important objects and circumstances which give a peculiar interest to the city of Canterbury. This interest cannot be adequately called forth by any description, and must be very imperfectly excited during a hasty visit. In traversing the streets of Canterbury, we tread ground which has probably been deemed holy and famous since religion, in any form, first set up her temples in our island, or shed a mystic sanctity over hill and grove. There is reason to believe that the first Christian churches were usually, if not always, planted on those sites which superstition had previously consecrated in the hearts of the people. Besides, it can hardly be doubted that Canterbury was a Roman station; and if so, it was most likely a British town before the arrival of the Romans. The position of the place would point it out for a settlement on the first occupation of the country,-situated, especially, as it was, in the district that was probably first seized upon and peopled. The barbarian rites of Druidism, shadowing them with gloom and fear, may therefore have first given distinction to the spots on which now rise the Cathedral and the old Church of St. Martin, monuments of the religion of purity, and peace, and hope. But if the vision of these primitive times is dim and uncertain, there was at least a long subsequent period during which Canterbury stood in celebrity and glory among the foremost of the cities of the earth. If we are, therefore, to take a full view of what Canterbury has been, we must carry our contemplation back over not only her three last centuries of comparative obscurity and decay, but her longer preceding period of renown and splendour. HASTINGS. AMONG the watering places of England, Hastings holds a distinguished rank-a position it well mèrits, and will doubtless long maintain. It has many claims to general popularity. The situation is alike healthy and agreeable. It has a glorious sea view. The beach is well adapted for bathing. In the immediate vicinity -within the reach of almost the feeblest invalid-ar many delightful walks; while for the robust pedestrian, or those who prefer riding, there is, within a semicircle of some eight or ten miles radius, a large range of beautiful and interesting localities. Besides these sanatory and picturesque advantages, which render it so generally grateful, there will be found both in itself and its neighbourhood much of especial interest to the naturalist and the antiquary. And then, who but recollects, at the mere mention of its name, that the whole region round about is associated with events that turned the entire current of English history? their leader), they constructed forts, and ravaged all the coast to the westward of the country." Hastings may be well content to owe its name to the most famous of the Sea Kings, and we will not seek further for its source. But it is pretty certain that the town itself is of an earlier date than his invasion; for in 924 it was of sufficient importance to have a mint. Coins still exist of the reign of Athelstane which bear the mint-mark, Hastings,' inscribed upon them. The town received its first charter from the hands of Edward the Confessor; and it appears probable that it was then made one of the Cinque Ports. The other four ports were Sandwich, Dover, Hythe, and Romney. But it was to the Conqueror and his successors that Hastings and the Cinque Ports owed their important privileges. William saw the need of maintaining this part of the coast in an efficient state of defence, and having the various towns and ports under the immediate control of his government. For this purpose he sepa rated the Cinque Ports from the jurisdiction of the civil and military authorities of the counties to which they appertained, and placed them under the special rule of a warden, who was invested with the supreme power within their limits. The internal management of each town he entrusted to jurats and barons, answering, perhaps, pretty nearly to the freemen and aldermen of the towns that retained their Saxon constitution. To the freemen of these ports were granted, as we have said, especial privileges. These privileges were not confined to the good towns, but were of a sufficiently excursive nature to lead the haughty mariners, in the assertion of them, into frequent disputes with the citi zens of London and the townsmen of Great Yarmouth. It does not fall within our province to detail these privileges; and it may suffice, to explain how it hap Hastings has in its time undergone many mutations. At an early period it was an important place of commerce and maritime strength. Ranking as one of the chief of the Cinque Ports, on which the English monarch was accustomed mainly to depend for his naval armament, it had a large population, and boasted of many proud privileges. From this palmy state it slowly sunk, owing to the influence of physical as well as commercial changes, into the condition of a second-rate fishing-town. Then, as the practice of resorting annually to the sea-coast, for health or pleasure, became general, it as gradually emerged from its obscurity; its bounds stretched out on every side; it became the favoured retreat of rank and wealth, and grew to be perhaps the most fashionable as well as one of the largest of the watering-places on the southern coast. Now, those who are disposed to grumble-or, what is the same thing, those who pride themselves on their gentility-pened that the portsmen were brought into contact perceive symptoms of a new change in the character of their town. The railway has brought it within the reach of a larger class, and it seems as though there is danger that it may lose its 'select' and genteel character, and fall to be "no better than Margate"-which may the Fates forbid! Neither the antiquity of the town of Hastings, nor the origin of its name, is very clearly ascertained. Some of our older writers, content to take the readiest etymology that presented itself without a very critical inquiry into its probability, assert that the name was given to it because of the haste with which the Norman William, after his famous landing, set about the construction of a wooden fortress on the heights above. Other equally plausible suggestions may pass unnoticed. The general opinion is that which Dallaway gives in his Western Sussex.' "In 893 the Danes, in two hundred and fifty ships, commanded by the pirate Hasting, landed at the mouth of the river Rother, near Romney Marsh, and immediately possessed themselves of Apuldore, where, and at Hastings (so called from with the inhabitants of the above-named places, to well as a king to be crowned, and consequently two canopies are employed, Hastings, as the chief of the ports, claims one of them as its own. The pulpit-cloth of All Saints church, "of a rich scarlet colour, fringed and lettered with yellow silk," was a part of the canopy used at the coronation of Queen Anne. The pulpit cloth of St. Clement's church, "of flowered silver tissue," was in like manner a part of the canopy carried over the head of the first George, but it has of late been removed as "too showy." The last coronation at which the Cinque Port barons assisted, was that of George the Fourth. The summons by which they were called to their post states that "of all the ports there must come thirty-two barons, all in one clothing;" it may amuse some of our readers to see how they were tricked out on their last appearance in public. Their dress consisted of a vest of scarlet satin, trunk hose of blue satin slashed with scarlet, silk stockings of a dead red, shoes of white kid, with scarlet rosettes, a surtout of garter-blue satin, and a Spanish hat and feather. "Altogether they presented," says one of the guide-books, "a singularly unique appearance". which we can easily believe. The principal service' which the Ports rendered to the crown was one of the highest importance. Till the reign of Henry VII. there was no permanent naval force in England. The shipping required were furnished by the Cinque Ports, who were bound to provide the king, at their own cost, with fifty-seven ships, fully manned and equipped for service, and to maintain them for fifteen days. If required for a longer period they were to be kept at the expense of the king. Hastings was originally required to furnish twenty-one out of the fifty-seven ships. As the town declined, the number was reduced. The last time the Ports were called upon to provide a navy, which was in the reign of Charles II., Hastings furnished only five ships. The Cinque Ports marine often did the country noble service. It is curious to mark the change in these famous Ports now. Not only have Parliamentary and Municipal Reform Bills stript them of the privileges that lingered on after the decay of their trade and ancient importance, but the sea itself has interfered to alter their very character. Mr. Holloway, in his excellent 'History of the Town and Port of Rye'-(which town, with Winchelsea, was added to the Cinque Ports before the time of Henry III.) has given a striking notice of these changes. The passage, though referring to a wide district, is worth quoting, as illustrative of the altered condition of this part of the coast: Sandwich, the most eastern of the Cinque Ports, which in ancient times possessed a good and capacious harbour, now has its commerce restricted to such only as can be carried on by means of vessels of very small burden. Dover still has a harbour, but which is incapable of admitting any ship of war; and when the south-west gales come on, in the winter season, so great a bar of beach is thrown up at its mouth, that even vessels of the smallest dimensions cannot run in. West Hythe, the original Cinque-port, is now two or three miles inland; while its successor, the modern Hythe, though on the coast, has no harbour. Romney, once the queen of the ports, is now upwards of a mile from the sea, without a single creek or inlet to connect her with it. Old Winchelsea owes her destruction to the influx of the sea; while New Winchelsea dates her decay from the time of reflux. Rye, in whose harbour, in the reign of Charles II., a sixty-four gun ship could ride in safety, will now admit no vessel of more than two hundred tons burden. Hastings lies on the main, but has no harbour; and no vessel ever lies ashore on her beach, for the purpose of delivering her cargo, but runs the risk of being wrecked should a gale of wind unluckily come on while she is there. Of this danger, every year gives many unhappy proofs. Such is the present state of the once flourishing harbours of the Cinque Ports and ancient towns; and two hundred years have now elapsed since the barons were last called upon to perform their service of shipping, and nearly the same length of time since they sent their bailiffs to Yarmouth, and since their fishermen steered their boats to the shores of Norfolk." The town of Hastings bears few marks of its antiquity. It lies for the most part in a hollow, snugly sheltered by good sized hills on all sides, except the south, in which direction it is open to the sea. The original town is believed to have extended some distance to the south of the present one, its site being now partly covered by the waves. Very few of the houses in the present town appear to be old, but there has, for the last quarter of a century, been a continual effort to render every part of the town, except the quarters inhabited by the poor, as modern-looking and smart as possible, and any traces of antiquity are, therefore, scarcely to be expected. The castle is the chief relic of its ancient state. It stands on the brow of the lofty West-Hill, beneath which Pelham Crescent and other handsome rows of houses have been of late years erected. From a distance, especially on approaching Hastings from St. Leonards, and from the sea, the fragments of the old castle have a picturesque appearance; but close at hand there is little about them that is either picturesque or pleasing. The walls occupy a considerable space, but they are in a most dilapidated condition. The towers and keep have crumbled into a few grim and shapeless fragments. Of the chapel somewhat more remains, but in a most ruinous state. The arch, that presents so different an appearance to all else about it, is of recent manufacture, or as the guide-books oddly call it-restoration. The area enclosed by the walls is " very tastefully laid out" in "lawns and flower-borders," and "seats and bowers" are provided for visitors. "Admittance may be gained at any time, except on Sundays, to see the ruins, by payment of threepence; or to subscribers, at sixpence per week, the gate is always open." The ruins are the property of the Earl of Chichester. The ruins themselves, as we have said, are seen to most advantage at a distance, but there are some charming prospects obtainable from the walls and terraces over the town, the surrounding country, and across the ocean. Hastings Castle has witnessed no very remarkable events, and no battles or sieges are recorded as having occurred in connexion with it. A castle was erected here by the Conqueror, and it may have formed a part of the present edifice; but the greater part of what remains is of later date. William Rufus was detained in Hastings Castle for a month by adverse winds, which prevented him from embarking for Normandy. It is recorded that it was from Hastings Castle that John issued the proclamation which for the first time claimed for England the sovereignty of the seas. The churches of St. Clement's and All Saints are the only other architectural relics left of the ancient town: the ruins of a third church, St. Andrew's, were standing a few years since. Of the priory of Hastings not a fragment remains: its site alone is indicated in the names of the Priory Farm and Ground, at a little distance west of the town. St. Clement's church, which stands in the High-street, is rather a handsome structure, though of somewhat discordant styles. It appears to have been begun to be built in the early part of the fourteenth century, and enlarged and altered at various times till the close of the fifteenth; to say nothing of modern reparations. "The ceiling is painted to represent the heavenly regions, and separated from it, at each corner, are the figures of Faith, Hope, Charity, and Fortitude"-a decoration that we may hope will soon follow "the flowered silver tissue" pulpit-cloth, that was some time since removed as not quite a suitable ornament to the venerable pile. There are two or three monumental brasses in the church, but they are of no particular value. Two cannon-balls are fixed on the tower of this church, which were fired into the town by the Dutch and French fleets in 1728. One of the balls struck the church-tower, near the spot where they are now fixed as a memorial. All Saints' church stands in a happier situation than that of St. Clement's, and is a finer and more interesting building. It was erected in the early part of the fourteenth century, and has some good architectural features, and will well reward a careful inspection. Like too many of our churches, however, it has suffered considerably from repairs conducted in a grudging spirit. From the old London road, the church, as it is seen through the avenue of trees that adds so much of beauty to this entrance into the town, has a very picturesque appearance. The churchyard, which slopes up the hill behind the church, affords some pleasing prospects. Having thus looked at all that is ancient in Hastings we will now glance over its present condition. The town itself, as has been said, is mostly in a hollow sheltered on all sides, but the south, by surrounding hills. The older streets, that lie pretty close under the hills and stretch up towards the London road, are narrow and inconvenient. They are mostly occupied as shops, but new ranges of smart and commodious dwelling-houses have been built on every hand. The adjacent town of St. Leonards, that sprung up some eighteen years ago, about a mile and a half westward of Hastings has already become united to the old town by the stretching out of rows of handsome residences towards it, and may now fairly be considered as only its 'west end.' For many years the visitors to Hastings had to submit to some inconveniences, but now it perhaps yields to no watering place in the comforts and luxuries it affords. There are hotels of the first style for those who desire them, lodging houses of every class, and furnished residences fit for lords or dukes. Or if Hastings be at all deficient in stylishness or the company too general, St. Leonards will supply the requirements of the most fastidious and exclusive. Hastings has its 'spheres' and its 'gentilities'—but St. Leonards is the acme of stiffness and quiet. The very atmosphere smells of rose-water. The livery-servants themselves are several shades more · distingué' than those of Hastings. The gentility is infectious. The men and women you knew as plain quiet souls in London, here become suddenly polite and elevated. Mr. Wiggins lifts his hat to you, Miss Jones reaches out her forefinger. The society is, however, as we have hinted, undergoing a change. When Hastings was only reachable by the post-chaise or by stage-coach, it rendered the transport of a family, with all the interminable paraphernalia thereunto appertaining, somewhat inconvenient to the sober citizen' who "Though on pleasure he was bent Had still a frugal mind.” The town was therefore not only "a respectable retreat for families of distinction," but a sort of paradise for bachelors, single ladies, and dowagers. There was a grave routine of dulness and propriety about it. The amusements were 'regular.' For their mornings there were the bath and the parade; and the remaining hours were easily filled up by the ladies in the leaving of cards and the visiting of shops, or a canter on the quiet ponies to the Marina or up the hills; and by the gentlemen in Diplock's reading-room, or by a sail, or perchance by a peep into the billiardroom. For the evenings there were 'parties,' and occasionally the library, and the bazaar, with a turn at the loo table. Those quiet days are in good measure gone. The town has not yet put on a new habit, but there are many symptoms of change apparent. The railway brings its shoals of 'excursion' visitors. On Saturdays come crowds of 'return-ticket' travellers who leave again by the early train on Monday mornings. About the streets and on the parade, that used to be so still and vacant on the Sunday mornings, now swagger, in twos and threes, noisy 'gents' with gaudy neckcloths, flowered 'vests' of Moses' cut, and elegant paletots.' But with them also come a different class. Hardhanded artizans with their wives avail themselves of |