[210] ‘The said Sir R. Whittington, as he was three times Lord Mayor, was as often buried in this church; first, by his executors under a fine monument; second, by the avaricious parson for the riches he hoped to find; and a third time by his friends, to interr him in lead under his monument as at first.’—New View, p. 428.
[211] ‘S. Vedast was Bishop of Arras, A.D. 484, a man of great holiness and charity. Once he met with a cruel bear prowling in the ruins of an old Christian church; at his command the bear departed into the wilderness and never returned there again. S. Vedast is usually pictured with a bear.’—Repertorium, Newcourt, vol. i. p. 563.
[212] Fourteen churches (eleven of which were built by Wren) have been destroyed since 1781; during which time the increase of the City population has been by hundreds of thousands. The only attempt at an apology for this destruction has been based on the fact that on Sundays the City is empty. On so poor a plea as this the churches have been closely shut throughout the other days of the week, their incumbents have lived far away, leaving their parishioners uncared for; and then, when a grudgingly given Sunday service has been poorly attended, have hastened first to close and then to help in destroying the buildings which reproached them; and have called it ‘thinning the City churches.’—See on this subject, Sessional Papers, 1876–7, R. I. B. A.
[213] Three Cathedrals, Longman, p. 151.
[214] Documents illustrating the History of S. Paul’s, p. 165–72.
[215] Given in Documents illustrating the History of S. Paul’s, p. 157.
[216] History of England, vol. iv. p. 44–51. Sherlock was born 1641, died 1707.
[217] The year is not given in the MS. original, but it must be 1698.
[218] William, Earl of Portland, whose embassy was of extraordinary splendour. Of intrigues there must have been plenty, for at the very moment that Louis XIV. was for the first time recognising the Prince of Orange as King of England, King James II. was residing at S. Germains, surrounded by his own Court.
[219] Evelyn’s Diary, June, no date of day.