84 
LONDON. 
mayor drinking to them, is firft-noticed in 1583 ; a practice 
which, originating in the old manner of pledging with the 
cup to'inlure fafety during the time of drinking, is Hill 
obl'erved in our days. 
In the month of July 1585, the mngiftrates of London, 
alarmed at the increafe of thieves and robbers who itifefted 
the city and its fuburbs, took great pains to difcover 
their haunts and the nefts of thole" mifcreants and cut- 
purfes, and the diforderly houles that harboured them. 
Among the red, a regular fchool for the inltrudtion of 
pick-pockets was found at Smart’s key, near Billingfgate. 
The method of teaching this lucrative and liberal art was 
as follows—In the centre of a large room was a pocket 
with counters in it,and a purfe with filver, both of which 
were fufpended, and linall bells fixed round them.—The 
ted of proficiency was, of courfe, to pick the pocket, or 
take the filver out of the purfe, without cauiitig the bells 
to jingle. The houfe where this honourable fchool was held 
xvas fupprefled ; and the profefors, as vveli as the man who 
kept'it, fined and imprisoned. 
The following year, Ludgate, with-a prifoti for debtors 
who were freemen of the city, was rebuilt, and colt about 
one thoufand five hundred pounds. 
Alarmed at the vigorous preparations made by the Spa¬ 
niards for the redudtion of England, the queen lent a let¬ 
ter to the lord-mayor of London, requeuing that ten thou¬ 
fand able men, furnifhed with armour and weapons con¬ 
venient, fhould be put in reauinefs; out of which number 
fix thoufand were tobeenrolled under captains and etiligns, 
and to be trained at time convenient. The requelt was 
molt readily granted; and, to give an idea of the refpective 
populations of the wards of the city, we have inferred the 
number of men raifed in each of them. 
Farringdon within 807 
Aldgate - - 347 
Colem3n-ftreet — 229 
Baffifhaw - - 177 
Billinglgate - - 365 
Broad-lfreet - - 373 
' Bread-Pc’reet - - 386 
Alderfgate - - 232 
Bridge - - 383 
Dowgate - - 384 
Cornhill - « 191 
Caftle-baynard - 551 
Lime-ftreet - - 99 
Cheap - - 358 
Queenhithe - - 404 
Farringdon without 1264 
C'ordwainers - 301 
Tower-ftreet - - 444 
Waforook - - 290 
Vintry - - - 364 
Portfoken - - 243 
Candlewick - - 215 
Cripplegate - - 925 
Bilhopfgate - - 326 
Langbourn - - 349 
Belides this proof of loyalty, the good city of London 
preTented the queen with lixteen of the largelt Ihips in the 
river, and four frigates, which were immediately fitted 
put, and fuppiied with all neceffaries.—The number of 
ihips was afterwards increafed to thirty-eight; the whole 
txpenfe being defrayed by the city. 
The zeal and alacrity of the citizens, in this and the 
following year, contributed greatly to the lecurity of the 
independence of the nation; but, great as thefe were, the 
affifhnce the Hate derived from the influence of the Lon¬ 
don merchants, was infinitely more important. By their 
means, Philip was compelled to defer his threatened at¬ 
tempt until the next year, when the preparations for de¬ 
fence were, conlequently, much more effedlual; for Tho¬ 
mas Sutton, elq. who afterwards founded the Charter- 
lioufe, affifted by fir Thomas G-reffiam, and home others, 
found means to get all the Spanilh bills of exchange 
which were drawn on .the merchants of Genoa, to fupply 
Philip with money for carrying on his preparations, pro¬ 
tected. Bilhop Burnet, in the fir.lt volume of the Hiltory 
of his Life and Times, p. 313, fays, “ A merchant of Lon¬ 
don, being very well acquainted with the revenue and 
expenfe of Spain, and of all that they could raife ; and 
knowing alfo, that their funds were lo (wallowed up, that 
it was impoffible for them to victual and fit out their fleet 
but by their credit on the bank of Genoa; he undertook 
to write to all the places of trade, and to get fuch remit¬ 
tances made on that bank, that he might have fo much of 
the money in his own hands, as there Ihoq.ld be none cur¬ 
rent there equal to the great occafion of victualling the 
SpanhTi fleet. He reckoned, that the keeping of fuch a 
treafure dead in his hands, until the feafon of victualling 
was over, would be a lofs of forty thoufand pounds; and 
he managed the matter with fuch fecrecy and fuccefs, 
that the fleet could not fet out that year.” 
The fubfequent failure and total defeat of this formi¬ 
dable expedition, are well known to every reader of Eng- 
1 i fli hiltory; it will therefore be unneceffary to dwell upon 
it here. See the article England, vol. vi. p. 658, 9. 
A public thanklgiving being ordered to be made on the 
24th of November, the queen came in great (Lite to St. 
Paul's, to perform that lolemn duty; on which occafion, 
eleven banners or enfigus, taken from the enemy, were 
hung up in the body of the church, as trophies of their 
defeat. 
I11 1592, the plague raged with great violence, and fwept 
away no lefs than 10,675 citizens. Soon after, 1595, the 
licentioufnefs of the populace, who drew in the London 
apprentices to join them, produced fuch repeated and 
alarming riots, that it was thought neceflary by the mayor 
to lay the cafe before the lord-tfeafurer, for her majetty’s 
direction. In confequence of which, on the 4th of July, 
a proclamation was ilfued, wherein her majefty appointed 
a provoft-martial, with power to apprehend all rioters, 
and fuch as might be refractory to the officers of juftice, 
and, by order of martial law, to punilh them accordingly. 
Sir Thomas Wilford, who was appointed provoft-martial, 
patrolled the city, with a numerous attendance on horfe- 
back, armed with piftols, and apprehended many of the 
rioters, whom he took before the juftices appointed for 
their examination. On the 22d of July, they were tried 
at Guildhall ; and five of them, being condemned, were, 
two days after, agreeable to their fentence, executed on. 
Tower-hill. This example had the defired effect; for the 
reft were fo intimidated, that they immediately difperfed ; 
and peace was again reftored in the city. 
In the year 1596, while the mayor and aldermen were 
attending a fermon at St. Paul’s crofs, they received a 
meflage from the queen, ordering them to raife one thou¬ 
fand able-bodied men, for immediate fervice; in compli¬ 
ance with which, they fuddenly left their devotion, and 
applied fo diligently, that, before eight o’clock at night, 
they obtained the complement required, who were com¬ 
pletely armed, and ready to march, before next morning. 
They were deltined for the relief of the French in Calais, 
againlt the Spaniards ; but, fome unexpected intelligence 
arriving from that place, their appearance became unne- 
ceffary, and this little army was difbanded before it had 
exifted twenty-four hours. The court, however, being 
again alarmed, on Eafter-day, in the morning, fent ano¬ 
ther meilage to the lord-mayor and aldermen, command¬ 
ing them to raife the like number of men as before; iu 
obedience to which, they, with their proper officers, re¬ 
paired to the different churches in their refpective jurif- 
didiions, during the time of divine fervice, and, cauling 
the doors to be fhut, they feledfed the number of men re¬ 
quired, who, being properly armed, with all poffible ex¬ 
pedition, began their march, the night after, for Dover, 
in order for their embarkation for France; but, advice 
being received of the reduction of Calais, they were or¬ 
dered home, after a week’s abfence, and immediately dif¬ 
banded. Thefe are molt fubffantial proofs of the rea- 
dinefs which the city of London has ever evinced in fup- 
port of the monarch and the constitution. 
All forts of fpices having grown to an exorbitant price, 
in confequence of the war with Spain ; the queen, in the 
year 1600, granted a charter to George earl of Cumber¬ 
land, and two hundred and fifteen knights, aldermen, and 
merchants, under the denomination of “The Governor 
and Company of Merchants of London trading to the Eafl; 
Indies.” From fmall caufes great effects fometimes arife ; 
conlidering the extenlive power, dominion, and wealth, 
of the Eatt-India Company, who would ever fuppofe that 
its exiftence is owing to the trifling circumlbnce of pep- 
P?Jir 
