sealing, when it sholde have been perfourmed, the commons of the citie wolde not be agreable theyr sele sholde passe: and albeit that my Lord Derby, my Lord Tresorer, the Chyef Justyce of England, Maister Bray, and the Maister of the Rolls, by the king's commandment, came to Guildhall, to extorte the sayd commons for the same; yet in no wyse they wolde not be agreable that the towne sele sholde pass, but besought the sayd lordes to grant unto thym respite of vi dayes, trustyng in that season to shew in writyng soch consyderacyons unto the king's grace and his counsaill, that his grace sholde be therewith well contented: whiche was to thym graunted, and thereupon dyvers billes were dyvysed. Albeit, that for the hasty spede of my Lorde Chamberleyne, which at that tyme was redy to departe to Caleys, to kepe suche appoyntment as was before concluded, the mayrs sele was taken only, as in the maner folowith:

"TO ALL CHRYSTEN PEOPLE, these present letters beholding or herying, HENRY COLET, knyght, nowe mayor of the cite of LONDON, in the relme of ENGLAND, helth in our Lorde everlastynge. Where as bi twene the high and myghty prynce, my soveragne Lorde HENRY, by the grace of God, king of England and of France, and Lorde of Ireland, on that one partye, and the noble prynce Phelyp, Tharchduke of Austry, and Duke of Burgoyne on the other party; certayne treatyes of amyte and intercourse of merchandysing and other communicacyon of merchaunts concernynge the profyte of both prynces, theyr relmes and subjettes, the xxiii daye of the month of Februarye last past, at London, were finally concluded and determyned. Knowę ye me the say'd HENRY, at the requeste and commandment of my said soveragne lorde, and at the contemplacyon of his letters to me in that behalfe directed and delyvered of good faythe, to have promysed and ME AND MYN HEIRS, to the sayd Prynce Phelyp, Tharchduke to his heyres and suc cessours, under PLEGGE and BOND OF ALL MY GOODS PRESENT AND TO COME, to have bound and by thes presents promyse and bynde that I shall procure, instaunce, and, as moche as in me is, shall do, that the same my lord the kyng,

his heyres and successours, all the sayd entrecourse and amyte, and all and singular in the same conteyned and specyfyed, well, fully, and truly shall holde, observe, and fullfylle; and, by his subjettes and servants in that theym concerne, well and truly shall do, to be holdyn, observed, and fullfylled; and to the contrarient doers and brekers of the same, shall ministrę, or doo to be ministred, justice. In witness whereof, the seale of armes of me the sayd HENRY to these presents I have put, wryten at London, the fyrst daye of the moneth of Maye, in the year of our Lord God, M CCCC XCVI, and the XI yere of the reygne of my sayd soveragn Lord Henry the VII*."

The dangerous state to which the metropolis had been exposed during the Cornish revolt, suggested a plan for a more permanent mode of general defence, than had hitherto been established; for this purpose, some cultivated land in Finsbury manor, was laid out into fields, which were in. closed for the use of archers, and thence called the Artillery Ground, which to the present period bears the same name, and answers the same purpose.

The year 1498 was propitious to the commerce of the London merchants with those of Flanders. The Archduke Philip sent commissioners to London to settle the terms of accommodation; which Henry, ever alive to his interest, had acceded to, though resentful against the Duchess of Burgundy for the active part she had taken to embitter his government; nor would he give his entire consent, till a provision was inserted in the treaty," that no English rebel should be harboured in the Low Countries," in which was particularly comprehended the demesnes of the Duchess, who had been Warbeck's great patroness. The Flemings were so gratified by this participation of interests, that they denominated it Intercursus Magnus: the English merchants were received with public honours when they returned to Antwerp to resume their functions-they entered in procession, and both parties welcomed reviving commerce with every expression of mutual satisfaction and joy.

MSS. Cotton. Vitell. A. 16.

Sir John Shaw, the chief magistrate in 1503, erected spacious apartments in Guildhall, for the accommodation of the city magistrates and their company on public festivals, suitable to their dignity and opulence; before this time, the Grocer's Hall had been the place appointed for civic entertainments. This year also, the ancient river of Wells (afterwards called Fleet Ditch) was cleared and made navigable for small craft to Oldbourn Bridge; Houndsditch also, which had obtained its name from the carrion cast into it, and was besides a public nuisance, now partook its share of improvement, andwas arched over and paved.

The insatiable Henry wishing to exact the enormous sum of five thousand marks from the citizens, gulled them into a compliance with his extortion, by a fresh charter of confirmation, which checked the encroachments of foreign merchants, regulated the qualifications of brokers, renewed the city's right to the office of gauger, and as a protection to the woollen trade, established "The fellowship of Merchant Adventurers of England," and ultimately prohibited the Merchants of the Steel-Yard, from exporting cloths to the Low Countries.

The last acts of Henry's life were proportionably consistent with those of the preceding; for the spirit of extortion, cruelty and aggression, kept pace with his superstition, even his pretended piety, generosity, and compassion, were bestowed at the public expence. The beautiful and stately pile at the east end of Westminster Abbey, on which this monarch's name is imposed, as well as other religious edifices which he reared, proceeded only from religious terror, unaided by compunction*. He died as he had lived, with a conscience which had a fearful reckoning to settle; and a dismal prospect of futurity.

Their

Thomas Knesworth, two years after his mayoralty had been honorably terminated, with Shore and Groves, the sheriffs, were under a plea of malversation in office, thrown into the Marshalsea, and, without form of process, obliged to purchase their pardon by the payment of 1,400 L Christopher Hawes, alderman, was indicted and cast into

prison;

There was no part of the structures in England built with brick, except the chimnies, before the time of Henry VII. and even these were chiefly in monasteries, or the houses of the nobility, as at Oldford, which was a royal residence, Brook House at Hackney, a fabric called King John's Court, near Stepney, and others, which were erected in this reign, all built in the same form with brick.

It was in this reign, also, that the method of flint-building, regularity of construction, and the use of brick from Italy commenced; an eminent Florentine was architect to Henry VII. and the English bricklayers, were ingenious in their profession. Many specimens of their ability are discernible at present among the various ancient buildings, in the vicinity of the metropolis, which are not to be exceeded in Europe, for variety and excellent workmanship.

During the impetuous, profuse, and thoughtless government of Henry VIII. the city indulged itself in all the pageantry of splendid and expensive spectacles, and according to the taste of the age, partook of the gaudy extravagance of the court. But though the libations at the altar of fancy were so many and various, the more essential comforts of the metropolis were not forgotten. From the neglected state of agriculture, the country had often severely felt the scarcity of corn, and London had always been a considerable sufferer. To remedy so serious an evil, Roger Achily rendered his mayoralty in 1511, remarkable, by the prudent foresight he exercised in storing Leadenhall, the city granary,

prison; and being a man of great timidity and irresolution, died of a broken heart before his trial came to an issue. Sir Lawrence Aylmer, who had likewise served the office of mayor, and his two sheriffs, were condemned in heavy fines, and committed to prison till payment should be made. Sir William Capel, already mentioned, who had served the office of mayor in 1503, was feized five years afterwards, under pretence of neglect of duty in prosecuting certain crimes dilated to him, and was mulcted 2,000 1.; and, for daring to murmur at the iniquity of such a decision, was committed close prisoner to the Tower, where he remained till the death of the king delivered him, and many others, from the hands of oppression. Hunter.

with every species of grain. He likewise caused Moorfields to be levelled, and the passage to the adjoining villages rendered more commodious, by raising causeways and building bridges, as the situation of the ground required. Works of this nature claim the fairest title to the gratitude of posterity.

The introduction of luxury induced an attention to the sciences, which came in for their share of consideration; and as they contributed to refinement, now began to be cultivated and encouraged. Medicine in particular, having fallen into the hands of regular practitioners, attracted the attention, and obtained the support of the legislature. By an act of the third year of Henry VIII." It was declared illegal to practise physic or surgery within the city of London,

and

It will be very curious to turn back from our times to those of Henry VIII. to compare the state of surgery: when at one time there were very few, as Gale tells us, worthy to be called surgeons. His account of those employed in the army is "I rememhumorous. very ber," says he, "when I was in the wars at Muttrel (Montreuil), in the time of that most famous prince king Henry VIII. there was a great rablement, that took on them to be surgeons: some were sow-gelders, and some horse-gelders, with tinkers and coblers. This noble sect did such great cures, that they got themselves a perpetual name! for, like as our Thessalus's sect were called Thessalians, so was this. noble rablement, for their notorious cures, called Dog-leaches; for in two dressings they did commonly make their cures sound and whole for ever; so that they neither felt heat nor cold, nor no manner of pain after. But when the duke of Norfolk, who was then general, understood how the people did die, and that of small wounds, he sent for me, and certain other surgeons, commanding us to make search how these men come to their death; whither it were by the grievousness of their wounds, or by the lack of knowledge of the surgeons; and we, according to our own commandment, made search through all the camp, and found many of the same good fellows, which took upon them the names of surgeons; not only the names, but the wages also. We asking of them whither they were surgeons or no, they said, they were; we demanded with whom they were brought up, and they, with shameless faces, would answer, each, with one cunning man or another, which was dead. Then we demanded of them what chirurgery stuff they had to cure men withal; and they would shew us a pot, or a horn. which they had in a budget, VOL. I. No. 5. wherein

P