Voltaire, in his "Universal History," ridicules the notion of the curfew being a badge of degradation; he observes that "The law, far from being tyrannical, was only an ancient police, established in almost all the towns of the north, and which had been long preserved in the convents." And he adds this reason for it: "That the houses were all built of wood, and the fear of fire was one of the most important objects of general police." Throughout the reigns of William I., and his son, William II., the curfew law was rigidly enforced, and, however good its intentions were, the rigour of its administration rendered it increasingly obnoxious. The politic Henry I., in 1103, wisely repealed the enactment, modifying the law, which, however, though not compulsory, "settled into a cherished custom." Though perhaps no longer as Thomson describes: "The shiv'ring wretches at the curfew sound Dejected sunk into their sordid beds, And, through the mournful gloom of ancient times Mus'd sad, or dreamt of better." Yet the weary yeomen would doubtless for a long time welcome the hour that heralded rest. Certainly the name lingered as a dividing period of the day. Blackstone says (vol. iv., p. 420) that Henry "abolished the curfew, for though it is mentioned in our laws a full century afterwards, yet it is rather spoken of as a known time of night (so denominated from that abrogated usage) than as a still subsisting custom." Chaucer speaks of it as a time of day: "The dede sleep, for every besinesse, Fell on this carpenter, right as I gesse, About curfew time, or litel more." In the _Antiquarian Repertory_, vol. i., p. 4, it is stated upon the authority of Monsieur Pasquier, that the ringing of the curfew bell was a custom long established in particular towns in France, and originated, as he supposes, in times of tumult and sedition. But the earliest instance he gives is no farther back than the year 1331, when the city of Laon, which had forfeited its privileges, was reinstated therein by Philip de Valois, who directed that for the future a curfew bell should be rung in a certain tower in that city, at the close of the day. Pasquier adds, that under the reigns of Charles VI. and VII., it came much into use. We will now glance over the records of the curfew, as found in deeds, enactments, poetry, and tradition, preserving, as nearly as convenient, a sequence of date. In the second mayoralty of Sir Henry Colet, knight (father of Dean Colet), A.D. 1495, and under his direction, this solemn charge was given to the quest of wardmote in every ward, as it stands printed in the _Custumary of London_: "Also yf there be anye paryshe clerke that ryngeth curfewe after the curfewe be ronge at Bowe Chyrche, or Saint Brydes Chyrche, or Saint Gyles without Cripelgat, all suche to be presented." Stow may be regarded as corroborating the statement of curfew usage at the two latter churches.