Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1892-05-26
amid the grim loveliness Of this old
cnuptpv

Capt. Austin, In which we looked over the
beauties Of Roshervill Park at Graves.
end. where lofty cliffs of chalk, hundred
feet or more In height. wall the western
side. This is used for picnic and other
parties during the summer time and many
jolly party wanders beneath its shady
trees and amid its fragrant flowers. A
few days later my pleasant companion
sailed, much to my regret.
How much there is in this wonderful
city Of London that is interesting; spots
so full Of eventful history In one Of the
busiest parts of old London stands an old
church, more than 900 years old. There
are two narrow ways that enter the court
or small square in which 1t stands, and a
man might pass both a thousand times
without knowing that they existed. or that
there was an open space existing there.
This old church is the oldest in London,
and with two or three exceptions the
Oldest in England. The church is built of
stone and covered with thin coat Of
cement or plaster which has peeled Of in
many places. The church-yard consists of
few feet of smoke buried earth with a
few black gravestones,- s,-made black by
the SCOT and smoke Of ages-and few
small trees 1t is said that on this spot
there once stood pagan temple; no one
can tell how long ago. 1t is said that tha,
temple was destroyed to make room for a
| in AZ
was built by the Roman Emperor, Con-
stantine, who dedicated 1t to his wife
| Helena, who was a native Of Briton. The
name OF the church which stands here
now is called the church of St Helena.
| visited the church one day and was
shown over it and its many items Of inter
est by an old lady whose wrinkled old face
and aged motions were in perfect keeping
with the old church in which she spent
several hours OF every day on purpose to
show and explain the dieren, parts and
relics to visitors. The records Of the
church show that In 1910 the remains of
King Edmund, the MARTYR were brought
from Elmudsbury and deposited here for
time AT one time there was nunnery
attached to the church. but there is but
little of that left row, and the site whereon
the prory stood Is now occupied by the
Consnl-General Of the United States In
the church are many beautiful old monu-
ments. and some that can lay no claims to
beauty. | believe the Oldest tomb In the
~ IL No, nF
his wife, who were buried In the reign OF
Henry ". There is one of Sir John
Crosble and his wife, Agnes, l475, one Of
Hugh Pemherton, 1900. and many others
OF few years later dates. The most in
tere-tlng to me) is the tomb Of Sir
Francis Bancroft, 1928. This tomb could
be used for & small dwelling for a live
man, II he was willing To live in such an
ugly habitation. The present occupant
seems according 10 tradition TO have
been noted for his pure cussedness In
his younger years. and when his BODY was
being taken TO the church the bearers were
handled without gloves by the crowd, who
made IL lively for them and the coffin
whether TIE inmate was affected or not
cannot tell. His coffin had glass window
which Bancroft expected 10 open himself
from the inside In 100 years after he was
laid away in It. By his will he left q sum
Of money 70 keep a supply Of candles,
tnder, and flint handy in case he got up IN
the night. He also had two KEYS placed
near the coffin. handy to be got, one to
open the tomb and the other the church.
His will also provided that for 100 years.
at regular intervals. there should be bread
cheese and wine, with supply of cloth
ing, placed In the tomb. He Is now nearly
100 years overdue and has not yet been
heard from, so far as is known.
In the north wall there are several old
Roman bricks. which indicate that
Roman building stood here at one time
The church i. III feet long, 80 feet wide
and 3o feet high. with q belfry 60 feet
high.
Another day | visited the Guild Hall,
that renowned ulding in which the
monar:hs OF England and other countries
have been banqueted for ages The ban
quoting hall is majestic old room its
stone floor being carved into strange
devices, and inlaid with metal In another
large hall can be seen many wonderful
coins, vases, medals, images, ornaments
for the hair and person that have been
brought from India and other eastern
countries, Greece and Egypt, some OF
! those from the Greeks and Egyptians
reaching back 1900 b. C.
The medals that have been struck by the
different governments of the world a.
different periods to commemorate public
events and individual merit are an inter-
esting study, and the taste and wonderful
workmanship displayed IN the construc-
ton Of those small images and vases of
more than 1900 years ago are no less inter-
esting. In another room | looked over all
the different time keepers that have been
used for the las, 800 years in different
parts of the world. There is much more
pleasure Ia looking at those objects than
in writing of them, and the satisfaction
| between seeing them and reading this poor
description would be much greater yet
E. V. L.