CHAPTER V. guildhall .

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The Guildhall.—Visit to its dungeons.—Bilney.—St. Barbara’s chapel.—Legend of St. Barbara.—Assize court.—Old document.—Trial by Jury.—Council chamber.—Old record room.—Guilds.—St. George’s company.—History of St. George.—Legend of St. Margaret.

Our rambles have now brought us to the threshold of that quaint, but beautiful old “studwork” chamber, the guildhall; the seat of civic honour, power, and glory, with its many appendages of courts and cells, the witnesses of those multiplied alternations of tragedy, comedy, and melodrama, that may be looked for to have been enacted during centuries, beneath a roof covering a council chamber, an assize court, and a prison. Once again, we avow that we aim not to be complete topographers, or guides to all the strange old carvings, and grotesque remains of ancient sculpture, that may be found in such rich abundance around the pathways of a venerable city, neither do we profess to furnish all the historic details that may be gleaned concerning these relics of antiquity; are they not chronicled elsewhere, in many mighty tomes, readable and unreadable, in “guides,” and “tours,” and manifold “directories?” We look and think, and odd associations weave our thinkings sometimes, perhaps, into a queer mottled garb, though we would solemnly aver the woof through which the shuttle of our fancy plays is every fibre of it truth.

Such a preface is needed to our sketch of this fine old ornament of the city’s market-place, lest disappointment should attend the hopes of the inquisitive investigator of sights and relics.

The guildhall, once like the municipal body it represents, was but a tiny little thing compared with what it since has grown, and when bailiffs and burgesses were the only distinctive titles and offices, a simple chamber thatched, and commonly used to collect the market dues, sufficed for the seat of civic government; but when, in the reign of the third Henry, the citizens received from him a charter for a mayor and sheriffs, they took off the thatched roof of their little toll-booth, and built upon it, and round about it, spacious rooms and courts, to accommodate and do honour to their newly acquired municipal dignitaries; for which purpose a warrant was obtained, to press all carpenters, builders, and bricklayers, into active service, from eight o’clock in the morning until eight o’clock at night, as long as occasion might require; and by such compulsory process, the design was completed some fifty years from the date of its commencement. The tower, wherein was the treasury, fell down in Bluff King Harry’s reign, whose matrimonial exploits have given him notoriety, in addition to the grand event of history, the Reformation, with which they bore so intimate a connection. Decay, renovation, change, and reformation, have been so busy with this seat of government, from the era of its infancy until the present time, that no small degree of ingenuity must be needed to unravel the twistings and turnings, and comprehend the inharmonious groupings that have sprung up about it, the divers offsprings of various ages, that mark the progress and growth of the municipal constitution.

Without doubt, the first claim to antiquity is justly assigned to the lower dungeons and cells, some of which still serve as lock ups for offenders awaiting magisterial examination; and a remarkably unpleasant situation must the individual find himself in, who is there for ever so brief a space in “durance vile;” the convicted transgressor certainly makes an exchange for the better, when he reaches his ultimate destination, the city prison cell; dark, damp, underground coal-cellars, may be deemed fair illustrations of the accommodation there offered to those whom the “law deems innocent”, as it professes to do all unconvicted persons. One degree darker, and more horrible, are the dungeons, which receive no light whatever, save from a jet of gas without the gratings of the doors; into these refractory guests are stowed, that their rebellious sounds may not disturb the ears of any passers-by above ground.

“Deeper, and deeper still,” down beneath the very foundations of the building, at the foot of a dark narrow winding stair, fast crumbling to decay, is yet another dungeon, long since closed for any practical purposes; the eye of curiosity alone happily is permitted to penetrate its depths. Dark and damp, however, as it is, it would seem preferable to the dismal “lock ups,” a light, of modern introduction, from the street above, giving it a less intensely black look. Here it was that poor old Bilney spent his last hours of life; and the groined and vaulted roof, constructed upon the plan of so many of the cellars of that period of civil and domestic architecture, gives to the place a strangely ecclesiastical look in these days, and imagination has little difficulty in calling up the priest of the subterranean temple, who has been pictured to our eyes as there testing the powers of his endurance, by holding his finger in the lighted flame of the candle, to satisfy his friends that he should not shrink from the bodily pangs that were on the morrow to earn for him the crown of martyrdom. Solemn and sad are the memories clustered around these dreary tombs of liberty, nor is their atmosphere tempting to linger in, even upon a visit of curiosity.

The winding stair from the dungeon leads into what is now a porch-way, but which must once have been the site of the old chapel, built for the use of the prisoners. This chapel was dedicated to St. Barbara, the prisoner’s saint, who, according to the legend of the Romish church, “was imprisoned by her father, in a high strong tower, to the end that no man should behold her,” and therefore St. Barbara is always represented with a tower. She is commemorated on the fourth of December, as St. Barbara, the Virgin and Martyr. Here, were formerly kept all the goods and chattels appertaining to the mayorality and civic feasts, in addition to the services belonging to the chapel itself; but about the era of the Reformation the chapel was pulled down, to make way for secular offices. How busy those good reformers were in abolishing every place dedicated to worship, that their judgment deemed supernumerary! When the treasury tower fell in, it crushed a prison, known by the name of “Little Ease;” the full details of whose attractions we are left in ignorance of. Upon the first floor, near the site of the chapel, was once the large chamber, where the sealing of the cloths manufactured in the city was carried on, since converted into an assize court, where the notorious lawmongers of this city, with their brother dignitaries of the bar, join forces to promote the ends of justice, their clients, and their own. There is a queer old document extant, wherein the number of learned gentlemen permitted to follow the profession of the law in this city was limited, “because,” as the preamble states, “when there were no more than six or eight attorneys at the most coming to the king’s courts, great tranquillity reigned in the city and county, and little trouble or vexation was made by untrue and foreign suits; and now, so it is, that in the said city and county there be fourscore attornies, or more, the more part having nothing to live upon but only his gain by the practice of attorneyship, and also the more part of them not being of sufficient knowledge to be an attorney, &c. &c., whereby proceed many suits more of evil will and malice than of the truth of the thing, to the manifold vexations, and no little damage of the inhabitants of the said city and county.” Wherefore it was enacted, that there should be but six attorneys in the county, and two in the city, for the future. When this admirable statute was repealed, we know not, but conceive it must have been long, long ago, for so many brass-plate signs to have sprung up in evidence of a numerous progeny taking place of the solitary two. Whether the repeal was a reform calculated to benefit the city, experience best can prove; but if the character of the “common folk” in these parts is faithfully given by the author of “English Worthies,” we may presume them to have been considerably inconvenienced by the scarcity of tools with which to play their favourite game. He says, “that the common folks of Norfolk are possessed of such skill in the law, that they are said to study the law at the plough’s tail, and some would persuade us that they will enter an action for their neighbour’s horse only looking over the fence.”

In later times, evidences of the law mania exist in manifold forms; and the fact of individuals consulting a lawyer before calling in a doctor, in physical ailments, is by no means an uncommon occurrence among a certain class. Some men think and judge with their lawyer’s heads, who, in return, of course, in justice live upon their purses.

Some few amusing facts connected with the boasted English privilege of “Trial by Jury,” may serve to illustrate the growth of “purity” in our courts of law. The jurisdiction exercised over jurors by the “Star-chamber” is a notorious matter of history; but the curious and graphic description of the nature and constitution of a jury in the thirteenth century, as given by Sir Francis Palgrave, in his “Tale of the Merchant and Friar,” may not be quite so familiar, and is far too good to be omitted.

“A trial was about to commence. ‘Sheriff, is your inquest in court?’ said the Mayor. ‘Yes, my lord,’ replied the sheriff, ‘and, I am proud to say, it will be an excellent jury for the crown. I myself have picked and chosen every man upon the panel. I have spoken to them all; and there is not one whom I have not examined carefully, not only as to his knowledge of the offences of which the prisoner stands charged, but of all the circumstances from which his guilt can be collected, suspected, or inferred. All the jurors were acquainted with him; eight out of the twelve have often been heard to declare upon their oath, that they were sure one day he would come to the gallows; and the remainder are fully of opinion that he deserves the halter. My lord, I should ill have performed my duty, if I should have allowed my bailiffs to summon the jury at hap-hazard, and without previously ascertaining the extent of their testimony. Some perhaps know more, and some less; but the least informed of them have taken great pains to go up and down every corner of Westminster, they and their wives, and to know all that they could hear concerning his past and present life and conversation. Never had any culprit a chance of a fairer trial.’”

An extract from the archives of the Record room, gives another specimen of the mode of dealing with jurymen, if they proved refractory or obstinate. It bears the date of the 8th year of King Henry VIII., and is to the purport that the jury that “acquitted Walter, James, and John Doo, Benet Bullok, and Edmund Stuttlie, notwithstanding that they had good and substantial evidence given against the said felons, at the last gaol delivery of Norwich; as the chief Justice of the King’s Bench, the Lord Edmund Howard, and William Ellis, one of the justices of the peace there, openly declared before the lords, in the presence of the said jury; for the which perjury so by them committed, it is by the lords’ most honourable council adjudged and decreed, that the said jury shall do the penance following, that is to say, they shall be committed to the Fleet, there to remain till to-morrow, and that then, at six of the clock, they shall be brought by the warden of the Fleet into Westminster Hall, with papers on their heads, whereon shall be written in great letters, ‘these men be wilfully perjured;’ and with the same papers on their heads they shall be led thrice about the hall of Westminster aforesaid, and then to be led by the warden of the Fleet to the Fleet again, there to remain till Monday; and on Monday, in the morning, to be had into Cheapside, and there shall go about the cross in Chepe thrice, and then they shall return to the Fleet, and there to remain till Tuesday, and then to be brought again before the lords, to be bound by recognizances to do the same penance at home, in their county at Norwich; and that a precept shall be directed to the mayor and sheriffs of the city of Norwich aforesaid, to see the said parties do the said penance in the said city, upon Saturday, the 22d day of this present month of November, openly in the market-place there, with papers on their heads, whereupon shall be written the same words above written.”

The old mode of trial by ordeal, consisting as it did of an appeal to Heaven for judgment, either directly by miraculous interference, as in the ordeals of fire and water, or indirectly, in the ordeals of single combat, might well have had their charms in the memory of culprit and jurors both, when such a substitute alone was offered by the courts of justice that had superseded them. There are, however, two extremes that may be gone to about every thing; and we believe a little wholesome penance might, even in the nineteenth century, not come amiss to stir up the wits of many a sleepy juror. Certes, they often richly merit it.

From the assize court we bend our steps upward, to the region where we may feel at no loss in our search for objects of genuine antiquity, and find ourselves in the Council Chamber; and here we arrive at the very pinnacle of magisterial dignity—the zenith of municipal glory—the seat of mayoralty and aldmermanship and common councilship, once broadly separate and distinct in their grades of rank and power, in very truth an upper and a lower house, a peerage and a commons—assembling themselves in chambers becomingly graduated in their degrees of splendour—but now, alas! in these degenerate days of reformation and democratic sovereignty, as some might please to call them, all merged into one conglomerated body corporate—shall we add, of order Gothic composite?

The old chamber looks as if it had seen better days; two or three patched-up windows of variegated colours, still retaining many quaint and curious devices, bear witness of the taste and liberality of our forefathers; and imagination, by the aid of history’s pen, can fill up the unsophisticated plain glass lights at the side, with the old subjects that once occupied their space, but which have fallen a sacrifice to the despoiler’s barbarous hand;—one of the unjust judge, who, being flayed alive, was succeeded in office by his son, and the picture, so they tell us, was elucidated by some very characteristic specimens of antique poetry—to wit, the first two lines of general advice, addressed to all who may ever be in a position to profit by it,—

“Let alle men se, stedfast you be,
Justice do ye, or else like you fle;”

and an additional verse to the unfortunate son who succeeded him in office:—

“You that sittyst now in place,
See hange before thy face
Thyn own Fader’s skyn,
For falsehood; this ded he wyn.”

Another equally original specimen of the judgment of Solomon is thus explained:—

“The trewe and counterfeit to trye,
She had rather lose her Ryght—
Saying, the Soulders ware redy
To clyve, with all their myght.”

These, as I said, have disappeared; but we were unwilling in our sketch to lose sight altogether of such very interesting reliques of our ancestor’s skill, in conveying moral lessons by the light of their window-panes, as were to be found here a century or two ago. Those good old folks did not seem to be wanting in a certain kind of wit; here, as in many other parts of the city, we have traces of their love of a fair rebus—without a slight knowledge of which propensity, we might look long ere we could understand the hieroglyphical appearance of a barrel set on end, with N. E. C. written above—history, however, elucidates the mystery, by explaining it as the rebus of one Thos. Necton, who aided by his wealth the filling in of one of the little gothic windows with stained glass. The curiously carved old desk in the centre was once the reading-desk in fair St. Barbara’s chapel down below,—could it speak, we wonder whether it would glory in its elevation. But now we really can resist no longer a good hearty laugh at those comical little unmakeoutable animals, seated so demurely all round the room, on the tops of the high-backed benches, with their queer little faces struggling to keep down a grin. Whatever were they put there for? Was it to chronicle up in their little wooden pates the doings and undoings, the sayings and unsayings, that they have been looking at, and listening to, so patiently and wonderingly, for these four centuries past? What would we give to hear them tell the tale of all they have seen and heard go on, since first the royal charter granted to our citizens the long-sought privilege of a real bona fide mayor! how, at first this dignitary used to sit in solemn majesty upon his throne of state, surrounded by his aristocracy of chosen peers, deliberating gravely on the affairs of their little state; how, reverently and orderly the subordinate commons used to come into their presence at their bidding, and do as they were told by the supreme authorities; and how, as time and years passed, the heads of these same commons began to lift themselves a little and a little higher, till they really seemed as much real men as those who occupied the chairs of state; how, when at last their struggles had gained the great municipal reform, some sixteen years ago, they took their seats in the very midst of the aldermanic autocrats, with all the coolness of precocious intellect, usurping dignities reserved for high-sounding names or well-lined purses. Could they not tell a few more tales of how the ethereal blue and whites,—remembering the day when their opponents, clad in purple, numbered nine out of twelve of the industrious nominees who were to choose their fellow-workers in the field of city usefulness, had traded with their talents till they had gained nine and thirty more purples to sit by their side, and smile at the twelve blue-looking occupants of the opposition benches,—did, in later times, effectually turn the tables on the oppressors’ heads, and sit above them in triumph, looking down on fallen greatness; how this revolution had scarce become familiar to their little sapiencies, when from the very centre of the rival factions sprang another party; and the dogs, and dragons, and what-nots, felt ready to jump from their seats, when their ears heard a city youth avow himself an independent man, neither a blue nor purple—a man of principle—didn’t they wonder what it meant, and whether he really had enough of it to buy up both the other bidders in this marketable borough, or whether it would pay the interest of all the sums that they had severally spent in the good city’s cause, and how they longed to laugh outright when he avowed that honesty and truth were all the principal he traded with, and how they began by-and-bye to think there might be something in it, and to comprehend a little of the theory, but somehow the working of it seemed to puzzle and perplex them, it seemed to be so complicated by the interference of expediency. But it will not do to tarry longer, conjecturing what might be the confessions of the little carved images; who does not, or has not read the brilliant comedies that have been, and are yet being, enacted perpetually within this chamber?

But there are more objects of interest to be examined within its walls; and among them pre-eminently stands forth the sword of Admiral Don Xavier Francisco Winthuysen, transmitted by Horatio Nelson to the mayor of the city, from the Irresistible, off Lisbon, Feb. 26th, a.d. 1797. The sword, with its white vellum sheath ornamented with silver, is enclosed in a glass case, with the original letter from Admiral Nelson, relating the particulars of its capture. In these days of railways and universal travelling, the trophy might prudently, we conceive, hold less conspicuous place. No great stretch of the bounds of probability might suggest the chance of some relative or descendant of Don Xavier Francisco standing face to face with the uncomfortable memento of past misfortunes. Leading from this chamber is a door-way, that opens out upon leads, where in olden times the ladies and friends of the aldermen were wont to enjoy the various spectacles offered by the processions and pageants then so frequently displayed.

The other principal chamber, formerly used by the common-councilmen, and now appropriated to sundry legal purposes, is adorned with the various quaint and significant emblems that once figured in the guild processions, in attendance upon his majesty, Snap, who, from the dignity of his elevation upon the landing-place without, looks down with proud and silent scorn upon all the modern innovations and reformations that have swept away the glories that surrounded his throne;—but of him more by-and-bye.

Beyond the council-chamber is the way of access to the old Record room, whence, now and then, some “Old Mortality” may be seen emerging, laden with treasures rescued from the mouldering heaps of antiquarian lore, there lying buried beneath the accumulated dust and cobwebs of centuries. All praise and thanks be given, as due, to these patient and industrious workers, the fruits of whose labours so liberally are placed at the command of all less learned and recondite scribblers, who scruple not to gather of the crumbs that fall from the rich intellectual banquets they have spread before the lovers of history, antiquity, or science.

An armoury room, where weapons of divers sorts and multiform invention are stored, all bearing evidence of long disuse by rust and decay, and a treasury of gold and silver, maces and sceptres, in their various departments, claim notice; but as such things possess neither very great intrinsic worth, or any peculiarly interesting historical interest, save the little sceptre of Queen Elizabeth, a passing word may be enough to devote to them; it is time to turn attention to the subject more intimately associated with the very name of the building itself. A Guildhall instantly suggests the question of guilds, their origin, character, and the features of history connected with those whose existence are memorialized by this particular edifice and its appendages.

Guilds were societies of persons confederated together for the common cause of trade, charity, and religion. They were very numerous; in this county alone 907 were enumerated by Taylor in his Index Monasticus, as existing at the time of the Reformation.

The Parochial guilds were often too poor to afford to hire a room for their meetings, but assembled at each other’s houses; but when such was not the case, they usually hired a house near the church, which was called a Guildhall, or church house; the situation being chosen as convenient, their business being to pray as well as to eat. The Guild consisted of an alderman, brethren and sisters, the parson of the parish and the principal persons of the neighbourhood being members. They held lands, received legacies, and frequently met; but their grand assembly was on the day of their patron saint, when they went to church and offered up prayers at his altar for all the members of the society, living and dead. From their saint they took their distinctive titles, as St. George’s, St. Luke’s Guild, &c. They bestowed alms annually upon the poor, received travelling strangers, and did other acts of charity, as far as their revenues allowed.

Their meetings were usually crowned by a dinner, and terminated often in a manner not altogether consistent with their commencement. Some of the guilds in large towns were wealthy and influential. The bill for giving their possessions to the king, when sent to the lower house in 1547, was much opposed by the burgesses, who represented that the boroughs could no longer maintain their churches and other public works, if the rents belonging to the guilds were transferred to the king. The act passed, upon a pledge that the lands should be restored. It was the last act of Henry the Eighth’s reign, and was put in execution by his successor; but the promise was ill performed, many of the revenues being seized, upon the plea of their being free chapel or chantry endowments.

This brief sketch of the nature and origin of guilds, may suffice to introduce more particularly the history of the great Guild of St. George, the most important of all the fraternities that existed in this city, and from being connected with the municipal body from an early date, intimately associated with the history of the Guildhall. The following copious account of the company, with the copy of one of the charters granted to them, is extracted from the papers of the Norfolk and Norwich ArchÆological Society.

copy of charter.

“Henry, by the grace of God, (King) of England, France, and lord of Ireland, &c., to whom these present letters shall come greeting:

“Know ye that, whereas we have understood a certain Fraternity, and Gild of the glorious martyr St. George, in our city of Norwich, for thirty years past, and more, continually have been, and are, still honestly governed, and the brethren and sisters of the Gylde aforesaid, for the same time have found a chaplain duly celebrating divine service in the Cathedral church of the said city, and diverse and great cost for the worship of God, and the same glorious martyr, have made and do purpose to do more, if we should vouchsafe to assist them in the behalf. Wee, in consideration of the premises, and for the augmentation of the same of our people, to the said glorious martyr, do, for us, our heirs (as much as in us lye), accept, ratify, and confirm the said Fraternity and Gylde, and we have granted that the said Fraternity and Gylde be perpetually a community in time succession for ever. And that the Fraternity and Gylde aforesaid have the name of the Gylde of Saint George in Norwich, for ever. And that the brethren and sisters aforesaid, and their successors yearly by themselves, at their will choose and create one alderman and two masters successively, and make honest and reasonable ordinances and constitutions to the better government of the said Fraternity and Gylde.

“Also cloath themselves with one suit of cloaths, and yearly make a feast for eating and drinking, in a convenient place within the said city, to be by them assigned.

“And also the aldermen and masters, brethren and sisters of the Fraternity and Gylde aforesaid, and their successors, be able and capable persons to purchase land, tenements, rents and services, to have, receive, and hold to them and their successors for ever, to the aldermen, masters, brothers and sisters of the Gyld of St. George in Norwich; and may in all courts and places for ever sue and be sued, answer and be answered, and gain and lose, and have a common seal for the business of the Fraternity and Gylde aforesaid to be transacted.

“And further of our special favour we have granted and given license for us and our heirs, (as much as in us lyes), to the aforesaid alderman, masters, brethren and sisters, that they and their successors may purchase and hold to them and their successors lands and tenements, rents and services, within the said city aforesaid, up to the value of ten pounds, which are held of us in burgage, as well for the support of one chaplain to celebrate divine service dayly in the church aforesaid, to pray for us and the said brethren and sisters, their healthful state while we shall live, and for our souls, and the souls of the said brethren and sisters when we shall die. And also for the sowlles of our renowned ancestors, and of all the faithful deceased, as for the support of the Fraternity and Gylde aforesaid. And other works and charges of piety made thereof, according to the ordinances of the same alderman, brethren and sisters for ever; the statute made against giving lands or tenements in mortmain, or any other statute or ordinance made to the contrary, or for that the then lands and tenements aforesaid are held of us in burgage notwithstanding.

“And moreover, to the setting aside the maintenance, confederacy, and conspiracy which by means of the Fraternity and Gylde aforesaid we have granted to the prior of the church aforesaid and to the mayor and to the sheriffs of the said city; also to the alderman and Fraternity of the Gylde aforesaid, which shall be for the time being, sufficient power and authority of expelling, discarding and removing according to their discretion, all brethren and sisters of the Fraternity and Gylde, aforesaid, from the Fraternity and Gylde, and from all the benefits and franchises thereof for ever, who shall be the cause of supporting or upholding such like maintenance, confederacy, or conspiracy aforesaid.

“In testimony whereof, we have caused these letters to be made patent. Witness myself at Reading, the ninth day of May, in the fifth year of our reign, by the King himself, and for £40 paid into the hamper, 1417.

Wyndham.”
(Here was affixed the great seal of England.)

Another charter of much greater length is still extant; but we pass on to the next important feature in the history of the society,—its union with the corporate body of the city,—set forth in a voluminous indenture, known as Judge Yelverton’s mediation, which we transcribe, adapting the orthography to suit the general readers of the nineteenth century.

“The Mayor, Sheriffs, and Commonality of the City first united to the Fraternity of the Gylde of St. George, by the mediation of

Judge Yelverton.

“This writing indented, made the 27th day of March, the year of the reign of King Henry VI. the 30th, betwixt the mayor, sheriffs, and commonality of the city of Norwich, on the one part, and the alderman and brethren of the gylde of the glorious martyr, St. George, of the said city, of the other part, by the mediation and diligency of William Yelverton, Justice of our Lord the King, of his own place. Witnesseth that, as well the said mayor, sheriffs, and commonality, as the aforesaid aldermen and brethren of the said gylde, both according of all matters had or moved betwixt them, before this in manner and form, as in the articles hereafter shewing:—

“First, for to begin to the worship of God, our Lady, and of the glorious martyr, St. George, forasmuch as the Cathedral church of the Holy Trinity, of Norwich, is the most worshipful and convenient place, that the glorious martys, St. George, be worshipped by the aldermen and brethren of the said guild, that therefore in the said place, after the forms and effect of the old use had afore this time, the said alderman and brethren be there on the feast of St. George, or some other day in the manner accustomed, there to hear the first even-song, and on the morrow following, to go in procession and hear mass, and offer there in the worship of God and the said martyr; and also there for to hear the second even-song and placebo, and dirige, for the brethren and sisters’ souls of the said guild; and on the day next following be at the mass of requiem, and offer there for the souls of all the brethren and sisters of the said guild and all Christians; and that a priest be continued there in the form accustomed, for to sing and pray for the prosperity, welfare, and honourable estate of the most Christian prince, King Henry VI., our sovereign lord, and also for the welfare of William Yelverton, Justice, by whose mediation and diligence the said accord and appointments have been advised and engrossed.

“And then, for the welfare of all the brethren and sisters of the said guild and fraternity living, and also for the souls of King Henry V., first founder of the said guild, and for all other souls of all the brethren and sisters of the said guild, that be passed out of the world, and all Christian souls; and if ever afterwards the possessions of the said guild will stretch to sustain and find another priest, that then such priest shall be found for to pray in like form, and that poor men and women of the said guild be found and relieved by the said guild, as hath been accustomed, as the goods will stretch to save other charges and necessary expenses, to the worship of God and of the said martyr, and to the good conservation and continuance of the said brethren.

“Also, on the morning next after the solemnity of the said guild, kept in the worship of the glorious martyr, Saint George, the brethren of the said guild, and their successors, shall yearly choose the mayor of the said city, and that time being a brother of the said guild, for to be alderman of the said guild for all the next year following, after his discharge of his office of mayoralty, then forthwith to take the charge and occupation of the said office of aldermanship of the said fraternity and guild; and so every person chosen to be mayor yearly, after he hath occupied mayoralty for an whole year, to occupy the said aldermanship of the said guild; and in case he refuse to occupy the said aldermanship after his mayoralty, to pay unto the said fraternity 100s. to the use of the said guild, and that the old alderman stand still alderman, unto the time another be chosen unto the said office of alderman to the said guild; and if the alderman of the said guild happen to die within the year, that then the mayor for the time being, occupy that office of alderman for his time, and so forth the next year following, according to this act.

“And that all the aldermen of the said city, that now are, and shall be in time coming, shall be made brethren of the said guild, without charge of the feast.

“Also, that every man that is, or shall be chosen to be, of the common council of the said city, be admitted also to be a brother of the said guild if he like; and that by great diligence and deliberation had, as well for the worship of the said city as the said guild, that no man be chosen to the said common council, but such as are and seem for to be able and sufficient of discretion and good disposition, and that every man that shall be received a brother into the said guild, shall be sworn, and receive his oath in form that followeth:—

“‘This hear, ye alderman and brethren of this fraternity and guild of the glorious martyr, St. George, in this city of Norwich, that from this day forward, the honour, prosperity, worships, profits, welfare, and surety of the fraternity and guild, after my power, I shall sustain, lawfully maintain and defend, and all lawful ordinances made or to be made, with all the circumstances and dependancies thereto belonging, truly and duly pay my dues after the said ordinances, without trouble or grievance of the said brethren and sisters, or of any officer of them, and Buxum to you aldermen and all your successors in all lawful commandments, to my power and cunning, so that this oath stretch not to any thing against the laws of God, nor against the laws of the land, nor against the liberties or franchises, the welfare, good peace, and rest of this city, nor against any panel of the oath that I have made afore to the king, and to the said city.’

“Also, the said aldermen and common council of the guild, shall choose when they list, from henceforward, other men and women of the said city, beside the said alderman and common council, such as they may think convenient by their discretion, and able thereto for to be brethren and sisters of the said guild.

“Also, that there be no man chosen nor received from henceforth into the said guild, dwelling out of the said city, but if he be a knight or a squire, or else notably known for a gentleman of birth, or else that he be a person of great worship by his virtue, and by his truth and great cunning, or be some great notable means and cause of great worship, and yet that all manner of thing that shall appertain to the governance of the said guild, or to any possessions or goods thereof, or choosing of any brother into the said guild, or correction of any default done to any brother, or by any brother thereof, and all other things that appertaineth to the rules of the said guild, or by the more part of them dwelling within the said city.

“Also, that all the possessions and moveable goods, that now or hereafter shall appertain to the said guild, be all only employed and applied to the worship of God and our Lady, and of the glorious martyr, St. George, and to the worship of the brethren of the said guild, and for the health of the souls of all those that have been brethren and sisters of the said guild, are and shall be in time coming, and in none otherwise; and hereto every man be sworn at his coming in specially, that henceforward shall be any other brother in the said guild, that he shall here do all that is in his power, and in no wise give his assent nor his favour to the contrary.

“Also, that every year be chosen surveyors, and such convenient officers as shall be thought necessary by the discretion of the aldermen and brethren of the said guild; and that every year the said alderman and four brethren of the said guild, whereof two be aldermen of the said city, be chosen for to see a reckoning, and to know the disposition and governance of all the possessions, moveables, and goods appertaining to the said guild, and to make a writing of the estate thereof, and shew that to the brethren of the said guild yearly, or else to a certain number of brethren, resident in the said city thereto named.

“Also, that every four years, once be given hoods or liveries of suit to each of the brethren of the said guild, and them honestly to be kept and worn to the worship of the glorious martyr, St. George, and of the brotherhood, if it seemeth to the said alderman and common council convenient.

“Also, although the aldermen of the city, and every person of common council of the same city, be brethren of the same guild, yet if it happen that any of them, or any other citizen or brother of the said guild, be discharged of his aldermanship, or put out of the said common council, or discomynyd against his will, for a great and notable cause against his worship, that then forthwith he be discharged of the said guild; or else, whosoever be once a brother of the said guild, that he be a brother still, paying his duties, till he will wilfully serve his own discharge, or else for notable causes be reasonably discharged.

“Also it is ordained that the alderman and twenty of the brethren, aforesaid, be for the assembly, and the common council of the said guild, and that it needeth not to have no greater number thereto; and that the alderman name thereof six, by his oath, that he choose no person by no manner persuaded, nor private means, nor for favour nor friendship of no person, nor of no parties, but such as to his conscience are most indifferent and best disposed, and best willed to the worship and welfare, rest, peace, and profit of all the city, and the said guild; and in like form, the six so chosen shall, by their taking the same oath, choose six of such persons of the said guild, according to their said oath; then the alderman, by his said oath, such other two which be aldermen of the said guild, of which two of the aldermen, and the more part of them, shall be and make the common council, and the assembly of the said guild; and if any of them should be warned to come to the said common council, if he then be resident in the said city, and come not, but if he hath reasonable excusation, that he pay 20d. for every day.

“And that all the old rules and ordinances of the said guild shall be seen by the aldermen, and the said common council of the said guild, and all those that be good, reasonable, and convenient to the worship of God, our Lady, and the glorious martyr St. George, and to the weal and peace within the said city, shall be kept, with reasonable additions put thereto, if it need; and if any ambiguity or doubt hereafterwards fall for the understanding or execution of the said article, in case that the said alderman, and more part of the said common council cannot accord therein, that then it be reformed and determined by the advice of the said William Yelverton.

“And if any brother now being, or in time coming shall be, do conspire or labour to attempt to do in any thing the contrary of any of these appointments, or any other in time coming, by the aldermen or more part of the common council to be made, and that reasonably proved upon him before the said alderman, and the more part of the said common council, that then he be forthwith discharged of the said guild, and that notified by the said alderman to the mayor, in the common council of the said city, that then, it done, he be discharged of his liberties and franchises of the said city, and unable ever to be citizen of the said city, or brother of the said guild, and taken and had as a forsworn man shamed and reproved, and reune in the pain of infamy.

“Also, that all these articles abovesaid, be every year, once, or oftener if it be needed, be openly read before the said alderman, and all the brethren, or the most part of them. In witness of these premises to the one part of this indenture remaining towards the said mayor and commonality, the alderman and brethren of the said fraternity and guild have set their common seal; and to the other part of the said indenture, abiding toward the said alderman and brethren of the said guild, the mayor and commonality of the said city have set their common seal. Given and done at Norwich, the day and year aforesaid, in the time of the mayoralty of Ralph Segrim, when William Baily and John Gilbert were sheriffs, Thomas Allen, alderman of the aforesaid guild, according to the tenour of this agreement.

“From thenceforth, the court of mayorality, justices, alderman, sheriffs, and common councilmen, were admitted and united to the fraternity of the glorious martyr St. George. The rank and importance of the members of the society may be inferred from the fact, of their admitting from the country none beneath the rank of notable gentlemen. The union of the two bodies took place fourteen years after the substitution of mayor and sheriffs for bailiffs.”

Among the entries in their book occur the following:

“At George’s Inn, Fybriggate, at an asssembly there, holden the Monday next before the feast of All Saints, in the ninth year of King Henry IV., a.d. 1408; it was agreed to furnish priests with copes, “and the George shall go in procession and make a conflict with the dragon, and keep his estate both days.”

“Item. It is ordained that two new jackets of fustian and red buckram be bought for the henchmen (servitors upon George).

“A.D. 1408, auditors were chosen to survey the accounts of the company, a bellman to the company to have 2s. a year salary; a beadle 1s. 3d., and for all those that are admitted and sworn, 2d. for each entry; and the minstrel waytes of the city 5s., the beadle for warning the brethren at any ‘obite,’ 6d.; and twelve poor men to be fed at a table by themselves every year, on St. George’s day.

“Item. It is ordained by the common assent, that forasmuch as before this time, the dirige, and mass of requiem, have been so rudely and dishonestly kept, and sung by aggregate persons, and children standing in temporal clothing, for remedy whereof to the honour of God, and spiritual conservation of the souls departed to God, that henceforth yearly shall be provided ten secular priests, that be not brethren of this fraternity, to be there at dirige and mass of requiem; each of them to have, when mass is done, 4d. of the obite money.

“A.D. 1469, ordained that an inventory of all the goods and jewels appertaining to the said fraternity be taken.”

inventory.

“Imprimis. A precious relic; viz., an angel, silver-gilt, bearing the arms of St. George, given by Sir John Fastolf.

“One chalice, silver-gilt.

“A manual, with two silver clasps.

“A cheseble, of white diaper, powered with stars of gold.

“A pax bread of timber.

“A little chest, with charter of King Henry V.

“A seal of silver, belonging to the fraternity, with an image of St. George.”

Another charter of King Henry VI:—

“Two cloaths, of the martyrdom of St. George.

“One gown of scarlet serge, for St. George.

“A coat armour, beaten with silver, for St. George.

“Four banners, with the arms of St. George, for the trumpeters.

“One banner, with the image of St. George.

“Two shafts for the banners, and one for the pennon.

“A chaplet, for the George.

“Two white gowns for the henchmen.

“Three peyntrells, three croopers, three reins, three head-stalls of red cloth, fringed and lined, with buckles, gilt, with the arms of St. George thereon.

“Eight torches, a dragon, a pair of gloves, of plate.

“A sword, with a scabbard covered with velvet, the bosses gilt.

“One russet gown, flowered and powdered with velvet spots.

“A black cheseble, with an alb, with the arms of the Lord Bardolph, by him given.

“Lastly, one mass book, price twelve marks.

“Also it is ordained, that the procession be done in copes, and all the brethren to have hoods of sanguine, and a reed or wand in his hand; and persons chosen to be aldermen, that every other of them have a red cope, and every one a white cope; the next year shall be clad in scarlet gowns, and parti-coloured hoods, scarlet and white damask, on the forfeiture of the payment of 13s. 4d.; and every commoner to be clad in a long gown, red and white, on the forfeiture of 6s. 8d.; and every commoner to ride to the Wood (St. William’s shrine) on St. George’s day, by the rules accustomed.

“Also that a priest be paid a salary, amounting to eleven pounds ten shillings.

“Persons appointed to provide hoods for the aldermen and commoners, to wear with their liveries at every entertainment hereafter.”

The manner of choosing persons to be members of the society, was thus, in the thirty-fifth year of the reign of King Henry VIII.:—

“The mayor chose three persons for the common council; the alderman chose three other persons for the same; these six chose other six for the same; and these twelve persons, with the advice of the four feast-makers, chose two feast-makers for the next year.”

In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of King Henry VIII., a.d. 1545, at the general dissolution of the abbeys, monasteries, convents, friaries, &c., the large and beautiful nave of the church of the Black Friars was converted into a common hall for the mayors, sheriffs, citizens, and commonality, with all their guilds and fraternities, to meet and hold their annual feasts in; but principally the guild of St. George, who expended two hundred and ten pounds upon its improvement at that time.

“Upon inviting persons to the feast, which was to be done by the surveyors at the Whitsun holidays, all that promised to dine at the feast paid their money down to the feast-maker beforehand.

“In the first year of the reign of King Henry VI., all fraternities, guilds, processions, &c., being thought useless, and tending to promote superstition, were set aside, and by virtue of the act passed, judged and deemed in the actual possession of the sovereign.

“In the third year of the reign of King Edward VI., it was further enacted, and agreed, that the twenty persons, hitherto known as the St. George’s assembly, should be henceforth called the assembly of the feast of the mayor, sheriffs, citizens, and common council of the city; and twenty persons were appointed to manage the guild feast, now called the feast of the mayor, sheriffs, &c. &c. The feast-makers to provide a supper also on the guild-day evening, and the ordering of the charge to be referred to the mayor, sheriffs, &c. &c. In the fourth year of this reign, the goods of the company were appraised, and valued at £7 11s. 8d.

“In the first year of the reign of Queen Mary, 1552, it was agreed, that there should be neither George nor Margaret on the next feast day in the procession; but the dragon to come and show himself as in other years.

“April 22d, second of Queen Mary, the laws since Henry VIII. repealed, and the guild to be kept as before.

“A.D. 1561; cordwainers admitted to office.”

Innumerable other entries betray the various changes of arrangement and regulation; but we pass on to

the manner of the procession on the guild-day.

“About eight o’clock in the morning, the whole body of the court, St. George’s company, and the livery, met at the new elect’s, where they were entertained with sugar rolls and sack; from whence they all proceeded with the newly elected mayor to the old mayor’s, in this order; the court first, St. George’s company next, and the livery last. At the mayor’s they had a breakfast provided for them, of pasties and roast beef, and boiled legs of mutton; from whence, in inverted order, (livery, St. George’s company, and court), they proceeded to the Cathedral Church, where a sermon was preached, always by the minister of the parish in which the mayor resided; and he was the chaplain during the mayoralty.

“When the sermon was ended, the court had their horses taken, finely caparisoned, which they mounted; and at the entrance into the Royal Free School, which was curiously adorned with greens and flowers, in a bower, stood one of the lads thereto belonging, who was ready against the new mayor should come up, to address himself to him in an oration of Latin, as did several others, in different places, on horseback. As the court proceeded with their robes of justice, the alderman in their scarlet, and the sheriffs in their violet gowns, with each a white wand in his hand, with trumpet sounding, the city music playing along the streets, with the standard of England carried before them. Then followed St. George’s standard and company, supported by very tall stout men, who had dresses suitable and proper for them; in this manner they proceeded, though but slowly, occasioned by their stopping several times in different places, to hear the speeches which were then spoken by the free-school boys, as before mentioned.

“Being arrived at the guildhall, in the market, the new-elected mayor had his robe of justice put on him, the gold chain placed about his neck, the key of the gates delivered to him according to custom: he was then sworn; after which he generally made a speech to the citizens. The whole body then remounted their horses, and proceeded to the New Hall (or St. Andrew’s Hall) to the dinner. As soon as the court and their ladies, with the rest of the company, were seated, the dinner was served up first to the mayor’s table, next at St. George’s, and then, as fast as they could, all the rest of the tables were plentifully filled with great variety of all kinds of good eatables, but little or no butcher’s meat, but as to pasties, tarts, pickles, lobsters, salmon, sturgeon, hams, chickens, turkeys, ducks, and pigeons, in great plenty, even to profusion; and these all served up in order, and besides what beer every one chose to drink, either small or strong, they had what quantity they pleased, besides a bottle of wine, which every man had delivered to him to drink after dinner.

As soon as dinner was over, St George’s company looked into their book to see for the names of such as were eligible to be chosen as feast-makers; and when they had selected four persons, they walked round the hall to look for them; and no sooner was one of them espied, than he had a garland of roses and greens thrown over his head, and was congratulated upon being chosen as feast-maker for the next year. If any of the four were absent, it sufficed to send the garland to them at their own houses, to make the appointment sure. A pecuniary fine attended a refusal to serve.

After the choice of feast-makers was over, the “banquets” were given to the ladies, and it growing towards evening the whole body rose from their seats and waited upon the new mayor home, where all were again entertained with sugar rolls and sack; and then concluded the day by seeing the old mayor to his home, where they remained and drank as long as it was proper.

The great guns were discharged many times during the day.

The whole street, sometimes the whole parish, in which the mayor resided was decorated in the handsomest manner; the streets were all strewn with rushes and planted with trees, variety of “garlands, ship, antients, and streamers in abundance.” The outside of the houses were hung with tapestry and pictures.

“The dragon (carried by a man in the body) gave great diversion to the common people; they always seemed to fear it much when it was near them, but looked upon it with pleasure when at a little distance; it was so contrived as to spread its wings and move its head. As there was always a multitude of people to see the procession, it was necessary to have several persons to keep them from coming too near, or breaking the ranks; for this purpose there were six men called Whifflers, somewhat like the Roman gladiators, who were neatly dressed, and who had the art of brandishing their very sharp swords in the greatest crowds with such dexterity as to harm no one, and of a sudden, to toss them high in the air and catch them again by the hilts: to this purpose also a man or two in painted canvas coats and vermilion red and yellow cloth caps, adorned with cats’ tails and small bells, went up and down to clear the way; their weapons were only small wands. These were called or known by the name of Dick Fools; even they had their admirers, but it was among the children and mobility.”

The above curious and quaint description of the St. George’s Company and the procession, is an extract from Mackerell’s “History of Norwich,” published by the ArchÆological Society. From the same source the further particulars added are collected.

It would appear that the company, enjoying so many powers and privileges, grew insolent and overbearing, and were wont to insult with impunity, and tyrannize unmercifully over the pockets, purses, and freedom of their fellow-citizens, until at length an individual named Clarke, an alderman, to whom they had shown much discourtesy and injustice, by considerable effort succeeded in bringing their career as a body to an end. Their charter, books, regalia, and all that belonged to them were given up to the Corporation, and arrangements made at the same time for the mayor’s procession and rejoicings upon a new footing. The dragon, the fools, and whifflers, were continued and paid by the Corporation, but instead of the St. George’s company, the sixty common councilmen attended upon the newly elected mayor on horseback in their gowns. The mayor was to make a guild feast at his own charge, £150 being given him towards the expenses of his mayoralty.

“Thus (using the words of the writer) fell this honourable tyrannical company, who had lorded it over the rest of the citizens, by laws of their own making, for an hundred and fourscore years; had made all ranks of men submit to them; neither had they any regard to the meanness of persons’ circumstances, by which they had been the ruin of many families, and had occasioned much rancour and uneasiness every annual election of common-councilmen, when the conquerors always put the vanquished on to the livery; thereby delivering them over to the mercy of St. George, who was sure to have a pluck at them as they assembled and met together; until this gentleman alderman Clarke had the courage to oppose and withstand them; and having taken a great deal of pains and time, at last effected this great work, and brought this insolent company to a final period; for which good deed he ought to have his name transmitted to the latest posterity.”

And now it behoves us to inquire who was St. George? Shall we be content to hear of his mighty prowess, his renowned sanctity, and his eminent exaltation as patron saint of our country, and the most famous guilds or fraternities that have ever flourished in Christendom, and know nothing of his origin, history, or reality? Shall we subscribe to the heretical belief that St. George was neither more nor less than a soldier in the army of Diocletian, who rewarded his great military exploits by cutting off his head for advocating the cause of the Christians, and that therefore he was elevated into the calendar of saints and martyrs in the early church? Shall we deny that he ever went to war with an insatiable dragon, who, having eaten up all the sheep and cattle in the neighbourhood, was fed upon fair youths and maidens “from a city of Libya, called Silene, and that he did mortally wound the said dragon and led him through the streets of the city,” as if it had been a meek beast and debonnaire? or shall we give ear to the suggestion that St. George is but another name for St Michael, who is always represented in combat with the dragon? To whatever belief we may incline, the fact of the antiquity of his claims upon Christendom for universal reverence cannot be disputed. Long before he became the patron saint of England, many eastern nations had adopted him in the same capacity; and to his personal and miraculous interference in protecting Richard Coeur de Lion in his conflict with Saladin, are we to attribute his elevation to that dignity in this country? Many orders of knighthood besides that of England have been distinguished by his name in Austria, Bavaria, Burgundy, Montesa, Ravenna, Genoa, and Rome. The most authentic accounts that have come down to us of the individual history and mortal career of this semi-fabulous personage, resolve themselves into a few leading facts. He was a saint of high repute in the eastern church at a very early date, a Cappadocian of good family, and a commander of note in the army of Diocletian, and that he suffered martyrdom at Raniel, on the 23d of April, the day on which his festival was kept. He is mentioned in old Saxon homilies as an ealder-man (or earl) of Cappadocia, and is mentioned in a MS. Martyrologicum Saxonicum, in the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, as Georius Nobilis Martyr. The Greeks called him the “Great Martyr.” The Coptic Arabic MSS. mention him as of Cappadocia; Constantine instituted a religious order of knighthood, under the title of St. George, on which was borne a red cross; he is also said to have erected a church near his tomb in Palestine, and others in his honour at Constantinople. The red cross, usually attributed to St. George for an armorial bearing, was possibly adopted from Constantine’s order of knighthood. The figure of the saint armed and on horseback, expresses his martial character; and the dragon by many is conceived to be a symbol of Paganism; the figure of the young lady sometimes introduced also is regarded as a type of some city or province imploring aid, or may possibly have been intended to memorialize the rescue of the damsel, whom he is reported so gallantly to have saved from destruction. There is a separate legend of a St. Margaret and a dragon related by Mrs. Jameson, which says that the governor of Antioch, captivated by the beauty of the fair Margaret, who inclined not to his highness, shut her up in a dungeon, and subjected her to all kinds of torments, and that during her imprisonment the devil, in the form of a dragon, appeared ready to devour her, but she held up the cross and he fled. Many old prints represent the dragon lying peaceably down, and Margaret with the cross standing by unharmed. An old church at Canterbury is dedicated to this Saint Margaret. Whether or not there exists any connection between her and the heroine who usually is associated with St. George, we know not.

We conclude this speculative inquiry with a curious extract from a work by Dr. Sayer, a translation of a fragment annexed to the Vatican MS. of Olfrid’s Gospels, some say written in the fourth century:—

George went to judgement
With much honour
From the market-place,
And a great multitude following him,
He proceeded to the Rhine [223]
To perform the sacred duty,
Which then was highly celebrated,
And most acceptable to God.
He quitted the kingdoms of the earth,
And he obtained the kingdom of heaven.
Thus did he do,
The illustrious Count George,
Then hastened all
The kings who wished
To see this man entering,
(But) who did not wish to hear him.
The spirit of George was there honoured,
I speak truly from the report of these men,
(For) he obtained
What he sought from God.
Thus did he,
The Holy George.
Then they suddenly adjudged him
To prison;
Into which with him entered
Two beautiful angels
* * * * *
Then he became glad
When that sign was made (to him),
George then prayed;
My God granted every thing
To the words of George;
He made the dumb to speak,
The deaf to hear,
The blind to see,
The lame to walk.
* * * * *
Then began the powerful man
To be exceedingly enraged.
Tatian wished
To ridicule these miracles.
He said that George
Was an impostor;
He commanded George to come forth;
He ordered him to be unclothed;
He ordered him to be violently beaten
With a sword excessively sharp.
All this I know to be altogether true;
George then arose and recovered himself;
He wished to preach to those present,
And the Gentiles
Placed George in a conspicuous situation,
(Then) began that powerful man
To be exceedingly enraged.
He then ordered George to be bound
To a wheel, and to be whirled round.
I tell you what is fact;
The wheels were broken to pieces,
This I know to be altogether true;
George then arose and recovered himself,
He then wished (to preach); the Gentiles
Placed George in a conspicuous place,
Then he ordered George to be seized
And commanded him to be violently scourged;
Many desired that he should be beaten to pieces,
Or be burnt to a powder;
They at length thrust him into a well.
There was this son of beatitude,
Vast heaps of stones above him,
Pressed him down;
They took his acknowledgment;
They ordered George to rise;
He wrought many miracles,
As in fact he always does.
George rose and recovered himself.
He wished to preach to those Gentiles,
The Gentiles
Placed George in a conspicuous place.
* * * * *
They ordered him to rise,
They ordered him to proceed,
They ordered him instantly to preach.
Then he said,
I am assisted by faith.
(Then he said) when
Ye renounce the devil
Every moment * * *
* * * * *
This is what St. George himself may teach us.
Then he was permitted to go into the chamber
To the Queen;
He began to teach her,
She began to listen to him.

The fragment ends here; the queen alluded to is deemed to be the wife of Diocletian Alexandra, who has been canonized by the Romish Church. She is said to have been converted to Christianity, and suffered martyrdom with her teacher.

We now beg to take leave of St. George and St. Margaret; Mr. Snap or the Dragon in his coat of green and gold, at this present surmounted by an outer coat of considerable thickness of dust, must permit us to make our obeisance—trusting that the gleanings we have made of all these little facts of history that contributed to his importance in the day of his sovereignty and splendour, may have gained for us a parting good will.

His days of pomp and majesty are ended—with the banishment of fun and frolic, and folly, with the reformation of councils and committees, of manners and municipalities—his glory has departed, and but for the chronicles of the past, his presence slumbering in oblivion, or in drooping despondency, hanging his head in attitude of grief, might be a mystery insoluble, as also might be the annual exhibition of the shabby counterfeit presentment of his person in the shape of a cumbrous imitation of himself, that is paraded once a year through street and suburb, to keep alive the shadow of the memory of “good old times,” in the hearts of the populace of a pleasure-loving city—but a sorrowful and piteous spectacle is this walking ghost of the Snap of the glorious guild of St. George.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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