Litchfield enquirer., 1855-09-13
Rides and Rambles in Father Land
CHAPTER TIT.

left us at the city of York. As we had de- ter,nined to spend the Sabbath some twen- ty-fve miles from that place, we made very brief stay-reserving our visit to it's many interesting objects until another oc- |casion; and proceeded by the York and New Castle railway to Thirak. an antique town in the north riding of Yorkshire. sur- rounded by rich farming county At this point we procured private conveyance and rode over an excellent macadamized road
 bordered on either side by hawthorne hed- ges, to the quiet rural village of Kilburn,
 some seven miles distant As this was the seat of GU: ancestors seven hundred years ago we went as pilgrims to a shrine, to do hom- age to the memory of the long departed and the long forgotten. A few items of general interest in the history of the town. must here suffice. The discovery of various Ro- man remains in the vicinity. indicate the antiquity of the settlements in the region. In the days of William Rufus and Henry l.. it was a Royal Hunting Park, and the ancient hunting seat of the Lord Forester is still pointed out in the village. On the top of h;ll in the neighborhood we saw the tall stone al.ars where the Druids worship ed and sacrificed during the dark ages. At a much more recent date the adjacent for ests were favori,e retreat of Robin Hood, already referred to, who, with his bandi,,i, was here met and defeated by the Kings troops sen. out for that purpose. Here,, also, in the early part of the twelfth century was established priory, which, with it's endowments, was subsequently transferred to another locality not far of, and formed the foundation of Byland Abbey. whose magnificent ruins can be seen from the up- per part of the village of kilburn, and for n chief object of interest to the tourist in Yorkshire.
 Returning to York on Monday, we spent the remainder of that and a part of the fol- lowing day in nasty survey of the wonders of the place. It is the second city in the Kingdom in point of dignity, though seve. ral other towns now exceed it in population. London and York are the only cities in England the chief officer of which have the title of Lord Mayor. Historians have claim ed for the latter the honor of being one of the oldest, if not the oldest, town on the island, of whose settlement we have any authentic account. ltwas long a chief city of the Romans, and was successively the seat of Adrian. Severius, and other Roman emperors. Severius died here in the year 2l0, and here Constantine the Great was born in 272.
 The railway trains pass under the vene. rable walls on entering the city. Of course, the first object of attraction to stranger Is < York Mins,er." was not long in find- ing it, for it's towers serve as a kind of land. mark for many miles around. It is one of the most superb specimens of Gothic arch- itecture in the worId-iis length being 525 feet, and it's breadth 222 feet. The towers are 2i3 feet high. The edi6ce is about six hundred years old, and was bull. upon the ruins of church which was erected by Edward the Saxon king of Northumberland in 6a6. One sf the chapels contains chair which is claimed to be eleven hundred years old. In it, Richard ILL, and other early kings were crowned. Portions of the wall by which the ancien, part of the city is sur rounded was built by the Romans. A walk along its top extends for more than three miles, and affords an excellent view of the town and of the surrounding country. The outer side of the walk is protected by . stone parapet about four feet high, with narrow perpendicular openings made for the convenience ot shooting arrOsss at the be- siegers! The walls average about fifty feet in height and are of varied thickness, slo- ping upwards from a broad base 10 com paratively narrow top. From appearance, they woull stand vigorous siege with common; and with the weapons and modes of warfare during the early ages, they must indeed have been impregnable.
 Towards evening was shown through the mansion which was once the residence of King James. The rich but partially defaced carvings at the sides and over the door-way, contain the national arms, the name of the royal occupant. the date. etc. In company with gentleman residing in the city, who kindly volunteered to be my guide, had a twilight ramhle over the ma jestic ruins of the Abbey on the grounds ad- jacent 10 the mansion alluded 10. The roof less walls, with many of the arches still un- broken, were crowned with ivy--as indeed are nearly all the old detached buildings m
 England giving them not only very an-
 tique look, but adding greatly to the effect
 upon the imagination of the beholder. l ssroIled through the ruined ha'ls with feel ;n0 If sfranue romantic interest," such as |