reat cross in West Cheap, was originally erected in 1290, by
Edward I. in commemoration of the death of queen Ellinor, whose body
rested at that place, on its journey from Herdeby, in Lincolnshire, to
Westminster, for interment. It was rebuilt in 1441, and again in 1484. In
1581, the images and ornaments were destroyed by the populace; and in
1599, the top of the cross was taken down, the timber being rotted within
the lead, and fears being entertained as to its safety. By order of queen
Elizabeth, and her privy council, it was repaired in 1600, when, says
Stow, "a cross of timber was framed, set up, covered with lead, _and
gilded_," &c. Stow's _Survey of London_, by Strype, book iii. p. 35. Edit,
folio, Lond. 1720.

[91] This must allude to the play written by Heywood with the following
title: _The Foure Prentises of London. With the Conquest of Ierusalem. As
it hath bene diuerse times acted at the Red Bull, by the Queene's
Maiesties Seruants._ 4to. Lond. 1615. In this drama, the _four prentises_
are Godfrey, Grey, Charles, and Eustace, sons to the _old Earle of
Bullen_, who, having lost his territories, by assisting William the
Conqueror in his descent upon England, is compelled to live like a private
citizen in London, and binds his sons to a mercer, a goldsmith, a
haberdasher, and a grocer. The _four prentises_, however, prefer the life
of a soldier to that of a tradesman, and, quitting the service of their
masters, follow Robert of Normandy to the holy land, where they perform
the most astonishing feats of valour, and finally accomplish the _conquest
of Ierusalem_. The whole play abounds in bombast and impossibilities, and,
as a composition, is unworthy of notice or remembrance.

[92] _The History of the Nine Worthies of the World; three whereof were
Gentiles: 1. Hector, son of Priamus, king of Troy. 2. Alexander the Great,
king of Macedon, and conqueror of the world. 3. Julius Caesar, first
emperor of Rome. Three Jews. 4. Joshua, captain general and leader of
Israel into Canaan. 5. David, king of Israel. 6. Judas Maccabeus, a
valiant Jewish commander against the tyranny of Antiochus. Three
Christians. 7. Arthur, king of Britain, who courageously defended his
country against the Saxons. 8. Charles the Great, king of France and
emperor of Germany. 9. Godfrey of Bullen, king of Jerusalem. Being an
account of their glorious lives, worthy actions, renowned victories, and
deaths._ 12mo. No date.

LXIX.

A LASC