Round the bole is this inscription-The Guift of Sr Benjamin Maddox, Baronet, to ye Parrish of St. Giles Cripplegate, London, to be Vsed by ye Stewards of ye Natives of ye said Parrish. Arms, Party per pale, two lions passant. Crest, on a helmet and wreath, a lion sejant, holding a sword. This silver head screws on to the staff, which is of cane, and the whole length is 7 feet.

2. A silver breastplate for the same officer, chased with a view of the ancient Gate, and three cripples walking under it, bordered by frame-work of elegant design, inscribed

THE GIFT OF YE STEWARDS FOR YE YEAR 1693.

Dimensions, 8 by 7 inches; maker's mark D.A. under a small crown.

3. Four silver badges for the arm, chased with the arms of Sir Benjamin Maddox (as already described), and made to be worn upon All Saints' Day by his pensioners (who receive 157. per annum, in quarterly payments), when they attend divine service. Dimensions, 3 by 24 inches.

Sir Benjamin Maddox also gave, in the year 1709, a copper-plate which presents a view of the Church, placed above a letter of invitation to the feasts of the Society of Natives, impressions from which are still used for the purpose.

The estate left by Sir Benjamin to support his charities consists of 25 acres, 3 roods, in the parishes of Wormley and Broxbourne, in Hertfordshire; and a plan thereof, made in 1776, is suspended in the Inquest

room.

The company then inspected the bastions of London Wall, in Cripplegate churchyard, one now inclosed by the Almshouses of the Clothworkers' Company, and the other forming the walls of the Barber-Surgeons' Hall.

From thence they proceeded to the Almshouses of the Clothworkers' Company, and the ancient crypt under Lambe's Chapel, the following account of which was read by Mr. E. Woodthorpe. From the sound produced when the ground is struck, it is evident that a well existed here, although long disused.

"The CRYPT OF LAMBE'S CHAPEL, in Monkwell Street, is a remarkably pure and finished specimen of the Norman style. The vaulted roof has been supported by nine short columns, six of which remain, with very ornate capitals. The intersecting ribs of the groining have zig-zag mouldings and a spiral ornament. The carved work is of Caen stone. The chapel was part of the Hermitage of St. James's in the Wall,' a cell to the Abbey of Garendon, in Leicestershire, as appeareth by a record of Edward I. The Hermitage and appurtenances were purchased of Edward VI. by William Lambe, who bequeathed it and endowed it at his death for the benefit of the Clothworkers' Company, of which he was a member."

The last place visited was the Hall of the Barber-Surgeons' Company,

where the company were received by the Master and Warden, and Clerk of the Company.

The following paper was read by F. W. FAIRHOLT, Esq. F.S.A.:—

"We meet to-day in one of the most interesting of the old civic halls of London: one of the very few spared by the Great Fire, and containing works, which, as we admire, lead us to regret the great losses we, in common with our ancestors, suffer from that great calamity. The hall, partly built in a portion of the ancient city wall, and the court room, in which we now stand, are the designs of one of our greatest native architects, Inigo Jones. The pictures that decorate the walls exceed in value and interest those possessed by any other city company. Though the least rich in one (the usually accepted) sense, they are the richest in all that fine art can add to the adornments of life.

"My object being only to give you a brief and cursory idea of the contents of this Hall, I shall not be required to detail the history of the Company, or do more than state that the Barbers of the old time were also the chief Surgeons, that they took precedence of them, and that the position of this company at that period was similar to that now held by the Royal College of Surgeons. Surgery being a neglected art, was elevated by its connection with the Barbers' Company in 1541, when King Henry VIII. granted the charter; nor was a disunion effected until so comparatively modern a period as 1745, when they were formally disunited by George II. George III. gave the charter of incorporation to the Royal College of Surgeons, March 22, 1800.

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We owe to the Barber-Surgeons' desire to commemorate their grant by Henry VIII. one of the finest pictures by Holbein in England. I need not long dwell on the merits of a picture which has stood the test of criticism for three hundred years. In the reign of James I. it was borrowed by that monarch to be copied for his use." It attracted the attention of the diarist, Sam. Pepys, and in 1668, he records that he came here with Harris the actor, thinking by aid of a friendly surgeon to have bought it cheaply; he says, 'I did think to give £200 for it, it being said to be worth £1000," -luckily for the company he, on consideration, thought it not a pleasant though a good picture,' and so 'had no mind to it.' The company, in 1734, engaged Robert Baron to engrave it. Baron was one of the first engravers of his day, and aided Hogarth in some of his works. His drawing hangs in this room, and is a faithful copy, but he did not reverse his engraving; consequently the print is in arrangement exactly in reverse of the picture. The company awarded Baron 150 guineas for the engraving, and appointed Bowles to publish prints at half-a-guinea each. The original cartoon for the picture is now in the possession of the Royal College of Surgeons, and is a very remarkable work; it varies from the picture in *The copy then made was probably destroyed in the fire of Whitehall Palace.

There is a smaller engraving by W. P. Sherlock, in 1817, and one in the Illustrated London News a few years ago.

some essential particulars. The grouping is not quite so good; it has more formalism; the background has a double latticed window, occupying the place of the long inscription upon the painting; through this window the tower of old St. Bride's is visible, marking the event as taking place in the Royal Palace of Bridewell. The heads are evidently the studies Holbein made from life, and are on separate pieces of paper cut and fitted on the cartoon. The present picture is on oak panel, and the portraits all bear the names of each person upon them. The one who receives the charter is Thomas Vicary, who was sergeant-surgeon in the courts of Henry VIII. Edward VI. Mary and Elizabeth, and author of the first anatomical work in our language. In front of him kneels John Aylef, who was a merchant of Blackwell Hall as well as a surgeon, and whose quaintly rhymed epitaph, formerly on his tomb in St. Michael's, Basinghall Street, is worth quoting:

In Surgery brought up in youth,

A Knight here lieth dead;
A Knight and eke a Surgeon, such
As England seld hath bred.
For which so sovereign gift of God,
Wherein he did excel,

King Henry VIII. called him to court,
Who loved him dearly well.
King Edward, for his service sake,
Bade him rise up a Knight;

A name of praise, and ever since
He Sir John Aylefe hight.

"The grave-looking figure, who so much resembles Erasmus, kneeling in the foreground to the other side of the King, is John Chambre, the King's own physician, who was also a churchman, and so differs from the rest in costume. He was Dean of the Royal Chapel at Westminster. Tenison, Harman, and Pen were the King's barbers; but, perhaps, to us the most interesting is that of Dr. Butts, for there we gaze on one of Shakespeare's characters, and painted from the life. His friendly interference in rescuing Cranmer from the disgraceful position his enemies had awarded him, among pages and footboys at the Council Chamber door, leads to one of the best scenes in the play; and this little act has given Butts an immortality which no other action of his life has secured.

"Before leaving this picture we may note Walpole's praises: 'That capital picture,' says he, in which the character of his Majesty's bluff haughtiness is well represented, and all the heads are finely executed.' I understand the larger number of visitors who come to see it are foreigners; I am ashamed to say few London men have seen it; but the late Sir Robert Peel came frequently to gaze upon it, and always expressed his highest appreciation of its varied excellencies.

"The fine head of Inigo Jones, by Vandyck, may next arrest attention; it finds an appropriate place here; and it may be worth remarking that that architectural enthusiast, the Earl of Burlington, was at the expense of restoring this hall once, out of respect to Jones's memory.

"Another portrait is that of Sir Charles Scarborough, by Walker. He was physician to Charles and James II., and remarkable for his boldness in bleeding Charles after his stroke of apoplexy, giving him a few days more of life, for which he was awarded £1,000, but he was never paid; the King died, and the grant was forgotten. Cowley has addressed some complimentary verses on his skill.

“To Dr. Arris we are indebted for being enabled to inspect one of the most curious pieces of plate in the city. The necessities of the company about the middle of the seventeenth century obliged them to sell their plate, and among it the cup given to the company by Henry VIII. Dr. Arris bought it, and re-gave it to the society. From the plate-mark it appears to have been made in 1501, and was probably made for royal use. I need not insist on the rarity of ancient plate; it is only to be seen in our old halls and colleges; all we possess in England would go into a small cabinet, and is now widely scattered.* Charles II. gave the cup fashioned like the Royal Oak, with gilt acorns hanging to it. Other cups were gifts or fines for not serving offices.

"In conclusion, I would express a fervent wish for the well-being of the old society; it has many claims on our regard; not the least of which is the laudable care with which it has retained and preserved its works of early art."

The Hon. Secretary then proposed the names of fifteen gentlemen who had joined the Society during the day. He said that, although the object of this meeting was to give the members an opportunity of seeing those relics of the past which were interesting to them, it is important always to obtain members, so that by adding to their funds the Society may be enabled to extend their sphere of usefulness.

Many of the company assembled afterwards to dinner at the Masons' Hall, Edmund Woodthorpe, Esq. in the Chair.

*Pepys has noted dining in this hall 27th February, 1662, and says, " Among other observances we drunk the King's health out of a gilt cup given by King Henry VIII. to this company, with bells hanging at it, which every man is to ring by shaking after he hath drunk up the whole cup," a custom still retained.

SIXTEENTH GENERAL (FOURTH ANNUAL) MEETING,

Held at the Rooms of the Society of Arts, Adelphi, on Thursday, May 5th,

1859,

JOHN GOUGH NICHOLS, Esq. F.S.A. in the Chair.

The Honorary Secretary, Mr. Henry W. Sass, read the Report of the Council as follows:

REPORT.

In accordance with their annual custom, the Council offer their Fourth Report to the Members of the London and Middlesex Archæological Society, and feel much pleasure in congratulating them on its continued prosperity.

The number of Members elected since the Meeting in July last is 47. The losses have been 22: of whom two have been removed by death, and 20 by resignation. The present number of Members is 396.

Since the publication of the last Report the Society has held three General Meetings: one on the 20th October, 1858, at Enfield, for the investigation of the town and neighbourhood, at which three papers were read (by the Rev. Thomas Hugo, Mr. John Gough Nichols, and Mr. John Tuff), on matters connected therewith: an Evening Meeting at the Marylebone Literary and Scientific Institution, on February the 9th, when three papers were read (by Mr. William Tayler, On Marylebone past and present; by Mr. George Mackenzie; and by the Rev. Thomas Hugo), on which considerable discussion ensued: and one on April 13th, at Christ's Hospital, &c. when various papers were read (by the Rev. Thomas Hugo, Mr. Alfred White, Mr. Edmund Woodthorpe, and Mr. F. W. Fairholt), the Minutes of which you have just heard read. At each of these Meetings there has been a large attendance, many points of great archæological interest have been brought forward, and antiquities and works of art connected with the different localities have been exhibited.

Your Council have taken into consideration the publication of the Third Part of Volume I. of the Transactions, and in consequence of the smallness of the funds at their disposal, and their anxiety to keep the Society free from debt, it has been determined to apply to the body of the Members for voluntary extraneous aid. In addition to which, having a large number of the First and Second Parts of the Transactions on hand, they have resolved to offer them to those members who have recently joined the Society, and who have not these Parts, at the publishing price, five shillings each, at which price it is their intention to allow all Members to purchase them who join the Society in the course of the present year.

They now submit the audited accounts of the Society, which show a