in consequence of the demand which obliged every proprietor of three hundred and ten hides of land to furnish a ship for the public service, the amount of ships provided, at this early period of our naval history, was nearly eight hundred; it cannot then be surprising, that so discerning a monarch as Canute, when his irascibility had subsided, should turn his mind towards cultivating a commercial intercourse, by which the success and security of his subjects might be ensured. This principle induced him to maintain all the laws which had been already enacted for the preservation of mercantile property wrecked on the English coast, as well as to settle the rates of the customs payable at the wharf of Belinsgate. To shew also of what importance an English trade was considered by foreign powers, a company of German merchants was settled in London. The members of this body were denominated "The Emperor's Men," and they annually paid the king as an acknowledgment of his protection, two pieces of grey cloth, and one of brown; ten pounds of pepper; five pairs of gloves, and two casks of wine.

William of Malmsbury, 1. ii. c. 11. has preserved a curious document of the care which Canute took of the temporal interests of his subjects, whilst he was on a pilgrimage to Rome. Writing to those in England to whom he had committed the administration of justice in his absence, he adds: "I have conversed with the pope, the emperor, and all the princes whom I found here, respecting the grievances imposed on my subjects, whether English or Danes, on visiting their several states; and have insisted, that in future they shall be treated more favourably, and exempted from the tolls, and exactions of various kinds, with which they have been hitherto harassed. The emperor, king Rodolphus, and the other sovereigns, have accordingly listened to my remonstrances, and have assured me, that henceforth no subject of mine, whether merchant or pilgrim, passing through their territories, shall meet with any obstruction, or be made liable to the payment of any impost whatever."

Thus, under the protection of so powerful, so spirited, and so wise a king as Canute, the trade of England flourish

eď

ed beyond all former example, and the merchants of London acquired a weight and influence in the scale of commerce, as well as in the national councils of their country, hitherto unknown; the event which had nearly extinguished the antient royal house, and the nobility, became highly beneficial to thé community, by procuring domestic peace; by opening the advancement of traffic; and by establishing respectable connexions with foreign powers. But just as Canute began to enjoy the fruit of the benefits he had thus secured, he departed this life at Shaftesbury, Nov. 12, 1035, leaving behind him the character of a great prince.

His son Harold, surnamed Harefoot, unlike his father in any good quality, having imposed himself upon the nobility, in preference to his brother Hardicanute, the son of Emma, Ethelred's widow, obtained the sanction of the Wittena-gemot, which was composed of the Thanes, among which sat the merchants, who on account of their occupation were deno minated the Seamen of London *.

We pass the turbulent reigns of this monarch and his suc cessor Hardicanute; the first criminally ambitious; the second a ferocious, revengeful drunkard; whose actions had rendered their names so odious, that it reflected in the eyes of the English, a detestation of the Danish character; they therefore resolved to restore the family of their native sove reigns, in the person of Edward the Confessor; but they mistook their aim; for instead of being governed by a monarch, they had crowned a whining monk, who suffered his kingdom to go to destruction whilst he sought his salvation by building and endowing churches. He re-edified the sacred pile of St. Peter, Westminster; restored it to a style of magnificence, with a munificent endowment; and bestowed on it all the privileges which papal decrees could enforce: His death happened Jan. 5, 1066. and he was interred in his

* The comparative importance of commerce was so great, even in these times of ignorance, that by a law of Athelstan, a merchant who had made three foreign voyages on his own bottom, became entitled to the quality and privileges of a Thane, or nobleman; the pre-eminent title, Seamen of London, above mentioned, is thus accounted for.

new

new finished Abbey, which at present serves "as the grand receptacle of the remains of departed worth-the scene of pride at coronations, and of humility at interments * !"

It appears that at this period, no city, except London and Westminster, had ten thousand inhabitants. York, the largest, after those already mentioned, contained only one thousand four hundred and eighteen houses and of these five hundred and forty were uninhabited; and though the seat of an archbishop and the capital of a vast province, its population amounted only to about seven thousand souls. Hackney at present contains more than three times that number. Singularly as it may appear to our readers, it is extremely probable that the whole population of England, during this dismal period, did very little exceed the number of inhabitants now residing in the cities and neighbouring villages which form our vast metropolis. It also, at this day, appears almost incredible, that, at the age of which we are writing, agriculture was at so low an ebb, and land so very cheap, as to be sold for no more than sixteen Saxon pennies (about four shillings present currency) per acre; and our ancestors paid as much money for four sheep as for an acre of land.

We do not then expect to find any cultivation of arts and sciences, except what the Great Alfred endeavoured to promote; but neither his authority nor example could stimulate a spiritless nobility-and" as he had no model, so he had no imitator!"

In writing the history of the British metropolis, during a period so dark and remote, and in a state of manners and society so very different from, the present, it will naturally be expected, that we should nevertheless endeavour to convey some general idea of the period which we have been running over, so as to enable the reader to state sundry important points of comparison between our ancestors and ourselves. It is a period, indeed, of no less than six hundred and

*Among the laws of this king is a statute wherein he acknowledges the pre-eminence of London over all his cities; confirms to it all its antient customs and usages, so as not to be violated by his successors, and particularly grants to the citizens the privilege of holding and keeping the hustings every Monday. 5

seventeen

seventeen years, and produced revolutions more frequent, more sudden, more violent, and more disastrous, than the subsequent period of seven hundred and forty years from the Norman conquest. Seven petty governments had been consolidated into one powerful kingdom. The country had, however, long and grievously to labour under the miseries of civil discord, and of formidable foreign invasion. The death of almost every sovereign kindled a dispute about the succession, the feelings of nature were violated, and the dagger or the sword settled the controversy. The Saxon race was borne down and expelled by the Danish. The Danes were massacred, oppressed, and expelled in their turn. Tyrants acted the parts of madmen, and the people were the victims of their frenzy. This state of perpetual agitation could not be favourable to improvement of any kind. The language of the country continued rude and barbarous; the mixed jargon of various ill-assorted nations. Agriculture, the parent of all other arts, was neglected. Tyranny and slavery were established by law. The seas swarmed with pirates, and the highways were infested by wolves and banditti.

"What a contrast to the present well-ordered state of society in Britain, where we now laugh to scorn the idea of invasion; where the tongue in parliamentary debate, and the pen in political pamphlets, are the only weapons of our warfare; every breath of the wind carries out, or brings home exhaustless mines of treasure; the slave becomes free from his master the moment his foot alights on these hallowed shores; unnumbered palaces swell the cities and embellish the plains, and golden harvests wave on the lately barren waste *.”

The above animated picture is surely the work of a great master, who possessed at the same time an expanded and a noble mind.

*Hunter.

LONDON

LONDON, FROM THE TIME OF WILLIAM I. TO THE REIGN OF HENRY IV.

THE conquest of England by William duke of Normandy, if such it may be called, produced a reign turbulent, violent, and oppressive. William was convinced of the aversion which the English bore to the Normans; he knew also that though his predecessor Harold's title was in itself defective, yet his popularity, wealth, connexions and other qualifications had superseded every obstacle; and William would have been very much disappointed in his competition for the English crown, were it not that rebellion and treachery, ever the bane of this country, had fortunately for him made his victory more easily attainable over a divided nation.

The citizens of London, and the clergy had been the foremost in repelling William's slender claims, by the immediate coronation of Harold on Edward's death; when, therefore, the disaffection of one part of England had procured the victor power over the other, London was among the first to feel its full extent; her citizens were restrained; no one was to be seen after the curfew had tolled; a fortress was constructed to keep her in awe; and all seemed as though mutual jealousy and suspicion had assumed their unbounded dominion. William, however, soon perceived that the good treatment of his subjects was the surest way to secure their loyalty; and he found that the exercise of his authority with prudence, gained him more adherents than the most violent measures would have procured. He had the sagacity to discover that the growing opulence of the city was an object of his highest consideration, and we are not to wonder then at his future condescensions towards his capital; and that he confirmed to the citizens all the privileges they had enjoyed under former monarchs; his charters of confirmation, still preserved among the city archieves, abound in expressions of friendship and protection.

By these charters it was declared that,

"1. The burgesses were all to be law-worthy. "2. That their children should be their heirs."

"There