THE SPELL OF AGES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1582, 28 October 1912, Page 6

THE SPELL OF AGES.

OLD CAMBRIDGE. .' INTERESTING LETTER FROM COLONEL A. AV. ROBIN. Colonel A. W. Robin, C.8., who is at present attached to the Colonial Department of the British AVar Office, has been visiting Cambridge, and in the course of a letter to a friend in AYellington records his impressions interestingly. " Ho confesses to falling under the spell of the ages with which the old fown is permeated. "The college.buildings, of which there are a largo number," writes Colonel Robin, "are most interesting to tho colonial. Some of them date back (o 1100, the date of their erection biing plainly set out on tho old stone nails. \Tlio whole town is bountifully supplied with ohurches, chapels, abbeys, and cathedrals. Judging by the number of ancient buildings devoted to worship in Ensland, tlicy must have been a very good ' lot of people in tho bad old days. It is in tho Old .Country towns such as this (Cambridge) that one sees tho real oldtime edifices, and curious streets. There was plenty of room, .goodness knows, two or threo hundred years ago, to build moro openly, but hero there are little winding streets, so narrow that when traversed by. an ordinary vehicle it spans" the ei'tiro street, and the wheels run along the gutters on each side. Tho footpaths are anything from eighteen inches to three I feet in width. Many of the buildings in theso narrow ways are toys in size, yet are most substantially built of slo'uo. You can stand on tho footpath, and reach- | ing up, may touch the window-sills of the • first floor. True, the ground floor is often a foot below tho level of the pavement. AY'hore there is a third stcry, )t is an attic with sloping walls forming part of the roof. The rooms ore small, and ono can easily punch the ceiling. The upper stories project over the footpaths, and the windows are so barricaded with strong shutters that tho wonder is how they ascertained when the day had broken. As compensation for this huddling of buildings in tho poorer quarter of the town, the colleges and I religious institutions are all provided with lovely open "spaces within the wallswonderful old trees, and green grass plots. The old treasures of art stored in Hie place beggar description, and are of immeasurable value to the "To-night the Army manoeuvres start, and after seo'ng "the treasures of Cambridge, ono shudders to think of tho possibility of the Red Force (the invaders) beating the Blues (the defenders of London), and occupy, burn, and sack places such as this, as could be the ease were they a real enemy. The thought of this alone, one would think, should be enough to fill the Army and Territorial forces to overflowing, nay, appeal to every young man in the United Kingdom to submit himself for military training for the defence, of this Homeland of ours, so rich in historical tradition, so jewelled with beautiful evidences of a glorious past. The country, too, with its rolling ! undulations, beautiful trees (now golden* with autumn tints), the neat paddocks, cosy farms, and clean villages, gives evidence of peace and prosperity, and present a pictnre which must be seen to bo appreciated."