WHITTINGTON, RICHARD. As the existence of this remarkable man is by many supposed to be wholly mythical, it has been thought not out of place here to state briefly the few authentic facts of his life. Whittington was descended from a good Gloucester shire family, and was born probably about 1360, the younger son of sir William Whit tington. who possessed the estate of Pauntley hi that county. His father died not long after Whittington was born, and Richard, who had no fortune, set out for London, to endeavor to make one by means of trade. That he left London on account of ill-usage, but was induced to return by his interpretation of the friendly sound of Bow Bells, and that he afterward made his living through the instrumentality of a cat, are stories not improbable, but which cannot be well authenticated. He appears, however, to have apprenticed himself to a mercer, and to have rapidly risen in the world. It is not known at what date he set up for himself, but we find him a member of the Mercers' company in 1392, in which year he was elected an alderman of the city, and in the following year was appointed sheriff. Iu 1398 Whittington was elected lord mayor of London; was again chosen to fill that office iu 1406; was elected member of parliament for the city in 1416; and in 1419, for the third time, filled the office of mayor. These statements accord with the popular story of Whittington's having been "thrice lord mayor of London," although some antiquaries doubt if he filled that office oftener than twice. Whittington,
on account of various services rendered to Henry V., received from that sovereign the honor of knighthood. We are not informed of the date of Whittington's marriage; but from various authentic sources we learn that his wife's name was Alice, daughter of sir Hugh Fitzwarren. She appears to have died several years before her husband, and to have left no issue. Whittington died in the spring of 1423, aged about 63 years. There can be no doubt that Whittington was diligent and exceedingly prosperous in business, upright and liberal in character—" a vertuous and godly man, full of good works (and those famous)"—and in many respects considerably in advance of his time. His liberal ity appears to have been unbounded. At his death, he left the bulk of his property to be laid out in purposes of charity, and in completing those works which had been com menced under his own superintendence. For further details concerning the life of this remarkable man, we refer the reader to the rev. Samuel Lysons's Model Merchant of the Middle Ages (Lond. 1860), an admirable and judicious biography of Whittington; also to various volumes of Notes and Queries.