acter has the misfortune to be destitute of preferment, and will accept of a Curacy of £27 in money yearly, and a House kept, let him with speed send to Mr. Wilson, Bookseller, in Boston, Mr. Boys, Bookseller, in Louth, or the Reverend Mr. Charles Burnett, of Burgh in the Marsh, near Spilsby, in the County of Lincoln, and he may be farther satisfied." A Sanguinary Difference. In the same Journal of March 28 preceding is announced- "WHEREAS the majority of Apothecaries in Boston have agreed to pull down the price of Bleeding to six-pence, let these certifie that Mr. Richard Clarke, Apothecary, will bleed any body at his shop, gratis." Among the "Lays of the Minnesingers" is a Normau song of the season written in the 14th or 15th century. The lady of my love resides There springs the rose, the lily there My garden is a beauteous spot, Garnish'd with blossoms gay; The violets on the green : How lovely did she look! methought, Mild as the tender lamb was she, Foxglove begins to flower under hedges: in gardens there is a white variety. Spanish love-in-a-mist flowers. Chili strawberry begins to fruit. Scarlet strawberries now abound Madock cherries begin to ripen. Charlock and Kidlock, terrible weeds to the farmer, cover the fields with their pale yellow. June 22. June 22, 1684, Mr. Evelyn enters in his Diary-"Last Friday Sir Thomas Armstrong was executed at Tyburn for treason, having been outlawed, and apprehended in Holland, on the conspiracy of the duke of Monmouth, lord John Russell, &c., which gave occasion of discourse to people and lawyers, in regard it was on an outlawry that judgment was given and execution." Burnet says that Armstrong on being brought up for judgment insisted on his right to a trial, the act giving that right to those that come in within a year, and the year was not expired. Jefferies refused it; and, when Armstrong insisted that he asked nothing but the law, Jefferies told him he should have it to the full, and ordered his execution in six days. Soon afterwards went to Windsor and Charles II. took a ring from his finger and gave it to him. THE SEASON. Bearing in mind that June is a continuation of the poet's May, the ensuing verses of the lady Christine de Pisan are allowable to this month. INVITATION. This month of May hath joys for all, Whom thus the adverse fates remove :- In this fair month when all things bloom, And nightingales their minstrelsy; O soon return, my love! The Minnesinger of "the Birdmeadow," Vogelweide, addresses these stanzas to his lady-love THE LADY AND THE MAY. When from the sod the flow'rets spring, And smile to meet the sun's bright ray, When birds their sweetest carols sing In all the morning pride of May, What lovelier than the prospect there? Can earth boast any thing so fair? To me it seems an almost heaven, So beauteous to my eyes that vision bright is given. But when a lady, chaste and fair, Noble, and clad in rich attire, Walks through the throng with gracious air, A sun that bids the stars retire,Then, where are all thy boastings, May? What hast thou beautiful and gay Compared with that supreme delight? We leave thy loveliest flowers, and watch that lady bright. Wouldst thou believe me-come and place And, which is best and brightest? say And say, May! I'd rather forfeit all than lose my lady gay." By the same poet are the ensuing gentle Lady, so beautiful thou art, That I on thee the wreath bestow, We may conclude with a summer-lay For there sing the birds right merrily, On the hedgerows spring a thousand flowers, Were the load of pining care away; Compar'd with the roses are pale indeed, As red as the rose just steep'd in dew. On the 23rd of June, 1703, William Fuller, "the famour Imposter, and Cheat Master General of England," received a merited sentence for his enormous villanies. He was son of a butcher, at Milton, neat Sittingbourne, in Kent, and apprenticed, in 1686, to John Hartly, a rabbitwool-cutter, in Shoe-lane, London, from whom he ran away, and professed to become a Roman Catholic.-Having a fine person and an ingenuous countenance, Lord Melfort retained him as a page; but leaving his lordship's service, and marrying about the same time, he became greatly distressed, and threw himself upon the generosity of his father-in-law, and Averse to labor, he entered upon a life of high dissipation, which he supported by different frauds. He had servants in livery, assumed the rank of major in the army, then colonel, adopted the title of Sir William Fuller, and finally created himself Lord Fuller. His manners and appearance were attractive: he succeeded in borrowing large sums of money, and, when that expedient failed, passed counterfeit bills. After exhausting his master. these sources of revenue he commenced dealer in plots, and had not that trade been over-done in the reign of Charles II., might have been the idol of one party in the state, to the destruction of many on the contrary side. He talked of the dif Bagshot. The earliest mention of the manor of Bagshot is, that, in the reign of Henry II., one Ralph held it, in fee farm, as of the king's demesne. Since then it had distinguished possessors. Edward III. gave it to his uncle Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, who was beheaded by the intrigues of Mortimer, and whose son Edmund, by restoration of blood, obtained restitution of his father's estates. Edmund was succeeded by his brother John, whose heir was his sister Joan, called the "Fair Maid of Kent," who married Edward the Black Prince. The manor of Bagshot returned to the crown, and, in November 1621, James I. granted it, with other possessions, to Sir Edward Zouch, by the following service, that Sir Edward on the feast of St. James' then next, and every heir male of Sir Edward on that feast, next after they succeeded to the estate, should carry up the first dish to the king's table at dinner, and pay £100 of gold coined at the royal mint, in lieu of wards and services. By failure of issue male, Bagshot reverted, and Charles II. granted it for 1000 years, in trust, for the Duchess of Cleveland and her children by the king. It was afterwards sold, and now belongs to the Earl of Onslow. Readers of the Every-Day Book may remember, in an account of "Canonbury Tower," incidental mention of the beau tiful marble bust of Mrs. Thomas Gent by Betnes. That lady, distinguished by scientific knowledge and literary ability, is since dead. In the same volume are lines "To Mary," by Mr. Gent, who has published a new edition of his "Poems," with many pathetic and lively additions; among the latter is THE RUNAWAY. Ah! who is he by Cynthia's gleam Discern'd, the statue of distress; Weeping beside the willow'd stream, That leaves the woodland wilderness? Why talks he to the idle air? Why, listless, at his length reclin'd, Heaves he the groan of deep despair, Responsive of the midnight wind? Speak, gentle shepherd! tell me why? Sir! he has lost his wife, they say: Of what disorder did she die? Lord, Sir, of none-she ran away. June 24. MIDSUMMER DAY. For the various usages upon this great festival see the Every-Day Book. BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN. To this fatal battle, which was fought on the 24th of June, 1314, recurrence may perhaps be allowed, for the purpose of giving by far the most accurate and circumstantial account of the conflict. It plunged, for a time, almost every rank of society in England in terror and distress.* The Edward II., persisting in his father's claim to Scotland, resolved by one effort to reduce that nation, and assembled an army of above a hundred thousand men. Robert Bruce, grandson of the competitor with Baliol, raised an army of thirty thonsand men against Edward, and took his station in the neighbourhood of Stirling, behind the river Bannockburn. English army came up and encamped near Torwood. The defeat of a detachment of eight hundred cavalry, despatched by lord Clifford to the relief of Stirling, inspired the Scots army with courage for the general engagement. At length, on Monday, June 24th, 1314, appeared the dawn of that important day which was to decide whether Scotland was to be independent or subjugated. Early all was in motion in both armies. Religious sentiments mingled with the military ardor of the Scots. A solemn mass, in Maurice, abbot of Inchchanfry, who adthe manner of those times, was said by ministered the sacrament to the king and the great officers about him, upon a hill near the camp, probably Cockshothill, while inferior priests did the same to the rest of the army. Then, after a sober repast, they formed in order of battle, in a tract of ground now called Nether Touchadam, which lies along the declivity of a gently rising hill, about a mile due south from the castle of Stirling. This situation was chosen for its advantages. Upon the right they had a range of steep rocks, now called Gillie's-hill, in which the hill abruptly terminates. In their front were the steep banks of the rivulet of Bannockburn. Upon the left lay a Related in Dr. Drake's Mornings in Spring, from Nimmo's History of Stirlingshire, 1777, 8vo. morass, now called Milton Bog, from its vicinity to a small village of that name. Much of this bog is still undrained, and a part of it is at present a mill-dam. As it was then the middle of summer, it was almost dry; but, to prevent attack from that quarter, Robert resorted to stratagem. He had some time before ordered many ditches and pits to be digged in the morass, and in the fields upon the left, and these to be covered over again with green turf, supported by stakes driven into the bottom of them, so that the ground had still the appearance of being firm. He also caused calthrops, or sharp-pointed irons, to be scattered through the morass, some of which have been found there, in the memory of people yet alive. By means of the natural strength of the position, and these devices, his army stood within an intrenchment, fortified by invisible pits and ditches, answering to the concealed batteries of modern times. The Scottish force was drawn up in three divisions. Their front extended nearly a mile in length along the brink of the river. The right, which was upon the highest grounds, was commanded by Edward Bruce, brother to the king; the left was posted on the low grounds, near the morass, under the direction of Randolph; the king himself took the charge of the centre. A fourth division was commanded by Walter, lord high steward, and James Douglas, both of whom had that morning received knighthood from the king. While in this posture, waiting for the English, the trumpets, clarions, and horns, continued to blow with so hideous a noise as made the neighbouring rocks and woods to echo. The English army was fast approaching, in three great divisions, led on by the monarch in person, and the earls of Hereford and Glocester. The centre was formed of infantry, and the wings of cavalry, many of whom were armed capa-pee. Squadrons of archers were upon the wings, and at certain distances along the front. The king was attended by two knights, sir Giles de Argentine, and sir Aymer de Vallance, who rode "at his bridle," one upon each side of him. When Edward beheld the order in which the Scots were drawn up, and their determined resolution to give battle to his formidable host, he expressed surprise to those about him. Sir Ingram Umfraville suggested a plan which was likely to ensure a cheap and bloodless victory. He counselled the king to make a fent of retreating with the whole army, behind the tents; which would tempt the Scots to break their ranks, in order to plunder the camp, when the English might suddenly face about and fall upon them. This advice was rejected; Edward deemed that there was no need of stratagem in order to defeat a force so inferior. When the two armies were upon the point of engaging, the abbot of Inchchanfry, having posted himself, with a crucifix in his hand, before the Scots, the ranks dropped upon their knees in devotion. The English concluded that by kneeling, when they should have been ready to fight, they meant to surrender at discretion, and begged their lives. The Scots rose again, and resuming their arms with steady countenances, the English began the action by a vigorous charge upon the left wing of the Scots, under Randolph, near the spot where the bridge is now thrown over the river, at the small village of Chartreshall, which was the only place where the river could be crossed in any sort of order. A large body of cavalry advanced to attack in front. Meanwhile another compassed about to fall upon the flank and rear, and fell into the snare prepared for them. Many of their horses were disabled by sharp irons rushing into their feet; others tumbled into concealed pits, and could not disentangle themselves. In this situation Randolph vigorously charged upon them. While this was passing upon the left wing of the Scottish army, the battle was spreading and raging along the front. It was commenced by the impetuous courage of an Englishman. The Scottish king was mounted upon a little palfry, carrying a battle-ax in his hand, and upon his helmet he wore a purple hat in form of a crown. This dress, with his activity, as he rode in front of the lines, observing their order, and cheering the men, rendered him very conspicuous. Henry Bohun, an English knight, cousin to the earl of Hereford, and ranked amongst the bravest in Edward's army, galloped furiously up to engage with Robert in single combat, and, by so eminent an act of chivalry, end the contest. Bohun missed his first blow, and Robert immediately struck him dead with his battle-ax, which broke in the handle, from the violence of the stroke. This bold attack upon their king, in the face of the whole army, roused the Scots to instant onset, and they rushed furiously upon their foes The ardor of one of their divisions carried it too far, and it was sorely galled by a large body of English archers, who charged it in flank; these were soon dispersed by Edward Bruce, who came behind them with a party of spearmen; or, according to other accounts, by sir Robert Keith, whom the king despatched to its relief, with a company of five hundred horse. Edward Bruce, however, soon needed similar relief himself. A strong body of English cavalry charged the right wing, which he commanded, with such fury, that he had been quite overpowered, if Randolph, who appears to have been at that time disengaged, had not marched to his assistance. The battle was now at the hottest, and the fortune of the day uncertain. The English continued to charge with unabated vigor; the Scots received them with inflexible intrepidity, and fought as if victory depended upon each man's single arm. A singular scene suddenly altered the face of affairs, and contributed greatly to decide the contest. All the servants and attendants of the Scottish army, amounting, it is said, to above fifteen thousand, had been ordered, before the battle, to retire with the baggage behind Gillies-hill. During the engagement they arranged themselves in a martial form, some on foot, and others mounted upon baggagehorses. Marching to the top of the hill, they there displayed white sheets upon long poles, in the form of banners, and moved towards the field of battle with frightful shouts. The English, taking them for a fresh reinforcement to the Scots, were seized with panic, and gave way in great confusion. Buchanan says that the king of England was the first that fled; but in this he contradicts all other historians, who affirm that the English monarch was among the last in the field. According to some accounts, he would not be persuaded to retire, till sir Aymer de Vallance, seeing the day lost, seized his horse's bridle, and forced him off. The king's other knight, sir Giles de Argentine, would not leave the field. Throwing himself at the head of a battalion, he animated it to prodigious efforts, but was soon overpowered and slain. Sir Giles was a champion of great renown; he had signalized himself in several battles with the Saracens, and was reckoned the third knight for valor in his day. The Scots pursued and made deadly havoc among the English, especially at the passage of the river, where order in retreat could not be kept, because of the irregularity of the ground. Within a short mile from the field of battle is a 66 plot of ground, called the Bloody Field;" it is said to take its name from a party of the English having there faced about, and sustained a dreadful slaughter. This tradition corresponds with a relation in several historians concerning Gilbert de Clare, earl of Glocester, and nephew to Edward II. Seeing the general rout, he made an effort to renew the battle at the head of his military tenants; and, after having done much execution with his own hand, was, with most of his party, cut in pieces. With this martial prince perished Robert de Clifford, first lord of the honor of Skipton: they fought side by side. Their heroism had excited the admiration of Bruce; they had been companions in the field, and, that they might not be separated after death, he sent thier bodies to Edward II. at Berwick, to be interred with the honors due unto their valor. At the battle of Bannockburn there fell, on the side of the English, one hundred and fifty-four earls, barons, and knights, seven hundred gentlemen, and more than ten thousand common soldiers. A few stanzas, from one of the oldest effusions on this subject, will show the fiery and taunting tone of exultation raised by Scottish minstrelsy upon the victory. Song of the Scottish Maidens. All charging in a row; Let fly their shafts like snow. When England's arrows fly !" For twenty summers past Ye danced and sang while Scotland wept- Must learn to wail and sigh; All gore from helm to heel; |