in 1719, and in 1769 the west front was changed to its present appearance, after a design prepared by Sir James Burrough in 1752. He died in 1764, and the execution was entrusted to Essex. A contemporary records that the plan "was departed from in almost every instance, and in some considerably improv'd."

Under the hospitable guidance of "rare Richard Farmer," Master from 1775 to 1797, the Combination Room, called Emmanuel Parlour, acquired a great reputation for geniality and good-fellowship. It is said to have been open every evening "to those who loved pipes and tobacco and cheerful conversation." Dr. Farmer was not merely a Shakespearean critic, he delighted in the stage as a spectator, and during the period of Sturbridge fair went regularly every evening to the theatre there with his friends. Those who disapproved of this dramatic enthusiasm nicknamed them "The Shakespeare Gang." They were most indulgent critics, and contributed greatly to the success of the performance by uniformly applauding everything and everybody.

Our woodcut shows the façade of the University Library, of which we have already spoken.

XI.

Jesus College.

BOUT the middle of the twelfth century a Benedictine sisterhood, consisting of a prioress and eleven nuns, established themselves in the middle of the Greencroft-a piece of common ground, which we described in our imaginary survey of Cambridge as extending from the eastern limits of the town along the riverside as far as the village of Barnwell. This site they obtained by the favour of Malcolm IV., King of Scotland, in virtue of his rights as Earl of Huntingdon. Very little is known of the history of the convent. The sisterhood seems to have been regarded with special favour by the ecclesiastical magnates of those days; for we find privileges granted to them, not only by the Bishops of Ely, who were patrons of the House in virtue of their office, but by the Bishop of Norwich, the Bishop of Lincoln, and even the Archbishop of Canterbury. In the thirteenth

century, when insurance offices were unknown, the damages done by a fire or storm had to be repaired by voluntary contributions. On such occasions episcopal favour (if it could only be obtained), applied a powerful spur to the charity of the faithful, who, in days when news travelled slowly, might otherwise have never heard of the disaster, still less have contributed to repair it. A few facts have come down to us, supported by documentary evidence still existing in the Treasury of Jesus College, which show how valuable ecclesiastical favours must have been to the Nuns of Greencroft. In 1254 the Bishop of Norwich grants a relaxation of twenty-five days' penance to all benefactors to the nunnery, whether for the sustenance of the nuns, or the building of their church. In 1268 the Bishop of Lincoln gives them leave to collect alms for the same purpose. In 1277 the Bishop of Norwich issues a circular letter to the clergy and laity of his diocese, calling upon them to afford any assistance to the nuns, who were in difficulties from the sudden ruin of their belltower. In 1313 the Archdeacon of Ely recommends them as persons deserving of charity, because they have lost their entire property (bona omnia) by a fire; and in the following year the Bishop of Ely confirms certain indulgences granted to them by his brother bishops for the same object.

In 1376 the Bishop of Ely interferes again, and grants an indulgence of forty days-i.e., a remission of penance imposed for misdeeds to be valid for that period-to all who shall contribute to a fund for making good their losses by another fire. Lastly, in 1390, the Archbishop of Canterbury grants them a similar indulgence, part of their habitation having been blown down by a storm. Besides these special contributions, their annual revenue derived from houses and lands, chiefly in Cambridge, became extensive, and they were enabled to erect a magnificent church, the relics of which may still be seen in the chapel of Jesus College. In all monasteries the church invariably exceeded the other buildings in size and splendour; but, at the same time, it is reasonable to suppose that the refectory, dormitory, cloister, &c., would be erected in a style that would not offer too marked a contrast to that of the church. At the close of the fifteenth century, John Alcock, Bishop of Ely, obtained leave from Henry VII. to suppress the nunnery, and to replace it by Jesus College, conferring on the new corporation the revenues, as well as the site and buildings, of the sisterhood. If we are to believe the account given in the preamble to the Charter, which is dated June 12, 1497, this act was occasioned by the misconduct of the nuns. This, however, is at least doubtful.