This little known event in Temple Bar history was most cleverly engraved,* and what enhances the value of the plate is the fact that while it faithfully gives a view of the existing buildings in the neighbourhood a century since, all the portraits of the characters therein are stated to be drawn from life.

1780.-Another memorable event in London history was the disastrous Gordon Riots. It was promulgated at the Coach-makers' Hall meeting, when Lord George Gordon stated the Protestant petition would be presented on the 2nd of June. On that day some 80 to 100,000 men met in St. George's Fields, and increased as they marched in three divisions to Westminster. The principal portion, headed by a very tall man bearing the document containing 120,000 signatures and marks, passed by way of London Bridge through the city and Fleet Street, and when the first part reached Westminster Hall, the last row had only reached the corner of Old Change in Cheapside. The refusal of Parliament to entertain the prayer of the petitioners caused the mob to go to excesses. They attacked the members of the Lords' House right and left, and then turned their attention to the London buildings, especially the Roman Catholic portion. The greatest sufferer was Mr. Langdale, distiller at Holborn Bridge, who lost about £100,000 in spirits by the fire and the mob wasting it. It must have been a terrible sight to have seen thirty-six fires blazing in London at one time, and in four days to find four prisons (including Newgate and the Fleet) and seventy-two private houses, destroyed. A man perched himself upon the roof of Fleet Market and pelted the military, who soon by one unlucky shot laid him low. The city looked desolate; the toll houses on Blackfriars Bridge were a heap of ruins, and everywhere-till Lord George was arrested on the 9th-the shops were closed. Of the prisoners taken during the riot (135) fifty-nine were convicted, but only twenty-six really executed. Of the numbers respited was Edward Dennis, the hangman. Of the total number of deaths, 210 were killed by the military; seventy-five died in hospital; seriously injured, 173-in all, 458. Among the members of the "Upper House" who were assaulted upon this occasion was the Bishop of Lincoln, the wheels of whose carriage were taken off, and he narrowly escaped. A manuscript note relating to this outrage, in a tract relating to this riot,† may not be unacceptable :

"The Bishop, disguised in a curled wig, round hat and coloured coat of Mr. Atkinson, jun. "and attended by Mr. Hodgson, his secretary (through whose assistance he got from his coach "into Mr. Atkinson's house), escaped into St. Margaret's Churchyard, from whence he went to "the Deanery of Westminster (Dr. Thomas's). The Dean was in ye House of Lords, but his lady (Lady Yates) procured a hackney coach, in which the Bishop went to his brother's (the "Lord Chancellor) in Gt. Ormond St.; sent for some clothes to the Temple (of which he was Master), took a post chaise, and went to his lady, who was then at Mr. Collins (the Wood"houses on Finchley Common), to anticipate any report that might have reached and alarmed "her. Several of the mob were let into Mr. Atkinson's after the Bishop was gone, and searched "the house for him. I was in town, aud in attendance on the Bp. this time.-A.C."

1789.-King George the Third was insane nearly thirty years of his reign, "All the world knows the story of his malady," writes Thackeray, "all history presents no sadder

*In the "London Magazine," April, 1769, vol. 38, where also is the companion plate "Sequel to the Battle of Temple Bar," showing the vicinity of St. James's Palace, with the hearse- horses, mob, &c.

"Fanaticism and Treason, or a Dispassionate History, &c., of the Insurrection," 8vo, 1780.

figure than that of the old man, blind and deprived of reason, wandering through the rooms of his palace, addressing imaginary parliaments, reviewing fancied troops, holding ghostly courts." But when that reason returned for a time in 1789, all London rejoiced--for the King was not really disliked. The Monarch returned thanks for his recovery at St. Paul's on the 23rd of April. The Corporation ordered, "That the great street or avenue from Temple Bar to the Church be reserved entirely for the passage of their Majesties, the Royal Family, and the two Houses of Parliament," and posts with bars and chains were erected at the ends of all the streets, &c., on the north and south side of Fleet Street and Ludgate Hill. The Lord Mayor and his assistants were kindly allowed the use of the rooms over Temple Bar till the arrival of the King,* six magnificently caparisoned white palfreys were standing ready in the Middle Temple Lane; and upon the arrival of his majesty, the Lord Mayor presented the City sword, which was duly returned, and amidst the acclamations of thousands, the procession with the Lord Mayor (in his privileged place, next before the King) bareheaded, and carrying the sword, proceeded to St. Paul's. "Never before or since," writes John Britton, "has the vast Metropolitan Cathedral been occupied by such a congregation; never was collected in England such an assembly of royalty, nobility, and gentry, vieing with each other in splendour of costume, hilarity of loyal enthusiasm, and unanimity of rejoicing,"t

1794.—The celebrated Hardy "Treason Trials” were not without their interest to Fleet Street. Thomas Hardy, Secretary to the London Corresponding Society, was a boot and shoe maker who carried on business at No. 161, next door to the house where, later, Carlisle carried on his unprofitable "Free Thought" business, Readers of history will recollect that the Hardy trial after all the excitement failed in its design, but they may not be aware that Sir John Scott (afterwards Lord Eldon) was Attorney-General at the time, and that he stood a very fair chance of losing his life. Upon leaving the court one day, "the mob," says he, "kept thickening around me till I came to Fleet Street, one of the worst parts of London that I had to pass through, and the cries began to be rather threatening, 'Down with him,' 'Now is the time, lads,' 'Do for him,' and various others horrible enough; so I stood up and spoke as loud as I could: You may do for me if you like, but remember there will be another Attorney-General before eight o'clock to-morrow morning; the King will not allow the trials to be stopped. Upon this one man shouted out, 'Say you so? you are right to tell us, let us give him three cheers, lads ?' And they actually cheered me, and I got safe to my own door." And it may be also worthy to note that one of the delegates of the society of which Hardy was secretary, one Paul Thomas Lemaitre was arrested for intending to kill the King by a poisoned arrow; that he was the first prisoner sent to the then new Coldbath Fields prison; that the "plot" was concocted at the "Pop Gun," Portsmouth Street, Clare Market; that for nearly half a century did the Government of that

Upon all state occasions Messrs. Child have accommodated the Lord Mayor with the use of their premises, while waiting for Royalty at Temple Bar. The horses were kept ready for mounting in Middle Temple Lane. +"Autobiography," vol. i, p. 96.

"Twiss's Life of Eldon," vol. i., p, 185.

period withold either trying or acquitting the accused,-who so late as 1846 had for an advocate, Lord Dacre, proved by a letter and documents in my possession.*

The dawn of the 19th century brought with it many changes. At Temple Bar was proclaimed the short lived Peace of Amiens in 1802; and the crowd to see the proclaimers pass St. Mary-le-Strand Church was so great that three persons were killed and several wounded by the fall of one of the “ urns there. Through the Bar in 1806 passed the remains of the hero of Trafalgar, amidst all the magnificence of a solemn stately reception, which the younger people of this generation have seen in the burial of Wellington in 1852. And it was through here in 1814 that the three kings passed to dine with the citizens at Guildhall; and Wellington himself a month after, to receive the City freedom in a gold box, and a sword.

Through Temple Bar, on Lord Mayor's day, 1816, passed the Chief Magistrate, and "twice Lord Mayor," Sir Matthew Wood, whose son in 1869, occupies the proud position of Lord Chancellor of England. Sir Matthew Wood, the second year of his mayoralty, determined to deviate from the usual course, and to return by land to the city. Lord Sidmouth, then High Steward of Westminster, protested against such a proceeding as being a violation of privileges, but my Lord Mayor turned out to be as great as Lord Sidmouth in the question. And yet in 1857 an Act of Parliament made the Chief Magistrate's journey to the west by land a compulsory matter-Sir Robert Walter Carden being the mayor that first used the state coach the entire distance under this Act. All ancient Lord Mayor's processions were made to and from Westminster by water, and since 1452—with but few exceptions, the city companies accompanied his lordship in their barges.

Through Temple Bar and Fleet Street passed, in 1820, to return thanks at St. Pauls, the subject of much bitter controversy-Queen Caroline; through the Bar passed the countless processions of trades' unions, societies, and "the people of England," to address and sympathise with her at Brandenburgh House, and through it passed in August following (1821) her funeral, after one of the most unchristian and unseemly scenes ever witnessed.

In 1837, our present beloved Queen ascended the throne, and Lord Mayor Kelly, the bookseller and publisher of Paternoster Row, attended (according to his rights and privileges) at the Privy Council, to sign the proclamation. A numerously signed requisition asked him to allow re-election, but he declined, and his successor Alderman Cowan, had the privilege of delivering the City Sword to Her Majesty at Temple Bar, entertaining her at Guildhall, and receiving a baronetcy according to custom. In St. Paul's Churchyard, the senior scholar of Christ's Hospital (now the Rev. Frederick Gifford Nash) presented an address to Her Majesty. Upon the tables of Guildhall was plate belonging to the Corporation and City Companies, valued at £400,000; and the banquet, the illuminations, and the whole day's proceedings passed off "right merrily." The next royal visit of note was on October 28th, 1844, when the Queen and the late Prince Consort came in state to open the fourth Royal Exchange. At Temple Bar, the same old formality was gone through of closing the gate in the face of Her Majesty, the knocking for admittance by the herald, the delivery of the same sword which was delivered at

For notices of the "Old Black Jack," from the window of which Jack Sheppard jumped into the street below, and of its neighbour the "Pop Gun," see Diprose's "Some Account of St. Clement Danes," p. 114-207.

Temple Bar to Queen Elizabeth, when she opened the first Royal Exchange, nearly three hundred years before, and the creation of a baronetcy for the Lord Mayor

In 1851, the erection of Paxton's Palace of Glass in Hyde Park was celebrated by a grand ball given by the City—at which was present, Her Majesty, the Prince Consort, and "The Pride of England." The usual formality of presenting the sword, &c., at Temple Bar, being, by the Queen's wish, dispensed with. And on November 18th, 1852, passed through the Bar, the magnificent funeral procession of the Duke of Wellington, one of the grandest and most solemn events in the modern history of the structure, the recollection of the display being,no doubt, yet deeply impressed in the memory, not only of "the oldest inhabitant," but likewise of the juniors of Fleet Street. At Temple Bar, the Lord Mayor had waived his right for that day of taking precedence of the late Prince Consort, though he took precedence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and it was here also that the funeral car fittings had to be lowered two feet, to allow its progress under the arch,—a provision luckily thought of at the time of the construction of the vehicle. The reminiscences of that day are striking, for some 130,000 persons must have seen the cavalcade from houses alone, and the seats and windows to view the procession were priceless. A first floor in Fleet Street fetched £30, and a third floor bed-room for three nights, twenty guineas.

Through Temple Bar passed, in 1859, the simple yet impressive procession which (generally unknown at the time) contained, in a coffin upon a gun carriage, all that remained of Sir Thomas Picton, who fell at Waterloo, who had been buried in the ground belonging to St. George's, Hanover Square, in the Bayswater Road, and now taken to a more worthy tomb in St. Paul's. Through the Bar on October 31st 1861, passed the Prince of Wales to open the fine new library of the Middle Temple ; and through it in 1863 passed the Princess Alexandra-"Denmark's lovely daughter," upon her first royal visit to England, accompanied by the Prince, soon to be her husband. It was one of the glories of London returned from olden times, to see 10,000 persons in a row round St. Paul's; to see the countless heads thronging the streets, to see the gay procession between London Bridge and Temple Bar, for beyond those boundaries the City jurisdiction ceased, and it would seem the authorities of Southwark and Westminster, were determined to confine the rejoicings to the City alone. And to the accommodation of a few upon the ever memorable " Illumination" night. are to be accounted the deaths of many unfortunate persons. It is a pity Scotland Yard failed then to do its duty, and did not prohibitall vehicles in the streets after dark upon that fatal evening.

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And what more has to be said of pageants and processions? Within a very short space of time we have seen the Belgians, the Viceroy of Egypt, and the Sultan of Turkey pass this way, the City rejoice, and the citizens "make merry.” And even while we write, Our Queen has again made a state visit and opened two of the finest City buildings-Blackfriars Bridge and Holborn Viaduct. The chronicles are thus far finished, and though many ridings, many events, are omitted, and dry details take the place of lighter reading, yet it may be worthy of enquiry to know whether any other street in the capital of this empire has seen so many stirring events as Fleet Street, or any other gate so many interesting reminiscences as those possessed by the much abused Temple Bar.

CHAPTER V.

THE MODERN TRAITORS' GATE.

ONCE upon a time there existed upon that venerable fabric, Old London Bridge, a street of houses, from the window of one of which the apprentice lad Osborne jumped to save his master's daughter from drowning. For this and other commendable services he subsequently married this very daughter, succeeded to his master's business, and left (through his great grandson) to his descendant of to-day the proud title of Duke of Leeds. Upon that same bridge, among those houses, existed a very remarkable building, called "Nonesuch House," which, constructed in Holland, was entirely of wood, brought over in pieces, and erected here without a nail—only with pegs. And upon that bridge likewise existed "from time out of mind” a notable tower, which, if not so pleasing to the eye, was nevertheless one of London sights. It was called "Traitors' Gate," and upon its summit were long erected the bodiless remains of many a once proud warrior. Originally existing as a building at the north or city end of the bridge, it received, in 1305, the head of the Scottish hero, Sir William Wallace; but in 1577 the “ Gate was removed to the Southwark end, and those who crossed the bridge—then the only bridge accross the Thames--were destined to see more heads, erected upon long poles, looking grim and horribly suggestive of a country's justice, where a century before had been "set up" the heads of "Necromancer" Bolingbroke, the confederate of the "Witch" Duchess of Cobham; the notorious Jack Cade, who had "struck his staff on London stone," but who was slain by Alexander Iden, "the man of Kent," after the siege in 1450; as also the heads of Bishop Fisher of Rochester, the good and learned Sir Thomas More, the Earl of Desmond, Father Garnet of the "Gunpowder Plot," and a host of others "too numerous to mention." Probably the last of the victims exhibited on the bridge was William Stayley, who had been executed for high treason, drawn and quartered, but whose penitence and his friends' petition caused the King to relax from having his remains exhibited on the city gates; so they were given to those friends for burial. The funeral took place 29th November, 1678, from his father's house to St. Paul's Church, Covent Garden; masses were sung and much pomp displayed, which coming to the King's ears, he ordered the grave to be opened, the coffin to be taken out, and the remains delivered to the sheriff, the quarters being set up on the city gates, and the head upon London Bridge.

But the bridge was not the only "Traitors' Gate" of those early times, for so long ago as 1316 one Sir Robert of Middleton having robbed "upon the More of Wygllysdon," the two cardinals who came over to make peace between us and Scotland, was "jugged to be drawne and hanged at London, and his hede sett up at Newgate, and his quarters were sent to iiij. principal citees of England; "* while

* "Chronicles of London," p. 45.