two wings, and set him in a high place; and when he from so great a height would inflect and bow down his eye to the lower part downward, he beheld a horrible pit, whose beholding impressed him with great dread, for the deepness of the same pit was deeper than any man might attain to see; he deemed himself to slide into that cruel adowncast, and therefore he quaked, and for fear trembled, and great cries out of his mouth proceeded. To whom appeared a certain man, in majesty like a king of great beauty and imperial authority, and fastened on him his eye.” “O man,” he said, “what and how much service shouldst thou give to Him that in so great a peril hath brought help to thee?” Anon he answered to this saint, “whatsoever might be of heart and of might, diligently should I give in recompense to my Deliverer.”

And then said he, “I am Bartholomew, the Apostle of Jesus Christ, and come to succour thee in thine anguish, and to open to thee the secret mysteries of Heaven; know me truly, by the will and commandment of the Holy Trinity and the common favour of the celestial court and council, to have chosen a place in the suburbs of London at Smithfield, where in my name thou shalt found a church. The spiritual house Almighty God shall inhabit and hallow it, and glorify it. Wherefore doubt thee nought, only give thy diligence, and my part shall be to provide necessaries, direct, build, and end this work.”

Rahere came to London deeply impressed with this vision, and often spoke of the work he intended to do to the Nobles and Barons, and also to the King, since the place where he was to erect his building was contained within the King’s market.

The King lent a willing ear to his petition, and granted him permission to build the Priory on the spot desired. It was on a very marshy piece of ground, water everywhere abounding; the only land above the water dry was deputed and ordained to be the gallows of thieves, and to the torment of others that were condemned by judicial authority. The work undertaken by him required a large amount of labour and perseverance, and like all earnest men he set to work with the determination to conquer all difficulties, and at length succeeded in raising a glorious fane.

It is recorded, that feigning himself an idiot, he collected daily a little band of children, lepers, and poor people, and with these efforts gathered stones from the waste and morass around for the use of his building, thus showing the many difficulties with which he had to contend, both from man and the spot where his church was to be built. Rahere feigned himself an idiot, to hide from his enemies, who were numerous about the court, his ultimate design, and also to enlist the sympathy of the people, for in that superstitious age it was believed that idiots were under the care of a special providence.

Rahere at length cast aside his assumed idiotcy, and began his Apostolic work by instructing with cunning of Truth, and saying the word of God in divers churches, and constantly exhorting the multitude both of clerks and laity to follow and fulfil those things which were of charity and alms deed. He did not make these appeals in vain, and his purity was not unknown at Court, and after patient waiting and labour, his church was founded in March, Anno Domini 1113.

The edifice was of comely stonework tablewise, and an hospital house a little longer off from the church, which was founded for the service of the poor, the sick, and pregnant women, with the care of such children, till seven years old, as lost their mother at birth. The year of its completion differs as given by various authorities, but about 1123 is the generally received date at which the Priory was finished. The completion of the work under all the circumstances and difficulties, created a great amount of wonder and admiration, mixed with superstitious awe, its grandeur astonishing the beholders by its contrast with the desolation that previously reigned around.

Rahere was appointed first Prior. He was Prior 22 years and 6 months, and was succeeded by Thomas, one of the Canons of the church of St. Osyth, who continued prelate about 30 years; in age 100 winters when he died. We then have Gregory, Canon of St. Osyth, made Prior 1213, who a few days after became monk at Abingdon.

Licence to elect a successor was granted by the King in 1256 on the cession of Peter, 40 Henry III. Robert, the Sub-prior, was elected, and the King consented Nov. 23 of that year.

Gilbert de Woledon was appointed 46th Henry III. The King gave his consent, and restored temporalities Nov. 24.

John Baccen was elected 48th Henry III., Jan. 11, 1264.

Edward I. granted a license to elect a Prior March 11, 1295, on the death of Brother Hugh. 11th Edward II. the King was advised of the death of the Prior, and granted a license to elect another Nov. 4, 1317.

24th Edward III. license was obtained to elect a Prior on the death of John de Packendon, May 25, 1352.

29th Edward III., on the cession of Edward de Braughgrg, John de Carleton was appointed.

Thomas de Watford died June 4, 1381.

William Gidney became Prior June 10. Here were at that time 21 monks.

William Gidney died 1390, and John Renyndon, alias Eyton, was elected March 3rd.

Brother John succeeded him, 1407.

Brother Reginald was elected May 1, 1437, John in 1439, and William Bolton in 1509, and who died April 15, 1532. He perhaps was the most comfort-seeking of them all. We here introduce his Rebus—“He was Prior Bolton, with his Bolt-in Tun.”

Robert Fuller, Abbot of Waltham Holy Cross, the last Prior, was elected in 1532, and held the Priory with his Abbey, as Prior commendatory. He surrendered this house to the King October 25, 1540, 31st Henry VIII., and his Abbey of Waltham March 23rd of the same year.

During the life of Rahere the Priory flourished, and great gifts of money and other offerings were made by the people, and it became subsequently the richest of the thirty-six religious houses founded in the Middle Ages.

Its fame was greatly increased by the miracles Rahere is said to have worked; the two following are appended as specimens:—

“A woman whose tongue was so swollen she could not shut her mouth, was brought to the church and offered to Rahere the Prior, who being a man of mercy and great benignity, took compassion on her, and after having revolved the relics that he had of the Cross, dipped them in water and worked her tongue therewith, painting on it the token of the Cross, and in the same hour the swelling went its way.”

The second is much more astonishing. “A child had been blind from its birth, was brought to the solemnity of the glorious Apostle, and as he entered the church fell down on the earth, and there awhile turned himself now this way, now that way, and while tarrying there anon the inward-born blindness fled away; and then he knew his parents with open eyes, that never he saw before, and sundry things by their proper names he called.”

These wonderful cures were celebrated by magnificent festivals, the produce of which helped to swell the exchequer, and enabled Rahere to extend his charitable operations.

Rahere found though his fame increased his difficulties did not decrease; members of his own house rebelled against him, and he was accused of being a deceiver. At length his position became so trying that he appealed to the King for protection; the King listened to his appeals, and prohibited by his royal authority, “whether his minister or any other in his whole land, to be troublesome to Rahere the Prior, or the aforesaid church, concerning anything that belongs thereto; and that no man of the clergy or laity presume to