s holy stone poet to
the glory of God. The pierced tympanum has a quatrefoil for the four
cardinal virtues, or a trefoil for faith, hope, and charity. Compared
with the lovely Angel Choir which flowered seventy years later, under
our great King Edward, it may look all unpractised, austere; but Hugh
built with sweet care, and sense, and honesty, never rioting in the
disordered emotion of lovely form which owed no obedience to the spirit,
and which expressed with great elaboration--almost nothing. He may have
valued the work of the intellect too exclusively, but surely it cannot
be valued too highly? The work is done as well where it does not as
where it does show.

The bishop's hall, which he began, could not have been much more than
sketched and founded. It was carried on by one of his successors, Hugh
de Wells (1209-1235), though one would like to believe that it was in
this great hall that he entertained women, godly matrons, and widows,
who sat by his side at dinner, to the wonder of monkish brethren. He
would lay his clean hands upon their heads and bless them, sometimes
even gently embrace them, and bid them follow the steps of holy women
of old. Indeed he had quite got over the morbid terror he once felt for
these guardians of the Divine humanity, for he used often to say to
them, "Almighty God has deserved indeed to be loved by the feminine sex.
He was not squeamish of being born of a woman. Yea, and he has granted
hereby a magnificent and right worthy privilege to all women folk. For
when it is not allowed to man to be or to be named the Father of God,
yet this has been bestowed upon the woman to be the parent of God." The
traces of his work at the other manor houses are wiped out by time.
There is nothing at Stow; Buckden was built later; and the other
footprints of this building saint are lost upon the sands of time.

FOOTNOTES:

{20} This building itself is of an earlier date.

{21} Of the earth.

{22} _I.e._, Saints and Lances.

{23} Side chapels.

{24} Or of SS. Dennys and Guthlac it may be.

{25} It is a pity in that case that the bishop lies under the old
"dean's eye," and _vice versa_.

CHAPTER IX

UNDER KING JOHN

When King Richard died, John, with a handful of followers, gave his
host, Arthur of Brittany, the slip, and hurried off to Chinon, in
Touraine. Hence he sent a humble message that the Bishop of Lincoln
would deign to visit him. The reason was obvious. His fate hung in