The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-12-09

The following article was written for The
Times by Judge A. NJ. Kelley, American
member of the International Court at
Alexandria. Egypt and formerly Mayor
of Richmond, Va. Judge Kelley has many
warm friends in this city, who VIII reao
hi; contribution with interest.
In the course of ranbleziast summer,
amid the cathedral towns of England,
found myself one soft, dreamy morning IN
August. at the little Village of St AL
ban, some thirty miles or so north OF
London. in the county Of Hertford which
every Englishman, for some. occult reason,
calls ..HSrbs'' as he calls also Hamp-
shire '.Hants" With the exception of
Winchester the Cathedral and Abbey OF
ST. Alban is the largest church in Eng
land. its extreme length being $50 fees,
While Winchester boasts 5o6;z5 but neither
its size or it's beauty nor even its archl-
tectural interest Qor save its great square
Norman tower it has little to boast OF
in that respecD drew me to the venerable
Abbey on the bank of the River Yer: but
its history.
suspect the diocese of my Lord Bish-
op of st. Alban is a small one, however
large his Cathedral, for of the thirty-lve
F5ishops of the established Church, he is,
with four exceptions, the most Doorly-paid
his salary being only sixteen thousand
dollars a year: but, on the other hand, his
;abOrs are divided with q very numerous
clergy. and he is Very near London (Whefe,
in fact. he lives. and that counts for
much in the life Of the professional Eng
lishman.
The eve rarely surveys a more restfIl
and attractive spectacle than a village in
the south OF England. where no factory
chimney blurs the arch;ng sky with its
smoky snakes; and as I walked through
.ile little town and then beyond through
SOFTLY unliulating fields. whose carpet
was the sreenest sward and whose furni-
ture clumps of great orSs and ems, under
which Hanoverians and Stuarts and Iuders
Yo-lzs and Lancasters and Norman,s and
Danes and Saxons had roamed or rested
| fully comprehended why "a peace in the
country is the most ardent and the most
universal of the longings Of the successful!
EpGiiShman-
The day before my visit I had been one
OF Tie thronss that followed down the alsles
Of Rrampton Oratory the remains OF the
great lawyer whose career as Lord Chiet
Justice of England was SO brilliant but
SO brief. and I understand why EPSON and
not London was the place of prediction
of Lord Russell of INillowen, and why, not
| in London, but in Epsom's modest ceme-
terry, he had marked his grave
QUESTION OF HISTORY.
Since the restoration of the Abbey
through ilES- MuiiiicGlltts VItei<oiu S1i Iii
thorpe a score of years ago, the hercest
controversy has ragged as to whether any
Of the architectural beauties OF tAlDan
are left and this alone would Sut1clently
excuse nay lack of enthusiasm on ina t
score. Gr:mthorpe will be known by those
! who took any interest in the eccleslasflcal
controversies within '.tne establishment,
| as the leader OF the Low Church or Evan
eeiical party: while to those who read Lon
! don papers he is known as the writer of
| the a!cst involved and ludicrously ulhl-
| telli.:hle English that findS&its way INTO
print But outstanding he gave quite
{, a fortune to the restorationSof the -sb-
( hey; and among his rewards is3ones winch
| it is difficult to see without anluse1nent.
| On entering the middle porch OF the Ao-
| bey one remarks four medallions IN stone,
on which were once displayed the tradl-
( tional symbols of the four EvanSelistS,
| but in the place allotted to st. Matthew
| formerly is now seen the austere race OF
| Glimthorpe!
If Bonaparte. who did nothing FOR Milan
/; Cathedral, could have his statue among
| the seven thousand that adorn that temple
why not honor the rector OF St Alpan
! with a similar recognition? But it must
! be admitted that reverence itself night pc
! excused "a smile on observing the assoc;a-
| -"Grimthorpe, Mark, Luke and John, .
The heavenly gift of humor is not a piant
I of universal growth.
| But that which to conner from a
new country. is almost unintellisiole is
the manner in witch building IKE lll.s
| is woven into the history of the sta NE
| and for that l cite something OF TIE
( story of st. Alban.
BNGLAND'S FIRST. MARTYR
I: In the first place, its name is t!sat " :
! England's first n1artyr-the st. stephen o. o.
/ the Church in England-and the event y
! perpetuated in a carving still visible SHOWS Tvs
ing the decapltation of the saint ana US, ,l
4 eyes of his executioner falling out, as tns
/ legend assures us they did. This martyr
dom occurred about so4, and was one o.