the anathemas of the church, in the event of his failing in his engagement, that the barons and clergy were induced to aid him in his distress. It was decided that the ceremony should take place in Westminster Hall, under every circumstance which could tend to make it solemn and impressive. There were assembled there on the 3rd of May, the King, the nobles, the prelates, and the heads of the great ecclesiastical establishments; the churchmen, clad in their ecclesiastical robes, bearing each a lighted taper in his hand. For some reason a lighted taper was offered to the King, but he declined it, saying pointedly, "he was no priest;" while at the same time, to evince his sincerity, he offered to "keep his hand upon his breast during the proceedings." The scene which followed may be more readily imagined than described. In the midst of a solemn silence, the Archbishop of Canterbury arose from his seat, and in the most awful language invoked the curse of heaven on whomsoever should hereafter infringe the charters of the realm. At the moment when the frightful anathema was passing his lips, the torches were thrown smoking and stinking on the ground, and the voice of the Archbishop rose to a louder pitch; "thus," he said, "be extinguished, and stink, and smoke in hell, all those who dare to violate the charters of the kingdom." After a short pause, the King himself arose, and, with his hand still on his heart, exclaimed, in a no less solemn manner, "So may God help me, I will inviolably observe all these things, as I

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am a man and a Christian, and a knight, and a crowned and anointed King." It is possible Henry may have been sincere at the moment, but how indifferently he kept his solemn oath, history has left us a melancholy record.

The only other incident of any interest connected with Westminster Hall in the reign of Henry the Third, was an extraordinary and bloody fracas, arising out of an ancient feud, which took place in 1269, between John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, and Sir Alan la Zouche, one of the King's justices, in which both of these powerful subjects appear to have taken a part with their followers. Sir Alan, being closely pressed by his enemies, flew towards the King's chamber, and had nearly reached it, when he was pierced by the swords of his pursuers. The latter immediately took boat, and flew to seek a place of concealment on the other side of the river, leaving their victim weltering in his blood. His groans soon attracted the ear of the King and his son, Prince Edward, who were naturally not a little indignant at so gross an outrage having been perpetrated so near the domestic apartments of the sovereign. It affords a curious feature of the manners of the times, that De Warenne immediately sought refuge in, and fortified himself in his castle of Reigate; nor was it by the force of the royal authority, but through the mediation of the Duke of Gloucester, and Henry, son of the King of Almaine, that he was induced to submit to the King's mercy. The Earl escaped with

a fine and penance, but Sir Alan was less fortunate, and died shortly afterwards of the effect of his wounds.

On the death of Henry the Third, which took place on the 16th of November, 1272, we find his son proclaimed with all due honours in Westminster Hall, as King Edward the First. Here also, on the 19th of August, 1274, on the occasion of his coronation and his marriage with Eleanor of Castile, we find the young and chivalrous monarch celebrating the double ceremony in the hall of Rufus, with extraordinary magnificence. The nuptial banquet, moreover, was graced by the presence of Alexander, King of Scotland, and the chosen of the Scottish nobility. "The King of Scotland," says the old chronicler, Henry de Knyghton, "was accompanied by one hundred knights on horseback, who, as soon as they had dismounted, turned their steeds loose for any one to catch and keep that thought proper. Then came Edmund, Earl of Cornwall, the King's nephew, and the Earls of Gloucester, Pembroke, and Warenne, each having in their company an hundred illustrious knights, wearing their lord's armour; and when they had alighted from their palfreys, they also set them free, that whoever chose might take them unquestioned. And the aqueduct in Cheapside poured forth white wine and red, like water, for those who would to drink at pleasure."

Edward the Second was crowned at Westminster, on the 25th of February, 1308; and Westminster

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Hall was apparently the scene of the magnificent banquetings and rejoicings which accompanied that event, as well as that of his marriage, the same year, with Isabella, the beautiful daughter of Philip le Bel, King of France. When the misconduct of the weak and voluptuous monarch compelled his barons to rise in arms against him, we find him a fugitive at one time in the North of England, and, a short time afterwards, seated on his throne in Westminster Hall, surrounded by all the pomp of royalty, and knelt to by all the magnates of the land. It was only on the 19th of June, 1312, that the associated barons caused his beloved favourite Piers Gaveston, to be dragged from the dungeons of Warwick Castle to the block; and yet, on the 16th of October, the following year, while yet in his heart breathing resentment against the murderers of his minion, we find the barons kneeling submissively to him in Westminster Hall; and, in a full assemblage of the people, expressing their contrition, and acknowledging his clemency.

Four years afterwards, while the King was still pursuing his career of libertinism and misrule, the following remarkable occurrence took place in Westminster Hall. "This year," says the old monkish historiographer, Walsingham, "the King celebrated the feast of Pentecost in the Great Hall at Westminster, where, as he sat in the royal seat at table, in the presence of the great men of his kingdom, there entered a woman adorned with a theatrical dress, sitting on a fine horse with corre

sponding trappings; who, after the manner of players, made a circuit round the tables, and at length ascended the steps to the table of the King, and laid before him a certain letter; then reining back her steed and saluting the guests, she retired as she came. The King had the letter opened, that he might know its contents, which were as follows, 'His lordship the King shews little courtly consideration for his knights, who in his father's time, and in his own, have exposed themselves to various dangers, and have spent or diminished their substance in their service; while others who have not borne the weight of business, have been abundantly enriched.' When these things were heard, the guests looking upon one another, wondered at the boldness of the woman, and the porters or doorkeepers were blamed for having suffered her to enter; but they excused themselves, answering that it was not the custom at the royal palace in any way to prohibit the entrance of players, especially at solemn festivals. Persons were then sent after the woman, who was easily found, taken, and committed to prison; and being required to tell why she had acted in such a manner, she truly replied that she had been induced to do it by a certain knight for a proper reward. The knight being sent for, and brought before the King, in reply to inquiries, nothing fearing, boldly confessed himself the author of the letter, and avowed that he had consulted the King's honour in what he had done. Therefore the knight by his constancy rendered himself deserving