SIR RICHARD WHITTING’

I‘

ON

LORD MAYOR OF LONDON

WALTER BESANT AND JAMES RICE

Seest thou aman diligent in his business"He shall stand before kings.

NEW YORK

G . PfPUTNAM ’

s SONS27 AND 29WEST 23D STREET

188 1

PRE FA C E.

HE “Life OfWhi ttington was original ly under

taken for this series by my friend and col labora

teut— in other l ines— Mr. James Rice. With this

intention he col lected aquant ityofnotesand materials.

Unfortunately, a long and severe i l lness obliged him

to throw up all but the most absolutely necessary

work . He therefore gave me over his notes,which

I have incorporated in the pages which fol low ; and I

have, in justice to his share in the labour,placed his

name on the ti tle-page wi thmy own .

As regards the materials for writing the l ife Of

Whi ttington, i t is necessary to acknowledge that,

al though they are abundant— there is no per iod

which can be better understood and even restored

than the fourteenth century— it wou ld be impossible

0 Preface.

to produce abiographyOf.

this great merchant but for

the researches and d iscoveries made by the late Rev.

Samuel Lysons. They are embod ied in his l ittle

pamphlet cal led “The Model Merchant Of the Four

teenth Century. I t was hewho rescuedWhittington

from the realm Of legend , gave him a respectable

genealogy, a birth-

place, a coat Of arms, brothers and

cousins,and a fami ly history. I t was Dr. Lysons

who first clearly establ ished the antiqu i ty Of the Cat

story, and who fi rst set forth the various claims upon

the grat i tude Of London establ ished by the real facts

Of this great man ’

s lifef I have ventured to d iffer

even from so great an antiquary in many points, and

I think he drewfromhis own facts, in some important

part iculars, erroneous conclusions. But no one who

stud ies the subj ect can avoid consulting Lysons.

Especial ly I recommend the reader to study that

very cu rious volume which he has bequeathed to the

Gu i ldhall Library,in which he bound up all the cor

respondence which fol lowed the publ icat ion Of his

bOOk in 18 59, and all the add itional facts which came

to l ight after that publ ication . Not the least curious

feature in the book is the col lection Of letters from

Preface. 7

persons claiming to be descendants OfWhittington’

s

brother.

After Lysons, one may consul t B rewer’

s“ Life Of

Carpenter ; Stow’

s“ Survey Of London ; Agas

’

s

Map Of London ; Riley’

s“Translation Of the

Lz’

ber A ldus ; R iley’

s“ Memorials Of London ;

Herbert ’s “ H istory of the C ity Compan ies ;many of the archaeological works relating to Old

London as can be got at ; the more fami l iar the

student Of the period is with Chaucer, FrOissart, and

Lydgate the better ; and, final ly, though there is l ittle

in the c i ty to remind him OfWhittington’

s t ime,he

must visit the Spotswhose names are sti l l the same as

theywere five hundred years ago,though not a stone

remains to mark the site Of the bu i ld ings which

Whittington l ived among. His church is there,re

bu i l t ; the Tower Royal”is a narrow lane ; Col lege

Street marks the spot where his col lege stood ;

Mercers’ Hal l has st i l l its entrance in Chepe, where

was once the shop Of G i lbert a Becket ; Dowgate,

Walbrook , Queenhithe yet survive ; and in a corner

below B lackfriars may sti l l be read the name of

Baynard’

s Castle.

8 Preface.

I have only further to express my thanks to Mr.

Watney, Of the Mercers’ Company, for his kindness

in giving me permission to see the things which

remain associated with the name Of Whi ttington

in the Mercers’ Hal l.

W. B.

UNITED UNIVERSITIES CLUB.

C ONT ENTS.

INTRODUCTION—THE CHARTERS OF LONDON,CHAP. I.

—B IRTH AND BOYHOOD,

IL—THE CITY OF LONDON,

III.—THE COMPANIES AND TRADE OF LONDON,lV.—THE PRENTICE BOY,

V.—THE STORY OF THE CAT,

VI.—PUBLIC LIFE,

VII.—PRIVATE LIFE AND BENEFACTIONS,APPEND IX l. -MAYORS OF LONDON FROM 1364 TO

I423.

II.—LIST OF NOBLE AND GREAT FAMILIES

DESCENDED FROM CITI"ENS OF

LONDON,

III.—LIST OF BOOKS BELONGING TO JOHNCARPENTER,

IV. LEGEND OFSIRRICHARDWHITTINpTON,INDEX,

204 .

2 18

INTRODUCTION.

THE CHARTERS OF LOND ON.

ICHARD WHITTINGTON , Of whom we are

presently to Speak , was fortunate in beginn inghis career when London had passed through a

d ifficu l t and stormy period, part Ofwhich he himselfwitnessed as an apprent ice .

‘ What he found ,when he

began his course , was a city governed by officers Of

its own appointment, hold ing its own cou rts, brookingno interference from the King

’

s just ices, passing its

own laws for the regu lat ion and preservation Of its

trade,and , practical ly, more independent than i t was

to be later on , under the Tudors and Charles Stuart.The City held its freedom by right of its charters, along series of privi leges ex torted from or concededby successive kings. The most dangerous and the

most imperative duty of Mayor, Sheriffs, and A ldermen was the firm maintenance Of those privi legesagainst the encroachments Of Crown and Court

,and

the carefu l and ceaseless watch for such opportun i tyOf further ex tension as the necessi ties of the Kingmight al low. When the Sovereign was weak, 8 0 thatthe support Of the C ity was needed— when his ti tlewas doubtfu l, SO that he needed the al l iance of a

great town which cou ld ,on occasion

,furn ish an army

as great as half the Barons Of England cou ld gathertogether— it was comparat ively easy to Obtain newcharters and more ex tended privi leges. When the

Sovere ign was fi rmly seated on the throne, the

12 I ntroduction .

c iti zens OfLondon,which then became an inexhaust

ible treasu ry,had to look fast to the ir own . The

history of London may be wri tten from many pointsOf view. Let us here briefly consider the variouscharterswhichmade London such as the city— whichwe have yet to describe— was when young R ichardWhi tt ington fi rst took up his freedom,

and enteredupon business as amercer and an adventurer.On the submission of London to Wi l l iam the

Conqueror— an event Of equal importance wi th the

battle of Senlac— he granted the burgesses a charter,the shortest perhaps ever d rawn up or conceded to acity. I t declared simply that every burgess Of the

c itywas law-worthy, and that every chi ld should be

his father’s heir. This declarat ion meant agreat dealmore than would seem at fi rst apparent. It acknowledged, in fact, the freedom of the C ity ; i t concededto the people that no sezgneur or lord cou ld have anyauthori ty or feudal rights over them. Londonerswere declared not to be

“vi l lains” l iving in dominio

On the demesne Of the i r masters ; they did not holdthe ir lands at the risk Of any feudal lord theywerenot requ ired to do service to any Baron— l ike, forinstance

, the citizens Of Le icester, who, two centurieslater

,had to reap the corn of their Earl, to grind at

his mi l ls, to redeem their strayed cattle from his

pound the ir lands were their own the fields outsidetheir wal ls were their own they cou ld— a thing forbidden to vi l lains— bequeath thei r property to the i rheirs

,and inheri t property from the ir fathers. This

charter, in grant ing whichWi l l iam evidently recog

n ised the importance Of conc i l iat ing the weal thy andpowerfu l C i ty,

is the document withwhich themodernhistory Of London may be fairly said to begin

,

because i t connects the government of the Citywi ththat Ofits former k ings.

Tlze Clear/em of London . I 3

After the grant Of this charter, the annals of the

C ity Show l ittle more for some years than a record of

those checks to prosperi tywhich form the princ ipalhistory Of a peaceful and commerc ial city. In the

year 1076 there is a dreadfu l fire ; ten years laterthere is another, in which St. Pau l ’s Cathedral isdestroyed . In 1090 ahurricane blew down no fewerthan 600 houses in the C ity,

withmany churches, andimmed iately afterwards London Bridge was carriedaway. These thingswere easi ly repaired . A moreimportant event for the good and evi l ofthe C itywasthe build ing of the Tower

,commenced in the year

1079, and in tended from the fi rst to overawe and

command the Ci ty, as well as to protect the river andthe ships.

On the accession Of Henry the First, the CityObtained its most important charter. In this document recognition ismade Oftheancient privi leges andcustoms Of the cit izens ; the i r rights are enumeratedand acknowledged : they shal l not be cal led upon to

plead wi thout the wal ls Ofthe C ity Of London theyare to be free

,scot and lot— that is, from all tolls

,

dut ies, and customs imposed upon any other part Ofthe kingdom ; they are no longer to pay the tax Of

Danegel t, which st i l l survived ,though the fear Of

Dan ish invasion was fast dying out ; they are to be

ex cused from the ordeal Of battle— a privi lege whichshows how early common sense recogn ised the un

certainty Ofsuch amethod Of trial they are al lowedto hunt in M idd lesex and Surrey ; they are to havethe right of summary execut ion against the goodsOf debtors withou t the wal ls— avery important concession to a trad ing commun ity ; and they are not

to have sold iers quartered upon them. The l ibert iesgranted in this charter mark the possession Of averygreat amount Of Self-government. B ut the granti ng

14 I ntroduction .

of a charter and the loyal adherence to its privilegesare two d ifferent things.

In the troublous reign OfK ing Stephen, the c i tizensofLondon

,l ike the rest OfEngland

,suffered from the

necessi ty Of tak ing a side,and the consequences Of

tak ing the wrong side. I t was the C ity Of London

which elected Stephen at the ir folkmote : they sworeto defend him wi th money and arms ; he swore togovern wel l and lawfu lly. Seven years later, theirKing, who had certain ly not

OShown a right under

stand ing as to the art Ofgovern ing wel l , was defeatedand taken prisoner. Mati lda rode into London in

state, and deprived the C ity of its l iberties,granting

the sheriffwicks OfM idd lesex and London at a fee

farm rent of £300 a-year, includ ing the Tower of

London,to the Earl Of Essex , and appoint ing him

just ic iary Ofthe Ci ty,SO that no one cou ld hold pleas

wi thout his consent. The C ity submitted ; but on

Stephen’

s release again joined his fortunes.

HenrytheSecond does not seem to have entertainedan imosi ty to the Londoners on account Ofthei r loyal tyto his rival . The C i ty obtained acharter Ofprivileges,and gave large gifts to the newKing

,either in l ieu of

tal lages,or else in order to drown the memory Of

the ir former adherence to Stephen. The wi thdrawalby Mat i lda Of rights so wel l defined , and alreadySO anc ient

, as those Of London ,cou ld only be a

temporarymeasu re . NO king wou ld wanton ly destroythe prosperity of this source Of weal th ; whi le thegoodwi l l Of the City cou ld on ly be Obtained at the

price Ofthe enjoyment Ofall its rights.

I t was Hénry the Second , as we shal l presentlysee, who c laimed the right Ofgranting permission for

Compan ies to establ ish themselves ; and whi le he

granted charters to some trade assoc iat ions, he

fined others— such as the Assoc iated Goldsmiths,

T/ze C/mrters of London . I 5

the Pelterers,the Butchers, and others— in various

considerable sums, for i l legally consti tut ing themselves into Companies. The act seems d ictated byan honest desi re to promote the interests Of the City,because in order to render anyassociat ion ofworkmenable to carry out its Objects, i t was fi rst necessary thatall Ofthe trade shou ld belong to it, and that i t shouldreceive legal authori ty to control the trade. Nothingbut a royal charter cou ld g ive this power. The riseofthe Companies, however, and thei r gradual controlover the whole trade Of London, requ ires a largerconsideration than these limits wi l l al low. The

d iscontent Of the crafts and the revolutionary movement Of Wi l l iam Fitz-Osbert belong also to thissubj ect, and are part Of the history Of London in

the 12th and I 3th centuries. By the time OfWhittington ,

the Old causes Ofcorruption had been removedin the final abol i tion Of the former magnates

”or

barons ofthe merchan t-gu i ld ,and the substitu tion

Ofapu rely popu lar form Of government through theLivery Companies. What the eloquence OfWi l l iamFitz-Osbert

, backed by his fo l lowing Of craftsmen,

fai led to effect, was wrought by the si len tand i rresistible forces Of growth and development.He fel l amartyr to the cause offree government, yetthe craftsmen learned from him a lesson in the art Ofpopular movement. Norwere they ungratefu l theycut up the gibbet on which he had been hanged , and

kept pieces as precious rel ics, powerful in heal ing thesick. His name Of Longbeard l ingered long afterwards in the minds Of the lower sort, though the

Chu rch had ex commun icated him,and proclaimed

abroad his numerous vi l lain ies.

”

The nex t great add i tion made to the l ibertiesOf the C i ty was that granted by the charter of

Richard the First,which enacted that the Keeper

16 I ntroduction.

Ofthe Tower ofLondon shou ld not have the right toexact or receive any toll on goods brought up the

river, nor shou ld molest any person by reason of

the said wares A lso,by this charter the City

Obtained the conservancy ofthe r iver.In the year 1 198 , by the King’s orders, the two

Sheriffs ofLondon provided standards Ofweight andmeasure

,and sent them to all the coun ties.

On his accession,K ing John granted three charters

to the c i ti zens of London— by the fi rst,they were

exempted from paying tol l in the K ing’s fore igndomin ions by the second , they Obtained power overthe river Medway as wel l as the Thames ; by the

third,they had the sherifi

'

wicks of London and

Midd lesex confirmed to them at the former rentof £300 a-year, with power of choosing the ir ownsheriffs. In another charter, dated 1202

,in which

,

for some unexplained offence, the Weavers wereexpel led the C ity,

the chief officer of the Ci ty is,

for the first t ime, cal led the Mayor. The office Of

Chamberlain still remained in the hands of the

Crown . I t was bought of John,in the year 1204 ,

by Wi l l iam de St. Michael , for the sum Of £ 100and an annual rent Of 100 marks.

In the year 1209,the sheriffs

,having interfered

to prevent King John’

s purveyors carrying Off a

quantity of corn,were degraded and sent to the

K ing at Langley ; but, on their representing thatwhat they had done was to prevent an insurrect ion ,

theywere pardoned and reinstated.

The Londoners were not forgotten in the GreatCharter. “ Let the Ci ty of London ,

” i t said,

“ have

all its Old l ibert ies and its free customs, as well by

land as by water. Besides this, we wi l l and gran tthat all other c it ies, and boroughs, and to

’wns, and

ports have all thei r l iberties and free customs.

”

Tbe Cnurters of London . 17

The enforcement of the Charter was more difiicultto procure than its signature. The Barons weredefeated, and withdrew into London, where the

sturdy burghers d isregarded Papal interdict and

excommun ication, had their masses and services asusual, and defied the K ing, until the arrival Of Lou iswith his French troops caused the defection ofJohn ’

s

French mercenaries. A t the death ofJohn, the EarlMareschal confirmed the l iberties ofLondon.

But the reign of Hen ry I I I. was fu l l of troubleto the C i ty. During the years of m isru le whichfollowed the death of Stephen Langton , the C ityhad to pay fines for fresh charters, fines for permission to sell a certain k ind of cloth, g ifts to

the King, and even a whole fifteenth of thei r property. To pay a fifteenth— that is, more than 6}per cent. on the whole ofone’s possessions— appearsto us almost an incred ible tax . Let us imag ine whatsuch a demand would mean to an ordinary Engl ishhouseholderofthe present day. He has fi rst to payafifteenth on the value of his house furni ture this, atthe moderate valuation of£750, wou ld cal l forapayment Of£50. His books and pictures may be worthas much again another £50 must go for them. Hiswife’s jewels, his plate and valuables, maybe set downat £300 ; another sum of£20 must be paid on them.

Then he must pay a fifteenth on all his savings andinvestments, on his insurances, and ,

ifhe be a merchant or a tradesman,

on his actual stock-in- trade.A ll this would be meant by a fifteenth ; yet the

c i tizens cheerful ly accepted the tax as a part of

the general burden of l ife’s work. Better to pay a

fifteenth than to have the King’s justices interferingwith the C i ty and its trade.

Unfortunately, the buying of privi leges never cameto an end . I t had to be renewed with everysuccessive

B

i 8 Introduction.

k ing,and in the case ofbad k ings, as Henry III. and

Richard I I.

, it was renewed frequently in the samereign , the sl ightest d isorder be ing sei z ed upon as a

suffic ient reason for interference. Thus, there was aquarrel at Westminster between some of the youngCit izens and some ofthe King

’

s people, the cause beinga d ispute about certain Shootings. Itwas in the earlyyears of Henry I I I . A certain Constantine F itzA rnulph present, a turbulent fel low,

one ofthose whohad invited the FrenchPrince over in the late troubles,raised the cry of “Mountjoye St. Den is"God helpus and ourLord Lou is I For this hewas hanged, heand his son

,contrary to the chartered right of every

eit. zen not to plead without the c ity. A nd,worse

than this, Chief-Justice Hubert went on to violate thec ity l iberties by entering with a strong guard ,

depos

ing the Mayor, cutting off the feet of rioters,and

setting a custos over the c ity. By payment of aheavy fine, the people got back the ir freedom.

Again, in the year 1224, another charter wasgranted them . This was an occasion of great joy,and i t proved of so much use

,that the nex t year

theyhad again to payafifteenth ofall their goods forthe clause in thei r favour which had been insertedin the confirmation of Magna Charta. Henry III.

proved a most costly k ing. He imposed a fifteenthfor another charter, after tak ing marks fromthe Ci ty ; London was his treasury, from which he

thought he cou ld d raw at wi ll, provided on ly that

enough was left to carry on the gold-produc ingmachine. Thus

,on one occasion

, the c i ti zens foundthat they must pay the then enormous sum of

in order to“ recover the King

’

s favour,”

a thing which, when recovered ,seemed of no advan

tage. Yet,when he married Eleanor

,the C i ty gave

him a splend id reception ,meeting him wi th a troop

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20 Introduction .

Henry showed wi l l ingness to be conci l iated. Hewent to l ive in the C i ty at Christmas

,accepted

banquets, demanded New Year’s gifts, exacted an

add i tional and encouraged his servants to

take what they pleased, without payment, from the

stal ls. The affection of the c itizens natu ral ly grewmore and more towards ak ing so condescend ing.

Butworse was to fol low. The charters of Londonseemed worth no more than the parchment on whichtheywere written ; the very means of l iving, to saynothing of the c i tizens’ weal th, were at the mercy Of

the rapacious Sovereign the terrified bu rgesses askedeach other in terror what new exaction wou ld be

made. Yet they forgot one thing ; no king, howevermad or rapac ious, would actually kill the bi rd whichlaid the golden ”eggs. I t was necessary that Londonshould go on accumu lating wealth. The statecraftOf the King’

s advisers was shown in rightly judgingthe l ine at which the C ity wou ld al low or wou ldresent demands for money ; and year by year, inspite of these

,the town grew stronger

,richer, more

self-rel iant , yet more necessary to the Crown.

These considerat ions probably induced Hen ry to

fal l upon the Lombard merchants,whom he pro

secuted for usu ry. In this way a slender supplywas real ised

, and he then turned his attention againto the C ity, and proposed , with an appearance of

seriousness,that the London merchants shou ld join

him in anewCrusade. The cit izens al lowed him to

perceive that they felt scant enthusiasm about theRecovery of the Sacred Sites

,whereupon the King

fi ned them ; but the Crusade was not undertaken.

He seems at this t ime to have been deliberately bentUpon humbl ing the City to the utmost ; he multipl iedfr ivolous, impossible, and vexatious ord inances thus,he once ordered all the shops to be shut, and the.

Tlie C/zarters of London . 2 1

people to go to Westminster Fai r in the depth of

winter ; he enjoined the C i ty to pay for the keep of

his bear and his elephant— a smal l thing, but an

invasion ofthe l iberties ; he instigated his servants top ick quarrels with the young citizens— and all of

course was paid forby a newfine.

There is no need to fol lowthe d isputes ofthe K ingand the Cityduring this unhappy t ime. TheMayorswere deposed, and sent to prison tal lages, aids, andfines were constantly imposed. The King

’

s Just icesheld courtswi thin thewalls and charters were soldby the K ing, to be broken again whenever it seemedconven ient.Edward the First carried i t wi th a high hand over

the charters of the citizens. Yet he was not capricious. A strong king, he made his power felt ;imposed fines, removed mayors, and seized the

l iberties ; yet was respected . I t would seem thatthe late troubles had resu lted in a general loweringof trade moral ity, for str ingent laws were passed inthis re ign, regu lat ing the prices and customs of

bakers,m i llers, hucksters, and other sellers of pro

visions. Yet the City in this re ign obtained ‘

a

valuable charter, which confirmed fu l ly all the i r oldprivi leges

,and added certain new ones, namely

( 1)That the Mayor-elect, in the absence of the Kingand Barons Of the Exchequer from Westminster

,is

to be presented and admitted by the Constable OftheTower ; (2) to be free from pannage (which seemsto have been the right of the K ing to send swine tofeed in their forests), from pontage (a duty for

the maintenance of bridges), and of murage (a dutyfor the repai r ofwal ls ofc ities and strong places).The unhappy re ign of Edward the Second began

wi th an act which promised no favou r from the

Crown— an attempt , namely, to tax the Ci ty at the

2 2 I ntroductfon .

K ing’

s own pleasu re, contrary to the charter. TheMayor and A ldermen were intimidated into buyingOfi the clause fora thousand pounds. Forsome t ime

the Crown continued favourablyd isposed towards theC i ty,

employing an army of London ci tizens for thereduction Of Leeds Castle . In 132 1 , however

,

Edward seized the City’

s l iberties ; and , on the

land ing of the Queen wi th Prince Edward and the

Hainaulters in September, 1 322 , he was rewarded bythe defection of the C i ty from his cause. Not on lyd id the Londoners refuse to fight for the King, but

they murdered the B ishop ofExeter, whom the Kinghad appointed custos of the C i ty, took possession of

the Tower, dism issed the prisoners, and i ll-treated the

Chancellor so grievously that he d ied .

This conduct of the C itywas rewarded by Edwardthe Third with a charter which proved the mostadvantageous of any yet obtained by the citizens.

I t confirmed the i r anc ient rights,and added the

fol lowing privi legesThe Mayor was to be one

‘

of the judges Of Oyer

and Terminer, for the trial Of criminals in Newgatethe c itizens were to have the right of Infangtheft

and“ Outfangtheft

”— that is to say, they had the

power of trying every thief taken (fanged)within thec i ty, and of reclaiming for trial , in one of their owncourts

,every thieftaken wi thout the c i ty theyhad a

right to confiscate the goods of every crim inal convicted in the city ; they were al lowed to devise inmortmain, a privi lege which they nobly used in the

foundat ion Of the c ity chari ties ; they could forcefore ign merchants to sel l thei r goods within fortydays of arrival , so that they m ight not hold themback in order to run up the price ; the c iti zenswere not to be chargeable wi th the support of thosewho took sanctuary ; the offi ce of Escheator was

T/ze Cnurtez's of London. 23

g iven to the Mayor ; the cit izens of London mighthold courts of Pie Powder— that is to say,

courts forthe immed iate despatch of quarrels and d isputes— at

the country fai rs to which they took the i r wares ;they were exempted from special tal lages ; theirliberties were not to be stopped for any offenceof their mag istrates ; merchand ise was not to be

rated by the King’

s officers ; and there Was to be no

market wi thin seven mi les ofLondon .

During the reign of Edward I I I. , this charterremained inviolate ; and the prosperi ty of the Ci tywou ld have proceeded by leaps and bounds, but for

the d readfu l pesti lence of the year 13 50— when as is

asserted, “scarce the tenth person of all sorts was

left al ive— and the famine ofthe year 13 59.

A ll the ir privi leges pointed , of course, in one

d irect ion : the c i t izens wanted to manage theiraffai rs-e—that is

, to conduct their trade— for theirown advantage, after the i r own fashion , and wi thou tinterference from the King. The early history of

London is the history of the long and watchfulstruggle during which these l ibert ies were one by one

secured. I t was a struggle in which the C ity tookeverything, and gave back nothing. There weret imes when the royal power was stronger than thei rown : then they were quiet and conci l iatory, paidfines

, gave great gifts, entertained princes royal ly,courted the favour of the he i r. Theywere general lyon the winn ing side. They favoured Prince Edwardin the Barons’ war ; theywere Yorkists in theWarsof the Roses ; they were Roundheads in Charles’

s

war ; they were Whigs in the Revolut ion Of’

1688 .

Li ttle by l i ttle the City shook off the yoke of Kingand B ishop. A ll was not yet done when Whi ttington began his apprent iceship, because R ichard the

Second was coming, who would try to take away

24 I ntroduction .

what his grandfathers had given ; but the City wasal ready pract ical ly free : its l iberties had beengranted , and cou ld always be claimed as a right ;the c i tizens owned al legiance to none but masters Of

their own election and in case of civi l war, the mostimportant thing for either party to consider was, theside which might be taken by the Londoners.

“ In

the city and neighbourhood, says Froissart,“ there

are men, completely armed , and fu l lyarchers. This is a great force ; they are bold and

courageous and themore blood is spil led, thegreateris their courage.

”

SIRRICHARDWHITTINGTON.

CHAPTER I.

BIRTH AND BOYHOOD.

Whatwould you haveme doLearn to bewise. and practisehowto thrive.

”

HEN one man out of a whole generation is

selec ted by posterity as especial ly worthy to

be remembered and had in honour, the choice seemsto be influenced especial ly by that quali ty which wecal l force of character ; the power, namely, whichsome men possess of

.impressing themselves strongly

upon their contemporaries. Other successfu l merchants l ived in London at the same time as

Whittington ; others fi l led the high and responsibleOffi ce ofMayor as often, and wi th as much honourand cred i t ; others received kings wi th as muchd ign ity ; others maintained the l iberties of the citywi th as much determ ination ; others were as charitable, as generous, as patriot ic, and as prudent. Yet

26 Sir Ric/card I/Vnittington.

Whi ttington outshone all the ci tizens of his time.

He alone was regarded, even in his l ifet ime,asflor

mercatorum, the flower of London‘merchants. To

him alone, whether of theWorshipful Company andMystery ofMercers, orofany other craft

,i t has been

granted to become the pattern for all ambitiousprentices, a shin ing example of how a penn i lessboy may rise to weal th and honour by the aid Of

certain vi rtues— industry, honesty, patience, thrift, andcourage— whichare as rare in these days as theywerewhen Dick trudged along themuddy roads on hiswayto conquer Fortune. I t wi l l be the aim of this bookto Show

, as nearly as may be gathered , by what kindof l ife

, by what acts and deeds, and under whatcircumstances

,Richard Whi ttington won this crown

t onoun

We find the name written in various ways,1 ashappened to most names before spel l ing was exal tedto one ofthe necessities ofcivi l isation. In the matterofspell ing, every man was theri a law unto himself,so that those who thought that an it wou ld improvethe look ofaword put one in, and whi le some were

pleased with the severity ofan i, others preferred the

beauty ofay. I t would be, however, mere pedantry

1 Among these ways are the following —Whitington, Whytington,Whityngton , Whittington, Whyttyngton, Wityndon, Whytindon ,Witinton

,Wittingdon, Wittington, and Wityiigton.

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2 3 Sir It’

. c/zard lV/zitting/on .

gules. The crest was changed byWhittington fromthe l ion'

s head to abee, orMay-fly, the wings tippedwi th gold . I t was a time ofuniversal symbol ism— a

symbol ism read i ly interpreted by the peopl e— so thatthe crests

,the herald ic devices, the coats ofarms, the

shape and colour ofbanners and bannerets, the trapp ings ofhorses, the fantastic figures in apageant, theaccessories ofpun ishment, the marshal ling and orderofaprocession

, were so many proclamations ofrank,d ign ity, fam ilyhistory, rights, honours, or infamy, readand understood by those who looked on as clearlyasis aprinted book in modern times. By the

~

bee (ifit

was abee)Whi ttington probably symbol ised, and was

wel l understood as symbol ising, the slowand patienttoi l by which success is obtained. The industriousapprentice would observe the symbol of the bee asthe great merchant rode through the streets. It

admonished him and encouraged him as clearly as ifi t had been a picture by Hogarth. If

, on the otherhand, the crest was meant to be aMay-fly, wi thwingsgold-tipped, perhaps the uncertainty and ephemeralnature ofhuman happiness was ind icated. Certainlyin those days, even more than now, men did wel l toremember that plague, pesti lence, and famine , battle,murder

, and sudden death, are continual ly n igh and

threatening. But, tomy eyes, the crest looks morel ike abee.

Now this coat ofarms,with the l ion’

shead forcrest

Pauntley. 29

instead of the bee , was borne by a family whosehistory has been clearly traced by Dr. LysonsEarly in the 13th century they held an estate in

Herefordshi re, cal led Soler’s Hope . Thence theymigrated to the vil lage of Pauntley, in Gloucestershi re, where they acqu ired another estate, probablythe greater ofthe two, or perhaps the more desi rableas a place of residence.

The vi l lage of Pauntley,says Dr. Lysons, is at

aconsiderable d istance from any town ofconsequence,

and can scarcely be cal led a vi l lage. I t consists ofthe church and manor-house , which stand close to

each other, and afewscattered houses here and thereat a d istance from the church. The whole present

popu lation is only 2 56 , and doubtless was muchsmal ler in Whittington

’

s time. The church is a

beaut ifu l Spec imen of the early Norman . The z igzag archwhich separates the chancel from the bodyof the church is singularly fine, as also the arch of

the south doorway. To the north is averyancient

porch,bu i l t of fine old Engl ish oak. There are sti l l

remains to be seen of the O ld manor-house, aportionofwhich is now used as an out-house and adove-cot

,

in which there is a good semic ircular-headed door

way. There is no parsonage at Pauntley. The

l iving, which is valued at £80 per annum,is in the

g ift Ofthe B ishop ofGloucester and Bristol . I cou ldnot help feel ing a singular interest when I walked

30 Sir Ric/2ard W/zittington.

over the ground on whichWhittington had trod— sat

in the church porchwhere he had probably sat— and

entered the church in which he had worshipped as aboy, and in which,

doubtless,he was bapt ised . The

Abbey of Cormeilles, in Normandy, one of the al ien

priories, had a priory in the parish, and also had the

advowson ofPauntley (Henry which remained inthe ir possession unti l the d issolution of the monas

teries, when it was granted to Sir G i les Pole, who

married El i zabeth, the youngest of the co-lieiresses

of ThomasWhittington, the last male of the d i rect

branch of the fam i ly. By the wi l l of Robert Whi ttington i t appears that Pauntley was the

burial-place Of the fam i ly. He desi res to be buriedin the Church ofSt. John the Evangel ist, in Pauntley.

His son Guy,bywi l l desires to be buried in

theNewChapel of St. George in the above church,

whichmarks the date and name of that which is now

the south aisle. The church i tselfseems to have beenbu i l t soon after the Conquest, probably byWal ter dePauntley.

“ A second visi t to Pauntley, in Ju ly loth, 1860,

brought to l ight circumstances connected wi th the

history of theWhi ttington fam i ly overlooked on the

occasion of the first visi t, which bear pecu l iarly on

the confirmation of the fami ly pedigr In the

north window of the chancel still ex ist the remainsof ancient stained glass, on which are emblazoned

Sir PVii/iazn IVlzittington. 3 I

the arms ofWhi ttington, wi th those of the Linets,Stauntons, and Peresfords, families wi th whom the

Whittingtons intermarried ; whi le in the west window,

under the tower, are found the arms ofWhittingtonimpaling Melbourne on the right hand side, and on

the left those OfWhittington impal ing Fi tz-Warren ,

thus clearly ident ifying our hero, whose wife wasA l ice Fitz -Warren , with the Pauntley fami ly beyondd ispute.

”

The head of the fami ly in the year 13 50 was Sir

Will iamWhittington,whose age is unknown

,but he

was at the t ime unmarried . He married ,e ither in

13 5 2 or 135 3, probably the latter, the widow ofSir

Thomas de Berkeley, a member of the great Houseof that name

,of Coverley,

in Gloucestershi re. Sir

Thomas d ied in 135 2 , leaving his widowas ajointurethe estate ofStoke Orchard . Three sons (Dr. Lyson

says perhaps”five chi ldren

,but gives no reason)

were the fru it of the second marriage. I t is important

,therefore, to bear in m ind that the ordinary

ideas aboutWhittington’

s origin are ground less. Hewas not friend less

,norwas he ofObscu re orig in . He

was of gentle bi rth : his father was a kn ight and acounty squ i re : his mother belonged to the family of

Mansel , a Devonshi re house of the same rank : his

half-brothers, if he had any, were of the house of

Berkeley. Such advantages, therefore, as good birthcou ld bestow upon a lad were his. He came of a

32 Sir Ric/turd PV/i ittington.

good old stock , and was neither acountry clown nor

gutter-born town lad.

Somewhere about the year 1 35 8 , SirWi l l iamWhittington was outlawed ; i t is not known for whatOffence

,but i t is conjectured by Dr. Lyson that it

was the marrying of Sir Thomas Berkeley’

s widowwithout the royal consent, and he adduces examplesofoutlawry for this offence. He d ied in outlawry inthe

'

year 1360. We may therefore place the birth ofR ichard Whi ttington, who was the youngest, aboutthe year 13 5 8 .

The three boys thus left without a father at atender age were named respectivelyWi l l iam ,

Robert,

and Richard. The estate Of Pauntley became the

jointure of Dame Whi ttington,who thus possessed

for l ife two estates, and could not have been bad ly

off. The eldest, who took Soler

’

s Hope, and eventually Pauntley, grew to manhood , and married one

Catherine Staunton,but d ied wi thout chi ldren ; where

upon the estates went to the second brother Robert,

who also married and had issue, one ofhis sons,Guy,

be ing present at the field ofAgincourt. His descen

dants occupied the estate for nearly two hundred

years. A branch of the family sti l l ex ists at the

vi l lage of Hamswill, in the parish of Cold Ashton,

not many miles from Pauntley; and many persons ofthe name claim to be descended from this brother ofSirRichard.

Education. 33

The Whittingtons, then ,were ofa good old race,

and l ived on thei r own lands, which'

were farmed forthem by three villains. The estate wou ld yieldenough and to spare of corn and grain,

cider andmead

,hay and grass, cattle, sheep, and bacon for

their own use ; whi le thewood land, which then formedso large a part of every country estate, was huntedover by the sons ofthe house forven ison and game.As for education in a countryvi l lage, therewere

but two ways possible. If the fam i ly was not richenough to secure the services of a clerk as privatetutor, the parson of the parish had to undertakethe task

,no doubt in accordance with the Solomonic

method,so that the boys could cry out

,l ike him of

the songI wold fayne beaClarke,But yet hit is astrange werkeThe birchen twiggis be so Sharpe,

Hitmakythme have afayat harte.What availeth itme though I saynay"

I wold mymasterwere an hare.And all his bokis howndiswere,And I myselfajolybuntereTo blowmyhorn I wold not spareFor ifhewere dede I coold not care.

”

Many boys of good fami ly were put into greathouses, where they became “ Henxmen

, or“ Bele

Babies, and were taught to ride,to bear armour

, to

34 Sir Ric/card Wnzttington.

learn courtesy in speech and deed , read ing, singing,harping, dancing,

’

languages, and other usefu l things.

But these ladswere not designed forthe c i ty. Whereapriest cou ld not be found foraprivate house, a boymight be sent to one ofthe great convents, where theabbots received a l imi ted number of boys. Therewere no grammar schools in the country to which aGloucestershi re boy m ight conven iently be sent .Hereford school was founded in 1384, too late for theWhittingtons.It is hard to understand how younger sons in

those days got settled in theworld . Probablyagoodmany, espec ial ly on great estates, remained in the

castle or manor-house acting as stewards, managers,orbai l iffs they m ight look forward, after aper iod of

service, to tak ing up farms and smal l estates boughtfor them ; and theywou ld marry g irls whose dowrywould be in land . Some wou ld go into the Churchbut i t must be remembered that

,though we find

Henry the Fifth’

s uncle aB ishop ofWinchester anda Courtenay the B ishop of London ,

in the fourteenth century respect for ecclesiastics was smal l

,

whi le the fac i l ities of the convent school opened the

door to the rise of poor and humble boys of abi l i ty.

Every cobbler’s son,

”says Piers Plowman

,

“ is

becoming a clerk first and then a bishop, and greatlords have to bow down before him.

”The Church

was the one profession by which a lad of ignoble

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36 Sir Ric/card W/zittington.

vie bruyante, the noisy,loud, and rough l ife ofagreat

lord ’

s service, what else could he do" The Lawwas

open to him ; he might become astudent of one of

the Inns ofCourt. Here hewould find none but suchas

,like himself

,were of good family,

wi th manywhostud ied lawas the education most su i ted forthe life

ofacountrygentleman. Wemay remember— becausethe happy continu ity of Engl ish l ife and mannersrenders suchaparal lel possible— that Justice Shal lowwas in his youthastudent oflaw. Other professionsthere were none. The barberswere surgeons, and letblood ; there were no engineers, archi tects, bankers,or writers ; there was no army in which to hold acommission there was no stand ing navy ; there wasno Civi l Service, un less apost in the Royal Household might be cal led aCivi l Service ; there was onlyone way possible outside service, the church, or thelaw bywhich a lad cou ld earn his l ivel ihood, whichwas by practising some honourable trade ormysteryin agreat ci ty.

I t must not be imagined that these prentices of theCity ofLondonwere ofmean and humble origin not

at all. The sons of freemen of the City, or boys ofgood and honourable fam i l ies, alonewere admitted tothe seven years of apprenticeship. The common

people , the ascripti glean— the poor rustics who werebound to the soi l, and cou ld not leave their nativefields— had no partorshare in the fortunes OftheCity

Lysons’

Tlicory. 37

of London. Many of the burgesses were proud of

their descent aswel l as of their l iberties and if theywere, as Froissart cal ls them, a presumptuous folk,theywere in many cases actual cousins by blood of

the kn ights and lords who were j ealous of theirfreedom. So that, when we read of noble fami liesdescended from cityworthies, i t iswel l to rememberthat most l ikely their very founders were themselvesofgentle descent.One or two add i tional facts have been col lected

about theWhi ttington family. The “ in lawry”was

accomplished after Sir Wi l l iam ’

s death, perhaps atsome expense in way of fines— a fact which Dr.Lysons brings to bearupon his theoryofWhittington

’

s

early life.

He was, he says, theyoungest son ofan honourablebut impoverished house. His mother married again

,

and had asecond family. This is amistake, because,as already stated

, SirWi ll iam Whi ttington was hersecond husband , and not Sir Thomas Berkeley. He

goes on to bui ld up astoryabout neglect, i l l-treatmentbyhis elder brothers (who were only a year or twoOlder than himself), and final resolution to run awayand seek his fortune in London. He might havegone to Gloucester, but it was too near to Pauntley(says Dr. Lysons), andwould probablyhave remindedhim ofhis own family, and their treatmen t ofhim ;hewould desire to get away as far as possible ; he

38 Sir Ric/lard W/zittington.

wou ld put the whole breadth of England betweenhimselfand his mother.A ll this is pure imagination, wi th not asingle fact

to rest upon. I read the story very d ifferently. Ifind a country lad, the youngest of three his eldestbrother succeeds to the property ; the second stayson the estate. The third shal l be sent to London, andapprenticed, not to ahand icraft, but to an honourable

trade not to ameanlyborn tradesman , but to aman

of good old west-country stock, known wel l to all

the Whittingtons, Berkeleys, and Mansels. TO him

the boy shal l be sent ; he has prom ised to receivehim into his service. He wi l l take care that theslender portion of the youngest son shal l not be

wasted hewi l l teach the boy the mystery of buyingand sell ing hewi l l launch him into the great world.

As regards the boy’

s animosity towards his own

kin,i t is clearly d isproved by the facts that he placed

his arms in the church of Pauntley, that he orderedprayers for the souls of his father and mother, andthat he left a valuable col lection of plate to his

brother.At the age ofthirteen, then, and somewhere about

the year 137 1, the lad was sent up to London to seekhis fortune in the usual way, by apprenticeship andhonourable trade.

As fortheway from Gloucester to London, roads,

To London. 39

like streets,never change if they are left to them

selves. Country people fol low the same track as

their fathers, wi thout considering whether the lie

Of the land would perhaps admit of an easier or astraighter way ; inns and refres hment houses springup, which make change more diflicult ; so that,though the broad highway has taken the place ofthebrid le-path, he who wou ld ride from Pauntley to

London wou ld now ride by much the same road asthat fol lowed by l i ttle DickWhittington,who probablywalked all the way,

without feel ing that method of

travel ahardship at all.There was a great deal of traffic between the quiet

west country and London in those days ; there was

the send ing up,on pack-horses

,of wool, and the

bring ing back of si lks,broadcloths

,spices, scented

woods,wines, and all the things which cou ld be got

in London. Nothing could be sen t down to the

countryex cept on the backs ofhorses there were nowaggons

,coaches, canals, or boats. Sometimes the

d rivers brought back their beasts laden ; sometimesthey returned with the produce in marks, shil lings,and si lver pence, carrying the money in leathernpurses tied to their gird les. Theywent up to town,

and they returned, in strong compan ies ; and allwerearmed , for there were robbers lurk ing near everywood . They carried or bought their own provisionson the way, for at the inns theyfound nothing but

40 Sir Ric/zard a ttington.

sleeping accommodation,and that of the roughest,

wi th two or three in a bed . They carried their valuables to their sleeping- rooms wi th them

,or kept

watch over them all n ight. On the march,they

looked suspiciously,weapon in hand

,at every Coppice

of t rees or clump of tangled brier and brushwood ,because behind i t there might be lurk ing some bandof desperate vi l lains, hoping to rush upon themunawares

, to k i l l and plunder. A shame thatroads shou ld be left thus grown over"And yet a

law was passed by K ing Edward the First,that all

roads, in those places where woods,bushes

,and

dykes are found , in which wicked men may find ahid ing-place, shou ld be enlarged to awidth of twentyfeet on either hand , great trees on ly excepted . Thereis apiece of road on theway from Upton-on-Sevem

to Tewkesbury, in this same county of Gloucestershire, which may remind the traveller of the brid le

pathalong which these long caravans ofbeasts ladenwithwool and flax slowly moved. I t is amade roadnow, but i t was then a narrow track

,and on either

side stretches the flat and wooded heath, where an

army of robbers might hide themselves. I t hasa cold and suspic ious look ; the trees are noble

,

but between them l ies, in parts, the thick and

treacherous underwood. As that road is now,

so were all the roads in Gloucestershire in thosedays, when, for every hundred acres of cleared

Ttie Squire roéoed. 41

land,there were a thousand ofwood land chase and

forest.The cond i tion of the country is shown by the

singu lar adventure which happened, some yearslater, to Robert Whi ttington

, Squire of Pauntley.

He was rid ing near Hereford with his son Guy

perhaps they had been to look at the family estateof Soler’s Hope—when theywere suddenlyattackedbyaband ofrobbers

,thi rty in all, among whom were

eight ofthe household ofRichard O ldcastle, agentleman ofthe county. Resistance was useless, and theywere carried Off to Dynmore Hill , where theywererobbed , and kept all n ight in a deserted chapel .Nex t day they were informed that they wou ld be

either put to death, or taken across the March intoWales— a fate which they seem to have consideredasworse, on the whole, than being kil led , though onedoes not seewhy— unless they cou ld procure ransom .

Guy was al lowed to go, in order to make somearrangements for the raising of the sum demanded.

When he returned, offering a substantial sum, the

two prisoners, father and son, were released, aftersolemnly swearing to pay £600 for ransom

, and to

forego all actions or prosecutions for their imprisonment. They came away, and immediatelysuppl icatedthe King to declare such a covenant, entered intowi th the kn ife at their throats, nu ll and void so thatthey paid none of the money. I t is not apparent

42 Sir Ric/turd W/i ittington .

what became of the robbers,or if any of them were

brought to justice. It may,however

,be remarked

that Sir Robert Whi ttington, whatever his father’

s

circumstances were,must have been a man of very

considerable substance, to be ransomed at what was

then an enormous sum ofmoney.

R ichard was doubtless sent to London under theescort ofa caravan ofwool-carriers hewou ld performthe journey in five orsix days, and one hopes that hehad no more unpleasant experience on theway thanascare nowand then

, when i l l-favoured ones, too few

to venture on an attack, scowled upon the band of

carriers from the depths of the forest. He marchedalong the bridle-path which we now cal l OxfordStreet, and he entered the City of the Golden Pavement by that gate which he afterwards cleansed,purified

,and rebu i l t— the gate where so many

criminals have wai ted in angu ish for the end. To

enter by way of Newgate m ight have been a bad

omen ; but the boywas think ing not of omens, butofhis future l ife, and of Sir John Fitz-Warren, whowas to be hismaster.

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44 Sir Ric/eard Wliittington .

The great wal l OfLondon,broad and strong

,with

towers at intervals, was two mi les and 608 feet longfrom end to end, beg inn ing at the Tower ofLondonon the east

,and end ing at the Fleet R iver and the

Thames on the west. I t was original ly su rroundedbyamoat ord itch 200 feet broad ,

whichwas finishedin the year 12 13 . But the d itch speed i ly became thereceptacle forall the city rubbishwhich cou ld not bethrown into the river, and in the course of ahundredand fifty years it was completely choked and fi l ledup,

being,no doubt

, one of the causes of the manydreadfu l pesti lences which fel l upon the City. I t wascleaned out and repaired by the d irection Of JohnPhi lpot

,Mayor, in the year 1379, and eight years

later i t was ordered to be kept in repai r by meansof a tol l . During the t ime, then, wi thwhichwe aremost concerned , the moat was abroad and clear pieceofwater runn ing round the whole north of the City,crossed by bridges and causeways here and there.

In Stow’

s time— that is, before the end of QueenElizabeth’

s reign— it was almost enti rely fi l led up,

planted wi th gardens, and wi th houses bu i l t upon thebanks.

As regards the gates, there were anciently onlyfour— namely, A ldgate, A ldersgate, Ludgate, andBridgegate

— that is to say, one for each of the

card inal points. Then other gates and posterns wereadded for the convenience of the citizens : B ishop

T/ze Gates. 45

gate, for those who had business in the d i rection of

Norfolk, Suffolk, or Cambridgeshi re ; Moorgate, for

those who would practise archery, or take the irrecreation in MoorFields Cripplegate, more anc ientthan the two preceding, had a prison for debtorsattached to i t ; and there was also a postern for

the convent of Grey Friars, now Christ’s Hospital .At Newgate was a smal l, incommod ious, and feverhaunted prison for criminals, whose wretched con

d i t ion moved the compassion ofWalworth first andWhi ttington nex t. And at Ludgate was anotherprison

,appropriated to debtors, trespassers, and those

who committed contempt ofcourt.A long the river sidewere several water-gates, the

chiefofwhichwere B lackfriars, Queenhithe, Dowgate,and B i l l ingsgate. These

,l ike the gates to the north

wal l, were ordered to be d i l igently guarded by n ight,for fear ofFrench deceits.

”

Pernoctem portae claudunturLendiniarum.

Moeniane forte fraus frangat Francigenarum.

The citizens of the fourteenth century regardedthe lordly Tower ofLondon wi th fear and j ealousyrather than pride, because i t represented the royalpretensions against which they were continual lystruggling in the maintenance of thei r l ibert ies. I twas a stand ing menace ; and i t was associated withthe death of those who had fal len in the battle of

46 Sir.Rickard Wlzittington.

freedom . The early reformers, who attempted too

much, and were hanged, beheaded , and quarteredas sed i t ious and pestilent fel lows, instead of beinghonoured as patriots, chiefly met their doom in the

Tower— Fitz-Osbert in I 196 ,Constantine Fitz -Arnulphin 1222

,the Sheriffs in 12 5 3, the Mayor, A ldermen,

and Sheriffs in 126 5 , for instance. The Tower wasthe citadel for the defence of» the town ; i t was alsoa State prison itwas a royal residence ; i t was theMint ; i t was the A rmoury ; i t was the treasury of

the ornaments and jewels of the Crown i t was theprincipal Record Office ; and i t was, besides, theplace from which the King could form a point ofvantage, assai l the privi leges and l iberties Ofthe City,by demand ing tol l , tithe, and tal lage in the teeth of

old and hard ly-won Royal Charters.

The fol lowing story i l lustrates the popular feel ingtowards the TowerKing Henry I I I . had bu i l t a noble tower, wi th

portal, wal ls, and bu lwarks, for the adornment andstrengthen ing ofthe Tower. Hard lywere the workscompleted than ,

on the n ight ofSt. George, the foundations gave way,

and thewhole fel l to the ground.

The work was again taken in hand,and the tower

rebu i l t. Again i t fel l to the ground . Now therewas a certain priest in London, to whom , in adream ,

there appeared the venerable figure of an archbishopbearing a cross in his hand . He advanced to the

Tno City. 47

newly-bu i lt wal ls, regarded them with a stern and

threatening aspect, and struck them wi th his cross,whereupon they all fel l to the ground. The sleepingpriest

,in his d ream ,

asked an attendant on the archbishop what might be the mean ing of this

,and was

answered that he sawbefore him the sainted Thomasa Becket, son of Gilbert

,Portreeve of London, who

overturned these wal ls because he knew them to be

designed for the injury and prejud ice of the Lon

doners, whom he loved , and not for defence of the

kingdom .

Wi thin the narrow space of the ci ty wal ls thererose a forest of towers and spires. The piety of

merchants had erected no fewer than ahund red and

three churches, which successive c i tizens were con

tinually rebu i ld ing , beautifying, or enlarging. Theywere fi l led wi th the effigies and Splend id tombs, thepainted and gilded arms

, of their founders and benefactors, forwhose sou ls masses were continual ly said.

It was a t ime when rel igious ceremonies attendedevery act ofofficial life. On seven days in the yearthe Mayor heard mass at St. Pau l

’

s,attended by the

sheriffs, aldermen, and the l iveries. Every Companyhad its own church or chapel . Besides the par ishchurches, there were many splend id churches belonging to the priories and monasteries. Foremost amongthem was the great church ofSt. Paul . I t was begun

to be bu i l t, after the burn ing of the old church in the

48 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

year 1087 , by Maurice, B ishop of London, and the

work was carried on by his successors, who enclosed

the cathedral on the north and south sides byastrongwal l and gates

, wi th what object is not apparent.The bu i lding was continued through thewhole ofthetwelfth century, the steeple being finished in the year1222 . The church, when fin ished, Was 720 feet long,the breadthwas 130 feet, and the heightwas 1 50 feet.I t is shown in Agas

’

s“View of London

”

(temp.

Elizabeth)as agreat church, cruciform , wi th a tower,but no steeple. On the north side was a cloister,surround ing aplot of ground cal led Pardon Church

yard, and painted (but this was after the death of

Whi tt ington)wi th aDance of Death, l ike the cemetory of St. Innocents in Paris ; on the same side alsowere aCol lege of Petty Canons, founded by RichardI I . , and achapel of the Holy Ghost under the choi rwas the Jesus Chapel ; and at the west end of thischapel , also under the choir, was the parish church of

St. Fai th. Again,on the north side was a charm ]

house forthe bones of the dead , and over i t a chapel .On the east side stood ahigh bell- tower, square , bui l tof stone

,containing four bells, and covered with a

leaden spi re, in whichwas an image of St. Pau l . In

the midst of the churchyard was the famous pulpitcross of timber, mounted upon steps of stone

, fromwhich sermons were read

,bul ls proclaimed, and other

functions performed . The church i tself,which

St. Paul’

s Catkedral. 49

resembled Winchester Cathedral in many of its

features, was fi lled wi th monuments ofdead worthies,among whom were, accord ing to Stow— Kings Seba,of the East Saxons, and Etheldred, of the WestSaxons. many ofthe B ishops ofLondon the deans,Chancellors

,canons

,and prebends of the cathedral ;

John of Gaun t, Duke of Lancaster, wi th B lanche, hisfi rst wife ; SirRichard Burley, Kn ight of the Garter ;and avast number ofdeceased cityworthies— mayors,aldermen

, and great merchants. The monuments of

the church were numerous, but theywere not to be

compared with those in the churches of the GreyFriars and the B lack Friars, the reason being the

un iversal desi re to be buried in the company of holymen.

The City, at the close ofthe fourteenth century, was

much richer in great and noble houses than i t is atpresen t. Not one of the houses, great or smal l , ofWhittington

’

s youth now remain, the oldest of theancient C itybu i ld ings, theGu i ldhal l and CrosbyHal l,being offifteenth-century t ime . The most importantwas perhaps Baynard

’

s Castle, the name of whichsti l l survives to mark the spot on which i t stood on

the bank of the river,close to B lackfriars B ridge.

This place belonged to the hered itary bearers of theC i tybanner, the Fitz-Walters, from the year 1 2 16 to

the end of the following century. The castle was

greatly damaged by fire in the year 1428 , after whichD

so Sir Rickard Wkittington .

i t was rebu i l t by H umphrey, Duke of Gloucester.HenryVII. repai red i t, and made i t his own residence.

It was here that the Counc i l was held which resolvedupon proclaiming Queen Mary. In the time of

El i zabeth-it belonged to the Earl of Pembroke ; andi t was final ly destroyed in the Great Fi re

,being then

the residence ofthe Earls ofShrewsbu ry.

Close to Baynard’

s Castle,on thewest

,had formerly

stood the Tower ofMountfiquit, but this was takendown in the year 1276 to make room for the Churchof the B lack Friars and sti l l farther west

,at the end

of the C i tywal l, on the banks of the Thames, stoodanother tower, bu i l t and kept repaired at the chargesof the City. Beyond Fleet River, outside the wal l ,had formerly stood a tower on the spot where B ridewel l was afterwards erected . The stones were usedin the rebu i ld ing of St. Pau l ’s after the fire of the

year 1087 . The house remained,and was used by

K ing John for a Parliament, but in Whittington’

s

t ime it was an open space, used as a“ lay stal l

,

”or

place for the throwing of refuse and rubbish. I t was

rebu i lt much later by HenryVII I .

The name ofthe Barbican preserves thememoryofa watch- tower which formerly stood there

,wi thout

the Citywal l . There were, however, other Barbicans,especial ly those erected by the Barons in the war

wi th Henry I I I .The great Tower Royal, which stood in the street

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5 2 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

pul led down, and smal l houses erected in its place.

In this street there were also many good housesbelonging to merchants. In Fenchurch Street theEarls of Northumberland had ahouse ; Leadenhall,which became the property ofthe citizens in the year1408 , and was a granary for storing corn against at ime ofdearth there were the hal ls Ofthe C i tyCom

panies. On Cornhi l l stood the “Tun” Prison (so

called because in shape i t resembled acask), unti l the

year 1401 , when i t was pul led down, and a condu it ofwater brought from Tyburn took its place ; on the

north side ofCornhi l l was the Weigh” House,whereforeign merchand ise was weighed at the

“ King’sBeam in Eastcheap was the great house called the“ Garland.

”On Fish Street Hil l was the old palace

of Edward the B lack Prince, afterwards convertedinto an inn ; in St. Michael

’

s Lane was the LeadenPorch

,

”also converted afterwards into an inn ; in

Walbrook was the Stocks Market, cal led after thestocks, which stood hard by— it was one of the five

markets erected for the sale of fish and flesh, the

others be ing B ridge Street, East Chepe, Old FishStreet, and St. Nicolas

’

shambles. Wool wasweighedin the churchyard of St. MaryWool Church, nex t tothis market. In Dowgate stood Jesus’ Col lege , asociety ofpriests, wi th a l ibrary. Here were also twofamous old houses, named Erber and the Old Hal l ;close by was the Steel-yard. This place was the

Ypres Inn. 5 3

quarter inhabited by the Hanseatic merchants. The

origin ofthis remarkable mercanti le colonywas veryanc ient. They obtained a settlement in London

before the Conquest, and were known as the GuildaA ula Teutonicorum. They obtained charters fromsuccessive kings, wi th confi rmation of thei r privi legesand rights of trade . They might elect their alderman , and import their merchand ise, which theywereordered to sel l wi thin forty days un less expresslyforbidden forspecial reasons. Their l ibertywas seizedby Edward VI . , on complaint of the English merchants. They imported grain, ropes, masts, pitch,tar, flax ,

hemp,linen c loth, wax ,

steel, and otherthings.

Near the Tower Royal stood Ypres Inn,named

after its bu i lder, Wi l l iam of Ypres, a Fleming of

King Stephen’

s reign. Here,in the tumul t of the

year 1 377 , the sed itious citizens tried to lay hands

upon the Duke of Lancaster and the Marshal, whoescaped by fl ight. In Basinghall Street was Bakewel l Hal l, one ofthe most ancient ofthe City houses,where was held aweekly market and i t was orderedbyWhi ttington, in the first ofhis three years ofOffi ce,that no foreigner shou ld sell wool len cloth but in

Bakewell Hal l. In Basing Lane was another ancienthouse, cal led , later, Gerrard

’

s Hal l , after a supposedgiant so cal led , whose staff, a great firpole forty feetlong, and ladder, were shown to visitors. But Stow

54 Sir Rickard Wkittington .

has shown that the hal l was formerly cal led after SirJohn Gisors, its owner, and that the staffwas nothingbut an old Maypole, and the ladder that which wasemployed to decorate i t. Gu i ldhal l stood somewhatwest of the present site, on which the newGu i ldhal lwas commenced in the year 14 1 1 . Beside it stoodthe Chapel or Col lege of St. Magdalen

,now incor

porated wi th St. Lawrence Jewry, cal led also LondonCol lege. I t possessed a l ibrary,

for which a new

bu i ld ing was erected , in conformitywi th the terms ofWhittington

’

s wi l l . In the Jewry stood the Old

synagogue which had belonged to the Jews beforetheir expu lsion in 1 291 ; an order of monks

,cal led

Fratres de Penitentia j esu, turned it into a chapel .The real centre ofthe city seems to have been Chepe.Here , or close by, were St. Pau l

’

s Cathedral and BowChu rch here was the Hospital ofSt. ThomasAconhere was the Standard ”

of Chepe,which contained

the great condu i t. I t was at the Standard , and overagainst the place where the mercers had their shops,

that ex ecu tions of citizens, especially those of the

hastyand tumu l tuous kind , took place. \Vhittington

may have witnessed here the beheadal of SheriffRichard Lions by Wat Tyler in 138 1 ; but mostl ikely,

on that day of rebuke and anarchy, he waswi th his Company,

preparing for the defence of the

c ity. In Chepe was the great Cross, the last but oneof those erected by Edward the First to mark the

Ckepe. 5 5

place where rested the body ofhis Queen on thewaytoWestminster. At the west end was another cross,taken down in the year 1390. On thewest of BowChurch was astone gal lery, erected by Edward I I I .for wi tnessing tournaments ; and ,

beyond , an openspace cal led the Meadow,

where the mercers hadthe ir shops. This was the heart of the City and the

centre oftrade. A ll the pageants, processions, riotings,and “ chevauchés” passed along Chepe ; in its broadroad kn ights rode in t i l t on great days ; on ord inarydays the stal ls round the Standard were crowdedwi thbuyers, the citizens thronged about the booths, menat-arms rode up and down , kings

’

purveyors walked ,carrying wands ofoffice, from shop to shop, prisonerswere carried to the p i l lorypreceded byfife and drumfrom time to time aquarrel arose , wi th brandishing ofkn ives and clash of steel ; the prentices shouted attheir booths ; the great C i ty lad ies walked about

rustl ing in si lk and sat in,with gold chains and scarlet

wimples the i r humbler sisters vied wi th them in

brave attire the men went clad as gorgeously as

thewomen. I t was at ime ofsplend id dress and costlyadornment ; personal property took the form of goldand si lver cups, hoods broidered wi th pearls, robesand gowns ofbright colour and great price.

The water supply ofthe Citywas formerly derivedfrom the brooks and streams that flowed through i t

,

and the wel ls which stood within and wi thout the

56 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

wal ls. The river ofWells,called afterwards the Fleet

Ditch ; the Walbrook , which ran through the midstof the city ; and a bourn which ran through Langbourn Ward, furnished an ample supply ofwater inearly times. When thesewater-courses became cor

rupted wi thin the wal ls by things thrown in, the

citizens had recourse to the streams outside the town,the principal of which was Holborn or Oldborne

stream , which fel l into theWel ls river, where is now

the Holborn Viaduct. The principal wells wereHolyWel l , Clement

’

s Wel l , and Clark’

s or Clerken

Wel l , at thewest end ofClerkenwel l Church. In the

year 12 36 water was brought from Tyburn in leadencondu i ts, and , fifty years later, from Padd ington, totheCity. The Standard of Chepe was the greatplace for the drawing ofwater. Later on,

as we shallsee,Whi ttington provided the first drinking fountains,in the form of bosses, put up in various p laces.

The City has always been wel l provided wi thhospitals. Those in the fourteenth centurywere St.Katherine ’s, by theTower St. Anthony

’

s, with afree

school ; St. Bartholomew’

s ; St. Gi les in the Fields,

founded by the Queen of Henry I . for lepers ; St.John of Jerusalem ; St. James in the Field , also forlepers St. Mary

’

s,within Cripplegate, founded by

Wi l l iam Elsing, Mercer, in the year 1332 ; St. Maryof Bethlehem ; St. Mary without B ishopsgate ; St.Mary Rouncevall, by Charing Cross St. Thomas of

Tko Trades. 57

Acon in Chepe,which afterwards became the

Mercers’ Chapel and others.

These were the principal monuments of the greatCity. Its residents were not all merchants and

craftsmen ; besides a large number of priests, friars,and monks, there were a good number of houses, aswe have seen, belonging to great nobles, but ofcoursethe great mass ofthe peoplewere thoseoccupied wi thits commerce and industries. And suchwas the closeand jealous guard ing ofthe trades, so strictlywere thecrafts ruled and adm in istered, suchwas the protection,that

,natural ly, those of the same cal l ing gathered

together in and about the same streets, where theoverseers could easi ly take care that none shouldundersell the other

,norany expose forsale goods of

inferior quali tyand make. For the English reputation forhonesty and good work was not a plant ofspontaneous growth, but was the work of manygenerations ofwise and thoughtful rulers. Thus the

mercers, in the time ofwhich we write, kept theirshops in Cheapside, as in the London Luckpenny

Then to the Chepe I began me drawne,Where much people I sawforto stande ;One offered me velvet, sylke, and lawne,Another he taketheme bythe handeHere is Paris thred, the fynest in the lande.

The goldsmiths occupied Guthrun’

s Lane— now

Gutter Lane, in which wi ll sti l l be found Goldsmith

5 8 Sir Rickard k ittington.

Street ; the pepperers and grocers in Soper’

s Lanewhich is now gone . They migrated from that partto Bucklersbury, most ofwhich is also gone. The

drapers were found in Lombard Street and Cornhi l lthe Sk inners

,in St. Mary Pellipers and St. Mary

Axe ; the pelterers, in Walbrook, Cornhi l l , and

Budge Row ;1 the stock fishmongers, in Thames

Street ; the“ wet fishmongers, in Knightrider

Street and B ridge Street ; the i ronmongers, in

I ronmongers’ Lane and Old Jewry : the V intners,in the Vintry ; the brewers, along the river side ;the butchers, in Eastcheap, St. N icolas

’

Shambles,and the Stock Market the hosiers, in Hosier Lanethe shoemakers, in Cordwaynerstreet the founders,in Lothbury ; the cooks, in Thames Street and EastChepe. Lydgate says

Then I hyed me unto East ChepeOne cryes Ribbs ofbeefand manyapye

Pewterpottes they clattered in aheapeThere was harpe, pype, and mynstrelsye.

Poulters frequented the Poul try ; paternoster-makersand makers of beads for prayers were found in

Paternoster Row ; and so on,the names ofthe streets

1 In the Ordinances of the Pelterers (Riley ’s Memorials,p . 330)

it is enacted that the freemen of the trade shall dwell in Walbrook,Cornhill, and Budge Row, and not in other “ foreign streets in the

City , that so the overseers ofthe trademaybeable to oversee them.

"

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60 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

but every large house has one great hal l , where thesunl ight

,through painted windows, fal ls upon rich

tapestry bright wi th colour on robes ofmany hues,edged wi th precious furand setwi th pearls on goldchains ofoffi ce on Sideboards covered with gobletsand plate of gold, of si lver gil t, and parcel gilt, and

plain silver. Yet the air is heavy,and the rooms

want vent i lation . The London citizen si ts ever infear of plague, and knows not yet that the onlysafeguard is to keep house and ci ty and people clean.

Death is sti l l before his eyes ; in the prisons hard bythe criminals perish daily ofgaol fever l ife, which isuncertain at the best , and can never be anything butfleeting and transi tory, seemed, and was, far moreuncertain in the fourteenth century than the n ineteenth. Suchwas the town. We shal l see presentlywhat manner of l ife they led, those merchants andthei r prentices.

Wi thout thewal ls, there were al ready, in the fourteenth century, especial ly on the west side

,many

remarkable bu i ld ings. As Fitz-Stephen describedthe suburbs in the twelfth century, so theywere, l i ttlealtered

,in the fourteenth. On all sides

,

”he says

wi thou t the houses of the suburbs, are the citizens

gardens and orchards, planted with trees,large

,

sightly, and adjoin ing together. On the north sideare pastures and plain meadows, wi th brooks runningthrough them,

turn ing water-mills wi th a pleasant

Outside lkc Walls. 6 1

rush. Not far off is a great forest — he meansHornseyWood , probably, or Epping and Hainau ltForests awi ld wooded chase, having good covertforharts

,bucks

, does, boars, and wi ld bu l ls.

”

Outside the Tower, on the east, was St. Katherine’

s

Hospital . There were no bu i ld ings at all between thisandWapping, the deserted river bank being ahauntedand d ismal stretch, used for the hanging of piratesand sea rovers. North-east of the town

,Edward the

Thi rd had founded, in the fields, an abbeycal led GraceAbbey, and without B ishopsgate was the Hospi tal ofSt. MaryofBethlehem . These were all the bu ildingsin the east. The Moor, afterwards Moorfields, was abroad flat

,a neglected and marshy swamp, un ti l

HenryV.,in the year 14 1 5 , opened a postern in the

citywal l, and made a causeway bywhi ch the ci tizenscou ld walk for recreation towards Isl ington and

Hox ton. Then i t was cut across by dykes, whichdrained i t, and planted with gardens, trees, and windmi l ls. Beyond Smithfield was the Monastery of the

Charter-house, bu i l t on the place which SirWal terManny,

in the year 1349, purchased as aburial-placefor the thousands of poor creatures who d ied of the

plague. Here, also, was the Priory of St. John of

Jerusalem. On the west side— in Chancery Lanewere the remains of the old Temple, bui l t by the

Templars before they took up thei r more conven ientand more splend id quarters on the river. In the

62 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

same street were the house and gardens buil t byRalph Nevi l , B ishop of Chichester in the reign of

Henry II I. Here was also the House of Convertsthose Jews who pretended conversion to avoid

expu lsion ; i t was appropriated by Edward I I I . forthe use of the Master of the Rol ls

,the converted

Jews having by that t ime d ied off or relapsed.

The Church and House of the Preaching Friars

(Fratres Prd dicatores— theywere B lack Friars andDominicans)stood also in ChanceryLane . Lincoln ’

s

Inn was bu i l t by the Earl of Lincoln about the year1 300, partly on the si te of B ishop Nevil’s garden,

and partly on the si te ofthe Preaching Friars’ Priory,when they ex changed thei r abode for a more com

modious one.

In Fleet Street there were stand ing, among the

gardens and trees, Cl ifford’

s Inn , Sergeant’

s Inn,the

ru ins of the house afterwards cal led Bridewel l, theB ishop of Sal isbury

’

s Inn, the Church and Prioryof the White Friars (fratres beam Marie de Monte

Carmoli), and the Temple, lately granted by the

Kn ights Hospital lers to the Students ofthe Common

LawofEngland.

In the Strand were Exeter House, on the north,the B ishop of Bath’s Inn

, where A rundel Houseafterwards stood , the B ishop of Llandaff’s house, theB ishop of Chester’s house

, the B ishop ofWorcester’sInn (the last two on the si te of Somerset House), the

I n ike Strand . 63

great Palace or House of Savoy, bu i l t in 1245 , and

destroyed by fire in 138 1 by the rebels,1 the B ishopofCarl isle’s Inn, the King

’

s Mews at Charing Cross,the B ishop of Norwich’

s house, the Hospital of St.

MaryRouncevall, and the Hermitage and Chapel ofSt. Katherine.

Such was the ex ternal appearance of London in

the time when Richard Whi tt ington . came up fromPauntley,

in Gloucestershire, to seek his fortune great

and glorious wi th its spi res and towers, its statelyhouses, its broad river, noble bridge

,its forest of

masts, its crosses and condui ts ; squal id in its d i rtand crowded houses ; most glorious in the sturdyspi ri t of its people, in the freedom they had won, intheir enterprise and patriotism ,

in their loyalty to

the King who respected his charters, in their readiness to leave him and set up another king, as in thecase of R ichard the Second, when they conce ivedthat their l iberties were in danger. Freedom

,they

rightly thought, is abetter thing than l iberty ; and itis wiser to guard the liberties of the State than tokeep allegiance to a king.

1 Itwas rebuilt, and made into the H05 pital of St. John the Baptist,byHenry VII.

CHAPTER III.

THE COMPANIES AND TRADE OF LONDON.

Advance theVirgin,lead thevan ;

Ofall that are in London free,TheMERCER is the foremostman,That founded asociety.

Ofall the trades that London grace.Weare the first in timeand place.

T was,then

,into such a city that, in or about the

year 137 1 , youngWhittington came to be apprenticed. His master was Sir John Fitz -Warren

, a

Mercer and Merchan t Adventurer. Fitz -Warren wasayounger son of that great House of Fitz-War’renswho came to England with the Conqueror, and wereconspicuous in manyways, keeping themselves in theforemost rank formany centuries, winn ing richbridesat tournaments, getting lands in various count ies andlosing them

,defying kings, and lead ing the l ife of

Robin Hood in the forest,fighting val iantly, being

always found in the front, unti l , as seems tohappen toall famil ies al ike

,there came the inevi table moment

when decadence set in,and theFitz -Warrensshou ld be

,

fora timeat least, qu iet and forgotten. SirJohn Fitz

Sir yoku Fitz Warren. 6 5

Warren was, l ike his prentice, a country lad, to beg inwith. He came from North Devon

,the same part of

the countryas the Mansels, a daughter ofwhom wasDame Whi tt ington. He had connections also

,l ike

the Mansels and the Berkeleys, in Somerset ; in fact,i t is perfectly clear that he knew all about youngWhi ttington

,and no doub t had already undertaken

to receive the boy, before he'was sent up to London.

Would the widow of Sir Wi l l iam let her boy set

ofl'

for London unbefriended and helpless" Westcountry folk, particularly those of good family, wereknown to each other, and stood shou lder by shoulderin those as wel l as in later days. Indeed ,

nothingmore certain lyd isproves the Old “

poor and friend lesstheoryabout young Dick Whittington than this fact,that he was apprenticed to aFitz -Warren. I t is alsoa remarkable proof of the position which London

traders held in those days, and the classwhich soughtto enter thei r ranks, to consider not on ly the bi rth of

SirJohn Fitz -Warren, but also that ofhis wife Maud,or Mat i lda, who was the daughter of one Agnes

,

heiress of Wi l l iam de Pcresford. She was threetimes married— to John de A rgentine, John de

Nutford, and Lord Mal travers. I t is not knownwhich of the three was Maud's father. The familyhistory,

however,of Fitz-Warrens and Whittingtons

al ike, shows i t was no unusual thing for the youngersons of the best fami

'

ies to seek fortune in London

E

66 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

trade. We shal l presently find an opportunity to

speak of the l ife ofa prentice of those days. We

must now consider the posi tion of the London

Compan ies at the t ime when Whi tt ington came

to town,and especial ly of that famous and honou r

able Gu i ld in which he was bound apprentice.London was d ivided intoWards, nearlyifnot qu ite

the same as now.

1 The richest , as appears from an

assessment made in the year 1339, was that of

CordwaynerStreet. This was assessed at the sum of

35 . 4d . The nex t richest was Coleman Street,figuring at The poorest was A ldgate, whichwas assessed at £30 only. The City was chiefly,

though not enti rely,inhabi ted by its craftsmen and

tradesmen . As we have already seen,there were

many great houses, such as Baynard’

s Castle, ColdHerbergh,

and Tower Royal , whichbelonged to noblesand princes there were also monasteries and priories.

Yet,on thewhole, these great houses ex ercised l ittle

influence over the spiri t of the place, which wasenti rely industrial and commercial . Princes and

kn ights might come to the Cityand hold tournaments

1 TheWardswereas follows— Tower, BillingsgateBridge, Dowgate,Langburn, Walbroke, Bishopsgate, Lyme Street, Cornhill, Cheap,Broad Street, Queenhithe, Cordwayner Street, Faringdon Street

Within and Faringdon Street Without (they were separated in the

reign of Richard Cripplegate, Coleman Street, CandlewickStreet, Aldgate, Portsoken, Castle Baynard , Bassishaw, and Aldersgate.

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68 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

The combination offellows ofthe same craft beganin very early times. Long before the Norman Conquest the frith-gu i lds were formed for the protectionof the trade and its fol lowers ; the gu i ld brothers metonce a-month to consider the interests of the craft ;and the London gu i lds in the time OfA thelstan hadun i ted together to form amerchant-gu i ld for the purpose Of control l ing trade, gain ing wider powers fromthe Crown

,regu lating prices, recover ing debts, and so

forth.

But this apparent freedom brought about agreatdanger and a great tyranny. The govern ing body,the A ldermen of the Wards, were taken from thosewho had landed hold ings in the City. But this wasa class which was comparatively smal l

,whi le those

who had lost their original lot, orwere escaped serfs,

had no share at all in the government of the' c ity ;the merchant-gu i ld had absorbed all the previouslyex isting gu i lds, and the new compan ies were onlybeginn ing to be formed . Meantime, the d iscontentcaused by the assessments of the A ldermen

, the

regu lation ofprices and hours, grew dai ly. Then theun landed craftsmen began to form themselves intogu i lds, secretlyat first, but presently, find ing themselves unmolested, Openly. Henry the Second

,as

has been seen , fined these unauthorised compan ies,and did the City the signal service of grant ingRoyal Charters to others thus, one by one the com

yea/ousies. 69

pan ics came into ex istence, the merchant-gu i ld d iedout

,and forawhi le London enjoyed apu relypopular

form ofGovernment.The time of Henry the Second was not, however,

yet ful ly ripe for self-government. Among the com

pan ics formed then grewup j ealousiesand bickerings,trades overlapped each other, interests clashed, andmen were as closely patriotic for thei r gu i lds as

schOolboys for their schools. For instance, in the

year 1226, there was a great quarrel between the

goldsmiths and the tai lors, whose interests, save inthe matter of gold embroidery, cou ld hardly be

expected to clash. Yet they quarrel led, i t mattersnot why, and presently turned out, to the number of800 on both sides

, armed wi th knives, sticks,clubs

,

and swords, and fought a battle royal in the streets.

The grand principle of combination,however, once

started, ran rapidly, and before many years all thetradesmen of London were banded together according to their mysteries, either in unauthorised gu i lds

,

or in compan ies holding letters patent of the King.

Strange to say, the richest and most powerful company of all— the Mercers— was late in obtain ing itsletters patent. When Whi ttington was apprent iced

,

the companywas yet but agu i ld.

I t was a long time before the compan ies obtained,

what they have ever since held, a monopoly of

municipal oflices and dign i ties. Li ttle by l i ttle they

70 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

parcel led out the inhabitants Of London betweenthem . They obtained from Edward the Second the

lawthat no person should be admitted to the freedomofthe C ityunless hewere amemberwho had alreadyserved his ful l term ofapprent iceship to agu i ld, trade,ormystery— that is, unless he were also adm i tted to

membership in aCity company. This freedom mean tagreat deal more than i t means now. If a man is

free in these days ofthe City, and therefore amemberofaCity company, he becomes el igible to the offi ces,d ign ities, and honours of the City ; but in otherrespects he is no better off than those

'

who are not

free : in those days, wi thout the freedom’

of the Cityhe cou ld not trade wi thin the City wal ls ; wi thoutthe freedom of the City i t was, therefore, impossibleto l ive wi thin the City. And the City suburb

,which

is now cal led Fleet Street, was also apart of Faringdon StreetWi thout, under the jurisd i ction ofthe C i ty.

Therefore, unless he held the freedom, a man must

needs seek his l iving wi thout the City. There was,

to be su re, theDebateable Land, southoftheThames.

In the reign of Edward I I I . the fratern ities beganto adopt ad istinctive dress : hence they were cal ledthe Livery Compan ies. The word gui ld gaveplace to craft ” or mystery; and the chiefofficerof the company, instead of be ing cal led the A lderman, a t itle now reserved for the head man ofaward

,

became the Master orWarden.

Edward III . 7 1

Edward I I I . seems to have been the fi rst king whoreal ised the enormous importance ofencouraging andfostering the trade of the C ity through its compan ies,and the necessi ty of furthering their development.Successfu l trade brought wealth to the country;wealth brought love of order— it also brought fu llbags for royal taxes ; love of order brought loyalty,sacrifices to the cause of order

, devotion to the

dynasty which represented order. Edward set the

example— fol lowed often enough since his day— oi

becom ing a member of one of the companies, the

Merchan t Taylors, formerly cal led the LinenA rmourers. Richard I I after his grandfather’sexample, became amember ofthe Mercers

’ Company.

Princes and nobles fol lowed the royal lead, andaccepted membership of the great companies muchas they do now.

In the same reign ofEdward I I I. , agreat companywas formed which threatened to swal low up and

destroyall the rest ; i t was the Company ofGrossers,

a fratern i ty ofwholesale merchantswho proposed tosel l everything themselves instead ofthrough the retai ldealers. So great an Opposi tion was offered to the

enterprise, which anticipated certain great American“stores,

” that the King ordained that everybodyshould confine himselfto one craft ormystery.

It may be interesting to enumerate the gu i lds andcompan ies— some of which, including the Mercers

,

72 Sir Rickard Wkittington .

were not yet incorporated— ex ist ing in the year 135 5 ,some fifteen years before R ichard Whi ttington cameto London. Theywere as fol lows

Brasiers. Bowyers

Sporiers. Ironmongers.Tanners (without Chandlers.Newgate. Pewterers.

Butchers (of St. Tailors.

Nicholas). Wax Chandlers.

Butchers (of the TannerswithoutStocks). Cripplegate.

Grossers. Pouchmakers.

Poulterers. Cappers.

Curriers. Vintners.Butchers ofWest Skinners.Chepe. Leather-dressers.

As regards their relative posi t ion and wealth,an

assessment made at this time shows that the Mercers,

Drapers, and Fishmongers were the richest of the

compan ies, being rated at £4 1 , £40,and £40 re5pec

tivcly. The Brasiers were on ly cal led upon for £3

13s. 4d. the Sporiers for 405 . the Tanners,Pou l

terers, Pouchmakers, and Curriers for £ 1 16s. 8d.

each ; the Glovers for 2os. ; and the Cappers for 1 3s.

4d . The smal l and poor compan ies representedthe mechan ical trades, into which the sons of the

poor freemen of the C ity were bound apprentice ;whi le the more wealthy lads

,and those of good

family, attracted to London by its chances offortune,

Brewers.Salters.Curlers.

Fishmongets.Mercers.

Girdlers.Prossers in the

Ropery.

Glovers.

Armourers.

Goldsmiths.Drapers.

Tko Great Merckants. 73

like young Whi ttington,went into the great com

pan ics. For there was then as great a d ifference asthere is now between a hand icraftsman— one who

made spurs, buckles, pouches, blades, and sold themat a stal l— and onewho made great bids for fortune,had ventures on the seas

,correspondence not on ly

wi th Bruges and Ghent, but also wi th Ven ice, Genoa,and even Constantinople, owned a fleet which he

could, and often did, place at the d isposal of the

King, and entertained as sumptuously as the K ing

himself. It was in the hopes of becoming such amerchan t that Richard Whi ttington came to town ;not to be a work ing man si tt ing at a bench, or ahuckster bawl ing “ comebuy at astal l spread wi thribbons. Cou ld the son of Sir Wi l l iam , and the

brother of Sir Robert, H igh Sher iff of his county,hope for less than to become the equal ofSirJohnFitz -WarrenI t is noticeable that, towards

’

the end of EdwardIII.

’

s re ign,the great compan ies began to separate

themselves from the smal ler ones. The Mayor wasfor some centuries elected exclusively from the richl iveries. Even at the present day, a Lord Mayor,un less he belong to one ofthe twelve great compan ies,labours under certain d isadvantages. He cannot

,for

instance,become President of the Irish Soc iety.

The general management ofall the compan ies wasvery much the same. The d ifferences

,indeed

, were

74 Sir Rickard Wkillington.

those Ofd ifferent patron saints, d ifferent l iveries, andd ifferent incomes. The first rule was that no baseborn person or churl shou ld be admitted to

\

appren

ticeship ; that no person shou ld d isclose the lawfulsecrets ofthe craft ; that no one shou ld receive thefreedom ofthe C i ty until he had served his ful l termas an appren tice ; that apprent ices shou ld pay 3S. 4d.

on entrance,and 5 5 . at least on receiving their free

dom ; that masters shou ld pay 205 . on taking an

apprentice ; that no master was to employ a workman who had not served his time

, and so on. The

wardens had great powers, which they appear tohave ex ercised zealously. They could visit everything, inspect everything ; especial ly they were to

enqu ire into the qual i ty Ofthings sold, the honesty of

the weights and measures— for instance,they kept a

si lver yard for the measure of cloths ; and becausethei r duties, if carried out fearlessly, were apt to

engender bad feelings among those of the craft whowou ld cheat ifthey cou ld , i t was enjoined that everymember of the company, if elected to the ofl‘ice of

Warden, was bound to serve ; and, further, that anymember Ofthe company not obeying thewarden wasl iable to imprisonment. Thuswhen,

in theyear 143 1,the Company of B rewers resolved that every manamong them should send abarrel ofale for the solaceof the K ing’s army in France, and one Wi l l Payneatte Swan,

in Threadneedle Street (whether because

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76 Sir Rickard PVkitting/on.

to afreeman of the company,she became henceforth

their daughter— they cou ld not suffer her or her

children to want.The wardens also had to look that, by covetousness

and overreaching,no member of their craft was

injured by a brother of the same fratern i ty. Theytherefore forbade any to take a house or shop froma brother by offering ahigher rent theyforbade anyto undersel l each other they not only took care thatthere shou ld be no cheat ing by under-weight or

under-measure,but they fixed the prices

,and they

infl icted heavy penalties if the standard of goodwork was lowered . The hours of work werealso fix ed ; they were to be from daybreak unti lcurfew.

In one of the compan ies— the Merchant Taylors,formerly cal led the Linen A rmourers— the ir chiefhad another and more dangerous duty to perform.

He travelled for the l ivery— probably to Flanders, to

France,or to various parts ofEngland , where broad

cloth was made. He was therefore called thei rP i lgrim.

”

The courts of the compan ies were held four timesa-year. They were summoned by a Bedel ,

”whose

princ ipal duty i t was to cal l together the Felliship.

”

For this he received his l ivery, and , in the fourteenthcentury,

the sum offourpence a-week, which seems a

smal l remuneration. Perhaps, however, something in

To.» Ofi z'

cers. 7

the nature of board ,some perqu isi te of beef

,bread ,

and ale, some dai ly refection, was

‘thrown in,for City

compan ies have never been n iggard ly towards the irservants. One feels qu ite sure that the Bedel wasfat

, lusty, wel l-fed, and con tented . There were alsoin the service Ofevery companyapriest or chaplaina clerk, whose important duty i t was to be the

deposi tory of the company’

s secrets, ,

to guard the

common seal , to keep the mun iment room,and to

enter the minutes ofthe meetings a cook— London

cooks were ever famous caterers of toothsome d ishes—with, one supposes and hopes, a competen t andzealous staff of assistants ; there were, lastly, the

warden’

s assistants, who were the clerks and accountants, and kept the books.

The l iveries were changed from time to time.Thus, that of the Grocers in the year 14 14 was

scarlet and green in 14 18 i t had become scarlet andblack ; in 142 3 i t was murrey and plunket

”— thatis to say, dark-red and blue.

The great day of the year was the company’

s

saint’s day. On this day all the members of the

l ivery, great and smal l— from master and wardensto serving-men— kept high hol iday, assembl ing in

their hal l, everyman in a new l ivery, in the morn ing.

Fifst they marched to church in procession,headed

by clerks, pr iests, and boys, all in surpl ices, singing astheywent then came, each in his place, the sherifl

"s

78 Sir Rickard Wkitlington .

servants, the clerks,assistants, the chaplain, the

Mayor’

s sergeants, often the Mayor himself, and,

lastly, the Court, with prince ormaster, wardens, andOfficers.

After mass; they returned, in l ike order, to theirhal l, where dinner was laid for them ; the music wasplaying on the gal lery ; the banners were d isplayedon thewal ls ; and the air was heavywith the scentof that precious Ind ian wood cal led sanders

, whichwas imported to be burned on these occasions. Everysense was gratified at once. On the Hautpas, at the

end ofthe hall , was the high table, where the PrimeWarden, Master, or Pilgrim entertained the Courtand the noble guests ofthe day below sat the Freemen , each (a practice fal len, unhappi ly, into d isuse)accompan ied byhiswife, so that allal ike might rejoice.

And if no wife came— for the reason that his wifewas sick, or that he might be a widower, or that hemight be as yet unmarried— every member wasinvi ted and encouraged to bringwi th him amaidenameyne aoec luy une demoiselle si luy plaist. Nogreedyfeast ing Ofthe men among themselves

, but the

society of fai r lad ies, all in happiness together incourtesy and honour. Heard one ever more admirable provision for the joy of a fraterni ty" Dinnerover, the music in the gal lery ceased forawhi le, andserious business was transacted— nothing less thanthe election of oflicers for the ensu ing year. That

Tke Loving Cup. 79

happi ly despatched , the loving cup went round to

refresh and cheer. History says nothing abou t howOften the cup was fi l led , and howmany t imes i t passedround the hal l ; there are, however, two tex ts in the

kitchen ofthe Fishmongers’ Hal l whichwe bel ieve tohave regulated every City banquet from time immemorial . Theyare golden tex ts. One enjoins the cooks

to“WASTE NOT ; the other adds— lest these words

should lead to parsimony SPARE NOT.

”Let us

bel ieve that the fourteenth century loving Cup was

replen ished out ofbarrels, and that i t went round andround, unti l the stoutest toper had had enough, andweak heads had long before desisted.

Wi th hearts upl ifted, then,wi th cheerfu l faces, ~andeyes aglow wi th pride in thei r own splendour, thehonest craftsmen sat

,every man with his wife or

maiden beside him,whi le the minstrels led in the

players, and interludes, al legories, and mummeries

fin ished the great day of the year. The Freemen

paid three shi l l ings and Sixpence each for thei r entertainment (this seems an enormous sum compared wi th

the Bedel ’s weekly fourpence), and those who did not

come paid two shi l l ings and Six pence.

I t is never d isagreeable to read about feasting, andi t is pleasant to know how our ancestors d ined ;therefore , the fol lowing bi l l offare Ofabanquet ofthefourteenth century wi l l , I am sure

,be read wi th

interest. The mix ture of sweets and meat in each

80 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

course is contrary to modern ideas, and itwi l l be seenthat there is only one vegetable Spoken of:

First Course.— Brawn, with mustard ; cabbages in pottage swan standard ; cony, roasted ; great custards.

Second Course— Ven ison, in broth, withwhite mottrews ;cony standard ; partridges, with cocks, roasted ; leche 10mbard doucettes, with little pameux.

Tkz‘

ra'Comm—Pears in syrop ; great birds with l ittle

ones together ; fritters ; payn pufi'

, withacold bake-meat.

Witha l i ttle explanation, i t wi l l be perceived thathere was a truly ex cel lent d inner. One hOpes, but

wi th perfect confidence, that the wine was equal tothe meats.

The lecke lomkard is said by one authority to havebeen a jelly of cream ,

isinglass, sugar, almonds, andother ingred ients. Another authority states that itwas made of pork pounded in a mortar wi th eggs

,

raisins, dates, sugar, sal t, pepper, spices,milk of

almonds, and red wine, all stuffed into a’

bladder and

boned.

Mottrewswas astew of pork and poul try poundedin amortar and strained afterwards i t was treatedwi th blanched almonds, milk, and the white flour ofr ice.

Doucettes were l ittle sweetmeats and confections.

Parneux were rich preparations of bread, &c. Payn

pufl'

s were made of bread stuffed wi th all kinds of

B ill of Fare. 8 1

forces— for example, marrow, yolk of eggs, dates,raisins

, &c .

The c i tizens ate food long since d iscarded as coarse,such as lampreys and porpoise ; they were fond of

swans and peacocks ; theyused melted fat, or lard,forbutter ; for sugar they had honey ; and theywereespecially add icted to eat ing furmenty, i.e. ,

wheatboi led in milk.

The Mercers’ Company, which, unti l a great misfortune fell upon it early in the e ighteenth century,was the richest of all the Liveries

, was not incor

porated unti l the year 1393, when they obtainedletters patent ofRichard I I .

,with l icense to pu rchase

in mortmain an estate of twenty pounds perannum.

But there was a Gu i ld of Mercers as early as 1 172,

and one of them,Robert Searle, was Mayor in 12 14

A t the end of the thi rteenth century,a company of

“ Merchant Adventurers” sprang from the Gu i ld of

Mercers. The trade of the mercers at fi rst was in“ merceries

,that is

,in all kinds of wares, such as

woollen cloths, ribbons, laces, and smal l finery but by

the time ofWhi tt ington the company contained a

mix ture ofmerchants— the said “ Adventurers — and

of shopkeepers ; and whi le the latter con tinued to

keep thei r stal ls on the south side of Chepe, betweenBow Church and Friday Street, over against the

Cross of Chepe, the former imported and sold wholesale or to great personages si lks, satins, cloth Of gold

,

F

82 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

velvet,embroideries of precious stones

,the fine stuffs

from Belgium, Ven ice, and Genoa, and all the splend idmaterials requ ired forthe dresses ofthis most splend idperiod . In the time of Queen El izabeth, the i r business lay chiefly in si lk ; and Stow says that

“ thesemercers are generallymerchan ts.

”It was this com

pany of merchants that Whitt ington joined,and it

was to one of the richest and most em inent amongthem that he was apprenticed— another fact to d is

prove the poorand fr iend less” theory.

As regards the l ivery of the company, it wasrepeated ly changed

,and one does not knowwhat it

was in Whittington’

s t ime,but i t was d ifferent from

that ofothercompan ies in having the gown faced wi thsatin instead ofwith budge

,as was the general ru le.

They had also,in later t imes

,a Pageant or Lord

Mayor’

s Day,farmore splend id than that Ofanyother

company. The Pageant met the Lord Mayor’

s pro

cession on its return from Westminster. I t washeaded by a rock of coral wi th seaweeds, and Neptune mounted on adolphin, with a throne of motherof~pearl, and a company of tritons

,mermaids

,and so

forth. Then came the famous “ Maiden Chariot,”

grand i loquently described in 1686 .

An imperial triumphal chariotofRoman form,elegantly

adorned with variety of paintings, commixed with richestmetals, beautified and embellished with several embellishments of gold and silver

,illustrated with divers inestimable

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84 Sir Rickard Wkillington.

something— on the first three, ~Victory,Fame, and

Loyalty ; on the nex t three,Peace and Plenty, wi th

Europe between on the the third three, Africa, Asia,and America. There were eight grooms and fortyRoman lictors twenty servants cleared the waytheywere themselves preceded by twenty savages, or“green men

,

”who threwsqu ibs to keep offthe crowd

and the whole was fol lowed by workmen,wheel

wrights, and carpenters, ready to repai r anythingwhich might get out of order in this great machine .

A t the banquet which followed, the Maiden had aseparate table to herselfand herattendant lad ies.

The site of the present Mercers’ Hal l is that oftheancient Hospital ofSt. Thomas de Acon— that is, St.Thomas a Becket— cal led de Acon (Acre) in accotdance wi th the legend of his mother’s birth-

place.

The hospi tal was bu i lt, twenty years after the Archbishop

’

s murder, by Agnes,his sister

, on the spotwhere her brother was born. Gilbert a Becket, thefather of the A rchbishop, was himself a Mercer andPortreeve of London . The Church of St. Thomaswas on every Lord Mayor

’

s Day attended in statebythe newMayor and theA ldermen. The Hospi talwas sold to the Mercers by Henry VII I and was

burned down in the Great Fi re.Whi ttington was master of his company in the

years 1398 , 1407 , and 1420, as many times as he heldthe chief ofl‘ice of the City. Among other d istin

Memkers of tke Company. 8 5

guished masters and wardens ofthe companymay bementioned Sir John Coventry,

one ofWhittington’

s

executors, and ancestor of the Earls of Coventry;Sir Geoffrey Bul len

,or Boleyn,

great-grandfatherOf Anne Boleyn ; Sir Wi l l iam Hol l is

,from whom

descended the Earls of Clare ; SirMichael Dormer,ancestor of the Earls Dormer ; SirThomas Baldry,whose daughter married Lord Roch, ancestor of theLords Kensington ; SirThomas Seymou r, from whomdescend the

' Dukes of Somerset ; SirBaptist H icks,ancestor of the Viscounts Camden, nowex tinct Sir

Rowland Hi l l, ofthe Lords H i l l ; James Butler, oftheEarls ofOrmond SirGeoffreyFielding, ofthe familyof the Earls of Denbigh SirHenry Colet, father of

Dean Colet and the greatest of all, next to

Whi ttington, Sir Richard Gresham.

CHA PTER IV.

THE PRENTICE BOY.

Gaillard hewas, asgoldfinch in the Shaw.

”

HEN, therefore, the boy entered London, hewas

provided with letters to Fitz -Warren, the greatmercer, also awest-country man, who knew ofwhat

stock he came, and would receive suchworld ly goods

as he had brought with him— a slender store, no

doubt, but sti ll something ; aWhittington ofPauntleywould not be sent to seek his fortune l ike apauper.Once apprenticed, and having in a few weeks

imbibed the sp iri t of the place, the lad became aLondoner. I t is one ofthe characteristics ofLondonthat hewho comes up to the City from the countryspeed i ly becomes penetrated wi th the magic Of the

golden pavement, and fal ls in lovewi th the greatCity. And he who has once fel t that love ofLondoncan never again be happy beyond the sound of

Bow Bel ls, which can now be heard for twenty milesround and more. The greatness of the City, itshistory, its churchyards crowded with dead c itizens

,

Country Boys. 87

its assoc iat ions,its ambitions

,its pride, its hurrying

c rowds— all these things affec t the imagination and

fi ll the heart. There is no place in all the world,and

never has been,whichso sti rs the heartofher chi ld ren

wi th love and pride as the City ofLondon not Pariseven

, nor Rome, nor Florence, norVenice ; there isno c ity in which the people have been more steadfastly purposed to maintain thei r rights and fight fortheir freedom. Presumptuous sons of London,

Froissart cal ls them .

Now i t is remarkable that the history ofLondon

worthies is largely composed ofthe historyofcountryboys who,

l ike Whittington ,have come to town to

seek thei r fortune. The reason is not far to seek.

The chi ldren of successful men are rarely as ener

getic as their fathers ; they lack the stimu lus ; theyare content to enjoy ; they need not work . Thenthe air Of London,

°which stimu lates and braces thecountry lad , seems to take the strength out of thosewho are born in i t. So that one great citizen is

rarely succeeded by another. The case of the

Greshams only proves the ru le. When the

country lad.

comes to town,his brain is charged

wi th vague ambi tions, his eyes are fi l led wi th colourwhich makes everything that they see of a rosyhue.

Nothing is so splend id as the Lord Mayor’

s R id ingnothing so much to be desired as the glory of the

City ; were it onlyas a stimulus to the imagination

88 Sir Rickard Wkittington .

of youth, the great c ity shows shou ld be made as

splend id as wit of man and wealth of corporat ioncan devise. But how much more Splend id we rethey in the fourteenth century than now" For blackbroadcloth, cloth ofgold forblack si lk hat

, afur cap

embroidered withgold and pearls fur- l ined cloaks ofscarlet, blue, and gold chains ofgold gal lan t horsesharnessed wi th gold embroidery ; t roops of l iverymen in the colours ofthei r companies si lken bannersworked with arms

,which, to the eyes of those who

looked on them, were as leg ible as printed book is

now ; and , on occasions of simple every-day l ife, the

Mayor, the Sheriffs, and the A ldermen going abou twi th their sergeants, clad in robes ofoffi ce, magistratesand judges to the open eye, wi thpower to strike offthhand ofhimwho dared resist the ir authority. Again

,

the merchants of the old t ime l ived among the i r

prentices and workmen ; their great state and splendour were things to be witnessed and envied of all.

The clerk, now-a-days, cannot understand the gloryofsuccess, because he creepshome n ightlytohis suburbancottage at Camberwell , and never sees his master’s

gorgeous palace at Kensington,his gal leries of pie

tures, his crowded bal ls,his sumptuous d inners.

Formerly these things were done in the open ,forall

eyes to see ; and when the master entertained great

lords, his prent ices were there to see. As he was,

so might they be.

Apprenticeskip. 89

Young Dick Whi ttington,then, was bound pren

tice to the Honourable Company of the Mercers, hismaster being SirJohn Fitz -Warren. He took, in somefear and trembling

,the vows of Industry, Obed ience,

and Duty— vows far more useful than any designedfor the coward refuge of the Cloister ; he enteredhimself a sold ier in the noble army of those whohave won the free right ofwork and he promisedthough as yet he hard ly knew the true mean ing of

his promise— to carry on the structure of City rights,unt i l i t should become the great Cathedral Church of

Liberty, whichwe cal l the Constitution ofthe RealmofEngland .

It was in the earlyyears ofhis apprenticeship thathe heard that famous carol of Bow Bel ls which so

warmed his heart. Formy own part, I see no reasonto doubt i t at all. I believe in the story, which, how

ever’

, I read inmyown way. Why, for instance, shou ldwebel ieve in apoor boysitting in sadnessand dejectionupon the slopes ofH ighgate Hil l"Why should the

boy be in sadness He was astrong, active countrylad ; his master was of his own count ry, and knewhis people ; he must have been a just and kind man

,

otherwise Whi ttington wou ld not afterwards havebecome his son-inllaw London l ife was joyoushope was in the air the houses ofrichmen who hadmade their own way were around him in every one

of the narrowstreets. Why, instead of despai r and

90 Sir Rickard Wkittzngton .

misery,I see aDick Whittington stand ing wi th head

erect, bright eyes, and l ithe limbs, alert, high-sp i ri ted ,

brave, ready for any fortune, and sure in his own

mind of the best ; ambit ious, too, and self-rel iant.What has lustyyou th to do with tears Below him

,

four miles: away, he sees the grey wal ls of London

town beyond thewal ls, a forest ofspi res : in everychurch are the bones of those who d ied rich afterfighting the battle of freedom ; their souls are wi ththe just

,because theyhave been good men, and have

left money formasses, to make all safe. Wi thin the

wal ls are countless t reasures ofmerchand ise ; wi thinthem

, too, the most noble and most free ofall citi esin the world. The thoughts of that great and nobleCity, and the consciousness of belonging to i t

,fill his

heart wi th pride. Beyond the city there is anotherforest , the forest of masts. Hundreds of Englishvessels are there

,load ing and un load ing ; they

belong to his master and his master’s friends,the

Mercers and the Adventurers. There is no part of

the great world , he thinks, whi ther the brave heartson board those ships wi l l not venture— yea, even to

Constantinople, though the tents of the savage Tu rkare al ready thick upon the Southern shores. Then

,

whi le he is in this mood,his head full of high

thoughts, there comes a message to the boy. It

comes with the dash and clang of Bow Bel ls, andcries aloud, Whi ttington, Whittington,

Whi ttington,

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92 Sir Rickard I/Vkittington .

Scotland , France, and Cyprus, wi th the Prince of

Wales and a crowd of nobles— a greater day for

the City than that ofthe entertainment ofthe A l l i edSovereigns, for the Mayor of the fourteenth centurydid what he of the n ineteenth did not do— he sat at

the head ofhis own table.

A year or two later, the boywould learn, wi th hisfel low-

prent ices, that the ir sports and amusemen tshad fal len under theK ing’

s d ispleasure, and that theymust betake themselves to theneglectedpractice ofhowand arrow

,

“

pel let and bol t,”

wi th a view to whatm ight happen. Moorfields was conven ient for the

volunteers of the time. There was, however, neverany lack of ex c itement and novelty in the City of

London . Saw one ever a stranger company thanthat band of a hundred and twenty Dutchmen

, who

came over in the year 1368 to convert merry Londonto sadness, and showed the lovel iness of rel igionpractically by marching bare-backed, flogging eachother as theywent, and chanting Psalms throughthestreets of the City"Why they came

,how they

fared,how long they stayed , does not appear ; but

i t is certain that their coming touched the rel igiousl ife of the people not one whi t. Then

,in the year

1369 ,the plague reappeared to scare the folk

,and in

the autumn came a dearth of corn to threatenthem with starvation. In 1 370 the Monastery of

the Chartreux was founded, upon the place which Sir

Manner of Life. 93

Wal ter Manny bought in 1 349 for the poor creatu reswho d ied of the pesti lence in that year of rebuke.

And in 1372 there was the great j ealousy ofthe Ci tyagainst foreigners, and i t was hinted to Royal ty that,unless civic rights were respected, there wou ld be no

more money for the fitting-out Of fleets and the

mann ing ofships fordefence ofthe realm .

As for the manner of l ife which was led by the

English, and especial ly the people ofL ondon, in

those days, i t may be found ful ly set forth in the

pages of Chaucer, Piers Plowman, John Carpenter,Lydgate, and those

“Memorials” of the City whichhave been col lected and translated by Mr. Riley.

In this chapter I propose to put together some

of the ancient customs, and to show the kind of

folk among whom the young country lad was to

spend his days.

First of all, London was a city whose leaders,abOVe all things, desired to maintain law and order ;nex t, it was a citywhose people were conservative ofold customs. Thus, Fitz-Stephen, writ ing in the year1 174 says

I think there is no city that hath more approvedcustoms, either in frequenting the churches, honouringGod

’Sord inances, observing hol idays, giving alms,entertain ing strangers, fulfill ing contracts, solemnisingmarriages, setting out feasts and welcoming theguests,celebrating funerals, orburying the dead.

”

94 Sir Rickard Wkillington.

I do not know what connection,if any, a great

merchant like SirJohnFitz-Warrenwou ld havewi thhishumbler brethren ofthe same company, the Mercers,who had their stal ls on the west side of Bow Church.

One can hardly bel ieve that he, too, wou ld have astal l , withhis apprentices to bawl, What d

’

ye lackand one cannot but suppose that then, as now,

agreatbusiness such as Fitz-Warren’

s would requi re a con

siderable number ofservants to keep the accounts anddo the clerks’ work. However, the Mercers

’ quarterwas an admirably central place for wi tnessing the

pageants and d isplays. We have no reason to doubtthat in the matter of amusement and sight-seeingWhittington was l ike his fellows.

When ther anyridingswere in Chepe,Out ofthe shoppe thiderwould he lepe ;And till that he had all the sight ysein ,

And danced well, hewould not come again.

There was plenty of l ibertyforthe prentices, always

a troublesome class to rule ; and though the hours ofwork for all trades were long— the blacksmiths

,for

instance, passed a law that work shou ld not beginbefore six in the morn ing

,nor go on after n ine at

n ight,ex cept in the winter, when all shou ld cease at

eight— yet theyhad manyhol idays and theCi tywasstrict in its observance of the Sunday. This may beil lustrated bya letter of the A rchbishop of Canter

Tke Barkers. 0 5O

bury to the Mayor and A ldermen,in which he

complains that barbers work on Sunday, and urges

them to take order thereupon“ Seeing that the

mal ice ofman — ecclesiastical language was then , as

it is now,beautiful lymild and gentle has so greatly

increased in these days— athing to be deplored— thattemporal pun ishment is held more in dread thanclerical, and that which touches the body or the

pu rse more than that which ki l ls the sou l,we do

hearti ly entreat you ,and for the love of God requ i re

and exhort you, that, taking counsel therein, you wi llenact and ordain a competent penal ty in money, tobe levied for the chamber of your city, Upon the

barbers within the l iberty of your city aforesaid .

”

The fine enacted was six shi l l ings and eightpence— avery great sum in these days. No doubt the barbersthereafter shaved no one but their friends on Sundays,and those onlywho came in by the back door suchis the mal ice ofman.

”

Prentices in every generation are more concernedwith the recreations attainable than wi th the laws andadmin istration of their trade. London c i tizens, oldand young, del ighted in games, shows, sports

, and

amusements. There were plenty for every season,so

that one wonders how they found time forall. But,

as we have said,there were many hol idays, and Sun

daywas not aday ofgloom . The calendar of sportbegins wi th theNewYear.

96 Sir Rickard Wkillington .

“ In Januarymen do playIn cards and d ice their time awayNowmen and maids domerrymakeAt stool ball and at barleybreak.

”

January, indeed ,was ful l ofopportuni ties forrevelry.

TheNewYear brought gifts and good cheer.

These giftes the husband gives his wife and father eke

the child,And master on hismen bestows the likewith favourmildeAnd good beginning ofthe year theywishand wish againAccording to the ancient gu ise ofheathen people vaineThese eight days noman doth require his dettesofanyman ,Their tables do theyfurnish outwithall themeat theycan .

Twelfth Day, St. Agnes’

s Eve— when girls p ract isedli ttle d ivinations to find whowould be their husbandsSt. Paul ’s Day (Jan. 2 5)

IfSt. Paul’s Daybefairand clear,It does betide ahappyyear

”

all fell in this month,and brought amusements and

feast ing with them.

In time offrost the lads could skate and sl ide overMoorfields, whose swampy flatwas covered here andthere with shal low pools

,which froze rapid ly ; in

cold weather they could play at quarter-staff, athocking, at single-stick

, at footbal l, at buc’

klers.

Every Friday in Lent there was horse rid ing and

racing outside the wal ls ; the custom of choosing a

Games.

valent ine on the 14th February was not forgottenSays John Lydgate

Seynte Valentyn, ofcustomyeere byyeereMen have an usaunce in this regioun

To loke and serche Cupid’

s Kalendere,

And chose theyr choyse bygrete affecciounSuch as ben prike with Cupid

’

s nocioun,

Taking theyr choyse as theyre sort doth falle ;But I love oon which excellithalle.”

On Shrove Tuesday there was cock-fighting in the

morn ing and footbal l in the fields in the afternoon .

In the week before Easter a singu lar custom was

Observed ; they brought into every great man’

s housea twisted tree (i t is conj ectured that this was in someway an emblem of authority, just as courts were heldin France sous There were the cruel sportsof bear-baiting, bul l-bai ting, cock-fighting, and

throwing at cocks going on all the year, but principally in the Spring. At Easter they had sportsupon thewater, rowing ful l ti l t against a shield hungupon a pole. There were other rejoicings at thatt ime. On one of the three days before AscensionDay, the parson of the parish, accompan ied by

churchwardens and parishioners, were won t to beatthe bounds, fol lowed by the boys. On the first ofMay the girlswere abroad before dawn ofday,

and out

beyond the wal ls, to wash their faces in the dew;but the prentices had been up all n ight cutting down

G

98 Sir Rickard Wkittington .

branches and adorning the Maypole wi th flowe rs,

fol iage,r ibbons

,and streamers. The houses we re

hung with flowers,wreaths

,and tapestry. The

Maypole was dragged to its place by ox en who woreflowers on thei r horns. When i t was put up in its

place, they erected summer houses, arbours, and

bowers beside i t. The Lady of the May presidedover the dancing

,feasting

, and merriment, and for theday Cornhi l l looked as if i t stood wi thin the forest.There was morris-danc ing wi th Robin Hood, FriarTuck

,the Fool

, and Tom the P iper ; there werehobby horses and pageants, wi th devi ls

,monsters

,

and mummers of all k inds. But these were not

confined to May Day.

On M idsummer Eve,the Vigil of Saint John the

Baptist, there were bonfires, and the door of everyhouse was decorated with green bi rch

,long fennel

,

whi te l i l ies, St. John’

s wort,and garlands of beautiful

flowers,wi th glass lamps, in which oil burned all the

n ight. More music in the streets and dancing on

this festival . A ll through the summer there wereathletics

,such as rac ing, shoot ing

, wrestl ing, andpu tting the stone ; and on every fine n ight the girlscame out and danced for garlands. Then camemiracle plays. On Bartholomew’

s Day there waswrestl ing before the Mayor and Sheriffs. On HolyRood Day (Sept. 14)the lads wou ld go a-nutting inEpping and Hainaul t Forests

,or in the woods of

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100 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

We must not forget the processions, chevauché s,

and ridings continual ly taking place for some c i tyfunction or some royal visi t— the Mayor

’s Rid ing,

the Procession of the Liveries, the Parade of the

Cressets on the Eve ofSt. John the Baptist. On that

n ight the whole of the City Watch, st rong,

used to turn out in a great procession : 940 men

carried cressets eachhad an attendant. Therewereof the Marching Watch. The A rchers were

clad in whi te fustian ,wi th the arms of

i

the City on

back and breast ; the Pikemen had bright corslets.

There was the blare of trumpets and the beating ofdrums ; there were great standards. The Mayorcame after, mounted on horseback ; his sword-bearerbefore him in fai r armour, about him footmen and

torch-bearer, and after him hiswatch, his giant, andhis pageantf The Sheriffs fol lowed wi th thei rpageants ; and there were the morris dancers and

mummers fol lowing after— a gal lant Show. Thenthere were the ecclesiastical grand days— the proces

sions ofmonks, priests, and choristers, wi th the musicin the chu rches, every city function being connected

At Baptist Day, withaleand cakes,’mid bonfires neighbours stood ;

AtMartinmasswe turned a crab, then told ofRobin Hood,Till afterlong timemerk, when blestwerewindows, doors, and lights,And pails were filled and hearths were swept ’

gainst fairy elves andSprites

Rock and PloughMonday games shallgangwith Saint feastsand kirksights.

101

with a church service and a procession ; whispersmeanwhi le in plenty, anent the private conduct ofthe

priests, which in this fourteenth centuryhad reachedalmost its worst. The great City holydays wereChristmas Day, Twelfth Day,

Easter Day, St. John

the Baptist on June 24th, and St. Peter and Paul onJune 29th. In order to prevent drunkenness on thelast two days, which fel l in the hot summer—we mustnot forget to render account of the old style, which

puts everything eleven days in advance— and in thosen ights when there is no darkness but only a cleartwi l ight, i t was ordered that no vintner, brewer,taverner, cook, baker, orhuckster was to sell anythingafter ten o

’clock. Again,there were the occasions on

which the City magistrates rode out to welcome theCourt

,or to receive il lustrious visi tors, or to a Te

Deunz at Pau l ’s for avictory, or to fol low in the trainofagreat funeral . And there was the Saint’s Dayofevery City Company.

These were the regular and properly constitutedamusements. We must add tOthem the excitementsof the daily l ife— the bustle and sti r, the movementand noise of the great City, the tumults among theturbu lent citizens, the quarrels of the Companies,the fights and brawls in the streets, the uprisingsagainst foreign residents, all ofwhom were regardedwi th jealousy and suspicion by London citizens aslate as the last century. In the time ofWhi ttington

102 Sir Rickard Wkitting‘ton.

theyseem tohave passed their days in con tinual terrorsand dangers. When,

as happened in the rebe l l ion of

Wat Tyler, a commotion became a rising, theMastersand members of the Liveries gathered themselvestogether forself-defence and the restoration of ord er.Thus Froissart relates that in that great and

dangerous rebel l ion, whi le the rebels were bu rn ing

the Savoy, plundering the Tower,and destroying

the Priory of the Kn ights Hospital lers, the cit izensof London were qu ietly gathering together and

arming in their houses.

‘

Sir Robert Knolles,for

example, remained in his own house, wi th six score

compan ions, resolved to defend his property to the

last. And when the King rode forth to meet theinsurgents, on the spread ofan alarm that his l ifewasin danger, citizens instantly col lected together,all ful ly armed. Now this was asight foraprenticeboy to remember.There was another amusement greatly in favour

wi th all classes of the m idd le ages— going apilgrimage. The monotony Of l ife was rel ieved by thesedelightfu l expeditions, in which every kind of

pleasure was found— change of scene, society, feasting, and even music

,for no partywas made up that

did not contain some who could Sing or play.

The places most in favour in England were Canterbury, Beverley,Walsingham,

and Glastonbury, wherethey showed the Sacred Thorn. Sometimes, how

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104 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

pageants, to take part in the noisy,busy, and active

l ife around him to feel , daybyday,wonder chang ing

into ambi tion,and aston ishment intohope, as he began

to understand i t all. We may picture the boy wandering to the crowded banks of the Thames belowbridge, rowing about among the shipping, clamberingon board and talk ing to the sai lors, feed ing his

imagination wi th the talk ofthe grizzled old captain ,who

Knewwell all the havens as theywere,From Gothland to the Cape de Fin isterre,And every creek in Bretagne and in Spain .

”

Why, what was the count ry l ife, even with its huntingand sport, its peri ls from robbers, and its fresh, sweetair, compared wi th this great and wonderfu l ci ty,

whose very pavement was of gold , whose magazineswere crammed with things beyond all price

,whose

treasures were brought to its shores by ships thathad braved cruel pirates, and infidels accursed, andmany a tempest upon the cruel seas

So much for the amusements and joys of London .

But there are other aspects of the City ; norwas ital together for pastime that Dick Whittington wassent up to London . The City had its darker side.

First, the hours ofwork were long,the d iscipl ine of

prentices was severe, and the l ife hard ; authori tymade i tself felt. Then there were the dangers of

Dangers. 105

brawls continual ly arising, in the settlement ofwhichkn ives were as freely used as

,in the last century,

clubs and fists. There were the dangers of the C ityfrom the ex tortions of kings, which were felt in all

classes ; there were the dangers of fire, ofc ivi l war,of famine

, and of pesti lence. From plague, pestilence, and famine we pray,

weekly, to be del iveredbutwhat mean ing do we attach to the words, com

pared wi th those who cou ld remember, orhad heardof, a pest i lence which k i l led two-thi rds of London

Ci tizens, and famines when' the people were fain to

give their all for a morsel of bread " As for the

noisome smells, the bad venti lation, the fi l th of the

City, I suppose theywere no more felt by the peoplethan is the same thing in a town of Southern France— say Narbonne. Then there were the dangers fromrogues. Where there is wealth there are rogues

, who

would fain be plundering. London has always beenrich in rogues, thieves, and plotters against suchas have property. I t was

,no doubt

, a d istractionin those days to wi tness the pun ishments which wereinflicted in the open air, before the eyes of all

,for a

deterrent. NO doubt, when the offender was knownto all who looked on

,the shame and suffering he

underwent became an admon ition to the bystanders.

Thus there was the chopping offofthe right hand of

those who struck a sheriff or alderman, un less the

offended offi cer himselfasked that the offender shou ld

106 Sir Rickard,Wkittington.

be pardoned. There was thehanging ofburglars but

burglarywas rare, because the mind of the Ci ty waswell known on the subject of house-breaking, and no

mercy was to be expected for one caught in the

act. We must remember that every man kept hisown money in his own house— a fact which explainsclearly the strong feel ing entertained on the sinfu lnessofburglary.

Then i t was exciting to wi tness the solemn marchdown Chepe ofaprocession,

consisting oftheMayor’

s

sergeants,escorting a man or woman dressed in a

whi te shi rt, and bearing awax taper of three poundsweight, performing the amende konorable. Now and

then i t was possible to wi tness agrand behead ing on

Tower Hill, with subsequent quartering, for treason ,

though these cases were rare. Sir Nicolas Brembre,ex -Mayor, however, was thus beheaded in Whi ttington

’

s t ime, and no doubt before his eyes— astriking example of the mutabil ity of fortune. A

spectacle to be wi tnessed every day, however, or

nearly every day, was the pun ishment by Pillory and

Thewe. As regards the latter,i t was a machine

designed for the pun ishment ofwomen . They sat in

a kind of chair like a ducking-stool, or stool of

repentance. Raised above the crowd, theyhad headand feet uncovered; and were supposed to be sub

jected to the derision of the crowd . The London

Thewe was set up on Cornhi ll, near the prison called

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108 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

meant certain fever and probable death. Forwhat

ever causes, however, the fact is clearly establ ishedby the civic records

,that the Mayor and A ldermen,

in the re igns ofEdward I I I . ,Richard I I .

,Henry IV.,

and his son, placed unbounded confidence in the

p illory. Whateverwas the offence— pil lory. Where,in the eighteenth century, death was certain,

as in

shopl ifting and forgery,in the fourteenth, pi l lory was

considered qu i te severe enough to meet the case.

Pillory was the un iversal reformer ; pi llory was themost dreaded punishment ; pi l lory was the sentence

passed upon all offenders al ike pil lory forone hou r,p illory for two, pi l lory for three. After p il lory and

repentance, a fu l l forgiveness was general ly ex tendedto the criminal ; not always, however, as in the caseofWi l l iam Frankyshe,who pretended to be son ofthe

Earl of Ormond,and so cheated John Tylneye, a

simple gentleman of Norfolk, out of much money.

He was not on ly set in the pi l lory for three hou rs,butwas also sent to Newgate, there to remain unti lhe should satisfy John Tylneye, and the Mayorshould see reason forhis release.

The Ten Commandments maybe broken in agreatvarietyofways, but the charge-sheet at aPol ice Courtseldom shows

’

any form of crime which is not perfectly familiar to the magistrates and officers. I t isinteresting, however, to find that the Mayor

’

s Courtin the reign of King Richard the Second heard

Pillory. 109

cases ofmuch the same nature as theMansion-HouseCourt of the present day, with this d ifference, thatthe cases were treated summari ly, and , most often,were d ismissed wi th the infl ict ion of a pun ishmen twhich, to our modern offende r, would seem indeedridiculous. When, for instance, A lan Birchore,

stringer by trade, was found to have sold four

dozen bow-strings,all false and deceptive ,

” i t wasthought sufficien t punishment to set this rogue in the

pi l lory for,one hour

,and to burn his fraudulent

strings before his eyes. Again,Thomas Stokes

,

wh‘

o pretended to be an officer and taker of ale of

the Royal Household, and, under that gu ise, went tod ivers brewers and marked casks with the broadarrow,

receiving sums of money to let the said casksremain,

had an hour ofpi l lory. The case ofWi ll iamNorthampton,

cobbler, is even more remarkable, considering what a great deal of t rouble he gave, andthat asingle hour of pil lorywas considered ful l andsufficient pun ishmen t. The case was this. A l ice,thewife. ofAndrewTrig, awoman of great respectabili ty, had the misfortune to lose a kerchiefmade offine Paris thread . The theft was imputed , whetherrightly or wrongly, to another A l ice

,wife of John

Bynthum. The charge was so grievous to the

accused, that, not knowing how else to clear herself,shewent toWi l l iam Northampton , cobbler, and askedhis good offices, imparting to him secret information

I 10 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

about the said A l ice,wife of A ndrewTrig. There

upon, the crafty cobbler repaired to A l ice, and,Showing that by his skil l he knew this and thatsecret , pretended that he knew all others, and

espec ial ly the thief of the kerchief that i t was not

A l ice, wife of John ; and that, for her defamationand spread ing offalse reports, she shou ld be pun ishedbydying wi thin amon th. Upon this, the unfortunateA l ice fel l into so profound afear that she nearlyd iedbefore the end of the month, and would certainlyhave fu lfi l led the cobbler’s prophecy but for his

arrest,confession, and pi llory, one resul t ofwhichwas

that she got better.The soldier wounded in the wars is an old friend

in every age. There was,therefore

,nothing original

in the deceit practised by Hugh de laPole, aWelshman,

who bandaged his hand wi th a handkerchiefsteeped in oil, and told how hewas hurt at the siegeofYpres, with many detai ls, all ofthem fabrications

,

about the conduct of that mil i tary Operation. He,too, received an hour ofpi l lory.

The case of Robert Berewold is akin to that ofthecobbler. There was

,one day, great sti r in the house

of the Lady Matildade Eye, of St. Mild red Pou l try,

anent a certain mazer (a cup circled wi th si lver orsi lver g i lt), whichwas lost . One A lan , awater-bearerof the establ ishment, being exercised in mind on

account of the said cup, went to Robert Berewold,

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1 12 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

good at all. Charged wi th the offence of deceit,Roger impudently declared that the parchment hadcertain words wri tten upon i t whichwere sovereignagainst fever. On open ing the parchment, not a

word of any kind, good or bad, was found upon i t.The Court, after remarking wi th severity that astrawin the shoe would have been qui te as good for thepatient, ordered the quack to be set upon a horse

without a saddle, and then, preceded by pipe and

trumpet, to be ridden through the City, certain wel lknown vessels ofthemed ical art hung round his neck

,

and, lastly, to be set in the pil lory for one hour. Nodoubt the prentices ran joyously to see the spectacle.

Let us i l lustrate the manners of the time byafewmore cases. John Roos, “ Esqui re

,entered into a

conspiracyto defraud James de Pekham of by

means ofa false bond . Onewould think,considering

the vast sum at stake, that asignal punishmentwouldhave been infl icted. The sentence was pillory for

one hour, the said false bond hanging from the neckof the forger. Thiswas in the year 1 377 . In 1777

hewou ld have been hanged ; in 1877 he would havebeen transported for l ife.

When Ralph atte Sele, baker, had been condemnedand fined for sel l ing bread of short weight

,he went

about revi l ing the Mayor, and declaring that hisloaves had been found of short weight because theywere notweighed when hot, whereas the present case

Imposture. 1 13

had been taken in weighing the loaves when theycame from the oven. Such a case cou ld not be overlooked, and Ralph stood in the p i l lory wi th a

Whetstone round his neck, to Show to all that herewas a convicted l iar.Wi l l iam Pykemyle got not on lyan hour of pillory,

butwas also tu rned out of the C ity for pretend ing,the impudent rogue, to be the bearer of a messagefrom the King, and thereby gett ing forty pence fromthe Countess ofNorfolk.

A notable brace of impostors were John Wardeand Robert Lynham . These worthies paraded the

streets,bearing eachan el l measure. Thiswas to Show

that theywere traders. One carried agreat red pieceof leather

,on which were wri tten the words This

is the Tongue of John Ward ,”and the other bore a

terrible and suggestive iron hook with a pair of

p incers. Both pretended to be dumb, and, open ingtheir mouths

, pointed to the absence of their tongues,and then to the hook and pincers, thus mutelylead ing the credulous to believe that they had beentaken prisoners on the high seas or

°

in foreign parts,and despiteful ly used by robbers or pirates. Moneywas freely contributed for the relief of these unfor

tunates, who, however, were baled before the Court,and found to have tongues, and as good as any.

Therefore , pi l lory for three hours, and imprisonmentti l l released by order.

H

1 14 Sir Rickard Wkzttz'ngton.

Thus three sturdy rogues van ish out of sight.They are fol lowed by poor old John Bernard . He

was advanced in years ; and one day,tempted of the

Devi l , he fell into sin,bringing up to London, on his

four pack-horses, eight sacks of charcoal, each sackrepresenting one quarter

,but

,alas"of l ight weight ,

being a bushel Short. For this offence,he was

sentenced to the pi l lory,and to have his sacks

burned but byreason ofhis age, the Court adjudgedthat he shou ld remain no longer than forthe burn ingof his sacks. So the old man drove his pack-horseshome that n ight wi thout hiSsacks, andwas, we maysuspect, agood deal upset by the excitement and thefear.For sel l ing putrid pigeons— pil lory ; for cheating

wi th a chequer-board— pi l lory, wi th restitution.

of

stolen money ; for defraud ing by false d ice JohnThomson andWi l l iam de Glendale ofDumfries—L twocredulous Scotchmen— out of forty shi l l ings, and a

kn ife worth five shi l l ings— pi l lory, wi th restitution ;for saying falsely that the Mayor had been sent tothe Tower— p i l lory ; for pretend ing to be an officerof the Marshalsea, and going about wi th a t ipstaff

p i l lory; for pretend ing to be a collector for

Bethlehem Hospital— p i l lory ; for making unsound

barrels— pi l lory, wi th burn ing of the barrels beforethe prisoners ; for steal ing a baselard at a funeral—pil lory ; for sell ing bags fi l led with rape seed,

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1 16 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

would be a very dreadfu l thing for a freeman , a

craftsman of a liv,ery company, to be thus held up

to publ ic contempt ; a common rogue, l ike JohnWard wi th his hook and pincers, would only dread itso faras i t would make his face known

, and he could

practise his deceit no longer in London ; hewou ld,too, speedi lyfind himselfou tside theCitygates. Thenthe question arises as to how far the shame of the

pi llory was mingled with fear of dead cats, rotteneggs, and such missi les, withwhich, in later years, ap i l lory bird was regaled . If the sentences of the

courts were len ient, manners were rough and

prentices pitiless. Unfortunately, the civic recordsare si lent as to the behaviour of the mob and the

sufferings of the culprit. One thing may be re

marked— no man comes before the Mayor chargedwi th being an habitual criminal . A thief might bedetected once, and put in the pi l lory; but forasecondOffence

,outside the gates must he go. The main

tenance of lawand authoritywas to be enforced byrougher lessons than an hour of pi l lory. Thus, whenWalter Constable

,tai lor, assaul ted award constable

,

he found himself imprisoned forforty days, and finedno less a sum than ahundred shi l l ings— awarning tothe citizens. When John Arkwythe lost his head,and took the Sheriff by the breast and shook him,

he was sentenced to imprisonment for a year anda day, and to be d ischarged from the freedom of

7 alm Gedeney. 1 r7

the City. Thomas Maynelle, grocer, was chargedbefore theMayor, byA lderman Sevenok, wi th certaini rregular and sinister doings and sayings, and d iversdamages, d issensions, d isputes, and losses. On beingreprimanded, he menacingly said to the same alderman that he had best look to himself, lest such anend should befal l him as befel Sir N icolas Brembre,ex -Mayor, who was beheaded. This contempt of

authoritywas met wi thasentence ofimprisonment forayearand aday, and, after, to lose the freedom ofthe

City. Yet, when the prisoner humbled himself, the

good alderman entreated his pardon,which one is

glad to learn was granted him.

If authori ty and d igni ty of offi ce might not bebrought into contempt, so i t must not be refused , asis shown by the case of John Gedeney, draper, whothought he might refuse the office ofalderman, anddid so

,al leging insufficiency and inabi l ity. The

Court gently reminded him of his oathas afreeman,

bywhich hewas made apartaker in Lot— that is, inl iabilityto take oflice ; and in Scot— that is, in l iabil ityto taxation. Yet the said Gedeney stubbornly re

fused. Thereupon,an example was made ofhim ; he

was committed to prison, his shop was shut up, hisgoods sequestrated. At these high-handed measures,Gedeney saw that he must submit

,and did so, being

at once forgiven and received into favour. Some

years later he became Mayor.

1 18 Sir Ric/mi d

A less intelligible resistance to the law is that of

Wi l l iam Kyngscote, who was Warden of Ludgate.When the newly-elected Sheriffs came to take overthe prisoners, as was their custom and their duty,theywere received by the said Wi l l iam with a flat

refusal to give up the prisoners, and on their endeavouring to force away into the prison, theywere metwith stones, swords, sticks

,and baselards

,so that

theywere fain to retire, to the great scandal of allright-minded citizens. But at the appearance ofa

large force he submitted. He was sentenced to im

prisonment for a year, deprivation of his oflice, and

never again to be al lowed to hold any post in the

C ity. But on his supp l ication for pardon he was

released, and shortly afterwards he was reinstated,the reason al leged for the said reinstatement pointingto the probable cause of his rebel l ion, viz .

,that he

had laid out money upon the gate and the prison.

One imagines the honest but hot-headed Wardenexpending all he cou ld afford, wi th great zeal, for therepair of the prison, and, bill sent in, not being ableto get i t paid . But one must not, therefore, bringout baselards to fight the Sheriffs.

A very curious crime, of which more than one

example is found in the records of this time, was the

forgery of Papal Bul ls. One Lawrence Newport, bymeans offorged Bul ls, wi th aseal of lead

, purportingto be from “

the Most Holy Father in Christ, and

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120 Sir Ric/1ard W/zitlingz‘oa.

deceiver, and so perhaps back to shuttle-making,a poor trade, yet wi th his imaginat ion st i l l activewi thin him

, and many most beautifu l stories sup

pressed and lost, or thrown away upon his

unbelieving family.

Besides these trials, there were plenty of off-hand,

rough-and-ready acts of summary just ice, and lawswhich seem Lo interfere wi th the l iberty of the

subject. One Simon Figge, 3 Sandwich man, mustneeds spread reports ofassaults and outrages in this

peaceful c ity. To prison with him unti l furthernot ice " No fore igner was al lowed in the streetsbefore six in the morn ing or after six in the

even ing ; no cit izen was to be in the st reets aftern ine at n ight. As there were no pol ice to watchthe streets

,but on ly occasional patrols, these laws

must have been broken wi th impun ity. No one

was al lowed to go armed un less of the rank of a

kn ight ; no one was to bu i ld over the street. The

price of commod ities was constantly being fix ed.

As regards the value ofmoney,we find the guard ian

ofagi rl ofrespectable parentage charging her eight

pence a-week for board and lodging,eightpence

a-week for clothes, and eightpence a-week for

doctoring, dressing her head,teaching her

, pro

viding her wi th shoes, and all other expenses ; inother words, a young woman of the c itizen classcost about two shi l l ings a-week to keep respectably

Prices. 12 I

and to educate. But we find the son of a kn ightcharged for his board and lodging and the maintenance of his servants— it is not said how manyservants— five shi l l ings a-week . The stal ls for thebutchers and bakers round the Cross of Chepe werelet at an annual rent of thi rteen shi l l ings and fourpence each

,those near Paul ’s Cross at ten shi l l ings

each. The prices of provisions may be gatheredfrom the fol lowing list, which was fixed in the year1374. By the end of the century they wou ld be

somewhat advanced.

The best grass-fed ox alive

,

The best grain-fed ox,

The best cow,The best hog, oftwoyears old,The best shom mutton,The best goose,The best capon,The best hen , o o 1

The best chickens, two for u o 1

The bestyoung pigeons, three forTwentyeggs,

I t has been al ready hinted that there were oftenjealousies and dissensions between companies, or

between master and men. In these cases the C itywas peremptory. When, for instance, the cobblersand the cordwainers quarrelled , i t was ruled thatno person who medd les wi th old shoes shal l medd le

122 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

with new shoes,and every manner ofwork that may

be made of new leather belongs to the cordwainers.

So that was appeased. When, as now and thenhappened, the journeymen tried to form themselvesinto companies forthe good of wages

, the Cityinstantly put them down. No “

covies or com

binations of journeymen were al lowed on any

pretence. The sadd lers,for example, instituted a

trades union of their own ; so did the cordwainers,

who formed acongregation,and defied the overseers.

The journeymen tai lors banded together in compan ies,living in houses oftheir own, and working for themselves, and had in the end to be turned out of the

houses they had occupied forall these combinationsand societies were sternly put down. Wi thin the

Compan ies, the honour, d igni ty, and authority of

Master, Wardens, and Court had to be consideredbefore anything else. And ifthis was so at meetingsofthe Liveries

,with much more care was the d ign i ty

of the civic authori ties upheld . Thus a certain i l lcond i tioned burgess, who had himself been raisedto the honour of an alderman

, was heard to revi lethe C ity laws Open ly and without restraint. On the

matter b eing brought before the Mayor, he was

pun ished by being forbidden to wear any vestmentbelonging to or sign ifying civic d istinction, such as acloak lined wi th si lk or furred wi th budge. Moreover

,he was expel led from whatever offices

, great

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r24 Sir Rickard IVkitc‘ington.

for a baptism ,or more than half-a-mark for a

wedd ing, un less i t were that of a son,ordaughter, or

some one near of kin. Laws were even passedagainst id le babbling ; and when the City was

agitated about certain d isputes, i t was enacted thatno one should venture to pronounce an Opin ion. A

certain beadle, too, having been found to have goneabout spread ing false and gossipy reports, wasd ismissed his office, wi th a promise of favour if he

cou ld find the man who told him these things. One

sad ly pictures the unfrocked beadle roaming up\

and

down the streets,heed less of the throng and bustle,

which interested him no more, anx ious only to meetonce more the face of that stranger who so wickedlymisled him. As for that other case of John Con

stantyn, cordwainer, who was hanged, one feels scant

p ity forhim,because he went the length of shutting

up his shop, and inciting his fel low-ci tizens to do thel ike. What greater d isrespect to the Mayor ofa cityof industry than to put up the shutters in broad dayl ight As formere defamation and personal revi l ingofspecial offi cers, the injured person generallybeggedthat the mercy of the Court shou ld be ex tended tothe cu lprit, satisfied for himselfwith the vind icationofhis honour.There were customs

, too, among the London

people which a lad from the countrywou ld have tolearn, as wel l as many customs and many tricks of

Tke Pool. 2 5

speechwhichhewou ld have to unlearn. For instance ,thevi l lage lad ofPauntleywould be struck wi th someaston ishment at the “ glutton masses which the

people of this wonderfu l ci ty held five times everyyear in honour of the Virgin . A t these masses theworshippers brought meat and ale wi th them to the

church,and, after mass, fel l to and devoured as much

as they possibly cou ld . I confess that I am unableto understand the meaning or the reason of thesefunctions.

I have said l i ttle of the Pool . Yet as i t is now,

so i t was then,crowded wi th craft— of strange bui ld

,

could we see them wi th our eyes, but not strange tothe boys who looked at the ships, made thei r way on

board,hand led the ropes, talked to the sai lors

,and

heard strange stories ofmen beyond the sea. The

Adventurers belonged princ ipally to the Company of

Mercers. The owners of the vessels bound to the

Levant, to Spain, to Italy,were men wel l known by

name,by sight

,and by repute to D ick Whittington.

The captains— responsible men,whose l ives Were

continual ly in peri l—were their servants, as were thecrews

,sturdy bul l-dogs all, who m ight have to fight

thei r way through Moslem pirates ofTripol i , Tunis,A lgiers, and Morocco

,wi thout counting the Christian

corsairs of I taly, Spain, and France. Yet there wassafety in the reputation of an Engl ish ship, for hersai lors would fight. From such‘ talks with suchmen

126 Sir Rickard IVkillington.

would a lad of promise and ambition learn suchknowledge as wou ld be useful in the coming years— the ports of the known world, the wants of the irpeople, the markets and the supplies. I t is qui tecertain to me that Whi ttington spent a good deal ofhis time in the river below Bridge. Perhaps thus helearned the possible value ofhis cat.

I cannot refrain from quoting one storyfromStowwhich throws a pleasant l ight on the life of the

prentices round Bow Church. It was the duty of

the clerk ofthat church to ring the bel l at eight, thesignal forknocking offwork. The prentices awai tedthe hour of ringing wi th a natural impatience. A t

one time i t was d iscovered that the clerk had fal leninto the unpar

’

donable habit ofringing the bell afterthe time. Was this to be endured" He received thefol lowingwarning

Clerke ofthe BowBell,With theyellowlockesl

Forthylate ringingThou shalt have knockes.”

Towhich he made haste to reply, wi th submission

Children ofChepe,Hold you all stille,

Foryou shall have BowBellRung at yourwille.

”

Such, then, was the kind of l ife intowhich the boyfrom Gloucestershire found himself plunged—a l ife

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128 Sir Rickard I/Vkitlington .

troubled their heads not one whi t about doctrine ;they loved their splend id churches, their ritual , theirsacred music, but they cou ld not bear the contrastbetween the professions of the clergy and their dai lylives. For in that crowded town i t was d ifficul t fora.bad priest to conceal his badness.

Again, i t was a city in which all the peoplewere well paid and wel l fed. The miserable fareof the country people described by Piers Prowman their loaves of beans and bran, thei r

pot-herbs, parsley, cabbages, and frui ts— was not

for the Londoners. They l ived wel l on good beefand mutton, fat capons, and sea fish Bordeaux sentthem wine for the richer sort wine came, too, fromGaza in the Holy Land

,from Cyprus, from Spain,

from Sicily ; the country d istricts sent them mead,

perry, and cider. They were awel l -fed, prosperous,and happy people, wi th certain drawbacks, on whichI have already touched. Among these were, fi rst,the absence ofthe habi t ofbathing— foral though thehot bathwas agreat med iaeval institution

,i t does not

appear that the m idd le class used i t regularly nex t,

the lack ofcleanl iness in the streets then the lack ofclean l iness

,l ight

,venti lation, and space in the houses.

These things were not recognised and regarded as

evi ls, but they made themselves felt from time to

time in plagues and pesti lences. The matter of

cleanl iness in all its branches, and wi th all its

Palriotism. 129

dangers when neglected,set apart, i t seems as if

London, to a young fellow not yet ful ly awake to

the pol i tical dangers and the character of the nex their to the throne at the period towards the close of

Edward the Third ’

s reign, was, as it is now, the mostdesirable place of residence upon this terrestrial

globe.And a patriotic City—aCi ty that thought well of

itselfas the pride and bulwark of England . Was itnotwell fora lad to come to such aplace, to growup

under all its influences, to be fi red by its amb itions, toshare in its successes

,at once to feel the pulse beating

and the l ife-blood ofthe place surging about him, and

to be, himself, a part of all he saw"What sort oflife was that led by his brother, Squire of Pauntley,compared wi th his own"Who could be proud of

Pauntley"Whereas, for stately Lon don

Stronge be thewalls abowte thee that stand,Wise be the people thatwithin thee dwelles ;

Fresh is the river withhis lustystrand ;

B lithe be thychurches, well sounding are thybells ;Rich be thymerchants in substance that excels.”

CHAPTER V.

THE STO RY O F THE CAT.

Yourtale, sir, would cure deafness.

Nwhat way and by what steps d id Whi ttingtonarrive at success"We have read the legendary

story of the Cat. I t has been long since held up to

rid icule by Ke ightley, and has been explained awayby Riley. Norwere there any left who bel ieved thatthe story was aught but a nursery tale

,unti l Dr.

Lysons arose,and with great learning maintained

that the storywas not on ly possible , butalso probable.First of all

,the same story is related in a dozen

d ifferentwaysand byadozen d ifferent people. Thus,

there was one A lphonso, a‘Portuguese, who, being

wrecked on the coast of Gu inea, and being presentedby the k ing thereofwith his weight in gold fora cat

to kil l their mice and an ointment to k i l l the ir fl ies,

improved the good fortune so rapid ly, that wi thinfive years he was worth a great sum of money, andafter fifteen years

’ traffi c returned to Portugal the

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132 Sir Rickard Wkittington .

middle ages,tame cats were scarce in Europe, and

highly valued. Gregory the Great, when he retiredto a monastery,

took wi th him nothing but a cat.

Mohammed carried about a cat in his sleeve. And

at A ix,in Provence, as late as theyear 17 57 , the finest

tom-cat that cou ld be procured was carried in

procession on Corpus Ckristi day, wrapped in

swadd l ing clothes like a chi ld , and exhibited to the

admiration of the mu l t itude in amagn ificent shrine.

Flowers were strewn and knees were bent before himas he passed. I t is said that cats were fi rst broughtinto Europe from Egypt by way of Cyprus. The

sk ins of cats,moreover, were greatly in demand for

thepel issesofabbotsand abbesses. A ll this is nodoubtperfectly true. The value of a tame cat and agoodmouser was very great, especial ly in lands where ratsand mice abounded . Yet i t is d iffi cu l t to believethat Whi ttington real ly made the fi rst step towards

his great success by the lucky sale of a cat, confided

to a friend ly sai lor. One wou ld l ike to knowwhatthe cat fetched, and where it was sold, wi th othercircumstances corroborative of the story. Two sug

gest ions have been made to get over the d iffi cu l ty.

They are ingen ious, but man ifestly impossible. Bothare made by Mr. Riley. He thinks that perhapsthe word cat is a corruption of the French wordackat

, a purchase : And if this wi l l not do, he says

hat col l iers and ships employed in the carriage ofsea

Tke Sea Coal Trade. 133

coal to London were cal led “ cats,

so that a cat

fu l l of coal may have been the foundation ofWhi ttington

’

s fortune.Let us exam ine these suggestions. As regards the

fi rst,i t is perfectly true that the Mercers were retai l

dealers in the days ofWhittington’

s apprenticeship.

They sold most things, and made nothing ; theywere not a company of hand icraftsmen, but of

traders ; they bought and sold ,therefore, whatever

moneywas madewas enti relybyackats, by traffi c . Yettheword cou ld not, I think , have been corrupted intocats.

” Just as in Scotland, jacke’

has becomefasked,but not facked ; and assietle, kasket, and gzgvt, j zgot

so if theword had passed into common use,which i t

did not,i t would have became ashats or

“ashets.

Wemay therefore d ismiss this conj ecture.

There remains the second, that he traded withcats ” and sea coal . I t is suffi cient answer to thisthat the cat was avessel described or copied fromNorwegian models, of burden from five to six

hundred tons, and carrying three mastsand abowsprit.Now there is no kind of probabil ity that ships so

large were ever bu i l t in those days whi le the earl iestvessels employed in the coal trade were “ keels ” or“ boys, and the men who worked them were cal ledkeelers.

”Again, there was agreat and very natural

prejud ice in London against coal fi res,on account

of their smoke , and its inj urious effect. Norwas it

Sir Rickard Wkillikglmz.

the gaol of Newgate, in conformity wi th his wi ll.After the great fire of 1666, we read (Maitland

’

s

“ History of London that the gate of Newgatewas very much damaged The west side of the

gate is adorned wi th three ranges of Pilasters,and

three entablements of the Tuscan order. Over thelowest is a circular ped iment, and above it the King

’

s

A rms. The outer columns are four n iches, wi thas many figures as large as l ife. One of these

,

representing Liberty, has carved on his hat the wordLibertas, and the figure of a cat lying at his feet ;al lud ing to the figure of SirRichard Whi tt ington

, a

former founder, who is said to have made the fi rst stepto his good fortune bya cat.

”

And Pennant statesthat Whittington

’

s statue, wilk tke cat, remained on

the gate in a n iche until the fire. Again,Dr. Lysons

was shown apiece of plate presented to the Mercers’

Company, in the year 1 5 72 , byWi l l iam Burde,then

Warden.

“ I t consists ofa g i l t car, beautiful lychasedand enamelled, stand ing on four wheels

,and bearing

a barrel or tun on the top. There are four medall ions in enamel , two on cael side : on one of them is

the representation of the Virgin,witha crown, which

are the insign ia of the company ; on the other, the

arms of the City of London. On the two others areherald ic cats whi le, enamelled in l i lac and green, onthe stems of two upright figures, are rats and birds,the natural food ofsuch an imals.

’

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Sir Rickard Wkilliuglou .

heavy heart ; and so on. All this is, of course, pureinvention

,and i t seems a great p ity to spoi l a good

commercial coup byfalse sentiment. As boys are now,

so theywere then . Let us regard Whittington as aheal thy, honest lad, who would be no more incl inedto cryover a cat than aboyofhis age wou ld cryoverone now. And there is one thing very suspicious.

If cats were precious, how did he, being so poor asDr. Lysons would make him,

get possession of one"

And,seeing how great was the value ofacat in those

landswhither the ship was bound , is i t unreasonableto suppose that he invested what money he cou ldspare in send ing one out for sale"That I bel ieve to be the real story. Whittington

’

s

fi rst smal l success was made by a l i ttle venture . The

sai lors told him abou t the rats and mice he boughta cat

, and sent i t out. I t was the shrewd venture of

aclever boy ; and the cat sold wel l . Then he madeother ventures, always wi th profi t, and grateful lyascribed his fi rst success to his lucky cat. That

seems to me the only rational way out ofthe story.

All fortunes,all successes in l ife, may be traced to

a smal l beginn ing. An accident, a word, a gesture,and the after career is changed . IfDickWhittingtonshipped a cat for sale, if the catwas sold orbarteredfor j ewels

,skins, si lk, or ivory, there wou ld be, qu ite

possibly, a first success.

Again, success in anything depends upon the

Fact and Tkeary. 139

happy and resolute se izure “

of opportun i ties. If a

sai lor said in the boy’

s hearing that a cat could beexchanged among the Moors for a large profi t, hewould be qu ick enough to go and buy that cat, andentrust his friend to carry i t for him,

and bring himback honestly what i t in ight fetch— good mousingguaranteed. The cat may just as well have beenanything else— a bag of wool , a box of kn ives

,a

case of bows and arrows ; the fi rst venture was thefi rst success.

In thus accepting the story of the cat, we do not

accept the sentimental rubb ish of the legend whichDr. Lysons seemed to think followed with i t. The

tears of the apprentice, the sacrifice of the one thingwhich he had to offer, his despai r at parting wi th hisfavouri te, appear to me si l ly and false. Did one

ever hear, in such time ofroughand rude sport, whenbattle and murder were almost dai ly to be wi tnessedin the streets of Lohdon

,of a prentice so faran tici

pating the future as to weep the sentimental tears ofthe eighteenth century" What t ime had aprenticeto cry over his favourite what opportunities to keepafavourite at all" The tears over the cat belong tothe same storyas the tears of despai r on H ighgateH ill

,the hard taskmaster, the cruel, mocking,

teasingfel low-prentices— as if a boy wi th stuff in him to

make him a great and rich merchant was a pul ingsneak ofa boy, not able to give taunt for taunt, or

Q 0

140 Sir Rickard Wkillington.

blowfor blowl— the want of friends, the neglect ofrelat ions

, and the penn i less cond i tion ,all of which

may be considered effectual ly d isposed of.Whittington was the youngest son of agentleman,

though not a rich one. I t was not l ikely, as I havealready insisted , that he cameup to London abeggar,whi le his brother was a squ ire of high degree

,after

wards sheriff for his county ; nor did he come up toLondon seeking a master. He would come

,recom

mended wi th promises offriendship, to be apprenticed

to a Fitz-Warren, a gentleman, armig'

er,of ancient

l ineage like himself, whose servant he would be forseven years, and afterwards his equal , as being bothmembers of the same Company, albeit one was richand old, and the other at first poor and young. Thenhis younger son

’

s portion ; what would he do wi ththatWhat wou ld every young London merchant do

wi th money"Why, for seven years’

apprenticeshipthe boy had been learn ing the great lesson thatmoney is made bythe right use ofmoney— to sel l

,one

must fi rst buy— and that by sel ling London merchantsbecome great. He was ready to venture his capi tal ,such as i t was he did venture i t

,and hewon . Even

if he had no money, which I doubt, there is anotherfact which is of help in showing howyoung men goton in those days. In the year 137 1 , a certain JohnBarnes gave a chest, kept locked with three locks,

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Sir Rickard Wkittiugtou .

ever, preposterous to believe that a cat was thus soldfor the benefi t ofyoung Whittington ; that the fi rstsuccess

,such as i t was

,encouraged and emboldened

him, so that, for the rest of his l ife, he always attri

buted his fortune to the sal e of the cat. And that iswhat I am induced to bel ieve is

,on thewhole, the

true history ofthe famous cat.

I think that the world is very right to payworshipand honour to successfu l men .

o

when one considershow

,in this realm ofEngland and in theUn i ted States,

the veryatmosphere is charged wi th a contagious enthusiasm and zeal forsuccess, so that, above acertainlevel, and beyond a certain l ine of education , there ishard lya lad who does not look forward wi th hope toal ife ofsuccess,wealth, orfame— thoughfewindeed theyarewho get what they desi re— and how

, further, thequal i ties requ i red to ensure success are so manyandso rare

,even singly— as, forinstance, industry, patience,

cheerfulness,skil l in learn ing

,knowledge ofman

, an

attractive carriage and speech, the power of inspiringconfidence, constant hope, swiftness to seize an opportunity,

courage,resolution,

self-confidence,which are

only afew— considering these things, I bel ieve we dowel l to respect a successfu l man

,and the taunt that

England worships the men who have succeededshould be accepted as a truthful statement of apraetice worthyof defence. Nor can I see howanythingelse is to be greatly admired in a man who fights

Tko Cat Story. 143

the battle of l ife in the usual way. Whittington,we

may be sure, having put his hand to the plough,had no thought of looking back . To be one of

the great merchants of London was his ambi tion.

His fortune made, his rank assured,he began to

consider (but not ti l l then), as we shal l presently see,

what he cou ld do with his weal th for the improvement of his ci tyand his fellow-c i tizens.

CHA PT E R V I.

PUBLIC LIFE.

Amerchantwas therewithaforked board :In mottelyand high on horsehe sat

His reasons Spake he full solemnely,Sounding alway the increase ofhiswinning.

"

ETWEENa prent ice lad, wi th all his l ife beforehim for better or forworse; and a rich London

merchant, there is awide gu lf. Unfortunately,in the

case ofWhitt ington ,i t is impossible, save by con

jecture, to bridge i t over. As for the story of the

eat, it has been shown that i t is not absolutelyimpossible ; there are even reasons why it may beconsidered possible. A nd whether i t is true in the

main ornot,we may safely conj ecture that Whi tting

ton’

s success was l ike that of London merchants inallageswho make their own way from smallventuresto great— that is to say, there was nothing dramat icabout i t, or unexpected . The young man throvebecause he possessed the qual ities ofwork, patience,thrift

,and d iscernment. To all who work honestly

there comes a time of golden chance,which brings

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146 Sir Rickard Wkittiugtou .

had been granted to foreigners. The C ity has

always been jealous,up to late years, of foreign

merchan ts. And to onewho bought and sold stuffsas Whitt ington deal t wi th

,the question was one of

very great importance. A charter obtained in 1 376

prevented foreigners from sel l ing by retai l . This

prohibi t ion wou ld work in two ways to the advantageof the Mercers and Adventurers forwhatever theforeign merchan ts imported, they cou ld on ly sel l tothe London merchants wholesale, so that the lattercou ld fix the ir own price, and there was nothing to

prevent them from mak ing i t so low as to driveforeign ships out of the port al together. This

,no

doubt, was what they intended and wished to do.

London for the Londoners was the first thing. The

C i ty had not yet become the market of the world,open to all comers. Fore ign influences

,however

,

were strong at Court, and in the household of PrinceRichard. The cit izens therefore determined on

giving a great entertainment to the Prince, with a

view of conci l iat ing him. He was l iving in 1 377 ,

just before the death of his grandfather,at Kenn ing

ton Palace with the Princess his mother. Theyorgan ised , therefore, a great ckeoaucke

’

,consisting of

130 c i tizens, among whom,one hopes,young Whit

tington was permi tted to ride . They were all on

horseback, and rode from Newgate,over London

B ridge, to Kenn ington , preceded by flambeaux and a

A Great Ria’iug . 147

band of music. They were not dressed in theirusual civic and company l iveries, but impersonatedEsqu i res

,Kn ights

,Pope, Card inals, and Devi ls.

Try to picture the procession . First the trumpets,fifes

, and drums, wi th other instruments of strangeappearance and sound ; then the men carrying the

torches,to be l i t at n ightfal l ; then the Esqu ires,

gal lant and brave , wi th arms and shields ; then the

Kn ights in shin ing armour and with flying banners ;then the Pope— actual ly the Pope — fol lowed by hisCard inals and his Devi ls

, the latter ind icating, bytheir d iabol ical activi ty and their gestures, a greedydesi re to carry off the spectators then and there totheir own quarters. The Prince appears to have

thought the procession most magnificent. After themarch past, the leaders ofthe R id ing proposed to thePrince a throw wi th d ice. These were loaded ,

so

that his Highness might always win. By this craftydevice they managed to make him accept a bowl, acup, and a ring, all of gold . Simi lar presents weremade to his mother and to the people ofher su ite, andthen they l i t up thei r torches and rode home again,fol lowed no doubt by all the prentice boys.

The story is remarkable,because i t shows how

dependent upon royal favour was this city, greatand strong as i t was al ready— so strong that i t seemsto us

, considering the rest ofthe realm, how weak i t

was, and how open to attack at many points, that

148 Sir Rickard k ittiugtou.

London had only to close her gates and defy the

Sovereign . No doubt she cou ld have done so at anyt ime, and successful ly, had all her people been ofone

mind . Buttheyremained loyal whi le itwas in thepowerof law-loving men to be loyal, and the time had not

comewhenmen shou ld thinkanygovernment even possible wi thout a lawfu l king. A ll this chi ld ishacting toplease aprince Yet no doubt i t served its purpose.

Unfortunately, the good effects ofthe procession andthe golden gifts were marred by the untoward quarrelling and brawl at the trial ofWycliffe, in the same

year. He had been summoned by the A rchbishop of

Canterbury and the B ishop of London to appearbefore them at St. Pau l ’s Cathedral , there to answerto whatever charges might be brought against him.

This meant, in the ease of an unprotected priest,deprivation and imprisonment. ButWycl iffe was not

unprotected. He came not alone, but accompan ied

by John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster,and Lord

Piercy, Marshal ofEngland . A quarrel arose between

the Duke and the B ishop of London,who was indig

nant that a heretic shou ld receive such protection.

The Duke threatened to drag the B ishop out ofthe

church by the hai r of his head . The speech wasreported to the mob outside , who shouted that theywou ld all die before any ind ignity was offered to

their B ishop. John of Gaunt, in that kind of rage

which used to be cal led royal,went to the Parl iament,

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1 50 Sir Rickard Wkittiugtou .

river. I t was ordered that four aldermen shou ldalways be on board the outer ships, both day and

n ight,

“to avoid peri ls which m ight ensue to the

shipping of the Thames, to the i rreparable loss and

damage of the whole nat ion ”They were to be

accompanied bya suflficient number ofmen-at-arms.

I t is not stated how long this precaution was maintained.

In the year 1378 the most patriotic office everaccomplished by any citizen was rendered to the

City of London by John Phi lpot, then Mayor. For

some time the navigation oftheChannel and theNorthSea had been greatly impeded and annoyed by the

depredations ofacertain Scott ish pi rate or privateer,namedMercer,whohadasmallfleet ofships,wi thwhichhe assai led and destroyed the English merchantmen .

Petitions and remonstrances addressed to the Crownproduced no effect. Then this ex cel lent citizen,Sir John Phi lpot, resolved to end the thing at once ,equ ipped a fleet at his own sole expense and charge,manned his ships wi th a thousand stou t fel lows, fu l lyarmed, put himself on board as captain— saw one

ever a more val iant Mayor — and sai led forth in

pursu it of the enemy. He found P irate Mercer off

Scarborough, embarrassed wi th his prizes, which he

was loath to qu i t, but which d ivided his forces, andmade him fight at a d isadvantage . Whi le he was

pondering which were better, SirJohn fell upon him

Sir "oku Pkilpot. 15 1

with all his val iant Londoners,utterly routed and

d iscomfited him,slewhim and most ofhis men

,and

presently returned to the Nore with all his ships,most of his men

, and the Scott ish pi rate’

s ships,includ ing fifteen Span ish ships which had joinedhim ; so that there was great rejoic ing, espec ial lyin the Mercers’ Company, and among all who hadventures afloat and were owners ofships. True thatthe King

’

s Highness cou ld not tolerate that warshou ld be made upon any wi thout his permissionand consent

,and Sir John must needs go before

the Court and explain his presumption. I knownotwhat he said ,

but the case was clear. So manyenemies of London trade swept off the seas ; theships now able to set sai l wi thout fear ofwolves.

Were the King’

s coffers l ikely soon to want re

plenishment" In fact, before another year wasover there was great need of money in the royaltreasury. Then Sir John Phi lpot came once more to

the rescue. The arms and armour ofa thousand men

lay in pawn ; Sir John took them out. The Kingwan ted ships for his exped i t ion to France ; Sir

John gave him all those ships of his own whichhad already done forMercer. Here was an example,if example were wanted ,

for a young merchant .What nobler Mayor to set before his eyes than thisbrave SirJohnThere is no mention ofWhittington

’

s name in

1 52 Sir Rickard Wkittiugtou .

any of these doings, nor in that great and peri lousrising of the peasants in the year 138 1 ; but we

cannot expect that a young man just beginn ingto trade wou ld have any chance of d istinction .

Enough for him to obey commands, and to fighton the side of freedom . One knows not how far

the social ist teachings of John Ball,wi th his verses

of“ Jack the Mil ler,

” “ Jack the Carter, and“ Jack

Trewman,

” influenced the craftsmen of the C i ty. It

is,however, noteworthy that no resistance was offered

to the mob which rushed over London Bridge, andforawhi le took possession of the C i ty. The Savoy,

the Temple, and the houses ofthe foreign merchants

(the last must have been the work of the London

c raftsmen)were burned , wi thout any attempt madeto resist the rebels. The A rchbishop ofCanterburyand the Prior of St. John were dragged to Tower

Hill and beheaded but no one moved. The slayingofWat Tyler by SirWi l l iam Walworth was clearlyunpremed i tated

,and an act of uncontrol lable rage ;

besides, Walworth had lost many houses in the

general m ischief. Yet,when a rumour ran that

the young King’

s l ife was in danger,an army of

Londoners was formed at a moment’s noticeto rally round their Sovereign. These wou ld beLondoners of the better sort ; one fears that amongthe poor artizans the quest ions had been asked, andhad sunk deep into their hearts Wi l l things ever

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1 54 Sir Rickard Wkittiugtou.

prejud iceshewasattack ing. For instance, i t certain lywas the province of the Ecclesiastical Courts to lookafter the moral i ty of the City. I t was not den ied byany that these courts al lowed scandals to ex ist whichcould easi lyhave been suppressed the officers ei therconnived or took bribes. Yet it was a bold step of

the Mayor to take over to himself the authori ty of

these courts,and to purify the C i ty in Spi te ofbishop

and clergy. Nor was i t a measure l ikely to securethe affection of the clergy,when the same John gaveorder that the parish priests shou ld be forbidden to

take fees above a certain amount : not more, forinstance, than the fourth part of asi lver penny— andasimple fat capon not to be had under three pencefor a mass for the dead normore than forty pence—which seems a pretty round sum as prices then

went— for the baptism of a chi ld norforamarriagemore than half-a-mark or the value thereof. It is not

luckyto attack the Chu rch; and though good citizensmight feel that John ofNorthampton meant wel l, andwas acting in their interests, his quarrels with the

fishmongers, which fol lowed, and proved his destruction, were no doubt considered by his enemies as aj udgment. I t wi l l be remembered that Chaucer

,

Control ler ofCustoms, belonged to the'

party ofJohn

ofNorthampton.

The sale offish in the Cityhas always been amost

important branch of trade, and the fishmongers have

Tko Fisk Supply. 1 5 5

on several occasions proved a troublesome body to

deal wi th. In the fourteenth century, though the

moral authorityofthe Churchwas smal l, its authorityin the matter of fasts was absolute. On fast days

the whole nation fasted . On every Friday throughout the

'

year, all through Lent, and on many fastdays besides, the world of Christendom lived upon

fish. There was fresh fish and preserved fish. The

people who l ived inland had rivers, tanks, and pondsthose near the shore had sea fish. The Londonerscommanded access to the sea

, and a very largedemand ex isted for fresh and good fish. Forabout aquarter of the whole year, in fact, they had to l ivechiefly upon i t. Therefore, i t was above all thingsimportant that the people shou ld bewel l and cheaplyprovided. An abundant and inexhaustible supplywas to be found in the lower Thames

,off the coasts

ofKent, Suffolk , and Norfolk. The retai l of the fishbrought to B i l l ingsgate and Queenhithe was entirelyin the hands of the F ishmongers’ Company. In an

evi l momen t for himself, John of Northamptonbecame a Free Trader, and obtained an act of

Parl iament whereby the whole trade of fish,both

retai l and wholesale, was thrown open to foreignersas well as Londoners, and the occupation, cal l ing,mystery,

or craft of the fishmongers declared to be

no~ttue craft ormystery, and unworthy to be reckoned

among those for which the Livery Compan ies were

1 56 Sir Rickard Wkittiugtou.

Destablished . ThlSwas avery strong step, consideringthe vested interests of the fishmongers ; but JohnofNorthampton did not stop there. He endeavouredto ex tend his Free Trade principles, and, havingthrown down the barriers of protection for fish, he

began to attack the vested interests of other purveyors. He showed his intention by first procu ringanother Act ofParl iament, bywhich victuallers ofallkinds were debarred from hold ing any jud icial offi cein the City. Grocers, bu tchers, pepperers, frui terers,bakers, were therefore about to be included wi th thefishmongers, and the Reformer wou ld proceed to

nothing less than ageneral massacre , so to speak,in

which the fortunes of all concerned with the pro

visioning of London wou ld be wrecked. But thingswere not yet ripe formeasures so drastic.Protection was to re ign for manyyears to come ;

and i t is sad to record how the Reformer, born beforehis t ime, came to grief. For Sir Nicolas Brembre

,

himselfdestined to i l lustrate in astriking manner’

the

uncertainty of fortune, being made Mayor again, restored the fishmongers to the ir former l iberties. Thereupon fishwent up in price , and there was some kindof tumult, headed , unhappi ly, by John ofNorthampton himself, and by one Constantyn, who was daringenough to shut up his shop, and to cal l upon his

fel low-citizens to do the l ike. Thereupon they lostno t ime in cutting offhis head . As forpoor John of

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Sir Rickard Wkittingtou .

those who belonged to a trade rather than a

hand icraft — wou ld wish to join the Coun c i l.I t was also

, doubtless, owing to this change thatWhittington himself was elected in the fol lowing

year one ofthe Common Council forColeman St reetWard . During his year of offi ce there occurred one

of those d isputes whichwere constantly be ing causedby the encroachments of the Crown. In this casethe King ordered that the sheriffs shou ld be swornbefore the Barons ofthe Exchequer, instead ofbeforethe Mayor and A ldermen, as belonged to the rightsof the City. The Mayor protested, but the Crown ,for this t ime, carried the point.When the troubles ofthe new reign fairly set in

, it

is remarkable to observe that the first to take anysteps for the better admin istration of the countrywere the ci tizens ofLondon. In the great deputat ionwhich was sent to the King atWindsor, one of the

deputies bold ly told Richard that justice was neverless pract ised in England than at that time

,and that

by the subtlety and craft ofcertain persons i t was not

possible for the King to come at the truth of things.

I t was, again, an army of Londoners which, underthe Duke ofG loucester, defeated the Duke ofI relandat Oxford . They opened their gates to the Baron ’

s

army, and del ivered up thei r late Mayor, SirNicolasBrembre, who had incurred suspic ion ofbeing one of

the K ing ’

s favourites, to be executed at Tyburn .

Frozssart. 1 59

Read also,to prove the power of the Londoners,

Froissart’s account ofthe capture ofthe K ing by theDuke ofLancaster

When the army was within two miles of Flint theycame to a village, where they halted, and the Earl (HenryofLancaster)refreshed himselfwith meat and drink. He

there resolved, in his own mind, without consulting others,to march with only two hundred horse, leaving the restbehind, and when nearing the castle where the Kingwas, to endeavour, by fair speeches, to enter the castle,and cajole the King to come forth and trust to him, who

would insure him against all perils on his road to London,engaging that he should not suffer any bodily harm, and

promising to mediate between him and the Londoners,

who were greatly enraged against him.

The King, on seeing him,changed colour, as one who

knewthat hehad greatlymisconducted himself. The Earlspoke loud, without paying anyreverence orhonourto theKing, and asked him, Have you broken yourfast"

’ The

King replied, ‘No ; it is yet early morn. Why do youask"’ Then the King washed his hands, seated

himself at table, and was served. Theyasked the Earl ifhe would not be seated and eat. He said, ‘No ; forhehad breakfasted.

’ During the time the King was eating(whichwas not long, for his heart was too much oppressed

foreating), the whole countrywas covered withmen-at-arms

and archers, who could be plainly seen from thewindowsofthe castle. TheKing, on rising from the table, perceivedthem, and asked his cousin the Earl who theywere. He

repl ied, For the most part Londoners.

’ ‘And what dothey want"

’

said the King.

‘They want to take you,’

Sir Rickard Wkzttz'

ugtou .

answered theEarl, and carryyou to theTower ofLondon ;and there is not anymeans of pac ifying them un less youconsent to go.

’ No l’ repl ied the King, who was muchfrightened at hearing this, forhe knewthe Londoners hatedhim ; and continued, “cannot you, cousin, prevent this"I would not will inglyyield myself into their hands, for Iam aware theyhate me, and have done so fora long time,though I am their Sovereign .

’The Earl answered, ‘I see

no otherway to prevent it.’

To this storymust be added the fact that R ichard,

in spi te ofthe bad government ofhis later years, hadendeared himselfto many of the citizens byhis good

governmeht during those years which fol lowed his

taking over the reins ofpower. The i llegal exactions,

the encroachments, the tax es, which drove Londoninto revolt, and armed Henry of Bol ingbroke wi ththe strength oftheir moneyand men, cou ld not makesome of them forget the handsome

,brav’e boy who

stood fearless before the mob of peasants, nor the

King who reigned for n ine years justly and by

counsel of Parl iament. When,thi rty years later,

Whi ttington founded his col lege, his priests were

enjoined to pray not for Henry the Fourth, whom

London made King, but for Richard the Second,

whom London had deposed— the gal lant Princeofhis youth.

Whittington’

s name is found again,in 1387, as one

of the Common Counc i l for Coleman Street Ward .

In 1389 he is named as becoming surety to the

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162 Sir Rickard s ttiugtozz.

government to absolute ru le. He was always in

want of money ; the C i ty appeared to him to be

always full ofmoney. Shou ld .he, aKing, suffe r froman empty purse when burgesses went r ich"Whatwere charters when the treasurywas bare I t was adangerous thing in this re ign to hold a ci ty offi ce ;justice, respect to charters, was there none ; no trustcould be placed in the King or his advisers ; manyof the richest ci tizens, perhaps Whi tt ington amongthem

, were forced to sign and seal blank charts, to beafterwards fi l led up bythe King

’

s min isters. Can we

p icture to ourselves the agonyand anx iety consequentupon the signing of a blank cheque, the amoun t tobe fi l led in at

”

pleasure by the Chancellor of the

Exchequer"Yet Whi ttington was in the City to bear scot and

lot, and i t fell to his lot, in the year 1 397, to take the

place of Adam Bamme, Mayor, who d ied in his yearof oflice. The fewmonths during which he acted in

p lace of Bamme are by some reckoned a year of

Mayoral ty. At the conclusion of the year he waselected Mayor for the fol lowing year. His

’

eleetion

was conducted wi th so much clamour— city pol i ticsrunn ing high at the time

,as they well might, con

sidering those blank charts— that a change wasmade in the mode of elect ion . No one

,henceforth

,

was to be present at an election ex cept the Mayor,Sheriffs, and A ldermen.

Henry tko Fourtk. 163

His first year of office passed in comparativequ iet however much the merchants m ight have beenrobbed , there was no arre§ting of the City offi cers.Butwhen Henry ofLancaster landed at Ravenspur,the patience of London was exhausted, and the C i tyreceived himwi th open arms, supplying himwi th allkinds ofprovisions.

His accession to the Crown gave the greatestsatisfaction to the people of London theyhad oncemore a King who understood the importance of

conci l iating them , encouraging their trade, and

respecting thei r charters. The great free town, loyal,rich, and powerfu l , was an aux i l iary of greaterimportance than the adhesion of half the Barons of

England. Henry assigned seats at his coronationbanquet to the Mayor and A ldermen

,as, in their

col lective capacity, the ofl'

icial Chief Butler of England. He further gratified them by provid ing that

the magistrates of the City, in defaul t of goodgovernment, should be tried bya commission takenout ofthe counties ofKent, Essex , Sussex ,

Hereford,Buckingham, and Berks. To show their gratitude

,

the City turned out an army of men,all fully

armed ,to marchwi th the King on the threat of an

invasion. In the year 1401 , water was brought fromTyburn to Cornhi ll in leaden pipes.

In the year 1406 , Whi ttington was elected Mayor,in succession to John Woodcock

, for the second

164 Sir Rickard M illing-Ma.

time. The manner of his election is thus described

(Ri ley’

s Memorials“ John Wodecok, Mayor, considering that upon the

Feast of the Translation of St. Edward the King and

Confessor (vol. vi. he and all theAldermen of the said

c ity, and as manyas possible ofthewealthierand more sub

stantial Commoners of the same city, ought tomeet at the

Guildhall, to elect a new Mayor for the ensuing year,

ordered that aMass ofthe HolySpiritshould be celebratedwith solemn music in theChapel annexed to the said Guildhall

, to the end that the same Commonaltymight be able,

peacefullyand amicably, to nominate two able and properpersons to beMayors of the said cityforthe ensuing year,byfavour of the clemencyof ourSaviour, according to thecustoms ofthe said city.

Thiswasaccordinglydone, and the commoners peace

fullyand amicably, without any clamour or d iscussion , d idbecomingly nominate Richard Whytyngton, mercer, andDrew Barentyn, goldsmith, through John Westone, common Countor of the said city, and presented the same.

And hereupon theMayor and Alderman, with closed doors,in the same chamber chose RichardWhytyngton aforesaid ,by the guidance ofthe HolySpirit, to beMayorofthe Cityfor the ensuingyear.

”

The fol lowing yearswere, on thewhole, a time of

great prosperityand peace to the City, and , no doubt ,to Whi ttington himself. In the year 1406 he was

elected Mayor for the second time, and in 14 19 for

the thi rd time. In 14 16 hewas returned Member ofParliament forthe City.

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Sir Rickard Wkittington.

Thus, in the year 140 1, came Emanuel Palaeologus,seeking assistance against the Turks. The EmperorSig ismund was another i l lustrious visi tor in 14 1 5 .

There was a great tournament between the gen t l emen of Hainau lt and those of England, held at

S'

mithfield . There was a splend id Passion play actedat Skinner’sWell , near Clerkenwell , bya company of

parish clerks. The Pr ince ofWales came to l ive inthe City in the year 1480, taking the great house inThames Street known as Cold Herbergh ColdHarbour. No doubt Sir John Falstaff

,Poins

, and

others of the Prince’s private friends came with him,

and l ights were seen in the windows of Cold Her

bergh late 0’

n ights. In the year 14 1 5 there wassuch a rejoicing in the City as was not afterwardswitnessed for exactly four hundred years to come.

Happy the prentice boywho saw that day" I t wasfortunately on Lord Mayor

’

s Day ; surely such a

Lord Mayor’

s Day,wi th such asplend id surprise,was

never seen before, and perhaps wi l l never be knownagain. On the 13th of October, Sir N icolasWottenwas elected Mayor for the ensuing year in the Chapelof the Gu i ldhal l , and sworn on the Feast of SaintSimon and Saint Jude— viz , October 28th. For

several days the City had been agitated by rumoursof defeat and d isaster in France

, and on the 29th,

when the usual march was to be made to Westminster

,all hearts were heavywith gloomyapprehen

Tko Riding of Welcome. 167

sions. But lo"whi l e he was rid ing on the way,therewas brought to the Mayor the great and joyfulintell igence of Agincourt. He rode on to take theoath, and there

,accompan ied by the B ishop of

Winchester, the Lord High Chancel lor,and other

great oflicers, he proceeded to Pau l ’s,and assisted at

a Te Deum. The nex t day there was a grandprocession . I t marched on foot

,in token ofhumility,

from St. Pau l ’s to Westm inster,where the solemn

thanksgiving of the nation was offered for the King’

s

successes ; and on the fol lowing day another and a

grander procession was made on horseback fromWestminster to Pau l ’s. Then came the King ’

s

return,wi th the greatest “ Rid ing ” ever known , to

receive him,his plunder, and his prisoners. Lydgate

describes it at length

TheMayorofLondon was redybownWithall the craftes ofthat cite

All clothed in red throughout the town,A seemelysight itwas to see.

To the Blakheth thanne rode he,

And spredde thewayon either sideXX‘°M men mightwell seeOurcomelyKyng for to abyde.

I t was in the year 1400 that England, to hershameand d ishonour, began to burn people who ventured touse their reason ,

and todeny the unreasonable. The

168 Sir Rickard IVkittington.

great body of Londoners, ignorant, and fond of

the ecclesiast ical shows,were profound ly o rthodox .

There is no reason to suppose that the better c lasswere otherwise

,else we shou ld hear of some of them

also being burned fortheir opinions. There is nothingwhatever to show that Whittington ever swerved

from the obed ience to Church which he had learnedas a youth. The fi rst who suffered was Wi l l iamSawtre, parish priest of St. Osyth ; ten years later,John B radby, a tai lor, was burned for hold ingWycliffe

’

s Opin ions. The Prince of Wales was

present, and after the execution began he ordered

the wretched man to be taken out and offered pardonif he would recant ; but he stoutly refused , and so

was put back again,and d ied.

In 14 1 5 , John Cleyden, a carrier, was burned forthe same offence.In 14 16 the City was fi rst l ighted at n ight ; the

c i tizens were ordered to hang lanterns over theirdoors, but the rules were stringent against thosewhowere found in the streets after dark.

In 1407 a plague visi ted London, and carried off

persons.

In 14 19, one ofthe earl iest ofthe many benevolentinstitutions of London was founded by Sir ThomasEyre, who bu i l t Leadenhall

, as a place in whichshou ld be constantly kept a great store of grain

,

in case ofapublic famine. Whittington had already

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Sir Rickard Wkittington .

former fees ; (8) that all victual lers’

fines and the

.fines of the Mayor

’

s Court shou ld be app rop r iatedto the work ; (9) that for six years the sum of

marks shou ld annual ly be taken from the revenuesof London B ridge ; and ( 10) that all defau l ters in

their ward motes should payafine offourpence.

The City records make mention of two or threeofficial acts ofWhi ttington which are of less importance, but help to throw l ight upon themanners ofthetime. Thus

,in the year 14 18 , at a general Court

held at the Gui ldhal l , Whi tt ington be ing presentamong the aldermen, itwas agreed that the chap lainof the Chapel over the Bones of the Dead in St.

Pau l ’s Chu rchyard,“ who had exposed himself to

manifold and constant anx ieties for the good and

honour of the Chapel aforesaid ,

”should yearly be

presented, on Christmas Day, with a gown of the

same su i t or l ivery as that given to the sergean tsof the Mayor. This does not seem l iberal, butclothes in those days were not changed every season .

In the same year one Johanna, wife ofRothewel ofHendon

,fel l into trouble for defaming R ichard

Whi ttington— saying that he owed her large sums

ofmoney,and that he had j ewels and goods ofhers

to the value ofmany thousand marks. She had to

confess in open court that the charge was false andl ibel lous, because, in tru th, she owed the said RichardWhittington more than he owed her and she begged

Tkird Year of Ofi ce. 17 1

formercy. Here the case ends abruptly, but we can

have no doubt that the clemencywhich I have al readyremarked upon as common among the City mag istrates was not wi thheld in the case of this woman,who wou ld otherwise have been paraded through thetown

, and placed in the Thewe,with a Whetstone

about her neck, to sign ify that she was a liar.

In his thi rd year ofoflice, Whitt ington issued aproclamation against the mix ture and adul teration of

wines, and pun ished wi thp i l lory oneWi l l iam Horold,who had placed certain gums and spices in casks,then fi l led them with old and feeble ” Spanish wine,to have a lykly manere taste and smel l to the

drynkyng of Romeny” that is

,Malmsey— and

would then have sold the same.-In the same year, before Whittington

’

s election,

avery singu lar step was taken . Thepreamble oftheord inance explains the case

Whereas the commendable intentions and charitablepurpose of those who have been governors and presidentsof the City of London heretofore have ordained a prison,called Ludgate, for the good . and comfort of poor freemenofthe said citywho have been condemned, to the end thatsuch poorprisonersmight, more freely than otherswho are

strangers, dwell in quiet in such place, and pray for theirbenefactors, and live upon the alms ofthe people.

Now, from one day to another, the charitable intentionsand commendable purposes aforesaid are frustrated and

turned to evil, inasmuch as many false persons, of bad

Sir Rickard Wkittington.

disposition and purpose, have been more willing to take up

their abode there, so as to waste and spend their goods

upon the ease and l icence that there is within, than to pay

their debts ; and, what is even more, do therein compass,conspire, and imagine oftentimes, through others of theirfalse covin, to ind ict good and loyal men for felonies andtreasons ofwhich theyhave neverbeen guilty.

”

In other words, freemen ofthe City chose rather tolive in the gaol ofLudgate, on the alms provided for

poor prisoners, than to work and pay their debts ;and, worse sti l l, they made use oftheir time to get upconspiracies against honourable citizens. The on lyremedy that could be devised was to move all theprisoners to Newgate, and close the gaol . This wasdone in the month ofJune, but in November, RichardWhittington being Mayor, i t was found that most ofthe wretches taken to Newgate had d ied there, by

reason ofthe foetid and corrupt atmosphere whereupon Ludgate was reopened,

“seeing that every

person is bound to support and be tender of the

l ives ofmen.

”

It was in this his last mayoral ty thatWhi ttingtonentertained Henry ofAgincourt and his Queen. The

magn ificence of this banquet astonished both the

K ing and his bride ; probably there was not,in all

England and France together, another man whocould have provided such a banquet. For, althoughthere were great nobles, with a vast territory and

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174 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

would now be asked per d iem ; so that the costof l iving is mu ltipl ied by twenty-one, whi ch makesthe gift more than a million and a quarter. The

man who would sacrifice so much must have beenvery patriotic, as wel l as very rich.

The busy l ife was now drawing to a close ; thefew remaining years of the great ci tizen seem to

have been chiefly spent in devising means by whichhe might benefi t the ci ty which he loved. Of thesemeanswe shal l speak in the nex t chapter. We have

one more gl impse of him in his old age. He is no

longer in office, but he prosecutes certain tradesmenforoverstepping the l im i ts of their trade. They arefined yet when the old man, his business done, goesaway, the clerk of the court gets up and goes too.

How then" We have not yet paid the fi ne.

”

No nordo theypay i t. Forthe sentencewas passedonly to please old Sir Richard. This makes one feelas if, when hewas gone, there would be one the lessto testify forjustice and to stand up for truth.

It is one proofofthe consideration in whichWhittington was held in these his later years, that whenHenry the F ifth was about to repai r WestminsterAbbey, hewou ld have none ofthework taken in handunti l Whi ttington had seen and approved the plans.

The end, as we shal l see,came in the year 1423 ,

when Whittington, according to my reckon ing, wassix ty-five years ofage.

CHAPTER VII.

PRIVATE LIFE AND BENEFACTIONS.

Byawriting in this man’

s owhe hand, it appearethwhat a pitifull andrelenting heart hehad at othermen

'

smiseries.

Komusnnn .

ET us, final ly, endeavour to pourtray the man inhis private capacity. We know

, perhaps, morethan wou ld be bel ieved possible of one concerningwhom no antiquarian up to the day of Dr. Lysonstroubled himself to investigate. And what is knownof him is a splend id monument to the patience, thesagacity, and the knowledge shown by the antiquarywho, by great good fortune, was led to take up the

subject.Whittington married A l ice, daughter ofhis master,

Sir John Fitz -Warren. I t is not known in what yearthe marriage took place, but, as wi l l be seen immediately, there is every reason to believe that hissuccess began early in l ife

, and therefore we are

justified in supposing that he married young. The

fact of his marrying the daughter of theman wi thwhom he had been aprentice also points to apretty

176 Sir Rickard Wkittington .

li ttle idyl l of love, ofwhich onewou ld l i ke to knowmore. But, as we have seen already, i t was not the

marriage ofa low-born country lad wi th the daughterof a weal thy merchant. Whi ttington was an equalin birth wi th his wife, and both belonged to gentlefolk.

I t appears that in the year 1386, when he wasal ready not more than twenty-eight years of age,

Whi ttington lent his maternal uncle, Phi l ip Mansel ,the sum of£500 sterling, taking as security the ti t ledeeds of Lippicote, in Gloucestershi re. From this itis clear— the amount representing at least of

our money— that his success must have been rap idand early, and there is no reason to doubt that hewou ld feel justified in marrying before this date. He

had no chi ldren, and was apparently left a widowersome years before his death. His arms (see p. 3 1)are impaled wi th those of the Fitz-Warrens in

the church of Pauntley, which shows that he wasanx ious to show his connection with his own kithand kin.

He is said to have lived in Hart Street, fourdoors from Mark Lane, and his house, cal led Whi ttington Palace, was standing, though in ad i lapidatedcond i tion,

in the year 1796 , when i t was described bya correspondent in the “Gentleman’

s Magaz ine.

”A

drawing of the house is also given. The descriptionofthe house is as fol lows

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178 Sir Rickard Wkittington .

a smal l brick-bu ilt chamber,wi th an open ing in

its roof. In this chamber were human bones and

hair.

As for its beingWhittington’

s own house,it seems

improbable. One cannot bel ieve that he l ived ou tsid ehis own parish, so farfrom his church, where his wifewas buried

, and forwhich he did so much. A lso the

site ofhis col lege points to the fact that he l ived near

Tower Royal and Col lege H i l l.As regards his trade, we know that he suppl ied the

Princess B lanche, eldest daughter of Henry IV. , on

the occasion of her marriage,wi th the mater ials for

herwedd ing dresses, in cloth of gold, at the cost of£2 1 5 1 33 . 4d . ; that he also suppl ied the PrincessPhi lippa, her sister, at herwedd ing, wi th pearls andc loth of gold,

”at the cost of £248 10s. 6d . His

charges for the same kind of thing forJohn ,son of

the Earl of Strafford, have also been found . He

therefore was the Court mercer, and imported andsold such things as cloth of gold ,

pearls and otherj ewels, gold embroideries ofall kinds, fine stuffs, si lks,and satins set wi th precious stones and finelyworked .

Perhaps he sent out in the ships which brought thismerchand ise home from foreign seas such Englishexports as wool and home-made cloth,

honest andstrong. It was a time of great splendour in dress.

The ex travagance of Richard the Second set an

example to thewhole Court, and there were no doubt

His Trade. 179

very large profits made in trad ing with these recklessnobles, who knew nothing of what things cost

,nor

had any ideaof beating down amerchant. I t wouldbe curious, could one ever by any inqu i ry learn, toknow how much the Princess Phi l ippa

’

s“ cloth of

gold actual ly did cost SirRichard Whi ttington,and

what profit he made by the transaction . His investments— for

,though there were no banks

, the moneywas not all kept in box es— weremade on the securityof laces, jewellery,

and othervaluable property. Thus

he got Lippicote, by making that loan, of which Ihave al ready spoken, to his uncle, Phi l ip Mansel .He lent £ 166 to one of the Scrope family, Seigneurde A lan he lent Henry IV. the sum of gand when HenryV. came to the City for

.

a secondloan, Whi tt ington advanced him as his share.

A ll these advances were so many investments. Nodoubt he also advanced money to assist his fellowcitizens, on securi ty of ti tle-deeds, leases, and stockin-trade. Before the establ ishment of banks, all richmen were bankers, advanced money on security, lenton mortgage, received the money of others

, and out

of money, as well as by buying and sel l ing,made

more money.

A gentleman by birth, a rich and successful man,happy in his marriage, a sturdy stickler for justiceand l iberty, a loyal and patriotic man— so much wehave foundWhi ttington. There remainsmore. We

Sir Rickard Wkittington .

have to show how much he was in advance of his

own time in foresight and wisdom for the fu ture.

Fi rst, however, ofhis religion and his fri ends.

It is asserted byFox that the opinions ofWyc l iffewere held

,more or less openly, by very many of the

foremost London citizens. It is also certain that, inthe year 1393, theA rchbishop ofYork and the B ishopof Sal isbury complained formal ly to the King of the

Mayor, A ldermen, and Sheriffs ofLondon, Whi t t ington be ing then Sheriff. Theywere accused of beingmale creduli,

” that is, ofl ittle faith towards God andthe trad itions of their forefathers ; they were up

holders of Lol lards, detractors of rel igious persons,

detainers oftithes,and defrauders of the poor. Con

sidering the charitable d isposition of one, at l east,among them

, one is inclined to believe that the lastcharge was thrown in merely as a makeweight or

elegant round ing off of the sentence, and that thedetention of ti thes was the thing whichmost rank ledin the minds ofthe orthodox . Yet

, when the burn ingof heretics began , not asingle London citizen of any

note was charged wi th heresy. Perhaps they all

hastened ,at the least suspicion of danger and the

scent of burn ing wood, to make their submission andpeace with the Church. I t seems, however, mostprobable that there was, among the better sort of

citizens, ageneral feel ing that the l ives of the priests,monks, and religious persons of all kinds were a

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182 Sir Rickard Wkittington.

Lol lard and favourer of heresy have rebu ilt, at hisown charges, the Church of St. Michael, Patern osterRoyal. And

, asweshal l presentlysee, hiswi ll breathesaSpirit ofprofound fai th in the ord inances and powerof the Church. The truth is, probably, that Whi ttington had education enough to make himhumble asregards his powers of interpreting Scripture. The

question ing of doctrine was not in vogue whenhe was a boy ; the teachings of the Church werethen accepted wi thout reasoning or doubt, and the

new-fangled theories wou ld probably be a subjectofd isturbance and annoyance to him. Yet he could

not but see that the clergy of the country— theirimmoral i ty,

their ignorance, and their lux u rybrought contempt upon rel igion.

As regards his friends and contemporaries, it isinteresting to note how many great and remarkablemen l ived in his time. On the Continentwere Dan te

,

Boccaccio, Huss,Froissart in EnglandwereWycliffe,

Chaucer, Gower, Occleve, Lydgate, John de Trevisa,Ralph Higden, Wi l l iam ofWykeham, Walsingham,

Fabian, Mandevi l le, Fortescue, and others. Whetherthis London merchant knew any of them personal ly,

we cannot say. Froissart came to England at the end

of Richard the Second’

s reign. In his younger days,Whi ttington mayhave metwithChaucer in his offi cialcapacity of Control ler of the Customs ; but Chaucerwas twentyyears older than he, and belonged to the

His Friends. 183

generat ion of John ofGaunt . Chaucer also was a

friend of John of Northampton . I t is most l ikelythat Whi tt ington belonged to the Conservative side.

A t all events, whi le John ofNorthampton’

s efforts atreform were being made, Whittington was busi lyengaged in looking after the growth of his own

fortune . There is nothing in any of the works of

Chaucer, or those of Gower (also a London poet),

or ofLydgate, to show that Whi ttington or any of

the Mayors of London was a patron of li terature.

But,besides these, there were men ofnote among the

c ityworthies of his daywhom it is wel l to mention,

were it on ly out ofrespect to thei r memories.

Among his friends should he certain ly reckonedthose great patriots, Sir John Phi lpot and Sir.WilliamWalworth, though these were both agreat deal olderthan himself. Of those actual ly his contemporariesmay be mentioned SirWi l l iam Sevenoke, grocer, andMayor in 14 19

— aman who has the honour of beingthe fi rst on the long list ofLondon citizens who ared istingu ished as founders of grammar schools— hefounded aschool in his nat ive place of Sevenoaks, inKent ; Sir Robert Chichele, grocer, Mayor in 14 1 1

and 1422 (there were three brothers of this nameone Henry, the A rchbishop of Canterbury and

founder of A ll Sou ls, Oxford ; one Wi l l iam , Sheriffof London in 1409 ; and the other this Robert, whoappointed by his wi l l that on his commemoration day

184 Sir Rickard Wkittington .

poor householders ofthe Cityshou ld be regaledat a d inner, and every man to have twopen ce in

money); Sir John Rainwell, Mayor in 142 7 , who

gave lands and houses to d ischarge the tax cal led the

Fifteenth for three parishes—viz ,B i l l ingsgate, D ow

gate, and A ldgate Sir John Wells, who brought

water from Tyburn ; and SirWi ll iam Estfield, who

also made a condu i t of water from H ighbury to

Cripplegate. Among those personal friends ofWhittington whose names have survived are

,fi rst

,John

Carpenter, Town Clerk to the Ci ty, and the au thor ofthe Liker Albus, the most valuable and importantwork ever undertaken for any c i ty. I t was com

menced at the instigation ofWhi ttington, and com

pleted in his third and last year of offi ce as Mayor.I t is a complete col lection of all the laws

,customs

,

usages, privi leges, and rights of the City of London .

The book has been translated by Mr. Riley,and the

life ofthe author has been wri tten wi th great care byMr. B rewer, formerlySecretaryto the City ofLondon

School , which owes its origin to a bequest made bythe same Carpenter, which provided for the main

tenance and education of four poor men’

s chi ldren.

Carpenter was one ofWhittington’

s executors, andappears to have d ischarged his trust wi th the greatestfidelityand conscientiousness. Sir John Niel , Master

ofthe Hospital ofSt. Thomas deAcon,in Chepe, was

another ofWhittington’

s later friends. He it was

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Sir Rickard Wkittzngton .

lished in 1820 by the Rev. John Lewis. Thé list of

personal friends ends wi th the name of W i l l iamByngham, rector of St. John "achary. He established ahostel at Cambridge named God’s House, in

which twenty-four scholars might be trained and

educated, to be sent forth to all parts of Eng land,

but especial ly to those places where there were as yetno grammar schools, as missionaries of l earn ing . It

was a noble thought, and though God’

s House was

afterwards en larged and nobly endowed , and becamethat i l lustriousand famous col lege named after Christ,one cannot but lament that ascheme so ful l of promise should be al lowed to .d ie.

I t is al ready clear that Whi ttington was not alonein his benefactions— in fact, he is but one in a long

and i l lustrious l ine ofLondon citiz ens who have con

sidered their wealth asacred trust,and tried to use it

for the good of their fel lows. The fi rst of them is

Rabere, who bu i l t and endowed Bartholomew’

s ;

among them areWhi ttington and Gresham the last

ofthem is Peabody.

In the fourteenth century two citizens set the

example ofmunificent gifts. The first of themwasWi l l iam Elsinge, a mercer, who founded Elsinge

Spi tal , in the year 1 332, for'

the maintenance of a

hundred poor bl ind men, and afterwards became thefi rst Prior of his own foundation. And in the year137 1, John Barnes gave a chest, secured wi th three

His Gifts. 187

locks,and containing a thousand marks,whichwere

to be lent to young men of the City upon sufficientsecurity. As for those who came after Whi ttington,

their bequests,'

some of which I have enumerated,were many and great. In 1438 there was a greatfamine

,and the Mayor, Sir Stephen B rowne , fi tted

out at his own expense ships, which brought corn

from Prussia, and lowered the price from threeshi l lings a bushel to eighteenpence. Phi l ip Melpas,

Sheriff in 1440, gave £ 12 5 (equivalent to at

least of our money)to relieve poor prisoners, wi thagreat quantity of gifts in clothes and money to poorpeople ; and Robert Large, mercer, to whom Cax tonwas apprentice, left large sums for improvements inthe City, and grants to poor householders. Of laterbenefactorswe need not speak.

Most ofWhittington’

s gifts to the Citywere madeby the provisions of his wi l l . By aid of this document, and by the l ight ofthese gifts,we seem enabledto construct a clear ideaofthe manner ofman. It isa procession of dim and cloudy figures which r idealong the streets in civic pageant. Theyhave names.

Here is thebrave Phi lpot ; here theval iantWalworth;here worthy Master Sevenoke ; here the great SirR ichard . We know their chains of offi ce

,their fur

lined gowns we see their grave demeanour, but i t ishard to catch the features and to know the man.

And thiswe can do, forone at least, bythewi l l which

Sir Rickard Wkitting ian .

he has left behind him. In this noble documen t wesee how the old man, who has no chi ldren

, and is

alone in the world save for cousins and nephews,feels that he should give back his great fo rtu ne to thec itywhere he made it. Great is the power ofmoney;i t is l ike a perennial fountain when i t has on ce beenstored up, because it yie lds its bountyforever so thatfrom the thrift ofone man maybe created , forallafterages, astream ofrefreshment and help. The ferventdesi re,

” wri tes Whi ttington, when he founded his

col lege , and busy intention of a prudent, wise, anddevout man,

shou ld be to cast before and make secu rethe state and the end of this short lifewith dedys of

mercy and pite, and especial ly to provide for those

miserable persons whom the penurye of poverty in

sulteth, and to whom the power of seeking the neces

saries of l ife byact orbod i ly labour is interd ic ted .

”

He left nothing of importance to members of his

own family, considering, perhaps, that thei r estateswere enough for them ; but to his brother he be

queathed a quantity of plate, as if desi rous that thememory of his c ivic d istinctions shou ld be kept al iveamong his kin. Among these thingswere, “a collour

ofSS,three dozen ofsylver cuppswi th covers, the one

dozen gi l t, the second parcel gi l t,and the third whi te

three basins and ewers, three nests of bowls, threeflagons, and three livery pots— all of the same

material.”

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190 Sir Rickard Wkittington .

tained the bod ies ofQueen Margaret, Queen Isabel la,

the Queen ofScots, and an immense number ofroyal

and noble persons, was destroyed by the Great Fire.

Another work of his was the restoration and re

pai ring of the Hospital of St. Bartholomew, whi ch

had fal len into decay. A library was also formedhere byhis bequest.Again, Gu i ldhal l, which was commenced in 14 1 1,

and completed in 142 1 . But it was nei ther pavednor glazed. This was done by the executors of

Whi ttington . In his own l ifetime, as has been stated,

he bu i l t St. Michael ’s Church ; he also gave largelyto the bridge and chapel of, Rochester, and to the

repai r of Gloucester Cathedral . He provided, more

over, drinking fountains, that is to say, he made

bosses or taps ofwater in the great aqued uc t, a

boon of the highest value to the people. And his

executors, in accordance with his wi l l, rebu i l t andenlarged Newgate Prison, which had grown ru inous,and was fou l and fever-stricken.

Lastly, he bequeathed money for a l ibrary at theGu i ldhal l , the books of which appear to have beencarried away borrowed ”— bythe Duke ofSomersetin the reign ofEdward VI .

In the same year, his col lege, which might havebeen converted into a great place of education

, was

suppressed . His alms-houses sti l l stand on HighgateHil l

,to which place they have been removed.

H is B equests. 191

This record seems to me almost unexampled.

There have been many other benefactors to the City,but none so generous

,so just, and so far-seeing.

Because the people suffered from their want of cleanliness

, they should have water. Let them learn to

use i t. Because poor prisoners suffered from fever inthe prison, and sick persons from thewant of aecommodation in the hospital , let both be rebu i lt . Becauseignorance is the parent of most evi ls, let there belibraries, col leges, and schools. Because the moresplend id , the more glorious London was, the morej ealous of his privi leges would be the Londoner, letmoney be given to beautify Gu i ldhal l and bu i ldchurches. And because theways of fortune are un

certain, and manya good man is often reduced to

povertybyno faul t ofhis own,let there be bu i lt alms

houses for thereception of those who have fai led inthe struggle, so that to the sting of defeat may not

be added the b i tterness ofwant.

Suchwere the bequests bywhichagreat merchantin those days sought to mark in apious fashion hisgratitude to God for a long and honourable career

,

and to make his weal th a blessing for ever to

posteri ty, to keep his memory green — surely a

worthy ambition— and to set an example of benevolence aswell as of thrift to those who should comeafter. His col lege,whichshou ld have been converted

Sir Rickard Wkillington .

into agreat H igh School for the City,is swep t away

and destroyed long since ; only the memory of it sur

vives in the name of the street where it s tood . His

church is burned down, and his splend id tomb isreduced to ashes. His house, after stan d ing for

four hundred years, is pu l led down. H is alms

houses have been taken away from the C ity. The

l ibrary which he bui lt for a monastery has fi tly

become the hal l of London ’

s most famous school ;there is a noble l ibrary at Gu ildhal l , but i t is n ot of

his foundation. The hospital whichRahere fou nded ,and Whi ttington restored, is sti l l full of life and

strength, aplace ofheal ing and aschool ofmed ic ine.

That it is so is due toWhi ttington yet the ungratefulC i ty has forgotten him, and when theyput up statuesto their worthies, they forget the worthiest of all.

The greatest c i tizen of London is wi thout honour inhis own city. As well have been aprophet"

I t is not given to any man to be very far in

advance of his age. We see that Whi ttington wasimpressed chiefly wi th the want of education

, the

necessity of provid ing l ibraries, the want of water,

the cond ition ofthe prisons, and thereliefofthe poor.I t is also clear, from his official acts and those of his

t ime,that the C ityofficerswere constantly endeavou r

ing to pass good and righteous laws, to admin isterjustice equal ly, and to put down d isorders. It was a

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194 Sir Rickard Wkittington .

one ofthem— John Carpenter— hold ing up his hands

in adm irat ion . He is d ictat ing the terms ofhis willhis almsmen are gathered together at the foo t ofthebed , and beside them stands the physic ian . The

p icture appears intended to give the portrai ts of

those present . A ll the faces are d is t in c t and

characteristic. John Carpenter, who is k nown to

have been a man of short stature , is rep resen tedas hard ly reaching to the shou lder ofJohn Coven try,bywhom he stands. The face of the dying man is

evidently not drawn at hazard ,but from reco l lection

ofWhittington’

s thin ,strongly-marked featu res .

Hewas buried in his own Church ofSt. M ichael ’s

, Paternoster Royal , and was covered by a splend id tomb.

But tomb and church al ike were destroyed in the

Great Fi re .

The fol lowing was his epi taph

Ut fragrans nardus

Famafuit iste RicardusAlbificans Villam

,

Qui juste rexerat illam,

Flos mercatorum,

Fundatorpresbyterorum,

Sic etegenorum,

Testis sit certus eorumOmn ibus exemplumBarathrum vincendomorosumCondidit hoc templumMichael is quam speciosum,

His Epitapk. 195

Regiaspes et pres

Divin is res ratatnrbisPauperibus paterEtMajor qui fuit urbis.Martins hunc visitEn annos gens tibi dicet,Finiit ipse diesSis sibi Christe quies. Amen.

”

His body was three times d isturbed, Stow says.

First,his executors moved i t into a fai r monument

nex t, a certain parson of the church, in the time ofEdward VI. , sacri legiously opened the grave, expecting to find treasu re, but only found the leaden sheetin which the bodywas rol led ; this he took awaythe greedy creature"Later on , by order of QueenMary, the bodywas lapped in lead as before.

A lthough the fire swept away church and tomb,

the true monument to Whi ttington is the vast andSplend id city, with its navies covering every sea

, and

its merchants dwell ing in everyport, which has grownout of his narrow and cramped city, whose peoplewere so free and so presumptuous

,and whose

merchants were so princely.

His own city is no more ; the narrow streetsremain,

but the high gables, the frown ing halpaces,the carved woodwork , the sculptured stone

,the signs

bui l t up in the doors, . the dark stal ls— all these havegone ; warehouses take thei r places. His churches,

196 Sir Rickard I/Vkittington .

all glorious wi th prec ious work, have been burneddown ; those that have taken their p lac es are emptyand deserted . Joy and m irth have left the st reets :when the toi lers go away, they are silen t and

deserted. The prent ice lads run out no mo re afterevery passing show ; nor do the damsels dan ce in

the streets at eve for the priz e of a flower wreath.

Yet the spiri t of the C ity is the same ; and whereveran Engl ish-speaking town is bu i l t, the sp irit whichWhi ttington maintained— the love of law

, ord er, and

l iberty— fills the hearts of the c it i zens. Whereforelet every Engl ish-Speaking town respect the name of

Whi tt ington, and espec ial ly London ,“as in p rivate

duty bound,”

and because the glorious C ity is in a

sense, which no other c ity can boast, the Mon ument

raised to Freedom byher noble citizens.

Thyfamous Maire, bysure governance,With sword ofJustice thee ruleth pruden tlyN0 lord ofParis, Ven ice, orFlorence,In dign ityorhonourgoeth him nigh.

He is example, right Lode-starand Guy,Principal patron and Rose original]

Above allMaires asmastermostworthyLONDON, THOU ART THE FLOWER or crrms ALL.

”

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198 Sir Rickard Wkilling ton .

William Askham. Thomas Fauconer.

John Hende. Nicolas VVO tton.

John Woodcock. Henry Barton.

Richard Whittington. Richard Merlawe.

William Staunden. Wil l iam Sevenoke.

DrewBarentyn. Sir Richard WhittingRichard Merlawe. ton .

Thomas Knolles. William Cambridge.Robert Chichele. Sir Robert Chichele.WilliamWalderne. SirWm. Waldern .

William Cromer. William Cromer.

A PPEND I X I I.

The following is a list ofsome ofthe noble and greatfamil ies descended from citizens ofLondon

Earl ofCoventry— John Coventry, mercer, Mayor in 14 2 5 .

Rich— Earl of Warwick and Holland. Richard Rich,mercer, Sheriff, 144 1 .

Holles— Earls of Clare and Dukes ofNewcastle (extinct,1 7 1 1) - SirWil liamHolles, Mayor, 1 540.

Lord Leigh— SirThomas Leigh, Mayor in 1 5 5 8 .

Earl ofChichester (extinct) Do. do.

Pleydell Bouverie— Edward de Bouverie, Turkeymerchant ;died 1694 .

Lord Ducie— SirRobert Ducie, Mayor in 1 63 1 .

Lord Banning ofSudbury— Paul Bann ing, Sheriff, 1 5 93 .

Cranfield, Earl ofMiddlesex— Lionel Cranfield .

Ingram, Viscount Irwin— Hugh Irwin, tallowchandler; died16 1 2 .

SirStephen Brown, grocer, Mayor, 1438 , 1448 , father to SirAntonyBrown, Viscount Montague, 1 8 5 4 .

Legge, Lord Dartmouth First Earl descended fromLegge, Lord Mayor, 1 347 , 1 3 5 4 .

SirGeoffrey Bullen, Mayor, 145 8 , grandfather to Thomas,Earl ofWiltshire, whowas the fatherofAnne Bullen.

200 Sir Rickard Wkitting ton .

First Lord Campden—Sir Baptist Hicks, mercer. BuiltHicks’s Hall.

Capel, Earl of Essex— SirWilliam Capel, draper, Mayor,1 5 03 first set up acage in everyward for the pun ishment ofidle people.

Michael Dormer, Mayor, 1 5 42—fromhim Lord D ormer.

Edward Osborn, Mayor, 1 5 83— Duke ofLeeds.

Earl Craven, descended from SirWi lliam Craven , Mayor,1 6 1 1 .

Lord Dudley and Ward, descended from William Ward,jeweller to Henrietta.

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202 Sir Rickard Wkitting ton .

Written byCardinal Lotario, afterwardsPope Innocent theThird.

De remedns utriusque fortnum.

Written in Latin byPetrarch in 1 3 5 8 .

Dispositio et regimen bellorum duorum et acierum

Guerrarum.

A book contraduodec1merrores et hereses Lollardorum.

Written by the Dominican Roger B ymok in the

reign ofRichard the Second, and attached to the gate

ofWestminster Hall on the assemblage of Parliamentforall to read.

Ecclesiasticus.

HistoriaeProvinciarum.

Law-book ofForms and Precedents.”

Philiboblon Ricardi Dunelmensis.

”

Written in praise ofbooks about the year 1 3 43 byRichard de Bury, B ishop ofDurham.

Prosperus de vita contemplativa.

”

St. Prosperuswas a learned scholar of Aq u i taine,living 407

—463 , and secretary to the Pope, Leo

theGreat. Thiswork ofhis ismentioned byPetrarchas being aschool-book in his day.

Quidam de Vetula.

”

A hexameterpoem attributed formerlyto Ovid .

Senecaad Callionem.

"

Senecade quatuorvirtutibus cardinalibus.Sententiae divinorum prophetarum.

”By Peter de

Alphonse.

Peter Alphonsus was a converted Jew, who pub

lished about the year 1 106 a dialogue in defence of

Christianity.

Appendix [ I ] . 203

De Parabolis Solomonis.Speculum morale regium.

A compilation from Thomas Aquinas and othertheologians.

A book of theology contain ing the Ten Command

ments, the twelve articles of faith, the seven theo

logical virtues, and other things.

There is not among the worthytown clerk’s libraryonesingle volume of belles lettres, unless the Quidam de

Vetula is one. Not asingle book ofmodern verse, eitherin French orEnglish ; no romances no amusing books ofany kind. But the author of Liber Albus could not

have been aperson requiring relaxation of light literature.

APPEND IX IV.

( the l egeno01 SirRtebarb Whittington.

THEHISTORYOFSIRRICHARD WHITT INGTON,

THRICE LORD MAYOR OF LONDON.

Printed and Sold in London. (NoDate.

THEHISTORY OFSIR RICHARDWHITTINGTON.

CHAP. I .— OEWHITTINGTON’

s OBSCURE B IRTH AND HARD

FORTUNE, AND OF HIS BEING DROVE To LOND ON.

ONE RICHARD WHITTINOTON, supposed to have been an

outcast, for he did not knowhis parents, theyeither dyingor leaving him to the parish ofTaunton Dean, in Somersetshire but as he grewup, being displeased with the cruelusage of the nurse, he ran awayfrom herat seven years ofage, and travelled about the country, l iving upon the

charity of well-disposed persons, till he grew up to be a

fine sturdy youth ; when at last, being threatened to be

whipped ifhe continued in that idle course of life, he re

solved to go to London, having heard that the streetswerepaved with gold. Not knowing theway, he followed the

carriers, and at night, for the l ittle service he did them inrubbing the horses, they gave him a supper. When he

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206 Sir Rickard Wkittington .

CHAR. IlI.—Or MRs. ALICE PUTTING H IM UND ER THE

COOK ; or HER CRUEI. USAGE TO H IM, AND MRS.

ALICE’

S INTERPOSITION IN HIS FAVOUR.

T1115 was the first step ofProvidence to raise him to what

in time made him to be the City’s glory and the nation

’

s

wonder. But he meets with many d iffi c ulties, for the

servants make sport of him, and the ill-natured cook toldhim

,You are to come underme, so look sharp clean the

spit and the dripping-pan, make the fires, win d up the jack,and n imblydo all other scullerywork that I may set you

about, or else I will break your head with my lad le, and

kick you about like afootball.”

This was cold comfort, but better than starving ; and

what gave him abeam ofhopewas Mrs. Alice, his master’sdaughter, who, hearing her father had entertained a newservant, came to see him

,and ordered that he should

be kindly used. After she had discoursed with himabout his kindred and method of life, and found his

answers ingenuous, she ordered him some cast-offgarmen ts,

and that he should be cleaned,and appear like aservan t in

the house. Then shewent to herparents, and gave them

her Opin ion of this stranger, which pleased them well,

saying, “ He looks l ike a serviceable fellow to do k itchendrudgery, run on errands, clean the shoes, and do such

other things as the rest ofthe servants~think beneath them.

By this hewas confirmed in his place, and aflock bed pre.

pared in the garret for him. These conditions pleased

him, and he showed great d iligence in the work, rising

earlyand Sitting up late, leaving nothing undone that he

could do. But his being mostly under the cook-maid, she

gavehim sour sauce to these l ittle sweets for she, being of

Appendix I V. 207

amorose temper, used herauthority beyond reason, so that

to keep in the familyhe had manyabroken head, hearingit patiently ; and the more he tried with good words to

d issuade her from her cruelty, the more she insultedhim

, and not onlyabused him, but frequently complained

against him,endeavouring to get him turned out of

his service. But Mrs. A lice,hearing of her usage,

interposed in his favour, so that she should not prevailagainst him.

CHAP. IV.— OF HIS BEING TROUBLED WITH VERMIN IN

HIS GABRET ; OF RIs BUYING A CAT To DESTROYTHEM ; AND OF HIS SEND ING HER FOR A VENTUREABROAD.

THIS was not the only misery he suffered, for, lying in aplaceforalongtime unfrequented, suchabundanceofratsandmice had bred there, that theywere almostas troublesomebyn ight as the cook was by day, runn ing over his face andd isturbing him with their squeaking, so that he knewnot

what to think of his condition, orhowto mend it. After

many disquieting thoughts, he at last comforted himselfwith the hope that the cook might soon marry, ordie, orquit her service ; and as for the rats and mice, acatwouldbe an effectual remedyagainst them. Soon after, a merchant came to dinner, and it raining exceedingly, he staidall n ight, whose shoes Whittington having cleaned, andpresented at his chamber door, he gave him apenny. Thisstock he improved, for, going along the street ofan errand,

he saw awoman with acat underherarm so he desiredto knowthe price of it Thewoman praised it for agoodmouser, and told himsixpence ; buthedeclaring that apenny

208 Sir Rickard Wkittington .

was all his stock, she let him have it. This he broughthome, and kept in a box all day, lest the cook shou ld k illher if she came into the kitchen ; and at n ight he set

her to work for her l iving. Puss delivered him from one

plague, but the other remained, though not for many

years.

It was the custom with theworthymerchant, Mr. Hugh

Fitz -Warren, that God might give him a greater blessing to

his endeavours, to call all his servants together when he

sent outaship, and cause everyone to venture somethingin it

, to try their fortunes, for which theywere to paynothing forfreight or custom.

Now all but Whittington appeared, and brought thingsaccording to their abilities ; but Mrs. Alice being by, andsupposing that poverty made him decline coming, she

ordered him to be called, on whichhemade severalexcuses.However, being constrained to come, hefell upon his knees,desiring them not to jeer apoorSimple fellow, in expec tation that hewas going to turn merchant, since all that hecould layclaim to as his own was but a poor cat, whichhe had bought forone pennyhe had given himfor clean ingShoes, which had much befriended him in keeping the rats

and mice from him. Upon this Mrs. A lice proffered to laysomething down for him ; but her father told her the

custom,it must be his own which he ventured

, and

ordered him to fetch his cat, whichhe did, butwith great

reluctance, fancying nothing could come of it, and withsome tears delivered her to themaster of the ship, whichwas called the Unicorn, and was to sail down to B lackwall

,

in orderto proceed on hervoyage.

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2 10 Sir Rickard Wkittington .

so, bringing their wares of sundry sorts u pon d eck and

open ing them,theypleased them SO well that the news was

carried to the King, who sent for patterns, wi th which hewas So pleased that he sent for the Fac tor to his palace.

Theirentertainment, accord ing to custom, was on the floor,

covered with carpets interwoven with gold and silver,cross

legged. This kind of table was no soon er c overed withvarious d ishes but the scent drewtogether agreat numberof rats and mice, who devoured all that came in the way;which surprised the

-

Factor, who asked the nob les if thesevermin were not offensiveP 0,

said they, H is Majestywould give half his revenue to be freed from them

, for theyare not onlyoffensive at his table, but his chamber and bedare so troubled with them,

that he is always watched for

fearofmischief. ” TheFactor, then, rememberingWhittington’

s cat, and rejoic ing at the occasion,told them that he

had an Engl ish beast in the ship that would rid'

al l theCourt of them quickly. The King, overjoyed at the goodnews, and being anxious to be freed from those verminwhich so much spoiled hispleasure, disturbed his min d , and

made all his enjoyments dissatisfactory and burdensome,desired to see this surprising creature, saying, For such a

thing I will load your Ship withgold, d iamonds, and pearls.

”

This large offer made the Master endeavour the more to

enhance the cat’smerits, saying, She is themostadmirablecreature in theworld, and I cannot Spare her, for she keepsmyship clearof them,

otherwise theywould destroyall mygoods.

”But His Majesty would take no denial, saying,

N0 price shall part us.

” The cat being sent for,and the

tables spread, the vermin came as before. Then, settingneron the table, she fell to immediately, and killed themallin atrice then she came purring and curling up her tail to

Appendix I V. 2 1 1

the King and Queen, as if she asked a reward for her

service ; whilst theyadmired her, protesting it was the finestd iversion theyhad ever seen.

CHAP. VI .— OP THE RICHES RECEIVED FOR THE CAT ;

THE UNBELIEF OFWHITTINGTON ONTHEIR ARRIVALAND OF HIS LIBERALITY To SOME OF HIS FELLOWSERVANTS.

THE Moorish King was so pleased with the cat, especiallywhen the Master told him shewaswithyoung, and wouldstock thewhole country, that hegave ten timesmore for thecat than all the freight besides. So they sailed with a fairwind, and arrived safe at B lackwall, being the richest shipthat ever came into England. The Master taking the

cabinet of jewels with him, theybeing too rich aprize tobe left on board, presented his bill of lading to Fitz -Warren,who praised God for suchaprosperous voyage. Butwhen

he called all his servants to give each his due, theMastershowed him the cabinet of jewels and pearls, the Sight ofwhichmuch surprised him but on being told itwas all forWhittington

’

s cat,he said

, God forbid. that I Should deprive him of one farthing of it ; and so he sent for him

bythe title ofMr. Whittington,whowas then in the kitchenclean ing ofpots and spits. Being told hemust come tohismaster, he made several excuses ; but being urged to go,

he at length came to the door, and there stood scringing

and scraping, scrupling to enter, till the merchant com

manded him in, and ordered a chair to be immed iatelyset

for him ; on which he, thinking they intended to make

sport with him,fell on his knees, and with tears in his

eyes besought them not to mock a simple fellow whomeant none ofthemanyharm. Mr. Fitz-Warren, raisinghim

2 12 Sir Rickard Wkittington .

up, said, Indeed, Mr.Whittington,weare seriouswith you,forin estate at this instant you are an abler man than myself and then gave him the vast riches, which amountedto three hundred thousand pounds, an immen se sum in

those days.

At length, being persuaded to bel ieve, he fell upon his

knees and praised AlmightyGod, who had vouchsafed to

behold so poor a creature in the midst of his m isery.

Then, turning to his master, he laid his riches at his feet ;but he said, No, Mr. Whittington ; God forbid I should

take somuchas aducat fromyou may it be a comfort toyou.

”Then he turned to Mrs. Alice, but she also refused

it ; upon which, bowing low, he said unto her, “Madam,

whenever you please to make choice of ahusband, I willmake you the greatest fortune in theworld.

”

Upon this he began to d istribute his bountyto his fellowservants, givingeven hismortal enemythe cook onehundredpounds forherportion she saying Shewas in her passion,he freelyforgave her. He also distributed his bounty veryplentifullyto all the ship

’

s crew.

CHAP. VIL— OF MR. WHITTINGTON’S COMELY PERSONAND DEPORTMENT ; OF MRS. ALICE

’

SFALLING IN LOVEWITH HIM AND MARRYING HIM ; AND OF HIS BEING

SHERIFF OF LONDON.

UPON this change, the haberdashers, tailors, and sempstresseswere set towork to make Mr. Whittington

’

s cloaths,

all things answerable to his fortune. Being dressed, heappeared a very comelyperson, insomuch that Mrs. Alicebegan to layher eyes upon him. Nowherfather, seeingthis, intended amatch for them, looking upon him to be

afortunateman. Healso took himto theRoyal Exchange,

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Sir Rickard Wkittington .

which was made of choicewood, mixed with mac e, c innamon, and all other Spices on which Sir Richard said hewould endeavour to make one still more agreeab le to His

Majesty, and immediatelytore and threw in to the fire the

King’s bond for marks, due to the Company of

Mercers ; to the Chamber of London ; to the

Grocers ; to the Merchants, Staplers, Goldsmiths, Haberdashers, Vintners, Brewers, and Bakers, each. All

these,”said Sir Richard, “with divers others, lent for the

payment of your soldiers in France, I have taken in and

discharged, to theamount of sterling. Can yourMajestydesire to see such another sight"

” The King andnobleswere struck dumb at hiswealthand liberality.

Sir Richard spent the rest of his days honoured by therich and beloved by the poor. He had by his wife two

sons and two daughters, some ofwhose posterityare worthycitizens. He built many charitable houses ; also a church

in VintryWard dedicated to St. Michael, add ing to it a

college founded to St. Mary, withayearlyallowance for thepoor scholars ; near which be erected an hospital, calledGod

’

s House, and well endowed it. There he caused his

father and mother-ln-law to be buried, and left room for

himself and his wife when death should call them. He

builtNewgate, aplace for criminals. He gave large sums

to Bartholomew’s Hospital, and to many other charitableuses.

Dame Alice, his .wife, died in the 63rd year of herage,afterwhichhewould notmarry, though heoutlived herneartwenty years. In the conclusion, he was buried in the

place aforesaid, leaving agood name to posterity; and the

following epitaph was written on his tomb, and continuedperfect till destroyed bytheFire ofLondon

Appendix I V.

THEIR EPITAPH.

Here lies SirRichard Whittington, thrice Mayor,

And his clearwife, avirtuous loving pairHim fortune raised to be beloved and great,By the adventure onlyofacat.

Let none that read it ofGod’s love despair,Who trusts in Him,

Hewill ofhim take care

But growing rich, chuse humbleness, not pride ;Let these dead virtuous persons beyourgu ide.

A SONG.

SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON.

Here I must tell the praise ofworthyWhittington,Known to be in his days Lord Mayor ofLondon.

But ofpoor parents born was be, we hear,And in his youth brought up in Somersetshire.

PoOrly, then, up to London came this Simple lad,And withamerchant soon adwelling hadAnd in the kitchen plac

’

d, ascull ion for to be,And a long time he passed in labour drudgingly.His dailyhourwas turning Spits at the fire,To scour lats forapoor scullion

’

s hire.Meat and drink his pay, ofcoin he had no store

And to run away in secret thus he boreSo from themerchantWhittington secretlyInto the countryrun to purchase liberty,But as hewent along in afine summer’smorn,London bells sweetly rung, Turn again, Whittington,Evermore sounding So, Turn again, Whittington,For thou in time shalt beLord Mayor ofLondon.

2 1 5

2 16 Sir Rickard Wkittington .

Whereupon back cameWhittington with speed ,

A servant to remain, as the Lord had decreed .

And blessed be the bells,thiswas his daily song,

Thatmygood fortune tell most sweetlyhave they rung.

IfGod SO favour me, I will not be so unkind,

London my love Shall see, and mybountyfind .

But for this happychance, this scullion had a cat,That did his fameadvance, and himwealthgat.Whittingtonhad nomore than his poor cat then,Which to the ship he bore likeavaliant man.

Venturing the same, says he, I mayget store ofgold,And theMayor ofLondon be, the bells have told.

Whittington’

smerchandise carried upon the land,

Troubled with rats and mice, aswe do understandThe Kingwho there reign

’

d, as he at dinner sat,Daily in fearremain

’

d ofmanyamouse and rat

Meat that on trenchers lay, no way could theykeep safe,

But byrats torn away, fearing no whip orstaff.Hereupon theybrought heaps ofgold given for that,Home again theyhie, with their Ship laden so,

Whittington’

swealth byhis cat began to grow.

A scullion’

s l ife he forsook to be amerchant good,And soon began to look howhis credit stood.

Afterhewas chose Sheriffofthe Citywe hear,And then quicklyrose, as it dothappear,For the City’sgrace, SirRichard Whittington,Came to be in his days thrice Lord Mayor of London.His fame to advance, thousands he lent the King,To maintain war in France, gloryfrom thence to bring,And afterafeast which he the King did make,He burnt the note in

'

jest, and would nomoneytake.

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I ND E X .

ADULTERATIONOFWINES, 17 1 .

Agas, 48 .

Agincourt, 167 .

Aldermen , 1 1 , 68 .

Aldersgate, 44 .

Aldgate, 44 , 66 .

Associated goldsmiths, 14.

BALL, joHN. 1 5 2 .

Bakewell Hall, 5 3 , 169.

Bamme, Adam, 162 .

Bankers, merchants theirown, 179.

Banquet to Royalty, 172 .

Barbers, 95 .

Barbican , 5 0.

Barnes, John, 140, 141 .

Barons, 17 .

Bartholomew'

s day, 98 .

Baynard'

s Castle, 49.

Bede] , 76 .

Bele Babies, 33 .

Bequests, present stateofWhittington

'

s, 192 .

Berkeley , SirThomas de, 3 1 .

B ill offare, fourteenth century, 79.

B illingsgate, 45 .

B ishopsgate, 44.

Blackfriars, 45 .

Blackfnars Church, 49 .

Blanche, Princess, 178 .

Bradby , John , 168 .

BrasIers, 7 2 .

Brembre. SIrNicolas, 15 8 .

Brewers, 5 8 .

Bn dgegate, 44.

Bow Bells, 89.

BowChurch, 5 4.

Bucklersbury, 5 1 , 5 8 .

Bureller, 67 .

Burial, Whittington’

s, 194.

Butchers, 15 , 5 8 .

CAPPERS. 72 .

Carpenter, John, 1 8 1 .

Cat, early appearance of, 1 35 ; philology of, 133 ; sculpture ofWhit

tingtou and , 141 ; story of. 130 ;value of, 13 1 , 132 .

Chaloner, 67 .

Chaplain overthe bones ofthe dead,gift to, 170.

Charities, City, 22 .

Charters of City, encroachments on ,

16 1 ; ofEdward I. . 2 1 ; ofEdwardIII. , 2 2 ; the great, 16 ; of HenryI . , 1 3 ; ofHenry II. , 14 ; ofHenryIII .

,1 8 ; ofJohn , 16 ; of Richard

I . , 1 5 ; ofWilliam I. , 12 ; of 13 7 6 ,146 .

Charterhouse, 6 1 .

Chaucer, 43 .

Chepe. 5 4. 5 5 .

Christmas day. 99.

Christ's Hospital, 45 .

Church,the, in Wliittington

’

s time,35

Churches, city , 47 .

C itizens, cond ition of, 1 27 , 1 29.City, the, arepublic , 1 27 .

C ity ofLondon School, 1 8 1 .

Clark's orClerkenWell, 5 6.

Cleanliness, want of, 1 28 .

Clement'

sWell, 5 6 .

Cleyden , John, 168 .

Coal trade, 1 33 , 134.

Cold HerberghHouse, 5 1 , 166 .

Coleman Street, 66 .

College ofPetty Canons, 48 .

Common Council elections, reformof, 1 5 7 .

Companies, city, 14. 7 2 .

Companies' proceedings on asaint’sday. 77

Index . 2 19

Constantyn , John , 124. Fleet river, 44.

Contemporanes.Whittington’

s,182-5 . Fleet Street, houses in, 62 .

Cooks. 5 8 . Founders. 5 8 .

Cormeilles, Abbey of, 30. Frankyshe, William, 108 .

CordwaynerStreet, 66 . Fratres dc Penitentza 7am,Crimes and punishments, 107- 120. Freedman, 70.

Cripplegate, 45 . Freedom ofthe city, 70.

Crosby Hall, 49. FrO Issart, 43 , 1 822Cross, the great, 54. Furmenty, 8 1 .

Crown , rapacity of, 16 1 , 162 ; conciliating the, 161 , 162 . GARLAND , the. 5 2 .

Curriers, 7 2 . aunt. John of, 148 .errard s Hall, 5 3 .

DANCE OFDEATH, 48 , 135 . isorS. Sirjohn. 5 4.

Danegelt, 1 3 . loucester, Duke of, 1 5 8.Debateable Land, 70. Glovers, 7 2 .

Disshere, 67 . God'

s House, 1 86.

Doucettes, 80. Goldsmiths, 14 , 5 7 , 69.

Dowgate, 45 . Grey Friars, 45 ; church, 49.

Drapers, 5 8 , 7 2 ; foreign, 169. Grocers, 5 8 .

Dynmore Hill, 41 . Grossers, company of, 7 1 .

Gut/dd Aula Tcuton icorum, 5 3EDWARD I . , 2 1 . Guildhall, 49, 5 4, 169, 190 ; library,Edward II . , 2 1 , 70. 190 .

Edward III. , 22 , 70. Guthrun’

s Lane, 5 7 .

Eleanor, Queen. 1 8 .

Election ofMayor, 164.Ellesmere, 27 .

Elsinge Spital, 1 86 .

Entertainments to Royalty, 146, 147 ,1 72 , 173 .

Epitaph, Whittington’

s, 194.

Epp ing Forest, 6 1 .

Erber, 5 2 .

Essex, Earl of, 14.

Escheator, 22 .

Executors, Whittington'

s, 193.

Eyre, SirThomas, 168 , 169.FALSTAFF, SIRJOHN, 166.

Famine in the c ity, 1 87 .

Fannere, 67 .

Felliship ,the, 76.

Fettermonger, 67 .

Fines in the City, 17 , 161 .Fishmongers, 5 8 .

Fitz-Arnulph, Constantine, 18 .Fitz -Osbert, William,

15 .

Fitz -Stephen ,60, 93 .

Fitz -Walters, 49. [MAGEUR, 67 .

Fitz -Warren , Alice, 3 1 , 175 3 Infangtheft, 22 .

John , 42 , 64, 94, 175 . ironmongers, 1 5 8 .

HA INAULT FOREST, 61 .Halpaces, 59 .

Hand icraftsman , 73 .

Hanseatic merchants, 5 3 .

Henry l l. , 14, 68 .

Henry Ill. , 17 ; lines the city, 19, 20.Henry IV. , 160 . 1 79.

Henry V. , 167 , 1 79.

Henxmen, 33 .

Hereford School, 34.

Heretics, burn ing of, 167 , 168.Highgate, alms-houses, 190.

Holborn river, 5 6 .

Holy Rood day, 98 .Holy Well, 5 6 .

HornseyWood , 6 1 .Horold ,

William, 17 1 .Hosiers, 5 8 .

Hospital ofSt. ThomasAcon , 54.Hospitals. 5 6 .

House. the VVhittingtons'

, 137 .

Hubert, ChiefJ ustice, 1 8 .

220 I ndex .

BSUSCOLLEGE, 52.“wry. 5 4°

ohn, K ing, 16.

ohn ofNorthampton, 15 3 , 157.KEICHTLBY, 130.

King’

s Beam, 5 2 .

K issere, 67 .

Knylsmyth, 67 .

LANCASTER , DUKE OF, 159.Leadenhall, 5 2 , 168 , 169.

Leaden Porch, 5 2 .

Lake Iombard , 80.

Legend ofcat, beliefin, 137 .

LiberA lbus, 43 .

Library, GreyFriars’ , 1 8 1 Guildhall,1 8 1 ; Whittington

'

s, 189.

Lighting ofthe city, 168 .

Lincoln’

s Inn, 62 .

Linets, 3 1 .

Lions, SheriffRichard, 54.Lippicote, 176 , 179 .

Liveries, the, 77 , 82 .

Livery companies, 15 , 70.

Living, cost of, 120, 1 2 1 .

Lollardism,180 .

London, appearance of, 43, 59 ; armyof, 24 ; bridgedestroyed ,

13 ; char

ters, 12 ; cond ition of, 1 1 ; historyof, 23 ; houses, 49 ; patriotism of,

129 ; size of, 5 9 ; Towerof, 13 , 45 .

London Lackpenny, 5 7 .

Londoners, condition of, 1 27- 1 29 ;

deputation of, 1 5 8 ; powersof, 148 ,149 ; religiousness of, 168 Victoryof, 15 8 .

Lord Mayor’s day, 82 , 100, 166.

Louis, King, 17Ludgate, 44 ; prison, 45 , 17 1 , 172 .

Lysons, Rev. S. ,27 , 29, 37 , 137 , 138 .

MAIDENCHARIOT, 82 .

Mansel, family, 3 1 ; Philip, 176.

Martinmas, 99.

Matilda, Queen,14.

Maurice, Bishop ofLondon, 48.

Mayday, 97 .

Mayor, deposition ofa, 149.

Mayor, election of. 164 .

Mayor’s Court, functions of, 123 ,1 24.

Mayor, Lord , 1 1 , 16 , 2 2 .

Melbourne, 3 1 .

Melemekere, 67 .

Mercer, the pirate, 1 5 0 .

Mercers, 69, 7 1 , 7 2 , 8 1 .

Mercers'

Hall, 84 ; company, 8 5 .

Merchantadventurers, 8 1 .

Merchants, the great, 7 3 .

Merchant taylors, 7 1 , 7 6 .

Midsummereve, 98 .Moat, the, 44.

Money, value of, 1 20 .

Monks, life of. 180 , 1 8 1 .Monuments ofWhittington and thecat, 136.

Moorgate, 45 .

Moorfields, 45 , 61.Mottrews, 80 .

Mountfiquit, towerof, 5 0.

Murage, 2 1 .

NEWGATE, 42 , 45 ; unhealthines s of,172 .

Niel, SirJohn, 18 1 .

OLDCASTLE. RICHARD, 4 1 .

Old Hall, 5 2 .

Orthodoxy ofthe citizens, 1 80, 1 8 1 .

Outfangtheft, 22 .

Oyer, 22 .

PAGEANTS, CIVIC. 165 .

Palace, Whittington'

s, 176 , 1 77 .

Palaeologus, Emanuel, 166 .

Pannage, 2 1 .

Parade oftheCressets, Too.

Pardon churchyard , 48 .Parneux, 80.

Paternostermakers, 5 8 .

Pater-hostrer, 67 .

Pauntley, 29 ; Walterde. 30Payne, Will, 74.

Payn puffs, 80.

Pecok, Reginald, 185 .Pelterers, 1 5 , 5 8 .

Pepperers, 5 8 .

Peresfords, 3 1 .

Philippa, Princess, 179.Philpot, SirJOhn, 1 5 0, 15 1.Picard , Henry, 91 .

Pie Powder, courts of, 23.PiersPlowman, 34.

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2 22 Index .

Weavers'

company, 16.Weigh House, 5 2 .

Wells,riverof, 5 6.

Westminster, fairat. 19.

Wet fishmongers. 5 8 .

Whi ttington , apprenticed, 2 5 , 26alderman , 162 ; bequests. presentstateofhis, 192 ; birth, date of, 32b irth, Ofgood , 3 1 ; b irthplace, 27Bow Bells story , 89 ; burial, 1 94characterof, 2 5 , 26 ; coat Ofarms,2 7 , 3 1 , 1 76 ; college founded by,

160 ; common counc illor, 160 ; conservatism of, 1 5 3 ; contemporaries,his, 1 82—1 85 ; court mercer, 17 8 ,179 ; death Of, 1 74 ; defamed , 170 ;descendants, his, 32 ; education,

33 ; ep itaph, his, 194 ; executors,his, 193 ; first success, 1 38 , 139 ;

generosity of, 173 ; great esteemfor, 174 ; library , his, 1 89 ; Lysons'theory about, 37 ; manner of life,

93 ; marriage, his, 17 5 ; master of

his company , 84 ; mayor, 162 , 163 ;merchand ise of, 1 78 , 179 ; monu

ments of, 1 36 ; M . P 1 64 ; palace,his, 1 76 , 1 77 ; portrait, his , 1 3 4 , 1 35position as appren tice

, 1 39 , 1 40 ;private life of, 1 7 5- 1 96 ; p rosperity

of. 16 1 ; public life, 1 44—1 7 4 ; reli

gions opinions of, 1 80—1 8 2 ; rise

in hfe, 144 , 1 45 ; sculp ture of,141 ; sent to London , 3 8 ; spellingof name, 26 ; trade of, 1 7 8 , 1 79 ;Will, his,

1 87—1 89 .

Whittington , Elizabeth, 30 ; G uy, 30 ;Robert, 30 , 4 1 ; Thomas, 30 ; William

,Sir, 3 1 , 32 .

Whittington Palace, 176 .

William de St. Michael, 1 6 .

Wi lliam the Conqueror, 1 2 .

Wines, adulteration of, 1 7 1 .

Wool-carriers, 39 , 42.

Wycliffe, 148 , 1 80.

Wympler, 67 .

YORK ,ARCHB ISHOP OF, 1 80.Youngersons, 34.

Ypres Inn , 5 3 .

Ypres, Williamof, 5 3.