The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-25
N AMERICAN in EUROPE.
observations Upon the Life and Politics
of Twenty-Five Years Ago.
BIZ THE LATE
LANES SHEP ERD PIKE.
XIV.

r~<>s Of FTP IN Ehtthhe IN tho chnnner
of 1858.
n, our way up to London from Folkestone
- stopped at the ancient town OF Canterbury,
,ha capital Of tho old county OF Kent.
"a A ,Isit to the cathedral there discloses to the
-.v Of the traveller one Of those curious infe-
u.,,ss which astonish everybody except their
a,,hors In the precise part OF the church
-hore II s alleged that Thomas 4 Beckett was
,uisd in the year ITO. which to the faith
Al IA ballowed by the circumstances. the
s,osent Dean and Chapter have erected a
,.blst ito the memory Of Jesse White. Wood
,.svs " the aforesaid Jesse having faithfully
.unplIed tho edifco with fuel during his day
and generation
The English cathedrals. OF which this OF
c.nterbury may be considered the chief. when
.ompared with the well-furnished oathedrals
niths Low Countries. like that Of St. jacques
IN Antwerp and st. Bavon In Client for OK
annie, are like the play OF Hamlet" with the
mart OF Hamlet omitted.
without saints or virgins or angels and the
r.raphernalia OF gorgeously dressed priests.
thew seem destitute Of their natural aocesso.
,ies. One feels that the holy water and the
inccnse and the devotees who believe In their
niraeulous virtues are necessary parts OF q
Genuine cathedral
Tho bones OF the great who rest In Westmin-
stsr Abbey make one forget these things in
esntem plating that exceptional edince. Tho
Canterbury Cathedral is Of immense length.
hang over 500 feet, but its breadth Is so mar
roved as to give one the idea Of a vast hall.
The oldest memorials of Christian history in
Britain are here. 1t was on this spot where the
papal messenger to the British brethren. st.
Augustine. came about the year 800. and where
he converted and baptized King Ethelbert.
Here too. Is the church Of St Martin. in
which tradition reports him to have been bap-
tied.
In this famed church Is the tomb OF his
Queen. Bertha. who had previously to her es-
pousals while yet French Princess, embraced
the Christian faith.
That its walls are Of Roman origin is seen by
The method In which are intermixed the Roman
bricks with the stone Of which they are mainly
composed. The chancel or choir Of the church
but fourteen feet wide and less than forty feet
long with windows but a foot wide. The re-
naming portion Is only twenty-five feet wide
and about fifty or sixty feet in length.
In front are two yew trees. bearing strong
resemblance to our savin. and having some
what the appearance Of a thrifty cedar. one Of
which is 400 and the other 800 years old.
They look as fresh and fiourlshng as II they
we're no more than twenty or thirty.
The old monastery Of st Augustine. near by.
was the most extensive In Britain at the time
Henry Will laid his saorilegious hand upon
everything belonging to the Church OF Rome
In England.
few years ago. shocking to relate. some Of
its buildings were used as q tavern.
They afterwsrd went into chancery and were
sold at auction to the well-known Mr.. Beres-
ford Hope. Chiefly By his aid large portion
has been restored In the ancient style Of archi-
lecture. and the buildings have been con-
vsrted Into missionary college for the benefit
Of the heathen. This college has thirty or
torty students and has already sent. forth
many Their Immortality is secured BY having
their names and destination inscribed on the
open walls OF tho cloister. Five Of those SELF
denying youths are seen to have gone to
fredericton. In New Brunswick. and three to
Quebec. May their sacrifices be rewarded!
The stone ON which Thomas d Beckett was
murdered has been chiselled out and carried
10 Rome.
The shrine which held his remains and
which for centuries was thronged by pilgrims.
q tho deeply worn diagonal track on tho
stone steps attests. was torn away by Henry
VIII. and the dust Of the martyr scattered to
the winds.
Ono inssnsibly acquires a great respect for
Henry VIII. as he learns to appreciate the
holiness he displayed in graphing success
fully with tho mighty power OF the PoDes.
Here also 10 the room In which Henry H.
barred his back to be scourgad by the monks
Of this cathedral because OF the murder OF \
Beckett. though heretics suspect they thrashed
tho scared monarch but lightly
The vast distance between this humiliating
action and the attitude Of Henry Will toward
the power which exacted that penance is most
sensibly felt at this cathedral. where stands
the demolished shrine OF q Beckett In the
room where that penance was performed.
The tomb Of Henry ~. and his wife is in this
cathedral. and 80 is that OF Edward the Black
Prince with the Rauntlets he wore at Crecy.
Here too. may be witnessed the unusual spec
tcle, 30 gratifying In our day OF tho tomb OF a
woman with husband on each side-one the
Duke Of Somerset. and the other the Duke Of
Clarence-both heirs to Henry Nv.
We could do no less than visit the spot cele-
bratsd by Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales"
In Mercery lane: and We also paid our re-
sDects to the old hospital Of st. Augustine. on
the main street OF the town.
"A few steps down Canterbury lane took us
sothe Friends Meeting House. where we sat
some time. celebrating the pluck OF the eight
or nine Quakers who assemble here twice q
week for their devotions. Their preacher 10 q
Canterbury grocer
hereabout is to be seen some Of the pic
turesgue landscape beauty Of English scenery.
Dut II Is chalk country mainly. and thus not
favorable to grazing; and the rural charm
loses by this circumstance,
On the towers Of the old. high city walls.
Which were built by Richard CGur de Lion.
are growing great trees. and the walls OF q |
castle. which was built in the time OF the Con- |
auetor' sun remain. They gave an air of |
hhed antiquity to the town. though nothing
eise IL equal In this respect to the little cburch
vtot Martin and tho old walls of the monas.
1y' which at various points marx the exren.
sve boundaries Of that ancient establishment
twas hero that the Fltz Herndons Of the
continent established themselves at a re.
mote period In the past some OF whose do |
s0ehdants still survive. under the corrupted
name OF fessenden- The American family of
fessendens sprung from this ancient stock.
from Canterbury We came to Chatham. near
inc Thames. another of the great naval de-
pots OF ENGLAND, in less than an hour. We
we're rowed down the river in front OF the
Government works by suffering boatman,
from whom We found difficulty in obtaining