Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1905-12-21
OLD BANBURY TOWN
,T HAS SEEN MANY STIRRING EVENTS
lfl ENGLISH HISTORY.

The Celebrated Place Is, IIOwevcr,
More Famous For Itx Rhymes und
.aE:iirA of Ss.,ic.
Would yoa not think, ii YOU found
TIE following lines,
i.S TsOi!I. co CaED IPi
Sec al srcve crc,l wcisuGc vahl
lAh seas otrv:l nos llcb.inas
rea,i.i fic!l nc; :,n!res iohycy
s;n:5cd i!..d ;.e ni.lc oso.s .iorcy
rub nabo. T.; ioai. c;,e1 IL.
,.s;lt you lad discovered some ,;,.;liii !.
olsl Huilic llly::ie or Il verse in some
language SO ancient that it would take
an antiquarian to I.ecillher &c:
That WAS exactly what an entllHs;ls-
Tic band of ;!.'cl!aeologists Old think one
time. so The story goes. Wien they
found thi.; i.s.... ,,.joM cut in the corner
stone of IL le.s old lGilail.g in Ban
bur. England. These sent.cmcli We're
on i,c lockout for just .;,ch leaint ol,,
bit. aud No;l c.tll imagine how c:.citcsl
the, were ovcs this wilcil they ..is,cov-
crc.i it.
%. his is certainly prehistoric Nelsh,S'
saii thc.' ani took ii st.;iishtway to
The president OF the archaeological So
cicti' TO which tley belonged. He rub
bed his hands softly and smiled. This
discovery l.; something quite worth
While" lie said. And all these wise
gentlemen felt very virtuous as they
y,t.,,l ~ 1nI l,i,. "A N
what story or what great secret tho
queer old words would unfold.
Eut they puzzled in vain. They could
not read it. 50 then they tclcgraphcd
to IL widely known professor of dead
languages, asking him To translate it
70. them.
Very sooi the return message arrived,
AMI all clustered around the president
to hear the telegram.
"nend backward" it suggested, land
when it is dac!phcrcd ii will he found
to lir Il we'll known rhyme"
So il is, as you SEQ for yourselves.
and these wise gentlemen found that Il
fine hoax had been played upon them.
Gou ;iii know how it goes:
Ride coclll:orsc TO BanbuYy.- Cross
TO sec Il fine lady upon /. gray horse:
Rings ON her fingers and bells on her toes.
She shall have music wherever s,le goes.
Eallbury is best known the English
speaking wori over by this nursery
rhyme, although. rs Il matter OF fact.
this famous little town is in tlr. heart
of II country that has sccn mary STIR
ring times In English history 1t is in
tOXfordshirc. scvciity-scvcn miles from
London.
One of the first conflicts known to
have taken place there was that In 55G
between Cymric, King of the West
SaXons. and the Rrifons. Later, dur
ing the wars of the roses 1442-44).
it was besicgctl, and again 1n 1914 and
1G4G. during the struggle l,e,wcen the
parliamentary troops aDl the royal
arms. 1t was here that tlR. leaders OF
Cromwcl!'s forces discuss ed and per-
fcctcd many OF their plans, and it was
here that some of the licrt est conflicts
Ncru Wagcd
Ratt.eiieldS are shown i'm many
places near by. and every village for
El;lcs around can display something
Of historical interest either In Roman
relics or .na:nciltos of the G vii wars.
The hun,lrc,is OF drama'ic or tragic
stories that arc told by t.e people
wol.d fill rlaliy volumes
Mother Gonse has, hyu.csser, been
quite. n; valuable as hi. tory in keep
iil., green the name of HsalEalry, and
To q student OF the ilnlnn.lt nursery
rhymes it is Interesting To .,ba.:yc how
Ei;i!lH of them are founded on fact, re
cord quaint customs or -lent ion real
places or people. even th,a yh not al)so-
lutcly accurate historically.
The procession of the tnfA lady of
Tie rings and bells mentioned in the
rhyme takes place each year Jill Ban
bury with considerable ceren Dny. The
lady is usually mounted on q. white
horse, however.
The present cross, which stnnus at
the top Of High street. in .. wide open
space at the junction of four cross
roads, Is an ornate affair, With Il steeple
point, erected in 1859 nesr the site of
tAHs olu IodilDuiS SEOSso. II cClllIlcIu-
CRATES the marriage Of the late En-
peror Frederick Ill of Germany to the
princess royal Of Engla al OH jan. %,
1853. and Is decorated with fine arms
of Banbury. those of the German EN-
peror, of Queen Victoria and OF several
other sovereigns, carls. kn lghts, ldsh-
ops and Wears.
One more Thing nakcs Es,nbury ia
nous, and that is its cakes. which are
known throughout tn. king ..om. They
are said to have been iM reduced in
1903. Banbury cakes are undeniably
delicious tidbits OF pastry. They must
be eaten when quite fresh, preferably
at Hanbury town itself. Ikey are like
extremely rich turnovers, Il led With Il
mince Of fruits, which IN .t1 delectably
down ones throat and r;u ,ses Il pro
nounccd sensation Of de- Ore for more.
There is a rivalry in the bal1eshops
as to which is the really true. origina
one. Who knows? Perl APPS the cakes
are, after ALL the real Qr teAl of Hearts
Millicent Olmstetl il. st. Nicho
las.
White Say ds.
The sands at Black pool. in I.anca
shire, are said to be the VIII test in the
British isles From :aeriza nee to the
Lands End, OH the coast I'd Cornwall