184 THE DOVER ROAD 



and regaining it on the next hill ; until, coming to 

 Harbledown, its majesty burst upon them in an 

 uninterrupted vieAV. The striking characteristics of 

 the road here were noted by Chaucer himself, who, 

 indeed, does not mention Harbledown by name ; the 

 description is alone sufficient to identify the place : — 



Wist ye not where standetli a little toiin, 

 Which that ycleped is Bob-up-and-doiin, 

 Under the Blee in Canterbury way. 



Here the weary pilgrims made their last halt. The 

 levity ; the fun and frolic ; the sound of songs and 

 bagpipes ceased, and the seekers of Saint Thomas fell 

 down upon their knees in the dusty road when they 

 caught sight of the golden angel that then crowned 

 the Bell Harry tower. Tears running down the 

 cheeks of all, the pious and the indifferent alike 

 resigned themselves to a religious ecstasy ; and when 

 they at length resumed their journey, Chaucer's 

 company of pilgrims rode slowly into the Holy City, 

 listening to a sermon in place of the curious tales with 

 which they had hitherto beguiled the way. 



Harbledown stood then on the borders of the great 

 " Bosco de Blean." The " little town," now a mile- 

 long stretch of disconnected cottages, was much 

 smaller, clustering round the parish church on one 

 side of the road, and the Hospital for Lepers, with 

 its chapel and rows of cottages, on the other. Down 

 the road, the houses of Canterbury were to be seen 

 nestling for protection against the Castle and Cathedral, 

 while on the other hand stretched the dark forest, 

 with the Archbishop's gallows standing on a clearing 

 in front. For not only did the dignified clergy point 

 the way to the after life ; they not infrequently helped 

 their sheep on the way by means of rope or stake. 



As the pilgrims passed that old Lepers' Hospital, 

 founded by Lanfranc in 1084, on this breezy and 

 healthful hillside, whence rose the sweet smell of the 

 herbs for which Harbledown (= Herbal down) has 



