to merit quotation. Many Bishops have been consecrated in the chapel, and it was here that the memorable Conference on the Book of Common Prayer took place in Charles II.'s reign. The chapel was made parochial after the greedy Somerset had destroyed the first Church of St. Mary le Strand, in order to use its materials for his own mansion. It had before that time been dedicated to St. John the Baptist, but was henceforth known as St. Mary le Savoy. The history of the precinct of Savoy is difficult to treat in a volume like the present, because it requires a book to itself. It is not the paucity of material, but the quantity, that is embarrassing. The great palace which stood here first was built by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, one of the Barons to whom our present Constitution is due. By one of the frequent vicissitudes of the times, when no man's land or property was safe, this palace came into the hands of King Henry III., who took the opportunity of a visit from his wife's uncle, Peter of Savoy (afterwards Earl of Savoy and Richmond), to present it to him. Peter either gave it to or exchanged it with a religious fraternity, from whom it was rebought by the Queen, Eleanor, who gave it to her son Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. After the Battle of Poitiers, King John of France was brought here a prisoner, and, oddly enough, though he was soon set at liberty, his death occurred here many years later when he had returned to make amends for the escape of one of his sons held hostage by the English until the payment of his ransom.