arkable for its
severity: the Thames was frozen over, and the supply of water entirely
inadequate. So great hogsheads of ale were hoisted up from the cellars and
the liquor fed to the clumsy hand-engines of the period. When the ale gave
out, recourse was had to gunpowder,--buildings in the track of the flames
being blown up; but in this dangerous work the Temple library was
demolished. In the end, however, the Temple was the gainer by this fire:
much better structures took the place of the old rookeries, and the entire
precinct was purified.

Around the hoary walls of the Temple cluster memories of many a strange
custom or quaint observance. The revels at Yule-tide, St. Stephen's Day,
New Year's Day, and Twelfth Night were not surpassed anywhere in "merrie
England." Feasts, masques, and play-acting at various times greatly
scandalized the more sober and staid among the benchers. Stowe tells us
that the readers of his day "for upwards of three weeks kept a splendid
table, feasting the nobility, judges, bishops, principal officers of state,
and sometimes the king himself, insomuch that it has cost a reader above
one thousand pounds,"--a mint of money in those frugal days. Revelries
grew in frequency and attractiveness as the business of instruction
declined, so much so that we are compelled to believe that at one period
the qualifications for admission were merely nominal. A banquet given by
Sir Heneage Finch the year following the restoration of Charles II. lasted
from the 4th to the 17th of August, and all London was invited and made
welcome.

In one point the Templars of to-day are not a whit behind their
predecessors: they give good dinners. For centuries the benchers of the
two societies have dined in each other's company once a year in the great
hall; and to Mr. Thornbury we are indebted for the following description
of a Temple dinner of to-day:

"An Inner Temple banquet is a very grand thing. At five or half-past five
the barristers and students in their gowns follow the benchers in
procession to the dais; the steward strikes the table solemnly a mystic
three times; grace is said by the treasurer or senior bencher present, and
the men of law fall to. In former times it was the custom to blow a horn
in every court to announce the meal. The benchers observe somewhat more
style at their table than the other members do at theirs. The general
repast is a tureen of soup, a joint of meat, a tart, and cheese to each
me