And our mighty and ever victorious king, who is no less a friend to learning and learned men, nor less a patron of the church than was his grandfather the Beauclerc, hath ordered books to be bought for the enriching of our library, and hath given us another charter confirming our liberties and immunities, and enjoining all the kings that may come after him to observe the same, and calling upon the Lord to snatch them out of the land of the living, together with their posterity, if they or any one of them should seek to infringe our charter, or lessen our rights and properties. "_Quam qui infringere vel minuere presumpserit, extrahat eum dominus et evertat de terra viventium cum omni posteritate sua._" These be the king's very words in the second great charter he hath given us. Here I surcease from the pleasant labours which have amused the few lonely hours that my various duties left me. There cannot be a better time to stop and say _vale_! Henricus Secundus is king; Thomas à Becket is primate; Roger is lord abbat of Reading; and I, Felix the Sunningite, and novice that was, am poor sub-prior; and every monk of the house is a man of English birth. It hath been noted of late, that our prior declineth apace; and there hath been a talk among the cloister monks that I best merit that succession, which would place me next in dignity and greatness to the mitred lord abbat of this royal abbey. But, alas! what is increase of dignity but increase of care! I do hope that our good prior may live all through this winter; albeit, it is a very sharp one, and old men be falling fast around us.--_Vale et semper Vale!_ THE END. LONDON: WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET. * * * * * THE SUPPLEMENT to the PENNY CYCLOPÆDIA. On the completion of the 'Penny Cyclopædia,' at Christmas, 1843, the following announcement was made:--"In the course of publication care has been taken, in all the great departments, to bring up the information to the most recent period, and also to make the later articles supplementary to, as well as corrective of, the earlier. But omissions, especially of new discoveries, improvements, and recent biographies, cannot have been avoided. These will be supplied by the publication, after a proper lapse of time, which will be at least a year, of a Supplement. A full Index will be published at a future day, which will not only materially increase the value of the Cyclopædia as a work of reference, but will enable the reader to place the later articles in proper connexion with the earlier, in the point of view just mentioned."