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making Fools on the First of April:-This is said, to have begun from the mistake of Noah sending the dove out of the ark before the water had abated, on the first day of the month among the Hebrews, which answers to our first of April; and, to perpetuate the memory of this deliverance, it was thought proper, whoever forgot so remarkable a circumstance, to punish them by sending them upon some sleeveless errand, similar to that ineffectual message upon which the bird was sent by the patriarch."-Brand's Popular Antiquities, vol. i. The custom of making fools on the First of April prevails among the Swedes, it being alluded to in Toreens' " Voyage to China," 1750-2 (and in Germany we have the making of an April fool described in the phrase "Einen zum April schicken." In Scotland the persons sent on errands were called corbie, messengers).

Interesting particulars, as to the various origin, &c., of making fools on the First of April, will be found in vols. i. and ii. of " Hone's Every-day Book," and "Brand's Popular Antiquities," vol. i.

The most famous Lighthouse of Ancient Times?— The most celebrated structure of the kind among the ancients was the Pharos of Alexandria, which has been accounted one of the seven wonders of the world. This famous tower was built by the Ptolemies, kings of Egypt, and successors of Alexander; it is supposed to have been finished about 283 years before the Christian era, and had the name of Pharos, from the island, upon a rock, at the eastern end of which it was built, so that its walls were washed by the sea. Its height is said to have been 547 feet (English measure), and a fire upon the top of it was constantly kept burning in the night, to light such ships as sailed near these dangerous coasts, which are said to be full of sands and shelves of rocks. According to Josephus, this light could be seen at the distance of three hundred stadia; that is, forty-one and a half English miles.

This magnificent structure, called even by Cæsar wonderful, was the work of Sostratus, of Cnidus; and from the accounts which have descended to us of its great size, the durability of its materials, and of the substantial manner in which it was built, we

might have reasonably expected it to be in existence at this day; but this is not the case. There is, indeed, still a lighthouse, but of a much more humble form, rising out of the midst of an irregular castle, or garrison, kept in this island, and which is now called Farion. Upon what occasion this famous building was destroyed, or met its destruction, history is, as far as we know, silent; but a writer of the twelfth century speaks of it, not only as a building subsisting in his time, but in perfect good condition; for he says, "There is nothing like it in the whole world for the fineness of the edifice or the strength of its structure; for, besides that it is built of the hardest Tiburtine stones, these stones are also joined together with melted lead, and so firmly connected, that they cannot be loosened from one another; for the sea beats against the very stones wherewith it is built on the north side."

ANSWERS REQUIRED.

Where can I obtain a cheap edition of Sir Walter Raleigh's "History of the World?" B. NED. How to make red and green fire. Rules of chess. J. H. D.

What is the price of the cheapest electrical machine ? What is a good cheap book on chemical experiments? B. L. G. P. Can any subscriber tell me the best book on exercises for the violin, by whom published, and the price? A. VERIGOE.

What was the wittenagemote of the Saxons? In what battle were cannons first used? T.W.S. How many triangular files 51⁄2 inches long, and 3 inches breadth of side, can be made from 736 lbs. of steel, part being allowed for waste in making? R. M.

OUR SPHINX.

The Answers to the Conundrums, &c., in our two last Numbers, will appear next month.

OUR PRIZE ESSAYS FOR 1867.

During the year, the following subjects will be open to competition :

1. The Rise and Progress of the Sunday School Movement; with remarks on the best Management of Sunday Schools.

(Essays due the 1st of present month.)

2. Self-made Men.

(Essays to be sent in not later than March 1.) 3. What the Poets have said about May.

(Essays to be sent in not later than April 1.) 4. A Map of Europe at the beginning of 1867. (Essays to be sent in not later than June 1.) 5. A Visit to the Crystal Palace described.

(Essays to be sent in not later than July 1.) 6. Dreams, all about them-how they are caused, what they mean, or whether they mean anything.

(Essays to be sent in not later than August 1.) 7. What have I done with my holidays?

(Essays to be sent in not later than Sept. 1.) 8. The True History of Guy Fawkes. (Essays to be sent in not later than Oct. 1.)

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LONDON 'PRENTICES.

A ROMANCE OF THE DAYS OF BLUFF KING HAL.

BY JOHN TILLOTSON,

Author of "Stories of the War," "Crimson Pages," "Shot and Shell," "London
Stone," etc., etc.

CLAD

CHAPTER THE FIFTH.

"C THE AWFUL BEAUTIES OF THE SACRED CHOIR."

in his steel harness, the Spanish knight pursued his way. He rode down the lane which skirted the residence of the Earl of Warwick, and entered the shambles of St. Nicholas, encountering on his way a royal messenger riding toward the priory of Bartholomew. Urging his horse to its utmost speed, he pressed along, and emerging from the shambles, entered the enclosure around St. Paul's, which in those days extended from the north-east corner at Ave Maria Lane, along Paternoster Row, to the north end of the Old Change in West Cheap, so on to Carter Lane, and passing on to the north side of Creed Lane, turning toward Ludgate; and to it were attached six gates, the first at Creed Lane, the second at Paul's Alley, another at Canon Alley, the fourth, called the Little Gate, facing the West Cheap, the fifth, or St. Austin's, by Watling Street, and the sixth near Paul's Chain.

It was a cruciform building, 1,690 feet in length, the western entrance flanked by two towers, each with its tapering spire and symbol of salvation, whilst on either side two other towers arose, and high above the entrance appeared a sculptured figure of St. Paul the Apostle, and many a head of departed saint and holy martyr and of pious bishop gathered to their fathers long ago; and the fine dial belonging to the great clock was decorated with the figure of an angel pointing to the hour, and this being visible to all who passed by, the greatest care was taken that it should appear with the utmost splendour. It was a beanteous sight to gaze on the glorious architecture which every portion of the sacred pile exhibited; its innumerable buttresses and gables, and sculptured eaves, beneath which a vast colony of rooks had located, cawing from morn to eve; its gilded crosses, pinnacles, and vanes; its As Sir Michael entered the enclosure, his windows of stained glass, with many a woneyes fell upon the figure of Cordwell Colner. drous miracle portrayed; its noble turrets, He instantly reined in his panting charger spacious and magnificent. Such was the and accosted him. appearance of the cathedral in the days of “What, oh, Master Colner," he said, "I Henry VIII. At the north-west corner of would speak with thee." the churchyard was the episcopal palace; on "When and where ?" laconically inquired the east a cloister or bell-tower, wherein were the servitor.

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four great bells, called Jesus Bells, from their having belonged to Jesus Chapel, in St. Firth's. At the north-east angle stood Paul's Cross, and opposite the charnel house,* with other buildings, a chapel and cloisters.

In the reign of King Edward VI., the Protector, Duke of Somerset, took possession of the Charnel House Chapel and Cloisters, to assist by the materials of which they were composed the erection of his stately mansion in the Strand (for which the parish church of St. Mary, and the houses of the Bishops of Worcester, Llandaff, and Lichfield, had already been destroyed). Accordingly 5 *

The first cathedral of St. Paul's was erected on the site of the temple of Diana and Roman Pretorian Camp, and in the situation on which all the succeeding fabrics stood. In the reign of Dioclesian this structure was demolished, and its successor, erected by Constantine, met with the same fate from those Saxons who retained the idolatry of their forefathers. In the seventh century it was rebuilt by Sebert, who advanced Melletus to the see of London. In 675, Erkinwald, the fourth metropolitan prelate, repaired and beautified the structure, and after his decease he was canonised by the Pope, and his remains placed in a rich shrine by the high altar, where it continued the admiration of succeeding ages, until the building was destroyed by fire in 961. It was rebuilt the same year, endowed by Athelstan with fifteen lordships, two by Edgar, and the like number by the Queen Elfleda, all of which were confirmed by the charters of Ethelred and Knud. Edward the Confessor was also a great benefactor to the cathedral. At the Conquest many of its revenues were seized, but soon after full restitution was made, yet in 1086 the edifice was totally destroyed by fire.

Maurice, Bishop of London, obtained of the king the old stones of a castle called the Palatine tower, and situated on the banks of the river Fleet. With these materials he commenced the new cathedral, but though he continued his work with the utmost alacrity, yet the finishing of it was left to succeeding generations, who bestowed upon it both time and expense. Still the building was not considered sufficiently splendid, and the steeple was rebuilt and finished in the year 1221. In 1240 the church was freshly consecrated in the presence of the King, the Pope's Legate, and many lords both spiritual and temporal. The first calamity which befel this stately edifice was in 1444, when it was fired by lightning, and the injury was not fully repaired until 1462. In 1561 it was in a great part consumed by fire, to repair which a general contribution was made the tombs of the dead were defaced and the bones carried off by cartloads and buried in the fields of Finsbury, with such a quantity of earth to cover them as formed a considerable mound, on which

among the clergy, nobles, and gentry, the
Queen giving one thousand marks in gold,
with liberty to cut down in any of her forests
a thousand loads of timber; thus was the
church fully repaired. But disputes arising
concerning the form of the steeple, the
building of that portion of the edifice was
deferred until the reign of the first James,
from thence to the time of Charles, when,
the funds* being in readiness, the repairs com-
menced, but upon the breaking out of the
civil war were discontinued. Then came the
time of Cavalier and Roundhead. The beauti-
ful portico remained in its unfinished condition,
unheeded, unthought of. Yet when Old Nol
had effected the work he had begun of usur-
pation, he, in his thirst for religious liberty
and simplicity of worship, attacked the sacred
pile, causing it to suffer even greater indignity
than neglect; the portico was thrown into
milliners' and other shops, the high altar into
stables. When monarchy was restored the
state of the cathedral was taken into con-
sideration, but before anything could be
effected, the whole of the remaining portions
were swept away in the conflagration of 1666,
that great epoch of the London chronicles.

With hasty steps Sir Michael strode toward the sacred edifice. Wild and terrible were his thoughts; the evil passions within his breast had been aroused to strife by the foil he had received at the joustings, and the indignant taunts of his brother knights goaded him to madness. That he, the valiant Spanish chevalier, he who was so famed for skill and puissance, should be branded recreant and runagate. Should he resign all claim to the hand of Alice Keble, and pass through life with ignominy, with blotted fame and escutcheon, the scoff of all true men! 'Twas too much, it frenzied him, setting his brain on fire; and possessed with the worst of human passions, he entered this holy place, and passed along the great aisle bearing the name of Paul's Walk. The interior of old St. Paul's was one of the most beautiful specimens of architecture at that time standing. From the western door to the circular window at the eastern extremity, it measured 960 feet, and from the southern entrance to the northern, 130 feet, whilst

windmills were erected, and afterwards a Wesleyan the height of the body of the church was

chapel, which still remains.

* £101,330 4s, 8d.

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