and judicial: upon their fet days alfo they have their common council and great affemblies.

The only plagues of London are immoderate drinking of idle fellows, and frequent fires.

Of Sports and paftimes. Every Sunday in Lent, after dinner, a company of young men ride out into the fields on horfes which are fit for war, and principal runners: every one among them is taught to run the rounds with his horse.

The citizens fons iffue out through the gates by troops, furnished with lances and warlike fhields the younger fort have their pikes not headed with iron, where they make a reprefentation of battle, and exercise a skirmish. There refort to this exercife many courtiers, when the king lies near hand, and young ftriplings out of the families of barons and great perfons, which have not yet attained to the warlike girdle, to train and skirmish. Hope of victory inflames every one: the neighing and fierce horfes beftir their joints. and chew their bridles; and cannot endure to ftand ftill at laft they begin their race, and then the young men divide their troops; fome labour to outftrip their leaders, and cannot reach them; others fling down their fellows, and get beyond them.

In Eafter holidays they counterfeit a fea fight a pole is fet up in the middle of the river, with a target well faftened thereon, and a young man ftands in a boat which is rowed with oars, and driven on with the tide, who with his fpear hits the target in his paffage; with which blow, if he

breaks the fpear and stand upright, fo that he hold footing, he hath his defire; but if his fpear continue unbroken by the blow, he is tumbled into the water, and his boat paffeth clear away: but on either fide this target two ships ftand in-ward, with many young men ready to take him up after he is funk, as foon as he appeareth again on the top of the water: the fpectators ftand upon bridge, and in folars upon the river, to behold these things, being prepared for laughter.

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Upon the holidays all fummer, the youth is exercised in leaping, fhooting, wrestling, cafting of ftones, and throwing of javelins fitted with loops for the purpose, which they ftrive to fling beyond the mark; they also use bucklers, like fighting men. As for the maidens, they have their exercise of dancing and tripping 'till moonlight.

In winter, almoft every holiday before dinner, the foaming boars fight for their heads, and prepare with deadly tufhes to be made bacon; or else some lufty bulls, or huge bears, are baited with dogs.

When that great moor, which wafheth Moorfields, at the north wall of the city, is frozen over, great companies of young men go to fport upon the ice, and bind to their fhoes, bones, as the legs of fome beafts, and hold ftakes in their hands, headed with fharp iron, which fometimes they strike against the ice; and thefe men go on with speed, as doth a bird in the air, or darts fhot from fome warlike engine: fometimes men fet themselves at a distance, and run one against another, as it were at tilt, with thefe ftakes,

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wherewith

wherewith one or both parties are thrown down, not without fome hurt to their bodies; and after their fall, by reafon of the violent motion, are carried a good distance one from another; and wherefoever the ice doth touch their head, it rubs off all the fkin and lays it bare; and if one fall upon his leg or arm, it is ufually broken: but young men being greedy of honour, and defirous of victory, do thus exercife themfelves in counterfeit battles, that they may bear the brunt more ftrongly when they come to it in good earnest.

Many citizens take delight in birds, as fparrow-hawks, gofshawks, and fuch like, and in dogs to hunt in the woody ground. The citizens have authority to hunt in Middlefex, Hertfordshire, all the Chilterns, and in Kent, as far as Gray-Water.

Natives of London. The city of London hath brought forth fome who have fubdued many kingdoms, and the empire of Rome

to themfelves; and many others, who being lords of this world, were deified in another.

And in the times of chriftianity, it brought forth the noble Emperor Conftantine, who gave the city of Rome and all the Imperial arms to God, and to St. Peter, and Silvefter the pope, whofe stirrup he refufed not to hold, and pleased rather to be called, Defender of the holy Roman church, than emperor of the world. And left the peace of our lord the pope fhould fuffer any disturbance, by the noife of fecular affairs, he left the city, and beftowed it on the pope, and founded the city of Conftantinople for his own habitation. London alfo in thefe latter times hath brought forth famous and magnificent princes: Maud the Emprefs, King Henry the Third, and Tho mas the archbishop, a glorious martyr of Chrift, than whom no man was more innocent, or more devoted to the general good of the Latin world.

Declaration, or briefe Collection, of one Year's Expence for all the ordinarie Dinners and Suppers, with her Majeftie (Queen ELIZABETH's) Breakefaft, and Breakefaft for the Guard, furnished with Bread, Beere, Ale, Gascoigne Wine, and with all Manner of Vitthals of Flesh and Fish, rated accordinge the Market Prices, at higheft Condition; wherein is fett downe what the Charge being one whole. of one Meffe of everie Diett is in one Flefb Day and one Fish Day, and fo 220 Flesh, and 145 Fish Days, and then for 365 Days,

In 365 days, beinge one yeare.

1. s. d.

7

27 For 220 flesh days

9

I. s. d. 3804 19 5.

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A diett of 7 and 7 dishes, dinner? For I fefh day 117 and fupper,

591

6

591 6

66666

3

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3

3

A diett of 6 and 6 dishes, dinner For I flefh day 1 10 and fupper,

591

3

3

966 13 6/1/20 966 13 966 13 966 13

Lord Steward.

Lord Chamberlain,
Mr. Threforer.
Mr. Comptroller.

Ladies in ye prefens.

-Lady Roxborogh.
Maids of honor.
Mr. Cufferer.

To Mrs. of houfhold,

-2 Clerks kitchen.

Mr. Cooke,

148 19

I

2 3

216 0

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5

Mrs. Anflowe

I

For 1 fiefh day So

3

SFor I fifh day

o

I

I

For 1 flesh day 5 0

11

For I fleth day

5

For 1flefh day So

4

For 220 flesh days S

For 1 fifh day 2 o

For 145 fifh days

befide

A diett of 2 difhes ferued once a day, dinner or Tupper,

A diett of dish, ferued once a day, for breakfast,

A diett of 1 and 1 difh, at dinner 7 and fupper,

The fomme of all thes diets is 18431 1. 13 s. ouer and

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facke, renifh and fweet wins, butter, eges, faussery, frutry, fpicery, confexionary, lights, coall, carriages, expences extra curia, supplies and necessarys in ye offices, wages, bordwages, command, and waft, liueris, almes, offerings and Cable fo much as paid by Mr. Cofferer.

Remarks on Simplicity in Writing.

F we examine the writers whose compofitions have flood the teft of ages, and obtained that highest honour. "the concurrent approbation of diftant times and nations," we fhall find that the character of fimplicity is the unvarying circumftance, which alone hath been able to gain this univerfal homage from mankind. Among the Greeks, whofe writers in general are of the fimple kind, the divineft poet, the moft commanding orator, the finest hiftorian, and deepest philofopher, are, above the reft, confpicuoufly eminent in this great quality. The Roman writers rife towards perfection according to that measure of fimplicity which they mingle in their works : indeed, they are all inferior to the Greek models. But who will deny, that Lucretius, Horace, Virgil, Livy, Terence, Tully, are at once the fimpleft and beft of Roman writers? unlefs we add the noble Annalist, who appeared in after times; who, notwithstanding the political turn of his genius, which fometimes interferes, is admirable in this great quality and by it, far fuperior to his contemporaries. Tis this one circumftance that hath raifed the venerable Dante, the father of modern poetry, above the fucceeding poets of his country, who could

never long maintain the local and temporary honours beftowed upon them; but have fallen under that juft neglect, which time will ever decree to thofe who defert a just fimplicity for the florid colourings of ftyle, contrafted phrases, affected conceits, the mere trappings of compofition and Gothic minutiæ. 'Tis this hath given to Boileau the moft lafting wreath in France, and to Shakespear and Milton in England; efpecially to the laft, whofe writings are more unmixed in this refpect, and who had formed himfelf entirely on the fimple model of the best Greek writers and the facred Scriptures. As it appears from thefe inftances, that fimplicity is the only univerfal characteristic of juft writing; so the fuperior eminence of the facred Scriptures in this prime quality hath been generally acknowledged. One of the greateft critics in antiquity, himself confpicuous in the fublime and fimple manner, hath borne this teftimony to the writings of Mofes and St. Paul; and by parity of reason we muft conclude, that had he been converfant with the other facred writers, his taste and candour would have allowed them the fame encomium.

It hath been often obferved, even by writers of no mean rank, that the Scriptures fuffer in their credit

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