Thomas à Becket, in place of joining personally in the Crusade. At Witham six unobtrusive years of quiet work passed away, until in 1186 he was appointed Bishop of Lincoln, which See he retained till his death, prematurely worn out by strenuous toil and austerity, in 1200. For the story of those fourteen eventful years, during which he was the favoured adviser of Henry, Richard, and even of the turbulent John, we must refer the reader to the book. St. Hugh was a model bishop; but into the ecclesiastical details of his life, his miracles, the story of his swan, his laborious journeys throughout his large diocese, then many times larger than now, for confirmations, etc., his genius as an administrator in his dealings with clergy and laity alike, it is not our province to intrude; we would only remark upon the ability of the translator and editor, and add that it has rarely been our lot to read a more fascinating biography. The points of antiquarian interest are many; notably St. Hugh's dealings with the Jews, in which he was eminently merciful and successful; his care for the lepers, so numerous everywhere then; and the enforcement of the rights of the Church. But the glory of St. Hugh's episcopate, for the antiquary, lies in the rebuilding of Lincoln Cathedral.

The original Norman cathedral had suffered much from a fire in 1124, and had been almost destroyed by an earthquake in 1185, and it was in this ruinous state that St. Hugh found it. Throwing himself with ardour into the work, associating with himself the best men, and enlisting all the enthusiasm of his people, in the course of a few years St. Hugh had the joy of beholding the greater part of the majestic fane, which still adorns the ancient city, rise to completion. In conception it was, for its age, unique; for it was built in, and was indeed the first flower in England of, that exquisite outcome of Gothic art, known as the Early English style. The architect, Geoffrey de Noiers, and the workmen he employed, were all Englishmen; and following Dr. Hughes, Mr. Freeman, Mr. J. H. Parker, and other antiquaries of note, Father Thurston claims that the Early English style of architecture is of pure native growth. Recent investigations, however, have proved that though the development of the idea of the pointed arch, resting upon its clustered and soaring columns, and all the other wellmarked characteristics of this exquisite style are due to English genius, yet the idea in its origin was foreign. No doubt there is truth in the notion that "the pointed arch arose from the crossing of two round Norman arches," as may be observed in many a Norman blind arcade, such as those on the west front of Castle Acre Priory in Norfolk, but the real motive lay in the desire to secure greater resistance to the outward and inward thrust upon the arch, which was

necessitated by the change from wooden to stone vaultings. The pointed arch, indeed, came originally from the East, and its earliest example in Western Europe is to be found in the Church of St. Frond de Perigueux, in Aquitaine, which was built in the early years of the eleventh century. During the whole of the twelfth century, Aquitaine was an English province; and it was doubtless from there that the idea was imported into England, and received, as we have seen, its splendid development in the land of its adoption. As this is a point that is often overlooked, we have thought it only due to the painstaking editor, and to the reader, to set the matter right. We had marked many other subjects of interest to refer to, but are obliged to leave them for lack of space: such as the question of "absolution crosses," the origin of the words parson and vicar, the question of "Lincoln House," the London residence of the Bishops of Lincoln, the foundation of Witham Priory, St. Hugh's seal and charters, and many liturgical details, which are learnedly discussed by the editor in the Additions and the Notes and Appendices. We would only conclude by saying that in this book we have not only a model biography, but a valuable repository of much antiquarian lore, and we heartily commend it to the attention of our members.

Free Translation of the MS. on the Plate reproduced, p. 320.(Leil), being blessed with a prosperous reign, erected a city in the northern part of Britain which was called after his nameKaerleil (Carlisle). At this time Solomon commenced to build the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, and the Queen of Sheba came to hear his wisdom. At the same time also Sylvius Epitus succeeded Abba, his father, in the dominion (Italy). At the close of his reign Leil ruled with lukewarmness, and in consequence of his inactivity civil disorders secretly sprang up in the whole kingdom. After him his son, inexperienced Hudibras, reigned thirty-nine years. The same reduced the civil dissention among the people. He built Kaerleom or Canterbury, Kaergwent or Winchester, and the town of Mount Paladur, which is now Shaftesbury. Here at that time an eagle spoke when the town-wall was being built, whose speech I should have given to posterity had I deemed it uncorrupted as the rest of this historical account. Then Capys, the son of Epitus, reigned. Haggai, Amos, Jehu (?) Joel, and Azariah prophesied.

"Afterwards Bladud, his son, succeeded, who reigned twenty years. He built the city Kaerbaldus, which is now called Bath, and made in it hot baths, adapted for the use of sick people, which he dedicated to the goddess Minerva, in whose shrine he ordained inextinguishable fires, which, at no time

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Edward I (King), charter to Aberconway, Inscriptions, ancient, on stones at Gwy-