LON 
Vfr\u« of a proclamation for that purpofe, the Euglifti 
Liturgy was read in all churches throughout the city of 
London ; and the Epittle and Gofpel for the day were read 
in the Englitli tongue. The citizens encouraged her ma- 
jefty to perfevere in this great work, by exhibiting a fpe- 
cimen of the llrepgth and forces they could raife in a cafe 
of emergency; for, on the ad of July, the twelve princi¬ 
pal corporations of London fent out twelve companies, 
confuting of fourteen hundred men, to be muttered in 
Greenwich-park before the queen ; eight hundred of whom 
■were pikemen in bright armour, four hundred harque- 
bufiers, in coats of mail and helmets, and two hundred 
halberdiers, in German rivet3 ; thele-were accompanied 
by twenty-eight whifflers (drums and fifes,) richly.drefied, 
and led by the twelve principal wardens of the aforefaid 
companies, well mounted and drefied in black velvet, with 
fix enfigns in white fattin, furred with black farfnet, and 
rich (carves. 
This year died fir William Hewet, the lord-mayor, who 
was a cloth-worker, anti pofleffed of 6000I. per annum. 
He had three Tons and one daughter. The following re¬ 
markable ttory of his daughter is reprefented in a paint¬ 
ing, carefully preferved in the family of the duke of Leeds. 
Sir William, her father, lived at this time on London- 
bridge ; and, as the maid-fervant was diverting the infant 
on the edge of an open window, it accidentally flipped 
our of her hands, and fell into the Thames. An appren¬ 
tice of fir William’s, whofe name was Ofborne, and one 
of the anceftors, in a direft line, of the prefent duke of 
Leeds, feeing the child drop, immediately jumped out of 
the (hop-window into the river, and, to the great joy of 
its parents, brought it out unhurt. When (lie arrived at 
the age of maturity, (lie had many fuitors, among whom 
was the earl of Shrewfbury ; but fir William, her father, 
rejefied all their propofals, and gratefully betrothed her, 
with a very large fortune, to him who had faved her life 
at the rifque of his own ; declaring that, “ as Olborne did 
fave her, Ofborne fhould have her.” 
On the 4th of June, 1561, the metropolis was vifited 
by a mod dreadful (form. An iinmenfe quantity of rain 
fell in torrents, and deluged the ftreets; inceflant claps of 
thunder rent the clouds ; and St. Paul’s fteeple was ftruck 
by a thunderbolt, within a yard of the top; at firft a little 
fire appeared, refembling the light of a torch, which f'o 
foon communicated itfelf to the weather-cock, that it fell 
down in eight minutes after; the wind being, high, within 
an hour the fire deftroyed the wdiole fteeple down to the 
battlements ; there, receiving the timber that fell from 
the fpire, it burnt. fo violently, that the iron and bells 
were melted, and fell down upon the ftairs in the church ; 
and the roof, catching fire, was entirely deftroyed before 
twelve o’clock at night. To flop its progrefs, many houfes 
were pulled .down in the church-yard, near the north 
door ; and a pinnacle, on the eaft-end, fell on a houfe, in 
which were many people, but luckily n© one received any 
hurt. 
When we compare our own times with thofe which are 
long gone by, we have abundant caufe to be thankful to 
Providence, that that molt deftroying monfter, the plague, 
has not vifited us for many years. Although we are far, 
very far, from denying our warmeft thanks to God for 
fparing us in his mercy, yet we muft acknowledge that 
the feveral regulations relative to cleanlinefs, under the 
direiticn of the lord-mayor and common-council, whofe 
attention is particularly diredled to this economical part 
pf the city, have kept aloof the contagion, and laved the 
people from its deftmotive fangs. In the year 1563, the 
plague again broke out violently in London ; and, on the 
jcth of July, the lord-mayor, by her majefty’s command, 
ordered the mailer and wardens of the Company of Clerks 
to inquire the number of thofe who died of this dreadful 
diftemper within their refpettive pariflies, and to make a 
pertificate thereof; and that the curates and churchwar¬ 
dens fhould give notice to them of fuch houfes where the 
plague appeared, and forbid every perfou in fuel} a hqufe 
"‘Veh. XIII. No.. 8,99, 
D O N. st 
coming to church for the fpace of one month following 
after the plague had been in it ; and to fix a blue, crofs 
on the door of every houfe where the plague was, with x 
writing underneath, iignifying that the infection was there, 
and to avoid it.. It was farther ordered, on the 9th of 
July, that every houfekeeper, in each ftreet or lane, (hould 
make a bonfire three times a-week, on Mondays, Wednel- 
days, and Fridays, till the infection (hould ceafe. In the 
beginning of Augult the lord-mayor ilfued a proclama¬ 
tion for killing all dogs that (hould be found in the ftreets, 
either by night or day. The number of people that died 
in this year in the hundred and eight parilhes within the 
city of London, was *0,372 , whereof 17,404. died of the 
plague ; and in the eleven out-pari(hes the whole number 
of deaths amounted to 3288 ; and of thefe, 2732 died of 
the plague. 
Some authors are of opinion, that knives began to be 
made in London for the firft time about this period ; (fee 
Knife, vol. xi. p. 784.) But, in oppofition to that (tate- 
ment, others recolleft, that Cjhaucer in his u Reve’s I de,” 
written near two hundred years before, makes ufe of the 
following line : “ A Sheffield whittle bare he in his hofe ;’ v 
and,'interpreting the word whittle, a- knife, contend that, 
in his time, Sheffield was already known for its manufac¬ 
tory of hardware. It feems alio, that the dawn of the 
ufcful trade of auciioneering, which is at this moment fo 
much difputed upon, began to rile upon the commercial 
horizon, and that an out-crier was appointed to proclaim 
through the city, houfehold-goods, leafes of houfes, See. 
and that for his trouble he was to receive one farthing in 
the pound. 
Ever fond of (hows and pageants, the citizens of the 
metropolis were eager to renew the famous (how called the 
watch on St. Peter’s eve; the origin of which cannot ea- 
lily be traced, unlefs it was inftituted in commemoration 
of the deliverance of this apoftle from prifon by an an¬ 
gel ; the watch and guards being then afleep; in order to. 
(how that thofe to whom the guardianihip and cuftody of 
London had been entrufted, did not prove “ luch drowiV 
and lazy folks.” However, it appears that in this yeap 
“ it did only ftand in the higheft ftreets, as Cheape, Corn- 
hill, and fo forth to Algate ; which watch was, to the 
commons of the citie, as chargeable, as when, in times- 
paft, it had beene commendablie done;” from which we- 
may conclude that the expenfe was the fame as “ in paft 
times,” but the pageantry not fo pompous and amufing. 
The year following, on New-year’s day, the Thames 
was frozen, and crowded with more foot-paftengers than, 
the mod public ftreets of London on a fine Cummer’s day. 
Several inltances, and more frequent than of late years, 
have been recorded of our noble river being chained by 
the iey hand of winter. Whether it is owing to an 
alteration in the atmofpherg of our ifland, or fome other 
caufes, it is not our province at this moment to difeufs. 
The year of our Lord 1566 ufliered in the dawn of 
commerce and learning in the metropolis, with increafed 
brightnefs, by the laudable foundations of iir Thomas 
Grelham. He was an opulent merchant of London, (fee 
the article Gresham ;) and erefted at his own expenfe a 
commodious building for merchants to meet for the pur¬ 
pofe of tranfacling bulinefs, which is called to this day 
the Royal Exchange; but originally was denominated 
The Burje, from the French bourfe, meaning a purfe , in al- 
lulion to the bufinefs done in a place to which traders of 
all nations refort, to make the beft ufe they can of the 
contents of their ref'pective pvrfes, now' converted into 
pocket-hooks, or note-cafes. 'I llus far the benevolent: 
citizen had employed his thoughts and pecuniary power 
in making his felloyv-merchants comfortable, and in pro¬ 
curing a fuitable (pot for their fpeculative cbnverfations. 
His patriotic mind went farther: he planned, and provided 
for by his w ill, a college of faiences, in which (as will 
be feen under his life, vol. ix, p. 19.) the univerfity of 
Cambridge feared a future rival. See alfo the. article Col- 
J,eg.e,. vol, iv. p. 776. We may juft obferve, that, had 
