The record-union., 1892-10-14

BE
A bell like fire gong announces your
entrance. -Four generations of servers
are III waiting. Old, old men, reminding
one OF Little Nell's'' grandfather. are
perched IN dark. platforned corners on
carved old chairs of state. A daughter,
nearly as old, appears with rush from
the ilVlng- rooms, as though long and va
ingenious youths had made her alert for
device or reprisal. a still younger ma
iron, perhaps a widow, is pothering
among the boxes and shelves, and, prim,
peachy and prudent, young miss, con-
sclous OF her value as q trade magnet,
where there are thousand lads to know
pretty lace when they see it, comes out
OF the half lights, a radiant, wheedling
presence. In every one of these by-street
shops the shillings and pence of the
Wykeham lads are the entire quarry,
ana everything dear to q boys heart
from cricket bat TO leaden "pasties,"
comprise the stock in trade. Queer old
shopkeepers all are they; quaint as from
The last century picture books, and they
still Keep the coin Of the realm in leathern
bags, and test suspicious sixpences and
threepenny bits with their teeth, here in
Winchester.
AGAIN the ancient city is given color
and interest TO the stranger by the pres
ence at all times, as III all English provin-
clal towns or sleepy old cathedral cities,
OF sturdy country folk from roundabout
Ii Is as though a fair or market had Just
peen neld or was about TO open. Heavy
JoWled stock-buyers are here. Frocked
veomen look wonderingly into little shop
WINDOWS as though they held the marvels
OF Regent street or the Strand. Shocked
louis from near hamlets dawdle about the
streets, snappy- eyed farmers wives have
come, and, best OF all, there are bevies of
countryside lasses with all the radiance of
Engilsh roses in their flaming, peachy
cheeks.
In and out of this motley crowd glide
one Gloaked masters; gently pass deans
ana deacons; dart the bright-faced Wyke-
nam boys, or prance the military; for
winchester is not only cathedral town,
q college town, and the London of Wilt
shire for all its thriving country folk and
farmers, but it is one of the important
military centers of England, being about
equidistant from Aldershot. its greatest
military station, and Portsmouth. it's
greatest naval station. It is especially a
station for recruits, a depot for ten regi-
ments. -Four are of rifles, called the
hlng's Royal Rifles, four from the Rifle
Brigade, called the Prince ConsortS Own.
while two are the Thirty-seyenth and
SiXty-seventh Territorial Troops. Re-
crults are constantly arriving, and as con-
stantly being drafted into service at the
different stations in England and to the
alstant commands in South America,
Africa and India.
The building now used as barracks at
winchester was originally intended for a
palace by Charles H., who built it for
Neil GWynne, with whom he lived at
Winchester, bat Charles died before the
palace was finished. When the King
brought pretty NelP' to Winchester he
begged Ken, then adignitary in the cathe-
oral and atterward known as Bishop
Ken, to accept the fair orange girl as his
guest at The house in the cathedral close.
but he peremptorily refused. So the King
was Obliged to take lodgings for Nell in
st. Peter street. Charles, however.
showed no resentment to Ken, but after
ward promoted him to be Bishop of
Wells.
The gray old mass of college buildings
Is reached through the close alongside the
cathedral, thence passing into College
street under the archway of St. Swithin's
Church. The outer gate opens directly
lnto quadrangle, on the east side of
which is the warden's residence. From
this, through another gateway, called
middle gate," above which is election
chamber" the great quadrangle is en-
tered. Here the whole of the principal
offices form one length of about 100 feet.
The southern side is formed by the
chapel and hall, and the western side
chiefly by the kitchen. Beneath the hall.
ADJOINING the great hall staircase is a pas-
sage called seventh chamber passage. -
This leads into lesser quadrangle known
as school Court"
On the south side of this is the school.
and the chapel cloisters extend along the
eastern side. At the western side are the
buildings of the ''commoners." These
are scholars, not foundation or free schol-
ars. A passage between the school and
the cloister walls leads to 1.-The meads. -
These are the Fairgrounds of the college.
To the west of the meads and divided
from 1t by an ancient wall is the s'sick-
house" or hospital, and about this are
pleasant grounds locally known as ''sick-
house meads." The school can in no de-
gree have the same interest from mod
ern standpoint as ample Harrow, huge
and most venerable Elton, or that most
beautiful and perfect of all English public
schools the term ''publicn schools having
an entirely different application here
from that IN our country, the Rugby of
Hughes delicious 'Tom Brown" and
one instinctively seeks the odd. anti
quated and curious within these ancient
walls.
In the college bursary is an ancient vel
lum pedigree tracing the descent of King
henry v. from Adam, and the old col
Iege plate contains very fine specimen
OF loving cup' and curious and yery
large antique salt cellar, wilhelm the col
lege library are some Saxon charters. and
charters from the Conquest to the reign
OF Charles II. One of the curiosities of
the library is Raleigh's 'Briefe Descrip-
ton OF the Newe Foudde Lande of Vir-
glnia." Above the sacristy, at the north
end OF the chapel, is as quaint a NUM-
ment room as that made famous by Chat
ter en- at Bristol. The original window
shutters are incased in iron, and the
oaken iron bound chests still contain the
ancient deeds and charters of the college
Here also are the travelling cases for the
mitre of William of NVykeham, the worm
eaten lockers for the copses, and the Curl
Gus draws in which the title-deeds and
bulls were placed, all remaining as thew
were in the fourteenth century.
Perhaps the most grotesque carvings
are to be found in the inner or great
quadrangle above the windows. They
refer to the uses of the several apart
ments. On the hall and kitchen entrance
are the bagpipe and psaltry. Over the
kitchen window Excess is represented
by head vomiting. Opposite, as Fru-
gality, is bursar, with his iron-bound
money-chest. And over the masters
windows are the Pedagogue and the List
less Scholar. Some of the hugest fire
places to be found in England are still in
use in the rooms of "collagersn and
'commoners." The great hall is as odd
an old tumble of stone, carved oak and
colored glass as the ancient guild-hall of
Coventry; the crypt-like beer cellar is
still devoted to its old inspiring uses. and
Tagging" that relic of medieval college
day barbarism, still f1ourishes in this
venerable school.
There are nearly 500 boys at Winches-
ter College. l have seen them Sin hall -
at chapel, in cloisters, in "a hot'' in foot
ball, and in nearly all their various
moods and duties of everyday college
life; but the time when their forms, faces
and voices most thrill my old boys heart