hbishop of Canterbury, 1222, already mentioned under the
name of the _Innocents_. The parishioners, thus deprived of
their place of worship, were compelled to find admittance at
the neighbouring churches, till the commissioners for
erecting fifty new ones determined this parish should contain
one of the number.--_Malcolm_.
[6] Stow's "Survey," p. 130, edit. 1618.
[7] The old May-pole often mentioned as in a state of decay in
various publications, which stood almost on the site of the
present church, was removed in 1713, and a new one erected
July 4, opposite Somerset House, which had two gilt balls and
a vane on the summit, decorated on rejoicing days with flags
and garlands.--When the second May-pole was taken down, in
May, 1718, Sir Isaac Newton procured it from the inhabitants,
and afterwards sent it to the Rev. Mr. Pound, rector of
Wanstead, Essex, who obtained permission from Lord Castlemain
to erect it in Wanstead Park, for the support of the then
largest telescope in Europe, made by Monsieur Hugon, and
presented by him to the Royal Society, of which he was a
member. This enormous instrument, 125 feet in length, had not
long remained in the park, when the following limping verses
were affixed to the May-pole:
"Once I adorn'd the Strand,
But now have found
My way to pound,
In Baron Newton's land;
Where my aspiring head aloft is rear'd,
T' observe the motions of the ethereal herd.
"Here sometimes rais'd a machine by my side,
Through which is seen the sparkling milky tide:
Here oft I'm scented with a balmy dew,
A pleasing blessing which the Strand ne'er knew.
"There stood I only to receive abuse,
But here converted to a nobler use;
So that with me all passengers will say,
I'm better far than when the Pole of May."
* * * * *
THE LAST WISH.
(_For the Mirror_.)
Edward Rose, who died at Barnes, bequeathed an annual amount of 20_l_. to
the parish, on condition that rose-trees should be planted round his tomb.
_Vide Crofton Croker._
Ay! o'er them shall the soft wind blow,
And kiss their lips of bloom--
The fair, the bright in sunset's glow;
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