the morning star that brings the day.

49. PLAYS AND PAGEANTS. PART IV.

~Gammer (i.e. Old Mother) Gurton's Needle~ is a very rough old play
about an old woman who lost her needle while mending a pair of breeches,
and, after accusing everyone of stealing it, finds it after all in the
garment itself. It was written some time before 1560. ('Gammer,' the
French _grand'-mere_, grandmother, contracted into 'ganmer,' and then
'gammer.')

~contortionist~: one who twists himself into extraordinary attitudes to
amuse the public.

~octagonal~: with eight sides.

~prologue~: the verses spoken before a play to introduce it to the
audience.

~Golden Lane~: a street near the Barbican, turning out of Aldersgate
Street.

~Bankside~, in Southwark, on the southern side of the Thames.

50. THE TERROR OF THE PLAGUE. PART I.

~Pretensions~: ambitious claims.

~Wars of the Roses~: a civil war lasting 1455-1485. In thinking of the
loss of life occasioned by this war, it must be remembered that such
loss fell most heavily on the noble families; the mass of the population
was not so much disturbed by it.

~Long Acre~: a street near Drury Lane, now chiefly occupied by
carriage-makers.

~delirium~: a wandering in the mind caused by fever.

51. THE TERROR OF THE PLAGUE. PART II.

~Registers~: a record of names of persons who have died. Such records
are now accurately kept by the registrars of births, deaths, and
marriages.

~The King~: Charles II., who, whatever his faults may have been, was at
least good-natured and averse to suffering.

~Samuel Pepys~ (born 1632, died 1703) was Secretary to the Admiralty in
the reigns of Charles II. and James II. His famous diary gives a graphic
picture of life during these reigns.

52. THE TERROR OF FIRE. PART I.

~Coleman Street~ runs northward from Lothbury (behind the Bank of
England) to Moorgate. The name goes back even to Saxon times, and
probably comes from one Ceolmund, who had a farm near.

~St. Erkinwald~: an early Saxon Bishop of London, who encouraged the
citizens to restore their ruined city, and himself built the Bishop's
Gate (named after him). His shrine in St. Paul's was long an object of
reverence.

~Paternoster Row~: always a great centre of the book trade: it was a row
immediately adjoining the precincts of the Cathedral before
encroachments were made. Naturally much of the booksellers' wares was
religious--paternosters, aves, credos, &c.

~chancel~: the