blow with a dagger, but the truer story seems to be
that, enraged by a haughty answer from the young prince, he struck him
in the face with his gauntlet, which the bystanders accepted as a signal
for the murder. Two days afterwards a number of the chief captives were
executed.

WORCESTER.

[Illustration: WORCESTER CATHEDRAL, FROM THE SEVERN.]

[Illustration: THE CHOIR OF WORCESTER CATHEDRAL.]

Still ascending the valley of the Severn, we come to Worcester, another
of the military stations of the Romans, established to hold this rich,
fertile, and coveted region. Its cathedral, and, in fact, much of the
town, stand upon an elevated ridge, with the river flowing at the base.
To this day Worcester retains the plan of the original Roman camp, but
it does not seem to have made at that time much mark in history. The
Britons captured it, and named the place Wigoma Ceaster, and it was
afterwards incorporated into Mercia. In the eleventh century a castle
was built near the Severn, and the earlier kings of England were
frequently its residents. King John had great veneration for St.
Wulstan, the founder of Worcester Cathedral, and he was laid to rest
beside that saint's shrine. Worcester suffered the usual penalties of
the towns in the Severn Valley: it was destroyed by the Danes and burned
by Hardicanute, and in the twelfth century town, castle, and cathedral
were all consumed by a fire supposed to be caused by the Welsh. It was
partially burned three times subsequently in that century, and in Henry
III.'s reign Simon de Montfort and his son were defeated and slain on
the neighboring hills. The final conflagration was caused by Owen
Glendower in 1401, after which quieter times came until the Civil War.
Worcester was zealous for King Charles, and suffered from two sieges,
being the last city that held out for the royal cause. It was the scene
of Charles II.'s first and unsuccessful effort to regain the English
crown. He had been acknowledged and crowned by the Scots, and attempted
the invasion of England. His army marched down through the western
counties, while Cromwell kept between him and London. He reached
Worcester, when Cromwell determined to attack him, and marched the
Parliamentary army to the outskirts of the city, encamping on Red Hill,
where he intrenched. Sending part of his troops across the Severn, on
September 3, 1651, Cromwell attacked Worcester on both sides, leading
the van of the main body in person. You