Holiday Haunts.

HOLIDAY HAUNTS .

LONDON , CHATHAM , AND DOVER RAILWAY .

~ V | 0 line out of London is better adapted for the wants of all -1 ^ classes who , either from choice or necessity , reside in the southeastern and south-western districts than the Loudon , Chatham and Dover Railway . Those who travel on the line , as we have done , for any length of time consecutively can alone estimate the freight of hnman beings that is daily carried from Victoria , past the neig h , bourbood of Battersea ancl Wandsworth , to Clapham , Brixton , Heme

Hill , Dulwich , and the Crystal Palace on the one hand ; and from Holborn Viaduct , through the City and Borough to Loughborough Junction on the main line , on tbe other . At the Junction the line branches out to Nunhend , with an extended spur to Blackheath Hill . Not so very long ago Nunhead was a small scattered hamlet , with its sad and solemn cemetery holding sway as the only object

of interest , now it is developed into a colony of bricks and mortar , forming a by vo means unpleasant abiding place for the living as well as the dead . The branch goes round by Honor Oak and Lordshiplane , a very pretty locality , crosses th ' e Main Line and reaches the Crys ' tal Palace nt Sydenham on the High Level Bailway . We need not say anything about the great mountain of glass , and the grand

views that are to be had from its lofty galleries and broad terraces ; it is unnecessary to dwell upon the treasures within aud tho scenic and floral charms without ; all " tbe world and bis wife" go to the Crystal Palace to see its wonders . The Dnlwich Gallery is not so well known . Tbe history of its foundation is rather remarkable , and affords another instance of the growth of a gift made over two

hundred and fifty years ago . Edward Alleyn was an actor , proprietor of a play-house in Moorfields , and keeper of the royal bear garden . He amassed wealth , and in 1614 he laid the foundationstone of his college , and completed his work in three years , at a cost of £ 10 , 000 . He endowed ifc with £ 800 per annum , for management and tbe maintenance of six poor women-nd six poor men , with twelve

boys , who were to be educated till a certain age and then apprenticed . The foundation became very rich iu the course of years , and now , in addition to the original " College of God ' s Gift , " there is a splendid bnilding devoted to educational purposes . Alleyn himself was the first master of the institution he founded , and when he died his remains were interred in the chapel attached to the college . There

is a legend connected with the gift which , if not true , is romantic enough . It is said that when personating the character of Satan , the devil in reality appeared to Alleyn , and so frightened him that he quitted the stage and became serious . The Art Gallery is not large , but it contains some exquisite gems , notably the productions of Guide , Vandyke , Hobbemun , Wilson , and Murillo . The " Spanish

Flower Girl , " by the latter artist , is considered a masterpiece . The country along the line is pretty . At Swauley Junction a branch goes to Sevenoaks , and stretches out at a right angle to Maidstone . We shall deal with this portion of Kent in another paper . The first object of interest on the Main Line further on ia undoubtedly Rochester . The late Charles Dickens has rendered the town and

neighbourhood famous . He lived and died at Gad ' s Hill , memorable as the scene of the exploits of Falstaff . The house is situated about three miles from Rochester , below the roadway , with charming surroundings . Who has not laughed over the scene in the first part of Shakespeare ' s "King Heny IV . " in whioh Falstaff 's boasting and cowardice are exposed by Prince Hal ? Never were words more apt

and true than the following , addressed by the Prince to Poins when he resolved to relieve FalstafF and his three companions of their ill . gotten wealth : " It wonld be argument for a week , laughter for a month , and a-good jest for ever . " Truly the jest lives , and he must be a dull dog indeed who cannot laugh over the escapade so graphically related in the play referred to . Not far from Gad ' s Hill is

Cobham , the seat of the Earl of Darnley , and close by the pretty little village of Shorne . On the way from the latter place to Cobham Hall is the " Leather Bottle , " referred to in the immortal " Pickwick . " The Hall is situated in a park seven miles in circumference , and is studded with a large number of grand old trees . Nowhere have we trodden such a natural and delicate carpet as the mossy

walks in this park afford , and nowhere else have we seen such a wealth of primroses and bluebells as deck tbe woods in the spring . The oldest part of the hall dates back three hundred years ; the central part , bnilt nearly a century afterwards , is the work of Inigo Jones . The whole presents a picturesque appearance , with its rich tones of red brick in a setting of tinted foliage of various hues .

The interior is elegant , and contains valuable stores of pictures and other articles . There is one relic of great interest which the visitor sees : it is a richly painted and gilt state-coach , said to be tbat in which Mary Queen of Scots rode after her marriage with the Earl of Darnley . The church is worth a visit , if only for its brasses . The building itself is ancient , and , like other venerable structures ,

there are curious legends associated with its history . Returning to Rochester the first and chief object of interest is Vne Cafttle . The ruins of this noble example of Anglo-Norman architecture stand on a hill , and dominate the River Med way , which flows rapidly at tbe base , which are fine and numerous , and adds to tbe conception of its former strength .

There is every reason to believe that the site of this castle haa been used for purposes of defence from very early times . The present Structure was built about tbe year 1088 , and has figured in many a sanguinary fray . It early lost its warlike character , but the solidity of the building , its main features , and , above all , the grandeur of its

architecture , not surpassed of its kind in England , remain . A won . derfnl history surrounds this castle , which should be studied in order to thoroughly enjoy its examination . There are other objects of interest in the city , the chief of which is the cathedral . The Seo is , we believe , the second oldest in the kingdom , and the smallest . The cathedral contains some old monuments , and adjoining it are the

chapter . honse and cloister belonging to tbe priory , whioh exhibits a series of beantifnl Norman arches and ornaments . Visitors should furbish np what Dickens has written about Rochester , and with a local guide book they could not fail to enjoy a pleasant and profitable time in tbe ancient city and locality . Chatham is a continuation of Rochester , and as the latter was the seat of wars centuries ago , the

former is now devoted to the warlike purposes of the present day . At Sittingbourne a line branches off to the left to Queenborongh and Sheemess . From the former place the royal mails go , in & Flushing , to Holland , North Germany , Belgium and the Rhine ; the latter is famed for its dockyard , and is a popular seaside resort . At Faversham there is a junction where tho line divides , one branch

Koing to Ramsgate and the other to Dover and De » l . Faversham Abbey is worth a passing notice . The town was often v sited by royal personages , little , however , remains except the " memory of ihe past . " Lillo founded his tragedy of "Ardern of Faversham" upon an event that occurred in 1550 , when Alice , a wanton , the wife of Thomas Ardern , murdered him in his own house . Taking the left-band line

Whitstable is reached , noted for its oysters . Farther on is Heme Bay , a retired , healthy , pleasant and placid watering place . The air is salubrious , and there is a quietude about the whole that is eminently suited to old people and children . Birohington is a bathing place on the same coast , and between it and Margate an aristocratio rival has sprung np , called Westgate-on-Sea . It is but tbe growth of

yesterday , and yet it has attained a reputation tbat other places of no less pretensions have hoped for in vain . It is admirably situated , and just meets the wants of those who are not satisfied witb the moderate gentility of Ramsgate and who dislike the plebeian visitors of Margate . Broadstairs is another quiet old-fashioned spot , gradually being ap .

proached by Ramsgate , which in time will swallow np its quaint and stolid neighbour . At present the fields form the background , while in front is the open sea . The village goes down to the water ' s edge , and so little change has taken place that the descriptions given years ago answer now . Ramsgate grows in popularity , and Pegwell Bay is still an attractive suburb . But Margate is the choice of the

million , and never was a wiser one made . It has glorious sands , a beautiful country round about , and the air is pure and invigorating . In the height of the season ifc is perhaps a little too boisterous , but who can resist the flow of sp irits and of health that the breezes inspire ? An American brother was recently at Broadstairs , and writing from there , towards the latter end of July , he says , " We

came to Margate , a famous seaside resort on the south-eastern coast of Kent . Like Atlantic City , Margate and Ramsgate are popular resorts , and too exciting and noisy for invalids and quiet people . . . Ramsgate is an ideal seaside town , the visiting population of which consists chiefly of children , in charge of mothers , governesses or venerable female friends . Yet I look from the window at which I

write , over the North Sea , and see hosts of steamers and sailing vessels entering or leaving the Thames . " There are pretty walks and drives all round , and interest never wanes as long as bright weather lasts . Margate and Ramsgate are essentially summer resorts , but an opinion is gaining ground that at Margate at least the air is not so keen in winter , on the Fort , as it is in London and

many other inland towns . If it can be shown that Margate is available in winter as well as in summer , there is enterprise enough in the town to make it worthy of patronage- Ifc is farther from London than Brighton , bnt modern science laughs at distance , and can overcome nearly all difficulties . A winter season at Margate , therefore , is one of the possibilities of the near future .

On the lower branch , or more strictly speaking on the main line , from Faversham , is Canterbury , the nursing mother of the religion of the country , and the home of one of its grandest monuments . As the Metropolitan Church of England the Cathedral is worthy of its grand representative character . Its history is that of the Christian religion in England , and the legends and associations connected with ifc are

among the most interesting memorabilia of bye-gone ages . It is asserted that a Christian church , or rather two , were founded by the Romans during the time of their occupancy of the country , and that they where still standing when St . Augustine arrived as a missionary to the British Saxons at the end of the sixth century . Ethelbert , King of Kent , was a heathen , bnt his Queen , Bertha , daughter of the

King of France , was a Christian , and to her is due the settlement of St . Augustine at Canterbury , and the protection and support he afterwards received . The King was converted to the Christian faith , and remained its patron during his-lifetime . His successor , Eadbald , was a pagan , and at the beginning of his reign began to persecute the faithful . So direful was bis hostility tbat many of tbe

representatives of Christianity fled the country . Bishop Lawrence , successor to St . Augustine , also meditated flight . This resolve was frustrated by one of those extraordinary miracles which never seem to be absent in the time of extreme peril . While asleep on tbe night preceding his intended departure , the Apostle Peter appeared before him in a vision , and after upbraiding him for his cowardice , proceeded to chastise

him , after a manner that must have suggested the ori gin of the Flagellants . The bishop only realised tbe fact of his scourging the next morning , and instead of departing he presented himself before the king , snowed him the weals on bis body , and succeeded , by this example of divine interposition , in convincing him of the truth of the Christian faith . Eadbald was converted , and Lawrence remained .

The faith prospered until the advent of the ruthless Danes , who slew th ' e archbishop and the monks , and mutilated " the cathedral-monastery , " as it was termed . Canute expiated this wrong ,. and once more the Christian chnrch reared its head . In the troublous times of the Conquest , however , the venerable building was burned down , and the entire collection of the bulls and privileges tbat had been granted to

it by successive Popes and Kings was consumed in tbe flimes . Lanfranc , the first Archbishop after the Conquest , began to rebuild tbe cathedral and monastery , and the work was continued by others until 1130 , when it was considered finished , and dedicated in the presence of "King Henry of England , David , King of Scotland , and all the Bishops of England . " Gorvase says it was the most famous