formal charter, drawn up in terms unusually expressive of his favour and his determination to see it carried into effect.

"In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 1st Henry King of England, to William, Archbishop of Canterbury, and George, Bishop of London, and to all bishops and abbots, and earls, justiciary barons, sheriffs, and ministers, and to all men, and their lieges, and to the citizens of London, greeting :-Know ye that I have granted, and by my charter confirmed, to the church of St. Bartholomew, London, and to Rahere the Prior, and canons regular, in the same church serving God, and to the poor of the hospital of the same church, that they may be free from all earthly servitude, and earthly power and subjection, except episcopal customs; to wit, only consecration of the church, baptism, and ordination of clerks; and that, as any church in all England is free, so this church be free; and all the lands to it appertaining, which it now has, or which Rahere the Prior, or the canons, may be able reasonably to acquire, whether by purchase or by gift; and have soccage and saccage, and thol and theme, and infangtheof; and all liberties and free customs and acquittances in all things which belong to the same church, in wood and in plain, in meadow and pastures, in water and mills, in ways and paths, in pools and parks, in moors and fisheries, in granges and shrubberies, within and without, and in all places now and for ever. And this church, with all things that appertain unto the same, know ye that I will to maintain and defend, and to be free as my crown, and to have taken in my hand in defence against all men. Wherefore I grant to Rahere, and to the same church, in all its own rights and possession, the breach of peace and skirmish made in the house, and the invasion of house or court, and all forfeitures in its own jurisdiction made, and forestall and flemenefermden, in the way and without, in the fend and without, in the city and without: also, that it may have discussions of causes and the rights of causes concerning all plea which may happen in their land, and all customs, whether in ecclesiasticals or seculars, as fully and freely as I should have of my own domain and table. I release also and acquit Rahere the Prior, and the aforesaid church and all belonging to the same, of shire and hundred, of pleas and plaints and murders, and scutage, and gold, and Danigelds, and hydages, and sarts, and assizes, and castle-works, or the rebuilding of castles and bridges, of enclosing parks, of removing woods or other things, of fordwit and hengwit, of ward-penny and ave-penny, and bloodwite and fightwite and childwite, of hundred-penny and thring-penny and maubratre and mischinige, and schewinge, and frithsoke, and westgeilteof, of warden, and outlawry, and forefenge, and whitfonge; and they be quit in all my land of the tollage, and passage, and pontage, and lastage, and stallage, and of all secular service in land and in water and ports of the sea, so that they may be loaded with no burdens of expedition, or occasions or aids of sheriffs or reeves of the hundred, or pontifical ministers: I prohibit also by my authority royal, that no men, whether my minister or any other in my whole land, be troublesome to Rahere the Prior, or the aforesaid church, concerning anything which belongs thereto; and that no man, of the clergy or laity, presume to usurp dominion of that place, or introduce himself without the consent of the Prior or brethren."

If this did not content Rahere, he must certainly have been a most unreasonable man. What a list of privileges is here given! and what an idea does such a document afford of the state of society in the twelfth century! Very pleasant, no doubt, were such privileges for the Prior and his brethren; but what must it have been to the people at large, who had no share in them, and whose natural burdens would be enhanced in proportion to the number of those who had?, Rahere was satisfied, no doubt, so far as the King of England could satisfy him. But that was not all. His biographer continues, “Thus, when he was strengthened and comfortably defended, glad he went out from the face of the King; and when he was come home to his [people], what he had obtained of the royal majesty expressed to others that there should be afraid. Also this worshipful man proposed for to depose the quarrel of his calamities before the See of Rome (God's grace him helping), and of the same See writings to bring, to him and to his aftercomers profitable. But divers under growing impediments, and at the last letting the article of death, that he would have fulfilled, he might not. And so only the reward of good will be deserved. After his decease, three men of the same congregation (whose memory be blessed in bliss), sundry went to sundry bishops of the See of Rome, and three privileges of three bishops obtained; that is to say, of St. Anastatius, Adrian, and Alexander, this church with three dowries, as it were with an impenetrable scochyn, warded and defended against impetuous hostility. And now behold that prophecy of the blessed King and Confessor of St. Edward fulfilled. Behold truly that this holy church and chosen to God shineth with manifold beauty." Miracles as usual glorified the new edifice. It will suffice to give one as a specimen. It appears that from among the great plenty of books in the place was stolen an "antiphoner, which was necessary to them that should sing in the church. When it was told to Rahere, he took the harm with a soft heart, patiently." Not so St. Bartholomew, who doubtless considered his own reputation as a guardian of the place was concerned; so he commanded Rahere to mount horse, ride "into the Jews street," where his horse would stop, and point his foot to the door where the book was. We need scarcely add, that there, true enough, the book was found.

After the service of his prelacy, twenty-two years and six months," Rahere on the 20th of September "the clay house of this world forsook, and the house everlasting he entered." The character drawn of him by his biographer is, we think, very beautiful. beautiful. He was a man "not having cunning of liberal science, but that that is more eminent than all cunning; for he was rich in purity of conscience." His goodness showed itself towards "God by devotion;" towards "his brethren by humility;" towards "his enemies by benevolence. And thus himself he exercised them, patiently suffering; whose proved purity of soul, bright manners, with honest probity, expert diligence in divine service, prudent business in temporal manifestations, in him were greatly to praise and commendable. In feasts he was sober, and namely the follower of hospitality. Tribulatious of wretches and necessities of the poor people, opportunely admitting, patiently supporting, competently spending. In prosperity not yuprided; in adversity patient. Thus he, subject to the King of bliss with all meekness, provided with all diligence that were necessary to his subjects; and so providing, increased daily to himself;

before God and man, grace; to the place reverence; to his friends gladness; to his enemies pain; to his aftercomers joy." Rahere left, it seems, his small flock of thirteen canons with little land and right few rents. "Nevertheless, with copious oblations of the altar, and helping of the populous city," they appear to have managed pretty well. "Soothly," continues our good monk," they flourish now with less fruit than that time when the aforesaid solemnities of miracles were exercised; by a like wise, as it were a plant, when it is well rooted, the oft watering of him ceaseth."

Rahere (whose memory was held in great veneration-"when the day of his nativity into heaven was known, it was solemnised and honoured with great mirth and dancing on earth") was succeeded by Thomas, one of the canons of the church of St. Osyth, whose character is happily hit off by the author of the manuscript. "This Thomas," he says, "(as we have proved in common,) was a man of jocund company, of great eloquence, and of great cunning; instruct in philosophy, and (in) divine books exercised. And he had it in prompt whatsoever he would utter to speak it metrely. And he had in use every solemn day what the case required, to dispense the word of God, and flowing to him the press of the people. He was prelate to us meekly almost 30 years; and in age an hundred winter, almost with whole wits, with all Christian solemnity, he deceased in 1174. In this man's time grew the plant of the apostolic branch in glory and in grace before God and man. And with more ample buildings were the skins of our tabernacle dilated. To the laud and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be honour and glory, world without end. Amen." Thus ends this valuable manuscript, affording

perhaps a more complete and interesting account of the foundation of St. Bartholomew than exists in connexion with the foundation of any other English edifice of equal antiquity and importance. In 1410, during the prelacy perhaps of "brother

John," the Priory was rebuilt. At this time, and perhaps before, it possessed within itself every possible convenience for the solace and comfort of its inmates. We read of Le Fermery, Le Dorter, Le Frater, Les Cloysters, Les Galleries, Le Hall, Le Kitchen, Le Buttry, Le Pantry, Le olde Kitchen, Le Woodehouse, Le Garner, and Le Prior's stable, so late as the period of the dissolution in the sixteenth century. There was also the Prior's house, the Mulberry-garden, the Chapel, now the church of St. Bartholomew the Less, &c. &c. It was entirely enclosed within walls, the boundaries of which have been carefully traced in the Londini Illustrata,' and from which we abbreviate the following description:-The north wall ran from Smithfield, along the south side of Long Lane, to its junction with the east wall, about thirty yards west from Aldersgate Street. It is mentioned by Stow, and shown in Aggas' plan, who represents a small gate or postern in it. This gate stood immediately opposite Charter House Lane, where is now the entrance into King Street and Cloth Fair. The west wall commenced at the south-west corner of Long Lane, and continued along Smithfield, and the middle of Duc Lane (or Duke Street) to the south gate, or Great Gate House, now the principal entrance into Bartholomew Close. The south wall, commencing from this gate, ran eastward in a direct line toward Aldersgate Street, where it formed an angle and passed southward about forty yards, enclosing the site of the -present Albion Buildings, then resumed its eastern direction and joined the corner of the eastern wall, which ran parallel with Aldersgate Street, at the distance of about twenty-six yards. This wall was fronted for the most part by houses in the street just mentioned, some of them large and magnificent, particularly London House, between which and the wall was a ditch. At first, as we have before stated, there were no houses in the immediate neighbourhood; but the establishment of the monastery, and the fair granted to it, speedily caused a considerable population to spring up all around, and ultimately within. This grant was obtained from Henry II. The fair was to be kept at Bartholomewtide for three days, namely, the eve, the next day, and the morrow; and unto it "the clothiers of England and drapers of London repaired, and had their booths and standings within the churchyard of this priory, closed in with walls and gates, locked every night and watched, for safety of men's goods and wares. A Court of Pie-powders sat daily during the fair holden for debts and contracts. But now," continues Stow, "notwithstanding all proclamations of the prince, and also the act of parliament, in place of booths within the churchyard, only let out in the fair-time, and closed up all the year after, are many large houses built; and the north wall, towards Long Lane, being taken down, a number of tenements are there erected for such as will give great rents."*

The churchyard here referred to occasionally presented a scene of a very interesting kind, and which Stow, who personally witnessed the discussions to which we refer, has described in his usual graphic style. We must premise that so early as the period of Fitz-Stephen it appears that it was the custom upon the holidays for assemblies of persons to flock together about the churches to dispute; some, he says, using demonstrations, others topical and probable arguments; some practise enthimems, others are better at perfect syllogisms; some for a show dispute, and for exercising themselves, and strive like adver

*Stow, p. 419, ed. 1633.

saries; others for truth, which is the grace of perfection," &c. Again, "the boys of divers schools wrangle together in versifying, and canvass the principles of grammar, as the rules of the preterperfect and future tenses. Some, after an old custom of prating, use rhymes and epigrams; these can freely quip their fellows, suppressing their names with a festinine and railing liberty; these cast out most abusive jests, and with Socratical witnesses either they give a touch at the vices of superiors, or fall upon them with a satiric bitterness. The hearers prepare for laughter, and make themselves merry in the mean time." It is in reference to this passage that Stow writes:-"As for the meeting of schoolmasters on festival-days at festival churches, and the disputing of their scholars logically, &c., whereof I have before spoken, the same was long since discontinued. But the arguing of schoolboys about the principles of grammar hath been continued even till our time; for I myself (in my youth) have yearly seen, on the eve of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, the scholars of divers grammar-schools repair unto the churchyard of Saint Bartholomew, the Priory in Smithfield, where, upon a bank boarded about under a tree, some one scholar hath stepped up, and there hath opposed and answered, till he was by some better scholar overcome and put down; and then the overcomer, taking the place, did like the first and in the end the best opposers and answerers had rewards, which I observed not: but it made both good schoolmasters and also good scholars(diligently against such times) to prepare themselves for the obtaining of this garland. I remember there repaired to these exercises (amongst others) the masters and scholars of the free schools of Saint Paul's in London, of Saint Peter's at Westminster, of Saint Thomas Acon's Hospital, and of Saint Anthony's Hospital, whereof the last-named commonly presented the best scholars and had the prize in those days. This Priory of Saint Bartholomew being surrendered to Henry VIII., those disputations of scholars in that place surceased, and was again, only for a year or two in the reign of Edward VI., revived in the cloister of Christ's Hospital, where the best scholars (then still of Saint Anthony's school) were rewarded with bows and arrows of silver, given to them by Sir Martin Bowes, goldsmith. Nevertheless, however, the encouragement failed; the scholars of Paul's, meeting with them of Saint Anthony's, would call them Saint Anthony's pigs, and they again would call the others pigeons of Paul's— because many pigeons were bred in Paul's church, and Saint Anthony was always figured with a pig following him: and, mindful of the former usage, did for a long season disorderly in the open street provoke one another with Salve tu quoque, placet tibi mecum disputare, placet; and so, proceeding from this to questions in grammar, they usually fell from words to blows, with their satchels full of books, many times in great heaps, that they troubled the streets and passengers: so that finally they were restrained with the decay of Saint Anthony's school."

Encroachments of the character pointed out by Stow of course could not have been made but for the previous dissolution of the Priory-an event which rapidly altered the entire aspect of the place. In the grant of the Priory, in 1544, to Sir Richard, afterwards Lord Rich, the man to whose baseness and treachery the executions of the venerable Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, and his illustrious fellowprisoner in the Tower, Sir Thomas More, were in no slight degree referrible, we