A similar pitcher is in the adjoining church tower of Garboldisham, Norfolk.

At the Mackworth Arms, at Swansea, a similar kind of jug may be seen in a niche on the staircase, but the colour is light yellow, and the workmanship of a superior order; it has but one handle, and the following inscription, in two lines:

"Come fill me well with liquor sweet, and that is good when friends do meet,

When I am full then drink about, I ne'er will fail till all is out."

Underneath were representations of flowers, birds, and fishes.

There is in the Norfolk and Norwich Museum a large jug, which was presented in July, 1831, by the Revd. G. R. Leathes, of Shrophan. It is of brown earth, glazed, dated 1676, and inscribed :

"John Wayman,
J.F.

Come, Brother, shall we join?

Give me your twopence-here is mine."

This most likely belonged to a company of Shrophan ringers. It has but one handle, and is rather curiously ornamented.

OUTLAWRY.

Some may derive the antiquity of Outlawry from Cain, who for the murder of his brother, was, as it

F

were, out of the protection of the law; or, as the ancient English would say, "a friendless man;" however, although we cannot ascend so high as Cain, certain it is that this kind of punishment is very ancient, for Cæsar, speaking of the Druids, saith thus-"Whoever he is that obeys not their sentence, they forbid him their sacrifices, which is amongst them the most grievous of punishments; for they who are thus interdicted, are accounted in the number of the most impious and wicked,—all people shunning them, and refusing their conversation, lest they should receive damage by the infection thereof; nor is justice to be afforded them at their desire, nor any honour allowed unto them."

Bracton describes the nature of our English outlawry thus: "When any person is outlawed justly, and according to the law of the land, let us see what he suffers by this his outlawry, if after the first summons he doth not appear. First, therefore, be it known, he forfeits his country and the kingdom, and becometh a banished man, such an one as the English call utlaugh; but anciently they had wont to call him 'a friendless man,' whereby it seemeth he forfeiteth his friends, so that if, after such outlawry and expulsion, any one shall willingly give him food, and entertain him, or knowingly converse with him in any sort whatever, or shall shelter him and hide him, he is to undergo the same punishment as the person

outlawed ought to do, which is to lose all his goods, and also his life, unless it please the king to be more merciful to him," &c.

CARVING AT TABLE BY LADIES.

This custom, Verstegan says, originated among our Saxon ancestors, and the title of lady sprung from this office; as laford, or loafgiver (now lord), was so called from his maintaining a number of dependants; so leaf-dian, or loaf-dian, i.e., loaf-server, is the origin of lady, she serving it to the guests.

GAMMON OF BACON AT EASTER.

Drake, in his "Shakespeare and his Times," says, the custom of eating a gammon of bacon at Easter, still maintained in some parts of England, is founded on the abhorrence our forefathers thought proper to express, in that way, towards the Jews at the season of commemorating the resurrection.

EPPING HUNT.

Fitzstephen informs us, that the hunting at Epping and round London at Easter time, commenced in 1226, when King Henry III. confirmed to the citizens of London free warren, or liberty to hunt a circuit

about their city, in the warren of Staines, Hainhault* forest, &c.; and in ancient times the lord mayor, aldermen, and corporation, attended by a due number of their constituents, availed themselves of this right of chase in solemn guise.

PETER PENCE.

The popular name of an impost otherwise termed "the fee of Rome;" orignally a voluntary offer by the faithful to the see of Rome, afterwards a due levied in various amounts from every house or family in a country. Peter pence were paid in France, Poland, and other countries. In England, this tax was recognized by the Norman laws of William the Conqueror. Edward III. discontinued the payment when the popes resided at Avignon, but it was afterwards revived, and finally ceased in the reign of Henry VIII.

NIGHTLY WATCH.

The curfew bell was commanded by William the Conqueror to be nightly rung at eight o'clock, as a

*What is now called Epping Forest, was formerly a part of the Forest of Hainhault. Epping Forest, through the spirited conduct of the Corporation of London in proceeding in Chancery against persons who had unlawfully enclosed large portions of it, has now been secured for the enjoyment and recreation of the inhabitants of the metropolis.

warning or command that all people should then put out their fires and lights, and continued throughout the realm till the time of Henry I., when Stow says, "that it followed, by reason of warres within the realme, that many men gave themselves up to robbery and murders in the night."

It appears that the city of London was subject to these disorders till 1253, when Henry III. commanded watches to be kept in the cities and borough towns for the preservation of the peace; and further, that if from that time any murder or robbery was committed, the town in which it was done should be liable to the damages thereof. Such was the origin of the Nightly Watch.

PRESENTATION OF LORD MAYOR OF LONDON TO

THE LORD CHANCELLOR.

King John granted to the citizens of London a charter, empowering them to choose their own mayor, yet by the same power they were generally obliged to present him to the king for his approbation, or, in his absence, to his justiciary; this custom still remaining, he is yearly presented to the lord chancellor, which many of the citizens regard as a needless ceremony; 'twill not be improper, says Maitland, to acquaint all who are of that mind, that this confirming power is so essential, that without it a mere stranger could act as well.