Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1867-09-21
Merry England - Pleasant Scenes an
Town and Country.

"Monadnock," writing to the New
/ York Times says:
As a rural excursion Is one of the
special delights of Margate, and not TO
| be missed by the transient visitor, L
| took mine with very merry party IN
deed, which filled waggonette, and
made a trip to the ancient capital OF
Kent, the famous city of Canterbury
two hours ride through fields of wheat,
barley and fragrant clover, with quaint
old villages and historic ruins. As we
passed by the busy harvest fields, great
sturdy boys would drop rake or sickle
and run after us, shouting, "ApeDny!
apennyr'.- their genial rural fashion of
begging half-penee from the passing
traveller. l. have the happiness OF be-
lieving that such sight was never seen
i'm the rural districts of America. We
had at times as many as five boys and
girls running after us, singing the same
pleasant chorus. Was it an original
British custom, or did it come IN with
the Romans, NOrsemen, SaXODs, Danes
or Normans? The descendant of
Hengist could have told me, but | for
got to ask.
The dwelling houses of the people are
not so old as one would expect. Each
time the country was Overrun III civil
wars or invasions, the good old fashion
was followed of killing all they could
kill, plundering all they could carry,
and burning up the remainder. The
solid walls and towers of castles and
inconsistencies could neither be carried
of nor burnt, and there they are; but
the oldest dwelling house l saw on the
road with the date built into the gable,
was one of 1851.
But Canterbury is worth seeing. The
winding, narrow streets are almost
darkened by the overhanging houses,
each story iutting over the one below
it. The George and Dragon, where we
dined, must be five centuries old. Not
far from it is the Falstafl Inn, Shaks
pearean hosiery. There are numbers
of these old taVerns which used to en-
terrain the crowds of pilgrims who |
came TO the shrine of Thomas a. Beck |
ct. And the cathedral which contains |
that plundered shrine, which saw the |
murder and witnessed it's bitter pen
ance, is one of the sights In all Eng
land best worth seeing. Here chris |
tianity was planted i'll England. Here n
the site of the palace of the first hap |
tized British King was built this state |
ly, lovely, wonderful cathedral "a mon
ument of the faith, energy, artistic |
culture and religious zeal of tdose cen
turtles which covered England with |
great cathedrals no longer used, church |
es there are now no populations to I'LL,
and great religions houses of which |
nothing remain but ruins, which are
the admiration and the despair of mod |
ern architects. Certainly there was a
tim e when Enqlishmen knew how TO
build.
The Canterbury Cathedral is sur
Monastery of st. Augustine has almost |
entirely disappeared. The stones were
taken to build mansions for those who
divided the spoils. Ruin has en-
croaehed upon the Cathedral itself, but
large PORTIONS are well restored, and
the work is still going forward. But
what ruin and desolatlOn it isl OF
the entire edifice, the only portion In
actual use is the chancel, where there
is regular morning and evening choral
service kept up by well paid canons
and choristers. The music is excellent,
but, including sightseeing visitors, it
did not, on the day was there. attract
more than twenty or thirty persons in
an edifiee built for twenty or thirty
thousand. The vast naive and alsles
are unused, and all the beautiful but
dismantled, desolated and desecrated
chapels are but a museum of ANTIGUA
ties, shown by the vergers for shilings,
which Won are not now required, but
are none the less expected, TO pay.
"A musical locomotive is among tie
(. oil