movements of the dragoon, who made three strides across the carpet to bring him nearer to the speaker.

"I might, my lord, have pitied your disappointment, and, consequently, overlooked your insolence. I am no Irish adventurer. When your great-grandsire doled out raisins by the ounce to city apprentices upon a holiday, mine were incarcerated in the Tower for high-treason. How dare you, a parvenu, — one of the things annually foisted on the peerage-dare to term me adventurer? Nay, by the true Lord! you're right; for, after all, old Ralph, my ancestor, was, in sooth, one of the bold bastard's adventurers, who won the field of Hastings. The Hunsgate blood, like mine, is old: your's, a fetid mixture-a puddle between a country attorney's and a civic knight's. Pish! fellow! never presume to name an Evrington with a Devereux. You seem a little flushed, my lord. Depletion is occasionally serviceable-and a friend of mine is waiting in yonder clump of evergreens. Might not a little cooling air have a serviceable effect upon you?' and he made a movement of head and eye, to indicate that they should retire.

"Evrington's was the insolence of spoiled authority; Devereux's the innate spirit, which to chafe is to rouse to action.

"When I quarrel, sir,' he replied, with trembling lips, but with an assumption of indifference, it will be with my equals.'

"That is readily effected, my lord,' was the cutting return. You'll find of your own class, the puppy tribe, a sufficiency in Bond Street, between three and five o'clock. Should you wish to go further back, between St. Paul's and Leather Lane you'll find enough of your grandsire's brigade,-gentlemen in the soap and sugar line."

"It was desirable that a scene so painful to all concerned should close. Lord Evrington rang the bell, and ordered his carriage-I obtained wine and water for my late patient-while the proud dame, whose faculties, mental and corporeal, appeared paralyzed by a discovery that overturned a high-built edifice in a moment, and annihilated for ever the hope of its re-construction, threw herself back in an armchair, buried her face in a handkerchief, and sobbed audibly. He, the cause of all, appeared alone unmoved; while I looked on, a terrorstricken spectator, wondering how this stormy meeting would terminate.

If the crisis had been suddenly brought about, the close of the scene was just as rapid; and to the latest hour of my life one so horrifying I never shall forget.

"As if suddenly recalling her self-possession, Mrs. Hunsgate wiped a tear away, and proudly raised her figure in the chair she had been reposing in. With that tear all natural feeling for her erring, but unhappy daughter, seemed to have departed. She rose with easy dignity, -crossed to the sofa where the pretty delinquent was seated, and in a tone of voice, deep, soul-searching, and decisive, she thus addressed the trembling offender :

"Emily, and she made a pause that gave a deeper effect to what succeeded, Emily, is what this man asserts the truth? Have you set filial duty at defiance?-wedded an adventurer?'

"The dragoon was about to interrupt the dame; but she waved her hand imperiously.

"Patience for another minute, and I will not trespass longer on you, sir,' and then she continued, addressing herself to the invalid,Have you insulted me?-degraded your proud lineage?'-a mo

ment's pause succeeded,—' in a word, wedded—him?' and she pointed to the hussar.

"Him have I wedded,' was the short and feebly-delivered answer. "As if to concentrate the fury of maternal anger to its fullest height, the lady paused a minute.

"Let me, Miss Hunsgate, once more satisfy myself that I have correctly understood you. Are you married to this man?'

"A feeble Yes!' was the brief reply.

“Then, on that unhallowed union may every worldly misfortune follow-a mother's curse!'

"As she pronounced the fearful anathema she burst from the apartment, and disappeared.

27

CHRONICLES OF THE CINQUE PORTS.

BY HENRY CURLING.

THE Cinque Ports were formerly places of great note and immense importance in our island. What they were, indeed, we conceive it is not in the power of any historian exactly to define, neither is the period of their first institution known, for some authorities have made the incorporation of the Cinque Ports the act of William the Conqueror, and others, again, referred it to Edward the Confessor. Be that, however, as it may, there is, we think, little doubt but that such institution was an imitation of the system of the Romans, who, during the time they favoured us by a sojourn upon our shores, found themselves under a necessity of protecting the coasts opposite to the Continent, by the establishment of garrisons in nine different places, where may still be observed traces of the might and magnificence of the ancient conquerors of the world, in the mouldering fragments of the walls and fortresses they have left behind them.*

At a period subsequent to the retirement of the Roman Legions from Britain, we have reason to believe that a sort of contraction of their establishment was devised, in consequence of our own particular foes confining their attacks, at that time, principally to those parts of our shores bordering the narrow seas; and as these Cinque Ports were a sort of outposts to the kingdom,† continually swooped upon by the foeman, doing constant suit and service, and standing trial of sack and siege, they were, therefore, more especially distinguished from the remainder of the towns in England, by the grant of especial privileges, laws, and customs, and upon these laws, customs, and privileges, it is herein our intent to dilate.

The five ports, and the two additional ancient towns thus selected and particularized, were Dover, Sandwich, Romney, Hastings, Hythe, Winchelsea, and Rye.

In the book of Domesday, however, only Dover, Sandwich, and Romney, are specified as privileged ports, which has caused some of the modern Dryasdusts to cudgel their brains, and opine, that, at the period of the production of that important volume, there was no community of

* The names of these stations were Athona, Dubris, Lemanis, Branodunum, Gariononum, Regulbium, Rutupis, Anderida, and Portus Adrani. These all present ruins of Roman fortresses, and in their immediate neighbourhood are situated some of the Cinque Ports. There is, we think, indeed, little doubt but that some of these stations may be identified with the Cinque Port towns. Dubris was doubtless Dover; Lemanis, Lyme; Caistor Castle was Gariononum; Reculver was Regulbium; and Richborough, Rutupium.

The Cinque ports were in former times good and safe harbours; but these once famous havens are now materially altered. Hastings, Romney, and Hythe, have quite lost their rivers, and the Stour and Rother are becoming more shallow daily. Dover, however, still protects shipping. Richborough, or Rutupi, begun by Vespasian, and completed by the Roman Emperor, Severus, stands close to Sandwich. Severus entered Britain with a large force; fought many battles on or near this spot; subdued part of the island; and built this immense structure. He also built a strong castle at the going out of the haven of Rutupi, and called it Reculfe, now changed to Reculver.

Cinque Ports. We shall not in this place either cudgel our own, or bother the brains of our readers upon that matter, any further than to say, we think King John set the subject at rest in the Charter he granted to these ports, in which he mentions that the barons of the Cinque Ports had at that time in their own possession charters from precedent kings as far back as Edward the Confessor, and which, he says, I myself have seen.

The Barons of the Cinque Ports were men of a staid and dignified deportment not only in their own, but in the estimation of every person in the nation. Such a title of honour is familiar in our mouths, even now, as household words; yet we firmly believe that not one person in five hundred even recollects to have seen a Cinque Port noble, or knows in what such a term of honour and glory consists.

In order to explain the reason why the freemen of the five ports attained this eminence, and that in early times these sea-port barons actually had rank amongst the nobility of the kingdom, we have only to remind our readers, that the Cinque Ports being those harbours nearest to the enemy's shores, their inhabitants were necessarily obliged to be more continually in readiness to repel invasion, and consequently were a more warlike community of citizens, than those of any other towns in the island. Every man, indeed, from fourteen to fourscore and upwards, was liable to be called to the walls. The towns themselves were indefatigable, garrisons watched and warded with jealous care each arrow slit, bristling with its cloth yard shaft, each loop hole and embrazure of the numerous towers, with a sleepless eye upon sea and land.

Let us for a moment pause, and take a step into the "dark backward and abysm of time," in order to glance upon one of these old sea-built towns, standing "within the roundure of its old faced walls." Let us imagine its discipline, its armed citizens, who like Branksholme's garrison, ever ready for the border feud, like them also, in time of mistrust and doubt,

"Quitted not their harness bright,
Neither by day, nor yet by night."

Let us imagine the strict surveillance maintained at each gate-house, sally-port and postern, which put each stranger to his answer, and announced the coming of the distant horseman, whilst the bearded sentinel upon the wails, as he listened to the sea dashing upon the beach, peered from tower and turret for the hostile sail. Those were times indeed when lawless hordes swarmed upon our sea-ports, worked disastrous scenes, and acts of death upon their inhabitants, and like savages spread their sails, and gave their ships to the wind, ere retribution could overtake them. The Cinque Ports being thus a sort of advance posts upon our shores nearest the enemy, and the citizens thus constantly in readiness to cry "Alerte, to the walls!" the state depended upon them for its safety, and consequently rewarded such suit and service, by a grant of privileges and honour.

The Cinque Port barons we believe, in early days, ranked before all knights, and with the peers of the realm. They held the especial privilege, only lately dispensed with, of walking at the coronations of our kings, and carrying a canopy over the royal head, and by right they sat at the coronation feast at their own particular table, situated at the right hand of the king. Nay, at any other period or occasion, upon the Cinque

Port barons being in the presence, and invited to feast with the king, they always claimed, and had their table at his right hand. These barons have, indeed, always, been extremely jealous, till of late years, of any infraction of their privileges. The levelling system of modern times has, however, nearly annihilated all the customs of the olden days, although as late as the year 1761, the Cinque Port barons had so much of the aucient spirit of their warlike forefathers left, that, on finding their table at the coronation removed from its proper place of honour, they flatly refused to sit in any other part of Westminster Hall during the feast.

The Mayor and head officers of the Cinque Ports, also had their particular privileges. For any misconduct in their office, the lord warden and his combarons of those Ports, and the king himself and his council and their own peers, alone had power to judge them. The Mayor was in olden times a terrible functionary in a Cinque Port town. We can imagine such a sea-built magistrate in all his quaintness and amphibious nature, a grave, thick-set, ruby-visaged, longbearded, wise old citizen, half admiral, half landsman, wearing linked mail under his civic robes and gold chain; a sapient old warrior magistrate, carrying wisdom in his owl-like countenance, and terror to the evil minded in his cold grey eye.

Let the reader only fancy the stately mayor of a girded ramparted thick-ribbed town, perambulating and patrolling amongst its narrow streets, and multitudinous lanes and closes, visiting the guards and gatehouses, haranguing the watch, "comprehending vagrom men," and looking after swashbucklers, and punishing scolding wives. Let him remember how the powers of the magistracy were at that day extended; how he could halt his halberdiers beneath the eves and penthouses of the quaint old street, and apprehending some varlet in the fact of some petty larceny delinquency, slit off his ears, and have them nailed to the nearest cart-wheel at hand,* or how, guided by the larum of some goodwife's tongue, he could force an entrance into her dwelling house, and order her to be seated on the cucken stool, till she consented to grant her husband place in his domicile; how he could administer a sound whipping to one fellow, set another in the stocks, and even mount a delinquent astride upon a steed, and have him paraded through the town, with horns fastened to his head, and a lighted torch in his right hand.

The privilegest of the five Ports were in these warlike times extremely advantageous to the inhabitants, albeit the services they were bound to perform, however honourable, were both troublesome and expensive. It was therefore thought proper to extend the same patronage to two

* Such were common punishments for light offences.

+ In the year 1513 we find the burgesses excusing themselves from payment of subsidy under the following considerations :—1st, the situation in face of the enemy; 2nd, their strict charge of nightly watch for the safeguard of the kingdom; 3rd, their constant preparation for defence; 4th, their expense for ordnance, ammunition, bulwarks, &c.; 5th, their yearly service of shipping, 57 ships and 1197 men, with provisions, &c., according; and, lastly, their charter, which exempts them : and a notification that such charge would deter men from coming to reside in their town, and consequently occasion a want of hands for defence.

The records of the Cinque ports were informer times deposited in a room assigned for that purpose in Dover Keep. They are now, alas! nearly all lost or destroyed. Some few books, however, containing the entries of the proceedings of the brotherhoods and guestlings were (a few years back) still in existence. They were kept in an old chest at Romney. The oldest then remaining was marked "A." It began in the reign of Henry the Sixth, and ended in that of Elizabeth.