CHAPTER II 



IN THE FOOTPRINTS OF SAINT ALBAN 



ONE can well imagine that living at St Albans, in the very heart 

 of such an historic city, and belonging to a family so well known, 

 and so long resident in the town, every nook and corner of it 

 is to me linked up with the graphic past, and full of personal 

 reminiscences. 



Quite early in my career the fascinating story of the proto- 

 martyr made a strong appeal to me, and the site of Verulam is, 

 and remains, one of my natural playgrounds. Every stone up- 

 turned, even after so long a time, may reveal some epitaph of 

 the bygone, every step one takes is within hail of the footprints 

 of the immortal Saint. 



I walk along the old British Causeway this glad May morning, 

 when Nature, all a-burst, is looking at her best. The Spring 

 season thus viewed means a pertinent awakening, but, in spite 

 of such a living survey, I cannot seem to shake off the memories 

 of never-to-be-forgotten centuries. The things around me; the 

 tall stately Poplars by the river Ver, the Swallows dipping in 

 the water, the little Pipistrelle Bat fresh from its hybernating 

 quarters, now flying about in bright sunshine ; the plaintive 

 madrigal of a gay- vested Redbreast all interest and instruct as 

 I reverently pace the same Causeway which Alban trod on his 

 way to martyrdom, but I cannot dismiss from my mind the scene 

 that was enacted here somewhere about sixteen hundred and 

 fourteen years ago. 



Historical details crowd one on the other in a most bewilder- 

 ing way, for, if the truth be told, it means that we have at 

 Verulam, and its successor, St Albans, an epitome of the history 

 of England. We note, as we walk towards the site of Verulam, 

 the steep slope on either side, and, in the low-lying meadow 

 beneath, the bed of what was at one time a Roman lake, since 

 drained by the Saxon Abbot Allfric I. in A.D. 970. 



Upon reaching the present end of the Causeway we may still 

 inspect a block of masonry on our right, a remnant of the wall 



