The Story Of Arden Of Faversham.

ABDEN . Then welcome death ! tho' in the shape of murder . How have I doated to idolatry ! Vain , foolish wretch , and thoughtless of hereafter , Nor hoped , nor wished a heaven beyond her love- — Now , unprepar'd , I perish by her hate . ALICIA . Tho' blacker and more guilty than the fiends , My sonl is white from this accursed deed .

0 Arden ! hear me AEDEN . Full of doubts I come , 0 thou Supreme , to seek thy awful presence ! My soul is on the wing . I own Thy justice . Present me with Thy mercy . [ Dies . ] At the death of her husband Alicia breaks out into a frenzy of grief , ancl

is forced from the scene by the murderers . So much for the dramatised version of the story . The short quotations we have given are sufficient to show the play is not without merit , ancl far from being altogether historically inaccurate . It is believed that an old house now standing at Faversham , near the abbey gateway , is that in which the terrible crime was committed ; ancl a low arched door , near the corner of the abbey wall , is pointed out as that through which the murdered Arden was carried out to the croft .

Masonic And General Archaeologia.

MASONIC AND GENERAL ARCHAEOLOGIA .

ANTIQUITIES OF SMITHFIELD . —At a recent meeting of the London and Middlesex ArchaBological Society , at 4 , St . Martin ' s Lane , Trafalgar Square , Mr . Coote occupying the chair , a paper was read by Bro . G . Lambert , F . S . A ., on " Smithfield . " The lecturer remarked that King Alfred had always been accepted as the institutor of fairs and markets . In his reign England was divided ancl subdivided into counties and tithings ; these tithings in the course of time became corporations

possessed of certain powers of jurisdiction , and held courts of enquiry in cases of minor differences . The wei ghtier disputes were referred to a higher court , held on what was termed a " law-day . " This court was counted the King ' s Court , because the authority to hold it was ori ginall y derived from the Crown . The various corporations held the sittings of their courts in their respective tithings or boroughs about once a weekancl homel le

as-, y peop sembling to have their matters adjudicated upon brought their garden produce , their corn , and their beasts for sale . Hence the commencement of a market held weekly , ancl to the present time market-day in every town in England was the busiest day in the week . The name of him to whom Smithfield belonged at this period was lost in the fog of antiquity . It was a large open piece of land containing a pool of waterancl was somewhat wet and boggy

, on the north side . It was here that Rayhere erected his priory at about 1102 or thereabouts , ancl having the whole place cleansed ancl smoothed it became known as Smoothfield , or Smithfield . Fitz-Stephen , in his description of the City of London , says : " There is also without one of the City gates , and in the very suburb , a certain Plain-field—such both in realit y ancl in name . " This was the earliest description of the place extant excepting that contained

in the Doomsday Book . Markets existed in this locality from the earliest times , where were sold " vendables for the peasant , implements for husbandry , swine with their deep flanks , cows , etc . " The speaker , referring to the insurrection of Wat Tyler , mentioned that William of Walworth , Mayor of