It only remains for us to give a brief notice of the two most famous London sanc

former, we shall content ourselves with a quotation from Lord Macaulay, who describes it as it was in 1697,-just before its extinction. Originally a house of Carmelite friars, founded in the thirteenth century, and, by virtue of its papal charter, a refuge for all its tenants; then, at the Reformation, restricted to the privilege of sheltering debtors; and in 1608, by special concession from King James, constituted once more an asylum for criminals of every shade, it was rechristened by its grateful occupants with its ancient name, Alsatia, or "Eald-Seaxen."

the offenders, and compelled the restoration | seen feasting side by side, in equal security of their captive. This is notable as the first and with equal appetite. recorded instance of any one being hardy enough to attempt such a sacrilege. The one we are about to relate shows even more aries,-Whitefriars and Savoy. On the strongly the extent to which these usurpations had reached. In 1439, while a criminal was being carried from Newgate to Guild Hall for trial, the tenants of the College of St. Martin's-le-Grand (which, so late as the present century, used to have a law-court and jufisdiction of its own) suddenly burst out, attacked the guard, and carried the prisoner home with them. The sheriff having, with a large force, succeeded in recapturing his prey, the lord high chancellor ruled, by order of the king, that the privileges of the Dean and Chapter (of Westminster, to which the college was subject) had been in"Bounded on the west by the great school vaded, and that the prisoner must be re- of English jurisprudence, and on the east stored. When we remember that not only by the great mart of English trade, stood in Westminster Abbey and St. Martin's-le- this labyrinth of squalid, tottering houses, Grand, but in every part of the country, packed, every one of them, from cellar to public peace and private security were ex- cockloft, with outcasts, whose life was one long war with society. The most respectable posed to the risks of lawless rabbles such as this, the wonder, is not that riots and rob- part of the population consisted of debtors who were in fear of bailiffs. The rest were beries and highway murders were frequent, attorneys struck off the rolls, witnesses who but rather that a pretence of municipal or- carried straw in their shoes as a sign to inder could assert itself at all. The two cases form the public where false oaths might be we have quoted are instances, taken from a purchased for half a crown, sharpers, receivgreat number before us, of a state of things ers of stolen goods, clippers of coin, forgers which actually continued till 1697, when of bank-notes, and tawdry women, blooming Parliament for the first time took the matter made free use of their nails and their scissors, with paint and brandy, who in their anger in hand, and, amid threats of rebellion ut- yet whose anger was less to be dreaded than tered openly and threats of assassination their kindness. With these wretches the written anonymously, decreed the downfall narrow alleys of the sanctuary swarmed. of all sanctuaries from one end of the king- The rattling of dice, the call for more punch dom to the other. We believe that the sole and more wine, and the noise of blasphemy remaining exception to this abolition is Holy- whole night. The Benchers of the Inner and ribald song, never ceased during the rood Palace, which still protects from arrest for debt all those who take refuge within its ance no longer. They ordered the gate leading Temple could bear the scandal and the annoyprecincts, and inscribe their names in its into Whitefriars to be bricked up. The AlBailie's books. By virtue of the royal pre-sations mustered in great force, attacked the rogative, indeed, all the sovereign's de- workmen, killed one of them, pulled down mesnes exclude the execution of civil process; the walls, knocked down the sheriff who but Holywood is the only one which compri- came to keep the peace, and carried off his ses a street of houses, open to the public at gold chain, which no doubt was soon in the melting-pot. The tumult was not suppressed large, and occupied without leave or license till a company of the foot-guards arrived. This by whoever may have more debts in the outer riot excited general indignation. Yet so difworld than he knows how to pay. On the ficult was it to execute any process in the Continent, however, the institution still pre- dens of Whitefriars, that near two years vails to a considerable extent, so far as civil elapsed before a single ringleader was appreprocess is concerned; and here and there we come across a hospitable monastery where A puzzling paradox for an ethical philosoand murderer and traveller might be pher,-that the same high and mighty prince

hended."

of blessed memory, who "did never desist to urge and to excite those to whom it was commended" to the translation of the Holy Scriptures, sold for money a license such as this, signed its charter with his own royal hand, and sealed it with his own great seal! It would scarcely be too much to say that this act of weakness, or avarice, or whatever other motive may have led to it, hindered the due administration of justice in this country for at least half a century.

the most memorable is the great religious Conference of 1661, between the Episcopalians and Presbyterians, for the revision of the Liturgy,—a curious instance of the inefficacy of theological controversy to change people's theological belief. An entire week, and twelve learned tongues on each side, were devoted to the discussion; but at the end the Reformers found themselves exactly where they had started, and the court party went home to agree among themselves that henceforth King Charles II., and all sovereigns after him, should be commended to Heaven as "most religious and gracious." They might be excused for feeling in a very good humor after escaping safe and sound into the open air from the perilous asylum of the Savoy.

From The Spectator, 6 Aug.

A few words on the history of the Savoy seem to be demanded by the catastrophe which has just swept away its last vestige. Its founder was Peter Earl of Savoy and Richmond, the uncle of Henry III.'s wife Eleanor, who in 1245 got a royal grant of a piece of land between the Strand and the river, and built upon it a small brick palace. On his death he left it to Queen Eleanor, who again by royal letters patent vested it in her second son, Edward of Lancaster, and his heirs. The Dukedom of Lancaster having been under Henry VIII. annexed to the crown, the Savoy has ever since been a royal domain, and in this character-and without, as far as appears, any special charter-acquired its sanctuary privileges. Here, in 1350, John II. of France was confined a prisoner after the battle of Poictiers, and here he found such pleasant quarters-laved as they then were by a clear and cheerful river, and looking out on pleasant country fields beyond that he asked permission to revisit the palace a few years after, and actually died in it in 1364. Burned to the ground in one of Wat Tyler's riots, and in ruins for upwards of a century, Henry VII. in 1505 rebuilt and endowed it as a hospital for a hundred poor people, adding to it a chapel and a printing-press,-one of the first, we believe, in London. About fifty years later, on the destruction of the old church of St. Mary-le-Strand, we find the Chapel Royal of the Savoy the parish church of the neighborhood, and among its records is a formal renunciation, by the parishioners, of "all in-public schools also. At any rate, there are terest or right" in the edifice. With the exception of a brief suspension in the reign of Edward VI., the hospital remained till 1702, in which year it was converted into a military prison, and in 1819 all but the chapel was pulled down to make way for the present approach to Waterloo Bridge.

Of the historical associations of the Savoy,

PUBLIC SWIMMING AT BRIGHTON. WE have often wondered in past years that swimming was so little cultivated in England. One would have thought that our insular position and our sea-going propensities should have had the effect of making a swimming nation of us long since; but it has not been so. Even amongst our sailors of the last generation only a small percentage could swim, and of course the rest of the community, except always those who had been educated at public schools, were far behind the sailors. A decided majority of public school boys came away fair swimmers; but even there the art was left to take care of itself. There were men who had to attend at the bathing-places of the lower school during the season; but it was no part of their business to give instruction in swimming, nor do we remember their ever doing so. Education has been marching in this respect, as in so many others, within the last few years, and now swimming is scientifically taught at the naval schools, and, we believe, at most of our

now regular yearly competitive examinations in the art at these latter, and the general public is following in the same direction. The parish of St. George set the example, which has been followed, though not so largely as it deserves to be, by other metropolitan parishes, and in consequence of the opening of such swimming baths as those in Davies Street quite a large

average of young cockneydom is learning to keep its head above water. At these baths there are constant swimming matches amongst the members of the swimming clubs and other frequenters; but of course the space is too confined for a satisfactory test of the swimmer's powers. For this there is nothing like the sea, and therefore we are glad to find that the custom of swimming matches is beginning to prevail at some of our seaside places of resort. Until this week we had never had the opportunity of witnessing one of these; but on Monday last we chanced to be at Brighton on the occasion of the "Fifth Annual Swimming Matches of the Brighton Swimming Club," and think that some account of them may amuse our readers in this holiday time.

The posters announced that the fun was to begin at 9.30 precisely, so we started off for the scene of operations directly after breakfast, purchasing on our way for one penny a correct card, which gave the names and colors (worn in bathing-caps) of the swimmers, the distances of the course, a list of the prizes, and the few and simple rules, such as that all competitors were to wear bathing drawers, and that no false starts would be allowed. The bathing-station is a portion of the beach, fifty yards long to the west of the Chain Pier, almost, therefore, in the very centre of Brighton. It was roped off, being reserved for the competitors, and for the umpires, and committee, and their friends. On each side of this space the beach was lined with just such a crowd as would gather to races. Boys of course were the prevailing feature; but there were a large number of men and women of all ages, chiefly of the laboring class. The raised approach to the Chain Pier, which runs along just above the bathing-station, was also lined with spectators of a higher rank, and above that, again, the esplanade was crowded for a distance of about three hundred yards, and all the windows of the houses were full of well-dressed folk. A better spot for enabling the largest number of spectators to see the races could scarcely be chosen; for at high tide when the swimming begins, the starting-place is not more than fifty yards from the top of the cliff along which the esplanade runs.

The competitors got ready in a long shed at the top of the station, just under the raised walk. They came out as they were

ready, and were then drawn up in line and started by pistol-shot. They got into the water as they pleased, and had to swim round a post, of which there was a line gay with flags, the furthest being five hundred yards from the shore. There was a Humane Society's boat in attendance, into which any candidate scrambled who felt that he had had enough, and soon after the commencement a dozen other boats were pulling about the course, carrying a lot of well-dressed men and women, who seemed to enjoy their proximity to the races, but somewhat interfered with the view from the beach. We managed, nevertheless, to see the matches very well, and can vouch that there was some really good swimming. The fourth match was for second-class swimmers, distance, one thousand yards, which was done by the winner in eighteen minutes and thirty seconds, the next man being a minute and a half behind. The longest race was the fifth, for first-class swimmers, members of the Brighton Swimming Club, the course being round the head of the Chain Pier, and the distance being one thousand two hundred and forty yards. The winner, a Brighton tradesman of the name of Cavill, did the distance in seventeen minutes forty-five seconds, the next man being only three seconds behind him. There was a strong tide and a considerable swell on at this time, and although the number of yards per minute does not look large on paper, the best swimmer amongst our readers will find it a pretty tough feat if he will go and try it under the same conditions. Only four competitors started for this heat, all of whom came well home, the last being little more than three-quarters of a minute behind the winner.

The great attraction of the day however, was the "sixth match, for females, open to all comers, distance three hundred yards, for a very handsome silver-plated tea-pot, value 55s.," as it was announced on the card. On the cliff, the pier, the beach, there must have been now four or five thousand spectators, a somewhat awful ordeal, one would think, for the "females" in question. They must have good heart to come out at all," said one middle-aged woman to another, close by our elbow, and we quite agreed. After a short delay, however, the door of a bathing-machine, which had been drawn up to the startingplace, opened, and out jumped first one, and

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races were over by about the middle of the considered absolutely indecent even for men day, and certainly we came away feeling that to bathe undressed, while amongst the Burwe had had a very good morning's amuse- mese, the only really pure Eastern race, by whom the marriage vow is really respected, men and women bathe together. We would not imply too much from this fact and would

ment.

With the exception of the one or two points noticed above, there was nothing whatever risqué or objectionable in these matches, and yield to no one in the vehemence of our they are certainly calculated to encourage very much the useful art of swimming. We should be glad to see them under proper regulations established and popular at all our sea-bathing places. Bathing is a subject on which there exists a good deal of prudery in the English mind. It may not be out of place to remark that amongst the most immoral people in the world, the Hindoos, it is

protest against any custom which threatened in the least degree to undermine the real modesty of the nation; on the other hand, we shall always set our faces against mockmodesty, which is only a thin veil for nastiness of mind, and for our own parts would almost as soon see our women bathing with men as putting frills round the legs of their pianofortes.

SCIENCE has lately sustained a loss in the ducing skin diseases. The former maintains, in death of Dr. Normandy, who, as a practical chem-accordance with truths already established, that ist and experimental philosopher, has materially the growths in question are essentially vegetable; contributed to the advance of modern science. the latter regards them as being modified ecderThough French by birth, he adopted England as onic or skin tissues. There can be little doubt of his country, and after passing his examination the accuracy of Dr. Fox's views. as a surgeon, devoted himself to chemical experiments, in which, for a time, he was associated with the late Dr. Ure, to the last edition of whose "Dictionary of the Arts and Manufactures" he IT has been stated that Dr. Grusselback, of the has largely contributed. He gave important evi- University of Upsala, lately restored to activity dence of a startling character before the Commit- a snake which had been frozen to torpidity for ten tee of the House of Commons, on the Adultera-years. It is also reported that he proposed to the tion of Food, and has left behind him many Swedish Government to experiment on criminals. standard works on chemistry. Dr. Normandy He proposes to reduce the individual to complete died on the 10th May, in the fifty-fourth year of torpor by the gradual application of cold, and to his age. resuscitate him after a year or two.

Ir would appear, from the carefully-conducted investigations of M. Heffelseim, that the heart recoils after every contraction, somewhat in the same manner as a cannon which has just been fired. The writer states that the moment the ventricles contract and pour their volume of blood into the aorta and pulmonary artery, the double liquid jet which is thus produced necessarily determines a movement of the heart in the opposite direction; that is to say, an actual recoil movement at every pulsation. The reason why, during its contraction, it assumes its proper position, is that the elasticity of the surrounding structures neutralizes the effect of the recoil.

Ir would seem that electricity as a curative agent is gradually stealing into the laboratories and surgeries of medical men. A novel, and (if true) a most important application of it has just been discovered by M. Namias. The latter has found that in that fearfully destructive malady,

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Bright's disease of the kidneys," electricity causes the elimination of urea from the glands. A greater step in the cure of the disease could hardly have been made. Urea is the substance which by its conversion into carbonate of ammonia produces the cerebral symptoms; and if a means of eliminating it has been arrived at, medicine may congratulate itself on the circumstance. M. Namias states, that the additional secretion of the urea is accompanied by an increase in the quantity of albumen, but considers this of little im

DR. TILBURY Fox and Mr. Erasmus Wilson are at war concerning the nature of the fungi pro-portance.