York

the capital of Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the fork of two small rivers, half way from London to Edinburgh. York was an ancient stronghold of the Romans. It was reached from London by a branch of Watling Street. Antiquarians have unearthed many Roman remains, including tombs bearing Latin inscriptions, statues, altars, fireplaces, tiles, vases, urns, bronze instruments, and ornaments of gold, silver, bronze, and jet. The emperor Severus is said to have died here in 210. Constantine the Great was commander of York at one time.

York was an early seat of English learning. It was the home of Alcuin, whom Charlemagne persuaded to come to Aix-la-Chapelle to teach his two children. The York library, that is to say, collection of manuscripts, was one of the most considerable in western Europe. It was destroyed by the Danes. York was the early center of Christianity in the north of England, as was Canterbury in the south. In fact, the two archbishops of England are still known as archbishops of Canterbury and York. At the end of the Norman conquest York held out stubbornly until it is said 100,000 people had been put to the sword.

York is now a city of about 85,000 people. It is still surrounded by massive stone walls three miles in circuit. The top of the wall is a favorite promenade. It commands a beautiful view of the surrounding country. The city has outgrown its walls. Communication is maintained by imposing gateways. They are somewhat in the way of traffic, but the citizens would not think for a moment of tearing them down.

When Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, fell at the battle of Wakefield, the haughty Margaret of Anjou is said to have insolently given the order, "Off with his head, and set it on York gate, so York may overlook the town of York." The streets within are narrow and irregular in direction. A large portion of the city still consists of medieval houses with overhanging walls of antique appearance.

There are extensive manufactures of machinery, glass, beer, combs, gloves, leather, wall paper, and confectionery, but the interest of the traveler centers in the great York Minster, considered by many the greatest Gothic cathedral in existence. The first building on this site was erected by Edwin, king of Northumbria, in 627. The present building was begun in 1227. It was completed in 1470. The cathedral has the form of a Latin cross 524 feet in length and 250 feet in extreme width. It exceeds in size both St. Paul's cathedral and Westminster Abbey. A description of the great west front, with its rich moldings, sculptures, and massive towers, the nave and the transept, the choir, the chapter house, and the lantern tower would require a volume. When one enters the west door there opens before him a grand vista 500 feet in length and 100 feet in height. The marble pillars and the pointed, vaulted roof give the impression of a great forest aisle, bordered by magnificent trees, whose branches arch overhead to form the ceiling. At the farther end is the great east window, pronounced the finest specimen of stained glass in the world. It is seventy-five feet high and thirty-two feet wide. It consists of about 200 compartments or panes, each about a yard square and containing figures about two feet in height. The subjects are taken from the whole range of the Bible. There is also a circular window thirty feet in diameter, and many others, all of stained glass, beautiful beyond description. Even a brief visit to the cathedral and a view of the city and its walls render it easy to understand that York was at one time a center of wealth and authority, and all this at a time when London was a squalid village.