which is published in the proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries. 

 Before the court opened the following lines were spoken, which Mr. 

 Black translates from the hopelessly corrupt Latin of the court rolls : 



The court of the lord the king 



And unless they come secretly 



I have mentioned this court in order to give Mr. Black's description 

 of the place of meeting and his conclusions thereon. 



He says : "The ground is flat and on a level with the market place 

 of Rochford, but it stands higher than that part of the town where 

 flows the river Roche, to which there is a considerable descent south- 

 ward from the central part of the town. Erected here is a post of 

 wood, painted white, and standing five feet above the ground ; its top 

 is wrought with mouldings and finishes in a sharp pyramid. Its shape 

 is that of a candle, with wick and flame, only it is quadrilateral in its 

 whole length and the edges are planed off." 



No one ever knew of this post until Mr. Black published his account 

 of it ; and he considered it to be a Roman landmark belonging to the 

 series of measures to and from London Stone ; and furthermore that 

 the chief object of Lawless Court' was the preservation of that post, 

 and the post was preserved because it represented in a meeting pi** 

 the freedom of the people. 



As I stated in the beginning of this paper this question was one of 

 probabilities. We have gone over the whole ground as carefully a* 

 possible and yet we are in as great darkness as ever as to the main 



