624
HISTORY OF PRINTING.
in with loud music ; and after grace is said (com- monly by the minister that preached the sermon, every one feasts himself with what he likes best) while the whifBers and other officers wait with napkins, plates, beer, ale, and wine, of all sorts, to accommodate each guest according to his desire; and to make their cheer go cheerfuller down, are entertained with music and songs all dinner time.
Dinner being near ended, the king's and other healths is begun by the several stewards at the several tables, and goes orderly round to all the guests; and while these healths are drinking, each steward sets a plate on each table, begin- ning at the upper and conveying it downwards to collect the benevolence of charitable minds to- wards the relief of printers' pour widows ; and at the same time each steward distributes a cata- logue of such printers as have held the office of stewards ever since the feast was first kept, viz. from the year of Christ, 1621.
After dinner, and grace said, the ceremony of electing new stewards fur the next year begins, therefore the present stewards withdraw into another room, and put garlands of green laurel, or of box, on their beads, and white wands in their hands, and are again ushered out of the withdrawiug-room by the beadle of the company, with the company's staff in his hand, and with music sounding before them ; then follows one of the whifflers, with a great bowl of white wine and sugar in his right hand, and his whiffler's staff in his left ; then follows the eldest steward, and then another whiffier, as the first, with a bowl of white wine and sugar before the second steward; and in like manner another whiffier before the third, and another before the fourth ; and thus they walk, with music sounding before them, three times round the hall ; and in a fourth round the first steward takes the bowl of his whiffier, and drinks to one (whom he resolved on) by the title of Mr.Steward Elect; and taking the garland off his own head puts it upon the steward-elect's head, at which ceremony the spectators clap their hands, and others so drum with their feet, that the whole hall is filled with noise,as applauding the choice; then the present steward takes out the steward elect, giving him the right hand, and walks with him, hand in hand behind the three present stewards another round about the hall ; and in the next round, as aforesaid, the second steward drinks to another with the same ceremony as the first did ; and so the third steward, and so the fourth, and then all walk one round more hand in hand about the hall, that the company may take notice of the stewards elect. And so ends the ceremony of the da; ; such as will, go their ways, but othere that stay are diverted with music, songs, dancing, farcing, &c. till they all find it time to depart."
1657, July 7. Before the dinner held at stationers' hall, Mr. Andrew Crook presented to the company a large silver bowl, inscribed, " The Gift of John Haviland, Printer, by Andrew Crook, Executor."
I6&7. Thomas PiERREPOiNT presented to the stationers' company, a silver pot with two ears, after the manner of a college pot, weighing tOoz. Hi dwts. with the arms of the stalioiieis' company and his arms engraven on it. A like pot of nearly the same weight was presented by Thomas Vere and William Gilbertson.
1657. In this year was published the London Polyglott,* six volumes folio, printed by Thomas Roycroft, under the superintendence of Dr. Brian Walton,-)- and was the first work ever pub- lished in England by subscription. Dr Walton made known his design to archbishop Usher, and most of the English bishops then living; and having obtained private subscriptions to the amount of £4000, he published his proposals for the publication, with a printed letter signed by himself, archbishop Usner, and four other distinguished literary characters, dated London, March 1, 1653. The proposals were, that every subscriber of JEIO should receive one copy^ and of £50 six copies. He received snch enconrage- ment that in about two months the subscriptions amounted to £9000, and obtained the approba- tion both of the exiled sovereign^ and the pro- tector. Cromwell, and the council of state, encoureged the undertaking, by allowing p^>er to be imported duty free ; and, as there is rea- son to believe, by contributing JCIOOO out of the public money, to begin the work. The most learned men in the nation lent their assistance; and noblemen possessingrare and valuable manu- scripts permitted them to be used, in order to render the polyglott more complete. The first volume of this great work issued from the press in 1654, in folio; and the sixth, or last, in 1657; " and thus, in about four years, was finished the English polyglott bible, the glory of that age, and of the English church and nation." Nine languages are used in the polyglott bible, He- brew,Chaldee, Samaritan, Greek, Syriac, AJrabic, Ethiopic, Persic, and Latin ; yet there is no one book m the whole bible printed in so many. The first volume is enriched with prefaces, prolego- mena, treatises on weights and measures, geo- graphical charts, and chronological tables ; and ornamented with a fine portrait of bishop Wal- ton, and several plates illustrative of biblical subjects, as architecture, numismatology, sacer- dotal dresses, instruments of music, &c.: the sixth, or last volume, contains Various Readingt, critical remarks on all the preceding versions, and an explanation of all the proper names.
- BUMa Sacra Polfglotta edentt WalUmo, < vols. Lon.
don, iSss. CoMttlK Lariam Heptaglatton, 3 vols. Lon- don, 1669, in all S TOls. folio. Sold by Mr. Evans, Octo- ber, 1829, for ^21 lOs. 6d.
t Brian Walton, the learned editorof the London Ptif- glatt, was born at Cleveland, In Yorkshire, in i6iM, and was edacated at Cambridge. He suffered much in the breaking oat of the drQ wars. Besides compiling the poljrglott bible, he was also the anthor of a defence of it agidnst Dr. Owen ; and a book on the Right of Iht Lot- ion Clergji to Titha. In September lOdO, be was prefened to the see of Chester, and died at London, November t9th foUowinr, and was bnried in Westminster abber.
t This fact is noticed by Dr. Walton, in the dedicatinn to Charie* II. pt^lxed to some copies of the Pciyglott bible.
