shermen and their wives. It is a charming house of rest, with its
gables and dormer windows and its general air of peace and repose. The
old men look very comfortable after battling for so many years with
the storms of the North Sea. Charles II granted to the hospital an
annuity of L160 for its support, which was paid out of the excise on
beer, but when the duty was repealed the annuity naturally ceased.

The old hospital at King's Lynn was destroyed during the siege, as
this quaint inscription tells:--

THIS HOSPITAL WAS
BURNT DOWN AT LIN
SEGE AND REBULT
1649 NATH MAXEY
MAYOR AND EDW
ROBINSON ALDMAN
TREASURER PRO TEM
P.R.O.

Norwich had several important hospitals. Outside the Magdalen gates
stood the Magdalen Hospital, founded by Bishop Herbert, the first
bishop. It was a house for lepers, and some portions of the Norman
chapel still exist in a farm-building by the roadside. The far-famed
St. Giles's Hospital in Bishopsgate Street is an ancient foundation,
erected by Bishop Walter Suffield in 1249 for poor chaplains and other
poor persons. It nearly vanished at the Reformation era, like so many
other kindred institutions, but Henry VIII and Edward VI granted it a
new charter. The poor clergy were, however, left out in the cold, and
the benefits were confined to secular folk. For the accommodation of
its inmates the chancel of the church was divided by a floor into an
upper and a lower storey, and this arrangement still exists, and you
can still admire the picturesque ivy-clad tower, the wards with cosy
ingle-nooks at either end and cubicles down the middle, the roof
decorated with eagles, deemed to be the cognizance of Queen Anne of
Bohemia, wife of Richard II, the quaint little cloister, and above
all, the excellent management of this grand institution, the "Old
Man's Hospital," as it is called, which provides for the necessities
of 150 old folk, whose wants are cared for by a master and twelve
nurses.

[Illustration: Inscription on the Hospital, King's Lynn]

Let us travel far and visit another charming almshouse, Abbot's
Hospital, at Guildford, which is an architectural gem and worthy of
the closest inspection. It was founded by Archbishop Abbot in 1619,
and is a noble building of mellowed brick with finely carved oak
doors, graceful chimneys with their curious "crow-rests," noble
staircases, interesting portraits, and rare books, amongst which is a
Vinega