66 L O N 
till 1357. In t 36t, the plagne having again broke out in 
France, every precaution was taken to prevent its fpread- 
ing into England, but without effeft; the peftilence readied 
London, and its ravages were l'o deftruflive, that upwards 
of 2000 perfons fell vidtiins in two days. 
The year 1378 is memorable in the city annals for the 
expedition fitted out by an individual, John Philpot, 
againit Mercer, the Scottifh pirate, who, taking advantage 
of the inattention of government to naval affairs, carried 
off all the (hipping from the port of Scarborough ; and, 
continuing to infelt the northern ccaft, frequently made 
confiderable prizes. The complaints of the merchants 
were but little regarded by the council; when Philpot 
prepared a fleet at his own expenfe, with a thoufand men 
well armed, went himfelf on-board as commander-in-chief, 
and failed in purfuit of the pirate. Along and defperate 
engagement enfued ; but Philpot obtained the viftory, 
and obliged the pirate to fur'render, with moll of his fliips, 
among which were/ifteen Spanifh vefiels richly laden. 
The next point of intereft which may attract our curio- 
flty is-the extraordinary commotion which was occafioned 
by the act of parliament, in the fourth year of Richard II. 
ordering a poll-tax on every perfon in the kingdom, male 
or female, above the age of puberty; which tax was moll 
impoliticly exabfed with the greateft rigour, and canfed 
a molt dangerous infurreftion, which firTt began in Eflex, 
and during which the metropolis particularly fuffered. 
The infurgents took the route of Maid (tone, and were 
there greatly encouraged and augmented by the preaching 
of one Ball, an excommunicated prielt, imprisoned for 
Sedition, whom they releafed from a long confinement in 
the county gaol. Ball’s text was : 
When Adam delv’d, and Eve fpan. 
Who was then a gentleman ? 
From which words he infilled, that all mankind were 
upon an equality in power and riches; and exhorted the 
infurgents to go to the king and demand liberty, and to 
tile force, if it could not be otherwife obtained. 
It is worthy of remark, that at all times, and in all 
nations, whenever the people feel opprefled, they may be 
compared to the palm-branch, which yields obediently to 
the preflure or pull that brings it to the ground, but foon 
returns, with elafticity, to its former pofition. Ideas of 
equality and unreftrained independence flulh in their 
minds; and, impatient of moderation and controul, they 
defeat their own plans and fpoil their caufe by excefs and 
extravagance; as if Liberty held in her hand a poifonous 
cup, a Tingle drop of which is enough to intoxicate. 
Not unlike the famous centurion L. Virginius, Walter 
Hilliard, commonly called Wat Tyler from his trade, find¬ 
ing that his daughter had been indecently treated by a 
collector, and lets brutal perhaps than the Roman, who 
Snatched his daughter from the graSp of the decemvir by 
(tabbing her, put the collector to death ; and, being Sup¬ 
ported by the infurgents, placed himfelf at their head. 
His death, and the conclufion of this infurreftion, have 
been already related under the article England, vol. vi. 
p. 602. YVe have only therefore to add, that, in Speaking 
of this tranfuftion, and of fir William Walworth, Stow 
Says, “ True it is, that this William Walworth, being a 
jnan, wife, learned, and of an incomparable manhood, 
arrefted Wat Tyler, a prefumptuous rebel!, upon whom 
no man durft lay hand, whereby hee delivered the king 
and kingdome from molt wicked tyrannie of traytors. 
The maior arrefted him-'on the head with a founde blow, 
whereupon Wat Tyler furioufly itroke the maior with his 
dagger, but hurt him not, by reafon lie was well armed : 
the maior, having received his ftroke, drew his bafiliard, 
and grievoufiy wounded Wat in the necke, and withal 
gave him a great blow on the head : in the which conflict 
an efquire of the king’s hottfe, called John Cavendifh, 
drew his fword, and wounded Wat twife or thrift?, even 
to the death ; and Wat, fpurring his liorfe, cried to the 
commons to revenge him. The horfe bare him about 80 
I) O N. 
foote from the place, and there bee fell downe halfe dead ; 
and by and by they which attended on the king environed 
him about, fo as he was not feene of his companie ; many 
of them thruft him in diverfe places of his bodie, anil 
drew him into the liofpitall of S. Bartholomew, from 
whence again the maior caufed him to be "drawn into 
Smithfield, and there to be beheaded. It hath alfo been, 
and is now grown to a common opinion, that, in reward 
of this fervice done by the faid William Walworth againft 
the rebell, king Richard added to the armes of this citie 
(which was argent, a plaine erode gules) a fword or dag¬ 
ger, (for fo they terme it,) whereof I have read no fuch 
recorde; but, to the contrarie, I find, that, in the fourth 
yeare of Richard II. in a full aflembly made in the upper 
chamber of the Guildhall, fumtponed by this William 
Walworth, the maior, as well of aldermen as of the com¬ 
mon counfell in every warde, for certaine affaires concern¬ 
ing the king, it was there by common confent agreed and 
ordained, that the olde feale of the office of the maioralty 
of the citie, being very final, old, unapt, and uncomely 
for the honor of the citie, (hould be broken, and one other 
new fliould be bad, which the faid maior commanded to 
be made artificially, and honourable for the exercife of 
the faid office thereafter in place of the other; in which 
new feale, befides the images of Peter and Paul, which 
of old were readily engraven, there fhould be, under the 
feet of the faid images, a fhield of the armes of the faide 
citie perfectly graved, with two lions fupporting the fame, 
with two fergeants of armes, on either part one ; and two 
tabernacles, in which above fliould (land two angels, be¬ 
tween whom, above the faid images of Peter and Paul, 
lliall bee fet the glorious Virgine. This being done, the 
old feale of the office was delivered to Richard Odiham, 
chamberlaine, who brake it; and in place thereof was 
delivered the new feale to the faid maior, to ufe in his of¬ 
fice of maioraltie, as occaiion fhould require. This new 
feale feemeth to bee made before William Walworth was 
knighted, for he is not here intituled fir, as afterwards 
he was; and certaine it is that the fame new feale then 
made is now in ufe, and none other, in that office of the 
maioraltie; which may fuffice to aunfwere the former fa¬ 
ble, without (hewing of any evidence fealed with the olde 
feale, which was the croffe and fworde of Saint Paule, 
and not the dagger of William Walworth.” 
London was not long in recovering from the miferies 
the citizens had experienced; for, in 1390, the king ap¬ 
pointed a tournament to be held in London, and lent he¬ 
ralds to proclaim his intention to all the principal courts 
of Europe, whence many princes and nobles came to at¬ 
tend the fpeftacle, which was continued with the greateft 
fplendour for four days ; open houfe being kept at the 
king’s expenfe for all perfons of diftinction. The vaft ex¬ 
penditure which this and fimilar fefeivities occafioned, 
frequently reduced Richard to great pecuniary difficulties; 
his enormous profufion led him to a fyftem of oppreflion 
and extortion, which eventually caufed liis depofition and 
death. 
Wine during this reign was uncommonly cheap, if we 
may believe Stow, who dates, that the price of Gafcon 
wines, that is claret and other forts that come from France 
by way of Bourdeaux, was fourpence per gallon ; and that 
of" German wines, which came by the Elbe, Rhine, and 
other rivers, generally denominated Rhenifli wines, was 
fixpence per gallon. The different tolls on roads leading 
to the metropolis were higher comparatively than they are 
now, and bore no proportion to the price of provifions. 
A proclamation for cleanfing the ftreets of London, a 
grand tournament in Smithfield, a fund eftablifned for or¬ 
phans, and the completion of Weftminfter-hall, are points 
upon which the hiltorian would willingly dweli, had not 
more important events claimed a place in thefe columns. 
The latter end of the year 1399 witneffed the corona¬ 
tion of Henry IV. at Weftminfter. A large and fplendid 
entertainment was provided in the hall, to celebrate the 
joyful event; and the lord-mayor and aidermen were ad¬ 
mitted. 
