The Dover Road: Annals of an Ancient TurnpikeHarper, Charles G. (Charles George)
History
The Dover Road: Annals of an Ancient Turnpike
Harper, Charles G. (Charles George)
Dover Road (England); England -- Description and travel; England -- Social life and customs
This was, in all probability, the effigy of Our Lady of Chatham, who, in
pre-Reformation times, was famous for her miracles; and of whom Lambarde
gives the following amusing story in his _Perambulations_: "It seems,"
says he, "that the corps of a man (lost through shipwracke belike) was
cast on land in the parishe of Chatham, and being there taken up, was by
some charitable persones committed to honest burial within their
church-yard; which thing was no sooner done, but Our Lady of Chatham,
finding herselfe offended therewith, arose by night and went in person to
the house of the parishe clearke, whiche then was in the streete, a good
distance from the church, and making a noyse at his window, awaked him.
The man, at the first, as commonly it fareth with men disturbed in their
rest, demanded, somewhat roughly, 'who was there?' But when he
understoode, by her owne answer, that it was the Lady of Chatham, he
changed his note, and moste mildeley asked ye cause of her comming; she
tolde him, that there was lately buryed (neere to the place where she was
honoured) a sinful person, which so offended her eye with his gastly
grinning, that, unless he were removed, she could not but (to the great
griefe of good people) withdrawe herselfe from that place, and cease her
wonted miraculous working amongst them: and therefore, she willed him to
go with her, to the ende that, by his helpe, she might take him up, and
caste him again into the river. The clearke obeyed, arose, and waited on
her towarde the churche; but the goode ladie (not wonted to walk) waxed
wearie of the labour, and therefore was enforced, for very want of breath,
to sit downe in a bushe by the way, and there to rest her: and this place
(forsooth) as also the whole track of their journey, remaining ever after
a greene pathe, the towne dwellers were wont to shew. Now, after a while,
they go forward againe, and coming to the churcheyarde, digged up the
body, and conveyed it to the waterside, where it was first found. This
done, Our Lady shrancke againe into her shryne; and the clearke peaked
home, to patche up his broken sleepe; but the corps now eftsoones floted
up and down the river, as it did before; which thing being espyed by them
of Gillingham, it was once more taken up, and buryed in their
churcheyarde. But see what followed upon it: not only the roode of
Gillingham (say they), that a while before was busie in bestowing
myracles, was now deprived of all that his former virtue; but also ye very
earth and place where this carckase was laid, did continually, for ever
after, settle and sinke downewarde."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account