Part 24 (1/2)

~Three Poets~: i. the Greek Homer, reputed author of those n.o.ble epics the 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey' (about 1000 B.C.); ii. the Roman Virgil, who wrote the 'aeneid' (born 70 B.C.); iii. the English Milton. The famous epitaph was written by John Dryden.

~William Tyndal~ a.s.sisted the Reformation by translating the New Testament into English (1526), and part of the Old Testament. He was burnt as a heretic at Vilvoorde, near Brussels, in 1536.

~William Cowper~ (born 1731, died 1800), the author of 'The Task' and other beautiful poems.

29. THE STREETS.

~Plantagenet~: Henry II., 1154-1189, was the first of the line of kings bearing this name, so called from the badge worn by Henry's father, a sprig of broom.

~Chesel~ was the Anglo-Saxon for pebble, and Kiesel is the German for the same. The ~Chesil Beach~, near Weymouth, is a remarkable bank of s.h.i.+ngle joining Portland Bill to the mainland.

~Somerset House~, in the Strand: the palace of the Protector Somerset has been pulled down, and public offices erected on its site.

~Northumberland House~, now demolished, has given its name to Northumberland Avenue, near Charing Cross.

~Southwark ... many Inns~: in particular the Tabard, where Chaucer's pilgrims a.s.sembled.

~mediaeval~: living in the middle ages, that is, some time before about 1500 A.D.

~ironmongers in their Lane~: that is, Ironmonger Lane, turning out of Cheapside.

30. WHITTINGTON. PART I.

~Mercer~: a merchant who sells silken or woollen goods.

~executors~: those who are appointed to carry out the last will and testament of a dead man.

~Levantine~, in the Levant, or eastern part of the Mediterranean.

~Guinea~, on the west coast of Africa.

~Pizarro~: a Spanish adventurer who conquered Peru from its native rulers or Incas, and was murdered in his palace at Lima in 1541.

~a piece of eight~ (dollars), that is, about 30_s._

~a.s.sessment~: the value put upon house or property in order to fix the amount of taxes to be paid.

31. WHITTINGTON. PART II.

~Vintner~: a wine-seller.

~Wycliffe~, born about 1324, was a learned theologian and rector of Lutterworth, in Leicesters.h.i.+re. For preaching Protestant doctrines he was summoned to appear at St. Paul's to answer a charge of heresy in 1377.

~John of Gaunt~ thus made the second attempt to deprive London of its liberties and charter; Matilda, the opponent of Stephen, had tried long before, but it ended in her overthrow (_see_ p. 45).

~The Marshal~ was the commander of the Royal forces. To put London under him was to destroy its liberty. This office is hereditary in the family of the Duke of Norfolk, and like other royal offices became unimportant when it became hereditary.