to a few of the learned societies absorb another portion of the amount at my disposal, but the remaining portion has been available for my special object. The result has been that I have been able to gather together what I venture to consider a valuable mass of material for the history of S. Paul's Cathedral. I point, with no little satisfaction, to the series of Paul's Cross Sermons which I have collected. All who know the place which Paul's Cross occupied in the political and civil, no less than in the religious, history of the times, will appreciate the importance of the collection. For certainly in these vigorous discourses the men of the past age stand before us in their habit as they lived. 'There is no Past, so long as Books shall live, For him who seeks you well. Ye make the Past our heritage and home." I am aware that the series is far from being complete; and, with a view to its enlargement, I have printed a list of Paul's Cross Sermons3 which are in the British Museum, but of which, at present, I have not been able to obtain copies. And I am hopeful that, in the course of years, many of these, by gift or by purchase, may find their way to the Cathedral. Second in interest to the Paul's Cross Sermons, but still with a certain historical value, is the series of sermons preached not at the Cross, but within the walls of the Cathedral. 4 These also throw considerable light upon the manners and customs of our forefathers in the great City. Attention may be specially directed to the annual services held in the Cathedral, at which the Native Citizens of London,'5 or the Natives of S. Martin-in-the-Fields,' or the 'Gentlemen of Cheshire," or the 'Gentlemen of Wiltshire,'8 met together on the occasion of their annual feast. In like manner, the Gentlemen educated at S. Paul's School, or at Eton, 10 were accustomed to keep an anniversary, and to mark it by a religious service. The numerous sermons preached on occasions of public thanksgiving reflect the temper of the times, and the changing political sentiment of the restless seventeenth century. A few examples will serve to illustrate my meaning. In 1639 Dr. Valentine preaches on the day of His Maiesties most 1 See pp. 85-97. 2 Lord Lytton. (In Ballads of Books, edited by Andrew Lang, 1885.) See Appendix, pp. 232-237. 4 See pp. 97-114. 5 In 1656, 1657, and 1658. 7 In 1655. € In 1684. 10 In 1702. happy Inauguration, and of His Northerne Expedition.' In 1645 Simeon Ash preaches at a 'Publike Thanksgiving for the taking in of the Towns and Castles of Caermarthen and Mounmouth in Wales.' In 1648 Jo. Geree anxiously endeavours to clear himself from 'Malignancy imputed to him by some left-eared Auditors,' and preaches about 'the Red Horse, or the Bloodines of War.' In 1651 Joseph Carryl commemorates the 'wonderfull Victorie to the Parliament Forces before Worcester, in the total defeat of the Enemie.' In 1660 Dr. Gauden rejoices over the restoring of 'the Secluded Members of Parliament to the House of Commons ;' and the 'Door of Hope thereby opened to the fulness and freedom of future Parliaments, the most probable means under God for healing the hurts and recovering the health of these three Brittish Kingdomes.' In 1660 Richard Baxter discourses at the thanksgiving for God raising up and succeeding his Excellency, and other Instruments, in order to his Majesties Restoration and the settlement of these Nations.' In 1661 Henry Hibbert declares His Majesties most wonderful, glorious, peaceable, and joyful Restauration to the actual possession of his undoubted, hereditary, Sovereign, and actual authority;' the day being also his Majesty's most memorable Birth-Day.' The Lord Mayor attends the ministry of this master of adjectives. One more example only must be quoted, when, in the same year, Samuel Stone is the preacher, at 'the Initial of the Reverend Dr. John Barwick, Dean; at the first Celebrity of Divine Service with the Organ and Choristers, which the Lord Maior himself Solemniz'd with his Personal presence from the very beginning.' Puritan ascendancy had passed away, and once more it was lawful to mention Saint Paul; whereas, of late, preachers had described themselves as Ministers of the Gospell at Magnus, Pastour of Christopher Le Stocks, minister of Mary Wolnoth, and the like. Queen Anne was a frequent visitor to the Cathedral, coming to return thanks for the great victories achieved under Marlborough. A series of sermons, preached on occasion of these thanksgivings, will be found recorded here. One notable and rare sermon, by Dean Feckenham, 'at the celebration of the exequies of the righte excellent and famous princesse, lady Jone, Quene of Spayne, Sicilie, & Nauarre,' in 1555, deserves especial notice. As does also 'the Sermō of doctor Colete, made to the Conuocation of Paules.' The copy is, alas, imperfect; the only perfect copy known forms one of the many gems of the Lambeth Library. Specially interesting also is the little collection of plays acted by the Children of Paul's.1 In my Gleanings in Old S. Paul's I have devoted a chapter to the subject of these plays, and have attempted to draw up a list, no doubt an imperfect one, of the various pieces enacted by the young players. I do not repeat the list in the present volume, but I will venture to express a hope that generous donors may be found who will enrich this curious collection. In the more general class of books relating to the history of the Cathedral2 I have been an insatiable collector; the largest folio or the thinnest pamphlet, the great work of some illustrious genius or the ephemeral production of some obscure pamphleteer, has been welcome. Nothing can be too large, nothing too small, to find a place in such a series. The almost worthless pamphlet of to-day may, a few years hence, supply a date or a fact worth recording, and would then probably be sought for in vain. I have included in the Catalogue a few tracts relating to Sir Christopher Wren,3 even though they record, to the lasting disgrace of the perpetrators, the hard measure meted out to the illustrious architect by those who ought to have known better. The Sacheverell controversy occupies a small place in my list, not from any great interest now attaching to the subject, but because the sermon from which it originated was preached within the walls of the Cathedral. In the series of pamphlets, broadsides, and views which I have gathered together, the story of the funerals of Nelson and of Wellington is told in great detail. From the history of S. Paul's to that of the great City which it adorns is an easy and natural transition. Sketches of the history of S. Paul's are found in every important History or Survey of London; and hence books of this kind soon came to be included in my search. Any experienced collector will readily observe that many valuable works are wanting; but this department of the Library will certainly grow. The City Fathers have been generous givers, and have placed upon our shelves the important works issued from time to time by the Guildhall Library Committee. A fair number of scarce tracts will be found in this section of the Catalogue, together with many quaint and curious little books, not 1 See pp. 120, 121. 2 See pp. 71-85. 3 See pp. 121, 122. See pp. 125, 126; and also pp. 200-202. easily to be obtained, such as D. Lupton's London and the Countrey Carbonadoed, The Sermon and Prophecie of Mr. James Hunt of the Countie of Kent, or the Strange News from New-Gate, the latter illustrating the remarkable and most instructive outbreak of fanaticism in the middle of the seventeenth century; the tract Three Looks over London, with its interesting woodcut of Paul's Cross as it appeared in 1643; the pamphlet called News from the Dead, showing that the Barber-Surgeons' Company was still in possession of its dissectingroom in 1740 (illustrative details will be found in Mr. Sidney Young's admirable Annals of the Barber Surgeons. The entry on p. 419:1 '1740. Paid for mending the windows broke upon bringing the last Body from Tyburn - o 6 o' refers to some popular tumult on this very occasion. The beadles of the company were apt to meet with rough usage when claiming and removing the bodies of executed malefactors); Mr. Herbert Croft's satirical tract, The Wreck of Westminster Abbey; and many another illustration of the history of the past. It is much to be wished that some future Librarian may augment the sections relating to the City Parishes and to the Livery Companies.2 Dr. Freshfield has greatly enriched the former section by presenting copies of his privately printed volumes, and several of the Livery Companies have generously sent us records of their history— a history of the highest interest to the student of municipal institutions. It is difficult to gather together the scattered notices of City parishes which have from time to time appeared-often privately printed-sometimes consisting only of a very few leaves, and liable, therefore, to perish in the using, though they frequently deserve a better fate; whilst the histories of the City companies are costly and often sumptuous volumes, severely taxing the resources of the Library. Attention may be specially directed to the series of tracts relating to Mr. Henry Burton, the very notorious Rector of S. Matthew, Friday Street, who, in consequence of a sermon preached in this church, was condemned to stand in the pillory in the Palace Yard at Westminster, to lose his ears, to pay a fine of £5,000 to the king, and to be imprisoned for life. He suffered part of his sentence, but in 1640 was released by order of Parliament. Fuller says 'that he rather took a snap than any meat in any University.' He afterward 1 See also Annals of the Barber Surgeons' Company, pp. 358, 559. 3 See pp. 150, 151. turned Independent, and set up a separatist congregation of his own. The circumstance that I am Rector of the parish of S. Matthew, Friday Street,1 has led me to pay special attention to this subject. Not least in interest is the curious series of tracts2 which tell the story of Cheapside Cross and those which supply accounts of the Plague and the Great Fire.3 I have also gathered together by the process of slow and laborious accumulation a large collection (amounting to about 951 plates) of Maps, Plans, and Views of London and of S. Paul's Cathedral. To these are added a few illustrations relating to Chertsey, Barking, Fulham, and other places whose story is interwoven with that of S. Paul's.4 These Plans and Views are for the most part mounted uniformly on 530 sheets,5 and are placed in a series of Solander cases, after a plan suggested to me by the late Mr. Fagan, whose efficient conduct of his department in the British Museum is well-known to all students. These cases are arranged as follows: LONDON Maps and Plans. (Two cases.) General Views. (Three cases.) S. PAUL'S: The Old Cathedral. PAGEANTS: The Present Building: Interior. Exterior. (Two Cases.) Including Public Thanksgivings, Ceremonials, MISCELLANEOUS. I desire to acknowledge the great care and personal interest which Mr. Walter V. Danielle has taken in arranging and mounting this large mass of material, and also in compiling the catalogue of this portion of the collection, which is large and varied, the result of the labours of many years, comprising some very rare maps, plans, and 1 The parish is now united with S. Vedast, Foster Lane. See pp. 155, 156. See pp. 156-158. This enumeration does not include: 28 old views of London in a separate quarto volume. 50 wood-cuts from Longman's History of S. Paul's. 51 sheets of the Ordnance Maps of London. 120 Photographs of the Society for Photographing Relics of Old London. 24 sheets Horwood's Map of London. 226 Drawings and Tracings by Mr. W. Burges, in a portfolio. Rocque's, Visscher's, and Hollar's Maps of London, in separate cases. 5 Each sheet measuring 31 inches by 21 inches. 6 Of Mortimer Street. |
