sity, and lay up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may attain eternal life.

"I shall add only one thing more, that this is one of the best methods we can take, both of testifying our sense of God's great goodness, and our thankfulness to him for it, in so wonderfully preserving to us the free exercise of our religion in its purity in this church hitherto, and of prevailing with him to continue this invaluable blessing to us and our posterity. To God's blessing and grace your person and work and labours of love are most sincerely recommended by your affectionate brother and servant,

"W. OXON.

"I think it would much forward this service, if you could prevail with some of the chiefest of your parishioners to accompany you when you go to collect the charity of the rest."

CLASSES OF SOCIETY IN ENGLAND.

"The degrees of people in England are divided into five classes:

"The peers of the realm.

"The baronets and knights batchelors,

"The esquires.

"The gentlemen.

"The commoners.

"The

"The French, you know, give the general title of Noblesse to the whole gentry; and every gentleman that has a marquisate or barony of land there, carries the title without any other prerogative: so that the French word noblesse doth not signify in English nobility, which belongs only to the princes of the blood and peers of France, as it signifies the whole peerage of England. Those peers are endowed with vast privileges; such as, not to be arrested for debt, not to be tried for murder or treason, but by their fellow-peers; and their word of honour, instead of an oath, to pass in all courts of justice.

"The second degree of baronets is an hereditary title of honour, not known abroad; but that of knights batchelors for life only, as the chevaliers of the several orders of knighthood are abroad.

"An esquire is a gentleman of a good estate not otherwise dignified, and belongs to counsellors at law, physicians, and commanders in the army: for when the king grants a commission to a man to be a captain, he always calls him esquire.

"Gentlemen is the common denomination of all younger brothers, as also of attorneys, and the other lesser degrees of the law.

"The French, you know, are very fond of titles; and you have known a gentleman there to

have five sons, and each of them go by the name of his farm, which he gave them for their portion, and so the name of the family is lost; but here in England, give what landed estate you will to your sons, they still retain the name of the family.

"Amongst the commoners there is a degree in the country called yeomen and freeholders, who have votes in electing members of parliament, and are reckoned a degree much above the daylabourer.

"The dress of the English is like the French, but not so gaudy; they generally go plain, but in the best cloths and stuffs, and wear the best linen of any nation in the world; not but they wear embroideries and lace on their clothes on solemn days, but they do not make it their daily wear as the French do.

"Their diet is more substantial, though plainer, than that of any nation whatsoever: they do not so much affect soups, ragouts, and fricassees, as the French; but from the baronet down to the yeoman, you have always two substantial dishes, one boiled, and the other roasted; and what Don Pedro de Ronquillo, the Spanish ambassador, said of Leadenhall market in London, that there was more meat sold in it in one week than in all Spain a year, I believe to be perfectly true; for there

in

are

are few tradesmen in London but have a hot joint every day,"

Tour through England, 1724.

"As of their markets and fairs, and they be of several kinds, as first, that of Blackwall-hall, is twice a week, is to be seen a sight no where to be seen in all Europe; besides such quantity of cloth brought out of the West and North parts of England. And should a stranger but once see and have a relish of our staple commodity of woollen cloth, he would stand in admiration: and I have wondered very much it hath not been taken much notice of.

"Then in Leadenhall you may see the quantity of wool which is there vented every week, brought in after it hath been sorted by the staplers; besides, every Tuesday and Friday you have the tanners exposing their tanned leather of all sorts for sale.

And likewise the butchers for the sale of their raw hydes, stines, and pelts, every Friday; and then it is, that the shoemaker furnishes himself with leather, lasts, and heels of wood for his

use.

"And upstairs you have vast quantities of nails of all sorts and uses brought from the country, as Birmingham and other iron-work; whereto the ironmonger resorteth to furnish his shop.

"And

"And in the same Leadenhall you have a market well furnished with all sorts of provision, as beef, veal, mutton, lamb, bacon, fowls of all sorts, butter, cheese, fish of all sorts, herbage, in an abundance for the furnishing of this great city, with all things needful for the sustenance of mankind and was well worth the sight of a famous inquisitive man, as may be observed, that when the grave and cunning Gundemore, the Spanish ambassador, was here, in the time of King James the First, there were few weeks passed over his head, wherein he did not set a day apart for the viewing of our markets, and other sights which he thought worth his observation; and that it was his opinion, that we have in London spent more meat in a week than was expended in all Spain in a year. And, now we are treating of markets, it may be worth the taking notice of, that the old shambles for furnishing of London before the time of King James the First, who, at his coming to London, mightily immersed in building, through the necessity of the great number of people which came and followed him to London at his assumption of the crown, which induced the Earl of Salisbury to build a market in Westminster, although against the charter and privileges of the city of London; and not only that market, but likewise made an exchange out of that which was the stables belonging formerly to the bishops

of