, of course, as a dutiful son of Mother Church, to attend the
early service at one of the thirteen churches, after which, still
at a very early hour, he was invited to break his fast with the
great Franciscan, Adam de Maresco, to whom his friend the chaplain
had strongly commended him. So he put on his scholar's gown, and
went to the finest church then existing in Oxford, the Abbey Church
of Oseney.

This magnificent abbey had been endowed by Robert D'Oyley, nephew
of the Norman Conqueror, mentioned in another of our Chronicles
{12}. It was situated on an island, formed by various branches
of the Isis, in the western suburbs of the city, and extended as
far as from the present Oseney Mill to St. Thomas' Church. The
abbey church, long since destroyed, was lofty and magnificent,
containing twenty-four altars, a central tower of great height, and
a western tower. Here King Henry III passed a Christmas with
"reverent mirth."

There was a large gathering of monks, friars, and students; the
quiet sober side of Oxford predominated in the early dawn, and
Martin thought he had never seen so orderly a city. He was destined
to change his ideas, or at least modify them, before he laid his
head on his pillow that night.

Before leaving the church Martin ascended to the summit of the
abbey tower, the wicket gate of which stood invitingly open, in
order to survey the city and country, and gain a general idea of
his future home. Below him, in the sweet freshness of the early
morn, the branches of the Isis surrounded the abbey precincts, the
river being well guarded by stone work and terraces, so that it
could not at flood time encroach upon the abbey. Neither before the
days of locks could or did such floods occur as we have now, the
water got away more readily, and the students could not sail upon
"Port Meadow" as upon a lake, in the winter and spring, as they do
at the present day.

Beyond the abbey rose the church and college of "Saint George in
the Castle," that is within the precincts of the fortress, and the
great mound thrown up by Queen Ethelflaed, a sister of Alfred, now
called the Jew's Mount {13}, and the two towers of the Norman
Castle seemed to make one group with church and college. The town
church of Saint Martin rose from a thickly-built group of houses,
at a spot called Quatre Voies, where the principal streets crossed,
which name we corrupt into Carfax. He counted the towers of
thirteen churches, including the