[B] ABINGDON, at the very edge of the county of Berkshire, was called Shovesham, by the Anglo-Saxons, until the foundation of the abbey, from which period it began to assume the name of Abbandeen, or the Town of the Abbey. This monastery, the monks of which were Benedictines, was founded by Cissa, an Anglo-Saxon monarch, in 675. During the reign of Alfred it was demolished by the Danes, and remained in ruins till King Edgar partly restored it, in 954. Ethelwold, the abbot at that time, erected and embellished the church, and his successors contributed to its increase. After the Conquest, the wealth and grandeur of the abbey were equal to any similar foundation in England. William the Conqueror kept Easter in the abbey, A.D. 1084; and here was educated his youngest son, Henry, surnamed Beauclerc, afterwards King Henry I., in whose reign, one of the most eminent characters who received sepulture within the abbey, was the celebrated Jeffery of Monmouth, author of the British History,--a work, from which some of our best poets have derived materials for their sublime compositions. Shakspeare's Lear, and Milton's Comus, were both supplied from Jeffery's history. He flourished in the reign of Henry I. Among the natives of Abingdon, whose talents have rendered their possessors eminent, was Sir John Mason, a statesman of the sixteenth century. His memory is the more worthy to be revered, because, from a very obscure origin, his genius and perseverance advanced him to the rank of privy-counsellor, ambassador to France, and chancellor of the University of Oxford. His father was a cow-herd and his mother, sister to one of the abbey monks, who attended to his early tuition, and sent him to Oxford, where he became a fellow of All Souls' college. While in this situation, the liveliness of his temper occasioned him to be chosen to compliment Henry VIII. on his visit to the University, in the year 1523, which being executed in a most graceful manner, engaged the favour of the monarch, who promoted him to the honourable offices above-mentioned. He died in 1566, and was buried in St. Paul's cathedral. _Mail_ arrives 2.49 A.M., departs 12.10 A.M.--_Fairs_, 1st Monday in Lent, May 6, June 20, August 6, September 19, cattle; Monday before Old Michaelmas, statute, and December 11, horses and cattle.--_Bankers_, Knapp and Co., draw on Williams and Co.--_Inns_, Crown and Thistle, and Queen's Arms.--_Markets_, Monday and Friday. [Sidenote: Monastery of Benedictine monks.] [Sidenote: William the Conqueror kept Easter, and his son was educated here. Jeffery of Monmouth buried in the abbey.] [Sidenote: Sir J. Mason, born here--his father a cow-herd.]