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just to observe, that in stating the question, shutting the mouth ought to precede the opening; and that the ceremony of shutting respected the consistories and congregations, as well as the conclave.

1779, July.

Yours, &c.

T. Row

MR. URBAN,

LXXXVII. On the Curfew.

THE late Mr. Gostling, of Canterbury, was a worthy man, and well respected for his good-nature and pleasantry; but, at the same time, he was very sanguine, and not a little opinionated, insomuch that when he had taken a thing into his head, it was not an easy matter to drive it out. He was a great collector of antiquities; and, in a long life, had amassed a considerable number of curious antique articles. Amonst other matters, he had gotten a piece of household furniture, of copper, which he was pleased to call a curfew; and his friends, on account of his years and good-humour, did not care to contradict him. This implement has since been engraved in the Antiquarian Repertory, Vol. I. p. 89, and F. G. who communicated the drawing to the conductor of that work, having without scruple adopted the old gentleman's notion of it, has described it as a curfew, from its use of suddenly putting out a fire; and says, "Probably curfews were used in the time of William the Conqueror, who, in the first year of his reign, directed that, on the ringing of a certain bell, all persons should put out their fires and candles."

Now, Sir, authors agree in the institution of the curfewbell, by William the Conqueror; and it was doubtless a good stroke of policy, imitated afterwards by others on like occasions*: but they call it the corfeu-bell, or the corfeu, in which latter short expression either bell is understood, or the time of night, or the injunction for putting out the fire, is meant. However, not a word is said by any of them, of any particular implement made use of for the purpose of

* Antiqu. Repertory, p. 216. As to the use of cerfeu in other countrie see Du Fresne, v. Ignitegium.

extinguishing the fire; nor do we meet with the name of torfeu, as an implement, in any ancient writer whatsoever; and thereupon I incline to think there never was any such.

But, you will ask, for what use, then, could this old piece of household serve? I answer, you have heard of baking bread or cakes, or other matters, under embers*; and the same is practised now-a-days in most counties where they burn wood. They make clean a place in the hearth, lay the bread upon it, cover it with something (this implement, for example) to keep the ashes from it, and then rake a proper quantity of coals and ashes upon it. This will account for those "others of the kind still remaining in Kent and Sussex+," and, in my opinion, for the true use of Mr. Gostling's implement, which does not appear to me, to judge from its elegance in the draught, to be of any such great antiquity as the practice of the corfeu introduced by the Conqueror, since this ceased, as I suspect, temp. Henr. Primi, (for so I understand those words of Knyghton, "Lucernarum usum tempore Patris sui intermissum restituit de nocte in curia suaf,") though the ringing of the bell continued, and even does so to this day, in many places.

1779, Aug.

Yours, &c.

T. Row.

LXXXVIII. Yew-trees in Church-yards, their probable Use.

MR. URBAN,

Dec. 1.

THE large yew-trees that we see in some church-yards have been supposed to have been originally planted there, either to protect the churches from storms, or to furnish the parishioners with bows. Neither of these reasons seem satisfactory. The slow growth of these trees seems to render them improper for the first purpose: besides, if that had been the design, we should probably have seen the

* Genesis XVIII. 6. and Bishop Patrick ad loc. + Antiqu. Repert. p. 90.

Calmet, Dict. v. Eating,

See Stow, Hist. p. 135

Hen. Knyghton, inter X. Script. col. 2314. Malmesbury, p. 156, who, for tempore patris, has tempore fratris. Knyghton, However, evidently transcribes William of Malmsbury

church-yards better furnished with them, than they now are; it being very rare to meet with above one or two of them in the same place. It cannot indeed be denied, but that when they are grown to a great size, their thick foliage may be a good protection from storms, and accordingly, in the Observations on the more ancient Statutes, we are informed, that, upon felling the yew-trees in a country church-yard in Wales, the roof of the church suffered excessively. But though perhaps, in a few parishes, more than usual of these trees might for some reason or other be planted in church-yards; yet, as I observed, their slow growth, and the few remains of them at present, give reason to believe, that they were not in general planted for that purpose. The statute of 13 Ed. I. that settles the property of trees in church-yards, recites indeed that they were often planted" to defend the force of the wind from hurting of the church;" but is so far from giving room to think that yews were planted for such defence, that it appears, that the trees in question were such as were fit for the repairs of the church and chancel, and were to be cut down for no other purpose.

Nor am I better satisfied, that yews were planted in church-yards to furnish bows: at least, our ancient legislators appear not to have ordered such plantations; for though there are several laws that encourage archery, and condescend so far as to regulate many very minute particulars relative to bows and arrows, yet I cannot find any statute or proclamation that directs the cultivation of the yewtree in any place whatever; whereas James I. when he hoped to introduce the manufacture of silk among us, wisely ordered that church-yards should be planted with mulberry-trees for the use of the parish. On the contrary, our old laws, though full of complaints of the scarcity and dearness of bow-staves, instead of ordering the cultivation of the yew-tree at home, oblige merchants to import materials for bows from abroad. I shall quote some passages from these statutes as curiosities. One in 12 Edward ÏV. recites, that the King had perceived, by a petition from the commons, the great scarcity and excessive price of bowstaves, and therefore ordains, that every merchant stranger that shall convey into this land any merchandise of the city or country of Venice, or of any other city, town, or country, from whence any such bowstaves have been before this time brought, shall bring at the same time four bowstaves for every ton of such merchandise. Another in the reign of Rich. III. informs us, that upon the bowyers representing

that in times past, good and able stuff of bowstaves had been brought into this realm, as well by English merchants as strangers, whereby the inhabitants, bowyers, might competently live upon such stuff, which they bought at 40s. or 46s. 8d. a hundred at most; but which then, by the seditious confederacy of Lombards, were at the outrageous price of 81. the hundred; so that in a short time this realm was like -to fail as well of stuff of artillery, as of workmen thereof-it was ordained, that no merchant of Venice, nor other which used to repair into this realm with merchandises of those parts, shall bring into this realm any such merchandises, unless he brought at the same time ten bowstaves, good and able stuff, with every butt of Malmsey, and with every butt of Tire. The complaint of the scarcity and dearness of bows occurs also in the reign of Elizabeth; who, therefore, in her 13th year, ordered the statute of 12 Edward IV. to be put duly in execution and declared that all merchant strangers, using to bring wares into this realm from the East parts, as well as from the seventy-two HanseTowns, were comprised and meant under the name of such merchants as were bound by the said statute.

From the above extracts it appears, that we depended principally upon imported bowstaves for our best bows; which one would think needed not to have been the case, if our church-yards had been well stocked with yew-trees, besides considerable quantities of them that were scattered about various parts of the kingdom in a wild state, and the plantations which individuals must of course have made of a commodity that bore a good price. But the truth is, though our archers were the glory of the nation, and the terror of its enemies, yet the English yew was of an inferior goodness, and our brave countrymen were forced to have recourse to foreign materials. I shall produce but one proof, and that a decisive one, of this inferiority. Elizabeth, in her 8th year, in "an act of Bowyers," thus settles the prices of bows: bows meet for men's shoating, being outlandish yew, of the best sort, not over the price of 6s. 8d. each; bows meet for men's shooting, of the second sort, 3s. 4d.; bows for men, of a coarser sort, called livery bows, 2s.; bows being English yew, 2s*. This accounts for the silence

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* In 33 Hen. VIIL 3s. 4d. seems to have been the highest price of a bow; for then it was ordered, that no Bowyer should sell any bow of yew, of the tax called Elk, for more than that price. A friend of mine informs me, that he has seen in Scotland very ancient bows of the Douglases that were very long and heavy, and must have consumed the heart of a very considerable tree to make one.

of our ancient legislators with respect to the culture of the English yew, which, as far as I can perceive, was never an object of national concern; and which with other inferior woods was rather used for domestic exercise and practice, than relied upon for deeds of valour in the field of battle. But, if the custom of planting yew-trees in church-yards for the purpose of archery had even partially prevailed, and been found useful, it is almost impossible but that some of the statutes on that subject must have recited it, and encouraged its further extension; and we should, in consequence, have seen more considerable remains of them in those places than at present hardly any where occur. Indeed the opinion I have been combating is, as far as the few books I have an opportunity of consulting enable me to judge, of a very modern date. Gerard mentions their growing in church-yards, where they have been planted. Evelyn only says, that its propagation hath been forborne since the use of bows has been laid aside. Sir Thomas Brown, in his Urn Burial, thinks "it may admit conjecture, whether the planting of yews in church-yards had not its original from ancient funeral rites, or as an emblem of resurrection from its perpetual verdure." He appears not to have ever heard of their being planted there for bows; for, if he had, he could scarcely have avoided mentioning it upon this occasion. What truth there may be in Sir Thomas's conjecture, which is adopted by the ingenious and inquisitive editor of the Antiquitates Vulgares of Mr. Bourne-how our countrymen came to excel in the use of instruments, the best of which they were forced to have from abroad-and why the yew-tree, which loves Aquilonem et Frigora, was not of as good quality in England, as in other parts-with some other questions that this little essay may involve, are matters that I am not at present prepared to discuss; but proceed to offer my own thoughts upon those venerable yew-trees that are still to be seen in some. of our church-yards.

In this country there used to be formerly (as in catholic countries there still is) a procession on Palin-Sunday, in memory of our Saviour's entrance into Jerusalem, when branches of Palm-trees were strewn in his way; and it was a ceremony retained after some others were dropped: for bearing of Palms on Palm-Sunday was one of the laudable customs which Henry VIII. in 1536 declared was not to be contemned and cast away: and Wheatley informs us from Collier, that Palms were used to be borne here with us till

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