| and matter,' that they were unconscious of my Before any person can be admitted a member of the Temple, he must furnish a statement in writing, describing his age, residence, and condition in life, and adding a certificate of his respectability and fitness, signed by himself and a bencher of the society, or two barristers. The Middle Temple requires the signatures of two barristers of that Inn and of a bencher, but in each of the three other Inns the signatures of barristers of any of the four Inns will suffice. Pump Court and Garden Court are two dials day they were so intent on their 'first cause,' 'spirit,' without mottoes; and in each Temple garden is a pillar dial" the natural garden god of Christian gardens." On an old brick house at the east end of Inner Temple Terrace, removed in 1828, was a dial with the odd inscription, "Begone about your business," words with which an old bencher is said to have once dismissed a troublesome lad who had come from the dial-maker's for a motto, and who mistook his meaning. The one we have engraved at page 180 is in Pump Court. The date and the initials are renewed every time it is fresh painted. There are many old Temple anecdotes relating to that learned disciple of Bacchus, Porson. Many a time, says Mr. Timbs, at early morn, did Porson stagger from his old haunt, the "Cider Cellars" in Maiden Lane, where he scarcely ever failed to pass some hours, after spending the evening else where. It is related of him, upon better authority than most of the stories told to his discredit, that one, night, or rather morning, Gurney (the Baron), who had chambers in Essex Court under Porson, was awakened by a tremendous thump in the chamber above. Porson had just come home dead drunk, and had fallen on the floor. Having extinguished the candle in the fall, he presently staggered downstairs to re-light it, and Gurney heard him dodging and poking with the candle at the staircase lamp for about five minutes, and all the time very lustily cursing the nature of things. We read also of Porson shutting himself up in these chambers for three or four days together, admitting no visitor. One morning his friend Rogers went to call, having ascertained from the barber's hard by that Porson was at home, but had not been seen by any one for two days. Rogers proceeded to his chambers, and knocked at the door more than once; he would not open it, and Rogers came downstairs, but as he was crossing the court Porson opened the window and stopped him. He was then busy about the Grenville "Homer," for which he collated the Harleian MS. of the Odyssey," and received for his labour but £50 and a large-paper copy. His chambers must have presented a strange scene, for he used books most cruelly, whether they were his own or belonged to others. He said that he possessed more bad copies of good books than any private gentleman in England... Rogers, when a Templar, occasionally had some visitors who absorbed more of his time than was always agreeable; an instance of which he thus relates: "When I lived in the Temple, Mackintosh and Richard Sharp used to come to my chambers and stay there for hours, talking metaphysics. One t The educational year is divided into three terms, namely, from the 1st of Noyember to the 22nd of December, from the 11th of January to the 30th of March, and from the 15th of April to the 31st of July; and instruction is given to students by means of lectures, but the attendance of the students at such lectures is not compulsory. Professors of jurisprudence, of common law, of equity, and of the law of real and personal, property, are duly appointed by the council, for the purpose of giving instruction to the students, such professors being at liberty to receive, in addition to their salaries, fees from the students who attend the classes. Legal students worked hard in the old times; Coke's career, is an example. In 1572 he rose every morning at five o'clock, lighting his own fire; and then read Bracton, Littleton, and the ponderous folio abridgments of the law till the court met, at eight o'clock. He then took boat for Westminster, and heard cases argued till twelve o'clock, when the pleas ceased for dinner. After a meal in the Inner Temple Hall, he attended "readings" or lectures in the afternoon, and then resumed his private studies till supper-time at five. Next came the moots, after which he slammed his chamber-door, and set to work with his commonplace book to index all the law he had amassed during the day. At nine, the steady student went to bed, securing three good hours of sleep before midnight. It is said Coke never saw a play, or read a play in his life-and that was Shakespeare's time! In the reign of James I. the Temple was often called "my Lord Coke's shop." He had become a great lawyer then, and lived to become Lord Chief Justice... Pity 'tis that we have 1 to remember that he reviled Essex and insulted Raleigh. King James once said of Coke in misfortune that he was like a cat, he always fell on his feet. 179 the old banquets have died out. The ante-prandial horn is sounded, it is true, and the loving cup goes round, but oysters are no longer brought in every Friday in term before dinner; nor, when one bencher dines, does he, on leaving the hall, invite the senior bar man to come and take wine with him in the parliament chamber, answering to the "Common Room" of Oxford colleges. Yet the rich and epicurean Inner Temple still cherishes many worthy customs, affects recherché French dishes, and is curious in entremets; while the Middle Temple has to content itself with plainer fare, that some hungry wit has compared to weed." A writer in Blackwood, quoting the old proverb, "The Inner Temple for the rich, the Middle for the poor," says few great men have come from the Middle Temple; and the statement is partly true, even in the present day. At a dinner in 1865, Mr. Timbs tells us, there were present only three benchers, seven barristers, and six students. History does not record many riots in the Temple, full of wild life as that quiet precinct has been. In different reigns, however, two out breaks occurred. In both cases the Templars, though rather hot and prompt, seem to have been right. At the dinner of John Prideaux, reader of the Inner Temple, in 1553, the students took offence at Sir John Lyon, the Lord Mayor, coming in state, with his sword up, and the sword was dragged down as he passed through the cloisters." eating a gravel-walk, and meeting an occasional The same sort of affray took place again in 1669, when Lord Mayor Peake came to Sir Christopher Goodfellow's feast, and the Lord Mayor had to be hidden in a bencher's chambers till, as Pepys relates, the fiery young sparks were decoyed away to dinner. The case was tried before Charles II., and Heneage Finch pleaded for the Temple, claiming immemorial exemption from City jurisdiction. The case was never decided. From that day to this (says Mr. Noble) a settlement appears never to have been made; hence it is that the Temples claim to be "extra parochial," closing nightly all their gates as the clock strikes ten, and keeping extra watch and ward when the parochial authorities "beat the bounds" upon Ascension Day. Many struggles have taken place to make the property rateable, and of late the question has more than once arisen; and it is hardly to be wondered at, for it would be a nice bit of business to assess the Templars upon the £32,866 which they have returned as the annual rental of their estates. A third riot was with those ceaseless enemies of the Templars, the Alsatians, or lawless inhabitants of disreputable Whitefriars. In July, 1691, weary of their riotous and thievish neighbours, the benchers of the Inner Temple bricked up the gate (still existing in King's Bench Walk) leading into the high street of Whitefriars; but the Alsatians, swarming out, pulled down as fast as the bricklayers built up. The Templars hurried together, swords flew out, the Alsatians plied pokers and shovels, and many heads were broken. Ultimately, two men were killed, several wounded, and many hurried off to prison. Eventually, the ringleader of the Alsatians, Captain Francis White-a "copper captain," no doubt-was convicted of murder, in April, 1693. This riot eventually did good, for it led to the abolition of London sanctuaries, those dens of bullies, low gamblers, thieves, and courtesans. At the Middle Temple time has proved a great worker of change, and many curious customs of An Inner Temple banquet is a very grand affair. At five, or half-past five, the barristers and students in their gowns follow the benchers to the hall; then the head porter strikes the table solemnly three times, grace is said by the treasurer, or senior bencher present, and the men of law fall to. In former times it was the custom to blow a horn in every court to announce the meal, but how long this ancient Templar practice has been discontinued we do not know. The benchers observe somewhat more style at their table than the other members do at theirs. The general repast is a tureen of soup, a joint of meat, a tart, and cheese, to each mess, consisting of four persons, and to each mess is allowed a bottle of wine. Dinner is served daily to the members of the Inn during term time; the masters of the Bench dining in state on the daïs, and the barristers and students at long tables. On grand days some of the judges often are present; they used to dine in succession with each of the four Inns of Court. To the parliament chamber, adjoining the hall, the benchers repair after dinner. The loving cups used on certain grand occasions are huge silver goblets, which are passed down the table, filled with a delicious composition, immemorially termed "sack," consisting of sweetened and exquisitelyflavoured white wine. The butler attends the progress of the cup, to replenish it; and each student is by rule restricted to a sip; yet it is recorded that once, though the number present fell short of seventy, thirty-six quarts of the liquid were sipped away. At the Inner Temple, on May 29th, sons who have not the honour of his acquaintance. You may, indeed, on an emergency, ask your neighbour for the salt; but then it is also perfectly understood that he is not obliged to notice your request. The old term of "calling to the bar" seems to have originated in the custom of summoning students who had attained a certain standing to the bar that separated the benchers' daïs from the hall, to take part in certain probationary moot terrace, in. rainy weather in the Temple cloisters. Till lately, when examinations have been introduced, dining was the only necessary qualification. In the Middle Temple a three years' standing and twelve commons kept suffices to entitle a gentleman to be called to the bar, if he is twenty-three, and can pass the examination. No one can be called to the bar at any of the Inns of Court before he is twenty-one years of age; and a standing of five years is understood to be required of every member before being called. Members of the several universities, &c., may, however, be called after three years' standing. The Inner Temple Garden, three acres in extent, has probably been a garden from the time when the white-mantled Templars first came from Holborn and settled by the river-side. This little paradise of nurserymaids and London children is entered from the terrace by an iron gate (date, 1730); and the winged horse that surmounts the portal has looked 181 present; and when Paper Buildings were erected, part of this wall was dug up. The view given on this page, and taken from an old view in the Temple, shows a portion of the old wall, with the doorway opening upon the Temple Stairs. The Temple Garden, half a century since, was famous for its white and red roses, the Old Provence, the Cabbage, and the Maiden's Blush; and the lime trees were delightful in the time of bloom. There were only two steamboats on the river then; down on many a distinguished visitor. In the centre of the grass is such a sun-dial as Charles Lamb loved, with the date 1770. A little to the east of this stands an old sycamore, which, fifteen years since, was railed in as the august mummy of that umbrageous tree under whose shade, as tradition says, Johnson and Goldsmith used to sit and converse. According to an engraving of 1671 there were formerly three trees; so that Shakespeare himself may have sat under them and meditated on the Wars of the Roses. The print shows a brick terrace faced with stone, with a flight of steps at the north. The old river wall of 1670 stood fifty or sixty yards farther north than the 16 but the steamers and factory smoke soon spoiled everything but the hardy chrysanthemums. However, since the Smoke Consuming Act has been en forced, the roses, stocks, and hawthorns have again taken heart, and blossom with grateful luxuriance. In 1864 Mr. Broome, the zealous gardener of the Inner Temple, exhibited at the Central Horticul tural Society twenty-four trusses of roses grown under his care. In the flower-beds next the main walk he managed to secure four successive crops of flowers-the pompones were especially gaudy and beautiful; but his chief triumphs were the chrysanthemums of the northern border, and one of the great attractions of London in November are the of a single case being tried by them. The two gentlemen, finding their office a sinecure, have devoted their salaries to making periodical additions to the library. May we be allowed to ask, was this benevolent object ever made known to the public generally? We cannot but think, if it had been, that the two respected arbitrators would not have had to complain of the office as a sinecure. annual shows of Chrysanthemums here. Meantime referees have been appointed, but there is no record the trees are rapidly decaying towards the Embank ment, which separates the garden from the river. The temple rooks were originally brought by Sir William Northcote from Woodcote Green, Epsom, but they left in disgust many years since. Mr. Timbs says that 200 families enjoy these gardens throughout the year; and about 10,000 of the outer world, chiefly children, who are always in search of the lost Eden, come here on summer evenings. The flowers and trees are rarely injured. In the secluded Middle Temple Garden is an old catalpa tree, supposed to have been planted by that grave and just judge, Sir Matthew Hale. On the lawn is a large table sun-dial, elaborately gilt and embellished. A magnificent new library was opened here in 1868. From the library oriel the Thames and its bridges, Somerset House and the Houses of Parliament, form a grand coup d'œil. The revenue of the Middle Temple alone is said to be £13,000 a year. Of the savings the outside world is entirely ignorant. The students' dinners are half paid for by themselves, the library is kept up on very little fodder, and altogether the system of auditing the Inns of Court accounts is as incomprehensible as the Sybilline oracles; but there can be no doubt it is all right, and very well managed. In the seventeenth century (says Mr. Noble) a benevolent member of the Middle Temple conveyed to the benchers in fee several houses in the City, out of the rents of which to pay a stated salary to each of two referees, who were to meet on two days weekly, in term, from two to five, in the hall or other convenient place, and without fee on either side, to settle as best they could all disputes submitted to them. From that time the He who can enumerate the wise and great men who have been educated in the Temple can count off the stars on his finger and measure the sands of the sea-shore by teacupfuls. To cull a few, we may mention that the Inner Temple boasts among its eminent members - Audley, Chancellor to Henry VIII.; Nicholas Hare, of Hare Court celebrity; the great lawyer, Littleton (1481), and Coke, his commentator; Sir Christopher Hatton, the dancing Chancellor; Lord Buckhurst; Selden; Judge Jefferies; Beaumont the poet; William Browne, the author of "Britannia's Pastorals" (so much praised by the Lamb and Hazlitt school); Cowper the poet; and Sir William Follett. From the Middle Temple have also sprung swarms of great lawyers. We may enumerate specially Plowden, the jurist, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Thomas Overbury (who was poisoned in the Tower), John Ford (one of the latest of the great dramatists), Sir Edward Bramston (chamber-fellow to Mr. Hyde, afterwards Lord Clarendon), Bulstrode Whitelock (one of Cromwell's Ministers), LordKeeper Guildford (Charles II.), Lord Chancellor Somers, Wycherley and Congreve (the dramatists), Shadwell and Southern (comedy writers), Sir William Blackstone, Edmund Burke, Sheridan, Dunning (Lord Ashburton), Lord Chancellor Eldon, Lord Stowell, as a few among a multitude. The Present Whitefriars-The Carmelite Convent-Dr. Butts-The Sanctuary-Lord Sanquhar Murders the Fencing-Master-His Trial-Bacon and Yelverton-His Execution- Sir Walter Scott's "Fortunes of Nigel "-Shadwell's Squire of Alsatia—A Riot in Whitefriars-Elizabethan Edicts against the Ruffians of Alsatia-Bridewell—A Roman Fortification-A Saxon Palace-Wolsey's Residence-Queen Katharine's Trial→ Her Behaviour in Court-Persecution of the First Congregationalists-Granaries and Coal Stores destroyed by the Great Fire-The Flogging in Bridewell-Sermon on Madame Creswell-Hogarth and the "Harlot's Progress "-Pennant's Account of Bridewell-Bridewell in 1843— Its Latter Days-Pictures in the Court Room-Bridewell Dock-The Gas Works-Theatres in Whitefriars-Pepys' Visits to the TheatreDryden and the Dorset Gardens Theatre-Davenant-Kynaston-Dorset House-The Poet-Earl. So rich is London in legend and tradition, that even some of the spots that now appear the blankest, baldest, and most uninteresting, are really vaults of entombed anecdote and treasurehouses of old story. Whitefriars-that dull, narrow, uninviting lane sloping from Fleet Street to the river, with gasworks at its foot and mean shops on either sidewas once the centre of a district full of noblemen's mansions; but Time's harlequin wand by-and-by |