Seven commissioners were appointed to the oversight of the fraternity, of whom Thomas Chaucer, the son of the poet, was one. It was about this time that they erected the beautiful cross which formerly stood in the market-place, and which Sir Edward Walker, in his Historical Discourses,' calls "the greatest ornament of the place, being a goodly piece for beauty and antiquity." Richard Symons, an officer in the army of Charles I., describes it as octagonal, and adorned with three rows of statues of kings, saints, and bishops. He was at Abingdon in May, 1644, soon after which the soldiers of Waller, on taking possession of the town, destroyed the cross. The more famous cross at Coventry is said to have been imitated from this. No relic is left of it, but there is an old representation of it painted on the east end of Christ's Hospital. To return to our "Brethren." In 1457 they appointed two priests, at a salary of 6l. 13s. 4d. each one of them was called the "rood priest," his duty being to pray for benefactors to the rood; and the other the "bridge priest," it being his duty to pray for the benefactors to the bridges and roads. At this time it was the custom of the fraternity "to give a very bountiful feast," providing plenty of victuals, twelve priests to sing a dirge, twelve minstrels to make the company merry, together with solemn processions, pageants, plays, May games, &c. But the feast was not quite given, for "those who sat at dinner paid one rate, and those that for want of room did stand, another." The guild was dissolved along with the other religious establishments in the reign of Henry VIII.; but Edward VI., at the request of Sir John Mason, a native of the town, and a great

benefactor to it, granted a new charter in 1553 to some of the principal inhabitants, incorporating them by the name of the governors of Christ's Hospital. There have been many changes in it since then, but it will suffice to mention its present state. In the old hospital there are fourteen poor persons maintained; and in a new building erected out of the hospital funds in 1718 eighteen persons are maintained, but their privileges are somewhat inferior to those on the old foundation. The old building is a curious brick and timber structure, with cloisters; and on the front of it are several rude paintings of figures and allegorical devices, with inscriptions enforcing the duty of alms-giving. Both these buildings are in St. Helen's churchyard: where also are two others devoted to the same purpose, in one of which, also rebuilt out of the funds of Christ's Hospital, six poor men and their wives are supported; and in the other, founded in 1707, by Mr. Twitty, who gave 17007. to build and endow an almshouse, three poor persons of both sexes are supported. In another part of the town is an ancient hospital, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, in which four men and their wives are maintained. The other buildings in Abingdon are the market-place and town-hall, and a rather handsome bridge over the Thames.

Abingdon has produced a few persons of eminence. Abbot, the speaker of the House of Commons, and Moore, the author of 'The Gamester,' are among the most celebrated of its natives of late years. It is to be regretted that no history of the town has been written. It would afford sufficient matter for a very interesting one, and would be a pleasant and praiseworthy employment for an in

habitant who is fortunate enough to possess the necessary leisure and information.

Our river flows onwards through cultivated meadows, but for some distance the banks are flat, and no object presents itself that calls for notice. Just before reaching Culham a range of low hills terminates by the river, and we see the tower of Sutton-Courtnay rising from among the trees, and presently the scattered roofs of the village; while on the higher ground, on the opposite side of the river, is seen the little rustic church of Culham. But there is nothing in these places that need detain us, nor in one or two other villages that we pass soon afterwards. The picturesque situation of Clifton church will not, however, pass unnoticed by the rambler. It stands on the edge of a cliff that rises up almost perpendicularly from the water, and from the road that leads down to the ferry at its base. The church is small, and quite new, having replaced one of much ruder appearance: the design is a very pretty one, and very suitable to the situation-a point seldom attended to in these new churches, and as seldom neglected in the old ones.

Between Clifton and Little Wittenham, some three or four miles, the fields on either side are undisturbed by any human habitation, except perhaps an outlying farm-house or two about the hamlet of Burcot. There occurs, however, many a pleasant secluded spot that will tempt the feet of the rambler to linger awhile. As we approach Wittenham its church is a prominent object, and on the other side that of Dorchester is even more so. Near Little Wittenham is one of those characteristic "bits" of river scenery that landscape painters

so delight to meet with, and to depict. It is called Day's Lock, and should not be overlooked. An island in the midst of the river is taken advantage of to form the lock, and is connected by rude bridges with the opposite banks. Beyond is the rustic church, with a few straggling roofs of the village, and these are backed by rich woods, which shut in the distance.

A mile below Day's Lock our river receives the Thame, from its confluence with which, according to the popular account, it takes the name of Thames. The Thame rises at Stewkley, in Buckinghamshire, through which county it runs for eighteen miles; it then enters Oxfordshire by the town of Thame, where it becomes navigable; in its after course, which is very winding, it passes by no place of importance till it reaches Dorchester, near which it falls into the Thames. Its entire length is about thirty-nine miles. Dorchester lies between the two rivers, but it is too important a place to notice in the present chapter.

CHAPTER VIII.

AN ANCIENT BISHOPRIC.

WHEN men travelled by coaches in England, such of them as passed between Oxford and London by the Henley road, would most likely stay to change horses at a little plain town about nine miles from the learned city. Then it was a place of small note, and the business transacted in it depended a good deal upon its situation in a main line of traffic. That source of profit is lost now, and the little town is quieter than ever; its shops duller, its inhabitants idler. The inns that looked so flourishing once, are now decayed or decaying. Its occu

pation is gone. A stray rambler would stroll listlessly through it, with the kind of regret that is always excited by looking on an evil that cannot be remedied. If, however, when he reached the bridge at the end of the street he turned aside to look at the church, he would feel that in the story of the town, insignificant as it had appeared to him, there must be something interesting. Beautiful as the village churches in the western counties often are, this one is so striking from its size and general appearance being so disproportioned to the place to which it belongs, that however apathetic our rambler might be, he could scarcely fail to inquire about it.

Dorchester was a place of importance in the earliest periods of English history. By the Britons