NOETHAMPTONSHIRE. 227 



Chapel, witli its lofty roof and sumptuous yet chaste interior, overshadows all 

 other buildings, and is indubitably one of the finest Gothic monuments of the fifteenth 

 century. Trinity College, with its four courts, occupies a considerable, area, and 

 attracts more students than any similar institution in the country. Though 

 not rejoicing in the possession of a library at all comparable with the Bodleian at 

 Oxford, the University Library, with its 220,000 volumes and 3,000 manuscripts, 

 and the libraries of the various colleges, nevertheless make a goodly show. The 

 Woodwardian Geological Museum has grown, under the able direction of the illus- 

 trious Professor Sedgwick, into one of the most remarkable collections in Europe ; 

 the Observatory has also acquired fame thi'ough the discoveries of Mr. Adams ; 

 and the Fitzwilliam Museum, a fine classical building, is rich in works of art, 

 including paintings by Titian, Paul Veronese, and other masters of the Italian school. 

 The foundation of the university dates back to the early Middle Ages, and St. Peter's 

 College is known to have been founded in 1257, and is consequently more ancient 

 than any college of Oxford. There are seventeen colleges and two institutions 

 Girton College and Newnham Hall have recently been founded for the education 

 of ladies. Cambridge even more than Oxford depends for its prosperity upon 

 its 2,500 professors, fellows, and under-graduatcs. When these retire durino- 

 the vacations, dulness reigns in the streets, and Cambridge resembles a city of 

 the dead. Paiker's Piece, at other times the scene of cricket matches and athletic 

 sports, lies deserted, and the boats on the Cam are hidden away in their boat- 

 houses. Netcmarket, so famous for its races, lies 11 miles to the west of Cam- 

 bridge, in a detached portion of Suffolk (see p. 215). 



Following the Cam on its way to the Ouse, we reach Waterheafih, where 

 coprolites are dug and ground, and immediately afterwards we enter the district 

 of the Fens. In front of us rises the isolated hillock, surmounted by the magnifi- 

 cent cathedral of Ely. This city is the capital of the district known as the Isle of 

 Ely, and an ancient stronghold. The cathedral displays a mixture of many 

 styles, and has been carefully restored. Its great western tower rises to a height 

 of 270 feet, and the centre octagon, at the intersection of the nave and the 

 transepts, is justly admired for its slender shafts and ribbed vaulting of wood. 

 March and Whittlesca occupy eminences in the midst of the Fens, and both boast 

 interesting old churches forming conspicuous landmarks. Wisheach, on the 

 navigable Nen, is the chief town in the northern part of the county. Vessels of 

 . 500 tons can enter the harbour of the town at high water. "Wheat is the principal 

 article of export. WaJsoken, a village within the borders of Norfolk, is now 

 virtually a suburb of Wisbeach. Its Norman church is one of the most beautiful 

 in the east of England. 



Northamptonshire has for the most part a beautifully varied surface. The 

 breezy iqalands in its south-western portion give birth to the Nen and the Ouse, 

 which flow to the Wash; and to the Avon, which takes its course to the 

 Severn. The Nen is the principal river of the county, whilst the Welland bounds 

 it for a considerable distance in the north. Along both these is some fine 

 meadow land, whilst the north-east corner of the county is occupied by rich 



