There are several instances of Committal to the Fleet for meddling with
Marriages. One or two will suffice:--1731. "Thursday, the Master of the
Rolls committed a Clergyman to the Fleet for marrying a young Gentleman
about 17 years of Age at Eaton School, and intitled to an Estate of
£1500 per Annum, to a Servant Maid: and at the same time committed the
person who gave her in Marriage. His Honour had some days since sent
as Prisoner to the Fleet, the Person who pretended to be the Youth's
Guardian, and who had given a Bond to indemnify the Parson."
1735. "Two Sisters were committed to the Fleet prison, by an order of
the high Court of Chancery, for drawing a young fellow into marriage,
he being a ward of the said Court."
Dec. 28, 1734. "Last Saturday Night Mr. D---- late Valet de Chambre to
a certain Noble Lord near Soho Square, went away, as was suspected,
with his Lordship's Niece, a young Lady not yet of Age, and a Coheiress
to a very large Estate. It seems they took a Hackney Coach soon after
they got out of Doors, and upon strict Enquiry, the Coachman was found
out, who declared that he took a Gentleman and a Lady up at such a
Place, and set them down at the Fleet, and by the Description he gave
it appeared to be the two Lovers, who may therefore be supposed to have
been married and bedded that Night. A Warrant was immediately obtained
for apprehending the Supposed Bridegroom, and he was accordingly taken
in Bed with his Lady, at a house in Queen Street near Guildhall, on
Wednesday Morning last, and immediately carried to Poultry Compter,
and the Lady was carried off by her Friends. In the Afternoon he was
examined, and afterwards re-committed to the same Prison. So that it
seems he is to suffer for endeavouring to get himself a _Rich Wife_,
which is a Practice followed by all the young _Gentlemen_ of _Quality_
in England; but the Difference is, _That this young fellow has married,
or endeavoured to marry an Heiress without the Consent of her Friends,
whereas the other generally marry or endeavour to marry Heiresses
without their own Consent._ It has since been found out that they were
married by a Roman Catholic Priest."
There was a faint-hearted protest on the part of the Fleet authorities,
against the Marriages, but I can find no attempt at prosecution, other
than for marrying without a stamped licence, in spite of the following
advertisement:--
"September, 1743. WHEREAS the Methods hitherto taken to prevent
clandestine Marriages at the Fleet have prov'd ineffectual,
though legal Notice hath been given by the Warden of the Fleet
to such of his Tenants in whose houses it is reputed such
Marriages have been suffer'd, to quit the Possession thereof;
therefore, and as such Warning cannot immediately have the
desir'd Effect, this Publick Notice is given, that, whoever
shall make it appear to the Warden's Satisfaction that any of
his Prisoners, shall at any time hereafter clandestinely marry,
or be, in any manner however, concern'd in any clandestine
Marriage, or suffer such Marriages to be performed in his, hers,
or their Houses, or Lodgings, such Person or Persons making such
Discovery, shall receive a Guinea Reward from the Turnkey of the
said Prison.
"WILLIAM MANNING, Turnkey."
There were several people of fortune married by Fleet parsons _vide
Grub Street Journal_, September 18, 1735, "Married yesterday Will
Adams, Esqr., to Miss Eleanor Watkins, a beautiful young lady, with a
fortune of £15,000." And in the _Gentleman's Magazine_, May 6, 1735,
"Married the Lord Robert Montagu, to Mrs. Harriet Dunch of Whitehall,
with a fortune of £15,000."
Somewhat of a curiosity is recorded in "Notes and Queries," 4 series,
vol. xii. p. 295. "I have before me an engraved medal, bearing the
following inscription, about which I should be glad of information.
'May y^e 3, 1761. Thos. Wisely Maried Sarah Boswell in the Fleet
Prison.'" This, in all probability, was a half-crown with one side made
smooth, and the above engraved upon it.
There is no doubt but that, with a duly stamped licence and until
they were specially done away with by Lord Hardwicke's Act of 1753,
these marriages were legal; still there is an instance recorded in the
_General Evening Post_, June 27/29, 1745, in which a Fleet marriage
was ruled to be illegal. "Yesterday came on a cause at Doctor's
Commons, wherein the plaintiff brought his action against the defendant
for pretending to be his wife. She, in her justification, pleaded a
marriage at the Fleet the 6th of February, 1737, and produced a Fleet
Certificate, which was not allowed as evidence. She likewise offered
to produce the minister she pretended married them, but he being
excommunicate for clandestine marriages, could not be received as a
witness. The Court thereupon pronounced against the marriage, and
condemned her in £28, the costs of the suit."
The Registers in which these marriages were entered have mostly had
an eventful and chequered career. Many have, doubtless, disappeared
for ever, and it is extremely probable that some are in private hands,
one being in the Bodleian Library. They were to be bought by any one
interested in them, and the present collection cannot be considered as
being at all perfect. We learn the adventures of some of them through
the evidence of a Mrs. Olive, who produced one at a trial at Shrewsbury
in 1794. This woman was originally a servant to Joshua Lilly, and
used to "ply" or tout for him, and at his death married one Owens,
who succeeded to one of Lilly's marriage houses, and who, probably,
bought his Registers from his representatives. At this Trial she said:
"My first husband was Thos. Owens. I had the Register Books of Fleet
Marriages in my possession from my Marriage in 1761 till I went to
America eleven years ago. I then sold them to Mr. Panton. My husband
Owens died about 1773. My husband made a will. I had the possession of
the books myself, as my husband had other business. I heard my husband
say he purchased these books. He had a Marriage House in Fleet Lane. I
used the books to grant certificates upon parish affairs."
After her Marriage with Olive she still made use of these Registers,
for we read in an Advertisement that "All the original Register
Books containing the marriages solemnized at the Fleet, May Fair,
and the Mint, for upwards of one hundred years past, may be searched
by applying to George Olive, at the Wheat Sheaf, in Nicholls Square,
near Cripplegate. The great utility of these Collections prevents any
encomiums."
About 1783 a Mr. Benjamin Panton bought of Mrs. Olive some five or six
hundred of these books, weighing more than a ton, and used to produce
them occasionally on trials at law, and they were always accepted as
evidence.
At his death in 1805 he left these to his daughter, who still utilised
them as her father had done, as a handbill shows. "All the original
Register Books of the Marriages in the Fleet, May Fair, and Mint,
are now in the possession of M. Panton (Register Keeper), No. 50,
Houndsditch, by whom they are examined, and Certificates of Marriages
granted."
In 1813 she sold them to a Mr. William Cox, who, in 1821, sold them to
the Government for £260 6s. 6d., and the following letter shows us what
became of them.
"WHITEHALL, _April_ 25, 1821.
"SIR,--It having been judged expedient to purchase a set of
books containing the original Entries of Marriages solemnized in
the Fleet Prison, and Rules thereof, from the year 1686 to the
year 1754. I have been honoured with his Majesty's commands to
desire that you will receive the said books from Mr. Maule the
Solicitor to the Treasury, and give him a receipt for the same,
and deposit them in the Registry of the Consistory Court of
London.
"I have the honour to be, Sir,
"Your most obedient humble Servant,
"SIDMOUTH.
"The Registrar of the Consistory Court of London, or his Deputy."
Here they remained until the abolition of the Court in 1840, by Act of
Parliament, 3 and 4 Vic. cap. 92, when they were declared inadmissible
as evidence in law. Sec. 6 says, "And be it enacted That all Registers
and Records deposited in the General Register Office by virtue of this
Act, except the Registers and Records of Baptisms and Marriages at _The
Fleet_, and _King's Bench_ Prisons, at _May Fair_, at the _Mint_ in
_Southwark_, and elsewhere, which were deposited in the Registry of the
Bishop of _London_ in the Year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty
One, as hereinafter mentioned, shall be deemed to be in legal Custody,
and shall be receivable in Evidence in all Courts of Justice, subject
to the Provisions hereinafter contained."
And Section 20 provides thus, "And be it enacted, That the several
Registers and Records of Baptisms and Marriages performed at the
Fleet" (&c., &c., as in Section 6) "shall be transferred from the
said Registry to the Custody of the Registrar-General, who is hereby
directed to receive the same for safe custody." And it recapitulates
that they shall not be received as evidence at law.
They are kept at Somerset House, where they can be examined for a small
fee. A great number of them are memorandum books, and Burn, when he
examined them at Doctors Commons, in 1833, did not much like his job.
"It is to be wished that they were better arranged and indexed. There
are several very large indexes, which only requires a little time and
attention to ascertain to what Registers they refer. The Pocket books
also, might be bound together, and preserved from dust and dirt; and if
Government would give about £300 these objects might be attained. It
was a labour of many months to go through so many hundreds of dusty,
dirty, and sometimes ragged books."
The entries in the pocket-books are quainter than those in the
registries, as they are the first impressions, and the others are
polished up. We find from them that it was not infrequent to antedate
the Registers, and Lilley did so on one occasion, "there being a
vacancy in the Book suitable to the time." And, again, "These wicked
people came this day, Peter Oliver, of St. Olave's, carpenter, and
Elizabeth Overton, would have a certificate dated in 1729, or would not
be married if it was not to be dated to this time--went to Lilley's and
was married."
Perhaps the most extraordinary entries in these books are those of two
women going through the ceremony of marriage with each other--
"20 May, 1737. J^{no} Smith, Gent. of S^t James West^r Batch^r
& Eliz. Huthall of S^t Giles's Sp^r at Wilsons. By y^e opinion
after Matrimony, my Clark judg'd they were both women, if y^e
person by name John Smith be a man, he's a little short fair
thin man, not above 5 foot. After marriage I almost c'd prove
y^m both women, the one was dress'd as a man, thin pale face, &
wrinkled chin."
"1734 Dec. 15. John Mountford of S^t Ann's Sohoe, Taylor. B.,
Mary Cooper. Ditto. Sp. Suspected 2 Women, no Certif."
"1 Oct. 1747. John Ferren, Gent, Ser. of S^t Andrew's Holborn
B^r and Deborah Nolan. D^o Sp^n. The supposed John Ferren was
discovered after y^e Ceremonies were over, to be in person a
woman."
There is one entry, "The Woman ran across Ludgate Hill in her shift."
In the _Daily Journal_ of November 8, 1725, a woman went to be married
in that sole garment, at Ulcomb, in Kent; and in the Parish Register of
Chiltern All Saints in October 17, 1714, it says: "The aforesaid Anne
Sellwood was married in her Smock, without any clothes or head gier
on." This was a vulgar error, but the idea in so acting was that the
husband was not liable for any of his wife's pre-nuptial debts.
The candidates for matrimony were occasionally not over-honest,
as--"Had a noise for foure hours about the Money." "N.B. Stole a Silver
Spoon." "Stole my Cloathes Brush." "N.B. Married at a Barber's Shop
next Wilsons viz., one Kerrils for half a Guinea, after which it was
extorted out of my pocket, and for fear of my life delivered." "They
behaved very vilely, and attempted to run away with M^{rs} Crooks Gold
Ring."
But then, again, these Fleet parsons had customers of a higher grade,
as "Dec. 1, 1716. Dan Paul, S^t James's, Capt^n in y^e Horse Guards."
"March y^e 4^{th} 1740. William--and Sarah--he dress'd in a gold
waistcoat like an Officer, she a Beautifull young Lady with 2 fine
diamond Rings, and a Black high Crown Hat and very well dressed." "Nov.
y^e 24, 1733 att y^e Baptized hed Tavern to go to M^r Gibbs for to
marry him in y^e countrey--Wife worth £18,000." "Septr^5, 1744 Andrew
Mills, Gent. of the Temple, & Charlotte Gail lairdy of S^t Mildred,
Poultry at M^r Boyce's, King's head. N.B. One gentleman came first in
a merry manner to make a bargain w^{th} the Minister for the marriage,
and immediately came the parties themselves, disguising their dress
by contrivances, particularly buttning up the coat, because the rich
wastecoat should not be seen, &c."
The Church of England Marriage Service was generally used, but, in
one instance, as shown by a pocket-book, it was somewhat modified,
as when the ring is given the Trinity is not mentioned, but the words
are altered to "from this time forth for evermore. Amen;" and when the
couple promise to hold together "according to God's holy ordinance,"
it was rendered "according to law." There seems to have been but one
example of the officiating Clergyman administering the Sacrament at a
Marriage, and that was done by the Rev. W. Dan, who describes himself
as "priest of the Church of England." "October 2^{nd} 1743 John Figg,
of S^t John's the Evang^s Gent. a Widower, and Rebecca Woodward, of
Ditto, Spinster, at y^e same time gave her y^e Sacrament."
The Scandal of Fleet Marriages remained unchecked until 1753, when
the Lord Chancellor brought forward and passed "An Act for the better
preventing of clandestine marriages"--26 Geo. III. cap. 33--which, in
its different sections, provides that the Banns of Matrimony are to be
published according to the rubric, &c., the marriage to be solemnized
in one of the churches where the banns had been published. Marriage by
licence could only take place in the church or chapel of such parish,
&c., where one of the parties should have resided for four weeks
previously.
This was the death-blow to the Fleet Marriages, as any contravention of
the law was made punishable by transportation "to some of his Majesty's
plantations in America for the space of fourteen years, according to
the laws in force for the transportation of felons."
The Act came into force on March 26, 1754, but people took advantage of
the Fleet Marriages until the last moment, and that in great numbers,
for in one Register alone there is a list of 217 weddings celebrated on
the 25th of March!
The last Fleet Wedding is recorded in the _Times_ of July 10, 1840:
"Mr. John Mossington, aged 76, and a Prisoner in the Fleet, more than
15 years, was, on Wednesday, married to Miss Anne Weatherhead, aged
62, at St. Bride's Church. The Lady had travelled 36 Miles to meet her
bridegroom, who is, without exception, one of the most extraordinary
men in this County. He takes his morning walks round the Fleet prison
yard, which he repeats three or four times a day, with as much rapidity
as a young man could do of the age of 20. The Road from Farringdon
Street to the Church, was lined with Spectators who knew of the event,
and the Church was equally filled to hear the Ceremony performed. The
Courtship first commenced 41 years ago, and Mr. Mossington has now
fulfilled his promise."
THE END.
[Illustration: MAP OF THE FLEET.]
[Illustration]
INDEX.
Aldgate Pump, 1
Alsatia, 223, 224
Annis (Dame) the Cleare, 10
Antiquarian Discoveries, 18, 19
Apothecaries Hall, 205
Apprentices and City Authorities, 216, 217, 218
Archer, J. W., 81
Archery, 116, 117
Artillery Ground, 116
Ashwell, E., 344, 345, 346
Bagnigge House, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85
Bagnigge Wells, 4, 73, 77, 78,
79, 80, 81, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89,
90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97,
120
Bambridge, Thos., 268, 269, 270,
271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 296
Basset, Bartholomew, 337, 338
Battle Bridge, 38, 39
Baynard's Castle, 5-15,
Bear baiting, 139, 140, 141
Begging Grate, 275, 276
Billingsgate, fountain at, 14
Black Mary's Hole, 77, 78, 79, 85
Bleeding Heart Yard, 164
Boughton, 247, 250, 251, 252, 253
"Boy" (Prince Rupert's Dog), 154
Brabazon, Roger le, 6-15
Brent, the, 21
Bridewell, 206, 207, 208,
209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214,
215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221
Brill, the, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43
Brooke Street, Hanover Square, 2
Brothers, 105
Brown's Dairy, 34
Bull baiting, 139, 141, 142,
143, 144, 145, 146, 147
Bunter's Wedding, the, 365, 366, 367, 368
Cantelows, 32, 35, 49
Chad's, St., Well, 45, 46, 47,
48, 49, 50, 51, 52
Cheape Conduit, 14
City Authorities and Apprentices, 216, 217, 218
Clement's Well, 8, 9
Clerken Well, 4, 8, 9, 45, 183, 184, 185
Cobham's Head, 115
Cock, a man eats a live, 70
Coldbath, 4, 111, 112
Coldbath Fields, 111, 118, 119
Coldbath Fields Prison, 99, 100, 101,
102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108,
109, 110
Cöln, stinks at, 16
Conduits, 13, 14
Conduit, White, 54, 55, 56,
57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63,
64, 65, 66, 120
Coppin, Edward, 255, 256, 257
Cornhill, the Tun in, 14
Court Room at Bridewell, 219, 220, 221
Cresswell, Mother, 219
Cripplegate, fountain at, 14
Cripplegate Pool, 8, 11
Cruikshank, Isaac Robert, 309, 310
Dustman, the Literary, 44, 45
Election, a mock, 308, 309
"Elephant," skeleton of, found, 17
Ely Place, 163, 164, 165,
166, 167, 168, 169, 170
Everett, John, 41, 42
Fagin, 158, 159, 160, 161
Fag's Well, 8, 10
Falstaff, Sir John, 240
Field Lane, 158, 160, 161
Fighting, 137, 138, 139
Fleet Bridge, 189, 190, 191, 193
Fleet, derivation of name, 2
Fleet Ditch, 1-7, 14, 16,
17, 18, 19, 20, 176, 226
Fleet Market, 186, 187, 188
Fleet Marriages, 327, 328, 329,
330, 331, 333, 335, 336, 337,
338, 339, 340, 341, 342, 343,
344, 345, 346, 347, 348, 349,
350, 351, 352, 353, 354, 355,
356, 359, 362, 363, 364, 365,
366, 367, 368, 369, 370, 371,
372, 373, 375, 376, 377, 378,
379, 380, 381, 382, 383, 384,
385
Fleet Prison, the, 229, 230, 231,
232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237,
238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243,
244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249,
250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255,
256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261,
262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267,
268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273,
274, 275, 276, 279, 280, 281,
282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287,
288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 294,
295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300,
301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306,
307, 308, 309, 310, 312, 313,
314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319,
320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325
Fleet Registers, 378, 379, 380,
381, 382, 383, 384
Fleet River, 26, 27, 28, 29, 100,
155, 172, 185, 186, 188, 225,
227
Floud, John, 346, 347, 348
Forcer, proprietor of Sadler's Wells, 71
Foster, Sir Stephen, 201, 202
Fountain at Billingsgate, 14
Fountain at Paul's Wharf, 14
Fountain at St. Giles, Cripplegate, 14
Garnish, 293, 294, 295
Garth, Dr., 205
Gaynam, John, 340, 341, 342, 343
Gordon, Lord George, 25, 301, 302
Gospel Oak, 29, 30, 31
Griffith, Chas., 91
Gwynne, Nell, 32, 81, 82, 83
Hampstead, 7-14, 26
Hampstead Ponds, 27
Harris, Alex., Warden of the
Fleet, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249,
250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255,
256, 257, 258, 259
Hatton Garden, 163
Hatton, the Chancellor, 163, 164
Hemp beetling at Bridewell, 210, 211, 213
Hockley-in-the-Hole, 137, 139, 146,
147, 148, 152
Hogarth, 274
Holborn Bridge, 170, 172, 173,
174, 175, 176
Holy Well, 8, 9, 10
Horse Pool, 8, 11
Howard, John, 214, 216, 295,
296, 297
Huggins, 265, 266, 267,
268, 269, 272, 275
"Humours of the Fleet," 279, 280,
281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286,
287, 288, 289, 290, 291
Hunt, "Orator," 129, 130, 131,
132, 133, 134
Huntingdon, Lady, 122, 123, 124, 125
Keith, Parson, 349, 350, 354,
356, 357, 358, 359, 360, 361
Ken Wood, 25
Kentish Town, 27, 28, 32,
33, 34, 35
King's Cross, 38, 43, 44
Ladies' ablutions, 113
Lamb's Conduit, 4, 179, 180,
181, 182
Lando, James, 354, 355
Langbourne, 8
Leveland, Nathaniel de, 229
Lilley, John, 352
Lilley, Joshua, 349, 351, 352, 378
Loders Well, 8, 10
Ludgate Prison, 195, 196, 197,
198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203
Macklin, 72
Man drowned in the Fleet River, 226
Man frozen in the Fleet River, 226
Mansfield, Earl of, 25
Marriages, 330, 331, 332, 372, 375
Mary le Bourne, St., 2
Mayfair Chapel, 357, 358, 360
Merlin's Cave, 129
Miles' Musick house, 69
Mill at Bridewell, 209, 210
Moat, the Fleet Prison, 235, 236
Montfitchet Castle, 208
Mottram, John, 339
Nelson, Lord, 35
Northampton Chapel, 123
Oastler, Richard, 325
Old Bourne, 5, 8
Oldcastle, the Sir John, 17, 112,
114, 115, 116, 117, 118
Pancras, St., 29, 36, 37
Pancras Wash, 38
Pantheon, the, 119, 120, 121, 122
Parliament Hill, 31, 36
Parsons, Fleet, 328, 333, 334,
335, 336, 337, 338, 339, 340,
341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346,
347, 348, 349, 350, 351, 352,
353, 354, 355, 356
Paul's Wharf, fountain at, 14
Peerless Pool, 11
Periless Pond, 11
Physicians, College of, 205
Pickwick and Hampstead Ponds, 27
Pindar of Wakefield, 73, 74, 75
Pools, 8-11
Prisoners, Poor, 324, 325
"Punch" and Bagnigge Wells, 93, 94, 95, 96
Rackets, 303, 304, 305
Rad Well, 8, 10, 80
Rhone, 48, 51
Riots, no Popery, 25, 26, 301,
302, 303
Rules of the Fleet, 263
Rupert, Prince, 154
Rush boats, 21
Rye House Plot, 188, 189
Sadler's Wells, 53, 67, 68,
69, 70, 71, 73, 120
Saffron Hill, 155, 156, 157
Schools, King Edward's, 218, 219
Sedley Place, Oxford Street, 13
Shepherd's Well, Hampstead, 22
Skinner's Well, 8-10
Small Pox Hospital, 118, 119
Spa Fields Chapel, 123, 124
Spa Field Riots, 127, 129, 130,
131, 132, 133, 134, 135
"Spence's Plan," 127, 128
Springs, 1-7, 8, 9, 10
"Steel," The, 102
Sword Play, 147, 148, 149,
150, 151, 152
Symson, Peter, 353, 354
Tod Well, 10
Tonne, or Tunne, the, in Cornhill, 14
Toxophilite Society, 116
Traitor's Hill, 31, 36
Treadmill, Early, 209, 210
Turnmill Brook, 6
Turnmill Street and Brook, 170
Tye-bourne, The, 2, 13, 22, 23
Waithman, Alderman, 193, 194
Walbrook, 2-8
Ward, Ned, on Bridewell, 212, 213, 214
Wardens of the Fleet, 229, 230, 231,
232, 233, 234, 237, 245, 247, 248,
249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255,
256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262,
265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271,
272, 304, 313, 314
Wardens of the Fleet--_Ladies_, 231, 232
Warwick, Earl of, 205
Wells, River of, 4, 7, 8, 53
Westbourne, the, 23
West Street, 155, 156, 157, 158
Whipping at Bridewell, 212, 213, 214
Whistling Shop, a, 306, 307, 308
Whitbrooke, Sir John, 247, 248, 249,
250, 251, 252, 253
White Conduit, 4, 53
Whitefriars, 223, 224, 225
Whittington, Sir Rd., 11
Wilkes, John, 193, 194, 195
Wolsey, Cardinal, 240, 241, 242
Wyatt, Walter, 333, 348, 349, 350
"Zigzag," 81
UNWIN BROTHERS,
THE GRESHAM PRESS,
CHILWORTH AND LONDON.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Some words are sometimes hyphenated, and sometimes not hyphenated.
All reasonable variants of spelling, grammar and punctuation have
been retained.
There are a lot of sometimes old foreign words, and some
French/English hybrid text from earlier centuries.
England did not have spelling or punctuation rules until
the various Public Instruction Acts (c. 1860-70) in Queen Victoria's
reign. In this book, that may have also extended to French and Latin
spellings!!
Mismatched quotes. Punctuation is not always regular;
some opened quotes are not always closed.
General Note: Mismatched quotes often occur with quotations where
the quotation is enclosed within double quotes and each line or
paragraph within that quote begins with double quotes but has no
end double quote.
Minor typographical errors have been corrected.
All sidenotes have been moved to the start of the paragraphs in
which they appear in the original. Where the paragraph is a
quotation then the double quote has been moved to the start of the
first sidenote. This ensures that all side-notes within that
paragraph are contained within the double quotes at the beginning
and end of the quotation.
See Line 494: Sidenote "_Riuer of Wels_:
and Line 607: Sidenote: "_Fitzstephen. Holy well.
Line 770: 'discretionbus' corrected to 'discretionibus'.
Line 1436: Unspaced punctuation, e.g. "Near Battle Bridge,'tis
plain, sirs:", is as printed, and denotes elisions (the running
together of words to fit the metre).
Lines 2789-90: Mismatched quotes "Yours, &c., "EUGENIO."
Line 8156: "cortége" is an old spelling (in use until the end of
the 19th century).
There are many occasions when the term 'l.' or 'li.' is used.
'l.' or 'li.' = libra = pound/pounds. or £, so, £140 = 140 l.
or 140 li.