parish of Aylesford, has a common law right to the tithe of underwood: the person who resists that claim is bound to shew some ground of exemption upon which he can resist it with effect. The ground upon which the plaintiff contends that he is exempt from the payment of tithes, is because the parish of Aylesford is situated locally within the Weald of Kent. Now, it is most unfortunately the case of Lord le Despencer, that, so far from the evidence establishing the fact that there is an exemption from wood tithe in the parish of Aylesford, it proves that not only within the parish, but that in all the immediate circumambient parishes, with the exception of Leybourne, tithe of wood is taken; that is a fact which comes upon me I confess by surprise, for it was stated on the part of Lord le Despencer, that the great discriminating feature in the case by which these lands were to be ascertained to be within the Weald of Kent, was a total exemption from tithes; and, if I find that, so far from its existing, it is a place where tithe of wood has always been taken, and when I find the strong evidence that tithe of wood has been paid by Lord Westmorland, before the property came to the enjoyment of the present possessor, I cannot but think that, with respect to the lands in question, such evidence is utterly destructive of the discriminating criterion of its wealdship. It is a weald without any of the privileges of a Weald; it appears too that there is no satisfactory evidence as to this custom of Land Peerage in this parish; so that it stands upon the supposition of what were the ancient limits of the district I called the Weald of Kent, and the inference that, because it is to the south of the Chalk Hills and Pilgrims' Road, that it must necessarily be within those limits. The Pilgrims' Road, it should appear, is as singular as it is an immaterial description of the boundary of the Weald of Kent; because it is a place, which from its denomination originated in the superstitious attendants of pilgrims at the shrine of Thomas à Becket. We know that it cannot be an immemorial rescription, but must have had its origin in the time of Henry II. may be supposed to run in a similar It line with the ancient boundary, but Pilgrims' Lane never could have been the original denomination: they may say that the Chalk Hills are the boundary; if they are, how does it happen that there are all these parishes, with respect to which evidence has been given to you so much in detail, in some of which there are endowments and terriers, and a multitude of others, in most of which it is clearly proved that tithe of wood has been taken, for instance in Mereworth, in Malling, Sevenoaks, Offham, and many others, which have been stated to you in detail. On the close of his Lordship's charge, the jury immediately returned their verdict, finding both the issues in favour of the defendant. Thus ended this important trial, in which no less than 20 parishes, several within the vale of Maidstone, were involved; and if this report be not sufficiently explicit, let it be distinctly understood that the right of the clergy is limited to the tithe of UNDERWOOD only, sometimes called Coppice Wood or Cord Wood, including planted wood for hop poles, &c. and known and distinguished in terriers as Silva Cedua, and generally cut once in 14 or 15 years; but no tithe can be claimed of timber trees, nor of any wood which may spring from what is called the stools of timber trees that have been cut down. As to the locality of the Weald of Kent, as Lord Ellenborough justly observed, it is not known "by any municipal division;" it was originally one immense forest, covering a large portion of the surface of the county, and in remote days approached to the Chalk Hills; the Pilgrims' Road was most probably formed under these hills, by the margin of the Weald, as a sheltered way. As population increased, the hurst or wood became more and more narrowed, and large portions were gradually cut down and the land cultivated. and In concluding this paper, it is plea sing to remark the improvement that has taken place since the period when our ancestors, lost in superstition, pursued their way by the Pilgrims' Road to the shrine of Thomas à Becket. From the foot of Wrotham Hill to Westerham, and southward to Tenterden, there was nearly one continuous 1 Engraved by H. Dudley. Druan vg i. Procter. THE village of Nonupton, or more properly Nun's Upton, is situated at the distance of a few miles from Tenbury in Worcestershire, among some high grounds over which are still scattered the relics of ancient forests. It is not far from the point where meet the three counties of Worcester, Salop, and Hereford, and stands within the latter. The name would lead us to suppose that it may have formerly belonged to the Nuns of Leo minster. The venerable tree of which the above engraving is a representation, stands on the high part of the hill, not far from the village, and its aged appearance is sufficient to convince us that it formed a part of the forest which stood here in the days of William the Conqueror. The trunk is hollowed by decay: and its branches have been much mutilated by the effects of time. The circumference of the trunk, near the ground, is fifty feet; at the height of a yard and a half from the ground, it measures thirty-three feet in circumference. In a few years, probably, it will have ceased to exist; and it merits the present memorial, as one of the finest old trees which England possesses. Yours, &c. W. THE CONVENTUAL COLLEGE OF THE BERNARDINS AT PARIS. (With a Plate.) THE College of the Bernardins was founded about 1244 by Stephen de Lexington, an Englishman by birth, and who was made Abbat of Clairvaux in 1242. The ground selected for the buildings of this College formed part of what was called the Clos du Chardonnet, which this Abbat had received in exchange for six acres of good vineyards, and another piece of ground just outside the walls of Paris, a little further to the east beyond the Great Abbey of St. Victor." Stephen de Lexington, wishing to promote the love of classical and theological studies, and also a desire to go through regular courses of scholastic learning among the members of his order, had obtained leave from Pope Innocent IV. to establish this college for the especial use of Monks of the Cistercian Örder, especially alleging as a reason, that he did not wish them to be in future exposed to the contempt of the Friars Preachers, of the Cordeliers, and other religious orders who all made profession of the sciences. The Pope not only approved of this plan of the Abbat, but also gave permission that the Cistercians should take degrees in the different Universities, and directed the general chapter of the Cistercian Order to make other foundations of the same kind. In September 1245, an express statute was framed in the general chapter, according to which a course of study was established in all Abbeys of the Order where the Abbats were either willing or able to set one on foot; and it was directed that in each province of the Order there should be at least * At the time of the Revolution the enclosure of the college gardens, &c. was 200 paces by 100. one Monastery in which a regular course of theology was taught. The Abbat Stephen de Lexington persuaded Alphonse de France, brother of St. Louis, Count of Poitiers, to become the honorary founder and patron of this college. This prince allotted to the Abbat an annual revenue of 104 livres Parisis, to be taken from the returns of the Provostry of La Rochelle, which the Abbat in return engaged should be devoted to the maintenance of twenty professed religious brethren of the Abbey of Clairvaux, thirteen of whom were always to be in priest's orders, "in order that they might continually ce lebrate the divine offices in this college, might ever live there in the strict observance of the rules of their order, and study theology." The deed of foundation was dated 3rd May 1253. The Count of Poictiers afterwards gave a further sum of twenty livres Parisis, also to come from the Pro vostry of La Rochelle, to go towards the founding of a perpetual mass in the church or chapel of the college. The chief officer of the foundation was styled the Prior; but the title was subsequently altered to that of Provisor. The college prospered and remained on the same footing till 1320, when the Abbat and Community of Citeaux made a formal cession of all their interest and property in it, together with all its appurtenances and dependencies, to the whole of the Cistercian Order in general. The deed in question was dated 14th September 1350, and was approved by Philippe le Long in February 1321. Pope Benedict XII. who had been Hurtaut and Magny, Dist. Hist. himself a Cistercian and a Professor in the college, together with Cardinal Guillaume Curti, surnamed le Blanc, because he also had worn the white habit of the same order, undertook to build at their own expense the church or chapel of this college; but neither of them lived to see it completed. The first stone was laid on May 24, 1338, as is proved by letters patent of Philip VI. issued on that occasion. The general enclosure of the college, the refectory, &c. were begun at the same time, the whole upon a scale of great extent and unusual solidity. Of this church, not a single stone, so to speak, remains on another; and only very faint indications, to which we shall hereafter allude, are extant to give us any idea of what it really In the absence of any better information, therefore, we shall make the following quotation from a very valuable and satisfactory work on Parisian Antiquities, mentioned in a previous note, Dictionnaire Historique de Paris, et de ses Environs, par Hurtaut et Magny, 4 vols. 8vo. 1779. This extract is taken from vol. i. p. 587. was. "On the two sides of the entrance of the church are two inscriptions placed beneath the arms of Benedict XII. They are painted upon the wall, but are almost entirely defaced. This Pope was named Jacques Fournier or Novelli; and was a native of Toulouse.* The following are the inscriptions :"Hæc arma sunt sanctissimæ memoriæ Domini Benedicti Papæ duodecimi, Cisterciensis Ordinis, cujus est præsens studentium Collegium, Professoris: qui hanc fundavit Ecclesiam et multis dotavit indulgentiis." "Dominus Guillelmus, quondam Cardinalis, Doctor Theologiæ, Tolosanus na tione, Cisterciensis religione; Ecclesiam præsentem ad perfectionem qualem obtinet produxit: Bibliothecam insignivit, sexdecim Scholares in Theologia studentes in perpetuo fundavit." "Hic Guillelmus, cognomentus Albus, creatus fuerat Presbyter Cardinalis, tituli dicto XII. Anno Domini 1337, et anno Sancti Stephani in Monte Coelio, a Beneejusdem 1346, Pontificatus autem Clementis VI. quinto, obiit Avenione, auctore Onuphrio." This edifice (the church) built in 1336, under the invocation of St. Bernard, is to be considered as a chef d'œuvre of Gothic Architecture. The vaultings are very lofty, and perfectly well proportioned for their lightness. The chapels on each side are well lighted, and are in proportion with the rest of the edifice. Benedict XII. at his death bequeathed large funds to the college in order that the buildings which had been begun might be completed; but the money having been stolen on its way as it was bringing into France during the troubles of the times of Charles VI. the whole remained in the unfinished state in which it is to be seen at the present day. Those who are curious in architecture should ask to be shewn a staircase placed at the extremity of the right hand aisle of the church. Several steps have to be descended before entering it, the floor of the church having been raised more than six feet in 1710, on account of the overflowing of the river in the preceding year, which much damaged the pavement. The plan of this staircase is round and with a double screw; that is to say there are two staircases in it, one above the other, the head of the steps of each being fastened into the same central nucleus which supports it from the bottom, in such a manner that two persons Jacques Fournier was the son of a baker: he was elected Pope and took the title of Benedict XII. He had a niece who was sought in marriage by several great signors and he always put them off by telling them that the girl was not of sufficiently high birth to receive the honor they destined for her; he ultimately married her to a substantial merchant of Toulouse. The newly married couple having gone to Avignon to pay their respects to their uncle, he received them with much kindness, kept them a fortnight with him, and then sent them home, after having presented them with a sum of money that was but moderate. He observed to them that it was their uncle Jacques Fournier who made them this small present and that as for the Pope he had no relations and connections except the poor and the unfortunate. GENT. MAG. VOL. XV. 4 G can go up and come down without seeing each other. There is one of the same kind at the Chateau de Chambord, but far superior to this in lightness, in its lighting, and in its boldness; since the steps are fastened into a circular wall pierced with arcades, which allow of the light entering into it. The staircase of this church (the Bernardins) is ten feet in diameter, and the steps are from eight to nine inches in height. Since it is double it has two entrances, one by the interior of the church, the other by the sacristy. The vaulting is very high, and is supported by fine Gothic pillars. The high altar which was very ancient, and of a very irregular form, has been entirely renewed; and that which had served at the abbey of the Port Royal des Champs, of the same order, the monastery of which was demolished in 1710, and the stalls of the religious sisters of that establishment, have been placed there (in the choir of the Bernardins). The grotesque figures sculptured in the pannels of the stalls are of very ingenious device, and of perfect finish; a circumstance which proves that there were able sculptors in former times. There may be seen among them the arms and device (or motto) of Henry II. who had them done in 1556, and the date of this year is marked upon them. In a chapel of this church is to be seen the tomb of Guillaume du Vair, born at Paris, Bishop of Lisieux and keeper of the scals, honoured during his life with several considerable dignities on account of his singular merit. He was Master of Requests, and President of the Parliament of Pro vence. He was attached to the suite of Louis XIII. during the siege of Clérac, and falling ill at Tonneins in the Agenois, died there on the 3rd August 1633. His body was subsequently transported to this church. The following is the epitaph which he made for himself, and which may still be seen on his tomb. Guillelmus du Vair, 1558. Dom Paul Pezron, a religious brother of the order of Citeaux, Doctor in Theology of the faculty of Paris, Abbot of La Charmoie, and one of the most learned men of the two last centuries, lived for a long time in this college, where he professed Theology. He died at the Chateau de Chéci, in Brie, whither he had gone for the sake of his health, on the 9th of October 1706. He has given to the public several works replete with profound erudition, and among others that which is entitled L'Antiquité des tems rétablie et justifiée. This book involv ed him in a controversy with the Père Martianay, a Benedictine monk of the congregation of St. Maur, and with the Père Le Quien of the order of St. Dominic, who both of them wrote in favour of the chronology of the Hebrew text against that of the version of the Septuagint, which Dom Pezron preferred to the other. It was expected that the same author would have left other works in which it was supposed he would clear up many obscurities which have existed for several centuries, on account of antiquity not having been studied with sufficient care. The great work which he had undertaken, and which was in a state of forwardness at the time of his death, was L'Origine des Nations; he had already given part of it to the public under the title of L'Origine de la langue Celtique, otherwise called Gauloise, printed in 1703. Several other productions of this learned religious personage, found among his papers after his death, have remained in obscurity to the great detriment of the Republic of Letters. When the General of Citeaux and the Abbot of Clairvaux were obliged to come to Paris for the affairs of their order, they usually lodged in this house. The Bernardins are so named because they were reformed by St. Bernard. They follow the rule of St. Benedict. Their dress consists of a white robe with a black scapulary, and when they officiate they wear a wide ample cowl which is entirely white, with large sleeves, and a hood of the same colour. Thus far goes the account in the work mentioned above, and to it we |