LI. HASTINGS.—The Charles Arkcoll, 34 feet by 8 feet 3 inches, 10 oars.

" Thou old sea town, crouching beneath the rocks, Like a strong lion waiting for his prey— Where are thy river, harbour, and the docks, In which the Navy of old England lay ? Why didst thou slumber, when in Pevensey Bay The Norman's mighty host profaned our soil; When thou, the Cinque-Port queen, didst hold the key Which lock*d the sea-gates of this freedom Isle? Why wert thou chartered, courted, and made free, When all the land was bound ii bonds a slave ? Eight royal wert thou and thy seamen brave, And Norman lov'd thee as thou loved the sea, While all thy foes, envying thy warlike fame, Did fear thee, as of old they feared thy ViMng name." JAMES HOWELL.

However truly the poet may speak in the former of these lines, the generally accepted view of the origin of the name Hastings is not that it was derived from the Danish pirate or Viking " Hasting," but that it comes from " Hestingi," believed to be the name of an ancient tribe dwelling in these parts; for, by a charter of Offa, granted in 755-794 (which was one hun- dred years before the time of Hasting), the havens of Pevensea and Hastings are settled on the Abbey of St. Denis at Paris.

Wherever its name came from, Hastings has been a place of great importance from almost the earliest ages of our history.

The Castle, the ruins of which are still very extensive and interesting to archaeo- logists and antiquarians, is supposed, upon the authority of the Chronicles of the Dover Monastery, to have been erected shortly after the Roman period. Under the Saxon rule, and down to the time of William Rufus, Hastings possessed a mint, as is shown by its name appearing on many coins of the time of Canute, Edward the Confessor, Harold, and William.

In the reign of Edward the Confessor Hastings was incorporated with the other favoured ports into that important and highly privileged community " The Cinque Ports," which were destined to play for some centuries so important a part in the maritime history of our country, and which may well be styled the cradle of that naval history of which the country is so proud.

It is a curious circumstance that the only one of this honoured confraternity of ports that still boasts a harbour is Dover, and that, by the irony of fate, while Sandwich, Hythe, and Romney have lost their claim to the title of " port," by the receding of the sea and the filling up of their harbours with sand, Hastings has lost its harbour, by the encroachment and attacks of that fickle element.

The event of all others that has made Hastings familiar to us, by means of the lessons of our youth in history, is the famous battle which was really fought on the downs or high ground named Hetheland, about seven miles north of the town. The spot has ever since been dis- tinguished by the very appropriate name of Battel (or Battle) given by William the Conqueror to the abbey he erected there in commemoration of his victory. Tradi- tion says that the high altar of the abbey was built on the very spot on which Harold had planted his standard, and where he and his brothers fell.

Little or nothing is known of the military life—if we may use the expres- sion—of Hastings Castle; doubtless it was fortified, as all royal and baronial resi- dences were, in the days of its prosperity, but it seems to have been devoted more to the uses of peace than war. After the Conquest it was bestowed by William on Eobert, Earl of Eu, who established and largely endowed the collegiate church in the Castle. Amongst. the names on the list of canons of this church are those of the renowned ecclesiastics Wykeham and Thomas a Becket, the latter having been Dean of the College in 1153.

During the 14th century Hastings, in common with its neighbours, suffered severely from the incursions of the French.

In 1360 they sacked the town; again, in 1377, it was burnt during the absence of its defenders, who, it was thought, had gone, under the gallant Abbot of Battel, to the defence of Winchelsea. It was again attacked and burnt in 1380, and appears from that time to have continually declined in importance and prosperity.

In 1544 it was so reduced in resources and population that it could not supply its quota of shipping as a Cinque Fort, on which account Seaford was incorporated with it to enable it to do so.

In 1578, the pier requiring rebuilding, Queen Elizabeth issued her letters-patent authorising collections to be made for constructing a new harbour. The town is therein described as "much decayed, the traffic of the merchants thither for- saken, the fishing, by reason of the dan- gerous landing, but little used, the rich and wealthy men gone thence, and the poor men yet remaining would gladly do the like . . . whereby our people are likely to perish, and our said port to be subverted and become desolate." From old documents, it would appear that at this time the Government attached much importance to the harbour of Hast- ings, and various endeavours were made to rebuild it. In 1595 men were accord- ingly brought from Lyme to do so, but the storms of the next winter destroyed all their work. The same fate overtook its successor in 1597. In 1635 a scheme was again drawn up for making a har- bour, at a cost of 220,000?., in those days a very considerable sum, and a general collection was ordered; but there the matter seemed to end, and the project was abandoned.

Hastings does not appear to have suf- fered much during the Civil Wars of the 17th century, possibly from its declining and impoverished condition, but it had a few visits from the Parliamentary forces.

Its fishermen and sailors appear to have been of very lawless and piratical habits during the early and middle part of the last century, several having been tried and executed for direct acts of piracy on vessels passing up and down Channel.

They appear also to have taken an active part in the smuggling so prevalent on the south coast, even during the first half of this century, for as late as 1831 two smugglers lost their lives in an affray with the coastguard.

In the year 1728 a special survey of the coasts of Great Britain was taken, and the report on this place shows to what a low ebb its fortunes had descended. It states that Hastings is "a small town, and though the chief of the Cinque Ports, yet of no further consideration, having neither trade nor harbour, fort nor castle, nor need of any." If the framers of this report could return to us and see the large, prosperous, and fashionable watering-place, with nearly three miles of terrace and promenade along the sea face, into which their " small town of no consideration" has grown, how would they wonder! As there is a tide in the affairs of man, so it is most evident there has been in those of this place. After ebbing for centuries, it appears to have turned about the end of the last one, when some medical men of observation dis- covered its very great value as a resort for the recovery of health and for recrea- tion. Since then it has experienced a continued and well-deserved advance in prosperity and in popular favour, owing, in a great measure, to a warm and equable climate, which makes it such an excellent winter residence for delicate persons and invalids.

The Branch of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION was formed, and a boat stationed here, in the year 1858, and although not one of those constantly called upon for active service, such as the Ramsgate, Deal, Caister, and other boats, it has at times done good work in saving nine lives, and both boat and crew have shown themselves ready and able when called upon. The last example of this was on the memorable 18th January, 1881, when they launched in the teeth of the furious gale and snow-storm then raging, and proceeded to the westward, but unfortunately arrived too late to be of service.

The present boat and boat-house are the gift of CHARLES ARKCOTT, Esq., and the boat is named the Charles Arkcott, in memory of his father. The boat-house is a handsome and appropriate building at the east end of the Parade, where it is quite a feature of the neighbourhood.

The inauguration of boat and boat- house took place in July last, in the presence of large crowds of the inhabit- ants, as mentioned on page 655 of this Journal. The apparent interest in, and sympathy with, the Institution and its work that was shown on the occasion was most gratifying and encouraging.

The affairs of the Branch are governed by a thoroughly representative Local Committee, of which the Rev. W. W. HUME is the Chairman, and Mr. GEORGE HUTCHINGS the Secretary.