The South College-gate, or Gates, were standing in 1625, when the inquest presented-" That Thomas Rodes,a linen-draper, dwelling in the house once Roger Wright's, has caused to be removed in the night, a pair of strong, sufficient, and serviceable gates, which had time out of mind been the common South-gate of the said Liberty, and instead thereof had set up a new deal gate," &c.

The Church, or, as it is generally termed, "Free Chapel of St. Martin," was erected within this jurisdiction, with the College. Little about it was known till the pulling down of the houses on the site five or six years ago, when the crypts or vaults of it were discovered in a fine state of preservation. These remains draw many spectators. It appears from them, and from a plan made at the time, that the Church extended in length from Foster-lane to within thirty or forty feet of St. Martin's-lane, and was of a proportionable breadth. The vaults of the nave were supported by square piles of masonry, evidently of very early construction. Those of the choir were of the light elegant Gothic of Edward the Third's time, at which period much of the College was rebuilt, and when probably this part of the Church was added to the original structure The groining of the arches and slender columns which supported them, were much admired. A quantity of human bones, and an antique stone coffin, were found in the vaults under the nave.

This Church stood till the College was surrendered in 1548, when it was pulled down, and a great tavern is said to have been erected in its place. It was then under the government of the Dean of Westminster, to the Chapter of which it had been granted by Henry VII., and still continues independent of the city. Numbers of mechanics, before the late de molition, especially tailors and shoemakers, set up and exercised their trades within its limits, and had votes for the members of the borough of Westminster. The Dean and Chap

ter had also a court here, and a prison, and all processes executed within the Liberty were obliged to be directed by the Sheriffs of London to the constable of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster.

In 1585, the foreigners living here, French, German, Dutch, and Scotch, were so numerous, that an account of them and their trades was ordered to be taken by the government. Many of them were then found to be shoemakers and tailors, whence the tallymen, who sold shreds of cloth, buttonmakers, button-mould-makers, and other persons connected with those trades, who remained there till the great fire. Herc also resided (for the most part foreigners) goldsmiths, purse-makers, linen-drapers, some stationers, merchants, and silk-wea vers. Among the latter, Strype supposes two silk-throwers, who lived here, to have been the first of that trade in Loudon, and to have brought the art into England. They were named, the one John James, and the other Anthony Emerick, were both Spaniards, subjects of Philip II., and were naturalized by Queen Elizabeth, The whole of the inhabitants at the time of this survey only amounted to 161. In the year 1569, there were 269.

66

The trades here, in former times, seem to have lived in a great measure separate. Round-court, one of the places destroyed in the late alteras tion*, Strype informs us was famous for milliners, and such as sold copper-lace, called St. Martin's lace.". The name of the Mould-makers-rents, another place pulled down, plainly speaks its appropriation. Of other courts, &c. the old names had been changed, with the exception of Angelalley, which still retained its ancient cognomen. We may, barely to commemorate them, mention Deans-court, Great and Little; Dark Entry, George-street, St. Johns-alley, Back alley, Christophers-alley, Four-dove

* Round-Court, in spite of its name, was a smail SQUARE.

as

court, and Kings-head-court, other populous places here, now entirely swept away.

St. Martin-le-grand Church, with those of Bow, St. Giles, Cripplegate, and Barking, had their curfew bells long after the servile injunction laid on the Londoners had ceased. These were sounded to give timely notice to the inhabitants of those districts to keep within, and not to wander in the streets, which were infested by a set of ruffians, who made a practice of insulting, wounding, robbing, and murdering the people whom they happened to meet abroad during the night.

Several of the Deans of this foundation were, in former times, great men. One William Mulse, in Edward the Third's reign, was chief Chamberlain of the Exchequer, and receiver and keeper of the King's treasure and jewels. Another, William Dighton prebendary of St. Martin's, was Clerk of the Privy Seal; and Peter de Sabaudina, Dean here in Edward the Second's time, was afterwards promoted to the Archiepiscopal See of Lyons in France.

But these were all eclipsed by the celebrated William of Wickham, afterwards Bishop of Winchester, who was Dean of St. Martin-le-Grand in 1369, at which time he thoroughly repaired the College,and probably enlarged the Church. Edward I. and other of our old monarchs, seem also to have occasionally resided here, from their grants which are dated from "S. Martinum Magnum"

THE LION-FIGHT.

SIR,The mention of this subject in your 117th number, p. 103, induces me to forward you the following parapraph, which I cut from the "Shrewsbury Chronicle." I know not what you, Mr. Editor, may think of the affair, but for my own part I look upon it to be altogether a piece of humbug, to make Mr. Wombwell's

THE LION NERO AND HIS ANTAGONISTS.-Whatever may be the result of the preparations for this. mortal combat, it is certain that the field of battle is already provided. Mr. Wombwell inspected the cage, or den (which has been built by Messrs. Drayton and Rowlands, of Frankwell, in Shrewsbury) last Monday, and expressed great confidence of retaining not only his five thousand guineas, but the lordly brute on whose head they are staked. The den is 57 feet in circumference, 15 feet high, formed of strong iron bars, 7 or 8 inches distant from each other, and covered in with a wooden roof removeable at pleasure, and with its boarded floor,

and other conveniencies, is well calculated to afford that.comfort which lions as well as their mas¬ ters look for "at home." The whole will be fixed upon axletrees and

wheels.

Mr. Wombwell will give no account of where the battle is to take place, the notice we formerly inserted having set the Worcester Magistrates by the ears to prevent the battle being fought within their territories; but a gentleman of Shrewsbury offered to secure him £1000 if he would fight it in this neighbourhood. This was refused The prices of admission to see the battle are stats ed to be as follows: Boxes, Three Guineas; Pit, Two Guineas; Gallery, One Guinea.-Should his lionship o'erleap his prison, and set himself once more at liberty, we wonder what would then be the prices to get out? The mystery of when and where the fight will take place, or whether it ever will take place, is as great as ever: we only vouch for the fact of the amphitheatre being built, with all the appearance of being useful for no other purpose than such a

combat.

than he gave his watch and hat to the guide, likewise a piece of money, desiring him to impress the lava; a common practice, but probably done to divert his attention. He then enveloped himself in his mantle, and plunged into the burning crater, whence he was immediately thrown ont, and presented a most horrid spectacle all in flames. The guide saw him descending the RIVER OF FIRE till he could see him no more! He has left a memorandum in the book, exonerating the guide from all suspicion of guilt; and stating it to be his voluntary act, he having been always unfortunate in life."

In the morning of life, here I frolic'd awhile,

Untouch'd by misfortune, unweeting of guile!

Through that porch dwelt the sexton, a bundle of whim,

All the tales of the village were center'd in him,

Those tales that so oft had bewilder'd my brain.

Till the raptures I felt, border'd close upon pain;

There old Barnaby taught me my kite to repair,

Smoking gaily his pipe as it soar'd in the air;

But they've long bade farewell to vexation and strile,

And left me to mourn the sad changes of life!

rest,

And vainly regret that my folly and pride Seduced me to leave my paternal fire side, Where in life's opening day-spring I revell'd supreme,

But those scenes are all vanish'd like mist from the stream!

My health undermin'd, and my friends all deceas'd,

After toiling for twenty long years in the east,

Where the cloudy monsoon pours a deluge of rain,

Or vertical sunbeams parch up the green plain;

Through storm, and tho' sunshine, tho' battle, and blast,

In the evening of life, when I think on the past,