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brought from Ware by the great Sir
Hugh Middleton, was let into the lower
reservoir at Islington, with great cere-
mony: the next year Smithfield was first
paved, and in 1615, the sides of the
streets of the city being paved with
pebble stones, which had hitherto ren-
dered walking very troublesome, the inha-
bitants of the principal streets first began
to pave their doors with broad free stone
and flags.
In the year 1625, when King Charles I.
ascended the throne, a most dreadful pes-
tilence raged in London; the fatal effects
of this distemper had been frequently felt;
but it now carried off, within the space of
a year, in the city and suburbs, 35,417
persons, besides those who died of other
distempers, which, in the whole, amount-
ed to 54,265, said to be one third of the
inhabitants.
It is remarkable that in the year 1629,
the goldsmiths shops in the south row of
Cheapside, reached from the Old Change
to Buckler's Bury, exclusive of only four
shops of other trades in all that space; but
these four shops gave King Charles I. and
his Privy Council such offence, that they
sent an order to the Lord Mayor and Al-
dermen, commanding them to turn out
the tenants, and to oblige all the gold-
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| L O N | 71 |
smiths in the city, to settle in Cheapside
and Lombard Street. This arbitrary or-
der however not being complied with, se-
veral others were sent, both by the
Council and the court of Star-chamber,
in which they were commanded to com-
mit the tenants to prison, if they refused to
give security to quit their houses by a cer-
tain day: and the court of Star-chamber
even threatened the Alderman of the
ward, that if he or his deputy did not
immediately cause every such shop to be
shut up, he or his deputy should be sent
to prison, by warrant from the Board.
In 1633, King Charles I. being return-
ed from his progress into Scotland, the
gentlemen of the four Inns of Court en-
tertained their Majesties with a pompous
masque, which excelled every thing of
the kind that had been seen in England,
the expence amounting to 21,000l. the
greatest sum probably ever expended in
this kingdom in mere shew, except at a
coronation; we shall therefore give it our
readers, as a specimen of the taste of the
times; the following account being the
more curious, as these kinds of entertain-
ments are now entirely laid aside.
The masquers, musicians, and all who
were actors, met on Candlemas day in the
afternoon, at Ely House in Holborn,
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