the
navigation of the Itchen. Not so far as this, and in the same
direction, is Titchborne, quiet and remote among its trees with an old
church that boasts a Saxon chancel and with memories of the
Titchbornes, whose separate aisle and secret altar for the celebration
of mass indicate their devotion to the old faith. But our return route
passes Abbas church and crosses the river to Easton, a rambling and
pleasant river-village full of mellow half-timbered houses and with a
church that boasts a Norman apse and fine chancel arch. There is a
unique monument in this church to the widow of William Barton, Bishop
in turn of St. Asaph, St. David's, Bath and Wells, and Chichester,
whose five daughters _married five bishops_! The walk across the
meadows to Winnal and the city is one of the best near Winchester, but
is hardly pleasant after wet weather. The hilly road, about three
miles long, direct from Martyr's Worthy, affords pretty glimpses of
the Itchen valley and the low Worthy Downs beyond. Just before the
last descent toward Winnal there is a fairly good view of Winchester
itself.

The straight, dusty and rather wearisome Roman road to Southampton
runs up to a spur of Compton Down, a once lonely hill but now
unsightly with the red-brick and plate glass of suburban Winchester.
Near the conspicuous roadside cross--a memorial to fallen
heroes--there is a distant view of the city, veiled in blue smoke, to
the rear. Compton church, in the combe beyond, has made good its place
in history by recording its ancient past in the porch of the building
erected in 1905. The old church is actually one of the aisles of the
new, and here may be seen an ancient wall painting and two piscina. A
little over a mile to the south-east is picturesque Twyford on the
wooded banks of the Itchen. Here Pope went to school for a time, and
in the chapel of Bambridge House close by Mrs. Fitzherbert was married
to the future George IV.

Twyford Church was believed by Dean Kitchen to be built on the site of
a Stone circle. Two large "Sarsens" or megaliths lie by the side of
the building, and a magnificent yew stands in the churchyard. Shawford
Downs, that rise above the river and village, are scored with
"lynchets" or ancient cultivation terraces and there is no doubt that
the neighbourhood has been the home of successive races from a most
remote age.

The high-road continues over hill and down dale to Otterbourne, with
its memories of a celebrated Vi