room, depicted in this drawing, for her dressing

room.

Sir Thomas Gresham dying in 1579, bequeathed Mayfield, on certain conditions, to Sir Henry Neville, who had espoused his niece.

Mayfield Place was afterwards the property and residence of a family named Baker. Mr. Baker, of the Lower House, informed Mr. Hayley, that he had the coat of arms of Sir Thomas Gresham in painted glass, and finely executed, which was brought from The Place; that the roof was taken off the great hall, in his memory, by Mr. Michael Baker. On one corner of a mantle, at Mayfield, were seen the arms of the see of Canterbury; and at the other end a badge, representing two bands or boys of leather, interlaced.

The painted glass of the church was removed, half a century since, to the Lower House, but not placed in its windows. The walls of many of the buildings have supplied stone for the erection of neighbouring houses.

Mayfield at length became the property of the Rev. John Kirby, who left it to his son, Mr.Thomas Kirby, the present possessor.

PLATE LXIV.

Saint Dunstan, from the Cottonian Library.

To complete the description of Mayfield, an account of its most celebrated possessor, and an illuminated full-length of that great Saint, are presented to the reader. The emblematical devices with which the monkish painter or scribe, who represents himself kneeling in front, in a black garment, has depicted Dunstan, the great reformer and canonical institutor of the English monasteries, after the rule of St. Bernard, are curious. His feet are embraced by two personages, kneeling; the right foot, it has been asserted, by his contemporary Odo. There is no anachronism glaringly apparent in that assertion, for the reputation of Dunstan was already great as to sanctity, when Odo held the see of Canterbury; but historical circumstances make it problematical that Archbishop Odo should so far crouch to the genius of Dunstan : true it is, this great Abbot had established the ascendency of the monks above the secular clergy, and his miracles were much bruited, even then, by the most learned men, i. e. by his favoured monks; and Edwy could not expel the monks from their benefices, without, at the same moment, expelling Dunstan from his kingdom. Until the decease of

L

Odo had made the way clear for his own promotion, Dunstan could not have received the pall as Archbishop of Canterbury, or been appointed legate by the Pope, who entertained him at Rome with marked distinction; before which time, King Edwy had been reproved by Dunstan for his connection with Elgiva; was deprived of the kingdom of Mercia; and, reigning four years in Wessex, had died in consequence of chagrin at the undiminished influence of Dunstan and the monks over the people. Odo was succeeded by Elfin, who perished in the snows of the Alps, on his way to Rome. Brithelm, Bishop of Bath, was then elected; but King Edgar, who had succeeded his brother Edwy, convened a council, and obtained the appointment of Dunstan, superseding that of Brithelm, to the Archiepiscopal See. From such facts premised as these, and judging by the internal evidence of the illuminated portrait, we look upon the tonsured priest embracing Dunstan's left foot, as a monk, the type of the entire fraternity, paying reverence to their great patron; or as Brithelm, submitting to the installed Archbishop, and about to return to his former diocese *: on the other side, the ermine robe, crowned head, and unshaven visage of the

* Several writers have supposed these figures to be King Athelstan; and Ethelwald, Bishop of Winchester, also Oswald, Bishop of Worcester, coadjutors of Dunstan in the government of the Church in those days.

opposite personage, may represent King Edgar, who had recalled Dunstan from banishment; or if, in considering those superstitious times, we are not bound to a precise moment, this lay person in royal garments may be King Edred, uncle of Edgar, who was devoted to the miracle-working Abbot, often receiving castigation and discipline from his sanctified hands; or, finally, Edward the Martyr, whom Dunstan crowned by his own authority, on the death of Edgar, his father, and whose title was disputed. The high favour of Dunstan with Heaven, is represented by the Holy Spirit inspiring him, in the emblem of the Dove,' irradiated and whispering in his ear; the saint's head being likewise encircled with a glory. The saint's name is shewn clearly by the words, Dunstanni Archiepiscopi:' in his left hand he holds the Bible; and the finger of his right hand is elevated for religious instruction or holy admonition. He is seated between the main pillars of a temple; the gates of the sanctuary are spread wide on either side; and a rich dome, bearing a globe and cross, surmounts a carved Saxon arch, springing from the beautifully-adorned columns: at both sides of the dome, is a turret, designating his tower of strength. The pre-eminent figure St. Dunstan makes in the Saxon history, the high character given of him by the monkish chroniclers, and the miracles attributed to him by his contemporaries,

or handed down by popular traditions, induce us to give a succinct account of his life. He was of noble lineage, and was born at Glastonbury. Athelm, Archbishop of Canterbury, his uncle, placed him at court, in early life; and Athelstan received him into favour. When court intrigue and the breath of calumny and envy drove him from the King's palace, Elphege, Bishop of Winchester, another uncle, ordained him, and appointed him to the Church of Glastonbury. In his native town, he established his hermitage, and dedicated his life to divine objects and pursuits: the fame of his learning and sanctity spreading far, King Edmund visited Glastonbury, and made him the nineteenth Abbot of that celebrated monastery (generally supposed to have been founded by Dunstan himself). St. Dunstan presided at all councils, and regulated the religious affairs of the State: Edgar, in his address to him, in a Council, exclaimed,—“ O Dunstan, father of fathers, exert the episcopal, in conjunction with the regal authority, to expel from the church the disorderly clergy, and put in such as live regularly, in their room." Dunstan, accordingly, worked the well-known miracle, in the Council of Calne; when, the floor giving way, the secular dignitaries opposing the monks who were again about to be placed in the benefices, were crushed beneath the falling beams; and the Saint's chair was happily well supported : the King, also,