70 LON 
This fight is very magnificent; and, when we witnefs 
this civic procefiion on the water, our minds are tranf- 
ported to the lively (bores of the Adriatic, (making fome 
allowance for a November-day and for the difference of 
climate,) where the Venetian doge ufed to efpoule the 
j'ea with great folemnity. 
About this time the city was diffracted with rebellions 
and riots, partly occafioned by the increafe of foreign 
merchants on the London mart; but, to the everlafting 
glory of the chief magiftrate of London, peace was re- 
jtored : the rebels either punifhed or forgiven ; and trade, 
hand in hand with tranquillity, refumed its fway. Seve¬ 
ral ufefud regulations were alfo eftablifhed, which have 
confolidated that union, which exift among the citizens 
to this moment, and conftitute their happinefs. 
This period may alfo be called the dawn of the arts in 
London ; for it appears that John Carpenter, town-clerk 
of London in the reign of Henry V. cauled, at a great 
expenfe, to be curiously painted upon board, about the 
north cloifter of St. Paul’s, a monument of Death, lead¬ 
ing all eftates, with the fpeeches of Death, and the an- 
fwer of every ftate. This famous picture, which was 
preferved until 15+9, was called the Dance of Death. It 
contained the figures of perfons in all the different ranks 
o'f life, in their proper drefles. The verfes, which were 
in French, were tranflated by John Lydgate, the poet of 
Bury. Whether Holbein, who treated the fame fubjeft 
at Bafi! in Swifferland, had feen this painting, it is diffi¬ 
cult to afcertain ; but it is probable he had, lince he was 
iin England before the deftruftion of this curious device. 
Of the five artilts who were employed in ereCting the 
monument of the earl of Warwick, who died in 1439, 
and adorning it with images, four were Englifhmen ; the 
other was a Dutch goldfinith. The number of the images 
was thirty-two, befidesthe great image of the earl. Tliefe 
were all "call: of the fineft latten, by William Auftin, 
founder, of London. This monument was erected in the 
chapel of Our Lady, in St. Mary’s church, Warwick, 
which was alfo built about the fame time. The expenfe 
of painting this monument and chapel was confiderable ; 
the paintings were of different kinds, and performed by 
different artifts. 
We read alfo in Dugdale, that “ John Purdde, glazier 
in Weftminiter, engaged to glaze the chapel with glafs 
from beyond the feas, of the fineft colours, of blue, yel¬ 
low, red, purpure, fanguine, and violet, and of all other 
colours that (hall be moil neceifary and belt, to make rich 
and embellifn the matters, images, and (lories, that (hall 
be delivered to him, by patterns on paper, afterwards^ to 
be newly traced and pictured by another painter, in rich 
colour, at his charges. The glafs and workmanfhip colt 
one hundred and eight pounds. John Brentwoqd, fteyner, 
of London, covenanted to paint fine and curioufly, on the 
weft wall of the chapel, the dome of our Lord God Jefus, 
and all manner of devices and imagery thereto belonging, 
of fair and rightly proportion, for which he was to receive 
thirteen pounds fix drillings and eight pence. Chriftian 
Ccliburne, painter in London, covenanted to paint in 
molt fine, faireft, and curious, wife, four images of ftone, 
ordained for the new chapel in- Warwick; whereof two 
principal- images, the one of Our Lady, the other of St. 
Gabriel the angel; and twolefs images, one of St. Anne, 
and another of St. George ; thefe four to be painted with 
the fineft oil-colours, in the richeft, fineft, and frefiieft, 
clothings that may be made, of fine gold, azure, fine pur¬ 
pure, fine white, and other fineft colours neceifary, gar- 
nilhed, bordered, and powdered, in the fineft and curi- 
oufefj wife.” . . 
Time has entirely effaced thefe works, and it ls.there- 
fore impoflible for us to decide upon their merit; but, by 
comparing in our mind the tafle of contemporary artifts 
on riafs, we cannot lay much in favour of thofe who 
painted in oil at that time. 
1 The bloody conflicts excited at this time by the ambi¬ 
tious claims of the rival lioufes of JUncalter and York, 
D O N. 
(hook the whole of the kingdom, and of courfe affefted'’ 
the tranquillity of the metropolis, but were not able to 
difturb its commerce, which increafed confiderably, ow¬ 
ing to the wife regulations above-mentioned. 
The low price of corn in 1463, occafioned the palling 
of an aft of parliament to prevent the importation of that 
article ; the rates of which, at London, according to bi- 
fhop Fleetwood, were as follows : viz. wheat, two (hil¬ 
lings; barley, one drilling; oats, one (hilling; and peafe, 
three (hillings and fourpence, per quarter. 
The manufacturers and tradefmen of London, and other 
parts, having made heavy complaints again ft the impor¬ 
tation of foreign manufactured wares, which greatly ob- 
(trufted their employment, an aft of parliament was palled 
in the fame feffion, “ prohibiting the importation of 
woollen caps, woollen cloths, laces, corfets, ribbands, 
fringes of filk and of thread, laces of thread, fiik twined, 
filk in any wife embroidered, laces of gold and of filk 
and gold ; faddles,. ftirrup's, or any harnefs pertaining to 
faddles ; fpurs, bolfes for bridles ; irons, gridirons, lock*,, 
hammers, pinfons, fire-tongs, dripping-pans, dice, ten¬ 
nis-balls, points, purl'es, globes, girdles, harnefs for gir¬ 
dles, of iron, latten, fteel, tin, or of alkemine ; any thing 
wrought of any tawed leather, any tawed furs, bufcanes, 
(hoes, galoches, corkes, knives, daggers, wood-knives, 
bodkins, (hears for taylors, fciffors, rafors, cheflinen, 
playing-cards, combs, pattins, pack-needles, painted ware, 
forcers, cajkets, ring 3 of copper or of latten gilt, chaf- 
fing-difhes, hanging candlelticks, caffirig-balls, facring- 
bells, rings for curtains, ladles, feu miners, counterfeit: 
bafons, ewers, hats, brufhes, wool-cards; black iron 
thread, commonly called and named white wire ;—upon 
forfeiture of the fame, one moiety to the king, and the 
other to the informer. Irifh manufactures are, however, 
excepted, and alfo fuch as (hould be taken at fea, or by 
wreck. Magiftrates of cities and towns are authorized 
to fearch for defective and unlawful wares, which fnall be 
forfeited. Excepting, however, the liberty of the dean 
of the free chapel of St. Martin’s-le-Grand, in London, 
and its precinCt.” We have inferted this long catalogue 
of merchandife, in order to give an idea of the manu¬ 
factures which were at that time brought to any perfec¬ 
tion, and alfo of fome of the domeftic wants of our an- 
ceftors. 
Early in the reign of Edward IV. an incident happened, 
which proves the high idea the magiftrates of London en¬ 
tertained of their dignity. On a call of new ferjeants a8 
law, a grand entertainment was given at Ely-houfe, Hol- 
born ; to which the mayor, aldermen, (heriffs, and many 
of the principal citizens, were invited. On fitting down 
to table, the lord-treafurer, baron Ruthen, took the moffc 
honourable place; this the lord mayor difputed with him, 
infilling that, as the king’s reprefentative, he had the pre¬ 
eminence of all perfons within the liberties of the city. 
The treafurer, however, remaining inflexible, the mayor 
refented it with becoming fpirit, by withdrawing, and im¬ 
mediately returning to the city, where he provided an ele¬ 
gant repaft for the entertainment of his fellow-citizens. 
In the year 1468, feveral of the London jury, having 
taken bribes to favour a priforier, were apprehended and 
tried before the lord-mayor for wilful and corrupt per¬ 
jury ; and, being convicted on the cleared evidence, they 
were fentenced to ride from Newgate to Cornhill, with 
paper mitres on their heads, where they were expofed on 
the pillory to the derifion of the public, and then car¬ 
ried back in the fame manner to Newgate. 
Throughout the whole of the reign of Edward IV. we 
(hall find fcarcely any interefting faft immediately re¬ 
lating to the metropolis, except the circumftance of the 
parliament, which was fummoned to meet at Weftminiter, 
adjourning to St. Paul’s, where it continued to fit from 
the 20th of November till Chriltmas. 
The veil of darknefs which had been heavily fpread 
over the human mind, was rent afunder, and deltroyed 
for ever, by the introduction of the art of printing, broughs 
i ” , infra 
