“I once read a book which an American wrote about his trip abroad,” related Mrs. Pitt. “It amused me very much! After visiting a really remarkable number of churches and important buildings which were undergoing reconstruction or strengthening, this gentleman ventured the belief that the authorities must have made a mistake in the date of his arrival, for everything seemed to point to the preparation of a splendid reception to him anywhere from a week to a month later. I feel that way to-day. The Winchester people certainly could not have expected us just yet. It’s a pity that we cannot see this grand cathedral at its best!”
The usual feeling of quiet awe came over the party upon entering the edifice, and this was here somehow increased by the vastness of the interior. Their footsteps echoed strangely on the stone floor, and looking up at the arches above her head, Betty began to walk about on tiptoe.
“The marriage of Queen Mary with Philip of Spain took place in this cathedral,” Mrs. Pitt said. “In Bishop Langton’s Chapel here, is an old chair said to have been used by the Queen at the ceremony. Notice the six wooden chests above that screen. They contain the bones of some of the old, old kings—William Rufus, Canute, Egbert, Ethelwolf, and others. Once upon a time, there was a very famous shrine here—that of St. Swithin. You remember the legend which tells how the body of that saint was delayed from being removed to the chapel already fitted to receive it, by forty days of rain. That’s why when we have nasty, rainy weather in England, we always blame St. Swithin.
“I’ll show you the tomb of the well-known authoress, Jane Austen, and that of Izaak Walton, who is buried in one of the chapels. The former lived her last days and died in this town, and it was in the little river Itchen which flows through Winchester, that Izaak Walton used to fish. They were both laid to rest here in the cathedral, near the scenes which they dearly loved.”
The environs of the cathedral are very pretty, and one of the most picturesque features is the old Deanery, where Charles II once lodged. Just outside the cathedral close is the modest little house which was Jane Austen’s home.
Winchester School was visited,—a very famous old institution which is connected with New College, Oxford, and was built by William of Wykeham in 1396,—and the vine-covered ruins of old Wolvesley Castle, which stand on the outskirts of the town, and near the river.
“Didn’t you say that this was where King Alfred had them write the ‘Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’?” Betty asked of Mrs. Pitt. “Will you please tell us what that was? I don’t seem to remember very well.”
“Well, dear, the ‘Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’ is the ‘first history of the English People,’ as some one has correctly said. Part of it was written by Alfred himself, and the rest was done by others, under his direction. It is simply a record of all important events which were written down as they took place. The ‘Chronicle’ grew and grew for about two hundred and fifty years, the last mention being of the accession to the throne of Henry II, in 1154. For many years it was kept here at its birthplace, but it has now been moved to the library of Corpus Christi College at Oxford. You see, therefore, that this important work really marked the start of the wonderful succession of literary productions which Englishmen have brought forth in these one thousand years.”
Quite at the other end of the town from Wolvesley Castle is the County Court, a fine old hall, which once upon a time formed part of a castle built by William the Conqueror. Mrs. Pitt had some difficulty in finding the caretaker who could admit them, and not until they were actually inside did the children understand why she was so very anxious that they should see it.
Many were the exclamations of delight, however, when the guide pointed to the wall at one end of the Norman room, and told them that the round, flat object hanging thereupon was “King Arthur’s Round Table.”