop 
 Lanfranc, in the Constitutions before cited, and the spot for 
 the performing this ceremony was directed to be without the 
 doors of the chapter-house, and before it. If, therefore, we 
 suppose, what is likely to have been the case, that the prior 
 had a door out of this gallery into the chapter-house, as well 
 as into the church, the archbishop's expression will coun- 
 tenance the notion I have adopted, of this building's having 
 been applied to that use*. However, whether it ought to 
 be denominated the old baptistery or the old lavatory, or must 
 still retain the name it has acquired by long usage, is an 
 important point, which must be left to the decision of the 
 reader. Should I be allowed to have drawn " the happier 
 conclusion." I frankly acknowledge " to have been led to it 
 by the hint given by my cheerful and communicative 
 guide." For though, some years since, I frequently ex- 
 amined this elegant rotundo, I could never form any idea of 
 the purposes for which it was erected ; and, had not this 
 more attentive perambulator apprized me, that formerly two 
 pipes, or jets, tor water, were fixed in it, I should still have 
 returned the same unmeaning answer to every curious in- 
 quirer I had hitherto done, namely, that it was the model of 
 u bell cast, and cast away, no body knew when or where. 
 
 With my hearty thanks to the merry rambler, for the great 
 entertainment he has afforded me, and with my best \\ishes 
 that he may enjoy more ease of body than I am concerned to 
 hear he has done for a long time, I remain, 
 
 His and your humble servant, 
 
 1774, Nov. W. and D, 
 
 * I.otis omnium qui in capitnlo sunt pedibu*, sedeantforis ante cnpitulura 
 prior et prxduti servitoros cum uo. Quorum j;cdcs pra-i-inctustersorio abbas, 
 flexis genibus, abluat, ct tergat, et oscolctur, stibserviontibn? sibi t'ratribus ad 
 hoc obscquiurn deputatis Post bxc redeat abbas in scdcin, &< Hiaexpletu, 
 exeat abbas, et prior ct servitores corum, ct ante capitulum pra'bcat eis abbas 
 aquam ad abluendas manus, &c. It ilkiiu, vt supra, p. Ool>, 3j~,". 
 
 It should be remembered, that, in the monastery ot Christ Chim'h, the 
 chief officer of the society had no higher title than that of prior, and therefore, in 
 the construction of this pas sa^, prior must always be substituted ib." abbau
 
 SI4 Manner of punishing offending Monks. 
 
 LXXX. Manner of punishing offending Monks, an4 Rules for 
 preparing Bread for Hosts. 
 
 MR. URDAN, 
 
 \ OU were so obliging as to admit into a late Magazine, 
 some remarks which had occurred to me while 1 was accom- 
 panying Mr. Goatling in his walk about the precincts of 
 Canterbury cathedral, and, when you hare a page of your 
 entertaining Miscellany not better engaged, I shall be obliged 
 to you to insert these additional observations. My old ac- 
 quaintance and I parted at the rotundo (which I suppose to 
 have been the lavatory* of the convent,) situated near the 
 north door of the church ; and I will now, with my pen in 
 my hand, such as it is, wait upon my intelligent guide to the 
 south-east quarter of that magnificent fabric. 
 
 The spot on which I intend to hazard another conjecture, 
 is the recess formerly called St. Anselm's chapel, the lower 
 floor of which is now converted into vestries for the minor- 
 canons and lay-clerks. Over these vestries is a room, and 
 a closet to it, that has a window with an iron gate, looking 
 into the choir; and this closet Mr. Gostling, with probabi- 
 lity, imagines to have been the place where the irregular 
 monks were occasionally imprisoned (See the Walk, p. 151, 
 152.) In the adjoining apartment there are, it seems, a 
 chimney and an oven, which I do not recollect ever to have 
 noticed, though I must have been frequently in the room ; and 
 these conveniences, according to the surmise of the ingeni- 
 ous author, were built for the use of the culprits confined there. 
 But, in this notion, I differ from him. For. as rigid fasting was 
 the general established rule of the religious of the Benedic- 
 tine order, it is no improbable supposition, that an offending 
 brother, when in close custody, would be subjected to a 
 still more severe state of abstinence, and, of course, could 
 have little want of an oven. And there are likewise some 
 passages in the Constitutions of Lanfranc, referred to in my 
 last letter, which afford a very strong presumptive proof, 
 that the scanty portion of food which was allowed was al- 
 ways ready dressedf. The culpable monks were ranged by 
 
 * Dr. Thomas has perfixod to his Survey of AVorcester cathedral, an accu- 
 rate iconography of that building; by which it appear*, that the lavatory of 
 tac old convent is still icmuiiiing, and that it is placed between the dormitory 
 ami the refectory. 
 
 f Wilkins, Coucil. Mag, Britau. Vol. I. p. 5j2, 3i3.
 
 Manner of punishing offending Motks. 315 
 
 the archbishop under three classes. When only a slight 
 fault had been committed, the offender was to have the or- 
 dinary diet of the convent, but he was not to be permitted 
 .to eat it till three hours after the customary times of re- 
 freshment; and while his brethren were in the refectory, 
 he was to remain in the church by himself. If the crime wui 
 of a deeper dye, the guilty brother was to be committed to 
 the special custody of another monk, who was always to at- 
 tend him to and from his place of confinement; and the prior 
 was to give the particular directions relating to his provision, 
 and the hour of his receiving it. But a profligate and con- 
 tumacious criminal was to be seized by violence, and cast 
 into the prison appropriated for atrocious criminals, anil 
 brought, if possible, by the harshest discipline, to a sense 
 and public acknowledgment of his transgressions. In 
 neither of these modes of treating the disorderly members 
 of this monastic fraternity, .do there seem to be sufficient 
 grounds for believing that Mr. Gostling has been equally 
 fortunate in this conjecture, as in most others dispersed 
 through his book. And I am, besides, apt to think there is 
 one of Lanfranc's Constitutions, which will lead to a disco- 
 very of the chief, if not the only, purpose for which the 
 oven in this apartment was erected. 
 
 From the time that the attempt was made to form the pre- 
 posterous tenet of the reality of the corporal presence of 
 Christ in the eucharist into an article of faith, various were 
 the disputes which arose concerning the kind and the form 
 of the bread which was to be used in this sacred institution. 
 Some would have it leavened, and others contended it should 
 be unleavened. One party asserted it ought to be taken 
 from a round loaf, and their opponents warmly maintained 
 it ought to consist of only a small wafer; and whether this 
 wafer was to be plain, or to have the. figure of a crucifix, or 
 of the holy lamb, stamped upon it, was a subject of earnest 
 debate. This strange notion likewise introduced a series 
 of rites, which were to be practised as well before as aftor 
 the consecrating of this sacramental bread. 
 
 Archbishop Lanfranc was a zealous advocate for this ab- 
 surd doctrine. Prepossessed, therefore, with the idea of the 
 profound reverence and adoration which was to be offered 
 to a piece of bread, when deified by the priest, he judged 
 it requisite, from a specious regard to decency, to appoint, 
 among his decrees, several superstitious ceremonies, which 
 were to be observed in preparing it for this divine use. As 
 Spelman and Wilkins are the only ecclesiastical writers W!K> 
 have mentioned this curious and whimsical process, I have
 
 3 1 6 Manner of punishing offending Monks. 
 
 inclosed an abstract of it, which may, perhaps, afford amuse- 
 ment to some of your readers : 
 
 " In all the religious houses, the preparing of the hosts was 
 a branch of the sacrist's duty; and it was an express injunc- 
 tion of the archbishop to this officer in the priory of Christ- 
 church, to shew the greatest attention in having them made 
 inthe clcarestand purest manner. The corn was to be select- 
 ed with the utmost care, and grain by grain, if practicable. 
 When thus sorted, it was to be put into a new fine bag, 
 provided for this purpose only, and carried to the mill by a 
 trusty servant. The servant was to see some other grain 
 pass through the hopper, before that designed for the holy 
 bread was put into it, that, in grinding, it might not be 
 polluted, by being mixed with any foreign substance. 
 When the meal was brought back to the sacrist, he was to 
 prepare a place and a vessel, in circuit u cortimei for the 
 boulting of it; and this work was to be done by himself, in 
 his albe, and with his head veiled. On the day of making 
 the hosts, the sacrist, and his brethren who were to assist 
 Irim, were to wash their hands and faces, put on their 
 albes, and veil their heads, that monk only excepted, 
 whose business was to hold the iron plate, and attend to it, 
 and he was to wear gloves. During the process of making 
 and baking the bread, the monks were to repeat the com- 
 mon psalms of the hours, and the canonical hours, or, if 
 they pleased, any other suitable psalms, out of the regular 
 course. But, when not engaged in this religious exercise, the 
 strictest silence was to be observed, with an indulgence 
 only to the person who held the iron plate, to give some 
 brief directions to the servant who attended, to supply the 
 fire with fuel, that was to be perfectly dry, and provide4 
 several days before.*" 
 
 There can be little doubt but this work was done in some 
 room within the church, or in one adjoining to it; and my 
 opinion with respect to the former use of the oven now 
 
 * \Vilkins, Concil. Vol. I. p. 349. As I must own J do not clearly com- 
 prehend the meaning of the expression in circuitu cortina-, where the meal was 
 ordered to be boultcd, I have not aimed at a translation of it. But I snbnut 
 to those who are more skilled than I am in the disposition of the offices for- 
 merly belonging to our monastic buildings, whether some light may not he 
 thrown upon this obscure term, by comparing it with Gervase's account of 
 the repair of that part of the church near Anselm's chapel, since he seems to 
 me to make use oi a similar word. Of the reasons assigned by him why that 
 part ot the choir by the altar was narrower than that near the great tower, 
 wne was, " quoddiucturres SanctiAnselmi videlicet etSancti Andrea;, in utroque 
 latere ecclesiie aiKiqujtus ad CJIICISUM positas, &c. X. Script. Col. 1S03.
 
 Query respecting the Arms of our Archbishops. 319 
 
 tinder our review will, I imagine, be readily concluded. I 
 will, however, offer one reason for my believing I am not 
 mistaken in my supposition that it was built for the baking 
 of the sacramental wafers; which is, my having observed 
 a chimney, with an oven to it, in a room communicating 
 with Merton's chapel, in the north-east cross of Rochester 
 cathedral, near which was undoubtedly the apartment and 
 different offices of the sacrist of that priory. 
 
 The perusal of the foregoing extract from Lanfranc's 
 Constitutions may perhaps, recal to the minds of my 
 readers the late Lord Lyttleton's judicious stricture upon 
 Jiis character, for the unhappy use he made of his talents, 
 in becoming a principal champion for the real presence, 
 and establishing, by his authority, a doctrine unknown to 
 the church of England*. Should they remember the pas- 
 sage to which I allude, they will, I am persuaded, be apt 
 to suspect, that the very great reputation this prelate ac- 
 quired in the Christian world, for his piety, learning, and 
 parts, was unmerited, since they produced in himself, and 
 prompted him to demand from those under his jurisdiction, 
 such a bigotted observance of numberless insignificant 
 ceremonies. How much more deserving of praise were the 
 wise and religious reformers of our church, who guided 
 by scripture and reason, enjoined only this short and perti- 
 nent rubric concerning the same sacred ordinance " And, 
 to take away the superstition which any person hath, or 
 might have, in the bread and wine, it shall suffice that it 
 be such as is usually to be eaten at the table with other 
 meats; but the best and purest wheat bread that conveni- 
 ently may be gotten." 
 
 I am, &c. 
 1775, April. W. and D.f 
 
 LXXXI. Query respecting the Arms of our Archbishops, with ai 
 
 answer. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 ONE of your constant readers will be much obliged to Mr. 
 Row, or any of your antiquarian correspondents, who can 
 inform him when the mitre, in the arms of our Archbishops, 
 was first placed in a Ducal, coronet, in which it now differs 
 
 * Lord Lyttleton's Life of Henry II. Vol. I. 
 
 [f The papers with this signature were written by th Rev. Samuel Denne, 
 Vicar of Wilmington, and of Darent, in Kent. - ee Gent Mag. Ul<- 
 Aug, 1799, p. 722. .]
 
 313 Culture of fines in England. 
 
 from those of our Bishops; especially as it seems of modern 
 introduction, since not only those on the tombs of the old 
 prelates in Canterbury cathedral, but those of some since 
 the Reformation, in the windows of that church, have it not. 
 1775, July* Yours, &c. 
 
 Q. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 IN answer to your correspondent's question concerning 
 placing the Archbishop's mitre on a Ducal coronet, I can only 
 say, that the best account of it which I have seen is in Mr. 
 Pegge's assemblage of coins, fabricated by authority of the 
 Archbishops of Canterbury, p. 7. It is there acknowledged 
 to be a practice lately introduced, but seems to be done 
 with much propriety, considering the rank his grace holds, 
 which is above the dukes, except those of the blood : and 
 at the same time it is very ornamental, as appears to the eye 
 in the engraved inscription prefixed to the assemblage, &c. 
 
 1775, Qct. T. Row. 
 
 LXXX1I. On the Culture of Vines in England. 
 
 Mu. URBAN, 
 
 THE controversy about the culture of the vine in England 
 hath been so largely discussed by two learned members of 
 the Society of Antiquaries, that it may seem superfluous, 
 if not impertinent, to add any more to it. But as doubts 
 and conjectures often furnish means for the discovery of 
 truth, I may be permitted to suggest such as have occurred 
 to me in the perusal of Mr. Barrington's paper on this sub- . 
 ject, just published in the third vol. of the Archreologia*, 
 ;uid submit myself to his candor while I range myself on 
 the side of his antagonist. 
 
 It appears to me that the word vinea is in no one instance 
 used by our ancient writers, in any other than its classical 
 and common signification. I shall .examine the instances in 
 which it is used by our monkish historians, who though they 
 too often mistake a bombast for a florid style, and give 
 common relations, and trivial incidents, an air of pomp and 
 rhitpsody, are not apt to err in Jthc use of obvious and well 
 terms. The question about the alteration of our 
 
 * In answer to Mr. Pegge, on the game question in the same
 
 Culture of Fines i?i England. 3 1 9 
 
 climate since the time of the Romans, of Bede, or of Ed-' 
 ward III. is a petitio principit\ against which, I apprehend, 
 terms and names in general acceptation are not here allowed 
 their proper weight. 
 
 When it is said that vimcm, as o>o ? , is applied by classical 
 writers to other species of wine besides that made from 
 grapes, it is bearing too hard upon monkish writers, not to 
 nllovv that in them it ever signifies grape wine. Finum is 
 certainly a word of as uncontined signification as uva\ yet 
 these no more exclude the idea of grapes and their w"ine 
 from later writers, than monstmni, pons*, and vinitor, do 
 those primary ones of 'a monster/ 'abridge,' 'a vine-dresser.* 
 The instance of Paro > adduced from Brompton, is not con- 
 clusive; since Giraldus, whom Brompton professes to fol- 
 low, expressly adds sylvestris, which his transcriber omitted; 
 and even had not this been the case, the same exception 
 might have been taken to gnu's, which I suppose are now as 
 scarce in Ireland as in England. 
 
 But with all due deference to Mr. B. I must take the 
 liberty to .affirm, that no instance in Du Cange amounts to 
 a proof that vinea has more than the usual sense of a vine- 
 yard, I mean, applied to plantation; for we all know that 
 certain machines were called by this name. Not to multiply 
 quotations in my own cause, let us examine those brought 
 by Mr. B. in defence of his. That of terra vineata, is not 
 terra simply cuitave] comita, but "vineis culta vel consita;'* 
 as under the same article we have " unain peciam terras 
 vineata" and " unam peciam terrac arativse et vineatae," 
 where vineata is distinguished from araiiva: and Du 
 Cange's design in adducing these passages, is to shew, 
 that " terra vineata" was " ager vintis consitus." He also 
 brings vinea/us for embroidered with vine leaves. " Vi- 
 neare camp urn" is not merely to break it up, but vincix 
 conssrere. Vinearium\, and vineale, are strictly vineyards; 
 and though vintte and vinealia occur together in one instance, 
 
 * Pons novi Templi Londonia;, per tp.em turn magnates quam alii f deles nostri 
 ad t'ariiamentum, et cwrcilia Jiostra, apvd tt'cstmonasterium, veniuntes de dicta ci- 
 vitalfr ct suburbiis ejusdera per aquam ad dirlwm locum H ''estmomutcni, com- 
 mur.iUr transeunt, &c. are the words of the record, by which, probably, is 
 meant some bridge over a creek or inlet of the Thames, crossing the lane lead- 
 ing down to the Temple stairs, rather than the stairs or lane. Stow cites the 
 record without explaining what is meant by the bridge, as he translates it. 
 Hist, of Lond. p. 440. Ed. 1633. 
 
 . f Vmearium is explained, in Greek Glossaries and Codes, tacQafif and 
 tT^7riX9( ; so that admitting wsfojc; to be cyder bearing, we muit translate 
 aur|>.5f, fomiua.
 
 3i?0 Culture cf Tines in England. 
 
 they are no more distinct than horii and jardini in another> 
 and are corruptions from classical words appropriated to fine* 
 yards. Granting riWc/Nwre to signify " fructus quoslibet colli- 
 gere" in later writers, as it applied to olives and honey in 
 Pliny* and Columellaf, this will no more prove against its 
 natural application to grapes, than the term hay-harvest will 
 prove there is no corn where it is used ; and harvest, like 
 wc'wisj, is a controveriible term. Admitting also with Char- 
 pentier, that vinea is " ager vineis arboribusque consitus," 
 what is this but saying that vines were an essential part of the 
 plantation ? so that, could we but meet with this term in 
 an English record or historian, our country might recover its 
 vines again. 
 
 Most commentators allow that the carme, or vineyards of 
 Engeddi, were proper vineyards. Dom. Calmet says, they 
 produced the Cyprus vines, and Bishop Patrick |j supposes 
 that clusters, or, as the margin of our Bible renders it, cy- 
 presses, were branches of the aromatic shrub, which gave its 
 name to the island of Cyprus 4 . There is, however, no reason 
 for excluding these plants from vineyards, or supposing carmc 
 should not here mean a vineyard. 
 
 It is by no means clear, that the French word vigne is put 
 for "a house including a small garden." In the instances 
 cited from Madam du Boccage, she is certainly only a trans- 
 lator of the Italian term vigna, which is as commonly applied 
 to mansion-houses, whether in town or country, as villa. We 
 need only look into Montfaucon's and other travels in Italy, 
 to be convinced of this. The truth is, vineyards made a part 
 of considerable gardens, and came in time to be put for the 
 whole ; as with us a tract of ground laid out in plantations of 
 various kind, (where what is strictly called a garden has the 
 least share) is yet called a garden. But it seems too great a 
 force upon language, to suppose, that, because the Italians 
 gave the name ofvigna to a pleasure-ground or house, (for 
 it is to these, by the authorities Mr. B. cites, and not to a garden 
 or orchard, simply considered, that this name was given) that, 
 therefore, the English, who knew not what a pleasure-house 
 was at the time in question, should confine vinea to it, to the 
 absolute exclusion of its primary sense. 
 
 * Lib. xv. c. i. 
 Lib. IX. c. 15. 
 
 t Slessts amara, so. absynlhi, Ovid. Pont. III. 1. 24. though ;rcew proprie 
 dii:>tur in iis quae metuotur, maxime iu frunicnto. Varro. 
 Diet. art. Engeddi. 
 |i Paraph, on Canticles, I, I*.
 
 Culture of fanes in England. 32 1 
 
 I shall not plead) that, as I have not Biornor by me, I know 
 hot whether die Russians went into a Russian, or a more 
 southern, wood to pick pears or plums. But if there are, in 
 the northern languages, such words nsperurand plumer, it is 
 a fair conclusion, that such sort of fruits grew in northern 
 latitudes, without supposing these plums and pears to ap- 
 proach nearer to the green-gage or bon chretien, than the 
 crab to the golden pippin. 
 
 Whatever might be the productions of the northern coun- 
 tries, where Bede lived, there is no reason to suppose him 
 so unacquainted with those of the southern ones. There 
 was a sufficient commerce between the monks and the dif- 
 ferent provinces of England, to undeceive any writer as to 
 the state of their monasteries, in which, alone, we suppose 
 vines to be cultivated. Bede had a correspondence with 
 Albin, Abbot of Canterbury, and Nothelm, presbyter of 
 London, to both whom he acknowledges himself obliged in 
 his preface. Add to this, that the Saxon translator of Bede 
 renders vineas, wingeard-as. . 
 
 Mr. B. observes from Pliny, that the paucity of vine- 
 yards in Italy occasioned a law of Romulus to use milk in- 
 stead of wine in libations. But as this by no means proves 
 that there were then no vineyards in Italy, and succeeding 
 cultivation encouraged their advance, so neither can we 
 prove, from the fewness of them in England, that there 
 were none in the places that ever since bear their name. 
 Had there been a similar law among Alfred's, it could never 
 surely have been alleged to prove there were no vineyards 
 in England. 
 
 Hamo de Hethe, Bishop of Rochester, was so great an 
 improver of his palaces by building and cultivation, that it' 
 cannot be supposed the wines which he presented to his 
 sovereign could be the juice of mere ordinary currants. He 
 spent ttie whole year after his inthronization in repairing his 
 houses, and circa culturam terrarumplurinium itisudavit.* 
 
 Whatever Mr. Pegge, understood by the term sicera, or 
 whatever it really signifies, it is plainly distinguished from 
 viintm, which, in the passages of Giraldus and Huntingdon, . 
 is put for wine strictly, and not as a generical name compre- 
 hending all liquors : whereas, according to Mr. B.'s ideas, 
 we must transfer it from its obvious import to the juice of 
 apples, though Malmsbury expressly marks the distinction. 
 On the so much controverted passage of that author, I shall 
 
 * Dunne, Hilt. Roff. iu Ag. Sac. I. 361. 
 VOL. I. Y
 
 S'jtf Culture of Vines in England. 
 
 only observe, that, besides the progression from corn to 
 apples and grapes, it supposes apple-trees the natural growth 
 of Gloucestershire, but vines the effect of cultivation. It 
 does not suppose vineyards in every county of England, hut 
 more in this than in any other ; and the wine made from 
 them might he more palatable than the French, without 
 concluding the latter to have been sweet. Dulcedo is here 
 only opposed to roughness, as Mr. B. himself admits, when 
 applying it to cider. Florid as this description of Malms- 
 bury is, it appears to be founded on the strictest truth: and 
 I should be sorry to see it convicted of falshood, any more 
 than that similar, but at this time unaccountable, descrip- 
 tion of Thorney by the same author. 
 
 I must beg leave to differ from Mr. B. about the meaning 
 of the word tadiosits. All the instances both in Ainsvvorth's 
 Dictionary and Du Cange's Glossary, amount toMalmsbury's 
 idea of it. Ttcdium belli in Livy*, cccpti in Ovidf, laboris in 
 Quintillian|, is ' a wearisomeness of war,enterprize,or labour,' 
 an '.unwillingness to continue them.' But as this unwilling- 
 ness may arise from other causes, Malmsbury critically as- 
 certains his meaning by adding -per socordiam : so that, if 
 ttediosus signifies only f a man tired of his work,' tadiosus per 
 socordiam is * a man tired of his work by downright laziness,* 
 or f a lazy fellow.' 
 
 Mr. B. proceeds to controvert the word vinitor in the 
 D unstable Annals : but he seems not aware that the word 
 he cites from Du Cange for a wine-merchant is vinator, not 
 i-initor t which that Glossographer explains by u^ire^a^yo/;, * a 
 vine-keeper or presser/ or ' one who had the charge of wine,' 
 though his last instance seems to relate to dealers in wine. 
 Though the instances relative to wine and vineyards among 
 us are so few that there is no arguing from a single one, 
 whether the Dunstable vinitorcs were day-labourers and vil- 
 lains, or smuggling vintners. Mr. B. will hardly suppose 
 that the vinitores ad dracones pugnant w, on the cup which 
 Widaf gave to Croyland, were any other than vine-dressers. 
 
 In quoting honest Fuller as saying that " cider was made 
 in Glocestershire sooner than in any other county in Eng- 
 land," (which however I do not find in the page referred to) 
 Mr. B. omits all that he had said about wine which "formerly 
 grew in this county, but doth not now ; witness the many 
 places therein called vineyards, whereof one most eminent 
 nigh Glocester, the palace of the bishop; and it appears*- 
 
 * VIII. ?. > Met. IX. 15. t II. ?. Ingnlph. p. 9.
 
 Culture of Fines in England. 323 
 
 by ancient records that some towns in this shire paid rent- 
 wines in great proportions; so that England, though it does 
 notfetre vinum, \sfeTax vini, capable (especially in a hot 
 summer) to produce it to good perfection." 
 
 The same author in the next page will also vindicate 
 IVlalmsbury about the Higra in the Severn, on which see 
 also Dray ton's Poly-Olbion there cited. 
 
 The notion of persons dying of poison was so prevalent 
 in early times, and the fact so difficult to ascertain, that 
 Robert de Sigillo, Bishop of London, and his company, 
 might as well have died of a surfeit by eating ripe grape's, 
 especially as, if we may judge from the election of his 
 successor in October the same year, his death probably hap- 
 pened in the season of ripe grapes. We might presume 
 that these grapes were the growth of London, notwith- 
 standing the objection that " this great city, which was so 
 many ages ago so considerable, seems to be a most ill chosen 
 spot for such a kind of husbandry." Why might not a Bishop 
 of London have a vineyard at his palace, as well as a Bishop 
 of Ely strawberries in his London garden ? *ternp. R. 3. I 
 believe nobody doubts the great areas occupied by the no- 
 blemen's houses and gardens in London so lately as Queen 
 Elizabeth's reign. Add to this, that the great monasteries 
 in London probably had their vineyards, as well as in other 
 parts of the kingdom; and that the places which still re- 
 tain the name of 'vineyard were without the walls of Lon- 
 don*. Whoever attends to the stout walls which inclosed 
 the ancient gardens, will think no difficulty in keeping a 
 mob out of the most enticing vineyard, whose extent could 
 not be comparable to a modern turnip or pea-field. Dr. 
 James's vineyard must have been as much terra firmaforan. 
 orchard, as for a vineyard. But this is only a single instance 
 against many. 
 
 The site of the monastic buildings at Croyland is too much 
 altered to trace the vineyard there : but a warm south west 
 bank at Dcnney Abbey, situate, like Croyland, in the fens 
 near Cambridge, still retains the name of the vineyard. 
 
 Without insisting on the wine produced at Winchester, 
 or the derivation of the name of that city from it, the order 
 to make ale for the Duke and Duchess of Saxony will no 
 more prove that they drank no English wine, than that they 
 drank no wine at all. 
 
 * Vine street, East Smithficld, Hatton-gardcn : others in St. Giles's in the 
 Fields, and in Piccadilly. The Vineyard by Hounsditch; that in- Southwark, 
 opposite the Tower; a street in Richmond, aud elsewhere in Swrry. 
 
 y 2
 
 524 Culture of fines in England. 
 
 I come now to Mr. B.'s. strongest arguments against our 
 native wines, that our Saxon ancestors had no name for the 
 grape or the fruit of the vine. This he proves from the 
 Latin word mas being retained in the Saxon version of 
 Matth. vii. 16. But in Fox's edition of the four gospels, in 
 Saxon, 1571, 4to. this text stands thus : 
 
 Cvi/st thu gatherath man icinberian of thomum, oththe fc- 
 la of thyrncinnum. 
 
 and in the Pentateuch (Gen, xl. 10. Deut. xxxii. 32.) 
 winbcrie and ivinberige are used for grapes, as well as in 
 other authors cited in Lye's Dictionary. The citation un- 
 der consideration is from a barbarous mongrel Saxon ver- 
 sion, taken notice of by Hickes*. Allowing, however, th.it 
 2a - a.was retained in one place, can we suppose the Saxons, 
 who made so frequent use of the word win, in compounds, 
 relative both to the vine and the liquor produced by it, and 
 called the wine-press, wincole, knew nothing of any wine 
 made from the vines of this country, or neglected to culti- 
 vate them from any other reason than because, like the 
 Other northern nations of the continent, they preferred, or 
 were more familiarized to, liquors made from corn. Mr. B. 
 does not even suppose the Saxons toinberic to be our native 
 ribesj though be seems to hint the monk might latinize the 
 ribes into viti$. But, surely, this is to suppose a monk of 
 the 12th century as good a botanist as Mr. Ray : whereas, by- 
 Mr. B's. own account, the vitis and the ribes appear to be 
 different genera. 
 
 But it is not for me to contend with botanists. My inten- 
 tion was only to vindicate the import of litiea, and to shew 
 that it had one common application in the earliest and the 
 latest, the purest and most barbarous, Latin writers, I shall 
 only add, in confirmation of what has been already advanced, 
 that there was not the least reason for applying it otherwise. 
 Our records and our historians were as well acquainted with 
 the word pomterium and hortus, as we can be with orchard 
 and garden. Du Cange himself shall justify this assertion. 
 " Pomerium est ubi poma nascuntur." Will. Brito in vocab. 
 " Horticellus in quo sunt arbores pomorum." Cart. A.D. 
 1197. ap. Ugh el. vii p. 1272; and, which seems decisive, 
 the Donationes Salisburg. c. 13, says, " Tradiderunt casarn 
 et curtum, et vineam imam cum pomterio et alio parvo 
 territorio super lacum :" and the charter of Bishop Gen- 
 nadius, in Yepez Chron. Ord. S. Benedict!, iv. "./Edificia 
 
 * Tliw. V. I. p. 94.
 
 Culture of Fines in England. 325 
 
 instruxi, rineos et pomares." Our word orchard is derived 
 from the Saxon orceard, and that from an elder word 0/7- 
 geard; q. d. weort-geard, a plantation of herbs*; so that its 
 application to fruit-trees is of later date. 
 
 1775, J\>j. R. G. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 I HAVE read with great satisfaction the controversy lately 
 agitated concerning the culture of the vine in our island. 
 But who shall decide, when such difference of opinion ap- 
 pears amongst men of approved abilities and eminent fame? 
 Much may be said on the subject ; yet as the disputants seem 
 at present in perfect good humour with each other, perhaps 
 more light may shortly be thrown upon the subject. Your 
 intelligent correspondent Mr. G. has favoured us, in Nov. 
 Magazine, with several observations new to me at least. I 
 admire his ingenuity and critical sagacity; yet I apprehend 
 he has committed a slight mistake in supposing that the 
 carme, or ' vineyards,' of Engeddi, were only what he calls 
 proper vineyards, by which phrase your readers must un- 
 derstand plantations appropriated solely to the culture of the 
 vine : on the contrary, Dom. Calmet asserts, "that Engeddi, 
 formerly Hazazon Thamar, that is to say, the City of Palm- 
 trees, received its name from the great number of that spe- 
 cies of tree which flourished in the place, and the vines of 
 Cypress were not only found there, but several shrubs which 
 produced balsamf." 
 
 . A traveller, who was the contemporary of Calmet, and is 
 not less distinguished for extent of erudition than accuracy 
 of observation, the late Dr. Shaw, supposes the albanneh to 
 be the cypress of the Canticles, common in Engeddi, and 
 cultivated usually with the vine and other aromatic shrubs ; a 
 plant still in frequent use in oriental climates, and one of the 
 cosmetics employed by the fair of the east, who, like the mo- 
 dern tine ladies of Britain, are solicitous to improve their 
 personal charms, even at the expense of their health, though 
 their ideas of beautv seem very different from those gene- 
 rally adopted here. 
 
 * Lye's Dictionary. 
 
 f Vide Dictt. nuaire dc la Bible, edit. Geneve; 1730 j tome 2. p. 34; ; . art. 
 Engeddi Josephus, Antiq. 1. 9. c. 1, where Engfddi is said to produce not 
 culy the palm-tree, but theopobalsainum. Pliny, lib. : -eribes the 
 
 last mentioned plant, which was brought into Italy by one of Vespasian's gene- 
 rals. Herodotus *ays, that the beverage of the Egyptians was barley, thevine 
 Dot bfin:: introduced into the country, lie lived about -n'O years before the 
 buihriivj of Rome ; but havini- forfeited credit as an historian, by the misre- 
 presentation of facts, his testimooy in this particular is less to be. believed. 
 
 Y 3
 
 526 Culture of Fines in England. 
 
 Mr. G. is of opinion, that the French word vigne is al- 
 ways understood to mean * a vineyard ;' and that it is by no 
 means clear, that it should ever signify " a house including 
 a small garden." If he mil take the trouble to consult the 
 learned lexicographers of that nation, lam apt to believe he 
 will alter his opinion. Even Boyer, by no means the most 
 diligent of compilers, has given us the word in this sense : 
 tigne, Maison de Plaisance au tour de Rome. Others say, 
 appelU Vignet let Maisons de Plaisance aux environs 'de 
 Rome, ft de quelqiies mitres villes a? Italic : Vigne Pamphilc, 
 Vigne Aldobrandine y Vigne Borghese, La Vigne de Madame 
 ttupres de Turin, To cite all the authorities of writers in 
 justification of this sense of the word would tire the reader's 
 patience. 
 
 The names of streets hi London and its suburbs, adduced 
 by Mr. G. as proofs that vineyards were common to our an- 
 cestors, seem to prove much. Our chy was then not so po- 
 pulous and well-built as at present : many of the citizens had 
 gardens annexed to their houses, especially those who re- 
 sided at a distance from the centre of the metropolis; and 
 our summers at that time ripened the grapes more kindly. 
 Dr. Bulleyn, who died in 1576, relates that there was ex- 
 cellent fruit of this kind at Bloxhall, in Suffolk, of which 
 parish he was rector from 155O to 1554; and Suffolk is 
 well known to be a northern county. The attempt to cul- 
 tivate the vine in this island, perhaps, has been rendered 
 abortive as much by the unpropitiousness of the soil, and 
 the unskilfulness of the managers, as by the unfavourable- 
 ness of this northern climate. 
 
 The gloomy suburbs of London, indeed, appear a very 
 improper site for a vineyard, " fuliginously black" with the 
 smoke of a thousand chimneys ; yet, only a few years since, 
 a gentleman of Soutbwark is said, now and then, to have 
 entertained bis guests with wine extracted from his own 
 grapes ; and eyfen those who were well acquainted with the 
 wines of France, have commended it. His vineyard was 
 not far distant from the banks of the Thames ; but, after 
 roach time and money bad been spent, the scheme, which 
 yielded its projector a rational entertainment, and employed 
 some of the indigent part of the community, was obliged to 
 be relinquished. No vestige of this vineyard at present re- 
 mains, though I am not certain whether it did not give name 
 to the street mentioned by Mr. G. in his note. Jf so, his de- 
 scendants have converted the spot " where the vine once 
 dropped her purple clusters through the green," to a pur- 
 pose far more lucrative.
 
 A Saint whose emblems are naked Bays in & Tub. 327 
 
 These few observations may appear like " gleaning of 
 grapes when the vintage is past*," and, perhaps, by the 
 malignant critic may be thought unnecessary ; however, if 
 they are not too much out of season, be so kind as to com- 
 municate them to the public, and particularly to Mr. G. I 
 would not willingly give offence to him, or any of the gentle- 
 men engaged in the dispute, nor can suppose any offence 
 will be taken by their insertion. I acknowledge myself not 
 violently attached to either party, but cannot avoid express- 
 ing my pleasure to see a controvery which promises inno- 
 cent delight, if not obvious utility, conducted by persons of 
 extensive knowledge as antiquaries, and singular politeness 
 as gentlemen. And it would be happy for mankind, if everv 
 dispute was managed with as much temper, candour, and 
 good-breeding. 
 
 1775, Supp. H. D. 
 
 LXXXIII. A Saint whose Emblems are Naked Boys in a Tub. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 THE very ingenious writer of Observations in a Journey to 
 Paris, in Aug. 1776, just now published in 2 vols. 8vo, at 
 p. 122 of vol. 2. begs to be informed, through the channel 
 of your Magazine, who is the saint whose emblems are two 
 naked children in a bathing-tub, and what these circum- 
 stances allude to? 
 
 The saint, no doubt, is St. Nicholas, archbishop of Mira, 
 in Lycia, of whom I have a very large and fine French print, 
 with the children and tub before him. I have also in my 
 possession an Italian life of this saint, on the title-page of 
 which 4to. book is the same picture ; it is thus intituled, 
 " Historia della Vita, Miracoli, Translatione, e Gloria dell* 
 iliustrissimo Confessore di Christo S. Nicolo il Magnp, Ar- 
 civescovo di Mira, Composta dal Padre Antonio Beatillo da 
 Bari, della Compagnia di Giesu. Terza Editione. In Na- 
 poli. 1645." 
 
 I think I have discovered the occasion of the boys ad- 
 dressing themselves to his patronage, at p. 73 of the book, 
 where we are told the following s v ory, which fully satisfied 
 
 * Isaiah, xxiv. 13. The ancient prophets and poets frequently monti >n 
 vineyards : their allusions are too frequent to be transcribed \ 
 person acquainted with the sacred writings will easily refer to them. 
 
 Y-t
 
 32$ A Saint whose emblems are naked Boys in a Tub. 
 
 my curiosity without proceeding any farther in a book of 
 this sort, which contains between 4 and 500 pages in a small 
 letter. 
 
 " The fame of St. Nicholas's virtues was so great, that an 
 Asiatic gentleman, on sending his two sons to Athens for 
 education, ordered them to call on the bishop for his bene- 
 diction: but they, getting to Mira late in the day, thought 
 proper to defer their visit till the morrow, and took up their 
 lodgings at an inn, where the landlord, to secure their bag- 
 gage and effects to himself, murdered them in their sleep, 
 and then cut them into pieces, salting them, and putting 
 them into a pickling-tub, with some pork which was there 
 already, meaning to sell the whole as such. The bishop, 
 however, having had a vision of this impious transaction, im- 
 mediately resorted to the inn, and calling the host to him, 
 reproached him for his horrid villany. The man, perceiving 
 that he was discovered, confessed his crime, and entreated 
 the bishop to intercede, on his behalf, to the Almighty for 
 his pardon ; who, being moved with compassion at his con- 
 trite behaviour, confession, and thorough repentance, be- 
 sought Almighty God, not only to pardon the murderer, but 
 also, for the glory of his name, to restore life to the poor 
 innocents, who had been so inhumanly put to death. The 
 saint had hardly finished his prayer, when the mangled and 
 detached pieces of the two youths were, by divine power, 
 reunited, and perceiving themselves alive, threw themselves 
 at the feet of the holy man to kiss and embrace them. But 
 the bishop, not suffering their humiliation, raised them up, 
 exhorting them to return thanks to God alone for this mark, 
 of his mercy, and gave them good advice for the future 
 conduct of their lives; and then giving them his blessing, 
 he sent them with great joy to prosecute their studies at 
 Athens." 
 
 This, I suppose, sufficiently explains the naked children 
 and tub ; which I never met with in any of the legendaries 
 that I have consulted before. The late learned and worthy 
 Mr. Alban Butler, in his Lives of the Saints, vol. vi. p. 9J5, 
 "A, on December 6, only says, in general, that " St. Nicholas 
 is esteemed a patron of children, because he was from his 
 infancy a model of innocence and virtue; and to form that 
 tender age to sincere piety was always his first care ancl 
 delight." 
 
 I am, Sir, your constant reader, 
 
 jfilton, near Cambridge. " W. C,
 
 Antiquity of the Woollen jfanufuclurc in England. 329 
 
 LXXXIV. The Antiquity of the Woollen .Manufacture in England. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 1 OUR correspondent, a Sceptical Englishman, doubts if 
 the woollen manufacture was properly established in Eng- 
 land before the reign of Edward III. In support of the 
 opinion of the author of u Observations on the Means of ex- 
 citing a Spirit of National Industry," who contends that it 
 was established in England at a much earlier period, I send 
 you the following facts that have occurred in the course of 
 'my reading, since I perused your Magazine for June last; 
 and I doubt not but thosej whose taste lead them more to the 
 study of antiquities than mine does, could furnish many more 
 of the same kind. 
 
 Mr. Anderson, in the book quoted above, observes, that 
 there was a lawful guild-fraternity of weavers in London so 
 early as the year 1180. But we learn from Mr. Madox, in 
 his History of the Exchequer, that such guild-fraternities 
 were established, not only in London, but in many other parts 
 of the kingdom before that period. Thus, 
 
 1 1 40. The weavers of Oxford pay a mark of gold for 
 iheir gild. 
 
 The weavers of London for their gild, cxvi. 
 
 The weavers of Lincoln two chasseurs, that they might 
 have their rights. 
 
 The weavers of Winchester one mark of gold, to have 
 their customs and liberties, and right to elect the alderman 
 of their gild. And 
 
 The fullers of Winchester ^vi for their gild. 
 
 Mad. Hist. Exch. p. 322. 
 
 These short notices indicate, that fraternities of weavers 
 were at that time common in many parts of England, and 
 were even then of great antiquity. The business of cloth- 
 making must have been carried on to a considerable extent 
 when it gav,e rise to a guild-fraternity of fullers. 
 
 In farther confirmation of the great antiquity of the art of 
 weaving in England, Gervase of Canterbury, who wrote 
 about the year 1202, in his Chronicle, col. 1 .?4y, says, when 
 speaking of the inhabitants of Britain, that " the art of weav- 
 ing seemed to be a peculiar gift bestowed upon them by 
 nature." Thus it appears, that, at a period long prior to 
 that which modern historians assign as the time when the 
 woollen manufacture was introduced into Britain, it was an 
 art that h.ad been so long practised, as to be reckoned by its
 
 330 Antiquity of the Woollen Manufacture in England. 
 
 own inhabitants almost indigenous of the soil, if I may use 
 this expression. 
 
 Sir Matthew Hale enables us in some measure to account 
 for the origin of the modern idea on this head. For he 
 remarks that, " in the time of Henry II. and Richard I. this 
 kingdom greatly flourished in the art of manufacturing 
 woollen cloth ; but, by the troublesome wars in the time of 
 King John and Henry III. and also Edward I. and Edward II. 
 this manufacture was wholly lost, and all our trade ran in 
 wools and wool-fells and leather." 
 
 Prim. Orig. of Mankind, p. 161. 
 
 It is needless to observe, that a manufacture of such indis- 
 pensable utility could not, in such a short period, be wholly 
 lost in any country where it was once known. All that can 
 be inferred from this expression is, that it declined very 
 much, so as in a great measure to interrupt the foreign trade 
 in cloth, which seems to have been a principal article of ex- 
 port from this kingdom at that early period. Edward III. 
 restored this decayed manufacture, and hence he has come 
 to be accounted the founder of it in England. 
 
 The above remark of Sir Matthew Hale perfectly agrees 
 with the Magna Charta of Henry III. and the ordinance 
 respecting the exportation of cloths, &c. by Edward I. as 
 quoted by the author of Observations on National Industry, 
 p. 236. 
 
 The richness and comparative importance of the fraternity 
 of weavers in the period here alluded to may be guessed at 
 from the following circumstances ; 
 
 Anno 1159. The weavers of London stand charged with 
 iij marks of gold for the farm of their gild for two years; the 
 bakers of ditto with one mark and vj ounces of gold. 
 
 1 164. The weavers ot London rendered cxij per annum 
 for the farm of the gild; the bakers of ditto <\j per 
 annum. 
 
 Mad. Hist. Exch, p. 231. 
 
 In both these cases the weavers pay double of what is ex- 
 acted from the bakers; hence it seems reasonable to infer 
 that they were by much the richest fraternity of the two. 
 
 1 189. The fullers of Winchester pay ten marks for a con- 
 firmation of their privileges. Ib. p. 274. From this it ap- 
 pears that the fullers of Winchester still continued (see 
 above, anno 1 140) a powerful fraternity. 
 
 That the business of dying was also carried on in these 
 days as n separate, honourable, and profitable employment, 
 laay be inferred from the following anecdote.
 
 Antiquity of the Woollen Manufacture in England. 331 
 
 Anno 1201. David the dyer pays one mark, that his 
 manor may be made a burgage. Ut supra, p. 278. 
 
 At this early period, vvoad seems to have been very much, 
 employed as a material for dying: this plant was cultivated 
 in Britain before the days of Julius Caisar, and probably 
 the cultivation of it would be much extended as it came to 
 be more demanded for the woollen manufacture in latter 
 periods; but this extended culture could not supply the 
 encreasing demand for this drug, insomuch that it was for 
 a great many ages a constant article of import, as the follow- 
 ing instance, among many others, fully shews : 
 
 Anno 1213. The following sums were accounted for by 
 sundries as customs for woad imported, viz. 
 
 In Kent and Sussex, \ f 
 
 Dover excep ted, J' tiC 
 
 Yorkshire, - - - 98 13 4 
 
 London, - - - - 17 13 4 
 
 Norfolk and Suffolk, 53 6 
 
 Southampton, - - 72 1 10 
 Essex, - - - - 424 
 
 In all these plqces, therefore, the woollen manufacture 
 seems to have been carried on 1 to a great extent. 
 
 Many other anecdotes might be picked up in confirmation 
 of this remark, among which are the following. 
 
 1140. The men of Worcester pay C. shillings, that they 
 may buy and sell dyed cloth, as they were wont to do in the 
 time of King Henry the I. Ut supra, p. 3J4. There is 
 not the smallest reason to think that this was foreign dyed 
 cloth, but British cloth as alluded to in the ordinance of 
 Edward the I. quoted above, 1284. 
 
 1225. The weavers of Oxford pay a cask of wine, that 
 they may have the same privileges they enjoyed in the days 
 of King Richard and King John. Ib. p. 286. 
 
 1297. The aulnager of cloth was displaced, and his office 
 given by the king to another. Ib. p. 338. The aulnager 
 was a public officer appointed to inspect cloths, so as to see 
 that they were truly made according to statute. This indi- 
 cates a very advanced state of the manufacture. 
 
 From these, and many other circumstances of the same 
 kind that might be collected, there can be no room to doubt 
 but that the woollen manufacture was carried on as a great 
 national object for several ages before the days of Edward III. 
 at which period our historians usually assert that it was first 
 introduced into England. And it was probably owing to the 
 interruption it met with during the troublesome reigns
 
 332 Antiquity of the Woollen Manufacture in England. 
 
 of John and his immediate successors, that the manufacture 
 came to be so firmly established in the Netherlands as to 
 obtain a superiority over the woollen manufactures of Britain, 
 which it retained many ages: and it was probably owing to 
 this superiority that our forefathers lost the knowledge of 
 many branches of this manufacture which it is evident they 
 once possessed \ of this kind especially may be reckoned 
 the art of dying and dressing cloths, which art was only 
 revived in Britain in a very modern period. 
 
 If our historians have been thus mistaken with regard to 
 the manufactures of Britain, it will not appear surprising 
 that they should fall into similar mistakes in regard to the 
 manufactures of Ireland. It is generally believed that the 
 woollen manufacture was introduced into this last country at 
 no very distant period, and we find the first dawnings of it 
 marked under the year 1376, in Anderson's History of Com- 
 merce. But that woollen cloth was manufactured in that 
 country a long time before that period, is evident, from 
 the following curious anecdote preserved by Madox. Hist. 
 Exch. p. 381. 
 
 In the reign of Henry III. (i. e. between 1216 and 1272,) 
 Walter Blowberne accused Hamari le Starre of a robbery, 
 &c. whereof the said Haman had for his share two coats, 
 viz. one Irish cloth, &c. Irish cloth was therefore known in 
 England at this period, which is at least one hundred years 
 prior to that mentioned in the History of Commerce. 
 
 Although it is still doubtful whether the poems attributed 
 to Rowley, a priest, in the reign of Edward IV. are spurious 
 or not; yet, as there has not yet appeared any irrefragable 
 proofs that they are not genuine, I shall take notice of a 
 few circumstances that occur in them relating to this sub- 
 ject, as deserving some degree of attention. 
 
 This author points out Lincoln as being a place then noted 
 for its fine woollen manufacture: for the abbot of St. God- 
 win's who is represented as living in great pomp, has his 
 dress thus described : 
 
 " His cope [cloak] was all of Lyncoln clothe so fyne, 
 With a gold button fasten'd near his chyne; 
 His autremete [a loose priest's robe] was edged with 
 golden twynnc," &c. 
 
 Ballad of Charitie, 50, 
 
 In confirmation of this anecdote, it appears, from many 
 particulars preserved in Hackluyt's collection, that about 
 this time a very considerable trade in cloth was carried on 
 between Boston (the port of Lincoln) and Prussia, and 
 other places in the Baltic.
 
 Antiquity of the Woollen Manufacture in England. 333 
 
 From another circumstance incidentally mentioned in 
 this collection, it would seem that the art of knitting stockings 
 was much sooner introduced into Britain than is generally 
 imagined: for, in the song by Sir Thyhbot Gorges, in the 
 entrelude of ^Ella, mention is thus made of it: 
 
 " As Elynour bie the green lesselle was syttynge, 
 
 As from the sone's heat she harried, 
 
 She sayde, as her whyte honds \vhyte hozen was knyttynge} 
 
 Whatte pleasure ytt ys to be married!" Sec. 203. 
 
 No\v, although some will conclude that this is a plain 
 proof of the forgery of these poems, because it mentions an 
 art as common, which was only introduced into Britain in 
 the days of Elizabeth; yet I would by no means draw the 
 same inference, but would rather be induced to search with 
 greater attention, to try to discover, by other means, if this 
 art was then known in England: for, although the discovery 
 of the art of knitting stockings in Britain is marked by the 
 author of the History of Commerce about the year 1561, 
 when Queen Elizabeth is said to have worn the first pair of 
 hose of this kind; yet it ought to be remarked, that the 
 same author marks the year 1376 as the Eera of the introduc- 
 tion of the woollen manufacture into Ireland, and the year 
 1327 as the lime when trades were first incorporated in 
 London. But it has been proved above, from indisputable 
 authority, that the woollen manufacture was established in 
 Ireland, at least above a hundred years prior to the period 
 he assigns to it; and that, at two hundred years before he 
 mentions it, the practice of incorporating trades in London 
 was considered as an old institution. Seeing he is thus 
 mistaken in both these instances, why may he not also be 
 mistaken in the third? I would therefore propose it as an 
 exercise for some of your antiquarian readers, to ascertain 
 whether this art was "known in England at the time this 
 poem is said to have been written, the proving or disproving 
 of which will go far towards 'proving or disproving the 
 authenticity of these poems. 
 
 As another praxis of the same kind, I would reommend 
 the following lines from the same poem to their notice, 
 
 " Eche mornynge I ryse doe I sette mie maydennes, 
 Somme to sp'ynn, somme to curdell, somme bleachyngc," 
 
 &c. 220. 
 
 as the last word seems to indicate that the linen manufac- 
 ture was then carried on to some degree of perfection, 
 though it deserves to be noted that it must have been far 
 , short of the woollen. The last was then a public institution,
 
 3 3 4- Historical Account of the Abbey of Eveshatn. 
 
 Carried on by the several different artists ; weavers, fullers, 
 dyers, &c. the other seems to have been entirely a domestic 
 manufacture, carried on in ail its branches in a private 
 family way. 
 
 I have thus, Sir, endeavoured to satisfy some of the 
 doubts of your sceptical correspondent. From these re-* 
 marks it will appear, that the author of the Observations, &c. 
 on National Industry, although he differs very much from the 
 common received opinion with regard to the origin of the 
 woollen manufacture, has done so only in consequence of 
 being better informed, in respect of that particular, than 
 those writers who have hitherto treated of it. Hence, I 
 think, there is reason to conclude that he is probably equally 
 well informed as to the other particulars mentioned by your 
 correspondent, the investigation of which I leave to others. 
 
 These topics, when fully discussed, will afford plea- 
 sure to 
 
 A Candid Inquirer. 
 
 1778, August. 
 
 LXXXV. Historical Account of the Abbey of Evcsham. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 HAVING been presented with a curious MS. which wa>' 
 found among the papers of the late learned Oxford anti- 
 quary, Mr. Francis Wise, I send it to your valuable Repo- 
 sitory, not doubting but it will be readily accepted. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 A Constant Reader. 
 
 A treatise of the Abbey of Jives/iam, written, as it sccmeth, 
 by some one of that house. Transcribed by that learned 
 antiquary Mr. Thomas Talbot > and out of the Latin truly 
 translated* 
 
 The Abbey of Evesham was founded Anno Dom. 709, in, 
 the time of Pope Constantino 1. and in the time of St. 
 Egwin III. Bishop of Worcester, who resigned his bishop- 
 rick to Wilfred, and was here ordained the first Abbot. 
 Kenredus and Offa, both Kings g ave much land to St. Eg- 
 win, towards the foundation of thi.s monastery; and, going 
 to Rome with him in the time of his second voyage, both 
 kings took on them the habit of religion. And all this was 
 done Anno Dom. 713, Constantine being then pope. 
 This was written the 826ih year of the foundation of this
 
 Historical Account of the Abbey of Evesham. 335 
 
 tnonastery, being Anno Dom. 1 535 ; the 26th of Henry VIII. 
 the 22cl of Clement Litchfield, abbot of Evesham. 
 
 After the death of abbot Egwin, being the 18th abbot after 
 St. Egwin, a certain wicked prince of this country, named 
 Athelmus, obtained of King Edmund, son of King Edward 
 the elder, this abbey ; chased the monks, the servants of 
 God, from thence, and settled certain canons in their place. 
 He being deceased, divers men, under sundry kings, with 
 the power of the laity, possessed the monastery: as, one 
 called Nilsius, a greedy devourer of the holy church; and 
 Bishop Ophultius: and so from one power to another, con- 
 trary potentates, the state of this abbey was miserably dis- 
 tracted, until St. Ethehvold, by the command of King Ed- 
 gar, and St. Dunstan, coming hither, made Oswald abbot 
 here, Anno Dom. 960; commending to him the lands and 
 possessions which Athelmus, Christ's adversary, after the 
 the death of abbot Egwin, had taken away. 
 
 King Edgar departing this life, and Edward his son then 
 reigning, a certain most sinful duke, named Alferas, who 
 ruled with a mighty power this country, expulsing hence the 
 monks again, placed here a few canons, bestowed on them, 
 as it pleased himself, some part of the lands, reserving the 
 rest to his own use. In the end, falling into sickness, and 
 despairing of life be called unto him a certain monk, named 
 Feodegarus ; and after he had conversed with him, gave 
 him this abbey, with so much of the lands thereof as he 
 had. Abbot Feodegarus coming hither, did but a short 
 time continue here; because, finding the clerks stronger 
 than himself, he could not banish them thence. Afterwards, 
 one Godvvyn, a mighty lord, coming to king Etheired, 
 gave him 300 marks of gold, upon condition he might have 
 this abbey bv the king's gift confirmed to him and his heirs 
 for ever. The king, greedy of gold, granted to him this 
 place. Godwyn, coming hither, subjected to him the 
 priests ; and making havock of the abbey's possessions, 
 began to rule as he pleased. But after a little while, the 
 king gave this church to a bishop, called Agelsins; who, 
 within a short time, incurring the king's displeasure, was 
 thrown from the bishoprick, and passing the seas never re- 
 turned. After this the king gave the same to a certain 
 other bishop, named Athelston ; who dying, Adolphus, 
 Bishop of Worcester, got it of ths king, and, first depriv- 
 ing it of its liberty, subjected it to his jurisdiction. This 
 bishop made Africianus abbot of Evesham ; after whose 
 death abbot Alsgarus governed this monastery. But amongst 
 *11 these passages, the aforesaid Godwyn ever possessed
 
 53& Historical Account of the. Abbey of Eveshdnt, 
 
 forty hides of land, so as neither hishops nor abbots could 
 ever have anv more than the church- rents; the rest of the 
 living the priest held. Alsgarus leaving this life, Brithen- 
 arus, a certain abbot, governed tins religious house, who 
 pleaded often against Godwyn before many princes of this 
 country, alleging that he unjustly detained the church's 
 lands ; whereupon it was adjudged, that he should pay God- 
 \vyn so much money as was paid by Godwyn to the king, 
 and so recover, by law, the lands unto his church ; which 
 accomplishing willingly, these 40 hides were restored to the 
 abbey. After this, abbot Athelwynus succeeded in his 
 place; and Athelwynus. dying, the fore-cited Godwyn, by 
 his power, invaded again the abbey, and ravened on the 
 lands and possessions. But at the length, King Ethelred 
 ordained Aylesward, a monk of Ramsey-abbey, to be ahbot 
 of this monastery, Anno Dom. 1014, which venerable man 
 coming hither, by the assistance of Almighty God and the 
 king, expelled Godwyn and regained all the lands : and 
 alter, under King Canutus, his kinsman, was made abbot, 
 and a most holy Bishop of London, 6 to kal. Augusti, A.D. 
 1044 ; and,, lastly, buried at Ramsey. Mauritius, a monk 
 ef this place, succeeded, being elected by King Edward. 
 This reverend man, as well for his learning in the sacred 
 scriptures, as in very many other arts, as singing, writing, 
 goldsmith's work, and such like, was reputed to excel al- 
 most all of this country. After a time, this abbot Mauritius, 
 surprised with a grievous infirmity, made choice of one of 
 his monks, named Egelwynus, (a man of approved life, 
 both for the nobility of his blood and learning, in holy hu- 
 mane letters highly esteemed,) to undertake his pastoral 
 office ; and therefore sent him, with some of his brethren, 
 (licing honourable sepular persons,) to King Edward, cer- 
 tifying how he was oppressed by violent sickness, and 
 humbly praying him that he would absolutely commit the 
 monastery to Egelwynus, and make him abbot in his place ; 
 which the king advisedly knowing, and conxlescending to his 
 request, appointed Egelwynus to be abbot, and caused him 
 to be honourably consecrated by Archbishop Aldred ; and 
 being ever after dearly beloved by the king and all his 
 barons, was admitted among the king's especial friends, a 
 privy counsellor. Mauritius survived seven years after 
 this; and the same night and hour wherein King Edward 
 passed out of the world, being Idus .hmuarij, 1065, he also, 
 a> it is said, died: and abbot Eigwyn departed this life 14 
 kal. Martij, A. D. 1077. Walter, a monk of the abbey, 
 culled Corasia, was then ordained abbot by King Wiliiain,
 
 Historical Account of the Albty of Etesham. 337 
 
 1086, and when he had almost eight years governed the 
 church, he died 14 kal. February, A.D. 1093. This abbot 
 is mentioned in the Doomsday-book, in the time of the 
 Conqueror. In his place succeeded Robert, a monk of 
 Gimeges : in his time the market of Stow was obtained by 
 Ralph, the king's chancellor. Robert died Anno Dom. 1096". 
 Maurice, a monk of this church, succeeded ; died Anno 
 Dom. 1122. Reginald of Gloucester, nephew to Miles 
 Earl of Hereford, followed, and went with him to Rome, 
 in the time of Pope Innocent the second, in pursuit of a 
 cause against Bishop Simon; and died 8 kal. Sept. 1149 
 The next abbot was William de Andevil, a monk of the 
 church of Canterbury. This man, though unarmed, did, 
 with a singular resolution, excommunicate William deBello 
 Campo, with his accomplices, to their very faces, though 
 armed, when they destroyed the waits of the church-yard, 
 and in time of war made the church's goods their prey ; 
 whereupon not one of them departed this life according to 
 Christian religion and Christian rites. He won, also, cou- 
 rageously, the castle of Bengworth, which was raised at 
 the end of Evesham-bridge, from William de Bello Campo; 
 and razing it down, caused a church-yard to be consecrated 
 in the place. He passed out of this life 2 non. Jan. A.D. 
 1160. 
 
 After him was Adam Clunacensis de Charitate. This 
 man saw more happy times, and in his days the abbey was 
 blest with many benefits ; and when he had almost SO years 
 in all tranquillity governed this church, he "closed his life 2 
 id. Nov. 1 191. Roger, surnamed Novicus, succeeded, some 
 time a monk of the church of Canterbury, but for his 
 wickedness thrown there into prison ; whence breaking 
 away by flight through the privies, he got his liberty, and 
 lost" his house by expulsion, and so remained a monk of 
 no monastery afterwards; no college acknowledging him 
 theirs, nor receiving him. He was by the royal power, as 
 an intruder, promoted to be abbot of Evesham ; the con- 
 vent of the abbey, as far as they could, renouncing him. 
 This abbot shewed himself a man of high mind, and seemed 
 to abound in variety of learning; but in the end, for his 
 tyranny, drunkenness, luxury, and dilapidation of the goods 
 of the abbey, and other enormities, he was deposed by 
 Nicholas, B'ishop of Tusentuin, being here the bishop's 
 legate upon occasion of business concerning the church o 
 England ; and from an abbot became prior of Bengworth 
 Pcavvorth, A.D. 113, the whole convent rejoicing thereat; 
 and after three yean, finishing his life he was there buried, 
 
 VOL. i. *
 
 338 Historical Account of the Abbey of Evesham. 
 
 Roger thus deposed, a reverend and virtuous man, 
 named Ralph, a prior of the church of Worcester, and 
 born at Evesham, succeeded, and was confirmed in his place 
 with benediction of an abbot, by Nicholas, bishop of Tu- 
 sentum, the bishop's legate; and was, at York, A.D. 1221, 
 consecrated abbot by the Bishop of Chichester ; and, hav- 
 ing been a governor in the church 15 years, died 6 kal. Jan. 
 
 122D. 
 
 After him Thomas de Marlborough, prior of this monas- 
 tery, was chosen abbot, yet could not be admitted but by 
 the court of Rome. Whereupon, with a derogation from 
 the jurisdiction of the archbishop, he had the next year 
 the benediction of an abbot, by the Bishop of Coventry. 
 Before this, this man was a student, and learned in both 
 the laws, who died 2 id. Sept. 1236, having been abbot 7 
 years, and lies buried in the body of the church, and in the 
 south wall, under the image of a bishop wrought in marble, 
 Richard Le Gicoss, prior of Huckley, succeeded. This 
 abbot was much employed in the service of King Henry 
 the third, as well on this side as beyond the seas. He was 
 lord chancellor of England; and, lastly, in the parts of Gas- 
 coigne, entered the way of all flesh, 5 id. Dec. 1242, when 
 he had sat about 6 years. 
 
 After him Thomas de Glancer, a monk of this same house, 
 was chosen, and the next year confirmed abbot, by Bishop 
 Innocent the 4th ; and, b"y the same bishop's command, 
 Teceived the benediction of this abbey from the Bishop of 
 Ely, the bishop having first taken the oath of obedience; 
 neither could ne yet obtain of the king his temporalities 
 until the king received afterwards from the bishop a special 
 mandate: therefore this Thomas holding his place almost 
 14 years, died 18 kal. Jan. 1255; buried in the midst of the 
 body of the church. Henry, prior of this monastery, was 
 afterwards confirmed abbot by Bishop Alexander the 4th, 
 who, when he had 7 years wisely and worthily governed, 
 went blessedly to our Lord^, id. Nov. 1263, and lieth buried 
 in the body of the church. Abbot Henry leaving this life, 
 the church of Evesham endured a long vacancy. In the 
 end, about the feast of the holy cross, in autumn, A. Dom. 
 1266, the legate Ottoban came to Evesham, and there or- 
 dained Sir William do Whitechurch, once a monk of Per- 
 sht>re, the abbot of Alncaster, now abbot of Evesham, who, 
 remaining in his seat 16 years, died 3 non. Aug. 1282, and 
 was buried in the midst *of the body of his church. John 
 de Brickhampton, a monk of this house, succeeded, who 
 was confirmed abbot at Rome by Bishop Martin the 4th;
 
 Historical Account of the Abbey of Evesham. 339 
 
 arid in the end, concluding in a good old age, took his last 
 sleep 15 kal. Sept. 1316. William de Cheriton was after 
 elected abbot, 3 kal. Sept. being before a monk of this 
 house, and was on Quadragesima Sunday confirmed in his 
 place by Bishop John 22cl. After he had ruled his church 
 here 28 years, he ended in peace his life, id. Dec. 1344. 
 
 William de Boys, a monk of the same house, was three 
 weeks after the decease of William de Cheriton, 3 kal. 
 Jan. with a general assent elected abbot ; and on Palm- 
 Sunduy next following, at Avignon, confirmed by Bishop 
 Clement the 6th. Returning into England, he was with 
 great reverence, and honourably, received at home by the 
 brethren of the monastery, and on Whit-Sunday honourably 
 installed. Wearied in the end with grievous sickness, he 
 died 8 id. Junij, 1367, and was buried by Lewes, Bishop 
 of Hereford, in thq body of Evesham church before St. 
 Kgwyn's altar, 12 kal. Julij, under a marble stone. He was 
 abbot 22 years and a half. John de Ombersley, a monk 
 and cellarer of this same house, canonically chosen by the 
 convent the 4th of July next ensuing, and received 15 kal. 
 Aug. by the hands of the bishop of Lincoln, the gift of hi* 
 benediction at Banbury, and in the calends of the same; 
 month installed at Evesham, who residing there 12 years, 
 he died Anno Dom. 1379, and lieth buried in the middle of 
 the body of the same church. 
 
 Ombersley departing this world, Roger Zotton, a very 
 religious man, and a sacrist of this house, was, 12 kal. 
 Pec. by the full consent of the convent, elected abbot, and 
 accepted afterward by the king, according as their privi- 
 lege appointed. He received at London his benediction by 
 the Bishop of Lincoln, and was on Christmas-Eve honourably 
 installed in the monastery of Evesham. And when he had 
 lived above 39 years after his election, and governed his 
 church, after a long life, died in the Lord on the day of St. 
 Chrysogon the martyr, being 8 kal. Dec. 1418, anno 5 Hen. 
 V. about 9 of the clock, and was buried in the midst of the 
 body of the church. 
 
 In the next week after, on St. Nicholas-day, 8 id. Dec. 
 Richard Bromsgrove, being the infirmary of this house, 
 was with a joint consent chosen abbot, and received his 
 benediction in his own church of Bengworth by the Bishop 
 of Bangor, then chancellor of Oxford, and on Christmas-Day 
 was honourably installed. And having 17 years resided here, 
 he died 10th May, 1435, and is interred in St. Mary's chapel, 
 at the steps to the aitar. 
 
 Sir John Nickwair, prior of this hoiise, was, 12 kal. Jan. 
 Z2
 
 3 iO Historical Account of the Abbey of Evcsham. 
 
 chosen abbot, that is to say, on St. Thomas the apostles 
 day ; and at Dangersweld, by the Bishop of Bath, then 
 chancellor of England, received his benediction. This 
 abbot having above 26 years continued in the place of au- 
 thority, spinning out a long life, and wearied with griev- 
 ous sickness, in his blessed old age ended his days A.D. 
 1460 ; and in the chapel of the blessed Mary, before the 
 image of St. Catharine, his body was recommended to 
 ecclesiastical funerals. 
 
 After him was a man of most worthy honour, Richard 
 Pembroke, having his grace to be Doctor of Divinity. He 
 was chosen by the general voice of the whole convent 30th 
 of May, 1460~; and on the 8th of April in the year following, 
 receiving his benediction by the Bishop of Hereford, was 
 with due honour installed. He governed this monastery 7 
 years, and dying the 7th of May, 1467, the 7th of Edward 
 the IVth, was buried in the body of this church. 
 
 Richard Havvkesbury, prior, was elected abbot, A.D. 1467, 
 and, being blessed by the Bishop of Lincoln, on Tuesday 
 the 6th of Aug. was with due reverence installed. He 
 ruled this church 10 years, and died the 6th of April, 1477, 
 the 17th of Edward the IVth. 
 
 William Upton, a monk of this house, and prior of Aln- 
 cester, was chosen abbot the 18th of April 1477, the 17th 
 of Edward the IVth, and was consecrated by John, Bishop 
 of Bericons, in the chapel of the rectory of St. Christopher's, 
 London, near the stocks, the 6th of May, being Saturday 
 before the Rogation; and the 10th of May he was honour- 
 ably installed. He was abbot only 5 years ; in the 5th year 
 he died, the llth of August, 1483, and 22d of Edward the 
 IVth, and was buried in the church between the font and 
 the altar. 
 
 John Norton, prior of the cloister, was elected abbot the 
 4th of Sept. 1483, the 1st of Richard the Hid. was conse- 
 crated by the Bishop of and the 1st of October next 
 
 following was with due honour installed. This abbot first 
 instituted'the feast of the visitation of St. Mary to be yearly 
 celebrated, and on the vigil of the same visitation (as he 
 earnestly desired) closed the last day of his life. He was 
 abbot 8 years, and died the 2d of July, 1491, and the 7th of 
 Henry the Vllth, and was buried in the body of the church, 
 at the greeses* to the altar of Jesus. 
 
 Thomas Newbold, cellarer of this monastery, was chosen 
 
 * Stairs or steps,
 
 Historical Account of the Abbey of Eveskam. 34 1 
 
 abbot the 8th of July, 1491, and 7th of Henry the VHth, and 
 consecrated by the bishop of Hereford; the 10th of Sep- 
 tember following was installed. He governed above 22 
 vears, and died a sudden death, the 6th of December, in the 
 night of St. Nicholas, 1513, and lieth buried in the body of 
 the church, at the head of John Norton. 
 
 Clement Lichfield, prior of this house, was by the con- 
 vent chosen abbot on St. Innocents-day, the 28th of Dec. 
 1513; who, receiving his benediction, by the bishop of 
 Assalon, on the day of St. Maurus, was installed with due 
 reverence and honour. This man having obtained the 
 degree of a bachelor, was endowed with singular learning. 
 He built a school for the education of children, assigning 
 rents for the maintenance of a school-master. 
 
 So far the writer out of whose Latin I translated this. 
 
 Lichfield afterwards resigning his dignity, abbot Philip 
 succeeded him : in whose time this monastery, with the 
 reigns of all other religious houses in England, perished. 
 This Clement Lichfield over-lived his monastery of Eve- 
 sham, which had continued, as before specified, 826 years : 
 saw himself deprived of his house, and the sate* of th'e mo- 
 nastery given, in the 34th of King Henry Vlllth, by that sa- 
 crilegious king, to Sir Philip Hobby, who, enriched with the 
 spoils of this and other abbeys, died without Jesusf. Neither 
 yet did he leave these to his second brother, Mr. William 
 Hobby, but conveyed all to his third brother, Sir Thomas 
 Hobby, whose son and heir, Sir Edward Hobby, deprived all 
 qur shire| by seal to <?thers, 
 
 And now to return to Clement Lichfield. His goodly 
 church, where so many of his predecessors lie buried (as 
 before exactly described,) with Simon Montfort, that 
 mighty earl of Leicester, is so absolutely overthrown, as that 
 there remaineth nothing but a huge deal of rubbish over- 
 grown with grass. He erected, in the church of All-Saints, 
 in Evesham, a little but most curious chapel, at whose door 
 he lieth humbled in the earth;' where is mentioned, that in 
 his time the new tower of Evesham was built, which is yet 
 untouched. But, to shew the magnificence of this abbey, 
 which, seated once pleasantly on the western rising bank 
 of the river Avon, brought first to light, and nourished un- 
 der her, this fair tower of Evesham, which now flourished), 
 let us but guess what this monastery, now dissolved, was 
 in former days, by the gate-house, yet remaining; which, 
 
 * Site, f Issue. J Worcester. 
 
 2 3
 
 342 Curious Questions answered by T. Row. 
 
 though deformed with age, is as large and stately as any at 
 this time in England. This abbey of Benedictine monks 
 was immediately subordinate to the pope, and the abbot 
 thereof a great baron of parliament. 
 
 At the end of the MS. are the four following instruments ; 
 which being already in print, we shall only give their titles, 
 and refer the reader to the places where they may be found. 
 
 1. '< The Epistle of Constantius, Bishop of Rome, to 
 Brythwald, Archbishop of Canterbury, concerning the 
 Vision of Egwyn, the Calling of a Council, with the Insti- 
 tution of a MONASTERY." See in Monast. Anglic, vol. I. 
 p. 144. ** Bullam Papae Constantini Saxonico characters 
 scriptum." See also Spelman's Concilia, vol. I. p. 209, and 
 Wilkins's Concilia, vol, I. p. 71. 
 
 2. " The History of the General Synod or Provincial 
 Council of England, celebrated at a place called Alncester 
 commonly, now Alcester, by Brythwald, Archbishop of Can- 
 terbury, and Wilfred, of York, wherein the Donations of the 
 new-born Monastery of EVESHAM are confirmed." See 
 Wilkins's Concilia, vol. I. p. 72. 
 
 3. " The Charter of King Kenred and King Offa for the 
 Lands wherein the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Bishop 
 Egwyn, with very much more conferred on the Monastery 
 of EVESHAM in the Lateran Church, being all confirmed by 
 Pope Constantine." See Monast. Angl. vol. I. p. 145. 
 
 4. " The Charter of Egwyn, Bishop of Wiccians (or Wor- 
 cestershire) wherein he mentioneth his Vision, with the foun- 
 dation and donations of his Monastery." See Monast. Angl, 
 vol. I. p. 145. 
 
 1778, Oct. 
 
 LXXXVI. Curious Questions answered by T. Row. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 I SHALL esteem myself fortunate, if, by inserting this let- 
 ter in your truly useful Miscellany, 1 should gain information 
 upon three or four articles that I have long and in vain 
 sought. I am confident that the learned Mr. Row, who has 
 so ably illustrated many valuable and curious parts of ancient 
 learning, can gratify me in this request, if the following in- 
 quiries can daim his notice. 
 
 How {ong has the rose been part of the clerical habit; 
 and is it peculiar to the English clergy ?
 
 Curious Questions answered by T. Row. 343 
 
 Why is Maundy-Thursday called Shier-Thursday in 
 Collier's Eccles. Hist. v. ii. p."l97? 
 
 Are the letters N or M in our Catechism, initials of 
 Christian names? If not, why are they selected in prefer^ 
 ence to all others? 
 
 1 have frequently met with allusions to a ceremony in the 
 conclave, that of opening and shutting the mouth of a new- 
 made cardinal ; and wish much to see a circumstantial ac- 
 count of this singular rite. It reminds me of the seven 
 years' silence enjoined to learners by Pythagoras, and of 
 the one year's silence observed by cur advocates in eccle- 
 siastical courts. 
 
 I remain, Sir, with many thanks for the obligations received 
 from your labours, 
 
 Your most devoted servant, 
 3 April. CANTIANUS. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 YOUR correspondent Cuntianus entertains a higher opinion 
 ef my petty performances in your Magazine than they can 
 possibly deserve; however, as he has thought fit to mention 
 iny name, I will try to give some sort of answer to his que- 
 ries, though far, as I fear, from satisfactory. 
 
 Q, " How long has the rose been part of the clerical 
 habit ; and is it peculiar to the English clergy ?" 
 
 A. The rose was anciently thought an emblem of secrecy, 
 as sacred to amours, or to Venus. Potter's Antiq. II. p. 385. 
 Charles Howard, now duke of Norfolk, p. 96 of Anecdotes. 
 Now, in this view, one would suppose the rose to come into 
 use when auricular confession was practised here, i.e. be- 
 fore the Reformation, the father confessor being ever obli- 
 gated to the strictest silence, as to all matters revealed to 
 him, though he did not always think himself so in fact, but 
 would sometimes abuse his trust, Fox, Martyrolog. II. p. 237, 
 Hence, however, I presume came the expression, under the 
 rose be it spoken; unless you will suppose it derived frorr 
 rose placed in entertaining rooms above the table, formerly, 
 to signify that what was there spoken should be kept pri- 
 vate. See Archbishop Potter, 1. c. The rose, I apprehend, 
 is peculiar to the English clergy (of this, however, 1 am n 
 certain), but is now going more and more into disuse, evei 
 amongst them. 
 
 Q. "Why is Maundy-Thursday called Shier/Thursday 
 
 in Collier ?" , 
 
 A. Cotgrave calls it, by a word of the same sound ana 
 z 4
 
 344 Curious Questions answered by T. Row. 
 
 import, Sheere- Thursday. Perhaps, for I can only go upon 
 conjecture, as Sheer means purus, mundus, it may allude to 
 the washing of the disciples' feet, John, xiii. 5, seq. and be 
 tantamount to clean. See v. 10 ; and Lye's Diet. v. Scir. 
 If this does not please, the Saxon sciran signifies dividers, 
 and the name may come from the distribution of alms upon 
 that day. For which see Archaeol. Soc. Antiq. I. p. 7, seq. 
 Spelman. Gloss, v. Mandatum; et Du Fresne, IV. p. 40O. 
 Please to observe, too, that on that day they also washed 
 the altars ; so that the term in question may allude to the 
 business. See Collier's Eccl. Hist. II. p. 197. Cantianus 
 may choose any of these he pleases; or he has my leave to 
 reject them all. 
 
 Q.. " Are the letters N or M in our Catechism, initials of 
 Christian names ? if not, why are they selected in pre- 
 ference to all others ?" 
 
 A. They represent Christian names (and accidentally may 
 prove initials of them), for o Archbishop Wake, and Dr. 
 S. Clarke, to mention no more, understand them. Dr. Duport 
 gives, o hma. 5 &ur ( i. e. such or such. N. I have observed, 
 lor Nomcn, is commonly inserted in forms or precedents, in 
 the place where the name of the party is to be mentioned, 
 and therefore obviously occurred ; as to M. it is arbitrary, 
 and was owing to mere chance. It would have been as well 
 to have put it M or N t or A or B, as either of these would be 
 plainer, and have forestalled all doubt. 
 
 Q. " I have met with allusions to a ceremony in the con- 
 clave, that of opening and shutting the mouth of a new r 
 made cardinal ; and wish much to see a circumstantial ac- 
 count of this singular rite." 
 
 A. The best account I have seen of this business is p. 75, 
 of a folio book, entitled, // Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa, 
 printed anno 1670; where, after the cardinal is nominated, 
 and indeed created, he stays at home till the next public con- 
 sistory ; to which he marches with a very great train, to re- 
 ceive the red cap from the bands of his holiness. Now, 
 please to observe, " In the first private consistory after the 
 public, the pope did use to stop up the mouths, as it were, of 
 the new cardinals, by putting his finger upon them; by that 
 ceremony forbidding them to speak their opinion in the 
 consistories or congregations for some time, and depriving 
 them both of their active and passive voices," &c. See there 
 what fellows about opening the mouths of the young cardi- 
 nals by Pope Pius Quintus, A. 1571. 
 
 This, Sir, I hope, may prove sufficient for the information 
 of your friends ; I, however, can proceed no further than,
 
 The Curfew. 34.5 
 
 just to observe, that in stating; the qMCsti-jn, shittlin* //r 
 mouth ought to precede the opening; and that the cerei'nony 
 of shutting respected the consistories and congregation 
 well as the conclave. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 177 '9, July. 
 
 LXXXVII. On the Cm-few. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 THE late Mr. Gostling, of Canterbury, was n worth}- mni\ 
 and well respected for his good-nature and pleasantrv; 
 but, at the same time, he was very sanguine, and not a lit- 
 tle opiniated, insomuch that when he had taken a thin; 
 into his head, it was not an easy matter to drive' it out. He 
 was a great collector of antiquities; and, in a lung life, had 
 Amassed a considerable number of curious antique articles, 
 Amongst other matters, he had gotten a piece of household 
 furniture, of copper, which he was pleased to call a curfw; 
 and his friends, on account of his years and good-hunjoiir, 
 did not care to contradict him. This implement has since 
 been engraved in the Antiquarian Repertory, Vol. I. p. 8y, 
 and 'F. G. who communicated the drawing to the conductor 
 of that work, having without scruple adopted the old gen- 
 tleman's notion of it, has described it as a curfew, from its 
 use of suddenly putting out a fire; and sayi>, " Probub'ly 
 curfews wei'e used in the time of William the Conqueror, 
 who, in the first year of his reign, directed that, on the 
 ringing of a certain bell, all persons should put out their 
 fires and candles.'" 
 
 Now, -Sir, authors agree in the institution of the curfw- 
 bell, by William the Conqueroi'; and it was doubtless a good 
 stroke of policy, imitated afterwards by others on like oc- 
 casions*: but they call it the corfcit-bell, or the corfeu, in 
 Tvhich latter short expression either bell is understood, or 
 the time of night, or the injunction for putting out the fire, 
 is meant. However, not a word is said by any of them, of 
 any particular implement made use of for the purpose of 
 
 * Antiq. Repertory, p. 216. As to the use of earfeu in other countriii 
 ;ee Du Fresne, v. Ignitegium,
 
 346 Yew-trees in Church-yards, (heir probable Use. 
 
 extinguishing the 6re; nor do we meet with the name of 
 corfeu, as an implement, in any ancient writer whatsoever} 
 and thereupon 1 incline to think there never was any such. 
 
 But, you will ask, for what use, then, could this old 
 piece of household serVe ? I answer,, you have heard of 
 baking bread or cakes, or other matters, under embers* j 
 and the same is practised now-a-days in most counties 
 where they burn wood. They make clean a place in the 
 hearth, lay the bread upon it, cover it with something (this 
 implement, for example) to keep the ashes from it, and 
 then rake a proper quantity of coals and ashes upon it. 
 This will account for those " others of the kind still re- 
 maining in Kent and Sussexf," and, in my opinion, for the 
 trne use of Mr. Gostling's implement, which does not ap- 
 pear to me, to judge from its elegance in the draught, to be 
 of any such great antiquity as the practice of the corfeu in- 
 troduced by the Conqueror, since this ceased, as I suspect, 
 temp. Henr. Primi, (tor so I understand those words of 
 Knyghton, " Lucernarum usum tempore Patris sui intermis- 
 sunt restituit de nocte in curia sua^;,") though the ringing 
 or' the bell continued, and even does so to this day in many 
 places. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 J779, A?' T. ROW. 
 
 LXXXVIII. Yw -trees in Church-yards their probable Use. 
 
 MR. URBAN, Dec. I. 
 
 THE large yew-trees that we see in some church-yards 
 have been supposed to have been originally planted there, 
 either to protect the churches from storms, or to furnish 
 the parishioners with hows. Neither of these reasons seem 
 satisfactory. The slow growth of these trees seems to ren- 
 der them improper for the first purpose: besides, if that 
 bad been the design, we should probably have seen the 
 
 * Genesis xviii. 6. and Bishop Patrick ad loc. Calmct, Diet. v. Eating. 
 
 f- Antiqu. Report, p. 90, 
 
 Hen. Knyghton, inter X. Script, col. Q3U. Sne Stow, Hist. p. 135. 
 Malmesbury, p. 1.56, who, for tkmf>~re patrls, has tempore Jrattik, Knyghton, 
 fcowever, evidently transcribes Wiiliam of Malmesbury.
 
 Tew-trcss in Church-yards, their proLill,'- Use. 3-17 
 
 church-yards better furnished with them, than thcv novr 
 are; it being very rare to meet with above one or two of 
 them in the same place. It cannot indeed be denied, but 
 that when they are grown to a great size, their thick foliage 
 may be a good protection from storms, and accordingly, in 
 the observations on the more ancient statutes, we are in- 
 formed, that, upon felling the yew-trees in a country 
 church-yard in Wales, the'roof of the church suffered ex- 
 cessively. But though perhaps, in a few parishes, more 
 than usual of these trees might for some reason or other be 
 planted in church-yards ; yet, as I observed, their slew 
 growth, and the few remains of them at present, give reason, 
 to believe, that they were not in general planted for that pur- 
 pose. The statute of 13 Ed. I. that settles the property of 
 trees in church-yards, recites indeed that they were often 
 planted " to defend the force of the wind from hurting of 
 the church;'' but is so far from giving room to think that 
 yews were planted for such defence, that it appears, that 
 the trees in question were such as were fit for the repairs 
 of the church and chancel, and were to be cut down for 
 no other purpose. 
 
 Nor am I better satisfied, that yews were planted in 
 church-yards to furnish bows: at least, our ancient legisla- 
 tors appear not to have ordered such plantations ; for 
 though there are several laws that encourage archery, and 
 condescend so far as to regulate many very minute particu- 
 lars relative to bows and arrows, yet I cannot find any sta- 
 tute or proclamation that directs the cultivation of the yew- 
 tree in any place whatever ; whereas James I. when he 
 hoped to introduce the manufacture of silk among us, 
 wisely ordered that church-yards should be planted with 
 mulberry-trees for the use of the parish. On the contrary, 
 our old laws, though full of complaints of the scarcity and 
 dearness of bow-staves, instead of ordering the cultivation 
 of the yew-tree at home, obliged merchants to import ma- 
 terials for bows from abroad. 1 shall quote some passap.es 
 from these statutes as curiosities. One in 12 Edward IV. 
 recites, that the King had perceived, by a petition from 
 the commons, the great scarcity and excessive price of bow- 
 staves, and therefore ordains, that every merchant stranger 
 that shall convey into this land any merchandise of the city 
 or country of Venice, or of any other city, town, or coun- 
 try, from whence any such bowstaves have been before this 
 time brought, shall bring at the same time four bowstaves 
 for every ton of such merchandise. Another in the reigu 
 of Rich. III. informs us, that upon the bowyers representing
 
 348 Yew-trees in Church-yards, their probable Use. 
 
 that in times past, good and able stuff of bowstaves had 
 been brought into this realm, as well by English merchants 
 as strangers, whereby the inhabitants, bowyers, might com- 
 petently live upon such stuff, which they bought at 40s. or 
 46s. Sd. a hundred at most; but which then, by the seditious 
 confederacy of Lombards, were at the outrageous price of 
 81. the hundred ; so that in a short time this realm was like 
 to fail as well of stuff of artillery, as of workmen thereof it 
 was ordained, that no merchant of Venice, nor other which 
 used to repair into this realm with merchandises of those 
 parts, shall bring into this realm any such merchandises, 
 unless he brought at the same time ten bowstaves, good and 
 able stuff, with every butt of Malmsey, and with every butt 
 of Tire. The complaint of the scarcity and dearness of 
 bows occurs also in the reign of Elizabeth; who, therefore, 
 jn her 13th year, ordered the statute of 12 Edward IV. to be 
 put duly in execution : and declared that all merchant 
 strangers, using to bring wares into this realm from the East 
 parts, as well as from the seventy- two Hanse-Towns, were 
 comprised and meant under the name of such merchants as 
 were bound by the said statute. 
 
 From the above extracts it appears, that we depended 
 principally upon imported bowstaves for our best bows; 
 which one would think needed not to have been the case, if 
 our church-yards had been well stocked with yew-trees, be-r 
 sides considerable quantities of them that were scattered 
 about various parts of the kingdom in a wild state, and 
 the plantations which individuals must of course have made 
 of a commodity that bore a good price. But the truth is., 
 though our archers were the glory of the nation, and the 
 terror of its enemies, yet the English yew was of an inferior 
 goodness, and our brave countrymen were forced to have 
 recourse to foreign materials. I shall produce but one 
 proof, and that a decisive one, of this inferiority. Eliza- 
 beth, in her 8th year, in " an Act of Bowyers," thus settles 
 the price of bows : bows meet for men's shooting, being out- 
 landish yew, of the best sort, not over the price of 6s. 8d. 
 each ; bows meet for men's shooting, of the second sort, 3s. 
 4d.; bows for men, of a coarser sort, called livery bows, 2s. ; 
 bows being English yew, 2s*. This accounts for the silence 
 
 * In 33 Hen. VIII. 3s. -Id. seems to have been the highest price of a bow; 
 for then it was ordered, that no Bowyer should sell any bow of yew, of the 
 tax called Elk, for more than that price. A friend of mine informs me, that 
 he has seen in Scotland very ancient bows of the Douglases that were very 
 long and heavy, and must have consumed the heart of a very considerably 
 tree to make one.
 
 Yew-trees in Church-yards, their probable Use. 349 
 
 of our ancient legislators with respect to the culture of 
 the English yew, which, as far as I can perceive, was 
 never an object of national concern ; and which, with other 
 inferior woods, was rather used for domestic exercise and 
 practice, than relied upon for deeds of valour in the field 
 of battle. But, if the custom of planting yew-trees in. 
 church-yards for the purpose of archery had even partially 
 prevailed, and been found useful, it is almost impossible 
 but that some of the statutes on that subject must have re- 
 cited it, and encouraged its further extension ; and we should, 
 in consequence, have seen more considerable remains of 
 them in those places than at present hardly any where oc- 
 cur. Indeed the opinion I have been combating is, as far as 
 the few books I have an opportunity of consulting enable 
 me to judge, of a very modern date. Gerard mentions their 
 growing in church-yards, where they have been planted. 
 Evelyn only says, that its propagation hath been forborne 
 since the use of bows has been laid aside. Sir Thomas 
 Brown, in his Urn Burial, thinks " it may admit conjecture, 
 whether the planting of yews in church-yards had not its 
 original from ancient funeral rites, or as an emblem of re- 
 surrection from its perpetual verdure." He appears not to 
 have ever heard of their being planted there for bows; for, 
 if he had, he could scarcely have avoided mentioning it 
 upon this occasion. What truth there may be in Sir 
 Thomas's conjecture, which is adopted by the ingenious 
 and inquisitive editor of the " Antiquitates Vulgares" of Mr. 
 Bourne how our countrymen came to excel in the use of 
 instruments, the best of which they were forced to have 
 from abroad and why the yew-tree, which loves Aqitilonem 
 et Frigora, was not as of good quality in England, as in 
 other parts with some other questions that this little essay 
 may involve, are matters that J am not at present prepared 
 to discuss; but proceed to offer my own thoughts upon 
 those venerable yew-trees that are still to be seen in some 
 of our church-yards. 
 
 In this country there used to be formerly (as in catholic 
 countries there still is) a procession on Palm-Sunday, in 
 memory of our Saviour's entrance into Jerusalem, when 
 branches of Palm-trees were strewn in his way; and it was 
 a ceremony retained after some others were dropped : for 
 bearing of Palms on Palm-Sunday was one of the laudable 
 customs which Henry VIII. in 1536 declared was not to be 
 contemned and cast away: and Whcatley informs' us from 
 Collier, that Palms were used to be borne here with us till
 
 Yew-trees in Church-yards, their probable Use. 
 
 2 lid ward VI. The Khcmish translators of the New Testa- 
 meal mention also tlie bearing of Palms on this day in their 
 country when it was catholic : and Mr. Bourne abovemen- 
 tioned, who wrote about (io years ago, says, that they now 
 and then on a Palm-Sunday saw the young people carrying 
 branches of P alms in their hands; and an old IVIS. quoted in 
 3d Volume of Horda Angel-Cyunan, says, " whertbr holi 
 chirche this daye makyth solemp-ne processyon, in mynde 
 of the processyon that Cryst made this (ley; hut for en - 
 chesen that we hav noone Olyve that bearith greene leves, 
 therefore we taken Palme, and geven insteade of Olyve, and 
 bfdre it about in procession, so is this daye called Palme- 
 Sonday." From these passages it is evident, that something 
 called a Palm was carried in procession on Palm-Sunday. 
 What the last writer means by our having no Olive that 
 beareth green leaves, I do not so well know; however, 
 \vhat he calls a Palm was substituted, Now it is my idea, 
 that these Palms, so familiarly mentioned, were no other than 
 the branches of yew-trees. Some author 1 have read makes 
 mention of a few of the true Palm-trees growing at Home, 
 from which the Pope and a few of the higher Cardinals are 
 supplied with branches on Palm-Sunday; while the rest are 
 forced to be contented with the succedaneum of some other 
 evergreen. Sprigs of box, says the editor of Mr. Bourne, 
 are still used as a substitute for Palms in Roman Catholic 
 countries. With us, in the north, the children go out into 
 the fields, the week before this Sunday,* a palmsoning or 
 palmsning, as they call it, and gather the flowering buds of 
 the sallow; because, perhaps, in some of those parts they 
 are the only things at this season in which the power of 
 vegetation can be discovered. And why should not the 
 branches of the yew-tree also be good substitutes, and as- 
 sume the name of their principals; they are not only always 
 green, but in blossom too, as early as they can be wanted 
 for this ceremony; and being planted near the church, 
 would be always ready at hand. For this purpose (as now 
 for decking the church at Christmas) one or two trees 
 would be fully sufficient, which is the usual number we meet 
 with in one church-yard ; and that they actually were 
 made this use of is extremely probable, from those in the 
 
 * Tills custom is not peculiar to the north, beimr still a common practice 
 in the neighbourhood of London. The young people jro a palming; and the 
 sallow is sold iu London streets for the whole week preceding Palm Sunday.
 
 in Clmrch-Yards, their probable Use. 351 
 
 churcly-yards in East Kent (where there are some very large 
 and old) being to this day universally called palms; and^if 
 they should go under the same name in other parts, my con- 
 jecture would receive a very great additional force. 
 
 I wish, Sir, what ] have here suggested may attract the 
 attention of some of your correspondents, who may be able 
 to throw more light on the subject. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 1779, Dec. A. B. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 YOUll correspondent A. B. has gone deeply into the sub- 
 ject of yew-trees in church-yards, and his essay is both en- 
 tertaining and instructive. It may be said with propriety, 
 he hath fairly and candidly demolished the two current 
 opinions concerning them, that they were " originally 
 planted there to protect the churches from storms, or to fur- 
 nish the parishioners with bows." But as it is always easier 
 to pull down than to build, he does not seem to have suc- 
 ceeded so well in his own conjecture upon them, " that 
 their branches were intended to be used on Palm- Sun day,'* 
 for this plain reason, the bearing of Palms on Palm-Sun- 
 day, was an act of joy and ovation in remembrance of our 
 Saviour's triumphant entry into Jerusalem; whereas the 
 yew is not only a tree of baleful influence, whence Statius 
 terms it, 
 
 metuendaque succo 
 
 Taxus *; 
 
 but it is too much of a funeral nature, to be made a substi- 
 tute for the joyful Palm. But you will say, the ill-smelling 
 box is applied in some countries to' the same purpose, and 
 is equally funeral, and therefore why not the yew.' I an- 
 swer, whatever may be the custom in foreign countries, box 
 never was used here, that we know of, in the processions on 
 Palm-Sunday, neither does it ever appear in our church- 
 yards, which it certainly would in that case as well as the 
 \xsv, upon A. B.'s hypothesis; ought not the box, on this 
 supposition, to occur as frequently in church-yards as the 
 yew? This objection is therefore invalid. 
 
 * Statim, VL v, 91. and aee Mr. Evelyn, passim.
 
 Curious Specimen of early Printing. 
 
 But what then, you will ask, was the intention of plant* 
 ing yews in church-yards, if their branches were not used 
 cm Palm-Sunday. 5 it is with the utmost difhdence, Mr. 
 Urban, that I deliver my opinion on this disputable question; 
 however, sensible as 1 am of your threat indulgence towards 
 
 * J O O 
 
 all your numerous correspondents, I shall venture to tell 
 you my thoughts. .Now 1 take it, as A. B. does, that yews, 
 specifically were pat planted in church-yards, for the pur- 
 pose of protecting the fabric of the church from storms; 
 though, in tlie event, they proved subservient to that end. 
 But my conception is, that on the first planting of trees 
 there, whenever that was, for I do not pretend to specify 
 the time, various kinds were introduced, and in some places 
 the yew amongst the rest. Considering the slowness of the 
 growth of this tree, and the immense bulk of some of them, 
 one has reason to think they may be as old as the Norman 
 conquest. Supposing then the yew to be once planted in 
 certain cemeteries, when the statute of 35 Ed. I. A.D. 1307, 
 Began to operate, whereby leave was given to fell or cut 
 down trees in church-yards, for building and repairs; the 
 timber trees adapted to that purpose would of course be 
 taken down from time to time; so that the yews at last, 
 and in our days, would be the' only trees left standing. 
 These, as unfit for the uses prescribed, would consequently 
 remain, and afterwards, as an evergreen, be thought an 
 emblem of the resurrection, and even acquire some degree 
 of regard and veneration. 
 
 T. Row. 
 1780, Ftb. 
 
 LXXXIX. Curious Specimen of early Printing, 
 
 We are happy to communicate to the public the following very 
 curious Letter on a subject in which we are professionally in- 
 terested, and which, we doubt not, will be agreeable, to our 
 Lamed readers. 
 
 To THOMAS ASTLE, ESQ. 
 
 DEAR SIR, Jan. 15, 1781. 
 
 GIVE me leave to congratulate you on your fortunate ac- 
 quisition of a block which was used ia the very infancy of
 
 Curious Specimen of early Printing. S5S 
 
 printing, when the quotations and necessary explanations 
 were cut in the same piece of wood with the subject repre- 
 sented, before moveable types were invented. 
 
 Yours, Sir, is for the second leaf of the " Historia Sancti 
 Johannis Evangelist, ejusque Visiones A pocaly plicae," 
 generally called " The Apocalypse;" in the upper part of 
 which St. John is represented as being carried before the 
 Praefect, with this inscription; "Trahamus Johannem a<l 
 Prajfectum qui Ydolorum culturam adnichilavit ;" and ia 
 the lower, St. John is embarking to be transported to Rome, 
 over which is written, "S.Johannes Romani mittitur, ac 
 Domiciano imperatori crudelissimo Christianorum persequ- 
 tori pra-sentatur." 
 
 This, M. Maittaire [in his Annales Typographic}, p. 20. ^ 
 imagines to be the oldest of the four books which were the 
 first attempts of the Art of Printing; the second being the 
 *' Speculum humanae Salvationis," illustrated with subjects 
 from the Old and New Testaments, and with the Prologues 
 and Explanations in Latin Rhymes [this is known by the 
 name of" Speculum Salutis," or " La Bible des Pauvres;"] 
 the third book is of the same cuts, with Dutch Prose; and 
 the fourth the " Ars Moriencli," or " Speculum Morien- 
 tium," in which the good and bad Angels are contending 
 for the soul of a dying person. 
 
 Palmer, who was himself a printer, gives the first place to 
 the " Ars Moriendi," and the second to the " Apocalypse," 
 [p. 53, 4] ; and tells us that its " Paper has the mark of the 
 heifer's head and horns, which is allowed to be the mark 
 in the paper Faust used, whose first essays were from 1440, 
 to 1450." 
 
 We have, therefore, no reason to give any credit to those 
 Dutch writers who would compliment their countryman, 
 Laurence Coster, of Haerleui, with the invention of every 
 branch of the art of printing, and say that these books were 
 printed so early as between 1428 and 1435; nor can it be 
 allowed that Coster was either a painter or engraver. [See 
 *' Idee generale des Estampes," p. 333-] 
 
 M. Chretien Frederic Wenzel, Inspector of the Cabinet 
 of Prints and Drawings of the Electoral Gallery at Dresden, 
 who has given us a large volume in octavo, 1771* underline 
 title of " Idee generale d'une Collection complette d'Es- 
 .tampes," p. 334, &c. says, that he has found six different 
 editions of the " Historia Sancti Johannis Evangelists, ejus- 
 xjue Visiones Apocalvpticre," which were all printed, on one 
 side of the paper only, with such a tool as the makers of 
 
 VOL. I. A a
 
 054 Stone in the Coronation Chair. 
 
 playing cards use; the first of them lie mentions consists of* 
 48 blocks, most of which, like yours, is divided into l\vo 
 parts. A complete copy of this edition is in the Imperial 
 Library at Vienna; the ink very pale, and the figures illu- 
 minated, as are those of several other copies. 
 
 Dr. Askew's copy of this work was bought by Dr. Hunter. 
 [Origin of Printing, by Bovvyer and Michols, Svo. 1776. 
 p. 175.] 
 
 \our print, Sir, belongs to the first edition; for, in the 
 second, the stem of the tree in the upper part is straight, 
 bearing three boughs ; and, in the lower, there are five 
 ropes fastened to the mast, instead of four, and the two trees 
 are omitted. 
 
 The very early prints from wooden blocks, without the 
 least shadowing or crossing of strokes, we may conjecture 
 were first schemed by the illuminators of manuscripts and 
 makers of playing cards: these they inelegantly daubed 
 .over with colours, which they termed illuminating, and sold 
 at a cheap rate to those who could not afford to purchase 
 valuable missals elegantly written and painted on vellum : 
 and this conjecture seems to be corroborated by their sub- 
 jects being religious, and particularly by one of their books 
 being called the " Poor's Bible." 
 
 Desirous of giving you joy on possessing the other 47 
 blocks, 
 
 I remain, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient and very humble servant, 
 \~8\,4rit. CHA. ROGERS 
 
 XC. Stone in the Coronation Chair. 
 
 MR. URBAN, Oct. 4. 
 
 THE famous stone inclosed in King Edward's chair, in 
 which, the monarchs of England are seated at their coro- 
 nations, seems to have continued undisturbed, through a 
 succession of ages, in Westminster Abbev. In Mr. Wid- 
 -more's valuable History of that Abbey, Lond. 17.31. 4to. 
 p. 80, is the following passage: " A.D.' lfKi, King Edw. F. 
 first brought from Scotland" the regalia of that kingdom* 
 and the x slone fabulously reported to have been Jacob's
 
 Stone in the Coronation Chair. 355 
 
 pillow ; which he sent to this church, and where it is at this 
 time under the coronation chair." Doubts, however, may 
 arise, whether this be the identical stone " brought from 
 Scotland ;" if due attention he paid to the description of it 
 in the subsequent passages extracted from Sir David Dal- 
 ryinple's " Annals of Scotland from the accession of Mal- 
 colm III. to the accession of the House of Stuart; in two 
 4to volumes; Edinburgh, 1776 and 177Q." 
 
 " 1G96. As an evidence of his absolute conquest, he gave 
 orders, that the famous stone, regarded as the national pal- 
 ladium, should be conveyed to Westminster." 
 
 " The stone is thus described by William Hemingford, 
 torn. I. p. 37. ' Apud monasterium de Scone positus erat 
 Lapis pergrandis in ecclesia Dei, juxta magnum altare,con- 
 cavus quidem ad modmn rotundce cathedrtz confectus, in quo 
 futuri Reges loco quasi coronationis ponebantur ex more. 
 Rege itaque novo in Lapide posito, missarum solemnia in- 
 cepta peraguntur; et, prauterquam in elevatione sacri Do- 
 ininici cor poris, semper lapidatusmansit.' And again, torn. I. 
 p. 100. * In redeundo per Scone, praecepit tolli et Lon- 
 doniis cariari, Lapidem ilium, in quo, ut supra dictum est, 
 Reges Scotorum solebant poni loco coronationis suaj, et hoc 
 in sigmim regni conqnesti et resigiitttiS Walsingham men- 
 tions the use to which Edward put this stone: ' Ad 
 Westmonasterium transtulit ilium, jubens inde fieri cele- 
 brantium cathedram sacerdotum.' 1 have transcribed this 
 accou:-t of the fatal stone, that it may be compared with the 
 appearance of the stone that now bears its name at West- 
 minster." I. 242. 
 
 One of the articles of the treaty of peace with Scotland 
 appears to have been this: " 1028. The stone on which the 
 kings of Scotland were wont to sit at the time of their coro- 
 nation shall be restored to the Scots." A writ has beea 
 discovered under the privy seal, July 1, 1328, by Edw. III. 
 to the Abbot and Monks of Westminster, reciting " that his 
 council had in his parliament, held at Northampton, agreed 
 t.luit this stone should be sent to Scotland; and requiring 
 the Abbot and Monks, in whose custody it was, to deliver 
 it to the sheriffs of. London, who were to cause it to be. 
 carried to the Queen Mother." II. 127- 
 
 One of the heads also of the conference between 
 Edward III. of England and David II. of Scotland, was 
 this : " 1.363. The King, after having been crowned King 
 of England, to come regularly to the kingdom of Scotland, 
 and tobe crowned King at Scone, in the royal chair, which 
 is to be delivered up by the English." II. 255. 
 
 A a a
 
 J5G Stone in the Coronation Chair. 
 
 Having brought these evidences together relative to the 
 famous stone, some of your antiquarian correspondents will 
 probably favour you with their thoughts upon the subject, 
 which at present requires elueidation 111 the opinion of 
 
 . J781j Oct. ANTlgUARlUS. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 YOUR correspondent Antiquarius perplexes himself 
 without cause about the stone on which the kings of Scot- 
 land used to sit at their coronation. The original historians 
 whom he cites call it a stone like a round chair; which lasrl 
 expression detracts not at all from the present form in which 
 we see it in Westminster Abbey, a roundish stone, under 
 St. Edward's chair: though it has led the learned modern 
 Annalist to use the terms stone and chair controvertibly, 
 without that precision which is so essential to an historian, 
 and in which he so rarely fails. 
 
 Alexander was crowned King of Scotland, te super cathe- 
 drain regalem, scil. lapidcm," Fordun. p. 7.38, ed. Hearne; 
 where indeed the Harl. MS. reads lapidcam. William Pak- 
 ington's Chron. in Lei. Coll. I. 4t>0, says, " King Edward 
 offered to St. Edward at Westminster the chair, sceptre, 
 and crown of gold of the Scottish King." Carte, II. 2(J4, 
 calls it " the stone-chair" Knighton, (2481) " fecit cariari 
 lapidem ad Londonias in quo reges Scotiae solent esse* positi 
 in sua coronacionc." Math. West, p. 409, " Rex obtulit 
 beato llegi Edvardo regalia regis Scotiae/frf&ftkzl videlicet, 
 sceptrumque aureuiu cum corona." Hollingshed, Vol. III. 
 p. 213, Hist, of Scotland, " King Edward took the chair of 
 marble with him, and did place it at Westminster, where it 
 remaineth yet unto this day." And in his History, Vol. II. 
 p. 301. he says, te he took from Scone the marble stone, 
 whereupon the kings of Scotland were accustomed to sit as 
 a chair at the time of their coronation, which King Edward 
 now caused to be transferred to Westminster, and there 
 placed to serve for a chair/or the priest to sit in at the altar'* 
 Stow, 207, and Fabian, Pt. VII. p. 130. 
 
 It is remarkable, that Grafton, p. 177, calls the regatys of 
 Scotland the crown with the sceptre and the cloth of estate, 
 which King Edward offered at St. Kd ward's shrine. Heel. 
 Boetius, x\v. fol. 3096, calls it cat /if drain lujndeam. Stow 
 says, as Grafton and Fabian, that he found the regalies; but 
 adds, he offered the chair. 
 
 Hut Buchanan's account of it will completely solve the
 
 Stone in the Coronation Chair. 
 
 difficult)', and perhaps justify the giving it the double name 
 of stone and chair. He tells us that King Kennith, in the 
 ninth century, transferred from Argyle to Scone the marble 
 stone (sa.vum mannorenm) which had travelled hither from 
 Ireland and Spain, and inclosed it in a wooden clmir, " in 
 cathedram ligneam inchisum ibi pcsuit," and VIII. 26. speak- 
 ing of its removal by Edward, he calls it, " lapidcm war mo- 
 reum rudem, in quo fatum regni coutineri vulgo persuasum 
 erat." In the order for restoring it in the reign of Edw. III. 
 it is, " la pierre sur quele les rois d'Escosse seuleieiit seer 
 au temps de lur couroment." 
 
 Harding is still more explicit. He says of Edward: 
 
 And as he came homeward by Skone away, 
 
 The regall thereof of Scotland then he brought 
 
 And sent it forth to Westminster for aye, 
 
 To be there in a chcire clenely wrought. 
 
 For a masse priest to sytte in when he ought; 
 
 Which was there slandying besyde the shryne 
 
 In a cheire of old time made full fyne. 
 
 Yet this rhiming chronicler seems hardly sufficiently clear 
 whether Edward made a chair for the stone and the priest, 
 or whether the stone was in its original chair. The apply- 
 ing it to the use of a priest, was a degradation of it from 
 its original use. 
 
 That this stone and chair continued in St. Edward's Chapel 
 from the time of Edw.ard I. to Elixabeth, is evident by Mr. 
 Camden's account of them in his description of West- 
 minster Abbey and its monuments. " " Quod quidcm soliutn 
 adhuc in hae regia capella servatur cum sa.vo Jacobi, ut 
 VOcaru, iniposifo." He adds the following inscription hung 
 on a board by it, which being, with all such written memo- 
 rials with which this abbey abounded, long since gone, 
 and serving to ascertain the points in question, I have here 
 transcribed : 
 
 Si quid habent veri vel ChrOmca, cana fulcsve, 
 
 Clauditurhac cathedra nobilis ecce lapis. 
 Ad caput eximius Jacob quondam patriarcha 
 
 Quern posuit cerncns numina mira poli; 
 Q,uem tulit ex Scotis spolians quasi victor honoris, 
 
 Edvardus primus, Mars velut armipotens, 
 Scotorum domitor, noster validissimus Hector, 
 
 Anglorum decus et gloria 
 A a 3
 
 358 Ailes in Cornish Churches. 
 
 Robert of Gloucester only mentions the white marble stone, 
 and that Edward " Besycle the shryne of Seynt Edward at 
 Westminstre let hitte sette." 
 
 Drayton in Polyolb, Song XVII. says, 
 The seat on which her kings inaugurated were. 
 
 On which Selden comments from Boetius as before, 
 (Weever, Fun. Mon. 458, 9.) Speed, Chron. p. 558, calls it 
 the marble chair. 
 
 Camden. Brit, in Scotl. calls it sa.rum lignea cathedra 
 inclusum. 
 
 if these hasty observations do not satisfy your corre- 
 spondent's doubts, I trust he will be candid enough to tell us 
 so. 
 
 AN ENGLISH ANTIQUARY. 
 
 1782, Jan. 
 
 XCI. Ailes in Cornish Churches. 
 
 MR. URBAN, June, 1781. 
 
 IN almost all the Cornish churches (at least those I have 
 seen) there is a singularity which I have not observed in 
 churches elsewhere. There is a north aile, which is some- 
 times fitted up with seats, but mostly is a place only for 
 rubbish ; and it is never used as a vestry, very few churches 
 in this county having such a room; and where they have, the 
 vestry is in a different place from this north aile, I cannot 
 conceive for what purpose this half-transept (if I may give 
 it such a name) was added to the church when the building 
 was erected, as it is now seldom used for seats for any part 
 of the congregation. If any of your antiquarian corre- 
 spondents would favour fyour Cornish readers with their 
 opinion upon the subject, and also inform them whether it 
 is peculiar to the churches in this county, they would oblige, 
 more than one of 
 
 Your constant readers an.d, admirers, 
 
 P. S. J might add at the same time another circumstance, 
 seems to me peculiar to the churches of Cornwall
 
 Ailes in Cornish Churches.. 359 
 
 There is in most parishes of this county a field (generally 
 near the church-yard,) which is generally called the 
 sentry* (perhaps sanctuary); but this field is not always, 
 glebe land, or at least has been filched from the church in 
 some instances. How came this name to be given to one 
 field only in a parish? and why is not this field always glebe 
 Jand ? 
 
 1781, July. S. N. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 ACCEPT a few conjectures relative to the ancient use 
 of North Ailes, observed by your correspondent in almost 
 all the Cornish churches, and. not elsewhere, and to a field 
 generally near the church-yard, and commonly called the 
 sentry. 
 
 The ailes, or a part of them at least, I conceive to have 
 been chantry-chapels, and to have in Cornwall the singu- 
 larity of being always placed on the north side of the 
 churches; for in other counties the situations of them are 
 not so limited. They are often found contiguous to, and 
 communicating with, the chancel on either side : near the 
 middle of a few churches they form a north or a south 
 transept ; and in some, both : you sometimes see them, 
 though rarely, at the west encl of the church ; but they are 
 frequently to be met with at the east ends of the north and, 
 south ailes in such churches as have these additional build- 
 ings. And in several churches they are fitted tip for 
 vestries. 
 
 Persons of substance who resided in the parish usually 
 founded these chantries, and they were commonly endowed 
 with houses and lands for the maintenance of one or more 
 priests, who were to sing masses at the altar of some favourite 
 saint, for the souls of the founder, and of any other persons 
 he had mentioned. They were also burial-places for the 
 founders and their families ; and from their having been 
 built and repaired by the owners of any estate and mansion, 
 the heirs and successors acquired an exclusive right to 
 them. , After the Reformation, if the chapels were con- 
 veniently situated for the hearing of divine service, the 
 proprietors of them, if protestants, erected seats in them 
 
 * Probably cemetry (or burying-ground,) as the old Cemetry-gate at Can- 
 terbury is called by corruption Ceutry-gale. See Gosling's Walk, p. 119, 
 2d edit. E, 
 
 Aa 4
 
 360 Aiks in Cornish Churches. 
 
 for the use 6f themselves and their domestics, and of course 
 were careful to keep them in a decent condition. But when 
 the families were extinct, and the mansions decayed, or 
 when the owners of them lived in other places, the chapels 
 were gradually neglected, and at last became derelict. If 
 wanted by any of the inhabitants, the parish took possession 
 of them, and in this case the same attention was shewn to 
 theot as to the other parts of the fabric; otherwise, they 
 were only places for rubbish, as the north ailes of the 
 churches in Cornwall are represented to be. While they 
 needed only a slight repair, the churchwardens might per- 
 haps direct it to be done ; but no sooner did it appear that 
 the upholding of them would bring a heavy expense upon 
 the parish, than they were suffered to fall to ruin, and in or- 
 der to prevent all further charges, by building a party-wall, 
 they were, strictly speaking, cast out of the church. In 
 ipany churches are plainly to be discovered the arches, no\v 
 filled up, through which were the entrances into these 
 chantry chapels. 
 
 In the first year of King Edward VI. all chantries were 
 dissolved by act of parliament, and the houses and lands 
 with which they were endowed were vested in the crown, 
 %vhere, however, they did not long continue, being granted 
 to the dependents on the court. Having never been a part 
 of the revenues of the incumbents of the respective parishes, 
 they could not be considered as glebe lands. The sentry 
 fields, concerning which your correspondent makes an in- 
 quiry in the postscript to his letter, were most probably 
 appropriated for the support of the chantry priests who of- 
 ficiated in the ailes, or chapels, noticed by him. But I dif- 
 fer from him in supposing that sanctuary was the original 
 appellation of them : nor do I agree with the learned editor 
 of your useful Miscellany, who has surmised it to signify a 
 cemetnj, or burying -ground. To me it seems to be a cor- 
 ruption of the word chantry, and I rather incline to this no- 
 tion, because I have heard of some houses and lands that are 
 so denominated. At West Peckham in Kent, in particular, 
 on the north side of the church, about fifty years ago, the 
 foundation walls of a chantry were traced, which had be- 
 longed to a preceptory of the knights templars : and not 
 far from the church-yard is a tenement with some fields, 
 that still retain the name of the chantry house and lands. 
 
 Yours, Sec. 
 
 W. & D. 
 
 1782, April
 
 Monastic Registers of Edmund's Bury Monastery. 361 
 
 XCII. Monastic Registers of Edmund's Bury Monastery. 
 
 1. Translations of three authentic Registers of the Monastery 
 of 6Y. Edmund's Bury, formerly kept by the sacrist. 
 
 1HIS indenture certifies, that Master John Swassham, 
 sacrist of the monastery of St. Edmund's Bury, with the con- 
 sent and permission of the prior and convent of the same, 
 hath demised and to farm let to Simeon Lolepeke of Bury 
 aforesaid, yeoman, the manor called Habyrdon in Bury 
 aforesaid, &c. to have and to hold for the term of seven years, 
 &c. paying yearly, &c. And the said Simeon, his executors 
 and assigns, shall find or cause to be found one ichite bull every 
 year of his term as often as it shall happen that any gentle- 
 woman (mulierem generosam) or any other women, from de- 
 votion or vows by them made, shall visit the tomb of the 
 glorious king and martyr St. Edmund, to make the oblations 
 of the said white bull, .c. In witness whereof, to one part 
 the seal of the sacrist is affixed, &c. Dated the 4th day of 
 June, in the second year of the reign of King Henry, King 
 of England, the seventh since the conquest." 
 
 2. Another Register of the said Monastery. 
 
 "This indenture, made the 12th day of September, in 
 the llth year of the reign of King Henry VIII. between 
 Master John Eye, sacrist of the monastery of St. Edmund's 
 Bury, and Richard Skinner, of Bury aforesaid, husband- 
 man, certifies that the aforesaid John Eye, with the consent, 
 &c. hath demised and to farm let to the aforesaid Richard 
 the manor of Habyrdon, &c. for the term of ten years, &c. 
 and the said Richard shall find one white bull as often *4 it 
 shall happen," e. as before. 
 
 3. Another original instrument, with the capitular seal of the 
 Monastery annexed. 
 
 " This indenture certifies that we John, by divine per- 
 mission, abbot of the monastery of St. Edmund's Bnry, with 
 the consent and permission of the prior and convent of the 
 same, have demised and to farm let to Robert Wright, 
 glazier, and to John Anable, pewterer, of Bury aforesaid, 
 our manor of Habyrdon, with the appurtenances pertaining 
 to the office of sacrist of our said monastery, &c. to hold from 
 the feast of St. Michael the Archangel next ensuing after 
 the date of these presents, for the term of twenty years, 
 &c. paying yearly to the said abbot and his succe^ors, fur
 
 362 Monastic Registers of Edmund's Bury Monastery. 
 
 the use of the office of sacrist, 20l. 4s. &c. Am] the said 
 Ko!>eit and John shall find one tc/nte bull every year of the 
 aforesaid term, as often as it shall happen that any gentle- 
 woman, or any other woman, from devotion or vows by them 
 made, shall visit the shrine of the glorious king and martyr 
 St. Edmund, to make the oblations of the said white bull, 
 &c. In witness whereof, to one part of this indenture re- 
 maining with the abovenamed abbot, prior, and convent, 
 the said Robert and John have affixed their seals, and to the 
 other part remaining with the said Robert and John, we 
 the above-named abbot, prior, and convent, have caused 
 the common seal of our chapter to he affixed. Given in 
 our chapter-house the xxviiith day of April, in the xxvth 
 year of King Henry the Eighth, and in the year of our 
 lord 1533." 
 
 The waxen impression, still perfect, has on the face St. 
 Edmund, sitting on a royal throne, with a bishop standing on 
 each side ; on the reverse he is bound to a tree and transfixed 
 with arrows. Below, in another compartment, is the body of 
 St. Edmund, headless; and near it a wolf, bringing back the 
 royal head to restore it to the body. The instrument is 
 thus indorsed, Irrotulatur per me, Walterum Mildcmey. A 
 transcript of this sealed indenture remains in the Court of 
 Augmentations. 
 
 Whenever a married woman wished to be pregnant, this 
 white bull, who enjoyed full ease and plenty in the fields of 
 Habyrdon, never meanly yoked to the plough, nor ever 
 cruelly baited at the stake, was led in procession through 
 the principal streets of the town, viz. Church-street, Guild- 
 hall-street, and Cook-row, of which the last led to the prin- 
 cipal gate of the monastery, attended by all the monks sing- 
 ing^ and a shouting crowd, the woman walking by him, and 
 stroking his milk-white side and pendent dewlaps. The 
 bull then being dismissed, the woman entered the church, 
 and paid her vows at the altar of St. Edmund, kissing the 
 stone, and intreating with tears the blessing of a child. 
 This reminds one of the Luperci among the Romans, who 
 ran naked about the streets, and with thongs of goatskins 
 struck women with child in order to give easy labour. Virg. 
 JM. VIII. 663. 
 
 The above are extracted from the Corolla Varia of the 
 Rev. William Hawkins*, M.A. schoolmaster, of Hadleigh 
 in Suffolk, an entertaining and classical, but now scarc 
 
 . 
 
 * JJe styles himself Xitus* See Ovid. Met. 1. 8.
 
 The Cell called Lnllt Ease. 
 
 publication, printed at Cambridge in 16. H*. It con;- 
 
 1, " Ecloga? tres Virgil'iame decimaur; Tityrus, acl Pestiiu- 
 gium.; Pollio, :id Postliminium ; Callus, ad Fastidium. 
 
 2. Corydon. Aufuga sive It^'iv.^^a. Pastorilia Arcipicmio 
 Ke.verendo Patri ac domino Joanni Episcopo RofFo'.i.si per 
 binos Schola? Hadleians AltnnooB recituta. Apr. 9, 1632, 3. 
 Kisus verberans et vapulans decantatus per Musas vergi- 
 feras, juridicas." 
 
 The occasion of the latter \vas briefly this : the three 
 sons of a Mr. Colman, of Payton-Hall (Carbonius ft Caibun- 
 culi) being admitted at Hadleigh school, one of them in less 
 than two years, unprovoked, and unthreatened, ran awnv ; 
 but a few months after, in the absence of the master and 
 scholars, thought proper to enter the school-room, and 
 filthily bedaub a wooden horse, used for the purpose of 
 flagellation; seen, however, by one of the boys, and boast- 
 ing of it afterwards toothers. A week after, accompanied 
 by a relation, he returned to repeat his pranks, but uas tlu-n 
 detected by his master, who very properly chastised him, 
 but gently, giving him only four lashes. For this assault 
 (as it was termed) an action was brought against him by the 
 father, at Bury assizes, and the damages were laid at 40L 
 This action Mr. Hawkins was obliged to defend, at great 
 trouble and expense, and at last, before issue was joined, 
 the plaintiff withdrew his plea. All the circumstances of 
 this case, the law process, occ. are described with great 
 elegance and humour; and several commendatory poenjs 
 are prefixed. 
 
 1733, Aow, 
 
 XCIII. The Cell called Little Ease, 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 THE account given in you Magazine for November lastt, 
 of the closet called " Little Ease" in the church of St. 
 
 * It appears by the register of Hadleigh, that Mr. William Hawkins, 
 curate, was buried June 29, 1637." 
 
 f " From the level of the south wall of St. Mary's church, Leicester, m 
 its centre, and coeval with it, is a closet farmed partly by a protuberance, 
 with loop holes, or oblong apertures in front, lookinr into the cliurch-yar.i; 
 packed, a few years a<ro, by a door, which I well remember, opening U 
 church ; called by tradition " little-ease," supposed to have been a P la 
 discipline, where scarcely above one at a time could be admitted j ai 
 pnly ju au erect posture,"
 
 The Cell called Little Lasc. 
 
 Mary in Leicester, brought to my mind a description I had 
 formerly read in Anglia Sacra, Vol. II. p. 96, or the cell of 
 .St. Dunstan, adjoining- to St. Mary's church in Glastonbury ; 
 and, on revising the passage, I rind, in some instances, a very 
 striking similitude between the two buildings. Osborn, in 
 his Lite of Dunslan, styles it " eeliam, sive destinam, sive 
 spela-um ;" and* Mr. VVharton, in a note, informs us, that 
 " destina" means a small outward edifice contiguous to the 
 wail of a greater, and that the word occurs in Bede's Eccies. 
 Hist. I. 3. c. 17, and other writers. According to the monk' 
 ish historian, the ceil was fabricated by Dunstan himself, 
 and had rather the form of a sepulchre of the dead, than of 
 an habitation for the living. He represents it to ha?e been 
 pot more than five feet in length, and two and a half in 
 breadth, and its iieight answerable to the stature of a man, 
 provided he stood in the hole dug at the bottom of it, for 
 that otherwise it would not be higher than a man's breast. 
 The door seems to have opened into the church, as your 
 correspondent remembers that of the closet at Leicester to 
 have done ; but there was this difference between the two 
 edifices, that in the latter are loop-holes looking into the 
 c-burch-yard, whereas all the light the former received was 
 through a window in the middle of the door. In this strait 
 apartment Dunstan is said to have slept, as well as per- 
 fanned his devotions. Here, also, tvhilst he was at work, his 
 hurp would play of itself for his amusement; and it was 
 through the aperture of the door of this cell he was so lucky 
 as 10 fasten his red-hot pincers upon Satan's nose. But to 
 Have the ridiculous part of this legendary tale, it is plain 
 from Osborn's relation, that small structures of this kind 
 were erected verv early in this country; and though Dun- 
 stan, and some other monks as rigid as himself, might, by 
 way of mortification, dwell in these places of " Little Ease,'* 
 yet (as the traditional notion with respect to that of Leicester 
 imports) it is very probable they might be intended and ap- 
 plied as prisons, for the security or punishment of persons 
 suspected or convicted of heinous offences. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1784, j aih W, andD,
 
 m(u;iat?d Figures in Umrc/ies. 
 
 XCiY. Emaciated Figures in Churches. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 1 OUR correspondent B. R. mentions a circumstance 
 that has struck me as it seems to have clone him. " In 
 many of our cathedrals is exhibited, on a monument, a 
 whole length recumbent figure of a man, naked, and very 
 much emaciated: and this, the observer is told, is the 
 figure of a certain bishop, who attempted to fast forty days 
 and forty nights, and perished in the experiment." The 
 repetition of this story, in different places, awakened my 
 attention to it, and, upon recollection, I very much doubt 
 whether such a figure ever appears, without having, on a 
 more exalted part of the monument, another recumbent 
 figure of a bishop, in poniiftcalibus. Now, if this be die 
 case, I should incline to explain it thus. In days of yore, I 
 apprehend that, after the death of kings, prelates, and other 
 considerable persons, their bodies were dressed in their of- 
 ficial robes, and thus laid in their coffins; that the last 
 mentioned figures are exact effigies of them in this state, 
 and the first mentioned figures equally exact representa- 
 tions of their bodies before they were thus habited ; for 
 surely it cannot be deemed extraordinary, that the bodies of 
 such persons, especially as the greater part of them were far 
 advanced in years, should appear meagre and emaciated 
 after death, and this will be an answer to the question, what 
 was designed by these last mentioned figures, if they are to 
 be found any where, unaccompanied with the effigies iu 
 robes? I profess not, by any means, to speak in an authori- 
 tative style, but merely to throw out hints, which may engage 
 the attention of some" of your readers who are much better 
 qualified to speak to the subject. 
 
 Yours j &c. 
 17S4, Jan. 
 
 MR. URBAN, Burbach, April 23. 
 
 MANY observations having been lately made in your 
 Magazine bv different correspondents in relation to the 
 emaciated figures, so frequently found in our cathedrals 
 connected with the monuments of bishops, abbots, &c. for 
 I am clear it was not confined to these only, having seen 
 the same device under the figure of a lusty well-fed knight; 
 I shall be much pleased if my brother antiquaries will ad- 
 mit the following reasons as conclusive on tins subjec
 
 566 Ancient Custotns elucidated. 
 
 Daring my travels on the continent, a predilection format- 
 ters of antiquity made me seldom pass by any cathedral or 
 old abbey without an interior visit. In several of both these 
 denominations, I repeatedly found the same figure attached 
 to some capital monument, with this difference, that the 
 conductor or monk himself, appointed to shew the pre- 
 mises, never annexed the improbable story of fasting*, &c. 
 I remember seeing one of this kind in the church belonging 
 to the priory of Celestin monks at Heverle, near the towa 
 of Louvain in Brabant. I was particularly directed to this 
 figure as an object worthy of my curiosity; it is placed over 
 a monument of a Duke de Croy, and represents a cadaver 
 in the same state nearly as in our English cathedrals, with 
 this horrible yet admirable singularity, that the worms are 
 seen in various parts destroying the body; it is of the finest 
 white marble, and executed in the most masterly manner ; 
 yet being so natural and such a melancholy object, few peo- 
 ple give it that attention it deserves. From hence I would 
 infer, that, whatever might give rise to the same story told 
 in most of our cathedral or monastic churches, it canno't 
 be applicable to ail, but seems to have been the taste of 
 the sculptors of that age, and no improper picture of death 
 and the corruptibility of the body, at the same time convey- 
 ing an useful though humiliating lesson to persons of high 
 dignity. I sincerely wish that all fabulous traditions may be 
 exploded ; and for that reason I felt a secret satisfaction on 
 visiting once more, at my last journey to London, the tombs 
 in, Westminster abbey, that the verger no longer amuses 
 the gaping vulgar with the idle story of the lady who died 
 by the prick of a needle in her linger, when it is evident to 
 the most common judgment, that the figure is pointing to a 
 
 i i i i i 
 
 death s head below. 
 
 1784, May. Obser-caior. 
 
 XCV. Ancient Customs elucidated. 
 I. The- Feast of Y ufe. Mothering Sunday. 
 
 MR. UOAN, 
 
 a correspondent of yours is desirous, amongst other 
 
 * In Canterbury cathedral there is a like emariyf< <1 ti-tue under the fiue 
 monument of Abp. Chichfley, of whom no sueh story is recorded-.
 
 Ancient Customs elucidated. 307 
 
 customs, of knowing the original of regaling on furmety 
 on what he culls " Mothering Sunday," I have here sent 
 you what has occurred to me towards tracing it out. As to 
 *' Mothering Sunday," of which another correspondent 
 confesses his ignorance, and which indeed i never heard of 
 before, I suppose it may he some Sunday near Christmas, 
 and has reference to the winter solstice, the night of which 
 was called by our ancestors Mother-night, as they reckoned 
 the beginning of their years from thence. But be this as 
 it will, I know it is a custom in the northern counties to 
 have furmety, or frumity, as the common people there call 
 it, on Christmas-eve ; however the word he pronounced, it 
 is probably derived from fnimentum, 'wheat*.' It is made 
 of what is called in a certain town in Yorkshire, " kreed 
 wheat," or whole grains first boiled plump and soft, 
 and then boiled in milk sweetened and spiced. One 
 of the principal feasts among the northern nations was 
 the Jim/., afterwards called Yule, about the shortest day ; 
 which, as Mr. Malletobservesf, bore a great resemblance to 
 the Roman Saturnalia, feasts instituted in memory of Noah, 
 who, as Mr. Bryant has shewn, was the real Saturn, and, 
 from the light he has thrown on this subject, the Juid might 
 have a greater affinity with them than Mr. Mallet was aware. 
 In almost all the ancrent nations, anniversary seasons were 
 observed in commemoration of something or other relating 
 to Noah or the deluge : but in process of time the originals 
 were forgotten by many of them, and they were diverted to 
 other purposes, which has occasioned some perplexity. In 
 September the Egyptians, Canaanites, and others, made 
 bitter lamentations for the dead Osiris, Jarnmuz, Adonis, 
 Serapis, or Apis, on the bier, by all which names Noah was 
 denoted ; and this was in commemoration of his being at 
 that time shut up in the ark. They also observed a festivity 
 in commemoration of his coming out again, when they raa 
 about in a wild disorderly manner, making great exclama- 
 tions with other demonstrations of frantic mirth. Besides 
 which there seems to me to have been, another celebrated, 
 as the Romans did their Saturnalia, in December, when all 
 were considered on a level, like master, like man ; and this 
 was to express the social manner in which Noah lived about 
 this time with his family in the ark, when the great storms 
 and tempests had ceased, and all the oppressors and 
 
 * On this head let the curious reader consult " The Furmctary," a detect- 
 able poem of the facetious Dr. King. s 
 f Northern Antiquities, vol. 1. p. J 3
 
 3<5f Ancient diatoms elucidated. 
 
 disturbers of mankind \verc destroyed. Of this kind, I take 
 it, was the feast Juiil; and as Noah was not only adored as 
 the god of the deluge, but also recognised as a great bene- 
 factor to mankind by teaching or improving them in the art 
 of husbandry, what could be more suitable than for them to 
 regale themselves on it with a palatable dish for those times, 
 the principal ingredient of which is wheat? Those times 
 were held peculiarly sacred by the idolisers of Noah, which 
 were adapted to express the perishing of the old world and 
 the revival of the new, as that of the new moons ; and, as 
 then one ended and another began, they called it the old 
 and new day : and the winter solstice might seem to the 
 northern nations more fully to answer this purpose, as on it 
 they ended the old and began the new year. That this re- 
 joicing on Christmas-eve bad its rise from the Jmtl y and was 
 exchanged for it, is evident from a custom practised in the 
 northern counties of putting a large clog of wood on the fire 
 this evening, which is still called the Yule-clog: the original 
 occasion of it may have been, as theJuul was their greatest 
 fetiva.1, to honour it with the best fire. About this, in the 
 rude and simple ages after the change, the whole household, 
 which was quite agreeable to the nature of the old feast, used 
 to sit, stand, or play, in a sportive manner, according to the 
 proverb of those times, 
 
 All friends around the wrekin. 
 
 Now what gave occasion to this exchange was this : in the 
 degenerate ages it was the usual method to convert these 
 barbarians by adapting the Christian religion, as much as 
 possible, to their ancient usages and customs ; and one most 
 prevailing wav they took for doing it was, by promising 
 them they should be indulged with the same or like feasts 
 in it as what they enjoyed before in Paganism. Hence for 
 the Juul they gave them to understand they should enjoy 
 the feast of Christmas, and indulged them with this part of 
 their teast on its eve, which they might think innocent, and 
 would not break in much upon this festival, and agreed 
 with their ancient manner of beginning theirs. However, 
 from that strong attachment the multitude always have for 
 their ancient customs, many of them for some time after- 
 wards called it Christmas Yule; and this seems to have pre- 
 vailed the longest in the northern counties. In the same 
 manner as the feast of our Lord's Resurrection was substi- 
 tuted for another festival they held in the spring or Easter 
 month, a.-; April was then called, from the easterly winds 
 which prevail at this time, it is called Easter a.mong us to
 
 Ancient Customs elucidated. 369 
 
 this day. But, by the bye, I think it high time this old 
 denomination was laid aside, and the true one restored. It 
 would be much the best, to have all our Christian festivals 
 called by their most true, simple, and expressive names, 
 that people of all ranks might hence be more strongly 
 reminded of what great, glorious, and interesting events 
 they are intended to recal into their minds, and so be ex- 
 cited to think more seriously about them, and take comfort 
 from them. We have another instance of this impropriety 
 in Acts xii. 4, where our translators have put Easter for the 
 Passover. J. M. 
 
 SCRUTATOR observes, that "Mothering Sunday" is ex- 
 plained in Bailey's Dictionary, 8vo. where it is said, that 
 *' Mothering is a custom still retained in many places in 
 England, of visiting parents on Midlent Sunday ; and it 
 seems to be called Mothering from the respect in old time 
 paid to the Mother church, it being the custom for people 
 in Popish times to visit their Mother church on Midlent 
 Sunday, and to make their offerings at the high altar." 
 
 A Nottinghamshire correspondent tells us., that, when he 
 was a school-boy, the practice on Christmas-eve was to roast 
 apples on a string till they dropt into a large bowl of spiced 
 ale, which is the whole composition of " Lamb's Wool;" and 
 that, whilst he was an apprentice, the custom was to visit his 
 mother on Midlent Sunday (thence called Mothering Sun- 
 day,) for a regale of excellent furmety. 
 
 2. Lamb's Wool. Wassail Bowl. 
 M R . U R B A N, Rotherham, Dec. 1 7. 
 
 YOUR anonymous correspondent having said that he 
 never heard of Lamb's Wool on Christmas-eve, and cannot 
 guess the meaning, 1 am induced to trouble you with the fol- 
 lowing attempt at an explanation of what was meant by the 
 expression. 
 
 In that part of Yorkshire, near Leeds, where I was born, 
 and spent my youth, I remember, when I was a boy, that i 
 was customary for many families, on the twelfth eve of 
 Christmas, (not on Christmas-eve,) to invite their relations, 
 friends, and neighbours to their houses, to play at cards, 
 and to partake of a supper, of which minced, pies were an 
 indispensable ingredient; and after supper was brought in 
 the Wassail Cup, or Wassail Bowl, being a large bowl, such 
 as is now used for punch, filled with sweetened ale and 
 
 VOL. I. * b
 
 student Customs elucidated. 
 
 roasted apples I have seen bowls used for this purpose that 
 lield above a gallon. A plate of spiced cake was first handed 
 about to the company, and then the Wassail />Y-a'/, of which 
 every one partook, by taking with a spoon, out of the ale, 
 a roasted apple, and eating it, and then drinking the healths 
 of the company out of the bowl, wishing them a merry 
 Christmas* and a happy new year: the ingredients put into 
 the boul, viz. ale, sugar, nutmeg, and roasted apples, were 
 usually called Lamb's Wool, arid the night on which it used 
 to be drunk (which was generally on the twelfth-eve) was 
 commonly called Wassail-eve. 
 
 I am of opinion that the custom was very ancient; but from 
 whence it arose, or why the mixture was called Lamb's IVoo], 
 I do not at present pretend to account. 
 
 Shakespeare certainly alludes to it in his " Midsummer 
 Night's Dream," where he makes Puck, or Robin Goodfel- 
 lovv, say 
 
 " Sometimes lurk I in a gossip's bowl 
 
 In very likeness of a roasted crabf, 
 
 And when she drinks, against her lips 1 bob, 
 
 And on her wither'd dewlap pour the ale." 
 
 a very common accident, especially to old people, who often- 
 times had as much Lamb's Wool in the bowl as they could lift 
 to their heads, and sometimes more than they could do so 
 without assistance. 
 
 Since the alteration of the style, the Wassail Bowl, or 
 Wassail Cup, as it was more commonly called, is so much 
 gone into disuse in this part of the country, that I have 
 scarcely seen it introduced into company these thirty years. 
 Indeed the festival of Christmas is not celebrated since 
 that period as it used to be in my remembrance. 
 
 We have in this place a very ancient custom yet kept up, 
 vix. the Curfeu bells, called here Culfer, \. e. Cool fire, which 
 are two of the church bells rung alternately, every morning 
 and evening, at seven o'clock, during the twelve days of 
 Christ mas only, and at no other time of the year. They make 
 a most disagreeable sound. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 JOSIAH BECKWITH. 
 
 * The festival of Christmas used, in this part of the country, to hold for 
 .w my (lays, and some persons extended it to Candlemas
 
 Solemnities of Corpus Christi Day illustrated. 371 
 
 P.S. Furmety used, in my remembrance, to be always the 
 breakfast and supper on Christmas-eve in this country. 
 1784, Feb. 
 
 XCVI. Solemnities of Corpus Christi Day illustrated. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 VVE find the solemnities of Corpus Christi day (generally 
 thought to be peculiar to Coventry, and as such recorded 
 in Dugdale's Warwickshire, and Pennant's Journey from 
 Chester) were performed at Dublin with great preparation 
 of pageants. The glovers were to represent Adam and Eve, 
 an angel bearing a sword before them ; the corrisces (perhaps 
 curriers,) Cain and Abel, with an altnr, and their offering ; 
 the mariners and vintners, Noah and the persons in the ark, 
 apparelled in the habits of carpenters and salmon-takers; the 
 weavers personated Abraham and Isaac, with their offering 
 and altar ; the smiths, Pharaoh with his host ; the skinners, 
 the camel with the children of Israel ; the goldsmiths were 
 to find the King of Cullen, (Cologne ;) the hoopers, the 
 shepherds, with an angel singing, Gloria, &c. Corpus 
 Christi gild, Christ in his passion, with the Maries and 
 angels ; the tailors, Pilate with his fellowship, and his wife 
 clothed accordingly ; the barbers, Annas and Caiaphas ; the 
 fishers, the apostles ; the merchants, the prophets; and the 
 butchers, the tormentors. Thos. Fitzgerald, earl of Kildare, 
 lord lieut. was invited, Christmas 1528, to a new play every 
 day, wherein the tailors acted Adam and Eve ; the shoe- 
 makers, Crispin and Crispianus; 'the vintners, Bacchus, 
 and his story ; the carpenters, the story of Joseph and 
 Mary ; the smiths, that of Vulcan ; and the bakers, that of 
 Ceres. The priors of St. John of Jerusalem, Trinity, and 
 All Saints, caused to be represented on the same stage two 
 plays, Christ's Passion and the death of the Apostles. The 
 play of The Nine Worthies was also acted on Corpus Christi 
 clay, 1541. Harris's Hist, of Dublin, pp. 143. 145. 147. MS. 
 Harl 2013 and 2124, is a list of pageants or plays to be 
 presented (1600) by the companies at Chester. The tan- 
 ners are to represent the creation of heaven, angels, and 
 devils ; the drapers, that of the world ; the water leaders 
 and drawers of Dee, the flood (Noah's wife swears by- 
 Christ and St. John;) the barbers and wax-chandlers, 
 Abraham's return from the slaughter of the five kings ; 
 the cappers and lineH-drapers, the giving of the law; the 
 
 Bb 2
 
 372 Solemnities of Corpus Cfiristi Day iUustraiect. 
 
 wrights, the salutation and nativity ; the painters, the 
 shepherds ; the vintners, the three kings ; the mercers, 
 their offering ; the goldsmiths, the slaughter of the inno- 
 cents ; the blacksmiths, the purification ; the butchers, 
 the temptation ; the glovers, the curing the blind man, and 
 raising of Lazarus; the corvisers [cord wain ers;] Christ in the 
 house of Simon the leper; the bakers, the Lord's supper, and 
 the betraying of Christ ; the fletchers, bovvyers, coopers, and 
 stringers, the passion ; the ironmongers, the crucifixion ; 
 the skinners, the resurrection ; the saddlers, the journey 
 to Emmaus, and the appearing to the other disciples ; the 
 tailors, the ascension ; the fishmongers, the chusing of 
 Matthias, and descent of the Holy Ghost; the clothwork- 
 ers, Ezekiel's vision of the bones ; the diers, the coming 
 of Anti-christ ; the websters, the last Judgment. In the 
 tirst of these MSS. is a proclamation for Whitsun plays, 
 made by William Nowall, clerk of the pendice, 24 Henry 
 VIII. setting forth, that in "ould tyme not only for the aug- 
 inenlaeyon and increes of the holy and catholick faith and 
 (o exhort the minds of common people to good devotion and 
 wholsome doctrine, but also for the commonwealthe and 
 prosperity of this citty [Chester,] a play and declaracyon of 
 divers stories of the Bible, beginning with the creation 
 and fall of Lucifer, and ending with the generall judgment 
 of the world, to be declared and played openly in pageants 
 in the Whitsonne weeke, was devised and made by Sir 
 lien. Frances, somtyme mooncke there ; who gat of Cle- 
 ment, then bushop of Home, 1000 days of pardon, and of the 
 bushop of Chester at that tyme 40 days of pardon, to every 
 person resorting in peaceable manner to see and heare the 
 said plays ; which were, to the honour of God, by John 
 Arnway, then mayor of Chester, his brethren, and the 
 whole cominalty thereof, to be brought forth, declared, 
 and played at the coste and charges of the craftsmen and 
 occupacyons of the said city," &c. All who disturbed 
 them were to be accursed of the pope till he absolved them. 
 Arnway was mayor 1327 and 1328, at which time these 
 plays were written by R. Higgenett [probably Ranulph Hig- 
 tlen] monk of Chester abbey, who was thrice at Rome before 
 he could obtain the pope's leave to have them in English. 
 2n Thoresby's MS. of Corpus Christi play, by Tho. Cutler 
 and Rich. Nandyke, now in Mr. Walpole's possession, the 
 trades mentioned are, wefferes [weavers;] cappers [hatters, 
 added in a modern hand;] estrcreners, gyrciillers, tylle-: 
 thakkers [tilers, thatchers with ty'es;] spicers, shavers, 
 j) archmynuers, shcrmen, and wy ae- drawers ; merceres.
 
 Origin of the Offices of Lord High Constable, Kc. 373 
 
 [added as modern,] Richard, father of Moreton, Bishop of 
 Durham, heing the first of that trade, at least in the North 
 of England. Fuller's Worth. York. 229. Thoresbv, Due. 
 p. 517. 
 
 A note of the particulars of the properties of the stage- 
 play played at Lincoln in the month of July, a 6 llegine 
 Elizabethe, in the time of the mayoralty of Richard Carter ; 
 which play was then played in Broadgate in the said city, 
 and it was of the story of Old Tobit in the Old Testament. 
 
 Lying at Mr. Norton's house, in tenure of William Smart: 
 
 First, Hell mouth with a nether chap. 
 Item, A prison with a covering. 
 Item, Sarah's chambre. 
 
 Remaining in St. Swithin's church : 
 
 Item, A gfeat idol, with a club. 
 
 Item, A tomb, with a covering. 
 
 Item, The cyty of Jerusalem, with towers and pinnacles. 
 
 Item, The cyty of Raiges, with towers and pinnacles. 
 
 Item, The cyty of Nineveh. 
 
 Item, The king's palace of Nineveh. 
 
 Item, Old Tobye's house. 
 
 Item, The Israelite's house, and the neighbour's house. 
 
 Item, The king's palace at Laches. 
 
 Item, A firmament, with a fiery cloud and a double cloud, in 
 
 the custody of Tho. Fulbeck, alderman. 
 We see here the origin of our stage-plays, which were 
 at first only those pageants which after-ages levelled to the 
 decoration of a lord mayor's show. 
 
 1784, Feb. Q. 
 
 XCVII. Original of the Offices of Lord High Constable and Earl 
 Marshal. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 TITLES of honour, as well as those of office, frequently 
 lie so far back in. the memorials of antiquity, that it is some- 
 times difficult to discover the genuine meaning of their ap- 
 pellations; partly owing to the obsolete state of the language 
 in which they are conveyed to us, and partly to a long series 
 of investigation, to be pursued in a variety of authors, many 
 of whom differ in their sentiments upon etymologies. Thus 
 it often happens, that the village, which we want to arrive 
 at, seems to the eye to be at a small distance : but many 
 
 Bb 3
 
 374- Origin of the Offices of Lord High Constable, Kc. 
 
 turnings and windings, many unfrequented paths, are very 
 often to be passed, before we can reach it. 
 
 The two most ancient, and most puissant officers of this 
 state, were the constable and marshal ; originally two offices 
 in one and the same person. There are many authorities 
 which must, be examined with attention, before we can 
 command the true signification of these words. Say some, 
 the word constable owes its origin to the ancient Teutonic 
 cunning, ' king,' and stable, ' firm ;' so that according to this 
 idea, the constable was an officer who gave strength, 
 firmness, or stability, by his office, to the king. Verstegan, 
 indeed, is of this opinion ; but many other authors differ 
 from him. But when we find, that this officer is styled 
 Constabularius, the true construction must be, that such 
 officer was the person who took care to provide stabling, 
 and other necessaries, for the king's horses. Thus in the 
 Register* 88, the marshal is said to be, Const abularius exer- 
 citus nostri, Fitzherbert, Nat. Brev. 84. The word marshal, 
 after much travel over etymological ground, seems to be de- 
 rived from the Teutonic Mare, ( a horse,' now a British word, 
 and Scale in the same language, which signifies ' an overseer, 
 guardian, or curator ;' and Verstegan, upon consulting his 
 work,, seems to coincide with this etymology. The first par~ 
 liamentary acknowledgment of this officer is in an Act 13 
 Rich. II. where these words are the prefatory part of that 
 statute : " Because the commons do make a grievous com- 
 plaint, that the court of the constable and marshal hath in- 
 croached to him? &c. Now, these two last words are suf- 
 ficient evidence, that at this juncture the office of constable 
 and marshal was one undivided office, in one and the same 
 person. In the 20th year of this king's reign, the office was 
 severed ; and by grant to Thomas Earl of Nottingham, 
 who was by this grant the first Hereditary Earl Marshal, 
 the constable and marshal became two distinct officers.- 
 This grant is thus expressed : " Rex, &c. Sciatis quod 
 cum nos de nostra speciali gratia concesserimus dilecto 
 consanguineo nostro Thomas Comiti de Nottingham offi. 
 cium Mareschalli Angliae, habendum ad totam vitam suam. 
 Nos jam de ulteriori gratia nostra concessimus praefato 
 consanguineo nostro officium prsedictum una cum nomine 
 et honore Comitis Mareschalli, habendum sibi et ha?redibus 
 
 * The register is one of the most ancient authorities in the common law j 
 which contains a copious assemblage of all the original writs at that time in 
 use. It is not quite clear, in what reign this compilation was formed. Sec 
 Coke on Litt, 159.
 
 Origin of the Offices of Lord High Constable, %c. 375 
 
 suis masculis, &c." Rot. -Cart. 20 Richard II. Nu. 3. An- 
 ciently, before the Conquest, and since that period, to the 
 time above-mentioned, the office of constable and marshal 
 passed by grants : when the severance was effected, the 
 office of constable became an hereditary office in families, 
 by a tenure of particular manors in grand serjeantry. See 
 Lambard, Hoveden. The office of marshal always passed by 
 grants, whether an united or a distinct office, whether a 
 single honour, or united to that of constable, which grants 
 may be traced up to 1 John, Rot. Cart. Part 2, ftu. 85. The 
 grants of constable go no higher than 1 Henry V. Rot. Pat. 
 Part 1. Henrico Coiniti North pro fit a sna. So that after the 
 grant made 20 Richard II. of a separate hereditary marshal, , 
 the office of marshal became hereditary by grant, and that 
 of constable by tenure. 
 
 It appears from records before the Conquest, that the 
 marshals were called Heretoches, from the Saxon here, ' ex- 
 ercitus,' and tcoii, 'ducere:' so that they were leaders, super- 
 intendants, or directors of the royal army. " Mareschalli 
 exercitus, seu ductores exercitus, Heretoches per Anglos 
 vocabantur." Fitxherbert, Nat. Brev. 85. Thus speak the 
 laws before the Conquest. The office of constable, which 
 was by hereditary right of tenure in Edward Duke of 
 Buckingham, in the reign of Henry VIII. became extinct 
 by his attainder, upon the forfeiture of it to the crown 
 by such attainder; and ever since has been an appointment 
 by the crown, only upon grand occasions, such as a coro- 
 nation, &c. : and it is usual at this day, to revive the office 
 of lord high constable pro hac vice, upon the celebration 
 of such solemnities. On the other hand, the office of earl 
 marshal, which descended to Charles Brandon, Duke of 
 Suffolk, by hereditary grant, in the reign of Henry VIII. 
 was surrendered by this duke into the hands of the king, 
 in the 25th year of his reign ; and was granted to the Duke 
 of Norfolk, who was then vice-roy of Ireland ; from whom 
 it descended either lineally or collaterally to the present 
 Norfolk family, who still continue in the possession and 
 enjoyment of this honourable distinction. 
 
 The powers vested in these two great officers of state, 
 appear from the words of the statute 14 Rich. II. ' 
 constable and marshal it appertained! to have conusance 
 of contracts, and deeds of arms, and of war out of the 
 realm, and also of things that touch war within the realm, 
 which cannot be discussed and determined by the common 
 Jaw." 
 
 Before these two officers, as judges, and other judges of 
 Bb4
 
 376 Origin of the Offices of Lord High Chancellor, Kc. 
 
 the court, where the appeal was brought, was determined 
 the ancient trial by battle: where gladiatorial ferocity passed 
 for an inductive proof of innocence, and the very dregs of 
 Gothic superstition assumed the sacred majesty of law; 
 .while the murder of one person was to be proved by the 
 murder of another. 
 
 If these appeals of murder, upon the day appointed by 
 the constable and marshal, the parties made their appear- 
 ance armed with clubs or battoons, and before the conflict 
 began each of them took the following fcn-solemn oath, 
 <{ That they had neither eat or drank on that day, nor done 
 any thing else, by which the law of God might be depressed, 
 or the law of the Devil exalted." Then the combat began, 
 which consisted of wounds and bruises, oftentimes occasion- 
 ing immediate death, secundum Itgem baculi. It was singular 
 that this bloody conflict sometimes lasted the whole day. 
 Now;, how the combatants could maintain such a long and 
 severe interchange of blows without intermission, for no- 
 thing of this kind is mentioned, is difficult to determine. If 
 the appellee yielded before the close of the day, he was 
 sentenced to be immediately hanged ; but if he could sup- 
 port the blows of the assailant till that time, he was then 
 quit of the appeal : on the contrary, if the appellant declined 
 the contest, he was sentenced to outlawry, and to pay da- 
 mages to the appellee. Glanvil. lib. 14. Bracton, lib. 3. 
 Smith de Repub. Angl. lib. 2. Britton, c. 22. 
 
 In the book of entries, belonging- to the abbey of St. Ed* 
 mund's Bury, Suffolk, fol. 87, is a record or register of a 
 writ directed to the sheriffs of London, in the 8th year of 
 Henry VI. to provide lists and bars for a duel, that was to 
 be fought between John Upton and John Down. The form 
 runs thus : " Rex Vic. London, praecipimus vobis firmiter 
 injungentes quod quasdam listas et barras de meremio* 
 fortes pro quodam duello inter Johannem Upton et Johan- 
 nem Down, secundum legem Armorum, die Lunse prox' 
 Jutur' apud Smithfield, in suburb' civitatis praediclffi, Deo 
 dante, perficiend' contra diem praedict' nostris sumptibus 
 et expensis erigi, construi, et fieri fac', et quod terra infra 
 listas praedict' cum sabulo sufficiente co-operta, ita quod 
 aliqui lapides grandes aut arena infra easdem listas minime 
 inveniantur, et de omnibus et singuljs pecuniarum summis 
 quas circa praemissa applicaveritis nos vobis in computo 
 
 * The idiom of this word is of Gallic structure. The word in the original 
 :$ we/Wai^ which signifies any sort of wood used for building. Clause 16, 
 dv.. II. m. 3,
 
 The Word Cercella, in Old Deeds, explained. 377 
 
 yestro ad Scaccarium nostrum per praesens rnandatum nos- 
 trum debitam ailocationern habere faciemus." 
 
 This is the only writ, now extant, upon record, which 
 throws light upon this subject ; and is therefore a matter of 
 curiosity to those who wish to he informed what the legal 
 usage was upon the appeals of murder, so frequent in 
 former times. 
 
 The last joinder of issue, in a process of this kind, was 
 between Lord Hey, appellant, and David Ramsey, appellee, 
 both Scotchmen (Grig. Judicial. 65.) This combat was or- 
 dered to be tried before the Earl of Lindsey, high consta- 
 ble, and the Earl of Arundel, earl marshal, in the 6th year 
 of Charles I. But the king rather shewing a dislike to the 
 measure, a reference of the case was made to the lords, 
 who at last submitted the matter to the king for his deter- 
 mination ; who being of opinion, that Ramsey was unjustly 
 accused, the matter was compromised, and at length finally 
 adjusted, without the intervention of a jurisdiction, which 
 from its cool and sedate attention to this legally bloocly 
 ronflict, may be said to have set all the laws of humanity al 
 defiance. 
 
 1784, March. REUBEN D'MouNDT. 
 
 XCVIII. The Word CERCELLA, in Old Deeds, explained. 
 MR. URBAN, March 3. 
 
 THE ingenious communicative author of the History of 
 Reculver and Herne, in a note to a grant of three acres of 
 land (dated A. D. 1357), a part of the covenanted rent of 
 which was one quarter of barley palwal\ has suggested a 
 doubt, whether the word palmal' may be rightly copied, 
 but observes, " if it is, it cannot be in any sense applicable 
 to barley, unless it means, large sized grain." The just 
 ness of this surmise is confirmed by Cowel, who, in his 
 Law Dictionary, says thai " J'ulmanum HordeumPalm 
 Jlarley, is the Sprat Barley, called in some parts Beer Bar- 
 ley, and in others Battled Barley, and that it is fuller and 
 broader than common barley." A query is also proposed 
 by Mr. Duncombe in another note, respecting a word 
 an account of the rents paid for divers tenements secured 
 to the hospital at Herbaldowne, by a mortmayne grant it 
 Henry VI. I will transcribe the passage 1 reter to It" 1 cle 
 Wil Yoe, &c. quatuor solidates et sex denariatas ac
 
 378 The Word Cercella, in Old Deeds, explained. 
 
 mcdiatem unius gnadranfat^, et redditum duarum sarcellinnn, 
 ac tercie partis unius sarcelle, unius galline et dimid. et 
 quindecim ovorum exeunt, de cliversis tenementis in insula 
 de Herteye." Sarcell<e is the term to which Mr. D. objects, 
 because " the only sense of sarcellus and sercellus in the 
 Glossaries is the sign of an hoop, indicating that wine is 
 sold at the hoop where it hangs out ;" an interpretation cer- 
 tainly it will not bear here. The word is, however, incor- 
 rectly copied, it ought to be cercell<e, not with an s, but a 
 c, as it is spelt in the English instrument of Mortmayne, 
 given a few lines above; and according to Somner*, 
 cercella is derived " from the French cercclh'" and signifies 
 " the water wild fowl, denominated by us a teale," of 
 which birds there probably was always an abundance in 
 Hertye island. Two teale, and the third part of another, 
 was a whimsical kind of reddend', and if delivered in kind, 
 with exactness, would require the hand of a dexterous 
 carver. But this is not the only curious article in the rent 
 of this estate, for there was to be paid in money four shil- 
 lings and sixpence, and half a farthing. As there never 
 was, I have a notion, any such diminutive piece of coin [in 
 Englandf] the splitting of a farthing may be inferred to 
 have been literally a practice in the 16th century. Histo- 
 rians inform us that our ancestors were wont easily to divide 
 silver pennies into halves and quarters, by means of the 
 double cross stamped on the reverse, and to pay or distri- 
 bute the fragments in lieu of halfpence and farthings. To 
 prevent such clipping and defacing, it was ordered by King 
 Henry III. that no coin should pass current which was not 
 round ; and his son absolutely prohibited the use of broken 
 money. The following are some of the verses made upon 
 this regulation of Edward I. They are printed in Spel- 
 rnan's Glossary, ad verb. Denarius, from Stow's Annals, 
 p. 506. 
 
 *' EDWARD did smite round, peny, half-peny, farthing, 
 The cross passes the bond of all throughout the ring. 
 The poor man, ne to Priest, the peny fraises nothing. 
 Men give God aye the least, they feast him with a farthing." 
 
 * Glossar. ad fin. X. Script. In a deed inserted in the Appendix to the 
 Treatise on Gavelkind by Somner, it is mentioned that the prior and the 
 convent of Christ Church, Canterbury, were to have yearly, at Christmas, 
 fiom one of their tenants, " Ujium mathliirdum, et unuin annatem, et qua-, 
 tuor cercfllas," p. 123. 
 
 f " A French denier," says Chamberlain, " is equal to three-fourths of a. 
 farthing sterling." .
 
 X 
 
 Cravs Bo vs. 370 
 
 Without a violation of the law, the poor people in Her- 
 baldown hospital must have been deprived of the regular 
 payment of half the least part of the rent that was due to 
 them. 
 
 1784, March. W. and D. 
 
 XCIX. Cross Bows. 
 MR. URBAN, Litchjidd, April IP. 
 
 1 ROM your readiness to oblige your correspondents, I 
 make not the least doubt butyou will give the following ac- 
 count of the cross-bow, a place in your useful repository; 
 especially when I inform you, it was transmitted to me by 
 the very worthy and ingenious Mr. Grose, who, I hope, will 
 jiot be offended at seeing it in print, as I think it is too valu- 
 able to be withheld from the public. 
 
 RICH. GREENE. 
 
 " With respect to the cross-bow, it is a very ancient wea- 
 pon. Verstegan says, it was introduced here by the Saxons, 
 but was neglected till again brought into use by William the 
 Conqueror, at the battle of Hastings. Cross-bows were af- 
 terwards prohibited by the second Lateran council, anno 
 1 139, as hateful to God, and unfit to be used among Chris- 
 tians ; in consequence whereof they were laid aside till the 
 reign of Richard the First, who again introduced them, and 
 was himself killed by an arrow or quarrel, discharged from a 
 cross-bow at the siege of the Castle of Chalus, which was 
 considered as a judgment on his impiety. 
 
 " Cross-bows shot darts called quarrels or quarreaux ; 
 they were headed with solid square pyramids of iron, and 
 sometimes trimmed with brass instead of feathers*. 
 
 " Cross-bows were used by trie English in their expedi- 
 tion to the Isle of Rhee, anno 1627. 
 
 " There was an officer styled Baiistrarius Regis; and se- 
 veral estates were held by the service of delivering a cross- 
 bow, and thread to make the string, when the king passed 
 through certain districts. These you will find in Blount\ 
 Tenures, and Jacob's Law Dictionary. 
 
 * The arrow-heads which have been found in Boswortb. field arc remarkably 
 large and long, E,
 
 380 The First Coffee House in England. 
 
 " The cross-bow makers used to exercise themselves in 
 shooting at the popinjay, or artificial parrot, in a field called 
 Tassal Close, in London, from the number of thistles grow- 
 ing there, now called the Old Artillery Ground. Maitland's 
 History. 
 
 " According to Sir John Smith, a cross-bow would kill 
 point blank 60 yards, and if elevated, above 160. 
 
 " The pay of a cross-bow man, temp. Edward II. was 
 six-pence. 
 
 " King Henry VIII. to preserve the manly exercise of 
 archery, instituted a company of archers, called the Fra- 
 ternity of St. George, who were authorised to shoot with 
 long and cross-bows at all manner of marks, and in case 
 any one was slain by arrows shot by these archers, if it was 
 proved the party who shot the arrow had first given the word 
 Fast, he was not liable to be sued or molested. Chamber- 
 lain's History of London. 
 
 " So much for the cross-bow, of which you will find 
 many particulars in our ancient chronicles, particularly 
 Froissart." 
 
 1784, 
 
 C. Particulars respecting the First Coffee House in England. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 1 HERE send you some historic matter respecting the use 
 of coffee, tea, and chocolate in this kingdom. Little could 
 our ancestors of two centuries back suppose that their de- 
 scendants would be reduced to the necessity of sending 
 to the East and West Indies for the materials for a com- 
 fortable breakfast. There is a gradation in customs, which 
 often originates from individuals. Tradition ascribes the 
 smoking of tobacco to Sir Walter Raleigh. It is observed 
 by Ant. a Wood (Ath. Oxon. II. 1140,) that while Nathaniel 
 Conopius, a Cretan born, continued in Balliol College in 
 Oxford, which he left in 1648, he made the drink for his 
 own use called coffee, and usually drank it every morning, 
 being the first, as the ancients of that house informed him, 
 that was ever drunk in Oxon. In the year 1650, we learn 
 from the same author (Life, 8vo. v. Index) " Jacob a Jew 
 opened a coffey-house at the Angel in the parish of St. Peter 
 in the East, Oxon, and there it was by some, who delighted 
 in noveltie, drank. In 1054, Cirques Jobson , a Jew and
 
 The First Coffee House m England. 33 1 
 
 Jacobite, borne near Mount Libanus, sold coffey in Oxon; 
 nnd in 1655, Arth. Tillyard, apothecary, sold coffey pub- 
 licly in his house against All Soules Coll, This coffey- 
 house continued till his majesties returne and after, and then 
 they became more frequent, and had an excise set upon 
 coffey." The author of the "New View of London" (1?O8, 
 p. 30.) found it recorded, "that one James Fa IT, a barber, 
 who kept the coffee-house which is now the Rainbow, by the 
 Inner Temple Gate (one of the first in England), was in 
 the year 1057 presented by the inquest of St. Dunstan's 
 in the West, for making and selling a sort of liquor called 
 coffee, as a great nuisance and prejudice of the neighbour- 
 hood, &c. And who could then have thought London 
 would ever have had near 3000 such nuisances, and that 
 coffee would have been (as now, 1703) so much drunk by 
 the best of quality and physicians !" The frequency of 
 coffee-houses at and soon after the Restoration is apparent 
 from several authorities. In the ic Kingdom's Intelligencer," 
 a weekly paper, published by authority, in 1 662, are inserted 
 four advertisements of these articles, of which i have se- 
 lected the last as being the fullest; which is the paper from 
 ^Monday Dec. 22, to Dec. 29, 1662. 
 
 " At the coffee-house in Exchange-alley, is sold by retail 
 the right coffee-powder from 4 to 6s. 8d. per pound, as in 
 goodness; that pounded in a morter at 2s. 6d. per pound; 
 also that termed the East India berry at 18d. per pound; 
 and that termed the right Turkic berry well garbled at 3s. 
 per pound, the ungarbled for lesse, with directions gratis 
 how to make and use the same: likewise there you may 
 have chocolatta, the ordinary pound boxes at 2s. 6cl. per 
 pound, the perfumed from 4 to 10s. per pound; also sher- 
 bets made in Turkic of lemons, roses, and violets perfumed; 
 and tea according to its goodness. For all which, if any 
 gentlemen shall write or send, they shall be sure of the best 
 as they shall order, and to avoid deceit, warranted under the 
 house seal, viz. Morat the Great, &c. Further, all gen- 
 tlemen that are customers and acquaintance are (the next 
 New-year's day) invited at the signe of the Great Turk at 
 the new coffee-house in Exchange-alley, where coffee will 
 be on free-cost." And so may bt to the world's end, was 
 added in the preceding of Dec. 20. In the two former of 
 Aug. 4, and Oct. 13, the terms are, " tea or chaa, according 
 to its goodness;" unluckily no price is any where mentioned 
 to this article; in the others it considerably varies, 
 in the first advertisement was from 2s. 6d. to 5s. |n the s 
 cond the same, a better sort at 4*. and the best of all at 6s.
 
 382 The first Cojf'te House in England. 
 
 per pound. The right Turkey berry at 2s. Scl. The India, 
 berry, sweet and good, at 18d. per pound, of which at pre- 
 sent in divers places there is musty, bad, which the ignorant 
 for cheapness do buy, and is the cause of such bad coffee as 
 is drunk in divers places. Chocolatta, in the first, pound 
 boxes at 2s. the perfumed at 4s. 6d. 10s. l6s. and the very 
 best at 20s. per pound. In the second, the perfumed at 
 4s. to 10s per pound. In the last, coffee rose Sd. higher 
 than in the preceding week. 
 
 In the year 166,5 appeared in 4to. a facetious poem, with 
 the title of " The Character of a Coffee-house : wherein 
 is contained a description of the persons usually frequent- 
 ing it, with their discourse and humours : as also the ad- 
 mirable vertues of coffee. By an Eye and Ear-witness.'* 
 It begins : 
 
 A Coffee-house, the learned hold 
 
 It is a place where Coffee's sold ; 
 
 This derivation cannot fail us, 
 
 For where Ale's vended that's an Alehouse. 
 
 The author mentions the signs, the Great Morat, the Sultan, 
 Sultaness : 
 
 John's admir'd curled pate, 
 
 Or the great Mogul in's chair of state. 
 
 Or Constantine the Grecian, 
 
 Who fourteen years was th' onely man . 
 
 That made Coffee for the great Bashaw, 
 
 Although the man he never saw : 
 
 Or if you see ! a coffee-cup 
 
 Fill'd from a Turkish pot, hung up 
 
 Within the clouds, &e. 
 
 He then proceeds to the company, and the several liquors: 
 
 The Gallant he for tea doth call, 
 
 The Usurer for nought at all ; 
 
 Pragmatic he doth in treat, 
 
 That they will fill him some Beau-cheat; 
 
 The Virtuoso he cries, Hand me 
 
 Some Coffee mixt with Sugar-candy; 
 
 Phanaticus (at last) says, Come, 
 
 Bring me some Aromnticum : 
 
 The Player bawls for Chocolate: 
 
 Ail which the Bumkin wond'ring at,
 
 The first Cofee House in England. 383 
 
 Cries, Ho, my Masters ! what d'ye speak, 
 D'ye call for drink in Heathen Greek? 
 Give me some good Ale or Beer, 
 Or else I will not drink I swear. 
 
 That these houses soon became places of general resort is 
 very evident : 
 
 Of all some and all conditions, 
 Even Vintners, Surgeons, and Physicians, 
 The Blind, the Deaf, and aged Cripple, 
 Do here resort, and coffee tipple. 
 
 I shall conclude this account with one line, which carries 
 back the liquor farther than is generally known: 
 
 Spic'd Punch (in bowls) the Indians quaff. 
 
 Let us come now to tea with eggs. (Sir Kenelm Digby's 
 Book of Receipts, Lond. 1669, 8vo. p. 155.) 
 
 The Jesuite that came from China, aim. l6f)4, told Mr. 
 Waller, that there they use it sometimes in this manner; 
 " To near a pint of the infusion, take two yolks of new-laid 
 eggs, and beat them very well with as much tine sugar as is 
 sufficient for this" quantity of liquor; when they are very 
 well incorporated, pour your tea upon the eggs, and sugar, 
 and stir them well together. So drink it hot. This is when 
 you come home from attending buisness abroad, and are 
 'very hungry, and yet have not convenience 7 to eat presently 
 a competent meal. This presently discusseth and satisfieth 
 all rawness and indigestion of the stomach, flyeth suddenly 
 over the whole body and into the veins, and strengthened 
 exceedingly, and preserves one a good while from necessity 
 of eating. Mr. Waller findeth all those effects of it thus 
 with eggs." 
 
 It is certain that it was a favourite liquor with this poet, 
 as we may infer from his verses on it. 
 
 The Muse's friend, Tea, does our fancy aid; 
 Repress those vapours which the head invade; 
 And keeps that palace of the soul serene. 
 
 King William, it has been said, was fond of this beverage; 
 and "from the same authority of report, in his time it was 
 three pounds a pound. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1785, Jan. . B.
 
 384 Query respecting Mimicis Regis, $jc. 
 
 Cl. A Query whether MIMICIS REGIS be not an error for 
 REGIS, with an Answer. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 IN the first volume of Wnrton's History of English Poetrv, 
 \ find the following passage: " Nicola, Uxor Gerardi de 
 Canvill, reddit computum de c % entum inarcis pro muritanda 
 Matilda filia sua cuieunque voluerit exceptis Mimicis Regis." 
 " Nicola, wife of Gerard of Canville, accounts to the King; 
 for 100 Marks for the Privilege of marrying her Daughter 
 Maud to whatever person she pleases, the King's Mimics 
 excepted." Whether or no Miniici fiegis are here a sort of 
 players kept in the king's household for diverting the court 
 at stated seasons, at least with performances of mimicry, I 
 cannot indeed determine: yet we inay remark an error, not 
 unlikely to be made from the similarity of the I to the 
 strokes that form the N, M, and U, in manuscripts of that 
 date. If so the mistake must have arisen by reading mimi- 
 cis instead of inimicis regis; nnd the king's enemies were 
 the persons excepted. 
 
 178oj Jan. Y. Z. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 I LOOK upon the emendation of your friend Y. Z. in sub- 
 stituting //w/z/cis for mimicis, to be so certain and indubitable 
 as to want no confirmation. For the satisfaction, however, or 
 rather the gratification of your correspondent, I shall briefly 
 observe, 1st, that, though we currently use the word mimic, 
 the Glossaries do not acknowledge the Latin mimicus. 
 
 2dly. That there is no reason why Nicola should be de- 
 tarred from marrying her daughter to a mimic, as Maud, 
 the daughter, was a great heiress, and the mother neither 
 likely to think of disposing of her so meanly, nor the king 
 to trouble himself about any such disposal of his ward, 
 should the mother think proper to adopt it. 
 
 Sdly. But what weighs most with me, and will with you, 
 as I conceive, Mr. Urban, is, that I find a like clause in an 
 old lease of the abbot and convent of Beauchief, A. D. 1641, 
 where the demise is to the lesse and " such his assigns as to 
 the same Abbot and Convent, and their successors, have not 
 been enemies, nor hurtfull;" a case exactly parallel; the 
 Icing being in the situation of the abbot and convent, and 
 hicola in that of the lesse. 
 
 Yours. 8cc. 
 1735. June, T. Row*
 
 On Sables. 335 
 
 C1I. Midwives formerly baptized Infants. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 MlDWIVES, heretofore, frequently performed the office 
 of baptizing infants in cases of necessity. The following 
 process, relative to that custom, is entered in the Con- 
 sistorial Acts of the diocese of Rochester, and if you are .of 
 opinion that it may be a curious anecdote to the readers of 
 the Gentleman's Magazine, you will be pleased to favour 
 them with the perusal of it. 
 
 W. and D. 
 
 " 1523, Oct. 14. Eliz. Gaynsford, obstetrix, examinat' 
 dicit in vim juramcnti sui sub hac forma verborum " J, 
 the aforesaid Elizabeth, seeing the childe of Tho. Everey, 
 late born, in jeopardy of life, by the authoritie.of my office, 
 then beyng midwyfe, dyd christen the same childe under 
 this manner, in the name of the Fader, the Son, and the 
 Holy Ghost, I christen thee,Denys, iffundend'meramaquam 
 super caput infantuP. Interrogata erat, Whether the 
 childe. was born and delivered from the wyfe of the said 
 Thomas ; whereto she answereth and saith, that the childe 
 was not born, for she saw nothing of the childe but the 
 hedde, aiuf for perell the childe was in, and in that tyme 
 of node, she christened as is aforesaid, and cast water with 
 her hand on the childe's hede. After which so done, the 
 childe was born, and was had to the churche, where the 
 Priest gave to it that chrystynden that tukkyd, and the childe 
 is yet. alijf." 
 
 1785, Dec. 
 
 Clll. On Sables. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 " Let the Devil wear Hack) Pll have suit of sables.' 11 
 THIS strange speech of Hamlet may, perhaps, receive 
 some elucidation from part of a statute of Brasen Nose 
 College, Oxford, which was shewn to me in MS. by a de- 
 ceased friend. The statutes bear date primo die lebruaru, 
 anno Regis Henrici Octam tertio-decimo, A.D. 1.5J2. It 
 should seem that sables were reckoned finery in those day*! 
 and had nothing to do with mourning. " Statuimus pncte- 
 rea, quod omnes et singull praedicti togis Jongis in parte 
 VOL. J. C <i
 
 386 Antiquity and Name of the Jew's Harp. 
 
 anteriore consutis infra universitatem utantur, et quod nul- 
 lus eorum pelluris pretiosis et sumptnosis, vulgariter dictis 
 sabitls, sive matrons, pannove de velvet, damasco, sattin, 
 aut chamblet, in suis vestibus, internis sive externis, aut 
 earuin fimbriis sive extremitatibus, vel in eorum Hripipiis 
 in universitate quoquo modo utatur." Let the Devil mourn 
 for me, I'll dress gaily, is Hamlet's meaning, and I think 
 this interpretation is countenanced by the quotation. A 
 picture of Richard Gardiner, some time rector of White- 
 chapel, hangs in the vestry-room there. It was painted in 
 1617, the 15th of James I. and is a hard, poor picture. 
 Gardiner is represented with sables, which occupy the place 
 at this day filled with the scarf. He was 48 years rector of 
 the parish, and his name appears in the list of benefactors 
 toil. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1786, May. D. N. 
 
 CIV. On the Antiquity and Name of the Jew's Harp* 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 THE Jew-trump, or Jew's-harp as it is often called, (and 
 indeed it has more of the tone of a wire-strung harp than of 
 a trumpet,) is now a boy's instrument, bought at fairs; it 
 however was, it seems, an ancient instrument ; for Mr. 
 Pennant informs us ^Tour to Scotland, p. 195,) that one 
 made of gilt brass was found ill-Norway, deposited in an urn. 
 The Scotch also have it as well as we. There is an evident 
 allusion in the name to the inhabitants of Judea* ; and I 
 observe, that in Dodsley's Old Plays, vol. IV. p. 171, Quick 
 calls the usurer, on account of his Jewish avarice, a notable 
 Jen's trump. In the plate, however, of Jewish musical in- 
 struments, presented to us by Calmet, in his Dictionary, 
 nothing of this kind occurs; so that I much suspect that there 
 is a corruption here of Jtu-trompe, a play-thing or 
 t as it is now only used by boys for that purpose. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1786, Aug. T. Row. 
 
 '* [JtuffHarp is probably-a corruption of Jaw's Hcrfrfrom the circumstance 
 f its being placed between the teetfc when played. .J
 
 Extract from Whitechapel Registers. 337 
 
 CV. Extract from Whitechapd Registers. 
 
 Ma. URBAN, 
 
 THE extravagances of the last age in regard to droppino- 
 the word saint, &c. and the solemnization of marriage be- 
 fore or by a justice (>' the peace, will receive some little 
 elucidation, if you insert the following extracts from the 
 register of St. Mary's, Whitechapel, in your valuable and 
 entertaining Miscellany. 
 
 Publications and Marriages in December, 1653. 
 
 " 26. Julius Wood of Nightingale-lane in this parish, 
 mariner, and Martha Waggdon, of the same, widdow, 
 were published in the market-place at Leaden-hall three 
 severall market days, in three severall weeks (viz.) on the 
 16th day, on the 19th day, and on the 26th day of Decem- 
 ber, 1653 ; and the said Julius Wood and Martha Waggdon 
 were married by me, Richard Loton, esq. and justice of 
 peace in the county of Middlesex, on the 26th day of De- 
 cember, 1653. Edward Callis, and Tobias Harborough, 
 witnesses present." 
 
 Publications and Marriages in December, 1654. 
 
 " Robert Allison of the parish of Botolph, Aldgate, gun- 
 smith, and Ellinor Hathaway, of the parish of White Chap- 
 pell, spinster, aged 22 years, were published three several 
 Lord's Days, at the close of the morning exercise at the pub- 
 lique meeting-place, commonly called Mary Whitechapel 
 church, in the county of Middlesex, viz. on the 10:h, 17th, 
 and 24th days of December, 1654, and the said Robert Allison, 
 and Ellinor Hathaway were married before Richard Loton, 
 esq. and one of the justices of the peace for the county of 
 Middlesex, on the 25th day of December, 1654. Witnesses 
 present were Thomas Prichard, aud Richard Woodcock, 
 and others." 
 
 One Richard Digglis was appointed registrar, being 
 sworn into office and approved by Loton, and he it was who 
 made publication in the market. In the year 1660, at the 
 Restoration, the old forms and appellations immediately 
 appear in the register. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 1786, Sept. D. N. . 
 
 C c 2
 
 3S3 Fuller's Charge against an Abbey in Essex. 
 
 CVI. Observations on Fuller's Charge against an Abbey in Esses. - 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 WHOEVER has attentively considered the history of the 
 .Reformation in England, cannot but be convinced that, 
 .however the hand of Providence may be conspicuously 
 traced in its rise and progress, the instruments made use of 
 to effect it \vere the ambition, lust, and avarice, of Hen. VIII. 
 To gratify these reigning passions, which admitted no re- 
 straint or opposition, every measure that tended to shake 
 off the authority of the see of Rome, whether sanctified by 
 specious reasons or not, was eagerly adopted. To bring 
 about the dissolution of monasteries, charges were alleged 
 by visitors, and crimes extorted by forced confessions from 
 the members of those societies, which posterity cannot read 
 without horror, and which, in many instances, are but the 
 too fatal consequences of celibacy ill understood, and ab- 
 surdly enforced crimes, for the commission of which the 
 warmest advocates of such celibacy must tremble in every 
 age. Bat, while these charges were brought, and crimes 
 confessed in our own country, from the motives above-men- 
 tioned, can we give credit to such a bare-faced abomination 
 as that which Honest Fuller (Church Hist. b. VL c. 3 1 .) charges 
 an abbey in a country adjacent to the capital ? Your readers 
 will perceive I mean the clause pretended to have been in- 
 serted in the leases, whereby the Jesse was enjoined yearly 
 to provide a young girl to gratify the abbot's desires. The 
 charge is general ; for though the two paragraphs preced- 
 ing that in winch it is made, treat of the supposed in- 
 trigues between the monks of Waltham and the nuns of 
 Cheshunt, by favour of supposed subterraneous vaults or 
 sewers, common to every monastery, and in many applied, 
 by vulgar fame, to a like use ; we are not to fix the scan- 
 dalous covenant on that particular house. " A reverend 
 -divine" (who in the margin is called Mr. Stephen Marshall) 
 M hath informed me," says Fuller, " that he hath seen such 
 a passage in the lease of the abbey of Essex," &c. c. It is 
 but an hearsay story after all; and Fuller himself treats it 
 as "more improbable (though generally reported)", than the 
 scandalous fancies about the souterains, and reasons against 
 it with equal plausibility and charity. It is, as we have be- 
 fore seen, a general charge, not levelled against any spe- 
 cific abbey in this extensive county of Essex, which hud 
 another mitred abbey (St. John's, at Colchester.) Wealth 
 and power are temptations to vitious ease and indulgence, 
 \vhich fail not within the reach of an inferior foundation.
 
 Fuller's Charge agaimt an Abbey in Essex. 389 
 
 But, leaving the objects of this charge, let us see whom 
 our gossipping punster has given as his authority for it : 
 Stephen Marshall "B.D. minister of Finchingfield ui Essex, 
 and archflamen of the rebellious rout," as Wood calls him, 
 Ath. Ox. II. 38 ; and in his Fasti, II. 31, " that most noto- 
 rious independent." He had the nick-name of the Geneva 
 lJull, and was one of those factious and rebellious divines 
 that preached up the lawfulness of resistance in matters of 
 religion; and his initials stood foremost in the composition of 
 Smectymnuus,*, the most audacious blow against episcopacy 
 that had been attempted. (Newcourt, Hep. II. 265.) How 
 far this man's evidence is to be admitted, must be submitted 
 to the judgment of the readers ; as also, how far he might 
 be qualified to read or understand the extraordinary tenures 
 by which lands were formerly holden. The church, and a 
 portion of the tythes of Finchingfield, whereof Marshall 
 was vicar, were given to the prior and convent of St. Mary 
 at Thetford by William Bigod, son of the founder of that 
 house : a vicarage was endowed 1225, and the vicar was 
 charged with 5 marks annuity to the poor vicars of St. 
 Paul's, London. Another portion of tythes out of Ashfield 
 manor, in Finchingfield, was given to Dunmow priory. This 
 manor was held by service of sending a turnspit for the king 
 at his coronation. The priory of Stoke by Clare had an- 
 other portion of tythes here (Mon. Ang. I. 1096,) and the- 
 hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in London had land here. 
 (Ib. II. 526, 543, 5.53.) It should seem, therefore, that 
 this wicked clause, which made such an impression on the 
 good reformer, is to be sought for in the writings or regis- 
 ters of one of these three priories ; and if it be, as he said, 
 an Essex abbey, the priory of Dunmow must clear itself of 
 the reproach :"for that Waltham is not to bear the blame is 
 clear, both from what has been before observed, and also 
 from Fuller's not repeating it in his history of that town 
 and abbey. 
 
 The great probability that Marshall misread or misunder- 
 stood this tenure, will further appear from a similar mistake 
 made by Dr. Plot (Staffordsh. c. VIII. xxi. 278.) " The 
 places where now Borow English obtains, were anciently 
 liable to the same ungodly custom granted to the lords of 
 manors in Scotland by king Evenus, or Eugenius, whereby 
 they had the privilege of enjoying the first night's lodging, 
 with their tenants' brides. That this custom obtained in 
 
 * [Stephen Marshall, Edmund Calamy, Thomas Young, Matthew New*' 
 eornen, William Spiustow. .J 
 
 cc 3
 
 390 Fuller's Charge against an Abbey in Essex. 
 
 England as well as in Scotland, we may rationally conclude, 
 from the marcheta mnlicrum that was anciently paid here, 
 as well as there, in lieu of it. Whereof I have seen a par- 
 ticular record of one Maynard of Berkshire, who held his 
 lands by this tenure of the abbot of Abington, per servi- 
 tium I8d. per annum, et daridi maritagium etmarchetum pro 
 filia etsorore sua advoluntatem ipsius abbatis (Plac. de Banco 
 in Die Pasch. 34 H. III. Rot. 20, Berksh.)." This record is 
 cited by Spelman, Glossar. v. Marcheta; together with 
 another for Suffolk, where the tenants paid, on the marriage 
 of their daughters, duas horas, or 32d. both which plainly 
 prove, that this marcheta was nothing more than a fine 
 certain, or at the will of the lord, paid by the copyholders 
 for licence to marry their daughters. Keysler, a German 
 of much reading, has detailed much nonsense on the same 
 mistake (Antiq. Septentr. 484489,) which his countryman 
 Wachter first detected (Gloss. Germ. v. Reitschof, 1279,) 
 without, however, ascertaining the meaning of the word. 
 Marchetum implies both a fine paid to the lord by the tenant 
 as a penalty for suffering his daughter to be debauched, and 
 also a fine for a licence to give her in marriage. Instances 
 of both may be seen in Spelman, ubi supra, and in Lord 
 Hailes's judicious dissertation on this subject at the end of 
 the first volume of his " Annals of Scotland," (p. 312 329,) 
 where the very probable origin of the custom is assigned. 
 
 Though we cannot possibly tell how the clause in the Es- 
 sex lease is to be read ; is it not therefore more than likely 
 that it was capable of no other construction than that re- 
 served by the abbot of Abington ? and, whatever might be 
 the inclinations of either lord, they derived no other power 
 of doing wrong from this service, than the good cardinal of 
 Piedmont did by his privilege, however his fancy prompted 
 him to destroy the grant 
 
 As little probability is there in the account given by Dr. 
 Layton of the prior of Maiden Bradley : 
 
 "Ye shall also receive a bag of relicks, where ye shall 
 see strange things, as God's coat, our Lady's smock, part 
 of God's supper, in ccend Domini pars petree super guam 
 natii-s erat Jesus in Bethlehem, belike Bethlehem aifords 
 plenty of stone. These are all of Maiden Bradley, whereof 
 a holy father is prior, who hath but six children, and but one 
 daughter married yet, of the goods of the monastery, but 
 trusting shortly to marry the rest: his sons, tall men, waiting 
 upon him. He thanks God he never meddled with married 
 women, but all with maidens, fairest that could be gotten, 
 and always married them right well; the Pope, considering
 
 Ancient Parochial Churches. 391 
 
 bis fragilitie, gave him his licence to keep a w e, and he 
 had good writing, sub plumbo, to discharge his conscience, 
 and to choose Mr. Underbill to be his ghostly father, and to 
 give him plenum remissionem." 
 
 1787, May. D. A. D. 
 
 CVII. Remarkable Particulars in our Ancient Parochial Churches, 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 HAVING frequent opportunities of travelling into Kent, 
 and receiving much pleasure from antiquarian contempla- 
 tion, I beg leave to submit to yourself and numerous corre- 
 spondents, an humble attempt for the purpose of explaining 
 the uses in which some of the most remarkable particulars 
 yet remaining about our ancient parochial churches were 
 employed, as well from observation, as the assistance of 
 undoubted authority; and which I flatter myself, may not 
 be wholly unacceptable. 
 
 INDAGATOR. 
 
 The first thing I shall mention as deserving notice is the 
 vcstibitlnm ecclesia, or porch, in which is generally found a 
 bench on each side, extending its whole length; and, in 
 many places yet remaining, the fragments of a stone bason, 
 situated on the right-hand of the entrance to the church at 
 the height of about three feet from the ground; this was the 
 receptacle for holy water, used by every one about to entec 
 the sacred edifice. 
 
 The porch was, without doubt, a very ancient appendage 
 to the church ; for Sexburga, who founded the nunnery at 
 Minster, in the isle of Sheppy, is said to have expired in 
 the church porch at Milton in Kent, anno 680; and Gervase, 
 the monk of Canterbury, in his account of the burning of 
 Christ-church, 1 174, says, " accensus est ignis ante portam 
 ecclesise extra muros atrii." However the porch may have 
 been passed over as a matter of mere ornament, it had its 
 especial uses, which I will endeavour immediately to ex- 
 plain. In that part of the will of the pious Henry VI. re- 
 lative to the foundation of his college at Eton, is this article : 
 " Item, in the south side of the body of the church a fair 
 large d-oor with a porch, and the same for christening of 
 children and weddings*." Somner relates, that in 1299 
 
 * Royal Wills, p. 279. 
 C C 4
 
 Ancient Parochial Churches, 
 
 Edward I. was married at Canterbury to Margaret, sister to 
 the King of France, by Archbishop Winchelsea, t( in ostio 
 ecclesiae versus claustrum*." 
 
 The following rubric occurs in a missal, printed at Paris 
 in 1515, secundum usum Sarum : " statuantur vir et mulier 
 ante ostium ecclesiae, sive in faciem ecclesias coram Deo, 
 et sacerdote, et populo ;" &c. which points out the use of 
 the porch in the performance of this rite. By the rituals 
 under the article, "de benedictione mulieris post partum," 
 i. e. churching women, it appears, that the priest goes to the 
 door of the church, where the woman is to receive eccle- 
 siastical benediction, kneeling down ; the 23d psalm is said, 
 with some responses, after which she is led into the church, 
 the conclusion being made before the altar. 
 
 But the most particular use of the porch was in adminis^ 
 tering the sacrament of baptism. " Stans igitur in ecclesioc 
 limine sacerdos, interrogat catechizandum stantem ad fores 
 ecclesiaef." Here the necessary questions being asked, 
 and prayers being said, " ducat eum vel earn in ecclesiam 
 dicendo, Ingredere in sanctam ecclesiam Dei ut accipias 
 benedictionem ccelestem a Domino Jesu Christo." Nothing 
 can be more apparent, than that the performance of these 
 rites would have been many times impracticable, not to 
 say dangerous to the health of persons so tender as women 
 generally are at the time of churching, and particularly in- 
 fants when baptized, had it not been for the kind invention 
 of the porch, which effectually secured them against the 
 inclemency of the seasons, and by which every necessity fojr 
 delaying these duties was removed. 
 
 Entering the body of the church, or " aula ecclesia," the 
 font is discovered usually placed near the doors at the west 
 end. They are to be met with of very ancient forms; many, 
 as may be conjectured from their decorations, seeming to 
 have remained since the Norman, and even the Saxon times j 
 nor has due attention been wanting to these venerable re- 
 mains of sacred antiquity, though the reason for their vast 
 capacity! is as yet, in some measure, to be freed from doubt. 
 Respecting the font itself, it should, by a constitution of 
 Archbishop Edmund, be placed in every church where bap- . 
 tism might be performed; also the font, or " baptisterium," 
 must be " lapideum, vel aliud competens, sell, quod bap- 
 tizandus possitin eomergij,* according to Lynwood, which 
 may be assigned as one sufficient cause of its largeness : it 
 
 * Hist. Canterbury, 167. 
 
 t Missale Rom. secundum Usiun Romanse Ecclesiae ; Lugduni, J528. 
 
 J Gibson's Codex, vol. I. -i35.
 
 Ancient Parochial Churches. 
 
 should also be inclosed within a lattice, nor should the water 
 be kept in it, according to the said constitution, above seu-u 
 days. As the; method of baptizing throws son;e light on tin; 
 subject, it will be worth the insertion. By the 42cl apostolic 
 canon, three ablutions of one mystery were commanded on 
 pain of being deposed; this seems to have been the usual 
 practice of the church. The mode of baptizing was thus, 
 according to the practice of the Roman court: " tune bap- 
 tize t eum sub trina mersione sanctam trinitatem semel 
 invocando, sic dicens, JVego te baptizo in nomine patris,t-/ 
 mcrget semel, et filii, et mcrget secundo, et spiritus sancti, ct 
 mergc't tertio*'' 
 
 I shall now beg your attention towards the chancel, at the 
 entrance of which, placed on the " gradus chori," (where 
 many things were read in the jejune seasons of the year,), 
 stands the skreen dividing it from the " aula." This is fre- 
 quently of excellent work, but too well known to need any 
 description, though it will not be impertinent to remark, 
 that in the above will of Henry VI. there is mention of 
 a " reredosse (skreen), bearing the rood-loft parting the 
 choir and the body of the churchf." At the north end of 
 the skreen, in many old churches, the entrance of a small 
 staircase seems worthy of attention. This leads up to a door, 
 at a moderate height from the pavement. At this door was 
 the place of the pulpit, probably the rood-loft, as appears 
 from the following rubrics : " Inccpta vero ultima orationc 
 ante epistolam subdiaconus per medium chori ad legendum 
 epistolain in pulpitum accedat." " Quando epistolalegitnr 
 duo pueri in superpelliciis, facta inclination^ ad altare ante 
 gradum chori in pulpitum per medium chori ad gradale 111- 
 cipiendum se preparent et suum versum cantandumj." 
 There is also another, for reading the gospel towards the 
 north, in the same place by the deacon, attended by the 
 subdeacon, who holds the book; as also by two clerks, bear- 
 jng candles, with a third, having the <* thuribulunr" As it 
 would be impossible for so many to perform their duty with 
 propriety, circumscribed in the narrow limits of the present 
 pulpit, it is natural to conclude, the pulpit to which tlif:e 
 ^tairs led might be the rood-loft, particularly as it appears 
 to have been placed over the skreen, as is manifest from the 
 will of Henry VI. and that the upper stair usually ascends 
 nearly even with the top of the skreen. From this place 
 also the sermon Was made, the curate being obliged to 
 
 t ' ' '~ -* 
 
 * Hissale, 1523, f Royal Wills, 502. * Missale, 1515.
 
 294 Ancient Parochial Churches. 
 
 preach four times in the year, by an ecclesiastical constitu- 
 tion of Archbishop Peckham, irt which this injunction is 
 worth remarking : " Exponat populo vulgariter absque cu- 
 juslibet subtiJitatis textura fantastica*." From which read- 
 ing- and preaching to the people assembled in the nave, " ubi 
 insident ipsi parochiani laicif," it may be concluded, the 
 body of the church received the name of " auditorium." 
 
 The chancel itself comes next in order to be considered. 
 Lynwood says, " Cancelius est inlersticium inter propugna- 
 cula murorum quale est quod claudit chorum a nave eccle- 
 sJEeJ." This seems to have been considered, in all ages, as 
 the most sacred part of the church. We find, by the 19th 
 Laodicean canon, none were admitted b-jt those of the 
 priesthood during the oblation : and women were totally 
 excluded by the 44th canon of the same council. From the 
 present remains of our old parochial chancels it is natural 
 to conclude them to have been adapted to the most solemn 
 acts of religion. Upon entering it from the nave, we observe'^ 
 on either ha>]d, the remaining stalls, with desks before them, 
 appropriated to the use of the choir; which, notwithstand- 
 ing, the author of " The Kentish Traveller's Companion 11 
 (who observes, the sacred offices of superstition were sung in 
 this place) thinks was composed of priests officiating at the 
 altars of chauntries, founded in the church or parish^: and 
 Dr. Harris, or Mr. Thorpe || after him, supposes them to be 
 for accommodating the clergy attending the archbishops 
 residing at their mansion: who might have seen them in 
 churches not of the peculiars, and where there never were 
 any episcopal mansions. 
 
 But as stalls are found in churches where it is improbable 
 there should be priests officiating in chauntries sufficient to 
 fill perhaps a dozen or more seats-, and also where no great 
 flocks of clergy had occasion to come, the choir might have 
 been composed of such of the parishioners as should choose 
 to sing, there being no reason tor excluding the laity from 
 thence, since the establishment of St. Stephen's, Westmin- 
 ster, and several other foundations of that kind, admitted 
 of choristers, an office not included in the seven degrees 
 of orders in the church. 
 
 Proceeding up the chancel, we ascend three steps, on 
 tfhich once stood the high altar, now occupied by the com- 
 munion table. The altar should be of stone, and conse- 
 crated by the bishop. The ends were termed its horn*; 
 
 * Gib. Codex. f lbi<l. J Ibid. 22'i, Page 71. 
 
 j| liilj. Top. Brit. No. Y'l. p. tjO.
 
 Ancient Parochial Churches. 395 
 
 that on the right being the " corfiu epistolse," from the 
 Epistle being read there, as the Gospel was on the left. 
 Near the altar, in the South wall of the chancel, are to be 
 observed three seats frequently under as many beautiful 
 subdivided Gothic arches, supported by buttresses, and en- 
 riched with finials, &,c. Seats of this nature are still to be 
 met with at Cliff, at Cobham, and the cathedral at Roches- 
 ter, in Kent ; at which last they are at a great distance from 
 the East end of the choir; and it is probable, the high altar 
 was not fixed against the wall, but had a space behind it, 
 which is common in places of this kind, and called " con- 
 cameratio;" by means of which it was possible for the altar 
 to be surrounded in processions by the monks*. The very 
 agreeable Gothic structure at Camberwell, in Surrey, also 
 furnishes seats of this kind ; not to mention many other 
 places. Between the last seat and the East wall, is a small 
 nich, generally in the same style, and frequently appearing 
 like a fourth arch. The nich is also to be met with where 
 the seats are wanting; and in other parts of the church be- 
 sides the chancel the bottom is also hollowed, and sometimes 
 a double hollow. The intention of these seats has been of 
 late a matter of doubt; they were by many thought to have 
 been for hearing confessions, which opinion has been suffi- 
 ciently controverted. They have been also supposed for 
 accommodating the visitor and his two attendants, with per- 
 haps as little probability. For it cannot be argued that they 
 were brought into use at the general visitation held for cen- 
 turies before the Reformation in much the same manner as 
 at present, viz. in some convenient part in each diocese, ami 
 at one time. Nor does it seem reasonable that the chancel 
 should be incumbered with three seats, which at most could 
 come but into annual use by the archdeacon in the parochial 
 visitation ; at which time a single seat appears more to the 
 purpose, he being allowed six, not two, attendants; for each 
 of whom he received an equal procuration. It must also be 
 acknowledged he coulcl only he seated in service-time, since 
 an actual survey was to be taken of the building itself, its 
 books and ornaments, which no one can suppose could be 
 done in the chancel. The archdeacon might also visit se- 
 veral churches in one day ; whence it must be impossible he 
 should be obliged to hear service performed. But shortly 
 after the time of Archbishop Langton, who was succeeded in 
 the see of Canterbury 1228, archdeacons began to perform 
 
 * Fuller's Church History, 286.
 
 396 x Ancient Parochial Churches. 
 
 their visitations by inquiry at two annual chapters ; so that, 
 soon after that period, there could be no more necessity for 
 these seats in parochial than general visitations. 
 
 I shall now, Mr. Urban, with the merited deference to the 
 judgment of yourself and antiquarian readers, endeavour 
 to point out what appears to have been the purpose of the 
 nich and seats in question. It will be necessary just to hint, 
 that the mass, the most august of all the ceremonies of the 
 church, was performed in the chancel ; and from thence 
 take occasion to conclude it to have been furnished with 
 every thing necessary for the due solemnity of its celebra- 
 tion, either when said by a single clergyman, or by several, 
 accompanied by the choir. In a rubic, " De Junctione 
 Manuum," it is mentioned, " Vadit (sacerdos) ab altare ad 
 piscinam et revertitur ;" and, in another place, " declinet 
 ad abluendum manus* ;" also, " reliquus (sc. ceroferarius) 
 pel-vim cum aqua et manutergio portetf." These will be 
 explained by another, from a missal of later date, in 
 which it is said the altar should be provided with " parva 
 campanula, ampullae vitreac vini et aquae cum pelvicula et 
 manutergio mundo, in fenestella seu parva mensa ad haec 
 praeparata ." Now it is very plain, by what is here termed 
 " fenestella,'' is signified the small nich above described ; 
 and this particularly points out the places once occupied by 
 altars. As a further proof of this, " two altars stood in 
 either wing of the choir (at Canterbury) viz. in each semi- 
 circle there is one ." On the right hand side, in each of 
 these places, a small nich, or fenestella, of this kind, yet 
 remains. By the word, " piscina" a vessel or bason for wash- 
 ing hands, &c. seems to be designed, as " pelvis" assuredly 
 signifies, which probably filled up the hollow found in the 
 fenestella. Two pair of such basons were bequeathed by 
 Cardinal Beaufort to the altar of the channtry by him 
 founded in his cathedral at Winchester. The present me- 
 thod of making the " lavabo" rather differs ; for " accedit 
 ^sacerdos) ad cornu epistoloe ubi stans ministro aquam fun- 
 dente lavat manus |{." 
 
 The triple seat comes next under discussion, and I flatter 
 myself its use will be pretty well explained by what immedi- 
 ately follows: " Q.UO facto sacerdos et sui ministri in sedibus 
 
 * Missal. 152S. 
 
 t Ibid. 1515. 
 
 J Ex Decrcto Coucilii Tridei). Coll. Agrip. 1658. 
 
 $ Somer's Hist, of Canterbury., .170. 
 
 |j Missal. H>Jb.
 
 due tent Parochial Churches. 397 
 
 paratis se recipiant et expectent usque ad Gloria in excel- 
 sis*." Also, in the rubric of instructions for Saturday be- 
 fore Easter, " Finitis orationibus exuat sacerdos casulam et 
 in sede sna juxta altare se reponat cum diacono et subdia- 
 cono." In order to explain the two last quotations, take 
 another rubric : " In missa solemni, celebrans niedius inter 
 diaconum et subdiaconum sedore potest a cornu epistolae 
 cum cantantur Kyrieeleison, Gloria in excelsis, et Credof. 1 ' 
 Notwithstanding the last rather differs from the others, as to 
 the times of sitting, yet they all sufficiently agree in ex- 
 plaining the matter in agitation, viz. That the "above seats 
 were intended for the priest, deacon, and subdeacon, to sit 
 on during some parts of the high or solemn mass; and that 
 they were situated on the south side, and near the altar, 
 and were three in number. This, of all the purposes to 
 which conjecture has consigned them, is certainly the most 
 natural ; and it must add considerably to the solemnity, for 
 the three officiants to be .seen in their mass habits, seated 
 under these beautiful canopies. I shall beg to trouble you. 
 with a word or two concerning chauntries, and conclude. 
 Dr. Heylin informs us, they consisted of salaries to one or 
 more priests to say mass daily for the souls of their founders 
 deceased, which, not subsisting of themselves, were gene- 
 rally incorporated and united with some parochial, &c. 
 churchj ; as there were forty-seven chauntries in the old 
 church of St. Paul, at London, and but fourteen altars, it 
 yvas possible for several to be founded at the same altar. 
 From the remaining " fenestelke" it is not unreasonable to 
 conclude, that at the east ends of the north and south 
 aisles of many parish-churches, two such altars to have once 
 stood, whose officiants were bound by an oath to exhibit 
 due obedience to the curate of the mother church || ; and 
 the four priests appointed to officiate in the chauntry of 
 John Holland, duke of Exeter, in St. Katharine's, near the 
 Tower, were bound to the choir every double feast in the 
 year*]". In chauntries founded for more than one clergyman, 
 It was usual for each to say a different mass, one of which 
 was always of "requiem**." When a person was not suffi- 
 ciently rich to endow a perpetual chauntry, it was common 
 for an anniversary chaplain to sing masses for the repose of 
 
 # Missal. 1515, general rubric to th mass. 
 f Missal. 1058. 
 
 J HeylinsTs History of the Reformation, 51. 
 Fuller's Church History, 350. 
 J| Ayliffe's Percrgon Juris Cauonici, 166. 
 ^T Royal Wills, p. 287. 
 ** Ibid,
 
 395 Original Embankment of the Thames. 
 
 his soul during a certain space, for which a stipend was left, 
 as appears by the will of Robert Wolsey, the father of the 
 famous cardinal*. From what has been said concerning 
 chauntries, it is evident there might have been several 
 founded in the church, though but the vestiges of one or two 
 altars yet remain ; from the subjection of whose officiants to 
 the curate they might have assisted him in many duties, as, 
 with his licence, in hearing confessions, which must have 
 been very laborious at certain times of the year, particularly 
 at Shrift or Sh rove-Tuesday, when it was the custom to 
 begin Lent with this duty. And though they were generally 
 prohibited from receiving the Eucharist more than once on 
 the same day, yet they might assist in solemn massesf, as 
 deacon or subdeacon ; as also in the choir, probably in the 
 place of its rectors, c. Nor can this be brought as an argu- 
 ment that there were sufficient numbers established in every 
 parish to fill each stall in the chancel of its church, as has 
 been hinted at in, its proper place. 
 
 1787, ^wg-. INDAGATOR. 
 
 CVIII. On the Original Embankment of the Thames. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 ALL persons here, who have read the account of the em- 
 bankment and improvement of Martin Mear, in Mr. Young's 
 " Annals of Agriculture," No. xxxi. are astonished at the 
 greatness of the attempt, and much more so at the success- 
 ful execution of it. This work excites the curiosity of the 
 ingenious, who look for any instance of a similar undertak- 
 ing, but can find nene to be compared with it in this island, 
 but the embankment of the river Thames; and, what is very 
 singular, there does not seem to be any record or trace in his- 
 tory, when, or by whom, the Thames was embanked. As 
 there is not any person who is so knowing as Mr. Whitaker 
 in the early state of this country, so no person can give so 
 satisfactory an account of this matter. If Mr. Urban would 
 please to request Mr. Whitaker to give his opinion on this 
 subject, he would give much pleasure to a constant reader 
 of your useful collection of general information, and I dare 
 also say to all your readers. 
 
 * Fiddes's Life of Wolsey. Collect, p. 1. 
 f Gib*. Codes, 471,
 
 Original Embankment of the Thames. 399 
 
 The embankment of the river Thames must appear to 
 have been a very great work indeed, if we consider that it 
 reaches from the More almost to Richmond in Surrey, on 
 one side or the other of the river, as the land lay. .Some 
 judgment mav be formed of it by the difficulty and expense 
 of rep-airing Dagenham breach in* Essex. The embankment 
 of the Thames evidently shews, that the inhabitants of this 
 island were very early possessed of great skill and perse- 
 verance in whatever they undertook. There is another 
 instance of their industry, the achievement of an astonish- 
 ing work, I mean the Maiden Castle in Dorsetshire. Many 
 people now-a-days give the Romans the honour of whatever 
 surpasses what they think themselves could execute, with- 
 out inquiring into the probability of such an opinion. Dor- 
 setshire was a Roman station, of which vestiges still remain 
 in the town, and an amphitheatre near it. But. at the Maiden 
 Castle no vestige of Roman work, such as bricks, coins, &c. 
 have been found. The ramparts are made only of earth, and 
 the entry into it is defended in a manner different from 
 the ruins of any Roman camp now remaining. When, 
 standing on the ramparts, one looks around, the whole 
 horizon is full of tumuli or barrows. These are, undoubt- 
 edly, the burying-places of people at a very distant period, 
 and probably of the same period with the building ot 
 Maiden Castle. There are, in that country, many remains 
 of Druidical worship. It would hence appear, that the 
 Maiden Castle was cast up when that worship existed. The 
 area of the Maiden Castle is so extensive, that it is probable 
 it was intended not only for a defence of the inhabitants in 
 case of an attack by a powerful enemy, but also of their 
 flocks and herds. 
 
 May I not mention Stone-henge as another remain of the 
 labour of the inhabitants prior to any tradition, and probably 
 prior to the arrival of the Romans, who had acquired a taste 
 in architecture, of which no trace is to be found in Stone- 
 henge ? There is in Dorsetshire a large altar remaining, 
 which has retained its original name, Cromleach, a Celtic 
 word, implying bending the body in adoration of the deity 
 worshipped by the Druids. 
 1787, June. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 IN compliance with yours and your correspondent's re- 
 quest, which I did not see until a few days ago, I take up 
 my pen to give you and him all the little information that I
 
 400 Original Lnibankmcnt of the Thames. 
 
 can give, upon so obscure a subject as the embankment of 
 the Thames. We have no written authorities concerning it, 
 There is not a hint, or the shadow of a hint, in any of the 
 Roman authors respecting it. And we can only fix a date 
 upon that memorable work from, reasoning and remains 
 united. 
 
 When the Britons were sole lords of this island, their 
 rivers, we may be sure, strayed at liberty over the adja- 
 cent country, confined by no artificial barriers, and having 
 no other limits to their overflow than what nature itself had 
 provided. This would be particularly the case with the 
 Thames. London itself was only a fortress in the woods 
 then ; and the river at its foot then roamed over all the low 
 grounds that skirt its channel. Thus it ran on the south 
 from the west of Wandsworth to Woolwich, to Dartford, to 
 Gravesend, and to Sheerness ; and, on the north range, from 
 Poplar and the Isle of Dogs, along the levels of Essex, to 
 the mouth of the Thames. 
 
 In this state of the river, the Romans settled at London. 
 Under their management, London soon became a consider- 
 able mart of trade. It afterwards rose to the dignity of a 
 military colony. And it was even made at last the capital of 
 one of those provinces into which the Roman parts of Britain 
 were divided. The spirit of Roman refinement, therefore, 
 would naturally be attracted by the marshes immediately 
 under its eye, and would as naturally exert itself to recover 
 them from the waters. The low grounds of St. George's 
 Fields, particularly, would soon catch the eye, and soon feel 
 the hand of the improving Romans. And from those grounds 
 the spirit of embanking would gradually go on along both the 
 sides of the river; and. in nearly four centuries of the Ro- 
 man residence here, would erect those thick and strong 
 ramparts against the tide, which are so very remarkable 
 along the Essex side of the river, and a breach in which, at 
 Dagenham, was with so much difficulty, and at so great an 
 expense, closed even in our own age. 
 
 Such works are plainly the production of a refined period. 
 They are therefore the production either of these later ages 
 of refinement, or of some period of equal refinement in 
 antiquity. Yet they have not been formed in any period to 
 which our records reach. Their existence is antecedent to 
 all our records. They are the operation of a remoter age. 
 And then they can be ascribed only to the Romans, who 
 began an sera of refinement in this island, that was termi- 
 nated by the Saxons, and that did not return till three or 
 tour centuries ago. .
 
 Original Embankment of the Thames. 401 
 
 feat let me confirm my reasoning with a few facts. It is 
 known, that a dispute was formerly maintained between 
 Dr. Gale and others, concerning the real position of the 
 Roman London ; whether it was on the northern or on the 
 southern side of the river. The dispute was a very frivolous 
 one. London undoubtedly was then, as it is now, on the 
 northern. But I mean to turn the dispute into its right chan- 
 nel; and I can demonstrate, I think, the embankment of the 
 Thames to be a work of the Romans, from some incidents 
 that came out in the course of it. 
 
 " It can hardly be supposed," says an antagonist of Dr. 
 Gale's, who has considered the ground more attentively than 
 any other author, " that the sagacious Romans would have 
 made choice of so noisome a place for a station, as St. George's 
 Fields must then have been. For to me it is evident, that 
 at that time those fields must have been overflowed by every 
 spring-tide. For, notwithstanding the river's being at pre- 
 sent confined by artificial banks, I have frequently, at 
 spring-tide, seen the small current of water, which issues 
 from the river Thames through a common-sewer at the 
 Falcon, not only fill all the neighbouring ditches, but also, 
 at the upper end of Gravel-lane, overflow its banks into 
 St. George's Fields. And considering that above a twelfth 
 part of the water of the river is denied passage," when the 
 tide sets up the river, "by the piers and starlings of Lon~ 
 don -Bridge (it flowing at an ordinary spring-tide, upwards 
 of nineteen inches higher on the east than on the west side 
 of the said bridge;) I think this is a plain indication, that, 
 before the Thames was confined by banks, St. George's 
 Fields must have been considerably underwater, every high 
 tide ; and that part of the said fields, called Lambeth Marsh, 
 was under water not an age ago. And upon observation it 
 will still appear, that, before the exclusion of the river, it 
 must have been overflowed by most neap-tides*.* 1 
 
 This gives us sufficient evidences, that naturally and 
 originally the large level, which we denominate St. George's 
 Fields, was previously to the embankment of the Thames, 
 all covered with the spreading waters of the tide, at every 
 spring. Yet this very strand' of the sea appears to have 
 been actually used by the Romans. The Romans had houses 
 upon it: the Romans had burying-grounds within it. 'In 
 his Campis quos Sancti Georgii plebs vocat," says Dr. Gale 
 for another purpose, " mult a Romanorum numismata, opera 
 
 * Maitland's Hist, of Lend. p. 8. 
 Dd
 
 402 Original Embankment of the Thames, 
 
 tcsseletta," the fine floors of Roman parlours, " lateres, et 
 Tiidcra, subincle clepreliensa sunt. Ipse urnam majusculam, 
 ossibus refertahi, ntipcr redemi a fossoribus, qui, iion pro- 
 cul ab hoc Burgo," Southwark, " ad Austrum, mullets alias 
 si rmil eruerunt.*" 
 
 This argument may be pursued still further, carried over 
 the very site of Southwark itself, and extended up to Dept- 
 ford, and Blackheath beyond. All these are a part of the 
 original marshes of the Thames. Southwark even stands 
 upon what is properly a part of St. George's Fields. Yet 
 Southwark is expressly mentioned so early as 1052; and 
 began, undoubtedly with the bridge, which is noticed so 
 early as 1016 before f. And, Dr. Woodward remarks in 
 opposition to Dr. Gale's discoveries in St. George's Fields, 
 " there have been other like antiquities discovered, from 
 that place onwards for some miles eastward, near the lock, 
 in the gardens along the south side of Deptford road, a 
 little beyond Deptford, on Blackheath, Sec. I have now 
 in my custody the hand of an ancient Terminus with two 
 faces. There were found along with it, large flat bricks, 
 and other antiquities, that were unquestionably Roman. 
 All these were retrieved about twenty years since, in dig- 
 ging in Mr. Cole's Gardens by the [Deptford] road men- 
 tioned above. I have seen likewise a simpulum, that was 
 digged up near New-cross. And there were several years 
 ugo discovered two urns, and five or six of those vials that 
 are usually called Lachrymatories, a little beyond Deptford, 
 Nay, there hath been very lately a great number of urns, 
 and other things, discovered on Blackheath J." 
 
 These are decisive evidences, that the wonderful work of 
 embanking the river was projected and executed by the Ro- 
 mans. It was the natural operation of .that magnificent spirit 
 which intersected the surface of the earth with so many 
 raised ramparts for roads. The Romans first began it in St. 
 George's Fields probably. They then continued it along 
 the adjoining, and equally shallow marshes of the river. 
 And they finally consummated it, I apprehend, in construct- 
 ing the grand sea-wall along the deep fens of Essex. 
 
 To what I have thus said, I can add only one thing more. 
 There is, I remember, in Wren's Parentalia, a passage upon 
 
 * Antonini It.in. p. 65. 
 
 f Florentius Wigorn. 413. " cum sun classc Godwinu? Comes, adversns 
 ursum Thamcsis iluminis directus, ad Sutfuceorer vcnit," &c. edit. 1592, 
 vi.d Saxon Chron. 1016 for the bridge. 
 
 t I.cland's Itin. edit. 3d. vol. VIII. at the pnd, in a !cttr to Mr. Hearne, 
 -viitten in \"<l 1, and preface to it, p. "'.
 
 Office of Aulnagcr. 403 
 
 this very subject, containing the opinion of Sir Christopher 
 VVren respecting it. There Sir Christopher, if 1 remember 
 right, extends the overflow of the tide considerably more 
 into the land than I have done. But he attributes the em- 
 bankment, as I do, to the Romans ; though he has not ap- 
 pealed to that striking demonstration of the opinion, the 
 British state of St. George's Fields, &c. contrasted with the 
 Roman condition of them. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 J.W, 
 
 CIX= On the Office of Aulnager. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 AULNAGER is derived from ulna and gerens, and is the 
 name of an officer under the king, established about the 
 year 1350, whose business it was to measure all English 
 woollen cloths before they were brought into market, and 
 then to affix an impression of his seal. This measure was 
 to be the government between the buyer and seller, and to 
 prevent all disputes about short measure. It is now obso- 
 lete. The first statute made for it is 25 Edward III. where- 
 in it is enacted, that all cloths shall be measured by the 
 king's aulnager, and that every buyer of cloth, after the 
 price is agreed in the halls or markets, shall have it measured 
 by the king's aulnager, who shall put his stamp thereon, 
 and the piece of cloth shall stand for that length. And it 
 was further enacted, that, to prevent the aulnager's tum- 
 bling or defoiling them when he measured them, he was to 
 provide himself with a string of the length of seven yards, 
 and the piece was to measure four times the length of 
 that string, and he was to measure it at the creased edge. 
 27 Edward III. ordains the following fees to the aulnager: 
 for every piece of cloth of ray (or white cloth,) 28 yards 
 long and 6 quarters wide, one 'halfpenny, and no more, and 
 every half-piece one farthing, and no more ; to be paid by 
 the seller. 
 
 N.B. The best cloth then yielding about 2s. per yard, 
 amounts to about 4d. per piece, on a modern superfine of 
 16s. per yard, 23 yards long. Many other statutes were 
 made on this head, viz. 17 Rich. II. 7 Hen. IV. 11 Hen. IV. 
 1 1 Hea. VI. 4 Edw. IV. 17 E.dw. IV. 5 Edw. VI. and others. 
 
 D d2
 
 40* Ancient English Cities. 
 
 In 1 1 Henry IV. all the aulnagers' seals were called in, 
 and new ones were delivered out. 
 
 In the year 1437 Sir Walter Lord Hungerford, for his 
 services at the relief of the siege of Calais, had a pension 
 granted him*, out of the aulnage of cloth tor Wiltshire, of 
 one hundred marks per annum; by which we may judge 
 there was a considerable quantity of cloth manufactured in 
 Wiltshire in those early times. But I think one hundred 
 marks, divided into halfpence, is too large a number to be 
 probable, especially when we consider that hardly a century 
 had passed since Edward III. brought over the Flemish arti- 
 ficers. However, I find, that in 27 Edvv. III. besides the aul- 
 nage, parliament granted a subsidy, to maintain the French 
 war, of 4d. per annum, to be collected also by theaulnager, 
 6d. if a scarlet in grain, and 5d. if bastard, or half-scarlet. 
 If, therefore, this subsidy was continued or revived (as is 
 very probable, we having for some time been engaged in a 
 very expensive war with France,) the whole might very 
 easily and naturally be called the aulnage of cloth. As 
 therefore, there was granted a pension of 100 marks out 
 of this fund, there were also many other expenses to be 
 provided for, the salary of the aulnager, &c. so that I think 
 we may conclude the pension would not have been more 
 than half the fund ; which therefore would have been about 
 200 marks per annum. To produce which, at 4id. per 
 piece (aulnage and subsidy,) there must have been manu- 
 factured annually in the county of Wilts seven thousand 
 one hundred and eleven pieces of broad cloth, containing 
 one hundred and ninety-nine thousand yards, or thereabouts. 
 
 1737, Nov. P. Q. 
 
 CX. . On the Cities which have formerly been the Capital of 
 
 England. 
 
 MR. URBAN, Winchester^ Nov. 7. 
 
 THAT London is the present metropolis of England, we 
 presume the most ignorant of its inhabitants are informed ; 
 but how long London has enjoyed this prerogative, and 
 what cities have preceded her in this dignity, are points 
 which the most learned do not appear to have hitherto 
 ascertained.
 
 Ancient English Cities, 405 
 
 That there were cities of a certain kind previous to the 
 Roman invasion, notwithstanding the rnde and pastoral life 
 of its inhabitants, independent of other proofs, appears 
 from the extraction of many of their names at the present 
 day heing British instead of Latin or Saxon. The city, for 
 example, from whence the present letter is dated, was called 
 by the Aborigines Caer guent, or the White City, from the 
 chalky hills that every where surround it; which proper 
 name, in a Roman mouth, was naturally transformed into 
 Ventu, and, with the addition of the word that denoted it tq 
 be a fortified place, was pronounced of course by a Saxon, 
 as we read it in their historians, Wintaccaster. Yet, notwith- 
 standing we are satisfied of the existence of cities in this 
 island before the Roman eagle waved its wings over it, the 
 circumstantial histoi'y of the British Gcoftery, concerning 
 their ancient state and founders, though not quite so desti- 
 tute of foundation as many suppose, is yet too uncertain to 
 ground a claim of precedency in any one of them. 
 . Had Casibellaunus been the hereditary monarch of the 
 island, instead of the elected general amongst independent 
 chieftains, to oppose the mighty Julius, as it appears that 
 Vendum, to which our protomartyr Alban afterwards lent 
 his name, was his chief city, so the same might be said to 
 have been the capital of the island. As soon, however, as 
 the Roman power was fully established, we have no difficulty 
 in bestowing that title on Camalodunum, now Maiden, in 
 Essex, the first of their colonies, and the chief seat of 
 their government, where also the tributary Cunobellinus 
 (the Cymbeline of Shakespeare) sometimes held a precarious 
 sway. Hence, in that generous struggle for liberty which 
 our British Amazon Boadicea maintained against the inva- 
 ders, we find that Camalodunum was the first and chief ob- 
 ject of her vengeance, as the very centre of Roman tyranny. 
 This brave heroine being, by the fate of war afterwards 
 overcome on the confines of the Belgse, which spot, from 
 other circumstances, appears to have been on the eastern 
 borders of Hampshire, is asserted, on the faith of some 
 ancient manuscripts, to have been buried at Venta, which, 
 during this period, makes a considerable figure both as a 
 place of commerce and defence. It appears that the 
 imperial manufactory of sail-cloth and of clothing was es- 
 tablished in this city; the fortifications of it also, which are 
 said to have been first raised by Mulmutius Dunwallo, were, 
 jibout this time, put into complete repair by Guidenus, 
 otherwise called Togodumnus, on his refusing to pay tribute 
 to the Roman conquerors. In these fortifications, it wo 
 
 Dd3
 
 406 Ancient English Cities. 
 
 may believe Matthew of Westminster, and British in oppo- 
 sition to Latin historians, the Emperor Claudius himself 
 was besieged, after being defeated near Clausentum (the 
 modern Southampton) till he Was obliged to purchase peace 
 of Arviragus on ignominious terms. During the period lam 
 speaking of, it is agreed on all hands, that London was not 
 fortified, and though celebrated, says Tacitus, for the re- 
 sort of merchants, it was not honoured with the title of a 
 colony. 
 
 In process of time, as the seat of war was removed to 
 the northern parts of the island, and while the Roman 
 legions were chiefly stationed on the confines of the Picts, 
 the colony of York seems to have risen to the first degree 
 of eminence. Certain it is, that two Roman emperors, 
 Severus and Constantine Chlorus, died there, and that the 
 great Constantine was advanced to the dignity of emperor 
 in that city. 
 
 If, during the turbulent and cloudy scene that succeede4 
 the retiring of the Roman legions from Britain, till the es- 
 tablishment of the Heptarchy, any city was more particu-* 
 -larly distinguished, it appears to be Winchester. Here it 
 was that Constans who had been a resident of the cloister of 
 that ancient cathedral, was crowned King of Britain. Here 
 also mention is made in history of Aurelius Ambrosius, 
 Uther Pendragon, and of the great Arthur, having resided. 
 The last named, it is universally asserted, built the castle 
 of Winchester, which continued one of the chief bulwarks 
 of the island till it was battered down by the usurper Crom- 
 well. In this castle Arthur is said to have held his martial 
 sports, and feasted his knights, as at his principal palace. 
 In proof of this, a huge round table is still preserved in the 
 ancient chapel of the castle, now the county hall, as the 
 identical table round which his knights were placed at their 
 feast to avoid contentions for precedency : certain it is, that 
 it was shewn for such to the Emperor Charles V. in 1512, 
 at which time it was, for the last time new painted; that it 
 was described as such by Hardinge the poet, in the reign 
 of Edward IV. and that it was generally reputed as such in 
 the beginning of the twelfth century. The words of John, 
 Bishop of Ross, on this subject, are as follow: '? Si accolee 
 falsa quadam nominum superstitione conflictati non errant 
 rotundam mensam in castro Wintoniensi ad aeternam magni 
 Arturis memoriam solemniter conservatam aspexi an. 1 1 39.'* 
 Notwithstanding the sevens-fold division of the kingdom 
 by the Saxons, we still find some one of the rival princes, 
 Curing the Heptarchy paramount to the rest. Hence the
 
 Ancient English Cities. 407 
 
 chief seat of government, though more frequently found at 
 Winchester than at any other particular place, may be said 
 to have changed to each^of these petty kingdoms, as each 
 of them in turn prevailed, except that of the East Angles, 
 as if it had been destined that London, its principal city, 
 should never rise to the rank of metropolis of the kingdom 
 till she should become so once for all, and we hope for 
 ever. 
 
 Hide ego nee metas rerum, nee tempora pono : 
 Imperium sine fine dedi. 
 
 /ENEID. 
 
 At length, however, the kingdom of the West Saxons 
 swallowing up the rest, Egbert, assembling a wittenagemot, 
 or meeting of the chief persons of the kingdom, at Win- 
 chester," his principal city, caused himself to be there 
 crowned monarch of the whole nation, and destroyed every 
 distinction of name as well asgovernmeut, that had hitherto 
 subsisted. At this period, perhaps for the first time, we 
 are to look out for a city, which, uniting in itself all the 
 several advantages of extent of building and of commerce, 
 of being the repository of public records and revenues, 
 and of being the chief royal residence and seat of govern- 
 ment, can, with the strictest propriety, and without the 
 danger of competition, be called the capital of England. 
 Such Winchester then was, and such it continued to be till 
 an undefined period in the reign of the Plantagenets, and 
 for a space of time, perhaps, equal to the duration of proud 
 London's precedency. 
 
 The present condition of this city, we are to observe, 
 exhibits but the skeleton of what it was during the period 
 I am speaking of; for, besides the incredible number of 
 houses and churches crowded within its walls, its suburbs 
 then reached a mile in every direction beyond their pre- 
 cincts. That it was the first city in the island for commerce, 
 I think may be fairly deduced from the first guild, or con- 
 fraternity of merchants, being established here, so early as 
 the reign of Ethelwolph, the, father of Alfred, and from 
 the charter of immunity from toll throughout the kingdom, 
 granted to this guild by Henry I. a participation of which 
 privilege was not conferred on the citizens of London till 
 the reign of Richard I. In like manner, we find in its 
 archives the city of Winchester described as incorporated 
 by the name of mayor and bailiffs, anno 1 187, that is to say, 
 above twenty years before London obtained a charter tor 
 the same purpose, during which time its chief magistrate 
 
 D d4
 
 408 indent English Cities. 
 
 enjoyed no higher title than that of portgrave, or bailiff of 
 the port. 
 
 Even from the days of Cerdic, the first king of the West 
 Saxons, down to the present day, Winchester has never 
 been without the honour of possessing a royal palace, nor, 
 till the revolution, was ever without the happiness of being 
 the place of the monarch's occasional residence. The first 
 Saxon palace we read of was that of Wolvesey, so called 
 some say, in after-times, from the tribute of wolves' heads 
 paid by the Welch there; but this was given by JCenwalch, 
 the son of Kinegilsus, who built it, to Agilbert and his suc- 
 cessors, for the episcopal residence. In after-times, besides 
 the stately castle at the top of the city, the ditches of which 
 were sunk to the level with the river which then flowed round 
 it, the king had a magnificent palace between the northern 
 and western gates of the city, in a place where afterwards 
 Edward III. established the vvoolstapling manufactory. It is 
 true that, after the Confessor, who himself was crowned at 
 Winchester, our monarchs affected to be crowned at West- 
 minster; but this was not on account of any pre-eminence 
 in the place itself, or of its vicinity to London, but merely 
 out of a regard to that just benevolent prince, its founder, 
 whose remains and whose regalia were both preserved there, 
 the latter of which the prejudice of the times seems to have 
 almost consecrated into the sole implements of a legitimate 
 coronation. No doubt, it was with a view of strengthening 
 the defectiveness of his title with this then so important a 
 ceremony, that the jealous Norman caused himself to be 
 crowned anew at each of the three principal festivals of 
 the year, Easter, Whitsuntide, and Christmas; the first of 
 which, being the greatest, he constantly passed at Win- 
 chester, the second at Westminster, and the third at 
 Gloucester. In this practice he was imitated by his sue* 
 cessor Rufus. 
 
 Finally, that Winchester, long before and long after the 
 Conquest, was the seat of government, appears, 1st, from 
 the public archives being kept there, as Giraldus, Camden, 
 &c. assert; this circumstance is so notorious in regard of 
 Doomsday Book, that from thence it obtained the name of 
 Rotulus Wintoniae. 2dly, From the Court of Exchequer, 
 of which this book was the principal document, being esta- 
 blished there by the Conqueror. 3dly, From the royal trea- 
 sures being collected thither by the first Norman princes, 
 which, Diceto tells us, Henry I. hastened to seize immedi- 
 ately after his coronation. And, lastly, from its possessing 
 tjie royal mint, as appears by the charter of John to tb,j,
 
 Ancient English Cita's. 405 
 
 effect. I might here mention, that the great seal of England 
 took its origin from this city, and that an office >ras at tir-t 
 established there by Edward the Confessor for the preser- 
 vation and use of it. 
 
 With the reign of the monarch who derived his surname 
 from Winchester, the precedency of this city may, in a 
 great measure, perhaps, be said to have ended. It had, in- 
 deed suffered a dilapidation in the civil war between the 
 Empress Maud and Stephen, when two hostile armies were 
 actually intrenched, one in the east and the other in the 
 west quarter of it, which it could never afterwards recover; 
 but if, was chiefly the increasing commerce and consequence 
 of London, by means of its foreign trade, the spirit ot which 
 was introduced at the Conquest, which consequence was 
 still farther augmented by the charters of the Edwards, that 
 gradually reduced Winchester to a condition which allows 
 Jier little to boast of but her past honours: 
 
 Fuimus Trees: fu.it Ilium, et ingens 
 
 Gloria Teucrorum. 
 
 How far, however, the unrestrained rage of increasing the 
 present capital, by draining the provinces of their wealth 
 and inhabitants, of whom indeed London may be called 
 the general grave ; how far, I say, this tends to the detri- 
 .nient of the common empire, it is not necessary at present 
 to inquire. 
 
 . I must not omit, that the struggle for precedency between 
 these two rival cities, Winchester and London, was chiefly 
 manifested, for about two centuries after the Conquest, on 
 the occasion of the king's coronation, or of his solemnly 
 wearing his crown ; the question being, which of these cities, 
 in the persons of their magistrates, should officiate then as 
 butlers, and which as clerks of the kitchen. The former 
 post was the more honourable, and probably the more lucra- 
 tive, as it conferred the honour of presenting wine to the 
 king from a golden cup, and the perquisite of retaining it, 
 together with an ewer of the same metal, This point was 
 $o fiercely contested in the year 1269, that it occasioned 
 Henry III. to lay aside his intention of wearing the crown, 
 that he might avoid the necessity of determining this invi- 
 dious question. But whether it was that the Wiutonian?, on 
 this occasion, were determined to prove themselves better 
 subjects or better corporation-men, I leave the reader to 
 judge for himself from the following passage I have extract^ 
 of the Annales Wigornienses,
 
 410 Days of Public Comm emora t ion. 
 
 i 
 
 " Anno 1269 S. Edvardus a veteri feretro IB 
 
 novum translates est presente Domino Henrico rege, qui se- 
 cunduni edictum suum coronam portare disposuit, sed non 
 portavit. Unde vindicantibus sibi jus et consuetudinem de 
 pincernaria Wintoniae et Londoniae civibus, noluit dom. rex 
 ut quis eorum serviret propter discordiam et periculum quod 
 posset imminere, sed ju*sit utramque partem discumbere. 
 Unde Londonienses indignantes recesserunt; Wintonienses 
 remanserunt comedentes et bibentes in curia, et cum Hcen- 
 tia dom. regis recedentes remearunt ad propria." 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 1788, NOV. J. MILKER. 
 
 CXI. Days of Public Commemoration, when and why instituted. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 THE most numerous classes of people in every nation are 
 destined to lead a life of activity. Their daily wants, whether 
 natural or artificial, demand frequent gratification; and an 
 adequate supply of necessary sustenance can be procured 
 for the generality by labour only. Amidst the constant suc- 
 cession of new engagements which occupy the man of la- 
 borious business, there can be found little leisure for recol- 
 lecting past events not immediately connected with his do- 
 mestic concerns ; there can be expected neither inclination 
 nor ability for speculating on the effects derived from causes 
 long ago antecedent. Should there happen then occurrences 
 of a public nature, the remembrance of which it may be 
 important to preserve, the attention of the people must at 
 stated periods be recalled to those circumstances, by some 
 external, visible, perceptible tokens; that so, by repeated 
 appeal made to the most powerful of the senses, an impres- 
 sion may be wrought on their minds, and a combination of 
 certain ideas, corresponding with those tokens, may habi- 
 tually be formed, and strongly operate to the purpose of the 
 jnstitutor. 
 
 Upon some principles of reasoning similar to these, and 
 founded on experience, the chiefs of all clans, and legisla^ 
 tors of all countries, have wisely instituted days of comme- 
 moration; that so, by connecting the expectation either of 
 rest from common pursuits, or of festive hilarity, or of
 
 Days of Public Commemoration. 
 
 solemn ceremony, with certain seasons, they might render 
 either the celebration of the festival, or the observance of 
 the solemnity, habitual ; and might thus perpetuate, through 
 succeeding generations, the names of public benefactor*, 
 and tradition of public events. 
 
 To the kings of the ancient Scythians, who are now the 
 Tartars, were entrusted a plough, "a yoke, axe, and bowl, 
 all made of gold, which were said to have fallen from heaven, 
 and were to be preserved with the most religious care. An 
 annual sacrifice was offered to these implements, as tin v 
 were deemed celestial; and at this ceremony the kings were 
 obliged to assist. The origin of this anniversary arose, no 
 doubt, from the policy of Lipoxais, Arpaxais, and Colaxais, 
 who intended thereby to commemorate the first introduction 
 of husbandry, and to render agriculture an employment 
 honourable and almost sacred. (See Heredot. lib. 4, 5.) 
 With the same view did the king of the Persians partake 
 of a feast with the husbandmen one day in the year ; and 
 the custom is still continued, that the Emperor of China, 
 on a particular festival, should hold a plough, and till some 
 few furrows. 
 
 To the followers of Mahomet it is thus ordained : " The 
 month of Ramadan shall ye fast, in which the Koran was 
 sent down from heaven." (Sale's K. vol. I. p. 33.) To which 
 fast succeeds the first of their beirdms, or principal feasts ; 
 and this "is observed in an extraordinary manner, and kept 
 for three days together at Constantinople, and in other parts 
 of Turkey ; and in Persia for five or six days, by the com- 
 mon people at least, with great demonstration of public joy, 
 to make amends, as it were, for the mortification of the p re-- 
 ceding month." (Sale's Pref. Disc.) 
 
 The inhabitants of Aleppo are said to retain even yet some 
 traces of the solemnities observed in honor of Adonis. 
 Many have conjectured that the name of Adonis, and the 
 rites practised first in lamenting the loss, and then in re- 
 ioicing for the recovery of him, are merely symbolical em- 
 'blems, either of the sun's course, or of the manner in which 
 the fruits of the earth are first buried, and then shoot forth 
 again. But it is more probable, that this object of worship 
 among the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Phoenicians, whether he 
 be called Adonis, Osiris, or Bacchus, was some real personage, 
 whose introduction of luxurious improvements among un- 
 civilized people procured him a superstitious regard when 
 Jiving, and an annual commemoration after his decease, 
 though the real cause of his death be veiled in fable ;
 
 412 Days of Public Commemoration. 
 
 Thammuz came next behind, 
 
 Whose annual wound in Lebanon allur'd 
 The Syrian damsels to lament his fate 
 In amorous ditties all a summer's day, 
 While smooth Adonis from his native rock 
 Ban purple to the sea, suppos'd with blood 
 Of Thammuz yearly wounded : &c. 
 
 Paradise Lost, b. I. 446. 
 
 Newton has very properly illustrated this passage by the 
 account which Maundrel gives of the bloody colour that ap- 
 pears annually in the river anciently named Adonis, but now 
 called Ibraham Basa. It escaped his memory to observe, 
 that the YPAKOYIAI of Theocritus contains a representa- 
 tion of the pomp and show with which the Aounoe. were cele- 
 brated. The reader may consult the note on v. 112 of the 
 Syracuse, in Warton's edition, a work of much critical and 
 philological merit. 
 
 Of all institutions ancient and modern, that which is ob- 
 served by the native Americans, among some tribes on every 
 tenth year, and among others on every eighth, is the most 
 extraordinary. It is called the Feast of the Dead, or the 
 Feast of Souls. On this occasion there is first a disinterment 
 of all who have died since the last solemnity : the dust of 
 some is collected, the corrupt bodies of others are cleansed; 
 the corpses are carried by their respective friends to their 
 huts, where, in honour of the deceased, a feast is prepared, 
 at which their exploits are celebrated, and all their kind 
 and good offices are affectionately remembered. A general 
 interment of the remains then ensues, and one grave is the 
 receptacle in which all are deposited. A more awful and 
 striking scene cannot be conceived. The Athenians had 
 their funeral orations repeated annually in honour of those 
 who were slain in battle: the Piatacans kept a solemn anni- 
 versary, and their Archon poured out a goblet of wine to 
 those who had sacrificed their lives for the liberty of Greece : 
 (see Plut.Aristid.) and EAEY0EPIA, or " Games for Liberty," 
 were celebrated by delegates from each city of Greece at 
 JMatasse every fifth year, in commemoration of the heroes 
 who had defeated Mardonius. These Grecian ceremonies 
 perpetuated sentiments of respect for the deceased, and ex- 
 cited in the people a generous desire of emulating the glo- 
 rious achievements which had occasioned such solemnities ; 
 yet to tlie spectators they could not be so interesting as 
 to the Americans is the Feast of Souls, wherein "
 
 Days of Public Commemoration. 4 1 3 
 
 hearsed in death," (Haml. Shakesp.) are presented to view , 
 a sight that must raise the most vehement and frantic emo- 
 tions in the undisciplined breast of artless savages. 
 
 AtheiKKUs after Berosus, and the upright Alexander al 
 Alexandro after them, informs us that the Babylonians, every 
 year, for five successive days, celebrated a least, on which 
 the slaves assumed authority over their masters, and one of 
 them, who on this occasion was distinguished by a regal 
 habit, was chosen to-perside over the other domestics 
 and was called Zufmn^ Zogana. M. Goguet, indeed, (B. 
 VI. c. ii. n.} says, " I would not, however, affirm, that the 
 custom here spoken of had place in the ages now in question. 
 It might have been only an imitation of the Saturnalia, and 
 introduced among the Babylonians after the conquests of 
 Alexander." But as the KPONIA were of very early institu- 
 tion, and celebrated at a period when probably the greater 
 part of the customs existing in Greece were imported from 
 the more oriental countries, by the first planters of its colo- 
 nies, it may with reason be concluded, that the Greeks were 
 the imitators in this particular, and not the Babylonians. 
 Macrobius cites the authority of L. Accius to prove the 
 establishment of the Kpn, or Saturnalia, among the Greeks, 
 even before the foundation of Rome : 
 
 Maxima pars Graium Saturno et maxinie Athenae 
 Conficiunt sacra, qua? Cronia esse iterantur ab illis: 
 Eumque diem celebrant: per agros urbesque fere omnes 
 Exercent epulas leeti : famulosque procurant 
 Q,uisque suos : nostrique itidem : etmos traditus illinc 
 Iste, ut cum dominis famuli epuleritur ibidem. 
 
 MACR. Sat. i. 7. edit. Zeunii. 
 
 These K ? "cn* continued so late as to the times of Lucian and 
 A. Gellius, The latter of these authors tell us the pleasant 
 and liberal manner in which the Roman students, who were 
 at Athens, spent the Saturnalia: they discussed questions 
 of poetry, criticism, and philosophy; and to him who best 
 solved a'difticulty proposed, was given a crown of laurel. 
 A. Cell. N. A. 1. 18. c. 2. Lucian has taken occasion from 
 the Kgoua to write a Dialogue, a Code of Saturnaliun Laws, 
 and three Epistles. In the dialogue, Saturn speaks thus on 
 the effects of gaming with dice: " From hence, many who 
 have a lucky cast have gotten food to satiety. But others, 
 on the contrary, when their vessel has been wrecked on a 
 rock so small as a die, have swum out quite naked." In his 
 Crono-Solon, or Code of Saturnalian Laws, it is ordained,
 
 4 [4- Days of Public Commemoration. 
 
 " Let there be perfect equality among slaves and 
 among poor and rich. Let no one be permitted to be angry, 
 or to express dissatisfaction, or to menace. The day before 
 the feast, let some purifying sacrifice be carried round (by 
 the rich,) and let them banish from their houses, meanness, 
 avarice, covetonsness, and whatever similar vices cohabit 
 with the generality of them." In the second Saturnaliaii 
 Epistle, to the poor, who had complained of that inequality 
 uith which wealth and its appendages are distributed, in 
 consolation it is replied, " Upon the whole, be assured you 
 poor are deceived, and judge not rightly respecting the rich, 
 if you think they are completely happy, and that they only 
 lead a pleasant life if you knew the fears and anxieties they 
 experience, you would determine to avoid wealth." The 
 third epistle exhorts the rich to a more humane treatment 
 of the poor, and for this sensible and cogent reason, " You 
 cannot inhabit cities, or govern states, unless the poor make 
 part of your body politic, and if they contribute not to your 
 happiness in ten thousand instances." It were to be wished 
 that this satirist had always mixed with his raillery instruc- 
 tion equally salutary with this suggested by the Kfo. 
 
 There was among the Greeks another festival of a similar 
 nature, as to the relaxation which was allowed slaves. The 
 festival of A^im^o. was held at Athens for three days, in the 
 month Anthesterion ; which, according to Gaza's computa- 
 tion, answers to the latter end of our November, and begin- 
 ning of December. This was a season of licentiousness and 
 ebriety to the slaves, over whom there was no controul, till, 
 at die expiration of the three days, proclamation was made, 
 
 Slaves get ye out, the Anthesteria are at an end. 
 
 See POTTER and ERASM. 
 
 In imitation of the K 5 -ona were instituted the Saturnalia at 
 Rome byNumaPompiiius, whom Plutarch therefore affirms, 
 "E;\Ar,nx.t,"rEj>&v ysyovivai Nop,o6=Tr,;, " to have been a more humane 
 legislator" than Lycurgus. The Roman law-giver was in- 
 duced to adopt this festival, either from the equitable per- 
 suasion that those, who had laboured to procure the fruits of 
 the earth, should annually enjoy a share of them ; or else as 
 a memorial of that equality which prevailed in Saturn's reign, 
 when there was no such distinction as that of master and 
 servant, but all were deemed equal and related. (See Pint. 
 Kum. et Lycurg.) The " Libertas Decembris" is well 
 kiio\v:n to every reader of Horace. The delicate satirist.,
 
 Days of Public Commemoration. 415 
 
 with his usual dexterity and address, takes occasion from the 
 freedom of speech allowed his servant, to inculcate this ge- 
 neral doctrine, " that all men are slaves, who are under the 
 dominion of their vices ; and that he only is free, who can 
 command his appetites, and subdue his "fears." The best 
 comment on the satire to which allusion is here made (Sat. 7. 
 1. 2.) occurs in Macrobius : . " How comes it you behave 
 with so great and so cruel disdain towards your slaves, as if 
 they did not consist, arid were not supported by the same 
 elements as yourself, and as if they did not derive life from 
 the same original causer Will you recollect, that those whom 
 you call your property are born of the same principles as 
 yourself, enjoy alike the same sky, live and die alike ? 0. 
 They are slaves. . Nay ; and men too. 0. They are 
 slaves. . Nay; rather fellow slaves with yourself a man 
 is a slave, but it is through necessity, but it is with a mind free. 
 ft. He is a slave. . This circumstance shall be allowed as a 
 sufficient reason for injuring him, if you can shew me the 
 man that is not a slave. One man is a slave to his lusts, 
 another to avarice, a third to ambition, all to hope, and all 
 to fear ; and surely no slavery is baser than voluntary slavery. 
 We trample too on the man, who lies under the yoke im- 
 posed by fortune, as on a being wretched and contemptible: 
 yet the yoke which we bring on our own necks we cannot 
 hear to hear censured. For my part, I shall value men, not 
 according to their fortunate or unfortunate situation, but 
 according to their morals. Every person is himself the au- 
 thor of his own morals ; but, as for condition in life, that is 
 the allotment of chance." Macrobii Saturn, b. I. c. 11. 
 
 This month of December gives to us also days of festivity : 
 it will be well if we apply the time, which allows leisure from 
 ordinary employment, rather to the cultivation of useful 
 knowledge and moral improvement, than to intemperate in- 
 dulgence in vicious pleasures. After all that has been done 
 to reclaim us from the practice and guilt of siu, we shall be 
 surely inexcusable if we are not at least equally wise, humane, 
 and moderate, as the best of the heathens. 
 
 1788, Dee. O. S. T.
 
 415 Origin of the Gibbet 
 
 CXII. Origin of the Gibbet. 
 
 MR. URBAN, ]l 'hitting ton, Feb. 2& 
 
 HAVING heard it asserted in conversation, that our law-: 
 knew nothing of the gibbet, but that it was left to the dis- 
 cretion of the judges to set the ignominious mark of hanging 
 in irons upon the more egregious criminals, with the inten- 
 tion of making a terrific example unto others; I, who am no 
 lawman, had nothing to allege to the contrary. The asser- 
 tion, however, of which I was not till then aware, awakened 
 in my mind a desire of inquiring, as a matter of some cu- 
 riosity, what our old authors, the monkish historians, hud 
 delivered on the subject. 
 
 What I mean by gibbeting is, the hanging a notorious 
 criminal in irons, as a public and lasting spectacle, after 
 lie has Suffered death on the gallows, for the purpose of 
 example, and of deterring others from the commission of 
 the like heinous offences. A design truly benevolent and 
 laudable. 
 
 The word gibbet is at present of very doubtful derivation. 
 Stewechius* deduces it from the antiquated word gabalus, 
 and Skinner f and Junius^ concur with him. But this ety- 
 mology appears to me so forced and unnatural, that, though 
 J have nothing better to offer, I cannot approve it, but shall 
 leave this matter in suspense. Gibbet is a French word, as 
 well as an English one ; and Mons. Menage declares him- 
 self uncertain whether the French borrowed it from the 
 English, or the English from the French. For my part, I 
 have no doubt but we had it from the French, the people of 
 that nation seldom taking any thing from the English at so 
 early a period as the 13th century, when, as we shall see 
 hereafter, the gibbet was used here, and known currently 
 by that name. 
 
 Martinius, the learned etvmologist, observes, that this 
 mark of the grossest infamy was not unknown to the ancients, 
 and was called by the Greeks, Acra-'wcx and AHtyKoknrw;. 
 His words are, " Aliquando ,-:.?* dicitur rion de vivi 
 hom'mis supplicio, sed de cadawre, aut capite, hominis, vel 
 
 * Stewcchius, ad Arnob. lib. VI. p. 203. 
 
 f Skinner indeed offers an alternative irom Cop, .4pe.i, and the diminutive 
 cf, which is equally inadmi-.'-i'jl<,'. 
 
 * .lunii Etymolog. v. rVai/v:. .. 
 | Menage, Orig. Franc, iu v.
 
 Origin of the Gibbet. 417 
 
 Uecollati, vel alio supplicio extincti. Id fiebat ignominiaj 
 causa." So again, of Ame-x.GX&Tn^s-fiat lie says, " Id intel- 
 ligendum est, non de supplicio, quo vita adimebatur per- 
 cussori, sed de pcena, qua; ei, qui jam gladio nccatus erat, 
 ignoniiniae amplioris causa irrogabatur, ut ad paucas horas 
 (uempe ad partem diei post supplicium) insuper suspende- 
 retur, et soli atque hominum oculis exponeretur*." Of this 
 exposition here spoken of, as intended for infamy and dis- 
 grace, \ve have a very remarkable and apposite instance hi 
 the case of the king of Ai, Josh. viii. 29 : " And the King 
 of Ai he hanged on a tree until even-tide; and as soon as the 
 sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his 
 carcase down from the tree," &c. ; where see Bp. Patrick, 
 as also his Comment on Numb. xxv. 4, and Deut xxi. 22. 
 It was for the same purpose, I presume, of reflecting shame 
 and ignominy on delinquents, that their quarters were for- 
 merly sent, in England, unto distant cities, and their heads 
 put up on high, at the Tower, Temple Bar, and Londoa 
 Bridge. 
 
 But these ancient modes of treating and disgracing great 
 criminals, for the terror of their survivors, not being the 
 subject of the present investigation, I shall pursue them no 
 farther, but turn to the practice of more modern times, and 
 particularly of our own nation. 
 
 Annal. Dunstap. A.D. 1223. p. 130. The King orders 
 gibbetum graudcm pr&parari : where the gibbet only means 
 a gallows. 
 
 "Matthew Paris, A.D. 1239. p. 490. A person, ignominiose 
 super mnchinani illam p&nakm, quac gibet appellatur, extra. 
 f.cndinum traditur suspmdio. This also appears to be no 
 more than a plain gallows. 
 
 Matthew Paris, A.D. 1242, p. 584. William de Marisco, 
 a knight, was judicially condemned, and ignominiously 
 put to death. He was brought from the Tower " to that 
 penal machine vulgarly called a gibbet;" and after he had 
 bivuthed his last, was hung on one of the hooks [uncorum], 
 and being taken down after he was grown stif^, was bowelled : 
 his bowels were burnt, and his body being divided into^our 
 parts, the quarters were sent in tcrrortm, to iour cities. 
 This evidently answers to our hanging, drawing, and quarter- 
 ing, and has the intention of exhibiting a terrible spectacle 
 to the people, just as our hanging a dead body in irons 
 is meant to do. But it varies much, you observe, from 
 
 * Martinii Etymolog. v. Susfcndo. 
 VOL. I. E e
 
 418 Ong in of the Gibbet. 
 
 gibbeting ; the gibbet in this case, as in the two formef, 
 serving only as a common gallows, to deprive the party 
 of life. 
 
 Matthew Paris, A.D. 1236, p. 432, speaking of the exe- 
 cution of two men, says, " paratum ex horribile [read pa- 
 ratum est horribile] patibulum Londoniis quod vulgus gibe- 
 turn appellat." One of them, 'after he was dead, was hung 
 upon a gibbet, and the other was gibbeted alive, to perish, 
 as we may suppose, both by pain and hunger. These cases 
 seem to come up fully to the point in hand, as the body of 
 the first was put upon the gibbet when dead, in order to 
 be a permanent spectacle of terror; and the other was not 
 to die, as probably being the most guilty, by the mere and 
 simple act of suspension ; but by a more lingering, cruel, 
 and terrible kind of death. It is remarkable that the histo- 
 rian uses the word horrible on this occasion, which he for- 
 bore to do in his two former instances, as if he intended to 
 express something here of a nature uncommonly shocking 
 and terrifying. 
 
 The word gibbet, Sir, I have observed above, is French as 
 well as English; and therefore it may be proper to inquire 
 Irow matters were carried, in respect to the gibbet in France. 
 'Now in Matthew Paris, A.D. 1248, p. 747, the King of France 
 ordered all clippers of the coin, patibulis laqueatos, vento 
 prasentari, that is, to be hanged, and then exposed to the 
 wind ; which, though irons be not mentioned, appears to 
 be the very thing we English do now, and to have the same 
 intention. 
 
 Du Fresne cites these words from the Chronicon Flandriae, 
 c. 86 : " Et le feit le Roy Phillipe decoler a Paris sur un 
 eschaffaut, et feit le corps pendre an gibet de Mcvntfaucon." 
 There were six kings or France of the name of Philip, and 
 the last of them reigned from A.D. 1328 to A.D. 1350; but 
 the passage may relate to one of the former, and probably 
 does. 
 
 It appears, upon the whole, that gibbeting was used in 
 this country as early as A.D. 1236, in the reign of King 
 Henry III. and that in all probability we derived the custom 
 from our neighbours, the French. 
 
 1789, March. SAM. PEGGE.
 
 Bull and Gate, Bull and Mouth, Sear and Ragged Staff. 419 
 
 CXIII. Bull and Gate, Bull and Mouth, Bear and Ragged Staff, 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 ON the 26th of August, 1783, on a tour into Kent, I visited 
 the ancient family mansion of Hardres, near Canterbury, 
 and among a variety of relics which were shewn to me as 
 an attestation of its departed splendor, I was particularly 
 delighted with the sight of a warlike trophy, which the first 
 founder of that family, Sir William Hardres, received from 
 Henry VIII. as an honorary gratuity for his valour at the 
 siege of Boulogne. It was one of the gates of that town, 
 composed of wood, with transverse braces, well studded 
 with iron nails, and a small wicket door connected to it. 
 When I saw it, it stood in the coach-house, by the side 
 of the tattered remains of the body of a very old family 
 coach. 
 
 This Sir William Hardres, it should seem from the archives 
 of that family, had received from King Henry the domains 
 on which the mansion was erected, in testimony of his ser- 
 vices, perhaps at the above siege, which had continued in 
 succession to the heirs of that family until the time when I 
 visited it ; which happened to be at the critical time, when 
 all the old and original furniture, consisting of pictures, 
 chairs, bedsteads, books, &c. were parcelled out for an 
 auction the Gate of Boulogne was also to be included in the 
 sale ; but by whom it was purchased, or where it is depo- 
 sited, I am now left to find out. 
 
 As one of your correspondents appears to be at a loss to 
 account for the origin of the sign of the Bull and Gate, it is 
 probable that he will now perceive that the modern sign is 
 a vulgar etymon of the .Boulogne Gate, above described ; 
 which, having served to commemorate an action which King 
 Henry VIII. seemed by history to have taken some pains to 
 accomplish, and therefore rendered popular, was made the 
 subject of a sign. Thus the Bull and Mouth is a vulgar 
 corruption of the Boulogne Mouthy or the entrance into the 
 harbour of Boulogne. In like manner, the celebrated cor- 
 ruption of a sign at Chelsea, near the water side, which 
 should represent a groupe of Bacchanal* dancing, and now 
 ridiculously metamorphosed into the Bag of Nails. 
 
 If these kind of curious inquiries engage the attention of 
 your correspondents, it may not be unacceptable perhaps 
 to suggest a hint for the origin of the sign of the Bear and 
 BfagSl Step. 
 
 62
 
 420 Passage in Domesday illustrated. 
 
 In perusing the Memoirs of Philip de Comines, 1 found 
 the following passage. " I was," he said, " invited by 
 Monsieur de vancler, to dine with him when I was at Calais; 
 where I found him well attended, with a Ragged Staff of 
 gold upon his bonnet, which was the device of the Earl of 
 Warwick ; the rest of the guests had the same device of 
 Ragged Staffs ; but they who could not have them of gold, 
 had them of cloth." It was told me at dinner, " that within 
 a quarter of an hour after the messenger was arrived from 
 England with the news, that the whole town had got into 
 his badge." See p. 162. the English edition. 
 
 It is not improbable, therefore, that the sign of the 
 Hogged Staff derived its origin from the arms of the Earl of 
 Warwick, who was eternized in the dispute of the houses of 
 York and Lancaster. The bear prefixed to it is doubtless of 
 the same kind of origin ; but as I have no book of heraldry 
 immediately at hand to turn to for the application of a device 
 to any of the Earl's followers, 1 shall leave this investigation 
 for the attention of any other curious correspondent in these 
 kind of researches. 
 
 Yours, c. 
 1789, March. J. D. 
 
 CXIV. A Passage in Domesday illustrated. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 A,S the following article is not inconsistent with the plan of 
 vour Monthly Collection, and may be matter of curiosity at 
 least, if not of use, to some of your antiquarian correspon- 
 dents, you may communicate it to them, if you think proper, 
 in your next Magazine. 
 
 It is noted in Domesday Book, under the article of 
 Kingston upon Thames, that " Humfrid the chamberlain 
 (tenant to the Queen's fee at Cumbe in that parish) had one 
 of the King's villains of .that manor under his direction, 
 cHiisa coadunandi tanam Rcgina" 
 
 In another ancient record*, we find that King Henry I. 
 gave Cumbe to the family of Postel, w : ho held it by the 
 same tenure, viz. "per serjantiam colligendilanam Regime" . 
 And lastly, that, in 39 Henry III. Peter Baldwin held itf; 
 
 * Testa de Nevil. f Plac. Coron. 39 Hen. IH. rot, 31.
 
 Passage in Domtsday illustrated. 421 
 
 whose son Peter also died seised of it in 27 Edward I. * 
 having both holclen it in like manner, " per serjantiam col- 
 ligendi lanam fleginfe;" to which is added, in the former of 
 these two, " per alba ***." 
 
 Blount, in his Ancient Tenures, p. 79, in order to supply 
 this blank in a place where he confesses that the record was 
 illegible, and that he only does it by guess, puts in the 
 word spiuas, and then gives this account of the tenure, vi/. 
 that the Queen's tenant here held this little manor by the 
 service of " going a wool-gathering for the Queen among 
 the thorns and briers." And the author of a treatise lately 
 published, called, "Domesday Book illustrated," p. 175, 
 follows Blount, without any other explanation of him, than 
 by translating the words coadwiandi lanam Rcginte, " wind- 
 ing, or mixing, or working up the Queen's wool with other 
 wool, or, gathering wool for the Queen." 
 
 Now, the truth is, that " the original revenue of our 
 ancient queens, before and soon after the Conquest, con- 
 sisted in certain reservations or rents out of the demesne 
 lands of the crown, which were expressly appropriated to 
 her Majesty, distinct from the King. It is frequent, in 
 Domesday Book, after specifying the rent due to the crown, 
 to add likewise the quantity ot gold, or other renders, re- 
 served to the queen. These were frequently appropriated 
 to particular purposes ; to buy wool for her majesty's use, 
 to purchase oil for her lamps, or to furnish her attire from 
 head to footf.'' 
 
 This manor of Cumbe then was plainly one of those " re- 
 servations or rents out of the demesne lands of the crown," 
 spoken of by Blackstone, as " exprt&ly appropriated to the 
 queen's use ;" and, in the present instance, for the first of 
 the purposes there mentioned, viz. " for buying wool for 
 her majesty's use." Humfrid the chamberlain, who fanned 
 this manor of the queen, by the service of co-adunatmg^ 
 i. e. getting together this wool, might possibly pay it in 
 kind, collecting their respective portions of the several un- 
 der-tenants. In succeeding times, however, particularly 
 when Postel, and afterwards Baldwin, farmed this manor, 
 the wool-rent was compounded for by the payment of 20s. a 
 year in silver at the Exchequer ; and a rent paid in silver 
 was always called alba fir ma. The blank, therefore, in the 
 above-mentioned record of 39 Henry III. is undoubtedly to 
 
 * Esch. 27. E. I. n. 27. 
 
 f Blackstone's Comment. TO!. I. p. ?21. and the authorities there cited, 
 among which is the very article iu question. 
 
 E e 3 

 
 422 Ancient Tenure investigated and explained. 
 
 be filled up with the word Jirmam, whereby the whole will 
 be rendered perfectly intelligible, viz. that Peter Baldwin 
 held the serjeantryinCumbe by collecting the queen's wool, 
 not " per albas spinas" off the thorns and briers of the 
 manor, but " per albam fit-mam" i. e. by compositions in. 
 silver, to be paid by the respective under-tenants, to the 
 amount of 20s. a year or, whether he did or not, should 
 at least pay that sum annually himself for the same at the 
 Treasury. 
 
 1789, March. PAL&OPHILUS SURE. 
 
 CXV. Meretrices An Ancient Tenure investigated and explained, 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 I'N the Gentleman's Magazine for 1773, it is said that, 
 " among other strange customs in England, there is one, 
 that, whenever the King comes to Lothesley manor, near 
 Guildfbrd, the Lord is to present his Majesty with three 
 WHORES." 
 
 A correspondent in some measure rectifies the mistake, 
 by informing us that, " instead of Lothesley, it was the manor 
 or Catteshill that was meant;" and that this manor " was 
 hold en by the service of being marshal of the MERETRICES 
 when the King came that way ; that it is well known that 
 MERETRIX, in later Latin writers, is equivalent to lavatrix, 
 or lotrix; and, therefore, that these twelve young women 
 (for such, as he observes, they are called, and such is their 
 number said to have been by Blount, in his account of 
 Ancient Tenures, p. 80), were to follow the court in the 
 capacity of laundresses, to be furnished by the Lord of the 
 manor of Catteshill." 
 
 Another correspondent carries the custom back again to 
 Lothesley, which, he tells us, " was holden in grand ser- 
 jeantry by the master of the King's MERETRICES, i. e. (says he) 
 laundresses." Perhaps a more full and accurate account of 
 this matter may not be unacceptable. 
 
 You are to understand then, Mr. Urban, that from the 
 accession of King Henry II. our kings had a mansion house 
 and park at Guildford, where they occasionally resided and 
 kept their court; during which time, certain of the inferior 
 offices of the household were supplied by the tenants of two 
 different estates holden of the crown in this neighbourhood. 
 
 I. One of these was what is now called the manor of
 
 Ancient Tenure investigated and explained. 423 
 
 Poyle, in Guildford ; which had been given, in earlier times, 
 to the family of Testard. During the minority of William, 
 a heir of this family, in the time of Henry II. the wardship 
 of him and his estate was given to one Ranulph de Bioc, 
 from whom it descended to Edeline his daughter, who held 
 it per serjantiam mareschatti in curia domini tegis *. Stephen 
 de Ttirnham, who married her, succeeded to the trust, and 
 held it by the same servicef. To this William, who died in 
 14 Henry III. anno 1230, succeeded Robert, his son, who 
 is described as holding it, in 19 Henry III. 1235, per serjan- 
 tiam custodiendi MERETRICES in curia domini regis % . Thomas 
 succeeded to the inheritance ; and, after him, Richard his 
 brother; in the account of whose serjeantry it is set forth, as 
 a part of his office of mareschal, that he was servare LOTRICES 
 curite domini regis^. About this time Richard sold this 
 estate to Thomas de la Puille, or Poyle (from whom it took 
 its present name, and) who held it by the same service j| : 
 and in his family it continued till 9 Henry V. , But this 
 whimsical tenure having, before this, been converted into 
 knight's service, we hear no more of it after 11 Edward II. 
 or thereabouts. 
 
 2. The other estate, holden by this tenure, was the 
 manor of CATTESHILL in Godelming, distant about four miles 
 from the court of Guildford. Ranulph de Broc, already 
 spoken of as guardian of the heir of Testard, had a grant 
 of this manor from King Henry II. to hold by the service of 
 ostiarius in camera domini regis^. Edeline, his daughter, 
 and Stephen de Turnham, her husband, held it by the 
 same service**. Robert de Gatton, who married a grand- 
 daughter and co-heir of Stephen's, is called mareschallus 
 custodiendo MERETRICES de curia domini regitf\ ; and mares- 
 challus duodecim PUELLARUM qua sequuntur curiam domini 
 regis%%. Hamo de Gatton, his son and heir, mareschallus 
 MERETRICUM cum dominus rex venerit in illis partibus ; and 
 ustiarius camera regis\\\\. Hamo, the younger, mareschallus 
 
 * Test, de Nev. in Esch. 
 
 + Test, de Nev. 
 
 J Blount, p. 8. Plac. Cor. Snrr. 19 H. III. 
 
 Blount, p. 79. Plac. Cor. 39 H. III. 
 
 j| Ibid. 
 
 iff Test, de Nevil. 
 
 *# Ibid. 
 
 ff Plac. Cor. 25 H. III. 
 
 J+ Blount, p. 80. 
 
 ^ Blount, 82. Plac. Cor. 7 E. I 
 
 jjjj Esch. 20 E. I. n. 25. 
 
 E e 4.
 
 424 Ancient Tenure investigated and explainer. 
 
 de COMMUNIBUS FOEMINIS sequentibus hospilium domini regis*. 
 Robert de Northwode, who married Elizabeth, daughter 
 and heir of the last Hamo. and died seised of this manor in 
 34 Edward III. anno 1360, is styled ostiarius in camera regh-^. 
 Joan and Agnes, daughters, and, at length heirs of Robert, 
 on a partition made between them in 37 Edward III. are 
 said to have holden by the service of mareschallus in hos- 
 pitio regis%. After which we hear no more of it, except that 
 Nicholas Hering, who married Agnes, claimed, in her right, 
 the office of usher (ostiarius) of the king's chamber at the 
 coronation of Richard II. but the consideration thereof was 
 postponed. 
 
 What we collect from all this is, that the office of marshal 
 of the king's household, as often as the court resides at 
 Guildford, was executed by the lords of the manors of Poyle 
 and Catteshill, who held their lands by this tenure ; and 
 that, though they are respectively styled, in different re- 
 cords, marshal of the king's court, marslial of the king's 
 liousekold^ and ostiarius, or usher, of the king's chamber, their 
 office was one and the same ; it being part of the office of 
 marshal, by himself or deputy, to keep the door of the king's 
 chamber . We learn, moreover, that it was part of their 
 duty (as often as the king came into these parts, not other- 
 wise therefore) to provide a-'owen-servants for the meaner 
 offices of the household; and that these aw?ze/?-servants 
 were, on different occasions, called by different names, and, 
 amongst the rest,' by that of MERETRICES; which last hath 
 given occasion, it seems, to ludicrous reflections on the 
 court of that time, as if the grants of the prince had been 
 made subservient to his pleasures. Whereas, in truth, the 
 word MERETRICES was here used in an indifferent sense; and, 
 agreeably to the known import of the word mereo or inercor, 
 from which it is derived, as a general description of such 
 women as served for hire, and who, in the present instance, 
 are accordingly called, in the different records, paella, 
 communes foemina, and lotrices: the service here spoken of 
 being, after all, no other than this, viz. that, whereas the 
 court, in those days, was frequently removed to Guildford, 
 certain persons, who held immediately of the king in that 
 neighbourhood, were obliged, by the terms of their respec- 
 tive grants, to provide, as often as this should happen, a 
 
 * Ksch. 29 E. I. n. 58. 
 
 f Esch. 54 E. HI. n. 72. 
 
 J Rot. Commun. 
 
 Spqlm. Gloss. Matfox, Excheq. c. 2. sec. 5.
 
 Sea Coal, ot Pit Coal, ahen first used in this Kingdom. 
 
 certain number of female servants for the laundry, and other 
 inferior offices of the household. 
 
 The manor of Shireheld in Hampshire, was holclen femp. 
 Edward II. and III. by John de Warbleton, by the same 
 serjeantry ; and probably with a view to the occasional resi- 
 dence of the court at Odiham, in its neighbourhood. 
 
 ..Yours, &c. 
 1789, 4p& PAL. Sunn. 
 
 CXVI. Sea Coal, or Pit Coal, when first used in this Kingdom. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 .THE much-applauded " History and Antiquities of NYw- 
 castle-upon-Tyne," by the Rev. John Brand, Secretary of 
 the Society of Antiquaries, London, is not come to hand vet; 
 but I learn from your Review (and I g-ive the Reviewer per- 
 fect credit for his commendation of the work in general), 
 that, in the second volume, there is a history " of the coal- 
 trade, from the first mention of coal in Britain, to the present 
 time," p. 533; and the note there, collected I presume from 
 the author, is, "sea-coal first occurs in records of the time 
 of Henry III." But this, Sir, I apprehend, should not go 
 down thus to posterity, as it intimates that sea-coal*, or pit- 
 coal, or lithanthraces^y for they are all the same, was not 
 known in our island till the time here mentioned, which, in 
 my opinion, is by no means strictly true. 
 
 The island at first was extremely woody, and afforded 
 fuel of that kind, no doubt, in great abundance; but, ne- 
 vertheless, there appears to have been some pit-coal gotten 
 here very early ; however, long before the reign of Henry 
 III. as I shall now shew, after previously observing, that it is 
 not my meaning to contend that pit-coal was in general use 
 in the times I shall speak of, but only that it was then known 
 and mentioned on certain occasions. It was needful, Sir, to 
 make this remark, in order to prevent any objection that 
 might be made by the reader upon this head. 
 
 There is a remarkable passage in Solinus, who flourished 
 at least before St. Jerome, which in all reason ought to be 
 
 * Junius, in his Etymologicum Anglic, writes the wordro/e; and indeed it 
 is pity the kttcr o ever got into it, as it is undoubtedly the i>Vi.r. Col o/ 
 Coll. 
 
 f Camden, vol. til. p. 231, edit. Cough.
 
 426 Sea Coal, or Pit Coal, wkenjir&t used in this Kingdom. 
 
 interpreted of pit-coal. Speaking of warm, and probably 
 of medicinal, springs in Britain, he says, " quibus (ontibus 
 praesul est Minervse numen, in cujus ajde perpetuo igne^ 
 nunquam canescunt* in favillas, sed ubi ignis tabuit, ver- 
 titur in globos saxeosf." These globi ' ta.rei 'can be nothing 
 else but the cinders of pit-coal, for favilla or residuum of 
 wood or turf have nothing of the stony or hard matter in 
 them. Bishop Gibson renders it accordingly, round pieces 
 of hard stone, and Mr. Gough, stone balls. It is observable, 
 that pit-coal itself is commonly translated in Latin by carbo 
 saxeus ; and we all know that Bath in Somersetshire, the 
 place particularly intended by the author, has much fossile 
 coal not far distant from it. 
 
 Bishop Watson, in his Chemical Essays, II. p. 364, ob- 
 serves, '*' we have good reason to believe that the Newcastle 
 coal-pits were wrought in the time of the Romans, for 
 coal cinders have been found at the bottom of the foun- 
 dation of a city built by the Romans in that country + ; but 
 whether they were not wrought by the Britons, before 
 the Roman invasion, is a question which cannot, perhaps, 
 be possibly decided either way." It signifies nothing, Sir, 
 in the present case, which nation sunk the pits, since the 
 consequence will be the same, via/ that pit-coal was known 
 in our island, in some parts, and in some degree, before the 
 reign of Henry III. And, moreover, that the Romans in 
 particular were not more strangers to British pit-coal than 
 they were to British lead, will appear by consulting Dr. 
 Stukeley's Itin. II. p. 54 of second edition; Mr. Pennant's 
 Voyage to the Hebrides, p. 55 ; and Bishop Watson, II. 
 pp. 362, 363. 
 
 In Venerable Bede's times, who died A.D. 755, Britain pro- 
 duced gagates, or peat, which by Camden is thought may 
 be canole coal\\ but this, I think, could scarcely be used 
 for fuel, though it seems it was plentiful. Be this as it 
 will, the abbot and convent of Peterborough^ demised to 
 Wulfred, A.D. 852, the land of Sempilgaham** for his life, 
 on certain conditions, whereof two are, to pay annually 
 
 * The vavious'reading in H. Steph. edit. 1577, is cassescunt; and Ric. Corin. 
 transcribing this passage, p. 19, has labascunt, ; 
 
 f Solinus, cap. 25. 
 
 \ Wallis, Hist, of Northumberland, . 
 
 Beda, Hist. Eccles. I. cap. I. 
 
 || Vi.l. III. p. 103, edit. Gough. Some think this to be a corruption of 
 candle coal, it lights or kindles so easily. 
 
 ^f Chron. 'Sax. An. 85 1 2. 
 
 ** Rob. Swap ham, p. 106 f write* Semiitngkam, or Semfringham,
 
 Guild of Calendar at Bmtol.The Rolls Chape!. 427 
 
 60 cart loads of wood, and 12 cart loads oifossile coals, for 
 so the learned interpreter renders the word xr<rfan. This 
 however, is something extraordinary, as there were no coa! 
 mines at Sempringham, com. Line, which is supposed to he 
 the place intended*. But perhaps it may mean peat, or 
 turf, which is graven or dug as well as pit-coal ; I, therefore, 
 shall lay no great stress on this authority, but shall leave it 
 with you, Sir, and the intelligent reader. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1789, Aug. L. E. 
 
 CXVII. Guild of Calendaries at Bristol. The Rolls ChapeL 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 Mil. Barrett, in his newly-published " History of Bristol," 
 speaking of the calendaries, who formed a guild in that city 
 so early as Robert Earl of Gloucester, Robert Fitz Harding, 
 &c. (Tanner's Not. Mon. p. 479, Leland Itin. VII. 71), 
 says, p. 449, " it appears, from records, that they were a 
 society of religious and laity, like a college de propaganda, 
 jide, wherein Jews and other infidels were converted, youth 
 instructed, and liberally maintained in the same manner, 
 and under the like direction, as at the Rolls in Chnncerv- 
 lane, London ; jind as the custody of the Rolls was com- 
 mitted to the latter, so the former 'preserved the archives of 
 the town of Bristol, whence they were called the fraternity of 
 the kalendars, from keeping a /calendar, or monthly register 
 of all the public acts, registering deeds, rolls, &c. as that of 
 London took the rolls, both implying the same office of 
 chroniclers, or public registers, of which no great cities were 
 destitute." 
 
 Du Cange, in his Glossary, v. Fratres Kalendarii, says, 
 * f Nomen a kalendis sortiti quod mod urn ordinemque 1V>- 
 torum quaa singulis mensibus celebranda foreut, quau 
 anniversaria recolenda, quae eleemosynae distribuenda?, qua? 
 jejuniaservandal ma cujuslibet mensis die, inclicarent." They 
 occur in the foundation charter of Ottenburg in Marten. 
 Collect. I. 1219. See also Pauljni Chron. Monast. Otten- 
 burgensis init. 
 
 * See Gibson, in Expl. Nom. Loc.
 
 . ' I 
 
 428 Guild of Calendar ics at Bristol. The Rolls Chapel. 
 
 Of the religions object of this guild, Mr. B. brings proofs 
 from a Latin deed, in the little Red Book, in the chamber of 
 Bristol, by him translated, an Inquisition into their Rights, 
 1318; but the library mentioned in a settlement of their 
 disputes with the mayor by the bishop of Worcester, 1404, 
 to be then newly founded, is not described as containing- any 
 thing more than books. It was indeed & public library, and a 
 weekly lecture was given in it to all who chose to come : 
 but not a word of the public records being there kept. This 
 is inferred from one of the fraternity having been town-clerk 
 in the reign of Edward IV. and having left several records of 
 the city affairs, &c. and from Leland's quoting " a remem- 
 braunce of memorable actes done in Brighstowe, out of a 
 litle boke of the antiquities of the house of Calendaries in 
 Brighstowe." It. vii. 71. Leland expressly says, this was 
 nothing more nor less than " a gylde or fraternitie of the 
 clergie and commonaltie of Brighstowe, kept in the church 
 of the Trinitie, seen at Al Halowes," William of Worcester, 
 the Bristol antiquary, calls it a college of priests, p. 19O, 
 and in p. 253, a college or fraternity founded in honour of 
 the festival of Corpus Christi. Mr. Barrett's inference, 
 therefore, is drawn from the eight hundredthe bookes men- 
 tioned by Rowley. 
 
 This is just such a proof as it would be to say, that, be- 
 cause Matthew Paris, a monk of St. Alban's, wrote a History 
 of England, therefore the monks of St. Alban's were the his- 
 torians of England. 
 
 As to the Donms Conversorum, founded by Henry III. and 
 now called The Rolls, it was not till after the expulsion of 
 the Jews in 1377 had lessened the number of converts, that 
 the chapel was applied to the purpose of keeping the rolls 
 and records in chancery, and the mastership of this house 
 was annexed to the office of keeper of the rolls of chancery, 
 who is since called Master of the Rolls. Stow's Survey of 
 London, p. 435 ; Tanner's Not. Mon. pp. .314, 315. It is 
 easy to see, therefore, that, as the original destination of 
 the house was for a very different purpose, so the rolls were 
 only lodged in its chapel as in any other public office. 
 
 1789, JVor. D. H.
 
 Public Libraries in London. 429 
 
 CXVIII. Public Libraries in London about the end of the Seven- 
 teen th Century. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 SOME remarks having lately fallen into my hands, among 
 other MS. papers, relative to the former state of London, I 
 have selected the following on the subject oi'public libraries, 
 as they stood about the beginning of the eighteenth century, 
 whereby some of your correspondents may have an oppor- 
 tunity of observing and communicating to the public the 
 different improvements that have since taken place in the 
 literary repositories of this celebrated city. 
 
 First, of those in the Tower. In Wakefield Tower and 
 the White Tower are vast numbers of records relating to 
 monasteries, &c. several state-papers and private letters of 
 foreign princes to the English court. The White Tower 
 was originally a chapel of the palace, and is a very uncom- 
 mon sort of a structure. 
 
 At Westminster, in the Exchequer, the records are in the 
 keeping of the Lord Treasurer. Here are preserved the 
 two Domesday books, one in folio, and one in quarto. 
 Powel's Repertory of Records, in quarto, printed in 1631, 
 contains a farther account of these books. 
 
 The Parliament Rolls are kept in an old stone tower in the 
 Old Palace Yard, in Westminster ; and the State Papers, 
 from the time of Henry VII. to this time (about 1700), are 
 kept in the fine built gate as you go through to the Cock- 
 pit, and is called the Paper Office. It was built by Henry 
 VIZI, and is one of the most curious pieces of workmanship 
 in Europe for the old flint work ; and it is reported that 
 Hans Holbein was the architect. 
 
 The papers mention Sir Robert Cotton's library, now so 
 usefully displayed; therefore I shall pass over to the library 
 deposited in the great cloister of the abbey. It was founded 
 by Dr. Williams, dean of Westminster, aiid bishop of Lin- 
 coln, who was a great promoter of learning in his day. He 
 purchased most of the books Jf the heirs of one Baker, of 
 Highgate, and founded it for public use every tlay in term- 
 time, from nine till twelve in the forenoon, and two till four 
 in the afternoon. By negligence many of the MSS. were 
 burnt; among which was the pompous and curious book 
 of the ceremonies of the coronation of the kings of 
 England. 
 
 There was also a library at St. James's, mosUy collected
 
 430 Public Libraries in London* 
 
 by Leland at the dissolution of abbeys, and intended for the 
 studies of the princes of the blood. Our English kings had 
 also several other libraries; as one at Vfhitenall, another at 
 Hampton-court, at Nonesuch, Windsor, Oatlands, Green- 
 wich, &c. ; but this at the palace of St. James seems to have 
 been the chief. The keeping of it in the several kings' 
 reigns has been by Leland, Delayne, Traherne, Ascham, 
 Patrick, Young, and Dr. Bentley. Most of the papers on 
 this subject are interlarded with pieces of printed paper, 
 carrying on the account in the following manner, and seem 
 to have been intended for the press. Such as appeared 
 worth while, I have detached, and arranged in chronological 
 procession, as follow : 
 
 At Lambeth Palace, over the cloister, is a well-furnished 
 library. The oldest of the books were the Lord Dudley's, 
 earl of Leicester ; which from time to time have been aug- 
 mented by several archbishops of that see. It had a great 
 loss in being deprived of Archbishop Sheldon's, an admi- 
 rable collection of missals, breviaries, psalters, primers, &c. 
 relating to the service of the church; as also of Archbishop 
 Sancroft's. 
 
 There was formerly a piece of ground taken in and walled, 
 not far from St. James's, near Leicester Fields, by the pro- 
 curement of Prince Henry, for the exercise of arms, which 
 he much delighted in; and there was a house built at one 
 end of it for an armory, and a well-furnished library of all 
 sorts of books relating to feats of arms, chivalry, military 
 affairs, encamping, fortification, the best that could be got 
 of that kind, and in all languages, at the cost and charge of 
 the prince, who had a learned librarian, whose name I have 
 forgot. It was called the Artillery Ground, and continued 
 till the restoration of King Charles II. and then fell into 
 the hands of the Lord Gerrard, who let the ground out to 
 build on about the year 1677. 
 
 Gray's Inn had a library for the use of the students of that 
 society, most of them relating to the laws and history of this 
 kingdom. 
 
 In the church-yard of St. Martin's in the Fields, Dr. Tho- 
 mas Tenison, then rector, since archbishop of Canterbury, 
 built a noble structure, extremely well contrived for the 
 placing of the books and lights. It was begun and finished 
 in the year 168--, and by him well furnished with the best 
 modern books in most faculties, the best of its kind in Eng- 
 land. There any student, of what country soever (first 
 giving in his name and place of abode), may be admitted to 
 study.
 
 Public Libraries i';; . -London. 43 1 
 
 Lincoln's Inn Library was much augmented by Lord Chief 
 Justice Hale, amongst winch are many valuable MSS. of his 
 own hand-writing. 
 
 The two Temples have each a library. Lord Chief Justice 
 Coke gave most (if not all) of his excellent MSS. of law and 
 history to the Inner Temple. The Middle Temple is fre- 
 quently resorted to; Walter Williams, Esq. is the present 
 library-keeper there. 
 
 In the Guildhall of the city of London, is the treasury 
 of their records, charters, laws, privileges, acts of common 
 council, their paper books in the Chamberlain's Office; some 
 are very ancient, and most of them are in the custody of their 
 town-clerk. There are great variety, and worthy the sight 
 of the curious. 
 
 Sioii College was founded by Dr. White, Vicar of St. 
 Dunstan in the West; but most of their books were destroyed 
 by the fire of 1666. The few that exist from that time were 
 saved by the industry of the librarian. It has since been 
 rebuilt, and is situate in London Wall. A catalogue of the 
 books was taken some years ago, and printed in 4to. It is 
 for the use of the London clergy, and is open at this day. 
 
 The library of St. Paul's school is another within the walls, 
 and was founded by Dean Colet, and rebuilt by the Com- 
 pany of Mercers. It is at present supplied by contributions 
 from the scholars and others; but, upon the whole, is on the 
 decay. 
 
 In the days of King Edward VI. in the chapel called the 
 Lord Mayor's Chapel, adjoining to the Guildhall, was a large 
 library, all MSS.; they were borrowed (with an intent never 
 to be returned) by the duke of Somerset, to furnish his study 
 in his pompous houss in the Strand. They are reported to 
 be five cart loads. I mention this to inform my reader, that 
 the city had then a public library, besides others that were 
 within the walls, as at the Grey Friars in Newgate Street, 
 now called Christ Church ; containing a great many MSS.; 
 to which Whittington was a benefactor, as by a gift of a 
 Lyra, mentioned by Dr. Fuller. 
 
 In the Herald's office is a curious collection of books re- 
 lating to heraldry, arms, ceremonies, coronations, marriages, 
 funerals, christenings, and visitations, of several counties in 
 England. Many of their best books were stolen during the 
 'civil wars; but they have been since furnished with others 
 by the munificence of the earl of Arundel, the duke of 
 Norfolk, Mr. Vincent's collection, bought and presented 
 by Mr. Sheldon, of Weston, in Warwickshire. They have 
 an ancient Nennius on vellum, and Robert of Gloucester, an
 
 432. Public Libraries in Londcn. 
 
 old rhymer, who lived in the days of King Edward III.; it is 
 a chronicle of Kngland from its first inhabiting to his time, 
 and the only ancient copy we have in England. It were to 
 he wished they had all the French, Italian, Spanish, German, 
 and Flemish books, on the like subjects. Their books are 
 kept in cupboards with shutters, or doors locked up very 
 neatly. Several particular persons belonging to the office 
 have good collections. Mr. Gore printed a catalogue at 
 Oxford, in quarto, of all their books relating to heraldry 
 and antiquities. The books in the Prerogative Office are 
 too well known to be mentioned here, and their utility too 
 obvious to be pointed out. 
 
 The White Friars spared no cost to procure books, and 
 their collection must be large and choice. Bale, one of 
 their fraternity, siiith, that no book was to be sold but they 
 had their emissaries to buy it. The Carmelites engrossed all 
 the books they could lay their hands on ; and it is probable 
 all other orders did the like; so that a layman, though he 
 had both money and learning, had but very few fall into his 
 hands; so that books and learning were seldom to be found 
 out of a monastery. 
 
 Since the demolition of Gresham College, the books have 
 not been so fairly displayed as they were when this survey- 
 seems to have been taken. However, as some other corre- 
 spondent can better represent their present state, we shall 
 pass over to 
 
 The College of Physicians, in Warwick-lane, who have 
 a numerous collection, among which are Mr. Selden's books, 
 with the library of the marquis of Doncaster, and others of 
 their members, left them in remembrance. 
 
 Christ Church, formerly the Grey Friars, hath a neat li- 
 brary for the use of the masters and scholars, besides a col- 
 lection of mathematical instruments, globes, ships, with all 
 their rigging, for the instruction of the lads designed for the 
 sea; and iu their counting-house is the picture of Edward 
 VI. their founder, by Hans Holbein; and in the great hall a 
 coble representation of King James II. sitting on his throne, 
 with most of the nobility, privy council, chancellor, gover- 
 nors, lord mayor and aldermen of the city, the officers of the 
 house, boys and girls on their knees, &.c. all done Irom the 
 life, by the famous Sigriior Verrio. 
 
 The Dutch and Flemish merciiauts have a church in Austin 
 Friar?, for which Edward VI. granted a patent. They have 
 a neat library for the use of torei^n Protestants and their 
 clergy, containing many original letters in MS. never yet 
 printed, of the first reformers. The Ten ComiuaudnietUs
 
 Public Libraries in London. 433 
 
 there are said to be written by the hand of Sir Peter Paul 
 Rubens. 
 
 The French church in Threadneedle-street, granted also 
 by patent in the reign of Edward VI. had a library before the 
 Fire of London ; and Minshew mentions them to have sub- 
 scribed to his Dictionary. What remains of this original 
 collection, with the libraries of some of their divines, and 
 other literary gifts, are now deposited in the vestry of the 
 new French church, belonging to the same congregation, 
 meeting at the corner of Church-street, in Brick-lane, 
 Spital-fields. 
 
 Dulwich College, erected by John Alleyn, who formerly 
 had been a strolling player. There is a library, in which is 
 a collection of plays given by Mr. Cartwright, who wss bred 
 a bookseller, and kept a shop at the end of Turnstile-alley, 
 which was at first designed for a 'Change for the vending of 
 Welsh frizes, flannels, &c as is still visible, to be seen by 
 the left side as you go from Lincoln's Inn Fields, which is 
 now divided ; it is turned with arches. Cartwright was art 
 excellent player, andj besides his plays, gave them many ex- 
 cellent pictures. I have seen there a view of London, taken, 
 by Mr. Norden in 1603 ; on the bottom is the view of the 
 Lord Mayor's Show. I never saw another of them. 
 
 The Jews, in Bevis Marks, had a library of considerable 
 value in their synagogue, relating to their ceremonials and 
 Talmudical worship ; but some narrow minds among them 
 conceiving that, if these books should get into the hands of 
 Christians, they would be disgraced by shameful translations, 
 agreed among themselves to cause them to be burnt; for 
 which purpose they employed some of their scribes, or tephi- 
 lim writers, to examine into the correctness of the copies; 
 and receiving a report agreeable to their wishes, they had 
 them conveyed to Mile End, where they were all destroyed 
 in a kiln ; for it is contrary to their maxim ever to make waste 
 paper of the Sacred Language. 
 
 The Barber-surgeons have made a collection of books re- 
 lating to anatomy, which is in their hall in Monkwell-street. 
 There is the picture of King Henry VIII. giving the charter 
 to the masters, wardens, and assistants, and sitting on his 
 throne. It was painted by Hans Holbein, and is an admira- 
 ble piece. 
 
 William Petyt, of the Inner Temple, Esq. Keeper of the 
 Records in the Tower of London, who died in 1707, left by 
 his last will and testament a most valuable collection of MSS. 
 and printed books to the society of which he was a member, 
 as also 1501. for erecting a -room for depositing th<*m in; 
 
 VOL. I, F f
 
 434 Curiosities in London. 
 
 and they have built a very curious room adjoining to their 
 hall, which is almost finished. This collection consists of 
 many great curiosities in antiquity, history, and parliamentary 
 affairs. It is hoped that public generosity will improve this 
 noble beginning. It would soon be a very complete library, 
 if every member of 'that honourable society would only pre- 
 sent one book every year. 
 
 Books sold by auction by good catalogues, and classical 
 arrangements of great libraries, which have been published 
 from time to time, have disseminated more bibliographical 
 knowledge, and served the general cause of letters much 
 better, than all the enormous collections avariciously with- 
 held in the monasteries and convents of our Gothic ances- 
 tors. However, we must thank them for preserving, at 
 least, the seeds of that knowledge which so brightly distin- 
 guishes the present period. 
 
 1790, July. HENRY LEMOINE. 
 
 . 
 
 
 CXIX. Curiosities in London at the end of the Seventeenth 
 Century. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 IF you do not deem the following desultory remarks on the 
 ancient state of London an intrusion upon more important 
 matter, the transcriber will, and some of your readers may, 
 thank you for their insertion. Minutite, though in them- 
 .selves trifling, afford pleasure, and are of some importance, 
 when we consider that we are often more affected by small 
 and imperceptible objects, than by such as by their magni- 
 tude ingroas our whole attention for a while. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 HENRY LF.MOINE. 
 
 When Henry VIII. toot possession of York Palace, 
 finished by Cardinal Wolsey, he left the new palace at 
 Westminster, but first he made it a city by act of parliament. 
 He also built the Cock-pit and the Tennis-court; cock- 
 fighting being peculiar to England ; but tennis was a diver- 
 sion introduced from France about the time of Henry V. 
 To beautify this new palace of Whitehall, he built the gate- 
 way next the Banquetmg-house,to have the convenience of 
 a gallery into the Park, for the accommodation of ladies, to 
 see the sport of tilts and tournaments, which was performed
 
 Curiosities in London. 435 
 
 on soltmn days. The gateway \\as built and designed by 
 Hans Holbein, and is one of the finest pieces of flint-work 
 in Europe. In Whitehall are several pieces of the same 
 sort as at the Banqueting-house. This flint chequer-work 
 carne in use in the middle of the reign of Henry VII. 
 On this gate are the busts of four emperors on each side, 
 worth notice for the curiosity of the workmanship. They 
 are made of clay, and baked in a kiln, and afterwards 
 glazed like fine earthenware, but after another manner; 
 and some part gilt with gold like enamelling, ti'hich makes 
 it hold as i I does. The further gateway has also some figures 
 of the like nature, but not so well performed, being made 
 of bisket-ware, that is, a white clay, and glazed like potter's 
 ware. 
 
 This the workmen called stone-ware, much in use in the 
 days of Henry VIII. and of King James I. as might have 
 been seen by Dean Colet's head in Paul's school, and like- 
 wise his monument in Paul's church, now destoyed by fire, 
 and several of the same kind at Hampton Court. One re- 
 mains in the wall of the Duke of Britanny's house in Little 
 Britain, where Mr. Norton, the printer, lived. In the church of 
 St. Andrew Undershaft is John Stow's monument, baked and 
 painted to the life, as Dean Colet's, set up about 1605. 
 
 As for the glazing or enamelling of such figures, Stow, in 
 his Survey of London, speaks of the spire-steeple of St. 
 John's, Jerusalem, which was enamelled with several colours, 
 as azure and gold, which made a noble show to the North 
 parts of London, and was the only ornament on that side the 
 city, of which he much laments the downfal. On the west 
 side of Aldgate, new built 1610, there was found an old Ro- 
 man coin) which, being preserved, was carved out in stone 
 very fine, and worth observation. On the front of several 
 old timber houses in the city and suburbs are the figures of 
 several Roman emperors, but most of the Lower Empire. 
 These, I conceive, were found in digging the foundation of 
 those houses ; and some persons, delighting in antiquity, had 
 'them made larger in moulds to take orFthj reverse, and so 
 fixed them upon the house. This may be seen against St. 
 Andrew's church, in Holborn. 
 
 The Earl of Arundel formed a most incomparable collec- 
 tion of antiquities consisting of curiosities of all kinds, 
 gathered from all nations. After his death, some of 1m 
 statues' fell into the hands of builders, who set them up to 
 ornament their new erections in Cuper's Gardens. What 
 became of the rest is uncertain ; but it was reported they 
 were hid under ground, in the time of the Popish plot, m 
 
 F f 2
 
 436 . Curiosities in London. 
 
 the court-yard of Tart-hall, where formerly was a gallery of 
 old pictures, the most ancient ever seen in this kingdom. 
 
 There were several ancient statues in the Privy-garden ; 
 and the Gladiator that stood in the Park is removed to 
 Hampton-court. In Somerset-house garden are some few 
 antique figures, and an ancient stone chair. 
 
 As for modern statues, there are those of King. lames II. 
 cast in brass, in the square at Chelsea College and at White- 
 hall ; King ^Charles I. on horseback at Charing-cross ; the 
 four figures of Queen Elizabeth, King James I. King 
 Charles I. and II. (carved by Bushnel) at Temple-bar ; 
 Queen Elizabeth on the west side of Ludgate; on the East, 
 King Lud and his two sons. At Aldersgate, on the North 
 side, is the true portraiture of King James I. on horseback, 
 in his habit as he came to England, which is much commend- 
 ed ; it was carved by Mr. Christmas ; on the South side he is 
 in his robes, but lately gone to decay. 
 
 There is a piece of the Resurrection, carved in bas-re- 
 lief, over the gateway of the church-yard of St. Andrew, 
 HoliKJrn, in Shoe-lane, not far from the church, much ad- 
 mired by the curious. It has lately been coloured over, to 
 preserve it, which has taken much from the sharpness of 
 it. It has been imitated at the gates of St. Giles's in the 
 Fields, and St. Dunstan's in the East. 
 
 At the Stocks Market is the figure of King Charles II. in 
 marble, treading down a Turk. It was cut at Leghorn, in 
 Italy, and reported to be designed for Cromwell, but bought 
 by Sir Robert Vyner, and set up at his charge. 
 
 On the South front of the Royal Exchange are the statues 
 of King Charles I. and II. very much esteemed ; tmd in the 
 centre the statue of King Charjes II. Csesar-like, cut in 
 marble, set on a pedestal, cut by the famous G. Gibbons. It 
 is engraved and printed on a large sheet by P. Vanderbank. 
 There are the statues of several of our Kings and Queens, 
 done by several artists ; and at the end of one of the walks 
 is the figure of Sir Thomas Gresham, founder of this Ex- 
 change, in his proper habit. 
 
 The figures of King Edward VI. Queen Elizabeth, and 
 King Charles I. over the South passage into Guildhall, a re 
 worthy pf observation. 
 
 On Aldgate are heads done after two antique medals found 
 at tiie digging the foundation for new building that gate, in 
 the year 1610. 
 
 At Christ Church are the statues of King Edward VI. the 
 founder, and King Charles II. founder of the Mathematical 
 School.
 
 Curiosities in London, 437 
 
 Over the gateway of St. Bartholomew's, or the Lame 
 Hospital, next Smithfield, is the statue of King Henry VI. 
 the founder. 
 
 At Aske's Hospital, near Hoxton, are the statues of the 
 founder, in his gown ; and over the gate old Coplestone, and 
 another old man, in their alms-gowns. 
 
 In the square at Soho, called Monmouth Square, is the 
 statue of the Duke of Monmouth; and in Queen's Square 
 at Westminster, near the Park, is the figure of Queen Anne; 
 and in Lincoln's Inn Garden are several figures*. 
 
 Those in the Queen's Garden, at St. James's, and on the 
 front of the Duke of Buckingham's house in the Park, de- 
 serve a curious inspection. 
 
 At the upper end of Westminster Hall are six figures of 
 the Kings of England) Edward the Confessor, William the 
 Conqueror, William Rufus, Henry the First, and King Ste- 
 phen, with crowns on their heads; and on either side of the 
 great gate of the hall, the rest down to Richard the Second's 
 time, he being the builder of the hall, as may be seen by a 
 device of a hart round the verge of the wall, and the arms 
 held by angels carved. 
 
 On the outside of the abbey has been a variety of figures 
 of our kings, bishops, and abbots ; some remain to this 
 day, particularly that of King James the First, set up at his 
 first coming to England. In the abbey church are very many 
 monuments of our kings, queens, and princes of the blood, 
 dukes, earls, bishops, abbots, &c. for which 1 refer you to 
 Mr. Keepe's book, where are all the inscriptions and epitaphs, 
 who, had he met with encouragement in his life-time, would 
 have had many of them drawn, to be engraved, for a folia 
 volume, as Sir William Dugdale has done St. Paul's. Mr. 
 Sandford's Genealogy of the Kings of England is now pub- 
 lishing, with several additions. In it are the monuments of 
 the kings, queens, and their children, &c. and some part 
 of the church in perspective ; Henry the Seventh's chape), 
 with his and his queen's monument. This was an admirable 
 piece of building, and called by our antiquary Leland the 
 eighth wonder of the world, Mr. Sandford also did the 
 coronations of King Charles the Second, and King James 
 the Second, with several views of the body of the church 
 and Westminster Hall. When a person has once viewed 
 this cathedral, this book will be a great help to him. 
 
 The funeral monuments here, their designs and sculp- 
 tures in marble, and those cast in brass, exceed any m 
 Europe, and well deserve to be often and critically inspected, 
 
 F f 3
 
 438 Curiosities in London. 
 
 In Henry the Seventh's chapel, when you lift up your eyes, 
 you will find a great number of figures at length, in variety 
 of habits, as prophets, kings, evangelists, apostles, patri- 
 archs, fathers, saints, &,c. at length. 
 
 Turning up the seats of the stalls, you will find an ad- 
 mirable piece of workmanship, taken notice of by very few. 
 The pavement in the high altar is not to be paralled in Eu- 
 rope ; it was made at the cost of William de Ward, alias 
 "Warrin, then Abbot of Westminster, afterwards Lord 
 Treasurer of England (he being buried before the high 
 altar). He brought with him from Rome certain workmen 
 called lapidaries, and rich stones, as porphyry, lapis lazuli, 
 jasper, &c. of which that excellent piece of workmanship 
 was composed, with several Latin verses. See Weever's 
 " Funeral Monuments," p. 232. He died A.D. 1283. That 
 most ingenious gentleman, Mr. Talman, hath lately drawn 
 and coloured it, in order to preserve it to posterity. He 
 also made St. Edward the Confessor's shrine about the same 
 time, in Mosaic work, the like rarely to be seen, though I 
 have seen several pieces of serpentine stone taken up at the 
 west end of St. Paul's, when they dug for the foundation, 
 which were wrought into several forms for a pavement, 
 though a great deal bigger, and was without doubt a part of 
 a pavement to some chapel in ancient times, 1 mean since 
 Christianity. I have seen several pieces, but all serpentine, 
 and the pavement was in knotwork, as appears by the several 
 forms, some half-round, oblong, triangular, &c. &c. 
 
 About the year 1690 lived a Mr. John Conyers, a great 
 antiquary, especially in those things that related to London, 
 At the beginning of its re-building he made it his business 
 to inquire of the labourers who dug foundations what they 
 found, and gave them encouragement to save them for him, 
 especially old money, many weapons, &c. In St. Paul's, 
 at the west end, he had a great Roman utensil ; also in 
 Goodman's Fields ; and a collection well stored with antiqui- 
 ties both in art and nature, and was one of the first in that 
 wav. He purchased whatever was out of course that came 
 to his hands ; and sometimes those that sold old iron, fur- 
 nished him with a rarity not to be seen in an age. He had 
 his circular walks about London, and visited the booksellers' 
 shops, and collected many rare MSS. as well as printed 
 books. He also inspected most of the gravel-pits near 
 London, to please his curiosity with Nature's variety in the 
 different sorts and shapes of stones. 
 About the year 1689, in a gravel-pit not far from the sign
 
 Curiosities in London. 
 
 of Sir John Oldcastle, he discovered the carcase of an ele- 
 phant, and I saw part of it dug out, and what remained he 
 bought of the workmen. This he was of opinion had not lain 
 there ever since the flood, but since the Romans; for in the 
 time of ^Claudius, as mentioned by the learned Seldeu oa 
 Dray ton's Polyolbion, and near this place, a battle was 
 fought between the Britons and Romans; for in the same 
 pit he found the head of a British spear, not of metal, but 
 flint, which is now, amongst other rarities, in the possession 
 of the Rev. Dr. Charlctt, master of University College in 
 Oxford. Out of Mr. Conyers's collection have been raised 
 some others of great value, being much improved in many 
 respects. Of these Mr. Kemp's was the principal. It was 
 the first that was publicly shewn in London. This collection 
 was deposited near the Hay -market, and consisted, in brief, 
 of the following articles: 
 
 A vast variety of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman antiquities, 
 both artificial and natural. 
 
 His coins in gold, silver, and brass, were very valuable, 
 not only for the number, but the scarceness of them, and 
 his great judgment in distinguishing counterfeits from 
 originals. 
 
 He had several ancient Egyptian gods in metal, divers 
 sorts of stones and artificial earth, two ancient mummies in 
 their wooden coffins, the heads of a man and woman carved 
 on the outside of the coffins. You might discern the folds 
 of the linen, their painted hieroglyphicks, and several of 
 their seals some thousand years old. 
 
 He had great variety of Grecian antiquities, as their gods, 
 inscriptions on marble, and others. 
 
 Several marble statues of the Roman gods; others in 
 brass, and thirty-four marble inscriptions, originals: rare 
 marble urns, curiously carved; variety of others in glass 
 and brass, enamelled, and in several sorts of earth, and di- 
 vers shapes and fashions. 
 
 In his presses was a variety of instruments used by the 
 ancients in their sacrifices and burials, as lamps, fibulae in 
 brass, seals and rings of divers fashions. 
 
 And a good collection of books, particularly on chemistry 
 and mineralogy; some Oriental MSS. ; with the whole of 
 Mr. Gaillard's collections, and part of Lord Cartwright's. 
 
 The beginning of a century forms an epoch in the annals 
 of Science and the Arts. The present has been fertile in 
 improvements. We now verge towards its conclusion; anj 
 the acquisitions to the general stock of learning are no where 
 more perceivable than in your useful Compilation. There, 
 
 F f 4
 
 440 Curious Tenure at Chingford, Essex. 
 
 as in a graduated scale, we plainly discern the various de- 
 grees of refinement in human knowledge ; and rise, as it 
 were, to the perfection of the present period by the most 
 pleasing ascent. May you continue your labours for the 
 benefit of mankind, and, keeping pace with time, only end 
 with the existence of matter ! 
 
 1790, Oct. H. L. 
 
 CXX. Curious Tenure at Chingford, Essex. 
 
 MR. URBAN, Sandwich, April 19. 
 
 IN turning over some old family papers of my grandfather 
 Bunce's (many years ago rector of Chingford cum Pitsey, 
 in Essex), I found the inclosed MS. If it contains any thing 
 worth notice, make what use of it you please. 
 
 To whom this was addressed I cannot say, but plainly to 
 some person then compiling the history of that county. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 W. BUNCE. 
 
 SIR, Chingford, Nov. . . , 1721. 
 
 " Being an absolute stranger to you, you must excuse 
 me if I treat you not in character ; but understanding that 
 you are publishing a history of Essex, I think it my duty to 
 transmit to you an account of somewhat extraordinary, and 
 perhaps particular. There is in my parish of Chingford a 
 farm, of about twenty pounds a year, for which every pro- 
 prietor is to pay the rector homage once at his instance. 
 Mr. Haddon, the present owner shewed me proofs of it 
 from Queen Elizabeth's time, inclusive, to my time, accord- 
 ing to the subjoined form : which notice you would have had 
 from me sooner, but that Mr. Alexander of the Commons 
 undertook to transmit a copy of what I now send you. I am 
 not certain whether it was last summer, or the summer be- 
 fore; but, not knowing whether he has done it or not, you 
 will excuse my troubling you with this. I must be so just 
 to Mr. Alexander, as to let you know, that when some warm, 
 people in the company objected against giving you any 
 assistance, upon the score of your being a Dissenter, he 
 handsomely maintained that that had no relation to history.
 
 Curious Tenure at Chingford, Essex. 4\ 
 
 "I have taken the freedom to entertain both the pre- 
 ceding and present Bishop of London with my private con- 
 jecture about the origin of such a custom; which is, that 
 Henry VIII. might have taken that farm from the ancient 
 glebe, and, giving it to his falconer or huntsman, might, by 
 way of atonement, have put this feather in the church's cap; 
 for Henry VIII. was not without a seat or two in this parish. 
 The farm joins to a glebe grove, and the homage carries all 
 the air of a falconer or huntsman. If you think fit upon thi>, 
 or any other account, to write to me, please to direct to 
 Mr. Haslewood, at Mr. Bendysh's, against Princes-street, 
 in Bedford-row, London. 
 
 I am, Sir, your humble servant, 
 
 FRANCIS HASLEWOOD, Rector ibidem/' 
 
 " Bee it remembered, that the three-and-twentieth dav 
 of October, in the yeare of our Lord 1659, came Samueli 
 Haddon, and Mary his vvyfe, Edmond Cotst.er, his man- 
 servant, and Martha Walle, his maide-servant, to the par- 
 sonage of Chingford, at the commaund of Thomas Wytham, 
 Master of Artes, and rector of the said parsonage. The 
 said Samuel Haddon did his homage there, and paid his 
 reliefe in inaner and forme as hereafter followeth, for pne 
 tenement at Chingford that is called Scottes Mayhexves, 
 alias Brendwood, which was lately purchased of Daniel! 
 Thelwel, Esq. First, the said Samueli did blowe three 
 blastes with a home at the said parsonage, and afterward re- 
 ceived of the said Thomas Wytham, a chicken for his hawke, 
 a peck of oates for his horse, a loafe of bread for his grey- 
 hound, and afterward received his dinner for himselfe, and 
 also his wyfe, his man, and his maide. The maner of his 
 cominge to the said parsonage was on horseback, with his 
 hawke on his fist, and his greyhound in his slippe. And 
 after dinner blewe three blastes with his home at the said 
 parsonage, and then paid twelve-pence of lawfull money of 
 England for his reliefe, and so departed. All these sere- 
 moneyes were donne for the homage and reliefe of the said 
 tenement at Chingford Hatch,, called Scottes Mayhewes, 
 alias Brendwood, as before hath beene accustomed to be 
 donne time out of mind. 
 
 " Witnesses to the performance of the seremoneyes 
 
 aforesaid. 
 
 Ralphe Delle, 
 " Jo. Hette, 
 1790, Sep. " John Woodward."
 
 442 Expenses of Fox-hunting in the Thirteenth Century. 
 
 CXXI. Expenses of Fox-hunting in the Thirteenth Century. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 MANY gentlemen fox-hunters being doubtless readers of 
 the Gentleman's Magazine, it will, I imagine, contribute to 
 their amusement, to apprize them of the style and expense 
 of their favourite diversion almost five hundred years ago; 
 and the account of the Comptroller of the Wardrobe of 
 King Edward I. anno Domini 1299 and 1300, will afford 
 them much information. This account, with prefatory ob- 
 servations, and a glossary subjoined, was printed not long 
 since at the charge of the Society of Antiquaries; and the 
 four ingenious and learned members, who were desired to 
 superintend the transcribing and publishing of this curious 
 manuscript, executed their commission with fewer mistakes 
 than could well have been expected in so difficult a task. 
 A translation of the articles which relate to fox-hunting is 
 inclosed: and, to accommodate the curious, the original 
 Latin shall be subjoined: 
 
 P. 308. Paid to William de Foxhunte, the 
 King's huntsman of foxes in divers forests and 
 parks, for his own wages, and the wages of his 
 tw,o boys to take care of the dogs, from Nov. 
 20th to the 19th of Nov. following, for 366 
 days, it being leap year, to each per day two- 
 pence ------------ ^9 3 o 
 
 Paid to the same, for the keep of twelve 
 fox-dogs belonging to the King, for the same 
 time, each dog* per day, a halfpenny - - - 930 
 
 Paid to the same, the expense of a horse to 
 carry the nets, from Nov. 20th to the last day 
 of April, 163 days, three-pence per day - - 209 
 
 i * In the Observations, p. xlv. it is suggested that the allowance was a, 
 halfpenny for the kei-p of each fox; and it is ene of the very few errors 
 that can be imputed to the respectable quartetto above-mentioned. They 
 may have fallen into it from being in the habit of hunting a bag fox; but it 
 is apprehended that, in the year referred to, foxes were so numerous in 
 England, that (in order to be sure of a chase) it was not requisite to use 
 tnis precaution, or that of Sir Roger de Coverley, who owned to his confi- 
 dential friends his having turned foxes about the country, that he might 
 .->,_u.il:ze himself in their destruction.
 
 Expenses of Fox-hunting in the Thirteenth Century. 4-ij 
 
 Paid to the same, the expense of a horse 
 from September 1st, on which day the hunting- 
 season began, after the dead- season, to the 1 Dth 
 of November, 80 days, at three-pence per day <\ 
 
 P. 103. Paid to William de Blatherwyck, 
 huntsman of the King's fox-dogs, for winter- 
 shoes for himself and his two boys, to each of 
 them two shillings and four-pence - - - - 070 
 
 P. 317. Paid to the same, for his habit 
 during the present year ------_ 0134 
 
 Paid to the same for habits for his two boys, 
 ten shillings each -----.__'_ 100 
 
 Total - .23 7 1 
 
 If these sums are multiplied by fifteen, there will be 
 nearly the due allowance made for the difference in the value 
 of money between that time and the present*; and conse- 
 quently the whole of the King's annual expense under this 
 article amounted to somewhat more than three hundred and 
 fifty pounds six shillings and three-pence of our monev. Ts'or 
 was this by any means a trivial charge, if it be considered 
 upon how small a scale this part of his Majesty's establish- 
 ment was formed; for it consisted of only the hunt-man, two 
 boys, twelve ciogsf, and one horse to carry the toils. 
 
 Such a hunt, though honoured by the title of royal, would 
 be ridiculed by the subscribers to a modern fox-hunt. The 
 cry of a dozen dogs (qu. terriers?} could make but a slight 
 impression upon the ears of persons accustomed to the burst 
 of twenty-five couple, and more, of hounds, which is apt to 
 
 * This calculation is made without taking into the account the last article, 
 amounting to 11. 4s. (V. which appears in the original Latin statement. E. 
 
 f Besides these dogs, there is no other mentioned in the MS. except the 
 hare- greyhound, kforar' griiar', at p. 96 Dr. Johnson, in his Dictionary, de- 
 rives the term greyhound from grig hnnd, (Saxon,) ranis venations; thoup 
 hunting-hound seems to be an addition too general. M.ty it not rather be a 
 corruption of the French gruier, in Latin gruarius, a principal ofiker noticed 
 in the forest laws; thus distinguishing a Jo- that Must have been in high 
 estimation for its fleetness in coursing in an uninclosed country. The allow- 
 ance for fetching this greyhound by the king's command, and keeping i 
 was I/. 4*. Od. It is obvious that it could not be, according to the notion o 
 Chambers, with respect to the colour of the doys, that they were styled grey, 
 or "ray: but green, with allusion to the k,nd of ground over which they ge- 
 nerally ran, would not hase been un-apposite, for the like reason that ver- 
 durers of forests are thus denominated. Gruier, Gallis, apud quos id.-in, 
 secundum locorum d.scrimina, qui terdicr, forestier, Kc. ex quibus proi 
 est vocis etymon, ex Germanico nempe gmen, vel zroen, vmdisj ui 
 virtdarius, idem quod gruuriui,." Du Fresno, ad verbimi.
 
 444 Expenses of Fox-hunting in the Thirteenth Century. 
 
 excite so great an ebullition of joy, as seems for a time to 
 deprive them of their senses, and stimulate them to " o'er 
 the hedge high-bound, into the perilous flood bear fear- 
 less, and of the rapid instinct full, rush down the dangerous 
 steep." This choice of glorious perils was not, however, 
 indulged to their ancestors ; since it appears from the entries, 
 that they were pedestrian hunters. 
 
 Mortua seisona, as here used, are words that merit our 
 attention. To the generality of people, the warm and fer- 
 tile months of May, June, July, and August, are enlivening 
 and cheerful ; though by fox-hunters of former days it was 
 deemed a dead-season of the year. And from some expres- 
 sions that have occasionally dropped from sportsmen of this 
 class, with whom I have the pleasure of conversing, I am 
 inclined to suspect that the epithet dead, when prefixed to 
 summer, is, in their opinion, pertinent and emphatic. But 
 it is a lucky circumstance, that the late revival of the play 
 with bows and arrows has somewhat lessened^.he torpidity 
 of the hunter's vacation. 
 
 The same phrase brings to my mind a glaring anachronism 
 advanced by Mr. Addison in one of the entertaining papers 
 he is supposed to have written whilst he was visiting Sir 
 Roger de Coverley; who, we are told, hunted almost every 
 day in the first fortnight in July : an idea surely as incongru- 
 ous, and to a farmer as horrid, as Sterling's hot buttered 
 rolls for breakfast in that month was to Lord Ogleby ! The 
 conclusion I draw from this lapse of the pen is, thai Cover- 
 ]ey-hall was situated at either Chelsea or Islington ; and that 
 Mr. Spectator was not ambling upon the chaplain's easy pad, 
 but walking over the Five Fields, or the Spa Fields, when 
 he had in view the imaginary doubles of the Hare*. And 
 perhaps in this my trailing I may have been so often at a 
 fault, as to betray my having no right to the signature of 
 
 W. DE FOXHUNTS. 
 
 P. 308. Will'o de Foxhunte, venatori regis 
 vulper' venanti in diversis forestis et parcis 
 ad vulpes, pro vadiis suis, et duorum garcio- 
 num custod' canes Regis vulper', a 20 die 
 Novembr', anno prcesenti 28, incipiente usque 
 19 diem ejusdem merisis anno revoluto, per 
 
 * See Spectator, No 116; in which is the following passage. "Sir Roger 
 beii> at present too old for fox-hunting, to keep himstlf in action has dis- 
 posed of his beagles, and got a pack of stop-haunds." Qu. In Addison's days 
 was it the practice (o Imut foxes with beagles, and a hare with stop-hounds?
 
 Barrows opened in Dorsetshire. 445 
 
 366 dies, quia annus bissextilis, cuilibet per 
 
 diem 2d. -* - o9 5 
 
 Eidem pro putura 12 canum Regis vulper' 
 per idem tempus, pro quolibet per diem ob. - 9 3 O 
 
 Eidem pro expens' unius equi portantis retia 
 sua, a 20 die Novemb', anno presenti 28, inci- 
 piente usque ultimum diem Aprilis, utroque 
 computato, per 163 dies, per diem 3d. 209 
 
 Eidem pro expens' ejusdem equi portantis 
 retia modo predicto, a primo die Septembr', 
 quo die incipit seisona ad venand' ad vulpes 
 post seisonam mortuam anni presentis usque 19 
 diem Novembr'anno presente finiente, utroque 
 computato, per 80 dies, per diem 3d. - - - 1 O 
 
 P. 103. Will'mo de Blatherwyk, venatori 
 Regis ad vulpes, pro calciamentis hiemalibus 
 anni presentis, pro se et garcionibus suis, cuili- 
 bet eorum 2s. 4d. --------- 070 
 
 P. 317. Eidem, pro roba sua totius anni 
 presentis ----------- 013 4 
 
 Eidem, pro robis duorum garcionum suo- 
 rum, pro quolibet 10s. ------- 100 
 
 P. 96. Henrico de Blakeburn, eunti per pre- 
 ceptum Regis pro quodam leporar' gruar' ad 
 opus Regis querend' pro expensis suis eundo, 
 morando, et redeundo, et pro putura ejusdem 
 leporar' teniendo ad Regem ; per manus pro- 
 prias apud Berewycum, 28 die Decembris. - 140 
 
 1790, Sept. 
 
 CXXII. Description of several Barrows opened in Dorsetshire. 
 MR. URBAN, Winchester, Oct. 1. 
 
 IF the life of -man be short, as it is termed in Scripture, it is 
 a wish congenial to his heart, 'that his memory at least 
 should be of long continuance. This sentiment accounts fc 
 the universal practice of raising sepulchral monuments, and 
 is finely illustrated by the plaintive Gray: 
 
 For who, to dumb forgetfulness a prey, 
 This pleasing, anxious being e'er resign'd; 
 
 Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day, 
 Nor cast one longing, lingering look, behind
 
 446 Harrows opened in Dorsetshire. 
 
 The most simple and natural kind of sepulchral monu- 
 ments, and therefore the most ancient and universal, consists 
 in a mound of earth, or a heap, of stones, raised over the re- 
 -inains of the deceased. Of such monuments, mention is 
 made in the book of Joshua, and in the poems of Homer, 
 Virgil, and Horace ; and of such, instances occur in every 
 part of this kingdom ; especially in those elevated and se- 
 questered situations where they have neither been defaced 
 by agriculture nor inundations. It has often been a subject 
 of surprise to me, that, in an age marked by its taste for 
 antiquarian researches, greater attention should not have 
 been paid to these most ancient and genuine records of past 
 ages, so far, at least, as to ascertain to which of the suc- 
 cessive inhabitants of this island they are to be ascribed, or 
 whether, in fact, they are the work of more than one people. 
 This can only be done by an examination of the contents of 
 several of them in different counties, and in different situa- 
 tions, by persons whose learning, ingenuity, and attention, 
 qualify them for the task. In searching, however, into 
 these rude memorials of our forefathers, the true antiquary 
 will ever respect their remains ; and, whilst he enters into 
 their views by endeavouring to revive their memory, he will 
 also as far as possible consult their wishes, in leaving to 
 their bones their ancient place of sepulture. 
 
 Having been lately on a visit to a gentleman in Dorsetshire, 
 on whose estate an incredible number of these barrows are 
 found, he kindly complied with my wishes in causing several 
 of them to Le opened. I shall first describe, in the most 
 accurate manner I am able, the contents of the several bar- 
 rows ; and then give such conjectures as occur to me, con- 
 cerning the people to whom they belonged : not without a 
 view, however, that greater light may hereafter be thrown on 
 the subject by persons whose experience and information, 
 in this branch of antiquarian study, are superior to my own. 
 
 We began with two barrows of no great dimensions oppo- 
 site to East Lullworth, on a level piece of ground that is met 
 with in the ascent up of a steep and lofty mountain, the top 
 of which is crowned with a bold double intrenchment, of 
 Roman or Barbaric workmanship, and which is known by 
 the name of Flower's barrow. If we pay any regard to the 
 conjecture of Hutchins, in his History of Dorsetshire, who 
 derives the name of Flower's barrow from a supposed Roman 
 general of the name of Flarus, the question will be solved 
 at once what people raised this strong intrenchment; and it 
 will afford some kind of presumptive proof that the barrows 
 below contained Roman remains. But we are to observe,
 
 Barrvws opened in Dorsetshire. 447 
 
 that he produces no proof whatever of any Roman <reneral 
 of the name ot Floras ever having been in those parts nor 
 does the figure of the camp affect the Roman quadrano-le 
 but seems rather to humour the natural shape of the hill. 
 Indeed part of it, by some convulsion of Nature, appears to' 
 have sunk helow its original level, while no small portion of 
 it has fallen into the sea helow, which, at the depth of seven 
 hundred feet, is for ever undermining its rocky hase. In 
 these two barrows we found promiscuously scattered, perfect 
 human teeth, burnt human bones, together with those of 
 animals, such as pieces of the jaw-bones of horses or oxen, 
 teeth ot the same animals, tusks of boars, small round stones 
 of tie Portland kind, not' bigger than children's marbles, 
 pointed stones that possibly have been the heads of weapons, 
 certain lumps of corroded metal, seemingly iron, but of an 
 undetermined shape, a few particles of yellow metal, which 
 being lost could not undergo the assay, some crumbling- 
 pieces of dark-coloured unburnt urns, together with a few 
 lumps of brick or earthenware, that appeared to have been 
 well burnt. In addition to all this, we perceived a consider- 
 able quantity of fine, rich, black earth, with a certain white 
 rnouldiness between the particles, which must have been 
 fetched from a considerable distance, and which I have in- 
 variably found strewed over the remains of the dead in these 
 ancient sepulchres. The bottom of one of these graves was 
 paved with large, round stones, that had been worked smooth 
 by the action of the sea, and which apparently had been 
 fetched from the adjacent shore. 
 
 From the confused state in which we found the contents 
 of these two barrows, which indeed were situated near what 
 had formerly been an uninhabited spot, as the name of Arish 
 Mill indicates, we were satisfied they had been in some past 
 time disturbed : we therefore determined to make our next 
 research in a more remote and inaccessible situation. With 
 this view we pitched upon a large barrow, being twelve feet 
 in perpendicular height, and two hundred in circumference, 
 situated at the highest point of a lofty mountain about mid- 
 way between the Points of Portland and Purbeck Islands. 
 This tumulus is known in the country by the name of lluin- 
 bnry-taut, or toote, the first of which words I conjecture, 
 may be the name of the chieftain there buried, while the 
 other two appear to be the corruption of Saxon and British 
 words expressive of a barrow. Many of tin* samr ;irtich-s 
 were found on the surface and at the extremities of this, as 
 in the former barrows, such as burnt human bones, bits of 
 metal, &c. : but on our approaching to the centre, at about
 
 43$ Barrows opened in fiorsttshirf. 
 
 the depth of four feet from the surface, a skeleton appeared 
 in perfect preservation, lying with its head to the north, but 
 so tender, as to crumble into dust with the least pressure ; 
 its posture, which was that of a person sleeping on his side, 
 with the feet rather drawn up, one hand resting on its breast, 
 the other on its hip, prevented it from being accurately 
 measured. The account of the people, however, employed 
 in digging, we found afterwards had magnified it to the size 
 of seven, and even of eight feet. But what may be said 
 with certainty is, that the thigh-bone measured twenty 
 inches, which, in a well-proportioned man, I find, gives a 
 height of six feet and of about as many inches. One of the 
 leg-bones appeared to have been fractured ; but whether 
 this had happened by some wound in war, or by some acci- 
 dent at the funeral, or by the weight of the superincumbent 
 earth, it is impossible to determine. On the breast of the 
 skeleton was deposited a rude urn, too much decayed to be 
 bandied without falling to pieces, of about the measure of 
 two quarts, but empty of every thing except the same fine 
 mould that covered the skeleton. Near the neck of the latter 
 were found many of the round stones I have before men- 
 tioned, but of different sizes, from that of a pigeon's egg 
 clown to that of a pea. _As they were imperforated, it is not 
 improbable they had once been covered with metal, in which 
 state they might have formed a necklace, or any similar 
 ornament. The substance of the barrow, as high as the site 
 of the body, was formed of flints and stones ; into which 
 a shaft was sunk to a considerable depth, but without finding 
 any thing worth notice. The next day, however, the country 
 people, who had witnessed the diligence of our researches, 
 which they conceived must have had an object of greater 
 value in view than bones and earthen vessels, being en- 
 couraged moreover by a popular tradition, that a treasure 
 lies hidden in the earth somewhere between Weymontli 
 and Purbeck Island, assembled, and dug to the very bot- 
 tom of the centre of the barrow, where they found nothing 
 but a large heap of ashes, in all probability the remains of a 
 funeral pile which had been erected on that spot. Another 
 small barrow, that was opened the same day, yielded nothing 
 but bones and broken urns. 
 
 Unavoidable business calling me home at the end of the 
 week, my respectable friend communicated to me, by lette'r, 
 the result of his searches, the ensuing week; of which the 
 following is an extract: 
 
 " On the Thursday after you left us, we pitched onr 
 tent near another of those barrows, and set to work upon i i
 
 Harrows opened in Dorsetshire. 
 
 We discovered, at about the depth of two feet, no less than 
 five distinct skeletons : three of them were in a row, lying 
 on their hacks, two of which appeared to be of the common 
 size, but that in the middle was a small one, probably of 
 some young person. The two others were at the distance of 
 a few feet from these, of the ordinary size, with the head of 
 one lying on the breast of the other. Each of the skeletons 
 had an urn upon it; but these were so perished, that upon 
 being touched they fell into earth, except a few pieces 
 near the top rim of one of them, which I have preserved for 
 your inspection. Under the head of one of the three that 
 lay in a row we found a small earthen urn, about the size of 
 the cup-part of an ordinary wine glass." 
 
 I have only to add to this account, that the small urn just 
 mentioned, which was of the same shape with the rest we 
 found, namely, that of a truncated cone, was about two 
 inches high, and one in diameter, and that, though nicely 
 covered with the shell of a limpet, it was quite empty : like- 
 wise, that the broken pieces of urn were ornamented by 
 being rudely indented in a zigzag fashion; and that the five 
 skeletons were not all exactly on the same level in the bar- 
 row, which appears to have been a family sepulchre, but 
 that the two last mentioned seemed to have been deposited 
 in the side of the barrow without taking it to pieces. 
 
 Five or six other barrows in the same neighbourhood have 
 since been opened by the same gentleman ; but, as the con- 
 tents of them all were nearly the same, I shall satisfy myself 
 with giving an account of one of them, which was opened in 
 my presence. It was one out of three which stood in a line at 
 about the distance of one hundred and fifty feet from each 
 other, being about the same number of feet in circum- 
 ference, and about ten in perpendicular height. On a shaft 
 being cut to the centre of the barrow, we found a kind of 
 rude vault or kisl-Men, formed with unhewed stones, inclos- 
 ing an urn capable of holding about two gallons, and full of 
 burnt human bones, being covered at the top with a thin, 
 flat stone, and having a quantity of the roots of quilch-grass 
 undecayed near it, which also frequently occurred in the 
 other barrows. The urn in question was composed of a 
 coarse black clay, of the shape above described, and did 
 not seem either to have been turned with a lathe, or burnt 
 in a kiln, but merely hardened by fire or the heat of the sun. 
 Of the same substance and form were all the other urns < 
 covered in this neighbourhood : there was this difference, 
 however, in their position, that some of them stood upright, 
 and others were found inverted. 
 
 VOL. i. c
 
 450 Narrows opened in Dorsetshire, 
 
 The uniformity observed in the barrows I Have described, 
 in shape, situation, apparent antiquity, and, to a certain de* 
 gree, in contents, seems to argue that these at least were the 
 work of one and the same people. Who these were, remains 
 row to be considered. I think it is plain they could not 
 have been the Romans; for though these were in the prac- 
 tice both of burying and burning their dead entire, as ap- 
 pears from the Twelve Tables, and from other monuments, 
 yet the rudeness of the present urns, so unlike the weat, 
 polished ones, I discovered last year near this city, together 
 with the true Roman fibula, coins, &c. and which have been 
 honoured with a place in the fetusta Monumcnta of the So- 
 ciety of Antiquaries the situation of these sepulchres on 
 lofty mountains, and sequestered downs j whereas the Ro- 
 mans affected to bury near cities, and close to highways; add 
 to this, there being no sepulchral lamps, lacryrmitories, 
 coins, or other tokens of Roman sepulture ; all these cir- 
 cumstances, I say, point out Barbarians, and not Romans, 
 as the constructors of these barrows. We must therefore 
 ascribe them to one of the three following nations, viz. the 
 Britons, the Saxons, or the Danes; and we mus-t attribute 
 these works to one of them previously to its conversion to 
 Christianit}', as, wherever the Christian religion prevailed, 
 it immediately banished the Pagan rite of burning the dead, 
 as appears from many canons of councils to this effect, and 
 introduced the use of common cemeteries consecrated to 
 this purpose. Of the above-mentioned nations, the Danes 
 seem to have the weakest claim to these numerous barrows, 
 as (independently of other arguments that will occur below) 
 they never seem to have been stationary in this part of the 
 kingdom for any considerable time, till their princes and the 
 nation in general professed themselves Christians ; whereas 
 in the above-mentioned barrows there is even some ap- 
 pearance of family sepulchres. It remains then to consider 
 whether it is more reasonable to attribute these ancient 
 monuments to the Britons, previously to their adopting the 
 manners of their conquerors, the Romans, or to their more 
 fatal enemies, our Saxon ancestors. For my part, I think 
 there are more and stronger arguments for ascribing them 
 to the former than to the latter people. For though both 
 the Celts or Gauls, of whom the Britons were evidently a 
 tribe, as appears from the uniformity of their language, and 
 of their civil and religious rites, and the Germans, of whom 
 the Saxons formed an illustrious portion, were both in the 
 practice of at least occasionally using funeral piles, barrows, 
 and urns ; as Montfaucon has discovered in regard to the
 
 Barrows opened in Dorsetshire. 451 
 
 Gauls, and Gronovius with other German antiquaries, in re- 
 spect to their forefathers ; yet there is this striking dif- 
 ference between the two people, that the former, according 
 to Caesar, were fond of the pomp of funerals, sacrificing 
 various animals as well as men on the occasion, and burying 
 with the dead whatever they had that was most precious : 
 whereas the latter, according to Tacitus, despised the fruit- 
 less ambition, as they considered it, of magnificent fune- 
 rals; and it was only on some extraordinary occasion that 
 the warrior's horse was buried with his master. Morton 
 adds, that the Saxons had laid aside the custom of burning 
 their dead previously to their invasion of this island ; but 
 whether the last-mentioned assertion rests upon sufficient 
 proof, or not, I think the evident consequences to be de- 
 duced from what has been alleged above, when considered 
 with respect to the contents of the barrows in question, like- 
 wise the very great antiquity of these barrows, manifest by 
 the condition of the metal, bones, and urns, found in them. 
 Again, the coarseness and rudeness of these urns, which, in 
 my opinion, rather bespeak the manufacture of the savage 
 Britons, than of the Saxons, who by their very piracies upon 
 civilized nations were a polished people at their conquest of 
 this island, compared with the former six hundred years 
 before ; and, above all, the conformity between these bar- 
 rows and those opened by Dr. Stukeley and others in the 
 neighbourhood of Stonehenge ; all these circumstances, I 
 say, considered together, induce me to attribute the barrows 
 I have described to the aborigines of this island, the Britons, 
 rather than to the Saxons, or any later people. With respect 
 to the argument I have drawn from the conformity between 
 these barrows and those near Stonehenge, I take it for 
 granted that this stupendous pile of Barbaric magnificence 
 is allowed to have been a Druidical temple ; and that the 
 barrows with which it is surrounded had some relation 
 with it, and belonged to the same people by whom it was 
 constructed. 
 
 A very great difficulty, however, remains to be explained, 
 which is, that some of "these barrows contained nothing but 
 urns full of burnt bones, while others contained entire ske- 
 letons, with urns placed upon them, and with burnt human 
 bones, charcoal, and ashes, scattered throughout the tumu- 
 lus. To account for this, I mu<t refer to the authorities ad- 
 duced by the learned and ingenious author of the " listory 
 of Manchester," to prove that the ancient Britons were : 
 the habit of using both rites of funeral, that of burning, and 
 that of burying entire. U is probable that,atHam,bury Toote,
 
 452 Parliament Oak in Welbeck Park. 
 
 and such other barrows as contain vestiges of both practices^ 
 the captives, slaves, and animals, destined to appease the 
 manes of the deceased chieftain, or to accompany his de- 
 parted spirit, were killed and burnt on the spot, and that 
 afterwards a barrow was raised over their ashes, near the 
 summit of which the body of the chieftain himself was buried 
 enti re. The urn placed on the breast of the corpse probab ly 
 Contained ointments, or valuable articles belonging to the 
 deceased, in conformity with Caesar's account of the British 
 funerals. This conjecture is confirmed, in my opinion, by 
 the diminutive size of the small urn covered with a limpet 
 shell, mentioned above, as it appears too small to have 
 answered any other purpose we are acquainted with. It is 
 possible that one of those horrid sacrifices, which the author, 
 just quoted, describes, might have made part of the funeral 
 rite performed at some of these barrows, in which a con- 
 siderable number of human victims were inclosed in a kind 
 of cage made of basket-work, and burnt alive, in order to 
 render propitious the blood-thirsty deities of the Druids. 
 1790, Oct. JOHN MILKER. 
 
 CXXIII. Parliament Oak in Welbeck Park. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 AS, by favour of the excellent author of the work,! have be- 
 come possessed of a copy of that elegant tract, Mr. Rooke's 
 " Descriptions and Sketches of some remarkable Oaks in 
 the Park at Welbeck," &c. wherein the drawings by Mr. 
 Rooke, and the engravings by Mr. Ellis, are very fine ; I 
 bog leave to send you a brief and friendly remark upon one 
 passage in it. He observes, p. 12, ''There is a very old 
 oak in Clipston Park, which the common people call the 
 Parliament Oak, from an idea that a parliament was once 
 held under it. I have not found any good authority for this 
 fact ; but it is certain that a parliament was held by Edw. I. 
 anno 1290, at Clipston palace,' 1 &c. Now, Sir, as there 
 wa-; a palace at this place, and a parliament was held there 
 anno 1290, as here stated, I, for my part, have no objec- 
 tion to the vulgar and current opinion, that this oak was the 
 place of the assembly's meeting. There is a hundred in 
 Derbyshire, styled Applctree hundred, from some large tree 
 of the kind being probably the place of the rendezvous or
 
 Etymology of London, 45 3 
 
 hundred court; and on the confines of the parishes of God- 
 mersham and Chiltmm, in Kent, a place is to this day called 
 Hundred-beech, from some large beech, no doubt, there 
 formerly growing, and where the hundred court was usually 
 kept. The famous Augustine's Ac, or oak, mentioned by 
 Venerable Bede, lib. ii. c. 2, where the Saxons had the 
 conference with the Britons, will certainly occur to the 
 learned reader on this occasion : and other instances of 
 the same kind will probably be recollected by your readers ; 
 so that the name of the Parliament Oak, in my opinion, 
 stands upon a plausible, reasonable, and analogical founda- 
 tion ; though it be only supported by tradition, and may be 
 taken, consequently, for a proper appellation, grounded oa 
 real matter of fact. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1791, June. L. E. 
 
 CXX1V. Conjecture on the Etymology of London. 
 
 MR. URBAN, Clemen fs-lane, Dec. 8. 
 
 SO many able antiquaries have attempted to find the true 
 etymology of the name of my native city, London, that it 
 may appear presumptuous to offer any thing farther on the 
 subject; yet, as a conjecture has occurred to me, which I 
 think both new and plausible, I am induced to lay it before 
 the public by means of your entertaining Magazine. 
 
 Mr. Pennant, who, I believe, is the latest author who has 
 published an account of London, says, (p. 16 of the first 
 edition) " The Surry side was, in all probability, a great 
 expanse of water, a lake, a llyn, as the Welch call it, which 
 an ingenious countryman of mine, not without reason, thinks 
 might have given a name to our capital ; llyn din, or the city 
 on the lake." 
 
 But I cannot think this derivation satisfactory, because 
 Mr. P. allows (p. 34} that " in St. George's-fields have been 
 found remains of tessellated pavements, coins, and an urn 
 full of bones, possibly the site of a summer camp of the Ro- 
 mans. In this place it could have been no other. It was too 
 wet for a residentiary station. Its neighbour, Lambeth- 
 marsh, was, in the last century, overflowed with water; but 
 St. George's-fields might, from their distance from the river, 
 admit of a temporary encampment." 
 
 But the city itself, in my opinion, is clearly described by 
 Gg3
 
 454 Etymology of London. 
 
 its ancient name, if the following etymology is the true 
 one. 
 
 I learn, by Lhuyd's Archneologia, that the British word for 
 a valley is glyun ; and it is well known that the initial g in. 
 that language is often omitted in construction. 
 
 That the surface of the ground which London occupies 
 was very uneven when the Romans took possession of it is 
 evident; the remains of Roman buildings, found at very 
 different depths in many parts of it, and the rivulets of 
 Walbrook and Fleet, favour this opinion. 
 
 I conjecture then that the original British name of this city 
 was Glynn Dyn, or, in construction, Lynn Dyn ; and, if this 
 be allowed, it is very strikingly characteristic of the place; 
 and, from the last name, the Romans might easily learn to 
 call and write it Jjondinum. 
 
 Perhaps it may be objected to me, that the Welch spell 
 it with //, which my derivation does not seem to authorize. 
 In answer to this I say, that some nations now pronounce the 
 letter g very soft : the modern Greeks (and I believe the 
 Germans in some cases) do so. This soft^f is to the English 
 hard g as the Welsh ch is to k, or as th in this is to d. The 
 sound of this soft g, and /, following it, is 50 similar to the 
 Welch //, that I think it strengthens my argument, by shew- 
 ing that the British name of the city of London probably 
 began with the soft g (which for several reasons, 1 am pre- 
 suaded was used by the ancients;) and is a good reason why 
 the Welch write it with //, though Roman authors spell the 
 Latinized name, Londinum, with a single /. 
 
 I shall conclude by observing, that the fact on which I rest 
 my conjecture, whether that conjecture be true or not, is 
 undeniable, namely, that the British city was a Glynn Dyn, 
 a-town containing valleys and rising grounds *; and that I 
 agree with Mr. Pennant, that it is probable that it existed 
 before the time of Julius Caesar, as well as many more ia 
 this island, which have names clearly Welch, but which the 
 Jlornans afterwards seized, colonized, and fortified. 
 
 Yours, &c, 
 1792, Siippl JOHN JACKSON. 
 
 * For, though the Roman wall does not include the river Fleet, the 
 cm bank of it might be a part of the earlier British toun, or settlement.
 
 Ant iqidty of the use of the 7?m-, >' c. 455 
 
 CXXV. Antiquity of the use of the Ring in the Marriage Sen-ice. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 A CORRESPONDENT inquires the reason, why the ru- 
 bric of the marriage-service, in our Liturgy, directs tin? 
 priest to take the ring, and to " deliver it to the man, to put 
 jt upon the fourth ringer of the woman's itjt hand." 
 
 In answer to this inquiry I have to remark, that it ap- 
 pears from Aulus Gelhus's entertaining Miscellany (lib. X. 
 cap. 10.) that the ancient Greeks, and most of the Romans, 
 wore their rings on this very finger: indigito sinistrte manus, 
 qui minimo cst pro.rimus. He adds, that Appian says, that a 
 small nerve runs from this ringer to the heart; and that, 
 therefore, it was honoured with tne office of bearing the ring 
 on account of its connexion with that master-mover of the 
 vital functions. Macrobius (Saturnal. lib. VII. cap. 13) as- 
 signs the same reason ; but also quotes the opinion of Atteius 
 Capito, that the right-hand was exempt from this office be- 
 cause it was much more used than the left-hand, and there- 
 fore the precious stones of the rings were liable to be broken; 
 and that the finger of the left-hand was selected which, was 
 the least used. 
 
 The reasons here so gravely alleged are, perhaps, equally 
 absurd. They serve, however, to shew the antiquity of 
 the practice. It is well known that, when the empire be- 
 came Christian, the clergy retained as many customs and 
 usages as were indifferent, for the purpose of conciliating 
 the minds of the people, and promoting the progress of 
 their religion. Finding this practice established, they 
 adopted it into their ritual ; perhaps, from the supposed 
 connexion of this hand with the heart, in token of sincerity; 
 and to imply, that the contracting parties with their hands 
 made also an interchange of hearts. That the ring was 
 used by the Romans in marriage, see Juvenal, Sat. VI. 
 ver. 27. 
 
 Jt is well known with how much moderation and temper 
 our Reformers proceeded in .clearing the ritual from the 
 corruptions of the church of Rome. Such usages as had 
 received the sanction of the Catholic church before the 
 springing up of the papal usurpation, and such as were not 
 xinscriptural or idolatrous, they preserved. Hence the re- 
 semblance between the English Liturgy and the KbttHsh 
 Breviary, which ignorance, with her usual petulance, is 
 ever forward to object to the church of England, is, in. 
 effect, highly honourable to her, inasmuch as it shews her
 
 456 Antiquity of the use of the Rmg t & c - 
 
 reverence for primitive antiquity, her liberality in admitting 
 reformation when indispensable, and her wisdom in reject- 
 ing needless innovation. 
 
 How little the Reformation has varied our office of ma- 
 trimony, may appear from a comparison of the following 
 passage of Chaucer's Merchant's Tale with the opening ex> 
 hortation to that office : 
 
 " Ther speketh many a man of mariage, 
 That wot no more of it than wot my page ; 
 For which causes a man shuld take a wif. 
 If he ne may not liven chast his lif, 
 Take him a wif with gret devotion, 
 Because of leful procreation 
 Of children, to the honour of God above, 
 And not onlie for paramour, or love; 
 And for they shuld en lecherie eschue, 
 And yeld hir dette whan that it is due ; 
 Or for that eche of hem shuld hdpen other 
 In meschefe, as a suster shal the brother, 
 And live in chastitee ful holily." 
 
 A little farther on, he describes the marriage ceremony, 
 and alludes to two collects still in use : 
 
 " But finally y-comen is the day 
 
 That to the chirche bothe ben they went, 
 
 For to receive the holy sacrement. 
 
 Forth cometh the preest, with stole about his nekke, 
 
 And bade hir be like Sara and Rebekke, 
 
 In wisdome and in trouthe of mariage : 
 
 And sayd his orisons, as is usage, 
 
 And crouched hem, and bade God shuld hem blesse, 
 
 And made all siker ynow with holinesse." 
 
 Thus we see the great antiquity of some of our modern 
 ceremonies ; a subject on which I have elsewhere touched, 
 and on which Dr. Taylor had made large collections. In- 
 deed, if we may believe him, " the present ceremony (now 
 in fashion all over Europe,) of " saluting the bride" is to be 
 derived from the practice of the ancient Romans, among 
 whom the husband and his relations used to salute the wife, 
 in order to perceive whether she had been guilty of drinking 
 wine, which they made equally criminal with adultery. The 
 Doctor concludes : " If my reader was acquainted with but 
 half the passages I could produce, wherein modern customs,
 
 Druidical Customs retained in 
 
 
 though somewhat alienated from their original design and 
 institution, retain however so much of their old feature 01 
 complexion, as to claim an indisputable relation to some 
 Konian or Grecian solemnity, he would not be startled, as 
 perhaps he was, at the first mention of this opinion. I was 
 tempted here to lay before him an instanee or two of this 
 sort, of which I have by me a plentiful collection ; but was 
 checked upon the reflection that I but very lately took him 
 out of the road to shew him a prospect, and therefore ra- 
 ther chose to prosecute my journev, to which it is possible 
 he may now iiave no objection." Elements of Civil Law, 
 p. 357. 
 
 1 believe most readers will unite with me in lamenting 
 that this learned writer followed his second thought* in this 
 instance, and will permit me to u-peat mv hopes that the col- 
 lection above-mentioned may not be for ever concealed from 
 the public eye. 
 
 1795, Sept. SCIOLUS. 
 
 CXXVI. Druidical Customs retained in Cornwall. 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 IT is a research no less interesting than amusing, to trace 
 back several customs and expressions now used to their 
 Druidical or Saxon original. 1 am informed by a friend, that 
 un immemorial and peculiar custom prevails on the sea-coast 
 of the western extremity of Cornwall, of kindling large 
 bonfires on the evening of June 24 ; and on the next day, 
 the country people, assembling in great crowds, amuse 
 themselves with excursions on the water. For the origin of 
 this, no satisfactory reason can be given ; therefore, conjec- 
 ture is allowable, where certainty cannot be attained. I 
 cannot help thinking it the remains of an ancient Druidical 
 festival, celebrated on Midsummer-day, to implore the 
 friendly influence of Heaven on their fields, compounded 
 with that of the first of May, when the Druids kindled large 
 fires on all their sacred places, and on the tops of all their 
 cairns, in honour of Bel, or Belinus, the name by which 
 they distinguished the sun, whose revolving course hud 
 again clothed the earth with beauty, and diffused joy and 
 gladness through the creation. Their water-parties on the 
 24th prove, that they consider the summer season as now 
 so fully established, that they are not afraid to commit
 
 458 Druidical Customs retained in Cornwall. 
 
 themselves to the mercy of the waves. If we reflect on the 
 rooted animosity which subsisted between the Romans and 
 Druids, and that the latter, on being expelled from their 
 former residences, found, together with the miserable rem- 
 nants of the Britons, an asylum in the naturally-fortified 
 parts of the island, we shall not be surprised at their customs 
 having been faintly handed down through such a long suc- 
 cession of ages. That Cornwall was one of their retreats is 
 sufficiently proved by the numerous remains of their circular 
 temples, cromlechs, cairns, &c. though of the sacred groves 
 in which they were embosomed no vestiges now remain. 
 We all know the avidity with which mankind adhere to, aud 
 with what reluctance they lay aside, usages delivered down 
 to them by their ancestors, and familiar to themselves. .And, 
 when we farther consider the inveterate hatred with which 
 the Komans endeavoured to extirpate the Druidical customs, 
 it is not wonderful that this very circumstance should have 
 been the means of fixing them more deeply in those places 
 where they were preserved ; as persecution has in all cases 
 a natural tendency to strengthen what it is its wish to eradi- 
 cate. Nay even in the eleventh century, when Christianity 
 >vas become the national religion, the people were so 
 attached to their ancient superstitions, that we find a law of 
 Canute the Great strictly prohibiting all his subjects from 
 paying adoration to the sun, moon, sacred groves and woods, 
 hallowed hills and fountains. If then this propensity to 
 idolatry could not be rooted put of those parts of the king- 
 dom exposed to the continual influx of foreigners, and the 
 horrors of frequent war, how much more must it have 
 flourished in Cornwall, and those parts where the Druids 
 long preserved their authority and influence ! It may then 
 be fairly inferred, that, from their remote situation, and 
 comparative insignificancy with the rest of England, they 
 preserved those religious solemnities unmolested ; and, 
 corrupted as they must naturally be by long usage and 
 tradition, yet are handed down to us to this day with evident 
 marks of a Druidical origin. 
 
 Our holj' festival of Christmas retains in some parts of this 
 island, particularly in Lincolnshire, the Saxon appellation 
 of Yule, which was a peculiar solemnity, celebrated about 
 the winter solstice, in honour of Thor, the son of Odin, 
 and frequently conducted, according to the genius of our 
 Saxon ancestors, with the utmost excess of feasting, drinkr 
 ing, &c. 
 
 1
 
 Signification o/Sempecta and Ferculum. 459 
 
 CXXVII. Signification of Scmpecta and Fcrculum. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 IN your last volume an inquiry was made after an earlier 
 use of the word Sempecta than is to be found in In^ulplms's 
 account of Croyland Abbey. Not any notice having beeu 
 since taken of it in your Miscellany, I'um induced to repeat 
 the question; and may 1 be allowed the freedom of sub- 
 mitting it to the attention of your learned correspondent at 
 Winchester, than whom I am not apprized of any person 
 more likely to make a satisfactory report ? JL E. seems too 
 hastily to have advanced that Sempecta frequently occurs in 
 the Monkish writers. 
 
 Antiquariolus, at p. 383, of the present volume, has pro- 
 perly referred the Historian of Evesham Abbey to Ainsworth, 
 instead of Du Fresne, for the meaning of Verculum, but 1 
 rather think that the true rendering of it is a di*h or mess, 
 and not a meal; because the members of the great religious 
 houses were careful to have a constant and copious supply 
 for their tables of flesh, fish, and fowl. Well known is the 
 facetious Fuller's (Hist, of Abbeys, b vi. p. Gpg) pleasant 
 and true story of the method pursued by King Henry \ 111. 
 to bring to a relish of a sirloin of beef an abbot of Heading, 
 " whose weak and squeezie stomach, from a too free indul- 
 gence in many choice and high-seasoned viands, would 
 hardly digest the wing of a small rabbit or chicken." And, 
 by one of the statutes of Archbishop WincheJsey for the 
 better government of the members of Christ-church, Can- 
 terbury, a restriction to one dish was imposed as a penalty on 
 an offending brother, who, by words or needless actions, 
 should interrupt the lecture enjoined to be read during 
 a meal: 
 
 *' Item, refectione durante, omnes monachi ad lectionem 
 aures inclinent, nulla intersigna nisi ad refeetionem n< oes- 
 saria interim facientes. Et qui contrafccerit, in ipso refrc- 
 torio in crastino comedens, pan,e, et potagio, et uno dnniaxat 
 fcrculo sit contentus; et si id postea iteret, solo p;;ne ac 
 potagio se ibidem reficiat illo die; ac totiens prcnam ip-ani 
 sustineatquotiensdelictum hujusmodi pra3sumpserit iterure.'* 
 ( Wilkins, Concil. ii. p. 346.) 
 
 Nor were the secular brethren of the hospital of Si. ('. 
 at Winchester, stinted in general to one mess; for, each of 
 the thirteen had daily a loaf of good wheat bread; a sufii- 
 cient quantity of pottage; three messes at dinner, namely,
 
 Signification o/Sempecta and Ferculum. 
 
 one mess called Morlrcss, made of milk and wastel- bread, 
 one mess of flesh or fish, and one pittance, as the days should 
 require; aud one mess for supper ; and, on six holy days 
 in the year, one of their messes was roast meat, or fish of a 
 better sort. These articles are particularized by Dr. Lowth, 
 in the Life of William of Wykeham, and I suppose that/e>- 
 ciilnm, translated mess, may be the word in tne original re<- 
 gister of the bishop to which he refers. 
 
 Tor the ignorance of the nature of ancient mortuaries im- 
 puted to Mr. Warton, it is difficult to account, this perqui- 
 site having been generally claimed on the decease or inter- 
 ment of every one possessed of personal chattels, and as the 
 term is so fully illustrated in glossaries and law dictionaries, 
 as also by Bishop Gibson, Dr. Burn, and Judge Blackstone, 
 in their respective Commentaries. In one sense, however, 
 this kind of payment cannot, strictly speaking, be said to 
 have originated with the clergy, because it corresponded 
 to the heriot, to which so many tenants of manors were sub- 
 ject. Sir William Blackstone, therefore, with propriety styles 
 a mortuary a sort of ecclesiastical heriot; and that it was a 
 claim introduced after the heriot, may be decisively con- 
 cluded from this circumstance, that the second best of the 
 live stock was due as a mortuary, because to the first, or 
 best, the lord of the manor was entitled for a heriot. Almost 
 all the parochial incumbents could, in former days, main- 
 tain a right to a mortuary; and it appears from the under.- 
 written entry in the consistory acts of the diocese of Roches- 
 ter, that, during the vacancy of the vicarage of Lewisham, 
 this right was vested in the bishop: 
 
 "A. 1467, July 27. Sequestratum apud Lewescham 1 
 equus Joh'is Stretefeld, subito defuncti, lempore vacat' 
 vicar' ad d'num ep'um ratione vacat' ibid' pertinentern." 
 Fol. 540, a. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 W. and D. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 T FEAR I shall forfeit the favourable opinion which, it ap- 
 pears, your correspondent IV* and D. entertains of my an- 
 tique lore, by his calling for my sentiments upon the long- 
 standing controversy concerning the monastic title of Sem- 
 pecta, when he shall find that I am capable of adding but 
 very little to the stock of information which he is already 
 possessed of on that subject. 
 
 With respect to the derivation of the word Sempecta, it 
 seems plain to ine, from its sense aud terimualion, as well
 
 Signification o/"Sempecta and Ferculum. 4f>f 
 
 as from the authority of the learned l)u Fresne, that it is of 
 Greek original, being a mutilation of the word vvp.-**^*:. 
 she ffvu.Trcui'.Tuz (({in cum pneris liulit, ant pueros secitrn habct) 
 j'orsan ctiam a w^tt^ru^ (simnl nutritns). In tact, we learn 
 iVoiu Ingulphus, that the chief and distinguishing privilege 
 of the Sempecta was their having a youth to attend UJKM 
 them, and to keep them company, when they dined sepa- 
 rately in their respective cells iu the infirmary", as they were 
 allowed to do. ** Quinquagenarius an tern, in ordine <SY//<- 
 pecta vocandus, honestaai cameram in infirmitorio, de prioris 
 assignatione accipiat, haheatque clericnm sen garcionem 
 suo servitio specialiter attendentem, qui exhibitionem vietu- 
 aliuiu recipiet, de parte abbatis, modo et menstira, quibns 
 rninistratur garcioni msius armigcri in abbatis aula. Huic 
 Semptctte unum fratrem juniorem cominensalem, tarn pro 
 junioris disciplina, quam pro senioris solatio, prior quoridic. 
 assignabit." I quote the passage at length, as many of your 
 readers may not have the Historian of Croyland at hand. W. 
 and D. is certainly right in computing the .50 years neces- 
 sary to constitute a Sempecta, not from the time of his birth, 
 but from that of his religions profession, or making hia vows; 
 which ceremony, according to the discipline of the centtiry 
 jn question (for, this point varied at different periods), could 
 not take place before the age of 1-1 ; hence the Sr>np(cta 
 must, at the very least, have been (jl years old. " In mo- 
 rmsteriis," says the patriarch Fachomius, " non zetas quae- 
 ritur, sed professio. ;: 
 
 To speak now of the title itself, or rank of Scmpecta. It 
 is certain, indeed, that the patriarch Benedict, as well as 
 the other monastic legislators, shewed a great respect to 
 old age, ordering that the abbot should consult with the 
 monks on particular occasions, and that the juniors should 
 pay due deference to them, and should call them their 
 JVcm/n when they addressed them. See Reg. c. 63. It is 
 also manifest, that the usual time of acquiring seniority by 
 age, was the 50th year from the monastic profession; on 
 which occasion a ceremony called the jubilee, in aliusion to 
 the general jubilees of the Church, and to that of the old 
 law^Levit. xxv. was, at least during the latter centuries, 
 performed in the monasteries of both sexes. On this occa- 
 sion the jubilarian, as the person in question was culled, 
 after the performance of divine service, was conducted to 
 the altar, when a crown of flowers was placed upon his head, 
 and a lighted taper put into his hands, accompanied with 
 suitable prayers and benedictions. In the end, a start, the 
 emblem of old age, waft delivered to him, to support his
 
 4'6-2 . Signification o/*Sempecta and Fereulurr:, 
 
 steps in future. Notwithstanding all this, I do nofi 
 iiiui in any of the ancient rules, or commentators on those 
 rules, or canonists, whomsoever, either the general distri- 
 bution of the religious according to their ages, in the man- 
 ner that is set down by Irigulphus, or the particular rank of 
 benipcctii', which is the subject of the present inquiry; and 
 it seems plain to me thai Du PYesne and other moderns have 
 been misled by the passage above quoted, in ascribing the 
 regulations of a particular abbey to the whole monastic in- 
 stitute. Indeed, it is expressly there said, that the ordinances 
 in question were made for his monastery of Croy land, by the 
 celebrated abbot Turketul, who had exchanged the condi- 
 tion of the chancellor and victorious general of his country 
 against the Danes, for that of an humble monk in the 
 aforesaid monastery. The above-mentioned learned author, 
 indeed, quotes the word Stmpecta; from another writer, who 
 was by birth an Englishman, and the contemporary of In- 
 gulphus, namely, Ordericus Vitalis; but with him it occurs 
 in quite a different sense from that of Ingulphus, not as sig- 
 nifying ancient monks, but the youthful companions of a 
 secular prince. He has also discovered the original Greek 
 word o-^Tratx.Ta? in Palladius's Lausiac History oi' the Eastern 
 Solitaries, so called from its being dedicated to Lausius, the 
 governor of Cappadocia, written at the beginning of the fifth 
 century, but there it occurs, not as signifying the solitaries 
 themselves, but the young disciples who, in some instances, 
 attended upon them. It is probable, however, that this very 
 passage, which has always been in much vogue amongst re- 
 cluses, might have furnished Turketul both with the name 
 of Sempecta, and the idea of the peculiar privilege which he 
 conferred upon those whom he appointed to be called by 
 that name. The reasons of this abbot's peculiar veneration. 
 for the ancients in his convent, whose names, to the number 
 of five, Ingulphus records, we are informed, were, that they 
 had instructed him in his religious observances, and that 
 they were the only remaining members of the old monastery 
 of Croyland, whose companions had suffered martyrdom at 
 the hands of the .Danes in the heroical manner which Ingul- 
 phus describes. We are struck at the amazing ages to which 
 three of this number are said to have attained. Clarenbuld 
 died at the age of 10'8, alias 148 ; bwazling at the age of 142; 
 and Turgar completed his lljth year. 
 
 With respect to peculiar appellations, and observances of 
 smaller consequence, it is to be observed, that certain dif- 
 ferences have obtained in different monasteries even of the 
 same institute. Thus, in one or two of the convents of our
 
 St. Paul's supposed to bebuilt on the site of Diana's Temple. 463 
 
 nation, lately flourishing on the Continent, the ancient title 
 ot Forsooth instead of /feme or Madam (which Johnson only 
 supposes to have once been " a word of honour in address to 
 women"), continued to be applied to the senior nuns at a 
 certain period from the time of their profession. N.H. The 
 said word Nun, of which Johnson gives no etymology at ail 
 is derived from the above repeated word Nonmu (in foemi- 
 neo gcnere Non*a), quasi Donnus, or Domnu*, instead of 
 Domains. The monks of the ancient orders are still ad- 
 dressed by the title of Domni (by contraction Dom.) in the 
 place of Domini: and the nuns of the ancient orders are 
 still called Dames. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 1796, 4ug. J. MILNKR. 
 
 CXXVIII. St. Paul's Church supposed to be built on the site of 
 Diana's Temple. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 TRADITION, or ancient chronicle, or some other source 
 of information, mentions St. Paul's church as built on the 
 site of an ancient temple of Diana. Was it with regard to 
 this legendary record that the curious offering took place, 
 of which Mr. Pennant takes notice ? I transcribe this passage 
 from the second edition of his interesting account " Of 
 London," p. 367. 
 
 " The most singular offering was that of a fat doe in win- 
 ter, and a buck in summer, made at the high altar, on the 
 day of the commemoration of the saint, by Sir William de 
 Baude and his family, and then to be distributed among the 
 Canons resident. This was in lieu of 2'2 acres of land in 
 Essex, which did belong to the canons of this church. Till 
 Queen Elizabeth's days, the doe or buck was received 
 solemnly, at the steps* of the high altar, by the dean and 
 chapter, attired in their sacred vestments, and crowned 
 with garlands of roses. ' They sent the body of the bucke 
 to baking, and had the head, fixed on a pole, borne before 
 the crosse in the procession, until they issued out of the 
 west doore, where the keeper that- brought it blowed the 
 deathe of the bucke, and then the homers, that were about 
 the citie, presently answered him in like manner; for which 
 paines they had each man, of the dean and chapter, four- 
 psnce in money, and their dinner, and the keeper that
 
 -5V. Paul's supposed to be built on the site of Diana's Temptc, 
 
 brought it was allowed, during his abode there, for his 
 service, meate, drinke, and lodging, and five shillings in 
 money at his going away, together with a ioafe of breade 
 having the picture of St. Paul upon it*.' " 
 
 I cannot help imagining, Mr. Urban, that the custom here 
 detailed, or some appendage to it, is referred to by Erasmus, 
 in his Eccksiastcs, lib. 1. He says, " Apud Anglos inos est 
 Londini, ut certo die populus in summum templum, Paulo 
 sacrum, inducat longo hastili impositum CAPUT FERJE (da~ 
 mas illi quidem appellant, vulgns cnpros, quum re vera sit 
 bircorum genus cornibus palmatis in ea insula abundant), 
 cum inamceno sonitu cornuuui venatoriorum. Hac pouipa 
 praeceditur ad summum altare dicas omnes afflatos furore 
 Delio!" 
 
 Either the account of Erasmus is, however, inaccurate, or 
 it has an allusion to some sportive addition to the homage 
 described by Pennant, probably made by the choristers, 
 who were the lordlings of misrule, and masters of revelry in 
 that their dav, and under whose direction the theatrical in- 
 terludes and entertainments, consisting in general of mixed 
 or unmixed buffoonery, were exhibited. But we cannot 
 help recollecting the ancient ceremonies of the Latonian 
 huntress, as probably passing on this very spot, at which 
 boys might officiate. 
 
 " Setosi caput hoc apri tibi, Delia, parvus, 
 " Et ramvsa My con offert tibi cormia CEUVI." 
 
 Stow, in his Survey of London (black-letter edition, 
 16L8), speaks of the crotse in Cheapc as ornamented with the 
 statue of the goddess, to which the adjoining cathedral had 
 been formerly dedicated. This cross had in old times been 
 ornamented with symbols of popery, which the zeal of re- 
 formation mutilated in the time of Edward the sixth. 
 
 On the subject of this cross, Stow observes, that " there 
 was set up a curious wrought tabernacle of grey marble, and 
 in the same an alabaster image of Diana, and water, con- 
 veyed from the Thames, trilling from her naked breast for 
 at time, but now decayed." P. 484. 
 
 AtKJther passage is more directly applicable to the subject 
 of this letter. 
 
 " Some have noted that, ia digging the foundation of 
 this new worke, namely, of a chapel on the South side of 
 
 * Slaw's Survey of London.
 
 St. Paul's supposed to be built on the site of Diuiua T?ixp!<_> 
 
 Paul's church, there were found more than an hundred 
 scalpes of oxen or kine, in the yeere one thousand three 
 hundred and sixteene ; which tiling, say tlicv, conUni 
 greatly the opinion of those which have reported, that (of 
 old time) there had been a temple of Jupiter, and that there 
 was dayly sacrifice of beasts. 
 
 " Other some, both wise and learned, have thought the 
 buck's head, borne before the procession of Paul's, on Saint 
 Paul's day, to signify the like*. But, true it is, I have read 
 an ancient deede to this effect: 
 
 " Sir William Baud, knight, the third of Edward the 
 First, in the veere 1274, on Candlemas-day, granted to 
 Harry de Borham, deane of St. Paul's, and to the chapter 
 there, that, in consideration of 22 acres of ground or land 
 "by them granted within their manor of Westley, in Essex, 
 to be inclosed into his park of Curingham, he would for ever, 
 upon the feast day of the Conversion of Paul, in winter, give 
 unto them a good doe, seasonable and sweete, and, upon 
 the feast of the Commemoration of Saint Paul, in summer, 
 a good bucke, and offer the same at the high altar, the same 
 to bee spent among the canons resident : the doe to be 
 brought by one man at the houre of procession ; and thorow 
 the procession to the high altar, and the bringer to have 
 nothing: the bucke to be brought by all his meyneyt- iu 
 like manner, and they to have paid unto them, by the Cham- 
 berlaine of the church, twelve pence onely, and no more to 
 be required. 
 
 "This graunt he made; and for performaunce, bound the 
 lauds of him and his heires to be distrained on : and, if the 
 lands should be evicted [resumed bij a court of judicature], 
 that yet he and his heires should accomplish the gift. Wit- 
 nesses, Richard Tilberie, William de Wockendon, Richard 
 de Harlowe, knight, Peter of Stamford, Thomas of Wai- 
 den, and some others. 
 
 " Sir Walter Baude, sonne to William, confirmed this 
 gift in the thirtieth of the said king ; and the witnesses 
 thereunto were Nicholas de Wockendon, Richard de Roke- 
 ley, Thomas de Mandeville, John de Rochford, knights 
 Richard de Bromford, William 'de Markes, William de tul- 
 1mm, and others. Thus much for the graunt. 
 
 * Surely, Mr. Urban, with much more probability, as bavi 
 to the worship of Diana ? 
 
 f Subst. ? The many rend the skies with loud a P r,la 
 
 VOL, I. H h
 
 466 St. Paul's supposed to be built on the site of Diana's Temple. 
 
 " Now, what I have heard by report, and partly scene, it 
 followeth. 
 
 " Upon the feast-day of the Commemoration of Saint 
 Paul, the bucke being brought up to the steps of the high 
 altar in Paul's church, at the houre of procession, the deane 
 and chapter being apparrelled incoapes and vestments, with 
 garlands of roses on their heads, they sent the body of the 
 bucke to baking. [See Pennant, as above.] 
 
 " Then follows : 
 
 " There was belonging to the church of St. Paul, for 
 both the dayes, two special sutes of vestments, the one 
 embroidered with buckes, the other with does, both given 
 by the said Baud, (as I have heard.) Thus much for that 
 matter." Pp. 640, 1. 
 
 This festival of the commemoration of St. Paul is distinct 
 from that of his passion; which, falling on the same day with 
 that of St. Peter [June 29,] is called bis festa dies. This 
 commemoration was appointed for the 30th of June; because, 
 in former times, the Bishop of Rome had been accustomed 
 to officiate upon one and the snnie day, in pontificalibus, in 
 the churches dedicated to both of the Apostles ; but, when 
 it appeared that this could not well be performed, by reason 
 of the too far distance of the places one from the other, 
 without too much, and almost intolerable, labour, it was 
 thought better, that on the first day the solemnity of them 
 both should be celebrated in the Vatican church, and the 
 next day following the same duties should be performed in 
 the church of St. Paul, in which place might be more fully 
 completed what in that behalf might fortune to be omitted 
 on the day before. 
 
 This account I find in Seymour, p. 652 ; with whose 
 observation on the site of the cathedral of St. Paul, I shall 
 conclude my remarks. 
 
 " This stately church of St. Paul," says he, " stands in 
 or near the place where once had been a temple of Diana, 
 the goddess worshipped by the Londoners, as Apollo was 
 by the people of Thorney, or Westminster. This appeared 
 from the tusks of boars, horns of stags, and of oxen, and 
 from the representation of deer, and even of Diana herself, 
 upon the sacrificing-vessels found in digging the foundation 
 of it, which was begun by Ethelbert, king of Kent, about 
 the year of Christ 610." 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 1796, Sept. E. E.A.
 
 Tyttenhanger.Chapd Wainscot at Luton. 467 
 
 CXXIX. Tyttcnhanger. Chapel Waitucot at Luton. 
 
 MR, URBAN, May 20, 1788. 
 
 IN the year 1547, Sir Thomas Pope, founder of Trinity 
 college, Oxford, bought of King Henry the Eighth the 
 ancient stately mansion-house of Tyttenhanger, in the parish 
 of Ridge, in Hertfordshire, being the country seat of the 
 abbots of St. Alban's ; and which, but for this purchase, 
 would have been destroyed as an appendage to the abbey. 
 This house was so large, that, in 1528, King Henry the 
 Eighth, with his queen Catharine, and their retinue, remov- 
 ed hither during the continuance of the sweating sickness 
 in London. 
 
 In this house Sir Thomas Pope made great improvements. 
 It became his favourite place of residence, and the statutes 
 of his college are dated thence. He erected over the ves* 
 tibule of the great hall a noble gallery for wind-music. 
 The chapel was a spacious edifice, and beautifully decorated. 
 The windows were enriched with painted glass, which Sir 
 Thomas Pope brought hither from the choir of St. Alban's 
 abbey, when that church, by his interposition with the king, 
 was preserved from total destruction. The wainscot behind 
 or over the stalls was finely painted with a series of the 
 figures of all the saints who bore the name of John, in. 
 memory of John Moot, one of the abbots. But Sir Thomas 
 Pope put up a ney piece of wainscot, of Spanish oak, on a 
 very large scale, at the East end, most exquisitely sculptured, 
 beginning at the end of the stalls, and continued towards 
 the altar. This was to adorn that part of the chapel which 
 was usually called the Presbytery, or the space about and 
 near the altar. 
 
 After Sir Thomas Pope's death, in 1559, Tyttenhanger- 
 house continued to be inhabited by the relations of his 
 second wife, bearing the name of Pope-Blount. In the 
 year 1620 it began to be lessened, or pulled down in part ; 
 about which time the family of Napier, then tenants to 
 Trinity college (Oxford,) at Luton, by the mediation of the 
 college, removed the wainscot (above mentioned,) put up 
 by Sir Thomas Pope in the chapel of Tyttenhanger-house, 
 in entire preservation, to the chapel of the mansion-house, 
 at Luton. John, Earl of Bute, about the year 1768, pulled 
 down this old mansion-house at Luton, to build a new house 
 in its place j but, with great taste and judgment, retained 
 
 H h2
 
 468 List of the Household, Kc. at Ragland Castle. 
 
 the old chapel, with Sir Thomas Pope's wainscot, where it 
 still remains. 
 
 No traces of the old house at Tyttenhanger now remain. 
 It was totally demolished about the year 1652, and was soon 
 afterwards most elegantly rebuilt as it appears at present. 
 
 1797, Jaw. T. WARTON. 
 
 CXXX. List of the Household and mode of living, at Ragland 
 
 Castle. 
 
 MR. URBAN, Bristol, July 1. 
 
 IN a collection of Welsh tours, lately published, I find a 
 singular article, which I do not recollect to have seen in any 
 of our English histories; and, as it displays an engaging 
 picture of Welsh hospitality as well as the magnificence of 
 former times, it may probably afford entertainment to your 
 readers : as such, I with pleasure inclose you the extract. 
 
 J. D. 
 
 " List of the Household and method of living, at Ragland 
 Castle', by the Earl of Worcester, in the Reign of Charles, 
 I. 1641. 
 
 "At 11 o'clock in the forenoon the castle gates were 
 shut, and the tables laid ; two in the dining-room ; three in; 
 the hall ; one in Mrs. Watson's apartment, for the chaplains 
 (Sir Toby Mathews being the first;) and two in the house-, 
 keeper's room, for the ladies' women. 
 
 "The earl entered the dining-room, attended by his 
 gentleman. 
 
 " As soon as he was seated, Sir Ralph Blackstone, stew- 
 ard of the house retired. The comptroller, Mr. Holland, 
 attended with his staff, as did the sewer, Mr. Blackburne ; 
 the daily waiters, Mr. Clough, Mr. Selby, Mr. Scudamore ; 
 and many gentlemen's sons, with estates from two to seven 
 hundred pounds a year, who were bred up in the castle ; 
 my lady's gentlemen of the chamber, Mr. Morgan, and Mr. 
 Fox. 
 
 " At the first table sat the noble family, and such of the 
 nobility as came there. 
 
 " At the second table, in the dining-room, sat knights 
 and honourable gentlemen, attended by footmen. 
 
 " In the hall, at the first table, sat Sir Ralph Blackstone,
 
 List of the Household, 5Cc. at JRagland Castle. 469 
 
 Steward; the comptroller, Mr. Holland; the secretary ; the 
 master of the horse, Mr. Dolowar; the master of the fish- 
 ponds, Mr. Andrews ; my Lord Herbert's preceptor, Mr. 
 Adams; with such gentlemen as came there under the de- 
 gree of a knight, attended by footmen, and plentifully 
 served with wine. 
 
 " At the second table in the hall (served from my Lord's 
 table, and with other hot meats) sat the sewer, with the 
 gentlemen waiters and pages, to the number of twenty-four. 
 
 " At the third table, in the hall, sat the clerk of the 
 kitchen, with the yeoman officers of the house, two grooms 
 of the chamber, &c. 
 
 " Other officers of the household were, chief auditors, Mr. 
 Smith; clerk of the accounts, George Withorn; purveyor 
 of the castle, Mr. Salisbury ; ushers of the hall, Mr. Moyle 
 and Mr. Cooke ; closet-keeper ; gentleman of the chapel, 
 Mr. Davies ; keeper of the records ; master of the ward- 
 robe ; master of the armoury ; master grooms of the stable 
 for the war-horses, twelve ; master of the hounds j master 
 falconer ; porter, and his man. 
 
 "Two butchers; two keepers of the home park; two 
 keepers of the red deer park. 
 
 " Footman, grooms, and other menial servants to the 
 number of 150. Some of the footmen were brewers and ba- 
 kers. 
 
 Out Officers. 
 
 " Steward of Ragland, William Jones, esq. 
 
 " The governor of Chepstow castle, Sir Nicholas Kemys, 
 bart. 
 
 " Housekeeper of Worcester house in London, James 
 Redman, esq. 
 
 <e Thirteen bailiffs. 
 
 " Two counsel for the bailiffs to have recourse to. 
 
 " Solicitor, Mr. John Smith. 
 
 " This once magnificent castle is now in ruins, but the 
 remains of it are well worth the observation of travellers. 
 Among other parts now standing is a flight of steps, which 
 appear ready to fall, yet so curiously put together as to be 
 ascended without danger ; part of the hall is standing, and 
 presents to the view a beautiful picture of ancient architec* 
 ture."
 
 470 l } iscin<e in Churches. 
 
 CXXI. Use of Piscinae in Churches. 
 
 MR. URBAN, 
 
 I HAVE sent you an accurate representation of a ft 'iiestdla 
 in the south wall of the chancel of the very beautiful church 
 of Meltou Movvbray, in Leicestershire. 
 
 These niches have in general been improperly called ba- 
 sins or stoups, for holy water ; but your correspondent Inda- 
 gator*, gave them the true name of piscinte ; and in his learn- 
 ed disquisition on episcopal seats, stone chairs, and other ap- 
 pendages to sacred edifices, inserted in Archa?ologia, vol. XL 
 he has specified some of the uses of these receptacles. 
 One of them was, p. 353. 
 
 " That, should a fly or spider, 8cc. fall into the chalice be- 
 fore consecration, it was directed to be thrown, together with 
 the wine, into this receptacle; but, should this happen after- 
 wards, it was directed to be burnt super piscinam" 
 
 Mr. Clarke's reference is to a Roman missal published in 
 1528; but this direction occurs in Typographical Antiqui- 
 ties, vol. III. under the article of " The Boke named the 
 Roy all, compyled at the Request of King Phelip (le Bele 
 of Fraunce), in the year MCCLXXIX." Of the translation of 
 this book, made, and printed by Caxton, Mr. Herbert, re- 
 marks, that he knows of no other copy than that which is 
 in the King's possession ; and that to it are annexed some 
 curious injunctions, or instructions, to a priest about saying 
 mass, intituled, " Of the Negligences happy ning in the 
 Masse, and of the Retiiedyes. Made especially for the 
 syrnple peple, and for the symple prests, which under- 
 stond not latyn.'' The instruction alluded to is at p. 1769, as 
 follows : 
 
 ".A doctour whyche is called Bonauenture, saith, that yf 
 tofore the conseeracion a five or loppe or ony other veny- 
 mouse beest were founde in thechalyce, it ought to be caste 
 in to the piscine. And the chalyce ought to be wasshen, and 
 to put other wine and water in to the chalyce. And yf after 
 the,consecracyon were found ony thi'g, as poyson, or veny- 
 inous beste in the chalyce, it ought to be take wysely and 
 vvesshen, and to brenne the beste. And the asshes and the 
 wasschyng of the beeste to be put in the pyscynt." 
 
 Sf e p.
 
 Pisciiue in Churches. 471 
 
 Very requisite therefore, was it that the piscina should be 
 constructed near the station of the celebrant. And this will 
 account for our seeing these niches not only in the walls 
 of chancels not far from the high altar, but also in the ailes 
 and chantry-chapels, where there were side altars for private 
 masses. 
 
 In the preceding page the same profound doctor gives 
 this instruction concerning the kind of wine which the priest 
 was to consecrate for the use of himself alone, the cup be- 
 ing at that time withheld from lay-communicants. 
 
 u And knowe that the wyne ought not to be soure ne ver- 
 gews. For it sholde have noo consecracyon. For the Jiygre 
 wyne is no more wyn, but it hath be wyne. And the ver- 
 gews is not yet wyne, but it shold be wyne yf it shold be suf- 
 fred to ripe'* 
 
 But qu. is this observation well founded ? If time formerly 
 would thus improve verjuice, has it not lost that quality ? Ac- 
 cording to Chamber's Dictionary, v. verjuice, " it has its name 
 from a large sort of grape, called veijus, or bourdelas, which 
 is said never to grow perfectly ripe ; or, rather, which in its 
 utmost maturity is too austere and sour to be used in wine, 
 whence it is commonly turned into verjuice. 
 
 1191, Aug. W. and D. 
 
 Hh4
 
 TO THE 
 
 FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 A. 
 
 ADDISON'S Cato, 205. 
 
 Adle-street, 254. 
 
 Admiralty Office, 254-. 
 
 Adonis, feasts in honour of, 411. 
 
 Ailes in Cornish churches, 35 8. 
 
 Albafirma, 421. 
 
 Alban's, St. 405. 
 
 Albemarle-street, 254. 
 
 Aldermanbury, 254. 
 
 Aldersgate, 254. 
 
 Aldgate, 254. 
 
 Allhallows Barking church, 174. 
 
 Altar, the horns of, 395. 
 
 Amphitheatre at Nismes, 206. 
 
 Anglo-Saxons, gold voined by, 226. 
 
 Anne's, St. Hill, observations on, 106. 
 
 Anthesteria, 414. 
 
 Antiquities, the utility of, 131. 
 
 Apostle Spoons, 262. 
 
 Appeal to single combat, 376. 
 
 April fools, custom of making, 251. 
 
 Arabic numerical characters, 163. 
 
 Archbishop's mitre, 317. 
 
 Archers, 213 ; fraternity of, 380. 
 
 Arches, Court of, 234. 
 
 Arches in church, filled up, 360. 
 
 Arden of Feverham, 176. 
 
 Ajrmiger, the proper meaning of, 214, 
 
 Arthur's Round T&le, 400,
 
 474 INDEX. . 
 
 Articles exhibited against Cardinal Wolsey, 
 
 Ascia, 224. 
 
 Athens, theatre at, 202, 204, 
 
 Ave-mary-lane, 251. 
 
 Aulnager, 331, 403. 
 
 Aulus Gellius, 455. 
 
 Austin Friars, 432. 
 
 Arundel collection of antiquities, 435. 
 
 Axminster, church of, 138. 
 
 B. 
 
 Bacchus, theatre of, at Athens, 202. 
 
 Bag of nails, 419. 
 
 Baker on the death of Cardinal ^Volsey, 2S. 
 
 Balistarius Regis, 379. 
 
 Bank of England, 254. 
 
 Baptismal church, what, 311. 
 
 Baptisteries, 311. 
 
 Barber-surgeons, their hall and library, 433". 
 
 Barbican, 254. 
 
 Barnard's Inn, 254. 
 
 Barrows, description of several, 445. 
 
 Bartholomew's Fair, 254. 
 
 Bartholomew's Hospital, 254. 
 
 Basilick, 198. 
 
 Bear and Ragged Staff, 419. 
 
 Bedlam Hospital, 255. 
 
 Bel, or Belinus, 457. 
 
 Bennet Street, 254. 
 
 Bermondsey Street, 254. 
 
 Birchin Lane, 255, 
 
 Bishopsgate, 255. 
 
 Blackfriar's Bridge, 255. 
 
 Blackwell Hall, 255. 
 
 Blase, St. 304; custom on the anniversary of, 31 1, 
 
 Bloorasbury, 255. 
 
 Blossom's Inn, Lawrance Lane, 255. 
 
 Bones, human, found filled with lead, 138. 
 
 Book, date of a, 209. 
 
 Borough, English, 389. 
 
 Bow, cross, the antiquity of, 379. 
 
 Bow-staves, importation of, 347 ; prices of, 348. 
 
 Brand's History of Newcastle-upoa-Tyne, 425. 
 
 Brandon, Charles, duke of Suffolk, case o 44. 
 
 Brandons, 149. 
 
 Bride, custom of saluting, 450.
 
 INDEX. 47Ji 
 
 Bridewell, 255. 
 
 Britain, Julius Caesar's descent on, 94-, 99. 
 
 Bromley, church of, 135. 
 
 Brown, Sir Thomas, 182. 
 
 Bull and Gate, 419. 
 
 Bull and Mouth, 419. 
 
 Bumbards, baiting of, 218. 
 
 Bumper, origin of that word, 2 1 6. 
 
 Burial garlands, 134. 
 
 Burning the dead, ancient custom of, 1 82, 450. 
 
 c. 
 
 Caesar, Julius, the precise day when he made his first descent upoti 
 Britain, and the very spot where he landed, !4 ; the 
 precise place disputed, 99 ; his passage over the Thames, 
 101. 
 
 Calendaries, guild of, 427. 
 Cambridge, Queen Elizabeth's reception at, 75. 
 'Cangi, where situated, 302. 
 Canonbury House, 255. 
 
 Canterbury, great entertainments at, 265 ; palaces and holloa 
 anciently belonging to. the see of, 268 ; the burning and 
 rebuilding the church of, 273. 
 Capito, Atteius, 455. 
 Cardinals, ceremony in electing, 344. 
 
 Catechism, letters used in, 344. 
 
 Cats, wild, 305. 
 
 Catteshill, manor of, 422. 
 
 Cavendish, Sir William, his Life of Wolsey, 27, 28, 32. 
 
 Cercella, the meaning of, 377. 
 
 Chancels, stalls in, 394. 
 
 Change, Old, 255. 
 
 Channel Row, 255. 
 
 Chantries, 359, 397. 
 
 Characters, numerical, 162. 
 
 Charing Cross, 255. 
 
 Charter House, 255. 
 
 Chateris in the Isle of Ely, 248. 
 
 Chaucer, on the Marriage Service, 456. 
 
 Cheapside, 256. 
 
 Cherbourg, why so called, 106. 
 
 Chertsey, abbey at, 101; Cowley's House at, 106; derivation o! 
 the word, 106. 
 
 Chesterfield tokens, 161. 
 
 Chinese inscription, 1 46. 
 
 Chingford, curious tenure at, 440.
 
 476 INDEX, 
 
 Chocolatta, 381. 
 
 Christian-names converted into sir-names, 286. 
 
 Christmas-eve, 368, 369. 
 
 Christ's Hospital, '256, 432. 
 
 Churches, burying 1 in, 2'23; adorned with evergreens, 245; 
 baptismal, 311. 
 
 Churches, early, 196. 
 
 Churches, parochial, remarkable particulars in, 391. 
 
 Churches in Cornwall, 358. 
 
 Cinque Ports, manner of taking refuge in the, 270. 
 
 Cities, on ancient English, 404. 
 
 Claims to do service at the coronation of James II. 50. 
 
 Clausentum, derivation of, 302. 
 
 Clerkenwell, 256 ; church-yard, 134. 
 
 Cleveland Court, 236. 
 
 Clifford's Inn, 256. 
 
 Coal, when first used, 425. 
 
 Cock-pit, 434. 
 
 Coffee-house, particulars concerning the first in England, 380; 
 the character of, a poem, 382. 
 
 Coffin, stone, 220. 
 
 Coin, a scarce gold one, supposed to be Saxon, 226 ; Gold, pre- 
 vious to the reign of Edward III. 229. 
 
 Colchester, Castle Green, 176. 
 
 Cole, Dr. anecdote of, 7 4. 
 
 Colet, Dean, bust and monument of, 43.5. 
 
 Coleman Street, 255. 
 
 College, of Heralds, 256 ; of Physicians, 256. 
 
 Combat, single, 376. 
 
 Commemoration, days of public, 410. 
 
 Committee of the House of Common, debate in, 1. 
 
 Commons, House of, 257. 
 
 Constable, Lord High, 373. 
 
 Constantine, 198. 
 
 Cornwall, Druidical customs retained in, 458. . 
 
 Coronation chair, 354. 
 
 Coronation, claims of service at that of James II. 49. 
 
 Corpus Chrisli Day, solemnities of, 371. 
 
 Country dance, 167. 
 
 Covent Garden, 256. 
 
 Co way stakes, 103. 
 
 Cowley, his house at Chertsey, 106. 
 
 Cramp rings, 310. 
 
 Cripplegate, 256. 
 
 Cromwell, Oliver, desired to assume the title of King, 1, 
 
 Cromwell, Thomas, earl of Essex, 37. 
 
 Cross, in Cheapside, 241, 464. 
 
 Cross, creeping to the, 3 1 0.
 
 INDEX. 477 
 
 Crosses on tomb-stones, 224. 
 Cross-bows, the antiquity of, 379. 
 Crowd, 166. 
 
 Culprit, origin of that word, 0.1 S. 
 Crutched Friars, 256. 
 Curfeu, 345. 
 Customs, ancient, 3(36. 
 Custom House, 256. 
 
 P. 
 
 Dance, country, 167. 
 
 Dances, sacred, 153. 
 
 Days, names of our, whence derived, 137. 
 
 Dead, feast of the, 412. 
 
 Debate between the Committee of the House of Commons and 
 
 Oliver Cromwell, 1. 
 Denne, Rev. Samuel, 317, note.. 
 Domesday-book, a passage in, illustrated, 420. 
 Domus Conversorum, 428. 
 Dronfield church, 1 65. 
 Druidical customs, 457. 
 Dryness, cause of, in dead bodies, 171. 
 Duel, writ issued for, 376. 
 Dulwich College, library, 433. 
 Dunmow, the ancient custom of, 140. 
 Punstan, St. 274, 276, 364. 
 
 E. 
 
 Easter, 368. 
 
 East India House, 256.. 
 
 JEastwell register, extract from, 124, 127. 
 
 Edmund's Bury monastery, 361,376. 
 
 Education, its influence on our actions, 12.. 
 
 Edward I. groats of, 227. 
 
 Edward III. florin coined by, 230. 
 
 Egyptian mummies, 1 42. ) 
 
 Egyptian lotus, 1 86. 
 
 Elephant, skeleton of, discovered, 439. 
 
 Elizabeth, Queen, her grand reception at Cambridge; 75 ; her 
 
 Latin speech. 92 ; entertained at Canterbury, 207. 
 Elphege, St. 274, 276. 
 Ely, Isle of, 247 ; house, 256. 
 Emaciated figures in churches, 365.. 
 Embalming, method of, 142,
 
 475 IKDRC. 
 
 Embankment of the Thames, 398. 
 
 Enamelled steeple, 4-35. 
 
 Episcopacy in Scotland, 115. 
 
 Esquires, 212. 
 
 Evergreens, the custom of adorning churches with, 245. 
 
 Evesham, abbey of, 33 i. 
 
 Exchange, Royal, 260. 
 
 Exeter 'Change, 256. 
 
 R 
 
 Faringdon-ward, 255. 
 
 Faustina, temple of, 193. 
 
 Feast of the dead, 412. 
 
 Feasts, custom of taking persons to, without invitations, 240. 
 
 Fenchurch Street, 256. 
 
 Ferculum, signification of, 459, 
 
 Festa Duplicia, 235. 
 
 Feversham, Arden of, 176. 
 
 Fiddes, his Life of Cardinal Wolsey, 27, 32. 
 
 Fiddlers, king of the, 166. 
 
 Figures, emaciated, in churches, 365. 
 
 Finchingfield, vicarage of, 389. 
 
 Finsbury, 256. 
 
 Fisher's, Bp. grave, 174* 
 
 Fleet ditch, 256. 
 
 Fleet prison, 256. 
 
 Florin coined by Edward III. 230. 
 
 Fonts, 392. 
 
 Forsooth, title of, 463. 
 
 Fox-hunting in the thirteenth century, 442. 
 
 Trench church, library belonging to the, 433. 
 
 Friars, Austin, 432 ; Grey, 432 ; White, 432. 
 
 Friga, the Saxon deity, 138. 
 
 Fuller's charge against an abbey in Essex, 388. 
 
 Furmety, 367,371. 
 
 G. 
 
 Garlands, burial, 134. 
 
 Gate House, 256. 
 
 Gellius, Aulus, on the ring, 455. 
 
 Gemsege, Paul, papers under the signature of, by whom written, 34, 
 
 note. 
 
 Gerrard's Hall, 256. 
 Gervase, his account of the burning and rebuilding the church at 
 
 Canterbury, 273.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Gibbet, origin of, 416. 
 Glass made by the Britons, 2 '->. 
 Glastonbury, cell of St. Dunslau at, 364. 
 Gold coined by the Anglo-Saxon*, 226. 
 Goodman's Fields, 256. 
 Grace Church Street, 256. 
 Grace-cup, 216. 
 Grants, curious, 361. 
 Gravesend, church of, 139. 
 Gray's Inn, 256,430. 
 Gresham College, 257. 
 Grey Friars, 43 '2. 
 
 Grey-hound, etymology of, 443, note. 
 Grey-weathers, 307. 
 Groats of Kdward I. 227. 
 Guild-hall, 257. 
 -"Guildford, court at, 422. 
 
 H. 
 
 Hadrian's Wall, 147. 
 
 Hall on the articles against Cardinal Wolsey, 35, 38, 
 
 Hamlet, a passage in that play illustrated, 385. 
 
 Hannibal said to have engraved characters on the Alpine rocks, 
 
 145. 
 
 Harp, Jews, 386. 
 
 Henry I. his body said to have been found at Reading, 127. 
 Henry III. gold coined by, 227. 
 Henry IV. his body said to have been thrown into the Thames. 
 
 132. 
 
 Henry V. strange incident in the life of, explained, 48. 
 Henry VI. his body deposited in Chertsey abbey, 1O2. 
 Henry VIII. divorce of, from Queen Catharine of Arragon, 44. 
 Herald's College, 431. 
 Heriots, 4(JO. 
 Hicks's Hall, 257. 
 Holborn, 257. 
 
 Honorius, Archb. of Canterbury, 282* 
 Hosts, mode of preparing, 316. 
 Houndsditch, 257. 
 
 Hounslow, House of the Holy Trinity at, 1 32. 
 Hour-glass found in a coffin, 134. 
 House of Commons, 257. 
 Hugonots, origin of the, 55. 
 Hunting expenses of, formerly, 442. 
 Hypogees, 143.
 
 4O INDEX. 
 
 I. 
 
 Jaku, what, 233. 
 
 James's, St. Palace, 257 ; Park, 257. 
 
 Idols, Saxon, worshipped in England, 137. 
 
 Jerusalem, Holy Places at, 237. 
 
 Jews destroy their library, 4-33. 
 
 Jew's harp, 386. 
 
 Infants formerly baptized by midwives, 385. 
 
 Inscriptions, ancient, 144. 
 
 Inscription, the Walcote, 180. 
 
 John, King, his, death, 122. 
 
 John's, St. church, steeple of, 435. 
 
 John's, St. gate, 257. 
 
 Joscelin, his Lives of the Archbishop of Canterbury, 283, 
 
 Isis, 1 87. 
 
 Jubilarian, 461. 
 
 Judea, shepherds of, 168. 
 
 Jupiter Olympius, temple of, 193, 195. 
 
 Juvenal, 455. 
 
 King's Evil, 310. 
 King Street, 257. 
 Kings, statues of, 436. 
 
 L. 
 
 Lady, origin of the word, 295. 
 
 Lamb's wool, 369. 
 
 Lanfranc, 317. 
 
 Langbourn, 257. 
 
 Lavatory, 3 1 2. 
 
 Laundresses, 422. 
 
 Lead, human bones found filled with, 138 ; pigs of, 295; when 
 
 first known in Britain, 298. 
 Leaden-hall, 257. 
 
 Leicester, St. Mary's church at, 363, note. 
 Letters, instances of the change of. 213, 
 Libra arsa, 232 ; pensata, 232. 
 Libraries, public, 429. 
 Libri edJti, 210 ; scripti, 210. 
 Lincoln's Inn, 257, 431. 
 Little Ease, the cell so called, 363. 
 Litchfield, stone coffin discovered at, 220. 
 Lombard Street, 257.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 London, Buildings, Streets, &c. in 254 ; Libraries 420--. 
 Bridge, 258 ; Claims of the Lord iMayor and Citizens 
 of, 51 ; Curiosities, 434 ; Etymology of, 453 : Stone 
 58j View of, 433; Wall, 258. 
 
 Long Acre, 258. 
 
 Long Meg, 143. 
 
 Lothesley, Manor of, 422. 
 
 Lotus, the Egyptian, 1 86. 
 
 Low Sunday, 234. 
 
 Lucian's Crono-Solon, 413. 
 
 Ludgate, 258. 
 
 Luton, carved wainscot at, 467. 
 
 M. 
 
 Macrobius, 413, 415, 455. 
 
 Maiden Castle, 399. 
 
 Maiden, 405. 
 
 Mansion-house, 258. 
 
 Marcheta Mulierum, 390. 
 
 Margaret, St. Westminster, Church of, 171. 
 
 Mark Lane, 258. 
 
 Marshal, the Earl, 373. 
 
 Marshall, Stephen, 389. 
 
 Martin's, Le Grand, St. 258. 
 
 Maundy-Thursday, Custom on, 313, 343. 
 
 Maydestone, Clement, his Testimony concerning the Body of 
 
 Henry IV. 132. 
 Medals, the Reverses of, 187. 
 Meg, Long, 143. 
 Merchant Taylor's School, 258. 
 Meretrices, 422. 
 Mewse, 258. 
 
 Mid wives formerly baptized Infants, 385. 
 Mimicis, a wrong reading for Inimicis, 384. 
 Minories, 258. 
 Mitre, Archiepiscopal, 318. 
 Monarchy, Arguments in favour of, 17. 
 Money, broken, 378. 
 Monks, manner of punishing, 314. 
 Monument, the, 258. 
 Moon, Saxon Idol of the, 137. 
 Moorfields, 258. 
 Month's Mind, explained, 244. 
 More, Sir Thomas, 36, note. 177. 
 Mortuaries, 460. 
 Mothering-Sunday, 367. 
 Mother-night, 367. 
 
 VOL. I. 1 *
 
 482 INDEX. 
 
 Mulberry-trees in Church-yards, 347. 
 Mummies, Egyptian, 142. 
 Museum, British, 258. 
 
 N. 
 
 Names of Persons, 284-. 
 
 Navigation of the Ancients, 107. 
 
 Newgate, 258. 
 
 Newcastle House, 258. 
 
 New Inn, 259. 
 
 Newport Pagnel, Church of, 139. 
 
 New River, 259. 
 
 Nicholas, St. Legendary Story of, 328. 
 
 Nismes, Amphitheatre at, 206. 
 
 Nonni, 461. 
 
 Numerical Characters, 162. 
 
 Nun, Derivation of, 463. 
 
 o. 
 
 Oak, Parliament, 4-52. 
 
 Oath used by William Rufus, 160. 
 
 Octaves of Festivals, 234, 252. 
 
 Offering, a curious one, 463. 
 
 Olympian Jupiter, Temple of, 193, 195. 
 
 Orus, 187. 
 
 Oxford, Claim of the Mayor and Burgesses of, 51. 
 
 P. 
 
 Pageants, 371. 
 
 Palm -barley, 377. 
 
 Palm-Sunday, Custom observed on, 349. 
 
 Pantheon, 195. 
 
 Parker, Archb. great Entertainments given by, 265. 
 
 Parishes, when institued, 282. 
 
 Parochial Churches, remarkable Particulars in, 391 . 
 
 Pater-Noster-Row, 259. 
 
 Paul, St. Commemoration of, 466. 
 
 Paul Gemsege, Papers under that Signature, by whom written, 
 
 34, note. 
 
 Paul's, St. Church, Offering in, 463. 
 Paul's, St. Church, at Rome, 199. 
 Paul's, St. School, 259. 
 Pegge, Dr. Samuel, 34, note ; 1 27, note. 
 Peg Tankard, 262. 
 Pennies of William I. and II. 227. 
 Philipot, on the Death of Cardinal Wolsey, 28, 30.
 
 INDEX. 4 83 
 
 Physicians, College ot, 432. 
 
 Piccadilly, 259. 
 
 Picts Wall, 14-6. 
 
 Pigs of Lead, 295. 
 
 Piscinae, 396, 470. 
 
 Places, Surnames deduced f rom the Names of, 28* 
 
 Plantagenet, Richard, Account of 123 
 
 Pointing, on the first Introduction of, 178 
 
 Pope, Sir Thomas, 467. 
 
 Popinjay, 380. 
 
 Porches, Church, 391. 
 
 Poultry Compter, 259. 
 
 Powis House, 259. 
 
 Prelates, Wives of, 185. 
 
 Printing, Introduction of, 209 ; early Specimen of, 352 
 
 Privy Garden, 259. 
 
 Proclamation for celebrating the Coronation and establishing a 
 
 Court of Claims, 49. 
 Ptolemy, his immense ship, 108. 
 
 Q. 
 
 Queen's College, Oxford, curious Custom at, 48. 
 Queen's Library, 259. Palace, 259. 
 
 R. 
 
 Ragland Castle, Mode of living at, 468. 
 Reading, a Leaden Coffin found at, 128. 
 Records, where kept, 429. 
 Reformers, intolerant Zeal of, 131. 
 Regalls, 252. 
 
 Registers, Monastic, 361, 376 ; Whitechapel, 387. 
 Religion, Zeal for, a powerful Motive for Action, 13, 
 Resurrection, bas-relief of, at St. Andrew's, Holborn, 436. 
 Revolution, Fragment of History relative to, 1 15. 
 Richard III. Account of his Natural Son, 123. 
 Ring, Use of, in the Marriage Service, 455. 
 River, New, 259. 
 Rolls, 2 '-9, 429; Chapel, 428. 
 Rome, Theatre at, 203. 
 Rood Lane, 259. 
 Rood Loft, 393. 
 
 Rose, part of the Clerical Habit, 343. 
 Round Table, at Winchester, 406. 
 
 i i 2
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Row, T. Papers under that Signature, by whom written, 127, note. 
 Royal Exchange, 260. 
 Ranic Inscription, 14-5. 
 
 s. 
 
 Sables, 385. 
 
 Sanctuary in the Cinque Ports, 270. 
 
 Sarcophagus, 221. 
 
 Savoy, 260. 
 
 Saturnalia, 413. 
 
 Saxons, made little use of Scripture Names, 286. 
 
 Saxon Idols worshipped in England, 137. 
 
 Scotland Yard, 260. 
 
 Scutarius, meaning of, 2 1 4-. 
 
 Seater, the Saxon deity, 13i. 
 
 Semiramis, 14-5. 
 
 Sempecta, Signification of 4-59. 
 
 Sens, William of, 27 4. 
 
 Sentry-field, 359. 
 
 Sepulchral Monuments, 446. 
 
 Sermons, 393. 
 
 Severus's Wall, 147. 
 
 Shakespeare, on the Articles against Cardinal Wolsey, 36. 
 
 Sheep-dogs, 170. 
 
 Shepherds, 168. 
 
 Ships, Ancient, 108. 
 
 Shirefield, Manor of, 425. 
 
 Shore-ditch, 260. 
 
 Sinai, Mount, Ancient Inscription on the Rock at, 145. 
 
 Sion College, 260, 431. 
 
 Sirnames, Origin of, 284 ; different Orthography of, 287 ; List of 
 
 288 ; derived from Trades, &c. 293. 
 Smectymnuus, Names of the Authors of, 389, note. 
 Smithfield, 260. 
 Somerset House, 260. 
 Sorting Box, 161. 
 Southampton, 406. 
 Spittal-fields, 260. 
 Spoons, Apostle, 262. 
 Staple Church, 165. 
 Staple Inn, 260. 
 Statues of Kings, 436. 
 Sterling, Meaning of that Word, 233. 
 Stica, 227. 
 
 Stone-henge, 306, 399. 
 Stone in Coronation Chair, 354. 
 Stow's Monument, 435. 
 Stuart, Charles Edward, Escape of, after the Battle of Culloden, 56.
 
 INDEX. 485 
 
 Stukeley, Dr. Letter from, to Dr. Ducarel, 101 ; Letter from, to 
 
 Mr. Peter Collinson, 247. 
 Sun, the Saxon idol of the, 1 37. 
 Swearing in Discourse, Custom of, 158. 
 
 T. 
 
 Tankard, Peg, 262. 
 
 Tea, with eggs, 383. 
 
 Temple, 260, 43 1 . 
 
 Temples of the Ancients, 190. 
 
 Temple Bar, 26 1 . 
 
 Temple, Inner, library, 433. 
 
 Tennis, 434. 
 
 Tenures, Curious, 361, 379, S89, 422, 440. 
 
 Thames, Julius Caesar's Passage over the, 101; Embankment of, S98. 
 
 Thavy's Inn, 2o 1 . 
 
 Theatre of Bacchus, at Athens, 202 ; of Marcus Scaurus, at Rome, 
 203 ; of Regilla, at Athens, 204. 
 
 Theobald, Archb. 279. 
 
 Theseus, Temple of, 1 95. 
 
 Thomas's, St. Hospital, 261. 
 
 Thong, Artifice of the, 27 1 . 
 
 Tbor, the Saxon deity, 137, 458. 
 
 Tobacco, on the Use and Introduction of, 264. 
 
 Tokens, Tradesmen's, 1 60. 
 
 Tower, White, 261. 
 
 Tuisco, the Saxon deity, 137. 
 
 Tutbury, Court of Honour at, 166. 
 
 Tyttenhanger, Mansion-bouse at, 467. 
 
 V. 
 
 Verjuice, 471. 
 
 Verulam, 4O5. 
 
 Vespasian, Temple of, 1 95. 
 
 Villages, Names of, 284. 
 
 Vinea, Signification of, 313. 
 
 Vines on the Culture of, in England, 318. 
 
 Vineyards, the Name of, retained in London, 323. 
 
 Violin, the Origin and Introduction of the, 165. 
 
 Urn-burial, 249. 
 
 Utas,234. 
 
 w. 
 
 Walbrook,261. 
 Walcote, Inscription, 180. 
 "Walton, whence derived, 105. '
 
 486 INDEX. 
 
 Ware, Sir James, Historical Anecdote from a Manuscript of, 74. 
 
 Warton, T. a Passage in his History of English Poetry explained, 
 384-; Letter from, on Tyttenhanger House, 4*67. 
 
 Warwick, Earl of, his device, 420. 
 
 Wassail-bowl, 122, note ; 369. 
 
 Weaving, the Antiquity of, in England, 329. 
 
 Westminster Abbey, 26*1, 437 ; Bndge,261 ; Hall, 261, 437 ; 
 School, 261. 
 
 Westminster, Buildings, Streets, &c. in, 254, 434. 
 
 Wbitechapel Register, 387. 
 
 White Friars, 432. 
 
 Whitehall, 261, 434 ; Chapel, 261. 
 
 White Horse, Vale of, 145. 
 
 Wilfred, Bishop of Selsey, 283, 
 
 Will, Curious Clause in a, 265. 
 
 William I. Coins of, 227. 
 
 William Rufus, Oath used by, 160 ; Coins 6f, 227. 
 
 Winchester, 405, 406, 407. 
 
 Winchelsey, Archb. one of his Statutes, 459. 
 
 Wives of Prelates, 1 85. 
 
 Woad, Importation of, 331 . 
 
 Woden, the Saxon deity, 1 37. 
 
 Wolsey, Cardinal, Inquiry into the Death of, 27 ; Articles exhi- 
 bited against, 34 ; always painted in profile, 42; his 
 Speech to the Duke of Suflblk, 45. 
 
 Woollen Manufacture, Antiquity of, 329. 
 
 Wool-rent, 421. 
 
 Writ to provide Lists, &c. for a Duel, 37<5. 
 
 Yeomen, 212 ; of the Crown, 21 3, 21 4 ; of the Guard, 21 4. 
 
 Yew-trees in Church-yards, 346. 
 
 York, 406. 
 
 Yule, Feast of, 366, 458. 
 
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