id Mrs. Pitt. "Well, under that same arch came the pilgrims as they
approached from London. Although the city-wall then boasted
twenty-one towers and six gates, the West Gate is the only remaining
bit. Here, at the inn which stood conveniently near the cathedral, the
pilgrims stayed, and in Mercery Lane they bought their
souvenirs,--probably rosaries or phials of Holy Water. At the further
end of the Lane stood the ancient rush-market. Rushes were then in
great demand, you recollect, for people used them to strew over their
floors."

One might stay on indefinitely in Canterbury, and still not discover
all its treasures and interesting nooks and corners. The streets are
narrow, crooked, and contain many very old houses. There is at
Canterbury a castle; one may see the ruins of St. John's Hospital, and
of St. Sepulchre's Nunnery, where Elizabeth Barton, the "Holy Maid of
Kent," once lived; the old gate of St. Augustine's Monastery still
stands, though it is now restored; by exploring, traces of the
city-wall may be found, and the weavers' houses which hang over the
little river offer a delightful view. Interest is endless in
Canterbury. But as it is impossible to see it all, especially in
limited time, the visitor usually seeks out the best known and most
famous places; and surely, after the great cathedral itself, ranks
St. Martin's Church.

A little way out of the town, and up against a sunny hillside, is this
tiny "Mother Church of England." Imbedded in the rough stone of the
square, Norman tower are the huge stems of giant vines. Altogether, a
more primitive, ancient appearing building cannot well be imagined.

"Well," remarked Betty impressively, "this is the very oldest place
we've been in yet. It makes me feel as Stonehenge did, somehow."

"Yes, that's true," assented Mrs. Pitt. "The two places do give you
similar sensations. It's simply that you feel the age. I've always
thought that if I were suddenly blindfolded, carried away, and set
down in St. Martin's Church at Canterbury, that I should know where I
was just from the atmosphere, which is so heavy with the weight of the
years."

It is claimed for St. Martin's that it is the most ancient church in
all England, a land filled with ancient churches. It is in the
vicinity of sixteen hundred years old, for Bede states that it was
built while the Romans were still in possession, and certain it is
that numerous Roman bricks may be seen to this day in the outer