194 WHIP AND SPUR. 



by Lord Chesterfield ; of the sack and bout that 

 followed; of the recapture by Prince Rupert. 



He told of the foul desecration by the Round- 

 heads, who used every species of havoc, plun- 

 der, and profanation, — pulling down the sacred 

 effigies which were the glory of the western front, 

 hacking to pieces the curious carvings of the 

 choir, mashing the noses of the monumental 

 statues, destroying the valuable evidences and 

 records of the church and the city, shattering 

 the glass of the costly windows, — save only 

 that of the marvellous nine of the lady chapel, 

 which a pious care was said to have removed 

 to a place of safety. They kept courts of guard 

 in the cross aisles, broke up the pavements, and 

 every day hunted a cat with hounds through- 

 out the church, delighting in the echoes from 

 the vaulted roof; they wrapped a calf in linen, 

 and " in derision and scorn of the sacrament of 

 baptism," sprinkled it at the font and gave it a 

 name. 



How the King, after the defeat of Naseby, 

 came from Ashby-de-la-Zouche, and passed tho 



