NUMBER XLV.

'Tis now the very witching time of night,

When church-yards yawn, and hell itself breaths out Contagion to this world.

SHAKSPEARE.

THE noble mansion on the banks of the Medway, the gift of Henry III. to the Knights Templars of the Teutonic Order,*

* About half a mile south of Strood church, on the banks of the Medway, is situated an ancient building called the temple, so named from having formerly been the mansion of the knights templars of the teutonic order. King Henry III. A.D. 1227, gave this house, with the manor and lands thereunto belonging, to the master and brethren of this order, in whose possession it continued not quite a century; for Edward II. A.D. 1312, seized the lands and goods of this wealthy fraternity, and dissolved their order; this estate, of course, returned to the crown, and there continued till King Edward III. A.D. 1341, granted it, with all the liberties the templars had

had been in possession of the Fraternity nearly half a century, when one stormy night, toward the close of the autumn of 1274, as the Brethren were sitting down to their usual repast, a sound, like the rapid approach of horsemen, was heard distinctly in the pauses of the wind, and appeared to take the direction of the avenue of oaks, whose majestic forms were agitated with inconceivable fury by the tempest. A moment of deep silence ensued, when, suddenly, the great doors of the hall were thrown open, and there entered a Knight in sable armour; a white plume waved upon his helmet, and

enjoyed, to Mary Countess of Pembroke. This lady, about six years after, gave it to the nuns of St. Clare, in the abbey of Denny, in Cambridgeshire; but on the dis. solution of religious houses, in the reign of King Henry VIII. this manor became the property of that prince, by whom it was granted to Edward Elington, Esq., who the same year sold it to Lord Cobham; in whose family it continued till his unfortunate grandson forfeited it to King James I. who gave it to Cecil Earl of Salisbury; since which time it has been transferred to different Gentlemen, and is now the property of Mr. Thomas Whittaker, of this county. Of the fabrick which the knights templars inhabited, but little now remains, except a spacious cellar, vaulted with chalk and stone groins; the walls are of considerable thickness. Thorpe's History of Rochester, page 252. 12mo, 172.

He

on his shoulder flamed the crimson badge of the order of the Oak of Navarre. courteously approached the high table, and, addressing the Grand Master, requested, as the storm still beat with unremitting violence, shelter for the night for himself and his attendants.

With that hospitality and attention which ever so remarkably distinguished the Teutonic Knights, they rose to welcome their unexpected guest, and the venerable Master, whose features, though shaded by the tresses of time, were still lighted up with the finest traits of humanity and feeling, told him, with a cordiality, too impressive not to be understood, that they felt themselves truly happy in administering to his wishes and his

wants.

Thus assured, the stranger sate down to partake of some refreshment, and removing his visor, exhibited a countenance noble and commanding, but mingled with an expression of considerable anxiety and agitation. After a temperate gratification, however, of the demands of appetite, he entered into an

interesting conversation with his hosts, and, describing the terrors of the late storm which had driven him under their friendly roof, proceeded to relate, that as he passed along the banks of the Medway, he had been greatly surprised by the singular appearance of a deep blue light, flashing from the west turret of the great Tower of Rochester Castle, commonly called Gundulph's Tower, and, notwithstanding the heavy gloom which universally prevailed, the torrents of rain which were borne with violence against the building, and the whirlwind which swept almost every other object before it, the flame still issued with a dazzling and steady brightness, or. sometimes sporting round the dark and massy sides of the structure, would spring thence in every direction, and play, as it were, upon the bosom of the storm. Attracted by this phenomenon, and regardless of the elemental war which surrounded him, he had watched it; he continued, for some time, when his attention was eagerly diverted by sounds, wild and plaintive, beyond what he had ever heard; now, in tones sweet as those of an Eolian harp, they seemed to float beside him; now, wandering along the perturbed surface

of the Medway, they swelled into notes of agony and horror, or, borne on the distant wind, died in shrieks of lamentation and distress; it was no earthly music, he said; the ears tingle with dread, the hair involuntarily arises, and the dews of death bathe him who long listens to such strains. I passed on, he concluded, my attendants almost panic-struck with fear, to reach your hospitable gates, and shall only say, that you will add a considerable obligation to those you have already so liberally conferred, by information as to the cause of the extraordinary circumstances I have witnessed this night.

During this description, which was rendered more effective by the forcible and impressive manner of the stranger, his auditors seemed absorbed in the most painful and melancholy reflections, and some time elapsed before the Superior had power to gratify the curiosity of his guest. At length, suppressing his emotions, he thus addressed him.

"You will not wonder, O Knight, at the sorrow your relation has occasioned, when I