Litchfield enquirer., 1880-09-23
The City of Lichfeld,, England.
= q J. = .--"1 la..l : sFtNEssl5f III = =
[ExTRAcT FROM A PRIVATE LETTER. ]

- ,
To most travellers the principal object of
| interest here, is the beautiful Cathedral which
| although not sd large as some in Eng land is
| one OF the most perfect in an architectural
| polht Of view II, the Kingdom. As mention
ed in my last letter we attended service (full
Cathedral service) here on Sunday morning.
There was quite large attendance, many Of
the hearers being like ourselves, tourists.
The nave and transepts, aisles<and chapels, in
all their lofty arches hreserberating with the
solemn notes OF the chants accompanied by
the tones of the organ, gave 4think the very
perfection of such a service and was we'll cal
culated to impress every christian with its
solemn spirit. 'L'~A
| On Monday we3sadea further examina-
ton of the city, inspecting at iss'are the in
terror of the Cathedral, oaltars, cllapels, chap
ter hall, etc, Among the statuary is the
famous piece 'tThe Sleeping Children" by
| Chantrey, an exquisite piece of sculpture
Tie cathedral was formerly separated from
the city and stood in. grounds Of its own, from
which the inhabitants were excluded general
| ly. In the grounds beautiful sheet of water
surrounded by shaded walks and called the
Minister pool added much to the scene. Of
late years the pool is crossed by bridge and
little trace of its exclusive character remains
Walking up the long and apparently the prin-.
| cipal street, we crossed the pool and found a.
handsome building containing Museum, a
| library and reading room, all freely open to
| the public. Although the Museum has but a
| few years growth, a good and varied collection
has already been made and as the collections
| now in the hands of private individuals here,
of which there are several, made by digent
collectors, shallfrem time to time contribute
| to it's growth, it will without doubt become
exceedingly valuable and interesting y"
When our names were written upon the
| visitors book as halling from Litchfeld Con-
necticut, U. S.qA-,a they Immediately attract
| ed the attention of the Custodian which re-
suited in making the remainder of our stay at
the Museum very pleasant one, our atten-
ton being called to various Interesting relics
| which doubtless would have escaped u.s.
| Amongst the collection are quite number of
articles connected WITH or once belonging to,
DR.. johnson, who was born here; bis shoe
| buckles, drinking cups, various household
| utensils, some autograph letters, etc weap-
| ons and shields of the various combatants on
this spot, and SO On. Among the mementoes
of the olden time view "7ae Drank, or Iron
Birdie for" iScosds," with gag for holding the
tongue still, and ring upon the back of the
head band for fastening the same by chain
| to the wall after it had been securely locked
| upon the head Of the offender. | was able to
say that ip the case of the younger Litchfeld
nothing of the kind had eoes. bee,a needed, or
attempted, and that I was confident that its
Museum (Which by the way ought to be COM
mencedo, would never show anything of the
sort, if continued to the latest generations.
Various other articles are shown of almost
endless sorts, which throw light upon the
early history of old Lichfield For we NAV
truly call it old, since it claims to have had
its origin as early as the third century of the
christian era, at the hands of the Britons and
Romans; and, later in the seventh century, to
have been famous for miracles performed by
Lichfield Saint-Chad by name-who, CON-
menced as a Hermit, ended by becoming
Bishop, at whose death Angels sang hymns
over his cell, and many miracles followed his /
decease-the dust from his grave curing all
diseases of man or beast and the very approach
to his tomb sufficing to cure all mental disorders
of whatever kind. A shrine was then erected,
and pilgrims came from all quarters; the city
grew and prospered Coming down to the
Fourteenth century the Cathedral approached
completion A new shrine was built for the
Saint and all things went on well. In the
year 1897, Richard the Second held his Christ
mas here when 5000 oxen, and 200 tuns of
wine were consumed. Henry the Eighth,
here as elsewhere made things lively, demol-
ishing the Monastery, breaking up the Nun
merry, cutting the diocese in two, destroying
relics, abstractlng jewels and many other
things And later, Queen Mary. james the
First, Charles and other Monarchs, make their
appearance on the scene of Lichfeld history.
The "Roundheads" destroyed the monu-
ments, broke the effigies of Bishops and
Knights, stole the sepulchral 'brasses, de-
molished, the painted windows, burnt the
church records and the organ, defaced the
statues, tore the vestments, hunted cats
through the church for their daily pastin1e,.
etc. a'f . ~ ..'''- -. -. 3d. /
4, fFyn s8afi-g-E1 fasf' ='.h-' q go ''
James the Second, and Queen Anne both
passed through here and each touched for
the Kings. Evil. the latter performing the
operation upon DR.. Johnson and the historian
adds, ''touching hkesoise the sum Of f107 los as
present from the Corporation" Queen Vic
toria, when Princess, and afterwards when
Queen, with Prince Albert, made visits to |
Lichfeld. The process of restoration of the |
Cathedral has been going on for some time,
and viii occupy some years to come, but
when completed will more and more attract |
the attention ofaH who are interested in their |
grand old monuments of the former days. "a,
The house where johnson was born, still |
stands and is in excellent condition. In |
front of 1t in the marksts place is a statue
erected to his memory. The population of
the city is about 5000 In one street we pas |
sed an antiqusted building which bore upon,
its front, over the doorway, this inscription
!. This Hospital for Fifteen Women, built by |
FyG - So 10