124 



SIR HUGH MYDDELTON, M.P. 



TART II. 



the New River. Its original extent was much greater 

 than it is at present, caused by its frequent windings 

 along the high grounds for the purpose of avoiding 

 heavy cuttings and embankments. Although the dis- 

 tance between London and Ware is only about 20 miles, 

 the New River, as originally constructed, was not less 

 than 38 f miles in length. 



As the works proceeded, the voice of derision became 

 hushed, and congratulations began to rise up on all sides 

 upon the probable early completion of Myddelton's bold 

 enterprise. The scheme had ceased to be visionary, 

 for the water was already brought within a mile of 

 Islington ; all that was wanted to admit it to the reser- 

 voir being the construction of the tunnel near that place. 

 At length that too was finished, and now King, corpo- 

 ration, and citizens, vied with each other in doing honour 

 to the brave and patriotic Hugh Myddelton. The cor- 

 poration elected his brother, Thomas Myddelton, Grocer 

 and Citizen, Lord Mayor for the ensuing year ; and on 

 Michaelmas- day, 1613, the citizens assembled in great 

 numbers to celebrate by a public pageant the entrance of 

 the New River waters to the metropolis. The ceremony 

 took place at the new cistern at Islington, in the pre- 

 sence of the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Common 

 Council, amidst a great concourse of spectators. A troop 

 of some three score labourers, in green Monmouth caps, 

 bearing spades and mattocks, or such other implements 

 as they had used in the construction of the work, marched 

 round about the cistern to the martial music of drums 

 and trumpets, after which a metrical speech, composed 

 by one Thomas Middleton, 1 was read aloud as expressive 



1 This Thomas Middleton is sup- 

 posed to have been the dramatist, the 

 author, amongst other plays, of ' A 

 Mad World, my Masters,' and ' The 

 Roaring Girl.' He occasionally wrote 

 in conjunction with Beaumont and 

 Fletcher, and other poets of the time. 



A large print was afterwards pub- 



lished by G. Bickham, in comme- 

 moration of the event, entitled ' Sir 

 Hugh Myddelton's Glory ;' it rqnv- 

 sents the scene of the ceremony, the 

 reservoir, with the stream rushing 

 into it; the Lord Mayor (Sir John 

 Swinnerton) on a white palfrey, point- 

 ing exultingly to Sir Hugh ; the lie- 



