Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1885-05-08

to the door Of what eight hundred
years ago was the abbots' house.
The old monks had q rare eye for
rich lands and picturesque sites
There is scarcely mOnastic ruin in
the three kingdoms that has not
been chosen with an eye to these
points.
The conQuering Normans, too,
well knew how to search out the
choice spots Of the realm, otherwise
this little peninsula in the North of
England would not have been the
centre of snch a grand estate as
Count Stephen of Boulogue, made
over to the Cistercian monks, who,
in 1l27, here founded Eurness Alb
hey. d ..nan. ~ 4.,.,
Had Stephen ever imagined that
he was to become King of England
twenty years after-for at thist time
Prince William, son of Henry II,
had not perishedin the White Ship
-be would perhaps have held on to
his rich possessions. As'it was, he
gave them to the Church in a pious
mood, in order, as he said, to Sc
cure the salvatiOu of his own, his
wife MatIda's, and his uncle's,
(Iienfy I.) souls The revenues
from these vast possessions, arls.
ing from the fisheries, the iron and
coal mines, as we'll as from the rich
lands, enabled the Norman monks,
whom Stephen transported thither,
to erect a vast monastic pile, which
lin time became the largest in the
kingdom. The abbots reigned like
feudal lords, and soon. lost sight'o OF,
st. Bernard's strict rules for the
regulation of the order. Twelve
armed men we're kept as retainers
in the Abbey, and at times the
monks and the abbots themselves
led scandalous lives. At the sup
preston of moDastic houses, every
thing belonging to the Abbey was
conGscated, and the building left to
ruin. z
The first thing that met our eyes,
on entering.the abbotS house, now
beautifully restored; and used as
an inn, was an oil painting ofWash,
ington over the door Of the hand,
some room in which we dined. IT.
was the. only portrait of him we saw
in England. The abbey is Of Nor.
man architecture, and was built OF
red sandstone, which, draped as it
is from top to bottom with ivy, and
surrounded by. park'like grounds,
keptin the most exquisite manner,
gives it avery rich appearances
The walls that still stand are very
lofty, and several hundred feet IN
length. A long row of pointed
windows in theclerestory still shows
as faultless an outline as If the ma
sons chisel hadtleft them but yes
terday. Windows thirty feet high
stin light the transept, as perfect
in form as when they were 6lled
with stained glass seven hundred
years ago. Multitudes of clustered
pillars still stand in their original
perfection. All the ruins, with the
exception of a chapel or two, are
rooaess, and the long nave is car
peted with as rich verdure as
England can show We gathered
handfulsof 'buttercups and daisies
where altar and holy-water founts
used to stand. Indeed, we dipped
our hands into some of the recepta-
cles for holy.water built into the
walls. Fine lancet windows open
ed from the transepts, where an
cient tombs are still thickly scat
tered.g Our guide pointed out the
marble efligy of crusader; that
he belonged totthe second crusade
was indicated by his crossed legs.
/ seraped few fakes of lichen from
his helmeted head in memory OF
my visit.
will not attempt to carry the
reader all over this magnificent
ruin. The porter's lodge, the chan
Gel, the choir, the transepts, the
nave, the lantern tower, the chap
ter. house, ;he refectory, are all
more or less perfect. .a,. ..f..fi
We sat down on the capitals Of
some of the ruined pillars, which
serve as seats in the beautiful clois-
ter grounds, aud gave ourselves up
to delicious visions Of the olden
days. We could fancy that we
heard chanting in the chapter
house, and it did not require much
Imagination, as we sat with half.
closed eyes, to believe that We
caught sight, now and then, OF the
floating robe of a Cistercian monk
One Of our party suggested that
tue multitude of rocks cawing
above the ruins we're the old monks
come back again, only their white
habits changed to black in token Of
their sorrow over the changed or
der of things. The tiDkle of the
distant sheep.bells, that came
borne to us on the soft wind, our
day.dream easily converted into
the chimes Of the AngeIus. Even
the hustle Of a distant train seemed
not greatly unlike the noise the
twelve hundred armed men might
sometimes have made in the court
yard. But the gay chatter of hall
a dozen bright young glrlS,whO had