the manor, to an officer in his army, as a reward for his vigilance in discovering an ambuscade formed by the Saxons to intercept him. It is the horn of an ox; of a dark-brown tortoise-shell colour, mounted at each end and about the middle with silver rings; the stopper being shaped like a dog's head. The middle ring bears the following inscription :-"I, Kyng Knoude, geve William Pewse thys horne to holde by thy lande."* There appears therefore to be no doubt as to the validity of this simple method of conveyance in the time of our Saxon ancestors. A curious bowl is also shown, which was presented to the Cordwainers' Company of York by Archbishop Scroope in the year 1398. It is ornamented with the arms of the craft; and on the rim the following inscription appears :— "Richarde, arche-bescope Scroope, grant unto all tho that drinkis of this cope XLti dayes to pardon ;"—and "Robert Gobson bescope mesm grant in same form aforesaid XLti dayes to pardon Robert Strensall." Mr. Sheriff Hornby presented the bowl to the church in 1808 on the dissolution of the Cordwainers' Company. In the vestry there are also several archepiscopal rings, antique silver chalices, a silver crosier brought from Portugal, some old armour, and the cloth that formed the canopy under which King James I. sat in the Minster when on his way from Edinburgh to London after the death of his predecessor. On the altar of the choir an ancient chair is preserved, in which we are informed several of the Saxon kings were crowned, and which was used as the chair of state for the various monarchs visiting York in the olden time. The CHAPTER HOUSE now remains to be described. We are informed that in the time of Cromwell, a certain person presented a petition to the parliament desiring to have a grant, empowering him to demolish the chapter-house of York as a useless part of the church, and employ the timber and stone thereof in the erection of a stable! The petition * There is an accurate engraving of this horn in the Journey-Book, of Berkshire, published by Charles Knight and Co., London. was granted; but the man did not live to execute his purpose: "for," adds Ghent, "he was hurried away by a violent death, no longer than about a week before he thought to have put his impious designs into execution." Thus, fortunately, escaped from destruction, one of the most elegant structures of the kind in England! From the north transept, doors open into the VESTIBULE that forms the approach to the chapter-house. The vestibule is in itself remarkable: the sides are all pierced with windows, richly painted, and of beautiful tracery; the walls beneath them being adorned in a style corresponding. The chapter-house is built in the form of an octagon; 63 feet in diameter, and 67 feet 10 inches in height. The roof is supported without a pillar of any sort; being sustained by a pin, geometrically placed by its scientific constructors, in the centre. Arched windows, of great beauty, fill seven sides of the house; and on the eighth side there is tracery on the wall, above the door-way, corresponding with the pattern of the windows. The whole circumference below the windows is occupied by forty-four canopied stalls of stone for the canons who composed the chapter. The arches of these stalls are richly ornamented, affording a specimen of English tabernacle-work in its earliest state, and are supported by columns of Petworth marble; each column being separate one from the other. Above the stalls is a walk or gallery that goes round the chapter-house. The sculpture of this part of the Cathedral is remarkable for the ludicrous images represented on the walls. "Here," quoth Ghent, "are antick postures both of men and beasts. In one place or another, is a man cut out, half-way, as if he was thrusting and striving with all strength to get out of a window, or some narrow passage. In another are several faces, having different aspects, as one crying, another laughing, a third making wry mouths, &c. And, what is also very ingenious, in another place is to be seen an old bald-pated friar kissing a young nun in the corner." The vaulted roof is of wood, and was, until a few years ago, decorated with paintings of English kings. It is now plastered and coloured in imitation of stone. Formerly the chapter-house was splendidly decorated; the walls being painted, and the stalls richly gilt. Over the door is a row of niches, formerly filled with thirteen statues, supposed to be those of Christ and the twelve apostles. The images are said to have been of silver, which were melted by Henry VIII. On the windows, which, are in a state of excellent preservation, are represented the armorial bearings of founders and benefactors of the church. The only furniture of the apartment, is a long and narrow table, of great antiquity, covered with a piece of old crimson tapestry, which was formerly hung in the choir, and which is said to have been presented for its use by Archbishop Rotherham. The chapter-house, it is generally supposed, was erected by Archbishop Grey, who built the south transept; and was used for meetings of the clergy, synods, convocations, installations of prebends, &c. The coronation of Richard III., is said to have taken place in it; and from the chapter-house are dated the letters patent by which that king relieved the citizens of York from the annual rent, payable before his time to the crown. Pope Pius II. apostrophizes the "shining walls and thin-waisted pillars of the chapter-house; and every tourist since his time who has visited York Minster, agrees, with scarcely a reservation, in the justness of the tribute of the learned traveller, -inscribed in Saxon characters at the entrance of the chapter-house : Ut Rosa Flos Florum, |