Wilmington journal., 1867-10-04

i from superstitious fear, for such places
were supposed to be inhabited by evil
4 spirits. In the meantime, the decayine
Ispaces between the walls, and when the
country became more settled under the
Norman Kings, and abbeys and castles and
towns to be built, these ruins formed sort
of quarry, from which materials for such
structures were taken. Thus the walls
| were thrown down, the surface of the earth
almost leveled, and a new soil formed on
it, until at length it was cultivated as q
field, and the very existence of the town
only known from ancient authors and ira
dition. Ins 1859, however, excavations
were commenced, there being then above
the surface only solid mass of masonry,
called the Old Wall. This was ascertained
to be part of hrge public building,
which ran along the side of paved street,
and occupied one Of the central points of
the city. It is curious to observe the stone
steps worn by the feet Of men who lived
fifteen hundred years ago, rs if they had
|
many other buildings have been brought
to light and the general structure of the
houses ascertained. They were very solid,
even the walls separating the rooms being
three feet in thickness The rooms were
| high, but seem to have been all on the
ground floor. No staircases have been dis
covered, and it appears quite certain that
the rooms were open to the roof. These
roofs were very substantial, and were sup
ported probably on strong woodwork. The
covering itself consisted of large tiles, or of
flags of stone with a hole at one end,
through which an iron nail was passed to
fasten it to the wooden frame e-work. These
flags were very thick and heavy, and were
made to lap over each other. In towns
which were the headquarters of Legion,
the name and number Of the Legion were
often stamped on the tiles The internal
walls of the house were covered with ce-
ment and then painted in frescoe. The
coloring is still fresh and the designs are
elegant. The rooms were heated from Gel
lars below, called hypocauSts, and occasion
ally you see tubes in the walls to convey
the hot air to the sides of the rooms. These
cellars had an entrance from the outside,
like the mouth of an oven, and the fires
being lighted there, the hot air was driven
in and filed the space under the floor and
assembled by the fues up the walls. The
floors, made of cement, rested on q num-
hon, Of ch G Ir;,
or three feet high. The rooms were lighted
by windows in the roof, or on the sides,
and in these windows it is certain that glass
was used, as good deal Of excellent quality
has been found in the ruins. This is the
more interesting as the impression used to
be that the Romans did not use window
glass.
In one Of these hypocausts there was
group of skeletons found, and by their side
a heap of coins, 1872 in number [ saw
these and many other coins from the ruins
at the Museum in Shrewsbury, and they
were interesting gasshowing the sort of money
at that time used. They had been issued
chiefly in the reign of Constantine and his
sons, bearing their images and superscrip-
tions, and were of very little value, accor-
ding to our standard, all of the 1872 being
Of copper, except one which was plated |
with silver, and they thereby show how
much more common and cheap the pre-
cious metals are now than they were in that |
age of the world. These ruins interested |
me so much that I may, perhaps, have ex-
your patience in writing SO fully
about them.
From Shrewsbury we went down the
lonely valley of the Severn to Worcester,
where we stopped few hours to visit the |
Cathedral. This is one of the finest in Eng
land, built in the 18th and 18th centuries, |
but appears to less advantage now, as it is
at present in the process of restoration. Tt
is 394 feet long, rs in breadth and 1G2 in
heighth. There are many monuments,
that Of King John being the Oldest royal
monument in England. The tomb of
Prince Arthur, the elder brother of Henry
the VIII. and the first husband of Cathe-
cine of Arragon, very elaborate piece of
is striking object. Near,
and, indeed, in the streets of Worcester,
your readers will recollect that Charles II
ost the last of those great battles, in which
5he military genius of Oliver Cromwell
svailed to overthrow the dynasty of the
Stuarts, and to establish himself in their
place.
From Worcester we camo to London,
md after day or two, to this place. To
ne it is a very delightful spot. The waters
ire, as u tonic, unequalIed the air is as
pure as on mountain top; the scenery
s of endless variety, but every aspect beau
5iful; the country is undulating, not ma
'urally fertile, but under high cultivation,
productive as a garden. Hops are the
principal crop, and this is the season for
gathering them, and it is pleasant to see
men, women and children, down almost to
infants, engaged in picking them. One
wonders, in going through Kent and Sus-
sex, what can be done with so many hops,
until he sees the breweries and the ale