There being, then, such a profusion of Angels everywhere, it became necessary to make some distinctions, and the usual means were adopted; the Angel was gilded, and called the GOLDEN ANGEL; this, for instance, was the sign of Ellis Gamble, a goldsmith in Cranbourn Alley, Hogarth’s master in the art of engraving on silver; shop-bills engraved for this house by Hogarth are still in existence. Another variety was the GUARDIAN ANGEL, which is still the sign of an ale-house at Yarmouth. This, too, was used in France, as we find _l’Ange Gardien_, the sign of Pierre Witte, a bookseller in the Rue St Jacques, Paris, in the seventeenth century. Very common, also, were the THREE ANGELS, which may have been intended for the three angels that appeared to Abraham, or simply the favourite combination of three,[390] so frequent on the signboard and in heraldry. That three angels were thought to possess mysterious power, is evident from the following Devonshire charm for a burn:-- “Three Angels came from the north, east, and west, One brought fire, another ice, And the third brought the Holy Ghost, So out fire--and in frost-- In the name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” The THREE ANGELS was a very general linen-draper’s sign, for which there seems no reason other than that the long flowing garments in which they are generally represented, suggest their having been good customers to the drapery business. Angels appear in combination with various heterogenous objects, in many of which, however, the so-called Angel is simply a Cupid. The ANGEL AND BIBLE was a sign in the Poultry in 1680.[391] The ANGEL AND CROWN was a not uncommon tavern decoration. The following stanza from a pamphlet, entitled, “The Quack Vintners,” London, 1712, p. 18, shows the way in which this sign was represented:-- “May Harry’s ANGEL be a sign he draws Angelick nectar, that deserves applause, Such that may make the city love the Throne, And, like his _Angel_, still _support the Crown_.” From this we learn it was a Cupid or Amorino supporting a crown; the sign of the house had doubtless originally been the Crown, and the Cupid, so common in the Renaissance style, had been added by way of ornament, but was mistaken by the public as a constituent of the sign. The verses probably applied to the Angel and Crown, a famous tavern in Broad Street, behind the Royal Exchange. There was another ANGEL AND CROWN in Islington, where convivial dinners were held in the olden time. It was a common practice in the last and preceding centuries for the natives of a county or parish to meet once a year and dine together. The ceremony often commenced by a sermon, preached by a native, after which the day was spent in pleasant conviviality, after-dinner speeches, and mutual congratulations. The custom now has almost died out; but this is one of the invitation tickets: ST MARY, ISLINGTON. SIR,