November 10.

Deserted in his utmost need,By those his former fancies fed,

the Ærial retired to a box, and, through the medium of the waiters, consoled himself from their beaufets so effectually, that before supper time he was better qualified to represent an attendant in a bacchanal procession, than the celestial character he assumed. Imagining that certain smiles indicated a deadly jealousy of his superhuman structure, and dreading assassination from the hands of the envious, he manifested his feelings in an undaunted manner, and was overpowered in a scuffle. Being unable to walk from excess of devotion to the rosy deity, he was deposited in one of the cloak rooms, and left to repose: on awaking and sallying forth into the gardens he was astonished to find the place deserted; and, for lamp-light, the glare of the sun. His cloak and purse were not to be found; remonstrance and entreaty were alike vain; he was assured he should have both when they were recoverable, but not then, and he found it convenient to accept the best substitute the place afforded. To be content, where discontent avails not, is a philosophical rudiment, and therefore he philosophically submitted to be assisted by the waiters into a moth-eaten, mouldy, ragged watchman’s scarlet frieze cloak, with “R. G. V. H.,” denoting “Royal Gardens, Vauxhall,” worked in large worsted letters on the back; and in this attire he wandered, “not unseen,” to his dormitory at a few miles distance. The particular compliments he received by the way are not relatable. After a few hours’ rest, he made personal application at Vauxhall for his cloak and purse, and both were returned to him, accompanied by an assurance from them that he must not appear there again. Undaunted by so unexpected a return for the patronage he had vouchsafed towards the gardens, and conceiving that the proprietors ought not to sustain the injury his absence would inflict on them, he laid out another pound in a fourth pair of hose, and again, “in silk attire,” covered by a cloak, presented himself at the door, but he had scarcely advanced from paying his entrance-money when constables hurried him out, and he was not allowed to re-enter. This was the last appearance of the Ærial at Vauxhall.

Conceiving that the managers of the theatres would gladly avail themselves of his attractive powers, he habited himself as before described, and announced himself at their doors as “The Ærial;” but they were “not at home,” nor were they “at home” to his subsequent calls. Such gross inattention to their interests was inconceivable; for it seems he coveted no other remuneration than “to walk across the stage and back again, and receive the plaudits of the audience.” He affirms that he appeared on the boards of the Manchester theatre, and that the people hooted because he would not deign to remain long enough for the gratification of their extreme curiosity. Though convinced that no one ever appeared to such advantage as he does, in the dress wherein he has already appeared in public, yet he walksen deshabilleon ordinary occasions, lest he should suffer violence from the fathers, brothers, and lovers of the Britishladies, who, according to his own affirmation, are ready to throw themselves at his feet upon the least encouragement. He says he is determined to ally himself to her alone, if she can be found, who knows herself to be a Venus as he knows himself to be an Adonis. He is of opinion that he is “winning each heart and delighting each eye;” and he calls himself “the immortal Mr.L——.”It was suggested to him as possible, that as no income resulted from his outgoings, his property might be expended. His answer was to this effect:—“When I am at the last extremity I can marry any lady I please with thirty thousand pounds.” If he should find himself mistaken in his conceptions before matters have proceeded so far, those to whom his flights have rendered him a public character will soon forget his extraordinary assumptions, and he will find a common station more conducive to his personal quiet. He is unknown to the writer of this article, who, nevertheless, is so well informed respecting him as to be persuaded that when Mr. L.’s feverish excitement is over, his talents merely require diligent cultivation in a different direction to ensure this. A man is in less danger who thinks too meanly, than he who thinks too highly of himself. It is easier to be comfortable in a lower sphere, than to reach an elevated one and live happy in it.

Letter from the Ærial.

When this sheet was going to press a letter was received; which, being properly authenticated, is here subjoined, with the words in italics as marked in the original.

To the Editor of the Every-Day Book.

Sir,

November16, 1825.

I conceive that nothing but my “death,” or at least “the beautiful leg,” will atone to the world for mylittleindiscretions. If you expect me to appeal to the public, I answer, that I have been without father and mother eleven years nearly, though now only twenty-five years old, and measuring five feet two inches and a half, and in the hands of guardians, though not wanting money,four of whomit took to put me in the watchhouse, and I answer that I would rather be hanged if “the most liberal nation of the earth” wishes it.

You have observed that the companyshriekedwith laughter and amazement. Now I sayIwas the onlyonewhoshriekedwith laughter, as I should at another hoax on the public. You might have spared me the trouble of answering you, if you had not introduced a most immutable picture of my conduct. You have represented me as the individual courting excessive censure or praise; but I must here be puppy enough to talk of general opinion, and say, that notwithstanding the pretendedchristian burialof me by the newspapers, it still appears by each and every of them that in the end the magistrate had no just cause to hate me. Besides acquiring experience from disappointment, and Mr. Chantry who sent forme, I had adreamwhich clearlyconvincedme I should not part with the cast.

I have no occasion to mention the author of the following quotation:—

“Let Hercules himself do what he may,The cat will mew, the dog will have his day.”

I am, Sir,Your most obedient servant,Joseph Leeming.

No. 61, Berwick Street, Soho.

Having inserted this letter here the matter ends, for nothing remains to be said.

It being within the purpose of theEvery-Day Bookto observe on the phenomena of the times, Mr. Leeming, as “the Ærial,” was included, but not until he had been previously in print from the character he assumed. His present letter speaks for itself. He admits “little” indiscretions: among these “little” ones alargeone was, what he terms, his “hoax” on the public; but his visits to the artists are of another character. There exists no feeling towards him, on the part of the editor of this work, but a kind one; and he advises him, for his own sake, to “studyto bequiet.”

Happy the man whose wish and care,A few paternal acres bound;Content to breathe his native air,In his own ground.Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,Whose flocks supply him with attire;Whose trees in summer yield him shade,In winter fire.Blest, who can unconcern’dly findHours, days, and years, slide soft awayIn health of body, peace of mind,Quiet by day.Sound sleep by night, study and easeTogether mix’d; sweet recreation!And innocence which most does pleaseWith meditation.Thus let me live, unseen, unknown,Thus unlamented let me die;Steal from the world, and not a stoneTell where I lie.Pope.

Happy the man whose wish and care,A few paternal acres bound;Content to breathe his native air,In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,Whose flocks supply him with attire;Whose trees in summer yield him shade,In winter fire.

Blest, who can unconcern’dly findHours, days, and years, slide soft awayIn health of body, peace of mind,Quiet by day.

Sound sleep by night, study and easeTogether mix’d; sweet recreation!And innocence which most does pleaseWith meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown,Thus unlamented let me die;Steal from the world, and not a stoneTell where I lie.

Pope.

Glaucus Aletris.Veltheimia glauca.Dedicated toSt. John Lateran.

[382]Whiffler, Mr. Douce says, in his “Illustrations of Shakspeare,” is a term undoubtedly borrowed fromwhiffle, another name for a fife or small flute; for whifflers were originally those who preceded armies or processions, as fifers or pipers: in process of time the termwhiffler, which had been always used in the sense of afifer, came to signify any person who went before in a procession. He observes, that Minshew defines him to be a club or staff-bearer, and that it appears,whifflerscarried white staves, as in the annual feast of the printers, founders, and ink-makers, described by Randle Holme.Mr. Archdeacon Nares, in hisGlossary, cites Grose’s mention of thewhifflersat Norwich, who make way for the corporation by flourishing their swords.A friend informs me, that the dexterity of the Norwichwhifflersin turning their swords to every possible direction is amazing.Mr. Archdeacon Nares remarks, that in the city of London, young freemen, who march at the head of their proper companies on the lord Mayor’s day, sometimes with flags, were calledwhifflers, orbachelor whifflers, not because they cleared the way, but because they went first aswhifflersdid; and he quotes a character in the old play of theCity Match, saying, “I look’d the next lord mayor’s day to see you o’ the livery, or one of the bachelorwhifflers.”Hone on Mysteries.[383]Dr. Drake’s Shakspeare and his Times, vol. ii.

Mr. Archdeacon Nares, in hisGlossary, cites Grose’s mention of thewhifflersat Norwich, who make way for the corporation by flourishing their swords.

A friend informs me, that the dexterity of the Norwichwhifflersin turning their swords to every possible direction is amazing.

Mr. Archdeacon Nares remarks, that in the city of London, young freemen, who march at the head of their proper companies on the lord Mayor’s day, sometimes with flags, were calledwhifflers, orbachelor whifflers, not because they cleared the way, but because they went first aswhifflersdid; and he quotes a character in the old play of theCity Match, saying, “I look’d the next lord mayor’s day to see you o’ the livery, or one of the bachelorwhifflers.”

Hone on Mysteries.

[383]Dr. Drake’s Shakspeare and his Times, vol. ii.

St. Andrew Avellino,A. D.1608.Sts. TryphoandRespicius,A. D.250.St. Nympha, 5th Cent.St. Justus, Abp. of Canterbury,A. D.627.St. Milles, Bp., andSts. AbrosimusandSina,A. D.341.

Thin attendance on ’Change to-day—dull eyes—languid countenance—a little nervous this morning—fresh demand for soda-water and ginger-beer—much breakfasting at the coffee-houses about twelve—scrags of mutton in great request—confounded head-ache—shall be home early to-morrow, my dear—let me have a little broth—deuce take the lord mayor; I’ll never go again.[384]—

Scotch Fir.Pinus Silvestris.Dedicated toSt. Nympha.

[384]Morning Advertiser, Nov. 15, 1824.

St. Martin, Bp.A. D.397.St. Mennas,A. D.304.

He is in the church of England calendar and the almanacs. By Romish writers he is called “the Great St. Martin, the glory of Gaul.” They say that he was born in Lower Hungary, about 316, and becoming a soldier, a beggar requested alms, when having no money he drew his sword, and cutting his cloak into two pieces, gave half to the beggar, and wrapped himself up in the other; whereupon Christ appeared to him the next night, in the half he had given away, asked him if he knew it, and said to angels that surrounded him, “Martin has given me this garment.” This occasioned him to leave the army and enter the church, and he was made an exorcist by St. Hilary. Turning hermit, he lived on roots and wild herbs, and unawares ate a quantity of hellebore sufficient to kill an unprivileged person. After this, one of his disciples fell ill of a fever, and died suddenly without baptism; “whereupon,” says Alban Butler, “feeling in himself a divine impulse to work a miracle,” he stretched himself upon the body, and prayed till the deceased came to life. She said her soul had been before the divine tribunal, and been sentenced to a dark dungeon;—but that on two angels representing St. Martin was praying for her coming back, she was ordered to be restored to the body and raised to life. “Another time the saint restored to life, in the same manner, a slave who had hanged himself.” In 371, he was chosen bishop of Tours, and is said to have lived in a narrow hole in the side of a rock. Near to it was a chapel with an altar, over a tomb, but St. Martin would not visit it, because, although the person buried was represented to have been a martyr, he was not assured that the relics were genuine. He went, however, one day with some of his clergy, and prayed for information, whereupon on his left hand, “he saw near him a pale ghost of a fierce aspect, whom he commanded to speak; the ghost told his name, and it appeared that he had been a robber who was executed for his crimes, whom the people honoured as a martyr; none but St. Martin saw him, the rest only heard his voice; he thereupon caused the altar to be removed.” After the rectification of this trifling mistake, he went on raising the dead, casting out devils, and receiving revelations; but as he grew older “it cost him more difficulty, and longer prayers, to cast out devils than formerly.” He died in 397, and his shrine worked the usual miracles. This account of St. Martin is abstracted from the rev. Alban Butler’s life of him.

A custom anciently prevailed, though generally confined at present to country villages, of killing cows, oxen, swine, &c. at this season, which were cured for the winter, when fresh provisions were seldom or never to be had.

When Easter comes, who knows not thanThat veale and bacon is the man?AndMartilmass Beefedoth beare good tacke,When countrey folke do dainties lacke.

Tusser.

Martlemas beef was beef dried in the chimney, as bacon, and is so called, because it was usual to kill the beef for this provision about the feast of St. Martin.[385]There is mention of

—dried flitches of some smoked beeve,Hang’d on a writhen wythe since Martin’s Eve.Hall.

—dried flitches of some smoked beeve,Hang’d on a writhen wythe since Martin’s Eve.

Hall.

Mr. Brand relates, that rustic families in Northumberland clubbed at Martinmas to buy a cow or other animal; the union for this purchase is called a “mart.” After the animal was killed, they filled the entrails with a kind of pudding meat, consisting of blood, suet, groats, &c. which being formed into little sausage links, were boiled and sent about as presents. These are called “black-puddings” from their colour. There is also noticed a kind of entertainment in Germany, called the “feast of sausages,” which was wont to be celebrated with great joy and festivity. The day is a great festival on the continent: new wines then begin to be tasted, and the hours are spent in carousing. An old author says, that the great doings on this occasion almost throughout Europe in his time, are derived from an ancient Athenian festival, observed in honour of Bacchus, upon the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth days of the month Anthesterion, corresponding with our November. Another says, that the eleventh month had a name from the ceremony of “tapping their barrels on it;” when it was customary to make merry. It is likewise imagined by Dr. Stukeley, in his “Itinerary” concerningMartinsal-hill, thus: “I take the name of this hill to come from the merriments among the northern people, calledMartinalia, or drinking healths to the memory of St. Martin, practised by our Saxon and Danish ancestors. I doubt not but upon St. Martin’s day, or Martinmass, all the young people in the neighbourhood assembled here, as they do now upon the adjacent St. Ann’s-hill, upon St. Ann’s day.” He adds, that “St. Martin’s day, in the Norway clogs, (or wooden almanacs) is marked with a goose: for on that day they always feasted with a roasted goose: they say, St. Martin, being elected to a bishoprick, hid himself, (noluit episcopari) but was discovered by that animal.Wehave transferred the ceremony to Michaelmas.”[386]

Dr. Forster, so often cited, observes, that a medal has lately been struck in France in commemoration of this laudable custom; on one side of which is embossed a goose, and on the reverse occurs the word Martinalia. Relative to the custom of goose-eating, it is further noticed in the “Perennial Calendar,” that the festival of St. Martin occurs when geese are in high season. “It is always celebrated with a voracity the more eager, as it happens on the eve of thepetit carême, when fowls can no longer be presented on the tables of a religious age. A German monk, Martin Schoock, has made it a case of conscience whether, even on the eve of the little Lent, it be allowable to eat goose: ‘An liceat Martinalibus anserem comedere?’ After having dived into the weedy pool of the casuist’s arguments, the delighted devotee emerges with the permission to roast his goose; and thus the goose came to be a standing dish on Martinmas as well as Michaelmas day.”

In some of the old church calendars the celebration of this day is called “The Martinalia, a genial feast; wines are tasted of and drawn from the lees; Bacchus is the figure of Martin.”[387]

“Time’s Telescope,” for 1814, cites some extracts from a little ballad, entitled “Martilmasse Day:”—

It is the day of Martilmasse,Cuppes of ale should freelie passe;What though Wynter has begunneTo push downe the Summer sunne,To our fire we can betake,And enjoye the crackling brake,Never heedinge Wynter’s faceOn the day of Martilmasse.Some do the citie now frequent,Where costlie shows and merrimentDo weare the vaporish eveninge outWith interlude and revellinge rout;Such as did pleasure Englande’s queeneWhen here her Royal Grace was seenYet will they not this day let passe,The merrie day of Martilmasse.When the dailie sportes be done,Round the market crosse they runne,Prentis laddes and gallant bladesDancing with their gamesome maids,Till the Beadel, stout and sowre,Shakes his bell, and calls the houre;Then farewell ladde and farewell lasseTo the merry night of Martilmasse.Martilmasse shall come againe,Spite of wind, and snow, and raine;But many a strange thing must be done,Many a cause be lost and won,Many a tool must leave his pelfe,Many a worldlinge cheat himselfe,And many a marvel come to passe,Before return of Martilmasse.

Some do the citie now frequent,Where costlie shows and merrimentDo weare the vaporish eveninge outWith interlude and revellinge rout;Such as did pleasure Englande’s queeneWhen here her Royal Grace was seenYet will they not this day let passe,The merrie day of Martilmasse.

When the dailie sportes be done,Round the market crosse they runne,Prentis laddes and gallant bladesDancing with their gamesome maids,Till the Beadel, stout and sowre,Shakes his bell, and calls the houre;Then farewell ladde and farewell lasseTo the merry night of Martilmasse.

Martilmasse shall come againe,Spite of wind, and snow, and raine;But many a strange thing must be done,Many a cause be lost and won,Many a tool must leave his pelfe,Many a worldlinge cheat himselfe,And many a marvel come to passe,Before return of Martilmasse.

Weymouth Pine.Pinus Strobus.Dedicated toSt. Martin.

[385]Tusser Redivivus.[386]Brand.[387]Brady’s Clavis Calendaria.

[385]Tusser Redivivus.

[386]Brand.

[387]Brady’s Clavis Calendaria.

St. Martin, Pope,A. D.655.St. Nilus,A. D.390.St. Livin,A. D.633.St. Lebwin, Patron of Daventer, 8th Cent.

The anniversary of this famous old admiral’s nativity was formerly kept with great enthusiasm. It was distinguished in 1740 in a very extraordinary manner, by the ringing of bells, and public dinners in many places, &c. In the evening there were the greatest rejoicings, bonfires, and illuminations in London and other cities, that had been known for many years. Don Blass was burnt in some places, and at Chancery-lane-end was apageant, whereon was represented admiral Vernon, and a Spaniard on his knees offering him a sword; a view of Porto Bello, &c.; over the admiral was wrote, “Venit, vidit, vicit;” and under him, “Vernon semper viret.”[388]

Grape Aloe.Velthennia Uvaria.Dedicated toSt. Nilus.

[388]Gentleman’s Magazine.

St. Homobonus,A. D.1197.St. Didacus,A. D.1463.St. Stanislas Kostka,A. D.1568.St. Mitrius.St. Brice,A. D.444.St. Constant, of Logherne,A. D.777.St. Chillen, orKillian, of Ireland.

This saint is in the church of England calendar and the almanacs, for what reason is unknown. He was born at Tours, became a monk under St. Martin, and succeeded him in the see of that city.

The church of St. John, Clerkenwell, having been closed for reparation since the first Sunday in July, was opened for divine service on the 13th of November, 1825, by the Rev. W. E. L. Faulkner, M. A. rector of the parish. The exterior of the present edifice is altogether unseemly. It is frequently called St. John’s chapel, and has more the air of a meeting for dissenting worship, than a structure of the establishment; if it had not a sort of steeple with a bell, it might be mistaken for a theatre; but the interior is in every respect befitting its ecclesiastical use. It has spacious galleries, is well pewed below, and thoroughly lighted, with a very commodious vestry. In these respects it is creditable to the inhabitants who have now so judiciously fitted it up, that it will not require more than usual cleaning for many years. Still it is to be regretted, that a structure, essentially gothic, should have been accommodated to modern architecture. The deviation seems to have taken place on its appropriation to the use of the parish of St. John, about a century preceding the reparation it has now undergone.

St. John’s parish is distinct from the parish of St. James, although, as regards their poor, they are under one management; and the parish of St. James has, in other respects, an ascendancy, which formerly was the cause of open dissention. This difference originated on the setting out of the parish, the boundaries whereof are described by an entry in the vestry-book, which states in what way the church became parochial. Before referring to it, a glance may be taken of the annexed engraving. It is from an original drawing of asouthview of the church in the year 1508, and preserved in the Cotton collection. It is especially curious, because it shows the old square tower, on the site whereof the present church stands, with the great bell tower above, which is rapturously described by Stowe, as will be mentioned presently. The building with two windows between three buttresses, surmounted by pinnacles, was anciently the library.

Church of St. John, Clerkenwell, in 1508.

On friday the twenty seventh Day of December in the year of our Lord Christ one thousand seven hundred twenty and three, and in the tenth Year of the Reign of George by the Grace of God, king of Great Britain, &c. being St. John’s Day, this Church was consecrated and dedicated to the Service of Almighty God by the Right Reverend Father in God Edmund [Gibson] by Divine Permission Lord Bishop of London, by the Name of the Church of St. John Clerkenwell in the County of Middlesex.

This Church is what was the Choir of the antient Church of the Knights Hospitallers, or the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in England, which Order began at Jerusalem about the Year of our Lord Christ 1099, taking its rise and name from an Hospital built for the reception of Christian Strangers and Pilgrims, who came to perform their Devotion at the Place of our Lord’s Sepulchre, and from a Church adjoining dedicated to St. John Baptist.

In the 11th Century the Christians in the Holy Land were very much harassed by the Turks, till some Merchants from Amalfi in Italy visited the parts about Syria and Egypt, and so far recommended themselves to the Inhabitants by the many rare and pretious commodities they brought thither, that the Calif of Egypt gave them a part of Jerusalem to live in, where they built a Cloister and transplanted thither from Italy an Abbot with some Benedictine Monks, who entertained all Christian Pilgrims and travellers: soon after a Cloister was erected for Women, and these being too small, the Hospital or Alms-House just mentioned was founded for the reception of both sick and well, under the direction of an Overseer maintained chiefly by Alms from Amalfi and other parts of Italy: shortly after, the Church was built, and dedicated to St. John Baptist; tradition informing, that his Father Zachary had often travelled that way, from whence those of this Foundation took the Name of Joannitæ, and continued an Order of Hospitalers or Alms-men some few Years.

In the year 1099, when the Christian Princes, under the command of Godfrey of Bologne, Duke of Lorrain besieged Jerusalem, Gerard the then overseer, with the rest of the Hospitalers by a sudden and unexpected Sally upon the rear of the Turks, contributed greatly to the overthrow of the infidels, and the recovery of the Holy-Land. Godfrey made public acknowledgments of this signal piece of Service, and being created King of Jerusalemgave the Hospitalers large presents, and put the defence of many Towns into their hands. From this time their Order commenced that of Knighthood, Gerard being their first Grand Master. The Order was confirmed by Pope Honorius the second, and by the then Patriarch of Jerusalem. The members of it were called indifferently the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem. It was their Vow and Profession to exercise hospitality, to resist the Barbarians that should offer any injury to Pilgrims on the High Ways, and to maintain the Christian religion by force of Arms in their Country. They soon greatly increased in Fame and Riches and spread into many nations: the services they did to Christian Princes procured them every where great respect, Wealth and Privileges, insomuch that tho’ at first they professed voluntary poverty, they were afterwards at once in Possession of 19000 Manors in Christendom.

This Order flourished with great pomp and splendour in this Nation: their Prior was reckoned the first Baron in England; their Establishment here was very early, for about a Year after their first Institution at Jerusalem, viz. An. Dom. 1100, Jordan Briset Baron, and Muriel his wife, founded a Priory in this place for the Knights of this Order, and built a Church, which was dedicated to the Honour of St. John Baptist, in the Year 1185, being then consecrated by Heraclius Patriarch of Jerusalem. Both Church and House were burnt in 1381, by the Essex Rebels, but were afterwards rebuilt and continued in the possession of the Knights Hospitallers till the 32nd Year of Henry the 8th (which was years after the general Dissolution of Religious Houses in this Kingdom,) when by a particular Act of Parliament the Priory was suppressed, and the House, Church, and all the Lands of the Knights Hospitallers were vested in the Crown, with all Privileges, &c. thereto belonging, other than the right of Sanctuary, which Right is by this Act discharged, but with an express saving of the Privileges common to Churches and Church Yards applied and used to God’s service. In this Act of Parliament the Hospital, House, Church, &c. are mentioned, not as a part of, or within the Parish of St. James, Clerkenwell, but as situate and being near to the City of London, in the County of Middlesex, and so the same are mentioned in the grant from the Crown and subsequent writings.

The Hospital or Priory Church, and House of St. John were preserved from Spoil and down-pulling so long as Henry the 8th lived; but in the third Year of King Edward the 6th the Body and side Isles with the great Bell tower, (a most curious piece of workmanship, graven, gilt, and enamelled,) were pulled down; but the Choir, (which remained,) was closed up in the reign of Queen Mary, who restored the Order and incorporated a Priory and several Brethren, and granted to them this Church, House, and many Lands; but the Order being again dissolved by Queen Elizabeth, the Church and Priory remained in the Crown till the 9th day of May, in the 5th year of King James the first, when by Letters Patent of that date the King granted the same to Ralph Freeman and his heirs, in free and common Soccage by the name of the City or House of the late Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England, in the County of Middlesex, and all the City, Circuit, and Precinct of the same House, having therein one great Mansion House, one great Chapel, &c., containing by estimation 5 acres. From Freeman the said Church or Chapel, and part of the great house and gardens, came in the 10th Year of King James the first Ld. Wm. Cecil Lord Burghley, Son and Heir apparent of Thomas Earl of Exeter, by whose daughter the Lady Diana, it passed in marriage in the 5th Year of King Charles the 1st to Thomas, Lord Bruce, afterwards Earl of Elgin, whose son Robert was created Earl of Ailesbury, in which Family this Church or Chapel, (from thence called Ailesbury Chapel,) continued till the Year 1706, and being then sold by them, was afterwards, viz. in the Year 1721, purchased by Mr. Simon Michell, with intent to accommodate the Inhabitants of a new Street by him then partly built, called Red Lion Street, and the neighbouring inhabitants with a convenient place for Divine Worship. He afterwards enlarged the said Chapel, or what was used as such, being the middle Isle only by restoring thereto the North isle, (which had been made part of a dwelling-house,) and also the South Isle, (the upper part of which had been converted into a Library, and the lower part separated by a wall from what was left to the Chapel,) and having likewise entirely new built the west front, and new roofed the whole, and furnished the Chapel with convenient Galleries and pews;he proposed it thus rebuilt and beautified to the Commissioners appointed in pursuance of Acts of Parliament for building 50 New Churches in and about London, as proper to be by them converted into a Parochial Church for such an adjoining District, as they should think fit to appoint for a Parish to the same.

This proposal being accepted and an agreement made by the Commissioners with Mr. Simon Michell, he and Mr. Hutton (his trustee) by bargain and sale enrolled in Chancery, bearing date the 29th day of August 1723, conveyed the Chapel, and the ground extending from the East end thereof to St. John’s Street, (on the front part whereof next to St. John’s Street, stood 2 houses,) to the said Commissioners, who by Deed bearing date the 11th day of December 1723 and afterwards enrolled in Chancery, did, pursuant to their Power, granted by the said Acts of Parliament, declare and appoint the Chapel to be from and for ever after the Enrollment of that Deed and the consecration of the Chapel, a Parish Church by such Name as should be given thereto in the act of Consecration; and by the same Deed the said Commissioners did pursuant to the said Acts of Parliament set out and appoint a Parish for the said Church, and ascertained the Bonds and Limits of such new parish to be as followeth:—

The entry in the vestry-book, hitherto given verbatim, proceeds to set out the parish bounds in words, and a copy of the act of consecration.

It is interesting to go a little farther into the history of this ancient church.

While Henry VIII. reigned, “the rebels of Essex and Kent,” in 1381, set fire to the house, causing it to burn for the space of seven days together, and not suffering any to quench it: afterwards the church, and houses thereto appertaining, were new built, and the church finished by Thomas Docwray, lord prior there about the year 1504, as appears by the inscription over the gate-house, mentioned by Stow as remaining in his time, and which still remains. The church was employed as a storehouse for the king’s “toyles and tents for hunting and for the wars,” &c. Stow, who says this, speaking of its destruction in the third year of king Edward VI., adds, that the church for the most part, to wit, the body and side isles with the great bell tower was undermined and blown up with gunpowder, and the stone thereof employed in building the lord protector’s (Somerset) house in the Strand. The great bell tower he calls “a most curious piece of workmanship, graven, gilt, and inameled to the great beautifying of the city, and passing all other that I have sceene.” He adds that the part of the quire which remained, with some side chapels, was closed up at the west end by cardinal Pole, in the reign of queen Mary, and the other was repaired, and sir Thomas Tresham Knight, made the lord prior there with the restitution of some lands. At the suppression, the priory was valued “to dispend in lands, 3385l.19s.8d.yearly; sir William Weston being then lord prior, died on the 7th of May, 1540.” The king granted “great yeerely pensions” to the knights; and to the lord prior, during his life, 1000l.“but he never received a penny.” He died of a broken heart on Ascension-day in the same year, the very day the house was suppressed. An account of the exhumation of his body on the 27th of April, 1788, on taking down the old church of St. James, Clerkenwell, with interesting particulars respecting him, may be seen in the “Gentleman’s Magazine” for that year. Mr. Bartholomew of Red Lion-street, Clerkenwell, a lover, and as far as he is permitted by the other inhabitants, a preserver of the antiquities of his parish of St. John, is in possession of a portion of prior Weston’s cere-cloth.

The only vestiges of the antiquity and extent of this church are in Jerusalem-court, which runs from St. John’s-square into St. John’s-street, and is bounded on the left by houses or dwellings constructed within the remaining part of the south wall: they are now, (in November, 1825,) undergoing reparation by new facing, but portions of the old church buttresses remain, though they are much mutilated, and their shafts buried to the extent of many feet below the pavement. There is not a single inscription or monument of any age remaining. The only remarkable stone in the churchyard is a memoritur of the late “Mrs. Sarah Newman of No. 63, Cow-cross-street, St. Sepulchre,” who died a few years ago, and is rendered “remarkable” by an amplification of the ever-recurring epitaph, “Affliction sore” &c. She is made to say—

Pain was my portion,Physic was my food,Groans was my devotion,Drugs did me no good;Christ was my physician,Knew what way was best,To ease me of my pain,He took my soul to rest.

A mural inscription in the church, represents “Simon Michell Esq. a member of the Middle Temple and Lincoln’s Inn, descended from a family of that name in Somersetshire. He died August 30, 1750, aged 74.” He was a barrister, and member of parliament for Boston. Red Lion-street, built by him, is the best class of houses erected in his time in Clerkenwell, which, among the “lower orders,” is called “Jack Adams’s parish,” for a reason that, if it can be authentically communicated, will be hereafter inserted.

The old gateway of St. John’s priory remains in the state wherein it is seen monthly on the title-page of the “Gentleman’s Magazine.” The east turret and the great rooms over the gateway, are used as a tavern called “The old St. John of Jerusalem,” occupied and kept by Mr. William Flint, who formerly carried on the business of a printer in the Old Bailey. The lower part of the west turret is the watchhouse of St. John’s parish. On entering the gateway from the south, the fixed iron shaft of the top hinge, whereon the ancient gate swung, is about level with the elbow of a person of ordinary stature: from this, the height to which the ground has been raised above the old level may be imagined. The gateway itself has been lately repaired at the parish expense, chiefly at the instance of Mr. Bartholomew, who took great pains to ascertain and properly colour the arms of Prior Docwray on the crown of the arch, and the remaining ornaments, some of which had been hidden in the watchhouse. An ancient door in the watchhouse bricked up, and boarded over by the wainscotting, retains an old carved oak-facing at the top; through Mr. Bartholomew’s persistance it was not destroyed, and he has caused a small flap with hinges to be inserted in the wainscot for the purpose of disclosing this carving, from time to time, to curious inquirers. He is one of the few inhabitants of Clerkenwell, who take an interest in maintaining the reputation of this suburb for its former grandeur.

The rental of St. John’s parish in the year 1782, was 12,658l.In 1825, it amounted to 21,724l., not so much from additional building, as from increase in the value of property.

St. John’s-gate will be always remembered in connection with the “Gentleman’s Magazine,” which was first printed there by Edmund Cave.

Bay.Laurus poetica.Dedicated toSt. Homobonus.

St. Lawrence, Abp. of Dublin,A. D.1180.St. Dubricius,A. D.522.

This annual custom in the county of Lincoln is fixed for the 13th of November; which, in 1825, being Sunday, it was postponed to the next day, Monday the 14th. A correspondent’s communication sets forth ample and curious particulars of the usage.

To the Editor of the Every-Day Book.

Sir,

As your very respectable and highly entertaining publication, theEvery-Day Book, is a receptacle for local usages and customs, doubtless theStamford bull-running, which takes place annually on the 13th of November, will be acceptable. It is conducted with a most determined spirit, and unlike most other customs, seems to increase in notoriety yearly.

Butcher says, “the bull-running is a sport of no pleasure, except to such as take a pleasure in beastliness and mischief. It is performed just the day six weeks before Christmas. The butchers of the town at their own charge, against the time, purchase a wild bull; this bull over night is had into some stable or barn belonging to the alderman; the next morning proclamation is made by the common bellman of the town, round about the same, that each one shut up his shop-doors and gates, and none, under pain of imprisonment, do any violence to strangers; for the preventing whereof (the town being a great thoroughfare, and then being in term time,) a guard is appointed for the passing of travellers through the same, without hurt. None [to] have any iron upon their bull-clubs, or other staff which they pursue the bull with: which proclamationmade, and the gates all shut up, the bull is turned out of the alderman’s house, and then, hivie, skivy, tag-rag, men, women, and children, of all sorts and sizes, with all the dogs in the town, promiscuously running after him with their bull-clubs, spattering dirt in each other’s faces, that one would think them to be so many furies started out of hell for the punishment ofCerberus, as whenTheseusandPerillusconquered the place, as Ovid describes it—

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