But gently prest from the soft side
Of the most sweet and dainty Bride,
Brought in a dainty daizie, which
He fully quaffs up to dewitch

His blood to height; this done, commended
Grace by his Priest; The feast is ended.

Page 136.

I have thus endeavoured, by various extracts and remarks, to place the neglected merit of this unfortunate bard in its proper light. He has attempted, it is true, no production of any considerable length, nor has he ventured into the lofty regions of the epic or dramatic Muse. The joys of Love and Wine, pictures of country life and manners, or playful incursions into the world of ideal forms, where

Of

Trip the light fairies and the dapper elves, form the chief subjects of his poetry. these, some are written in a style and metre, which display no inferior command of language and versification, whilst their elegance, their tenderness or imagery is such, as to excite a well-founded admiration.

Unfortunately, like most authors of the

age in which he lived, he has been totally inattentive to selection, and has thrown into his book such a number of worthless pieces, that those which possess decided merit, and which are few, if compared with the multitude which have none, are overlooked and forgotten in the crowd. Out of better than fourteen hundred poems, included in his Hesperides and Noble Numbers, not more than one hundred could be chosen by the hand of Taste. These, however, would form an elegant little volume, and would perpetuate the memory and the genius of HERRICK.

NUMBER XLV.

'Tis now the very witching time of night,

When church-yards yawn, and hell itself breaths out Contagion to this world.

SHAKSPEARE.

THE noble mansion on the banks of the Medway, the gift of Henry III. to the Knights Templars of the Teutonic Order,*

About half a mile south of Strood church, on the banks of the Medway, is situated an ancient building called the temple, so named from having formerly been the mansion of the knights templars of the teutonic order. King Henry III. A.D. 1227, gave this house, with the manor and lands thereunto belonging, to the master and brethren of this order, in whose possession it continued not quite a century; for Edward II. A.D. 1312, seized the lands and goods of this wealthy fraternity, and dissolved their order; this estate, of course, returned to the crown, and there continued till King Edward III. A.D. 1341, granted it, with all the liberties the templars had

had been in possession of the Fraternity nearly half a century, when one stormy night, toward the close of the autumn of 1274, as the Brethren were sitting down to their usual repast, a sound, like the rapid approach of horsemen, was heard distinctly in the pauses of the wind, and appeared to take the direction of the avenue of oaks, whose majestic forms were agitated with inconceivable fury by the tempest. A moment of deep silence ensued, when, suddenly, the great doors of the hall were thrown open, and there entered a Knight in sable armour; a white plume waved upon his helmet, and

enjoyed, to Mary Countess of Pembroke. This lady, about six years after, gave it to the nuns of St. Clare, in the abbey of Denny, in Cambridgeshire; but on the dis solution of religious houses, in the reign of King Henry VIII. this manor became the property of that prince, by whom it was granted to Edward Elington, Esq. who the same year sold it to Lord Cobham; in whose family it continued till his unfortunate grandson forfeited it to King James I. who gave it to Cecil Earl of Salisbury; since which time it has been transferred to different Gentlemen, and is now the property of Mr. Thomas Whittaker, of this county. Of the fabrick which the knights templars inhabited, but little now remains, except a spacious cellar, vaulted with chalk and stone groins; the walls are of a considerable thickness. Thorpe's History of Rochester, page 252. 120, 1772.

on his shoulder flamed the crimson badge of the order of the Oak of Navarre. He courteously approached the high table, and, addressing the Grand Master, requested, as the storm still beat with unremitting violence, shelter for the night for himself and his attendants.

With that hospitality and attention which ever so remarkably distinguished the Teutonic Knights, they rose to welcome their unexpected guest, and the venerable Master, whose features, though shaded by the tresses of time, were still lighted up with the finest traits of humanity and feeling, told him, with a cordiality, too impressive not to be understood, that they felt themselves truly happy in administering to his wishes and his

wants,

Thus assured, the stranger sate down to partake of some refreshment, and removing his visor, exhibited a countenance noble and commanding, but mingled with an expression of considerable anxiety and agitation. After a temperate gratification, however, of the demands of appetite, he entered into an