reality.

He tells of Colonel Blagge, the Governor of Wallingford Castle, who
was on a marauding expedition, being chased through the streets of
Thame by Colonel Crafford, who commanded the Parliamentary garrison at
Aylesbury, and how one man fell from his horse, and the Colonel "held
a pistol to him, but the trooper cried 'Quarter!' and the rebels came
up and rifled him and took him and his horse away with them." On
another occasion, just as a company of Roundhead soldiers were sitting
down to dinner, a Cavalier force appeared "to beat up their quarters,"
and the Roundheads retired in a hurry, leaving "A.W. and the
schoolboyes, sojourners in the house," to enjoy their venison pasties.

He tells also of certain doings at the Nag's Head, a house that still
exists--a very ancient hostelry, though not nearly so old a building
as the Bird Cage Inn. The sign is no longer there, but some
interesting features remain, among them the huge strap hinges on the
outer door, fashioned at their extremities in the form of
fleurs-de-lis. We should like to linger long at Thame and describe the
wonders at Thame Park, with its remains of a Cistercian abbey and the
fine Tudor buildings of Robert King, last abbot and afterward the
first Bishop of Oxford. The three fine oriel windows and stair-turret,
the noble Gothic dining-hall and abbot's parlour panelled with oak in
the style of the linen pattern, are some of the finest Tudor work in
the country. The Prebendal house and chapel built by Grossetête are
also worthy of the closest attention. The chapel is an architectural
gem of Early English design, and the rest of the house with its later
Perpendicular windows is admirable. Not far away is the interesting
village of Long Crendon, once a market-town, with its fine church and
its many picturesque houses, including Staple Hall, near the church,