36. He likewise altered the forest laws, which had given so much discontent, and gave the citizens of London leave to hunt in Epping Forest, which then reached very nearly to the walls of the city.
37. Winchester was then the capital of England, but London was one of the best cities and the richest, as many of its inhabitants were merchants who traded with foreign countries; yet the houses were only mean wooden buildings, with no glass in the windows, and thatched with straw.
38. Westminster was quite a separate city, and divided from London by country houses, fields and a village. The king had a palace at Westminster, and William Rufus built Westminster hall adjoining it, for his Christmas feasts.
39. A curious privilege was granted by Henry the First to the citizens of London, which will serve to show you what grievances the people were subject to in those times.
40. There were a great number of persons who were employed in various ways about the court, and who followed the king wherever he went; for great men, when they travelled, were obliged to take every thing they wanted with them, there being no public accommodation to be had any where; so they carried with them
