That monarch also records in his journal, that a hundred archers of his guard shot before him at an inch board of well-seasoned timber, which was completely pierced through with the heads of some of the arrows. An act of Henry the Eighth, by which every man was compelled to have a bow and three arrows, not being generally complied with, in the reign of Elizabeth, the bowyers petitioned that queen for authority to put them in force; during her reign, also, the price of bows was expressly regulated by statute. The London Archers (for whose use several gardens had been levelled, in 1498) petitioned James the First to put a stop to the encroachments made upon their grounds by the inhabitants of the outskirts; and a commission was directed to several persons of eminence, to inquire into the circumstances, and restore the archery-field to its former state. On a former occasion (in 1514) the people of Hoxton, and neigh­bouring villages, having committed a similar trespass, the citizens of London took the law into their own hands, and, assembling in great numbers, with spades and pick-axes, proceeded at once to remove all the obnoxious enclosures and ditches. Charles the Second was not only an archer himself, but so much disposed to encourage the sport, that he knighted a man for excelling Sir William Wood, a celebrated archer, at shooting with the long-bow. From the death of Charles, archery gradually declined, until towards the close of the last century, when it was revived in various parts of England. A number of societies have, since that time, been established, and this excellent pastime has now, for some years past, been patronized and practised by ladies of the first rank. Meetings of archers, of both sexes, occur frequently in the course of every season: they are attended by many of the female nobility, and form, perhaps, the most brilliant and attractive rural fêtes which are enjoyed throughout the year.