of tfje $lost honourableBroer of tlje tetfb

“ And be the Bath the Knight’s distinguish’d praise!Nor shall (with Scaeva) Knights of Bath expire,

But unhorn Heroes proud that name acquire:

That name in hallow’d rites and pompous dress,

That name in tilts and tournaments profess:

Ensigns of dignity, the solemn day,

The slow procession, and the crowded way,

Through a long train of centuries yet unroll’dWith pride and pleasure I at once behold.”

EUSDEN.

LTHOUGH the Knighthood of the Bath,or the custom of making Knights, with variousRites and Ceremonies, of which one wasBathing, be of great antiquity, it bore so littleresemblance to the Military Order of theBath created by King George the First inthe year 1725, that the following account ofthe Institution may properly be divided intothree periods; the first, ending with the Coro-nation of King Charles the Second, when, forthe last time, Knights of the Bath were made according to the ancient forms;the second, commencing from the Creation of the Order in 1725; and the third,from its Enlargement, or rather Reorganization, in 1815.