The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-12-12

shopman came forward inquiring what
I wanted. As had no desire for any Of
the balls of string, sealing wax. ean-
dies or pencils with which the little
place was Choked. retreated, and fell
again to worshipping from afar out in
the little cobbled street.
But time pressed, and hid me away
to the seething Strand, but l am going
down there again upon the first Oppor-
tunity and pry about to my hearts con-
tent, till / see every room In the little
place.
IN. CANTERBURY.
I had the good fortune to be engaged
for a concert in the city of Canterbury
not long since, and enjoyed the fleet
ing glimpse had of that historical old
place immensely. Canterbury. you
know, dates back to before the Roman
occupation of England, and veritably
teens with quaint old landmarks. One
of the city gates, the west gate. Is,
they tell me, the finest existing gate
in the United Kingdom. 1t was built
in the trouhlous times Of the Peasants
war, about 1880. Is yet in excellent
preservation. and still stands, an i'm
pressive memorial of the times of old.
There are also several buildings here,
which are shown to the traveller as the
hostelries where the pilgrims to Can
terbury, who thrOnged here In the mid
die ages to pay their respects to the
shrine Of Thomas a Beckett, used to
sleep and be provided for.
Canterbury also rejoices in the pos
session of some very ancient thorough
fares, Butchery Lane and Nursery
lane among them. Both of these
streets still retain much of the busi-
ness from which they originally de-
rived their names Nursery Lane is
undoubtedly one of the most pictur-
esque streets in England. 1t happily
offends all modern laws of street archi-
lecture: it is narrow: 1t Is delightfully."-
crooked, and the houses project al
most to the proverbial proximity at
which we are told they were construct
ed in old days, when it was possible
to shake hands from the upper win
dows across the street. The occupants.
my kindly guide informed me. are fully
aware of the reputation they have to
maintain. and at times of festival COM
bine with equal taste and public spirit
to decorate their old-fashiOned dwell
ingsA in the good old fashioned way"
IN THE CATHEDRAL.
OF course the great cathedral Is the
objective point in Canterbury, and,
though you may not think it of me, /
rose betimes on the morning after the
concert, where l had sung, and did"
it all under the chaperonage of a dear
old gentleman who knows every stone
in its wonderful old pile, before l
caught the train up to town again.
This delightful guide of mine is no less
parsonage than the librarian of the
cathedral, which possesses magnifi-
of 40 nlI ph
and is also the distinguished primo
basso of the cathedral choir, one of the
finest bodies of its kind in the king
dom. in which this gentleman has Oc-
cupied an honored position for over
fifty years.
| cannot tell ut length all the wond-
rous beauties of this fine old place; let
it suffice to say that l. was shown over
it most thoroughly and took an appre-
ciative look at the interesting points
of the most noticeable parts. The
tomb of the late archbishop was there
in the wane, withered flowers and
wreaths still upon it, the one from her
majesty still very beautiful. The
beautiful choir; the old and decaying
looking tomb of Edward the Black
Prince: the shrine of A Beckett; the
musty underground crypt and the
monuments therein. all linger in my
memory in all their old, strong beauty;
but detailed description would be SIM
ply impossible. in this space.
There was shown to me, just before
descending with the crypt, small,
square hole in the stone floor, filled in
with another exactly fitting stone. or
concrete. This is in part called the
Martyrdom. and my guide pointed it
out as the exact place where tradi-
tion SAYS that Thomas a'Becket had
been killed. long ago. by one of the
knights His sanity blood is said to
have stained the floor there where he
fell, with an ineradicable stain, and
the piece on which it lay was chiseled
opt and sent to the Vatican. the con-
crete put here in its place. The treas
ury was another interesting part Of the