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THE ORIGIN OF KNIGHTHOOD.

KNIGHTHOOD, or chivalry, was a military institution founded in the eleventh century. In those times of anarchy and confusion, the great lords were become sovereigns on their own estates, and incessantly waged war with each other. These hostilities obstructed the security of the public roads, to the prejudice of commerce. The several districts were defended by moated castles and towers, which soon became nests of robbers and banditti, (of which frequent mention is made in history) who committed violences against the fair sex, and plundered the unwary traveller. These enormous abuses produced an association of noblemen, of a humane disposition, who engaged, and even vowed solemnly to maintain the security of the public roads, and to protect the ladies. The association is said to have begun in France, and soon spread throughout Europe. The members were styled chevaliers, or knights; and, as their numbers increased, they formed themselves into a military, and, in some measure, a religious order. The dignity of this institution was so very great, that the principal nobility, and even kings themselves, aspired to it. The candidates were obliged to prove their nobility, at least for three generations. At seven years of age they were sent to the house of some illustrious knight, in order to be educated in manly exercises, and trained up in the apprenticeship of chivalry: till they were fourteen years old, they went by the name of pages or varlets; but from that time they were styled ecuyers or esquires; and said to be sortis hors de page. The esquires were also distinguished by the name of bas chevaliers, or inferior knights; from which is derived our word bachelor. The function of the squire, was to dress and undress his lord; to help him to mount his horse; to put on his armour; to carry his gauntlets and shield; in short, to be his armour bearer. At the age of twenty-one, the esquire was admitted a knight, after performing several religious and civil ceremonies. He was obliged to fast some days, and to receive the sacrament. Upon the morning of his admittance, he was clad in a white garment, (for that of an esquire was brown) and proceeding to the church with a sword about his neck, he presented it to the priest, who returned it him again, with his benediction. He then knelt down, with his hands joined, before his lord, who was to instal him. The principal persons that assisted at the ceremony, and sometimes the ladies themselves, helped to put on his armour; one gave him the gold spurs, another the

cuirass, another the gauntlets, &c. But, most generally, the lord who invested him with this dignity, performed the ceremony himself, by delivering a sword and belt into the hands of the candidate, and touching him thrice on the shoulder with the flat side of his sword, or giving him a blow on the cheek with the palm of his hand, which was the last blow he was to put up with while he breathed. These ceremonies were observed only on solemn installations; but in the field, either before or after an engagement, the prince, or lord, only gave the accolade, which was touching the candidate on the neck, or shoulder, with his sword, and pronounc-. ing these, or like words: "In the name of God I make thee a knight." The highest class of chivalry was that of the knights bannerets, who were obliged to prove their nobility by four quarters, and to have an estate sufficient to maintain fifty men at arms. They were called bannerets, from their privilege of carrying a square banner on the top of their lance. The order of chivalry was in greatest vogue at the time of the crusades; but upon the declension of the feudal system, when kings began to have regular troops, the knights bannerets were no longer of use, and chivalry itself became little more than an empty name.

PLANTAGENET.

Ir may not, perhaps, be unacceptable to some of our readers, if we give the etymology of this name, which has been borne by several of our English kings. George Buck, Esq. compiler of the life of Richard the Third, in Kennet's History of England, says, it rather should be called Plantagenest, being derived from the two words planta genesta, or genista, that is, the plant broom. It was first given to Fulke, Earl of Anjou, who lived an hundred years before the Norman conquest. He, having been guilty of some enormous crimes, was enjoined, by way of penance, to go to the Holy Land, and submit to a severe castigation. He readily acquiesced, dressed himself in lowly attire, and, as a mark of his humility, wore a piece of broom in his cap, of which virtue this plant is a symbol, in the hieroglyphic language; and Virgil seems to confirm it, by calling it humiles genista, the humble broom. This expiation finished, Fulke, in remembrance of it, adopted the title of Plantagenest, and lived many years in honour and happiness. His descendants, accordingly, inherited the name, and many successive nobles of the line of Anjou, not only did the same, but even distinguished themselves by wearing a sprig of broom in their bonnets.

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REMARKS ON THE GARDEN SPIDER.

Extracted from a book of Memorandums.

(Continued from p. 11.)

Sept. 14th, 1801.

« HAVING expressed surprise at the work of a spider, I can now trace with certainty his operations and his power, so as to satisfy myself entirely. Often wondering how came all the long webs that tickle our noses and glitter in the sun, reaching from one tree to another, and often floating loose in the air; I, a few days past, broke down the web of a garden spider, which was suspended from a building to a fence across a pathway of about five feet, and much the same height, from the ground. When his suspending lines were broke, himself and his web fell flat against the building. An hour or two after I observed him in motion, and wished to know how he would contrive a communication with the fence as before.

"He seemed, for a while, as if taking a general survey of the distance and bearings of the objects around; and then letting himself down from a spout, to the distance of about six inches, hung suspended, not in their usual position, head downwards, but with one side downwards, and all his legs greatly extended. In this pos➡ ture I found that, without the help of his legs, he possessed a power of ejecting a web to what length he pleased, and with surprising swiftness. It had exactly the appearance of smoke, issuing through a pin hole; only, in this case, the stream instead of dissipating, became a lengthening line, that floated with the action of the wind, and visibly extended from its source, as fast, or faster than the nimblest black beetle can run. He emitted thus, about seven or eight feet of web, and then ascended to the spout, and waited the event. The line was carried by the wind cornerways, and lodged against the building, and consequently became useless. He did the same again, with the same unsuccess, and repeated his work a fourth time, when I caught hold of his floating line, at about four feet long, and when extended to five, I drew it over the leaf of a bean, and it became fast; but he, still lengthening it, the line was very slack. After a few minutes he applied himself to drawing the rope tight, which when done, he travelled upon to the opposite side, and made my fastening secure; then back again, emitting a new web as he went, and joining it to the other to strengthen it, till it became visibly improved.

L-VOL. XVII.

Next, starting from one end, he proceeded, without splicing a new strengthener, to the centre of the horizontal line, exactly to the centre, and there lowered himself down to the ground, and drew this perpendicular line very tight, or else it was his weight that did it. The ground beneath was a gravel path, he there fastened this line to the gravel, at E (see sketch) by pressing it down with a motion peculiar to themselves, and then ascended again: at which time he had formed an obtuse angle, by drawing down the horizontal line; then, forwarding his work, he drew the line D, to which the lines from the centre were to be fastened. To form the line D, he traversed the lines B C, bearing the line D in his claw detached, and, fastening it at the upper end of B, proceeded to draw the lines from A to C and B in the same manner. From this outline, the formation of the lines from the centre to the extremities appeared easy.

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I have sometimes broken down a part of their work, and have observed that they will carefully gather up the fragments of the web, and either leave it in white knots, or appear entirely to swallow it.

"A small spider had fastened a line of his work, to the outermost lines of a web, belonging to a very large one; the latter hastened to the confines of his premises, and cut asunder the stranger's holdfast, something like cutting a boat adrift. I find it a common opinion, that the spider, when he catches a fly, destroys him by poison; it may be so ;-but I see, by close observation, that his strong dependence is placed in folding him rapidly up in a web, which he draws from himself abundantly for the purpose.

"I wonder whether I shall hereafter think these moments misspent in watching a spider ?---At present I think their nature and properties strange, and not yet entirely known, even to naturalists, their whole proceedings amazingly curious; their degree of instinc tive contrivance, and their exactness of figure in their squares and angles, and visible use of every line, truly astonishing.

“The spider, while descending by his web, was baited by the flies, exactly as we see small birds follow a hawk."

October 4th, 1802. "Found last week a letter in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1759, (I think) by a Mr. Masser, 'on the Gossimer,' wherein he has been correct in his account of the spider having an ejecting power, as to the formation of his web. I found this by observation last summer, and was pleased at the discovery, for to me it was such, But his account of flying spiders is not clear and comprehensive. Does he mean spiders with wings? or, spiders with a power of unlimited elevation, by an ejectment of web?"

"Spiders again."

"Proved, by observing a spider with a small microscope, that when I had broken down a web in the garden, he carefully gathered up the fragments, and moistening the accumulated web in its approach to his mouth, swallowed it all again."

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

In addition to the foregoing extracts, I now wish to say a word or two in farther explanation. The nests of this kind of spider, are generally attached fast to woodwork, in a dry situation, in size not

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