In fact, a cathedral in its fresh estate seems to have been like a
pavilion of the sunset, all purple and gold; whereas now it more
resembles deepest and grayest twilight.
Afterwards, we were shown into the ancient refectory, now used as the
city grammar-school, and furnished with the usual desks and seats for the
boys. In one corner of this large room was the sort of pulpit or
elevated seat, with a broken staircase of stone ascending to it, where
one of the monks used to read to his brethren, while sitting at their
meals. The desks were cut and carved with the scholars' knives, just as
they used to be in the school-rooms where I was a scholar. Thence we
passed into the chapter-house, but, before that, we went through a small
room, in which Melville opened a cupboard, and discovered a dozen or two
of wine-bottles; but our guide told us that they were now empty, and
never were meant for jollity, having held only sacramental wine. In the
chapter-house, we saw the library, some of the volumes of which were
antique folios. There were two dusty and tattered banners hanging on the
wall, and the attendant promised to make us laugh by something that he
would tell us about them. The joke was that these two banners had been
in the battle of Bunker Hill; and our countrymen, he said, always
smiled on hearing this. He had discovered us to be Americans by the
notice we took of a mural tablet in the choir, to the memory of a
Lieutenant-Governor Clarke, of New York, who died in Chester before the
Revolution.
Pages:
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619