A medieval rhyme has been preserved to us that relates the traditional reputations these religious establishments respectively had. Of this rhyme there are two versions, one is as follows:—
Ramsey, the bounteous of gold and of fee;
Crowland, as courteous as courteous may be;
Spalding the rich, and Peterborough the proud;
Sawtrey, by the way, that poore abbaye,
Gave more alms in one day
Than all they.
The other version runs more fully thus:—
Ramsey, the rich of gold and of fee,
Thorney, the flower of many a fair tree,
Crowland, the courteous of their meat and drink,
Spalding, the gluttons, as all people do think,
Peterborough, the proud, as all men do say:
Sawtrey, by the way, that old abbey,
Gave more alms in one day than all they.
From Crowland we decided to drive some nine and a half miles on to Spalding, where we proposed to spend the night; or rather the map decided the matter, for our choice of roads out of Crowland, unless we went south, was limited to this one; it was a pure case of "Hobson's choice," to Spalding we must go, and thither we went. Mounting the dog-cart once more we were soon in the open country; our road, like that of the morning, was level and winding, with the far-reaching fens all around, that stretched away through greens, yellows, russets, and grays to a hazy horizon of blue. A short distance on our way by the roadside we observed a large notice-board, that claimed our
