ROBERT POCOCK. 223 



" In the name of the Father, and of the Son and 

 of the Holy Ghost, Amen: A.D. 1302, the second 

 day of September : I, Eichard, the unworthy Minis- 

 ter of the Church of London, make and establish 

 my will in the following way. In the first place, to 

 Thee, Holy Redeemer and powerful Saviour of souls, 

 my Lord Jesus Christ ! I commend my soul. To Thee, 



great High Priest and true Pontiff of souls, I com- 

 mend the whole people of London City and Diocese, 

 beseeching Thee by the medicine of Thy wounds upon 

 the cross, both for me and for them, that full pardon 

 of our sins being granted, Thou wilt grant us in Thy 

 mercy to enjoy the beatitude promised to Thine elect 

 for ever ! 



" I give and bequeath my body to be buried in the 

 Church of St. PauPs, London, next the tomb piously 

 recording the memory of my Lord Henry of Sand- 

 wich, my patron" [Bishop of London from 1262 to 

 1273], " so that my tombstone be side by side with 

 his on the pavement, that is if I should happen to 

 die near my cathedral church. If however at any 

 distance, then I elect to be buried in the nearest 

 conventual church. 



" For the uses I have made of earthly things, I beg 

 pardon from the Creator of all things, and that by what 



1 have retained I may not increase my sins, but it may 

 the rather lead to salvation/' 



Further on, in remembrance of the poor of his native 

 town, he says, " To the poor of Milton and Gravesend 

 I bequeath ten pounds/ ' a bequest altogether distinct 

 from the twenty-seven pounds (or more if necessary) to 

 be distributed to the general poor at his funeral. Nor is 

 the Bishop's appeal at the end of his will to Robert 



