Temple Students and Temple Studies. Speght, but anxious to find reasons for such a diversion, speaks of "an insolent friar." Why insolent? Je ne vois pas la necessite. It should be said, however, that the one great house was not split up into the Inner and Middle Temple until twenty years after Chaucer's death. So that the story has at least one defect. One may set against this
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the wonderful por trait of the man ciple (caterer) in the "Canterbury Tales " : — ••A gentil manciple was there of the Temple Of whom achatours mighten take ensample For to be wise in bying of vitaille," — where the descrip tion is plainly from intimate knowledge of the buttery. Some commenta tors are for re jecting the legend altogether, of whom Canon Todd is the first. It is interesting to note that Todd was at one time " s u spectcd of Roman ist tendencies." So that, in the matter TEMPLE CHURCH of a friar, one might look for some show of prejudice at the Canon's mouth; but he would probably have swallowed St. Swithin and the eggs without a murmur. The men tion of the amount of the fine — not an ex orbitant price as Friars went then — is proof of the peculiar jurisdiction which the Benchers exercised. The student who to-day bon neted a bishop (or whateyer is the modern equivalent of Friar-baiting) would be handed
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over to the civil authorities. But for a long time the rigorous code framed by the Benchers, covering every question of dress and deportment, recreation and study, was almost the only one to which the members were amenable. It is long before we obtain another glimpse of Temple manners. Occasionally, as in 1 44 1, there is a clatter of swords in Fleet Street, when the " youths of the Inns of Court " are "out" with the "citizens of Lon don." To the credit of the Tem plars be it said that they held out for two days, and only yielded to the sher iffs and the sol diery. In 1458 the disturbance is re newed, when the students are driven back by the archers to their Inns, leav ing " the Queen's attorney " dead be hind them. One feels for the man of law, whom power and office had not spoiled, stealing out from his dry (NORTH SIDE). parchments and writs of capias to hit some douce citizen over the costard for old sake's sake. His name has escaped us, but, even anonymously, he is interesting as our first glimpse of a Templar in office. The general tenor of history so far is, it must be confessed, unprofitable. We first find any authentic picture of Temple study, fifty years afterwards, in the person of Sir Edward Coke. His mode of
