With the exception of the Tower, and of the Old Palace and Abbey of Westminster, there is no spot in London, the history of which is so chequered, or which has witnessed scenes of such deep and varied interest as Smithfield. Here, in the days of our Norman sovereigns, the citizens and apprentices contended in their manly exercises; here were held those gorgeous tournaments, when the vast area was a scene of glittering armour, streaming pennons, and balconies covered with cloth of gold; here was the Tyburn of London, where the most atrocious criminals expiated their crimes on the gibbet; here perished the patriot Wallace, and the gentle Mortimer; here were held the trials by duel so famous in history; here, at the dawn of the Reformation, took place those terrible autos da fè, at which our forefathers earned their crowns of martyrdom; and, lastly, from the days of Henry the Second to our own time, here were annually celebrated the orgies and humours of Bartholomew Fair, immortalized by the wit of Ben Jonson, and by the pencil of Hogarth.

Many remarkable tournaments are recorded as having taken place at Smithfield, especially during the reign of Edward the Third. Here that war-like monarch frequently entertained with feats of arms his illustrious captives, the Kings of France and Scotland; and here, in 1374, towards the close of his long reign,-when the charms of Alice Pierce had infatuated the doting monarch, he sought to gratify his beautiful mistress by rendering her the

"observed of all observers," at one of the most magnificent tournaments of which we have any record. Gazing with rapture on her transcendant beauty, he conferred on her the title of "Lady of the Sun;" and taking her by the hand, in all the blaze of jewels and loveliness, led her from the royal apartments in the Tower to a triumphal chariot, in which he took his place by her side. The procession which followed consisted of the rank and beauty of the land; each lady being mounted on a beautiful palfrey, and having her bridle held by a knight on horseback.

Sixty horses

A still more magnificent tournament-for invitations had been sent to the flower of chivalry at all the courts of Europe-was held at Smithfield in the succeeding reign of Richard the Second. The The opening of the festivities, which lasted several days, is graphically painted by Froissart, who was not improbably a witness of the gorgeous scene he describes. "At three o'clock on the Sunday after Michaelmas day, the ceremony began. in rich trappings, each mounted by an esquire of honour, were seen advancing in a stately pace from the Tower of London; sixty ladies of rank, dressed in the richest elegance of the day, followed on their palfreys, one after another, each leading by a silver chain a knight completely armed for tilting. Minstrels and trumpets accompanied them to Smithfield amidst the shouting population: there the Queen and her fair train received them. The ladies dismounted, and withdrew to their allotted seats;

while the knights mounted their steeds, laced their helmets, and prepared for the encounter. They tilted at each other till dark. They all then adjourned to a sumptuous banquet, and dancing consumed the night, till fatigue compelled every one to seek repose. The next day the warlike sport recommenced; many were unhorsed; many lost their helmets; but they all persevered with eager courage and emulation, till night again summoned them to their supper, dancing, and concluding rest. The festivities were again repeated on the third day." The court subsequently removed to Windsor, where King Richard renewed his splendid hospitalities, and, at their conclusion, dismissed his foreign guests with many valuable presents.

*

We have already mentioned that appeals to arms, in cases of disputed guilt, or, as they were styled, trials by duel, were anciently accustomed to take place at Smithfield. The amusing combat between Horner and Peter, in the second part of Henry the Sixth, was founded by Shakespeare on a real fact, related both by Grafton and Holinshed. A master armourer, of the name of William Catour, having been accused of treason by his apprentice, John Davy, and the former strenuously denying his guilt, a day was appointed for them to bring the point to an issue by single combat, at Smithfield. The armourer, there is no doubt, was an innocent man; but, unfortunately for him, on the morning of the

*Act ii., scene 3.

duel, his friends, to use the words of Grafton, plied him with so much "malmsey and aquavite," that he fell an easy prey to his accuser. The "false ser

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vant," however, did not long evade the hands of justice. Being convicted of felony," says Holinshed, "in a court of assize, he was judged to be hanged, and so he was at Tyburn." It appears by some documents connected with this curious trial, which are still preserved in the Exchequer, that the barriers were brought to Smithfield from Westminster, that a quantity of sand and gravel was laid down on the occasion, and that the spot where the combatants fought was strewed with gravel. Among the Cottonian MSS. in the British Museum, are also preserved the original warrants authorizing the combat, from which it appears that, previous to the encounter, the combatants were instructed in the use of arms, by persons nominated and paid by the Crown. The last single combat which we shall mention, as having taken place at Smithfield, was one famous in the annals of chivalry, which was fought in 1467, between the Bastard of Burgundy brother of Charles Duke of Burgundy, and Anthony Lord Scales, brother-in-law to King Edward the Fourth. The Bastard, it seems, having challenged Lord Scales "to fight with him both on horseback and foot," King Edward not only gave his consent to the encounter, but expressed his intention of being present. Accordingly, on the appointed day, the ladies of the court, escorted by the principal nobility of the realm, took their places in the mag

nificent galleries appropriated for them, and shortly afterwards, the rival knights made their appearance in the lists. The duel was continued during three successive days. On the first day they fought on foot, with spears, and "parted with equal honour." The next day they encountered each other on horseback. "The Lord Scales's horse," says Stow, "having on his chafron a long spear pike of steel, as the two champions coped together, the same horse thrust his pike into the nostrils of the Bastard's horse, so that for very pain he mounted so high that he fell on the one side with his master; and the Lord Scales rode about him with his sword drawn, till the King commanded the Marshal to help up the Bastard." The Bastard, having regained his legs, entreated permission to renew the combat, but the King peremptorily refused his consent. The final encounter, however, was merely deferred till the following morning, when, surrounded by all the beauty and chivalry of the land, the rival knights again made their appearance in the lists armed with pole-axes, and on foot. The fight was continued valiantly on both sides for some time, till Lord Scales succeeded in forcing the point of his pole-axe into an aperture in the Bastard's helmet, and, but for the interference of the King, who threw down his warder, would have forced his antagonist on his knees. The Bastard entreated to be allowed to renew the fight, but the referees, the Constable and the Earl Marshal, gave it as their